Housing White Paper must be implemented says FMB

Brian Berry

The only way we will increase the number of new homes we are building is if ministers act now to implement measures in the government’s Housing White Paper aimed at removing barriers to small house builders, according to the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).

Responding to a report published by the Local Government Association (LGA) on the quality of house building, Brian Berry, chief executive of the FMB said: “The LGA is right to highlight the slow rate of house building in England as we are currently still building significantly fewer new homes than we need to be to meet demand. Not only are we not building enough homes right now, but we’ve been under-building in this country for decades. In order to address this problem, it is vital that the government acts on key proposals in the March 2017 Housing White Paper. The White Paper quite rightly emphasis the need to diversify the house building sector so it is less reliant on a small number of large house building companies to build our homes. The concern is that almost six months after the White Paper was published, we’ve seen limited movement on a range of policies that if implemented, could start making a difference today.”

Berry continued: “The LGA report also raises concerns regarding the quality of new homes and points to one in 10 home buyers being dissatisfied with the end result. To put this another way, that means 90% of consumers are satisfied with the quality of their new home, which is a high customer satisfaction rate. Furthermore, this satisfaction rate is likely to be higher still among customers of SME house builders like the ones represented by the FMB. Our members market themselves on building high quality bespoke homes for their clients and this is their unique selling point.”

Berry concluded: “The LGA report also suggests that total investment in new homes should be greater than total investment in the refurbishment of our existing homes. Given that the UK’s housing stock is among the oldest in Europe, with a high proportion of heritage properties and listed buildings, it is equally important that these homes are properly looked after and maintained. In other words, it’s not an either or situation. If we are to solve the housing crisis then we must increase the delivery of new housing but also maximise the lifetimes of our existing buildings. The government could help encourage greater investment in our existing housing stock by reducing VAT from 20% to 5% to encourage more people to properly maintain their properties.”

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Guardian Glass’ new float and coated glass plant will be located adjacent to the company’s existing plant in Czestochowa, Poland.

Guardian Industries has approved the investment for an additional float and coated glass manufacturing plant in Czestochowa, Poland, to meet the growing demand for float, coated and fabricated glass products across Europe.

The new facility will be located next to the company’s existing plant, and is expected to begin operations in the third quarter of 2019. Reportedly creating more than 150 new jobs, it is set to process 1,000 metric tons of glass per day and will include a technologically advanced glass coater.

Guardian Glass president and CEO, Kevin Baird, said: “The new facility will be the biggest green field capital investment in Guardian Glass’ history and will further position us as a leading producer of high performance, safety and energy efficient glass products for European residential and commercial buildings.

“Guardian is excited about the growth we’ve seen in Poland and confident that the Czestochowa location is well positioned to meet our customer’s needs. We’ve enjoyed strong support from the city of Czestochowa, the Katowice Special Economic Zone and the Polish government.”

Guardian Glass’ existing float line in Czestochowa will go through a repair project at the start of 2018, designed to increase its production capacity.

“We look forward to continued growth in Poland and neighboring countries. The co-location of the two plants will create a competitive and efficient structure to deliver a wide range of glass products and will contribute to generate long-term value for our customers in the region,” said Guus Boekhoudt, vice president of Guardian Glass in Europe.

In addition to the Czestochowa plant, Guardian Glass operates facilities in Oroshaza, Hungary; Thalheim, Germany and Ryazan and Rostov, Russia, among its 10 European float plant locations.

www.guardian.com

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Following the recent acquisition of Village Glass, the Synseal Group reports that it has now completed a refinancing with the support of its current investors and funders, H.I.G. and Proventus, who have provided substantial further funds to continue their support for the growth and integration of the group.

The refinancing is said to have resulted in a ‘significant strengthening of the group’s balance sheet’ and ensures that Synseal is positioned to ‘solidify its market leading positions in PVC-U profile and conservatory roofs, and to take advantage of its strategic growth areas of glass, entrance doors and aluminium window and door products’.

The Synseal Group has developed from a £70m turnover extrusion business prior to the MBO in 2010 to a £160m turnover multi material supplier to the fenestration industry with positions in PVC-U and aluminium window and door systems, GRP and timber doors, Insulated glass units for windows and roofs, conservatory roofs and portal frame structures. The group reportedly employs more than 1,500 people across seven sites.

H.I.G. is a global private equity and alternative assets investment firm with more than €20 billion of equity capital under management. Based the U.S with affiliate offices in London, Hamburg, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Bogotá, Mexico City and Rio de Janeiro, H.I.G. specialises in providing both debt and equity capital to small and mid-sized companies.

Proventus Capital Partners is an active credit investor and loan provider to Northern and Western European companies in need of capital for expansion, acquisition financing, restructurings and refinancing.

www.synseal.com
www.higcapital.com
www.proventuscapitalpartners.se

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As part of Quickslide’s quest to encourage homeowners to consider windows and doors as furniture the company’s design team has added ‘Living Oak’, one of the most authentic woodgrain foils ever developed, to the options for its Vertical Sliding Sash window.  Living Oak, with the unmistakeable silver-grey lustre of weathered vintage timber including authentic knots and hand-sawing grooves, is the latest addition to Quickslide’s already comprehensive range of finishes, textures and woodgrains, joining existing classics like Irish Oak, Golden Oak and Cherrywood.

In the continuing quest for authenticity Quickslide also prepares windows using a state of the art seamless welder.  Combined with the embossed and distressed rustic woodgrain and a choice of traditional furniture, buyers can choose an authentic-looking period window that offers the most advanced energy efficiency and security.

“This is one of the most authentic heritage foils we have seen in a long time and we had no hesitation in adding it to our range straight away,” said Sales & Marketing Director Tom Swallow. “Nothing is growing in demand faster than heritage foils, especially on classical window styles like our authentic Sliding Sash and judging by early reaction from installer partners and consumers, it will be another winner.”

Quickslide was one of the pioneers of bringing the classical Sliding Sash into the mainstream market, matching an authentic appearance with high-spec energy efficiency, security and weather resistance. That window has evolved by continuous improvement over two decades and now includes industry-leading features like seamless welding, deep bottom rail, authentic Georgian bars and hardware options, option of run-through horns, as well as modern twists like trickle vents and quick-release tilt arms.

This latest development of the Quickslide sliding sash has been shortlisted as ‘Window of the Year’ in the Build-It Awards because of its appearance, with many innovative features and ancillary features on this model but also because it operates more smoothly and easily due to developments in its mechanism and assembly.  Installation has also been considered with quick release sashes to assist transporting and installing on higher floors.

www.quickslide.co.uk

The WarmCore Fixed Roof Light was unveiled at the FIT Show earlier this year and has already become the product of choice for Celsius Solid Roof customers.

The fixed roof light, exclusive to Synseal Group’s tiled, solid roof system, has been designed using the Group’s award-winning WarmCore technology which uses a multi-chambered thermal core to offer a centre pane U-value of 1.0.

The stepped glass structure covers the whole area of the window, right up to the subtle ceramic edge which sits flush to the roof, to create an incredibly clean-looking finished product. This fully glazed design means the product has 41% increased visible glass area compared to the equivalent sized market leader in roof lights.

According to Synseal, the product provides installers with a neater alternative to what is currently available on the marketplace with better sightlines and a white or anthracite grey interior finish, complete with a discreet black flashing kit that is easily incorporated into the Celsius Solid Roof system.

To find out more about the new WarmCore Fixed Roof Light or to request images for use in your brochures and on your website, please email info@synseal.com.

www.synseal.com