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The first event of 2020 got under way as ever with a few words from MD Jason Roper who was delighted to run through a few pieces of news supplied my our partners including UHY Hacker Young, Landmark Development Solutions, Watts, Purple Bricks, Fiona McKay and Assetz Capital.       Next up was one our founding partners and ever continued supporter Clive Gawthorpe, Tax Partner at UHY Hacker Young in Manchester to provide a very brief view on what could be expected when the Budget is revealed in March, the first since leaving the EU. The points Clive thinks may be relevant are, Inheritance Tax and some potential changes which have been earmarked and Entrepreneur Relief, it has been highly speculated that this could change or be reduced, if that is the case you don’t have much time left to look at alternatives, but as we all know nothing is certain as it may well remain unchanged come the Budget. Various other changes have also been suggested, many of which are radical with only a month left for you to make changesso if you have any concerns from either a personal or business perspective it could be worth getting in touch with Clive or a member of his team for their view:-c.gawthorpe@uhy-uk.com.  Next was to our guest speaker, introduced by Jason and given a warm welcome was the Founder and Owner of Artez Group Mike Banton. Mikestarted by giving a refreshing open and honest account of the early days when he first started Artez back in November 2010, some of the hurdles he’s had to overcome, from doing the small extension jobs no one in construction really wanted to securing contracts upwards of £35m. Trading his prized 3 Series BMW in for a pick up truck back in 2010 Mike gave an insight into the risks he initially had to take recalling times working on projects away from home where he even slept in that same truck to save money. Setting up in a time where the market was trying to find it’s feet post-recessionArtez was able to gradually grow by picking up larger jobs and making the most of contacts built up over may years working in the industry as an employee of others to eventually becoming the employer of around 40 staff as it stands today.  Arteznow work with many larger and well established developers including Urban Splash and Peel for whom they undertake projects not only in the North West but also nationally, project ranging from refurbs to full builds and everything imaginable in between. A subject close to Mike’s heart he wished to discuss was way we can all help to try and get young people into the industry, especially with skilled trades. Something all the other developers in the room could relate to is the constant battle to find skilled worker in the construction industry so he really is keen to get involved and ensure apprenticeships and similar options remain open to allow these skilled trades to get the recognition they deserve.  The winner of the Champagne in February sponsored by Landmark Development Solutionswas Mark Geaneywith the meal for 2 at Alberts going toRoger Dean. MPG Race Day – Wednesday 6th May 2020 It’s Boodles Ladies Day at Chester Races and MPG will be running a trip for Members and Partners, places will be on a first come basis. The price will be £100 per person which includes transport to and from Chester, lunch and drinks in Chester pre Races and Concourse entry. Please contact Chris to secure your place:- Chris@mpg-nw.com Our next event is taking place on Thursday 5thMarch at Albert’s Chop House, Manchester when our main speaker with be Clive Gawthrope who has offered to do a Q & A type session based around the Budget and post Brexit changes to look out for. If you are not a member but are interested to get involved with MPG please contact us today info@mpg-nw.com and we would be more than happy to provide information on our membership options and upcoming vents. We look forward to seeing you at March’s Event!!! 
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Dear Members We have long supported Manchester Curry Club. If you would like to join the list, please e-mail mike.barnes1@sky.com. The next lunch will take place on Wednesday February 19th. Please let Mike know by return e-mail, and no later than midday on the Monday beforehand, if you wish to attend, and the number & names of your guests. There is no need to reply, if you cannot make it, or if you have already booked your place. The following are the dates for the rest of the years luncheons :- 18/3, 22/4, 20/5, 17/6, 22/7, 19/8, 23/9, 21/10, 18/11 and the Christmas meal 23/12. Please respond by midday on Feb 17th at the latest. If you have any late changes on the morning of the Lunch, please phone me on 07976 342433. Regards. MPG  A few pieces of news from our partners as MD Jason Roper kicked off November’s event with ABC Accounting Services who have just recently rebranded to Longden & Co. Partners of MPG from the very beginning, Managing Director Lee Longden chose to rebrand to coincide with their recent office move, it is more than worth while visiting their new website https://www.longdencompany.co.uk/ The next news was from our Partners at Connell Brothers Demolition who as some of you may remember presented to MPG earlier in the year. At the time their Commercial Director Mark Riley mentioned they were also working on a brand new website, that is also now live and looking very good indeed https://connellbrothers.co.uk/ Jason’s last piece of news from our Partners was in relation to Assetz Capital who have launched “Real World Finance”, much more news will be rolled out on this come the start of 2020 so stay tuned to find out all you need to know. Next it was over to our guest speaker Adam Kirwan who is a Director at WHP Telecoms who are professional infrastructure support partners to the telecommunications industry providing end to end services to enable to deployment, upgrade, improvement and densification of networks. Adam briefly touched on how and when WHP become involved in projects before explaining how they have managed to maintain being a trusted partner in the telecommunications industry since 1988 in which time a huge amount of evolution has taken place. They continue to work with all of the industry leaders including BT, Nokia, O2, CTIL and Samsung to name a few.  Soon it was on to the eagerly await subject of 5G, not only in terms of business life but also personal life for absolutely everyone, the new network is even faster than the human brain. When 5G is eventually rolled out almost every industry will see significant changes and it’s not just manufacturing or technology-based business which will see the effects.  Everyone has seen how mobile phones and home broadband have evolved over the past 20 or so years with the move to 3G then 4G but the biggest step will by far be the one from 4G to 5G as Adam illustrated with some facts and figures in his slides as the ones above. So naturally one of the key questions was when will 5G be ready? Adam’s answer to that question was by no means narrow as he explained that some parts of the UK still don’t received full 4G coverage which has been around for almost a decade now so it’s not going to happen overnight.  The slide above which Adam also provided gives us an idea of the upgrades needed before everywhere within the M60 would be fully covered by 5G…….but you must also consider that the majority of hardware and devices such as phones, tablets and PCs are still not 5G ready so realistically we are still a few years off one of the biggest technological evolutions to date… If you have any new project coming up that need their own network or you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact Adam - (a.kirwan@whptelecoms.com)  The next guest was Rob Fletcher from 4Tech who have recently been working closely with MPG to create a unique App which will enable all of our Members and Partners to stay connected better than ever before, the App will be live on the App Store for iPhone users and the Google Play Store for Android users by searching MANCHESTER PROPERTY GROUP.
Members who attended November’s event will already have received their unique login details with all other partners and members to receive theirs by email in the very near future. Rob kindly explained the basics, especially how the App will benefit our Members!! Well for a start the App will automatically notify you of all upcoming events, not only this, you can easily register for future events in just one click. The App will also allow you at add guests for future events and pay for them in advance directly through the App itself. As the App has push notifications all our news stories and partner updates will be readily available to all and easier to access than ever, as are contact details for all off our Partners and Sponsors. Rob and his colleagues will also be attending December’s Event to help assist anyone who is struggling to get set up with the App or who couldn’t make November’s event and requires login details. The winner of the Champagne in September sponsored by Landmark Development Solutions was Sam Ward with the meal for 2 at Albert's going to his guest Ellie Farrell. Our next event is a Christmas Drinks Event for Members and Partners only which is taking place on Thursday 5th December at Kiely’s Irish Bar. As we will not be holding an event in January, our first of 2020 takes place on Thursday 6th February, when we will be joined by Mark Hawthorn, Founder & Managing Director of Landmark Investments Group who has kindly sponsored the Champagne for all MPG events throughout 2019. If you are not a member but are interested to get involved with MPG please contact us today info@mpg-nw.com and we would be more than happy to provide information on our membership options and upcoming vents. We look forward to seeing you at December’s Event!!!  With three very exciting speakers lined up this month it was just a brief introduction and welcome from MPG’s Jason Roper before getting straight in to it with Peter Istrate, Founder of Moxels being the first guest speaker of the day. Peter is the Founder and Managing Director of Moxels, a Creative CGI Agency who’s services include branding, strategy and design. He began by questioning what an idea actually is before eventually elaborating to “it’s not what you do….but why you do it..” He continued to ask how we communicate our ideas in business, how do we tell a story backed up with an age old saying, “a picture speaks a thousand words”.  Having talked us through slides showing some of the incredible CGI work Moxels have done for Real Estate clients, Peter wanted to remind everyone that people do not buy products, they simply buy solutions to their problems, or ultimately a change. Peter’s presentation was aimed at simplifying and explaining Moxels goal which is to bring great ideas to life making them accessible to everyone. Whether you’re an Architect, Interior Designer or Property Developer they will take your project from paper to realistic images to tell your story. Should you have any questions please do not hesitate Peter (peter@moxels.com). Our second speaker of the day was the Managing Director of Watts Group, Ian Ford. Having spoken at MPG on previous occasions Ian made it clear that he would be brief to leave the real speaking to his colleague Jim Wilson. Ian very briefly touched on how Watts have grown before playing two quite interesting promotional videos which he has edited all by himself, no small task in itself, which showed some of the exciting projects they have worked on. Last to speak but by no means least was Watts Director Jim Wilson. Jim has been a constant supporter of MPG since our inception and continues to work successfully with many of our Members on projects throughout the UK. Entitled Funder’s Due Diligence & Project Monitoring the subjects are self-explanatory, however, Jim wanted to use this opportunity to explain the importance of the DD process and the need for strict project monitoring.  Jim touched on build cost appraisals where he touched on all the elements which are taken into consideration, the need for a contingency and for cash flow forecasts. This progressed nicely onto a brief update on construction costs (see slide above). The point that Jim stressed throughout his presentation was that the DD and monitoring process has one ultimate goal, that is to ensure a safe and profitable exit for all parties come the end of the project. Please contact JimWilson (jim.wilson@watts.co.uk) should you have any questions or wish to seek further advice. The winner of the Champagnein Septembersponsored by Landmark Development Solutions was Alastair Milton with the meal for 2 at Alberts going to Simon Graham of Njoy Living. Our next event takes place on Thursday 7th November when we will be joined by Adam Kirwan, Director with WHP Telecoms who will enlighten everyone about 5G and its upcoming impact to business and life. And …We will be launching our MPG App for your Phones, so there will be no reason to miss another event or to keep up with what is happening in the Property Market If you are not a member but are interested to get involved with MPG please contact us today info@mpg-nw.com and we would be more than happy to provide information on our membership options and upcoming vents. We look forward to seeing you all in November!!!  Carl Lomas MBE As informal as MPG gets in August with a Summer Drink Reception followed by a few words from MPG Ambassador Carl Lomas MBE. We have been fortunate enough to hear Carl speak at a previous MPG event and this months short insight into his career and life experiences lived up to expectations yet again. Quickly touching on a few business experiences and words of advice to begin with Carl wasted no time in lightening the mood with some fantastic stories he picked up on his travels, most notably when his boat capsized in rough water while his family were on board and being rescued by a warship from the Royal Navy.  The winner of the Champagnein August sponsored by Landmark Development Solutionswas Jamie Dutton of Watts with the meal for 2 at Alberts going to Nick Braithwaite of R&D Specialists.
We are back to business as usual on Thursday 5th September when we our guest speakers will include MPG Partner Paul Ramsey, Managing Director of Real Financial and MPG’s very own Clive Gawthorpe with his eagerly anticipated Tax update. If you are not a member but are interested to get involved with MPG please contact us today info@mpg-nw.com and we would be more than happy to provide information on our membership options and upcoming vents. We look forward to seeing you all in September!!!  May’s event was kicked off by our MD Jason Roper with some good news for MPG, our very own Jordan Roper passing her exams to become a qualified Mortgage Advisor, a feat made ever more impressive in the fact she had done so while being 6 months pregnant. First up to speak this month was Michelle Dale of UHY Hacker Young who chose VAT and Construction Services as her update topic, very relevant to all of our Developers in the room with changes to the liability coming into effect later this year.  These rule changes will have certain exceptions but will still have an impact on the zero-rated construction industry. If you have any questions please contact Michell by email: - m.dale@uhy-uk.com. Our second guest speaker of the day was Mark Riley who is the Commercial Manager at Connell Brothers Limited. Connells have been partners of MPG from the very beginning and have worked with many of our Members and Partners over the years. Coming into the event with a topic of day advertised as “Asbestos – The Truth!”, Mark mixed things up by starting with an brief overview of Connell’s history before moving on to explain more of the specialist services they can provide including High Reach, Floor by Floor and Hand Separation but to name a few. Flicking through his slides Mark showed some Manchester landmarks which Connell’s have worked on over the years with mixed emotions from the attendees. A slide showing the demolition of the famous Hacienda was met with some whispers of disappointment (no surprises there) before a photo appeared of a half demolished Main Road Football Stadium, being the former home to Manchester City you can imagine the heckling which followed!!! Switching to a slightly more serious note with some key pieces of advise for any developers who are faced with a demolition project on a site they own, the biggest advise was to always carry out a full Refurbishment & Demolition Survey (R&D Survey) as failure to do so can be incredibly costly down the line. Other notable things to consider are the planning permission process prior to demolition and even things which sound so simple as the disconnection of services can be more time consuming and complex than you could imagine. For further information please contact Mark Riley: - mark.r@connellbrothers.co.uk The winner of this month’s champagne draw sponsored by Landmark Development Solutions was guest Ali Kader of Richmond Property, with the meal for two at The Albert Square Chop House going to Dean Gormley of Irwin Mitchell. We look forward to seeing you all at our next event taking place on Thursday 6th June when we will hear from Adam Docwra, Director of New Homes at Purple Bricks. If you are not a member but are interested to get involved with MPG please contact us today info@mpg-nw.com and we would be more than happy to provide information on our membership options and upcoming vents. We look forward to seeing you all in June!!!  MPG Ambassador, Carl Lomas MBE blogged the MPG April meeting. Corned beef hash and brown sauce with mini burgers was the order of the day for the monthly hot spot Chop House venue of the Manchester Property Group with standing room only. A treat was in store with details of the council’s workings by it’s own Deputy Executive Leader, a review of the budget by Clive Gawthorpe, UHY Hacker Young and a look at the question, ‘buy the property or buy the company?’ Purple Bricks were in the room, as were champagne sponsors Landmark Development Solutions and members of Mahdlo to call for support on July 6th for the three peaks Saddleworth challenge.  MAHDLO challenge July 6th MPG founder and property guru, Jason Roper opened the April Manchester Property Group meeting with property value numbers, ‘Nationwide reported a first fall in values since 2012, the typical buyer spends £330,000 but this still remains a challenge to first time buyers.’ Jason detailed help to buy with a wide update of the deal for first timers on new builds, ‘let’s talk second steppers, it looks like their deal is coming to an end. Help to buy is about to tighten and focus on just First timers.’ Jason introduced the guest speaker, ‘An Oldham Athletic supporter’ Hush quiet as the audience was in for a treat, an insight into the workings of the council first hand by the deputy leader.  MPG full house as Jason Roper opens April’s event. The guest speaker for the April meeting was Executive Deputy Leader of Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council, Cllr Bill Fairfoull. ‘Yes an Oldham Athletic fan’ Now a proud Ambassador of MPG, Bill explained how he took his first steps in property at Manchester College of building, before being elected for council in 2010. In his everyday life he’s also an Auditor. Some of Bill’s first jobs as a councillor included a tree under preservation order and a smoking shelter but to name a few as he continued to give the attendees a quick overview of the workings of local government as well as the Northern Powerhouse numbers, GM circa 2.75 million people in a UK of 65 million. The insight showed how a council executive has a great diversity mix with strong female representation that has led to good constructive communication. He also went on to explain the funding received by Tameside that has been falling since 2010, a year, not raising council tax is a big challenge to the budget and last year the number was £175 million not helped by things such as Carillion and the Stalybridge Moor fires both of which were costly. Bill went on to talk planning and green belt both of which are huge decisions for the next generations, affordability and availably of houses, first time buyers, population growth and land availability, ‘we need decisions that support the next generation’ before closing with the plan to be Carbon neutral by 2040 in Greater Manchester.  Cllr Bill Fairfoull ‘Workings of the council’ Standing room only at the April MPG was a big advantage to those at the back who were in for a treat of the first corned beef hash, layered on brown sauce for a perfect foundation of property folk networking at what has become the Manchester place to be for all things property. ‘Let’s review the budget for property.’ Clive Gawthorpe- Tax Partner UHY Hacker Young & MPG Co-Founder first opened with the question. ‘Should I buy the company? Or should I buy the property?’ Clive looked at the downside, ‘due diligence on the company, tax & VAT can often be more intense than due diligence on the property.’ Issues of stamp duty, presently due 14 days after completion. The hidden tax, tax on property, property is stock, beware of the hidden tax! Another view for negotiation, the seller has to pay tax, find out how much that tax is, then get back to the table and negotiate with a view of tax on both sides of the deal.  UHY, Clive Gawthorpe delivers the numbers on buying the property or buying the company in a working example. The winner of the champagne draw, sponsored by Landmark Development Solutions was one of MPG’s newest members Ian Chow of Bee in the City with the meal for 2 at Albert’s being won by Peter Lim of SAM Properties. Get your diary set for May 2nd and be sure not to miss this event with a delivery a presentation from MPG partners Connell Brothers Demolition with the topic, ‘Asbestos - the truth!’  As usual the event was kicked off by our MD Jason Roper commenting yet again on what a fantastic turnout with standing room only at the back of the room. Jason’s subject of choice this month was the planning application process born off not only his own experience of the process but the experiences and difficulties which some of his clients are encountering on a weekly basis. As Jason elaborated more he posed the question of how the planning process can be improved for the better, how can developers work closer with the planning officers and local authorities in order to reduce the time in which it takes to get a planning application through. Many options were touched on, mostly common sense, however, Jason will be updating us throughout 2019 as he himself will be lobbying for change by speaking to the local authorities to see how everyone can work together and hopefully look to implement some much-needed changes in the near future. Jason did close by saying this is not the same across the country and indeed some local authorities lead by example, however its consistency we need. Next up was a short video message from MPG Director Fiona McKay who is currently busy working on a project out in Dubai. Fiona talks of International Women’s day and her #FEEDBACKFIRSTCAMPAIGN. (see video below) Our first guest speaker this month was Craig Jones of Energy Gain UK. Craig provided some very interesting statistics relating to Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy market growth, Carbon Reduction, Energy Wastage and Renewable Energy. More interesting reasoning also showed why energy pricing are currently increasing at the rate of 6% per annum, these include wholesale & transportation costs, government taxes, exchange rates and changing weather such as the beast from the east which produced a 10 year high in UK energy prices. Craig also discussed the Feed in Tariff which was a government backed incentive to install solar photovoltaics and other green technologies which ends in March 2019. Despite this scheme coming to an end it’s far from being the end. For example, from a landlord’s perspective installing solar photovoltaics can have many benefits including a revenue stream by selling the generated power to the tenants at market value, capital allowance benefits, increased energy performance as well as creating great CRS and marketing opportunities. Please visit their web address for more details on the variety of services Energy Gain UK have to offer - https://energygain.co.uk/  Second to take to the floor was Michelle Thorniley of the LK Group. Michelle got straight to the point, she explained the definition of contaminated land and the impact and potential costs implications it can have for a developer if they fail to carry out the correct DD from day one. The basic theme was that paying out for a concise Preliminary Risk Assessments and Site Investigations can be incredibly beneficial and account for huge costs savings when it comes to the remediation process and the ultimate validation of that remediation. For a full idea of the service which Michelle and the LK Group can offer please visit their website: - http://www.thelkgroup.com  The winner of this month’s champagne draw sponsored by Landmark Development Solutions was Wayne Radcliffe, with the meal for two at Albert’s going to Tony Houlihan, FC Developments.
We look forward to seeing you all at our next event taking place on Thursday 4th April when we will hear from Cllr Bill Fairfoull, Deputy Leader of Tameside TMBC for the latest on the Spatial Framework. We will also be hearing from our very own Clive Gawthorpe who will update us on Brexit, VAT and significance of the Chancellors recent speech. If you are not a member but are interested to get involved with MPG please contact us today info@mpg-nw.com and we would be more than happy to provide information on our membership options and upcoming events. We look forward to seeing you all in April!!!  Jason Roper MD kicks of MPG February 2019 One thing that has been guaranteed with MPG events over the last 12 months is a full house and yet again it was standing room only for February’s event as we were joined by many new members and guests. Proceedings were kicked off by our ever-vocal MD Jason Roper with his trademark take on recent events in the market. The first piece of exciting news was the announcement that Purple bricks have now joined MPG as the latest in a long list of high-profile partners offering evermore ranging services to our members. Although only seven years old Purple bricks have already grown to become the largest and probably also the most recognised Estate Agency in the Country and have recently expanded to both the US and Australia with an ever-growing positive reputation. One of the newest additions to the Purple bricks business in the UK is the New Homes team which was set up just 18 months ago to provide a bespoke and professional service dealing directly with property developers. The team is headed up by Directors Stuart Richards and Adam Docwra who will also be speaking at an MPG event in the coming months to explain how they are hoping to revolutionise the way developers sell new homes with potentially huge cost savings.  Opening the main proceedings this month was MPG Ambassador Bill Fairfoull, Deputy Executive Leader of Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council, who provided us with a brief update on the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework Consultation (GMSF) which ends on 18th March 2019. Bill explained for those unaware, that GMSF was launched as a plan to provide the right homes in the right place for people across the Greater Manchester Region as well as at the same time improving infrastructure to ensure the future prosperity of Greater Manchester. The plan is focused om making the most of Greater Manchester’s brownfield sites to address the housing crisis with a minimum target of 50,000 additional affordable homes (30,000 which are to be social). The consultation period ends on 18th March 2019 so you don’t have long left, but should you wish to get involved please follow this web address: https://www.greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk/ www.gmconsult.org Bill will be joining us again in April to provide a more detailed update once the GMSF consultation period has ended and he hopes to be able to highlight some of the news which has by then began to filter out.  Great talk by Stuart Law at MPG Feb 2019 Next up was our guest speaker, Stuart Law, Founder and CEO of Assetz Group. As well as being the Founder of Assetz Group which includes Assetz Capital and Assetz Property, Stuart is also one of the UK’s leading economists his opinions can be found in numerous publications including the finance section of the Guardian. Stuart gave a very interesting insight into his background and how he came from wanting a career writing computer codes to be the founder of one of the UK’s leading Peer-to-Peer lending businesses. Hitting some very important points along the way, Stuart talked of the economic cycle, the traditional tell-tale signs and how and other leading UK economists saw the last recession hit from 2007 in such a fashion. Talking on the subject of peer-to-peer lending, Stuart explained the difference between banks and peer-to-peer lenders and for property developers the main points being the peer-to-peer lenders flexibility in terms offered, as opposed to traditional high street banks. Our MD Jason Roper also works for Assetz Capital and if you require development finance please get in touch with him on Jason.roper@assetzcapital.co.uk for a fast and flexible approach to funding. We look forward to seeing you all at our next evet taking place on Thursday 7th March when we will hear from Michelle Thorniley from LK Group talking about all development issues from contaminated land, Flood Risk plus much more a topic never touched on at MPG before, so it’s sure to be informative. We will also be hearing from Energy Gain UK giving us the final roll call for solar panel with the ever-looming Feed-it Tariff (FIT) closing on 31st March 2019 If you are not a member but are interested to get involved with MPG please contact us today info@mpg-nw.com and we would be more than happy to provide information on our membership options and upcoming vents. We look forward to seeing you all in March!!!  |
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