‘Tis the season to be jolly and our members certainly were this December 7th at our Christmas Cracker Manchester Property Group Event. This month saw 2 of our partners and 1 of our ambassadors speak at the event along with our very special guest speaker Rugby League player Jon Wilkin. Partner Clive Gawthorpe from UHY Hacker Young talked all things property related in November’s Budget. He raised some key points for property folk to look out for such as council tax mark up for empty properties and tax implications of overseas property - check the previous post here in our News section of the website for more info! Next up was Partner Fiona McKay owner of Lightbulb Solutions who delivered a thought provoking insight into the lack of mental health support facilities within the workplace - is there a place for Mental Health First Aiders? Absolutely! In this society of ever increasing demand and high expectations are we and our leaders doing enough to support mental health? Lightbulb Solutions is providing a 2 day qualification on 8th & 9th of January open to all - contact Fiona to book to avoid disappointment and for an early bird rate! www.lightbulbleaders.com/contact Followed by Ambassador Terry Flanagan who provided an update on his involvement with Tootoot the award winning platform and app used in schools colleges and universities to help combat bullying. The platform is constantly evolving and branching out more recently into sports clubs providing support to young people all over the country - check them out at www.tootoot.co.uk. Terry also updated us on the current activities of our chosen charity Mahdlo who provide a huge range of activities at there state of the art youth zone in Oldham. An absolutely fantastic charity to support check out there work and how you can get involved at www.mahdloyz.org And last but by no means least was our guest speaker Rugby league player Jon Wilkin. Jon started off his talk with a run down of his sporting career to date, a fascinating story which included playing through a broken nose and some great tales of team nights out. Jon went on to talk about his other passion, coffee and his specialist coffee bar Pot Kettle Black - PKB. Located in Manchester’s Barton arcade an absolute must visit for coffee lovers! www.potkettleblackltd.co.uk Jon spoke excitedly about his future career which included expanding to new sites with PKB and continuing his punditry with BBC. Something we all took away from Jons talk was his live by mantra of R.E.F : Resilience - do not give up! Enjoyment - enjoy what you do if you don’t change it! Failure - this will only make you stronger learn from them and keep going! To top off the event was our monthly raffle which saw David Wilcox Architect win a meal for two at Alberts Chop house and MPG member Jim Connell win the bottle of champagne! Lots of networking and festive drinks followed another fantastic event from the Manchester Property Group. For information on how to become a member please visit our membership page of the website www.mpg-nw.com Our next event is 11th January 2018 where we have Phil Cusack Chairman Chambers of Commerce speaking Merry Christmas Team MPG Blog by Sarah Peel
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 On 22 November Chancellor Philip Hammond delivered his first Autumn Budget. The Budget had good news for the residential building sector as the Chancellor set an ambitious target of building 300,000 new homes per year – a target which has not been met since the 1970s.
The Chancellor placed a further £15.3 billion in new financial support to house builders, bringing the total to £44 billion. This included £1.2 billion for the Government to buy land to build more homes and £2.7 billion for infrastructure which supports housing. This target will be difficult to reach, especially with developers’ margins being reduced to increase costs with shortages of trainee staff, funding and materials. The Chancellor hopes the increase in the number of homes will reduce house prices to allow housing to become more affordable. This would seem to be counterproductive. The reduction of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) for first time buyers is welcome. The first £300,000 will be exempt from all duty and the next £200,000 will be at the reduced rate of 5%. While this will assist the market, note that this only applies to England and Northern Ireland, plus Wales until March 2018, who will then follow Scotland on having their own SDLT system. There were also some negatives for the property industry in the Budget, including a crackdown on empty houses, with the Chancellor announcing that councils will be able to charge 200% of the normal council tax rate to unoccupied properties. For property investment companies the allowance for inflation on the cost of property will stop in December 2017 so future Capital Gains Tax within companies will increase. Overseas landlords on commercial properties will be subject to UK Capital Gains Tax from April 2019. It is proposed that only the gains from April 2019 value will be chargeable. Additionally, overseas landlords operating as a company will switch from paying UK Income Tax to paying Corporation Tax. This allows the current interest restrictions and loss relief provisions to apply. The plan is to roll this out in April 2020. For private landlords there is to be a review of the ‘Rent a Room’ relief and its future, whilst there was a relaxation of rules for property rental businesses to allow them to claim mileage rates from April 2018. If you wish to discuss how these changes may affect your specific circumstances, please contact me or another member of the team. No matter what the size of your property portfolio, cloud technology can help you to significantly improve efficiencies and controls within your business. Traditionally, large property management systems can be quite complex, clunky and not particularly easy to use, especially when it comes to managing client monies. However, cloud software provides a new approach for the property industry. Such software is generally not only very easy to use, but also has direct links to other apps and websites including Office 365 and Rightmove, streamlining processes and making managing your property portfolio much easier. As a result of utilizing cloud technology, the need to rekey data from one platform to another is significantly removed, and on average, processing time is cut by over 50 per cent. Cloud software has the ability to automatically send out rental invoices throughout a tenancy period and offer the tenant the option to pay online directly through the emailed invoice. The technology can go even further and chase the debts as they become payable, with more severe reminders sent should the debt become overdue. These features have seen a real improvement in cash collection, and reduction in bad debts. Contract renewals, inspections and routine maintenance reminders can all also be automated to ensure a key date, task or event is never missed. These reminders can be in the form of emails, text messages or in app reminders meaning you’re in control whether in or out of the office. Another key benefit of cloud software is it allows costings and profitability on development and renovation projects are also easily reported on, and can be drilled into right down to individual invoice per property. If you’re looking to manage your property portfolio easily and efficiently via one multi-user platform cloud accounting is the solution for you. Should you have any questions about cloud accounting and how it may benefit your business, please do not hesitate to contact Stuart Hurst, head of Cloud Accounting at UHY Hacker Young in Manchester, on 0161 236 6936 or email s.hurst@uhy-uk.com.    We had an amazing opening keynote speech for the launch of MPG on 7 November 2017, from Mr Tom Bloxham, MBE, the Chairman of Urban Splash. He shared with us his journey and his vision for regenerating urban properties and improving regeneration across the UK, but more importantly I was energised by his clarity and vision for what comes next for Urban Splash in our towns, cities and property landscape. So how do you take / we all take control and accelerate through 2018 and beyond, against the backdrop of market uncertainty and the looming issues that Brexit will bring? My answer is: vision velocity or lack of it! 70% of change initiatives fail in business, why is that? Because the vision, destination and planning are all unclear. What two things impede vision? Permission and hierarchy are the lethal blocks to visionary work. Top tier leaders must create inclusive cultures that allow contributions from all areas of their organisations, irrespective of title or tenure of staff. Leaders must unlock their thinking patterns, remove barriers and give themselves and others the permission to imagine new ways of working, in a landscape of constant change and possibility. Take some feedback first - however painful! Setting a vision and inspiring others to follow is a joint contribution which emerges primarily from a culture of feedback, across all levels. Giving and receiving feedback is a muscle that must be exercised; outstanding leaders work tirelessly on feedback from all areas, isolate what they don’t know, identify their areas from improvement, then work hard to fix it, however painful the feedback. Flex your muscle The good news is it you can improve your vision in a number of ways, but it takes a certain type of creative practice. Take a deeper dive into how I help some of the best leaders in the world craft their vision, solve the toughest business challenges and transform their organisations at Fiona-McKay.com. GET IN TOUCH Fiona McKay is an award-winning entrepreneur, CEO coach & business strategist, International keynote speaker & the MD of Lightbulb Leadership Solutions.   MPG Board Members, Jason Roper, Clive Gawthorpe, Chris Clough & Fiona Mckay Welcome Northern property guru Tom Bloxham MBE to the full house November MPG meeting. Carl Lomas was at the Chop House as MPG steps into a new level with Chop House chip & bacon butties. Roller coaster property adventures delivered by Tom Bloxham MBE and hot of the press interest rate advice by Clive Gawthorpe UHY Hacker Young. Chop House chip butties for full house Manchester Property Group The MPG event opened by Jason Roper who talked concept of event for real estate, open, honest, informal, no pressure, a network of meetings. Almost three years in the making as the next chapter begins. The next chapter was big, clear your diary, the next three years event dates need to be blocked out. MPG has become a must attend and the November meeting wowed the property folk of the north, Hacker Young talked interest rate, first rise in ten years before a sincere delivery by Urban Splash, property guru Tom Bloxham MBE. MPG key note delivery. Founder of Urban Splash, Tom Bloxham launched a raft of slides in a pictorial roller coaster extravaganza of Northern property stories that left the audience speechless. A whole new level of MPG. Tom talked beginnings with Knocker jobs and burning brief case sales of fire extinguishers. A move to Manchester for University and sales of vinyl before a step to posters, student Union sales to Glastonbury. First shop in the Affleck Arcade, then subletting and rent collecting. The property step was made. First property was in Liverpool to form a cluster. 1994 first conversion, twenty seven pounds a foot sold for sixty pounds a foot. The power-point pictures rolled on a portfolio of property adventures. Duice House Manchester, workspace for young entrupeniers, starting thousands of new business opportunities for the Northern powerhouse. Matchworks Liverpool, Fort Dunlop Birmingham, Saxton Leeds, Albert Mill. Tom talked modular construction and choice for residential. Projects on the go, Park Hill Sheffield, duplex and corridors, new elevations, six storey atrium, high ceilings, a whole new quarter, social housing with amazing views. Audience spellbound, Tom talked about the UrbanSplash brand, today we have 92 on the team and almost 400 awards. Tom closed with a big finish from Athens! Quotes of the ancient times motivated the MPG audience, ‘We shall leave this city not less but greater.’ Clive Gawthorpe, Hacker Young, opened, on the day news of 0.25 per-cent interest rate rise. First rise in ten years. ‘The govt has moved digital tax back to 2019, it’s still hand written books!’ Clive touched on Landlord interest relief, the instructions have changed. HMRC have re-written the advice books, relief is only available for funds borrowed against property. If a draw down is taken form a re-financed property, for it to remain in tax relief it must all be used for property, beware of removing a cash block! Clive announced Hacker Young’s, ‘Global real Estate guide’ just published, hot of the press and waiting on the Hacker Young web for you. Charity talk was by Mahdlo, Oldham spelt backwards. A passionate tale of property and support. Audience were spellbound as Mahdlo talked David Lloyd quality facilities for the hard to help youngsters, five quid a year membership and fifty pence a visit. There was duke of Edinburgh access without cost to see opportunity for all. 35 different sports provided, art and music for trouble youngsters in the area in a property fit for national level athletes. Oldham’s only big climbing wall. MPG members are encouraged to visit and see the property first hand, funds are always needed and this is local delivery that you can see changing youngsters lives, Nov 11 MAHDLO winter ball and there are tickets left, MPG come on down. Paul Ramsey, Real Financial Solutions sponsored the prize draw, big decisions for winners, Chop House dinner or best Bubbly in the Box. Chip butty finish was spot on as the Manchester Property Group networked  Institute of Couriers Chairman Carl Lomas swept to final mile by express sector support Shirt and tie, no lycra for cycle run by IOC chair in Transaid cycle run from TFL HQ to final mile in Paris via courier company pit stops with a hundred thousand tweets of energy and support of the family of express sector, Sunday celebration when Carl removed his Carmen tie from a job well done for Transaid transport charity. Mike Brown TFL launched Lomas and the #IOC4Transaid tweet followers on the London cycle supper highway last Thursday. Lomas went on the road on his cycle for four days., Citysprint, Steve Knibb organised the first pit stop at their Guildford office. Team Joanna, Rachael and Matt gave POB for a CitySprint breakfast heading for a Horsham BACA workwear fudge lunch by Marc Calder at the Ryman DHL High street drop shop. UPS Mike Cooper, Newhaven office saw Carl on the ferry where he landed Dieppe for the Saturday morning with a French laPoste electric cycle escort out of the city post codes. Rouen Cyclo click box visit then a run to Evreux. Sunday last push to Paris where Lomas joined fifty other Transaid cyclists set to raise a hundred thousand pounds for Transaid. DHL, XPO, Bullet form Glasgow all pushing air to slipstream Lomas in an express sector peloton to the last mile finish. Eiffel tower celebrations roared into applause as Lomas final removed his Carmen tie from a job well done. IoC Chair Carl Lomas vowed to complete the Princess Royal's Transaid charity cycle run from London to Paris at the May Microlise conference. Having never been on a cycle for twenty five years, it was a big ask for the IoC Chair, who has completed 500 miles training in the last six weeks, matching the 500 year celebration of the Carmen Livery with support from Carmen master Marsh Rae-Ratcliff. Carl comments ‘I did 500 miles of 25 mile training runs in six weeks and the express sector finished the job with mega motivation to Paris. A big thank you to the Condor cycle team in Grays Inn road who re-built the bike, a 25 year old TVT courier cycle, enormous thank you to the Transaid cyclists bringing me in to those last miles, could not have done it without them, express sector is a family like no other.’’ Check the full story on the Institute of Couriers web at: http://instituteofcouriers.com/news/general-news/item/891-ioc4transaid-ioc-chair-embarks-on-london-paris-charity-cycle-ride 500 miles training for 500 years of Carmen Shirt and Tie, London to Eiffel Tower for final mile of four days delivery by IOC chairman Carl Lomas. Carl Lomas is a proud ambassador of MPG, and comments, ‘The MPG group has been a great network to facilitate introductions on a low key without a full on sell.’
Chairman of the Institute of Couriers. fellow in logistics at University of Derby. Sec to the BIS / Inst for apprenticeship trailblazer phase three bid for courier qualification 'express delivery'. Chairman GTA, Logistics Skills Alliance, a coalition between West Thames FE College, private training provision and employers around Heathrow. Elected April 2016, TFL LoCITY Van group chairman. Inaugural chair for TFGM Urban deliveries group launched Sept 2016 run by Helen Smith. Proposed to FORS governance role 2016 representing final mile. Sec to the LLEP Transport priority group. Former inaugural chair D2N2 LEP transport logistics group. Liveryman and court member of the worshipfull company of Carmen. FE gov council member for Buxton & Leek College. A graduate in Computer Science, post graduate certificate in research at MMU & doctorial research candidate at Derby Univ with a thesis on internet e-retail logistics. 2017 Key note speechs, Omnichanel conf Conaught Rooms London Sept 17 – Microlise Coventry arena July 17 - heads of Industry Heathrow - Intralogistex & Apprentice 4 England at Coventry - short extracts in the Linkedin postings. Previous formation of a group of London courier companies before development of first NVQ qualifications for motorcycle couriers, development of Courier Training company in London, TSC grade 1 award for excellence, Adult Learning agency OFSTED grade twos for training, IIP and BS5750 achieved. Freeman of London. Fellow of the RSA, RCIYC member, long time member of IOD, Former roles - expert advisor to the Learning Skills Development agency. National Council member of Sills for Logistics and chairman of the mail & logistics group for the skills council. Vice Chairman of the Despatch association, Chairman of the National Motorcycle Council NTO board member Road haulage Dist Training Council, RHDTC, board member NSAL National Skills academy Logistics. World sailing adventurer. author, 'Certain death in the Ice.' (London Press)   This time of year is an excellent time for a reboot after our vacations, and a great way of doing that is by taking the time to reflect on the feedback we’ve given and received throughout the year.
I’d like to share with you the results of a survey that I recently conducted - the outcome was staggering: 80% of CEOs said improving workplace feedback across all levels in their organisations would have a direct impact on bottom line profits! It's the thing that I get asked to do the most by CEOs. "Give it to me straight", "Don't hold back", "Be honest" - these are just some of the questions I'm asked by the global leaders that I coach, desperate to unlock what may be stopping them from achieving greatness. Those able to act on feedback, however painful, are the CEOs of businesses and brands able to really innovate and adapt in times of market uncertainty. Do you need to hear some honest feedback on your performance and improve your feedback function? It could be the key to unlocking your profit potential quicker than you think. GET IN TOUCH Take a tour around Fiona-McKay.Com today and learn how I help the C suite to solve the toughest business challenges, execute complex change and improve results in performance, people & profits.
Modular developments in Manchester and Liverpool are energy efficient and built in quick time, but can they spark national interest?
Building homes typically requires a lot of technical know-how, money and patience. Bill Jennings of JDA Architects thinks he is in the process of changing this. In collaborating with the funder, Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), the manufacturer Bowsall, and a number of housing association and delivery partners, JDA Architects are developing a house-building framework as a way of providing an alternative to current housing models, and one which is hoped could help in solving the problem of housing shortages. This isn't the first time that off-the-shelf homes have been hailed as the solution however. Anyone of a certain age remembers "prefabs", "temporary" replacements for bomb-damaged homes, still in evidence across the country thanks to their enduring popularity. And, while modular housing for the masses is common in Australia, the United States and Germany, British examples have mainly been limited to one-off, self-build projects. Shipped to site by lorry, JDA are creating mass produced factory-built homes – or ‘ready-to-live-in boxes which click together to form a traditional looking house. Built off-site, these homes come fully kitted out with every part of a traditional home already inside – connections for power and water are installed, a fully fitted kitchen and bathroom in place, walls painted and plastered and even the carpet and doors are in situ. Jennings explained that the combination of a modular system and a formula for rapid builds means a house can be put together in a matter of days rather months. With Sir Howard Bernstein, former chief executive of Manchester City Council, as an advocate and supporter of these projects, JDA are now part of a small but growing number of organisations looking to change the way homes are built through the adoption of off-site – also known as modular construction or prefab homes. From businesses to policymakers, there is budding interest in off-site-built housing as a possible solution to the UK’s critical housing shortage. Crushing the build time of traditional house construction, the modular home itself is built in a factory while foundations are being laid on site. Certainty of build costs, materials, delivery and reduced risk of weather delay are already making these homes attractive. Developers are citing the advantages of the reduced requirement for scarce skilled labour, fewer construction accidents and more consistent quality of build compared to traditional construction. However the challenge for modular housing is going to be volume – can manufacturers get the support and financing to scale up their operations quickly to make the process and the end product cheaper than a traditional build? So is now the time for off-site construction to hit the mainstream? Jennings thinks so, saying production line precision means their homes can hit the housing demand without compromising on quality. However, the cost savings and efficiencies will only be driven forward if the service providers can meet the needs of the manufacturers. Jennings commented that on a previous project 33 of their units stood empty for 3 months awaiting gas, water and electric connections and so more dynamic support frameworks are needed from the all sectors of the industry. Modular housing might not set property pulses racing, but the latest generation of pod-like homes is hoping to inspire all those concerned with sustainability and affordability. “Great buildings have never just happened. They are conceived, designed, developed and built by people of commitment and vision” – David Russell, Property Alliance Group. David Russell, CEO of Property Alliance Group and one of the most prolific and ambitious property developers in the North West, talked through his remarkable career, and endorsed Jennings’ vision of modular housing as “the future”. One of nine children, David Russell started out as a carpenter, spent a while on a market stall, and made his first million before he was 30. The Russell property empire grew by accident as much as design. Russell spent the 1980s building up and then selling the Farouche Kitchens business. As a carpenter he knew how to make kitchens – and he quickly learned how to sell them. Russell built up a 750-strong team and became one of the pioneers of direct sales. With time served in his trade, the Rochdale-born property tycoon sold the business for £312m and, by his own admission, went on a bit of a spree, jetting off on a 3 year round the world sabbatical. After having decided to make Manchester his home once again, he fell into property. “If you've got lots of money and no qualifications you just drift towards property. It's the only thing open to you. And with a background in building I thought I could bring a fresh approach to it,” he says. With the help of Ian Barlow – a school friend who'd followed him through the Farouche episode – Russell set up his property business starting with warehouses and mills. The tactic was to make opportunities rather than sit and wait for them to land in his lap. Today the Russell portfolio is centred around Manchester and the North West but with a presence in many other towns and cities throughout the UK. With over 27 years of profitable performance the group has completed over £500m of transactions and the empire spans the industrial, hotels, leisure, office and residential sector, valued at over £260m Having made his millions, Russell isn’t sitting back and letting family members take the helm – still heavily involved in the business, David is still looking at sites to buy and develop and sees opportunity in the rental sector and following that, first-time buyer homes. Linking back to modular housing, those modern, affordable prefabs could be just the ticket for young professionals and young families to get onto the property train. The most important asset in business Your building? Your machines and other capital infrastructure? The money in the bank? None of those are ticking Russell’s boxes. A firm believer in an ‘alliance’ there was a great emphasis placed on the relationships built along the way – whether those be with staff, customers, suppliers or others in the supply chain – this social capital is more important to Russell than bricks and mortar. Understanding where clients are coming from and engaging with the people involved in the process of a build helps Russell, and Property Alliance Group, get out as much as they put in. Laura Mitchell Solicitor Irwin Mitchell LLP Read the Press Release for our Members Launch coming Thursday 2nd November below. Transport guru Carl Lomas, chair of the TFGM urban delivery group was with Jason Roper who launched celebrations all round as Terry Flanagan celebrated the award of MBE with friends and members of the Manchester Property Group hosted by MPG and supported by accountants Hacker Young. Jason then reviewed 198 million quid as the latest record breaking transfer football fee, 400 million deal to follow, ‘Is that good value?’ How do you compare the viability? You could purchase two 747 jets, a five star London Hotel, other comparisons followed before a look at the enormous growth of sports funding and the TV deals. Sustainable viability thrilled the vision for discussion against property. Inspiration kicked in hard - Dust your roof ready for 5 g aerials! Look to Manchester before London takes the local influence. There was Fish and chip shop stories in residential insurance claims and big advice to shop around with insurance premium tax on the rise while the event generates a huge interaction of property folk with supporters from accountants lawyers and brokers in a healthy exchange environment that is clearly supporting the property folk. Summer season and yet it was all chairs used at another full house of the property group. Jason Roper has made it a must attend key note delivery monthly event, Aug was no change as Carl Abott from LIFT kicked of with cyber security cover starting in the five hundred quid marker for smes. Carl then talked commercial use in residential property and had the whole audience in tasty chuckles as he outlined a residential property tenant running a fish and chip shop in their front lounge. The stories rolled as the property developer landed damage on a prospective buyers Ferrari. It was a quick fire delivery of what and when to do it. ‘Beware to shop around, use two brokers and look for premium value, insurance premium tax rises again from ten to twelve percent.’ Jason has a reputation for turning out inspirational speakers and Aug saw Rugby star and business success, Terry Flanagan take the microphone for a passionate delivery. Terry could not get a word out before the group applauded his award for MBE in the new list. Terry focused on Manchester centric vision and watching London did not over run the vision of local success. 5g watch your roof space, aerials are coming and there will be many of them. Dust of your roof and be ready for the 5g aerials. Terry has driven a further passion for safeguarding youngsters with a new app called Toot toot, working with schools, success is growing, ever the sports man Terry has a new focus for sports clubs, stamp out bullying in the local clubs from dance to football and rugby. There are 150 thousand sports clubs in the UK, they are run by volunteers and we can help them. MPG is a great event, Carl Lomas MBE Please support Carl Lomas in his Trainsaid's London to Paris Cycle Challenge, donate to his Just Giving here. |
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