He was an old-fashioned patriarch and a massive figure in my and my family’s life. He was a rogue, a raconteur, an entrepreneur and a family man. Only a week ago we spoke on the phone where, in his typically rambunctious brogue, he asked, “How’s the business, Girl?”.

Speaking to everyone who knew the man, one thing was clear: he made an impression, he made people feel a certain way and they remembered him for it (although he didn’t always get it right). I met so many people that he had helped on the way: helping youngsters complete their education, supporting others as they got started in ‘the trade’, setting up his trade body and so much more. What better testament can there be for a life?

And there’s a lesson there for all of us, in both our personal lives and our businesses.

Getting caught up in the wrong details

We’re so often caught up with details that simply aren’t that important in the long run. Businesses and people are looking to go viral in the latest social media craze or capitalise on short-sighted marketing strategies.

Billions are spent in marketing budgets every year on achieving these quickfire results and while there’s a place for that in marketing, both personal and professional, it’s no substitute for simply doing right by your people, providing a tangible benefit to your clients, and doing it with consistency over a long period.

Once you achieve that, it will naturally become the focus of your marketing investments and your storytelling, and will be much more effective than any quick-fire fad or social media craze.

Don’t get fancy before you can do the simple things well

Take my team at Luma Marketing.

We love all the fancy marketing methods as much as the next agency, but our bread and butter, the thing that brings us repeat business and helps us live in the memory of those we work with, is how we treat people and the results we bring.

A lesson I learned from The Old Man.

RIP Gerry.

The post What will you be remembered for? appeared first on Place North West.

Sustainability is more than just a buzzword; it’s a quality there is active thirst for and for many groundbreaking projects across our built environment, it’s the foundation upon which much of the design choices are made.

If you’re a business living on the cutting edge and actively delivering sustainable products and services, championing those eco-friendly practices can significantly elevate your brand image, positioning you favourably amongst your target audience.

In this short blog, we’ll examine this shift towards eco-consciousness and look at when you should capitalise on your credentials and abilities in the area of sustainable practices. We’ll also be looking at the dangers of overselling yourself and the consequences of greenwashing if you do.

The shift toward eco-consciousness

The UK public has become increasingly eco-conscious. They’re actively seeking businesses that demonstrate a real commitment to the environment. In the context of urban spaces, this translates to a demand for sustainable structures and designs.

While its difficult to have zero-carbon structures that are market ready and scalable, there are many ways to reduce carbon in the here and now that are. That can mean anything from a structural frame that uses recycled steel, to an energy model that employs appropriate insulation and heat pumps.

It’s an evolving market dynamic that offers companies in the built environment a distinct opportunity. If you’ve got the skills to deliver sustainable designs and products in a meaningful way, you can fold that ability into your branding and marketing.

Strengthening brand image through sustainable practices

Once you’ve mad a commitment to sustainable methods and practices, this can benefit your company in several ways:

• Differentiation: A genuine green commitment offers a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) in a competitive market.
• Trust: Transparency in eco-friendly initiatives fosters deeper trust among clients.
• Loyalty: When clients resonate with a brand’s values, they’re more likely to stay engaged and loyal.

Beware of greenwashing

With the rising demand for green initiatives comes a pitfall: greenwashing. This term refers to brands misleadingly marketing themselves as environmentally friendly when they aren’t.

• Trust Erosion: Once customers perceive insincerity in eco-claims, a brand’s credibility can rapidly decline.
• Legal Implications: False advertising can lead to significant penalties.
• Shadow on Authentic Initiatives: Overstated claims can cast doubts even on genuinely sustainable companies meaning you risk doing damage to an important and transformative movement.

Striking the balance right

When it comes to building sustainability into your branding and marketing, it has to be earned. Out of all of the things you build into your brand image, this is perhaps the most important to be authentic about.

With the importance of the issue, the general public, experts and in some cases in governing bodies will hold you to your word and expose you if you’re proven to misrepresenting your green credentials.

Many names big and small have fallen prey to this and the reputational damage can be considerable.

The bottom line

Sustainability marketing, when approached authentically, offers significant value.

BUT – and this can’t be emphasized enough – you have to earn it. Positioning yourself as a green saviour when you’re anything but will bite you in the backside and potentially do irreversible reputational damage.

You need to ensure your green claims are backed by genuine actions.

When done right you not only elevate your brand but contribute meaningfully to a more sustainable future.

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If you need help building your sustainable credentials into your brand, give Luma Marketing a call today and we’ll help you show your brilliance to the world.

The post Building sustainability into your brand – when to and when not to do it appeared first on Place North West.

Does anybody reading this use Salford Central Station to get into the city? I do. What an embarrassment, right?

I suppose it’s great that I haven’t had to lift any pensioners into the train carriages since the platforms were rebuilt to eliminate the huge step up. But what a waste the vast empty atrium is, and those vacant arches opposite, and why are the automatic doors on the front locked up and blocked with an empty Metro Newspaper tray?

Well, all that could soon change thanks to devolution!

A deal between Transport for Greater Manchester and Network Rail has been signed to deliver a ‘joint vision’ for Manchester and Salford’s central train stations over the next 12 months. Naturally, the headline benefit is around delivery of Andy Burnham’s ‘Bee Network’, extending tap-on tap-off to local commuter railways; but there are also lines in there around regeneration and development opportunities and increasing commercial income from land in and around stations.

One of the shared key goals says that the two organisations will take a joined-up approach to securing additional funding and maximising commercial development opportunities around the stations and assets.

You might ask why this wasn’t being done anyway. The thing is, Network Rail has a huge estate across the country and arguably needs a nudge to do a deeper dive in to a particular area. It’s the devolved governance of Greater Manchester which can provide this nudge in a way that a patchwork of local authorities never could.

Whilst my grumbles above about Salford Central are valid and likely shared by the thousands of people who use the station daily, this deal is designed to do more than move the newspaper tray and put somewhere to buy a coffee in the atrium.

Railway stations in the city centre are surrounded by hugely desirable development sites that a lack of joined up thinking has held back from reaching their full potential. There has, of course, been notable progress at Victoria North and Piccadilly East. But what about the vacant arches on Whitworth Street West by Oxford Road, or all of the empty space by Salford Crescent? By 2031 Greater Manchester is projected to add another 130,000 people and it would terrible planning to not accommodate a proportion of this in the urban core next to key sustainable transport nodes.

It seems obvious, doesn’t it? That’s because it is, but it wouldn’t have happened without the political clout of a Metro Mayor in a devolved combined authority to unlock it.

If places like Blackburn, Chester, Preston and Warrington are looking on with envy and wondering what untapped opportunities may exist at their railway stations, then there is only one way to find out.

Sean Fielding is the former Labour Leader of Oldham Council and currently serves as a Labour Councillor in Bolton. He is an Associate Director at political and communications consultants Cavendish. For a conversation about devolution in the North of England and how it impacts you, he can be contacted at sean.fielding@cavendishconsulting.com. 

The post Manchester shows again how devolution can unlock complex sites appeared first on Place North West.

The background

Prior to 1 April 2008, industrial properties were exempt from empty rates and offices/retail were subject to a 50% charge after an initial three month void period at 100% relief. After April 2008, this changed to 100% liability after six months on industrials and three months on offices/retail.

What’s the rationale for the three or six months I hear you ask? It was originally because industrial properties were harder to let – to say this is an outdated assumption is an understatement. These changes spawned a new industry – rates mitigation.

The bulk of rates mitigation schemes rely on a clause in legislation which allows a new statutory void period with 100% exemption after reoccupation for six weeks. There has been a multitude of schemes and providers over the years but the government is now looking to clamp down on what it sees as the misuse of the six week rule.

The proposed changes

Headlining the proposed reforms is the extension of the six week period to three or six months. Wales have already changed to six months and this has cut empty rates mitigation at a stroke. The suggestion is that having to occupy for an extended period would limit the financial benefit and extend the ‘pay back’ period, making it much less attractive.

The next question is whether there should be a limit on the number of times a property can benefit from empty property relief in any given period, so that even if a property repeatedly became vacant within a short time frame it would cease to benefit from EPR until sufficient time had passed.

This approach would mean that the existing ‘reset period’ would cease to apply and, instead, a property would only benefit from a single rate free period of up to three or six months in a set period of time. Full rates would be payable for the rest of the time, regardless of whether the property was empty or not.

The question of what constitutes occupation is also being addressed as there is currently no statutory definition. This is a tricky one that’s come up in several mitigation-related cases and the consultation raises the question about whether more than 50% of the space would need to be in use for it to be considered occupied. I’m sure some readers will have seen a small pile of boxes in a building which is for rates mitigation purposes and some schemes use minimal occupancy.

An interesting proposition is that the administration on empty property relief could, after an initial statutory void period, be placed in the hands of the local authority and awarded at their discretion. This has the potential for wide variations in application and I can make a list already of which councils would be hostile or supportive which would lead to massive inconsistencies across the country.

The method of letting vacant units to charities to mitigate rates doesn’t escape scrutiny. The key here is that a building can be vacant and exempt from empty rates as long as the next use is for charitable purposes. The exemption allows charities to hold empty properties to use as say, warehousing for urgent aid distribution centres, but there is a suggestion of widescale abuse and no way to police the next in use assumption.

I don’t agree with the suggestion that some charities have been hoodwinked into taking space but it’s clear that there are some artificial constructs that have been set up primarily with mitigation in mind.

Evasion, particularly in relation to fraudulently claiming Small Business Rates Relief and exceeding cash caps on Retail Discount, is included within the consultation although the changes in the Rating Bill and Digitising Business Rates will deal with this.

Tagged on at the end of the consultation is a section on rogue agents. I wrote a piece on this for Place recently and its good to see that the government is taking this seriously.

What it means in real terms

Rates mitigation is in widescale use but it’s a solution that’s been created to combat a tax regime which doesn’t account for the complexities of the property market and the difficulties in letting certain types of property in certain locations.

Removing the ability to mitigate rates won’t miraculously lead to vacant space being let but it will place an additional burden on a market that’s already suffering from high interest rates and increased energy costs.

The rating system is governed by legislation and caselaw that’s too rigid to deal with buildings that are obsolete, beyond their economic life or where there is oversupply. I suspect it will lead to more buildings being stripped out to delete them from the rating list.

The post Government clamping down on empty business rates misuse appeared first on Place North West.

The pertinent question isn’t whether they’ve buried themselves into our subconscious, it’s “how did they do it”. You’ll be glad to know brand propaganda isn’t being trickled into your ear when you sleep. The truth is that every brand message that finds you has been carefully crafted, right from the company name and copy to the visuals and colours, specifically to jive with you, the target audience.

As humans, we’re highly exploitable. While that might sound nefarious (and it certainly is in some circumstances, especially where the advertiser has loose morals), in the majority of cases it comes down to a company with a product and service they think can improve your life. The branded messages are a way for them to tell you how they’ll improve it and to get you hungry for their services.

While there are many facets to how a brand digs its way into you mind, in this week’s piece we’re going to concentrate on colour psychology of brands: the messages a certain colour sends, why certain brands use it and what your brand colours say about you.

The Impact of Blue in Branding

Blue conveys trust, reliability, and stability, effectively communicating a brand’s professionalism and dependability. A well-known example is Facebook, with its iconic blue logo symbolising a safe, reliable platform for global communication. A drawback is that blue can signify overly clinical, emotionless states and a lack of warmth.

The Essence of Green in Branding

Green, the colour of growth, freshness, and eco-friendliness, resonates with businesses focusing on sustainable practices. Starbucks, with its verdant logo, aptly reflects its commitment to sustainable sourcing and environmental stewardship. The danger with this brand colour is that if you’re claiming to be these things and you’re actually not all that green and sustainable, you’ll be called out for green washing.

Red’s Attention-Grabbing Effect in Branding

Red is the colour of urgency, passion, and excitement. Brands seeking to make a bold statement often utilise red in their branding. Coca-Cola’s famous red logo is instantly recognisable and perfectly captures the energy and excitement associated with the brand. A potential drawback of red is that it can signify other passions, like lust, anger or even elements of danger. Use with care.

Yellow’s Creative Spark in Branding

Yellow is a cheerful, warm colour, symbolising optimism and creativity. McDonald’s golden arches, for instance, evoke feelings of happiness and positivity, aligning with their brand promise of ‘I’m lovin’ it’. Careful though, for all its playfulness and innocence, yellow can give the impression of naivety when not done right.

The Elegance of Black in Branding

Black represents elegance, sophistication, and authority, often used by luxury brands to exude exclusivity. The classic black logo of Gucci, for example, signals the brand’s high-end, premium quality products. As always, there’s a fine line between elegance and snootiness. If you’re claiming to be sophisticated and luxurious when actually you’re a bit tacky, you could be tripped up.

White’s Modern Purity in Branding

White stands for purity, simplicity, and cleanliness. In branding, it’s used to suggest a modern, minimalist aesthetic. Take Apple, for instance, whose minimalist white logo perfectly complements their reputation for sleek, cutting-edge designs. On the other side, minimalism is hard to get right. You don’t want to appear boring.

Orange’s Enthusiastic Energy in Branding

Orange signifies energy, enthusiasm, and warmth, portraying brands as friendly and approachable. Fanta, with its vibrant orange logo, communicates a sense of fun, energy, and youthful spirit that aligns with the brand’s personality. Similar to yellow, orange can be a tough one if you want to be taken seriously. It has to be right for your brand character.

Colour Choices in the Built Environment Sector

In the realm of built environment businesses, such as architects, engineers, and property developers, the colours blue, white, and green often predominate.

• Blue, as mentioned, communicates trust and reliability – essential attributes for businesses that literally build our surroundings.
• White, with its connotations of purity and simplicity, symbolises the minimalist aesthetic that’s often favoured in contemporary architectural and interior design.
• Green, representing growth and sustainability, aligns with the increasing emphasis on eco-friendly practices and sustainable development in the industry.

Whether you’re a huge national business or an SME, your colour scheme sends a message before any other part of your brand.

The question is, whether that’s the right message.

The Power of Colour in Your Brand

The colours in your branding can significantly influence how your business is perceived. By understanding the psychology behind each colour, you can create a brand identity that resonates emotionally with your target audience.

Remember, colour is not merely an aesthetic element. It’s a powerful form of non-verbal communication that conveys your brand’s essence.

Choose your palette with care. Or hire someone who can help you do it.

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If you need help with your company’s branding, give Luma Marketing a call today and we’ll help you show your brilliance to the world.

The post What does your brand colour say about you? appeared first on Place North West.

Devolution news has been coming in thick and fast of late. Next May, alongside the Mayoral elections already in the cycle (Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, West Yorkshire in our patch alone), there will be elections for a North Yorkshire Mayor, an East Midlands Mayor and a new North East of England Mayor, after devolution deals were signed including a condition to create these new posts.

On top of this concrete progress, talks are progressing seriously in other regions where striking a deal has so far appeared elusive – Lancashire being the most significant of these in the North.

The requirement to accept the creation of an elected Mayor as part of new devolution deals seems to have been relaxed, with both Cheshire and Lancashire successfully resisting such a move thus far.

It’s clear that the government is keen to demonstrate progress on the devolution agenda ahead of next year’s expected general election. While Rishi Sunak’s five pledges are proving elusive, Michael Gove is doing his bit to try and show that the government is still capable of doing at least something.

But if existing governance structures are handed sweeping new powers without a prominent, directly accountable, and mandated figurehead to exercise them, how much democratic legitimacy can they really have?

In the case of Lancashire, the county is resisting an elected Mayor, or even Local Government reorganisation and, as a consequence, the District Councils (which include Lancaster and Preston City Councils amongst others) don’t have a seat at the “Combined County Authority” table.

In Cheshire, the two Cheshire Councils and Warrington are seeking the devolution of cash and powers to a sub-regional “Leader’s Board”.

If a business wanted to bring investment to a devolved region, who would they pick up the phone to in these two scenarios; and who would have the mandate to mediate between member authorities who might come in to conflict when vying for that investment? In Lancashire, Preston and South Ribble’s displeasure at not being “in the room” is already causing public disagreements.

But elsewhere, there has been criticism of the Mayoral Combined Authority (MCA) model in recent weeks too, this time from the West of England Mayor, Dan Norris. Last week he spoke out, saying that “devolution through metro mayors with combined authorities doesn’t work”. His frustration stems from the fact that his Cabinet is made up of council leaders from different political parties, resulting in stalemate over decisions about policy and where funding is allocated.

In the north MCAs typically have a clear majority of politicians from a single party around the table. This has allowed any disagreements to be dealt with privately, rather than messily in public. But with new MCAs set to go live next year, we may see similar problems heading our way.

Even in trailblazing Greater Manchester, the Green Party (now the main opposition on Manchester City Council and a growing presence in Trafford) are leading calls for a London-style Greater Manchester assembly. They cite their perception of a democratic deficit with 10 indirectly elected Council Leaders exercising vast powers over 2.8 million people and little scrutiny.

So, while we may see more devolution deals this side of a general election the debate around the ‘right’ sort of devolution will continue. Labour has promised ‘radical devolution’ which could include fiscal devolution to combined authorities. Without a rigorous structure in place to hold combined authorities to account, regions may struggle to prise the Treasury’s hands off significant wodges of cash.

Sean Fielding is associate director at Cavendish. He is a former executive member of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and is currently a Labour councillor in Bolton.

Cavendish has recently produced this free report on the Labour parliamentary candidates to watch ahead of the next general election. Get in touch for more info.

The post Will good governance be a casualty of the devolution drive? appeared first on Place North West.

But are you tracking your marketing activities? More specifically, are you monitoring your activities to see what’s working and what isn’t? Not all marketing activities are born equal and what might work for one business won’t work for another.

In marketing, as in science, hypothesis, testing, and evaluation are paramount. We want to ensure that our marketing budgets fund activities that bring desired results. Without robust monitoring and evaluation, we might as well be shooting arrows in the dark, hoping to hit our targets.

Let’s delve into how you can monitor the impact of your marketing initiatives.

1. Setting Clear and Measurable Objectives

The first step in measuring the impact of your marketing is establishing clear, measurable objectives. Are you looking to increase your website traffic? Or perhaps you want to gain more followers on your social media platforms. Maybe you’re an architectural firm wanting to increase the number of quality project inquiries you receive. By setting Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound (SMART) objectives, you lay a foundation for effective measurement and evaluation.

2. Tracking Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Once you have your objectives, you can select the KPIs that will help measure your progress toward these goals. For instance, if you’re an engineering firm looking to improve brand awareness, your KPIs could include metrics like website visits, social media followers, and the number of times your brand is mentioned in media or online forums.

3. Utilizing Analytics Tools

To track your KPIs, there is a wealth of analytics tools available. Google Analytics can help you monitor website traffic, user behavior, and conversions. For social media platforms, native analytics can provide insights into post engagement, follower growth, and other essential metrics. In email marketing, monitoring open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates can provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of your campaigns.

4. Conducting Surveys

Surveys are a valuable tool for gauging client satisfaction and understanding their decision-making processes. For instance, a construction company might survey clients after project completion to understand how their marketing influenced the decision to choose their services.

5. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Systems

A CRM system can track all interactions with clients and potential clients, providing a wealth of data that can help measure the effectiveness of your marketing activities. For example, if you’re an architect, a CRM can help you track which marketing touchpoints a client interacted with before reaching out for a consultation.

6. Return on Investment (ROI)

Ultimately, your marketing efforts should contribute positively to your bottom line. Calculating the ROI of your marketing activities can help you understand the financial impact of your efforts and guide future budget allocation decisions.

A real-world example

Consider an architectural firm that wants to increase its project inquiries by 20% in the next six months. They decide to invest in content marketing, creating blogs and resources about architectural design and processes.

Their KPIs could include website traffic, time spent on their site, and the number of new inquiries they receive. Using Google Analytics, they monitor these metrics and adjust their strategy based on the data. They also implement a CRM system to track which content pieces lead to new inquiries and ultimately, projects. At the end of six months, they calculate their ROI by comparing the revenue from projects generated through this strategy against their marketing expenditure.

Conclusion

Marketing is no longer a wishy-washy, hit-and-miss endeavor but a scientific process that, when done right, delivers tangible, measurable results. By setting clear objectives, tracking relevant KPIs, utilizing the right tools, conducting surveys, and calculating ROI, businesses in the built environment can ensure their marketing investments deliver the desired results. When marketing becomes a science, your success becomes predictable.

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If you’re looking for marketing support that’s scientific and objective driven, contact Luma Marketing today for a free consultation.

The post Measuring marketing impact in the built environment appeared first on Place North West.

With the news this week of Puma’s £50m investment in McGoff’s Downtown Victoria North and Packaged Living’s plans for Old Hall Place in Liverpool the Build-to-Rent (BtR) sector continues to make inroads into the North West’s housing market. But with data for Q1 2023 showing a slowdown in growth nationally compared to the long-term average, does more need to be done to change the image of a sector often misunderstood by politicians?

Analysis by Savills for the British Property Federation pointed to growth of 12% for the regional BtR market between Q1 2022 and Q1 2023. While the data does hint at a slowdown in the number of starts on site, the planning pipeline is much stronger in the regions compared to last year – growing by 11%.

And with nearly half of all UK local authorities (186) now including BtR in their planning pipelines, the ongoing housing shortfall and the squeeze on mortgage affordability, the future looks bright for a sector of the housing market that isn’t always understood.

Lifestyle Changes

The rise in demand for BtR can also be explained by changes in the lifestyle choices of young professionals looking to live in the North’s vibrant city centres. It provides top-quality apartments in highly accessible locations without the burden of having to worry about maintenance costs.

When combined with hotel-level amenities like concierge services, resident lounges, gyms, private dining facilities, work and study spaces, it’s not hard to see the attraction.

But for politicians used to more traditional housing tenures, it can sometimes be a challenge for them to recognise how changing demographics in northern towns and cities mean that BtR is now an attractive long-term option for young couples and families.

Single-Family Rental

The emergence of Single-Family Rental in 2023 should change perceptions of the BtR sector.

Operators like  PlaceFirst are redefining what family housing looks like in towns, including Morecambe, Accrington, Hartlepool and Bolton. Taking the BtR model out of high-rise city centre apartments and creating aspirational neighbourhoods for families to call home.

As BtR moves from the city centre to the suburbs and beyond, there is the potential to change the image of the sector from one perceived as a product solely for young professionals to a sector whose time has come and offers a genuinely long-term alternative to homeownership for all.

Rent-to-Live

Perhaps the starting point for changing the image of the sector is to move away from Build-to-Rent as a descriptor for this nascent sector of the housing market.

‘Rent-to-Live’ is a more accurate description of what the sector has to offer: longer tenancies, better quality, more amenities and fewer responsibilities.

As somebody about to renew my mortgage this year, I could get on board with that.

Cavendish is the UK’s Number 1 Public Affairs Consultancy. We are currently polling MPs on their perceptions of the BTR – if you’re interested in receiving our report please email kevin.whitmore@cavendishconsulting.com

The post Build-to-Rent or Rent-to-Live? appeared first on Place North West.

Housing 2023 is a flagship event on the built environment calendar, bringing together thousands of people from all over the country to speak about the topics that matter most.

It really isn’t your average property conference. Manchester Central was filled with people representing tenant voices, housing association staff, investors and policymakers. Everyone with skin in the game was on site ready to take on the issues that matter most.

With the exhibition hall mostly product innovations and technology solutions, it was a joy to be out of the design and planning bubble and closer to the coal face. However, the real gold to be mined at the conference came from the panel discussions, the conversations and the round tables and workshops.

Here is a quick rundown of our biggest talking points from the conference. Housing 2023 is a big event and way too large for us to get to every talk and workshop, so don’t treat it as an exhaustive list. But it should give you some insight into where we are as an industry and what the future could look like if we get the change right.

A push for innovation and problem-solving

Facing a range of challenges, from the pressing need for net-zero, to the ever-growing housing crisis, the Housing 2023 conference in Manchester served as a bustling hub of innovation and problem-solving. The air of collaboration was prevalent as diverse stakeholders ranging from registered providers to construction firms, architects and engineers convened, sharing a resolve to untangle the complex issues confronting the industry.

The conversations that took place at the conference went far beyond the norms of trade talks and corporate networking. At the heart of the discussions was the growing realisation that the housing industry is not simply about brick and mortar – it is intrinsically about people.

What we do is about people, not simply bricks and mortar

One of the most contentious issues discussed at the conference was the daunting 300,000 homes target. Angela Mansell, a Luma client, captured the crux of the matter, stating, “Construction is about people, not just buildings”. This sentiment captures the core values underpinning the industry’s approach towards the housing crisis. Beyond the numerical targets are real people who deserve safe, fit-for-purpose homes that contribute positively to their quality of life. This understanding should propel the industry’s commitment to uniting efforts to solve these problems.

There is a human cost if we don’t do the work required to address these issues.

Passionate and eye-opening keynotes

The conference welcomed a range of insightful keynote speakers offering challenging perspectives.

Hashi Mohammed, a planning barrister who rose from challenging beginnings as a refugee, passionately advocates for meaningful change in housing through his book, A Home of One’s Own. The dialogue between Hashi and Gaby Hinsliff set a compelling tone for the conference, with Hashi’s assertion that the housing crisis is a societal disease needing ‘major surgery, not paracetamol’ resonating profoundly with me. This powerful sentiment served as a touchstone for the remainder of the conference, prompting the question – are we truly prepared to embrace change?

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, also delivered a compelling keynote, underscoring the need for strict standards for rented homes and calling for the government to empower local authorities with greater regulatory power. He emphasised that the transformation required in the housing sector could only be achieved if a good, safe, and secure home is recognised as a fundamental human right in UK law.

The “300,000 Homes, Easy Right?” keynote brought together figures from across the industry who shared their insights on achieving the ambitious housing target. Modern methods of construction (MMC) and offsite techniques took centre stage during the discussions, attracting much of the audience’s questions. Angela Mansell, representing Mansell Building Solutions, spoke fervently about the potential role of MMC in meeting housing targets and outlined the necessary changes needed for its widespread implementation. She carefully laid down her views on a blog to accompany the talk called The road to 300,000: Harnessing the power of offsite construction.

The bottom line

It seems like every time we do one of these retrospective articles on an industry event, we always come equipped with the same sentiments.

“There are big issues facing our industry”

“We need industry innovation to solve these issues”

“We must show a desire to change and can only solve these problems through collaboration”

You’d be forgiven for thinking that ringing the same bell each time suggests we’re not getting anywhere. But at Housing 2023, there was a feeling that we might just be starting to see positive movement.

An industry ready to take on the challenge and start doing rather than saying.

Leaders coming together to talk about how they can work together to make the changes needed.

A stark realisation that we can’t go on doing things the way we always have.

The industry is starting to understand. The times they are a-changing. Change with them, or get left behind.

The post Seeds of change – a retrospective on Housing 2023 appeared first on Place North West.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and Rating Surveyors Association have codes of practice that apply to its members which ensures that any chartered surveyors you employ act correctly and appropriately.

The problem is that anyone can set up as a business rates specialist and as they aren’t chartered surveyors, they aren’t regulated by the professional bodies, so don’t have to follow the rules. Enter the rating cowboy.

It’s easy to be flippant about this but we’ve noticed a huge growth in the marketing activities of these ‘experts’ in the run up to the new rating list being released on 1 April 2023. The level of increase in Rateable Value on some properties plays straight into their hands.

I’ve recently been talking to a company who paid in excess of £8,000 in an upfront fee. How can someone get stung like that I hear you say? It’s all very plausible – a phone call arranges a meeting with a salesman. The salesman turns up and tells the occupier that he thinks there’s something in it but that they would need to send a surveyor out. Only after this survey stage and confirmation that there are savings to be made would a fee be payable to cover the survey and start the appeal process. Again, very plausible.

But here’s where it starts getting grubby. The building in question is a workshop that’s been fitted out with labs. The VO are unaware of the labs so the building is de-facto considerably under assessed. Under no circumstances is it appropriate to raise an appeal. Despite this, the survey is undertaken and low and behold… it reveals that an appeal is appropriate and savings will follow in due course. £8,150 changes hands. I have since seen a copy of the survey – it consists of some notes on specification but no building measurements. So far we haven’t been able to establish if an appeal has actually been submitted and the cowboys have gone quiet. Off to a rodeo maybe?

We coincidentally received a call from the same business a few weeks later professing to be able to save us money at our own offices (they can’t) but I played along for a bit of sport. The sales pitch is indeed very convincing, scattered with half-truths and enough technical jargon to make it sound plausible.

I can absolutely understand how people are taken in but as in the case above, the potential for actual savings doesn’t exist but the survey fee makes it a very lucrative exercise for the ‘specialist’. This particular outfit turned over several million last year. I’ve reported them to Trading Standards but to be honest I have zero expectation that anything will come of it.

The lesson? Always check the credentials of any rating advisor. Make sure they are chartered surveyors who abide by the RICS and RSA rules and don’t pay survey fees.

If anyone has been caught out by such a scam, and it absolutely is a scam, then we’re happy to help try and recover the upfront fee paid.

The post Yeehaw – the resurgence of rating cowboys appeared first on Place North West.

See part one here

The Bill also introduces new rules on a variety of additional points identified through consultation including relief on improvements made to a building, for 12 months until 2029 but with further consultation in 2028 to see whether this should be extended.

A very welcome addition is an amendment to when local authorities can award discretionary relief. At present any relief must be applied within 6 months of the end of the relevant rate year. I’ve had two instances recently where the property would have absolutely received retail discount had it not been for the Valuation Office Agency’s failure to assess the properties until several years later – we’ve had to then jump through hoops to resolve the situation.

There are additional legislative changes to allow the VOA to share information upon which the rating valuation is based which will help determine whether action to reduce the RV is appropriate but exactly when this will be divulged and how it will be accessed is unclear. We do know that it will be via a digital platform but will this be readily available or only when a Challenge has been submitted?

The Bill will allow the government to link annual increases to the business rates multiplier to Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rather than the Retail Prices Index.

Following on from the Covid-related Material Change of Circumstances farce the Bill will stop legislation ever being accepted as a MCC and therefore removing the possibility of it resulting in midlist changes to RVs.

Business rates is a fully devolved power but unusually a number of provisions apply to Wales as well as England at the request of the Welsh Government, most relevant – relief on new improvements & heat networks, disclosure of information to ratepayers and Digitalisation of Business Rates.

So, all told, there are a lot of changes that are all centered around making the system more robust and the tax base more stable, minimizing the potential for leakage, fraud and it would seem appeals. The biggest problem faced with getting rateable values right first time is currently finding relevant and accurate supporting comparable evidence.

The new statutory requirement to submit information goes some way to change this but doesn’t provide a guaranteed of accuracy because ratepayers will still need to be able to interpret the facts to provide the right answers. The government’s answer to this is that ratepayers should take reasonable steps to find out what their obligations are by reading the VOA’s guidance.

Can the guidance really cover deconstructing complex lease terms, identifying rent free periods, who is responsible for alterations undertaken at the start of a lease or recalculating Zone A measurements post alterations? Some rating valuations consist of line after line – how does the average occupier know if every line is correct or whether every historic alteration has been reflected? It’s a case of Rubbish-In, Rubbish-Out but exacerbated by submitted information being treated as gospel by the VOA and then fed into the Automated Valuation Models that will be essential for the even more frequent annual valuations that have been suggested from 2026 onwards.

A lot of these changes are long overdue but I do have serious concerns about the majority of organisations ability to accurately capture the information for onward transmission to the VOA in a way that complies with the timescales and level of detail required. The VOA needs to invest in a robust information platform that allows effective interaction with occupiers and their agents to get this right but any way you look at it, this is a burden that some will find extremely difficult to comply with because the answers are just unknown.

The post Non-Domestic Rating Bill: breaking down the changes, part two appeared first on Place North West.

Advantages of joining the conversation

By taking part in industry discussions, businesses become more than just observers. They position themselves at the forefront of change, emerging as thought leaders who are respected sources of information.

For example, an engineering firm actively addressing carbon net-zero is a lighthouse amidst the fog of uncertainty, guiding the way towards a more sustainable future. The most compelling part of this engagement isn’t merely the act of contributing, but the transformative power it wields over the brand’s reputation and influence.

Building a strong brand

While your business expertise is key, entering these conversations isn’t solely about showcasing your know-how – it’s also about bolstering your brand. A planning firm that confidently tackles the complex issues of the planning system gains respect and strengthens its reputation within the industry.

Think of it this way, engagement in these discussions shines a spotlight on your brand. It reflects your commitment to industry advancement, contributing to a strong and lasting brand impression.

Knowledge as the pathway to success

Consider a construction firm that is proactive about sharing informed opinions on how to resolve the homes crisis. This firm offers practical solutions, derived from its experience and showcased not as a sales pitch, but as part of a dialogue aimed at industry betterment.

By establishing itself as a trusted source of knowledge, the firm enhances its reputation. When a potential client is seeking to commission a housing project, there’s a higher likelihood they’ll turn to a business that has demonstrated knowledge and concern in this area.

Conclusion: paving the way forward

Engaging in these critical industry discussions goes beyond good PR. It’s a demonstration of leadership and commitment to resolving the issues that define our built environment. It’s about building a brand that is respected and trusted, a brand that not only identifies the problems but also contributes to the solutions.

By embracing these conversations, businesses can construct not just physical structures, but also strong reputations. It’s time for businesses to raise their voices and step up. The built environment needs your input to shape a better future.

–

If you need support stepping into these conversations. Luma Marketing can help. Contact us today to set up a meeting.

The post Stepping up in the built environment: the power of thought leadership appeared first on Place North West.

Consultation on improving business rates has been going on forever and the new Bill crystallises all of this into some significant changes designed to support more regular revaluations.

One of the past criticisms has been that rateable values were out of sync with rental values – the rateable value is meant to be a hypothetical value, but when you have rating lists that have run for seven years for the 2010 list and 6 years for the 2017 list, it’s easy to see how the market moves on and RVs don’t.

The 2023 list has corrected all this but the Bill includes some massive changes that go way beyond supporting more frequent revaluations.

The ability to deliver more frequent revaluations from 2026 is dependent on the Valuation Office getting more data. Everything is about data these days isn’t it. The VOA now wants more data on the properties we occupy and the rents we pay. At the moment the VOA has statutory powers to obtain rental info using rent return forms and then use the same property data websites that the rest of us surveyors use to hunt for information.

That’s all going to change. Ratepayers will soon have to notify the VOA of occupier or physical property changes and to provide rent, lease and, where appropriate, trade and other information used for valuation purposes. This will be submitted via a new online portal together with an annual confirmation statement within 60 days of the start of the financial year. On the plus side, there will be a 100% rate relief for eligible improvements, including the generation of renewable energy.

One saving grace is that the government is keen to avoid the farce from other prematurely released IT systems and as such the annual confirmation will only be mandatory when they are satisfied it actually works. At that point there will be some hefty penalties for non-compliance or deliberately providing misleading or incorrect information. Rightly so.

But by far the most significant change however is to the 2026 onwards rates ‘appeal’ process.

Since 2017 we have had Check Challenge Appeal – a multi-stage sequential process that first involves a Check to confirm or correct the facts, before moving onto the meaty valuation arguments at Challenge, followed by an Appeal if you still can’t agree. From 2026 there will be no check stage – the requirement to report changes and the annual confirmations statement will do away with this.

The big difference is the imposition of restrictive timescales. Since the start of the modern rating system in 1990, appeal action could be started at any point during the rating list. To put that in perspective, for the last rating list we had seven years to start the process and for the 2023 list there will be three years. From 2026 there will be only 6 months. Gulp. It’s sobering to think that the valuation date for the next rating list is less than a year away.

The requirement to provide info will also encompass the need to link each property a business occupies to HMRC within 60 days of occupation or introduction.

What happens with group companies or multiple businesses on the same shared site? Digitalising Business Rates, or DBR, has backed away from a centralized system to display business rates information alongside tax information and will instead focus on just making it easier for businesses to identify the relevant reference number and submit it to HMRC through the same portal that will be used to capture property changes.

DBR will allow greater sharing of information between councils with the aim of reducing the amount of fraud and evasion but also to allow the more targeted application of relief – exactly how remains unclear.

The Government have missed an opportunity to vastly improve the management of rates bills by creating a single integrated billing system – anyone who gets bills from more than one council area will understand the lack of consistency in presentation and calculations that are incomprehensible to many ratepayers.

The next part of this series will look at the Bill’s rules around local authorities’ awarding of discretionary relief.

The post Non-Domestic Rating Bill: breaking down the changes, part one appeared first on Place North West.

We’re already reaching out and speaking to others in our industry, sharing and receiving knowledge about how we can utilise these new tools to better serve our clients.

These are conversations every company should be having if they want to evolve with the times, regardless of the industry they work in.

Whether you’re excited about the prospect of AI or dread its rapid advance, there’s no stopping it. AI is here and it will change the landscape of our workforce. Here, we’re going to touch on some of the ways AI will be changing the industry.

The big picture

AI mimics human thinking to make sense of complex data. In the construction industry, AI is becoming key to many tasks, from designing buildings to improving construction and post-construction work.

1. Building Design and Planning

AI holds remarkable potential for design and planning. With AI-powered design software, architects can generate, optimise, and evaluate designs much more efficiently. These software tools can analyse multiple design options against criteria like environmental impact, cost, and compliance with building regulations, enabling architects to make more informed design decisions.

This doesn’t mean AI will be replacing architects, far from it. Creativity and the ability to hit a client brief are still very much in the domain of the human. AI-powered tools will simply supplement this creative process, bearing the computational load that comes with analysing design options against project criteria.

LLMs, a form of AI, can also contribute significantly to this process. These models understand and generate human-like text, allowing them to understand design briefs, consult building codes, and even generate reports. Thus, LLMs can help streamline and automate several administrative and documentation tasks.

2. Construction

AI in construction focuses on improving efficiency, safety, and decision-making. Teams can leverage AI-powered tools to forecast project timelines, manage resources, and monitor progress in real-time, mitigating the risk of cost overruns and delays.

More than just number crunching, AI can also enhance on-site safety. Machine learning algorithms can analyse video feeds from construction sites to identify safety violations and alert managers, helping prevent accidents before they happen. AI-powered widgets can keep an eye on the workforce, monitoring their wellbeing – don’t forget, construction remains one of the most dangerous jobs in the world.

Again, this doesn’t mean health and safety managers will be out of a job. It simply means they’ll have a high-accuracy tool to help them keep sites safer.

As well as keeping workers safe, AI monitoring tools can help monitor structures and their sturdiness. Whether it’s monitoring the cracks in an old bridge or the curing process of a cement and GGBS mix, AI can keep vigil over it, offering real-time analysis and highlighting problems before they turn into disasters.

3. Post-Construction Management

What about when the site is handed over and the building is occupied?

AI, coupled with the Internet of Things (IoT), can enhance building performance and occupant comfort post-construction. AI algorithms can optimise energy use, manage maintenance tasks, and even predict potential system failures, improving the building’s efficiency and sustainability.

The future is here

This isn’t an exhaustive list. The ways in which AI will change the face of our industry are almost endless. Over the next decade, we’re going to see changes on the level of the industrial revolution. Job roles will change, buildings will be built differently and our ability to evolve will be tested to the max.

While these applications paint a compelling picture of how AI and LLMs can transform the built environment, we’re only at the beginning of this journey. As AI technologies continue to evolve, businesses in this sector should brace for even more significant changes.

The key to harnessing the full potential of AI and LLMs lies in understanding these technologies’ strengths and limitations.

Prepare to meet your robot overlord?

As marketers, we’re already experiencing a changed industry. With ChatGPT and other LLMs, we have extremely potent tools that can help us deliver work more efficiently, for example, in writing this piece. But it isn’t replacing marketers. It’s changing how we work.

Likewise, AI won’t replace architects, engineers, or builders – it’s a tool that will augment their capabilities, enabling them to work smarter and deliver better results.

In this AI-driven era, businesses operating in the built environment must embrace these technologies not as threats but as opportunities to innovate and improve. By doing so, they’ll not only enhance their operations but also contribute to building a more efficient, sustainable, and resilient built environment for all of us.

In the words of Mark Farmer, “modernise or die”.

The post Shaping the built environment with AI appeared first on Place North West.

Labour will “back the builders not blockers” by building more homes on Green Belt land and bringing back housing target, according to party leader Sir Keir Starmer in recent days. The announcement came in the middle of last week’s UKREiiF event in Leeds and there was a palpable sense that we might be finally seeing the beginnings of a shift in attitudes at a national political level about the need for planning reform.

Ahead of this month’s local elections, the housing crisis has risen up the political agenda to a height not seen for years. The cost of living coupled with Labour’s deliberate attempt to be ‘the party of homeownership’ ahead of the next general election has seen the housing crisis splashed on the front pages of national newspapers almost every week in May.

But does this make political sense for Labour? Or will it simply provide ammunition for other parties to claim that ‘your Green Belt isn’t safe under Labour?’

Housing is a concern for voters

The first thing to say is that housing will be a bigger issue at the next general election than previously. Traditionally, it hasn’t been a priority for voters – YouGov’s ‘most important issues facing the country’ tracker has never had housing in the national top 5 immediately before an election.

In March though, housing became a top 5 issue again for all voters nationally (ranked 6th for voters in the north) and the third highest priority for Labour voters. Moreover, it is the second highest concern for voters under the age of 24, a key demographic target for Labour.

Is the Green Belt really a big deal?

Only about 12.5% of land in England is within the Green Belt, yet it’s one of the most emotive issues in housing. This may be because, despite the small percentage of area covered, it is something that affects more than half of MPs in England.

319 constituencies in England have some Green Belt land within their boundary. Of these 188 are currently held by Conservatives, with 120 represented by Labour. Dig a little deeper and you see that as a proportion of seats held by the two main parties, the Green Belt affects a higher proportion of Labour MPs (69%) to Conservative MPs (56%).

BUT 81% of all Green Belt land is found in Conservative held seats. In fact of the top 100 Green Belt seats, only 25 are Labour.

Election Battlegrounds

So… this is a policy that affects all parties but is particularly emotive in Conservative areas, many of which Labour will be pushing to gain at the next general election.

9 of Labour’s top 10 target seats for the next election has Green Belt land and in seven of these more than a third of land within the constituency is Green Belt. Of these, four are located within Greater Manchester and have seen concerted efforts by campaigners seeking to stop Green Belt release via Places for Everyone.

And when only 27% of Conservative voters even partly support more housing on Green Belt land (see below), it’s a risky pitch for Labour to be making so far out from a general election and an obvious dividing line for incumbent Conservative MPs to draw in their bid for re-election.

So does Labour’s pro-housing pitch make political sense?

Well, according to opinion polls, not really. Only 24% of voters across the north say they would support allowing more housing to be built on Green Belt land, with just 7% saying they would strongly support it. Ironically fewer Labour voters support building more homes on Green Belt land than Conservatives.

This may explain why earlier this week Sir Keir told journalists in Bolton that he “wants to protect the Green Belt and our country. There is fantastic countryside across the UK and fantastic countryside across Greater Manchester as I know first hand.”

So on the surface Labour’s pledge of Green Belt reform has lasted less than a week and time will tell whether planning reform makes its way into the party’s election manifesto. But with opinion polls suggesting Labour will fall short of a majority at the next general election, I wouldn’t bet the house on it.

BECG is the sector specialist communications consultancy for the built environment and is the PRCA’s Public Affairs Consultancy of the Year. You can see our full local elections analysis here or contact kevin.whitmore@becg.com if you require advice on the politics of planning in the North of England.

The post The politics of Green Belt appeared first on Place North West.

UKREiiF vs MIPIM: A tale of two attitudes

For many years MIPIM has been the reference point in the built environment event calendar. With UKREiiF there’s a new kid on the block.

Of course, each fosters their own unique appeal. MIPIM, held annually in Cannes, France, charms with its global focus, uniting international perspectives to further the industry. This outward-looking ethos attracts businesses with broad international horizons and large UK businesses with deep pockets, making it a global melting pot of ideas and opportunities.

On the other hand, UKREiiF resonates with a distinctly British pulse, offering an inward-looking platform that radiates a certain ‘We can do it ourselves’ energy. This vibrancy resonates particularly with firms who have a keen focus on the UK market.

It’s not so much a question of one event being better than the other, but rather that they each serve different niches within the industry. Think of it as a menu of choices, tailored to different tastes and ambitions.

Smaller firms, or those with a primary focus on the UK, might find UKREiiF more appealing. Its UK-centric focus offers them a stage perfectly suited to their needs and it’s a considerably smaller investment than MIPIM. Meanwhile, MIPIM, with its broad international reach, provides a grand platform for firms with a more global ambition.

Thus, it isn’t a case of one-size-fits-all, but a beautiful blend of choices to suit varied business needs and ambitions. However, with a UK option for those plucky smaller firms, the UK representation at MIPIM is likely to be lower now.

A quick self-reflection: lessons for the next year

A slight hiccup in the UKREiiF grandeur, however, lay in its overwhelming abundance. I felt like a child in a sweet shop – too much to see, too little time! The sheer scale of information, although impressive, was perhaps a tad too much, leaving me craving for a deeper dive into particular topics. Variety and volume is good, but not at the expense of real depth.

The speakers and attendees: collaboration and openness at the forefront

Nevertheless, the speakers sparkled in their own unique ways, with the likes of Mark Farmer and Michael Heseltine leading the debate with important points and contributions.

Outside of the conferences, there was a real sense of togetherness and openness. Conversations were buzzing with optimism as businesses tackled shared challenges and brainstormed solutions.

The exhibition: showcasing the greatness of UK businesses

As expected, the exhibition was a fascinating showcase of the best of the industry. And the free swag was very much on point! There was a lovely buzz of conversation In the exhibition halls with exhibitors and explorers all getting to know each other.

The local impact: a boost for Leeds

The impact of the conference on Leeds was undeniably massive. It was heartening to see the city thrumming with life as restaurants bustled, hotels overflowed and the local economy boomed. It must be ten years since i was last there (apologies, my Yorkshire friends) and It felt like a different place entirely.

Voices from the field: reactions to the event

“With its latest instalment, UKREiiF has cemented itself as a welcome addition in our yearly calendars. What stood out for me was the positive conversations around important issues, like the need for more creative thinking when unlocking the potential of sites.” – Helen Gribbon, Renaissance Engineers

“UK REiiF was full of ambition, positivity and momentum. It felt like things were really moving forward across the UK with a collaborative and strategic approach to realising visions. The buzz of announcements of new schemes, masterplans and initiatives was energising with investors and developers wanting to raise the bar wherever possible. It hammered home how important a conference such as UK REiiF is for our country and there is an opportunity for the organisers to really step it up a notch next year…I hope they capitalise on that. Now to the follow-ups…” – Suzi Jamieson, Burofour

“UKREiiF proved itself to be a great forum for meaningful conversations around the topics that matter, offering up a golden opportunity for businesses and delegates to get their voices heard. For us at Mansell, it was fantastic to see offsite construction and its myriad benefits getting some of the attention it deserves. To craft a brighter future for our industry and to truly modernise, we’ll need more of the kind of thing UKREiiF has to offer.” – Angela Mansell, Mansell Building Solutions

“It was my first time at UKREiiF and it was really worthwhile. It’s not often you get such a high calibre of clients, government, developers and local authorities in one place who are open to having real business conversations. The key themes for me were developing a strong UK strategic plan that’s fully funded long term not just soundbites, but clear tangible actions. The current short term 2 year or even 1 year funding cycles doesn’t work for businesses or investors and we need a longer-term view to make real progress.” Ayo Abbas, Marketing Director, Abbas Marketing

The post Riding the UKREiiF wave: a debrief of the 2023 conference appeared first on Place North West.

Another assessment method not currently mandatory but becoming increasingly important with authorities is BREEAM, or Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method.

BREEAM aims to evaluate and certify the environmental performance of buildings based on a set of criteria. The ‘credits’ are awarded where a building demonstrates that it meets the best practice performance levels defined for that issue, i.e. it has mitigated an impact or addressed a specific building occupant-related issue, for example good comfort.

My thoughts on ways to achieve best possible scoring for your project? First and foremost if you don’t know what the criteria is you won’t know what you need to do to achieve your goal. As the famous saying goes “fail to prepare: prepare to fail”. That probably couldn’t be any more befitting than with BREEAM. It’s important you know the criteria you need to achieve and that you start early.

With the help of a BREEAM assessor, set clear sustainability goals. Consider things such as promoting sustainability materials, prioritizing indoor environmental quality, enhancing water efficiency and optimizing energy performance.

Something to be mindful of though, is that there are instances where you could achieve the target score for ‘BREEAM Excellent’ but not obtain the actual certification. There are few reasons why this could happen but the most common is that BREEAM has specific prerequisites that must be met. If any prerequisites are not fulfilled, the certification may not be awarded, even if the target score is reached.

We have worked on a number of projects where requirements to achieve BREEAM have been implemented. The project most recently completed was a new GP surgery in Kelsall, Chester. The Design Stage submission was completed, with a score of 72.46% which equates to a BREAAM Excellent certification. The pre-assessment review indicated a score of 73.57% was achievable however due to the absence of an Environmental Management System, the project was unable to achieve ‘Excellent’ certification and instead targeted a ‘Very Good’ certificate.

So how can you maximise the success of implementing BREEAM?

1. Familiarize yourself with the BREEAM methodology: Understand its assessment criteria, scoring system, and certification levels.

2. Start early: Begin the BREEAM process as early as possible in the project timeline.

3. Involve the project team: Collaborate closely with the entire project team, including architects, engineers, contractors, and facility managers. Encourage open communication and shared responsibility for meeting sustainability targets.

Remember, these tips provide a general overview, but it is essential to consult with a BREEAM Assessor to address the specific requirements of your project. Their guidance can help ensure that all prerequisites are met, weighted scores are achieved, and necessary documentation is provided, increasing the likelihood of obtaining the desired certification.

The post Achieving the best possible BREEAM score appeared first on Place North West.

Oh, how I miss the halcyon days of yore when all election results were counted overnight. For political obsessives like me, there is nothing more frustrating than an extended election count which began around midnight last night and won’t conclude until Friday evening.

At a national level, early results suggest that Labour is making the kind of gains it needs to at least become the largest party in Parliament at the next General Election, with the Lib Dems also showing that they can eat into the southern ‘Blue Wall’ by taking control of traditionally Conservative Councils.

But at 9am on Friday 5 May, here are my top three takeaways on the early results across the North of England:

1. Labour is making progress

It’s clear that Labour under Sir Keir Starmer is making progress across the region, directly at the expense of the Conservatives. In the 11 councils that have been declared, Labour has gained a total of 21 new councillors, with 18 seats taken from Conservatives. Whilst this hasn’t so far translated into council gains, Labour has solidified its position in all of the North West councils which have declared, becoming the largest party in Bolton. In the North East, Labour almost took overall control in Hartlepool, strengthened its majority in Sunderland, whilst also winning the directly-elected Mayor in Middlesbrough.

2. Keep an eye on the Lib Dems

The party is on course to have a strong result across the country and this is beginning to be reflected in the authorities the Lib Dems targeted at the start of the campaign. The party has retained its majority in Hull and added to its numbers in Newcastle and Sunderland.

3. A bad night for Independents

Early results seem to suggest that we have seen the high watermark for independent councillors across the North. At the time of writing, there is a net loss of Independent councillors across our patch, with losses in Sefton, Sunderland, Hartlepool and South Tyneside.

With hundreds of seats yet to be counted a clearer picture will emerge as the day unfolds. As things stand the Conservatives are on track for a performance as bad as pundits had predicted.

For property professionals, changes at a local council level may well be limited. But with more Green and Lib Dem councillors already elected, engagement strategies will need to reflect the broader political representation that we are likely to see in town halls across the region and the priorities that they will have when it comes to development.

BECG is the sector specialist communications consultancy for the built environment and is the PRCA’s Public Affairs Consultancy of the Year. You can see our full local elections analysis here or contact kevin.whitmore@becg.com if you require advice on the politics of planning in the North of England.

The post Local Elections 2023: What we know so far appeared first on Place North West.

Before we go any further, here’s our usual reminder: your brand isn’t your logo. It’s everything about your business: it’s your culture, your methodology, how your people behave, and yes, your communications and visual identity. We talked about it in our last piece.

Making different decisions

If you’ve ever run your own business, you’ve likely spent countless hours building your brand and establishing a strong presence in the market with consistent, year after year, marketing and communications. You’ve done brilliantly – well done.

I know what you’re going to say: “Lucy, why on earth would I want to sell my business?”. And I get it, I don’t want to sell mine either! But the point is this: at some point, after many years of operating a successful, profitable business, we might find that our situation has changed and it simply makes sense to capitalise on all our hard work.

Maybe you’re retiring or your personal circumstances have changed. Maybe it’s about capitalising on market conditions and you need to act quickly. Or maybe it’s a strategic decision to sell the business as part of a broader plan to grow or diversify your portfolio.

How do you brand your business for sale to maximise its value and attract the right buyers? How do your decisions need to change?

The difference between branding a business for growth and branding a business for sale.

Isn’t branding just branding? What difference does it make whether we’re branding a new business hungry for growth or a successful business we’re eager to sell and get a good price for?

Don’t worry, we’re not going to tell you to turn your tagline into, “buy me now” or “show me the money!”. The differences are altogether more subtle, but they can have a powerful effect when done properly.

Branding for growth

Branding a business for growth involves building a strong and sustainable client experience that will support your long-term business objectives. It focuses on elements like product differentiation, market positioning, and client engagement.

In short, everything is geared towards reaching your clients with your product and service, fulfilling their wants and desires and finding a place in their conscious and subconscious minds.

Branding for sale

On the other hand, branding a business for sale emphasises the tangible and intangible assets that will appeal to potential buyers. The goal is to showcase the business’s unique selling points, highlight its financial performance, and demonstrate its scalability and potential for growth under new ownership.

Again, this doesn’t mean completely changing your brand to attract buyers rather than clients. Branding a business for sale is an exercise you do in addition to the care you take in developing your business. After all, who would want to buy a business that doesn’t put its clients and employees at the centre of things?

Branding for sale is all about bringing out the elements of your business that show it as an attractive commercial proposition.

A business buyer is looking for:

• Strong market presence and brand recognition.
• A great client list and order book.
• Data – the new currency.
• A future for their investment.

Here’s what you need to know.

Your market presence

You need to be visible in the market: seen to be part of it, active in your community, alive and vibrant and dynamic. Nobody wants to invest in a dying business.

You have to step up your marketing and communications activity and be more visible in the market. Sponsor industry events, increase your communications activity, speak out. Visibility matters, not just for catching a buyer’s eye (there are agents that will do that for you) but for convincing them that your business is a viable investment.

Your client list and order book

You will have made choices over the years about the clients and projects you take on. Choices probably based on the kind of work you want to do and the people you like to work with. Maybe using the 4 Fs.

Your client list and order book are a key asset – probably the most important one you have. A buyer is making a purchase decision based on a steady, reliable profitable income stream. They want to know that your projects are profitable and that your clients are able to pay their bills, long after the business becomes theirs.

You need to choose differently. Start to weed out those tiny clients that you love working with but make you no money and work harder to bring in the bigger businesses with a stronger balance sheet.

You need to work differently too, properly using those in-house systems that you’ve only given half a chance. The data that your project management and accounting platforms give you will show where you are losing money and need to tighten up – you can’t be casual about it any longer. Every project and every client need to be profitable.

This would be a good moment for a client feedback exercise, finding out what your clients like about you and how you could improve. And also creating the opportunity to let them know that you’re about to change the way you work.

Your data

What do we mean by data in this situation? Your financials, yes, but your accountant is on top of that. We mean your client database, your market reach, and the information that comes out of your project management system.

A business buyer is looking for a database of clients and potential clients. What is the potential market reach of your business? It’s time to get your database cleaned up and bring your email marketing to life (of course, your database is already in top shape because you’re on top of your GDPR regulations). A clean database is a key asset. It leads to a high quality email marketing list with good response rate, which demonstrates that your brand is well known and well respected in the market.

Your market reach, however, is more than your client database and email list. It’s your social media presence and your website traffic. Yes, the marketing metrics that people like me get all excited about.

These things take time to grow, and will continue to deliver for your business long after you’ve made your exit. Get stuck in, now. The bigger and more reliable these numbers are, the more your business is worth.

A future for their investment

Let’s be honest. When you sell your business, you’re handing your life’s work over to someone else. It’s emotive. And the buyer is trusting you to ensure that their investment has a future, long after you’ve gone. This is the main reason that a business owner is often contracted to remain in place for a year or so (the ‘golden handcuffs’).

The future of your business lies in its culture, in its people. Unless the buyer simply wants to absorb your clients and projects, the business needs to be able to survive without you.

And you began this work long ago when you clarified your vision, mission and values and helped your people understand why they mattered. This is what really lies at the heart of your brand – the experience people have of working with you – and it will outlast you. Chances are, when the new owner rebrands your business in 12 months’ time, the vision, mission and values won’t have changed much because that’s what attracted them in the first place.

Your loyal clients and employees need to be confident that they have a future with the business, whoever owns it, so that they can give their best work and help the new owner build a stronger future.

The importance of brand when selling a business

Let’s go back in time. Remember photo days at school? You’d get plonked in front of a grey screen and the photographer would try their darnedest to get you to smile and look your best. There were always a couple of kids who didn’t like to play ball and try as the photographer might, they’d never get that all-important smile.

Why was the photographer going out of their way to make you pop a grin? Because when the kids looked happy, the parents would be much more likely to pay for it. See where we’re going with this? The same applies when branding your business. You have to show off your best qualities, which are going to be most attractive to your target buyer.

While a parent might be obliged to buy a photo of their child looking surly and disinterested, a potential buyer of your business will not be so forgiving. You need a metaphorical business grin, presenting those pearly whites in all their glory.

A strong brand is your most valuable asset when it comes to selling a business. It represents the company’s identity, reputation, and client loyalty, all of which are critical factors for potential buyers. You will be able to command a higher selling price, attract more qualified buyers, and secure a faster sale

Top tips for branding a business for sale.

When branding your business for sale, here are a few top tips to help you maximise profitability and find the right buyer for you and your business.

• Conduct a brand audit: Assess your current brand assets, including your logo, website, marketing materials, client satisfaction and online presence. Identify areas for improvement and make any necessary updates to ensure a consistent and professional image.
• Check your marketing metrics: website analytics, email marketing response rate, social media engagement, media presence, cost of sales, win rate, client satisfaction… Find out how you’re doing, check it against your competitors and make your communications work harder to improve those metrics.
• Highlight your business’s unique selling points: Showcase the key aspects that differentiate your business from competitors, such as a strong market position, innovative products or services, or a loyal client base.
• Showcase your financial performance: Prepare a clear and accurate financial summary that highlights your business’s profitability and growth potential. This will help buyers understand the value they’re getting and the potential for future growth.
• Demonstrate scalability: Show potential buyers how your business can grow under their ownership. Present a clear plan for expansion and provide examples of how the business has scaled in the past.
• Engage a professional: Consider engaging a professional marketing firm like Luma Marketing to help you develop and implement a comprehensive branding strategy for your business sale.

The bottom line

Before you even consider selling your business, you need to consider what you can do from a branding perspective to set your business and brand in the best possible position. By following these tips and showcasing your business’s unique value, you’ll be well on your way to a successful sale.

Let’s be clear. This isn’t a quick job. Preparing your business for sale, implementing the changes you need to make and securing the right buyer (never mind negotiating the transaction) takes years, not months.

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If you’re ready to brand your business for sale and maximize its potential, contact Luma Marketing today. Our team of experts will guide you through the process and help you achieve the best possible outcome.

The post Branding a business for sale appeared first on Place North West.

Setting four security objectives covering, energy, consumers, climate and economy, the government plans to invest in renewables and nuclear power, supporting industries in their transition away from fossil fuels, and leveraging emerging technologies including carbon capture, usage and storage, floating offshore wind manufacturing, and hydrogen.

Coinciding with the report’s publication, BECG Group commissioned polling on public attitudes towards the government’s net zero ambition and the role that renewable energy sources should play. The polling uncovers bipartisan public support for striving towards net zero, with 69% of people backing the government’s 2050 target. This support extends to strong backing for renewable energy development in the UK and specifically within their own local area: solar 87%, onshore wind 75%, offshore wind 78%, and tidal/hydro 73%. In comparison support for nuclear was at 45% and coal at just 34%.

The support for renewables cuts across political lines, with more than three-quarters of Conservative, Labour, and Liberal Democrat voters supporting solar, onshore wind, and offshore wind farms in their local area.

But public trust in politicians’ ability to deliver is limited. Unsurprisingly trust in the Green Party is the strongest at 53% (the only party trusted by a majority to achieve the 2050 goal), followed by Labour at 49% with the Conservatives trailing behind at 32% and Reform UK just 22%.

Despite limited trust, this broad public support should offer a strong basis for investment from renewables developers to help deliver on government targets and ambition. But huge communications challenges still exist in securing public backing from affected communities for both development in their area and the renewables mix required.

Our polling also identified a link between the level of knowledge about specific renewable technologies and their willingness to support it in their area. Emerging technologies such as hydrogen do not score well, partly due to limited understanding amongst the public. The Powering Up Britain report emphasises the potential of emerging technologies like hydrogen to achieving net zero and positioning the UK as a global leader in green energy. To enable communities to embrace these type of renewable energy projects, businesses and government will need to foster trust and understanding in the technology behind them. And the stakes are high with estimates of £1 trillion opportunity in low carbon products and services by 2030, alongside the host of other benefits, not least the creation of high-skilled jobs.

BECG Group’s polling hints at potential for debunking the NIMBY narrative, at least in principle. And for now, government is making few policy concessions to NIMBYSM in the renewables space, including declining to amend agricultural land classification to protect it from renewables development, which many protest groups have called for. However, even against the backdrop of the host of benefits of renewables schemes, from investment, GVA, job creation, biodiversity net gain as well as Local Energy Discount schemes, there are few large-scale renewable projects across the UK enjoying large scale public support. There appears to be a gap in public support in principle and public support in practice.

Powering Up Britain offers a roadmap that addresses both energy security and climate change while leveraging the economic opportunities of the energy transition. The creation of the new Department for Energy Security & Net Zero seeks to entrench commitment to tackling these challenges together. With a clear and consistent strategic approach, the UK is well-positioned to drive the energy transition and benefit from its early mover status. BECG Group’s insights on broad public support for the net zero target and the role of renewables development in achieving this is testament to a shift in attitudes. But there is still work to be done.

BECG Group is supporting infrastructure projects across the renewables sector. You can download a copy of our report.

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