Persimmon profits nosedive 87%
Ailing house builder Persimmon has announced that its profits for the first half of 2008 have fallen by 87% or over £244 million compared with 2007. The York-based business saw sales fall by 31% with house price drops and falling demand for new builds further eating into its numbers.
The company has cut 2,000 jobs this year and seen its share price fall from 1253p to as low as 228p in the past 12 months.
Need a builder in York? Read the latest reviews in the ProblemSolved directory...
Construction insolvencies up by 35%
The building and construction sector has been hit by the highest increase in insolvencies of any industry sector - a jump of 35% in the past 12 months. A total of 449 building and construction campanies became insolvent between April and June 2008 according the PWC, whose spokesperson cited a drying up of work as a result of falling housing prices as the main cause of the rise.
Jewson owner to cut 1,100 jobs in the UK
Building materials group Saint Gobain has announced that it will cut 4,000 jobs worldwide, including 1,100 in the UK. Saint Gobain, whose network includes builders merchants Jewson and plumbers merchants Graham announced that 1,100 of the losses would be in the United Kingdom, reducing the size of the UK workforce by 6%.
The building distribution sector saw sales increase by 5.4% in the first 2 quarters of 2008 but with demand on the wane, particularly in the UK and Spain, the job losses were necessary "to ensure that all our businesses can remain competitive, healthy and sustainable in the long-term" according to a company spokesperson.
For the latest news on builders merchants and their suppliers, visit The Builders Merchant's Journal.
"Save our jobs" says Scottish home builder
One of the leading Scottish home builders, Homes for Scotland, was called for action from the Scottish parliament as it faces the highest volume of job losses "since Ravenscraig in 1992." Chief executive for the Edinburgh-based form, Jonathan Fair was quoted in the Scotsman saying: "New-build starts in Scotland were down by almost 50 per cent in the last quarter, a trend which has already resulted in up to 15,000 redundancies. A support package which is appropriate to the scale of this crisis is urgently required."
Need a reliable builder in Edinburgh? Visit the ProblemSolved directory.
Building for the future
Government proposals published today (25 February) would require Lifetime Homes for all new homes by 2013 to “future proof” them and meet the needs and aspirations of Britain’s ageing population.
But professionals from HBF’s Retirement Housing Group (RHG) say that this exclusive focus on a “bricks and mortar” solution is misconceived.
The provision of support and companionship is a critical element in the quality of life of many older people. On 15 February Age Concern reported that 45% of men and 34% of women over 80 and 62% of recently bereaved older people were lonely. The Economic and Social Research Council found that “reduced social contact, being alone, isolation and feelings of loneliness are consistently associated with reduced quality in older people’s lives”.
