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February 21, 2020

January sees construction contract awards increase by 18.5%

The value of all construction contracts awarded in January 2020 was £5.5bn based on a three-month rolling average. This is an increase of 18.5% on December 2019 and is also 2.1% ahead of January 2019.

In the three-month period ending January 2020, total construction contract awards were valued at £15.6bn which is 7.1% higher than the previous quarter and is also 5.1% higher than the comparable quarter ending January 2019. In January the number of construction contract awards was 893 which is an increase of 95.4% on December 2019.

The latest edition of the Economic & Construction Market Review from industry analysts Barbour ABI, highlights levels of construction contract values awarded across Great Britain.

The largest sector this month was infrastructure with attributable share of 42.7% of awards with the residential sector in second place attracting share of 25.5%. The infrastructure sector accounted for the two largest contract awards this month with combined value of £3bn. The largest contract award was the £2bn Dogger Bank Creyke Beck 1.4GW Offshore Wind Farm. The second largest contract award was in London and was the £1bn Silvertown Tunnel project for Transport for London to provide a new car crossing between Thamesmead and Beckton.

Regional analysis indicates that London maintained its leading position, accounting for 32.5% of all construction contract awards. With attributable share of 26.6%, Yorkshire & Humber was the second largest region in January. With the two leading regions accounting for 59.1% of all awards this month, the remaining regions all attracted significantly smaller individual share (all under 10%) with Scotland and the East of England vying for third place with respective share of 6.5% and 6.4% of construction contract awards.

Commenting on the figures, Tom Hall, chief economist at Barbour ABI and AMA Research said, “January’s strong contracts awards data suggests construction industry activity may be starting to respond after a clear general election result and the UK’s exit from the EU finally occurring, even if it is largely symbolic at this early stage. Whether the fog of uncertainty descends again as the upcoming UK-EU talks commence remains to be seen. Positive signs, such as the approval of HS2, indicate growth for the sector but at the moment it is too soon to tell whether January’s increase will convert into a sustained boom for the industry.”

Download the full report here: http://ubm.io/2FRLrwm

February 21, 2020

LendInvest finances £12m development project in Somerset

LendInvest, the UK’s leading non-bank property finance lender, has funded a £12m development finance loan in under eight weeks, with a repeat LendInvest borrower.

The site is in Wedmore, Somerset – a sought-after location that attracts many visitors every year and was recently hailed as the most attractive village in the county.

LendInvest provided finance for the majority portion of a 55 home residential development. The full scheme is a mix of two, three, and four bedroom homes, 40% of which is affordable housing.

The total loan provision for this site is £12m based on an LTC of 90%, with the total GDV for the development forecast to exceed £19.6m. The loan completed within a tight eight week time frame to meet the borrower’s timeline.

The borrower first became a client of LendInvest in 2017, and has now completed a total of five loans with the lender.

Melanie Omirou, group managing director at Acorn Property Group said: “It’s always a delight to work with the team at LendInvest. After working together on a number of key deals over the last couple of years, we thought of them immediately for this development.

“Speed was crucial for this project, and from beginning to end the team worked swiftly to facilitate the loan in a tight timeframe. We’re currently working on more exciting projects with LendInvest – long may the relationship continue.”

Ian Thomas, co-founder and chief investment officer at LendInvest, added: “Given the desirable location and the borrower’s extensive experience delivering quality projects nationally, we were delighted to get the opportunity to finance this project.

“The borrower was operating within a tight timeframe, requiring the team to move quickly and work closely with the borrower to get the funding in place. Here at LendInvest we are lucky to have a team possessing a wealth of expertise and more importantly, the experience of dealing with a wide variety of projects.”

February 20, 2020

NPIF’s investment into Alderley Park reaches £2.5m

The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF), which is delivered by British Business Bank has invested a total of £2.5m into businesses based at Alderley Park, Cheshire, the UK’s largest single site life science campus.

The £2.5m invested into businesses at Alderley Park forms part of NPIF’s £10m milestone that was recently achieved in the Cheshire and Warrington region.

Alderley Park offers bioscience facilities for life science companies at every stage and is home to over 200 businesses. It includes a range of workspaces, events and a community that encourages businesses to collaborate, innovate and grow.

The milestone includes a £150,000 loan to Aptus Clincal from NPIF – FW – FW Capital Debt Finance which the company received in 2018.. Aptus Clinical specialises in clinical contact research, enabling it to transform promising molecules into valued medicines. The loan was used to support its growth, allowing additional investment in infrastructure and capabilities to better serve the needs of the growing client base. The firm also relocated to a larger office within Alderley Park in 2018 as part of its expansion plans and hired more senior staff members.

Also based at the site and supported by FW Capital, Alderley Analytical received two separate investments of £300,000 in 2018 and 2019 to fund the purchase of two mass spectrometers. The bioanalytical service supports drug development programmes with a mission to support the rapid development of new drugs.

Most recently, Colibri Scientific received an £80,000 loan delivered by NPIF – BFS and MSIF Microfinance. Colibri Scientific is a clinical trials service, providing personalised and operational samples to clinical investigators, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies running small to medium scale multi-centre studies. The firm plans to use the loan to bolster headcount and expand the business by developing a laboratory information portal.

NPIF was established in 2017 with the aim to deliver a range of funding options to ambitious and high-growth SMEs to aid expansion and create economic prosperity in the North of England. Cheshire is one of the funds’ 10 Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) areas in which NPIF has made an impact by helping businesses seeking investment to accelerate their growth. The Fund offers a range of finance options including micro-finance, debt finance and equity finance, with investments ranging in size from £25,000 to £2m.

Grant Peggie, director of the British Business Bank, said: “It is great to see the huge investment being made into Alderley Park which highlights the sheer amount of innovation that is taking place across the region. Reaching this £2.5m milestone at Alderley Park is really important for NPIF in showing the investment taking place across the Northern Powerhouse in science and new technologies.”

Christine Gaskell CBE DL, chair of Cheshire and Warrington LEP said, “This milestone shows how much NPIF is helping to drive forward economic growth in Cheshire and Warrington and supporting the ever-developing cluster of innovative science and technology businesses at Alderley Park. We are delighted that the fund is making investments in to businesses that are developing the latest in medical, scientific and biotech industries thus furthering our reputation as a centre for innovation.”

Dr Kath Mackay, managing director of Alderley Park, said: “Access to funding is a hugely important issue and our ecosystem of innovative, ambitious businesses at Alderley Park has been well supported by the NPIF, as this milestone demonstrates. Growing the science and technology sector is central to the future of UK Plc and Alderley Park is major element in a wider picture of the North West’s flourishing knowledge-based economy.”

The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund project is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank.

February 20, 2020

Rotterdam tops the list for port logistics investment

According to new data from Savills, Rotterdam is the most attractive port in Europe for logistics investment, coming in ahead of Barcelona, Valencia, Antwerp and Hamburg.

Rotterdam, which has come top of the Savills European Port Logistics Opportunity Index (EPLOI), is one of the key gateways for goods into continental Europe, creating significant occupier demand for prime logistics space. A shortage of new development land and the tightened restrictions on building permits will help to sustain upward rental pressure in the market, and maintain low logistics vacancy. Strong freight railway and waterway links to the rest of Europe also help give Rotterdam a strategic advantage.

Increased international trade has grown Barcelona’s port capacity by 70% over the past five years, the fastest growth of the top five markets. As a result, the Catalonia capital comes second in the Savills EPLOI with a score of 94.33. Third is Valencia, with a ranking of 89.93, where prime rents are currently in the region of €54 per sq m, lower than Barcelona, following rental growth of 13% over the past three years. Relatively low national minimum wages in Spain will provide more favourable conditions for logistics operators to expand, given the high availability of workers in the labour market.

Marcus de Minckwitz, director, Regional Investment Advisory EMEA, Savills, comments: “Looking at Savills European Port Logistics Opportunity Index (EPLOI), Rotterdam, Barcelona, Valencia, Antwerp and Hamburg top the European rankings as the most attractive port locations for logistics investment given a combination of decreasing vacancy and growing demand, which is putting upward pressure on rents.

“Logistics assets in corridors linking these locations will be of particular interest to investors and we have identified four key corridors covering the Nordics, Iberia, western Europe and the Baltics and CEE. Taking Hamburg as an example of recent growth, the port handled 46.8 million tonnes in 2018, a record figure for rail-borne freight transport, up 2.7% on the previous year.”

Mike Barnes, associate, European Commercial Research, Savills, adds: “Analysing the growth in container traffic across Europe’s ports, existing and future infrastructure developments and demographic changes allows us to envisage where new trade corridors and logistics demand will emerge in the next ten years.

“One big game changer in this regard is China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) which aims to improve trade links with Europe. China has already gained a foothold in Europe’s three largest ports: Euromax in Rotterdam, of which it owns 35% Antwerp, in which it holds a 20% stake; and Hamburg, where it is set to build a new terminal.”

Read the full report here:https://www.savills.co.uk/research_articles/229130/296054-0/spotlight–european-port-logistics—where-next-to-invest-

February 20, 2020

Lawrence Stephens Solicitors joins the ASTL

Lawrence Stephens Solicitors has become the latest professional organisation to become an associate member of the Association of Short Term Lenders (ASTL).

Lawrence Stephens is a leading law firm with a focus on providing specialist real estate and secured lending advice, amongst other areas of expertise, which include corporate and commercial, banking and commercial litigation. The firm already works on short term lending transactions with members of the ASTL and has been endorsed by the Executive Committee and members and it becomes the latest associate member to join the ASTL, which has declared its objective of increasing its membership and influence this year.

Gregory Palos, head of secured lending at Lawrence Stephens Solicitors, says: “Short-term lending is such an important area of the property market and a sector that we believe will continue to grow. So, joining the ASTL as an associate member was a natural choice for Lawrence Stephens Solicitors, as we increase our connections and reputation in this area of market.”

Vic Jannels, CEO of the ASTL, says: “For an organisation like the ASTL, associate members enable us to achieve the diversity we need to stay at the forefront of promoting and protecting the interests of our members and the bridging sector. Lawrence Stephens Solicitors has been endorsed by both our members and our Executive Committee and we are pleased to welcome them on board.

“The bridging market is at an important crossroads as it continues to grow its influence and attract increased scrutiny from the regulator. We believe that the ASTL is best placed to represent the interests of the industry at this crucial time and welcome new members that share our values of raising standards and increasing transparency and professionalism.”

February 19, 2020

HBL, Pakistan’s largest bank, announces full year results

HBL today declared a consolidated profit before tax of Rs 28.9BN for the year ended 31 December 2019, a growth of 34% over 2018. Earnings per share increased to Rs 10.45 compared to Rs 8.22 in 2018. Along with the results, the Board declared a dividend of Rs 1.25 per share (12.5%), bringing the total dividend for the year 2019 to Rs 5.00 per share.

HBL’s core business is on a strong growth trajectory. The Bank continued to support the real economy through extending credit for its growth, with domestic loans growing by 3.5%, ahead of market growth, to Rs 945BN. With a revitalisation of the Bank’s international business, total advances of the Bank grew by 8%, to Rs 1.2tr. HBL remains established as the largest player in the deposits market, with a share of nearly 14%. The Bank’s domestic deposits reached Rs 2.1tr while total deposits crossed Rs 2.4tr, with the CASA ratio improving to 82.6% in December 2019.

A Rs 228bn growth in the average balance sheet, along with better margins, resulted in the Bank’s net markup income increasing by 24% to over Rs 100bn, a landmark achieved for the first time in Pakistan.

The Bank’s leadership in fee income continues with strong contributions from trade, cards and investment banking. Total fees rose by 13% over 2018 to Rs 20.4bn with HBL’s total non-fund income growing by 21% to Rs 24.2bn. The asset quality of the Bank improved to 6.6% with its already strong coverage ratio further improving to 93.2%. Profit after tax increased by 25% to Rs 15.5bn.

The Bank’s consolidated capital adequacy ratio (CAR) as at 31 December 2019 stood at 15.4% while the Bank’s Tier 1 CAR improved to 12.5%. Both ratios remain ahead of regulatory requirements.

2019 has been a year of accelerated transformation. HBL has made tremendous progress given the inherent strengths of our business. The Bank enjoys market-leading positions in most of its business segments. HBL continues its journey towards becoming a “Technology company with a banking license,” with digitisation and customers at the centre of all our endeavours. The Bank has enhanced momentum in its embrace of financial inclusion, focus on developing the agriculture and SME sectors and consolidating our footprint in China and beyond.

HBL’s commitment to digital transformation and financial inclusion come together through HBL Konnect and HBL Mobile.

HBL Konnect has enabled close to 7 million new-to-bank customers, of which approximately 60% are women. A major part of this came through the partnership with the largest G2P program – Ehsaas Kafalat. These accounts are a conduit to the financial inclusion of women across Pakistan.

Of the existing branch banking customers, HBL Mobile achieved the milestone of crossing 1 million App users during 2019, which signals a shift in the way millennials and the Bank’s customers prefer doing business. This has diverted footfall from branches to the cost effective digital channels. In total, the Bank processed a staggering 340 million digital transactions in 2019, a 35% increase over 2018.

According to VISA, HBL’s credit cards are consistently ranked as Pakistan’s number one VISA credit card. HBL has become the only bank in Pakistan that enables its customers to avail a credit card and personal loan through an app. HBL has also launched QR services in partnership with Visa, and is the sole acquirer of Visa QR services in the country. Over 350k transactions have been made to date since its launch in August 2019. HBL also launched HBL INFINITY, Pakistan’s first online trading platform. It provides HBL’s customers an efficient, frictionless digital solution through real-time FX pricing and trade execution.

HBL enjoys a strong corporate and investment banking presence in Pakistan. The Bank continues to work on energy, infrastructure and power projects in ongoing efforts to promote capital market development, deepen secondary markets and provide advisory services.

HBL is aggressively focusing on its strategic development finance agenda which will help Pakistan’s economic and social fabric. Our efforts go beyond simply lending to these sectors, where HBL already enjoys leadership positions with 25% and 15% market shares in agriculture and SME segments respectively. In agriculture, interventions in the integrated value chain (the farm-to-fork model), target yield enhancement and reduction in productivity gaps with supervision by agronomists employed by HBL. The Bank now serves over 50,000 farmers through more than 600 designated rural banking branches with a dedicated field force of 500+ field officers.

HBL Islamic banking is delivering against a new strategic direction, targeting broad-based growth across business segments. HBL’s Islamic banking now offers an enhanced product suite, offering Shariah compliant solutions to its customers. Response from the market is positive with significant growth being witnessed in the segment’s revenue. The Bank’s focus on the segment is a recognition that Islamic banking & finance is one of the fastest growing segments of the banking industry.

As the largest executor of CPEC related financing in Pakistan, China is going to be a very important country for HBL going forward. In November 2019, HBL created history when the HBL Urumqi Branch formally commenced the RMB business by becoming the first and only bank from Pakistan and one of the three banks from the South Asia and MENA region to offer end-to-end RMB intermediation. In December 2019, HBL became the first Pakistani bank to be awarded the much coveted branch license to offer financial services to clients in Beijing, which is expected to go operational in Q3 2020.

We invest in our people, and have made significant inroads in diversity in hiring. We are diligently working towards building up our female staff to 20% of the Bank’s workforce.

The strength of the HBL brand was recognised by a number of domestic and international awards in SME, retail banking, investment banking, marketing and gender diversity, amongst others. The Bank’s title sponsorship of the 5th HBLPSL, a great boost to our brand, also highlights HBL’s efforts towards the development of youth and the discovery of talent for Pakistan.

February 19, 2020

Metro Bank appoints Dan Frumkin as CEO

Metro Bank today announces that the Board has appointed Dan Frumkin as chief executive officer (CEO) with immediate effect, subject to regulatory approval.

Dan Frumkin has been serving as Metro Bank’s interim CEO since 1 January 2020 having joined the Company in September 2019 as chief transformation officer. Dan, 55, most recently spent eight years at The Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Limited, a full-service community bank based in Bermuda, as their global chief operating officer and prior to that aglobal chief risk officer. He has previously held roles at RBS and Northern Rock.

Sir Michael Snyder, chairman said: “When we began the search for a permanent CEO, we were looking for someone who believed in prioritising excellent customer service with a track record in retail banking and business transformation, and the necessary experience to deliver sustainable growth.

“We have conducted a comprehensive evaluation from a strong field of candidates and Dan stood out. The combination of three decades of experience across retail banking and the positive impact he has made since joining Metro Bank last year mean we have identified an impressive CEO to take Metro Bank into its second decade. I look forward to working with Dan as we deliver the next chapter.”

Dan Frumkin added: “Having spent the past few months getting to know Metro Bank and meeting colleagues across the country, it is clear that their passion and commitment to delivering for customers is second to none. This is a business with robust foundations and real potential to shake up British banking. I am excited about the opportunity and look forward to updating the market on our plans on 26 February.”

 

February 19, 2020

Octane Capital revs up refurb range

Only weeks after ‘product-less’ lender, Octane Capital, announced it was lowering rates on its larger bridging, developer exit and refurbishment loans by as much as 2% per annum following its annual risk review, it has now reconstructed its entire refurbishment proposition.

With immediate effect, Octane will increase the level of works permitted from 50% up to 100%+ of the current market value of a property for heavy refurbishment projects. This will give landlords considerably more firepower to manufacture value from their portfolios to maintain a strong margin and reinvent them in order to keep pace with increasingly popular PRS developments.

Due to the improved market outlook, the #3rdGen lender has also increased both the Maximum LTV (Day One) and Maximum LTGDV (Loan to Gross Development Value) up to 75%, providing landlords and property investors with the flexibility and financial firepower to achieve their goals and stay competitive.

Mark Posniak, managing director, Octane Capital, commented:

“Revisiting our refurb range was a logical step given our renewed confidence in the outlook for UK property and the broader forces at play within the rental market. Refurbs are not just a way for landlords to manufacture value out of their portfolios to mitigate the impact of taxation changes but also to reinvent them to remain competitive alongside the growing threat that is PRS. The result is a surge in demand for refurbs across the board, from light and moderate to heavy. Our message to brokers is that as well as offering lower rates, we’ll now lend more and be even more flexible, and so should be their first port of call.”

February 19, 2020

Medtech business Inotec AMD secures £7m VC injection


Inotec AMD, a fast-growing medtech business that has developed an innovative device to heal and treat complex chronic wounds, has secured £7m in a funding round led by Praetura Ventures.

The business has developed Natrox, a cutting-edge product that uses pure humidified oxygen to treat a range of chronic wounds, from diabetic and venous ulcers to non-healing surgical wounds.

Following several successful clinical trials, Inotec AMD is looking to expand its foothold in the US, Asia, the Middle East and Europe. The business currently provides products to the NHS and health providers in key markets including the US, Italy, Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

Manchester headquartered Praetura Ventures has invested £2.75m in the latest round. Existing investor Amadeus Capital Partners, Puhua Capital, Boundary Capital and a group of high-net-worth angel investors joined Praetura Ventures in making up the £7m round.

Inotec AMD is headed up by CEO Craig Kennedy and chairman Dr Adrian Parton MBE. The business is headquartered in Cambridge and also has a US office in North Carolina.

The funding will enable Inotec AMD to build on its recent growth and target new international markets. Dr Andy Round, director and life sciences specialist at Praetura Ventures, will join Inotec AMD’s board.

Inotec AMD is the third life sciences business in Praetura Ventures’ portfolio, following investments in Ostara Biomedical, a biotechnology development company focused on mammalian reproductive biology; and Liverpool ChiroChem, a specialist business that develops the chemical building blocks for use in biopharmaceutical drug design and development.

Craig Kennedy, CEO at Inotec AMD, said: “The UK alone spends £3.1bn treating chronic wounds each year, while the US spends $50bn. Add to this the significant escalation in costs, not to mention the considerable distress to patients and families if the only course of treatment for non-healing wounds is amputation. It’s clear that there’s a real need for innovation and new solutions in this area.

“We’re proud to have developed a product with the potential to revolutionise wound care and significantly minimise pain and suffering for millions of patients worldwide. Our next step is to continue our momentum and expand into new territories.

“We’ve been impressed by Andy and the Praetura team’s understanding of the barriers and opportunities in our sector, and we’re confident that their support will help us to accelerate our growth strategy.”

Andy Round, director at Praetura Ventures, said: “We’re always keen to back exciting businesses led by highly skilled, respected and entrepreneurial management teams.

“We’ve been taken aback by the determination of the team at Inotec AMD to change wound care for the better. It’s especially important in the current climate that medtech entrepreneurs can flourish and bring their products to market quickly, which is where our support and expertise comes in.

“We’re confident that our extensive experience will help accelerate the team’s growth and allow them to provide ground-breaking treatment to more patients worldwide.”

The global wound care market continues to grow at a rapid rate, with a recent report by market research company MarketsandMarkets predicting it will be worth $24.8bn by 2024, up from $19.8bn this year.

Since 2019, Praetura Ventures has raised more than £22m to invest in early-stage business in the North and across the UK. Its current portfolio includes AI and machine learning business, Peak and online delivery platform Sorted. Other recent investments include Patchwork, a rapidly growing healthtech start-up on a mission to solve the NHS staffing crisis and SteamaCo, a technology provider to energy suppliers in emerging markets.

Matt Noon and Katy Oakes from Hill Dickinson LLP advised Praetura Ventures.

Osborne Clarke advised Inotec AMD.

February 18, 2020

Robo.cash attracts 10,000 investors

In February, the number of registered investors on the European P2P platform Robo.cash reached 10,000. Remarkably, last year the geographical distribution of its users changed significantly, due to a large influx of investors from Bulgaria, Spain, Italy and Portugal.

Currently, the P2P investment platform Robo.cash serves users across the EU and Switzerland. The five largest countries by the number of investors are represented by Germany (34.6%), Spain (12.7%), Bulgaria (5.7%), Portugal (5.3%) and Italy (4%). While Germany and Spain have always been the leaders, the rest of the countries in the TOP 5 previously included Austria, Latvia, the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic.

For a long time, German investors remained the main audience of the platform, however, the situation is changing. Over the past year, the number of Robo.cash users from Bulgaria increased 9.7 times, from Italy – 3.4 times, Spain – 3.2 times, Portugal – 2.3 times.

Sergey Sedov, CEO of Robocash Group commented: “Historically, P2P investments have been more developed in the north-east and central Europe. Yet, based on our statistics, today, we observe a shift towards its other regions. Apart from the growing popularity of P2P throughout Europe, there may be other factors in each case. For example, in Bulgaria, the interest of investors in fintech can be fueled by the rapid development of the segment. The country is an evolving fintech hub in Southeast Europe with the largest number of companies in the sector, 12% of which focus on personal finance. Today, investments in P2P are available for any resident of Europe regardless of their experience, level of income and other factors. In the future, we can expect a wider presence of investors from other European countries on our platform as well.”

Since the launch of the platform in 2017, investors of Robo.cash have funded 1.5 million loans totaling €146m. Their total income has amounted to €1.5m.

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