Godwin Developments: Godwin awarded approved supplier status on major national developer framework

UK residential and commercial developer Godwin Developments has today (Tuesday 15 December) gained approved supplier status on Pagabo’s new national developer-led framework, worth £47 billion. The approval will enable Godwin to be directly appointed on developments or bid for contracts to deliver residential schemes such as housing, student, and multifamily schemes, as well as senior living projects.

The EU-compliant framework, which will run for five and a half years, will assist Godwin in partnering with public sector organisations through single site development agreements valued between £20m and £40m across London, South West, East of England, East and West Midlands, Yorkshire and Humber, North West and North East England. In addition, the business will also be eligible to cover projects worth up to £40m in London, South East, Midlands and North of England, delivered through either special purpose vehicles, joint ventures, LLP or other corporate structures.

Acting on behalf of Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust, the Pagabo framework will cover a range of developer-led schemes within the construction industry and is open to all public sector bodies including schools, universities, local authorities, police and emergency services, NHS organisations, health and social care providers and housing associations, as well as central government departments and the Ministry of Defence.

The business secured a place on the framework after a rigorous OJEU compliant tender process, covering relevant experience, financial suitability as well as contribution to social value and technology implementation.

Lindsay McCombe, senior development director at Godwin Developments, said: “We are really proud to have been awarded a place onto this prestigious national framework. As an established UK developer with credentials across the residential and commercial sectors, we bring over 20 years of experience in property – from identifying sites through to design, planning permission and full build – and have a solid track record in both single-site schemes as well as projects delivered via SPVs, LLPs or joint ventures.

“We are also passionate about enhancing local communities by attracting investment and creating homes and jobs, improving public realm, skills and opportunities, growing infrastructure and the provision of affordable homes. Similar to the UK Government, we see construction and support for the public sector as a key component of recovery and long-term prosperity. We look forward to working with procurement departments in our appointed regions to realise their regeneration programmes.”

Jason Stapley, managing director at Pagabo said: “With all our frameworks we aim to simplify the whole procurement process, ensure flexibility and provide greater choice for clients, all packaged up with OJEU compliance – our developer-led framework is no different in that respect. It will allow developers the ability to procure works through a compliant and simple to use framework and help the public sector with vital expansion plans, creating an overall more robust sector. 

“We’ve been absolutely blown away by the response we’ve had in this tender process and are really pleased to be bringing a unique procurement offering to market with such a strong set of companies.” 

Stuart Pratt, group development director at Godwin Developments, said: “It is fantastic to be concluding 2020 with news of our appointment to the Pagabo framework. Today’s award is an acknowledgement of our growing national capability, strong in-house team and exceptional advisory board – all of which will be able to support public sector teams across the country as they seek to improve infrastructure and services across their towns and cities.

“I would also like to thank Pagabo for providing us with the opportunity to be a part of their programme, and we look forward to working closely with their teams over the next five years and beyond.”

News from Godwin Developments: https://www.godwingroup.co.uk/godwin-awarded-approved-supplier-status/

ROMCO Group: Pendulum Swings In Favour of Aluminium Demand (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) – Flourishing aluminium demand in China and the United States, higher freight costs and tight scrap supplies are expected to fuel further rises in prices of the metal used in the transport, packaging and construction industries.

Benchmark aluminium on the London Metal Exchange at around $2,050 a tonne is near the $2,080 hit earlier this month, the highest since October 2018 and up 40% since April when industrial activity and demand stalled due to coronavirus lockdowns.

Since then, relaxing of restrictions and economic and fiscal stimulus, particularly in China, have boosted growth and demand.

“There has been a sharp swing in economic activity and aluminium demand and that is reflected in prices,” said Jorge Vazquez, founder of consultancy Harbor Aluminum.

Vazquez expects LME aluminium to reach at least $2,200 before the end of the first quarter 2021.

Physical market premiums paid on top of the LME price have also climbed.

(Graphic: US manufacturing ISM vs aluminium premiums – )

In the United States, higher trucking costs, less scrap and expectation that tariffs would be reimposed on aluminium imports from Canada have helped the duty-paid premium rise more than 15% to above $300 since October.

“Canadian exports of aluminium to the United States exceeded October’s hard export quota limit,” Vazquez said.

“The likely retroactive 10% tariff on those who imported the metal in October and the corresponding lower hard quota itself for November are likely to further reduce aluminium supplies at a time of growing demand in the United States.”

(Graphic: Platts container Index spikes on firm demand as year-end approaches – )

Premiums in the spot market in Japan at around $115 a tonne, according to S&P Global Platts, are up 50% since January.

This is mainly due to Chinese consumers buying aluminium overseas because it is cheaper than the metal on offer locally — known as import arbitrage.

“The single biggest factor supporting Japanese premiums is the strong import arbitrage into China. Shortages of containers is a factor, but not the primary driver, China will continue importing through December,” said CRU analyst Eoin Dinsmore.

“End users in the United States are reporting high aluminium utilisation rates and a firm pick up in orders.”

(Report by Reuters; Pratima Desai; editing by Ed Osmond)

ROMCO Group: Ghana Facility Update with Head of Operations (Luke Anyasi)

ROMCO’s new site in Ghana (second in their portfolio) is just about ready to start producing recycled materials for the first time. ROMCO Group’s Head Of Operations, Luke Anyasi, gives us a tour of what it will look like once completed — along with an explanation of their recycling process.

The new facility will produce around 800 tons of secondary materials a month.

Raymond Onovwigun, Romco CEO, talked about the progress on his Linkedin Profile; “This factory is our stepping stone to greater reach throughout Africa and beyond; the most important diversification for us to date. It will prove our model is replicable, scalable, and we can produce more recycled materials throughout developing nations.”

On the wider value the development represents, Raymond continued, “Reaching full recycling capacity of the materials we use is one of the most important objectives we can achieve in the 21st century. Mining our earth must become secondary to recycling, and should only be used when the demand outstrips supply. I believe that system is only possible if we grow recycling capacity significantly in the emerging markets — and that’s exactly what we’re doing here today.”

It’s an exciting development at Romco, full of promise, and we look forward to reporting the progress throughout Q1, 2021.