From the sub-prime to the ridiculous, the United Kingdom’s property market has gone from the doldrums to dramatic heights in what seems like a matter of months.
And the rebound could affect construction in the Middle East as demand for skilled workers in the UK industry rockets, which may spur many British expats to consider returning home.
As a mark of how quickly the all-important sector is recovering, the UK brick maker Hanson has even reopened a factory in the north-west of England that was mothballed five years ago, because of a shortage of bricks.
And the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) has blamed a shortage of bricks and bricklayers for temporarily holding back the sector when, in November, output figures took an unexpected dip.
That could have a longer-term impact on the Arabian Gulf region. It is not just bricks and bricklayers the UK construction industry is lacking – it is construction professionals at every level of the industry.
According to the industry’s skills organisation, the Construction Industry Training Board, 182,000 jobs will be created in British construction in the next five years. That could mean workers who headed overseas when the outlook was bleak, including many who came to the Gulf, may decide it is time to head home.
“Recent years have been tough for house builders in the UK, and the crash of 2007/08 saw the industry shed around 40 per cent of its workforce,” says Stewart Baseley, the executive chairman of the Home Builders Federation, which represents the leading house-building companies.
“However, with an improving economy and greater demand for new homes driven by the [government’s] help to buy scheme, allied to more land coming through the planning system, output is finally increasing,” he says.
“As a result, builders are looking to recruit across the board. Clearly this is providing opportunities for expat workers with experience of working in the UK.”
And certainly, the work is there to be had. Despite the November wobble, construction in Britain is firmly back on a growth track, according to the latest official figures.
Output in December was 2 per cent higher than it was in November and 6.3 per cent higher than it was in December the previous year.
Strong growth in new homes are underpinning the sector’s turnaround.
At the same time, house prices are reaching new highs and are expected to carry on growing throughout this year. According to figures release by the UK’s office for national statistics (ONS) last week, the average value of a house in the UK has now hit £250,000 (Dh1.52) – in London it is a whopping £420,000.
House prices in December, the ONS said, were 5.5 per cent higher than they were a year previously, propelled by a 12.3 per cent increase in house prices in London.
Government schemes to help to stimulate new house-building appear to have worked, with the number of new homes being built up more than 10 per cent on the previous year – a figure that is higher than in any of the past six years, according to the UK treasury.
The resulting demand for skilled labour may well be felt in the UAE, where the construction market continues to expand and the authorities have already committed to spend US$7.6bn on the Dubai Metro and another $3.26bn on several major road projects.
Trefor Murphy, the managing director of the recruiter Morgan McKinley UAE, says he expects demand for business development, tendering and quantity surveying professionals in the Emirates to intensify over the coming months.
This month, Arabtec Holding, the engineering and construction group that is building Abu Dhabi's Louvre Museum among other major projects, said it would need to fill 10,000 jobs in the region, having already hired 3,000 new recruitslast year.
With that level of demand for skilled construction professionals continuing in the region, construction bosses will be pleased to hear that so far British construction companies, including Skanska and Carillion, are yet to see a rush of applications for jobs in their home markets, which perhaps underlines the uncertainty many still feel about the UK economy.
It is fair to say the UK industry is not wholly confident of its own recovery and would like to see more support for infrastructure projects. At present all the growth seems to be coming from the house building sector.
“Clarity and certainty of future projects is an important element of a sustained recovery. That gives employers the confidence to train and to plan,” says James Wates, the chairman of the UK Construction Industry Training Board.
“Our latest skills report shows that the economy is turning the corner and the UK construction industry will benefit from that. But growth needs to be sustainable; underpinned by long-term infrastructure projects and continued investment.”
Infrastructure is set to have the second-largest impact on growth behind home building, with average annual growth of 3.6 per cent, followed by industrial at 3 per cent and public housing at 2.2 per cent.
The knock-on effect is set to be a spike in demand for new workers which, if not met, could lead to skills shortages in some occupations.
Most sought after will be plant mechanics, followed by civil engineers and construction process managers.
Planned new nuclear builds will see the UK experience the biggest increase in demand for scaffolders for four years, industry insiders say
According to Simon Hay, the chief executive of the Brick Development Association, the largest constraint to industry recovery continues to be the shortage of public-sector construction.
“The lack of investment in public-sector projects is what is really affecting the industry – not a shortage of bricks,” Mr Hay says.
This optimism is reflected in the forecasts for the property sector, both residential and commercial.
Experts are predicting an 8 per cent increase in house prices, sparking fears of an unsustainable housing bubble. In the commercial sector, the surveying firm Jones Lang LaSalle anticipates demand for new offices will also pick-up, even beyond the hotspots of the London market.
For the past five years, developers and lenders have been understandably cautious about building offices speculatively – without a tenant prepared to take a lease. That means when demand does pick up there will be a shortage of available space, exacerbated by the lackof construction labour and supply-chain problems which the industry is seeing.
“As demand recovers throughout 2014, the shortage of Grade A space in particular will become more acute,” Jones Lang LaSalle forecasts.
That is likely to lead to increasing rents, as is already being seen in the trendier parts of East London and also in refurbishments of commercial buildings in an attempt to deliver offices quickly into a market starved of new space.
The weight of international capital seeking a home in the London market – particularly from China and South-East Asia, but also from Gulf states including Qatar – will continue to fuel both commercial property development and the prime residential markets in London, according to estate agents.
business@thenational.ae
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And%20Just%20Like%20That...
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Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
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MATCH INFO
Manchester City 2 (Mahrez 04', Ake 84')
Leicester City 5 (Vardy 37' pen, 54', 58' pen, Maddison 77', Tielemans 88' pen)
Man of the match: Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)
Vikram%20Vedha
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Emirates exiles
Will Wilson is not the first player to have attained high-class representative honours after first learning to play rugby on the playing fields of UAE.
Jonny Macdonald
Abu Dhabi-born and raised, the current Jebel Ali Dragons assistant coach was selected to play for Scotland at the Hong Kong Sevens in 2011.
Jordan Onojaife
Having started rugby by chance when the Jumeirah College team were short of players, he later won the World Under 20 Championship with England.
Devante Onojaife
Followed older brother Jordan into England age-group rugby, as well as the pro game at Northampton Saints, but recently switched allegiance to Scotland.
Company%20Profile
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Martin Sabbagh profile
Job: CEO JCDecaux Middle East
In the role: Since January 2015
Lives: In the UAE
Background: M&A, investment banking
Studied: Corporate finance
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
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ELECTION%20RESULTS
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
FINAL LEADERBOARD
1. Jordan Spieth (USA) 65 69 65 69 - 12-under-par
2. Matt Kuchar (USA) 65 71 66 69 - 9-under
3. Li Haotong (CHN) 69 73 69 63 - 6-under
T4. Rory McIlroy (NIR) 71 68 69 67 - 5-under
T4. Rafael Cabrera-Bello (ESP) 67 73 67 68 - 5-under
T6. Marc Leishman (AUS) 69 76 66 65 - 4-under
T6. Matthew Southgate (ENG) 72 72 67 65 - 4-under
T6. Brooks Koepka (USA) 65 72 68 71 - 4-under
T6. Branden Grace (RSA) 70 74 62 70 - 4-under
T6. Alexander Noren (SWE) 68 72 69 67 - 4-under
THE BIG MATCH
Arsenal v Manchester City,
Sunday, Emirates Stadium, 6.30pm
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
Credits
Produced by: Colour Yellow Productions and Eros Now
Director: Mudassar Aziz
Cast: Sonakshi Sinha, Jimmy Sheirgill, Jassi Gill, Piyush Mishra, Diana Penty, Aparshakti Khurrana
Star rating: 2.5/5
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The biog
Full name: Aisha Abdulqader Saeed
Age: 34
Emirate: Dubai
Favourite quote: "No one has ever become poor by giving"
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
South Africa v India schedule
Tests: 1st Test Jan 5-9, Cape Town; 2nd Test Jan 13-17, Centurion; 3rd Test Jan 24-28, Johannesburg
ODIs: 1st ODI Feb 1, Durban; 2nd ODI Feb 4, Centurion; 3rd ODI Feb 7, Cape Town; 4th ODI Feb 10, Johannesburg; 5th ODI Feb 13, Port Elizabeth; 6th ODI Feb 16, Centurion
T20Is: 1st T20I Feb 18, Johannesburg; 2nd T20I Feb 21, Centurion; 3rd T20I Feb 24, Cape Town
The specs
Engine 60kwh FWD
Battery Rimac 120kwh Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (LiNiMnCoO2) chemistry
Power 204hp Torque 360Nm
Price, base / as tested Dh174,500
UAE jiu-jitsu squad
Men: Hamad Nawad and Khalid Al Balushi (56kg), Omar Al Fadhli and Saeed Al Mazroui (62kg), Taleb Al Kirbi and Humaid Al Kaabi (69kg), Mohammed Al Qubaisi and Saud Al Hammadi (70kg), Khalfan Belhol and Mohammad Haitham Radhi (85kg), Faisal Al Ketbi and Zayed Al Kaabi (94kg)
Women: Wadima Al Yafei and Mahra Al Hanaei (49kg), Bashayer Al Matrooshi and Hessa Al Shamsi (62kg)
KEY%20DATES%20IN%20AMAZON'S%20HISTORY
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You may remember …
Robbie Keane (Atletico de Kolkata) The Irish striker is, along with his former Spurs teammate Dimitar Berbatov, the headline figure in this season’s ISL, having joined defending champions ATK. His grand entrance after arrival from Major League Soccer in the US will be delayed by three games, though, due to a knee injury.
Dimitar Berbatov (Kerala Blasters) Word has it that Rene Meulensteen, the Kerala manager, plans to deploy his Bulgarian star in central midfield. The idea of Berbatov as an all-action, box-to-box midfielder, might jar with Spurs and Manchester United supporters, who more likely recall an always-languid, often-lazy striker.
Wes Brown (Kerala Blasters) Revived his playing career last season to help out at Blackburn Rovers, where he was also a coach. Since then, the 23-cap England centre back, who is now 38, has been reunited with the former Manchester United assistant coach Meulensteen, after signing for Kerala.
Andre Bikey (Jamshedpur) The Cameroonian defender is onto the 17th club of a career has taken him to Spain, Portugal, Russia, the UK, Greece, and now India. He is still only 32, so there is plenty of time to add to that tally, too. Scored goals against Liverpool and Chelsea during his time with Reading in England.
Emiliano Alfaro (Pune City) The Uruguayan striker has played for Liverpool – the Montevideo one, rather than the better-known side in England – and Lazio in Italy. He was prolific for a season at Al Wasl in the Arabian Gulf League in 2012/13. He returned for one season with Fujairah, whom he left to join Pune.
UAE%20athletes%20heading%20to%20Paris%202024
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PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
Saturday (UAE kick-off times)
Watford v Leicester City (3.30pm)
Brighton v Arsenal (6pm)
West Ham v Wolves (8.30pm)
Bournemouth v Crystal Palace (10.45pm)
Sunday
Newcastle United v Sheffield United (5pm)
Aston Villa v Chelsea (7.15pm)
Everton v Liverpool (10pm)
Monday
Manchester City v Burnley (11pm)
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 611bhp
Torque: 620Nm
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Price: upon application
On sale: now
Overview
What: The Arab Women’s Sports Tournament is a biennial multisport event exclusively for Arab women athletes.
When: From Sunday, February 2, to Wednesday, February 12.
Where: At 13 different centres across Sharjah.
Disciplines: Athletics, archery, basketball, fencing, Karate, table tennis, shooting (rifle and pistol), show jumping and volleyball.
Participating countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Qatar and UAE.
If you go
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Funchal via Lisbon, with a connecting flight with Air Portugal. Economy class returns cost from Dh3,845 return including taxes.
The trip
The WalkMe app can be downloaded from the usual sources. If you don’t fancy doing the trip yourself, then Explore offers an eight-day levada trails tour from Dh3,050, not including flights.
The hotel
There isn’t another hotel anywhere in Madeira that matches the history and luxury of the Belmond Reid's Palace in Funchal. Doubles from Dh1,400 per night including taxes.
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