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☆ Modular homes were hailed as a solution to housing crises. But the sector is now struggling to scale
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( Vicky Mckeever | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Modern tech-enabled versions of modular housing promise a faster, more sustainable solution to housing crises, according to experts. The fact that modular housing is also made in a controlled factory environment means less waste is generated, while also resulting in more energy-efficient homes. A 2022 report from industry group Make UK Modular highlighted that 80% fewer vehicle movements were needed to development sites with modular building. In the U.K. last year, Ilke Homes collapsed, while Legal & General moved to wind down its modular housing factory. By comparison, a Make UK Modular report published last year said more than 3,000 modular homes were being built in the U.K. annually, though there was capacity to build five times that number.

Persons: Prefabrication, William the Conqueror, Andrew Shepherd, Shepherd, Modulous, Jonatan Pinkse, Pinkse, Suzanne Peters, Daniel Paterson, prefabrication, Richard Valentine, Valentine, Selsey Organizations: Bloomberg, Getty, Sears, CNBC, University of Cambridge, Edinburgh Napier University, Ilke, Legal, King's College, Alliance Manchester Business School, Savills Research, McKinsey, Company, Ikea, Vonovia Locations: Foston, Derby, housebuilding, England, U.S, King's College London, Wales, Selsey, Sweden, Japan, prefabrication, Berlin, Germany

☆ Shares of these 2 global stocks could soar over 30% as bankruptcies begin to rise, analysts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Company insolvencies are on the rise in Britain , and analysts are expecting two U.K.-based consultancies to be major beneficiaries. Earlier in the month, Begbies Traynor beat its rival and delivered a double-digit annual growth rate. Begbies Traynor Analysts expect Begbies Traynor's core insolvency division to benefit from rising U.K. insolvencies as economic conditions worsen. BEG-GB FRP-GB YTD line Analysts at Canaccord Genuity and Stifel echoed that view, saying that Begbies Traynor is strongly positioned, with over 80% of revenue derived from counter-cyclical insolvency services. The bank raised its forecasts for the firm's earnings for the rest of the year and expects FRP's stock to rise by 47% to £1.75.

Persons: Begbies Traynor, FRP, —, James Bayliss, Bayliss, Stifel, Sam Dindol, Berenberg Organizations: Bank of England, FRP, FRP Advisory Locations: Britain, United States, Canaccord

☆ UK on track for most company insolvencies since 2009
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, July 18 (Reuters) - England and Wales are on track for the highest quarterly number of company insolvencies since early 2009, as businesses struggle to repay COVID-19 loans against a tough economic backdrop, government figures showed on Tuesday. Over the three months to the end of June, there were 6,403 companies declared insolvent. If this figure is confirmed when official quarterly numbers are published later this month, it would be the highest non-seasonally-adjusted calendar-quarter total since the first quarter of 2009. As usual, most company insolvencies were creditors' voluntary liquidations - where company directors and creditors agree to wind up a company without a formal court order. "The drop is likely to come mainly from a fall in 'shut down' Creditors' Voluntary Liquidations where the catch-up from low points of Covid and Government support will largely be flushed out," Harris said.

Persons: Gareth Harris, Harris, David Milliken, Andy Bruce Organizations: COVID, Insolvency Service, RSM, Service, Bank of, Thomson Locations: England, Wales, May's, Bank of England, Covid

☆ Ex finance chief of collapsed Carillion hit with 11-year ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Kirstin Ridley | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Zafar Khan, who stepped down as Carillion's finance director after just nine months in the job shortly before the business collapsed in January 2018, had voluntarily agreed to the disqualification, the Insolvency Service said on Monday. Carillion employed 43,000 people before it collapsed in Britain's biggest bankruptcy in a decade. The Insolvency Service applied for eight directors linked to the business to be disqualified and the Financial Conduct Authority fined three former executives in 2022, including Khan, for "recklessly" publishing misleading financial statements. Litigation is continuing against other directors and a trial has been set for Oct. 16, the Insolvency Service said. ($1 = 0.7881 pounds)Reporting by Kirstin Ridley Editing by Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Carillion, Zafar Khan, Khan, Ben Drew, Kirstin Ridley, Mark Potter Organizations: Service, Financial, LinkedIn, Litigation, Thomson Locations: British, Fladgate

☆ Global corporate defaults highest since the pandemic in 2020
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

In a report Tuesday, credit rating agency Moody’s said 33 of the corporations it rates defaulted on their debts in the first quarter, the highest level since the last quarter of 2020 when 47 companies defaulted. Almost half, or 15 companies, defaulted last month — the highest monthly count since December 2020. In a sign of a tougher global environment for corporate borrowers, investors went sour on corporate bonds last year. Moody’s expects that a combination of higher borrowing costs and slowing global growth will push up defaults on speculative-grade corporate debt to 4.6% by the end of this year, up from 2.9% in March. By the end of the first quarter next year, the global default rate on this type of debt will likely rise to 4.9%, Moody’s said.

☆ KPMG reaches settlement with liquidator of Carillion
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Benoit TessierLONDON, Feb 17 (Reuters) - KPMG said on Friday it has reached a confidential settlement agreement with the liquidator of Carillion, the builder it audited before it collapsed. Carillion collapsed in 2018 under 7 billion pounds ($8.40 billion) of debt, with thousands of jobs lost, leading to government-backed reviews which recommended a shake-up in auditing standards. Liquidators of Carillion last year sued KPMG for 1.3 billion pounds for missing "red flags" during its audits of the construction giant. Carillion was an extreme and serious corporate failure, and it is important that we all learn the lessons from its collapse," KPMG's UK chief executive Jon Holt said in a statement. Britain's auditing watchdog, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has yet to announce the outcome of its investigation in KPMG's audits of Carillion.

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