Day: 1 April 2020

Specialist shelter provider Zappshelter have come up with an innovative product to assist various industries that offer essential services, and anyone faced with needing to separate people on sites. ZappshelterAir is an industrial air-beam tent system which is erected in minutes and will remain in place as long as is needed. Although very portable and rapid to install and dismantle, ZappshelterAir is not a light or flimsy structure – it is tough and built to last.

Ranging from 6m (20ft) wide to 18m (60ft) wide, these highly effective structures will provide protection and cover in almost any location. All that is needed is a power supply – everything else including the blower is included. To put that in context, an 18m wide unit would allow 6 cars to line up side by side with room to open the doors between each. At 5m (16ft) long, each unit comes complete with end walls, but they can be joined end-to-end indefinitely to form much longer covered areas.

Craig Michel, Managing Director at Zappshelter explains. “We have been working on this product for 18 months now but, when we realised the seriousness of the Covid-19 coronavirus, we accelerated our program and got it to market immediately. This is a perfect product for testing stations, clearing areas, extra welfare areas – fast to erect, portable and fire-resistant. We want to spread the word far and wide in view of doing all we can to support the essential services at the moment. Our thoughts and prayers are with those amazing doctors, nurses, paramedics, and other NHS personnel at this difficult time as well as the other unsung heroes in construction, transport and waste services keeping the country going, and I would like to do all I can to help. I’d urge everyone to share this product. It isn’t about profit – it’s about supporting the country in a time of need.”

Specialist shelter provider Zappshelter have come up with an innovative product to assist various industries that offer essential services, and anyone faced with needing to separate people on sites. ZappshelterAir is an industrial air-beam tent system which is erected in minutes and will remain in place as long as is needed. Although very portable and rapid to install and dismantle, ZappshelterAir is not a light or flimsy structure – it is tough and built to last.

Ranging from 6m (20ft) wide to 18m (60ft) wide, these highly effective structures will provide protection and cover in almost any location. All that is needed is a power supply – everything else including the blower is included. To put that in context, an 18m wide unit would allow 6 cars to line up side by side with room to open the doors between each. At 5m (16ft) long, each unit comes complete with end walls, but they can be joined end-to-end indefinitely to form much longer covered areas.

Craig Michel, Managing Director at Zappshelter explains. “We have been working on this product for 18 months now but, when we realised the seriousness of the Covid-19 coronavirus, we accelerated our program and got it to market immediately. This is a perfect product for testing stations, clearing areas, extra welfare areas – fast to erect, portable and fire-resistant. We want to spread the word far and wide in view of doing all we can to support the essential services at the moment. Our thoughts and prayers are with those amazing doctors, nurses, paramedics, and other NHS personnel at this difficult time as well as the other unsung heroes in construction, transport and waste services keeping the country going, and I would like to do all I can to help. I’d urge everyone to share this product. It isn’t about profit – it’s about supporting the country in a time of need.”

Latest research by Colliers International reveals that food production is currently up by 50 per cent, due to panic buying and as a result, the COVID-19 pandemic has unleashed an uptick in flexible requirements for industrial and logistics assets. Subsequently, occupiers who manufacture or distribute essential items are in urgent need of flexible space to keep up with the increase in demand, according to the real estate advisor.

Len Rosso, Head of Industrial and Logistics at Colliers International commented: “With central banks around the world slashing base rates and injecting liquidity into the financial markets and governments implementing public spending and fiscal stimulus measures to limit the social and economic damage, the public in the UK, and in some instances in France and the US, has responded with panic buying. There has been a rush for stockpiling essential items and purchasing goods which can alleviate social isolation such as fridge freezers, gym equipment and other such items.

“Amazon, Ocado and all the major UK supermarkets have huge backlogs of orders and it is not possible to book a delivery online so with this in mind, companies are implementing their contingency plans and some are in need of urgent flexible or short term space.”

As companies reduce their output, some shutting down completely in Europe and the US, global supply chains are increasingly dealing with imbalances, bottle necking but also a drop in goods flows.

Chris Evans, supply chain specialist at Colliers International added: “Supply chains for groceries, toiletries and medical items are strained but it is not that the items do not get to stores, but they do not get there fast enough. There seems to be the impression that supermarkets and online retailers have not executed their contingency plans fast enough. However, that said, the government was not fast enough either to communicate the risks of the outbreak of this pandemic. We expect the UK supply chains to adjust quickly to meet this upsurge in demand for essential items.

“To add to the challenge, there is a driver shortage as large numbers of Romanian drivers have headed home only to get stuck in Hungary or other borders in Europe. Moreover, Spanish, French and Italian lorry drivers are not operating at capacity or are unable to work due to self-isolation.

“With regards to other warehouse operations some companies have introduced new shift patterns to split the shifts to clean down after each one and will clean again before the next shift with no interaction allowed between warehouse and office staff. This is not necessarily being adopted by every company but it will increasingly slowdown their stock replenishment and distribution operations.”

However, green shoots of positivity are on the horizon as in China, the containment of the virus has been successful so far and supply chain operations and manufacturing activity are slowly returning to their pre-outbreak level.

Colliers expects investors and developers to slowdown, if not pause, their development pipeline programme to de-risk their financial exposure while working more closely together with their occupier base to find mutually beneficial solutions.

Little rental growth for prime assets is expected whilst incentives will be moving out as GDP is set to contract. Prime assets will be more resilient and should this fight against this invisible enemy be won over the next few months, the sector will bounce back.

Len Rosso added: “We are dealing with an unprecedented challenge but this will also create opportunities for savvy investors. The industrial and logistics sector is better-placed than some other real estate sectors such as leisure and retail to weather this storm as all age cohorts will increasingly adjust to shopping online.”

Latest research by Colliers International reveals that food production is currently up by 50 per cent, due to panic buying and as a result, the COVID-19 pandemic has unleashed an uptick in flexible requirements for industrial and logistics assets. Subsequently, occupiers who manufacture or distribute essential items are in urgent need of flexible space to keep up with the increase in demand, according to the real estate advisor.

Len Rosso, Head of Industrial and Logistics at Colliers International commented: “With central banks around the world slashing base rates and injecting liquidity into the financial markets and governments implementing public spending and fiscal stimulus measures to limit the social and economic damage, the public in the UK, and in some instances in France and the US, has responded with panic buying. There has been a rush for stockpiling essential items and purchasing goods which can alleviate social isolation such as fridge freezers, gym equipment and other such items.

“Amazon, Ocado and all the major UK supermarkets have huge backlogs of orders and it is not possible to book a delivery online so with this in mind, companies are implementing their contingency plans and some are in need of urgent flexible or short term space.”

As companies reduce their output, some shutting down completely in Europe and the US, global supply chains are increasingly dealing with imbalances, bottle necking but also a drop in goods flows.

Chris Evans, supply chain specialist at Colliers International added: “Supply chains for groceries, toiletries and medical items are strained but it is not that the items do not get to stores, but they do not get there fast enough. There seems to be the impression that supermarkets and online retailers have not executed their contingency plans fast enough. However, that said, the government was not fast enough either to communicate the risks of the outbreak of this pandemic. We expect the UK supply chains to adjust quickly to meet this upsurge in demand for essential items.

“To add to the challenge, there is a driver shortage as large numbers of Romanian drivers have headed home only to get stuck in Hungary or other borders in Europe. Moreover, Spanish, French and Italian lorry drivers are not operating at capacity or are unable to work due to self-isolation.

“With regards to other warehouse operations some companies have introduced new shift patterns to split the shifts to clean down after each one and will clean again before the next shift with no interaction allowed between warehouse and office staff. This is not necessarily being adopted by every company but it will increasingly slowdown their stock replenishment and distribution operations.”

However, green shoots of positivity are on the horizon as in China, the containment of the virus has been successful so far and supply chain operations and manufacturing activity are slowly returning to their pre-outbreak level.

Colliers expects investors and developers to slowdown, if not pause, their development pipeline programme to de-risk their financial exposure while working more closely together with their occupier base to find mutually beneficial solutions.

Little rental growth for prime assets is expected whilst incentives will be moving out as GDP is set to contract. Prime assets will be more resilient and should this fight against this invisible enemy be won over the next few months, the sector will bounce back.

Len Rosso added: “We are dealing with an unprecedented challenge but this will also create opportunities for savvy investors. The industrial and logistics sector is better-placed than some other real estate sectors such as leisure and retail to weather this storm as all age cohorts will increasingly adjust to shopping online.”

Transport firms are being urged to protect their businesses from police monitoring of the Covid-19 lockdown.

Police forces across the UK have been stopping drivers to check they are making essential-only journeys and that has been causing red-tape headaches for companies.

Now a leading employment lawyer is recommending firms take straightforward steps to prevent vital supplies being stopped and employees being allowed to continue their work.

The head of employment law at Midlands law firm Wright Hassall, Tina Chander, is advising all delivery firms to issue drivers and other transport staff with letters from their employer which confirms their work is essential.

She said: “We have had instances of goods vehicles being pulled over by the police who then, understandably, want proof that the activities being carried out are essential.

“That has meant companies scrambling to pull together proof to allow their firms to keep functioning and making essential deliveries in what is an already disrupted commercial world.

“When you hear of some of the cases police have found on the motorways, it is perfectly understandable that they want to ensure that only essential journeys are being made to prevent an even wider spread of the infection.

“Key workers obviously have identification such as an NHS or emergency services cards, but often delivery drivers – who are keeping our essential supplies flowing – only have general identification such as driving licences.

“Employers need to equip them with formal, headed letters explaining their activities. We have now produced some templates which will allow them to prove the necessity of their work and satisfy the authorities.

“The letters also mean that less police time is taken up with red-tape and that has to be good for everyone.”

Transport firms are being urged to protect their businesses from police monitoring of the Covid-19 lockdown.

Police forces across the UK have been stopping drivers to check they are making essential-only journeys and that has been causing red-tape headaches for companies.

Now a leading employment lawyer is recommending firms take straightforward steps to prevent vital supplies being stopped and employees being allowed to continue their work.

The head of employment law at Midlands law firm Wright Hassall, Tina Chander, is advising all delivery firms to issue drivers and other transport staff with letters from their employer which confirms their work is essential.

She said: “We have had instances of goods vehicles being pulled over by the police who then, understandably, want proof that the activities being carried out are essential.

“That has meant companies scrambling to pull together proof to allow their firms to keep functioning and making essential deliveries in what is an already disrupted commercial world.

“When you hear of some of the cases police have found on the motorways, it is perfectly understandable that they want to ensure that only essential journeys are being made to prevent an even wider spread of the infection.

“Key workers obviously have identification such as an NHS or emergency services cards, but often delivery drivers – who are keeping our essential supplies flowing – only have general identification such as driving licences.

“Employers need to equip them with formal, headed letters explaining their activities. We have now produced some templates which will allow them to prove the necessity of their work and satisfy the authorities.

“The letters also mean that less police time is taken up with red-tape and that has to be good for everyone.”