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+--- Thread: Future Monopoly? (/showthread.php?tid=1009)
Future Monopoly? - Oxbeast - 9th July 2008
Indeed. I read recently that 3,500 people have been laid off by housebuilding firms this week (and that was only on tuesday). It looks like the government is still pressing ahead with 'eco-towns' though.
I hope that CAM ARC staff got to keep their council terms and conditions: pension, childcare vouchers, flexi-time, redundancy terms, etc, etc. As an aside, I can't help but feel that the staff would be better off if this super-unit were not based in two of the most expensive cities in the UK in terms of cost of living...
Future Monopoly? - achingknees - 9th July 2008
Quote:quote:Originally posted by Oxbeast
Indeed. I read recently that 3,500 people have been laid off by housebuilding firms this week (and that was only on tuesday). It looks like the government is still pressing ahead with 'eco-towns' though.
Don't count on eco-towns as a saviour! The government may want to have them built but they cannot force the building industry to build in eneconomic times. In my patch we are seeing a very real downturn with field staff casualties being imminent. The telephones just stopped ringing....
Future Monopoly? - vulpes - 9th July 2008
Doomed! We're all doomed...:face-topic:
Future Monopoly? - achingknees - 9th July 2008
Quote:quote:Originally posted by vulpes
Doomed! We're all doomed...:face-topic:
Not doomed but very depressing news for our field staff and a few more completing their post-ex commitments in the near future...
I think this started to get off topic (a monopoly or not) towards the top of the page. To get it back on (slightly)...if the construction industry is facing a massive downturn who would lose more, the bigger units such as OA and WA, medium sized or small units?
Future Monopoly? - Paul Belford - 9th July 2008
The smaller units, several of whom are already out of business in the last twelve months, and most of whom are now struggling. Bigger units may lay staff off but will still survive, but smaller units have less room for manoeuvre in this regard. Additionally, much of the 'bread and butter' formerly enjoyed by small units was desk-based assessments, and that market is now almost completely dominated by large national consultancies.
Future Monopoly? - gonetopot - 9th July 2008
Paul, I agree totally and this is why I raise the issue of FUTURE monopoly because whether it is intended through business strategy or not, it may be the result anyway. And if such a large market share is virtually guaranteed, would complacency over standards and a resistance to being answerable kick in. I'm not saying this is the case and, as I've said I admire the standards and principles that currently exist in the units in question, and just hope they will be maintained in the long term.
Future Monopoly? - oldgirl - 9th July 2008
Quote:quote:Originally posted by Paul Belford
The smaller units, several of whom are already out of business in the last twelve months, and most of whom are now struggling. Bigger units may lay staff off but will still survive, but smaller units have less room for manoeuvre in this regard.
In many cases it's not the lack of fieldwork (or DBAs) it's the cashflow issues due to waiting months (years?) to actually get paid. Big units/those that invoice through other big organisations (councils, universities etc) have a slightly less bumpy cashflow situation and people who are paid to chase the money.
Many developers are going to 90 days on their invoices at the moment (rather than 30), and bearing in mind that on most smaller jobs alot of units don't invoice until they produce the report, that's a long time with the money for staff and plant out of your bank account.
Future Monopoly? - Unitof1 - 10th July 2008
The bigger units, especially the pensioned ones, will try to survive on their core funding, and subsidies like service level agreements with the councils that spawned them along with eh type funding like Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund (ALSF). I will try to work over a bigger area and or should I try and get some council contract?
And we can all look foreword to seeing the charity accounts next year of this sub-super group. It will be interesting to see if any account was made to assess liabilities of the backlog or how/if this was dealt with. I imagine that camarc had had a lot of pensions walking around. Also will it raises again the Spectra of the super East Anglia Group, not that anyone wants to have anything to do with Suffolk.
Future Monopoly? - vulpes - 10th July 2008
Unit of 1, maybe you should contact OA and see if they're interested in assimilating you?
Future Monopoly? - Unitof1 - 11th July 2008
Somewhere in it there is a huge sweetener. We will wait until next years accounts. They are good at not paying rent. I have also been paid by them not to work, easy money?.Do you think that they should move the office to northants?