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A LEADING MULTI-DISCIPLINARY CONSULTANT TO THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

WWW.VINDEN.CO.UK

VINDEN HAS CELEBRATED OVER 22 YEARS OF WORKING FOR CLIENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND PROPERTY MARKETPLACE AND CONTINUES TO GO FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH.

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THE VINDEN PARTNERSHIP

Working with an extensive range of clients within both the public and private sectors, The Vinden Partnership (Vinden) offers the construction industry a huge variety of services, delivered by an exceptionally talented and experienced team.

From its offices in Greater Manchester, Nottingham and central London the company undertakes education, residential, industrial, affordable housing, office, retail and health sector projects delivered to a wide range of clients and project stakeholders.

Vinden has celebrated over 22 years of working for clients in the construction and property marketplace and continues to go from strength to strength.

All clients are treated as “life time� clients and its priority, regardless of which of the many services are being provided, remains the same; that is to ensure the highest levels of client service and satisfaction are achieved at all times.

The following is a selection of the areas in which Vinden is available to assist.

WWW.VINDEN.CO.UK

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DISPUTE MANAGEMENT

Vinden believes that an objective appraisal of a client’s case is crucial to the effective resolution of any business dispute.

From the beginning of any commission of the Company’s dispute resolution services, Vinden will provide a clear and concise appraisal of the strengths and weaknesses of a client’s position.

The client will be guided through all the various options available to find a resolution to a dispute and recommend a method which will achieve a client’s objectives as quickly and as economically as possible.

Vinden will prepare and present a case in the best way possible. It will seek to avoid legal proceedings where possible, negotiating settlements that are principled, fair and reflect legal entitlement as well as commercial needs.

Services provided by its dispute management team include mediation, statutory and contractual adjudication as well as arbitration services as party representative or as an expert to the tribunal.

Vinden will prepare, present and manage a client’s case in the best manner possible and seek to achieve settlement where possible in order to avoid costly formal legal proceedings.

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COST MANAGEMENT / QUANTITY SURVEYING

Accurate cost information is vital to the success of any construction project Vinden will provide advice on costs relating to alternative design and specification solutions as schemes evolve over time.

Guidance is offered to clients to determine a project’s priorities by looking at cost, programme, quality, design, the type of building and all other relevant issues before a recommendation is made on the most suitable method of procurement.

Vinden takes the safeguarding of its clients’ interests very seriously and can draft and apply a number of measures including insurance, bonds and preliminaries to protect project-specific interests.

Choosing the most appropriate form of contract is vital for any project and many issues need to be considered. Vinden has the expertise to select, amend or draft the most appropriate form of contract for a project’s specific requirements.

Guidance will be provided in the process of choosing the right contractor for a project; helping to decide which key performance indicators (KPIs) are the most important for a particular project. Vinden will interview, select and appoint the most suitable contractor on behalf of its clients.

After a contractor has been appointed to deliver a project, it is vital that a keen eye is kept on monitoring the financial aspects of the project. Vinden provide a financial monitoring service and will supply reports on a regular basis, giving clients full control and visibility over project expenditure.

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BANKING SERVICES Vinden has a long history of providing banks, asset-based lenders and investors with a range of services designed to support lending in its many forms to UK construction and property development.

The Company offers a range of standard and bespoke solutions to support informed lending to clients where the primary source of security is in relation to monies due under contractual arrangements, including construction.

All of Vinden’s services are provided by experienced ex-commercial directors of contracting organisations who are, as a minimum, qualified Chartered Quantity Surveyors with a legal and/or accounting and/or insurance qualification.

This inside knowledge allows the Company to give the very best advice possible to protect clients in this important sector.

INSURANCE SERVICES Vinden has a specific department in each regional office providing advice on a range of property insurance products.

An industry leading range of products and services are supplied to support the insurance and management of property including a range of services to provide cost-effective and timely re-instatement should an unforeseen and insured event make a repair or replacement of a building necessary.

Vinden has a dedicated team that engages with loss adjusters to provide services from the first notification of loss through to file closure in project management, contract administration, quantity surveying, building surveying and CDM services, Party Wall, and associated insurable major loss reinstatement.

Vinden prides itself in offering clients a “cradle to grave� service, providing a collaborative approach that ensures a positive customer journey.

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SUSTAINABILITY

Vinden is very aware that construction must become more ‘green’ and is committed to providing a more ethical service and assisting other stakeholders to do the same.

Monitoring and assessments services are offered to construction clients to achieve approved or better ratings. These include: Code for Sustainable Homes Vinden is fully certified to provide Code for Sustainable Homes assessments with numerous staff certified with the Building Research Establishment (BRE) to enable them to provide these services.

BREEAM The BREEAM New Construction Scheme is used to evaluate the environmental life cycle impacts of new non-domestic buildings during design and construction stages.

Vinden provides BREEAM assessment services and can call upon in-house BREEAM licensed assessors under BRE Global Certification.

The Company is licensed to provide assessment services for offices, industrial, education, healthcare, higher education, courts, prisons and retail buildings.

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Building for Life 12 (BFL12) Vinden can perform Building for Life 12 (BFL12) assessments for clients’ planning applications.

BFL12 is the industry standard for the design of new housing developments that seeks to create better homes for people to live.

Housing Quality Indicators (HQIs) HQIs assess housing schemes in terms of quality rather than value by looking at three key areas: location, design and performance.

Vinden has vast experience in carrying out these assessments having undertaken over a thousand HQI calculations for housing associations, developers and consultant clients.

Standard Assessment Procedures (SAPs) SAP calculations are required on all new domestic developments and provide a detailed measure of the overall energy efficiency rating of a property.

Vinden produces SAP assessments and provides guidance on how they can be improved.

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SUSTAINABILITY CONTINUED

Energy Performance Certificate (EPCs) Introduced in 2008, Energy Performance Certificates seek to improve the energy efficiency of all buildings and are required for all properties that are bought, sold, built or rented.

Vinden employs fully qualified and accredited energy assessors that produce EPCs alongside an associated report, which makes recommendations to improve the energy efficiency of the building.

Water Efficiency Calculations All new homes and conversions are required to meet new water efficiency targets, with no more than 125l of potable water per person, per day to be used.

Vinden can provide formal calculations required by Building Control and give guidance on what types of taps, showers, appliances, etc. should be installed.

Sustainability Appraisals Vinden’s sustainability team will work in collaboration with the design team to give expert guidance on sustainability issues to ensure the most suitable and cost effective solutions.

Sustainability Statements are required as part of a planning application by many Local Planning Authorities. Providing Sustainability Statements to support planning applications is just another service that Vinden can offer.

Home Quality Mark (HQM) The Home Quality Mark (HQM) is a national standard for new homes, which utilises a 5-star rating to give impartial information from independent experts on a new home’s design, construction quality and running costs.

This will give people confidence that the new homes they are choosing to buy or rent are well designed and built and cost-effective to run.

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BUILDING SURVEYING

Vinden’s building surveyors have knowledge of a wide range of property and construction related matters. Their skills often overlap with those of other professions such as architecture, structural engineering or quantity surveying but their main expertise lies in defect diagnosis, building surveys and dilapidation work.

Defect Diagnosis The Company’s team of building surveyors is highly skilled and experienced in assessing buildings to find the source of defects and in providing guidance on repair strategies. Where necessary, Vinden can offer specialist testing and investigation methods using the latest technology in order to provide the most accurate diagnosis of the problems.

Expert Evidence Vinden’s building surveyors have great experience in providing expert technical advice in relation to property and construction disputes and are trained in providing evidence under cross examination and have courtroom experience.

Property Acquisition Vinden’s building surveyors can provide a number of services that can identify any defects within a building. A comprehensive inspection of the property will be undertaken with a bespoke report produced and tailored exclusively to the type of property and specified requirements of the client.

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Landlord & Tenant As a tenant’s lease reaches expiry, the landlord may ask a surveyor to prepare a schedule of dilapidations to outline building repairs that the tenant is responsible for under the terms of the lease. Vinden can identify and comment on breaches of lease covenants before suggesting appropriate remedies, preparing schedules and negotiating with other parties to achieve settlement of the claim.

Acting as an advisor to either landlord or tenant, the Company will seek to deliver objective advice in order to achieve settlement of the claim.

Asset Management Vinden can help develop or improve a client’s property maintenance strategy to help reduce unnecessary long-term costs. The Company works closely with clients to create a condition survey brief tailored to their specific needs.

In addition to this, Vinden can produce planned maintenance schedules and budget costs and also advise clients on future property liabilities.

Property Refurbishment Vinden operates under the belief that all construction projects require detailed planning and sound management from inception through to completion. The Company’s building surveyors can provide a complete property refurbishment service to suit any requirements.

Insurance Cover and Claims Vinden can investigate and measure premises to prepare estimates to cover demolition and rebuilding costs to gain an accurate level of insurance required.

In terms of claim management, Vinden’s surveyors have the expertise to assist in recovering losses in accordance with policy terms.

Conservation of Historic Buildings Vinden has the experience and qualifications to offer clients conservation advice with regards to period and historic buildings. The Company will provide appropriate advice on repairs and liaise with local authority conservation officers in order to gain the required statutory consents.

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PARTY WALL SURVEYING

The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 regulates the relationship between neighbouring owners in the context of specific construction work on or close to a boundary between adjoining properties. It is a legal requirement to inform neighbouring property owners of such construction works.

Vinden building surveyors are members of the leading Party Wall specialist organisations and will provide initial advice and Party Wall services to both building and adjoining owners.

FORENSIC PLANNING Vinden can provide planning support for all stages of a project and forensic analysis for retrospective purposes.

Change, however, is an inevitable part of the construction process but this can be dealt with by managing its cause and effect through robust, realistic planning and programming. This is the most effective way to avoid disputes.

The Company will ensure practical and professional assistance is provided to resolve disputes regarding time extensions and through proactive programme management, to prevent any disputes from arising in the first place.

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EXPERT APPOINTMENTS

Vinden can give expert testimony for property, engineering and construction related disputes throughout the UK. A team of professionals act as consulting and testifying experts, providing comprehensive litigation support to a broad range of clients.

Vinden will assist clients throughout all phases of a dispute before the initial filings through discovery and dispute resolution including construction adjudication, arbitration, mediation and court proceedings.

The company can call upon a number of its experts who have courtroom experience and are members of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ Expert Witness Registration Scheme.

For each assignment, the best match is found between consultant and the issues of the dispute by drawing from our pool of diverse technical backgrounds in property, construction, engineering and management.

CAPITAL ALLOWANCES Capital Allowances are a government tax relief incentive for both individuals and businesses and come in the form of a tax relief as a deduction against profits, reducing the amount of tax required to be paid.

A Vinden capital allowance advisor can be used to help identify and value the qualifying expenditure on which the client can claim.

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PROJECT MANAGEMENT

The appointment of a Project Manager can provide a major benefit to construction projects.

In this role, Vinden will programme, co-ordinate, direct and control the activities of a client’s project team and those contractors appointed on their behalf, to ensure that specific project criteria are achieved.

Time constraints upon a client are identified and prioritised, with the sequence, duration and dependency of every operation then being programmed to ensure that each project objective is achieved.

The Company can also operate as an Employer’s Agent on Design and Build projects throughout the entire process - from initial identification of the client’s requirements through to the final commissioning and hand-over of the completed project.

Vinden will ensure that financial control is maintained and make sure that proper project control procedures are implemented from the very beginning.

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CDM The CDM regulations 2015 aim to make health and safety an integral part of the planning and management of projects. Vinden provide a range of CDM Consultant services for clients and principal designers to support you with your legal requirements under the regulations.

Principal Designer If you are a client planning to carry out construction work, you will have legal duties placed upon you under the regulation which may include the need to appoint a Principal Designer. The Principal Designer must have control over the design and planning stage. As Principal Designer, Vinden will plan, monitor and coordinate health and safety of the pre-construction phase and will advise and assist you with your duties under the CDM 2015 regulations.

CDM Adviser If you are appointed as principal designers or if you are a client wishing to retain this duty, Vinden will assist you with your duties under the CDM regulations. In addition to independent advice, Vinden can carry out certain duties on your behalf. This may include management and coordination of pre-construction information including preparation of a pre-construction information pack for tender, notification of the project to the HSE, design risk management and preparation of the health and safety file.

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FUND MONITORING

The protection of a client’s interests in a development that is not under its direct control requires a careful and controlled integration of project information and the monitoring of construction activity on site.

Vinden’s huge experience across a wide range of construction related services means that it has the expertise and track record to provide funders with independent and impartial assessments of projects to facilitate the management of risk and the protection of a funder’s interests objectively.

Fund-monitoring services can be offered to banks and development finance companies, funding institutions, institutional investors, tenants or purchasers, grant funders and insurance companies.

The first stage of project monitoring is to perform a comprehensive review of the project and present the findings in an Initial Audit Report. This will be followed by ongoing monthly monitoring to ensure that the interests of the funder are protected and any potential risks managed in the correct way until they are discharged in full.

At Practical Completion, Vinden will perform a final review of the project to deal with the closure of all key issues. A Completion Report will be provided to confirm the building owner may allow occupation of the project and arrange for the delivery of all necessary documentation.

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CORPORATE RESTRUCTURES & RECOVERY TVP have been advising clients on corporate restructures, acquisitions and recoveries since its inception in 1994 and provide a range of services to companies, funders and insolvency practioners.

Certainly in recent times, it is not uncommon for businesses to run into financial difficulty. Should this happen, TVP can provide expert advice on the process of attempting to rescue a business.

The Company can recover outstanding debt and work in progress values and also give guidance on the sale and novation of relevant contracts.

Arrangements can be made for contract completions and assistance given in negotiating the sale of the business to interest parties.

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• QUANTITY SURVEYING & PROJECT MANAGEMENT • BUILDING SURVEYING & PARTY WALL • CORPORATE RECOVERY, RE-STRUCTURING & FUNDING SOLUTIONS • CONSTRUCTION INSURANCE • DISPUTE RESOLUTION • SUSTAINABILITY (CODE ASSESSORS,SAPs / EPCs)

WWW.VINDEN.CO.UK