Commercial property interests in and around Cambridge and the wider area could stand to benefit from the restructuring of the pharmaceutical sector in the coming years, as research is favoured over manufacturer by leading companies in the sector.  That is what Will Mooney, joint head of Carter Jonas agency and professional services in the eastern region is saying. His comments come on the back of recent confirmation that Pfizer was in detailed talks with a consortium led by London and Metropolitan about buying the drug-giant’s large site in Kent, the closure of which was announced a year ago.
What’s happening with Pfizer will, according to Mooney, be reflected across the pharmaceutical industry with mass market development and manufacture of medicines on-site becoming more unprofitable as drug company patents expire in the coming decade. He explains: “Drug companies will see patents on mass market medicines expire in the next few years – Pfizer has four of the biggest patents expiring in the US by the end of 2013, its cholesterol-busting Lipitor and Viagra are two of its most high profile brand names. “The shift in medical treatment towards gene-based, personally-tailored treatments accelerates a change in property requirements.”

In practice, this means more research-based property requirements as opposed to huge, factory sites and this is where commercial property locations which are closely linked to world-class academic institutions will come in to their own from a sector worth billions of pounds globally. CD Hood Ltd Cambridgeshire specialists in tailored commercial builds are ideally placed to meet your needs.

As with any building project by a reputable commercial builder like CD Hood Ltd there are a range of roles and processes that are more likely to optimise success. With retrofitting in particular experienced Cambridgeshire builders CD Hood Ltd can see that it is vital to:

• Engaging clients with your own clear process of design, delivery and guarantee.
• Creating sustainability champions at a senior level where there is authority to invest on a longer term basis.
• Appointing a carbon monitor to ensure continuity throughout a project.
Technology
• Using proven technologies, partnering with providers and getting involved with the research and development of new technologies.
• Applying a technology hierarchy and putting in place effective measuring and metering.
Policy
• Do not simply wait for policy and legislation; market forces can also effect significant change.
• A convergence of policy at the mandatory and regulatory ends of the spectrum is needed to drive mass industry transformation.
• A combined carrot and stick approach is needed and policy has to be decisive; deals that do not last lead to inaction due to the uncertainty they create.

The only problem CD Hood Ltd can see is with the politics. Private or voluntary initiatives can play a big part in pushing retrofitting up the political agenda, but they ultimately need to turn into binding regulation and legislation if they are to result in a significant impact.  Binding regulation as with other building is vital for client and builder alike CD Hood Ltd are happy to discuss any commercial building project you might have in the pipeline.

What with doing some last-minute Halloween decorating, dealing with the effect of the clocks going back on your evenings, the last thing you want might want to think about is decking. But it’s good to remember  that those wood or synthetic wood platforms that extend your living space outside from the kitchen or  the living room can give you weeks, maybe months  of space to enjoy life outside and  extend the usable time in your garden over the year.  Even on a sunny winter day a coffee in the garden on decking is much more pleasurable than on mud.

In actual fact, autumn or winter are probably the best times to plan those deck-building projects. Usually, you won’t be in a rush to have the job finished so you should have plenty of time to think about where in the garden you want to place the deck, what you'll use it for, how big you want it to be, how much money you want to spend and what materials you want to make it out of.

Why not next week-end make yourself a cup of hot coffee and warm up a piece of left over pumpkin pie, if we are sticking with the American theme, and sketch out some plans for the garden, that should get you to thinking about what you want, need, and what is feasible. With some sort of plan on the table expert builders of decking, with experience of using all kinds of material, CDHood Ltd can help you take it from there.