Red Sea disruption causes severe headaches for UK businesses
Ashby de la Zouch logistics firm ups bid for Wincanton
The increased offer values the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Wincanton at approximately £604.7 million on a fully diluted basis and values Wincanton at approximately £802.7 million on an enterprise value basis. The new bid represents an increase of approximately 6.67 per cent on the original offer.
Wincanton, listed on the premium segment of the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange, is a British supply chain solutions company. The Wincanton Group provides business critical services including storage, handling and distribution; high volume eFulfilment; retailer ‘dark stores’; two-person home delivery; fleet and transport management; and network optimisation for many of the UK’s best-known companies.
With almost 100 years’ heritage, Wincanton’s approximately 20,300-strong team operates from more than 170 sites across the country, responsible for approximately 8,500 vehicles.
CEVA is a third-party logistics firm, providing global supply chain solutions to connect people, products and providers all around the world. CEVA is part of the CMA CGM Group, CMA CGM being a global player in sea, land, air and logistics solutions, serving more than 420 ports around the world across five continents, with a fleet of around 620 vessels.
Frasers Group appoints new directors to board
Shirebrook-based Frasers Group has appointed a number of new directors to its board.
Helen Wright, Global CEO, Sergio Rossi, will be appointed as non-executive director, and Frasers’ David Al-Mudallal, chief operating officer, and Ger Wright, managing director, sports, join the board as executive directors.
The Group has also announced the intended appointment of Sir Jon Thompson, former CEO, Financial Reporting Council, as non-executive director. It is expected that Sir Jon will be appointed later in the year, when his current commitments allow.
David Daly, chair of the board, Frasers Group, said: “Much has changed at Frasers over recent years and today is another significant milestone in our transformation as we welcome new high-calibre individuals to the board.
“I know that we will benefit from their leadership and expertise. I’m also delighted that their appointments further diversify our board, ensuring that we have the range of skills and views required to enable the future success of the Elevation Strategy.”
Michael Murray, CEO of Frasers Group, said: “Today’s appointments reflect the progress we have made to date on Frasers’ transformation and Elevation Strategy, as well as our ambitions for the future of the Group.
“I am pleased to welcome Helen Wright to Frasers and to the board and very much look forward to welcoming Sir Jon later this year. Helen’s experience of driving transformation at global luxury brands, combined with Jon’s expertise in corporate governance and major project management, will help shape the execution of our long-term strategy.
“In addition, Ger and David have both made enormous contributions to the ongoing success of our strategy, delivering operational excellence and empowering our business to excel. I am confident that their contribution to the board will help drive Frasers Group to new heights and future success.”
Investment provides ingredients to enhance support for East Midlands food businesses
- The facilities for cultivated meats and alternative proteins will be refurbished to create a Cellular Agriculture Hub for the Midlands. The hub will provide specialist training on cellular agriculture methods and product testing for local East Midlands businesses.
- A new In Vitro Digestion Laboratory will be created to provide high-throughput screening of human food and animal feed additives using alternative protein sources including insects and alternative crops.
- The Food Innovation Centre has been recently re-launched and can support businesses in the East Midlands with new product and process development, innovation audits and business growth, including access to a range of specialist facilities. The addition of a new Bench and Chiller unit will enable high moisture meat analogues that will be particularly useful for plant and alternative protein businesses locally.
Practical completion achieved at Long Eaton commercial development
Practical Completion has been achieved at Stadium Retail Park, a commercial development in Long Eaton, Derbyshire, that will be home to new locations for Lidl GB and Wickes. The site has been brought forward by Clowes Developments.
IMA Architects (IMA) has worked with Clowes Developments to provide all architectural services and act as Principal Designer on the scheme. The company has also worked alongside Millward Consulting Engineers and Roe Developments to deliver the site for Lidl and Wickes. The retailers will now bring in their own teams to carry out the bespoke fit out of the two stores.
The 1.68-hectare Stadium Retail Park site has been built on a brownfield former industrial site that was derelict since 2014, located just off Nottingham Road. All amenities, landscaping and boundary treatments are now in place including car parking for 170 vehicles, including EV charging, parent and child parking and disabled spaces, and a service yard.
It is expected that the new Wickes store will open before the Easter Weekend, and that the Lidl supermarket will open this summer.
Marc Freeman, Director at Clowes Developments, said: “The site had been derelict for 10 years and in the planning stage since 2018, so it’s positive that the site has now been developed and turned into an asset for the local community, creating jobs and bringing economic benefits to the town. We are sure the new Lidl and Wickes stores will be very popular.”
Joe Travers, Associate Director at IMA Architects, said: “This is our latest project with Clowes Developments, and we are pleased that the site has been delivered on time and will soon be a thriving retail location.
“Given the close proximity of residents, we were considerate to their needs throughout the construction phase and our designs for the site include additional landscaping, boundary treatments and acoustic mitigation measures to improve aesthetics and to ensure the scheme does not adversely impact people going forward.”
Sarah Taitt, Property Director at Wickes, said: “We are looking forward to opening our doors in Long Eaton in the coming months. We have been involved in the creation of the site from inception to completion which has meant that we could develop a location that perfectly suited our needs, and we are delighted with our new store at Stadium Retail Park.”
Lidl GB’s Regional Head of Property, Dominic Bryan, said: “There’s been much anticipation for this new Lidl store and it’s great that we are now able to enter the next stages of development. We are extremely grateful for all the support we have received so far and look forward to bringing our high quality and best value produce to the local community.”
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Business development executive appointed at NLT
NLT Training Services has appointed Simon Hammett as a business development executive, working across its Chesterfield and Scunthorpe sites.
He brings a background in a range of sectors to the role, including a successful decade in IT, as well as sales, media, and the armed services where he was a Royal Navy cadet for three years. Alongside his new role at NLT, Simon is also studying part time for a PHD in Documentary Filmmaking.
As part of his business development executive role at NLT Simon will work with organisations, employers and individuals to identify training packages and bespoke courses to assist in the delivery of continued professional development (CPD) in the workplace.
Demand for workplace leadership and management training and development has risen quickly post-covid and Simon’s appointment will enable NLT to extend its reach further.
Simon’s personal CPD makes him ideally placed for the role, having experienced first-hand how accredited training and qualifications can open doors to a range of careers.
Aged 22 he secured a sponsored place with the Royal Naval College where he trained to navigate warships and rose to the rank of Officer – Midshipman. On leaving the Navy, Simon then worked for a number of IT and Communications service providers as well as undertaking degrees in Food, Nutrition and Health, and Documentary Filmmaking.
Speaking about his appointment at NLT, Simon said: “I’m delighted to be part of a company focused on delivering high quality training. Through training and qualifications, I have seen the transformative effect of high-quality provision within my own career progression. I am passionate about NLT’s vision and putting my skillset to use to drive forward the sales of courses.”
Welcoming Simon to the team Sarah Temperton, Chief Executive of NLT Training Services, said: “We’re delighted to have Simon onboard. NLT has been delivering training across the East Midlands and Humberside for more than fifty years. I am confident Simon’s input will help us to shape the next chapter in NLT’s development.”
Northamptonshire video capture technology company sets sights on significant acquisition
Yü Group enters into “transformational new hedging facility”
Yü Group, the independent supplier of gas, electricity, meter asset owner and installer of smart meters to the UK business sector, has entered into a new structured trading agreement with Shell Energy, with an initial five-year term.
Entry into the hedging facility represents the conclusion of a twelve-month selection and due diligence process. The hedging facility replaces the previous arrangement entered into in 2019 with SmartestEnergy Limited.
The old facility enabled Nottingham-based Yü Group to effectively scale up and formed a key tenet of the Group’s risk management approach allowing the business to procure gas and electricity at fixed prices to support its growing customer base.
The unprecedented volatility in the energy markets, and Yü Group’s rapid growth, has recently resulted in the Group exceeding its available credit under the old facility resulting in the requirement for the Group to post cash on deposit to support its hedging strategy, with £49.8m posted as collateral at 31 December 2023.
The hedging facility with Shell Energy has several benefits for Yü Group. It is structured to allow access to commodity markets to support the Group’s ambitious growth agenda, and has the potential to support further expansion opportunities should they arise.
Further, while the Group meets its ongoing obligations in the hedging facility, Yü Group will not be required to deposit cash as collateral to support mark to market movements, due to energy price fluctuations, as has been required under the old facility. Finally, Yü Group will benefit from Shell’s considerable commodity trading access to liquid commodity markets, at market reflective prices.
Yü Group says the hedging facility “fundamentally transforms” its working capital profile releasing cash that would previously have to be held on balance sheet to support the Group’s robust hedging policy. £52.25m of cash previously lodged under the old facility has now flowed back to Yü Group, with further material cash benefits to be realised over the next month.
Bobby Kalar, Chief Executive Officer of Yü Group, said: “I’m very excited for the future of the Group and look forward to working with Shell Energy Europe Limited, one of Europe’s largest traders of gas, power and environmental products.
“This new strategically important facility is the result of a thorough selection process and is further validation of the strength and maturity of Yü Group following the extensive due diligence and stress-testing of our business model.
“The new hedging facility unlocks over £50m of cash currently posted as collateral and removes a material working capital constraint to the business lifting exposure to mark to market movements from future energy market fluctuations.
“This provides us with substantial strategic and financial benefits, enabling increased distributions whilst continuing to invest to deliver our ambitious growth agenda.
“I recognise it’s been a very busy period for my team and would like to thank them for their continued support. I look forward to the future with absolute confidence.”
