Light Science Technologies awarded grant funding in potato project
Light Science Technologies Holdings (LSTH) plc, the controlled environment agriculture (CEA) technology and contract electronics manufacturing (CEM) group, is set to receive a grant of £209,506 as part of a 36-month £1.74m collaboration, funded by The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Transforming Food Production Challenge.
The project, Transformative Reduced Input Potatoes (TRIP), consortium includes a range of commercial potato growers across England – from Lincolnshire to Cornwall – and includes farms owned and managed by Dyson Farming Ltd. It will test out a range of regenerative cultivation methods that could reduce the environmental damage caused by producing potatoes.
As part of the collaboration the Derbyshire company will add Nitrous Oxide sensing capabilities to its existing SensorGROW product and supply sensors to various growing sites, phased to be delivered in Q2 2024.
Over the 36-month period TRIP will investigate new breeds of disease resistant potato, new nutrient treatments for use on leaves instead of soil, reduced tillage methods including use of mulches as a growing medium and new methods to monitor greenhouse gas emissions from farmers’ fields.
Dyson Farming, The James Hutton Institute, Emerald Research, The Sarvari Research Trust and scientists from Bangor University’s School of Environmental and Natural Science and Biocomposites Centre will all collaborate with LSTH on the project.
Dr Christine Jones, Dyson Farming, said: “Many farmers are seeking ways of producing their crops more sustainably but the particular requirements for growing a potato crop can make it a challenge to incorporate potatoes into a sustainable rotation.
“Outcomes from the TRIP project can be expected to offer growers a range of methods to reduce inputs to, and impact from, potato crops. Collaboration between the TRIP partners provides an exciting opportunity to bring together different areas of development and to turn science into practice for potato growers.”
Simon Deacon, Chief Executive Officer of LSTH, said: “We are delighted to be involved in such a strong consortium and grateful for the support of UKRI and Defra. This will be an exciting opportunity to take SensorGROW from indoor to outdoor growing, while enabling the company to forge new relationships within the research, policy, and commercial growing pools.”
Silverstone Leasing running duo join The Amazing Northampton Run
Community champions Silverstone Leasing put their best foot forward on Sunday to support The Amazing Northampton Run – Northampton’s newest half marathon.
The vehicle leasing company’s Managing Director Scott Norville and account manager Tom Bailey took part in the inaugural event, raising charity cash for Silverstone Leasing’s deserving chosen charity, Cynthia Spencer Hospice.
Operations manager Ryan Bishop was unable to run due to an injury, however donated his time to hand out cold drinks to those in the race.
More than 1,900 runners participated in the inaugural event, which was sponsored by Silverstone Leasing and saw entrants take a grand tour of everything great in Northampton in three different races – the half marathon, the half marathon relay or a three miler.
Scott said: “We are proud to be based in Northampton and contribute to the local economy and wider community and it is important to us to support local events such as this one.
“The Amazing Northampton Run was brilliantly organised and showcased the best of Northampton. I was delighted to see such a great turnout for the first event and we look forward to taking part again next year!”
Superyacht stalwarts join Savage Lighting
Savage Lighting, a specialist in the design and manufacture of custom high-end lighting solutions for luxury yachts across the world, has appointed two stalwarts of the superyacht industry to its growing team: Nigel Sherlock and Tom Campion.
Having banked well over two decades’ experience within the superyacht industry between them to date, the announcement takes place just ahead of the 2023 Monaco Yacht Show and represents an exciting opportunity for the Leicestershire-based company to make sure its presence is felt at this internationally significant event.
Tom Campion will be taking on the position of head of marine projects, overseeing the burgeoning marine element of the lighting business, and Nigel Sherlock will have the role of business development manager, harnessing his impressive wealth of experience and contacts to generate new business for Savage Lighting.
Originally trained in Product Design Engineering, Tom Campion brings seven years of technical expertise in superyacht lighting to his new role and is particularly looking forward to working for a company which boasts strong in-house manufacturing capabilities alongside its research and development department. “In our industry, being able to customise your projects is very important, so if you are able to do this in house, you can turn things around very quickly. In-house capability, design and manufacturing are absolutely key to successfully meeting the needs of our clients, and Savage Lighting has this in spades,” says Tom.
Nigel Sherlock has worked within superyacht lighting for almost a decade and knew Savage Lighting for its solid and reliable reputation.
Nigel says: “As MYS 2023 rapidly approaches, this is the perfect time for me to use my connections to help the company further develop its sales within the new build sector and enhance its already strong position in the refit sector. Tom and I have also worked together previously for seven years and are excited to bring our respective, and very different, strengths to Savage Lighting.”
Julie Clark, Managing Director and sales director at Savage Lighting, adds: “We are delighted to announce these two extremely valuable appointments to our team ready for this year’s Monaco Yacht Show.
“As a company, we have invested significantly in our in-house manufacturing capabilities in recent years and have plenty more investments in the pipeline. We are looking forward to showing the industry what Savage Lighting is all about at the incomparable Monaco Show.”
Works starts for new Glenvale Park local centre
Construction is in progress for the new local centre at Glenvale Park, which will provide Wellingborough residents with a brand new Co-op store, as well as a new Drive Thru for local independent coffee chain, Bewiched.
The building works – delivered by local firm PGR Construction – will continue until 2024, in time for the expected opening of the local centre later in the year.
A development of 3,000 homes, Glenvale Park is a new neighbourhood in Wellingborough. The retail offering will complement the existing amenities already available at the development, which include a new family play park that opened earlier in the summer.
Mark Best, director of Midtown Capital Ltd, managing partner of Glenvale Park LLP, said: “With construction of the local centre now well underway, Glenvale Park is full steam ahead with delivering a range of fantastic local amenities for residents, along with new homes for local businesses.
“At Glenvale Park, the goal is to create a close-knit community hub where residents have everything they need onsite, also helping to integrate the development within the local Wellingborough community.”
The new food store is being opened by the Heart of England Co-operative Society which owns the eight-unit local centre on the site.
Chief Executive Ali Kurji said the Society is looking forward to providing a first class, modern shopping experience at the heart of a vibrant new community.
“The spacious 4,862 sq ft sales floor will enable us to offer many exciting features, along with high quality produce. On top of an excellent range of meat, groceries, dairy products, wines and spirits, there will be an in-store bakery, a chilled food-to-go range, as well as a parcel locker. Local residents will also be able to buy hot drinks, children’s toys and fresh flowers.
“We are investing a total of £6.1m in creating a feature packed, new store plus seven rental units, one of which will house a Bewiched drive-thru coffee shop. It’s a major milestone for us.
“The building itself will increase the Park’s sustainability with air conditioning and refrigeration systems using around 40 per cent less energy than older equipment. There will also be electric vehicle charging points in the car park.”
Mr Kurji added: “This wll be our 39th food store. We are delighted to be embarking on this exciting and significant new chapter in our history.”
Bewiched was founded by Matt Fountain, expanding to 15 Midlands stores in just over ten years, starting from his first shop in Wellingborough in 2010.
Founder and Managing Director of Bewiched Coffee, Matt Fountain, said: “As a brand that was born just a mile from Glenvale Park, we are very proud to be opening another Drive Thru unit in Northamptonshire, the store will also have fifty-five internal covers.
“As it stands this will be only the second purpose built independent drive thru coffee offer in the UK and Europe – the first being our Moulton Park store.
“We have only been able to achieve these milestones through the exceptional service and products our teams create everyday across all of our stores.
“Our aim over the next twelve months is to give over 5,000 individual recognition moments to our team, we are currently smashing that target and could even get to over 10,000.
“We want to deliver an elevated service experience to our amazing loyal customer base. We currently serve over 40,000 customers a week and genuinely want to create great moments for every single one of them, as well as our teams. Glenvale Park will be another important and exciting step on that journey.”
New framework to boost business prosperity in Blaby District
A new five-year-plan to bolster the economy of Blaby District has been launched by the Council.
The Economic Development Framework sets out a vision for the District to thrive by supporting and promoting business growth and development.
The aim is to encourage a more prosperous, inclusive and sustainable local economy.
There are five priority themes within the Framework:
- Supporting local business and innovation
- Shaping our work and skills agenda
- Growing and supporting the Green Economy
- Building Pride in Place
- Identifying investable propositions
Bank of England brings an end to run of interest rate hikes
Following a run of 14 increases, the Bank of England has chosen not to hike interest rates today (21 September).
It sees the current base rate remain at 5.25%, and comes after a surprise slowdown in inflation figures. This is thought to have eased pressure for another rise in rates.
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted by a majority of 5–4 to maintain the Bank Rate.
Anna Leach, CBI deputy chief economist, said: “The Bank of England said they’d be data-driven: a sharper-than-expected fall in services inflation driving a small fall in the headline inflation rate has proved enough for the Monetary Policy Committee to hit pause on rate rises after 14 consecutive increases. Despite the pause and a slowing of inflation, many businesses and households will be still feeling the impact of tighter credit and higher prices.
“The coming months will be tricky for the Bank. They’ll be vigilant regarding developments in wages and inflation expectations, given private sector wage growth is still topping 8%. Meanwhile, the outlook for energy prices has shifted, with oil prices now pushing up and European gas prices once again at the mercy of the winter weather outlook. This could slow the pace of decline in the headline inflation rate and risks underpinning still-high core inflation. But the economy is showing signs of turning too: the unemployment rate has risen, vacancies are down and activity is slowing.
“The MPC’s next meeting date in November coincides with the publication of the Bank’s updated forecast and their full assessment of economic conditions. And before that we’ll see the full set of revisions to GDP from the ONS, as well as more data on economic conditions, before heading into the Autumn Statement later in the month. With business investment crucial to delivering growth, this presents an ideal opportunity for the Chancellor to shore up business confidence.”
Nottingham Venues launches new look Spokes Café and meeting space at The Jubilee Hotel and Conferences
Nottingham Venues has completed a significant refurbishment and re-brand project at its Jubilee Hotel and Conferences venue.
The project has seen the refurbishment of its meeting space in the East Atrium at the venue, and also the re-brand of its Spokes Café. Taking inspiration for its name from Raleigh, whose factory used to be on the Jubilee site, Spokes has undergone significant changes to both its menu and décor and is now aiming to make the most of its attractive lakeside location.
Commenting on the relaunch, Stephanie Moss-Pearce, Director of Marketing at Nottingham Venues, says: “We are privileged to have such a fantastic location with The Jubilee Hotel and Conferences and so wanted to breathe new life into our facilities and start putting the location on the map. We are delighted with the results and have had great initial feedback from the public and our business clients who use the flexible meeting space on offer.”
Nottingham Venues celebrated the launch of its new look with a ‘Party By The Lake’. Attended by its meetings and events clients and a wide range of people from Nottingham’s business community, the event was the perfect way for people to experience the venue and try the menu. The event also raised funds for Footprints Conductive Education Centre, with the money raised on the night being added to the overall total Nottingham Venues is raising as part of its Robin Hood Half Marathon Corporate Challenge.
Stephanie Moss-Pearce adds: “We were pleased that so many people could join us to celebrate the completion of the work. It was the perfect way for people to experience our setting and I would like to thank all our clients and contacts for their support. We look forward to welcoming you back soon.”
Nottingham Venues operates a collection of independent venues specialising in meetings and events, set within the grounds of the University of Nottingham campus. These include the East Midlands Conference Centre, the Jubilee Hotel and Conferences venue, Campus Venues and the 4* Orchard Eco Hotel. It provides meeting space from 5 to 1000 delegates, with over 40 meeting rooms, 2000 sq ft of exhibition space and 300 bedrooms at the Orchard Hotel and Jubilee Hotel combined.
Streets Chartered Accountants covers self-employed tax changes, fortitude in family businesses and more in new news roundup
Streets Chartered Accountants covers self-employed tax changes, fortitude in family businesses and more in its latest monthly news roundup.
Webinar: Changes to the way the self-employed and those in business partnerships are taxedHMRC, His Majesty”s Revenue and Customs, has introduced changes to the basis period, the defined timeframe used to calculate the taxable profits for taxing the self-employed and those in business partnerships. The changes relate to this tax year, 2023/24 and beyond. Book Now
Next raises profit guidance
Next has reported further increases to pre-tax profits and sales in results for the half year ending July 2023.
Total group sales hit £2.6bn, up from £2.5bn in the same period of the year prior.
Profit before tax meanwhile grew to £420m up from £401m.
The results have seen the Leicestershire-based retailer raise its profit before tax guidance for the year from £845m to £875m, up 0.5% on last year.
Full price sales guidance for the second half has also been increased, to be up 2% on last year, compared with previous guidance of +0.5%. This would take full year growth to +2.6%.
Pendragon rejects take-over offer
The Board of Directors of Pendragon has unanimously rejected a proposal from shareholder Hedin and PAG International to jointly acquire the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Pendragon for 28 pence per share, in cash.
Pendragon said: “The Board carefully considered the proposal, including taking advice from its advisers, and concluded that it fundamentally undervalues the company and is therefore not in the best interests of shareholders or other stakeholders.”
It follows news earlier this week that Nottingham-based Pendragon and Lithia Motors, one of the largest automotive retailers in North America, had agreed the terms of a proposed sale by Pendragon Group Holdings Limited (PGHL) of the entire issued share capital of Pendragon NewCo 2 Limited (Pendragon NewCo) which will hold, either directly or indirectly through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, the company’s entire UK motor business and leasing business, to Lithia UK Holding Limited (Lithia), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lithia Motors, Inc. for a gross aggregate consideration of £250 million.
Pendragon and Lithia Motors, Inc. have also agreed the terms of a strategic partnership with Lithia, including the rollout of Pinewood, the company’s dealer management software (DMS) business, to Lithia’s existing 50 UK sites and the creation of a joint venture to accelerate Pinewood’s entry into the highly attractive North American DMS market.
As part of the transaction, Pendragon’s Pinewood division, which operates the company’s proprietary DMS business, will become a standalone entity, retaining Pendragon’s existing listing on the London Stock Exchange and creating a pure play Software as a Service (SaaS) business with an accelerated growth plan.
Pendragon added: “The Board is excited about the future prospects for Pendragon as a result of the transaction announced with Lithia Motors, Inc on 18 September 2023, which, if completed, will deliver a substantial cash dividend and create a pure play Software as a Service business with an accelerated growth plan and a strategic partnership to enter North America.”
