Wilko’s administrators have informed all staff that they will be commencing the closure of all wilko stores, the two distribution centres and the cessation of the majority of activities of the Support Centre. “Despite extensive efforts,” PwC say, “it has become clear that no significant part of the wilko operations can be rescued as a going concern.” It is anticipated that all stores will be closed by early October, resulting in the redundancies of a further 9,100 employees in those stores. Staff at 124 stores were informed yesterday that those outlets will close on, or before, Thursday 21 September. Timings for the closure of the remaining 222 stores will be announced in due course. The closure of distribution centre (DC) operations is expected to take place on Friday 15 September, with the majority of the remaining 886 DC employees being made redundant on that date. Further redundancies of the remaining 210 support centre employees will take place during September and early October as operations wind down. The administrators’ dedicated employee team will continue to help provide support, including assisting in the statutory redundancy claims process and ensuring the dedicated employee helpline remains in place to address any employee queries. Company support systems with access to further advice and resources will remain active. The administrators continue to liaise closely with the government, agencies, unions and large employers to help create avenues to further employment opportunities for staff, with the aim of helping team members quickly return to employment. This includes any and all transactions that may lead to stores opening quickly under other brands as a platform for future employment. Zelf Hussain, joint administrator, says: “Despite the significant and intensive efforts of both ourselves and Putman Investments – the remaining party interested in buying a significant part of the business as a going concern – a transaction could not be progressed due to the inability to reduce central infrastructure costs quickly enough to make a deal commercially viable. “The dedication shown by all team members during this period has been hugely humbling and we are grateful for the patience and understanding they have shown. As with those who have already been given notice of redundancy, we will guide and support those team members impacted over the coming weeks through the redundancy claims process. We also continue to collaborate closely with relevant agencies and engage with any potential employers to help facilitate a quick return into new employment for those impacted. “We continue to work with potential buyers for different parts of the business and are confident of completing transactions in the coming days.” The following 38 stores will close on Sunday 17 September with final day for employees on Tuesday 19 September: Accrington, Ashington, Blackwood, Bognor Regis, Bradford, Bury St Edmunds, Coalville, Crawley, Droylsden, Ellesmere Port, Falkirk, Ferndown, Hanley, Humberstone, Huyton, Kensington High Street, Kings Heath, Lakeside, Leigh, Letchworth, Maidenhead, Market Harborough, Melton Mowbray, Newport, Orpington, Pontefract, Pontypool, Redruth, Rugeley, Shirley, Southport, Sovereign Harbour, Torquay, Wimbledon, Wombwell, Woodhouse Lane – Leeds, Worcester, Workington. The following 38 stores will close on Tuesday 19 September with final day for employees on Wednesday 20 September: Aberdare, Alfreton, Ashby, Barnstaple, Belper, Beverley, Blackheath, Brigg, Byker, Chepstow, Clifton Nottingham, Colindale, Devizes, Didcot, Earlestown, East Ham, Great Bridge, Greenbridge, Grimsby, Hessle Road – Hull, Jarrow, Kimberley, Leighton Buzzard, Long Eaton, Maesteg, Matlock, Middleton, Newton Abbot, Redcar, Ripley, Seaham, Sherwood, Stamford, Stevenage, Swanley, Tamworth, Wrexham, Wythenshawe. The following 48 stores will close on Thursday 21 September with final day for employees on Friday 22 September: Allestree, Andover, Bedford, Beeston, Bicester, Bloxwich, Bolton, Bordon, Bransholme, Bridgend, Bury, Carlton, Clacton on Sea, Cramlington, Crewe, Cwmbran, Cyfarthfa, Denton, Driffield, Droitwich, Edmonton Green, Farnborough, Fort Kinnaird, Fulham, Gateshead, Gorleston, Grays, Greenock, Havant, Hereford, Hillsborough, Holyhead, Newton Aycliffe, Northampton, Orton, Parc Trostre Llanelli, Penge, Peterlee, Pwllheli, Shrewsbury, Slough, Swindon, Tamworth Retail Park, Taunton, Walton on Thames, Wheatley Retail Park, Wigan, Wolverhampton.

A Lincolnshire IT business – which started life in a understairs cupboard – is celebrating its 21st anniversary. LCS IT Solutions has grown from a one-man band to a business employing 10 people – and it continues to focus heavily on future expansion. Today the busy specialist, whose staff work on a hybrid basis, is based in professional premises in Washingborough from where it services micro enterprises, SMEs of all sizes and also supports a range of schools. Celebrating its achievements, Managing Director Anthony Bryant said: “Thinking back, the business had a rather Harry Potter-esque start in life, but our brand of magic must have worked, when I stop and realise where we have got to today!” After being made redundant in July 2002, Anthony and his wife Claire headed down to the pub, then camped out overnight, whilst mulling over their next move. That September Anthony, a former IT manager with a large muti-national company, immediately started work on creating the LCS brand from scratch despite never having had any experience in brand creation. In 2006, the fledgling venture switched up a gear. Anthony moved his business into a spare bedroom and Claire joined him to help with the rising number of accounts. It was a busy time all round as this tied in with the arrival of their first son, Louie. His brother Charlie was born two years later. By 2012, with the arrival of surprise son number three, Ted, the Bryant family had run out of bedrooms! LCS IT had also grown to employ four people, so it was time to find a new home for the business and they rented a little office nearby, in Washingborough. By 2015, further success led the firm to relocate to its current home in the village. Claire said that the fact that it is straight opposite the local pub is “pure coincidence!” That milestone also saw the couple tweak their business’s name to LCS IT Solutions, to reflect its growing range of services. 2020 turned out to be a memorable year for every company as Covid breezed in and acted as a major disruptor. In common with others, LCS IT Solutions examined the way in which it was working and took action to ensure it could continue supporting and delivering to clients during what ran into several lockdowns. “We responded by getting all of our clients up and running from home – and that entailed working with over 1,000 users. Sadly, our own team members were also forced to work remotely for the best part of the year,” said Anthony. “In line with the way in which hundreds of companies are still working today, we organised two Teams meetings each day to catch-up with everyone and keep our staff fully in the loop about the latest developments,” said Claire. “We are still doing that today and, depending on the individual needs of individual staff, hybrid working continues to be the way forward.” LCS IT’s core services include IT support, project management, consultancy, Cyber Security and managed telephone services. “The technological developments since we started out are massive. The largest growing area is Cyber Crime, but we are proud to be Cyber Essentials Accredited,” said Claire. “We’ve been building a close working relationship with the police and the East Midlands Cyber Crime Unit who were our partners in an educational event we ran for clients earlier this year. “We are keen to keep educating our clients, which is why we constantly create new resource they can use to educate their staff in ways to help safeguard against hacking attempts.”

Nottingham’s NoBlue2 has acquired BrightBridge Solutions Ltd “to create one of Europe’s largest and most effective Oracle NetSuite partners.”

The combined business – which now has approximately 130 employees and revenues of over £16m – is committed to business as usual for its 400+ customers throughout and beyond the transition period.

All members of the BrightBridge Oracle NetSuite and Microsoft Dynamics delivery teams will continue to support their 150 existing enterprise customers.

NoBlue2 was created through the recent merger of NoBlue and Elevate2 following a growth investment received from FPE Capital (FPE), the specialist software and services focused lower mid-market growth investor.

The merger, completed in July 2023, brought together two leading UK Oracle NetSuite solution providers and this announcement integrates a third big hitter in the sector; 46 BrightBridge employees will unite their skills and expertise with the NoBlue2 team.

In addition to its role as a top three Oracle NetSuite Partner in EMEA, BrightBridge has significant capabilities in Microsoft Dynamics and Sage systems. While NoBlue2 previously focused on delivering only Oracle NetSuite projects, the addition of the BrightBridge Microsoft Dynamics team will facilitate an expanded offering.

FPE Capital has a successful track record in backing ERP software and services businesses with a focus on market leading vendors and strong, client focused cultures. With FPE’s support, the strengthened NoBlue2 is now planning to invest further into application development and related services, and to further scale the business internationally.

Ian Irwin, CEO of NoBlue2, said: “BrightBridge is a well-regarded organisation and the people joining us will be a credit to the entire NoBlue2 team. I’m delighted to welcome them and their customers – we’re looking forward to working together to help customers to achieve their goals.

“We’re focused on strengthening our relationships further, delivering existing – and new – products and services to customers, and expanding our reach to deliver more innovative solutions to ambitious businesses.”

Co-founder and Sales and Marketing Director of BrightBridge, Ian Robertson, added: “The BrightBridge vision has always been to be a true partner to our customers to ensure the best return on their investment and to look after the people we employ; ultimately, they drive our success.

“Therefore, any acquisition had to be a perfect fit to guarantee customer satisfaction and staff retention for both our NetSuite and Microsoft teams – I’m delighted that we identified FPE’s investment and NoBlue2 as just that.

“By uniting our experience, skills and passion for designing and delivering ERP systems, NoBlue2 will be a remarkable knowledgebase for customers. We aim to use our robust position to cast our net wider and deeper to help more businesses and non-profits across Europe to capitalise on using the very latest in business technologies.

“This is great news for everyone – we can continue to deliver projects to BrightBridge’s high standard and be part of an exciting growth story.”

Dan Walker, partner at FPE, added: “FPE is delighted to have completed this significant acceleration of our investment in NoBlue2 through this acquisition of BrightBridge so soon after our initial investment. “We have used our specialist focus on this sector to identify this rapid pathway to creating the leading European Oracle NetSuite partner. We are ambitious to continue an acquisitive and organic growth strategy in this sector and provide our customers with a range of business applications and services to aid their digital transformation.”

Two Derbyshire-based independent businesses are set to open new stores at Peak Village, developing the mix of local retailers at the shopping centre, as the Devonshire Group continues its long-term investment in the site.

Henmores, an Ashbourne-based premium lifestyle and country clothing and footwear retailer, has taken a 2,300 sq ft unit at Peak Village, which will open in October.

The business is part of Young Ideas Group, a Derbyshire portfolio of four retail businesses that was established in 1968.

The fit-out of Henmores’ new location is being led by Sheffield-based company Whitehead Commercial Interiors, who previously worked alongside Chatsworth to create the bespoke interior at Peak Village’s new destination restaurant, Chatsworth Kitchen. Designed to blend heritage artefacts with a modern and fresh feel, the store will feature an integrated catwalk to support Henmores’ calendar of fashion events and showcases.

Local independent business Baxter & Co is set to open its first permanent store at Peak Village this September. Business owner Abigail List currently operates a home and garden shop at Tansley Barn Garden Centre at weekends and bank holidays, and she believes that Peak Village is the ideal location to open a full-time shop.

Abigail has nearly two decades of experience as a creative director at a national interiors and furniture firm, as well as providing support to small businesses, advising and helping with store design and merchandising.

Katayune Jacquin, centre manager at Peak Village, said: “With its outstanding links to the Peak District and local attractions, and exciting calendar of pop-up events and art exhibitions, Peak Village is a true beacon for local independent businesses to flourish and grow their teams, alongside our mix of innovative national brands and leisure offerings.

“We’re proud to welcome Henmores and Baxter & Co, two entrepreneurial businesses driven by creativity and quality, to our community at Peak Village. As the centre continues to evolve, we continue to look for opportunities to engage with other independent businesses looking to take their next step and expand their offering.”

Anne Wright, owner at Young Ideas Group, said: “Peak Village is in a perfect location on the doorstep of the great outdoors, and its links to heritage make it a unique retail proposition for our customers.

“The centre is also home to an exceptional network of independent businesses, retailers and the local community that are focussed on collaborating to elevate one another and boost the Derbyshire economy.

“It’s an exciting time for Peak Village and we look forward to working in partnership with the Devonshire Group to cultivate a fantastic retail, hospitality and lifestyle destination.”

Abigail List, owner at Baxter & Co, said: “Seeing the energy and community that the team has created here at Peak Village, as well as hearing about the ambitious plans for the future, I can’t wait to be a part of it!

“I knew this was the perfect place for my business to grow, and I’m so excited to get the store open and create a space where everyone feels welcome and can be inspired.”