Local employer, Innovative Leisure, the UK’s leading supplier of free-roaming high ropes courses, has extended their strategic partnership with Haven Holiday Parks, with the launch of 3 new projects and a new Service Contract in recent months, representing significant growth. Based in Oadby, Leicester, Innovative Leisure has been a local employer for 23 years and is one of the UK’s leading adventure attractions specialists. Already working with some of the biggest brands in the visitor attraction and holiday park industries, including Haven, Center Parcs, Bear Grylls Adventure and Merlin Entertainments, Innovative Leisure have a global reputation for their expertise in providing active family fun, and hold exciting plans for growth in the UK and Europe. Despite the economic challenges that the hospitality industry has faced throughout the pandemic and more recent cost of living crisis, the investment from UK leisure businesses in adventure attractions, and appetite from holidaymakers has been overwhelmingly positive: Since installing their first adventure attraction with Haven Holidays in Spring 2019, the total number of Innovative Leisure attractions has grown to over 25 across 19 out of the 38 parks in the Haven estate. As well as representing a significant milestone, it reinforces the trend that both holiday park guests and operators are favouring active, shared experiences that can be enjoyed by young families and thrill seekers alike. Commenting on the partnership with Haven, Phil Pickersgill, Managing Director at Innovative Leisure, said: “We have worked hard to help Haven develop adventure attractions over recent years and it’s satisfying to see their customers enjoying these at so many locations this summer. “With the cost-of-living pressure on families, it’s been interesting to see revenue on leisure activities perform well this season even if spending on other areas of their holiday has retreated slightly. We think this reinforces the importance of experiences and parent’s willingness to spend on outdoor activities.” As one of the largest parks in the Haven estate and having recently received significant phased investment over recent years, Haven Cleethorpes Beach, near Cleethorpes, UK was an ideal candidate for an exciting expansion to their activities offering. In summer 2022, Haven opted to commission two new ropes courses at Cleethorpes Beach to challenge and delight their guests and caravan owners. The Aerial Adventure Max high ropes course caters for guests over 1m in height accompanied and 1.2m in height unaccompanied. Towering at over 10m tall across two levels and featuring a variety of challenges, including zip lines, rope bridges, and suspended platforms. Meanwhile, the Mini Aerial Adventure junior low ropes course offers a more family-friendly experience for younger guests to enjoy with their parents – enabling Haven to cater for the full age range of their audience demographic. Since the launch of the new ropes courses, Haven Cleethorpes Beach has seen more people on park than ever before and a significant uplift in a number of their key performance metrics, including guest satisfaction, revenue and footfall. This is a strong indicator that active, collaborative activities that families can share and enjoy together are an ever-increasing priority for holidaymakers, despite a tough year economically, as Matt Batey, Head of Activities at Haven Cleethorpes Beach, elaborates: “One of the things we have seen is a huge increase in our NPS results since the investment of the Aerial Max course, so not only are we seeing a huge uptake in terms of our revenue in our sales on park, but we are also seeing a much better and improved satisfaction rate from our guests and our owners.” As with all their clients and projects, the Innovative Leisure team looks after the whole process – from initial planning and scoping, through install to full staff training, annual inspections and ongoing maintenance. “Innovative Leisure have been fantastic in terms of communication and the way in which they’ve held our relationship,” said Matt Batey, Head of Activities at Haven Cleethorpes Beach. “They’ve always been at the end of the phone to support and talk through anything that they can help us with. But in addition to that, they’ve continued to provide the training and the support that we need to make sure we operate to the best that we can do. If you’re a business that’s looking at trying something different, looking to expand, certainly in terms of the high ropes courses, I would recommend Innovative Leisure.” This project follows 27 other adventure attractions installed across the Haven Estate, including 9 climbing walls, 6 high ropes courses and 12 low ropes courses across 19 parks, including a first-of-its-kind double zip line element at Haven Haggerston.

Streets Chartered Accountants covers tax changes, mortgages, Foreign Exchange and more in its latest monthly news roundup. Basis Period Webinar – catch up Streets recently hosted a webinar about changes to the way the self-employed and those in business partnerships are taxed. It aimed to provide a clear understanding of what the basis period is, the recent changes, who it affects, when it takes effect and considerations for those affected. This presentation was recorded and is now available on demand for those who weren’t able to join live. Watch now to catch up.

Podcast: Merch turns tech for enterprising Stuart

This episode of the Streets Sessions features entrepreneur Stuart Maclaren, founder of Fan Merch and Your Print Partner. Still only in his very early thirties, Stuart shares his journey from running a back bedroom business to that today of a leading personalised merchandising business, embracing the latest technology to service the needs of everything from large scale sporting events to bespoke personalised one-off items. Listen now.

Bricks Awards 2023

Streets Chartered Accountants were delighted and proud to sponsor East Midlands Business Link’s Bricks Awards 2023, the Awards serving to highlight the vibrancy of the construction and property sector across the East Midlands. They are also a great showcase for the many businesses and organisations that have undertaken innovative and pioneering projects over the last few years. With Streets’ tax specialism for looking after those in the sector they were delighted to be sponsor of the Overall Winner, with the Award being presented on the night to Chevin Homes by Robin Lee, one of a number of partners across Streets’ practice, who specialise in the property and construction sector. See the winners here.

Mortgage mayhem… time for advice As of 6th October, we have seen multiple lenders fall below 5% interest charged on some fixed rate residential mortgages, with a rate war appearing to break out between the lenders and further announcements being made every day. The consequence is the difficult consideration for clients to decide whether they fix now or try and hold out whilst rates continue to fall. This month the base rate held for the first time after 14 consecutive months of increases, which has been a catalyst for rates falling. This gives cause for optimism of falling interest rates and inflation, which in turn should lead to mortgage rates falling further. Read more. The inflationary challenges of managing a business

Managing a business during a period of high inflation certainly brings its own set of challenges. For some younger business people and perhaps even older ones, this is something that has not been faced before. Perhaps explaining more about what inflation is might not be necessary as we are exercising the effects in our daily lives, but for context inflation is the sustained increase in the general price level of goods and services. It is a complex economic phenomenon that affects various aspects of an economy. Businesses, regardless of their size or industry, are not immune to the far-reaching consequences of inflation. Read more. Do you know the true cost of your FX/Foreign Exchange?

One of the more complex and often overlooked areas for a business to manage is ensuring they know what their international payments are truly costing them. The good news is that help is on hand through Streets Banking & Finance’s long standing partnership with a global Foreign Exchange specialist. In tandem with their specialist’s help, Streets can assist clients with the provision and cost of Foreign Exchange. By completing a complimentary currency health check, Streets will be able to demonstrate whether you are on a ‘good deal’ or if in fact there are savings to be made. Read more.

Businesses in Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire affected by Storm Babet have been urged to contact East Midlands Chamber. Major incidents have been declared by local authorities in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire following severe floods that have damaged hundreds of properties and closed numerous roads since Friday. The chamber of commerce’s information team, which can be contacted by calling 0333 320 0333, can provide advice to businesses – whether or not they are Chamber members – on what they can do and where support is available in their local area. East Midlands Chamber Chief Executive Scott Knowles said: “Major floods like we’ve seen during Storm Babet can cause huge anguish for business owners, but it’s important they know they aren’t alone and support is available. “Our information team has already provided key advice to some businesses in our region since the floods hit at the end of last week, and we would urge anyone who would benefit from speaking to a friendly voice to get in touch.” Some local authorities, including Derby City Council, have also asked employers in the area to encourage employees to work from home where possible to minimise traffic while a clean-up operation is carried out. Scott added: “During an emergency like this, we are all in it together and there are small steps businesses may be able to take to offer their support, such as through encouraging staff to work from home, where this is possible, for a temporary period. “It’s also important that all parties – such as local authorities, emergency services, central Government and other local stakeholders – co-ordinate effectively during the clean-up to help everyone get back on their feet as quickly as possible.”

Supply chain disruption remains one of the biggest challenges facing Midlands businesses, as companies gear up for end of year trading. 

According to BDO LLP’s bi-monthly Economic Engine survey of 500 mid-market businesses, more than a quarter of Midlands companies (29%) have ranked supply chain pressures as one of their top challenges, with issues such as folding suppliers, stock shortages, and rising costs topping the list. 

The survey by the accountancy and business advisory firm found that along with supply chain issues, companies are still worried about energy bills, with 65% of businesses in the Midlands more concerned about rising energy costs this year than they were last year. 

Kyla Bellingall, Head of BDO in the Midlands, said: “The economic landscape remains fraught with difficulties for Midlands businesses, as they continue to grapple with supply chain, customer spending, and business cost issues.

“While we have seen positive progress on inflation, with the Bank of England responding in turn, the pace of change is not enough for many, with other external factors exacerbating the problems being faced by businesses.

“As a result, many are calling on the Government for more support in areas such as accessing new talent, support to enable them to invest in new technology, and more specific measures around improvements to the business banking market. Clearly more needs to be done in the eyes of Midlands businesses.”

However, despite the pressures being faced by regional companies, businesses have a firm eye on priorities for the next six months, as they attempt to readdress the balance. According to BDO’s Economic Engine survey, a third of Midlands businesses intend to invest in efficiency, such as automation and AI, 29% are focusing on onshoring more or all of their supply chain, while 25% plan to manage price rises by passing on the cost to customers. 

Midlands businesses are also taking a proactive approach to recruitment over the next six months, with 35% investing in more diverse hiring practices, such as apprenticeships and targeting different schools and universities. What’s more, a quarter of companies (25%) are offering additional benefits to attract new recruits, including permanent remote working, subsidised travel, and childcare vouchers.

Bellingall added: “Time and again we see so many examples of businesses across the region refusing to lie down and be beaten by the bruising economic headwinds. Unsurprisingly, more than a quarter of Midlands companies (27%) feel confident about the current business and economic environment and have a solid strategy in place to overcome challenges and future-proof their business.

“There’s little doubt that this approach will be crucial in the months to come as companies contend with ongoing pressures, with many looking at specific initiatives around attracting the younger generation into the workplace and responding to new channels opening across various sectors.”

New research from business and financial adviser Grant Thornton UK LLP shows that many employers are finding it challenging to motivate their Gen Z workforce and are adapting their training methods to better meet the needs of their younger cohort. The research, which analyses the responses of 2,000 people aged between 16 – 25 in the UK and 605 UK mid-sized businesses, explores Generation Z’s views of the working world, as well as employers’ approaches to supporting their younger workforce. It finds that over one third of businesses say it is more difficult to motivate their Gen Z employees compared to previous generations at the same age. Consequently, the majority (88%) of employers surveyed are adapting their training methods to meet the needs of the newest members of the workforce.  Over a third of these (36%) have introduced more personalised training, specifically tailored for individual needs. Nearly one in three (32%) have also moved towards more on demand content and more gamification within their training (30%), to appeal and engage with the new younger cohort.   The pandemic had a significant impact on young people’s education and opportunities for a first part-time job. The research suggests that this may have had a knock-on impact on how prepared they feel for certain aspects of the workplace. Gen Z respondents felt they were least prepared for softer skills such as verbal presentations and persuading and influencing. This was reflected in the views of employers who also noted that Gen Z needed support with developing these skills.  Three quarters (72%) of the young people surveyed believe that what they do for their job will be an important part of their identity and the research identified what Gen Z consider the most motivating reward for going above and beyond in their role at work:  ·         Career progression and opportunity to do more interesting and challenging work  ·         Annual salary increase ·         Direct verbal appreciation from line manager and colleagues However, Gen Z workers also have specific expectations around what they believe are unreasonable asks in an early career job. Over half (51%) think it’s unreasonable to be expected to take on extra responsibility without compensation, while 40% think regularly working 10-hour days should not be expected. One in three (31%) also believe that being expected to study outside of working hours is unreasonable, which is a common requirement for those working towards gaining a professional qualification.  Ronnie Corbett, Audit Culture Director at Grant Thornton UK LLP, said: “This insight into how the current generation of young people view careers and work will help to inform and shape decision making about how we best support them as they progress – after all, these are the people that will be running our firm one day. “Generalisations are easy to make, but we must be mindful that there are many different factors that determine a person’s mindset and motivation – age is just one of them.  “Workplaces, and society at large, are rife with age-related (across generations) stereotypes, which are not always accurate. This is why it is important that we better understand how beliefs about age affect our workplace, and work to dispel some of the rhetoric that creates barriers and inhibits cohesion. “This is an area of inclusion that needs more focus. Harnessing the power of different perspectives is an opportunity, and it’s something we are working on as firm to leverage – it’s in everyone’s best interest to do so.”