Newly approved plans at Lutterworth site to create 120 jobs
New jobs are coming to Lutterworth after plans for two new takeaway restaurants were given the green light.
Leicestershire County Council’s plan – approved by Harborough District Council’s Planning Committee – will unlock land at Leaders Farm and create more than 120 jobs, helping to boost the local economy.
Located just off the A4303 roundabout for Coventry Road, the site was identified as a prime area by both McDonalds and Costa Coffee, who will be the tenants of the two units on the site. The site will also feature more than 50 car parking spaces and include electric vehicle charging points.
Councillor Lee Breckon, cabinet member for finance, said: “We are delighted to have secured planning approval and look forward to getting work underway as soon as possible.
“This is an exciting project, which we hope is just the start of the employment opportunities at Leaders Farm and gives us the chance to best use our land to benefit residents. This site is ideally located and convenient for sustainable employment and supports Leicestershire’s thriving economy.
“Approval for these units and the investment we’ll be making in the site will also bring a long-term income for the county council to use for frontline services.”
As part of the county council’s ambitions to utilise the land for employment and economic growth, it is expected that the two new tenants will help to ensure the remaining part of the site can be used for other employment space in the future.
Work to build the units on the land will also include improvements at the A4303 roundabout, including pedestrian crossings and new planting.
Northants-based lighting group acquires Belgian business
Northants-based Collingwood Lighting Group (UK), a designer, manufacturer and distributor of LED luminaires and a platform company of Ambienta, has acquired Indigo.
Indigo, founded in 2002 and headquartered in Sprimont, Belgium is a designer, manufacturer and distributor of LED luminaires focused on the French & Belgian wholesale and other export markets including Switzerland and Germany.
The business is co-owned and led by Sebastien Dumont and Olivier Lapiere who have both re-invested alongside Ambienta as part of the transaction.
Collingwood’s acquisition of Indigo represents its second acquisition after Nobile (July 2022).
Hamdi Conger, Collingwood Group chairman, said: “We are delighted to welcome Sebastien, Olivier and the Indigo team to our lighting family. Indigo is a fantastic business with a highly complementary product portfolio and a strong position in the French market, offering many exciting synergies across our group.”
Sebastien Dumont and Olivier Lapiere of Indigo said: “We are very proud of our journey and achievements at Indigo. Joining forces with Collingwood and Nobile represents the next stage in our exciting growth journey and will bring even greater opportunities for everyone now that we are together as one group.”
Matthew Norrington, private equity partner at Ambienta, said: “Indigo joining our group represents another significant step towards our strategic ambition to create a market leading Pan European player in the lighting sector. We look forward to working closely with the entire Indigo team who will bring a wealth of lighting experience, knowledge and expertise to the project.”
Derby M&S Foodhall sold for £6.2 million
LondonMetric Property, a FTSE 250 REIT, has completed on the sale of a new M&S Foodhall in Derby.
The £6.2 million deal has been a long time coming, with exchange of the sale announced in 2021.
The completion came alongside the sale of six other long income assets for £33.9 million.
Andrew Jones, Chief Executive of LondonMetric, said: “With the investment market strengthening over the past few months, we have taken advantage of this improved liquidity to opportunistically sell down some of our more mature long income assets.
“These sales crystalise strong returns and have been transacted at attractive yields and narrow discounts to book values.”
Blueprint Interiors complete flagship Bupa wellness centre
Leicester-based workplace consultants and commercial office fit-out specialists Blueprint Interiors has completed the six figure fit out of a new Bupa assessment centre in Cheshire jointly with Enigma Wellness.
The new healthcare assessment centre is located at Portal Business Park on the outskirts of Tarporley. The space started out as 3,230 sq ft of commercial office space and has been transformed into a flagship Bupa and Enigma Wellness health assessment centre from which to deliver treatment and diagnosis.
This is the first joint centre between Bupa and Enigma Wellness and will provide a number of enhanced health and wellbeing services, including health assessments, private GP appointments, physiotherapy, muscle, bone and joint services and menopause support to people within their catchment area.
Commenting on the fit-out, Niki Fieldhouse, project & marketing manager from Enigma Wellness, said: “This is definitely the blueprint we will follow in future as the finished centre is spectacular. We are now in a perfect position to expand and create a wellness hub in the centre of Cheshire.
“The space was a blank canvas yet Blueprint Interiors has been able to interpret our vision into reality due to their expert knowledge and expertise of design, healthcare and CQC regulations.
“Bupa have been blown away with their attention to detail and how the requirement to combine safety and hygiene have not been compromised by the need to deliver a high-quality calming environment, befitting of a paid for healthcare experience.”
The fit-out includes a welcoming reception centre with four treatment rooms and a pathology lab downstairs, with a further five consultation rooms upstairs for private consultations and assessments, including a staff dining and training room.
Particular attention has been given to ensuring the space places people first, with mental health and well-being central to design.
The private practice required a calming and inviting experience for patients, reflecting Enigma Wellness values. Using soft furnishings and introducing biophilia, feature lighting, and acoustics, a holistic design approach was developed to ensure an air of calmness, confidentiality and privacy. Avoiding noise transference into public and staff areas was essential to both patients and employees whilst also enabling staff to feel free to enjoy break time away.
Hannah Dixon, lead project designer from Blueprint Interiors, added: “As with any design and build project, the real hard work is done during the discovery phase – the devil is in the detail! Working with the Enigma Wellness team in the defining stages enabled us to realise, in detail, their vision and develop that within the design.
“This ensured there was total clarity, and the finished outcome met all expectations. We were thrilled with the feedback from Enigma and Bupa and look forward to developing our working relationship in the future.”
Leicester Tigers’ plans to raise up to £13m approved
Leicester Football Club Plc shareholders have approved, at a General Meeting on Friday (March 3), plans to raise up to £13m by way of a share subscription from Tom Scott and Peter Tom – both existing shareholders and members of the Board.
The Board believes that the subscription is essential to secure the financial position and future success of Leicester Tigers.
The proposal will see Scott, a non-executive director, and executive chairman Tom increase their shareholdings in the club, with Scott becoming a majority shareholder.
Leicester Tigers’ CEO Andrea Pinchen said ahead of the vote: “Tom Scott is a long-standing supporter of the club and a valued member of the board of directors who over his tenure with the club has already invested over £10m.
“Peter Tom has been chairman of Leicester Tigers since 1993, having made 130 appearances for the club between 1963 and 1968 and has been a huge part in navigating the club through the professional era.
“We are very grateful that Peter and Tom are looking to extend their investments in Leicester Tigers at a time when the club is suffering some very challenging conditions from factors mostly outside of our control.
“Their decision to invest at this time will give the club the financial assurance to execute the club’s strategy of continued success and financial sustainability.”
Leicester Tigers will initially receive £8.3m, to be followed by a further £4.7m.
If the investment plans were not passed, the appointment of administrators was anticipated.
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Hinckley National Rail Freight Interchange plans withdrawn for further work
Developers Tritax Symmetry have withdrawn their application for the Hinckley National Rail Freight Interchange.
Tritax had submitted the application to the Planning Inspectorate on 6 February for consideration.
However, the Planning Inspectorate have told Tritax they failed to provide a required technical report in their submission documents.
It is understood Tritax will now take several weeks to prepare this report and will then need to resubmit their application.
This will restart the process from the start of the acceptance phase.
The scheme, earmarked for 662 acres of land between the M69 and the Leicester to Birmingham railway line, falls mainly within the boundary of Blaby District Council, south-west of Elmesthorpe village.
While Blaby District Council can comment on the application throughout the formal process, it cannot make the final decision. The scheme is considered of such scale and national importance it will be determined by the Secretary of State.
On 20 February, Blaby District Council submitted a representation about the adequacy of the scheme’s consultation, followed on 21 February by Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council submitting a response that the scheme’s consultation fell short of what should have been undertaken, highlighting deficiencies in the time and information available during consultations, and that there were limitations and gaps in the baseline information provided.
It is expected this delay will add several weeks to the currently expected timetable.
Study shows CSR engagement remains high among East Midlands businesses but lots of work still to do
Six in 10 East Midlands businesses continue to engage in corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities despite the ongoing cost-of-doing-business crisis, new research shows.
A study by East Midlands Chamber, in partnership with the University of Derby and Loughborough University, found that while there was a slight drop-off in engagement from 66% to 60% of firms in the year to 2022, 42% plan to increase charitable and community activities over the next 12 months – with fewer than 4% expecting a decrease.
When asked to rank the importance of CSR to organisational strategy, it was given an average rating of 5.7 out of 10.
This week, the Chamber hosted a roundtable session involving business leaders to learn why many organisations place importance on CSR and how to support those that don’t currently engage in any activities.
East Midlands Chamber director of policy and external affairs Chris Hobson said: “This research demonstrates the continued importance of being a responsible business, something that many firms are prioritising even in a tough economic environment of cost pressures from all cylinders.
“Responsible businesses are more successful in attracting and retaining employees, winning contracts and tenders, and being recognised as an important part of their community. This ultimately results in more successful businesses.
“We now want to help more businesses to do more CSR engagement, and in a more impactful way, using the insights of this research and discussions with our members.”
Key findings in East Midlands Chamber CSR research
The CSR analysis has been conducted since 2017 as part of the Chamber’s Quarterly Economic Survey.
The latest study took place in November within the Q4 2022 survey, featuring 389 respondents from across Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire. Key findings included:
· CSR engagement among service-based firms (64%) tends to be higher than among manufacturers (50%)
· There is a correlation between CSR engagement and the size of an organisation – while 83% of large firms are engaged, this decreases for medium (73%), small (66%) and microbusinesses (47%)
· A lack of resources remains the main barrier to greater adoption, cited by 32% of all companies but higher among microbusinesses (35%)
· Other key barriers include not being something an organisation has considered (20%), not part of a strategic business plan (17%), too busy (13%), not the right time (11%) and unsure how to begin (7%)
· The desire to give something back (15%), being the right thing to do (14%), develop links with the community (13%) and staff development (11%) were cited as the main motivations for CSR engagement
· Charitable activities (40%) like corporate fundraising and donations are the most popular types of CSR engagement, followed by environmental activities (27%), community initiatives (23%) and staff volunteering (10%)
· Smaller organisations are more community-focused than their larger peers, which regard CSR as more critical to their strategy
· Despite the slight fall in CSR engagement between 2021 and 2022, virtually all (97%) organisations are looking to maintain, if not increase, their CSR activities in the coming year
The analysis is published in a report titled Corporate social responsibility engagement in the East Midlands, authored by Dr Barbara Tomasella at the University of Derby and Dr Elaine Conway at Loughborough University.
Dr Tomasella said: “This study highlights how organisations in the East Midlands are good advocates for engaging in CSR activities and is a very positive bellwether of the strength of community spirit in the East Midlands.
“Despite barriers to resource availability, many organisations do find the opportunity to invest in CSR, and have a strong sense of wanting to give back and develop their local communities – a commitment that still looks strong in the forthcoming year.”
Dr Conway added: “It’s important we now look to support more firms to join their peers in CSR engagement – not only because of the community benefits but because it makes good business sense – and we will be looking at how we can support this via positive storytelling, toolkits and training.”
Leicestershire foodbank receives £2,500 boost from local housebuilder
Leicestershire developer David Wilson Homes has supported Coalville Foodbank with a £2,500 donation towards food and toiletry supplies, and assisting the vital work of volunteers.
Based at New Life Church, and close to the developer’s head office in Bardon, the foodbank has been operating for roughly 10 years and provides food parcels to local people in need on a referral-only basis.
It also offers debt advice to clients, and helps to signpost them to other supporting charities and organisations.
Alison Carr, administrator at Coalville Foodbank, said: “We are really grateful for David Wilson Homes’ generous donation, as we rely on donations to be able to keep Coalville Foodbank full of food.
“Community support through food donations and funding is so important, as we wouldn’t be able to operate without this support.
“We’d like to thank David Wilson Homes for its donation as it means a lot to our organisation and is always appreciated.”
John Reddington, Managing Director at David Wilson Homes East Midlands, said: “We’re thrilled to support Coalville Foodbank at a time where togetherness and community spirit is crucial.
“The representatives of the Trussell Trust do an outstanding job in providing emergency supplies to those in need, and we hope our donation will support their admirable work during these testing times.”
Coalville Foodbank is part of a nationwide network of foodbanks, supported by The Trussell Trust, working to combat poverty and hunger across the UK.
Between 1 April 2022 and 30 September 2022, foodbanks in the Trussell Trust’s national network distributed 1.3 million food parcels to people facing hardship – this is an increase of 52% compared to the same period in 2019. Half a million of these parcels were distributed to children.
£75,000 funding to support Broxtowe businesses
£75,000 funding is now open for applications to support businesses in Broxtowe as part of a new grant scheme from Broxtowe Borough Council.
The scheme will fund grants of up to £2,500 for things like:
- Shop and business frontage improvements including signage
- Street scene or conservation area related initiatives
- Environmental energy saving measures
- Disability access improvements
- Digital, productivity and ecommerce investments that improve productivity or create jobs
- Kimberley – £25,000 as part of the Levelling Up Fund
- Eastwood – £25,000 as part of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund
- Beeston/Chilwell – £25,000 as part of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund
New industrial development set for Corby following funding agreement
Commercial developer, Brackley Property Developments (BPD) has secured funding for the construction of a new industrial/warehouse building on a two-acre development site in Northamptonshire.
The commercial developer has entered into a full forward funding agreement with specialist property investment firm, Leftfield for the speculative development of the new unit at Cockerell Road in Corby.
Work has commenced on the development, which gained planning consent from North Northamptonshire Council towards the end of last year.
The new 43,000 sq ft unit will contain two dock loading doors, two level access sectional overhead doors and ancillary office space, as well as staff and visitor parking. It is programmed for completion in Q3 2023.
Stephen Pedrick-Moyle, managing director of BPD, said: “This is an exciting mid-box development opportunity in a prominent, well located site. The new unit will offer occupiers the chance to secure high quality industrial/warehouse accommodation north of Corby town centre and within close proximity of a large local labour supply.
“We are very pleased to further our relationship with Leftfield, following our development of 110,000 sq ft of new industrial accommodation at Leftfield Park in Walsall.”
Nico Fourie, chief executive of Leftfield Advisors, said: “Leftfield Fund III continues to accumulate strategic assets in key locations. Our conviction to the sector requires quality buildings, which attract strong covenants. We are delighted to work closely again with BPD on this new project.”
Cockerell Road is an established commercial location, with occupiers including Wickes and Andrews Building Supplies. The nearby A6003 provides direct access to junction 7 of the A14 dual carriageway and main arterial routes.
TDB Real Estate acted on behalf of BPD and Bampton Satchwell Bull (BSB) acted on behalf of Leftfield. Prop-Search advised the vendor during the original site acquisition process.
Nottingham Forest owner makes significant financial commitment to the club
Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis has made a further significant financial commitment to the club with the conversion of £41m worth of loans into shares in the 2021/22 financial year.
Converting the £41m debt into equity helps relieve the financial burden on the club, reaffirming Marinakis’ commitment to the continued development and future success of Nottingham Forest.
The move forms part of the club’s financial accounting process for its 2021/22 accounts. Details of the arrangement have been submitted to Companies House.
This follows a similar conversion of £12m of debt into equity in the previous year and over £20m in the year before that.
Chairman Nicholas Randall KC said: “Nottingham Forest is incredibly fortunate to have such generous financial support from its ownership.
“This latest financial commitment follows substantial spending on the playing squad in the Summer and January transfer windows, together with significant investment in infrastructure across the club.
“This includes the redevelopment of the tunnel, dressing rooms and hospitality areas in the Main Stand at The City Ground and improvements to pitches and training facilities at the Nigel Doughty Academy complex.”
Profits up at The Nottingham
With an increase in mortgage lending and pre-tax profit compared to 2021, The Nottingham says it ended 2022 in a strong position.
According to results for the year ended 31 December 2022, group pre-tax profit stood at £18.9m (growing from £15.1m in 2021), with underlying pre-tax profit of £15.2m (increasing from £7.4m in 2021).
Gross mortgage lending meanwhile was up 18% at over £659m for 2022.Sue Hayes, CEO of Nottingham Building Society, said: “I am pleased to report that we ended the year in a strong position, with profit before tax of £18.9 million, up £3.8 million on 2021.
“Our financial performance has been achieved despite additional costs and increased provisions for expected future credit losses driven by the rising cost of living, and inflationary challenges that our borrowers face into 2023 and beyond. Increasing interest rates have supported the strong performance.
“We have made it a key priority to support our members through these difficult times by paying savers the best rates we could whilst strengthening the Society. Building the right team has also been very important. In 2022 we announced some significant hires to bolster our talented executive team.
“Alongside this, finding the right allies to support our ambitions was a focus. Our partnership with Generation Home, announced in November, is a great example of how we will think differently to help achieve our goals.
“I am proud of the results we are sharing today and would like to thank our members, and each one of our dedicated colleagues, for their continued trust in the Society. We look ahead to the coming years with a renewed sense of focus, guided by a clear and impactful purpose, with mutuality as our bedrock.”
Get involved, collaborate and make change happen conference tells Chesterfield businesses
Chesterfield businesses have been urged to take action if they want to make a difference to the town’s future.
Speaking at the annual Celebrate Chesterfield Conference on Thursday 2 March, organised by Destination Chesterfield in association with Addooco IT, Peter Swallow, chair of the town’s inward investment marketing campaign Destination Chesterfield, called on businesses to ‘get involved,’ ‘collaborate’ and ‘make change happen’ to ensure the town achieves its transformational growth strategy by 2030.
He said: “We have a network of more than 200 businesses, charities and education providers in Chesterfield, known as Chesterfield Champions, and the people in these organisations do so much to support Destination Chesterfield to market the town as a destination to invest, work, live and visit.
“But if we want to see the town thrive in an increasingly competitive market, we need to do even more collectively. We must collaborate and buy from each other and we must champion Chesterfield outside the area in order to help us bring investment into the borough and create highly skilled jobs.”
Launched on 23 February by Chesterfield Borough Council, key headline targets of the Chesterfield Growth Strategy include:
· Increasing the number of employee jobs in the borough by 4% (2,000 jobs).
· Increasing the number of businesses by 12% (400 businesses).
· Increasing the number of higher value businesses by 15% (100 businesses).
· Increasing the share of Chesterfield residents in knowledge-based occupations by 15% (baseline Census 21 – 18,000).
· Increasing the value of the visitor economy by 20% (baseline £163m).
Speaking about the ambitious strategy at the conference, Councillor Tricia Gilby, leader of Chesterfield Borough Council, said: “Bringing together the public, private and community sectors to champion our borough is key to achieving our ambitions and strengthening the local economy. As a council we have continued to bring investment into the area from central government and elsewhere.
“Earlier this year we announced our success in bringing almost £2.7 million of UK Shared Prosperity Funding into the borough, a comprehensive spending plan is in place that will provide training support, grant programmes for businesses and charities, as well as helping to make further improvements to green spaces, sports and play facilities across our borough.
“We have secured more than £45 million from the government, this will be used to invest in the future of Staveley but also to improve Chesterfield town centre and enhance our appeal to visitors.
“Looking to the future there is more than £2 billion of investment across our borough and this will help ensure that we have a bright future ahead of us but there is still more we can do and working with the Chesterfield Champions we look forward to promoting our borough as the place to live, work, visit and invest.”
As well as being chair of Destination Chesterfield, Mr Swallow is also Managing Director of Bolsterstone Group Plc. The company developed the new flagship office space One Waterside Place which opened earlier this year.
Chesterfield Borough Council’s Growth Strategy will see further investors like Bolsterstone Group and Devonshire Group attracted to the borough.
The Devonshire Group is behind the future residential development and regeneration of 150 hectares of former industrial land in Staveley and is also partnering with Chesterfield Borough Council, Chesterfield College and the University of Derby in delivering the Construction Skills Hub. This is funded through the Staveley Town Deal and will provide training, careers insights, and work experience for more than 5,000 learners on a live construction site over 10 years.
In addition to site and bench joinery, brickwork, ground works and electrical installation the Hub will also provide training in green technologies.
Andy Byrne, property development director for The Devonshire Group, also spoke at the conference, saying: “Although we have land in the area, the Devonshire Group is investing in Chesterfield because we have opportunities with great partners – Chesterfield Borough Council, Derbyshire County Council, Harworth Group and HBD. The geography of Chesterfield is one of its many advantages. It has good motorway and rail links and also a skilled workforce already present in the area.”
The annual Celebrate Chesterfield conference, which was attended by more than 250 members of the town’s businesses community, also saw the launch of the new Destination Chesterfield plan, which will position the borough as a desirable and contemporary destination for visitors, investors and residents.
The new plan places the town’s network of Champions at the forefront, having been recently praised by the UK’s leading place branding, place marketing and place making specialist Thinking Place, as a ‘sales force’ for the town.
Celebrate Chesterfield was sponsored by Chesterfield Champions Addooco IT, University of Derby, Choice Utility and Markham Vale.
Peter Swallow added: “The financial support of the town’s Champions is incredibly important to ensure events such as Celebrate happen. For people to be onboard and contributing actively to the town’s growth and development, then they also must be informed and involved with plans. The lasting and far reaching change we are striving for in Chesterfield cannot be done by one organisation alone; it must be a collaborative effort.”
Nigel Mallender, head of sales and marketing at Addooco IT Ltd, the event’s headline sponsor, said: “Addooco are a proud Chesterfield based business and the majority of our Team live in the town. We’re delighted to support the many Destination Chesterfield events and to promote their initiatives wherever possible.
“They do an excellent job of increasing awareness of our town and in spreading the word on what a great place Chesterfield is to live, work, meet and to run a business. Addooco are committed to Chesterfield and continue to use local suppliers, services and hire local people wherever we can.”
Dan Molloy, Managing Director of Choice Utility, added: “I believe that Chesterfield is one of the best places to do business out of. It’s important that the businesses based here support the town and each other, whether it’s through attending and sponsoring events like Celebrate Chesterfield or shopping local. Having a thriving local economy is key to developing conversations with national investors and ensuring Chesterfield continues to grow and develop.”
Adam Doyle, head of business engagement and employability at the University of Derby, which is supporting the Festival of Business Exhibition, said: “We were proud to be the partner of the Derbyshire Festival of Business exhibition at Celebrate Chesterfield.
“The festival plays a key role in continuing to support the business community to innovate and grow, aligned to our aim of raising skills and aspirations across our region. Working with businesses, we are helping to position our county internationally as a place to do business as well as a place to study, live and work.”
A spokesperson for HBD, the developer behind Chesterfield’s successful Markham Vale and a sponsor of Celebrate Chesterfield, added: “Chesterfield is a fantastic place to do business, as demonstrated by the phenomenal growth we’ve seen at Markham Vale and the creation of more than 2,700 new jobs.”
Planning permission sought for Staveley waterside development
Derbyshire County Council has submitted proposals for the first phase of a new waterside development in Staveley for planning approval.
Plans for the Staveley Waterside Development at Staveley Basin have been drawn-up as part of the Staveley Town Deal – a £25 million government-funded regeneration programme for the area.
Planning permission is being sought from Chesterfield Borough Council to construct a 2-storey building, offering flexible space for new and existing small businesses, some retail use, and a food and beverage opportunity, with indoor and outdoor dining space, along with an access road, and mooring space.
£2.664 million has been earmarked from the Staveley Town Deal fund, subject to planning approval, for the first phase of the development on the Staveley Basin site, off Eckington Road, which forms part of the Markham Vale estate – the county council’s flagship regeneration site off M1 junction 29a.
Councillor Tony King, Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Clean Growth and Regeneration, said: “We’ve put together proposals for an exciting new development which will help to bring jobs to the area and boost the visitor economy.
“Derbyshire County Council has been working alongside partners over a number of years to improve the Staveley Basin area and the Staveley Town Deal has given us a great opportunity to turn our ideas into reality, using our expertise from Markham Vale to create high-quality business accommodation as well as a visitor destination that people from near and far can enjoy.”
Ivan Fomin, chair of the Staveley Town Deal Board, said: “Staveley Waterside represents a fantastic opportunity to breathe new life into the area around the canal basin by creating facilities for businesses, residents and visitors.
“Enhancing the visitor experience around the canal will make it even more attractive to walkers and cyclists. The regeneration of this area will leave a lasting legacy for future generations and ensure that Staveley is a place where people can start, stay and grow.”
CNC machine tool specialist finds Affinity with new funding partnership
Nottinghamshire-based Affinity Asset Finance has agreed a major strategic partnership with one of the UK’s leading suppliers of CNC machine tools.
The deal will allow Sheffield-based T W Ward CNC Machinery (Ward CNC) to offer its customers a range of flexible machinery financing options, with Affinity acting as their own FCA authorised finance provider.
Neil Kimberley, director at Affinity Asset Finance, said: “We are delighted to announce our preferred finance partner status with T W Ward CNC Machinery Ltd, who are one of the UK’s leading suppliers of high-quality CNC machine tools across multiple engineering services.
“It has been over a year since we began working together and our partnership has continued to flourish as we have worked closely with Ward’s extensive customer base on a variety of finance solutions.
“We see Ward CNC as a valued partner to our business and we’re sure our relationship will continue to strengthen over the coming years.”
With over 140 years of heritage, Ward CNC currently employs over 30 people across its 5,500 square metre facility at Albion Works, Sheffield, and its dedicated sales showroom at Redditch.
It is the sole UK distributor for a number of the world’s leading machine tool manufacturers including Hyundai-Wia, Hartford, Soraluce, Takisawa and Hankook.
Simon Whitworth, Managing Director at Ward CNC, says: “Our new partnership with the team at Affinity is going to be hugely valuable to our customer base. Many of them will have already worked with Affinity to finance purchases from us since we began working together back in early 2022.
“This new partnership will help us to further develop our service offering and mean that we are not tied to any one lender or bank. Therefore, customers are assured that they can access the broadest range of funding/finance packages and deals available on the market, and we can offer extremely flexible terms and attractive finance arrangements for them. It is fantastic news for our customers and of course, for us here at Ward CNC too.”
Packaging company starts work on £8m factory
Terinex Flexibles, which has recently rebranded from QC Flexible Packaging, has started building its new £8m state of the art facility at a 3-acre new site on the Dove Valley Park, near Derby. This investment from parent company, the OGM Holdings Group, will allow for future ambitious growth and support innovation.
The new factory will initially be 46,000 sq ft and will significantly increase capacity of the factory and warehouse and accommodate the expanding team at Terinex Flexibles. The company is expecting to increase its staff numbers in the first year, with hires across production and engineering. The R&D department will also move from its current location at OGM in Oxford.
Paul Wightman, group Managing Director of the OGM Group, says: “This investment will more than double the size of the Terinex Flexibles factory enabling for new equipment, offices and warehouse space.
“We have already invested in a new Comexi F2 MB flexographic printing press, which will be delivered and commissioned later this year, and we are planning to add another press. In addition to offering greater production volumes, our food, petfood and medical packaging customers will benefit from increased R&D capabilities to support their packaging innovations.”
The new facility will have advanced sustainable energy systems such as a regenerative thermal oxidiser (RTO) that efficiently recovers heat to the printing process for reuse and the roof will be fitted with solar PV panels for generating power to operate the factory. In addition, heat will be reclaimed from the compressors to send warm air to the curing room for the lamination process and the staff and visitor car park will have electric charging points.
Marc Freeman, director at Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, says: “Clowes Developments is delighted to welcome Terinex Flexibles to Dove Valley Park. DVP continues to attract investment from significant household names including JCB, TopHat and GXO. We look forward to working with Terinex in constructing its custom designed environmentally conscientious building.”
Paul adds: “The new factory will optimise all of our processes. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for us to build a factory with the best environmental footprint that will allow industry leading productivity and quality. We hope to be ready to move in by the end of the year.”
Precision FM appoints new business development manager
Leicester-based facilities management company, Precision FM has appointed Peter Hutchinson as its new business development manager.
With over a decade of experience in customer service and business development, Peter will help Precision FM expand its reach into new business sectors while continuing to support the business to deliver FM services to existing clients.
Peter will be responsible for expanding the company’s relationships with existing clients, seeking new contracts and work opportunities, and driving growth across the business. His extensive business development and customer service background will enable him to build strong relationships with clients and stakeholders.
“I am excited to be joining the talented team at Precision FM,” said Peter Hutchinson. “The company has a strong reputation for excellence in facilities management, and I am eager to help drive business growth working with both Precision FM’s current customer base and identify new opportunities and deliver solutions that exceed their expectations.”
Established in 2012, Precision FM offers a total facilities management (FM) service spanning the entire building and property management environment.
Commenting on Peter’s appointment, Brij Thankey, CEO at Precision FM, said: “We are pleased to welcome Peter to the Precision FM team. Peter’s extensive experience in delivering value for customers will be instrumental in helping to deliver the high service standards for which Precision FM is known.
“His appointment will allow us to drive focus into securing new customers within the sectors where we can readily demonstrate our extensive experience, while also enable us to expand into other industry sectors to offer our innovative, value driven FM services.”
Purchaser sought as administrators appointed to Lincoln wood pellet business
3F Pellets, based in Saxilby, Lincoln, has entered administration.
Established in 2015, the manufacturer and supplier of wood-based pellet products such as cat litter, horse bedding and biomass heating pellets, recently invested heavily in machinery and equipment with a view to further expanding into the Biomass industry, but had unfortunately struggled to break into the market leading to financial difficulties.
Restructuring and recovery specialists Andy Pear and Milan Vuceljic of Moorfields Advisory were appointed joint administrators of the business on 22 February 2023.
Moorfields are now marketing the business and its assets for sale.
Andy Pear, partner at Moorfields, said: “3F Pellets has a good customer base and the right location and equipment but similar to many companies has struggled with new market entry. We hope to find a suitable purchaser for the business and assets who will be able to expand the business as intended.”
Leicester retail display business enters administration
Leicester-based business Thomson Hayes Retail Display Ltd has entered administration.
The company designed and manufactured retail display sets, predominantly for cosmetics brands, for use in department stores and shops. Clients included L’Oreal, Dior and Lancome. The firm was established in 1989 by directors Chris Thomson and Frank Hayes and employed 26 people.
The pandemic was instrumental in the downturn in bricks and mortar retail sales as consumers were forced to switch to online shopping. This, along with rising costs, impacted on the business which has been unable to recover.
Prior to the appointment of administrators, the company had taken the difficult decision to wind down its business and to ultimately cease to trade. The directors of the business endeavoured to honour outstanding contracts and to fulfil outstanding orders for some customers to maximise returns for creditors and stakeholders.
However, the directors’ endeavours to do so became increasingly problematic, resulting in the appointment of Tyrone Courtman and Deviesh Raikundalia of RSM UK Restructuring Advisory LLP as joint administrators on 22 February 2023, who are now exploring the feasibility of doing so.
The administrators will also be seeking any expressions of interest in the sale of the company’s remaining business and assets as a going concern, if at all practicable.
Unfortunately, 15 employees have been made redundant and the company will, in all probability cease to trade, during the week ending 10 March following completion of all outstanding works after which all of the company’s remaining employees will be made redundant. The joint administrators are liaising with the company’s employees to provide relevant redundancy support.
The administrators at RSM said they are working to secure the best outcome for creditors and all the company’s stakeholders.
