Work will start later this year on a new homes development consisting of 44 houses for affordable rent in Mansfield, after planning officials at Mansfield District Council gave the scheme the green light.
The scheme will be developed by York-based Urban Group (York) Ltd for social housing provider, PA Housing, and the detailed plans for the homes, including the floorplans and elevations, have been designed by Leeds-based Brewster Bye Architects.
The vacant site sits within the urban boundary of the Mansfield District Council District Local Plan and is accessed from Sherwood Avenue, close to Sherwood Oaks Business Park, which is less than three miles southeast of Mansfield Town Centre.
The scheme forms part of The Berry Hill development, which will include up to 1,700 new homes. It will also neighbour a 169-home development off Old Newark Road and Bellamy Road, which secured planning permission last year.
Nick Gould, Managing Director of Urban Developments (York) Ltd, said: “This development will offer a superb range of high quality, two, three and four bedroom homes with gardens and parking.
“It’s in a popular area, that is currently benefitting from a wide range of residential and commercial development, as part of The Berry Hill development, and it’s exciting to be contributing to this major regeneration scheme, alongside national housebuilders and PLCs close to the recently opened Aldi supermarket as well as a new pub, coffee shop and food outlets. It’s also within walking distance of several schools and benefits from good transport links, which will make it a popular place to live.”
Mark Henderson, from Brewster Bye Architects, said: “These homes will appeal to a wide range of residents and families who want a contemporary new home, for an affordable price, in a sought-after area.
“Every house has been carefully designed to offer spacious, light and well-proportioned living spaces and the whole development has the potential to become a vibrant and sustainable community with an attractive street scene and distinctive character.
“This is enhanced by retaining existing landscape features around the edge of the site, as well as a central hedgerow, which runs right through the middle of the development. All this combines to offer privacy and further improves the attractive street scene that the development will enjoy.”
Midlands-based contractor G F Tomlinson is celebrating after its recent project for Nottingham Trent University was crowned a winner at the national LABC Building Excellence Awards last week.
The contractor, which has offices in Derby, Newark and Birmingham, saw its Medical Technology Innovation Facility (MTIF) for client Nottingham Trent University named nationally as Best New-Build in the non-residential category.
The construction of the £5.5million Medical Technology Innovation Facility was completed in winter 2020, with G F Tomlinson working alongside Maber Architects on the scheme. The project was supported by the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership with funding received by the University through its Local Growth Fund allocation.
The facility focuses on the research and development of innovative products and advanced materials to meet future healthcare needs – the key aim is to improve patient care by speeding up medical product development and ensuring innovations reach the market as quickly as possible, which is critical for patients, business, the NHS and regional economic growth.
The scheme was crowned a winner at the awards ceremony which was held at Park Plaza Westminster Bridge in London, with more than the 700 guests in attendance at the prestigious event.
This national award win comes after G F Tomlinson celebrated success at LABC’s regional Building Excellence Awards last year, winning three accolades which were subsequently named as finalists in the national awards.
As well as the success of the Medical Technologies Innovation Facility, the regional awards saw G F Tomlinson’s flagship project for Nottingham Castle win Best Non-Residential Conversion, with its Tower Garden Pavilion scheme in Skegness winning Best Public or Community Building – a project which was successfully delivered via the company’s ongoing involvement on the Scape Regional Construction framework.
Chris Flint, Managing Director at G F Tomlinson, said: “We are extremely pleased to have won this national accolade at the LABC awards – it is wonderful to be recognised amongst such strong competition that highlights all of the fantastic work that has been happening in the industry over the last year.
“The Medical Technologies Innovation Facility at Nottingham Trent University is an impressive building for many reasons – both in the way it has been designed and constructed, and in its purpose in progressing the development, clinical production and commercialisation of new medical technologies.
“There were several technical aspects we had to get absolutely right in order to provide the best possible working environment – including ensuring that the facility has the correct pressure, ventilation and seals needed, as well as the placement and optimum performance of highly-specialised laboratory equipment.
“It is exciting to see our other two regional-winning projects recognised as national finalists, too – Nottingham Castle is our flagship project to date and we were pleased to work with so many different local and regional specialists and teams to complete the work on time. It is also rewarding to see a smaller value project like the Tower Gardens Pavilion in Skegness pick up so many regional awards over the last 18 months and go on to national recognition. Working jointly with our partner, Scape, this project has a strong community story to tell.”
The Association of Member-Directed Pension Schemes (AMPS), the industry body representing SIPP operators and SSAS practitioners, has announced that Martin Tilley, director and head of technical at Westbridge SSAS has been appointed interim chair until the next AGM scheduled to be held in October this year.
Martin takes over from Claire Trott who took up the appointment in 2018.
Martin is an industry veteran having spent over 30 years at SIPP and SSAS practitioner Dentons Pension Management, before taking senior roles at Hurley Partners and latterly Westbridge SSAS which operates nationally and has its HQ located in Meridian Business Park, Leicester.
Martin Tilley, who joined the committee in October of 2021, said: “I am sure I speak for the whole committee in thanking Claire for the hard work she has put in while chair of AMPS. I would also like to thank her for the support she has provided to the whole committee and to the membership in general. I have known Claire for many years and know that she would not have taken the decision to step down lightly and we all wish her well for the future.
“I look forward to serving the committee and membership to the best of my ability and to seeing membership representatives at our annual conference to be held on 25th May at 1 Wimpole Street in London. This will be the first live event that AMPS has been able to host since October 2019. It looks set to be a packed event and will be a great opportunity to network and hear from high quality speakers.”
Mr Tilley will be supported by the committee which consists of:
Geoff Buck, Vanguard Asset Management
Sarah Hawkins, Punter Southall SIPP
Ian Linden, James Hay Partnership
Andrew Phipps, Embark Group
Debbie Seaton
Zoe Smith, Barnett Waddingham
Tasneem Ul-Haq, Aviva
Joy West, Hartsfield Trustee Services
Claire Trott, head of pensions strategy at St. James’s Place, said: “It has been an honour to lead AMPS over the past 4 years, but due to my charitable fundraising activities and work commitments it was time to hand over the reins to someone else. Martin is an ideal candidate as he is highly experienced, well known in the industry and his technical knowledge is second to none. I am sure that he and the committee will continue the good work undertaken over many years and ensure confidence in the self invested sector.”
Sills & Betteridge LLP’s corporate offer has been boosted this month with the appointment of consultant solicitor Robin Johnston.
Robin supports insolvency practitioners, creditors (including lenders, suppliers and shareholders) and turnaround investors, typically advising on businesses in distress, refinancing, turnaround and rescue strategies and accelerated M&A. He is experienced in dealing with all aspects of insolvency processes including administrations, liquidations, receiverships and voluntary arrangements.
He is a member of R3 the Association of Recovery Professionals and the Turnaround Management Association.
Robin will work alongside James Conduit’s corporate team in Lincolnshire, the wider East Midlands and South Yorkshire.
Robin Johnston
James said: “Expanding the range of services we offer to business clients, by adapting to market changes has always been key to the strategic development of our corporate and commercial practice.
“Robin’s hire was very much in response to recent, increased demand for his area of expertise. He is an absolute professional and his intuition and pragmatism are first class. He will be a huge asset to the team and will complement our approach perfectly.”
Robin said: “These are very challenging times for businesses, to say the least. The benefit to leaders and management of calling on insightful and strategic professional advice, as the economy recovers, cannot be understated. By joining such a great firm, I can collaborate with a team of real experts to deliver the advice and solutions our clients will need and I am excited to get started.”
In addition to his legal practice with Sills & Betteridge LLP, Robin serves as a trusted advisor, coach and guide to entrepreneurs and business leaders in the finance, technology and professional services sectors.
Dunelm, the Leicestershire-based homewares retailer, has reported strong sales growth and record pre-tax profits in its interim results for the 26 weeks to 25 December 2021.
In its first half, total sales grew by 10.6% (36% on a two year basis) to £795.6m, up from £719.4m in the same period of the year prior. Dunelm noted that digital sales made up 33% of total sales in the half and performance in stores was also “very encouraging.”
Meanwhile the company delivered record profit before tax of £140.8m, up 25.3% from £112.4m.
Nick Wilkinson, Chief Executive Officer, said: “I would like to express my sincere appreciation to all my colleagues and our committed supplier partners for their adaptability and achievements and for living our Dunelm shared values every day.
“Together we have navigated another period filled with significant and evolving external challenges and delivered a very strong performance in the first half, with continued growth in customer numbers, further market share gains, record sales and particularly strong profitability.
“When we announced our interim results in 2020, we were weeks away from the world being turned upside down. Two years later, we are moving forwards as a bigger, better business, with more capability, more resilience, more ambition, and delivering accelerated growth.
“We have not only worked hard and innovated to enhance our customers’ experience across all channels and categories, but have also continued to develop our customer proposition and capabilities at pace to support our future growth.
“Our product range is now broader and better than ever, with an increasing focus on sustainability, as demonstrated in our new collection which has been curated in collaboration with the Natural History Museum.
“We look to the future excited, energised and eager to continue being our customers’ 1st choice for home.”
The Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership has refreshed itsLocal Skills Report.
The new report sets out the actions needed to make sure everyone has the skills which will allow them to get good jobs, both now and in the future – and it also addresses how it will contribute to other issues, from climate change to levelling up.
Since 2018 Skills Advisory Panels have been bringing together employers, skills providers and key local stakeholders to better understand and resolve skills mismatches at a local level.
The Greater Lincolnshire LEP leads the area’s Skills Advisory Panel (SAP) and is fostering greater collaboration and engagement with key local stakeholders to support its leadership role in the local economy.
The Lincolnshire Local Skills Report is a framework for skills ambitions and offers a wealth of insights and ideas by organisations that have an interest in skills development in the area.
The report published in March 2021 has been updated to reflect ongoing challenges in the labour market as a result of Covid-19.
Since that first report Greater Lincolnshire has been successful in securing additional funding for a new Career Hub, allowing expansion of its support to secondary school; resources to address skills mismatches such as digital skills bootcamps at Grantham College and short courses delivered through the Greater Lincolnshire Institute of Technology led by the University of Lincoln; and the Skills Capital Programme which is continuing to enhance training facilities to meet our industry sectors’ needs.
The refreshed report provides stakeholders, including Government departments, schools and post-16 skills providers, with a DfE-approved common evidence base and a strategic framework for actions that will contribute to recovery from Covid-19 and economic growth.
Local Skills Reports will provide a clear and consistent view of local skills needs across areas in a relevant and engaging format for local partners.
Reports will be a key source of local skills information that better enable cross-area comparison and help feed local intelligence to central government and the national-level Skills and Productivity Board (SPB).
Local Skills Reports will help to maximise the influence of SAPs locally by:
Acting as an engagement tool – a vehicle through which SAPs can directly engage, influence and rally employers and providers in their areas to support the local skills agenda.
Being a ‘go-to’ document for everything local-skills related – bringing together existing and new skills information into a consistent format common to all SAPs.
Clearly setting out key skills needs – ensuring local skills needs are visible to local partners who can then engage with them.
Offering valuable insight and evaluation – detailing the progress made on current local skills initiatives and outlining future skills plans to plug key skills gaps.
They will feed intelligence to the national SPB and central Government – a consistent output common to all SAPs that the SPB can use to understand the needs and priorities of local areas and build a national picture of the supply and demand for skills. The SPB has been set a remit of answering the following three questions over the next 12 months:
Which areas of the economy face the most significant skills mismatches or present growing areas of skills need?
Can the board identify the changing skills needs of several priority areas within the economy over the next five to 10 years?
How can skills and the skills system promote productivity growth in areas of the country that are poorer performing economically?
Simon Telfer, Chair of the Greater Lincolnshire Employment and Skills Advisory Panel, said: “Major economic changes have been driven by skills demand trends and technological changes, and then accelerated by Covid-19 and Brexit.
“During the pandemic our focus has been on mitigating actions in labour supply and demand. We have made good progress since the first Local Skills Report was published in March 2021, but we must maintain momentum to achieve our ambitions.
“This report will drive wider influence and national leverage by feeding into the Department for Education’s Skills and Productivity Board, and into our regular reporting to the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. We all have important roles to play in delivering the priority interventions we have identified.”
Construction works have now commenced on the second phase of The Parklands, a new residential community in Sudbrooke, Lincoln, bringing new homes to the market in 2022.
Works started on the 155-home development in 2018 and developer Jackson Living – part of Jackson & Jackson Developments – has now moved into the second phase.
Sitting north of phase one, phase two will see the delivery of 41 homes, including 11 five-bedroom properties – including a landmark home with a thatched roof – and 12 affordable homes, all overlooking Sudbrooke woodland.
The exclusive 46.7-acre development is made up of 24 individual house designs and will feature two, three, four and five-bedroom homes in a unique woodland setting. The final phase, phase three, will commence next year in 2023.
Due for overall completion in 2024, The Parklands has taken its design inspiration from the surrounding, historic woodland and traditional village setting and will feature communal outdoor spaces, woodland footpaths, a restaurant, kitchen garden and community allotments.
Landscape and green space play a key part in The Parklands. As part of phase one, newly created footpaths were added around the existing ponds, native tree, shrubs, hedgerows and wildflowers were planted. Further work will include community allotments and a kitchen garden including heritage fruit trees, flower beds and space for sheds and glasshouses.
Jackson Living worked with Newark-based firm Influence Landscape Planning and Design across all phases at The Parklands with the company designing the on plot gardens and public spaces. As part of phase 2, Influence Landscape Planning and Design produced the landscape plans which include open grass and wildflower areas, native tree planting and mixed shrub planting.
Lindsey Arkley, senior landscape architect at Influence Landscape Planning and Design, said: “The existing site features of The Parklands, such as the ponds and trees, significantly led the landscape design process as they naturally informed the layout. We then created a landscape masterplan that reflected and respected the historic setting and promoted and enhanced the biodiversity and ecological value.
“Our landscape designs include significant outside areas to encourage natural play and nature and alongside the developer, have chosen to plant species that are appropriate to the local area and are of benefit to local wildlife. We have also worked around existing parkland trees which are a beautiful asset within the development, and new trees are being planted and where relevant, reinstated. We are very pleased to be involved on such a special site.”
Jackson Living project manager, Ben Martin, said: “As new home owners buy the final few plots of phase one, we are now moving onto phase two to continue to create this thriving, new neighbourhood.
“Our homes are carefully considered in terms of materials and design, but we also place great importance on the green areas at The Parklands. A great deal of time has been channelled into the landscape side to ensure we maximise the opportunity to enhance the many beautiful and historic existing features and create new ones. We have been working with the team at Influence since 2016 and their expertise in creating and nurturing habitats is hugely important to the site.
“All of the progress at The Parklands to date is a true testament to the overall position of what The Parklands offers, from the quality of the buildings to the natural landscape and woodlands. As part of phase two we are delighted to be able to release more plots and look forward to welcoming more residents to our exciting community.”
Nottinghamshire-based software firm, Ideagen Plc, has revealed its first acquisition of 2022, with the purchase of MailManager Limited.
The acquisition is an indicator of Ideagen’s ongoing and rapid growth strategy and was completed for an upfront cash consideration of £26.4 million.
MailManager, a London-headquartered email management provider, helps businesses manage emails more efficiently and significantly improve control, collaboration and compliance, which is complementary to Ideagen’s existing regulated collaboration suite.
Its software is designed to integrate into clients’ existing IT infrastructure to help file and search critical correspondence to improve productivity, ensure information visibility and accessibility, and to mitigate risk.
The purchase expands Ideagen’s footprint in the UK and comes less than two months after the company announced it had raised £103.5 million to fund its acquisition pipeline and accelerate further growth.
MailManager’s clients span a broad range of mid-market to enterprise accounts, and has a particularly strong footprint in the architecture, engineering and construction sector, where Ideagen sees compelling cross-sell opportunities.
Ben Dorks, CEO of Ideagen, said: “What a great way to start the new year by giving a very warm welcome to everyone at MailManager. It has a resilient business model, a quality customer base, a strong team and outstanding technology.
“MailManager joins our growing suite of leading collaboration software, enhances our ARR base and has a strong presence in key end markets where we expect to be able to drive group-wide growth.
“Our mission is to help customers effectively navigate highly regulated environments through great software and we look forward to making further complementary acquisitions from our pipeline in due course.”
MailManager has annualised recurring revenues of approximately £5.1 million as of 31st January 2022. Ideagen expects that MailManager will benefit from the Group’s operational leverage and achieve EBITDA margins comparable to the Group’s margins within the first full financial year of ownership.
The acquisition will be funded from the Group’s existing resources and is the first acquisition following the Group’s equity fundraise in December 2021. The group continues to pursue a healthy pipeline of further opportunities in line with its M&A strategy.
Local charity Notts County Foundation has appointed Raj Randhawa to its board of trustees.
Quoting a passion for harnessing the power of football to drive positive social change, Raj started his career as an education officer at Newcastle United Football Club’s academy, after which he took on the head of community role at the Lincoln City Foundation in October 2017.
Raj currently holds the position of northern grassroots officer at Kick It Out – English football’s equality and inclusion organisation, where he works alongside the Football Association (FA) to identify and support the needs of local clubs.
Raj said: “I am delighted to have joined Notts County Foundation’s board of trustees at what is a really exciting period of growth for the charity. Football is a vehicle for change and can be used to positively impact the lives of people from all walks of life.
“My belief is that Community Club Organisations (CCO’s) play an invaluable part in transforming local communities, and I look forward to supporting the direction and development of Notts County Foundation’s programmes across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.”
In addition to his role at Kick It Out, Raj offers consultative services with a focus on education, diversity, and inclusion and anti-discrimination governance to grassroots football clubs and organisations.
Sam Crawford, head of business development at Notts County Foundation, said: “Everyone at Notts County Foundation is thrilled to welcome Raj to the board of trustees. It goes without saying but Raj’s experience and expertise will be fundamental to the development of the charity throughout 2022, especially in relation to our commitment to providing equal opportunities for everyone in our local community. I am very much looking forward to working alongside Raj and formally welcoming his to Notts County Foundation.”
Raj added: “I am so proud of the work that Notts County Foundation do for all throughout the city and county across its five ‘SHINE’ areas – sport participation, health and wellbeing, inclusion, national citizen service, and education. Having dedicated a large portion of my career to working for community-focussed organisations and charities, I appreciate and understand how valuable charities like Notts County Foundation are.”
Derby-based contractor, G F Tomlinson, has highlighted the success of its annual apprenticeship programme and role as a Cornerstone Employer as it supported 25 apprentices last year alone.
The contractor, which has headquarters in Little Eaton, Derby, operates across the East and West Midlands delivering high-value construction projects in various sectors including healthcare, education, commercial, industrial, restoration, leisure and residential.
Its annual apprenticeship programme enables G F Tomlinson to employ young people and mentor them through hands-on work in the business whilst also supporting them to achieve their professional qualifications.
One of those young persons is Ed Smith, who was employed by G F Tomlinson aged 16 whilst undertaking a level 3 course. Now aged 22 Ed has completed his HNC course (Higher National Certificate) and his HND (Higher National Diploma) in Construction in the Built Environment at Derby College, whilst working on site four days a week.
Following the completion of his studies with the college, Ed has become the first Derby College apprentice to achieve the new level 4 construction site supervisor higher apprenticeship standard.
During his time with G F Tomlinson to date, Ed has progressed to the role of assistant site manager, helping to successfully deliver high-profile schemes, including the Advanced Manufacturing Building and Biodiscovery Institute for the University of Nottingham and most recently the major extension to Barr’s Hill School in Coventry.
On his role and experience, Ed says: “I spent time getting to know all the departments, including design, estimating and quantity surveying and have since decided to progress my career within a site management role.
“One of the best things about working as an assistant site manager at G F Tomlinson is the chance to work in lots of different places, meet many different people and work on some very interesting projects.
“I’ll be studying for my degree for the next three years at Nottingham Trent University, and once I’ve got my degree I’d like to work as a project manager, eventually managing £20million plus projects.”
Another apprentice, employed by G F Tomlinson in 2019 is Tiarna Powell, who completed her HNC course at the Roundhouse with a distinction, and is now studying for her HND with the Derby College Group.
Tiarna is working four days a week, gaining hands-on experience within the quantity surveying team having worked on projects including the Blythe Valley M2 residential mixed-use scheme in Solihull and a large industrial scheme on the new Wakefield Hub for developers HBD and Yorkcourt.
She will also be starting her degree in quantity surveying at Nottingham Trent University this year.
Tiarna says: “Through my work at G F Tomlinson I have been able to start my career in quantity surveying and study at the same time to gain my professional qualifications.
“I’m grateful that I have the opportunity to meet and work with so many different people at G F Tomlinson, and have the chance to work on a range of projects including Derbyshire Care Homes and Tunstall Town Hall – both exciting restoration projects which are bringing the buildings back to their former glory, whilst providing a modern upgrade to the interiors.
“I’m looking forward to starting my degree at Nottingham Trent University this year and continuing to progress in my career at G F Tomlinson.”
Working with the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership as well as local businesses and education providers, G F Tomlinson’s status as a founding member of the Cornerstone Employers group sees the contractor provide opportunities for younger people to gain knowledge and experience that can help them on their path towards a career in the construction industry.
Recently, G F Tomlinson’s construction director Kevin Dodds spoke at the launch event of the Derbyshire South Career Hub – a new scheme that aims to facilitate opportunities for young students to interact with local universities and other training, education and professional organisations – as well as strengthen links between education providers and local businesses to ensure students are prepared for their step into professional careers.
Kevin Dodds says: “It is wonderful to see apprentices such as Ed and Tiarna accomplish such a strong start to their careers in the industry, and we’re proud to be able to provide that opportunity for them.
“At G F Tomlinson, we are committed to delivering social value in the areas and communities in which we work, having supported 25 apprentices in the past year – providing investment and involvement into education is a huge part of that to inspire and support the next generation.
“Through our work we are able to engage with hundreds of school pupils, college and university students via a number of means including offering construction site tours of our projects, attending careers events and welcoming apprentices and work experience placements to join our team.
“Congratulations to Ed and Tiarna for all their hard work and achieving great results in their courses so far, and we wish them the best of luck towards their successful careers in the construction industry with G F Tomlinson.”
ThinCats, the alternative finance provider to mid-sized SMEs, has appointed Rajeev Raichura as Chief Financial Officer.
Rajeev brings nearly two decades’ worth of finance experience to the role, having previously worked at IBM, Experian, Capita, and Equifax Group.
Rajeev Raichura
He joins ThinCats from FTSE company LSL property Services plc, the UK’s largest mortgage and protection distributor, where he was group finance director of the Financial Services Division. Rajeev will based at Thincats’ office in Ashby-de-la-Zouch.
Rajeev Raichura, CFO, ThinCats, said: “I’m delighted to be joining ThinCats at this exciting time. ThinCats is on a high growth trajectory, and I am looking forward to helping navigate the business through the next stages of its development. Mid-sized SMEs make a vital contribution to the UK economy, so it’s very satisfying to be in a position to support the growth plans of some fantastic businesses.”
Amany Attia, CEO, ThinCats, said: “Following a record year of lending in 2021 and a strong start to 2022, I’m very pleased to welcome Rajeev to the senior leadership team. He brings a great deal of relevant experience and expertise at a time when we are supporting increasing numbers of SMEs across the UK.”
Panattoni, the industrial real estate developer, has begun speculatively developing a 575,000 sq ft logistics park at junction 28 of the M1 in the East Midlands.
Panattoni Park J28 Central M1 will comprise two units of 345,000 sq ft and 230,000 sq ft, which are expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of this year and will be built to a BREEAM rating of ‘Very Good’ and an EPC rating of ‘A’.
The 345,000 sq ft facility will benefit from 15m clear internal height, 32 dock doors, 4 level access, 291 car parking spaces, including electric charging points for cars and vans and 49 HGV spaces. The 230,000 sq ft facility will benefit from 15m clear internal height, 22 dock doors, 3 level access, 260 car parking spaces and 41 HGV spaces.
Buckingham Group Contracting has been appointed main contractor on site.
Andy Preston, development director at Panattoni, said: “This is a key logistics location in the UK, as 71% of the UK can be reached within a 4.5-hour HGV journey. The park can serve as a centre for same day e-fulfilment operations or as a national and regional distribution hub.
“We are excited to be bringing forward Grade-A buildings in a supply-starved market and we are already having conversations with potential occupiers, struggling to find suitable existing buildings.”
Letting agents are FHP and CBRE.
Leonard Curtis Business Solutions Group has completed the sale of Crouch Logistics Limited, saving all 198 jobs.
The Leicestershire-based logistics and courier business has been sold back to management following a period of marketing in January.
Administrators Conrad Beighton and David Griffiths of Leonard Curtis were appointed by Crouch Logistics following a difficult period dealing with increasing costs of labour, driver shortages, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Conrad said: “We have worked closely with management and key stakeholders to ensure a business and asset sale could be achieved which has also safeguarded nearly 200 jobs. In this sector the employees are fundamental to the successful operation of the business so it was critical that their transfer formed part of any sale.
“Following a short period of marketing and engagement with a number of interested parties, a sale back to management was completed on 31 January 2022.”
At its height, the company’s turnover was circa £13.1m for the year ended September 2021.
PMW Property have continued to remodel their property investment portfolio, completing the acquisition of The Curve, NG2 Business Park in Nottingham – a prime 30,000ft² HQ building occupied by VF Corporation.
Whilst the terms of the transaction have not been publicised it is understood that VF occupy the property on a lease expiring December 2025 with the annual rent being £510,000 per annum.
The move by PMW may come as a surprise to some as PMW have traditionally built their property portfolio with an emphasis on industrial properties, many of which are older in their nature.
In recent years however there has been a significant change of emphasis within the group and they have successfully completed a number of new build schemes including a trade counter scheme and complementary industrial units in Swadlincote, new warehouses at Alfreton and they are embarking on the marketing of a distribution site on the A50 which can accommodate a 130,000ft² distribution unit.
Mike Wrigley, Managing Director of PMW, said: “We work closely with a number of agents including FHP. When John Proctor offered me the opportunity at The Curve it resonated very nicely in a complementary way with our own thinking as to how we should look to acquire properties as the economy and property sector seeks to continue to evolve as we come out of the depths of the pandemic period.
“We have traditionally looked at the industrial and logistics sector as our default sector to invest in but during the pandemic the exponential growth of e-commerce and the need for businesses to reach out directly to their customers has meant that pricing in this sector and sourcing opportunities which we feel have value has been a challenge.
“We do see that the office sector is one where there will be emergence of rental and capital growth as the market regains and retains its confidence.
“The Curve attracted us as it is located on Nottingham’s best Business Park and it is let to a high quality Tenant who are best in class within their own fields with brands such as North Face and Timberland.
“We recognise that there will be changes in occupational requirements. The Curve attracted us because the internal configuration allows the building to potentially subdivide floor by floor and if necessary on a wing by wing basis and the passing rent of £17 per ft² represents good value compared with the values of new build sectors and those rents being achieved elsewhere within the city.
“We are looking forward to working with John and his team, and with VF Corporation onwardly, as working with our Tenants has always been a key component of our business model and we continue to look for more opportunities in all sectors.”
John Proctor said: “This has been a rewarding acquisition to work on as we have worked with Mike Wrigley and PMW Property for more than 20 years now and not only do we value them as Clients but we feel they are very much part of the family and we hope equally they feel the same about us.
“Knowing your Clients is a vital component in advising properly and when I saw The Curve come on to the market I thought of Mike because he is always one to spot value and essentially the market price of this asset class is under priced because of the detrimental effect of the pandemic and the fear factor attached to the ‘future of the office’ and there is therefore hypothetically greater risk but you cannot escape the fact that this building is prime and it sits within Nottingham’s best Business Park.
“The Nottingham office market continues to transact and with there being no prospect of speculative development for the foreseeable future we believe that The Curve will remain one of the best buildings within the city for some time to come.”
M1 Agency acted on behalf of the Vendor.
Flint Bishop (Derby) advised PMW Property on all legal aspects with Addleshaw Goddard LLP advising the Vendor.
Safe and Sound, the local charity that specialises in supporting children, young people and families across Derbyshire who are victims of or at risk of child exploitation, has appointed a new chairperson.
Mark Richardson, a partner at commercial property agents BB&J Commercial in Derby, has been a trustee of the long-established charity since 2020 and takes over the role from previous chairperson Allen Graham.
Mr Richardson explained: “Child exploitation is an issue which many people understandably find difficult to deal with so find it easier to ignore. Sadly, the fact is that now more than ever it is an issue that needs to be recognised.
“I have greatly valued the opportunity to learn more over the past two years about Safe and Sound’s work and was keen to take on more responsibility to lead our committed and talented board of trustees.
“My focus is to support the CEO and management team in further developing the services that we offer to help children, young people and their wider families who have been affected by child exploitation positively rebuild their lives.
“I particularly want to see Safe and Sound even further embedded within the local and regional business community.
“As business people, we all have an important role in spreading key messages across our professional networks about the increasing dangers facing young people and in supporting the charity both financially and in kind to keep our communities safe.”
Safe and Sound Chief Executive Tracy Harrison continued: “Our services and support to local young people and families are in greater need than ever and I remain incredibly grateful to all the professionals who give their time and expertise to Safe and Sound to help us in our work.
“Their role as the ‘guardians of purpose’ will make sure that all decisions put the needs of children, young and their families at the heart of everything we do and I am particularly looking forward to Mark’s leadership as chairperson as we continue to develop the charity.”
Young people on work placements at Chatsworth set up to address rising youth unemployment have praised the valuable experience with several now progressing into permanent roles.
The Devonshire Group created a number of six-month placements under the Kickstart scheme last year across the garden, catering, farmyard, textiles, collections and wider operations at its Chatsworth and Bolton Abbey Estates.
Now several of the young people who have completed their placements have been offered permanent jobs. The good news looks set to continue with further roles being offered to others due to complete their Kickstart placements over the coming weeks, while other candidates successfully used the experience as a launchpad into related employment elsewhere.
Kickstarters Beth Cartwright and Georgia Wilson, who have been taken on as Collections Assistants, found the placements were an invaluable experience.
Beth said: “I’ve really enjoyed my placement here at Chatsworth, I’ve learned lots about conservation and what goes into keeping a collection. This is something I never thought would be available to me and I’m thrilled to be staying on full time.”
Georgia added: “I have learnt so much about the work that goes into running and maintaining a heritage site such as Chatsworth. I am delighted to now have a job as a result of my placement, allowing me to continue working in a field I love, and gain new experience.”
Chatsworth’s Head of Textiles Susie Stokoe said: “ Kickstart has been a great way to bring young people into the workplace giving them the flexibility to work in positions they may not have originally thought of.”
Over in the Chatsworth Farmyard and Adventure Playground, Josh Nicholls will be joining as an apprentice and Jordan Henshaw now has a permanent job as Farmyard and Adventure Playground Assistant.
Melissa Underwood, Farmyard and Adventure Playground Manager, said: “Kickstart has been a great programme and it has been a pleasure to watch our Kickstarters grow in confidence and gain new skills in a variety of ways.”
Farmyard apprentice Josh said: “I’ve had lots of fantastic support from everyone at Chatsworth. I’m absolutely thrilled to be starting an apprenticeship and look forward to learning more about animal care.”
Jordan added: “I feel like I’ve learnt a lot. The placement has also improved my general agricultural knowledge and I enjoy sharing the farming story with visitors. I feel brilliant about gaining a permanent job and look forward to the start of lambing and the new season.”
With Sustainability such an important area for the Devonshire Group, Tom Hendry was keen to create a high quality placement for a young person in this area. Following a successful placement, Ella Thompson has now been offered a full time role.
She said: “I knew I wanted a job where my work could contribute towards supporting the community or environment and that’s what sustainability is all about. I was happy that this placement allowed me to build experience and then continue into a permanent role, as I felt very welcomed here by colleagues. I hope to continue to become more confident and get involved in more sustainable initiatives.”
Nathan Fairhead, Talent and Training Coordinator, Devonshire Group, said: “We are thrilled at the progress of our Kickstarters and the attitude they have shown to working with us. They have thrown themselves into their placements, becoming valued members of their teams. We are very excited for how their experience with us will influence their careers, especially those who will remain with us.”
The Government’s Kickstart Scheme is open to young people aged 16 to 24 who are receiving Universal Credit, and at risk of long term unemployment.
About The Devonshire Group – www.devonshiregroup.co.uk
Group revenue has increased by 35% to £127.9m at Joules, the Market Harborough-based lifestyle brand. However with Group profitability impacted by factors including the severe inflationary cost environment, the company has said it will simplify operations.
The business has also been hit by global supply chain issues and labour shortages.
In interim results for the 26 weeks ended 28 November 2021 (H1 FY22), the group posted a pre-tax profit of £2.6m, decreasing from £3.7m in the same period of the year prior.
Meanwhile store revenue increased by more than 80% to £35.5m (H1 FY21: £19.7m), reflecting a strong recovery in retail demand to almost pre-pandemic levels.
Total e-commerce sales across the Group’s websites and third-party e-commerce partners increased by 14% against the prior period, and 53% on a two-year basis, driven by Garden Trading (acquired in February 2021) and strong performance through the Group’s digital partners.
Nick Jones, Chief Executive Officer, said: “Whilst the Group experienced strong levels of customer demand that resulted in good revenue growth against the prior two comparative periods, Group profitability in the first half was impacted by various factors, most notably the severe inflationary cost environment.
“We have a clear plan of action to simplify the business, enhance efficiencies and mitigate the cost pressures that will enable the Group to convert the strong levels of customer demand into sustainable, profitable growth.
“Whilst we acknowledge that there are areas within the business where we need to simplify our operations and improve profitability, we remain very excited in our long-term growth prospects.
“We have continued to see improvements in brand awareness and customer numbers, and we are confident that our broadened lifestyle proposition – which benefits from increased product and category diversification through Friends of Joules and Garden Trading – is more relevant than ever to consumers.”
Adjusted profit before tax is up 95.9% to £14.1m at Mattioli Woods, the specialist wealth and asset management business, according to interim results for the six months ended 30 November 2021.
Revenue meanwhile has increased by 69.1% to £49.9m, compared to £29.5m in the equivalent period of the year prior, driven by positive contribution from acquisitions, strong organic growth, and increased new client wins.
Ian Mattioli MBE, Chief Executive Officer, said: “The first six months of this financial year saw the Group build momentum, having shown resilience in spite of the economic and political complexities that persisted throughout 2021.
“During the period, we proactively balanced securing good financial outcomes for our clients with ensuring the long-term sustainability of our business, remaining true to our purpose of putting clients first in all that we do.
“We are pleased to report further material progress towards our strategic medium-term goals, with total client assets now up 24.4% to a record £15.1bn (31 May 2021: £12.1bn). This also sees the Group pass a significant milestone, delivering on one of our previous strategic goals to manage more than £15bn of client assets.
“Revenue of £49.9m was 69% higher than the equivalent period last year (1H21: £29.5m) driven by positive performances in our pensions consultancy and administration, and investment and asset management operating segments.
“Pleasingly, and in support of improved organic growth trends, the number of new clients on-boarded in the first half and net inflows into the Group’s investment and asset management services are ahead of the equivalent period last year. This renewed momentum reflects the success of new business initiatives and strength of existing client referrals, with organic revenue growth in excess of 11% for the period, our strongest performance since 2018. These initiatives, alongside our increasingly diversified service offering, have also generated an increased pipeline of new business enquiries.
“The eight acquisitions completed since 1 June 2020, including our two largest acquisitions to date: Maven and Ludlow, contributed £19.4m (1H21: £2.0m) of revenue in the period. The contributions from these recent acquisitions, organic growth and continued cost management resulted in adjusted EBITDA up 77% to £15.8m (1H21: £8.9m).
“Profit before tax of £3.3m (1H21 restated: £4.2m) was down 23% driven by increased acquisition-related costs of £2.6m (1H21: £0.1m), while adjusted profit before tax was up 96% to £14.1m (1H21 restated: £7.2m) after adding back acquisition-related costs, amortisation of acquired intangible assets of £3.3m (1H21: £1.3m) and deferred consideration on acquisitions recognised as an expense under IFRS 3 of £4.6m (1H21: £nil).
“We are pleased by our performance in the first half of the financial year, which has seen the Group thrive. We plan to build on this positive momentum, advancing our key strategic initiatives: new business generation, growth through the integration of strategic acquisitions, developing new products and services, reviewing our processes and investing in technology to deliver an improved digital client interface and further operational efficiencies.
“Our trading outlook for the year remains in line with management’s expectations and we believe the Group is well-positioned to grow, both organically and by acquisition. We are committed to delivering our ambitious growth strategy and in doing so create a business that remains responsibly integrated for the benefit of our clients and well-positioned to deliver sustainable shareholder returns.”
A former owner of Norton Motorcycles has admitted illegally investing money into the business from three pension schemes for which he was the sole trustee.
Stuart James Garner, of Park Lane, Castle Donington, pleaded guilty to three charges of breaching employer-related investment (ERI) rules by investing more than 5% of assets from each scheme into his business, Norton Motorcycle Holdings Ltd.
Derby Magistrates’ Court heard yesterday (Monday 7 February) how the offences were in relation to three defined contribution schemes: Dominator 2012, Commando 2012 and Donington MC which had a total of 227 scheme members. The investments, which were made in return for preference shares, were made between 2012 and 2013.
Nicola Parish, executive director of frontline regulation at The Pensions Regulator, said: “As a trustee, Stuart Garner failed to comply with restrictions on investments which are designed to protect the funds of pension schemes.
“Trustees have a vital role in protecting the benefits of members and we will take action where that responsibility is abused. Trustees should be clear on when a pension scheme can invest in its sponsoring employer.”
As set out in Regulation 12(2) of the Occupational Pension Schemes (Investment) Regulations 2005, subject to certain exceptions, it is a criminal offence to invest more than 5% of the current market value of scheme resources in ERIs.
Mr Garner is due to appear at 10am on 28 February at Derby Crown Court for sentencing.
Britain’s manufacturers are calling on Government to adopt a special approach to how the manufacturing sector can spend their companies’ left-over levy funds, currently expiring and going to waste.
They are asking to be able to spend those funds – which amounted to nearly £2bn last year – to pay the wages of new apprentices, a move which would allow a significant boost to new young recruits into the sector.
Manufacturing has already been officially recognised as a growth sector by Government, and the sector is ideally placed to help deliver the Prime Minister’s promise of more good jobs in those left-behind areas of the country where he has pledged to focus his levelling up agenda.
With a high proportion of manufacturing companies based in the so-called Red Wall areas of Britain, manufacturing can create more high wage, high-value job opportunities to help the UK level up. The sector already delivers wages higher than the rest of the economy with 2.7 million jobs countrywide. This sits alongside a £191 billion contribution to national output with massive growth potential and agility in the sector to expand.
In spite of last year’s pandemic, 47% of manufacturers still managed to recruit an engineering or manufacturing apprentice, but only 45% say they plan to do so in this coming year. There remains untapped potential with almost a fifth considering taking on apprentice in the next 12 months.
Jamie Carter, senior policy manager, Make UK, said: “With a bit of flex in the levy spending arrangements, manufacturers could do even more in terms of building the workforce of the future. Manufacturers are telling us they are keen to take on more apprentices to fill the skills gap which would in turn allow businesses to grow and help level up regions.
“During the pandemic manufacturers showed the amazing agility of the sector, with many switching production lines almost overnight to produce vital PPE products for the NHS and the sector is ripe for further expansion.
“Currently an average four year engineering apprenticeship can cost a business up to £120,000 to deliver, yet just £27,000 of that cost is currently claimable from levy funds. The system as it currently stands often leaves companies struggling to pay an apprentice, leaving their levy contribution unspent.
“Government has already recognised manufacturing as a growth sector, so allowing businesses to recruit an increased number of apprentices with the flexibility to support them financially by using their excess levy funds for wages. A special targeted approach to levy funds would go a long way to allowing manufacturers to deliver even more high-wage, high-value job opportunities across the UK.”
By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. more information
The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this.
