How to use business spending data to inform your future budget
Every business owner is aware of the importance of keeping a close eye on your company’s spending throughout the year. It’s pretty easy to get overexcited, spend too much, and put your business’s future in jeopardy in no time. Coming up with a business plan for an annual budget is essential for any healthy business.
All companies need to make sure they plan for the future. Recent events have proved how vital it is that companies can adapt to get themselves through challenging times and unforeseen circumstances and events. To provide you with some planning advice for your business, we’ve come up with this piece on how to use business spending data to inform your future budget.
Analyse Your Income Sheet For The Previous Year Thoroughly
Your company’s income sheet for the previous year will provide you with detailed data on expenditures. This includes how much was spent on staff wages, the office space, work equipment, IT software, utility bills, insurance, repair costs, sales commissions, and so on.
However, what your business spends its money on really depends on the industry you are in and your size. Some enterprises that run complicated global operations are considerably more expensive than others and will inevitably have higher annual expenditures, such as major international car manufacturers.
To err is human, and many businesses and start-ups make mistakes and errors in their early days. Successful businesses need leaders who can identify areas where the company has overspent in the previous year by looking through the data and making changes such as lowering spending or reallocating funds to other areas. No business has endless pots of money, so spend carefully.
Stay Sensible With Your Spending When You’re Growing As A Business
It can be thrilling when you’re the new kid on the block and a new business that’s growing at a rapid rate. Perhaps you’ve founded a tech start-up and are confident that it will be a success? The best advice for owners of businesses that are expanding and scaling up extremely fast is not to get too carried away with it all.
Come up with reasonable and well-thought-out spending strategies for the upcoming year. Stay grounded, and don’t overspend on pointless things that won’t generate money or improve your business. Why not manage employee expenses more efficiently by getting your employees virtual cards for online payments? Check out https://payhawk.com/blog/ to learn more about how virtual cards are the way forward for your business in 2022.
Calculate How Much Your Business Will Spend At Different Times Of The Year
How much your business spends will fluctuate and vary at different times during the year. For instance, during the colder temperatures in the winter months, you may notice your firm’s utility bills shoot up as you spend more on energy bills to heat the office and make it nice and warm for employees working there.
Look into ways your business can save spending in times when utility bills tend to be higher, for instance, using energy-saving light bulbs in your company office. Little measures like buying energy-saving items for your office may sound trivial and insignificant. Still, when you take a look at the data of your company’s spending over the course of the year, you will quickly realise that everything adds up. At special times of the year, such as Christmas, your expenditure may also increase as you may decide to do things like treating your employees to a fun work party or getting them some silly festive gifts.
Plan What Your Business Will Spend Money On In The Next Year
Maybe your business is planning to do things differently next year. Perhaps you’re expanding rapidly and planning to take on hundreds of new recruits, opening new offices, and generally scaling up operations. The question is, what will you be spending your money on in the next year that you didn’t have to pay for in the previous year?
For instance, a whole new office will increase your company expenditure quite a lot. However, you also will be generating a lot more business income if you’ve gained a large number of new customers recently. Try and weigh everything up and avoid spending money your business doesn’t have. If you want help with planning your new spending strategy for the upcoming year, you may wish to employ the services of a reputable accountant or business strategist.
Learn Lessons On Spending From Successful Business Leaders
Analysing data is essential for informing your future budget, but you can also get ideas on spending from successful business leaders. Do you want to learn from the very best? Why not start listening to podcasts, radio and TV shows and listen to talks from well-respected business people and entrepreneurs?
Listening to their wealth of experience and understanding how they achieved their success will help you think about applying their attitudes to business to improve and grow your own business. Listen out for tips on how companies can spend smart. What are the dos and don’ts they mention? Business owners need to constantly learn and find new ways to improve and adapt their company.
Entrepreneur appeals to region’s businesses to help in COVID clinical trial
Entrepreneur Kavita Oberoi OBE is appealing to fellow regional businesses of all sizes to play their part in helping to find new early treatments for COVID-19.
The founder and Managing Director of Oberoi Consulting and Oberoi Business Hub in Pride Park, Derby, has been approached by Professor Mahendra Patel, one of the national leads for the Panoramic Trial at Oxford University.
She was asked to help in raising the profile of the clinical trial – the world’s first to be using new and licensed antiviral agents – and in recruiting volunteers needed in the search for the early treatment of COVID-19 and is asking the local business community for their support.
Panoramic (Platform adaptive trial of novel antivirals for early treatment of COVID-19 in the community) is a UK-wide clinical study sponsored by the University of Oxford and funded by the National Institute for Health Research to find out in which people new antiviral treatments for COVID-19 in the community reduce the need for hospital admission and recover sooner.
The research team need 10,600 volunteers who are aged 50 and over or aged 18 and over with underlying health conditions who have tested positive for COVID-19 in the past five days and are experiencing symptoms.
Involvement in the study will include either receiving standard NHS care or a short course of a new licensed antiviral treatment to be taken by mouth. All information, including any treatment, is couriered directly to the patient’s home along with a symptom diary to record symptoms.
Mrs Oberoi said: “Derby is renowned as the City of Innovation and many local and regional businesses have been actively involved in the response to COVID-19. In the East Midlands we are also fortunate to have a wide range of major employers as well as a strong SME community with solid networks.
“Having been approached by the research team, I thought the business leaders and local employers could be an ideal communication vehicle to get behind this important work by sharing information with their colleagues, employees and contacts about the clinical trial and to encourage anyone eligible to volunteer.”
Professor Mahendra Patel, Pharmacy, Inclusion and Diversity Lead on the Panoramic Trial, added: “This is a government high priority UK-wide clinical trial to rapidly evaluate MHRA-licensed new antiviral treatments that could help clinically vulnerable people with COVID-19 recover sooner, prevent the need for hospital admission and ease the burden on the NHS.”
For further information, visit www.panoramictrial.org or call 08081 560017 and business leaders wanting information to share with their workforce, should email admin@oberoi-consulting.com
New faces join Next Generation Chamber committee
An organisation which supports more than 100 young entrepreneurs from across Northamptonshire and Milton Keynes has made three new appointments.
Next Generation Chamber was created in 2017 by Northamptonshire Chamber and Milton Keynes Chamber to help businesses support and nurture staff who are dedicated to advancing their careers.
Throughout the pandemic it has continued to provide vital personal development sessions and social opportunities to its members and has now welcomed Nina Gandy, Jamie Cochrane and Imran Ilias to its committee to help drive the organisation forward.
Cynthia Spencer Hospice corporate partnerships fundraiser Nina Gandy, 31, has been a member since 2019.
She said: “Next Generation Chamber encourages development and helps individuals to thrive, to share stories, ideas, passions and to be the best they can be. I want to understand what current members need from Next Generation Chamber and encourage new members to join.”
Imran Ilias, 25, joined the organisation last year and is a commercial litigation paralegal and future trainee solicitor at Wilson Browne Solicitors.
He said: “I really like the mix of people who attend Next Generation Chamber events – the future leaders of the county. I wanted to join the committee to create an impact by planning and promoting the events. I want to encourage more professionals of similar backgrounds to get involved.”
PBC Business Recovery & Insolvency associate Jamie Cochrane, 33, added: “I joined Next Generation Chamber shortly before the pandemic. I’ve seen the good work it does in terms of helping people with their continuing professional development and I’m keen to drive that forward.”
President Hannah Brady was thrilled to welcome the new committee members and said a heartfelt thank you to outgoing vice president Connor Slasberg, who was the organisation’s first president and hosted its inaugural Next Generation Business Awards.
Hannah said: “It’s brilliant to see Nina, Jamie and Imran joining the committee. I’m really looking forward to working together this year to strengthen Next Gen. I’d also like to thank Connor for his support and passion for Next Gen since it launched. We will certainly miss his enthusiasm and impressions in our committee meetings!”
BSP Consulting appointed to EEM Dynamic Purchasing System
East Midlands-based civil and structural engineering firm BSP Consulting has been appointed to the EEM (Efficiency East Midlands) Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS).
The Nottingham-based company, which also has offices in Derby, Leicester and Sheffield, has been accepted to provide consultancy services to members of the not-for-profit consortium which offers efficiency savings for the public sector.
This is the latest in a number of frameworks that BSP Consulting has been appointed on, including the recently announced Circle Health Group Professional Services Framework.
The EEM Ltd Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) runs for five years until December 2026 and marks the 21st framework that BSP is currently on – either on its own or collectively with industry partners.
BSP Managing Director Carl Hilton said: “We are very pleased to have secured a place on another framework. The EEM Ltd DPS shares with BSP Consulting a commitment to its local communities and economies that it serves.
“We look forward to offering our civil and structural engineering services to the public sector bodies that are members of the EEM consortium. It’s a sector that we have wide experience of working in, both in the East Midlands and beyond.”
EEM Ltd is a ‘not for profit’ consortium set up to generate cashable and non-cashable efficiencies for its membership through collaboration, aggregated volumes, quality products and high level of service delivery. Since 2010, EEM and its members have worked together to deliver comprehensive yet simplified procurement solutions, which offer a wide range of compliant, competitive and high-quality products and services.
Its members include housing associations, local authorities, education providers, NHS trusts, government agencies, emergency services and charities from across the UK.
A Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) is similar to a framework, except new providers can join at any time.
The framework position was secured by BSP business development manager Carrie Booth, who said: “This is great news for BSP Consulting and our associates. It’s also good news for our public sector clients who will be able to procure our services through the DPS.”
East Midlands distribution and manufacturing group steps towards sustainable success
A Northamptonshire-based business has increased its company-wide sustainable practices following financial support from NatWest to achieve its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2030.
See Limited is one of six million SMEs that could help to achieve half of the UK’s decarbonisation goals, according to NatWest’s new Springboard to Sustainability Report.
The report has found that with the right funding, knowledge and training, SMEs could create up to 130,000 new jobs and produce around 30,000 new businesses, resulting in an estimated £160 billion opportunity for the UK economy.
See Limited is made up of a trio of businesses: Inspired Surfaces Limited, Rex Bousfield Limited and Performance Panels Limited; all of which are involved in the distribution and production of wood veneer and laminate surfaces.
The carbon footprint of the group is measured independently each year to identify areas of focus and drive new sustainable initiatives including the implementation of the company’s individual Carbon Management Programme.
The group has invested in carbon credits, which is an internationally recognised way for organisations to manage their carbon emissions. See Limited has invested in three years’ worth of carbon credits based on carbon emission generating activity, to futureproof its efforts and free up time needed to work on its carbon sequestration.
See Limited’s carbon credits have been used to support global projects including the development of wind farms in India and for the Kumasi Stoves project in Ghana, which replaces open fireplaces with improved cookstoves, reducing the rate of deforestation.
At its HQ in Corby, Northamptonshire, See Limited is reducing its carbon footprint generated through operational activities. This includes purchasing new machinery, switching to a greener energy provider, and introducing an electric company vehicle policy.
In December 2021, the business also launched a tree planting initiative for orders placed on its B2C product line. Partnering with MoreTrees, who work closely with tree planting companies across the world, See Limited’s commitment resulted in 102 trees being planted in its first week of launching. This will help the Group meet its first annual target of planting 2,500 trees, with the ambition to reach 10,000 over three years.
Robert Thompson, CEO of See Limited, said: “We’re proud to have made such significant progress with our decarbonisation plans in 2021 – it’s a true testament to our team for their ongoing commitment to adapting our way of working for the sake of the planet.
“We recognise that there is still further to go in our sustainability journey, but it’s important to acknowledge how small steps make a large and lasting impact. NatWest’s recent report shows the power that SMEs have in truly making a difference, and we’re fortunate to have a strong network of like-minded external partners, who are helping on our journey.”
Paul Marsden, relationship manager at NatWest, said: “Supporting businesses in their change strategies is a true passion for NatWest and we want to help companies reduce their carbon footprints and implement greener processes. See Limited have proven themselves to be industry leaders in this area, and it was great to play a small part in facilitating this progressive green agenda.”
Angel Trains acquires rail and infrastructure services provider
Angel Trains Ltd, which has offices in Derby, has acquired specialist rail and infrastructure services provider, Readypower Group, which has one of its six central hubs in Nottinghamshire.
Readypower provides specialised on-track plant equipment as well as civil engineering, drainage, haulage and operating services to the UK rail sector. It plays a critical role in helping to modernise the UK’s rail network as electrification and upgrades continue throughout the country.
The deal cements Angel Trains’ commitment to investing in rail assets in the UK. Readypower will continue to run as an independent business, with its brand and management team remaining in place.
Readypower is already supporting vital rail infrastructure improvement projects to help level up the country. These include the TransPennine route upgrades, Midland Mainline electrification and the Core Valley Lines transformation project in Wales.
Malcolm Brown, CEO of Angel Trains, said: “Angel Trains and Readypower are very complementary businesses with a singular focus on supporting the UK rail network. We are both committed to the success of the UK rail industry and by working together, we know we can make real progress in improving the system for passengers and freight across the country.
“We bring a wealth of understanding and experience of managing rail assets and believe we can help Readypower to realise its full potential in the years ahead.”
Angel Trains will support Readypower’s growth by investing in the latest machinery and technology to support critical rail assets, developing sustainable solutions for the future.
Russell Jack, CEO of Readypower Group, added: “Angel Trains is a very welcome partner for our business. They take a long-term view, which will bring stability and investment at just the right time. It is an excellent deal for the industry to see a company like Angel Trains looking to invest and diversify further into the UK rail market. I look forward to working with Angel Trains to continue to grow and expand the business.”
Seven projects benefit from £300,000 of LLEP digital poverty grants
- Reuse scheme will increase availability of IT equipment by recycling unwanted business kit for use by community groups
- Other innovative projects will create local digital hubs to increase access to training, aid education and develop digital skills
Revenue rises at Joules but sits behind expectations
Revenue at Joules, the Market Harborough-based lifestyle group, is behind expectations, despite rising.
Group revenue for the 9 weeks to 30 January 2022 was up 31% against FY21 and 19% against FY20, however, this performance, along with the Group’s PBT performance over the same period, is behind the Board’s expectations.
The company has noted that this reflects weaker than expected revenue in January, in part as a result of the negative impact of the Omicron variant on retail footfall.
Joules has also pointed to delays to new stock arrivals as a result of global supply chain challenges, resulting in a lower full price sales mix, in turn impacting revenue and gross margin, as well as lower than expected wholesale revenue due to delayed stock and customer cancellations.
It has also highlighted the continued impact on gross margin of increases in freight, duties and distribution costs, and continued operational disruption, lower productivity, and higher than expected costs within the third-party operated Distribution Centre (DC) with costs for December and January £1.2m above expectations.
The news follows financial results for the six months ended 28th November 2021, which saw revenues of £127.9m (H1 FY2021: £95.4m) and PBT pre-adjusting items of £2.6m (FY 2021: £3.7m).
Joules added in a statement to the London Stock Exchange: “The Board’s base case expectation is for trading for the balance of the year to recover in line with its previously stated expectations, supported by recovering footfall and an improved level of newness in the stock position.
“The wholesale orderbook for Spring / Summer 22 remains strong and the DC operation is normalising with delivery times back to standard service levels and productivity improved. Assuming the Board’s base case is met, adjusted PBT for the full year is not expected to be less than £5.0m (FY 2021: £6.1m).”
New senior technical leader joins WestBridge Group
WestBridge Group, which provides specialist tax advice and independent administration, consultancy, and trustee services for Small Self-Administered Pension Schemes (SSAS), has strengthened its technical team following the appointment of Janet Corbett as senior technical leader.
Janet has worked in the pensions industry for over 30 years and joins WestBridge SSAS having held senior pensions administration roles with Michael Ambrose Group and other leading SSAS providers.
Reporting to the head of pensions, Janet will be responsible for dealing with complex technical queries from account managers. She will also act as an interface with the compliance director to ensure the procedures are maintained and adhere to current and future legislation. Other aspects of her role include being responsible for supporting the competency and development of the SSAS account managers together with the administration of a small, dedicated SSAS portfolio.
Commenting on her appointment, David Santaney said: “Janet has built up an enviable reputation within the industry covering all areas of administration and technical support. She delivers a cradle to grave service to clients and will play a key technical and management role in the future growth of our business.”
Janet added: “Having previously worked with other members of the WestBridge SSAS team I am looking forward to helping the company build on its reputation as well as helping our account managers develop their competencies and manage their client portfolios in a way that is both customer focused and efficient.”
2022 Business Predictions: Julia Day, sales and development progression manager at KMRE Group Ltd
It’s that time of year, when Business Link Magazine invites the region’s business leaders to offer up their predictions for the year ahead.
It has become something of a tradition, given that we’ve been doing this now for over 30 years.
Here we speak to Julia Day, sales and development progression manager at KMRE Group Ltd.
Last year was unquestionably a challenging one for all industries – each come with their unpredictability but for the property market in particular, 2021 certainly kept us on our toes.
People have been on the hunt for larger homes, house prices have increased – and the stamp duty holiday meant that transaction levels were fluctuating constantly, with interest rates too at an all-time low. The number of buy-to-let mortgages are on the rise, as are – naturally – the number of people renting, and “staycations” are becoming ever more popular.
It was a reflective year for many and we’ve certainly seen a lot of people questioning and rethinking their living situations, not only from a financial and practical perspective, but from a lifestyle point of view too. Homeowners want more space, we are travelling abroad far less and we want security and stability.
Looking ahead to what 2022 will bring, we expect to see more and more people on the move as the demand in the property market remains high and relatively steady. Rental properties also stay in high demand, particularly apartments in central and accessible locations, so we expect to see these become more popular too.
The rise of living costs and the demand pressures may mean the tightening of belts for some and make it harder for first time buyers to get on the property ladder, but given the fluctuation that we saw through 2021, we don’t think this will be as dramatic in the new year, and a crash in the market following the housing boom which some have questioned we actually don’t expect to see any time soon.
We’re looking forward to progressing with and completing our latest residential developments in Nottingham and Leeds in 2022, as we remain committed to investing in cities that offer residents excellent locations and investment opportunities.
HelloFresh chooses Derby for new distribution centre
Recipe box company, HelloFresh, is set to open a new distribution centre at Derby’s SmartParc SEGRO this Spring, creating 450 new operation, distribution, and management jobs.
The new distribution centre, named “The Orchard” by current HelloFresh colleagues, will be located at SmartParc SEGRO Spondon, a high-tech food manufacturing and distribution campus, near Spondon station.
The Orchard is the third distribution centre that the Berlin-based company has opened in the UK, in response to the ongoing demand for their meal kits. The company now has 7 million active customers globally, and the opening of The Orchard will play a key role in allowing the business to continue growing and expanding its offering to UK customers.
In line with HelloFresh’s achievement of becoming the world’s first carbon-neutral meal kit company, all carbon emissions from production and distribution will be offset. To prevent food waste, HelloFresh plans to set up a partnership with a local Food Bank which will distribute unsold but still edible food to communities in need. In 2021 HelloFresh UK donated over 1.9 million meals to The Felix Project and local food banks.
Jackie Wild, SmartParc SEGRO Derby, SmartParc founder and Chief Executive, said: “We are absolutely delighted to welcome HelloFresh as our first anchor client in this ground-breaking new SmartParc development. They share our ambition to see food businesses operate in a more sustainable way, and also to build close links with the Derby community.
“We look forward to developing our partnership with them over the next few years, and to delivering all the commercial, operational and environmental benefits that SmartParc is uniquely able to provide.”
Councillor Chris Poulter, leader of Derby City Council, said: “This really is very exciting news for Derby. HelloFresh is a huge name, and choosing our city as their new home is testament to our strong reputation for innovation and manufacturing – Derby has a lot to offer!
“The Council has been working with the team at SmartParc for some time now, and it’s really exciting to see those efforts come to fruition. Welcoming HelloFresh will bring good quality, sustainable jobs to the city, which ultimately means income and opportunity for our people and their families.
“I look forward to welcoming HelloFresh to Derby!”
Paul Simpson, Chief Executive of Derby City Council, added: “I’m delighted we’ve been able to support this move through our work with SmartParc. The Council has already allocated £5.5 million towards the project and was successful in securing £12 million of D2N2 funding, to help with the reclamation of a major brownfield site in the city.
“HelloFresh is just the kind of organisation we want to attract to Derby, with sustainability and social value at the heart of their ethos, which is brilliant to see. Not only are these attributes a key strand of our Council Plan, it’s something that we should all strive towards as businesses and individuals, to ensure a more sustainable future.”
Two new children’s homes set to be created in Leicester
Two new children’s homes are set to be created by the city council to help boost the number of council-run homes for children and young people in care.
Leicester City Council is seeking to expand its in-house provision by converting existing council properties into homes for children and young people who are not able to live with their birth families or foster carers.
Plans have been drawn up to convert two former council-owned houses in Aylestone and a former children’s home site in Braunstone into homes that will provide places for five and six young people respectively, between the ages of eight and 17.
The proposed expansion would mean the city council would be able to care for more children and young people in-house, increasing capacity from five children’s homes, caring for up to 30 children and young people, to seven homes caring for up to 41.
Deputy city mayor for social care, Cllr Sarah Russell, said: “The city council is determined to provide the best possible care for the children and young people we look after. The vast majority of children who can’t live with their birth families live with foster carers, but this isn’t right for everyone, and increasing demand for children’s social care services in recent years means there has been a significant rise in demand for residential children’s homes. This is the case across the country.
“This has led to an increase in the use of external providers. We will always need to do this, and they can offer a high standard of care, but we also believe there are substantial advantages to providing more of these homes and care ourselves. For a start, all our city council-run children’s homes are rated good or outstanding by Ofsted, demonstrating our experience and expertise in providing quality care.
“All of our homes are within the city, which means children and young people can continue to receive support within their communities rather than them moving away from Leicester. This continuity and stability can be very important to children experiencing major disruption to their lives.
“There are also financial advantages to providing more places ourselves. External providers can raise fees and that is outside our control, but by providing places in-house we can control costs – as well as benefitting from economies of scale across all our children’s homes.”
The estimated costs for creating each of the new homes are around £1,100,000 each. Leicester City Council has been awarded £500,000 towards the first home from the Department for Education’s children’s homes capital funding programme.
Cllr Russell added: “We are proposing to use part of the council’s capital budget – the money we set aside for big projects – to fund the rest of the project. We consider this a really important use of our resources to help support and protect some of Leicester’s most vulnerable children and young people.”
There are currently more than 50 children and young people living in external residential children’s homes at any one time, with an average cost of £3,900 per week. The average direct cost at an in-house home in 2020/21 was between £3,400 and £3,800 a week.
Both proposals will be subject to planning application processes, which include an opportunity for members of the public to comment on the proposals.
Brexit anniversary presents opportunity for Government to reflect on how it can solve issues affecting businesses, says East Midlands Chamber
The region’s leading business representation group is calling for the Government to work with the EU to find a solution to ongoing issues around how the trade deal is interpreted.
It follows huge lorry queues being reported at Dover last week and a survey by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) finding that 60% of UK exporters reported difficulties in trading with the EU in November 2021 – an increase from 49% in January last year.
East Midlands Chamber chief executive Scott Knowles said: “The current delays at Dover appear to be linked to the export of food products across the Channel, with differing interpretations of how trade arrangements work after leaving the EU.
“Given that the East Midlands has a thriving food manufacturing sector with both large and small businesses that export to numerous markets, these bottlenecks have a significant impact on our region’s economy.
“This is on top of the extra bureaucracy that is adding considerable sums to overheads for many SMEs, which are simultaneously being hit by rising prices for raw materials and energy – not to mention struggling to find people with the right skills.
“A perfect storm of Covid-19, Brexit and spiralling inflation means the cost of doing business is becoming a huge concern and could weigh down on our prospects of a strong economic recovery.
“The Chamber has witnessed the direct consequences of leaving the EU, alongside the challenges caused by the pandemic, as the number of international trade documents we process fell from 22,000 in 2020 to 14,000 in 2021 due to businesses exporting lower volumes and on a less frequent basis.”
How Brexit has impacted East Midlands export markets
The only market growing for the East Midlands has been in North America, with all others reducing by about 30% on average compared to pre-pandemic and Brexit.
Scott said the business community recognised that goods won’t flow as freely across the Channel now as they did two years ago.
“But the way the trade agreement is being interpreted in 27 different EU countries is a major headache for UK business – especially smaller firms without the cash reserves to set up new EU-based arrangements,” he added.
“Yet it doesn’t have to be this way. It is possible for the UK Government and EU to take a pragmatic approach and work together to reach new understandings on a consistent interpretation of the rules and to build on them further.
“On the second anniversary of Brexit, now is the time for our policymakers to reflect on the issues facing businesses and to find a real solution to them, rather than just offering more rhetoric.”
Loughborough to create first-of-its-kind zero carbon loss manufacturing system
A £1.3m Loughborough-led project is set to develop the first ever net-zero biomanufacturing system that captures and utilises carbon instead of releasing it into the atmosphere.
The study, led by Professor Jin Xuan and funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, looks to achieve its ambitious goal using a novel electrochemical approach.
Nearly 140,000 industrial materials and chemicals are marketed worldwide, and most of them are made from fossil fuels, which are harmful for the planet given their high levels of embedded carbon dioxide. It is vital to identify sustainable alternatives for the manufacturing of these chemicals and materials and biomanufacturing is a promising avenue. This type of manufacturing uses biological substances as ‘feedstock’ – raw materials that supply/fuel the process – to make important chemicals and materials for sustainable bioproducts, such as medicines, polymers, and detergents. The process is deemed sustainable as it utilises waste, such as biomass, by using it as feedstock. However, it is far from perfect as it still results in the release of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is emitted and lost during steps in the biomanufacturing process, and waste from end products are incinerated or go to landfill, further increasing the system’s carbon footprint. Professor Xuan and team are looking to develop a process that integrates electrochemical lignocellulosic conversion with CO2 reduction and power it using renewable energy. They hope their efforts will reduce up to 50% of energy used for biomanufacturing and make the manufacturing process more efficient and cost-effective. Of how the system will work, Professor Xuan said: “This project looks to capture carbon dioxide and put it back into the manufacturing process and eliminate waste after the end-of-use of the product and put it back in as a feedstock. “One important aspect is the systems thinking. We need to put the new manufacturing technology into the big industrial system and supply chain, and look at the environmental, economic and social impacts from their entire life cycle. “It is a challenging task, but we aim to achieve it by developing a novel digital twin solution to capture the complex dynamics of such manufacturing systems over their life cycle.” He continued: “The chemical manufacturing sector is the UK’s second-highest industrial emitter, with an annual turnover of £32bn. “Therefore, exploiting net-zero carbon loss (emission or waste) systems throughout the life cycle will be key towards future sustainable manufacturing with resource resilience and economic viability. “Through our closed-loop circular economy design, we want to eliminate all forms of carbon loss.” In addition to collaborating with academic partners from Imperial College and Heriot-Watt University, the project involves partners including the Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN), BASF, the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) and Oxford University spin-out OxCCU.Stamford regeneration project takes significant step forward as £1.3m approved for demolition work
A flagship regeneration project has taken another significant step forward after South Kesteven District Council approved a £1.3 million budget towards the cost of demolition work at St Martin’s Park, Stamford.
The demolition of existing buildings is a condition of sale for the former Cummins site off Barnack Road. Work is expected to take around 36 weeks and could start as early as March. One building will remain, which dates from 1904 when manufacturing first started on site.
SKDC is working in partnership with Burghley Estates to bring forward plans for a 14.7-hectare site which includes a designated commercial area; mixed-use area; retirement village; range of residential properties, including 30% affordable homes; and areas of green and open space.
Outline planning permission was granted in October 2021 subject to completion of a Section 106 agreement.
The Leader of SKDC, Cllr Kelham Cooke, said: “This is a hugely important site in Stamford and our resolve has never wavered in bringing forward plans that will transform it for future generations.
“I am delighted to see this major project, which will bring benefits and opportunities to Stamford and the surrounding areas, passing another significant milestone.
“The Council have a stated it is as an ambition of delivering the St Martin’s Park scheme, it’s been included specifically in our Corporate Plan. These works are a key component in allowing the site to be sold which will generate capital receipts for delivering the Councils capital programme.”
Van Elle CEO “delighted” as strong pandemic recovery sees revenue and profit rise
Revenue and profit are up at Van Elle, the Nottinghamshire-headquartered ground engineering contractor, with its core markets recovering strongly following the relaxation of pandemic related restrictions.
According to interim results for the six months ended 31 October 2021, revenue rose to £60.1m, up from £38.3m in the same period of 2020 and £48.5m in 2019.
Pre-tax profit meanwhile grew to £1.9m, from a £0.7m loss in 2020 and a £0.9m profit in 2019.
Mark Cutler, Chief Executive, said: “I’m delighted that Van Elle has continued to deliver a strong recovery from the pandemic, despite supply chain and labour pressures.
“Our core markets have seen strong demand with all divisions operating at increased utilisation levels throughout the Period. This demand for our services has continued into the third quarter, and we are particularly encouraged by the improved opportunities in our Rail division.
“We remain optimistic that the improved levels of demand in our core markets will remain strong for the remainder of the financial year and into the medium term. As a result, we expect the trading performance for the full year to be ahead of our previous expectations.”
Apartments set for Grade II listed Belper warehouse as sale agreed
Commercial property consultants OMEETO have completed a deal which will transform a landmark site in Belper into apartments.
The three-storey former warehouse in Derby Road was built in the early 1800s and is Grade II listed. It was originally used by renowned hosiery company Ward, Brettle and Ward – supplying cloth, hosiery, haberdashery and blankets to London’s drapers for decades and was latterly occupied by motorcycle lubricant manufacturer FUCHS Silkolene.
The buildings have laid empty for several years and have been sold to AG Group in Hilton who recently secured planning permission to convert the buildings into 16 two bedroom luxury apartments.
AG Group founder and CEO, Allister Gardiner, explained: “With planning permission approved and the sale of the site agreed, we look forward to restoring these currently vulnerable buildings and creating a sympathetically designed development which will ensure the longevity of the history and character of one of the few remaining warehouses of this era.
“We are committed to transforming this prominent but underutilised brownfield land so that it makes a positive contribution to the on-going regeneration of this local area.
“The buildings will be repaired and as much as possible of the original structure, windows and interior – including cast iron columns – will be retained.”
Chris Wright, director of OMEETO, said: “I am delighted to have been involved in the sale of this landmark site and look forward to AG Homes starting work on the regeneration re-development.
“I live in the local area and have a long-held passion for the restoration of historic buildings so I know just what a positive impact this scheme will have on the local area.”
Lincoln dog food producer snapped up by Cranswick
Cranswick, a leading UK food producer, has acquired the entire issued share capital of Lincoln-based Grove Pet Foods Limited.
Grove Pet Foods is a producer of dry dog food for several leading brands under private label relationships alongside its own brands including Vitalin (natural) and Alpha Feeds (working dog).
The business operates predominantly from a purpose-built freehold facility in Lincolnshire and employs a total workforce of approximately 100.
John Walgate, Managing Director, will remain with and continue to lead the business.
Adam Couch, Chief Executive Officer, Cranswick, said: “I am delighted to announce the acquisition of Grove Pet Foods, a well-invested manufacturer of dry pet food supplying
leading brands focussed on the specialist pet retail market.
“This acquisition represents a platform for future growth in the attractive UK pet food market and diversification into this complementary category for Cranswick. The existing facility has capacity and a footprint for further expansion.
“Grove Pet Foods has built a reputation for high quality products and service that is well aligned with Cranswick. The combined business will benefit from vertical integration opportunities within the group and particularly our fresh poultry and pork businesses. We look forward to building on this and continuing to invest in the product range, facilities and the team over the years ahead.”
Witham Group tops £100,000 for charity in 100th year
Witham Group, with its headquarters on Outer Circle Road in Lincoln, has announced the total raised at its latest fundraising ball as they celebrate their 100th year of business.
The anniversary ball, held at the DoubleTree by Hilton Lincoln in November, saw prizes auctioned off to the value of £15,000. The brings the total raised during their long history to over £100,000 for a number of worthy causes.
The four charities benefitting from the latest ball’s generous attendees include Myeloma UK, St Barnabas Hospice, the Lincolnshire Rural Support Network (LRSN) and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE), all of which will receive a donation of £3,750 each to continue their important work.
From support for patients of a rare blood cancer to compassionate end-of-life care, pastoral and practical support for the farming community to empowering young people, all four causes were suggested by Witham Group’s employees.
Witham Group has a long history of putting something back with their charitable events, from lawnmower races to driving challenges, and coffee mornings to their flagship annual ball. Alongside this, they regularly sponsor customers and projects with their oil and paint products, as well as volunteering on a variety of local committees, charities and societies.
When making the announcement, Nigel R Bottom, Managing Director of the Witham Group said, “This is an incredible amount to raise in such a milestone year for us. We’re so grateful and extend our most sincere thank you to our kind suppliers and friends who donated the auction prizes.
We certainly celebrated our 100th year in style at our Anniversary Ball last year and again must offer thanks to the venue and everyone involved in the evening. Here’s to another 100 years!”
For more information about the Witham Group click here
Architect builds on growth with raft of New Year promotions
Nottingham’s Acres Group has begun 2022 on a high with the promotion of three staff members and several other new appointments in the pipeline.
The firm, based in offices at Nottingham Science Park, has expanded from the original Acres Architects into a group consisting of several divisions, including Acres Construction, Acres Interiors and Online Media Video Productions (OMVP), just in the past 18 months.
The same period has seen its staff base increase from four people to almost 20 – and counting. Similarly, its turnover has increased from a few hundred thousand pounds to a projected £10m turnover.
Founder and managing director Edward Acres has built on this success and rapidly expanding workload by rewarding three existing staff members with more senior positions this month.
Steve Taylor-Wilson moves from marketing manager to a new head of marketing role, while architectural technologist James Bridgett is promoted to an associate position, and Steve Clayton will oversee all aspects of the new OMVP division as production manager.
The group has also been busy interviewing candidates for multiple new vacancies, including architects, site managers, labourers and an estimating quantity surveyor, with a view to potentially doubling its workforce this year alone.
Edward said: “It’s great to recognise and reward the efforts of these three individuals. Since joining the group they have demonstrated a willingness to go above and beyond their roles and their can-do attitude has led to some amazing wins.
“We will continue to grow the business and we want to fill a number of vacancies across the divisions to help us realise our ambitious targets in 2022.
“We’re now in the fortunate position of being able to bring forward and inflate our planned recruitment drive.”
Edward, who founded Acres Architects from a laptop in his parents’ spare bedroom in 2008, laid down his ambitious plans for rapid growth and diversification at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, while many other practices were making cut backs.
The Acres Group can now handle every type and size of development – from private residential projects to large commercial contracts – from concept stage right through to completion. As a result, enquiries have rocketed and staff workloads have increased hugely.
Yet the common response among the Acres workforce is “bring it on!”
New head of marketing Steve Taylor-Wilson, who will oversee marketing activities across the entire Acres Group, said: “Ed’s vision and ambition are contagious. I’m extremely proud that he has the confidence in me to help us achieve the next set of targets.
“To be part of such a successful, expanding business is a wonderful thing. It’s hard work, but I relish every day in my job.”
Associate James Bridgett said that he was also proud to take on more responsibilities for such a forward-thinking company.
“I am thrilled to have been given the opportunity to progress within the company and take on the extra responsibility required as an Associate so early on in my career,” said James.
“It clearly demonstrates the trust Edward has in his team and ambitious nature of the company. I obviously jumped at the opportunity and look forward to hitting the ground running in 2022 and onwards to bigger and better things.”
And Steve Clayton said: “The more we succeed in our roles, the more the business will succeed. Ed’s commitment to promoting from within wherever possible not only engenders loyalty from the team but is also great for our clients as it provides continuity and clearly demonstrates how ambitious we are.”
To find out more about jobs available and services provided by the Acres Group, please visit www.acresarchitects.co.uk, email info@acresarchitects.co.uk or phone 0115 838 9738.
