Derbyshire accountancy firm makes fifth acquisition of 2023
Cooper Parry has welcomed financial planning firm, Chamberlyns, to the Cooper Parry Wealth (CPW) team.
Is is the Derbyshire accountancy firm’s fifth acquisition of 2023, following deals with ihorizon and Acclivity in the Tech & High Growth space in February, the addition of London-based financial planning firm, Future Perfect, to the CPW team in April, and the arrival of Haines Watts London and its associated audit and advisory businesses in September.
The deal takes CPW to over £1.3bn assets under management, with a headcount of around 70, while CP now consists of over 1,150 individuals.
Ade Cheatham, CEO, Cooper Parry, said: “2023 began quickly and we’re showing no signs of slowing down. As well as being a high-calibre, specialist financial planning firm, the Chamberlyns team have successfully embarked on their own acquisition journey in the past.
“That experience is sure to prove useful as we continue ours, and given the cultural similarities between our businesses, I know the benefits for all parties and our clients will be huge.”
Stephen Jones, Cooper Parry Wealth CEO, added: “Chamberlyns is a business I’ve known and respected for many years since myself and Michael Smith (CEO) first met in a best practice group in March 2010.
“I’ve watched their progression closely since then and admired their principles of true financial planning and evidence-based investing because our businesses share so much common ground.
“Having met the rest of the Chamberlyns team over the years, I knew they’d be a perfect fit as we continue our deals through 2023 and beyond, positively impacting more lives and building a legacy to be proud of.”
Michael Smith, former Chamberlyns CEO joins CPW as Head of M&A and Proposition.
He said: “It feels like ideal timing for both businesses. There’s no question to me that Cooper Parry Wealth is one of the leading financial planning and wealth management businesses in the UK. And, as part of the wider Cooper Parry Group, it has that infrastructure and multi-disciplinary offering that would benefit Chamberlyns and our clients.
“We’re excited to be joining a business combining pedigree and continuous innovation in the early stages of its acquisition journey, and I’m sure we’ll go from strength to strength.”
Freeths Nottingham advises on completion of EG Group’s UK sale to Asda
Law firm Freeths, led by its Nottingham office, has advised on completion of EG Group’s £2.07bn sale of its UK operations to Asda.
Founded by Issa brothers in 2001, EG Group is a British retailer which operates filling stations, convenience stores and fast-food restaurants across Europe, the United States and Australia.
The successful transaction was led by Freeths UK Real Estate legal team, Partner Atiyya Khaliq and Managing Associate Michaela Mason, together with Managing Associate Zac Clayton, Associates Samuel De La Bertauche, Hayley Bunt, Nicole Hendy and Elliott Thorne, and Legal Assistant Poppy Hinton, supported by colleagues from Freeths’ Glasgow office including Partner Paul Ockrim, Director Gary Georgeson and Associate Pamela Gorman. The team worked alongside corporate lead counsel Skadden.
Commenting on the deal, Atiyya Khaliq said: “It’s been wonderful to work with the EG Group team and its corporate and tax advisers Skadden and EY on this sale which has been testament to the business and its stakeholders all working together to complete the transaction. This deal has really played on the strengths of our Freeths national Real Estate capabilities.
“Marking a new chapter for EG Group, we look forward to seeing what’s next in store.”
East Mids law firm sees turnover rise 19%
Law firm Howes Percival’s turnover increased 19% in 2023, according to its latest annual results. The result follows a period of sustained growth, with turnover now up 33% over the last three years.
The firm, which has offices in Leicester and Northampton, has seen turnover increase from £23.6m in 2020, to £31.3m this year.
The growth has been across all offices and all practice areas with Corporate, Commercial and Banking turnover up 74% in three years, Employment Law 23%, Property 25%, Litigation 31% and Private Client 15%.
In August, Howes Percival confirmed it had created 50 new roles in the last two years to meet increased demand for its services.
Over the next two years, the firm plans to continue recruiting across all six offices, creating a further 50 additional new roles, including partners, solicitors and support roles.
Howes Percival Chief Financial Officer, Fayaz Sattar said: “This is a fantastic result, and I am pleased with our performance over the last financial year, given the wider economic situation in the UK. We had been targeting a figure just over £28m in 2023, so to have exceeded our plan quite significantly is testament to the efforts of the entire team.
“Looking forward our core markets are holding up well and have remained resilient, despite inflation in general and the economy as a whole. We obviously can’t control the wider economic factors, but we can ensure that we are a well-diversified firm, investing in our fee earner expertise, IT and back-office infrastructure to continue to provide the most competitive and attractive offer we can to clients.”
Howes Percival Chairperson and East Mids partner, Geraint Davies continues: “We really are thrilled with this result given the unprecedented economic times we are in. Everyone has worked incredible hard so it is great to see the results reflect this. We are continuing to take market share in all our locations and there is real momentum behind the firm at the moment. We will be investing further through 2024/25, in our people and in the business itself, to meet the client demand we are seeing and deliver further growth.
“Our strategy has been to invest in our teams and the business as a whole for a number of years now, and without doubt, we are seeing the results of that plan. Our people are central to everything we do. We want to be a firm that attracts the best talent and is seen as the place to nurture and develop your career from trainees through to partners and at every level for our non-fee earner teams. We have that infrastructure in place now and it is one of the key reasons we are performing so well as a business.”
Countryside Partnerships welcomes new Managing Director for North East Midlands
Countryside Partnerships, the provider of mixed-tenure housing, has welcomed Lee Parry as Managing Director for the North East Midlands.
Lee joins Countryside Partnerships from Keepmoat Homes where he worked as Construction Operations Director, before becoming Interim Managing Director.
In his new role he aims to unlock and maximise both complex brownfield sites and appropriate greenfield sites, working in partnership with local authorities, housing associations and private rented institutional investors to bring much-needed multi-tenure new housing to the region.
The North East Midlands business has ambitious site acquisition targets for 2024, with a minimum target of securing at least six new sites with or without detailed planning permission in place. These sites will be located within Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and North Derbyshire.
Adam Daniels, Divisional Managing Director, Countryside Partnerships Midlands, said: “I am delighted to welcome Lee Parry to head up our North East Midlands team. He brings a wealth of experience and a clear vision to tackle the region’s need for high quality homes across a range of tenures. I look forward to working with him to further develop our partnership building division across the North East Midlands.”
Lee Parry, Managing Director, North East Midlands, Countryside Partnerships, said: “I’m extremely proud to be taking the reins for North East Midlands. It’s a privilege to be working with such a great team and I look forward to continuing to grow the business. My focus is firmly on addressing the region’s chronic shortage of affordable mixed-tenure housing.”
Wellie brand bought by French footwear manufacturer
Wellie brand Evercreatures has been bought by French footwear company Rouchette as part of a deal for its parent company Astbury Collections.
It is a first overseas purchase for the French company, which had previously been a supplier to Evercreatures.
The purchase of the Lincolnshire-based business will bring significant inward investment of up to £500,000 from Rouchette as it looks to bolster its presence in the UK.
Tony Bailey, a co-director of Astbury Collections, will join Rouchette as its sales and marketing director in the UK. He said: “This is a great deal for both brands. Rouchette want to expand faster into the UK and approached us last year about a sale to use the infrastructure already in place.
“Now the deal has been completed, it will see considerable investment in new products, innovation, infrastructure and staff. For current UK customers, they will see the benefit with a new range of stock and new designs for Evercreatures.
“I am already engaged in talks with major retailers, predominantly garden centre chains, who are looking to secure stock in 2024.”
Evercreatures was founded in 2004 and has consistently produced eye-catching fashionable wellies for men, women and children as well as a range of accessories.
Rouchette, which is known for its robust rubber footwear in a range of designs for the garden, maritime and lifestyle sectors, was established in 1990 by Jean-Louis Rouchette.
Sébastien Rouchette, managing director and son of the founder, said: “I’m proud to announce our first overseas acquisition with the purchase of Astbury Collections and its flagship rain boot brand Evercreatures.
“It was quite natural for us to buy a well-known brand in the world of footwear. This is a new stage in the company’s life, which promises to be an exciting and extremely rewarding project.”
National recognition for Nimbus Disability director
A director of Derby-based social enterprise Nimbus Disability and vice chair of Mansfield’s Portland College has been named as one of the 100 most influential disabled people in the UK – working to break the stigma around disability to create a more accessible and inclusive world for all.
Mark Briggs PLY, who lives in Ollerton, Nottinghamshire, has been named in the Digital and Technology category in recognition of his work to develop the internationally-recognised Access Card.
The Disability Power 100 celebrates ambition and achievement and plays a role in changing society by recognising the strengths and talents of disabled people who are pioneers, changemakers and influencers.
The 100 finalists were selected by an independent judging panel chaired by Andrew Miller MBE from more than 1,500 public nominations. The top 10 and all-important top spot, will be announced on 8 November from The Drum, Wembley.
Previous winners of the Disability Power 100 number one spot have included comedian and presenter Alex Brooker, campaigner and peer Baroness Jane Campbell, BBC disability journalist Nikki Fox.
Mark has been instrumental in the massive growth of the Access Card which has been recognised with The Queen’s Award for Innovation and is held by hundreds of thousands of people in the UK and beyond who register their accessibility requirements.
Nimbus originally created The Access Card, the first accessibility scheme of its type in the world; offering a universal and consistent way of disabled people evidencing and communicating their access requirements to providers quickly and discreetly.
Powered by ‘NOS’, a bespoke software system that translates its holder’s disability/impairment or access requirements into symbols which ultimately means that when booking online, it informs providers quickly and discreetly about the access requirements that individuals need. It has realised a simplistic way for disabled people to book online and protect those reasonable adjustments for those who require them.
It is already widely recognised at the majority of the UK’s leisure and tourism venues with a large number allowing online integration and booking for disabled customers including Buckingham Palace, The NEC Resorts World Arena and Alton Towers as well as at venues in the USA, Europe and New Zealand.
Mark works alongside Nimbus Disability managing director Martin Austin MBE who was named in the Disability Power 100 last year.
Mark said: “Nimbus is run by disabled people for disabled people and our mission through the Access Card is to provide a universal, digitised way of communicating all verified access requirements, from eligibility to essential companion tickets to the necessity for wheelchair-accessible facilities and so much more.
“Our system enables each access requirement flagged to be integrated directly into ticketing systems to remove the need to continually call ‘special’ booking lines and fill in ‘special’ booking forms or answer personal and invasive questions over the phone.
“Ultimately our operating system lessens the administrative burden on disabled people at the same time as opening up equality of access to online ticketing solutions from West End theatres to theme parks.
“I am deeply honoured that I, and therefore the whole team at Nimbus Disability, have been recognised in this way.
“The Disability Power 100 is an important way to highlight disabled role models and advocates across a number of sectors whose work is changing society.”
UK manufacturing sector risks falling behind international rivals on AI and automation
Britain’s manufacturing sector is warning the UK risks falling behind its international rivals in the race to embrace cutting edge technologies such as AI and other game changing automation seen as vital to Britain’s industrial future.
The warning was made on the back of a major survey published by Make UK and Infor.
The survey shows that companies are fully committed to investing in AI, Machine Learning and other automation to improve productivity, processes and efficiency. However, despite this, a majority of manufacturers believe the UK is falling behind competitors and hampered by access to key technical and digital skills, as well as short term policy incentives which do not match investment cycles or expected returns on investment (ROI).
In response, Make UK is calling on Government to reform the Apprentice Levy to help expand Britain’s technological skills base, roll out a widely proven scheme to help boost digital adoption by SMEs and introduce a better approach to the tax system with policies which match the average investment cycle of manufacturers and expected ROI.
Verity Davidge, Director of Policy at Make UK, said: “The adoption of AI, automation and other game changing technologies by manufacturers is rapidly accelerating and will provide vital pieces in solving the productivity puzzle. But, there is still more to be done to match our competitors, especially among SMEs who face far greater hurdles in adopting digital technology.
“As well as tackling the digital skills barrier which remains the biggest hurdle, Government should roll out the Made Smarter scheme across the UK. This has a proven success in delivering step change for SMEs on their automation journey.”
Andrew Kinder, SVP, Industry Strategy, Infor, added: “We are seeing a substantial shift in the adoption of digital automation as manufacturers seek to improve efficiency, instill agility and drive greater productivity. While generative AI is still in its relative infancy, intent to capitalise on it is incredibly encouraging with many companies saying they are ‘aware of and planning to use’ the technology.
“Actions, however, speak louder than words. While the government clearly has a role to play in supporting AI adoption, manufacturers have an opportunity to take control in bridging the gap between intent and value in creating first-mover advantage. The technologies are now widely available, affordable and come with a typically fast return on investment, which all help manufacturers compete in increasingly challenging conditions.”
According to the survey, more than half of companies (55%) have already implemented, or are planning to implement, AI and Machine Learning to automate decision making processes and improve operational efficiency. In addition, four fifths of companies have already introduced, or are planning to introduce, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality techniques in areas such as design and prototyping.
More than three quarters of companies (76%) have invested in automation, while almost six in ten (59%) plan to increase their expenditure this year compared to last. Furthermore, a fifth of companies plan to automate between a quarter and half of processes in the next two years, while a further quarter plan to automate between 10% and 25%.
These investments are aimed at improving manufacturing processes (65% of companies) and product design & development (49%) with companies seeing significant benefits of improved productivity (60%) greater labour efficiency (49%) and a similar number seeing better quality.
However, despite this positive picture, 40% of companies believe the UK is falling behind competitors in adopting automation. Robot density in the UK is currently at 101 units per 10,000 workers, below the average of 126 units globally. Overall, the UK ranks 24th globally and is the lowest of the G7 nations.
According to the survey, significant barriers to investing in automation are a lack of technical skills cited by almost half of companies (48%) and a similar number integration and data challenges (41%). More than a third of companies cite high costs and workplace culture (38% and 36% respectively) as barriers.
In addition, the survey shows a clear mismatch between policy incentives designed to boost investment and the expected ROI. More than eight in ten companies expect up to five years for a positive impact of investment. In contrast, more than half of manufacturers (56.4%) believe Government policies are not sensitive to the time needed to see a ROI.
To help address these barriers and boost further automation, Make UK has made the following recommendations:
- Roll out the successful Made Smarter scheme nationwide. This is a proven scheme to help with the adoption of new technology in manufacturing businesses. It should also extend the remit of Made Smarter to include industrial decarbonisation to aid energy efficiency and transition to net zero.
- Make full expensing capital allowances permanent to enable businesses to plan investment over long leads.
- Expand the R&D tax credit to include capital expenditure to spur further digitalised R&D.
- Government should work with business organisations and sector specific bodies to help SME engagement with the successful Catapult Centres. This is especially important given the geographic distribution of the centres and would help more SMEs take advantage of their world leading facilities.
Next upgrades profit guidance as third quarter sales beat expectations
Leicestershire retailer Next has further upgraded its profit guidance for the year following better than expected sales in its third quarter.
Full price sales from August to October were up 4% on last year, £23m ahead of anticipated levels (expected to be up 2%).
Next is thus increasing full year guidance for profit before tax by £10m to £885m.
The company said: “Sales growth has been variable. We believe the volatility in sales performance is a result of changing weather conditions rather than any underlying changes in the consumer economy. In an Autumn season cooler weather is good for sales, warmer than average weather depresses sales. Over time the average performance is a better indicator of underlying consumer demand than any one week.”
The retailer also now expects full year sales of £4.74bn, up 3.1% on last year.
Milestone transaction achieved at Pride Park
Regional commercial property consultants Rigby & Co have completed one of the largest office-based transactions in Derby in recent years on Pride Park in the city.
Acting on behalf of Derby College Group, Rigby & Co have successfully negotiated a sub-letting of an area of 40,000 sq ft within the college’s Johnson Building to the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust.
The letting has enabled Derby College Group to relocate part of its curriculum and estate into the nearby Roundhouse complex. Work is currently underway to deliver a new automotive centre at the Stephenson Building following the securing of a £3.5m Government grant.
A new Institute of Technology (IoT) centre is being built at the same location, which will provide world class training in engineering, manufacturing, and digital skills.
The Hospital Trust had spent two years looking for a consolidated base that would fulfil a range of functions including records storage and office/training and administration purposes.
Commenting on the letting, Heather Kelly, deputy chief executive of Derby College Group, said: “We are delighted to welcome The University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust into the Johnson Building.
“We have instructed Rigby & Co to market the rest of the building, which will be available for occupation from Summer 2024.”
Russell Rigby, managing director of Rigby & Co, added: “This deal is a great outcome for both Derby College and the Trust – two of Derby’s leading employers, both of whom are going through challenging times in reorganising their real estate.
“We are now actively looking for an occupier for the balance of the building which extends to around 45,000 sq ft of high-quality offices, storage and space.”
Geldards LLP represented Derby College Group, and Browne Jacobson represented the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust.
Corporate insolvencies hit twenty-year high
A perfect storm of economic issues has led to the highest Q3 corporate insolvency figures in more than two decades, with a combination of rising costs, director fatigue and increased creditor pressure meaning more firms are now turning to a corporate insolvency process to resolve their financial issues.
This is according to the Midlands branch of insolvency and restructuring body R3 and follows latest statistics published by the Insolvency Service which show that there were 6,208 seasonally adjusted corporate insolvencies in the third quarter of 2023, which is a 10.2% increase on the 5,635 in Q3 2022 and 54.8% higher than the 4,010 in Q3 2021. The Q3 2023 figure is also 41.3% higher than the Q3 2019 pre-pandemic figure of 4,393.
R3 Midlands chair Stephen Rome said: “The key driver behind the numbers is the rise in Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidations, which have reached their second highest figure on record and the highest number ever recorded in Q3.
“After years of battling through the pandemic, supply chain issues, increasing costs, rising inflation and requests for higher wages, many directors have simply had enough and are calling it a day while that choice is still theirs.
“Compulsory liquidation numbers have reached a four year high – partly because of legislation preventing them and then making the winding-up petition threshold higher in the aftermath of the pandemic, but also because these firms are now under their own pressures and are calling in debts in the hope of balancing their own books.
“Trading conditions are particularly tough right now, with the upcoming Christmas period a crucial time for a large number of firms. This year could be make or break for many local businesses, especially those in retail and hospitality.
“Our message to anyone who is worried about their personal or business finances is to seek advice as soon possible. We know that it can be a hard conversation to have, but speaking to a qualified advisor when worries are in their early stages can provide more potential options for resolving them than waiting for the problem to worsen.
“Most R3 members will give a free initial consultation to prospective clients so they can learn more about their situation and outline the potential options for resolving it.”
