Hucknall Business Park achieves 100% occupancy with two latest lettings
The final two lettings have been snapped up on Whyburn Business Park, the new build scheme of small sized industrial units situated on an established and popular industrial location in Hucknall.
Phase 1 was completed in late Q1 / early Q2 2022, with phase 2 in discussions to provide further stock for small to medium sized units. The rental tones achieved throughout the site were £8.00 per sq. ft, a promising figure for a new build scheme in Hucknall.
Phase 1, which consisted of 9 units, comprised a mixture of 1,765 sq. ft and 2,130 sq. ft of industrial / warehouse space with excellent eaves height, yard space and generous parking. The new build development scheme has certainly proved to be popular with occupation now at 100% and the demand continuing to be apparent on the site. The number of enquiries received on the units indicates that the interest on the next two phases is going to remain strong.
Amy Howard, Surveyor in FHP Property Consultants’ Industrial Team comments: “It has been a delight to work alongside Total Aggregates Ltd and Total Reclaims Ltd in this scheme and to achieve full occupancy. The site has shown to be a popular destination for occupiers from the start and it was promising to see the amount of interest we were still receiving throughout the marketing of the units. It confirmed the limited stock available for sub-2,000 sq. ft units compared to the high level of demand that is still apparent.
The diverse use of occupiers throughout is great to see and something that we all hoped to achieve for on the site. The success in Hucknall for warehouse occupation continues and Whyburn Business Park has helped to service this sector of the industrial market. I look forward to working alongside both Total Aggregates Ltd and Total Reclaims Ltd in the future.”
Anthony Barrowcliffe, Associate Director in FHP Property Consultants’ Industrial Team adds:“This is an excellent scheme in an extremely well-established industrial location. It has been a pleasure working alongside Richard and Melvin on this scheme and I look forward to future schemes/projects to follow.”
Lincolnshire vineyard comes to the market
An award winning vineyard and winery on the edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds has gone up for sale for just £700,000.
Looking towards Caistor where the Romans made wine 2000 years ago, Somerby is currently planted with 9,000 vines, the operation is capable of vinifying 20,000 litres and has made a name for itself in recent years, having picked up awards at both the UKVA and IWC competitions.
The vines currently grown are Pinot Noir, Solaris and Rondo and there is the potential to expand the operation by planting up to 3,000 more vines. The vendor points out that, in addition to the opportunity to invest and expand within existing boundaries, there is also the potential to rent a further 2.5 acres of additional land planted with 1,500 vines, subject to negotiations. As such, a purchaser could increase production from 20,000 to 150,000 litres, should they wish.
Henry King, farm agent at Savills in Lincoln who is handling the sale, said: “It is very rare that such an established vineyard and winery is brought to the market, let alone one that has such good potential to be expanded and with the ability to produce and bottle on-site. With the future of UK viticulture looking rather exciting, the sale of Somerby represents a fantastic investment opportunity with the potential to further adapt or extend and create a supplementary revenue stream, such as glamping and winery tours, subject to the necessary consents.”
Somerby Vineyard and Winery is being sold by Savills.
NG expands again with new department and key hire
Commercial property specialist NG Chartered Surveyors is expanding with a fresh hire and new Facilities Management division.
The Nottingham-based company has appointed experienced property professional Jamie Pervin to head up the new offering. Jamie will work alongside NG’s growing Management department and assist the Building Surveying team.
Jamie worked as a Property Manager for an estate agency, before moving onto a Midlands commercial property consultant, where he spent almost six years. He is studying for my APC in Facilities Management
Jamie said: “NG has a fantastic reputation within the East Midlands commercial property sector. The opportunity to join a progressive, fast-growing company – and to head up a new arm of the business – was an offer I couldn’t refuse.”
“I look forward to working with my new colleagues at NG, and with new clients – and those who I already have a relationship with.
James McArthur, director at NG, added: “It is an exciting time for our company and I am delighted that Jamie has chosen to join us. I look forward to working with him very closely.”
GE Power Conversion gets solar underway in Leicestershire
Specialist solar development company, Ortus Energy, has completed the first phase of a fully funded Power Purchase Agreement (PPA*) for one of the leading electrical engineering organisations, GE Power Conversion.
Ortus Energy have worked in conjunction with GE Power Conversion UK to provide and integrate a 400kW PV system into GE’s Marine Power Test Facility in Leicestershire, UK.
The supply of this system by Ortus has contributed a further part to GE’s journey towards carbon neutrality goals, in line with the organisation’s ongoing corporate commitment to sustainability. GE’s Marine Power Test Facility is now equipped with a 400kWp roof-top system of 962 panels that will save around 70 tonnes of CO2 annually and generate an estimated 315,000 kWhs of clean energy per year to help run the facility.
The four-and-a-half-acre site is dedicated to land-based innovation, test and emulation of full scale, multi-megawatt (MW) integrated electric power and propulsion systems and new energy technologies for naval and other maritime platforms. The facility needs energy to run extensive tests on its electric ship equipment. These include both high and low voltage systems, AC and DC, fixed and variable frequency electrical systems which are all highly configurable and fully interconnected via the land-based, integrated marine micro grid.
The facility’s existing architecture enabled Ortus’ PV system to be accommodated and optimized to work in conjunction with GE’s energy management system and an array of existing energy sources including grid, vessel prime movers, diesel generators, energy storage, and other equipment with varying energy-demand profiles.
To help optimize the solar power utilization, the PV system provided by Ortus was implemented as four separate but interconnectable roof-mounted arrays, to allow the best configurability into the Marine Power Test Facility’s automation and energy management system.
Peter Oram, Sales and Commercial Director at GE Power Conversion UK, said of the collaborative and forward-thinking project: “The system upgrade has been conceived and integrated in such a way that all sources of energy, from fuel to grid supply, can be optimized for efficiency, carbon reduction and operating cost. It’s important for this advanced Marine Power Test Facility and the customers that rely on it, providing a full-scale demonstration of future, greener maritime technologies and their deployment within a micro grid.”
GE, an energy infrastructure leaderis already part of the UK government’s Supply Chains for Net Zero initiative, aimed at driving industrial decarbonization, and this latest solar initiative continues their mission to make operations more sustainable, as well as lowering energy bills in today’s increasingly volatile market.
Phase two will commence in early 2023 at GE Power Conversion’s systems and manufacturing facility in nearby Rugby and has the potential to be nearly five times the size at 1.8MW output.
Having recently signed a deal with international assets investment company, Fiera Infrastructure, to deploy £100m of investments into the UK market, Ortus Energy is a major new player when it comes to guarding against energy uncertainty and currently have 300MW of commercial and industrial solar PV projects in development.
Ortus Managing Director, Alistair Booth explained: “We’re delighted to help GE improve their environmental profile, ESG commitments and carbon footprint, as well as locking-in a sizeable portion of their energy price for 25 years, at no upfront cost. Our fully integrated approach to building, financing and operating distributed energy streamlined the project for them and the solar PV system will be particularly beneficial for the Marine Power Test Facility site, as it looks to decrease its reliance on grid electricity.”
*Commercial & Industrial (C&I) PPAs are longer-term deals that fix a set rate directly from the energy source. They ensure organisations benefit from low-cost, clean energy, without any capital expenditure, that’s independent from the grid and not exposed to the volatility of open-market forces and prices – and increasingly the most cost-effective and sustainable options are distributed renewable energy sources.
Grant helps PR business, 1284 continue its success story
Loughborough-based PR and communications strategy business 1284 used a business growth grant to increase productivity – translating time saved into the launch of a new service. The business was founded in 2020 from its base at the Loughborough University incubator LUinc. and grew turnover by more than 120% in its second year. Moving into Year 3, founder George Oliver applied through the Business Gateway Growth Hub for help towards set-up costs for new service line 1284START.
Before launching 1284, George had never run his own business. After 15 years as a journalist, he decided to form his own agency, aiming to specialise in corporate communications relating to the Innovation sector. At the time, George was completing an MSc in Strategic Leadership at Loughborough University’s Business School and he applied to launch 1284 from the university incubator on the LUSEP enterprise zone.
Two years on, 1284 was a Chartered PR Practitioner providing communications strategy to clients ranging from SMEs to local government and universities. From launch, George had been interested in working with innovative start-ups, providing PR consultancy both at reduced rates and pro bono to support the development of exciting new businesses emerging from Loughborough and Leicester. The Growth Grant presented an opportunity to formalise that activity as a niche premium PR service at affordable rates for emerging East Midlands entrepreneurs.
1284START launched in October 2022 – two months after the Growth Grant was awarded. The 35% match-funding was used towards the purchase of a laptop and AI software to improve the efficiency and monitoring of PR campaigns. George then created 1284START to pass his company’s efficiency savings on to client startups, meaning that selected new businesses could access quality services in Leicestershire at a reduced rate.
1284START is already being used by purposeful early-stage businesses in the region. Projects include copywriting for award-winning med-tech startup ACT Medical, which is developing a life-saving device to stem blood loss from knife wounds. 1284 is already in talks with two further startups about supporting them with press releases, media relations, and other comms. It means 1284START had reached around 10% of its Y1 revenue target before its official launch in late October.
George was introduced to the Business Gateway Growth Hub by attending free sessions on marketing and pricing while establishing his company in 2020. He said: “I had never run my own business before 1284 and needed to learn a lot quickly about process, accounting, sales and more. The incubator was helping with that and I also learned quite quickly that the Growth Hub provided sessions with experts who were offering a lot of specialist insight at no cost.
“When I saw on Twitter a couple of years later that the Growth Hub was inviting applications for Growth grants I began to think about how it could be a chance to formalise what I was trying to achieve with really purposeful startups. Three months later, I had funding and kit in place, a new website live and clients on the books.”
In December 2021, 1284 won a public tendering exercise to provide media releases for the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership (LLEP). Efficiencies made possible by 1284START mean that the company can deliver such big contracts while continuing to grow within the existing headcount. However, the next stage for 1284 is to consider the staffing required for further expansion. George said: “I think we are at a point many growing businesses will experience in that 1284 is close to having made all realistic measures to increase productivity and now needs to think seriously about onboarding new people.”
1284 is shortlisted for the CIPR’s Midlands Independent Practitioner of the Year and the East Midlands Chamber’s Leicestershire Entrepreneur of the Year. “I never thought of myself as an entrepreneur, but the support I have received gave me the confidence to invest in the IT I needed to improve my service offer, increase efficiency and compete with larger agencies,” said George.
Business Gateway Adviser, Paul Bennett added: “1284 has been growing significantly over the last few years and George’s passion for supporting start-ups through affordable PR is commendable. He put an excellent case forward to the grant panel, not only to prove his project was viable but also how much it was really needed in the start-up community. It’s been a pleasure supporting George and seeing his ideas become a reality. He listened to my advice and feedback and has even taken away ideas to help his own clients with funding and award applications. I wish him well for the future.”
New centre to support disruptive business and industry transformation launched at Nottingham Business School
A new centre led by international experts is to promote innovation, empower business transformation and nurture future business leaders.
The Centre for Business and Industry Transformation (CBIT) has been launched by Nottingham Business School, part of Nottingham Trent University, to bring together industry transformation research, disruptive business practice, and personalised education.
Aiming to foster future leaders, CBIT offers both full-time and part-time masters’ degree programmes, specifically designed for transformational entrepreneurs, family business successors and senior managers who are likely to become the next CEO.
CBIT has also launched its Venture Builder for early-stage businesses. The programme aims to enhance the founder’s capability in business transformation practice. It takes a unique “sparring partner” approach to co-creating and co-executing transformational methods and innovative business model adoption.
The CBIT research team has a proven track record in high-impact research that supports wider society to achieve better sustainability and accelerate towards Net Zero. Their key research covers fields such as digital economy; new business and economic models; technology-driven innovation; IoT, machine learning and artificial intelligence; and business transformation methods.
The Centre will be led by Professor Xiao Ma, an internationally recognised thought leader and educator in entrepreneurship, business transformation, and digital economy, as well as a seasoned entrepreneur. He has led transformation projects for many businesses, including some Fortune 500 companies and PLCs.
Professor Ma said: “Through the work of the Centre, we want to transform those industry “norms”, build disruptive businesses and maximise positive impact in society and the environment. We will do this by working with industry partners to co-identify, co-design and co-deliver high-impact, world-leading education and research, informed by challenges the industry partners are facing.”
The Centre will hold an official launch event at Nottingham Business School on Thursday 10 November aimed at both emerging and established entrepreneurs and researchers interested in investigating how businesses become disruptive and transform the industry norm. Speakers include:
Nikhil Chikhliwala, a recent graduate, who will share his experience of the CBIT previous Masters’ degree programme. Nikhil will discuss how this programme helped him to build his venture, and made him a Strategist at Bow&Arrow, the Venture builder arm of Accenture.
Manish Pillay and Kris MacCrory, co-founders at Dock-y, (a CBIT Venture Builder cohort). Kris and Manish will share their experience of the CBIT venture building programme.
Roger Maull, Professor of Management Systems at the University of Exeter Business School and Academic Director of the Initiative for the Digital Economy at Exeter (INDEX). Roger will share his experience of working with the CBIT team on industry transformation research and explain the benefits of being part of this research agenda.
Haines Watts welcomes new trainees to its Ashby-de-la-Zouch office
Leading accountancy and business advisory firm Haines Watts has welcomed new trainees and graduates to join the firm’s operation in Ashby-de-la-Zouch.
The graduates and school leavers will take up a host of positions across its office on Charterpoint Way and other bases across the West Midlands, joining their current crop of 24 other regional trainees.
To welcome the new team members on board, the graduates attended a regional welcome induction at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) headquarters in London recently, where they met their peers from around the country and heard from previous trainees and partners on their career progression.
Baljit Kaur, Regional HR Advisor in the West Midlands, commented: “Our trainee induction was a fantastic opportunity to welcome our 2022 cohort of new starters.
“They had a fun-filled, informative day getting to know each other and gaining insights from our existing trainee group, about life as a trainee and the journey ahead. They also heard from senior partners and owners of the firm about their stories, the values that run through our people and brand, the clients we work with and ambitions our leaders have for the future of Haines Watts.
“The innovative ideas generated during various tasks were excellent and I was delighted to see them developing relationships with their peers from other offices across the UK. They’re at the start of a very exciting journey at and I look forward to seeing the ideas and energy that they bring.”
Haines Watts prides itself on its commitment to talent development, investing over £20K per candidate in creating an academy dedicated to the continued development of staff, as well as an accredited training programme.
This commitment will continue with all the new starters, who will be joining different training routes, including ACA, ACCA or the tax pathway.
Kasim Khan, Audit and Accounts Trainee, said: “The reason I chose to join Haines Watts was due to the personal aspect of the course and training; it seemed like a firm that you were more accepted into and somewhere that really cared about my progression.
“If I had chosen to accept an offer from one of the top four, I would have been seen as a number not an individual. I can already really see the connection, and support from colleagues and managers alike.
“The highlight from the induction day was meeting a group of semi seniors. They were very supportive, given they have been in the same position as us and understood our feelings and what was running through our minds.”
Charlie Gordon, Audit and Accounts Trainee, concluded: “What drew me to Haines Watts was the emphasis it has on employee wellbeing, as well as the focus on communication with clients, instead of just focusing on the numbers.
“The day was really useful for making new connections with likeminded individuals across the country. I’m now really looking forward to getting stuck into work, getting involved with the team and meeting clients.”
Leicestershire Innovation Festival 2023 launches
The fifth Leicestershire Innovation Festival will take place in the new year – with organisers placing the spotlight on small business.
The Business Gateway Growth Hub is again leading preparations for the festival – themed on productivity – as 20 events are staged between 6 and 17 February.
Productivity and innovation are central to plans for growth in the UK economy. As 89% of businesses in Leicester and Leicestershire have fewer than 10 employees, small businesses have a key role to play.
Dr Nik Kotecha OBE DL, Chair of the LLEP Innovation Board, said: “The festival will showcase ideas that increase productivity and quality in small, mid-sized, and large organisations.
“People often think of Innovation as being about inventing things. But we also want to hear the stories of entrepreneurs who are making ‘new to business’ changes that can be made by anyone.”
This year’s festival was the biggest to date, with almost 1,000 registrations across 24 events. Organisers aim to build on that in order to grow next year’s fortnight-long festival.
De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) was recently nominated for Outstanding Entrepreneurial University of the Year at the Times Higher Education Awards and is a sponsor of the 2023 festival.
Helen Donnellan, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Regional Business and Innovation, and LLEP Innovation Board member, said: “Workplace innovation isn’t necessarily about specific teams working on future projects.
“Rather, the biggest business impact can come from simply questioning how things could be done better.
“This could be anything from how your business creates its products, to processes for how you operate or how you engage with customers.”
Meanwhile, the fifth LeicestershireLive Innovation Awards continues to be the festival’s flagship event – and nominations are open now.
Businesses and organisations of all sizes can be nominated across 10 regional sector-based categories.
Adam Moss, Editor of LeicestershireLive, said: “We never cease to be amazed by the standard of the nominations we receive, as they really do showcase what Leicestershire’s best and brightest minds have to offer.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing this year’s entries come in and know for a fact that our judges will have some very tough choices when they decide our winners for this year.”
Cleaning pad business just scratching the surface when it comes to growth
Twelve months ago Harry Green, decided it was time to sell his cleaning pad business in Leicester. After all, he was 95, maybe it was time to close the business! However, neighbours Priyesh, Amit and Niraj Mandalia, inspired by Harry’s character and business ethos decided to take it on. As Harry approaches his 97th birthday, Silver Lady Cleaning Products has been given a new lease on life. Already an international business, it is now on a mission to go digital, become sustainable and conquer the UK.
Silver Lady Cleaning manufactures non-scratch scourers and pads under the brand name Miracle Cleaner. With a background originally in knitwear that spans over 100 years, the third generation of Harry’s family works in the business today. The Mandalia brothers are garment manufacturers and had a unit above Harry’s for 10 years. They now own Silver Lady Cleaning along with Harry, who is still very much a part of the business. Mum, Jayshree and dad Chiman Mandalia are also part of the Silver Lady team and work in the business.
Priyesh Mandalia explains: “Harry has a wealth of knowledge and experience. We bought the business, asked him to continue working with us for as long as he wanted and made him a shareholder. He’s a phenomenal guy with a great mind and work ethic. He was going to close the business and it would have been a shame to let that all go.”
Currently the business export to New Zealand, South Africa and Spain. Products are manufactured on unique machines built by Harry, with many parts taken from old knitwear machines. As well as scouring pads, new lines have been introduced such as dishcloths in microfibre and swede.
Priyesh described how this year they’ve spent time finding ways to lower their carbon footprint and be more sustainable. Silver Lady has swapped its product header cards to recycled paper and uses disposable cotton to stitch the pads together. Work is also currently underway with De Montfort University to make their sponges bacteria-free. If they succeed, the sponges could then be reused in playgrounds for example or bouncy castle pits.
The outside of the sponge is lurex and plastic coated. If they can take the plastic out, the lurex will also be completely recyclable. The business also sources locally or within the UK and all their products go by ship to international customers. All these measures help reduce their carbon footprint and support their journey to becoming a sustainable business.
Despite its international success, Silver Lady doesn’t have any UK customers. Priyesh said: “We sell about 12,000 pieces each month to New Zealand but nothing here. I’d say one of our main challenges is exposure. We don’t know who to target or which doors we should be knocking on but I know we want to expand.”
While searching on the internet for advice and funding he came across the Business Gateway Growth Hub. Priyesh continued: “We were contacted by Russ Pacey following our initial enquiry. We had an amazing conversation about Harry, our plans to grow in the UK and what help might be available. Our timing must have been spot on as just that week a new £2,500* business support grant had opened, which Russ talked through. We applied straight away for funding to help with marketing support.”
Priyesh comments: “We want to expand because we love this product and want to share it. Harry is a shrewd businessman and has built a unique product with longevity. He’s such an inspiration and makes us want to do better. The possibilities are endless.”
Harry added: “This has given me a new lease on life and I’m learning lots of things. I’ve joined the Mandalia brothers to bring our product to the local market and I’m excited to see where the business goes with our combined experience and backgrounds.”
Russ Pacey, Business Adviser Manager said: “This is a fantastic story transcending barriers of background, age, culture and experience. People working together with a common goal.
“I’m pleased I was able to signpost the grant. This kind of one-off grant or support programme pop up from time to time so it’s always worth staying in touch with the Business Gateway.”
Notts developer calls upon government to confront post-Covid home building challenges head on
The MD of one of the Midlands’ longest standing family-run house-builders has called upon Rishi Sunak’s newly announced Housing Secretary, Michael Gove, to give more support to small developers in the challenging post-Covid construction landscape.
Steve Midgley, Managing Director and co-founder at Fairgrove, which he established in 1995, has voiced concerns over the spiralling issues with supply chains and labour shortages in the wake of Brexit and Covid, as his teams work around the clock to deliver excellent low-energy homes in the midst of a very turbulent mortgage market.
Fairgrove is currently active on three sites in the East Midlands – The Brewery Yard and Nine Corners in Kimberley, as well as Swanwick Fields in Alfreton. All sites, which will eventually comprise more than 100 stunning new homes, are experiencing major challenges and Steve and his team, plus their newly appointed Quality Manager, are disheartened to find themselves behind schedule for completion.
Steve, who spent 10 years as Chairman of the Small Developers Group, and more recently 6 years as main Board member, of the Home Builders Federation, said: “Our vision to create places where people aspire to live, work and enjoy life is as strong as ever, given the tough times we’ve all come through over the last few years. A home is literally where the heart is and so we understand how important it is that our customers arrive at their perfect dream home on move-in day.
“That’s why we are so disheartened to have handed over some homes with a few aspects unfinished and to be behind schedule – it just is not the quality finish and experience we are known and respected for. Our 25 year plus heritage is all about comfort, high standards, excellent customer service and great workmanship and design.
“So I’m urgently calling on the new Housing Minster to address the challenges faced by smaller house builders in this extremely difficult construction climate. Key problems are the supply chain delays which have come about through a perfect storm of factors, culminating in vital materials not arriving on our sites in time.
“A shortage of skilled workers post Brexit has certainly had, and continues to have, a really negative impact on house building, as does the terrible situation in Ukraine. Timber, for instance, is a big problem. We have had a real struggle getting hold of fencing as a result, similar to how we’ve finding it very hard to secure ground workers and scaffolding. The supply chain and labour market is in a state of chaos.”
Steve added that it wasn’t just his company that was experiencing these ongoing problems. “At a recent meeting with more than 15 other developers, we all reported the same thing. We’re all being hit by delays for at least one vital skill or product as we strive to deliver houses on time. It doesn’t seem that bigger developers are feeling the squeeze in the same way – and this needs addressing.”
To give a specific example of how Fairgrove’s current projects are being affected, Steve touched on the piling process. He said: “Some of the properties we are building at our luxury development in Alfreton have to be supported in the ground via a process called piling. The piles are steel tubes, imported ex-Russian oil and gas pipeline pipes. We have lost over 3 months whilst these have been stuck at a Norwegian port as a result of the war in Ukraine.
“This delays construction by weeks and puts our buyers at risk of their mortgage deals running out, hence the real sense of urgency to move people into homes that we are not 100% happy with. The situation needs some serious attention from those calling the shots in Government.”
