Multi-Million pound hotel renovation wins national award
A multi-million-pound project backed by the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership to turn a historic building in Buxton into a luxurious hotel has won a top national award.
The £68 million Buxton Crescent Health Spa Hotel project was named Refurbishment/Revitalisation Project of the Year at the 2022 RICS Awards Grand Final.
Held in London, the awards, which are run by property industry trade body the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, brought together winners from 12 regional ceremonies across the UK.
They celebrate the UK’s most inspirational projects that are having a significant positive impact on the communities they serve.
Ensana Hotels opened Buxton Crescent Health Spa Hotel in 2020.
Created at one of England’s most significant Georgian architectural buildings, the hotel revives the water wellness traditions of the historic spa town of Buxton, with guests able to experience the therapeutic qualities of the water for themselves.
The property comprises 81 rooms and suites and is home to three pools, including the ‘thermal pool’, which is a fully refurbished Victorian pool boasting the unique feature of having Buxton mineral rich water flowing into it, which is heated and left chemically untreated.
The transformation was made possible thanks to one of the largest grants ever awarded from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and significant support from other stakeholders, including the D2N2 LEP through the Local Growth Fund.
Chairman of the RICS judging panel David Brooks-Wilson said: “The judging panel and I were so impressed with the dedication of the teams behind these winning projects.
“They are a true testament to the tireless dedication of industry professionals across the UK. Their talent and collaborative approaches have resulted in exemplary and innovative schemes that really do represent the very best built projects across the regions.
“Each of the winning projects is having a profoundly positive impact on their local area and RICS is delighted to recognise the hard work that went behind ensuring these projects were delivered successfully, particularly in such challenging and uncertain times as we navigated through the pandemic.”
Derby rail giant to demonstrate rail’s key role at COP27
Rail giant Alstom is set to demonstrate the key role rail it can play in global decarbonisation efforts at the forthcoming COP27 climate conference.
A delegation from the firm, which has its UK train-making site in Derby, will be attending the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference, to be held from 6 to 18 November, in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
During the second week of the conference, Alstom will participate in transport focused events with other changemakers, where discussions about sustainable mobility and the importance of women’s roles in transforming and decarbonising transport, will take place.
Cecile Texier, Alstom’s vice-president for CSR and sustainability, said: “Strong investment in rail will enable the decarbonisation of transport, in addition to many other benefits essential to sustainable development such as equal access to transport, social progress and economic development.
“Transport accounts for more than a quarter of global energy consumption; it is one of the human activities that continues to cause C02 emissions to rise.”
Alstom is considered to be a global leader in smart and sustainable mobility.
COP27 is an opportunity for the firm to showcase the progress and options available to decarbonise the transport sector, as well as exchange on green transport solutions for the future.
Alstom has more than 20 years of expertise in low carbon technology and has been participating in the conference since COP21 in Paris.
At COP27, it will promote the critical role public transport, specifically rail mobility solutions, will play in any country’s sustainable development efforts to address climate change issues.
Alstom works with its customers to design and deliver innovative and environmentally friendly solutions.
Today, it is the only rail player that offers the entire scope of green traction solutions and in-house fuel cell technology, and also has battery and hydrogen trains in passenger operation.
Cecile said: “COP27 is an opportunity for Alstom to showcase its commitment to support Net Zero mobility by building innovative, sustainable solutions with a lower carbon footprint, while actively contributing to public debates on sustainable development policies.”
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.”
