Small firms call for action over disappearance of free cash machines
Responding to new findings from Which? regarding access to cash ahead of next week’s Queen’s Speech, Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) National Chair Martin McTague, who sits on the Access to Cash Pilots Board, said:“With our bank branch infrastructure further decimated over the pandemic, this Queen’s Speech is the last chance saloon where protecting access to cash is concerned.
“Four in ten small high street businesses say cash is the number one payment method among customers, and six in ten need to make regular cash deposits.
“Since the Access to Cash Review was published, we haven’t seen meaningful movement in the numbers of customers and small firms that rely on cash day to day. But we have seen further closures of bank branches, and new limits on opening hours – choking off supply while demand remains.
“Notes and coins are still important to the lives of millions of consumers, not least disabled people, the elderly and those on tight budgets. Physical currency is also a vital backup for when digital systems fail.
“Online banking brings massive benefits in terms of productivity and efficiency. Policymakers and banks should be working hand in glove to get everyone online and up to speed with all the perks that managing finances safely online can bring.
“But so long as the need for cash remains, free access should be protected. Often, it’s in areas where consumers are most reliant on notes and coins that pay-to-use machines pop up – every pound spent on accessing cash is a pound not spent with the local small businesses on which our recovery will depend.
“Legislation and clear oversight by a single regulator in this space is overdue – the former was promised years ago. It’s time to turn positive words into positive action.”
Investigation reveals Nottingham City Council could have wrongly spent a further £25.759 million of funds
Nottingham City Council could have wrongly spent another £25.759 million of funds, according to an investigation into accounts and council housing money.
The news comes after a rare Section 114 notice was served by the council, following the recent discovery that it unlawfully diverted cash from its housing revenue account (HRA) to general funds and had ‘unlawfully’ credited £15.86 million to pay for all council services.
CIPFA (the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy) in conjunction with Richard Penn, a local government expert, has produced a 19 page report and recommended that all proposals to address the issues outlined in both reports are accepted and implemented in full.
Richard Penn’s report makes a series of recommendations, including bringing housing services currently provided by Nottingham City Homes as an Arms’ Length Management Organisation back under the control of the City Council to ensure that HRA money is appropriately ring-fenced.
Reverting housing services back to the host local authority is now a common practice. The Executive Board report highlights that from an initial 70 Housing ALMOs (Arms’ Length Management Organisations) created in the early 2000s to gain Decent Homes grant funding from Government, there are now only just over 20 ALMOs still operating.
The Penn report also recommends strengthening the council’s housing authority role with improved financial knowledge, more detailed involvement of senior officers and auditor scrutiny.
It states that the payments from the HRA to the general fund were made ‘in an environment where there were many proposals to reduce expenditure or increase income in order to maintain services and avoid cutting jobs’ but concludes that it was not ‘a mechanism conceived to divert HRA funds to the General Fund’.
CIPFA also reports serious concerns about the lack of transparency in HRA reporting and the need to separate HRA from non-HRA activity in the work of Nottingham City Homes.
City Council Leader, Cllr David Mellen, said: “This is a clearly a setback, particularly as the council has been making significant progress on improving our financial governance over the last year. This issue demonstrates the importance of that work and how thorough it has been.
“Last year we took swift and firm action to issue a Section 114 Notice and commission two independent reports into the circumstances surrounding the HRA funding.
“The findings of these investigations show that the finance and governance arrangements around the ring-fencing of the HRA fell seriously short of acceptable standards, although we are disappointed that this wasn’t flagged up at the time by the council’s external auditors.
“Since these decisions were first taken, new leadership and senior management have shown determination to take the action necessary to address these issues and move forward positively.
“I would like to reassure our council tenants that we are committed to dealing with these past issues, ensuring that lessons are learnt so that these mistakes cannot be repeated in future.”
“It’s important to make clear that the funding in question has been used for purposes that benefit local people but that are not an appropriate use of what is effectively tenants’ money.
“It also needs to be recognised that in addition to achieving decent homes standards, Nottingham City Homes has worked to improve core housing services, empower tenants and bring about significant improvements to housing stocks, including the response to fire safety following Grenfell and home insulation works.
Cllr Linda Woodings, the council’s Portfolio Holder for Planning, Housing and Heritage, said: “Bringing housing services back under the direct control of the council is something that has been recommended we do to address the issues raised in the reports. We will ensure that listening to tenants and ensuring their voices are heard is a priority as we work to continually improve services for them in future.”
City Council Chief Executive, Mel Barrett, said: “These reports identify underlying issues around governance and finance which the council is addressing as part of our ongoing improvement work through our Together for Nottingham Plan.
“While the reports bring to light the serious failings in past practice, Nottingham people may be reassured in knowing that the new leadership of the council have, at every stage, taken steps to identify, understand and own these issues. We have invited independent scrutiny and ensured open, honest and transparent management of our financial governance to ensure compliance is improved for future practice. We are determined to provide reassurance to local residents, the Improvement and Assurance Board and Government that we understand what went wrong and that we can and will put it right.”
The investigation has now uncovered a further sum of up to £25.759 million of detected issues taking the overall scale of the issue as up to £40.126m.
Leasing agents appointed for new 160,800 sq ft warehouse on former Weetabix site in Corby
A new speculative 160,800 sq ft industrial warehouse is to be constructed on the former Weetabix factory site on the Earlstrees Industrial Estate in Corby.
Having recently purchased the 8-acre site on one of the town’s prime industrial parks, Copley Point Capital – on behalf of its Block Industrial program and Pembury Real Estate Ltd – have drawn up plans for the demolition of the existing building and a scheme for a new best-in-class facility.
A planning application is on schedule to be submitted this month with the intention of speculatively delivering the scheme by mid-2023. Prop-Search, Burbage Realty and Potter Learoyd have been instructed to seek a tenant for the project – Earlstree 160 – which will feature 12.5m minimum clears, 16-dock and two-level access doors, together with a 50m yard.
Commenting on behalf of the appointed letting agents, Richard Baker, a Director of Prop-Search, said: “There is a lack of available new stock of this size in the North Northamptonshire region, so this joint venture is a very timely development.”
“It is perfectly placed to accommodate the pent-up demand from occupiers with household names in Avon, CEVA, Weetabix and Saint Gobain proving that the business park, with its excellent transport links and access to a skilled workforce, is an attractive proposition to successful national companies.”
Copley Point Capital, Director, Nimit Oberoi, added: “We are excited to work with Prop-Search, Burbage Realty and Potter Learoyd to find the right occupier for our scheme. The team has an exceptional track record in the Northamptonshire market and provide the right balance between national and local market coverage.”
Dutch logistics giant strikes deal with M&G on 250,000 sq ft unit
Dutch logistics giant Active Ants, a subsidiary of the bpost group, has struck a deal with M&G Real Estate on a 252,500 sq ft industrial unit at Brackmills Industrial Estate in Northampton, on a 10-year lease.
After operating 2 successful sites in the Netherlands, Active Ants has successfully expanded into Belgium and Germany in recent years.
Co-founder and Managing Partner Jeroen Dekker says: “Active Ants wants to be the best fulfilment company in Europe. We are delighted that our arrival in the UK will further increase our presence in Europe and we believe we are moving into one of the most exciting online markets. With our strong focus on innovation and automation we offer tailor made business 2 consumer (B2C) logistics for (SME) web shops. We are convinced that this will create superior value for our customers’.
Active Ants was founded in 2010 with the idea of making e-fulfilment more accurate and efficient through innovation, automation and working with robots. The company has since grown into one of the larger players in the Netherlands with over 250 customers and more than 5 million orders per year.
Jeroen continues, “The Brackmills Industrial Estate is the centre of e-commerce logistics in the United Kingdom – this combination makes it the perfect location for our e-fulfilment activities. We will be close to our customers and have good connections with last-mile distributors.
“In our search for the right location and the right building, it was important for us to find a building that fulfilled our mission and values. The ‘outstanding’ BREEAM certification of the Brackmills Estate means that the building performs at the highest environmental level, which fits perfectly with our sustainable – and highly automated – way of working. Active Ants is committed to sustainable relationships with all its stakeholders: customers, employees and the community”.
Michael Wood, Portfolio Director at M&G Real Estate, comments: “With this scheme, M&G is delivering on its commitment to providing high quality, ESG-led schemes which meet the exacting requirements of modern occupiers, and we are delighted to be welcoming an innovative international operator with this significant pre-let.”
783-bed student scheme sold in Nottingham
UK property developer Godwin Developments has completed the sale of the Bendigo Buildings – a consented scheme for new contemporary purpose-built student accommodation in Nottingham – to Bricks Group.
On completion the development, which is situated in central Nottingham, will comprise 783 beds including of a mix of modern studio apartments, four, five and six-bedroom clusters and accessible studio rooms. It will also provide a range of indoor amenities and landscaped gardens as well as commercial units on the ground floor for residents and the neighbouring community.
The Bendigo Buildings development is situated less than half a mile from Nottingham Trent University and will regenerate the land currently occupied by a former Royal Mail sorting office, which has been vacant for nearly 20 years, as well as the adjacent car park on Cowan Street.
Godwin Developments acquired the Royal Mail site in June 2020 and the Cowan Street site in 2021. The company secured full planning permission for both plots in the second half of 2021, to help meet substantial demand for student accommodation in the city whilst regenerating the area of St Ann’s and delivering on a number of the Council’s objectives around student living and place making.
The Bendigo Buildings have been designed with sustainability in mind including features, such as air source heat pumps, photovoltaic (PV) roof panels and an energy efficient building fabric. The scheme promotes greener ways of travel in and around the city, supporting cleaner air and reducing traffic congestion in the area. It was also rated ‘Outstanding’ by Rider Levett Bucknall’s Social Impact and Social Value Report for its social value delivery, recognising the significant economic boost of £264 million which it will deliver to the city and wider region.
Matt Chandler, Managing Director at Godwin Developments, said: “Representing one of our largest consented schemes to date, the Bendigo Buildings utilised our in-house expertise to work up and achieve planning for this compelling scheme on a brownfield site which will bring significant regeneration benefits to the city. We are pleased that dynamic student, hotel and co-living property company Bricks Group will now take the project forward into delivering a new thriving student hub for Nottingham.
“Nottingham has significant unmet demand of student beds and with increasing student numbers expected as both universities continue their expansion plans, there is a clear requirement for more dedicated student spaces where young people can live, study, and socialise together. The Bendigo Buildings helps cater to this demand whilst also supporting the Council’s ambitions to keep the city centre vibrant, provide better quality student housing, and protect further traditional family housing from being converted for student occupation as well as bringing substantial investment to the city.”
Stephen Pratt, co-founder and director at Godwin Developments, added: “This development and transaction are a clear demonstration of the strength of the Godwin business and our expert team’s capability. I’d like to thank all the consultants involved for their hard work and support at each stage of the process.
“As a business, the sale will help Godwin achieve its ambitions by reinvesting the proceeds into a number of new opportunities throughout the development cycle across the residential, commercial and industrial segments nationwide as we drive our strategy forward.
“We are looking forward to bringing more high-quality developments to Nottingham in the future.”
Peter Prickett, founder and CEO of Bricks Group, said: “It’s great to purchase such a fantastic site in the amazing city of Nottingham. This demonstrates the Bricks Group’s continued growth plans within the PBSA marketplace, with our true student brand offering the ultimate student experience and setting new standards. We’ll also be looking to integrate UTime fitness and doza (doughnuts and pizza concept) as part of our ecosystem of lifestyle brands.
“It’s been a pleasure working with the team at Godwin – a relationship we look forward to building upon with future collaborations together.”
The Bendigo Buildings is conveniently positioned within easy walking distance also of Nottingham city centre, Sneinton Market, Nottingham Trent University and the main food and entertainment quarter, with the University of Nottingham and Nottingham train station also readily accessible via public transport.
In recent years, Nottingham has cemented itself into a major higher education destination. The city attracts nearly 80% of its full-time students from the UK, making it resilient to fluctuations in international student demand.
Irwin Mitchell and CBRE advised Godwin Developments on the transaction.
The Bendigo Buildings sale builds on a period of strategic disposals by Godwin Developments, which also recently completed the sale of Agard Street, a consented 142 student bed development in Derby, to Marble Homes. Having secured full planning permission, Godwin Developments sold the consented development to the East Midlands business, who have a track record for building and operating student living schemes.
Ryley Wealth Management expands with acquisition of Lincolnshire firm
Nottingham-based Ryley Wealth Management have continued to expand their business with the successful acquisition of Whitelock Financial Planning, based in Kirton in Lindsey, North Lincolnshire.
The acquisition will also see Ryley Wealth Management retain three members of the Whitelock Financial Planning team: Mandy Coote, Mel Flear, and Emma Smyth, who will continue to work from their current office in Kirton in Lindsey.
Established by director Julie Whitelock in 2012 as a Partner Practice of St. James’s Place, Whitelock Financial Planning hold a strong reputation across their local area for their personal and bespoke approach to financial planning. With the acquisition, Ryley Wealth Management will take over servicing for all their existing clients.
This follows on from Ryley Wealth Management previously merging the assets of Bentley Park Associates in 2021.
David Ryley, Chief Executive of Ryley Wealth Management, says of the acquisition: “Julie and I have known each other for years, and we have a very similar ethos when it comes to offering friendly, appropriate, and bespoke advice for all our clients.
“She ran a tight ship, and I am delighted that we can now take over servicing for her clients as she enjoys a well-earned retirement. We’re also looking forward to continuing the relationship which Whitelock Financial Planning previously built with charities, sports teams, and arts initiatives in the area, as we support and champion important local causes across our shared community.
“Mandy, Mel and Emma all have years of experience within the industry, and their wealth of knowledge will continue to be a huge asset for all our clients in years to come. As Ryley Wealth Management continues to grow and expand, our first goal remains always to be the most trusted and valued firm in the financial services industry today, leading the way through a bespoke client service driven by our collective ambition to constantly improve, innovate and inspire.”
Sygnature Discovery acquires Peak Proteins, to strengthen its drug discovery capabilities
Sygnature Discovery, the Nottingham-based integrated discovery and preclinical solutions provider, has acquired Peak Proteins Ltd.
Following an extensive partnership between the two companies, this deal will enable seamless integration of protein production and related structure determination projects within Sygnature. Financial details of the transaction have not been disclosed.
Peak Proteins was set up in 2014 by scientists previously from AstraZeneca’s protein biochemistry and structural biology groups. Spearheaded by CEO, Mark Abbott, the company now employs 35 people, most of whom are scientists. Peak Proteins will continue to operate out of their new research facility in Macclesfield, near Sygnature’s Alderley Edge site. The Peak Proteins leadership team will also remain with the business.
Its core technologies include protein expression and purification, alongside protein crystallography, structure determination and mass spectrometry services. The acquisition will expand the scope of Sygnature’s in-house drug development capabilities, bringing increased value to partner projects and future patients. Peak Proteins has collaborated closely with Sygnature Discovery for several years and together the companies have supported a number of integrated drug discovery programmes.
The acquisition is part of Sygnature’s strategic plan to continuously invest in the expansion of its drug discovery capabilities. Steve Young, Sygnature Discovery VP of Business Development, says: “The Peak Proteins expertise will sit perfectly alongside our HTS and extensive biophysics capabilities. Their world-class expertise in protein crystallography will enhance our fragment screening and analysis activities, as well as our structure-based drug design work.”
Mark Abbott, CEO of Peak Proteins, said: “We have always valued Sygnature Discovery’s support and are now really pleased to be joining them. It will enable us to work more closely on integrated projects in addition to our existing client base where we provide both proteins and protein structural information on a very wide range of proteins to clients across the world.”
This transaction represents the fourth acquisition that Sygnature Discovery has made in the last four years, and the first since Five Arrows Principal Investments made a significant equity investment in the company in 2021.
Sygnature Discovery’s CEO, Simon Hirst, stated: “We are delighted to welcome Peak Proteins and its talented scientists to the Sygnature family. Accessing high quality proteins efficiently is often a major stumbling for projects and protein structural information is still the gold standard when it comes to drug design. The closer integration of Peak Proteins into our projects will be extremely powerful in driving programmes forward.”
Sales up at Light Science Technologies while profits slip
Light Science Technologies, the Derbyshire-based controlled environment agriculture (CEA) technology and contract electronics manufacturing (CEM) group, has fallen to a loss while sales have grown in a year in which it was admitted to trading on AIM.
According to audited results for the year ended 30 November 2021, group sales grew by 6.6% to £7.39m, up from £6.94m in the year prior.
Meanwhile the company posted pre-tax losses of £2.35m, which it says reflects the cost of the AIM admission process and investment in the CEA division.
In October, the business announced its flotation on the London Stock Exchange AIM market, successfully raising gross proceeds for the company of £5m.Simon Deacon, CEO of Light Science Technologies Holdings plc, said: “This was a pivotal period for the company, with the fundraise and admission to AIM providing the foundations for the next stage of our growth trajectory. Having further invested in and developed both operating divisions, we are extremely excited by the opportunities afforded to us.
“Moving forward the group will focus on further expanding its network of strategic partnerships with both major industry players globally, leading academic institutions and bringing experts into our growing team. In our CEM division, we predict there to be no change in the increased demand for electronics. As a result of this and our forward order book, we have begun a programme of investment to automate further production lines to win larger contracts in sensor and medical markets.
“In the CEA division we will continue to build on our contracts and sales pipeline, and expand into new markets in lighting, sensors and automated crop production and management systems, with an aspiration to enter the European and US market over the medium- to long-term. In doing so, we intend to strategically expand our facilities specifically in laboratory R&D at our new planned premises in 2023.”
The East Midlands Bricks Awards are back for 2022!
Bringing together the region’s property and construction industry for another year, the prestigious East Midlands Bricks Awards are back for 2022!
This year’s spectacular event, providing an evening of networking and celebration, will take place on Thursday 15 September, at the Trent Bridge Cricket Ground.
The annual East Midlands Bricks Awards, organised by East Midlands Business Link Magazine, is an independent awards and publicity programme recognising development projects and people in commercial and public building across the region – from office, industrial and residential schemes, through to community projects such as leisure schemes and schools. Winning one of these awards will add considerably to a company’s or individual’s brand and enhance their commercial reach significantly.
Nominations for the awards are now OPEN. To submit a business or development, please click on a category link below.
Award categories include:
Reflecting on the 2021 event, Paul Morris, director at St James Securities, said: “We are incredibly proud to have been awarded ‘Developer of the Year’ at the East Midlands Brick Awards 2021, particularly as we were up against strong competition from some very established and experienced counterparts in the industry.
“The award is testament to the hard work and excellent progress we have made over the last year at our £200m Becketwell regeneration scheme in the centre of Derby, particularly the forward funding and sale of the first phase 259 build to rents apartments to Grainger plc, one of the leading owners and operators of purpose build BtR in the UK.
“The event was held at the impressive Trent Bridge cricket ground and was well attended by many serious players in the property and construction industry, many of whom I had a chance to network with over a glass of wine and delicious hors d’oeuvres.”
The event will also welcome John Forkin MBE DL, Managing Director at award-winning investment promotion agency Marketing Derby, as keynote speaker.
Dress code is standard business attire.
Thanks to our sponsors:
- Most active estate agent
- Commercial development of the year
- Responsible business of the year
- Residential development of the year
- Developer of the year
- Deal of the year
- Architects of the year
- Excellence in design
- Sustainable development of the year
- Contractor of the year
- Overall winner
Book your tickets now
Tickets can now be booked for the glittering event – click here to secure yours. The special awards evening and networking event will be held on 15 September 2022 in the Derek Randall Suite at the Trent Bridge County Cricket Club from 4:30pm – 7:30pm. Connect with local decision makers over canapés and complimentary drinks while applauding the outstanding companies and projects in our region.
To be held at:
The Property & Business Investment Lincolnshire Expo takes place tomorrow!
The eagerly awaited Property & Business Investment Lincolnshire Expo is now only a day away, offering the ideal opportunity for networking and business generation.
Taking place this Wednesday (27 April 2022) at The Bentley Hotel, Lincoln, the free expo, for which Business Link is a proud partner, is a well targeted event aimed at the Construction, Property, Business, Investment, Finance, Professional Services and related B2B markets.
Exhibitors include Aspbury Planning Ltd, Belvoir, Business Lincolnshire, BSP Consulting, Delta Simons, the Federation of Small Businesses, J Tomlinson, NatWest, Willmott Dixon, and YMD Boon, to name a few. See the full list of who is exhibiting here.
Opening at 9am, the expo will also host a workshop from Team Lincolnshire and Business Lincolnshire. Running from 10:15 – 11:45, it will demystify the procurement process and explore the potential which public sector contracts could bring to your business.
Team Lincolnshire ambassador Neal Wheatley, director and general manager of RG Carter Lincoln Limited, and Barry Taylor, regional director at Parker Technical Service, will be sharing insightful first-hand experiences on winning a major Lincolnshire County Council contract for the construction of the South Lincolnshire Food Enterprise Zone and how supporting the local economy is a core value within the RG Carter Supply Chain Commitment.
Sign up to the free workshop here.
As the exhibition closes, it will roll directly into an informal, open buffet style network lunch – tickets for the lunch are now out of stock.
Tina King, of Business Shows Group, said: “It’s been a long time in the making thanks to the pandemic, but we are finally nearly there, The Property & Business Investment Lincolnshire Expo is gearing up to be one of the best to date!”
To attend the event, register for free here.
Meet more potential clients in one amazing cost effective day, than it would take months out on the road.
