Private equity firm acquires Northamptonshire-based Powdertech

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Private equity firm acquires Northamptonshire-based Powdertech
Belfast-based private equity firm Cordovan Capital Management Limited has acquired Powdertech (Corby) Limited. Following investments made last year into Spanwall Group and Cubo, this is the third investment closed by its institutional fund vehicle, Cordovan Capital Partners II LP, and the twelfth investment made by the group overall. Northamptonshire-based Powdertech is a leader in the field of specialist architectural powder coating, providing unique and innovative coating solutions to a wide range of UK and international clients. Cordovan partner Daniel Anderson said of the acquisition: “This acquisition has seen us support a highly experienced and industry-recognised management team in their ambitions to lead the next chapter of Powdertech’s growth. “This is a successful, innovative surface technology business whose work can be seen on many iconic buildings, from Wembley Stadium in London to the Riyadh Metro Station in Saudi Arabia, and we are delighted to welcome it into the Cordovan portfolio.” Giles Ashmead, operations director at Powdertech, said: “We are delighted to have completed this investment into the company which will catalyse significant further growth in the business. I’d like to pay tribute to the founder and seller of the business Martyn Green whose innovative work in our industry has laid a such a strong foundation on which we will continue to build.”

Payments entrepreneur aims to triple business with help of £850k investment

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Payments entrepreneur aims to triple business with help of £850k investment
A fast-growing card payment solutions provider aims to treble the size of its business following an £850,000 investment. Grimsby-based Card Industry Professionals has raised the equity funding from both the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF) and the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF), managed by Mercia. Founded in 2017, by award-winning young entrepreneur Ciaran Savage, Card Industry Professionals provides card terminals, point of sale and online payment solutions to thousands of merchants throughout the UK. It focuses on SMEs including retailers, hair and beauty salons and hospitality businesses, and offers a range of solutions to suit different trading volumes and requirements. The company has doubled its revenue each year since it launched. The management team has also been bolstered by the addition of Ciaran’s mother, Lyn Savage, as operations director, and sales director John Selby, who, between them, have over 40 years’ experience in the payments industry. Card Industry Professionals employs a 13-strong team in Grimsby and has a nationwide network of over 130 sales agents. It currently processes over £25m worth of transactions per month and aims to triple that number in the next 18 months. The funding will enable it to strengthen its board, create around 10 new jobs in Grimsby, and continue to expand its product range by incorporating the latest innovations in payments and fintech. Ciaran Savage, founder and director, says: “This is an exciting moment for Card Industry Professionals as we continue to grow and develop. The investment will enable us to deliver our long-term plan to support and introduce many more merchants to new and emerging payments technology. “As we shift to more contactless and digital payment methods, we want to make it as easy as possible for merchants to access and adapt to the new payments technologies available, feel supported with the implementation and enable merchants to provide the choice and flexibility to their customers. “With this investment we can develop upon our portfolio of products, as well as expand our sales team throughout the UK and customer support teams based within our head office.” Maurice Disasi of Mercia added: “The pandemic has accelerated the uptake of contactless payments and many smaller firms – particularly ‘cash-led’ businesses such as takeaways and hair salons – are having to adapt. “Card Industry Professionals focuses on this underserved market and is ideally placed to help businesses make the transition to alternative payment methods. The funding will enable the company to stay at the forefront of technology and expand its market share.”

Should we as leaders be reviewing the way we lead in a post-COVID world? By Fiona Duncan-Steer, founder of RSViP Business Networking Agency

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Should we as leaders be reviewing the way we lead in a post-COVID world? By Fiona Duncan-Steer, founder of RSViP Business Networking Agency
Fiona Duncan-Steer, founder of RSViP Business Networking Agency, reconsiders leadership in the wake of the pandemic. There is no getting away from the fact that the world we live in has changed in the last two years considerably in many aspects – for all of us. In relation to business, many industry leaders have had to work hard to rebuild, diversify, and even start again in order to simply survive, let alone thrive, and those same leaders have also had to navigate their staff and teams sensitively and productively, whilst adjusting to a new way of working themselves and it has not been an easy task. As we continue to learn to “live with COVID” in our new hybrid world, remote working has become the norm for many, as well as an introduction of the four-day working week for some (which I have personally introduced recently and find it highly effective). We have also seen an increase in flexitime, as leaders have come to realise that their teams can be trusted to get the job done without being micro-managed and all this is well and good but… Should we as leaders be considering a change in the way in which we lead? Taking into consideration the newly created businesses and job roles that didn’t even exist only a few years ago and the rapid change in marketing styles that accompany those roles, I would say the answer is a big fat YES. Look at it this way, the Gen Z (those born between 1995-2012) are our future leaders and so would it not make sense for them to become a pivotal part of our decision-making processes? As a millennial myself (those born between 1981-1996), and someone who spends a lot of time coaching and training university business students, I find myself continually learning from those who are younger than I am and it is immensely inspiring to hear their perspectives and ideas. We are living in an age where social media can make a teenager their first million, celebrity culture has become more accessible and therefore a little less special, and ‘everyone’ can now become a podcaster, presenter, journalist, interviewer, reviewer – ‘get spotted’ from an ‘upload’ and get paid for simply living their lives through the public eye. The reality world and influencer culture are well and truly upon us, whether we as leaders like it or not, and so we either embrace it, or we get left behind. Diversity in all forms within businesses should already be in place and companies are getting better at this, but we need to be even better, so ask yourself… Do you currently have a diverse workforce? Can more diversity be introduced to include younger minds? How do you feel this will benefit your business going forward? Integrating different generations, not forgetting Gen X (those born between 1965-1980) and the Boomers (those born between 1946-1964), will only ever result in a positive outcome; different minds, different ideas, different experiences, and different perspectives, all learning from one another and inspiring and motivating each other to ‘be’ and to ‘do’ better, and whilst we are all doing the best we can, we all still have the potential to do a little better. Fiona Duncan-Steer, RSViP www.rsvipnetwork.co.uk  www.fionaduncansteer.com   See this column in the April edition of East Midlands Business Link Magazine.

CBI strengthens Midlands leadership team with key appointment

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CBI strengthens Midlands leadership team with key appointment
The Midlands CBI has bolstered its regional team with the appointment of a new associate director – who aims to help the region’s businesses navigate a path through the current economic challenges to renewed prosperity. Nicola Adams has worked across a number of different industries, and has spent the past eight years in trade associations primarily supporting the UK’s DIY, housewares, electrical and footwear sectors. She brings extensive experience in account management, recruitment, business support and event management. In her new role, Nicola will work closely with CBI Midlands director Richard Blackmore and member businesses to advance the CBI’s ambitions for economic growth, regional prosperity and social equality, as laid out in its strategic vision Seize The Moment. Regional priorities will include action to boost skills, increase investment and drive infrastructure improvements. Nicola Adams, CBI associate regional director for the Midlands, said: “It’s been a turbulent few years for business with COVID-19, Brexit and now a growing cost-of-living crisis as inflation rises and energy costs soar. Long-term challenges around levelling up and transitioning to net zero also loom large. “I’ll be working closely with businesses across the Midlands to not only help them overcome these challenges but also to make the most of the opportunities in front of them too. “We’re at a crossroads in the economy, and the decisions we take in now will define our future for years to come. I’m committed to enabling businesses to seize the moment and create an even more thriving Midlands economy.” Richard Blackmore, CBI Midlands director, said: “I am thrilled Nicola has joined the CBI team; she brings a wealth of experience to the role, and her knowledge of the Midlands’ strengths and challenges means she is well equipped to support our members to achieve their ambitions. “Businesses across the region have faced a tough time over the past two years, but the CBI’s Midlands team stands ready to help them bounce back from these challenges and plot a new trajectory towards a prosperous, equitable and sustainable future.”

Local marketing consultant, golfer and NSPCC charity fundraiser honoured by Dame Esther Rantzen

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Local marketing consultant, golfer and NSPCC charity fundraiser honoured by Dame Esther Rantzen

A local marketing consultant, golfer and charity fundraiser has been honoured with an award from Dame Esther Rantzen in recognition of raising over £5,000 for the NSPCC and an ongoing commitment to raise £50,000 for NSPCC, and £100,000 overall.

The ‘Esther People Awards’ are held bi-annually to reward NSPCC fundraisers who show innovation and ingenuity in their fundraising, particularly in the face of adversity.

As the 2020 lady captain of the Nottinghamshire Golf & Country Club, Bev organised an event called the ‘Three Bunkers Challenge’. Styled like the infamous three peaks mountain climbs, the event involves 24 golfers playing three golf courses in Derby, Leicester, and Nottingham in one day. The courses are Morley Hayes Golf Club, Charnwood Forest Golf Club and The Nottinghamshire Golf & Country Club.

The event was first planned to be held in 2020, but was delayed due to COVID restrictions. Undeterred, Bev, who is a director of Simple Marketing Consultancy, based in Radcliffe on Trent, re-arranged the event for 2021 and in total raised £13,500 for her chosen charity called ‘Big C Little C’ which splits all money raised from the challenge between NSPCC and Cancer Research. In total, Bev has pledged to continue the event until she has raised £100,000.

Commenting on winning the award, Bev said: “For personal reasons I have been a regular supporter of NSPCC for over 30 years. Since then, I have encouraged all past employers to nominate NSPPC as the beneficiary of charity events. Choosing them as one of my Lady Captain’s charities was a no brainer and I am thankful to all the companies and other golfers who have helped me fundraise.”

Barbara Elsey, NSPCC community fundraising manager, added: “Overall there were over 300 people nominated for an NSPCC award and Dame Esther Rantzen decides the overall winner of the Esther People Award. Bev won the Esther Award because her idea overcame the many restrictions presented by COVID and has also provided NSPCC with a fantastic footprint for a novel idea that we hope other fundraisers will enjoy arranging. It also helps NSPCC to engage more with the business community.”

To make it more interesting, the team captain has to record how many bunkers the players in their team go in and then subtract this figure from their overall points score. This rule underpins the reason for calling the event ‘The three bunkers challenge’.

The five other companies that are helping Bev reach her £100,000 overall target include: business advisory firm Mazars (Bob Johnson), Anthony James Insurance Brokers (Steve Boorman), Breeze Corporate Finance (Paul Bevan), MKM Building Supplies (Kate Tinsley), Fiscal Engineers (Colin Shaw and Gini Bolton), Breedon Electrical Services (Andrew Springhall), and business partner Elliot Cook.

If you would like to donate visit this link. All money raised will be split 50% between NSPCC and Cancer Research.

Rhodes Wealth Management merges with Ilkeston counterpart

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Rhodes Wealth Management merges with Ilkeston counterpart

Rhodes Wealth Management has significantly increased its client base after a merger with another financial advice firm based in Ilkeston.

The company has joined forces with Paul Bainbridge Wealth Management which will allow it to bring complementary services under the Rhodes umbrella.

Adam Rhodes began his firm as a one-man operation in 2007 and it now has a staff of 27 with headquarters in Brailsford, Derbyshire and an office at West Bridgford, near Nottingham.

The link-up with experienced Paul Brainbridge, a fellow St. James’s Place partner, has been agreed as Paul moves towards retirement in coming years.

Paul said: “During 2021 I have been in discussions with various St. James’s Place Partnerships with the idea of merging my business into theirs. The objective has been to improve client servicing by having larger resources to call upon.

“This will also provide my clients with a second contact point as I begin to have an eye on my retirement.

“I am delighted to confirm after many meetings and discussions I have found a St. James’s Place Partnership that I am confident is aligned with my principles and beliefs and has the ability to continue to provide successful client outcomes.

“I have known Adam Rhodes for many years and he has a wealth of knowledge and experience. He and Tristan Gilbody run a successful St. James’s Place Partnership, supported by a fantastic team of financial advisers and well-trained support staff.”

Adam said: “I have known Paul since I started at St. James’s Place and I was delighted when he decided to entrust me and the team at RWM with the task of supporting him and his clients.

“Our business mission is to ‘change people’s lives for the better’. That includes our clients, our team members, our business and charitable partners and, of course, those moving over from Paul Bainbridge Wealth Management.

“Whilst nothing will change for Paul’s clients in the short-term, over time he will begin to hand over the day-to-day management of their finances to advisers from Rhodes Wealth Management. Paul will continue to be on hand to answer any questions or queries they may have.”

Inspired Villages expands planning team to deliver ambitious growth plan

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Inspired Villages expands planning team to deliver ambitious growth plan

Retirement villages operator, Inspired Villages, which has offices in Edwalton, Nottingham, has enhanced its planning team with the hire of Nathaniel Raimi as planner and the promotion of Ellen Pearce to planning manager.

The moves will support Inspired Villages’ ambitions to grow its portfolio to at least 34 villages with a £500m investment from Legal & General and NatWest Group Pension Fund.

Nathaniel has over three years’ experience as a planner, having worked for local authorities, a housing association, and most recently at multidisciplinary design firm HTA Design.

Ellen joined Inspired Villages from property consultancy Savills in 2020 as a planner and has supporting numerous planning applications for sites across the country.

Established in 2017, Inspired Villages has six operational villages, four in construction, and 13 future sites secured. The company helps address a critical need in the UK for more age-appropriate housing for older people. There are now more than 12m over 65s in the UK with this figure expected to increase by 41% to nearly 18m by 2040; however, there are currently only circa 80,000 later living homes in this country and between now and 2025 only around 8,000 new units are forecast to be delivered each year.

The planning team, which is led by land & planning director Stuart Garnett, exchanged contracts on five sites in 2021 alone, adding nearly 800 homes to Inspired’s development pipeline, and secured planning permissions for four sites, totalling almost 500 homes. 2022 promises to be a bumper year for the team with contracts already exchanged on a site in South Cambridgeshire and many more planned. With sustainability a key priority for Inspired Villages, the pipeline includes net zero carbon regulated energy retirement villages. 

Stuart Garnett, land & planning director at Inspired Villages, said: “Inspired Villages aspires to be a world-leading operator of retirement villages, and we know that hiring and nurturing the best talent is key to achieving that goal. I’m therefore delighted to promote Ellen to planning manager, it is a well-deserved promotion that is a testament to her skills and dedicated work ethic.

“I’m also pleased to welcome Nathaniel to the team, he brings a lot of relevant experience to the company. Our enhanced planning team will allow Inspired Villages to grow its pipeline of sites even further and help address the critical need for more age-appropriate housing in the UK for our rapidly ageing population.”

“Historic hiring crunch” for East Midlands businesses as record-low unemployment rate disguises key issues

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“Historic hiring crunch” for East Midlands businesses as record-low unemployment rate disguises key issues
The East Midlands’ unemployment rate is now the second-lowest in the country after dipping below 3% for the first time on record. It was 2.8% for the period between December 2021 and February 2022 – a full percentage point below the national average and only higher than Northern Ireland (2.5%), according to the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) regional labour market figures. However, the region’s 21.7% economic inactivity rate – which measures the proportion of 16 to 64-year-olds who have exited the labour market for reasons such as retirement, caring duties, long-term ill health or studying – was 1.8 percentage points higher than a year earlier and above the 21.4% national average. Nationally, the ONS said there were as many vacancies (1.3 million) as unemployed people, while it also reported that inflation shot up to 7% in March, the highest point since March 1992. East Midlands Chamber Chief Executive Scott Knowles said: “At first glance, the unemployment rate falling for the fourth month in succession to hit yet another record low is hugely positive for the region’s labour force. It is largely testament to the success of our businesses in steering a strong rebound for our local economy as they got back to what they do best once Covid-19 restrictions were repealed. “However, these figures disguise a historic hiring crunch facing many of our companies. The Chamber’s latest Quarterly Economic Survey showed that while 63%* of East Midlands businesses attempted to recruit in the first quarter of 2022, four in five (80%) of this cohort encountered problems with filling vacancies. “Nationally, there are 600,000 more working-age people who have left the workforce than at the beginning of the pandemic. While one suggested remedy may be to coax them back with higher wages and benefits, employers are already hamstrung by an escalating cost of doing business crisis as a result of spiralling inflation, energy prices and staffing costs. “Two-thirds (67%*) of East Midlands businesses expect they will now be forced to raise prices in the next three months. This impacts consumers, employees and their ability to invest in productivity gains, which is particularly crucial for the 37%* of our region’s firms that say they are at full operational capacity. “With the economic recovery now on a knife-edge – as illustrated by growth slowing to 0.1% in February – it’s imperative the Government does more to help people access retraining opportunities for in-demand jobs. Introducing a new skills tax credit would also incentivise employers to invest in training for workers.”

Recruitment agency sold to its employees

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Recruitment agency sold to its employees
Robertson Bell, a professional services recruitment agency for the public and not for profit sectors, has been sold to an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT).
The news, which marks Robertson Bell’s 15th anniversary, comes in light of the company’s best ever trading year, despite troubles for the charity sector caused by the pandemic.  Founded by CEO Stuart Bell in 2007, the company faced the prospect of surviving a recession in its early years but navigated this – and recent – turbulent market conditions to achieve year on year growth throughout its 15 year history. Reaffirming his ambition for further growth, the move to sell to an EOT is aimed at building a legacy for the employees who will be creating the company’s future successes.
Introduced in the Finance Act 2014, EOTs allow shares to be held on behalf of a company’s employees.  Robertson Bell EOT Limited will facilitate employee ownership of Robertson Bell, ensuring they are the ones to benefit from company profits and the continued growth of the business. Employees become eligible to be beneficiaries of the trust after 12 months of service.
Stuart Bell says: “Having spent 15 years building a business, one that is continually evolving and adapting to the ever-changing needs of the organisations it helps, the time has come to transfer ownership to the those who have made Robertson Bell the success it has been; its people. Through an EOT we can empower staff with the knowledge that they will be the ones to benefit as the company continues to flourish.”
Robertson Bell has grown into a team of 35.
Stuart continues: “This company hasn’t been built by experienced people; it has been built brick by brick by people starting as trainees. With that has come deep-rooted values of being down to earth and I am conscious of protecting this grounding, culture, and emphasis on our people. While I will remain CEO, this is a unique opportunity for those people to take on more responsibility and leadership. It has real potential to change their lives.”

Sales up at Dunelm

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Sales up at Dunelm
Sales are up at Dunelm Group, the Leicestershire-based homewares retailer, according to a trading update for its third quarter, the 13-week period ended 26 March 2022. Total sales of £399m were up 69%, significantly higher than the same period in FY21 when Dunelm’s store estate was closed to customers and only Click & Collect and home delivery services were available. Third quarter sales were 40% higher than Q3 FY20, though the company noted that the final three weeks in that quarter were impacted by the beginning of the Covid pandemic. Excluding those final three weeks, total sales for the first 10 weeks of Q3 FY22 were up 31% compared to the same period in FY20. Year-to-date total sales meanwhile were up 37% on a year-on-two-year basis, with continued strong growth in store sales and digital sales being more than double the level of two years ago. Dunelm’s new furniture fulfilment hub in Daventry became fully operational during the quarter. Nick Wilkinson, Chief Executive Officer, said: “It has been another good quarter for Dunelm with sustained growth across all of our homewares categories, particularly as customers ready their homes and gardens for the summer. “Performance has been strong across all channels and our new facilities for e-commerce and furniture fulfilment are now fully operational, which will enhance our multi-channel proposition, whilst providing the capacity for further growth. “Whilst the macro environment remains uncertain, with significant headwinds and increasing pressures on the consumer, our wide product range offers choice for every budget, whether replacing everyday essential items or refreshing a room in your home. “The resilience of the Dunelm business model and the ability of our colleagues to adapt quickly to changing circumstances give us confidence in our plans and we remain well placed to continue to grow market share.”
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