Next makes Made.com swoop after online furniture retailer’s collapse
Leicester-headquartered retailer Next has swooped for the brand, website and IP of online furniture firm Made.com.
It comes after Made.com’s operating subsidiary’s collapse, appointing PWC as administrators.
In a statement to the London Stock Exchange, Susanne Given, chair of Made, said: “Having run an extensive process to secure the future of the business, we are deeply disappointed that we have reached this point and how it will affect all our stakeholders, including employees, customers, suppliers and shareholders.
“We appreciate and deeply regret the frustration that MDL going into administration will have caused for everyone.”
The company had attempted to find a buyer, though talks failed.
In interim results for the six months to 30 June 2022, when the firm faced a significant reduction in demand, supply chain problems and the cost of living squeeze following a boom in the pandemic, Made’s losses before tax widened to £35.3m, compared to a loss of £10.1m in the same period in 2021. Revenue meanwhile grew to £178m from £171m.
Nottingham Trent University calls on construction supply chain to become Innovation Champions
A programme to help tackle the productivity challenge in the construction industry is calling on smaller firms to lead the way for change.
Innovation Driven Procurement (IDP), a fully funded programme for SME and Micro-business Owners in the supply chain, has launched an initiative to create 40 Innovation Champions to solve problems within their business relating to productivity and inspire others to do the same.
Applications to receive this valuable support are open to all UK contractor’s supply chain.
Limited places are now available online, where business owners can receive one-to-one coaching and mentoring to do an innovation project and receive the kudos of being an Innovation Champion.
With the construction industry lagging behind other areas of the economy, the initiative was created with a focus on improving productivity, profits, relationships and projects.
The IDP is the brainchild of Nottingham Trent University and Morgan Sindall Construction, supported by Construction Coach with funding from the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB).
Maria Coulter, founder of Construction Coach, said: “It’s vitally important that initiatives such as our Innovation Champion programme are taken up by businesses in order to drive the change that will help our industry achieve long term sustainability. By tailoring this opportunity specifically for firms in the supply chain, we are equipping people with the tools and skills needed to make a difference from the bottom up whilst inspiring others.
“Our cohort of 40 Innovation Champions will gain access to free skills and resources which will not only benefit their businesses but help to inspire others within construction. It’s a challenging time for the industry so we strongly encourage as many people as possible to invest time with the programme.”
Dr Emmanuel Manu is an associate professor in Quantity Surveying and Project Management at the School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment at Nottingham Trent University, said: “This is another exciting step for the IDP after we launched online training for the supply chain and The IDP Community earlier this year. We are looking forward to working with our delivery partners on this next step, which we hope will go some way to addressing some of the challenges within the construction industry.
“We are placing power in the hands of the smaller firms to promote innovation within the industry. This will strengthen the working relationships between all parties, enabling the development of better on-site processes and business solutions for improved productivity and profitability, helping to encourage innovation to solve on-site and business challenges.”
So far, the programme has been implemented by multiple businesses with proven success. In one example, subcontractors were able to achieve shorter delivery times and minimise risks on site after engaging with training and implementing innovation and early engagement.
Short CPD modules have been developed with construction supply chain businesses with the aim to streamline construction practices, flushing out potential problems before they arise and generally taking a more collaborative, communicative approach to encourage innovation from the outset. Modules include Collaborative Behaviours, Collaborative Design and the Supply Chain, Collaborative Risk Management using Flow Walks, Innovation and Value in the Supply Chain.
The IDP is also launching an app this month for site workers to be able to access the CPD modules whilst ‘on the go’, a method relatively unheard of in the industry. The aim is to improve accessibility and remove barriers such as lack of computers on-site and time constraints. It will be available to download on the Apple and Android store.
Caistor architects join building control partnership scheme
Exciting news as West Lindsey District Council’s Building Control welcomes another local design practice into the LABC partnership scheme.
Mother Architects, based in Caistor, are the latest company to partner with West Lindsey Building Control and take advantage of everything that being a member of the LABC partnership family has to offer.
Sam Marriot, Managing Director of Mother Architects said: “As a practice, we predominantly work within the West Lindsey area and have found the whole team to be reliable, engaged and most importantly proactive in their approach.
“This is both on-site and with pre-occupancy duties over the past 8 years. This carries right across the team, with Phil, never failing the answer the phone and giving advice, right across to Gloria issuing certification exactly when expected. We are excited to be working closer than ever with the Building Control team at West Lindsey to continue to deliver the high-quality architect-designed housing that our area deserves.”
West Lindsey District Council’s Building Control Team Manager, Phil Westmorland is thrilled to welcome Mother Architects to the scheme.
He said: “The Partnership Scheme is an excellent way of strengthening bonds between local businesses and the national LABC network through the expertise of your local authority building control team.
“We have worked with Jo and Sam at Mother Architects for a number of years and I have always been impressed with their diligence and customer focused work ethos along with their imaginative design solutions. It is an absolute pleasure to formalise that working arrangement, and the entire team looks forward to helping them with their future projects.”
If you are interested in joining the partnership scheme and being a member of the LABC family, it can bring numerous benefits to your business including:
- A single point contact for all your building control work in England and Wales
- Competitive pricing on high volumes of repeat work or major developments
- Site inspections from a local professional team with invaluable local contacts and knowledge
- Simplified fees and invoicing arrangements
- Electronic submissions and e-working
- The use of LABC Partner logo on all of your marketing materials
- Easy access to the planning department, the highways engineers and local fire service
- In-depth expertise on structure, fire, acoustics, warranties, access, contamination, energy and sustainability from LABC specialists
Azets Midlands strengthen senior team
Azets, the regional accountancy firm and business advisor to SMEs, has made two appointments and three promotions in the Midlands region.
Neil Belton has been appointed as a director within the Technology Risk team. Neil has over 30 years of IT Internal Audit/Assurance and Advisory experience across a large variety of industries spanning both public and private sector. His expertise includes but isn’t limited to IT governance, digital/IT strategy, IT transformation projects, as well as cyber, network and data security, disaster recovery and software licensing. Neil has been a Qualified CISA Auditor in Computer Audit for more than 15 years.
Andrew Bateman has been promoted to partner. Andrew is an FCCA qualified accountant with over 25 years’ experience in the accountancy industry. He has a broad background of experience from general accountancy, business advisory, taxation and audit. As a partner in the Accounting and Business Advisory team, Andrew works with a wide variety of clients ranging from sole traders, owner managed businesses to medium sized business in various sectors.
Chan Landa has worked at Azets Coventry for over seven years and has been promoted to associate director. As an ACCA qualified accountant, Chan has vast experience advising SME’s and OMB’s throughout his time at Azets and primarily focuses on growing businesses, to look for solutions to their accounting and taxation needs. He specialises in industries including retail, hospitality, construction and manufacturing.
Having joined Azets in January 2022, Ben Fahy has been promoted to senior manager. Ben is an ACCA qualified accountant with over 5 years’ experience in the accountancy industry.
He has a broad background of experience from management consultancy and corporate audit, through to general accountancy and tax advisory. As a senior manager in the Accounting and Business Advisory team, Ben works with a wide variety of clients and industries, ranging from sole traders to members of international group companies.
Ben is a keen advocate of cloud accounting software, in particular Xero.
On the promotions, Paul Clifford, regional CEO of Azets, said: “It’s an exciting time for us as we continue to support our teams to match business demand. These promotions are incredibly well deserved and reflect the talent and expertise within the office. Growing and developing our team allows us to further support our clients across a variety of service lines and sectors as we look to expand.”
Gowercroft Joinery appoints new finance director
Alfreton-based timber window and door manufacturer Gowercroft Joinery has appointed a new finance director to help spearhead the next stage of the company’s expansion.
Harry Dixon, from Mickleover, brings almost a decade of commercial accountancy and building industry experience, having started out as a credit control apprentice at one of the country’s major chains of builders’ merchants and then rapidly progressed his career with major IT and construction companies, all of which have gone through accelerated growth journeys.
In his new role Harry will be taking ownership of the company’s financial structures, as he works across the business streamlining systems, driving efficiencies and profitability, and building strong supplier relationships in support of the company’s senior management team.
Harry said: “I am thrilled to be joining such a dynamic and rapidly expanding business. Gowercroft has had such an amazing track record so far, and I am very much looking forward to being part of its future successes.”
Andrew Madge, Managing Director of Gowercroft, said: “We’re delighted to have Harry on board. His broad base of experience and positive attitude is a perfect fit for our company culture as we push ahead, launching new products and expanding into different markets.
“Gowercroft has expanded turnover by 110% over the past two years by delivering highly innovative windows and doors to a string of new customer and prestigious projects nationwide.”
Iconic Lincoln property, Judge’s Lodgings acquired by new owner of the White Hart Hotel
The Judge’s Lodgings, an iconic and historic property in the heart of the cathedral city of Lincoln has been acquired by locally based businessman Andrew Long, following his recent purchase of the adjacent White Hart Hotel.
TSP Developments (part of Andrew’s Travel Sector Property Group) has acquired a 999-year ‘virtual freehold’ interest in the Judge’s Lodgings from Lincolnshire County Council.
Coleby-based businessman and Chartered Surveyor Andrew Long recently acquired the White Hart Hotel, together with the site of the White Hart Garages and car park in July this summer. Proposals for the hotel’s major refurbishment and the redevelopment of the White Hart Garages site are now being prepared in conjunction with his planned full refurbishment of the Judge’s Lodgings building.
Andrew explains: “My TSP group of companies are working closely with locally-based John Roberts Architects and our wider project team to produce a major redevelopment and significant overall enhancement scheme for the St Paul’s Lane, Bailgate and Castle Hill quarter of the city.
“Subject to obtaining the respective statutory consents, there is now a unique opportunity to deliver a fully interrelated redevelopment scheme for the White Hart Garages and car park site, in conjunction with the refurbishment and sustainable long-term future use of the Judge’s Lodgings.”
Andrew added: “With long-established vehicular access from and to St Paul’s Lane, we are proposing a high quality dedicated arcade of ‘kiosk-style’ retail units for artisan crafts and products/services, that will be situated within the frontage of 2 Bailgate, immediately opposite the White Hart Hotel.
“This arcade will then also provide an attractive safe pedestrian link through to the new on-site parking area, as to be situated immediately to the rear of the Judge’s Lodgings, from which there will also be direct customer access.
“Subject to further detailed design, we will also create an additional 30 hotel bedrooms within a combination of the upper floor level of the original Judge’s Lodgings building and ‘new build’ elements within the overall site, all to be operated through the White Hart Hotel (currently 50 bedrooms) and situated within a fully integrated landscaped setting. The ground floor of the Judge’s Lodgings is to be used for high quality restaurant and other hospitality facilities, on which further information will be released at a later stage.”
The Grade II ‘star’ Listed building was owned by Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) who had declared it surplus to their requirements and sought to find a suitable new owner committed to the full refurbishment of the building and its appropriate long-term use.
Andrew France, associate director at Lambert Smith Hampton, marketing agents for the property, said: “Acting on behalf of LCC, we are pleased to have concluded this transaction with TSP Developments and have been impressed with the proposed refurbishment scheme in conjunction with Andrew Long’s redevelopment of the immediately adjacent White Hart Garages site.”
Marketed with a guide price of ‘offers in excess of £850,000’, the negotiated contracted price is strictly confidential.
James Cook, of Kier Design & Business Services on behalf of LCC, added: “There has been detailed engagement to successfully finalise the transaction to the satisfaction of both parties over the last eight months, for what should now be a secure long-term future for the Judge’s Lodgings.”
The predominantly Georgian building was first built in 1810 and has a commanding ‘landmark’ location overlooking Castle Hill Square, immediately adjacent to the Eastern Main Gate of Lincoln Castle (built by William Conqueror in 1068).
Andrew Long added: “There is a relatively unattractive 1958 utilitarian-style flat roof extension that has no architectural merit, but there is now a significant important redevelopment opportunity in conjunction with the site of the White Hart Garages, which will also retain approximately 40 on-site customer parking spaces for the White Hart Hotel.”
Shoosmiths Solicitors of Leeds acted on behalf of TSP Developments, in conjunction with PBC Surveyors and Project Managers of London, Andrew having worked closely with both of these firms on numerous major projects throughout the UK for in excess of 25 years.
Paul Philips, Managing Director at PBC, added: “We are very pleased to be working with Andrew in the wonderful historic city of Lincoln, based on established long-term professional relationships and also Andrew’s renewed close working relationship with John Roberts Architects, together with other locally based members of the project team.”
Pride Park property deal for Derby virtual training company
A Derby-based specialist IT, Cyber Security and Digital Marketing apprenticeship training company, has moved into new premises to pave the way for future growth.
Althaus was launched in 2019 with a focus on offering fully remote digital apprenticeship training across the UK.
It has since branched out into delivering innovative 12-week Digital Bootcamp programmes on behalf of the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership to tackle the growing skills gaps in the sector by enabling people to upskill online.
The company currently has 27 employees and, with plans to double in size and turnover year on year, Althaus has bought new 4,055 sq ft offices in Victoria Way, Pride Park, from East Midlands Chamber in a deal jointly secured by property consultants OMEETO and FHP.
Althaus co-director Josh Stamp said: “Having established Althaus in Sadler Bridge Studios in Bold Lane, we have outgrown these premises and are delighted to move into our new HQ in Pride Park.
“The offices are in a prime position with excellent transport links for our team of advisors and training consultants and also gives us the capacity to expand our studio space where our online training materials are produced in-house.
“Despite launching in the middle of a global pandemic, we have grown to be a highly regarded training provider both within the East Midlands and nationwide. From our head office in Derby, we currently employ a team of 27 staff who deliver impactful training courses in IT, Cyber Security and Digital Marketing.
“We have already trained more than 300 individuals across over 80 organisations with 75% of our learners gaining employment or progression in their workplace.
“With excellent feedback in our first interim Ofsted inspection and from employers who are recognising the high quality of our provision, we predict rapid growth of the next two years and these premises will cater perfectly for this sustained expansion.
“Chris at Omeeto has been a pleasure to work with from start to finish, keeping in regular communication throughout and proactively working with myself and the Chamber to ensure a timely transaction. The Chamber have particularly been super helpful.”
Chris Wright, director of OMEETO, continued: “The commercial property market in Pride Park continues to be in high demand and this deal reflects the continued desire for growth amongst SMEs – particularly those focused on and servicing the growing IT and digital sectors.”
Joint agent Darran Severn from FHP added: “I am pleased the sale has completed in what has been a great result for all parties. There continues to be a lack of good quality office buildings available on Pride Park and, as a result, capital values and rents remain strong.”
Lucy Robinson, director of resources at East Midlands Chamber, concluded: “We took the strategic decision earlier this year to co-locate the Derby office with the University of Derby at the Enterprise Centre and contribute to the overall regeneration of the city centre.
“We are delighted this prominent office will now support the expansion of Althaus, which has a vital role to play in addressing much-needed skills in our local and regional economy.
“The teams at OMEETO and FHP have done a sterling job in bringing this deal to fruition.”
Nottingham-based smart sensor company helps major car manufacturer make significant energy savings
Smart sensor manufacturer Pressac has helped car company Toyota more than double its energy cost savings.
Energy monitoring sensors, which measure how much power is flowing through a cable, have helped the company discover exactly which parts of its production processes are using excess energy. The information will play a huge role in Toyota’s goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050.
Around 300 of Pressac’s wireless current transformer (CT) clamps have been installed at Toyota’s manufacturing plant in Burnaston, Derbyshire. By clipping them around individual cables, the company were able to see, for the first time, how energy was being used at machine level.
Pete Burbidge from Pressac, which is based in Glaisdale Drive, Bilborough, explained: “The clamps gave Toyota the ability to view the energy consumption of each piece of equipment, and its condition, in real time. By monitoring the currents passing through them they could identify whether they were operating at their optimum level, as well as spotting areas where machines had been left on unnecessarily.
“The size and scale of the site meant they needed an easy-to-install, cost-effective solution with a strong signal that could cover the expanse of the site.”
Previously, the company had been able to view energy consumption at transformer level but did not have the granular detail about each piece of machinery – information which is already making a big difference.
In the case of one injection moulder, which was identified as ticking over at a high power level, changes were able to be made which have resulted in its energy consumption in non-production periods being reduced by 82%.
Pressac worked with ESCO, the Energy-reduction Support and Collaboration function of Toyota to set up initial data visualisation.
Graham Lane, ESCO group leader, said: “We’ve been extremely impressed with the ease of installation and the lack of ongoing maintenance needed.
“There was no production downtime when they were installed and the beauty of the sensors themselves is that we don’t have to worry about their maintenance, we can just install them and let them do their job.”
The sensors, manufactured at Pressac’s Nottingham headquarters, transmit their data wirelessly to Toyota’s existing building management systems via MQTT, a common Internet of Things protocol.
Graham added: “If we look back five years, small improvements may not have been as impactful as they are today. All energy consumption savings are taking us a step further towards our carbon-reducing ambitions.
“Current energy costs also means that little interventions can have hugely beneficial results. Going forward we’d like to have every single piece of kit covered, to give us a complete model of the whole production process and identify where we can make even more energy savings.”
Pressac also supplied the company with air quality sensors to help ensure the production zones provided the optimum conditions for team members to work in.
Custodian REIT dispose of 18,424 sq ft warehouse and distribution unit at a premium
Leicester-based property investor Custodian REIT, has announced the disposal of an industrial unit in Kilmarnock at auction for £1.4 million at a 12% premium to its 30th June 2022 valuation.
The group aims to deliver a strong income return by investing in a diversified portfolio of smaller regional properties across the UK, and say the environmental credentials of the 18,424 sq ft warehouse and distribution unit no longer fit with the Company’s ESG objectives and it was not considered practical to mitigate these risks. Having recently increased the lease term by 10 years it was considered the right time to sell and crystallise a valuation uplift.
Commenting on the disposal, Richard Shepherd-Cross, Managing Director of Custodian Capital Limited (the Company’s external fund manager), said: “The sale of this industrial unit at a premium to valuation demonstrates the ongoing liquidity in the market for smaller lot sized commercial real estate, underscoring our investment thesis. Having acquired this property as part of our IPO portfolio eight years ago and having recently increased the lease term until 2032, we felt that now was an opportune time to crystallise the value we have created. The proceeds of the disposal will be recycled into identified improvements to the remaining portfolio which we believe will be more accretive and better support the strategy of providing shareholders with strong income returns.”
Sterling performance at Kitchen Appliance retailer
Marks Electrical is celebrating its good fortunes today with revenues soaring by 15.1% to £43.1m in what the company describe as a “tough market conditions” economically.
The company’s resilient profit performance and Adjusted EBITDA of £2.7m (H1-22 £3.0m), delivering a margin of 6.3% and the company is confident that it will deliver our full year targets.Mark Smithson Chief Executive Officer, commented: “I’m proud of the performance we’ve delivered against a tough back-drop, with the Group’s sales up 15.1% in a very challenging market where the online MDA and CE markets were down over 15% in our first half. This further demonstrates the resilience of our business model and the attractiveness of our market-leading customer offering.
Our focus on operational excellence, customer service, and improving brand awareness has enabled us to continue to gain share in a very competitive market, where our share grew from 1.6% to 2.1% of the overall MDA market and from 2.6% to 3.9% in the online segment. As more people across the UK come into contact with the Marks Electrical proposition and become customers, we are able to harness our highly efficient, single-site operational model to drive profitable market share growth.
The strong competitive activity we saw in pricing and marketing during the first half has begun to ease more recently and despite the margin pressure, we were able to achieve an Adjusted EBITDA margin of 6.3%, keeping us on track to achieve our full year objectives and continuing to demonstrate the differentiated margin proposition of our operating model.
As growth momentum continues to build going into the peak trading period, with an acceleration in October and a strong start to November, our focus on operational excellence and cash flow generation, combined with our net cash position, provides us with a robust platform to generate continued profitable market share growth and deliver on our full year targets.”
