Notts Pension Fund looks to sell Russian assets
The Nottinghamshire Pension Fund has set out its ambition to sell the small amount of Russian assets it holds after the unprovoked and aggressive attack by Putin’s regime in Ukraine.
Investment managers have spent the last few days reviewing the £6.6bn pension fund for Russian links and have found the fund holds less than 0.1% of Russian assets.
Following discussions with LGPS Central (the pension fund’s pool company), the pension fund has asked its investment managers to sell its Russian assets as soon as it is legally and ethically possible.
The pension fund has also asked its investment managers to suspend further purchases of Russian assets in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
The Nottinghamshire Pension Fund Committee Chairman, Councillor Eric Kerry, will explain the pension fund’s position to the Nottinghamshire Pension Fund Committee on Thursday (10 March 2022).
Nottinghamshire Pension Fund Committee Chairman, Councillor Eric Kerry, said: “Our pension fund unequivocally condemns the unprovoked and abhorrent attack on Ukraine and its citizens by President Putin’s armed forces.
“Following discussions with our investment managers and pool company, we have asked managers to dispose of the small amount of Russian assets we hold.
“These assets are only a tiny fraction of our £6.6bn pension fund and make up less than 0.1% of our total fund and come mainly from our investments in emerging markets.
“We have also asked our fund managers to suspend any further purchases of Russian assets in response to the destruction being inflicted on Ukraine by Putin’s forces.
“We just hope our actions can contribute in some way to showing the Ukrainian people that we support them here in Nottinghamshire – our hearts go out to the country and its brave citizens.”
Hockley Developments appoints construction director
Hockley Developments, the Nottingham-based residential and supported living developers, have appointed Paul Kennedy as construction director.
Managing Director, Alan Forsyth, said: “Paul joined us in 2021 as construction manager, and in 9 months has quickly shown his qualities and experience with his Commercial and Construction knowledge. He has shown his passion for producing high quality developments and is well respected by all at Hockley Developments with his excellent leadership qualities.
“This was an easy promotion, as we go into 2022, with multiple live sites across the East Midlands, going through the planning process on 4 others, and 3 prominent sites completing over the next 3 months, it is important we have strong personnel in the key positions.
“We look forward to Paul continuing to drive our sites on, both on programme and budget.”
Paul stated: “It has been a thoroughly enjoyable first 9 months with Hockley Developments. We have a strong ambitious young team and the future growth plans we have set out as a company are very exciting indeed. I am very much looking forward to playing my part in leading the team into a very bright future with Hockley Developments.”
Act now to avert £800m hit to levelling up areas, small firms urge, with one month to NICs hike
- Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) urges Government to mitigate impact of National Insurance Contributions (NICs) and dividend taxation hikes taking effect on 6 April
- New analysis shows move will hurt areas earmarked for investment in Government white paper
- National Living Wage (NLW) also set to increase in April as business support measures end
Moorways Sports Village handed over on time and on budget
The new Moorways Sports Village has been handed over to Derby City Council by its construction partner Bowmer + Kirkland, on time and on budget.
With its exciting Water Park including flumes and water slides, and 50m swimming pool designed to accommodate regional competitions, preparations are under way to get everything up and running ready for its opening in Spring.
Bowmer + Kirkland’s Associate Director Gus Kedzior officially handed over the key to the £42 million complex to Derby City Council’s Cabinet Member for Leisure, Culture, Wellbeing and Tourism, Councillor Ross McCristal.
Also involved in the project were architect Faulkner Browns, project managers Mace and structural engineers Arup, building on the successful partnership which saw the Council’s award-winning Derby Arena also completed on time and on budget in 2014.
Councillor Ross McCristal said: It’s testament to the hard work of everyone involved that we have reached this milestone. Everyone pulled out all the stops to make this happen, and it’s particularly impressive when you consider that construction work started just before the start of a major global pandemic.
I would like to thank colleagues who were involved in this excellent project from across the Council and also our key partners for making this outstanding achievement possible. Derby has a new state-of-the-art leisure facility to be proud of.
Bowmer + Kirkland Regional Director, Steve Chambers, said: This project has been a major highlight for our team. It’s not every day you build an international standard Olympic-sized swimming pool and all the other amazing facilities on offer.
The entire project is a result of great teamwork by everyone involved and our existing relationships with many of the team helped to achieve an on budget and on time handover, despite many challenges thrown at us by Covid.
I am very proud of all our people who worked so hard to achieve a great result for Derby City Council and everyone who will enjoy this facility for years to come.
The 50m pool at Moorways Sports Village can be divided into three 25m length pools of varying depths, using moveable floors and booms. This offers flexibility for club and leisure use. There is also a separate teaching pool.
The Water Park is set to become a regional attraction with its gently sloping floor into the water, wave-creating Wow ball, two four-storey flumes, racer slide, wave rider, and fun water play area for children.
Other attractions include fitness studios and gym, sauna and steam room, and a café area with views over the Water Park and 50m pool. The café also has a soft play area, with a separate, larger soft playroom by the main reception.
The changing village has private cubicles alongside group changing rooms and a changing places toilet and changing area.
The Council is working closely with its leisure operating partner, Everyone Active, who will manage Moorways Sports Village when it opens, along with the Moorways Stadium facilities next door. An opening date will be announced very soon.
Focus on ‘Innovative Leicestershire’ must continue all year round to secure future growth of county’s economy
Dr Nik Kotecha OBE DL, chair of the LLEP Innovation Board, has called on businesses and organisations across Leicestershire to maintain the focus on innovation created by the recent Leicestershire Innovation Festival which ended on 25 February.
Leicestershire Innovation Festival was the largest celebration of innovation in the county so far with over 25 events organised. This looks set to grow year on year as the need to adapt to changing market conditions – because of COVID, changes in international relations and the climate crisis – appears to be a permanent feature of business life from now on.
Dr Kotecha said: “The energy and enthusiasm we saw during the Innovation Festival was so encouraging, we have to keep that going. The range of brilliant ideas that were shared, particularly at the Innovation Awards and by so many young entrepreneurs, fills me with confidence that we can be known as one of the UK’s most innovative counties; if we simply continue to shine a light on what’s going on right here.”
To maintain the focus, the Innovation Board has approved the launch of a new brand called ‘Innovative Leicestershire’ which they are making available through the Business Gateway. The logo, designed by local designer Vicky Stanaway, can be used on all future events and activities that have an innovation theme.
Rachel York, manager of the Business Gateway, explained: “Throughout the year we know that there will be innovation-orientated events put on by the universities, Innovate UK, the Federation for Small Businesses, the Chamber and other organisations; we want to badge these consistently so that our local businesses and our external audiences in government can see how much we are doing here. That way we have a better chance of attracting funding to support our future innovators.
“Any organisation that would like to use the Innovative Leicestershire logo should simply email peter.allen@bizgateway.org.uk and the Business Gateway will list the event on its website and help to promote the event across its network. We would encourage everyone who can get involved to do so.”
Further expansion for leading accountancy practice as it opens its 17th office.
Streets Chartered Accountants, a top 40 UK assurance and advisory practice, has opened a new office, in Birmingham, as part of its growth strategy.
The new office, located at the Birmingham Business Park, along with the firm’s well-established offices across the Midlands including Lincoln, Luton and Northampton makes the company a truly pan regional player covering the East, West and South East Midlands.
Commenting on the opening of its new Birmingham office, Streets Chairman, Paul Tutin, said: “We have found that improved infrastructure links and a more regional approach to enterprise, supported and promoted in particular by the work of the Midlands Engine, means we are looking after a growing number of clients operating across the East and West Midlands.
“A change of mindset and the improved infrastructure and connectivity has made it much easier to undertake business on a more pan regional basis. This, along with changes to the way we work, including more remote and hybrid working, has made it easier for businesses like ours to develop operational models to look after clients across a wider geographical area.
“When considering opening an office in Birmingham, we also recognised that there was much synergy between the clients we already look after in other parts of our practice and the West Midlands. In particular the region has many family and owner-managed businesses, entrepreneurial start-ups and scale ups, third sector organisations and enterprises trading overseas or with international links.
“In looking to establish our presence and foothold, we were fortunate to recruit Sarah Williams as our Business Development Partner for the new office and the region. Sarah not only lives locally to the office, but through her previous role with another regional practice also has an in depth understanding of the business community.”
When asked why the firm had chosen Birmingham Business Park for the location of its new office, Paul said: “We spent some time considering the location for the new office along with what we needed from the space we occupy. For us and we believe our clients, Birmingham Business Park in Solihull is ideally situated with direct links into Birmingham city centre and with access to the wider surrounding business community. For our international visitors the airport is just a few minutes away.”
From its new Birmingham office, Streets Chartered Accountants will provide a full-service offering including accountancy, audit, tax and business advisory services. This will be augmented by its more specialist work including Corporate Finance and banking and funding. Corporate legal advice is provided through its dedicated legal services firm Streets Law. International tax and assurance services are provided through the firm’s own international association, SBC Global Alliance.
The new office for Streets in Birmingham now means the mid-tier and multi-regional firm has a total of 17 offices including its specialist offices in London and Brighton, along with general practice offices throughout the East of England, East/West and South East Midlands and Yorkshire.
Beeston care home site sold to Tanglewood
Commercial developer, Peveril Securities and Charterpoint have sold their Beeston care home development site to Tanglewood Care Services.
Peveril Securities, together with Charterpoint and Tanglewood, received planning permission from Broxtowe Borough Council for the 66-bed care home in the summer, after submitting an application for the development.
The care home is part of a mixed-use scheme on the site of the former Myford Works, which also features Myford Court, a new development of penthouses and apartments by Peveril Homes. The site also benefits from a Central England Co-op store, which opened in May 2020.
Peveril Securities and Charterpoint have now announced that the sale of the care home site, which is located off Ellis Grove, to Tanglewood, has been completed. It will be Tanglewood’s first development in Nottinghamshire and the first outside of Lincolnshire.
James Smith at Peveril Securities said: “We are very pleased that Tanglewood will take this superb scheme forward to create a modern care home in a prime location just a few hundred metres from Beeston town centre and close to a tram stop.”
Karen Whitehead, director of development for Tanglewood, said: “We are delighted to have completed on the site in Beeston. We are fully committed to the prompt delivery of our 66-bed care home, which will be a further key element of the wider regeneration of Chilwell High Road and the western end of Beeston.
“Our new care home assists in delivering the town’s aspirations to transform what has been a large derelict site into a space that will benefit the community in terms of social cohesion and providing vital care for our ageing population. We anticipate our residents will be local to Beeston.”
The three-storey care home scheme will include a cinema, juice bar, health and well-being spa, hair salon and nail bar, sauna and steam room, along with a shop, bar and entrance café. It also features resident lounges and dining rooms, a library and an activity room, as well as a first-floor tearoom opening out onto a terrace.
Charterpoint Managing Director, Giles Nursey, said: “The care home is an integral part of the mixed-use scheme on this key site, and we look forward to seeing the construction take shape over the coming months.”
Outside, there are residents’ and visitor gardens, landscaped areas, plus a car park featuring electric charging points.
Jordan Rundle of Christie & Co brokered the sale to Tanglewood.
Derby train depot to be transformed in £35m project
Work has begun to transform East Midlands Railway’s (EMR) Etches Park depot in Derby in preparation for the arrival of the company’s new Aurora train fleet.
The £35 million project, which is largely funded by rolling stock company RockRail, will be delivered in two phases, firstly to upgrade the site to accommodate the new bi-mode Aurora fleet and secondly the construction of new train cleaning areas, replacement offices and staff facilities at the site’s South Shed.
The first phase of works, which comes at a cost of £15 million and will be undertaken by Buckingham Group Contracting Ltd (Buckingham), will involve reconfiguring the current track layout at the site – helping to improve operational flexibility and greater train movements across the depot.
Alongside these works, the North Shed, where trains are maintained at the depot, will also be extended and a new electric overhead line will be fitted so the new bi-mode fleet can easily be tested.
Further to this, a new carriage wash system will be built at the site, all fuelling and servicing equipment will be upgraded, and the depot’s fuel road will be extended – helping to accommodate 2 x 5 car units.
New technology will play a key role in the future of the depot, including the use of a new Vehicle Equipment Monitoring System. This system feeds back numerous levels of detailed data to EMR so it can quickly monitor its trains in real-time – helping to plan preventative maintenance at the depot and leading to an enhanced performance of its trains.
Lisa Angus, transitions and projects director at East Midlands Railway, said: “These massive improvements to Etches Park are great news for the city of Derby and the customers we serve.
“Using the latest technology and techniques, we will be able to operate our new Aurora fleet as efficiently as possible, while also maintaining specialist engineering jobs in the city for decades to come – helping to cement Derby’s proud railway heritage.
“Everyone at EMR is very excited to begin operating our new Aurora trains for our customers in the East Midlands and South Yorkshire and these new improvements are another important step on our journey to bring the new trains to the regions we serve.”
9,688ft² industrial unit sold to Trentside Products in Mansfield
A 9,688ft² industrial unit in Mansfield, the former premises of Environmental Coating (UK) Limited, has been sold to Trentside Products Limited.
The unit itself fronted the established industrial location of Hermitage Lane and provided warehouse space alongside internal offices, trade counter and fenced front yard/car park.
Trentside Products offer a full range of upholstery supplies and furniture components to the upholstered furniture market and have been established in the Mansfield area for more than a decade.
This purchase has helped with their rapid expansion and is an ideal location for their business model (staff, client base etc.) and has become their new head office.
Anthony Barrowcliffe of FHP said: “I was pleased to have disposed of this unit on behalf of Ray and Victoria Wright, allowing them to retire as well as enabling and facilitating Trentside Products’ expansion.
“This sale signifies the end of one highly successful company’s journey to open up the path for another local Mansfield company to have many years of success from this premises.”
Major heritage project unveiled for Leicester’s Grand Hotel
Plans have been submitted for a major heritage project that will help restore Leicester’s Grand Hotel to its former glory.
The Grade II listed building, in Granby Street in the city centre, is set to be repaired and restored as part of Historic England’s High Street Heritage Action Zones.
Under the plans, the shopfronts that line the hotel would be reinstated as close to the building’s original design as possible, using a sustainable hardwood timber and toughened glass. A new retail unit on Belvoir Street would also be created.
Recessed doorways and delivery entrances would be fitted with bespoke iron gates, and uniform signage would be introduced, in keeping with the building.
There would also be improvements made to the hotel’s entrance, with cleaning and repairs made to the oriel windows and balcony. Specialists would look at the existing canopy above the entrance and determine whether it could be retained and restored.
The project follows another successful grant for £750,000 secured from the High Street Heritage Action Zone programme in November, which will be used to fund vital repair works to the ISKON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) building on the corner of Granby Street and Bishop Street. This iconic Victorian building, designed by architect Joseph Goddard, will benefit from extensive roof repairs to protect its structure and remove it from the Buildings At Risk register.
The work being carried out as part of the Heritage Action Zone, and the linked pedestrianisation works at the end of Granby Street, are part of the council’s efforts to revitalise the city centre and encourage more businesses to invest and people to visit, post-pandemic. A number of new business have set up recently along the street.
Deputy city mayor Cllr Adam Clarke said: “The Grand Hotel and ISKON buildings are fine examples of Leicester’s Victorian past, and we have an important responsibility to preserve them for future generations to enjoy.
“The Grand Hotel – now owned by the Mercure group – has always been considered one of Leicester’s most prestigious hotels, but today the ground floor is spoilt by poorly designed shop fronts, cheap modern materials and oversized signage.
“In February 2020, thanks to the hard work of the council’s conservation team, Historic England announced that Leicester had been successful in securing £1.5m towards a High Street Heritage Action Zone scheme for the Granby Street and Church Gate conservation areas.
“This means we have been able to support the hotel to get an expert conservation architect team, Conception Architects, to survey the building, and plans have now been submitted for changes that will highlight and enhance the building’s important and attractive historical features.”
High Street Heritage Action Zones are areas up and down the country which have been singled out by Historic England for funding support. They encourage local councils, businesses, architects and contractors to work together to bid for funding which can be used to sympathetically restore historic buildings.
In order to access the funding from Historic England, a grant application will be assessed in detail by a local grants panel – chaired by Cllr Clarke and made up of volunteers including architects and surveyors. The panel will check the quality of the design, experience of the contractors proposed, and value for money. If this is satisfactory, the grant will be approved and work can begin.
Louise Brennan, regional director for the Midlands at Historic England, said: “This is a welcome step forward in the revitalising of this wonderful area of Leicester. The Grand Hotel is a prestigious building, and we are looking forward to supporting the repair and refurbishment of its street-facing ground floor. Hopefully, this will encourage more people, both tourists and local residents, to step inside to see its fantastic interior and become part of this historic building’s future.”
The plans for the project will now be considered by the city council’s planning department. If granted planning permission, work on the project is likely to start in summer 2022.
