A wider range of food and drink businesses from the whole supply chain will have access to specialist support and expertise with the new Food Innovation Centre.
The Food Innovation Centre at the University of Nottingham is being re-launched to extend its service across the UK, building on the work it has done with SMEs across the East Midlands over the past six years.
The Food Innovation Centre can provide a range of scientific and technical guidance to food and drink businesses, supporting the development of products and processes, from conception to consumption.
The new service is being run as a commercial consultancy and offers a range of services.
Dr Peter Noy, Food Innovation Centre steering group, said: “Expanding our remit will allow more food and drink manufacturers and producers to access the specialist support we offer. Combining academic expertise and state-of-the-art facilities with commercial knowledge we are able to help businesses to bring new products to market more quickly.”
Since its inception six years ago the Food Innovation Centre has supported over 270 local businesses and helped to bring 24 new products to market.
New Food Innovation Centre bakes recipe for business success
Staveley Miners Welfare Football Club academy takes steps forward
A new academy being developed by Staveley Miners Welfare Football Club is being redesigned. The completed academy will support young people to gain qualifications in sport.
The project, which is funded through the Staveley Town Deal, had been progressing well over the last two years but due to inflation in construction costs the project is being redesigned whilst still aiming to deliver the same outcomes for young people in Staveley.
The original design would have seen a second storey extension to the clubhouse with new classroom facilities upstairs. Instead, two older buildings will be refurbished and a new unit in the club’s colours will be erected.
Terry Damms, chairman of the club, said: “This is an inspiring project that will create a new facility for 16 to 18-year-olds to gain qualifications and take the first step towards a career in the sports industry.
“Unfortunately, ongoing inflation has meant that we can no longer expand our existing clubhouse, but we will instead be refurbishing existing buildings and creating a new freestanding unit.
“This will not impact the quality of education we can provide or the numbers of people who can be enrolled. We’re continuing to finalise these updated designs, but we are aiming to welcome the first learners on site in September 2024.”
Students at the new academy will be able to work towards a Level 3 National Extended Diploma in Sports Coaching and Development. The classroom space will also be used to provide community-based qualifications such as refereeing.
Ivan Fomin, chair of the Staveley Town Deal Board and Destination Chesterfield Board member, said: “This is a fantastic project, that will help transform young people’s futures. The Town Deal Board aims to ensure that Staveley is a place to start, to stay and grow and we can help realise this by investing in training facilities where young people can get the qualifications they need to succeed.”
Up to £40k capital grants available to support small businesses in rural Rushcliffe
Micro and small businesses in rural areas of Rushcliffe can apply for up to £40k funding from the Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF), supported by the UK Government to help them grow and support the local economy.
Grants of between £5k and £40k are available to fund capital projects meeting one of the following criteria:
- Small scale investment in micro and small enterprises in rural areas including funding for net zero infrastructure for rural businesses and diversification of farm businesses outside of agriculture
- Funding for growing the local social economy and supporting innovation
- Funding for the development and promotion, both trade and consumer, of the visitor economy, such as: local attractions, trails, tourism products more generally.
- Creating and expanding leisure and tourism businesses such as event venues, accommodation or leisure facilities
- Purchasing equipment for food processing for non-farmer-owned businesses
- Diversification of farm businesses
- Creation of business hubs, co-working spaces and business infrastructure such as broadband and electric vehicle (EV) charging points
- Resilience infrastructure and nature-based solutions that protect local businesses and community areas from natural hazards including flooding
- Equipment to support the showcasing of local food and drink products such as regional information display boards
- Development of local visitor trails and infrastructure to support this, such as information boards and visitor centres.
Microlise Group acquires road safety business
Microlise Group, the provider of SaaS based transport technology solutions to fleet operators, has acquired the assets of K-Safe Limited, parent company to the road safety products Flare and Flare Aware.
Nottingham-headquartered Microlise has acquired all assets and the IP from K-Safe, which includes their two products Flare and Flare Aware for a total consideration of £140,000.
Flare is a multi-award-winning platform with over 3.5 million regular users, helping leading brands such as Deliveroo, Just Eat as well as 2 wheeled vehicles, to better understand and react to mobility risk and safety issues. The mobile app delivers users incident detection, incident avoidance, SOS and hazards functionality, to ensure they are safe whilst travelling on public roads.
Flare Aware is a dynamic driver hazard warning system, jointly developed with Microlise, which utilises the data captured from the Flare mobile app user network, to provide awareness and alerts to the drivers of vehicles approaching fixed hazards such as low bridges, weight restrictions etc. and dynamic hazards such as cyclists and motorcyclists.
Microlise has employed K-Safe’s two staff members into its business, with all customer contracts being novated. The acquisition for the Liverpool based company is a part of a pre-packaged deal following the appointment of Begbies Traynor Group Limited. Nadeem Raza, CEO of Microlise, said: “We are excited to have acquired the assets of K-Safe, giving us exclusive access to the Flare and Flare Aware products. The Flare product also expands our market offerings to the fast-growing last mile solution space, and the 2-wheel vehicle space globally.”Mansfield to get £20m of Government’s Levelling Up cash
Mansfield is to receive £20m in levelling up funding to improve the town centre and its connectivity, support residents in the most deprived areas and to support businesses to grow all regions of our economy.
The investment is made up of:
- £7.4m to remodel the Bellamy and Oak Tree estates and improve housing quality and access to services
- £5m to Mansfield Connect as an exemplar low carbon construction project and for hands-on skills training for retrofit and modern methods of construction in partnership with Vision West Nottinghamshire College and Nottingham Trent University
- £3.2m for a youth centre on the Bellamy estate to help divert young people from crime and anti-social behaviour.
- £2m for streetscaping and public realm improvements in the centre of Mansfield to make the town centre more appealing.
- £2m for improvements to Sainsbury’s junction, a local traffic pinch-point affecting connectivity into the town centre
- £300,000 for the refurbishment of South Mansfield Family Hubs to make them more appropriate for family and youth support
- £250,000 for a school readiness pilot run by Nottingham Trent University in some of Mansfield’s most deprived neighbourhoods
- £250,000 of capacity funding for Mansfield District Council to identity its unique economic and cultural opportunities in preparation for the establishment of the new devolution deal in the East Midlands.
Games Workshop delivers record group revenue and profit in half-yearly results
Games Workshop, the Nottingham-based manufacturer of miniature wargames, is continuing to “perform well during challenging economic times,” with revenue and pre-tax profit on the rise.
According to half-yearly results for the 26 week period to 26 November 2023, revenue grew to £247.7m from £226.6m in the same period of the year prior.
Meanwhile profit before tax reached £95.2m, increasing from £83.6m.
Kevin Rountree, CEO of Games Workshop, said: “Games Workshop and the Warhammer hobby are in great shape. We continue to perform well during challenging economic times, delivering record group revenue, profit and dividends in the period. Morale is good at Games Workshop and our hobbyists are having fun too.”
Derby office sold for £2m
Leicester-based Custodian Property Income REIT has sold a 16,869 sq ft office in Derby.
The £2.05m sale is 36% ahead of the 30 September 2023 valuation.
Richard Shepherd-Cross, Managing Director of Custodian Capital Limited (the company’s external fund manager), said: “This office was acquired as part of the company’s IPO portfolio in 2014 and has provided the company with a healthy level of income over nine years of ownership.
“Given limited opportunities for further rental growth and in line with our strategy, we felt that now is the right time to sell.
“We expect to use the sale proceeds to repay variable rate debt and fund accretive improvements in the remaining portfolio, both of which we believe will better support the strategy of providing our shareholders with strong income returns.”
Shoe Zone sees “a very positive year”
Shoe Zone’s Chief Executive has hailed “a very positive year,” with Anthony Smith highlighting “strong and consistent results throughout the key trading periods, particularly in the second half, with strong peak summer and Back to School trading.”
According to audited results for the 52 weeks to 30 September 2023, the Leicester-based retailer saw revenue of £165.7m, growing from £156.2m in the year prior. This included store revenue of £134.8m (up from £129.8m), and digital revenue of £30.9m (up from £26.4m).
Pre-tax profits meanwhile reached £16.2m, increasing from £13.6m, primarily due to strong second half trading, including Shoe Zone’s key back to school period, strong peak summer sales and the benefit of lower container prices that started to be realised mid-year.
The year also saw 72 closures and 35 openings, leading to 37 fewer stores.
2024 Business Predictions: Larraine Boorman, Chief Executive, Optima UK
It’s that time of year, when Business Link Magazine invites the region’s business leaders to offer up their predictions for the year ahead.
It has become something of a tradition, given that we’ve been doing this now for over 30 years.
Here we speak to Larraine Boorman, Chief Executive of Leicester-headquartered Optima UK, the recruitment, training, and business advisory firm.
For some, 2023 was a year of getting back to normal after economic turmoil largely down to the COVID pandemic.
But, we have also seen a year that has been impacted by the war in Ukraine. Next year we will have a general election and no doubt that too will play its part.
That said, business deals are still being done, companies are still moving forward, people are being innovative and new revenue streams are being opened up. The future is bright for sectors such as manufacturing, engineering, and professional services.
There are a number of exciting things happening in the East Midlands and beyond, so we firmly believe that 2024 will be a year of growth for businesses.
Because of this, getting talented people on board will be a high priority but will continue to be one of the biggest challenges.
High-calibre candidates are in great demand, so an organisation needs to be able to offer a competitive salary and suitable benefits that attract the right people. It’s not always easy to get this absolutely right, particularly if, like many businesses of course, you have a million and one things to do on a daily basis, but looking internally and externally will be key.
Training, and wellbeing programmes, will be paramount in 2024 as more and more people recognise that getting these elements right will help them to achieve their goals.
People who are experts in their field, like our recruitment and training consultants, will be worth their weight in gold more than ever before.
6 reasons to hire a video production company in 2024
With video now being the most popular digital marketing tool, your company’s video content needs to be as professional as you want to appear – not only to impress customers and create sales, but also to keep up with your competitors.
There is a direct correlation between the quality of your video marketing and how well customers perceive your business. Video marketing is becoming more and more essential, so it’s important to do it well in 2024. Here are some big reasons why you should consider hiring a professional video production company to promote your company effectively.
Staying relevant
Over the last few years, there has been a 63% increase in the number of businesses that use video as their primary form of promotion.[1] If you aren’t keeping up with your competitors and staying relevant by posting slick, well-produced videos, your company is at a serious disadvantage.
Video is not only a great means to inform people about why they should buy your products or services, but you now actually need to be posting great videos to even get noticed amongst the competition. Don’t get left behind. To achieve the necessary level of high quality, you should really consider hiring a production company.
Cost benefit
It’s easy to assume that it isn’t worth the money to hire a professional video company, when you consider that filming on a phone doesn’t cost you anything. But it actually costs a lot more than you think.
Your ‘homemade’ looking videos are damaging your company’s image and reputation, ultimately affecting your bottom line when potential customers look elsewhere and buy from a competitor who seem more professional in their videos. Conversely, investing in high quality video marketing could be the trigger for big growth in your company this year.
Great return on investment
Your ROI for this form of marketing will be determined by the quality of your videos and how effectively your message is conveyed. In a survey, 86% of marketing professionals reported that they used video as a marketing tool – 78% of which considered videos to be responsible for a direct increase in sales.[2]
Let’s look at a representative example to illustrate the ROI you might achieve.
If the promoted product retails at £30 and the promotional video is seen by 50,000 potential customers, just a 1% conversion rate would create sales of £15,000.
Assuming that a professionally-produced marketing video might cost around £2,000 to create and promote, and you gross £8,000 on the £15,000 of sales, that leaves you with £6,000 that you wouldn’t otherwise have had.
Extrapolate this over a range of products/services, with higher retail prices, more video views, and/or a higher conversion rate, and this explains why so many marketers are hiring professional video production companies.
Boost your sales
Seeing your product in action, or a video about how your service works, makes potential customers much more likely to buy.
Video is naturally much more enticing and engaging for a viewer, as compared with still images.
Unsurprisingly, around 8 in every 10 professional marketing videos have a positive impact on conversion rates and sales figures.[3]
In fact, your website visitors are 85% more likely to buy after watching a high-quality sales video.[4]
Professional brand image
If you want your company to appear professional and win more sales through video marketing, there is absolutely no reason why you should be filming on a phone. Attempting to film on a phone leads to a ‘homemade’ and amateur look, especially if the person filming has little to no knowledge of professional videography. This in turn presents your company as amateur, small or unprofessional.
Even the greatest phone camera will struggle to compete with professional filming equipment. Unsteady shots, badly faked shallow depth, wrong frame rates, visual noise, uncontrolled focus shifting, terrible lighting, poor quality audio. These are just some of the many issues that top gear and knowledge can overcome – meaning your videos will be more effective and pleasing for customers to watch.
Another often underestimated factor in producing professional videos is the amount of time and expertise required for editing. Post production often takes a lot longer than the filming itself and requires years of practice to become highly skilled at. The video is ultimately a representation of your company, so the editing needs to be superb. You can see, therefore, how hiring a video company is a must if you want to achieve more sales and the correct brand image.
Effective time management
We’ve only covered a few aspects in this article but you can already get the sense that a lot of time goes into producing great video marketing content.
With time at such a premium in our fast moving business world, just the fact that you can save so much of it is a fundamental reason why you should hire a video production company. You can free yourself to focus on other aspects of your business, while professionals deal with your video marketing.
Which video production company should I choose?
There are many to choose from, but it’s wise to hire a video production company that specialises in video marketing and corporate videography, such as Glowfrog. This way, you know they have the skills necessary to do an effective job for your business.
Sources: 1. WyzOwl.com 2. TheSocialShepherd.com 3. G2.com 4. Wix.com
