Cawarden and Derbyshire FA announce County Cups sponsorship

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Cawarden is sponsoring the Derbyshire FA County Cups, which are returning for the 2022/23 season after a three-year hiatus. Cawarden, a Derbyshire-based specialist contractor with over 35 years’ experience in project delivery, and Derbyshire FA, the governing body for grassroots football in the county, announced a new sponsorship deal that will see each of the nine County Cups named after the new sponsors for the 2022/23 season. William Crooks, Managing Director of Cawarden, said: “We’re excited to renew our links with the Derbyshire FA, particularly after the closure of the league due to the pandemic. It’s wonderful to support an organisation that aligns with Cawarden’s ethos to support local communities and give back. “Football is an important part of the community and touches all levels, so we’re really proud to be sponsoring the Derbyshire FA County Cups and continuing to back Derbyshire football. We look forward to an exciting season ahead!” Cawarden is a family-owned and operated business with a rich history of delivering demolition, land remediation and earthworks projects across the UK. Their history is imprinted in Derbyshire football through the delivery of several iconic demolition projects in the county, including the Baseball Ground in 2003, the former home of Derby County FC, and the Saltergate Stadium, the former ground of Chesterfield FC. Derbyshire FA are responsible for leading and supporting grassroots football across Derbyshire. The Derbyshire FA County Cups are a series of knock-out cup competitions that take place throughout the season. They play a big role in the rich history of football in the county, with the Senior Challenge Cup dating back to 1883/84. Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, the County Cups have not run for the last three seasons, the last being 2018/19. The chance to bring the County Cups back this season is exciting for everybody involved in football, and Cawarden is proud to be part of its return. The first round draws are due to be announced later this week.

Multi-let industrial estate sold in Ilkeston

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The Ropewalk Industrial Estate in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, has been sold. Acting on behalf of private clients, FHP secured the sale of the multi-let industrial estate, comprising 40 individually let warehouse and workshop units. The property provides a mixture of units for fledgling and growth business in the area which have proven popular over the years with consistently high occupancy rates. The property was sold following a “highly competitive process with local, regional and national investors bidding competitively for the property.” Mark Tomlinson, director at FHP, said: “We are delighted to have secured the sale of The Ropewalk Industrial Estate which we have managed on behalf of our clients for nearly ten years. “The property was almost fully let at the time of sale and offers the new owners the ability to improve the rental income profile through asset management and an ongoing programme of refurbishments which will provide value improvement and a strong investment return.”

Plans to convert Nottingham’s British Waterways Building into flats tipped for approval

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Plans to transform the British Waterways Building in Nottingham into a residential scheme have been recommended for approval. H2O Urban, a joint partnership between The Canal and River Trust (current owners of the building) and specialist developer bloc Ltd, are behind the proposals. The grade 2 listed building would be converted to provide 95 residential units (12 studios, 42 one bedroom apartments and 41 two bedroom apartments) including construction of a rooftop extension providing 8 apartments. The building, constructed in 1919 as a canal transit warehouse for the Trent Navigation Company, is currently partially occupied by a comedy club (Glee), however the lease for the space is coming to an end and will not be renewed. The other areas of lower floors were previously occupied by a pub and the upper floors by a gym but are all currently empty. A design statement says: “The proposal to convert the listed British Waterways building into a residential apartment scheme will provide a viable repurposing of this prominent landmark to protect its long-term future.”

Equity investment talks between Next and Joules called off

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Following Joules, the Market Harborough-based lifestyle group, confirming earlier in the year that it was in talks with Next about a potential equity investment, the discussions have now ended. Raising proceeds for Joules of £15 million, Next would have become a strategic minority shareholder. In a new business update however, Joules said “discussions about Next plc acquiring an equity stake in the group have ceased,” however talks regarding Joules potentially adopting the Next Total Platform in the future remain ongoing. Joules added: “The company has an ongoing positive relationship with Next, successfully selling Joules products through Next’s Label channel which will continue.”

Meanwhile Jonathon Brown, the group’s new CEO, has announced that Tom Joule, the company’s founder and a non-executive director, will lead, in an executive capacity, the company’s renewed product development process for the forthcoming seasons.

Dunelm hails “another year of excellent performance”

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The CEO of homewares retailer Dunelm Group, has hailed “another year of excellent performance.” According to preliminary results for the year to 2 July 2022, total sales at the business hit £1.55bn, up from £1.33bn in 2021. Meanwhile profit before tax grew to £209m from £157.8m. The Leicestershire firm noted that sales have remained robust in the first ten weeks of its new financial year.

Nick Wilkinson, Chief Executive Officer, said: “Our colleagues and our committed supplier partners are at the heart of our success. In another year of excellent performance, I am extremely grateful for their skill, commitment and adaptability in the face of new external challenges and during another busy period of progress across the business.

“We feel confident and well prepared to weather the current economic pressures – we emerged from an unprecedented global pandemic as a bigger, better business and we believe we have the tools in place to do that again. That said, the operating and economic environment is extremely challenging.

“In this environment, we have to make every pound count, both for ourselves through our tight operational grip and cost discipline, and for our customers, through our offer of outstanding value at all price points.

“Dunelm, at its heart, offers customers great choice and value. Now is not the time for us to shy away from that, but for us to fully embrace it; whether it’s our Winter Warm collection or our Student Essentials range, we think Dunelm’s unique and market-leading offer is more relevant than ever before.”

How ignoring your dream list of clients is a nightmare for marketers: by Greg Simpson, founder of Press for Attention PR

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Greg Simpson, founder of Press for Attention PR, reflects on a recent experience to offer wise words on establishing and maintaining dream clients. Normally on the last Wednesday of the month (as I write this column) I am getting ready to give a talk to local entrepreneurs about how to grow their business through marketing, or basically “getting and keeping customers.” In the end, when you strip off all the bells and whistles, that’s what marketing is. However, two things have changed this time:
  1. I had to bring the meeting forward because next week is my wedding anniversary.
  2. The venue has just pulled the rug from under me and cancelled the event!
So it is not going ahead and instead I will be running BONUS content at the September event. Guess what, it won’t be at this venue! The funny thing is, the topic for the night was going to be ‘Build Your Perfect Dream List’, essentially a properly conceived list of your IDEAL clients who you will proactively target. This list is about the quality of the people within it not the quantity, you might only have 20 or 30 people or businesses on it. This means you can properly focus on marketing to them with meaningful content, offers and services. It is a far more measured approach than the usual ‘spray and pray’ I see far too often from businesses, or the “oh our solution is suited to EVERYBODY” – newsflash, it isn’t. However it is PERFECT for some – focus on them. When you do, you can actually spend more money on attracting these customers and in turn they will spend more money with you because you are PERFECT for them too. Now you’d think given the struggles of the last few years that for a pub with an event space, 15 local business owners in a room every month might be approaching a DREAM LIST, especially as we tend to add a new face each month. It appears not. They didn’t call me, they emailed to ask if I could shift the event, got my out of office and didn’t even follow up. They just cancelled it and when I sought clarification yesterday, the day before the event remember, they said (and I quote): “Sorry my booking takes priority, so I will have to postpone your meeting.” Note the use of “my” – incredible. Just to put this in context, I have run the event here for the last 5 consecutive months and was going to for the rest of the year. WAS. Now I imagine they have been approached by someone with deeper pockets for a one off event but how short-sighted is this? Would you want 15 punters (and growing) every month who run local businesses or a one off? Considering my crowd will spend in the bar before and after too and might also want to hire that space? So there will be no “postponement” at the venue, there will be no event there ever again. The members who were coming all know that this has happened and will draw their own conclusions about the culture of this venue, which until now I have personally LOVED to go to with friends and business associates outside of these monthly events. Hence why I held it there. I won’t be so crass as to name names in this column or indeed on social media but I hope this might serve as a reminder that whilst marketing tends to focus on filling the sink with leads, it is no use whatsoever if someone pulls the plug out. That venue has zero chance of me ever using it again or recommending it and who knows, maybe I am not their DREAM client after all and neither are the members who were coming along. Meanwhile, if you are a Nottingham-based business owner and fancy popping along to the next event or would like more information (venue to be announced!), just let me know and I will sort you out with a free monthly membership. A former business journalist, Greg Simpson is the author of The Small Business Guide to PR and has been recognised as one of the UK’s top 5 PR consultants, having set up Press for Attention PR in 2008. He has worked for FTSE 100 firms, charities and start-ups and conducted press conferences with Sir Richard Branson and James Caan. His background ensures a deep understanding of every facet of a successful PR campaign – from a journalist’s, client’s, and consultant’s perspective. See this column in the September edition of East Midlands Business Link Magazine.

Last chance to secure tickets for the East Midlands Bricks Awards 2022

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With the East Midlands Bricks Awards 2022 taking place TOMORROW (Thursday 15 September) there are limited seats left at the event. Property and construction professionals will be gathering in the Derek Randall Suite at the famous Trent Bridge Cricket Ground, where Business Link will be recognising and celebrating those behind the changing landscape of our region. The event starts at 4.30pm and concludes at 7.30pm and tickets are available here. Make use of this opportunity to network with leaders of property and construction businesses from across the East Midlands. Complimentary drinks and canapés will be served on arrival. Dress code is standard business attire. The event will also feature John Forkin MBE DL, Managing Director at award-winning investment promotion agency Marketing Derby, as keynote speaker, as well as award-winning mind reader, magician, and professional mentalist Looch, who will bewilder and astonish guests during the evening’s networking. Attend the glittering awards ceremony to see who takes home the title of Contractor of the Year, Developer of the Year, Commercial Development of the Year, Residential Development of the Year, Sustainable Development of the Year, Deal of the Year, Most Active Agents of the Year, Architects of the Year, Excellence in Design, Responsible Business and of course Overall Winner.  

Shortlist for the East Midlands Bricks Awards 2022

Most Active Agent – sponsored by Blueprint Interiors Mather Jamie OMEETO BB&J Commercial Commercial Development of the Year – sponsored by Frank Key Broad Marsh Bus Station and Car Park – Galliford Try Construction Etiquette Park – Clowes Developments Nottinghamshire Police and Nottinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service joint HQ – Henry Brothers Responsible Business of the Year – sponsored by Press for Attention PR Cawarden Arc Partnership Phoenix Brickwork Residential Development of the Year – sponsored by Sterling Commercial Finance The Rise, Southwell – Stagfield Group Glenvale Park – Glenvale Park LLP Hindle House – KMRE Group Deal of the Year – sponsored by Blythin & Brown Insurance Brokers St James Securities – Phase Two of the Becketwell regeneration scheme in Derby – 3,500 capacity Becketwell performance venue with ASM Global Wells McFarlane, APB and Newton LDP – sale of 460 acres of land in North Leicestershire, making way for a new garden village Morgan Industrial Properties Limited – acquisition of the former Ewart Chain site in Shaftesbury Street, Derby Developer of the Year – sponsored by Ward Hockley Developments St James Securities HBD Architects of the Year – sponsored by OMS Swain Architecture Rayner Davies Architects CPMG Architects Excellence in Design – sponsored by Cawarden  St. Peter’s Gate renovation – CPMG Architects Health and Allied Professions Centre at Nottingham Trent University – Pick Everard Brookside Farm – Chevin Homes Sustainable Development of the Year – sponsored by Viridis Building Services Refurbished HQ for LKAB Minerals – Scenariio Northern Gateway Enterprise Centre – Chesterfield Borough Council, Whittam Cox Architects, Robert Woodhead Group Broad Marsh Bus Station and Car Park – Galliford Try Construction Contractor of the Year – sponsored by RammSanderson Galliford Try Construction Cawarden Enrok Construction The Overall Winner, sponsored by Streets Chartered Accountants, will also be announced at the ceremony, who will be awarded a year of marketing/publicity worth £20,000. Thanks to our sponsors:                                      

To be held at:

“Monumental skills shortage” could now be deterring businesses from creating jobs, says East Midlands Chamber

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The East Midlands’ unemployment rate has risen for the first time in 10 months – but remains far below the national average. After hitting a record low of 2.4% for the period between April and June this year, the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) regional figures for May to July show it rose to 2.8%. The UK unemployment rate during this time was 3.6%. The region’s economic inactivity rate – which measures the number of working-age people who have dropped out of the labour market for reasons such as retirement, caring duties, long-term ill health or studying – remains at 21.9%. This is among its highest level for the past year and three percentage points above where it was pre-Covid (18.7% in January to March 2020). East Midlands Chamber Chief Executive Scott Knowles said: “Our region’s firms continue to create plenty of jobs, but we’ve been saying for the past year how this could tip at any moment given the monumental skills shortage that is putting a lid on capacity for four in 10 East Midlands businesses. “In our most recent Quarterly Economic Survey, two-thirds of our region’s companies attempted to recruit between April and June but 82% of them struggled to fill roles. “This is clearly unsustainable and while our region’s unemployment rate remains at a near-record low, the fact the economic inactivity rate shows no sign of dropping suggests some firms are dropping plans to grow amid the dwindling labour pool and huge uncertainty in the economic landscape, which is driven by an escalating cost of doing business crisis. “While new Prime Minister Liz Truss’ energy plan was welcomed, we need to see more details on what this means for businesses to provide long-term certainty. At the same time, her Government must not forget the other pressures facing firms and work in collaboration with the business community to seek long-term solutions to the various challenges we face. “This includes reviewing and reforming the shortage occupations list to include more jobs at all skill levels, backing businesses to invest in training current and new staff, and removing barriers to international trade.”

New senior role filled at Nottingham recruitment specialist

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Recruitment specialist Thorn Baker Group, headquartered in Nottingham, has promoted Rhian Newman to a newly created senior position within the business, head of offsite and professional lead. The new position will give Rhian responsibility for developing two new specialties within Thorn Baker’s construction brand – offsite and professional. During her time with Thorn Baker, Rhian has made a significant impact, particularly in developing the group’s offering within the offsite sector. Also known as the modular building industry, the sector remained resilient throughout the pandemic and Rhian has used her extensive knowledge and wealth of contacts to develop this as a new service offering for Thorn Baker. Starting from scratch with a team of one, Rhian has developed Thorn Baker Offsite into a nationally respected recruitment partner whose clients include Countryside Timber Frame, Premier Modular, Innovare & Donaldson Group, Balfour Beatty, Skanska, Crest Nicholson, Barratts and many more. Whilst there is demand for workers across the construction industry at the moment, demand for professional staff is particularly high. Throughout her 15 years in the recruitment industry, Rhian has always recruited for professional roles and will now also take the lead in developing Thorn Baker’s presence in this area. Speaking about her promotion, Rhian says: “This is a huge opportunity for me and something that I have been working towards for several years now. It is exciting for me personally, and for the future of the company. The new role will allow me to use my knowledge and experience to further strengthen Thorn Baker’s offering within construction recruitment and complements its existing specialties. “Developing the company’s professional offering builds on 34 years’ experience within trades and labour, and means that we will be able to find quality candidates for our clients for the full range of roles required on construction projects and in the industrial sector. “Similarly, the offsite sector is growing rapidly in the UK and there is a high demand for candidates with transferable skills – and our expertise within ‘traditional’ trades roles means we are able to find people who may want to transfer to another branch of the construction industry. “I feel hugely supported by the Board and we have a clear understanding of what we want both teams to look like in the future. I want to make a success of both specialisms as I am sure they will become fundamental to the future of Thorn Baker and the success of our clients.” Rob Ford, director at Thorn Baker, added: “Rhian is a fantastic asset to the Thorn Baker team and contributes so much across the business, not just in offsite and professional. She is a real people person and someone who clearly cares and demonstrates our values on a daily basis. This is clear to see by the relationships she has built with her team, her colleagues in other offices, myself, and the rest of the Board. “Having been with us for less than a year when the pandemic struck, we all had to cope with the uncertainty that caused. And Rhian’s response to these challenges – recruiting her team and training them over Zoom – showcased her natural leadership qualities and admirable work ethic. “Rhian is respected across the industry and has a natural flair for offsite and professional. We want to support her to develop these teams as it will benefit our growing client base and help more people find employment.”

East Midlands businesses hit by late payments

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Latest research from the Midlands branch of national insolvency and restructuring trade body R3 reveals a steady rise in the number of East Midlands companies with invoices overdue for payment.

The statistics, which are based on an analysis of data from business intelligence provider Creditsafe, show that over 26,800 East Midlands companies had overdue invoices in August, a figure which has risen steadily since April of this year.

The R3 report also indicates that monthly insolvency-related activities in the East Midlands have risen from 62 at the start of the year to 102 in August. These figures include liquidator and administrator appointments as well as creditors’ meetings, indicating the extent to which local companies may be struggling.

The region’s entrepreneurial spirit appears not to have been dampened, however, as there were 2,279 business start-ups in the East Midlands in August, an 8.0% increase on the July figure of 2,110 but a 7.2% decrease on the 2,457 at the beginning of the year.

R3 Midlands chair Eddie Williams, a partner at PwC in the East Midlands, said: “These statistics highlight the tremendous challenges facing local companies trading in this current economic climate. While the increasing number of start-ups in the region is positive, it is obvious that late payments are likely to be a significant threat as businesses deal with the significant inflationary challenges ahead.

“It is crucial for local business owners, whether in start-ups or established companies, to be on top of their invoice ledgers and tackle late payments and the impact of bad debts as soon as they become evident.

“For those businesses which are already struggling, or whose directors may be worried about its situation, the sooner professional advice is sought, the more opportunities may be available for finding the best possible outcome. Many R3 members offer a free consultation to those who are looking for such help and want to explore their options.”