Moy Park reverses plan to close Derbyshire plant
Chicken products producer Moy Park has walked back threats to close one of its Derbyshire plants.
This comes after weeks of negotiations with GMB bosses to re-consider closing the facility near Ashbourne, with the potential loss of hundreds of local jobs.
While 175 jobs will be saved, the facility will be downsized and reshaped to be a B2B supplier, reducing the workforce.
Mick Coppin, GMB Organiser, said: “GMB has been negotiating and campaigning to save jobs at Moy Park for months. To see management sit up and listen to our members demands is fantastic.
“These workers are absolutely essential in producing and supplying our favourite chicken products across the country, in the home and in well love restaurant chains including Nando’s and McDonalds.
“Potential job losses on the scale feared would have been catastrophic for the local community, and GMB union members should be proud that they have delivered this win.
“This weekend I’ll be raising a toast with my Sunday Dinner to those GMB Union members at Moy Park in Derbyshire who brought the country back from the brink of a devastating chicken shortage.”
New research to improve support for small businesses in the East Midlands
The needs of small businesses in the East Midlands are being investigated in a new study by experts at the University of Nottingham, in collaboration with the East Midlands Chamber.
Leaders of small businesses in the region are invited to help Academics from Nottingham University Business School build an understanding of what they want from business support and how they access it.
Analysis from the project will help to inform the future of business advice and support available in the region.
Dr Robert Wapshott, associate professor in Entrepreneurship & Innovation at Nottingham University Business School, said: “Effective systems of advice and support for small businesses can add value to ventures and the region. To achieve this, however, we need to focus on what small businesses really want and how they want to access advice and support.
“We are very aware of the current economic climate and issues with international trade, so we are keen to make sure that the support on offer directly addresses and assists with the concerns that business leaders have. The growth of the region relies on this.”
Scott Knowles, Chief Executive of the East Midlands Chamber, said: “External factors, such as the disruption we’ve experienced over the past few years, have meant the needs of businesses have evolved significantly – whether it’s in their supply chains, people or innovation.
“This means the business support ecosystem must respond accordingly to ensure our firms are well-equipped to overcome challenges and take advantage of opportunities as they arise.
“The high quality of the business support services we offer was recently recognised by the British Chambers of Commerce, which named us the UK Chamber of the Year for 2022, but we know we must not stand still as an organisation. This unique research project will provide us with the intelligence required to continue supporting the success of our region’s businesses and communities.”
Interviews with small businesses across the East Midlands will begin in the first quarter of 2023.
Participants will be asked to take part in an online 45-minute interview focused on how they engage with business advice and support services and how the support on offer could be improved to better meet the needs of their business and others in the region.
Leaders of small businesses who are interested in helping to shape knowledge on business advice and support can contact policy@emc-dnl.co.uk to find out more about the project and how to get involved. wilko agrees sale and leaseback deal at Nottinghamshire distribution centre
Privately owned, everyday household and garden retailer, wilko has confirmed plans to unlock £48 million as part of a strategic 15-year partnership agreement with logistics specialist DHL.
The business refinance, made possible by the sale and leaseback of its Nottinghamshire distribution centre, is just the first of a series of positive partnership benefits that will allow the business to further improve the proposition and the customer experience across its 402 stores and wilko.com.
While day to day operations will remain unchanged, working in partnership with DHL, who already have several large operations in the local area, means both wilko and DHL will benefit from scale in property and warehousing.
Jerome Saint-Marc, wilko CEO, says: “It’s standard business practice to constantly review how we manage our finances. This property deal with DHL represents long-term stability for us and our team members and is the right response to the current market conditions and our priorities.
“We’re making smart choices to trade a business and allow us to continue to invest in our long-term transformational strategy. Wilko remains family owned and continues to focus on helping hard working families to be the best that they can be, delivering great value products to our customers.”
Marketing agency supports Derby Rugby Football Club with sponsorship of new U11s kit
The Under 11s Derby Rugby Football Club has kicked-off the season with a new kit, and Balls2 Marketing makes its debut on the pitch as a first-time kit sponsor.
After giving the kit its first outing as mascots for Derby RFC’s first team earlier this month, the young side broke in the new kit at their home fixture against Amber Valley RUFC on November 6.
Adam Richardson, coach for the Under 11s, said: “Thank you to Balls2 Marketing for sponsoring the Under 11s team at Derby Rugby Club, the kit looks fantastic, and the lads couldn’t be happier with it. Welcome to the team!”
The eye-catching Balls2 Marketing bright-pink logo stands out on the kit and will almost certainly make it easier for players to see their team-mates across the pitch.
“We love the way our logo really stands out on the back of the shorts, and it’s on the team’s hoodies as well,” added Sarah Ball, joint MD at Derby-based marketing agency, Balls2 Marketing.
“It’s our first ‘try’ at corporate sponsorship, and we are very happy to have our brand associated with the team and club. DRFC has a well-earned reputation as one of the most accessible and inclusive clubs in the region. Sponsoring the kit is a win:win as it helps the team with their kit costs, and gets Balls2 Marketing involved at a grass roots level in our home city.
“After the agency moved into new premises on Stores Road in 2021, we were keen to get more involved in the local community. Our sponsorship of the Under 11s team is part of this plan. And we are thrilled to be able to help keep these players on the ‘ball’, if you’ll pardon the pun!”
Trio promoted to leadership roles at Fluid Ideas
Three members of staff at creative agency Fluid Ideas have been promoted to newly-created leadership roles heading key teams.
Sarah Bowler has become the head of support and delivery, Michelle Hazelgrove has been appointed head of people and culture, and Jamie Hovell has taken up the position of head of image and motion.
Joint Managing Director Phil Harvey said: “These are all new positions created through the expansion of the business and reflect the brilliant work that Sarah, Michelle and Jamie have been doing in supporting and enhancing the standards of creativity and service delivered to our clients.
“All three are deeply protective of our culture and values, and they are the ideal people to take up these new positions as we continue to develop.
“Our strategy is to always promote internally whenever possible to help our team progress their careers. We’re very proud of the fact that we have a 90 per cent employee retention rate, more than double the industry average, and our approach of nurturing and promoting our own people is ingrained in the fabric of Fluid.”
Sarah joined Derby-based Fluid Ideas in 2019 in a client services role and has helped to grow the agency’s full-service offering by managing projects, building relationships with clients and supporting the wider team on new concept work and pitches as a creative copywriter.
Phil said: “Sarah has a proven record of not just delivering projects and leading relationships but also of shaping the work that leaves our door, both creatively and strategically. She is a very passionate gatekeeper of Fluid’s standards.
“As we continue to attract more and more high-profile and exciting brands as clients, we want to make sure our high standards of service and quality are maintained, for our new partners and clients that have been by our side for many years. Sarah and her wider team will be key to that.”
Michelle joined Fluid in 2017 as a website designer. Her role as head of people and culture will see her working with the senior leadership team to implement and develop the agency’s workplace wellbeing programme, which is called Fluid Happiness.
It involves mental health awareness and wellbeing campaigns, healthcare benefits, staff training and progression, social events, evolving Fluid’s hybrid working environment and implementing onboarding programmes for new starters.
Phil said: “Michelle has split her role in recent years, combining that of website designer with a growing focus on protecting and nurturing our values and culture and supporting the confidence and happiness of our expanding team.
“We believe a happy, fulfilled team delivers better creative work and a better, more caring service for our clients. As we approach 60 people, Michelle’s ideas, intuition and emotional intelligence are becoming increasingly important in ensuring Fluid continues to grow healthily and happily. Her knowledge of our people and the business is instinctive.”
Jamie, who has a master’s degree in 2D and 3D visualisation from Loughborough University, joined Fluid in 2017 as a CGI artist. Alongside this work, he has played a central role in projects spanning photography, video, branding, motion graphics and augmented reality.
Phil said: “The image and motion team has grown organically to be eight-strong with a diverse skill set comprising photography, video, animation, CGI, augmented reality, virtual reality and more. For an agency the size of Fluid to have an in-house team offering this range of highly specialised skills is very rare.
“Jamie is a superb CGI artist and has a fantastic eye for quality. He is a grounding, calming and positive presence who can link the different disciplines together with a can-do attitude. He balances genuine talent with genuine humility and is an excellent ambassador for Fluid and protector of our values.
“We’re entering an exciting new era at Fluid, with complete confidence that our agency, and the people who make it great, are growing in a way that’s healthy and happy – for Fluid and our clients. Loyal and talented people, like Sarah, Michelle and Jamie, becoming more prominent and influential in the agency proves our commitment to re-thinking and evolving our structure, as we flourish as a business.”
National kindness & leadership honour for Leicestershire entrepreneur
A Leicestershire entrepreneur has been named one of the UK’s top business leaders in a prestigious annual list honouring kindness in leadership.
Dr Nik Kotecha OBE DL, who is the founder and former chairman of Loughborough-based Morningside Pharmaceuticals, has been included in the UK’s Top 50 Kindness & Leadership Leading Lights.
The annual list honours leaders from the public and private sectors, as well as academia, who are using the power of kindness to make a transformative impact in business and to empower change.
Speaking about the importance of kindness to effective leadership, Dr Kotecha said: “I’m truly humbled to make this list and to be among some of the UK’s leading lights when it comes to putting kindness at the heart of corporate governance.
“Giving back to communities in the UK and globally has always been at the core of my own personal mission, when establishing new business ventures. As an entrepreneur and business leader over the past 35 years I have also ensured this ethos has been central to my companies’ mission and values, which in turn brings about important non-financial benefits for the business, our people and society as a whole.”
For Dr Kotecha, establishing a culture of kindness, is key to business success. He said: “The culture of a business always comes from the top, and must be lived and breathed every day by an organisation’s leadership.
“It’s important that businesses separate kindness and community related activities from commercial targets. Often these activities bring about great benefits, which support commercial activities in terms of motivating teams, as well as aiding employee recruitment and retention.”
In addition to pioneering ethical leadership within entrepreneurship, Dr Kotecha is also chair of the East Midlands CBI, a Department for International Trade Export Champion; and a Board Member for the Midlands Engine Council, the Centre for Social Justice, the British Asian Trust and the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership (LLEP).
In 2017 he also established his family’s charitable foundation, which through providing grant funding to charities around the world, has directly saved more than 150,000 lives and significantly improved almost 400,000 in the UK and globally.
Speaking about the importance of making the list to the work of his foundation, Dr Kotecha added: “When we setup the Randal Charitable Foundation we had a vision for its work to be a vehicle for leading the way on delivering transformative lasting change for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged in UK & global societies.”
The goal of the Kindness & Leadership Top 50 is to challenge the global leadership conversation by placing a spotlight on trailblazers who are using the power of kindness to make an impact in business and to empower positive change.
The 2022 judging panel was made up of international business leaders and was chaired by HRH Princess Badiya Bint El Hassan of Jordan. New and previous listees include chairman of the Midlands Engine and Lord Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire, Sir John Peace, as well as Ruw Abeyratne, director of Health Equality and Inclusion at University Hospitals of Leicester, and Alan Jope, CEO of Unilever.
Talking about why the Kindness & Leadership Top 50 Leading Lights is so important to transformational leadership, its founder Pinky Lilani CBE DL, added: “These phenomenal leaders are driving transformative change within their businesses, communities and on a global scale, making a remarkable impact by harnessing the power of kindness in their leadership.
“We have been blown away by the nominations we have received and it is clear that even in the toughest times, kindness is the currency that empowers, enabling individuals to reach their full potential and, ultimately, reflecting in business success, too.”
Franklin Ellis Architects becomes employee-owned
Franklin Ellis Architects has transferred to an Employee-Owned Trust. The firm, which will celebrate its 30th anniversary in a few months, ensures their continued success with the transition to employee-ownership.
Founded as a limited company in 1993 by David Franklin and Andrew Ellis, Franklin Ellis have grown considerably, now employing over 30 staff, with two permanent offices in Nottingham and Leicester. The Practice delivers architectural services in all major development sectors within the East Midlands, and across the UK.
Matthew Branton, FE’s Managing Director and a founding member of the firm, said: “Taking the decision to become an Employee-Owned Trust is one we’re pleased to enact and feels like a natural progression for Franklin Ellis.
“We aim to ensure the independence and continued success of FE and choosing an employee-owned model exemplifies the level of ownership our employees have in their work and the direction of the company. This change will solidify the confidence we have in our staff, our commitment to them and secure the future of FE, while preserving our culture and ambitions.
“The Trust removes barriers of succession and places the future of the company into the hands of our employees. Our ambitious team are empowered to drive forward the Practice, providing the best possible service and results for our clients.”
The day-to-day running of the Practice will continue to be controlled by Managing Director Matthew Branton and the leadership team. The newly formed Staff Council and Trustee Board, headed by founding director David Franklin, will support the development of the Practice.
Council acquires additional affordable homes
Chesterfield Borough Council has completed the acquisition of 12 new build properties – further increasing its supply of modern and affordable homes for local families in the borough.
The new housing development located at Harehill Mews in Grangewood, is the latest acquisition of properties for local people and will see 12 two-bedroom houses added to the council’s housing stock.
The properties have been purchased by the council from local housebuilders, ERICA Developments Ltd. and will be made available to rent to families on the housing register.
Councillor Chris Ludlow, cabinet member for housing, said: “We are fully committed to increasing the supply of affordable housing across the borough and meeting the housing needs of local people – now and in the future. We are pleased that the acquisition of these properties is now complete, as they will provide affordable, modern and accessible homes for our families.
“It’s important that any homes we build or purchase take into account environmental issues and are energy efficient for our tenants. Living in a warm and energy efficient home is not only better for our planet, but it will also reduce costs to run the property, offering affordable warmth to our tenants.”
Chesterfield’s Superior Wellness reports strong growth in America
Chesterfield hot tub supplier Superior Wellness has continued to focus on growth throughout the year, with the US being the company’s main priority.
The sales team have signed up 19 new US partners during 2022, only 18 months after entering the country.
The team based in the US consists of sales managers, Chris Hawley, and Rocky Holt, who has recently joined Superior Wellness. They are supported by the sales and logistics team based at the Chesterfield head office.
Trade shows have been a huge focus for Superior Wellness over in the US. The team had a strong presence at the recent Aqua Live show in Charlotte, North Carolina, where they met up with potential future partners and offered product demonstrations. The next trade show based in the US is the International PSP Expo in Vegas, on 15 November, where the brand new AquaSolus range is being launched for the first time.
Sales director Gareth Ward said: “Superior Wellness have been in the US market for just under two years, in this time we have added over 20 new partners to our ever-growing partner network. Our goal is by the end of 2024 to have over 100 partners in the US, to help achieve our goals we have created 4 new models which are perfect for the US market.
“We have invested heavily in our marketing and our trade show attendances to showcase our amazing product to the US market. We want to replicate the USP’s we have in the UK and European market that has led to our huge growth by offerings unrivalled after sales support and quality products. To do this we have opened warehouse facilities on the east coast and the west coast to best serve the partners we have on board and the new partners we are onboarding.
“With our warehouse locations this makes our product much more accessible for partners as they do not have to pay huge road freight charges from one coast to the other. Our two Regional Sales Managers have a wealth of experience in the industry, and we are using their expertise to bring further improvements to our US growth strategy. As we continue to grow our aim is to open a Superior Wellness HQ in the US, where we can hold training days, partner conferences and much more.”
Derbyshire vitamin maker wins major award after helping local community during COVID
A manufacturer of vitamins, based in South Derbyshire, has won a prestigious award for its management through the difficult times of the COVID pandemic, and its support of the local community.
IVC Brunel Healthcare, which employs 550 staff and produces vitamins and supplements at its 30,000 square metre state-of-the-art base in Swadlincote, was crowned Manufacturer of the Year at the East Staffordshire and South Derbyshire Business Awards on November 10.
Holders of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise, the company is the biggest producer of vitamins and supplements in the UK, working on behalf of top UK retailers, and exporting to global international brands.
It produces four and a half billion tablets a year, including traditional herbal remedies such as echinacea and milk thistle and more than 250 different vitamin formulations.
The company also made a significant contribution to the health of Swadlincote when the first COVID lockdown was announced in the UK in March 2020.
At the same time as the company saw demand for its health supplements increase by up to a whopping 400 per cent, as millions of people turned to its products to try and boost their immune system, it pulled out the stops to ensure that its workers and their families stayed safe and well.
This included supplying them each with a digital thermometer, putting in strict social distancing and staggered changing room systems, while it also stepped in to provide substantial support to the local food bank, which had seen contributions of food drop off.
It also made sure that staff at the local University Hospitals of Burton and Derby NHS Foundation Trust were able to continue to fight the pandemic on the front line by supplying all 2,500 staff with vitamin tablets as a thank you.
IVC Brunel also sponsors six local sports teams, including Gresley Rovers, Moira United and Burton Rugby Football Club.
CEO John Hackett said: “I’m delighted and proud that IVC Brunel Healthcare has won this manufacturing award. The challenges of keeping going during Covid were enormous. Our staff were classified as key workers, which meant that we were open throughout, and around 300 members of our manufacturing and quality teams stayed on site.
“There was, as we had foreseen, huge demand for our products because everyone in the UK wanted to stay as healthy as they could. We saw an increase in demand of up to 400 per cent, at the same time as the safety measures meant our productivity was reduced.
“We’re proud to say that most of our workforce lives in the local area and while we try to be the very best employer we can, with people living in our area facing real problems due to the economic situation brought about by COVID, we felt it was only right to provide a substantial donation to keep the local food bank going too.”
