2024 Business Predictions: Art Lindop, Managing Director, Alphageek Digital
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 Managing Director Art Lindop from Alphageek Digital.
There is no doubt that times will be tough in 2024 for both the UK and global economy, which means that customers will be saving hard and thinking twice before parting with their hard-earned cash. Companies that treat their marketing budget as an investment rather than an overhead will reap the benefits – as long as their activity is focused, and they stay on top of the performance data they’re seeing from their marketing. This means there will need to be an even greater focus on analysis – it will be more important than ever before to have an acute understanding of outlays and efficiencies. Unique and purpose built softwares will be more significant too, enabling clients to see a clear input and output on their spend and revenue.
It’s always great to chat with Dan Wild our head of paid digital and we think that in terms of platforms the heavy hitters will still be Facebook and Instagram, but the rise of TikTok will continue; it has had a meteoric rise and still gets the highest number of minutes. Its advertising capacity is still basic, but I’m sure this will develop quickly in 2024 and then TikTok will become a strong port of call for many ecommerce brands, particularly those pushing to a younger demographic.
I expect to see increasing use of AI next year and my business partners Alex Mills and Kieran Flynn agree with me. ChatGPT 4 is likely to be increasingly used as a day-to-day assistant and all the best businesses will be asking how they can leverage AI to be more efficient, without sacrificing quality. It’s got to be measured – AI can’t replace finesse, but it can replace legwork, so all firms should consider how they can integrate it.
2024 Business Predictions: Malcolm Prentice, group chairman of MTMS
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 Malcolm Prentice, group chairman of Leicestershire depot maintenance firm MTMS.
Derby winning the GBR bid was a high point of last year and we thought the city was turning a corner, but then things started going wrong at Alstom, followed by bad news from Hitachi and Siemens saying they haven’t got money and are struggling, which means things are looking dark for Derby.
The cancellation of the HS2 project was a further sign that the industry as a whole is in the doldrums and operating under a storm cloud that has not yet broken. If there is a new government in 2024 then they will still have to reduce the revenue to our sector because of previous overspending and what money there is going to be spent on transport infrastructure will go on roads and light railways rather than the major rail links that require the investment we need to catch up with the rest of Europe.
That’s the wider picture. As far as MTMS is concerned, we are fortunate to deal with Tier 1 clients who are primary rail operators and we see a bright future there. In 2024 we will extend our services and offer more support with technical innovations that will help the rail industry on its journey to further decarbonisation and towards becoming more efficient and sustainable.
New appointment for recruitment agency
A Northamptonshire recruitment consultancy has taken on a new recruitment resourcer to focus on the company’s business development.
Wills Consultants has welcomed Sally Langley to the Kettering-based fold. Former IT service desk and desktop manager Sally has returned to the world of work after a sabbatical to look after her three children. Before the childcare break, she worked for the St Andrews Group of hospitals and for household brands such as Superdrug, Iceland, and Guinness.
The first female to take an A-Level in Computer Science at her secondary school, Sally has always embraced a challenge, and has already fitted in well at the family-run firm.
Sally said: “When I embarked on my job search, Wills Consultants stood out within in the recruitment industry offering a compelling combination of a thriving work environment, strong values, and a commitment to customer service.
“One of the key reasons behind my decision to join Wills Consultants was their commitment to the employee-focussed culture the directors have developed. From day one, it was evident that the firm prioritises the well-being and professional development of its employees.
“I am confident that my career path and professional journey will be enhanced by a culture that values its employees, upholds strong principles and prioritises exceptional customer service.”
Sally will be working on the business development side of the business, finding new clients and bringing back former customers. She said: “It’s really interesting working on strategies to find the perfect candidate and has given me a whole new appreciation for recruitment.”
Recruitment company moves into Vulcan Works
The CEO of a recruitment company specialising in IT and digital has moved his team into Northampton’s Vulcan Works after praising the workspace for its innovation and culture.
Founded by Darren Sharp, S-SA Digital has been established for almost 17 years and boasts some big household names as clients as well as having smaller start-up businesses on its books.
Darren became aware of Vulcan Works through his work with Digital Northants, which celebrates and promotes the county’s innovation. S-SA Digital has been a part of the initiative since its inception.
He decided to move to Vulcan Works to create a new immersive, creative culture for his team of six employees, who were previously housed at Silverstone Innovation Centre.
Darren said: “Silverstone was great, we had a good four years there but at Vulcan Works, we are right in the heart of the town centre, the location and infrastructure are fantastic. There’s not been anywhere like this until now.
“We wanted to build a culture purely embedded in the tech and digital environment and what Vulcan Works has achieved as an innovation and business hub cannot be overlooked. It made perfect sense to move here.”
Darren is now looking to partner with Vulcan Works to build a tech club for likeminded businesses to meet and share best practices.
Vulcan Works centre manager Garrick Hurter said: “It has been absolutely fantastic to welcome S-SA Digital to Vulcan Works. Darren and his team represent exactly the type of company that this centre was built to support – digital and creative specialists – and have immediately made the most of all the centre has to offer.
“Our community is growing and thriving, and it is wonderful to see and be a part of.”
Surprise rise in inflation
Annualised inflation increased to 4% in December, up from 3.9% in November, in contrast to a larger than expected drop in the month prior.
Measured by the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), this uptick was primarily driven by rises in the price of cigarettes and alcohol and defied forecasts for annualised inflation to come in at 3.8%.
Meanwhile, core inflation, which takes out volatile factors like energy, food, alcohol and tobacco to give a clear picture of underlying trends, stood at 5.1% in the 12 months to December 2023, the same as in November.
Alpesh Paleja, CBI lead economist, said: “Today’s inflation figures show it isn’t ‘job done’, despite coming after last month’s sharper-than-expected fall. Indeed, risks to the inflation outlook remain very much to the upside.
“In the near-term, Ofgem’s lifting of the energy price cap in January will likely lead to a small bump in the CPI rate. And there are now renewed risks from tensions in the Middle East, through their potential impact on supply chains and commodity prices.
“Notwithstanding signs of a moderation in wage growth, the Bank of England will also be watching for more persistent cooling of domestic price pressures, in order to be more reassured about the inflation outlook. So, while all eyes are focusing on the timing of cuts to interest rates, it may still prove soon to start reducing the cost of borrowing.”
Mercedes expansion set to create huge investment and highly skilled jobs in Brackley
An expansion of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas headquarters has been given the go ahead by West Northamptonshire Council’s (WNC) Strategic Planning Committee, anticipating millions of pounds of economic investment and over 500 multiple skill set jobs in Brackley.
The site, located on St James Road, is currently the headquarters for the Mercedes Formula One team and is where the cars are designed and constructed with engineering work being carried out through their Applied Science engineering capability, which conducts engineering design for external clients. These projects include the design of the next British Challenger for the Americas Cup.
A key aim of the planning application is to create a parkland campus setting, which will result in the removal of much of the car parking that dominates the site and replace it with trees and landscaping to create a site appropriate for a Formula One headquarters.
The plans propose to remove the existing car park and replace with a single deck car park featuring an under croft and a surface level car park, together with vehicular access to the Mercedes site from Lauda Drive and St James Road. In addition, there will be a covered walkway, refurbished bridge, new pedestrian and cycle bridge, cycle hub and parking spaces with solar panels.
The refurbishment will also see the introduction of a three-storey marketing centre and health and wellbeing hub complete with restaurant, gym, yoga space and other facilities for Mercedes employees.
Mercedes has plans to expand its operations on site which could include further diversification away from Formula One and involve expanding the workforce from 1,400 to 1,900 people over the next five years. The company also has ambitious sustainability objectives to become Net Zero by 2030.
Following extensive consultation with local businesses, the proposals also include works to mitigate the impact of traffic flow in the area by widening Oxford Road and lengthening the right turn lane into St James Road to accommodate an additional two cars. Double yellow lines along the northern side of the St James Road and around the turning head will be extended to mitigate unsafe parking and make the area safer for road users.
In addition, alterations will be made to the Oxford Road/Lauda Drive roundabout to provide an additional lane and improvements will be made to the cycle route along Oxford Road.
Cllr Daniel Lister, WNC’s Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Town Centre Regeneration and Growth, said: “I am delighted that Mercedes has chosen to invest and expand its world-famous motorsport engineering in West Northamptonshire. The site is located in an area which is known for motorsport given the proximity of the Silverstone circuit and our location within Motorsport Valley. This is an area of national significance in the high-tech innovation and high-performance engineering sectors.
“These plans promise fantastic opportunities for economic growth and inward investment in Brackley and support our strive to be a leader in driving innovation while supporting business growth and building a strong, responsive and thriving local economy.
“This development is likely to generate around 500 new full-time jobs with a predicted expenditure of approximately £70m which would further feed into the local economy and create additional full time jobs during construction. Our Economic Growth & Inward Investment Team have been working closely with Mercedes to deliver impactful benefits to the local labour market, including local recruitment, school engagement and more.”
Leicestershire-based Bramble Foods gobbles up The Bay Tree Food Co
Leicestershire-based Bramble Foods Group, a manufacturer and distributor of fine foods to independent, local retailers, garden centres, farm shops and holiday parks, has acquired The Bay Tree Food Co, an award-winning manufacturer of branded chutney, relish, sauce and jam.
The Bay Tree Food Co was founded by Emma Macdonald in 1994 and has been creating artisan chutney, relish, sauce and jam from its BRC accredited factory in Ivybridge, Devon, ever since.
In addition to its own brand products, The Bay Tree Food Co offers own-label and bespoke recipe solutions to independent retailers and food service companies.
Emma Macdonald, founder and CEO of The Bay Tree Food Co, will stay with the business to help deliver the next phase of its growth. She said: “We are very excited to work with the Bramble team. Being part of a larger group will accelerate the next phase of our development and I’m looking forward to the opportunities that will bring.”
Headquartered in Market Harborough, Leicestershire, Bramble Foods manufactures and supplies more than 2,000 products, ranging from preserves, pickles, chutneys and sauces, to cakes, biscuits, confectionery, hampers and seasonal goods. It has c. 2,000 customers and turnover of £35m.
Tony Foster, CEO at Bramble Foods, added: “At the heart of Bramble Foods is an unrivalled range of high-quality foods. Year on year, we have increased our food production capabilities and invested in our personalisation service to offer unique bespoke products to our customers. The Bay Tree Food Co enhances our branded product offering and production facilities, and we’re thrilled to welcome Emma and her team to the Group.”
Bramble Foods was backed by private equity firm LDC, which is part of Lloyds Banking Group, in 2022 and since then LDC has supported Tony and the wider management team as they deliver their organic and acquisitive growth strategy.
Rob Schofield, partner at LDC, added: “The Bay Tree Food Co is a fantastic business that produces outstanding products, and joining Bramble Foods Group presents an excellent opportunity to support the growth of its offering. We look forward to continuing to support Tony and the team on the next phase of their journey.”
2024 Business Predictions: Emma Speirs, Managing Director, Ballyhoo PR
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 Emma Speirs, Managing Director at Ballyhoo PR.
PR moves fast and is ever evolving.
In a world where people can now essentially publish their own stories without passing through third parties such as newspaper editors or journalists, there is a very real risk of fake news and propaganda being taken as truth, so data-based stories are going to be more popular in 2024.
Consumers of the media, or social media, will be looking for proof that what they are reading is true.
The new year will also see digital PR begin to drive SEO (search engine optimisation) strategy rather than the other way around.
Digital PR is a secret weapon in your PR and marketing arsenal. More than just online coverage, it is a fantastic way to support your SEO strategy as you are naturally having articles published on topics relevant to you and your business that you also want to rank on Google for.
2023 saw the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), and while there are some huge benefits to using AI in your PR and copywriting, such as to generate creative ideas, it can’t be a replacement for genuine expert comment and brand personality.
Using AI to write expert comment or opinion pieces means companies are not sharing their own knowledge and experience, but instead regurgitating what is already out there on the internet which will damage their brand.
In 2024 companies need to cut through that noise and show more of who they are, what they know and why people should trust them and their business.
Bringing the human back into PR and storytelling to show authenticity, build credibility and spark emotional connections will be essential.
It is all change for cryptocurrency tax reporting, but help is on hand: by Michael Ball, tax partner at Streets Chartered Accountants
Michael Ball, tax partner at Streets Chartered Accountants, considers the topic of cryptocurrency tax reporting.
On the 29th of November His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, HMRC, launched a new campaign to pursue unpaid tax from crypto investors. The campaign seeks to encourage individuals to come forward and disclose any unpaid tax on crypto assets including exchange tokens, NFTs and utility tokens.
In part, the approach highlights their concern that many crypto assets owners are seemingly unaware of the responsibility and requirement to disclose and report taxable gains.
According to HMRC, some 37% of people said they knew ‘little’, while more than one in five were ‘not familiar at all’ with the capital gains tax requirements for holding crypto.
In addition, from the 2024-25 tax year there will be changes to reporting on the sale of cryptocurrency with the Self-Assessment Tax Return forms. The change will see the introduction of a standalone section for individuals and trusts which have disposed of crypto assets. Currently, the sale of cryptocurrencies is reported alongside a range of ‘other’ assets and reliefs.
To support clients, we have added a dedicated section on our website covering the tax treatment and reporting for cryptocurrency: https://www.streetsweb.co.uk/accounting-services/cryptocurrency/
Help with cryptocurrency transactions for tax reporting!
We recognise that for some individuals, especially those with a high number and value of transactions, assessing whether they need to report or include cryptocurrency in their tax return can be a challenge, let alone actually compiling an acceptable crypto tax report for the eyes of HMRC. As such, for those without access to any cryptocurrency tax specialist software, we are delighted to have linked up with Recap.
Recap is completely free to get started. Simply connect your crypto exchange accounts like Coinbase, Kraken and Binance and discover if you need to file a return for free.
If you need to file, Recap has two price plans to generate tax reports. £99 including VAT for accounts with less than 5000 transactions and £179 including VAT for accounts that exceed 5000 transactions.
To receive a link for your free trial and/or to take advantage of an introductory offer please email cryptotax@streets.uk
See this column in the January issue of East Midlands Business Link Magazine here.
First steps in multi-billion-pound STEP project with planning permission granted for UKAEA base in North Nottinghamshire
A significant milestone preparing for a UK first in energy production, which will create thousands of jobs and attract investment in North Nottinghamshire, has been reached.
The multi-billion-pound project at West Burton will transform the power station site to support the development of STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production) the UK’s prototype fusion energy plant which aims to demonstrate electricity from fusion.
Bassetlaw District Council has approved plans for the first temporary building to be constructed on site – helping to contribute to employment opportunities, regeneration and assist in preparation for the ambitious project being led by the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA).
Cllr James Naish, Leader of Bassetlaw District Council, said: “Delivering a prototype fusion energy plant at West Burton will bring massive investment to the area and is a game changer for our local economy.
“The granting of our first planning permission to the UKAEA and the first planning permission for new construction on the STEP site is a significant milestone for the Council. I look forward to more applications coming forward as the project continues to develop at West Burton over the next two decades.”
The temporary building will house project staff as they work on the plans to deliver a prototype fusion energy power station to prepare for future production of low carbon energy.
Fusion energy has great potential to deliver a safe and virtually limitless source of clean electricity, based on the same processes that power the sun.
James Cowan, Director of Programme Development for STEP as part of UKAEA Group, said: “It’s going to be our first UKAEA base in North Nottinghamshire, and a location from which we can fulfil our vision of delivering a prototype fusion plant that moves us towards commercial viability.
“We are pleased to be working with Bassetlaw District Council on this programme of national significance. I hope this will be the first of many planning approvals in the future, helping us to collectively deliver social and economic benefits to the area.”
