Retail display manufacturer targets future growth with refinance

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Retail display manufacturer targets future growth with refinance

A manufacturer of point-of-sale display equipment, SDI Displays, has completed a multi-million pound refinance backed by Praetura Commercial Finance, generating additional capital for the business to pursue growth.

Headquartered in Loughborough, SDI Displays offers end-to-end solutions across the retail and hospitality sectors by manufacturing and installing a wide range of visual designs across shops, restaurants, and cafes.

Working with clients including Boots, M&S and Kurt Geiger, SDI delivers a suite of retail fixtures, from point-of-sale displays to full shop interiors. SDI’s installations help retailers to drive better brand presence and encourage higher shopper footfall.

SDI now plans to accelerate its growth ambitions utilising additional headroom provided by Praetura.

Ian Wright, managing director at SDI Displays, said: “This deal represents an exciting period for SDI Displays, where sustained growth and rising profits have meant that we can expand the business and its offerings.

“We’ve already been able to diversify into the hospitality sector off the back of our retail success, so we’re looking forward to the growth possibilities that this transaction has afforded us.

“We were drawn to Praetura Commercial Finance because of the access to the senior management team and flexibility they offer. Their support has helped us to strengthen our vision and put more resources into the innovation we’ve always prioritised at SDI Displays.”

Stuart Bates, commercial director at Praetura Commercial Finance, said: “We bought into and understood SDI Display’s vision from the outset. We were keen to support Ian and the team with the additional capital for the refinance and continued success.

“SDI has a highly experienced management team with entrepreneurial vision for growth. We very much look forward to working with them in the future with our ‘more than money’ approach.” 

The deal was led by Jeff Greenfield (sales director) at Praetura, referred and supported by Richard Mason from Ricosta Capital.

Ford & Stanley celebrates growth with head of sales promotion

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Ford & Stanley celebrates growth with head of sales promotion
Derby-based talent services specialist Ford and Stanley Group has promoted Richard ‘Ricky’ Wright to head of sales for ‘Talentwise’, the blue-collar skilled and semi-skilled business area of the Group’s recruitment arm. The promotion recognises Ricky’s contribution to the ongoing success of the business area, which has gone from strength to strength as a recruitment partner to some of the most significant employers in the UK Transportation and Mobility industry. Ricky joined the company as senior recruitment consultant in 2015, and with his extensive knowledge and network in the rail sector, has played a key role in the growth of Talentwise while receiving several promotions and nurturing an expanding team. Of his promotion, Ricky said: “I am thrilled to be part of a fantastic, supportive team at Ford and Stanley. The team has established itself as a trusted and innovative force for skilled, blue-collar recruitment; I’m incredibly proud to see how we’ve grown. “Thank you to all at Ford and Stanley for their continued support towards my career development and progression. Here’s to the next step!” Ford & Stanley chairman, Peter Schofield said: “The Talentwise business area has not only grown to become a significant part of Ford & Stanley Group services, but also to be widely recognised as a dynamic talent partner of choice for some of the UK’s most progressive employers. “Ricky has been instrumental in growing this unique service, to ensure our clients not only benefit from our expertise and experience in sourcing the best talent, but also from a fully comprehensive offering which gives access to pre-employment medical screening, industry-accredited training, onboarding support and occupational mental fitness support.”

Flex office provider signs for second Derby workspace

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Flex office provider signs for second Derby workspace
Flex office provider Cubo is set to open its second workspace in Derby, taking the total number of sites across the UK to eleven. Cubo has taken a new lease on Number One Pride Place, on Pride Park in Derby. The new Cubo features 18,000 sq ft of office accommodation arranged over three floors, with 450 desks available. The building has been home to national law firm Geldards LLP for more than 20 years and is currently undergoing an extensive fit-out ready to welcome new tenants from June. The decision to open a workspace on Pride Park follows increasing demand from businesses looking to be based around Derby’s largest office cluster. The new site will complement the accommodation already available at the Cubo workspace at The Old Post Office on Victoria Street, which was the first Cubo to open its doors back in March 2020. The acquisition of Number One Pride Place forms part of the company’s strategic growth plans and takes the number of sites across the Midlands and South Yorkshire to eleven. Second workspaces have been launched in Leeds, Nottingham and Birmingham and a new workspace in Glasgow is set to open shortly. Commenting on the acquisition of Number One Pride Place, Marc Brough, CEO at Cubo, said: “The majority of Derby’s corporate office occupiers are based on Pride Park. “Much of the demand from Cubo nationally is coming from corporates looking to integrate a more flexible way of working into their businesses, so it made sense to establish a new Cubo workspace in the most high profile building on Pride Park. “The acquisition of a second Derby workspace underlines our strategy of building a national presence of flexible working spaces for Millennial and Generation Z-led SMEs and corporate clients. “We have already had expressions of interest in the accommodation, and we will be announcing our first flagship occupier in the coming weeks.”

Inflation creeps towards Bank of England’s target, easing less than expected

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Inflation creeps towards Bank of England’s target, easing less than expected
Inflation came in at 3.2% in March, declining from the 3.4% reported in February. Measured by the consumer prices index (CPI), though slightly higher than forecasts (3.1%), it is heading slowly towards the Bank of England’s 2% target. The largest downward contribution to the monthly change came from food, with prices rising by less than a year ago, while the largest, partially offsetting, upward contribution came from motor fuels, with prices rising this year but falling a year ago. Meanwhile, core inflation, which takes out volatile factors like energy, food, alcohol and tobacco to give a clear picture of underlying trends, came in at 4.2% in the 12 months to March 2024, down from 4.5% in February. Alpesh Paleja, CBI Lead Economist, said: “While March’s fall in inflation was smaller than expected, it’s still likely to move closer to the Bank of England’s 2% target in the next few months. But the path beyond this will be bumpy – the CPI rate is likely to rise again in the second half of 2024, thanks to base effects from energy prices. “The Bank of England will look through these ups and downs, so it’s still likely that they will cut interest rates this summer. But it’s notable that inflation is now higher than the Bank expected, and in view of this they will also be keeping one eye on the resilience in pay growth. Recent developments in the Middle East could also slow the path of inflation back down, if they feed through to higher global energy prices. “Therefore, while it’s reasonable to expect some loosening in monetary policy ahead, this is by no means a done deal.”

Hinckley & Rugby appoints Chief Customer Officer

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Hinckley & Rugby appoints Chief Customer Officer
Hinckley & Rugby Building Society has appointed Danny Cranie as its Chief Customer Officer, a new role designed to help shape the Society’s future. As Chief Customer Officer, he will focus on strengthening the Society’s capabilities across existing channels whilst also building the new digital proposition. Cranie brings 34 years of bank and building society expertise to Hinckley & Rugby, having held a variety of leadership roles focused on delivering business growth and excellent customer outcomes. He started his career at Halifax Building Society, spending 32 Years in total at Lloyds Banking Group and the last 18 months at Virgin Money. At Lloyds Banking Group, Cranie held both operational and strategic roles, including Area Director and Head of Development, and he also led Bank of Scotland through the HBOS/Lloyds merger. Danny has a BA Degree in Accountancy & Business Law and is a Member of the Institute of Chartered Bankers. Speaking about the role, he said: “I am delighted to join Hinckley & Rugby to help deliver our new vision and 5-year business plan. The customer-centric ethos and values of the Society mirror my own passion for putting customers at the heart of every decision we make. “It’s an exciting time to join as we get set to launch our digital proposition, which will widen our reach to attract new members to the Society. I’m looking forward to using my business transformation experience to help us achieve further operational efficiencies and deliver outstanding customer experiences and outcomes.” Barry Carter, CEO, concluded: “I am delighted to welcome Danny to Hinckley & Rugby. His experience, knowledge and passion for providing outstanding member service are second to none. As part of my Executive team, he will be a key person to help drive our member-centric growth agenda. He joins us at an exciting moment in our history for both members and colleagues.”

Construction business celebrates 15 years with heart charity tie up

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Construction business celebrates 15 years with heart charity tie up
Pulses are set to race at a Northamptonshire construction business as employees gear up for a year-long charity challenge. Kori Construction, based in Corby, is aiming to raise £15,000 for the British Heart Foundation (BHF) to celebrate its 15th year in business. Among the challenges staff will face is a colour run where they run around an inflatable course while being pelleted with colour paints or powders. Bake sales, a golf day, and a Grand Prix in which employees will face off to achieve the fastest time on a games console will also feature in the fund-raising activities. Elaine Kendall, Head of Sustainability at Kori Construction, said the business had chosen the charity to help raise awareness of heart disease among its employees and the wider community. With this in mind, Kori is holding BHF Wellbeing Days on each of its building sites throughout the year, providing employees, supply chain partners and neighbours with lifesaving CPR training, blood pressure monitoring and wellbeing guidance. Elaine said: “Heart disease is the leading cause of death in men in the UK, and women are twice as likely to die of coronary heart disease as they are breast cancer. “The statistics also show more than half the UK population will get a heart or circulatory condition in our lifetime, and they will kill one in four of us. It is a huge and very serious problem. “Set against that background, we wanted to raise awareness of these issues with our employees and work with the BHF to teach them how to be heart healthy and what to do if they see someone who is in trouble. “We also wanted to support the charity through fund raising and donating items to sell in their shops, and teaming up with them to celebrate our 15th anniversary seemed the natural way to do that. We’ve got some great activities planned which we hope will get us to our target of £15,000.” As well as money-raising activities, Kori Construction has put a donation box on each of its building sites to collect good quality clothes, shoes, toys, books, games, and accessories for BHF to sell in its shops. Each site will also be holding its own fundraising day to build on the money raised across the wider business. Kori Construction was established by director Steve Culbert in 2009 as SAC Construction and works across the care, later living, multi-room, life sciences and commercial sectors. Managing director Jordan Connachie described the 15 year anniversary as a fantastic milestone in the company’s history, adding there would be many more to come. “We’re delighted to have reached 15 years with the business in the best possible health,” he said. “What better way to celebrate this than partnering with the BHF, which will help ensure our people also move forward in the best possible health.”

MotionTech acquires two Midlands businesses to build automation powerhouse

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MotionTech acquires two Midlands businesses to build automation powerhouse

MotionTech has acquired two Midlands-based companies: Nottingham’s LAC Conveyors & Automation and Telford’s Holloway Control Systems.

The acquisitions of LAC and Holloway are steps in MotionTech’s ongoing strategy to build an automation powerhouse.

Louise Ringström Grandinson, CEO of MotionTech, said: “The addition of LAC and Holloway to our Group is not just an expansion of our capabilities, but a significant step towards realising our group vision to be a full service partner for customers in the automation market.”

LAC Conveyors & Automation specialises in the designing, manufacturing, and installation of automation solutions across various industries. The rapid growth of LAC over the last five years places them as one of the UK’s leading system integrators to well-known global brands.

Holloway Control Systems is known for its expertise in developing advanced control and  software systems, further diversifying MotionTech’s offering and strengthening the Group’s  software offering. Holloway, established in 2008, has become a leader in industrial automation, with extensive experience in PLC programming, SCADA systems and a comprehensive WCS offering.

“Joining MotionTech is a thrilling development for LAC. This move is in line with our core  values of engineering excellence, innovation and adventure,” said Chris Unwin, CEO of  LAC Conveyors & Automation. “This partnership will broaden our horizon with focus on accelerating our European expansion and allows us to continue offering top-notch solutions to our clients as we have always strived to do.”

Michael Ryan, Managing Director of AMH Material Handling, part of the MotionTech group, said: “These exciting additions to our group further enhance our collective strength and market reach. I am looking forward to exploring synergies and opportunities with the newest members of the family.”

Private equity firm backs specialist Maintenance, Repair and Operations business

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Private equity firm backs specialist Maintenance, Repair and Operations business
NVM Private Equity (NVM) has backed a specialist Maintenance, Repair and Operations (MRO) business, MRO+ Solutions Limited (MRO Solutions). NVM are backing the incumbent team led by Matt Cattell who has overseen a 50% expansion in revenue since joining four years ago.  Grimsby-based MRO Solutions is a highly technical, value-added distributor of critical products to a range of process and manufacturing industries. The Group operates nationally through its wholly owned subsidiaries, MJ Wilson and Helix Tools. MJ Wilson is a specialist value added distributor of process instrumentation and control products servicing the energy, power generation and process industries. Helix provides technical support to a range of precision manufacturing clients supporting their tooling requirements. The market is highly fragmented providing the backdrop for an attractive buy and build opportunity to supplement organic growth plans. As part of the investment, funding for acquisitions has been reserved to enable the group to accelerate the M&A strategy post investment and consolidate the market. On completion, Kevin Appleton will be joining the board as Non-Executive Chairman; Kevin has significant experience in the distribution sector and extensive M&A expertise.   Matt Cattell, Managing Director of MRO+ Solutions, said: “We are thrilled to join forces with NVM Private Equity. This partnership will enable us to further strengthen our position in the market and capitalise on new opportunities, through organic and acquisitive growth. “With NVM’s support, we are confident that we can continue to deliver exceptional value to our customers and team members, driving long-term success for our business.”  Charlie Pidgeon, Investment Partner of NVM, said: “We have been highly impressed with the quality of the senior leadership team, the growth they have achieved and their vision for the future. We look forward to fully supporting the team in achieving their organic growth plans and pursuing acquisitions to consolidate what is a highly fragmented market.” 

Games developer delivers solid revenue performance while slipping to pre-tax loss

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Games developer delivers solid revenue performance while slipping to pre-tax loss

Team17 Group, the games developer with offices in Nottingham, Manchester, and Wakefield, has delivered a solid revenue performance, while slipping to a pre-tax loss of £1.1m.

According to unaudited final results for the year ended 31 December 2023, revenues grew 12% to £159.1 million, up from £142.3 million in 2022, with 17 new games and apps released in the period alongside six existing games released on additional platforms.

A thorough review of the Games Label strategic direction (now re-focussed on its core Indie games roots), cost base structure and processes was completed in the last quarter of the year, with headcount reduced to 348 from 392.

Steve Bell, Chief Executive Officer of Team17, said: “While 2023 presented some challenges for the Games Label, the speed and tenacity with which the teams have responded has demonstrated the exceptional talent we have at Team17.

“The Games Label is now realigned to its proven low-risk Indie model, tighter cost controls have been enforced and one-off actions taken to clean up the balance sheet.

“We are back on form in 2024, with a solid slate of games and apps, our exceptional back catalogue and a clear plan for growth across the Games Label, astragon and StoryToys. The year has started well.”

Nottingham data centre business joins global specialist

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Nottingham data centre business joins global specialist
Nottingham-based 2bm has joined forces with Keysource, a global specialist in sustainable data centre solutions and strategic advisory services. Mark King, 2bm’s founder and Managing Director, said: “We are excited to join Keysource, which will allow us to leverage their national and global presence and greater resources to expand 2bm’s reach and capabilities. “We see being part of the Group as a hugely positive step forward for everyone concerned, both in terms of the opportunities it brings for our employees and customers.” 2bm will continue to operate under its existing brand name and Mark King will continue to lead the company’s growth, as he has done for the past 22 years. Stephen Whatling, Group CEO of Keysource, added: “We are delighted to welcome 2bm to the Keysource Group. Their specialist skills and experience in data centres and critical environments are a perfect fit for our business, and we see significant opportunities for collaboration. “With minimal customer overlap, the combined group will be well-positioned to target even larger and more complex projects.” 2bm were advised by Acton’s Solicitors and Breeze Corporate Finance.
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