Forge new connections at the East Midlands Bricks Awards 2022

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Forge new connections at the East Midlands Bricks Awards 2022
Taking place on Thursday 15 September, at the Trent Bridge Cricket Ground, the highly anticipated East Midlands Bricks Awards 2022 will celebrate the region’s property and construction industry while providing a perfect opportunity to connect with local decision makers over canapés and complimentary drinks. The event, taking place from 4:30pm – 7:30pm, 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.

Tickets can now be booked for the awards event – click here to secure yours.

With nominations OPEN for East Midlands Business Link’s annual Bricks Awards, it’s time to submit your entries for the prestigious event – showcase your business, team and projects. Award categories include: most active estate agent, commercial development of the year, responsible business of the year, residential development of the year, developer of the year, deal of the year, architects of the year, excellence in design, sustainable development of the year, contractor of the year, and overall winner. To submit a business or development please click on a category link below or visit this page.
The Overall Winner of the East Midlands Bricks Awards 2022 will also be awarded a year of marketing/publicity worth £20,000. Find out who last year’s winners were here.
 
Thanks to our sponsors:                                      

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Plans submitted for 90-home development near Louth

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Plans submitted for 90-home development near Louth
Developer Charterpoint has applied for outline planning permission to build up to 90 new homes on land in Louth. It is proposed that the new properties on the 12 acre site off Daisy Way would include a mix of two to four bedroom homes. The development would also feature a children’s play area, surface water attenuation ponds, wildflower meadows, sustainable drainage and an amenity lawn for communal informal recreation. Charterpoint has submitted outline plans for up to 90 homes and garages, plus associated highways, drainage and green infrastructure for the site to East Lindsey District Council. Adrian Goose, CEO of Charterpoint, said: “This site is in an excellent location, on the northern edge of Louth, and would provide attractive accommodation for individuals and families close to the town. “Charterpoint has extensive experience of delivering quality schemes and we are pleased to submit this application to create new homes close to all the services and amenities that Louth offers.” The site, which is bounded by the A16 Louth bypass to the north west and by Westfield Park to the south and east, would be accessed off Daisy Way. Charterpoint is proposing to include green infrastructure to provide an attractive quality environment for residents and visitors with consideration given to access for pedestrians and cyclists, enhancement of wildlife biodiversity, sustainable drainage solutions and promotion of use of outdoor spaces for improved mental and physical health and well-being. Charterpoint also plans to incorporate open water, swales and ditches as part of the sustainable drainage strategy to contribute to local biodiversity. The exact number and mix of new homes on the site, which is currently used as farmland, would be defined during detailed design stage. It will now be down to East Lindsey District Council to determine the application.

West Bridgford Police Station sold to retirement community operator

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West Bridgford Police Station sold to retirement community operator
Nottinghamshire Police has completed the sale of its former police station on Rectory Road, West Bridgford to McCarthy Stone. In a deal brokered by Box Property and LHS, the old station will be transformed into a thriving retirement community. McCarthy Stone creates award-winning retirement properties for sale or for rent. It has already worked with Rushcliffe Borough Council to secure planning consent for a scheme on the site which will see the existing building demolished to make way for 86, one-and two-bedroom, Retirement Living apartments, with on-site support, car parking and professionally-landscaped gardens. The development will also include communal facilities such as a residents’ lounge, mobility scooter charging and storage room, guest suite and an internal refuse store, with lift access to all floors. Ben Tebbutt, director at Box Property, said: “There is a real shortage of independent living accommodation for older people in the local area. We’ve worked closely with McCarthy Stone over the last 12 months to get the deal over the line and we are excited to see the next phase of development.” Katie Fisher, divisional managing director at McCarthy Stone, said: “With the completion of the sale of the property, we will shortly commence construction and our Retirement Living development will significantly improve local housing choice for older people in West Bridgford. “The development will be ideal for residents in the area who wish to retain their independence, in their own home, while accessing a warm, fun, and caring community of friendly neighbours.” Robbie Farrell of Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH) acted on behalf of the Police, who have relocated officers from the former police training centre to a joint site on Loughborough Road with West Bridgford Fire Service.

Plans submitted to build apartments at site of former Nottingham nursery

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Plans submitted to build apartments at site of former Nottingham nursery
Rayner Davies Architects have submitted a planning application for nine apartments on the site of the former Wishing Well Day Nursery in Nottingham. The scheme is conceived as a row of L-Shaped duplex units, mirrored along a central spine and book-ended with a different contextual response for each of its two primary frontages; one facing Oakfields Road and the other on Rutland Road. The proposals dispense with the typical ‘central core’ arrangement of conventional apartment blocks, instead providing access via raised and landscaped walkways. This layout both mitigates against flood risks and provides a more pleasant entry sequence. In addition to generous private terraces, there is a communal garden flanking the scheme to the West. Undercroft parking is provided, utilising the existing basement of the nursery with ample cycle storage and options for EV charging. High quality materials and contemporary detailing ground the scheme, providing texture and perforations to add compositional interest. Standing seam metal cladding with a subtle colouring is offset against the more neutral brick colouring and complimented by use of colour for the windows, doors and railings. Rushcliffe Borough Council will now consider the proposals and a decision is expected mid-summer.

New Nottingham student accommodation development gets green light

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New Nottingham student accommodation development gets green light
Plans for student accommodation on land between Union Road and St Marks Street in Nottingham have been granted conditional permission. The proposed development, from Environment Design Consultants, consists of two buildings with a communal courtyard between and basement parking below the courtyard. 249 studios would be created as well as two commercial units. The development site currently comprises of former industrial buildings and open car parks. The plans follow an earlier phase of development, to provide a 5-storey block of student flats.

Biggest business groups unite against slow payments

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Biggest business groups unite against slow payments
Good Business Pays is spearheading an alliance involving the Small Business Commissioner and leaders from the UK’s biggest business groups including the Federation of Small Businesses, CBI, and BCC to stop slow payments from harming small businesses once and for all. Launched today, the ‘Wait Off’ campaign is backed by 16 of the UK’s most influential groups – representing a total of over half a million businesses in the UK – to up the ante in tackling the poor payment practices of big businesses across their respective industries. The campaign is also being backed by a number of UK businesses that support faster payments to small businesses. The latest data from the FSB suggests slow and unfair payment practices are threatening the future of almost half a million UK small businesses. Whilst the challenges of slow payment have been well reported and become a focus for many campaigns over the last few years, the volume and variety of voices calling for change has left small businesses unclear where to show their support and therefore disengaged. The ‘Wait Off’ campaign will create a consistent platform for groups and businesses to work together in achieving lasting change. Terry Corby, chair of Good Business Pays, said: “Slow and late payments have been a problem ignored by many businesses for a long time, but with so many small businesses struggling with rising costs and inflation, it has never been more important to ensure cash flows smoothly and quickly throughout the supply chain.” A study commissioned by Good Business Pays and carried out by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), estimates that if small businesses’ invoices were paid on the day they were submitted, their revenues would increase by £40bn to £60bn per year. This could provide a significant income boost for small businesses at a time when their operating costs are rising by the week. The list of those business groups backing the campaign is:
  • Institute of Directors; Federation of Small Businesses; The Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed; Confederation of British Industry; Microbiz Matters; Liz Barclay – Small Business Commissioner; National Enterprise Network; Make UK; British Chambers of Commerce; Your business community; Yorkshire In Business; UK Finance; Chartered Institute of Credit Management; NEDonBoard; International Association of Book-keepers.
Corby continued: “No business should have to suffer because of payment delays. We’re delighted that Britain’s leading business groups are taking this issue seriously and helping to drive the culture change we need to see by supporting the campaign. I strongly encourage small business leaders to sign up to the campaign to share their own experiences of poor payment practices.” FSB national chair Martin McTague said: “FSB has led the charge against poor and late payments, and we are delighted as founder member of Good Business Pays to see this new campaign alliance formed.  We now need the business community and the public’s help, to get large corporate brands paying promptly as part of accepted, normal, business practice.  CEO’s are often unaware the company they lead are poor payers, which is why we are also seeking the new Audit Reform Bill to secure a whole Board approach to pay their supply chain, promptly – by empowering their Audit Committees to oversee payments to suppliers.” The ‘Wait Off’ campaign is calling on small businesses to sign up and add their voices to the movement. Small business leaders interested in lending their support can do so by texting paydontdelay to 60095 and sharing their thoughts and experiences of slow payment. UK Small Business Commissioner, Liz Barclay said: “I’m beyond delighted that small business organisations are so incensed about slow payments that they’ve got together to bring the problem to the top of the agenda. Waiting to be paid is a major cause of small business failure and of mental health problems. Together we can change the poor payment culture that’s been harming business and the economy for decades.” The industry-wide initiative will combine a mix of digital advertising, social media, PR and lobbying of key stakeholders, including the government, to focus on the most important drivers in changing behaviour towards payments across UK businesses.

Cawarden honoured with Green World Ambassador status 2022 at special ceremony in London

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Cawarden honoured with Green World Ambassador status 2022 at special ceremony in London
Derby-based Specialist Contractor, Cawarden, has been honoured by The Green Organisation as International Green World Ambassadors 2022 at a special ceremony held on May 30th, 2022 at The Waldorf Hilton in London. The triple ceremony included presentations to all Green World Ambassadors, Beautiful Buildings and CSR Excellence Award winners. Cawarden collected their award alongside a diverse range of organisations who have also been crowned Green World Ambassadors – including Balfour Beatty, TUI, Birmingham Airport and The White Rose Shopping Centre in Leeds. Cawarden was also confirmed to have reached the finals of the Green World Awards and will represent the United Kingdom in America next year. During the ceremony, guests enjoyed the famous ‘Tea at the Waldorf’. All nominees also received an awards gift bag for which Cawarden contributed custom wildflower seed packets as a reminder of the day. 100 trees will now be planted in Cawarden’s name as part of the United Nations Billion Trees initiative. This latest success for Cawarden comes after receiving gold and silver recognition at the International Green Apple Awards 2021 for Environmental Best Practice for their work at Summit Colliery in Nottinghamshire. The project enabled the site to be re-developed for commercial/industrial use – all whilst providing a long-term sustainable solution to protect the existing botanical diversity that had flourished, including the Common Spotted-Orchid and Bee Orchid, and maintain the conservation status of Dingy Skipper butterflies. William Crooks, Managing Director of Cawarden, said: “We are honoured to be presented with a prestigious Green World Ambassador Award. As an International Green World Ambassador, we look forward to continuing to support our clients to achieve their sustainable development goals. As a company, we will continue to play a vital role in providing leadership in environmentally sustainable best practices whilst making great progress on our journey to becoming a net-zero business. “We hope our work at Summit Colliery helps others around the world to learn from our achievements.” Green World Ambassadors promote environmental best practice. Through Cawarden’s work, they are helping others to help the environment as their award-winning paper is to be published in the Green Book – the world’s only annual global work of reference on environmental best practice that is distributed to environmental professionals, universities and libraries around the world by The Green Organisation. The book aims to encourage others to learn from the winners’ experience and to follow their lead to benefit themselves and the environment for generations to come. The Green Apple Awards are run by the Green Organisation – an international, independent, non-profit, non-political environment group that began in 1994 to recognise, reward and promote environmental best practice around the world.

Kettering HR and H&S compliance consultancy snapped up

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Kettering HR and H&S compliance consultancy snapped up

Marlowe, a leader in business-critical services and software which assure safety and regulatory compliance, has acquired Business HR Solutions (Consultancy) Limited and Business Human Resources Solutions Limited (together, “HR Solutions”), a HR and H&S compliance consultancy, for an enterprise value of £6.1 million.

Headquartered in Kettering and established in 2001, HR Solutions provides retained HR and H&S consulting to approximately 750 customers, helping to keep them compliant with employment law and health & safety regulations.

HR Solutions will integrate into Marlowe’s Worknest brand, offering attractive synergies and deepening Marlowe’s HR & H&S consultancy proposition.

In the year to 31 March 2022, HR Solutions generated revenues of £3.1 million and EBITDA of £0.7 million. Net assets as at 31 March 2022 were £0.8 million.

The acquisition consideration will be settled in cash and funded from Marlowe’s existing cash resources.

Gavin Snell, CEO at WorkNest, said: “We’re excited to welcome HR Solutions’ clients and all of our new colleagues into the WorkNest family. We share the same focus on employee engagement and high quality client support, and WorkNest has a strong track record of bringing such like-minded businesses together with positive outcomes. “HR Solutions’ continued client service delivery is the priority, but in the coming months, we will work on synergies and opportunities across the businesses.”  Greg Guilford, CEO at HR Solutions, said: “Over the past few years we have been growing very quickly. This has been led by the great commitment our team has to our client base, their continued professionalism, as well as several acquisitions HR Solutions has made along the way. “We are excited at this development in joining WorkNest as this will further strengthen our service and bring considerable benefits to our clients through the scale and breadth of services offered by the wider group.”

Record revenue for Leicester online electrical retailer

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Record revenue for Leicester online electrical retailer
Marks Electrical Group, the Leicester-based online electrical retailer, has enjoyed a record year for revenue, with growth of 44% to £80.5m. Meanwhile, according to audited results for the year ended 31 March 2022, the firm posted an adjusted profit after tax in line with the prior year at £5.3m. The business noted that positive trading momentum has continued in the first months of FY23, with revenue growth exceeding 20% year on year. Mark Smithson, Chief Executive Officer, said: “We achieved record revenue in FY22, with growth of 44% against a strong comparative of 78% in the prior year. This is testament to the hard work and commitment of the entire team. I’m particularly proud to have achieved this while maintaining our disciplined focus on margin, capital allocation and cash generation. “While we are conscious of the challenges raised by the cost of living crisis in the UK and its impact on consumer confidence, our low-cost and execution-focused model leaves us well positioned to manage operationally, and with still only 1.6% market share of the £5.4bn UK MDA market, we see significant scope and opportunity for growth. “Recognising the current impact on the consumer and thanks to our strong brand partnerships, we have been able to expand our range of products, across price categories, as well as introducing new credit solutions and interest free options with our finance partners. We have continued to achieve market share gains and strong revenue momentum in the months since the financial year end, as our leading customer service and free next day delivery continues to provide a compelling and unique offering that sets us apart from the competition. “We remain well positioned moving forward to execute on our clear strategy of growing brand awareness, delivering exceptional customer service, and expanding our offering to new customers across the UK.”

Trio of East Midlands pharmacies sold

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Trio of East Midlands pharmacies sold
Specialist business property adviser, Christie & Co, has sold Shires Pharmacies Limited, the operator of three pharmacies; two in North Nottinghamshire and one in North East Derbyshire. The pharmacies – Springs Pharmacy, Shire Pharmacy, Market Pharmacy – occupy two health centre adjacent/integrated locations and a high street location, and all benefit from standard hours contracts and above average dispensing volumes. Having successfully built and operated the pharmacies since 2002, Shires Pharmacies Limited decided to sell the three sites to enable its directors to semi-retire and focus on their two remaining pharmacies in South Yorkshire. Following a short and confidential sales process which generated multiple offers, the pharmacies have been sold to Peak Pharmacy, one of the largest independent community pharmacy groups in the UK. Speaking on behalf of Shires Pharmacies Limited, Garry Myers says: “Having known the Peak Pharmacy business for many years, we are pleased to see the pharmacies transfer to a like-minded operator and are confident that they will go from strength to strength under their new ownership.” Speaking on behalf of Peak Pharmacy, newly appointed Managing Director, Joe Cattee, says: “We are delighted to have acquired the three pharmacies, further enhancing our trading profile across the area. We look forward to integrating the pharmacies into Peak Pharmacy as well welcoming the Shires team into the Peak family.” Carl Steer, director – medical at Christie & Co, who handled the sale, says: “From the outset, Shires Pharmacies Limited generated strong interest, with several group offers received, further endorsing the fact there is a continued appetite for well-performing pharmacies across the region.” The three pharmacies were sold for an undisclosed price.
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