New, low carbon industrial park on site of former council offices nears completion in Leicester
Work to create a new, low carbon industrial park on the site of former council offices at Leicester’s Blackbird Road is nearing completion.
Leicester City Council is building the new Blackbird Industrial Park on the site of a former housing depot close the city centre.
It features four buildings that will provide more than 30,000 sq ft of light industrial workspace across 21 separate units aimed at local start-ups and growing businesses.
All the buildings incorporate a range of low carbon, energy efficiency measures. These include roof-mounted photovoltaic panels, super insulation, and low-energy smart lighting. Chargers will be provided for electric vehicles in a new parking area, along with safe storage for bicycles.
The 21 new units are due to be available for lease from winter 2024. They range in size from the smallest at 750 sq ft to the largest at between 2,050 to 2,500 sq ft.
Annual rents will vary from £11,250 to £30,000, and at full occupancy the new industrial park could bring in over £400,000 in rental income.
The £6.25million development has been backed with government cash following the city council’s successful bid for new investment from the Levelling Up Fund, in 2021.
City Mayor Peter Soulsby said: “This new and much-needed industrial park will breathe new life into a vacant council site and help meet the demand for commercial and industrial workspaces for start-up and growing businesses in Leicester.
“Along with supporting local employers and the creation of new jobs, this development also demonstrates our ongoing commitment to investing in cleaner, greener and low carbon infrastructure to support the future prosperity of our growing city.”
Leicester City Council appointed locally-based Brackley Property Developments Ltd as its development partner for Blackbird Industrial Park following a competitive tendering process.
Inflation stands unchanged
Inflation came in at 2.2% in August, unchanged from July, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Measured by the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), the largest upward contribution to inflation came from air fares, which rose this year but fell a year ago; the largest offsetting downward contributions came from motor fuels, and restaurants and hotels.
Core inflation, meanwhile, which takes out volatile factors like energy, food, alcohol and tobacco to give a clear picture of underlying trends, was 3.6% in the 12 months to August 2024, up from the 3.3% in July.
Martin Sartorius, Principal Economist, CBI, said: “Inflation has fallen short of the Bank of England’s latest forecast expectations for the second month in a row. This will be welcomed by households and businesses, although they will still be feeling the pinch from three years of elevated costs growth.
“While the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee will be reassured by today’s data, they’re likely to remain wary of loosening policy too quickly. Inflation is expected to pick up later this year and domestic price pressures, such as wage growth, still pose an upside risk to the outlook. That should result in a gradual path for interest rate cuts going forward, with rates likely to stay unchanged this month.”
Timber floor trade counter operator secures new Chesterfield showroom
Timber Floor Studio have completed on a new relocation in Chesterfield in a move that places the company in a prime position on one of Chesterfield’s busiest roads. The letting follows a brief marketing period which “generated a great deal of interest” from occupiers throughout the Midlands and further afield.
Salloway Property Consultants were appointed by the property owners to assist in securing a suitable tenant for the property. The premises, which is located adjacent to an existing trade counter unit, comprises 2,200 sq ft of showroom space including office accommodation.
William Speed of Salloway Property Consultants, who agreed the deal on behalf of a private client, said: “It’s great to be able to facilitate a move for a local company in Chesterfield. Timber Floor Studio have showrooms in Doncaster, Worksop and Chesterfield but the Chesterfield move is a real upgrade for them, moving into a much more prominent unit beside the A61.”
Tony Adams from Timber Floor Studio knew it was the right location for them since the property first went on the market: “We have been looking to relocate for some time now so when this property came onto the market, we knew it was right for us. We are very excited to open our new trade counter at Greenline Business Park, we recognise that the location offers us great opportunities.”
William Speed added: “It is still evident that high spec industrial and trade counter units are extremely popular in Chesterfield, with more and more tenants looking for space.”
EMEC appoints new client relationship lead
Nottingham-based environmental consultancy EMEC Ecology has appointed Sally Harrison as its new client relationship lead.
With over 30 years of experience across a range of industries, including aerospace and pharmaceuticals, Sally brings extensive expertise in supplier and key account management.
In her new role at EMEC, she will serve as the primary contact for clients, leading client relationship management to support EMEC’s ecological consultancy, project management, and land management services.
Commenting on her appointment, Sally said: “I am really looking forward to working within a strong, friendly and supportive team. I am in awe of the work undertaken by EMEC colleagues and the positive impact this has directly on our local environment and via the work of the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust.”
EMEC consultancy director, Dr Ed Tripp said: “Sally’s wealth of experience in client relationship roles will be a tremendous asset to EMEC. As we continue to grow, it’s important to work closely with our clients to evolve the services we offer, and Sally’s expertise will be invaluable in helping us achieve that.”
Record revenues and rising profit for Team17
Revenue and profit are on the rise at Team17, the independent games developer with offices in Nottingham, Manchester, and Wakefield.
According to unaudited results for the six months ended 30 June 2024 (H1 2024), revenue grew to £80.6m, up from £72.4m in the same period last year.
Pre-tax profits, meanwhile, increased to £12.4m from £8.1m. Nine new games were launched, which included three new apps during the period, while four existing games were released on additional platforms.Steve Bell, CEO of Team17, said: “I am pleased with the Group’s performance during the first half as we continue to focus on driving sales through first-party IP titles and across our extensive portfolio, with strong demand for our games and apps across the Group.
“I’d like to thank Ann, Tim, Julia, Emmett and the rest of the leadership team for their support in leading our Group, as well as all of our people and development partners. Their passion, dedication and knowledge are fundamental to making our business a success, and I am grateful to all for their contribution.
“Looking ahead, there is significant growth potential in our core markets – Indie, edutainment and working simulation games. Our focus on creating a portfolio of games and apps with evergreen longevity, and leveraging our excellent lifecycle management capabilities, ideally positions us to capitalise on this and build a lifetime of play within our growing portfolio and player base.”
YMCA Derbyshire seeks companies for work experience placements
YMCA Derbyshire is calling on local companies to support participants of its Thriving Futures Trade Skills Bootcamp by offering meaningful two-to-four-week work experience placements.
Thriving Futures is an employability program that equips individuals with essential skills through 1:1 coaching, group sessions, and supported work placements. Participants develop vocational skills, gain practical experience, and prepare for the workforce with ongoing support from the YMCA Derbyshire team.
Throughout the placement, participants receive continuous support from the Thriving Futures Placement Officer, ensuring a positive experience for both participants and host companies.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for trade companies to invest in the future workforce while benefiting from the enthusiasm and fresh perspectives our participants bring,” said Becky Malley-Smith, Thriving Futures Placement Officer at YMCA Derbyshire. “We are excited to collaborate with local businesses to help these individuals gain the practical experience they need to succeed in the trade industry.”
Companies interested in offering a work experience placement, or finding out more, can contact the Thriving Futures Placement Officer Beckey Malley-Smith at, becky.malley-smith@ymcaderbyshire.org.uk or call 07512 309732.
Journeo delivers “strongest set of interim results to date”
Journeo plc, the provider of information systems and technical services to transport operators and local authorities, delivered “its strongest set of interim results to date” in the first half of 2024.
Group revenue grew 17% to £25.6m, according to interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2024, up from £21.8m in the same period of the year prior.
Meanwhile, profit before tax grew to £2.8m from £1.7m at the Ashby-de-la-Zouch-based firm.The business further saw record order intake during the period of £24m, up from £18m last year.
Russ Singleton, CEO of Journeo plc, said: “The Group has continued to deliver strong performance, achieving growth in revenues, profits, margins and order intake in H1 2024.
“We retain our strategy of bonding closely with our customers to develop and deliver new products, solutions and services, that meet their requirements of creating a more sustainable and efficient transport network.
“This focus, supported by the ongoing integration of Infotec, MultiQ and the newly formed Journeo Design Centre, is further strengthening our capabilities and driving the organic growth of the business as we continue to assess complementary acquisition targets.
“Journeo is evolving into a more capable and resilient business as we aim to become the market-leader for Intelligent Transport Systems. With a growing customer base and a strong sales opportunity pipeline, the Board looks to the future with confidence.”
Those trying to help us also need our help – challenging times for charities and not-for-profit organisations: by James Pinchbeck, partner at Streets Chartered Accountants
James Pinchbeck, partner at Streets Chartered Accountants, considers the challenges being faced by charities and not-for-profit organisations.
The last few years have been challenging for many businesses and individuals alike, few though might appreciate the real upheaval and even struggle faced by charities and not-for-profit organisations.
The issues they face are often around declining income, increased costs and in many cases increased demands for the work they do, especially for those providing social care, wellbeing and mental health services and support for individuals affected by the cost-of-living crisis. We have also seen similar pressures and concerns for those involved in the arts, culture, and heritage as well as many research organisations.
Whilst businesses can look at increasing prices and passing on costs to maintain margins, or look at cost savings to manage the situation, it is not as easy for those in the not-for-profit sector. Incomes, especially for funded projects, programmes, schemes, or activities, tend to be fixed, as do the costs associated with delivery. It is also often more challenging to seek alternative sources of revenue or adapt services for new markets or opportunities.
Those that have traditionally relied on donations have seen a decline in individual giving. Dealing with the cost-of-living crisis has led to a cost of gifting crisis.
Managing budgets and working capital has no doubt become an even greater focus especially in light of increased operating costs with the overheads like energy and insurances all having gone up.
Whilst financial challenges are high on the minds of the Boards and teams running organisations, they also see a number of other issues and concerns around their ability to fulfil their charitable objectives. These include issues around staffing, with the affordability of pay in many cases leading to situations where being able to recruit and retain staff is based on the ability to meet pay expectations. Certainly, being able to compete with the salaries for jobs with similar roles in the commercial sector is becoming more of a concern.
Pressures on fulfilling or maintaining activities and providing services also creates an additional risk. With a stretched workforce and systems and processes under pressure, this potentially creates a situation where quality and delivery standards are not met. This could lead to not only failure to meet obligations but also the real threat of reputational risk. Like any organisation under pressure, sub optimal working practices and approaches can lead to an increased risk of health and safety breaches.
The vulnerability of organisations in the third sector often leads to them being the target of cyber-attacks, fraud, and data breaches. Keeping up to date with procedures let alone being able to invest in mitigation and management around such things is certainly a real challenge. So too is the ability to adopt and capitalise on digitalisation for ‘business’ processes and marketing alike.
More recently the general election and a change of government might give rise to a renewed level of optimism around support and assistance for the sector, equally it could give rise to concerns about new legislation or focus that may be less favourable. Certainly, and not least the announcement to charge VAT on school fees could be a sign that charities across the board may find changes to what is deemed to be charitable activities.
Recognising the significant contribution and the vital role charities play in society and as part of our mixed economy, it is important that we seek to support them, be it as a volunteer, by donating or fundraising or even considering becoming a trustee or board member.
As specialist accountants and tax advisers to the sector we believe that we play a key role in not only providing assurance but also in understanding the challenges clients face and being able to provide support and advice. This often being critical to and welcomed by stretched teams and Boards with pressures on thinking space for longer term planning.
See this column in the September issue of East Midlands Business Link Magazine here.
Rolls-Royce SMR appoints operations and supply chain director
Ruth Todd CBE will join Rolls-Royce SMR’s Executive Team as operations and supply chain director at this pivotal period for the organisation, with an immediate focus on the industrialisation and scale up of its small modular reactor (SMR).
Ruth, who is a well-known and respected major programmes professional with an impressive track record in leadership and delivery, will begin her role on 30 September. In previous roles, Ruth was chief commercial officer for the UK Government HS2 programme and, before that, the Covid-19 UK Vaccine Task Force, where she led the programme to deliver coronavirus vaccines for the UK.
Rolls-Royce SMR Chief Executive, Chris Cholerton, said: “I am delighted to welcome Ruth to the team at this important time. Much of our work in recent years has been on product development and securing contract certainty – as we make meaningful progress on both, our emphasis moves to the industrialisation and significant scale-up ahead of us.
“Ruth’s experience and expertise in complex infrastructure programmes will further strengthen our leadership team as we focus on de-risking the challenges ahead and implementing our industrialisation plan.”
Ruth Todd CBE, Rolls-Royce SMR operations and supply chain director, added: “We have an opportunity at Rolls-Royce SMR to transform power generation and provide clean, sustainable energy for generations to come. I am excited by the opportunity to bring my experience in infrastructure delivery to the business and support its future growth and success as we shift into a project delivery organisation at home and overseas.”
The Rolls-Royce SMR is the first nuclear power station to be designed and built in the UK for over a generation and offers a radically different approach to delivering new nuclear power. Each ‘factory-built’ nuclear power station will provide enough low-carbon electricity to power a million homes for more than 60 years and will create thousands of long-term, high-skilled jobs.
Bloor Homes advocates wellbeing in construction through Lighthouse Charity Pledge
Bloor Homes has announced it is a company supporter of The Lighthouse Construction Charity, the charity dedicated to the emotional, physical and financial wellbeing of construction workers and their families.
Hannah Burgess, HR Director at Bloor Homes, said: “The Lighthouse’s mission is very clear. It shows that every day two construction workers in the UK take their own life, while stress, depression and anxiety accounts for 27% of all work-related illness in the industry. The Charity has set out to reduce the number of construction industry suicides and improve workforce in a number of ways.
“As well as its free 24/7 helpline it provides free and accessible key support services for everyone in the industry – and their families – and it addresses the root causes early on, tackling three areas of wellbeing: emotional, physical and financial early on to drive change.”
For example, alongside its crucial ‘Get Help Now’ resources, support extends to providing aid to families in crisis from food to financial support, and critical interventions when required.
For those struggling physically or financially, The Lighthouse can help on a wider range of issues from requiring occupational health support or struggling with addiction, to debt management and retirement planning.
In addition, the Charity is pioneering awareness at all levels across the industry via its Wellbeing Academy. It offers a range of courses designed to promote understanding around people’s own mental health whilst also providing them with the skills and knowledge to look out for colleagues.
And The Lighthouse is taking awareness to the frontline of construction through its #makeitvisible campaign, travelling to construction sites around the country to ‘meet the boots on the ground and get them talking’.
Hannah continues: “This aspect of the charity’s work really impressed us as it brings it to everyone working on our sites whether they are directly employed, contracted or subcontracted. It’s an all-encompassing approach. We are looking forward to rolling out a series of dedicated site visits from The Lighthouse in the coming months.”
The visits will include a ‘Toolbox Talk’ and the opportunity for a one-to-one chat.
Meanwhile Bloor Homes is also ensuring teams across its regional head offices and extended site teams are aware of the Charity and its work by sharing communications with every person working with the developer. By doing so, Bloor Homes aims to create – and reiterate – as many opportunities for people to access as much support as possible, complementing its established Employee Assistance Programme.
