Nottingham lawyer makes partner in Shoosmiths’ latest promotions round
Law firm Shoosmiths has announced eight new partners in its May promotions round.
In the firm’s Nottingham office, Matthew Kemp has been appointed as partner. Kemp advises funds, landlords and corporates, with a particular focus on investment.
The other new Shoosmiths partners are: Jill Briggs, Kate Garcia, Holly Hirst, Liz McKillop Paley, Chris Moakes, Lisa Sigalet and Brian West.
Shoosmiths has also promoted 12 to legal director and 24 to principal associate.
Shoosmiths chairperson, Peter Duff, said: “We would like to thank all this year’s promotees for their contribution to Shoosmiths. The dedication they have shown to clients and their commitment to Shoosmiths’ values has been exceptional.
“At Shoosmiths, we are committed to developing and nurturing our people to create the best lawyers of tomorrow – getting this right is integral to Shoosmiths’ strategic expansion across our chosen markets in the years to come.”
Administrators secure future of Nottingham manufacturer
After being appointed joint administrators to Nova Group Products Limited on 2 May 2023, Tim Bateson and Howard Smith from Interpath Advisory have secured the business’s future.
Based in Nottingham and previously known as Fabriweld, the company is a manufacturer and processor of aluminium and steel products, primarily focussed on home speaker accessories and casings for commercial electric vehicle charge points.
The business had faced a significant drop in revenue over the last two years due to lower demand for consumer-led products. With pressure on cashflow building, the directors explored a number of funding options but, with no solvent solution to be found, took the decision to seek the appointment of the joint administrators.
Immediately following their appointment, the joint administrators concluded sales of the business and assets to Innovation Lifts Limited and Innovation Group Products Limited, two companies affiliated to Nottingham-based Innovation Laser Limited.
As part of the transactions, all of the company’s 25 employees will transfer to the purchasers.
Tim Bateson, director at Interpath Advisory and joint administrator, said: “From its home in Nottingham, Nova Group has been producing quality products for over 40 years, so we’re pleased to have been able to conclude these transactions which will enable production to continue and jobs to be preserved. We wish the purchasers and the company’s skilled employees all the very best for the future.”
Leicestershire-based baker to the Royals rises to challenge of a greener future ahead of King’s Coronation
A Leicestershire-based cake making business, that has provided cakes for The Royal Family, is reducing its emissions and energy usage with the installation of 4,500 sq ft of solar panels, supported by funding from Lloyds Bank.
Fiona Cairns is a luxury bakery brand that designs and makes cakes for all occasions. A favourite of The Royal Family’s, the team made the Royal wedding cake for their Royal Highnesses, the Prince and Princess of Wales. They supply cakes and biscuits to high-end retailers including Waitrose, Harrods, Fortnum and Mason, and Selfridges. The company also exports on a weekly basis to Dunnes Stores in the Republic of Ireland.
The family business was founded almost 40 years ago by Fiona Cairns, a former pastry chef who honed her skills in Michelin starred Hambleton Hall, Rutland, and her husband in 1986. Now, the company has more than 120 staff and is a second-generation family business.
The company is now focussing on introducing sustainable initiatives that will help the firm remain resilient, become more cost effective, all while having a minimal impact on the planet.
To support the firm to meet its green ambitions, it approached Lloyds Bank, securing funding via the Clean Growth Financing Initiative, which provides customers with access to discounted lending for green purposes. With this support, solar panels have been fitted to one of the business’s three production units, covering 4,500 sq ft.
The panels will supply almost a third of the building’s energy, equating to around 10% of the business’s total energy usage, and reduce CO2 emissions by 15 tonnes per year. The business is also looking at opportunities to increase this figure by using the electricity generated during the factory’s non-operational weekend hours to charge its fleet of three electric forklift trucks.
The business recently became RSPO certified for demonstrating that its palm oil comes from sustainable sources. Its food waste is used to help generate electricity, and as of April 2023, the cakemaker will aim to send zero waste to landfill. Most of the firm’s packaging is currently produced locally by Leicestershire suppliers, and the company is looking at strategies to reduce the quantity used, including shrinking the size of the plastic windows in its cake boxes.
Further plans are also in the pipeline to install solar panels across all three production units on site, with the hope that renewable energy will be the dominant energy source in the future.
Tara Patel, director at Fiona Cairns, said: “Sustainability is something I’ve been passionate about for a long time, and as the next generation of leadership, it’s important to look at all areas of the business to see where we can reduce our impact on the environment. The installation of our solar panels forms just one part of our sustainability journey, and when combined, these changes are helping us to bring down the emissions of our business.
“Retailers are increasingly scrutinising the emissions of their suppliers. As a partner to some of the UK’s most prominent retailers, it’s our responsibility to ensure we’re operating as sustainably as possible, helping them to achieve their net zero ambitions, as well as our own.”
Noshad Khowaja, relationship director, SME banking at Lloyds Bank, said: “Fiona Cairns is a fantastic brand which has built an excellent reputation with its customers. From royalty to the supermarket shelf, it’s great to see a local firm like this not only succeed in the world of business but also realise the benefits and opportunities that come with sustainable changes.
“The food and drink sector accounts for over a quarter of the planet’s greenhouse gas emissions. At Lloyds Bank we’re committed to helping businesses such as Fiona Cairns to reduce their environmental impact and supporting sectors to work towards a low carbon economy.”
Support for disabled passengers earns award for East Midlands Airport
East Midlands Airport has won a prestigious Business Disability Forum ‘Disability Smart Inclusive Customer Service’ award in the category of inclusive customer service.
Disability Smart Awards recognise the work of teams and individuals who have gone above and beyond to improve the experiences of disabled people, and ten were presented at an event in London.
Chris Drury, Head of Customer Services at EMA, said: “This award shows our recent investment is being recognised and, more importantly, passengers who rely on the support of our assisted travel team can easily access travel for which there should be no barriers.”
East Midlands Airport was congratulated for its innovative and inclusive approach to customer service. The airport has invested heavily in new specialist equipment for disabled passengers. It has introduced easier ways for customers to communicate with the Assisted Travel team wherever they are in the airport.
Key to the success of the airport’s inclusive approach to customer service is the relationship with its independent Accessibility Advisory Group. Christiane Link, who chairs the forum, said: “This award truly reflects EMA’s passion for creating an inclusive environment for all customers. It is a significant accomplishment and testament to the work and commitment of the airport’s Assisted Travel team.
“East Midlands Airport understands that the lived experience of disability is vital to improving the customer experience. The airport is in constant conversation with me and the advisory group, and it is a pleasure to advise them and see passengers benefit from our collaboration.”
Phenna Group makes fifth acquisition of 2023
Nottingham-headquartered Phenna Group has made its fifth acquisition of 2023 with Cansford Laboratories, cementing a strong start to the year whilst augmenting its rapidly developing Health Sciences platform and adding complementary services to existing offerings.
Phenna aims to invest in and partner with selected niche, independent Testing, Inspection, Certification and Compliance (TICC) companies that serve a variety of sectors, ensuring customers’ peace of mind by delivering first class assurance & consultancy services.
Formed in 2010 and accredited to ISO 17025:2017, Cansford Laboratories has established its position as a fast, reliable, and innovative leader in high quality drug, alcohol, and steroid testing. Its founders pioneered hair testing more than 30 years ago, dedicating their careers since to improving and expanding the possibilities of drug and alcohol testing. Today, its methods are used by laboratories across the globe.
From a base in Cardiff, it offers a UK-wide testing service for individuals and organisations in family law, social care, criminal law, education, and the workplace. Cansford’s team of experts offer hair, oral fluid, nail, and dry blood spot testing with related services including collection and expert witness support.
John Wicks, CEO of Cansford Laboratories, said: “We are thrilled to be partnering with Phenna Group. Having been through acquisition processes in the past, I fully appreciate how challenging they can be. Since first meeting Paul and his team, they acted very professionally, ensuring a smooth and commercially focused process.
“Our interactions have been very straight forward, and I’m convinced that Phenna will provide exactly the support we need to help us deliver our exciting future growth plans. Cansford Laboratory have a great team culture and securing a partner that valued that was paramount in our decision making. I look forward to working with the Phenna Group team into the future.”
Paul Barry, Group CEO of Phenna Group, said: “Cansford Laboratories is a business that we’ve admired for a while, and I’m absolutely delighted that John and Lolita have decided to partner with us. From our early engagements, it was very obvious our values and cultures aligned and that together, we could continue to build on their already impressive track record.
“This deal augments our developing health sciences division and I look forward to welcoming their talented team into our Group and to working with them all, to deliver continued success for the business.”
Phenna Group were advised by RSM and Avonhurst. Cansford Laboratories were advised by Lexington Corporate Finance and Berry Smith LLP.
Thomas Edwards, a director at Lexington Corporate Finance, said: “It came as no surprise to us that there was significant interest in Cansford from both trade and private equity buyers, considering the organisation’s impressive reputation as a leader in high quality drug, alcohol, and steroid testing.
“The business has scaled up considerably since its formation in 2010, thanks to the leadership of John Wicks and Lolita Tsanaclis, so it needed a buyer that matched this ambition. From working with Cansford it became clear that Phenna was the ideal fit.
“This transaction builds on Lexington’s strong credentials in the healthcare and TICC sectors, increasing the total value of deals Lexington has advised on in 2023 to almost £150 million.”
Linkline secures £12.5m to accelerate growth
Linkline Transport Limited, a family led warehousing and logistics business based in Wellingborough who boast clients such as Primark and GXO, has been provided with a facility worth £12.5 million from Shawbrook to fund their ongoing growth.
Founded in 1993, Linkline offers logistics, haulage, warehousing, and pallet network services across the UK. The business has grown exponentially in recent years under the leadership of Managing Director, James Bowes who assumed the position in 2021. Under James’ leadership the company expanded into the warehousing sector and is now looking to accelerate its growth and move into further sites.
Shawbrook’s hybrid funding package worth a total of £12.5 million, includes a £5 million Confidential Invoicing Finance loan to support working capital requirements. In addition, a structured cash flow facility to support expansion plans is included within the deal. The funding allows Linkline to enhance their current services as well as providing them the headroom needed to explore expansion into additional sites in the near future.
Dave Hilton, partner at Mazars conducted the Debt Advisory process on the deal. Matt Ingram at Squire Patton Boggs acted for Shawbrook and Dave Easdown of Knights Legal acted for Linkline. The Financial Due Diligence was completed by Knights Transaction Services.
James Bowes, Managing Director of Linkline Transport, said: “Linkline at its heart is a family-owned enterprise and having grown up with the company it is exciting to see the growth we have experienced. Shawbrook has been a fantastic partner throughout the process and ultimately offered us a package that could not be matched in its scope and flexibility.
“I greatly look forward to continuing to drive the business forward, with a particular focus on our high-quality warehousing facilities and am pleased to be able to do so with the support of Shawbrook.”
Dave Hilton, partner at Mazars, said: “I have had a great relationship with both Shawbrook and Linkline for some time and it was a real pleasure to bring these parties together to facilitate this deal.
“Linkline is a promising enterprise that has seen an exceptional level of success in recent years. With the leadership of James being coupled with the funding from a proven lender like Shawbrook, I have no doubt the business will continue to go from strength to strength.”
Daniel Martin, senior director at Shawbrook, said: “Linkline are a strong family led enterprise who have been growing at a phenomenal rate in the last few years and we believe this additional funding will help them build on the fantastic platform they already have.
“James has been a driving force behind the incredible growth they have experienced. His leadership has taken the business from strength to strength, and we look forward to supporting him as the business continues to expand.”
East Midlands firms need UK and EU to get along better, says Chamber Chief Exec
East Midlands Chamber Chief Executive Scott Knowles says it’s vital for businesses in the East Midlands that the UK has a better relationship with the EU.
In the wake of a House of Lords European Affairs Committee’s report, he said: “As a Centre of Trading Excellence that is a powerhouse for manufacturing innovative goods distributed across the world, the East Midlands economy heavily relies on having positive trading relationships with our international partners – no more so than with the EU, our nearest export market.
“Therefore, it’s promising to see the publication of a landmark report that acknowledges how UK-EU relations and trading have been far from ideal in the past few years – reflecting what our members keep telling us – and delivers a series of recommendations to reset the approach in how we work together.
“In particular, we welcome clear and well-evidenced proposals for reform of access to the labour market for our employers, which have been battling acute skills shortages for a long time now.
“Our latest Quarterly Economic Survey, which formed part of the British Chambers of Commerce’s research that was submitted to the committee, shows that six in 10 East Midlands businesses attempted to recruit in the first three months of this year and, of those, 73% faced problems in filling roles.
“Industries like manufacturing, construction, logistics, hospitality and care continue to face huge capacity constraints caused by one of the tightest labour pools we’ve ever witnessed.
“We need a fast, efficient and affordable system to access skills from outside the UK when we can’t recruit and train locally.
“As we have set out in our Business Manifesto for Growth, the Shortage Occupations List is a key tool to do this but it must be expanded to reflect the reality on the ground.
“UK firms are also hampered when it comes to travelling to Europe due to the lack of flexibility in some of the business travel and mobility rules in the Brexit deal, especially in relation to financial, professional and business services.
“We urge the UK Government to respond decisively to these findings, so that firms can have the confidence in access to the skilled workers they need to grow their businesses and get economic growth moving.”
North Kesteven’s rural firms encouraged to explore growth grant potential
Expressions of interest are open for a capital grant scheme which will help rural businesses in North Kesteven invest in sustainable growth.
The Rural Business Grant is specifically aimed at supporting new and existing rural businesses to develop products, services and facilities of wider benefit to the local economy.
Possible examples include farm businesses looking to diversify income streams, growth in the visitor economy including visitor accommodation, and investments in power or energy efficiency which will make a positive contribution to the District reaching net zero.
The grant is being delivered by North Kesteven District Council for DEFRA, under the Rural England Prosperity Fund. The first window for Expressions of Interest is open from now until Thursday 1 June.
Digital Expression of Interest forms can be found online at www.businessnk.co.uk
There’ll then be a first call for full applications, and this will take place when the Expressions of Interest window has closed.
North Kesteven District Council Economic Development Manager Alan Gray said: “We’re inviting rural businesses in North Kesteven to register their interest now in the Rural Business Grant, if they have a project they think may be eligible.
“These early indications will allow our grants team to make initial assessments of eligibility and provide help where needed from the start, including ensuring applicants are given the time and support necessary to refine and develop investments in line with the objectives of the Rural England Prosperity Fund and meet the various requirements for evidence.
“It will also help ensure that proper consideration is given to projects that may require planning permission, or any additional funding or legal matters which need to be concluded within the time frame set out for the delivery of projects.”
The minimum grant available through the Rural Business Grant is £5,000, and depending on the project and investment needed applicants may be required to provide match funding.
The Rural Business Grant will run until all funds have been awarded, and all projects must be deliverable before 31 March 2025. Full details on eligibility criteria are available with the Expressions of Interest form online.
North Kesteven’s Rural England Prosperity Fund allocation is an addendum to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, to help support rural areas in England and the two Levelling Up Fund missions of improving living standards and growing pride of place. The Rural Business Grant has received £450,000 from the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
New CFO for Watches of Switzerland
Leicester-based Watches of Switzerland Group is set to appoint a new chief financial officer as Bill Floydd stands down from his role from 12 May.
Bill will be succeeded by Anders Romberg, who previously served as the group’s CFO for seven years from 2014 to 2021.
Brian Duffy, CEO, said: “On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Bill for his valuable contribution to the group and we wish him well for the future.
“I am delighted that Anders is re-joining the business. He has a strong track record of financial leadership and thorough knowledge of our group, as well as the specialist luxury watch and jewellery categories, and I look forward to working with him again.”
Bill Floydd, outgoing CFO, said: “I have enjoyed my time at Watches of Switzerland and would like to extend my thanks to Brian and the wider team for their support. The company has a bright future and I look forward to seeing its continued success.”
Anders Romberg, incoming CFO, said: “I am very pleased to be returning to the Watches of Switzerland Group and to once again be working alongside Brian and the team to deliver our long-term strategy and to capitalise on the wealth of growth opportunities available to us.”
Administrators appointed to Alliance Transport Technologies
Chris Pole and Ryan Grant from Interpath Advisory have been appointed joint administrators of Alliance Transport Technologies Limited.
Operating from two sites in Clowne (Derbyshire) and Featherstone (West Yorkshire), the company specialises in the remanufacture of electronic components, providing a complete aftermarket solution to the commercial vehicle, bus and coach markets.
In recent months, the company has faced a number of challenges, including delays to the launch of its new ESS product. The impact of these factors on trading meant that the company required additional investment to support the business moving forward. After exploring their options, the directors took the decision to seek the appointment of administrators.
The joint administrators have retained the majority of the company’s 51 employees to enable operations to continue for a short period while they explore the possibility of a sale of the business and assets. Unfortunately, however, 15 members of staff have been made redundant. The joint administrators will be providing support to those impacted as a matter of priority.
Chris Pole, Managing Director at Interpath Advisory, said: “Alliance Transport Technologies has been operating for 30 years, and in recent times, has pioneered the use of remanufacturing electronic components to allow commercial vehicle operators to decarbonise the maintenance of their fleets.
“Our focus in the coming days will be to explore the potential sale of the business and its assets, and would invite any interested parties to contact us as soon as possible.”
