Nottinghamshire-based Ideagen has embarked on a voyage into new territory with the acquisition of a company that specialises in keeping people safe at sea, Tritan Software.
From the health and safety of crew and guest passengers on cruise ships, to offshore platforms and global fleets of commercial vessels, Tritan Software are one of the world’s leading solutions supporting the maritime industry.
Speaking about the deal, Ideagen CEO, Ben Dorks, said: “The sea makes for a unique challenge when it comes to safety and health. It’s vast, unpredictable and isolating but is also the route through which a huge proportion of people and commodities journey.
“It’s vital that the people travelling or working at sea are protected and Tritan Software’s solutions support some of the world’s biggest cruise and commercial shipping operators to do that.”
More than 2,500 vessels travelling the world’s seas and oceans trust Tritan to keep their passengers, crew and operations safe including 95% of cruise lines. They also have a rapidly growing presence in the commercial shipping and offshore industries. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, the company has operations around the world.
Tritan Software CEO and founder, Andrew Carricarte, said: “Ideagen provides us with an exciting opportunity to realise our growth ambitions at pace.
“We have great products which serve our existing customers well but there’s tremendous scope to do more. Ideagen understand what we want to achieve and share our desire to expand the services and support to the maritime industry and further establish our collective position as a leading provider of health and safety software.”
This latest acquisition is Ideagen’s third of 2023 and comes just a week after collaboration tool OnePlace Solutions joined the Ideagen family.
Two University of Nottingham projects to boost sustainability in the UK cement, glass and ceramic industries have won funding from the UK Research and Innovation Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (UKRI ISCF).
The Foundation Industries (consisting of the cement, metals, ceramics, paper, glass and chemicals sectors) are some of the most energy-intensive industries in the UK and are worth over £52 billion to the UK economy. Each sector is facing challenges on the path to Net-Zero, including consumption of raw materials and recycling of waste products.
The projects, led by Dr Luis Torres and Dr Maria Karafyllia, both of Nottingham University Business School, are among five to win funding from the UKRI-ISCF Transforming Foundation Industries Network+.
Dr Torres’ research, ‘Enabling business models innovation for sustainability in the UK glass sector’, will focus on the flat glass products (windows and glazing) that are typically used by the construction sector. These products have been selected because of their potential to be reused and recycled but currently, recycling rates are very low.
The project will identify what public policy interventions are needed to enable the transition to a circular economy model for flat glass, whereby materials are reused or recycled for as long as possible to extend the lifecycle of products.
Dr Luis Torres, Assistant Professor in Organisational Behaviour, Business & Society in the Nottingham University Business School, said: “The glass sector has a great potential to implement circular economy principles to achieve decarbonisation.
“While public policy attention has been around recycling and reusing container glass, most end-of-life flat glazing, refurbishment and demolition glass are not recycled and reusing them is less appropriate. Keeping flat glass within a circular economy model presents a great opportunity for reducing CO2 emissions and it is economically beneficial for the sector.”
Dr Karafyllia’s research, ‘Circular business model innovation in the UK cement, glass and ceramic industries’, will develop a business case for these industries to adopt strategies around EDI, Net Zero, innovation, future skills, and digitisation to strengthen companies’ competitiveness.
Dr Maria Karafyllia, Assistant Professor in Strategy at Nottingham University Business School, said: “The UK Foundation Industries have low profit margins, making them vulnerable to changes in energy cost and to international competition.
“These industries lack tailored circular business models that will enable them to create, deliver, and capture customer value in more sustainable ways, will enable them to contribute to the national net zero target by 2050, and will enable them to increase their international competitiveness.”
Dr Karafyllia continued: “The UK Foundation Industries underperform in relation to the EDI agenda. This project aims to embed self-sustaining industry practices regarding EDI in new circular business models; and to establish a knowledge transfer network to drive EDI transformation, as well as to develop and share best practice.”
Professor Ian Reaney, Director of the TFI Network+, said: “The Network has a strong awareness of how vital the social sciences are to the future of the Foundation Industries, and we hope the principals and ideas in this research can help boost sustainability within the sectors. We are pleased to announce the results of our latest funding call from TFI Network+, with 5 innovative research proposals gaining funding.”
Viridis Building Services Ltd has joined the sponsor line up for the East Midlands Bricks Awards 2023, backing the Sustainable Development of the Year category.
Speaking with Business Link, a spokesperson for Viridis Building Services Ltd said: “We are proud to sponsor the Sustainable Development of the Year award at the East Midlands Bricks Awards for another year. We promote this award in particular because of its relation to us as a business and how it fits within our values. Sustainability isn’t just what we do – it’s who we are and to be able to live this through this award makes us proud to be involved.“Through this award we are ensuring the East Midlands is leading the market through sustainable design. We understand the passion from those involved towards this award and we know the great pride in delivering these outcomes. Therefore, to present this award allows us to promote this type of design and ensure innovative, collaborative and pragmatic solutions are provided. This not only helps promote those involved in the design stages, but also to promote those who will be using the spaces in the future.“We look forward to seeing this year’s entries to the Sustainable Development of the Year award and attending the event to reveal the winner. We feel the awards bring the East Midlands together, not just within the Sustainable Development of the Year category, but for all the categories – we are proud to be part of the East Midlands Bricks Awards to promote the area and molding its future.”
The awards, which will take place on Thursday 28 Septemberat the Trent Bridge Cricket Ground, celebrate the outstanding work of those shaping the landscape of our region, recognising development projects and people in commercial and public building across the East Midlands – from offices, industrial and residential, through to community projects such as leisure schemes and schools.
Nominations are now OPEN for East Midlands Business Link’s annual Bricks Awards.
To nominate your (or another) business/development for one of our awards, please click on a category link below or visit this page.
Nominations end Thursday 31 August.Find out who last year’s winners were here.
Book your tickets now
Tickets can now be booked for the awards event – click here to secure yours.
The special awards evening and networking event will be held on Thursday 28 September 2023 in the Derek Randall Suite at the Trent Bridge County Cricket Club from 4:30pm – 7:30pm.
Connect with local decision makers over canapés and complimentary drinks while applauding the outstanding companies and projects in our region, and hear from Mike Denby, Director of Inward Investment and Place Marketing at Leicester City Council, our keynote speaker.
Dress code is standard business attire.
Thanks to our sponsors:To be held at:
The Crowne Plaza in Nottingham recently played host to the annual Volunteero Summit. This event invites top startup operators and founders to speak about areas of expertise that translate well into charity functions and volunteer management, with various big name charities in attendance such as Shelter and Age UK.
The event was hosted by Volunteero – the leaders in volunteer management software. Their app has been built in direct partnership with UK charities and volunteers; designed to maximise efficiency, minimise stress, and make the volunteering experience as enjoyable as possible for everyone involved. The Summit included talks from industry experts, such as Meryl Davies (CEO at Re-engage) and Craig Harman (COO at St John Ambulance).
Filming the full event and producing the highlights video shown below was our local recommend video production company, Glowfrog (www.glowfrogvideo.com). Event video production is just one of the many services they offer for businesses and organisations.
The summit was a great success for the third sector. Charities went away with top insider knowledge that they can apply to their role and use to make a meaningful impact.
In a new trading update, ahead of Rolls-Royce’s Annual General Meeting today, the Derby firm has hailed making “good progress,” with its financial performance “improving.”
CEO, Tufan Erginbilgic, said this reflects positive changes driven by Rolls-Royce’s transformation programme, which is “moving at pace” and previously saw the company cut thousands of jobs, while good end market demand for products and services has been seen.
The manufacturer noted that trading has been in line with expectations in the four months to 30 April 2023 and that underlying operating profit guidance (of £0.8-£1bn) in 2023 stands unchanged.
Meanwhile an increased focus on efficiency and simplification is helping to keep costs down and has identified savings.
Chief Executive Tufan Erginbilgic is due to say at the Annual General Meeting: “We are transforming Rolls-Royce into a high quality and competitive business with a strong balance sheet and growing profit, cash flows and returns. We are already benefitting from the actions we are taking as well as recovery and growth in our end markets.
“We announced several changes to the executive team in March to support the transformation, adding leaders with proven track records of delivery and high-performance. We are making good progress and our financial performance year-to-date is in line with expectations. I’d like to thank everyone at Rolls-Royce.
“Our financial performance is improving reflecting positive changes driven by our transformation programme workstreams and good end market demand for our products and services.
“Supply chain management remains a key operational challenge for us as original equipment and aftermarket services volumes increase, especially in Civil Aerospace. Our financial performance is in line with our expectations at the time of the full year results on 23 February. Our underlying operating profit guidance of £0.8-£1.0bn and free cash flow guidance of £0.6-£0.8bn in 2023 is unchanged. We anticipate our free cash flow generation will be seasonally weighted in the second half of the year, as previously indicated.
“In Civil Aerospace, long term service agreement large engine flying hours (EFH) were 83% of 2019 levels in the four months to 30 April, and on track for the 80% to 90% range for the full year, as guided in February. Shop visit volumes and OE deliveries are also on track with expectations. We have continued to win new business including our biggest ever order of Trent XWB-97 engines in the period, with an MoU for 68 engines (plus 20 options) for Air India.
“In Defence, we continued our successful run of key programme awards with the announcement that the AUKUS submarine programme will be powered by Rolls-Royce nuclear reactors. In the US, Bell’s V-280 Valor, powered by our AE1107F engines, cleared the protest period, enabling our teams to progress to the next phase, with the first aircraft due to enter into service in 2030. Bell’s V-280 Valor was selected last year by the US Army’s Future Long Range Assault Aircraft programme to replace its Black Hawk helicopters.
“In Power Systems, revenue growth is being driven by demand for aftermarket services and exceptionally high order intake in the prior year, especially for power generation solutions. We are getting improved pricing on new orders which will drive margins up with the benefits expected to start showing in the second half of the year. High order intake year-to-date included strong demand from marine customers, including an order for Series 4000 gensets for the U.S Navy’s Constellation Class frigate programme.
“Work on the transformation programme is moving at pace. Our increased focus on efficiency and simplification is helping to keep costs down and has already identified savings, for example the closure of our R2 Factory venture. We are encouraged by the early progress of our commercial optimisation and working capital workstreams, with positive results expected to build as the year goes on. Our strategic review is on track and as previously indicated, we will communicate the findings and medium term targets in the second half of 2023.”
Rolls Royce’s half year 2023 results will be announced on 3 August.
Continued strength across the UK services sector has driven increases in business output and optimism, according to the latest Business Trends report from accountancy and business advisory firm, BDO.
BDO’s Output Index reached an eight-month high of 99.80 in April, driven by a jump of 4.53 points across the Services Output Index as conditions across this sector improved. The sector last saw such an improvement in January 2022.
This growth was partially offset by a drop in the Manufacturing Output Index, taking it to 82.94, its worst performance in almost three years, since the early months of the pandemic.
Despite this, the overall Output Index now sits clear of the 95-point mark, the point of expansion, indicating growth in the economy in April.
It’s a similar story for BDO’s Optimism Index which has been buoyed by stronger-than-expected consumer activity and subsequent positivity across the services sector to reach its strongest reading since August 2022 at 98.22.
This is contrasted by the fall in optimism across the manufacturing sector, as businesses suffer from the effects of various economic headwinds including high input price pressures and ongoing supply chain disruption. These economic burdens caused a fall of 2.16 points for the Manufacturing Optimism Index – its lowest level since February 2021.
An overall stronger sentiment towards resilience in the UK economy reflects the ongoing decline in inflation as April saw the BDO Inflation Index dip to its lowest point in 18 months. The index now stands at 107.55 points as both input and consumer price pressures subsided.
The BDO Employment Index witnessed a third consecutive increase in April, driven by an uptick in the number of people in work, taking the Index to 111.07.
Whilst labour market conditions and growth prospects for the UK economy remain strong, higher interest rates are expected to weigh on economic activity and put upward pressure on the unemployment rate, with a peak of 4.3% forecasted for H2 2023.
Kaley Crossthwaite, partner at BDO LLP, said: “A tale of two sectors has emerged over the past few months as the resilience of the UK economy relies almost solely on the outlook for the improving services sector, as manufacturing businesses face an ongoing downturn.
“Supply side issues and energy price increases are expected to persist over the coming months and whilst there are signs that the worst may be over, particularly with input price inflation, this sector will need continued support to take the pressure off services.”
For the second time this year, Midlands-based contractor, G F Tomlinson, has been announced as a successful partner for a major national Pagabo framework.
Running from 2023 to May 2027, the contractor has been reappointed to the National Framework Agreement for Refit and Refurbishment Solutions, which comprises of 93 high-quality contractors covering a range of refurbishment and refit projects across five value bands and 44 regions.
G F Tomlinson was also reappointed to Pagabo’s National Framework for Medium Works in January and since 2020, the contractor has partnered with Pagabo on several frameworks including the Major Works Framework, the previous Framework for Refit and Refurbishment Solutions, and the previous Medium Works Framework, which the new iteration now supersedes.
As part of the partnership, G F Tomlinson has been appointed to deliver projects from £500,000 up to £15 million throughout Yorkshire and the East and West Midlands.
Focusing on public sector refit and refurbishment works, G F Tomlinson will deliver schemes across the education, healthcare, civic, leisure, housing, blue light, highways and infrastructure industries.
G F Tomlinson demonstrated relevant experience, stability and a strong commitment to social value and the carbon reduction agenda in order to be successful in its framework bid.
Alongside providing value for money for clients, it was important that the contractor provided evidence of delivering quality builds on time and to budget, as well as managing the supply chain to a high standard.
G F Tomlinson have delivered several projects under the Pagabo suite of frameworks, including the £3.7m extension and remodelling of Cardinal Newman Catholic School and the £6.5m expansion and remodelling of Barr’s Hill School, both for Coventry City Council, plus the £2.4m Urgent Treatment Centre for Lincoln Hospital. They are also currently on site constructing the £15.4m new Air and Space Institute (ASI) in Newark for Lincoln College Group.
Looking to the future, the contractor has more projects in the pipeline being procured via Pagabo with a cumulative value of over £64m.
Chris Flint, Managing Director at G F Tomlinson, said: “We’re extremely proud to have secured our place on yet another national high-value framework with Pagabo, which will be our second since January this year.
“Our reappointment to the National Framework Agreement for Refit and Refurbishment Solutions is our sixth agreement with Pagabo which continues our success on public sector frameworks where we have delivered in excess of £500 million worth of projects via this procurement route.
“We look forward to improving and restoring a range of public sector buildings through renovation and retrofitting techniques, incorporating new technologies wherever possible, and are delighted to be given the opportunity to continually support the regeneration of local communities.
“With our expertise, commitment to delivering high-quality projects and our passion to enhance social value for local communities, we are best placed to serve public sector clients on all their project requirements.”
Elliott Talbot, framework manager at Pagabo, said: “We’re delighted to see G F Tomlinson secure their place on our new Refit & Refurbishment Framework. Their position on our suite of construction frameworks has enabled them to deliver a range of public sector works in recent years. This appointment will allow us to continue to work closely together and we can’t wait to get started.”
Local contractor and developer, Stirlin, has completed a new phase of employment space on their development in Lincoln: Kirk’s Yard.
Kirk’s Yard is a commercial business park located just outside the village of Branston, approximately 4 miles from Lincoln City Centre.
Stirlin completed the first two phases of the development back in March 2019, with all units occupied by a variety of established local businesses, including Gateway Automation, Lincolnshire Radiators Direct and TL Electrical Engineering.
Following the success of these phases, Stirlin has now delivered a third phase, to provide 10 industrial units suitable for a variety of business uses, ranging in size from 1,500 to 2,000 sq ft.
Sustainable elements of the scheme include energy efficient lighting, bike racks to encourage the cycle to work scheme and the recycling of existing topsoil from the land, which has been used for the landscaped areas around the site. Stirlin also offer buyers the option to include a renewable energy solar system on the units.
Managing Director of Stirlin, Tony Lawton, says: “Our Kirk’s Yard site has proven very popular, particularly due to its location, so it’s great to provide further employment space to meet the demand and facilitate business growth in the area.
“In addition to this scheme, we have several other projects in the pipeline for 2023. We are also open to contractual work, and we encourage people to get in touch to discuss their requirements.”
With the completion of the third phase, Stirlin have transformed 2.2 acres of vacant land on Mere Road into over 33,000 sq ft of new employment space.
At this year’s UKReiiF (UK Real Estate Investment & Infrastructure Forum) event in Leeds from 16-18 May 2023, Invest in Leicester will brief potential investors about recent successes from businesses including major residential and industrial developers, Segro and Harworth Group, and from the director who led the £17 million development of an historic department store in the centre of Leicester into the upmarket Gresham Aparthotel.
The Invest in Leicester events at UKReiiF will focus on how the organisations are thriving in the region, highlighting the ingredients for success.
The session will be chaired by Mike Denby, Director of Inward Investment and Place Marketing at Leicester City Council.
Mike said: “The transformation of Leicester and Leicestershire has been significant over recent years, thanks to a strong public and private collaboration. We are delighted to be attending UKREiiF again this year, as a platform to further raising the profile of the city and county, showcasing the investment and development opportunities across the area and the strength of the collaboration between the public and private sector.”
David Cockroft, Regional Director for the Midlands at Harworth Group plc, said: “Invest in Leicester has been a trusted and valued long-term partner for Harworth. Its support has been critical to the delivery of our 2,000-home south east Coalville new community and Bardon Hill industrial and logistics scheme in the area. We look forward to working with the council at UKREiiF to showcase the huge potential of the area and the future opportunities that this will bring.”
The team will also promote its digital land and property prospectus, which highlights 40 key investment opportunities spanning the length and breadth of the city and county and ultimately, that Leicester and Leicestershire are open for business.
Attendees at UKReiiF can see Invest in Leicester at the following events: Designing a Thriving and Sustainable Future in Leicester & Leicestershire (Tuesday 16 May 2023 from 9:30-10:30am, Cinema of War Room, Royal Armouries Museum), Digital Sites Prospectus Launch (Thursday 18 May 2023 from 1-2.15pm, Pavilion 7 in the Pavilion Square).
Wavensmere Homes has struck a deal with The Fulton Partnership, which will see one of the pepperpot buildings at the £175m Nightingale Quarter Scheme in Derby City Centre transformed into a café, bar, and restaurant.
Located off London Road, close to the Derbion shopping centre, ‘The Pepperpot’ is scheduled to open in August 2023, creating a new dining experience for the city. The venue will be open seven days a week, serving gastro-style food with locally sourced ingredients.
The Pepperpot restaurant will be situated at the front of the former Derbyshire Royal Infirmary redevelopment, where restoration and construction work is currently in progress. A bijou cocktail bar and cafe will feature within the historic building conversion, with an air-conditioned glass box extension housing the main restaurant to the rear. Wavensmere Homes and The Fulton Partnership are collectively investing more than £1m in the project.
The Pepperpot will be The Fulton Partnership’s sixth venue in the Midlands. The group is best known for The Butchers Bar and The Westgate Suites Wedding Venue, which are both in Long Eaton. Stables Hotel and The Bowling Green Inn are located adjacent to each other in Ashbourne, while The Saracens Head Steakhouse is in Meir, Stoke on Trent.
Graeme Fulton, owner of The Fulton Partnership, said: “The Pepperpot will be our first ever city centre venue, which we’ve been on the lookout for for some time. At Nightingale Quarter, we will have the rare combination of; a stunning historic building; well over 1,000 residents living in the same development; and a superb location, only a short walk from the Derbion shopping centre and Derby train station.
“Ahead of the August opening, we have appointed Matthew Guy as the head chef, and he is currently sourcing the best ingredients from local suppliers for our extensive breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus. The menus have a strong emphasis on quality and choice. We’ll be recruiting and training local people to work with us and look forward to getting to know all the neighbours already living here.”
Remediation and construction work commenced at The Nightingale Quarter in late 2020. During the past three years, over 80% of the 925 homes have been matched with buyers. Five phases of the project are currently under construction by Wavensmere Homes, enabling 486 of the homes to be completed this year.
The 18.5-acre site is one of the UK’s most significant city centre regeneration projects and includes the restoration of several landmark buildings and monuments from the 130-year-old former hospital.
James Dickens, Managing Director of Wavensmere Homes, said: “The synergy we have with The Fulton Partnership is very strong and we are thrilled they have chosen to replicate our Nightingale Quarter branding for The Pepperpot restaurant. The interior design has a cool art deco feel, which will create a place that everyone will enjoy spending time in. This venue will become the heart and soul of the community here.”
Pepperpot restaurant CGI
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“We look forward to seeing this year’s entries to the Sustainable Development of the Year award and attending the event to reveal the winner. We feel the awards bring the East Midlands together, not just within the Sustainable Development of the Year category, but for all the categories – we are proud to be part of the East Midlands Bricks Awards to promote the area and molding its future.”
The awards, which will take place on Thursday 28 September at the Trent Bridge Cricket Ground, celebrate the outstanding work of those shaping the landscape of our region, recognising development projects and people in commercial and public building across the East Midlands – from offices, industrial and residential, through to community projects such as leisure schemes and schools.
Nominations are now OPEN for East Midlands Business Link’s annual Bricks Awards.
To nominate your (or another) business/development for one of our awards, please click on a category link below or visit this page.
To be held at:
