Wates Group gears up for Phase Two of Derby Market Hall refurb

Stuart Pearcey
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Wates Group gears up for Phase Two of Derby Market Hall refurb
Work has started on the second phase of a multi-million-pound project to breathe new life into Derby’s historic Market Hall, and will continue until the end of next year. Having restored the Grade II-listed building’s roof, Wates Group is now turning its attention to making internal and external improvements. Once completed, the revamped Market Hall aims to become a vibrant retail and leisure destination, providing a link between the Derbion shopping centre and the St Peter’s Quarter and Cathedral Quarter areas, as well as the Becketwell regeneration scheme. Wates is working in collaboration with Derby City Council on the project, supported by specialists, including Lathams Architects and structural engineers Rodgers Leask. Lisa Cunningham, pre-construction director at Wates, said: “The Market Hall will play a vital role in creating a thriving cultural heart in Derby and we’re pleased to support this project to restore and transform such a unique building. With the roof restoration completed, this next phase will begin to show substantial improvements to the interiors and strengthen the exteriors to ensure the building has a long life.” An important part of the next phase of work is to develop the public space at Osnabruck Square, a key entrance to the Victorian building, as well as reinstating the north entrance. Lisa said: “This next phase will see further external work, including re-instating the two original northern entrances to the Market Hall, which will replace the current single entrance and allow a direct line of sight through the Guildhall colonnade. “As well as making the building more inviting and accessible, this will also avoid any potential bottlenecks from increased footfall. “Elsewhere on the building exterior, we will work to widen external escape doors, strip and renew the metal roof to its 1980s extension and replace the brickwork to the southern elevation arrangement with fully glazed window openings to create an active frontage with greater visibility.” According to Wates, the Guildhall Yard will also be enhanced, with the entire courtyard re-paved following the demolition of an existing 1980s stair and lift tower. Internally, works will focus on a new flexible market hall space, featuring free-standing mobile stalls to create an accessible space for events and activities such as food and music festivals. To accommodate the food and drink offer, the balcony will have a bottle bar and an emphasis will be placed on street food but with the flexibility to adapt to future trends. Further work in this phase includes refurbishments made to the first-floor shops, new durable flooring, improved back-of-house storage, improvements to fire safety, and new toilet facilities. A key feature will be a new grand central staircase to the north of the Market Hall, replacing an existing stairwell. Lisa said: “This grand staircase will reflect the position and form of the original 1864 stair, connecting to the balcony in a contemporary, light and inviting route. “It will feature a glass balustrade designed to contrast with, yet complement, the historic metal balustrade across the balcony.” The designs also include sustainable focused upgrades such as on-site energy generation through solar thermal and PV panels, battery storage, combined heat and power, and disposal of food waste through anaerobic digestion.

Don’t rely on the Board to make your company more sustainable, new DMU research finds

Tess Egginton
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Don’t rely on the Board to make your company more sustainable, new DMU research finds
Companies who set up dedicated sustainability committees are more likely to achieve environmental goals than those which rely on a CEO and board members, according to new research. Academics analysed data from 44,996 firms across 61 countries to see how much they were investing in their companies and how many of them reported publicly on their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) work. They found that the more firms invested in running the company, the less likely they were to publicly report on CSR social and environmental activities. However, those with a dedicated CSR committee were more effective than those whose CSR activities – which can include its equality and diversity work, environmental and public engagement – were governed by a CEO and board. Dr Ali Meftah Gerged, senior lecturer in accounting and finance at DMU, said the research team’s interest was sparked by the huge rise in different types of socially responsible investing, and the apparent switch from corporations talking about revenues to stressing their environmental credentials. “Our findings suggest that board monitoring mechanisms may focus more on financial performance than non-financial initiatives, as directors may feel shareholder pressure more than stakeholder pressure,” he said. “Board structure has a limited effect on encouraging investing firms to engage with CSR transparency practices. CSR committees appear to convince investing firms of the benefits of issuing a CSR report and the credibility of the disclosed CSR report with third-party assurance. “These committees might shape the CSR agenda of their firm and help the board maintain a more balanced decision-making process by aligning the interests of both shareholders and stakeholders. “Our empirical evidence suggests that if investing firms consider CSR initiatives and reporting as solely costly and ignore their benefits, the presence of a CSR committee could both represent and present a more expert and experienced view that may highlight the advantages of these CSR initiatives.” The team used publicly available company data to measure key investments firms made – sales growth, R&D intensity and sum of the growth of both tangible assets (like buildings and inventory) and intangible assets, such as customer lists and brand awareness. They then looked at the firms’ CSR reporting and structure. The report adds that too many companies are still seeing corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a cost to the firm rather than promoting other benefits. However, anecdotal evidence from consumers shows that people want to buy from companies who they perceive as transparent and accountable.

Mattioli Woods acquires one of the largest financial planning businesses in Northern Ireland

Tess Egginton
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Mattioli Woods acquires one of the largest financial planning businesses in Northern Ireland
Mattioli Woods, the Leicester-based specialist wealth and asset management business, has acquired Doherty Pension & Investment Consultancy Limited (Doherty’s) from its shareholders for a total consideration of up to £15.048 million, adding scale to the group’s existing operations in Northern Ireland.

Founded in 1985, Doherty is an established financial planning and wealth management business with specialist pension expertise and a discretionary investment management offering.

Doherty’s currently advises approximately 1,320 private clients, including specialist pension advice on SSASs, with combined assets under advice and administration of over £635 million.

Doherty’s has a strong regional presence in Belfast and employs 28 staff. Doherty’s experienced management team will be retained by Mattioli Woods following the acquisition. In the year ended 31 December 2021, Doherty’s generated revenues of £2.92 million with a profit on ordinary activities before taxation of £1.45 million.

Michael Wright, Group Managing Director of Mattioli Woods, said: “It is very rare that such a great opportunity to bring one of the largest financial planning businesses in Northern Ireland into the Mattioli Woods Group presents itself. In over 30 years of operations, Doherty’s has built a solid and respected reputation, with integrity and professionalism at the heart of its client service.

“It was clear from our initial discussions that Doherty’s is a great fit culturally and strategically, including a focus on long-term client relationships, serving a similar client base to our existing business. This acquisition is an important step forward for Mattioli Woods, strengthening our position as the only SSAS and SIPP operator based in Northern Ireland.  

“We are delighted to welcome Terry, Alan, John and their team into the group. There are many complementary elements between our businesses enhancing our specialist pension, discretionary portfolio management and financial planning propositions. We believe the range of products and services that Mattioli Woods has to offer can support the excellent outcomes from which Doherty’s clients already benefit.” 

Terry Lappin, Managing Director of Doherty’s, added: “We are delighted to be joining the Mattioli Woods Group as the synergy between our companies was obvious from our very first discussion. This can only improve our client offering and we are looking forward with enthusiasm to what can be achieved.”

Chamber Chief Exec praises business resilience as inflation remains high

Stuart Pearcey
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Chamber Chief Exec praises business resilience as inflation remains high
Inflation’s stubbornly high, but there are signs of encouragement for businesses in the latest ONS figures, says Scott Knowles, East Midlands Chamber’s chief exec. With Consumer Price Index inflation at 10.1% in the year to February 2023, he said: “While it’s reassuring to see the headline inflation figure is not on an upwards curve again after the unexpected rise last month, the fact it remains in double figures is illustrative of how entrenched rising prices have become within our economy. “More positively, the Producer Price Index has eased from 12.8% to 7.6%, indicating the peak may have passed for input price growth. “Firms have been absorbing cost pressures across energy, people, raw materials and fuel for at least 18 months – and while the sustainability of this has been a concern, the patience of our resilient business community may now be starting to pay off. “However, inflation remains far and away the number one concern among East Midlands businesses, according to the Chamber’s first Quarterly Economic Survey of 2023, ahead of other issues such as access to skilled labour, corporate taxation and interest rates. “This has been driven by three years of global lockdowns, supply chain crises, energy shocks and new trade barriers with the EU. “Therefore, it’s crucial Government helps businesses by focusing on what we call the ‘four Is’ in our East Midlands Business Manifesto for Growth, A Centre of Trading Excellence – investment, innovation, infrastructure and international trade. “This will help us to achieve what has eluded us for too long and begin a period of meaningful, long-term economic growth.”

Champions collaborate to enhance Chesterfield’s Basin Square

Stuart Pearcey
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Champions collaborate to enhance Chesterfield’s Basin Square
Two Chesterfield Champions have collaborated with Chesterfield Borough Council to deliver an attention-grabbing display in and around the Basin Square character area of the Chesterfield Waterside scheme. FWD: Motion, a creative agency based in Chesterfield, managed the branding, design, manufacture, and installation of the new perimeter display at Basin Square working alongside Bolsterstone Group PLC which is delivering the Waterside scheme with Chesterfield Borough Council. The new site display builds on the brand redevelopment and website build for Chesterfield Waterside which FWD Motion completed in 2019. Chesterfield Waterside is one of the UK’s largest regeneration schemes; a £340m sustainable development set in a canal-side environment. Waterside is built across 16 hectares with phase 1 of the development, known as Basin Square, delivering Grade A office space, a hotel, apartments, and a multi-storey car park. Phase one at Basin Square recently saw the completion and opening of One Waterside Place, a seven-storey large floorplate office funded by Chesterfield Borough Council. The new display, which features 190 meters of printed and cut vinyl 8x4ft di bond aluminium hoarding boards with protective anti-graffiti laminate, showcases the high quality office space available within the building. Already two floors of One Waterside Place have tenants – BHP Chartered Accountants and luxury women’s leisurewear company Varley’s, and the new eye-catching display boards are helping to attract the attention of prospective tenants. Tom Swallow, Development Manager at Bolsterstone Group PLC said: “It was a pleasure to work with FWD Motion as always on the design of the hoardings. They worked with us to deliver a quality product which compliments the high quality public realm at Chesterfield Waterside. They are helping to create a lot of interest from prospective tenants and investors in both the office building and forthcoming developments at Basin Square and the wider Waterside scheme.” Emma Cole, Marketing Director at FWD Motion added: “FWD were delighted to work with Bolsterstone on the aluminium hoardings project, Chesterfield Waterside is a fantastic development for the local area, and we are proud to be a part of that. Working not only on design, but also print and installation means we get to see a project delivered and in use. Seeing it on display makes a real difference as you can visualise the impact it will have in the local surroundings. “As a fully integrated creative and digital agency we can work with clients on design, print, installation, development, and marketing projects.  We love working with local companies and helping make a positive branding impact.  If anyone has a project they’d like to discuss, we’d love to help.” Bolsterstone and FWD Motion support the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 200 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.  

Derby becomes the UK’s latest city to welcome Lime e-bikes

Tess Egginton
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Derby becomes the UK’s latest city to welcome Lime e-bikes

Lime – the shared e-scooter and e-bike operator – has launched a fleet of rental e-bikes in Derby, as it looks to encourage more UK residents to embrace sustainable and affordable transport options.

The expansion comes at a time when cycling is booming – 1.5 million people have ridden Lime in the UK since it launched locally in 2018. It follows a successful launch of Lime’s electric vehicles in London, Milton Keynes and Salford, and the recent similar e-bike launch in Nottingham last week.

Launched in partnership with Derby City Council, local residents will be able to hire the shared e-bikes in key city locations and enjoy the benefits that cycling can bring, from improved health to cleaner air. The bikes will be gradually introduced to the city in a phased approach, beginning across a specific area of the city centre.

Alice Pleasant, public affairs manager at Lime, said: “At Lime, we are on a mission to provide people across the nation with the tools they need to transition away from using cars.

“By launching our e-bike service in Derby, we become one step closer to meeting net zero targets, while providing residents with alternative methods of sustainable transport. We hope, as the scheme develops, to see more people around the country adopting Lime’s vehicles and enjoying the benefits that cycling can bring.”

In order to practise responsible parking, users will be required to park the e-bikes at mandatory parking zones located around the city, of which have been agreed in partnership with Derby City Council.

The Council is also planning to re-invest the funding secured from the Department for Transport (DfT), initially allocated to the scheme, to support cycle infrastructure within local communities and popular cycle locations.

Verna Bayliss, director of Planning, Transportation and Engineering at Derby City Council, said: “We’re really excited to welcome Lime and their fleet of e-bikes to Derby. E-bikes are a brilliant alternative travel option, providing citizens with a clean, convenient and cheaper way to travel around the city centre.

“The launch of the e-bike service takes us another step closer towards our goal to become Carbon Neutral by 2035 and provide citizens with a greater range of transport options. Our teams have worked closely with Lime to bring the e-bikes to key locations within the city centre whilst also making sure that they will be properly parked and used safely.”

Corporate insolvencies shoot up by a third to three-year high

Tess Egginton
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Corporate insolvencies shoot up by a third to three-year high

The number of insolvent businesses in England and Wales has risen by over a third to hit a three-year high, with company directors choosing increasingly to shut down their companies voluntarily.

This is according to the Midlands branch of insolvency and restructuring body R3 and follows statistics published this week [18/4/23] by the Insolvency Service which show that corporate insolvencies rose by 37.7% in March to 2,457 compared to February’s total of 1,784, and by 15.9% in comparison with March 2022’s figure of 2,120.

The government statistics also show that corporate insolvencies in England and Wales increased by 145.9% against March 2021’s total of 999, and by 99.3% compared to 1,233 in March 2020.

R3 Midlands committee member Stephen Rome, a director at Thursfields Solicitors in the region, said: “The rise in corporate insolvencies – to the highest levels for more than three years – has been driven by increasing numbers of Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidations, which are also at a three-year high.

“Business owners have spent three years trading through a pandemic and economic uncertainty, and an increasing number are choosing to shut their businesses before that choice is taken away from them by a turbulent trading climate.

“Companies across the region are struggling at the moment. Costs continue to rise at a time when consumers are cutting back on discretionary spending, and when staff are requesting pay rises to cover their bills.

“With the Government’s Energy Bill Relief Scheme finishing at the end of March, many businesses will be facing further increases in costs at a time when they can barely afford them.

“Directors need to be vigilant about the signs of financial distress and seek advice as soon as they spot them. Cashflow issues, payment delays and rising stock are all red flags. The earlier business owners seek help, the more options there are available to address the challenges they face.”

Key milestone for £4.2m High Peak residential development

Tess Egginton
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Key milestone for £4.2m High Peak residential development
Urban Group (York) Ltd is currently progressing infrastructure works as part of the £4.2 million Buxton Road residential development in Chinley, which lies within the High Peak area of Derbyshire. The Urban construction team is delivering 25 homes for not-for-profit housing association, Johnnie Johnson Housing and is set to complete in spring 2024. Once the development’s roads and sewer system has been installed, superstructure works will commence delivering a mix of two and three-bedroomed houses and two-bedroom apartments. The 21 houses and four apartments on the 2.23 acre site were designed by Bowker Sadler Architecture, with funding support secured from Homes England and the local authority. Rick Long, head of Housing (Construction) at Urban Group, said: “Completion of the infrastructure works will be a significant milestone on the development as it means the hardest part of the project, the underground works, are now behind us. With some of the footings already in place, the apartments and houses will soon start to emerge. “There is a dearth of affordable homes in the area, something which Johnnie Johnson Housing is seeking to rectify. We are delighted to be assisting them in bringing forward 25 environmentally efficient homes, particularly to such an exceptionally high quality design which will complement the site’s beautiful surroundings.” Stephanie Mason, head of Development at Johnnie Johnson Housing, said: “We are delighted to be working with Urban Group (York) limited and look forward to starting to see the homes coming out of the ground this spring. “When complete the development will provide over 25 individuals and families with high-quality affordable homes within the High Peaks of Derbyshire.”

New £1.8m Louth HQ for accounting and business adviser completes

Tess Egginton
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New £1.8m Louth HQ for accounting and business adviser completes

Lincoln-based Stirlin Construction, part of Stirlin Group, has completed a new £1.8 million headquarters in Louth, Lincolnshire, for accounting and business adviser Duncan & Toplis. 

Oxley House is located on the Fairfield Industrial Estate on Lincoln Way and brings 10,000 sq ft of premium office space to the town. 

The two-storey building includes open-plan office spaces, meeting rooms, kitchen facilities and a reception area. Sustainable elements of the project include EV charging points and a renewable energy solar system to the roof. 

The ground floor is now the home of the Louth team of Duncan & Toplis and the first floor is occupied by Wilkin Chapman Solicitors. 

After reaching capacity at its previous office, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire-based Duncan & Toplis appointed Stirlin as principal contractor, to develop a contemporary headquarters with sustainability and accessibility at the forefront of its design. 

Howard Griffith, head of construction at Stirlin, said: “Oxley House is a fantastic example of Stirlin Construction delivering the design, and build, of a fit-for-purpose new facility, on time and on budget – and we are thrilled with the result. 

“We worked closely with our long-standing client at Duncan & Toplis to design a premises that would provide a contemporary workspace to accommodate its growing team.  

“This project was a pleasure to deliver alongside local construction delivery partners, and we’re really pleased to see the building complete and now being enjoyed by two flourishing businesses.  

“Thank you to all involved who worked hard to deliver this brilliant facility.” 

Speaking upon completion of the project, Duncan & Toplis Managing Director, Adrian Reynolds said: “The opening of our new premises in Louth is a landmark moment for Duncan & Toplis.  

“The new office is a major investment, underlining our dedication to the region, adding real, lasting value to our communities, by creating a future-fit working environment designed in collaboration with and for our team members.  

“I am absolutely delighted with how the office is looking and we can’t wait to welcome colleagues and clients.”  

Other partners on the project include Lincoln-based CRM advisors Hunt & Sykes, John Roberts Architects and structural engineer Steve Gilman Design, and Newark-based civil engineer William Saunders. 

BEUMER Group UK opens new head office in Leicestershire

Tess Egginton
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BEUMER Group UK opens new head office in Leicestershire
BEUMER Group, a global supplier of intralogistics and materials handling systems and solutions, is opening a new UK head office in Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire. The ribbon cutting event that will officially open the new office in Ivanhoe Business Park, will be attended by the mayor of Ashby, councillor John Deakin. BEUMER Group has had an office near Heathrow Airport for a number of years and is opening the new facility to cement its relationship with the UK and act as a hub from which the company’s skilled sales, engineering and project experts can advise on, manage and maintain its material handling and airport baggage handling systems. The Heathrow premises will remain active as a satellite office. BEUMER Group has served the UK with material handling solutions since the early 1980s. Its most recent projects have been the design and installation of the parcel processing technology for Royal Mail’s two new fully automated parcel super hubs in Daventry and Warrington, a sortation system for the new Evri eco-friendly hub in Barnsley, and the new baggage handling system for London Stansted Airport. David McGarry, CEO, BEUMER Group UK, said: “The opening of the new UK head office reinforces our strong partnership and commitment to our customers in the UK and Ireland, this will enable us to provide an even more seamless service to support them in their continued growth investing in local expertise in the long term.”
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