Yellow card for BBC after Lineker own goal: By Greg Simpson, founder of Press for Attention PR
Greg Simpson, founder of Press for Attention PR, dives into the BBC/Gary Lineker debacle.
Spoiler alert…I’m a big football fan.
You may not be so you will be pleased to learn that this column is not about the ‘beautiful game’, in fact, it all got rather ugly.
Now, I’m also a big fan of Gary Lineker. It has nothing to do with his team affiliations (Leicester, Spurs, Everton, Barcelona, Grampus 8, Walkers – I prefer a McCoy), I just quite like the guy. He is great on camera and somehow still has that boyish charm which enables him to get away with risqué little comments and digs or frankly terrible puns – you’d never see me try that! He’s become a ‘national treasure’ and it pays to handle such treasure with care – whatever a contract may or may not say.
Gary has become a household name on the TV every week flogging football and occasionally bothering us about crisps – even then, it is done with a sense of humour and fun. Now I’m not for one minute suggesting that the BBC lost their sense of humour here, it was a serious point to tackle and nip in the bud but to target Gary ‘early doors’ as the commentators might say was a massive error.
The problem is, to borrow a phrase from footy parlance, they went in TWO-FOOTED. They now accept that their interpretation of their own contracts might have been foggy and that there are, like their star attraction’s hair (and indeed mine), some ‘grey areas’. One might even argue that they couldn’t have foreseen the scale of the media circus they unleashed but when Piers Morgan is agreeing with Lineker (doubtless because it suits his own agenda) you know you have misread the room.
Nevermind the boycott that ensued from the fellow presenters, then the commentators, then the other radio shows, then the other TV shows. It all escalated pretty quickly and has now supposedly been dealt with but not without HUGE damage to the BBC brand and an even BIGGER boost to Lineker’s. Enjoy renegotiating that contract when it comes around folks!
Of course, Gary may want to look elsewhere in future transfer windows but if he does, it would be wise for any brand that wants to sign him to consider their Ts and Cs VERY carefully when it comes to social media usage. That goes for any business, whether you are hiring staff, contractors, freelancers, or ‘celebs’ – what they say and do in public can potentially impact on you.
You need to weigh this very carefully when you ‘get into bed’ with a celeb or align with them in any official capacity. They are, believe it or not, human. That means they are fallible. They may have views that do not sit well with your own as a business and brand or entirely contradict your messaging. So always do your research. Remember, when you align with a celebrity or ‘influencer’ you do so because of their reach.
This goes both ways – it can be positive or negative. Or neutral. Famously, our Gary was never booked once in his career – nope, not ONCE. This was one heck of a yellow card for Auntie BBC.
A former business journalist, Greg Simpson is the author of The Small Business Guide to PR and has been recognised as one of the UK’s top 5 PR consultants, having set up Press for Attention PR in 2008.
He has worked for FTSE 100 firms, charities and start-ups and conducted press conferences with Sir Richard Branson and James Caan. His background ensures a deep understanding of every facet of a successful PR campaign – from a journalist’s, client’s, and consultant’s perspective.
See this column in the April edition of East Midlands Business Link Magazine here.
Cawarden “delighted” to return as a sponsor at the East Midlands Bricks Awards 2023
Cawarden has joined the sponsor line up for the “showcase of the region’s property and construction sector,” the East Midlands Bricks Awards 2023, backing the Excellence in Design category.
Speaking with Business Link, William Crooks, Managing Director at returning sponsor Cawarden, said: “In our role as a specialist contractor, we work closely with clients to facilitate the development of new schemes and regeneration projects throughout the UK, including in Derby, our home city.
“We thrive on meeting complex challenges to pave the way for new structures to rise up and repurposing existing buildings to give them a new lease of life.
“So we are delighted to be back this year as a returning sponsor to the showcase of the region’s property and construction sector, The Bricks. The Excellence in Design award is an exciting opportunity to recognise the developers who have shown originality in design excellence and we’re thrilled to sponsor and judge this category once again.”
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:
“We thrive on meeting complex challenges to pave the way for new structures to rise up and repurposing existing buildings to give them a new lease of life.
“So we are delighted to be back this year as a returning sponsor to the showcase of the region’s property and construction sector, The Bricks. The Excellence in Design award is an exciting opportunity to recognise the developers who have shown originality in design excellence and we’re thrilled to sponsor and judge this category once again.”
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.
Award categories include:
- Most active estate agent
- Commercial development of the year
- Responsible business of the year
- Residential development of the year
- Developer of the year
- Deal of the year
- Architects of the year
- Excellence in design
- Sustainable development of the year
- Contractor of the year
- Overall winner
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:
Nottingham firm gets £9.4m from Government to test cutting edge electricity storage technology
Nottingham-based Cheesecake Energy Ltd has been given £9.4m by the Government to test its FlexiTanker technology for storing electricity using a combination of thermal and compressed air energy storage.
The award will help the company to install pilot units at two sites within a microgrid development in Colchester, as part of £30m invested to put the UK at the forefront of designing and testing innovative technology of the future to modernise our energy system and store renewable energy for later use.
The Government says capturing and storing energy for use when and where it is needed will play an essential role in powering more of Britain from Britain and increasing the country’s energy security. The funding announced today will support these businesses testing and preparing their technologies to be ready for the energy market, encouraging private investment and creating new jobs across the UK.
The nature of renewables means that on windy, sunny days sometimes more renewable electricity is generated than is needed, such as during extended periods of the sun shining or high winds. Energy storage technology will soak up this excess energy for later use, maximising the use of renewable energy, all while boosting energy security and supplying energy to consumers at a lower cost.
Flexibility from technologies such as electricity storage and smart charging of electric vehicles could save up to £10 billion per year by 2050 by reducing the amount of energy and network needed to create a secure, home-grown energy system. Accelerating the uptake of energy storage technology will also mean National Grid can balance the grid by activating storage systems instead of asking certain power generation technologies to switch off, further reducing costs to the taxpayer.
Minister for Energy Security and Net Zero Graham Stuart said: “Storing energy for longer periods is vital to build a robust and secure energy system and ensure that renewable energy is used efficiently. Fortunately the UK has a wealth of pioneering businesses that are making their mark on this industry. We’re backing three UK businesses to make their projects a reality, which will go on to play a role in our country’s energy security.
The winning projects will now go on to fully deploy and demonstrate their technology. Alongside Cheesecake Energy are Scots firms Synchrostor and Invinity Energy (UK).
This announcement follows the £32.8 million funding awarded to 5 UK energy storage projects across the country in November 2022 to create first-of-a-kind prototypes of their technology. A total of £69 million of funding has been awarded so far through this programme, helping to drive innovative technologies such as energy storage.
Travis Perkins completes sale and leaseback of seven properties in the Midlands and Southeast
Travis Perkins, the Northampton-based distributor of building materials, has completed the sale of a portfolio of seven properties for £23 million as part of a sale and leaseback package.
All seven sites have been let back to Travis Perkins plc on 15-year lease agreements.
The purchaser is funds managed by Longmead Capital.
The seven sites are located in locations across the Southeast and Midlands including Folkestone, Leicester, Loughborough, Redditch, Sevenoaks, Tunbridge Wells and Worcester. The majority of the sites have been purpose built for Travis Perkins Group within the last seven years and benefit from being located in established trade and industrial locations.
This transaction is part of Travis Perkins Group’s ongoing strategy to recycle capital from the freehold portfolio to invest in destination branches with an enhanced range of value-added services including Hire and Benchmarx kitchens.
Nick Pinney, Group property director, said: “The sale and leaseback of these high-quality assets allows us to unlock capital to invest in new properties that further enhance our customer proposition. At Travis Perkins Group we continually review our freehold property portfolio to identify value creation opportunities.”
Travis Perkins Group currently has a freehold property portfolio valued at around £1.1bn with the market value of the estate having grown by almost £600m since 2010. During this period, the Group’s active management of the portfolio has also generated net proceeds after reinvestment of over £100m and profits of over £300m.
Loughborough-headquartered Access Group expands in Romania and Ireland
Business management software provider The Access Group has announced the opening of two new offices in Romania and Ireland as it continues its international growth.
Access will welcome hundreds of employees to its latest offices. In Romania, the Group has chosen Timisoara, the European Capital of Culture 2023, to establish its latest Global Operations Centre (GO Centre), allowing the Group to expand its teams there from 375 people today to more than 700 by the end of 2023.
In Ireland, the new state-of-the-art offices in Cork will consolidate staff and support growth and maximise opportunity within the Irish market and wider Europe, bringing together employees to work with more than 500 companies across the country.
The launch of a new GO Centre in Romania and the new office in Ireland marks the latest phase of the Group’s global expansion, following the company striking a £9.2 billion investment deal from shareholders Hg and TA Associates last year. Access saw significant year-on-year pro forma revenue growth of 43% for its fiscal year to the end of June 2022 and a track record of more than 40% revenue growth in each of the previous four fiscal years.
With further expansion into the APAC region planned for later in 2023, the launch of the Access GO Centres will support the transition from a multi-territory business to a scalable global company.
Terry Taylor, Access chief operating officer and leading the GO Centre programme, said: “Our ambition is to create a Global ‘backbone’ of Access GO Centres which will provide international management, access to diverse talent and regional infrastructure to execute the Group’s sustainable growth more easily.
“The centres will deliver excellence in product engineering, customer support, customer success, sales, marketing and operations and will be the physical representations of our ambition, brand and culture.
“At each location, we are creating world-class facilities for our staff and customers. Each new office location has been carefully considered and aligned with local talent pools to make deep connections with local universities and the wider community.
“The GO Centres are also designed to support our early careers programme and develop the skills of our young people. They will offer specialist training and a clear progression path for various roles, including technical, support, sales, and people management.
“Each centre will have its own executive management team, managing director, recruitment provision and multi-lingual team. Our ambition is to develop an awe-inspiring proposition for our employees which will support their careers and enhance their skillsets through early years programmes, employee success academy programmes and leadership programmes.”
Chris Bayne, CEO of The Access Group, said: “Over the next four years, the Access GO Centres will support 40% of our global staffing needs. Having these strategically located offices keeps momentum growing. It gives our teams a workplace they can genuinely be proud of while positioning the business in an excellent place to execute strategic growth and drive acquisitions across multiple regions, languages and time zones.
“These state-of-the-art offices inspire our people to strive for excellence every day and are reflective of the innovative solutions and high quality we aim to deliver to our thousands of dedicated customers around the world.
“We will also be working alongside The Access Foundation in each of the new sites to support local community projects and offer financial aid to the charities that mean the most to our employees.”
Senior promotions for homegrown talent at V Formation
East Midlands marketing and PR agency, V Formation, has promoted two members of its team. Amy Cooper is promoted to account manager: digital marketing and Lucy Wharton to account manager: PR.
Homegrown talent, both Amy and Lucy joined V Formation as interns on the Nottingham Internship Scheme after completing English degrees at the University of Nottingham in 2017 and 2018 respectively.
Amy uses her extensive digital marketing expertise, from Google Ads to SEO, to implement tactical marketing strategies for V Formation’s clients. She is responsible for designing marketing collateral and ensuring brand consistency across all platforms and also delivers digital training to the V Formation team.
As account manager, Amy will continue to manage client accounts and lead creative campaigns for clients, specialising in the life sciences sector.
Amy says: “I am incredibly grateful for the experiences and skills I have gained whilst working at V Formation and am eager to develop them further as account manager. I have enjoyed working with such a varied client base, from life sciences businesses to technology companies, and being able to apply my skills to ensure our clients are at the very top of their game.”
With a strong writing background, Lucy is responsible for delivering specialist, proactive and tactical PR services and support, securing earned media coverage, and writing articles for a wide range of audiences and platforms. In her new role as account manager, she will lead client PR campaigns and manage and support junior members of the PR team.
Lucy says: “I am delighted to be progressing my career at V Formation and working with our growing roster of ambitious clients to communicate their competitive edge. I am particularly looking forward to working with junior members of team to help develop their PR skills and expertise. I would like to thank V’s directors Hilary and Sue for their continual support, and look forward to the challenges and opportunities this new role will bring.”
Speaking about the promotions, V Formation director Sue Carr, says: “It has been fantastic working with Amy and Lucy and supporting their progression from interns to account managers; we couldn’t be prouder of their achievements. They are both extremely talented and hardworking, and bring immense value to both our team and our clients. At V Formation, we are committed to investing in and encouraging the development of our team and look forward to seeing Amy and Lucy flourish in their new roles.”
Free support worth £1,800 for export businesses through LLEP pilot with Santander
The LLEP Business Gateway Growth Hub has joined forces with Santander to offer an exclusive package of products to local export businesses.
Exporters in Leicester and Leicestershire will gain free access to Santander Navigator, a digital portal which supports the needs of export businesses, from startups through to seasoned exporters managing complex shipments.
Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership (LLEP) is the first LEP in the UK to offer the access to Santander Navigator.
It will enable local companies to explore opportunities in new markets around the world, find potential export partners, streamline customs processes, and overcome bureaucracy and regulatory challenges.
It also details steps needed to get products to international markets, offers insights and training for employees and new exporters, and sets out various shipping options and discounts.
Access to the portal typically costs £1,800 annually, but the Growth Hub pilot scheme allows businesses to use it for free for 12 months from their sign-up date.
It means dedicated exporting support for local firms operating in sectors including food and drink, manufacturing, retail, life sciences, and tech.
Sonia Baigent, LLEP Board Member and Chair of the LLEP Business Board, said: “Exporting is one of the key challenges facing local businesses, which is why we were keen to join forces with Santander and offer this opportunity.
“It means local businesses will have access to events and training, support with logistics, a directory of providers, and a community of others in similar situations.
“We hope that this will facilitate collaboration needed to help locally-based businesses boost their exporting offer and help them grow into international markets.”
The LLEP’s partnership with Santander means all Leicester and Leicestershire businesses can now apply for Santander Navigator’s Explore and Prepare tiers at no cost.
The Santander Navigator platform allows businesses to:
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Explore international markets that offer the best growth prospects
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Learn new skills and discover global opportunities
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Access the latest country and sector insights
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Optimise logistics and shipping
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Learn from others through a community of like-minded people and market experts
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Access Santander’s network of solution providers.
LLEP-referred businesses will also qualify for the third tier Santander Navigator Grow at a discounted rate. Companies do not need to be Santander customers to qualify for the offer.
The LLEP’s most recent Business Tracker survey showed that more than 50% of respondents involved in exporting were experiencing challenges.
The Santander partnership comes soon after the LLEP agreed a similar offer with Microsoft to help SMEs do more with digital products to improve productivity within their businesses.
Ideagen colleagues raise £5,000 for Türkiye and Syria
Workers at Ideagen, the Nottingham-headquartered global tech business, have rallied to support the people of Türkiye (Turkey) and Syria, devastated by recent earthquakes.
In just a few weeks Ideagen employees in Nottingham and around the world, raised £2,410. The tech company then more than doubled that, bringing the total to £5,000.
Claire Knee, Ideagen global community lead, said: “Together, our people and the company wanted to help. We know that thousands of people have lost their lives, hundreds of buildings have been destroyed and survivors are facing awful conditions. They are in desperate need of emergency aid – the scale of the tragedy is unfathomable to most of us.”
The £5,000 raised will go direct to the Red Cross and The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) who are coordinating aid efforts for 15 charities, ensuring it gets directly to where it is most needed.
Claire continued: “Community is one of Ideagen’s core values, so matching the generosity of our employees was something the business really wanted to do.”
Double promotion at IMA Architects
IMA Architects (IMA), an architectural firm based on Lutterworth Road in Blaby, Leicester, has made two promotions. Joe Travers has been promoted to associate director and Jack Mellor has been promoted to associate.
Joe and Jack have both been with IMA since 2011 and have amassed considerable experience across a range of UK wide construction projects during this time.
Joe has increasingly specialised within the commercial and industrial sectors and has worked on a number of high-profile projects including the Marks and Spencer Distribution Centre in Castle Donnington, the Co-op Distribution centre in Sutton and Ashfield and the Redrow Homes East Midlands Office, also in Castle Donnington. In 2015, he achieved Chartered Membership status with the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists and was promoted to associate in 2017.
Working on projects for companies including Clowes Developments, Jessup Partnerships, Vaillant UK, Modus Partnerships, Avant Homes and Venture Properties amongst others, Jack has worked on schemes across the residential, commercial and industrial sectors in the Midlands. He achieved associate status with the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists in 2016.
Commenting on the promotions Anthony Day, IMA Managing Director, said: “Both Jack and Joe have demonstrated continued excellence across our client projects in the 12 years they have been with IMA. They have both more than earned their promotions.
“They have built excellent working relationships with our clients which leads to the successful delivery of schemes, and this has led to the continued growth of our business over recent years.”
Joe Travers said: “It is an exciting time for IMA and I am looking forward to working with Jack and us both playing an important role in the future development of the company.”
Jack Mellor said: “I am delighted to have been promoted and that both Joe and I have the continued support of the IMA directors who have all been instrumental in our career development over the past 12 years. I am looking forward to getting started in my new role.”
£1m fine for concrete firm after “one in a million” son died at work
A concrete manufacturer has been fined £1m after a 24-year-old man died at a site in Nottingham.
Stewart Ramsay, from Mansfield, was working for Creagh Concrete Products Ltd (CCP) at its Thurgarton Lane site in Hoveringham when he suffered fatal head injuries on 15 March 2017.
Mr Ramsay, known as ‘Stew’, was trying to fix a problem that happened as he and colleagues were using a metal grab to unload Spantherm, a concrete building product, from some trailers. The metal grab shouldn’t have been in use.
Mr Ramsay’s head became trapped in the jaws of the grab after a rope connected to the locking lever snapped.
Even though the rope was tied in a double-knot, the locking mechanism released the jaws of the grab as Mr Ramsay pulled on it, causing fatal injuries.
Stew’s mother Carol Hansford described him as a “one in a million son.”
“I know a lot of people say that, but he really was out of this world,” she said. “He was an amazing brother, grandson, uncle and nephew.
“The hundreds of friends that came to the crematorium showed how well liked and appreciated he was – it was unbelievable. He was just loving, caring, thoughtful and very funny.”
CCP were sentenced at Nottinghamshire Crown Court on 5 April, after they admitted failing to ensure its employees carried out lifting operations safely and without training and information being in place.
“He was such a hardworking person,” Carol added. “Not only did he work at Creagh, he was also working as a doorman on weekends. I’ll never forgot that day as long as I live. I got a knock at the door as his friends had come to tell me – I collapsed.
“It still doesn’t seem real – it’s like you’re watching a film and not at the end. All he did was go to work. Things like this shouldn’t happen – it destroys families forever. Nobody should have to go through what we have done these past six years.”
An investigation by the Health and Safety executive (HSE) showed that CCP did not have a safe system of work for the use of the grab and had not carried out a risk assessment to identify risks for its use.
Both the grab and a fork lift truck being used at the time were in poor condition. Neither should have been in service at the time of the incident. CCP had failed to ensure that these pieces of work equipment had been maintained in an efficient state, efficient working order or in good repair.
Creagh Concrete Products Limited of Hoveringham Nottinghamshire pleaded guilty of breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 in that it failed to ensure, so far as was reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all its employees. The company was fined £1,000,000 and ordered to pay costs of £47,521.08.
Speaking after the hearing HSE Inspector Mr Amandip Dhanda said: ”This tragic incident led to the avoidable death of a young man.
“Stewart’s death could easily have been prevented if his employer had acted to identify and manage the risks involved, and to put a safe system of work in place.
“The work equipment being used at the time of the incident should not have been in use, and the employer would have known this had they effectively followed their own health and safety systems.”
