SME housebuilder secures £4.7m loan for maiden residential scheme
OakNorth Bank has provided a £4.7m loan to newly launched SME housebuilder, honey, to support its maiden residential scheme.
Founded in October 2022 by former Avant Homes CEO, Mark Mitchell, honey has initially agreed to acquire two new developments in South Yorkshire and Derbyshire, set to deliver over 141 homes across both sites.
Subject to planning, the capital from OakNorth Bank will be used to support honey’s Derbyshire development, consisting of 50 two, three and four-bedroomed homes. Located in the rural village of South Normanton, the site will also include five affordable units and will feature fourteen separate house types for buyers to choose from.
Mark Mitchell, founder & CEO of honey, said: “By launching honey, I can now start realising my vision for building new homes that will deliver a combination of style, substance and sustainability that will be unmatched at its price point.
“From our market research, we understand there is strong demand for high quality and high specification new homes in South Normanton, so, subject to planning, we will be very pleased to be able to provide exactly that for the Bolsover local community.
“Working closely with Damien and the team at OakNorth, we instantly realised their passion and ability to support the SME housebuilding community and they were highly transparent and communicative throughout the entire lending process.”
Damien Hughes, senior director of property finance at OakNorth Bank, added: “Since honey’s launch only five months ago, Mark has already overseen the opening of its new Sheffield HQ, whilst also bringing together highly experienced industry talent that looks set to create a refreshing approach to housebuilding.
“Located a short drive away from the popular towns and cities of Chesterfield, Derby, and Nottingham, the South Normanton scheme is perfectly placed as a commuter location, making it ideal for young and growing families. SME housebuilders continue to play a vital role in local communities and economies, which is why we’re so thrilled to be able to support honey’s first-ever residential scheme.”
New glamping plans unveiled for Nottinghamshire tourist destination
A Nottinghamshire tourist destination is to set to boost its visitor offer with 10 new glamping pods as part of a major £500,000 investment by the county council.
The self-contained luxury cabins will be installed in the grounds of Holme Pierrepont Country Park, home of the National Water Sports Centre, and operational in time for spring 2024.
They will each be capable of sleeping up to six people as well as boasting their own toilet and shower facilities.
Holme Pierrepont – operated by Serco Leisure Operating Limited, under a long-term contract to the county council – hosts events at the water sports centre which attract spectators and competitors from far and wide who stay overnight onsite or elsewhere locally.
The tourist-boosting scheme will cost £684,240 in total and includes a one-off £500,000 investment by the county council to cover the costs of the units themselves.
The remainder of the project costs will be funded by the county council’s operating partner, Serco Leisure. In return for the county council’s investment, there will be a reduction in the annual revenue fee paid to Serco to manage the country park.
It is anticipated the S-Pod Glamping Modules will encourage more people to stay longer at Holme Pierrepont and use it as a base to explore further afield in Robin Hood Country – ultimately supporting the recently refreshed Nottinghamshire Visitor Economy Strategy.
Councillor John Cottee, the county council’s Cabinet Member for Communities, said: “Holme Pierrepont Country Park is a real jewel in the crown and draws thousands of visitors each year, as well as spectators and competitors who attend the many events which take place at the National Water Sport Centre.
“By making this significant investment, we are once again reaffirming our commitment to supporting this much-loved attraction and delivering on our pledge to make our wonderful county an even better place for people to visit.
“High quality accommodation like this will help visitors to enjoy even longer stays in the county and allows them to explore what Nottinghamshire has to offer as a tourist destination.
“I cannot wait to see the pods in use and hearing about visitors enjoying their overnight stays in this beautiful part of the world.”
Accommodation at the country park, near Radcliffe-on-Trent, currently comprises of a campsite, a selection of hotel-style rooms in the Lakeside Building and a self-contained suite which sleeps up to 11 people at the Elms Cottage.
The campsite, which offers tent and caravan pitches alongside several ‘camping arch’ cabins with shared toilet and shower facilities, has benefitted from the growing ‘staycation’ market following the Covid-19 pandemic and it is hoped the introduction of the pods will build on its popularity.
Councillor Keith Girling, Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Asset Management, said: “This significant investment solidifies the county council’s vision to attract more visitors to our county, especially at a time when the sector continues to recover from the devasting impact wreaked by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“More visitors coming to Nottinghamshire helps to attract more investment, stimulates growth, and provides more employment opportunities for local people.
“We’re committed to boosting our visitor economy, breathing new life into it and moving on from the challenges it faced during the bleak days of the pandemic.
“Therefore, investment schemes like this at Holme Pierrepont are vital in helping us to meet our pledge as part of our 10-year Nottinghamshire plan to strengthen businesses, create better-quality jobs and make our county somewhere people love to live, work and visit.”
Jack Garner, contract manager at Serco, added: “When launched, our new accommodation S-Pods will provide campers with a luxury holidaying experience. As well as self-contained toilet and shower facilities, the pods also boast their own hot tubs.
“We’re introducing these pods as there is a demand from our customers for a higher end camping option. They’re going to be perfect for long weekends, mini breaks and family holidays.
“When we launch the pods in spring 2024, we’re expecting demand to be high from people looking for an outdoor holiday but with indoor luxuries. We’re delighted to be supporting Nottinghamshire County Council with their ambitions to attract more visitors to this beautiful part of Nottinghamshire.”
Deal agreed for sale of RAF Scampton to West Lindsey District Council
West Lindsey District Council has reached a deal to buy the former RAF Scampton site from the Ministry of Defence and transfer ownership to its new development partner Scampton Holdings Limited.
Under a Development Agreement they will regenerate the 800-acre historic site, following a successful public procurement exercise. The deal, which promises more than £300 million of investment into the regeneration of the site, will result in development of aviation heritage, business, aerospace, space and aviation technology and education opportunities.
Since the closure of the base was announced in 2018, the Council has worked extensively with the MoD, local stakeholders and the community to ensure the best possible outcome for the RAF Scampton site and its future positioning within the wider district and county economy.
At the heart of the proposal is the continued use of Scampton as an operational airfield, which will assist in enabling investment across four key business areas:
- Commercial activity, aerospace and aviation;
- Heritage;
- Hospitality and tourism; and
- Education and research.
- The protection, promotion and enhancement of existing heritage assets at Scampton;
- Supporting and improving existing community facilities;
- Maintaining Scampton as an operational and licensed airfield. Including retention of the restricted airspace status;
- Ensuring there is a ‘whole site’ approach towards being carbon neutral;
- Maintaining the site as one whole entity or campus; and
- Developing a strong tourism and hospitality offering which is additive to the existing visitor economy for Lincolnshire.
CBI director-general steps aside following investigations into workplace conduct
CBI director-general, Tony Danker, has stepped aside from his role as investigations get underway into complaints over his workplace conduct.
According to reports in The Guardian, the decision to hire a law firm to investigate Danker comes after a formal complaint made in January from a female CBI employee, who alleged he made unwanted contact with her and considered it to be sexual harassment. It also follows further alleged informal reports of concerns over his behaviour.
The CBI has confirmed that in January this year it was made aware of an allegation regarding the workplace conduct of the director-general. The business organisation said: “The allegation was investigated thoroughly and was dealt with comprehensively, in line with CBI procedure. The CBI investigation determined that the issue did not require escalation to a disciplinary process.”
On March 2 the CBI was made aware of new reports regarding Danker’s workplace conduct: “We have now taken steps to initiate an independent investigation into these new matters,” the CBI said. “Tony Danker asked to step aside from his role as director-general of the CBI while the independent investigation into these matters takes place.”
The organisation added: “The CBI takes all matters of workplace conduct extremely seriously but it is important to stress that until this investigation is complete, any new allegations remain unproven and it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.”
Boost for Erewash manufacturing businesses
Erewash manufacturing businesses are being encouraged to apply for Erewash Borough Council’s new Research and Development (R&D) Grant Scheme, starting later this month.
The scheme is one of a number of projects being rolled out by the council over the next two years following a successful bid to the Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund.
The new R&D grants are designed to support local small and medium enterprises in developing and piloting new products or services to help improve their businesses. Erewash based businesses are able to apply for grants from £5,000 up to £20,000 and are required to provide 33% of match-funding for the projects.
Councillor Michael Powell, Lead Member for Regeneration and Planning, says: “This is an excellent opportunity for local businesses to invest in the cutting-edge research and development needed to support UK manufacturing innovation, underpin sustainable economic growth and help to create jobs in Erewash.”
ValiRx bolsters new lab services company with trio of senior appointments
ValiRx PLC, a life science company focused on early-stage cancer therapeutics and women’s health, has made three senior appointments to its newly incorporated subsidiary company, Inaphaea BioLabs (Inaphaea).
Headquartered in MediCity Nottingham, Inaphaea will offer a wide range of pre-clinical and drug discovery testing services to academic, biotech and pharmaceutical researchers, forming the foundation of ValiRx’s tCRO™ (translational Contract Research Organisation) strategy.
In response to the company’s growth, ValiRx has appointed Dr Andrew Carnegie as Head of Strategic Commercial Development. With more than 17 years’ business and commercial development experience in the biotech and life sciences sectors, Andrew will lead Inaphaea’s growth strategy and secure third-party business. He will also ensure the tCRO™ provides testing services that help to achieve improved translation of drug candidates and are of greatest relevance to prospective customers.
Also joining the Inaphaea team is Melissa Barr as Lead Scientist, and Dr Dominic Lowen as Senior Scientist.
Dr Suzy Dilly, ValiRx CEO, said: “After a great deal of hard work by the entire ValiRx team, I am really pleased to announce the official formation of Inaphaea BioLabs, which represents the first step of our longer-term ambition to create a unique tCRO service offering for early-stage drug development. Over the next few weeks, we intend to transfer our own projects into the Inaphaea laboratories to continue their progress.
“I’m also delighted that Andrew has come on board on a permanent basis to support the initiation of service provision through Inaphaea, having supported us through our commercial advisory board over the past year. With the appointments of experienced scientists Dominic and Melissa, we are already well on our way to building a first-class scientific team, and the operational team will continue to grow as activity increases.”
Dr Andrew Carnegie said: “I’m really excited to have the opportunity to play a major role in launching and growing a much-needed service in translational research. After working for many years in commercial development in the biotech industry, I have a good appreciation of the challenges for drug developers and fully support the ambition of Inaphaea to address a clear gap in the market.”
Inaphaea’s laboratories are targeted to be fully operational within Q2 2023, with initial services focusing on cancer cell activity; allowing the study of drug candidates in a range of cell lines to elucidate activity, toxicity, and mechanism of action of test molecules.
Dr Suzy Dilly added: “ValiRx plans to add further techniques and novel data generation technologies to the testing portfolio, together with data analysis and application expertise, with the aim of providing deep biological understanding of drug candidates and help design effective clinical trials.
“Such new capabilities will be fully validated on in-house projects, before offering to external users. In due course, Inaphaea intends to build on ValiRx’s expertise in building specific tests that support the development of treatments in the area of women’s health.”
IMA Architects achieve global BIM certification
Leicestershire-based architects, IMA Architects, has achieved the leading global certification within a specialist area of architecture and construction, Building Information Modelling (BIM).
The company has achieved ISO 19650, the most significant global information management and BIM certification available today. This has been secured following an in-depth assessment of IMA’s knowledge of BIM, its management and IT systems, and how the use of BIM has been implemented successfully on client projects.
ISO 19650 is an international standard that regulates the management of information across the full lifecycle of a building using BIM. It defines collaborative processes for the effective management of information throughout the delivery and operational phase of the building. Significantly, ISO 19650 is recognised in both the UK and USA.
Anthony Day, Managing Director of IMA Architects, explains: “Building Information Modelling has been developing for several years and is now essential for the successful delivery of construction projects. It enables collaborative working across all disciplines involved in the design, construction, maintenance, and use of buildings, meaning that all parties can share information simultaneously and in one place, helping to drive efficiencies across the project, ensuring it is delivered on time.
“BIM creates a digital intelligent model of the building (or buildings) which is adapted across its lifecycle, from planning and design through to construction. Data is gathered continuously, meaning that proposed changes can be implemented and trialled within the BIM model first prior to implementation in the real world.”
IMA has successfully implemented BIM technology across a range of client projects, including the recent office development at Ednaston Business Park for Clowes Developments.
Closely linked to BIM is the concept of the ‘Digital Twin’ and IMA has invested significantly over the past 12 months to create what is believed to be a UK first – a working prototype of the technology known as the ‘IMA Digital Pods’.
With a Digital Twin, sensors are built into the building that feed data back to the digital model, showing how even the slightest change could impact performance in the real world. This grants the building owner or manager access to real-time data with an in-depth analysis of a building’s performance. Commands can also be sent from the Digital Model to activate or deactivate devices in the Pods as well as monitoring performance.
Anthony Day adds: “We aim to be one of the UK’s leading architects specialising in the use of BIM and Digital Construction techniques due to the benefits they can deliver for our clients, and also the environment.
“Having accurate information on a building’s performance can make huge savings for a business in terms of energy use and reducing emissions, which is becoming a significant focus within the industry. To now have our expertise accredited with ISO 19650 is hugely satisfying for the team.”
National Careers Week 2023: Q&A with Demolition Operative, Jamie
Cawarden has proven it can inspire, recruit and retain new talent in the demolition sector despite a growing skills shortage. In addition to traditional recruitment methods, Cawarden has been working with the YMCA Derbyshire to offer young people a career opportunity in this exciting field.
So, to celebrate and kick off National Careers Week 2023, Cawarden has put the spotlight on 22-year-old Demolition Operative, Jamie.
When Cawarden first met Jamie, he was living in YMCA accommodation in Derby. Jamie had a tough start in life but he didn’t want to let that hold him back and was keen to find work and gain his independence.
Since being offered an opportunity to join the Cawarden family, he has never looked back.
By sharing stories like Jamie’s, Cawarden hopes to inspire others to join the demolition industry and follow in his footsteps.
Below, read Jamie’s Q&A and watch his inspiring video.
Q: How did you first come across Cawarden?
A: I’d heard of Cawarden before but it was when Managing Director William Crooks came to campus to deliver a talk for us, I really became interested in demolition and was keen to get my foot on the ladder.
Q: What attracted you to the company?
A: Cawarden was offering a chance to join the company despite having no previous experience or training. All they were asking in return is that I was willing to be trained and was prepared to work hard.
Q: What training did you receive from Cawarden?
A: I initially completed my CCS, Green CCDO (Certificate of Competence for Demolition Operatives) and Asbestos Awareness certificates. I put a lot of hours into the revision.
Q: What’s it like to be a Demolition Operative?
A: I love working in demolition and really enjoy the variety of work that we get involved in. We can be stripping out one day and recycling the next. I first started work on a local site in Derby, I also worked away for a bit in Luton and now I’m working on a new job in Derby.
Q: What don’t you enjoy so much?
A: It can be tough working outside when it’s dark and cold!
Q: What were you doing before Cawarden?
A: YMCA helped me get onto a course at college doing Land-based studies which I really enjoyed and achieved distinctions in. As it turned out, there were lots of transferable skills to demolition.
Q: How has Cawarden supported you since you joined?
A: My work family has been so supportive and we can have a laugh. We work together on the same jobs so you get to know each other really well – especially working away. We stay in the same accommodation and have dinner together in the evenings. I’ve also been really lucky to have Mick and Johnny as my mentors. I’ve learnt so much from them through on-the-job training and job shadowing. They’ve been with the company a long time so I’m learning skills for life from the best!
Q: What are you proud of?
A: I’m proud of myself for coming this far. I’m proud of the awards I’ve won through YMCA and I’m proud to work with my team to keep standards high and deliver the jobs.
Q: Have you got any ambitions for the future?
A: I’d really like to keep progressing through the ranks and I’ve spoken to my Site Manager about doing some telehandler training. One day I’d like to be a 360-machine driver. I really love watching the machines working!
Q: Over the past say two years, what has changed most?
A: My success with Cawarden has allowed me to gain independence. My confidence and communication skills have really improved too and I’m much happier knowing I’ve got a great career path ahead of me.
Q: For anyone out there in a similar position to where you were, what would be your top piece of advice?
A: Take any opportunity, work hard, and show your commitment. If I hadn’t attended the demolition talk that day, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I’m grateful to YMCA and Cawarden.
Q: You represented Cawarden at a YMCA employment event recently, how was that?
A: It was great to be asked and to be on the other side of the table talking about my journey from my perspective.
Duvalay snaps up Nursery Connections in pre-pack administration deal
Duvalay, a key player within the sleep market, has purchased Northamptonshire-based Nursery Connections in a pre-pack administration deal.
The deal includes West Yorkshire’s Duvalay securing the brand rights and physical assets such as machinery and stock, as well as securing the jobs of the current 35 employees.
Having traded for over 20 years, Nursery Connections has a reputation as a leading company within the cot mattress business, supplying major retailers with a broad product offering of cot mattresses and changing mats.
Duvalay plans to keep Nursery Connections’ brand and name, while adding further expertise and innovation to its product portfolio. After adding Nursery Connections to its portfolio, Duvalay will employ over 120 people and becomes one the largest manufacturers in the sector.
Alan Colleran, Managing Director at Duvalay, says: “Duvalay has a reputation of being a disruptor in the sleep market and acquiring Nursery Connections allows us to widen our remit into the baby sector but with the added benefit of a company that is well established within the industry already.
“As a company in a strong financial position, we’re able to support Nursery Connections in its turnaround period, as well bringing in individuals experienced in several business disciplines to help with the restructure.
“It was also important to us that we didn’t just purchase the trading name and IPs, but also secured the job of 35 individuals at a time of a cost-of-living crisis. In order to do this, we will be keeping on the site in Northampton which is all set up and can keep trading as it currently stands.”
Duvalay, which has been trading for over 20 years, shot to fame after appearing on Dragons’ Den and securing investment from Hilary Devey.
Former Start Fresh unit let in Nottingham
The former Start Fresh site at 32 Miall Street, situated just off Ilkeston Road, has been let to BM Wholesale Ltd, who have been trading for over 10-years and are looking to expand their business within Nottingham.
The unit comprises 4,358 sq ft of warehouse accommodation with internal office, ancillary and storage space available on the first floor.
Amy Howard, surveyor at FHP Property Consultants, said: “It was a great result for both parties on this unit, BM Wholesale Ltd have been in the market for a number of weeks now and we took them around several properties with 32 Miall Street being the most suited to them.
“As the unit was fit out to a former cold store occupier, we were aware that it was entering into a niche market and only attractive to a certain type of occupier. That being said, there were a number of enquiries made on this unit, all being cold store occupiers and we conducted several successful viewings on the site.
“I am pleased with the outcome of this for our client and I wish all the best to the ingoing tenant.”
