East Midlands furniture manufacturer wins its largest school fitout contract
Mansfield-based Deanestor has been awarded its largest contract to date in the education sector – a £5m project for BAM to manufacture furniture and fit out the two high schools on the new Dunfermline Learning Campus.
The Deanestor team will supply and install more than 42,000 items of loose and fitted furniture for St Columba’s RC High School and Woodmill High School – that are relocating to Dunfermline Learning Campus in Fife.
Due to open by Summer 2024, the high school project is part of a wider learning campus development, which also sees the construction of the new Fife College. The schools project is being delivered by the Council’s partner, hub East Central Scotland.
William Tonkinson, Managing Director of Deanestor, said: “This is our largest school fitout contract to date and we are even more thrilled that it is local to our Scottish offices in Dunfermline. We are pleased to be playing our part in such a visionary and ambitious education scheme which will provide world class facilities for students, the local community, and businesses across the region.”
Deanestor will manufacture a range of education furniture for the new high schools, including teaching walls, storage solutions, worktops, shelving, and kitchen units. Its team will fit out over 500 rooms across both schools and the shared facilities.
The interior design theme is based around the principles of openness, connectivity, and inclusiveness. The fitted furniture and joinery from Deanestor will be finished in white and different tones of grey to reflect the history of Fife and its industrial heritage.
Frontier Software named as supplier on G-Cloud 13 Framework
Frontier Software have been named as a supplier on Crown Commercial Service’s G-Cloud 13 Framework, Lot 2 Cloud software, for applications that are accessed over the internet or private network and hosted in the cloud.
With forty years of experience, Frontier Software is a proven supplier of cloud software delivering functionally rich, highly configurable, and truly integrated HR & Payroll solutions.
The company has offices across the UK, including one in Nottingham providing outsourced payroll services to a wide range of organisations across all market sectors.
For more information visit www.frontiersoftware.com.
The company has offices across the UK, including one in Nottingham providing outsourced payroll services to a wide range of organisations across all market sectors.
For more information visit www.frontiersoftware.com. Friends and family combine as Northants’ “flagship” franchise acquired by new owner
A family-run Northamptonshire-based domestic cleaning business is celebrating a milestone moment for the company as their “flagship” territory, in their hometown, has been acquired by a new franchisee.
Time For You Cleaning, which has over 150 franchisees across the UK, began in the town with one small territory, run by the co-founder, Freddie Rayner, in 2001.
It was then successfully developed as a pilot for the growing franchise and has continued to grow as a business in its own right. Now, the Northampton franchise will be taken forward by a new owner, with Mia Garrod taking the helm.
Speaking about her new business, Mia said: “As a friend I’ve been pretty close to the family for many years, in fact I’ve known Sam’s (current MD Sam Stawarz) wife Emma since I was 3 and my husband James has been friends with Sam for years too.
“James runs his own firm and we’ve often discussed business opportunities and naturally, one of which has been looking at franchises with Time For You because Emma has run hers for 13 years with great success.
“However, until now, the timing hasn’t been right because I’ve been focused on bringing up the kids and even with the work/life balance which is great in this business, the location hasn’t quite been right in terms of available franchises.
“My youngest is now 7 though so the time was right and then the ‘home’ franchise became available which was pretty incredible really and I just had to take the opportunity.”
Curiously, Time For You franchisees like Emma don’t actually do any cleaning, instead, they access a business model that attracts the cleaners, whilst they focus on running a profitable franchise.
Meanwhile, the Team at Time For You’s Northamptonshire franchise headquarters help to drive demand from the local customer base via marketing and administrative support.
It was set up by husband and wife team Freddie and Ruth Rayner in 2001 and has grown sustainably ever since, with global expansion now on the cards since son Sam Stawarz took over as Managing Director in the summer of 2022.
Speaking about Mia taking over the franchise, Sam comments: “I’m delighted for Mia. To be honest, the Northampton franchise is the big one for us as a family business because this is where it all started. I was speaking to Freddie about it when the franchise was looking like it might become available for a new owner last year and it is a really personal thing for him and for all of us.
“We know that it is in safe hands with Mia and we will be right behind her, just as we are with our 150+ franchisees across the UK. Of course, Mia has known our business model, from the outside at least, for many years, so we’re confident that she will have a flying start to her business in the new year.”
As for Mia, her focus is now on balancing marketing her cleaning services with attracting and recruiting hard-working cleaners to look after her clientele.
“There is plenty of work out there for cleaners who are professional and reliable because now more than ever, people value their time very highly. That’s what we’re actually giving our clients, time. Time to do whatever they want to do that isn’t cleaning!
“There are great earning opportunities for our cleaners too. They can work as little or as much as they want with us and we will sort out all of the logistics and paperwork. So if anyone is looking for a new career in the new year or just to supplement their current earnings, they know where I am.”
New solar farm proposed for North Kesteven, powering over 180,000 homes
EDF Renewables UK and Luminous Energy have announced plans and a public consultation for Springwell Solar Farm, a proposed new solar farm with battery storage located between Lincoln and Sleaford in Lincolnshire.
Springwell Solar Farm would provide enough clean energy to power over 180,000 homes every year – that’s the equivalent of around half of all the homes in Lincolnshire.
Consultation on early plans for Springwell Solar Farm will run for six weeks from Tuesday 24 January. Feedback from local communities will help shape the plans for Springwell and identify potential benefits that it could support in the local area.
EDF Renewables UK’s head of Solar, Ben Fawcett said: “At EDF Renewables UK, we’re passionate about creating a future where clean energy powers our lives. Springwell Solar Farm would produce much needed low-carbon electricity here in the UK, helping to power thousands of homes and businesses every year.
“We are currently at a very early stage on Springwell, with local views vital to helping us develop our plans. We encourage everyone to get involved in the upcoming consultation to find out more about Springwell and let us know their thoughts.”
Jolyon Orchard, CEO of Luminous Energy, said: “Our company was established to make a meaningful contribution towards mitigating climate change and we now have numerous renewable energy projects in development, under construction or operating across four continents. When we initiated this project, we recognised it provided a real opportunity to help the UK transition to net-zero.
“We are looking forward to working with EDF Renewables UK and the local community to create a scheme that delivers affordable, clean energy.”
As part of the consultation, members of the public are invited to a series of public exhibitions to meet the team behind Springwell and share feedback. The exhibitions will take place at the following dates and locations: Tuesday 31 January – Blankney Old School House (2pm –7pm); Wednesday 01 February – Scopwick Village Hall (2pm – 7pm).
Law firm makes third Yorkshire takeover
Regional law firm Sills & Betteridge LLP continues its expansion drive with its acquisition of Sheffield city centre practice Acclaimed Family Law. Acclaimed Family Law who will continue to operate under their own well-established name from Cathedral Chambers, Campo Lane in the city are a multi-award winning niche firm dealing exclusively with private divorce and family law matters. They will now make available to their clients the full range of personal and commercial services provided by Sills & Betteridge. Sills & Betteridge Chief Executive Martyn Hall explained their decision to join forces. “This move is a strong strategic fit both for our existing operations in Yorkshire and our ongoing investment aspirations. Michelle and her team are dynamic and enterprising and share our service-first culture. We are delighted to have them onboard and look forward to building on the strong foundations both firms already have in the area.” AFL director Michelle Cooper is delighted with the merger. “We will continue to provide the exceptional service we are renowned for as Acclaimed Family Law under the Sills & Betteridge umbrella so our clients will benefit from direct access to other departments including commercial, probate and conveyancing to provide them with an enhanced service from beginning to end which other stand alone family teams cannot offer.” The collaboration sees the firm’s Yorkshire network grow to 5 offices since it first opened a small family practice in Doncaster in 2018. It later acquired South Yorkshire full-service firm Bridge Sanderson Munro and Rawson Family Law also of Sheffield, and in 2022 opened the doors to its first office in the East Riding of Yorkshire, in Howden near Hull.
The Nottingham appoints new chief financial officer
The Nottingham Building Society has named Anthony Murphy as its new CFO, subject to regulatory approval. Anthony is set to join the Society in March 2023 to lead the Finance team and continue the Society’s strong financial performance and drive strategic growth.
Anthony joins the Society from digital challenger bank, Tandem, where he had been CFO since January 2019. During his time at Tandem, Anthony played a pivotal role as it navigated through a strategic review, migrated to a new core banking platform, concluded a number of capital raises, merger and acquisitions activities and significantly grew its deposit offering, all of which culminated in the Group achieving profitability in Q1 2022.
Prior to his most recent role, Anthony worked in the United Arab Emirates as CFO for a listed regional bank before returning to the UK to join Tandem. He has also held a number of senior finance and strategy roles with Lloyds Banking Group, including as finance director of their Middle East business based in Dubai where he supported its sale to HSBC.
The broad range of experience, both domestically and internationally within challenger and established banks, that Anthony brings will help The Nottingham progress its commitment to transforming the housing market. It recently signed a partnership agreement of up to £600m with innovative fintech mortgage lender Generation Home.
Anthony will ensure a smooth transition by working closely alongside Paul Astruc, who served as CFO and Board Member for the last two years with great success, maintaining a stable financial performance and leading key elements of the Society’s technology strategy. Paul Astruc is retiring to pursue a Non-Executive career and will leave the Society on 6th April.
Commenting on his appointment, Anthony said: “This is a great time to be joining The Nottingham as it emerges from a thorough and exciting strategic review process, with an eye on the future. I have been hugely impressed by the vision for the Society and look forward to meeting more of the team and continuing The Nottingham’s journey.”
Chief Executive Officer, Sue Hayes, said: “I’m delighted that Anthony is joining The Nottingham. His wealth of experience means he brings both solid foundations and genuinely innovative thinking to us at this exciting time as we build for the future.
“Anthony will be a key stakeholder in helping forecast and shape our strategic roadmap to deliver our purpose. As we welcome Anthony, I would also like to thank Paul Astruc for the integral role he has played navigating our strategic review process as CFO over the last two years.”
The appointment marks another key C-level addition to the Senior Leadership Team, following the arrival of Paul Howley as chief technology & transformation officer, since the new Chief Executive Officer joined the Society last January. During this time the executive team has also launched the Society’s strategic blueprint for future growth through delivery of its new purpose to colleagues.
Plans in for new public garden and entertainment space in Derby
Gleeds secures role on STEP fusion programme
Property and construction consultancy Gleeds has been commissioned via Perfect Circle to deliver procurement, commercial, and cost management services to the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority’s (UKAEA) ground-breaking Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) programme.
Property, construction and infrastructure consultancy Perfect Circle was appointed to support STEP with the delivery of this ambitious programme which sets out to explore the options, challenges, and solutions for accelerating fusion delivery, by bringing on board partners who will engineer and construct the prototype fusion energy plant, capable of producing net electricity.
The plant will be located at the West Burton power station site in Nottinghamshire and will demonstrate that fusion energy can be used to deliver net electricity to the grid, paving the way for future commercial energy plants to be commissioned and constructed.
One of Perfect Circle’s founding partners, Gleeds will initially be responsible for providing comprehensive procurement services to support the selection and on-boarding of STEP’s whole plant partners through a complex procurement process.
Andy Ellis, global head of energy at Gleeds, said: “Gleeds is delighted to support the UKAEA STEP programme in delivering its prototype fusion energy plant. This is an incredibly exciting project; not only does it demonstrate viable net energy production, but it also represents an important opportunity for the UK to maintain its role as world leader in fusion technology.
“Fusion will play a hugely important role within the UK clean energy transition as we seek clean, sustainable, low-cost energy sources to replace fossil fuels, and has the potential to generate almost limitless clean energy for future generations. I am delighted that Gleeds’ extensive expertise in the energy sector has secured us a place on the team to support the procurement of future partners.”
Perfect Circle and Gleeds’ work on the project will be supported and accelerated forward through the SCAPE Consultancy framework, which helps to drive collaboration, efficiency, time and cost-savings.
Victoria Brambini, Managing Director of Perfect Circle, added: “I’m delighted that our founding partner Gleeds will be delivering this truly ambitious scheme for the UKAEA. The Government-backed STEP programme will bring the site of this former coal-fired power station back to life, creating thousands of jobs during construction and operation, and undoubtably attracting other high-tech industries to Nottinghamshire in the process.”
Mark Robinson, group Chief Executive at SCAPE, said: “We are proud to be collaborating with Perfect Circle and Gleeds on this ground-breaking project, helping to accelerate the scheme forward. As we move closer to the government’s net zero by 2050 target, projects like these are significant in demonstrating how clean power production can be delivered effectively and sustainably to support many future generations to come.”
Sarah Palmer, STEP strategic procurement manager, said: “We’re pleased to be working with Gleeds in support of the highly complex procurement of whole plant partners that will work with us through design and construction of the prototype plant.
“Fusion energy has great potential to deliver safe, sustainable, low carbon energy for generations to come. It is sometimes described as the ultimate energy source and is based on the same processes that power the sun and stars.”
This is Gleeds’ second win for the UKAEA, having been named one of just six organisations appointed to its existing Project Delivery Services Framework, which aims to bolster the range of expertise across the UK’s world-leading fusion energy programmes.
Nottingham contractor files for administration
A Nottingham-based contractor has filed for administration, ceasing trading on Monday.
According to Construction Enquirer, roughly 30 staff are expected to lose their jobs at DAKO Construction.
Established in 2018, the company expanded into London in 2021.
Quoting a letter to staff, Construction Enquirer highlights the firm’s founder and Managing Director Assan Hussain as saying that dealing with COVID-19, a recession and soaring material prices, as well as recent non payment from certain clients has made its situation untenable.
Strong trading momentum continues at Leicester online electrical retailer
Marks Electrical Group, the Leicester-based online electrical retailer, has seen continued strong trading momentum with improved profitability in the nine months ended 31 December 2022.
According to a trading update, revenue grew 22% to £72.9m, up from £59.8m in the same period of the prior year.
Strong performance was driven across product categories, according to the firm, but particularly in A-rated energy efficient laundry appliances, televisions, refrigeration and small domestic appliances.
Mark Smithson, Chief Executive Officer, said: “I am proud of the entire team at Marks Electrical for delivering a record quarterly performance, with year-on-year growth of 33.4% against a tough economic back-drop. This further demonstrates the resilience of our business model and the attractiveness of our market-leading customer offering, which more people are discovering up and down the country.
“To continue our focus on growing brand awareness, we further invested in highly targeted television, radio and out-of-home campaigns over the Black Friday and Christmas sales peaks. This led to increased website traffic and broad-based revenue growth across the UK, but with particularly strong improvements year-on-year in London, South East England and the East Midlands.
“We’ve worked closely with our suppliers throughout the quarter, enhancing our position as a growing, but agile, national retail partner of choice. As supply has stabilised during the last 12 months, we have been able to capitalise on our strong net cash position to enhance our inventory range and product availability, further improving our offering for customers.
“After an improvement in profitability in the third quarter, we look forward to maintaining our performance management discipline on revenue, profit and cash in order to achieve our full year targets and continue to demonstrate our differentiated proposition.”
