Nottingham PR agencies lead the way in UK-wide rankings
Cartwright Communications and Tank – both based in the city’s Lace Market – are once again the highest ranking agencies in the East Midlands as part of the PR Week Top 150, a national league table of thousands of PR agencies across the UK. Tank was ranked 167th overall, with Cartwright Communications at 178.
Cartwright Communications – led by former journalist Liz Cartwright alongside directors Rose Hayes and Annie Brafield – was named the 34th B2B agency in the country and 85th on the national consumer list. Meanwhile, Tank – headed up by Trevor Palmer and co-owners Martin Stone and Max Bevis – ranked as the 32nd agency outside of London, as well as being named as 51st for its credentials in the technology sector.
The pair are consistent features on the list, which is compiled annually from the roughly 5,000 agencies practicing PR in the UK.
Rose Hayes, director at Cartwright Communications, said: “After two years of an unpredictable market, it’s great to be recognised for our team’s fantastic work and the business’ continued growth. To be ranked in the top 100 for both B2B and B2C is a huge achievement and one that not many agencies in the region can lay claim to.
“While the Top 150 recognises financial achievements and growth, our business plan has very much focussed on workplace culture. We’re equally proud of recently gaining our Great Place to Work accreditation as well as being a finalist in the upcoming Inspiring Workplace Awards which mean we’re a fantastic place to work as well as being a top agency to work with.”
Commenting on the rankings, Martin Stone, director at Tank, said: “Being named as the top performing East Midlands agency in the overall Top 150 listing for a second year is testament to the strong team that we’ve built at Tank and the culmination of a real group effort.
“2021 was not so much about client acquisition but more about taking the lessons learnt during the pandemic and realigning for growth, while also focusing on what makes Tank what it is – our people. This approach resulted in our best performing year to date, marking a solid 12-years of growth.”
£430k investment improves efficiency at Fortec Distribution Network
Fortec Distribution Network has invested heavily in its Northamptonshire hub to improve efficiency and capacity.
The company has invested £250,000 in a new fleet of 36 forklift trucks from Still, while an additional £180,000 has been spent on upgrading the roof of its 210,000 sq ft warehouse.
The state-of-the-art RX70 LPG forklifts will enable its warehouse team to load and unload more quickly, ensuring a better service for Fortec pallet network members and customers.
Safety was paramount in the choice of forklift truck, with the RX70 LPG delivering excellent all-round visibility alongside its high performance.
The roof upgrade, which is currently being installed, is designed to provide additional visibility through the use of skylights.
Kevin Buchanan, Pall-Ex Group CEO, comments: “This is a significant investment that has provided the operations team with more reliable kit, ensuring quicker turnarounds and an all-round better service from the central hub.
“The Still RX70 LPG is the best in class for the industry and benefits from state-of-the-art technology, a spacious driver’s cab, lateral battery change programmable drive and hydraulic performance, while complying with Euro V emission standard regulations.
“We have replaced the previous fleet and increased it, enabling us to improve handling within the hub and reduce waiting times for our members.
“The addition of the new roof will vastly improve the warehouse environment and provide the right setting to support our ambitious growth plans.
“Since acquiring the business, Pall-Ex Group has invested in all areas of the network to ensure Fortec is operating to the same standard as Pall-Ex and to position it as best in class among the pallet networks.”
Two new starters at marketing agency Purpose Media
Full service digital marketing agency, Purpose Media has further expanded its team following the appointment of Jodie Pringle as a content and marketing executive and Joshua Ware as a digital support technician apprentice.
Jodie was previously a freelance SEO and content writer, having gained experience working for the NHS where she held several roles. She has experience of writing content for travel, mental health, lifestyle companies and small brands and will be working with Purpose Media clients to help create marketing strategies that build brand identity and online presence.
Her role will include creating multimedia content online for social media, website blog articles and other online content to maximise the effectiveness of organic search results (SEO) and paid advertising campaigns (PPC). In her spare time Jodie is also a book blogger and fiction writer.
Commenting on her new role Jodie said: “When searching for my next career move, I was looking to work for a forward-thinking company in a supportive environment where I could develop further. Working at Purpose Media will enable me to expand my experience and widen my skills and knowledge of other sectors and business topics.”
Continuing its support for young people, Joshua joins Purpose Media on a Digital Marketing Apprenticeship provided by EMA Training. His ultimate goal is to support the website development team where he will learn to build new websites and implement ongoing improvements. Joshua plays the piano and also enjoys gaming and IT.
DSP-Explorer acquires Claremont to extend data management capabilities
Oracle Cloud and Database technology specialist DSP-Explorer has completed its 5th acquisition, the purchase of UK-based Oracle Applications Partner Claremont, materially extending its services capabilities.
With offices in London, Nottingham and Leeds, DSP-Explorer is an enterprise database infrastructure and managed services specialist that has established a reputation as a trusted partner for companies that want to invest in Oracle, Microsoft, and indeed multi-cloud technologies.
Following funding and investment from YFM Equity Partners in 2018 and 2021, DSP has grown revenues from an initial £5m to an expected group out-turn of £30m in 2022.
Simon Goodenough, CEO of DSP Group, said: “DSP and Claremont already have several clients-in-common, so when the opportunity arose for us to work together as a combined business I was hugely excited.
“We share similar cultural values, especially those of responsiveness and customer success, and both want our businesses to be great places to work for our employees. Where DSP has traditionally been known for its strength in core database and cloud infrastructure, they have been successful in building a first-class Oracle application management business.
“In an industry where both skills and experience are in high demand, this merger allows us to offer a wider variety of complementary services to our customers, whether they are on a journey to the cloud or in the cloud, and whether that have on-premise application workloads, or hybrid models.”
Founded in 2004 and with offices in Guildford and Newcastle, Claremont is an Oracle Managed Services Provider. They are best known in the marketplace for the provision of Oracle E-Business managed services, their infrastructure cloud offering Claremont CloudTM, and the delivery of business-critical Oracle E-Business migration and upgrade projects.
Mark Vivian, CEO of Claremont, who joins the board of the DSP Group, said: “As a provider of complementary services in the Oracle marketplace, DSP-Explorer is a known quantity to Claremont, and a well-respected Oracle partner.
“I am very excited about the fusion of the Claremont and DSP businesses, combining our applications and technology strengths together with a comprehensive multi-cloud services portfolio.
“The breadth of our combined service offering, along with our shared delivery excellence ethos, will enable us to deliver an even more compelling proposition to customers. I’m looking forward to working with Simon and the team.
“I think that this corporate union presents a really invigorating opportunity for the Claremont team as we join forces with our new DSP colleagues to help to shape and grow the combined business going forwards.”
Simon Goodenough added: “Whilst this acquisition hugely broadens our Oracle portfolio, and takes our client base to well over 500, it also gives us greater opportunities to increase our share of the other fast-growing markets that we address through our Any Database | Any Cloud proposition, both here in the UK and globally.
“I already know a number of the Claremont team and it’s going to be a real privilege to start working with them, and indeed learning from them, as we look to grow our mutual business.”
Record first half revenues for Topps Tiles
Topps Tiles, the Leicester-based tile specialist, has reported record first half turnover.
According to unaudited consolidated interim financial results for the 26 weeks ended 2 April 2022, turnover reached £119 million, compared to £103 million in H1 2021.
Meanwhile the company recorded a pre-tax profit of £5.6 million, up from £4 million. Topps noted that like-for-like sales are up 22.7% on a two-year basis in the first half, and up 19.7% on a one-year basis.Rob Parker, Chief Executive, said: “The group has delivered record first half revenues against a backdrop of continued robust demand for home improvements. While supply chain and inflation headwinds strengthened in the period, we are managing these challenges effectively overall and believe we remain well positioned relative to many of our competitors.
“We have continued to develop the Topps Tiles brand, enhancing our store portfolio and introducing a number of new developments to our award-winning website to further strengthen our omni-channel capability.
“We are pleased to announce the launch of Tile Warehouse, a new online-only brand which brings everyday low prices to homeowners. This builds on the acquisition of Pro Tiler Ltd in March and forms the basis for a new, high growth, online-only sales channel, leveraging our core strengths in product, service and scale.
“Looking ahead, we are mindful of the growing burden on consumers from inflation and rising interest rates as well as ongoing supply chain challenges, however, we remain confident in our strategy and medium term growth prospects.”
Pride Park office investment sold
FHP Property Consultants have sold a self-contained office building on Pride Park, Derby, which it says shows “there is still great demand to purchase good quality well let buildings.”
1 Pride Point Drive is let to two tenants occupying a total space of 557m2 (5,995ft2). The building produces an income of £75,750 per annum and has been sold to private investment clients for £855,000, reflecting a net initial yield of approximately 8.42% net of costs.
Darran Severn of FHP Property Consultants said: “The office market has been particularly active in recent months and this is one of several office buildings we have sold on Pride Park.
“There is good demand to purchase both vacant and occupied buildings. As availability decreases I see capital values beginning to rise.”
Belvoir acquires mortgage advice firm for £3.6m
Belvoir Group, the property franchise and financial services group with its central office in Grantham, has acquired The TIME Group Limited (TIME) for an initial cash consideration of £3,673,000.
TIME, which trades as the Mortgage Advice Bureau, is an appointed representative firm of Mortgage Advice Bureau, the wholly owned subsidiary of AIM-listed Mortgage Advice Bureau (Holdings) plc (MAB), one of the UK’s leading networks for mortgage intermediaries.
TIME provides mortgage and related financial services to clients through its network of 64 advisers, all but two of which are either self-employed or small businesses operating on a self-employed basis licensed to TIME with MAB providing training, support, compliance, website and national marketing via the wider MAB brand.
The TIME adviser network extends across the north of England and the Midlands.
For the year ended 31 July 2021, based on unaudited financial statements, TIME generated revenue of £4,182,000 and adjusted profit before tax of £630,000. Within the past three years, the number of mortgage advisers within the TIME network has grown from 46 to 64.
Dorian Gonsalves, Chief Executive Officer, Belvoir, said: “We are delighted to announce the acquisition of TIME, whose network of 64 mortgage advisers will entirely complement our existing financial services network, both in terms of the management infrastructure and geography, creating a total of 307 advisers operating under the Belvoir Group.
“The acquisition of TIME will extend our network of financial advisers to support both our franchisees at a local level, as well as servicing leads from independent agents. This will in turn achieve greater penetration of financial services to the group’s client base for the benefit of both individual franchisees and the group as a whole.
“We would like to extend a warm welcome to the team at TIME to the Belvoir Group.”
NICs increase has immediate impact on businesses
Research carried out by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), of more than 1,100 UK employers, has uncovered a series of negative impacts from the increase in National Insurance contributions.
Firms said the rise in employer contributions to National Insurance (NI) from 13.8% to 15.05% had increased staffing costs, forced some to put up their prices, and meant they would be limiting their investment.
As part of its call for an Emergency Budget, the BCC is calling for the rise to be immediately reversed for at least a year, as firms battle surging costs on multiple fronts.
The BCC is calling for action to give businesses a chance to keep a lid on rising prices, boost productivity and ease cost pressures.
Hannah Essex, co-executive director of the BCC, said: “Businesses are telling us that the rise in National Insurance contributions has been a body blow as they try to get back on their feet.
“When firms are already facing a toxic mix of surging inflation, rising energy costs and supply chain disruption, this increase is very hard to swallow.
“The tight labour market is already pushing up staff costs and the NI rise has only served to exacerbate that pressure, without having a positive impact on recruitment.
“With firms’ profits also taking a further hit, after two years of the pandemic, it is no surprise that their investment intentions are also weakening.
“But it is not too late to change tack and push the increase back until firms are in a better place to take on the extra burden.
“The costs crises facing firms and people in the street are two sides of the same coin. If we can ease the pressure on businesses, then they can keep a lid on the price rises.
“Acting now will also put businesses in a better position to create the future profits needed to fill tax coffers.”
The other two Emergency Budget proposals include:
• Help firms manage the impact of rising energy prices by cutting VAT on their energy bills from 20% to 5% for a minimum of one year.
• Address labour shortages by reinstating free Covid tests for companies to ease the strain on productivity caused by persistent high absences.
Nomination categories in detail: The East Midlands Bricks Awards 2022
If you haven’t made your entries for the East Midlands Bricks Awards 2022 yet, now is the perfect time to do so! Here we go through each category’s criteria – which can also be found with nomination forms here.
Winners will be announced at a glittering awards ceremony and networking event on Thursday 15 September at the Trent Bridge Cricket Ground, in the Derek Randall Suite. The evening, which will run from 4:30pm – 7:30pm, will also feature John Forkin MBE DL, Managing Director at award-winning investment promotion agency Marketing Derby, as keynote speaker.
Tickets can be booked here – secure your place now to avoid disappointment.
Most active estate agents of the year
Sponsored by: Blueprint Interiors The winner of this category will be the estate agents who has had the biggest impact on the commercial property sector over the last 12 months, whether that be in deals done, quality of any given deal, or excellent customer service.Developer of the year
Sponsored by: Ward The winner of this category will be the developer that has truly pushed the limit over the last 12 months. Their scheme(s) will have shown to not only be a success, but that there was true demand for them. The winning developer will have displayed courage in a tough market to deliver award winning results. There is no size limit, but schemes must have been completed over the last 12 months.Architects of the year
Sponsored by: OMS The winner of this award will be the architects who have had the greatest impact on the region, be it in a single development or a series of them. Originality, the ability to rise to a challenge or initiative shown in accomplishing a difficult brief, this award celebrates our architects. Schemes must have been completed over the last 12 months.Contractor of the year
Sponsored by: RammSanderson Celebrating the contractors who work on the project, this award celebrates builders, construction companies and the contractors themselves, and nominees should be those who have gone above and beyond the word of the contract to deliver a truly exceptional service. Contracts must have been within the last 12 months.Deal of the year
Sponsored by: Blythin & Brown Insurance Brokers The winner of this category will be the deal that has truly pushed the boundaries over the last 12 months – from jobs created to complexity, size and scale. However, that’s not to say the biggest deal will automatically win; the deal which has had most impact in the East Midlands is what we’re looking for. The winning deal will have displayed courage in a tough market to deliver a great outcome for all concerned. Deal must have been completed over the last 12 months.Commercial development of the year
Sponsored by: Frank Key The winner of this category will be the commercial development that has gone above and beyond in fulfilling the criteria of the build, in terms of design and construction. This can include special requirements, features or elements that make the commercial development stand out from the crowd.Residential development of the year
Sponsored by: Sterling Commercial Finance The winner of this category will be the scheme that has displayed a true commitment to providing much-needed housing in the East Midlands. There is no size limit, but schemes must have been completed over the last 12 months.Sustainable development of the year
Sponsored by: Viridis Building Services The winner of this category will be the scheme that has displayed a true commitment to sustainable development in the East Midlands, whether this be in an environmental development, social enterprise or a scheme which will benefit the region in other ways, so long as it benefits the future generation. Schemes must have been completed over the last 12 months.Excellence in design
The winner of this category will be the developer who has shown true originality in design excellence across a scheme or schemes over the last 12 months, whether this be aesthetically, functionally or in any other manner.Responsible business of the year
Sponsored by: Press for Attention PR The winner of this award will have demonstrated corporate responsibility in their field, working in harmony and for the betterment of the local community in which it operates and setting a shining example for the rest of the supply chain.Overall winner
Sponsored by: Streets Chartered Accountants This award cannot be entered, the winner will be selected from those nominated. The Overall Winner of the East Midlands Bricks Awards 2022 will also be awarded a year of marketing/publicity worth £20,000. Submitting a nomination couldn’t be easier – simply click here and click on a category’s heading to access its form.
Find out who last year’s winners were here.
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£3.5m digital, transport and logistics academy opens in Boston
Boston College has opened its new Digital, Transport and Logistics Academy which will lead the way in delivering skills training for Lincolnshire’s logistics and transportation industry.
The new academy, which was opened by John Anderson, the third Viscount Waverley, will offer training courses with a focus on digital innovation and technologies for the future, as well as being relevant to the employment opportunities available within the sector.
“I am honoured to be associated with a new wing at Boston College dedicated to investing in people and skills for freight and logistics,” he said. “The college has rightly recognised the importance of the industry and is to be commended for running with educational delivery feeding into the wider government initiatives.
“These are exciting days and I congratulate Boston College for identifying that freight and logistics are fundamental in playing their part for the United Kingdom to manoeuvre through the challenges before us, establishing Boston College as a centre of excellence for learning in what is a key sector.”
The Digital, Technology and Logistics Academy was funded by a £2.45 million grant from the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership, while the college paid the remaining £1.05 million. An additional £182,976 of funding from Boston Borough Council was used to purchase industry-standard equipment as part of the Towns Fund.
The Viscount Waverley, along with other special guests including Matt Warman MP, and Ruth Carver, Chief Executive of the Greater Lincolnshire LEP, were taken on a guided tour of the building and had the opportunity to observe learners who are currently using the new facilities and equipment.
This includes a transport workshop, a network and hardware computer room holding industry standard equipment, a driving simulator, HGV and electric/hybrid training rigs, and digital software ranging from basic IT skills all the way to modern smart technology to equip local employers for Industry 4.0.
Pat Doody, chair of the Greater Lincolnshire LEP, said: “The UK’s transport and logistics activities employ over 2.2 million people, and this new centre will help support local, national and international supply chains across the sector and generate career progression in the highly skilled digital economy.
“With our £2.4m skills capital grant contribution, the LEP is proud to have enabled the development of this amazing facility in Boston, which will provide much needed industry standard training and a progressive skills pathway from Level 1 to Level 5.”
Boston College principal and Chief Executive, Claire Foster, added: “We are delighted that our Digital Transport and Logistics Academy is finally officially open. The world-class learning environment and equipment are a significant investment supported by the Greater Lincolnshire LEP, providing critical technical and professional skills needed by our employers and our economy.
“Our learners at Boston College are already thriving in this new statement space and we look forward to delivering our new International Logistics courses in the DTLA from September.”
