< PreviousMott MacDonald toopen Nottingham office Mott MacDonald, the £1.2bn global management,engineering and development consultancy, is to open a newoffice in Nottingham after the company's involvement in theNET Phase Two tram extension.Councillor Nick McDonald said the decision was thewelcome result of concerted efforts to bring the company to the city: "The Invest inNottingham team has been working closely with Mott MacDonald over the past couple ofyears to bring them to Nottingham, providing support in areas such as property searchesand research provision to support their choice.""For a global company like Mott MacDonald to decide to create a permanent base inNottingham shows that projects like NET Phase Two are creating significant new jobsand investment opportunities. The project continues to raise the city's profile bothnationally and internationally, which can only be good news for the local economy,"Councillor McDonald added.Mott MacDonald is also one of the world's largest employee-owned companies of itskind, with over 16,000 staff and principal offices in nearly 50 countries and projects in140.Russell Cohen, Mott MacDonald's project manager for NET Phase Two, said: "We'vedone a great deal of research and Nottingham is the place to be in the East Midlands.The two big universities are key, not only for direct recruitment but also for graduateswho stay in the area, as well as those in employment who are looking for new challengesby working for a big global company."The exact location and staffing levels of the new office have still to be finalised. "Weare looking at a number of options in the city centre and hope to have the office up andrunning later in the year," said Cohen.Expansion on tap for Coalville kitchenfirmA kitchen and joinery firm is set for expansion after taking on new premises at a Coalvilleindustrial estate, in a deal overseen by Mather Jamie.The commercial agent has secured Howdens Joinery Co. as the new tenant for a 7,184 sq ftunit on Ravenstone Industrial Estate, Snibston Drive.Unit 4 will become a new depot for the firm, which has over 550 depots nationwide.Alex Reid of Mather Jamie said: “We swiftly secured a new tenant on behalf of the landlorddue to the size and location of the premises, which suited their operation.“The unit occupies a prominent position at the entrance to on a popular industrial estate,fronting Snibston Drive with large secure yard to the front, side and rear elevations with steel palisade fence and secure parking.“We are pleased to have found a major tenant and secured a long-term lease on the unit.“The current lack of suitable industrial stock on the market means the unit generated strong interest from a number of potential occupiers.“There is increasing demand for industrial premises in Leicestershire and we currently have a number of clients who are unable to find suitablelocations, so we are keen to see more land become available for industrial developers in the county.”Mark Churchill, Head of Property at Howdens Joinery, said: “We have been looking for the right premises in Coalville for some time and this new depotwill enable us to grow our local business.“We are very pleased to be opening at Snibston Drive as part of our on-going expansion programme.”Montagu Evans acted on behalf of Howden Joinery.PROPERTY NEWSEast Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk10Regus Express toopen at Watford GapSouth services Regus, the global workspace provider that hastwo business centres in Northampton, is planningto open one of its innovative Regus Expresslocations at Roadchef’s Watford Gap motorwayservices.The drop-in business centre, which will openlater this year, will feature a business lounge withdedicated workstations (Thinkpods), seats withlaptop stands, phone chargers and wifi – plusmeeting rooms available by the hour.Mike Willis, CEO of The Business Club, a localbusiness networking organisation, said: “It’s greatnews that there is now another drop-in location forbusiness people in the area,”“It’s so useful these days to have this kind offlexibility in terms of where to work; often peoplefind that they need somewhere they can stop offand work in a productive business environment.”He added: “For members of The Business Club,Regus at Brackmills Business Park is a great,supportive business location and we foresee thenew centre at Watford Gap services becoming apopular venue for flexible working.”LaceMuseumto beturnedintohomesThe former historic Lace Museum in Nottingham is to be turned into homes ina £2m scheme by an East Midlands development firm.The first phase of renovation, by 4M, will see the historic buildings from 43-59Castle Gate become homes once again.Mark Elliott, director at 4M, said: “These beautiful Georgian buildings have lainunloved for a number of years now, and this project will see them restored intoresidential properties once again.“The Grade II listed properties are currently undergoing extensive renovationworks, which will see them restored to their former glory. We will be transformingthem into high quality, modern living accommodation, without removing any of theirhistorical charm.”Seven new homes will be created by 4M, ranging in size from three to six bedrooms.The project also includes the renovation of Severns House, a medieval timber framedbuilding which was moved to its current location in the 1970’s from Middle Pavement andhad fallen into disrepair since its closure in 2009.This historic building has become the company’s headquarters.“Severns House is an extremely important part of Nottingham’s history and we are delighted tobe able to conduct repairs and refurbishment works which will allow us to locate our offices there,”Mark added.“We are really excited to be restoring these properties within the historic heart of Nottingham, providing Recruitment boostfor Willmott Dixonacross East Mids Constructionfirm Willmott Dixonsays it has created111 jobs over thepast 12 months - 35 ofwhich are based in theEast Midlands.The company’sgrowth is steadilyincreasing in conjunctionwith the region’seconomy, says NickHeath, operationsdirector for WillmottDixon in the EastMidlands.He said: “Our recentrecruitment figurestruly reflect wider economic growth throughout the region. Weare pleased with the continued growth we have experiencedthroughout 2014 already and we are certain that as the yearunfolds, there will be even more demand for constructionacross the Midlands.“We are committed to benefiting the Midlands throughboth the projects we work on and also through recruitinglocally. The region is moving from strength to strengthand we are pleased to be a part of the Midlands goodnews story.”Willmott Dixon’s Midlands division now has 220members of staff working in construction and90 individuals working in housing.PROPERTY NEWSwww.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 11Derby joinery expandson Perkins YardA Derby-based joinery firm is set for growth aftertaking additional space at Perkins Yard in the city.PST Joinery moved onto the industrial estate inMarch 2013, providing hand crafted interior andexterior services to customers across the country.The firm has since signed a deal for a further 1,176sq ft at Unit 8B following the growth of the business.Nick Hosking, director at Innes England in Derbyhandled the deal on behalf of the landlord. He said:“Initially we let PST Joinery a unit of around 1,000 sqft, but they were concerned that it might be too big forthem.“With that in mind, we negotiated a deal an earlybreak clause to give them that flexibility should theunit become too great an overhead. However, their business is absolutely booming and it wasn’t long beforewe were tasked with securing them additional space.“The new unit has nearly tripled the size of the firm’s workshop and stores, helping them to serve evenmore customers. It is really pleasing to see a craftsman, something which is sadly lacking in today’s economy,seeing such business success.”Paul Taylor of PST Joinery said: “We were initially quite nervous about taking on what we thought wasgoing to be quite a large unit for the business, but have been delighted with how quickly we have expanded.Official seal of approval forDerby Manufacturing UTC Plans for Derby’s first University TechnicalCollege (UTC), which will work with engineeringand manufacturing employers in and around thecity have been given official funding approval bythe Department for Education.Derby Manufacturing University TechnicalCollege (UTC) will be based at an £8 millioncampus on Locomotive Way, Pride Park, subjectto planning permission being granted by DerbyCity Council.The key partners - Derby College, theUniversity of Derby, Rolls-Royce, Bombardier,Toyota Motor Manufacturing (UK) Ltd and DerbyCity Council – have been working together to finalise plans for the UTC and invitingexpressions of interest from potential students.In a letter to Derby Manufacturing UTC Trust chair Graham Schumacher from Rolls-Royce, Secretary of State for Education Lord Nash said: “I want to take this opportunityto thank you for the great commitment and energy which you and your colleagues haveshown in reaching this point.“The Trust’s efforts in achieving such a milestone are testament of its passion toopening a unique and exciting school with engineering and technology-basedspecialisms supported by nationally and internationally renowned universities andemployers.“UTCs are an important part of our schools reforms and the Derby ManufacturingUTC will make a vital contribution to help raised educational standards and prepareyoung people for work in highly technical industries.”The UTC will then open in September 2015 for the first intake of students in years 10and 12 - providing young people with the skills needed in engineering andmanufacturing, including the rail industry.The UTC will have capacity for up to 600 young people aged 14 to 19. They will studycore GCSE's, A levels and engineering qualifications enhanced by project basedlearning, work placements, employer site visits and industry expert lectures.Graham Schumacher said: “Confirmation of the official funding agreement is indeed amajor milestone for Derby Manufacturing UTC and we can now step up our work torecruit the first cohort of students for September 2015 and develop workingrelationships with local employers who will be so crucial in this new education facilityfor the city.“Work placement opportunities will be core elements of the work programmes wherelearners will be able to put into practice the skills they have learnt in the classroom intowork activity, supported by mentors from local companies.Enscite celebrates flyingstart with 50 jobscreatedEnscite, the organisation created to help manufacturingSMEs develop business opportunities in the transportengineering supply chain, had said it has already created50 jobs since it launched three months ago.Enscite supports supply chain development and re-shoring, using a portfolio of specialist support servicesincluding hands-on consultancy, workshops and eventsand access to funding.“The number of projects underway far exceeds all ourforecasts,” comments Colin McKinnon, managing directorof Enscite, which launched in April.“Supporting innovation, skills, business developmentand job creation are important elements of all thirty-fiveprojects, and their value to the local economy issignificant, with their joint value estimated in the regionof£3.5m GVA.“The projects span a diverse range of manufacturingSMEs in the aerospace, automotive and rail sector supplychain, from start-ups to established businesses.”According to McKinnon, the nature and quality of theprojects with which Enscite is involved, demonstrate thatambition and innovation is high amongst the regionsSMEs.He said: “Manufacturers across the transportengineering supply chain have embraced the opportunityEnscite presents for them to explore and develop theirideas. Ambition to grow and succeed is tangible amongstall these companies, and the standard and quality ofinnovation illustrates the rich pool of engineering andmanufacturing talent across the East Midlands.”Enscite, which next year will move to the InnovationCentre at Infinity Park, Derby, is supported by theEuropean Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and theRegional Growth Fund. It is a collaboration betweenDerby City Council, Derby, Aston, and CranfieldUniversity.MANUFACTURING NEWSEast Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk12Corteco drives growthwith Auto Suppliersacquisition Lutterworth basedCorteco, theautomotiveaftermarketdivision ofFreudenbergSealingTechnologies,headquartered inGermany, on itsacquisition ofAuto Suppliers,based inKidderminster.Auto Suppliers,a family-ownedbusiness founded in1988 by Terry Stevens,supplies power steeringsealing kits and components including aspecial product range for classic vehicles.“This acquisition reaffirms our commitment to providing theaftermarket with the most comprehensive range of solutionstailored to our customers’ needs. The joint expertise enables us toeven better support the market with premium know-how andexcellence in all business processes” said Jason Meier, chiefexecutive officer of Corteco.Reiner Martsfeld, chief commercial officer of Corteco, said: “Weare enthusiastic about welcoming Auto Suppliers into the Cortecofamily and are pursuing a smooth integration process supportedby all parties. Customers of Auto Suppliers and Corteco can lookforward to the benefits of this collaboration.”The corporate team at Spearing Waite advised Auto Suppliers,led by head of corporate Martin Smith. He said: “We are delightedto have assisted Corteco on this important strategic acquisition.Corteco is part of a major corporation with multi-nationaloperations and it further enhances our reputation for advising onacquisitions of this nature”.Bullish Kirby shrugs off profit dip at Games WorkshopGames Workshop, the Nottingham-based fantasy games manufacturer, has seen both profits and revenue take a sharp dip in itsyear-end to 1st June.Revenue at the firm fell from £134.6m to £123.5m over the last year, whilst pre-tax profits plummeted - down from £21.4m in2013, to £12.4m this year. Meanwhile, Tom Kirby has this released a statement to the London Stock Exchange, saying he is tostep down as acting CEO at the beginning of January 2015.Despite the results, Kirby, said: "Games Workshop has had a really good year."If your measure of 'good' is the current financial year's numbers, you may not agree. But if your measure is the long-termsurvivability of a great cash generating business that still has a lot of potential growth, then you will agree."We have four european headquarters, consolidated all trade [third party] sales personnel at our Nottingham base, creating anew continental european grouping of our retail stores, and recruiting new management for these divisions whilst flattening thestructure by removing all middle management. At the same time we changed leadership of our retail chain in the north americanarea, and gave birth to our new web store after many months' labour."In a combative statement, Kirby added: "Because no one seems able to grasp the essential simplicity of what we do there hasalways been the search for the Achilles heel, the one thing that Kirby and his cronies have overlooked. These are legion. I runthrough the list from time to time when someone says that computer games will be the death of us - 'they are so much morerealistic now!' - again. This year it is 3-D printing. Pretty soon everyone will be printing their own miniatures and where will we bethen, eh?"Moving onto his successor, Kirby said: "If you apply [for the job], we require that you write a letter saying why you want thejob. No letter, no interview. The interviews will take place on 7th November and will be at Nottingham. An announcement will bemade the following week. We have not decided what will happen if no suitable candidate is found but I suspect my wife will belivid."RVEL set to create 33 newjobs in DerbyDerby-based RailwayVehicle EngineeringLimited (RVEL) is set tocreate new jobs aftersecuring a grant fromthe Derby EnterpriseGrowth Fund (DEGF).RVEL has beenawarded a £165,000grant from DEGFtowards its £487,000investment programmewhich will see a newpaint facility installedand other upgrades takeplace at its engineeringfacilities in the RTCBusiness Park onLondon Road, Derby.RVEL’s new paintshop has been designedfor the painting of railway locomotives and rolling stock – enabling thecompany to win more business and potentially increase its £12mturnover by £5m a year. RVEL says it hopes to open the new paintshop in September of this year.The new jobs created will be a combination of project managers andpaint shop personnel, as well as skilled engineers, welders and fitters.Andy Lynch, managing director of RVEL, said: “We are grateful toDerby City Council and the Derby Enterprise Growth Fund forsupporting our growth plans.“DEGF funding will allow us to fast-track the installation of a paintfacility that will help us meet growing customer demand and allow usto speed up recruitment of local people into our growing andsuccessful business.“Today’s announcement is further proof that Derby supports localcompanies and the City’s unique cluster of rail businesses, which is thelargest in the world.”RVEL specialises in engineering work on railway traction and rollingstock.MANUFACTURING NEWS13www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link Recruitment drive sees two newfaces at Leicester agencyLeicester marketing agency Rock Kitchen Harris has appointed a PR account director andjunior account manager and has revealed it will move to larger offices in the Autumn.Emma Finden-Crofts will be heading up the PR division, while De Montfort Universitygraduate Jaz Blakeston-Petch will take the lead on social media campaigns.For the last decade, Finden-Crofts has worked for agencies in London and Nottinghamacross a wide variety of sectors in the consumer and B2B space.Rock Kitchen Harris operates a graduate recruitment programme and after a successfulyear’s placement at the agency and achieving a first in his marketing management degree atDe Montfort University, Blakeston-Petch has joined the team full-time.During his education, Blakeston-Petch was a freelance marketing consultant for localLeicester organisations such as the Zynthia Trust. He is also club secretary and marketingofficer for Leicester Fencing Club.Patel joinsCartwright King familyLaw firm Cartwright King has welcomed a new faceat its Leicester office with the appointment of familylaw Solicitor Monica Patel.Patel has a particular specialism in childrenissues having worked in a local authoritysetting and in private practice.She is also fluent in Gujarati and welcomesinstructions from clients throughout theMidlands.Fiona Lazenby from Cartwright King said:“We are delighted to appoint Monica to thisimportant new role and her considerableexperience will significantly enhance the Familylaw team in Leicester.“We provide straightforward and practicaladvice for families on a number of issues includingdivorce, finance, cohabitation, parental responsibility,child arrangements and child protection issues.”“Our Family lawyers understand the complexities of all these areas and can giveexpert guidance during times of difficulty for families.”Horton takes the chairat GroundworkGreater Nottingham Groundwork Greater Nottingham (GGN) hasappointed a new chairman and two additional trusteesto its Board.Sports management and marketing specialist KeithHorton is the new Chairman of the charity whichdelivers community-led programmes which includesupporting people into employment, to access training,and to design and redevelop green space within theGreater Nottingham area.Horton was formerly chief executive of the NationalIce Skating Association UK and earlier chief executiveof the Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce. Hecurrently runs his own management consultancy and isa non-executive director with several sportsorganisations including Grantham Town Football Club. Horton succeeds councillor Ron Hetherington, thecurrent Mayor of Rushcliffe Borough Council as GGN’schairman.The two new Trustees to join the GGN Board areemployment lawyer Roscoe Fernandes who runs hisown business, Centurion Legal, and Sally Longford,Nottingham City councillor for Wollaton East andLenton Abbey Ward.APPOINTMENTSEast Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk14All change at All Leisure GroupChris Gadsby has decided to step down from his role as group financedirector of the All Leisure Group. He will be leaving the Market Harboroughbusiness in December, after the company's year end, and after the sign offof the budget for the forthcoming financial year.All Leisure Group has appointed Kevan Witts as interim group financedirector. He joins the company on 11th August.Witts has spent the last 9 years as a self employed consultant in seniorroles in the financial services sector and has extensive travel industryexperience. Most notably he was for 12 years a director of the ThomsonTravel Group (now TUI UK). His time at Thomson consisted of 8 years asfinance director of Lunn Poly followed by two and half years as financedirector of Thomson Holidays. Latterly, Witts held the position of financedirector of Thomson Travel UK Distribution.Roger Allard, chairman, said: "We are delighted to welcome Kevan Wittsto All Leisure Group PLC and are confident of a smooth transition beingeffected."BDOannounceslead partnerfor the EastMidlandsAccountancy and businessadvisory firm BDO hasannounced a major promotionas it reveals a new lead partner for the East Midlands.Gareth Singleton, an audit partner who has been at BDO, and formerly PKF for 15 years, hasbeen appointed as Lead Partner to the 150-strong team across the three offices in Nottingham,Leicester and Lincoln with immediate effect.Singleton said: “Businesses are hungry for growth – and we’re no different. It’s an excitingplace to be, and I’m delighted to take on this new role. We’re investing in talent, our premisesand sector specialisms, and have a great team on the ground in all the key regional cities.”BDO, which provides audit, tax and advisory services says it will grow by 20 per cent this year.Gareth added: “With a return to form for our region’s businesses and an increasingly activetransactional market, the focus now is on investment and growth. We want to be at the verycentre of those decisions for our clients and provide them with the best service around. I knowthis team is the right mix to do exactly that.”In March 2013, BDO merged with accountancy firm PKF creating a firm of 3,500 peopleacross the UK.Dunelm appoints new NEDDunelm, the Leicestershirehomewares retailer, has appointedAndy Harrison as a non-executivedirector. He will be a member of theAudit and Risk, Remuneration andNominations Committees.Harrison has been chief executive ofWhitbread since 2010, prior to which hewas chief executive of EasyJet from2005. He became chief executive of LexService in 1996 which subsequentlybecame RAC, and was acquired byAviva in 2005. He held a non-executivedirectorship at EMAP from 2000 to 2008,where he also chaired the AuditCommittee.Karl marks outterritory at LloydsLloyds Bank has appointed Karl Leitelmayeras area director for the East Midlands within itsCommercial Finance team.Based at Lloyds Bank’s offices on RomulusCourt in Leicester, the new role will see himlead a team of six regional managers, and workwith a dedicated client manager team led byMick Jagger.Leitelmayer has worked for Lloyds Banksince 2000, most recently as senior managerwith the SME team in Oxfordshire andGloucestershire, where he led the bank’s mostsuccessful team.He brings a total of 26 years of bankingexperience to his new role, having startedwith Barclays at the age of 16. His move toLloyds Banking Group saw him begin hiscareer in asset finance where he was initiallya business manager in the North West.A promotion saw him become regionaldirector for corporate asset finance in theMidlands, followed by a similar role inOxfordshire, before taking up his mostrecent post.Leitelmayer said: “I am pleased tohave been appointed as area directorhere in the East Midlands. My teamoffers a full complement of alternativefunding solutions to help businessesrelease cash quickly that may be tiedup in assets, helping companies toinvest in their long-term futures. Ilook forward to working with myteam to help businesses in theEast Midlands thrive amid theeconomic recovery.”APPOINTMENTSwww.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 15East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk16DEALSPFK Cooper Parry plans WestMids pushEast Midlands accountants and business adviser PKF Cooper Parry islooking to enter the West Midlands market through acquisition, accordingto Ade Cheatham.Cheatham said that he wants to increase turnover from its current £16mto £40m within the next five years."We've got our eyes on Birmingham," Cheatham told East MidlandsBusiness Link. "We're ambitious, driven and we want to get on with it.Over the last six months we've been looking at the West Midlands moreand more and we'd like to enter the market by acquisition if possible.We've got nothing to hide and we want to change the way people look ataccountants."PKF Cooper Parry has recently moved into a high-spec refurbishedoffice, designed and fitted-out by Paragon Interiors. The interior includes agames room, modern break-out areas, a cafe with a Costa Coffee outlet.Is it the very definition of the modern office.Cheatham added: "We didn't take the decision lightly to move out ofDerby, Leicester and Nottingham, but we explored the rationale for themove with our clients and they're fully on board with it."Cheatham also revealed that Innes England is marketing its ex-Nottingham office, which will be rented out. He also said that the newoffice at the Pegasus Business Park can take another 100 people, and thecompany could grow to 300-strong from there.He said: "It has to be said, it's a bonus being near the airport. We're alsousing the new offices to attract and keep the best staff. When people seethe advantages and benefits of working in an environment such as this,then we can only grow. We're not really interested in what our rivals thinkabout us moving out of the city centres - let them run their ownbusinesses. This is how we roll."Alkane powers up with £12.1mCarron Energy acquisitionsEdwinstowe-based Alkane Energy has bought a series of powerresponse sites from Carron Energy in a deal worth £12.1m.Alkane Energy will buy the entire share capitals of Darent PowerLtd (Kent), Leven Power (West Midlands) and Rhymney Power(Cardiff) from Cardiff-based Carron Energy.The acquisition of three of Carron’s businesses will add 49MW ofpower response generating capacity to Alkane’s portfolio ofgenerating assets and is expected to deliver an immediate EBITDAcontribution and be EPS accretive in its first full financial year.Alkane says the deals will strengthen the company’s position in theShort Term Operating Reserve (STOR) market, which is estimated tobe worth around £100m per year in the UK. STOR marketparticipants are paid premium rates during the year whencalledupon by the National Grid to meet temporary supplyshortages. Alongside the acquisitions, Alkane Energy has placed 22,222,222shares at a value of 36p per share, which is expected to raise £8m.Meanwhile, the company will be raising £5.5m of debt finance fromLloyds Bank; the additional funding will be used to provide workingcapital to support investment in its core gas to power activities.Alkane Energy has a market capitalisation of around £50m andrecorded turnover of £21m in the year to 31 December 2013.Investment bank Altium advised Alkane on the deals.Adrian Reed, managing director and head of energy, waste andrenewables at Altium, said: “We’re pleased to have acted on behalfof Alkane once again and are delighted to have developed a longstanding relationship with the management team over the years.The latest power generation assets will further boost the scale ofthe group by an additional 49MW of power response. This is crucialat a time when the UK faces growing challenges in relation todeclining generating capacity along with the inherent risk of powershortages.”Bioscience business gets a boostA Nottingham bioscience firm that conducts lifesaving research aimed at identifying new medicines is set to expand its scientificcapabilities thanks to a £59,200 grant.Aurelia Bioscience has received funding from the Nottingham Technology Grant Fund (N’Tech) to enable it to expand by taking 56per cent more laboratory and office space. The funding will allow Aurelia Bioscience to invest in new business development and marketing activities, as well as recruiting threesenior scientists, doubling its workforce from three to six.Dr Kevin Hart, co-founder and managing director, saidd: “We are a niche bioscience research organisation that delivers a bespokeservice to a range of global clients. The work we do is critical in the early stages of new medicines discovery. There is great optimismfor growth in the life sciences sector and Nottingham and BioCity is taking a very active role in this“Nottingham City Council has been key in helping us at a critical point in our growth. The support and funding available herethrough initiatives such as Growth 100 and the N’Tech fund is fantastic for the Nottingham economy.”Toby Reid, N’Tech representative and director at BioCity, added: “Aurelia Bioscience is one of Nottingham’s pioneering youngresearch companies - a fine example of the city’s strength in the life science sector. We’re delighted to be able to support them as aBioCity business and work closely with other parties such as Nottingham City Council to help maximise local funding opportunities.DEALSwww.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 17Huub on expansiontrail after cashinjectionDerby-based Huub Design, a specialist in thedesign and distribution of high performanceproducts to the triathlon market, is to expandproduction following £250,000 in funding fromSantander Corporate & Commercial.Founded in 2011 by Dean Jackson, the companywas established to fill a gap in the market,providing triathlon-specific sportswear,predominantly wetsuits. Supporting the design, thecompany uses science and research that deliversperformance improvement to athletes of allabilities, and within FINA’s (FédérationInternationale de Natation) regulations.The funding from Santander Corporate &Commercial will help the business increase itswetsuit stocks to meet rapidly growing demand.Having moved to larger premises at the start of2014, Huub has grown its workforce from three to seven in a short period of time, with plansto increase this number in the further.Dean Jackson, managing director, Huub Design, said: “We have made significant long-term investments in the business and are benefitting from exceptional demand for our highperformance products, predominantly the wetsuits. The funding and support from Santanderhas helped us focus on the next phase of growth.”Sonobex reveals£161,000 TSB fundingSonobex, a newly formed spin-out fromLoughborough University has been awardedfunding from the UK’s innovation agency, theTechnology Strategy Board, to develop nextgeneration acoustic barriers for road, high speedrail, passenger and freight rail applications.Sonobex’s technology is based on a new area ofPhysics known as Sonic Crystals first seen in thelate 90s. The technology causes destructiveinterference to sound signals, cancelling rather thanreflecting or absorbing the signals. This isparticularly powerful as designs are tuned toparticular dominant frequencies to achievesignificant reduction levels.These next generation acoustic barriers willaddress major global noise pollution issues on theworld's transport infrastructure addressing theimpact on health related problems with noise.The total project value is £358,000, with ananticipated £161,000 in funding from theTechnology Strategy Board.The 12-month project is expected to complete inApril 2015 with first CE mark prototypes producedby February 2015.Paul Gooch, Sonobex’s chief executive said:“Sonobex is delighted to have secured this funding.These next generation acoustic barriers willrevolutionise the market, true performancemeasured in-situ under the new CE will differentiatethese products from current market solutions andprovide the protection required and expected.”Lloyds on hand to fund new care homeLloyds Bank Commercial Banking has provided a multi-million pound funding package to support a new development by Bank House Care Homes inSutton in Ashfield.Bank House was introduced to Lloyds Bank by Gary Burns of Midlands Asset Finance, a specialist finance broker in the Healthcare sector. The bank hasprovided a refinancing package, together with development funding which has facilitated the building of the new 40-bed care home.The new building will open next door to the company’s existing 53-bed purpose built Ashcroft home in Sutton in Ashfield, and comes in response to abooming demand for places at the development.Built on the site of a former NHS walk-in centre, which was acquired by Bank House, the new care home has been registered for specialist dementia andmental illness residents.Jon Saltinstall, senior healthcare banking consultant at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: “At Lloyds Bank we pride ourselves on providing aquality service for healthcare professionals, and our dedicated sector team offers an unrivalled knowledge of the specific requirements of the industry, andthe individual needs of each customer. We’re proud to have partnered with Bank House on this latest project, underpinning our commitment to the sector,and safeguarding the availability of top class healthcare in the communities we serve.”Kris Sooriah, director of Bank House Care Homes, added: “Since launching in 2000, Bank House has developed a reputation for offering first class careto residents in all of our homes. We’re pleased to have secured the support of Lloyds Bank on this latest project, helping us to meet the huge demand foracute dementia care here in Sutton in Ashfield.”THE BIG INTERVIEWEast Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk18Tony Wilmot, co-founder of social media-based recruitment website staffbay.com, tellsus why the jobs market is picking up, and howjobseekers can best show themselves off toprospective employers.Tony WilmotStaffbay.comREGIONAL SUMMITwww.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 19Bettertogether?The East Midlands is “lagging behind” when it comes tosecuring the HS2 spur at Toton, according to the paneland an audience of around 80 business leaders at theEast Midlands Regional Summit.Sponsors:20 ÁNext >