< PreviousNew DevelopmentDirector forRockliffe HomesResidential property developer Rockliffe Homes,has appointed experienced architectural projectmanager, Alex Spencer-Mills as DevelopmentDirector.Spencer-Mills joins Rockcliffe following asuccessful spell as an associate at multi-disciplinarypractice, William Saunders.Spencer-Mills said: “I am delighted to be joining theRockliffe Homes team at such a pivotal time in thecompany’s development plans.“Rockliffe Homes has a reputation for developingpremium new-build housing schemes, and I am lookingforward to joining the team during a very exciting time ofgrowth and expansion.”Anuj Joshi, Managing Director of Rockliffe Homes,added: “Alex brings with him a wealth of experience froman industry perspective that will serve to strengthen ourservice offering and our client relationships.”“Alex’s appointment is indicative of our ongoingcommitment to our existing customers, as well as our ambitionsfor further growth.”Neil Davidson to beYouth Sport TrustChairman nextJanuaryNeil Davidson has been appointed newchair of Leicester-based national charity theYouth Sport Trust, bringing a wealth ofbusiness, education and professionalsporting experience to it.He has sat on the boards of two FTSE 100companies, chaired three commercialorganisations, serves as a trustee at anacademy chain and governor at a specialneeds school and was previously Chair of Leicestershire County Cricket Club.He is set to take up the post on next January when current Chair Baroness Sue Campbell’s termof office comes to an end. Baroness Campbell leaves the role after 23 years of incredible service,having established, nurtured and led the charity from day one. Sue’s belief in the power of sport tochange lives has inspired the mission and followership of the Youth Sport Trust; she will continueher involvement in the Trust in an honorary role.JLL expandsindustrial teamJLL is expanding its Industrial team with theappointment of Richard James-Moore asDirector.Previously employed at BNP PRE as anAssociate Director, Richard was involved inacquisitions and disposals for a range of highprofile companies including Royal Mail, CWCGroup, Opus Land, AJ Mucklow andBarberry.Prior to BNP PRE, Richard co-founded aniche industrial practice called KGAChartered Surveyors.Carl Durrant, Regional Director and lead ofthe JLL Industrial & Logistics team, said:“The industrial and logistics sectorcontinues to be a stand out performer in theMidlands and UK, and Richard’s appointmentis essential to expand the team’s capacityagainst the backdrop of another strong yearfor JLL.“Going forward, the region looks set toenjoy continued success as the logisticsmarket becomes more integrally linked withlocal economic growth, shaped byconsumer’s changing shopping habits and athriving manufacturing industry.”New RelationshipDirector forLloyds BankCommercialBanking Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking hasadded to its mid-markets team in the EastMidlands with the appointment of DanielTregunna as Relationship Director.With more than 27 years of corporatebanking experience, Tregunna steps intothe role from his previous position asrelationship director in the South WestDene Jones, Regional Director for midmarkets in East Midlands at Lloyds BankCommercial Banking, said: “Daniel bringsa wealth of knowledge and experience toour growing team. His appointmentadds strength to our offering in the EastMidlands and supports our long-standing commitment to work closelywith business directors to achievetheir strategic goals.”Tregunna said: “Joining the EastMidlands team at this exciting timewill enable me to drive confidenceand growth for businesses acrossthe East Midlands, and continuesupporting the crucial rolemidmarket businesses play inthe UK economy.”www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 9L-R: Tom Price, Steven Jaggers, Carl Durrant,Richard James-Moore & Alex Fitzpatrick fromJLL’s industrial team.East Mids concrete producer acquired in £12.5m dealA Northants precast concrete producer has been sold in deal worth up to £12.5m.SigmaRoc, the buy-and-biuld construction materials group, has swooped forTopcrete and its subsidiary, Wellingborough-based Allen Concrete.For the year ended 28 February 2017, Allen Concrete recorded underlying profitbefore tax of £1.8m, EBITDA of £2m and consolidated revenue of £5.2m. The businessemploys 36 staff across its two sites in Wellingborough and London.David Barrett, chairman on SigmaRoc, said: “We are very pleased to welcome AllenConcrete to the SigmaRoc group, it has a solid history and is highly regarded in itssector. The acquisition fits well with our strategy and builds on the successful platformwe have created since the integration of Ronez. This is another step in our ambition togenerate shareholder value, while preserving the unique identity of the businesses webuy.”Max Vermorken, CEO, added: “Allen Concrete is another excellent example of thetype of business we are seeking to acquire, as we roll out our buy-and-build strategy. Itis a high calibre operation with a market leading position, that is driven by its specialistproducts and a workforce dedicated to quality. Allen Concrete is well placed for furtherorganic growth, as well as bolt-on activities centred around its industrial landholdingsin London, all of which will further boost SigmaRoc’s EBITDA.”East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk10Castle Donington packaging business acquires 180year old rivalNNZ Group, a Castle Donington business that supplies packaging to the fresh produce and industrial markets, hasacquired LBK Packaging.Headquartered in the Netherlands, NNZ has been owned and operated by the Boot family since 1922, with its UKoperations based in Castle Donington, Derbyshire.It employs more than 200 people, with partners in 40 countries including Europe, Canada, South Africa and the US.NNZ was advised on the acquisition by Langleys Solicitors.LBK, based in Liverpool and Glasgow, has operated in the packaging industry since 1831. It specialises in bags andsacks for food, chemicals, animal feed and the building trade.It supplies recycling bags to UK local authorities and recycling companies for the collection of paper, garden waste,plastic, cardboard and glass.The acquisition significantly increases NNZ’s share in the agricultural and industrial packaging markets in the UK.Brian Keasey, Managing Director of NNZ UK, said: “We are absolutely delighted that LBK are joining NNZ. We aregenuinely excited by the prospect of bringing further value to our customers by combining the expertise and productoffering of the two long standing companies.”DEALS© shutterstock.com/ Sean Liew Nisa board recommends Co-op’s £143m takeover bidThe Board of Nisa Retail Limited, the member-owned retail and wholesaling group, hasunanimously recommended its shareholders accept the offer of £137.5m, plus the payment ofassociated deal costs of up to £5.5m, by the Co-op Group, bringing the deal to £143m.The offer, if successful, would bring significant immediate and long-term value for Nisamembers, access to greater scale, access to the award-winning Co-op range – including theCo-op own label proposition, retention of their independence of operating their stores howthey want, while also enabling them to remain part of a member-owned organisation withinthe growing UK convenience retail sector. Nisa shareholders will receive an equal initial payment, a deferred share payment payableover 3 years, as well as additional rebates payable over 4 years. Co-op would also take on the existing Nisa debt of £105m as well as providing additionalbenefits which would include:· The opportunity to source products from the Co-op, the UK’s fastest growing convenienceretailer, which recently reported its fourteenth consecutive quarter of like-for-like sales growth and has a proven heritage and track record inwholesaling.· The ability to significantly enhance the existing product offer, especially within the fresh and chilled categories, with Co-op’s award-winning own-brand range. · The ability to source a wide range of products from a provider with a history of supporting a varied portfolio of stores, from small conveniencestores right up to 35,000sq ft.· The opportunity to partner with a like-minded business which is member-owned, community-focused and ethically-guided.· The continuation of key aspects of Nisa members’ independence to fully source the range that best suits their stores, and to operate those storeshow they want.Shakespeare Martineauadvises on £12m cutting-edge pharma dealAdvisers at Shakespeare Martineau have played amajor part in an innovative deal, intended to further animportant field of drug discovery and development.Levrett plc has acquired the entire share capital ofNuformix for a total consideration of £12million andraised £2.3 million by way of a placing.Nuformix is involved in a cutting-edge field ofpharmaceutical research and development; pioneeringthe use of cocrystal technology to unlock thetherapeutic potential of approved small molecule drugs.The funds raised by the deal will be reinvested tohelp further the company’s discovery and developmentactivities and leverage its intellectual property assets.Advisers at Shakespeare Martineau have supportedLevrett’s ongoing strategy to acquire an existingbusiness, ideally with significant intellectual property inthe pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors. Havingworked on the original IPO of Levrett, ShakespeareMartineau advised on all aspects of the reverse takeoverand placing, as well as the relisting on the Standard Listand the London Stock Exchange.Keith Spedding, Corporate Partner at ShakespeareMartineau, said: “The deal is testament to theimpressive IP assets held by Nuformix and the potentialfor these methods to produce lifesaving treatments.Being able to help bring two companies together tobetter the outlook of pharmaceutical development hasbeen a real pleasure.“11www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link Government looks to widen itspowers to intervene in mergersThe government hasreleased proposals toincrease its powers tointervene in mergers thatraise national securityconcerns, even withsmaller companies.They plan to lower thethreshold wherebyministers can scrutiniseinvestment to businesseswith a UK turnover of over£1 million, and remove the requirement for a merger to increase a business’s share ofsupply of, or over, 25%.The changes are targeted at key areas, specifically companies that design ormanufacture military and dual use products, and parts of the advanced technology sector.In these areas, currently the Government can only intervene in mergers involvingcompanies with a UK turnover of more than £70 million or where the share of UK supplyincreases to 25% or over. Today’s proposals will close these loopholes to enable greaterscrutiny of foreign investment in a changing market.Government is also consulting on longer-term proposals that will allow for betterscrutiny of transactions that may raise national security concerns – this could includeincreasing risks of espionage, sabotage, or the ability to exert inappropriate leverage. TheGovernment welcomes views on the changes it could make.HSKS Greenhalgh acquire Wollaton-Based accountancy firmMidlands’ Chartered Accountants and Business Advisors HSKS Greenhalgh have increased their presence in Nottingham following their acquisition ofWollaton accountancy firm Cobb Burgin & Co.The acquisition coincides with the retirement of Cobb Burgin founder Chris Cobb, who started the business in1981. Neil Burgin, who joined the practice in 1985 and became a partner in 1987, will remain as Associate Directorand he will be joined at the firm’s Middleton Boulevard offices by Peter Rimmington, who has been with HSKSGreenhalgh since 2000.HSKS Greenhalgh work predominantly with entrepreneurs, high-net-worth individuals and growing owner-managed businesses and have specialist expertise in advising businesses in the property, agricultural, healthcare andhospitality sectors, as well as academy schools.Commenting on the merger, HSKS Greenhalgh Managing Director Colin Peacock, said: “When looking to expandour business through acquisition, we are always keen to identify opportunities with firms who share our philosophyof establishing long-term relationships with clients and this is definitely the case with Cobb Burgin, which is one ofthe reasons why we are so excited to have completed the deal.“We look forward to getting to know Cobb Burgin’s clients, who can rest assured that they will continue to receivethe same high level of client service. The acquisition means that they will now have access to a range of additionalservices, such as Corporate Finance and Estate Planning and Probate Services, as well as the expertise of ourspecialist sector advisors where appropriate”.© shutterstock.com/ Edhar © shutterstock.com/ Bannafarsai_Stock East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk12Willmott Dixonawarded £11mSherwood contractWillmott Dixon has been awarded the £11m contract byNottingham City Homes and Nottingham City Council tobuild a retirement village in Sherwood.As part of the work, more than 220 homes will beconstructed for the over 55’s in Nottingham. Theapartments will be spread over two 15-storey towerblocks.Commenting on the contract, Simon Leadbeater,Managing Director at Willmott Dixon responsible forhousing in the Midlands, says: “As one of the UK’s largestbuilders of retirement accommodation, with a longestablished presence in Nottingham, we are delighted tobe involved in creating Winwood Heights.“Our local team is looking forward to delivering modernnew homes that will benefit thousands of people inNottingham for many generations.”Nick Murphy, Chief Executive of Nottingham CityHomes, adds: “The Building a Better Nottinghamprogramme is transforming people’s lives across the city.“We are improving the look and feel of our estates, aswell as building energy efficient, sustainable homes, whichcan dramatically reduce fuel bills for our residents.”PROPERTY NEWS£40m acquisition of 5,000 unit scheme under development atpriors hall, NorthamptonshireUrban&Civic has purchased a 100 per cent interest in freehold land at PriorsHall in Northamptonshire for a consideration of £39.9 million. The existingconsented land extends to 907 acres in two local authority areas, CorbyBorough and East Northamptonshire District. Separately, Urban&Civic hasacquired a further 58 acres of mostly contiguous woodland for an additional£550,000 to take the total invested to £40.5 million. Priors Hall is beingacquired from the Joint Administrators. There is no provision for furtherpayments to be made by Urban&Civic under the terms of either contract.Priors Hall has an existing outline planning consent for 5,095 units, some of which has been sold to seven different housebuilders and is in theprocess of being built out. The development is split into three residential phases with the new homes set within lakes, open parkland and forests.Urban&Civic is acquiring 3,656 uncontracted plots, substantively comprising Phases 2 and 3 and the benefit of outstanding sums on Phase 1.Estimated near term receipts from Phase 1 housebuilder contracts now payable to Urban&Civic are expected to be in the order of £11.8 million,including overage, giving a net purchase consideration of £28.1 million for the uncontracted plots.Plans revealed for transformation ofLeicester MillPlans to transform a former Leicester mill into offices, a restaurant and cafe have beensubmitted to the City Council.Developer Moorhouse Construction are looking to develop the disused mill on RutlandStreet into 35,000 sq ft of retail and office space, creating 35 full- and part-time jobs inthe process.Plans drawn up by MAS Architecture reveal a change of use of the lower ground andground floor of the building into retail, while the first, second and third floors would beoffice space. A two-storey roof extension is planned, which would also be officeaccommodation.A statement accompanying the plans explains: “The redevelopment will provide apurpose to a building that has incredible value, yet one that has not been used in anumber of years, in an attempt to make the best of and most efficient use of an exisitingbuilding.Green light for £50m Leicester hotelsprojectOne of the largest investments in Leicester, in recent times, has finally been given thegreen light by planners.A £50m scheme to construct two hotels and regenerate a historic railway station, into a 150-room Novotel and a 100-room aparthotel for Adagio can now go ahead.The projects will create around 60 new jobs and will be sited on derelict land in Vaughanway, opposite the Highcross shopping centre, and between Great Central Street and HighcrossStreet.The proposal submitted to Leicester City Council also included the regeneration of the formerGrant Central Station and the creation of a new public square and new build offices and should becompleted in early 2019.The Vaughan Way hotel and apartments will be run by AccorHotels under a franchise agreementwith site developers Charles Street Buildings Group, who will own the buildings.Documents submitted to the council state: “The proposal will result in a significant investment in thecity, acting as a gateway between the Waterside and city centre.“The strategic regeneration area is the focus of major change to provide the impetus for economic,environmental and social investment and provide benefits for existing communities.”University unveilsnew £11m sciencefacility Work has been completed on an £11 millionscience facility dedicated to teaching andresearch at Nottingham Trent University.The Interdisciplinary Science andTechnology Centre (ISTeC) contains two floorsof state-of-the-art laboratories for bioscience,computer science, mathematics, physics,chemistry, robotics, sport science andengineering.The facility is based on the Clifton Campus– home to the university’s School of Scienceand Technology – and will be utilised byundergraduate and postgraduate students, aswell as research scientists.It aims to enable students to engage in advanced technical, team-working and industry-relevant project work, helping toincrease their skills and knowledge for the workplace and leading to enhanced employability.It will bring STEM – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – subjects together to support collaborationbetween different subject areas and between students and researchers.The facility will also support the university’s schools, colleges and community outreach activities, and provide a platformfor engagement with industry and for wider collaboration.Green light for 89 newhomes in WollatonPlanners have given the green light to developers AvantHomes to build 89 new homes in Wollaton.The £32m development will be a mixture of two andthree bedroom semi-detached houses and four and fivebedroom detached houses.As part of a Section 106 agreement, Avant Homes willalso be delivering 182 allotment gardens, a play areaand a nature reserve on the site.Planners had previously expressed unanimousapproval of the plans ahead of the formal meeting, butAvant Homes Midlands Managing Director, GlynMabey, was delighted at the outcome of the planningmeeting.Mabey says: “We are very pleased to have beengranted planning permission on our new site atWollaton. Our plans for Martins Reach were wellreceived by the planning committee and we arekeen to begin construction.”Ann Taylor, Associate Director in thedevelopment team at Savills Nottingham actedon behalf of the landowners, Radford BridgeRoad Garden Holders Association who willbe retaining the allotments for use bycurrent and new gardeners.www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 13 © Stephen George + Partners East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk14COMMERCIAL PROPERTYClick &COLLECTHeadlines from the mid-nineties proclaimingthe internet to be nothing more than a passingfad have endured as cautionary tales not todismiss future tech either out of ignorance, fearor, in the case of some red-faced reporters,contrariness. The internet has had atransformative effect on business, not simply asa means of evolving the way in whichcommunicate, but in facilitating entirely newbusinesses. In the last decade alone, there hasbeen a groundswell of new jobs and vocations -cloud architect, SEO expert and the rise ofecommerce. The latter especially is having avery tangible effect on the world outside theweb with the upsurge in urban logistics propertyspace – something facilities managers andproperty investors have to stay abreast of or riskgetting left behind. Although ecommerce companies have noneed for a showroom or shop floor, due to itsinventory and products being available to viewand explore online, they do require plenty ofsquare footage when it comes to warehousingand logistics space. Crucial to connectingcustomers with products is the growing need for‘last mile’ delivery which, as the name suggests,is the last stretch of a journey before a productis delivered to a customer’s front door or placeof businesses. This will take advantage of thelocal supply chain, incorporating warehouses,native logistics companies or the regional arm ofdistribution companies. With the rise of ecommerce, our urban spaces have toprovide prime logistics space to keep up with demand andremain competitive. Click &COLLECT16 Áwww.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 15COMMERCIAL PROPERTY© shutterstock.com / William Potter East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk16COMMERCIAL PROPERTYThis growing market has beendetailed in Cushman & Wakefield’s‘Urban Space Model’ report whichquantifies total urban logistics spacerequirements in Europe’s topecommerce markets based on currentand future online sales volumes.Although London was identified ashaving Europe’s largest and mostmature ecommerce market in Europe,our own region is far from an outlier.Just recently a home delivery companymoved into 37,000 square foot inCastle Donnington where it will serviceits Midlands operation. “As more of us do our shoppingonline, it’s vital that our large citieshave the capability to handle theincrease in parcel capacity acrossEurope,” says Lisa Graham, Head ofEMEA Logistics Research & Insight,Cushman & Wakefield. “Our ‘UrbanSpace Model’ shows that substantialgrowth is expected across the board.The fact that a 42% rise in the UK isthe smallest increase speaks volumesfor the direction the market is heading.© shutterstock.com / Dmitry Kalinovsky COMMERCIAL PROPERTYwww.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 17“Looking ahead, it will be crucial foronline retailers and parcel companiesto use urban logistics space in order tomeet rising customers’ expectations interms of speed and reliability ofdelivery, while at the same timereducing costs in order to justify higherrents.”Last year alone, online sales in theUK topped £130 billion and with thegimmicks such as ‘Black Friday’ and‘Cyber Monday’ gaining traction in theUK, this figure is only going to grow.The aforementioned sales frenzies,coupled with the chaos of Christmas,are putting evermore strain onecommerce companies and theirsupply chains. This is where thepressing need for urban logisticsspaces comes into play. In order forour region to retain its key position inthe country’s complex distributionnetwork, it’s critical that investmentinto these new spaces is madealongside upgrades to road, ports andwarehousing. Far from the passing fad prophesiedby some two decades passed, theinternet has profoundly affected ourlives, communication and how weconduct business. Ecommerce hasbecome a hugely profitable industrythat shows no signs of slowing down.In order to cope with this increasingdemand, towns, cities and propertyinvestors have to turn their attentiontowards urban logistics space,alongside their typical remit ofwarehousing and business parks. Onlythat way can the speed and reliabilityneeded to cope with demand berealised. © shutterstock.com / Dmitry Kalinovsky BUSINESS DEVELOPMENTAsk different people what business developmentmeans to them and you'll likely get quite a fewdifferent answers.East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk18Entire books have been written on the subject and suffice it to say in the spacewe have available here we can't look at every single aspect but, in the currenteconomic climate, I’m sure we all agree that most companies agree that finding asustainable way to develop their business is the holy grail, so as to speak.This is especially true in family businesses, and a recent study reveals thatamong the next generation of family business leaders, three in four have bigplans to take their business forward. However, generational challenges persist,largely in the areas of digital and innovation.PwC polled over 100 next gens for its new report, 'Same passion, differentpaths': How the next generation of family business leaders are making their mark. The study identifies four main approaches next gens are taking to build theirown paths to success: stewards, transformers, intrapreneurs, and entrepreneurs.Some next gens straddle more than one of these continually evolving paths, butthey can provide a helpful way to separate the different challenges, risks andopportunities that the next generation faces, and how success can look and feeldifferent depending on the route they choose to take.Stewards– Individuals focused on ensuring the long-term sustainability of the20 ÁThe nextGENERATIONNext >