Lupton Fawcett strengthens Regulatory and Corporate Defence team
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Insurance broker wins planning approval to create flagship HQ in Leeds
Leeds-based international insurance broker W Denis has received planning consent to remodel 8 St Paul’s Street in Leeds City Centre by extending its total floor space by approximately 30% and adding a roof terrace.
The 20,000 sq ft, 6 storey property was purchased by W Denis earlier this year in a deal negotiated by Carter Towler.
Commenting on the planning approval Carter Towler Director Richard Fraser said: “We are absolutely delighted; this is excellent news for W Denis. They have exciting and extensive plans to redevelop the property and create a flagship head office facility for their growing business.
“Their plans include recladding the building, replacing all windows, completely stripping out all interiors and refitting to provide extremely high-quality modern offices with all the very best facilities such as meeting rooms, break out areas, gymnasium, showers and changing areas, coffee lounge and roof terrace. Incorporating all the latest communications and energy saving technology, this will be one of the most prestigious head offices in the city.”
Simon Thew, W Denis Managing Director, added: “This a landmark day for our business. Since the birth of our company in Leeds employing 4 people, we now have more than 100 employees working in Leeds, Manchester, the Midlands, London and Europe. We provide insurance services and complex risk transfer solutions to businesses in over 20 countries. Our development of 8 St Paul’s Street means we are now ready to create the kind of head office facility that will fully support our staff and our future growth.
“We have selected a fantastic team to work with us to achieve this including architects brown + company, interior designers R U Creative and Carter Towler’s Building Consultancy. We are very much looking forward to seeing work start on site and even more so to the completion which is scheduled for Autumn 2024.”
Acting on behalf of W Denis, Carter Towler managed the sale of W Denis’ previous office building Brigade House on Kirkstall Road to The Birmingham Property Group. The residential development property company has plans to demolish the existing building to make way for the construction of up to 198 apartments.
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Office expansion and board restructure as Leeds-based G&H Group marks 25th year
Leeds-based mechanical, electrical and public health service (MEP) provider, G&H Group, is celebrating 25 years in business with the opening of a new office in Pudsey and a restructure of its senior team to support future growth. The MEP service provider is also planning to launch a new energy division.
Founded as G&H Pipe Services in 1998, the Group has grown from a two-strong pipework subcontractor to a multi-million-pound business employing more than 180 staff across five divisions – building services, projects, maintenance, engineering services and air conditioning.
G&H Group has marked its 25th birthday celebrations with the announcement that the Group’s maintenance division will move to new offices in Pudsey, with 20 members of staff relocating in December, as a result of strong growth across all areas of the business.
The firm has also announced, following a management restructure to support its future growth plans, that managing director Graham Kelly will become chairman of G&H Group. Pre-construction director David Davis and commercial director Mark Craven, who have been with the business since 2009 and 2012 respectively, will increase their shareholding.
G&H Group’s chairman Graham Kelly said: “G&H Group has always focused on delivering solutions to our clients by being innovative, hardworking and always going above and beyond.
“I’m very proud of the success and growth we have achieved. This is testament to the team’s commitment to always delivering projects to the highest standard and in turn developing an unrivalled reputation. We have stayed true to our roots and remained a family business, investing and supporting our staff, with many dedicating years of service.
“As we expand premises, adopt a new management structure, and plan our new energy division launch, the future for G&H Group looks extremely bright. With a strong pipeline of business and exciting growth strategy, this is just the start of our next 25 years and beyond!”
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Sheffield’s Leadmill granted premises licence
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Net zero support unequal across England with less than 1% of small firms receiving help from key schemes
- Introducing a national ‘Help to Green’ scheme, consisting of an online hub of practical information on reducing energy usage and carbon emissions. The scheme would include a voucher or grant scheme, with a value of up to £5,000 a time, which would make a grant contribution to investing in low emission transport solutions, sustainable manufacturing, energy efficiency or microgeneration.
- Simplifying the English business support landscape for net zero by establishing one business support brand across England, e.g. Business England. This can make it easier for businesses of different sizes to navigate, whilst maintaining the connection to local support.
- Offering small businesses a combination of audits and grants for net zero where possible. Audits provide clarity over the required steps which are tailored to specific needs. For most small businesses, participation and help overcoming the financial barrier many businesses face in the transition to net zero.
Incommunities appoints new IT and digital transformation director
Bradford-based housing provider Incommunities has appointed David Cawthray as its new IT and digital transformation director.
David joins from Accent Housing where he was director of digital innovation for four years.
Prior to that he was at Bradford Council, first as IT director and then as director of transformation. He started his career working for Pace plc based in Salts Mill where he worked for 17 years before deciding that he wanted to move into a role with more social purpose.
Executive director of business operations, Sara Sheard, said: “I am delighted David is joining us at such an exciting time in our journey as we develop our five-year corporate strategy where we really want to transform how we use technology to transform the customer experience.
“He will bring extensive experience in developing digital transformation strategy which will be of immense value as we continue on our journey to drive change and improve services for our customers.”
David Cawthray added: “I have found social housing to be such an exciting, rewarding and challenging sector to work in. I am very much looking forward to joining Incommunities. I believe that technology can be used to deliver a modern customer focused service while freeing up colleagues to concentrate on customer and community needs.”
David will begin his new role in October 2023.
Pioneer of city living in Leeds moves back into the property game
Leeds city living specialist, Jonathan Morgan, who spent more than a quarter of a century pioneering and driving the city centre’s transformation into a thriving residential market, has returned to the property industry after joining Zenko Properties.
Jonathan launched Morgans in 1997 and the company became the leading city living agency in Leeds, at the forefront of the city’s urban revolution, before being acquired in 2019. Services spanned sales, lettings and property management on behalf of a vast range of clients including individual landlords, private developers, housing associations, banks and major institutions.
Zenko Properties was founded in Leeds city centre in 2015 by Tobias Duczenko and its lettings division currently manages more than 700 properties, as well as offering residential sales, specialist property investment services and block management.
Jonathan joins Zenko as a partner and will support Tobias and the 10-strong team in growing the business and building the company’s reputation as the go to residential agent of choice in Leeds city centre.
Following Jonathan’s appointment, Zenko has already been appointed to let and manage 20 brand new apartments at Devonshire House on York Place.
Leeds-based property investment company, King & Co is behind the transformation of the Grade II listed building, which was originally built as woollen warehouses in the late 1800’s and designed by architect George Corson in the Victorian Gothic revival style. The apartments will be ready to move into this month.
Jonathan said: “City living has been a major part of my life for more than a quarter of a century and after a short break, I realised that I’m not done with it yet, and I’m excited to be starting a new chapter at Zenko.
“It’s a business that I’ve admired for a long time, with an experienced team, and it has quickly established a strong foothold in the market, with a growing rentals portfolio and a strong sales division.
“It’s a fascinating time for city living in Leeds, with numerous high-quality schemes on the horizon from both local and national developers, and we’re delighted to win the instruction to let and manage Devonshire House, as we work on becoming the leading city living agent in Leeds.”
Zenko’s founder, Tobias Duczenko, added: “Ever since our first major appointment in 2015 to sell more than 100 homes at The Chandlers on The Calls, and retaining 50% to start our lettings and management journey, we have been able to continue growing and expanding our market share.
“I still deal directly with each individual landlord and this personal touch, combined with high quality marketing and exceptional customer service, is key to our success. Welcoming Jonathan into the team will only enhance this further.
“He’s very well-known in the industry and is still synonymous with the most successful residential agency the city centre has ever seen, so there’s no doubt he’ll be a valuable addition to Zenko.”
Jonathan is also well-known for his work with local charities in and around Leeds. He is currently a director of two community enterprises in The Hunslet Club and Gipton Fire Station Community Enterprise and was a joint founder of the Crypt Factor, the annual singing competition for the north of England’s property industry, which has so far raised over £900,000 for charity.
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Wren Kitchens works with University of Hull on net zero journey
Academics from the University of Hull are working with kitchen manufacturer Wren Kitchens to accelerate their journey to net zero.
The partnership will see academics from Hull University Business School use a unique supply chain carbon mapping tool, developed at the University, to help the company become more sustainable. It will also allow customers to make choices based on the carbon footprint of each kitchen item, at point of sale, offering them the chance to make more sustainable choices. Wren Kitchens and the University of Hull have secured a Knowledge Transfer Partnership from Innovate UK, to fund the two-year project. The KTP will facilitate accelerated access to this specialist expertise and knowledge within Hull University Business School. It will also enable Wren Kitchens to fully embed environmental sustainability knowledge, know-how and innovation from the University, right across their business. This will provide the foundations for an in-house sustainability team, facilitating access to new emergent eco-conscious markets globally. Lee Holmes, Logistics Director at Wren Kitchens, said: “We believe this will be an industry first and the catalyst for others in the Humber Region to take a holistic approach to their impact on society. We hope this project will deliver thought leadership to the manufacturing sector by being future-focussed beyond the ISO regulations, and take a leading role in the region to establish and develop a circular economy. “The ultimate aim is to fully embed environmental sustainability into the company beyond the project end and offer our customers a footprint calculation output into user friendly on-pack claims in the online sales ordering process for customer awareness and enhanced informed choice.” Dr Sarah Shaw, Reader in Logistics & Supply Chain Management at the University, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to be working with Wren Kitchens on this exciting, innovative research project. The KTP will enable Wren Kitchens to have capacity and capability to baseline their supply chain carbon footprint and make this data available to customers and to drive carbon inset improvement decisions.” In order to ensure sustainability remains at the heart of the company, two senior members of staff will study PhDs on the theme of sustainability, further demonstrating the company’s commitment to being a forward thinking and research driven business that wants to embrace cutting edge research and knowledge.