Leeds private equity house invests in facilities management provider
Leeds-based private equity house Key Capital Partners has completed a significant minority investment in Smarter Services Limited. Smarter provides facilities management services to local housing authorities, corporate landlords and regulated medical clients.
Based in Walton-on-Thames, Smarter was established in 2006 with a focus on commercial cleaning services. Over the past few years, the business has built an enviable reputation in the Facilities Management sector by expanding its breadth of services into fire doors and grounds maintenance. Through its acquisition of Low Cost Cleaning in April 2023, Smarter has further diversified its offering into the regulated medical sector.
The investment was led for Key by Philip Duquenoy and Sandeep Banga. Key were advised by Addleshaw Goddard (Legal), HMT (Financial and Tax), PwC (Commercial), RPL (Commercial), GB3 (Technology), AON (Insurance) and Stratton HR (Management). SSL’s shareholders were advised by Lock Dutton (Corporate Finance), Azets (Tax) and Hart Brown (Legal).
Investment manager, Sandeep Banga said: “We are delighted to partner with Smarter Services. Jason and his team have embedded an unparalleled culture of delivering a high-quality and environmentally focused service offering to Smarter’s client base.
“The recent acquisition has demonstrated Smarter’s ability as a platform for further acquisitions within Facilities Management, a sector that possesses a credible buy-and-build opportunity. The potential for future M&A and the organic growth plan were key considerations for our investment.”
The highly experienced management team, led by Jason Southwell (CEO), Ryan Meredith (Finance), Ian Whittingham (Business Development), Michael Poppa (Operations) and Kye Gbangbola (Non-Executive Director), will remain in the business.
CEO, Jason Southwell said: “As founder, the Smarter Services Board and I are delighted to be partnering with Key on the next stage of our growth. The partnership will bring many opportunities for our incredibly talented team to grow with the business, as we continue making a difference in the Facilities Management and Commercial Cleaning sector.
“Key share our passion for delivering market leading solutions and service levels. We are now uniquely positioned to capitalise on the current trends driving industry growth and consolidation.”
This is the fifth investment from KCP IX.
Scampton-area businesses invited to meeting to discuss site’s future
At the end of this month businesses operating around RAF Scampton will be given the opportunity to take part in an informed discussion about development of the site at Scampton to be used for asylum accommodation.
The event will provide an opportunity to gain insight into the Home Office’s proposals, engage in thoughtful discussions and provide reassurances to your concerns. Security will be tight. Bookings must be made by registering through Eventbrite and provision of a business address. Upon arrival, a security personnel will verify identities and proof of addres, requiring production of a valid form of identification and proof of address documentation to establish your work address is within the catchment area. Anyone failing to meet the criteria will not be permitted to attend the event. Ticket sales will end at3pm on Wednesday 29 November, and the event will take place at the Lincolnshire Showground on Thursday 30th November at 6.30pm.New shipping service links Hull to the Baltic ports
A new weekly service to ABP’s Port of Hull has begun, bringing vessels from Riga in Latvia and Helsinki in Finland.
Operated by Samskip, it will connect Rotterdam, Helsinki, Riga, and Hull, and has been launched in response to demand for a reliable short sea service from the Baltic Sea and a high level of customer care and reliability will be their trademark on this route.
Simon Bird, Regional Director for the Humber ABP ports said: “This is a great addition for the market. The new service will give existing and new customers the opportunity to connect directly with the UK as Hull is ideally located for the east west corridor and access to the Midlands and the North.
“This major new trade link between northern Europe Baltic area and East Yorkshire adds an option for shippers looking to reduce their cost and carbon emission, which sits in with our Ready for Tomorrow vision.”
Richard Beales, UK Regional Director for Samskip said: “We are excited to have established Samskip’s first direct call from Finland and Latvia to the UK. This new dedicated short sea product offers our clients reliability of transit, coupled with the ability to help decarbonize their products journey to market. Our home port of Hull offers an ideally situated gateway for onwards delivery to the major hubs in the North and Midlands.”
Hull Container Terminal and Immingham Container Terminal are desirable locations for cargoes destined for the UK locations in the North and the Midlands. The Port of Hull is one of the leading ports for general cargo and is located two and a half hours from five of the UK’s largest cities.
More than £50 million pounds has been invested into the Humber container terminals, including an automated gate entry system, new cranes, electric vehicles, and land expansion, which are preparing the ports for future growth without impacting productivity.
The Humber’s provision to serve the container sector goes from strength to strength. The extra space and equipment are evidence of the growing value the terminals have in the economic life of the North of England and the Midlands.
Samskip, a global logistics company, also operates a Humber-based owned truck fleet and customs brokerage activities.
Major milestone marked for affordable housing scheme
Leeds Federated Housing Association has brought residents and councillors from Leeds City Council together for a ground-breaking event for its latest affordable housing development in Oulton.
Partly funded through Homes England’s Strategic Partnership with Accent Housing, as part of the Government’s Affordable Homes Programme (AHP) 2021-26, the regeneration of Sugar Hill Close and Wordsworth Drive by Yorkshire-based contractor Termrim Construction will see a total of 70 homes delivered.
Leeds City Council’s executive board will next week be asked to approve a grant of £2.8m that will enable Leeds Federated to increase the number of affordable rented homes across the scheme, which on completion will comprise a mix of two, three and four-bedroom houses for local people.
The not-for-profit housing provider purchased the site last year with plans to replace its existing prefabricated Airey homes, built in the 1940s by the National Coal Board as a temporary solution to the post-war housing crisis, with much-needed affordable housing.
Most of the original development was regenerated nearly 30 years ago, providing modern homes on Shelley Crescent and Oulton Drive, with the remaining Airey homes on Sugar Hill Close and Wordsworth Drive the last to be redeveloped.
Phase one of the development is expected to complete next autumn with the first 10 homes allocated to residents currently living on Sugar Hill Close and Wordsworth Drive who have regulated or assured tenancies.
Leeds Federated is also working closely with the council to enable former residents who did not have assured or regulated tenancies to be given, where possible, an opportunity to move into the newly built affordable rented homes.
Residents will benefit from solar panels installed across the scheme, with each home built to high energy efficiency standards and achieving an EPC-B rating.
Kim Brear, chair at Leeds Federated Housing Association, said: “Over the last year we have worked closely with residents and the council to move forward with the redevelopment of Sugar Hill Close and Wordsworth Drive.
“We want to ensure the new scheme is a place that people want to move to and enjoy living in, and I would like to thank everyone involved for positively engaging with our team who are wholeheartedly committed to not just developing affordable housing but helping people to make a home.
“It’s great to see phase one of the demolition complete and I look forward to seeing the homes take shape over the next year.”
Councillor Jess Lennox, Leeds City Council’s executive member for housing, said: “Increasing the provision of good-quality, energy-efficient and affordable housing forms a key part of our efforts to ensure Leeds is a place that has opportunities and communities for all.
“The regeneration of Sugar Hill Close and Wordsworth Drive is a great example of how ambitious thinking and partnership working can help us achieve that aim, and it was a pleasure to attend the ground-breaking ceremony at the site.
“The council has worked hard to support both current and former residents during the recent period of change for this tight-knit community, and I look forward to seeing how the scheme now takes shape in the months and years to come.”
Gerry Doherty, construction manager at Termrim Construction, said: “We are really pleased to be working with Leeds Federated to deliver this exciting new development which will bring new and affordable homes to Oulton.
“At Termrim Construction we are dedicated to improving communities and the lives of those within them and we are looking forward to building these new quality homes and bringing them to reality for our client and the new homeowners.
“Having met with the existing residents as part of our contractor engagement sessions we are excited to have them join us on this journey.”
The regeneration of Sugar Hill Close and Wordsworth Drive will be completed in phases, with the development expected to be completed in 2026.
Government plans crackdown on food delivery drivers to weed out illegal workers
Food delivery firms such as Uber Eats, Deliveroo, and Just Eat have been urged by the government to conduct checks on all delivery drivers, to protect the British public and prevent illegal working.
Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick has demanded an end to the practice of unchecked account sharing, known as ‘substitutions’, by implementing stricter controls.
Under the current model, food delivery companies allow account holders to substitute deliveries to multiple people who are not checked by the companies. This means customers have no way of knowing whether the person who hands over their order has been properly vetted, and the delivery companies do not know if the delivery driver has the right to work in the UK.
In a letter to each company ahead of a meeting with them the Minister called for the practice to end, warning that the substitution business model is enabling illegal working, allowing exploitation and putting the British public at risk.
He said: “When someone orders a takeaway to their home, they deserve to know that the person arriving at their door has been properly vetted and is who they’re expecting.
“Unchecked account sharing places the public at risk, enables – and therefore encourages – illegal migration, and leads to the exploitation of workers. That’s why I’m calling on these companies to end the use of unverified substitution.
“We’re taking the action needed to safeguard the British public and prevent the scourge of illegal working. It is critical these companies work with us to achieve this.”
The government is calling on firms to introduce stricter vetting measures to make sure people representing each company are allowed to work in the UK, and do not have a criminal record. Immigration Enforcement teams have already ramped up action targeting illegal working in the food delivery sector, conducting over 250 enforcement visits and making over 380 arrests involving food delivery drivers so far this year. The Home Office has led engagement with Uber Eats, Deliveroo and Just Eat over recent months. In August, an agreement was secured with the businesses to strengthen existing recruitment processes and improve awareness of illegal working in the UK. The government will continue to work with the food delivery sector to build on this cooperation and prevent illegal working.Deirdre joins Clarion as senior associate
Senior associate Deirdre Lindsay has joined Clarion’s 52-strong real estate practice as it continues to expand.
Having spent the last six years at a national listed law firm, working as part of its residential development team, Deirdre further strengthens the Yorkshire firm’s offering. She has experience of advising housebuilders, landowners and developers, large and small, across Yorkshire and nationally. Her expertise includes advising clients on strategic land acquisitions, conditional contracts and she acts on sales to affordable housing providers.
Deirdre has also gained general commercial real estate experience and has advised clients on landlord and tenant matters.
Lindsay Texel, partner, who leads Clarion’s residential development team, said: “We already have a strong reputation inresidential development and have been looking for the right person to grow the team and enable us to support continuing client demand. With her excellent track record in this field, Deirdre is a great fit, giving us additional resource at a senior level.”
Deirdre said: “Having gained a solid grounding in residential development work, I was really looking for something a little different and wanted to move to a firm with a collaborative approach. Not only does Clarion have one of the largest and most respected real estate practices in Yorkshire, but it has a really positive culture where people are genuinely valued and go out of their way to support one another.”
Clarion’s 52-strong real estate team, which includes six partners, provides a full range of property expertise from development, investment, asset management, corporate occupier work through to retail, leisure and secured lending.
Fall sees target to halve inflation met
The rate of inflation fell sharply to 4.6% in the 12 months to October, the lowest rate in two years, achieving the Government’s pledge to halve inflation by the end of the year.
Largely due to a drop in energy prices, it follows sticky figures last month where inflation failed to drop as expected, making for an annual rate of 6.7%.
Meanwhile core inflation, which takes out volatile factors like energy, food, alcohol and tobacco to give a clear picture of underlying trends, though falling is still stubbornly high at 5.7% for the 12 months to October, down from 6.1% in September.
Alpesh Paleja, CBI lead economist, said: “A big drop in inflation was always expected in October, with last year’s energy price cap rise falling out of the annual comparison. But even taking this into account, inflation is heading in the right direction and the Government’s pledge to halve inflation by the end of the year has been met.
“Inflation should continue to fall in the months ahead. But the decline is set to be slow, and the CPI rate is likely to remain above the Bank of England’s target for much of next year. It’s worth noting that domestic price pressures remain sticky, and uncertainty over labour market data makes it difficult to gauge how much this is adding to inflationary pressure.
“Nonetheless, we’ve likely reached the peak of rising interest rates, and many are expecting the Bank of England to cut rates at some point next year. But with inflation set to fall slowly and the Bank of England being clear in their ‘higher for longer’ message, businesses and consumers shouldn’t expect a significant reduction in rates anytime soon.”
Hospitals Trust gets £250k to enhance heating systems
Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has been awarded more than a quarter of a million pounds to improve heating systems at its hospitals.
The Trust is among several organisations to successfully bid for a share of £13.9m from the second round of funding from the Heat Network Efficiency Scheme (HNES). The £251,381 Government grant will enable the Trust to undertake critical upgrades to its heating infrastructure which will not only enhance patient experience but improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions. At Castle Hill Hospital, the allocated funding will be channeled towards a comprehensive overhaul of the heat network, some parts of which are more than 35 years old. The plans include the installation of advanced monitoring and management controls, the replacement and enhancement of insulation, and the introduction of additional meters and heat exchangers. Hull Royal Infirmary will undergo similar improvements to its heating network which dates back to 1973, including an upgrade of the control system and replacement of insulation. By modernising this infrastructure, the Trust which will fund part of upgrade, aims to improve the energy efficiency of both hospitals and reduce wastage.Funding boost for new train station in Bradford
Rail passengers in Bradford will be connected to more jobs, education and business opportunities, thanks to the government’s commitment to deliver a new train station in the city.
The plan was first revealed last month as part of the government’s launch of Network North – a £36 billion long-term plan to improve the country’s transport across roads, buses and railways.
Today (14 November 2023), the Department for Transport is building on its promise of building a brand-new railway station in Bradford by providing £400,000 for the local authority to kickstart master planning on the project.
The work will consider how the new station can best support regeneration in the surrounding area and maximise its potential to create new homes, jobs and local economic growth – as well as significantly improving transport links and cutting journey times.
Once complete, the findings will form part of a wider business case for the project which will include details on the proposed location and delivery date for the station.
Rail Minister, Huw Merriman, said: “I have championed the case for a new railway station in Bradford for a long time and the funding announced today will make this commitment one step closer to becoming a reality.
“Bradford is soon to become the UK’s ‘City of Culture’ and our scheme to deliver a brand new station and railway line will help attract tourism, unlock access to neighbouring cities and provide the area with the huge regeneration opportunities it deserves to boost connectivity and economic growth.”
The station will be delivered as part of the government’s Network North pledge to connect major cities in the North of England with more frequent trains, increased capacity and faster journeys. On top of the £400,000 announced today for regeneration plans in the city, a total of £2 billion will be invested to build the station and a new line to deliver a significantly faster, 30-minute journey to Manchester via Huddersfield. Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, leader of Bradford Council, said: “It is good to see this moving forward, everyone has worked so hard for so long to get this progressed. Improving connectivity for Bradford to the rest of the North is so important to enable greater investment, jobs and opportunities. There can be no successful North without Bradford being successful.”SMEs in Hull and the East Riding to benefit from expert support
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Hull and the East Riding will soon be able to benefit from expert, tailored support thanks to over half a million pounds worth of funding secured by Hull & East Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership (HEY LEP).
The government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has awarded £520,000 to HEY LEP to deliver the Create Growth Programme (CGP).
The CGP will provide ‘scale up’ support to high-growth potential SMEs from the creative industries and help them to grow by becoming more investment ready.
Eligible business will be able to access free, fully-funded expert advice, workshops, mentoring and peer-development sessions, as well as access to a funding programme managed by Innovate UK.
The programme will formally launch in February 2024, with SMEs able to access support from 1 April 2024.
James Newman OBE, HEY LEP chair, said: “I am delighted that Hull and East Yorkshire has been successful in this highly competitive round of specialist support for our creative industry SMEs.
“The HEY Create Growth Programme led by the LEP, in partnership with both local authorities and the University of Hull, will ensure that the programme once launched in April 2024 is a great success.”
The programme aligns with HEY LEP’s Economic Growth and Workforce Wellbeing Strategy 2021-2026 which states that the digital and creative sectors are priority sectors for the onward growth and development of the Hull and East Yorkshire economy.
HEY LEP will deliver the CGP in partnership with Hull City Council, East Riding of Yorkshire Council and University of Hull.
Cllr Paul Drake-Davis, Hull City Council’s portfolio holder for regeneration, said: “It is fantastic that HEY LEP has received such a boost from DCMS. The CGP is a brilliant project which will support the local economy.”
Councillor Nick Coultish, East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s cabinet member for culture, leisure and tourism, said: “This funding for the Create Growth Programme is great news for our creative sectors. It will help local SMEs grow and contribute significantly to our regional economy in such a diverse cultural sector.”
Professor Darren Mundy, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Cultures and Education at University of Hull added: “We are delighted to be a partner in this project.
“It provides an outstanding opportunity to scale up creative sector businesses across Hull and the East Riding, enhancing the career opportunities for our students, graduates and alumni, whilst also generating further opportunities for engagement with our creative practitioners.”
