Lincolnshire businesses are facing a growing burden of economic pressures, including rising interest rates and higher labour and materials costs, according to the latest Red Flag Alert data from independent business rescue and recovery specialist Begbies Traynor. The report found that 1,260 businesses in Lincolnshire were suffering early or ‘significant’ distress in Q2 2023, a 3.5% increase on the same period in 2022 and up 8.2% on the first quarter of this year. ‘Significant’ distress refers to businesses showing deterioration in key financial ratios and indicators including those measuring working capital, contingent liabilities, retained profits and net worth. The latest data is sourced from a completely new Red Flag dataset that has involved deep dive analysis of eight years’ company data by data scientists over the past two years to track key factors behind company distress and failure rates. Of the 22 sectors monitored by Red Flag Alert, in Lincolnshire five sectors reported increases of 10% or over in the number of companies in significant financial distress compared with a year ago. Sectors suffering the biggest increases in significant distress in the region, compared to last year, included general retail (26.8%), telecoms and IT (22.8%), food and drug retail (14.3%) and support services (13.9%). Gareth Rusling, who heads Begbies Traynor’s Lincolnshire offices in Lincoln, Scunthorpe and Grimsby, said: “Consumers and businesses have both been hit hard by higher interest rates and there are mounting concerns that the situation may worsen in the second half of this year in Lincolnshire and across the UK, when winter sets in and energy costs go up. “Consumers are feeling the pinch and cutting back not just on discretionary spending but also on essentials to counteract higher mortgage and loan repayments. Meanwhile businesses are also seeing the cost of their debt rising and, still reeling from the effects of the pandemic and set back by higher energy bills and the effects of the war in Ukraine, it’s no wonder that the number of distressed companies has jumped since last year. He added: “Our advice to businesses is to monitor their financial position carefully, and seek advice from qualified restructuring professionals as soon as any problems become apparent to avoid them escalating.”

H2Boost aims to produce biohydrogen for the UK transport sector by integrating an advanced oxidation and enzymatic pre-treatment technology of bio-based feedstocks, conversion to bio-hydrogen by dark fermentation (DF) and down-stream processing of by-products via anaerobic digestion, microbial CO2 capture and storage. Building on the work of phase 1, under-utilised, low-value feedstocks will be subjected to different pre-treatment conditions to improve biohydrogen yields and reduce the residency time of nutrient-rich streams in DF. The fermentation by-products, namely anaerobic digestion digestate, will be used as substrates for algal propagation and anaerobic digestion to achieve a closed-loop system for enhanced biomethane yield and carbon capture and storage (CCS). This multi-step process aims to create a technology that is financially viable and environmentally sustainable. Input from the supply chain, market engagement, techno-economic and life cycle analysis will demonstrate process environmental and commercial sustainability. Deborah Rathbone, Bioscience Innovation Team Manager, Biorenewables Development Centre, said: “We are delighted to be awarded phase 2 funding to further develop biohydrogen for the UK transport sector. “Working with our ten partners, the University of Leeds, Greenthread Solutions, Qube Renewables, Aardvark EM, WSP, Cyanocapture Ltd, The Maltings Organic Treatment Ltd, AB Agri, NNFCC and CM90 Ltd, we have a real opportunity here to make a difference as the H2Boost objectives align with the UK ambition of reaching net-zero by 2050 with low carbon hydrogen-based technologies providing up to 35% of energy requirements.” The work undertaken by the consortium will contribute to the decarbonisation of the passenger and long-haulage transport sector which contributed to 16% of 2019 domestic GHG emissions. The growing demand for hydrogen to meet the UK net-zero ambitions will rely on processes such as those deployed by the H2Boost consortium. The project combines expertise from academia and industry with support from a panel of external advisors on feedstock pre-treatment, fermentation, microbial analysis, and downstream processing. The integrated process developed by H2Boost partners will offer a novel reliable source of UK-produced low-carbon biohydrogen and high-value products with market applications such as biofertiliser and biofuels to help to address the use of high volume waste streams in generating biohydrogen. The Hydrogen BECCS Innovation Programme supports technologies which can produce hydrogen from biogenic feedstocks and be combined with carbon capture. It forms part of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero £1 billion Net Zero Innovation Portfolio, which aims to accelerate the commercialisation of innovative clean energy technologies and processes through the 2020s and 2030s. In total over £26 million of funding was awarded to enable 6 organisations, including 5 micro- and small- sized enterprises to deliver commercially viable hydrogen BECCS innovations.

A Leeds-based business has secured a unique partnership with the PGMOL, to spearhead the use of drone technology within top Premier League football referee training programmes, to coincide with the kick-off of the new season.

Drone provider, Coptrz is working with the PGMOL, the body responsible for the management and development of officials in English professional football, to implement drones within practical-based programmes benefitting top referees such as Michael Oliver and Anthony Taylor.

The core aim is to widen the training and development of officials in professional football by building on the current video analysis provision offered to both referees and assistant referees.

PGMOL recently opened the doors of its pre-season training camp at Loughborough to show how it is harnessing Coptrz’s drone technology to enhance match officials’ coaching programme.

Using both the DJI Mavic 3 Enterprise, and the DJI M30 drones, PGMOL can capture game-realistic situations from a bird’s eye perspective during its regular training camps; footage of which is then analysed in real time and off the pitch to help referees and assistant referees, and their coaches, work on different aspects of their game. In particular, this focuses on positioning and improving sight lines to gain the optimum angle to make decisions during games.

George Burne, business development director at Coptrz, based in Leeds, said: “Teaming up with the PGMOL is a key milestone for Coptrz as a business and will really demonstrate the positive impact drone technology can have at the highest level of the professional game.

“We look forward to working with PGMOL to provide referees and assistant referees in football with even greater analysis within their regular training scenarios.” 

Adam Carter, head of performance analysis at PGMOL, said: “The use of technology in sport is constantly evolving and we are committed to ensuring we remain at the cutting edge of innovation.

“The introduction of drones into our training programme has meant that we can now capture game scenarios from a new and beneficial viewpoint, which is playing an important part in preparing our officials for their fixtures both at home and across the world.

“There’s been a lot of investment into the coaching structure at PGMOL in recent months and this technology is another positive step to continuing to provide officials with the best possible tools to perform on matchdays.”

An award-winning partnership between Citizens Advice and Yorkshire Building Society will now provide more support to more people after expanding nationally to over 40 locations. The partnership sees Citizens Advice advisers hold free, impartial and confidential appointments in private meeting rooms at selected high street branches of the Society. It initially started with just six Yorkshire Building Society branches in 2021, but due to increased demand the amount of Yorkshire locations offering the service trebled in the first 18 months. Now, this latest expansion nationally will see 42 branches offer Citizen s Advice advisers across Scotland, Yorkshire and the North West, East Anglia and the South West of the country. Glasgow, Newcastle, Norwich and Plymouth are among the new locations. The service, which is available to all members of the public, not just the Society’s customers, supports people with a range of issues, and to date has unlocked more than £1 million worth of estimated additional income for those it has helped. Yorkshire Building Society Chief Exec Susan Allen said: “As a mutual organisation we are committed to providing real help to people in our communities, and this is just one of the ways we do this. In the current climate, this partnership is incredibly relevant – offering an immediate lifeline to people who need it, in an accessible location. “We know from the current locations just how valuable this service continues to be and I have no doubt extending the use of our retail space to host Citizen Advice advisers nationally will ensure more people across the country benefit from the support, where and when they need it.” Dame Clare Moriarty, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: “We’re thrilled to be extending our partnership with Yorkshire Building Society. The number of people helped by Citizens Advice hit a record high during the first four months of 2023, and this partnership will help us to reach even more people who need support during these particularly challenging times.”