- Digital skills for the older generation (learning to face time, shop online, banking)
- Online training with devices provided
- Specialist classes to improve both physical and mental health
- Physical and digital events (e.g. coffee morning meets)
- Group activities in local venues to develop skills and improve resilience
- A life skills course to learn basic electrical, plumbing and household skills
- Energy advice and information to achieve low carbon and energy households
- Trips and visits to new places in the Ongo mini bus for all generations to increase confidence
Ongo has been awarded £138k to offer post-pandemic support
Ongo has been awarded a £138k Reconnect grant from the UK Community Renewal Fund to re-engage with members of the community, support their ambitions and achieve employment opportunities.
Reconnect aims to improve resilience, reduce the fear of Covid and tackle digital and social isolation. It will also improve mental and physical health, help to access services and develop aspirations again.
The project will launch in January 2022 and last for seven months, piloting a blended approach of in person and digital engagement, to determine future ways of delivering services.
The activities are set out in three areas to achieve the priorities set out in North Lincolnshire Council’s plan. These are ‘keeping people safe and well’, ‘enabling resilient and flourishing communities’ and ‘enabling economic growth and renewal’.
Just some of the activities set out as part of Ongo’s Reconnect project include:
Holiday home manufacturer achieves recertification against renowned health and safety standard
East Yorkshire holiday home manufacturer Victory Leisure Homes has successfully achieved recertification against one of the world’s most recognised health and safety management standards.
Awarded by the industry leading British Standards Institution (BSI), ISO:45001:2018 Occupational Health and Safety Management certification demonstrates Victory’s ongoing dedication to providing the safest workplace possible for its staff with the aim of preventing work-related ill-health and injury.
Victory Leisure Homes first secured the certification in 2018 and was one of the first British companies to achieve the coveted ISO:45001 status. The recertification confirms that Victory has been able to maintain these exacting standards over the past three years.
Gary Corlyon, managing director of Victory Leisure Homes, said: “Health and safety is a top priority here at Victory; there’s not just one person responsible, but multiple people across the business who all play a crucial part in maintaining the team’s safety.
“Being able to secure this recertification is another way in which Victory is leading the way for our workforce. We know that placing an emphasis on keeping our team safe and healthy frees them up to perform at their best, and it’s our customers that benefit in turn. It’s this sort of detail that stands us apart in creating the very best in holiday homes and lodges in the UK.”
ISO 45001:2018 tackles a global need to improve the occupational health and safety of people working in organisations, enabling them to provide safe and healthy working conditions that proactively improves performance. BSI’s mission is to share best practice in helping people and organisations make excellence a habit.
For more information on Victory Leisure Homes visit: www.victoryleisurehomes.co.uk.
Trebor snap up new speculative industrial site in Goole
Trebor Developments have acquired another industrial site to speculatively develop.
Located on Tom Pudding Way, Goole, East Riding of Yorkshire, the site is in a well-located industrial area and opposite Siemens’ £200 million new manufacturing facilities.
The site will be marketed as ‘Point 36, Goole’.
The site extends to 5.90 acres and planning will be submitted shortly for a single, 94,841 sq ft, high quality, sustainable, industrial building suitable for B2 or B8 uses.
The site has been purchased unconditionally and forms part of Trebor’s expanding UK-wide development programme of industrial sites and continues a successful development programme across Yorkshire during the last 2 years, which has delivered over 600,000 sq ft of speculative accommodation.
Bob Tattrie, managing partner for Trebor, said: “We are excited to secure our next Yorkshire site and bring forward this unit for occupation in 2022. The location is excellent, with strong links to the ports, motorway network and railhead, the unit being suitable for a wide range of uses. Planning will be submitted shortly.”
Paul Mack, director of Gent Visick, who acted for the landowner, said: “We are delighted to have acted on the sale of one of the last remaining development plots in the Goole area. With the new Siemens state of the art rail manufacturing facility being built opposite, it is an exciting time for Goole and we hope this new facility will create even more jobs for the local area.”
Trebor are advised by Holder and Co and Gent Visick.
Sills & Betteridge LLP complete another corporate deal
Two of Lincoln’s largest property specialists, Brown & Co and JH Walter LLP, recently joined forces in a deal handled for JH Walter by Sills & Betteridge’s Lead Corporate Partner, Martin Walsh.
The combined business which provides property, business, planning and energy services to corporate and private clients, will continue to operate from both JH Walter’s Lincoln city centre location and Brown & Co’s existing offices on Doddington Road Lincoln, and its other offices throughout East Anglia and the East Midlands.
The new trading name of the Lincoln operation is Brown & Co JH Walter.
John Elliot, Managing Partner of JH Walter, explained the firm’s decision to bring Martin on board to deal with the sale: “Having been approached by a number of interested parties with a view to merging our long-standing chartered surveying and property sales business, we needed an experienced senior corporate lawyer to assist us in the process.
“We had no previous experience of combining with another business. Fortunately for us, the law firm Sills & Betteridge, with whom we have worked for a number of years, had such a lawyer, in Martin Walsh.
“Throughout the whole process his experience shone through. He guided us through our preliminary discussions with various interested parties before we reached a conditional agreement with Brown &Co to combine our respective businesses.
“During the process to give effect to the combination, Martin’s advice was commercial, practical, clear and concise. In addition, he worked calmly and tirelessly in making sure each issue was properly considered, negotiated and settled to meet the agreed deadline for completion of the combination of the business of JH Walter LLP with that of Brown & Co.
“I know I speak for all of the partners in JH Walter in saying we have no hesitation in recommending Martin Walsh and the law firm Sills and Betteridge to anyone considering selling or buying a business as Martin made the process so much more manageable, leading to a successful outcome for all involved.”
Martin Walsh added: “JHW have been a very long-standing client of the firm. I was delighted to be able to help JHW and its partners successfully transition their business to that of Brown &Co resulting in a larger complimentary client base and so increased business opportunities for the combined firm. I very much look forward to seeing the business continuing to thrive.”
Global medical technology company acquires Leeds firm
BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), a global medical technology company with 70,000 employees, has acquired Tissuemed, a privately held firm headquartered in Leeds, that is an industry leader in developing self-adhesive surgical sealant films.
The acquisition of Tissuemed expands BD’s global offerings for surgeons outside of the United States.
Tissuemed’s lead product, Tissuepatch™, is a sealant technology that bonds to tissue to help control internal bleeding or prevent leaks from surgical incisions.
“This advanced sealant serves as a strategic complement to the BD products used in the operating room today — providing us with the opportunity to equip surgeons with a more robust, highly-integrated portfolio of surgical solutions,” said Kevin Kelly, president of Surgery for BD.
“Integrating Tissuepatch™ into our business aligns with our commitment to continuously innovate in our core portfolio to help support minimally invasive surgeries.”
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Lincolnshire medical centre acquired for £6.8m
Primary Health Properties (PHP), one of the UK’s leading investors in modern primary healthcare facilities, has acquired the Parkside Medical Centre in Boston, Lincolnshire for a total consideration of £6.8 million.
The property is fully let to a substantial GP practice and a pharmacy. The two leases, with a weighted average unexpired lease term (“WAULT”) of 13.5 years, are accretive to the portfolio WAULT and provide for a substantial proportion of government backed income.
This acquisition will increase PHP’s portfolio to a total of 520 assets, of which 20 are in Ireland, with a contracted rent roll of over £139 million.
Harry Hyman, CEO of Primary Health Properties, said: “We are delighted to be making this acquisition of a modern, purpose-built facility in Boston. Originally constructed in 2009, the property was extended in 2013/14 in order to provide the range of medical services required by the local community, which has allowed the patient list to grow significantly.
“We have a strong pipeline of opportunities in the UK and Ireland and are well positioned to continue to grow our portfolio and to support the healthcare systems in these markets through the provision of modern, primary care infrastructure.”
Yorkshire accountancy firm acquires new HQ
A Yorkshire accountancy firm is set to accelerate its growth after acquiring a new headquarters in Cleckheaton, following a six-figure cash injection from Lloyds Bank.
Shenward is a family-run firm that has provided tax and business advice, auditing and HR and payroll services for more than 30 years. As they expanded, the team introduced a series of new professional services specialisms including PR, insurance, brokerage and finance, transforming the firm into a full multidisciplinary practice.
And now, following a series of new client wins, it has opened the doors to its new 8,000 sq ft office in Summit House, at Woodland Park business park.
At four times the size of its previous HQ, the Cleckheaton office provides open plan working spaces, with three bespoke client suites, and virtual office facilities for its international clients and partners.
Purchased with the support of a six-figure loan from Lloyds Bank, the expansion is the largest in the firm’s history.
Sherad Dewedi, managing partner of Shenward, said: “This move is a huge milestone for us, allowing us to capitalise on the strong growth we have already achieved by continuing to recruit the best talent, and enhancing the range of services we can offer to our clients.
“We are committed to growing alongside our clients, working to mirror their ambitions and diversifying our offering to support their needs – and the move to Summit House gives us the tools to do just that.”
2022 Business Predictions: Richard Heslop, Managing Director of DE Commercial
It’s that time of year, when Business Link Magazine invites the region’s business leaders to offer up their predictions for the year ahead.
It has become something of a tradition, given that we’ve been doing this now for over 30 years.
Here we speak to Richard Heslop, Managing Director of DE Commercial, a boutique property consultancy in Ilkley.
The first half of 2022 will be dominated by Covid, supply chain issues and the increasing costs of construction. While Covid has been with us for 2 years now, the latter two came to the fore in the second half of 2021. What is certain going forward into 2022 is the uncertainty created by these issues.
Having said that the commercial property market remains resilient.
We expect to see the warehouse/industrial market continue to make the gains witnessed over the past 12 months which has seen development land deals exceed £1million per acre with freehold and leasehold values gaining more than 20%.
A cloud will remain over the office market which is now dominated by “work from home.” Going forward we expect more companies to develop their strategies of employees mixing home and office working. This will have a dampening effect on the growth potential for this market.
The investment market remains robust and the supply shortages will continue to hold back this sector at the smaller end. Property yields continue to outstrip other asset classes and private investors will be loathe to sell if there is no alternative home for their capital. Demand from institutional investors, particularly for warehousing/distribution buildings, will ensure yields harden further as they look to strike deals off plan or during the early stage of construction.
With regard to the retail market, the two overriding factors affecting demand will continue to be the high level of rates payable coupled with the inexorable rise of internet shopping. As work from home spills over into 2022, the internet will continue to win out.
Yorkshire business streamlines with new distribution centre and Commercial Director appointment
Leeds-based Spinks, the components division of 180-year-old family bedmaker Harrison Spinks, has announced the launch of an additional distribution centre and appointment of a new Commercial Director as the global leader in sustainable spring and comfort technology continues to grow.
The new 35,000 sq. ft. distribution centre is in south Leeds and will be used for the storage of finished goods and raw materials to enable Spinks to fully utilise the manufacturing space in its existing Leeds factories. Spinks’ wire drawing lines will also move from Leeds to its main wire drawing site in Scunthorpe.
In addition, Emma Davidson has been appointed as Commercial Director of Spinks. With previous operational, finance and directorship experience, Emma will be responsible for strengthening the relationship between finance and operations as well as overseeing the new distribution centre.
Darren Marcangelo, Managing Director at Spinks, commented: “The new distribution centre allows us to use our existing facilities purely for manufacturing rather than storage, and we’re incredibly pleased to welcome Emma to spearhead the operation and oversee this transition. This streamlining is particularly timely as demand is high and so Emma has joined the team at an opportune time.”
Emma Davidson, Commercial Director at Spinks, continued: “After working as a consultant for over ten years, I’m pleased to have joined Spinks and look forward to joining the dots between disciplines and overseeing the evolution to the new distribution centre.”
Emma has prior experience as Finance Director at Yorkshire Exhaust Specialists and Managing Director at BR Pharmaceuticals.
Quickline announces two senior appointments to further strengthen executive team
Ultrafast broadband provider Quickline Communications Limited (“Quickline”) is pleased to announce the appointment of two leading broadband specialists to its executive team.
Lee Allison will join Quickline in January 2022 as Chief Operating Officer. In his previous role as Head of Engineering Operations at KCOM, Mr Allison was responsible for building the award-winning fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) network in and around Hull, which brought gigabit broadband capability to over 250,000 premises. He has more recently been responsible for KCOM’s £100m FTTP network expansion investment.
Ian Smith will become Quickline’s Chief Technology Officer in February 2022 after spending the last four years as Programme Director for the Government’s 5G Testbeds and Trials Programme. He has over 25 years of experience in designing, building and operating both fixed and mobile networks and previously held senior roles at Ericsson, EE and T-Mobile. Mr Smith also has extensive experience delivering large scale technology and transformational programmes for both the public and private sectors.
These key appointments further strengthen Quickline’s executive team and demonstrate the unique hybrid broadband network capability that Quickline is rapidly developing. The team is led by Chief Executive Officer Sean Royce, who has already started implementing an impressive growth strategy since he joined the company in May.
Quickline’s founder and interim Chief Technology Officer, Steve Jagger, will step down from his executive duties at the end of the year but remains a shareholder and as a non-executive director.
Sean Royce said: “We are delighted to attract such high calibre industry specialists to our executive team. Their arrival further underpins the company’s commitment to providing life changing broadband services to those underserved communities in rural areas, as well as to becoming one of Yorkshire’s fastest growing companies.
“These appointments also underline our focus and commitment to bringing full fibre and market leading 5G technology to 500,000 homes and businesses across the North of England and beyond. Lee and Ian will play key roles in the development and implementation of our growth strategy, leading the design and build of our gigabit-capable hybrid network as we fulfil our plans to scale-up and expand the business.
“I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our founder Steve Jagger for his assistance and continued support since I started as CEO in May, and I am delighted that we will still have access to his wealth of experience on our Board as we move into an exciting new chapter for the company.”
For more information about Quickline and how they deliver high-speed broadband to rural areas, please visit www.quickline.co.uk, call 01482 24-7-365 or email sales@quickline.co.uk.
