Hull company scoops Concorde coup with seat restoration project

Stuart Pearcey
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Hull company scoops Concorde coup with seat restoration project
The Hull-based Leather Repair Company has started work on restoring the seats on  Concorde, which attracts thousands of visitors every year to the Runway Visitor Park at Manchester Airport. Richard and Carolynne Hutchins from Withernsea are also polishing their skills to meet the needs of other aviation clients as the first business in Europe to be trained and accredited to the international standard of the Aviation Detailing Association. The Concorde coup came about after the couple found themselves with time to kill while waiting for a delayed flight from Manchester to the United States. They went to the Runway Visitor Park and decided to offer their services. Richard said: “We didn’t know the Runway Visitor Park was there, never mind Concorde, but we did the tour and we were fascinated by the stories about the plane and her passengers.” Queen Elizabeth II flew on G-BOAC Concorde many times as did countless celebrities including George Michael, whose “Patience” album featured a white leather sofa which last year took centre stage in Richard’s and Carolynne’s Hull workshop while they restored its gleaming original look. While admiring Concorde they met John Hepple from the Runway Visitor Park and heard how the iconic jet is considered the star of the collection and is housed in her own hangar, which doubles as an event space accommodating up to 750 guests with full catering services. John said: “Once the choice of business leaders, celebrities, and the public for trips of a lifetime, Concorde’s legendary flight experience continues to captivate visitors over 20 years after her retirement. “Interest in Concorde remains high, with tour experiences available throughout the year. In her airline service, Concorde operated approximately five flights per week, each carrying up to 100 passengers. Our tours attract as many as 400 visitors each weekend, with events drawing more than 200 attendees. We utilise only 40 seats in the front cabin, leading to increased wear over time, despite the durability of the Terence Conran design.” Richard and Carolynne took two seats for testing at their premises in Argyle Industrial Estate in Hull and, after successful trials, are now restoring the rest in batches. Richard said: “It will be a very sympathetic restoration – we need to make sure the seats still look old but are well cared for. We were immediately struck by how light they are. The backs are carbon fibre and it’s no effort at all to lift them. “Sitting in the cockpit we found ourselves cocooned in a very small space surrounded by an immense amount of buttons and dials. Just seeing the plane reminded me of my time growing up in the south when we would hear Concorde flying high above. “We found a few things stuffed down the side of the seats. US and UK coins, card from some Varda Chocolatier miniature bon bons from Elizabeth, New Jersey, and some toothpicks, fortunately still wrapped so not damaging the seats or the visitors!”

New campaign aims to boost restaurant footfall in North Yorkshire

Stuart Pearcey
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New campaign aims to boost restaurant footfall in North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire diners in the Selby area are being given the chance to find new culinary experiences through a major campaign aimed at boosting North Yorkshire’s hospitality trade. The new Restaurant Week is set to take place across the Selby, Tadcaster, and Sherburn-in-Elmet area for the first time from October 21 to 27. Businesses are being encouraged to sign up for the campaign and offer special set-price menus to customers who visit their restaurants and quote the offer during the dedicated week. Restaurant Week offers businesses in the food and hospitality industry the opportunity to increase awareness of their enterprise, attract new customers and create regular repeat customers, during a typically quieter time of the season. Visitors to the establishments taking part in Restaurant Week can try new places, new menus, and even new dishes. The campaign, which has already been staged in Harrogate, is being overseen by Visit North Yorkshire, our destination marketing and management service. The MD of The Drovers Arms Restaurant and Country Pub in Skipwith, Graham Usher, welcomed the new campaign to highlight the wealth of restaurants in the area. He said: “We are delighted to be taking part and supporting the first Restaurant Week in Selby and the surrounding area. “There is such an amazing choice of restaurants and eateries in the local vicinity and this is a great opportunity to bring them all together and showcase for a week to local residents what is available on their doorstep. “At The Drovers Arms, we will be showcasing the wonderful produce that is available to us locally with a great value fixed price menu for lunch and dinner.”

Firms to be offered free advice about how to write the best bids

Stuart Pearcey
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Firms to be offered free advice about how to write the best bids
Free expert advice about writing bids for businesses is on offer at two workshops organised by Invest East Yorkshire and led by a team of bid-writing specialists. Kate Skillman and Nigel Denison of Gimlet Associates, who have spent 16 years helping businesses of all sizes navigate and win competitive tenders, will give those taking part in the workshops an insight into the bidding process, equipping them with the knowledge and skills that they need to succeed. Kate explained: “We understand that for small and medium-sized businesses the bid process can feel overwhelming. Through our workshops, we guide them through the essential steps, from bid preparation and selection to question analysis and deconstruction. Participants often find this last section especially valuable as it provides a useful strategy to make response writing easier, improve response content and score higher marks. “We aim to demystify the bid process and show businesses that, with proper preparation and a strategic approach, they can compete for tenders and stand a much better chance of winning the contracts. We’ve had the pleasure of seeing several businesses we’ve worked with go on to win important contracts after attending our workshops.” Nigel added: “Our workshops offer new perspectives and practical solutions for businesses that haven’t enjoyed the success that they desire. We equip them with the tools to decide whether a tender is right for their business, and how to efficiently allocate their resources. Ultimately, our workshops empower small businesses to produce high-quality bids, without the need for a specialised team.” Those who have taken part in the workshops run by Kate and Nigel previously have given them a resounding thumbs-up. Vicki Hone of Hornsea Nursery said: “I would highly recommend this to anyone dipping their toe into the world of tendering. I will now look at the tender portals recommended on the course to identify opportunities to apply for funding.” The first workshop, entitled Winning More work Through Tenders, will take place on 10 October, from 9.30am to 12 noon at RaisE Business Centre on Tom Pudding Way in Goole. This will be followed by a Practical Bid Writing Skills workshop on 12 November, from 10am to 11.15am, which will take place online.

West Yorkshire-based Inspectas puts six into new roles

Stuart Pearcey
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West Yorkshire-based Inspectas puts six into new roles
Compliance specialist Inspectas has made six new appointments from trainee to board level, bolstering its team’s property expertise. The West Yorkshire-based business, which moved into larger premises and marked its tenth anniversary last year, has brought in fire, equipment, lab, asbestos and business development professionals taking its multi-disciplinary team to 56. Management Board Director Andy Walker joins to support the company’s strategic growth, Business Development Manager Jason Smith has been appointed to boost client support and new business streams, Irene Tom joins as Assistant Laboratory Manager, Darren Tubb as Senior Consultant (Fire), Kristian Bailey joins as Senior Asbestos and Framework Manager and Alex Robinson joins as a Trainee Analyst Surveyor. The new appointments bring a further eight decades of compliance expertise into the business, which has a portfolio of more than 150 clients in sectors including education, healthcare, retail, construction and industrial. Inspectas Director and co-founder Matthew Fahy said: “We are experiencing a rapid period of growth thanks to a series of new contracts in specialist housing, education, local government and the energy sector. “Legislative requirements for building compliance is non-negotiable but can be a minefield for businesses to navigate.  Many organisations are looking for external expertise and as our client base increases, we are investing in the very best practitioners to help deliver our specialist services and provide advice, guidance and a safe pair of hands from fire risk assessments to asbestos management.” He added: “We’re delighted to welcome Andy, Jason, Irene, Darren, Kristian and Alex into the Inspectas family. It’s fantastic to provide opportunities for new starters in our industry while also attracting seasoned professionals who bring the technical knowledge to strengthen our offering even more. We’re looking forward to sharing best practice and growing the business together.” Inspectas specialises in making and keeping properties safe. It was formed in 2013 by asbestos management professionals Craig Candlish and Matthew Fahy who combined their decades of expertise to launch a compliance business which covers all major occupational management specialisms including asbestos management and removal, health and safety, CDM and fire safety.

ABP names new Head of Group Financial Planning and Analysis.

Stuart Pearcey
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ABP names new Head of Group Financial Planning and Analysis.
Port operator ABP has appointed Bianca Simeone as Head of Group Financial Planning and Analysis. During her time at ABP, Ms Simeone has supported the senior management team to set and deliver the Group’s business plan by enabling the right insights to drive business and financial decisions. She has also played a key role in developing financial reporting, planning and analysis across the business. Mani Atwal, ABP Deputy CFO, said: “I would like to congratulate Bianca on her promotion and look forward to continuing to work together in this strategically important role for ABP, which forms a key part of the finance function’s leadership team and provides expertise to our Group planning, reporting and business partnering to other functions.” “Especially with the launch of our twin missions of Keeping Britain Trading and Enabling the Energy Transition, we need a laser-sharp focus on our goals to stay on track and navigate external challenges in an effective manner in order to achieve sustained business growth.” Bianca said: “I feel privileged to have witnessed how, over the past decade, ABP has transformed from a traditional port operator, focused on Keeping Britain Trading, into a business that is committed to Enabling the Energy Transition. I’m excited to see what comes next. “There are many talented colleagues I have worked with in my time at ABP and I look forward to continuing to lead financial planning and analysis so that we can build a future we can all be proud of.” Before joining ABP, Bianca held a number of roles across mining, transport and other industries, including at Anglo American and Heathrow.

Bus and coach firms instructed to make journeys more accessible for the disabled

Stuart Pearcey
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Bus and coach firms instructed to make journeys more accessible for the disabled
From today bus and coach companies must ensure their vehicles display and announce route information for passengers with hearing and sight impairments. The Public Service Vehicles (Accessible Information) Regulations 2023 require operators of bus and coach services to provide information on the route, direction of travel and each upcoming stop. It’s said the regulations will boost confidence for travelling passengers, including those with sight and hearing impairments because route information will be clearly displayed and announced. Vehicles first used on local services since 1 October 2019 must now be compliant. There is a staggered deadline for older vehicles through to 2026, with partially-compliant status vehicles needing to be compliant by 2031.

Leeds consulting engineers secure four more care-related contracts

Stuart Pearcey
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Leeds consulting engineers secure four more care-related contracts

Leeds-based Dudleys Consulting Engineers has secured four more contracts with Torsion Projects to provide structural and civil engineering support for new care homes in Bradford, Chesterfield, Durham, and Worksop.

The new contracts follow similar care home and retirement living projects for Torsion Care in Shipley, Bingley, Brighouse, Sleaford, Lincoln, and York for which Dudleys provided full engineering consultancy support.

In Bradford Torsion is redeveloping a brownfield site at Eccleshill to build a new 72-bedroom care home with associated ancillary services.  Dudleys is providing engineering solutions to raise the site level by approximately 3 metres to provide a level plateau.

Torsion Care is also poised to deliver a new 72-bedroom care home in Chesterfield after securing planning consent subject to conditions.  Dudleys is supporting the redevelopment of the former Walton Works, including Grade II listed mill buildings for the care home alongside new housing.

Works are also due to commence on site next month in Worksop where Torsion is building a new 70-bed care home within the expanding development at Gatefold Toll Bar in Worksop. Dudleys is delivering full civil and structural engineering support, working alongside Watson Batty Architects which is designing the scheme.

John Currie, MD at Torsion Projects, said: “It is a pleasure to appoint Dudleys on our next roll out of schemes. Their support and expertise from inception through to completion on multiply projects at the same time allow Torsion Projects to maintain its growth plan and deliver exceptional schemes on programme.”

Paul Brownlow, Director at Dudleys, said: “Our team is highly skilled in working with challenging brownfield sites that need varying levels of remediation from historic use or local environmental impact and we admire Torsions commitment to rejuvenating often difficult sites to provide much needed new community focused facilities.”

Torsion Care is a part of Torsion Group, a privately owned independent company focused on developing residential, student living, care homes and retirement living apartments. With a pipeline of more than 5,000 units in the UK, Torsion Care delivers modern care homes, assisted living, and extra care facilities for operators across the UK. Torsion Care offers a complete turn of key service from finding land, obtaining planning permission, and constructing care facilities in a partnering approach with operators and investors.

Australian company chooses West Yorkshire for digital property pilot

Stuart Pearcey
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Australian company chooses West Yorkshire for digital property pilot

Australian property company Pexa has chosen West Yorkshire as the base for a pilot working group initiative to streamline property sales.

The Future Property Transactions Group brings together stakeholders from across the market to accelerate the transformation and improvement of the UK home buying and selling process.

The Group wants to drive collaboration between key property market stakeholders in the region, including Leeds Building Society, Legal & General, West Yorkshire Combined Authority, Mortgage Advice Bureau, and Arch Law, as well as the Open Property Data Association to help make the property transaction process more efficient and seamless for all.

Hosting its inaugural meeting as part of Leeds Digital Festival, the initiative seeks to draw the best from the region’s key strengths in the financial, legal and property sectors, promising to enhance efficiency, reduce cost, save time, and cut the risk of fraud.

Joe Pepper, PEXA UK CEO, said: “PEXA’s mission is to help address the current issues within the property market. Transactions are often inefficient because of the siloed nature of each stage of the journey and, with an overarching view of the process and the proven ability to develop and implement technology to help drive change, we are in a prime position to help bring all stakeholders together and enable better collaboration to ease the issues being faced across the board. The launch of the Future Property Transaction Group supports this aim and we are excited to see the results it delivers for all.”

Richard Fearon, Chief Exec of Leeds Building Society, said:“Our purpose is to put home ownership within reach of more people. We welcome the launch of this group and look forward to working closely with others to create a quicker and simpler process that our members could benefit from.”

Electric vehicle charging company gears up for growth with Finance Yorkshire investment

Tess Egginton
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Electric vehicle charging company gears up for growth with Finance Yorkshire investment
West Yorkshire-based We Power Your Car (WPYC) is expanding with £750,000 from Finance Yorkshire’s growth fund. The company is using the investment to scale its operations and attract more domestic and commercial customers across the UK. WPYC employs more than 50 people including 25 engineers who install the electric vehicle charging points at customers’ premises. The company also has several strategic partners, carrying out installations for their customers. WPYC has ambitions to become one of the country’s leading national home installation providers having grown sales to £2.66 million last year. Government legislation requires that 22% of all new vehicle registrations must be electric by 2024, increasing year on year until 2030. Chief executive Kai Arter said: “We saw the potential to grow the business and vital to that was having our own team of engineers rather than sub-contracting work to installers. “This enables us to be very focussed on the customer journey and we have scaled up our internal team based in Bingley to provide the highest standards of customer service and support the installers in the field.” Kai has a longstanding relationship with Finance Yorkshire having received previous investment for his successful cosmetics business Badgequo. “It was an easy decision to return to partnering with Finance Yorkshire having enjoyed a previous strong and successful working relationship,” said Kai. Finance Yorkshire chief executive Alex McWhirter said: “Kai is a seasoned businessman who has seen the potential in the electric vehicle charging market to grow WPYC. Our investment is supporting the company’s growth as it seeks to scale up its operations and sales and create new jobs in Yorkshire.”

Luceco acquires Rotheram wiring accessories manufacturer

Tess Egginton
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Luceco acquires Rotheram wiring accessories manufacturer

Luceco, the supplier of wiring accessories, EV chargers, LED lighting, and portable power products, has acquired CMD Limited, the manufacturer of wiring accessories for the workplace, through the acquisition of its ultimate parent company, Baltic Topco Limited, from Rubicon Partners and management for cash consideration of £30m.

CMD, founded in 1984, designs and manufactures a comprehensive range of wiring accessories for commercial premises. Products include under-floor and under-desk power distribution solutions, on-desk and in-desk sockets, and a range of ergonomic products including the award-winning Miro monitor support arm.

CMD has an experienced senior management team which will remain with the business, continuing to operate from its headquarters in Rotherham.

For the audited 12-month period ended 31 December 2023 CMD reported revenue of £23.1m and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of £4m.

John Hornby, Chief Executive Officer of Luceco, said: “Luceco has a well-established position as a leading supplier of wiring accessories to the residential market in the UK so CMD, with its leading position in the commercial wiring accessories market, is a very natural fit.

“The Group’s expertise in product development, manufacturing and sourcing will enable us to accelerate range innovation and improve margins for CMD. We also see an opportunity to offer Luceco’s professional lighting range to CMD’s customer base of specifiers and contractors. The acquisition is in line with our M&A strategy and follows the successful acquisition of D-Line earlier in the year.”

Jon Holding, Managing Director of CMD, said: “CMD has been successful over many years thanks to its hard-won reputation for consistently delivering excellent customer service.  The management team and I are excited for the next chapter and look forward to growing the business with Luceco behind us.”

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