York education software specialist snapped up
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Farm offers ‘Goodness Grants’ for local causes
St Helen’s Farm, the goat’s milk producer, is offering ‘Goodness Grants’, pledging to give away up to a total of £10,000 to support good causes.
The family-run business, based near York, has launched the CSR initiative as a way to give back to local communities.
The ‘Goodness Grants’ encourage not-for-profit organisations and registered charities across England, Scotland and Wales to apply for funds of up to £5,000 to support projects which are doing good in their local communities.
Open to projects focused around sport, schools, clubs, wellness or to tackle social issues, the grants are for local organisations which improve the health, places or skills for families in their communities.
The ‘Goodness Grants’ initiative follows St Helen’s Farm’s CSR work last year which saw it raise over £28,000 for UK charity, Hope for Justice – which works to end modern slavery across the UK. The goat’s milk producer also gifted iPads to a local primary school to aid in learning.
Bill Randles, Managing Director at St Helen’s Farm, said: “Giving back to charities and good causes has always been close to our hearts, here at St Helen’s Farm. This time, we wanted to go a step further to support communities not just locally to us, but nationwide.
“We like to think of these grants as an extra reward for those going above and beyond to support their local areas, and it also allows us to listen and learn more about the fantastic communities around us.”
The deadline for applications is 30th June 2024, and funding will be granted in July.
Sheffield company granted strategic nuclear status
Sheffield Forgemasters has been awarded a crucial strategic qualification, positioning the company to support development and delivery of the next generation of civil nuclear power plants.
The company’s nuclear qualification came after an American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Section III Division I NCA 3300 (NCA 3800), NCA 4000 and NQA-1 Code survey and audit, recommended it for Material Organisation (MO), and welding (NPT) accreditations.
Sheffield Forgemasters’ status as the only company in the UK capable of manufacturing reactor vessel components for Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), coupled with its ASME status, make it a crucial capability in delivery of this advanced power-generation technology.
Ian Nicholls, group technical director at Sheffield Forgemasters, said: “We undertook the ASME audit in November and have now received confirmation that the audit recommendation has been approved by the committee. The accreditation is a huge development with heightened requirements and protocols embracing all our processes, employees and selected sub-suppliers.”
The qualification comes soon after the company announced a ground-breaking development in the acceleration of welding for large nuclear vessels, using Electron Beam Welding to reduce more than a year’s worth of manual welding to less than 24 hours.
As well as being the sole UK supplier of large, nuclear-grade forgings and castings, Sheffield Forgemasters’ MO and NPT status now makes it one of the only UK companies qualified for fabrication of the main components within a civil nuclear power plant.
Ian added: “The ASME accreditation, coupled with our development of Electron Beam Welding for large diameter, nuclear grade vessels, places Sheffield Forgemasters at the pinnacle of development for Small Modular Reactors and presents significant possibilities for the UK’s domestic nuclear new-build programme.”
The ASME code is the most comprehensive series of guidelines for civil nuclear manufacture in the world with an emphasis on doctrines that have parallels with the European Nuclear manufacturing code, RCC-M, and other submarine nuclear standards.
Sheffield Forgemasters first gained ASME accreditation as a Nuclear Materials Organisation in 1992 will now continue its work to advance manufacturing technologies for the next generation of SMR civil nuclear power plants.
Yorkshire and the Humber puts in stalwart performance as levels of business start-ups fall across most of the UK
One of the key indicators of a buoyant economy, the number of new businesses launching, once again fell across almost all regions and nations in March compared with the previous month, according to the latest research from the UK’s insolvency and restructuring trade body, R3. However, Yorkshire and the Humber saw one of the smallest month-on-month decreases.
The research, which is based on an analysis of data provided by CreditSafe, showed that the number of start-ups in Yorkshire and the Humber fell by just 4.7% between February and March 2024, with 5,132 start-ups launching last month. Although levels have decreased slightly in the region over the last quarter, the figures for March show that over 1,200 more businesses launched compared with December 2023.
In March 2024, only Northern Ireland saw a rise in start-ups since the previous month, with an increase of 19.4%. Scotland and Wales were the only other nations to perform more strongly than Yorkshire and the Humber, with falls of 1.1% and 4.2% respectively. In contrast, the greatest decreases were in the South East (-11.7%), Greater London (-11.6%) and the South West (-10.4%).
Looking at insolvency-related activity last month, Yorkshire and the Humber was one of five regions and nations to experience a fall since February. The region saw an 8% decrease in this type of activity (which includes liquidator and administrator appointments and creditors’ meetings) with 242 businesses here affected.
The most marked falls were in Greater London (-13.9%), the West Midlands (-9.6%) and the North East (-8.8%). In contrast, the largest increases were in the South West (up by 38.1%), Scotland (up by 31%) and East Anglia (up by 14.2%).
Eleanor Temple, chair of R3 in Yorkshire and a barrister at Kings Chambers in Leeds, said: “While the UK economic landscape looks far from rosy, it is certainly good news that Yorkshire and the Humber is holding its own, both in terms of levels start-ups and insolvency-related activity.
“Despite confirmation that the UK entered recession in the second half of 2023, there already appear to be some green shoots of recovery. Recent growth figures are encouraging, along with signs of a resurgence of the housing market and various consumer and business surveys suggesting that confidence is returning.
“Nevertheless, with GPD lower than before Covid and living standards continuing to fall, interest rates remain high and businesses continue to face a challenging economic environment. We urge business owners to keep a close eye on cash flow and seek advice from an insolvency expert at the first signs of financial difficulties.”
Sheffield PR agency names two new hires
The agency, named Best New UK PR Consultancy last year by the Chartered Institute for Public Relations, is adding new clients across a range of sectors.
New clients include not-for-profit membership organisation The Whitehall & Industry Group, renewables company Shawton Energy, national charities Teenage Helpline and Breast Cancer UK, business consultancy The Director’s Helpline and care home group Milewood.
Amy, who spent five years at B2B agency Scriba PR and has more than eight years’ experience, said: “I’m over the moon to be joining the Altitude team. Having spent five years delivering B2B PR and communications for clients in niche, often complex, sectors — from waste and recycling to technology and charity — I’m really looking forward to getting under the skin of the amazing brands Altitude works with and sharing their stories.”
University of Sheffield journalism graduate Ellie has been creating content for top motorsport sites such as The Checkered Flag since she was 16. Her role at Altitude will see her solely manage the marketing for F4 driver Rowan Campbell-Pilling as he climbs the rankings on his way to achieving his F1 dream.
She will attend track days and races, manage media interviews, liaise with Motorsport UK and engage with corporate clients and partners. British F4 races are broadcast live on ITV. She said: “This is a really exciting time for Altitude and me as this season will see Rowan gain so many new opportunities in motorsport. I’m really excited to get stuck in ahead of the F4 season.”
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