Smart repairs sees turnover soar to £8m
Smart Repairs, the independent cosmetic vehicle repairer, has announced a record-breaking 2022.
The Leeds-based company, based at 18,000 sq ft freehold premises in Weaver Street, saw its turnover grow by 38 per cent to £8m last year, whilst trebling its workforce.
Turnover is predicted to rise to £9m this year.
The company now has 100 staff across the country, with 40 based in Leeds. At least another 15 technicians are being recruited this year.
As part of its national expansion programme this year, Smart Repairs has invested £1m into its van fleet and equipment.
Darryl Short, Managing Director, said: “This has been a game-changing year for us, by far the most successful year we have ever had. We had previously concentrated on looking after customers and clients in the north of England, but now we have expanded our operations to service the whole of the UK.
“We have recently expanded into Scotland and we have further sustainable growth plans for the North West, the South West, the Midlands and the area by the M25,” said Darryl.
Smart Repairs, which boasts most of Yorkshire’s major car dealerships among its clients, is co-owned by its founder Dan Besau and major investor Phil Newstead. The company carries out 180,000 vehicle repairs a year.
Phil Newstead said: “The second-hand car market remains buoyant, despite the cost-of-living crisis and the current economic uncertainty. The outlook for the sector is positive and we have every reason to be confident about the future, though we will never be complacent.
“We can see that our future lies in providing a quality repair offering across all of the UK, to warranty companies, insurers, dealer groups and vehicle remarketing companies.”
Lindum Group starts work on Campus for Future Living in Mablethorpe
Contractors Lindum Group have symbolically cut the first piece of ground for East Lindsey District Council’s flagship Town Deal project The Campus for Future Living at a celebration event.
The £8.6m project, supported by the Connected Coast board and due for completion in spring 2024, is the first council-led Town Deal project to start being delivered to level up the district and transform communities.
Cutting the first piece of ground was Victoria Atkins MP for Louth and Horncastle, watched by Cllr William Gray, Campus Political Lead for East Lindsey District Council; Chris Baron chairman of Connected Coast; Professor Mark Gussy from the University of Lincoln and local and national partners including representatives from the Marisco Medical Practice, Mablethorpe and Sutton on Sea Town Council, Health Education England, Medical Technologies Innovation Facility, Linkage Trust and NHS Lincolnshire ICB.
The Campus for Future Living on Stanley Avenue offers significant potential to improve the health and wellbeing for residents in Mablethorpe, the Lincolnshire coast and wider East Lindsey.
For the first time, Mablethorpe will be at the forefront of medical innovation, training, research and development.
The main Campus building will include the following facilities:
• Two large consultation rooms
• Seminar and teaching rooms
• An event space including a coffee hub
• Pathology laboratory and additional laboratory space
The campus site also includes an accommodation block, a children’s play area, a 35-space car park including eight disabled bays and electric vehicle charging points.
Lindum Group MD Freddie Chambers said: “As a Lincolnshire-based business, we are delighted to be involved in a project which will be of such benefit to local people and health care services.
“We will add to this by trying to procure with local suppliers and contractors to ensure the investment remains within the district and county’s economy. Furthermore, we will prioritise positive engagement with people who live and work near the site to bring value to the wider community too.”
Victoria Atkins, MP for Louth and Mablethorpe said: “Today, we celebrate as a community reaching this important landmark in the development of the Campus for Future Living.
“With shovels now in the ground our bright vision for Mablethorpe and the surrounding area is being made a reality.
“The transformational Mablethorpe Town Deal, which has received Government investment of nearly £24million, will deliver economic growth, help businesses grow, bolster tourism and improve health and social care along our Lincolnshire coastline.”
Regular engagement and activities for the community through the project’s social value will take place throughout the duration of the build.
Wealth management and professional services group snaps up Harrogate business
Evelyn Partners, the wealth management and professional services group, has acquired Leathers LLP, a firm of Chartered Accountants and tax specialists with offices in Newcastle and Harrogate.
Leathers was founded in 1990 by Michael Leather and is focused on advising high net worth individuals, families, business owners and corporates, with strong expertise in personal and business tax planning, succession planning, as well as property and business structuring. It offers a broad array of audit, accountancy, tax compliance and corporate finance services.
Andrew Wilkes, chief professional services director of Evelyn Partners, said: “We are delighted to have acquired Leathers LLP. Michael Leather has built a highly respected firm with a great client base and one which is a very complementary fit with Evelyn Partners both in terms of expertise and culture.
“Strategically this acquisition will further develop our professional services presence in the North of England, supporting our ambition of being able to provide our range of professional services to private clients and businesses right across the UK.
“I look forward to welcoming Stuart Wright and Ryan Harrison to the partnership group where their expertise and experience will be a great asset to us in developing our professional services offering in the North of England.”
Michael Leather, senior partner and founder of Leathers LLP, said: “Forward planning, client service and development of the team have been at the forefront of our success but in a changing environment, it is time for the business to gear up, extend the resources available to clients and to further develop the client service offering.
“Identifying the best way to do this has been challenging, but Evelyn Partners’ clear commitment to developing the business and their range and depth of resource have been key to the decision we took.”
Reed Boardall efforts to support former soldiers are recognised by the MOD
Boroughbridge-based Reed Boardall has been earned a Bronze award by the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme as an employer supporting defence personnel and inspires others to do the same. Already, the Yorkshire-based logistics business has 23 veterans, serving personnel employed part-time and reservists in the team at its Boroughbridge site.
Over the last year, the company has formalised its support of former and serving defence personnel, as well as building links with the prison services to increase the employment of ex-offenders. It has partnered with organisations such as Career Transition Partnership (CTP), Army Families Federation, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), HM Prison Service and People Plus, as well as charities Veteran into Logistics and Clean Slate Solutions.
As a result, the company has introduced a number of initiatives both to actively recruit from these communities and also to ensure that it provides adequate support once people join the Reed Boardall team. It also takes part in recruitment fairs and virtual workshops with CTP and local Regional Resettlement Centres, linking with service personnel going through the resettlement process and giving them an insight into the logistics sector, including Reed Boardall’s Driver Academy.
One of the leading providers of cold storage and distribution services to food producers and retailers across the UK, Reed Boardall’s Bronze award is a demonstration of its pledge to advocate support to defence and the armed forces community, and align its values with the Armed Forces Covenant.
Daniel Delacoe-Eyre, a veteran who served for over 17 years in a number of regiments before joining Reed Boardall in 2020 to lead its HR operation, comments: “As a former soldier and officer myself, I understand only too well the concerns and even fear felt by service personnel as they contemplate leaving the armed forces. It’s vital that businesses do what they can for them when they return to civilian life.”
Accountancy firm offers free insight into energy markets
Businesses in Hull and East Yorkshire have been invited to a joint seminar later this month to help them understand the current energy market and how they can make potential savings as well as accessing finance to support growth, whether existing firms or startups.
Yorkshire accountancy firm 360 Chartered Accountants is hosting the free event with Ashley Hunter from River Energy and Rebecca Pickering from Mercia Asset Management giving presentations and taking part in a Q&A session. There will also be members of the 360 team available to discuss the impending taxation changes or any other accounting issues.
360 MD Adrian Hunter said it’s a crucial topic for businesses, particularly as energy bills are set to soar from April when the Government’s subsidies for gas and electricity are slashed. “A report last year found that 54% of UK SMEs are at risk of collapse from rising fuel and energy prices. That’s an alarming figure. We are all looking at ways we can make our workplaces as energy efficient as possible to save costs as well as to reduce our environmental impact. And as our bills continue to rise, we want to help businesses better understand how they can use the renewables market to drive down costs – and show them how to finance their growth.”
The free event is taking place on Tuesday 21st February, at the MKM stadium, Hull between 12 and 2pm. It will include a tour of the stadium. Lunch will also be provided.
Engineers who solved telecoms security challenge raise £1m for roll-out
A Sheffield company which has developed a new encryption solution for telecoms and data networks has raised over £1m from NPIF – Mercia Equity Finance, which is managed by Mercia and part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF), Mercia’s EIS funds and private investors.
Sitehop’s system solves a major challenge for telecoms companies, cloud and internet service providers – how to add encryption to their network to ensure it is secure but without affecting quality or causing it to slow down.
Sitehop’s Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) board can be added to an existing network with minimal time and cost. As encryption takes place on the board rather than on the server, it enables the network to maintain superior performance while using just a tenth of the energy of current systems. It also protects against cyber attacks as hackers would need to access the board to breach the system.
In addition to telecoms and cloud providers, Sitehop’s solution can be used by big companies to create secure private networks at a fraction of the cost by removing the need for physical interconnections. It could be used to safeguard IoT systems such as ‘smart’ factories and connected devices such as drones and self-driving cars.
Sitehop was founded in 2021 by two engineers. Melissa Chambers was co-founder of Prism Microwave which provided products for wireless infrastructure and was sold to Tongyu Communications in 2016, while Ben Harper has worked on cyber systems for companies including BAe Systems and Sheffield-based Curvalux.
The company is in talks with a number of international network providers and is set to begin a trial in Brazil before launching the system in spring. The funding will enable it to invest in equipment to support the trial and expand its six-strong team with the creation of 20 new jobs by the end of 2023.
Melissa Chambers, CEO, said: “With the surge in demand for video calls and cloud computing, network operators are under pressure to roll out high-speed services rapidly and security is often the last consideration. Because of the impact on performance, many services are being launched without encryption which puts users’ data at risk.
“Our hardware-based solution has none of the disadvantages of current systems and makes the addition of security a ‘no brainer’. The funding will help us to take the final step and bring it to market.”
Dan Thomas of Mercia added: “Almost every aspect of our lives now relies on the internet but the connected world brings with it new risks. Until now there has been no way to provide the necessary security without slowing down response times and affecting quality. Ben and Melissa have found a novel way to address a problem that even the big tech companies have so far failed to solve. We are pleased to be able to support them on the next stage of their journey.”
Detailed planning secured on largest consented single unit distribution scheme in Leeds
Leeds-based developer Wilton Developments has secured a detailed full planning consent for the largest single unit logistics and industrial building in the Leeds area on its LEEDS 500 scheme on the M1 north of Garforth.
Leeds 500 sits in a prime location directly on Junction 47 of the M1 close to the M1/A1 (M) intersection, providing access to the M1, A1(M) and M62. It’s central position makes it easily accessible to all parts of the UK and mainland Europe and due to its strategic proximity to the area’s extensive road network, Leeds continues to strengthen its position as the logistics capital of the North.
The Industrial & Logistics team at CBRE in Leeds have been appointed sole agents on the first phase which will accommodate a 492,500 sq ft logistics/industrial unit. The 75 acre development site was acquired by developer Wilton Developments and detailed planning has now been secured for the city’s largest consented single unit distribution unit on part of the site.
The first phase of the scheme will comprise a 465,000 sq ft warehouse with 23,000 sq ft of office accommodation over two floors and a 5,000 sq ft warehouse hub office, and could provide around 600 jobs.
The development which will be BREEAM Excellent boasts many ESG specifications including a multi-use games area (MUGA); showers/changing and locker facilities; outdoor segregated breakout spaces; sustainable urban drainage (including 2 filtration ponds); rainwater harvesting, 40 secured cycle spaces, 28 electric vehicle charging spaces with a further 50 enabled for future charging. The building has the ability to generate 2.7 million KWh per annum of energy from the installation of solar panels to the roof.
Mike Baugh, executive director at CBRE, said: “We are delighted to be appointed by Wilton Developments as sole agents on this strategic logistics scheme, the largest consented distribution development of its kind in Leeds.
“This will be a superb logistics facility with first class ESG credentials, which continue to be sought after by occupiers, as well as benefiting from its prime location close to the motorway networks and many local amenities.
“Wilton Developments has a strong track record in developing both large scale distribution and manufacturing facilities in the region.”
Jason Stowe, Managing Director, Wilton Developments, said: “This is an important permission for Leeds ensuring that the city offers the option for larger occupiers who would normally have to locate to other parts of Yorkshire and the region to occupy a building of this size in Leeds. This class leading building has detailed planning consent and is available for an immediate start subject to occupiers’ requirements.”
Start of cinema fit out brings prison transformation close to completion
Contractors have moved into Northallerton’s new Everyman complex to start the final stages of fit out ready for its opening.
The cinema is part of the final phase of the £20m Treadmills development which has seen the former Northallerton Prison transformed into a retail, leisure and business destination.
The cinema and adjoining restaurant units are being part funded with £4.75m from the Government’s Future High Street Fund, awarded to Northallerton two years ago. It is expected to open this spring.
The Treadmills scheme has been delivered by the Central Northallerton Development Company Ltd (CNDCL), a joint venture between Hambleton District Council and Yorkshire developer Wykeland Group.
Hambleton District Council Leader, Councillor Mark Robson, said: “It is very exciting that the cinema is now so close to opening. It will come just as this council takes its last breath, so it is fitting that we can complete our innovative Treadmills development at that time.
“We know it will be a much welcome addition to our county town and bring with it a new option for spending time there. The arrival of the cinema clearly demonstrates Hambleton’s commitment to developing and enhancing our market towns.”
Jonathan Stubbs, Wykeland Development Director and a member of the CNDCL Board, added: “The Everyman Cinema and restaurant units will add a further dimension to an already award-winning scheme.
“We’re proud to have worked so closely with the council to transform the previously derelict former prison site into a thriving mixed use development. The beginning of the cinema fit-out means we’re now close to completion of a remarkable journey of conservation, restoration, reinvention and investment.”
The Treadmills project also features the digital innovation centre, C4DI, Lidl and Iceland stores, a yoga studio, kitchen showroom, restaurants and bistro and an educational campus – Campus@Northallerton, C@N. The development is also being supported by the York & North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership, which secured investment of £1.8m from the Government’s Local Growth Fund for the redevelopment and fit-out of C4DI and a further £675,000 from the Government’s Getting Building Fund for the Campus@Northallerton (C@N).
New tenant for York Biotech Campus
York Biotech Campus, a hub for bioscience in Yorkshire, has adapted over 10,000 sq ft of space onsite, including the modification of 3,000 sq ft of laboratory space, in order to welcome an international organisation to the campus.
Cargill Bioindustrial, which is part of Cargill, a provider of food, agricultural, financial and industrial products to customers around the world, will be leasing the space. It delivers innovative and sustainable product solutions to industrial customers, including in the automotive, marine, medical, and food packaging sectors.
York Biotech Campus has worked flexibly with Cargill Bioindustrial to create workspaces bespoke to its requirements, helping to facilitate teamwork and innovation between its staff and its customers.
The fitout includes a significant design change transforming two single labs and an office with lab space into one large open plan space to enable greater collaboration between teams. There will also be fitouts of specialised rooms, including soundproofed rooms to house loud equipment.
Cargill will also be taking over 5,000 sq ft of office space, and architects have been involved in the fitout of a large open plan kitchenette, break out space, focus pods and meeting areas.
Approximately 50 people will be moving into the office and lab space in March 2023, covering all functions within the business, from customer service and regulatory teams to synthesis and application scientists.
Liz Cashon, Innovation Campus Manager at York Biotech Campus, said: “We’re proud to create spaces that truly serve the needs of an organisation, which is why when Cargill came to us with the requirement for a more collaborative space to fuel innovation, we knew we’d be able to help.
“Welcoming an internationally successful business to site is testament to the reputation of the campus as a leading hub for bioscience. Already, Cargill feels part of our community and it’s exciting to see the team already sharing knowledge with other tenants through joining us at our campus networking events.”
Ian Hobday, Global Research and Development Director at Cargill, said: “We knew as we emerged from the pandemic and began to work from the office more, we needed a space that would allow us to innovate and collaborate with, and for, our customers. With this move to York Biotech Campus, we are also joining a community and network of other innovative and scientific companies based here.”
Sheffield EV payment software company acquired
FLEETCOR UK, a global business payments company, has acquired Mina, a cloud-based digital electric vehicle (EV) charging software platform based in Sheffield.
After a successful investment and two-year partnership, the acquisition provides Allstar’s parent company with the market-leading home charging software company for commercial fleets in the UK and reinforces its commitment to supporting the transition to EV.
The acquisition gives Allstar the UK’s only EV charging solution that captures, calculates and pays for home business-use charging directly to the energy provider, Mina Homecharge.
Also branded as Allstar Homecharge, the solution allows commercial fleets to replace cumbersome employee reimbursement processes for home EV charging with a more accurate, controlled and streamlined alternative for employers and employees.
Combined with Allstar’s on-the-road EV charging capabilities, fleet managers now have access to a comprehensive suite of turnkey EV charging solutions that will help effectively manage their transition to EVs.
The shareholders of Mina were advised by a team from Clarion including Sarah Harrison and Santino Stifanelli.
The deal follows FLEETCOR’s recent acquisition of Plugsurfing and investment in Zap-Map, which both complement the extensive on-the-road fuel and EV network built by Allstar across the UK.
In addition, Allstar continues to invest significantly in building out products and capabilities that not only help fleets move to EVs but also solve the complexities associated with managing mixed fleets.
Alan King, group president, Global Fleet at FLEETCOR, said: “Our goal is to provide companies of all sizes with a better way to pay. In the fleet space specifically, this acquisition means that our customers can now benefit from a full suite of comprehensive payment and reporting solutions for on-the-road and home charging regardless of whether they operate ICE, EV, or mixed fleets.”
Tom Rowlands, global MD of EV solutions at FLEETCOR, added: “After working closely together with Mina for two years and seeing first-hand how the solution makes home charging simple, fair and secure for both employees and companies that operate some of the largest fleets in the UK, I am excited to officially welcome the Mina team to FLEETCOR.
“Unifying Mina with FLEETCOR enables us to roll out this market-leading home charging solution more easily and quickly, not just in the UK, but also take it to other geographies.”
Ashley Tate, CEO and co-founder of Mina, said: “In less than three years we’ve seen Mina grow from an idea to enabling some of the largest fleets in the UK to transition to EVs. None of this would have been possible without the support from FLEETCOR, who have believed and invested in Mina since we first came under their radar back in 2021. I’m extremely excited to continue this journey with the FLEETCOR team.”
