“Solid start to 2022” for Team17
The CEO of Yorkshire indie video game label, Team17, is “delighted” with the business’s first half performance, with an enlarged group delivering record half year revenue.
Trading in the six months ended 30 June 2022 (H1) has been in line with the Board’s expectations, with the group, including recent strategic acquisitions, delivering significant growth against H1 2021.
Team17’s core Games Label business continues to show the strength and expertise in back catalogue management, delivering low double-digit year on year growth alongside one new release. The Games Label has also seen significant growth in the share of 1st party IP revenues within its portfolio.
Meanwhile StoryToys, acquired in July 2021, is said to be performing in line with expectations. Across the StoryToys app portfolio, both active subscribers and subscription revenues have grown significantly in H1 vs the prior year.
astragon, acquired in January 2022, is performing in line with expectations too with its own IP titles launched in 2021. The physical distribution side of astragon’s business has seen strong performance across the portfolio of titles from various partners including Farming Simulator which continues to perform strongly in Germany.
Furthermore, Team17 USA (formerly The Label), acquired in January 2022, is now fully integrated within the Games Label and performing as expected, and is actively exploring future opportunities to bring Team17 IP to mobile platforms alongside additional 3rd party titles.
Debbie Bestwick MBE, Chief Executive Officer of Team17, said: “I am delighted with Team17’s first half performance, trading in line with our expectations. Pleasingly, our new acquisitions, led by our talented and committed management teams, have worked incredibly well together across all parts of the group, and we are all looking forward to a busy and productive second half.
“The group now has more evergreen own IP’s than ever before, alongside a phenomenal back catalogue portfolio, and in StoryToys, a growing subscription model. New releases include additions to many established franchises and licensed global brands alongside exciting new original IP’s that are tracking well.
“We have made a solid start to 2022 and remain confident about the near-term prospects for the group despite the ongoing broader macro-economic climate.”
Drax submits plans to build world’s largest carbon capture and storage project in Yorkshire
Renewable energy company Drax has submitted plans to build the world’s largest carbon capture facility at its North Yorkshire power station.
The company plans to invest £2bn in the 2020s in its plans to develop two bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) units, creating and supporting thousands of jobs in the North and enabling the UK to lead the world in a vital new technology needed to address the climate crisis.
Work to build BECCS at Drax could start as soon as 2024 and once operational the two units combined will capture at least 8 million tonnes of CO2 per year, making it the largest carbon capture and storage project in power in the world.
Will Gardiner, Drax Group CEO said: “Drax’s BECCS project provides the UK with a once in a generation opportunity to kickstart a whole new sector of the economy and lead the world in a vital green technology needed to address the climate crisis.
“Drax aims to invest billions of pounds and create thousands of jobs developing BECCS in the UK, provided that the UK Government has in place policies to support the feasibility and delivery of negative emissions technologies.
“BECCS at Drax will not only permanently remove millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere every year, but it will also generate the reliable, renewable power this country needs. No other technology can do both.”
The submission of its application for a Development Consent Order (DCO) to the Planning Inspectorate marks a major milestone in the project and follows two major consultations carried out by Drax, which sought to gain views from the public and key stakeholders on its BECCS plans.
Deploying BECCS on two of its generating units will support Drax’s plans to become a carbon negative company by 2030 – permanently removing more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than is produced right across its operations.
Drax plans to source up to 80% of the materials and services it needs to build its BECCS project from British businesses. It recently announced a partnership with British Steel to identify opportunities to source the steel to build BECCS from its Scunthorpe and Teesside steelworks.
Digital Innovation Grant helps family-run joinery business nail growth ambitions
A family-run joinery business, which carved out a niche restoring and conserving some of Sheffield’s best known historical buildings, has boosted its production capacity by over 50% after securing grant funding from the South Yorkshire Digital Innovation Grant scheme.
Father and son Robert and Lee Crookes founded their traditional joinery business Crookes and Son in 2010, and since that time the Hillsborough-based business has successfully breathed new life into a wide range of historical buildings ranging from pubs, libraries and even listed buildings and stately homes.
Built on the skills master carpenter Robert refined during his 50-year career, which began in the early 1970s, the business continues to use many of the traditional skills that can take more than a decade to learn. Although much of their work has concentrated upon producing the handmade windows and doors used in historical buildings, in recent years, the company recognised that changes in the way wood is treated can mean that the wooden frames it manufactures can provide an eco-friendly alternative to uPVC double glazing.
Having spotted a niche in the market, and with rising demand for the company’s wooden framed double-glazed windows, which can last for more than 60 years, Lee and Robert recognised that they needed to embrace new forms of technology in order to fulfil their growing order book.
Working with Business Sheffield, Lee and Robert successfully secured grant funding, enabling it to invest in a programmable CNC tenon machine, to create the traditional mortice and tenon joints used in their work. With funds secured to purchase the machine, the company then successfully secured a Digital Innovation Grant, which was used to purchase the software needed to automate the production process.
The investment has successfully helped Lee and Robert to increase production by more than 40%, allowing them to fulfil their growing order book. At the same time, the new machinery has also helped the company to reduce waste, as well as eliminating the need to hand finish the joints.
Such has been the success of the new machinery that the company is planning to make further investments in additional machines, as well as recruiting new apprentices to pass on the skills that have been handed down from father to son.
Lee Crookes, director, Crookes & Son Traditional Joinery, said: “When we first launched the business, we largely relied upon many of the traditional carpentry skills, which can take many years to develop and refine. Like many businesses, we’ve adapted and evolved, but all the equipment we use has been funded by ourselves.
“Specialist equipment can be a significant business investment, and as a small family-run business, we knew that although purchasing the mortice and tenon machine would help us to increase our levels of production, to make the most of the machine we would also need to invest in the CNC software, which would automate many of the processes we previously did by hand. We spoke to Business Sheffield, who told us about the Digital Innovation Grant scheme, and with funds in place it transformed our business almost overnight.
“The funding we’ve received from the Digital Innovation Grant has meant we’ve been able to help more homeowners to benefit from long-lasting timber-framed double glazed windows, which can last in excess of 60 years due to the way in which the wood is treated, and we’re also planning to recruit new apprentices to teach them the traditional skills our business has been built on. They’ve also been quick to embrace the new technology we’ve invested in, and it’s given us the confidence to invest in additional equipment in the future.”
Andy Sorby, business adviser, Business Sheffield, said: “The Digital Innovation Grant is a unique grant scheme that helps small and medium sized businesses to secure match-funding to invest in technology.
“I’ve worked with Crookes & Son for some time now; they recognised that the software needed to drive their new mortice and tenon machine would be transformative for their business. The support they’ve received has not only helped the company to significantly increase productivity but also create opportunities for the next generation.”
New bio business park could create 500 new jobs
A new bio business park is planned in York that will help the region build on its success in this sector and could create over 500 skilled jobs.
A partnership between York-based developer North Star, and contractor Simpson, along with the Biorenewable Development Company (BDC) is proposing the development on land next to the existing commercial park just off the A64, opposite the Highwayman café. It has been named York Vale Bio Business Park.
The BDC is an open-access R&D biorefinery centre, and a subsidiary of the University of York, working between academia and industry to convert plants, microbes and biowastes into profitable biorenewable products. It operates a successful bio park in Dunnington, which is owned by Simpson. This is now fully occupied, with a waiting list of companies wishing to take space.
The new business park will provide flexible space for new firms and successful companies to grow into, within this fast-expanding sector. It will complement the Local Enterprise Partnership’s ambitions for York and North Yorkshire to be the UK’s first Carbon negative region and the BioYorkshire initiative, a collaboration between the University of York, Fera Science and Askham Bryan College to build the region’s bioeconomy sector.
The landscape-led masterplan, for around 300,000 sq ft of space, could also feature cutting-edge sustainable technology as well as an electric charging hub and a new nature reserve for both people working at the park and residents to enjoy. A key element of the plans is also a new roundabout to serve the new and existing businesses which will vastly improve road safety at this accident black spot.
There are already around 40 successful businesses at the existing business park and these plans would see the current buildings upgraded and made more sustainable.
A spokesperson for the partnership involved in delivering the plans said: “This is an opportunity to help make York and North Yorkshire cement its place as an exemplar region in the bioeconomy sector. If we don’t create more space then businesses will be lost to other parts of the UK, which we know is already happening.
“The excellent existing facilities at the BDC in Dunnington and the FERA campus at Sand Hutton are both oversubscribed and so there is a desperate need for more flexible, specialist space for growing and new businesses to flourish.
“We do not believe that there is anywhere else in York that could accommodate this space, especially in such a strategic location, ideally situated between the existing BDC facilities and the FERA Campus.
“Our aim is to continue to work with stakeholders and the existing providers to ensure that these plans can offer as many benefits as possible to York and the wider region.”
A planning application is expected to be submitted to City of York Council in the coming months and work could start next year, if planning approval is granted.
University of Sheffield chosen to be Siemens’ top tier innovation partner
Global technology giant Siemens has chosen the University of Sheffield to be in its top tier of innovation partners, as part of its new global research and innovation ecosystems.
The new Research and Innovation Ecosystems (RIE) have seen Siemens evolve its strategic engagement programme with universities to include, for the first time, seven UK universities in its top tier of innovation partnerships. These include the universities of Sheffield, Birmingham, Cambridge, Manchester, Nottingham, Oxford and Newcastle University.
Made up of 16 regions around the world, two of which are in the UK, each ecosystem includes universities, Siemens companies, research institutes, catapult centres, innovation start-ups, creative individuals, business partners and customers, all collaborating to create, scale, and deliver ground-breaking technologies and services to market in the shortest possible time and with maximum impact.
The seven UK universities have been selected because they share Siemens’ core interests in digital industries, smart infrastructure, eMobility, and core technologies, and they’ve been assessed as being in the top 10 leading global institutions for one or more of the fields of interest to Siemens for collaboration. Sheffield’s research remit in the new ecosystems will be around the future of manufacturing.
Carl Ennis, CEO of Siemens UK, said: “This is an important recognition by our global business that UK universities have a lot to offer in innovation, ingenuity and creativity. These universities have demonstrated that they are more than capable of leading and participating in collaborative projects locally and globally.”
The University of Sheffield has a longstanding relationship with Siemens, which has seen it partner with the company on a range of projects to develop pioneering solutions for some of the biggest challenges facing the UK and the rest of the world.
Keyland sells 500,000 sq ft Wakefield East site
Keyland Developments Ltd, the property trading arm of Kelda Group and sister-company to Yorkshire Water, has completed the sale of its Wakefield East site in West Yorkshire to Opus North and Bridges Fund Management for an undisclosed sum.
A planning application for the 31-acre employment scheme, now branded ‘City Fields’, was recently submitted by Keyland. The indicative layout proposes employment space totalling up to 500,000 sq ft, which could generate around 800 new jobs for the local area.
The majority of the commercial site will benefit from Class B2, B8 and E(g) consent for urban logistics, as well as industrial accommodation in a varied range of unit sizes, whilst also offering scope for the development of a trade counter scheme and associated pub/restaurant/drive-thru options.
Previously part of the redundant Yorkshire Water Calder Vale treatment works, the site will now form a key strategic element of the overall City Fields development which, at 375-acres, will play a significant role in creating a new, important, and sustainable primary employment hub to the east of Wakefield.
The site runs adjacent to the £33m Wakefield Eastern Relief Road (WERR) which opened in 2017. Regeneration of the broader City Fields community also includes the construction or (re)development of around 2,500 houses, a primary school, health facilities, district and neighbourhood centres.
Appointed agents Avison Young and Knight Frank facilitated the sale of the land on behalf of Keyland with Square One Law acting as legal team. Carter Towler and Walker Morris advised the purchaser.
Peter Garrett, Managing Director of Keyland Developments, said: “We are delighted that the sale has now completed and look forward to the planned development forming the main commercial element of this significant regional regeneration scheme.”
Ryan Unsworth, development director of Opus North, said: “The acquisition of this strategic site continues our strategy of sustained growth in the northern commercial sector. The surrounding area has witnessed a considerable surge in investment and regeneration and the development of this pivotal site will make a further significant economic contribution.
“We are looking to commence works on site in early 2023 with a targeted completion of the first units later that year. In addition to bringing about new jobs, the development will help ease the well documented shortages of high quality industrial/commercial accommodation in the region.”
Guy Bowden, partner at Bridges Fund Management, added: “The City Fields development will allow us to revitalise a previously redundant site and create over 800 new jobs for the surrounding area.
“Aiming to incorporate important sustainable features into the design, this development will both benefit occupiers and provide the wider Wakefield community with a high-quality commercial and industrial hub, contributing to the catalysing of local economic growth. We are looking forward to working with Opus North on delivering another successful project.”
Iain McPhail, partner at Knight Frank, said: “City Fields is an exciting new commercial opportunity which benefits from not only access to the region’s motorway network via the M1 and M62, but also to Wakefield town centre itself. The site is ideally positioned to capitalise on the significant demand in the current market for urban logistics and distribution as well as manufacturing and trade.”
Rob Oliver, principal at Avison Young, added: “‘Due to the range of plots across the development, we have considerable flexibility and are able to accommodate a wide range of unit sizes. We are already talking to a number of businesses, some already local and looking to relocate or expand, others would be new to the area.
“There is a severe lack of units available in the West Yorkshire area, particularly on the M62 corridor, and with continued occupational demand we are confident that the scheme will prove very successful. Occupiers are increasingly keen to occupy new premises which will meet their ESG agendas as well as staff wellness and retention in addition to presenting their brand positively, having lower operating costs and greater efficiency.”
Flood-fearing business owners offered free survey by University of Hull
Business owners in Hull and East Yorkshire fearing the effect of flooding on their premises, employees and other assets are being offered free flood risk surveys by the University of Hull’s Flood Innovation Centre.
Once a survey has been carried out, the Flood Innovation Centre team can then work with business owners to help them understand their findings and how to make changes aimed at making their businesses more resilient to flooding.
The team is able to provide support to eligible SMEs using funding from the European Regional Development Fund, which will be available only to the end of the year.
Pip Betts, Project Manager at the Flood Innovation Centre, said: “We have a wealth of knowledge and expertise in flood resilience and flood innovation here at the Flood Innovation Centre but, because we’re funded by the European Union’s European Regional Development Fund, the support that we can offer to businesses won’t be available forever.
“That’s why it’s so important that business owners who want to ensure that their premises, employees, stock and other assets are protected against the risk of flooding make contact with our team as soon as possible to have a chat about getting their free flood risk survey booked in, and learn more about the additional support we can provide to help them act on the findings of their survey. The climate crisis means that the need to take action to mitigate and adapt to flood events has never been so vital.”
Communities across our region face a variety of different types of flood risk, and climate change, coupled with increasing urbanisation, means that flood events are happening more frequently. Fifteen years ago, during the 2007 floods, more than 1300 business premises were damaged in Hull alone. The Environment Agency estimates that the average cost of damage suffered by businesses during a flood event is around £82,000. As many as 40 per cent of businesses never reopen after being flooded, and a further 25 per cent of businesses that do reopen go on to fail within a year.
Businesses concerned about flooding and its potential impact on their activities are encouraged to contact the Flood Innovation Centre on 01482 462275, emailing flic@hull.ac.uk or completing an online registration form at www.floodinnovation.co.uk/register.
South Yorkshire developer invests in 36,000 sq ft Barnsley industrial and trade scheme
South Yorkshire-based developer EV Waddington is building a new 36,000 sq ft industrial and trade scheme in Barnsley to address a severe shortage of accommodation.
The Oval, fronting the Dearne Valley Parkway, is being funded by the progressive developer and features seven units, two of which are already under offer with agents Knight Frank in Sheffield.
The much needed speculative development is aimed at industrial, warehouse and trade occupiers and the units provide 6.5m eaves height, full height loading doors, lighting and potential for fitted office accommodation.
The site enjoys 360 degree visibility to the highway following new road infrastructure and expected to be completed in August this year, creating 138 full time jobs.
Developer Tony Waddington, who has already developed 31 East in Dinnington, Northfield Business Park in Rotherham, Vantage Park in Sheffield, Shortwood Business Park in Barnsley, and Aldwarke Business Park and Chesterton Court in Rotherham, said: “This project is supplying much needed industrial and trade accommodation for the South Yorkshire region.
“Supporting continued economic growth in South Yorkshire is key and we expect completion later this summer.”
There are five available units of 4,850 sq ft which offer flexibility and can be combined to offer up to 9,690 sq ft.
It is expected that The Oval will generate £46m GVA over the next 10-year period.
Rebecca Schofield, partner at the Sheffield office of Knight Frank, which is marketing The Oval, said: “EV Waddington has managed to deliver a much needed speculative development of sub 10,000 sq ft addressing the lack of commercial property offer of this size across the region.”
Cllr Robert Frost, Cabinet Spokesperson for Regeneration and Culture, said: “We are delighted that EV Waddington continue to have great confidence in Barnsley as an excellent location to develop speculatively.
“This will be the third time they have invested in the borough, and their previous developments at Shortwood Business Park proved a great success, attracting expanding local and new businesses to the area, creating many new jobs.
“Our award-winning Enterprising Barnsley investment team will continue to provide a range of comprehensive support to future occupiers.”
Wanted: Postmasters who made have been made bankrupt by the Horizon scandal
The Insolvency Service is seeking information from postmasters who believe they may have been made bankrupt due to the Horizon IT scandal.
The Court of Appeal and Crown Court have quashed the convictions of a number of former postmasters prosecuted using unreliable evidence, and now the Post Office has contacted postmasters it has previously prosecuted to assist them in potentially appealing their convictions if they want to.
The Post Office says that in some instances, postmasters were made bankrupt by the Post Office Ltd, which have may have been as a result of the financial discrepancies reported, incorrectly, by the Horizon IT system.
Furthermore, due to the financial impact of the situation, some postmasters may have petitioned for their own bankruptcy or made a bankruptcy application to Office of the Adjudicator.
The Official Receiver, acting as the Trustee/Trustee ex-officio in bankruptcy, is now undertaking enquiries to identify these cases, in order to investigate whether these bankruptcy orders should be reviewed.
Postmasters who believe they were impacted by the Horizon discrepancies, should contact the Insolvency Service via Horizoncases@insolvency.gov.uk, and provide the following information:
- full name;
- date of birth;
- contact details;
- court / bankruptcy reference number relating to your bankruptcy (if available);
- where your bankruptcy / adjudicator or sequestration order was made, i.e. England/Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland; and
- a brief overview of how you were affected.
Progeny expands Scottish presence with new acquisition
Progeny has revealed plans to acquire Edinburgh-based Chartered financial planners, Balmoral Asset Management.
This represents the next step in the Leeds firm’s concerted expansion into Scotland and will take their total assets under management to more than £6.5bn.
Launched in 1999, Edinburgh-based Balmoral Asset Management were established to provide a comprehensive wealth management service to a select number of private clients.
Stuart MacDonald, Managing Director, Balmoral Asset Management, said: “We’re immensely proud of what we have created at Balmoral Asset Management: a prestigious advice firm that’s built a reputation on getting results for our clients.
“Joining Progeny will allow us to continue to grow, and to increase the range of services we offer our clients, many of whom have complex requirements which will benefit greatly from the multi-disciplinary professional services expertise we will now be able to provide.
“We’re diligent in maintaining the high standards we have set. There are not many firms out there who we could join with and see an improvement in our client offering, but Progeny is one such firm and we can’t wait to get started on this next phase of our journey.”
Neil Moles, CEO of Progeny, said: “We have been steadily expanding our presence in Scotland in the last few years and our acquisition of Balmoral Asset Management will allow us to take a significant step forward in this aim.
“Balmoral Asset Management are a highly respected firm who have become a byword for impeccable standards and exceptional client service.
“There are so many areas of overlap and common ground between us, in our services, our business ethos and in wanting to make a meaningful commitment to the next generation of our industry.
“I look forward to working with Stuart and his excellent team, and to everything we can achieve together.”
Progeny first entered the Scottish market with the acquisition of Innovate Financial Services in Edinburgh in February 2019. This was followed in April 2021 with the acquisition of Ayrshire-based Affinity Financial Planning.
