Doncaster man claimed 20,000 illegal cigarettes were for ‘personal use’
A Doncaster businessman who claimed 20,000 cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco were for personal use has pleaded guilty to three charges after being caught smuggling illicit cigarettes and tobacco out of Grimsby in a van.
Rizgar Ismail Axiz, 46, of Broxholme Lane, Doncaster, appeared before Grimsby Magistrates on three charges brought under the Standardised Packaging of Tobacco Products Regulations 2015, and the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016.
He was stopped leaving Grimsby in March last year when police discovered illicit cigarettes and tobacco with a street value of £6,320 and a legitimate value of £15,300. The case was then passed to North East Lincolnshire Council’s Trading Standards officers to investigate.
The 20,000 smuggled Marlboro cigarettes and 120 fifty-gram pouches of Turner hand rolling tobacco did not carry the prescribed combined health warnings and were not in the required plain packaging.
Aziz initially claimed that the cigarettes were for personal use, but later pleaded guilty to all offences and was sentenced to a 12-month Community Order, with 150 hours of unpaid work. Aziz was also ordered to pay costs of £560 and a victim surcharge of £95.
North East Lincolnshire Council Trading Standards Project Officer Mick Funnell, said: “All tobacco is harmful but illegal tobacco tends to be priced much cheaper, making it easier for children to start smoking and get hooked.
“Sellers rarely care who they sell to. Fewer people are buying illegal tobacco and fewer people are now prepared to turn a blind eye to it.
“The illicit tobacco trade also has strong links to organised crime and criminal gangs, so those buying these products are often pouring money into things like people smuggling, drug dealing, money laundering and even terrorism.
“Even small-time local sellers are at the end of a long criminal chain – selling illegal tobacco is a crime.
“People can make a real difference to help keep more illegal tobacco off the streets by reporting it. We need to keep the pressure up on those who continue to sell it.”
Since the start of the Council’s illicit tobacco investigations under Operation Nightshade, and the latest joint operation between National Trading Standards and HMRC, Operation CeCe, almost 2-million illegal cigarettes and over a tonne of illegal tobacco have been removed from the streets of North East Lincolnshire.
Government pumps millions into council areas to boost businesses and community projects
Communities across rural England are set to benefit from an extra £110 million in local authority funding to support rural business and community groups, it has been announced.
Eligible local authorities in England will receive the funding, which they can invest in initiatives such as farm diversification, projects to boost rural tourism, and community infrastructure projects including electric vehicle charging stations. The funding will also help people start up local businesses to supercharge growth and create employment opportunities for rural areas.
The Rural England Prosperity Fund is a rural top-up to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund which is £2.6 billion of new funding for local investment to support levelling up across the UK. It marks a change from previous bureaucratic and fragmented EU funds, allowing England to take back control of its own growth investment and giving local leaders a greater say in where funding is best spent.
Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey said: “Driving investment in rural areas is a vital part of our vision for levelling up the country. The new Rural Prosperity Fund replaces the bureaucratic EU funding system – allowing us to work closely with local leaders to direct funding where it is most needed to close the rural productivity gap, create job opportunities and protect the English countryside.
“This confirmed spending will allow local authorities to deliver on their plans to level up businesses and communities in rural areas from today, in line with their residents’ priorities.”
Country Land and Business President Mark Tufnell said: “The rural economy is 19% less productive than the national average, but reducing this gap could add up to £43 billion to the economy. This funding is an important step in unlocking the vast potential of rural businesses, and will give startups as well as existing enterprises the support they need to grow.
“We strongly encourage Local Authorities to work closely with rural entrepreneurs to maximise the opportunities the Rural England Prosperity Fund presents, identifying every possible opportunity to generate economic growth – creating good jobs and strengthening our communities in the process.”
She said the money could be spent on projects to support agricultural businesses looking to expand their remit, and rural businesses looking to launch or grow their products and services. Allocations in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire include:- North Yorkshire: £5.4m
- South Yorkshire: £1.4m
- West Yorkshire: £2.5m
- East Riding: £1.8m
- North Lincolnshire £789,000
- York: £400,000
- West Lindsey: £800,000
- East Lindsey: £1.8m
- South Holland: £700,000
- South Kesteven: £540,000
University gets involved in robotics programme to counter lack of seasonal labour
The University of Lincoln is part of an innovation to deliver an accelerated programme of robotic crop harvesting for horticulture and is one of just three projects to be chosen for a share of £9m funding from the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs’ Farming Innovation Programme.
The project is called Agri OpenCore, and began this week. It’s a three-year project aiming to tackle the lack of seasonal labour in the UK horticulture industry and is looking to accelerate the delivery of robotic crop systems for horticulture.
Many crops have gone unpicked this year, leading to large amounts of unnecessary waste. President of the National Farmers Union (NFU) Minette Batters has said that the waste in the food sector is an ‘absolute crisis’.
The Lincoln Institute of Agri-Food Technology at the University of Lincoln is partner in Agri-OpenCore alongside project lead APS Produce Ltd with Dogtooth Technologies Ltd, Wootzano Ltd and Xihelm Ltd.
There is currently no robotic harvesting system that can match the speed of human picking. Agri-OpenCore aims to make progress in this area by cutting the time and cost of developing a robotic harvesting system that achieves parity with human picking.
To deliver this, Agri-OpenCore will develop the world’s first open development platform for agri-robotic harvesting, aiming to develop commercial robotic systems for tomato and strawberry harvesting that achieve human-picking-cost-parity in two years.
Dr Grzegorz Cielniak, Associate Professor at the Lincoln Agri-Robotics Centre and Principal Investigator for the University of Lincoln, said: “The University of Lincoln robotics team, together with the agri-robotics industry, is working on Agri-OpenCore, a project targeting an open development platform for robotic crop harvesting. The platform will facilitate standardised access to the core robotic software and hardware components enabling rapid adoption by the industry and academia.
“The University of Lincoln team will work on the standardisation of the framework as well as on the development of the autonomy, perception and safety components.
“The core functionality of the platform will enable further development and customisation which can be privately exploited by the industry. The project will lead to faster adoption of more reliable robotic technology in agriculture which will be demonstrated by developing robotic tomato and strawberry harvesting systems. Such a strategy will lead to step changes in farming productivity and help to alleviate global problems with the availability of a workforce in the sector.”
Phil Pearson, Group Development Director, APS Group, said: “The Agri-OpenCore robotics project is an exciting, and vital project for the fresh produce industry. It promises to deliver the significant progress required to automate fresh produce harvesting in the UK.
“As this work brings leading technology providers, Dogtooth, Xihelm and Wootzano, with the academic excellence of the University of Lincoln team, we can expect significant progress towards autonomous harvesting.”
Willerby reports best results in company’s 77-year history
Buoyed by a structural market change in favour of holidays and short breaks in the UK, holiday homes builder Willerby has posted the best results in the company’s 77-year history, with revenues above £200m for the first time.
In the company’s latest accounts, for the year to October 1st, 2022, Willerby recorded turnover of £217m, up 67% from £129.9m the year before. Operating profits rocketed to £15.1m, a fourfold increase on £3m the previous year, and adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) reached £17.2m, growth of 224% on £5.3m the year before. The business also ended the financial year with a cash balance of £37.6m, up by £12.1m (47%) year on year. Willerby is the UK’s largest manufacturer of static caravans and lodges – building a third of new units destined for holiday parks – as well as operating a growing residential park homes brand, Willerby Bespoke. Launched in 2018, Willerby Bespoke matured in 2022 to become a profit contributor to the overall business. CEO Peter Munk said: “There’s no doubt there has been a structural change in the market since COVID, which we believe will benefit our business and industry over the long term. “The UK has some of the world’s most stunning locations, currently being showcased to millions of people in Sir David Attenborough’s beautiful BBC series Wild Isles. The appeal of the British countryside and coast has never been greater. “We’ve also seen very significant institutional investment into the staycation market, especially in the holiday parks sector, and in upgrading facilities at sites across the country. “That has all fed through to a sustained surge in holiday home ownership and bookings at holiday parks which has, in turn, generated very strong demand for our static caravans, lodges and residential park homes. “Our order book is very strong and we’re now setting out detailed production plans for 2024, to meet the robust demand for our models. “At Willerby, we’re all about our people, products and place – our facilities in Hull, the local community we support and our leading role in our industry, which is rooted in our region. “Despite the unprecedented challenges we have faced in recent times, from COVID to inflationary pressures, we’re in an exceptionally strong position. We’re at the forefront of a vibrant and growing sector and the investments we’re making are ensuring we’re well placed for sustained growth.” Willerby’s full-year results are particularly remarkable as performance in the first half of the year was impacted by pandemic-driven interruptions to raw material supplies and COVID-related staff absences. The ending of COVID restrictions in February 2022 enabled Willerby to return to normal operations, resulting in a bumper second half of the year. Willerby now has a 1,150-strong workforce and pumped £35m into the local economy in wages and salaries alone during the financial year. All Willerby employees are paid a minimum of the Real Living Wage and a new and improved staff bonus scheme introduced during the year meant every staff member received a performance bonus. Willerby CFO Sue Allan said: “Our results in the previous two business years were severely impacted by COVID and the latest full year was very much a game of two halves. “During the first half of the year, performance continued to be hindered by the impact of COVID restrictions on our own operations and our suppliers. However, once those restrictions ended in late February we were able to move forward and go from strength to strength. “We’re particularly pleased that employees in every part of the business have shared in this success. It’s a guiding principle of the business that everybody contributes to the company’s success and also benefits from it. “We’re also proud of the commitments we continue to make to R&D, training and development, and skills. These are investments in the business and also the local community and economy that we’re an important part of.”VPI plans Immingham power generation capacity increase
VPI is to expand its Immingham energy hub by investing in nearly 350MW of rapid-response power generation as part of its broader £500m investment in new generation capacity and upgrading its existing plants.
The new development includes a 50MW gas reciprocating peaking facility which will be operational next year, and a 299MW open cycle gas turbine (OCGT), expected to enter service by summer 2025.
The rapid-response generators will use established technology that has a track record of highly efficient and reliable operation and will provide dispatchable power quickly to ensure a secure supply during peaks of demand when renewable generation is low.
In support of the UK government’s commitment of achieving fully decarbonised electricity by 2035, the new plants may be converted to run on a proportion of hydrogen, once industrial-scale production is established.
In addition to the new power facilities, planning and permitting applications for VPI’s carbon capture plant as part of the Humber Zero project have also been submitted. The 1.2GW combined heat and power station at VPI Immingham has been providing energy to homes and businesses on a 24/7 basis since 2004 and, under this project, a significant proportion of carbon emissions will be captured. This will make it a major source of lower-carbon electricity.
Carbon capture and storage is an emerging sector in the UK that is central to the government’s plans to deliver Net Zero, and their recent Energy Security Plan recognises the significant economic opportunity it presents.
VPI Chief Executive Jorge Pikunic said: “Decarbonising and expanding existing energy production sites can help deliver Net Zero at lower cost to consumers, maintain energy security, and support local economies across the UK. We are expanding Immingham energy hub to offer additional flexibility to the national grid, solving for the system whilst progressing plans to major contribution to the UK’s net zero goals.”
The planning and permitting applications for the Humber Zero carbon capture project mark the culmination of the front-end engineering and design phase and work is already underway on the next stage of the development, preparing for operational readiness.
The project will capture more than 3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide each year in this first phase, which will be transported via a new plant to safe storage in depleted gas fields offshore. VPI has been working closely with the operators of the Viking CCS transport and storage system, which was recently announced as meeting the eligibility criteria for Track -2 of the government’s Cluster Sequencing programme.
Asda appoints CBRE to assist with convenience store expansion programme
Global real estate advisor, CBRE, has been appointed to assist Asda on its extensive nationwide store expansion programme.
Leeds-based Asda is one of the UK’s leading supermarkets, with 633 stores in the UK. The company was founded in 1949 and is owned by the Issa brothers and TDR capital, following the acquisition in October 2020.
Last October, the retailer launched a new ‘Asda Express’ convenience brand. The first two Asda Express stores opened before Christmas and Asda is planning to open a further 300 stores by the end of 2026.
Adrian Hanley, director, UK Retail at CBRE, said: “Shopping patterns have evolved in recent years and whilst some shoppers will continue to grocery shop solely online, there will always be incredibly strong demand for physical grocery stores.
“Enhancing its store offering to include convenience stores on a national scale will further solidify Asda’s position as a leading supermarket. CBRE’s market-leading retail team and extensive network across the UK makes us perfectly placed to assist Asda in fulfilling the next step of their store strategy.”
New Commission aims to improve skills supply in finance and professional services
A new commission has been set up to improve the supply of skills for the financial and professional services industry in Yorkshire and the Humber.
Made up of senior leaders in financial and related professional services, education and local government, the Yorkshire and the Humber Financial and Professional Services Skills Commission aims to create a shared understanding of the skills the industry needs in the region and to develop a plan to close the gap.
Over the next six months it will conduct evidence sessions with relevant experts, engage widely with business leaders and others, and conduct focus groups with the public to inform its work.
Financial and professional services play a critical role in Yorkshire and the Humber, employing around 150,000 people in the region, making up around 9% of its economy.
This includes centuries old building societies, cutting edge fintech firms and major offices for some of the UK’s biggest finance, legal and consulting firms.
Recent years have also seen government institutions focused on finance, such as the National Infrastructure Bank, the Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology, and the northern hub of the Bank of England become established in the region.
The industry is set to grow strongly in future but faces challenges securing the diverse range of skills it needs to do so, including as a result of changing ways of working, competition from other parts of the country to keep talent in the region, and competition from other sectors.
The Commission has been convened by Yorkshire Building Society and will be chaired by John Heaps, the chair of Yorkshire Building Society. It is being delivered with the support of industry bodies TheCityUK, the City of London Corporation, and The Financial Services Skills Commission, with public policy specialists Public First leading the research. It aims to publish a report setting out its findings in the autumn.
Commenting on the launch of the Commission, Mr Heaps said: “Financial and professional services play a critical role in the success of Yorkshire and the Humber – employing around 150,000 people in the region and making up around 9% of its economy – but the sector faces significant challenges in securing the skills and talent needed if it is to grow as strongly as predicted.
“The work of the Commission therefore is vital in determining the priorities we need to improve the skills of the region’s workforce for the future and I’m confident, with cross-industry collaboration, it will result in meaningful recommendations that will enable a talent pipeline for financial and professional services that will benefit the region’s economy.”
Leeds university spin-out secures Northern Gritstone investment
Northern Gritstone, the investment business focused on university spin-outs and technology-enabled businesses in the North of England, has invested in LC AuxeTec, a deeptech company developing auxetic materials from liquid crystal elastomers, as part of a targeted £2 million seed investment funding round.
Auxeticity – the property of a material to become thicker rather than thinner when stretched – is a unique phenomenon. In nature, this property can be seen in places like the Achilles tendon and cat skin. Auxeticity is attractive as it can give materials an advantage when it comes to absorbing shock, as well as resisting fractures and tears. That makes these materials promising in applications that require durability and robustness, such as electronic screens and glass for buildings and vehicles.
LC AuxeTec is the first spin-out from the University of Leeds to receive investment from Northern Gritstone as part of a seed investment round. The company was conceived by Professor Helen Gleeson OBE, Cavendish Professor, and former Head of the School of Physics at the University. In her academic career, which spans more than 30 years, Helen has led a wide range of research projects and won the Times Higher Education Award for Outstanding Research Supervisor of the Year in 2018.
In exploring the semi-soft elasticity of liquid crystal elastomers, Helen and her team made a serendipitous discovery: the world’s first synthetic material that is auxetic at the molecular level. The unintuitive properties of LC AuxeTec’s materials mean they expand when under pressure, giving them superior impact and delamination resistance.
The patent which covers these materials is exclusively licensed to the company. Prof Gleeson and her team will continue to make improvements to the auxetic materials at the University of Leeds and LC AuxeTec will have access to these developments and first rights to in-license any new IP that emerges in this area.
The company will use the funding to build out its team and appoint its first full-time employees, including incoming CEO Robert Gunn and Senior Engineer Matt Reynolds, and move into dedicated offices in the Nexus building on the University of Leeds campus.
Robert has for more than 15 years’ experience in leading science and technology-based start-ups. He is joining LC AuxeTec from his position as CEO of consultancy business Enceladus Ventures, where he was responsible for accelerating the performance of early-stage businesses through providing strategic leadership and advice.
Robert’s rich experience will be invaluable to LC AuxeTec as the company looks to scale up the development of its auxetic material so that it can be tested for specific commercial use cases. The company is already working with industry partners to create demonstration devices for selected markets, initially targeting polymers for wind turbines and laminated safety glass for automotive applications.
Northern Gritstone was advised by Freeths, led by Dahren Naidoo (Partner).
Duncan Johnson, CEO of Northern Gritstone, said: “In pushing the boundaries of their research to develop a unique auxetic material, Helen and her team have showcased Northern universities’ ability to drive innovation and create world-leading businesses in the region.
“This investment will help ensure LC AuxeTec’s technology reaches its full potential and maximise opportunities for commercial use. We look forward to working with Rob and the University of Leeds as they guide the company’s expansion and develop proof points that their industry partners can roll out across their products.”
Robert Gunn, incoming CEO of LC AuxeTec, said: “After working with many early-stage businesses in my previous role, I cannot wait to get onboard at LC AuxeTec and start work on developing this extraordinary material for real world uses.
“Northern Gritstone’s investment will be essential to helping us to achieve this, allowing us to take the world-class research produced by Helen and the University of Leeds team and commercialise it for industry. We are just beginning to grasp the full possibilities of this material and I am optimistic about the results we can deliver in the years ahead.”
Professor Helen Gleeson, Founder of LC Auxetec and Cavendish Professor of Physics at the University of Leeds, said: “When we discovered that our materials were auxetic at the molecular level, we began to realise the opportunities that they could hold across a number of different industries as they can be stretched further than other materials already available.
“As we continue to test the properties of our material and expand our understanding of what it is achievable, Northern Gritstone’s funding will enable Robert and his new team to start making these potential use cases a reality. We will continue to work closely together to share knowledge and ensure the success of LC AuxeTec going forwards.”
National Measurement Laboratory launches Leeds lab
The National Measurement Laboratory (NML) at LGC has chosen the University of Leeds’ innovation community, Nexus for its new Northern Cell Metrology Hub, a centre of innovation for clinical diagnostics and medical technology.
The first step in a partnership between the University of Leeds and the NML, the laboratory was launched on Friday 31 March 2023 at a special event.
Professor Julian Braybrook, UK Government Chemist and Director of Science & Partnerships of National Laboratories, LGC, said: “Cells provide the structure and function for all living things. However, they are particularly complex to characterize robustly.
“Whilst the partnership coming together through this Hub represents significant progress in our collaboration, I most look forward to our working together to develop new internationally leading approaches that support the greater understanding of biological measurement.”
The hub, which represents a new centre for the NML’s existing cell metrology capabilities in the UK, will support health and life science industries achieve safe, reliable and productive solutions through innovative technology and will focus on the standardisation of cell measurements, using flow cytometry and bio-imaging techniques, for analysis of single cells.
Professor Nick Plant, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation at the University of Leeds, said: “This partnership is the start of an exciting long-term collaboration between the University of Leeds, Nexus and the NML, further developing our reputation as a national hub for medical technology innovation.
“We will be working closely with the NML, sharing vital knowledge and equipment through our Cellular Biology specialists at the University’s Astbury Centre.”
Dr Martin Stow, Chair and Director at Nexus, added: “This is yet another huge accolade for Leeds City Region as a centre of excellence and innovation in healthcare and life sciences.
“As part of the Leeds Innovation Arc – the innovation neighbourhoods formed around our universities and the proposed new adult and children’s hospitals in the city – the new hub confirms Leeds’ status as a welcoming and thriving location for businesses and organisations which have a positive impact on people’s health and society’s wellbeing.”
In addition to the University as partner, the new lab has local support from the Yorkshire & Humberside Academic Health Science Network (AHSN) and Leeds NHS Trust.
Business optimism grows in West and North Yorkshire
New research from West & North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce shows that confidence among businesses in the region has rebounded significantly, with the expectation of significant improvements in turnover and profitability.
Data in the Chamber’s latest Quarterly Economic Survey for the first quarter of 2023 shows that the amount of companies expecting to grow their profits is now at a comparable level to that seen at the start of 2022, before the war in Ukraine.
Optimism among the manufacturing sector in particular is very strong, with the level of firms in the industry expecting to grow their profits during the coming months now higher than levels seen prior to the pandemic, having nearly doubled from the preceding quarter.
There was also positive news on employment, with both service and particularly manufacturers having taken on new staff since the start of the year. For the manufacturing sector, its employment figures are at a level not seen since the start of 2017.
However, there was more negative news on investment and some areas of sales, with inflation pushing these areas downwards from the previous quarter as overheads continue to soar.
While service sector firms saw a healthy 18 per cent rise in overseas sales, domestic activity was largely static or, in the case of manufacturers, down. The research was conducting prior to last month’s rise in inflation and subsequent interest rate hike. Order books do not look terribly strong across the board but are marginally higher than seen before the Mini Budget in September. Both service and manufacturing firms will now be looking anxiously to the next three months to see if improving economic forecasts begin to translate into improving sales.
One area business is not expecting to see an improvement in is prices. Just four per cent of firms expect costs to decrease in the coming months and the best most companies are hoping for is simply for prices to remain as they are.
Elsewhere, cashflow remains a mixed bag with manufacturers having rebounded from two quarters of decline while service sector firms reporting a marginal decrease, albeit not on the same level as seen last autumn.
