Whitby firm receives £180k grant to help tackle antibiotic resistance
Whitby-based company Natures Laboratory has just received a major funding award worth over £180k from Innovate UK to develop new ways in which propolis – a natural antibiotic produced by bees – can be used to help meet the worldwide crisis in antibiotic resistance.
WHO (World Health Organisation) put antibiotic resistance in its top ten global public health threats. The harsh reality is that the drugs don’t work anymore. We are now facing infections where no antibiotics can help.
Propolis is made from resins which the bees collect from trees and plants. They take the resins back to the hive, process them through their enzymatic system and then combine them with wax. They use propolis (which comes from the Greek meaning ‘Defender of the City’) to seal up the hive against infection making the beehive one of the most sterile environments known to man.
Research since the end of WW2 has shown that propolis has antibiotic, anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal and anti-tumoral properties. For the beehive, propolis is its immune defence mechanism and according to Natures Laboratory’s CEO James Fearnley it does just the same for us humans: “Natures Laboratory has been researching the role of propolis as a medicine for over 30 years.
“I feel that our work has for years been like a candle burning in the bright sunlight – nobody recognised its light. But as the problem of antibiotic resistance has grown bigger and darker we are beginning to be seen as a real and potential help for what has seemed like an increasingly dangerous, global and insoluble problem.
“We have known about the anti-microbial activity of propolis since the 1940’s and our own research in 1998 at University of Oxford confirmed this. During the last 30 years we have, with our university research colleagues in this country and round the world, published over 30 scientific reports about propolis and have made some remarkable discoveries.
“Our most dramatic discovery came just over a year ago during the COVID lockdown in work we are funding at Leeds Beckett University. We discovered that if you combine propolis with antibiotics that have effectively stopped working (like penicillium) they start working again. Exactly why and how this works we are still working on but obviously the potential benefits of combining antibiotics and propolis are enormous.
“This new Innovate UK Award will help us to build on this work. The Award will fund a two-year project working with Department of Pharmacological Engineering Science at the University of Bradford. We will explore how we can use cutting edge science to develop products locally that can make a real and lasting contribution to a global problem. This is a fantastic opportunity and a validation of 30 years of research work.
“The Award comes at a fantastic time for us having just launched the 4th International Conference of the IPRG (International Propolis Research Group) which I started in 2016 and which last year presented 39 scientific papers on the properties of propolis and attracted over 400 participants from every corner of the world.”
Helmsley Group appoints new shareholder and director
Helmsley Group, the York-based property investment and development specialist, has announced that director Ed Harrowsmith has become a shareholder in the business.
Having served as a board director for the last three years, Ed has now taken a stake in the business with increased responsibilities including business strategy.
He will continue to lead the expansion of the company’s £200m syndicated investment portfolio and will also take on an enhanced role growing Helmsley’s investor base of more than 800 high-net-worth individuals.
Helmsley has also promoted Tom Boyle to the board as a director. Tom, who has been with Helmsley for the past seven years, also becomes the group’s Head of Finance.
Richard Peak, managing director at Helmsley Group, said: “Since joining Helmsley, both Ed and Tom have been instrumental in our continued success. Ed has been a key factor in driving the growth of our clients’ investment portfolios and has made a major contribution to the business to date.
“He has already served the board with distinction, with his values very much matching our own. His further investment in the business is hugely merited and bodes well for our ongoing success.
“Tom, alongside our other finance team members, has played a key role, particularly over the past two years as we have navigated our way through the Covid-19 pandemic. His promotion to the board is just reward for his skill, hard work and dedication.
“As we now see confidence in the market return, I can think of no better people than Ed and Tom to help lead us into this next exciting chapter for the business.”
Commenting on his new role, Ed Harrowsmith, syndicated property director at Helmsley Group, said: “The decision to invest in the business was a simple one. Having been in operation for 42 years, Helmsley has an exceptional reputation across Yorkshire and beyond.
“With the current opportunities for growth demonstrated by our recent high street acquisition strategy, it is an opportune time and a privilege to make a further commitment to the Helmsley business.
“I’m excited to take this next step as we look to grow the syndicated property team over the coming months and to continue to grow our investor base through bringing forward opportunities for them to achieve steady return on investment with future capital appreciation.”
Tom Boyle, head of finance at Helmsley Group, said: “Having been a part of the Helmsley team for a number of years I’m looking forward to taking the next step in my career.
“Following growth within the Helmsley team and a number of recent high-profile property acquisitions within Yorkshire, it’s a really exciting time for not only Helmsley, but also our investor base. I’m looking forward to the future as we drive forward our regeneration and investment strategy across Yorkshire and beyond.”
Located at Monk’s Cross, York and operating across the UK, Helmsley Group offers commercial property syndication, development finance and property development services.
Communications firm doubles footprint in Huddersfield
Specialist communications firm Scriba PR has upgraded its West Yorkshire premises by adding an additional 984 sq ft of real estate – and completing a full fit-out of its Huddersfield HQ.
Following a steady stream of recruitment throughout 2021 – and with more new faces set to join in the coming weeks – the team had outgrown its existing space and needed additional room to carry out some of the more creative elements of its work.
Almost doubling its space overnight, B2B media outfit Scriba PR has extended its existing 1,200 sq ft office within Heritage Exchange, Lindley, to encompass an adjacent suite in the loft of the historic mill – taking the footprint to 2,184 sq ft.
Now leasing the entirety of the third-floor commercial offices on the eastern flank of the property, the extension features a large meeting area, dedicated ‘quiet room’ for solo work, and a relaxed breakout space for socialising and creative thinking.
The vision of Scriba founder and Managing Director Katie Mallinson, refurbishment work has been overseen by The Man Who Makes. Owned by local craftsman Steve McMann, the company also designed and built a range of bespoke furniture for the new office, including a bespoke meeting room table, stand up desk, shelving and storage, room divides, biophilic wall art, and corner worktops.
“Our team has grown rapidly since we last upsized our environment, in 2019,” explained Katie. “Post-pandemic, we quickly reached capacity in terms of both desk and meeting space – as well as wanting to recreate some of the more relaxed areas our colleagues had become accustomed to following 18 months of home-working.
“The nature of our business means we could be building a commercially-focused communications strategy one minute and creating some visually impactful social media content the next – and it’s important to have the right surroundings, allowing us to effectively work on each element of what we do. So, we spoke to Heritage about our dream, and they helped make it happen.
“This extension of our footprint gives the entire team enough room to gather around a table, while also offering different zones for people to carry out the various parts of their role – after all, with 14 colleagues, and counting, everyone has a preferred way of working depending on the task at hand. Some prefer quiet, uninterrupted time, while others thrive in the bustle of a creative HQ – now, there truly is a place to work which suits everyone.”
Krystina Firth, manager of Heritage Exchange, added: “It’s been a great pleasure to watch Scriba grow within our business centre. From Katie’s initial move into a two-person office in September 2014 to now occupying the full top floor of our Plover Road offices, we have loved working with the entire team to create beautiful interiors that complement the history of the building. Scriba has gone from strength to strength, which is testament to the hard work and ethos of Katie and her team – and we are proud to work alongside them.”
Hat trick for Clarion in ‘100 Best Companies to work for’ as it is ranked 2nd in the whole of the UK
Having again achieved a three star accreditation in the prestigious UK’s 100 Best Companies to Work For scheme, Clarion has announced an impressive hat trick – it has been revealed that in the first quarter of 2022, the Leeds law firm was recognised as the top company in Yorkshire to work for, it took number one spot as the best law firm to work for in the whole country and it was also ranked second overall out of all the entrants in the large company category from across the entire UK.
The UK’s 100 Best Companies to Work For (formerly The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For), awarded the accolades to Clarion due to the ‘world-class employee engagement’ of its 288-strong team.
Joint managing partner Roger Hutton said: “We are immensely proud to have received this national recognition of our success in creating a place where people know they are valued and really feel they belong. Our unique Clarion culture is at the heart of everything we do – without it, we could not attract or retain the best talent, or ensure that they share our commitment to providing the highest levels of service to our clients.
“From the beginning, building a firm which recognises and supports colleagues has been central to our vision – if people are happy at work, they perform better and also communicate that positivity to one another and to clients. This has shone through during recent difficult times with colleagues seamlessly adjusting to rapidly changing circumstances, but continuing to work together as a cohesive team. I would like to thank every one of them for helping us to reach this achievement – to be ranked No 2 in the entire country as the best large company in which to work, is simply amazing.”
A standard of excellence for UK businesses, the initiative assesses workplace engagement and measures it against the rigorous Best Companies Index score, which covers factors such as leadership, wellbeing and personal growth, in order to celebrate and showcase outstanding employers.
Head of HR Helen Saunders added: “From implementing excellent communications with two-way listening to supporting colleagues’ career development, at Clarion every internal touch point is carefully considered to ensure we live our values. Having established the solid foundations of such a positive culture, we are proving able to share this with new members of the team as we continue to grow the Clarion family.”
With a turnover of almost £23m and 30 partners, Clarion has continued to achieve high levels of employee engagement and strong colleague retention. Its supportive culture is demonstrated in many ways including by excellent communications, innovative CSR activities with community partners, the provision of mentoring and coaching opportunities to support career development, regular employee engagement surveys and its award-winning BeingWell programme.
Derby-based healthcare services provider to acquire Sheffield firm in £13m deal
Totally plc, a Derby-based provider of frontline healthcare services, corporate fitness and wellbeing services, has entered into an agreement to acquire Sheffield-based Pioneer Health Care Limited, an established independent provider of specialist NHS secondary care services.
The total consideration for the acquisition is up to £13 million, on a cash-free and debt-free basis. The consideration is to be paid 80% in cash and the remaining 20% will be satisfied by the issue of new ordinary shares in Totally. £6.9 million is payable on completion, on a cash-free and debt-free basis, and up to £6.1 million is payable on a deferred basis, based on the financial performance of Pioneer in the year ending 31 March 2022.
Pioneer Healthcare delivers insourcing and outsourcing services across a wide range of surgical and medical specialities to NHS patients and holds contracts with NHS Foundation Trusts and Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), predominantly across the North of England.
Pioneer also holds the difficult-to-acquire Any Qualified Provider (AQP) status, which enables it to offer services direct to NHS patients across the whole of England, free at the point of delivery, where there is sufficient demand.
The business is led by three experienced, senior NHS consultants, Mr Hesham Zaki, Professor Prasad Godbole and Mr John McMullan, who are well recognised in their chosen fields, and will continue to hold senior leadership roles within the business following the acquisition.
Pioneer Healthcare and Totally Healthcare, which forms Totally’s Insourcing division, will be brought together to create a single, established, provider of insourcing and outsourcing services under the Pioneer brand.
The acquisition is the company’s second in three months and supports the Board’s buy and build strategy, utilising the substantial cash balances held by the company to strengthen its service proposition and bring further earnings-enhancing opportunities to the Group.
Wendy Lawrence, Chief Executive Officer of Totally, said: “We are delighted to welcome Pioneer Healthcare into the Totally Group. This is Totally’s second acquisition in three months, demonstrating our commitment to growing the business, delivering enhanced shareholder value through our ‘buy and build’ strategy and moving into areas where we know demand for services is outstripping current capacity.
“The acquisition creates new opportunities for the Group and will ensure we can continue giving vital support to the NHS as it recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Pioneer’s services closely complement those provided by Totally Healthcare. The combined insourcing and outsourcing business will benefit from its stronger footprint across the UK and Ireland and the additional significant experience of the Pioneer leadership team. Pioneer has an excellent reputation in the market and we look forward delivering on the undeniable potential that is available to the combined business.”
Environment Minister Rebecca Pow visits largest water infrastructure project in a generation at crucial halfway point
Rebecca Pow, Environment Minister, and Caroline Johnson, MP for Sleaford and North Hykeham, today visited Lincoln to mark an important milestone for the region’s Strategic Pipeline Alliance (SPA): the largest water infrastructure project the UK has seen for a generation.
Minister Pow visited the site as engineers completed the first half of the 24km pipeline between Lincoln and Ancaster. This is just one section of the project which, in total, will create hundreds of kilometres of interconnecting pipelines to address water scarcity across the east of England.
During the visit, Minister Pow spoke to the engineers onsite and also heard from beneficiaries of the Government’s Kickstart scheme, which delivers funding and employment for 16-24-year-olds who are currently in receipt of Universal Credit.
So far, Anglian Water has provided opportunities for 14 young people across this infrastructure project – 9 apprentices and 5 on a Kickstarter scheme, three of who have since been offered full-time employment.
SPA will be crucial in addressing the future imbalance of water availability in the region, where an estimated water deficit of 30 million litres a day could be expected by 2025. It forms part of Anglian Water’s Water Resources Management Plan, which looks 25 years ahead to make the East resilient to drought.
SPA will create the ability to move water in stages from wetter parts of North Lincolnshire to the south and east of the region. The new pipeline will also strengthen local resilience as the population continues to grow, by reducing the number of homes and businesses which rely on a single water source.
The entire pipeline has also been designed to have the lowest carbon footprint possible in line with Anglian Water’s pledge to reach net zero carbon by 2030.
What’s more, sections of the pipeline have also been specifically designed to bypass sensitive ecological sites where environmental surveys have found protected species like badgers, water voles, bats and Great Crested Newts.
Environment Minister Rebecca Pow said: “The Strategic Pipeline Alliance project highlights the important role of innovation in enhancing our national water infrastructure which is progressing well and I was very pleased to have a detailed visit to discuss it. This project will help rebalance the availability of water across the region and benefit the local community while also crucially protecting our precious natural environment.”
Strategic Pipeline Alliance Director for Anglian Water, James Crompton said: “We are grateful to the Minister for taking the time to meet with us today. The Strategic Pipeline Alliance will be vital in addressing the predicted ‘jaws of death’ moment for water availability in the East of England – the point at which demand for water greatly outstrips the available supply, and we are delighted to have the opportunity to discuss with the Minister our vision for future water sustainability across the region.
“Our commitment to protecting the environment is as vital as securing customer supplies. This project will help meet our targets to reduce the amount of water we take from the environment by 84 million litres a day, but our infrastructure needs to be sustainable too.
“Climate change isn’t just a risk in terms of the challenges it poses us. It is also an opportunity to challenge established practice and to do things differently and more efficiently, for wider gain. This scheme is an excellent example of how we’re doing both for the long-term benefit of our region.”
MP Caroline Johnson for Sleaford and North Hykeham said: “I was delighted to visit Harmston near Lincoln with Minister Rebecca Pow today to discuss the progress of the Strategic Pipeline Alliance. I welcome that the installation of the pipeline will improve water availability throughout Lincolnshire and the wider East of England, and I enjoyed learning how this important scheme is also protecting our natural surroundings.”
Heritage works starting at No 41, Alexandra Road, Cleethorpes
No 41, Alexandra Road, also known as Woodliffe Villa, Cleethorpes is the latest building to receive Townscape Heritage funding.
Starting today, 7 March 2022, conservation and restoration work to the front façade will help return this Grade II listed building to its former glory.
The building is one of the earliest properties along the road. Built from red brick with a Welsh slate roof, the building also has a cast iron arcade and balcony dating from around 1900.
As part of the works, the late 20th century shop front will be replaced with a new shop front to the original design and entrance and redecorated using colours chosen as part of the heritage scheme. This property has its own single cast iron balcony and this will be removed from site for restoration and recoated and returned as part of the project
Additionally, the dormer window will be reinstated (the original was removed in around 50 years ago), the bay windows will be replaced, and the rainwater channels will be replaced.
This work comes in the wake of other heritage work along the same stretch.
In December last year, a section of the balconies at the southern end of Alexandra Road in Cleethorpes was removed for conservation by a specialist team, so that the cast iron could be stripped, checked for structural flaws, and then re-coated away from the marine environment before being reinstated. It’s expected that those balconies will be returned to the properties in the next few months.
Work has already been undertaken to restore the bay windows on No 21 and 22 Alexandra Road, and the RAF Association building at No 5 Alexandra Road was completed in 2021.
Cllr Callum Procter, Cabinet member for heritage, said: “This is a fantastic project, and I’m really pleased that it’s starting to take shape with another project coming on stream. People in Cleethorpes love the Victorian balconies, and we need to make sure our heritage is preserved for the future.”
Discover Cleethorpes Heritage’ is a four-year Townscape Heritage (TH) programme launched in 2018. The scheme is supported by £1.9m from the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) and £1m from North East Lincolnshire Council (NELC), and circa 900k of 3rd party match funding from the property freeholders/leaseholders.
South Yorkshire bus franchising assessment given green light
Mayor Dan Jarvis and local leaders have given the green light to assess bus franchising in South Yorkshire.
It sets in motion the legally-required work to see whether a franchising model – which would bring regulation of routes, frequencies, fares, and tickets under local control – could help efforts to transform the region’s transport.
Mayor of South Yorkshire, Dan Jarvis, said: “This is a big day for our region. The shortcomings of the current free-for-all bus system have become painfully clear to everyone in South Yorkshire, and we need to establish whether greater public control would deliver the transformation we are working to achieve. This assessment will let us test that case and create the foundation to move to franchising if it is confirmed.
“There are no silver bullets – most of all, there will still be an urgent need for more investment whatever we do. But I promised to make strengthening our buses a top priority – and by putting all the options on the table, that is exactly what we are doing.
“In the short term, we face serious and urgent challenges, with Covid adding to already-significant pressures on our buses. But while we’ve fought to protect our services, we’ve not lost sight of wider ambitions for them – we’ve put in millions to improve services, create fare concessions, and give buses greater priority on our roads.
“Now we need the Government to belatedly fulfil their own promise of transformative investment, so we can bring passengers back, build a bus network our people can be proud of – and help create a stronger, greener, fairer South Yorkshire for all.”
Under a franchising scheme, accountability for bus services would transfer from private operators to South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority. Putting franchising in place would take a number of years.
Co-chair of the MCA’s Transport and Environment Board, and the Leader of Rotherham Council, Cllr Chris Read said: “For too long when people have complained about bus services, there has been almost nothing councils could do. That must change. We’re determined to do all that we can to improve our bus services and I’m glad that we’ve now got to a position where we can formally begin the legal exploration of franchising, and taking on some of the new legal powers of regulation.
“This is only the beginning of the process and nowhere in the country outside London yet operates a franchising model. We’ve got to work our way through all the options, scope and cost over the next few years.
“In the meantime, we need the government to ensure services aren’t lost before passenger numbers have fully recovered from Covid. They must come good on their commitment to capital investment in new buses and bus priority measures, and we need the funding now to cap ticket prices across South Yorkshire so that bus users like me can see the benefits of that before it’s too late.”
The assessment of bus franchising follows plans to develop an Enhanced Partnership in response to the government’s National Bus Strategy (Bus Back Better). The legally binding agreement between SYMCA and local bus operators includes proposals for free travel for under 18s and capped fares for all passengers, bus priority measures to make journeys quicker, better journey planning information, ‘turn up and go’ bus options, and zero emission buses to make travel cleaner and greener towards a net-zero future.
Food businesses reminded to register
New food businesses are booming in Hull, with increasing numbers of pizzerias and takeaway premises as well as people running bakeries from their own kitchens. The growth has been driven by the Coronavirus pandemic, with people honing skills at home, finding usual work disrupted, or adapting existing food businesses.
Nationally, 37 per cent of new ventures registered are run from domestic kitchens at private addresses. The figure in Hull is broadly similar.
The council and the Food Standards Agency (FSA), which operates the national Food Hygiene Scheme, is urging people to ensure all new businesses are registered with the council’s Environmental Health Team at least 28 days before opening. All ventures must be registered, including those selling online, over social media, from a customer-facing base, and home kitchens. Failing to register is an offence and those who do so could face a fine.
Sam Bacon, Food, Health and Safety Manager at Hull City Council said: “We have seen a huge increase in people selling food from their homes over the course of the pandemic.
“That’s why we’re working with the FSA to support businesses in Hull to ensure they are registering and keeping us informed of changes to their businesses.
“Registration applies to the majority of food businesses. This includes anyone who provides food from their homes and online through sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Amazon or eBay as well as from market stalls, food pop ups and vehicles used to provide and distribute food.”
“Registration is free. If you are already trading and have not registered yet, you need to get register as soon as possible as this is a legal requirement.
“We’d always encourage businesses to get in touch with us if they have any questions as we are happy to help and provide assistance.”
Hull has a total of 2,302 registered businesses. Registering is vital as it assesses a business owner’s understanding of food safety, and ensures a premises can be inspected and the facilities checked. Without registration the nature of a business cannot be assessed, and the council’s environmental health teams are unable to give appropriate advice, or give a Food Hygiene Rating.
Michael Jackson, Deputy Director – Head of Regulatory Compliance, at the FSA said: “Local Authorities need to know who is trading in their area and registration is an opportunity to ensure that food businesses have access to relevant guidance and support to help them get it right from the start and to protect consumers.
“If a business is already registered but has changed how they operate, they should contact their local authority/council to let them know”.
B&Q agrees 430,000 sq ft pre-let at major Doncaster industrial and distribution scheme
Tritax Symmetry has signed an agreement to lease with B&Q on a new 430,000 sq ft design and build facility at Symmetry Park, Doncaster.
B&Q has agreed a 15-year lease on the bespoke building which will become a seasonal warehouse and distribution centre. The facility will be built to net zero carbon in construction.
Tritax Big Box has a long-standing relationship with B&Q and has been the landlord at B&Q’s national core products distribution centre in Worksop since 2005.
Mark Jacobs, director of property at B&Q, said: “We are planning to launch our highly sustainable seasonal warehouse and distribution centre in Doncaster towards the end of 2022. It will allow us to get more of the most popular products to B&Q stores, and quicker.”
Located at Junction 34 of the A1 (M) on the North Nottinghamshire/South Yorkshire border, Symmetry Park is a major industrial and distribution scheme with detailed planning consent for 721,000 sq ft of logistics space. The scheme is already home to luxury dog food supplier, Butternut Box, which took a 151,388 sq ft facility on a 15-year lease in August 2020.
Roadside retail property business Euro-Garages has also expanded its options with the purchase of a 1.2-acre plot standing alongside its existing Starbucks and KFC outlets.
Freddie Oakey, associate development director at Tritax Symmetry, said: “As an existing customer within the wider Tritax Big Box portfolio, we are pleased to have brought B&Q to this Tritax Symmetry development. Having a site with infrastructure already enabled and detailed planning consent in place allows us to provide a premium, bespoke and highly sustainable facility for B&Q to bolster its distribution network in this prime logistics location.”
The Leeds offices of Savills, Dove Haigh Phillips and Colliers International are representing the development.
The project team includes KPP Architects; Fox Lloyd Jones as PM; Rex Proctor and Partners as QS; SGI as engineer and Hydrock as M&E consultants.
