Gilson Gray grows Lincoln property team with new partner
Full-service legal firm Gilson Gray has bolstered its residential property division in Lincoln with the appointment of new partner Cherie McBean.
Cherie joins Gilson Gray from one of the North East’s largest firms, where she spent almost seven years as a residential property solicitor and most recently as part of the senior management team. Her new role involves leading the 100-strong team at Gilson Gray’s Lincoln branch and helping to develop its people and processes.
Cherie will manage the team alongside Gary Tyman who was the head of Home Property Lawyers (HPL) prior to its acquisition by Gilson Gray over a year ago.
Cherie McBean said: “Gilson Gray is the perfect fit in terms of its cultural values and ambition. The property market is incredibly competitive in terms of client expectations, and embracing advances in technology will be key to streamlining the conveyancing process and improving customer experiences.
“My goal is to help retain the firm’s position as market leader and drive the property team forward as we deliver a personal and dedicated service for our clients.”
Debbie McCathie, partner and head of residential conveyancing at Gilson Gray, said: “Cherie is a very talented lawyer, and offers the perfect blend of skills that will further strengthen our residential conveyancing offering.
“Having a UK-wide footprint is becoming increasingly important for top-tier law firms and we have ambitious plans to expand further across the country, building on our full-service approach to support clients in the English property market.”
Glen Gilson, managing partner and chairman at Gilson Gray, said: “Our move into England was somewhat contra trend for the Scottish sector and has proven to be a valuable strategic move. Our English operation has expanded multifold from the original footprint acquired and the appointment of talent such as Cherie underpins our commitment to this market and client base.”
Plans submitted for 145,000 sq ft Station Plaza office development at White Rose Park in Leeds
Development and investment group Munroe K has submitted a planning application for the new Station Plaza office development at White Rose Park, which aims to be the first BREEAM Outstanding and NABERS 5 star out of town development in Leeds.
Planning has been submitted to Leeds City Council for a 145,000 sq ft new build office development directly fronting the new White Rose Railway Station, which is scheduled to open in Spring 2024. The masterplan for Station Plaza incorporates three buildings, two totalling 100,000 sq ft over two wings and interconnected with a shared atrium and the third is a separate 45,000 sq ft building.
The new high specification Grade A office buildings will comprise under croft car parking and will be set within a heavily landscaped site. The development has been designed with biodiversity as its core, with ESG top of the agenda at White Rose Park.
In addition to the targeted BREEAM Outstanding and NABERS 5 star accreditation, Munroe K is aiming for the development to be carbon neutral in operation. This aspiration follows the developer’s ambition to make White Rose Park carbon neutral by 2030, through implementing further sustainable features and throughout the new development.
The wider White Rose Park comprises just over 550,000 sq ft of offices across nine buildings which are almost fully occupied by a host of blue-chip businesses with only 12,000 sq ft remaining available, with interest in the space. There are some 5,000 employees across the Park’s fifteen occupiers and the on-site Elliott Hudson College, which is one of the City’s best performing colleges with Ofsted Outstanding, has circa 1,200 students.
The talent pool on site from the college and within the locality will be hugely boosted by the new train station which will give the park and its occupiers access to over 7m new people in a 45 minute travel time, with connectivity opened up to Manchester as well as a journey of just 4 minutes to Leeds City Centre.
White Rose Park is an established, successful environment with strong ESG credentials from its host of facilities including an on site creche, a 2G sports arena, outdoor gym, hospitality facilities and all the amenities at the neighbouring White Rose Shopping Centre which includes an Imax cinema.
David Aspin, founder and CEO, Munroe K, said: “We’ve always been successful in attracting and retaining occupiers and the opening of the new train station in Spring 2024 giving access to a new 7 million strong talent pool, has acted as a catalyst for this new development. Alongside our ambition to become carbon neutral by 2030, this new sustainable office scheme makes for exciting times at the campus.”
Alex Hailey, senior director, CBRE Office Agency in Leeds, said: “There is strong demand for office space at White Rose Park as evidenced in its near full occupation and the proposed additional 145,000 sq ft will fill a crucial void in the city’s development pipeline.
“With on site and neighbouring amenities to rival the city centre, the abundance of green space and outdoor facilities along with crucial services such as the creche, employers can provide an exceptional working environment for their staff. The new train station will be a strong driver for occupiers interested in the new space as will its strong sustainable credentials.”
Office agents on Station Plaza at White Rose Park are CBRE, Knight Frank and Sanderson Weatherall.
Yorkshire bedding brand raises £100,000
The Yorkshire designer behind a new luxury bedding brand has raised £100,000 from NPIF – Mercia Debt Finance, which is managed by Mercia and is part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund, to help expand her business.
Sophie Platts’ company Floks specialises in sustainable bedding including duvets, pillows and mattress toppers, all made from British wool and organic cotton and manufactured in Yorkshire. Having begun selling her products online two years ago, she now supplies John Lewis and is in talks with a number of well-known department stores.
The company’s revenue has been growing rapidly over the past year. The funding will enable the York-based company to step up its marketing campaign and develop new products to expand the range.
Sophie has over 15 years’ experience working with luxury brands, most recently with kitchenware company Joseph Joseph. The launch of Floks resulted from her own inability to sleep and was inspired by her two Yorkshire grandfathers – one a farmer and the other who worked in textiles.
Sophie, who is the company’s Managing Director, said: “As a product designer, I always dreamed of having my own business, and in the depths of lockdown I had a lightbulb moment. I’m a poor sleeper and often wake up due to overheating but I discovered that wool bedding helps overcome this and has many other advantages.
“I realised that I could design and make a fully sustainable UK-grown and made product that would support two important British industries at the same time – farming and manufacturing – and help give people a better night’s sleep.”
David Wright of Mercia added: “Sophie has a wealth of experience in designer homewares. Floks builds on Yorkshire’s wool trade heritage and fills a gap in the market for sustainable luxury bedding that promotes healthy sleep. The funding will help her to expand the business and establish the brand as a market leader in premium British wool bedding.”
UK Government offers £4m grant for Saltend rare earth oxide separation facility
The Secretary of State for Business and Trade has offered Pensana a grant of up to £4m towards the funding required to build a rare earth oxide separation facility in the ‘Humber Freeport’ at Saltend.
The grant follows an application submitted by Pensana to the Automotive Transformation Fund, and is subject to terms set out in a grant funding agreement and conditional upon Pensana providing clearance from the relevant authority monitoring state subsidies and a funding, activities and deliverables plan which are expected to be provided in the coming weeks.
Chairman Paul Atherley said: “The successful development of the US$250 million Saltend project would be an important step in supporting the UK automotive supply chain, which employs over 780,000 people, as it transitions to electric vehicles (EVs).
“By 2030 the UK is expected to have transitioned from being a major European producer of internal combustion engines to be a world leader in the manufacture of electric drive units (EDUs), producing three million EDUs annually, with a large proportion destined for export. Without a secure magnet metal supply chain this is under threat.”
Pensana is establishing an independent, sustainable rare earth supply chain with mid-stream processing to produce magnet metal in the UK.
The Saltend project will deliver 450 jobs during construction and 150 high value jobs in operation with a significant opportunity for further expansion.
Businesses invited to join Sheffield Hallam’s new Advanced Wellbeing Accelerator
Sheffield Hallam University has launched its latest Wellbeing Accelerator programme, with the application window now open for both UK-based and international businesses to join the next cohort.
Now in its third year, the Accelerator has supported 40 SMEs to date and provides dedicated innovation, investment, growth and R&D support for high-potential startups and scaleups across advanced health and wellbeing.
The programme, which is match-funded by Sheffield Hallam University and Barclays Eagle Labs via the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology-funded Digital Growth Grant, will be delivered through the University’s Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre (AWRC) at the Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park.
Up to 12 companies will be selected to join a tailored six-month programme offering:
- Bespoke mentoring from over 100 professionals across investment, academia, healthcare and industry
- A curated schedule of workshops on key topics like NHS adoption, regulation, communications and pitching
- Facilitated connections to Sheffield Hallam’s research expertise for R&D collaborations
- Up to £25k of non-dilutive funding towards the most promising R&D projects on the programme
- Access to accelerator delivery partner products and services
- Assessments and coaching to improve investment readiness and NHS procurement compliance
- A high-profile Demo Day to showcase to investors, customers and partners
160 affordable homes to be delivered in Sleaford
A significant number of affordable properties are to be delivered in Sleaford, where Platform Housing Group will work alongside Miller Homes on bringing 160 homes to the site at the Handley Chase Sustainable Urban Extension.
For the group, the agreement represents another successful land deal to be added to its ambitious pipeline, supporting the commitment to start work on over 1,300 homes across the Midlands in the year April 2022 to March 2023.
Kate Ellison, Platform’s director of land, partnerships and business development, said: “We’re delighted with this latest agreement to provide more affordable homes and the solid foundations they will bring for the people that go on to live in them. The development is proof once again that we can deliver the solutions that local partners need to solve their housing issues.
“I’m also proud of the team for securing such a significant number of opportunities in the past couple of months against the backdrop of the challenges facing the housing and constructions sectors as Platform continues our ambition to keep building homes. My thanks go to the teams involved in securing the deal and our partners at Miller Homes.”
Overall, some 1,450 homes will be built for Sleaford, with this new diverse community also hosting a convenience store, a new school, playing fields and a 67-bed retirement home.
Matt Carroll, senior land manager at Platform, said: “This is an exciting opportunity for Platform Housing Group to continue building on our excellent working relationship with Miller Homes.
“As ever, this deal would not have been possible without our trusted consultant team, with Gabor Taller at Browne Jacobson, Greg James at WP Housing and Jon Adams at Tetlow King all providing essential support. An extra mention should also be made for our partners at North Kesteven District Council for their proactive and pragmatic support throughout the process so far.”
Stephanie Parker, land manager for Miller Homes, said: “It has been good to once again work in partnership with Platform Housing Group on this site within the East Midlands. It has given us a great opportunity to deliver 160 homes that will in part help address the housing shortage in the area.”
Subject to planning approval, work is anticipated to start on the site in the Spring of 2024.
Gen Z harder to motivate than previous generations, say employers
New research from business and financial adviser Grant Thornton UK LLP shows that many employers are finding it challenging to motivate their Gen Z workforce and are adapting their training methods to better meet the needs of their younger cohort.
The research, which analyses the responses of 2,000 people aged between 16 – 25 in the UK and 605 UK mid-sized businesses, explores Generation Z’s views of the working world, as well as employers’ approaches to supporting their younger workforce.
It finds that over one third of businesses say it is more difficult to motivate their Gen Z employees compared to previous generations at the same age. Consequently, the majority (88%) of employers surveyed are adapting their training methods to meet the needs of the newest members of the workforce.
Over a third of these (36%) have introduced more personalised training, specifically tailored for individual needs. Nearly one in three (32%) have also moved towards more on demand content and more gamification within their training (30%), to appeal and engage with the new younger cohort.
The pandemic had a significant impact on young people’s education and opportunities for a first part-time job. The research suggests that this may have had a knock-on impact on how prepared they feel for certain aspects of the workplace. Gen Z respondents felt they were least prepared for softer skills such as verbal presentations and persuading and influencing. This was reflected in the views of employers who also noted that Gen Z needed support with developing these skills.
Three quarters (72%) of the young people surveyed believe that what they do for their job will be an important part of their identity and the research identified what Gen Z consider the most motivating reward for going above and beyond in their role at work:
· Career progression and opportunity to do more interesting and challenging work
· Annual salary increase
· Direct verbal appreciation from line manager and colleagues
However, Gen Z workers also have specific expectations around what they believe are unreasonable asks in an early career job. Over half (51%) think it’s unreasonable to be expected to take on extra responsibility without compensation, while 40% think regularly working 10-hour days should not be expected. One in three (31%) also believe that being expected to study outside of working hours is unreasonable, which is a common requirement for those working towards gaining a professional qualification.
Ronnie Corbett, Audit Culture Director at Grant Thornton UK LLP, said: “This insight into how the current generation of young people view careers and work will help to inform and shape decision making about how we best support them as they progress – after all, these are the people that will be running our firm one day.
“Generalisations are easy to make, but we must be mindful that there are many different factors that determine a person’s mindset and motivation – age is just one of them.
“Workplaces, and society at large, are rife with age-related (across generations) stereotypes, which are not always accurate. This is why it is important that we better understand how beliefs about age affect our workplace, and work to dispel some of the rhetoric that creates barriers and inhibits cohesion.
“This is an area of inclusion that needs more focus. Harnessing the power of different perspectives is an opportunity, and it’s something we are working on as firm to leverage – it’s in everyone’s best interest to do so.”
Business tax receipts up 22% in first six months
Overall receipts from business taxes in the six month period from April to September 2023 jumped by 22% year-on-year to £43.3bn, £7.7bn higher than the same period last year, according to new figures published by HMRC.
The huge rise in business tax receipts is largely due to the increase in the headline rate of corporation tax which came into force from April 2023, but HMRC also pointed to growth in company profits as a reason behind the rise.
Corporation tax receipts alone for the first six months rose to £39.5bn, up 17% from £33.7bn in the same period last year.
Overall tax receipts in the first six months were up 6.2% year-on-year.
The latest public sector finances data revealed that public sector net debt was £2,599.0 billion at the end of September 2023, provisionally estimated at around 97.8% of the UK’s annual gross domestic product (GDP). This is 2.1 percentage points higher than in September 2022.
Commenting on the latest figures Paul Falvey, a tax partner at BDO, said: “Today’s figures illustrate the extent to which businesses have been impacted by the recent rise in corporation tax.
“The chancellor has made it clear that he would like to see the tax burden on businesses reduce but given the state of the public finances and the likelihood of interest rates remaining high for some time, there is little prospect of this at the Autumn Statement.
“Businesses are likely to reluctantly accept that tax rates may need to stay high for some time, but they will hope that the government invests in improving HMRC’s service levels. The current poor response times and delays in modernising the tax administration system are proving a drag on business efficiency and ultimately will impair UK competitiveness.”
Work well under way at Keighley industrial hub
The building of a major industrial hub in Keighley town centre, at Providence Park on the former Universal Mills site, is well under way.
Work is progressing well on the five buildings which will house 12 industrial units – the smallest unit is 150 square metres with the largest at 828 square metres. The roof work is due to complete soon, with further building work to follow over the coming months.
Ian Hayfield, chairman of Keighley Towns Fund, said: “This is another very exciting commercial development for Keighley. We believe the site opening will create between 80 to 100 jobs which is a real boost during the current economic climate.”
Plans for the development, on the corner of Dalton Lane and Bradford Road, were approved in 2021, and the scheme was awarded funding through the Keighley Towns Fund – a £33m Government-funded programme to boost Keighley. The Keighley Towns Fund has set aside £6.5m towards the £12m re-development of the 7,000 square metre site.
Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Planning, Regeneration and Transport, Alex Ross-Shaw said: “Demand for employment sites is huge across Keighley and the whole of the Aire Valley so this development is much needed and welcomed. One of the units we already know will be leased to Keighley College, which will work well because of the site’s proximity to the main campus.”
The development, which has been approved by planners at Bradford Council, will also include a car park for 133 vehicles. A condition of planning means that five per cent of the parking spaces will be fitted with EV charging points, and a further five per cent will be assigned as future charging points once EV take-up increases.
Leeds estate agents pedal thousands of kilometres to raise more than £3,000 for Cancer Research UK
A team of estate agents have raised more than £3,000 for Cancer Research UK after completing a gruelling cycling challenge that saw them pedal 2,300km in just five days.
Every member of HOP’s team completed at least six hours on one of four bikes outside the company’s Horsforth office on New Road Side, with the team clocking up 460km, or 286 miles, on each of the five days. This represented the 460 people that die from cancer every day in the UK.
HOP smashed its initial fundraising target of £2,300 and has raised more than £3,100 to date, with donations still coming in. The company also sold cakes baked by the HOP team, as well as their family and friends, which contributed £350 to the total amount raised.
Luke Gidney, managing director from HOP, said: “This was a tough challenge and especially on the days that it was windy and lashing it down with rain, but every single member of our team was happy to participate and help raise money for such a worthy cause.
“Our initial aim was to raise a pound for every kilometre we cycled, and we were all so pleased when we surpassed this target. The fact that donations are still coming in now makes it all worth it. Overall, the level of support from the people of Horsforth and the surrounding area has been incredible.
“We had passers-by of all ages cheering us on and jumping on the bikes to help put the miles in and the team from Workhouse Fitness in Farsley were also welcome guests who were only too happy to add a few miles, which was absolutely brilliant, when our legs were getting pretty tired!
“We’re now looking forward to handing our donation over to Cancer Research UK and supporting the organisation’s invaluable work in making new discoveries that will ultimately save lives.”
Anyone still wanting to donate and sponsor the challenge can do so in person at HOP’s office on New Road Side, or by visiting hop-property.co.uk or hop-charity-fundraiser.
