The NFU HQ at Stoneleigh hosted a major conference for the National Rural Crime Unit involving police forces from across the UK to discuss a coherent approach to rural crime, including sharing best practice, effective tactics and managing joint operations.
NFU Vice-President David Exwood said: “Highly organised gangs of criminals continue to plague the great British countryside, stealing livestock and expensive GPS equipment, trespassing on private land and regularly fly-tipping tons of rubbish; their actions significantly impact farm businesses, farming families and rural communities, both financially and emotionally.”
Following the first session of the event, almost every police force unit in the room confirmed they have a dedicated rural crime team; the few which still plan to develop these dedicated teams have already set up processes to ensure national police priorities on rural crime are addressed.
Superintendent Andy Huddleston, Head of the NRCU, highlighted the recent upsurge in thefts of tractor GPS units, with every police force in the room indicating that they have dealt with such thefts. New research from NFU Mutual has revealed the cost of GPS theft in the first four months of 2023 exceeded £500,000, more than double compared to the same period last year.
The Superintendent praised the wok of rural crime leads across the UK but acknowledged “the need and want to do more”. He said: “There is an urgent need to improve co-ordination and partnership problem solving, regionally and nationally. The newly-formed NRCU is designed to do this and support UK police forces to combat the organised crime groups that target rural communities”.
Bob Henderson, NFU Mutual lead on Rural Crime explained how NFU Mutual has set up a dedicated agricultural vehicle theft unit and has collaborated with police forces to seize millions of poundsworth of stolen machinery. “This team is now part of the new Rural Crime Unit which will strengthen work at a national level so that specialist police resources can be targeted where they are needed most to protect farmers and the wider rural community. We are proud to be the primary funders of the new unit and wish it every success in its work.”
Greg Smith MP discussed his Equipment Theft (Prevention) Bill that aims to ensure security measures must be included on quad bikes at point of sale. The NFU has been working closely with the Home Office on the new Bill, along with NFU Mutual, and other key stakeholders. The Bill is currently passing through the Committee stage in the House of Lords.
Groundbreaking new conference responds to farming crime wave sweeping rural Britain
Connecting with the world: business completes web translations for a dozen companies
A company with premises in Boston and Nottingham is bringing business home by translating web sites into a range of languages and ‘localising’ them too.
PAB Language Centres operates globally, and in the last quarter completed 11 website translations and localisations for clients, including into French, Spanish, Italian, Polish, Swedish, and Japanese.
Iwona Lebiedowicz, founder of PAB Languages Centre Ltd, said: “A multilingual website engages new audiences and opens the opportunity to become visible across international search engines. A properly localised website speaks directly to the consumer in their own language, enabling businesses and brands to compete with local and global players in their niche.
“Localisation is a comprehensive process that entails not only text translation but also other factors to bear in mind. These include modifying your content to respect local market habits, addressing economic, historical, and sometimes political references, adjusting images, icons, and colours to local tastes and culture, changing dates, addresses, phone numbers, and other details to fit a local format, and converting to local currencies and units of measure.
“The numbers are quite staggering – translating your website into English, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, German, French, Portuguese and Italian enables you to reach 80% of the global online purchasing power – so it’s no surprise that an increasing number of businesses are looking to translate and localise their websites.”
It has UK offices in the East Midlands as well as Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, Cambridgeshire, and Essex. PAB works locally and internationally with clients from the UK and around the world.
“Localisation is a complex process and one that requires a huge range of skills and specialist knowledge. For these reasons, the process of localising a website is best handled by a team of professionals,” added Iwona.
Around 40% of internet users said they will never buy from websites that are not in their native language and 65% of non-native English speakers prefer content in their native tongue, even though they are highly proficient in English, according to CSA Research.
And in a 2022 study by PayPal, 57% of online shoppers said that they shopped internationally. In fact, two out of five global shoppers had made a cross-border purchase in the previous three months.
Property auctioneers merge with combined auctions
Two of the north’s largest property auction houses, North-West based Pugh and South Yorkshire based Mark Jenkinson, are combining their online property auction listings from this month.
Mark Jenkinson, which has been based in Sheffield for over 125 years, was acquired by Eddisons earlier this year, joining Pugh which was bought by Eddisons in 2016. Between them the two firms have sold a wide range of commercial, residential and land assets worth £94m in the last year.
Combining the lots of both auction houses, under the Pugh brand and as part of Eddisons, will provide a more extensive list of investment opportunities across the regions.
Pugh Managing Director Paul Thompson said: “This is an exciting development for our business and reinforces our strength and leading position in the northern property auction market. Combining the two very capable teams ensures we continue to deliver a high performing service to our selling and buying customers.”
Mark Jenkinson senior partner, Adrian Little, added: “Working with Pugh, as part of Eddisons, gives us a superb geographic reach, unrivalled market insight and a vast network of buyers and sellers.
“The personalised customer service our clients have always enjoyed will be backed by cutting-edge technology and strategic marketing support.”
Over £4m building improvements funding secured for Yorkshire schools
Property consultant Eddisons, which is headquartered in Leeds, has secured more than £20m of funding to improve buildings at schools across the UK, including more than £4m for Yorkshire schools, in the latest round of the Government’s Condition Improvement Fund (CIF).
Education sector specialist Eddisons has raised more than £200m in school funding over recent years and the latest round of secured funding for projects in Yorkshire includes £350,000 for the Yorkshire Collaborative Academies Trust to carry out fire safety and roofing works, and over £700,000 to fund a roofing project and asbestos removal for the Brooksbank School in Elland.
Ian Harrington, head of Eddisons specialist education team, said: “This is another year of fantastic results for both our clients and the team. However, the success also highlights once again the fact that education is one of the more poorly funded sectors, with 2,000 projects unsuccessful in their bids in this round of funding alone.
“We will continue to work with those schools and academies that were unsuccessful, to offer guidance on future bids, as well as offering advice on other funding opportunities that are available. With the total CIF pot remaining unchanged on last year, despite base rate inflation being at 11% and construction inflation nearer 30%, it was one the most fiercely competitive rounds of funding we’ve experienced.”
The CIF programme is an annual round of bidding under which academy schools and colleges can apply for funding for the upkeep and improvement of their buildings and to fund expansion projects for schools that have been rated good or outstanding by Ofsted. In total, the Department for Education received funding requests for over 3,000 projects this year, with 1,033 projects across 859 academies being allocated a share of the £456m.
Mr Harrington added: “The CIF bidding procedure is highly complex and Eddisons’ education team have built up huge knowledge and experience over the years to help deliver successful bids and projects that make a real difference to schools and to the people who study and work in them.
“Every year the process of submitting a successful CIF bid becomes ever more competitive and we are really pleased to say that we have maintained our position as a key adviser to the education sector, with an excellent success rate for our bids.”
The successful projects will all get underway shortly and will be project managed by Eddisons.
Positive signs for Yorkshire’s retail sector as Leeds and Sheffield emerge in UK’s top 10 growth cities
The Yorkshire region fares well in the retail sector with both Leeds and Sheffield ranked in the UK’s top 10 growth cities according to CBRE’s latest research report ‘Which City? Which Sector? Real Estate Prospects over the Next Decade’. Leeds is ranked fourth in the retail sector with Sheffield positioned eighth.
CBRE examined the growth prospects for 12 real estate sectors across the 50 largest regional towns and cities in the UK. Findings were informed by economic drivers (including GDP, employment and income growth), demographic trends and property market data such as supply pipeline, local universities and housing affordability. The top 10 performing cities and growth sectors were identified.
Ram Rasiah, senior director, CBRE said: “It’s great to see two Yorkshire cities in the top 10 list. Retail continues to adapt to changing consumer habits and repositioning the role of the store. Within this, the polarized performance of retail locations is becoming increasingly apparent. While small, local destinations continue to remain relevant through their convenience and regional schemes benefit from their critical mass, the performance of mid-sized locations has been more challenged.
“In contrast, larger locations deliver a greater catchment potential. And aligning these trends, population and expected population growth were among the metrics used in our analysis. Birmingham ranks strongest in this measure, followed by Leeds and Glasgow,” continued Rasiah.
Birmingham took the top spot for retail followed by Bristol and Manchester respectively.
Retail performance is not only driven by scale. CBRE’s research has shown that affluent cities see healthier property performance, have lower vacancy rates and experience higher rental and capital value growth. A review of average household incomes ranks Sheffield highly versus other locations. A comparison of cities highlights Bristol and Manchester with the strongest growth potential.
In addition, a critical driver of a retail location’s performance is the balance of supply and demand. Allowing for a shift of some spend online, CBRE estimates that the volume of retail floor space in the UK will need to decrease by 16% to reach average sales densities of 2015-2020. Ranking cities by floorspace per capita and a review of vacancy rate data, gives an indication of potential oversupply in locations. The majority of the top ten potential growth cities identified have a lower retail floor space per capita than the sample average, with Sheffield and Bristol in the strongest position.
Leeds ranked sixth in the office sector with Sheffield taking the eighth position for growth cities. Manchester, Bristol and Birmingham placed as the top three growth cities in this sector.
Alex Hailey, senior director in CBRE’s Office Agency team in Leeds, said: “It’s great to see both Leeds and Sheffield identified in the top 10 growth cities. The role of the office has changed over time to align with occupier requirements, as the way we use offices evolves. The movement from cellular offices to flexible and agile formats has reduced the average space requirements per employee and hybrid working is challenging historic working norms.
“Occupiers focusing on talent attraction and retention are considering a range of flexible, amenity-rich spaces to curate the optimum user experience. But in tandem with these trends, demand for office space ultimately continues to be driven by the wider economic environment. Economic and demographic factors are fundamental when identifying key growth markets for office real estate.
“The size of the talent pool is a key factor used in forecasting office demand, with growth in those of working age and populations with qualifications at or above Level 4, could indicate the potential for employment growth by office-based sectors,” continued Hailey.
Supply factors are also key when considering a market’s ability to support future demand. In the flight to quality office space, CBRE expects pre-letting of development space to continue. 29% of space under construction is already pre-let or under offer in eight of the top ten markets where CBRE tracks pipeline data.
Sheffield placed third behind Manchester and Bristol in the urban logistics sector with Leeds ranked ninth.
As supply chains diversify to keep up with accelerated online retail activity and consumer expectations, increased demand is being placed on smaller prime urban logistics facilities located in the UK’s major metropolitan areas. These provide more agile warehouses, accommodate numerous delivery vehicles, increase cost efficiencies and shorten delivery times for end consumers.
Online shopping is a major driver in the demand for urban logistics space and the report has identified locations with a high online penetration percentage, access to high-speed internet and a forecasted growth in population of age groups with a high online spend propensity. Sheffield, Manchester and Bristol ranked highly in the growth of 34-49 year olds at 13.52%, 10.63% and 9.86% respectively.
Sheffield also ranked fifth in the Single Family Housing sector with Manchester, Birmingham and Bristol taking the top spots. Sheffield has the most affordable rental market for houses in CBRE’s top five – the average rent for a house accounts for 37% of a single local income.
Jennet Siebrits, UK head of Research at CBRE, said: “Leeds, which has one of the most diverse economies in the UK, ranked particularly well in the office and retail sectors and Sheffield was ranked among the highest cities respectively for projected growth in the urban logistics sector, which has undergone a period of supply chain diversification to keep up with accelerated online retail activity and consumer expectations since the pandemic.
“The way towns and cities evolve is very much reflective of their local geographies, natural resources and cultural history. As a result, no two UK cities are the same and subsequently, different real estate sectors thrive in different locations. Real estate professionals need to be mindful of these differences to help inform their future strategies.”
Snaith-based Croda starts work on manufacturing plant in America
Snaith headquartered Croda has broken ground on its newest manufacturing facility in Lamar, Pennsylvania.
The company is investing in the new 23,680 square-foot facility to make ingredients for drug delivery systems used in therapeutic drugs such as mRNA vaccines and gene editing therapies. The facility will support the production of lipids already used in therapeutics and vaccines, such as the COVID-19 vaccine, as well as supporting next generation therapeutics currently being developed, including lipids used for cutting-edge cancer treatments.
As the U.S. looks to expand domestic manufacturing of critical vaccines and therapeutics, Croda’s new Lamar facility, a cooperative project between the federal government and Croda, will play an important role in supporting future medicine discovery.
Bradley Cook, Vice President of Coda’s North American Operations, said:“There are rare moments that a team can contribute to such a significant betterment of humankind. The on-going collaboration with the Department of Health and Human Services and its premier biomedical countermeasure development agency, BARDA, has afforded Croda and this team the opportunity and we are extremely excited and proud.”
Construction will begin this year with the new capacity anticipated by 2025. This facility, part of an 80-acre multipurpose cGMP site, was purchased by the company in 2021, will bring up to 50 new jobs to Pennsylvania which will include engineering, administration, maintenance, operations and logistics roles. From inception, the vision of this site is to fully contribute to Croda’s sustainability goals.
Beverage systems company sold to Swedish group
Stanwell Group Ltd has been sold to a leading Swedish-based group operating in niche technology markets, with KBS Corporate advising on the sale.
Holmfirth-based Stanwell offers innovative solutions to the beverage industry, including fluid dispense pumps, valves and complete systems.
The company has grown significantly since being founded in 1990 and now offers a turnkey manufacture, supply and refurbishment service.
KBS was instructed by the sellers to facilitate their eventual retirement plans. The shareholders will retain active roles in the business for the immediate future.
Fabio Rambelli, KBS Corporate associate director who oversaw the sale, said: “I recall my first meetings with Doug, Joanne and Jonathan from Stanwell and being very impressed with the business, the products and the innovation.
“I could see how much the sellers cared about securing a buyer that would ensure the future success of Stanwell, to take great care of its staff and client base while maintaining the strong legacy of the brand.”
Teqnion was the successful buyer, having been active in the M&A space for a number of years across the UK, Ireland and mainland Europe.
The industrial group operates through multiple independent subsidiaries, acquiring scalable companies which can succeed in narrow technology niches.
Teqnion is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm and will continue to develop its decentralised subsidiary management philosophy.
Doug Gorton, sales and technical director of Stanwell, said: “Teqnion shares the belief that the key to building a successful company is through the strength of its people and the enduring relationships they build and maintain.
“Teqnion is exactly what we were looking for and Fabio was excellent throughout the process – a pleasure to work with.”
Teqnion CEO Johan Steene is excited about the future of Stanwell under new leadership and the opportunities the business offers.
“Since we love companies that supply products with long-term relevance, Stanwell is definitely for us,” he said.
“The company’s customer relationships are solid and the enduring demand for its products is likely to persist through economic fluctuations.”
Fabio Rambelli added: “It has been an absolute joy to work with Doug, Joanne and Jonathan from Stanwell, as well as Johan and Daniel (Zhang) from Teqnion.
“I have no doubt Stanwell will have a bright and prosperous future under the Teqnion leadership and I wish all parties the very best of luck in their future endeavours.”
Fishermen’s Mission returns to Port of Grimsby
The Fishermen’s Mission has returned to the Port of Grimsby, supporting fishermen and their families.
The organisation has moved into a first-floor room within No 2 Auckland Road, given to the organisation by WE1 Heritage who have leased many of the buildings in the historic part of the port known as the Kasbah.
Simon Bird, Director, ABP in the Humber said: “We’re pleased the Fishermen’s Mission have decided to relocate into the port of Grimsby itself. They offer a much-needed service to not only retired fishermen, but to those visiting the port.”
Superintendent Suesan Brown, Mission Area Officer, said: “I am so grateful to Steve from WE1 Heritage for the work he is doing and the help he is providing, not just to us but to so many. Our wonderful new office is open to active and retired fishermen and their families.”
Steve Ridlington, MDr of WE1 Heritage said: “When I heard that the fisher folk were struggling to get to see the Port Missioner following a change in their office, I offered analternative that allowed the access to return and for the Fishermen’s Mission to return to its home near the fishing quays on the docks.”
Suesan and her team will be on hand to support working fishermen within the port and retired with welfare and care. Later in the year the first of the SeaFit programme welfare visits will be in the port. This is a joint initiative between the Fishermen’s Mission and the Seafarers Hospital Society.
Local authorities approve £3.1m funding package to save Doncaster Sheffield Airport
South Yorkshire’s Mayor and local leaders have approved a £3.1m funding package to support the reopening of Doncaster Sheffield Airport.
At the Board meeting of the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, the sum was agreed to help with the costs of building a case for the Compulsory Purchase Order process currently being undertaken by the City of Doncaster Council.
Mayor Oliver Coppard and the leaders of the four South Yorkshire councils also agreed a funding package towards the purchase of the Airport, should the CPO ultimately be successful.
Oliver Coppard said: “We haven’t given up on our fight to reopen DSA. Since Peel announced their intentions to close our airport, I’ve been working alongside partners from across the region to first keep it open, and now to bring it back into use. We’re not going to stop until we’ve exhausted every option.
“The Compulsory Order Process is our last, best hope to take back control of DSA, and that’s why today we’ve agreed £3.1 million from South Yorkshire’s MCA to support Doncaster in their pursuit of that CPO, and a funding package to purchase the site should the CPO – as we hope – be successful.
“There are no easy or quick answers in this process. The CPO could take up to two years, and there are loads of hurdles in the way. But across South Yorkshire we are determined to do everything we can to bring DSA back into use, and to make it the thriving regional airport we know it can be.”
Mayor of Doncaster Ros Jones said: “Having an airport in Doncaster is vitally important to our city and the economic and growth fortunes of South Yorkshire. Businesses and communities in the region want to see a thriving airport so I am thankful for the support from SYMCA in helping with our efforts to secure its future.”
Doncaster Sheffield Airport was closed in 2022 after its owners Peel Group decided the airport was no longer financially viable. Research carried out as part of the region’s response to Peel Group’s review into the viability of the Airport found that DSA supported around 2,700 jobs and contributed more than £100m to the regional economy when it was operational.
East Midlands accountancy firm forges link with London-based private equity business
East Midlands accountancy, business advice and wealth management business Duncan & Toplis is accelerating its growth plans through external investment from private equity firm Blixt Group.
Blixt is a pan-European private equity firm headquartered in London, with access to over €250 million of committed long-term institutional investor funding. An experienced investor in professional services, Blixt is committed to the UK accounting, wealth management and legal services sectors. Blixt focuses on growth-oriented businesses, helping its partners to build leading businesses.
At the heart of the Duncan & Toplis growth strategy is the continued investment in its team, the expansion of its service proposition and the leveraging of technology to unlock new opportunities for the business’ team members, clients and communities. This will be complemented by acquisitive growth.
Adrian Reynolds, MD at Duncan & Toplis said: “The core of our culture is based on doing right by our people, our communities and our clients and this will remain so.
“Over almost a century, Duncan & Toplis has been a trusted partner to generations of people, businesses and communities and we’re always working to have a greater positive impact. Our new growth strategy will start the next 100 years as we mean to go on, accelerating our progress and protecting that which makes our business special, while taking it to the next level.
“Blixt is an ideal partner for us because they share our focus on culture and growth for the right reasons. They also bring incredible expertise in strategic thinking, supporting us in the direction we want to travel in, helping us further along the path and accelerating our progress.
“Fundamentally, their support means that in the next few years, we can achieve what we would have hoped to achieve in 10+ years, and that’s very exciting.”
Carl Harring, CEO at Blixt said: “We have been impressed by the quality, track record and ambition of Duncan & Toplis, and its exemplary commitment to both its people and its clients. We really look forward to partnering with the team at Duncan & Toplis and other like-minded accounting firms to help accelerate growth.”
Duncan & Toplis group was founded in 1925 in Nottingham before it relocated to Grantham and expanded across the East Midlands. It provides businesses and individuals with a range of services including accountancy, audit and assurance, tax and business advice, wealth management, legal services, payroll, marketing, HR, and international business services.
All Duncan & Toplis board members, directors and team members will remain in their existing roles, with Adrian Reynolds continuing as managing director of Duncan & Toplis and Andy Severn as managing director of wealth management business Castlegate which is part of the Duncan & Toplis group.
The agreement with Blixt is subject to regulatory approvals and is due to complete in Autumn 2023. Once approved, this investment will commence the most ambitious period of growth and expansion in the nearly 100 year history of Duncan & Toplis.
