Heron Foods turns to Sewell Facilities Management for Yorkshire and Lincolnshire stores
Heron Foods has signed up Sewell Facilities Management to keep its stores open for business, with the FM company providing reactive maintenance for the retailer’s stores across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.
The FM company will be on hand to respond to requests for maintenance assistance for 86 of Heron Food’s 323 stores, covering stores within the counties of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.
As well as reacting to urgent issues, such as problems with doors, plumbing and lights, the company will also be completing small maintenance projects, including retiling and small shop repairs.
A quick response time is essential for the retail sector, as even minor problems mean that a shop can’t open to customers, meaning lost revenue.
Anthony Coulam, Senior Facilities Manager at Heron Foods said: “From the team who manage the calls, to the teams delivering the reactive repairs, everyone at Sewell FM understands our needs and delivers the service with professionalism, courtesy and pride. Working with Sewell Group for our reactive maintenance is easy.”
Arco turns to Ripon-based thread supplier for environmentally-friendly switch
Hull-based Arco has begun using environmentally-conscious recycled threads from a company in Ripon in the personalised workwear it produces.
The threads are made from recycled plastic bottles, and are part of the Polyneon Green range from a company called Madeira. They’re made from 100% recycled PET bottles, reducing carbon emissions associated with virgin thread production and reducing the amount of plastic in the environment.
Over the course of 2022, when the trial began, 62% of the cones supplied from Madeira were Polyneon Green. So far in 2023, 67% of the total cones supplied to Arco have been with thread made from the alternative. The trial has involved more than a tonne of thread.
In addition to the thread being made from recycled materials, they are also certified to be free from harmful chemicals. The boxes that the cones are packaged in are made of 66% recycled cardboard and are fully recyclable, the protective wrapper used for each cone is also 100% recyclable.
According to a recent study by the European Environment Agency, EU consumers discard 5.8 million tonnes of textiles annually, two thirds of which from synthetic fibres. This accounts for around 13% of all plastic waste globally.
Jim Harbidge, Head of Sustainability at Arco, said: “At Arco, we work in partnership with our suppliers, customers and relevant bodies to develop and provide responsible solutions for safer businesses.
“Switching to recycled threads is an example of how Arco is taking action for a safer tomorrow and making it easier for our customers to meet their sustainability and circularity goals and to be confident in making more responsible purchase decisions.”
Andrew Maylor, MD of Madeira UK, said: “As a long-term supplier of embroidery threads and accessories to Arco, we are proud to be working in partnership with them to help take action for a more sustainable future.
“Our Polyneon Green range was created in response to the global demand to reduce plastic bottles. With Polyneon Green, we are reducing the amount of plastic in the environment and making the textile industry more sustainable. Our aim is to develop the range further so that our customers can continue to have more sustainable options to choose from.”
Future dairy farming entrepreneurs invited to apply for bursaries
Future Farmers of Yorkshire is inviting its members to apply for a bursary place on this year’s RABDF Entrepreneurs in Dairying course, starting in the autumn.
This business training programme is for aspiring dairy producers and is organised by the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers in collaboration with The Andersons Centre, AHDB Dairy and the NFU.
Entrepreneurs in Dairying has seen nearly 400 applicants successfully complete the course, all from varying backgrounds within or related to the industry.
The course has provided applicants with contacts and connections to go on and establish their own businesses, whether it be share partnerships, joint ventures, tenancies or development of their existing businesses.
The 2023 Entrepreneurs in Dairying course will be a mixture of face-to-face and online sessions and will run from 11th October to 7th December. Details of the full course programme are available here.
Applications are open until 31st September to attend the 2023 course via the above link.
North Yorkshire dairy farmer Ed Harrison said: “I found the Entrepreneurs in Dairying course really helpful to comprehend the logistical side of running our family farm.
“Since I live and work on our family farm, one day it is likely that me and my brother will be running the farm in place of our parents.
“On the Entrepreneurs in Dairying course we discussed in detail what’s expected in management positions such as: people and time management, recruiting staff and the importance of retaining staff.
“I think this will stand me in good stead when transitioning into a management role on our farm in the future.”
CBI predicts further rises in interest rates
Anna Leach, Deputy Chief Economist at the CBI, says interest rates are likely to rise again in the coming months.
She said: “With inflation having come down quicker than expected in June, the pressure was eased on the MPC to deliver another bumper rate rise. But with inflation close to 8% – quadruple the Bank’s target – and wage growth around 7%, interest rates are likely to head higher in coming months.
“Economic conditions remain challenging for households and businesses alike. For firms, the cost of inputs is a third higher than pre-pandemic, the labour market remains very tight driving up wage and recruitment costs, and demand is sluggish.
“Meanwhile, real incomes are still falling for households and higher interest rates are squeezing spending power further. To drive up growth and living standards in the UK without generating inflation, we need investment to increase the productive capacity of the economy. ”
“Improvements in the tax and regulatory system – as recommended in our recently published tax roadmap and green growth reports – can provide a platform for transforming the UK economy.”
Council considers licensing scheme to tackle rogue landlords
North Lincolnshire Council is to consult on a new licensing scheme that aims to tackle rogue landlords in parts of Scunthorpe that are hotspots for anti-social behaviour, unsafe homes, and public health issues.
If approved, all landlords in the designated areas would have to apply for a license to be able to rent out homes.
Cllr Richard Hannigan, Cabinet Member for Adults, Health, Families & Communities, said: “The council tries to work with landlords to ensure they provide decent homes and that their tenants are not causing problems in their communities.
“But in some parts of North Lincolnshire this approach is not working with a few rogue landlords who are not working in the interests of their tenants and the communities they live in.
“A new licensing scheme in these areas would give the council more powers to intervene and protect tenants from poor accommodation and their neighbours from anti-social behaviour.
“We will consult on this new scheme in the coming weeks and if supported will have a new scheme in place as soon as possible.”
The areas covered by the licensing scheme would include Crosby, Town and Park wards and some streets in the Frodingham ward in Scunthorpe.
Work due to start at end of August on Shipley Business Enterprise Hub
Work is due to start at the end of August on the redevelopment of part of Shipley Library to create a resource for local businesses.
The Shipley Business Enterprise Hub will be created in current exhibition space at the library, using £85,000 of money from the Shipley Towns Fund.
The new facility will offer resources and advice to local businesses and start-ups, and the space will also be used for meetings and co-working.
Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, Bradford Council’s Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, Planning and Transport, said: “The investment will fund a full refurbishment of the space, equipment for co-working as well as access to specialist business databases.
“The Enterprise Hub will be an excellent resource for the local business community, particularly those starting-up or newly-established businesses.”
Adam Clerkin, Chair of Shipley Towns Fund, said: “There will be an on-site dedicated business information advisor in place for a year, who will be able to offer advice and guidance as well as training existing staff.
“Shipley has a thriving business community and we’re keen to support it. Work on the hub will start in August and is due to be completed within a month.”
Councillor Sarah Ferriby, Bradford Council’s Portfolio Holder for Healthy People and Healthy Places, said: “This will be an excellent addition to the library and will be an incredible resource for businesses in the area. Once it has opened, we’ll be encouraging people to make full use of the opportunity.”
LEP Network chair responds to Government decision to end LEP funding
In response to today’s announcement that the government will no longer fund LEPs after March 2024, LEP Network Chair Mark Bretton said it was essential, that effective devolution could be achieved only whilst business retains a respected and impactful voice which is a key element of democratic accountability.
“I am hugely grateful to the LEP Network Board, CEOs group and our highly talented Executive team for their guidance, resilience and professionalism in their support to me personally over this period. Please rest assured that the LEP Network remains highly committed to support you.
“To all my LEP colleagues, whether you are one of the over 2,000 business leaders giving our time mostly freely, a leader in FE, HE or the third sector, a Local Authority board member or one of the over 1,000 employed team members, thank you. Thank you for pulling out all the stops to address the three reviews, for going the extra mile during the pandemic and for keeping going as we steered ourselves to today’s outcome. A recognition that what we do matters and should not be lost. I know your local businesses and communities value your contribution highly whether it is in support of skills, delivering complex infrastructure, seeding new businesses or through our excellent Growth Hub network. Getting these final next steps right is therefore vital to ensure that the capabilities that we have spent so long developing are protected and that our talented people are fully respected.
“To Whitehall, thank you for finally recognising that you have an asset of national significance and that we have always been on the side of devolution. Please now let local people get on with the task, provide the funding and tools to do the job and allow them to continue to make the impact that has been demonstrated time after time. Whether that means integrating more fully as devolution continues, or indeed continuing as a trusted delivery partner until such time as that proves possible.
“’To our Local Authority colleagues, we have always counted you as amongst our most important partners; you are an integral part of what has made LEPs tick. We respected the transfer of big capital to you, please respect equally our revised role in your local arsenal and let’s work together to bring post pandemic, post Brexit productivity and prosperity. To this end we welcome the practical and sensible steps in the response from the County Council Network, and we look forward to working with them in the months ahead.”
National Bed Federation calls for funding for mattress recycling
The National Bed Federation is calling on the Government to support its plans for a nationwide programme to fund a service, enabling everyone to recycle their used mattresses.
Around 4.75 million mattresses every year end up in landfill or are incinerated in the UK, – enough to fill Wembley Stadium twice.
While some parts of the country are well-equipped with facilities to recycle end-of-life mattresses, either at the local household waste recycling centre or via a household collection service, many are not, with the fragmented system amounting to a postcode lottery, says the Federation’s Jessica Alexander.
Last September, the NBF’s fourth report on the rate of mattress recycling in the UK showed that while the number of mattresses being sent for recycling between 2014 and 2022 had more than doubled to 24%, the ‘real’ rate of recycling – the fate of the mattresses or their components and materials after sorting and processing – was lower at an estimated 14%. The NBF has a target of 75% diversion from landfill by 2028.
Ms Alexander said: “In the current economic climate, with so many pressures on local government budgets, it is not surprising that mattress recycling provision is so patchy across the UK. However, given the ever-growing concern about global warming and increasing demand from consumers for sustainable options, we believe that the Government should move towards implementing a national mattress recycling service as a priority.”
The NBF, which last year launched an industry-wide ‘Pledge for Our Planet,’ has seen the number of signatories from its bed company members more than double in the last 12 months. These businesses have committed to coming together to take steps that will address global environmental damage at both a company and product-level to reverse these trends. The Pledge includes progressive targets for halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and achieving net zero by 2050, in line with Science-Based Targets Initiative.
“While many of our members are on a sustainability journey, working to find ways of operating in a more environmentally friendly way and developing products which re-use materials or can be recycled, it is still a real worry that so many mattresses end up in landfill. We have been actively supporting the development of the Register of Approved Mattress Recyclers (RAMR) which is now up and running, with the aim of helping to ensure that the 1.5m mattresses a year which are currently diverted from landfill are recycled in a responsible way. RAMR will help local authorities, public bodies and businesses wishing to dispose of used mattresses to identify responsible, reputable operators with whom they can work,” explains Ms Alexander.
“Given their size and mix of component materials, mattresses are difficult to dispose of responsibly, and often the public simply do not know what to do for the best when their mattress reaches the end of its life. In the current landscape, we advise consumers to take the time to find their nearest recycling facility that will strip it down into its parts for reuse, or, alternatively, to organise for a specialist licensed company to come to collect it from their house. Most importantly, beware of people in white vans offering to pick your mattress up for free or at a ‘bargain’ price – these rogue traders may take your old mattress and stuff it into a new cover to re-sell or dump it at the roadside!
“Our industry is offering leadership to solve this postcode lottery for those wanting to have their old mattress recycled and not dumped in landfill, we are calling on Government to play its part too with a regulative framework giving industry confidence to invest. “
KCOM in the running for title of UK’s best internet service provider
Hull-based broadband provider KCOM will find out in November if it has won the accolade as the UK’s best Best Consumer Internet Service Provider category with 50,000 to 250,000 customers.
It’s currently on a shortlist of three, and will discover the result at national industry awards later in the year.
KCOM has also scooped a second nomination in the Best Integrated Communications Category for its work raising awareness about its copper to fibre network upgrade. This £17m, two-year, project will see 170,000 customers across Hull and East Yorkshire migrating their landline phones from old legacy copper wires to future-proof fibre.
KCOM Retail managing director Neil Bartholomew said: “I’m absolutely delighted we’ve been recognised by the industry for all our hard work making KCOM the region’s leading broadband provider that puts its customers at the heart of everything we do.
“We’ve been a finalist for the Best Consumer ISP award for several years now which shows our standard of service and customer care have been consistently impressive thanks to our dedicated teams of locally-based customer champions and engineers. Indeed, a recent Ofcom report showed our customers experienced fewer faults and enjoyed faster repairs than for any other provider. I hope we can now one step further and bring the trophy home to Hull.”
ISPA Chair, Steve Leighton, said: “This year’s landmark anniversary of the iconic ISPA awards presents the ideal opportunity to celebrate and showcase the significant endeavour we have seen from organisations across the sector in 2023.
“In an economic climate that has seen increased pressure placed on financial investments and consumers, industry has worked tirelessly to get us beyond 50 per cent nationwide FTTP coverage, delivering increased speeds and better services to citizens and businesses across the UK – while also alleviating some of the strains imposed by the cost of living crisis on consumers. I am excited to see who the deserving winners will be.”
Time’s running out for thousands of UK companies, warns insolvency specialist
Thousands of UK companies are running out of time as the burden of rising interest rates, unmanageable debt, subdued consumer confidence, higher material and labour costs, and wider economic uncertainty combine to put considerable pressure on businesses across the country, according to the latest Red Flag Alert by insolvency specialistBegbies Traynor.
This latest data is sourced from a completely new Red Flag dataset that involved deep dive analysis of eight years’ company data by data scientists over the past two years to track key factors behind company distress and failure rates. The report revealed that almost half a million companies were classed as being in “significant” financial distress in the second quarter of 2023. This is an increase of 8.5% on the same period last year, and 3.7% higher than in the preceding three months.
Julie Palmer, partner at Begbies Traynor, said: “Higher interest rates are causing real pain across the whole economy. Whether that’s because consumers are cutting back on spending as they face higher mortgage and loan repayments, or businesses seeing the cost of their debt rising, it’s putting extra strain on many companies still suffering from the hangover caused by the pandemic, the impact of conflict in Ukraine, higher energy bills and spiralling inflation.
“As the Bank of England tries to battle inflation with almost monthly interest rate rises, companies are having to get used to the fact that the era of ‘cheap money’ is over, with rates now expected to remain at these elevated levels for years to come.
“For businesses that loaded up with debt during a benign inflationary environment, that’s a huge extra financial burden in an environment compounded by consumersreining in spending. It’s no wonder that the number of companies facing significant distress has jumped since last year.”
Ms Palmer added: “Construction and property have long been bellwethers for the health of the economy and their close links to interest rates and need for debt funding mean they are being hit hard and fast by the current environment, as the numbers show.
“Consumers are desperate to avoid mortgage defaults so it’s no surprise we are starting to see them cut back discretionary spend such as meals out and hotels. It’s very likely that this spending will fall further and businesses that depend on consumers splashing out on treats will come under increased pressure as the country adjusts to the new normal of elevated interest rates.”
Ric Traynor, executive chairman of Begbies Traynor, commented: “Official data from the Insolvency Service shows a marked increase in the number of companies that have collapsed.
“Last week’s quarterly data revealed that 6,342 companies went into insolvency, a rise of 13% on last year and the highest quarter since 2009, highlighting that more and more businesses which have clung on until now can no longer withstand the pressure that the current economic climate is piling on them.
“Many of these will have been the so-called ‘zombie’ companies, which were marginally profitable in the era of low interest rates. Unfortunately, high inflation will make many of these businesses financially unviable and the reality is that many of them are likely to fail over the next year. “Although we are likely nearing the peak of interest rate rises, many companies have never experienced such elevated rates, for instance in the last 10 years alone more than 1.5m companies have been added to the Companies House register. The outlook looks particularly challenging for sectors which are especially exposed to these macro-economic headwinds, such as construction, property and leisure as is clear in our latest research.”
Top 10 Sector Ranking – Significant Financial Distress (Number of Companies in Significant Financial Distress)
1. Support Services (67,792)
2. Construction (61,423)
3. Real Estate & Property (56,872)
4. Professional Services (35,298)
5. General Retailers (29,675)
6. Telecoms & IT (28,877)
7. Health & Education (25,849)
8. Media (16,676)
9. Manufacturing (12,824)
10. Financial Services (12,739)
