Up to 450 jobs lost as Harrogate telemarketing company ceases trading
Harrogate-headquartered Amvoc, which also has offices in Leeds and Manchester, has entered administration.
Ceasing trading with immediate effect, up to 450 jobs have been lost.
According to Aticus Law, staff at the telemarketing company received an email at around 10pm on Tuesday night, informing them that all of the offices were closed with immediate effect and telling them not to turn up to work in the morning as they no longer had a job.
It is said that some staff who didn’t see the email turned up to work on Wednesday morning, but were unable to get in as the Amvoc offices were locked.
Aticus Law is now looking to help Amvoc staff by making a claim for a protective award, where they could claim compensation of up to 90 days’ pay.
Funding secured to help eco-friendly timber treatment plant double capacity
A Hull-based company that is the first in Britain to offer eco-friendly fire-retardant timber treatment is set to double its capacity with the help of a £100,000 loan from NPIF – Mercia Debt Finance, which is managed by Mercia and is part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund.
The funding will enable WJ Fire Retardant to meet growing demand by installing additional kilns and boosting production at its plant in Kirkburn, near Driffield, where timber is treated using its FireWright process and supplied for use in UK and overseas construction projects.
The business is the latest addition to the WJ Group, which is led by local entrepreneur Mark Eggleston. He founded his first business in 2007 to supply timber components to the caravan industry. Two years later, after spotting a gap in the market, he opened a preservative treatment plant at the Port of Hull before launching a second facility in Rochester, Kent.
More recently the group has developed a range of innovative products including anti-slip decking solutions and lightweight ‘i-beam’ products for caravans. The business secured a £200,000 NPIF loan two years ago to help it establish its current premises in Kirkburn. The group now employs over 70 staff between Hull and Kirkburn, with a further six in Kent. Since 2019 it has doubled its turnover and is on course to double again in the five years ahead.
Danny Bullement, the company’s finance manager, said: “The new fire treatment arm has really taken off, to the point where the existing facilities are no longer sufficient. As the kilning process can take 12 to 24 days, we began to experience bottlenecks in production. The latest funding will enable us to double capacity and keep up with increasing demand.”
Gary Whitaker of Mercia said: “WJ Group is a real success story. Over the past 15 years it has repeatedly identified new opportunities and introduced new products and services, with the latest being set up in response to growing concerns over fire safety in buildings. We are pleased to be able to support the group for a second time to enable it to continue its expansion.”
Paul Grace of YB Financial Advisory, who provided fundraising advice to the company, said: “We are delighted to have worked with WJ Fire Retardant and Mercia on this transaction to provide funding to enable the company to continue its very impressive growth over recent years. We have worked with WJ Group for a number of years and are delighted to partner with them.”
Hessle food firm recognised for commitment to tackling climate change
Food firm Cranswick from Hessle has been named on the CDP 2022 Supplier Engagement Leaderboard for the second consecutive year.
This recognition from CDP – a global disclosure system for investors, companies, cities and regions to manage their environmental impacts – reflects Cranswick’s commitment to tackling the climate crisis through an integrated approach, working with suppliers to take action, measure and reduce climate risk within the supply chain.
Working collaboratively across the total supply chain is a critical part of achieving Cranswick’s Science Based Targets as the business transforms to halve emissions by 2030 and reach Net Zero by 2040.
Sonya Bhonsle, Global Head of Value Chains at CDP, said: “Environmental action is not happening at the speed, scale and scope required to limit global temperature rises to 1.5 degrees, with many companies still not acknowledging that their impact on the environment extends far beyond their operations and that of climate change.
“COP 15 couldn’t have been clearer in the call to action on corporate reporting on nature. If a company is not preparing for future regulations on nature in the supply chain, they are open to a wide range of risks and could also be missing out on the opportunities that safeguarding nature will bring. Quite simply, if a company wants to be in business in the future, they need to start embedding nature into the way that they buy and collaborating with suppliers to drive action in the supply chain.
“Therefore, we need to see environmental leadership from companies right now by tackling their impacts on climate change and nature together, working with their suppliers in an integrated way that includes nature as standard, and incentivising this engagement within their organization.”
Cranswick’s Supplier Engagement Rating (SER) places it in the top 8% of companies assessed and is driven by strong supplier engagement practices, the scope of Cranswick’s climate targets, detailed reporting and demonstration of sustainability embedded within the organisation.
RSM names Mark Edeson at Tax Director
Audit, tax and consulting firm RSM has appointed Mark Edeson as tax director based at RSM in Hull, from where he’ll act for a range of local, regional and national clients.
Mark, a qualified chartered tax advisor, joins RSM from EY, where he spent over 20 years working with a large portfolio of approximately 150 local, national and international clients, including private equity-backed and listed businesses. At RSM, Mark will be advising businesses across a broad range of sectors, including food and drink and manufacturing.
Mark’s appointment in RSM’s Hull office follows significant local and regional investment, with the firm appointing Hull-based Richard Hall as its first national head of sustainability in February 2022. In addition, RSM also recruited a record number of trainees in Yorkshire and the Humber in 2022, taking on 54 students, graduates and school leavers across all service lines.
Mark said: “After spending almost 24 years at EY in Hull, I’m looking forward to a new challenge and working with the largest accountancy firm in the city.”
Andy Capes, office managing partner in RSM’s Hull office, said: “Mark’s appointment reflects our continued investment in Hull and the Humber to provide an expert service to our local, regional and national clients. Mark brings with him a wealth of experience and I look forward to seeing how our tax offering evolves as a result of his appointment.’
He added: “As the only remaining national accountancy firm with an office in Hull, we are committed to the Humber region and recognise our responsibility to support local businesses which are essential to the region’s economic growth. We are also focused on employing people locally; providing accessible work opportunities, investing in their development and empowering them to shape a long and rewarding career at RSM.”
Major steps taken in Grimsby’s Freshney Place development
Two major signings have brought the new Freshney Place leisure development closer with Parkway Cinemas signing a lease to develop a five-screen cinema and Morgan Sindall Construction being elected for the next stage of the build.
Richard Parkes, director of Parkway Cinemas, said that whilst internet shopping had seen a change in buying habits and how town centre is used, it was still evident that people wanted to get together socially, and cinemas were benefitting from that.
“The new Grimsby cinema will be very different to the one we have in Cleethorpes. There is more than one type and style of restaurant, more than just one type of pub – cinemas are the same. A town centre cinema will have a different feel and style to a big seafront cinema, even if they’re offering the same sorts of films. It’ll be a different experience.
“We’re really pleased to be able to get this over the line, and look forward to working on creating something special for the people of Grimsby.”
Morgan Sindall Construction was selected from a national framework of suppliers to deliver the next phase of the leisure scheme. The construction team will work with the Council to finalise the build plans over the coming months.
In the summer, once the plans have been approved, the company will continue to work on the scheme, starting with the demolition of the existing frontage of the former BHS unit, and Flottergate Mall at Freshney Place, creating a new market hall for Top Town Market and then constructing the leisure scheme.
Ben Hall, Morgan Sindall Construction’s Area Director, said: “We believe this project will be a real game-changer for Grimsby and will breathe new life into the shopping centre. Throughout the build programme, we will deploy our Intelligent Solutions approach, which sees us utilise cutting edge technology to create unique, sustainable and inspiring places for our customers.
“We are also looking forward to bringing employment opportunities to local people, and in working with local schools and colleges to introduce young people to the construction industry.”
Cllr Philip Jackson, leader of the Council, said: “This is a time of real rejuvenation for the town centre, with the schemes from the Town Centre Masterplan being delivered – not just Freshney Place and the associated market and leisure development, but the other schemes like Riverhead, alongside the creative and heritage elements.
“We’ve seen from Freshney Place that the footfall is increasing, with shoppers coming to purchase rather than browse, and most of the units in the centre are now occupied.
“The work that we are doing will hopefully encourage people to use the town centre more, to make it a thriving heart of our borough and reverse the long-term decline of years gone by.”
Construction firms get free advice about flood prevention
The Flood Innovation Centre is offering free support to help Lincolnshire and Yorkshire construction businesses to navigate next year’s building regs changes.
The introduction of the new legislation was one of the key recommendations of a Defra review for the implementation of Schedule 3 to The Flood and Water Management Act 2010. The review recognised the important role that nature-based drainage solutions play in draining land, protecting against surface water and sewer flooding, and reducing storm overflow discharges, as well as harvesting water at the same time as enhancing local biodiversity and amenity. It concluded we: ‘must increase the use of these alternative solutions to improve drainage, particularly in urban areas’, where drainage systems can become overwhelmed, causing surface water flooding. DEFRA will shortly be consulting on how to implement the new policy in preparation for sustainable drainage systems becoming mandatory in new developments from next year. Anton James, Project Manager at the Flood Innovation Centre, said: “I’m sure many developers and construction firms will want to know more about sustainable drainage systems and understand what this new piece of legislation will mean in practice. “They certainly have nothing to fear from the changes. In fact, they’ll undoubtedly find that it saves them money as a result of what’s known as Biodiversity Net Gain, which is something all local authorities are required to address. “Here at the Flood Innovation Centre, our team of experts are funded to work with eligible businesses in Hull, East Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and South Yorkshire, as well as several other areas of the country. We can help developers and construction firms to understand the principles of sustainable drainage systems, as well as how and where to apply them. We know from speaking to our contacts within the construction sector that a growing number of developers are keen to address climate change and help protect our environment.” He said sustainable drainage systems were a very important part of the solution and the new legislation was a positive step forwards in helping to make our communities more resilient in the face of climate change, as well as making our rivers cleaner and boosting biodiversity. We’d encourage any developers with questions or concerns to get in touch so that we can help them to prepare.”Yorkshire medtech firm raises £2.5m
A Yorkshire medtech company which has developed a device that could improve the success of knee replacement surgery has raised £2.5m in a Series A funding round.
Eventum Orthopaedics has secured funding from NPIF – Mercia Equity Finance, which is managed by Mercia and is part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund, Mercia’s EIS funds and private investors, some of whom are orthopaedic surgeons.
Eventum’s Quadsense device measures the forces of a patient’s quadriceps muscles across the range of leg motions before and during surgery, enabling surgeons to position the kneecap in such a way that the patient retains the same muscle balance and regains normal knee function.
The Ilkley-based company was founded in 2020 by John Naybour and Paul Atherton, who between them have almost 50 years’ experience in developing and marketing orthopaedic devices. They designed Quadsense with input from leading surgeons worldwide. The company raised an initial £1.4m from NPIF – Mercia Equity Finance and private investors in 2021 to help it develop the product and gain regulatory approval.
It has now achieved UK CA approval and the ISO13485 standard for medical devices, and has been used in 20 operations in New Zealand in conjunction with robotic surgery. The latest funding will enable the company to begin production, expand its sales and technical team and apply for FDA approval in the US. Eventum currently employs a team of five but plans to expand that to 12 in the year ahead.
Globally, around 2 million patients a year have knee replacements, with the figure expected to rise to 3.5m by 2030. However as many as one in five suffer ongoing pain or are dissatisfied with the outcome of their surgery. Eventum believes the key to improving success rates is the position of the kneecap, which plays a crucial role in the knee’s function.
John Naybour, Eventum’s CEO, said: “The Eventum team have done a massive amount of work in a short space of time in developing Quadsense and getting it approved for clinical use. We are now excited to start scaling up the team to commercialise the product, as well as bringing further innovations to the orthopaedics market.”
Connie Smith of Mercia added: “Whilst total knee implants have a great track record in terms of survival rates, up to 20% of recipients are still dissatisfied with their outcome. Eventum is pioneering a new approach using sensor technology and machine learning to provide accurate measurements and remove the guesswork associated with current procedures. John and his team have made great progress with the initial funding and this latest round will enable them to roll out the product to the global marketplace.”
Teesside Airport becomes patron of West and North Yorkshire Chamber
West & North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce are delighted to welcome Teesside International Airport as a patron. The Chamber is a long-standing champion of the work Teesside International does and is hugely supportive of its future plans for expansion.
Because it’s close to both planned freeports and future-facing green energy projects, the airport is ideally situated to massively grow its operations.
James Mason, Chief Executive of West & North Yorkshire Chamber, said: “We are delighted to welcome Teesside International Airport as patron members. We will work hard to make sure we do all we can to make the airport succeed in what it does.”
Phil Forster, the airport’s MD, said: “We are very proud to become patrons of the West & North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce.
“We’re a rapidly growing airport flying to an increasing range of summer destinations and cities. With our Freeport status offering us huge trade opportunities, our upcoming £200million business park in the pipeline, and our new cargo facility up and running at the heart of the North of England, the sky is the limit high for what we can achieve in the years ahead.”
ITM turns up the power at Sheffield’s Bessemer Park
Sheffield-based clean energy company ITM Power has signed an agreement with Power On Connections Ltd to increase ITM’s power supply the city’s Bessemer Park by 300% from 7.5 to 30 megavolt amperes (MVA) by the end of next year. This additional power supply will enable ITM Power to significantly increase product testing aligned with company growth ambitions.
As a first step towards a larger testing capacity, ITM Power has increased the Company’s power supply by 50% from 5 to 7.5MVA. This power upgrade is available with immediate effect and allows testing of two 2 MW modules simultaneously.
ITM Power’s CEO Dennis Schulz said: “As part of our 12-month plan, in January I stated our intention to increase testing capacity in order to satisfy our project delivery needs. Today’s announcement is an important step to de-bottlenecking our manufacturing output and an important enabler for scaling production.”
Bessemer Park is a 50-acre site within the Sheffield City Region’s ‘Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District’ – home to many of the world’s leading manufacturers across a variety of sectors including aerospace, defence, transportation, nuclear, oil, gas and healthcare.
Andy joins Henton’s as Business Development Manager
Andy Cocker has been appointed as a Business Development Manager with Hentons Corporate Finance Sheffield office as the firm continues to grow.
Hentons’ Director of Corporate Finance Chris Sellars said: “M&A activities have historically dropped during unpredictable economic times; however, there are no signs of the market slowing down at present. It does present additional challenges, such as higher levels of due diligence, but that is standard practice for our team, and we are keen to take advantage of the opportunities that are presented to us.”
Andy will be the ninth addition to the Hentons Corporate Finance team, after doubling staff numbers in under 12 months. He said: “I am excited to get involved and will be helping to build a project pipeline and will be offering support on funding.”
Sellars believes the appointment of Andy presents prolific opportunities for the business: “Welcoming Andy is not only proof that we’re growing, but also an opportunity to create even more of an impact within our markets. We will lean on Andy’s experience within the funding world to support clients who may be considering or actively looking at changing funders.“
“He has a wealth of experience within the banking sector, and we are confident his experience of managing successful teams, interacting with clients and business development, will have a positive impact on the way we operate.’
Andy joins Hentons Corporate Finance with over 25 years of banking experience with funders including HSBC, Bank of Scotland, Allied Irish and most latterly Thincats.
Andy will be based in the firm’s . He said he was looking forward to working at Hentons Corporate Finance: “I am looking forward to adding value and working alongside a team that has shown no sign of stopping. There is plenty of opportunity for growth and I am keen to be part of that journey”.
Hentons Corporate Finance — which includes its own in-house corporate services legal team — is a joint venture with Hentons Chartered Accountants who employ over 170 people across seven offices in Sheffield, Leeds, York, Thirsk, Doncaster, Hertford and London.
