Strike threatened at University of Lincoln as over 220 jobs put on the line

Tess Egginton
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Strike threatened at University of Lincoln as over 220 jobs put on the line
Staff at the University of Lincoln are poised to take a stand against “brutal cuts,” with a consultation over potential strike action having begun.
The cuts involve over 220 employees, including one in ten academic staff, according to University and College Union (UCU). Cuts include the phasing out of the fashion degree and ending specialist support for widening participation students in the foundation studies centre. The centre’s teaching team have been notified their jobs are at risk. Despite the most recent accounts showing that in 2022/23 the university ran a £3m operating surplus and had £46m in cash reserves, a directive was issued last week, underscoring the necessity to slash the budget by £30m by the end of the 2025 financial year, the UCU notes. Some cuts have already been made with modern languages provision being shut down and eight staff losing their jobs. UCU Lincoln acting chair Dr Rob Dean said: “It is simply impossible to slash so many jobs without severely impacting current students, future students and diminishing the university’s vital role as a cornerstone of regional education. “Furthermore, not only are many people in danger of losing their jobs, but we are also extremely concerned that those remaining will be left with unmanageable workloads. “Without a transparent assessment of past decisions and a commitment to accountability, there is a risk of perpetuating the same errors, endangering the institution’s future stability. “However, the impact of this extends beyond the confines of academia. The local economy will also be affected. In a small city like Lincoln the number of proposed cuts threaten to undermine the socioeconomic fabric of the region, exacerbating existing challenges and inequalities.”

Kyle starts new role as tax director to lead Azets’ NMW service line

Stuart Pearcey
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Kyle starts new role as tax director to lead Azets’ NMW service line
Leeds-based Kyle Newton has been appointed as Azets’ employment tax director to lead its National Minimum Wage service line. He’ll be helping clients nationwide to implement NMW processes and controls to manage compliance and navigate complex HMRC enquiries. Kyle, who is a qualified chartered accountant, brings a wealth of experience over 15 years from a variety of roles at BDO, Deloitte and PwC. With his experience including internal audit, one of Kyle’s focuses is supporting businesses with implementing robust controls in a practical manner to reduce impact on day-to-day business. He has joined Azets’ as new NMW rate changes, including increases and an extension of the National Living Wage for workers aged 21 and over, came into force at the start of April. He said: “The National Minimum Wage is commonly misunderstood. It is much more complex than a simple hourly rate and is made up of a number of components. “With an unprecedented increase to the NMW age rates and business budgets stretched, many businesses are faced with a difficult challenge of balancing cost and maintaining day to day business. HMRC enforcement activity continues to increase, for example with its most recent regional enforcement campaign targeting 10 geographic regions and the most recent naming and shaming round (round 20) highlighting HMRC’s continued focus to enforce to the full extent of the law. “Many employers remain unaware of the potential pitfalls where they could be underpaying workers and with the likelihood of HMRC knocking at their door increasing, they could be faced with a 200% penalty and public naming and shaming, on top of paying the arrears, additional employer pension contributions and additional employer National Insurance Contributions. “Now more than ever it’s really important to consider taking proactive steps. With Azets accelerated growth and the firm supporting more and more SMEs, which is HMRC’s current enforcement focus, this is a perfect time to join Azets and I am looking forward to supporting clients across Yorkshire and the UK.” Partner Richard Whitelock, who heads up employer solutions services for Azets in Yorkshire, said: “Kyle has a proven track record in both employment taxes and NMW advisory matters. He comes with impressive experience and a deep technical understanding of the NMW regulations and employment tax legislation. “He will be a valuable addition to our team providing employment tax advice support in Yorkshire and leading on our newly launched National Minimum Wage service line nationwide.”

New rules say tips must be given to hospitality workers and not held back by employers

Stuart Pearcey
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New rules say tips must be given to hospitality workers and not held back by employers
It’s to become law that employers may not hold back tips given to staff. That’ll be the effect of a new Code of Practice that will have legal effect under the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023. The Act and secondary legislation make it unlawful for businesses to hold back service charges from their employees, ensuring staff receive all of the tips they have earned. The measures are expected to come into force on 1st October 2024, once they have been approved by Parliament. The Government says many hospitality workers rely on tips to top up their pay and are often left powerless if businesses don’t pass on service charges from customers to their staff. This overhaul of tipping practices is set to benefit more than 2 million UK workers across the hospitality, leisure and services sectors helping to ease cost of living pressures and give them peace of mind that they will keep their hard-earned money. Business and Trade Minister Kevin Hollinrake said: “It is not right for employers to withhold tips from their hard-working employees. “Whether you are cutting hair or pulling a pint, this government’s legislation which will protect the tips of workers and give consumers confidence that when they leave a tip, it goes to the hardworking members of staff.

“The secondary legislation laid today reinforces our commitment to legally protecting our low paid workers and ensuring a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work.”

Tipjar CEO Ben Thomas added: “Hospitality and service industries are part of the fabric of our culture and a cornerstone of our economy. We are honoured to have consulted with the Department of Business and Trade as they have developed this important Code of Practice clarifying employers’ responsibilities as they pass tips to their hard-working teams.

“As a business that exists to help employers distribute tips on the same principles of fairness and transparency, we are confident that this Act will support millions of tipped workers across the UK, and level the playing field for businesses across these sectors. We’re excited to support employers in leveraging the opportunities this will present, as we build a more fair and transparent future.”

Yorkshire firm named amongst UK’s top ten export award winners

Stuart Pearcey
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Yorkshire firm named amongst UK’s top ten export award winners
Yorkshire company SimVenture has been named by the Government as one of ten winners of this year’s Made in the UK, Sold to the World Awards. Based between Selby and York, SimVenture supplies software to education institutions and workplace training providers in more than 20 countries, who use it to help educators and trainers bring business learning to life. It offers business and entrepreneurship learning tools, on which learners can make decisions, deal with consequences, and work in an authentic way. Peter Harrington, SimVenture Co-founder and CEO, said: “We are dedicated to leveraging advanced learning technologies to positively impact lives worldwide. Winning this award validates the investments and risks we’ve taken over two decades. This prestigious recognition will fuel our growth and expansion into new global markets. “With recent contract signings in the United States and Algeria, we anticipate significant growth for SimVenture in both the education and corporate training sectors, further solidifying our position as a global leader in EdTech innovation.” Now in their second year, the awards celebrate the international sales success of SMEs across the UK, and provide a stepping stone for further growth and opportunity. Minister for Exports Lord Offord said: “We’re proud of our British exporters and these Awards highlight some fantastic businesses punching above their weight and selling UK-made products and services around the world.

“I hope the winners serve as inspiration to others looking to get onto the exporting ladder and encourage more businesses to showcase the incredible talent and innovation of UK businesses selling abroad.”

Hunslet’s Cockburn Sports Hall to be reborn as healthy living centre

Stuart Pearcey
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Hunslet’s Cockburn Sports Hall to be reborn as healthy living centre
Dudleys Consulting Engineers is helping with delivery of a £3.4 million community hub transformation project in the Hunslet district of Leeds. Preparation works have started on the site of the Old Cockburn Sports Hall which is being redeveloped by Hamara Healthy Living Centre.  The project will see the demolition of the former dilapidated 1960’s building and construction of a state of the art, 10,615 sq ft mixed use leisure, health, and wellbeing facility. Hamara (an Urdu term meaning ‘Our’) is the largest ethnic minority organisation in the voluntary and community sector in Leeds. Working within the community sector, employing 36 people, Hamara currently delivers several different strands of work including: Health Promotion, Youth Activities, Older People’s Services, Saturday Supplementary School, Learning Disabilities, Education and Employment & Training Programmes. The new Cockburn Centre is to become a sustainable local community business operating for the benefit of local neighbourhoods, and will be led and operated by adults with learning disabilities and supported by local volunteers. New facilities will include a multi-use sports hall, fully accessible changing facilities, equipment storage space, an external hard surfaced multi-use games area, a seated café, community hub, halo and training room, a viewing gallery, and offices. Hamara has worked tirelessly to secure grant funding from various parties, including The Football Foundation, the Department of Levelling up and Housing and Communities – Community Ownership Fund, to enable delivery of the important community project. Dudleys assisted Hamara with securing planning consent and is now consulting alongside architects Studio RBA, services consultant Shearstone, project managers Spring & Co, landscape architect Urban Green, and main contractor NU Construction, on the delivery plan which is expected to start this summer. The award-winning practice is providing value driven Civil and Structural Engineering services to include environmental impact from a localised mining history and protected landscape. Peter Dixon, Director at Dudleys said: “Supporting charitable causes is a fundamental part of our business ESG commitment and we have previously assisted on many church community and railway preservation projects.  It is exciting to see progress on site for the new Cockburn Centre and we look forward to working with the team to provide value engineered, technical expertise throughout.”  

Garden Centres Group wins retail company award for second successive year

Stuart Pearcey
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Garden Centres Group wins retail company award for second successive year
Yorkshire Garden Centres Group has won the Retail Company of the Year Award at the British HR Awards. Head of People and Culture Neil Barwise-Carr said: “The HR awards celebrate organisations and individuals that are driven by delivering a world-class people experience, so we’re proud and delighted to have won this award on behalf of our great team.” Yorkshire Garden Centres beat industry giants Heron Foods, Holland & Barrett and Selfridges to win the Retail Company of the Year Award for a second time. Nate Harwood, Founder of New Possible and British HR Awards judge said: “The British HR Awards celebrate the talented, dedicated, and passionate teams and individuals who are fueling thriving workplaces across the UK and beyond. I’d like to extend my congratulations to all the Winners and Finalists.” The British HR Awards is powered by New Possible, a next-generation employee insight platform. New Possible helps leaders build healthier organisations by providing meaningful insight that can drive real change. The Yorkshire Garden Centres group is made up of garden centres at Tong, Tingley, Otley and Bingley as well as the recently acquired Dean’s York and Scarborough.

Walker Sime names UK Director of Quantity Surveying

Stuart Pearcey
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Walker Sime names UK Director of Quantity Surveying
Leeds-based construction consultancy Walker Sime has apppointed Gareth Robertson as the UK Director of Quantity Surveying. He joins from CBRE where he was Senior Director and Head of Cost Management for the North of England. It was in this role that he led and grew the cost management team over his four-year tenure. Having collaborated with Walker Sime on various projects during his time at CBRE, Gareth shared his admiration for the consultancy’s reputation, track record and approach, citing a strong alignment with the company’s vision and his own personal values as his reasons for joining. MD Duncan Firth said “Gareth’s appointment marks another pivotal moment in our growth. With his wealth of experience, growth mindset and alignment with our values and culture, we are confident his leadership, personality, and skills will increase the rate of our growth.” Gareth says he will be picking up the baton with the already strong QS team, continuing the great work already being done and collectively moving the service line forward. “I will be rolling up my sleeves immediately and leading our team on several high-profile instructions,” he said. Alongside his responsibilities as the UK Director of Quantity Surveying, Gareth also joins the new-look Executive Leadership Team at the firm. Gareth will extend his expertise over Walker Sime’s offices in Leeds, Manchester and Liverpool. The company has provided quantity surveying and project management services to several prominent projects including The Barnum and the University of York’s Institute for Safe Autonomy, New Victoria and Civic Heat Network in Manchester, Dock Branch Park in Birkenhead and Liverpool Waters.

Housing association agrees new funding with three lenders worth £284m

Tess Egginton
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Housing association agrees new funding with three lenders worth £284m

Savills Financial Consultants has helped Great Places Housing Group secure three new deals worth a total of £284m with Santander, NatWest, and ABN AMRO.

Funding of £109m and £100m has been agreed with existing lenders Santander and NatWest Bank, respectively. New partner ABN AMRO has lent 25,000-home Great Places £75m. All loans are revolving credit facilities (RCFs).  

All three RCFs contain sustainability-linked performance measures which see a reduced interest rate in the event that Great Places meets agreed energy efficiency targets on new and existing homes.

The housing association will use the funds to continue to deliver its commitments to customers to invest in existing and new homes in communities across the North West, Yorkshire and Derbyshire. Great Places’ current plans include further increasing resources to improve property conditions and customer services, as well as the ambition to develop around 9,000 new affordable homes during the period 2020-2030. 

Mike Gerrard, Chief Financial Officer at Great Places Housing Group, said: “We are delighted to continue and develop our relationships with NatWest and Santander and welcome ABN AMRO as a new banking partner.

“We received strong interest from the banking sector for this transaction and it is pleasing to move forward with sustainability-linked funding. Thank you to the Great Places team and Savills for their insight and support.” 

Mike Roche, Director at Savills Financial Consultants, said: “There were a significant number of moving parts with these deals, so it is a testament to the Great Places team that they have been able to handle the process so diligently.

“The Savills Financial Consultants team has really enjoyed helping Great Places secure this increased financial capacity at the right pricing to help deliver their aims.”

Jane Johnstone, Senior Director, Housing Finance, Santander UK, said: “We are delighted to have supported Great Places in providing this sustainability-linked facility.

“This funding will ultimately facilitate improvement in existing housing provision and the continued development of much-needed, new, affordable homes. We are proud to work together with providers such as Great Places in this critical sector.” 

Martin Skinner, Relationship Director at NatWest, said: “We are a major lender to the UK affordable housing sector and are delighted to continue to support the important work of Great Places in providing much-needed social housing to the region.

“The RCF structure, coupled with sustainability-linked performance measures, will lead to more energy-efficient homes across the North West, Yorkshire and Derbyshire.

“We are proud to have announced that in 2023 we completed nearly £3bn of new funding to help more people and families have access to housing. We support around 200 housing associations across the UK and are proud to announce our ambition to provide a further £5bn in funding to support the housing association sector by the end of 2026.” 

Rutilio Merien, ABN AMRO’s Head of UK Coverage Real Estate, said: “We are delighted to start this partnership and provide Great Places with new funding facilitating its commitment to develop new homes as well as improving existing ones.

“ABN AMRO is pleased to further support the social housing sector and the inclusion of ESG-linked KPIs in our facility with Great Places resonates very well with ABN AMRO’s purpose and strategy. We look forward to building a strong and long-term relationship with Great Places.”

Alice Overton, Partner at Devonshires, said: “We are delighted to have advised on these transactions and to have supported Great Places in achieving its energy efficiency and wider sustainability ambitions.

“Great Places approached this with dedication and commitment, and the team was a pleasure to work with, alongside Savills, all resulting in a great outcome for the business.”

The transaction was also supported by Addleshaw Goddard and the valuation team at Savills. 

Ringrose Law expands with three new office openings

Tess Egginton
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0
Ringrose Law expands with three new office openings
Ringrose Law has expanded its regional footprint with the opening of three new offices in Grimsby, Peterborough, and Nottingham this week. This significant expansion brings the firm’s presence in the region from five to eight offices, marking a notable milestone in the firm’s growth journey. The new offices in Grimsby, Peterborough, and Nottingham are a testament to the firm’s ongoing success and its commitment to broadening its reach to serve more individuals and businesses. This expansion has been fuelled by the ongoing growth of the firm’s departments and teams. With these new openings, Ringrose Law aims to replicate its successful model of providing a comprehensive range of personal and commercial legal services, catering to both individuals and businesses. The firm is dedicated to maintaining the high standards of service and expertise that have been the cornerstone of its operations across the region. Ryan Clarke, Managing Director of Ringrose Law, expressed his enthusiasm about this phase of growth: “This expansion marks a significant period of growth for Ringrose Law. We are incredibly excited about the opportunities that these new locations will offer us. This achievement is a testament to the hard work, dedication, and teamwork of everyone at the firm. We look forward to continuing to serve our clients with the same level of excellence and professionalism that has defined our practice.” For over 100 years, Ringrose Law has been providing a wide range of legal services to individuals and businesses in Lincolnshire. Its expertise encompasses family law, divorce, childcare, personal injury, medical negligence, residential and commercial property transactions, wills & probate, discrimination law, dispute resolution, criminal law, and commercial law. Ringrose Law’s expansion into Grimsby, Peterborough, and Nottingham underscores its commitment to providing accessible, quality legal services and support to more communities. The firm is excited to embark on this new chapter and to continue making a positive impact in the lives of those they serve. For more information about Ringrose Law and its services, please visit www.ringroselaw.co.uk or contact the firm’s offices directly.

Business Shows Group marks 25 years of excellence in event organisation

Tess Egginton
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0
Business Shows Group marks 25 years of excellence in event organisation
Celebrating a memorable milestone, Business Shows Group is marking 25 years of excellence in event organisation. At the core of their heritage lies the Property & Business Investment Show, which runs alongside the East Midlands Expo, serving as a hub for networking and business growth opportunity in the continuously evolving environment of property, construction, finance, and related businesses. In an age where daily client interactions are frequently limited to virtual contact, the annual events hosted by Business Shows Group serve as a meeting place for like-minded individuals to get together under one roof, generating meaningful conversations and driving business growth. The appeal of the Expo lies not just in its longevity but in its ability to stimulate business development. In a single day, exhibitors can encounter more clients—new, old, prospective, and current—than they could meet in a month of travel and individual networking events. An indication of a well-curated event, where every handshake holds the promise of future collaboration and success. Yet, amidst the recognition, a cautionary note resounds; beware the imitators and copycats who seek to ride on the coattails of success. Business Shows Group represents authenticity, its legacy built on quarter of a century of dedication to quality exhibitors & delegates alongside innovative ideas. Exhibitor booking now for Nottingham, 11th November 2024 Anniversary event and Lincolnshire, 25th March 2025. For further details email tina@businessshowsgroup.co.uk or complete the exhibitor information form at https://businessshowsgroup.co.uk/exhibitor-enquiry/
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