Clare’s team supports 40 West Lindsey businesses with wide-ranging advice
West Lindsey District Council has been offering fully funded one-to-one support to more than 40 businesses in its area for a year, made possible thanks to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
The Council commissioned Clare Bailey, Founder of the Retail Champion, and her dedicated team to support business on a range of topics including marketing, graphic design, social media, book keeping and accounts, finance and business improvement and wellbeing.
Businesses supported so far include bed and breakfasts, an outdoor adventure park, a distillery, and an arts centre. Clare Bailey said: “I’ve had the pleasure of taking the first call from a whole host of different businesses across West Lindsey. I always complete the introduction and initial diagnostic, agreeing priorities / focus areas and introducing the right members of the team to complete the delivery for the client.
“In some cases, I complete part of the work myself, in many cases the client will get to meet 3 or 4 members of the team, each with their own unique expertise and skills, who can support them in a diverse range of business areas.”
Book Keeping and Accounts Specialist Catherine Smith is working with a distillery and a new performance arts centre to help them manage their ongoing accounting needs. She said: “From start-ups needing guidance to keep paperwork in line and deadlines met, to advising the best practises to making your money work for you. Sometimes all that’s needed is a friendly face that tells you ‘everything is OK’, we just need to tweak this particular area and we have got it.
“Accountancy can be overwhelming when you’re starting out and is often the first thing people put on the back-burner, I aim to make it less of a burden and a panic, meaning the clients can focus their energy on growing the business.”
Kim Hulse – Marketing and ecommerce expert has been supporting business owners of bed and breakfasts with brand positioning and marketing messages. She has been helping them showcase not just what they have to offer, but the attractiveness of the local area too. She said: “The strategies developed have helped those with great programmes for local residents and visitors to enjoy, reposition how they present themselves on their websites and on social media.
“I have worked with a number of retail businesses too on sales and marketing strategies, focused on generating online sales. Other service-based businesses now have customer profiles and a marketing plan to reach more customers. Overall, it’s been about helping businesses understand their marketing objectives, their customers and their key marketing messages and helping these businesses to communicate these messages effectively.”
Social Media Specialist Frances Brown has helped businesses explore effective social media strategies to reach new audiences. She said: “Working with West Lindsey based small businesses has allowed me to support so many people with social media – an area which is often overwhelming to business owners. We go into more detail than just what does this button on Instagram do exploring what holds them back from being visible and into how to tap into the psychology of the audience to create content that will stop them in their tracks rather than continue to scroll.”
Access to finance gets harder for SMEs, says BCC
Getting finance is becoming more difficult for a large number of SMEs, according to new data from the British Chambers of Commerce Insights Unit.
About half of business surveyed who accessed finance felt that getting funding had become more challenging over the past three years. Only 13% said it was getting easier.
The BCC’s latest survey of business conditions also reveals that three-quarters of the 553 firms surveyed – mainly SMEs – have not accessed finance from an external provider in the past twelve months.
As businesses continue to struggle with a series of economic headwinds, half of respondents who sought finance said cash flow was the main reason.
Jonny Haseldine, Policy Manager at the BCC said: “As SMEs across the UK continue to deal with ongoing economic pressures, accessing crucial finance is really tough. For many SMEs it’s a hurdle too large to even try and tackle.
“In evidence to the Treasury Select Committee last September, we called for urgent action to help SMEs seeking finance. We need to see measures to improve accessibility to finance, better awareness of alternative funding options, and greater competition in banking options.
“Scaling up businesses in the UK is already challenging. The problems are multiplied for female or minority ethnic led firms. Many business owners are forced to dip into their own savings to grow their companies.
“SMEs are the backbone of the UK economy. Giving firms easier and more competitive access to finance is crucial to getting the economic growth we all want to see.”
New rules mean special treatment for pregnant mums and new parents when redundancy looms
Pregnant women and new parents will now receive special treatment in a redundancy situation, as a suite of new laws are introduced at the weekend.
New laws will protect workers by strengthening existing redundancy protections to cover pregnancy and a period of time after parents return to work.
The Government-backed package of Acts will also boost support to vulnerable workers offering greater flexibility and confidence to workers and businesses – to help galvanise productivity, help grow the economy and tackle inactivity.
Families today receive new employment protections, including redundancy protections for pregnant women and new parents and a new leave entitlement for unpaid carers. In addition, there will be new flexible paternity leave and pay for parents of babies due on or after 6 April.
Against a backdrop of skills and labour shortages, these measures will help businesses to attract and retain talented staff. The measures also support groups more likely to fall out of the workforce, such as parents and disabled people, enabling them to thrive in the workplace.
This comes alongside measures to make work pay – cutting taxes by £900 a year for the average worker, increasing the National Living Wage from £10.42 an hour to £11.44, and introducing free childcare for working parents, worth £6,900 a year.
Business Minister Kevin Hollinrake said: “Whether you’re a new parent trying to juggle work commitments with a newborn or a pregnant woman balancing the pressures of work and life, or looking after a disabled or elderly family member while working, these new laws will give families greater security and flexibility.
“From childcare commitments to hospital appointments, the measures coming in today means more flexibility over where and when you work, supporting workers across the UK.
“These measures are good business sense too, helping firms to attract more talent, increase retention and improve workforce diversity.
Protecting and enhancing workers’ rights whilst supporting businesses to grow remains a priority for this government and a dynamic labour helps to drive up wages, employment and economic growth.”
This runs alongside new laws that give workers across Britain more flexibility over where and when they work, unless there are business reasons not to, as the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act comes into force. This means employees now have the right to request reasonable flexible working from their first day of employment, with those requests subject to business approval, and delivers on a 2019 Manifesto commitment to encourage flexible working. In addition, new measures require employers to consult with their employee before rejecting a request for flexible working. The employee will have the right to two requests a year – with employers needing to respond within two months, down from three.Topping out ceremony marks major milestone for Sheffield’s West Bar development
The first phase involved in created the 100,000 sq ft Grade A office building at Sheffield’s West Bar and two residential towers with 368 build-to-rent apartments have reached the topping out, with just months to go for practical completion.
Two public realm spaces, West Bar Square in the heart of the commercial area and Soho Yard serving the residential BTR apartments, are also due to complete soon.
Senior officials from Sheffield City Council, Urbo (West Bar) Ltd, and Legal and General, are all stakeholders in the significant regeneration project, attended the ceremony to celebrate the occasion.
Bowmer + Kirkland, principal contractor for the scheme, showcased progress on site from the top of the office building, No.1 West Bar Square, which acts as an impressive gateway for the site. It also presented the significant social, local, and economic impact achieved to date. This represents £14.9 million of value to the local economy with 57% of jobs created locally within a 30-mile radius, 288 apprentice weeks and the overall sustainability of construction demonstrated with 99.5% of waste diverted from landfill.
West Bar represents the long-awaited redevelopment of a prominent seven-acre brownfield site on the Inner Ring Road between Sheffield’s Kelham Island, Cathedral and Castlegate Quarters. It is to comprise one million sq ft of mixed-use space including over 500,000 sq ft of office accommodation with amenities, public realm and hundreds of apartments and the project expects to create up to 8,000 new jobs when completed.
After many years in planning, the first phase was able to commence following a ground-breaking deal to secure £150 million funding from Legal & General. This agreement represents the largest single city centre investment deal that Sheffield has ever seen.
As part of the agreed deal between Legal & General and Urbo, a second 100,000 sq ft office building will be delivered to follow No.1 West Bar Square. A new 450 space multi-storey car park is also part of the first phase which offers around 300 cycle storage spaces and electric car charging points. Connectivity into the surrounding walking and cycling routes is incorporated to encourage more sustainable travel.
Turbo MD Peter Swallow said: “This significant milestone at West Bar Sheffield is a strategically important regeneration project for the city. Indeed, it is integral to the transformational plan for Sheffield city centre, extending its prime core, and bringing forward much need new space for commercial and residential accommodation.”
Ben Rodgers, Head of Regeneration, LGIM Real Assets added: “We’re thrilled to reach this project milestone as we get closer to realising the vision for West Bar. This mixed-use scheme will create a vibrant new quarter that re-connects with the city centre, delivering much needed office accommodation, housing, and green landscaped public spaces. This further helps demonstrate the power of responsibly investing pension savings in urban regeneration, transforming and reshaping cities, creating productive, sustainable assets for future generations.”
Kate Josephs, Chief Executive at Sheffield City Council, said: “Sheffield needs high quality, energy efficient office and commercial space so it’s great to see this development close to completion. West Bar is a prime example of what can be achieved through strong partnership between the public and private sector.”
Ralph Jones of Peveril Securities added: “Our vision to deliver a flagship destination to support demand for high specification, large floorplate offices, new housing, and jobs, is now very real. Standing atop of No.1 West Bar is in many ways surreal but also immensely rewarding for the team that has worked tirelessly over many years and through many challenges.”
Designed by award winning architects 5plus with planning advice from Asteer Planning, No.1 West Bar Square acts as an impressive and sustainable gateway to West Bar. Featuring a contemporary, curved, curtain glass façade, it provides eight storeys of highly efficient office floorplates up to 14,000 sq ft, a roof terrace offering panoramic views across the city and retail accommodation at ground floor. BNP Paribas Real Estate and Cushman & Wakefield have been appointed to market the space.
Soho Yard offers 368 residential apartments within two buildings situated around a landscaped space and gardens with access via Plum Lane. The properties will be delivered and operated by Legal & General as part of its highly successful ‘Build to Rent – Homes for Life’ portfolio. It sits on the site of the famous ‘Soho wheel’ that powered grinding machinery near the River Don after the Industrial Revolution.
Urbo (West Bar) Ltd, a joint venture between Urbo Regeneration and Peveril Securities (the development arm of the Bowmer and Kirkland Group).
‘No bad treatment’ campaign aims to highlight domestic abuse with help of beauty industry
East Riding of Yorkshire Council is inviting anybody in the area who works in the health and beauty industry to an online event which will launch a new campaign: ‘No Bad Treatment’.
The campaign aims to raise awareness of domestic abuse, offer brief training on how to spot the signs, and provide information support services to those working in the Health & Beauty industry so they can discreetly signpost clients, colleagues, family or friends.
The online launch event will be on Tuesday, 16 April, from 7pm-8pm.
The No Bad Treatment campaign offers free training for hairdressers, aestheticians, beauty therapists and students. The session will provide the tools and resources to support a client who is experiencing domestic abuse.
Since its Hull launch in January, 2023, over 60 hair and beauty professionals have signed up to the No Bad Treatment campaign.
This event will provide an overview of the campaign and how people can sign up. It will look at why this is so important and what impact it could have on the local community.
The Warren Youth Project and the Domestic Violence and Abuse Partnership will be joined during the event by Rachel Williams, founder of Stand Up to Domestic Abuse.
Councillor Leo Hammond, East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s Cabinet member for planning, communities and public protection, said : “Domestic abuse is a huge issue in our society, affecting one in four women and one in six men over their lifetime. On average, a victim will experience abuse 50 times before seeking help, and sadly may go to as many as five different agencies before finding the appropriate help, advice and support.
“We are aiming to educate people who may be in a position to spot the signs and signpost correctly, and so we hope to dramatically reduce this number.
“If you are in the health and beauty industry, please share these event details widely with anyone else in the industry, and hopefully we will see you at the launch.”
Foreign labour’s no longer a cheap option for UK businesses after enactment of new laws
UK businesses are now required to pay overseas workers coming to the UK on a Skilled Worker visa significantly more, as the government clamps down on cut-price foreign labour and continues to deliver on its commitment to drive down net migration.
Part of a package of measures announced by the Home Secretary in December, which will mean 300,000 people who arrived in the UK last year would now not be able to, the general salary threshold for those arriving in the UK on a Skilled Worker visa has now increased by 48%, from £26,200 to £38,700.
It’s said that this increase will help ensure the UK’s immigration system focuses on recruiting high-skilled workers, helping to grow the UK economy while bringing overall numbers down.
A new immigration salary list has been created, following advice from the expert and independent Migration Advisory Committee. Roles on the list will be included only where they are skilled and in shortage, and if it is sensible to include them considering the efforts being made by sectors to invest in the resident workforce.
Inclusion on the list must not serve to reduce pay and undermine the recruitment of British workers. Employers are encouraged to invest in training, upskilling, and hiring domestic workers first.
It comes as the government takes decisive action to support British people into work, in one of the biggest employment interventions in a generation, through its £2.5 billion Back to Work plan. This will help break down barriers to work for over a million people who are long term unemployed, long term sick, or disabled.
Home Secretary James Cleverly said: “It’s time to turn off the taps and end the flow of cheap workers from abroad. Mass migration is unsustainable and it’s simply not fair. It undercuts the wages of hard-working people who are just trying to make ends meet.
“We are refocusing our immigration system to prioritise the brightest and best who have the skills our economy needs, while reducing overall numbers.
“I promised the British people an immigration system that serves their interests, and to bring numbers down – these tough measures deliver on that commitment. Employers must also play their part and put British workers first.”
Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride said: “For too long we have relied on labour from abroad when there is great talent right here in the UK. “I’m determined to give jobseekers the support they need to get on and get ahead through our £2.5 billion Back to Work Plan, while our network of Jobcentres are providing apprenticeships, bootcamps, and skills programmes to help even more people into work.”The changes coming into force today coupled with my next generation of welfare reforms will unlock the huge potential of the great British workforce.
Ashcourt Group increase fleet with new statement Defenders as they continue regional growth
New Ashcourt Defenders designed and wrapped in their iconic blue to increase the company’s presence in new areas.
The Ashcourt Group is a well-established construction materials supplier in Hull & East Yorkshire, with recent acquisitions becoming stepping stones into new regions of Durham & Tees Valley and Lincolnshire.
The iconic blue is hard to miss with its existing fleet already boasting over 300 vehicles from tipper wagons and concrete mixers to heavy haulage and artic tippers.
Recently investing in new Defenders, Ashcourt Group have had four of these designed and wrapped in a statement Ashcourt design for their field sales team to drive when visiting customer sites throughout new territory, where the brand isn’t as well known.
This will help promote brand awareness to further increase Ashcourt’s presence in these different areas as they continue their growth, with them now operating three regional businesses, Ashcourt (Hull & East Yorkshire), Ashcourt (Durham & Tees Valley) and Ashcourt (Lincolnshire).
Emily Summerson, Group Operations Director, said: “We are delighted to see our new fleet additions making bold statements as our field sales team continue to conquer new territories with positive feedback from all.
“Following recent regional expansion, this helps increase our brand awareness in our expansion strategy and allows us to create a presence in these areas, using our iconic Ashcourt blue to further strengthen our position as the industry’s sustainable construction materials and recycling partner.”
Administrators appointed to warehousing, distribution and logistics business
James Lumb and Howard Smith from Interpath Advisory have been appointed joint administrators to Carlton Forest 3PL Ltd, Green Forest Solutions LLP, and Carlton Forest Group Holdings Limited.
Based in Bawtry, South Yorkshire, Carlton Forest 3PL Ltd is an award-winning warehousing, distribution and logistics business. Employing 90 people, the company operates over 1.2m sq ft of warehouse space across four sites in Bawtry, Worksop, Hellaby and Tuxhill.
Green Forest Solutions LLP owns the UK’s first and only continuous pyrolysis plant for end-of-life tyres, an innovative technology used across the tyre recovery and recycling sector.
In recent times, and in common with a number of other companies operating in the third party logistics sector, Carlton Forest 3PL had been battling industry and wider economic headwinds, including rising costs, significant excess warehouse capacity in the market and decreasing storage rates.
With pressure on the company’s cashflow increasing, the directors sought to undertake a review of their options, including sale and investment options. However, when a solvent solution could not be found, they took the decision to seek the appointment of administrators.
James Lumb, managing director at Interpath Advisory and joint administrator, said: “We are seeing a lot of businesses in UK logistics which are facing similar issues to Carlton Forest, driven by new warehouse capacity hitting the market over recent years, and the general destocking of the UK consumer economy as Covid-related supply chain disruption has subsided.
“Carlton Forest, like many of its peers in the market, had grown to meet demand and this has had the effect of increasing its overheads. Unfortunately, however, the race to the bottom on pricing and the loss of a key customer ultimately contributed to Carlton Forest’s inability to keep trading.
“Our immediate priority has been to work with employees, suppliers and customers to repatriate stock as quickly as possible, minimising disruption to customers as best we can.”
Morrisons invests £1.4m in new Innovation Centre in Bradford
Morrisons Greenside fresh food manufacturing operation, has officially opened a brand-new on-site innovation centre as part of a significant investment programme.
Costing £1.4 million, the brand-new ‘Greenside Innovation Centre’, was officially opened with the unveiling of a plaque by the Leader of Bradford Council, Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe and Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin.
The centre features a new state of the art development and showcase kitchen that will support the growth of Greenside and the wider Morrisons manufacturing division – Myton Food Group. The innovation centre will allow the site to showcase the food they’re known for and allow for the development of new and exciting products to present to prospective customers.
Morrisons prepares and makes more than half of the fresh food sold in its stores. The Greenside site is the UK’s largest fresh food factory producing bacon, quiches, pies, sausages, gammon, cooked meats and packed cheese.
Rami Baitiéh, Chief Executive Officer of Morrisons, said: “We’re pleased to officially open our Greenside Innovation Centre here in the city of Bradford. At Morrisons we are proud food makers and we are always exploring ways in which we can showcase our expertise and develop new and exciting opportunities to take our products to a wider market.
“This new facility gives our fantastic team of chefs a space to create the high-quality, British products our customers want, using ingredients from our trusted farmers and growers.”
Bradford Labour Leader, Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, said: “We’re really proud that Bradford is the home of Morrisons and therefore I really welcome this latest investment from the company in the city.
“It’s a very well run operation and it’s great to see what care and thought they are putting into new product design at the Innovation Centre. It’s this kind of investment which will retain Morrisons’ place as a market leader.”
Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin, said: “I welcome the investment Morrisons has made into the Greenside Innovation Centre, helping to bring new opportunities to Bradford. Morrisons is an important partner for Bradford and West Yorkshire and I will continue to support them to grow and succeed.”
The site has received significant investment in the past year, with an additional £6.6 million being used in cheese automation technology; a further £7m will be invested this year in new sausage lines.
Morrisons Greenside is a 400,000 sq ft manufacturing site, employing a 1,400 strong team, producing 277m packs of fresh food products across 44 production lines.
Retailers record six months of negative sales
Total in-store and online sales fell -2.2% in March, marking the sixth consecutive month of negative sales results, according to new data from BDO’s High Street Sales Tracker.
The last six months marks the longest consecutive period of negative growth outside of the COVID-19 pandemic.
BDO’s data, which looks at sales across discretionary spend categories, highlighted that in-store sales were negative for the fourth month in a row (-1.8%) and pulled down by sharp falls in both fashion and homewares sales.
Non-store sales were also negative (-2.3%), following three successive months of positive results.
Sophie Michael, Head of Retail and Wholesale at BDO, said: “These results continue to paint a bleak picture for retailers. Despite both the Easter bank holiday weekend and Mother’s Day falling in March this year, these results serve as a stark reminder of the pressure the sector is under.”
Fashion was the only non-store category to see positive results in March but the growth of 1.5% failed to offset the negative in-store sales, which declined by -6.0%.
The homeware sector also performed poorly, falling by -10.9%, the lowest monthly result for this category since May 2022. The lifestyle sector performed slightly better, with sales up +0.9% compared to the same month last year.
Sophie continued: “Going into April, retailers will see their costs rise even higher with the uplift in the national minimum wage and increased business rates leaving very little room to spend on investment, promotions or other ways of encouraging consumer spending.
“Elsewhere, there are reports that order levels fell in March and are expected to fall further in April, showing no signs of appetite for consumers to increase discretionary spend. Retailers will be fixated on managing their cost base to ride out what continues to be a challenging trading period, with no notable recovery on the horizon just yet.”
