Harrogate search marketing agency sets up new venture in America

Stuart Pearcey
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Harrogate search marketing agency sets up new venture in America
Harrogate-based search marketing agency Zelst has established a new US venture following a number of client wins from US agencies looking to collaborate with UK specialists. The new US business, based in Dover, Delaware, will aim to bring US work to the UK team more seamlessly, providing white-labelled digital services to often-stretched US agency and client teams. The 17-strong firm, launched in 2006 by Peter and Sarah Van Zelst, has worked with US clients for over a decade, and embarked on a project to investigate US client opportunities last year. Peter Van Zelst said: “The US economy is a little hotter than ours at present, and it’s a challenge to find highly-experienced search and PPC professionals in some areas of the States. We’ve seen a demand for our services, and the different approaches we bring to projects. Establishing a business in the US was the natural next step. “As one of the north’s longest-established and most experienced search marketing agencies, we’re adept at workingcollaboratively alongside clients and agencies alike, and the East Coast of the US, in particular, is fairly straightforward to service, with its connections and smaller time difference with the UK.
“We’re working closely with the Department for Business and Trade in the US, as well as a variety of bodies and contacts we’ve made since researching the idea of growing our exports to the US, and expect the additional traction to bring a handful of new jobs as we build out the team to support the North American market. He added: “Although, like every company, we’ve seen a lot of challenges in the last few years, in many ways, the seismic shifts driven by the pandemic and Brexit have opened people’s minds about how to grow their businesses. “We’ve seen that the US has a challenge to find passionate and highly skilled teams of digital talent, and we’re offering them that additional bandwidth immediately, with lower overheads than they face in the vast majority of US locations.” Zelst provides highly targeted SEO, content, paid search and biddable media management and content campaigns for businesses across the UK and also exports its services to a growing client base in the US.

Bank of England brings an end to run of interest rate hikes

Tess Egginton
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0
Bank of England brings an end to run of interest rate hikes
Following a run of 14 increases, the Bank of England has chosen not to hike interest rates today (21 September). It sees the current base rate remain at 5.25%, and comes after a surprise slowdown in inflation figures. This is thought to have eased pressure for another rise in rates. The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted by a majority of 5–4 to maintain the Bank Rate. Anna Leach, CBI deputy chief economist, said: “The Bank of England said they’d be data-driven: a sharper-than-expected fall in services inflation driving a small fall in the headline inflation rate has proved enough for the Monetary Policy Committee to hit pause on rate rises after 14 consecutive increases. Despite the pause and a slowing of inflation, many businesses and households will be still feeling the impact of tighter credit and higher prices. “The coming months will be tricky for the Bank. They’ll be vigilant regarding developments in wages and inflation expectations, given private sector wage growth is still topping 8%. Meanwhile, the outlook for energy prices has shifted, with oil prices now pushing up and European gas prices once again at the mercy of the winter weather outlook. This could slow the pace of decline in the headline inflation rate and risks underpinning still-high core inflation. But the economy is showing signs of turning too: the unemployment rate has risen, vacancies are down and activity is slowing. “The MPC’s next meeting date in November coincides with the publication of the Bank’s updated forecast and their full assessment of economic conditions. And before that we’ll see the full set of revisions to GDP from the ONS, as well as more data on economic conditions, before heading into the Autumn Statement later in the month. With business investment crucial to delivering growth, this presents an ideal opportunity for the Chancellor to shore up business confidence.”

Homes England publishes ‘one-stop guidance shop’ about housing resources

Stuart Pearcey
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Homes England publishes ‘one-stop guidance shop’ about housing resources
Homes England has today announced a new national index of professional housing resources. The Housing Information Hub, now available on GOV.UK, will support the sector by providing direct access to over 300 sources of guidance, information and tools relating to homebuilding, placemaking and regeneration. Developed by Homes England’s Local Government Capacity Centre, the Housing Information Hub has is one of a series of new initiatives designed in collaboration with local authorities and other partners to respond the needs, and asks, of the sector. With the aim to cover the full housing and delivery journey, resources are split into five key areas – financing, leading, building, using land and planning Mike Palin, Executive Director, Markets, Partners and Places, Homes England, said: “The Housing Information Hub is an excellent route map and “one stop shop” for advice and guidance for local authorities, developers, other professionals and individuals wanting to deliver quality places. “In my local government career, including roles as CEO, I know that the Housing Information Hub would have transformed my ability to support the delivery of housing and regeneration and I look forward to sharing this resource to support authorities, their partners and other stakeholders.”

Leftfield acquires two warehouses totalling 94,000 sq ft at Thornbury Industrial Park Bradford

Tess Egginton
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0
Leftfield acquires two warehouses totalling 94,000 sq ft at Thornbury Industrial Park Bradford
Specialist investment firm Leftfield has acquired two brand new, mid-box speculative industrial properties. The units totaling 94,674 sq ft on Thornbury Industrial Park in Bradford, were bought from property developer Marshall CDP. CBRE acted on behalf of Leftfield and Carter Towler advised Marshall CDP.  Leftfield continues to add to its growing portfolio with the purchase of the final two mid-box units on the industrial park. Unit A comprises a 39,435 sq ft warehouse with 2,667 sq ft ground and first floor office accommodation whilst Unit C, housed on a 3.62 acre area, comprises a 49,357 sq ft warehouse with 3,215 sq ft of office space to the ground and first floors.    Both Grade A speculatively built units, completed in July this year, are vacant and available for immediate occupation. Thornbury Industrial Park on Gain Lane is Bradford’s newest industrial location with the final phase of development providing three brand new units. Tenants on the estate include Astonish, Marsylka Manufacturing, Optimum Medical, Woodlands and Candy Hero. Nico Fourie, CEO of Leftfield, said: “Demand for well located, high specification properties remains high in this underserved sector. We are excited to add these two excellent units to Leftfield’s Fund III, which continues to expand in key strategic locations.” The units are available to let via CBRE, Carter Towler and JLL.

Metsä Tissue chooses Goole for planned landmark UK investment

Tess Egginton
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Metsä Tissue chooses Goole for planned landmark UK investment
Metsä Tissue has chosen Goole as the site for its planned new state-of-the-art tissue paper mill in the UK. This landmark investment of several hundreds of millions of pounds will deliver the largest tissue mill in the UK and significantly reduce the quantity of tissue products that are currently imported into the UK and Ireland each year. The new mill will create 400+ jobs at the facility, as well as thousands more across the supply chain and the local economy. “Goole is the perfect location for this proposed investment. The Humber region provides a crucial gateway to the whole of the United Kingdom and the region’s ambitions to bring cutting-edge green technology and jobs to the UK matches our ambitions in clean, sustainable manufacturing,” says Esa Kaikkonen, CEO of Metsä Tissue. Up to 45% of tissue products are currently imported into the UK and Ireland. Metsä Tissue aims to replace almost half of the imported products with local British production, using fresh fibre pulp as the main raw material from sustainably-managed forests in the Nordics. Reducing the reliance on imports will have a positive impact on the UK’s productivity, carbon footprint and self-sufficiency for essential tissue products. The Goole facility will use cutting-edge sustainable production technologies to deliver an efficient and modern facility with world class environmental performance. Metsä Tissue’s activity is rooted in sustainability, with a target for all products to be manufactured from fully fossil-fuel-free raw materials by 2030 as the company strives to achieve a net zero society. Additionally, the business aims for all its mills, including the new Goole facility, to operate without the use of fossil fuels by 2030. Subject to planning and environmental permits and a final investment decision, the site will occupy an area of around 200 acres and will have the capacity to produce 240,000 tons of tissue paper, built in several phases over the next decade, serving both the professional and consumer markets. The planned facility would be the first major investment in the proposed Goole tax site within the Humber Freeport, which aims to accelerate inward investment in the Humber region. Minister for Investment, Lord Dominic Johnson, said: “This investment is a huge vote of confidence in Goole, Yorkshire and Humberside. With hundreds of millions of pounds being committed, and thousands of jobs being created at both the new site and in the wider supply chain, this will have huge benefits for workers and businesses in Goole and many communities across East Riding, Yorkshire, Humberside and North Lincolnshire. “We know that Yorkshire is one of the best places in the country to invest, and today’s announcement by Metsä further cements this. Last year alone, we saw 103 new projects in Yorkshire that were a result of inward investment, which collectively will create over 7,000 jobs.”

Firms share in Towns Fund payouts totalling £37,000

Stuart Pearcey
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Firms share in Towns Fund payouts totalling £37,000
Two Keighley and Shipley area firms have benefitted from Towns Fund Business Growth Programme funding, sharing almost £37,000 Print and direct mail business Fretwell Print and Design, of Goulbourne Street, received £19,989 towards replacing their printer with a new model, which has created two new jobs. Aluminium glazed façade manufacturer and installer Airevalley Architectural (Aluminium) Ltd, of Parkwood Street, was able to create three new jobs after receiving £16,775 of funding towards machine software and installation, as well as upgrading the factory’s facilities. Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, Bradford Council’s Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, Planning and Transport, said: “Grants ranging from £1,500 to £315,000 are still available for businesses within – or looking to move to – the Keighley and Shipley Towns Fund Areas, and other businesses are invited to apply. “The funding is available for start-ups, small, medium-sized and large businesses and can be used to either expand, increase productivity, create a new business, safeguard existing jobs and create new ones.” Ian Hayfield, chairman of Keighley Towns Fund, said: “We are delighted to have made such a significant difference to these local businesses in a relatively short space of time. The funding will have an impact for years to come and the successful growth of our business community will help drive social and economic change for the whole area.” The Business Growth Programme Capital Grant is a £4m fund to directly support businesses within these areas with approximately £2m each allocated to the Keighley and Shipley Towns Fund areas.

Streets Chartered Accountants covers self-employed tax changes, fortitude in family businesses and more in new news roundup

Tess Egginton
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0
Streets Chartered Accountants covers self-employed tax changes, fortitude in family businesses and more in new news roundup

Streets Chartered Accountants covers self-employed tax changes, fortitude in family businesses and more in its latest monthly news roundup.

Webinar: Changes to the way the self-employed and those in business partnerships are taxedHMRC, His Majesty”s Revenue and Customs, has introduced changes to the basis period, the defined timeframe used to calculate the taxable profits for taxing the self-employed and those in business partnerships. The changes relate to this tax year, 2023/24 and beyond. Book Now

Mersea Week celebrations continue into September with the Round Mersea Island Race, sponsored by Streets Whittles​​​​​​​With time and tide waiting for no man, this year’s popular Round Mersea Island Race took place on Saturday 2nd September, the weekend after its usual scheduling at the end of the celebratory Mersea Week. The reason for the WMYC making a change to the usual format is to work with the tides. With High Water at 14.43 and a height of 5.7m, this was one of the highest of the year and perfect conditions for the race round the island covering over 14 nautical miles. Read More

Podcast: How Streets Banking and Finance is supporting SMEs and owner managed businessesIn this episode of The Streets Sessions, Streets talks to their Head of Banking & Finance, Martyn Shakespear, about the work of his team in supporting businesses and gains an overview of the challenges and trends in business finance and funding. Listen Now

SY Jessica Fund re-appoints CBRE to manage Fund following re-tender

Tess Egginton
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0
SY Jessica Fund re-appoints CBRE to manage Fund following re-tender

The SY Jessica Fund has reappointed CBRE’s Investment Advisory team, part of its Capital Advisors business, to manage the Fund following a competitive tender. 

The CBRE team has managed the Fund since its inception in April 2013, delivering significant regeneration and development to South Yorkshire and the wider City region over the past ten years.

To date, the Fund has invested over £70m and levered in over £300m of construction investment, built over 1.3m sq ft of floorspace accommodating over 6,500 jobs and is increasingly supporting more energy efficient developments.

The Fund was set up to provide effective development debt funding for commercial property and regeneration projects with the core objectives of enabling economic growth through sustainable development, enhancing long-term growth prospects of the region, providing the infrastructure required to generate jobs and facilitating the development of brownfield sites.  

Will Church, Executive Director, Investment Advisory, CBRE, said: “We are delighted to have been reappointed by the Fund and are looking forward to seeing what we can deliver on behalf of the Fund over the next ten years.

“We have a number of developments in the pipeline that we are looking to bring forward across the whole of South Yorkshire and will be expanding the parameters of the Fund to consider mixed-use developments in addition to core commercial opportunities.”

Colin Blackburn, Assistant Director at SY Mayoral Combined Authority, added: “The SY Jessica Fund has proven to be a vital source of funding in an otherwise constrained regional market, bringing forward valuable employment space and infrastructure projects that other sources haven’t been able or willing to support.

“We have close to £32m of debt funding available to invest in new real estate projects and are looking forward to embarking on the next stage of the Fund’s journey.” 

Shoosmiths is the retained legal advisor to the SY Jessica Fund.

Almost half UK firms will miss sustainability targets, survey reveals

Stuart Pearcey
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0
Almost half UK firms will miss sustainability targets, survey reveals
A significant proportion of UK businesses are falling behind on their sustainability journeys, according to new research from technology company Siemens.
The findings show that almost half (45%) expect to miss their 2030 decarbonisation targets, with companies citing low business confidence and high uncertainty in government policy and progress towards the infrastructure transition. The global study, “Siemens Infrastructure Transition Monitor 2023: The Great Divide on The Path to Net Zero”, covers the views of 1,400 senior executives in businesses operating across 22 countries, and aims to measure the progress of the infrastructure transition towards a decarbonised future. Respondents from the UK say that the risk of recession (25%), poor access to the right skills (20%), a lack of investment in public infrastructure (20%), a lack of private capital (20%) and limitations in the power grid (19%) are restraining their appetite to invest in reducing their business’s emissions. The findings follow the launch of the Net Zero Strategy earlier this year, but many business leaders across the economy have called for a more holistic industrial strategy to provide greater clarity on long-term policy. Carl Ennis, CEO of Siemens UK & Ireland, said: “We must support business and industry to decarbonise if we are to successfully deliver the energy transition we need. “Progress is being made, but it’s evident from these findings that the UK runs the risk of widening the gap between where we are and where we need to be if we don’t start thinking longer term. “A clear industrial strategy is a key piece of the puzzle and would give businesses the confidence to invest meaningfully in cutting carbon, while boosting economic growth and productivity. “Over the next few years, adopting clean energy technology and digitalisation software that can help accelerate the transition to net zero will become instrumental, and we need to give companies the right platform to do so.”

Spencer group rolls out wellbeing app company wide

Stuart Pearcey
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0
Spencer group rolls out wellbeing app company wide
Hull-based Spencer Group has rolled out the Hapstar wellbeing app to its entire workforce to support their mental and physical health. The engineering company was the first in the industry to adopt the innovative Hapstar app when it launched a four-month trial among 80 of its 350 employees in April this year. The app, which staff can use anonymously, enables employees to track their mental and physical wellbeing, as well as accessing support, setting happiness actions and providing anonymous feedback. The data reflects personal feelings, such as happiness, relationships, activity and lifestyle, alongside career satisfaction, thoughts on their team and overall role. The app creates a regular anonymous report for Spencer Group to assess the feedback across the business and data is collected on teams, rather than demographics, to ensure anonymity. Group MD Gary Thornton said: “One of the key drivers behind rolling out Hapstar to the entire company is the development of the mobile app. During the trial, it was only available on a work desktop, so the app means it can now be used as a lifestyle tool used anytime and anywhere. “Lots of people who took part in the trial found the app to be a useful tool. While it benefits us to looks at the analytics to potentially improve areas of the business, employees said it helped them to improve their own lifestyles. “They fill in their responses on the app and it gives them a good indication of how the changes they’ve made are making a difference to their wellbeing.” Yvonne Moir, HR Director added: “Hapstar also includes life coaching, so if there are areas where staff are scoring lower, on self-confidence for example, there would be a suggestion to try to help them feel better, or tips offered on how to improve their overall mental health. “Another example is if any staff are concerned about the rising cost of living or finances, we could arrange for a financial coach to come into the business and share tips on smarter money management or money-saving advice. “We can split the data any way we wish, including on-site teams compared to off-site teams, or specific teams compared to others across the business. “We’ll review the report results from those who use the app on a monthly basis and we can pick out urgent priorities to respond to if there are any data spikes in certain areas.”
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