A Leeds-based merchandise business has been sold after Nick Holloway and Howard Smith from Interpath Advisory were appointed joint administrators of Awesome Merchandise Ltd on 24 August.
Awesome Merchandise Ltd is a customised clothing, merchandise and printing business, providing services to business and individual consumers across the music industry, creatives and power users of print via its e-commerce platform.
94 employees are located at the company’s Head Office in Leeds.
With a large dependency on the live music and events sector, the business was hampered by the restrictions in place during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in a difficult trading environment that has impacted on financial performance and increased cashflow pressure.
Despite significant efforts to secure a solvent solution for the business, the directors reached the conclusion that it was in the best interest of creditors for the company to be placed into administration.
Immediately following their appointment, the joint administrators concluded a sale of substantially all of the business and its assets to Print.inc Group Limited. All of the company’s 94 employees have transferred to the purchaser as part of the sale.
Nick Holloway, Managing Director at Interpath Advisory and joint administrator, said: “We are pleased to have agreed this transaction which ensures continuity of service for Awesome Merchandise’s customers and importantly, safeguards a number of jobs.”
Howard Smith, Managing Director at Interpath Advisory and joint administrator, said: “Awesome Merchandise is a bespoke business with strong B2B relationships across the music industry which, unfortunately, like many other companies, experienced significant financial challenges as a result of COVID-19. We’re delighted to have completed this transaction which secures the future of the business, as well as safeguarding the jobs of 94 employees working out of the Head Office in Leeds.”
Specialist chemicals distributor sold to global group
Specialist chemicals distributor, Prime Surfactants Limited, has been sold to global group Brenntag.
The deal sees the Leeds-headquartered business, which supplies specialty surfactants for the personal care and household, industrial and institutional (HI&I) industries, as well as other industry segments in the UK, become part of the Germany-based global market leader in chemicals and ingredients distribution.
Founded in 2011, Prime Surfactants’ portfolio includes a range of sustainable products that are characterised, for example, by RSPO certification or nature-based solutions, and had sales of around £22 million in the most recent financial year.
Law firm Addleshaw Goddard and corporate finance adviser Sentio Partners advised the founders of Prime Surfactants.
AG’s corporate team advising on the deal was led by Richard Hunt and Caera Loughran, supported by Shannon Hardcastle. Providing lead advisory services to the founders, Sentio Partners’ team was led by Andrew Barlow and Andy Miller.
Caera Loughran said: “We are delighted to have worked with the founders of Prime Surfactants on this transaction, which is a reflection of the hard work they have put in over more than a decade to build such a high quality business. They have established themselves as a leading player in this highly competitive market in the UK and this deal will see the business go from strength to strength.”
Andrew Barlow of Sentio Partners said: “The strategic fit of Prime Surfactants for Brenntag was clear from the outset, and we look forward to seeing Prime continue to thrive within the enlarged group. It was a pleasure to have advised the shareholders of Prime – the sale represents fitting reward for the founders having built a quality business, with significant potential for further growth.”
Net zero building to be delivered to complete @TheDock tech campus
Hull’s flourishing @TheDock tech campus will be completed with a net zero office building, bringing an additional 150 digital jobs to the city’s vibrant Fruit Market.
Developer Wykeland Group has announced it will develop the final building within the tech complex, to offer a further 11,000 sq ft of office space at the waterfront location.
The final @TheDock building will be net zero, with renewable energy generated via an array of roof mounted solar panels. A green roof formed by flowering plants and a green wall section will also support biodiversity, while adding to the building’s insulation.
The offices will have an EPC energy rating of A – the highest possible to achieve. The building is all electric and will be mechanically heated, cooled and ventilated by a system that uses air source heat pumps and takes heat energy from extracted air and uses it to pre-heat incoming air.
Electric vehicle charging points will be provided in the ground floor car park. Energy efficient sensor lighting will also be installed and the building has been designed to ensure it has very high levels of both thermal insulation and airtightness. This ensures the offices can be run more sustainably.
Construction is due to begin next month having been delayed by a few weeks to make sure this did not disrupt this year’s Humber Street Sesh and Freedom Festival, which both take place in the Fruit Market area.
The building is being developed speculatively and is scheduled to be completed in summer 2023. It will mark another major milestone in the transformation of the Fruit Market into a thriving urban village.
John Gouldthorp, asset manager at Wykeland, said: “@TheDock has become a thriving digital community, bringing together many leading tech businesses and innovative start-up and scale-up ventures.
“This latest investment in the final phase of the development is a further vote of confidence in @TheDock as a destination of choice for digital businesses. It will also mark another key moment in the regeneration of the Fruit Market.
“In recent years @TheDock has been transformed from derelict brownfield site into a prime location for digital innovation and excellence. This new building will complete that journey.”
The first and second floors of the new building will each offer 5,500 sq ft of office space. The building could be let to either a single business, or multiple tenants, with suites from 2,250 sq ft to the full 11,000 sq ft.
The ground floor will have 17 undercroft parking spaces, with electric vehicle charging points and a cycle storage area.
The building will complete a quadrangle of prime office space at the @TheDock development, with the popular Nibble breakfast, brunch and lunch venue at its heart.
The entrance to the office will be from the central paved plaza. The main vehicular entrance of the new building will be located on Humber Street, opposite safety specialist Arco’s new flagship head office and the adjacent Fruit Market car park.
Letting of the building will be handled by commercial property agency PPH Commercial.
Ben Cooper, divisional director at PPH, said: “We are excited to market opportunities at the final building within the @TheDock development.
“We expect demand for space to be very strong, due to the quality of the Grade A offices, the building’s sustainability credentials and the exceptional work Wykeland has done to make @TheDock a flagship destination for tech businesses.”
The latest building is supported by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), using previously allocated funding for @TheDock.
Globe Point becomes first new office development to complete in Leeds in 2022
CEG has completed its 37,800 sq ft seven-storey office development on Globe Road, marking the first new build office to be delivered in Leeds this year.
Globe Point provides next generation workspace for over 400 people and its flat iron design offers views across the city from the roof terrace gardens.
Designed to BREEAM Excellent, the workspace maximises natural daylight to deliver healthy, flexible workspaces. The ground floor café kitchen and business lounge will open in autumn creating a vibrant use at this site which lies just a few minutes’ walk from Leeds City Station’s southern entrance.
Marketing and data science agency, Jaywing, is taking the 6,437 sq ft third floor.
Antonia Martin Wright, head of investment at CEG, said: “Globe Point has been designed to deliver the highest quality workspace in a great location close to the station. It is the first of our developments to complete in the Temple district, and a first for Leeds this year. It is set to create a buzz in Temple and, as the numbers of people living and working in the area continues to grow, this will help to support the fantastic bars, restaurants and other amenities, including our events space partnership with Chow Down.”
Fox Lloyd Jones and Knight Frank are marketing the building on behalf of CEG.
Nick Salkeld from Fox Lloyd Jones said: “Globe Point is an exemplary landmark building at the gateway to Temple and sets the benchmark for the wider masterplan in Leeds’ most exciting district.
“It’s a market leading product which has responded to current day occupier needs and boasts best in class features including business lounge, café facilities. The workspace has a truly unique ceiling detail with a mix of coffered and trucell finishes and can be offered in both traditional and fully fitted solutions. It’s added much needed Grade A supply to the market where occupier demand remains high particularly at the prime end.”
CEG has worked with specialist local consultants on the project. Sarah Dodsworth, founding partner of interior design consultancy Ekho Studio, said: “Globe Point is an interesting and unique project that will both fit with and elevate the surrounding area. It’s a special scheme, and one we’re really proud to be associated with.
“The ground floor building amenity has been designed as a community space, reflecting the diversity and energy that is synonymous within this vibrant city neighbourhood. It offers a daytime to evening coffee bar, kitchen and events space with a mix of dwell spaces in which to lounge or co-work.
“Every design solution represents the commitment to delivering a sustainable and healthy end product. The statement bespoke artwork pieces further reflect and celebrate the grain and architectural richness of the area, whilst the large video wall creates opportunities for events and social gatherings.”
BAM Construction commenced the development in May 2021 on behalf of CEG. Simon Sutcliffe, construction director for BAM, added: “We are delighted to have completed Globe Point, it is a striking building and delivers the highest quality office space. This is the first of many of CEG’s developments in the Temple area and we look forward to starting the second office development in the near future.”
Award-winning Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios is the architect for Globe Point. Amanda Whittington, partner, Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, said: “The workplace and what tenants want is changing and this building has pre-empted this. Globe Point is part of a wider masterplan that is really going to revitalise and lift the area, and as one of the first buildings within the masterplan, its position at the head of the site creates a new landmark for the area. The detailing of the brickwork, crown and curved glazing come together with the informal and natural materials of the interior design to create an exciting new destination for Leeds.”
Globe Point is the first of CEG’s developments to complete within the Temple district of the city. CEG has also handed over Drapers Yard on Marshall Street to Labcorp for the fit-out of its life science centre of excellence. This new headquarter facility is set for completion early next year and will boast a new façade, roof top amenity space with a green, sedum roof and new landscaping and planting.
Rampant fraud shows no sign of slowing
A £266m money laundering case has eclipsed the latest KPMG Fraud Barometer data for Yorkshire as experts warn of ‘rampant fraud’ across the UK.
There were 12 fraud cases that exceeded £100k prosecuted in Yorkshire’s courts in the first half of this year, a steady increase on last year’s figures (H1 2021: 10). The value of a high-profile money laundering case worth £266m has skewed this year’s figures with total fraud value reaching more than £272m, up from £7.4m in the first half of last year.
Tax fraud, which includes undeclared income, failure to pay income taxes and unpaid capital gains tax, was the most common type of fraud across Yorkshire.
Annette Barker, head of Forensic at KPMG in the UK, who is based in Yorkshire, said: “We’re seeing fraud levels rise around the country as fraudsters take bold measures for their financial gain. The major money laundering case in Leeds might have taken the spotlight, but it shouldn’t distract from the underlying and cumulative threat that lower value fraud cases continue to have. We’re also acutely aware that corporate fraud is rampant across the country. Yorkshire businesses must not let their guards down as we expect more employers to be targeted and case levels will likely catch up with the national trend.
“The Government is stepping up its attention on fraud. The new Public Sector Fraud Authority will target criminal gangs who rip off the taxpayer, while the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy response on corporate governance and audit reform outlined new responsibilities for Directors in terms of making public their efforts to prevent and detect fraud in their organisations. This is a significant sea-change that will see businesses, and individuals, taking on more responsibility for tackling fraud. For business leaders that means urgently putting in place adequate controls that can detect and prevent these crimes.”
Case studies to reach the region’s courts during this period include:
- Eight defendants were put on trial by Leeds Cloth Hall Court following an investigation into a £266m money laundering operation.
- Sheffield Crown Court spared a businessman jail after he paid back £415k he’d accumulated from making false statements to avoid VAT liability, evading income tax and corporation tax.
- Leeds Crown Court sentenced a pair of solicitors to jail and demanded they pay back more than £200k after co-ordinating the theft of money from their employer’s bank accounts.
Steel beam signed to mark the latest construction phase of the new Darley Street Market in Bradford
A steel support beam will be signed to mark the latest phase of construction of the new Darley Street Market in Bradford city centre.
The beam will be signed by the Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin; the Leader of Bradford Council, Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe; Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Regeneration, Planning and Transport, Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw and Markets Manager at Bradford Council, Colin Wolstenholme.
The ceremony on Friday 2 September will take place on site where the signed beam will be lifted and bolted to the steel frame of the new market building.
The demolition phase of works at Darley Street Markets ended back in April and the new concrete foundations and forming of the two concrete lift cores have also been completed.
Works have begun to install the new structural steel frame of the building at the north end of the site in readiness for the first of the solid core precast concrete floor planks and staircases arriving at the end of September 2022. Groundworks and drainage work is continuing to the south of the plot along with the surface water and rainwater harvesting tanks.
The new market will have three trading floors each specialising in non-food, fresh and hot foods as well as an underground basement for deliveries and waste recycling.
The top floor will house an open plan food court for 13 hot food and drink vendors with seating for over 500 customers, an outdoor viewing balcony with seating.
A new market square will have eight large umbrellas for outdoor trading, a large outdoor screen and a stage for day and evening entertainment to support the local night-time economy.
The new market is being built by Kier on behalf of Bradford Council and will replace the Oastler and Kirkgate Markets and release land at the Oastler Market site for the new City Village which will include 1000 new homes.
The development is partly funded with £3m from the Government’s Getting Building Fund which is administered by the West Yorkshire Combined authority (WYCA).
Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, leader of Bradford Council, said: “The new market on Darley Street and repurposing and revitalising the Top of Town area, creating the City Village, are key elements in plans to make the city centre a greener, healthier, vibrant, modern, attractive and sustainable place that will continue to be the economic core of the district.”
Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Regeneration, Planning and transport, said: “This is an exciting phase of the build for the new Darley Street Market. Strategically located in heart of the city’s central shopping area, it has been designed to be a light, airy and modern retail space and is packed with energy and environment saving features including smart heating, lighting and ventilation systems, rainwater capture technologies and green transport facilities. The project is expected to safeguard around 300 existing jobs and create approximately 400 new jobs.”
Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, said: “It’s safe to say that the new Darley Street Market is going to be a huge asset for the city. It’s an exciting time to live and work in the Bradford district and becoming the UK’s City of Culture in 2025 will lead to even more opportunities. I cannot wait for the Bradford Live venue to open.”
Dan Doherty, regional director from Kier Construction North & Scotland, said: “The steel signing marks an important point of the project as we begin to construct the steel frame. We will really start to see the building take shape now, which is exciting for us and the wider community.
“Throughout the build, we have been and continue to be fully committed to supporting the council’s wider regeneration objectives through the creation of onsite jobs and work experience placements, as well as the delivery of school and community engagement projects.”
Plans to develop smart and sustainable urban village in Barnsley unveiled
Bold new plans to transform Barnsley’s landmark digital business district into a smart and sustainable urban village for the 21st century have been unveiled.
The Seam digital campus in Barnsley town centre – home to two Digital Media Centres and Barnsley College’s SciTech building – is already established as a place where people set-up and grow innovative tech businesses, explore new ideas, study and collaborate.
New plans for the site propose to add a range of accessible, inclusive and inspiring community facilities for the benefit of all. These will include an active travel hub for cyclists and walkers, a multi-storey car park with 40 electric vehicle charging points, new green public spaces and low-carbon housing development.
The Seam development will fully embrace pioneering digital and eco-friendly tech solutions and actively seek to engage with entrepreneurs based at The Seam. For example, the new open spaces proposed will feature smart lighting which will shine brighter when people or vehicles pass to conserve energy and improve safety.
This first phase of development at The Seam digital business campus is part-funded by Future High Streets Fund which aims to renew and reshape town centres in a way that drives growth, improves experience and ensures future sustainability. It follows the successful completion of the Glass Works retail and leisure development earlier this year.
Councillor Sir Steve Houghton CBE, leader of Barnsley Council, said: “It’s exciting to reach the planning permission stage of The Seam, Barnsley’s ambitious Digital Campus.
“Future High Street funding is helping us transform this site to bring forward the next phase of town centre development which will bring together people, learning, business and places to help grow more innovative, digital jobs and businesses.
“The current DMC hub for the digital industries has seen great success providing a home for businesses and entrepreneurs since its development nearly 15 years ago. DMC 02, which opened in the middle of the pandemic, has quickly grown and is now full and the new MakerLab is busy with people and businesses developing new digital products. Barnsley College’s SciTech Hub opened last year and is helping hundreds of students to develop the skills for digital jobs.
“The Seam builds on this great work already happening and this phase one development gives us an accessible and innovative urban village and digital cluster within the town centre where we can try new ideas, support positive change for Barnsley and build towards our 2030 ambitions for sustainability and growth.”
Following the development of a blue-print for the whole site in 2021, the Council has worked with sustainable design consultants Arcadis and BDP Architects to bring forward detailed plans for this first phase of development, which relates to the lower car park area of The Seam, including where the Covid-19 testing centre was pitched during the pandemic.
A public consultation was conducted in February and the planning application has now been submitted for an active travel hub, multi-storey car park and public areas. Pending planning approval, work is due to start in spring 2023 and complete towards the end of 2024.
An outline planning application has also been submitted for the low carbon housing on site. There will be a procurement exercise to appoint a housing developer to bring forward these plans.
Further development of facilities for businesses, residents and visitors will be brought forward on a phased basis at The Seam as funding becomes available in future years.
Development of The Seam ties into a wider town centre regeneration strategy and is designed to build a better Barnsley experience for all, encourage economic growth, attract inward investment and reduce carbon emissions.
The Park Mark-approved multi-storey car park, where dozens of the 386 spaces will have electric charging points, will also connect to a new town-centre-wide smart signage system which will use real-time data to direct drivers to spaces both here and in other town centre car parks, including the newly-opened 500-space Glass Works car park.
The active travel hub, where cyclists and walkers will be able to access bike storage, shower and toilet facilities, bike and scooter hire plus a café, will provide key infrastructure in support of the shift towards greener transport. It is just a minute’s walk from Barnsley’s Transport Interchange.
The proposed new energy-efficient housing development will incorporate innovative ideas in low-carbon, and ultimately zero-carbon, design to support greener town centre living and, like the rest of the site, be a testbed for innovation.
The network of open spaces and walkways, with integrated design and high-tech security features, is intended to allow people to enjoy the outdoors, see tech innovation in action, and share in community-based digital and creative projects and events.
The Seam covers an area which extends either side of County Way between Regent Street and Old Mill Lane. Phase one plans relate to the lower part of the site.
Museums and galleries urged to apply for VAT refunds
Museums and galleries are being urged to apply for VAT refunds to support free opening as the Government dusts off a refund scheme last open to new applicants four years ago.
This autumn, any museum and gallery open to the public free for 30 hours a week can apply. It will help organisations boost their finances and open up their collections more regularly.
The VAT Refund Scheme, running since 2001, was last open to new applicants four years ago and is estimated to have refunded as much as £1 billion to museums and galleries.
Arts Minister Lord Parkinson is encouraging museums and galleries which are considering putting on exhibitions for free, as well as institutions already eligible but not currently taking advantage of the scheme, to apply. He said: “The UK’s brilliant museums and galleries can be proud of the huge range of free exhibitions they put on and the role they play in increasing access to arts and culture.
“We want to see even more museums offering free entry, and to support organisations which are providing great opportunities for the public to enjoy.
“I encourage cultural institutions across the UK to apply for the VAT refund scheme so they can help make sure people from all backgrounds get to experience great arts and culture for free.”
Institutions taking part in the scheme are entitled to a refund on VAT incurred on goods and services purchased in order to provide free admission.Retailers must seek alternative products as Government bans peat sales to amateur gardeners
Retailers will be looking for alternative products in the wake of the Government decision to ban all sales of peat to amateur gardeners in England by 2024.
Peatlands are the UK’s largest carbon store but only about 13% of our peatlands are in a near-natural state. This degradation has occurred due to drainage for agricultural use, overgrazing and burning, as well as extraction for use in growing media. Bagged retail growing media accounts for 70% of the peat sold in the UK and is frequently misused, for example being used as a soil improver rather than a medium in which to propagate plants. When this extraction takes place, the carbon stored inside the bog is released as carbon dioxide, contributing to climate change.
Peat extraction also degrades the state of the wider peatland landscape, damaging habitats for some of our rarest wildlife such as the swallowtail butterfly, hen harriers and short-eared owls, and negatively impacting peat’s ability to prevent flooding and filter water. A significant proportion of the UK’s water supply lands or flows through peatlands.
The Government is also launching a new £5 million fund to promote the use of peatlands for sustainable farming. It will support the uptake of paludiculture – the practice of farming on rewetted peatland – which will help further safeguard food security, produce alternatives to horticultural peat and reduce environmental impacts.
Chair of Natural England, Tony Juniper said: “Peatlands are precious ecosystems that harbor beautiful and fascinating wildlife, shape the character of iconic landscapes, purify water and help to reduce flood risk. They are also our largest natural carbon stores, locking away over 580 million tonnes. This ban on the sale of peat-based compost and work to phase out use in other areas is an essential step toward protecting these valuable natural assets and allowing for the recovery of degraded areas.”
Rare earth processor Pensana names new non-exec director
Pensana, the company developing the rare earth processing hub at Saltend, has appointed Alison Saxby as Independent Non-Executive Director.
Alison is an industry expert with over 35 years’ experience in industrial minerals and metals. Her expertise includes pricing, deep market knowledge, research, and communications, gained through consultancy projects, minerals trading and commercial reports.
She was previously MD at metals consultancy Roskill, where she led the strategic direction of the company’s research and products through a period of growth, with a focus on critical minerals. Prior to that she held roles at Fastmarkets and as an independent consultant.
Alison was recently a member of the UK government’s Critical Materials Global Expert Mission to both Canada and the USA for Innovate UK-KTN, and is working with Edumine to provide educational courses on critical materials. She is the author of numerous publications on critical and other minerals and originally trained as a mineral engineer.
Pensana Chairman Paul Atherley said: “As one of the leading industry experts on critical minerals Alison’s insight will be invaluable for the Board, while her strategic vision will play an important role in supporting Pensana’s growth.
“Building on the recent Saltend ground breaking and Automotive Transformation Fund announcement, Pensana continues to move towards funding and development of the world’s first independent and sustainable rare earth supply chain to support the energy transition.”
