New-build council homes for South Lincolnshire
Finishing touches are being made to new council homes in South Kesteven.
The housing has been built to Lifetime Homes standard, which means properties include wider doors, more accessible space and level thresholds where possible, to make them suitable for a range of mobility.
The site, owned by SKDC and previously a little-used parking area, has been handed over to the Council by developer D Brown Builders for the final stages of work before allocation to the new residents.
The development began in July 2021 with Cabinet Member for Housing and Property, Cllr Robert Reid, turning the first ground to start work.
Cllr Reid said: “Our Corporate Strategy sets out our ambition to increase the supply of high quality, sustainable social housing and we are working to meet the district’s future housing demand and these flats and bungalows reflect our commitment to deliver good quality housing across the district.
“The development is part of a series of projects to bring much-needed housing to the people who really need it. They follow recent successful SKDC developments in Kinoulton Court and Earlesfield Lane in Grantham.
“This scheme made use of an under-used car parking area which has been relocated elsewhere on the Close. It is close to the centre of Bourne and will undoubtedly benefit those who already live locally.”
South Kesteven District Council Leader Cllr Kelham Cooke said: “Working with our partners D Brown Builders, we have built high quality homes for our residents in Bourne, and I am delighted to see the finished homes, which will offer good quality housing that residents will be proud to call home.
“The way we are building affordable housing in South Kesteven supports our ambition to build more council homes, and ones that are energy efficient and lower cost to our residents.”
The energy efficiency measures included in construction will create a benchmark for future housing and bring lower running costs for residents. These homes are built using a sustainable and energy efficient timber frame, pre-cut and assembled on site in panels which reduces building time compared to similar traditional construction and reduces waste through off-cuts. Timber frame also allows for open plan spaces, particularly useful for wheelchair users.
The walls are fully insulated to a better standard than traditional-build properties, giving more efficient heating. The flats also benefit from large floor-to-ceiling windows to maximise passive natural lighting, which also reduces running costs for tenants.
Meadow Close is the first of two new-build sites, with a second at Trinity Road, Stamford. This will be followed by building at Larch Close in Grantham and other key locations.
Georgia starts new role as International Trade Manager today
Today Georgia Stokes starts work as International Trade Manager with the Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce, an organisation she joined in 2016 when she was just 18.
Now she has been promoted to International Trade Manager, taking her new position from today, and will soon be joined by an Export Documentation and Customs Declaration Officer who will support the team with the growing demand for export and import documentation.
Georgia said: “I never expected to go into International Trade when I started as a finance apprentice, I had very little experience or confidence, but with the external training and support from the Chamber team, I have been able to develop in these areas and I am extremely proud of my achievements so far.
“I love working in this sector, there is so much variety in the role; no two days are the same, but like all jobs, there are challenges and for me the most challenging part was the impact of Brexit and supporting our members to navigate the new rules.
“Despite Brexit, trading internationally provides a world of opportunities and my advice to businesses looking to start trading would be to ensure you have a good understanding right at the beginning before committing to anything – lack of knowledge can cause unwanted costs and complications if processes are not followed correctly.
“I am feeling very lucky to be in the role I am in, with the consistent changes coming into force within the world of trade and the introduction of our exploring new markets consultancy service, I am excited to see how the sector develops and grows in Lincolnshire!”
“I love working in this sector, there is so much variety in the role!. I am excited to see how the sector develops and grows in Lincolnshire!”
Simon Beardsley, Chief Exec of Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “We are very proud of Georgia and her fantastic achievements! It just goes to show how much potential young people have and what great progress they can make when given the chance to develop within an organisation. We would encourage all businesses to take a look into hiring an apprentice, and where possible to upskill them throughout their career, which in turn will help your business grow.”
Girls get a taste of careers in the offshore energy industry
Offshore wind energy company Ørsted has hosted 13 girls from Havelock Academy as part of a partnership with Women In Manufacturing and Engineering at the East Coast Hub in Grimsby.
WiME has been running a pilot programme called ‘Raising Aspirations’ in the Humber and Ørsted have been partnered with Havelock Academy. The aim of the programme is to inspire young women and girls to look at the renewable energy industry and careers in STEM as achievable and real opportunities. This has been done by meeting the real women in these jobs.
The girls have previously had two sessions with Ørsted, and this was the last session, a full day showcasing lots of different roles in the wind industry, from Offshore Coordinator to Commercial Manager to Wind Turbine Technician Apprentice.
As part of the day, the girls filled out an evaluation form to give feedback on what they’d learnt. One example of the feedback given gave a strong message of what they had learned, it read: ‘Women are underrated and overlooked and can do anything a man can do’.
Lauren Little, Stakeholder Advisor, who led on the day said: “The day has been a huge success because of the support from all our role models here at Ørsted. They helped to make it happen, so a huge thank you for taking the time out and sharing your personal story – it really makes a lasting impact.
“Days like this are so important to raise aspirations of young women on our doorstep. Our East Coast Hub on the Port of Grimsby where over 500 people operate the largest offshore wind projects in the world is two miles away from Havelock Academy – but it’s largely hidden as these huge projects are far offshore so this is a fantastic opportunity to connect them with the real people behind offshore wind. Through this opportunity the girls got to meet people like them, and if they can see, they can be it.
“Our industry is growing and open to everyone. We’re passionate about increasing diversity in all forms, we’re trying to create a brighter future for the planet and we need bright minds to help us with our mission.”
£24.86m investment plan approved for Northern Lincolnshire NHS Trust
New £24.86 Acute Assessment Units (AAU) will be created at hospitals in Grimsby and Scunthorpe following final approval of ambitious plans to transform emergency care in our area.
The units – which will be housed in what are now our Emergency Departments – will also house provision for Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) and are a key element of our ongoing investment in our sites.
And this next phase of central government funding is now being released following approval from the Department of Health.
Divisional Medical Director of Medicine, Dr Anwer Qureshi, has been instrumental in designing not only the new units and facilities themselves but, with his team, has also defined the clinical pathways which determined how the facilities are designed to provide you and your loved ones with best possible care.
He said: “We have already made significant progress on constructing the new Emergency Departments, which will be used to provide care to you if you are seriously injured or ill. These facilities will also be hosting our Urgent care services- where you will be managed by our skilled practitioners for an urgent but non-life threatening injury or illness”.
“Having this final phase of funding approved will allow us to complement these units with our Acute Assessment units and short stay wards, all on one floor”.
“These AAUs will be staffed by expert clinicians trained in a wide variety of skills. This will allow us to see and diagnose you more quickly and get you on the right course of treatment, without necessarily having to admit you to a ward in the first instance.
“As a result, it’s less likely that clinically stable patients will need to be admitted and, if you are, you will probably spend less time in hospital.”
“It is a joint effort for which I am grateful to the ED, Acute Medicine, Surgical specialties and Family Services teams at NLaG. Together, we have already updated and implemented processes and pathways based on best practice, which will swiftly move us into the use of the new facilities when available, setting an example in the region”.
Divisional Medical Director of Medicine, Dr Anwer Qureshi, has been instrumental in designing not only the new units and facilities themselves but, with his team, has also defined the clinical pathways which determined how the facilities are designed to provide you and your loved ones with best possible care.
He said: “We have already made significant progress on constructing the new Emergency Departments, which will be used to provide care to you if you are seriously injured or ill. These facilities will also be hosting our Urgent care services- where you will be managed by our skilled practitioners for an urgent but non-life threatening injury or illness”.
“Having this final phase of funding approved will allow us to complement these units with our Acute Assessment units and short stay wards, all on one floor”.
“These AAUs will be staffed by expert clinicians trained in a wide variety of skills. This will allow us to see and diagnose you more quickly and get you on the right course of treatment, without necessarily having to admit you to a ward in the first instance.
“As a result, it’s less likely that clinically stable patients will need to be admitted and, if you are, you will probably spend less time in hospital.”
“It is a joint effort for which I am grateful to the ED, Acute Medicine, Surgical specialties and Family Services teams at NLaG. Together, we have already updated and implemented processes and pathways based on best practice, which will swiftly move us into the use of the new facilities when available, setting an example in the region”.
Dunelm goes receiptless in Leeds at new development for its UK stores
Dunelm is to take more than 18,000 square feet of The Springs out of town retail and leisure centre near Leeds for its first new smaller format store, which will also be its first paperless receipt store in a bid to change customer habits and further promote a sustainable business.
Steve Barton, Director of Property at Dunelm, said, “We chose The Springs due to its high-quality environment, and great transport and infrastructure links. It is an ideal scheme for us to launch our new format store that is around half the size of our standard superstore.”
Dunelm was founded in 1979 as a Leicester market stall business selling ready-made curtains and has been making Made to Measure curtains and blinds in Leicestershire for more than 20 years. Since opening the first Dunelm store in Leicester in 1984, the company has expanded across the country making it the UK’s largest homewares retailer with over 175 stores and employing over 9000 colleagues nationwide. The new store will open tomorrow.
The Springs is a 350,000 sq ft shopping and leisure attraction located at the heart of Thorpe Park Leeds at Junction 46 of the M1.
Because of its unique and highly modern environment, The Springs has been used as a springboard for new concepts by other operators. These include the UK’s first purpose designed ODEON Luxe cinema, the joint venture between Next and Gino D’Acampo, a new concept store for The Range, Vitruvian dental practice and the recently opened Elan Laser Clinic as its first venture in the UK.
Leeds Bradford Airport collaborates with start-up to develop logistics drones hub
New transport and logistics infrastructure start-up, Urban-Air Port (UAP), have joined to collaborate with Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA) on developing a new unmanned and manned aerial vehicle hub.
UAP will be working with LBA to develop an off-grid, hydrogen-powered infrastructure hub at the airport. The main role of the site at LBA will be to provide a space for the command, charging and loading of logistics drones, providing safe and secure infrastructure to support drone delivery services in the Leeds City Region in the near future.
Within the scope of the agreement between LBA and Urban-Air Port, there is also capacity for Vertical Take Off and Landing (VTOL) vehicle storage and charging.
Urban-Air Port aims to reduce congestion in busy cities and create sustainable logistics solutions throughout the UK.
Ricky Sandhu, Urban-Air Port’s founder and executive chairman, said: “In putting this agreement with LBA in place, we are getting ahead of the curve for the next wave of logistics and infrastructure.
“We are looking forward to developing an ultra-compact, rapidly deployable, multi-functional operations hub with facilities for vehicles providing aircraft command and control, charging/refuelling, cargo, and passenger loading. This will result in a future with less vehicles on our road and more sustainable cities.”
Charles Johnson, head of planning development at LBA, said: “This collaboration signifies an exciting development for the airport and highlights the ability of Yorkshire to lead on innovative infrastructure solutions.
“It’s fantastic to see how aviation and its partner industries are developing new technologies that will be essential to our future. I am looking forward to seeing how the project develops, as we continue to act as a key hub for connectivity in the UK.”
Stockport packaging firm joins Leeds group
The Samuel Grant Group, which is based in Leeds and includes Samuel Grant Packaging, has acquired Clingfoil.
Based in Stockport and with £7m of annual sales, Clingfoil are independent distributors of protective packaging materials and stretch film product solutions, providing goods to a wide range of customers across distribution, e-commerce, and manufacturing markets.
By bringing Clingfoil’s manufacturing capabilities into the Group, Samuel Grant will be able to combine their expertise with their own, and actively seek out new innovations and products that can deliver improvements and efficiencies for its customers.
The acquisition will allow the team to further develop and research 30% recycled machine and hand stretch film for pallet wrapping. In the light of the recent plastic tax being introduced, the ability to research and develop new films in house will add a huge amount of value to Samuel Grant’s stretch film and pallet wrapping proposition.
Clingfoil was established in 1982 by brothers, Mark and Paul Kenyon, who have now reached retirement.
There are an overwhelming number of similarities between the two businesses in terms of culture, family values and the support they give their employees, all 21 of whom will continue to work there when the merge happens. They will also retain their office, warehousing and manufacturing facility.
Whilst Paul Kenyon has already retired, Mark will stay within the business to facilitate a seamless transition for the company and conduct a detailed handover of operations.
Andrew Grant, Samuel Grant Group’s Joint Managing Director, said: “Given the challenges of international supply that we are finding, adding a UK manufacturing arm to our business will help hugely with continuing to provide our customers with the best possible service.
“It will also allow us to conduct in-depth research into more environmentally friendly alternatives to virgin polymer stretch wrap, and help us to introduce effective stretch-wrapping solutions with increased recycled content to help reduce the impact of the plastic tax.”
Park Place acted as lead advisor to Samuel Grant Group on the transaction. Ben Peacock, partner at Park Place, said: “We are delighted to have advised on bringing these two family businesses together. Samuel Grant will be an excellent home for Clingfoil and alongside their new 30,000 square foot distribution centre in Leeds will support the Grant family’s significant growth aspirations for the group.”
Andrew Bradley and Victoria Innes of Knights provided legal advice to Samuel Grant Group. Funding for the acquisition was provided by NatWest. Dave Wilson from Spinnaker Corporate Finance advised Clingfoil, with Mark Heppell, Sara Bluston and Abigail Gallagher from JMW Solicitors acting on their behalf.
Leeds digital agency acquires assets and team of Knaresborough Ecommerce specialists
Leeds-based digital agency Ascensor has made its third acquisition in 12 months, securing the assets and team of Knaresborough-based Audere Commerce.
The deal sees three members of the Audere Commerce team join Ascensor. Founded in 2013, Ecommerce specialists Audere worked with a range of B2B clients, with a primary focus on the automotive and construction sectors
Ascensor MD Andrew Firth said: “This is a very exciting deal for Ascensor and presents an opportunity to build further our Ecommerce client base. We’ll be able to extend the range of services offered to our new clients.”
Audere Commerce MD James Withers has begun work as technical project manager, alongside backend developer Alex Johnson and account manager Chloe Joomun. The trio’s digital capabilities and experience provide continuity for clients and fill roles that Ascensor were actively recruiting.
“The skills base represented by this acquisition complements our existing strengths,” Andrew Firth continued. “Audere Commerce are Ecommerce software specialists and they’ve developed a specialism in B2B Ecommerce.
“We’ll be able to provide the new clients with marketing services, and they’ll benefit from our focus on conversion rate optimisation that helps website owners generate the maximum possible value from their digital assets and grow through return on investment.
“We have a strong reputation for our focus on conversion, whether that be delivering sales, leads, savings or brand recognition. Adding value and delivering growth is our key to success, we grow because our clients grow.”
Commenting on the agreement, James Withers said: “The Audere Commerce team and I are very much looking forward to joining a larger, more established digital agency. Ascensor share our values of delivering advanced digital technology to clients looking to grow through conversion.”
The agreement with Audere marks Ascensor’s fifth asset acquisition in two years, after acquiring the Green Gecko and Blue Mantis agencies in 2021, plus web development business Webposse and hosting firm ClaretMedia in 2020.
Last year Ascensor set ambitious targets and grew revenue by 55 per cent, improving turnover from £2.2m to £3.5m.
With the addition of Audere to the Ascensor family they now have 41 specialists focused on delivering conversion and digital transformation for clients.
Record year for Barnsley-based Wolf Laundry
Barnsley-based Wolf Laundry, which supplies commercial laundry and warewashing equipment across the UK, has revealed an impressive year of financial results including a 204 percent profit increase.
It delivered another year of revenue growth in its last financial year ending 31 December, with turnover growing to £7.2m, up 64 percent from £4.4m the previous year. EBIT increased to £1.4m from £460,000 in 2020.
Wolf Laundry attributes its success to its strong supply chain partnerships with Schulthess, a leading Swiss washing technology group, and leading manufacturer of commercial and industrial dryers, American Dryer Corporation (ADC).
In addition it has invested in talent acquisition, strengthening its workforce with a further 13 members of staff, and extending the reach of its manufacturer trained engineers to cover the whole of the UK.
Following another successful year, Wolf Laundry has ambitious plans for 2022 including amalgamating its Barnsley and Wakefield offices and investing in a brand new purpose-built office in Barnsley with a 20,000 sq foot warehouse facility, which opened on Monday 28 March. This has enabled Wolf Laundry to further expand its range of products including washing machines, tumble dryers and warewashing equipment. Through its exclusive partnership with Schulthess, Wolf Laundry is its sole UK stockist, supplying, installing and maintaining a full range of its machines from 7kg to 18kg.
To further support its growth plans, Wolf Laundry is also investing in marketing to dovetail with its sales strategy and has appointed Leeds-based independent creative design agency ACD&B. ACD&B will deliver an integrated communications strategy covering branding, marketing collateral, website development, PR and SEO.
Dan Riley, Wolf Laundry’s joint Managing Director, said: “Our investment in strengthening the team and focusing on establishing and harnessing strong supply chain partnerships with high quality, innovative manufacturers Schulthess and ADC, has resulted in a strong financial performance. This in turn was boosted by our loyal customer base who are at the heart of the business.
“We have ambitious plans and aim to continue to deliver a complete commercial laundry solution that is focused on our customer’s needs. To support our strategy, we have moved to new, larger premises to give us the space to expand our range, and we will make further big investments in 2022, training staff, and collaborating with ACD&B to evolve our brand and align our marketing efforts with the wider business.”
Kitchen appliance wholesaler secures £7.5m of flexible funding
Independent Growth Finance (IGF) has provided Apelson Appliances with a £7.5m Asset Based Lending (ABL) solution. The flexible facility will be used to fuel growth following several key contracts wins and increased sales demand.
The deal was facilitated by YB Financial Advisory Ltd – an independent debt advisory and credit brokerage, who saw IGF as the right fit to help fund Apelson Appliances’ growth. Founded in 2012, Apelson Appliances is a leading wholesaler of kitchen appliances which includes the sale of cookers, hoods, microwaves and hobs.
After securing several key contracts, Yorkshire-based Apelson Appliances needed funding for their growth to accommodate for the rise in stock and anticipated increase in sales associated with the deal.
The funding will act as a buffer, allowing Apelson Appliances to buy more stock to meet future demand. The firm’s strategy for holding stock became a competitive advantage during the pandemic. This is what attracted demand and the subsequent trade increase.
Finance director at Apelson Appliances, Mark Johnson, said: “IGF were flexible and reacted quickly and professionally towards any challenges which came up around the transactional process.
“It’s the collaboration of our team, and our dynamic practice which enabled us to help service clients’ needs, even through the difficulties of the pandemic. This dynamism is why we’ve secured this new contract, and the funding from IGF will enable us to expand to meet increased demand.”
New business director at IGF, Richard Spielbichler, said: “We’re excited to be by Apelson Appliances’ side as they enter their new phase of growth. We offer the flexibility which many banks can’t. We treat every client uniquely, and we’re able to cater to Apelson Appliances’ needs – deliver a mixture of facilities to facilitate both growth and restructure some existing debt.”
