Plans submitted for major new Catterick business park
Eshton Group, in association with Castlevale Ltd, has submitted plans for a major 52-acre business park at Junction 52 of the A1M in Catterick that will bring millions of pounds of investment and create hundreds of jobs.
The ambitious plans for the site, which is to be branded Catterick 52, put forward a vision to turn the location into an industrial hub, attracting businesses from across the UK to drive local investment and employment to the region.
Leeds-based Eshton Group is the developer behind Burnley Bridge Business Park, the landmark development responsible for bringing in excess of £60m investment to its local area and creating more than 900 jobs so far. The planning application for the Catterick development closely mirrors the scale and scope of Burnley Bridge Business Park.
Representing a major economic opportunity for Catterick, the business park will be aimed at industrial occupiers. As the UK faces a severe shortfall in warehouse availability and the fastest rise in prime headline rents since 2018, the development poses a solution to a national problem. Eshton hopes to attract tenants from across the UK, driving business and investment into the region to provide a significant economic boost.
James Chapman, Managing Director at Eshton, said: “Our plans present a landmark opportunity for Catterick and our vision for the scheme is to deliver jobs, investment and opportunity on a large scale, warrantied by the strategic location. The site will be marketed nationally at a time when there is a real and urgent need for quality commercial space, and Catterick has the potential to become a hotspot in the future of UK industry.
“You just have to look to the success of schemes of similar scale to understand the impact that a major commercial development could have on the area’s economy. Such schemes unlock countless commercial and economic opportunities within the local area, which have had a real impact on the lives of local people and the way that they are perceived both regionally and nationally.”
Martin Foster of Castlevale added: “This must be one of the best sites in the north of the country for manufacturing and distribution being immediately adjacent and with substantial frontage to the A1M, close to Catterick Garrison and a strong local workforce.
“Castlevale is delighted to be working with Eshton Group who have a strong track record, proven experience and the resources to deliver this scheme and all the economic benefits it will bring to the region.”
Catterick 52 will be jointly marketed by the Leeds offices of Colliers and Dove Haigh Phillips.
Business Lincolnshire announces Fit for Business podcast with the CDI Alliance
Business Lincolnshire has announced a new podcast, ‘Fit for Business’, with the CDI Alliance.
Local businesses are invited to stream this new podcast series, ensuring they have everything they need to succeed.
Launching today, Wednesday 30 March, this bi-weekly series of 12 episodes aims to give local businesses the tools they need to thrive, covering a multitude of topics including naming your business, legal structures, how to create a business plan, and more.
The Podcast’s host, Guy Lewis, is a co-director at the CDI Alliance and is passionate about helping SMEs become more profitable by using technology.
When speaking about the podcast, Guy said: “We are trying to pick topics that are important to businesses, so we will be discussing so many things over the series.
“We’re hoping to attract more people with this new way of delivering information, and to help them to feel confident in raising their hand to ask questions in the future; sometimes people don’t know what they don’t know, they aren’t sure where to start, or what questions to ask, or maybe they’re just too nervous to ask them – we want to help them uncover the unknowns.”
He went on to say: “With the podcast, we want people to be able to absorb the knowledge and information we’re featuring in a way and at a time that suits them. We want it to get them to a position where they feel they need more than this, and from there we’d encourage them to reach out to us, to go to a masterclass, or ask questions of the advisors pertinent to their particular businesses.”
The Fit for Business podcast series will launch today, Wednesday 30 March. You can access the podcast from Podbean here.
Historic Sheffield engineering firm secures £400,000 funding
An historic Sheffield engineering firm has received a further £400,000 loan from NPIF – Mercia Debt Finance, which is managed by Mercia and is part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund, to help it keep up with record demand.
Tinsley Bridge is a major supplier of suspension parts to the European truck industry. Its suspension business is up by 40 per cent on pre-pandemic levels due to increased demand from vehicle manufacturers, while its blades division, Tyzack Machine Knives, is also seeing a surge in demand for its products from the steel and scrap industry. The group has managed to maintain consistent production despite widespread disruption to supply chains.
Tinsley Bridge is one of Sheffield’s largest manufacturers, employing around 200 people and with origins dating back almost 200 years. The latest funding follows on from a £300,000 loan made by NPIF – Mercia Debt Finance in 2019 to support its long-term growth strategy.
Mark Webber, Managing Director at Tinsley Bridge Group, said: “The Tinsley Bridge Group is experiencing record demand in several of our key markets and has achieved unprecedented growth. This is despite experiencing supply chain disruption due to global shortages of computer chips and other materials, freight delays, Brexit and continued customs problems. The latest funding will help us meet the surge in demand and maximise the growth opportunities in 2022.”
Andy Tyas of Mercia said: “Tinsley Bridge provides a shining example of how resilient Sheffield’s manufacturing sector has proven itself to be during these difficult times. It is fantastic to see a historic business leverage its expertise and use continuous innovation to adapt to the changing market. The strength of the order book reflects the scale of opportunity that lies ahead.”
Yorkshire business confidence climbs to second highest in the UK
Business confidence in Yorkshire rose six points during March to 57%, its highest level since before the pandemic and the second highest reading of all UK regions and nations, according to the latest Business Barometer from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking.
Companies in the region reported higher confidence in their own business prospects month-on-month, up seven points to 61%. When taken alongside their optimism in the economy, up six points to 54%, this gives a headline confidence reading of 57%.
Yorkshire businesses have identified a range of growth opportunities for the next six months, including investing in their teams (41%), diversifying into new markets (37%), and evolving their offering, such as introducing new products or services (31%).
The Business Barometer, which questions 1,200 businesses monthly, provides early signals about UK economic trends both regionally and nationwide.
A net balance of 60% of Yorkshire businesses expect to increase staff levels over the next year, up seven points on last month.
Overall UK business confidence dropped 11 points during March, from 44% to 33%. Firms’ outlook on their future trading prospects (down from 45% to 34%) and optimism in the economy (down from 43% to 32%) both also fell by 11 points on February’s reading. The net balance of businesses planning to create new jobs decreased slightly, by six points to 32%.
Every UK region and nation reported positive confidence readings in March, with the exception of Wales which saw confidence drop from 29% to -5%. Along with Yorkshire, only London (up 13 points to 60%) and the North West (up one point to 45%) reported a higher reading than last month.
Steve Harris, regional director for Yorkshire at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: “Despite the very real challenges businesses are facing around rising costs, coupled with the ongoing geo-political situation in Europe, Yorkshire firms are continuing to seize every available opportunity to drive growth.
“Taking advantage of the competitive hiring market is bearing fruit, with businesses able to invest in strengthening their teams with new expertise and specialisms.
“The road ahead will inevitably bring further obstacles. But with the right support, and through clear planning, businesses can maintain the resilience they have built throughout the pandemic to keep growth prospects high.”
From a sector perspective the impact of the war in Ukraine appears to have had the greatest impact on manufacturing and retail firms. Both sectors saw drops in confidence of 19% from February’s highs (to 35% and 28% respectively). From a manufacturing perspective, confidence levels are now at their lowest since last summer, while retail has fallen to a one-year low.
In the other sectors, services dropped by six points (32%) while construction dropped eight points to 43%, but remained higher than at the start of the year.
Hann-Ju Ho, senior economist, Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: “March’s data shows UK businesses are facing significant challenges from the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in increasing economic uncertainty and ongoing inflationary pressures. Following encouraging improvements at the start of the year, March’s fall in confidence is therefore disappointing, but not surprising.
“There are positives with the fact that confidence remains above the long-term average and it appears for now that growth will moderate. But it is difficult to gauge what the full impact will be and therefore businesses have become more cautious.”
Historic Skegness Town Hall goes on the market
Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH) has been instructed to sell Skegness Town Hall, a Grade II listed office building, and The Lodge, a separate residential dwelling, by East Lindsey District Council.
The Town Hall was designed by William Henry Ansell and originally built in 1926 as a convalescent home, before being repurposed as the Town Hall in 1964. It benefits from close proximity to the town’s seafront and main tourist areas and would suit a variety of alternative uses.
Andrew France, Associate Director – Agency & Development, at LSH commented:“Located in one of the UK’s most popular tourist resorts, these are prominent buildings with significant redevelopment opportunity for a variety of alternative uses, and the chance to bring something really exciting to Skegness. I’m delighted to be working with East Lindsey District Council to find a buyer that will secure the future of this historic building.”
Councillor Richard Fry, Portfolio Holder for Finance at East Lindsey District Council, said:
“With the development of a new home for the Council at the Horncastle Hub, Skegness Town Hall is now being offered to the market for sale. The Town Hall is now all but empty and is now surplus to the Council’s operational requirements. Best and final offers are being invited with interested parties needing to submit their proposals and offers to Andrew France no later than noon on 29 April 2022. The Council hopes to see the building put into really productive use with the listing itself protecting its magnificence.”
Cash a crucial part of payments mix, say small firms
Responding to the launch of RSA and LINK’s ‘The Cash Consensus’, Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) National Chair Martin McTague, who sits on the Community Access to Cash Pilots board, said:
“One in four small high street businesses say cash is still the most popular payment method among customers.
“The pandemic has accelerated the move to contactless, but notes and coins remain important to the daily lives of millions.
“This new report rightly suggests a combination of innovation in the free access to cash space and investment in digital capability as the way forward.
“Through our Access to Cash Pilots, we’re increasingly identifying shared banking hubs alongside enhanced connectivity as integral to financial inclusion and increased productivity over the years ahead.
“Cashback without purchase holds a lot of promise too, provided the incentives in place for small firms that take on the admin, cost and risk of providing it are sufficient.
“By protecting access to cash infrastructure for as long as people want and need it, whilst increasing connectivity and keeping contactless card charges down for small firms, we can create a diverse payments market which is both inclusive as well as resilient when online systems fail.”
Buyers have keen appetite for food & drink manufacturing
The Food & Drink Manufacturing sector has bounced back after a ‘tumultuous’ year, as consumer demand continues to drive growth in alternative markets, according to accountancy and business advisory firm, BDO LLP.
The UK market saw a ‘prosperous’ return to form with M&A activity up by 20% in 2021 – only 10% lower than pre-pandemic levels. The BDO Food & Drink Manufacturing Review 2022 has revealed that deals increased in plant-based, free-from, low sugar and alcohol alternative subsectors during the last 12 months. This included the cross-border acquisition of vegan and free-from brand Gosh! by Portugal-based Sonae for £64 million.
Roger Buckley, M&A partner at BDO, said: “The rise in M&A activity in 2021 can be attributed to a number of factors, including improving market sentiment, strategic positioning, pent-up demand following an uncertain year, and also rumoured changes to capital gains tax, driving deal completions.
“Whilst plant-based, free-from and sustainable food and drink have been upward trending for the past few years, it’s clear that this subsector is now entering a new stage of growth with volumes of M&A transactions rocketing in 2021.
“The issue of sustainability remains a priority for businesses, consumers and governments. Demand for British produce and environmentally friendly goods is on the rise and the emerging agritech subsector is at the forefront of delivering new technologies.”
The M&A report reveals that agritech is ‘booming’, with new investment into the global market soaring in 2021, with a record $10.5 billion injected into the subsector, representing a 42% CAGR since 2010. The UK continues to lead the European region, with the 2021 AgriFoodTech Investment Report reporting $1.1bn of investment and 164 deals recorded in 2020.
The Food & Drink Manufacturing Review 2022 also shows a dramatic increase in private equity investment in the market, representing 31% of the deal volume last year – up from 19% in 2018. Private equity outfought international acquirers with cross border deals declining from a high of 52% of transactions in 2020 to 45% last year.
Buckley added: “Despite the promising turnaround of the market in 2021, the year ahead will throw up a significant amount of uncertainty and challenges, marked deeply by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“We expect rising input prices across energy, labour and materials to be one of the major issues of 2022. Global transport problems and labour shortages will also continue to be disruptive to the industry, despite the Home Office increasing the foreign worker visa to six months for seasonal workers. Full custom controls introduced for goods moving between the EU and UK is also causing headaches for food and drink importers.
“However, challenges aside, we expect the M&A market to remain active, and investors to be increasingly attracted to this resilient industry, as producers and manufacturers continue to re-engage with M&A and re-focus on implementing their growth strategies.”
April “flashpoint” threatens small business futures as eviction protection and sick pay rebate end
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) is warning that the futures of thousands of small businesses and sole traders are at risk as a raft of new admin requirements and cost pressures hit over the coming days.
Its intervention follows Office for National Statistics figures showing that Covid infection rates are soaring, and close to one in seven (14%) businesses are not currently fully trading. Research by the body published earlier this month indicated that 5% of businesses, the equivalent of more than 250,000 firms, fear imminent collapse.
Protection from eviction for commercial tenants came to an end last week, the day after an SSP rebate scheme for small businesses closed a week ago today.
Changes taking effect for small businesses imminently include:
- The requirement to pay all VAT deferred in the period to June 2020 under Covid reliefs in full (Today, 31 March)
- An end to the 12.5% VAT rate for the hospitality sector; the requirement to make all VAT returns MTD compliant; an increase in the National Living Wage rate for over 23s to £9.50; a reduction to the 66% business rates discount for high street businesses and first payment of new rates bills (Tomorrow, 1 April)
- An increase in the weekly SSP rate to £99.35 (Sunday, 3 April)
- A 1.25 percentage point increase in NICs rates for employers, employees and sole traders as well as dividend taxation (Wednesday, 6 April)
VAT on energy saving materials is cut to zero from tomorrow
The Solar Trade Association has welcomed the Chancellor’s announcement that VAT on installing energy-saving materials in residential properties will be reduced to 0% for five years starting tomorrow.
Chris Hewett, Solar Energy UK’s Chief Executive said: “Solar Energy UK is delighted to see VAT reduced on solar and other energy saving materials for residential use, after many years of calling for this. It is common sense for the Treasury to be encouraging greater uptake of all zero carbon technologies in the face of an energy security crisis and climate emergency. It will be seen as a real endorsement of solar, as well as improving the pay back for many consumers who may be on the fence.”
Reducing the VAT rate on energy-saving materials and installation would help families cut their energy costs permanently and afford improvements towards decarbonising their homes, he said.
The Spring Statement highlights: “To help households improve energy efficiency and keep energy costs down – as well as supporting the UK’s long-term Net Zero ambitions – the government is extending the VAT relief available for the installation of energy saving materials (ESMs).
Taking advantage of Brexit freedoms, the government will include additional technologies and remove the complex eligibility conditions, reversing a Court of Justice of the European Union ruling that unnecessarily restricted the application of the relief. The government will also increase the relief further by introducing a time-limited zero rate for the installation of ESMs. A typical family having rooftop solar panels installed will save more than £1,000 in total on installation, and then £300 annually on their energy bills”.
Humber is the epicentre of green energy efforts, says ABP Regional Director
The visit to Hull by Business Secretary and COP26 President Alok Sharma to launch the Oh Yes! Net Zero Campaign underlines the fact tat the Humber is at the epicentre of the green energy revolution, says ABP’s Regional Directpr Simon Bird.
“The fact that such a senior figure in the effort to tackle climate change attended the launch helps to underline what many have known for a while: that the Humber is the place to be when looking for inspiration on how to decarbonise our economy,” he said.
“I am delighted to say that ABP’s ports in the Humber are very much at the centre of this exciting trend. For some years now, ABP in the Humber have been getting our own house in order on environmental matters. We have created the two largest roof-mounted solar power facilities in the UK in the ports of Immingham and Hull and we are in the process of a major installation of EV charging points for cars across the port estate. New cranes and mobile plant are at the cutting edge of efficiency and low emissions.
“The Humber is currently the epicentre of offshore wind activity for the whole World. The Siemens Gamesa wind blade manufacturing facility in Green Port Hull has gone from strength to strength since opening its doors in 2017 and is currently going through a major expansion. This expansion is to accommodate the larger blades that are needed as the industry increases in scale all the time. Meanwhile, across the water in the Port of Grimsby, companies like Orsted and RWE have made the port the biggest hub for the operations and maintenance of offshore wind farms anywhere on the planet. All of this work has brought in new and skilled jobs to the area and has shown how fantastically placed the Humber is to service this growing industry.
“Alongside these efforts, a number of our other customers are involved in exciting projects to lead the way in decarbonisation. A great example of this is Zero Carbon Humber. The project is a partnership of many of ABP’s customers in the Humber, including British Steel, Drax, Equinor, PX Group, Centrica and Uniper who have come together with a shared vision to transform the Humber into the UK’s first net zero carbon cluster by 2040, which is 10 years earlier than the Government’s published goal. Given that the Humber is currently the largest carbon polluting region in the UK, the scale of the ambition is palpable.
“The project will develop a shared trans-regional pipeline out to the North Sea for low carbon hydrogen and for capturing and storing carbon emissions. This will help to establish a carbon storage economy on a truly transformative scale, and potentially create up 49,000 jobs.
“The Humber Freeport which I chair has also set itself the vision to be a leading player in decarbonisation. The new entity, once it is up and running, will actively support investment from businesses into the Humber that will seek to decarbonise and will be a major catalyst to drive investment across our region.
“What is especially exciting, is that it is the Humber Ports that are the one thing all of these projects have in common. The ports, which in the past enabled industries that were highly polluting, are now a service enabler for some of the most pioneering work to reduce our environmental impact and create green jobs for the future.”
