Official launch of Hull as co-working capital of the UK
Work Hull Work Happy is a unique initiative founded by Hull business leaders, Hull City Council and Emma Hardy, MP for Hull West and Hessle, which positions Hull as the ‘co-working capital of the UK’ and as the nation’s centre for innovation, flexible working and start-up culture.
It’s a unique initiative that connects home-based workers with local businesses by providing affordable spaces to work productively.
Promoting a better quality of life for workers, Work Hull Work Happy allows people to get hired for jobs without their location impacting their opportunities.
Supported by Hull’s reputation as the ‘best connected city outside of London’, businesses will provide space for remote workers to use, which in turn will provide the additional benefits of working life that go beyond salaries. The initiative will also boost the local economy, retain and attract talent, improve opportunities for local people and work towards levelling up goals.
The official launch will be hosted at the recently refurbished former HSBC bank on Whitefriargate, which has been rejuvenated by The 55 Group and will host co-working spaces for individuals and businesses to access.
Emma Hardy MP said: “Nobody should feel forced to leave the place they love to get the job they want, and the launch of this project will help to put Hull on the map as the co-working capital of the UK.
“Now that businesses can sign up to offer co-working space, we will have the most accessible and diverse spaces throughout the city. This, paired with the best high-speed broadband in the country, together with all of the benefits of living in Hull, I really believe is an opportunity to kickstart a new era for the city and breathe new life into our local economy.”
Gerard Toplass, group executive chairman of The 55 Group, said: “The pandemic changed everything when it comes to how, why and where we work – and people can enjoy an excellent quality of life by co-working in Hull. Remote working opportunities can bring high-quality jobs to regions of the UK they weren’t previously available, boosting local economies, retaining the best talent and providing excellent quality of life for people.”
Businesses and organisations that have committed their support to date include HullBID, Prince’s Quay, Moodbeam, C4Di, Garness Jones, Quickline, Hammonds of Hull, Public First, Hull What’s On and Northern Powerhouse.
Tax relief if working from home – Streets Chartered Accountants
If you are an employee working from home, you may be able to claim tax relief for some of the bills you pay that are related to your work, as Streets Chartered Accountants details below.
Employers can reimburse employees for the additional household expenses incurred by working at home. The relief covers expenses such as business telephone calls or heating and lighting costs for the room you are working in. Expenses that are for both for private and business use (such as broadband) cannot be claimed. Employees may also be able to claim tax relief on equipment they have bought, such as a laptop, chair or mobile phone.
Employers can pay up to £6 per week (or £26 a month for employees paid monthly) to cover an employee’s additional costs if they have to work from home. Employees do not need to keep any specific records if they receive this fixed amount.
If the expenses or allowances are not paid by the employer, then you can claim tax relief directly from HMRC. You will get tax relief based on your highest tax rate. For example, if you pay the basic (20%) rate of tax and claim tax relief on £6 a week, then you would get £1.20 per week in tax relief (20% of £6). You can claim more than the quoted amount but will need to provide evidence to HMRC. HMRC will accept backdated claims for up to 4 years.
These tax reliefs are available to anyone who has been asked to work from home on a regular basis, either for all or part of the week including working from home because of coronavirus.
Director promotion at Dacres
Matthew Brear has been promoted to director of land and development at Yorkshire property firm, Dacre, Son & Hartley.
Matthew joined Dacres’ Land Agency team almost 12 years ago and now specialises in residential land and development work, acting on behalf of an extensive range of landowners including NHS trusts, property companies and private individuals.
He now promotes and markets all types of land opportunities from single plot sales through to large scale sites that form strategic urban extensions.
In recent years Matthew has overseen the sale of land to facilitate the development of more than 750 new homes, as well as negotiating a number of longer-term strategic agreements on land to come forward for future development, throughout Yorkshire and beyond.
Matthew is also involved in selling, acquiring and letting all types of commercial property, on behalf of both tenants and landlords.
Matthew said: “This promotion is an exciting opportunity to continue building on Dacre, Son & Hartley’s reputation in the land and new homes development sector, at a time when there is lots of growth potential in the market.
“We’re currently seeing plenty of appetite from both national and regional housebuilders for development sites in sought-after locations and our ability to offer accurate appraisals and successful marketing and disposal services is proving key to our success in this area.”
Head of Dacres Commercial, David Ogilvie, said: “Matthew has established a strong track record for successfully marketing development sites of all sizes throughout the region and has worked hard to foster strong relationships with numerous housebuilders. He thoroughly deserves this promotion and we’re looking forward to seeing him continuing to grow this side of our business.”
Green light for 600,000 sq ft sustainable employment development
Opus North and Bridges Fund Management (Bridges) have secured planning permission from Harrogate Borough Council for the Harrogate 47 sustainable employment development, which will deliver over 600,000 square feet of employment space on a 45-acre site near Harrogate. The new development has the potential to support 2,000 jobs.
In October 2020 Opus North and Bridges acquired the strategic site, located at J47 of the A1(M) in North Yorkshire, with existing planning consent for over 600,000 square feet of development for employment uses.
The latest planning approval gives the green light for a revised masterplan incorporating a BREEAM ‘Excellent’, low-carbon development with over 600,000 square feet of employment space for office, hi-tech/hybrid and logistics uses, as well as amenity uses, within a well-landscaped environment.
Harrogate 47 has been designed with ESG at the forefront of the development agenda. Key features of the new masterplan were a high-quality design response to the site’s setting, incorporating sustainable features where possible to create a safe and attractive environment for future employees.
The development team has appointed contractor GMI to commence delivery of enabling and infrastructure works with immediate effect which will see the development take shape this year.
Ryan Unsworth, development director of Opus North, said: “This development is key for the Harrogate and wider North Yorkshire economy due to its capacity to transform vacant land into office and industrial space for local, regional and national occupiers, and the vast job-creating potential it has.
“The delivery of Harrogate 47 will allow local companies to expand and grow within the region in addition to attracting inward investment into the district and we are delighted that its potential has been recognised through the positive planning outcome.”
Guy Bowden, partner at Bridges Fund Management, said: “Harrogate 47 will support the growth of the local economy by addressing the regional shortages of prime accommodation for key growth sectors like logistics, creative and digital.
“It will also incorporate some best-in-class sustainability features, building on our longstanding experience of sustainable development across the UK. We are delighted to have been granted consent and look forward to seeing the units take shape this year.”
Oliver Freer from CBRE’s Northern Planning Team, who prepared the planning application, said: “This is an excellent result for Opus and Bridges. Harrogate 47 is an important strategic employment site that will provide high-quality accommodation for businesses, that will make a significant contribution to both the local and regional economies.”
Appointed industrial agents for Harrogate 47 are CBRE and Gent Visick, with the office enquiries directed to the office agency teams at CBRE and Knight Frank.
Employing for the first time – Streets Chartered Accountants
There are a multitude of rules and regulations that you must be aware of when you start employing staff for the first time, as Streets Chartered Accountants details below.
HMRC’s guidance sets out important issues to be aware of when becoming an employer.
- Decide how much to pay someone – you must pay your employee at least the National Minimum Wage.
- Check if someone has the legal right to work in the UK. You may have to do other employment checks as well.
- Check if you need to apply for a DBS check (formerly known as a CRB check) if you work in a field that requires one, e.g. with vulnerable people or security.
- Get employment insurance – you need employers’ liability insurance as soon as you become an employer.
- Send details of the job (including terms and conditions) in writing to your employee. You need to give your employee a written statement of employment if you’re employing someone for more than 1 month.
- Ensure that you register as an employer with HMRC. You can do this up to 4 weeks before you pay your new staff. This process must also be completed by directors of a limited company who employ themselves to work in the company.
- Check if you need to automatically enrol your staff into a workplace pension scheme.
The Property & Business Investment Lincolnshire Expo: a great day of networking and business generation
Taking place on Wednesday 27 April 2022 at The Bentley Hotel, Lincoln register now for the free to attend Property & Business Investment Lincolnshire Expo.
Business Link is a proud partner of the event which provides everything you require for a great day of networking and business generation.
The Property & Business Investment Lincolnshire Expo is a well targeted event aimed at the Construction, Property, Business, Investment, Finance, Professional Services and related B2B markets.
The event, which will open at 9am, will also host a seminar and as the exhibition closes it will roll directly into an informal, open buffet style network lunch – tickets are just £25 plus vat and can be ordered and paid for directly online.
Spaces for the lunch are limited, so order as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
To attend the event, register for free here.
To generate opportunities by exhibiting at the event, click here.
Purchase tickets to the networking lunch here.
Meet more potential clients in one amazing cost effective day, than it would take months out on the road. Tina King, of Business Shows Group, said: “It’s been a long time in the making thanks to the pandemic, but we are finally nearly there, The Property & Business Investment Lincolnshire Expo is gearing up to be one of the best to date!” To see who is exhibiting at the event click here.Whitby firm receives £180k grant to help tackle antibiotic resistance
Whitby-based company Natures Laboratory has just received a major funding award worth over £180k from Innovate UK to develop new ways in which propolis – a natural antibiotic produced by bees – can be used to help meet the worldwide crisis in antibiotic resistance.
WHO (World Health Organisation) put antibiotic resistance in its top ten global public health threats. The harsh reality is that the drugs don’t work anymore. We are now facing infections where no antibiotics can help.
Propolis is made from resins which the bees collect from trees and plants. They take the resins back to the hive, process them through their enzymatic system and then combine them with wax. They use propolis (which comes from the Greek meaning ‘Defender of the City’) to seal up the hive against infection making the beehive one of the most sterile environments known to man.
Research since the end of WW2 has shown that propolis has antibiotic, anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal and anti-tumoral properties. For the beehive, propolis is its immune defence mechanism and according to Natures Laboratory’s CEO James Fearnley it does just the same for us humans: “Natures Laboratory has been researching the role of propolis as a medicine for over 30 years.
“I feel that our work has for years been like a candle burning in the bright sunlight – nobody recognised its light. But as the problem of antibiotic resistance has grown bigger and darker we are beginning to be seen as a real and potential help for what has seemed like an increasingly dangerous, global and insoluble problem.
“We have known about the anti-microbial activity of propolis since the 1940’s and our own research in 1998 at University of Oxford confirmed this. During the last 30 years we have, with our university research colleagues in this country and round the world, published over 30 scientific reports about propolis and have made some remarkable discoveries.
“Our most dramatic discovery came just over a year ago during the COVID lockdown in work we are funding at Leeds Beckett University. We discovered that if you combine propolis with antibiotics that have effectively stopped working (like penicillium) they start working again. Exactly why and how this works we are still working on but obviously the potential benefits of combining antibiotics and propolis are enormous.
“This new Innovate UK Award will help us to build on this work. The Award will fund a two-year project working with Department of Pharmacological Engineering Science at the University of Bradford. We will explore how we can use cutting edge science to develop products locally that can make a real and lasting contribution to a global problem. This is a fantastic opportunity and a validation of 30 years of research work.
“The Award comes at a fantastic time for us having just launched the 4th International Conference of the IPRG (International Propolis Research Group) which I started in 2016 and which last year presented 39 scientific papers on the properties of propolis and attracted over 400 participants from every corner of the world.”
Helmsley Group appoints new shareholder and director
Helmsley Group, the York-based property investment and development specialist, has announced that director Ed Harrowsmith has become a shareholder in the business.
Having served as a board director for the last three years, Ed has now taken a stake in the business with increased responsibilities including business strategy.
He will continue to lead the expansion of the company’s £200m syndicated investment portfolio and will also take on an enhanced role growing Helmsley’s investor base of more than 800 high-net-worth individuals.
Helmsley has also promoted Tom Boyle to the board as a director. Tom, who has been with Helmsley for the past seven years, also becomes the group’s Head of Finance.
Richard Peak, managing director at Helmsley Group, said: “Since joining Helmsley, both Ed and Tom have been instrumental in our continued success. Ed has been a key factor in driving the growth of our clients’ investment portfolios and has made a major contribution to the business to date.
“He has already served the board with distinction, with his values very much matching our own. His further investment in the business is hugely merited and bodes well for our ongoing success.
“Tom, alongside our other finance team members, has played a key role, particularly over the past two years as we have navigated our way through the Covid-19 pandemic. His promotion to the board is just reward for his skill, hard work and dedication.
“As we now see confidence in the market return, I can think of no better people than Ed and Tom to help lead us into this next exciting chapter for the business.”
Commenting on his new role, Ed Harrowsmith, syndicated property director at Helmsley Group, said: “The decision to invest in the business was a simple one. Having been in operation for 42 years, Helmsley has an exceptional reputation across Yorkshire and beyond.
“With the current opportunities for growth demonstrated by our recent high street acquisition strategy, it is an opportune time and a privilege to make a further commitment to the Helmsley business.
“I’m excited to take this next step as we look to grow the syndicated property team over the coming months and to continue to grow our investor base through bringing forward opportunities for them to achieve steady return on investment with future capital appreciation.”
Tom Boyle, head of finance at Helmsley Group, said: “Having been a part of the Helmsley team for a number of years I’m looking forward to taking the next step in my career.
“Following growth within the Helmsley team and a number of recent high-profile property acquisitions within Yorkshire, it’s a really exciting time for not only Helmsley, but also our investor base. I’m looking forward to the future as we drive forward our regeneration and investment strategy across Yorkshire and beyond.”
Located at Monk’s Cross, York and operating across the UK, Helmsley Group offers commercial property syndication, development finance and property development services.
Communications firm doubles footprint in Huddersfield
Specialist communications firm Scriba PR has upgraded its West Yorkshire premises by adding an additional 984 sq ft of real estate – and completing a full fit-out of its Huddersfield HQ.
Following a steady stream of recruitment throughout 2021 – and with more new faces set to join in the coming weeks – the team had outgrown its existing space and needed additional room to carry out some of the more creative elements of its work.
Almost doubling its space overnight, B2B media outfit Scriba PR has extended its existing 1,200 sq ft office within Heritage Exchange, Lindley, to encompass an adjacent suite in the loft of the historic mill – taking the footprint to 2,184 sq ft.
Now leasing the entirety of the third-floor commercial offices on the eastern flank of the property, the extension features a large meeting area, dedicated ‘quiet room’ for solo work, and a relaxed breakout space for socialising and creative thinking.
The vision of Scriba founder and Managing Director Katie Mallinson, refurbishment work has been overseen by The Man Who Makes. Owned by local craftsman Steve McMann, the company also designed and built a range of bespoke furniture for the new office, including a bespoke meeting room table, stand up desk, shelving and storage, room divides, biophilic wall art, and corner worktops.
“Our team has grown rapidly since we last upsized our environment, in 2019,” explained Katie. “Post-pandemic, we quickly reached capacity in terms of both desk and meeting space – as well as wanting to recreate some of the more relaxed areas our colleagues had become accustomed to following 18 months of home-working.
“The nature of our business means we could be building a commercially-focused communications strategy one minute and creating some visually impactful social media content the next – and it’s important to have the right surroundings, allowing us to effectively work on each element of what we do. So, we spoke to Heritage about our dream, and they helped make it happen.
“This extension of our footprint gives the entire team enough room to gather around a table, while also offering different zones for people to carry out the various parts of their role – after all, with 14 colleagues, and counting, everyone has a preferred way of working depending on the task at hand. Some prefer quiet, uninterrupted time, while others thrive in the bustle of a creative HQ – now, there truly is a place to work which suits everyone.”
Krystina Firth, manager of Heritage Exchange, added: “It’s been a great pleasure to watch Scriba grow within our business centre. From Katie’s initial move into a two-person office in September 2014 to now occupying the full top floor of our Plover Road offices, we have loved working with the entire team to create beautiful interiors that complement the history of the building. Scriba has gone from strength to strength, which is testament to the hard work and ethos of Katie and her team – and we are proud to work alongside them.”
Hat trick for Clarion in ‘100 Best Companies to work for’ as it is ranked 2nd in the whole of the UK
Having again achieved a three star accreditation in the prestigious UK’s 100 Best Companies to Work For scheme, Clarion has announced an impressive hat trick – it has been revealed that in the first quarter of 2022, the Leeds law firm was recognised as the top company in Yorkshire to work for, it took number one spot as the best law firm to work for in the whole country and it was also ranked second overall out of all the entrants in the large company category from across the entire UK.
The UK’s 100 Best Companies to Work For (formerly The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For), awarded the accolades to Clarion due to the ‘world-class employee engagement’ of its 288-strong team.
Joint managing partner Roger Hutton said: “We are immensely proud to have received this national recognition of our success in creating a place where people know they are valued and really feel they belong. Our unique Clarion culture is at the heart of everything we do – without it, we could not attract or retain the best talent, or ensure that they share our commitment to providing the highest levels of service to our clients.
“From the beginning, building a firm which recognises and supports colleagues has been central to our vision – if people are happy at work, they perform better and also communicate that positivity to one another and to clients. This has shone through during recent difficult times with colleagues seamlessly adjusting to rapidly changing circumstances, but continuing to work together as a cohesive team. I would like to thank every one of them for helping us to reach this achievement – to be ranked No 2 in the entire country as the best large company in which to work, is simply amazing.”
A standard of excellence for UK businesses, the initiative assesses workplace engagement and measures it against the rigorous Best Companies Index score, which covers factors such as leadership, wellbeing and personal growth, in order to celebrate and showcase outstanding employers.
Head of HR Helen Saunders added: “From implementing excellent communications with two-way listening to supporting colleagues’ career development, at Clarion every internal touch point is carefully considered to ensure we live our values. Having established the solid foundations of such a positive culture, we are proving able to share this with new members of the team as we continue to grow the Clarion family.”
With a turnover of almost £23m and 30 partners, Clarion has continued to achieve high levels of employee engagement and strong colleague retention. Its supportive culture is demonstrated in many ways including by excellent communications, innovative CSR activities with community partners, the provision of mentoring and coaching opportunities to support career development, regular employee engagement surveys and its award-winning BeingWell programme.
