Yorkshire law firm strengthen commercial property team
Tom Jackson has joined the Schofield Sweeney commercial property team in Leeds as a partner.
As a mainstay within the Leeds property community for over a decade, Tom brings with him a market leading reputation for advising on high profile and complex letting and development transactions regionally and nationally.
In addition to advising developers, investors, and occupiers on a wide range of transactional property matters, he specialises in the logistics and healthcare sector.
“I am delighted to have joined Schofield Sweeney. The commercial property team’s reputation, and the firm’s position in the market is strong. I am looking forward to contributing to that in my new role as a partner. My personal focus throughout my career has been to deliver value for my clients by providing high quality and commercially focussed legal advice to property investors, developers and occupiers in Yorkshire and further afield – there is a massive synergy between that, and the firm’s core values which I am really excited about.” Tom Jackson, partner.
Tom joins from Leeds based law firm, Walker Morris LLP where he trained and practiced in the Real Estate department for ten years.
Rob Hayes, partner in the commercial property team says “I am really pleased to welcome Tom to the team. In particular, I’m looking forward to working with him to support our growing healthcare client base, supporting developers and occupiers of primary healthcare properties, GPs, dentists and care homes.”
We have also been strengthened with the appointment of Jack Venable, solicitor, in the corporate team and Chloe Scott, in the marketing team.
Developing and investing in our expertise plays a huge part in our ongoing success, employing over 170 members across offices in Leeds, Bradford and Huddersfield.
Hull City Council proud to support small businesses this Micro Biz Matters Day
The annual Micro Biz Matters Day is back for Friday 25 March and is set to feature a range of special guests like Bill Esterson MP, Liz Barclay, the Small Business Commissioner, and Adam Corbally, one of Hull’s Youth Enterprise Patrons.
As in previous years, the event will be sponsored by Hull City Council, the John Cracknell Youth Enterprise Bank and Hull Culture and Leisure Ltd (HC&L).
Micro Biz Matters Day is a social media celebration, where over one million business owners give a little time to support each other. Messages are shared using the hashtag #MicroBizMatters on social media platforms.
Councillor Daren Hale, Leader of Hull City Council, said: “Hull City Council and Hull Culture and Leisure’s BiPC are delighted to be supporting Micro Biz Matters Day and are pleased that the Small Business Commissioner and Bill Esterson MP, as well as young entrepreneurs from Hull are taking part.
“As a council, we are committed to our micro business community and were pleased with the support from our micro businesses to establish our own dedicated strategy and action plan. Our commitment continues with supporting micro businesses through our Youth Enterprise and Microbusiness Team and other areas such as the BiPC Centre managed by HC&L.
“We wish Hull lad Tony Robinson OBE and Tina Boden well as they step away from leading on Micro Biz Matters Day and look forward to working with Yorkshire in Business in the future, and we hope, hosting the event again.”
Tony Robinson OBE, the Micro Business Champion and Chair of Yorkshire in Business said: “It has been my mission in the last 10 years to spread the word, nationally and internationally, about the great city of Hull’s exemplary and innovative support to enterprising young people. It has been a personal highlight of Micro Biz Matters Days for me in Manchester, Hull, Preston and Scarborough to interview so many outstanding young entrepreneurs and to participate in Hull’s Global Entrepreneurship Weeks, which are world-beaters.
“I’m so proud of my home city and a fan of everything you do. We cherish Hull City Council’s, the John Cracknell Youth Enterprise Bank and HC&L’s support to our eighth annual Micro Biz Matters Day and first Micro Biz Matters Festival and hope to work in partnership with you for many years to come to help all the enterprising people of Hull to start-up, survive and thrive.”
Becca Pettman founder Gray Rose Boutique said: “I am very honoured to representing Hull at Micro Biz Matters Day celebrations in March, along with Judith Meza and Cydney Newlove of St Mary’s College, who is one of Hull’s aspiring Teen Entrepreneurs. I am looking forward to being interviewed by Tony Robinson OBE to outline my story as a micro business owner and to showcase the support I have received during the COVID-19 pandemic from Hull City Council’s Making Changes for Careers (MC4C) programme and the John Cracknell Youth Enterprise Bank as part of their commitment to young entrepreneurs.”
Leeds City Council committed to supporting most vulnerable residents and frontline services as annual budget plans confirmed
Council budget plans for 2022/23 released
Investing in new and improved ways of supporting vulnerable children and adults together with protecting frontline services are the key commitments in Leeds City Council’s annual budget plans to be confirmed this month.
Those elements underpin the annual budget for 2022/23, which will be considered by senior councillors at the executive board meeting next week (Wednesday 9 February) before being fully debated and voted on at the meeting of full council at Civic Hall on Wednesday 23 February.
The plan confirms how the authority can successfully achieve required savings and deliver a balanced budget in the next financial year, while continuing to support the city in the face of the ongoing impact and challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Key themes within the budget are a commitment to working with the NHS and other partners to provide more effective and flexible care and support for vulnerable children and adults.
This would see further progress on preventative work to help children and families, including supporting mental health issues and those suffering from trauma as well as investing in additional support for looked after children.
In adult social care, the council is looking to review its services, with a focus on offering the right support for people at the right time to help them remain independent in their homes, with more emphasis on increased occupational therapy services. The council recognises and is grateful to NHS partners for investing financially in supporting these aims.
The annual budget for 2022/23 commits more than 60 per cent of council resources to services for vulnerable children and adults, with an invest-to-save approach to tackle rising costs and demand pressures in these areas as well as within services responsible for the collection and disposal of the city’s waste.
The 2022/23 budget includes a council tax increase of 1.99 per cent for core council tax and one per cent which the government requires be dedicated for adult social care funding. This is well below the rate of inflation (the retail price index is at 5.4 per cent at the time of writing) and means council tax for a Band D property will increase by 87 pence per week, with council tax in Leeds remaining amongst the lowest of England’s comparable core cities.
Of the £65.4m annual budget gap that was identified for the forthcoming financial year, ongoing council reviews of its ways of working as well as additional funding, joint investment through working with partners and the use of reserves has reduced the total service savings to £16.5m. Additional efficiencies and service reviews put forward for consideration if approved and realised would deliver the total required level of savings and a balanced budget. This includes a proposal to make bulky waste collection from households free.
Leader of Leeds City Council Councillor James Lewis said: “The budget report shows how tough the challenge is to balance our books every year, and we face another difficult 12 months ahead with covid sadly still with us. Every year the pressure on council tax increases as it needs to stretch further and further to support more services, especially those for our most vulnerable residents where we have rising demand. Across the council we are committed to working with all partners to invest in new flexible ways of delivering services to make them as effective as we can. We especially appreciate the financial investment and support from our NHS partners in Leeds to help us achieve these aims.
“Despite the ongoing difficulties caused by the pandemic, the city has shown strong resilience and we continue to be especially grateful for all our frontline and key workers, charities and volunteers for all their efforts.
“If we keep talking and working together as a city, showing empathy and compassion for all, we can achieve great things and deliver our ambition to make Leeds the best it can be.”
After being put forward in December, the budget plans have been consulted on with a range of council committees and stakeholders including unions, business representatives and third sector groups. Engagement has also been undertaken with members of the Citizens Panel and an online public survey. This received 1,332 visits and 468 completed surveys giving preferences and views on a range of questions related to key elements of the budget plans.
The annual budget needs to be seen in the context of the financial challenge the council has faced since 2010. Since then, the council has seen overall reductions in funding from government and faced significant demand-led cost pressures. The council has risen to the challenge, through a combination of stimulating good economic growth, managing demand for services, increasing traded and commercial income, growing council tax from new properties and a significant programme of organisational efficiencies. This includes the need to deliver £56.1m of savings in the current financial year, while further savings are expected to be needed in the following years of 2023/24 and 2024/25.
Despite the ongoing challenges and pressures, the council remains committed to being as resilient, enterprising and sustainable as possible, tackling poverty and inequality through a strong economy and compassionate city. Its focus continues to be on its three pillars of inclusive growth, health and wellbeing for all and achieving net zero by 2030.
In terms of staffing levels, the 2022/23 budget proposals contain a loss of 19 full-time equivalent (FTE posts), but also include 211 new FTE posts in services including climate change, social care and environmental services. Overall, the council has reduced in size by 2,831 FTE posts between 2011 and the end of 2021. The council continues to be a Real Living Wage employer, with the basic wage level increasing to £9.90 per hour from April. More information on this can be seen at https://gloo.to/6VbC.
To see the Leeds City Council annual budget reports for 2022/23, go to Council and democracy (leeds.gov.uk) (agenda item 7).
Keyland Developments expands its Board
Keyland Developments Ltd, the property trading arm of Kelda Group and sister-company to Yorkshire Water, has expanded its Board with the appointment of two new directors.
Chris Johns joins the Board alongside his current role as Chief Financial Officer at Yorkshire Water. Chris joined Yorkshire Water in 2021 from his former role as finance director of Northumbrian Water Limited.
Also strengthening the Board is Gaynor Carpenter who joins alongside her current role as head of land & property at Yorkshire Water.
Chris and Gaynor will sit alongside existing members Liz Barber, who is chair and Chief Executive of Kelda Group, Peter Garrett, Managing Director of Keyland, and Luke Axe, who took his place on the Board last year following his promotion to land and planning director for Keyland.
Liz Barber said: “We are delighted to welcome Chris and Gaynor to the Board, who both bring a wide amount of experience with them in their roles providing strategic and practical leadership to a number of businesses.
“These latest appointments are designed to strengthen the Keyland Board as we look to expand the business beyond our traditional residential and industrial sectors and build on our Six Capitals approach to development, which now sees us promoting more than 9,000 residential units and 4.5 million square feet of commercial development.”
Rotherham financial advisory firm acquired by wealth and investment management group
Kingswood Holdings Limited, the international, fully integrated wealth and investment management group, has acquired Allotts Financial Services Limited (AFS).
AFS is a long established financial advisory firm based in Rotherham and serves clients primarily in South Yorkshire.
David Lawrence, UK CEO at Kingswood, said: “I am delighted to be welcoming the AFS team to Kingswood. Allott’s has a great reputation for serving clients over many years and is a great addition to Kingswood’s existing footprint in the wider Sheffield region. After this acquisition is concluded we will have 13 advisers meeting their client financial advice and investment needs.
“We remain committed to perpetuating our stated growth strategy within the UK and internationally. This is our second acquisition of 2022 and we continue to have a strong pipeline of high-quality UK opportunities under negotiation, five of which are in exclusive due diligence as we continue to grow our financial planning and investment management reach across the UK.”
Set up in 1998, AFS provides independent financial advice to over 400 active clients and currently employs three advisers, with five support staff. In the year ended 31 March 2021, AFS generated revenue of £791k and profit before tax of £355k.
Following regulatory approval, the business will be acquired for total cash consideration of up to £2.5m, payable over a two year period, £1.25m will be paid at closing and the balance paid on a deferred basis, some of which is subject to the achievement of pre-agreed performance targets.
Neil Highfield, speaking on behalf of AFS, said: “I feel this is an important and positive step forward for Allotts Financial Services. Kingswood share our own values & beliefs around providing an excellent service to clients and they will hugely benefit from their large support network and expertise in the financial services industry.”
BHP boosts team with Director appointment
Yorkshire and Derbyshire’s leading accountancy firm, BHP, has bolstered its pensions audit and assurance team with the appointment of Audit Director Claire Millington.
Claire brings to BHP over 14 years of audit experience with big 4 and mid-tier firms. She will be utilising her specialist pension expertise to assist a client base of over 70 and will be based in BHP’s Cleckheaton office.
Claire, who is originally from Bolton is a Pensions Research Accountants Group (PRAG) member and a member of the South Yorkshire Pensions Group (SYPG).
Claire commented: “I am very much looking forward to working with the audit team and concentrating on BHP’s pension services. BHP is a growing firm with a fabulous team of people and I am focused on expanding our pension assurance services to clients and developing our team.
“I will be enhancing the services BHP already offer and working with the team to bring innovative guidance and up to the minute advice.
“As a firm, BHP have a fantastic client base and are very much focused on using their strong personal relationships to help provide outstanding levels of service and ensuring that they help their clients prosper and grow. I can see good opportunities in the market place right now and I really wanted to be a part of that with BHP.”
Howard Ringrose, Partner & Head of Pensions Assurance at BHP, said: “Claire is a key appointment for us to an expanding specialist team and brings a wealth of experience to the firm.
The Cleckheaton office will really benefit from her passion and enthusiasm and we know that she will enhance our pensions assurance provision across the board.”
Helsinki-headquartered energy company swoops for East Yorkshire recycling expert
Energy company St1 Nordic Oy has acquired Brocklesby, an East Yorkshire-based recycling expert of used cooking oil and fatty food waste.
The waste collection is based on strong partnerships with a large number of restaurants, retailers and food manufacturers in the UK. The collection volumes produce over 46.000 tonnes of output annually.
The acquisition of Brocklesby will strengthen St1’s value chain further upstream towards feedstock collection. It will provide feedstocks for renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production.
Henrikki Talvitie, CEO of St1 Nordic Oy, said: “By investing in renewable energy and in the transition of the energy sector while ensuring the necessary cash flow, we are solving global energy challenges for our part, step by step. Entering the sustainable feedstock business in the UK is a concrete step in consistent and long-term implementation of our growth strategy.
“At the same time, it strengthens our feedstock sourcing for our own growing renewable fuels production and enables development of future growth in a new business area. Acquiring Brocklesby is a significant reinforcement of our value chain and results in more and more sustainable feedstocks for our premium energy products that we will serve our customers with.”
Director Robert Brocklesby, Brocklesby Ltd, said: “We are excited to now be part of the energy company St1 Nordic and the opportunities for the future that this delivers to Brocklesby employees, the site and wider business for its continued future growth. This allows Brocklesby to be part of the whole supply chain from a restaurant collection directly through to the manufacture of sustainable aviation fuel – a truly integrated operation.”
Brocklesby has a strong history of 35 years, and it employs around 80 recycling professionals. It is located strategically in close proximity to the port of Hull, facilitating collections from across the UK.
“I am extremely proud to welcome the people, traditions and suppliers of Brocklesby to our St1 family. Joining forces will make us stronger going forward in our energy transition roadmap. I am so pleased that Rob will continue in an active role as a board member of Brocklesby, strengthened further with the existing management team, ensuring seamless supplier relationship management together with developing new business opportunities and growth,” continued Henrikki Talvitie.
Building the future’ as part of National Apprenticeship Week (7-13 February)
York businesses are being reminded of the critical role apprenticeships can play in helping them to ‘build the future’ of their organisation, during National Apprenticeship Week (7-13 February).
The annual event aims to promote the benefits of apprenticeships to employers and individuals of all ages. This year’s theme is ‘build the future’ and focuses on training, retaining skills and achieving.
Apprenticeships are a great way of helping employers to grow their business and introduce new skill sets into their organisation.
Apprenticeships can be a great alternative to post-16 education and university, or for anyone who’s looking for a career change or to enhance professional development within their current role, giving people the opportunity to get on-the-job training while earning a wage at the same time.
City of York Council is committed to supporting apprentices and apprenticeships in York, with 70 apprentices currently in a diverse range of roles across the authority, including electricians, plumbers, gas engineers, solicitors, civil engineers, business administrators, early year’s educators, learning and skills teachers, social workers, senior leaders and project managers.
The council also supports 34 apprentices in other organisations across the city, through the Apprenticeship Levy Scheme. This national initiative enables the council to fund elements of training for people taking apprenticeships in organisations across York.
A total of 1000 York residents started an apprenticeship from August 2020-July 2021.
Cllr Andrew Waller, City of York Council’s Executive Member for Economy and Strategic Planning, said: “Apprenticeships are a critical strand of the city’s post-pandemic recovery strategy and are a fantastic way for people of all ages to gain new skills or change the direction of their career altogether.
“National Apprenticeship Week gives us the chance to celebrate our apprentices, encourage prospective apprentices to find out more and remind local businesses about the opportunities that apprenticeships can bring to their organisation.
“There’s lots of help and advice available locally for anyone considering an apprenticeship and it could be the best way to build your future.”
People can find out more about the wealth of apprenticeships on offer at the Apprenticeship Exhibition Event at York Racecourse from 11am-7pm on Thursday 10 February. Organised by York, North Yorkshire and East Riding Apprenticeship Hub the free event will see up to 80 businesses and training providers showcasing apprenticeship vacancies across the region.
For more general information on apprenticeships visit www.york.gov.uk/apprenticeships, email york.apprenticeships@york.gov.uk or call 01904 555768.
Steady growth continues at Clarion with resilient performance and 41 new appointments
Clarion is continuing to see steady growth, achieving record turnover of £23.2m (for year ending 31st May 2021), up 18% from the previous year (2020: £19.6m). The Leeds-based law firm has maintained its upward trajectory over the last seven years with momentum increasing in its latest financial year as well as adding a further 41 colleagues to the team.
“While the last two years have been a challenging time for us and all of our clients, Clarion has proved able to maintain its growth unabated,” comments Roger Hutton, joint managing partner. “We are fortunate to have built a strong base of talented and engaged colleagues who have settled into a productive style of hybrid working. In fact, with many businesses pursuing new opportunities following the disruption of the pandemic, we have seen a positive trend and are growing alongside our clients. Our lawyers have been able to do what they do best in supporting our clients in challenging situations.
“Supporting privately owned businesses and their owners remains at the heart of the firm, and we are also seeing more and more demand for our services nationally. Growing numbers of large corporations are turning to us as our specialist teams expand and our expertise gains national recognition. Lawyers across Clarion, from our business, private wealth and matrimonial teams are recognised as leaders in their field in Legal 500 and Chambers. We are advising our clients on their needs internationally, working with handpicked law firms from across the world who share our values. The number of international transactions rose significantly during 2021.”
Hutton continues: “All of our transactional practices have put in a strong performance, driven by liquidity in the market. Both our corporate and real estate teams have enjoyed a particularly busy year, along with relatively new offerings such as our dedicated construction and property litigation practices also seeing strong growth as changes in the market demand transactional support.
“In addition, we have focussed on developing expertise in a number of industry sectors including energy, life sciences, food and drink, and digital marketing/data protection, where we have been able to build on our track record supporting our growing client base to meet their demand for real industry insight and expertise.
“As a business, we are proud that our financial results for 2020/21 once again show double-digit growth, continuing our solid track record. It is testament to the quality and commitment of the team that we have proved able to continue to achieve our pre-Covid objectives and I would like to thank every one of them for their contribution. Having seen many ups and downs in the economy over the years, as a firm, we look to the longer game and remain committed to investing for the future to enable us to continue to support client needs. We worked hard to ensure we maintained and continued to develop our strong culture, adjusting to hybrid and remote working.”
Hutton concludes: “We are also committed to developing and recognising talent. Over the last financial year, we made five partner appointments, three of which were internal promotions, with a further eight lawyers also receiving promotions. We also celebrated the first person to complete their paralegal apprenticeship with the firm to become a qualified paralegal.
“At Clarion, we believe that every business can, and should, play an active and valuable role in supporting the community in which it works, and we are proud of the fabulous initiatives our people lead on including volunteering, sponsorships, fundraising and mentoring as well as environmental and diversity projects and campaigns.”
Nearly £43 million of sustainable transport schemes to go before West Yorkshire Combined Authority committee
Nearly £43 million of sustainable transport schemes are among the items due to be considered by members of a West Yorkshire Combined Authority committee next month (February).
Members will be asked to progress three transport schemes at the Place, Regeneration and Housing Committee meeting on Monday 7 February.
These include:
- A £22,560,216 scheme (including £20,502,216 of Combined Authority funding) scheme to boost walking and cycling access to Selby rail and bus stations, as well as improving the facilities at both sites.
- A £4,970,541 scheme to create a new Heckmondwike bus hub with six stands and one layover bay, and a new building with a green roof complete with plants, a waiting area, offices, accessible toilets and a changing places room.
- A £15,380,000 scheme (including £6,430,000 of Combined Authority funding) to pedestrianise City Square, as well as bus, signal, traffic management and signage improvements on surrounding streets. The scheme will enable more people to walk, cycle and use public transport, and it will also improve bus reliability.
