< Previous10 Business Link www.blmforum.net BUSINESS LINCOLNSHIRE Q&A Tell us a little bit about your role and the Clean Growth programme? My role is to help businesses to minimise their resource use, saving them money and reducing their impact on the environment. I undertake site visits, where I review their resources such as energy, water, waste, etc and provide them with an action plan of where they can make environmentally-friendly changes. What can the Clean Growth programme offer businesses in Lincolnshire? There are several benefits for Lincolnshire businesses that choose to become more sustainable. Many changes don’t require much work on the business’s part, but can reduce running costs and outgoings, making them more profitable. Our site reviews not only make their lives easier by helping them to save resources, but we can also introduce them to new technologies they never knew existed or may have known about but not previously understood. As well as helping them to make better use of their resources, the report can provide the groundwork to support grant funding applications that can help businesses towards the cost of becoming environmentally-friendly. What impact has the Clean Growth programme had so far? So far, the Business Lincolnshire Growth Hub has helped businesses across the county to make savings of £296,000 and 699.9 tonnes of CO2. Why do you believe it is important for businesses in Lincolnshire to become more environmentally-friendly? It’s harder these days to argue that our activities are not having an impact on the environment. Our reliance on electricity means we’ve seen a 50% increase in energy demand, and this is only going to get worse the more we use technology. We see the effects of climate change in the news every day – from the bushfires in Australia to the recent floods across the UK - but it’s also important that businesses understand the effects climate change could have on them. Changes in weather can impact everything from food production to running costs. So, by becoming environmentally-friendly, whether by reducing their resources or switching to renewables, businesses are future-proofing themselves, as they’ll be better able to operate in this ever- changing environment. What is the future of renewable energy in Lincolnshire? Renewable energy is not just the future for Lincolnshire, but also the UK. One thing we have noticed while working with businesses across Lincolnshire is that the demand for energy is having a significant impact on their operations. Manufacturers are struggling to operate machinery and equipment because their energy demand is greater than the capacity of the grid, preventing them from growing further. By switching to renewable energy, they can become more self-reliant and grow as an organisation. Renewable energy is a must for the UK, so we can continue to make the most of technology without continually impacting on the environment. Q&A David Knight, Business Savings and Resource Efficiency Adviser We spoke to David Knight, Business Savings and Resource Efficiency Adviser for Business Lincolnshire, about how going green can benefit businesses as well as the environment. 10-11.qxp_Layout 1 03/02/2020 14:40 Page 1www.blmforum.net Business Link 11 BUSINESS LINCOLNSHIRE Q&A To find out more, visit www.businesslincolnshire.com © Shutterstock/Jacob_09 10-11.qxp_Layout 1 03/02/2020 14:40 Page 212 Business Link www.blmforum.net 2020 BUSINESS PREDICTIONS 2020 Business Predictions Looking ahead It’s that time of year, when Business Link invites the region’s business leaders to offer up their predictions for the year ahead. It has become something of a tradition, given that we’ve been doing this now for over 30 years. While none of us possess a crystal ball, it is uncanny how accurate some of these forecasts have been over the years. Erol Erturan, Managing Director at Adept Civil and Structural Consulting Engineers The election result is very positive, giving more certainty in these uncertain times and we’ve already seen an increase in enquiries for new construction projects as a result, which bodes well for the sector as a whole. It is now time for politicians to take action and as an industry we hope they will keep their promises. Investment in schools, housing, hospitals and Northern Powerhouse rail are all needed to provide secure jobs and prosperity. However, until an orderly Brexit is secured, with a robust trade agreement, it’s likely that there will still be some nervousness from private investors during 2020. The financial health of the construction industry’s tier 1 contractors is also still a concern. There has already been a number of well publicised failures and it’s feared there could be more. This means there are lots of unknowns as we head into 2020, but come the end of the year, the potential is there for both the economy and the construction industry to be in a stronger position. James Scott, development director of Muse Developments in Leeds Now that any potential uncertainties around Brexit have somewhat abated following the recent election, the general consensus is that the market/sales will improve with some marginal house price increases, especially in the North. Developers need to be cautious of the impact of the end of Help to Buy in April 2021 as this will undoubtedly change the product mix and potentially sales rates when considering new schemes. I believe there will be another strong year in the logistics and distribution sector in Yorkshire. Now that the election is over, I think this will continue into 2020 due to the ever-expanding ecommerce/distribution business, but with buyers increasingly focussing on well-let, long-term income. A number of recently announced large speculative deals are moving forwards, which will likely alter the dynamic of the big box market. 2019 saw the F&B market move dynamically, with a number of household names shrinking or closing completely. This has brought more regional and independent operators into the frame, which of course means that deals need to be structured differently, with good deals being had for fully fitted units. I can’t see any real change to this in the early part of 2020. Generally, it is considered that the market will start to improve, albeit cautiously, as we move into 2020. The election result has removed a degree of uncertainty and this should see investors re-engaging, increasingly as a more orderly Brexit route becomes clearer. Property investment is still seen as a positive area in which to place capital. Pat Doody, Director, Commercial and Private Banking at NatWest Bank, Lincolnshire 2019 was a difficult year in terms of growth. Uncertainty over the date of the UK’s EU exit led to stocking, then destocking, then restocking, which caused a seesaw in economic activity. With the new parliament, and a sizeable Conservative majority, certainty over the exit date has returned, but concerns over what sort of trade deal will be secured, remain. That could maintain the pressure on activity into 2020, but there are reasons to be positive as well. The government is expected to loosen the fiscal purse strings in support of growth and investment, and the Bank of England seem to be heading towards at least one rate cut over the course of 2020. These could support growth in the latter half of 2020, compensating for the potential ongoing uncertainty regarding UK/EU trade. 2020 will be interesting for a number of reasons, as the UK will be looking to deepen trade ties with the US as well as the EU. Finally, will the government alter their spending priorities in light of the much-changed electoral map? 12-13.qxp_Layout 1 03/02/2020 14:41 Page 1www.blmforum.net Business Link 13 2020 BUSINESS PREDICTIONS James Pinchbeck, Marketing Partner at Streets Chartered Accountants Whilst 2019 certainly was a year in which everyone seemed to be pre-occupied and consumed by Brexit, 2020 looks set to be one of renewed optimism, opportunity and an expectation of the out of ordinary. The outcome of a pre-Christmas election has helped to remove the sense of uncertainty and though still early days has helped to re-kindle business confidence. With many parliamentary constituencies, including those across the East Midlands, having elected for the first time a Conservative member of parliament we should expect to see the benefits of such representation and lobbying as their part of the party in power. In particular it would be reasonable to think that we might see heightened levels of public sector investment in the region in line with the Government’s pledge to address economic imbalance and to improve economic prosperity. Hopefully such initiatives and investment will include a focus on addressing the workforce skills gap with much need funding for the region’s Further Education sector, which was been subject to serious under funding for over a decade. In terms of business trends, we should expect, not least on the back of the recent devastating environmental disasters and increased lobbying etc, to see greater consumer pressure around the supply and development of more environmentally friendly products and services. Too, perhaps, we will continue to see changes in the way we all live our lives, with greater consideration to the choices we make and the impact we make on the environment. 2020 is likely to see for example a marked increase in the purchase of electric/hybrid cars. With regard to work it is likely that we will see continued challenges for employers balancing the benefits of embracing wellbeing and work life balance, along with changing ways of working with the needs of their own organisation. At the time of writing this the Chinese New Year, the 25th January is rapidly approaching. 2020 will be the Year of the Rat. According to Chinese superstition the rat is an animal which symbolises wealth and the beginning of a new day. Perhaps then this is sound justification to be upbeat in 2020. Mandy Watson, Managing Director of Ambitions Personnel While we enter 2020 with a great deal of optimism and good intentions, we must consider several things that the year might bring. It sounds obvious, but the impact of Brexit continues to dominate boardroom discussions and it’s often the fact the labour market is just one of the many casualties of any form of economic uncertainty, so it remains to be seen the extent of the impact this might have. The newly elected Conservative government gives businesses a degree of ability to be able to pre-empt how 2020 will play out - but it’s still impossible to measure the impact Brexit and the knock-on effect of these changes will have on employers. A trend throughout 2019 which we anticipate will only maintain or worsen within 2020 is a struggle to attract talent across the board as the candidate- driven market trend continues. Different industries are affected in different ways - reduced immigration from EEA countries, which forms an important part of the labour supply chain, has resulted in labour shortages for many industries - such as food production and manufacturing who require unskilled staff, often in high volumes. Whereas at the senior end of the market, economic uncertainty can see candidates less keen to make a move, placing job security over career progression. This understandable way of looking at things may lead to more employees seeking to progress within organisations where they are already working. Businesses need to shift focus to attraction over assessment, overhauling their recruitment processes to be more candidate centred and accessible. It’s necessary for businesses to keep an eye on what their competitors are doing to avoid being left behind when it comes to recruiting. You should really be aware where you are looking for staff, for example, are you expecting them to come to you, or can you go to them? The opportunities that are afforded by social media make this very easy. Also, how are you looking for staff? Are you still pushing outdated job adverts full of jargon with unnecessary ‘essentials’ or are you offering brilliant perks like flexible working? Elements such as company culture also come into play as much as basic salary these days. Are you standing out amongst your competitors? If not, why not? Russell Copley, Managing Director at Greenborough Management Limited I look towards 2020 with a degree of optimism that I haven’t felt for a few years. The political result at the end of 2019, whether we like it or not, should bring a period of certainty and an end to prevarication. I think that these sentiments will be reflected in the business community, with paused investment projects re-started and a renewed drive towards growth rather than just survival. I expect that business growth, and an increased optimism and positivity, will be felt more strongly in the regions in 2020 than in the past. I certainly believe that the 2020’s in total will see an economic rebalancing away from London and the South East. I suspect (or hope) that we will start to see the green shoots of a backlash against the internet giants taking over our shopping habits, and perhaps the smallest of starts to a revival on our High Streets. The Government must surely now start looking at ways of redressing the economic imbalance between online retailers and the more traditional physical retailers? If they do take this opportunity then I think that this, coupled with the growth in nationalism unleashed by the Brexit debate, will lead to an upturn in the independent retail sector. 12-13.qxp_Layout 1 03/02/2020 14:41 Page 214 Business Link www.blmforum.net PROPERTY It comes as a double edge sword that a rise in demand for office space leads to a lack of available properties to leverage towards other prospective occupiers. That’s exactly what’s taken place in Leeds where there is a large footprint of Grade A office space across the city – only the majority of it is already occupied. “The Leeds office market is extremely buoyant, particularly for high-quality space, leading to an acute shortage of supply,” says Nick Salkeld, Director of Leeds-based property management company Fox Lloyd Jones. He adds that there’s less than six months’ worth of Grade A accommodation available in Leeds now with the annual take-up in 2019 expected to be well above the ten-year average at approximately 700,000 square foot. He Meeting demand, fuelling supply Housing home-grown companies and continuing to attract firms to the area, Leeds is suffering a shortage of quality office space. But as we explore, there’s a pipeline of exciting properties under development, especially where industrial and logistics is concerned. 14-17.qxp_Layout 1 04/02/2020 08:51 Page 1www.blmforum.net Business Link 15 PROPERTY points to the city’s West End as an area that is currently enjoying great success and ongoing investment. This comes as Walker Morris sublet 13,000 square foot of office space in its new landmark building on Wellington Street to national wealth management and law firm, Progeny. Acting on behalf of Walker Morris, Fox Lloyd Jones acquired an overriding lease over the whole of the building back in 2018 and project-managed the delivery of the new offices through to completion. Having facilitated the physical move of the Walker Morris team into 63,000 square foot in August last, Fox Lloyd Jones was then tasked with sub-letting the remaining 13,000 square foot offices, which were surplus to initial requirements but offered the law firm future expansion space. It’s an important deal for the city but serves to highlight the dearth of quality remaining property at present. Therefore, we look at Leeds’ development pipeline, exploring recent developments and looking ahead at what’s currently under construction. We’re only a month into the new year, but we’re already witnessing a flurry of activity in the commercial property market, especially where industrial and logistics are concerned. Kirkstall Forge is a £400 million mixed- use development which developer CEG is using to “bring the lifeblood back to Kirkstall Forge”. This includes creating more than one thousand homes, 300,000 square foot of office space, 100,000 square foot of leisure and retail and a railway station as well as community and education space. The development took another leap forward in early January after CEG submitted a detailed planning application for the next 200,000 square foot of commercial space at the development. This latest phase was designed by Cooper Cromar architects and will provide leisure/retail space on the ground floor and flexible office accommodation with open floor places from 11,000 square foot. The top four floors of the building are now Zenith’s headquarters, with the remaining three floors housing Mercedes-Benz Vans UK, Bupa, CEG and Butlers restaurant and bar. Moving from Kirkstall to Pontefract 33 Wellington Place DHL takes space at Total Park CGI of Brookfield Trading Estate 17 Á 14-17.qxp_Layout 1 04/02/2020 08:51 Page 2Armstrong house Offering a prime position in Grimsby, Armstrong House on Armstrong Street is ideally located. Close to the ports of Grimsby and Immingham, motorway links and the town centre, off-street parking is also available for all staff and visitors, meaning it’s convenient too. Our spacious, welcoming offices are located on the ground floor and are both secure and CCTV-monitored, giving you the ultimate peace of mind. At Armstrong House, the flexible in/out terms of contract mean confidence when it comes to affordability and with a range of office sizes there are opportunities for all types of business. If you require virtual office services, prices start from just £15 per month. For more information, or to discuss your office requirements, give Scotts Property a call today on 01472 267000 and ask about Armstrong House. Last remaining office suites Prime location in Grimsby Superb Location - - Close to the ports of Grimsby & Immingham - Great motorway links - Close to the town centre Secure off street parking High speed internet availability Easy in/out terms A range of affordable office sizes 3 3 3 3 3 Armstrong House, Armstrong Street, Grimsby DN31 2QE Tel: (01472) 310301 • Email: s.fisher@blmgroup.co.uk www.shutterstock.com/terekhov igor www.shutterstock.com/Yentafern 14-17.qxp_Layout 1 04/02/2020 08:51 Page 3www.shutterstock.com/Yentafern www.blmforum.net Business Link 17 PROPERTY Lane just outside the city centre, international courier, parcel and express mail service giant, DHL, has recently signed a lease on 57,350 square foot of prime logistics space at a brand-new industrial development currently under construction. The lease sees DHL take over six acres of the extensive new sixteen-acre Total Park development and will move in by summer. Located to the east of Leeds in the Aire Valley, the park is Total Development’s first major scheme in Yorkshire after it acquired the site in 2018. Planning permission for five further industrial and warehouse units ranging in size from 9,200 square foot up to 58,000 square foot with work currently underway. The developer noted strong occupier interest on a freehold and leasehold basis across the site. That’s not the only development on Pontefract Lane, with Towngate having recently appointed Caddick Construction to deliver the latest industrial building at Cross Green Industrial Estate. The £1.42 million speculative development comprises a 16,500 square foot detached double portal framed building along with infrastructure works and services. Caddick Construction delivered the first two units as part of the Tongate Link project, with both being snapped up as pre-lets. Wine merchant, London City Bond, expanded into the 55,000 square foot warehouse and Beerhawk took the second 62,500 square foot warehouse. The construction is currently on-site delivering a third pre-let unit which completes in March. At present, Cross Green Industrial Estate is home to several manufacturing, distribution and warehousing operations including John Lewis and Amazon. Lastly this issue, construction works have begun on Leeds’ only new small- scale industrial unit scheme currently planned in 2020. Once complete, Brookfield Trading Estate will provide seven new warehouse and industrial units on the southern fringe of the city centre that are currently being marketing by Gent Visick. The units will range in size from 990 to 4,000 square foot and will benefit from their close proximity to the city centre. The development is slated for complete in spring with Rahon Developments delivering the rest of the site. Once completed, the site will deliver much needed industrial space in the area, as Paul Mack, Director at Gent Vesick, explains: “Traditional industrial areas on the southern fringe of Leeds City Centre such as Holbeck and Hunslet have been under threat for some time, with the continued expansion of Leeds City Centre’s boundaries and the subsequent redevelopment of brownfield land for higher value uses. “Industrial development land across Leeds is also a rare commodity and due to continued increases in construction costs, most developers have been forced to build larger units. As a result, there have only been a few new small industrial developments in Leeds over the past 15 years, which makes Brookfield Trading Estate an exciting opportunity for local businesses looking for smart and secure new premises.” Cross Green Industrial Estate © Shutterstock /Duncan Cuthbertson 14-17.qxp_Layout 1 04/02/2020 08:51 Page 418 Business Link www.blmforum.net ITM POWER Q&A Hydrogen has emerged as an important power source in transitioning away from fossil fuels as government doubles down on net zero targets, clean air and climate change. How is ITM Power positioned to take advantage of this? ITM manufactures electrolysers which produce hydrogen via water electrolysis. In this way green electricity can be converted into green hydrogen, enabling renewable energy to be stored and used as a fuel or feedstock in various sectors of the economy (transport, heat, industry, agriculture etc). ITM is currently upscaling both its production facilities (to 1GW per annum) and the size of its electrolysers (to 5MW modules) to take advantage of the rising demand from each of these sectors. As it produces no emissions, hydrogen is ideally suited to power cars and other vehicles. How does this compared to battery-powered electric vehicles that have become more popular with motorists? Both battery-powered and hydrogen vehicles have electric powertrains and require much less energy per mile than modern diesel or petrol vehicles. When compared with battery powered vehicles, hydrogen vehicles have several advantages: * much longer range (300-500 miles), no range anxiety * the vehicle’s tank can be filled up in only 3 minutes * they don’t need to be plugged-in to the electricity grid * hydrogen refuelling can take place at familiar petrol stations in a similar manner to conventional practice * hydrogen refuelling will not cause queues at charging stations, or force drivers to take long breaks while their vehicles are re-energised, or cause the grid to become overloaded * hydrogen is well suited to heavy vehicles (buses, trucks, trains, ships) that require high power, long range and rapid refuelling * hydrogen vehicles suit fleets (taxis, emergency vehicles, buses etc) which operate for many hours per day and need to take energy on board quickly. On the same subject, EV charging infrastructure has become increasingly available and accessible, but there’s also been an uptick in the number of hydrogen refuelling stations (HRS). Last year, ITM Power opened its eight public HRS. Are their plans to open more in 2020? We currently have six under construction. The predicted requirement by the UKH2Mobility project for refuelling hydrogen cars is 1150 HRS by 2030. In addition, we expect to deploy a significant number of HRS for return-to- depot applications across the country in order to refuel fleets of buses, coaches, trucks etc. We also expect a small but significant number of large scale refuelling stations to be built for refuelling hydrogen trains and ships. So overall both the number of stations and the total hydrogen demand for mobility will grow substantially across the 2020s. As well as the benefits and uses we’ve already touched on, hydrogen can be used in many markets including heating and agriculture. What’s the biggest benefit for business? The biggest benefit is enabling the business to engage a decarbonisation pathway that’s in line with the government’s net-zero 2050 target. This is especially important given the probability of more stringent regulations and carbon taxation emerging in the coming years, which will steer businesses much harder towards achieving emissions reductions. Hydrogen admixtures can be injected at low concentrations (eg. 20%) into the natural gas grid to help decarbonise heating in buildings and industry. Advantageously this ‘power-to-gas’ approach reaches a very large number of end users, but doesn’t require them to change their equipment or disrupt their existing practices. Hydrogen is a pre-requisite for manufacturing fertilisers. Switching to green hydrogen will help decarbonise agriculture and hence the food we eat. There are several major industrial processes where green hydrogen can be applied to help reduce greenhouse emissions, including the production of petrol, methanol, steel, glass, ammonia etc. First-of-kind demonstrations of large scale electrolysers at these industrial sites are now starting to emerge e.g. ITM is deploying a 10 MW Q&A with Dr Graham Cooley, CEO ITM Power Business Link recently spoke with Dr Graham Cooley, CEO of ITM Power, the Sheffield-based energy storage and clean fuel specialist, about the hydrogen industry, scaling up the nation’s renewable energy mix and what the future holds. 18-19.qxp_Layout 1 04/02/2020 08:54 Page 1www.blmforum.net Business Link 19 ITM POWER Q&A electrolyser at a Shell refinery in Cologne Germany. ITM Power has recently secured a £38 million investment from Linde Gas to work together to offer a green supply of hydrogen. Can you tell us more about how this investment will be used? ITM Power recently secured an investment of £58.8m of which £38m was from Linde Engineering. The proceeds of the funding will be used for working capital, expansion of our manufacturing facilities and for balance sheet strength as we tender larger projects. The company is also supplying an electrolyser, which makes hydrogen from water and electricity, into the HyDeploy project. The aim is to decarbonise the natural gas used in homes for heating and cooking but are their plans to expand into offices and other commercial properties? The trial that is underway is at Keele on a closed gas grid, which serves 100 homes and 30 Faculty buildings (offices). A further trial (HyDeploy 2) is to be carried out on a section of the public grid serving 750 homes. After that we expect regulators to permit the approach to be applied across all of the UK’s regional gas distribution zones, which serves 23 million homes and over 1.5 million non-domestic buildings. How will hydrogen work alongside other renewable and low-carbon technologies in the UK’s future energy mix? Alongside electricity, hydrogen will be used to decarbonise those sectors which at present depend heavily on fossil fuels. It will be used to carry renewable energy into the U.K. energy system at a much greater level than can be absorbed by the electricity grid. In addition, it will be stored in large amounts in salt caverns and underground geological stores to enable power generation on days of limited sun or wind and hence avoid us having to resort to using coal or gas power. Yorkshire and Lincolnshire are arguably the renewable capital of the UK, especially when it comes to wind power. Is this also the case where hydrogen is concerned? In the region we are manufacturing electrolysers at an ever increasing rate and will shortly be moving to a new factory with the capacity to produce 1GW of electrolysis per year. Although our markets are international, we expect substantial deployments of electrolysers to take place in the local region in order to help manage renewable power flows in the grid and decarbonise industrial clusters. What are the biggest challenges to overcome to decarbonise the nation’s fuel and energy? The lack of policy and regulations from government to assist early market growth for green hydrogen; and institutional inertia, especially in large companies engaged in the various parts of the existing energy supply chain. 18-19.qxp_Layout 1 04/02/2020 08:54 Page 2Next >