< PreviousThe quality andattractiveness of our region’scommercial property markethas been laid bare asSheffield, Leeds, Hull andmore lay out their bid tobecome the new NorthernHQ of Channel 4. Following the Prime Minister’sdecision to call a snap election earlierthis year, the slew of party manifestosthat followed held few surprises. TheConservatives, erring perhaps on theside of caution, held one particularpromise that has sparked fierce debateacross the top half of the country. Itsaid that Channel 4, the publicallyowned broadcaster, would be made toup sticks from its London base. Thoughthe broadcaster itself bemoaned thedecision, a number of Northern citieshave thrown their respective hats intothe ring. From West Midlands toManchester, all have championed theirarea as the best new HQ for Channel 4.Our region is no different. Sheffield, York, Leeds and Hull, ourown City of Culture, have all confirmedtheir intentions to bid to be thebroadcaster’s new home. Doing so haslaid bare the region’s competencies, itstransport links, talent pool and, ofcourse, its commercial and industrialproperty. The rallying cry from ourregion made clear that almost all mediainvestment is injected into the West ofthe country. Added to this was the factthat the Yorkshire and Humber region isthe UK’s fastest growing region for filmand TV. It doesn’t take a genius torealise that our region is perfectlypositioned to function as thebroadcaster’s new base. The region’s commercial property willplay a critical role in convincing thepowers that be that we’re best suitedfor the broadcaster’s needs. Forexample, Sheffield has, as part of itsPROPERTYA place toset up shop10Business Link www.blmforum.netA place toset up shop10-13_Layout 1 01/08/2017 09:30 Page 1bid, offered Channel 4 a prime locationat the heart of the city situated next tothe main railway station. It offers highspeed, direct rail services to everymajor UK city, as well as the prospect ofHS2 and 3 in the years to come. TheSheffield City Council, serving tosweeten the deal, has also offeredspace at the Digital Campus, whichprovides 80,000 square foot of Grade Aoffice space. To look at it from a differentperspective, the region’s commercialproperty is crucial to securing its future,be it attracting fresh investment –locally or overseas – alluring newbusinesses into the region, or providingexcellent facilities to home growncompanies. But how exactly is thecommercial property sector faring?Since the result of the EU referendumcame to light, Business Link hasreported on how our region kicked backagainst the doom, gloom anduncertainty and retained a high degreeof health, investment and prosperity.Well over a year later, the marketremains in good health and counting. For Sheffield, the future is bright, withthe city’s office property market ontrack for a strong second half year. Aswell as a plethora of new stock enteringthe market, a number of propertydecisions postponed following Brexitare coming to fruition. This indicatesthat the pessimism that hung over thenation’s property market – bothcommercial and residential – isbeginning to pull back, as the UK ekesback its earlier confidence. ThoughBrexit negotiations are still taking place,commentators claim that leaving theBloc is looking increasingly unlikely. Inany case, the fears of investors aresubsiding to the benefit of propertydevelopers and marketers. As we’ve previously reported, ourregion went against the national trendand remained so as we moved intowww.blmforum.netPROPERTYBusiness Link 1113 Á© Shutterstock / Tupungato 10-13_Layout 1 01/08/2017 09:31 Page 2ArmstronghouseOffering a prime position in Grimsby, Armstrong House onArmstrong Street is ideally located. Close to the ports ofGrimsby 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 officesare 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 contractmean confidence when it comes to affordability and with a rangeof office sizes there are opportunities for all types of business. Ifyou require virtual office services, prices start from just £15 permonth. For more information, or to discuss your office requirements,give Scotts Property a call today on 01472 267000 and askabout Armstrong House.Last remaining office suitesPrime location in GrimsbySuperb Location -- Close to the ports of Grimsby &Immingham- Great motorwaylinks- Close to the town centreSecure off street parkingHigh speed internet availabilityEasy in/out termsA range of affordable office sizes33333Armstrong House, Armstrong Street,Grimsby DN31 2QETel: (01472) 310301 • Email: s.fisher@blmgroup.co.ukwww.shutterstock.com/terekhov igorwww.shutterstock.com/Yentafern10-13_Layout 1 01/08/2017 09:31 Page 3www.shutterstock.com/Yentafernwww.blmforum.netPROPERTYBusiness Link 132017. Sheffield experienced an“exceptionally successful” first halfwhere it saw a 57 per cent rise in theactual number of deals compared to thesame period last year. To further drivethe point home, Commercial PropertyPartners confirmed that prime rentsreached an all-time high of £23.50 persquare foot. During this period, Sheffield saw totaltake-up of office buildings top 242,437square foot, significantly higher than2016’s total of 201,758 square foot.Predictions claim that the total figure forthis year will exceed the long termaverage of 305,000 square foot, giventhis rise is expected to continuethroughout Q2. “Despite the well documented shockwaves of Brexit, the triggering of Article50 and the General Election, the take-upof buildings throughout Yorkshire in thefirst half of 2017 was significantly aheadof previous years, with experts withinthe industry predicting that Yorkshirewill outperform London with regardsgrowth in office jobs in the half yearahead,” says Rob Darrington, Partner atCPP’s Sheffield office.Continuing last year’s trend, 2017 is ayear of change, where paradigms onceassumed sacred have shifted andaltered. Despite ushering in initialuncertainty, this has largely been to thebenefit of our region’s commercialproperty market. The latter half of theyear is set to continue this time ofchange, with postponed decisionscoming into fruition and a number oflooming lease events forcing occupiesto consider their current position. Atpresent, there is a window ofopportunity offered for occupiers tochoose from but, Mr Darrington warns,this is limited and will likely notcontinue into 2018. The times indeed are changing, withechoes across the property marketattesting as much. Observing theupsurge in market activity, the return ofinvestor confidence and a slew of newdevelopments, our region may just wellbecome the new home for Channel 4. © Shutterstock / Tupungato Acero, Sheffield10-13_Layout 1 01/08/2017 09:31 Page 4Passtheparcel© Shutterstock / nd3000Innovation in the packaging sector is heraldinggreater sustainability along the supply chain, fromwarehousing to distribution. 14Business Link www.blmforum.netPRINTING & PACKAGING SPOTLIGHTAs arguably the epicentre of the UK’simport and export industry, Yorkshire andLincolnshire is equipped with some of themost ground-breaking warehouse anddistribution centres and excellent air, sea andfreight links – a transport infrastructure thathas made our region indispensable to the UKeconomy. Distribution is entrenched in ourregion’s DNA, and has clearly provenattractive to investors and big brands.Verdion, for example, has recently completedthe construction of the new 1.1 millionsquare foot, £100 million logistics facility forAmazon at its iPort development inDoncaster. No doubt spurred on by the rise in e-commerce and online trading, Amazon isfamiliar presence across South Yorkshire,bringing with it new jobs to the localeconomy. This latest development is its thirdsuch fulfilment centre in Doncaster alone. Ifanything is emblematic of e-commerce andthe digital pound it’s the tide of packagingthat comes with it. Despite having an obviousaesthetic appeal, products rely on packagingfor protection, information and, of course,transport. The ease and accessibility of homebroadband and mobile data has given rise to14-17_Layout 1 31/07/2017 12:30 Page 1www.blmforum.netBusiness Link 15PRINTING & PACKAGING SPOTLIGHTchastising the wasteful nature ofpackaged goods bought online.Amazon has taken the lion’s share ofthe criticism, given its prevalence, but agreat many businesses are doing thesame. Goods bought online, completein their own packages, are beingencased in protective packaging fortransport. The argument, however, isthat this secondary packaging is oftenfar larger than it needs to be, meaning ittakes more space to transport, so lesscan be loaded, and more materials areneeded. Multiply this by thousands andthe extent of the issue becomesapparent. Of course, this is all part of a widerdebate about sustainability in thesupply chain. Packaging doesn’t have tobe wasteful; in fact it’s a perfect vehicleto recycle waste products. Nowhere isthis more pervasive than the food andbeverage industry, which has seen itsfair share of controversies involvingwasteful packages. Every productbought – online or otherwise – comeswith its own carbon footprint.Diminishing that footprint is ineveryone’s best interest, particular witha rising global population and finitenatural resources. Companies areturning to recycled – or easier to recycle– materials to create a new generationof sustainable packages. Some start-upsare even exploring unlikely sources forpackages, such as mushrooms, tomatostems and coffee grounds. Packaging has the dual purpose ofacting as a company’s marketing. Aproduct is an ambassador of its brand,16 Áthe smart, savvy consumer. Brands andbusinesses have had to adjust andevolve their relationship with theirbuyers. With social media, consumerscan now report, in real time, exactlywhat they think about a product – andthis includes negative experiences. Forexample, if a consumer buys a foodproduct that is infested with insects orother foreign materials, a post onTwitter, Instagram or Facebook can goviral in a matter of hours (minutes, insome cases). It’s impossible to tell whatwill spark with other users, and this canspell significant reputational damage toa brand. The customer isn’t just alwaysright, now they hold a significantlylarger portion of the power than everbefore. This same swell of smarter, moreinformed customers have also been© Shutterstock / lighthunterlp14-17_Layout 1 31/07/2017 12:30 Page 216Business Link www.blmforum.netwill carry its graphics and corporateculture. So for a company that purportsto be sustainable, eco-friendly and soforth, their branding will draw fromnatural imagery, a sketchy, hand drawnaesthetic, and soft muted colour tones.Organic and natural food products areawash with this design as companieslook to capitalise on consumers whoare increasingly interested and aware oftheir carbon footprint. Design andcreative agencies couple branding withregulation, making a compelling mix forconsumers and businesses both. Anyproduct sold in the UK has to conformto a stringent set of regulations. Videogames and DVDs, for example, must listthe BBFC age certification, while foodproducts are required to list theiringredients and nutritional information.It takes a canny mind to make thisinformation sit alongside a bright andfun brand image. Lincoln Print andCopy Centre, for example, provide in-house design, creation, customisingwith its printing, scanning and enlargingservices. Packages themselves are evolving,with big bulk boxes and containersfalling out of favour. Now the emphasisis on flexibility and transparency, andwe mean that literally. Flexiblepackaging – particularly pouchpackages – is now ubiquitous for foodproducts. It’s a sign of the times withchocolate bars being sold in poucheswith the promise of sharing. Pouchesare now used to house all sorts ofconsumer goods, and the reasons arecompelling. They’re easy to print on,with high ink transfers allowingcompanies to display their branding ina visually appealing way. There’sminimal wastage, given the pouch isready to use – either cut off a pre-perforated corner, or uncap a spout.Many pouches will also be recyclable,further closing the loop. They are alsomuch cheaper and easier to transportthan boxed products, meaning there’sfewer trips required in theirdistribution. These are some of the major talkingpoints at this year’s PPMA Show, theUK’s processing and packagingLincs polymer maker secure£1.29m EU fundingA consortium led by Luxus, the Lincolnshire-based makers of prime and recycled polymers, hassecured £1.29 million in EU funding for a recycling colourant breakthrough.The consortium also included Nordic polymer processing partner Polykemi and global plasticsmanufacturer One51.Together, the triage secured the investment, which is co-funded by the European Union’sHorizon 2020 research and innovation programme.The funding supports NIRSort, a new commercialisation project that aims to replace carbonblack and many other pigments with a range of novel near-infrared (NIR) detectable alternatives for adoption by Europe’s packaging, automotiveand consumer durables manufacturers.Each year 3.5 million tonnes of polymer are scrapped in the UK alone, since black and some other coloured packaging cannot be picked up byrecycling sorters.As these products contain carbon black that reflects very little or no radiation rendering it ‘invisible’ to sorting machines in recycling depots.© LuxusPRINTING & PACKAGING SPOTLIGHT14-17_Layout 1 31/07/2017 12:30 Page 3www.blmforum.netBusiness Link 17machinery exhibition. Valerio DelVecchio, Head of Marketing, PPMAGroup of Associations, says: “Over thepast 30 years, the PPMA Show hasunited buyers and suppliers at one ofthe UK’s most visually dynamicexhibitions. It enables manufacturingprofessionals to come together,network, discuss future trends, findinspiration and gain invaluable insightsfrom thought leaders.“The PPMA Total Show 2016 sawover 1,000 leading packaging andprocessing machinery manufacturingrepresented, with more than 7,500visitors descending on the NEC to findout more. Feedback from visitorsattending the 2016 show revealed thatthe show is the destination to keep upto date with the industry, findinspiration and meet with new suppliersor business partners.”Far from being a means of getting aproduct from point A to B, packagingidentifies and informs, tellingconsumers everything they need toknow. It also creates a dialoguebetween a brand and its target marketwhich, in these increasinglyinterconnected, social media orientatedtimes, can be a real coup overcompetitors. It’s also a ripe area forinnovation, with ever more sustainablealternatives coming to the fray toevolve what has been a typicallywasteful sector. We shouldn’t beturning away from packaging, weshould be embracing it.© Shutterstock / MOLPIXAstonishunveils newlook packwith £2minvestment Astonish, the Bradford-based makersof cruelty-free household and laundrycleaning products, has invested £2million in a brand renovation.The company will use the investmentto strengthen its position and profilewithin the UK household cleaningcategory.The overhaul includes a new brandidentity, new look pack designs andbespoke shrink sleeve, prism shapedpackaging.Accommodating the shift to shrinksleeve packaging, the business has alsoinvested heavily into its manufacturinginfrastructure.Managing Director Howard Moss,pictured, said: “Astonish has achieved agreat deal of success within both the UKand global market, which sees us exportto more than 50 countries.“With an ambitious growth strategy inplace, we recognised that furthersuccess could not be achieved by ourexperience and the performance of ourproducts alone. We needed to invest inleveraging our brand.”The Astonish rebrand will initiallylaunch across its range of trigger sprays.Personal, professional, affordable. We do so much more than printing – we solve problems,while creating something attractive and stylish.9 Clifton Street, Stonefield Park Industrial Estate, Lincoln, LN5 8LQ Tel: 01522 546118 Email: sales@lincolncopycentre.co.ukWeb: www.lincolncopycentre.co.ukPRINTING & PACKAGING SPOTLIGHT14-17_Layout 1 31/07/2017 12:30 Page 4the Concorde, who tells the story of the astonishing 27 supersonicyears of flight. Main speaker Howard Burnett was formerly ChiefTrading Standards Officer and currently Convenor of WELMEC(European LegalMetrology Co-operation) Working Group onPrepackages.Howard was instrumental in creating the current PackageGoods Regulation, he also the trainer for the UKs TradingStandards Officers making him the UK’s leading authority on it.Delegates will also have an opportunity to question the experts.All supporting, legal documentation and certification will beissued upon completion.For more information, visit www.minebea-intec.com,email explanation@minebea-intec.com orcall +44(0) 121 779 3131.18Business Link www.blmforum.netPRINTING & PACKAGING SPOTLIGHTMinebea Intec hostAverage WeightControl SeminarIn September, Minebea Intec will host the Average WeightControl Seminar, bringing together experts to explain andexplore the Package Goods Regulation for the average weightcontrol of pre-packaged goods.Taking place on 5th September 2017 at the ConcordeConference Centre at Manchester Airport, the Seminar will seeexperts explain the requirements of the legislation.Delegates will discover how many companies have used theinformation from this seminar to increase profits through areduction in giveaway or overfill.Attends will also learn how to reduce the resources needed tomeet the regulation through automatic collection of data.This event, hosted by Minebea Intec, brings together TradingStandards and experts and the world’s largest weighing company.As a delegate joining us at this unique facility you will have therare opportunity to go on board, arguably the world’s mosticonic plane, the Concorde, G-BOAC (affectionately known as‘Alpha Charlie’) which was the flagship of British AirwaysConcorde fleet.You will be guided by an expert who has worked and flown on18_Layout 1 31/07/2017 12:29 Page 1background: shutterstock/design36Streets Golf Day secures hole in one forAir AmbulanceStreets CharteredAccountants, the Lincoln-basedaccountancy practice, hostedtheir sixth annual Charity GolfDay in July raising a grand total£6,039 for the Air Ambulance.The total will be dividedbetween the firm’s threeregional charities: East AnglianAir Ambulance, Lincolnshireand Nottinghamshire AirAmbulance and Yorkshire AirAmbulance.The event received fantasticsupport with 30 teams takingpart and more than 30 localbusinesses, includingLincolnshire Today and oursister magazine Business Link,sponsoring the day. There wereStableford individual and teamprizes as well as competitionssuch as Longest Drive, Nearestthe Pin, Beat the Pro and Hole inOne.Streets Partner MarkBradshaw, said: “We have morethan doubled the fundraisingtotal since our inaugural golfday and we’re still only in oursixth year! We’re delighted tobe able to support our local AirAmbulance Services, who arethe true winners of the day.”www.blmforum.netBusiness Link 19BUSINESS SCENE19_Layout 1 31/07/2017 11:01 Page 1Next >