Hortons has strengthened its presence in the industrial/logistics sector with the acquisition of a multi-let estate in Leicestershire, once home to the famous Auster Aircraft.
Rearsby Business Park is set on a 12.95-acre site near Rearsby, between Leicester and Melton Mowbray, within the M1 corridor.
The estate comprises 155,985 sq ft across 15 fully let industrial units with an additional 2.5 acres of development land for future expansion.
Hortons has acquired the business park from a private investor for an undisclosed price – it is the first time the site has changed ownership in almost 50 years.
Rearsby has a rich manufacturing history and the site was once home to Taylorcraft Aeroplanes (England) Ltd’s factory, where the world-famous single propeller ‘Auster’ light aircraft was designed and built. It has since been extensively modernised, extended and redeveloped, with the last unit being added in 2020.
Established tenants at Rearsby Business Park include: East Coast Fittings, T.E.K Seating, GT Plumbing & Heating Engineers, Lewis & Hill Ltd, Metric Services (Leicester) Ltd, and K & D E Barnett & Sons Ltd.
Steve Tommy of Hortons said: “We are pleased to have secured such a well established asset, in the heart of the East Midlands’ industrial market. The acquisition of Rearsby Business Park complements our expanding industrial/logistics property portfolio, providing a strong existing rental income and opportunities to add value.”
Hortons was represented by Nick Wood at Savills, with Oliver Forster of CBRE acting on behalf of the vendor.
Measures to bring more front-line council services into cost-effective, energy saving buildings are set to get the go-ahead next week (Thursday 19 December).
Plans from Nottinghamshire County Council include reducing their overall number of offices, creating more carbon-neutral buildings, generating income by leasing space and co-locating with other public organisations.
An investment worth £7.4 million is due to be approved at next week’s full cabinet meeting to help move these major plans to the next stage. These include the appointment of a specialist commercial agent to bring further expertise to the business case for the future use of County Hall, the council’s current HQ.
Due to the high costs to run and maintain, the aging annex building on the County Hall site is earmarked for demolition to save money and help increase the land value of the site in the long-term. Early feasibility work estimates this would cost approximately £2.5 million.
With the planned departure from County Hall in 2025, many council staff are due to relocate to the nearby Trent Bridge House in West Bridgford. Essential works to this building are required, with initial costs estimated to be around £500,000.
Oak House will be the council’s new low carbon, all-electric office and aims to bring more jobs, skills and investment into the Hucknall area. Despite the spate of recent storms and heavy rainfall, the building is still currently on track to be completed by spring 2025. This has meant more extensive and complex groundwork than planned and, with inflation, an additional £888,000 is needed to complete the project.
The new office is being designed, project and cost-managed by Arc Partnership and delivered through its construction partner, Morgan Sindall Construction. A target of 86 per cent of local spend has been set for the project and associated infrastructure works, with sub-contractors and tradespeople located within 20 miles of the site.
One of the many local firms working on the project include R&R Joinery Services Limited, based in Hucknall. It has installed all internal joinery on the building – including fire rated doors, kitchenette tea points and final fixtures and equipment.
Richard Allen, managing director, describes how the company is delighted to be working on the project and is helping it grow. He said: “Our two owners were born and raised in Hucknall, so the opportunity to be part of this project, providing a great new workspace for Nottinghamshire County Council has been fantastic.
“This project is our first with Morgan Sindall, which has expanded our client base and will allow us to grow and take on an apprentice in the coming six months.”
Oakfield Construction is a family-owned firm based just over two miles away near Eastwood, which also worked on the project.
Carl Tyson, project manager, says the company was proud to have contributed to such an important local project. He said: “We were involved in the Oak House project for around seven months and, as a result, we were able to bring on a new machine driver, and two of our apprentices also gained experience working on the site.
“During this time, we worked on the footings, drainage, ducting, footpaths, edgings and various other aspects of the project.”
Other major building and office plans include a contribution worth £3.5 million towards the new hub planned by Mansfield District Council in the town centre. This hub is planned to be the new home to some of the county council’s key services.
Early work also continues on an energy-efficient contact centre and office building in Worksop to help provide a fit-for-purpose environment for parents and children. The work is expected to be completed in early 2026.
Council Leader, Councillor Sam Smith, said: “We are an ambitious council, and this additional investment is all part of our wider plan to prioritise delivering services rather than just running expensive buildings.”
Councillor Keith Girling, Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Asset Management, added: “This programme focuses on improving our buildings which offer front-line services such as contact points which are used by parents and young children, including looked-after children.
“These buildings are now old and far from ideal, which we are having to regularly address, so we need to put this right.
“This programme is already providing lucrative refurbishment and building contracts for local subcontractors which is benefitting the local economy.”
North East Lincolnshire Council has committed to continuing with one of the largest property schemes it has ever undertaken – the Freshney Place leisure scheme and associated new food hall and complementary market.
Council leader Philip Jackson said the council’s decision to bring forward and support the project would transform the centre of Grimsby.
The leisure scheme will occupy the western end of Freshney Place, the area that is currently the Top Town Market Hall, and some units on the Bullring, which will provide a new offering for the people and businesses in Grimsby town centre.
A pre-let agreement is in place with Parkway Cinema to bring a five-screen cinema to complement its offering at Cleethorpes.
Richard Parkes, owner of Parkway Cinema, said: “We’ve long discussed options for bringing a cinema to Grimsby, and reinventing Freshney Place is precisely the right approach. Town centres are not just about shopping – that doesn’t work any more. We need to provide more reasons to visit and offer more things to do at more times during the day, and that’s just what we’ve signed up for – to bring that to Grimsby.
“We’ll be a living, breathing presence right in the heart of the town, with a new cinema open to and accessible to everyone alongside a new market hall and food outlets. It’s just part of something that will improve the whole town centre for a new generation, alongside the youth zone and other areas of the town like St James Square and the Riverhead. There’s a lot going on, and we can’t wait to be part of it.”
The development also includes plans for a new, vibrant food hall together with an attached complementary market on the area of the former BHS building.
Four additional new leisure, food and beverage, or retail opportunities, including a larger unit to-let are also in the scheme footprint, alongside four refurbished units within Freshney Place, with the return of Starbucks already agreed, and discussions under way with a leading food outlet.
Work is expected to start on site early in the new year.
Lincolnshire’s Streets Chartered Accountants has established Streets Dyke Ruscoe Limited following the merger of the well-established Shropshire and Worcestershire practice of Dyke Ruscoe Chartered Certified Accountants with Streets.
This latest merger sees Streets establish a greater footprint in the West Midlands, close to the Welsh border.
When asked about the merger Carl Davies, Director of Streets Dyke Ruscoe, based in its Ludlow office, said: “Dyke Ruscoe was established around the late 1920’s and has since this time been a local presence in Ludlow, Tenbury Wells and Craven Arms.
“As part of our own succession and growth strategy we have for some time been considering options for the future. Whilst we operate within the West Midlands and the Welsh Marches area, we recognised the opportunity to grow the practice into Wales and across the West Midlands. In part, the barrier to our growth, has been our size and structure, we therefore had to become part of something bigger.
“We are therefore delighted to have merged with Streets, whilst we considered a number of options, we believe that we have found our perfect partner. The Streets philosophy and outlook is similar to ours and they were keen to retain our sense of being a part of the local community and standing something that has been established over the years.
“It was also important for us to continue to be able to provide our services in a relatively unchanged environment with the same great team engaging with our clients.
“In an increasingly competitive market and with growing client needs we are, through joining up with Streets, pleased to be able to offer a greater breadth of services, including more specialisms like personal and corporate tax advice, banking and finance along with other services we have historically had to outsource.
“We are also especially pleased to announce that following the merger we are now able to service the needs of clients who require an audit as these can now be looked after Streets dedicated audit team and practice which acts nationally for groups, large companies, subsidiaries and charities.
“It truly does seem to be a partnership of like-minded people with similar principles to face not only the future and challenges together, but also the great opportunities that exist. Together we can achieve growth not only for ourselves, but for our staff, existing and prospective clients.
“Following the merger, we are delighted to announce that Charlotte Beamond has joined the directorship of the company, following the retirement of Peter Reynolds, we wish her every success in fulfilling her role.”
Looking at what the merger means to Streets, the firm’s Managing Partner, Paul Tutin, said: “We are delighted to have Carl Davies along with fellow directors Brydie Prime and Charlotte Beamond and their colleagues join the practice. It is especially pleasing to see and experience the mutual benefits and synergy to be had through firms like ours coming together.
“Whilst this year has seen our significant growth come about through the merger of firms located in Yorkshire, the East of England and the South West we are particularly pleased to have ventured further into the West Midlands. This is in keeping with our strategic intent to be a truly national and even UK practice.
“We continue to find that firms we talk to and that merge with us like our approach which is very different to the private equity led deals, as we seek to build on the success of the existing practice and empower individuals to drive and lead on their future growth and success.”
Streets Law, the firm’s dedicated corporate and commercial law offering led by Managing Director and Solicitor, Adam Aisthorpe, undertook the legal work on behalf of Streets for the merger, including drafting the sale and purchase agreement and dealing with the due diligence process in collaboration with internal colleagues in the tax and audit teams at Streets.
Lincoln-based Panoramix has secured a £250,000 follow on debt funding package to implement a comprehensive marketing strategy aimed at expanding its client base, particularly in the US, where it has already seen strong demand.
The funding comes through the Midlands Engine Investment Fund II though Maven Capital Partners, appointed Fund Manager for East and South East Midlands.
Panoramix is a specialist intellectual property law firm delivering legal services to both UK and overseas businesses.
Founded in 2019 by IP law specialist Kevin Hanson, Panoramix offers a flexible, attorney-led service without the billable hours model commonly used across the industry. Instead, the business offers fixed fees based on task complexity and value, allowing clients to benefit from transparent and efficient services.
Panoramix supports a range of clients from start-ups and SMEs to multinational corporations across various sectors, including technology, healthcare, retail, and manufacturing. It is also one of the few UK-based IP firms authorised to conduct US trademark work, holding direct practice rights with the US Patent and Trademark Office, which enables it to provide UK clients with cost-effective US IP support.
The funding will also enable the company to recruit additional staff, including a client relationship manager, an administrative support role, and a part-qualified patent attorney to support its growing operations.
Kevin Hanson, founder of Panoramix, said: “The support from Maven and the Midlands Engine Investment Fund I in 2022 was critical in enabling us to establish our business in the East Midlands and grow our client base nationally.
“With further funding through Midlands Engine Investment Fund II, we intend to double our headcount and turnover within the next 24 months. This will involve development of new service offerings and expansion into new international markets. The future is looking very bright as we continue to revolutionise the IP legal services industry.”
Plans to transform three former coal fired power station sites in Bassetlaw into a world leading clean energy and innovation supercluster are set for a boost, with the East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA) set to approve and allocate up to £3 million in funding at its December Board meeting.
Located alongside the River Trent, the power stations at West Burton, Cottam, and High Marnham once formed part of Megawatt Valley. This critical piece of UK energy infrastructure was created in the 1960s, and at its peak, was responsible for generating 25% of the electricity needed by England and Wales.
The EMCCA funding will support these three huge sites’ transition towards producing clean energy, help drive economic growth across the region and develop innovation, skills and opportunities that will benefit communities in Bassetlaw, Nottinghamshire, and the wider East Midlands.
Councillor Julie Leigh, Leader of Bassetlaw District Council, said: “I am delighted that the Combined Authority is looking to support the transition of the three former coal fired power station sites in Bassetlaw into a clean energy supercluster.
“With West Burton already chosen as the home for the STEP prototype fusion energy plant, it is vital that we seize this opportunity to unlock the massive potential of the power station sites.
“This aligns with our ambitious Vision2040 which sets out our aim for Bassetlaw to become the greenest, most sustainable district in which to live and work, building on its legacy of energy production, manufacturing and logistics to power the net zero economy.”
Mayor of the East Midlands, Claire Ward said: “At EMCCA, we have made a commitment to address the global climate crisis and tackle climate change.
“Our journey to Net Zero will see us become carbon neutral by 2050, aligning with national ambitions and taking the region on a journey to become cleaner and more sustainable.
“We want to promote the use green and renewable energy and exploring the potential to increase the region’s electricity network capacity. So, I am pleased we can provide this funding to the three sites in Bassetlaw for the Trent Clean Energy Supercluster.
“North Nottinghamshire will be home to the ground-breaking STEP prototype fusion energy plant. Fusion promises to be a safe, low carbon and sustainable part of the world’s energy supply with potential to help sustain net zero in the future. So this is an exciting project for us to support.”
Nottingham City Council’s Leader Neghat Khan and Chief Executive Sajeeda Rose have welcomed a progress report issued by Government-appointed Commissioners to oversee improvements at the authority.
The Leader and Chief Executive say that the report outlines the significant progress the Council is making but that there is still much work to do to bring about the change needed.
“Commissioners have highlighted the firm cooperative working relationship they have with the Council and that we have welcomed them constructively and established a positive and productive approach to engaging with them.
“They have also said that, as new Leader and Chief Executive, we have faced up to the challenges that the Council must tackle in full acceptance of the reality of the difficulties and have a declared resolve to overcome them.
“The fact that Commissioners have so far not needed to use any of the powers they have available with the full council to make change clearly demonstrates that they feel we are heading in the right direction and that we understand what needs to be done.
“But we are under no illusions about the challenges ahead, in particular that we are operating considerably beyond our means.
“Our Budget proposals for next year and our ongoing Improvement Plan will give the Council financial sustainability for the years ahead, ensuring we put our house in order and get the basics right. We want to deliver a renewed council providing the high-quality services that local people expect and deserve from us and which has an ambitious vision for leading the city forward.”
In their report, Lead Commissioner, Tony McArdle; Commissioner for Finance, Margaret Lee and Transformation Commissioner, Sharon Kemp, say that it’s possible for the Council to return to financial balance in the medium-term and can be made sustainable thereafter “by becoming substantially more efficient in its operations, through modernising and transforming the nature of its service operations and back office, optimising processes, and improving performance.”
“Services will have to change quickly as part of that process, and such change is inevitably difficult, but the solutions that we are pointing the Council towards are those which other Councils have successfully achieved in the most critical areas of delivery.
“Nottingham shares the desire of much of the sector to go beyond what is currently provided, and to expand its operations in the interests of the citizens of the city. It now recognises that it will be able to do this only when it restores its capability, embeds financial discipline, and takes advantage of learning from established best practice elsewhere to adapt to its own circumstances. Until it does those things it will continue to require exceptional financial support.
“While we are confident that what is necessary is now well appreciated at a senior political and managerial level, considerably more work is necessary to ensure that the degree of change the Council must undergo in order to become sustainable is undertaken and becomes embedded throughout the organisation.”
In a letter to the Council Leader, Jim McMahon, Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution, said: “I’m pleased to hear that the leadership team are committed to working with Commissioners to move the Council to a more sustainable position and improve both its financial position and its services for local residents.
“I am encouraged to see that the Council has a clear strategy set out in the Improvement Plan and are also committed to working with the recently established East Midlands County Combined Authority to reset local relationships.
“I understand that there are still significant challenges to overcome, including the identification and delivery of substantial savings and significant service reform. We want central government to be a supportive partner through this process and think that a strong relationship between the Commissioners, Nottingham City Council and the Ministry is a good example of how we can work together to support local recovery and reform.”
Derby City Council has published proposals for a balanced budget for the next financial year, making some tough decisions in the face of a very challenging financial position.
The proposed budget includes an investment of £31 million into essential services, savings of £10.2 million, and a significant contribution back into the Council’s reserves.
This will be achieved through the continued transformation of services to become more efficient and manage demand, which will mean some reductions and changes to services. Council Tax will increase in line with previous years.
The proposals will go to public consultation after the Council’s Cabinet review them on Wednesday 18 December.
The financial landscape for councils remains extremely challenging across the UK, despite the extra investment into the Local Government sector from Central Government. Increases in inflation, interest rates and prices have made it drastically more expensive to provide essential services and support Derby’s most vulnerable citizens.
Like councils across the country, Derby is particularly feeling the pressure of supporting the most vulnerable children and older people in the city, as well as rising costs for homelessness services. Around 80% of the Council’s total revenue budget is currently spent on statutory services to support vulnerable residents.
Proposals for a balanced budget include reducing the number of staff by a total of 107.93 full time equivalent (FTE) posts. Most of this is from posts that are already vacant, many of which have been empty for some time. The remaining reductions, a maximum of 37.6 FTE posts, will be made up of voluntary and compulsory redundancies.
This year’s proposals would also see Council Tax increased by 4.99%, with 2% of this ringfenced for social care.
Councillor Nadine Peatfield, Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for City Centre, Regeneration, Culture and Strategy, said: “Not setting a balanced budget is not an option.
“As responsible leaders my Cabinet and I have been working closely with officers and partners over the past few months to put forward proposals for a balanced budget, which best serves the city of Derby and helps us to regain some financial resilience and stability for future years.
“We’ve had to make some difficult decisions but we’re also making investments in the services that we know people want. For example, we’re putting more money into grass cutting, and for the second year running we’ve reversed the proposed reductions in our grant to the Museums Trust.
“Following our trial of free bulky waste collections this year, we’re proposing to make changes after identifying a more efficient way of delivering this. We’re also putting our Raynesway booking-free Sundays into the consultation to gain a view of how well received this trial has been.
“With a review coming to Cabinet in January, plus public consultation feedback, we’ll be able to make a fully informed decision before the final budget proposals go to full Council in February.
“We hope that the Government settlement for this year is the beginning of giving councils more funding certainty in future years. This budget is the start of getting us into a position of sustainability and resilience.
“Make no mistake, this has been the Council’s most difficult budget. After years of cuts and underfunding from central Government we’ve had to take the toughest decisions to get us back on track.
“I would strongly urge you to take part in our budget consultation, to help us make an informed decision in how we balance our budget.”
Councillor Kathy Kozlowski, Cabinet Member for Governance and Finance, said: “We’re managing our finances as best as we can under continued, and increased pressure on our budgets.
“Demand for services and costs are continuing to rise beyond our forecast, particularly in social care and temporary homelessness. This is affecting councils across the country – it’s not unique to Derby.
“As part of our ongoing efforts to optimise our service offer, we’ve had to make some difficult decisions that will impact our workforce. While these changes are necessary to ensure we stay sustainable in the long term, they have not been taken lightly.
“No one comes into local government wanting to make these difficult decisions, but I believe that these budget proposals demonstrate our commitment to our city and its citizens – prioritising the care of our most vulnerable, continuing our ambition for our city and pushing forward with technology to improve efficiency and value for money.”
The developer of a major new Midlands solar park has unveiled a multi-million pound partnership that will lead to British steel being exclusively used to construct the site.
Great North Road Solar & Biodiversity Park, near Newark, would produce enough clean energy to power every home in Nottinghamshire.
The site’s developer, Elements Green, has announced a new multi-million-pound partnership with Pro Renewables which will also help to create a further jobs boost for the local area.
“This partnership means GNR Solar & Biodiversity Park would be the largest solar development in the UK to use mounting frames constructed using only British steel,” said Mark Noone, UK Project Director.
“And not only does the deal with Pro Renewables mean we are committed to using only steel made in the UK, but British labour will be utilised to manufacture our mounting frames – creating new job opportunities in Newark and Sherwood.
“These are part of our wider commitment to ensure that the benefits of the development can be felt in more ways than just cheaper bills and a healthier planet.
“We are determined that the site will leave a positive legacy – be it in the local economy or the environment – and this partnership is further evidence that Great North Road will enhance this area.”
An estimated 6,637 miles of steel would be used for the site, enough to stretch from London to Kuala Lumpur, while the gross weight of 32,655 tonnes is the equivalent of three Eiffel Towers.
The steel will be produced at a UK electric arc furnace due to come online in 2027 when construction on the park is scheduled to commence, before becoming fully operational two years later.
And Mark said that using British steel will further enhance the park’s eco-credentials, adding: “Using electric arc furnaces will substantially lower carbon emissions during the steel’s production, as blast furnaces are among the largest emitters of carbon.
“Buying British means not importing steel, which helps reduce the project’s carbon footprint in the transportation of materials, which will lead to significant savings throughout the process.
“UK energy bill reduction is harder to achieve if we don’t purchase Asian solar modules, however, UK steel is competitive for manufacturing mounting frames. This helps us strike the balance between backing British business and bringing down energy bills.”
In addition, using British steel will lead to an estimated 650 fewer HGV movements due to onsite manufacturing.
Not only will Great North Road create around 400 jobs during the construction phase, but the new partnership will lead to a further ten roles due to onsite manufacturing, with Pro Renewables training local recruits from the Nottinghamshire area as part of that process.
John Hardman, Mark Noone, Brian McGhee
“Pro Renewables is delighted to partner with Elements Green on the GNR Solar & Biodiversity Park Project,” said Brian McGhee, the company’s Managing Director.
“We are working together to develop innovative solutions to manufacture the solar frames required for such a significant project.
“By using British Steel together with advanced manufacturing, we can significantly reduce the project’s carbon footprint whilst reducing the number of vehicle movements required which will benefit local towns and villages.
“Wherever possible we will look to the local workforce to recruit and train employees to be involved in the manufacture and construction of the solar frames for the GNR Project.”
Currently Great North Road Solar and Biodiversity Park is in the pre-application stage.
It’s that time of year, when Business Link Magazine 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.Here we speak toSeb Saywood, investor at BGF, the growth capital investors.
2024 has been a year of significant political change – change that has naturally brought with it uncertainty for regional businesses. This, in turn, has influenced decision-making and raised questions about whether businesses should go full throttle on growth or take a more reserved approach to expansion.
Despite announced tax rises that will have a material impact on many businesses, now that we are past the ‘Budget cliff edge’, companies can focus on the year ahead with more clarity and focus. There’s no doubt that this kind of certainty positively influences deal activity.
Against a backdrop of National Insurance Contribution (NIC) rises, we expect businesses to focus on productivity more than ever in the next 12 months, with ambitious management teams grasping the challenge, while others may choose to retrench. This could translate into more investment from businesses into tech/AI and automation, which could manifest in a broad range of industries from manufacturing to healthcare and retail.
From a deals perspective, tightening margins due to tax rises such as NIC, will intensify the pressures being felt by some businesses. Some will successfully pass it on with inflationary consequences. Others will be tipped towards exit. This could present acquisition opportunities to those wanting to consolidate and generate synergies and economies of scale. CGT changes could also have a knock-on effect on M&A, resulting in increased activity in the short to medium term, as people look to realise the value of their investment – completing cash-outs, or selling up entirely.
Ultimately, regardless of these influencing factors, high quality management teams and strategically valuable assets will always be attractive to investors. When it comes down to it, the vast majority of entrepreneurs are driven by something more than tax.
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