M-EC bolsters geomatics division to meet demand

Tess Egginton
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M-EC bolsters geomatics division to meet demand

Due to continued client demand, M-EC has strengthened its geomatics department by adding two new staff members and investing in industry-leading surveying equipment.

The hires start with Gareth Smithies, who has joined M-EC as assistant land surveyor. Gareth has recently completed training to become M-EC’s dedicated drone pilot, as part of his role will be to carry out aerial land surveying across M-EC’s geomatics projects.

The second hire is the addition of a survey manager who is due to join the M-EC team in June 2022. This role will enhance the delivery and accuracy of client projects, overseeing all surveys carried out by M-EC’s geomatics team and supporting the department’s growth.

M-EC has also become one of the first in the UK to take delivery of two state of the art pieces of surveying equipment – the GeoMax Zenith 60 units and a GeoMax Zoom95 R 5’’ total station.

The Geomax equipment has been supplied by Survey Hire UK and will be used by M-EC’s geomatics division on a range of projects, including those for some of the UK’s largest housebuilders and large scale infrastructure projects, such as Anglian Water’s current 500km long stretch of pipeline that runs along the east of England.

The calibration-free tilt GNSS offered by the GeoMax Zenith 60 smart antenna delivers full tilt compensation for hard to reach detail points in site surveys and assessments. The GNSS receiver’s tilt capability lets engineers measure inaccessible points and speed up the survey process as time spent levelling the pole is no longer needed. Also, it is resistant to electromagnetic fields, so provides accurate and reliable data.

Alex Bennett, director at M-EC, says: “We have seen continued growth in demand for our geomatics expertise so have taken the decision to invest in the department with staff and equipment to ensure we continue to deliver the highest standards for our expanding client base.

“The new technology in the hands of our experts will be instrumental in helping to deliver accurate reports efficiently, speeding up the process for our clients. What used to take several minutes can now be done in a few seconds, and this will make a real difference to our nationwide geomatics and site survey capabilities.”

Expansion plans for Loughborough chartered quantity surveyor and project management firm

Tess Egginton
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Expansion plans for Loughborough chartered quantity surveyor and project management firm

Loughborough-based chartered quantity surveyor and project management firm, Addison Hunt, has set its sights on further expansion following a successful six years of trading – achieving a 200% increase in turnover in the last three years alone.

The company works across all levels of the construction industry on projects throughout the UK, providing cost advice and end to end project management services – ensuring projects meet the required quality standards, risk is minimised, and value for money is achieved.

Led by company directors Chris Hunt and Simon Collin, the business was set up by Chris in 2016 and in six years has grown to a team of eight professionals delivering multi-million pound projects, working with sub-contractors, contractors and developers.

Currently in the first quarter of a new financial year, Addison Hunt has secured a strong pipeline of work for 2022 – amounting to 50% of 2020/21.

This sustained growth is enabling the firm to recruit and as part of the team’s ambitious growth strategy, they hope to increase turnover by 30% in 2022. Currently, there is opportunity for two intermediate quantity surveyors to join the team who will work across the developer and contractor client base.

Director Chris said: “I am extremely proud of what the business has achieved to date, despite challenging times during the pandemic, Addison Hunt continues to grow – recruiting and training team members, and delivering a varied and diverse list of projects.

“We wanted to create a firm that would be seen by our clients as a trusted partner rather than a necessary consultant to deliver a project, and I feel that our success within the last three years has been real testament to this.

“As business owners, we want Addison Hunt to be known for quality of service and our returning clients showcase our commitment to this aim. Our ambition is to grow the team to 15 in the next few years, working out of our head office in Loughborough – the perfect base to serve the Midlands and UK wide.”

Notable projects completed by Addison Hunt include the Abbey Meadows residential development in Leicester – which forms part of Leicester’s waterside regeneration – comprising of 98 homes and saw the transformation of a redundant manufacturing site.

Simon, who has 40 years’ experience in the sector, comments on current market conditions and his ambition for the future: “The level of activity in the construction industry remains strong which is positive for all involved and we plan to harness this as part of our growth strategy. We have experienced considerable, organic growth which we are very proud of and as a team we are looking forward to what the future holds for Addison Hunt.

“Myself and Chris are big advocates of the industry and passionate about quantity surveying as a career – we are keen to invest in our workforce. We pride ourselves on being supportive and flexible employers, always available to support and provide guidance.

“I’d like to say a big thank you to our team and to our clients who put their trust in us and return to us for their next projects.”

Major refurbishment to take place at prominent Chesterfield office building

Steve Fisher
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Major refurbishment to take place at prominent Chesterfield office building
A major refurbishment of prominent Chesterfield office space, The HQ, Rowland Hill House in Chesterfield is underway, resulting in a raft of new tenants. The works being carried out by FI Real Estate Management includes a £1.2m remodelling of the ground and third floors, which has created brand new reception and meeting space and the ground floor has been split into a series of smaller suites in response to market demand. This is now fully occupied by a diverse range of businesses including software consultancy Forefront Technology and advertising agency, Eehhaaa. The next phase of works will see a £1m+ refurbishment of the first and second floors that will see the space divided to provide smaller units, with discussions already ongoing with a number of interested parties from Derbyshire and beyond. The HQ, Rowland Hill House offers a wide range of refurbished, flexible and affordable office space from 400 sq ft up – right up to 60,331 sq ft across four floors. Space can be divided in order to meet specific business requirements, with turnkey and bespoke packages available. The property also boasts 326 on site parking spaces, unlike many office buildings in the area. Situated within the heart of the historic market town of Chesterfield in Derbyshire, Rowland Hill House is just a 15 minute drive from the M1 and East Midlands Airport only a 40-minute car journey away. A spokesperson for FI Real Estate Management commented: “We continue to see strong demand for high quality office space in prime locations in Derbyshire and the surrounding area, particularly those with ample on-site parking like here at The HQ, Rowland Hill House. “Local and regional businesses are keen to find first class office environments but understandably want the flexibility to create solutions that are tailored to them and suit their unique needs. We’re able to offer traditional leases as well as bespoke, turnkey packages and are already seeing good interest in floors one and two on this basis.”

Leicester high street businesses given opportunity to access council-funded digital skills training

Michael Fisher
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Leicester high street businesses given opportunity to access council-funded digital skills training
Businesses in neighbourhood shopping areas in Leicester have been given the opportunity to access expert digital skills training and social media tools to improve their use of social media and increase sales.  The initiative was funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Welcome Back grant from Government to support businesses as they recover from the restrictions imposed during the pandemic. Leicester City Council appointed social media tech company Maybe* to deliver the digital skills training. Businesses that have signed up to the scheme received £400 worth of training to increase their digital skills and capabilities, paid for by the ERDF grant funding. Insight shows that around 4,500 (18 per cent) of businesses in Leicester are active on social media against a UK average of 24.4 per cent.  However, 40% of consumer in England say they are spending more than 3 hours a day on social media†. The social media training and tools being delivered by the team of experts at Maybe* covers everything from the basics of how to get started on social media through to advanced strategies, such as using Facebook advertising networks to deliver winning sales tactics. Polly Barnfield OBE, CEO of Maybe* said, “It’s a privilege for Maybe* to be able to support the local commercial neighbour business community in Leicester. We are enjoying working with these local businesses to help them use social media to connect with customers and improve their ability to reach new markets.” Cllr Danny Myers, assistant city mayor for jobs and skills at Leicester City Council, said: “It’s really important that we support our local businesses to make the most of social media, and the opportunities it can present for growing your customer base. “Engaging effectively on social media not only reinforces customers from the immediate local community but also has the potential to support local high street businesses to draw customers from all over the city. “Leicester has a reputation as a great city for entrepreneurship, and we want to do all we can to support that. I hope lots of local businesses will be able to see the benefits of this expert training.”  

Prime 3 acre site fronting the A52 in Derby goes on the market

Steve Fisher
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Prime 3 acre site fronting the A52 in Derby goes on the market
A prime 3 acre site, fronting the A52 in Derby, suitable for industrial, trade, storage or depot has gone on the market complete with 25,000 sq ft of warehouse. The former Derby Wholesale Market, situated off Pentagon Island, is situated on Chequers Road which runs parallel with the A52 thus being highly visible from the A52 a major dual carriageway linking to the M1 Motorway. FHP Property Consultants has been tasked to bring the property to the market explain: “The site is approximately 3 acres in size, and consists of a 25,000ft2 warehouse with ancillary buildings with the remaining area comprising hard surfaced storage land.  The property can be purchased or rented as seen or with buildings to be refurbished to a specification to suit individual parties.  Alternatively, new trade counter/industrial/warehouse units from 25,000ft2 up to a maximum size of 57,000ft2 can be delivered to a specification to suit. Darran Severn of FHP Property Consultants says:“This is an extremely rare opportunity to acquire a prime site in one of the most prominent locations in Derby.  The site would suit a variety of users from car dealerships, trade counter users to storage and distribution or for use as a transport depot. We are inviting all enquiries and I look forward to speaking with any interested businesses.”

Workpays founder Helen Richardson awarded an MBE

Steve Fisher
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Workpays founder Helen Richardson awarded an MBE
Helen Richardson, Founder of Workpays, which has offices in Derby, Coventry, Chesterfield, Kettering, Leicester, Wolverhampton, Worcester, Hinckley, Redditch, Corby & Market Harborough, has been awarded with an MBE for Service to Young People During the Pandemic, and was presented with her award at Windsor Castle last month. Throughout the pandemic, Workpays remained open throughout the pandemic going above and beyond to offer extended pastoral services to our participants, in addition to skills and employability delivery. After creating an online learning platform from scratch in less than a month, we provided a laptop and WiFi dongles to those participants without the equipment to access online learning and virtual classes, these were hand delivered to their homes. Anne Wright, Managing Director of Workpays said, “We are delighted to congratulate Helen for being awarded an MBE, it is an exceptional accolade that highlights the valuable work undertaken at Workpays during the pandemic. I’m extremely proud that the Workpays family became fully united and focused to continue our service and offer excellent support to our young people at a extraordinarily challenging time for them.” Alex Glasner, Managing Director, said, “This is a huge accolade for Helen and Workpays and testament to the work our team put in day in day out. Workpays will always put our learners first no matter what the circumstances.” As a skills provider in Chesterfield, Workpays helps people to access the skills & training needed to gain employment. The company provides Apprenticeship Support & Knowledge to parents, teachers & students and assists employers to develop their workforce through work-based learning and apprenticeships. Workpays has offices in Derby, Coventry, Chesterfield, Kettering, Leicester, Wolverhampton, Worcester, Hinckley, Redditch, Corby & Market Harborough. Find out more about the wide range of apprenticeships available in Chesterfield, along with the Made In Chesterfield scheme, which enables school pupils to gain first-hand experience of construction, manufacturing and engineering by taking part in site visits at local businesses. Workpays supports the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 190 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.

Pioneering company run by disabled people wins Queen’s Award

Tess Egginton
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Pioneering company run by disabled people wins Queen’s Award
Nimbus, a company run by disabled people to help tens of thousands of their peers have better access to entertainment venues, has won a prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise. The company which only has four employees created the bespoke Access Card under the leadership of Martin Austin, who has been an amputee since suffering cancer as a teenager. It was recognised in the Queen’s Award’s Innovation category. The Access Card translates its holder’s disability/impairment/access requirements into symbols highlighting the barriers they face and the reasonable adjustments they might need at an entertainment venue. Each symbol is based on a person’s individual rights under the Equality Act and the service provider’s subsequent legal responsibility to make adjustments. It informs providers quickly and discreetly about the support they need, meaning they now receive complex reasonable adjustments without having to go into intricate, often embarrassing personal detail. The card is widely accepted at major venues across the UK and beyond including Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, The London Eye, The O2 Arena and Alton Towers. Notable overseas venues which accept Access Cards include The Louvre in Paris and Chicago’s Willis Tower. The card’s information has been linked into the computer ticketing systems of companies such as Ticket Factory, making the process of buying tickets for disabled people much less labour intensive and potentially embarrassing. Nimbus was set up by Disability Direct which gave Martin the time and money to run with the concept for the card. Martin said: “There was literally a moment when I was sitting with a pencil and a single piece of paper as the idea popped. The challenge starts internally convincing people that the investment to develop something is worth the risk. “Secondly, you have to convince an entire, very well established, industry that you have something of value to them. After that and a few early adopters, you have the challenge of convincing those less adoptive of innovation to get on board. “It’s not been an easy journey but I can honestly say it’s been an exciting one for me, my colleague Greg Johnson, who has grown with the scheme and is now our lead decision-maker, and our ever-expanding team. The award is also recognition for all of those who have supported us. “As I have often told the team we stand on the shoulders of giants – pioneers who have paved the way to allow for this kind of innovation to even exist let alone thrive. The award is an overwhelmingly welcome signal of recognition but it is not by any means punctuation in our development. “If anything, it’s a catalyst for all of those sitting on the fence of working with us to understand what we have to offer and take our work as seriously as we do. “The innovative spirit from the team at Nimbus is still blazing and new developments are underway which include a Welsh Language version of the Access Card, the development of a revolutionary app and most excitingly, a complete re-evaluation of car parking and electric vehicle charging for disabled people.”

Silverstone Soccer makes it a hat trick of tournaments to help local hospice

Tess Egginton
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Silverstone Soccer makes it a hat trick of tournaments to help local hospice
Silverstone Fleet Management will make it a hat trick of football fundraisers this summer when they host their third annual five-a-side charity soccer tournament. Silverstone Soccer 2022 takes place on Sunday 24th July at Daventry Town Football Club, to raise money for the vehicle leasing company’s nominated charity of the year, Cynthia Spencer Hospice. Businesses from across Northamptonshire are being urged to form a team and don their football boots for the event, which will see 16 teams compete for the much-coveted winner’s title. Seven sides have already registered to take part. The popular fundraiser is the brainchild of Ryan Bishop, sales manager at Silverstone Fleet Management. The self-confessed football fanatic decided to use his local business contacts and love of football to raise much needed funds for the hospice for the first time at the beginning of 2020. Ryan was amazed by the response and the impressive amount of money raised, which motivated him to make it an annual event. He also previously spearheaded the #Sing4Cynthia social media campaign, which saw people from across the local business community film themselves singing songs and upload them to LinkedIn with the hashtag #Sing4Cynthia and then pledging money to a JustGiving page and nominating two other people to take part. Ryan said: “It is a pleasure and a privilege to be able to support Cynthia Spencer Hospice. The work they do makes an incredible difference to local families when they need help the most. “The Silverstone Soccer event is a lot of fun to host and organise and we are proud to use such a fantastic event to make a difference to the hospice and the families it looks after. “We are delighted to be running it again this summer and thrilled to have newcomers entering as well as last year’s teams coming back again. We’d now like to encourage more local businesses to take part and help us collect cash for this amazing cause.” With space limited to just 16 teams, Ryan is urging local businesses to register as soon as possible. Each team needs seven players and the £250 entry fee, which includes your own business named football shirt included for each player. Trophies will be awarded at the end of the tournament to the winning team, runners up and player of the tournament. Sponsorship packages are also available for businesses who would like to support the event in another way. Nina Gandy, corporate partnerships fundraiser at Cynthia Spencer Hospice, said: “The SFM team’s passion for this event is great to see and we’re so excited that Silverstone Soccer is back for another year. “Ryan and the guys really have scored with this fantastic way to blend footy, fundraising and some friendly competition into a regular fixture in the local business calendar that also serves as a great networking event for their contacts and customers too. We can’t wait to support them again in 2022 and help them make sure this year’s event goes straight in the back of the net!” To sign up for Silverstone Soccer visit https://sfmsoccer.silverstonefleetmanagement.com/

Record vacancies highlight the historic hiring crunch facing firms

Steve Fisher
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Record vacancies highlight the historic hiring crunch facing firms
Rising economic inactivity, a deteriorating economic outlook and the financial squeeze on businesses from soaring energy bills are but a few of the problems for East Midlands businesses. But record vacancies, due to a shrinking workforce, is also crippling many businesses. As BCC Head of Economics, Suren Thiru, points out:“While payroll employment rose slightly and the unemployment rate continues to fall, the headline figures continued to be flattered by significant underlying factors, including a shrinking workforce. “Increasing vacancies highlights the historic hiring crunch facing firms. With rising economic inactivity confirming that lots of workers have seemingly quit the jobs market completely, severe staff shortages may remain a persistent drag anchor on economic activity. “Although there was a rise in earnings growth, with inflation soaring, wages are still comfortably lagging behind price increases. If this continues as expected, real household incomes will be damaged further, stifling consumer spending, a key driver of UK economic output. “Weakening consumer confidence may limit households’ willingness to support spending by running down savings built-up during Covid to offset declines in real pay. “The deteriorating economic outlook and the financial squeeze on businesses from soaring energy bills and the national insurance rise risks weakening labour market conditions by dampening recruitment and limiting firms’ ability to increase wages and invest in their staff. “More must be done to help people access rapid retraining opportunities for in-demand jobs, including assisting older workers to turn to more sustainable jobs. Introducing a new skills tax credit to incentivise employers to invest in training for workers would help to revitalise employer-led training.”    

New East Midlands Manufacturing Network holds first local meeting

Tess Egginton
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New East Midlands Manufacturing Network holds first local meeting
North Nottinghamshire is the first local network to launch under the new peer-led East Midlands Manufacturing Network. More than 30 manufacturers attended its inaugural meeting at the NTU University Centre, at Vision West Nottinghamshire College in Mansfield, on 12 April. It follows a regional launch event in March that attracted about 100 manufacturing businesses, and signals the advent of other networks in the Derbyshire Dales and High Peak, Leicestershire and Derbyshire local authority areas. The role of the new East Midlands Manufacturing Network is to secure the future success of manufacturing in the region by bringing together key knowledge and skills to form a dedicated, supportive peer network. Manufacturers are being encouraged to join, in order to: · Share best practices and experience in a trusted peer environment; · Focus on issues and challenges that are a priority for them and other manufacturing businesses; · Better understand the financial support on offer for their manufacturing business; · Tap into specialist consultancy and advice on regulation and compliance; · Identify collaboration opportunities; and · Gain peer support and education. The network is being led by East Midlands Chamber and delivered by Qinesis – The Business Growth Company. It builds on the success of the Nottinghamshire Manufacturing Network. Mark Goldby DL, non-executive director and ambassador for Qinesis, said: “It was truly a privilege to help kick off the first meeting of the North Nottinghamshire Manufacturing Network. There was a great mix of businesses and great debate around the common challenges we need to address within the sector. It bodes well for the networks we’ve established in other areas of the East Midlands, which will have their own launch meetings in May.” East Midlands Chamber Deputy Chief Executive Diane Beresford added: “My thanks go to all who were involved in the North Nottinghamshire event, and to all who contributed to the discussions with such passion. “The East Midlands is, unquestionably, a region with a strong manufacturing heritage and with the potential to have an equally strong future. I would encourage any manufacturer looking for support to get involved, and to gain valuable insight into the new technologies, resources and information on offer.” The next local launches will take place as follows: Derbyshire Dales and High Peak on 13 May; Leicestershire on 17 May; and Derbyshire on 24 May.
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