PR agency teams up with charity to promote UK’s first live mental health event of its kind

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PR agency teams up with charity to promote UK’s first live mental health event of its kind

Nottingham-based digital PR company, Jennie Holland PR, is working with Birmingham-based charitable organisation Be;Live, in the build up to its first-of-its-kind, live mental health event, taking place in Birmingham next weekend (2 April). 

Jennie Holland PR, which has a wealth of experience in the not-for-profit sector, has been appointed to provide digital PR services on a pro-bono basis for Be;Live, to build awareness and maximise ticket sales for the upcoming event.  

Be;Live was founded by James Crystal, who began the organisation after suffering abuse as a teenager which manifested into several years of substance misuse and criminal activity, eventually leading to a prison sentence and a diagnosis of PTSD and depression.

Now aged 28 and five years sober, James’ and the event’s aims are simple; to educate, inspire and empower people around the topic of mental health and ultimately contribute to reducing the UK’s stark mental health statistics.

Be;Live brings together not only professionals and specialists but also those with lived experiences, who have survived serious adversity, to share their stories, support and advice in order to change the way we all see mental health, providing tools for attendees to take the first steps in creating positive mental health.

Taking place at Gas Street Central in Birmingham on Saturday 2 April 2022, the event – which can be attended in person or virtually – will feature a range of guest speakers, including former Sky Sports presenter Simon Thomas and ex-premier league footballer Clarke Carlilse among many others, who will be sharing their own personal stories around mental health.

Jennie Holland PR is providing publicity services to Be;Live by securing print, online and broadcast media coverage for the event as well as influencer marketing services.

Georgina Mackintosh, senior PR manager at Jennie Holland PR, said: “We are honoured to be working with Be;Live – James is a hugely inspiring and humble individual who, after going through traumatic events and facing mental health struggles of his own, is now striving to help others and let them know that no one has to go through hardship alone.

“As a Midlands-based digital PR team, we are proud to be able to offer our expertise to help promote this unique and important event – which is open to everyone and free for students.

“Be;Live is an event unlike anything the UK has seen before and it will make a real impact on people’s lives, both those who want to improve their own mental wellbeing but also those who simply want to have a better understanding of mental health to support friends and family. We look forward to attending this year and for years to come.”

James Crystal, founder and Managing Director of Be;Live, said: “We’re overwhelmed with the amount of support we’ve had from businesses who are extending the work from our small team here at Be;Live.

“The team at Jennie Holland PR have delivered so much more than we could have hoped including an interview with Global and several PR pieces in press to help drive awareness of our event. It goes without saying, it’s the people behind these supportive brands who have understood how important an event like Be;Live is and we honestly felt Jennie and her team were just as passionate about our cause as we are. We’re eternally grateful for all of their support.”

Ticket sales and brand sponsorship of the event will raise funds for independent mental health charities who provide free mental health services on the front line. In person event tickets start from less than £23, and virtual event tickets costs just over £10. Further information about the event can be found at www.belive.org.uk.

Finch Consulting lands asset management specialist in recruitment drive

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Finch Consulting lands asset management specialist in recruitment drive
Leicestershire-based health and safety engineering risk management experts, Finch Consulting, have appointed Chartered Mechanical Engineer Paul Wood as a senior consultant. With over 15 years’ experience in mechanical engineering, Paul will be joining Finch from his most recent role as an engineering manager of asset management with the Peel Ports Group. In his new role, Paul will be helping the business develop and roll out a range of asset management focused services to support the existing portfolio of business offerings. Paul has a wide range of knowledge and experience in varied industries, including manufacturing, heavy engineering and maritime environments. Paul said: “Finch stood out as a forward thinking, team-focused company who aim to be the best in their field and want to help the various industries they work with to, not only make them safer, but help them achieve their business objectives.” At the beginning of the year, Finch also recruited Rachael Robinson into the nucleus of the business, the Finch Support Team. Her role is to provide support for the consultants in the delivery of projects. Dom Barraclough, Managing Director at Finch, said: “We are very pleased that Paul and Rachael have decided to become Finch’s. Paul’s asset management experience is significant in our efforts at expanding our offering to our clients. Rachael will be a massive help in supporting the consultants with their workload.”

Timms Solicitors announce new partner

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Timms Solicitors announce new partner
A senior family lawyer has become a partner with Timms Solicitors, which has offices in Derby’s Cathedral Quarter, Burton-upon-Trent, Swadlincote and Ashby. Dee Khunkhuna specialises in childcare law and advocacy and has been with Timms for seven years. She is a member of the Law Society Children Panel and Advanced Family Law Panel and deals with complex children matters and other areas of family law. She joins the existing partners – Fiona Moffat, Jo Robinson and Lisa Collett. Managing partner Fiona Moffat said: “We are delighted to welcome Dee to the partnership. She is a highly skilled and experienced solicitor who is a fearless advocate and well respected across the region for her expertise in this complex area of Family Law. “I am particularly delighted that Dee has joined the partnership having successfully completed our innovation Pathway Programme which, combined with her personal and professional skills, has helped to prepare her for this senior position with the firm.” Dee continued: “I am honoured to be joining the partnership and to play a greater role in the firm’s ambitions to do new and great things.”

Chesterfield data science services firm acquired

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Chesterfield data science services firm acquired
TPXimpact, the tech-enabled services company focused on digital transformation, has acquired Chesterfield-based Peak Indicators, a data science services and analytics consultancy. Peak Indicators work with the UK Public and Commercial sectors to provide deep technical skills in data engineering, business analytics, data science and artificial intelligence. Customers include Devon County Council, HSBC, Northern Power Grid, North East Lincolnshire Council and John Lewis, alongside a number of other commercial sector companies. Andy Ball and Antony Heljula, founders of Peak Indicators Ltd, said: “From the inception of Peak Indicators, we have strived to create a company that is committed to our people, our customers and our community. These core values align with those of TPXimpact and we are excited to join them in using our collective skills to continue improving the world around us. “We are excited to join another purpose-led business in the next stage of our growth journey. As part of the TPXimpact team, we look forward to continuing to deliver impactful change.” The news comes as TPXimpact also acquires Stirling-based Swirrl, a cloud-based open data consultancy with a focus on data integration and dissemination in public sector organisations. Neal Gandhi, CEO, TPXimpact, said: “I am delighted to welcome the Swirrl and Peak Indicators’ teams to TPXimpact. With a comprehensive and specialist range of data capabilities now in place, these acquisitions represent another key strategic step forward for TPX in our mission to take on the multitude of complex challenges facing the public and commercial sectors and deliver sustainable digital change. “More than ever, we are now confident in our ability to bid for and win larger, more lucrative contracts with our enhanced service offering.”

Landowner pulls out from proposed Garden Village development

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Landowner pulls out from proposed Garden Village development
Bassetlaw District Council is delaying the submission of its draft local plan until June to allow for a final round of targeted consultation after one of the two landowners unexpectedly withdrew their site from the proposed Garden Village development. While this means the Council’s vision for a sustainable Garden Village cannot move forward at this stage, there will be no increase in the housing numbers for any other part of the District. This is because the Garden Village was to be self-sustainable and balanced its housing numbers with its employment land. Subject to approval by Cabinet, the next step is for the Council to undertake an Addendum Consultation, ahead of submitting the plan to the Independent Planning Inspectorate. Each time the draft local plan is amended, the council are required to undertake a period of consultation. The consultation will focus on the parts of the draft local plan relevant to the Garden Village.
  • There will be no increase in housing numbers in any other part of the District.
  • The Addendum Consultation will run for six weeks between April and June.
  • The Government require all Councils to have an up to date adopted local plan by December 2023, with repercussions if they do not meet the deadline.
  • The draft local plan would deliver significant infrastructure improvements across the District, including: new schools, new roads, cycle paths, children’s play areas, GP surgery improvements, bus routes, flood management scheme, improvements to Bassetlaw Hospital and more.
Cllr Jo White, Cabinet Member for Regeneration at Bassetlaw District Council, said: “It is extremely disappointing that one of the Landowners has pulled their site from the Garden Village at this late stage. Having a landowner of a key site pull out at this stage of a Local Plan is so unusual we can’t find an example of it happening elsewhere. “We are required by Government to complete this Local Plan by 2023 and work will continue to take the draft local plan forward as it will deliver significant infrastructure improvements across Bassetlaw. Residents have told us that they want to see investment in new schools, improved GP surgeries, new roads and cycle paths, new bus routes, new play areas and sports pitches. A local plan will deliver on these priorities.” Some of the key infrastructure headlines to be delivered through the local plan include: Retford
  • New cycling infrastructure in Ordsall and Hallcroft
  • Improvements to cycleways
  • Bus service from Ordsall to town centre/rail station
  • Improvements to bus stops
  • Improvements to Grove Road level crossing
  • Extensions to public rights of way in Ordsall, north and east Retford
  • Improvements to A620 Babworth Road / B6420 Mansfield Road / A620 Straight Mile / Sutton Lane; and Ordsall Road/A620 Babworth Road; and London Road / Whinney Moor Lane / Bracken Lane; and London Road / Whitehouses Road
  • New country park
  • 5.5ha of new open space
  • New children’s play areas
  • New allotments
  • Community garden
  • 6610 new trees
  • Improvements to local open space
  • New sports pitches
  • Improvements to Retford Golf Club
  • New primary school
  • Funding to deliver a primary school
  • Apprenticeship/graduate level training for residents in construction and new businesses
  • New health hub with space for GP branch surgery & community health care facilities
  • GP surgery improvements
  • 328 affordable homes
  • 1332 accessible homes
  • Extra care housing
  • 45 wheelchair accessible homes
Tuxford 
  • 18 affordable homes
  • 75 accessible homes
  • Funding to improve primary and secondary schools
  • GP surgery improvements
  • Improvements to local open space
  • 375 trees
  • Improvements to bus stops
  • Improvements to public rights of way
  • Improvements to Long Lane
Worksop
  • New distributor road & cycle track between Carlton Road and Blyth Road
  • New cycle track along the A57 between Manton Wood & Apleyhead
  • Bus service from north Worksop to town centre/rail station
  • Bus service from Apleyhead to town centre
  • Improvements to bus stops
  • Extensions to public rights of way in north Worksop
  • Improvements to cycleways
  • Improvements to Blyth Road/Farmers Branch and Blyth Road/Kilton Hill
  • Improvements to the junctions along the A57
  • 9.1ha of new open space
  • New children’s play areas
  • New allotments
  • 6675 new trees
  • Improvements to Clumber Park
  • Improvements to local open spaces
  • New sports pitches
  • Improvements to sports facilities in Manton area
  • New secondary school satellite
  • Funding to deliver a secondary school
  • Funding to help deliver Worksop Flood Management Scheme
  • Apprenticeship/graduate level training for residents in construction and new businesses
  • Improvements to Bassetlaw Hospital
  • GP surgeries improvements
  • 412 Affordable homes
  • 1335 accessible homes

Pendragon delivers “strong set of results” with record underlying pre-tax profit

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Pendragon delivers “strong set of results” with record underlying pre-tax profit
Pendragon, the Nottingham car retailer, has “delivered a really strong set of results” for 2021, according to its CEO. Results for year ended 31 December 2021 show the business achieved a record underlying profit before tax of £83m, leaping from £8.2m in 2020. Meanwhile revenue grew to £3.4bn from £2.9bn.

Bill Berman, Chief Executive Officer, said: “We have delivered a really strong set of results, with positive contributions from all parts of our business. Late in 2020, we set out our new strategy to transform our operations and adapt to the fast-changing retail environment. Our focus since then has been on creating value through the delivery of this strategy and we are seeing the operational and financial benefits of this hard work in our results today.

“Our sector has experienced a unique set of trading conditions during the period and I am delighted with how we have performed in this environment. We have made the most of the favourable market dynamics to deliver record underlying profits and we have also reported a return to profit for CarStore, our relaunched, used car brand.

“We expect existing supply chain constraints to continue in the current year, and we are mindful of the potential for further disruption to new vehicle supply chains as a result of the conflict in Ukraine. Despite this, we have the right strategy in place and we expect to make positive progress towards our long-term goals this year.”

Tungsten Properties relocates HQ to Leicester

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Tungsten Properties relocates HQ to Leicester
Tungsten Properties, the industrial and warehouse developers, has relocated its HQ to Leicester and appointed Luke Davenport as associate development director to bolster the development team, taking its team of development managers to six. Founded in 2005, Tungsten Properties has been previously based in Hinckley, Leicestershire since 2006 when the firm was just two people strong. Today the company now totals a team of 10 with a current work in progress pipeline of 31 projects which total 6.1 million sq ft, and which span from Merseyside to East Sussex. Due to the company’s rapid expansion, Tungsten Properties has taken 4,702 sq ft (436.82 sq m) at Gateway House, Penman Way, Grove Park in Enderby, Leicester on a 5-year lease from Custodian REIT. Luke is an experienced development surveyor and has joined from Henry Boot Developments where he has worked for nearly ten years on projects which include Butterfield Business Park, Luton and Airport Business Park, Southend. Jeff Penman, Managing Director, Tungsten Properties, said: “There’s no getting away from the current and exceptionally high demand in the industrial and warehousing market. In the last few years, our business has seen rapid growth as we have built our development pipeline with some innovative projects under our belt creating both jobs and providing investor returns. We warmly welcome Luke to our team. His depth of experience and sector knowledge will be an invaluable addition. “Our move to Leicester represents a significant milestone in our evolution and, with purposefully designed new space, it’s a great place for our team to continue to thrive and a place to warmly welcome our investors, agents, suppliers and friends. My thanks to everyone who has been part of this journey and here’s to the next chapter.” Jenny Clarke acquired the space on behalf of Tungsten, with Mike Allwood of Andrew & Ashwell acting for Custodian REIT. Vision Projects completed the fit-out on behalf of Tungsten Properties.

New, fully-funded programme to support business innovation and sustainability in Northamptonshire

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New, fully-funded programme to support business innovation and sustainability in Northamptonshire
The South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership’s (SEMLEP) Growth Hub has launched the Green Recovery and Innovation Programme (GRIP). The effects of climate change are becoming clearer and clearer, and are currently only set to get worse. The science is unambiguous; we need to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and achieve net zero emissions by 2050 or risk facing serious consequences.  Communities and businesses need to take action. GRIP is an initiative funded by the Government via the UK Community Renewal Fund and delivered by SEMLEP’s Growth Hub available to businesses in North and West Northamptonshire. It is designed to make it as easy as possible for businesses to become more sustainable, more efficient, more innovative, and more successful. The programme will consist of one-to-one support with a range of experts, including innovation and energy specialists, to help business leaders discuss, identify and develop their innovation and sustainability plans. After this, they will be able to attend a series of workshops designed to help boost their productivity and make their business more sustainable. Businesses will also have the opportunity to apply for grants of up to £10,000 to spend on consultancy support and small capital items of up to £5,000 (50% private sector match required), and to support the innovations that will help make their business more sustainable. By participating in the GRIP programme, business leaders will not only be making their organisations more innovative and sustainable, they will be making them more efficient and profitable by reducing waste and cutting costs. Judith Barker, SEMLEP’s director of programmes and governance, said: “This programme is a timely and much-needed boost for the many companies in Northamptonshire looking to accelerate innovation and make themselves more sustainable, both environmentally and financially. We welcome expressions of interest on our website from any Northamptonshire-based business.” Rachel Mallows, SEMLEP’s Growth Hub Board chair, said: “The Green Recovery and Innovation Programme is a wonderful demonstration that business success can and should go hand-in-hand with helping to protect the environment. It will make it easier than ever for Northamptonshire businesses to not only reduce their carbon footprint, but to evolve, grow and thrive at the same time.”

Leicestershire directors to drive awareness of modern slavery

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Leicestershire directors to drive awareness of modern slavery
One of the UK’s leading authorities on modern slavery is to address Leicestershire directors next month. Justine Currell, executive director of anti-slavery charity Unseen, will be the special guest of IoD Leicestershire and South East Midlands on 7 April. The event is free to attend for everyone and will be hosted online, starting at 11am. Unseen estimates that around 40 million people worldwide are in modern slavery. The UK has around 10,000 people in modern slavery, according to the Government. Justine will outline her work with Leicestershire City Council to raise awareness of modern slavery issues, particularly within the textiles and fashion sectors. She was instrumental in the Modern Slavery Act getting through Parliament and has worked closely with local authorities to raise awareness of abuse and exploitation by businesses and within supply chains. Under the Act, certain commercial organisations must publish an annual statement setting out the steps they take to prevent modern slavery in their business and their supply chains. Justine joined Unseen in 2016 following a 28-year career in the Civil Service, culminating in leading the human trafficking agenda at the Home Office. She will be joined at the event by Dr Roger Barker, IoD head of policy and governance, who will outline the Institute’s position on modern slavery. Sarah Canning, chair, IoD Leicestershire and South East Midlands, said: “It is incumbent on all of us to be watchful for the appalling crimes of slavery and exploitation. As the leading organisation for directors, we want to amplify the excellent work being done but also provide business leaders with the latest information so they can consider their own positions, supply chains and employees.”

Manufacturing price expectations hit new high

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Manufacturing price expectations hit new high
UK manufacturing output grew at a brisk pace in the three months to March, but the balance of manufacturers expecting to increase prices rose to a survey record high, according to the latest monthly CBI Industrial Trends Survey. The survey, based on 229 responses, found:
  • The balance of manufacturers expecting to raise prices in the next three months rose to a survey record high in March (+80% from +77% in February, a question first asked in Jan 1975).
  • Output volumes continued to grow at a robust pace in the three months to March (balance of +27% from +26% in the three months to February), with a similar rate expected in the three months ahead (+30%).
  • Output increased in 10 out of 17 sectors, with growth driven by the motor vehicles and chemicals sub-sectors.
  • Total order books matched the record level seen in November 2021 (+26% in March, from +20% in February, question first asked in April 1977). Export order books were above normal to the greatest extent since March 2019 (+7% from -7% in February).
  • Stocks of finished goods were seen as inadequate in March but improved for the third consecutive month (-8% from -14%).
Anna Leach, CBI deputy chief economist, said: “This survey highlights strong order books and output growth, but the cost pressures facing manufacturers have been amplified by the conflict in Ukraine. “To deliver a fundamental reset to UK growth, we need to see significant action to incentivise investment, a key driver of productivity growth and the only way to sustainably increase real wages. A permanent successor to the Super Deduction will ensure that economic resilience and growth go hand-in-hand.” Tom Crotty, group director at INEOS and chair of the CBI Manufacturing Council, said: “It is positive to see that total order books remained strong in March, with export orders above normal to the greatest since extent since March 2019. Manufacturing output volumes also grew at a significant pace in the first three months of 2022. “However, the Ukraine conflict has created further headwinds to an already challenging context for the manufacturing sector. The primary business focus is of course on supporting the humanitarian crisis and evaluating their operations in Ukraine and Russia. “But the shock to energy and other commodity markets, along with the potential for trade spillovers, will further add to the cost-of-living squeeze. Manufacturers will be looking to the upcoming Spring Fiscal Event to provide support through these challenges.”
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