Long Eaton marina operator completes strategic acquisition of counterpart
Aquavista, the Long Eaton-based marina operator, has expanded its marina portfolio with the strategic acquisition of Castle Marinas.
The Midlands-based firm will see its portfolio expand with an additional 11 marinas added to its footprint at new locations, including Crick Marina, home of the world-famous Crick Boat Show, and the Birdham Pool Marina at Chichester Harbour.
Speaking following the announcement, Aquavista CEO, Steve de Polo, said: “We are delighted to announce the acquisition of Castle Marinas and look forward to the exciting opportunities that this will bring to our customers across all 29 of our UK-based marinas.
“Aquavista believes that life is better by the water and our purpose is to help our customers live that life. Since 2019 we have invested more than £3m into our marina estate, improving marina facilities and helping to deliver a great waterside experience, whether you live, visit, or work at an Aquavista marina.
“Both Castle Marinas and Aquavista have a proven track record of providing a high-quality experience to our customers and we look forward to continuing that tradition through our new combined offering.
“At Aquavista we pride ourselves on investing in our waterside teams, ensuring that our customers’ lives are made as easy as possible. I am delighted to have already begun to meet with the waterside teams at the 11 Castle Marinas to hear their views on how we can work together to further improve the marina experiences.”
Operations director, Mike Braidley, from Castle Marinas, said: “Castle Marinas is very pleased to have reached an agreement with Aquavista. It is clear how closely our mission statements align, and we believe Aquavista is ideally placed to continue to deliver and indeed improve on our commitment to be ‘Big enough to cope, small enough to care’. This transaction will support our waterside teams to continue providing a friendly, helpful and professional service at all our locations.”
rg+p promotes three new directors
Multi-disciplinary design practice, rg+p, has promoted three longstanding employees to directors.
Melvyn King becomes technical director, John Roberts is technical associate director for housing, and Ben Walton is design director.
Collectively the trio has amassed over three decades with rg+p, delivering some of the firm’s flagship schemes including Royal Warwick Square in Kensington and Chelsea, Leicester’s Sock Island waterfront regeneration, the award-winning Passivhaus homes at Heathcott Road and the 692-bed student scheme at The Bendigo Building in Nottingham.
“Melvyn, John and Ben are significantly talented architects, with a breadth of knowledge and expertise that the practice draws upon regularly,” said James Badley, rg+p’s director.
“They each champion the creation of sustainable buildings through design quality and technical accuracy, and as such, have become well-respected by both our team and clients. My co-directors and I were pleased to reward these three professionals with well-deserved promotions and begin a new phase of business growth.”
Whilst Melvyn, John and Ben’s promotions have specific practice-wide responsibilities, each is also expected to train the next generation and will lead in-house forums, review boards, CPD workshops and seminars.
Melvyn will also continue his longstanding partnership with De Montfort University where he provides lectures and tutorials for undergraduates studying towards BA Architecture and BSc Architectural Technology as well as mentoring and guidance aligned to the PEDR (Professional Experience Development Record) programme.
James added: “It’s really important that we continue developing new talent and we’re confident that Melvyn, John and Ben are excellent role models for our aspiring architects. The pandemic has caused swathes of changes to the architectural landscape and it’s an exciting time to be re-imagining our homes, communities, places of work and leisure.
“However, it’s also indefinitely altered the patterns of our working life. With further positive companywide changes soon to be announced, we agreed the timing was right to make these promotions to provide continuity and reassurance.”
These promotions take rg+p’s senior management to a team of nine, with Melvyn, John and Ben joining existing directors, James Badley, Alex Briars, Mitch Dale, Grant Giblett, Chris Lindley and Rob Woolston.
2022 Business Predictions: Mark Richardson, partner at BB&J Commercial
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 to Mark Richardson, partner at BB&J Commercial.
I expect 2022 to be much like 2021 in terms of activity. Demand for good quality commercial freeholds has been high, and I expect once again we will see competitive bidding where investments come to the market.
On several occasions when instructed to sell we have been to ‘best bids’ not only on investments but also on land where a scarcity of opportunities has pushed prices upwards.
I think business owners are looking to sit tight and ride out any remaining uncertainty, and as such I suspect that where freehold sales do come to the market then competition between potential purchasers will be even keener in 2022 than it has been this year.
We have seen some evidence of office uptake increasing a little, and this may accelerate as and when there is more long-term certainty over economic performance.
Surprisingly, demand for retail units has been reasonable, particularly for freehold units with potential for conversion of parts to residential. Hopefully this is a sign that there is gathering momentum behind a trend to repurpose our town and city centres.
On a related front there does not seem to be any waning of developers appetite to secure funding for new build schemes, and encouragingly no seeming shortage of lenders looking to provide finance.
This is only empirical evidence but based on our own activities and work this year it does give comfort that those who are willing to put their money on the line in terms of both borrowing and lending are feeling confident in what they are doing.
£500k funding boost for Leicester’s garment industry
Leicester’s garment industry is set to benefit from a new £500,000 business support project.
The sector has received a boost after the city council was successful in a bid to the Government’s Community Renewal Fund (CRF).
It means Leicester City Council will receive £500,000 to work together with partners Fashion-Enter Ltd and De Montfort University (DMU) to offer co-ordinated support to textiles manufacturers and local textiles workers.
The project will see all three partners providing lots of practical support to participating businesses to ensure ethical compliance and best practice, support innovation and develop their workforce skills.
Deputy city mayor, Cllr Adam Clarke, said: “This is great news for Leicester and demonstrates our commitment to the garment sector locally, which is a vital part of our economy. We’re determined to help raise standards and promote best practice in the industry – and this funding will help us to do that, by working intensively with local businesses.
“We are very pleased to be working with our partners Fashion-Enter and De Montfort University on this project, both of whom bring substantial valuable expertise to the project. Specialist training providers Fashion-Enter are also working with us on our fashion technology academy, while DMU is well known for driving innovation in the fashion industry.
“Together, we can combine our expert local and industry knowledge to support businesses to become beacons of best practice, in turn sharing what they learn with other businesses to create a wide-reaching positive impact.”
DMU will be mapping all the textiles activity in the city from companies and dye houses to brands. The university will then work with companies to develop a sector growth plan – providing leadership training and shifting the focus from low cost and non-compliance to high quality products. New business models will be developed, focusing on new production systems and more sustainable methods and fabrics.
Professor Katie Normington, Vice-Chancellor of De Montfort University, said: “The city of Leicester and DMU share a rich history in fashion and textiles, and the university is delighted to be part of this far-reaching project. We will be working closely with companies of all sizes on this plan, which has the potential to re-imagine business models and develop a more sustainable future for the industry.”
Jenny Holloway, CEO of Fashion-Enter, said: “Following on from the launch of the fashion technology academy, this is more good news for Leicester! The CRF revenue will allow for a wider range of training initiatives that will offer further wrap-around support to factories and workers.
“This will include information on new learner technologies, workers’ rights and e-commerce websites for brand development. It’s time to really establish Leicester as a major quality ethical manufacturing centre of excellence.”
The project will work with local manufacturers and textiles workers on accredited skills and training via the newly-launched Fashion Technology Academy, develop links to research and innovation to drive productivity, offer support for manufacturers to adopt best practice ethical compliance procedures, and work to promote the best of Leicester manufacturing.
The funding award is part of an overall £3milllion package secured by Leicester City Council from the Community Renewal Fund, with four further projects also benefitting, including schemes to support people into employment, provide English lessons for speakers of other languages, help women in business and provide mentoring and digital support to businesses.
Parent company considering sale of Boots
Boots’ parent company is reportedly considering a sale of the Nottingham-based business, which would see it valued at over £5bn.
According to Sky News, Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) is lining up Goldman Sachs to advise it on a review of options that could see new owners for the retailer.
Sky News further noted that the process would be exploratory, and may not lead to an ownership change, with a floatation being considered also.
A pharmacy-led health and beauty chain, Boots has over 2,000 stores and a team of over 50,000 colleagues.
Food packaging and catering supplies business agrees deal for brand-new Ilkeston warehouse
Catering24 has agreed a deal with Clowes Developments for the development of a state of the art warehouse facility in Ilkeston after doubling in size.
The family run business adapted their business model throughout the difficult year of 2020 for the hospitality industry by providing food packaging for takeaway and delivery. Their continued growth in this area is set to rise over the next decade and Catering24 have agreed a bespoke build with Clowes Developments in the East Midlands area strategically located between Nottingham & Derby.
Catering24 have agreed a lease with Clowes Developments for the development of a brand-new purpose-built warehouse and distribution facility at Etiquette Park located off the existing Manners Road Industrial Estate in Ilkeston.
The deal marks significant expansion for the food packaging distributor who have double their turnover in the past 18 months. Catering24 has the option to purchase the property within the first 2 years which Catering24 aim to do and represents a total investment in the warehouse, equipment, racking and IT software to the sum of £2.8million.
The 27,249 sq ft warehouse & office planning application has now been approved by Erewash Borough Council and work is expected to start on site within the next couple of weeks.
Clowes Developments have instructed TanRo to construct the bespoke facility for Catering24 at the Ilkeston-based business park. The 27,249 sq ft facility will be the larger of two brand new facilities expected to be built at the site following a successful planning application submitted by the developer to Erewash Borough Council.
Catering24’s bespoke building will sit within a secure complex and will comprise of a steel portal frame single storey warehouse with integral two storey offices. The property will benefit from a secure service yard, 40 car parking spaces, 8m haunch height, 2 level access loading doors, 3 phase power supply and EV charging points.
“I have been very impressed with the team at Catering24. We have totally restructured the business in 2020 due to the pandemic. Staff have adapted well to new ways of working, software system and alternative working hours to satisfy online consumer purchasing needs. Etiquette Park will be a welcome facility to achieve even more levels of customer service which we look forward to announce in 2022,” Steve Lloyd, CEO, said.
Prominent Castlewood Gateway facility sold to ConSpare and ProSpare
Clowes Developments have sold the prominent facility on Plot 5, Castlewood Gateway, at Castlewood Business Park to ConSpare Ltd and sister company ProSpare Ltd, for an undisclosed sum.
Ashfield District Council gave the green light for a 19,438 sq ft single story industrial warehouse unit with two storey offices earlier this year which allowed Clowes Developments to press on with the construction of the prominent standalone facility at the entrance of Castlewood Business Park which has already seen 1,500,000 sq ft of industrial space built and occupied.
ConSpare was established in 1978 and is a supplier of spare parts and process improvement solutions to the UK concrete producing industry. ProSpare was founded in 2007 and serves a wide array of companies handling and processing powders or bulk raw materials, with clients in sectors such as quarrying, recycling, glass and food manufacturing.
The owners have invested in and developed their previous site many times over the last 40 years, but Castlewood provides the opportunity to take a significant step forward. 40 employees will be moving to the new facility which allows for expansion in staff numbers in the future. Both businesses are stocking distributors, the additional warehouse space, which is 400% bigger than their previous premises in Pinxton, will allow the businesses to improve the efficiency of warehousing operations and further modernise the way they work.
James Bullock, Managing Director, ConSpare and ProSpare, commented on the move to Castlewood Business Park: “The location is ideal, and the chance to plan the building ‘from the ground up’ will allow us to implement many improvements to the businesses going forward. The building also provides a great environment for our employees to work within and to hold meetings with our customers. Castlewood reinforces our drive to ‘Make it better’.
“The move to Castlewood will form the cornerstone of our relentless drive to improve our process improvement and spare parts support services. It will provide the perfect platform to continue to grow both businesses and futureproof our operations for the next 40 years. We anticipate moving into the building in Spring 2022.”
Roe Developments were awarded the construction contract for the delivery of the facility.
Small firms sound alarm as £60bn EU import checks close in
With only one month to go until the first working day on which full import controls for EU goods will apply, a UK business group is flagging a lack of capacity among small businesses to handle new paperwork.
Currently, full customs declarations for EU goods can be deferred at the point of arrival. From this coming 1 January, however, paperwork will have to be handled up front, and notice of food, drink and products of animal origin imports given in advance.
With fewer than five weeks left to prepare for the changes, new Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) research shows that only one in four (25%) small importers who are impacted by the changes, and aware of them, are ready for them to take effect.
One in eight (16%) of the importers surveyed by the group say they are unable to prepare for the introduction of checks in the current climate, and a third (33%) say they were unaware of their introduction prior to the FSB study, but will be affected by them.
Latest figures from the ONS show total imports to the UK from the EU rose 2.2% to £57.7bn in Q3 2021. The UK’s total trade deficit widened to -£39.9 billion over the same period.
FSB Development Manager, Natalie Gasson-McKinley, said: “Given the turmoil of the past 18 months, new concerns about the spread of Covid, and this being the busiest time of year for many, it’s understandable that few firms are fully prepared for the introduction of import controls from January.
“What we’re saying to firms is: there’s still time to act. Speak to suppliers to ensure you have all you need to make declarations, consider alternative providers if that looks like an efficient way forward, and think about different transportation routes.
“Stockpiling will naturally be a temptation for those fortunate enough to have the funds for it, but there is already a squeeze on warehousing space – if everyone ramps up storage, that squeeze will only tighten.
“We’re urging the government to do all it can to raise awareness, with our support, through every channel available to it in a climate where a lot of small firms simply don’t have the cash or bandwidth to manage this new red tape.
“Too little support was made possible by the first iteration of the SME Brexit Support Fund due to narrow eligibility criteria and application timeframes. Policymakers should learn lessons from that process and launch a new fund, with the same aim of helping existing international businesses with growing admin, and inspiring new ones, but with a truly global focus.
“We’ve recently had the very welcome launch of the Export Support Service. What we need now, as these stark figures demonstrate, is an Import Support Service to empower firms with the guidance and information they require to successfully navigate global trade as it evolves.”
Triumph for Sandiacre local as she’s awarded prestigious National Young Business Woman of the Year title
The founder and director of architectural design firm The Practical Planning Company has been crowned Young Business Woman of the Year at this year’s National Business Women’s Awards – and Silver Overall Winner.
Jodie Heginbotham, from Sandiacre, Derbyshire, triumphed at the national awards ceremony, which took place at the Hilton Wembley Hotel in London. The awards programme was made up of 21 categories, celebrating the most successful business women from across the UK and judged by a national panel of judges.
“Although I was very much looking forward to the awards ceremony,” comments Jodie, “I saw it just as a chance to celebrate being shortlisted, enjoy some glitz and glamour, and meet some incredible businesswomen. I never expected to actually win. Our business story began right at the end of 2019 and as such a new – and small – company, I could never have hoped to be in such a position.
“So, to be crowned Young Business Woman of the Year was beyond my expectations, and such an honour. And to then be named the Silver Overall Winner, when so many successful women from larger, more established companies were in the running, I was blown away.”
Jodie’s recent successes are the latest in a triumphant year for the firm, which also saw it shortlisted for the Architectural Practice of the Year award at the National Building and Construction Awards 2021.
Jodie hopes that her accomplishment will show other industrious and hardworking, career-conscious parents that a traditional career path is not their only option, particularly if it doesn’t allow the flexibility they need.
“I never planned to walk away from the security of employment but I’m so glad I took the plunge. I wanted to create a business I could be proud of; something that represented everything I’d been looking for, with authenticity and quality along with flexibility and professional satisfaction.
“There have been so many obstacles in the past couple of years – the pandemic, the trials and tribulations of running a small business, working in the male-dominated construction industry, and then trying to balance it all as a working mum. But it’s all been worth it and I’m so proud that I’ve now got these two awards on display in my home.”
Awards Director, Damian Cummins, says: “The National Business Women’s Awards 2021 has shown the very best of Britain when it comes to women in our workplaces. The calibre of finalists in 2021 was higher than ever before and after a challenging year for business as a nation we can celebrate those women who are literally driving UK plc forward.”
East Midlands businesses fear HMRC clamp down on IR35 compliance
With HMRC’s ‘light touch’ approach to IR35 compliance enforcement set to end in April 2022, new research from Grant Thornton UK LLP’s latest Business Outlook Tracker finds that the East Midlands mid-market is struggling to comply with the changes.
The survey found that a quarter (24%) of mid-market businesses in the East Midlands are not confident in their business’s compliance with IR35.
From 6 April 2021, for large and medium sized businesses, the responsibility for determining whether a contractor is deemed an employee for tax purposes shifted to the end-user of their services. Broadly, this means that organisations have new obligations regarding their population of contractors within scope of the updated off-payroll working rules (IR35) and could ultimately be liable for PAYE and National Insurance Contributions (NICs) on this population.
However, HMRC has confirmed that it will take a light touch approach to penalties until April 2022.
With only a few months to go before the ‘light touch’ approach ends, less than three quarters of respondents in the East Midlands (64%) were found to be confident in their business’s compliance. With only 28% responding that they were ‘very confident’.
Commenting on the results, Dave Hillan, partner and practice leader at Grant Thornton UK LLP in the Midlands, said: “Many firms in the East Midlands have been dealing with a roller coaster of changes, upheavals and challenges over the past 18 months. When combined with the fact that HMRC has been lenient on IR35 compliance penalties for nearly a year, it’s possible that many may have overlooked this issue.
“While the new IR35 rules can be difficult to navigate, this won’t be seen as a good excuse for any non-compliance, especially given that the previous 12-month delay to the reforms should have been sufficient time to prepare. For any business that isn’t sure if it’s in line with the new rules, now is the critical time to address this concern before HMRC begins its clamp down.
“Any businesses that are seen as being deliberately non-compliant will not only face significant consequences but it will also not prevent any uncollected PAYE and NICs from being due. Firms using agencies to source temporary resource should be aware that a non-compliant approach could already mean that they are on the hook for PAYE and NICs – plus interest – not collected by the agency.”
