Global payment services provider reveals office refit as part of vision to create new jobs
Global payment services provider, Worldline has announced a complete transformation of its Beeston site as part of its strategic vision to continue attracting and retaining the best people. The new space will create at least 50 new jobs for Nottingham and an all East Midlands team of contractors has been appointed to carry out the refurbishments.
Globally, Worldline design and operate digital payment and transactional solutions across multiple sectors, primarily working across transport, retail & hospitality and financial services. The teams based at Beeston primarily support the UK rail network delivering rail operations and rail retail services.
Worldline have been based at Beeston since 2009, delivering the technology that is the backbone of the UK rail system. The company currently has over 5,000 vacancies globally and will shortly bring in a new cohort of 50 apprentices who will be inducted through the Beeston site.
Worldline has been working with Leicester-based workplace consultants and commercial fit-out specialists Blueprint Interiors, and Derby-based workplace tech and audio-visual solutions provider TecInteractive.
The project will involve the transformation of 14,000 sq ft of office space that was previously configured as rows and rows of desks into a space which places the needs of the people using the space at the forefront of design. At the heart of the transformation is a learning and invention suite, where Worldline will host industry colleagues and customers in a state-of-the-art immersive experience.
Commenting on the investment, James Bain, CEO of Worldline UK&I, said: “Our people are the most important part of our business, it is fundamental for us that we provide our people with the best possible environment to work in.
“Our approach embodies the future culture of our business supporting our Dynamic Working principles in a post-COVID environment.
“The investment we are making in our Beeston office is not a refurbishment but a complete transformation that we hope will inspire and motivate our people, enabling them to collaborate, invent and work to the best of their abilities.”
Lee Jones, project manager from Worldline, added: “We have worked closely with Blueprint Interiors and TecInteractive who have been brilliant and their advice has been inspirational. They have helped us to truly get under the skin of what our people need from their workplace. We are really excited to commence works and look forward to welcoming our people to use the refurbished spaces when the project is completed in June.”
Chloe Sproston, creative & commercial director from Blueprint Interiors, added: “The new office will provide range of flexible hybrid working solutions that can be adapted according to the needs of its people. Whether this involves collaborative sessions, focused work, or social interactions – the new space, the furniture and the workplace collaborative tech chosen can be easily reconfigured to suit all future needs. On top of this, Worldline are totally committed to ensuring their people feel safe returning to work.”
Tom Bamford from TecInteractive added: “The new office will provide the latest in presentation and collaborative tech across all meeting spaces. As so many meetings are now video calls, we have designed the spaces to be a great experience for all participants, whether they are in a meeting room or connecting in from home.
“This helps everyone feel part of the discussion and get the most from every collaborative session. The learning and invention suite along with the immersive room will provide a space focused on telling the Worldline story to customers as well as being a high-end space for training and presenting products in a futuristic and impactful way.”
As the first industry player to contribute to the carbon neutrality of its activities in the payment industry, sustainability is central to Worldline’s business model. To meet this commitment Worldline has donated all old furniture to CollectEco who will repurpose or recycle it to charities, schools, community groups, NHS trusts and other not for profit good causes.
Children First Derby Charity Spring Ball raises over £8,000
Local charity Children First Derby celebrated the successful return of its annual Charity Spring Ball, held on 26th March 2022 at Morley Hayes Derby, which raised over £8,000 to help support local vulnerable children, young people, and families.
The sold-out Charity Spring Ball 2022, sponsored by East Midlands law firm, Smith Partnership, was well attended by prominent local business leaders – many of whom donated generous prizes for the live and silent fundraising auctions which were held during the event.
“We’re delighted to see the return of our popular Charity Spring Ball and to have received such fantastic support from the local business community,” said Children First Derby CEO, Irshad Baqui.
“It gives me great pleasure to announce that this year’s ball has raised an incredible £8,000 and we would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone here for your support this evening, and to all those who have generously donated auction prizes to help support this event.
“Your efforts are greatly appreciated, enabling us to provide continued support to local vulnerable children, young people and families.”
The event saw guest speaker, Joshua Ryan, chair of Children First Derby Youth Forum, deliver an inspirational speech about his previous struggles with mental health, and the challenges he continues to face.
In the heartfelt speech, Joshua detailed how the charity’s ongoing support had proved instrumental in helping him move forward positively with his life and how valuable the support continues to be.
As part of the event, guests enjoyed a three-course evening meal, served in Morley Haye’s Pavilion Suite, and were treated to entertainment from award winning magicians Ian Barradell, and Bernie Pedley.
Long-standing supporter of Children First Derby, and director of Merchant’s Jewellers, Karim Merchant, proved to be an excellent auctioneer for the charity’s live auction. Supported by fellow director, Tanita, the dynamic duo enthused guests, helping to drive auction prizes up and increasing the total amount of funds raised.
In addition to the live and silent auction prizes available on the evening, the charity had previously secured some signed Derby County Football items as auction prizes, including a pair of custom-made signed football boots from England and Manchester United record goal scorer, and current manager of Derby County Football Club, Wayne Rooney.
Some of these coveted, signed Derby County items were auctioned via the charity’s eBay account in the lead up to the Spring Ball – with Rooney’s boots fetching a winning bid of £620. And the total amount raised by the DCFC items amassed £2,000 towards the overall fundraising initiative.
The event concluded with live music performed by 5-piece Band, The Soul Council.
IoD appoints Craig Bentley as Leicestershire vice-chair
The Institute of Directors (IoD) has appointed Craig Bentley as vice-chair for Leicestershire and South East Midlands.
Craig is director of specialist management consulting firm Bentley Management and Consulting. He is also co-founder of Swotly, an ed-tech business which uses voice technology to improve parental engagement with children’s learning.
Prior to setting up his consulting business Craig led commercial and operations teams for global companies in manufacturing, logistics and supply chain management.
He succeeds Dr Shamir Ghumra as vice-chair and will remain as the branch ambassador for policy and governance.
As vice-chair, Craig will work closely alongside branch chair Sarah Canning and a team of specialist ambassadors to provide connections, professional development opportunities and an influential lobbying voice for all directors.
Craig said: “I am delighted to take on this role. We want to support local directors to deal with the challenges facing their organisations but also to provide them with the tools they need to prosper. I will be using my experience in helping clients to manage change and think through better ways of working.”
Sarah Canning, chair of IoD Leicester and South East Midlands, added: “I’d like to thank Shamir for his excellent work as vice-chair and welcome Craig as our new vice-chair. As someone with a passion for helping SMEs to achieve their full potential, I am delighted that Craig has agreed to take on this additional role. We are a community of individual members made stronger through the strength of our network – helping each other grow and succeed.”
Six new appointments at Lincolnshire law firm
Six new people have joined the Lincoln office of rapidly-expending law firm Pepperells.
Joining the Pepperells Lincoln team are:
- John Conlon, highly regarded for his expertise in child law, representing children, parents and family members along with 20 years experience in family law.
- Alison McGowan is a member of the Law Society Children Panel and the Association of Lawyers for Children, she specialises in complex court proceedings, including care, private law children matters, special guardianship and adoption.
- Hannah Bell, specialises in representing parents in arranging contact orders, residency and guardianship along with supporting parents and family members where the Local Authority has issued care proceedings or commenced pre-proceedings.
Hot Topic – WestBridge Tax Director Tom Moore responds to Chancellors Spring Statement
Business Link Magazine catches up with WestBridge Tax Director Tom Moore over the tax changes announced in the Spring Statement.
“Is that it?”, one opposition MP was heard to call out in the House of Commons, just as Chancellor Rishi Sunak delivered the last of his key announcements. The comment was probably a reaction to the relative paucity of help offered to those struggling with the cost of living but might also reflect the thoughts of those in the accountancy and tax professions.
There were a few changes of note.
A change to National Insurance Contributions (NICs) increases both the ‘Primary Threshold’ for Class 1 NICs and the ‘Lower Profits Limit’ for Class 4 NICs from 6 July 2022, aligning them with the personal allowance for income tax which is set at £12,570 per annum. The intention is that these thresholds will remain aligned. That provides both a welcome simplification and a tax saving of up to £330 per annum for those affected.
The ‘Employment Allowance’ will rise from £4,000 to £5,000 from April 2022. This means eligible businesses and charities will be able to claim a greater reduction on the NICs they pay and, from the 2023 to 2024 tax year onwards, their Health and Social Care Levy liabilities.
A time-limited zero-rate of VAT for the installation of certain types of energy-saving materials was announced. The zero-rate will be available for a period of 5 years and will then revert to the 5% reduced rate of VAT.
Rates of Fuel Duty will be reduced for 12 months. This includes cutting rates for diesel and unleaded and leaded petrol by 5 pence per litre. The cut will translate into a reduction in the cost at the pumps of around 6p per litre meaning that the cost of filling the average tank will fall by an estimated £3.30.
The Chancellor also signalled forthcoming reforms aimed at encouraging businesses to invest more in capital spending, provision of high-quality employee training and research and development. There was also the headline announcement of a proposed reduction of the basic rate of income tax to 19% in two years’ time.
Should we have expected more? Probably not.
In the early months of the year speculation concerning tax changes invariably runs rife and the fortune-telling skills of tax professionals are tested by clients and journalists– normally to the point of failure.
Until 2016, the March Budget represented the single most significant statement of tax changes. Since 2017, we have had a ‘Spring Statement’ and a Budget in the late Autumn. Those not paying close attention would be forgiven for being a little confused. We had grown accustomed to both events being, in effect, ‘Budgets’ with both containing a raft of tax changes in broadly equal measure.
Technically – and until relatively recently – only the ‘Budget’ was where the Government announced tax changes. The ‘Budget’ told us how the Government was going to raise money and the ‘Statement’ (whether Spring or Autumn) told us how that money was going to be spent.
If the Spring Statement seemed a little short on announcements that may only be a return to the traditional roles of ‘Budget’ and ‘Statement’ (even if the calendar has changed). As a self-confessed failure at prediction, I for one, would welcome that.
Buckles Solicitors announced as Nottingham City Business Club headline sponsor
Buckles Solicitors LLP has officially been announced as the new headline sponsor of Nottingham City Business Club.
Nottingham City Business Club (NCBC) is the oldest business networking club outside of London and will celebrate its one hundredth year in 2024. Keen to establish a headline sponsor, NCBC has agreed a deal with Nottingham-based Buckles Solicitors – a regular attendee of the club’s events and former headline sponsor from 2017 to 2020 – to resume its position as headline sponsor.
NCBC’s membership is currently made up of 80 individual businesses with each member having the opportunity to attend 10 in-person lunches per year at Nottingham’s Park Plaza Hotel, alongside a range of social events and an annual charity golf day.
Buckles Solicitors is a well-established and expanding law firm with offices in Nottingham, Stamford, Cambridge, Peterborough, London, Paris and Milan. Its team of legal specialists deliver a comprehensive range of legal services to businesses and individuals in the UK and internationally across various sectors, with particular expertise in planning and environmental law, construction and engineering, rail, employment, company and commercial law, commercial disputes and dispute resolution, together with private client wealth preservation and estate planning services. The firm also remains committed to supporting family businesses and entrepreneurs.
In 2015, Buckles was awarded LawNet’s “Law Firm of the Year” award and the firm was complimented for its exemplary client and employee care, clear strategic direction and sustained financial performance.
Nigel Rowlson, President of Nottingham City Business Club and Managing Director of The Dairy Creative Agency, is delighted to welcome Buckles on board once again as the club’s headline sponsor and sees this as a great opportunity for both parties.
“As face-to-face events resume and our one hundredth anniversary nears, having Buckles on board again is great news for the club.”
“We really want to drive success for NCBC not just in the short-term, but the long-term too – and welcoming Buckles back as our headline sponsor really adds value to our events. Likewise, this is a great opportunity for Buckles to raise its profile further and engage with Nottingham’s business community,”
He continues, “One of my main aims when I became president was to increase the number of members and engage with a growing number of local speakers at our events. The pandemic meant that we lost some of our member base but we’re now increasing our numbers rapidly again and we’re excited to have a number of great local entrepreneurs as guest speakers this season – including Tesla, East Midlands Airport, Doughnotts and DHP Family/Rock City”
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the team at Buckles for agreeing to be our main sponsor again and I’m looking forward to us forming a long and healthy partnership.”
James Coppinger, Partner and Head of Nottingham office at Buckles Solicitors, commented on the company’s decision to renew its sponsorship of NCBC this year.
“Given our proven track record of assisting businesses in Nottingham and across the region, and our long-standing links with NCBC, we’re delighted to have this role within the network. The monthly lunches and networking events are always very well organised and the range of speakers the club attracts is inspirational. It’s great for us to be involved once again!”
Deadline for making Tax Digital just 48 hours away
VAT-registered businesses have until Friday this week to complete preparations for Making Tax Digital for VAT.
HMRC says MTD helps taxpayers get their tax returns right by reducing common mistakes as well as saving time managing their tax affairs and is a key part of the overall digitalisation of UK tax.
Evidence shows MTD is succeeding in its central aims of reducing errors, while also making it faster to prepare and submit returns, and boosting productivity for businesses. New research, conducted by HMRC and peer reviewed by independent academics, shows MTD is likely to have generated increased revenue through reducing errors in both 2019 and 2020.
Nearly 1.6 million taxpayers had joined MTD for VAT as of December 2021, with more than 11 million returns successfully submitted. Around a third of VAT-registered businesses with taxable turnover below £85,000 have voluntarily signed up to MTD for VAT ahead of April 2022, and thousands more are signing up each week.
VAT-registered businesses that have not yet signed up to MTD for VAT should do so now. All VAT-registered businesses must use MTD for VAT for their first VAT return starting on or after 1 April 2022. Businesses should use the time left to choose the software that is right for them, whether that is one of the simple free options available, or a more advanced product for those with more complex affairs.
Lucy Frazer, HM Treasury’s Financial Secretary to the Treasury, said: “Businesses using MTD are saving time on their tax affairs, streamlining their processes and boosting their productivity as a result. Our first move towards a modern, digital tax service – MTD makes it easier for businesses to get their tax right first time.
“There is a range of support and information available for those that need it – including accessible online content such as YouTube videos, GOV.UK help pages and HMRC’s Extra Support service.”
Businesses could be compounding current skills shortage says new report
Businesses will continue to lose skilled workers if they continue to disregard the significance of how menopause symptoms such as joint pain, hot flushes, memory loss, fatigue and anxiety, can dramatically impact performance in the workplace, according to a new report.
According to Irwin Mitchell, this lack of action is compounding the current skills shortage and it will make it more difficult to attract new employees. Lawyers also warn that it could result in businesses facing costly discrimination claims in the future.
The study of 1,025 HR decision makers working across British businesses found that only one in five employers consider menopausal symptoms during the performance reviews of female staff. This is despite it being widely accepted that the effects of the menopause can be debilitating for a woman’s physical and psychological wellbeing. Symptoms have a huge impact on a women’s confidence in work, lead to periods of absence and, in some case resignations. The survey also found that only 13% of organisations that had a high representation of women in their workforce had a menopausal policy.
According to Irwin Mitchell, this lack of action is compounding the current skills shortage and it will make it more difficult to attract new employees. Lawyers also warn that it could result in businesses facing costly discrimination claims in the future.
Partner Jenny Arrowsmith said: “These are disappointing results and when you consider menopause is an issue affecting the fastest-growing demographic in the UK, namely women aged 50-64, it’s clear businesses must do more.
“It’s about time that menopause is openly discussed as a health and work issue and for employers to demonstrate that they take it seriously. Establishing a menopause policy is a simple and valuable starting point.
“Not only does a menopause policy help promote positive change within an organisation, it sets a framework for evidencing how it will approach conversations about the menopause, what support affected employees can expect to receive, and where they can access additional help. In doing so, it reduces the risk of costly disputes.
“There has been a significant rise in the number of employment tribunals where menopause is mentioned over the last two to three years and as awareness of this issue grows, we expect to see complaints increase further. Our survey demonstrates that there is a considerable amount of work still to do. This risk will increase if additional legal protection is given to those who have significant menopausal symptoms, which is something the Women and Equalities Committee are considering.
“Organisations that have woken up to the issue and are aware of the challenges that women face when going through the menopause are in a much stronger place to attract and retain colleagues who are often at the peak of their experience and have many more productive years ahead of them.”
A survey by menopause specialist Dr Louise Newson found that 99% of respondents said their perimenopausal or menopausal symptoms had led to a negative impact on their careers, with more than a third calling the impact ‘significant’. Almost 20% were off more than eight weeks and half of this group resigned or took early retirement.
She said: “I am saddened yet unsurprised by the findings of the Irwin Mitchell survey. The themes that highlight the challenges and inequalities perimenopausal and menopausal women face at work continuously reoccur in research and I have found similar findings through my own. It is the responsibility of organisations to create a menopause confident environment and the evidence suggests that those who do, retain talent and empower both their female and male employees.”
Fit for Business series launched to help upskill business owners and entrepreneurs
Business Lincolnshire is partnering with CDI Alliance to produce a new podcast series going live today.
The Fit for Business series will focus on upskilling current business owners and those who are thinking about starting their own company.
Sessions will span everything from the name of your business, legal structures, how to create a business plan, and much more. Guy Lewis, co-director at the CDI Alliance and the podcast’s host, is passionate about helping SMEs become more profitable by using technology. The bi-weekly series will feature a different guest each week, specialising in a particular subject area.
Guy says: “With the podcast, we want people to be able to absorb the knowledge and information we’re featuring in a way and at a time that suits them. We want it to get them to a position where they feel they need more than this, and from there we’d encourage them to reach out to us, to go to a masterclass, or ask questions of the advisors pertinent to their particular businesses.
He added: “We want to help businesses get the information they want, and get them to their next stage, whatever that may look like.”
The Fit for Business podcast will be available anywhere you stream your podcasts.
Multiple high-level promotions at Leading architects
Watson Batty Architects, which has offices in Loughborough and Leeds, has made four high-level promotions.
Robert Jagger has been promoted to Associate Director with a remit to grow the already established residential and specialist living sector portfolio at Watson Batty. Robert has over 16 years’ in-depth experience in both sectors and will work closely with registered providers, contractors, and local authorities to deliver innovative design solutions. He will also continue to lead on maintaining standards across the practice including Revit software and BIM Level 2 compliance.
Rob Cundy has been promoted to Associate and will assist in developing business across higher education whilst helping to mentor younger architects through qualifications and career path development. Rob has over 22 years’ industry experience working with both private and public sectors and has designed complex projects for Durham, Newcastle, and Leeds Beckett Universities
Gemma Bottomley is also promoted to Associate, primarily working across the specialist living sector and helping to develop the interior design service at Watson Batty. Gemma, who has 14 years multi sector experience, will also lead on dementia design compliance across the practice and is developing schemes towards gold standard University of Stirling Dementia Design Accreditation.
David Whalley also becomes an Associate, further developing the large-scale master planning expertise at Watson Batty. With 22 years’ industry experience focused on the living and specialist living sectors, David will help grow the PRS and student residential sectors and ensure that the practice is at the forefront of fast-moving technological advancements in the industry. He is also part of the practices’ sustainability taskforce in response to the climate crisis and commitment to the RIBA Climate Challenge.
Watson Batty Architects employs a team of 35 across studios in Leeds and Loughborough, and expects to surpass its £2.8m turnover targets by around 7% by April year end.
MD Peter White said: “These well-deserved promotions represent the future of Watson Batty and have proved themselves to be at the forefront of design innovation and aspiring leaders in their respective sectors.
“With a strong business pipeline and robust and incentivised team in place, we are pushing forward with a business priority on sustainability as we face the urgency of the Climate Crisis. We have established a sustainability taskforce to address this and to guide our clients on how to design and deliver buildings on the journey to net zero. Our principles look to drive change within the industry in sustainability as well as fire safety, modern methods of construction and inclusive design.”
