Chilled food company snaps up frozen specialist
Wrights Food Group has been sold to The Compleat Food Group.
The Compleat Food Group was formed through the merger of Nottingham-based Addo Food Group and Winterbotham Darby in January 2021 in order to become the UK’s no. 1 chilled prepared food company.
The acquisition of Wrights, a specialist in frozen foods, complements The Compleat Food Group’s existing chilled portfolio, significantly expands its customer base and provides it with much greater penetration into the UK’s foodservice markets.
Wrights Food Group was founded in 1926 as a local family-owned pie business. Under the leadership of Peter Wright, it has grown into one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of frozen savoury pastry, sweet bakery and ready meals to foodservice and retail channels across the UK. It also operates a chain of branded bakery stores in the Northwest.
Oghma Partners acted as exclusive financial advisor to the shareholder of Wrights Food Group.
Mark Lynch, partner at Oghma Partners, said: “We were thrilled to be able to work with Peter and the Wrights management team on the sale of the business to The Compleat Food Group. It was important to Peter to pass the ownership of his business to a purchaser that would build on the legacy which the Wrights family worked so hard to create.”
Lincolnshire-based premium foods provider secures £250,000 growth funding
A food & drink producer based across Lincolnshire has secured £250,000 to upgrade its production facilities, create jobs and service its growing customer base.
Wild Jacks Ltd secured the finance from Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF), provided by The FSE Group Debt Finance Fund and backed by the Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS). The MEIF funding will help to upgrade the company’s production facilities and create eight new jobs in the next year.
The investment will also allow the company to increase capacity in its existing events catering facilities, refurbish the premises and service new national contracts.
Founded in 2020 by Stuart and Joanna Hancock, Wild Jacks sources high-quality foods, bakery and meat products from Lincolnshire and operates multiple business lines, working with local producers, arable and meat farmers to sustainably provide these products to a range of customers.
Wild Jacks is home to a number of brands including Odling’s Butchers of Navenby, Welbourne’s Wine & Deli, Welbourne’s Bakery and their most recent acquisition, JH Starbuck (Baker & Caterer).
Stuart Hancock, founder of Wild Jacks, said: “Lincolnshire has a proud history of agriculture and thanks to this investment, we will be able to accelerate our growth plans to offer high-quality, sustainable and local produce to a national range of customers. It has been great working alongside Leo and The FSE Group’s Midlands team, the funding arrives at a really important time for the business as we scale up our operations to service our growing customer numbers.”
Leo Magee, investment manager at The FSE Group, which manages the MEIF Debt Finance Fund, adds: “We were impressed by Wild Jacks’ track record of rapid growth. The team boast senior personnel with significant experience in the industry. Additionally, the company has an impressive suite of business lines with a focus on providing the best locally sourced products. We are delighted to be able to offer this funding and look forward to working with Stuart, Joanna and the team to ensure they reach their goals for growth.”
Sarah Louise Fairburn, chair of the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership’s Food Board, said: “This is great news for an exciting new Lincolnshire business, and this funding underlines the importance of the food sector to Greater Lincolnshire. Our area is home to some outstanding food producers, from fish to free range pork and from cheese to chocolate. It’s no wonder that a business which champions Lincolnshire produce has become so successful so quickly. The new UK Food Valley will raise the profile of our food sector even higher and make it easier for innovative businesses like Wild Jacks to thrive.”
Mid-market investor in advanced discussions to make offer for Burton pharma firm
Clinigen, the Burton-based pharmaceutical products and services company, has received a non-binding indicative proposal from Triton Investment Management Limited for a possible offer for the entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of the business.
The board of Clinigen said it is in advanced discussions with Triton regarding the proposal, but there can be no certainty that any firm offer will be made for the company, nor as to the terms on which any firm offer might be made.
Triton is an investment firm focused on mid-market businesses. They sit within one of four sectors: industrial tech, services, consumer and healthcare.
Triton is required, by no later than 30 December, to announce a firm intention to make an offer for Clinigen or that it does not intend to make an offer.
Grade A office development fully let
Toll Bar House, a 7,105ft² Grade A office development in Edwalton, has now been fully let by FHP Property Consultants.
The three story modern office building is located on the edge of a major residential development next to Wheatcroft Garden Centre that also includes an Aldi supermarket, Costa Coffee Drive-Thru and McDonald’s.
Internally, the office suites provide open plan accommodation, benefitting from LED lighting, heating/cooling systems, shower facilities, with a feature full height glazed reception area and car parking facilities.
The building is now home to Oxalis Planning, T.Bailey Asset Management and IFS (UK) Ltd.
Thomas Szymkiw of FHP Property Consultants’ Office Department, who acted on behalf of the landlord, said: “Toll Bar House is one of the city’s premier new office developments and I am absolutely delighted to have secured tenants for the building.
“Increasingly, business parks are becoming ever more popular with occupiers who are now employing more flexible working practices and therefore require their offices in more accessible locations.”
Westminster endorsement for Leicester space cluster
The ‘integral’ value of the University of Leicester and its flagship Space Park Leicester development to the UK’s space sector has been highlighted in Parliament.
Liz Kendall, MP for Leicester West, spoke at a Westminster Hall debate of the significant contribution which the University and its projects continue to make to the UK space sector, following her visit to Space Park Leicester in November.
Science Minister, George Freeman, added his endorsement of the work taking place at Leicester, describing the region as “an absolutely vital location in the UK space ecosystem”.
He went on to describe Space Park Leicester as “an excellent example of locally-led regional technology hubs, and one that I am encouraging others to look at”. He added that “Space Park Leicester is absolutely integral” to the UK’s contributions in space science and technology.
The University of Leicester has a long-standing space heritage stretching back more than six decades.
Leicester research and innovation in space plays a major role in the UK space sector, with Space Park Leicester expected to boost the regional economy by £750m a year and create 2,500 jobs while supporting many of the national objectives of the Government’s new National Space Strategy, published in September.
Speaking as part of the Parliamentary motion, Liz Kendall said: “There is huge potential for space science and technology to create the high skill, high quality jobs of the future, to boost economic growth, to tackle climate change, and help keep our country safe.
“Leicester is at the forefront of the space sector in this country, and is extremely well-poised to lead development both nationally and internationally.
“The University of Leicester is globally recognised for its space research. Space Park Leicester builds on this proud tradition, bringing together our world-leading University research with industry in state-of-the-art high-tech facilities.
“Space Park Leicester is very well-placed to lead growth in the UK in low-cost satellite production and across the world.”
The debate also highlighted the work of the neighbouring National Space Centre – and in particular its National Space Academy outreach programme, inspiring the next generation of STEM ‘superheroes’ – plus the vital work of the UKRI-NERC National Centre for Earth Observation, hosted at Space Park Leicester.
The first phase of Space Park Leicester, with partners including Airbus and Thales Alenia Space, opened to researchers in the summer. The first resident businesses include AST SpaceMobile. A second phase, containing state-of-the-art workshops and labs, as well as the UK’s largest academic clean room for the assembling and testing of space equipment, is due to be operational to most of its occupants by Christmas.
Future plans include further development on the Leicester site, with a commercial Low Cost Access to Space (LoCAS) payload and satellite manufacturing facility for the manufacture of mid-range satellites.
Huge opportunity for East Midlands to develop new supply chains in low-carbon economy, event finds
The Midlands should seek to become a hotbed for emerging supply chains in the low-carbon economy, while end users must be front and centre of our new energy systems.
These were two of the key findings at the Midlands Energy Summit, held by East Midlands Chamber in partnership with the University of Nottingham earlier this week.
Reflecting on the outcomes of COP26 and wider trends in the energy industry, including continuing price increases, it featured keynote speeches and discussions involving companies such as Siemens Energy, Cavendish Nuclear and Consultus International Group.
Chris Hobson, director of policy and external affairs at East Midlands Chamber, said: “What is becoming increasingly apparent is the huge scale of the challenge we face globally, and how a shift in mindset is required now to address this because we need to travel further, faster.
“Rather than this being a daunting prospect though, there are equally significant opportunities at a localised level, particularly in supply chains. The East Midlands, with our energy-intensive manufacturing heritage and world-leading universities, is already at the cutting edge of many future technologies that will guide the energy transition. We now want SMEs to understand that they have a key role to play in the emerging supply chains being built in our region.
“Beyond supply chains, new industries will grow in the space between existing ones. We need to be ready to take advantage of this, while also recognising that taking a user-centric approach is key to bringing people along with us on this journey – viewing our energy consumers as part of the solution, rather than a barrier to change.”
The Midlands Energy Summit, held online on Tuesday (30 November), featured a keynote speech from University of Nottingham vice-chancellor Professor Shearer West. She explained how its Energy Institute is addressing three key societal challenges – energy generation and management, transport and mobility, and communities and the built environment – via a series of sustainable energy research projects.
She said: “Energy is absolutely vital for our survival but our existing energy systems present an existential threat.
“In COP26, we saw a lot about the interconnections between energy and climate change. The transition to net zero relies on a deep thinking for our energy system – not just the technologies we use but our expectations and behaviours.”
There were also presentations about the Midlands Engine’s Ten Point Plan for Green Growth in the Midlands Engine and its work in developing hydrogen technologies, as well as a talk by Cavendish Nuclear’s Michael Dunnett on the growing importance of small modular reactors in making nuclear energy supplies more flexible for industry.
Steve Atkins, head of global trades at Leicester-based energy consultancy Consultus International Group, explained about how a cold winter could cause another spike in gas prices due to relatively low resources, while more investment in zero-carbon energy infrastructure was key to unlocking subsidy-free renewables in the future.
Stephen Scrimshaw, vice-president of Siemens Energy UK & Ireland, focused on how Britain should adopt a “twin track approach” to developing blue and green hydrogen – and, just as importantly, the infrastructure behind it – as part of its net zero strategy.
Work to start on new health and wellbeing centre in Derbyshire village
Work on the much anticipated multi-million pound Creswell health and wellbeing centre is due to start in early 2022.
Working with partners, the project is being built by Elmton-with-Creswell Parish Council with assistance and funding from Bolsover District Council, Elmton-with-Creswell Parish Council, Derbyshire County Council, Viridor, Big Local and Bolsover Partnership.
Creswell Leisure Centre closed its doors in 2016 and Councillor Duncan McGregor set about looking at proposals for a brand new facility for the village. One that would not only provide people with the chance to participate in an active and healthy lifestyle, but one that could link with the importance of the Crags and provide an educational resource.
Five years down the line and contractors Robert Woodhead Limited are due to start work on the £2million+ development. Located on Colliery Road, adjacent to the Model Village, the new facility will provide the following:
- 27 station gym
- Climbing wall and caving experience
- One group exercise studio
- Soft play area
- Two badminton court sports hall
- Café
New fashion academy launches in Leicester
A new fashion academy has launched in Leicester to help train people in the skills they need to work in the textiles industry.
Leicester City Council has invested £300,000 in the project and teamed up with training provider Fashion-Enter Ltd to develop a new skills centre, which will be called The Fashion Technology Academy (Leicester).
£100,000 of the £300,000 funding has come from the local business rates pool, administered by the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership (LLEP).
The academy will offer apprenticeships and accredited training for people who work in, or want to work in, the textiles industry.
Current courses are free to people who are unemployed and apprenticeships at various levels are available to employers.
The academy is based in Stonebridge Street, at the heart of Leicester’s garment industry, sharing a state of the art building with renowned local clothing company Ethically Sourced Products Ltd, which has made the second floor of its premises available for the project.
Trainees have already started on some of the academy’s first courses, with an event held for partners, industry professionals, fashion retailers and guests on Tuesday 30 November marking the official launch of the project.
Deputy city mayor, Cllr Adam Clarke, said: “The opening of this academy is the result of years of hard work, and ideas that were first formulated at a ground-breaking textiles coalition event hosted by Leicester’s city mayor in 2017. This project has been developed to help tackle the problems that we know exist in the garment industry locally and are determined to address – despite having no enforcement powers ourselves.
“Leicester has the second largest concentration of textiles and fashion businesses in the UK, so this is a hugely important industry to our local economy, and it is one we are determined to support.
“Creating a highly-skilled and specialist workforce is an important and crucial step in creating workplaces where staff are valued, leading to higher standards of workplace compliance.”
Jenny Holloway, director of Fashion-Enter, said: “The opportunity for ethical ‘speed of response’ fashion from Leicester is enormous for retailers and etailers today. Fashion-Enter is delighted to be working collaboratively with partners to train a further generation of multi-skilled workers. Thank you to all involved; this is just the start!”
Kevin Harris is chair of the LLEP Board of Directors. He said: “I’m delighted that the Fashion Technology Academy (Leicester) officially launches today. Our textile sector has a long local history and has faced some tough times, so the LLEP is pleased to support this initiative with a £100,000 investment from the business rates pool that we administer. I look forward to seeing the academy developing the workforce and skills of our future textile specialists.”
The new academy will work closely with local textiles and fashion manufacturing businesses as well as with retailers, with representatives from companies including Asos attending the launch event.
Simon Platts, responsible sourcing director at ASOS, said: “We’ve worked with Fashion-Enter in London since 2010 and financed its Stitching Academy in 2015, helping to grow and retain vital textile manufacturing skills. Now the launch of Fashion Technology Academy Leicester will undoubtedly bring similar benefits to Leicester, helping to turn the city into the fashion centre of excellence that we know it has the potential to be.”
Other partners supporting the project include suppliers Triumph Needle and Alvanon, plus fashion etailer I Saw It First, which has invested £150,000 in training to be delivered by the new academy.
Greg Pateras, CEO of I Saw It First, said: “I Saw It First is committed to the British textiles industry, and our latest investment in the academy reinforces our desire to strengthen the sector and improve standards.”
In a further boost to the industry locally, a recent successful bid to the Government’s Community Renewal Fund means the city council will receive £500,000 to work together with partners Fashion-Enter and De Montfort University to offer co-ordinated support to textiles manufacturers and local textiles workers.
The city council’s adult skills and learning team is also working closely with the academy to offer English courses at the venue for speakers of other languages.
Pledges sought for Christmas Dinner Project – bringing a festive treat to families in need
To make someone’s Christmas Day extra special, Pepperells Solicitors are running the Christmas Dinner Project again in 2021 – and are looking for pledges.
Those who get involved in the Christmas Dinner Project will be helping some of the most needy families in our area enjoy a festive treat.
Morrisons have kept the meal pledge amount the same this year, so for £25 a family can be provided with the festive ingredients they need to make a traditional Christmas meal.
The Christmas Dinner Project works in partnership with churches and food banks to provide a meal for families that would otherwise go without. Many of the families it works with do not have presents under their tree and for them Christmas is just another day.
Last year a record 450 dinners were provided to local families in Lincolnshire, East Yorkshire and the North East.
If you would like to pledge, get in touch with Clare Williams at Pepperells Solicitors: Clare.Williams@pepperells.com
Sills & Betteridge lead sale of Hemswell-based International Security Group in multi million pound deal
In a deal which took many months of negotiation, led by Sills & Betteridge Corporate Partner Martin Walsh, Tag Security Holdings Ltd (TSH) has now been acquired by The Smartwater Group, supported by its primary investment partner, Freshstream. As part of the newly expanded group, TSH, which operates as Tag Guard in the UK, and BetaGuard in Europe, will continue to supply mobile security systems (including site intruder detection and access control products and services), and plans to provide an even broader range of technologies which deter crime and maximise the chances of a successful criminal prosecution. The multi million pound transaction involved the sale of TSH, an English holding company with subsidiaries in Holland, Belgium, Germany and Canada, requiring Martin Walsh to co-ordinate multiple advisors and jurisdictions. Commenting on the sale, Martin Berends, Managing Director of TSH, said: “Until completion of the sale of TSH, I was a majority shareholder, a Dutch national and resident, heading the international businesses of the group. I had little knowledge of the complex English legal process concerning selling shares in an English company. It was therefore absolutely vital for us to find and instruct a lawyer of Martin’s calibre. “Martin smoothly guided us to a successful completion following a very lengthy and intensive sales process during which Martin provided the legal and commercial expertise, reassurance and confidence that only comes with more than 30 years of International Merger and Acquisition legal and transactional experience. Martin came to us very highly recommended. He delivered on all counts.” Martin Walsh said: “I am delighted that Martin and the other shareholders were so pleased with the outcome of the deal. Now TSH is part of a much larger global group with an increased product range, their future looks to be very strong and I wish them every success.”
