Redrow Homes’ East Midlands division has completed on a 21-acre site off Jackson Lane in Etwall, formerly used for agriculture, just eight-miles south of Derby.
With outline planning consent in place, a selection of three, four and five-bedroom homes is expected to be built.
With a reserved matters planning application in progress, construction at the development is anticipated to commence in Autumn. Redrow has committed to circa £1million by way of S106 contributions.
Andy Noton, land director for the East Midlands, said: “We’re excited to announce the exchange of land in Etwall, and to be bringing a variety of new homes to the area.
“Here at Redrow, we strive to create sustainable, thriving communities at each of our developments, through building high-quality homes and investing in the local area, which is why we will be contributing circa £1million into the surrounding community.
“We’re looking forward to starting work in the Autumn, and seeing the new homes begin to take shape. Although it is early days, we anticipate that the development will be extremely popular with families, both growing and established.”
Intoware makes chief technology officer promotion
Intoware, the Nottingham-based workflow software provider, has promoted Lee McDonald from head of development to chief technology officer.
In this new role, Lee will lead the development of Intoware’s industrial work-instruction platform, WorkfloPlus to modernise the frontline workforce through connected, digital working.
“We are thrilled that Lee has stepped into his new role as Intoware begins the next phase of its innovation roadmap for WorkfloPlus,” said Keith Tilley, CEO of Intoware.
“Lee’s enthusiasm for digital technologies has allowed us to adopt a fully customer-centric approach, by gaining knowledge and experience from each and every interaction to ensure that we deliver added value to our clients including, Petrofac, Network Rail and Welsh Water.”
Prior to joining Intoware in 2019, Lee worked for Nottingham-based data and technology business ERT that supports the clinical research market.
Successful equity raise sees progress for Rolls-Royce’s mini nuclear plants
Following a successful equity raise, the Rolls-Royce Small Modular Reactor (SMR) business has been established, and has the potential to create 40,000 jobs.
The business will bring forward and deliver at scale the next generation of low cost, low carbon nuclear power technology.
Rolls-Royce Group, BNF Resources UK Limited and Exelon Generation Limited will invest £195m across a period of around three years. The funding will enable the business to secure grant funding of £210 million from UK Research and Innovation funding, first announced by the UK Prime Minister in ‘The Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution’.
Rolls-Royce’s announcement is another step towards the delivery of the Government’s net zero strategy and its 10-point plan.
The business, which will continue to seek further investment, will now proceed rapidly with a range of parallel delivery activities, including entry to the UK Generic Design Assessment (GDA) process and identifying sites for the factories which will manufacture the modules that enable on-site assembly of the power plants.
Discussions will also continue with the UK Government on identifying the delivery models that will enable long-term investment in this net-zero enabling technology. Rolls-Royce SMR is engaging with export customers across many continents who need this technology to meet their own net zero commitments.
Warren East, Rolls-Royce CEO, said: “The SMR programme is one of the ways that Rolls-Royce is meeting the need to ensure the UK continues to develop innovative ways to tackle the global threat of climate change.
“With the Rolls-Royce SMR technology, we have developed a clean energy solution which can deliver cost competitive and scalable net zero power for multiple applications from grid and industrial electricity production to hydrogen and synthetic fuel manufacturing.
“The business could create up to 40,000 jobs, through UK deployment and export enabled growth. As a major shareholder in Rolls-Royce SMR, we will continue to support its path to successful deployment.”
Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said: “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for the UK to deploy more low carbon energy than ever before and ensure greater energy independence.
“Small Modular Reactors offer exciting opportunities to cut costs and build more quickly, ensuring we can bring clean electricity to people’s homes and cut our already-dwindling use of volatile fossil fuels even further.
“In working with Rolls-Royce, we are proud to back the largest engineering collaboration the UK has ever seen – uniting some of the most respected and innovating organisations on the planet.
“Not only can we maximise British content, create new intellectual property and reinvigorate supply chains, but also position our country as a global leader in innovative nuclear technologies we can potentially export elsewhere.
“By harnessing British engineering and ingenuity, we can double down on our plan to deploy more home-grown, affordable clean energy in this country.”
Tom Samson, CEO, Rolls-Royce SMR, said: “Today’s announcement is fantastic news. Rolls-Royce SMR has been established to deliver a low cost, deployable, scalable and investable programme of new nuclear power plants.
“Our transformative approach to delivering nuclear power, based on predictable factory-built components, is unique and the nuclear technology is proven. Investors see a tremendous opportunity to decarbonise the UK through stable baseload nuclear power, in addition to fulfilling a vital export need as countries identify nuclear as an opportunity to decarbonise.
“The capitalisation of Rolls-Royce SMR takes us a step closer to achieving a unique, and most importantly investable, proposition in nuclear energy. It is a major vote of confidence in British nuclear technology and the potential for building a world-leading domestic supply chain.”
Paul Stein, Chief Technology Officer, Rolls-Royce, and Chairman of Rolls-Royce SMR said: “In establishing this business, Rolls-Royce, BNF Capital and Exelon are taking leadership in accelerating our path to a future without fossil fuels. Global decarbonisation has never been more important, and we bring decades of precision manufacturing, and nuclear experience to the problem, adding to the skills of our partners.
“By deploying SMRs in the UK and overseas we will be making a significant contribution to decarbonisation. While the decarbonisation of the electricity grid is vital, I am particularly excited by the use of SMRs to synthesise net zero fuels which can be used to power Rolls-Royce engines.”
Sean Benson, Director of BNF Capital Limited, said: “BNF has an established history of energy market investing and we are proud to be a part of Rolls-Royce SMR in this exciting opportunity. Following reviews of numerous proposals we found that this project, featuring a highly experienced team was the most realistic, affordable and scalable solution for provision of carbon-free baseload and alternative power requirements.”
Ralph Hunter, Chief Operating Officer of Exelon Nuclear Partners and Vice President of Exelon Generation, said: “As the largest producer of emissions-free energy in the U.S., Exelon helps customers and communities meet their environmental and economic goals.
“This partnership exemplifies our commitment to investing in clean energy technologies that will create a more sustainable future. We believe that small modular reactors could become a crucial part of the world’s clean energy mix and we are confident that, as an operational partner, we can help develop, deploy and operate a fleet of world-class SMRs.”
Rolls-Royce SMR is using proven nuclear technology, coupled with a unique factory-made module manufacturing and on-site assembly system, to harness decades of British engineering, design and manufacturing knowhow. It brings together the best of UK industry to ensure a decarbonisation solution that will be available to the UK grid in the early 2030s.
Rolls-Royce says the potential for this to be a leading global export for the UK is unprecedented.
Nine-tenths of an individual Rolls-Royce SMR power plant will be built or assembled in factory conditions and around 80% could be delivered by a UK supply chain – a unique offering in energy infrastructure in the UK. Much of the venture’s investment is expected to be focused in the North of the UK, where there is significant existing nuclear expertise
A single Rolls-Royce SMR power station will occupy the footprint of two football pitches and power approximately one million homes. It can support both on-grid electricity and a range of off-grid clean energy solutions, enabling the decarbonisation of industrial processes and the production of clean fuels, such as sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) and green hydrogen, to support the energy transition in the wider heat and transportation sectors.
Nottingham expansion plans for “game-changing” trades industry escrow platform revealed
A newly launched online UK platform that protects tradespeople from late and non-payments has revealed plans to launch in Nottingham next year bringing with it a new office and employment for up to 12-16 people.
Pay The Trades, which launched in Lincolnshire earlier this year, is heralded as the first company in the world to bring peer-review escrow services to the trade industry.
The brainchild of founders Harvey Croft and Owain Hughes, Pay The Trades is a revolutionary escrow service that acts as an intermediary between tradespeople and their customers.
Currently operating from its base in Grantham, Lincolnshire, Pay The Trades is set to open offices in Nottingham inside 12 months, employing up to 12-16 in the area, as it looks to grow its team across sales, marketing and business development. The firm has eyed Lenton and Wollaton East as a potential location to set up its new site and realise its high growth potential.
It has also unveiled ambitious plans for growth and, as part of its five year rollout plan, it aims to have 10% of UK tradespeople using the service by 2026 and expects to turnover £4.15m inside three years.
Harvey Croft, entrepreneur and managing director of Pay The Trades, commented: “We’re excited to provide this solution to the trades of Nottingham and a market of hard-working individuals whose need for payment is overlooked.
“We’re also passionate about ensuring customers get the quality of work they are promised and removing ‘cowboy’ tradesmen from the market by bringing a whole new business process to the trades industry.”
Co-Founder Owain Hughes, continues: “I’ve been to Nottingham countless times and just love the area. It’s such a great city with lots to do and I would love to be a part of that vibrant working environment.
“From the local eateries to Nottingham castle, and with it being only a 40-minute train ride from my home town in Grantham it really has been a favourite place to go to for me. Not to mention it has a thriving trades industry in the area.”
The sole aim of Pay The Trades is to protect both the customer and the tradesperson and hopes to be a positive shot in the arm for the industry.
It will ensure customers receive the quality of work they pay for and protects tradespeople from late and non-payments in the process.
Offering tradespeople and customers a safe, easy and worry-free means of exchanging goods and services, Pay The Trades’ payment process provides a unique and much-needed form of income protection for self-employed tradespeople.
Rather than paying the tradesperson directly, customers pay via the Pay The Trades Escrow Service. Once the project has been completed, a 14-day holding period follows to ensure the customer is satisfied with the quality of the work and the tradesperson is paid without the hassle of chasing invoices.
In the scenario where a customer is unhappy with the service they’ve received, Pay The Trades will settle any disputes by providing a review process, checking the work and offering a refund where appropriate.
After building a successful career in production and logistics, Harvey Croft decided on a career change and began exploring plumbing as a potential option.
It was during this time that he encountered long-standing issues with payment that many tradespeople experienced on a regular basis. Identifying a gap in the market for a platform that could solve this issue, Croft began building what would become Pay The Trades.
The founding team of three includes Owain Hughes, who Croft has worked alongside consistently throughout his career.
Towcester health insurance firm acquires Bournemouth business
GRP-owned Premier Choice Healthcare (PCH) has boosted its position in the healthcare sector by acquiring Bournemouth-based PMI intermediary Equity Health Solutions Ltd.
The deal, PCH’s second since it became part of GRP last year, follows its acquisition in January of the portfolio of SJA International.
Equity Health Solutions was established in 2016 and works with the UK’s leading PMI providers to offer personal, business and international health insurance, and personal travel cover.
Stephen Hough, Managing Director of Towcester-based PCH, said the deal demonstrated their continued commitment to expanding GRP’s healthcare operation.
“We joined GRP with a clear brief to accelerate growth, and this acquisition is the next step forward in delivering on that,” he said. “Equity Health Solutions is a great business with an excellent reputation and we’re delighted to have them on board.
“There are still significant opportunities within the healthcare sector, and we will continue to make the most of those opportunities when we find businesses that are the right fit.”
Equity Health Solutions director, James Neeves, said: “As health insurance specialists, we pride ourselves on giving the best possible unbiased advice so that every customer gets the best cover to meet their individual needs.
“It’s great that PCH recognises what we’ve set out to achieve, and we’re looking forward to working with them and building on the new opportunities that joining them will bring.”
Stephen Ross, head of M&A for GRP, added: “This deal supports our aim to mirror the acquisition success we have had in UK retail commercial broking by boosting our presence in the healthcare market.
“It will help us to expand our overall proposition to offer both new and existing clients a suite of healthcare products alongside our existing services.”
Following the acquisition, James Neeves and fellow director Jasmine Albano will continue to run the business from its Bournemouth base and all staff will be retained.
1.5 million sq ft of industrial space planned for Northamptonshire as 107-acre land deal agreed
Harworth Group plc, a regenerator of land and property for sustainable development and investment, has secured the freehold acquisition of a 107-acre strategic land site in Rothwell, Northamptonshire.
Located at Junction 3 of the A14, connecting to the A6, the site has a strong strategic position within the prime Midlands industrial location known as the ‘Golden Triangle’. Through links to the M1, M6 and A1(M), the site provides access to over one million people within 30 miles.
Harworth will work with local stakeholders, including the newly-formed North Northamptonshire unitary authority, to bring forward an outline planning application for up to 1.5 million sq ft of Grade A industrial & logistics space at the site, which it intends to directly develop.
Local Plans for the area have already identified a strong demand for employment space and specifically industrial units, and Harworth intends to promote the site as a means of meeting this demand as the North Northamptonshire Strategic Plan is prepared.
Harworth currently anticipates that it will submit an outline planning application for the site in 2023.
Andrew Blackshaw, Chief Operating Officer, Harworth Group plc, said: “In September, Harworth announced plans to develop over three million sq ft of industrial & logistics units over the next five years, as part of its ambitious strategy to double the size of its business.
“Harworth is a highly experienced developer with a pipeline of over 26 million sq ft of industrial & logistics space, and our Rothwell acquisition enhances this further and demonstrates our ability to deliver our strategy.”
David Cockroft, Regional Director – Midlands, Harworth Group plc, said: “This freehold acquisition offers the potential to deliver up to 1.5 million sq ft of Grade A industrial & logistics space at this strategically located site within the Golden Triangle.
“It provides a timely opportunity to engage with local stakeholders as the North Northamptonshire Strategic Plan emerges, to demonstrate how Harworth can deliver sustainable new investment and jobs for the region.”
Wright Vigar merges with Hobsons
Chartered accountants Wright Vigar and Hobsons have merged. The new group will operate in Nottingham and Newark under the Hobsons Wright Vigar name.
Wright Vigar, providing services since 1979, will now have eight offices across Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and London.
The move is in line with Wright Vigar’s strategy to accelerate growth through mergers with organisations that are a strong cultural fit and strengthen their position within new and existing markets. They acquired a practice in Mansfield in 2020.
Established almost 90 years ago, Hobsons work with clients in the local Nottinghamshire community and service businesses across many sectors.
The merger sees 35 fee earners join the Wright Vigar team of 124 team members.
Jim Scully, Managing Director from Hobsons, said: “This is a significant step for both firms and we are delighted to be joining forces with Wright Vigar. Like ourselves they focus on building strong personal relationships with their clients throughout their teams.
“The depth of their resource and expertise in both the advisory and technology sectors will complement our current offering, and allow us to provide a wider range of in house services to our clients.”
Managing Director at Wright Vigar, Pete Harrison, said: “It has always been our ambition to open a substantial office in Nottingham and build our profile in Newark and we are excited to start working with the Hobsons team.
“From our conversations we could see their culture was very much aligned with ours, so we know this is an opportunity that is right for our business, and our team and will allow us to continue to provide excellent service to our clients.”
New warning that lack of digital presence is failing retailers
Following recent data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), a marketing agency is warning retailers that a failure to move online is likely to put their business at risk in the future.
Purpose Media is a full-service marketing agency in Derbyshire, offering businesses support with building and maintaining websites, as well as help with their digital marketing efforts. After the ONS announced that high street retail sales have fallen for the fifth consecutive month – a new record – the marketing agency are warning that failure to adapt quickly and move online could leave businesses out in the cold.
The ONS claims that in every pound spent online, 10p goes to department stores with an online presence. In September 2021, online retail sales rose to 28.1% which is significantly higher than the 19.7% figure in February 2020 pre-pandemic.
Director of Economic Statistics for the ONS, Darren Morgan, has commented that stores with an online presence are leading the way: “Despite the lifting of restrictions, in-store retail sales remain subdued, with many consumers still opting to shop online.”
Purpose Media recently helped a number of Derbyshire businesses move online as part of the Chesterfield Digital High Street project.
Funded by Chesterfield Borough Council and delivered by East Midlands Chamber, local businesses can apply to set up a digital presence – supported by grants and expert advice – so they can increase their opportunities to trade online and get their brand noticed. Applications are still open and businesses in the Chesterfield borough area are encouraged to apply now.
Matt Wheatcroft, Managing Director at Purpose Media, said: “Consumers have become heavily reliant on online shopping over the past 18 months and it’s not surprising to see the high street is in a period of continuous decline, especially given the logistical issues currently gripping the country.
“Many shoppers are still cautious about going to the high street, which is why businesses with an online presence are seeing the benefits as we come into a peak time for retail. Our agency has helped many business move online and I can only encourage others to do the same to protect themselves longer-term.
“This Christmas period is going to be make or break for so many high street businesses and those without an online presence face a battle to compete with online retailers who can deliver on convenience.”
Sills & Betteridge appoints leading tax and agriculture lawyer to handle affairs of rural business clients
Respected private client lawyer, David Wood, has joined Sills & Betteridge as a partner. David’s practice includes advising business owners and high net worth individuals in relation to inheritance tax, capital gains tax, wills, trusts, succession and business planning, with particular niche expertise in advising farmers, and landed estates. The hire supports the firm’s ambition for further growth across the region, and underlines its ethos to provide a first class, cross – discipline service to its commercial and high net worth private and farming clients. Commenting on David’s appointment, Richard Bussell says: “David joins us with some 27 years’ experience and an outstanding reputation with clients and fellow professionals alike. “He is known for reliably achieving his clients’ goals with an enviable blend of in-depth specialist knowledge, proven ability to solve complex issues and an extremely personable approach. He makes a very valuable addition to the firm’s existing private and commercial services.” David says: “I am delighted to have joined Sills & Betteridge, having seen the firm’s successful growth and strategic delivery for many years now. There is already an incredibly strong offering here at Sills & Betteridge to agriculture, landed estates, rural enterprises and businesses across the region. “I look forward to supporting further growth across the firm with my specialist expertise and very loyal client and professional contact base as well as by transferring my legal and commercial knowledge to some of the hugely talented young lawyers in the firm, who are inspirational to work with.” David has been consistently recognised for both his tax and private client work and his Landed Estates and Agriculture work in the Legal 500, Chambers and Chambers High Net Worth publications. He was the Under Sheriff for Lincolnshire for 3 years from 2016 to 2019. David has a nationwide client base and will work primarily in Lincolnshire. He will also assist with the development of the firm’s offices in the neighbouring counties of Nottinghamshire and South Yorkshire. The firm has grown significantly over the last 5 years through organic and acquired growth, and now has 15 offices and over 300 partners and staff.
Plans approved for £20m industrial development in Wigston
Developer Chancerygate has secured planning to build 127,975 sq ft of light industrial and warehousing space in Wigston, near Leicester, which it anticipates could create hundreds of new local jobs.
Work is expected to start on the speculative development, named ‘Genesis Park’, at the end of November. The scheme will comprise 15 freehold and leasehold units ranging in size from 4,785 sq ft to 18,510 sq ft.
The scheme has a projected gross development value of around £20m and the construction contract has been awarded to Halesowen-based contractor A&H Construction.
The 5.4-acre development site is located close to the existing Tesco Superstore, Lidl and Wickes in Wigston, 5.2 miles south of Leicester city centre with good access to the M1 and M69.
Chancerygate acquired the site from a private vendor for £3m. It was previously home to Food Hub Leicester’s main facility until it was demolished in 2018.
Mark Garrity, development director and head of Chancerygate’s Birmingham office, said: “Genesis Park is a prime site in South Wigston’s well-established industrial area. With planning now approved we’re looking forward to A&H Construction starting work to help us deliver high-quality light industrial and warehousing space to the region.
“With excellent transports links, and close proximity to Leicester city centre, Genesis Park will fill a gap in the local market for warehousing space and has the potential to create hundreds of new jobs. In particular, we know there are an increasing number of businesses looking to invest in their logistics operations to help meet rising demand for rapid last mile delivery.”
