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Listening Dog Media sign David Seaman for Euros Podcast series

Creative

Sam Whitear

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11/06/2021

Manchester based audio production company Listening Dog Media have signed David Seaman to host a brand-new podcast series throughout Euro 2020.

Seaman Says will see David joined by broadcaster Lynsey Hooper as well as a whole host of guests including ex-teammates and big celebrity names. Euro ’96 hero Paul Gascoigne joins the pair for the first episode on Friday 11thJune.

Throughout his career David won the Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup as well as earning 75 England caps – representing his country at both the World Cup and the Euros.

Listening Dog Media was launched in 2019, that year they launched their previous football podcast The Last Word with Stan Collymore which topped the iTunes chart across the world and became known for it’s hard-hitting interviews with the likes of Gary Neville, Jurgen Klopp and Ian Wright.

On the launch of Seaman Says, Production Director Callum Marks said;

“We cannot wait for people to hear this podcast. Our early recordings have been hilarious and David isn’t short of a story or 2! To kick off the series with a player like Gazza is brilliant – we’re celebrating 25 years since Euro ’96 throughout the next month, and Paul was at the top of our list when we were looking at potential guests.”

Seaman Says launches on Friday 11th June and is available to listen to on iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts and Smart Speakers.

DUO completes second investment in less than 12 months to support sustainable innovation

Investment

Sam Whitear

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11/06/2021

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DUO completes second investment in less than 12 months to support sustainable innovation

Manchester-based packaging specialist DUO has invested a further £700,000 in its North West headquarters to support the continued growth of its packaging solutions.

This follows a £1.85 million investment into new equipment and the expansion of its facilities in 2020, with the latest round of investment going to new conversion equipment and improvements in the company’s print department to help customers boost the environmental performance of their packaging.

The company, which provides packaging solutions to retailers including N Brown Group, Joules and Thrift+, is working closely with customers to further improve packaging sustainability ahead of the introduction of next year’s Plastic Packaging Tax in the UK. From April 2022, a new levy will be applied to companies using plastic packaging containing less than 30% recycled content.

So far this year, DUO has already helped around two thirds (62%) of its customers to adapt packaging to include at least 30% recycled plastic, and more than 50% of the products it has produced contain more than 30% recycled content. The new conversion equipment will enable DUO to increase its production output by approximately 10% each year to support growth in demand for its products, while delivering greater energy efficiency for the business.

Investment in the company’s print department has seen the installation of a solvent recovery machine. This filters usable materials, which are produced as a by-product during printing, enabling them to be reused and reducing wastage. The investment in its print department will also streamline cleaning processes and reduce the amount of solvent used.

Dale Brimelow, operations director at DUO, explained: “We continuously review and scrutinise each step of our production as part of our Pact for the Planet to ensure that we can confidently offer the most sustainable packaging solutions and processes to our customers at the time. The pact looks at how, as a supplier, we can reduce our carbon emissions by investing in smart machinery and reduce our reliance on fossil-derived polymers. Since 2018, we’ve reduced our use of virgin polymers by almost 25%.

“With the introduction of the UK’s Plastic Packaging Tax, companies are typically coming to us thinking about material first. Our role is to help educate businesses to take a full lifecycle view of any packaging product to show how material weight, material type, carbon footprint and end of life options all play a part, which enables companies to properly appraise the environmental performance of packaging throughout the whole supply chain. This will often prove a more sustainable approach than focusing solely on recycling or recycled content, and the improvements we’re making to our production processes will go further toward supporting this.”

To support its continued growth, DUO is also recruiting for a further seven roles across the business from administration through to specialist flexo print supervisors and a sales and service manager.

Dale added: “By investing in improving our own processes and building the expertise within our team, we can contribute further to supporting our customers to reduce their overall environmental impact more effectively.

“Meeting the requirements of the UK’s Plastic Packaging Tax is just one part of a complex environmental picture. While utilising a minimum of 30% recycled plastic content will become a taxable requirement, it shouldn’t be the only factor that businesses are focussed on when it comes to evaluating their sustainability strategy to make genuine, long-term improvements.”

Recruitment continues at Beever and Struthers, chartered accountants and business advisors, as the firm’s revenue grows 10 per cent across all services lines through the pandemic

Growth

Sam Whitear

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09/06/2021

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Recruitment continues at Beever and Struthers, chartered accountants and business advisors, as the firm’s revenue grows 10 per cent across all services lines through the pandemic

Beever and Struthers, which has offices in Manchester, Blackburn, Birmingham and London, has recruited a director to its corporate team to meet growing demand from clients.

Dean Curtis has re-joined the team from Ballard Evans Corporate Finance, and will support John Jones, Corporate Services Partner, providing advice to clients looking for strategic or financial support.

John Jones said “We have ambitious plans to develop our offering but it’s a very personalised service we offer so getting the right person was critical. As soon as Dean and I discussed the opportunity it felt right and I am really excited to be working together again.”

Dean Curtis added “Having spent the past four years further developing my M&A skills and experience in the SME market, I’m delighted to have re-joined the firm at this point in its growth. This is a fantastic opportunity to help build a team focusing on advising our clients across a variety of sectors, from business sales through to private equity transactions, acquisitions, MBO/MBIs and fundraising.”

Dean joins newly promoted directors in both the audit (Richard Graham and Jonathan Mather), and tax departments (Julie Hernon) reflecting the growth of the firm over recent months.

Recruitment has continued through the pandemic at record levels, bringing many new faces to the teams across all locations. Growth within the not-for-profit sector in particular has led to several new appointments, including Helen Storr, Senior Manager based in our London office.

And at the same time the firm’s placement scheme, offering valuable paid experience to university students to work with us over the summer, is bigger and better than ever before with 27 joining the team in the next few weeks.

The firm is seeing record growth in all its locations, and service lines, with revenues anticipated to grow by 10 per cent in the current year. This growth is the culmination of a lot of hard work, building our platform to allow us to deliver a high-quality service to more clients.

But the firm is also seeing a growing appetite for support and advice from clients who are in turn looking to develop and grow as the economy emerges from the pandemic.

Maria Hallows, Executive Partner, said: “We are delighted to welcome Dean back to our team. His skills will be valuable in delivering the corporate finance work that our clients need as the economy gets back on its feet”.

Globus Group partners with Vision Express to provide high-performance safety eyewear

Partnerships

Sam Whitear

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07/06/2021

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Globus Group partners with Vision Express to provide high-performance safety eyewear

The international PPE firm will provide prescription protective glasses in all Vision Express stores across the country

Leading international PPE manufacturer Globus Group has today announced a unique partnership with Vision Express to supply a range of prescription protective eyewear.

Protecting eyes without compromising on vital sharpness of vision has been a longstanding issue for workers across multiple industries such as construction and manufacturing, as well as consumers doing DIY at home.

Although safety eyewear provides protection from a range of hazards, until now it hasn’t been able to offer the wearer the same clarity of vision as prescription glasses. This new partnership will offer a solution to those desperately in need of protective prescription eyewear without compromising on style.

The collaboration will see the opticians launch a full portfolio of prescription safety glasses from Globus Group’s high-performance Riley® RX brand, manufactured by Vision Lab, available to consumers in all Vision Express outlets from this month (May).

Under the new partnership, customers will be able to order high-quality Riley® RX prescription safety glasses from their local Vision Express store. 10 styles will be available from the Riley® RX range – five from the Classics Range and five from the Sports Range – including the first polycarbonate safety lens that can be glazed in -12.00, using the Riley R104 frame.

With an array of unique and stylish frames, Riley® RX prescription safety eyewear is designed for use across a wide range of industries where dust or flying debris is present. These products are all manufactured using state-of-the-art glazing equipment and have a range of lens options available to ensure full compliance with EN166 – the EU personal eye protection standard.

Alex Parker, Managing Director at Vision Lab, said: “We are pleased to partner with Vision Express to provide high-quality Riley® RX prescription safety eyewear to customers across the UK.”

Effective eye protection is particularly important for construction and manufacturing workers, who have some of the highest rates of workplace injuries in the UK[i].

Prescription protective eyewear can help to ensure that workers’ vision is not restricted, which is often the case if they have to wear goggles over their own prescription glasses. Engineered using the latest safety eyewear technology, innovative designs and unique performance features, Riley RX prescription safety lenses are suited to a wide range of applications.

Divisional Director at Globus Group Neil Sinclair added: “Globus Group are proud to be the official manufacturer for Vision Express, and we look forward to keeping their customers safe with our market leading range of safety prescription eyewear.”

Aptus Utilities gains Secured by Design accreditation

Digital

Sam Whitear

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07/06/2021

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Aptus Utilities gains Secured by Design accreditation

Leading multi-utility connections provider Aptus Utilities has been awarded the prestigious Secured by Design accreditation.

Aptus designs, connects and commissions multi utility networks for new residential, industrial and commercial developments. It specialises in street lighting design and installation.

The Bolton headquartered business is only the second lighting consultant in the country to achieve the accreditation.

Secured by Design (SBD) is the flagship UK police initiative to help ‘design out’ crime through the use of high-quality, innovative products and processes.

With support from several police forces in the United Kingdom, SBD plays an important role in helping to prevent crime. It is widely recognised as a valuable mark of police preferred specification.

Adrian Cunningham, Street Lighting Manager at Aptus Utilities, said:

“We are incredibly proud to have obtained police accreditation and become SBD certified. Our customers can be confident that we meet the extremely high standards of an independent third party. This accreditation is testament to the hard work and commitment of the Aptus Utilities design team.”

Amid the growing clamour for safer streets, the Government’s Chief Planning Officer wrote to all planning authorities reminding them of the important role the planning system plays in ensuring appropriate measures are in place in relation to crime prevention and security.

Cunningham adds “Changes to the English Planning and Building Control regulations have sought to reinforce the need for a safe and secure external environment. At Aptus Utilities we work closely with our clients to ensure that safety is of the utmost importance and that lighting is carefully considered at the early stages of any site.”

In order to become Secured by Design licensed consultants and a Member Company, Aptus Utilities had to adhere to rigorous application and vetting process required by the police. Secured by Design is the only way for products and services to achieve police recognition in the UK and as such adds a guaranteed level of security not found anywhere else.

MHA Moore and Smalley appoints senior tax manager

Appointments

Sam Whitear

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07/06/2021

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MHA Moore and Smalley appoints senior tax manager

Manchester-based accountancy and business advisory firm MHA Moore and Smalley has strengthened its tax team with a new senior appointment at its Manchester office.

The firm has appointed Kirsty Foster as senior tax manager. Kirsty has experience across a range of tax consultancy roles. After beginning her career at Deloitte PCS Limited, she worked her way up to senior manager with several independent North West practices, including Jackson Stephen LLP and DTE.

Kirsty specialises in helping individuals manage complex business and personal tax affairs. She will work closely with the Manchester partners to support the continued and rapid growth of the firm’s Manchester base.

Colin Abrahams, tax partner, MHA Moore and Smalley, said: “Kirsty has a wide range of experience advising business and individual clients on their tax affairs.

“Since we opened our Manchester base in 2019, we’ve seen demand for our tax advice in the Manchester market continually grow. It’s great to have Kirsty on board and her knowledge and expertise will enhance further the firm’s already strong reputation in the North West for the quality tax advice it provides to clients.”

Kirsty is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation.

She said: “I believe that companies get the best from their people by providing a supportive environment where ideas, queries and solutions can be freely discussed. That is a key value of MHA Moore and Smalley and something that really attracted me to the firm.

“I am looking forward to working with the team in Manchester and also with the wider MHA network to support clients at a unique and challenging time for businesses and individuals.”

In her spare time, Kirsty is a trustee of North West based charity Maddi’s Butterflies. The charity helps families affected by childhood cancers by providing gifts and holidays in its caravan at Ribby Hall Village.

Teledata Hires Seb Graham as Commercial Development Manager

Appointments

Sam Whitear

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07/06/2021

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Teledata Hires Seb Graham as Commercial Development Manager

Manchester cloud hosting and data centre operator Teledata, has strengthened its team with the appointment of Seb Graham as Commercial Development Manager.

Seb joins Teledata from managed service provider San IT, where he spent eight years developing his career across a number of roles including technical support, projects, solution design, helpdesk management, marketing, process improvements and sales. In his most recent role as Commercial Director for San IT, Seb worked to help businesses plan and implement technology and infrastructure upgrades across a host of solutions and workloads including cloud services, on-premise servers, hosted servers, networking and VoiP.

Commenting on his new role, Seb said: “I’m really excited to be joining Teledata. They have such a strong team of experts collaborating to deliver great results collectively, and i’m hoping to add to this by bringing a fresh and authentic approach to the account management and sales function and root some new procedures to further the hard work that’s already been done, helping to continue to grow the business through the formation of new partnerships, products and services.

Matt Edgley, Director for Teledata added: “We’re delighted to welcome Seb to the Teledata team. He has a wealth of experience – both from a technical and a consultancy perspective – and a well rounded skill set which will see him fit in perfectly with our culture of consultancy-led partnerships, building strong relationships with partners and clients and helping them to get the most out of their IT by planning infrastructures bespoke to their needs, and to meet their business challenges.”

Founded in 2005, Teledata provides colocation, cloud hosting, workplace recovery and data centre services to businesses across the UK from an ISO27001-compliant facility in Manchester. The firm’s solutions are designed to enable organisations to protect their applications, data and online presence from the damaging effects of downtime, and to make the most effective and efficient use of technology with secure and scalable hosting platforms tailored to business critical needs. The building has some of the most sophisticated security of any data centre in Europe, with an on-site police-linked, NSI Gold Approved, BS5979 certified control room and alarm receiving centre making Teledata unique in the UK.

TOY RETAILER STOCKED FOR GROWTH WITH HSBC UK

Sam Whitear

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07/06/2021

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TOY RETAILER STOCKED FOR GROWTH WITH HSBC UK

Manchester online children’s toy and games retailer, BargainMax.co.uk has secured a seven-figure funding package from HSBC UK to support its ambitious growth plans.

BargainMax.co.uk aims to use the funding to increase its product range and stock by over 60 per cent in the next 12 months. This expansion of the business follows consistent successful performance since the start of the company and high levels of growth, especially over the past year.

The HSBC UK funding will also be used to increase brand awareness via targeted social media campaigns and support ongoing website development.

The expansion means the business is anticipating a staff increase this year in both its Manchester head office and warehouse.

Gigi Mechlowitz, Managing Director of BargainMax.co.uk, said: “Being an online-only retailer, we were well-prepared when the pandemic started and could continue our two-to-four-day lead time on deliveries whilst experiencing a significant boost in demand. We will continue to deliver this quality of service through investments in new products and e-commerce solutions.

“Online retail businesses have experienced a lot over the last 12 months but we’re confident that our ambitious growth strategy will put us at the forefront of the toy sector.”

Zubayr Atcha, Corporate Relationship Director at HSBC, said: “BargainMax.co.uk has grown rapidly both domestically and in Europe and, in the last year. This funding enables the business to build on its impressive track record and will stand it in good stead within the world of online retailing.”

BargainMax.co.uk currently offers over 2500 products for children aged 0 to 12, including recognised brands such as Barbie, Lego, LOL Surprise & Paw Patrol.

The funding was allocated from HSBC UK’s national SME Fund, part of its commitment to help British businesses innovate and grow as the country looks to rebound from the Covid-19 health crisis. The new £15 billion SME Fund has been announced by HSBC UK.

Northcoders appoints key board positions amid growing demand for digital specialists

Appointments

Sam Whitear

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07/06/2021

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Northcoders appoints key board positions amid growing demand for digital specialists

Northcoders, the Manchester and Leeds based technology solutions and education group, has cemented its strengthened leadership team by formally appointing a number of new members to its board of directors.

Charlotte Prior and Amy Wild join existing executives Chris Hill, Amul Batra and Sandy Lindsay to complete the strategic appointments of the last six months, as demand for Northcoders’ coding and software development training continues to drive the group’s accelerated growth. Nick Parker has also agreed to join the board later in the year.

Having joined Northcoders in August 2018, Charlotte Prior, chief financial officer, was formally appointed to the board on 6th May 2021. Charlotte has significant experience in finance roles ranging from the construction industry to a registered charity, and as leader of Northcoders’ financial operations fulfils a central role in the board’s discussions, plans and strategy.

Amy Wild has over 17 years’ of corporate leadership experience. She joined Northcoders as chief commercial officer in June 2020 to lead the development and execution of all commercial strategies and manage the group’s sales, partnerships and marketing teams, and officially joined her fellow directors on the board in May 2021.

Alongside these appointments, non-executive director Sandy Lindsay will be appointed as the group’s non-executive chair in July 2021. Awarded an MBE in 2015 for services to business and young people, Sandy is the founder and chair of one of the UK’s leading communications agencies, Tangerine, as well as having established an award-winning apprentices’ academy, The Juice Academy, to address the digital skills gap in the North West. She chairs skills groups for the Institute of Directors and the North West Business Leadership Team, is on the Business Leadership Council for Teach First and Vice Chair for Forever Manchester.

Nick Parker, an experienced corporate funding expert, will be joining the Group in July 2021 as a non-executive director. Nick oversaw Wandisco’s IPO and was CFO of Dyson Group plc and Volex PLC, as well as being the CEO of Sheffield Wednesday Football Club PLC.

The expansion of the Northcoders’ board furthers the strength and breadth of the group’s leadership expertise and provides significant support and complementary skillsets to the board’s existing members, including founder and CEO Chris Hill and COO Amul Batra.

The new board, alongside the internal operational board also formed within the last six months, provides a formalised structure and enhanced working practices at director level as the group continues to deliver on its growth strategy and to address the significant digital skills gap in the UK.

Commenting on the appointments, CEO of Northcoders Chris Hill said: “We are in the middle of a period of transformational growth at Northcoders, and I am delighted that we have attracted such an experienced board to help guide us at this exciting moment in time. Moving away from the pandemic, the demand for digital training has never been stronger in the UK. The government has clearly signalled its support for improving access to all forms of education, especially through apprenticeships like ours, and the rapid increase in our corporate hiring partners is evidence that private sector investment in our industry is increasing.

“As we assess the next steps to accelerate further expansion, I look forward to working with our new Board and all of the team at Northcoders who have shown faultless dedication to our journey so far.”

Since its inaugural course in 2015, Northcoders has helped over 750 people switch careers into tech, with average starting salaries of around £25,500. Whilst 95% of Northcoders secure a software engineering role after graduation. Northcoders’ main campus is at Manchester Technology Centre and it has a base at Platform in Leeds.

Over the past three years, it has been selected as one of the country’s brightest tech stars in Creative England’s CE50 list and was named Business of the Year at the 15th Annual Chamber Business Awards. It has also launched scholarship schemes and a deferred payment programme aimed at women and gender minorities, as well as those who identify as BAME or LGBTQ+, have a disability or have had limited access to education, to help address diversity in tech. The firm also relocated its Manchester campus to a new 10,000 sq. ft space at Manchester Technology Centre on Oxford Road in early 2020.

Manchester stylist champions more diverse salon skills and staffing

CSR

Sam Whitear

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07/06/2021

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Manchester stylist champions more diverse salon skills and staffing

RCNQ, based in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, are offering free protective styling for afro hair and 50% off braiding every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday for the month of June, in support of diversifying the skills and staffing in hair salons. They champion a change in hiring practices and training to incorporate more skillsets into salons. The free styling includes two strand twists, flat twists, bantu knots and more.

10% of profits from all appointments in June are being donated to the Black United Representation Network (BURN). The organisation strives to create systematic change by advising black-owned businesses in Greater Manchester, and increasing the number of black leaders in senior decision-making roles. They focus on levelling up black-owned businesses in the region and have teamed up with Be The Business to offer the Advisory Board programme, where a board of highly experienced advisors offer support to Black-Led businesses, over a 12 month period free of charge.

The disparity between communities and the ability for the hair industry to accommodate their needs is staggering. A study by Habia found there are more than 35,000 hair salons in the UK, but only 302 cater to afro hair.

Rob Czlapka, the head stylist and owner of Manchester-based RCNQ, has this to say:

“There are four hair types you can be trained to work with during hairdressing training, but you’re only given the option to work with three of these. In my experience, white students were encouraged to disregard afro style hair by lecturers as this isn’t a hair type often worked with in predominantly white salons. They instead focused on straight, wavy, and curly hair types.

“In 2015, hairdressing academies added black hair styling to the course in an attempt to solve this issue, but only dedicated 12 weeks of a two-year NVQ Level 2 hairdressing course to afro hair. There are now talks of all four hair types becoming integrated into the course, which would be a huge step towards challenging the issue of racism within the hairdressing industry.

“There’s a huge divide between the diversity and skill sets available in salons, which results in different hair types going to different salons. Black hairdressers typically have the skillset to cater to all hair types, whereas white hairdressers don’t learn how to work with afro hair. Predominantly white salons should be able to provide hair services to all people, regardless of race.

“We’re currently pushing for change in the hairdressing industry. We’ve been hiring people with the skill sets to work with and style afro hair across all levels of seniority in the business, and are investing in training so that all of our stylists are fully equipped to work with all hair types.

“We’re also investing in anti-racism training, to further ensure our salon is a safe space for people of colour. This has been followed up with training to ensure best practice stays in place, and micro-aggression management so individuals know how to handle situations.

“Within the next year, I want a completely mixed background of collaborators at RCNQ with the full skills to cater to any person’s needs. We’re striving to include anyone in the experience that we offer, and other salons need to do the same.”

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