BrightHR, a Manchester-based HR software firm, is launching a £1 million recruitment drive to help meet international demand for its product.

The firm which was founded in 2015 and funded by two of the North West’s best-known entrepreneurs, Peter and Fred Done, is hiring 25 new software delivery roles over the next three months.

The newly created roles span all levels—from junior to expert—and include product owners, business analysts, developers, development leads UX designers. The firm also plans to strengthen its sales team to support the significant momentum in the SME market for its software.

BrightHR has over 220,000 users in the UK, Ireland and Canada. And soon, it’ll be available in Australia and New Zealand.

Alastair Brown, Chief Technology Officer at BrightHR, said: “BrightHR’s delighted to be investing in securing new talent. The investment will not only benefit our ambitious growth plans but our customers as well.

“We’re thrilled with the products our teams have created so far, and we’re looking for new talent to help us come up with and create fresh technology.”

Brown continued: “It’s a unique and inspiring place to work. And over the last year, we’ve launched four new products, entered multiple international markets, and released and improved thirty new features.

“These are exciting times for BrightHR and we’re keen to attract the best and brightest talent from the North West tech scene.”

Bathroom specialist Bathroom Takeaway has announced plans to invest a whopping £1.35 million pounds into its UK business with a strong emphasis on growing its digital footprint, investing in its people development programme and streamlining stock with key suppliers to support sales growth.

Over the past five years Bathroom Takeaway has become a household name across the UK and has made a real splash in the bathroom sector by offering high quality bathroom suites at a fraction of the cost of their competitors.  This added investment will enable the bathroom specialists to remain firmly on the UK retail map for amazing value and reassuring quality.

Chris Norton, Director at Bathroom Takeaway said: “Digital marketing has always been a huge passion of mine and with this added investment we can now further strengthen our digital capabilities and capitalise on the progress we’ve made so far.   For the time being we will be reducing our presence in mainland Europe which frees up £100K to go towards the UK arm. With UK house price growth continuing to slow whilst we await the outcome of Brexit we’ve seen an increased trend for homeowners to invest in their bathrooms and kitchens rather than moving home so now seems like the perfect time to make this added investment and pass our savings onto our customers.”

“As a business we’re incredibly proud of our people and strong customer service record and really do feel it is what truly sets us apart.  With this added investment we will be working closely to offer exceptional training and progression opportunities for our existing employees, many of whom have been with the business for many years.”

MAG, the UK’s leading airport group, has successfully raised £350m in the UK capital markets through the issuance of a 25 year bond, at a competitive interest rate coupon of 2.875%. MAG has disclosed that the order book for the bond was 4 times oversubscribed, totalling c.£1.4bn.

MAG plans to use the proceeds of the bond to fund the significant and transformational capital investment programmes that the Group is undertaking at its airports as well as for general corporate purposes.

For example, the Manchester Airport Transformation Programme (MAN-TP) is well underway, having started in 2017, with a new pier and multi-storey car park, as part of an expanding Terminal 2, now fully operational. Overall, the £1 billion programme of work will allow the airport to serve more passengers in its terminals and make fuller use of its current runway capacity.

Neil Thompson, Chief Financial Officer for MAG, said: “The success of the bond is a testament to the strong financial performance of the Group over several years. The bond was supported by almost all the key blue-chip UK institutional investors and demonstrates the confidence those investors have in the future growth strategy for MAG and its track record.

“Our significant investment at Manchester and London Stansted airports, which is already well underway, is already improving the experience for passengers and airlines using our airports. Looking ahead, the investment we are delivering will be transformative and allow our airports to further unlock their significant future growth potential.”

Wonderful.Org, the Manchester based fundraising platform that gives 100 per cent of charity donations to good causes, has announced The Co-operative Bank as its headline sponsor and added its 1500^th Charity Partner to the platform.

Sponsor support for the charity giving platform is an essential element of the model that allows the Wonderful Organisation to ensure 100 per cent of money raised, and all Gift Aid, goes directly to the charity it’s intended for. “We have incredibly low running costs, but we still have to pay card processing fees. Our sponsors mean that we take nothing from donations to cover these, making us the only platform to give 100% to charities”, Kieron James, founder of Wonderful.org, explained.

The Co-operative Bank is committed to supporting local communities and provides a wide range of bespoke banking services for charities, community groups, voluntary organisations and social enterprises.

The Wonderful Organisation has also just passed the milestone of 1500 registered charities and fundraisers who have registered on the platform so that fundraisers can share events with family, friends and colleagues. Each month, the website transfers all funds raised through the activities of fundraisers to charities’ bank accounts, making no deductions whatsoever.

In February last year, the Wonderful Organisation received a resounding endorsement from Money Saving Expert who placed Wonderful at #1 in its fundraising comparison table with the following commented: “In terms of maxing your cash, you can’t beat Wonderful.org. It doesn’t charge any service or processing fees to charities, meaning 100% of your donation goes directly to doing good.”

Sean Gilchrist, Chief Digital Officer at The Co-operative Bank, said: “It’s great to be supporting the Wonderful Organisation, a digital start-up based in Manchester, who are committed to give 100 per cent of all fundraising and donations to the causes that are listed on its platform.

“Our sponsorship also brings the potential opportunity for us to share our skills and expertise with a digital local business in Manchester and we can also explore volunteering opportunities that would benefit the platform and the many charities and fundraisers who use it.

“We are the UK’s only high street bank with a customer-led Ethical Policy and we continually work to uphold the values that we share with our customers. Supporting the work of the Wonderful Organisation is a great way to put our values and ethics into action and we look forward to the opportunities that working with Wonderful will bring.”

Kieron James commented: “We’re delighted to welcome The Co-operative Bank as our main sponsor. The sponsorship will help us in our aim of raising millions more pounds for charities throughout the UK. The ethical values we share make The Co-operative Bank a very strong fit for our fee-free fundraising platform.

“We believe the charities that fundraisers are supporting should receive every penny from their efforts. We also believe that Gift Aid should be directed in full to the charities rather than the operators of fundraising platforms. Which is exactly what we do.

“We’re a philanthropic organisation and it’s important to us that we recognise the huge efforts of fundraisers to maximise their fundraising potential for charities. We recognise the selfless commitment made by fundraisers who train for months to run marathons, take part in swims, treks and triathlons, face their fears by jumping out of aeroplanes or don their Lycra for a Zumbathon. By harnessing the latest technology, we’re ensuring that our new platform has the capabilities to cater to the ever growing demand for fee-free fundraising.”

Manchester technology business UKFast received HRH Princess Anne as a guest at its campus during a royal visit to the city.

The Princess Royal, who takes a keen interest in training and development within UK businesses, visited UKFast after the firm was honoured with a prestigious Princess Royal Training Award in 2018.

The tech firm was recognised with the award for continuous outstanding dedication to bridging the digital skills gap and encouraging ongoing professional development, particularly through its apprenticeship programme.

The royal visitor met a number of UKFast’s staff, including apprentices, teachers and senior management, and learned more about their contribution to the firm’s work in training and education.

During the tour of UKFast Campus in Hulme, founders Lawrence and Gail Jones explained the firm’s recent growth, its commitment to developing talent in house through apprenticeships and its contribution to the community.

It was a meeting of the great and the good as the Lord Lieutenant of Greater Manchester Warren Smith, the High Sherriff of Greater Manchester Mark Adlestone and the Lord Mayor of Manchester Cllr June Hitchen were also in attendance.

UKFast CEO Lawrence Jones said: “We are all incredibly proud of this accolade and that the Princess Royal has chosen to visit our campus. It’s a huge honour that only makes us more determined to continue to invest in the personal development of our team.

“Training and education play a hugely important role in the growth of our business. We’ve learned that the opportunity to grow and develop is the single biggest factor that motivates people in their careers. Our apprenticeship scheme is testament to this and many of the apprentices that came through our programme are now running departments and looking after important parts of our network.”