Fire-Mech Fixings, a manufacturer and supplier of pipe support, brackets and associated products, have seen a 400% increase in web traffic following support from GC Business Growth Hub.

Established in Rochdale over 25 years ago and with 13 members of staff, the company is a market leader in its sector, supplying the fire sprinkler and mechanical service industries, and working on some of the largest warehousing, industrial and retail premises in the UK.

While the firm was performing well, it recognised the need to develop an ecommerce website to help increase demand from other industrial sectors.

Therefore, the company contacted GC Business Growth Hub, part of The Growth Company, looking for support. Working with Fire-Mech’s IT Manager Jason Griffin, Hub Digital Growth Advisor Chris Murphy introduced a new digital strategy to the business. Core to this was the creation of a new website based on a user experience analysis of the existing site. This showed that structural changes were needed to enhance both the user experience and the sales conversion rate of the site. To drive traffic to the new site, Chris also provided Jason with Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) training and data capture training so he could better understand the behaviour of online visitors.

As a direct result of the implementation of the new digital strategy, the business has won several new clients. Due to this growth, the company has also taken on eight new members of staff across all areas of the company.

Jason Griffin, said: “We needed a more robust website that would help us monitor online interest in the company and convert this into new customers.

“Chris’s experience and expertise was invaluable and helped us to achieve the online presence that we wanted, guiding us through the whole process and making sure we understood why certain changes were necessary, while always being aware of budget constraints.

“Because of Chris’ help, we now have a much greater understanding of ecommerce and what it can do for the business.”

Chris Murphy, added: “Fire-Mech Fixings were already performing very well and had a solid customer base. Nonetheless, Jason and his colleagues knew the company had the ability to bring in more business by improving its online presence.

“Given the company’s history and existing good reputation, by focusing on the weaker areas of the original site, we were able to vastly improve traffic to the site and then convert these new visitors into increased sales for the company.”

Businesses looking to access specialist support can visit www.businessgrowthhub.com for more information about the organisation’s extensive range of services. This and other GC
Business Growth Hub projects are part-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the GM Business Growth Hub project designed to help ambitious SME businesses achieve growth and increase employment in Greater Manchester.

Financial services firm Praetura today announces it will be relocating from Castlefield to the heart of Manchester after agreeing a deal withOrchard Street Investment Management to occupy space at Bauhaus on Quay Street.

The firm’s 25 staff will be moving into the Bauhaus development, opposite Manchester’s Spinningfields financial district and adjacent to the St John’s Quarter, occupying 5,935 sq ft on a 10-year lease. The building recently underwent acomprehensive refurbishment, now offering prime Grade A office at considerable scale with space available totalling 50,000 sq ft.

Facilities and services that have been incorporated into the relaunched nine-storey building include a full tenant concierge service, an exclusive business lounge, co-working spaces, a new cycling and shower hub, 29 secure basement parking spaces and electric vehicle charging points.

Praetura provides equity and debt funding solutions to SMEs, predominantly in the North West of England. Originally established as Praetura Capital in 2011 by Mike Fletcher, David Foreman and Peadar O’Reilly, Praetura has experienced significant growth over the past eight years, investing more than £100m in North-West based SMEs, growing its loan book to more than £250m. During this time, the company has also tripled its staff count.

The move to Bauhaus was managed by Orchard Street Investment Management.

Mike Fletcher, CEO of Praetura, said: “After spending eight years in Castlefield and experiencing rapid growth throughout that time, we’re delighted to be moving into bigger offices in the heart of the city. The extra space will be vital as we continue to growth our talent base and meet the needs of North West SMEs.”

Sarah O’Connell, Asset Manager at Orchard Street Investment Management, said: “We are delighted to welcome Praetura as the first occupier in the newly repositioned Bauhaus so soon after completion of the refurbishment. This further supports our conviction to commit significant capital to repositioning the building to provide genuinely unique office space. Bauhaus has been redesigned to offer truly occupierfocussed office space with an emphasis on service. In a world where office occupier expectations are constantly evolving, we have sought to go above and beyond our competition, providing an Occupier Business Lounge, extensive Cycle parking & shower facilities, installation of a resilient backbone fibre connection and concierge service.”

Scott Shufflebottom, Associate Director at Colliers International, agents on the scheme, added: “Bauhaus is a fantastic development and provides exceptional Grade A office space in a vibrant and exciting area of the City Centre. Completing this deal so quickly after PC is testament to the level of refurbishment and the level of additional interest in the building remains strong.”

Manchester Airport is celebrating the completion of the first major phase of its £1bn transformation programme.

Passengers flying out of the UK’s third largest airport were this morning welcomed onto a giant new pier, which connects to Terminal 2, for the first time.

The 216m pier – longer than Manchester’s Beetham Tower is tall – provides extensive panoramic views of the airfield and will be used by all airlines currently operating out of T2. The first flights to depart were both operated by TUI Airways and went to Funchal, Madeira, and Naples, Italy.

To mark the launch, timelapse footage was released showing how the pier has been built from scratch in less than 18 months, along with drone footage captured before the building was opened to the public.

Andrew Cowan, CEO of Manchester Airport, said: “Today is a significant milestone for Manchester Airport as we deliver the first phase of the biggest investment we have made in our 80 year history.

“We are delighted to wave off the first handful of flights from the new pier, as we build up to bringing it into full operation in the days ahead.

“What that means is our customers can start to enjoy the new facilities, at the same time as getting a taste of what to expect from the next stages of our £1bn transformation programme.

“Today is just the start.  Over the coming years we will transform the airport for all of our customers, giving the North the world class airport it deserves. The investment we are making and the range of destinations we connect to, in all corners of the world, underlines the vital role Manchester Airport plays in creating jobs and driving growth across the North of England.

“Having first put a spade in the ground in July 2017, a huge amount of work has gone into getting our new pier and multi-storey car park ready to open today and I would like to thank all of our colleagues and delivery partners for their efforts.”

The new pier was opened at around 4.30am today, with passengers treated to entertainment by the NoTTwins, who featured on Britain’s Got Talent, the Loose Change Buskers who are raising money for Cancer Research, guitarist Jack O’Malley and Christian Marshall a caricaturist to mark the occasion.

Also, attending the celebrations was TUI Airways crew member Caroline Cox from Bolton.  She operated on the first flight out of Terminal 2 to Alicante when it opened back in 1993.  Having worked for the company for 33 years, her elder son is now following in her foot steps and is a first officer for the airline.

The pier has been built with more than 300 individual panes of glass and is equipped with 11 gates and airbridges, more than 1,400 seats and stylish wayfinding throughout.

The opening marks the next phase of the airport’s transformation programme that will see Terminal 2 become the focal point of its operations. More than 1,750 people are currently working on the project which recently welcomed its 100th apprentice as work gathers pace.   Over the coming weeks more and more flights will gradually move over to the new pier as it becomes fully operational.

The next phase of the £1bn transformation is the extension to the existing Terminal 2. Work is well underway and will see the terminal more than double in size.  The extension will open in summer 2020 with 40 plus new food and beverage outlets and shops, followed by a further 40 when the existing building is fully refurbished 

Dawn Wilson, Managing Director TUI Airways, said: “It’s a real honour to be part of this landmark occasion at Manchester Airport – a major hub for TUI Airways. To operate the first flights from the new Pier One is a proud moment, and another first to add to the list of memories and history we have at Manchester.

“The transformation project is improving the overall holiday experience for thousands of our customers which is an ethos we live by; seamless service from the moment you begin your holiday journey.

“We look forward to continuing our relationship with Manchester and investing in the region through increased capacity, new routes, and basing new aircraft there, allowing more choice and flexibility for holidaymakers in the North West.” 

Peter Jones, Operations Leader for Laing O’Rourke, said: “It is a significant achievement to have the pier, link bridge and multi-storey car park ready for airport guests within 18 months. The project’s design, construction methods and logistics were all planned digitally before construction on the edge of the live airfield began. Our digital engineering approach meant we, and our project partners were able to work together efficiently; putting productive solutions in place to minimise disruption to passengers and staff, while delivering new facilities for Manchester Airport on time.

“We are now looking ahead to the completion of the Terminal 2 extension which is due to be handed over to Manchester Airports Group next year.”

Turkey’s leading low-cost carrier, Pegasus Airlines, will launch flights between Manchester Airport and Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen, on 1 July 2019.

Pegasus’ new flights will take off from Manchester Airport at 12:40, arriving into Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen at 18:50; flights from Istanbul will depart at 09:30, reaching Manchester Airport at 11:55. They will operate five times a week.

As well as offering Manchester Airport’s 28.5 million passengers additional access to the city of Istanbul, Pegasus’ flights will also allow them easy connections onto a host of international destinations such as Bahrain, Beirut and Sharjah. It will also offer seamless connectivity onto domestic flights across Turkey.

Julian Carr, Aviation Director at Manchester Airport, said: “It’s great to see Pegasus Airlines launch direct flights to Istanbul from Manchester Airport. The route will offer the 22 million people in our vast catchment area additional connectivity and access to Turkey and beyond.

“I am sure it will prove incredibly popular and look forward to the route taking off in July.”

Güliz Öztürk, Pegasus Airlines’ CCO, said: “We are delighted to be launching our Manchester route. UK is among our key markets in Europe and we’re confident that these new Manchester flights will be warmly welcomed by our future guests in Northern England.

“We are delighted to extend our operations to an additional key region of the country, giving our UK guests more choice and flexibility when planning their travels. We hope to attract more guests who will enjoy travelling to Istanbul and the exciting destinations beyond, both withinTurkey and elsewhere in our network always at our affordable fares.”

Unity Trust, the commercial bank with a social conscience is celebrating a significant milestone, with loan balances now exceeding more than £400m, with the North West having the largest number of borrowers outside of London.

Unity, which has recently opened an office in Deansgate, Manchester reached this lending milestone in the same month as they announced a 68% increase in profit and confirmed that they had approved over £200m of lending to firms and projects that will deliver community, economic or environmental benefits.

CEO Margaret Willis said: “Since becoming independent from the Co-operative Bank, we have seen our lending and profitability more than double. This could not be achieved without loyal customers, shareholder support and engaged and committed employees.

“Increasingly organisations and businesses are looking for an ethical bank that shares their values. Our performance shows that profit and community value go hand in hand. The better we perform, the greater societal impact we can have.”

Manchester-based New Dawn Legal is offering a market niche, with independent legal software implementation advice and training – making software customisation decisions and training easier for law firms.

Established by Dawn Dutton, who has over 20 years’ experience in legal services, including implementation project management and training, New Dawn Legal helps North West law firms make the most of their CRM, CMS, PMS and DMS solutions.

The company works with leaders in the legal sector, including Brabners LLP, ensuring that the software is customised and implemented effectively, as well as ensuring that staff are fully trained to use the software to maximise the return on investment.

Dawn said: “We want to cost-effectively help law firms make the right decisions when faced with implementing one of the myriad of different software solutions for dealing with day-to-day activities, including fee earning, lead generation and finance.

“We support firms, from helping them select the right solution to assigning them with a dedicated specialist Project Manager, who will manage the entire end-to-end implementation for them, freeing up time for the Project Team.

“Most importantly, we are independent and have chosen not to partner with any software providers, meaning we only give completely impartial advice.  We pride ourselves on our honesty and integrity.

“Our extensive experience of working for both law firms and legal software providers perfectly positions New Dawn Legal to offer independent and expert advice to legal practices, both large and small.

“We are passionate about using our legal and technical experience to help law firms make the right decisions when customising a system.  More importantly, though, we can foresee potential pitfalls before they arise, due to our experience.

“I know exactly what it is like to be a busy fee earner and I also understand the mechanics of how the leading legal software systems work. So many times, I have seen miscommunications between law firms and software suppliers, which have had the potential to cause delays and increase costs. I also pride myself on my ability to be able to communicate effectively in both directions.”