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Two new occupiers at Salford Quays office scheme

Blog

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11/02/2019

Two new occupiers at Salford Quays office scheme

Exchange Quay, the 435,000 sq ft office development in Salford Quays, has signed two new occupiers, ProofID and ManpowerGroup.

ProofID, a specialist provider of Identity Access Management (IAM) solutions, has taken 5,415 sq ft on the 2nd floor of Building 8 on a 7.5 year lease term, which forms part of a new let and part of an assignment of a lease from Gyro. The company is relocating its UK office from Lancastrian Office Centre in Old Trafford and also operates a US office in Colorado Springs.

Multi-national staffing and recruitment agency, ManpowerGroup is relocating to Exchange Quay on the 1st floor of Building 8.

Exchange Quay is one of the largest office developments in the North West with 3,000 people now working from the six buildings within the acclaimed riverside development. Acting on behalf of the owner, Ekistics continues to invest into Exchange Quay following an initial £10m investment implemented by Hunter.

The scheme has recently undergone a comprehensive refurbishment programme to deliver Grade A office space, as well as extensive remodelling of the public realm, the introduction of several retail outlets, occupier amenities and launch of a Kids Planet children’s day nursery.

Exchange Quay lies at the gateway to Salford Quays/Media City, approximately 1.5 miles to the southwest of Manchester City Centre. It boasts its own dedicated Metrolink tram stop and is strategically located just off Trafford Road which links Salford Quays to both Manchester City Centre and the major motorway networks via the M602.

Tom Eggleston, CEO at ProofID, commented: “Our relocation to Exchange Quay is a result of continuing company growth and now we’ve simply outgrown our existing premises. The move is an exciting and progressive development for us. We’re going to be able to provide even higher levels of service to our customers with the potential for further expansion as we continue to grow, while providing a fantastic working environment for our UK team in a vibrant Grade A waterside development.”

India’s Hero Cycles UK operation announces ambitious new export campaign

Sam Whitear

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11/02/2019

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India’s Hero Cycles UK operation announces ambitious new export campaign

Manchester-based Indian-owned Hero Cycles is announcing ambitious plans to unleash an export drive, in partnership with Cheshire ecommerce giant The Hut Group, for its new bike brand, Insync.

Hero, the world’s biggest bike maker by volume, launched the new Insync range of 75 bikes for the UK market in May 2018 at Old Trafford football ground.

Sreeram Venkateswaran CEO of Hero’s UK subsidiary Avocet Sports, said: “This is one of Hero Cycles boldest ever moves, to grow its international footprint into Europe,” he said. “Together with The Hut Group we have developed the Insync website to be specially optimised to operate across Europe which represents a new and potent market for Hero Cycles. This move shows Hero Cycles’ ambition to totally transform a UK company in Avocet, into a pan-European operation. It has taken a lot of careful planning to arrive at this point. Having invested in our Manchester Global Design Centre and recruited a team of top bike designers, we now have a range of high-quality bikes offering great value to customers in UK and Europe. Plus, we have The Hut Group’s formidable digital know-how to sell and promote the bikes into Europe online.”

Mr Venkateswaran said Hero Cycles’ investment in the UK is a strong example of how Indian and UK companies can join forces sharing expertise and resources.

“India and Britain share a common heritage, culture and language,” he said. “That bond makes doing business so much easier. Our venture in Britain is very much in line with what the UK Government wants to see post-Brexit, more UK and Indian companies working together targeting international trade. In terms of India, our model fits with Prime Minister Modi’s ‘Make in India’ campaign, as the know-how, design and marketing have come from the UK but the actual manufacturing will take place in India. In addition, all the bikes bought via the Insync website will be distributed worldwide from UK warehouses, to start with, operated by Hero and The Hut Group before eventually moving to warehouses closer to the core markets.”

GradTouch secures £150,000 funding injection from GC Angels

Blog

Sam Whitear

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11/02/2019

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GradTouch secures £150,000 funding injection from GC Angels

GC Angels, the angel investment arm of the Growth Company, has supported Manchester based Gradtouch with a funding boost of £150k to expand their innovative graduate job matching business.

This latest round of funding takes the total investment in GradTouch to £1.2m and is set to double the size of their Northern Quarter based team to 32, taking the company to a projected £1.6m turnover next year and £3.2million in 2020.

Launched in 2013 by founders Zac Williams and Joe Twigg, GradTouch is a job matching business that enables employers to attract the best graduate talent. A hybrid of an advertising agency and job site GradTouch features employer landing pages, in-depth reporting, candidate management and feedback from job seekers.

GradTouch has grown significantly in the last three years and now works with over 200 employers to promote and distribute their career opportunities to its network of over 200,000 graduates registered with the site in the UK. With around 50,000 vacancies available on the site at any time, Gradtouch will be using the latest round of funding to double the size of their team, with key target hires of people who are highly expert in the recruitment and graduate sectors.

The most recent equity investment loan will be used to build out the GradTouch offering overseas, developing new projects in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium.

GradTouch co-founder Zac Williams said: “We know that students today graduate with skills and talents far beyond their degree grade and that employers are looking past CVs and much more at getting the right kind of talent for their business.

“Using the funding from GC Angels and our other investors over the past two years we have been able to build GradTouch into a unique business that develops a real cultural fit between companies and candidiates. We’re looking forward to being able to invest in some of the best recruitment professionals to take our offer even wider and to reach ever more graduates and talent hungry employers.”

Darrren Gowling, Senior Investment Director at GC Angels, said: “GradTouch is a great example of the type of innovative and growth focussed tech business that GC Angels was designed to support.

“Having worked with Zac and Joe since their first funding round, we’re now supporting them with equity from both our own fund alongside other investors including Maven and Fig (First Investment Group)to ensure that they continue to put Manchester on the map with a business that really is changing the world of work.”

Mason Advisory receives Excellence in Wellbeing recognition

CSR

Sam Whitear

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11/02/2019

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Mason Advisory receives Excellence in Wellbeing recognition

Mason Advisory, independent IT consultancy, has been recognised by Great Place to Work as a centre of Excellence in Wellbeing. The new UK-wide award recognises organisations with excellent wellbeing practices.

The accreditation tracks six key areas that drive a culture of wellbeing including, work environment mental and physical health, financial security, interpersonal relationships, work-life balance, and fulfillment at work.

Mason Advisory is continually investing and implementing improvements in all these areas to build a culture of wellbeing. This has optimised employee experience and ensures that engagement and productivity are sustainable in the long run. It has introduced a new scheme to enable staff to buy back five days extra holidays per year, and offers extra days off for time served. It has initiated flexible working and an enhanced benefits package including a cycle scheme, childcare vouchers, and additional bonuses.

Steve Watmough, Mason Advisory CEO, said: “In the last 12 months we have implemented new strategies and activities to support the wellbeing of our employees. Looking after our team’s wellbeing means making their lives as stress-free as possible so they can concentrate on the job in hand, helping them to lead healthier, happier lifestyles.

We’re proud to have received this recognition as wellbeing is a key element of our business culture. It tells our current and future employees that we are committed to creating the best environment we can for individuals to thrive and for our business to operate efficiently. We feel we have created an atmosphere where teammates can talk to people around them, where they are supported, and where everyone is comfortable expressing themselves.

“We’re in a period of growth with new projects and clients coming on board and we understand the pressures this can put on our team, so as a company we are continuing to listen to them and ensure their wellbeing is at the forefront

Corporate commercial duo join Browne Jacobson to bolster health team

Appointments

Sam Whitear

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11/02/2019

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Corporate commercial duo join Browne Jacobson to bolster health team

Browne Jacobson has expanded its health practice with two new hires, Christian Dingwall and Rebecca Hainsworth. They will be based in Manchester, growing the team there to 27 lawyers, and work for clients nationally.

With over 30 years’ experience in the healthcare sector, Christian Dingwall joins the firm as a partner. Christian specialises in corporate commercial law, NHS governance, regulation and compliance, with a particular focus on advising NHS bodies on organisational and service transformation.

Christian is recognised nationally as a top legal expert for NHS transactions, advising on mergers, acquisitions and integrated care joint ventures across the UK. His previous work includes advising on the establishment of Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust as a result of the merger of the former Central Manchester and South Manchester trusts.

Christian joins from Hempsons, where he headed up the NHS Corporate Commercial Department.

Also joining the team is corporate and competition lawyer, Rebecca Hainsworth. Previously a solicitor at Hempsons, and an in-house lawyer at NHS regulatory body NHS Improvement, Rebecca has a breadth of experience advising NHS bodies, and public and private sector organisations, on a range of competition and merger control matters. She has advised on a series of mergers, including the establishment of East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust as a result of the merger of the former Colchester and Ipswich trusts.

The appointments follow a record year for the Manchester health team, after delivering 600 per cent growth in fee income since its launch in 2013. Led by partner Amanda Callaghan, the specialist team advises on a broad range of clinical negligence, regulatory, criminal and inquest matters for the private and public sectors.

The team’s strong reputation for advising health and social care providers, commissioners and regulators has contributed to its significant growth. The team now acts for NHS England, Stockport NHS Foundation Trust; Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust; Bolton NHS Foundation Trust; The Priory and Care UK, amongst others.

Amanda Callaghan, health partner and head of the firm’s Manchester office, said: “Our health team continues to grow at an exceptional rate, and the addition of Christian and Rebecca, who have both been at the helm of major UK-wide NHS transactions, further signals our commitment to building our North West practice.

“Healthcare continues to be a core focus of the firm, and it is an area in which we thrive. Having a strong health practice alongside an equally impressive social care practice is a real strength, giving us a distinct advantage in advising clients delivering integrated care projects. We are seeing a consistently high demand for our services from NHS bodies, local authorities and major independent sector providers, so will continue to grow our offering to match.”

Oliver Prichard, head of the firm’s Commercial Health Team, said: “Both Christian and Rebecca are highly-skilled practitioners, and add considerable firepower to our health team.

“In his previous role Christian steered a large number of complex projects across the UK. We are confident that his and Rebecca’s expertise will allow us to secure further big ticket mandates in the health sector.”

Christian Dingwall said: “It’s an exciting time to be joining Browne Jacobson’s health team. The team is already at the centre of landmark projects across the North West, such as the development of an integrated healthcare model in Manchester, and nationally. I look forward to further developing its reach at a time when healthcare models are undergoing major shifts, creating many windows of opportunity.”

British Council welcome international visitors at Manchester Central

Blog

Sam Whitear

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11/02/2019

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British Council welcome international visitors at Manchester Central

The British Council chose Manchester Central as the perfect place to promote British Education to representatives from around the world.

Selected due to its location and extensive transport routes in and out of the city, the ‘International Education Services Conference’ saw over 550 delegates welcomed to the iconic venue, with visitors travelling from as far and wide as Kenya and Dubai.

Held in December across the venue’s Exchange Rooms and purpose-built auditorium, the main hall was configured to create a clear divide between meeting and exhibition space, with the organisers also taking advantage of the venue’s smaller meeting rooms for more formal one to one meetings.

With many delegates visiting the city for the first time, the event revolved around a strong social programme, with a civic reception held at Manchester Art Gallery followed by a gala dinner underneath the wings of Concorde; located at the nearby Manchester airport.

Angie Dickinson, Client Relation Lead for The British Council, said: “Manchester Central was the perfect venue for us. It’s right in the heart of the city and has fantastic conference facilities professional, modern and timeless – a bit like Manchester itself!

From the beginning, nothing was too much for the team. Our event had a short lead time, but the team were high professional, dynamic and flexible, no matter what we asked of them. They have a vast amount of experience within the industry with one common goal – customer satisfaction.”

Made in Manchester Awards 2019: winners revealed

Awards

Sam Whitear

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08/02/2019

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Made in Manchester Awards 2019: winners revealed

The Made in Manchester Awards, brought to you by Future pro-manchester last night recognised 13 outstanding individuals in hugely competitive categories.

The awards celebrated the greatest young talent under the age of 35 in Greater Manchester at a glitzy ceremony at The Emirates Old Trafford and were once again smoothly hosted by BBC Sport presenter, Will Perry.

Winners included leading professionals from Grant Thornton, EY, BNY Mellon, BDO, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP, The Alchemist, GCA Altiuim, seventy7, Eversheds Sutherland, One, Freshfields and Bring Digital.

As well as the Entrepreneur of the Year gong, Bring Digital’s David Ingram took home the most prestigious award of the night. The Chairman’s Rising Star Award is awarded to the winner the judges were most impressed by.

David has grown Bring Digital, a boutique digital marketing agency based in Bolton to a 32-strong team, running digital marketing campaigns for household names like DWFitnessFirst, Wynsors World of Shoes, The PGA, Cotton Traders and Formula 1.

Full list of winners:

ACCOUNTANT OF THE YEAR sponsored by Four Recruitment

Sakib Isa, BDO

APPRENTICE OF THE YEAR

Megan Capper, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner

BANKER OF THE YEAR

Sarah Cooper, BNY Mellon

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR sponsored by Yorkshire Bank

Georgia Zaryckyj, The Alchemist

CORPORATE FINANCIER OF THE YEAR

Mark Smith, GCA Altium

DIGITAL, MEDIA OR CREATIVE PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR sponsored by ThisisLDA

Sian English, seventy7

ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR sponsored by Brewin Dolphin

David Ingram, Bring Digital

GRADUATE OF THE YEAR

Jujhar Dusanj, EY

LAWYER OF THE YEAR sponsored by Hall Brown

Ruth Fairhurst, Eversheds Sutherland

MARKETING PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR

Claire Keegan, One Marketing Communications

PROPERTY PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR

Michael Beatty, Malcolm Hollis

TALENT OR RECRUITMENT PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR sponsored by RADA Business

Sophie Boden, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

The Made in Manchester Awards had a record year, with the most competitive judging process in its seven-year history.

With this, there were four finalists who the judges struggled to allow to walk away without acknowledgement. The highly commended individuals on the evening were: Sam Davies, Cowgills (Corporate Financier of the Year); Lily Shippen (Entrepreneur of the Year); Brittany Brown, Grant Thornton (Graduate of the Year) and Emma Ware, Open Money (Marketing Professional of the Year).

Future pro-manchester chair, Doug King acknowledged the great achievements of the awards’ finalists on the evening during his speech: “I have to pass on huge congratulations to all of our shortlisted nominees this evening, as getting this far is already a great achievement.

“The Made in Manchester Awards repeatedly welcome the finest talent our region has to offer. In this time of rapid growth for our city, it’s no surprise that we’ve had this record year.”

Crusader Mill renovation moves to next phase

Blog

Sam Whitear

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08/02/2019

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Crusader Mill renovation moves to next phase

With the construction programme progressing at Crusader Mill, main contractor Artez, has now appointed a specialist sub-contractor for the next phase of the 200,000sq ft residential development.

The 180-year old Victorian mill, owned by Capital & Centric, will see the creation of 126 one and two-bedroom loft apartments including some duplex, in Manchester’s East Village regeneration area. Carrying out the mechanical and electrical works will be Aberla M&E who has picked up the £2million work package which includes ventilation systems, thermal insulation as well as sprinkler systems, fire alarms and access control.

With batches of apartments already released to the owner-occupier market, the development will create one of Manchester’s newest neighbourhoods and is perfectly located to benefit from the vibrant Northern Quarter as well as wider connectivity via Piccadilly Station.

Although each apartment is individually designed, each one will showcase a sensitive renovation to the historic building by maintaining the exposed brick beams, high ceilings and large windows throughout.

Mike Banton, managing director at Artez stated “With each apartment being unique in terms of layout and dimensions we were keen to appoint sub-contractors who understand the challenges of such a distinctive development. We were aware Aberla M&E had recently completed the conversion and refurbishment of the landmark Black Friar Pub in Salford and their credentials for this type of work was impressive.”

Paul McCarren, managing director at Aberla Group commented “Crusader Mill is one of a kind and to be working with Artez to bring this impressive building back to use for city centre living will be an exciting year ahead. We’re keen to get on site and push ahead to reach the next milestone with the wider construction team.”

The scheme is due for completion in early 2020.

GM digital and tech firms Sprint to their Growth ambitions

Blog

Sam Whitear

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07/02/2019

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GM digital and tech firms Sprint to their Growth ambitions

Digital, creative and tech businesses from across Greater Manchester recently took part in a two-day Growth Sprint to help them find new ways to grow.

Delivered by Jonathan Courtney, CEO of AJ&Smart, the event at Gorton Monastery focused on building a culture of continual innovation and experimentation among entire business leadership teams.

The Growth Sprint is part of Amplify, a nine-month growth programme from GC Business Growth Hub with partners Form. It is targeted at SMEs in Greater Manchester’s digital, creative and tech sectors that have significant potential to scale and create new products, services and jobs in the local economy.

Richard Jeffery, director of business growth, GC Business Growth Hub, said: “The Growth Sprint has been an excellent example of trying to find new and effective ways to help businesses tackle barriers to growth.

“The Sprint helps businesses to get their ideas moving as quickly as possible, generating momentum for the full senior leadership team and embedding a mentality of continual growth. The energy in the room was palpable, and we can’t wait to see businesses continue their journey on the programme over the coming months”.

“The Growth Sprint has proved a great way for us to tackle some of our challenges as a business quickly and immediately,” said Jaime Gee, managing director at Jam, one of more than 70 participating business leaders. “The momentum it has given us is invaluable.”

Manchester United partners with Remington for multi-year, global partnership

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Sam Whitear

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07/02/2019

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Manchester United partners with Remington for multi-year, global partnership

Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. and Manchester United have jointly announced the signing of a multi-year, global partnership under which Spectrum Brands’ iconic Remington personal care brand will become the Manchester United Football Club’s first official Electrical Styling Partner.

The partnership, which includes both the men’s and women’s teams, will see Remington and the club working together to deliver high-impact marketing campaigns to Manchester United and Remington fans alike.

One of the largest brands in Spectrum Brands’ broad portfolio, Remington has been integral to the world’s grooming and hair care routines for generations. Established in New York in 1937, for more than 80 years the Remington brand has been inventing, reinventing and evolving to create a range of grooming and hair care products at the cutting edge of design, fashion and technology.

As part of a major multi-channel activation, Remington and Manchester United will collaborate on a campaign which celebrates individuality and the power of inner confidence. The partnership will underpin and amplify Remington’s “The Story of You” campaign, which champions the brand’s mission to help customers build confidence to be themselves, recognising that a person’s journeys, experiences, values and aspirations make up who individuals are as people. The partnership will seek to inspire and enable more people to “Get Your You On”, motivating them to have the confidence to make their mark in everything they do.

Manchester United’s Group Managing Director, Richard Arnold, said: “Remington is one of the most famous and established brands in their field and they are a great addition to our family of commercial partners. Our partnership is not only about bringing our fans high-end styling products, it aims to inspire and encourage individuality though powerful activations and campaigns with both Manchester United’s men’s and women’s team.”

Tim Wright, Vice President for Appliances at Spectrum Holdings, commented: “Our partnership with Manchester United provides a fantastic opportunity to showcase the quality and versatility of Remington products with passionate fans of the world’s biggest and most revered sports brand.

“We have an impressive record of breaking the mould with our product innovation worldwide, and we feel this will be translated in our partnership with Manchester United, and in particular our involvement with both the men’s and women’s teams.”

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