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Altrincham heralds arrival of retailer’s ‘flagship’ store

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A carpet retailer has committed more than £1.5million in a flagship store in Altrincham, creating up to 10 new jobs.

United Carpets and Beds, the UK’s largest franchised carpet and bed retailer, has opened its 59th showroom on the Altrincham Retail Park in Broadheath with an experienced team boasting a combined 20 years in carpet retail.

The 10,000 sq ft outlet is one of only three United Carpets and Beds flagship stores and will showcase the latest carpet ranges while offering a training facility for the retailer’s 250+ staff.

Store manager Mark Long, who anticipates the five-strong team may double in the next 12 months with warehousing and further sales staff appointments, said: “This is a strategic move in the growth of our northern retail offering. We wanted to create a central store where we can showcase our latest product ranges, acting as a test-bed before full roll out to ensure we are providing exactly what our customers want. The significant investment in premises and stock will ultimately support our wider store product offering.

“The customer experience is hugely important to us and while our website supports consumer research and sales, we still find many customers want to see, feel and sample the carpets, floorings and beds before they buy which is why the Altrincham store is so valuable in supporting our customer engagement, research and offering.”

Will Hickman, marketing manager for the group added “Our business made its name on the high street 21 years ago and more than two decades later, we are still putting the customer first with both an online and a physical retail presence and are delighted to be introducing our proposition to the public of Altrincham in the all-important run-up to Christmas.”

LPL Property Lawyers scoops three top conveyancing awards

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LPL Property Lawyers, an innovative team that offers a fresh approach to conveyancing, has swept the board at this year’s Estate Agent of the Year Conveyancer awards (ESTAS), walking away with three of the top accolades.

The ESTAs Conveyancer awards, which took place at The Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, London, were awarded purely on customer feedback and this year were presented by the UK’s favourite TV property presenter Phil Spencer.

LPL, based in Manchester city centre, were awarded three awards: Best Regional, Best in County and Best Single Office (UK) in recognition of the team consistently delivering an exceptional level of service over the past qualifying 10 months.

Fiaz Khalid, Head of Operations and founder of LPL Property Lawyers, said: “We were undoubtedly the underdogs entering these awards this year, so to walk out with three of the top honours is truly incredible.

“We set the division up 18 months ago with a mission that we wanted to create a law firm which engages with clients and delivers an exceptional service and ultimately improves the customer journey when purchasing a property. As these awards are based purely on customer feedback, they prove that we are clearly achieving what we set out to.”

Well Pharmacy hosts first ever awards night to celebrate stars

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Well Pharmacy, the UK’s largest independent pharmacy chain, has hosted its first ever Supplier Conference and Well Awards ceremony.

Over 25 of Well Pharmacy’s suppliers attended the company’s inaugural conference at the Hilton Deansgate in Manchester. Delegates learned from CEO John Nuttall, about Well’s new strategy, and were thanked for their continued support and loyalty to the pharmacy chain.

John Nuttall, CEO at Well, said: “It’s so important that we have strong relationships with all our suppliers, and I was delighted to welcome them to this special event. It was a very proud moment for me to be able to share our new strategy with them, revealing our bold ambition to be the best prescription experience in the UK, and our aim to meet five crucial customer promises. I’d like to thank each and every one of our suppliers for their support, which is key to us achieving our future goals.”

The event went on into the evening, where the company’s shining stars were recognised at the first Well Awards night hosted at the Imperial War Museum in Manchester. Six awards were presented, including Team of the Year, Leader of the Year, Customer Care Champion, Future Rising Star, and Charity Fundraiser of the Year.

Sophie Baldock, Engagement Manager at Well said: “Our people are our difference, and I’m so proud to work with such amazing colleagues that have a major impact on the business, and make a huge difference to the health and wellbeing of the community every day.

“One award particularly close to my heart is the Charity Fundraiser of the Year Award. Our Healthcare Service Centre in Stoke-on-Trent have gone above and beyond over the last year to raise a staggering £15,000 for the Stroke Association, including a sky dive and swimming with sharks! What an inspirational team.”

Winners

Team of the Year: Well Tonypandy

Leader of the Year: Jenni Ogle, Well Eccles – Russell Street

Customer Care Champion: David Keith, Well Carlisle – Wigton Road

Future Rising Star: Alex Zahorodnyj, Well Kidsgrove – Mount Road

Charity Fundraiser of the Year: Healthcare Service Centre, Stoke-on-Trent

Gold Star of the Year: Jeffrey Siminster, Well Home Delivery Service

Good Broadcast appoints Josh Wheeler to grow the business in the North

Good Broadcast, the specialist broadcast consultancy within the Good Relations group, has appointed Josh Wheeler to develop the Good Broadcast business outside of London.

Josh Wheeler joins Good Broadcast from Markettiers where he was General Manager of the Manchester office. He will report to Good Broadcast Director Phil Caplin with a remit to provide specialist consultancy to brands and organisations in the North.

Phil Caplin, said: “It’s hugely exciting to have Josh on board to grow the agency outside of London. He has a top class reputation in the industry and his ‘consultancy first’ approach is something that fits with the ethos at Good Broadcast”.

Josh Wheeler said: “Good Broadcast is focused on delivering campaigns that focus on quality coverage over quantity, and dispelling myths that have been within the broadcast PR industry for years. I’m incredibly excited about opening our doors in the North, a region brimming with potential and promise, and one I am passionate about.”

DCP enables launch of Vitalin’s new premium pet food range

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Manchester-based agency DCP were retained to develop the new branding and packaging design for Vitalin’s new range of products in the premium pet food market.

DCP is a niche branding and packaging design agency based in Manchester specialising in the food and pet food industries. Since 2007, they have worked for clients all around the world from global corporates to innovative start-ups and all businesses in between.

The new Vitalin range was launched in September in UK-wide independent outlets.  It includes four high-quality, high meat products in varying packaging formats. The new brand concept was based on DCP’s insights and expertise in the growing premium pet food market.

The rising demand for premium pet food has driven a huge amount of new product development over recent years. Pet owners are spending increasing amounts on treating their pampered pets.

The full range from creative concept through to print files was managed in-house by DCP. This included new illustrations of dog breeds including a Border Collie and small Yorkshire Terrier. David Tinker, National Sales Manager at Vitalin Pet Foods, said: “For our new high meat range, we asked DCP to maintain our core brand ethos of value, trust and Britishness whilst incorporating elements that would position the new products as a more premium range.

DCP were able to perfectly interpret this brief, giving us a fresh colour palette of charcoal and cream along with more luxurious gold highlights. Our move to a new Tetra Pak format created some challenges, yet DCP managed to execute the design superbly.”

Hetal Pandit, Director at DCP added: “Our aim was to ensure the new brand design for Vitalin stood out on shelf and worked across all packaging formats. We are proud of the work we have done for this innovative business and enjoyed collaborating with them on their new range which we’re sure will do well in this highly competitive market.”

British Army Engineers veteran Simon joins FEC team in the city

Far East Consortium (FEC) International Limited’s Manchester office has appointed a new construction director.

Simon Adams has over 25 years’ experience, having previously been employed in project management and director roles on a range of different schemes for John Sisk & Son Ltd, Barratt London and Carillion. During his time at this companies, he oversaw work on projects valued at over £275m.

Prior to these roles, Simon also served as a project manager in the British Army Royal Engineers for 13 years, and saw service in Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan. In addition, he also managed projects for the Royal Engineers in Canada, Norway, Oman, Qatar and the UK too.

Simon is now overseeing progress on FEC’s £200 million residential development at MeadowSide in Manchester. The exciting new scheme will comprise 756 new homes for sale across four buildings, which will border Angel Meadow Park, one of the city’s largest open green spaces.

Angel Meadow forms a key part of the city centre’s 20-acres NOMA neighbourhood, which sits on the doorstep of Victoria station.

The MeadowSide project spearheads the transformational plans for the Northern Gateway, FEC’s investment partnership with Manchester City Council, which plans to deliver 15,000 homes across north Manchester over the next fifteen years.

Gavin Taylor, Regional General Manager at Far East Consortium commented: “Simon has a fantastic level of construction experience working on some high-value projects, both in the UK and overseas thanks to his many years of service with the British Army. We are always looking to strengthen our ranks at FEC, and we are delighted to have someone of Simon’s calibre leading construction on FEC’s projects in Manchester.”

Manchester scheduling company named Supplier of the Year at NHS awards

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Manchester based scheduling company Malinko Software has been named Supplier of the Year at the NHS in The North Excellence in Supply Awards 2018.

The awards recognise the work of businesses, third sector bodies and the NHS in working together to provide great patient care. They are organised by NHS North West Procurement Development and Northern Customer Board, which helps NHS organisations to procure for value as well as best standards of care.

The Awards were sponsored by the Innovation Agency; Health Innovation Manchester; and Yorkshire and Humber Academic Health Science Network.

Malinko has been solving organisational scheduling problems since 2010, including working with Landscape UK to keep gritting lorries on the roads during snow alerts.

In 2017 Malinko, in partnership with Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust and part funded by Innovate UK, applied their expertise to the challenge of caseload scheduling and managing a distributed workforce in NHS community nursing.

Salford Royal was operating a manual system for caseload allocation and booking visits to patients, which was labour intensive. Working with Salford Royal, Malinko introduced an automated and intelligent system which improved the process, keeping mileage and travel times for nurses to a minimum and giving nurses more time to care.

As a result, Salford Royal’s community nursing service saw a 20 per cent increase in the average number of patients seen in a morning by the team, and a 10 per cent reduction in travel time and mileage.

Andrew Threlfall, Founder Malinko Software, said: “We feel we have uncovered a significant problem that the NHS will want to solve – how NHS organisations can ‘intelligently’ schedule, matching capacity with demand. Our plan is to leverage the success and share Salford’s outcomes and results across the NHS.”

Malinko is also one of four companies selected as part of the Greater Manchester Digital Health Accelerator, run by Health Innovation Manchester. The scheme, which launched in September this year, gives companies support, speciality training and opportunities to meet experts and showcase their products with NHS decision-makers. The Greater Manchester Digital Health Accelerator is one of five schemes aiming to rapidly increase the adoption of digital health products in the NHS.

Awards judge Mick Guymer of NHS Northern Customer Board for Procurement, said: “Malinko’s solution makes greater and more effective use of health service resources in the community, thus increasing the volume and level of care delivery to the patient – a real positive change in a relative Cinderella service of the NHS.”

Chief Executive of event sponsors Health Innovation Manchester Ben Bridgewater said: “The collaborations with external partners showcased by the awards are having a huge impact in improving patient care and on achieving better value and efficiency. Huge congratulations to all the winners and very worthy finalists.”

Vodafone first to switch on full 5G in the UK

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Vodafone today became the first company in the UK to carry full 5G over a commercial network.

Live mobile data traffic is now being streamed to and from the Internet exclusively over 5G from a site in Salford, Greater Manchester, connected to Vodafone’s nationwide converged fibre network. Until now, companies have tested the technology either within a single location, or using parts of the 4G network to complete the 5G service.

Only last month Vodafone conducted the UK’s first holographic call using 5G spectrum from its Manchester office with Steph Houghton MBE, England and Manchester City Women’s Football Captain.

Providing coverage to MediaCityUK and the surrounding area, the new site in Salford is an important step in connecting businesses and consumers with 5G technology. It is enabling Vodafone to test the technology end-to-end using wireless routers and forms part of its 5G trial in seven cities this year.

Vodafone is now inviting local companies and organisations to register their interest in experiencing the faster data speeds and ultra-responsiveness of 5G at its new ‘Future Ready’ innovation centre and digital incubator when it opens in Spring 2019. In partnership with the Mayor of Greater Manchester and MediaCityUK, the innovation centre will be equipped with our very latest digital technology.  This includes 5G wireless routers, gigabit-capable optical-fibre links and Internet of Things (IoT) services, which can digitally connect everything from office security systems, vehicles, and household appliances to livestock and pets.

When 5G-compatible handsets and devices become available, people will be able to play games on the go in 4K resolution with little or no time lag.  They will also be able to immerse themselves in augmented reality where virtual objects appear in real-life surroundings and enjoy extremely fast Internet access.

Vodafone UK Chief Executive Nick Jeffery, said: “We are leading the roll out of 5G across the UK, starting with Greater Manchester.  A further six cities – Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, Liverpool and London – will shortly receive full 5G too. Next year, we will bring 5G to the Scottish Highlands, Cornwall and the Lake District, among other locations.

“We have worked closely with the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, to help ensure the city is not only an economic powerhouse, but also a digital powerhouse. That is why we are making a multi-million pound investment to offer world-class communications to Greater Manchester’s thriving media and tech community, consumers and our own 1,000 or so employees who work there.”

 

Strategic Land Group secures trio of housing sites

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Manchester-headquartered Strategic Land Group (SLG) has secured a trio of development sites across the North, with the potential to deliver a total of 435 new homes.

The new projects come as SLG marks its tenth year supporting land owners in bringing sites to market and working alongside house builders to deliver much-needed new homes.

The largest of the three sites, located at Pole Lane in Bury, Greater Manchester, has the potential to accommodate around 275 homes as part of a wider site of 600 homes. Part of a proposed development allocation in the emerging Greater Manchester Spatial Framework, the 12.5 ha site could also see the creation of a new neighbourhood centre, along with provision of public open space and a community orchard, plus improvements to existing recreation facilities. New cycle routes through the site could also be delivered as part of Olympic gold medalist Chris Boardman’s Beelines cycle network.

In Kirton-in-Linsay a 10.4 acre site will be promoted with the potential to provide 100 new homes, while Kidsgrove, Staffordshire, could see the development of 60 new homes on a 6.7 acre site. The latter will help Newcastle-under-Lyme council deliver the circa 12,000 new homes that are needed over the next 15 years. It will also include an element of affordable housing, along with a substantial area of open space and the retention of hedgerows and trees.

Paul Smith, Managing Director, Strategic Land Group, said: “All three sites are located in areas with established housing need to support a growing population. The newly updated National Planning Policy Framework reaffirms the government’s commitment to closing the gap between housing supply and housing need. So with this in mind, it’s great to be able to secure these sites, which have the ability to deliver much-needed new homes along with supporting amenities that allow communities to thrive.”

He continued: “SLG marks its tenth anniversary this month and, while it’s great to be able to continue supporting landowners in releasing underused sites for genuine housing need, it’s dismaying how little has changed, with the yawning gap between housing stock and need continuing to widen. I sincerely hope that the next ten will yield more positive changes!”

Visualsoft celebrates two decades in business

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Manchester-based e-commerce and digital agency, Visualsoft, is celebrating 20 years in business this October, having grown from an innovative web developer to market-leading online retail platform with a roster of over 1,000 clients. 

The company, which is still headquartered in Teesside and opened its current office in 2015, has grown rapidly over the past two decades – now counting nearly 300 staff of digital specialists, with plans to grow this by at least 25% in the next 12 months.

Latest financial figures show impressive year-on-year growth, with the business doubling its profit before tax to £2million and increasing turnover by 18%. 

Visualsoft is soon to open a brand new office in central Newcastle and a new wing of its Stockton office, having just completed a renovation of its Manchester Peter Street base.

The business has continually invested in both its people and new strategic marketing services to help grow its clients’ online sales.

In 2014, the company introduced unlimited holidays and flexible working for its employees, which it credits with creating a culture with trustworthy and hard-working staff who focus on high service – rather than those that appear to work hard but don’t deliver.

In 2017, it also introduced a new revenue model – Shared Success – in which client fees are based on a percentage of their sales, instead of upfront and fixed fees.

More recently, Visualsoft was made a Google Premier Partner and tier one agency and a Bing Ads accredited partner, highlighting its commitment to marketing best practice.

Visualsoft’s CEO and founder, Dean Benson, commented: “Twenty years is a long time in digital. Even over the past 12 months, we’ve seen huge developments in online retail beyond what anyone could have imagined back in 1998 – the same year that Google’s first webcrawler started examining the links between online pages.

“The ability to rapidly adapt to these changing market conditions has been of paramount importance. What’s more, consistent research and development means that we are not only keeping up with the needs of the industry, but paving the way in terms of great client experience. Here’s to the next 20 years.”