A new work-meets-life co-working concept has officially announced it will open in Manchester’s Brown Street this November.

Re-inventing co-working, the Work.Life space is the eighth venue for the award-winning company, and the first outside of London and the South East, where it boasts members including MTV & Doctor Martens.

Situated in the heart of the city and a two-minute walk from both King Street and Market Street, Work.Life will open its doors to 300 members, offering three levels of membership – Resident (private offices), Local (unlimited hot-desking), and Flex (pay-as-you-go hot-desking).

The 12,500 sq ft space will be kitted out with a reception, kitchen, meeting rooms, private phone booths, calming cubicles for people to unwind and breakout areas for members to meet, socialise and relax.

In addition to a packed events schedule including weekly yoga classes, beer & pizza nights, ‘lunch & learns’, and networking socials, Work.Life members will also benefit from bicycle storage, showers and a pet-friendly policy.

Speaking about the launch, Work.Life co-founder, David Kosky, commented: “Manchester was the next logical step for us in terms of expansion. The city is a hub of creativity and has a thriving and well-loved entrepreneur scene and community spirit which we’re excited to join.”

Work.Life’s central location in Brown Street will make it the most accessible co-working space in Manchester, on the doorstep for city dwellers as well as commuters from Victoria, Piccadilly and St Peters Square.

Kosky continued: “We are more than just a workspace. Our smaller, brighter spaces are centered on community and team engagement, which is demonstrated through the range of services we offer our members to help them retain and attract top talent. This is a unique focus in the co-working market and is at the forefront of the changing world of work.”

“We can’t make people love what they do but we can make them enjoy coming into the office and this is what our Work.Life spaces are designed to do. To use an analogy, we aren’t just another ‘Starbucks’ style co-working space, we view ourselves as the cosier boutique option providing spaces that are welcoming, inviting and made with soul!”

GOFUELS Ltd is working with leading electric vehicle charging firm InstaVolt to give customers access to pay-as-you-go, contactless charging.

InstaVolt has flicked the switch on its first rapid charger for the forecourt company at its site in Horwich and is currently installing another two at its site in Worsley, Manchester.

The 50kWh charging stations can get drivers topped up and back on the road in minutes and, unlike many others, are available for any EV driver to use with no subscription or membership card needed.

Motorists simply tap their contactless credit or debit card, charge-up and go. Users are charged only for the electricity they use on a per-unit basis. There is no connection fee, minimum charge or monthly subscription fee.

Salim Patel, director at GOFUELS, said: “The ease of the InstaVolt chargers was what really sold it to us. We want our customers to have the best experience when they come to our forecourts and the simplicity of the tap-to-pay system really stood out.”

GOFUELS was able to install the chargers with no financial outlay, as InstaVolt not only installs and maintains the stations for free but also pays partner landlords a rental income.

Salim said: “It made perfect sense to partner with InstaVolt. It meant we could broaden our offering and cater for electric car drivers without that capital expenditure. It’s freed up that money for investment in other projects.”

Tim Payne, CEO of InstaVolt, said: “We’re working with an increasing number of forecourt retailers, who are seeing the benefit that electric car chargers can bring. We’re pleased that GOFUELS is among them and look forward to seeing how easy their customers find it to use our chargers.”

The Board of boohoo group plc is delighted to announce the appointment of John Lyttle as Chief Executive.

John is currently the Chief Operating Officer of Primark Stores Limited, a division of Associated British Foods and one of Europe’s fastest growing and most profitable retail businesses. During his eight-year tenure at Primark turnover has grown by 158% to over £7bn and operating profit has grown by 116% to £735m (to the year ended 16 September 2017). John’s earlier career involved senior roles at Matalan and the Arcadia Group.

John’s appointment is a key constituent of the Group’s positioning for its next stage of growth and will be accompanied by a number of changes to the existing main Board roles, all of which are designed to support the journey of the Group through its further international expansion.

Mahmud Kamani, currently Joint Chief Executive, will become Group Executive Chairman of the Company with effect from 15 March 2019. Mahmud’s focus and responsibilities will evolve more towards the long-term strategic direction for the boohoo group and away from the day to day running of the business.

Carol Kane, currently Joint Chief Executive, will remain on the main Board in an executive role and will assume the title of Group Co-Founder and Executive Director with effect from 15 March 2019. Carol will continue to lead the vision for the Group’s creativity and multi- brand strategy focussed around the positioning of the boohoo group’s brands (boohoo, boohooman, PrettyLittleThing and Nasty Gal) and overseeing the development of the product proposition.

Peter Williams, who as non-executive Chairman has successfully overseen the Company’s transition from an unquoted company to one of the leading companies on AIM over an important period in the Group’s development will be stepping down from his role with effect from 15 March 2019.

The Board intends to recruit a further independent non-executive Director and will commence a search process for this role imminently. A further announcement will be made on appointment of the successful candidate.

Mahmud Kamani and Carol Kane, Joint Chief Executives of boohoo group, said:

“We are thrilled to have secured a candidate of John’s calibre as our CEO. We have got to know John over a number of years and are convinced he has the necessary skills to complement what we already have and take the Group on to its next stage of growth. Both of us remain totally committed to the business and will ensure a measured and careful handover.

This is a hugely exciting time for the Group as the fast fashion market continues to shift online and more and more customers across the globe are joining as customers of our brands. The Group has experienced exceptional growth over the past few years, with turnover increasing 24 fold from £24.5m in 2011 to £579.8m for the year ended 28 February 2018 and we believe John is ideally placed to guide the Group through the next stage of its growth; whilst he was COO at Primark, turnover increased from £2.7bn in 2010 to £7.1bn in 2017. Our next priority for boohoo is to ensure we have world class infrastructure and technology in place and we believe John is the right person to lead that journey.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank Peter Williams for his great contribution to the Group during his time as Chairman. His wise counsel and years of retail experience have been invaluable during this period.”

John Lyttle, CEO-designate of boohoo group said: “I have known Mahmud and Carol for a number of years and have watched the growth of the boohoo group with admiration. I am hugely excited to be joining the Group at this key stage of its growth and capitalising on what is a global opportunity”

Peter Williams, non-executive Chairman said: “Like Mahmud and Carol, I am delighted to have secured the services of such an experienced international retailer as John Lyttle. The boohoo group is at a key moment in its development and combining John’s skills with those of Mahmud and Carol will enable a step change into a new era for the Group. I have very much enjoyed working with Mahmud and Carol and wish everyone at the Company every success for the future.”