Third new tenant for Leeds waterfront destination
Digital agency Tall is swapping the former Mills of Holbeck for Leeds’ original waterfront destination, as the 13 staff agency moves to Brewery Wharf.
The agency will move into 5A Brewery Place, a 2,500 sq ft workspace which was fully repurposed by Brewery Wharf developer Rushbond PLC, transforming a former restaurant into contemporary office space. Tall is currently based in Holbeck Urban Village and will make the move down the River Aire in February 2022.
Tall was founded in 2011 by Guy Utley with technical director Behrooz Saeed coming on board in 2017. Originally based in Brighouse, the agency moved to Leeds in 2013 and has worked on campaigns for the likes of SkyBet and the Provident Group, and closer to home Leeds Digital Festival and Express Bi-Folding Doors.
Guy Utley said: “The past three years have been record breaking for Tall. We’ve been on the lookout for new premises after outgrowing our current ones, and after visiting many new locations Brewery Wharf stood out head and shoulders above anything else we looked. Walking into the 5A space I immediately turned to Behrooz to say, ‘this is a bit of us’.
“It had a modern yet industrial feel with room to allow us to add our own stamp on the place. We are looking forward to moving in to the fully kitted environment with lots of agile work areas designed for maximum flexibility and the odd new luxury of course.”
Tall is the third new tenant for Brewery Wharf in the last three months, joining fine dining restaurant HOME and funeral planning company Rest Assured Funeral Plans.
Work is currently underway to make additional developments to the public realm, including new landscaping and greenspaces and additional cycle storage facilities.
Richard Baker from Rushbond says: “The creative community at Brewery Wharf is growing rapidly thanks to the flexible spaces on offer, closeness to the city centre and waterfront location – which is hard to beat in terms of mindfulness and fresh air. To have secured three new tenants in three months is a huge coup for this unique and thriving part of Leeds, and there are even more exciting announcements coming soon.”
Leeds City Council offers timely assistance to pandemic-hit local businesses
Businesses in Leeds are being encouraged to apply for fresh funding support to help them deal with the continuing financial challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Leeds City Council has already distributed more than £290m worth of assistance to the business and charity sector since the start of the pandemic.
Now two grant schemes are set to deliver additional help as the local business community weighs up the impact of recently-imposed restrictions designed to slow the spread of the Omicron variant of coronavirus.
One of the schemes being managed by the council is aimed at Leeds-based businesses in the hospitality, leisure and accommodation sector, with one-off grants on offer worth up to £6,000.
Applicants must provide in-person services at their premises and have been registered as the current ratepayer on December 30 last year.
The application window for this fund is open now and will close on Monday, February 28.
The second scheme, which is also open now, is aimed at Leeds-based businesses and charities from any sector, with discretionary grants ranging from £1,000 to £15,000 on offer to help cover fixed overheads such as service charges and commercial vehicle leasing costs.
To qualify for support, applicants must fulfil a number of criteria, one of which requires them to demonstrate a drop from their pre-pandemic income of at least 25 per cent or £50,000 between April 1 and December 31 last year when compared to the same period in 2019.
The scheme is not open to businesses that have already received a discretionary grant towards their fixed overheads for the period from August 1 last year to March 31 this year.
Councillor Jonathan Pryor, Leeds City Council’s executive member for economy, culture and education, said: “We are very much aware of the continuing pressures being placed on businesses in Leeds as a result of COVID-19 and remain determined – as we have been since the start of the crisis – to do everything we can to help them.
“Our business community has – like people across the city – shown truly remarkable resolve as it has coped with the unprecedented challenges that have come its way over the last two years.
“The spread of the Omicron variant has now presented many Leeds businesses with yet another challenge. Our message today, therefore, is simple: if you think you could benefit from one of these schemes, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch.”
Other measures taken by the council during the pandemic include the distribution of grants to businesses that were forced to close during the various national lockdowns and payments to help with reopening costs as restrictions began to ease.
Eligible taxi and private hire drivers, meanwhile, can still claim free three-year licence renewals as part of a multi-million pound package of assistance for their trade that was announced in March last year.
For further information about the council’s COVID-19 business support programme, visit https://www.leeds.gov.uk/coronavirus/grants-for-businesses.
Renovotec acquires IT solutions firm
West Yorkshire-based supply chain hardware, software and services company Renovotec has acquired 100% of Jade Solutions Ltd.
Jade, based in Newton-le-Willows, has 30 years’ expertise in developing IT solutions. Its specialisms include the development of contactless retail environments; Jade customers in this high-growth market include Pret a Manger, Marks & Spencer, Nando’s and Bet Fred.
This latest acquisition will boost Renovotec’s annual turnover to more than £50 million and increase its headcount in the UK and continental Europe to more than 160 employees.
Giles Clegg and Danielle Gibbon from Lupton Fawcett’s corporate team advised Renovotec on the acquisition.
Renovotec CEO, Richard Gilliard, said: “Renovotec is now the largest consultative company in its industry. Our strategy of meeting our supply chain customers’ business needs with best-in-class technology is paying off.”
Giles Clegg who heads the corporate team at Lupton Fawcett said: “We are very pleased to have advised Renovotec on another acquisition. They are a pleasure to work with and are creating an exciting and dynamic group in the IT sector.
“It was also good to see a number of announcements of completed transactions from fellow Yorkshire corporate advisers in the first week of 2022 which is good for the whole Yorkshire corporate finance community.”
Jacky Buchsbaum of Wilds provided accounting and tax advice to Renovotec.
Sustainable British Library redevelopment granted planning permission by Leeds City Council
Leeds City Council has granted planning permission for the large-scale redevelopment of the British Library’s site at Boston Spa in West Yorkshire.
A major construction project will transform the 44 acre site – originally a World War II armaments factory, and for the past six decades the northern home of the UK national library – into a modern archive capable of storing its growing collection for decades to come.
The £95 million Government funded redevelopment will create much-needed storage capacity, with further work dedicated to improving facilities for staff and visitors and making significant improvements to the environmental sustainability of the site.
Following significant government investment announced in the March 2020 Budget, the Library is expanding and refurbishing the West Yorkshire facility just outside Boston Spa, near Wetherby. The Library’s team, supported by Carter Jonas, Project Management and Planning Consultancy teams, submitted a planning application to Leeds City Council last year.
The plans reflect the importance of sustainability within the development, which will see the creation of a low carbon archive and new green spaces designed to support biodiversity.
The Library’s design team will work alongside Wates Construction, architects, Carmody Groarke, building services engineers, Buro Happold, structural engineer, Price and Myers, and landscape architects J&L Gibbons to advance the aspirations for the site.
The Library has also secured a Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) grant. An additional £8.5 million in funding means a range of energy-saving initiatives are already being introduced at the Boston Spa site, including installing:
- Around 730 solar panels providing a minimum of 225 MWh per annum
- A new ground source heat pump system, which will help reduce the Library’s reliance on fossil fuels and will generate an anticipated 1MW of energy – the equivalent of powering 650 average homes
- Additional smart meters, better insulation and the replacement of low-energy efficiency fluorescent lamps within existing buildings
Avacta Group plc has paused sales of the AffiDX® ffiDX® SARS-CoV-2 antigen lateral flow test
Avacta Group plc (AIM: AVCT), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative cancer therapies and powerful diagnostics based on its proprietary Affimer® and pre|CISION™ platforms, provides an update on the performance of the AffiDX® SARS-CoV-2 antigen lateral flow test (LFT) with the Omicron variant.
The performance of all rapid antigen tests has come under recent scrutiny in light of the large number of mutations in the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the US Food and Drug Administration, as well as other sources, has indicated that antigen tests generally will detect the Omicron variant but may have reduced sensitivity.[1]
As reported on 15 December 2021, the AffiDX® SARS-CoV-2 antigen test has been shown to detect the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in patient samples in a small clinical study. Whilst the AffiDX® antigen test is effective at identifying high viral loads of Omicron, further laboratory analysis carried out by Avacta indicates that the sensitivity of the test is reduced at lower viral loads when compared with the sensitivity of the AffiDX® test with previous SARS-CoV-2 variants.
The AffiDX® SARS CoV-2 antigen lateral flow test contains both a proprietary Affimer® reagent and a commercially available antibody. Our data show that the Affimer® reagent in the AffiDX® test detects the Omicron variant with the same sensitivity as the Delta variant, and it is the performance of the antibody, with which the Affimer® is paired in the test, that has been affected by the additional Omicron mutations. The Company has therefore independently taken the decision to pause sales of the AffiDX® antigen test whilst it replaces the antibody in the product to ensure that its performance with the Omicron variant matches the high performance with previous mutations.
Alastair Smith, Chief Executive of Avacta Group, said: “The continued high performance of the Affimer® reagent in the AffiDX® antigen test, despite the large number of mutations in the Omicron variant, is testament to the robustness of our platform technology.
“As a responsible business, we set very high standards for ourselves and our products and have continually kept the performance of the AffiDX® antigen test under review as new SARS-CoV-2 variants have arisen. Our determination to only provide high quality, high performance diagnostic tests has led us to the correct decision to pause all marketing of the AffiDX® lateral flow antigen test. We have, of course, been unable to market the product in the UK since October 2021, as the product continues to await approval under the new CTDA regulatory process.
“We believe COVID-19 testing remains a long-term commercial opportunity. We will therefore use the robustness of the Affimer® platform, and what we have learned about the SARS-CoV-2 virus, to generate the next generation antigen test that will be as resilient as possible to any future mutations.
“The performance of other marketed SARS-CoV-2 antigen lateral flow tests may well be adversely affected by the Omicron variant. This mutant is already the dominant SARS-CoV-2 variant in many countries and may soon be the dominant variant globally. We therefore believe it is essential that similar Omicron sensitivity studies be performed on all SARS-CoV-2 antigen tests and the results communicated to ensure the public can have confidence in the results these tests generate.”
Hull’s maritime charity looking to appoint Trustees
Hull Maritime Foundation is looking to appoint five Trustees to join its board.
The independent charity was set up 2018 to support the assets, sites and programmes of Hull Maritime Museum.
The Foundation is searching for Trustees to strengthen the expertise in fundraising and marketing; charity law and management; events management and investments.
Lord Haskins of Skidby, Chair of the Hull Maritime Foundation, said: “The Foundation’s focus for the future is helping to realise the ambitious vision for Hull’s maritime heritage as part of the Hull Maritime project and making good on the growth and promise that took root during UK City of Culture 2017.
“Hull Maritime Foundation recognises that its Trustees are essential in delivering our vision and that’s why we are seeking to appoint a number of Trustees in order to achieve our endeavours.”
The closing date for applications is 5pm, Monday 31 January 2022. For more information and recruitment pack, visit here.
Leeds firm engineers support for multi-million development
Leeds engineers RWO has won undisclosed work to support ambitious plans for a new multi-million pound industrial and warehouse regeneration project in North Yorkshire.
Planned for development by the Rotherham-based land and property regeneration company, Harworth Group, the proposed 2 million sq. ft. commercial development on the 185-acre Gascoigne Wood site in Sherburn-in-Elmet will see RWO provide consultancy advice along with civil and structural engineering services.
The project is on brownfield land that once formed part of the Selby Coalfield complex and has since been earmarked for redevelopment under the Harworth Group’s plans for the site.
If it gets the green light, the whole project will see new rail-linked industrial and logistics space constructed at Gascoigne Woods in a capital investment that could herald upwards of 2,000 new jobs as occupants move in over the next three years.
RWO’s proposals form part of revised plans designed by award winning Wakefield architects The Harris Partnership, that will be considered by Selby District Council’s planning committee.
The development comes as the engineering firm has more than doubled capacity in the last 12 months following investment in resources and infrastructure to meet strong demand for its services.
Currently employing 30 people and targeting revenues in excess of £2.5m in the next six months, clients include Yorkshire-based industrial construction companies Potter Space and ESH, alongside regional house builders Harron Homes and Gleeson Homes.
Andrew Fairburn, head of RWO’s Leeds office, said: “We continue to strengthen our partnership with the Group and support its investment plans for ambitious redevelopment projects with technical advice, skills and engineering expertise.
“This latest move comes at a time when we are seeing continued growth in 2021 as we look to secure new contracts across the region and the UK.”
Robert Cole, project manager at Harworth Group, said: “We are delighted to continue to work with RWO and look forward to them playing a key role in the delivery of a such a significant project for Yorkshire.”
Huddersfield software company celebrates fifth year of growth
Huddersfield based Software as a Service (SaaS) provider Adventoris is celebrating after a successful 2021 that saw its revenue increase for a fifth year at a cumulative annual growth rate of 83%.
The effects of the pandemic and the demand for digitising sales and ordering processes across many industries, such as manufacturing, wholesale and retail, has accelerated the growth of Adventoris over the last 12 months.
Adventoris is the creator of SwiftCloud, a ground-breaking mobile business to business software that revolutionises the way companies make sales and engage with customers. SwiftCloud is a customisable B2B mobile app platform designed specifically for distributors and wholesalers that enables their customers to see products, communicate with the company and make orders 24/7.
In 2021, its total revenue was up by 37%, and its recurring SaaS revenue has been increasing 62% year on year. Over half a million orders were also made through SwiftCloud powered apps during the year, with a combined total of £0.3bn and over 50,000 active users.
Fifty new clients were onboarded and the business also broke into new markets including baby care, golf, timber and seafood, as more industries adopted digital sales and ordering processes.
To date, Adventoris has created 180 ordering apps for companies throughout the UK and beyond, for clients such as Fellowes, STAEDTLER, Sysco Speciality Group and Pipers Crisps.
Due to the demand for SwiftCloud’s software, further investment has been made to enhance its servers, as well as upgrading the platform to the latest version of Oracle and Oracle APEX, for release in 2022, to ensure the app software is the best it can be.
SwiftCloud is consistently growing and evolving, with new modules and updates being added regularly. It now offers six ordering solutions, including SwiftCloud Web Portal and SwiftCloud Sales Manager app.
SwiftCloud is proven to save up to 80% of customer service costs, by removing the expensive cost of manual data entry, as well as costs associated with human error when inputting data. It can also save end customers up to 50% of the time in preparing and submitting an order. Adventoris’ clients have experienced the number of customer orders increasing by 26% when utilising SwiftCloud.
James Clarkson, Adventoris’ CEO, said: “The last few years have seen our business go from strength to strength and we’re continuing along that trajectory as we head into 2022.
“The team has worked tirelessly over the last year to keep up with the demand in businesses shifting to digital processes, but also responding to constantly evolving technology, software, compliance and legislation to ensure the customer experience is at the highest level.
“I’m incredibly proud of the team and look forward to growing even further in 2022, as we look to bring in even more new talent and break into new markets.”
SmartSearch announces appointment of new CEO
SmartSearch, the leading anti-money laundering specialist, today announces the appointment of Guy Harrison as CEO. Guy will drive SmartSearch’s strategic plan to build additional growth and will report to the company’s board of directors.
Guy is a seasoned business leader with a proven track record of scaling fast-growth data, analytics and technology businesses. He joins from Dow Jones where he was general manager of Dow Jones Risk & Compliance, a market leading global provider of regulatory compliance and risk management solutions. Whilst there, he headed the global business, delivering three years of highly successful growth. Prior to that he was managing director for Risk, Regulatory and Compliance Solutions at IHS Markit. Before joining IHS Markit, Guy spent eight years at Goldman Sachs and started his career as a management consultant with Deloitte.
He takes over with immediate effect from SmartSearch’s CEO and founder John Dobson, who launched the business in 2011. John will remain an active part of the company as a non-executive director.
SmartSearch achieved record results in 2021, with a 22% increase in business. This was driven by demand for its industry-leading online ID verification and due diligence platform. The company has received many industry awards, including a Queen’s Award for Enterprise for its innovative work, and currently operates in the UK, the US and Europe. It was recently chosen to provide customer verification by Alto, a part of Zoopla, which provides cloud-based software for estate agents.
Guy Harrison, CEO of SmartSearch, said: “SmartSearch has already delivered impressive growth, and I’m very much looking forward to working with the team to lead the business towards even greater success. Fraud and money laundering attempts have risen considerably since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic increasing the need for regulated businesses to have effective AML technology. SmartSearch’s state-of-the-art technology is perfectly positioned to meet this need by accurately identifying and verifying customers in just two seconds.”
John Dobson was one of the founders of credit management giant Callcredit, following which he set up SmartSearch. He said: “There is a clear and growing need for robust electronic verification to help counter money laundering and fraud. The strong growth we have achieved at SmartSearch over the past decade clearly indicates this need as paper documents can no longer be relied upon. It also gives an indication of our huge potential for further expansion.
“I feel a lot of pride in having led a worthy and successful business which will continue to grow and prosper with a very competent, energetic and innovative team remaining. I felt the time had come for my second retirement and I am very happy to handover the leadership to Guy, who I know has the experience and strategic vision to steer the business through the next expansion phase as it continues to become recognized as the default solution for AML verification, both in the UK and globally.”
Richard Law, chairman designate of SmartSearch, commented: “On behalf of the board and the team as SmartSearch I’d like to thank and congratulate John on his skill and dedication to building SmartSearch so effectively and on achieving the financial success the business has seen to date. I’m very pleased that the business has been able to attract Guy to join the business. His track record, experience and skills are a great fit for the ambitious next stage of SmartSearch’s development and growth.”
SmartSearch is based in Ilkley, West Yorkshire, and this year increased its team from 117 to 168 to cope with demand.
The SmartSearch system carries out identity checks using a combination of credit reference data and trusted public sources, which makes it virtually impossible for someone to get away with using a fake identity.
For more information please visit: www.smartsearch.com
Experienced audit manager joins Hentons
An experienced audit manager has been appointed at Yorkshire-based chartered accountancy and business advisory firm, Hentons.
Lee Milligan has over 25 years’ industry experience and will be managing a team of auditing professionals who are based across the firm’s Leeds, London, Sheffield, Thirsk and York offices.
After completing a BA Hons degree in Accountancy and Business Studies, Lee started his career in Stoke-on-Trent before moving to a firm in Manchester. He has recently been working as the audit and accounts manager at Paylings Ltd in Wakefield. Lee is a fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).
Lee said: “A well-run audit gives management and third parties assurance in the published financial figures and highlights any weaknesses in client systems, errors and potential fraud. It also makes meaningful unbiased recommendations to improve performance in the future. I pride myself on adding value to clients by providing excellent service and ideas that play a vital role in driving businesses forward.
“I wanted to join Hentons, as the firm has an excellent reputation for its audit and accountancy services, as well as offering corporate finance and legal services, and there are plenty of opportunities to build on its impressive client base.”
