Latest merger for fast growing Streets sees the coming together of two tech pioneers in the professional services sector
The latest in a line of mergers for the fast-growing practice Streets Chartered Accountants sees a coming together of two highly successful, pioneering tech powered firms, which focus on innovation in delivering assurance and financial management, especially for Fin Tech start-ups and scale-ups.
Streets, a top 40 UK professional service firm, has revealed that the boutique practice of Mitch Consulting Limited, which provides outsourced accounting and finance solutions centred around the use of cloud-based programmes and digital platforms, has merged with the firm’s Bristol practice Streets Steele, which has developed an industry leading virtual finance office service for clients running a fast moving, dynamic and rapidly growing business.
When asked about the merger, Mark Mitchell, co-founder of Mitch Consulting Limited, said: “With a background and career in the financial management of technology related businesses including some very large and well known companies, we founded Mitch Consulting in 2014, based on a clear understanding of the need to support start-up and scale-up enterprises. In particular we recognised that many such businesses could benefit from a CFO and finance team but couldn’t afford them.
“Through the use of a technology stack using the latest in accountancy and financial management software and more contemporary ways of working, we found we were able to provide an affordable and highly effective solution. An experienced team of highly qualified accountants with relevant industry experience has also ensured that we have been able to offer high end and specialist advice and support.
“For our practice to grow and as part of our own succession planning, we needed to consider the next steps for the business. We spent some time considering the options as well as potential firms to join up with. The decision was very much focused around a shared vision and appreciation of our business model, especially around the need to embrace technology and realise its benefits in terms of looking after and working with clients.
“With its established virtual finance office service and appetite and enthusiasm for innovation, we were delighted to enter into discussions and ultimately come together with Streets.
“We particularly like the opportunities that the merger offers for the continued growth of the business and the opportunities it offers existing and future team members. We also see the merger benefiting clients through their ability to access additional services, including specialist personal and business tax planning, specialist R&D tax reliefs, banking & finance and corporate law.”
Looking at what the merger means to Streets, the firm’s Managing Partner, Paul Tutin, said: “The merger of Mitch Consulting with Streets is one of five mergers we have completed in less than 6 months. This, the latest one, was particularly exciting as it has enabled us to build on our focus to drive innovation in the delivery and provision of service for our clients both now and in the future.
“We fully recognise the importance of embracing technology and the role it can play in meeting the need for effective and meaningful financial reporting and management for all businesses, especially those operating in the fast-moving Fin Tech sector.
“Having Mitch Consulting join us, along with our dedicated VFO team in Bristol, provides a real boost to our service offering and helps to set us apart from our competition. We are truly excited about the opportunities this merger provides and developing an industry leading service.
“This latest merger with Streets means that the practice now has 27 offices, over 60 Partners and directors, more than 350 members of staff and annualised fee income of more than £39 million.
“We are also currently in discussions with a number of firms around potential mergers, with hopefully a number of further announcements over the next few months.”
Streets Law, the firms dedicated corporate and commercial law offering led by Managing Director and Solicitor Adam Aisthorpe, undertook the legal work on behalf of Streets for the merger, including drafting the sale and purchase agreement and dealing with the due diligence process in collaboration with internal colleagues in the tax and audit teams at Streets.
The firm’s in house law team has now completed 10 mergers for Streets in the last 3 years, whilst at the same time advising the Streets client base on M&A transactions worth in excess of £250 million in that time. Streets Law also advises clients on business restructuring and refinancing transactions, MBOs, shareholders agreements and a variety of commercial contracts.
Ashton Legal, Norwich and Corporate and Commercial Solicitor Jasmine Allen acted on behalf of the sellers, Mark Mitchell and Jane Mitchell, on the sale of the practice to Streets.
Ride Shotgun makes second US acquisition of 2024
Leeds-based omnichannel creative content agency Ride Shotgun has acquired PIX-US, a specialist CGI company based in North Carolina.
This follows the acquisition of Silicon Valley-based Volume Group in March, giving the agency a presence on both the East and West coasts of the US.
The deal enables Ride Shotgun to deliver all of its content capabilities (from photography and video production to CGI, AR/VR and immersive) on both sides of the Atlantic, for a global client base already including Intuit, Diageo, KAO, Tempur Sealy, HSBC and Amazon.
The addition of the PIX-US team sees the agency’s headcount reach 200 across the UK, US, EU and Asia, with revenues now over $20m.
PIX-US, a North American Computer Generated Image (CGI) Agency, has been creating photorealistic content for retail and consumer brands for over a decade. Ride Shotgun and PIX-US have worked together for a number of years and the acquisition combines their in-house teams with PIX’s extensive experience of the North American Market.
Mark Mallinder, CEO of Ride Shotgun, said: “The incredible team from Volume, who already have a strong track record of delivering technology driven solutions for their US clients, has now been strengthened by PIX-US. PIX has been producing stunning visual content for some great brands and we are really excited to add our expertise and support to their team.
“This is a great opportunity for us to replicate our success in the UK for the American market by offering strategy, production, and activation, through our customer centric approach. Volume and PIX already excel in these areas, and their integration into the wider Ride Shotgun business will add even further value to our clients.”
Stewart Fortune, MD, PIX-US, added: “Having known the team at Ride Shotgun for quite a few years this is the perfect opportunity for us to strengthen our current offering. We are already valued for our photorealistic CGI imagery and visualiser tools and we can now offer creative content strategy and activation as well as broader production solutions to better serve the needs of our customers.”
Joanna South, who joined Ride Shotgun from Volume in March, and is now SVP Ride Shotgun US, added: “We are looking forward to expanding further across North America with an end to end offer as a global marketing support partner.”
Yorkshire and the Humber sees one of the sharpest UK-wide increases in new businesses in September
With all but two of the regions and nations showing a rise in levels of businesses start-ups between August and September, Yorkshire and the Humber saw the fourth greatest increase, according to the UK’s insolvency and restructuring trade body, R3.
The research from R3, which is based on an analysis of data provided by CreditSafe, showed that Yorkshire and the Humber recorded a 7.7% month-on-month uplift in new businesses, rising to a total of 4,235 new businesses in September – over 300 more start-ups than in August. In contrast, levels of new businesses in the region had decreased by 3.5% between July and August.
Last month’s more optimistic picture was reflected across much of the UK with ten of the 12 regions and nations seeing rises in new business numbers since August. The most marked increases were in Northern Ireland with a 14.2% rise, followed by West Midlands (up by 8.5%) and the South East (up by 8.3%).
However, both the East Midlands and Scotland experienced falls in levels of start-ups since August, with the latter seeing a drop of 0.8% in September and the former decreasing by 3.6%.
Looking at month-on-month changes to insolvency-related activity (which includes liquidator and administrator appointments and creditors’ meetings), there was also a mixed picture.
Yorkshire and the Humber was among four regions and nations which recorded a rise last month since the previous month – up by 16.6% with 246 businesses in the region now affected. Northern Ireland saw the largest hike (up by 109.1%) with the West Midlands (up by 2.9%) and Greater London (up by 1.5%) also experiencing rises.
Wales put in the strongest performances with a drop of 30.1%, closely followed by the North East (down by 26.3%) and Scotland (down by 26.1%), while the remaining five regions and nations also saw double-digit decreases.
Dave Broadbent, chair of R3 in Yorkshire and partner at Begbies Traynor in York and Teesside, said: “After the initial feel-good factor immediately following June’s general election, it appears that business confidence is once again declining and this is having a detrimental effect of the UK economy.
“With warnings of a tough budget at the end of the month, many businesses remain cautious although some economists are still predicting growth, albeit at a slower rate than in the first six months of the year.
“Given continued high interest rates and cost of living pressures as consumers face another winter of increased energy costs, it is encouraging to see so many entrepreneurs here in Yorkshire and the Humber, as well as in many other parts of the UK, launching new businesses.
“However, with levels of insolvency-related activity also growing in many of the regions and nations, it remains a difficult environment in which to trade. Once the Autumn Budget is behind us, it will be easier for businesses to plan, but cash flow is likely to remain an issue and we urge directors to seek professional advice at the first signs of spiralling financial problems.”
Leeds special needs school moves into White Rose Park
Broomfield South SILC (Specialist Including Learning Centre), an all-age special educational needs school serving south Leeds, has moved into a state-of-the-art building at the White Rose Business Park.
Broomfield South will be occupying a 9,000 sq ft former office suite on the ground floor of the refurbished ABC Building. It will accommodate 80 students and 30 staff members.
With the new facilities, Broomfield is relocating its Post-16 students, giving capacity this year to accept more students under the age of 16 to their Belle Isle site, helping to meet the increased demand for SEND placements.
Lizzie Chappell, Assistant Headteacher Personal Development, explained further why the school was moving its Post-16 pupils into the new building at Munroe K’s White Rose Park.
“There are a number of reasons why we have moved our Formal and Semi Formal Post 16 provision to White Rose. First, it’s an excellent destination, well situated close to local amenities, transport and within an exciting education and business hub.
“This has enabled us to create a bespoke provision within the space with communal areas that fit with the Post 16 curriculum delivery. We now have a high quality environment provision to meet the needs of the learners and is fit for purpose.
“We will now be in a better position for Post 16 young people to be Prepared for Adulthood. Our learners require opportunities, so they are not defined by their disabilities.
“By moving Post 16 into the heart of a thriving business park, there are opportunities such as work placements, delivery of pre-internship programmes, access to better transport links and real-world learning.
“In addition, we will be able to deliver qualifications we have previously not been able to deliver on our main site and support the 14-19 agenda across Leeds to reduce the NEET (Not in Education, Employment and or Training).
“I’d also add that this was a collaborative project including SENSAP, LCC and multiple contractors to get it over the finish line. Ollie Maloney (Monroe K) clearly made a commitment early on to ensure that we could meet the timeframes we were working to in our legal obligation to offer SEND placements.”
There will be an official opening of the new Broomfield School building in November.
Heather Roberts, Legal Director at Raworths, said: “We worked closely with Broomfield South SILC School as well as partners and collaborators including the landlord’s surveyors and lawyers, Leeds City Council’s planning and property departments, the Children and Families Directorate and the Department for Education to ensure the new premises were secured and delivered on time, enabling the school to complete the fit-out ready to welcome students for the new school year.
“This much-needed Post 16 provision at White Rose Park will offer even more young people with SEND an incredible opportunity to learn under the guidance of Kathryn Bryan, Lizzie Chappell and their brilliant team, equipping themselves with the skills and knowledge to gain independence and employment. Well done to everyone involved for getting this project over the line.”
Oliver Maloney, Property Manager at White Rose Park, said: “We are thrilled to welcome Broomfield SILC to the White Rose Park community. Our company’s core values of education, collaboration and innovation align perfectly with the school’s mission statement, making us proud to have supported the relocation of their post-16-19 provision.
“This partnership goes beyond a commercial transaction, as it will undoubtedly have a lasting positive impact on the young people’s lives attending school here at White Rose Park.
“I want to extend my sincere thanks to all the stakeholders who helped make this project a reality, including Broomfield SILC, Onyx Construction, KNG Building Services, BWF Consultancy, Eamon Fox at Knight Frank, and my colleagues at White Rose Park.
“Particular thanks must be extended to Marya McInnes, Senior Associate at Pennington Manches Cooper, for her hard work in ensuring the transaction was completed on time given the tight timescales we encountered to ensure swift occupation was achieved.”
Eamon Fox, partner and head of development at the Leeds office of Knight Frank, added: “This is one of the most important deals we will see this year, proving the concept of rethinking the boundaries between high school, college, university and career.
“The blurring of the lines in education includes creating new institutions, programs, and pathways to help students succeed in the modern world, evidently being achieved at White Rose Park where Academia and Big Business merge, aligned, feeding each other, within a new type of ecosystem.”
Global automotive paint specialist signs 10-year lease on Leeds warehouse
Roberlo UK – the specialists in the development, manufacture, and supply of coatings and repair solutions for the refinish aftermarket and industrial sectors – has expanded its footprint in the north of England, with a 6,004 sq ft industrial unit in Leeds.
Signing a 10-year lease with industrial property expert Towngate PLC, Roberlo’s new Leeds base is situated at Unit 3C of Airedale Industrial Estate, Hunslet.
With this strategic location, sitting just off Hunslet Road (A61) and the Hunslet Distributor Road, and 1.5 miles from Leeds city centre and junctions three and four of the M61 motorway, the property is ideally positioned to enhance Roberlo’s logistics and distribution capabilities – both across the region and on a national scale.
As well as a sizable warehouse area, the unit comprises ground and first floor ancillary office spaces. It has an eaves height of seven metres, a secure self-contained yard, male and female WCs, and a designated kitchen facility.
Albert Torrent, head of sales at Roberlo UK, said: “This new facility will provide the perfect platform to better serve our growing customer base in the north of England – providing quicker access to products and services, and supporting Roberlo’s ambitious growth plans within the UK market.
“Being in such close proximity to key transport links and arterial routes, we’re excited to see our supply chain operations become increasingly streamlined too, furthering our reputation for timely delivery and exceptional service, whatever the technical requirement.”
A family-run company, Roberlo was founded in Girona in 1968, importing products from Italy, for marketing in Spain. Through strategic internationalisation, the business has grown to be one of the leading European manufacturers of paints, repair solutions, and fixing products for the automotive, industrial, and construction sectors.
Roberlo launched the UK division as its third subsidiary in 1999. Since then, it has expanded to include a significant 20 subsidiaries, with a commercial presence in more than one hundred countries around the world.
Tom Lamb, property manager at Towngate PLC, said: “It is a real pleasure to welcome Roberlo UK to the Airedale Industrial Estate. With its prime location and surrounding network of flourishing business, I am confident Roberlo will be able to set up a highly successful operation from this site to further its already significant footprint.”
Towngate was represented by Hazel Cooper, associate director at Carter Tower in Leeds for this transaction. Meanwhile, Roberlo UK was represented by Alec Michael, partner at Michael Steel & Co.
Yorkshire clean energy innovator invests £1.5m in new manufacturing base
Elland-based green energy business FeTu has invested £1.5m in a new Huddersfield manufacturing base to meet demand from industrial manufacturers and other businesses for its product.
The firm’s technology enables industrial firms to recover their waste heat from temperatures as low as 40°C and convert it into electricity at unprecedented new efficiencies, slashing energy costs and carbon emissions.
The new facility will enable FeTu, which employs 15 people and is currently recruiting additional manufacturing engineers, to produce the components of its pioneering energy motor in house, ensuring quality and reducing delays from outsourcing essential parts.
Founded by Yorkshire-born designer Jon Fenton in 2016, FeTu has secured over £12m in sponsorship, investment and grants. The firm’s new manufacturing arm will enable the commercial roll out of its clean-energy technology to a wide range of pioneering blue chip industrial partners that are taking part in a pilot programme launching this autumn.
Businesses taking part in the scheme include industrial manufacturers, data centres and food production facilities in Yorkshire, the UK and across Europe.
FeTu founder and CEO Jon Fenton said: “Our unrivalled technology has been proven to be pioneering in its temperatures and efficiency. We can generate electricity directly from most heat sources at temperatures as low as 40°C, which is typical of waste heat produced by data centres, manufacturers, processors and a range of other industries. This enables those businesses to drastically reduce their operating costs and carbon emissions.”
He added: “We’re continually working to evolve our system beyond the 300% efficiency advantage it already holds over comparative technology and our temperature thresholds also offer exciting new possibilities for geothermal and solar sources.
“Enabling commercially compelling power generation below 100°C at these new and ground-breaking efficiency levels introduces a brand new weapon against climate change, and it could mark an important moment in history.”
Fenton added: “The cost, speed of delivery, and quality of the parts we outsourced from our UK supply chain didn’t meet our requirements and was stifling the rollout of our pilot programme, so we decided to take control of the manufacturing process ourselves.
“The team has over 100 years of manufacturing expertise between us, so we are very well equipped and excited to meet this challenge – and to enable this new dawn for FeTu and for sustainable energy.”
In the UK alone, low-grade waste heat energy represents a £4bn a year opportunity. Recovering 25 per cent of that and converting it into electricity would offset the power output of Drax and Hinkley C power stations combined. It would also reduce the UK’s annual output of carbon by 80 million tonnes, 20 per cent of the current total.
Strategic acquisition completes Rix Petroleum’s energy provision for domestic customers
East Yorkshire fuel business Rix Petroleum has extended its services to domestic customers with the acquisition of a gas heating engineering business.
Rix, which is part of 150 year old family business J.R. Rix & Sons Ltd, acquired Phoenix Heating Specialists, based on Staites Road, Preston, for an undisclosed sum.
The move follows two other acquisitions in the domestic energy sector and completes the family company’s heating and plumbing services to residential customers across the region.
Phoenix Heating Services will be rebranded as Rix Gas Services as part of the deal, and will join stablemates Rix Heating Services, Rix Electrical Services, and Rix Plumbing Services at their base in Bank Side, central Hull.
Duncan Lambert, Managing Director of Rix Petroleum, said the acquisition would ‘future-proof’ the company’s domestic energy services, enabling the Group to install, service, and maintain oil, gas, electrical, and renewable-based heating systems.
He said: “As a business with a 150 year heritage in Hull and East Yorkshire, we have always taken great pride in being able to offer the products and services our customers need to keep their houses warm and dry.
“But as technologies develop, and the variety of heating systems available expands, we needed to update our skills and services to ensure we can continue to do this.
“This latest acquisition completes our offering, giving us comprehensive services across all domestic energy types, including oil, gas, electricity, and renewable technologies.
“I’m delighted to welcome Phoenix Heating Specialists into the Rix family. The move not only helps to futureproof our business, it ensures we can continue providing the trustworthy service we’ve become known for over the past century-and-a-half.”
Phoenix Heating Services was set up by owner-manager Matt Dixon and employs four staff, all of whom will move across to the Rix Group.
Mr Dixon said having the backing of the Rix Group would enable the business to grow much more rapidly than if it had stayed independent.
He said: “Rix Petroleum is a such a well-known and successful business that to have become part of it is a real source of pride.
“The resources the business can provide, and the access to a much larger customer base, will not only turbocharge our growth but ensure the business will sustain over the long term.
“Everyone in the Phoenix team is very excited by the move.”
J.R. Rix & Sons is headquartered in Two Humber Quays on Hull’s waterfront.
HMRC issues more payments for ‘deliberate’ VAT filing errors
There has been a 38% increase in the serious penalties issued for what HMRC says are ‘deliberate’ VAT errors in the last year, according to chartered accountants and business advisors Lubbock Fine.
These errors refer to cases where HMRC believes the business made an active decision to illegally underpay VAT, perhaps by not declaring the correct VAT on sales, or overclaiming VAT on costs. In those cases businesses can be fined up to 100% of the VAT owed.
The number of these serious fines has increased to 2,781 in the past year from 2,011 in the previous year. In total, HMRC handed out £153 million in fines across 46,376 penalties in the past year as it cracks down on errors that are deemed ‘deliberate’.
Jas Dhillon, VAT Partner at Lubbock Fine, says: “HMRC is getting tougher with its VAT fines and issuing a growing number of its most serious penalties. It’s difficult not to conclude that it’s a concerted effort to bring in more cash.
“HMRC appears to be taking a tougher approach to VAT penalties, aiming to categorise more inaccuracies as ‘deliberate’. Classifying errors as ‘innocent’ would result in lower penalties, or even no penalty at all – which of course means a smaller take for the taxman.”
For the most serious cases – those HMRC terms ‘deliberate and concealed’ – penalties can range between 30% and 100% of the tax due. These are cases where HMRC believes the taxpayer has deliberately or intentionally tried to avoid paying their taxes, often through false or amended documents. The number of these penalties rose 4% in the past year, from 1,924 to 1,994.
North Yorkshire tourism businesses unite to develop vision for the future
Tourism businesses in North Yorkshire have come together to develop a vision for the future in the first strategy of its kind designed to help the county’s multi-billion pound visitor economy reach its full potential.
More than £4 billion is brought into North Yorkshire’s economy each year through tourism, and the industry supports 38,500 jobs. The proposed new strategy spanning the next decade is set to become the first countywide approach to support the visitor economy.
The proposed strategy is aimed at capitalising on the diversity of what is on offer in the county, including its famous countryside, stately homes and gardens and history and heritage.
The draft plan is also due to highlight the county’s arts and culture, health and wellbeing and a growing reputation as a location for film and television. Building on the popularity of North Yorkshire’s coastal towns, such as Scarborough, Whitby and Filey, and other established destinations including Harrogate are also set to be a focus of the strategy.
North Yorkshire Councillor Mark Crane, whose responsibilities include the visitor economy, said: “The visitor economy is a major driver of North Yorkshire’s local economy. A vibrant visitor economy not only supports businesses directly within the tourism industry, but also supports in attracting investment and making the county a truly great place to live.
“This 10-year destination management plan comes at a critical time for North Yorkshire, and one of the most exciting in its recent history. With the launch of North Yorkshire Council last year, this has provided us with the first opportunity to have a countywide strategy to promote the visitor economy.
“There will be a new approach to supporting the growth of the visitor economy – one which recognises the area’s scale and character and reflects the diversity and distinctiveness of our county.”
The draft destination management plan has been drawn up following a wide-ranging consultation involving one-to-one interviews and more than 40 face-to-face and online workshops during 2023 and this year to gather the views of over 500 key stakeholders.
The discussions highlighted the opportunities presented by North Yorkshire’s stunning landscapes for past-times such as cycling and walking and a desire by the industry and also the council to invest and develop the visitor economy.
The head of historic properties at English Heritage, Simon Bean, said: “The county is home to some of our most popular and historic locations, which attract visitors from across the world every year.
“We understand just how important tourism is for North Yorkshire’s economy, and we are proud that our sites across the county do help to support the industry.
“English Heritage has been consulted about the draft destination management plan, and we are excited by the prospect of unlocking even greater potential for North Yorkshire’s visitor economy, both for people coming to the county and for the communities that live here too.”
Among the other attractions in North Yorkshire which brings in visitors from across the world is the World of James Herriot in Thirsk, which has seen its popularity increase even more in recent years following the broadcast of the new series of All Creatures Great and Small.
The museum, dedicated to the novels by Alf Wight about the fictional Yorkshire Dales vet, is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. The Herriot Country Tourism Group is currently spearheading an international sales campaign that supports the proposed destination management plan.
Group chairman John Gallery said: “The destination management plan is due to mark a very important step to providing a clearly defined approach to promoting the tourism sector across the whole of North Yorkshire.
“The popularity of James Herriot has increased in recent years, and this will help us promote our museum in Thirsk which will benefit not just the town but the surrounding area as well.
“We know the importance of the visitor economy for our local economy and communities, as it supports so many jobs for local people. The new plan is set to help develop that and promote what is on offer for the thousands of visitors who come to North Yorkshire every year.”
Lincolnshire Co-op to install solar panels at 62 sites
Lincolnshire Co-op is to install solar panels at 62 od its sites sites are to have solar panels installed, following the society’s £2 million investment.
The retailer previously operated 11 sites with solar panels, generating 225,000 kilowatt hours (KWH) a year. The new sites are anticipated to produce an additional 1.8 million kilowatt hours (KWH) a year.
Lincolnshire Co-op have been working with energy saving experts SOL PV Group to get the first eight sites up and running in food stores in Scawby, Morton Bourne, Barrowby in Grantham, Barnetby le Wold, Springfield Road in Grantham, Clipstone, Keelby, and Skellingthorpe Road in Lincoln. The remaining 54 sites – mostly food stores – will be fitted by summer next year.
Brett Reynolds, Sales Director at Sol PV Group, said: “We were invited to install on a selection of Lincolnshire Co-op sites, including Barrowby Food Store.
“Since the install of 54 individual solar panels at Barrowby Food Store, 31% of the electricity consumed by the store is green energy generated by the solar PV array, proving Lincolnshire Co-op’s commitment to a more sustainable future.
“Following the successful rollout of the 8 trial sites, Lincolnshire Co-op have awarded Sol PV Group the contract to rollout solar PV installations across an additional 54 stores, with a total of 2MW installed across Lincolnshire Coop’s renewable energy estate.”
Use of LED lighting and the introduction of management systems that regulate heating and lighting have further contributed to efficiency within Lincolnshire Co-op food stores.
Fridge doors have been installed in most Lincolnshire Co-op stores, meaning that the retailer’s fridges use 27% less electricity on average, and the co-operative is choosing some of the most environmentally friendly refrigerant gases on the market for new stores and store refits.
