JANUARY 2024 £3.50 YORKSHIRE & LINCOLNSHIRE’S LEADING BUSINESS MAGAZINE www.blmgroup.co.uk VOLUME 39 ISSUE 1 Looking ahead Navigating the UK’s green wave Stem the stressKingston Engineering Co. (Hull) Ltd. Pennington Street, Hull, East Yorkshire. HU8 7LD. UK www.kingston-engineering.co.uk +44 (0)1482 325676 sales@kingston-engineering.co.uk Follow Us Kingston Engineering’s global reputation for excellence has been built on an engineering heritage spanning over 100 years. 100 YEARS EST. 1919 OVER Leading UK Manufacturer and Producer of Bespoke Power Screws ENABLINGGLOBALTRADE,LEADINGPOSITIVECHANGE CustomsClearance CustomsConsultancy CustomsWarehouseManagement Integratedserviceoffering, poweredbyintelligence Getintouch: +441469574649 enquiries.customs@clarksons.com www.clarksons.comFrom the Editor A new year is upon us, and all eyes are focused on the future. They almost have to be seeing how rough 2023 has been. Alas, it’s hard to imagine any big changes happening to the economy in the early part of the year. The government is busy in “panic mode” trying to win back polls, and the line they’ve chosen to fight over isn’t the economy but culture wars and migrants, neither of which will help businesses a single bit. Naturally, it’s going to have to be up to business leaders themselves to make the most of what little they’ve been given. This year may well be paramount for many in our region, and starting off strong is key. During COVID, we had to learn to be lean, and there may be lessons from that time that we can apply now. Whether that be looking at your suppliers and seeing which, if any, can be switched out, or tracking and quantifying parts of the business to see what sections are and aren’t performing to their full potential. The year ahead is likely to be one where difficult decisions will have to be made. You can’t spell opportunity without crisis, however, and as horrible as it may sound a difficult situation like this will create opportunities for those able to keep themselves afloat, even if that’s catching a share of the lost customers of the businesses which aren’t able to navigate the treacherous waters. It’s a business owner’s responsibility to manage their assets, and sometimes that means managing them through the harshest conditions. The period ahead may well separate the great directors from those who coasted by on fairer conditions. Good reading, as always Michael Fisher Editor KIRKBY LINDSEY ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING LTD HULL T: 01482 223937 • E: info@kirkby-lindsey.co.uk ECLIPSE ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING LTD YORK T: 01904 692783 • E: admin@eclipse-electrical.co.uk KIRKBY ECLIPSE GROUP FIRST CLASS ELECTRIC MOTOR REPAIRS & SERVICE SPECIALISTS Experts in the repair, rewind and supply of electric motors, geared motors, pumps & fans. Hazardous Area Motor (ATEX) Repair specialists with fully certified IEC Ex service facility. Visit www.kirkbyeclipse.com for more information.JANUARY 2024 6 News The latest business news and success stories from around our region. 10 Commercial property Business Link reflects on major property milestones in Leeds from the last month. 14 2024 business predictions It’s that time of year, when Business Link Magazine invites the region’s business leaders to offer up their predictions for the year ahead. 18 Productivity and efficiency in manufacturing spotlight Chasing enhanced productivity and efficiency is a never- ending journey, but one that’s fundamental for sustaining the competitiveness of a diverse range of businesses. 22 Corporate finance Financial stress is often high at the beginning of the year, which only puts more importance on thinking of your future success. For businesses this means holding on to a growth mentality, championing your most creative ideas, and staying open to every available support avenue. 26 IT and communications The United Kingdom finds itself atop the list of the world’s most cyber-threatened nations, according to a recent report. Issued by the Parliament’s Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy (JCNSS), the report found that the UK remains ill-equipped to thwart large-scale ransomware assaults. 29 New year, new suppliers How effective are your suppliers? Are they pulling their weight? With rising economic strife across the country, it may be worth spending the first few months of 2024 checking if yours are supporting you as much as they should be. 32 Logistics and transport Freight logistics in the UK is poised for a transformative journey driven by the potential of freeports. 36 Renewables UK businesses stand at a green crossroads as renewable energy capacities surge. From wind power dominance to legal considerations, we explore the profitable path to sustainability. 40 AutoLink New year new motor? Perhaps not with the rising cost of living, but that doesn’t mean we can’t keep an eye on the new entries coming to market that we can buy a couple of months into the year. 44 Corporate hospitality A new year inevitably means a whole host of new networking events and opportunities you may not really be excited to attend. It’s also pointless attending if you’re not going to get anything out of it, so here are some tips on how to get the most from your networking. 46 Events We take a look at business events happening around Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. 50 And finally… Yorkshire-Lincolnshire- Business-Link @blmforum blmforum.net CONNECT WITH US 14 22 36Group Editor Steve Fisher (s.fisher@blmgroup.co.uk) Editor Michael Fisher (m.fisher@blmgroup.co.uk) Journalist Tess Egginton (t.egginton@blmgroup.co.uk) Editorial contact newsdesk@blmgroup.co.uk Tel: (01472) 310305 Fax: (01472) 310317 Sales Director Angela Cooper (a.cooper@blmgroup.co.uk) Vicky Hunt (v.hunt@blmgroup.co.uk) Kerry Randerson (k.randerson@blmgroup.co.uk) Tel: (01472) 310301 Fax: (01472) 310311 Tel: (01472) 310304 Fax: (01472) 310314 Haychart Ltd, Armstrong House, Armstrong Street, Grimsby, N.E. Lincs., DN31 2QE. reproduced, transmitted, photocopied, recorded or otherwise without express permission of the copyright holder, for which application should be addressed first to the publisher. While every reasonable care is taken, neither the publisher nor its prints, colour transparencies, negatives or other material of whatever nature submitted to this publication. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily the views of COVER PHOTOS: STOCK.ADOBE.COM - JAMES THEW • XIAOLIANGGE • PAKIN • KOTO • IPOPBA 18York’s Stonebow House fully let All the commercial space at the revitalised Stonebow House in York City Centre has now been let with new tenants Roxy Ball Room and mydentist set to join the Coop supermarket. Wetherby-based Oakgate Group has regenerated this landmark building, which also includes repurposing the long-term vacant office space into luxury apartments, which are all sold. The £17m redevelopment scheme has seen the original Stonebow House stripped back to its core and remodelled to include 13 apartments, 4 duplex penthouses and 31,500 sq ft of retail and leisure space. Richard France, Managing Director of Oakgate Group, said: “The transformation of Stonebow House, is now nearing completion with the occupation of the final two commercial units, bringing more vibrancy and life into the immediate area. “The revitalised building is providing a new community for residents with retail, leisure and healthcare enabling it to continue to play an important part in York’s varied and historic heritage.” 6 Business Link www.blmforum.net NEWS Work completes on Sheffield’s new food hall Henry Boot Construction has completed work on Cambridge Street Collective, handing the building over to the food hall operator for the final fit- out. Cambridge Street Collective is a key development within Heart of the City – the transformative city centre regeneration scheme led by Sheffield City Council and their Strategic Development manager, Queensberry. The new venue is located between Cambridge Street and Wellington Street, sitting behind the distinctive Henry’s Corner and Bethel Sunday School. Once the fit-out work is completed, it will be run by Blend Family – the company behind Sheffield’s Cutlery Works – and feature a contemporary food hall, cookery school and rooftop bar. Construction of this unique development saw several historic building façades sensitively refurbished and integrated into a contemporary new structure behind. The new build elements are finished with an orange-coloured weathering steel façade. Andrew Davison, project director at Queensberry, said: “We have no doubt it will become the leading social hub in the city centre, driving a critical mass of footfall to this area of town.” Planning permission secured for up to 126 new homes in Bridlington Keyland Developments Ltd, the property trading arm of Kelda Group and sister company to Yorkshire Water, has secured planning permission from East Riding of Yorkshire Council for a residential development of up to 126 affordable homes on land off Scarborough Road in Bridlington. The 100% affordable housing scheme is on a circa 10-acre site, in a sustainable residential area, creating an extension to Bridlington. Construction is planned for two, three and four-bedroom properties and an area of public space. New vehicular access will be created off the A165 Scarborough Road. Matthew Turnbull, planning & development manager at Keyland Developments Ltd, said: “We are delighted to secure planning at Scarborough Road to increase the residential offering in Bridlington and provide new residents with a host of added benefits. “The 100% affordable scheme will provide a significant boost to the provision of affordable housing in Bridlington, while the construction of the development could support around 211 jobs, generating a GVA of more than £10 million.” www.blmforum.net Business Link 7 NEWS Sensing solutions company to create 25 jobs following £1.5m funding round A Sheffield company whose smart sensing solutions help industry to improve performance has raised a further £1.5m from NPIF – Mercia Equity Finance, which is managed by Mercia and part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund, and Mercia’s EIS funds. The investment will support Tribosonics’ ongoing product development and bring its solutions to a wider audience. The company also plans to expand its 42-strong team with the creation of around 25 new jobs in the next 18 months across its technical teams. Tribosonics has tripled its revenue in the past two years and is on course to double it again in the current financial year. Glenn Fletcher, Tribosonics CEO, said: “Industry is facing a host of challenges such as the need to be energy efficient, sustainable and ESG compliant, reduce costs and enhance quality. “Our integrated sensing solutions provide the data required to help companies to meet these challenges and achieve digital transformation. The funding will help us to drive further growth and bring our solutions to a wider global audience.” Bradford hydrogen production facility secures government funding A hydrogen production facility, that will deliver low carbon energy in the heart of Bradford, has won government funding to take the project forward. Clean energy pioneers Hygen and N-Gen are working in partnership to deliver the Bradford Low Carbon Hydrogen (BLCH) production facility, which could achieve the decarbonisation equivalent of removing 800 diesel-fuelled buses a day from West Yorkshire roads. The development will be built on the Northern Gas Network (NGN) Birkshall gas storage site in Bradford. It will deliver one of the UK’s largest low carbon hydrogen production facilities with the aim of using renewable energy to produce hydrogen. Businesses and other users in West Yorkshire will be able to use the refuelling facilities, with distribution experts Ryze delivering hydrogen to industrial users across the region. The project has been awarded money under the Hydrogen Production Business Model / Net Zero Hydrogen Fund. Yorkshire business confidence dips Business confidence in Yorkshire fell 17 points during December to 33%, according to the latest Business Barometer from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking. Companies in Yorkshire reported lower confidence in their own business prospects month- on-month, down 13 points at 36%. When taken alongside their optimism in the economy, down 22 points to 23%, this gives a headline confidence reading of 33%. Yorkshire businesses identified their top target areas for growth in the next six months as evolving their offers (35%), hiring new employees, and investing in teams (31%) and diversifying into adjacent markets (29%). The Business Barometer, which surveys 1,200 businesses monthly, provides early signals about UK economic trends both regionally and nationwide. A net balance of 34% of businesses in Yorkshire expect to increase staff levels over the next year, up 8 points on last month. © stock.adobe.com/ Studio_East © stock.adobe.com/ kora_sun Glenn Fletcher TOWER FIELD SERVICES Cat Tech Tower Field Services offers bespoke mechanical services to oil refinery and petrochemical plants all around the world. Our team has vast experience in overseeing and undertaking the installation of all types of Tower internals. Our Tower tray, packing and other internals installation services has deep roots, with several of the senior team at Cat Tech being involved in the founding of the Cana-Tex organisation. Since 1971, Cana-Tex had been the premier global Tower speciality contractor; performing Tower maintenance and plant turnaround projects around the world. These origins, with the addition of new team members, make Cat Tech Tower Field services a global operation which is both cost effective and technically experienced. We strive to create new ways to make your Tower work safer, faster and more productive and that can make very good things happen for your business. We thrive on exceeding our clients expectations and understand the need for upfront communication in relation to timescales and costs. No-one likes surprises in this industry and we ensure that everything is done, from pre-job planning, on site activities to post job reporting in a manner which allows our customers to concentrate on their core business. Let us show you what we can do. We work hard to maintain an industry reputation for safety, speed and dependability. Ours crews have been trained by us, this allows us to staff a project with the proven skills necessary to produce customer satisfaction. It is our intention to demonstrate the benefit of utilising Cat Tech for all of your Tower work. The benefits of engaging Cat Tech are: l Experienced Tower specialists. l Proven track record. l Ability to supply spares and replacements. l Spade to Spade service. l Revamps or modifications to Towers / Internals. l Inspection of Tower internals. l Supervision of external/client labour force. l Detailed inspection reports. l Cleaning of tower internals. l Reactor tray field services. l Turnkey reactor tray field services. At Cat Tech, we continue to create new ways to make Tower work safer, faster and more productive. And that can make very good things happen for your business. Contact us for further information. Our well established sales team have a wealth of experience. We take pride on ensuring all enquires are dealt with quickly and efficiently. China: Cat Tech Services (Shanghai) Ltd., Room 1230 No.1, 58 Nong Huachi Road, Putuo District, Shanghai 20061 CN Phone: +(86) 2152 9175 08 Fax: +(86) 2152 9175 05 Singapore: Cat Tech Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., 17 Fan Yoong Road, Singapore 629794 Phone: +(65) 6264 6261 Fax: +(65) 6264 6401 South America: Please contact the UK office on +44 1724 871 747 Thailand: Cat Tech Services (Thailand) Ltd., 2/1 Soi Banbon Nuenpayom Road, Maptaphut Sub District, Muang Rayong District, Rayong Province 21150 TH Phone: +(66) 894 064 100 Fax: +(66) 638 692 382 MAKING YOUR PLANT WORK… SMARTER www.cat-tech.com PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM/KAWINNINGSwww.blmforum.net Business Link 9 NEWS 122 affordable homes set for Sleaford brownfield site Countryside Partnerships, the provider of multi-tenure, affordable homes, has exchanged contracts with Tesco Stores Ltd on a 12.8- acre brownfield site in Sleaford, Lincolnshire with a view to building 122 new affordable homes, 5 First Homes and a 66-bed care home. They will also be providing a new county standard bowls green and club house to replace the ageing facilities currently on site. The regeneration project will transform the former industrial site, previously used for seed processing, into much-needed housing with a mix of two-, three- and four-bedroom family homes for the area. The First Homes are market-sale properties discounted by at least 30% and available to first-time buyers meeting certain eligibility criteria. The land is allocated for mixed-use and residential development in the Lincolnshire Local Plan, adopted in April 2023. Countryside now expects to submit a Reserved Matters planning application in the first half of 2024 with a view to starting work later in the year. Jobs on the menu as plant-based firm opens ‘UK first’ site Almost 70 jobs will be created after a plant-based food manufacturer moved into a huge new product development site. MYCO Holdings will transform a former food manufacturing plant in Leeming Bar into a vertically farmed production unit. It will be the first site of its kind in the UK. The North East-based firm hopes the move into the purpose-built 20,000 sq ft site will launch an exciting period of growth, amid an expected boom in sales of plant-based meat substitutes. “This is a great move for MYCO, and one we all believe will help the business unlock its extraordinary potential,” said John Shepherd, co- founder and chairman of MYCO. “This new site is a food industry first, and the concept of combining both the growing of the raw materials and the manufacturing of the finished product under one roof will pave the way for more sustainable food manufacturing practices in the future.” Hull logistics firm acquires European road freight specialist Hull logistics firm Good Logistics has acquired European road freight specialist Inter-Ways. Inter-Ways, which is a family-owned freight forwarding business based in Doncaster, focuses primarily on road freight to Eastern and Northern Europe. Alan Platt, Divisional Managing Director of Good Logistics, said: “Like Good Logistics, Inter-Ways has a solid focus on superior customer service. With its extensive European road freight network developed over 20 years, it is a perfect fit with Good Logistics. “The acquisition of Inter-Ways will amplify our skills and knowledge, which, combined with digital innovation, help set Good Logistics apart from other logistics providers. Inter-Ways has a great team of people who are committed to the business and its customers and I am delighted to welcome them to the Good Logistics team.” Inter-Ways will continue to trade under its own brand for the foreseeable future and operate from its offices at Doncaster Finningley Airport. © stock.adobe.com/ MelaniePhotosNext >