< Previous10 Business Link www.blmforum.net COMMERCIAL PROPERTY T he past month has seen a number of major milestones hit in Sheffield, with new developments making progress, fresh plans being revealed, and acquisitions made. On Rockingham Street, Henry Boot Construction has officially completed work on a new 14-storey build-to-rent development. Bringing 365 homes to the city centre, Kangaroo Works forms part of Sheffield City Council’s Heart of the City masterplan – introducing a significant influx of new residents in the city centre. Delivered for build-to-rent developer Ridgeback Group and designed by Whittam Cox Architects, the block comprises a mix of one, two and three- bedroom apartments, with five commercial units incorporated into the ground floor. The development’s design focuses on traditional brick buildings, reflecting the typology and heritage of the traditional little mesters works seen in the original ‘Kangaroo Works’ on the same site. Tony Shaw, Managing Director for Henry Boot Construction, said: “We’re thrilled to see Kangaroo Works reach completion. At Henry Boot, we really understand the changing trends of our urban centres and the important role of new homes in creating vibrant and active cities. Kangaroo Works is another important piece of the jigsaw and will provide a permanent community to support and complement our other projects in the Heart of the City masterplan, including Pound’s Park, the Cambridge Street Collective food hall and net-zero carbon office Elshaw House. We are proud to be helping private and public developers, like Ridgeback Group and Sheffield City Council, transform our hometown and provide a sustainable and well-balanced city centre.” At an earlier stage of development, Urban Splash and Places for People, the partners restoring Park Hill, have secured planning approval for the creation of a new phase of homes, workspaces and public realm at the scheme. The Grade II Listed structure has undergone significant redevelopment over the last decade, during which the joint venture partners have overseen the creation of 455 new homes, accommodation for 356 students, more than 50,000 sq ft of workspace, and extensive landscaping and green spaces for residents. Now a fourth phase will be developed comprising 125 apartments, 20% of which will be affordable. The phase has been designed by Stirling Prize winning architects and designers of Park Hill’s second phase, Mikhail Riches, with an aesthetic embracing Park Hill’s original concrete, Brutalist features. The designs also include new public realm, EV Sheffield shines With myriad new developments springing up across the Steel City, Business Link reflects on recent milestones. www.blmforum.net Business Link 11 COMMERCIAL PROPERTY © Henry Boot 13 Á charging, a car club and bike storage, promoting sustainable transport at the neighbourhood. The new phase will additionally involve 4,700 sq ft of ground floor commercial space for businesses looking to join those already operating out of Park Hill. Construction is to commence early in 2024. Meanwhile, placemaking and regeneration expert LCR has completed a £5.4m acquisition of land next to Sheffield train station to help advance plans to regenerate the area. The 1.82 acre site on St Mary’s Road is a five- minute walk away from the city’s main railway station and is currently home to retail warehouses. The deal was completed as part of LCR’s ongoing work in partnership with Sheffield City Council, South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, Homes England and Network Rail to deliver regeneration around Sheffield train station. Karl Drabble, regional director at LCR, said: “This is good news for the North’s rail infrastructure and this acquisition is an early milestone for progress around Sheffield Midland station. Over time, regeneration around the gateway to my home city of Sheffield will enhance capacity for improved public transport, create space for new homes and jobs, and promote greener, more accessible walking routes into the city centre. We know the role that regeneration can play in catalysing long-term economic growth, and a more connected community will be central to those ambitions. We’re looking forward to refining these plans in collaboration with the area’s residents, Kangaroo WorksArmstrong house Armstrong House, Armstrong Street, Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire DN31 2QE Tel: (01472) 310301 Email: s.fisher@blmgroup.co.uk Superb Location - - Close to the ports of Grimsby & Immingham - Great motorway links - Close to the town centre Secure off street parking High speed internet availability A range of affordable office sizes 3 3 3 3 Last remaining office suites Prime location in Grimsby Offering a prime position in Grimsby, Armstrong House on Armstrong Street is ideally located. Close to the ports of Grimsby and Immingham, motorway links and the town centre, off-street parking is also available for all staff and visitors, meaning it’s convenient too. Our spacious, welcoming offices are located on the ground floor and are both secure and CCTV-monitored, giving you the ultimate peace of mind. At Armstrong House, when it comes to affordability and with a range of office sizes there are opportunities for all types of business. If you require virtual office services, prices start from just £15 per month. For more information, or to discuss your office requirements call 01472 310301.www.blmforum.net Business Link 13 COMMERCIAL PROPERTY businesses and visitors to deliver the improvements the city deserves.” Sean McClean, Director of Regeneration and Development at Sheffield City Council, added: “This is really welcome news, the area around Midland Station has masses of potential to be a new mixed-use neighbourhood filled with high quality homes and workplaces. It will become a major strategic regeneration focus over the coming years, so it’s very positive that our partners are willing to invest at this early stage.” Moreover, at Sheffield’s Castlegate Keltbray has been named as lead contractor for plans to transform the area. The specialist engineering and early-stage construction providers will deliver a project regenerating the former Castle Market site into a public space revealing part of Sheffield’s medieval Castle, a new events area, the opening up of the River Sheaf and new public art that will interpret the history of the site. Councillor Ben Miskell, Chair of the Transport, Regeneration and Climate Change Policy Committee, said: “Seeing this amazing project move closer to becoming a reality is incredibly exciting and will mean that we will be able to see the remains of the castle which kick started Sheffield. The appointment of Keltbray as our contractor is a vital step in bringing this project to life and I cannot wait to see the transformation happen over the coming months. It’s yet another sign that Sheffield city centre is on the up. Once complete it will be an incredible public space bringing together the history of our city along with modern public spaces for the people of Sheffield and beyond to enjoy.” Transformation of the site, once home to centuries of market trading, is expected to begin in the opening weeks of 2024 after plans were approved by the City Council in May 2023, with completion due by the summer of 2025. Finally, Sheffield FC, The World’s First football club, and Sheffield Eagles, the city’s professional rugby league club, have revealed detailed proposals for a new 5,000-seater stadium as part of a joint venture between the clubs. The stadium, which will be based at the former Sheffield Transport Sports Club site at Meadowhead, will encompass professional football and rugby league facilities as well as a cricket pavilion, a football museum and an indoor community sports hall. It is planned that the site will become an international visitor attraction for football and rugby league fans alike and provide an insight into the history and heritage of both clubs. The comprehensive stadium development scheme will offer access to high quality sporting events, educational opportunities, recreational facilities, social amenities, business prospects, and community programmes. Sheffield FC has submitted a planning pre-application to Sheffield City Council with a full application set to be submitted in January. These projects are but a handful of those ongoing throughout the city, with Sheffield shining bright in our region, attracting investment and ambitious developments. © stock.adobe.com/GeoffDunham.photo The Park Hill Estate14 Business Link www.blmforum.net END OF YEAR ROUND UP 2023 has been a year with plenty of doom and gloom for our region and its businesses, but there have also been bright spots. F rom company crushing cost pressures to significant skills shortages, many of the same struggles of 2022 rolled straight through into 2023 to impact firms throughout the year, coming at a time when the economy has remained tepid at best, with threats of recession constantly on the periphery and company insolvencies soaring. Fortunately, we have managed to escape a recession, for now, and the other key issue repeatedly hitting headlines - inflation - is making a move in the right direction, though still stubborn and sticky. The recent pause to continually rising interest rates has also provided a sense of relief, allowing firms to strategise for growth, and while there will be questions about delivery, Autumn Statement promises have offered some hope to businesses for 2024. Of course the region has additionally seen its own unique disappointments this year, in the form of decisions such as the scrapping of the Northern section of HS2, but though 2023 has certainly been a year with plenty of doom and gloom for our region and its businesses, there have been bright spots too. Devolution has been a huge topic for Yorkshire and Lincolnshire in 2023, with much positive progress made. In Success despite storms www.blmforum.net Business Link 15 END OF YEAR ROUND UP November, for example, a milestone was hit for York and North Yorkshire as their devolution order was laid in Parliament – another step towards the deal becoming law in early 2024. The deal will bring investment of more than £540m over the next 30 years, and York and North Yorkshire councils and a new combined authority led by an elected mayor will gain more decision-making powers over key local issues, like adult education, transport, infrastructure, skills, jobs and housing. Work is already underway to maximise the impact of the deal, and £7m was recently allocated to 23 net zero schemes across York and North Yorkshire. Alongside carbon reduction, funding will create a pipeline of net zero projects that will drive economic growth, jobs, reduce energy costs for businesses and leverage further investment. Meanwhile, announced as part of the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, a devolution deal was revealed for Hull and East Yorkshire after several months of negotiations between Hull City Council and East Riding of Yorkshire Council and the Government. Subject to councillors’ approval, a statutory public consultation will follow in January. The deal would see significant investment come into the area, helping to create more job opportunities and establishing a Hull and East Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, led by a directly elected mayor, who could be elected in May 2025. The proposed deal includes: £400m investment funding over 30 years, to drive growth and deliver local priorities; up to £15m in 2024/25 to support transport, flood and coastal erosion programmes across the area; £5m in 2024/25 to support local economic growth priorities, including any further expansion of Siemens Gamesa at Alexandra Dock in Hull; £4.6m for the building of new homes on brownfield land in 2024/25; UK Shared Prosperity Fund planning and delivery from 2025/26; new powers to shape local skills provision, including devolution of the core adult education budget; new powers to drive regeneration and build more affordable homes; new powers to improve and integrate the regional transport network, with a multi-million- pound integrated transport budget; and a commitment to rail electrification between Hull and Sheffield, and Hull and Leeds, integrating East Yorkshire into the Northern Powerhouse Rail network. Furthermore, a devolution proposal for Greater Lincolnshire was announced, meaning £24m of Government funding would come to the area every year for 30 years, along with additional responsibilities. The overall aims are to promote economic growth, put councils in charge of money that was previously spent from Westminster and take more decisions locally. Until a Mayoral Combined County Authority is established in 2025, it is proposed that Greater Lincolnshire would receive £28.4m for capital investment in priority projects, next year. Investment Zones have also been a successful topic for Yorkshire this year, with South Yorkshire becoming the UK’s first Investment Zone, in July. It is expected to create 8,000 jobs and bring in £1.2bn worth of private investment by 2030. Using Government support worth 16 Á © stock.adobe.com/Andy16 Business Link www.blmforum.net END OF YEAR ROUND UP £80m, the new Investment Zone will utilise the region’s success in advanced manufacturing and hopes to help make South Yorkshire the best place to start, scale or relocate businesses from around the world, boosting the UK economy. The first investment announced was a more than £80m Boeing-led research project into manufacturing lightweight structures for aeroplanes – part of making aviation more sustainable; COMPASS (Composites at Speed and Scale) is being built as an extension to the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre’s Factory 2050, and broke ground in November. South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard said: “Our Investment Zone will help put South Yorkshire back where we belong; at the forefront of this country’s manufacturing-led growth.” The Investment Zone, the first of 12 new zones built around universities and high-growth industries, will build on the success of South Yorkshire’s Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District (AMID), expanding it to incorporate Rotherham town centre and Sheffield city centre, with Opportunity Sites across Barnsley and Doncaster. Following in the footsteps of South Yorkshire, in November, West Yorkshire became home to the country’s third Investment Zone, based around the universities in Leeds, Bradford and Huddersfield and the cluster of life sciences businesses thriving in the area. The news came alongside word from the Chancellor that the Investment Zones programme in England will be extended from five to 10 years, with the envelope of Government funding and tax reliefs on offer doubled. As a result of the West Yorkshire Investment Zone, revamped sites specialising in health tech and digital will open up, unlocking over 2,500 jobs and over £220m of investment across the region over the next five years. This can be used flexibly between spending on interventions such as skills, research and development and local infrastructure, dependent on local need, and tax incentives like 100% Stamp Duty Land Tax relief, an enhanced structures and buildings allowance at a rate of 10% per annum, an enhanced 100% first-year capital allowance, employer National Insurance Contributions relief, and 100% business rates relief. Looking closer at one area, in Leeds the Investment Zone will accelerate plans for the Leeds Innovation Arc, kickstarting the development of the Innovation Village on the Leeds General Infirmary site with the refurbishment of the Old Medical School to create a healthtech innovation hub. Co-locating entrepreneurs, businesses, clinicians and academics will help deliver the first phase of development of the 12.5 acre site, which will create 4,000 new jobs and an up to £13bn economic boost for the region. 2023 has also seen the launch of the Humber Freeport, with a mission to drive hundreds of millions of pounds of investment and at least 7,000 new jobs. The Freeport is to harness the unique potential and location of the Humber to stimulate economic growth, skills development and inward investment in both established and emerging industries. Huge opportunities to build on the region’s fast-expanding renewable energy industries have been identified, as well as potential investment in the chemicals, logistics, advanced manufacturing and technology sectors. Humber Freeport comprises three defined tax sites – Hull East; Able Marine Energy Park and Immingham, on the south bank of the Humber; and Goole – each of which offers incentives for businesses operating within the zones. Benefits include land tax relief, business rate relief, enhanced capital allowances and National Insurance contribution relief for employers. At The Waterline Summit in November it was revealed that Humber Freeport tax © stock.adobe.com/teamjacksonwww.blmforum.net Business Link 17 END OF YEAR ROUND UP sites have already attracted £1bn of investment which will create up to 600 jobs across the region. Major investments announced have involved Finnish company Metsä Tissue’s plans to build the UK’s largest tissue paper mill in Goole, creating more than 400 jobs on site, while at Saltend Chemicals Park – part of the Hull East tax site – Pensana is investing more than £150m in a rare earth processing facility, and Meld Energy plans to invest £180m in a green hydrogen production facility at the site. The Humber Freeport Board also recently signed off on almost £25m of investment for seven projects across both banks of the estuary, supporting major new facilities that will accelerate the decarbonisation of the Humber. Projects to receive funding include a new Humber Industrial Decarbonisation Centre in North East Lincolnshire, run by industry- led partnership CATCH, and Ideal Heating’s UK Technology Centre in Hull, supporting the manufacturer’s transition to low carbon heating solutions. The seven projects combined will bring in three times as much investment from the private sector and are expected to create hundreds of jobs across the north and south banks of the Humber. These instances mark just a few of the success stories for Yorkshire and Lincolnshire in 2023, and while challenges still remain as we look to 2024, our region is a resilient and innovative one with one of the most diverse economies in the country that will help us weather continuing economic storms. Growing Places Fund grant programme ready to help businesses grow In these uncertain times, it can be difficult to know how to move your business ahead. Costs continue to increase and as a business owner there’s always uncertainty as to the best way to help your business grow. The Growing Places Fund (GPF), managed by the Hull & East Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership (HEY LEP), may be able to help. The GPF can provide capital investment in the forms of grants and/or loans from a minimum of £5,000 up to a maximum of £250,000. The key criteria is that your project must require a capital investment, and be something different to your everyday activities. It must also increase your overall headcount. We are always happy to discuss your project and support you through the entire process - whether that is reading a draft or submitting your application to our Investment Panel for a funding decision. For further information call 07496 315038, or visit https://heylep.com/our-funding-and-projects/funding/growing-places-fund- business-growth-capital-investment-programme/ © stock.adobe.com/Monster Ztudio © stock.adobe.com/Jez Campbell18 Business Link www.blmforum.net INVOICE AND FINANCE SOLUTIONS © stock.adobe.com/Day Of Victory Stu.www.blmforum.net Business Link 19 INVOICE AND FINANCE SOLUTIONS S mall and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are an undeniable support structure to the nation’s economy, comprising 99.9% of UK private sector businesses. Often hailed as the backbone of Britain, they more accurately represent the entire skeletal system. If this system weakens, the entire nation stands on shaky ground. The economy operates in a symbiotic manner with every single business. Disruptions in one area inevitably reverberate through others. The chronic issue of late payments stands as a stark example, affecting companies and corporations not only in specific regions but across the UK. Despite the significance of SMEs, the fact remains that they face separate struggles with customers who seem unwilling to follow through on their responsibility to compensate for services rendered. This pervasive issue threatens SMEs themselves as much as their contribution to national wealth, siphoning billions in critical funding from the economy. Late payments, beyond their immediate impact, become a systemic issue with severe ripple effects on economic health and vitality. With the latest statistics placing our total number of SMEs at 5.5 million, the struggle against late payments is a collective one. The economic climate, now more than ever shot through with uncertainty and bleak outlooks, further exacerbates the challenges. A worrying cycle unfolds as businesses, grappling with delayed payments, inadvertently contribute to perpetuating the late payment epidemic. The aftershocks of this chronic issue extend beyond mere inconvenience. Small businesses find themselves in a relentless cycle of daily invoice chasing, straining relationships with clients and jeopardizing future dealings. Simultaneously, the affected company may decide to forego future business with a client or customer deemed likely to cause payment delays again. Among the worst-performing sectors, surprisingly, are membership organisationsóentities like trade bodies and subscription-based organisations. Late payments, a universal issue plaguing all businesses, have further-reaching consequences than it would appear to the inexperienced. issue 20 Á An universalNext >