Business Manchester

Amazing community spirit as Salford pulls together for its most vulnerable this Christmas

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23/12/2022

The cost of living crisis and the need for support and food aid services is at the forefront of the public’s attention as of late, especially in the winter months.

But the incredible strength of community spirit in Salford means that hundreds of vulnerable citizens will not go without – thanks to the Lighthouse Community Trust (LCT).

To round off its year of supporting those most in need, this week (Monday 19^th December) the charity put on a large meal for the homeless and did a one-off special donation of supplies from its food club to help the community over Christmas.

The LCT charity was formed during the lockdown in response to the need amongst low-income families living in North Manchester. In its second year of operation, the charity’s efforts coordinated from the main Lighthouse Church campus in Eccles, Salford has continued to provide food and support to those most in need.

In response to local councillors approaching the charity for help, 2022 saw the charity kick off its first project “Bless Manchester” providing further community support to individuals and families who desperately need it.

Securing the ongoing support and generous donations from Morrison’s (Chorlton and Eccles), Asda and Allied Mills Bakery. As well as the Salford Rugby League team, with staff volunteering for the task of delivering donated items and players donating goods. This collective effort has meant the charity has continued to grow its support this year and has also helped other charities including Safe Families, Ready Meals Salford, Christians Against Poverty and other smaller, local organisations.

From a standing start in 2020, to providing food for 60 local families in just three weeks, the Lighthouse Community Trust (LCT) charity has raised over £26,000 in the last twelve months and has managed to organise new monthly community hubs in two of the neediest areas in the city, Winton and Brookhouse.

LCT also runs a Food Club in Winton too supporting approximately 240 individuals.

Collectively, LCT supports approximately 600 people in the community through its support hubs and around another 200 people via its phone helpline. Its street work to help the homeless has supported around 50 homeless people on a regular basis this year and now also helps sex workers in the red-light districts in Manchester.

Donations from Forever Manchester, Lighthouse Church, individuals and local businesses support the charity’s efforts financially.

2023 will mark three years since the charity’s inception but with the rise of cost of living putting pressure on food banks, coupled with increased demand and falling food donations has created a “perfect storm”.

Paul Hallam, founder of the Lighthouse Community Trust and senior pastor of the Lighthouse Church, comments: “We are deeply grateful to all who continue to support us in our desire to help the neediest of people in our communities. However, as the country faces a cost of living crisis, food banks are under additional pressure as it becomes more difficult for people to afford to make donations. Our ongoing appeal for support is where you can, please continue to support the local food banks, however small.

“In addition to our more established support services, LCT has also newly established an Emergency Relief Fund (ERF). This is a special cash fund set aside for individuals who are facing a personal financial need. We have helped approximately 20-25 people with one off payments from the ERF. From paying food shopping bills, through to providing a month’s rent to stave off eviction for one single parent family. We are also reviewing fuel payment support for individuals at present too. LCT Christmas lunch 2

“In the future we aim to create employment possibilities with our business connections. We have already been able to see homeless people rehoused and employed within our contacts with local businesses. One of the next steps we are looking at is to find a building to lease or purchase in order to be a permanent community hub working with children – youth and families in the neighbourhood. We anticipate 2-3 hubs being required to reach all those in need.

“While we face a growing number of those needing our support, we also recognise that we can’t continue to reach out to those who are genuinely needing our help and support without the ongoing financial contributions from local individuals and business.”

For further information on Bless Manchester, The Lighthouse Community Trust, please visit: http://www.lctmanchester.co.uk/ or contact Paul Hallam at [email protected]

Legmark, a legal sector marketing specialist based in Cheadle, has made a £5,000 donation to the Emergency Relief Fund this Christmas to support LCT in its desire to help the neediest of people in our local north west communities.

inTAX appoints new director to Manchester team

News Desk

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23/12/2022

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Specialist tax disputes firm inTAX has further strengthened its team with the appointment of Grant Summers as director. Grant is based in Manchester and specialises in tax investigations. He joins inTAX from a national audit, tax, advisory and risk firm where he was a director. Grant has extensive previous experience at Big Four firms at partner and director level roles.

During his career, Grant has successfully negotiated settlements for numerous clients facing complex HMRC issues. He also worked for HMRC at Senior Inspector level in the Fraud Investigation Service, before joining the accountancy sector.

Grant has represented clients at both Tax Tribunals and the Court of Appeal, as well as providing expert evidence in the Civil and Criminal Courts. He regularly lectures on investigation and employment tax issues and is a member of the ICAEW Tax Investigations sub-committee.

Based in the firm’s London office, Grant will be working in the inTAX team, advising a wide range of business clients, and working with accountants, tax advisers and lawyers to support their clients. Grant’s arrival follows the recent promotion of Jeremy Johnson to managing director and Joe McDermott to the position of director in the inTAX team.

Commenting on his appointment, Grant Summers said:
“This is an exciting time to be joining inTAX, helping it to continue its growth journey as a specialist tax disputes firm and expanding its capabilities. I am delighted to be working with such a high calibre team that is dedicated to supporting businesses across the region with tax dispute issues.”

inTAX’s managing director, Jeremy Johnson added:
“Grant is a fantastic addition to our team and brings a wealth of experience, having worked in senior roles at Big Four firms, as well as with HMRC as a Senior Inspector. We are delighted to have appointed someone of Grant’s calibre to help grow our team and continue to deliver high quality services to support clients with their tax investigations and tax enquiries of all descriptions.”

FIRST RESIDENTS MOVE IN AS £70M QUEEN’S GAMBIT INSPIRED MEDIA CITY DEVELOPMENT OFFICIALLY HANDS OVER

News Desk

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23/12/2022

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Latimer, the development arm of Clarion Housing Group, has announced the handover of the first apartment block at its flagship £70m High Definition development in Media City, as the first residents move in just in time for Christmas.

The scheme, interior designs for which were inspired by the hit Netflix show The Queen’s Gambit, has reached another significant milestone as the Alto building comprising 155 apartments has been completed.

The communal areas at High Definition have also been completed, which include the Club HD terrace lounge, co-working spaces and a multi-function private room.

Residents will become exclusive members of Club HD, with access to the lounge complete with rich velvet curved retro sofas, leather reclining chairs, stools shaped like giant chess pieces and wooden tables with their own built-in wine bottle holders.

High Definition residents will also be able to take advantage of co-working spaces equipped with hyperoptic broadband and private meeting pods ideal for Teams or Zoom calls, creating a comfortable and efficient working environment outside of their apartments.

The private room is equipped with a flatscreen TV and surround sound speakers, and can be reserved for larger business meetings during the day and social activities in the evening.

Paul Walker, National Sales Director at Clarion Housing Group, said:

“It’s fantastic to reach another key moment in the life of our exciting High Definition development as we see the first residents make it their home.

“Straight away, they will be able to get the full High Definition experience, with access to the luxurious residents’ lounge and high spec co-working spaces, which will make the development feel more than just a home, but a vibrant community.”

Overall, 132 one-bedroom, 136 two-bedroom and 12 three-bedroom apartments are available at High Definition. Prices for one-bedroom apartments start at £203,000. Two-bedroom apartments are available from £286,000 and three-bedroom apartments are available from £430,000.

Aria – the second residential block at High Definition – is scheduled to handover in February of next year.

A total of 100 apartments of the 280 will be available through Latimer’s shared ownership offering, allowing people to part buy, part rent a property while increasing their share of ownership over time until they own their property outright, eliminating the need for aspiring homeowners to put down a high deposit in order to buy a property.

To find out more about High Definition, visit: https://www.latimerhomes.com/new-build-homes/manchester/homes-salford/media-city-apartments-high-definition

FIVE NEW HIRES FOR DIGITAL AGENCY DARK HORSE

News Desk

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23/12/2022

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Digital marketing agency Dark Horse has been on a huge hiring run, with not one, not two, but five recent hires joining the team.

Henry Smith joins the agency as Head of SEO having previously worked at American Golf and webuyanycar.

Head of SEO Henry Smith

Sam Bramwell has also been recruited as the agency’s new Head of Digital PR, having spent almost two decades creating stand out PR campaigns for globally recognised B2C and B2B brands.

Sam Bramwell Head of Digital PR

Javier Castaneda has been appointed as Technical SEO Executive, Eliza Tuturman as Senior PPC Executive and Ethan Lambert as PPC Executive.

These new hires highlight the agency’s commitment to growth during 2022 and is on track to bolster for an even bigger 2023.

John Keating, MD of Dark Horse, said: “Recruiting has been a focus for this year. At Dark Horse, we only want the best.

“The aim as always, is to create the best SEO, PPC and Paid Social agency in the country and give our clients everything they need to win big.These new hires reflect that.”

New Head of SEO, Henry, said: “The big thing that pulled me towards Dark Horse was the huge ambitions for the company and the opportunity to be a part of one of the most talented SEO departments in the country.

“From working with agencies on both sides of the table, I felt that I could use my knowledge to nurture the team and provide a top-level view of our campaigns to make a big difference to new and existing clients.”

Sam, Head of Digital PR, shared: “Dark Horse is an ambitious digital marketing agency with a hugely talented team of people, I’m excited by the opportunity to develop and lead its Digital PR offering with a no-nonsense approach to commercial SEO.”

If you’re looking for an agency that speaks the truth; is brutally honest and relentless then leading digital marketing agency Dark Horse is for you.

It works best with brands that are bold, willing to challenge the status quo and looking for innovative ways to take on the giants in their market.

The Importance of CRO for Businesses

Blog

News Desk

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22/12/2022

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These days, it’s not enough simply to have an online presence for your business. Every business has an online presence. Whether your organisation is a physical entity representing itself online or a fully online enterprise, you need to make sure that your website is working effectively for you. That’s where conversion rate optimisation (CRO) comes in.

CRO is the science of maximising the rate at which visitors to your website follow through with the actions that you want. If you’re an online retailer, this almost certainly means making a purchase – and even if you’re only partly online, this will be increasingly important as around 70% of Brits now say that they prefer to buy online or on mobile. But you could also be looking for customers to sign up for an email or fill out a form. Whatever your goal, CRO is how you push to reach it more frequently.

Here’s what you need to know about the practice – and why it’s not something that you can afford to ignore.

What does CRO involve?

CRO is a scientific process of reviewing how people use your website and refining it so that the gap between that and how you actually want them to use it is smaller.

It involves the use of website analytics tools like Google Analytics to see what people do once they land on different pages of your site. What percentage of visitors to your homepage click into your product pages, for example, or how many actually hit ‘purchase’ once they are looking at a particular product? It then asks simple questions about the results: which parts of that user journey are showing lower rates of progress than others, and why? What could you change to improve them?

Armed with the information gleaned from analytics, CRO then involves experimenting with changes to your website. Depending on what you’ve learned, this could mean anything from editing colours and font sizes to drastically rearranging elements on a page. You can use A/B testing to compare the performance of two different versions of a page over a certain amount of time to see which best encouraged the behaviour from users that you want to see. Analyse the data that you get from those experiments, make adjustments accordingly, and repeat.

Good CRO considers a wide variety of factors, from the layout of your site to its technical performance, from the visual design of a page to the quality of the written copy that conveys your message.

What benefits does it offer?

Put simply, CRO makes your money go further. Global spending on digital advertising is already high and set to skyrocket in the coming years – and the goal of such advertising is often simply to get a customer as far as your website. Once they’re there, though, the money that you’ve spent on advertising risks going to waste if the customer journey isn’t clear and effective.

If your website is specifically how you bring in income, then you need to understand how people use it and respond accordingly. CRO lets you see things from a user perspective – and serves as an important reminder that, if a customer doesn’t know how to get what they want from you, they’ll often find it easier just to get it from someone else instead.

The Slow Christmas – How to avoid burnout and set boundaries during the holidays

News Desk

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22/12/2022

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All I want for Christmas is … a chance to slow down.

Christmas can be a magical time of year, but the festive season can also leave us worn out.

YouGovreported that 2 in 5 people felt stressed by the festive season in 2019 and this year, according toIpsos, 55% of people surveyed are on average are even more stressed.

This year, we are deserving of a relaxed Christmas more than ever before. ‘Permacrisis’ – a period of constant struggle – has becometheword of 2022. With that in mind, it’s likely we’re counting down to the big day feeling more drained and less resilient than usual.

The hashtag #SlowChristmas has been gathering pace onInstagramandTikTok, and you can see why people are wanting to embrace a slower pace.

The Pinterest-worthy, Scandi inspired, hygge Christmases that we see floating around the internet might sound dreamy, but how can you actually embrace a ‘Slow Christmas’?

How to recognise if you’re going into the festive season with burnout

This is such an important part of the puzzle because if you’re burnt out, you’re going to need to slow down but it’ll probably feel really hard to do: the second of the twelve stages of burnout is having an inability to switch off.

The common signs of burnout to look out for are: fatigue, poor immune function, feeling defeated, having a cynical outlook, procrastinating and feeling overwhelmed. If you’re noticing any of these, know you’re not alone. According to research byWestfield Health, 46% of people in the UK workforce are experiencing burnout. It might feel like Christmas is just another thing on your to-do list but it could be the perfect time for rest and rejuvenation.

So how can you have a slower Christmas if you’re burnt out?

● Release expectations– allow yourself to acknowledge that you simply cannot do it all. I promise you don’t need five trees, a light show and the best Christmas party in the village!

● Make time for rest– I know you’ll have more plates spinning than a circus performer, but you only have a finite amount of energy (no matter how many espresso martinis you down.). For your body and mind to recover, you’re going to need some rest.

● Make time to eat nourishing foods– burnout is physiological. Your body needs to physically repair itself, so a platter of beige probably won’t cut it! Try to add some greenery to the beige and some glasses of water between the mulled wine.

Create boundaries that feel good

You know that family member that makes you feel like you’d rather eat a plate of soggy sprouts? They’re the reason you need to create some boundaries.

There’s a bit of a cultural thing here in the UK that setting boundaries is selfish and that we should just put up and shut up. This is nonsense; setting boundaries doesn’t mean saying no.

Maintaining healthy emotional and energetic boundaries allows us to create a safe space for ourselves. Our nervous system feeds on these boundaries, creating oxytocin and dopamine when we adhere to these rules.

So how do we do it?

● Decide what you’re comfortable with.What are you comfortable talking about? Who are you comfortable with? How much time can you spend with certain people? These are your boundaries! They’re definitely not as complex as people make them out to be.

● Once you’ve decided what these boundaries are,think up a couple of ways that you can express them to people. For instance, if one of your boundaries is around feeling comfortable eating intuitively and you have an auntie twice removed who is a bit obsessed with diet culture, you might gently say that you’re not comfortable with talking about diets or move the conversation to a different topic.

Notice when comparison is sneaking up on you!

We’ve all been there, scrolling Instagram and spotting the most beautiful tree ever then looking over to our own and going “Why doesn’t my tree look like that?!” Sound familiar? Comparison really is the thief of joy!

Logically, we know that for every picture on social media there are hundreds that didn’t make the cut. Yet comparisons keep rearing their ugly heads.

So what can we do about it?

● Notice it– notice that you’re in a bit of a comparison spiral and pause. By noticing that you’re in this spiral, you’re giving yourself a safe space to acknowledge those feelings of not being good enough.

● Now when you notice those feelings of ‘not good enough’, we’re not going to wallow – we’re going torecognise why we feel inferior. Perhaps they’ve got a bigger tree than you or maybe they’re going out to all of the most amazing places.

● Once we’ve noticed why, we’re goingto do a little fact check. Our thoughts are rarely facts and sometimes we need to remind ourselves of this.

So recognise the thoughts that you’re having. Is it true that a celebrity superstar is having the best Christmas ever, or are they presenting this image which is heavily censored and far from the truth?

Taking time in your festive celebrations to nurture your frazzled nervous system means that you’ll be able to enjoy all of those wonderful moments a little bit more.

Why not try sitting with your morning coffee and actually noticing the steam rising from it? Or putting some music on whilst you’re stuck in traffic and having a good sing along?

Breathe a little bit deeper, gain some clarity and focus on the true meaning of Christmas: a celebration for all. Why not celebrateyouand take some time to slow down? You know you deserve it.

If you’re looking to stop the burn out cycle, you’re in the right place.AtBeth Fuller Wellness, we’re grounded in helping time poor, burnt out humans to realign with their values so they can createsustainable practices to nurture & heal their burnt out nervous systems.

WHN Solicitors spreads festive cheer with Christmas charity drive

News Desk

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22/12/2022

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North West law firm Woodcocks Haworth and Nuttall Solicitors (WHN) has bolstered the coffers of three Greater Manchester and Lancashire charities as part of its festive giving drive.

The firm, which has eight offices across the two counties, has topped up Santa’s sack of presents for Accrington health and wellbeing charity Community Solutions, with a flurry of gifts donated and distributed to families in the local area.

Founded in 2010, Community Solutions is a health and wellbeing organisation that promotes inclusivity, confidence and self-esteem among people experiencing difficult life events, while reducing social isolation through community engagement.

The Community Solutions donation totalling £800 also saw WHN help create a magical atmosphere for those attending the charity’s Christmas party, with WHN’s event sponsorship aiding delivery of pies and peas from Mill Town Pies and entertainment from Trudie Rose at Poplar Social Club.

In addition, staff from across WHN’s eight offices are joining forces to collate essential food supplies and festive treats for families and those in need across Bury and Bacup.

As part of the food bank drive, the firm is also accepting donations of food provisions from clients and the public at each of its office locations until January 5th, ready to be dropped off at Ramsbottom Pantry and Trinity Baptist Church in Bacup in the new year.

A bulk of selection boxes have been gifted to Ramsbottom Pantry to help families facing a tough Christmas, while a £300 donation has also ensured the local Bury community does not go hungry over the festive period.

Michael Shroot, CEO at WHN Solicitors, said: “Christmas is a time of giving, and with the serious impact of the current economic climate on our communities, it’s especially important to help those most at risk and in need of help.

“Our people and teams have made an extra effort to extend a hand to those in need this year, especially by providing some much-needed support to charities that continue to make a real difference for our local communities.”

WHN Solicitors employs 110 staff across Lancashire and Greater Manchester and has offices in Accrington, Bacup, Bury, Blackburn, Clitheroe, Haslingden, Great Harwood and Rawtenstall. It advises businesses, individuals and families on a full range of legal matters.

SCHOOL CHILDREN PEN ‘NOTES TO THE NORTH POLE’ FOR LOVELL’S FESTIVE COMPETITION

Real Estate

News Desk

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22/12/2022

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SPREADING festive cheer for the holiday season, leading North West housebuilder Lovell Homes has chosen the winners of its magical Notes to the North Pole campaign.

Local schoolchildren and residents were asked to write letters to the North Pole sharing what they enjoy most about the holidays and how they plan to spend time with friends and family.

More than 60 youngsters dropped letters off at festive post boxes across three of Lovell’s latest housing developments – Spinners Quarter in Salford, Eden Park in Middleton and Shawbrook Manor in Leyland.

As well as being a fun community campaign, one letter from each development was selected to win a £100 M&S voucher.

Anne-Marie O’Doherty, regional sales director at Lovell Homes, said: “It’s been wonderful to hear about and see children from our development areas getting involved in this special campaign. We wanted to bring a sense of magic and joy to the communities we are working in, while also encouraging participants to reflect on the true meaning of this time of year, including friendship and family.

“We are so pleased to have also been able to extend some festive fortune – especially given the cost of living crisis – by offering M&S vouchers to the writer of one letter per development.”

Forming part of Lovell’s commitment to local communities and getting residents involved, the letters asked children to get into the spirit of the season by writing to the North Pole, sharing what they enjoy most about the holidays and how they plan to spend time with friends and family. Children were also given fun, festive activity packs to keep them busy with a wordsearch, maze and more.

Liz Darnell, headteacher at St Anne’s Catholic Primary School in Leyland, said: “It’s lovely to have been included in this festive campaign with Lovell – it has allowed the children to get creative and think about different or shared experiences in their communities.

“All the children thoroughly enjoyed visiting the development to post their letters and have even got activities to keep them busy during their winter break.”

For more information about Lovell Homes please visit www.lovell.co.uk or follow @Lovell_UK on Twitter.

Mayor Andy Burnham hails Town Centre Challenge progress to revitalise high street on visit to Farnworth

News Desk

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22/12/2022

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TRANSFORMATION of Farnworth into a liveable town centre could be the blueprint for the future of the high street, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has said.

The Mayor made the comments during a visit to see progress at Farnworth Green near Bolton. Social impact developers Capital&Centric recently started work there to deliver a mix of new apartments and family townhouses alongside café bars, shops and green community spaces.

It’s one of the locations identified in the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Town Centre Challenge – aimed at revitalising town centres after the growth of internet shopping and large out-of-town retailers squeezed areas traditionally reliant on high street footfall.

Farnworth Green, the reboot of Farnworth, is aimed at creating a new town centre model. Capital&Centric’s plans will introduce high quality homes for rent to get more people calling it home, as well welcoming green community spaces where people can hang out.

It will also feature commercial spaces aimed at independents and start-ups, with a view to create a high street offer unique to Farnworth rather than a replica of others. It’s hoped that the major project could be a blueprint for how other centres across Greater Manchester and the UK can reverse their fortunes.

Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said:

“Our town centres have so much potential to be transformed, and to become new places for communities to live, do business, and discover the vibrant and diverse culture of our city-region.

“That potential isn’t always realised, which is why we launched the Town Centre Challenge back in 2018, and why we continue to support our local authorities to deliver on their regeneration plans.

“It really is exciting to see the progress being made here in Farnworth, and it’s our hope that this can become a blueprint for revitalising high streets across Greater Manchester”

Delivery of such projects is often fraught with challenges due to viability. Including high quality architecture akin to a city centre can be difficult due to lower values.

Farnworth’s inclusion as a Town Centre Challenge location, with an associated masterplan for its future, was key to unlocking the necessary funding. It’s been made possible thanks to a mix of funding including the Government’s Future High Street Fund, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s Brownfield Housing Fund and Bolton Council’s District Centres Fund.

Tim Heatley, co-founder of Capital&Centric, said:

“Town centres have, for decades, been the heart of the community. But changing habits have meant the traditional high street has become a shadow of its former self, especially in towns like Farnworth where there’s less footfall. We can’t just write them off as a victim of the internet generation.

“Our mission has always been not only to create a new blueprint – of a town centre where a new generation of people want to live as well as shop – but to also deliver high quality architectural design that you’re used to seeing in city centres. That way we can create a lively place where people young and old aspire to live and a critical mass of people that will patronise the independent shops, café bars and events.

“It’s a new model that we really think could be replicated around the country, with the right partnership and forward-thinking authorities like in Bolton and Greater Manchester.”

Bolton Council adopted a new Town Centre Strategy for Farnworth in 2019, with regeneration to be delivered in phases.

Work has already begun at the Farnworth Green site, with demolition of the dated parade of shops underway, making way for construction to start in the new year. The project is set for completion in 2024.

Bolton Council Leader, Cllr Martyn Cox, said:

“As a council, we established the District Centres Fund to help regenerate towns like Farnworth and make them more vibrant and exciting places to live, work and visit.

“Farnworth Green is a great example of a modern town centre development, and it was a pleasure to visit the site with Andy Burnham to view the progress that has already been made.

“This is an exciting time for Farnworth with improved public space along Market Street and work also underway to expand the local leisure centre.

“Before work started, we consulted with Farnworth residents and each of the development projects is designed to directly address the priorities of the local community.”

When complete, Farnworth Green will deliver liveable town centre, with spaces that help foster the community coming together, including:

Design-led homes: Including 85 one and two bedroom apartments as well as 12 family homes (two and three bedroom) to create a real mix of residents calling Farnworth home
Commercial: Over 20,000 sq.ft of space for bars, cafes and independent stores
Community hub: A groundfloor community hub, providing a space to meet-up
A new public square: Complete with green spaces and places to relax
Outdoor community spots: Including an events pavilion, set to support outdoor community events from art and live music to makers markets
Greenery: Lush landscaping to introduce greenery to the town centre
Accessibility: Pedestrian links through the community and safe cycle storage

WestBridge backs Alpine Fire Engineers in secondary buyout

Acquisitions

News Desk

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21/12/2022

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PRIVATE equity firm WestBridge has completed a secondary buyout of Alpine Fire Engineers Ltd, specialist providers of mechanical fire suppression systems.

The transaction provides an exit for Soho Square Capital and sees WestBridge invest £18.7m to take a majority stake in the company. It also marks the tenth investment from WestBridge Fund II.

Founded in 1992 and headquartered in Greater Manchester, Alpine design, project manage and maintain complex fixed fire suppression systems across the UK. With industry-leading accreditations, the company operates in a wide range of industries including logistics, food and beverage, automotive, aerospace, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and retail. Turnover in financial year ending 31 March 2022 was £38m.

The buyout was led by Alpine’s management team, Steve Nanda (CEO), Mark Jones (CFO), Louise Plant (service and business development director), Rob Brennan (proposals director) and Mark Thewlis (operations director), who have all been instrumental in driving the company’s growth over the last few years.

The WestBridge transaction team comprised Peter Barkley, James MacLeay, Rory Whitrow and James Wakefield. Peter Barkley, director at WestBridge, said:

“Alpine is very attractive business with an ambitious, credible and experienced management team. It operates in a niche market where growth is being driven by increasing regulatory requirements. Working with Steve and his team, we have also identified other significant opportunities for growth which include diversification into new sectors and strategic bolt-ons. We will work in partnership with management to deploy our Value Creation Model. As head of our Manchester office, I’m delighted that we’ve identified and backed another successful and ambitious north west business.”

Steven Nanda, who led the MBO, said:

“Although we received several approaches from trade buyers, we were keen to continue with a private equity partner. WestBridge stood out for a number of reasons. They recognised the effort we have put into establishing strong foundations on which to grow and also appreciated how hard everyone at Alpine has worked to nurture strong customer relationships. We were particularly impressed with the WestBridge Value Creation Model, which provides a blueprint for rigorously identifying improvements and growth opportunities in all areas of the business. We are genuinely excited to be entering 2023 with WestBridge at our side. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Soho Square Capital, and in particular David Steel and Howard Chan, for their invaluable support since we partnered with them in 2018.”