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‘Tesco Ted’ raises money for Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital Charity

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Manchester Tesco stores will welcome a new furry face this autumn as teddy bear ‘Tesco Ted’ makes his way around the region to raise money for Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital Charity.

As Tesco Ted makes his way around some iconic Manchester locations on his way home, each store he visits will run tombolas, raffles, stationary bike races and more to help raise some much needed funds.

Funds raised will help provide vital care and equipment to children at the hospital. For example, £50 could provide an evening of TV time for patients in isolation while undergoing treatment, while £50,000 could fund an X-ray machine that scans images during surgery.

Jo Thomas, Relationship Officer for Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital Charity, said: ‘Having such fantastic support from all the Tesco team has been amazing. Ted has been a superstar and it’s always fun logging on each morning to see what adventures he has been on.

‘We can’t wait to welcome Ted at the end of his journey and to introduce him to our own bear Humphrey.

‘I want to thank Tesco on behalf of everyone at the Hospital and Charity – Tesco’s support really will make an incredible difference to our young patients.’

Customers who’d like the chance to spot Tesco Ted should keep an eye out at the 21 participating stores across Manchester, which include Tesco Greenfield, Oldham Chadderton Way, Oldham Huddersfield Road, Middleton, Blackley, Failsworth, Cheetham Hill, Prestwich, Walkden, Farnworth, Salford, Stretford, Irlam, Sale, Altrincham, Baguley, Didsbury, Burnage, Levenshulme, Stockport, Gorton, Droylsden, Stalybridge, Hattersley and Glossop.

Kai Myers, store manager at Tesco Superstore Greenfield, said: ‘At Tesco we love working within our local communities, and after a tough couple of years for everyone we wanted to raise some much-needed funds and have some fun along the way.

‘As Tesco Ted makes the journey home, we hope everyone enjoys seeing what he gets up to and raises awareness of the charity too.

‘Choosing the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital Charity was an easy decision to make, as many of our customers will know and be familiar with the charity and all the hard work it does.’

For more information about Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital Charity visit https://rmchcharity.org.uk/

For more information about the work that Tesco does in local communities, go to https://www.tescoplc.com/sustainability/communities/community-champions/

100 young British entrepreneurs make inaugural Hurun UK Under 30s 2022

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The Hurun Research Institute reveals outstanding young entrepreneurs shaping the future of the UK economy 

  • North West is home to 5 of the entrepreneurs, 3 of which are from Manchester
  • Pets Purest’s Evie and Oliver Bristowe, from Wilmslow, among the best of Britain’s under-30 entrepreneurs
  • UK has ‘one of the best start-up ecosystems in the world’
  • Fashion ‘steals the show’ with the highest proportion of represented entrepreneurs, including Manchester-based Reece Wabara, who set up Maniere De Voir
  • Hurun UK Under 30s marks first time top 100 British entrepreneurs under the age of 30 have been identified

The Hurun Research Institute this week released the Hurun UK Under 30s 2022, a list of the 100 leading young entrepreneurs aged 30 or under in the UK. The North West is home to 5 of the entrepreneurs, 3 of which are from Manchester.

The inaugural UK list includes high-profile business founders as well as less well-known entrepreneurs already generating annual sales of more than £1m or raising substantial investment. These include Evie and Oliver Bristowe, the Wilmslow-based pair behind the animal products brand Pets Purest, who have grown annual sales to £6.3m.

The fashion sector has the highest proportion of represented entrepreneurs in the UK Under 30s, followed by the food and drink sector. A notable fashion entrepreneur is former England U20 and Manchester City player, Reece Wabara, who set up an online fashion retailer which has grown in sales to £23.4 million in 2020. He retired from football to devote more time to the growth of Maniere De Voir.

Other Manchester-based entrepreneurs include Sam Coley and Stephen Pearce, who founded TickX, a price comparison site for music gig tickets which has now evolved into a software development outfit for the events and travel industries. The pair have secured millions of pounds of investments from backers including the Ministry of Sound.

29 women make the list. There is also a strong showing for young business leaders from ethnic minority backgrounds, reflecting Britain’s increasingly diverse entrepreneurial ecosystem.

The average age of the 100 entrepreneurs featured is 28 years and six months. Edward Beccle, the co-founder of the religious app Glorify, who is also based in London, is the youngest at just 23 years old.

Rupert Hoogewerf, Hurun Report Chairman and Chief Researcher, said: “The Hurun UK Under 30s is a celebration of the most successful young entrepreneurs in the country, the most likely to build the homegrown billion-dollar businesses of the future. I hope the Hurun UK Under 30s can inspire the next generation of ambitious entrepreneurs.

“The Hurun UK Under 30s have built businesses worth an average of £100mn, remarkable for such young entrepreneurs. Although this is distorted by the likes of Hopin, Gymshark and Marshmallow, there are probably a dozen or more with valuations of over £100mn. If they can build a business this big by the age of 30, imagine how big they could get when they get to the age of Jeff Bezos, James Dyson or Warren Buffett. You can safely say they are the most likely billionaires of the future, especially as founder teams and investors are becoming more experienced at knowing how to focus on value creation over sales.”

Oxford University’s alumni produced the most Hurun UK Under 30s, followed by the universities of Bath and Warwick. World-class universities are of critical importance to a successful start-up ecosystem.

The UK has one of the best start-up ecosystems in the world, coming in fourth after the US, China and India, with 46 known unicorns (billion-dollar start-ups from the 2000s not yet publicly traded) and 30 gazelles (US$500mn dollar start-ups from the 2000s, not yet publicly traded and most likely to ‘go unicorn’ within three years).

Rupert Hoogewerf continued, “A successful start-up ecosystem requires role models, both individuals, such as those from the Hurun Rich Lists, and companies, such as those from the Hurun 500 most valuable companies series. If a city or country can attract the world’s most successful entrepreneurs and companies to set up shop there, that will have a roll-on effect. Entrepreneurship is infectious and cities with lots of role models are likely to attract the brightest and best young entrepreneurs. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy.

“The role of investors is evolving to mentorship and scale-up opportunities, rather than just providers of cash. The world’s leading venture capitalists are building ecosystems with their portfolios, hugely attractive to the world’s fastest-growing start-ups. Being able to say you have one of the top venture capitalist brands as an investor adds significant credibility to a start-up.

“Hurun Report is committed to promoting entrepreneurship through its lists and research. For every successful start-up you see, there are thousands of failed companies, as well as a new generation of future unicorns coming through.  I hope this list of the UK’s most successful Under 30s can help young entrepreneurs find role models for their businesses.”

Other notable entrepreneurs from outside the North West include brothers Reiss and Kristian Edgerton, who set up fast-growing women’s gymwear brand AYBL. With girlfriend Alice Cross, Reiss set up Because of Alice. Notably, the Edgerton brothers were at school with Gymshark founders Ben Francis and Lewis Morgan, making South Bromsgrove High School in Worcestershire the school with the highest number of alumni on the Hurun UK Under 30s.

Grace Beverley established gym clothing brand TALA, which has generated sales of more than £10 million since its launch in 2019.

Natalie Glaze and Zanna van Dyke together set up Stay Wild Swim, making swimwear from recycled plastic.

Alexander and Oliver Kent-Braham are the first black British brothers to set up a unicorn, fintech Marshmallow.

Harry Stebbings made his name with his “Twenty Minute VC” podcast, before becoming a tech investor in his own right. The university dropout has raised more than £100 million to back UK start-ups.

Husband and wife team Dan and Melanie Marsden of lingerie retailer Lounge Underwear have shown the enormous potential of social media, as they have grown sales to £55 million last year.

Stephen Bartlett became the youngest entrepreneur panelist on the BBC’s Dragons’ Den. At the age of 22 he launched Social Chain with Dominic McGregor, growing revenues to around £150 million before merging the digital media business with a German firm. Bartlett has now launched his private equity operation, Catena Capital.

Thirteen of the business leaders are operating in the fashion industry, with 11 in food and drink, nine in healthcare and eight in marketing.

60 of the young entrepreneurs’ businesses are based in London, with Manchester, Solihull, Leeds and Redditch amongst the regional hotspots.

Four pairs of siblings appear – the Edgerton brothers, the Kerr sisters, the Kent-Braham brothers and the Holmes-Darby brothers.

The 100 Hurun UK Under 30s are part of a family of over 1000 Under 30s from 10 countries, the others being China, India, US, Canada, Germany, Spain, South Korea, UAE and Australia.

50th Specialist Joins Bicester Heritage as the Site Reaches Full Occupancy

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  • Bicester Heritage, founded in 2013 as the home of historic motoring enterprise in the UK, is now at full occupancy. It’s one part of the overall Bicester Motion site
  • 50 Specialists are now housed on the former RAF Technical Site in sympathetically restored buildings or entirely new developments
  • First tenants included classic car specialists like Pendine Historic Cars and Classic Performance Engineering, but the site now welcomes global brands like Morgan Motor Company and Singer Vehicle Design
  • Last four tenants signal the next stage in Bicester Motion’s vision: to become an ecosystem for the past, present and future of mobility, technology, culture and community
  • Bicester Heritage has welcomed Polestar, NEOM McLaren Formula E, Zapp Electric Vehicles and Zero Petroleum in recent months
  • Development now begins on Bicester Innovation, due for completion Q1 2026
  • In the next 5-7 years, Bicester Motion’s four quarters will be complete: Heritage, Innovation, Experience and Wilderness.

Bicester Heritage has now welcomed its 50th Specialist business to its site. A part of the overall Bicester Motion development, this area of the former RAF Technical Site is now fully occupied, expanding a thriving ecosystem of classic car, automotive and mobility-themed specialists.

The last four tenants could hardly be more different to the first, with Polestar, NEOM McLaren Formula E, Zapp Electric Vehicles and Zero Petroleum joining a line-up of businesses that includes vintage Bentley specialist Kingsbury Racing Shop, classic Porsche experts Sports Purpose and the Vintage Car Radiator Company. But Bicester Heritage itself has become a microcosm of the overall Bicester Motion vision: a hub for the past, present and future of mobility.

Founded in 2013 as a response to a changing historic motoring industry, Bicester Heritage is now considered to be the home of historic motoring enterprise in the UK, a sector worth £18.8bn per annum, The Bicester Aerodrome Company, launched in 2020, also sits within this area, following its launch in 2020, promoting aviation activity from the historic grass airfield.

Bicester Heritage is held as an exemplar of constructive conservation by Historic England, crucially maintaining the look and feel of the nation’s best-preserved World War 2 RAF Bomber Station. In summer 2020, Bicester Motion Heritage completed construction and delivery of ‘The Command Works’ – the first significant new-build construction in 80 years at the location.

With ‘The Command Works’ complete and all historic buildings on-site reinvigorated, Bicester Heritage’s vision of hosting 50 Specialists could be fulfilled. And just two years after the completion of The Command Works that vision has come to fruition.

The ‘marina’-like feel of Bicester Heritage created many new business opportunities for companies that chose to base themselves there; a customer of Vintage Car Radiator Company may equally be interested in pre-war Bentleys or classic Porsches, for example. And as these branching connections have grown, more and more businesses from diverse areas of mobility have realized the benefits: Morgan Motor Company and Singer Vehicle Design – both major global automotive brands – now each have a base at Bicester Heritage, as does the governing body of all four-wheel motor racing in the UK: Motorsport UK.

The site itself has become a visitor attraction, with regular ‘Scramble’ events opening up the time-warp base to 7,000 attendees each time for an insight into the skilled work that the on-site businesses do. Around 100,000 people visit Bicester Heritage each year. And, the latest four new tenants have each seen the benefit of being based at a ‘destination’ venue already with a large footfall of visitors.

EV-only car brand Polestar has established its UK commercial head office at Bicester Heritage, as has NEOM McLaren Formula E, an electric motorsport contender. The creators of electric motorbike scooters, Zapp EV, also join the former RAF base, alongside Zero Petroleum, who create fossil-free fuels for use in all forms of transport, including aeroplanes – a futuristic link to the site’s aviation past.

The overall Bicester Motion site, of which Bicester Heritage forms just one part, will look to build on this successful symbiotic community feel to create a hub for the past, present and future of mobility. The new Bicester Innovation development is shortly due to break ground, bringing a new knowledge economy area to the site, offering 230,000sq/ft and on-site test tracks and airfield to accommodate market-disrupting businesses in the mobility space. The mobility industry is at a tipping point, with an estimated £3.7bn investment per year into automotive and mobility solutions, and a predicted £62bn in economic growth from connected and autonomous vehicles by 2030. The battery market alone in the UK is expected to be worth £9bn by 2040.

In the future, visitors to Bicester Motion will also be able to enjoy the forthcoming Bicester Experience and Wilderness quarters. Bicester Motion plans to become a top 20 UK visitor attraction.

Daniel Geoghegan, the Chief Executive of Bicester Motion, said: “From the very beginning, our vision for Bicester Heritage has been to create a vibrant hub for 50 Specialists to safeguard crucial heritage skills and boost both the local and national economies. We’re delighted to see our vision believed in so enthusiastically by such a diverse range of businesses of all sizes on-site, which gives us great confidence in the forthcoming stages of our Bicester Motion masterplan. Future-facing businesses already believe in what we’ve created at Bicester Heritage, but with our forthcoming Innovation Quarter, now we’re developing an area built especially for their needs.”

Development of Bicester Innovation is expected to begin in 2023, with the buildings open for occupation early 2026.

How personalisation is vital to convert B2B buyers

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In the ever growing world of Business-to-Business (B2B) e-commerce in recent years, it has become more difficult to stand out than ever before. No longer can sellers set up with just a simple checkout and product selection.

A survey of 1282 B2B buyers across Europe and the US conducted by independent market research company Sapio on behalf of e-commerce platform Sana Commerce shows that B2B buyers are now purchasing 75 percent of their products online. The new generation of B2B buyers are much more tech-savvy, and have higher expectations of what their buying experience should be like. In order to meet their expectations, businesses need to cater directly to specific, and rapidly evolving customer needs.

Millennials have set a new standard for B2B e-commerce

The growth of the working Millennial and Gen Z population has transformed B2B e-commerce. Millennials have now become the largest generational cohort in the workforce. These employees are the first generation of digital natives who grew up using social media, shopping online and communicating electronically. Their tech-savviness brings greater diversity of knowledge into the workforce, but more importantly, more experience in commerce as consumers.

Previously, B2B customers settled for a relatively impersonal buying experience. It wasn’t uncommon to place orders by phone and have no further communication with the supplier until (or, if) the product or service arrived.

Now, B2B customers expect the same seamless and tailored experience that they would get in a B2C transaction. Research for Sana Commerce reveals that customers prioritise features like ease of check out and repeat ordering, which they’re accustomed to as consumers. This is one of the reasons why new flexible payment solutions, like Sana Pay, are gaining traction within B2B sectors. Ultimately, B2B buyers are consumers too, and they want the easiest buying experience in both personal and professional contexts.

Personalisation has changed the market

Catering directly to your customers is key to standing out in the competitive B2B market. B2B buyers only spend 17% of their time meeting with possible suppliers when they’re considering a purchase. In the internet-led age, buyers typically identify and research new suppliers independently online. With that in mind, your web store is the gateway to win new customers over and retain existing ones.

One of the most effective ways to achieve this is through personalisation. Personalisation involves creating a unique experience for every customer, for example, offering them hyper-relevant product recommendations, offers and content. Tailoring each customer’s experience is the norm in B2C, but this approach has recently grown more popular within B2B sectors. There are several benefits of personalisation:

  1. Reduces the purchase cycle. If you know what your target audience is looking for, you can feed them hyper-relevant recommendations, and quickly convert them into customers.
  2. Accelerates returning customers’ experience.Existing customers don’t want to trawl your website for hours to find what they need. Customising the products and services they see makes their buying experience faster and effortless.
  3. Helps you to understand your customers better. By gathering information on who your customers are, and what they’re looking for, you can develop a targeted approach for attracting future customers.

Advanced technology has enabled seamless personalisation

Make no mistake, personalisation isn’t new to commerce. Retail stores have hung their hats on building relationships with their customers, understanding their pain points and addressing them. These in-person efforts improved their customer’s experience by increasing the speed and accuracy of their recommendations.

Now, tools in modern technology such as artificial intelligence (AI) have made it easier for businesses to gather this data. AI and automation software can gather data on customers’ real-time browsing and shopping habits online. This includes everything from their purchase history, to their search history and job function. By analysing this data, businesses are then able to make accurate recommendations that fulfil their customers’ requirements.

According to Sana Commerce, it’s possible to gather this data on offline activity as well. The company’s recent partnership with Solen Energy UK is bringing AI-powered personalisation to the UK through its e-commerce platform, Sana Commerce Cloud. The personalised product recommendation feature is powered by data mining algorithms which utilise the tight ERP/web store integration that Sana Commerce Cloud creates.

Michiel Schipperus, CEO of Sana Commerce, said: “By gathering and analysing information on their buyers’ behaviours and purchasing patterns, web stores can provide buyers with a personalised buying journey – leading to higher revenues, loyalty, and trust. But in B2B e-commerce, this feature did not exist based on both online and offline purchases. Because product segmentation, customer-specific pricing and discounts make this a challenge.

Due to Sana Commerce Cloud’s tight integration with the ERPs of our customers, B2B web stores running on Sana have access to both on- and offline order information, as well as historic purchasing data. This golden combination is fed into the new algorithm, delivering accurate recommendations that most closely represent typical transactions.”For more insights download the report here.

Double hit for the nation’s shopping baskets

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  • Shrinkflation and inflation having dual impact on shopping baskets
  • Inflation back up a rate not seen since the year of the Prince of Wales birth
  • Food prices are adding to cost pressures on everyone but hit the poorest hardest

As inflation hits 10.1% Retail expert Dr Gordon Fletcher from the University of Salford Business School says our shopping baskets are being hit doubly hard, with rising process and shrinking quantities combining to create real difficulties for a lot of people.

Dr Fletcher said: “As inflation returns to the reported rate from July it is a timely reminder that these are figures last seen in the year of the Prince of Wales’ birth and the premiership of Margaret Thatcher. Although the rate is calculated from a range of different factor the signals are that households will be directly feeling the pinch over Winter. With the overall increase moving from last month’s 9.9% to 10.1% a significant contributor to this number is the result of increasing food prices. We are paying around 14.6% more for our shopping basked than a year ago and that is a direct drain on household budgets.

“This shift in day-to-day costs is felt differently in different households. Lower-income households have to spend more of their available income on essentials including food, fuel and power. As costs continue to increase there are fewer ways for low-income households to cut back on non-essential costs – such as visiting restaurants or leisure activities – with the result that more people are pushed across the poverty line.

“A further effect with the rising prices of food items is the tendency for manufacturers to reduce the physical size of the items to maintain a price point or at least the apparent rise in costs. We simultaneously have inflation and shrinkflation happening at the same time. So while a slightly shorter or thinner chocolate bar could be seen as a healthy decision a haphazard reduction in size could force shoppers to buy two smaller items when previously one item was enough to feed a family. Driving costs up even further for those least able to pay for this change in packaging. Pay careful attention at your next shop. It will cost more, but it will also probably weigh less than it did a year ago.”

Business-to-business data seller launches self-build list portal to support small businesses.

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A Yorkshire businessman has launched a business-to-business data sales company, aimed at supporting small businesses in Manchester and the North West with their marketing data.

BuyUKData.co.uk is the world’s first platform which can gather large volumes of quality contact data at speed and at an unrivalled price point.

The company behind the innovative solution is a start-up business launched by Yorkshire businessman Paul Smith.  BuyUKData.co.uk was created after more than 2,000 hours of development work by one of the UK’s top digital agencies.

Users can get started by following a simple three-step process that allows them to build their own contact lists in seconds. They select a business sector, browse a map to select the county of interest and then complete their purchase.

The price of the quality data list is typically available from eight pence per contact and so is up to 95% cheaper than rivals such as Credit Safe and Experian.

For example, businesses looking for contact details of architects in West Yorkshire, there are more than 400 available and the list costs around £120. Once the purchase is complete, the data is sent directly to an email inbox in a user-friendly format and can be used within 30 seconds of receipt.

The platform’s director Lewis Smith said: “The whole point of this is to be a disrupter in the market and to give people with small businesses an opportunity to purchase data in specific areas and sectors for a price point that was previously unachievable.

“We are already getting repeat orders on data requests from our customers, and this is because of the system’s ease of use and the quality of the data being provided. It is a completely new way to gather data which makes it accessible to everyone.

“Another huge benefit is that the process is 100% automated from end to end so our customers have no interaction with salespeople.”

This powerful contact-generating engine helps organisations to build business-to-business data lists to drive their sales activities.

The platform currently holds more than two million contacts across more than 100 business genres from accountants to zoos. All the data provided has undergone rigorous quality checks and all the contacts are GDPR accredited too.

The data platform is constantly adding new contacts to its engine and within the next year it will be stocked with three million contact records.

BuyUKData.co.uk

GAIN A STRONGER HAND WITH PIP DECKS

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A Manchester-based entrepreneur has poured his business brains and creative flair into a range of products specifically designed to help people reach their potential at work.

Pip Decks has created a whole new category of business ‘recipe cards’ to help give people confidence in their careers – whether they are entry-level, management or C-suite.

Brainchild of professional designer, Charles Burdett, the range of Pip Decks products focus on key areas in business that create the most pinch points for employers and their teams. The cards include in-depth guidance for more efficient and enjoyable meetings; aiding teams to hone their communication and storytelling skills and the art of successfully managing a team to greatness.

Pip Decks created the range of expert cards in consultation with top business coaches to bring the most up-to-the-minute training and best practice tips into the decks.

Workshop Tactics comprises 54 unique cards that aim to herald the downfall of pointless meetings and encourage active, engaging workshops.

Calling time on dull presentations is Pip Decks’ Storyteller Tactics, which aims to empower the storyteller to be as relatable as possible to their audience, engaging them from the very first slide.

Joining the range and available for pre-order are Idea Tactics and Team Tactics, which aim to increase the level of support for ambitious career-climbers or bosses who want to invest to get the very best out of their teams.

Pip Decks has also worked in collaboration with award-winning designer Jon Yablonski to create UX Principles – a card deck of psychological principles that helps designers to justify their user interfaces.

The roaring success of the decks has been unprecedented since Pip Decks launched in 2020. The fledgling brand is already counting Google, Apple and the NHS among its customers and with new products coming to market early next year, the business recipe card revolution is well and truly here.

Explore the full Pip Decks range:

Available now 

Workshop Tactics

Ditch dull meetings. Design better products. A card deck of workshop recipes that help you lead your product team to design better products together.

From £59.99 https://pipdecks.com/products/workshop-tactics?variant=39770920321113

Storyteller Tactics

Ditch dull presentations. Tell great stories. A card deck of storytelling recipes that help you influence and inspire your team, stakeholders and customers.

From £59.99 https://pipdecks.com/products/storyteller-tactics?variant=39770996736089

Available for pre-order

Idea Tactics

A card deck of 54 idea-generating exercises that help you explore uncharted territory and innovate beyond the obvious. For Designers, Marketers, Innovators, Strategists, and Change-Makers.

From £49.99 (currently on offer) https://pipdecks.com/products/idea-tactics?variant=40103053426777

Team Tactics

A card deck of 54 organisational and leadership tactics that help you design, grow and nurture effective teams. For Managers, Heads of, Teams Leads and Chief Officers.

From £49.99 (currently on offer) https://pipdecks.com/products/team-tactics?variant=40103570079833

Laws of UX

Build better user interfaces with psychology principles.

In collaboration with award-winning designer Jon Yablonski, a card deck of psychological principles that help you design and justify your user interfaces.

From £49.99 (currently on offer) https://pipdecks.com/products/laws-of-ux

GREATER MANCHESTER ELECTRICAL COMPANY HEADS TO WEMBLEY FOR NATIONAL AWARD FINALS

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A Greater Manchester electrical company is heading to Wembley Stadium after being announced as a Finalist for ‘Best New Business’ at this year’s SME National Business Awards.

Peter James White Electrical Ltd is a small electrical company, which services Greater Manchester and surrounding areas, specialising in the Residential, Commercial and Industrial sectors. Company Director Peter White explained: “Drawing on decades of industry experience and knowledge, I aspired to create and build a company whose name would be synonymous with electrical quality, its logo an emblem of recognisable, trusted service. Now, we are delighted to have had our efforts recognised by being in the running for ‘Best New Business’ at the SME National Business Awards and we look forward to attending the awards ceremony at the iconic Wembley Stadium.”

Founded in March 2020, this can-do company didn’t have the easiest of beginnings, following the announcement of the COVID-19 pandemic and the UK’s Lockdown just a few days after the launch of the electrical company. Facing the challenging circumstances of starting and sustaining a small business during a pandemic, and without the assistance of government funding or financial support, Peter James White Electrical Ltd strove to service the Greater Manchester community, securing collaborative working opportunities with companies, contractors and interior designers, as well as being part of the electrical team during the construction of the NHS Nightingale Northwest Hospital at Manchester Central Convention Complex (formerly GMex) at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the challenges of the past few years, Peter James White Electrical Ltd recently celebrated its two-year anniversary and its status as an award-winning company.

It has been quite a year for the Greater Manchester-based electrical specialist company, which was nominated for four accolades, including Finalist for ‘Lighting Installer of the Year’ at the e-Fixx Electrical Industry Awards in March and Finalist for the ‘Business of the Year (Under 5 Employees)’ at the Greater Manchester Business Awards (GMBA) held in September at the Hotel Brooklyn Manchester, compered by ITV’s Paul Crone.

In May, Peter James White Electrical Ltd was announced the winner of the Town & County Business Award for the Greater Manchester region at the prestigious Copthorne Tara Hotel Kensington, London. Upon winning the award, Peter White said: “We are honoured to be an award-winning company and, on behalf of Peter James White Electrical Ltd, with heart-expressed thank yous and gratitude to our customers and clients, we can only aspire to continue in service of the Greater Manchester community.”

This year marks six years for the SME National Business Awards, with the black-tie awards ceremony being held on Friday 2nd December at Wembley Stadium, London. For further information: https://eventsandpr.co.uk/sme-national-business-awards/

For further information on Peter James White Electrical Ltd, visit: www.peterjameswhiteelectricalltd.com

Orlando Reid taking the lead in Manchester’s rental market appointing a rising star to head up its lettings department

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Over the last 12 months, a huge increase in the demand for rental homes in and around Manchester has seen Orlando Reid expand its busy lettings department and recently appoint experienced lettings professional, Alice Pittard as Head of Lettings.

Alice Pittard, Orlando Reid: “Having observed Orlando Reid’s success in London makes me excited about taking on this role here in Manchester, after working within the rental industry for the last five years.  There’s a wealth of opportunity to grow the lettings portfolio by building strong relationships with landlords and investors, whilst sharing my knowledge of the local market based on my industry experience.

I believe Manchester is one of the best cities to live in the UK with its independent bars and restaurants, museums, art galleries, live music venues and interesting heritage.

The rental sector is a landlord and developers’ dream.  The market is more active than ever, with around 31% of the city’s population renting and an average achievable rental yield of 6.6%. The city’s skyline is constantly changing with new high-rise developments around every corner. There’s infinite opportunity and room for us to grow to become the best residential lettings agent in the heart of Manchester.”

Managing director, Baljit Arora commented: “Manchester remains one of the most popular buy-to-let cities in the country with very few vacant properties and high yields for investors.  Alice comes to us with vast agency experience.  She is known as a trusted and talented lettings professional – one of the best in the city centre’s independent and corporate agency lettings departments.  We’re confident that Alice will help us reach our target of 1000 managed properties in Manchester and its suburbs by 2025.”

Winners of Ward Hadaway North West Fastest 50 announced

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The winners of the annual Ward Hadaway North West Fastest 50, in partnership with the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce have been announced.

The Ward Hadaway Fastest 50 celebrates the North West’s fastest growing, most innovative businesses that are independently owned. Now in its 13th year, the North West Fastest 50 looks at publicly available financial data from the past three years and uses it to rank the most profitable, high-growth businesses in the region.

Celebrating as winners of the overall and large categories is Stockport-headquartered IMS Euro, a company that provides medical supplies to veterinary surgeries across the UK. Liverpool’s Applied Nutrition, worldwide suppliers of sports nutrition products, exporting to over 50 countries is the winner of the medium category. Training Qualifications UK, providers of Apprenticeships TEFL courses and skills support for the unemployed topped off the list of award winners, scooping the award in the small business category.

Liz Bottrill, Executive Director at Ward Hadaway, Manchester, said; “From Bolton to Burnley and Cheshire to Chorley, these North West’s businesses have demonstrated their talent, drive, innovation and resilience as they’ve adapted to ever emerging challenges and continued to grow. Entrepreneurialism is alive and kicking across the region and the post-Covid era is shaping up to be a very exciting time for North West businesses.

“Armed with ambition, creativity and determination, they are breaking barriers and attracting investment, prosperity and jobs to the region. The 2022 Fastest 50 exemplifies this, demonstrating growth in a wide range of industries from manufacturing and construction to education and healthcare.

“Our congratulations to all those who made the list, it’s a fantastic achievement.”

Durgham Shamot, Owner & CEO of IMS Euro, said: “We are thrilled to receive this prestigious award from Ward Hadaway and we congratulate all of the finalists on their achievements. It is the same passion to deliver exceptional service, quality and value every day to our customers that also underpins how we do things, ensuring our people, community and environment remain at the centre of our family values. We have just celebrated our 30-year family anniversary and while I reflect with pride on the achievements to date, I am more excited about the continuing IMS Euro story and bringing our exceptional service, quality and value to more customers across all healthcare sectors.”

View the full Ward Hadaway Fastest 50 list, and find out who won awards as the fastest growing small, medium, large and overall business here.

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