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BGN helps position Growth Kitchen for expansion with new brand identity

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BGN – the Manchester-based brand-led design and digital agency – has created and launched a raft of new marketing collateral for food-tech startup, Growth Kitchen as it continues with its controlled growth strategy. The agency won the project following a competitive pitch earlier this year. It has delivered a new visual identity, website, investor deck, a suite of videos, as well as key social assets.

Growth Kitchen currently operates a smart, satellite kitchen network in London for forward-thinking restaurants that want to prioritise their delivery operations into strategic locations which complement their existing brick-and-mortar business. It does this by providing premium delivery kitchens and technology to help top food brands confidently scale and effectively operate across high-volume delivery locations.

The business, founded by Tom Gatz and Máté Kun in January 2021, which has backing from a group of strategic investors led by PactVC, including senior food tech leaders from Deliveroo and HelloFresh, has become a trusted partner of leading restaurant brands, such as Tortilla, The Athenian, Popeyes and Kricket.

The core aim of the project was to position Growth Kitchen as the number one choice for ambitious restaurant brands focused on growth. A core element of the work has been to communicate Growth Kitchen’s standout data-led approach.

The BGN team has centered the creative around the jagged edged tickets that kitchen staff receive for food delivery orders. It has been used as the basis for the new bespoke identity which has been implemented across the brand.

The new website also uses the ‘ticket’ creative as a central theme and it now showcases some of the food brands that Growth Kitchen works with, including Tortilla, The Athenian and Kricket. It also has clear calls to action for potential partners as well detailed company history, testimonials, location and news sections.

David Newton – Creative Director at BGN – said: “Growth Kitchen is an amazing organisation that is set for continued expansion over the next couple of years. We are confident the new brand will add a competitive edge and will deliver commercially. As a business, we always challenge the way our tech clients present themselves and this project was no different. Growth Kitchen’s new brand identity is symbolic of the change we impart on our partners.”

Máté Kun, Co-founder at Growth Kitchen – commented: “BGN has done a fantastic job in helping position us for our next phase of investment and expansion. The team has delivered an engaging visually identity that is underpinned by a strong message centered around how we add value and help our partners achieve their goals.”

Manchester’s Rainy City Agency to Exceed £1M Turnover

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Manchester’s Rainy City Agency, the UK’s only female-led Shopify Plus Partner, has announced a record performance for 2022 and is on track to exceed £1m turnover for the first time.

Founded and led by Rebecca Worsley, the web design agency specialises in providing creative, high-performing websites for the health and beauty sector. Since its establishment in 2017 the agency has seen consistent growth and is still yet to witness an annual loss in turnover.

Speaking on the agency’s impressive track record, founder and MD Rebecca Worsley commented: “Last year we turned over £630k, which was double the turnover from 2020, and are on track to hit the £1m mark for 2022. This is all organic growth, and we’re yet to actually use any form of fundraising.”

Past projects have included full website redesigns and replatforming over to Shopify from other content management systems. The Rainy City Agency, whose name is a fun nod to Manchester’s weather, exclusively stands as the UK’s only female-led Shopify Plus Partner agency and is aiming to diversify the male-dominated tech industry.

Commenting upon women in tech, Worsley added: “I am really passionate about bringing more women into tech – it’s a fantastic industry and needs to attract more female talent. We’re going to be putting a heavy focus on women in tech [as] our industry is very male dominated.”

This impressive feat comes as the agency, made up of only 18 members of staff, is also shortlisted for continent-wide eCommerce awards. Last month, the agency was thrilled to discover it had been shortlisted for the European eCommerce Awards in the “Beauty, Health & Wellbeing eCommerce Website of the Year” category. The winner of this award is expected to be announced in Barcelona in Autumn.

To furtherly support the agency’s growth plans, there are also ambitions to lead and host industry events across the region. The first of these is to be the ‘Shopify Meetup’ in Manchester City Centre later this year, which will feature a discussion panel offering industry insights as well as an opportunity for networking.

On this upcoming event, Rebecca added: “There’s a lot of great talent and tech in the city, but we don’t have a big presence for Shopify and its merchants and that’s something we’re going to change. We’re hoping this is just the start for us and these events will really help us create a name for ourselves in the North West and achieve our financial ambitions this year.”

LSH Auto extends support for Macclesfield FC

LSH Auto and its local dealership Mercedes-Benz of Macclesfield, will again be the ‘Official Van & Car Supplier’ to Macclesfield FC for the coming 2022-23 season.

Over the past 12 months, the two dedicated Mercedes-Benz Vito Tourer Vans that LSH Auto supplied to the Club have been used for over 250 journeys. The vehicles have been used for over 100 away fixtures, ranging from Macclesfield’s junior academy & BTEC students to the men’s and women’s first-teams.

In addition, a range of vehicles have been used by staff for events and meetings, from the Mercedes-Benz A-Class to the all-new Mercedes-Benz EQC.

In October, LSH Auto donated a tiny electric car for match ball carriers to use at Macclesfield FC home fixtures. The Mercedes AMG G63 12V kids’ electric car was a present to mark the club’s one year anniversary and has been a big hit with its match ball carriers who now travel onto the pitch in style.

Martyn Webb, Managing Director of LSH Auto, said: “We’re looking forward to continuing to support our local club. Our partnership with Macclesfield FC has been going from strength to strength over the past 18 months and so has the Club’s success. The Men’s First Team won the NWCFL by fifteen points and were promoted, the Women’s First Team were league champions, membership of the Club’s Academy has exceeded 600 male and female players and the Under 16s team won the league championship, the Cheshire County Cup, the Primary Cup and the Manchester FC County Cup.

“From transporting equipment for grassroots training and community events, right through to transporting the first team players, we’re really pleased that our Mercedes-Benz vehicles are supporting the growth and success of the club.”

As a key sponsor, LSH Auto will also have its logo featured on the arm of the new Macclesfield FC kit and a number of advertising boards around the ground.

Macclesfield FC’s Director of Football, Robbie Savage said: “I’m delighted to be renewing our partnership with LSH Auto for the season ahead. They are the main transport provider for the club and it’s great to have them on-board.”

With Mercedes-Benz dealerships in the North West and the Midlands, LSH Auto offers all-new models from the Mercedes-Benz and smart car collection, premium approved used vehicles and exceptional aftersales services including maintenance, repairs, servicing, parts and accessories.

GO-AHEAD FOR PARADISE MEWS SCHEME

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Victor, the development arm of Salford-based MC Construction, has gained planning
approval for its first scheme – four modern mews houses in a cobbled courtyard in
the emerging Piccadilly East neighbourhood of Manchester city centre.
The proposals, which have received the green light from Manchester City Council’s
planning and highways committee, are for four-storey townhouses on Ducie Street
with designs by architects Corstorphine & Wright. Paul Butler Associates acted as
planning consultants.
The houses will be constructed on land which is presently a car park and lies at the
south east corner of Paradise Wharf, next to ‘The Stables,’ a converted Grade II
listed commercial block wholly owned by Victor. The southern elevation, which will
be the rear of the properties, will overlook the Ashton Canal.
With three bedrooms, open-plan living spaces, roof terraces, large recessed
balconies and integrated garage, cycle and storage areas, the homes are designed
to appeal to families seeking the convenience of the city centre from a sustainable
location, close to transport links.
The development will be called Paradise Mews and, to blend with the heritage
surroundings, the houses will be built mainly from red brick with small, recessed pop-
ups in glazed cladding providing access to the roof terraces.
The provision of significantly sized homes will add to the mix of housing provision in
an area set to experience significant activity. The recently-completed Oxygen Tower
sits on nearby Store Street, where plans have been approved for Clarion Housing
Group and H20 Urban to deliver 66 apartments for shared ownership and for
developer M1 Piccadilly to build a luxury gold residential tower.
McCauls’ Laystall Street scheme will deliver 89 discounted homes along with 8,000
sq ft of workspace. The council has also granted permission for a three-year period
for a mixed-use development with retail, office and leisure facilities, including a
beer hall and night market, at the former Presbar Diecastings site next door to
Paradise Wharf.
Mike Purcell, a director of MC Construction and Victor’s development director, said:
“We have been securing brownfield sites in close proximity to transport hubs for
several years and are pleased to have received consent for our first Victor
development.

“MC Construction will act as main contractor for the scheme, which utilises our in-
house resource and ensures we oversee the development throughout the
construction phase.
“Since purchasing the site in 2018 from architect Ian Finlay, we have seen strong
investment and development in Ancoats and, more recently, in the immediate
vicinity. We are delighted to build on Ian’s work which commenced in the 1980s
when he showed both foresight and courage in his restoration of The Stables.”
Ian Finlay said: “The designs present a set of stunning high-end homes in what is
fast-becoming a highly-desired location. We named the site Paradise Wharf at a time
when the area was anything but utopian and described as a twilight zone.
Witnessing the continued transformation of this part of Piccadilly is a long-held
aspiration.”
David Lowe, managing director of MC Construction, said: “The city centre is currently
dominated by a multitude of high-rise apartments and very few houses, a gap we are
helping to address, albeit in a modest way. This scheme will provide much-needed
family homes in the city centre.”
Work is due to start in early 2023 with practical completion expected approximately
12 months later.

New look Altrincham Leisure Centre gets the go ahead

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Exciting multi-million pound plans to completely transform Altrincham Leisure Centre
into a fabulous state-of-the-art facility have been approved by councillors.

Trafford Council’s Executive has given the green light to plans for the large scale
refurbishment of the popular facility – branded move Altrincham – on Oakfield Road in
the town centre.

The centre will now benefit from a 25m swimming pool, a 20m learner pool, a pool pod
to improve accessibility, a combined lobby area with pool viewing and café, a wet village
change, an inclusive changing places toilet and a health and wellbeing spa facility. There
will also be a wellness assessment room, an enlarged fitness suite, fitness changing and
dry change areas, two flexible studio spaces, an immersive indoor cycle studio, a four-
court sports hall and storage, a gymnastics hub and staff rooms and offices.
The new mix of facilities at Altrincham Leisure Centre has been developed with support
from Sport England to deliver long-term sustainable leisure provision that gives the best
health and wellbeing outcomes for residents – a long term commitment to the local
community from Trafford Council.

The designs also include the replacement of the fossil fuel (gas) heating system with Air
Sourced Heat Pumps and Solar Panels, which are significantly more sustainable options
than the existing systems, and support Trafford Council’s carbon neutral action plan. A
large scale online consultation event was held with residents in January this year – and a
total of 576 people responded to the consultation and were largely in favour.

The investment supports the Council’s strategy and commitment to get more people
moving more often, helping improve health and wellbeing, and is part of its Physical
Activity Strategy, ‘Trafford Moving’.  It forms part of a borough-wide long-term strategy
to support the health and wellbeing of local residents through access to affordable,
sustainable, accessible and exciting, modern leisure facilities. It follows the
redevelopment of move Urmston in March 2020, and will see further refurbishments
carried out on a phased arrangement, with Altrincham Leisure Centre earmarked as the
first to be transformed followed by both Stretford and Sale.

Jo Cherrett is CEO of Trafford Leisure, a community interest company wholly owned by
Trafford Council, which manages leisure in Trafford on behalf of Trafford Council, using

any profits and assets for community benefit.  She says: “We are ecstatic to finally get
the green light from Trafford Council on the full refurbishment of Altrincham Leisure
Centre. We know it has been a long time coming, and we can’t wait to breathe life back
into the building, future proofing it for future generations. However, we want to
reassure customers that during the temporary closure there be access to alternative
local options for physical activity and sport, so that clubs, lessons, memberships and
activities can continue wherever possible.

“This refurbishment isn’t simply a lick of paint, it’s a multi-million-pound investment,
bringing modern leisure facilities to the people of Altrincham. The local community in
and around Altrincham are passionate about their town and have an overwhelming
desire to see their community thrive. When we re-open our doors, the modern, fit-for-
purpose leisure venue will be an inspiring space to help local residents with every aspect
of their wellbeing. It will become the second site Trafford Leisure will open under the
new brand name, move.

“move Altrincham, with its new extension, will offer more than 5,500 square metres of
sport and leisure activities to help Trafford Leisure achieve its vision of becoming the
most active place in England. The refurbishment will include the replacement of the fossil
fuel (gas) heating system with Air Sourced Heat Pumps and Solar Panels, which are
significantly more sustainable options than the existing systems and support Trafford
Council’s action plan to be Carbon Neutral by 2038. When move Altrincham opens, the
facilities, services and our team of wellbeing experts can help you move to more every
day. Together, let’s get Trafford moving more. move Altrincham will showcase that there
really is opportunity for physical activity for everyone.”

Trafford Council Leader, Cllr Andrew Western, said: “This is fantastic news for the people
of Altrincham and the surrounding areas. Health and wellbeing is of major importance to
Trafford Council and I am delighted that we will now be able to completely transform
Altrincham Leisure Centre into an amazing 21 st  century facility for everyone to enjoy.

“This centre will be truly inspirational – like our move Urmston site – and I for one can’t
wait for the work to be completed. We are investing millions of pounds into this project
as we believe that is the right thing to do to ensure residents are given top-class
facilities to ensure they can improve their health, fitness and wellbeing. Thank you to the
Executive for supporting these truly exciting plans.”

The proposals are subject to further consultation and securing planning permission which
is expected to be submitted in Autumn 2022.

The centre will be closed over Christmas 2022 to prepare for the work being carried out
in January 2023. The full refurbishment of Altrincham Leisure Centre is estimated to take
up to 18 months.

Praetura Commercial Finance supports Cheshire-based Egertons’ growth with £5.3m funding facility

Praetura Commercial Finance has provided £5.3m of funding to support Egertons, one of the UK’s leading vehicle rescue and recovery operators, to enable their growth plans across the UK.

Based in Mobberley, Cheshire, Egertons is one of the UK’s leading vehicle rescue and recovery operators, with over 400 vehicles and 26 sites across the UK. The business supports a diverse range of clients including SMEs, blue-chip businesses and large public sector organisations with roadside repair and breakdown recovery.

Egertons – which was founded in 1962 – delivers its rescue and recovery services through three main trading companies: Egertons, the Mansfield group and EFM.

As demand for its services grew, Egertons reached out to its professional partners to re-examine its working capital provision. The business chose to partner with Praetura Commercial Finance due to its reputation as an entrepreneurial finance provider.

Within 24 hours, the team had been to visit Egertons to understand the businesses sales cycle and logistical model. The ‘time to cash’ from first introduction was just two weeks. A noticeably different approach to conventional lenders.

Les Brooke, finance director at Egertons, said: “The facility offered by Praetura Commercial Finance has been an excellent solution to enable us to fund the growth of the group. They spent time to gain a real commercial understanding of our business and delivered on the terms they offered at speed. It makes a real difference when we can speak directly to decision makers.”

Stuart Bates, commercial director at Praetura Commercial Finance, added: “We want to be the finance partner of choice for ambitious and entrepreneurial UK SMEs. In the current climate, we’re working with great businesses like Egertons to help them to remain adaptable and reactive to the current challenges of the UK economy. It was great to work with Les and the team on this transaction, and we look forward to supporting them in the future.”

Praetura Commercial Finance is part of the Praetura Group, a specialist equity and debt funding business aimed at providing an alternative to more rigid institutional lenders. Founded in 2011, the group posted record figures in 2021 and increased its total loan book to over £200m.

According to the recent Experian M&A Review, Praetura Commercial Finance was the North West’s leading debt provider in 2021.

Damian McGann at Funding Friends Ltd provided debt advisory advice to Egertons.

Talos360 builds on impressive growth with hire of Chief Marketing Officer

Talos360 builds on impressive growth with hire of Chief Marketing Officer

Rob Townsend joins high growth recruitment tech brand to accelerate brand awareness

Greater Manchester, England 27 July 2022 – Talos360, an award-winning leading provider of intelligent talent technology solutions, has announced a further appointment to its senior leadership team with the hire of Rob Townsend as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). Previously CMO at Shield Safety & Riskproof, Rob brings over 30 years’ experience in Marketing from leading brands across the UK.

Having reported over 50% revenue increase for 2021, representing a record-breaking year for the North West based firm, the hire underlines the business’ commitment to its significant growth plans as it continues to scale. The appointment brings in a strategic and operational senior executive with a proven track record for growing B2B tech brands by bringing value propositions to life and driving sustained pipeline growth particularly for its software revenue.

This C-level hire follows the appointment of Head of People and Chief Revenue Officer earlier this year and represents the company’s rapid recruitment strategy, with increased headcount of 15% in the first 6 months of 2022 alone.

Rob Townsend commented “Talos360 already has had an impressive growth trajectory over the last few years. With my experience of building performance marketing infrastructures, increasing conversion and growth through fresh initiatives, I am confident we can surpass the targets we have set for ourselves in 2022 and beyond.”

The business recently hosted round table panel discussion at KPMG’s Headquarters in Manchester with some of the region’s thought leaders in recruitment including KPMG, TalkTalk, Summize and App Learn to discuss the findings from its Great Renegotiation research report looking into the recruitment challenges facing organisations in today’s market.

Janette Martin, CEO at Talos360 said “We have had a stellar start to 2022 and we are on track to hit our growth targets having just won two national TIARA Tech Talent Awards. Rob’s appointment strongly demonstrates that we are committed to our ongoing growth while using his energy, passion and drive to build upon our winning performance culture.”

Duo Consulting strengthens senior comms expertise

Strategic communications and public relations agency Duo Consulting has appointed seasoned communications professional Will Stone as Associate Director.

Stone brings over twenty years of communications experience across global businesses and agencies. He previously worked for techUK, Atmos International and UPM and has worked with scale-up companies in Finland and the UK.

Dan Sheridan, founder and MD of Duo Consulting, said: “As we continue with our growth plans, making a senior appointment is critical to developing our offer and expertise. Will’s experience in B2B manufacturing, tech and education complements our existing and future client base. In addition, he has significant knowledge of sustainability, innovation and stakeholder engagement.”

Will Stone added: “Dan’s passion and vision for Duo Consulting was the main driver for me to join the business. I’m looking forward to helping Dan grow the business and working with the calibre of clients we currently have on our roster.”

Duo Consulting has also appointed its first external advisor. David de Koning, recently Director of Investor Relations and Communications at Funding Circle, has more than a decade of experience working at the heart of the high-growth business, both pre and post-IPO. He will support management with the development of client service propositions, and lend first-hand insight to Duo’s scale-up clients, particularly in finance and tech.

The appointments follow new clients for Duo, including Garrison, a London-headquartered cybersecurity specialist, and Vypr, a Manchester-based innovation intelligence platform.

Bruntwood SciTech unveils £20m lab redevelopment at Alderley Park

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New spaces designed to meet growing need for collaboration and cluster approach to research
Modern labs and breakout areas will bolster direction of travel for life science industry
Investment a boost for drug discovery firms, including those combating infectious diseases

Bruntwood SciTech, the UK’s leading property provider dedicated to the growth of the science and technology sector, has launched 86,000 sq ft of redeveloped laboratories at Alderley Park, undertaken as part of its £247m masterplan.

This £20m lab investment has seen the redevelopment of existing lab spaces to create high-specification biology and chemistry containment level two (CL2) laboratory suites. Key design features include write-up, breakout and presentation spaces specifically designed to further inspire collaboration between companies and colleagues, enabling the natural collision of ideas.

Driving the Alderley Park master development plans is Bruntwood SciTech, a joint venture between investor and developer Bruntwood and Legal & General, the UK’s leading developer of innovation districts. Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership has provided £4m to the redevelopment scheme, further cementing Alderley Park as one of the UK’s leading science and technology campuses. The announcement today forms part of the Park’s longer-term masterplan, with plans currently being proposed for an additional 200,000 sq ft of lab space and office space for technology businesses.

Businesses taking advantage of the new facilities are expected to come from specialist areas such as: drug discovery and development, oncology, infectious diseases, advanced therapy medicinal products and diagnostics. The Park’s offering is bolstered by access to specialist scientific services as well as Bruntwood SciTech’s wider network of innovators and business support programmes, including the Alderley Park Accelerator which supports start-up and scale-up companies to establish and grow through mentoring, funding support and advice when entering new markets.

Alderley Park is already home to over 250 companies. Its business community includes the likes of Cancer Research UK’s Manchester Institute team and Sai Life Sciences, as well as SMEs like BivictriX and ApconiX, providers of specialist services for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and diagnostics sectors.

Kath Mackay, Director of Life Sciences, Bruntwood SciTech, said: “The life sciences sector is witnessing rapid and continued growth in the North West and the creation of these pioneering workspaces speaks to that demand. Our newly redeveloped laboratories are a step change from traditional lab environments as the industry sees a shift towards an ecosystem of workspace that offers opportunities for young, innovative companies to collaborate alongside sectoral leaders. Alderley Park’s latest injection of high quality biology and chemistry labs will further facilitate this.

“Alderley Park is already a world-leading campus for science and technology and a key location for the North’s thriving life sciences sector. Investing in its future will keep this facility – and its businesses – at the forefront of regional, national and international innovation.”

Philip Cox, Chief Executive of Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership said: “We are continuing to grow and enhance Cheshire and Warrington’s reputation in the life sciences sector and Alderley Park is a key part of our ambitions.

“We recently launched the GMC Life Sciences Fund by Praetura, allowing us to invest in innovative companies in the region. Alongside key developments within Alderley Park’s Mereside life science campus this means that life sciences will continue to flourish in Cheshire and Warrington and the wider region.”

Fairhursts Design Group acted as lead architect on the project and oversaw the bespoke refurbishment of the reception area. Alderley Park’s new biology and chemistry laboratory suites range from 2.5k sq.ft to 11.2k sq.ft. Phase one of the project (36K sq ft) has now completed, with phase two (50k sq ft) due to complete in August 2022.

Oldham Based Tech Firm Launches New ‘Wellness Wednesday’ Programme To Support Employees

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A technology firm based in Greater Manchester has launched a brand new employee wellness scheme to better support their employees with their mental and physical health.

The wellness initiative encourages staff at Aspect IT to engage in healthy behaviours over an extended amount of time, with the intention of these new behaviours becoming habits to their employees.

The employee experience is integral to business success, and prioritising the well-being of staff has never been more important. According to the Health and Safety Executive’s report on work-related stress, anxiety or depression statistics in Great Britain, 822,000 workers experienced work-related stress in 2020/2021, a much higher figure than pre-coronavirus statistics. We are a stressed nation, and without prioritising employee wellness, organisations are facing higher absenteeism and presenteeism rates, impacting productivity and company morale.

Since the pandemic, there has been a real buzz around wellness and the importance of looking after oneself. This has resulted in higher standards of care for employees, leading to many people leaving their jobs because they didn’t feel valued, and many companies struggling to fill vacancies because they aren’t putting their employee’s well-being at the centre of what they do.

The employee wellness scheme has been developed and led by Director, Peter Dorotiak, with the support of their Marketing Executive, Hannah Dooley.

Aspect IT, who are in their 19th year of business, kicked off their programme with a step competition, encouraging staff to be more active both within and outside the office. The individuals that took the most steps over a month were rewarded with a health-related gift.

As well as this, they have swapped out all unhealthy snacks for nutritious alternatives to boost concentration and energy levels.

They have also made extra efforts to ensure their employees feel valued within the company, by supporting their growth and development through upskilling courses.

In the future, they are organising workshops surrounding various topics such as mental health, stress and nutrition to help support the scheme. They are also planning employee appreciation days to ensure their employees feel valued within the company, including workplace massages and self-care boxes.

Aspect IT saw a jump in employee engagement, and after conducting an internal survey, they found that 60% of employees feel happier and valued in their roles and will continue to expand their wellness strategy for the benefit of their employees.

Aside from improved employee retention rates, implementing employee wellness initiatives boast other huge business benefits, such as improved productivity rates, decreased absence rates, improved company morale and higher employee retention rates.

Founded in 2003 by directors Peter and Ian, Aspect IT provide fully managed IT solutions that fit your business requirements. With nearly 20 years of experience, they offer everything from networking to computer maintenance and repairs, software development to web design, and VoIP services to cybersecurity.

Marketing Executive, Hannah Dooley, commented:

“Having experienced mental health issues throughout my life, I understand the importance of workplace support when it comes to wellbeing. If employees feel healthier (both mentally and physically) and supported, they are more likely to be happier and feel empowered to perform at their best.

“We’ve definitely/already seen a positive difference in our office morale and productivity levels. The wellbeing of our staff has always been of upmost importance to Aspect IT, but we’ve really decided to make this a priority this year and introduce some solid plans to actively support the team”.