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Bolton-based accountancy firm Gorilla Accounting shares their growth journey throughout the pandemic.

Sam Whitear
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Bolton-based, accountancy firm, Gorilla Accounting has continued to grow throughout the pandemic, while adapting its service to be delivered remotely. Continuing to support its clients, the business has been further cementing its reputation for excellent customer service. With its headquarters in Bolton and with offices in Manchester and Merseyside, Gorilla Accounting works with a variety of local and national clients across a broad range of sectors.

Having grown to just under 50 staff members, the accountancy firm began in 2015 as a way to deliver technologically-driven accountancy services for the self-employed. Operations Manager at Gorilla Accounting, Richard Hepburn, comments on what they plan to do to help business owners and the self-employed across the UK when it comes to their accounting.

Operations Manager at Gorilla Accounting, Richard Hepburn, comments on the challenges of COVID-19 and what the film has done during the pandemic:

“As with all industries, the main factor that has affected the workforce has been COVID-19. As accountants, we have needed to adapt to the changing environment and different government support schemes that have been made available and may be applicable to our clients.

We have IT services and remote working capabilities that can support the accountant team with our current client base, and phone systems that work remotely too. The full accounting team has been available and working remotely during COVID-19.

During COVID-19, we have continued to support all of our clients as much as possible. We have advised, supported, and have made submissions on their behalf for the relevant support schemes, such as the Job Retention scheme.”

Throughout the pandemic, Gorilla Accounting has maintained high standards, offering local expertise to service-led individuals, such as contractors, freelancers and locums. In particular, they have seen a strong demand for their buy to let accountancy service – due to the stamp duty holiday, an increase in property purchases and more overall demand in this area.

Operations Manager, Richard Hepburn, also shares Gorilla Accounting’s aspirations moving into 2021 and beyond:

“We aim to continue to grow our client base by offering a better service than our competitors, and ensuring our clients receive the best possible guidance and advice specific to their needs. We would like to maintain our top-ranked position on Trustpilot as we continue to grow.”

Gorilla Accounting aims to continue to support its clients by advising on any tax updates as and when they happen, such as the new IR35 tax legislation, while ensuring that its team is ready to support its clients remotely whatever 2021 may bring.’’

Hepburn also commented on the importance of delivering a digital service:

“We have embraced the digitalisation of accounting and our service has developed to incorporate this. We feel the days of needing a local accountant to pop in and see clients with a file of receipts are over. We are proud to offer the same great service to all our clients, wherever they are based.

Accounting services continue to move more to digital records and bookkeeping, particularly with the further movement to Making Tax Digital with HMRC. Our technologically-driven service is ready to adapt to this, and we have embraced the movement to digital record-keeping.”

Citysuites makes room for expansion with new website

Sam Whitear
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CitySuites has unveiled a new website that supports its future ambitions to expand the number of luxury short and long stay residences within the brand, beginning with the opening of a second exclusive aparthotel in Manchester City Centre in summer 2021.

As the hotel welcomes guests again, the website reveal indicates the positive future for the luxury five-star hospitality business, which is part of the Select Property Group based in Alderley Edge, Cheshire.

Developed by its digital agency partner Absurd, CitySuites’ new site features innovative technology and digital-first services. It has a bespoke contactless check-in process that eradicates the need for guests to go through the typical registration process on arrival, and enables them to just verify their identity on entry to the aparthotel based on the information already provided. There is also a new portal for guests to view their reservations, make changes ahead of their stay and that simplifies repeat booking.

As well as exploring the different types of accommodation offered across the two hotels, visitors can also discover more about Citysuites’ other facilities including the Embankment Kitchen restaurant, gym and pool.

Tara Homayounbod, Marketing Director “As well as evolving the site to include our new hotel, which will open this summer, we have added new features to further enhance the visitor experience. Users can explore our rooms and facilities through virtual tours, as well as learn more about our locations.

“Many service requirements for CitySuites differ from the more typical hotel needs, due to the specialist accommodation offered and lengths of stays, which we have built into the new user journey, booking process and site features. Absurd has done a fantastic job with the design, brand positioning and the functionality of the site. We’re just so glad to be reopening again and to build on our future plans.”

Oliver Bailey, co-founder of Absurd, adds: “The new design and features are baked in user insight and testing, and we’ve created a framework that will support CitySuites’ growth as they expand both in the UK and internationally. We’ve focused on the navigation and how ultimately users will be able to explore all aparthotels with ease.

“As a result of a platform upgrade and a headless CMS, the new site also benefits from a much faster load time and improved experience. By implementing a component based set up, content admins can create new pages with ease. This means Citysuites can operate with agility and be more reactive around campaigns and deals, and the platform facilitates ongoing communication with guests with more personalised marketing.”

CitySuites is located in Manchester City Centre and combines the comforts of home with the luxury touches of a hotel, providing an exceptional living experience that surpasses standard serviced apartment accommodation.

SHE Software confirms commitment to providing opportunities for talented trainees with opening of apprenticeship academy.

Sam Whitear
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SHE Software has partnered with Multiverse to launch an apprenticeship academy in Manchester, UK and is recruiting the first two project management apprentices.

SHE Software, the leading international provider of configurable health and safety management software, is recruiting two project management apprentices at it’s newly created apprenticeship academy in Manchester, UK.

In partnership with Multiverse, the SHE Software apprenticeship academy will combine best-in-class training with one-to-one coaching delivered by it’s global team of experts. The 18-month project management apprentice programme will blend academic learning with practical application. Leaning on a strong mix of technical and people skills, this provides the opportunity to master essential project management skills such as navigating complex organisational challenges and getting things done efficiently.

By working at SHE Software, the pioneer of digital transformation within health and safety, apprentices gain strong insight into how technology can help the global health and safety sector overcome many of the challenges. These include employee engagement, tracking leading indicators and insight driven decision making.

This move from SHE Software shows a commitment towards on-the-job training and skills development for its staff. It also shows the company’s commitment to diversity. The recruitment process will target
non-graduates across Manchester and Multiverse has a track record of placing candidates from a range of backgrounds into the top roles.

The virtual classroom training will be delivered by Multiverse, a startup tech company focused on high-quality education and training through a unique professional apprenticeship model. Multiserve announced the closing of a $44 million Series B funding round earlier this year and has tripled the number of apprentices trained to 3,000 in the last twelve months.

Kimberly Baker, V.P. of Talent at SHE Software, said: “We’ve established an office in Manchester as it’s a thriving area bursting with diverse talent. Taking on apprentices in this area will help us bring new, energetic staff into our team and grow them internally with the support of Multiverse.

We are a company that believes strongly in promoting from within, and we set ourselves a target of filling 50% of our roles from our graduate and apprentice intake. I can’t wait to see these 2 new Manchester based apprentices learn and grow into successful members of our team.”

SHE Software’s investment in their new data academy comes via the Apprenticeship Levy.

Multiverse matches talented individuals with careers and delivers world-class training in a wide range of qualifications in leadership, digital and technology. Apprentices benefit from one-to-one coaching with an industry expert and are supported by a thriving community with events, socials, mentoring and leadership programmes designed to exceed the best of the university experience.

Euan Blair, Founder and CEO of Multiverse said: “Apprenticeships are an outstanding alternative to the university system, helping a broad range of the most talented people find great jobs, and supporting those in employment to access reskilling opportunities to meet the demands of the future of work. What this partnership shows is that innovative software companies like SHE see apprenticeships as a core part of their talent acquisition and development strategy. We’re excited to partner with them in Manchester to provide exciting new apprenticeship opportunities to those launching their careers.”

The North West businesswoman on a confidence mission for women

Sam Whitear
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Manchester-based Beckie Taylor, CEO of Tech Returners an organisation focused on career empowerment has launched a new venture with a spotlight on women and confidence.

The Confidence Collective is a 4 part programme designed to develop and empower women to embrace natural strengths to enable effective communication, build confidence and resilience, manage imposter syndrome, develop leadership skills and processes to build effective teams and partnerships all as part of a unique journey towards confidence and success.

The programme which is led by Beckie Taylor, a People and HR expert provides practical advice and activities and a range of free resources and is available to individuals and businesses in both Manchester and London with programmes running throughout the year.

The programme forms part of a wider confidence mission for Taylor who has created online platform The Confidence Community, a home for free resources and advice and in her own words is “ a community shaped by a community, we don’t just want to be another unread notification in a sea of content and there are plenty of fantastic resources already out there who do excellent work, so we’ll be building our community with the help of the people within it and taking their guidance on what is important’

Whilst the community platform is a new project for Taylor, her mission around women and confidence was the original catalyst for the Tech Returners organisation of which she is CEO and for which her work earned her the Northern Power Women Transformational Leader Award 2021. Most recently she has been focusing on ‘ The Confidence Collective’ programme which has been quietly gathering momentum since 2018 having seen more than 70 women already complete the programme and go on to win industry awards, obtain promotions and new roles and even speak at TEDx. The programme has also worked exclusively with The CoOp to develop female talent.

Speaking about the programme Beckie Taylor said

“ I have always been passionate about empowering women to be confident in their careers and their lives as a whole and never has it been more important than now, in the face of a pandemic, a time when women are literally losing their jobs, their childcare and their support networks, we have never needed to support each other more, if you are a business that can invest in the development of your female talent now is absolutely the time to do it and if you are an individual looking for support with confidence then we are here to help”

Places on the 4 part programme are £1,500 per person with payment options available. Bespoke packages are also available for businesses considering multiple individuals for the programme.

MANCHESTER’S WHAT MEDIA ‘ON POINTE’ AS IT BAGS SUSTAINABLE BALLETWEAR VIDEO SHOWCASE

Sam Whitear
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Sustainable dancewear brand Imperfect Pointes has appointed Manchester’s video agency What Media to produce its first brand video.

The video project will showcase the Imperfect Pointes ethical, and environmentally friendly, designs while helping consumers to understand the impact balletwear can have on the environment.

Striking a balance between beauty and destruction, the creative will show a dancer moving through projected images of climate change, landfill, and a sea of plastic – highlighting the dangers of fast fashion in dancewear.

The What Media team, based in Manchester, has worked closely with the brand’s founder Helen Banks handling the showcase from brief, developing the creative concept and managing content execution.

Shot in the ‘Depot at Mayfield’, an old train station near Manchester’s Piccadilly that has been repurposed as an event space, hosted a fully green shoot – banning single use plastic on site.

The team worked with brand ambassador Mayara Magri, First Soloist of The Royal Ballet and choreographer Mathew Ball, Principal Dancer with The Royal Ballet.
Helen Banks, director of Imperfect Pointes, said: “Having worked on campaigns for big fashion and sports brands over the years, launching my own sustainable brand meant I was keen to ensure my vision was brought to life.
“I chose What Media for their quick understanding, passion and technical skill to collaborate and create something really special. Chris and his team really listened to what I wanted to achieve, and I trusted them to create something that reflected my brand purpose and show off Mayara’s sublime ballet dancing. The What Media team hadn’t worked on a ballet film previously and I think they really stepped up to the challenge to get an outstanding result.”
The Imperfect Pointes campaign goes live April 27th and will be featured across its website and social channels.

Speaking about the showcase, creative director of What Media, Chris Townsend, said: “One of the key things we look for in new projects is working with businesses that are trying to make a positive impact on the world or the environment.

“The Imperfect Pointes showcase has been a great balance of working with a brand that is focused on making a difference, while being given the freedom to take an incredible brief and bring their messaging to life through video.”

Chris added: “We have really enjoyed collaborating with the team, taking the idea from inception to the video content. We look forward to seeing it go live.”

Founded in 2016 in Manchester, What Media specialise in creative, video, and animation.
What Media has kick-started 2021 with a bang, winning several new clients and project briefs, including Uber for Business and Muscle Food.

British premium sports fashion brand Castore has agreed a deal to relocate its company headquarters on Manchester City Centre

Sam Whitear
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British premium sports fashion brand Castore has agreed a deal to relocate its company headquarters to One Central Street, part of The Albert Estate in Manchester city centre.

Castore has signed a 13-year lease with landlords Kinrise to occupy all available workspace – circa 22,100 sq ft – within the building, situated across five floors.

Founded in 2015 by brothers Thomas and Philip Beahon, Castore’s vision was to bring a new level of performance to men’s sportswear. The brand currently sells products in more than 50 countries worldwide and boasts collaborations with sports stars such as Andy Murray. Revenue is expected to reach £100m this year.

Castore will relocate all staff from current headquarters in Liverpool to Manchester this year and expect to create a further 300 jobs in the city in the next 2 years.

Phil Beahon, Castore Co-Founder “We are delighted to be moving to Manchester and opening Castore House as our global HQ in the city. It is clear for everyone to see that Manchester is a city with an incredible buzz about it and the number of fast-growing, high tech businesses in the city were a real draw for us when choosing our long-term home for Castore.”

Chief Executive of Manchester City Council Joanne Roney said: “I am delighted to welcome Castore to Manchester. The business has seen impressive growth since their founding and this significant investment will create 300 jobs, another endorsement of the city’s strengths in areas such as digital and e-commerce. We very much look forward to working with them, to both assist with their HQ relocation to the city and to match the talent in this city to the opportunities they bring.”

George Aberdeen, Co-Founder at Kinrise said; “We are delighted to welcome Castore as the lead tenant at our 1 Central Street building in Manchester. Like all properties in the Kinrise portfolio, the newly refurbished former mill has been carefully re-designed to reveal the original character of the building; making it the perfect location in which a forward-thinking business like Castore can thrive.”

OBI advised on the transaction. The team has also been appointed to design the new workspace and manage the refurbishment project.

Andrew Cowell from OBI said: “One Central Street is a building with character and will provide a brilliant space for Castore’s continued growth. The team required a creative space that would allow for collaboration and evolution. Manchester is a brilliant city for a business such as Castore.”

Tim Newns, MIDAS Chief Executive said: “Castore is one of the UK’s most exciting and fastest-growing sportswear brands and we’re delighted to welcome them to Manchester. Not only will this be Castore’s HQ, but it will also include a new innovation hub, product development studio and content studio which combined will house 500 people over the next two years. It brings together many of Greater Manchester’s strengths, including sport, tech/ecommerce, fashion, creative talent, technical textiles and innovation and is further recognition that Manchester is the UK’s best city to scale a digital business. They will follow in the footsteps of our many unicorns which have benefitted from a diverse talent pool and tech ecosystem, and we look forward to continuing our support and seeing this innovative company reach its potential.”

Rents within One Central Street range from £25.00 psf – £28.00 psf. OBI is the sole leasing agent.

The company has retail stores on the King’s Road in London and within the Liverpool ONE scheme in the city centre and is expecting to open a further 5 stores around the UK in the next 6 months.

Zuto Donates Laptops to Local Manchester Community Groups

Sam Whitear
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Manchester based car finance company, Zuto, has donated laptops to two local community groups to help support their commitment to helping the local community.

Working with Forever Manchester, the charity recommended two community groups, Women’s Footprints and The United Estates of Wythenshawe, who would benefit from a laptop donation. Zuto then partnered with IT company Bytes to send 18 laptops to the groups.

A spokesperson from Forever Manchester commented:

‘Big thanks to Zuto for the donation of the laptops to two grassroot community projects in Ardwick and Wythenshawe. These will make a massive difference to the local residents who attend that group. They will help them to develop and enhance skills which can lead to better prospects.’

Women’s Footprints is an intergenerational group for women living in the Brunswick and Ardwick area of Manchester. They hold weekly sessions in well-being and creativity and during the pandemic have moved their services online. Some of the women in the groups have struggled with getting online during the pandemic, either due to sharing devices with their children or not having a computer. The laptop donation will aide this, as well as offer access to valuable courses to help with education and employment.

The United Estates of Wythenshawe is a community centre home to many groups, including Mum’s Mart. Mum’s Mart have a new digital inclusion class to help people enhance their computer skills and the laptops are being used to support this, as well as being available to other groups.

James Wardlaw, Customer Support & Relationship Manager at Bytes, said

‘We’re immensely proud to have partnered with Zuto to donate laptops. It’s incredible to see how much good these devices will do at such a difficult time’.

Mary Beighton from Zuto commented,

‘We’ve supported Forever Manchester for a number of years and have always been inspired by their tireless work to support and fund community activities across Greater Manchester. Forever Manchester provides opportunities for businesses to make a difference to community groups at grassroots level, and their ethos aligns very closely with our ambition to use Zuto as a force for good in society. We hope the donation will help with the great work both Women’s Footprints and The United Estates of Wythenshawe are doing’.

Be The Best Communications launches new data-fuelled digital PR service

Sam Whitear
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Manchester-based agency Be The Best Communications has announced the launch of “Search PR” – its new data-fuelled digital PR and marketing division.

The agency has launched the new service in response to client demand for digital services after revenue increased by more than 80% in 2020.

“Search PR” combines multiple digital disciplines together into one strategic offering, including link building, SEO, social listening, search listening, and data analytics.

The result of this is a data-informed digital PR service, which works in tandem with the agency’s existing services of public relations, public affairs, and strategic communications.

The Ancoats-based agency offers these services independently or as part of a package.

The past year has widely been credited as the year of digital transformation after the Covid-19 pandemic forced businesses to move online.

UK internet usage more than doubled in 2020, as people stayed home during the coronavirus pandemic, according to data from Openreach, which runs much of the UK’s broadband network.

Chris Walker, founder and director of Be The Best Communications, said: “By harnessing the power of data we can provide more insight on our client’s target customers and then find better ways of communicating with them.

“I’m hugely excited to be launching our new Search PR function as the past year of growth has taught us that our clients really value our approach of bringing together different disciplines of communications to help them build better relationships, generate more sales and deliver results more quickly”.

Pixel Kicks celebrates raft of new account wins

Sam Whitear
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Pixel Kicks, the Manchester based full-service digital agency, has secured four new major client briefs from DOCAN, Avaris e-bikes, Synextra and Sensory Solutions.

Cheshire headquartered DOCAN is an engineering consultancy and software distributor run by professional engineers, consultants and designers. Its primary experience is in the application of advanced engineering and its services cover everything required for the engineering lifecycle including mathematical modelling, engineering design, pressure systems design, stress analysis, multi physics, thermo-fluids, system and process modelling and computer aided engineering. The project will see Pixel Kicks create a brand-new brochure website and it will provide ongoing digital marketing consultancy services.

For Avaris e-bikes, Pixel Kicks will be creating, launching and delivering a bespoke digital marketing campaign encompassing Pay-Per-Click services, SEO work – including content creation, as well as social media activity. The core aims will be to increase brand awareness, drive website traffic, and to improve performance of paid ads and sales.

Synextra, which is a leading cloud IT provider, has briefed Pixel Kicks to design and develop a modern and mobile responsive brochure website that will include a large blog library, a live chat facility, and a live quotation system. The new site is expected to go live later this year.

The final project is for Sensory Solutions which is a community interest company founded by the Seed SistAs who are two entrepreneurs who between them have decades of study and clinical practice in herbal medicine. The company sells online courses, books, and wide range of herbal products. Pixel Kicks will be renewing and harmonising their branding, and developing a fully responsive, optimised, and user-friendly ecommerce website.

Matt Hartley – principal sales and account manager at Pixel Kicks said: “These new wins are great news and are testament to the hard work, creative thinking, and proven results of the Pixel Kicks team. Each company is a leader in its respective field so we are really excited to be working with them. Our focus is now on delivering on every project and adding commercial value to our clients.”

LMO Properties appoint Regional Property Solutions to manage £5m portfolio

Sam Whitear
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Hale based LMO Properties has appointed Regional Property Solutions to manage its property portfolio of 13 commercial properties in Altrincham, Hale, Hale Barns and Bowdon.

Mark Oakes, managing director, LMO Properties, said: “RPS facilitated our very first lease over 10 years ago and we’ve worked closely with them ever since, primarily on acquisitions and lettings. In that time the portfolio has grown to an asset value of over £5m, so the time is now right for me to hand over the management side as well”.

The portfolio comprises a combination of single and multi-let offices, retail premises and an element of residential. Long standing occupiers include Lloyds Bank in Altrincham, Citybranch in Hale and Playon Football in Bowdon, as well as more recent tenants including Jaw Digital and Moonchild Tattoo in Hale.

Daniel Lee, managing director, Regional Property Solutions, said: “We have worked with Mark over the last decade acting on his behalf in the acquisitions, sales and lettings of all the properties and we are delighted take over the management of this high quality diverse portfolio, as well looking for further value added opportunities to expand the portfolio.

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