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Vistry Partnerships completes Manchester Extra Care Apartments

Sam Whitear
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Vistry Partnerships has finished building its Brunswick Extra Care facility near Manchester Piccadilly Station and has handed over 60 specialist apartments to Manchester City Council and members of S4B Consortium.

The completed residential community replaces the existing Elizabeth Yarwood Court retirement home, and each of the high-quality apartments have been purposefully designed with elderly locals in mind.

Residents will benefit from a range of on-site facilities, including a café/bistro and hair salon, accessible to visitors and the local community. There is also a residents’ lounge, activity room, and office space for residents and their guests to enjoy.

Following the completion of the site, Brendan Blythe, Vistry Partnerships’ Managing Director JV’s for the North West, said: “The Brunswick project is a great scheme for the area, providing much-needed, high-quality housing for the city’s older residents. There is a real need for more homes across the UK, especially extra care apartments, so we are thrilled to have delivered such a prominent scheme that guarantees the local community’s elderly residents can continue to live in suitable surroundings close to the city centre.”

S4B Consortium, made up of Vistry Partnerships, Onward, Mears and Equitix, is responsible for overseeing the £100m transformational plans for New Brunswick. Overall, the partnership is delivering 522 homes adjacent to the University, as well as retail units, roads, pedestrian footpaths, play areas, cycle routes and recreational space.

The flagship regeneration project, which first began in 2014, has already seen the delivery of 120 social homes with dozens of residents now living in the properties close to the city centre.
The completed facility has been handed over to Manchester City Council and S4B member Onward to manage going forward.

Cllr Suzanne Richards, Manchester City Council’s Executive Member for Housing and Regeneration, commented: “Ensuring that we have the right homes to meet people’s needs as they age is an important part of our housing plans for the city. As we get older we may wish to rightsize our home or we could need some additional care and support. Extra Care housing provides that option while also maintaining a community of people who want to stay in their local area as they get older.

“The transformation of Brunswick for local people has been a real success story and this new facility for local residents is another important piece of the regeneration. Having had chance to visit the scheme before it opened, I can honestly say it has one of the most sought after sun terraces in the city with amazing panoramic views right across the city centre. I can’t wait to hear what residents think as they move into their new homes.”

Student Driven Media Agency Launches in Manchester

Sam Whitear
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A student driven media agency launched their second office in Manchester. The company pairs independent businesses with paid local students who help them manage their social media accounts, run paid ads and create engaging digital content.

Founded in 2017 by, then student Jack Allan, the agency has grown and served over 70 clients across Scotland and offered paid creative and marketing opportunities to over 100 students. He said “we’re really excited to bring our businesses to Manchester, there seems to be a buzz about the city and we’ve already met some fantastic independent business and some seriously creative students.”
The agency’s office is headed up by recent Sheffield Hallam graduate, Emma who is keen to get started and see what Manchester has to offer.

Recent Management buyout of Lift Safe Ltd, ensures continuity of staff and services in the Oldham based company

Sam Whitear
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Owner, Jerry Hanss, started Lift Safe Ltd 20 years ago as a supplier of ergonomic handling equipment and is delighted to sell his majority share of the business to colleagues, whilst retaining a 25% share.

Commenting on the timing of the transaction Jerry said: “Years ago I worked for a large American organisation and always wanted to do my own thing. Back then it was a now or never moment and I took the plunge and set up my own company. Now once again the timing seemed right, and I am pleased that three members of the team have formed a management buyout.”

The sale gives the 28 staff at the site in Hawksley Street, Oldham, job security and more importantly, continuity in the workplace. It keeps intact a team that enjoy working together and who deliver results based on their product knowledge.
Jerry stated “This deal works well for all involved. In recent years I have talked to several potential third- party purchasers but was mindful that this meant uncertainty for my staff. The deal we have done removes that uncertainty and I have retained 25% and so will be involved in a transition phase on the board for the next three to four years. More importantly I feel I am leaving the business in safe hands.”

Buyers, Jamie Radcliffe, Bobby Cullen and Rebecca Parker now have part ownership of the business encompassing Lift Safe Ltd, which supplies ergonomic handling equipment to a vast range of worldwide industries, as well as ePowerTrucks, specialising in road legal electric trucks, electric street vacuums, electric pedestrian tow tugs and a wide range of electric multi- passenger vehicles. The sale also includes the leasing arm of the business, Mueller Donnelly Finance Ltd.

Commenting on the purchase and their plans, Jamie Radcliffe said: “We are now well placed to push the business on and have plans for a turnover of beyond £10million. With green issues taking ever increasing priority, most businesses are looking towards electric options and we have a fantastic client base, which is growing, and a great product suite of on and off-road electric vehicles, alongside a wide range of lifting products.”

This exciting time for the company comes as an increased number of UK cities have introduced Clean Air Zones to address illegal limits of air pollution and have been proven to be the most effective way to address change. Last-mile delivery of postal and parcel service vehicles have shown to be most toxic for health due to the nature of their short journeys undertaken in urban environments which have seen a boom during the pandemic as online shopping increased. This means that zero-emission electric vehicle sales have accelerated to accommodate the inevitable change-over that companies need to make if they are to continue business in inner cities, at a time when Lift Safe Ltd’s ePowerTrucks is positioned as one of the UK’s leading electric vehicle providers.
Jerry and his wife Elizabeth were advised by David Middleton from Cole Associates Corporate Finance, Richard Massey from Christian Douglass, Dave Meredith and Keith Kennedy, of Pearson Solicitors and Financial Advisers.

The management team were advised by Brabners Solicitors.

Passion for gaming lands talented writer career opportunity with By Gamers for Gamers

Sam Whitear
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A lifelong passion for gaming has secured a talented writer his dream job at pc gaming and tech publishing house, By Gamers for Gamers (BGFG).

Craig Robinson joins the rapidly growing firm as staff writer for one of its newest sites, Esports Verdict.com.
In his new role, he will create compelling unbiased gaming guides, write up the latest Esports news and be responsible for crafting content for various best of / buyers hardware and peripherals guides, how-to game guides, and tips for an Esports audience.

He will also play a key role in driving the sites’ growth by using SEO insights to inform content and being on the pulse of the latest Esports goings-on.

Craig has been a gaming fan since he received his first PS2 console for Christmas in the early 2000s.
Overtime, he developed a passion for gaming and wanted to get “under the skin” and investigate what made games a success.
He developed an interest in PC gaming and created accounts for games like World of Warcraft and League of Legends, two of his all-time favourite games.

Such was his passion, Craig started to write in-depth reviews in his spare time and when the opportunity came up to make writing about gaming his career, Craig jumped at the chance.
“This is the perfect job for me,” he said. “Gaming has been a pastime and a passion for as long as I can remember, and I really love getting under the bonnet and finding out how games work and what makes them popular and successful.

“I started writing about them just for myself at first but then I shared my views on review sites and I was able to engage with others, and it just went from there.
“Being able to share my thoughts, insights and recommendations with the wider gaming community is amazing and to do it at such a thriving and exciting firm is just unreal.”

By Gamers for Gamers was founded in April 2019 by brothers Andrew and Craig Kirkcaldy and Will Blears after the trio spotted a gap in the market.
The Manchester-based firm comprises a team of experienced, passionate individuals dedicated to bringing readers the best in unbiased PC tech, gaming, and Esports news.

With millions of readers each month, its continued purpose is to provide readers with unbiased hands-on reviews and practical buying advice as well as tips to get the most out of their tech and gaming setup.
Co-founder Will Blears said: “BGFG is all about passion and insight and it’s great to welcome writers like Craig Robinson on board.

“Like our readers he’s a passionate gamer and he wants to share that passion with his audience. We were so impressed by his drive and determination to succeed that we just had to make him a part of the team.”
Craig’s appointment is part of a UK-wide recruitment drive to attract the best talent in gaming and follows a recent £1m of investment.

To find out more about careers at BGFG, please visit www.bgfg.co.uk/careers.

pro-manchester strengthens board with new appointments

Sam Whitear
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pro-manchester has welcomed CEO and founder of fintech firm, OpenMoney’s Anthony Morrow as it’s new chair alongside new board appointments. He is joined by new board member The University of Manchester’s Rachel Kenyon, Kennedy’s Partner Alison Loveday was also re-elected to the board for the third time whilst Together Money’s Sean Williams will act as Deputy Chair for the year ahead.

Morrow and fellow board members were officially elected to the post in the organisation’s annual general meeting where members of the 300 strong member firm organisation are invited to vote for board members for the coming year. The Board which helps lead the strategic direction of the organisation now consists of outgoing chair EY Partner, Jenn Hazlehurst, Eversheds, Alistair Cree, Electricity North West’s Steve Cox, Mid Communications, Danny Simpson, Nick Rose of Sharp, alongside pro-manchester CEO Sam Booth, COO Nicola McCormick and Finance Director Isabel Riley.

Anthony Morrow will deliver his first address as Chairman at a studio-style event streamed live on Wednesday 7th April from Kimpton Clock Tower.

Speaking about the appointments, CEO Sam Booth said

“ We are delighted to welcome some new faces to the pro-manchester board and to see the re-election of some of the board members who have worked with us for several years. It has been a time of challenge and change for many businesses, but the mood across our membership is of optimism and we are looking forward to working alongside our newly formed board in the months ahead”

Bridges backs Matrix Telematics to support safer, more efficient driving

Sam Whitear
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Bridges Fund Management (“Bridges”), the specialist sustainable and impact investor, is delighted to announce a new partnership with Matrix Telematics (“Matrix”), a fleet telematics and software provider that helps to improve driver safety, prevent accidents and reduce emissions. The investment values the business at over £60m.

This is the first transaction that Bridges has completed in the North since it established a permanent presence in the region in December 2020.

Bridges is backing the existing management team led by CEO Mark Packman, who founded Matrix in 2001 alongside Wayne Shillito. The Altrincham-based business uses data captured from in-vehicle telematics devices to create intuitive, highly detailed reports of vehicle and driver performance, enabling fleet managers to identify both safety risks and opportunities to reduce fuel and ‘wear and tear’ costs. Its pioneering DRiiVE solution also offers ‘occupational road risk management’: real-time driver monitoring and proactive tailored interventions that help to improve driver behaviour.

In 2019, road traffic accidents accounted for 1,750 deaths and 125,000 serious injuries in the UK, and around a third of these incidents involved people driving for work. Most occupational drivers receive no specialist training throughout their career. By improving driver safety performance, the solutions offered by Matrix can help to reduce speeding, collisions, accidents and deaths, which in turn reduces fleet insurance premiums. And by reducing fuel usage, they also drive lower fuel emissions across the fleet. This creates a compelling proposition for fleet managers, which is why the UK market for services like these is forecast to grow strongly, hitting £1bn p.a. by 2025.

Mark Packman, CEO at Matrix, said: “We’re delighted to partner with Bridges. We were looking for an investor who not only shared our vision and ambition for the company’s growth, but also really understood our mission to improve driver safety and reduce accidents on our roads. Their experience of scaling companies like ours – plus their impact expertise in powering better outcomes – will be highly beneficial as we enter the next phase of our growth.”

Bridges, which is investing through its Sustainable Growth Funds, is backing Matrix in line with two of its four key impact themes: Healthier Lives and Sustainable Planet. The investment was led by partner Simon Braham, who recently joined the firm to establish a new base in Manchester dedicated to investments in the North. Daniel Knight, Kyle Bentwood and Laura Noorani also worked with Simon on the deal.

Simon Braham, Partner at Bridges, said: “Matrix’s industry-leading telematics and software can play an important role in reducing traffic accidents and making our roads safer, while also supporting the push to reduce carbon emissions from transport. We’re excited to partner with Mark and his excellent team: with its highly scalable SaaS model, leading-edge technology and strong customer relationships, Matrix is very well placed to lead the growth of this market in the coming years. It’s also a perfect example of the kind of exciting mission-driven businesses we’re looking to partner with in the North-West – and the North of England more broadly – in the coming years.”

Finance Link secures £50k BBLS loan to drive digital marketing growth

Sam Whitear
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Finance Link, a car finance specialist, has secured £50,000 from social impact lender, GC Business Finance, through the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) funded by Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA).

Based in Trafford Park, Finance Link simplifies car financing by searching its large network of lenders to find the best finance agreement for every customer. Offering a great customer experience regardless of credit history, it gets clients in their new vehicles swiftly with an affordable monthly payment at a competitive rate.

Jake Bulger founded Finance Link in February 2020, but the coronavirus pandemic hindered its growth and forced Jake to take on other work while running the business part-time. After securing a £50,000 BBLS loan from GC Business Finance, Jake invested in a digital marketing campaign to increase awareness of Finance Link and secure new leads. As a result of the campaign’s success, Jake has been able to take the business full-time and focus on its growth as lockdown restrictions ease.

GC Business Finance is an alternative finance provider for businesses unable to obtain finance through their regular bank. It offers loans ranging from £500 to £500,000, including CBILS, start-up loans, equity investment, export finance and micro finance. In November, it became the first local authority-backed delivery partner to offer BBLS loans when GMCA pledged £10m emergency funding to support businesses in the region.

Jake Bulger, Founder at Finance Link, said: “The BBLS loan from GC Business Finance has been a godsend. As a new business, it really took the pressure off and enabled us to focus on our growth plan. Since launching our digital marketing campaign, Finance Link has gone from strength to strength, and we are looking forward to further growth as employees return to the office in the near future.”

Andy Nichols, Senior Loan Manager at GC Business Finance, said: “The last 18 months have been really tough for businesses, so we’re proud to have helped Finance Link to get off the ground and achieve impressive growth with a five-figure BBLS loan. Jake deserves a lot of credit for navigating the business through the challenging circumstances presented by COVID-19, and we are excited to see where Finance Link goes next.”

FIRST SPADE HITS THE GROUND AT AMBITIOUS NEW SALFORD DEVELOPMENT

Sam Whitear
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SALFORD is to benefit from 127 new homes as an ambitious building project from Pendleton Together and leading national housebuilder Lovell Partnerships gets underway.

Pendleton Together, part of the Together Housing Group, is already leading regeneration and managing more than 1,000 properties on behalf of Salford City Council. Now Lovell Together, a joint venture between Lovell Partnerships and Together Housing Group, will deliver 127 two, three- and four-bedroom mews and semi-detached modern, energy efficient properties, 17 of which will be affordable homes for social rent.

Work at the site, which is set to become one of the largest residential regeneration projects in Greater Manchester, got underway this week. This initial phase is part of a wider masterplan, which benefits from outline planning for more than 1,000 homes.

Salford City Mayor Paul Dennett said: “It is fantastic news to see construction start on site as part of our long-term commitment to Pendleton.

“So far the regeneration has seen improvements to council homes in the area with 344 new family homes and apartments built. Of these 35% are affordable homes for rent.

“The new parks and play areas built in the first phase will be added to with 15 new allotments for local people.

“The four wheelchair accessible units will help meet the need for more adapted and accessible new homes. The first phase also saw the creation of 197 new jobs and it is great to see our partners committing to local employment opportunities and apprenticeships in the same way.”

Lee Sale, regional managing director at Lovell Partnerships, said: “Starting on site is always an exciting milestone for us as it signifies the start of our journey delivering much needed homes in the North West. This scheme is fantastic as the homes will all be modern properties that are considerably more energy efficient than current building regulation standards thanks to enhanced fabric thermal improvements.

“The development will also provide much needed affordable housing – with more than 20% of the affordable homes designed to wheelchair access requirements – and will rejuvenate the local area in line with the council’s vision.”

He added that the development will benefit not only those who wish to rent or buy the properties, but also the wider Salford community: “Lovell Together will also be implementing a social value scheme to ensure we engage and give back to the local community.

As well as high-quality homes – many of which meet lifetime homes internal space standards – the scheme will also feature several innovative approaches such as a cycle street linking into wider Salford cycle routes, rain gardens – planted areas on the main street to help with natural drainage – and adjacent allotments for the community to enjoy.

Kevin Ruth, deputy chief executive of Together Housing Group, said that partnership working was helping housing associations to make a real impact: “Pendleton Together has always been about Together Housing Group, a major northern social landlord, working together with partners to help build not only homes but great places.

“This joint venture sees the Council’s visions realised and demonstrates how housing associations can work across sectors to help address the housing needs of the region effectively.”

The Pendleton project will be delivered by the Lovell Together joint venture, which launched in 2020 and is set to deliver 3,000 new homes in the next five years.

The JV vehicle will create much needed quality developments, form new communities and meet housing delivery targets across not only the North West but also the East Midlands, Yorkshire, and Humberside.

KOMI Group’s ARK Media predicting 40% growth over next 12 months

Sam Whitear
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ARK Media – the licensing, syndication, and rights management division of Manchester-based the KOMI Group – is predicting its revenues will increase by 40% over the next 12 months.

ARK Media handles the licensing and distribution of KOMI’s produced, acquired and licensed content for use across editorial, TV production and brand/ad segments. Earlier this year, Terry Pierce joined as its new Head of Distribution and Partnerships from Newsflare. His previous roles also included positions at Elisa and Sky Sports.

The last six months has seen significant investments in Ark’s infrastructure including the creation of a brand-new website and an improved process for content submissions and processing.

User Generated Content (UGC) is a growing sector with more and more brands and publishers utilising it. According to the Ark Media team, its ambitions will be realised thanks to the reach and engagement KOMI’s media brands enjoy, as well as the in-house expertise and original content being produced by its stablemates. It’s then Ark’s mission to maximise its expertise in sourcing, curating, packaging and matching the right kind of content to clients who have a clear need to engaging video.

Terry said: “The need for great short form content is growing all the time. The simple fact is that there isn’t enough high-quality, engaging content available to publishers, and it can be difficult to find, so our focus is on aligning real quality content with our publishing partners and clients in as seamless way as possible. The work we’ve put in over the last few months has laid the foundations and will help to propel our growth quickly.

Terry added: “We are also acutely aware of our place in the attention economy. Our clients and publishers on all platforms aren’t just competing against each other, but also anything that makes someone pick up their phone or device for short periods. Ark’s role is to find and then connect the very best content sources to our clients, giving them the engaging content they need to build and delight their audiences.”

The KOMI Group is a three divisional agency business consisting of dedicated social media, marketing, and licensing teams. It was founded in 2016 and is led by Andrew Trotman and Ryan Williams. Over the past four years, its team of content creators, analysts and video producers have made and then distributed video content and viral campaign adverts for international brands such as BBC Films, O2, Universal, Bud Light and Disney.

Content has been shared across its Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram and LinkedIn accounts including It’s Gone Viral, which is dedicated to relatable, informative and educational content; as well as Go Fetch, a platform for dog lovers to connect with one another; Happiest, which focusses on bringing the most entertaining and uplifting content and real life stories; and Ultimate which is all about sharing fascinating and clever DIY, crafts and hacks followers can do at home.

The last year has seen the company reach other various milestones including launching ARK Media – its new licensing arm, delivering over six billion views across its portfolio of in house brands, relocating its HQ to Beehive Mill in Ancoats, reporting its highest ever NewsWhip results, acquiring social media brand Happiest Media Ltd and appointing Urban Splash’s Sam Lenehan as its new non-exec director.

HOST announces partnership with Unity to launch the UK’s first-ever Centre of Excellence at Media City, accelerating innovation in video gaming, digital media and immersive technology

Sam Whitear
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HOST, Salford’s Home of Skills & Technology at Media City, today announced its partnership with Unity (NYSE: U), the world’s leading platform for creating and operating real-time 3D (RT3D) content, to establish the first Unity Centre of Excellence in the UK.

The Centre of Excellence at HOST will offer extensive in-person support to students, professionals and small businesses with a mission of becoming the ‘Beacon of the North’ for best-in-class technical skills and innovation across industries. According to XQ Institute’s report High School & the Future of Work, the biggest change between the workforce today and the workforce in 2030 will be the demand for advanced IT and programming skills. This Centre of Excellence will upskill learners to prepare for the jobs of tomorrow, promote immersive technology usage across sectors, create highly skilled jobs and establish a central home for the thriving UK video games industry at MediaCityUK.

Creators, ranging from game developers to artists, architects, automotive designers, filmmakers, and more, use Unity to make their imaginations come to life, with an average of 5 billion downloads every month in 2020. While the UK video games market hit a record high of £7 billion last year as lockdown caused an unprecedented surge in the popularity of mobile games, consoles and virtual reality headsets.

In line with HOST’s commitment to removing the present barriers impacting diversity and inclusivity, the Centre of Excellence will launch a comprehensive training programme working with UK universities and industry to deliver professional Certified Unity training.

Additionally, the Unity Cadets will support 150 disadvantaged youngsters from Greater Manchester in Years 10 to 13, to educate and inspire career starts in the gaming and immersive sector.

“This is an incredible coup for us, we are immensely humbled and privileged for Unity to have chosen us. We can now massively accelerate startup growth, business innovation, incentivise the creation of thousands of jobs, and provide fair access to high-quality career starts with ground-breaking initiatives such as the Unity Cadets,” said Mo Isap, CEO of IN4.0 Group, operators of HOST. “Unity is the leader in real-time 3D development so the Centre of Excellence at HOST will establish MediaCityUK as a global destination for the growth of the gaming and immersive technology industry. The Centre of Excellence is another major asset in our world-leading digital city region. Designers, developers, and artists collaborate through Unity and create a fantastic bridge between creative and technical worlds. Greater Manchester is blessed with the most integrated and diverse digital ecosystem, a foundation upon which our partnership with Unity will drive a job-rich recovery.”

“Immersive technology such as AR and VR is developing and diversifying at breakneck speed, transforming all sectors, including gaming, entertainment, health, education, retail, manufacturing, and more,” said Ryan Peterson, Vice President, Solutions, Unity. “The most exciting and long-lasting impact will be our work to create sustainable job opportunities in the local sector and, in tandem, develop professionals with the skills to take on those opportunities.”

HOST, formerly known as The Landing, has also secured a partnership with Gameopolis, the largest video games community and network for developers and publishers across the North West. It is also working in partnership with the University of Salford and former Sony PlayStation ‘imagineer,’ Dr Maria Stukoff, who is supporting with the development of its esports and XR immersive community.

Stephen Wild, Managing Director of MediaCityUK, said: “This partnership is transformational for the scale and quality of immersive content which will be generated from MediaCityUK. We are already seeing dock10 trailblaze in their virtual broadcasting capabilities and coupled with advancements in video gaming, esports and immersive technologies, MediaCityUK will be firmly positioned as the UK home for immersive entertainment. It will also drive job creation and many opportunities for like-minded SMEs to cluster around.”

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