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Creative Spark appoint a new Creative Director to support their expansion

Manchester 1st March 2021; strategic branding agency Creative Spark has appointed a new Creative Director, Michael Nasralla ‘Naz’, the previous Design Director at White Rabbit. Naz’s appointment follows a number of new business wins at Creative Spark where his strategic branding and packaging experience will be invaluable.

Naz has over 20 years design experience managing studios both in-house and internationally, he climbed the career ladder while working in some of the best agencies in the North West. As Design Director at Equator Design Naz coordinated campaigns for global brands, he has in-depth experience in food & beverage branding plus vast understanding of digital and social campaign design.

Creative Spark, Founder / Creative Director; Neil Marra said; “We are thrilled to have brought Naz onboard. He is a heavy weight creative talent with a wealth of experience in the sectors we are specialising in plus he also brings digital and social experience that ties perfectly into our offer to clients. He has already started to work on some fantastic projects for us and I can’t wait till we can all get back into the studio to work together as a creative team.”

Creative Spark newly appointed Creative Director Naz said: “Despite starting work at Creative Spark mid lockdown, the team has been very welcoming and we’ve hit the ground running on client campaigns. Looking forward to working with the team in real life later in 2021.”

Truth Creative delivers brand identity and strategy for AIM-listed Time Finance

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Truth Creative has delivered a dynamic new brand identity and strategy for AIM-listed alternative finance provider Time Finance.

Formerly known as the 1pm plc Group of Companies, the Time Finance portfolio of financial solutions businesses are now clearly identifiable within a unified brand framework, supporting the group in building on its reputation as a recognised force in the alternative finance market serving UK SMEs.

Truth worked with the Time Finance team to develop and execute a rebranding strategy based on initial internal research.

Truth’s work for Time Finance includes brand strategy and guidelines, including developing a new look and feel for product and corporate adverts, exhibition banners, posters, website, and branded items, and managing internal communications relating to the rebrand launch.

Truth designed a new custom-drawn logo inspired by imagery suggesting the delivery of financial solutions in a way which is time-sensitive and trustworthy while supporting positive growth. The type used on the logo is bespoke. Truth continues to work with Time Finance to deliver work including digital outreach, SEO and PR.

The individual businesses within Time Finance have adopted the look and feel of the core brand and unify under one consistent identity.

Time Finance was initially formed in 1998. More recently they invested in a 5-year strategy to grow through acquisition. Having achieved a successful period of growth, resulting in the acquisition of seven trading entities, the firm is proud to provide or arrange £150m of funding annually for more than 20,000 businesses across the UK. Rebranding the group was the natural next step to combine the strength and vision of the businesses. Under one brand, Time Finance delivers financial solutions to support the growth ambitions of UK businesses through Asset Finance, Invoice Finance Loan and Vehicle Finance solutions.

Diane Blinkhorn, interim head of marketing at Time Finance, said: “Developing and launching a new brand identity and strategy for Time Finance has been a long journey and it’s fantastic to now be able to live and breathe the results of our work with Truth Creative.

“The stakeholder feedback we have received has been incredibly positive and we now look forward to continued growth as a recognisable force in the alternative finance market serving UK SMEs. I’d like to thank the team at Truth Creative for their hard work and support.”

Jo Scott, co-founder and Managing Partner of Truth Creative, which has an office in Manchester, said: “One of Truth’s great strengths is working with businesses to deliver brand strategies that support their growth ambitions. Our work for Time Finance is a great example of that.

“The group’s individual businesses already had a great reputation within the alternative finance market serving UK SMEs and they can now collectively share their combined success and vision. We are excited about building on our work to date for Time Finance with support across digital outreach, SEO and PR.”

Greater Manchester businesses receive over £60m of NPIF investment

Over £15m NPIF funding has been made since the first Covid-19 lockdown

Businesses across Greater Manchester have sought more funding than ever in the past 12 months, as the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF) announces a record £15m invested in organisations in the region between April 2020 and January 2021.

In total, NPIF has now invested over £60m into 175 Greater Manchester-based businesses, this includes £31m of equity finance, and £30m of Microfinance and Debt finance. These investments have attracted an additional £67m from the private sector.

Wythenshawe-based software platform FISSARA is one business that sought to support its customers in recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic. NPIF – Maven Equity Finance led a £250,000 funding round for the business, which included £125,000 from the UK Government’s Future Fund. This enabled the organisation to capitalise on new market opportunities created by the increasing importance of digital transformation projects, providing a software platform that helps organisations to manage their mobile workforce to more UK businesses.

Investment has also been used by businesses in the region to expand and increase staff numbers. One example is Oldham-based Linco Automotive Limited, which received a £100,000 loan through NPIF – FW Capital Debt Finance to recruit staff, secure premises and for growth capital.

Over the last year, NPIF has also been able to play a key role in providing loans backed by the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) to businesses impacted by the Pandemic. This includes Rockstar Spirits, a Worsley-based premium rum brand, received an NPIF loan backed by CBILS following the enforced closure of bars and pubs during lockdown as it shifted to a consumer-focused retail strategy. Following a five-figure investment from NPIF – BFS & MSIF Microfinance, managed by GC Business Finance & MSIF, the business strengthened its digital marketing presence and secured a new contract to list its range of products with Morrisons.

Lou Cordwell, Chair of Greater Manchester Local Enterprise Partnership (GM LEP), said: “Greater Manchester’s SMEs have shown remarkable strength and adaptability throughout the pandemic. Businesses have had to access funding for a variety of reasons, and the support of a responsive, local partner has been crucial.

“NPIF’s continued investment underlines the strength of Greater Manchester’s long-term economic prospects. We will look to SMEs to play a vital role in our city-region’s economic recovery, and so any business in need of support should contact the NPIF or the Business Growth Hub to explore its options.”

Sean Hutchinson at British Business Bank said: “Over the last year, we’ve been inspired by the innovation, resilience and creativity shown by SMEs across the North. In Greater Manchester alone, we’ve seen many examples of businesses that have responded flexibly to the national lockdown and challenges arising from the pandemic.

“NPIF remains open for business in 2021 and beyond, and we encourage any business thinking of applying for funding to get in touch with our team.”

The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund project is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank.

The Greater Manchester based distillery shows no sign of slowing down, securing a listing with a major retailer.

Zymurgorium, the prolific Manchester-based distillery and creator of award winning, never before seen gins, liqueurs and rums, has secured a listing with Co-op stores across Manchester and Lancashire, as the family run business moves firmly into the consumer market for 2021.

With the demand for craft spirits and the appetite for gin showing no sign of slowing down, Zymurgorium is making its artisan gins more accessible, as two of the brand’s biggest sellers, Zymurgorium Manchester’s Original Gin and Manchester Marmalade Gin, will appear on shelf from 15th March.

The brand which recently celebrated big wins in the People’s Choice Spirits awards received a runner up medal for Manchester Marmalade Gin in the Out Of The Ordinary category and winners of the Gin Fusion category for the Mandarin Dynasty Gin.

Managing director of Zymurgorium, Aaron Darke said: “Growing on the success of last year, securing a listing with the Co-op will now enable us to reach out further into the consumer market, expanding both our reach and appeal to new audiences. We have heavily invested in state of the art production and bottling facilities to increase our capacity, and listings like this help us along with our growth plans for this year and looking ahead to the future.”

Managing Director of the People’s Choice Spirits awards, Janet Harrison added: “ It was great to have submissions from Zymurgorium. We are so thrilled they achieved six finalists places, a win and a runner-up medal, what a fantastic result. Our judges loved Zymurgorium’s unique flavours and the stories behind the labels, judged in the first round by consumers, then our professional panel. We can’t wait to see their spirits on Co-op shelves.”

The Manchester Original Gin is a sumptuous and complex gin inspired by Manchester’s diversity of culture, spirit and undying passion. Beginning with slightly sweet floral fore notes, continuing on to spice with a finishing herbal touch. Never harsh due to being distilled with honey based Manchester vodka, its flavour is influenced by its secret recipe using 20 botanicals, some never before seen in gin distillation.

The Manchester Marmalade Gin features the iconic Duerr’s Manchester Marmalade. Created by macerating the Zymurgorium Manchester vodka with wild juniper and balancing botanicals, before blending in the key ingredient, the finest Manchester Marmalade crafted by Duerr’s, the UK’s oldest family owned preserves producer. Manchester Marmalade Gin combines the aromas of fresh marmalade, with a creamy, bittersweet citrus taste.

The listing with the Co-op forms part of Zymurgorium extensive expansion plans for 2021, with the Zymurgorium distillery based in Irlam, Greater Manchester, growing on the success of 2020, which included successfully completed the SALSA (Safe and Local Supplier Approval) standard, achieving fully compliant status on their audit first time round with award wins and their first ever celebrity collaboration with Gemma Collins.

The partnership with Co-op also holds great meaning to the Zymurgorium due to the shared environmental promise with a real focus on sustainability. The Co-op launched the ‘Future of Food’ ambition in 2018 looking at how we tackle sustainability challenges up to the year 2030.

Looking to create an environmentally sustainable operation, Zymurgorium has successfully saved 156 tonnes of glass to date, following on from switching to an eco-friendly bespoke embossed bottle, with 132 tonnes of CO2 saved in glass consumption. Further investments across the group will see in excess of 1000 Tonnes of CO2 savings banked.

Conducting its operations all under one roof including distilling, bottling, warehouse, and office functions, with state-of-the-art production and bottling facilities, the distillery has the incredible capacity to produce nearly 70 million bottles a year, equating to a staggering 20,000km if laid end-to-end.

The business was launched by Aaron Darke in 2013 with a multi-million pound investment into the development of a new distillery, state of the art bottling line; whilst developing a range of internal systems including implementation of the SALSA standard.

Known for its distinct industry innovations including the world’s first Parma Violet gin liqueur and the world’s first Ruby Chocolate rum, Zymurgorium has over 30 plus spirits and liqueurs in its range, including a host of new alcoholic innovations set to launch this year.

Cartime Wins Car Supermarket of the Year Award for Second Year Running

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Cartime, which has showrooms in both Bury and Rochdale, has today been announced as Car Supermarket of the Year in the Motor Trader Independent Dealer Awards.

It’s the second consecutive year it has been awarded the accolade, and “comes as a much needed boost to the team in what has been a challenging year”, says owner Matt Kay.

Cartime operates from three sites in the North West; its flagship operation on Bell Lane, a 4×4 Centre also in Bury and a showroom in Rochdale.

It is one of the biggest and fastest growing independent used car dealerships in the region stocking more than 1000 vehicles, from family saloons and 4x4s to high-performance sports models.

It was awarded the prestigious title of Car Supermarket of the Year by industry title MotorTrader.com. The award acknowledges and rewards best practices in the sourcing and selling of nearly-new and used cars by UK-wide businesses, specifically observing excellent customer service, customer engagement and setting standards.

While engendering continued growth and introducing innovative customer-centric services in normal trading times, during the pandemic, Cartime has also successfully pivoted its customer buying process to a remote, contact-free service. It already caters for a UK-wide audience with highly detailed vehicle descriptions and imagery on its digital platform, and has now added virtual appointments with sales advisers, contact-free test drives, click and collect and free delivery to the customer’s door to its services. It also offers 14 day returns on all cars.

Matt Kay said: “This is fantastic news for us, made even more special because we won the same award last year and it was a great boost to the business – increasing our confidence in what we were doing was exceeding the competition and most importantly as recognition for the hard work from the team. With any retail business you have to keep upping your game – responding to the needs of your customers and this is what we’ve done, even during lockdown when our showrooms were forced to close.

“The award enables us to reinforce to customers that we’ve reached a certain standard and our strong reputation is pushing us from strength to strength. I’m optimistic about the future as we look forward to welcoming customers back into the showrooms soon.”

Digitl celebrates double account wins

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Digitl, the eCommerce, marketplace and web design agency, has secured two new major contracts with Oldham Vending Services and Pure Wall Art.

Oldham Vending Services is a family-run business that has provided companies in the North West with reliable and cost-effective food and drinks vending machine solutions and specialist vending machine repair services for over 20 years. Last year, it was announced that the company would be Oldham Athletic’s front of shirt sponsor for the 2020/21 season as part of its 125th anniversary. Darren Ratcliffe, MD of Digitl, has previously been a board director at the club.

Pure Wall Art is a brand-new business that is being launched by Pure Invitation which has historically specialised in creating bespoke wedding invitations. Once it launches later this year, the new venture will sell wall art online alongside an optional framing service.

Further details on Pure Wall Art, including a ‘go live’ date, will be announced over the coming months. One unique feature will allow customers to specify the overall colour selection of some of the available designs. Digitl will be creating the new site from scratch and the project will include eCommerce elements.

Darren Ratcliffe – founder of Digitl – said: “We are really excited to be working with these two businesses. Our focus is now on creating websites for both that truly reflect the quality of the products and services they offer and help them achieve the next stage of their growth.”

Tech firm celebrates seven new client wins

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A Manchester-based tech company is going from strength to strength after a raft of new client wins.

Everything Tech has had an impressive start to 2021 with seven new customers signing up.

They include Manchester-based digital marketing agency Venn Digital; Beacon Installations; TFE Steel Fabrications; MicrosensDx; Paragon Brands; Virustatic; and Lavandi Talent.

Founder Lee Wrall, who is the sales and marketing director, said the impressive start to 2021 was on the back of a strong end to 2020 as the company looked to grow turnover to £3m this year.

He said: “We’re delighted to have picked up some excellent clients recently, especially in the digital services and software development space

“We’re really proud to have a customer retention record of more than 98 per cent and the seven new client wins take us to over 160 clients.

“We pride ourselves on offering a personal service. Gone are the days when you just fix things when they’re broken. You’ve got to be part of a company’s IT strategy moving forward and I think that’s part of our success.”

Brian Whigham, founder of Venn Digital, said: “Anyone can offer IT tech services but not everyone comes as highly recommended as Everything Tech. In a world where trust is at a premium I’m delighted I can trust Everything Tech with the next phase of our growth.”

Wrall said Everything Tech has also seen a big spike in demand from companies looking to support staff who are working from home.

He said: “Covid-19 forced millions of people to work from home and a lot of businesses have realised it’s actually gone okay. However with a lot of staff working on their own devices security is of paramount importance.

“Companies are recognising that they’ve got to change the way they do things. They’ve got to get rid of these cumbersome remote connection technologies that restrict people from being productive.

“Businesses need to get their data into the cloud and make it easy for people to access it while remaining secure.”

Everything Tech is a Microsoft Gold Partner and Wrall said demand for its Microsoft 365 expertise had continued to soar during the lockdown,

“We still do the managed IT support work but we’re different to a lot of other companies because of the stuff we do around the Microsoft modern workplace and improving the way people work,” he said.

Everything Tech is co-owned by Wrall, technical director Anthony Hautin and managing director Ruth Hall.

In 2020 the company signed a five-year lease with landlords Epsilon Real Estate Partners for the entire third floor of Hanover House, in Manchester city centre.

BLM re-elects Senior Partner Matthew Harrington for second term

Insurance risk and commercial law firm, BLM has re-elected Senior Partner Matthew Harrington for a second three year term, effective from 1 March 2021.

Matthew became Senior Partner on 1 March 2018 and works alongside Managing Partner Vivienne Williams, who was re-elected in July 2020 for a further three years.

In addition to growing its technology offering and analytics capability, Matthew set out his vision at the time of becoming Senior Partner to “continue our ambition of being a market leading firm operating in risk and insurance in the UK and Ireland with an international reach, together with a strong non-insurance capability to offer to a wider client base.” The firm’s Commercial Advisory & Private Wealth offering celebrated over 20 per cent revenue growth for 2020, a year in which it also welcomed a number of key hires and a wave of major new clients.

Commenting on his re-election, Matthew said: “It has been an absolute privilege to lead BLM over the last three years. In the midst of all the challenges of the past year, many positives have emerged, principal amongst which has been the way our colleagues have supported each other, backed our vision and embraced change. Their dedication and professionalism has meant we have continued to win new work from new and existing clients and that we have become a truly digital first firm; a key element of our strategy for the last three years.”

Matthew joined BLM in 2007 and has enjoyed a number of significant milestones: his extensive experience in client relationships, creating an office in Cardiff to extend the firm’s national footprint before joining the senior leadership team in 2014, when he became a member of the firm’s Partnership Board.

Women in Property announces new North West Chair

Women in Property has announced its incoming North West Chair for 2021/22. Eleanor takes the role as regional head of the property and construction industry influencer and networking organisation from 1 March, for one year.

Eleanor who has been a member of Women in Property for five years, is a Senior Land & Partnerships Manager at MCI Developments, based in Wigan where she specialises in acquiring land opportunities for affordable housing developments with Registered Providers across the North West.

The organisation sees the year ahead as presenting a great opportunity for individuals and businesses to build on the understanding, compassion and support evidenced in the industry over the past twelve tumultuous months. “As I take up the role of North West Chair of Women in Property for 2021 it seems likely that, with the vaccine rollout, our industry and our organisation will start to emerge from the lockdown we were in for most of 2020” said Eleanor.

“Property and construction will be at the forefront of the economic recovery and there will be tremendous opportunities for our members to contribute to that revival. I look forward to Women in Property returning to in-person meetings and events and continuing to promote the importance of inclusion and diversity in our sector, with more women taking active roles and participating as we rebuild, post-pandemic.

My five years as a member of Women in Property has allowed me to grow my network, and the organisation has increased its influence both locally and nationally. I look forward to working with my Committee in growing our membership as more women join the industry, looking to build their contacts with friendly support from fellow North West professionals.”

Alex Wood, Regional Managing Director at MCI Developments, said: “It’s great to see Eleanor take on the position as North West Chair at Women in Property. As a company, we’re keen to support more women into the industry and Eleanor’s new role is a testament to the crucial work she plays at MCI Developments. I wish Eleanor the best of luck for the coming year and I’m positive she will instigate change in the industry and will be an inspiration for other women looking for a career in construction.”

Since the pandemic started early in 2020, Women in Property has continued to support members, transferring CPD, informal events and mentoring online. The North West branch has run over 30 webinars, ranging from industry related subjects, personal development, CPD and social and wellbeing events, all of which are available across the national platform.

Eleanor will hold the role of North West Chair until 28th February 2022.

Double appointment boosts Ward Hadaway’s growing Built Environment Team in Manchester

Law firm Ward Hadaway has strengthened its Built Environment Team in Manchester with the appointment of two solicitors.

The firm has continued with its growth aspirations by appointing Emma Collins and Chris Devitt.

Emma joins as an associate solicitor and will be responsible for advising and providing legal advice to both landlords and tenants in the negotiation and settlement of leases including advising and negotiating lease assignments, surrenders and renewals. She will also work with the firm’s banking and finance and corporate partners in relation to both freehold and leasehold disposals and acquisitions.

She brings with her 14 years’ experience working as a solicitor in commercial property and held a similar position in her previous role, providing support to the corporate team in the acquisition and disposal of businesses and acting for lenders in corporate refinancing or new loan matters.

Emma and her partner have two children and took time out of her previous work to travel South America. Commenting on her role, she said: “I’m really excited to be joining such a great team. Ward Hadaway has a strong reputation within the sector and I am looking forward to working with the firm’s wide range of commercial property clients including developers, commercial lenders and national retail operators.”

Chris Devitt also joined the firm recently as a planning solicitor. He has been advising the firm’s housing developer clients and local authorities on section 106 agreements and deeds of variation. He is also advising on assets of community value designation, the pre-commencement of compulsory purchase orders and assisting with responses to a stop notice.

Chris qualified in 2016 at University of Law in Chester and joins from his previous firm where he started as a paralegal and qualified as a planning solicitor after completing his training in childcare law, planning and property.

Commenting on his appointment, Chris said: “I am really enjoying my new role and have been impressed with the knowledge and support from other colleagues within the firm. When I saw the position advertised, I had no hesitation in applying and look forward to building my knowledge and experience working with a range of clients here in the North West and further afield.”

Matthew O’Brien, a partner in the Real Estate Team which forms part of the Built Environment Team who also joined the firm in March last year, said: “I’d personally like to welcome Emma and Chris into Ward Hadaway. They will support our existing team and clients and its reassuring to see that we are still able to create new job opportunities and make key appointments in this current climate.

“Our Real Estate team in Manchester has grown three-fold in the last twelve months and demonstrates our commitment to further strengthen our service delivery to clients. I am looking forward to working with them both.”

Ward Hadaway’s Real Estate Team also operates from offices in Newcastle and Leeds.