London
Lancashire
Cheshire
19.8 C
Manchester
Saturday, August 30, 2025
Home Blog Page 919

Weston Homes looks to recruit 350 in Manchester

Sam Whitear
-
0

Leading housebuilder Weston Homes Plc is focusing on youthful Manchester, home to one of the largest student populations in Europe, in its plans to recruit 350 new staff over the next 18-24 months: required to deliver the company’s £2 billion (GDV) new homes development pipeline.

The company’s recruitment drive in Manchester will culminate in a special Weston Homes Open Recruitment Event which will be held on Saturday 10 November (from 9am to 3pm) at The Lowry, Ballroom 1 at Pier 8, The Quays, Salford, M50 3AZ.

In the lead up to the Recruitment Event on the 10 November, Manchester’s population of 545,000 people will learn more about Weston Homes as the company rolls out a local promotional campaign including advertisements, recruitment videos, radio advertising and social media.

At the Weston Homes Open Recruitment Event at The Lowry, visitors will be able to meet with Jane Stock, Human Resources Director, and other members of Weston Homes’ Human Resources team to learn more about the company and the various forthcoming opportunities.

Visitors to the Manchester event, who are open to relocating for their next career move, will be able to learn about the forthcoming opportunities in engineering, planning and design, technical, commercial and construction. The company is looking for people from Manchester with a variety of different experience levels in these disciplines, to work at their head office in Essex or on their diverse range of developments in the South East.

Established in 1987 Weston Homes currently employs over 470 people, and has a development pipeline of 7,500 new homes, with a completed value of £2 billion. Due to this pipeline, the company is forecast to double in size over the next five years and needs to create 350 new roles across all disciplines within the business.

Weston Homes creates best in class residential property developments across southern England, focusing on economic hubs including London, Cambridge, Peterborough, Reading and Dartford. The company has in-house divisions covering design, planning, technical, manufacturing and construction.

Bob Weston, Chairman & CEO of Weston Homes, said: “Weston Homes has £297 million of forward sales and we have a 7,500 unit pipeline in order to keep up with customer demand. One of the challenges facing us is finding new employees to help maintain our fast rate of expansion. Our Weston Homes Open Recruitment Event in Manchester on 10th November is all about enabling people to come and meet with us, to learn more about our company, what a fantastic place it is to work, and the highly rewarding careers and benefits packages we offer. Manchester is a wonderful and vibrant place with a huge pool of talented people and we are excited about our recruitment drive’s focus in the north of England.”

Jane Stock, Human Resources Director at Weston Homes, added: “Alongside recruiting for these 350 roles we would like visitors to our open recruitment event in Manchester to learn about our passion for continually developing, rewarding and challenging our people. We aim to retain our people and ensure they have fulfilling careers with Weston Homes. We have a dedicated Learning Academy with a full-time Learning and Development Consultant focused purely on developing our employees and helping them be the best they can be. We offer internal development programmes including leadership and management, together with a suite of personal effectiveness courses and workshops.”

Far East Consortium and Alliance Manchester Business School host Northern Gateway tour for Chinese business leaders

Sam Whitear
-
0

Delegates from China enjoyed a fascinating tour of Manchester’s past – and a close-up view of a bold new vision for up to 15,000 homes on the north side of the city centre.

23 senior Chinese business and government officials were in the city on the latest instalment of the UK-China Infrastructure Academy, run by Alliance Manchester Business School (Alliance MBS) and backed by the Department for International Trade.

The visit to the city centre’s largest green space and park, MeadowSide, and the 390 acres Northern Gateway site taking in the Irk Valley, was hosted by Hong Kong-based development company Far East Consortium (FEC).

FEC introduced the Chinese party to the rich industrial and social history of the area, and led them on a tour of the Northern Gateway site. This investment partnership with Manchester City Council is planned to deliver up to 15,000 homes across north Manchester over the next fifteen years.

The Northern Gateway is forecast to generate more than £4bn of investment value by unlocking the residential development potential of 13 million sq ft of land from north of Victoria station through to New Cross, the Lower Irk Valley and Collyhurst.

The tour began at FEC’s £200m MeadowSide residential scheme which will provide 756 apartments, townhouses and penthouses and spearheads the transformational plans.

Gavin Taylor, Regional General Manager, said: “Far East Consortium (FEC) is working with Alliance MBS and the Department for International Trade to enhance UK-China commercial cooperation in infrastructure and development.

“We were delighted to host this part of the visit and support this programme, which brings opportunities and understanding between Chinese and UK businesses. We are glad to playing a part in the UK mission to attract further high-quality Chinese investment to Manchester and the UK.”

The visit was part of the week-long programme focused on regeneration projects, and included opportunities to learn from academics from Alliance MBS and industry experts as well visits to Wirral Waters, Manchester Science Partnerships and Sutton Cancer Care Hub.

The Academy is an executive education programme offering courses, seminars and workshops over the next three years (2018-2020). Previous programmes have focused on energy and rail and have heard speakers including the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham; Former Chief executive of Manchester City Council, Sir Howard Bernstein; Chief Executive of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Eamonn Boylan; and Chinese Consul General to Manchester, Dr Sun Dali.

Following the launch of the programme earlier this year, Minister for Investment, Graham Stuart said: “In 2017, China’s direct investment into the UK more than doubled to over £15 billion and as an international economic department, we’re excited to be involved in attracting foreign investment to all the regions of the UK through initiatives such as the UK-China Infrastructure Academy.

“China as a world leading economy and the UK’s sixth largest trading partner is an important market for British companies and the Academy is a great opportunity to strengthen our trading relationships with China.”

Be the Business’ Mentoring for Growth launched nationally after successful Greater Manchester pilot

Sam Whitear
-
0

Businesses across Greater Manchester are invited to join a new mentoring scheme which pairs senior figures from some of the UK’s biggest companies with ambitious SME leaders.

Following a successful pilot phase in Greater Manchester and Greater Birmingham and Solihull, Mentoring for Growth is now expanding nationally, and a new cohort of Greater Manchester businesses are being invited to join the scheme.

Leading companies which have already signed up as mentors include Accenture, Amazon, BAE Systems, Be the Business, BT, Cisco, EY, GSK, John Lewis Partnership, KPMG, McKinsey, Siemens UK and Sharing in Growth.

Combined these organisations have committed to provide over 130 high calibre mentors, offering SMEs the chance to gain invaluable insights and advice from some of the UK’s most successful businesses.

Mentees will benefit from expert support and advice over a twelve-month period to help them improve the productivity of their firms. Mentors will offer their personal expertise, inspiration and practical advice on a one-to-one basis to help local firms overcome any potential barrier to growth.

The Greater Manchester Mentoring for Growth programme is being led by GC Business Growth Hub, which has great local knowledge and a rigorous process to match prospective local mentees with the best possible mentor.

The Hub was closely involved in delivering the successful pilot scheme earlier this year and has been able to draw on mentors from its existing initiatives, including the Greater Manchester Manufacturing Champions Network, to accelerate the matching process.

Richard Jeffery, director of GC Business Growth Hub, said: “Mentoring is a very effective way to drive business growth and yet, as Be the Business’ research shows, many SMEs in the region have not benefited from this form of support.

“Of those that have, it’s clear the process can have a positive, transformational impact on the way they do business. I’m also proud that the Hub’s role in this programme at the pilot stage has helped lead to it to being rolled out nationally.”

Sir Charlie Mayfield, Chairman, Be the Business, said: “Mentoring is a proven way to help ambitious leaders become even more successful, and with Mentoring for Growth, some of the UK’s leading businesses are lending their experience. The feedback from our pilots in Greater Manchester and the West Midlands has been fantastic, so I am delighted that many more SMEs will be able to benefit from being mentored.”

Business Secretary Greg Clark, said: “Small businesses are the backbone of our economy which is why our modern Industrial Strategy is building the environment that ensures they continue to thrive.

“Mentoring for Growth delivered fantastic results during its pilot phase and is a great example of what can be achieved when large businesses share their insight with our small businesses to improve their productivity and help them grow.”

One of the pilot Mentoring for Growth programme participants in Greater Manchester was Rick Leach, company owner of Oldham-based Precision Pallets. He was matched with mentor Donna Blinco, an experienced business woman who currently leads the Lean improvement, Engagement and Communications team at GlaxoSmithKline in Cumbria.

Rick said of his experience: “Mentoring wasn’t something I’d ever thought about before, but taking part in the pilot proved to be a great introduction and Donna and I hit it off immediately.

“Initially we focused on manufacturing, productivity and workflow. I wasn’t really sure where to start, but Donna helped to change this. We also started thinking about areas like waste and management of staff. This directly led to some important re-organisation in the business, and crucially I’ve started delegating more too.

“I’m still working with Donna and we regularly talk on the phone, particularly around long-term planning for the business. The way I work has certainly become more structured and I’m also looking at working with other mentors, as well as encouraging some of my senior staff to also take part, too.”

Strategic Land Group boosts headcount with new hire

Sam Whitear
-
0

The Strategic Land Group (SLG) has boosted its headcount with the appointment of Guy Horswell as Land and Planning Assistant.

SLG is a specialist land promoter headquartered in Manchester. Its current portfolio has the potential to deliver around 2,500 new homes with a GDV of circa £400m.

Horswell joins SLG from Stags where he was Planning Assistant, supporting on a range of planning matters, including unilateral undertakings, pre-application enquiries, Neighbourhood Plans representations and permitted development rights.

Paul Smith, Managing Director of Strategic Land Group, said: “2018 has seen our portfolio continue to grow, with new sites coming on board throughout England and Wales – however, we remain committed to providing our clients with the very best advice and level of service and bringing Guy on board will support that continued focus. I’ve no doubt that Guy will be a great support to our team as we continue to expand, working with our landowner partners to release underused sites and bring new locations forward for much-needed new homes.”

Guy added: “The Strategic Land Group is a well-respected firm, largely due to its commitment to client care, focus on results and the technical talent and expertise within the team. It’s also a fast-growing business with sites spanning the country and I’m looking forward to working alongside Paul and supporting the team as SLG continues to grow.”

 Shoosmiths advises Allied London on multi-million pound funding deal for Enterprise City

Sam Whitear
-
0

Shoosmiths solicitors has advised Allied London on a £300m long-term funding partnership with Aviva Investors designed to create Enterprise City at the new St Johns neighbourhood in Manchester.

The multi-million pound investment will allow Allied London to deliver more than one million sq. ft. of commercial and leisure space, including TV and film studios, hotel/leisure and various property infrastructure across ten buildings.

Earlier this year, Shoosmiths also acted for Allied London when they secured Booking.com as the anchor tenant for 222,000 sq. ft. of space at Manchester Goods Yard, which forms part of Enterprise City’s tech campus.

Shoosmiths real estate partners Vaqas Farooq and Daniel Monaghan led on the deal, alongside partner Judy Fawcett and associate Laura Green.

Earmarked for the former site of Granada Television Studios, Enterprise City will provide spaces for start-ups and small and medium-sized entities, as well as production facilities for media companies and buildings designed to attract global brands and industry leaders.

Daniel Monaghan, said: “We are delighted to have been able to advise Allied London on such a monumental deal for the city. With such a large number of assets associated with the partnership, there were many complexities to consider to bring the deal to completion.

“Enterprise City is an extremely significant project for Manchester, which will not only drive the success of our regional economy but create a global platform for us to be seen as a leader and innovator in digital, media and enterprise clusters.”

Michael Ingall, owner and chief executive of Allied London, added: “Enterprise City is a concept Allied London has envisioned from scratch. Within 18 months, we have created something of significant value and importance for both Manchester’s business community and the wider North West region.

“The transformation, re-adaption of old disused commercial buildings and a dynamic masterplan for new buildings was the catalyst for creating a new enterprise community for use by today’s modern industry.

“We are very grateful to the team at Shoosmiths for all of their hard work in helping this exciting partnership come to fruition.”

Bromleys crowned at Pride of Tameside Business Awards

Sam Whitear
-
0

Law firm, Bromleys, has been crowned professional services business of the year at the Pride of Tameside Business Awards.

The trophy was presented at a gala dinner at Dukinfield Town Hall attended by more than 300 people and hosted by radio and TV presenter Andy Crane.

Councillor Brenda Warrington, executive leader of Tameside Council, opened the event and praised businesses across the borough. She said this year’s awards had received more entries than ever.

The professional services business honour is the second accolade for Bromleys in consecutive years at the awards. In 2017, the firm won the corporate social responsibility prize.

Bromleys’ latest honour also follows its success at the 2018 Manchester Legal Awards, where it was named small law firm of the year.

During the past 12 months, the firm has also retained Investors in People Gold status and the Law Society’s Lexcel quality mark and Conveyancing Quality Scheme accreditation.

Bromleys is a three-partner firm based in Ashton-under-Lyne which provides legal services to individuals, families and businesses across Tameside and Greater Manchester.

It has a 57-strong team which has been boosted by a series of key appointments to cater for a growing number of instructions.

Bromleys has also launched the Tameside Women in Business networking forum and has increased its sponsorship of Curzon Ashton FC for this season.

The judging panel, said: “Bromleys Solicitors are a consistent, excellent performer who have this year shown exceptional growth while achieving the Investors in People Gold award. They are a beacon of the borough.”

Bromleys’ senior partner Mark Hirst, said: “It’s a real honour to be recognised for the excellence of our service in a highly-competitive field. This accolade acknowledges the expertise, dedication and commitment of our team to the business and wider Tameside communities.

“Awards such as this make everyone at Bromleys realise just how much their efforts are appreciated and how they make a difference for all of our clients. It is a real boost for everyone at the firm.”

TCS welcomes new tenants to Piccadilly Basin

Sam Whitear
-
0

Town Centre Securities PLC (TCS), the Leeds based property investor and car park operator, has welcomed a raft of new tenants to its office portfolio in Manchester’s Piccadilly Basin. TCS has signed up five new occupiers across Ducie House and Carvers Warehouse over the last few months totalling more than 6,000 sq ft of office space.

Piccadilly Basin is a circa 13 acre award-winning waterside development adjacent to Piccadilly train station in Manchester City Centre. Existing commercial buildings in TCS ownership comprise circa 50,000 sq ft in addition to three CitiPark car parks and Urban Exchange Retail Park.  The wider approved Strategic Regeneration Framework for the area agreed with Manchester City Council identifies over 700 residential units, 200,000 sq ft commercial space as well as a new MSCP.

Following the recent acquisition of Ducie House in July this year TCS has seen some great early letting success with lettings to Manchester City Football Club to house its event management team; leading construction consultants, Scott Ripley Associates Ltd, which has expanded into Manchester from Leeds and new business start-up 3AM Ltd has launched, benefiting from the flexible office space being offered.

Scott Ripley Associates are also working with TCS on the future Eider House 128-unit residential scheme and on site project Burlington House, a new 91-unit apartment scheme due to be complete in the Summer 2019.

Ducie House is a former petticoat factory situated close to Manchester’s famous Northern Quarter and now forms part of TCS ownership at Piccadilly Basin. The 33,000 sq ft building currently provides contemporary flexible office and studio space from 100 to 4,000 sq ft across 64 units.

Signs are also good in TCS’ existing Carvers Warehouse where the recent letting to construction company GMI has now resulted in the building being fully let. The Leeds-headquartered company relocated and upsized from neighbouring 75 Dale Street, where it opened its first office in Manchester to establish a base in the North West following a string of wins in the City and a pipeline of further work in the region.

Following GMI’s relocation, the operations team from the luxury 5* Dakota Deluxe Hotel currently under construction at Piccadilly Basin will take up the space at 75 Dale Street.

Built in 1806, Carvers Warehouse is currently home to office tenants Civic Engineers, The Harris Partnership, CTP Limited, Max Fordham, Renaissance, BWB and café/deli operator, North Star Piccadilly. The sensitively restored, listed building comprises six floors of office accommodation.

Chris Collins, asset manager at TCS said: “We are delighted to welcome so many new occupiers to our prime office developments across Piccadilly Basin.  Manchester’s Northern Quarter continues to thrive and Carvers Warehouse, the city centre’s oldest surviving stone-built warehouse, has benefited from this success over the years.

“Ducie House is proving popular with businesses of all sizes from one desk start-ups to established businesses and we are pleased to sign up a range of new occupiers to add to the diverse tenant mix.

“With the recent success in both buildings, we are now working on an exciting strategy to refurbish both premises and have recently engaged with Prop Tech Company Wired Score to make sure these characterful historic offices are fit for the future and provide the connectivity that our modern tenants need.”

LSH Manchester strenghtens property management team with Baker appointment

Sam Whitear
-
0

Highly-experienced property and asset manager Anne Baker has joined Lambert Smith Hampton.

Formerly a partner at King Sturge in Manchester, Baker joins the LSH Manchester team following a career break and will be responsible for regional service delivery on behalf of the firm’s national clients.

She has worked on many complex and high profile projects across the North West during her career, including the set-up of 3 and 4 Hardman Square in Spinningfields, the management of 100 and 101 Barbirolli Square and Charter Walk shopping centre in Burnley.

Paul Jolley, head of property and asset management at Lambert Smith Hampton, said: “Anne is an incredibly talented operator who will bring a wealth of experience for our clients.

“Working closely with owners and occupiers, Anne will be able to help us devise and deliver detailed management regimes that truly add value to our service proposition.”

Speaking of her appointment, Baker said: “LSH has a deserved reputation for leading the market in so many areas of property advisory and is instructed on properties spanning a wide range of leisure, commercial and mixed use assets.

“I’m really excited to start working with our new and existing clients and finding ways to help them enhance their management service and maximise income and retention.”

GoSimpleTax celebrate 20,000th digital tax return

Sam Whitear
-
0

Digital self-assessment specialists GoSimpleTax this week celebrated the processing of its 20,000th digital tax return.

The Oldham-based business, which was founded three years ago, marked the occasion with a toast to its growing team.

GoSimpleTax offers a self-assessment solution that allows individuals to submit their tax return to HMRC without the need for an accountant.

Technical Director of GoSimpleTax Mike Parkes, said: “In just three years we have now processed 20,000 customer self-assessment tax returns, simply and efficiently. It reflects just how clearly modern, convenient digital processing is being embraced by so many businesses and individuals.

He added: “It was a very special moment for the team when our system logged this landmark number of returns. We look forward to supporting thousands more customers in making their self-assessment hassle free and cost-effective.”

The technology behind GoSimpleTax allows for results to go straight to HMRC, making it a one-step and truly hassle-free method for self-assessment.

The company’s unique software uses artificial intelligence to give users prompts to help them calculate their correct tax. For example, it reminds users of expenses they may have forgotten to claim, such as road tax when they have claimed fuel.

Bruton Knowles champions charity fundraising in Manchester

Sam Whitear
-
0

National property consultants, Bruton Knowles, has launched a new charity partnership with Cancer Research UK, with a target of £30,000 to raise over the next two years.

To raise as much money as possible, Bruton Knowles has internally recruited a Charity Champion. Based in the Manchester office on Northenden Road, Katie Limbert, Administrator, will be responsible for spearheading the fundraising initiatives within her team, organising events ranging from creative bake offs to sponsored sleep outs and charity auctions.

Bruton Knowles has always made charitable giving a priority, however, this is the first time in its history that the company has selected only one charity to focus its fundraising efforts on. Those wanting to contribute can do so via the Bruton Knowles Manchester Cancer Research Giving Page.

James Bailey, Managing Partner at Bruton Knowles, commented: “As a company, charity work is incredibly important to us, as it is integral to our business values and allows us to be involved in our local communities. This year, we decided to focus on one charity in particular. With Cancer Research UK carrying out pioneering research and making life-saving progress, we knew it was the right charity to choose for the two-year partnership. We also set ourselves an ambitious target, but it’s one that we know we can achieve.

“The Charity Champion has been provided with a great opportunity to work with their office to develop a programme of fundraising events that will reflect the team’s passion as well as providing a challenge, which is something we enjoy at Bruton Knowles. Creating a Charity Activity Calendar will capture all of our activities and will include supporting the national Cancer Research UK events such as Race for Life, which our employees will want to participate in.”

Recent research shows that today, 2 in 4 people survive cancer[1]. Cancer Research UK works tirelessly to accelerate this progress, with the aim to see 3 in 4 people surviving in the next 20 years, and has already helped double UK survival rates over the last 40 years. For every £1 donated, over 80p is available to spend on beating cancer, with the rest used to raise funds for its future work.

James Rogers, Gloucestershire Fundraising Manager at Cancer Research UK, added: “I am delighted to see the launch of our charity partnership with Bruton Knowles and am excited to be supporting them over the next two years, on our mission to raise £30,000. Over the coming weeks and months, I will be working closely with the Charity Champion on a range of fundraising challenges, events and campaigns.”

1...918919920...1,039Page 919 of 1,039
About us

Business Manchester is the leading Manchester Business magazine covering all the important Business stories in the Manchester area.

Company

Terms and Conditions

Subscribe to our newsletter
Business Manchester will use the information you provide on this form to be in touch with you and to provide updates and marketing.

© 2024 BusinessManchester.co.uk | All Rights Reserved.