An alternative SME finance provider that has helped almost 10,000 UK SMEs to grow and to thrive is eyeing a £125 million+ funding target over the next few years, as it celebrates 10 years in business.

Set up during the height of the credit crunch in 2008, Capify, based in Greater Manchester, has defied the odds to help almost 10,000 SMEs and retailers to raise funding, delivering much needed access to working capital in the form of merchant cash advances and alternative business loans to benefit the UK economy.

As it celebrates ten years in the UK, the company is lining itself up to support the expected annual festive spike in funding requests in 2018, as well as driving over £125 million into the UK economy to power small business growth and jobs over the next few years.

“We’ve used 2018 – our tenth year of operation in the UK, to reposition ourselves for growth,” said Capify’s Founder, President and CEO David Goldin. “We want to help more independent stores, SMEs and retailers to advance finance in a responsible way, in order to invest in their own futures, expand their businesses and capitalise on the opportunities they have.

“Over the next few years, we’re aiming to drive over £125 million pounds into the economy to help hundreds of small businesses to flourish, as well as educating more businesses about responsible alternative funding options open to them.

“With alternative finance providers like Funding Circle and ourselves growing year on year, I think many small and medium-sized businesses are waking up to the fact that there are so many more options than the big banks; that funding for growth can be simple and that providers like us really do want to support them in achieving everything they aspire to.”

For their 10^th year anniversary, Capify’s team of over 70-strong organised a day of celebration at the company’s offices in Altrincham and they were joined by the Mayor of Trafford, Cllr Tom Ross.

Visiting the site, Cllr Ross said: “Capify has a fascinating story and I was delighted to be able to help them celebrate their tenth anniversary in business. To start from nothing in the height of the credit crunch, then to grow and to be able to support many thousands of UK businesses to grow and drive jobs over the past ten years, is an incredible achievement.”

As well as commemorating the company’s performance, David Goldin and the Capify team laid out ambitious plans for growth.

And the company is also predicting another pre-Christmas spike in funding requests from retailers in 2018.

“Every year at Capify we see a big surge in requests to raise funding in the period between October and February,” David added. “And we’re expecting to continue that trend again this year, as SMEs look to invest in stock, seasonal staff and training, upscaling their marketing efforts and enhancing their environments.

“Simple, affordable and smart financial options to support this type of business growth is what we’ve delivered over the past decade and we very much see this continuing in the future.”

Agent Academy CIC, the social enterprise established to equip young people with the skills they need to succeed in the digital revolution, has achieved a major milestone, generating more than £2 million worth of salaries in the North West, through its pioneering, industry-designed skills programme.

Agent Academy provides young people the opportunity to break into the creative tech sector. To date, 70 young people from across the North West have benefited, securing full-time industry jobs as a direct result.

The technology sector has changed drastically and continues to evolve, and traditional education can often struggle to keep up. Many young people are leaving education without the skills to hit the ground running in the digital industry leaving them unemployed or working in low skilled, unsecure jobs.

The 2018 Centre for Cities Cities Outlook Report, states that 3.6 million jobs are at risk of disappearing by 2030 and policymakers should prepare the workforce of the future, by giving younger generations entering the labour market the right set of skills and knowledge to succeed in the jobs of the future.

To address this issue, full-service marketing agency, Agent, launched Agent Academy as a solution to the issues faced by 18-25 year olds who find themselves, post-higher education, without the skills they need to start careers in the creative and digital industries. As a social enterprise, Agent Academy is focused on developing values-led, socially aware young leaders who will go on to make a positive impact in their places of work and in society.

Agent Academy participants have gone on to secure employment at leading businesses across the region including Delloitte, Capital FM, Shop Direct, Sony Music, Sky and Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse.

Zoe Wallace, director of Agent Academy, said: “Agent Academy has stepped up to the talent challenge faced by the creative and digital industry by giving young people the opportunity to upskill and then kick-start their careers. The programme, which is free to young people, must remain dynamic and industry relevant and that’s why we have over 150 industry leaders co-creating the content and mentoring our students.

“Our students are finishing our programmes work-ready, fully versed in how the industry works and what is expected from them, as a result, the demand we have from regional employers is exceptional.

“Our Northern Powerhouse programme, working across Greater Manchester and Liverpool City Regions, promises to be our biggest programme yet.”

During the 12-week programme, students learn, and are inspired by industry leaders, coached by Academy staff, whilst working on a real-life brief set by a client. They leave Agent Academy equipped with the skills, knowledge, contacts and networks to secure jobs in the creative, digital and tech industries.

Zoe added: “We have a lot to look forward to next year. Despite the skills challenges faced by our region’s employers we can see real potential to deliver value into the creative and digital economies across the North and bring even greater opportunities to the region’s young people. We hope to double the £2m worth of salaries created so far in the year to come – we have big ambitions for growth and an inherent belief in the young people we’re supporting”.

National law firm Clarke Willmott LLP is expanding its Family department in Manchester with the hire of Emily Barcilon from Myersons, Altrincham.

Emily deals with the full range of Family Law issues that arise following divorce and separation including financial claims, cohabitation disputes and child arrangements. She has experience of dealing with hidden assets, complex and high value financial claims and where there is a pressing financial need to claim against a spouse or former partner.

Emily also acts for parents and grandparents in matters dealing with the day-to-day arrangements for children, cases where there are welfare concerns or where there are allegations of abuse or other issues affecting the whole family.

Partner Chris Longbottom, who leads the Family Law team in Manchester, said: “We are very pleased to welcome Emily to the firm. Her strong training and local background will be a great platform for her to build upon with us.

“Her appointment, following the recent growth of the Manchester office including the addition of the very experienced Private Client (Wills and Estates) team, is another demonstration of the firms’ commitment in the North and the national network of experts providing top quality and market leading advice to a range of individuals for their personal legal needs.”

Fletchers Solicitors is now ranked as a top 100 UK law firm, following a continued period of growth.

Fletchers Solicitors has made The Lawyer’s esteemed Top 100 list, which ranks the 100 largest UK firms by revenue, for the first time.

The law firm, which has offices in Southport and Manchester, has been working towards Top 100 status for the last couple of years and its investment is now being realised, reporting strong increases in turnover and profit.

In the last financial year (2017/18), turnover has increased by 43% taking it to £26.8 million.

Profitability (EBITDA) has increased from £1 million in 2017 to £6 million in 2018 due to the continued maturation and expansion of the medical negligence side of the business.

The law firm has also made a huge investment in its workforce to support its continued growth. Head count currently stands at 434. This has been significantly boosted by the opening of the Manchester office, which now has 50 medical negligence lawyers.

The development of the team will continue to be a major part of future plans, reinforcing Fletchers’ core values and reaffirming the reasons it was listed in both the Sunday Times 100 Best Places to Work in 2017 and Great Place to Work UK.

The firm will also continue its focus on becoming number one in the country in the medical negligence, serious injury and motorbike accident claims sectors.

Gary Carrington, chief financial officer at Fletchers Solicitors, said: “The whole team at Fletchers has worked incredibly hard to get us to the position we are now in. Making it into the top 100 UK Law Firms has been our goal for a number of years so we are delighted to make it into the list.

“We put people at the heart of everything we do, whether that is our customers or staff members, and this has led to our continued growth.

“While we are obviously delighted to have seen our profitability increase, we are pleased that this has been able to happen sustainably without compromising our values in any way.

“The legal sector is rapidly changing but thanks to our team members being prepared for this, we are confident that we have another good year ahead of us.”

The Mayfield Partnership, the public private partnership responsible for delivering a £1 billion transformative regeneration of the Mayfield area of Manchester city centre, has signed up to become an official supporter of the 2019 edition of the Manchester International Festival (MIF).

Staged every two years, MIF is the world’s first festival of original, new work, and brings together world-renowned artists from different art forms to create dynamic, innovative and forward-thinking premieres for Manchester.

The next Festival takes place 4 – 21 July 2019, with elements of MIF19 revealed later this year and the full programme announced early next year. MIF will also be the operator for The Factory, a new £110m world-class cultural space being built in Manchester and due to open late 2020.

Mayfield’s association with MIF stretches back to the fourth edition in 2013 when the atmospheric Mayfield Depot hosted a collaboration between documentary film maker Adam Curtis and Bristolian drum and bass pioneers, Massive Attack, as well as a series of live art performances curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist, Alex Poots, Asad Raza and Tino Sehgal.

It also hosted a huge celebration of MIF’s ten-year anniversary which included a rare live performance from Four Tet and a 12-hour extravaganza headlined by Carl Craig and Mike Banks at MIF15, before the festival returned in 2017. For this edition, Mayfield was home to the programme launch announcement along with two unique events: What if Women Ruled the World?, a film and performance project by Yael Bartana, and 10000 Gestures, a performance of experimental choreography created by Boris Charmatz, which have since gone onto tour in Berlin, Bilbao, Aarhus, Jerusalem and Vienna.

Commenting on the sponsorship arrangement, James Heather, U+I’s Development Director for Mayfield, said: “From the very beginning MIF has been about creating unique experiences which cast the city in a different light around the world. Mayfield has contributed to this on a number of occasions as there is nothing quite like the Mayfield Depot as an events space in the city.

“The fit between MIF and Mayfield is perfect: both are about being world class, about creating world firsts and about being internationally ambitious, pushing boundaries to create something which stands out on a global stage.”

Jenny Mungall, Development Director at Manchester International Festival added: “All of us at Manchester International Festival are delighted that the Mayfield Partnership is supporting us as Official Providers of the Festival, and of course to be back in the truly unique Mayfield Depot this Autumn as it hosts a series of Pre- Factory Events.

“We are a festival of extraordinary work, and the support of some 90 extraordinary partners across Manchester makes that possible.  The role that the Mayfield Partnership, and others in Manchester’s business community, takes in supporting a culturally vibrant city is inspiring and something that we, as a Festival, are hugely grateful for.”

Sir Richard Leese, Leader of Manchester City Council, said: “Innovation and imagination are central to Manchester’s identity as a city. Both MIF and Mayfield are great examples of this and the two are a natural fit.”