MAG, the UK’s leading airport group, has successfully raised £350m in the UK capital markets through the issuance of a 25 year bond, at a competitive interest rate coupon of 2.875%. MAG has disclosed that the order book for the bond was 4 times oversubscribed, totalling c.£1.4bn.

MAG plans to use the proceeds of the bond to fund the significant and transformational capital investment programmes that the Group is undertaking at its airports as well as for general corporate purposes.

For example, the Manchester Airport Transformation Programme (MAN-TP) is well underway, having started in 2017, with a new pier and multi-storey car park, as part of an expanding Terminal 2, now fully operational. Overall, the £1 billion programme of work will allow the airport to serve more passengers in its terminals and make fuller use of its current runway capacity.

Neil Thompson, Chief Financial Officer for MAG, said: “The success of the bond is a testament to the strong financial performance of the Group over several years. The bond was supported by almost all the key blue-chip UK institutional investors and demonstrates the confidence those investors have in the future growth strategy for MAG and its track record.

“Our significant investment at Manchester and London Stansted airports, which is already well underway, is already improving the experience for passengers and airlines using our airports. Looking ahead, the investment we are delivering will be transformative and allow our airports to further unlock their significant future growth potential.”

Wonderful.Org, the Manchester based fundraising platform that gives 100 per cent of charity donations to good causes, has announced The Co-operative Bank as its headline sponsor and added its 1500^th Charity Partner to the platform.

Sponsor support for the charity giving platform is an essential element of the model that allows the Wonderful Organisation to ensure 100 per cent of money raised, and all Gift Aid, goes directly to the charity it’s intended for. “We have incredibly low running costs, but we still have to pay card processing fees. Our sponsors mean that we take nothing from donations to cover these, making us the only platform to give 100% to charities”, Kieron James, founder of Wonderful.org, explained.

The Co-operative Bank is committed to supporting local communities and provides a wide range of bespoke banking services for charities, community groups, voluntary organisations and social enterprises.

The Wonderful Organisation has also just passed the milestone of 1500 registered charities and fundraisers who have registered on the platform so that fundraisers can share events with family, friends and colleagues. Each month, the website transfers all funds raised through the activities of fundraisers to charities’ bank accounts, making no deductions whatsoever.

In February last year, the Wonderful Organisation received a resounding endorsement from Money Saving Expert who placed Wonderful at #1 in its fundraising comparison table with the following commented: “In terms of maxing your cash, you can’t beat Wonderful.org. It doesn’t charge any service or processing fees to charities, meaning 100% of your donation goes directly to doing good.”

Sean Gilchrist, Chief Digital Officer at The Co-operative Bank, said: “It’s great to be supporting the Wonderful Organisation, a digital start-up based in Manchester, who are committed to give 100 per cent of all fundraising and donations to the causes that are listed on its platform.

“Our sponsorship also brings the potential opportunity for us to share our skills and expertise with a digital local business in Manchester and we can also explore volunteering opportunities that would benefit the platform and the many charities and fundraisers who use it.

“We are the UK’s only high street bank with a customer-led Ethical Policy and we continually work to uphold the values that we share with our customers. Supporting the work of the Wonderful Organisation is a great way to put our values and ethics into action and we look forward to the opportunities that working with Wonderful will bring.”

Kieron James commented: “We’re delighted to welcome The Co-operative Bank as our main sponsor. The sponsorship will help us in our aim of raising millions more pounds for charities throughout the UK. The ethical values we share make The Co-operative Bank a very strong fit for our fee-free fundraising platform.

“We believe the charities that fundraisers are supporting should receive every penny from their efforts. We also believe that Gift Aid should be directed in full to the charities rather than the operators of fundraising platforms. Which is exactly what we do.

“We’re a philanthropic organisation and it’s important to us that we recognise the huge efforts of fundraisers to maximise their fundraising potential for charities. We recognise the selfless commitment made by fundraisers who train for months to run marathons, take part in swims, treks and triathlons, face their fears by jumping out of aeroplanes or don their Lycra for a Zumbathon. By harnessing the latest technology, we’re ensuring that our new platform has the capabilities to cater to the ever growing demand for fee-free fundraising.”

Manchester technology business UKFast received HRH Princess Anne as a guest at its campus during a royal visit to the city.

The Princess Royal, who takes a keen interest in training and development within UK businesses, visited UKFast after the firm was honoured with a prestigious Princess Royal Training Award in 2018.

The tech firm was recognised with the award for continuous outstanding dedication to bridging the digital skills gap and encouraging ongoing professional development, particularly through its apprenticeship programme.

The royal visitor met a number of UKFast’s staff, including apprentices, teachers and senior management, and learned more about their contribution to the firm’s work in training and education.

During the tour of UKFast Campus in Hulme, founders Lawrence and Gail Jones explained the firm’s recent growth, its commitment to developing talent in house through apprenticeships and its contribution to the community.

It was a meeting of the great and the good as the Lord Lieutenant of Greater Manchester Warren Smith, the High Sherriff of Greater Manchester Mark Adlestone and the Lord Mayor of Manchester Cllr June Hitchen were also in attendance.

UKFast CEO Lawrence Jones said: “We are all incredibly proud of this accolade and that the Princess Royal has chosen to visit our campus. It’s a huge honour that only makes us more determined to continue to invest in the personal development of our team.

“Training and education play a hugely important role in the growth of our business. We’ve learned that the opportunity to grow and develop is the single biggest factor that motivates people in their careers. Our apprenticeship scheme is testament to this and many of the apprentices that came through our programme are now running departments and looking after important parts of our network.”

After investing millions of pounds in relocating to a state of the art dealership on Wilmslow Road, Wilmslow Cheshire eighteen months ago. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Manchester has been awarded the accolade of the Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Regional Dealer of the Year for 2018.

The prestigious award covering the UK, Western & Southern Europe including Russia category, was presented at the brand’s 2019 Global Dealer Conference held in Shanghai.

The award is presented to dealers on a worldwide basis covering a number of measurements including, Sales, Ownership Services, Customer Satisfaction, Parts, People and Training.  All in all Manchester beat a total of 18 Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Dealerships spanning throughout Europe to claim their award following a fantastic first year of trading at its new innovative facility.

Commenting on the award Jon Crossley, Managing Director of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Manchester, said: “This is the third time in 8 years we have won this amazing award, previously in 2010 and 2011 and I am absolutely delighted! I want to thank all of my team for working so hard to establish our new facility in our first year of trading. We have proved that Manchester continues to be such an important location for the Rolls-Royce marque and are we remain proud of the fact that for every 4 cars sold in the UK, 1 of them is from our dealership in Manchester.”

Passengers flying in and out of Manchester Airport can now refill their water bottles free of charge at any of its bars, cafes and restaurants.

The UK’s third largest airport has signed up to a scheme called Refill, a national City to Sea initiative backed by local water company, United Utilities.

It means passengers can refill their water bottles at any of the 33 outlets across the airport’s three terminals.  This is in addition to water fountains that are already located in both arrivals and the departure lounges.

With 7.7 billion plastic water bottles bought across the UK each year, the scheme aims to reduce the amount of single use plastic waste.

Mike Ward, Head of Retail at Manchester Airport, said: “As the airport gears up for its busiest ever summer we know that many passengers are now travelling through with their own water bottles.  This scheme will make it even easier for them to fill up and ensure they’re staying hydrated for their flights.”

Sarah Irving, Refill Regional Coordinator said: “Rolling out Refill in Manchester Airport is really going to help the campaign for reusables to take off, with many travellers opting to take their own bottles and cups when travelling. The aim of the campaign is to normalise using a reusable bottle so the support from such highly populated places like airports is a great way to get more people on board, making it easier to reuse on the go whether at home or abroad.”