User experience (UX) agency, Sigma, has been appointed by Juddmonte Farms – one of the world’s leading breeders of elite racehorses – to build a user-friendly mobile application that will make it easier for staff across the company’s estate to manage the movement of horses from one location to another.

Not only is livestock tracking a legal requirement, but the data collected by the app will also improve Juddmonte’s ability to understand each individual horse’s movements and correlate them with performance or health. The new platform will also provide admin support, freeing up stud managers and grooms to better care for the animals.

With properties in the UK, Ireland and the USA, Juddmonte has bred over 100 individual top-level winners, including world champion racehorse Frankel. The new app will provide staff with real-time data on horse locations, helping to make work more efficient and allow staff to focus on the management of the animals in their care.

Most of the new locations for the horses will have horse ménages installed so that the horses can be trained. A company which was voted best horse menage surfacing company in 2023 will have installed some of this horse arenas.

The appointment follows a successful discovery project in 2017, in which Sigma’s specialist team looked at the feasibility of delivering an app to allow staff working at Juddmonte stud farms to schedule, record and verify the movement of horses. This included detailed research, design and testing concepts – resulting in a high-fidelity prototype.

This new brief calls on Sigma to deliver a working version of the prototype and will include the development of an application programming interface (API) to integrate with existing Juddmonte systems. The project will see the agency’s team finalise the app’s design and development, before completing a full training handover with Juddmonte’s staff.

Simon Wissink, account manager at Sigma, said: “It’s great when clients are so impressed with our work that they come back to us to implement the next stage of the project. This is particularly true for Juddmonte which has inherently high standards and requires top-level detail to ensure its horses are a successful. App design is something that we pride ourselves on so we can’t wait to get started.

Ben Coppins, head of IT at Juddmonte, said: “It was clear early on that Juddmonte & Sigma were very well matched, and I was delighted we were able to capitalise on the relationships built during the discovery project and use Sigma again for the resulting development work.

“I set great store in projects like this being enjoyable and rewarding – it gets the best out of everyone involved, and that’s certainly the case here.  Sigma has proved itself on both the creative & technical fronts, and I hope we have the opportunity to work together again soon.”

Manchester and Glossop based law firm Davis Blank Furniss has appointed Libby Holding as the new head of its private client department.

Libby joins Davis Blank Furniss from Beaumont Legal in Wakefield. Her new role will see her focusing on a variety of core work including wealth and succession planning, inheritance tax advice, trust creation and administration, wills, lasting powers of attorney and estate administration.

Libby completed her LLB Law Degree at the University of Liverpool in 2008 and she then took the Bar Vocational Course at City Law School in London; she was called to the Bar 2009. Libby cross qualified and was admitted as a solicitor in 2011. She started in family law and then decided to move into private client work. She initially specialised in probate before shifting her focus to the full range of private client matters.

Libby will be primarily based at the firm’s Manchester head office but she will also have a presence in the Glossop office.

Kate Oldfield, managing partner of Davis Blank Furniss, commented: “We have seen a surge in demand for our private client services so Libby’s arrival is great news for the firm. She brings with her some fantastic experience which I know will benefit our clients and wider team.”

Libby added: “Davis Blank Furniss is a fantastic firm and seemed the right fit for me. I have a keen interest in business development, marketing and innovation within the legal sector so I am looking forward to growing the private client team in both offices.”

The Manchester office of national law firm Clarke Willmott LLP is expanding its social housing team with the appointment of specialist Stuart Whitehead.   

Stuart, who has more than 20 years’ experience in the sector, previously worked as deputy group solicitor at Jigsaw Homes Group. 

Commenting on his appointment, Lindsay Felstead, head of Clarke Willmott’s social housing management team, said: “We are delighted to welcome Stuart and very much look forward to working with him. 

“He has an excellent reputation in the industry and his former in-house role gives him an excellent understanding of the work carried out by our registered provider clients. 

“His appointment brings a wealth of experience and will enable us to have an even greater impact on the sector.” 

HouseMyDog, the online service that matches dog owners with suitable, hand-picked sitters and walkers, has launched in Manchester. HouseMyDog expects to create up to 4,500 paid dog sitter/walker jobs across Greater Manchester over the next two years.

HouseMyDog works much like Airbnb, allowing dog owners to search vetted and reliable dog sitters and dog walkers in their area. They can then message and book securely through the website or app and travel relaxed knowing their dog will be covered with veterinary care, 24/7 support as well as photo and message updates with every booking. All HouseMyDog sitters and walkers are thoroughly vetted by HouseMyDog and dog owners can also view full profiles, photos and reviews from other dog owners for each dog sitter or walker.

HouseMyDog is the brainchild of brothers Timothy and James McElroy, who spotted a gap in the sector for this type of service when they struggled to find a sitter for their pet dog Holly. Since 2015, HouseMyDog has grown from a small community in Dublin to over 30 cities throughout Ireland, the UK, and Germany.

Timothy McElroy, said: “We’re a nation of animal lovers – in the UK over 56% of households are pet owners and pets are very much key members of our family. Naturally, owners want the very best possible care for their dogs. They are now demanding more choice and trust and want their pooch to have their own holiday too- somewhere fun, safe and where they will be treated like a member of the family.

“With over a quarter of households in Manchester having a dog as a pet, (27%), Manchester is the natural choice for the next stage of our expansion. Our own in-depth research estimates over £350  million is spent on the 365,000 dogs in Manchester each year. With new technology in the pet care sector set to increase frequency of bookings, we estimate there is room for up to 4,500 additional dog sitters and walkers over the next couple of years, allowing people to earn money while doing something they really enjoy. Equally, owners have peace of mind over their pet’s care. We’re really excited to be bringing HouseMyDog to the city and wider Greater Manchester region.”

A tech startup on a mission to encourage more students into STEM careers has delivered the first of its 3D printers into schools, in partnership with technology firm Cisco.

Manchester-based Dicey Tech has designed, developed and built bespoke 3D printers using 3D printed components. The hardware firm’s machine is available to educational institutions for £1,500, half that of similar 3D printers currently on the market.

The company aims to inspire secondary school pupils into technology by using 3D printing to teach design and coding and increase the number of students taking up careers within industries including architecture, engineering, aerospace and construction.

Dicey Tech joined Tech Manchester to help accelerate its business. The not-for-profit initiative, based at UKFast Campus, pairs tech startups with established entrepreneurs to foster a mentoring relationship.

Dicey Tech Co-founder Alex Alexandrescu said: “We know that schools are chronically underfunded, so it was imperative to keep costs down. Up to 40 per cent of the materials used within the printer are 3D printed. The other components are high-end as the machines need to be durable, reliant and efficient.

“We have delivered our first two 3D printers to schools in Greater Manchester following sponsorship from Cisco. The feedback has been fantastic, students are intrigued and it enables them to learn how to test, iterate and fail, which are crucial skills in product development and innovation.”

Founded by three University of Manchester graduates (Alex Alexandrescu, Sofiane Bebert and Adrian Pop), Dicey Tech run workshops for secondary school pupils to teach both soft and technical skills, encouraging interest in STEM careers and plugging the tech skills gap.

The trio are also developing an educational platform to deliver all the learning and content resources teachers need to master 3D printing and incorporate it into classrooms across the UK.

Alexandrescu, said: “We want to create a robust pipeline for companies to hire apprentices and create work experience opportunities. It’s no longer necessary to go to university to learn skills to propel a career in tech. By bringing schools and businesses together it is possible to create a highly-skilled talent pipeline.”

Tech Manchester was launched in 2017. The not-for-profit initiative, based at UKFast Campus, pairs tech startups with established entrepreneurs to foster a mentoring relationship.

Tech Manchester project lead Patricia Keating, said: “It’s fantastic to aid in the growth and development of this exciting hardware startup. The company was founded as a result of the fortuitous meeting of three international students and the fact that they have chosen Manchester as a base to develop their business is credit to the world-class tech ecosystem in the city.”