Chase de Vere Medical, which has offices in Manchester and Preston and provides independent financial advice to the medical profession, is delighted to announce a partnership with the Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management (FMLM).

FMLM was established by all the medical royal colleges and faculties in 2011. It is an independent charity and the UK professional home for medical leadership, with the primary objective of raising the standard of patient care by supporting doctors and healthcare organisations to improve medical leadership. Its 2,200 members and fellows are a combination of senior medical leaders, consultants, doctors, trainees and students.

With the new partnership, FMLM members will be able to benefit from expert independent financial advice from Chase de Vere Medical on the NHS Pension Scheme, retirement strategies, investment services, financial protection and estate planning. They will also have access to a wealth of articles, guides and events on these subjects, which are specifically designed for medical professionals.

Andrea Sproates, Head of Chase de Vere Medical, said: “Our partnership with FMLM is a great fit. We have 65 independent financial advisers based around the UK who specialise in providing financial advice to the medical profession, and we are committed to providing their members with informative events and access to information to ensure they make the most of the pension and other benefits provided by their employer and of their wider personal finances.”

Peter Lees, Chief Executive and Medical Director of the Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management, said: “We are pleased to introduce Chase de Vere Medical to our members. As industry experts, we believe their independent, specialist financial advice and planning will be a major benefit for our members, wherever they are in their medical career, and will provide valuable support those with questions or concerns around the NHS Pension Scheme.”

Swinton Electro Plating Ltd., based in Pendlebury, Manchester, is delighted to have recently won its second successive marketing award from its industry peers, the Surface Engineering Association (SEA).

The SEA is a trade association that endeavours to be the voice of the industry and aims to highlight the positive contribution that the UK treatment industries have made to current technology employed around the world.

With over 50 years’ experience in hard chrome, electroless nickel plating and refurbishing services, Swinton Electro Plating utilises its strength in having one of the deepest hard chrome plating facilities in Europe, to supply clients globally.

Commented Godfrey Evans, Managing Director, Swinton Electro Plating: “These awards are testimony to our hard work in building our reputation and credibility with our customers, potential customers and associated supply chain. Without the support of them, our employees and the local community, we could not have achieved our continuing growth, particularly in our export markets.

“Through effective marketing, Swinton Electro Plating has established a reputation for being the supplier of choice for engineering coatings and services. Something which we are extremely proud of.

“We specialise in industrial applications and our bespoke products are hard wearing, corrosive and friction resistant and we can significantly extend the shelf life and operational performance. Also, as one of the UK’s leading metal finishers, we constantly analyse our activities to eliminate pollution and improve environmental performance.

“We are proud of our achievements over the last 50 years and look forward to striving to continually improve and be a great representative for our industry.”

The North West E3 Business Expo 2019 took place on Wednesday 3 April at the University of Bolton Stadium in Bolton. Exhibitors reported the best returns on investment in the event’s four-year history.

In the months before the event, 1 EM managing director Mubarak Chati committed to helping all exhibitors to achieve a clear return on investment. Post-event valuations have shown that the Expo has indeed helped exhibitors to win more business than ever before.

“We’ve been monitoring exhibitor results especially closely this year,” said Mubarak. “We’ve also held supporting events, such as an exhibitors’ training day, and we’ve encouraged networking and referrals between exhibitors. That has all paid dividends. Twelve of the exhibitors reported that they had achieved a clear ROI before they had even set foot in the exhibition hall, purely as a result of the connections they had made in the preparatory stages. A further six said that they moved into profit on the day itself.

“What is particularly encouraging is that so many of the exhibitors have reported a really good quality of engagement with visitors, with most of them filling up their diaries with follow up meetings and presentations. As a result, many of the rest of the stand-holders expect to make their return on investment within five to ten days.”

The headline sponsor for the Expo was the Blackburn-based manufacturer, Simply Doughnuts. “We were one of the companies that made our ROI weeks before the Expo itself,” said company MD Shiraz Master. “We recovered the cost of the exhibition weeks in advance, and that was as a result of new connections and contracts that 1 Events Media helped us to make.

“We exhibited at the Expo last year and we absolutely support the principle of supporting other North West businesses, so that was why we took the decision to be the principal sponsor in 2019.”

The Blackpool-based digital marketing agency Code Galaxy was another that saw early returns. “We were visitors to the Expo in 2018,” said company director Mary Speakman, “and that was very good for us, so we decided to exhibit in 2019. Mubarak’s support has been great throughout the preparations for the Expo. Even before the Expo started, he had helped us to make new contacts that more than paid for the cost of the stand. The day itself was positive, too; we met lots of good prospects so we’re confident that we’ll improve our total return as a result of follow up meetings and new sales. We’ll certainly be exhibiting next year.”

Greater Manchester Chamber has been an exhibitor at the Expo for the last three years running. “The E3 Expo has helped us to make new contacts ever year,” said Regional Area Manager Diane Elebert-Morgan. “Through the connections we made before the event itself, we had already achieved a positive return, and that can only improve as we follow up on the contacts we met at our stand.”

Ryanair, Europe’s No. 1 airline, has celebrated the first flight on its new twice weekly Liverpool service to Copenhagen. Ryanair’s Liverpool summer schedule includes 34 routes in total, with three new routes to Corfu, Paphos and Copenhagen.

Paul Winfield, Director of Aviation Development, said: “We are delighted to be launching a new scheduled service from Copenhagen, allowing passengers from across the North West region to travel to the Danish capital from the region’s Faster Easier Friendlier Airport. Additionally, the new route provides passengers from Denmark to come to the third most visited city in the UK, according to the recent Trip Advisor Annual Travellers choice awards, as well as the wider North West region.”

Fire-Mech Fixings, a manufacturer and supplier of pipe support, brackets and associated products, have seen a 400% increase in web traffic following support from GC Business Growth Hub.

Established in Rochdale over 25 years ago and with 13 members of staff, the company is a market leader in its sector, supplying the fire sprinkler and mechanical service industries, and working on some of the largest warehousing, industrial and retail premises in the UK.

While the firm was performing well, it recognised the need to develop an ecommerce website to help increase demand from other industrial sectors.

Therefore, the company contacted GC Business Growth Hub, part of The Growth Company, looking for support. Working with Fire-Mech’s IT Manager Jason Griffin, Hub Digital Growth Advisor Chris Murphy introduced a new digital strategy to the business. Core to this was the creation of a new website based on a user experience analysis of the existing site. This showed that structural changes were needed to enhance both the user experience and the sales conversion rate of the site. To drive traffic to the new site, Chris also provided Jason with Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) training and data capture training so he could better understand the behaviour of online visitors.

As a direct result of the implementation of the new digital strategy, the business has won several new clients. Due to this growth, the company has also taken on eight new members of staff across all areas of the company.

Jason Griffin, said: “We needed a more robust website that would help us monitor online interest in the company and convert this into new customers.

“Chris’s experience and expertise was invaluable and helped us to achieve the online presence that we wanted, guiding us through the whole process and making sure we understood why certain changes were necessary, while always being aware of budget constraints.

“Because of Chris’ help, we now have a much greater understanding of ecommerce and what it can do for the business.”

Chris Murphy, added: “Fire-Mech Fixings were already performing very well and had a solid customer base. Nonetheless, Jason and his colleagues knew the company had the ability to bring in more business by improving its online presence.

“Given the company’s history and existing good reputation, by focusing on the weaker areas of the original site, we were able to vastly improve traffic to the site and then convert these new visitors into increased sales for the company.”

Businesses looking to access specialist support can visit www.businessgrowthhub.com for more information about the organisation’s extensive range of services. This and other GC
Business Growth Hub projects are part-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the GM Business Growth Hub project designed to help ambitious SME businesses achieve growth and increase employment in Greater Manchester.

Financial services firm Praetura today announces it will be relocating from Castlefield to the heart of Manchester after agreeing a deal withOrchard Street Investment Management to occupy space at Bauhaus on Quay Street.

The firm’s 25 staff will be moving into the Bauhaus development, opposite Manchester’s Spinningfields financial district and adjacent to the St John’s Quarter, occupying 5,935 sq ft on a 10-year lease. The building recently underwent acomprehensive refurbishment, now offering prime Grade A office at considerable scale with space available totalling 50,000 sq ft.

Facilities and services that have been incorporated into the relaunched nine-storey building include a full tenant concierge service, an exclusive business lounge, co-working spaces, a new cycling and shower hub, 29 secure basement parking spaces and electric vehicle charging points.

Praetura provides equity and debt funding solutions to SMEs, predominantly in the North West of England. Originally established as Praetura Capital in 2011 by Mike Fletcher, David Foreman and Peadar O’Reilly, Praetura has experienced significant growth over the past eight years, investing more than £100m in North-West based SMEs, growing its loan book to more than £250m. During this time, the company has also tripled its staff count.

The move to Bauhaus was managed by Orchard Street Investment Management.

Mike Fletcher, CEO of Praetura, said: “After spending eight years in Castlefield and experiencing rapid growth throughout that time, we’re delighted to be moving into bigger offices in the heart of the city. The extra space will be vital as we continue to growth our talent base and meet the needs of North West SMEs.”

Sarah O’Connell, Asset Manager at Orchard Street Investment Management, said: “We are delighted to welcome Praetura as the first occupier in the newly repositioned Bauhaus so soon after completion of the refurbishment. This further supports our conviction to commit significant capital to repositioning the building to provide genuinely unique office space. Bauhaus has been redesigned to offer truly occupierfocussed office space with an emphasis on service. In a world where office occupier expectations are constantly evolving, we have sought to go above and beyond our competition, providing an Occupier Business Lounge, extensive Cycle parking & shower facilities, installation of a resilient backbone fibre connection and concierge service.”

Scott Shufflebottom, Associate Director at Colliers International, agents on the scheme, added: “Bauhaus is a fantastic development and provides exceptional Grade A office space in a vibrant and exciting area of the City Centre. Completing this deal so quickly after PC is testament to the level of refurbishment and the level of additional interest in the building remains strong.”