News in brief: Character World award; Hill Dicks warning & more
NORTH WEST licensing business Character World has scooped a prestigious award at The Walt Disney Company UK & Ireland 2014 Licensee Awards.
The Stockport-based firm was named business partner of the year at the awards ceremony, which celebrated excellence in licensing for Disney.
The award was in recognition of a leading licensing business that has had a decade long relationship with Disney. A particular success has been Character World’s Frozen product ranges.
Danny Schweiger, joint managing director of Character World, said: “It’s fantastic to pick up this prestigious award on behalf of the whole team at Character World. There was strong competition from a number of leading licensees to win the award so this is a real testament to the hard work and dedication of everyone in the business. “
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LAW firm Hill Dickinson is advising businesses looking to pursue money claims for more than £10,000 to be aware of the impending hike in court fees after the Government announced significant changes which are due to come into force in April this year.
The decision, which follows the Enhanced Court Fees Consultation process, will see an increase in the court issue fees payable to commence legal proceedings for claims of more than £10,000.
The new fees will be calculated at 5% of the value of a claim, which replaces the previous fixed fees that were based on the value of the claim.
Philip Sheard, Legal Director at Manchester-basedc Hill Dickinson, said: “A claim with a value of £45,000 previously fell within the £15,000 to £50,000 bracket and, therefore, attracted a court fee of £610. However, after 1 April 2015, the same claim will attract a Court fee of £2,250 – a substantial increase.”
Fees for claims of less than £10,000 are unaffected by these proposals and will remain at their current levels and will, therefore, depend on which bracket the claim falls into.
The Government’s reasoning behind the changes is that 90% of claims issued fall below the £10,000 limit and, therefore, the majority of claimants will be unaffected by the changes.
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THE North West Coast Academic Health Science Network (AHSN) is supporting the launch of a new health and education innovation centre in Chester with a £25,000 funding grant.
The Centre for Integrated Healthcare Science (CHIS) is a joint venture between the Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Chester, which will facilitate knowledge sharing and collaboration across the two organisations.
Based at Bache Hall, adjacent to the hospital, the centre will act as a hub for innovation and collaboration; enabling the integration of research and education into health and social care.
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LEADERSHIP development specialist Cirrus has secured a £600,000 venture capital investment from The North West Fund for Digital & Creative.
Wilmslow-based Cirrus, which delivers leadership, talent and engagement programmes for international clients, will invest the funding in expanding its new digital delivery platform.
Cirrus was founded in 2010 by Simon Hayward, whose previous learning and development business Academee was recognised as the UK’s fifth best place to work by the Financial Times Best Workplaces awards. Through a combination of organic growth, international expansion and acquisitions, Cirrus has grown profitably to annual revenues of £5m.
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THE Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) is seeking to appoint new members to its board.
Cheshire and Warrington LEP is a private sector-led organisation which brings together local authorities and the business community to champion important issues with government and ultimately drive economic growth.
It has responsibility for projects and programmes totalling almost a £330m. It wants members who will actively contribute to an exciting economic future for Cheshire and Warrington and be ambassadors and advocate with the Government, the private sector, nationally and internationally.
Board members will represent a cross section of the local business community – from small businesses to large corporate organisations and across a variety of sectors.
Board members dedicate approximately five to 10 days per year to meetings and most serve on one or more committees.
Board roles are part time and unpaid, but travel and expenses can be claimed. Closing date for applications is Friday March 13.
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COMMERCIAL law firm Myerson Solicitors has advised Enjay Training Limited on the acquisition of the assets and business of Ladyzone, a ladies only gym in Altrincham, Cheshire.
Enjay Training has taken over the gym at 10a Goose Green, with ambitions to provide a bespoke and personal boutique style gym experience for its clients. Not only will clients be able to use the traditional gym, Ladyzone will also offer classes, boot camps, beauty and weight loss therapies.
Having already seen great success with The Edge Cycle in London (one of the largest dedicated cycling studios in the UK), Managing Director, Nicholas Luder has exciting plans ahead for the Altrincham gym.
The team at Myerson – also based in Altrincham – was led by corporate commercial partner, Andrew Brown who was assisted by corporate commercial solicitor Chris Wilson.
Managing director Nicholas Luder commented said: “I’m looking forward to working with the staff at Ladyzone in Altrincham to create a high quality bespoke gym experience for our clients at Goose Green.
“Myerson’s patience, diligence and professionalism enabled us to complete this transaction with confidence and
security.”
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A FIRM of chartered surveyors and specialist property consultants claims to have saved its clients more than £400,000 on their business rates.
Fisher German, which has 16 offices across the UK including one in St Helens, carried out research to analyse the success of business rates appeals against the 2010 Ratings List carried out by its commercial department.
The findings revealed £432,666 had been saved by the team which was led by commercial surveyors John Royle, at Fisher German’s St Helens office and Rob Haigh from its Retford office in Nottinghamshire.
The savings were generated from appealing against incorrect measurements or agreeing an alteration to the rates per square metres shown on the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) website, and successful Small Business Rates Relief applications.
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INTERNATIONAL staffing business SThree has appointed Warrington-based employment outsourcing firm Parasol to its approved supplier list (ASL) for 2015/16.
Under the terms of the arrangement, Parasol will be an approved employment provider for UK-based contractors and freelancers who secure an assignment through any of the SThree brands.
Parasol’s sister firm, ClearSky Contractor Accounting, will assist and support individuals wishing to set up their own limited company.
Charlie Cox, commercial manager at SThree, said: “As a business we are committed to ensuring our contractors receive the highest possible level of service and support, so it is very important that this is mirrored by any of our approved suppliers.
“We consider compliance to be of utmost importance for both ourselves and our customers, which is why we operate a rigorous vetting and selection process when it comes to appointing partners and approved providers. We are confident this has been achieved and we have a best-in-class approved supplier list in place for the 2015/16 period.”
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PRESTON-based Eric Wright Civil Engineering (EWCE), part of the Eric Wright Group, has helped to safeguard two of England’s rarest species thanks to a complex design and build project in the Lake District.
The scheme at Ennerdale involved re-routing Ben Gill, a tributary of the River Ehen, to its original course in order to restore the delicate habitat in which protected species like freshwater mussels and salmon can thrive.
The lower part of Ben Gill was originally diverted in the 1970s to enable a greater flow of water to be stored for abstraction at Ennerdale Water. However, the piped water also stopped sediment supply to the upper reaches of the Ehen – a designated Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and Special Site of Scientific Interest (SSSI).
Now, due to a recent review of abstraction licences by the Environment Agency, the decision was taken to revoke abstraction consent, obliging United Utilities to recreate the original Ben Gill channel to enable sediment and water to enter the River Ehen as it would have done naturally.
Restoring the natural supply of stones and gravel will improve habitats for young mussels and spawning Atlantic salmon in the River Ehen and the Environment Agency have already seen some natural habitats start to return.
EWCU’s Gavin Hulme said: “The diversion of Ben Gill had reduced the volume of sediment entering the river and altered its hydrological regime, which affected flow and geomorphic conditions to cause degradation of the mussels’ habitat. As a result, the population was ageing and declining so urgent action was needed to protect it.”
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BOLTON-based building ontractor Forrest has been appointed by Merseytravel to deliver a £82,000 ground-mount solar PV project at the mouth of the Kingsway tunnel on Ford Street in Liverpool.
The 70 kW system is comprised of a 280 solar panel array over 1,200 sq m. It will generate electricity for the 2.4 km tunnel, which lies under the River Mersey connecting Liverpool with Wallasey. Forrest will begin the installation in March with completion expected within three weeks.
The contract will see the business install its first ground-mounted system for a client and follows a string of rooftop projects across both residential and commercial properties.
It is the second panel installation the business has completed for Merseytravel – following the completion of a 48 kW array on the roof of its Spaceport visitor centre in Wallasey in 2013.
Paul McCarren, energy director at Forrest, said: “We’ve already made significant headway in the rooftop solar market across the country on thousands of residential and commercial roofs.
“There’s a considerable number of private ground-mount installations expected to come forward as businesses look to further combat rising energy prices. As a first step in delivering this kind of project, it will further contribute to our long-term strategy of being the UK’s foremost installer of solar energy systems.”
