North West business briefs: Lancashire Thunder; Novus Property Solutions; Sale Sharks; Exchange; Docutech

Thunder captain, Alex Hartley

Thunder Cricket has announced sports travel provider, Sportsbreaks.com, as its first standalone partner.

Already the Official Sports Travel Partner of Lancashire Cricket, Sportsbreak.com will now have its logo featured on front of the Thunder playing shirts throughout their Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and Women’s Regional T20 campaigns this summer.

Sportsbreaks.com is the sports spectator travel arm of travel experts, Clarity Travel, specialising in unforgettable fan experiences. The expert team has created a range of fantastic sporting experiences, designed to remove the stress from supporter travel, with this latest partnership an exciting step towards fan-attended sporting events.

The new grey Thunder strip featuring Sportsbreaks.com at the front of centre was launched alongside the new regional side’s new logo at a recent event at Sale Cricket Club which saw members of the Thunder squad lead a training session with young players from Sale Cricket Club.

David Thorley, regional director of women’s cricket for the North West, said: “This is a real landmark moment for Thunder and women’s regional cricket, and we’re thrilled to be working with Sportsbreaks.com as our first standalone sponsor. This is something that just would not have happened a few years back and it shows the positive direction in which women’s cricket in this country continues to head.”

Rob Slawson, director of sports travel at Clarity Travel and Sportsbreaks.com, said: “It’s an honour for us to be the first standalone shirt sponsor for the Thunder team. We’re fully committed to supporting women’s sport, having supported women’s cricket in Lancashire for a few seasons in a number of sports and in a number of guises. This was the next natural progression for us, and we’re excited to be supporting the Thunder for the next few seasons and hopefully beyond.”

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Construction and maintenance contractor Novus Property Solutions has completed its refurbishment of Manchester-based homeless charity Coffee4Craig’s welfare centre as part of the company’s Build Back Better initiative.

Novus launched Build Back Better in February 2021 as part of its vision to be a force for good, encompassing three key focus areas selected by its colleagues – reducing poverty, environmental action, and supporting health and wellbeing. As part of the initiative, Novus is encouraging its colleagues, clients, supply chain and the wider community to nominate deserving causes across the UK to receive funding, with Coffee4Craig chosen to be the first recipient by the contractor’s review panel.

Through the funding and work carried out by Novus, Coffee4Craig – which provides hot food, emergency provisions, showers and medical support to those in need through its out-of-hours drop-in service in Manchester city centre – can now offer its users a much improved environment, including the transformation of the under-used communal room into a wellbeing zone. The layout of the room has been reconfigured to provide a comfortable and inviting space for Coffee4Craig’s guests, now featuring a salon corner and seating area as well as new shelving to store donations. And through Novus’s Build Back Better support, Coffee4Craig also has improved washing and changing facilities as well as two new kitchen units.

Coffee4Craig’s chief executive, Hendrix Lancaster, said: “My wife Risha and I established Coffee4Craig in 2013 after sadly losing my brother-in-law, Craig, who found himself homeless and living on the streets through mental health challenges. Coffee4Craig has continued to grow from initially handing out food in Manchester city centre, to now providing individuals facing the harsh realities of living on the streets with a safe place to meet and receive support – and we couldn’t have done this without the support of our staff and volunteers, as well as businesses like Novus. Thanks to Novus’s support, we have been able to improve the function of the building for our guests, providing them with a better overall service and in turn, improving their wellbeing.”

Novus Property Solutions’ social value and CSR partner, Kevin Rhone, said: “Giving back to the communities in which we work has always been a fundamental value of Novus as a business, and we’re delighted to have been able to support Coffee4Craig through our new Build Back Better initiative.”

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Sale Sharks has agreed an extension to its commercial partnership with UK printer e-tailer, Printerland. Altrincham-based Printerland has been a long-standing partner of the club having first agreed a deal back in 2004 to sponsor the Cheadle End of Sharks’ former home ground at Edgeley Park, before becoming official family stand sponsors at the AJ Bell Stadium in 2016.

The deal will also see Printerland continue to deliver an inclusivity programme in the local region, supported by the Premiership Rugby team’s charitable arm – Sharks Community Trust.

In recent years, the partnership has seen more than 10,000 match-day tickets given away to local charities by Printerland through a programme designed to introduce under-represented groups in the North West to the game of rugby. However, with last year’s season played behind closed doors, the club, instead, worked with Printerland to deliver community-based rugby sessions for schools and community groups in the region. With fans now able to attend games, this year’s renewal will see the club bring charities and community groups back to the AJ Bell, supported by Printerland.

Mark Cueto, Sale Sharks’ commercial director and former player, said: “We’ve had a fantastic 17-year association with Printerland, so I’m thrilled they’ve renewed with us again this year to carry on our partnership. With fans starting to return to stadiums now, we can’t wait to welcome more groups to the AJ Bell Stadium as part of Printerland’s ongoing commitment to donating 2,000 match-day tickets per season.”

Graham Vickers, managing director and co-founder of Printerland, said: “Our association with Sale Sharks is fantastic for our brand and our staff really value the partnership, but for us, we really value the difference the partnership allows us to make in our community. Working with the club and the Sharks Community Trust has allowed us to use the sport of rugby to bring people together, and we love seeing the difference the initiative is making to children, young people and charities in the area.”

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Exchange

Exchange, a digital and technology start-up support programme, has opened applications for its second cohort of ambitious tech entrepreneurs, following a successful first intake of businesses in 2020 which raised millions in funding between them from both Exchange’s resident investment vehicle, Solid Bond Venture Builder and external venture capital investors, and supported more than 150 individuals in the region.

The programme, designed to support and empower the next generation of UK start-ups and delivered in partnership with Tech Nation, gives members the tools they need to scale their businesses through subsidised Manchester city centre office space, a peer-to-peer network of founders and expert advice from industry partners.

Exchange is based at Department Bonded Warehouse in Enterprise City, Manchester’s new tech, digital and media district, which combines workplaces, cultural spaces and living. Enterprise City is a place for scale-ups and global businesses to grow and root their headquarters in a community of like minded and forward thinking organisations, with the Exchange scheme central to that vision.

Spearheaded by award winning property developer, Allied London, Exchange will support a second wave of more than 25 businesses, and 200 individuals, as well as continuing to cement Manchester’s position as a global tech hub.

Tanya Grady, head of partnerships at Enterprise City, said: “Exchange has proved to be a truly valuable scheme for Manchester’s tech and digital industry. The work we have seen from the first Exchange cohort has been inspirational, despite the challenges that come from scaling during a global pandemic, so we are pleased to be extending the opportunities that come from being an Exchange member to the next generation.”

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Jason Dixon

Docutech Office Solutions, the Manchester-based document management system provider, has secured a £7m, three-year contract to supply a cost-saving digital infrastructure to a UK leading retailer.

The company has developed Docuflo – a bespoke document management system – to optimise the retailer’s warehouse processes and manage its warehouse inventory. The software also underpins its loss prevention strategy, stock control and workflow processes across its HQ, 10 warehouses and some 220 high street outlets nationwide.

Docutech’s brief was to develop a software system that would make processes more efficient and effective, reduce retail shrinkage and improve the management of vehicles and deliveries – from suppliers into warehouses, to stores and to its headquarters. Transparency, visibility and ease of use were other essential components of the brief.

Renowned for developing platforms to track and trace documents in the workplace, this particular contract takes Docutech’s capabilities to the next level – to tracking and tracing products in an innovative and compliant way. Docutech managing director, Jason Dixon, said: “We know that UK businesses wasted thousands of hours each year on poor processes. Factor in the growth of e-commerce – which increased by 40% in the UK last year – bringing with it unprecedented demands on the pick, pack and ship process. This really must be faster and more accurate than ever, simply because of the sheer quantity of sales being processed.

“Another key area that our retailer clients also want to tackle is employee theft, which accounts for more than 22% of retail shrinkage, with 18% of overall retail shrinkage coming from crime targeting suppliers and warehouses. All of these things considered, it’s easy to see just how costly it can be to not have the right digital infrastructure in place.”

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