North West business briefs: Sale Sharks; Lovingly Artisan; Foundation 92; Stockport Credit Union; Johnson Service Group

Sharks players Tom Curry and Faf de Klerk

Sale Sharks has signed up to a new long term partnership with online electricals store, AO, which will see the Bolton-based retailer take over as the club’s principal front of shirt sponsor.

AO will also work closely with the Sharks Community Trust, the club’s charitable arm, to create and launch ‘Are you AO-K?’, a life-changing mental health programme in schools across the North West. And the South Stand at Sharks’ AJ Bell Stadium will also be renamed and branded as the AO Stand, as part of the multi-year deal.

Sharks CEO, Sid Sutton, said: “Everyone at the club is so excited to welcome AO to the Sharks family. I have no doubt that this is a partnership that’s going to drive the club onto the next level both on and off the pitch. We’re embarking on a new era for the club and we want to work alongside partners who we can grow with and who share our ambition, our passion for the North and our values.

“AO puts its customers and the community at the heart of everything they do in the same way that we put our supporters right at the centre of every decision we take. The long-term commitment is a sign that both the club and AO believe strongly in the value and the potential of this partnership.”

Vicky Monk, director of customer and brand at AO, said: “We’re investing hugely in our brand this year and our partnership with Sale Sharks is a big part of that strategy.

“We are really looking forward to working closely together with the Trust to create and launch a highly impactful mental health programme to local schools in our region. It’s a topic that’s close to many of our hearts after the last 18 months and we’re proud to be able to play a part in making a difference for young people across the North West.”

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Installing the new oven

North West bakery Lovingly Artisan has made a significant investment in a new, state-of-the-art wood pellet-powered oven.

The firm, which has outlets in Kendal and Altrincham, said the new Polin oven, installed by Brook Food Processing Equipment, gives the family-run bakery an increased 50% capacity for bread making to meet ever increasing customer demand. Alongside meeting the demand for Loving Artisan’s bread, co-owner Aidan Monks also wanted to look at reducing the firm’s overall environmental impact and examine how best to fuel a new oven to achieve a substantial reduction in energy usage.

With that in mind Aidan and head baker Dean Fletcher travelled to Somerset to meet with the Brook team and take advantage of a full test bake in a Polin oven, which is classified as ‘zero emission’ because the pellets being burnt are made from compressed sawdust, a by-product from forestry operations.

Aidan Monks said: “We’ve seen an increase in demand for our products from both consumers and the hospitality trader and in order to meet that demand we needed to upgrade our existing baking ovens, which were originally installed by Brook in 2013 when we moved to Plumgarths. We’ve worked with Brook consistently over the years, they’ve always provided an exemplary service, and an in-depth understanding of what is needed to be able to run a successful bakery.”

Ann Wells, commercial director from Brook Food Processing Equipment, said: “When we first met Aidan a few years ago we were blown away by his passion for his business and the messages he promotes, sustainability, using new and ancient grains and the effects of bread on gut health.”

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Foundation 92 summer activities

Over the summer holidays, local charity Foundation 92 has been helping disadvantaged children across Greater Manchester to access inclusive exercise and activities, as well as providing healthy food for those who would normally receive free school meals.

Working alongside Manchester City Council, Salford City Council, Bury Council and Trafford Council, Foundation 92 has successfully delivered free-to-access Holiday Activity Fund clubs at 11 different locations across the city, supporting up to 60 children per location who face adversity and inequality through no fault of their own. Around 8,000 activities were provided during the summer break.

From Monday to Friday each week, children have taken part in multi-sport activities, arts, crafts and specialist youth work, as well as receiving a free, healthy meal. Foundation 92’s 5,000th activity of the summer was marked with a small celebration at the Aquarius Centre in Hulme. The scheme has only been made possible through support and funding from the Department for Education and local authorities, as well as the campaigning of Manchester United footballer Marcus Rashford.

Foundation 92 is the official charitable partner of Salford City FC, owned and founded by Manchester United’s celebrated Class of 92. The foundation works with communities across Greater Manchester to promote sports and physical activity, health and wellbeing, education and employability and inclusion. Tom Hutton, head of Foundation 92, said: “Many children across Greater Manchester have suffered more than most over the past 18 months, without normal opportunities to socialise with friends, take part in activities and ultimately learn new things that are essential for development.

“That’s why schemes like the Holiday Activity Fund are more important than ever. Children across the city region deserve a wide range of positive experiences throughout their childhood, in and outside of school, which is why projects like the Holiday Activity Fund are so crucial.”

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Phil Hitchen and Clare Davis of Stockport Credit Union

Stockport Credit Union has relaunched its payroll deduction scheme ahead of National Payroll Week (6-10 September). By collaborating with Stockport employers and their payroll departments, the credit union says it can enhance the important work that they do by providing their workforces with a range of services and products which are intended to support financial wellbeing.

Stockport bus and coach hire business, Belle Vue, was the first to sign up and rolled out the enhanced scheme to its staff over the summer. Its employees now have access to a salary deduction FSCS protected savings scheme as well as fair and ethical consumer loans with preferential rates, all at no cost to the business. They also have access to online money saving and navigation tools.

Belle Vue Bus and Coach Hire joins 15 Stockport organisations that currently use Stockport Credit Union to assist their staff with their saving and lending needs, including Stockport Council and Stepping Hill Hospital. This means that almost 14,000 Stockport employees already have access to the credit union’s salary deduction scheme to save and borrow.

Jonathan Moore, chief executive of Stockport Credit Union, said: “We are delighted to have Belle Vue Bus and Coach Hire on board and we want to work in partnership with more local businesses like them so that we can give more people in our community access to financial support in the aftermath of the pandemic. We’re here to help local people enhance their financial position at a time when so many have struggled to access credit or save for the future.”

Phil Hitchen, managing director of Belle Vue Bus and Coach Hire, said: “We are delighted to be in partnership with Stockport Credit Union to be able to help our team achieve financial support given the difficult time the community has had in the past year with the pandemic.”

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Peter Egan

Runcorn-based textile services provider Johnson Service Group has joined the Business in the Community (BITC) network.

BITC says it is the largest and longest established business-led membership organisation dedicated to responsible business. Founded by The Prince of Wales 40 years ago, the organisation works with its members to continually improve their responsible business practice, leveraging their collective impact for the benefit of communities.

Johnson Service Group chief executive, Peter Egan, said: “Within JSG we have a strong history of undertaking individual projects that are aimed at addressing the environmental and social impacts of some of our core business activities. We’re now refreshing what we do by undertaking an exercise internally to define what sustainability means to us as a group and planning, thereafter, a strategic programme on our next steps. Our new relationship with BITC will help to support our mission and enable us to effectively address the environmental and social impacts of our operations.”

To support the move towards a more joined up approach across JSG, the company recently appointed a head of sustainability, Alexandra Brennan. She brings more than 15 years of experience in developing and embedding sustainability strategies and is currently conducting a full review of the company’s material impacts prior to a refreshed strategy launch in early 2022.

Executive director of membership for BITC, Nick Diamond, said: “We are delighted to welcome Johnson Service Group to the Prince’s Responsible Business Network. In joining Business in the Community they become part of a growing network of progressive businesses who look beyond the profit motive, who want to make a difference within society, and who are prepared to collaborate to bring about change.”

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