North West business briefs: Leasing Options; LCR Combined Authority; Ryro Design; Cloud Seller Pro; JLL
Car leasing company Leasing Options is now a partner of Preston North End Football Club, after completing a multi-year partnership agreement with the EFL Championship club as part of its postponed 30th year anniversary celebrations.
Leasing Options joins Preston North End as a top tier partner and takes sponsorship of one of the club’s stands within the stadium. The all-new branding ‘Sponsored by Leasing Options’ for ‘The Invincibles’ Pavilion will be unveiled at the forthcoming Liverpool EFL cup game. As part of the agreement, and Leasing Options’ ongoing commitment to grassroots sport, the leasing company will also become official partner of the Preston North End Community and Education Trust (PNECET) Kicks (PLKicks) football programme.
Mike Thompson, chief operating officer at Leasing Options, said: “We’re so pleased to finally unveil some of our exciting plans to celebrate our delayed 30th anniversary – especially announcing this partnership with Preston North End. As a club, Preston North End is a great example of football and everything the beautiful game stands for. It’s known for being the home of some of football’s true legends – Sir Tom Finney, Bill Shankly and Tommy Docherty – to be able to associate with such a legendary club is fantastic and something we are truly proud of. To have our name and branding adorning this stand is a proud moment for our business.
“Leasing Options has been partnering with various sports clubs over the years, including Lancashire Cricket Club, St Helens Rugby Club and the Lancashire FA grassroots football club of the year Moss Bank Football Club. This latest partnership further cements our commitment and passion of supporting grassroots sport and ultimately investing in the future.”
As part of this partnership, Worsley-based Leasing Options will have its presence widely across every element of the club including, inside and outside stadium signage, branding running along the LED boards surrounding the perimeter of the pitch and features within the match day programme.
Peter Ridsdale, for Preston North End, said: “Everyone at Preston North End is excited to welcome Leasing Options to the ‘Lilywhites’ fold. To have such a well known, North West-based, successful family business be part of our club is fantastic and we cannot wait to help the whole Leasing Options team celebrate its well deserved 30thanniversary. The new signage and branding will be in place for the televised cup game on Wednesday, October 27, as we wanted to kick-start this partnership as soon as possible.”
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Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram is lending his support to a new scheme that offers eligible jobseekers across the region six months of free broadband to help them with their search for work. Funded by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the aim is to give eligible recipients the best possible chance to find work by tackling digital exclusion and removing barriers to employment.
Under the scheme, recipients are offered a voucher for six months of free unlimited broadband for the household – with a router and internet security packages included free of charge. The package is the latest in an expansive programme of support offered across the Liverpool City Region to help people find decent, well paid and secure work.
Tackling poverty of opportunity and digital exclusion are key priorities for Mayor Rotheram and his administration. Following May’s elections, he announced plans to deliver a Young Person’s Guarantee, a promise of a job, training or apprenticeship opportunity to all under-25s in the city region within six months of leaving school or becoming unemployed.
Steve Rotheram said: “It’s almost impossible to get by these days without access to decent, reliable internet. Everything from paying bills and claiming benefits, to streaming TV and keeping in touch with our loved ones needs some form of connection. Too often, people in our region are denied the chance to get on, not because they lack talent, but because they lack opportunity. I’m working to make sure that everyone has access to those opportunities, from school leavers looking for a start in life, right the way through to people struggling with long term unemployment. This free broadband offer will be a massive, massive help to many people across the region, helping not only the recipients but their households, too.”
Daniel Kasmir, chief people and procurement officer at Salford-based communications group TalkTalk, said: “We believe that reliable broadband is a right, not a privilege. However, many people in the Liverpool region are struggling to access the internet, with the effects of the pandemic leading to the number of Universal Credit claimants doubling within a year. This service was trialled in the North West prior to its national roll out, and we’re proud to be working with the Mayor to get it to as many people as possible who need it.”
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Neill Wood with Hamed and Mehri Faridfar
A product and mechanical component designer from Leigh has launched his new business, Ryro Design, at Moss Industrial Estate. Hamed Faridfar (46), has come full circle as he started his career on the industrial estate back in 2003 when he worked for a small design company developing sensors for automation and safety. Five years later, the company moved off the industrial estate and, in 2019, Hamed left the business to start up on his own.
The start of the pandemic caused a significant delay to Hamed’s plans due to severe delays in the supply chain and increased transportation costs, but he has now managed to move in to his very first unit, a 1,000 sq ft space with an office and reception area, as well as a small warehouse space used for storgage and workshop.
Hamed has developed two lines of business, one provides mechanical design consultancy services, 3D modelling, 2D Drawing, prototyping, engineering parts sourcing and jigs and fixtures for the manufacturing industry. In the other, Hamed is developing his own range of products for the commercial catering industry.
Hamed said: “It’s great to be back here on the industrial estate, particularly after the significant delay caused by COVID. I wanted to come back here because it’s a great environment to work in with attractive open spaces and fantastic accessibility and on site security. It has been tough starting a new business during a global pandemic, but it has also forced me to develop the business in a more robust way and identify sectors and industries where I can see long term security as well as great potential for growth. My wife, Mehri, is also coming to join the business and will help me to expand.”
Moss Industrial Estate is owned by family-run business, George Moss & Sons, which celebrated its centenary in 2020. The industrial estate is home to around 100 local businesses of varying sizes and industries. Neill Wood, managing director of Moss Industrial Estate, said: “We’re really pleased to have Hamed back on site and proud to be able to support him with his new venture. It’s really important for any new business to start with strong foundations from which to grow and we have a long history of supporting local business to do just that.”
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Lancaster-based Cloud Seller Pro now supports eBay’s newest cost-per-click advertising strategy – Promoted Listings AdvancedBETA. This allows brands and merchants the opportunity to maximise their sales and differentiate themselves in this increasingly competitive e-commerce marketplace.
Sellers may interact with millions of active visitors and buyers on the eBay marketplace thanks to Cloud Seller Pro’s enhanced CPC service, which is designed to increase product visibility and grow online sales via the eBay marketplace. Promoted Listings AdvancedBETA provides eBay sellers in the US, UK, DE, IT, and AU with a way to generate traffic to their listings with access to top of search placement using keyword targeting, bidding tactics and budget limits.
Cloud Seller Pro said it is proud to be one of only a handful of third party service-providers globally, to be partnering with eBay during the launch of Promoted Listings AdvancedBETA and will be offering customers a service that’s pay-on-results, with no setup fees, no contract and is fully managed by its team of search advertising experts.
Scott Armstrong, Cloud Seller Pro sales director, said: “As a specialist ecommerce performance marketing agency, it’s incredibly important that we continue to develop our offering, so that our customers can access the tools needed to compete effectively in the digital channel. eBay serves as one of the primary marketplaces for many of our customers, so our partnership and integration with their advertising platform, ensures that our customers can maximise the opportunity provided by Promoted Listings AdvancedBETA.”
The Cloud Commerce Group supports more than 1,000 multi-channel online retailers, managing more than £2m per month in advertising spend.
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JLL’s Manchester office
Professional services firm JLL’s North West office, situated in Landmark in central Manchester, has been awarded Platinum WELL certification by the International Well Building Institute, a globally-recognised tool for advancing health and wellbeing in real estate.
It marks the first WELL Platinum office in the UK outside of London and is JLL’s first office in EMEA to have this certification. In addition, it is the first UK office to simultaneously achieve WELL Platinum, BREEAM Excellent and SKA Gold in one fit-out. JLL’s cost management, project management and sustainability teams worked closely with Tétris – JLL’s design and build company – to deliver the workplace.
This utilised Landmark’s first class base build infrastructure and services, which were brought forward by building owner Barings. Insight and guidance from WELL assessors situated within the JLL business was incorporated to achieve the certification and low carbon fit-out which has created a blueprint for delivering a low carbon and inclusive workplace that embeds circular economy principles and wellbeing into the building’s design and operation.
Stephen Hogg, head of North West and residential UK regions, JLL, said: “It is a great accomplishment for everyone involved in this project to see global recognition for our Manchester office. With COP26 taking place next month, all eyes will be on the UK to take action on climate change. This achievement has set the bar for low carbon workplaces that support the wellbeing and productivity of the people who use them.”
Ian Mayhew, managing director at Barings, said: “JLL’s innovative fit-out has set a new benchmark, being just the fifth such office in the UK to be awarded WELL Platinum rating and the first outside of London. As a forward thinking investor developer, we are delighted to have played our part in assisting JLL achieve their aspirations – you can only do so much with the fit-out if you don’t have the right base product within a highly sustainable amenity rich building with a huge amount of natural light, such as Landmark.”
