North West business briefs: Leyland Trucks; Bold Street Coffee; DMR; University Start-up League; Mint Property Finance

Leyland Trucks, the Lancashire-based manufacturer of the full range of DAF trucks, has celebrated the production of its 500,000th vehicle. The half million-milestone truck – a 16-tonne GVW DAF LF 210 – was handed over to customer, Minoli, at a special production line ceremony on December 2.

Attending the handover were Minoli’s managing director, Jonathon Minoli, marketing manager at DAF Trucks, Phil Moon, and Leyland Trucks director of operations, Phil Jones, alongside representatives from supplying DAF dealer, Heathrow Truck Centre (HTC).

The milestone LF is the first of four new vehicles for Minoli, an importer and distributor of Italian porcelain tiles, which has its headquarters and distribution centre in Oxford and offices and showrooms in Marylebone, London. The company has remained an exclusive and loyal DAF operator for almost 40 years.

The Leyland assembly plant was completed in 1980, with Leyland Trucks this year celebrating its 125th anniversary. The company occupies an 86-acre site with 93,000 square metres of covered production space. A workforce of 1,000 includes fourth and fifth generation employees.

Jonathon Minoli said: “We, as a company, and a family, feel very privileged to have been invited to Leyland Trucks to mark such a momentous milestone in the company’s history.

“We’re proud to know that our trucks are built in Britain and that we are supporting British industry. We’ve been a DAF operator for almost 40-years now – and our relationship with the brand has been built on quality and reliability that, in turn, allows us to meet our customers’ needs, day after day and year after year.”

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Liverpool speciality coffee shop, Bold Street Coffee, has opened its doors on Cross Street in Manchester, serving up a range of drinks including carefully blended Flat Whites, Mocha, Espresso, Cortado, Cappuccino, Latte, Americano, Short and Long Black, Piccolo and Batch Brew, as well as a selection of teas and iced drinks.

BSC Cross Street is both family and dog friendly with Babaccino and Puppaccinos available as well as an entire breakfast, lunch and brunch menu. Bold Street Coffee also prides itself on using its space to support local artists, championing their work and showcasing it as a gallery throughout the space. To mark the opening of BSC’s first Manchester site, The Manc Wanderer will be the first artist to exhibit.

The Manc Wanderer – also known as Nathan Whittaker – is a local artist who has amassed more than 26,000 followers on his Instagram page where he showcases his love for his hometown, celebrating Manchester in all its glory including a focus on the less picturesque parts of the city that are part of Mancunians’ everyday lives.

Nathan, 31, said: “I’m so grateful to BSC Cross Street for giving me the opportunity to display my work in what will be my first exhibition of Manchester photos. Having sold my prints for over a year in Afflecks at the wonderful Be Your Gallery, it’s great that we can collaborate with this display of images showing off my favourite parts of the city in a space that’s just about to open – it feels even more exciting that it’s a new thing for all involved.”

Matt Farrell, director of Bold Street Coffee, said: “It’s a very exciting time to be opening our second BSC site – this time in Manchester. Our Liverpool venue has created a wonderful community of people and we very much look forward to welcoming all of our guests to our Manchester site and meeting some new faces. BSC’s core focus will always be producing stand out coffee using our house and guest blends, as well as producing tasty food that can be enjoyed in the venue or when guests grab and go.”

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Christmas at Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. Pic Mark McNulty

The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic has announced that David M Robinson has become a Premier Sponsor of the organisation. David M Robinson, a family-owned independent jewellery designer and watch retailer, has been a long standing supporter of Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and has sponsored the Spirit of Christmas concert series since 2014.

As part of the upgrade to Premier Sponsor, David M Robinson will be sponsoring the Viva Verdi! concert taking place at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall on June 11, 2022. Managing director John Robinson said: “Our support for Liverpool Philharmonic is a long standing friendship, which we are pleased to continue with this latest commitment.

“As a business that remains proud of our Liverpool heritage, partnerships such as this underpin our commitment to our home city, as well as to arts and culture in the North West. Liverpool Philharmonic is an international success story and one that we, as a Liverpool-based family business, are pleased to be affiliated with.”

Michael Eakin, chief executive of Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, said: “We’d like to thank David M Robinson for their generous support for Liverpool Philharmonic. Their upgrade to Premier Sponsor is a great example of our leading businesses supporting and working in partnership with Liverpool Philharmonic. We look forward to the Viva Verdi! concert in the summer, which will be conducted by Domingo Hindoyan, Liverpool Philharmonic’s new chief conductor.”

David M Robinson is a proud supporter of culture, youth and sporting organisations across the North West, including Liverpool Philharmonic, National Museums Liverpool, On-Side Youth Zones and a shirt sponsor at Sale Sharks.

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Two North West universities are in the top 10 UK educational establishments for generating graduate start-ups, including sole traders, since 2014/15, according to a report by business financial platform Tide.

The University of Central Lancashire was placed fifth, with 851 start-ups in the period, while Manchester Metropolitan University was ninth, with 608 businesses.

Interestingly, it wasn’t a Russell Group university or a business school that produced the most start-ups, but actually, the Royal College of Art, in London, which has seen graduates start more than 1,600 businesses since 2014/15.

Liverpool John Moores University was placed 19th in the rankings, after helping to generate 321 new business ventures.

Close by, at 22nd in the list of the top 50 universities for start-ups, was the University of Salford (292), followed by the University of Manchester at 37th slot (211).

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Stephen Cunningham

Stephen Cunningham, marketing manager of Manchester-based Mint Property Finance, has gone the extra mile for Mind by running the Liverpool Marathon in aid of the mental health charity. The 31-year-old took on the 26-mile challenge in memory of his late brother, who sadly took his own life in 2018. It is one of a number of fundraising challenges he has undertaken in support of mental health-focused charities over the past three years.

Backing Stephen every step of the way were his colleagues who pledged their support helping Stephen raise more than £1,500. In a further show of support Mint Property Finance also made Mind the business’s charity of the month, pledging a further £850. As part of the business’s corporate and social responsibility programme the business pledges £850 every month in aid of a charity close to the team’s heart.

Over the past 11 months the specialist finance lender has donated more than £10,000 to worthwhile causes including Cash for Kids, The Christie Charitable Fund, The RSPCA, and Cancer Research UK.

Stephen said: “Mind is a charity very close to my heart due to the amazing work they do to support those suffering from mental health illnesses and aiding in removing the stigma around them. I’m very grateful for the support of my colleagues and Mint as a business, both emotionally and through their sponsorship of my marathon.”

Founder and managing director of Mint, Andrew Lazare, said: “As a business and a team of individuals, charity is incredibly important to us. It’s why we committed to making our annual charity programme employee run – our team get to choose the fundraising activity we will undertake together every month as well as the charity to which we, as a business, will support. It’s just one of the many ways in which we unite inside and outside of work.”