North West business briefs: Science in Sport; The Stables; GMCA; BOOST; PHX Training

Sports nutrition firm, Science in Sport (SiS), which last month opened a new £7.2m manufacturing and logistics hub in Blackburn, has been named as official performance solution partner for London Premier League side, Tottenham Hotspur, working closely with its nutrition and sports science teams for the next four seasons.

Through the partnership, the club will have access to a bespoke Performance Solutions Framework, custom designed from leading professionals at SiS to shape its nutrition strategy. This includes frequent dialogue with a high-performance advisory board with exclusive access to specific performance knowledge and external quality assurance.

Included on the board is Prof James Morton, director of performance solutions at SiS, who said: “Science in Sport are committed to fuelling the world’s best athletes and sports teams with world leading science and innovation. With our Performance Solutions programme, we tailor our research, innovation, and world class knowledge to deliver a true competitive advantage.”

The club will also employ dedicated staff to work exclusively with SiS, including a PHD student to examine, input and help develop the programme. Headed by the club’s lead nutritionist, Emma Tester, this will involve frequent performance research trials and early-stage innovation studies.

She said: “At Tottenham Hotspur we aspire to be the world’s best in performance nutrition. Since the start of pre-season, we have been working closely with James Morton and the team at SiS to get the products implemented across the squad and begin planning our wider nutritional strategy. Having access and support from industry-leading experts is of huge benefit to us.

“We have had great feedback from the players on the range of products available to them and we look forward to developing bespoke products to truly personalise their nutrition programme.”

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The Stables

The Stables, a new canteen-style concept bar & restaurant serving classic home comforts and once a feature of the Coronation Street soap, is launching in Manchester city centre this week.

A soft launch of the industrial-style space in Enterprise City, a stone’s throw from Spinningfields and Deansgate-Castlefield, saw a lunch and dinner menu served from £5.

Following the soft launch, the site will be open from Tuesday, August 9, every Tuesday to Thursday, for lunch and dinner. The Stables is located on Lower Byrom Street, next to the Crystal Maze and Department Bonded Warehouse.

Once part of Granada Studios and a feature of Coronation Street, The Stables has been reinvented to include a contemporary bar and professional kitchen under its vaulted beams, to cater for the thousands of workers set to move into the Enterprise City district in the coming months and years.

Phil Dove, food and beverage director at site operator All Work & Social, said: “We set out to create a casual, canteen-style dining experience and we have truly delivered that with The Stables. We pride ourselves on our bespoke catering team who are passionate about hospitality and creating an elevated experience. We take care to source all our produce locally and we are always sure to recognise the city of Manchester throughout our menu.”

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Cllr Eamonn O’Brien

Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has joined forces with the Association of Apprentices (AoA) in a new partnership to boost the apprenticeship experience for learners in Greater Manchester.

GMCA and the AoA have signed a formal Memorandum of Understanding, which will remain in place for the next three years. In the formal agreement, both organisations have set out how they will work in partnership to increase support available to apprentices and connect employers, particularly small and medium enterprises (SMEs), to resources, provide access to training events as well as peer learning groups.

An inaugural apprentice networking event is set to take place on September 27, this year in Manchester city centre. Cllr Eamonn O’Brien, GMCA portfolio Llead for education, skills, work, apprenticeships and digital, said: “We want Greater Manchester to be one of the best places in the world to grow up, get on and grow old. A key part of this is ensuring that everyone can access the very best career and training opportunities, across a broad spectrum of industries, right here in Greater Manchester.

“The proposals set out in our Memorandum of Understanding with the Association of Apprentices are really exciting, and will help to support us in achieving our ambitious plans to increase the number of high quality apprenticeships and opportunities for people living in the city region.”

Emily Austin, CEO of Association of Apprentices, said: “We set up the AoA to fill the gap in professional and social networking opportunities that apprentices sometimes miss out on by going straight into work rather than university or perhaps because they are the only apprentice in their organisation or department. It can be quite isolating and lonely, and peer connections for support and advice can make a huge difference to an apprentice’s experience and whether they complete their apprenticeship.”

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Wendy Bowers

A dedicated new online hub has been launched to coincide with the release of a detailed report about the challenges faced by women in business and leadership in Lancashire. The Women in Enterprise Hub has been funded and launched by Boost, Lancashire’s Business Growth Hub.

It provides details of current female business support and events services as well as showcasing inspirational women in the county through Q&A interviews. It has been launched in response to the Growing Women, Growing Lancashire report, which was funded by Boost and authored by two influential leaders in Lancashire’s business support community, Jane Binnion and Wendy Bowers.

A Women in Enterprise steering group has also been established to work alongside the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership and create a long term strategy to grow the number of women in business and leadership in the county. Andrew Leeming, programme manager, Boost, said: “We all need to do more to support female entrepreneurs and business leaders across the county.

“This is not simply about creating a new hub on the Boost website. It is a signal that Boost and Lancashire County Council is responding to this important report and will continue to work with Jane and Wendy to improve the economic landscape for our female entrepreneurs. We want to better understand the unique challenges women in business face and begin to tackle these together.”

Report co-author, Wendy Bowers, said: “There is no national strategy to support women in leadership and business and Lancashire’s response to the recommendations in the report has been swift and impressive. We already have a Women in Enterprise steering group in place, working in conjunction with the Lancashire LEP as well as a six month women’s business growth programme Women Scaling Up through Lancashire County Council’s Two Zero scaleup service, which will begin in September.”

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Aimee Cross and Mel Chapman have been hired permanently by PHX Training

Seven young people from across the North West have started work placements with a training provider through a Government jobs incentive.

PHX Training has supported the seven Kickstart workers across its centres in Barrow, Carlisle, Preston, Blackpool and Morecambe. Each employee is now completing a six-month placement, either as an administrator or as a trainee work coach, helping people in the region to complete training courses designed to help them find work or upskill current staff at businesses.

In total, PHX Training has taken on 20 Kickstart placements so far, while the Government recently announced more than 150,000 people across the country have been taken on by the work placement scheme. Kickstart placements help young people on Universal Credit to complete a fully funded six-month work placement with an employer, with many then going on to secure full time paid work. PHX Training’s placements have also led to four permanent jobs within the company following the end of the six months.

Briony Fawcett, managing director of PHX Training, said: “As a training provider aimed at helping people to find work, I’m really proud of the way that we have supported dozens of young people find work placements which can get them experience of the workplace and help them find permanent jobs. Already, our new Kickstart employees have got stuck in, helping us to improve lives across the North West by helping people to complete training and qualifications, find work and improve the skills of Lancashire and Cumbria’s workforces.”

PHX Training has centres in Barrow, Carlisle, Morecambe, Preston and Blackpool to help people complete training courses with the aim of getting them back into work. PHX delivers government-backed initiatives including adult skills – Maths, English and vocational courses, NEET (not in education, employment or training) and employability contracts.