North West business briefs: Merseyrail; Together; Sodexo Live!; Barings Law; Liverpool Hope University; Xeinadin Group
Merseyrail will run a special timetable for the Grand National Festival, with a seven-and-a-half-minute frequency of service running between Liverpool city centre and Aintree station before the start and after the finish of the races on each day of the festival.
The operator said it aims to provide the best service to those attending the festival, which takes place from Thursday, April 13, until Saturday, April 15. The service will feature the new 777 Class Merseyrail train fleet which began operating on the Kirkby line for the first time on January 23. Trains on all Northern line services will run to a slightly amended timetable. Some trains may leave a few minutes earlier than normal. Passengers should check the journey planner for up-to-date departure times before travelling.
Trains to and from Aintree will be as follows. On all three days, a seven-and-a-half-minute service will run between Aintree and Liverpool Central/Moorfields stations at the following times, from approximately 11:00-14:00 (before the races), from approximately 17:00-20:48 (after the races). Ormskirk line: Stations between Liverpool city centre and Ormskirk will have a normal 15-minute service. However, to allow the extra trains to operate, Aughton Park station and Town Green station will have a 30-minute service.
Trains to Liverpool will not call at Orrell Park station between 16:30 to 21:00. Southport line: Trains will run to a slightly amended 15-minute timetable. Kirkby line: Some services between 10:00 and 21:00 will start and terminate at Sandhills. Passengers for Moorfields or Liverpool Central, or those making the return journey to Rice Lane, Fazakerley or Kirkby, may have to change at Sandhills. Services operated by Northern from Kirkby to Wigan Wallgate will be a rail-replacement bus service, with the last bus leaving Kirkby station at 19:20 each evening. Wirral line: All services to run to the normal timetable. Passengers travelling to the festival from any Wirral line stations are advised to change at Moorfields for an Aintree-bound train.
Passengers are strongly advised to buy tickets in advance to help reduce queuing time on the day. A range of entertainment is planned to welcome those using the rail network to attend this landmark event. As always, Merseyrail staff will be handing out their famous flip-flops to anyone with sore feet after a long day at the races.
Suzanne Grant, commercial director at Merseyrail, said: “For many years Merseyrail has been proud to play a significant part in The Grand National Festival, helping to ensure thousands of festival-goers have a great experience. We are ready and excited to provide the same high level of service this year.”
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Marc Goldberg
Specialist lender Together has revealed it lent more than £115m of short-term finance in a single month across its commercial business – a record in its 49-year history and an 8.5% increase on its previous record of £106m, set in May last year.
Total group lending in March topped £256m in a single month, across its commercial and personal finance business, highlighting Together’s strong contribution to both its customers and the UK property market. Together – with a group-wide loan book of more than £6bn – originated new lending across its entire product range, of bridging loans, buy-to-let, commercial mortgages, development finance and its consumer lending products, across the first and second charge market.
Marc Goldberg, commercial CEO, said: “We are proud today to announce record lending in March for our bridging loan offering, highlighting that there is a huge demand from businesses across the UK for specialist short-term finance to meet their ambitions. These latest lending figures mark an incredibly important milestone for us, and one which we couldn’t have achieved without the amazing dedication and support of our colleagues, who have all played their part in the success, enabling us to deliver to both our business partners and our customers.”
Cheadle-based Together has invested in increased automation across its back office functions, to improve the business’s processes, and streamlined its underwriting teams, a key factor in driving Together’s lending success.
Mr Goldberg said: “Providing access to finance for companies and investors is crucial for the country’s future prospects. Hopefully in the next few months we will begin to see the green shoots of recovery start to grow after what has been a tough winter. As a well-capitalised business, we’re in a very strong position to help more customers, as the UK continues its economic recovery.”
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Sodexo Live! and Blackburn Rovers staff
Sodexo Live!, the venue partner at some of the UK and Ireland’s most iconic music, cultural and sporting events including the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, has achieved the Green Meetings Gold Award, a new standard for sustainability in meeting and events spaces run by Green Tourism.
The Sodexo Live! team deliver catering and hospitality at Ewood Park, the home of Blackburn Rovers FC. The stadium is a versatile space which can be hired for a wide range of events from small business meetings to large corporate dinners for up to 400 guests.
The Green Meetings’ independent assessors looked at a wide range of criteria from energy, water, and waste through to catering, procurement and travel, as well as awareness, communication and community involvement at Ewood Park.
Rebecca Kane Burton, CEO Sodexo Live! UK&I, said: “We are thrilled to have achieved gold, especially as this is the first time we have applied for the Green Meetings accreditation, so to get top marks is a great accolade. Our team at Ewood Park is committed to delivering the best in food and hospitality for the fans and hospitality guests attending events there. Our talented chefs develop innovative menus for all our customers using seasonal and local produce as much as they can. We work closely with the football club to support the local community from food bank drives through to fundraising.”
Blackburn Rovers head of operations, Lynsey Talbot, said: “The club are working on their own sustainability standards in line with the EFL and it is great to see our partners leading the way in regard to the food and beverage operation. Football can be a real driver in sustainability and environmental awareness and it is important that we lead from the front to preserve our clubs and the settings to which they belong for many years to come.”
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Abshir Mussa and Ceylan Kolukisa
As millions across the world celebrate the holy month of Ramadan, employees at a Manchester firm have also put their hunger cravings aside by fasting with their Muslim colleagues.
Staff at Barings Law, which employs more than 100 people at its city centre office, have been standing side by side with their Muslim co-workers by not eating or drinking between sunrise and sunset. The firm’s 11 Muslim employees observing Ramadan this year, were joined by seven willing participants who also refrained from food or drink on Wednesday, March 29.
Barings Law has also gifted staff with traditional boxes of dates, the proceeds from which provide school meals for children around the world, and has given £15 food vouchers to those who are fasting. The supported fast was initially due to non-Muslim colleagues wanting to discover more about Ramadan and the experiences Muslims have throughout the holy month. What they took away from their abstaining period was more reflective than they had initially thought.
Ceylan Kolukisa, a non-Muslim paralegal who fasted for a day, said: “I was nervous at first, but I took part out of respect for my Muslim colleagues. I could not have done this without their support, and it has deepened my respect for how those who fast can carry on with their normal day in Ramadan, which I highly commend.”
Ramadan falls on the ninth month of the Islamic calendar during which Muslims fast for 30 days. Taking place every year, the month is supposed to help followers focus on gaining spiritual enlightenment. Practicing Muslim, Abshir Mussa, who is also a paralegal at the firm, said: “Seeing my non-Muslim colleagues fast, gives everyone a little boost and I feel a sense of camaraderie between us.”
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Liverpool Hope University
Liverpool Hope University has joined Growth Platform – Liverpool City Region’s Growth Company.
Established in 2019 by the Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership and Combined Authority, Growth Platform was set up to increase sustainable investment and business growth. It works in partnership with local authorities, businesses, universities and colleges and the third sector to deliver growth across the city region through business support, attracting investment and developing talent to create a fairer, greener and more inclusive economy for all.
As a result of its membership, Liverpool Hope University will have further opportunities to engage with key networks and stakeholders in the city region, building on its commitment to contributing to the educational, religious, cultural, social and economic growth of the city region and beyond. With its diverse research portfolio, Hope’s expertise in fields such as sustainability, valuing civil society, artificial intelligence, national security, entrepreneurship, health and life sciences and ethics align with the sectors Growth Platform works in, including clean growth, digital and creative, health and life sciences, professional and business services and visitor economy.
Liverpool Hope University vice-chancellor, Prof Claire Ozanne, said: “As the new vice-chancellor of Liverpool Hope University, I am delighted that we have joined the Liverpool City Region Growth Platform. This will better enable us to support the objectives and aspirations of the city region and to bring the wealth of experience amongst our staff to bear on the key issues our region is grappling with.”
Carolyn Knott, head of partnerships and people at Growth Platform, said: “It is fantastic to have Liverpool Hope University as a partner of Growth Platform and we look forward to working with them in the year ahead. The support we receive from our partners goes directly into making a difference to the city region’s growth for the benefit of our wider community.”
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Alan Fallows
UK and Ireland professional services group, Xeinadin, has created a dedicated corporate recovery division, to enable it to pool its capabilities from across the group.
Xeinadin Corporate Recovery will include the 25-strong Manchester-based KJG corporate recovery team, which has more than 70 years of heritage in insolvency and has won the Turnaround Restructuring & Insolvency (TRI) award for Boutique and Insolvency and Restructuring Firm of the Year twice. It will enable Xeinadin to bring together corporate recovery expertise from across its footprint of over 135 locations across the UK & Ireland.
Earlier this year the group acquired the long standing corporate recovery practice of Poppleton & Appleby Northern, with offices in Manchester and Huddersfield. The division, which will be led by Alan Fallows, focuses on the protection, rescue and restructure of solvent businesses seeking to close down and insolvent businesses struggling with debts they can’t afford to pay back.
The move follows the creation of the Xeinadin Corporate Finance division last September, the group’s first announcement on strategic changes following its significant minority investment from Exponent last year which has enabled Xeinadin to focus on its growth strategy and the development of key practice areas.
Alan Fallows, director, Xeinadin Corporate Recovery, said: “The corporate recovery space is highly active with many SMEs facing significant challenges from a combination of factors including inflation, supply chain issues, labour shortages and repayment deadlines for COVID-related loans. This restructure will allow us to pool the group’s resources more efficiently and grow faster in an integrated manner, giving business owners the best possible advice.”
