North West business briefs: Manchester United FC; Cardinal; Keystone Law; UA92; Procemsa Group; NatWest
Estée Lauder will team up with Manchester United, to reach and engage their extensive fanbase in China and the Asia Pacific region, a first-of-its-kind partnership for the brand.
Kicking off this summer, the partnership’s inaugural campaign will launch with players from United’s first team, including Marcus Rashford, Luke Shaw, Alejandro Garnacho and Raphaël Varane. Bringing together the worlds of beauty and sports, the campaign will engage fans across Manchester United’s social platforms – with a reach of more than 250 million in China alone – with dynamic social storytelling around the benefits of recharging the skin.
Justin Boxford, global brand president, Estée Lauder, said: “The bold vision, creativity, and innovation of our trailblazing founder, Mrs Estée Lauder, continues to inspire us to disrupt and push boundaries. We are excited to collaborate with the world’s most popular football team on this first-of-its-kind partnership, and to expand Estée Lauder’s reach to new audiences of male consumers in an unexpected and ground-breaking way.
“Estée Lauder and Manchester United are both globally recognised as best-in-class brands with incredible heritage with generations of loyal fans around the world, and a shared commitment to delivering peak performance – whether in our products or on the playing field.”
The partnership will initially spotlight Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Serum, an industry disruptor, and one of the best-selling, most-loved skincare products in the brand’s history. The master multi-tasking Advanced Night Repair performs like seven serums in one, featuring an exclusive ingredient, Tripeptide-32, to help optimise skin’s own rhythm of daytime protection and night time repair. Just one dropper morning and evening reveals energised, refreshed, and hydrated skin.
Victoria Timpson, Manchester United’s CEO of alliances and partnerships, said: “Estée Lauder is a globally renowned and trusted brand, and we are excited to be partnering with them in China and Asia Pacific. As one of the most followed sports teams in the world, we understand the importance of educating fans on a healthy lifestyle, and skincare is an integral part of that process.”
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Recently-promoted Wythenshawe FC has announced local neighbours and international firm, Cardinal Global Logistics, as official sponsors for the 23/24 campaign as the club aims to continue to climb the leagues.
Manager Shane Goldrick will be leading WFC into their first-ever campaign in the North West Counties Premier Division following last season’s promotion – with Cardinal appearing on the front of the 23/24 home shirt (royal blue and white stripes) and away (red and black stripes) kit. Cardinal’s name will also feature on the Wythenshawe FC Women’s team kits – as newly-appointed first team manager James Mulvihill leads their first season as a semi-professional side.
Cardinal launched in 1998 with a £15,000 business loan and has since blossomed into an international firm with more than 40 offices, 6,000 clients and revenues exceeding £500m.
Craig Poole, UK managing director of Cardinal Global Logistics, said: “Our decision to sponsor Wythenshawe FC is an easy one. I grew up in this area, I know the impact clubs such as this can have on young kids. It can’t be overstated. Seeing them win the play-off against Pilkington in North West Counties Champions Cup is proof of their determination and spirit. And that’s what we’re all about at Cardinal. We couldn’t be prouder to support them.”
Night Time Economy Adviser for Greater Manchester, Sacha Lord, recently joined Wythenshawe FC as chairman. He said: “This is a great local company and we are excited by the prospect of them being a part of the next part of the journey at Wythenshawe. The club has so much potential – we have plans to grow attendance and improve the overall experience for fans and visitors, making this a thriving ground with a hugely diverse fanbase.”
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James Knight
Keystone Law has opened a new hub in the city centre of Manchester to support its growing practice in the region.
Keystone’s new Manchester base brings with it an ideal environment for partners and other lawyers to collaborate with colleagues and meet with clients. This latest development has been driven by a surge of new lawyers in the North West keen to take advantage of Keystone’s innovative business model and the level of flexibility and autonomy they will experience.
The firm recently welcomed new partner Andrea James to its North West team. Andrea, a noted expert in professional discipline and healthcare regulatory law, has defended professionals at fitness-to-practise proceedings before their regulatory bodies, and also represented many student professionals in university fitness-to-practise investigations and qualified professionals in local-level processes, including MHPS and ICB/performers list proceedings.
The launch of this Manchester hub follows a strong period of growth which saw the firm announce a revenue increase of 8.1% to £75.3m and more than 30 new partners joined the firm over the past year, taking the total number of fee earners to 507. Keystone’s strong financial position and steady number of new recruits will be bolstered by the firm’s expansion in the North West.
CEO, James Knight, said: “At Keystone we seek to support our fee earners with all the tools and facilities they need to provide an outstanding level of service to our valued clients. This new Manchester office will help our growing team of lawyers in the area to collaborate more effectively whilst raising awareness as to the broad service offerings we now have.”
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The UA92 campus
Manchester’s UA92 (University Academy 92) will welcome a team of analysts from FIFA to its Old Trafford campus this month for the duration of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023.
The campus will play home to 55 members of the organisation’s Data Collection Unit, who will be based at UA92’s state-of-the-art Digital Academy throughout the tournament (July 20- August 20).
A key part of FIFA’s Football Performance Insights team, the data analysts will be supporting the tournament through the collection of football intelligence metrics, collecting data for each individual player in the tournament. The data collected by the team at UA92 will power post-match reports for teams, global broadcast partners and fans, providing a greater level of football knowledge to the public.
Gareth Smith, executive director of student life and strategy at UA92, said, “We are delighted to welcome FIFA to UA92 this summer, and support them with our facilities as they produce the world’s most advanced data set in football. We hope to continue to work with them beyond the tournament. We have no doubt that the FIFA Women’s World Cup will be a spectacular event, and we wish the Lionesses the very best for the tournament.”
Tom Gardner, lead of Football Performance Insights at FIFA, said: “We’re really excited about providing the world with such detailed information on every match during FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023. This is the first time delivering this level of information for a senior Women’s Tournament, and we are really looking forward to the impact this can make.”
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Some of the Procesma team at VitaFoods 2023
CDMO (contract development and manufacturing organisation), Procemsa Group, whose UK operation is located in Blackpool, has launched a portfolio of pet care supplements and cosmetics to meet growing demand for pet humanisation.
Launched at Vitafoods Europe 2023, the range comprises several lines, including probiotic for cats’ digestive wellbeing, dog vitamins, joint support food supplements, mood-regulation sticks and cosmetics such as shampoo and specific product for fur. Pet care supplements have a wide range of benefits and Procemsa’s new solution-based products help tackle issues with teeth and gums, joints, skin and coat and gut health.
Vitamin-rich pet supplements can help support brain, heart, eye, kidney and liver functions. In addition, minerals and antioxidants benefit the skin, coat and overall health. Cosmetics use the best raw materials available according to the most recent PET CARE’S innovations. The cleansing bases of shampoos use a perfectly balanced system of vegetable surfactants, designed for optimal, but truly delicate cleansing, without depleting the scalp and to respect the delicate structure of the fur.
According to the PDSA, more than half of UK adults (53%) own a pet, with an estimated population of 22 million pet cats and dogs. In addition, 75% of UK pet owners buy a Christmas gift for their pet while more than two thirds (66%) spend more money on gifts for their pets than their partner.
Robert Walker, chief revenue officer at Procemsa Group, said “As a leader in nutraceuticals, diversification into pet products was the natural next step for the business. Much like people, variety is the key to a healthy diet for dogs and cats and adding a vitamin and mineral supplement is a fantastic way to ensure extra nutrients are absorbed to keep a four-legged friend healthy.”
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Granny Dowbekins tearoom
A Pooley Bridge restaurant owner is expanding the business with the purchase of a popular tearoom after securing a finance package from NatWest.
Gary Dudson and wife Leila, owners of the Secret Garden restaurant and cafe in Pooley Bridge, have bought next door property, Granny Dowbekins tearoom, for the asking price of £2m.
Gary and Leila bought the former Pooley Bridge post office and general stores in 2019, and developed the rear of the site into the Secret Garden riverside café, which opened in 2020. With the business thriving, and now employing 14 full time and 35 part time staff, when the café came up for sale next door, it proved an ideal opportunity to expand, they said.
Gary said: “Granny Dowbekins is a firm favourite with locals and visitors alike and given the proximity to the Secret Garden and the synergies of the two businesses, when it came up for sale we were interested right away. We’re delighted to be able to call ourselves the new owners and excited for the future of both businesses. The tearoom has a fantastic reputation and we’ll be keeping all of the current staff, so they can help us continue the great service that the tearoom is known for. We’re hoping to build on the opening hours and, of course, make the most of the wonderful riverside setting that both venues benefit from.”
Mark Ward, senior relationship manager at NatWest, said: “It has been fantastic to help Gary and his family to expand their business when this ideal opportunity came along, literally on their doorstep.”
