North West business briefs: University of Salford; Liverpool One; Alliance Manchester Business School; Everton FC; LCRCA; Boost
Students and recent graduates from the University of Salford have teamed up with Cloud Imperium Games to lend their voices to the developer’s new highly-anticipated video game.
Current students and alumni from the MA Screen Acting, BA Media and Performance and BA Theatre and Performance Practice programmes returned to the Peel Park campus on August 20, to record dialogue for the developer’s highly anticipated new game, Squadron 42 – a Hollywood-calibre story-driven single player game set in the same universe as massively multiplayer space simulation Star Citizen, the largest crowdfunded video game ever.
The group of current and former students are set to join the vast voice cast ensemble for the release which will feature the voices of award-winning actors including Gary Oldman, Mark Strong, Mark Hamill, Gillian Anderson, Andy Serkis, Henry Cavill and John Rhys-Davies.
On the day, the group of 23 first did some solo recordings in the Voice Recording studio within the New Adelphi building for a variety of background characters to fill moments of cinematics and gameplay before undertaking group work in the New Adelphi Theatre where they recorded 3D crowd and background audio for the game.
Jamie Peebles, a MA Screen Acting graduate, said: “The opportunity blew me away and it’s a crazy opportunity. The fact that I’ve heard of Cloud Imperium, that they’ve got some really big names on the cast and the fact that my name might be on a big game like this, it’s almost unbelievable.”
The opportunity for the graduates came through the university tapping into its alumni network as a former MSc Audio Production student, Desiree Hulley, now recordist at Cloud Imperium Games, reached out about utilising the facilities and working with recent graduates.
::
Liverpool One
Retail site Liverpool One is set to become the UK’s first retail destination to unveil two brand new schemes to improve accessibility for all visitors.
With roughly 58,000 households in the Liverpool City Region having at least one disabled member, which represents almost 40% of all households across the region, the new tools – Sociability and Waymap – piloted from August 28, are aiming to support visitors both ahead of their visit and once they are at Liverpool One.
Sociability helps disabled people find accessible places. On this initial pilot the majority of stores, restaurants, and entertainment venues at Liverpool One have been visited to assess their accessibility features and create an online accessibility directory of the venues.
Matt Pierri, founder and CEO at Sociability, said: “Sociability takes away the stress and anxiety of planning an accessible day out – helping more disabled people to enjoy all that Liverpool One has to offer, and to spend more time with the people they love, in the places they want to visit.”
Waymap is the first navigation app of its kind to work indoors, outdoors and even deep underground, without GPS. Built primarily for blind and partially sighted people by a team which includes members of the visually impaired community, the application also includes a step-free access option, to additionally assist visitors with reduced mobility. Dr Tom Pey, CEO and founder of Waymap, who is also blind, said: “We’re incredibly proud to be working alongside Liverpool One, helping to ensure that all visitors, especially those with visual impairments, can navigate Liverpool One independently and confidently.”
::
Stuart Wells and Andy Lofthouse
Alliance Manchester Business School (AMBS) is to partner with the city’s leading property developer, Renaker on a global lecture series in four international centres: Dubai, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Singapore as the start of a long term relationship with the business school.
Under the banner of Vital Topics Global, the lecture series will continue the tradition of excellence set by AMBS’s prestigious Vital Topics lectures. These sessions have consistently attracted top-tier speakers, such as Tom Beahon, co-founder and co-CEO of Castore Sportswear, Becky Speight, CEO of the RSPB, and renowned economist Paul Ormerod, who have shared their expertise and insights on business and management issues.
Stuart Wells, Managing Director, Executive Education at AMBS said: “There are many parallels between AMBS and Renaker, not just in our commitment to going beyond the expected, but also in our shared values and vision. With the launch of Vital Topics Global, we look forward to sharing the original thinking generated at the business school and the University of Manchester.”
Andy Lofthouse, Renaker Chief Executive, said: “We are building successful communities in Manchester across a portfolio of city centre neighbourhoods. One of our neighbourhoods, New Jackson, is located within walking distance of the city’s knowledge quarter. We are, therefore, delighted to partner with AMBS to proudly showcase Manchester as a region to live, work, and learn.”
AMBS will launch Vital Topics in the autumn of 2024. For more information on Vital Topics please visit the AMBS Events Website.
::
Mike France, left, Richard Kenyon
Christopher Ward has become the latest Founding Partner at Everton Stadium. The long term agreement sees the UK’s largest watch brand further extend its burgeoning and successful relationship with the club.
As part of the benefits of Founding Partner status at the £760m 52,888-seat new stadium, the Christopher Ward brand will become recognised within Everton Stadium as a ‘Presenting Partner’ of the revolutionary ‘Dock On 1’ concept – a new social space of bars and restaurants that offers members a flexible matchday experience.
The creative team at the Anglo-Swiss organisation will help influence the design and experience of Dock on 1’s four socialising and dining experiences, which will all be based on the preferences and insight of modern football fans. Dock on 1 will also incorporate an immersive Christopher Ward watch showroom experience, the first of its kind to be integrated into a football stadium anywhere in the world, which will be open on non-matchdays as an invitation-only space while, on matchdays, the immersive space will operate as a Christopher Ward branded private dining experience.
Richard Kenyon, Everton’s Chief Commercial and Communications Officer, said: “This is an exciting deal for Everton as we look forward to our move to our new stadium. This represents an innovative collaboration which will provide a range of benefits not only to Christopher Ward and the club but directly to our supporters in some of the premium spaces in our new home.”
Mike France, CEO and co-founder, Christopher Ward, said: “Becoming a Founding Partner of Everton Stadium represents a new high water mark for the Christopher Ward brand, especially as the result of our partnership will be a unique, world-first experience for fans of both Everton and Christopher Ward.”
::
More homes across the Liverpool City Region are set to be fitted with energy-saving solar panels and battery storage and electric vehicle (EV) charging points with the repeat of a successful money-saving, group-buying scheme.
More than 700 households have benefitted from the first two rounds of the scheme, which saw 7,500 solar panels fitted, which will reduce carbon emissions by 13,000 tonnes over 25 years, the equivalent of taking 7,250 cars off the road for a year.
During the past two rounds of the Solar Together scheme in the city region, the costs for a typical 14-panel solar array were, on average, 33% and 37% less than the market price.
Solar Together helps homeowners feel confident that they are paying the right price for a high quality installation from qualified installers. Residents can join the group-buying scheme for free, which offers solar panels with optional battery storage and EV charge points, as well as retrofit battery storage for residents who have already invested in solar panels and are looking to get more from the renewable energy they generate.
Cllr Graham Morgan, Liverpool City Region Cabinet Member for Housing and Regeneration, said: “Solar panels allow people to cut their energy bills and to do their bit for the environment, but the process can sometimes feel complicated and finding a trustworthy contractor might feel daunting to some residents. Solar Together helps to address those concerns and give residents a simpler way to make the leap, and the take-up so far across the city region over the first two rounds shows that many have now taken that step.”
::
Boost, Lancashire’s Business Growth Hub, has put out a call to find Lancashire’s fastest growing business.
With just under 900 scale-up businesses located across the county, Boost is on a mission to identify the most rapidly growing organisations. These ambitious businesses are invited to join its fully-funded Scale to Thrive programme, to receive government-backed support targeted at boosting business growth.
It comes as Boost looks to welcome 80 new businesses to its Scale to Thrive programme, designed for those looking to grow by at least 20% year-on-year.
As part of the programme, businesses are assigned a dedicated advisor who helps to identify future growth opportunities and devise a tailored 12–36-month strategy to help the organisation scale. Ongoing mentoring sessions, inspirational events and masterclasses then help participants overcome emerging challenges and ultimately accelerate the growth of their business.
Since its launch over ten years ago, Boost has helped more than 14,000 businesses across the county, in turn creating in excess of 3,500 local jobs, with support offered through multiple different tailored programmes. Businesses in Lancashire’s 10 contributing local authority areas can receive support.
