NW business briefs: aether; Merrion Strategy; University of Salford; ESP Play; Black Milk; Animal Direction; Everton FC

Manchester Airport’s new private terminal, aether, has unveiled its bespoke menu, crafted by acclaimed local chef Adam Reid, renowned for his work at Adam Reid at The French.

Launching on Monday, November 4, 2024, the terminal will provide passengers with an unmatched check-in and lounge service that includes a partnership with BMW for travel from the terminal to the airport gates. Passengers will also have the exclusive opportunity to savour Adam Reid’s crafted menu, designed to enhance their dining experience before or after their journey.

The menu is divided into three set dining experiences: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner. Highlights from the breakfast menu include hot smoked salmon and scrambled crumpet, Reid’s signature breakfast bun, and stewed fruit with granola and yogurt.

Lunch features a crumpet topped with shrimp and tomato butter and salad, mincemeat gravy on toasted malt loaf, and Kirkham’s cheese and mushroom toast with walnut ketchup. For dinner, guests can indulge in roasted Cornish cod

with brown shrimp, stewed beef cheek with crispy bits of sage, or glazed hen of the woods mushrooms.

Adam Reid said: “I’m excited to be collaborating with the team at aether to curate a bespoke set menu for Manchester Airport’s new private terminal. We’ve crafted a delicious and thoughtful dining experience, marking a first for UK private terminals.

“With a guided set menu, guests can enjoy a stress-free and effortless journey, allowing them to fully relax before they travel.”

Suzanne Orr, General Manager of aether, said: “aether is evolving the airport experience for all travellers to and from Manchester Airport. Our collaboration with Adam Reid, one of the city’s top culinary talents, perfectly complements aether’s commitment to offering a high quality, stress-free travel experience.”

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Dougal Paver, left, Liam Didsbury

Liam Didsbury, the former North West regional director of the Labour Party who masterminded the election of 63 MPs at the recent General Election, has teamed up with property PR specialist Dougal Paver at Liverpool-based Merrion Strategy.

The pair will offer a blend of political and public relations advice at all stages of the development process to regeneration agencies, local authorities and developers, including stakeholder mapping and stakeholder engagement. The move adds political insight and weight to Merrion’s existing work in the space, says Dougal Paver. 

“I’ve been managing complex stakeholder engagement tasks for many years but in a changing political landscape it’s important to have someone with Liam’s expertise and networks at clients’ disposal,” he said. 

Didsbury said: “I want to use my experience to help public authorities and agencies, as well as their private sector partners, build understanding as we adjust to a new regeneration environment. The Government’s focus on housebuilding, grey belt and planning reform all pose new challenges and opportunities.”

Current retained Merrion clients include Parkside Regeneration, the joint venture between St Helens Council and Langtree, and Wire Regeneration, Warrington Council’s strategic development body for the town’s Southern Gateway project.  Private sector clients include Ainscough Strategic Land, BXB Land Solutions, Graham and Tawd Valley Developments. Merrion also advises Wirral Council, Caro Developments and Langtree Group.

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Connoll Pavey

The University of Salford is launching the UK’s first diploma for students wanting to train in motion capture technology.

It is opening applications for its DipHE Motion Capture for the Screen Studies programme for September 2025. DipHe is a Diploma in Higher Education and is awarded after two years of full time study at the University. Salford is the first Higher Education institute in the UK to offer a specialist degree in motion capture – though others do offer short courses that last five days at most.

Led by award-winning technicians Connoll Pavey and Jake Louden, the course will position students to learn the fundamentals of motion capture technology, be able to set up and run their own project in a studio and spend time working with an industry partner specialising in the technology.

It will be offered in association with the Greater Manchester Institute of Technology and also offered as a one-year CertHE (Certificate of Higher Education) course.

Connoll Pavey, Co-Programme Leader and Technician at the Salford School of Arts, Media and Creative Technology, said: “The use of motion capture technology is exploding across the creative industries. It’s already widely used across video games, television and film and as the technology develops, it will soon become available to those filming at home as easily as it is for those on film sets. The tech is going to get smaller and easier to access for all.”

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ESP Play

Burnley-based playground specialist, ESP Play, is celebrating a raft of contract wins from schools across the country.

Following on from the company’s record breaking July the new contracts, totalling £400,000, will create tailored playgrounds across four UK primary schools. This includes Millbank Academy in London, Our Lady’s Catholic school in Sunderland, Five Lane Primary School in Leeds and Pimlico Primary in London.

Each playground will be designed and manufactured with the needs of the specific school setting in mind and the space available at the site. This includes accessibility of equipment as well as equipment suitable for the range of ages within the schools.

Andrew Wood, Managing Director of ESP Play, said: “With significant deprioritisation of budgets for public playgrounds from local authorities across the UK, it’s more important than ever to have play areas and equipment accessible to all, especially within educational settings.”

An investigation by ESP Play in February 2024 uncovered a postcode lottery for children with playground spending varying wildly from one local council area to another. Its report claimed that cuts to council budgets have led to children in some regions not getting the same opportunities as others.

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From left: Sue Barnard (British Business Bank), Alison Darkes, Andy Young and Oliver Taylor (Black Milk)

Manchester café, Black Milk, has secured a loan from the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II (NPIF II), following the launch of the Fund earlier this year. The deal is also the first for NPIF II in Greater Manchester. 

The funding comes from NPIF II – GC Business Finance and River Capital Smaller Loans and will support Black Milk in the next stage of its growth. Founded by Oliver Taylor nine years ago, Black Milk started out as a milkshake and cereal café, selling baked goods, and has since expanded its product offering to include pancakes, gelato and more. 

It also has an online shop, where it stocks spreads and granolas, which are used in the products made in store. Oliver previously worked in French and Argentinian restaurants and believed the incredible desserts, sauces and ice creams could become front and centre of his new concept, Black Milk. 

Oliver Taylor said: “We set up Black Milk almost a decade ago from humble roots. We wouldn’t have been able to stock shelves in Selfridges or create a cereal in partnership with other brilliant brands without the funding, so we’re really grateful to NPIF II for supporting us as we grow. We are now able to give back, and support some brilliant local charities, such as Mad Dog Street Project and Mustard Tree.”

Alison Darkes, Investment Manager at GC Business Finance, said: “It has been a delight to work with Oliver and Andy to provide the first NPIF II loan in Greater Manchester. They are such lovely, passionate people to work with, and the success they have achieved so far is admirable.”

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Animal Direction team, Davinia Hamilton-Maddox second from left

Animal Direction, the pet casting agency based in Salford’s MediaCity, is celebrating a record-breaking year with one of its clients recognised by BAFTA, and roles currently in production for ITV, Netflix, and multiple household brands.

Founder and director, Davinia Hamilton-Maddox, set up Animal Direction as a hobby business in 2012 following the completion of a catalogue for a pet brand client. Since then, the agency has grown massively, now with seven staff based across the country to meet national demand, and an annual turnover breaking the £100,000 barrier this year.

Animal Direction, which puts the welfare of its clients first, has worked with major pet brands such as Harringtons and Pets at Home, as well as supporting household names including Wren Kitchens and Holland & Barrett with the provision of well-trained and well-looked after animals. 

Davinia said: “I’m thrilled with the unprecedented success of Animal Direction and we’re going from strength to strength collaborating with major producers and casting directors on high-profile shows. The welfare of our animals is top priority for my agency and I’m proud of our nationwide availability of cats, dogs, snakes, rabbits, horses and more.”

The agency said one of its proudest moments to date was to see client Chilli the Fox Red Labrador featured in footage for Channel 4’s Late Night Lycett BAFTA nomination earlier this year, and the show went on to win the best comedy entertainment category.

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Everton FC has announced a multi-year partnership with corporate payments company Corpay, Inc that sees the brand’s Cross-Border business become the club’s new Official Foreign Exchange Partner.

Corpay, a globally recognised leader in corporate payments, connects diverse businesses and industries around the world through their innovative, award-winning Cross-Border solutions.

Through the partnership, Everton will be able to utilise a world-class trading platform to process cross-border payments, mitigate foreign exchange exposure from its day-to-day business needs and manage global payments from a single point of access. 

Corpay’s Cross-Border business will also support the club with currency risk management through automated payment systems and foreign exchange services. Richard Kenyon, Chief Commercial and Communications Officer at Everton, said: “We are excited to welcome Corpay’s Cross-Border business into our expanding partnership portfolio and look forward to working with them over the coming years and playing a part in their business growth. 

Brad Loder, Chief Marketing Officer, Corpay Cross-Border Solutions, said: “The Corpay Cross-Border team is honoured to be named the Official FX Partner of Everton, one of the oldest and most successful clubs in English football. This partnership further solidifies Corpay’s position as the corporate payments and currency risk management company of choice within the Premier League, and we look forward to working with Everton during the coming season and beyond.”