NW business briefs: Vernon Building Soc; Challenge-trg Group; Chester Uni; American Golf; THB; digitaltravel.io; LSH Auto
Stockport-based Vernon Building Society has completed the refurbishment of its Poynton branch, and is further demonstrating its commitment to the high street with the announcement it plans to have a presence in all Greater Manchester boroughs within the next five years.
The £150,000 refurbishment of the Poynton branch on Park Lane is particularly important because it is the only building society or bank left with a branch in the town.
The Vernon in Poynton has been given a contemporary interior with a modern looking, but traditional counter service, open plan booths for members to receive face to face support, two interview rooms for customer privacy and a customer seating area. Part of a £1.2m investment programme to improve its six-branch network, Vernon’s Poynton branch is the fifth to have been completed.
As with its other recent branch refurbishments in Reddish, Hazel Grove, Bramhall and its St Petersgate HQ in Stockport, the Vernon appointed local suppliers. The Poynton branch was designed by Standing Space, and work has been carried out by local contractors Monks Morton Design Interiors, Flexible Office and Sharp.
The Vernon hopes that renovations will start on its final branch, on Hollins Lane in Marple, by the end of the year or the start of 2025.
CEO, Steve Fletcher, said: “As the only remaining high street branch in Poynton it was especially important for us to be able to offer face-to-face banking services in a great environment. Whether members want to deposit a cheque, receive mortgage advice or discuss their online banking, we have a friendly team offering an expert service and now in new modernised premises.”
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Richard Cropper, left, Tom Cropper
One of the UK’s biggest privately-owned recruiters has announced it is an employee-owned business. The half-a-billion revenue generating Challenge-trg Group, based in Wigan, has more than 400 full-time employees and has confirmed a majority stake now sits in its employees’ hands.
Founded by brothers Tom and Richard Cropper in 2011, the business has grown organically alongside a strategy of mergers and acquisitions of ethically aligned businesses.
Tom Cropper, previously CEO of Challenge-trg Group, who moves to Chair of the business, said: “My brother and I began this journey with great ambition, but always focused on being a good employer with people at the heart of everything we do. We take great pride in being able to transfer our stewardship into the hands of our amazing team, which critically ensures continuity for our clients whilst building on our industry leading people vision.”
Steve Imber, who is promoted to CEO, said, “What an exciting time for our business and all our staff! I’m thrilled to be taking on this role and continuing Tom and Rich’s vision. We specialise in creating jobs for people around the country – which couldn’t be more essential in these turbulent economic times. But to be able to move the business into the hands of our employees and encourage them to bring forward ideas and solutions is really what our business is about – equality, diversity and sustainable employment.”
Founders Tom and Richard Cropper will continue their oversight of the company on the newly-formed board. John Shinnick becomes the Independent Employee Trust Chairman supported by the new independent board of trustees including employee representatives and senior management. The deal was supported by advisors Matt Noon and Elan Iowerth from Hill Dickinson, Matt Hodgson from Claritas, Praetura and Close Brothers.
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Researchers at the University of Chester are working to improve poultry welfare, production, and sustainability in the industry with innovative solutions after two partnership projects were awarded millions in Government funding.
Experts from the Centre for Research into Environmental Science and Technology (CREST) at the university are part of the FeedFlow initiative, led by insect farming innovator Flybox, which has been granted more than £3m by Innovate UK from DEFRA’s (the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’) Farming Innovation Programme.
Larry Kotch, CEO and co-founder of Flybox, said: “Working alongside a phenomenal cohort of industry leaders and academic institutions, Flybox is confident that this project, which leverages advanced AI and Black Soldier Fly (BSF) larvae, will deliver exceptional results to tackle challenges in health, welfare, and sustainability.”
The FeedFlow project uses an AI-based platform developed by FLOX which is designed to unify data streams from farms and processing factories. It propels precision agriculture by delivering real-time data on flock welfare and early warnings of potential issues.
CREST, at the University of Chester, has also been awarded a £1.5m grant from the Government’s Transforming Food Production Challenge Fund, through Innovate UK, for the NetFLOX360 partnership project. The university is part of the NetFLOX360 consortium which, in line with the FeedFlow project, aims to ‘Bridge Poultry Farming Data with Factory Insights Using AI for Sustainable Growth’.
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Warrington-based American Golf the UK’s largest golf retailer, has announced a new exclusive partnership with premium US golf brand, LA GOLF. The deal means that selected American Golf stores will now stock LA GOLF’s carbon putter – the most technologically advanced putter ever made – with the largest sweet spot.
LA GOLF’s putter features an all-carbon head which is five times less dense than steel and allows for a larger sweet spot. The Descending Loft Face Technology (4-3-2-1 degree face) allows the ball to roll immediately off the face instead of skipping and skidding off a flat face.
The LA GOLF putters and balls will be available at 30 American Golf stores initially and are also on sale on American Golf’s website.
Stephen Edgar, Category Manager – Clubs, at American Golf said: “It’s great to add LA GOLF to our portfolio. Their expertise and innovation will complement the other fantastic manufacturers who have partnered with us as the UK’s leading golf retailer.”
Erin Cullen, VP Brand and Partnerships for LA GOLF, said: “As the market leader in golf retail in the UK, American Golf is the ideal choice to partner with for our brand. Our exclusive partnership will allow LA GOLF to bring the best products in the game to more golfers globally..”
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Imogen-Rose Gregory
A Preston woman has launched a beer company to raise funds for a cancer charity established in memory of her mother. Imogen-Rose Gregory cultivated the idea of selling beer after a family visit to a pub with her eldest brother and father.
The trio discussed how to raise funds for the Orange Foundation, a charity they set up in memory of Emma Aindow-Gregory, which provides practical support to people living with cancer.
Imogen-Rose said, “As a family, we didn’t want to rely on the continual goodwill of people making donations or us asking for money, mainly because it didn’t sit well with us. We wanted to create a way of generating funds for the foundation through everyday products, and we also wanted to get people talking about bowel cancer, as that’s what my mum died from.”
She added: “Like most things with us, we began joking around, but then, as we discussed it more, we thought, why not? We started coming up with names for the beers. We wanted something fun and provocative. So, we hit upon the name of the Turtle Head Brewing Company – yeah, it’s a bit of fun, but it gets people talking, which is important.”
The company will give 50% of its profits to the family charity. The beer is contract brewed by Hambleton Ales in Yorkshire and includes a core range of gluten-free and vegan-friendly beers and a wheat and gluten-free lager.
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Neil Hardy, Peter Whittle (digitaltravel.io), Jonathon Woodall-Johnston, Dame Irene Hays (Hays) Neil Munnoch (Nordstar)
Liverpool-based travel technology experts digitaltravel.io, have developed a bespoke app for the UK’s largest independent travel agent, Hays Travel, to help improve its customer service.
The tech company created an app, which launched this month, allowing customers to keep and view their travel documents in one place, settle balances with fast and secure payments, add holiday extras such as airport parking and car rental, as well as view a countdown to travel, access games, and earn badges.
Dame Irene Hays, Chair of Hays Travel, said: “Whether they are researching their next holiday or managing their booking, our app’s interactive features will further improve our customers’ experience and complement the service our agents provide in branches.”
Peter Whittle co-founded digitaltravel.io, in 2021 when he spotted a gap in the market. Itnow boasts an international customer base across the EU, Americas and APAC regions. He said: “This is a landmark project for digitaltravel.io.
“The bespoke app we have developed for Hays Travel will offer customers an even better experience and further grow Hays’ brand loyalty and reputation.”
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LSH Auto Stockport facility
LSH Auto will welcome three Australian apprentices for a cultural and career development tour next week.
Ray Sorrell, Louis Wade and Adriano Minna will fly to the UK for a week-long tour. Each apprentice will see first-hand the differences and similarities between apprenticeships in Australia and the UK and will be able to expand their knowledge and share insights with their colleagues.
As part of their tour, the apprentices will spend time working alongside the aftersales and parts teams at Mercedes-Benz of Stockport and Mercedes-Benz of Birmingham, to gain hands-on experience with operational work in the UK.
Katherine McLoughlin, Head of Aftersales at LSH Auto, said: “This initiative highlights the importance of open dialogue and knowledge exchange between our teams in different countries. We’re passionate about giving our apprentices the very best start.”
The Australian apprentices will also meet young people at Salford College and Manchester and Trafford College who may be interested in pursuing an apprenticeship themselves.
