In Brief: Hickton; Billington; Fulcrum Utility Services; JPG; Yorkshire Dales Meat Company

JANE Verrall, a director of the Yorkshire based clerk of works company Hickton, has been killed in a car crash.

She was also the daughter of the founder and chairman of the South Yorkshire company, Tony Hickton.

Mr Hickton said: “A huge void has been left in our lives that will never be able to be filled.”

Tony Mobbs, managing director of Hickton, said: “She was a highly respected director and responsible for strategic planning and marketing as well as HR and quality assurance.  Jane was an integral part of the business being bubbly, very enthusiastic and like a whirlwind in the office.  She will be missed by everyone here. We’re all devastated and feeling a great loss for a friend and colleague at the moment but the office staff have been brilliant in maintaining the workflow and management of the business while alternative plans are put in place to cover Jane’s work.”

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STRUCTURAL steel and construction safety specialist Billington today said that it expects to report results ahead of expectations when it announces its year end figures next month.

The Barnsley-based business said that its performance continued to improve in the second half of 2013 and it will beat current market forecasts when it announces full year figures before the end of March.

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FULCRUM Utility Services today said that non-executive director Mark Watts has resigned from the company.

Mr Watts was one of the key figures in the formation of the the Rotherham-based business which was previously known as Marwyn Capital and acquired Fulcrum Group Holdings from National Grid in 2010.

Fulcrum said that Mr Watts will remain on its board until it has found a suitable replacement which it hopes will be before its full year results announcement in May.

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JPG has completed works for a multi-million pound, purpose designed headquarters campus for Think Money.

The Leeds based civil and structural engineering consultancy, was appointed by site owner Marshall CDP to provide civil, structural, geotechnical and highway design services for the site at Trafford Park in Manchester, following a pre-let to the financial services company. It has since consulted on the delivery of three new office buildings totalling 123,550 sq ft with a supporting crèche building and a gatehouse.

JPG been retained to provide engineering design services for the office fit out contract and has also prepared below ground services and foundations for a fourth building to facilitate expansion. 

Think Money is consolidating its existing Salford Quays operations and moving its entire 900 strong workforce into the campus. 

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YORKSHIRE Dales Meat Company has seen a 20% rise in sales of its products in Asda stores across the north of England since the beginning of the horsemeat scandal this time last year.

The business, which is based on its own farm in Wensleydale, sells its products in 50 Asda stores in Yorkshire, the North East, North West and North Midlands.

James Knox, financial director of Yorkshire Dales Meat Company, said: “We’re obviously very pleased with these sales figures and put it down to consumers looking to buy meat – and, in particular, beef – from trusted sources since the beginning of the Horsemeat scandal.

“These tremendous figures also show great confidence in our beef products sold in the supermarket, and in the brand that we’ve worked so hard to create.”