In Brief: University of Leeds Business Plan Competition; Zeal; The Ridings; 600 Group; Optare
CHILDREN’S indoor teepees and a taxi-sharing app for students have been named winners of the 2014 University of Leeds Business Plan Competition.
Organised by Spark, the University’s business start-up service, the annual competition awards prizes in two categories: Pre-trading and Trading up to 24 months. The winners each receive a prize of £2,000.
Alice Colligan won in the Pre-trading category for her business, Youmi & Teepee, a range of indoor playhouse teepees for children. The BSc Biology undergraduate came up with the idea when discussing ways to encourage children to read for pleasure with her mother who works in a primary school.
“I’ve been approached by local boutiques to stock the teepees and I’ll start selling in May 2014 when my website goes live,” she said. She will be using her prize money to create more designs as well as work on ideas for accessories.
Winner in the Trading category was JumpIn, founded by Sam Ryan, Barney Williams and James Gupta. The taxi booking and sharing app is tailored specifically for students and is in use in Leeds, Newcastle and Nottingham. A new deal signed with taxi company, ComCab, will also see the service rolled out to Birmingham and Liverpool, with a view to nationwide operation.
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ZEAL Media, the Leeds based digital agency, is celebrating its fourth year in business with new plans for further growth.
Zeal Media’s turnover has grown across the four years from £100,000 to a projected £1.5m. Zeal has more than doubled turnover each year and headcount has grown from four to 15.
Zeal Media said it believes 2014 will be an exciting year, with growth plans for the agency and client base.
Founder, Jane Slimming, said: “It’s been an amazing four years, and the success of Zeal is purely down to the people who work in it and the people who have helped us along the way. We’ve had so much support from so many different people; great clients, supportive friends and family and industry contacts who have gone out of their way to help us grow. We can’t wait to see what the next four years hold.”
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THE Ridings Shopping Centre, based in Wakefield, is introducing new themed fairs to increase footfall and drive custom and sales.
The move to complement the existing retail offering with themed events follows the success of a 2013 monthly market campaign, which was launched to invigorate the high street and resulted in driving footfall by 9%.
The Ridings, which celebrated its 30th birthday last year, will kick start its themed fairs on Mother’s Day with a Vintage Fair. Trialled in 2013, the vintage fair attracted 26,000 shoppers to the centre.
Barbara Winston, centre manager, said: “We all need to think innovatively to be competitive and retail is no different, especially with the many challenges still facing the high street.”
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ENGINEERING business 600 Group, the AIM-listed producer of machine tools and laser marking equipment, anticipates a return to double digit market growth this year.
In a trading update to March 29 2014, the Leeds-based company, which terminated discussions over a possible takeover by a Chinese industrial group earlier this year, said group revenues in the second half of the financial year were ahead of those in the first half, particularly at Electrox Laser following the successful launch of new product ranges in September. Revenue growth was delivered through further gains in market share, against a backdrop of quite challenging conditions, the group said.
The group said: “Group revenues and order intake during the final quarter ended March 29 2014 were particularly encouraging. Industry forecasts for calendar year 2014 anticipate a return to double digit market growth, led by North American and European markets.
“Overall, we expect group trading results for the year ended March 29 2014 to be in line with the board’s expectations, and a positive start to the new financial year.”
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OPTARE has announced another contract win this morning.
The Yorkshire bus manufacturer said it has received a £3.5m order for 13 Versa hybrid buses and three Versa electric buses from Transport for Greater
Manchester. The order was partially funded by round 4 of the Government’s Green Bus fund.
The vehicles are expected to be delivered in July and the three Versa electric buses will be the first fully electric low-entry buses to operate in Manchester.
Yesterday, Optare announced it had received an order from Nottingham City Council.
