News: Administration for ITI Energy Ltd

Administrators have been called in at ITI Energy Ltd, a pioneering cleantech company based in Rotherham that secured millions from investors and counted a senior Conservative MP as one of its directors.

ITI Energy was formed to commercialise an advanced gasification technology developed over ten years of research at Newcastle University.

The company manufactures a compact and highly efficient thermal destruction technology that allows the transformation of difficult-to-process feedstocks such as municipal solid waste and sewage sludge into a gas clean enough to fuel an internal combustion engine.

The firm's major project is in Nottingham that included a single gasifier to supply 1.7 MWe/hr Nett to the grid and processes 12,000 tones of refuse-derived fuel (RDF), expanding to five gasifiers in later phases.

Michael Wellard and Roderick Weston of Mazars LLP were appointed as joint administrators earlier this month.

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Based in the Advanced Manufacturing Park Technology Centre, the company relocated to Rotherham with the help of a grant of up to £500,000 from Yorkshire Forward's ERDF Objective 1 Programme.

ITI went on to secure a fundraising deal of £6m with the sole backing of Adurion Global Opportunity Fund (AGOF) that provided £1m of working capital and a further £5m set to be released over the course of the build program for the first ten megawatts of gasification projects.

Private equity fund, Next Wave Ventures LP, also took an equity stake and made a total investment commitment of £4m to the company.

With Tony Fordham as managing director, ITI Energy also had Tim Yeo, MP for South Suffolk and former Minister for the Environment and Countryside, as nonexecutive director (unpaid) and shareholder. Yeo left the directorship role in April along with several others including founding director, Miles Lewis.

Yeo is currently Chair of the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee, a role he only recently returned to after being cleared by the Committee on Standards on all counts of any breach of the MP's Code of Conduct in relation to a newspaper investigation into lobbying.

Related company, Iti Technology Limited continues to trade.

ITI Energy website

Images: Newcastle University

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News: Kiveton Park Steel Limited wins future manufacturing award

Rotherham-based, Kiveton Park Steel Limited, a quality manufacturer of bright engineering steel bar and wire, has been recognised for its export success at the recent EEF Future Manufacturing Awards 2013.

The awards are designed to celebrate manufacturing businesses that have shown excellence in their innovation. The Engineering Employers' Federation (EEF) is a UK trade organisation dedicated to the future of manufacturing.

Established in 1922, the family company originally produced items used within the UK mining industry and also supplied specialised products into the defence and aircraft industries. It has developed its unique range of production equipment to ensure that the manufacturing facility at Dog Kennel Hill in Kiveton Park is suited to supply chain requirements for critical parts within the global automotive markets, principally supplying Tier 1 and Tier 2 companies.

Queen's Awards winning Kiveton Park Steel was named as the North East, Yorkshire & Humberside regional winner in the Export Development Award category and will go on to compete at the national finals of the EEF Future Manufacturing Awards 2013.

The major subsidiary of Kiveton Park Holdings, which has interests in steel processing, international distribution and trading, has seen export activities increase rapidly over recent years with current levels representing over 60% of total sales, initially to European markets but now extending into many deep sea destinations including Latin and South America, India and the Far East.

The company is closely associated with the global automotive sector supplying quality products in supply chains leading to diesel injection, steering, engine and suspension parts and providing a full service package for a wide range of material specifications.

Yaser Rauf of Rotherham contract manufacturing specialist, MTL Group, was named as the regional runner up for the Outstanding Achievement by a Final Year Apprentice Award.

Kiveton Park Steel website
MTL Group website

Images: EEF

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News: New bars to open in Rotherham town centre

Two new bars are set to open in Rotherham town centre next month, providing a pre-Christmas boost for the night time economy

Popular rock bar, SNAFU, is opening in new premises alongside a new bar in Westgate Chambers.

The former home of the Onyx Rooms and Milanos has undergone internal refurbishment and is to reopen as the JAXX bar, a smart, modern, 200+ capacity, two floored venue in the prime position surrounded by other licensed bars and clubs. JAXX is described as an "exclusive up-market modern night spot and bar."

SNAFU is to take the top floor, which has also undergone changes to include a large stage area. After the closure of popular bar and live music venue earlier this month, fitout work is now underway at its previous premises on the High Street and the building is set to reopen in Spring 2014 offering low cost retail space for talented artists, crafters and makers to sell their products and raise awareness of their brands.

Licence applications were submitted for the new Westgate venue earlier this month by Mark Etches, owner of the successful Renoir's bar in the town centre, and opening night is set for December 6.

Owned by the council, who acquired Westgate Chambers as part of the Rotherham Renaissance programme, the 5,500 sq ft premises went up for lease last year following the closure of the previous bar.

Westgate Chambers is home to a number of bars, takeaways, offices and dedicated arts space.

It's not only new bars that are opening in the town centre but new shops too. Apparel Angels, a plus size only clothing store has opened on Corporation Street alongside Koochie Koo Customization, that offers a selection of personalised gifts.

Images: RMBC

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News: Gala Tent provide early Christmas present to hospital charity

Growing Rotherham business, Gala Tent, is getting into the festive spirit and offering support for Rotherham Hospital Charity's annual Christmas Fair, which will be held in the main entrance to the hospital on Thursday December 5.

One the UK's largest importer and exporter of tents, marquees and pop up awnings, the Manvers firm will donate one of its Santa's Grottos for the event, which will be complete with Santa Claus and presents. The festive marquee is in the design of a log cabin and a perfect retreat for Santa Claus and his reindeers.

Jason Mace, managing director of Gala Tent, said: "It is fantastic to be supporting the Rotherham Hospital Charity's Christmas Fair. We are happy to help wherever we can with charity and community activities and it is a pleasure to be involved with such a worthwhile event. By donating the grotto, we hope that dozens of Rotherham children will have a Christmas that is even more memorable and special."

Rotherham Hospital Charity last year raised £300,000 for the direct benefit of patients in the hospital’s care. Charitable donations go to support a range of different projects from state of the art equipment to activity packs to entertain children in A&E to special slippers to help elderly and less mobile patients reduce the risks of a fall.

Tracy Williams, fundraiser for the Rotherham Hospital Charity, said: "There are lots of exciting things planned for this year's Christmas Fair and we hope it will be bigger and better than ever! It is great to have the support of Gala Tent and their Santa's grotto will be a fantastic treat for all the children we hope will visit this year. The Fair usually brings a smile to people's faces in the hospital and really gets visitors and patients in the festive spirit, with the Christmas music and mince pies for everyone to enjoy. We welcome members of the public to come along and support us, enjoy themselves and help us to raise money for our charity."

Gala Tent website
Rotherham Hospital Charity website

Images: Gala Tent

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News: Recruitment begins for Medical AMRC

Work is continuing to replicate the model for the University of Sheffield's Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) with Boeing in the healthcare technology sector.

Based on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham, the AMRC is a world class centre for advanced machining and materials research for aerospace and other high-value manufacturing sectors.

The university secured funding earlier this year to develop the model into new areas – healthcare technologies and the creative and digital sectors. This is intended to stimulate growth in the Sheffield City Region, which has one of the UK's highest concentrations of medical device companies.

Based in the newly operational Design, Prototyping & Testing Centre on the AMP, the Medical AMRC will ensure the results of internationally significant research are developed into products and brought to market quickly and cost effectively.

The new centre will sit alongside the current AMRC and will be able to access all the current resources but with a dedicated team which will specifically focus on the medical technologies sector.

Recruitment is underway for design engineers to join the new Medical AMRC team, who will be responsible for generating innovative, practical solutions to a range of engineering design problems.

The AMRC is a multimillion pound partnership between industry and academia that has become a model for collaborative research centres worldwide and now boasts 75 partners, including Boeing and Rolls Royce.

The AMRC secures funding from a range of organisations; through winning competitive calls for research from the Technology Strategy Board and Research Councils; research projects commissioned by business; and through Tier 1 and Tier 2 sponsors.

Funding to expand is coming from the Higher Education Funding Council For England's (HEFCE's) £50m Catalyst Fund.

Just as the AMRC has been the catalyst for attracting aerospace and nuclear manufacturing companies to the AMP, it is anticipated that the Medical AMRC will be the catalyst for the establishment of new medical technology companies. Representatives from the Sheffield City Region's inward investment have been getting this message across at MEDICA 2013, the world's largest medical trade fair, held recently in Germany.

AMRC website

Images: AMRC

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News: BT bolsters borough's broadband

The well-intentioned but ultimately disastrous Digital Region project may have decided to close but it has seemingly succeeded in prompting the private sector to invest in its local broadband infrastructure.

The aim of Digital Region was to bring continuous 25mb+ broadband to over 97% of South Yorkshire, including 550,000 homes and 1.3 million people. Work on installing the network started in 2009, and by 2012, completion of phase one of the project saw 80 percent of homes and businesses within South Yorkshire able to be linked to the network.

The project was wholly owned by the now defunct Yorkshire Forward and the four local authorities of South Yorkshire but earlier this year the remaining shareholders agreed to halt their search for a private sector partner and begin a managed closure of the fibre optic network.

Now Openreach, BT's local network business, has said that it is committed to a major investment in high-speed fibre broadband throughout Rotherham, and that by the end of next year more than 80,000 local homes and businesses will be able to benefit from BT's £2.5 billion fibre broadband roll-out programme.

Currently more than 65,000 homes and businesses in the Rotherham area can access BT's network which is available on an open, wholesale basis to all companies offering broadband services.

Inspecting the new Moorgate Street cabinet, Rotherham MP, Sarah Champion, said: "To ensure Rotherham's future success we need the right building blocks in place. One of these is having the digital technology to support our people and economy. Super-fast fibre broadband will transform the business sector and attract new inward investment.

"Hundreds of new jobs and business start-ups are expected to be created. With access to fibre broadband, local firms can explore new ways of working and speed up vital operations, to boost their ability to compete."

Research carried out for BT by Regeneris Consulting suggests that in the next 15 years super-fast broadband could give the economy of a typical town a £143m boost, create around 225 new jobs and 140 business start-ups.

Rotherham is also able to access the superfast mobile 4G network. Last week, network operator, O2, switched on its own 4G network in the town. This follows on from Rotherham becoming one of the first areas to get access to rival firm, EE's 4G network in March.

BT Openreach website

Images: BT Openreach

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News: Greencore grows in quiche market

Greencore, a leading manufacturer of convenience food, has seen an increase in turnover and profits but its UK operations took a hit from the horsemeat scandal.

In its financial results for the year ending September 27, the Irish-based firm reported that overall sales rose 3% on the previous year to £1.2bn, with pre-tax profit also rising from £28.9m to £45.2m.

Greencore has 28 sites in the UK and employ around 3,000 people in Yorkshire. Greencore Prepared Meals at Waleswood in Rotherham prepares quiches, tarts and Weight Watchers Foods.

The Rotherham facility bakes over a hundred thousand quiche a day and uses over 35 million eggs a year.

The Prepared Meals business comprises chilled ready meals, quiches, chilled soup and chilled sauces and represents approximately 25% of the company's "Convenience Foods" revenues. The reports stated that following several years of near double digit growth, the chilled ready meals market experienced growth in the 2013 financial year of just 1.4%, while the Italian ready meals market, a major sub-category, declined by 3.7%. Greencore said that this was predominantly driven by the impact of the horsemeat scandal which affected the broader processed beef market from late January.

It added that: "Although all industry tests on chilled ready meals were negative for the presence of horsemeat, the chilled ready meals market, and in particular Italian ready meals, was negatively impacted in Q2 and remained in year on year decline in H2. Both the chilled soup market and the quiche market exhibited more robust performances with soup ahead by 7.8% and quiche ahead by 7.6%, while chilled pasta sauces experienced a 1.2% decline."

On a like for like basis, revenue for the Prepared Meals business was 5.2% lower as a result of the decline in ready meals. This was offset by a 4.4% growth in the revenue of Greencore's Food to Go business, that accounts for 40% of "Convenience Foods" revenues and provides big name stores with sandwiches, sushi, snacks and salads.

In the UK, like for like revenue growth was 0.2% but in the US however, reported revenues were over 60% higher than the previous year due to new acquisitions and supply deals.

Patrick Coveney, CEO of Greencore, said: "Greencore had a good year in 2013, with clear commercial, strategic and organisational progress delivered across the Group. We consolidated our portfolio after the extensive deal activity of the three preceding years, increased revenue at our US business by over 60% and realigned our resources behind a food to go led strategy. All this was achieved despite a weak UK consumer environment, limited growth in retail food markets, persistent input cost inflation and the negative impact of the horsemeat scandal."

Greencore website

Images: Greencore

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News: Waitrose opens Rotherham store

Waitrose, the food shops of the John Lewis Partnership, has opened a new store in Rotherham.

The upmarket chain has 300 shops in the UK and is currently undergoing the biggest period of expansion in the company's history. The Rotherham store has opened at Woodhall Services on the M1 and is one of six new branches at Welcome Break sites across the UK as the supermarket accelerates its expansion plans with the motorway services operator.

Waitrose and Welcome Break signed a deal earlier in the year which extended the successful franchise partnership for a further ten years. The six new stores will create 120 jobs and means that Waitrose now has 25 branches at Welcome Break sites.

Waitrose and Welcome Break have been steadily rolling out new branches across the UK since its partnership began in 2009, and the pair have committed to opening more Waitrose shops in order to satisfy customer demand.

The Waitrose at Welcome Break format has proved very successful, with sales up by 17% compared to last year.

David Morton, director, Business to Business at Waitrose, said: "Our partnership with Welcome Break has proved a real success with customers and these new branches will give us the opportunity to increase our presence in other areas where customer demand is high. As these new stores are predominantly in the midlands and the north of England, our recently opened distribution centre in Leyland will also help to support our growth in the area."

Rod McKie, chief executive at Welcome Break, added: "The Welcome Break and Waitrose relationship has come a long way since 2009. Customers travelling on the motorway no longer view convenience stores as an option but more of a necessity. To be partnered with what we consider to be the best convenience supermarket offer out there is fantastic for our customers. In addition to these six new stores, we envisage opening a further six stores in the next 12 months."

For the financial year ending 27 July 2013, sales excluding VAT at Waitrose were up £372.4m (7.9%) to £5.07bn, and food only like-for-like sales grew by 3.0%.

New outlets for Harry Ramsden's and Subway are also due to open at Woodhall Services soon.

Waitrose website
Welcome Break website

Images: Welcome Break

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News: RiDO steps in to fill business support gap

Rotherham Investment & Development Office (RiDO) has established Rotherham Ready For Business to provide crucial business support for would-be entrepreneurs as they start the journey of setting up a business in the borough.

Managed by, RiDO, the business and regeneration arm of the Council, the local initiative is part of the national Ready For Business programme sponsored by Barclays, and offers potential start-up businesses the opportunity to get ready for business success through proper training, support, advice and commercial investment.

The new RiDO programme fills a gap in business support for new start up businesses after the demise of Business Link and a vast reduction in government funding. In the borough, Barnsley and Rotherham Chanmber runs the New Enterprise Allowance scheme to help unemployed people plan, develop and start their own business. Rotherham Youth Enterprise provides self-employment support and advice for young people under the age of 30.

Rotherham Ready for Business includes a free introductory one-day event for all, which covers the fundamentals of setting up in business including financial forecasting, taxation/VAT, marketing and business planning.

Individuals will then be invited to participate in the next stage of the programme which includes one-to-one assessments with an experienced, independent business adviser; an intensive support programme, leading to the development of a robust business plan, and dedicated ongoing support both before and after the business starts trading.

Tim O'Connell, business development manager at RiDO, said: "Over the past ten years the Rotherham area has been a great location for people wanting to set up their own businesses. Since 2000, RIDO's Business Centres has been home to over 500 businesses, creating around 1,800 jobs, and many former tenants have gone on to become larger, established businesses, operating in global markets."

RiDO runs four dedicated business incubation centres across the borough and provides business support for high growth business and those looking to export.

One business that has benefited from RiDO's offer is Vonhatski Amps, which designs and hand builds professional quality guitar amplifiers and speaker cabinets from their base in RiDO's Century Business Centre at Manvers.

Owner Stefan Suchacki explains how RiDO has helped his business in the early years since its launch in 2011; "Without the support of RiDO it is safe to assume that our high growth strategy would have suffered. With RiDO I know I have instant access to a legion of business professionals more than happy to help in any way they can to bring success to my business, the local area, and the national economy.

"Through the RiDO support network we have benefited from free assistance in a great many areas such as HR, marketing, establishing a profile in Europe, networking, grants, and one-to-one assistance from a RiDO business development professional.

"Any new business has the potential to be a success, but inviting the support of RiDO will make the journey that little bit more enjoyable."

The next Ready For Business workshop takes place on December 12 at Moorgate Crofts Business Centre.

RiDO website
Vonhatski Amps website

Images: RiDO

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News: Aldi submit plans for Swallownest store

Aldi, Britain's fastest growing grocer, has submitted plans for a new store on council-owned land at Swallownest in Rotherham.

The 1,000 sq m store is proposed on land at Sheffield Road between Swallownest and Fence, a development plot as part of the wider Aston Manor estate which was developed for residential purposes in the late 1990s.

The site is identified for retail development in the borough's unitary development plan but development did not come forward as part of the residential applications. The council has continued to market the application site for retail development for some time and it is now under offer.

The plans show the store positioned to the south west of the 2.4 acre site, with 100 car parking spaces located to the north west under the electricity pylons. Following a traditional ALDI format store, the development will use glazing to provide an expansive customer entrance and hard and soft landscaping works to improve the environmental quality of the site and general streetscene.

The proposed store will create up to 35 full and part time jobs. It is also anticipated that up to 200 job opportunities will be created at the construction phase.

Plans submitted by The Harris Partnership for Aldi state that: "The proposals will develop an unkempt development site and in its place will provide a viable economic use that will bring spin-off benefits for the wider community including 30-35 local employment opportunities.

"The proposals are intended to enhance local choice and competition for convenience goods and help to improve expenditure retention within the catchment area."

The UK arm of Germany-based Aldi was reported to have made a pretax profit of £157.9m in the year to December 31 2012, up from £70.5m in 2011, as sales increased 40.6% to £3.89 billion.

Aldi announced last year that it is planning to invest £181m in the opening of 40 new stores by the end of 2013 and recently opened its 500th UK store. Recent openings in Rotherham include Manvers, Dinnington and Eastwood.

Across Rotherham, the discount retailer is planning to take the anchor unit at a proposed new retail development in Parkgate.

Aldi website

Images: The Harris Partnership / Aldi

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News: Lucion acquire MPC Northern Ltd

Independent asbestos consultancy, Lucion Environmental has acquired Rotherham based company MPC Northern Ltd.

Established in 2003 and headquarted in Gateshead, Lucion has grown to seven offices nationwide specialising in the surveying, identification and analysis of asbestos containing materials.

Based at Maltby, MPC Northern Ltd began life in 1991 providing general building surveying consultancy services and asbestos surveying services to the construction industry. As the businesses grew, the MPC Northern Group was established to include separate companies with MPC Northern Ltd specialising in asbestos surveying and priority risk assessment, and all other building surveying and project management services were absorbed into MPC Northern Consultants Ltd.

The acquisition, which was finalised by Lucion's financial director, Charles Pickles and MPC managing director, Bill Perratt, will enable Lucion to further their plans to expand into the infrastructure sector and strengthen their presence within the South Yorkshire area.

Lucion said that it will be relocating their Sheffield office at Orgreave to the former MPC building, bringing the local workforce to a total of 15 employees.

Charles Pickles, financial director at Lucion (pictured above, left), said: "MPC is a long established, solid and well regarded name within our industry. Our ambition is to enhance the services offered by their offices by adding our own brand of dynamism and forward thinking attitudes. The acquisition of MPC has not only enabled Lucion to expand its service offering to more niche areas of the industry but allowed to us to expand on the highly trained staff we now have working for us."

Bill Perratt, managing director at MPC (pictured above, right), said: "I am delighted to announce that MPC has been acquired by such a reputable organisation of which I have total faith will rapidly move the business forward and take good care of our existing and much valued clients."

Lucion Environmental website
MPC Northern Ltd website

Images: Lucion

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News: Rotherham Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2013 announced

Gavin Edley, managing director of health specialist, Vitalife Ltd has been named Rotherham's Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2013.

The Awards, now in their eighth year, look to recognise the achievements of business owners under the age of 30 and for the last two years have been organised by Rotherham Youth Enterprise.

Based at RiDO's Fusion @ Magna business centre at Templeborough, the award-winning enterprise started life in 2010 in the niche industry of specialist teas. Constant product research and development since then has seen the company’s range grow to 15 lines of tea, two lines of organic coconut oil, over 30 lines of vitamins and minerals and more than 1,300 lines of third-party branded products.

Selling online through a growing network of distributors and high street retailers such as Holland and Barrett, Gavin went on to open his first retail outlet in Sheffield earlier this year and is planning to open one in Rotherham early in 2014.

Speaking after the awards ceremony at New York Stadium, Gavin said: "Being an entrepreneur and business owner can be a lonely place at times so it's great to get recognition for all the hard work and effort we put in. The financial reward is also very welcome as it will go toward our new warehousing project which will make product selection easier for the despatch team, which in turn will mean an improvement in service for our customers."

The Young Entrepreneur of 2013 received a special trophy, a cheque for £1000 and a year's membership of Barnsley and Rotherham Chamber.

Gavin also collected the Best Established Business award, which was sponsored by The Source Skills Academy. Other category winners, presented with cheques for £500 by respective sponsors, were Charlotte Scothern, owner of Patchwork Pig, named as Best Start-up Business, sponsored by Parkgate Shopping.

Sam Goddard from Response Vehicle Lighting won the Most Innovative Business award which was sponsored by AESSEAL Charitable Trust Discretionary Fund.

Winner of the Business Most Determined to Succeed was Dawn Brown from FreshnChic Boutique, who collected her award from sponsor Rotherham College of Arts and Technology.

Paul Tomes of Expo People was presented with a certificate and a prize of £250 for Best Business with Growth Potential, which was sponsored by Rotherham Youth Enterprise.

Jackie Frost, manager of Rotherham Youth Enterprise, said: "Our judges were impressed with the vision, commitment and personal courage shown by all of the entrants to these awards. All of those qualities are required to successfully start up and run businesses in the present economy, and once again we have had a very high calibre of entries which has made the judges' task extremely difficult."

Rotherham Youth Enterprise provides self-employment support and advice for young adults in the area. Office and workshop provision is also available across the borough.

Principle sponsor, UK Steel Enterprise has set aside finance from its Kickstart Fund to target young entrepreneurs in Rotherham.

Allan Wood, regional executive at UK Steel Enterprise, said: "Despite challenging times Rotherham continues to support its young entrepreneurs by encouraging and stimulating enterprise amongst young people. We have some great examples with our award winners this year and we look forward to seeing them all prosper in future.

"Our congratulations go to all of the category winners but there can only be one overall winner and Gavin has shown excellent business vision and determination to be named this year's Young Entrepreneur."

Rotherham Youth Enterprise website
UK Steel Enterprise website

Images: RiDO

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News: Positivity at Pyronix

Rotherham-based security experts, Pyronix, is positive for the future as it responds to the Manufacturing Advisory Service's latest Barometer.

Based at Hellaby, the award-winning firm, which is a world leader in the manufacture of security equipment including control panels, detectors and external sounds, has grown 15% every year since 2010 and is now on course to reach £20m of annual sales by the end of 2014, 40% of which is in international markets.

As a result of this impressive growth, the company has added eight new people to its 140-strong workforce in the last twelve months alone.

Colin Beresford, group commercial director, at Pyronix, said: "We invest significantly in R&D and in continually bringing new products to market.

"Our most recent success has been led by the development and launch of the double award winning Enforcer, an innovative two-way wireless security system. This has surpassed even our most optimistic projections and is selling into many countries across the world."

In recent years, Pyronix has managed its growth by expanding production back in Yorkshire and, currently, about 60% of manufacturing takes place here in the region.

"This is just the start," added Colin. "We know we can keep better control over our intellectual property and reduce stock levels if our supply chain is more local and this is a philosophy we are following.

"We'll never be able to make all our products in Yorkshire as some are ideally suited to China, but the intention is to continue to expand local production."

The Barometer, which featured the views of more than 60 manufacturing SMEs from across Yorkshire and Humber, reinforced the recent feel good factor, with nearly two thirds (65%) reporting an enjoying an increase in sales over the last six months – a 3% rise on the previous quarter.

Encouragingly 78% of firms are expecting to grow between now and April 2014, whilst 97% are planning to take on new staff or keep the size of their workforce the same.

There also appears to be a pattern of steady growth in companies embracing new technologies (43%) and investing in machinery and premises (52%). The latter represents a 13% increase from the same period last year.

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David Caddle, area director for the Manufacturing Advisory Service, said: "We have seen a two-year high in the number of firms investing in new technologies and this tells us that manufacturers are not only optimistic about the next six months, but also have one eye on the longer-term picture."

The survey also found further evidence of firms "re-shoring" manufacturing and bringing production back to the UK. 21% of firms surveyed either actively planning or considering re-shoring, compared to just 3% that have offshored in the last year.

One example is Rotherham-based cycle retailer, Planet X, that recently brought back assembly from Taiwan to Rotherham.

The publication of the latest MAS Barometer marks the start of the first ever Manufacturing Matters week, which is looking to showcase England's manufacturing SMEs.

Pyronix website
MAS website

Images: MAS

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News: Council's £30m plan to boost housing growth

Plans are being put forward for Rotherham Council to have an "enabling and entrepreneurial role" in stimulating local housing growth, backed with a £30m war chest to boost house building and the construction industry.


The aim is to significantly increase the construction of new homes across the borough and work has been done to identify funding and delivery mechanisms that will enable the council to help deliver 850 homes a year. There are currently around 540 new homes delivered each year and work on the borough's local plan identified the need to provide land for an additional 12,750 homes by 2027.

Changes to government and local authority funding for housing and the move to a self-financing settlement means that councils could have access to significant resources in the longer term (an estimated £628m for Rotherham over 30 years, plus the ability to borrow £300m) but accessing the funding in the short term remains difficult.

The scrapping of the Housing Market Renewal Programme had a big impact in the region and the Government also recently announced that 35% of Rotherham's New Homes Bonus (a grant paid by central government to local councils for increasing the number of homes and their use) from 2015/16 will be diverted to the Sheffield City Region.

The changes to funding, coupled with the lack of external grants and the difficulty of getting loans and equity funding to stack up for Rotherham projects means that the council is looking at new ways to meet general and specialist housing need.

The council's cabinet is this week looking at plans to use a £32.7m "borrowing headroom" created by the self-financing settlement to deliver projects such as providing more affordable social homes, accelerating large scale residential development, kickstarting stalled housing developments, releasing council and other publicly owned land and buildings for housebuilding, and enabling new delivery models.

One example was the authority's recent purchase of a block of apartments at Taylor Wimpey's development at Manvers Lakeside which will be made available to council tenants.

Estimates included in the report show that 1,210 new homes could be delivered through the initiatives with a development value of £144m, creating new jobs and training opportunities.

A new housing development team would be established at the council and one significant potential project involves the creation of a housing growth capital pot of £10m aimed at boosting private sector development.

Major housing development underway in the borough includes Waverley, which has the potential to deliver 3,500 new homes, and Bassingthorpe Farm urban extension, a potential housing site being pushed by the council. With the potential to deliver 2,000 new homes, it is at an advanced stage of strategic planning. The report states that the council is considering establishing a joint venture vehicle with the private sector focusing on delivering major developments such as Bassingthorpe Farm.

Tom Bell, strategic housing and investment manager at Rotherham Council, said in the report: "Rotherham needs to create the right ingredients for local growth.

"The aim is to significantly increase the construction of new homes across the borough. This will stimulate the local economy and meet our regeneration aims which will mean more opportunities to meet our priorities around skills, jobs, deprived communities and relieve budget pressures through more New Homes Bonus and specialist housing."

Rotherham Council website

Images: Taylor Wimpey

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News: Chamber supports Meadowhall HS2 station

As parliament publishes a hybrid bill for High Speed Rail (HS2), effectively the planning application for the controversial scheme, Barnsley and Rotherham Chamber of Commerce has pledged its support for the proposed South Yorkshire station at Meadowhall and for the case that building work should begin in the north.

HS2 is the Government's £50 billion high speed rail project that aims to provide extra capacity to handle increasing demand. By 2033, a South Yorkshire station will be on the proposed route from London to Leeds via Birmingham and the East Midlands. With trains travelling at speeds of up to 250 mph, and each with up to 1,100 seats per train, passengers will be able to get from Leeds in 17 minutes, Birmingham in 38 minutes and from London in one hour and nine minutes.

The chamber has been broadly supportive of the proposals and the benefits the scheme is proposed to have on the UK and regional economies. A report by KPMG recently estimated that, with a proposed station at Meadowhall, Rotherham could increase its annual economic output by between £131.7m and £272.12m due to the investment in HS2 and the re-design of the existing railway infrastructure. HS2 could add between £0.5 billion and £0.9 billion each year to the economic output of South Yorkshire.

The chamber also believes that locating a station at Meadowhall would unlock the benefits of the project to the wider region, taking advantage of the connectivity with the M1 motorway and would ensure the benefits are not primarily realised by the Sheffield urban centre.

HS2 is expected to support the creation of around 5,000 jobs in the station development regeneration areas around Meadowhall and the Lower Don Valley.

Andrew Denniff, chief executive at the Chamber, said: "We must seize the opportunity of HS2 and work to ensure we get maximum benefit for South Yorkshire and the wider city region. All businesses will be better able to compete on the global stage and our economy will get a boost from the creation of jobs. In addition we have a real opportunity to enhance and improve connectivity across the City Region to maximise the economic return, both locally and nationally."

Mr Denniff is also adding to the debate on the case for the government to start building work on the massive project from the north.

He said: "Unlocking the economic and jobs potential of beginning the rail link's construction in the north will bring huge potential benefits across our region. The proposal has already received strong support across Yorkshire and there would be more immediate wider gains to the whole region from the proposed new high-speed rail connection from the north to the capital.

"Furthermore, designing, building and engineering from the north will accelerate "the economic ripple effect" regionally, as well as bringing forward opportunities for construction jobs. We must also respond to concerns already expressed about the route and the regional station for South Yorkshire to maximise economic benefits and begin to invest early to improve local rail and other transport to better connect the whole of the Sheffield City Region to HS2."

Barnsley and Rotherham Chamber of Commerce website

Images: HS2

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News: AMRC to double number of doctorate opportunities

The University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) with Boeing has secured additional funding to double the number of students it takes each year to its Industrial Doctorate Centre (IDC) in Machining Science.

Based on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham, the AMRC is a world class centre for advanced machining and materials research for aerospace and other high-value manufacturing sectors. The IDC provides the opportunity for engineering graduates to undertake a fully funded four-year EngD programme that combines taught modules with original research that addresses real business problems posed by the industrial sponsors.

Launched in 2011, five students a year have been on the PhD-equivalent programme, working on behalf of AMRC partners including Boeing, Rolls-Royce, Sandvik Coromant, Messier-Bugatti-Dowty and Technicut. Now the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) has announced that it is targeting £350m in postgraduate training in engineering and physical sciences, enabling the AMRC to take on ten graduates from autumn 2015.

Andrea Haworth, centre manager of the IDC in Machining Science, said: "This additional funding recognises the fundamental importance of machining science research to the UK economy. It is also a strong endorsement of the effort put into building the centre by staff, research students and, of course, the industry sponsors who make a substantial commitment to each project.

"Increasing the capacity of the IDC means we can help even more companies drive research that will bring real benefits to their business, and give more graduates a flying start into a professional career as a research engineer."

Science Minister David Willetts, added: "Scientists and engineers are vital to our economy and society. It is their talent and imagination, as well as their knowledge and skills, that inspire innovation and drive growth across a range of sectors, from manufacturing to financial services.

I am particularly pleased to see strong partnerships between universities, industry and business among the new centres announced today. This type of collaboration is a key element of our industrial strategy and will continue to keep us at the forefront of the global science race."

The University of Sheffield also received additional funding to launch two new centres: the Tribology CDT, based in the Department for Mechanical Engineering, with close links to the Leonardo Centre for Tribology; and a new CDT for Polymers, Soft Matter and Colloids, based in the Department of Chemistry.

AMRC website

Images: AMRC

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News: Rotherham's Latvian link up

Businesses in Rotherham will now be able to take advantage of support to set up an operation in Latvia, after RiDO (Rotherham Investment & Development Office) established a collaborative partnership with Ventspil High Technology Park (VHTP) in the Baltic country.

The arrangement means that enterprising Rotherham businesses will have the opportunity of three months' rent free of charge in a VHTP business centre. The support package also includes free-of-charge consultation with a mentor to make the whole process of establishing a business in the Baltic region much easier and more attractive to local businesses.

The partnership with VHTP came about as part of RiDO's ERDF-funded Growth and Prosperity in Rotherham (Soft Landing Zone) project, which aims to assist Rotherham companies with accessing international markets and also helps foreign inward investors who choose to locate to RiDO's business centres.

Amanda Parris, business development manager at RiDO, said: "We are delighted to be partnering with Ventspil High Technology Park. This new relationship will mean we can help Latvian businesses to set up in Rotherham, whilst VHTP will offer a reciprocal service by assisting our local companies with expanding their operations into Latvia. We are very excited about what this will mean for businesses in both areas."

VHTP is a specialist in promoting high technology industrial development in the town of Ventspil, Latvia. The organisation's aim is to promote job creation and foreign corporate development. A not-for-profit business, VHTP operates a business incubator, which helps to grow and accelerate start up businesses to enable them to become financially independent. The park is also home to Latvia's Space Technology Cluster. VHTP has already offered support to hundreds of businesses in a range of different market sectors including IT and communication technologies, electronics and mechanical engineering.

The project is supported financially by the European Union. It has attracted £842k investment from the European Regional Development Fund as part of Europe's support for the region’s economic development through the Yorkshire and Humber ERDF Programme 2007-13.

RiDO website
Ventspil High Technology Park website

Images: Ventspil High Technology Park

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News: Makers Emporium on Rotherham High Street

UPDATED 13:58.

A historic building on Rotherham High Street is set to return to its previous retail use and provide space for crafters and makers as work continues on regenerating heritage buildings in the town centre.

No.'s 22 – 30 High Street have been undergoing a refit as part of the the £3m Townscape Heritage Initiative (THI) which is supported by funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and Rotherham Borough Council.

Last year, the freehold of the SNAFU bar was sold by leading business agents Christie & Co. based on a guide price of £275,000. In a separate deal, the first, second and third floors of the historic building went to auction in September 2012 with local chartered surveyors, Mark Jenkinson giving it a guide price of £120,000.

Remembered by many as the former Muntus department store, work has been done to restore the exterior and the new owners are progressing plans to convert the upper floors into apartments.

After the closure of popular bar and live music venue earlier this month, fitout work is now underway and the building is set to reopen in Spring 2014 and offer low cost retail space for talented artists, crafters and makers to sell their products and raise awareness of their brands. A dedicated retail manager will be on hand and advice and training will be provided as part of the package.

Last month, Rothbiz reported on the next phase of retail revival in Rotherham town centre that is set to include dedicated space for enterprising retailers to "test-trade" their products.

The Makers Emporium at 26 High Street is all part of the work being undertaken to redefine the shopping offer in the town centre through projects such as Pop-up Shops, Business Vitality Grants and the Business Development Grants. Rotherham was one of 27 areas to be named as a "Portas Pilot" securing £100,000 of government funding to support the high street. £268,000 was also awarded to Rotherham as part of the government's High Street Renewal Award.

Work is continuing by local businessman, Chris Hamby to create a complex of mixed-used retail outlets focusing on listed buildings on the High Street. The plan is backed by a £750,000 long term capital finance loan from Rotherham Council that has secured £677,000 of Heritage Lottery Funding (HLF) for additional, much needed works.

The work is also part of the THI scheme that sees property owners and long term lease holders secure grants enabling them to restore, renovate and repair their historic buildings which are all within a conservation area. The aim is to encourage new shops, apartments and businesses to locate in the town centre.

Next week, Rotherham Council's cabinet are set to discuss the provision of additional long term capital loan finance in support of the redevelopment of the Three Cranes and the Georgian Town House.

The former Three Cranes Inn occupied a timber framed building dating back to the 15th Century. An earlier wing consists of a medieval open hall block that retains evidence for a high status "coved" area at one end, in addition to the remains of a vaulted undercroft beneath. This building represents a potentially unique survival for South Yorkshire of in situ medieval domestic architecture on a burgage plot.

Previously used as Wakefield's Army Stores, the building has been empty for many years. The Three Cranes originally occupied one half of a much larger building with four gables facing the High Street. The lower two gables, which originally belonged to another inn known as The Swan, were demolished in 1963 when Freeman, Hardy Willis rebuilt their shop.

The grade 2* listed building is on English Heritage's "at risk register" as showing signs of structural decay and faulty rainwater goods.

Plans have also been approved for a comprehensive refurbishment of the Georgian Town House next door, that now contains the remains of the Italian restaurant at 29A High Street. It was once occupied by the Badger family, a notable family of solicitors and lawyers. A new Victorian shop frontage and Doric door will be installed with the upper floors converted into flats.

Makers Emporium website
Rotherham town centre website

Images: 3 Keys Property / Tom Austen

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News: Kite Packaging flying high

Fast growing packaging suppliers, Kite Packaging has invested £1.5m in new premises in Rotherham.

Founded in 2001, the employee-owned firm is headquarted in Coventry and supplies a range of packaging products as well as specialising in the design and distribution of bespoke packaging solutions for large clients. Now with seven branches, it has grown to become one of the largest packaging distributors in the UK market.

Kite's Northern operation in Sheffield has expanded into new premises due to a 50% growth in the number of employees. The new building at Aldwarke boasts 30,000 sq ft of space – 10,000 more than the previous location.

A spokesperson for Kite said: "The acquisition represents a £1.5m investment for Kite, and is yet another indicator of our rapid expansion in the packaging industry."

The relocation has seen a new graduate joining the Kite graduate scheme, and an apprentice joining the distribution team. The company expects that this is just the beginning of the branch's growth and hopes to welcome even more new recruits in 2014.

The firm has celebrated record growth and being owned by the employees means that it can invest in the business. Recent investments include the expansion of two branches in Coventry and Sheffield, an investment that totals £5m.

Aldwarke Wharf Business Park is home to companies such as Candlelight Products, Philford Design Engineers and Envelopemaster. Built speculatively on former opencast land, the developers, E.V Waddington Ltd has recently applied for planning permission for the next phase of the park with units 16 and 17 totalling a further 112,000 sq ft.

Kite Packaging website

Images: Kite Packaging

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News: Underwoods receive Sausage of the Year award

Underwood Meat Company in Rotherham has picked up the top award at the BPEX Foodservice Sausage of the Year competition for its tasty bangers.

Underwood Meat Company operates from two sites – in Rotherham, and Godalming in Surrey – and employs 150 people. From these premises, the company provides a wide variety of raw meat products to a range of blue-chip groups and independent catering customers throughout the UK.

From more than 230 sausage entries, its Pork and Chorizo Sausage was one of just fifteen selected by leading industry judges to battle it out in the competition's grand finale, which recently took place at London's prestigious Butchers' Hall.

The winning sausage, which was entered into the Speciality Pork Sausage category, scored highly on taste, texture and appearance and earned Underwood Meat Company the hotly contested "Overall Champion" title.

Emmanuel Crusiaux, international accounts manager at Underwood Meat Company, said: "To win first prize in the Speciality Pork Sausage category with our Pork and Chorizo Sausage is a fantastic achievement, but to scoop the "Overall Champion" title is tremendous!"

The Rawmarsh Road firm recently acquired and invested in a dedicated factory unit producing high quality chilled and frozen sausage and burgers for the catering, food service, retail and wholesale markets.

John Heeley, managing director at Underwood Meat Company (pictured above, left), said: "We are absolutely delighted the business has been awarded overall winner of the Food Service Sausage of the Year award for 2013 for the Pork & Chorizo sausage. This is one of the latest editions to the already award winning Prime Pork sausage range and supports the rationale for our recent investment in our dedicated sausage production facility in Chesterfield."

John is pictured with Toby Bennett, operations director being presented with the award by chef, Simon Rimmer, the face of British Sausage Week.

Underwood Meat website

Images: Underwood Meat Company

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News: Businesses urged to save money with driver training

Businesses across South Yorkshire are being urged to take up the opportunity to reduce costs, lower emissions and drive safer as part of a new government-backed project. 

The Eco-Business Driving scheme, which is part of government's Local Sustainable Transport Fund programme, is designed to help businesses reduce their vehicle fuel and maintenance costs, and improve general wear and tear and collision rates through driver education and organisational support. 

The project, which is led by Sheffield City Council's Road Safety Team on behalf of the South Yorkshire Safer Roads Partnership, will provide free training for up to 100 businesses and 4,000 drivers across the region.

The scheme is open to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), larger companies and organisations across South Yorkshire. Participating businesses are assigned a specialist advisor who will develop a tailored Eco-Safe plan. Through group discussions and in-car driving sessions, the plans help businesses to develop policies and practices to minimise costs and maximise safety whilst driving for work. 

Speaking at a launch event for the project at the Holiday Inn in Rotherham, Ian Edwards, director at Eco-Business Driving delivery partner, e-Driving Solutions said: "We've already had a fantastic response from local businesses, and today's event shows just how many local businesses are keen to get involved in the programme. The businesses who attended today will be some of the first to undertake this training, and we're on the lookout for more to get involved in this exciting project." 

Mike Stanley, Senior Road Safety Officer, added: "Today proved to be a great opportunity for us to talk directly to businesses about how they can work smarter and more efficiently as well as helping us to reduce the dangers on our roads." 

The Eco-Business Driving scheme is available to businesses across South Yorkshire through the Inmotion! project which aims to make the journey to work simpler, easier or even healthier.

Eco-Business Driving scheme website

Images: Eco-Business Driving scheme

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News: £30m for Cortonwood Shopping Park

Developers, Helical Retail, are set to invest £30m in a retail park at Cortonwood in Rotherham.

Plans for a 98,000 sq ft development, to be known as Cortonwood Shopping Park, were recently passed on appeal after earlier being refused by Rotherham Council.

The new scheme will form a £30m extension to the existing Cortonwood Retail Park and will see a current distribution warehouse demolished to make way for six new out-of-town retail stores. Those behind the plans say that it could create 250 jobs.

Developed by St Paul's Developments, Cortonwood Retail Park was sold to The Hercules Unit Trust for £46.5m in 2003. In 2009 the trust sold the long leasehold interest in the the park to the Kirkham Family Trust for an estimated price of £41.85m. Lord Kirkham, the founder of DFS, is a partner in Black Diamond Investments who objected to the plans for the new retail development.

Developed in phases, work began on 32,500 sq ft of new retail space on the park in 2011. Sheffield firm, JF Finnegan has constructed all 250,000 sq ft of retail units in the previous phases over the last 20 years, totally transforming the site of the former Cortonwood Colliery, where the 1984 miners' strike began.

The latest plans were put forward by Budenny LLP, formerly the property division of Alba PLC who built and operated the Dearne Valley warehouse before leasing it to UPS in 2008. They are working with developers, Helical Retail, a joint venture between Helical Bar plc and Oswin Developments Limited.

Cortonwood Shopping Park will comprise of retail and restaurant units, and Helical Retail expect to start work on site in early 2015.

Adrian Russell of Helical Retail said: "The existing Cortonwood Retail Park is already very successful and includes tenants such as Morrisons, Next, Argos, Asda Living, Boots and B&Q.

"[The extension] will bring more quality retailers to this vibrant destination and create much needed jobs in the area."

Helical, exchanged contracts on the site last year, subject to planning. The conditional purchase of the site is also subject to pre-lettings of a percentage of the retail space.

Edgerley Simpson Howe is the letting agent for Cortonwood Shopping Park.

Helical Retail website

Images: Budenny LLP / Helical Retail

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News: Rotherham graduate launches new fitness training business

A young graduate entrepreneur has found the right support in Rotherham to ensure that he is fit for business.

Scott Senior from Aston graduated from Sheffield Hallam University with a degree in Sports Science this year and set his sights on becoming a personal trainer. After looking around at opportunities with the big fitness centres Scott decided to set up his own business and opened Simple Fitness at Treeton Youth Centre last month with backing from UK Steel Enterprise and its Kickstart Fund.

Scott (pictured, left) said: "I looked at the big chains and felt it was not for me. I prefer the freedom of working for myself and being able to apply my own techniques and philosophy on fitness. I see myself as a personal trainer first and foremost and want to work with people that appreciate the individual care and attention I can provide. People that want to lose weight or get really fit sometimes don't want to be in a gym with lots of other people. I have my own space and equipment which means I can offer a dedicated personal service for clients."

Scott was on Job Seekers Allowance for a short while before being directed to Rotherham Youth Enterprise (RYE) who then helped him apply to the Kickstart Fund. Not having much in the way of financial resources behind him, the Kickstart grant was instrumental in helping Scott to start trading.

Scott adds: "I used the grant to pay for some rent and buy special equipment like the spinning bike, weights and a body mass indicator which have put me on professional standing. The help I've had from UK Steel and Rotherham Youth Enterprise has made a significant difference to the way I will be perceived by customers."

UK Steel Enterprise is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Steel. Its Kickstart Fund provides grants of up to £500 to start-up businesses to purchase essential equipment and or services that can get them trading. Its main investment fund provides business finance in amounts from £25,000 up to £750,000 to companies in South Yorkshire and other areas affected by changes in the steel industry.

Allan Wood, regional executive for UK Steel Enterprise (pictured, right) says it's really inspiring to see young people like Scott starting their own businesses: "Scott is one of the youngest people we have supported through the Kickstart Fund. The Fund's aim is to inspire the launch of new businesses with the potential to create wealth in Rotherham and to see a young man with so much self-belief set out on his own is really inspiring and we wish him well for the future."

Jackie Frost, manager of RYE, added: "When we started working with Scott to produce a business plan for the grant application it became clear that he has the right kind of qualifications and attitude to make a real go of self-employment. We hope to support Scott over the next couple of years as he works to establish his new business."

Simple Fitness PT Facebook page
UK Steel Enterprise website
Rotherham Youth Enterprise website

Images: UKSE

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News: City region welcomes transport funding

Transport chiefs in the Sheffield city region have welcomed millions of pounds of central Government funding which will see new faster transport connections developed between Sheffield and Rotherham.

Last week the Department for Transport confirmed a maximum of £15.9m for the Sheffield and Rotherham Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) scheme and the full (final) approval means that work on the scheme can begin.

An additional £13.9m has been made available from a number of other sources to deliver the project, including a contribution of over £8m from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

The route will use dedicated, high quality low emission vehicles operating at a ten minute frequency which will be granted priority on the roads. Other work includes highway modifications and revised junction layouts and intelligent traffic signal controls.

Under the plan a new link road will be built under Tinsley Viaduct to allow a high quality, limited stop bus service to run from Rotherham to Sheffield from September 2015. It will see faster, more frequent connections through the Lower Don Valley, reducing the snarl ups which occur at the busy junction 34 south of the M1. It will also help unlock the redevelopment potential of the area, which is being restricted by the traffic problems on the present road system.

David Young, SYPTE Deputy Interim Director General and Director of Customer Experience, said: "We are delighted to have received confirmation of funding for BRT which will improve the transport offer to people travelling between Sheffield and Rotherham, but which will also help to relieve the congestion problems which are limiting redevelopment of the area. Together with the planned Tram-Train pilot the BRT project will help to link and grow the two key economies of Rotherham and Sheffield. The time to put these in place is now."

Councillor Gerald Smith, Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Development for Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council, said it was "great news" for both Rotherham and the Lower Don Valley. 

He added: "This scheme has been a long time in the planning, but the funding has now come through and people in both Rotherham and Sheffield can look forward to a fast, modern link via the Don Valley. It will not only cut the journey time down between the two destinations but will also relieve congestion and improve the potential for new jobs across this particular area." 

Dominic Beck, Policy & External Affairs Executive at Barnsley & Rotherham Chamber of Commerce, added: "This is great news for bus users between Sheffield and Rotherham who will benefit from quicker, more reliable services. Buses are a major link for many people and help drive economic growth. It should also ease congestion around what has been a troublesome hotspot at Meadowhall.

"This £16m of investment will help unlock the next planned phases of development in the Lower Don Valley and create up to 4,400 new jobs."

SYPTE website

Images: SYPTE

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News: Norton Finance secures backing for growth

Rotherham-based Norton Finance, one of the UK's leading specialists in the loans and regulated mortgage markets, has secured a large banking facility to support its further growth.

Based on Mansfield Road in the town centre, the family owned business operates as a group of companies including a profitable lending arm and divisions specialising in loans and mortgages and debt management. It employs around 240 people and celebrates its 40th birthday this year.

Funding has been secured from Royal Bank of Scotland Corporate & Institutional Banking (RBS CIB) and will be used to refinance its existing debt and support its continued expansion plans.

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Norton Financial Services is now known as Norton Home Loans and the credit facility has enabled Norton to increase its existing first and second charge lending and increase loan sizes, reduce rates and use a standard lender fee.

Paul Stringer, director at Norton Finance, said: "We are delighted to have secured financial backing from RBS CIB which is a testament to the Norton Finance Group’s business model and its many years of success in the loans and mortgage market. The new funding puts us in a very strong position and will allow us take advantage of the predicted increase in lending in 2014."

Nick Parkhouse, senior director – FI Structured Finance, RBS CIB, who led the deal, added: "We're delighted to close this transaction with Norton and support them in their growth plans. The mortgage market is one RBS has good experience in lending to and we are especially pleased to work with a management team who have built such a successful business and to be assisting them in their next phase of growth."

Last year, parts of the group - Norton Finance (UK) and Norton Insurance Services Limited entered administration. They provided a loan and brokerage service and also advised and sold Payment Protection Insurance (PPI). Midlands doorstep lender and motor finance company, S&U plc acquired the home credit business. A pre-pack deal saw another group company, Norton Finance and Mortgage Limited buy assets from the companies in administration for £10,000.

For 2012, Norton Finance reported a turnover of £12m and profits of £900,000.

Norton Finance website

Images: Norton Finance

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News: Construction boom as council invests in borough's schools

Rotherham Council is making a number of multimillion pound investments in construction projects to meet increased demand at schools in the borough.

The Council recently gave approval for a new 17-classroom building at Wickersley School and Sports College as part of a £3m extensionn that will also include a a new special educational needs unit.

The new accommodation, designed by the authority's Design and Projects Team, will be located within a separate building on three floors, sited and situated within the existing grounds of the school facing Bawtry Road.

Councillor Paul Lakin, Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Families Services, at Rotherham Borough Council, said: "This new building will be bright and modern and will maximise teaching space. It will will be built with sustainable, energy-saving materials of a design geared to creating a stimulating, exciting and friendly school environment that will link-in well with the school's teaching vision."

David Hudson, head teacher at Wickersley, added: "We have 2,018 students on roll at the moment and this is likely to increase to 2,100 or even 2,150 in the future, so this building is much-needed and very welcome. 

"We also have the most successful Sixth Form in Rotherham, with numbers reaching over 500 soon. In all we will have 1,600 pupils aged 11 to 16 and 550 sixth formers -  a total of 2,150 students. This is some 300 more students than our current buildings can deal with so we look forward to when the new block is completed."

A successful bid by the authority to the Department for Education's targeted basic need programme will provide the funding for the project and work is expected to be completed by October next year.

It follows on from announcements that schools in Listerdale and Herringthorpe will benefit from an investment of over £2m that will see the building of new classroom blocks to accommodate the rise in pupil numbers.

Herringthorpe Infants School will benefit from five additional teaching and learning areas at a cost of £1.8m that will allow the school to take an extra 20 children in September 2013. Listerdale Primary School will benefit from the provision of two new classrooms that will provide 15 new places at the school.

Wath C of E Primary School is also set for a permanent expansion to provide four additional classrooms at an approximate cost of £800K to be completed by August 2017.

Plans are also progressing for a new £5m Central Primary School in Eastwood. The council secured £3m from the government earlier this year, academy sponsors have been selected and the new school, on an area of land off Eldon Road, is anticipated to open in September 2015.

Rotherham Council website

Images: Wickersley School and Sports College

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News: Join RiDO at MACH 2014

Rotherham Investment & Development (RiDO) has secured exhibition space at MACH 2014 for SME companies in South Yorkshire.

Taking place in Birmingham on April 7-11 2014, MACH is the outstanding showcase for advances in the manufacturing industry and is organised by the Manufacturing Technologies Association (MTA), a UK based trade association dealing specifically with engineering based manufacturing. It is a biannual exhibition which brings together all the best innovations and latest developments to come from the manufacturing technologies sectors.

The space is flexible, but stands from 9 to 20 sq m are available which normally cost of £340 sq m to non-MTA members. Local companies can attend the exhibition with RiDO at a reduced cost of only £170 sq m.

In 2012, MACH attracted over 21,500 visitors and gave a platform for 480 exhibitors to demonstrate their latest technologies and innovations. There is a vibrant seminar programme which runs throughout the week highlighting key developments in the sector and offering advice on how to make the most of them.

MACH 2014 will be even better featuring over 6,000 tonnes of working machinery, themed zones, a full programme of seminars and networking opportunities.

The show is diverse; all aspects of manufacturing at all levels of the supply chain and support services are represented and specialised zones in both halls.

Graham Dewhurst, director general of the MTA, said: "For the fourth show running we are broadening the base of MACH to embrace the full range of sectors that go to make up advanced manufacturing technologies. Mach 2014 promises to be the best exhibition yet."

Andrew Klinkenberg, sector growth manager at RiDO, added: "We hope to provide some useful supply chain opportunities for companies attending and have located the space in the Main Hall 5, not far from major exhibitors including Rolls-Royce and Siemens. Also at the show are the AMRC's MANTRA vehicle and Bloodhound SSC, which should prove to be a big pull for visitors and exhibitors alike."

Through the South Yorkshire Sector Growth Enhancement Programme, RiDO will also be running a free breakfast event prior to the exhibition to introduce companies attending via the programme to each other and help with maximising their time at the exhibition. It also aims to give companies the opportunity to meet the other City Region companies attending before the day.

Also, companies signing-up via RiDO will benefit from free PR support relating to the event, including coverage in the MTA pre-event newsletter and listings on the website.

Interested companies should contact andrew.klinkenberg@rido.org.uk for further details and to register their interest.

RiDO website
MACH 14 website

Images: MTA

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News: PM's advisor sees enterprise education in action

The Prime Minister's Enterprise Advisor, Lord Young marked the start of Global Entrepreneurship Week by visiting a Rotherham school to see how teachers inspire pupils as young as four to learn more about the world of work and business.

Lord Young was visiting to learn more about Ready Unlimited, which develops teachers skills and confidence to create enterprising and entrepreneurial learning for all children, from as soon as they start school.

Evolving from Rotherham Ready and originally established as a council-run project by Rotherham Council in 2005, Ready Unlimited became an independent not-for-profit social enterprise in June.

As part of a roundtable discussion, Lord Young said: "I'd like to see a world in which enterprise is in all subjects, where examples of learning include enterprise examples, because learning about that enriches the core curriculum.

"Too often, young people are insulated from the lives they are going to live as adults. To see children this young learning about enterprise as part of their everyday curriculum shows just what is possible. If we could see this everywhere, it would be a significant step forward. Unless a young person leaves school with these skills and knowledge, they're not really prepared for the world ahead of them."

As part of his visit to Rotherham, Lord Young saw how staff developed enterprise through a "Mini Beasts" curriculum topic, with children setting up companies to respond to a design brief. He saw how children took on different company roles, from managers and accountants to designers, and had to work to a strict budget.

Lynne Pepper, head teacher at Herringthorpe Infants School, said: "It is fantastic to be able to show that enterprise doesn't have to be a bolt on, but can be an integral part of children's learning that demonstrates the relevance of the curriculum they experience."

Catherine Brentnall, managing director of Ready Unlimited, added: "We share many of the same goals as the Government around preparing children to lead fulfilling and rewarding lives, making them more entrepreneurial, improving educational attainment and encouraging citizenship.

"It was great to be able show Lord Young real examples of how we are actually supporting teachers to do this and discuss the opportunities and challenges around scaling these approaches across the country."

The Rt Hon the Lord Young of Graffham PC DL became Secretary of State for Employment in 1985 and in 1987 became Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and President of the Board of Trade. He was Executive Chairman of Cable and Wireless pic from 1990 to 1995 and then Chairman of Young Associates Ltd, which invests in new technologies.

He has produced reports for the Prime Minister on growing micro businesses and supporting the start-up and development of small business.

Rotherham leads the way in enterprise education and has become internationally acclaimed for its approach to integrating enterprise into learning for all children aged 4-19. Professors and business people from Japan, Finland, Lithuania and Spain have visited Rotherham to find out more.

Ready Unlimited website

Images: Ready Unlimited

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News: Exploring Growth Accelerator with Moorhead Savage

Rotherham insolvency practice, Moorhead Savage is hosting a special master class on the Growth Accelerator project.

Growth Accelerator, part funded by the EU, is a unique service led by some of the country's most successful growth specialists, encouraging companies to discover new connections, new routes to investment and the new ideas and strategy needed for businesses to achieve their full potential.

Based in RiDO's Moorgate Crofts business centre, Moorhead Savage is headed by Paul Moorhead who leads a team offering high quality, professional, impartial and ethical help and debt advice to both companies and individuals.

The December 4 master class at the Aston Hotel in Rotherham, close to Junction 33 of the M1, runs from 8.30am to 11.30am and is being aimed specifically at accountants, solicitors and professional service businesses.

Paul Moorhead, managing director at Moorhead Savage, said: "In my experience, as a professional adviser you will be very good at delivering sound business advice to your clients on how to run a business but that doesn't mean you don't need support for yourself too.

"As a company we have seen for ourselves at Moorhead Savage how signing up to the Growth Accelerator programme can deliver results and this master class by the Growth Accelerator team will demonstrate how to properly prepare for growth and develop the skills and resources needed to achieve your full potential."

To find out more about the Growth Accelerator master class visit www.moorheadsavage.co.uk/growthaccelerator, email: nicola@moorheadsavage.co.uk or call 01709 331300.

Paul Moorhead, Britain's only insolvency practitioner with a PhD in Insolvency Law was recently named the Corporate Insolvency Practitioner of the Year in the Small Firms category of the prestigious 2013 Insolvency and Rescue Awards.

Moorhead Savage website
Growth Accelerator website

Images: Growth Accelerator

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