Croots Farm Shop & Café scores success at Family Business United Awards 2017

Derbyshire farm shop Croots has been named the winner of the People’s Choice Award for the Midlands at the Family Business United Awards 2017.

The farm shop and café at Duffield was also chosen as runner up in the Midlands Family Business of the Year Award category.

Steve Croot, who runs Croots with wife Kay, said: “It is wonderful to win the award as a family business, but none of what we do at Croots would happen without the fantastic staff that we have working here. They are like our extended family and I would like to thank them for all their hard work and support of our business.

“Thanks also to all our customers for their support, and to those who voted for us in the People’s Choice Award, and also to all those people who support local family businesses throughout the country.”

The awards, which were presented at a gala reception and awards ceremony at the prestigious May Fair Hotel in London, came almost exactly nine years after Croots Farm Shop first opened its doors.

Based at Farnah House Farm, Wirksworth Road – the home of Kay Croot’s parents Jim and Sue Yates – the farm shop has gone from strength to strength since 2008.

“Croots is very much a family business, with our staff being part of our extended family,” said Kay. “Some of our team have been with us at Croots Farm Shop since the very beginning and are so loyal, as well as being great with customers. We have shared our progress with them, they understand what we are striving to deliver, live the same values and we look after them and treat them like part of a big family.”

The Family Business of the Year Awards are organised by Family Business United, the award-winning magazine and resource centre that champions and celebrates the family business sector. Now in their fifth year, the awards recognise the diversity, strength and depth of family firms across the UK and seek to highlight the contribution that family firms make to the UK economy.  

Open to family firms of all generations, sizes and sectors, the awards recognise some outstanding family firms and really help to put family businesses on the map.

Paul Andrews, founder and managing director of Family Business United, said: “We were delighted to pull together such a vibrant bunch of family businesses for the 2017 awards, some that have succeeded for numerous generations and continue to thrive, and others that are relatively young but have great values at the heart of what they do.

“Congratulations to all the winners.”

Croots Farm Shop, based at Farnah House Farm, Wirksworth Road, is open Monday to Saturday from 9am to 5pm (Shires Eatery until 4.30pm) and from 10am to 4pm on Sundays. Croots runs Fresh Fish Thursdays between 9am and 1pm on Thursdays.

For more information, visit www.croots.co.uk Find Croots on Twitter @crootsfarm_shop or on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Croots-Farm-Shop-127012538821/

Press release issued by Nottingham based PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk

J Tomlinson named Company of the Year in prestigious awards

J Tomlinson win Company of the Year

Integrated building services firm J Tomlinson has triumphed at the Nottingham Post Business Awards 2017 after being named as Company of the Year.

The Beeston-based company was handed the prestigious accolade at an awards ceremony held at East Midlands Conference Centre.

“We are thrilled to have been named as Company of the Year in the Nottingham Post Business Awards,” said CEO Mark Davis.

“The county is home to some brilliant businesses, and for J Tomlinson to have been recognised in this way is a huge honour for the company. We genuinely believe our people are our greatest asset and are continuing to work extremely hard in developing this further. This award is a recognition of the skill and expertise of our staff, and I’d like to thank them for buying into the vision, their hard work and loyalty to the business, which has been a key to getting us where we are today.

“We are only part way down our journey and have high expectations for the business.

“Congratulations to all who were named as finalists in these awards – it’s a great showcase for the talent and skill that exists within Nottinghamshire.”

J Tomlinson has been part of the Nottinghamshire business world for more than 60 years, having been founded in Beeston in the 1950s. The company has grown and expanded and now operates across the East Midlands, West Midlands and Yorkshire, providing a range of integrated building services which include construction, mechanical and electrical services (M&E), facilities management, refurbishment, repairs and maintenance and regeneration.

It has achieved record turnovers in recent times and currently employs a record number of staff of more than 420 people.

This year marked the 30^th anniversary of the Company of the Year Award accolade presented by the Nottingham Post. It was sponsored by Browne Jacobson.

The award was the latest won by J Tomlinson, which two weeks earlier took the title Small Scale Project of the Year in the West Midlands Energy Efficiency and Healthy Homes Awards 2017 for a scheme to install ground source heat pumps at two sites in Shropshire for housing organisation Bromford.

The London Road Fire Station in Nottingham, built by J Tomlinson also recently scooped two awards at the East Midlands RICS Awards.

For more information about J Tomlinson, visit www.jtomlinson.co.uk

Press release issued by Nottingham based PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk

BSP Consulting MD undertakes new challenge for MS research

Dave Sumner in the Lake District ahead of his walk for the MS Society

Managing director of East Midlands-based civil and structural engineering firm BSP Consulting, David Sumner, is preparing to lace up his boots for his latest fundraising challenge in aid of MS research.

Over the years, David and his supporters have raised thousands of pounds for the MS Society – a cause close to his heart, as his wife Pat has been living with the condition for more than 20 years.

In 2014, David raised more than £6,000 for MS Society research after climbing Mt Kilimanjaro.

In 2016, he took part in the 10in10 – an annual walk which conquers ten peaks in ten hours in the Lake District and which raises money for the charity to spend on research into the debilitating neurological condition.

After collecting almost £1,850 last year, he has decided to undertake the challenge for a second time and on 24^th June will be embarking on the walk once more with the aim of raising a further £2,000. But this time he hopes to ‘fell run’ most of the 16-mile distance.

“One of the main goals in MS research currently is to encourage repair of the damage to the myelin surrounding the nerve cell, hopefully restoring function to the nerve and protecting it from damage,” said David. “There are no treatments yet but research is making great strides all the time and is looking promising. The hope that one day there may be a treatment for this disease is what really spurs me on to continue fundraising.”

A total of £250,000 has been raised for research by the 10in10 challenge since it began in 2011 – created by Yvonne Booth in response to her husband Duncan’s diagnosis with Multiple Sclerosis in 2010, at the age of 39.

David, the MD of Nottingham-headquartered BSP Consulting, will be joining others for the 16-mile event, which starts at Newlands Valley near Keswick and takes in Causey Pike, Sail, Crag Hill, Wandope, Whiteless Pike, High Snockrigg, Robinson, Dale Head, High Spy, and Maiden Moor.

He has set up a fundraising page for donations here https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/David-Sumner2

“I am so grateful to all the colleagues, associates and clients in the construction sector in the East Midlands and beyond who have supported me most generously in the past, along with friends and family,” said David. “I really hope they can continue that superb support and help find a treatment for this devastating condition.”

BSP Consulting, which has its head office in Oxford Street, Nottingham, and branches in Derby, Leicester and Sheffield, provides a comprehensive range of consultancy services in civil, structural, geotechnical, transportation and environmental engineering to all sectors of the construction community, from architects, project managers and contractors to developers and estate agents. It was founded in 1999 and operates across the UK.

For more information, visit www.bsp-consulting.co.uk

Press release issued by Nottingham based PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk

National Justice Museum role for J Tomlinson

National Justice Museum, Nottingham, refurbished by J Tomlinson

The refurbishment team at J Tomlinson has helped to open a new chapter in the life of one of Nottingham’s most loved historic buildings which has become a centre of national significance.

The company played a role in the £1 million redevelopment of the former Galleries of Justice, now known as the National Justice Museum.

The former courthouse and gaol, which houses the UK’s largest collection of over 40,000 law, justice, crime, and punishment artefacts, recently underwent a transformation thanks to Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) support.  

Nottingham-based J Tomlinson, which has more than 60 years’ experience of heritage project work on listed buildings, museums and historic landmark buildings, completed key parts of the redevelopment, refurbishment and redecoration.

J Tomlinson construction director Pete Woods, who heads up the refurbishment team, said: “Each refurbishment or restoration contract we undertake is unique but to be involved in a heritage project in our home city, in a venue which is so well known and well regarded locally, was an honour for the J Tomlinson team.

“Our work at the new National Justice Museum ranged from relocating a set of old heavy gallows trap doors, originally from Wandsworth prison, and a heavy protective glass cover, down two floors and setting into the floor for display purposes through to the redecoration of the stunning Victorian court room and Shire Hall, as well as the former gaol cells in the cellar and basement, and the installation of track lighting.”

It was the latest heritage refurbishment project for Beeston-based J Tomlinson, which works primarily throughout the East Midlands, West Midlands and Yorkshire, and follows on from schemes such as the refurbishment of the 12^th Century Old Grammar School in Coventry. 

The National Justice Museum is not only attracting visitors from across the country, but it has also become an educational resource of national importance. It includes new areas to display a wider selection of archive items, features an increased number of interactive displays, a new crime gallery featuring free exhibitions, plus even more fun, family friendly activities. 

Some of the most well-known items at the National Justice Museum include playwright Oscar Wilde’s cell door, force-feeding equipment used on Suffragettes and conscientious objectors, Great Train Robbery evidence and the dock from Bow Street Magistrates Court, which was used in notorious cases such as the trials of Oscar Wilde, Roger Casement and the Krays.

Tim Desmond, Chief Executive of the National Justice Museum, which is based on High Pavement in the Lace Market area of Nottingham, said: “The refurbishment of a Georgian Prison has to be a massive challenge for anyone and I have to say the team at J Tomlinson were excellent, working within the limitation of budget and timescales. They really have taken our museum into the 21^st century and helped us become the first national museum in Nottingham.”

Jonathan Platt, Head of Heritage Lottery Fund East Midlands, said: “This transformation of the National Justice Museum will allow a much wider audience to explore the fascinating history of law, justice, crime, and punishment, and will create a nationally important cultural destination for Nottingham. We are delighted that, thanks to National Lottery players, we have been able to support this project.”

In addition to the support from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the transformation has also been made possible by support from WREN, Charles Hayward Foundation, Museum Development East Midlands, Big Lottery Fund: Awards for All, Arts Council England, Jones 1986 Charitable Trust, JN Derbyshire Charitable Trust, and the Forman Hardy Charitable Trust.

For more information about J Tomlinson, visit www.jtomlinson.co.uk

Press release issued by Nottingham based PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk