Focus Consultants completes latest academy project

Construction and property services company Focus Consultants has completed a £100,000 refurbishment of ICT suites at The Manor Academy, Mansfield Woodhouse.

At the same time, Focus Consultants project managed a £250,000 scheme to replace the boilers and distribution plant that served the existing site at Park Hall Road.

The two schemes were the latest in a number of contracts awarded by The Manor Academy to Focus Consultants over the past few years, including the design and management of a new classroom block, the extension and refurbishment of a new kitchen and student dining facilities, the refurbishment of the music block/multi-activity learning block and the PE classroom block.

Senior building surveyor Craig Gould said: “Focus has had a productive relationship with The Manor Academy since 2005, and we are pleased to have been involved in a range of projects to help improve and upgrade the facilities at the school.

“Our expertise and experience in this field means that Focus is well-placed to provide support for academies, schools, colleges and universities as they develop, extend and improve their educational and other facilities.”

Focus Consultants, which is based at Phoenix Business Park in Nottingham, and has offices in Holborn, London, Endeavour Park, Boston, Princess Road East, Leicester, and Aubourn, Lincoln, provides a range of construction and property services, and works with education establishments, registered social landlords, police forces and other blue light services, NHS trusts and private hospitals, heritage bodies and local authorities.

The firm has recently been appointed to the Pro5 national framework - one of the largest local government frameworks in the country. Following a competitive tendering process, Focus was successful in being appointed to provide consultancy advice on leisure, culture and heritage services, regeneration and regional development and asset management and delivery, as well as in the community research and engagement sector.

“We recently remodelled our ICT learning spaces and replaced our boilers, and the team at Focus helped ensure that both projects were well designed, properly procured and delivered on time and on budget,” said Steven Singleton, business leader at The Manor Academy. “I found the team to be friendly, down-to-earth and eager to please. As business manager of a large academy my time is at a premium and they took away the burden of managing these two projects.”

For more information visit www.focus-consultants.co.uk

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

Curry sauce producer Anila’s Authentic Sauces attends Pro-retail 2013

Award-winning curry sauce and accompaniments producer Anila’s Authentic Sauces is making its debut at the Pro-retail 2013 trade show.

Celebrating 21 years since Anila Vaghela began selling her curry sauces, the company will be showcasing its range for the first time at Pro-retail, which is billed as the biggest UK trade show for independent and multiple convenience retailers.

The event, which takes place on April 30th and May 1st at the International Centre in Telford, is expected to attract thousands of retailers and is the chance for suppliers and manufacturers to promote their latest lines.

“Our products are sold in a wide range of stores, and we’re very pleased to announce that we’ll be at Pro-retail this year,” said Anila Vaghela. “We hope it will be the chance for us to meet new customers, as well as reinforce relationships with existing clients.”

Anila’s concentrated sauces are based on traditional Indian recipes, and are gluten-free, dairy-free and suitable for vegetarians and vegans. Unusually for curry sauces, they don’t contain onions or garlic, which means they are suitable for people with intolerance to alliums, or for those who wish to avoid onions and garlic. They have won a number of awards, including Great Taste Awards and Free From Food Awards.

Anila’s produces eight different concentrated curry sauces, which are free from artificial colours, additives and preservatives, and 16 varieties of pickles, chutneys and dips.

Anila Vaghela sold her first curry sauce 21 years ago at a fair in Surrey, before going on to found Anila’s Authentic Sauces. The firm is based in Walton, Surrey, with a production unit in Hounslow.

Anila’s products are sold in the food halls of Harrods, Selfridges and John Lewis, Oxford Street and Bluewater, as well as hundreds of other outlets that include the Wholefoods chain of stores across the UK from Glasgow to Richmond in Surrey, Chatsworth Farm Shop, some Budgens outlets in the South East, plus delis, health food stores, garden centres and gift shops. Anila’s also sells direct to the public at farmers’ markets and online via www.anilassauces.com

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

Focus Consultants wins Pro5 framework appointment

Focus Consultants has been appointed to one of the largest local government frameworks in the country for two years, with the option of a two-year extension.

Steven Fletcher, Focus Consultants

The Nottingham-based firm has won a position on the Pro5 national framework, a public sector buying consortia comprising the Central Buying Consortium, Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation, North East Purchasing Organisation and the Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation.

Following a competitive tendering process, Focus was successful in being appointed to provide consultancy advice on leisure, culture and heritage services, regeneration and regional development and asset management and delivery.

Focus Consultants has also been appointed to provide consultancy support in the community research and engagement sector for local authorities and the wider public sector nationwide following the firm’s appointment to the Pro5 framework.

“This is excellent news for the business,” said Focus partner Steven Fletcher.

“We are delighted to have been appointed to the framework. It is a great opportunity for Focus and public sector clients to work in partnership and build beneficial lasting relationships.

“We were appointed following a competitive tendering process, and it effectively means that any local authority in the country and its associated services such as the police and the fire service can effectively pick up the phone and ask Focus to carry out the required work.

“To be appointed to this framework, Focus went through a rigorous vetting process. Future clients can benefit from this – reducing the time taken to procure consultants and realising major cost savings and improved efficiency.”

Focus, with its headquarters at Phoenix Business Park, Nottingham, and branches in Leicester, Boston, Aubourn in Lincolnshire and Holborn in London, specialises in funding, research and economic development, project and programme management, construction and property services and energy carbon sustainability services.

The firm has worked with both the public and private sector to secure more than £900 million of grant assistance and delivered more than £1 billion of projects and programmes since 1994.

Focus has secured a number of high-profile projects recently including being appointed project manager for a multi-million pound redevelopment at the National Army Museum in Chelsea.

Focus has also recently been appointed to the Victoria & Albert Museum framework to develop and deliver temporary exhibitions at the prestigious London museum, and is working with both Rochester and Peterborough Cathedrals on major redevelopments.

For more information about Focus Consultants visit www.focus-consultants.co.uk

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

New trade orders for Leicestershire coffee supplier Cherizena

East Midlands-based coffee producer Cherizena is celebrating a string of new trade orders after introducing new labelling equipment.

The company has won contracts to supply branded coffee to a number of new clients including a national financial organisation, regional farm shops and independent stores, coffee shops and individual firms across the UK.

The coffee is being bagged in different-sized packs with tailor-made labels for the customers, who are then using them as promotional material, as part of hospitality services or selling them as a branded product.

In addition, Cherizena has recently picked up a new contract caterer customer.

The new business has totalled more than £6,000 over the past six months.

“We are delighted with how much extra business we have generated as a result of investing in our new labelling printer and by increasing our sales efforts, which included exhibiting at the Federation of Small Businesses’ conference in Leicester in March,” said Kate Jones, who runs Cherizena, which is based at Wartnaby near Melton Mowbray.

“The labelling equipment has given us the flexibility to supply all our coffees in our clients’ branded packaging, ranging from 60g sachets up to larger packs.

A lot of companies are looking for something eye-catching and useful that they can give away as a promotional tool at events and so on, and branded coffee fits the bill perfectly.

“Exhibiting at the FSB conference in Leicester really helped us to promote ourselves and the services we offer to companies from across the UK.”

Cherizena, which produces and supplies premium, speciality and flavoured coffees, invested in the new equipment, as well as a new webshop, in the summer of 2012.

It was supported by the Food and Drink iNet, which is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and run by business organisation the Food and Drink Forum.

The iNet provided a match-funded grant of just over £3,000 to help with the innovation.

Since then, Cherizena has embarked on a sales and promotion effort to raise awareness of the company’s products and services.

“We have supplied branded coffees to trade customers for some time but the new equipment has given us much more flexibility and improved the quality of the labels,” said Kate.

“We expect that these latest orders will help us to increase turnover significantly over the next few months.”

One of Cherizena’s latest trade customers is 5* country house accommodation and event venue Vale House Belvoir, near Grantham, which has ordered sachets of ‘Vale House Belvoir’ coffee for its bedrooms and plans to provide personalised coffee for special occasions.

“Guests really appreciate the personalised and individual touches, and we were very pleased to find a local coffee supplier that could provide high quality coffees in Vale House Belvoir branding that we could put in our guest bedrooms and also personalise for special occasions such as birthday parties, weddings or hen parties,” said host Lara Young.

Cherizena sells to consumers, via mail order and at fairs and events, and to trade customers, including retailers, caterers and others in the hospitality trade.

It produces more than 20 flavoured coffees and also offers around 30 single-origin coffees and blends. It can supply coffee as beans or ground, regular or decaffeinated.

For more information about Cherizena contact 01664 820111 or visit www.cherizena.co.uk

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

Civic Trust Award for Focus Consultants project

Project manager Focus Consultants is celebrating after a scheme the company was involved in scooped a key Civic Trust Award.

SeaCity Museum in Southampton was one of 32 projects across the country to receive one of the awards, which are given to projects that make an outstanding contribution to the quality and appearance of the environment.

Focus, which is based at Phoenix Business Park in Nottingham, and has offices in Holborn, London, Endeavour Park, Boston, Princess Road East, Leicester, and Aubourn, Lincoln, was the project manager for SeaCity in conjunction with Southampton City Council.

The £15 million maritime museum opened in 2012 – 100 years after the ill-fated Titanic set sail from Southampton – and development involved converting the grade II* listed former Magistrates’ Courts adjoining the Civic Centre, Southampton City Art Gallery and the Guildhall. It is the centre piece of a major regeneration of the city’s new Cultural Quarter.

“Focus Consultants is proud to have been part of the team that developed Southampton SeaCity Museum, and we are delighted to hear the news that it has won a prestigious Civic Trust Award,” said Focus Consultants partner Steven Fletcher.

The Civic Trust Awards is the longest standing architectural and built environment awards scheme in Europe, having been established in 1959. Civic Trust Award level schemes must demonstrate excellence in architecture or design, sustainability, inclusive design and make a positive social, cultural, environmental or economic benefit to the local community.

Building constructor for SeaCity was Kier Construction and architect was Wilkinson Eyre Architects, with the exhibitions being designed by Urban Salon and installed by 8Build.

Focus Consultants supported the City Council in development of the Heritage Lottery Fund applications for round 1 and round 2 of the SeaCity project. The company acted as project manager for the whole scheme, including the building and exhibition works, and also contract administrator for the exhibition works.

Focus is a multi-disciplinary company which specialises in creative approaches to securing funding packages and delivering high quality projects across the Midlands and the UK. Focus has secured more than £900 million of grant assistance, and delivered more than £1 billion of projects and programmes since 1994.

For more information about Focus Consultants visit www.focus-consultants.co.uk

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

Brewery says cheers to the Food and Drink iNet

A Leicestershire brewery is raising a glass to the Food and Drink iNet (Innovation Network) after being given a grant to help with expansion plans.

Langton Brewery Ltd at Thorpe Langton, near Market Harborough, has launched a new service offering personalised bottles of beer following a grant from the iNet, which is run by trade organisation The Food and Drink Forum.

At the same time, the company has also invested in new printing and bottle-labelling machines to make it more efficient.

The brewery, which currently employs four people, hopes the move will boost business and allow it to employ another person.

“The Food and Drink iNet aims to support innovation within the East Midlands food and drink sector, and this is an excellent example of a business looking to introduce new ways of working and new products,” said Richard Worrall, director of the Food and Drink iNet.

Part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the iNet offers business advice to the sector, and aims to build on the tradition of innovation in the food and drink industry in the region by helping to create opportunities to develop knowledge and skills, and to help research, develop and implement new products, markets, services and processes.

The iNet awarded a £2,895 grant to Langton Brewery Ltd towards the investment of just over £7,000 in the expansion project.

“We anticipate that, by being more IT-accessible, by offering this bespoke service, and by having an in-house labelling facility, we will be able to develop a new part of the market, expand and respond quickly to customer needs, improve our efficiency and increase profit margins,” said Langton Brewery director Alistair Chapman.

“We would like to thank the Food and Drink iNet for the support we have received.”

The brewery, which supplies to retail, wholesale, pub, food service and mobile/party bar customers, has now developed its website to take online orders for personalised bespoke bottles of beer.

It will help the company to move into the gift market, which is a new area for the business.

Previously the brewery hand-labelled 30,000 bottles a year with pre-printed labels, but the additional investment in printing and labelling machines will be far more efficient, added Mr Chapman.

The Food and Drink iNet is managed by a consortium, led by the Food and Drink Forum and including Nottingham Trent University, the University of Lincoln, and the University of Nottingham. It is based at Southglade Food Park, Nottingham, with advisors covering the East Midlands region to offer a range of support to small and medium-sized enterprises that work in the sector.  

For more information about The Food and Drink iNet visit www.foodanddrink-inet.org.uk

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

Food and Drink iNet grant helps apple snack idea to evolve

A Leicestershire company has developed a crunchy new apple snack using fruit that would previously have gone to waste, thanks to a grant from the Food and Drink iNet.

Omniceutica Limited has invented a process which transforms pulp from cider making, as well as surplus, ungraded or bruised fruit, into bite-sized servings.

The firm, based at Asfordby Business Park, near Melton Mowbray, was awarded almost £10,000 from the Food and Drink iNet under a Collaborate to Innovate project to develop the concept.

Part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and run by trade organisation the Food and Drink Forum, the iNet aims to encourage innovation in the East Midlands food and drink sector.

Glen Martyn, director at Omniceutica said: “We are converting a freely available resource that is currently seen as waste from the fruit processing and cider industries into a nutritious and commercially viable snack. The amount of food wasted throughout the food industry is of huge financial and environmental concern so the timing of this innovation is right.”

Jo Murphy, an advisor with the Food and Drink iNet, said that tackling waste and finding alternative uses for by-products in the food and drink sector was a key target for the industry.

“The Food and Drink iNet has funded a number of projects under its Collaborate to Innovate programme which focus on positive ways of reducing waste in the sector,” she said. “Omniceutica has come up with an inventive way of creating a new product using ingredients that would previously have been thrown away.

“The technology will also benefit small and medium-sized enterprises in the East Midlands, such as cider makers and other producers, who could now have a productive outlet for some of their waste products – saving money on disposal costs and creating additional revenue.”

Omniceutica is a specialist product developer and offers other services through its consultancy. One of its specialist areas is in food, offering its research and development services to companies, ranging from start-ups through to larger global organisations.

Omniceutica develops and produces pilot-scale production batches to test ideas and concepts in readiness for commercial scale up.

The iNet grant has funded work to source ingredients and develop a new drying process that is less energy intensive and retains more nutrients than conventional systems.

The work has also involved experts from the University of Nottingham carrying out initial analysis of the snack’s nutrient content.

Omniceutica is exploring patent issues before the product is prepared for marketing and sale through licensing agreements to larger manufacturers.

Since the company was formed in 2010, its staff have collaborated with clients locally, nationally and around the world. It also works with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and has substantial expertise in intellectual property and patents.

The Food and Drink iNet, is managed by a consortium, led by the Food and Drink Forum and including Nottingham Trent University, the University of Lincoln, and The University of Nottingham.

It is based at Southglade Food Park, Nottingham, with advisors covering the East Midlands region to offer a range of support to small and medium-sized enterprises that work in the sector.

For more information about the Food and Drink iNet visit www.foodanddrink-inet.org.uk

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