Focus Consultants celebrates Royal Transformation Project funding success

Royal Transformation Project plans

Funding experts at Focus Consultants are celebrating the news that one of the East Midlands’ key arts and entertainment centres has been successful in securing £1.5m from the Arts Council England.

The grant, along with £1.8m from Nottingham City Council, will support the £3.3m Royal Transformation Project being planned by Nottingham’s Theatre Royal and Royal Concert Hall.

Focus, which is based in the city, worked alongside the Theatre Royal and Royal Concert Hall team to create the masterplan to develop the two venues, and more recently has been the project manager, quantity surveyor and business planner for the successful Arts Council England Round 2 application.

Robert Sanderson, managing director for the venue, said: “We are so delighted in this vote of confidence from the Arts Council England and from Nottingham City Council. I would also like to thank Marsh Grochowski Architects and Focus Consultants who led the professional team, for their expertise, advice and support throughout the bid process.”

Focus, which is based at Phoenix Business Park, Nottingham, and has offices in London, Leicester, and Boston and Aubourn in Lincolnshire, specialises in creative approaches to securing funding packages and delivering high quality projects across the UK. Since its creation in 1994, Focus has helped to secure more than £953 million of grant assistance for a range of projects and businesses across the UK and delivered more than £1.3 billion of projects and programmes – making it one of the most successful companies of its kind.

Focus Partner Steven Fletcher said: “The ambitious programme of building and development works for the Royal Concert Hall and the Theatre Royal is designed to ensure the sustainable future of two of the largest arts and entertainment venues in the East Midlands, and we are very pleased to hear that the Arts Council England Round 2 bid has been successful, paving the way for phase one of the work to begin this summer.”

The Royal Transformation Project aims to increase daytime use of the venues by improving facilities and underused spaces such as meeting rooms, foyer spaces, the café bar and roof terraces.  The project will also see accessibility improvements to ensure that the new facilities can be used by everyone.

Developments include improving the building façade and streetscape on South Sherwood Street by creating a striking two-storey canopy and a new entrance way to both the Theatre Royal and the Royal Concert Hall, remodelling the Box Office and Royal Concert Hall entrance foyer, refurbishing the Royal Concert Hall foyer bars and repositioning the foyer kiosk, enlarging and improving the Theatre Royal’s ground floor café bar and upper floor roof terraces to provide a better dining experience throughout the day, and creating a new street-level outdoor seating and performance area under cover of the new canopy on South Sherwood Street.

Work will take place in two phases - phase 1 during summer and autumn 2016 and Phase 2 during summer and autumn 2017. 

Press release issued by Nottingham based pr company Perfect 10 PR http://www.perfect10pr.co.uk 

J Tomlinson director supports apprenticeships

Faz Hussain, Lewis Jones and Pete Woods 

A former apprentice who is now a director of a multi-million pound turnover business is backing this year’s National Apprenticeship Week.

Pete Woods, operations director at contractor J Tomlinson, began his career in construction in 1994 as an apprentice joiner. Twenty years later he was appointed as a director at the Nottingham-based company, having worked for J Tomlinson since 2000.

He now has the responsibility for the regeneration division at the company and the delivery of its contracts, at a time when the firm is experiencing unprecedented growth.

During National Apprenticeship Week 2016 – which has the theme of ‘rising to the top’ – Pete and J Tomlinson are shining a spotlight on the opportunities that apprenticeships can create.

“I left school with no GCSEs. The training and support I received as part of my apprenticeship gave me the skills, confidence and building blocks for a career that has taken me from an apprentice joiner at a small design and build company in Nottingham to a senior position at J Tomlinson, now one of the most successful, growing contractors in the East Midlands,” said Pete.

“Just like me, there are many people who prefer a more hands-on approach to learning and skills development that doesn’t involve sitting in a classroom all the time. Undertaking an apprenticeship can benefit them greatly.”

Running from 14^th to 18^th March, National Apprenticeship Week is coordinated by the National Apprenticeship Service and is designed to celebrate apprenticeships and the positive impact they have on individuals, businesses and the wider economy.

“J Tomlinson is currently supporting more than 20 apprentices and trainees within our company, providing the funding and support to help them work towards professional qualifications,” said Pete.

“We are continually looking for new talent to develop and therefore are open to supporting many more apprenticeships and training schemes in the future.”

Nineteen-year-old customer liaison officer at J Tomlinson Faz Hussain, from Beeston, has recently secured a permanent job at the company following the completion of her apprenticeship this month (March).

She has ambitions to be a senior CLO with a few years more experience and progress up, potentially to management level.

“There is always the opportunity to progress here, and I have a passion for success,” she said. “Lots of line managers have given me time and I always get plenty of help from other guys who have lots of experience in the job.”

IT and telecommunications apprentice Lewis Jones, 17, from Stapleford, is also enjoying his training at J Tomlinson. He needed back surgery early in his apprenticeship, which he mentioned during his interview for the position, and has been delighted with the support he has received before, during and after his operation.

“I had to have back surgery, which meant I was out of work for eight weeks. I get loads of support. The atmosphere in the office is awesome,” said Lewis, who left school after taking GCSEs. “Everyone here is so nice, even the directors are awesome, they make you feel welcome and say hello in the yard.”

Long term, Lewis aims to get qualified in IT, learn all aspects of his trade, complete more training in telecoms, and has ambitions to become an IT manager.

Group systems manager at J Tomlinson Tracy Price is another firm supporter of apprenticeships and trainee schemes.

She began working at the company straight from school in 1997 and has progressed up the ranks from administration assistant to her current role of group systems manager, which she took on in May 2014. In this role Tracy is responsible for the entire group systems, delivering appropriate training to the business, and coordinating all operations delivered through IT.

“Apprenticeships and trainee schemes, along with continuous development, are a very important part of helping individuals and companies to grow, and I’ve welcomed the training and development opportunities that I’ve received since I left school and joined J Tomlinson almost 20 years ago, which has enabled me to continually develop my career,” she said.

J Tomlinson, which has its headquarters at Lilac Grove, Beeston, operates across the East Midlands, West Midlands and Yorkshire, employs more than 380 people, and has been named in Deloitte’s Businesses Leading Britain 2014 report, which provides insights into the UK’s 1,000 fastest-growing businesses with annual revenues between £30 million and £1 billion.

The firm offers services in construction, refurbishment, repairs and maintenance, mechanical and electrical engineering, and facilities management, and works across a range of sectors including social housing, emergency services, health and care, education, retail and commercial property. A privately owned company, the business has recently introduced a ‘people strategy’ to ensure that employees benefit from training, development and career progression opportunities.
For information about J Tomlinson visit www.jtomlinson.co.uk
Press release issued by Nottingham-based PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk 

Affordable homes role for Focus Consultants

Residents have moved into a new development built with support from property experts at Focus Consultants.

The company acted as employer’s agent on a £1.05 million scheme in Marsden Drive, Scunthorpe, for Ongo Homes (formerly North Lincolnshire Homes), where 14 homes have recently been completed on the site of a former pub.

Focus also provided a number of other roles at the site, including Code for Sustainable Homes assessor and CDM Coordinator.

The development of affordable homes, which features 13 two-bedroom properties and one three-bedroom home, was the latest in a number of projects the Boston office of Focus has undertaken for Ongo.

Trevor Newton, partner for the Lincolnshire offices of Focus, said: “Focus played a role in major refurbishment and remodelling schemes completed last year at Ancholme Gardens, Brigg, and St Peter’s Court, Barton-upon-Humber, both for North Lincolnshire Homes, now Ongo Homes.”

Focus, which is based in Nottingham and has offices in London, Leicester, Boston and Aubourn in Lincolnshire, offers a range of services to the property and construction industry, including building surveying, quantity surveying, project management, CDM Coordinator services and sustainable development support.

The company also specialises in funding and economic development including area regeneration strategies, funding applications, economic impact appraisals, business plans, and research and evaluation.  Since 1994 Focus has also secured for clients more than £953 million of grants for projects and businesses across the UK and delivered more than £1.3 billion worth of projects and programmes – making it one of the most successful businesses of its kind in the country.

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

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