Shire Horse Open Day held at Croots Farm Shop

Gentle giants of the horse world will be shown in all their glory at a Shire horse open day in Derbyshire next month.

The Derbyshire Shire Horse Association Show will be held at Farnah House Farm, Wirksworth Road, near Duffield – the home of Croots Farm Shop.

As well as offering the public the chance to see magnificent Shire horses in action, the event is a rescheduled qualifier for the Shire Horse of the Year Championship at the prestigious Horse of the Year Show, which takes place in October, and is likely to attract some of the top Shire horses in the country.  The original qualifier for HOYS was postponed following the cancellation of the Derbyshire County Show last month due to the weather and ground conditions.

Running from 11am to 4pm on Sunday 7^th August, the show will feature Shire horse displays, different classes, dray rides, pony rides, trade stands and a BBQ. Admission costs £3 for adults and £2 for children.

It is being held at the farm belonging to Jim and Sue Yates, who have already qualified two of their Shire horses for the Horse of the Year Show after winning prizes at the Lincolnshire County Show and the Royal Norfolk Show.

The couple have been breeding and rearing Shire horses for decades, and are amongst the longest established families in the Shire horse world. Their son David Yates shows the horses, with daughter Kay Croot involved in preparing them for showing.

Kay, who runs Croots Farm Shop with her husband Steve, said: “The Shire horses at Farnah House Farm are very popular – people love to see them and we know that many of Croots’ customers are big fans.

“The Derbyshire Shire Horse Association Show is the ideal opportunity to watch around 30 horses dressed up in all their finery being put through their paces.”

This is the third time that the Derbyshire Shire Horse Association Show has been held at Farnah House Farm.

For more information visit http://www.croots.co.uk

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

Leading role for Butt Foods in food and drink sector productivity report

East Midlands-based bakery Butt Foods has played a key role in a major project designed to help plug the skills gap facing the food and drink sector.

The Nottingham company joined the likes of big brands Mars and Premier Foods to take part in the project carried out by the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) and the National Skills Academy for Food and Drink.

The food and drink sector has a strong record on productivity growth, outstripping overall UK productivity and many global competitors. But food and drink manufacturing is facing skills gaps in key technical and scientific areas, and an ageing workforce, with 130,000 new employees needed by 2024. 

Now food and drink business leaders, including Butt Foods managing director David Williams, have come together to take steps to ensure that productivity gains are sustained and they can recruit and retain the next generation of food engineers, scientists and leaders.  

They have pinpointed a number of priorities, including increasing the quantity and quality of apprenticeships, improving engagement with schools and the collaboration between the sector and higher and further education, and showcasing the exciting career opportunities on offer in the industry.

Butt Foods managing director David Williams said: “The food and drink sector is a stimulating and interesting sector to work in, and, as a company, Butt Foods was honoured to play a role in this project which is helping to ensure that productivity in the industry is boosted. I have worked over the last six months with FDF president Dame Fiona Kendrick and the panel representing smaller companies and identifying what is holding them back from being more productive.

“I worked alongside organisations like Nestlé, Mars, Premier Foods, Mondelez and apetito to share our experiences of improving efficiency through cultural changes and suggested ways in which the skills gap could be plugged.

“Food and drink manufacturing productivity grew by 11% over the last five years compared to 0.5% for the whole economy, but food and drink manufacturing is facing a talent shortage with over a third of its workforce due to retire by 2024 and insufficient skilled candidates to fill these roles.”

Butt Foods is based at Lenton Industrial Estate, Nottingham, and supplies a range of naans, flatbreads, sub rolls and other speciality breads to the food service sector. The firm, which recently celebrated its 25^th year in business, increased its turnover from £1.6m in 2012 to £4.5m last year, as well as doubling its staff during the same period to about 65 people.As a result of the collaboration, the Food and Drink Federation has released a report, Unlocking Talent -  The Key to Driving Food and Drink Productivity, and has developed a three to five-year plan for business-led action to deliver a real step change in skills and talent within the UK food and drink manufacturing sector.

FDF will work in partnership with Government, the National Skills Academy for Food and Drink, the National Centre for Universities and Business, the Careers and Enterprise Company and other partners to deliver the action plan with industry.

For more information visit http://www.buttfoods.co.uk

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

East Midlands fbe awards 2016, one month until nominations close

Winner of the regeneration category at the East Midlands 2015 fbe awards 

There’s just one month to go before the nomination deadline for the annual East Midlands fbe Awards. The awards recognise the teams behind some of the region’s best construction projects. 

Entries are expected to be received from across Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire, with categories including Regeneration, Residential, Non-Residential and the new Rising Star of the Year award.

The new category aims to recognise and reward the construction and development sector’s most promising young professionals in the region.

Winners of the first three categories automatically form the short list for the Overall East Midlands scheme and team award. 

Entry is free and those wishing to be considered have just one month left to enter before the closing date of Friday 19^th August 2016. The awards will be presented at the City Rooms in Leicester, on 6^th October, at an event run by the East Midlands fbe (Forum for the Built Environment). 

The event is being hosted, once again, by former BBC East Midlands Political editor John Hess, with more than 120 professionals from across the construction, development and property sectors in the region expected to attend. 

“With just a month to go before the deadline closes we look forward to receiving candidates’ nominations to help us recognise and celebrate the achievements of those in the construction and development sectors in the region,” said East Midlands fbe chairman Jef Todd, who is business development director at East Midlands civil and structural engineering firm BSP Consulting.

“Each year we receive a strong set of nominations which reflect the work being undertaken in the East Midlands and we are looking forward to hearing more about the latest schemes being submitted.”

Details about the awards and entry forms are available here http://www.fbeonline.co.uk/east-midlands/events/fbe-east-midlands-chairmans-dinner-and-awards-2016.htm  as well as sponsorship opportunities and tickets for the awards ceremony. 

The fbe organises a number of social and other events, as well as running the annual awards scheme. They are a national organisation with branches across the UK and are the longest established networking group for the property, development and construction industries. The East midlands branch covers Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire. 

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

Perfect 10 PR on hand to help out at fire station media shoot

We were delighted to be on hand to help this week during a media shoot in Nottingham, at the state-of-the-art new fire station, built by client J Tomlinson. 

Our client is in the process of adding final touches the new station for Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service, including the most recent additions, two stone statue lions. The lions were taken from the old Central Fire Station, with a rich history and sentimental value. 

Both lions, along with a mosaic, have been taken from their old home and rehoused in the entrance of the new London Road facility, where they will greet visitors and remind fire officers of their history. 

We felt privileged to be able to take an early glimpse at the modern new facilities, as well as witness the fire service pass on some of its past, as they enter into a new chapter as a service. The ceremony also included the burying of a fire extinguisher-shaped time capsule containing pieces of uniform, fire safety leaflets, pictures of all four watches at Central Fire Station and a piece of parquet flooring from the old station. 

“It is the start of a new era for NFRS with the opening of London Road as we say goodbye to such an iconic station, and building in Nottingham’s history, I am proud that we will always be able to recognise our history,” said Station Manager Andy Lindley, District Manager for Nottingham City. 

The Perfect10 PR team was delighted to witness this personal touch and looks 
forward to the station’s opening in September of this year.

Construction Leaders Club focuses on how to be a leader in times of uncertainty

A construction sector expert is warning that it’s crucial for small businesses in the industry to plan for the future as much as possible as the UK heads into uncharted waters following the Brexit referendum result.

Business growth consultant Terry O’Mahony says that the UK’s EU vote and the resultant political upheaval has created an uncertain future.

“When uncertainty goes up, confidence tends to go down, which can have a knock-on effect to the amount of work available in the sector or the level of work is maintained but prices suffer,” said Terry, who runs the East Midlands-based Construction Leaders Club.

“Companies often look at their cost base and cut their sales and marketing budgets and their training budget, but that means they may be less able to win work and have fewer people with the right skill set and capabilities to adapt to the change and cope with the work.

“We are heading into completely uncharted waters post-Brexit and it’s now more important than ever that the leaders at the top of companies have the wherewithal, foresight and vision to steer the management and develop the strategy necessary to guide their businesses through these uncertain times.”

The Construction Leaders Club, which was established in Nottingham three years ago by Terry as a networking and business growth organisation supporting businesses and individuals related to or associated with the UK construction industry, is running a Discovery Day which will focus on what it takes to be a leader in times of uncertainty.

The event, on Wednesday 7^th September at Risley Hall Hotel, near junction 25 of the M1 between Nottingham and Derby, will also look at strategy and marketing, and will shine a spotlight on the two upcoming programmes that the CLC is running from October, the CLC Mastermind for business owners and senior decision makers, and the CLC Rising Stars for high potential individuals who want to step up to the next level.

As well as running development programmes and workshops, the CLC also stages monthly networking events.  

CLC and its related business support services is the only business growth, leadership and management development organisation for the construction industry to be awarded a Chartered Building Consultancy status - an accreditation granted as part of the Chartered Institute of Building’s Chartered Building Consultancy Scheme.  CLC can also award CPD credits for its networking events, workshops and programmes. 

For more details or to book on the Discovery Day, visit http://www.constructionleadersclub.com/ 

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

Children’s craft activities at Croots Farm Shop in Derbyshire

Croots farm shop, Derbyshire  

Popular craft activities for children will be run at Croots Farm Shop in Derbyshire during August.

The fun sessions will be held from 10am to 4pm on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 1^st to 31^st August as part of the store’s programme of events.

The perfect way to help keep kids entertained during the summer holidays, the sessions are themed around the farm and countryside and include creating farm animal pompoms, bee and butterfly weaving, and making corn kernel mosaics. 

Suitable for children aged from four to 11, they are staged in the barn beside Croots Farm Shop, which is based at Farnah House Farm, Wirksworth Road, near Duffield. 

Each session costs £3, with tickets available from the shop on the day. There will also be opportunities to play playground, skittles and hoopla games. 

Croots Farm Shop 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

£14m hospital appointment for BSP Consulting

East Midlands-based civil and structural engineering company BSP Consulting has been appointed as part of the team building a new £14 million hospital.

The firm is currently helping Cygnet Health Care to build a £9.8 million, 56-bed mental health hospital in Coventry. 

Now BSP has also been appointed as the civil and structural engineer for a £14 million, 65-bed hospital due to be built by Cygnet Health Care in Kent. Cygnet Hospital Maidstone will be located on a two-acre plot at the proposed Kent Medical Campus on Bearsted Road, Maidstone.

Work is due to get underway on site late September, with the first admissions to the new hospital expected in January 2018.

BSP Consulting engineers have undertaken the full civil and structural design for the scheme, which will feature three principal wards, plus eight individual step-down flats, together with therapeutic, clinical and recreational facilities, and ancillary/support accommodation. These will be set within a building floor plan totalling 5,300 square metres and constructed over three levels.

BSP director Carl Hilton said: “We are excited about being involved directly for the client on this hospital project as it is a sector in which we have significant strength and had identified for expansion. The site is one of the first significant medical park developments to occur in the UK, and is therefore a high-profile development.

“It is the latest in a number of Cygnet healthcare projects that BSP has been involved in, and is an endorsement of the civil and structural engineering services that BSP provides.”

London-based Tangram Architects is architect for both the Coventry and Maidstone schemes. 

BSP, based in Oxford Street, Nottingham, and with offices in Derby and Leicester, offers civil, structural, traffic, transportation, geotechnical and environmental engineering services across the construction industry. An award-winning business, the firm operates across all the major sectors, including health, residential, retail, leisure, education, rail and industrial. 

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

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

J Tomlinson accounts show steady and sustainable growth

CEO Mark Davis

Growing construction services company J Tomlinson generated sales of £63 million in the year ending September 2015, its latest filed accounts reveal.

The figures show a growth in turnover of more than £12 million from the previous year.

CEO Mark Davis, who reports that J Tomlinson is on target to see a turnover of £84 million in 2016, said: “The increase in turnover of more than £12 million to £63 million in the year ending September 2015 reflects the steady and sustainable growth that J Tomlinson is experiencing as we continue to expand and increase our workforce in both the East and West Midlands.

“We are expecting this to continue, and have already secured 95% of our predicted turnover of £84 million for 2016. 

“The growth has been across the board, encompassing our services in construction, refurbishment, repairs and maintenance, mechanical and electrical engineering, energy efficiency and renewables services, and facilities management. 

“J Tomlinson has been awarded a number of notable appointments in both the West Midlands and the East Midlands in recent months, including our ninth contract in less than two years at RTC Business Park, Derby, the construction of the £5.1 million visitor centre and factory extension at Triumph in Hinckley, and a three-year contract with West Midlands Ambulance Service to cover maintenance across more than 130 sites, with a  total value of £1.8 million, which have all contributed to the company’s on-going success.”

J Tomlinson, which is based at Beeston near Nottingham and operates across the East Midlands, West Midlands and Yorkshire, employs more than 400 people.

For more information, visit www.jtomlinson.co.uk

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

New senior appointment at Focus Consultants

Andy White joins Focus Consultants

Focus Consultants has appointed Andy White as senior project manager to head up the healthcare team.

Andy joins Nottingham-based Focus from Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, where he was capital projects manager and before that estates services manager (forensic).

Skilled in project management, he has more than 30 years of experience in the construction and maintenance industries, including 23 in healthcare and also including management and leadership roles.

Focus partner Keith Butler said: “We are very pleased to welcome Andy to Focus Consultants, at a time when our work in the healthcare sector is expanding

“He brings vast experience of the sector and will strengthen the company’s team as we continue to grow.”

A chartered building surveyor since 1991, Andy is based in the Nottingham office of Focus, at Phoenix Business Park, and will work in conjunction with the teams across the Leicester, London and Lincolnshire offices of the company.

“Focus Consultants is a long-established company working on an extensive portfolio of projects in the healthcare and other sectors. I’m delighted to have joined the business and I’m looking forward to contributing to its continued success,” said Andy. 

Focus offers services to the property and construction industry, including building surveying, contract administration, party wall surveying, clerk of works, quantity surveying, project management, CDM services and BREEAM assessments, as well as energy calculations and modelling. 

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 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 about Focus Consultants, visit www.focus-consultants.co.uk

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

Ninth contract at Derby RTC Business Park for J Tomlinson Ltd

Craig Johnston of J Tomlinson and other team members

East Midlands-based construction and refurbishment company J Tomlinson has won its ninth contract in less than two years at one of Derby’s major business parks.

The owner of RTC Business Park, LCR, has engaged the firm on a range of key refurbishments, mechanical & electrical engineering installations, and demolition work at the business park - one of the major employment sites in Derby.

The projects have been part of a scheme to upgrade and modernise the mixture of low rise office and laboratory buildings together with a number of rail connected industrial units. 

J Tomlinson has completed more than £3 million worth of improvements to office accommodation at two main buildings, Derwent House and Kelvin House, as well as refurbishment at Trent House and M & E installation work at Brunel House.

Now the Nottingham-based company has been appointed to its ninth contract at the business park, and will be undertaking an additional £500,000 worth of refurbishment work at Derwent House – taking the total value of the work carried out at Derwent House alone to more than £1 million.

David Joy, Chief Executive of LCR, said: “We are delighted to award J Tomlinson their ninth contract for refurbishment works at the RTC Business Park. I’m sure the tenants on site will agree that the work carried out to date has been to an exceptional standard and serves as a testament to the company. We are pleased to be able to continue this contractual relationship and are confident that this next stage of work won’t disappoint.”

J Tomlinson’s first contract at RTC Business Park began in September 2014 and the latest has just got underway.

“These multiple contracts are a ringing endorsement of the skill and professionalism of the J Tomlinson team, who are proud to be playing an ongoing role in modernising such a key business site for Derby’s local economy and also the wider East Midlands economy,” said operations director Pete Woods.

J Tomlinson offers construction, refurbishment, repairs and maintenance, mechanical and electrical engineering, facilities management, and energy efficiency and renewables services.

RTC Business Park, which has more than 30 tenants and is home to a workforce of over 1,100, provides 430,000 sq ft of accommodation located on more than 28 acres of landscaped grounds. The owners, LCR, in conjunction with Derby City Council using their allocation of the Government’s Regional Growth Fund, are investing in RTC to create economic growth, sustainable employment and rebalance the economy.

Sanderson Weatherall is project managing the scheme. For more information, visit www.jtomlinson.co.uk or www.rtcbusinesspark.co.uk/

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