Business boosted for CLC Mastermind Programme graduates

Keith Rodgers from Guy Taylor Associates

Graduates of a mastermind development programme for those working in the East Midlands construction sector have praised the course after experiencing a range of business benefits.

Participants have opened new branch offices, drawn up plans to take on extra staff, and put in place other expansion proposals as a result of attending the Construction Leaders Club Mastermind Programme.

Now they are highlighting to others within the sector the importance of taking time out of the day-to-day running of a business to focus on continuous development.

“Taking part in the Mastermind programme allowed us to talk about where the company was going and what we would like from it and use it as a framework for decision making,” said Keith Rodgers, managing director of Newark-based architects Guy Taylor Associates. 

“In fact, it was so helpful that we finished writing and implementing our five-year business plan within a year, leading to us opening additional offices in Sheffield, Derby and Manchester. It’s worked out very well. We have expanded our client base and we have expanded the regions we are working in, so we have a bigger spread and less of a risk.

“It was definitely worthwhile going on the Mastermind Programme as it helped to consolidate thinking and helped to focus on what matters to the business, and what doesn’t. I particularly liked the peer mentoring too.”

Phil Plant, a Nottingham-based health and safety consultant working within the construction industry, hopes to soon begin taking on his first employees after attending the Mastermind Programme. 

“I’d recommend the programme to anyone who’s thinking about doing it because it helps you to focus, it helps you to come out of the mundane day-to-day running of your business, and it is good for the morale,” he said.

“One of the best things about it was that you are a group member, you are a team player and any issues you may have in business there are generally people around the table who have experienced that and can assist you and can give you answers to your questions.”

Phil, who heads up Integral Safety Management, which operates across the country, said he had learned valuable lessons from the course, in particular how to recognise and focus on his firm’s market.

“You can start to target everything and come back with nothing but if you know your market it’s best to focus on that and set your goals,” added Phil, who, with business booming, is hoping to reap the benefits of the course after he takes on his first staff members within the next couple of months.

Designed for business owners and senior decision makers working within the construction sector who have the opportunity to set or re-set the direction for a brighter future, the CLC Mastermind Programme features a programme which brings together a group of like-minded committed individuals who want to achieve sustainable growth and want to develop themselves both professionally and personally in order to drive their business forward.

The nine-month programme is run by construction industry and business management veteran Terry O’Mahony, founder and CEO of The Construction Leaders Club, together with his associates Peter Jubb, a Chartered Marketer, and Andrea O’Mahony an executive education specialist; all of whom have a successful track record in business growth and development within or associated with the construction industry.

Sessions generally take place at Risley Hall Hotel, Risley, between Nottingham and Derby. 

For more information about the next course, visit http://www.constructionleadersclub.com/ or email terry@constructionleadersclub.com

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

Focus Consultants acquires a controlling interest in Midland Energy Services Ltd

Focus Partners meeting with the MES Team

Focus Consultants has acquired a controlling interest in Newark-based sustainable building consultancy Midland Energy Services Ltd (trading as MES Building Solutions).

The move will strengthen the sustainable development services already provided by Focus, and increase the number of professionals working on the team.

It follows an announcement last year by Nottingham-based Focus that the organisation planned to further develop the group’s structure as it built on more than 20 years of experience.

The existing MES management team will remain and MES will be run separately for the foreseeable future, said Focus Consultants partner Kevin Osbon.

“We see this as an exciting opportunity to work in partnership with MES to help both businesses grow,” said Kevin. “MES original founder and owner of the business Alex Hole will remain as CEO, and we are looking forward to pooling our resources to provide extended services to our clients in terms of the sustainable building services that we offer.

“Focus Consultants views the arrangement as a partnership, which will allow us to undertake joint initiatives to support our clients.”

Focus, which is based at Phoenix Business Park, Nottingham, and has branches in London, Leicester, and in Boston and Aubourn in Lincolnshire, offers a range of services in the fields of funding and regeneration, energy, project management and chartered surveying. Its sustainable development department provides services such as low carbon refurbishment support, Code for Sustainable Homes assessment, energy/sustainability statements for planning, low carbon funding advice and BREEAM assessments.

As well as a range of eco-sustainability services, the team at MES will bring ‘rights of light’ expertise to the group, providing a major new service for Focus to offer clients and a cross-selling opportunity that dovetails with the current offer, added Kevin Osbon.

The acquisition of MES, for an undisclosed sum, is expected to bring a combined turnover of more than £5 million for 2016/2017 for the Focus group, and with the addition of 12 skilled staff, will create a team of almost 60 across all offices.

MES is based in Beacon Hill Office Park, Newark, and specialises in environmental consultancy work.

CEO Alex Hole said: “MES will continue to operate as a separate company. However, our clients will be able to benefit from this association with Focus Consultants as we will also be able to offer even more of a ‘one-stop’ construction solution through our sister organisation.

“I will continue to lead the MES team and other personnel within MES stay the same. We are excited about the opportunities this brings and look forward to being able to continue to provide our clients with the high quality, honest and diligent service we are renowned for.”

The partners at Focus were advised on the deal by Duncan James of Shakespeare Martineau and Collin Franklin from Franklin Underwood.

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

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

Time to move forward for British Horological Institute plan

A team of experts has been assembled to spearhead the creation of a national Centre for Horology at Upton Hall, near Newark.

Last October it was announced that the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) had earmarked a £2.8 million grant for the BHI to develop a new centre of excellence to help train the next generation of clock and watchmakers in the UK.

The project – known as Saving Time - is the first phase of an £8.5 million masterplan that Nottingham-based funding, economic development and project management specialist Focus Consultants has developed for the site.

Now a team has been appointed to progress plans, produce a fully costed proposal, apply for planning permission, and submit a second round application to the HLF before the earmarked grant can be released.

“I am delighted that we have now appointed a team of experts to support the British Horological Institute as we move into the next phase of making our plans a reality,” said Dudley Giles, chief executive officer of the BHI. “Work on Saving Time is now in full swing.”

The team appointed by the BHI includes Focus Consultants as project manager, bid planner and quantity surveyor, Newark-based Guy Taylor Associates as architects, Newark-based William Saunders as civil and structural engineer, and Hertfordshire-based mechanical and electrical engineers SVM. Other members of the team are activity planners Oakmere Solutions Ltd based in Ipswich and Cambridge, access consultants Jane Toplis Associates, from Bath, fundraising consultants Judith Egerton and Nancy Chambers, from Gloucestershire, and Swinton-based exhibition designer PLB.

“This is the next stage in the process of securing the grant from the HLF,” said Focus partner Kevin Osbon. “Focus and architects Guy Taylor Associates have been involved in the long-term planning of the scheme right from the start and for around three years now, so we’re really pleased to be part of the team going forward, along with a number of other professionals who have expertise in developing exciting and innovative projects like the one being undertaken at Upton Hall.”

The realisation of the masterplan will eventually see the refurbishment of Upton Hall – a Grade II* listed building, which is included in the Heritage at Risk register kept by Historic England.

The BHI priority in the masterplan is training and education. This is to address the UK-wide shortage of horologists by creating new training and workshop facilities, allowing the BHI to double the number of students it trains over the coming years.

The facilities created during Saving Time include new clock and watch workshop spaces in a former stable block and glasshouse adjacent to Upton Hall. Saving Time will also include the refurbishment of the ground floor of the west wing of Upton Hall.

Focus, which also has offices in London, Leicester, 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.

For more information visit www.focus-consultants.com 

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

Time to celebrate for Focus Consultants

Kevin Osbon at the British Horological Institute

Funding, economic development and project management specialist Focus Consultants is celebrating the news that the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has earmarked a £2.8 million grant for the British Horological Institute (BHI).

Focus developed the HLF bid for the BHI, which plans to create a National Centre for Horology at its Upton Hall base, near Newark in Nottinghamshire, to help train a new generation of clock and watchmakers in the UK.

The project is the first phase of an £8.5 million Masterplan that Focus has developed for the site.

Dudley Giles, Chief Executive Officer of the BHI, praised the work of Nottingham-based Focus Consultants, which also has offices in London, Leicester and at Boston and Aubourn in Lincolnshire.

“The team at Focus Consultants has been great – we literally couldn’t have done it without them. Their advice and guidance has been spot on and we really feel that they are part of the BHI team, helping us to take the project and the Masterplan through to completion,” he said.

Focus Consultants Partner Kevin Osbon, who lives just two miles from Upton Hall, led the creation of the long term Masterplan for the BHI and the consequent development of the initial Phase 1 'Saving Time' project which has secured the HLF award.

He said: “I have been working on this project personally since August 2013 and the team at Focus Consultants have worked closely with the BHI to create a long term sustainable solution for the Upton Hall estate and secure their future as one of the leading horological training establishments in the world. I am delighted to hear that the HLF bid has been successful.

“Focus works with organisations and attractions across the UK, but the BHI is a close neighbour, being based in Nottinghamshire, and members of the Focus team are really looking forward to working with the BHI team to deliver phase 1 and then the overall Masterplan 'over time'.”

The BHI – a membership organisation for people who make, repair, collect and sell clocks, watches and other timepieces – plans to open the new centre in 2018 to address the nationwide shortage of horologists by creating new training and workshop facilities in a derelict stable block and glass house, allowing the BHI to double the number of students it trains a year.

Historic England has included Upton Hall – a Grade II* listed building – in its 2015 Heritage at Risk Register.

HLF has earmarked £2,852,600 for the project including a Development Grant of £160,300, which the BHI will use to progress plans, produce a fully costed proposal, apply for planning permission, and submit a second round application, when the full grant amount will be released.

The centre will be open daily and the public will be able to view students at work and visit exhibitions with key pieces from the BHI collection, which includes clocks going back to the 17th century, watches such as the timepiece carried by Captain Scott on his ill-fated expedition to the Antarctic, and the first two Speaking Clocks.

The historic main building at Upton Hall will also be developed and access to the collection will increase significantly with volunteer support and extended opening hours. The centre anticipates thousands of visitors annually, including hundreds of schoolchildren for whom special education areas will be set up. Collected from 1858, there are currently over a thousand artefacts on display and stored in the reserve collection of the BHI, and as such it is unrivalled in the UK but currently only open for public view three times a year.

Sir Peter Luff, Chair of HLF, said: “From Big Ben and the Liver Building to the pocket watches and timepieces carried by great explorers, clocks and clockmaking have a long and proud history in the UK. Even as demand for these traditional skills rises, the number of people trained has gone into steep decline. That is why we saw a pressing need for this National Lottery investment which will ensure timepieces are made, serviced, repaired and conserved in this country for many years to come.”

Emma McClarkin, an East Midlands MEP with a portfolio on international trade, said: “It is well known that there is a dire shortage of training opportunities for watch and clockmakers around the world, particularly in Europe. The BHI already has an international reputation and links with our local universities. Now the creation of the National Centre for Horology sets the Institute on course to address the horology skill shortage, making sure that our watch and clockmaking expertise is passed on from generation to generation, just like our magnificent timepieces.”

Focus 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.

http://www.focus-consultants.com 

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

Exporting event provides food for thought for East Midlands food and drink firms

East Midlands food and drink firms were given advice on how to exploit overseas opportunities at an event that turned the spotlight on exporting.

A range of producers from the region attended the session, which was run by UK Trade & Investment at Newark Showground in Nottinghamshire.

It featured presentations from Leicester snack company Farsan Ltd, which is already successfully exporting, from Food and Drink Forum food technical manager Richard Wigley, who is an expert in labelling requirements, and from logistics company Mardon plc.

“Export is currently top of the government’s growth agenda, and we aim to encourage firms to consider overseas opportunities as a way of expanding and becoming more profitable,” said Bob O’Meara, international trade adviser for UKTI.

“The event provided food for thought for companies that are considering exporting or have just started.”

Among the delegates at the event were a pork pie manufacturer, a gourmet food producer, a ready meals manufacturer and a rape seed oil producer.

It was aimed at small and medium-sized food and drink manufacturers from Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland, and featured workshops, a case study presentation and networking opportunities.

UKTI is the government department that works with UK-based companies to ensure their success in international markets, and encourages the best overseas companies to look to the UK as their global partner of choice.

Issued by Nottingham PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk