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Elaine Mlotkiiewicz, sales assistant with The Co-operative at Earlsdon; Mark Borrill, store manager; Sam Buxton, Area Manager for the Heart of England Co-operative Society; Mike Kendall, Sales Assistant, and Janet Arnold, Deputy Store Manager

Customers at the Heart of England Co-operative Society’s Earlsdon store will notice a raft of changes during their next shop following the completion of a £664,000 refit to boost the offering to the local community.

The society has introduced several new features to the store, which has served the Earlsdon community for more than

A family-run engineering company in Coventry is playing a major role in the UK’s response to COVID-19 after supplying more than 120 miles of medical gas copper pipes in just six months.

Lawton Tubes, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2018, switched the majority of its production to cater for unprecedented demand from the NHS and healthcare providers for its copper tubes, which are the preferred natural, 100% recyclable, safe means of carrying medical gasses from the plant room to the patient’s bed.

In the UK alone, the firm supplied enough product – laid side by side – to equal that of phase 1 of HS2, whilst supporting the response of 30 countries across the world. It has been a whirlwind period for the fourth generation-owned business, which has seen export levels grow from zero to more than £13.5m in just over a decade.

Rob Lawton, business development director at Lawton Tubes, said:

Apprentices from North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College (NWSLC) have started their training with just months to go before the launch of events to mark Coventry’s year as UK City of Culture.

Apprentices had their first taste of training at the NWSLC’s Digital Skills Academy in Coventry, where they started to learn how a range of events and experiences will showcase the city between May 2021 and May 2022.

The 15 new apprentice roles will offer a range of exciting opportunities to work in the

Arthur Online is one of the UK’s premier cloud-based property management platforms.

The Arthur Online platform was built and designed by a core team of landlords, agents, tech enthusiasts and property managers who wanted to be able to manage their property portfolio from one platform – anywhere, anytime and on any device.

Consisting of a rich suite of apps and countless integrations, Arthur

Online allows all aspects of property management to be conducted within one platform. Designed to boost efficiency and save time, it has helped to streamline the property management of companies

Society unveils new-look Earlsdon store following major refit

120 years. There is a water refill station as the society aims to reduce the use of plastic water bottles, as well as a packaging free zone where customers can take their own containers to fill with selected items.

Other facilities include USB charging stations, a seating area and Amazon lockers, following suggestions from customers.

The investment goes against the grain in the retail industry, coming at a time when many retailers consolidate. It follows a major refit of the store over the past six weeks.

Steve Browne, general manager of the society’s food division, said: “Our Earlsdon store has played a huge role in the local community for well over a century. Many of the new features we have introduced have “The biggest NHS project by far was the work we did at Nightingale Birmingham, where we successfully supplied ten miles of our copper tube and thousands of our copper fittings for a massive medical mains gas ring.

“This represented a fantastic effort from all of our staff, with many continuing to work throughout the pandemic and going above and beyond to deliver huge volumes of products on extremely tight timescales.”

Throughout Lawton Tubes’ rapid expansion, which has seen year-on-year growth at the firm for the last decade, the company has been assisted by Haines Watts Chartered Accountants – a partnership that dates back 15 years.

Haines Watts tax partner Terri Halstead said: “We have worked hard to understand what makes Lawton Tubes different, putting in place a specialist advice package that has underpinned its growth. critical skill areas required to deliver a memorable and professional experience for all those taking part in the 2021 city-wide celebration. The apprentices will support events, music, dance, theatre and large-scale spectacle, and work across several areas from accounting and customer service to events, marketing and business administration.

Martin Sutherland, chief executive of the Coventry City of Culture Trust, said: “This is a ground-breaking apprenticeship programme for a City of Culture. It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for young people to work on an event of such scale, in their region, and to develop crucial skills for their future careers.”

The trust chose NWSLC as its apprenticeship partner because of its such as AH Field, CoSector and Victoria

Housing. Arthur has ambitious growth plans for the future and has enlisted the support of ADAO, a web design and digital marketing agency, in a bid to achieve them.

ADAO has already helped Arthur create a cutting-edge website that has set it apart from its competitors. The website recently won a 2020 WebAward and was praised for its design, information and user experience, with the judge claiming it to be “one of the best sites [they’ve] reviewed as part of the WebAwards.”

ADAO’s team is now using its digital marketing expertise and in-depth understanding of the market to help been inspired by the needs of the modernday consumer and will ensure the store will continue to play a vital role for many more years to come.

“It’s more than just a local store; our aim is for the residents of Earlsdon to view their local co-operative as a vital community hub. We asked our customers to think of additional features they would like to see in the store. We received some great suggestions and have done our best to accommodate them, so we are making excellent use of our space.”

The society supports local suppliers wherever possible – from the produce on the shelves to the installation of energyefficient lighting, heating and refrigeration

Engineering firm pipes new life into COVID-19 response

– to reduce its carbon footprint.

Rob Lawton (Lawton Tubes), John Crabtree (Lord-Lieutenant of the West Midlands), Terri Halstead (Haines Watts) and Giles Lawton (Lawton Tubes)

“Over the years we have added more and more services, making the management team aware of new financial support opportunities and advising on key issues, the most recent one being access to government assistance during COVID-19.”

For more information, visit www.lawtontubes.co.uk and

Training underway for Coventry City of Culture apprentices

www.hwca.com/accountants-birmingham

proven track record of delivering strong apprenticeship programmes and the fact that it already delivers training at a Coventry venue. The college’s Digital Skills Academy operates from a base at the Coventry University Technology Park in the heart of the city’s technology zone.

Marion Plant, OBE FCGI, principal and chief executive of NWSLC, said: “I am pleased to hear that our apprentices have started their training during a period of great excitement and anticipation for Coventry. This experience looks set to be life-changing for them as they will be exposed to some extremely high-profile activities and real-time challenges.”

For more information visit

Arthur appoints ADAO as digital marketing partner

www.nwslc.ac.uk

Arthur make sure it is the go-to property management software for all property managers.

Harriet Taylor, head of communications at Arthur, said: “ADAO has really become an extension of the marketing team. They took the time to really understand the company and the market, which really shows in the exceptional work they have done for us. They have been invaluable for positioning Arthur at the forefront of the market.

Helping charities connect to embrace change and maximise impact

Dafferns Chartered Accountants, the Coventry and Warwickshire accounting firm approaching their 125th anniversary, are Charity and Not for Profit (Third Sector) sector specialists, advising a substantial number of high-profile charity and not for profit organisations. TSSG

Driven by a desire to further allow people in the charitable sector to connect and succeed, TSSG (Third Sector Strategy Group) grew from the imagination of Dafferns Chartered Accountants and Lodders Solicitors and was launched in 2015. Our goal with TSSG has been to allow charitable organisations to maximise impact in their chosen field and help them reach their potential by learning, developing and collaborating with others.

Dafferns Partner Richard Miller says “TSSG provides a forum for key executives and decision makers in the not-for-profit sector, allowing them to discuss the issues facing their organisations and the opportunity to share ideas and best practice”.

Originally meeting face to face every quarter, in 2020 TSSG quickly pivoted to an online model during the COVID crisis, initially allowing charities to check in on a weekly basis to seek reassurance and bounce ideas off others in the sector. The group now meets every month (virtually), and provides a safe space to learn, share best practice, celebrate success and share failures (which we can all learn from!).

The TSSG model continues to evolve, hosting its first online conference in Autumn 2020 with guest speakers on fundraising, change and mergers and collaborative working. Highlights can be found on the Dafferns YouTube channel.

TSSG Online

December 2020 has seen the launch of TSSG’s own dedicated online platform, TSSG Online.

This new network model has some great features for creating exclusive content, deeper conversations, richer polls, and online or in-real-life events. By building this community through social media, members can have a more efficient and valuable experience with each other.

If you are in the not-for-profit sector and want to contribute to, and benefit from, the knowledge and ideas of your peers, you can find more information at www.dafferns.com/tssg/ or by contacting Richard.Miller@dafferns.com Dafferns Chartered Accountants

Trusted Advisers since 1896 Authentic, Agile, Connected

www.dafferns.com