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Red Marlin is the solution for global technology provider
OEC, the global leader in technology solutions to help vehicle manufacturers and car dealers to sell more original equipment parts, has appointed Red Marlin to support and help drive forward its international communications activities.
The appointment will see Red Marlin develop and deliver a strategic PR and communications programme designed to generate greater awareness of OEC’s services, showcase the company’s capabilities to the aftermarket sector outside of North America and help drive sales enquiries.
Danny Rughoobeer, founder and managing director at Red Marlin, said: “OEC already has a great presence in North America but a significant opportunity exists to help them grow even stronger internationally. We’re delighted to have been selected as its chosen partner and we look forward to working with its international team to build upon recent acquisitions and create a more widely recognised and powerful name in the automotive aftermarket.”
Established in 2000, OEC works closely with many of the world’s largest automotive manufacturers, as well as many bodyshops, franchise dealers, insurers and vehicle repairers. Its work and innovation are widely recognised, having won numerous industry awards in recent years from the likes of Automotive News and Car Dealer.
Katie Sisco, vice president of global marketing at OEC, added: “We’re very pleased to be working with Red Marlin, drawing upon its years of automotive experience to spread the word about OEC and the breadth of services we can provide. We’ve been working closely with OEMs for decades but are one of the industry’s best kept secrets so it’s exciting to have representation to help grow our reputation in Europe and internationally.”
Red Marlin is an independent automotive PR and digital marketing agency, specialising in the automotive sector. Founded in 2009, it is based at the heart of the UK’s car industry in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire.
To find out more, visit www.redmarlin.co.uk
Defences in major European city bolstered by Coventry firm
Another major European city has had its defences bolstered by Coventry-based Safetyflex Barriers — a world-leading manufacturer of anti-terrorism bollards and barriers.
More than 100 bollards have been installed around a shopping parade in Stockholm, Sweden, to protect members of the public from the threat of vehicle attacks.
The LED lighting bollards are part of its crash-rated hostile vehicle mitigation (HVM) street furniture range.
The work, completed in November, marks another significant project for Safetyflex which is fast becoming the preferred supplier for many overseas public realm and stadium projects.
Marcus Gerrard, director at Safetyflex, said: “With the threat of vehicle attacks ever-present, more and more major cities are now opting for Safetyflex Slimline products.
“Whereas traditional steel tube bollards can be over-imposing and require deep foundations that can disrupt utilities, our range provides a slimline, cost-effective solution.
“The project in Stockholm provides a robust defence for shoppers, utilising military-grade material which has been tested to stop either a car or a truck travelling at up to 50mph.
“Our bollards also include LED lights to illuminate the street at night, meaning it does not compromise on public safety or aesthetics.
“We are pleased to have been able to help provide these new defences in time for a busy period of Christmas shopping.”
The scheme is the latest in a range of projects Safetyflex has secured in partnership with Swedish distributor, Perimeter Protection Sweden.
Recent projects have utilised the street furniture range, including surface-mount, crash-rated planters which incorporate bespoke planters wto help them blend into the street.
The street furniture range has a solution to cover any scenario, with fixed or removable options available, making them ideal for Christmas markets, pedestrian walkways, major events and public spaces.
Historic buildings transformed into holiday and visitor accommodation
Visitors from across the Midlands, the UK and the world are now able to stay in some of Coventry’s most ancient buildings.
Six historic buildings have been launched as boutique holiday and visitor accommodation, providing a unique place to stay in the heart of the city.
Historic Coventry Trust has painstakingly refurbished and converted the two last surviving Gates in the city wall and a terrace of timber framed cottages in Priory Row as part of a £1.75 million partnership project with Coventry City Council.
The ancient buildings, which have been vacant for decades, were built between 1385 and 1440 and are precious and rare survivors of the city’s medieval past.
No Ordinary Hospitality Management, the team behind Coombe Abbey Hotel, has been appointed by Historic Coventry Trust to promote and operate the six visitor cottages.
Graham Tait, assistant director of the Historic Coventry Trust, said: “The quality and craftsmanship of the restoration is exceptional and the design combines all of the character of the ancient buildings with all of the benefits of modern living. High speed WiFi, rainfall showers, stylish kitchens and comfy sofas are a long way from life in the 1300s.
“The unique nature of these properties will give visitors an added reason – should they need one – to travel to Coventry during its year as UK City of Culture and is another fantastic legacy from this truly memorable moment in time for arts and culture in the region.”
Richard Harrison of No Ordinary Hospitality Management said: “It’s really exciting and a true credit to the vision of Historic Coventry Trust to have restored six of the city’s most important historic buildings.
“This will give visitors from all corners of the UK and the globe the opportunity to enjoy a memorable stay in the heart of the Midlands, particularly during UK City of Culture.”
Utility Team starts new era by winning prestigious accolade
Utility Team has won the accolade of ‘Best Business Solution – Renewables’ at The Energy Live Energy Consultancy Awards.
One of ten shortlisted for the award sponsored by SSE, Utility Team was recently acquired by the eEnergy Group and the award was a fitting way to start the next phase of its journey.
The award is the second TELCA in three years that Utility Team have won, having picked up the ‘Best Customer Service – Large’ award in 2019. As well as winning the ‘Best Business Solution – Renewables’ this year, Utility Team was shortlisted for six other awards including ‘Consultancy of the Year – Large’, ‘Net Zero Leaders’ and ‘Most Trusted Consultancy – Large’.
In the winning submission, judges recognised Utility Team’s commitment to helping all of its customers make the transition to renewable energy.
Utility Team CEO, Delvin Lane said: “Winning this award tops an amazing 12 months for the company. At the end of 2020, we recognised that our clients needed a greater level of support around renewable energy. For some clients it was about transitioning from brown to renewable energy, for others they wanted support with PPA's and the procurement of onsite generation assets.
This led to our energy services team developing a new process to help guide customers through the investment in renewable technology. This process has been incredibly successful, with our energy services team helping several clients develop and implement business cases for investment in renewable generation assets.”
Geoff Curran, commercial director at Energy Live News and Future Net Zero, added: “This is a well-deserved win for Utility Team. It showcases their commitment to not only renewable energy but also making net zero happen. They have consistently demonstrated their commitment to making it easier for businesses to transition to renewable energy and get on the journey to net zero.”
To find out more, visit www.eenergyplc.com
Commercial property agency Bromwich Hardy has been appointed to manage some of Coventry’s most historic buildings.
The award-winning agency says it is delighted after being awarded the contract to look after the portfolio of properties for Historic Coventry Trust.
These include the recently refurbished and converted two medieval City Gates and the timber framed cottages
Bromwich Hardy appointed managing agent for Historic Coventry Trust
in Priory Row which are now open to bookings as unique holiday accommodation. Also included are the properties on the Burges and Hales Street that will transfer to Historic Coventry Trust, the Anglican Chapel in London Road Cemetery, Charterhouse and the newly opened music education and venue, Drapers’ Hall.
Bromwich Hardy partner Dawn Cooper said: “As a Coventry agency with its roots still firmly in the city, we could not be more delighted than to be working with Historic Coventry Trust as its managing agent.
“Our dedicated property management team has decades of experience and an unrivalled track record. We’re honoured that Historic Coventry Trust has placed its faith in us to look after some of the city’s most treasured assets.”
Historic Coventry Trust was founded in 2011 with a mission to bring new life to the city’s heritage, find innovative ways to sustain historic places and connect people with the city’s past. The trust is a social enterprise which is self-sufficient, generating revenue from restored historic buildings and innovative development. It entered into a ground-breaking Framework Agreement with Coventry City Council in 2019 covering many of the city’s most important heritage assets.
Graham Tait, Historic Coventry Trust’s assistant director, said: “We’ve appointed Bromwich Hardy to professionally manage the buildings to ensure they remain in top-quality condition for generations to come, attracting visitors to the city which will boost the area’s economy.”
For more information visit www.bromwichhardy.com and www.historiccoventrytrust.org.uk
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Full fibre can boost businesses in Coventry
dbfb is a communications business based in Northampton specialising in flexible connectivity, IT and telephony solutions.
They partner with multiple network providers across the UK including CityFibre to bring businesses ultra-fast broadband. CityFibre has substantially invested £4 billion into their broadband roll-out programme, to connect its footprint of local full fibre networks nationwide. By 2025 they expect to be across 285 cities, towns and villages representing eight million homes and 800,000 businesses as well as providing 250,000 5G access points.
As an original launch partner of CityFibre, dbfb are kept abreast of where full fibre is being rolled out to, ahead of time. With the launch in Northampton and Milton Keynes being a huge success (they currently serve 170 customers within the areas), both dbfb and CityFibre decided Coventry would be a significant city to invest in next. By supplying full fibre to businesses within the city, they are hoping to further strengthen business communications and connections thus enhancing Coventry’s digital landscape and economy. In addition, they will be investing in rolling-out services to Leicester at the same time.
With speeds of up to 1,000Mpbs, full fibre enables business to work faster, more efficiently and without disruption. As this service is being invested in within Coventry, dbfb and CityFibre are planning to offer an industry-leading discount to help businesses get started with full fibre. More will be shared with the members when the special offer is officially launched.
Simon Pickering managing director of dbfb, said: “We are dedicated to enhancing businesses and their digital capabilities. People now expect broadband connections to be fast, reliable and capable, and so they should. If your team are noticing your broadband, that usually means there’s a problem. Full fibre provides more reliability and faster connections into your business.”
To register your interest in the offer, visit www.dbfb.co.uk/register
Warwickshire workspace operator triumphs at FlexSA awards ceremony
UBC’s Forward House on the high street in Henley in Arden has scooped customer service excellence awards at the prestigious FlexSA (The Flexible Space Association) awards.
FlexSA relaunched the long-running awards programme in 2021 having postponed last year’s event due to ongoing restrictions and lockdown measures at the time.
The new-look 2021 awards introduced regional categories and attracted a huge number of nominations from workspaces all over the country. The awards programme has become increasingly competitive as the flexible workspace industry has grown and diversified within the UK.
UBC entered all seven of its regional workspace locations and against incredibly tough competition, was thrilled to see five centres become finalists, including UBC’s Birmingham Business Park office.
UBC’s Forward House in Henley in Arden was an outright winner in the Midlands and Wales region. Christine Anderson and Sophia Lowe represented the company at the awards ceremony in Birmingham to accept the award for UBC Henley.
FlexSA commented: “Christine and Sophia pride themselves on going above and beyond clients’ expectations. They host monthly Henley Hub networking events and participate in fundraising activities. They celebrate clients’ special days and successes and were praised by them for the welcoming environment and support.”
UBC’s managing director, Richard Johnson, said: “UBC has long focused on creating positive, supportive communities at each of its locations; to have this recognised by our industry peers with these awards for customer service excellence and knowing that the awards are based on feedback from our customers is really special. The result is especially meaningful following the unprecedented challenges that our centre teams have faced throughout the pandemic.”
For more information visit www.ubcuk.com
Coventry law firm Band Hatton Button is celebrating another fantastic year of rankings in the latest editions of the industry-wide recognised legal directories, The Legal 500 UK, Chambers and Partners UK and Chambers and Partners High Net Worth.
Band Hatton Button celebrates accolade
These directories are independent legal guides that recommends and ranks lawyers as well as law firms based on indepth market research, external feedback and interviews with lawyers, solicitors, barristers, intermediaries and clients.
The firm preserved its status in the Legal 500 UK 2021 regional rankings in the following work areas: personal tax, trusts and probate, family law, commercial litigation, commercial property, debt recovery and employment law.
Family team partner, Tracy Cross retained her standing as a ‘Leading Lawyer’ in the Guide’s elite list of the UK’s most outstanding lawyers.
A total of 13 lawyers are mentioned by name in Legal 500 UK commentary for their standout contribution to their respective practices.
Separately, in the Chambers and Partners Legal Directory 2022, family team partner Tracy Cross was singled out for individual praise in the Spotlight Table for Family/Matrimonial: Mainly ADR – Midlands. Tracy is one of only two lawyers listed in the Spotlight Rankings for the region.
The Chambers and Partners High Net Worth Guide 2021 saw the firm’s wills, trusts and probate ranked in the Private Wealth Law – Coventry and Surrounds section for the first time with the Department Michelle Gavin being named as a ‘Ranked Individual’ for a third year running.
Mark Moseley, managing partner at Band Hatton Button said: “The Legal 500 and Chambers are the most prestigious legal guides in the UK due to the quality of their readership. They are a vital tool for us to be able to generate extra work and also help us keep an eye on our competition. Despite the pandemic, our business matched the previous record year’s turnover which has been driven by excellent quality caseloads across the vast majority of our departments which in turn is driven by the excellent reputation of our lawyers.”
Music to our ears!
Pack Smart Group held an open day to launch the opening of its second distribution centre which specialises in music distribution.
The group works across of a range of business sectors and understands the importance of receiving a product on the day of release. It manages campaigns and pre-order releases for many music artists and can also register the shipments with the Official Charts Company (OCC) for weekly chart positions.
The unit is 17,000 square foot and distributes for some of the biggest names in the music scene. The team was also excited to have the first band back in the office following the pandemic when The Reytons dropped in to do a signing.
The Pack Smart Group was created by Nick Walker and Seánna Holland in 2009 as a fulfilment service for small to medium-sized businesses. Pack Smart works with a wide variety of clients across multiple sectors affording small businesses the platform for growth without the overheads and gifting them the time to focus on their brand.
Pack Smart Group has one fulfilment centre in Kenilworth and in September 2020 saw them expand to open their second site in Coventry. Pack Smart Group continues to grow, with their third UK fulfilment centre set to be operational from early 2022.
