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Business Engage Profiles
One of the country’s largest housing associations has expanded its East Midlands operations, building more affordable homes and creating well-paid jobs in the region.
Midland Heart, which already delivers homes and services to more than 70,000 customers, currently employs over a thousand colleagues across the Midlands and has continued to recruit and grow throughout the pandemic.
Last year, the organisation opened a new office in Hinckley, which houses a depot for its specialist in-house maintenance team and collaboration spaces for other colleagues delivering services locally.
The East Midlands Hub supports teams to deliver first-class landlord services across the region and is a demonstration of Midland Heart’s commitment to growth across the East Midlands.
One of Midland Heart’s latest developments
In addition, Midland Heart is on track to build 4,000 high quality and affordable homes before 2025. It currently has more than 600 new homes on site in the East Midlands, including 99 properties in Bagworth Road, Barlestone, and 400 at Drakelow Park.
Last year, Midland Heart announced a strategic partnership with Coalville-based emh, which will see them deliver over 3,500 new affordable homes together in the next five years.
The organisation also launched a new carbon reduction plan that will see the 34,000-home landlord become carbon neutral by 2050 and deliver the country’s first homes built with 80 per cent less carbon footprint.
The plan focuses on reducing the impact every aspect of the organisation has on the environment and the first step has been to benchmark its carbon footprint, looking at not only the carbon emissions of direct assets, but those of its supply chain and supporting activities. Initial actions include: • Delivering the UK’s first homes built to future home standards in Birmingham, using traditional building methods and local contractors • Moving all properties to EPC band D or above before moving all properties to
EPC band C by 2030 • Developing low carbon requirements for new homes alongside delivery partners • Devising a roadmap to bring energy usage down c.20 per cent by 2030 • Setting clear expectations with suppliers and embed sustainability within the procurement process.
Glenn Harris, Chief Executive of Midland Heart, said: “In a period when our external environment has been increasingly unpredictable, I’m proud to say that we have continued to make improvements and grow our operations as we continue our journey to become a first-class landlord.
“We are going into 2022 as an engaged and united team which has delivered for our customers and communities in the most challenging of circumstances, and we have clear plans for a more sustainable future improving the carbon footprint of the ways we work, the homes we rent and the homes we build.”
For more information, visit www.midlandheartgroup.org.uk
Midland Heart
expands East Midlands operations
DMO launches to drive investment for regional tourism sector
A new destination management organisation (DMO) has launched to drive inward investment for travel and tourism in Coventry and Warwickshire.
Destination Coventry is serving both leisure and business tourism in the region through its two consumer-facing brands – ‘Visit Coventry’ and ‘Conference Coventry and Warwickshire’.
The DMO is a collaboration between Coventry City Council and Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce.
Its membership programme has now launched with four levels of membership; Basic, Full and Patron. Businesses across the region have started to sign-up and the DMO is launching an additional membership package specifically for suppliers to the sector.
Destination Coventry is responsible for growing and supporting the entire tourism, leisure and hospitality sector regionally, not just for venues, and will be representing the wider industry supply chain.
It is collaborating with Visit England, Visit Britain and West Midlands Growth Company on sharing insight and commissioning data-driven research projects to support businesses in making informed decisions.
In partnership with Coventry City Council and Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, Destination Coventry is also working to broker specialist support for businesses across the sector following the Covid-19 pandemic and has already signposted businesses to vital grant funding.
This has included a successful bid for addition funding from the Community Renewal Fund to support tourism, leisure and hospitality businesses.
Destination Coventry has seen widespread success with its initial marketing campaigns to support businesses in the sector to reach new audiences.
This is headlined by the Visit Coventry ‘Winter Wishes’ campaign, which included a television advertising campaign with Sky and a range of other broadcast radio and digital promotion. This resulted in its ‘Winter Wishes’ advert on YouTube receiving circa 1.3 million views.
Paul Jones, Managing Director of Destination Coventry, said: “We’re absolutely delighted by the response we have had to our launch and this feels like the ideal time to be bringing a new DMO to the region.
“Businesses in tourism, leisure and hospitality have had a very difficult couple of years and we are here to help them rebuild and capitalise on what is set to be a huge 2022 for Coventry and Warwickshire.
The team at Destination Coventry
“We have major national and international events coming to the region this year, from the 2022 Commonwealth Games and Rugby League World Cup, to Radio 1’s Big Weekend and, of course, the final months in our UK City of Culture year.
“The first thing visitors by rail to Coventry will see when arriving in the city is our new visitor information centre, and we are opening a second centre at Pool Meadow Bus Station.
“We’re excited to be at the heart of the future of tourism in Coventry and Warwickshire.”
Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce members can access a ‘Full’ Destination Coventry membership for £150+VAT per annum, discounted from the usual £450+VAT per annum. To find out more about Destination Coventry and the range of membership packages available visit www.destinationcoventry.co.uk
Telegraph Hotel
sets new standard for hospitality
Coventry city centre’s new flagship hotel has moved into 2022 blazing a trail for a new standard of hospitality in the city.
The Telegraph Hotel only opened last May but has already made its mark, having recently been included in the prestigious Sunday Times 100 Best British Hotels guide, and winning a string of glowing national reviews.
The 88-room hotel, which has won outstanding reviews from national and regional press, has already hosted a string of stars appearing at events in Coventry during its year as UK City of Culture.
General manager Amy Windsor said: “To be named as one of the UK’s top 100 hotels so soon after opening is a reward for everyone involved and we want to build on that in the next six months and beyond.
“We believed we had a really good offer in a unique setting but it is great that view has been shared by reviewers from across the UK who have stayed with us.
“It took a while to get here as we had to twice delay our opening because of Covid, but it has been a whirlwind first six months since!
“Opening in a pandemic is a unique challenge in itself but the feedback has been brilliant and we have been overwhelmed by the response from our guests.
“People have loved our 1950s design – transforming a former newspaper office into an iconic hotel – and have said it is a real home-from-home when they stay, which is lovely to hear.”
In its first six months the hotel saw more than 15,000 guests stay for the night, took more than 27,000 bookings to its three bars and restaurants – and even used 24,000 toilet rolls!
The Telegraph Hotel, created by Complex Development Projects, has 88 individually designed air-conditioned bedrooms including loft style penthouse suites on two levels.
The hotel features an all-day cocktail bar and restaurant dining experience, Forme & Chase, for a full meal, light bites, celebration dinners, afternoon tea and more. The bar and restaurant recreate the glamour of the 1950s, retaining many of the building’s original features.
Conferencing, weddings and events are well catered for with the Editors function space – capable of accommodating up to 140 guests across a range of layouts. There are also two private meeting rooms – the Boardroom and Directors – which can each accommodate up to 12 people for smaller meetings.
The hotel’s most luxurious room is the Lord Iliffe Suite – named after the family who started and ,until recently, owned the newspaper – which includes its own hot tub and outdoor terrace. There is also the spectacular Winter Garden – which is a private, glazed indoor terrace only accessible from the 11 bedrooms that surround it.
The hotel is operated by Bespoke Hotels, the largest independent hotel company in the UK.
For further information about the Telegraph Hotel, please visit www.telegraph-hotel.com
New partnership for Eskuta
as business continues to drive forward
The UK’s leading eCargo provider has launched a partnership with an upand-coming delivery service which is experiencing growth after appearing on BBC’s Dragon’s Den.
Eskuta, based in Nuneaton, has joined together with Birmingham-based delivery service Delivrme to provide the company with a fleet of custom-branded eCargo bikes as it looks to expand.
The company prides itself on supplying bikes which have the comfort and safety features of a moped but the benefits of an electric bicycle, being approved for cycle lane use while not requiring tax, insurance or a licence, all of which will support Delivrme in its mission to provide a service which offers customers across Birmingham ‘anything, anywhere, anytime’.
It is the latest partnership for Eskuta, which also works with leading brands including Just Eat, Domino’s, Papa John’s and Subway.
Eskuta, launched in 2015 by managing director Ian O’Connor, is based at the Bermuda Innovation Centre and specialises in the assembly and supply of electrical eCargo bikes or the B2B market.
Following its success, the business has just expanded to target the consumer market, partnering with distributer Blink 24 to enable it to sell eBikes and eScooters to customers across the UK.
The company also has the backing of ambassador Aileen McGlynn OBE, a Scottish paralympic tandem champion cyclist, who favours the SX 250 electric bike for short journeys.
Eskuta’s eCargo bikes travel at up to 15.5mph and can achieve a 50 mile range from a six-hour charge which costs just 10p, and additional batteries can also be purchased.
They include features such as LED lights, mirrors, indicators, digital display and motorcycle grade suspension as well as small lockable storage pods for consumers and larger delivery boxes for businesses.
Both businesses and direct consumers can contact Eskuta to book a test ride or demonstration.
Ian O’Connor said: “It is an extremely exciting time for the e-mobility business, and we are extremely proud to be right at the forefront of this.
“We’re very pleased to partner with Delivrme, another Midlands business which is going from strength to strength as part of its expansion plans.
“It’s also very positive to now be able to offer our bikes direct to the consumer via our website and our retail partners.
“We are finding that they are appealing to a wide range of individuals, from young people over the age of 14 who are not yet able to drive but want the freedom of an electric bike, to older customers who want a comfortable mode of transport for short distances.
“This popularity is testament to the fact that electric mobility is becoming more and more mainstream, and it is a trend that is only set to grow going forward as we look to make the switch to electric vehicles and reduce carbon.
“This year we will be exhibiting at Fully Charged Live, a clean energy and electric vehicle show, for the very first time and look forward to gaining even more feedback from consumers as we continue to expand this arm of the business.”
Further information about Eskuta is available at https://www.eskuta.com
The Eskuta SX 250 electric bike
