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Business News
Cabot Square Capital
acquires majority stake in Chartway Group
Cabot Square Capital has acquired a majority shareholding in Chartway Group, one of South-East England’s leading partnershipsbased housebuilders. The investment is being made by Cabot Square’s existing portfolio company Public Sector Plc (PSP) to create a new merged Group. PSP is a specialist strategic asset manager that partners with public and private sector bodies to add value to land and property assets as well as deliver positive ESG outcomes for local communities.
The investment will support the strategic growth of the Chartway Group. Independently owned for over 25 years, London-based Cabot Square is a specialist mid-market buyout firm investing in European growth companies with a particular focus on businesses that generate attractive asset-based returns as well as positive ESG outcomes.
Cabot Square recently acquired Premier Modular, a leading provider of modular leasing and permanent solutions predominantly for public sector end markets, shortly thereafter creating the Premier Modular Group by adding to it their existing investment in NetZero Buildings.
Keith Maddin, Partner at Cabot Square, said: “Chartway Group are a leading South-East England based partnerships housebuilder with turnover in excess of £100 million and a track record of growing profitability year on year since they were established in 2009. We particularly like their capital-light and vertically integrated business model as well as the opportunity to help address the shortage of low carbon energy efficient housing. Their ability to work across all tenures of housing means they are well placed to adapt to changing market conditions over time”
“The new Group is well positioned to benefit from a number of attractive growth opportunities including synergies between the two businesses. Together they can build a high margin and high return on capital asset-based UK business that can also benefit all stakeholders” Ian Savage, Chartway Group founder, steps up to become Chairman and along with a number of the Chartway senior executives, will remain a significant shareholder. Steven Cresswell who recently joined Chartway from Thakeham Group will become the new Group Chief Executive with Paul Brown, Chief Executive of PSP, continuing to run the strategic asset management business.
Ian Savage said: “We are very pleased that Cabot Square has recognised Chartway’s progress to date and their investment and platform building experience will help us continue in our next phase of growth. This also represents a fantastic opportunity for our staff and customers.”
Steven Cresswell and Paul Brown added: “We are excited to be working together and see significant synergies between our organisations. Chartway can add to PSP’s delivery capabilities and PSP will be able to help Chartway expand its relationships with the public sector.”
www.chartwaygroup.co.uk
Sevenoaks So Much More - Kent district launches its new place
brand campaign
Think you know the Sevenoaks District? There is so much more to see and do than you might think.
This is the message that Sevenoaks District Council is spreading far and wide as it unveils its new place brand, Sevenoaks So Much More, encouraging more people to visit, build their business or lay down roots in the district.
After the town of Sevenoaks was named in The Sunday Times Best Places to Live in South East, the district is rolling out its new place brand to help support and build the local economy by attracting visitors, residents, businesses, and investors to the district. The core message declares that there is so much more to Sevenoaks than people from all walks of life might think, making it the perfect place to live, visit, work and invest in.
Leader of Sevenoaks District Council, Cllr Peter Fleming said: “Our brand campaign was born from the excitement we feel about sharing the wider Sevenoaks story with the world, there is so much more to appreciate and experience here!
“Sevenoaks is more than just the famous town of Sevenoaks itself. It is a diverse district with breathtaking countryside, towns, villages, real communities and so much history, all within 30 minutes of the capital - for those who need it. “There is also so much more potential here for businesses looking to start and grow as well. This is not sleepy Sevenoaks; this is a great place to take your business to the next level, with national and international firms and a genuine entrepreneurial spirit, and we want more people to share their own stories and show the world that Sevenoaks is the place to be.”
Following extensive research and workshops with residents, local businesses, community groups and Sevenoaks District Council, the new Place Brand for Sevenoaks was developed by leading marketing agency Pillory Barn.
The team then developed a full brand for the district, supported by a place ‘portal’ website to showcase the district’s USP, with information on the best things to see and do in the area, and guidance on how to build a future in Sevenoaks.
The place portal will contain case studies from local business owners, entrepreneurs, and residents about the benefits of living and investing here, highlighting the district’s creative and entrepreneurial community that accommodates both large-scale employers and creative digital SMEs.
The campaign will be shared across social media, the national media and advertising channels in the coming months to boost visits and local spending.
Cllr Fleming added: “While we would love to keep Sevenoaks as our local secret, we know that reaching new people means more support for the local economy. We are lucky to have space for new business without compromising the coveted scenery and historic splendour that makes our district so attractive to people looking for a new home.
“The fact that the Sunday Times recently singled us out as the best place to live in the South East goes to show how much we have to offer.”
Visit the website at:
www.moresevenoaks.co.uk
Panattoni announces plan for speculative development in Kent
Continued strong confidence in Kent as a home for highquality logistics and distribution companies has seen Panattoni, the largest industrial real estate developer in Europe, announce it is going to speculatively develop the final two units in Aylesford, Kent.
The decision follows Panattoni’s success in already securing DHL, Fowler Welch and Hermes at its 90-acre Panattoni Park Aylesford, and pre-letting the rest of the space with prospective tenants. Tony Watkins, development director at Panattoni, said: “Our decision to speculatively develop the final two units reflects the strong demand from occupiers looking to benefit from Aylesford’s excellent location. “In the nine months since we acquired the site, we have let nearly 80% of the space. Our team is on site delivering multiple buildings with the first ones ready for occupation in the third quarter of this year. We look forward to welcoming them to the park, with other well-known and respected occupiers to follow.”
The two units, each of 100,000 sq ft and 130,000 sq ft respectively, are expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2023. They will be built to a BREEAM rating of ‘Excellent’ and an EPC rating of ‘A’. They will benefit from 15m clear internal height, two level access doors, electric charging points for cars, access to the park’s car share scheme and 50m yard depths.
The development of the speculative units follows detailed discussions between Panattoni and other occupiers on the remainder of the park, which when fully occupied will be home to more than 3,000 employees.
Panattoni Park Aylesford is being developed as a high-quality logistics space on the former Aylesford Newsprint site, close to junction 4 of the M20, to serve London and the south east. The £180 million investment will secure a sustainable logistics development, infrastructure, parking, landscaping and access, including the new £7 million Bellingham Way link road.
Kent Community Foundation team go wild!
Kent Community Foundation grant-makers enjoyed time away from the office at an Ashford Forest School with community group Step-Out.
Since 2012 Step-Out has been working with children and adults in the outdoors using the natural environment as a tool to inspire people. Kent Community Foundation spent two hours with them as part of its programme to spend quality time with groups that it has funded. At the Ashford Forest School, the grant-makers were split into two groups to collect kindling and wood before competing to build the best fire and then design and make a pot holder that would suspend a kettle over the flames. After boiling water they collected Elderflowers and left their chief executive to pick off the individual flower heads while the rest of the group collected stinging nettles and Cleavers. The Elderflowers were steeped with lemons and limes to make an Elderflower cordial and the nettles and Cleavers were ground together in a pestle and mortar to make a spring tonic.
Josephine McCartney, chief executive of Kent Community Foundation, said: “Having spent so many months working on our own from home during the pandemic, and only meeting on Zoom, we have been discussing how important it is to spend quality time with each other. The team has compiled a programme of activities for us to get together out of the office and find out more about some of the amazing groups that we have funded across Kent and Medway.”
Kent Community Foundation had been funding Step-Out since 2019 and has received a total of £23,000 in grants.
For more information visit www.kentcf.org.uk/funding and
