4
GM BUSINESS connect
December/January 2019
news Peel L&P reveals new £9m vision Japanese Ambassador visits Tameside to celebrate for MediacityUK’s ‘The Victoria’ 50 years of Brother UK Business technology solutions provider, Brother UK, has hosted a visit from the Japanese ambassador as part of its 50th anniversary celebrations. The Japanese Ambassador Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary to the UK, Koji Tsuruoka, greeted staff and toured Brother UK’s Audenshaw site, before presenting a commemorative plate. Brother was founded in Japan in 1908, and its international headquarters are in Nagoya.
One of MediaCityUK’s most photographed office buildings, ‘The Victoria’, is undergoing a major refurb and has repositioned itself simply as ‘The Vic’, to reflect a more modern, flexible and people-focused design.
café and dedicated spaces for Yoga and Pilates.
Investing in a £9m transformation of the 115,000 sq ft building and its external spaces, Peel Land & Property (Peel L&P) is pitching The Vic as one of the most desirable and ‘chilledout’ waterside office locations in Greater Manchester.
“The well-documented evidence that workspaces need to serve the ever-changing attitudes of the modern occupier inspired us to evolve the proposition for the building to one that is more relaxed and fluid in its design.”
Designed around themes of collaboration, creativity, relaxation and healthy living, The Vic will offer areas for exercise, socialising and lush green outdoor spaces to promote calm and quiet contemplation, all against the backdrop of a tranquil waterside setting.
A recent report from the World Green Building Council reveals that people who can see a green environment from their workspace are healthier and more productive (take 23% less time off sick, have greater job satisfaction and have 46 minutes more sleep per night), Peel L&P has transformed and repositioned The Vic to support the ultimate healthy work-life balance.
Newly added on-site amenities include a bike store, locker and shower scheme, an enhanced ‘Bean’
Tim Taylor, leasing manager for Peel L&P, said: “The Vic is a complete rethink of one our largest and most prominent buildings in MediaCityUK.
Phil Jones MBE, Managing Director of Brother UK, commented: “We are very honoured to have been visited by ambassador Tsuruoka - it was a fantastic opportunity to celebrate our heritage and demonstrate how we, as the UK arm of the business, have delivered 50 years of innovation from our home in Greater Manchester.” This year the business has secured some of the country’s most prestigious industry awards, including
L-R Brother UK MD Phil Jones MBE with Ambassador Koji Tsuruoka
a Queen’s Award for Sustainable Development for the second time, and a Princess Royal Training Award for its learning and development programme. Phil Jones continued: “Our fundamental purpose is to make the people and businesses we work with more successful more quickly, which in turn has helped our business to thrive in an everchanging marketplace. I’m so proud to be leading this company and to see it being recognised at the highest level.”
UK dividends surging forward in 2018 Strong Q3 growth has pushed UK dividends within touching distance of £100bn for 2018, according to the latest UK Dividend Monitor from Link Asset Services.
underlying dividends (i.e. excluding specials) rose 6.9% to £31.6bn, an alltime quarterly record. While banks and mining companies helped boost the total, retail stood out as a weak spot.
According to the report, UK dividends rose 4.1% to £32.3bn in Q3, breaking a third-quarter record.
The top 100 firms outperformed midcaps owing to a strong showing from a small number of large companies.
Underlying payouts, which exclude special dividends, reached £31.6bn, a rise of 6.9% year-on-year, and
Falling share prices and rising dividends meant equity yields jumped to 4.1%.
