Member News

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Recruitment career comes full circle for Lucy

Professional life has come full circle for a recruiter who has returned to her first place of employment a decade after she left! As a university graduate, Lucy Whitwell started her first job with Anne Corder Recruitment – having previously enjoyed a temporary working position with the agency whilst studying. Fast forward 10 years, two children and the need for a new challenge while meeting a work/life balance, and Lucy is back at the Peterborough-based business as it moves into its own new chapter! Lucy first joined Anne Corder Recruitment in 2008, working on reception at the business’ former offices in the city’s Park Road and in other areas of recruitment administration. With an understanding and empathy of school leavers looking to find employment, Lucy was appointed as candidate specialist before moving on to the position of recruitment co-ordinator. Lucy said: “I was lucky enough to be involved in all aspects of the business and gained so much knowledge from the team.” After leaving to have her children in 2012, and then working as an office manager for a newly formed recruitment agency in the area, Lucy’s desire for a new challenge recently led her back to Anne Corder Recruitment. As operations and resourcing specialist, Lucy now enjoys the best of both worlds – working within an evolving business she loves while enjoying a better work/ life balance. She added: “I am thrilled to be back working with members of the team who were there during my first years with Anne Corder Recruitment, while getting to know new colleagues and re-joining the business at exciting times. “The role allows me to give the focus and attention it needs but within part time hours, offering me flexibility with home life and the school run.” Managing Director Nel Woolcott said: “We are absolutely delighted to have Lucy back in the team. Her experience, knowledge and work ethic are second to none and she has slotted back into the business like she has never been away!”

Beacon race to raise vital charity funds

Two members of the Beacon Wealth Management Team took part in the Bedford Running Festival to raise vital funds for Sue Ryder Hospice – their chosen Charity of the Year. Investment Manager, Rachel Martiello, completed the twilight 10km on 3 September and Marketing Executive, Natasha Oliver, completed the Half Marathon on 4 September. Sue Ryder’s Senior Community Fundraiser, Joanne Landucci, said: “The girls absolutely smashed it both with the times they completed their run’s in and their fundraising target. Massive thank you to Natasha and Rachel for fundraising the incredible amount of £527 for Sue Ryder St John’s Hospice. This amount could pay for a hospice nurse for nearly four days which will make a huge difference so we can keep caring.” Beacon’s Managing Director, Tony Larkins added: “We are so proud of the girls, they have worked hard to fundraise for this event and they both did brilliantly in their individual events. Sue Ryder’s Moggerhanger Hospice is close to many of the hearts of the staff and family that work at Beacon and we will continue to raise vital funds throughout the year. You can follow our efforts on our social media pages and, of course, on our website.”

Local Charity Celebrates Staff Success

Cambridgeshire based not-for-profit Charity, The Edmund Trust, celebrated its staff with an Awards Ceremony at Cambridge University Arms where their Patron, the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Mayor, Dr Nik Johnson was in attendance to hand out an award for Volunteer of the Year to winner Sue Jordan. The ceremony was put together to celebrate the staff of the Trust, who have worked tirelessly over the last 12 months, and was an opportunity to award those who deserved recognition for all the hard work and determination they have shown; working towards the Trusts’ three Core Values of Commitment, Collaboration and Positive Interactions. Each of the 10 awards; Individual and Team awards for each of the three core values, Volunteer of the Year, Team and Employee of the Year and a special award voted by the People they Support, were all sponsored by local businesses. The ceremony was attended by 140 members of staff and volunteers, and consisted of a three course meal, before the presentations started. This was followed by a heart-warming video from the people that are supported, giving their thanks and appreciation to all the staff. There was also a disco and photo booth, all paid for by the generosity of the sponsors; Skat Recruitment, The Office Finding Experts, Giffords Hall Farm, Hastee, G Cook & Sons, Weston FM Group, World of Computers and Activa Contracts. John Ellis, CEO of the Trust said this about the event: “Every year we come together for our Annual Awards Evening. We want everyone that works with us to know how much we value want they do. Families of the people we support nominate the people they think have made the biggest contributions and have best met our three principal values of Commitment Collaboration and Positive Interactions and then colleagues from Cambridgeshire County Council will select the winners. The night is a celebration of what is good about The Edmund Trust. We just want to show everyone what they mean to us and how much we love and appreciate what they do”

Moving forward: CleanCube Mobile Cleanrooms embrace the changing landscape

Guardtech’s award-winning portable controlled environments set to offer solutions for range of new applications CleanCube Mobile Cleanrooms are expanding their range of portable controlled environments with three new standard models – CleanCube Pharma, CleanCube Equip and CleanCube Bio. The business, part of the Guardtech Group, is introducing the solutions to cater for specific industries that tend to require a relatively standard blueprint in terms of their cleanroom or laboratory needs. “It’s an exciting time for CleanCube – and the Group as a whole,” said Mark Wheeler, Guardtech’s Commercial Director. “Due to the level of interest from specific industries and their applications, we’ve noticed trends in requirement. That led us toward standardised designs that reduce lead time and improve cost efficiencies, providing clients with tried and tested solutions that exist in the field.” CleanCube Pharma and Bio utilise the base specification of the Midi 40ft container, while the Equip is housed in the Maxi (double container), with the Pharma configured to produce the best utilisation of production space whilst also accommodating the demands of a primary and secondary personnel airlock. Allowing for a one or two-process room configuration and supporting either positive or negative pressurisation, CleanCube Pharma will be ideal for applications in the fields of Pharmaceutical compounding and Cell & Gene Therapy, especially where segregation and containment is required. CleanCube Equip has been configured to maximise processing space to accommodate large tools and equipment used as part of any controlled manufacturing process, while the Bio range is a revamp of Guardtech’s award-winning biosafety labs conducting COVID-19 PCR testing all over the country.

Do you have some exciting news to shout about that could be featured on this page? Get in touch. Tel: 01223 237424 email: s.parr@cambscci.co.uk

The Cambridge joins Pay.UK’s Confirmation of Payee service

The Cambridge Building Society has become one of the first building societies to join Pay. UK’s Confirmation of Payee (CoP) service. CoP is a name-checking service that helps banks and building societies protect their customers against fraud and accidentally misdirected payments by checking the name of the recipient account. The Cambridge has implemented CoP after the service was augmented earlier this year to support participant accounts that rely on sort code and account information plus additional data, such as a building society account number. The Cambridge awarded the implementation of the service to Bottomline, who won its competitive tender. Bottomline’s solution recently received honours from Aite-Novarica for best digital identity verification innovation. Nick Warner, Programme Manager at The Cambridge, said: “Once the CoP service enabled SRD to be checked, we knew it was something we should be a part of. “At our core, we offer a safe place for savings and help people buy their homes. A payment is a key part of both of those experiences, so being part of CoP is a natural fit for what we offer to our members. Working with Bottomline enabled us to draw on external expertise in completing this work.”

Ely becomes first Greater Anglia rail station to have Changing Places accessible toilet facility

Ely rail station is now more accessible following the completion of redevelopment work. Greater Anglia has spent £1.7 million to reconfigure and upgrade the station buildings on platform 1 to create an improved layout and better facilities for passengers. Work started in the spring to relocate the ticket office and create a new waiting room and booking hall, which opened in September. In addition, a number of accessibility improvements have been carried out including the installation of a Changing Places toilet facility – the first on Greater Anglia’s network – seven disabled parking spaces near to the entrance, new automatic doors, levelling and resurfacing at the front of the station to create step-free access, and a new safer zebra crossing from the car park to the entrance. Changing Places toilets are larger than other accessible toilets and have equipment, including a changing bench and hoist, designed to support disabled people who need extra assistance. In addition to accessibility improvements, the entire station has been redecorated, the front of the station building has been cleaned and restored and new signage has been installed thanks to a grant from the Railway Heritage Trust. New ticket gates have also been installed. Funding for the project was also provided by Govia Thameslink Railway. Greater Anglia’s Asset Management Director, Simone Bailey, said: “This work has transformed Ely station and we’re pleased that the new facilities are now open. “Passengers will notice a huge difference with a bigger, brighter booking hall, a new waiting room and a much-improved layout with easier access for everyone. “Investing in upgrades to stations across the network is extremely important to Greater Anglia, demonstrating our commitment to providing excellent facilities and service to our customers.” Rebecca Richardson, Greater Anglia’s Accessibility Manager, said: “I’m delighted that we have been able to include our first Changing Places facility within this redevelopment. We want to make sure that everyone can have a good journey with us, so this is a really positive step at a busy interchange station that sees a lot of passengers from all over the country. “Many of our stations date from Victorian times and don’t often afford enough space for improvements like this, but as Ely was being completely redeveloped it presented an excellent opportunity. This is certainly something we will consider during future station upgrades elsewhere on our network, where possible.”

Innovation influencers to host definitive ‘Cambridge tech’ podcast

An authoritative new podcast dedicated to ‘all things Cambridge Tech’ aims to become the definitive ‘tech talk show’ for Cambridge’s exciting innovation ecosystem. The weekly Cambridge Tech Podcast will be hosted every Sunday by James Parton and Faye Holland – and the inspired pairing of these two key influencers from within the Cambridge ecosystem will ensure a slew of high-profile guests, lively debate, and exclusive news. As Managing Director of Cambridge’s premier tech hub, The Bradfield Centre, James Parton is well placed to talk tech in the fastpaced world of startups. His 25-year experience in tech has been in both corporates (BT, O2, Telefonica) and startups, highlighted by building Twilio’s EMEA business from scratch to their IPO on the NYSE in 2016. Since then, James has been focused on supporting the UK’s start-up community via his work at The Bradfield Centre and as a co-founder of The Triple Chasm, a company which provides tools and training to help startups successfully scale. He additionally runs his own advisory business helping companies figure out their Developer Relations strategies and had his first Developer Relations book published by Apress in 2021. Entrepreneur Faye Holland is a similarly well-known protagonist on the Cambridge tech circuit - as creator of the #21toWatch innovation awards, which spotlights and promotes the outstanding startup innovators, innovations and companies from the east of England, and as founder of multi-award-winning PR and strategic communications consultancy, cofinitive, which specialises in promoting disruptive early-stage tech startups and scaleups. After cutting her teeth at the UK’s first ISP, PIPEX on the Cambridge Science Park, Faye’s career in the tech space has spanned nearly three decades and includes working at IBM on numerous emerging technology projects and running the Europe and Asia Operations of a global media company. She has been quoted widely in the tech media, was recently featured in Forbes and appears regularly in the annual Computer Weekly ‘Most Influential Women in Tech’ listing. Spinning out of the ‘Inside the Bradfield Centre’ podcast, Cambridge Tech Podcast picks up an established audience of UK, US and overseas listeners. The show will be published every Sunday on all the major podcasting platforms and via cambridgetechpodcast.com. James said: “Cambridge is a hive of innovation and entrepreneurial activity radiating from a world-class University. There are so many stories to tell and inspirational people to meet, the possibilities of the show are almost endless. We have a great formula - but, ultimately, we’ll be led by the listeners and find our own way to share the stories in an accessible way. I can’t wait to get started!” Faye added: “Both James and I are immersed in Cambridge’s science and technology scene, from the earliest ventures to the largest companies – and we are delighted to be sharing their news and stories. As well as interacting with an audience from the larger Cambridge ecosystem, we are looking to use the podcast to attract potential entrants to the Cambridge market, promoting our city and its technological triumphs locally, nationally and internationally.” A huge cohort of interviews has already been scheduled – including special editions for entrepreneurial competitions and events. Mantle Spaces, Growth Works, Cambridge TV and Business Weekly are already signed up as launch partners, with more podcast supporter announcements in the pipeline.

Hannah Jarman, Plant Operator of the year

Earlier this month Hannah Jarman was recognised as the best construction plant operator in the UK. She won the award at the UK Plant Operators Magazine’s competition held in Hertfordshire. She was up against 37 other competitors including her Dad Mark, who finished second and her Brother Lewis. The competition involved various skills tests whilst controlling a 21 tonne excavator designed to test the limits of the skills of the competitors. Hannah started out as a Receptionist at East Anglian Civil Engineering Contractors, Breheny Civil Engineering seven years ago, before realising she wanted to work out on sites as an excavator driver.. Hannah was quick to praise her family: “As they say, when you get one Jarman you get all three, so in my eyes all three of us are winners, as without the two supporting me so much I don’t think I would have ever gone through with being a machine driver. They have taught me everything I know and I will forever be grateful to the both of them.”

Do you have some exciting news to shout about that could be featured on this page? Get in touch. Tel: 01223 237424 email: s.parr@cambscci.co.uk

Stone King partners with Tutors United

Cambridge law firm Stone King has teamed up with Tutors United this academic year to support its work and help boost the employability of the charity’s tutors. Tutors United (TU) is a social enterprise that hires, trains and supports undergraduate students to deliver small group tuition to primary aged school children from low-income and migrant backgrounds. The charity works with housing associations and primary schools and their tutors deliver attainment-raising tutorials after school across London, Cambridge, the Midlands, and the North East. Over the academic year, Stone King will provide careers support and work placement opportunities to the tutor cohort as part of the charity’s employability programme. Volunteers from Stone King will assist in the tutor recruitment process and provide training sessions to give tutors insight into particular professions as well as ‘soft skills’, such as presenting, teamwork, time management, leadership, and communication. These sessions aim to support TU tutors’ transferable skills and career progression opportunities for once they graduate. The firm hosted an induction session for the new tutor cohort at one of its offices in September and will also reserve places on its annual Insight Scheme for tutors with an interest in law to get an insight into the legal world. Steven Greenwood, Managing Partner at Stone King, says: “We’re excited about this partnership and the opportunity to support these dedicated tutors who are making such a difference to their tutor groups. Their work and that of Tutors United is so important and resonates with our commitment to being a socially responsible firm that supports the community around us wherever we can.” Many TU tutors are law students and the majority are from low-income households and almost 80 per cent are from Asian and Black backgrounds. The charity also runs a Family Learning Programme which includes small group tuition with sessions for parents and carers. Sam Speer, Tutor Recruitment & Development Officer at Tutors United says: “We are delighted to be partnering with Stone King for this academic year. As a leading law firm in the charity and education sectors, our tutors will gain invaluable experience in the legal field through this partnership. We’d like to extend a huge thank you to Stone King for their commitment to boosting diversity and accessibility in their sector and we can’t wait for our wonderful tutors to benefit from this opportunity.”

Roythornes lead £120 million refinancing deal for Allison Group

Leading law firm Roythornes Solicitors has played a major part in helping the Allison Group secure a groundbreaking £120 million refinancing deal, spearheading the real estate aspects of the transaction. The funding consists of a £20 million five-year loan from HSBC and a five-year £100 million Revolving Credit Facility with HSBC and NatWest. This is the second deal Roythornes has helped the group secure, most recently being the acquisition of Larkfleet Homes – previously part of the Allison Group. In this latest secured deal, the £120 million in funds will be used by the Allison Group to implement its strategic growth plans to build 2,000 homes annually within the next five years across Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire and Rutland, East Midlands, East Anglia and the South West. Bhavesh Amlani, national head of real estate at Roythornes, said: “We are delighted to have assisted the Allison Group with this important refinancing deal, which will see them move to the next phase of their development plan. “We pride ourselves on building longstanding relationships with clients, so we’re pleased to once again be a trusted provider for the group and look forward to seeing their successes.” John Anderson, CEO of Allison Group, said: “This deal will put the company in a stronger position to reach our projected targets and we want to thank Bhavesh and his team, who have all been a great support during the process and helped us to complete the deal within our set time frame. We’re excited to see what the future holds for us.”

#Room2Grow: Wyboston Lakes Resort’s award-winning sustainability initiative exceeds ambitious targets

Thousands of eco-conscious guests staying at Wyboston Lakes Resort have chosen to have a tree planted instead of having their room cleaned under Room2Grow, the new initiative offered to those staying more than one night. As a result, the Resorts Green Team is already nearing its tree-planting target for 2022. The project, which aims to reduce energy usage and ultimately the carbon footprint of the resort, launched only four months ago with an ambitious target to plant 5,000 trees on the Resort’s 380 acres in 2022. With more than three months to go until the end of the year, Wyboston Lakes Resort will by far exceed its target as the total number of trees to be planted already stands at 4,681. The Resort is now on track for the Room2Grow total to reach around 8,000 trees this year. What’s more, Room2Grow has become an award-winning sustainability initiative picking up the innovation award from the IACC (International Association of Conference Centres) at their ‘IACC Europe Knowledge Festival’ held in conference in Holland recently. Room2Grow is just one part of Wyboston Lakes Resort’s approach to sustainability that makes the most of the resort’s extensive natural resources. The resort has also launched several more environmental and wildlife enhancements. For example, with the decline in the bee population, the site welcomed four bee colonies in August. These are being managed in an eco-friendly way by a keen beekeeper. The Resort is also home to a nature reserve with all kinds of wildlife, fauna, and mammals, and this is now being enhanced with the addition of a large wildflower meadow. Louisa Watson, Director of Marketing at Wyboston Lakes Resort, says: “We are delighted and a little overwhelmed with the success of our Room2Grow initiative. It’s a wonderful testament to the support we have received from our conference and training venue guests and really shows that consumers want businesses to do the right thing. We have many more plans for our sustainability journey, so watch this space!”

Howes Percival recommended for 23 different legal specialisms in The Legal 500

The 2023 edition of The Legal 500 - the authoritative guide to the UK’s leading law firms - has recommended Howes Percival for 23 different legal specialisms and awarded the firm top tier ranking for 10. The guide, which is based on independent research, interviews and feedback from clients about the service they receive from firms and lawyers, also recognises the UK’s leading lawyers - 77 Howes Percival lawyers received specific mentions in this year’s directory. Howes Percival has achieved top tier rankings for: • Corporate and Commercial • Dispute Resolution - Commercial Litigation • Dispute Resolution - Debt Recovery • Finance - Insolvency and Corporate

Recovery • Human Resources - Employment • Private Client - Tax, Trusts and Probate • Real Estate - Commercial Property • Real Estate - Environment & Planning • Real Estate - Property litigation • Intellectual Property 12 further Howes Percival specialisms are recommended in the guide; Agriculture and Estates, Banking and Finance, Charities and Not for Profit, Construction, Contentious Trusts and Probate, Family, Licensing, Public Sector, IT and Telecoms, Media and Entertainment, Health and Safety, and Social Housing. The Legal 500 highlights individuals who have received constant praise from their clients for continued excellence. 23 Howes Percival lawyers are recognised by the legal directory as ‘leading individuals’, with nine Partners achieving ‘Hall of Fame’ status - Paula Bailey (Employment), Steven Beach (Commercial Property), Geraint Davies (Litigation and Insolvency), Gerald Couldrake (Corporate and Commercial), Tessa Haskey (Commercial Property), Michaela Henson (Commercial Property), Graham Irons (Employment), Catherine Scott (Agriculture and Estates) and Matthew Talbot (Intellectual Property). Howes Percival’s clients range from individuals and families to global businesses and government departments. Over the last 12 months the firm has seen its market share increase across all of its UK offices and has invested in a nationwide expansion programme, with close to 100 new recruits appointed in that period. Commenting on the firm’s rankings Howes Percival’s Chairman, Geraint Davies said; “I’m delighted with this set of rankings and recommendations, which recognise our core strengths and reflect the ongoing investment we’ve made in our people and their development in recent years. We have expanded our expertise across all of our service lines and are committed to growing and investing in each of our locations. Howes Percival’s culture and the calibre of work we undertake allow us to attract top talent which, alongside our commitment to our training programme creates an unbeatable team.”