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Business News
Denise Wilkinson, Head of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs team
HCR HEWITSONS MERGER BUILDS ON SUCCESS OF AGRICULTURE TEAM
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Agricultural legal specialists on both sides of the firm’s recent merger are delighted that each other’s complementary strengths will result in wider, stronger, and deeper levels of legal expertise being available for their clients and the sector as a whole. Denise Wilkinson, Head of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Team, said: “Although we have more sector specialists post-merger, we share a common focus – providing tailored advice to each client, informed by a real understanding of their individual circumstances and the agricultural industry. “I am delighted that, for former Hewitsons clients, the merger adds more depth and experience particularly in agricultural dispute resolution and advice on regulatory, health and safety and environmental matters.” Gareth Williams, Head of Agricultural Property, said: “Our clients include everyone from farmers, landed estates and institutions, landed charities and those who own rural property for leisure or investment purposes. We can offer advice based on years of specialist knowledge both relating to both the law and the rural businesses environment. As well as wrestling with the post CAP agricultural policies, hot topics for our clients include carbon capture, biodiversity net gain and renewables for landowners.” The growing team is spread across all 11 of the merged firm’s offices with centres of excellence in Cambridge, Cardiff, Hereford, Northampton and the Wye Valley. The firm has a number of highly successful teams specialising in individual sectors, including health and social care, education, technology, agricultural and rural affairs, finance and financial services, defence, security and the forces, and construction.
www.hcrlaw.com
PROJECTS TACKLING UNEMPLOYMENT RECEIVE NEARLY £800,000 GRANT FUNDING
Organisations spearheading projects to support unemployed people to build a brighter future have benefited from almost £800,000 of grant funding. And with a further £700,000 still available, small and voluntary organisations across Herefordshire are being invited to claim a share of the funding. The ESF Community Grants scheme has supported multiple projects across the county since applications opened in January 2020 and in turn this has helped hundreds of individuals gain access to jobs, training or education. The grant is managed by Telford-based employment and education charity Landau in partnership with the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and European Social Fund (ESF). Sonia Roberts, CEO of Landau, said: “There are so many voluntary organisations across Shropshire delivering targeted and effective support to those who need it most and these grants are helping them to make a really positive impact in our communities. “The programme is enabling those who have experienced barriers to employment or training to learn new skills, develop confidence and get back to work and we look forward to receiving the next round of applications over the coming months.” Grants of between £5,000 and £20,000 are available through the scheme and applications are still open for organisations that offer activities that help improve confidence, promote personal development or facilitate social integration through sports, clubs and support groups. Third sector and small organisations with a turnover of less than £8.5 million and fewer than 49 employees are eligible to apply for a grant through the programme, which forms part of a multi-million-pound series of measures overseen by the Marches LEP to transform lives across Shropshire, Herefordshire and Telford & Wrekin. Applications close in March 2022 and for information on eligibility and the full funding criteria visit www.landaugrants.co.uk or email landaugrants@landau.co.uk.
Sonia Roberts, CEO of Landau
CENTENARY LOUNGE WINS 2021 TRIPADVISOR TRAVELERS’ CHOICE AWARD
This achievement celebrates businesses that consistently deliver fantastic experiences to diners around the globe, having earned great traveler reviews on Tripadvisor over the last 12 months. As challenging as the past year was, Centenary Lounge stood out by continuously delighting customers. Kanika Soni, Chief Commercial Officer at Tripadvisor, said: “Congratulations to all the winners of the 2021 Travelers’ Choice Awards. I know the past year has been extremely challenging for tourism businesses. What has impressed me is how businesses adapted to these challenges, implementing new cleanliness measures, adding social distancing guidelines, and utilizing technology to prioritize guest safety. Based on a full year of reviews from customers, this award speaks to the great service and experience Centenary Lounge provided guests with in the midst of a pandemic.” The award puts Centenary Lounge in the top 10% of restaurants worldwide and provides breakfast, all-day dining, afternoon tea, cocktails and canapes and luxury hampers.
www.centenarylounge.com
EBC GROUP URGE BUSINESSES TO LOOK AT THEIR DISASTER RECOVERY
In the wake of the pandemic and growing cyber security threats, EBC Group are urging businesses to look at their Backup and Disaster Recovery provision to ensure that they are protected in the event of a cyber security attack or other disaster. It’s important to evaluate how long your organisation could cope without access to its systems and data, hours, days, weeks? Stu Burrows, Operations Manager at EBC Group, comments: “If your organisation can’t answer with confidence what it would do if all its systems stopped working, then you are leaving yourself extremely vulnerable. A disaster occurring to a business is considered ‘when and not if’, so being prepared is vital. Fortunately, cloud-based Disaster Recovery has made it easier and more cost-effective than ever to be fully protected.” EBC Group provide their clients with a tried and tested Disaster Recovery Solution (DRaaS). The cloud platform is based in their UK data centres, with the primary data centre situated within Telephone House, at Birmingham BT Tower, which is the 3rd largest communication hub in the UK. EBC Group’s partnership with BT ensures unrivalled connectivity, resilience, and latency. To find out more about protecting your business speak to EBC Group on hello@ebcgroup.co.uk or 0121 3680187.
www.ebcgroup.co.uk
Nifty Communications has taken significant steps into the fashion industry working alongside luxury streetwear brand, FORmE, right from concept through to launch. The brand also has the Monsters range, a friendly little reminder to smile no matter what you’re going through, and to know that whenever you’re wearing FORmE you are never alone. Each monster represents a key component for living a positive life; self-confidence, gratitude and positive thinking. They remind people to be happy, confident and grateful for who they are. Nifty also worked closely with FORmE to establish key concept ideas that have provided a launchpad for marketing campaigns, providing crucial traffic and engagement for the brand. Christian Collison, Nifty Communications CEO, added: “It’s been great working with FORmE, not only are the products high quality, the brand represents an important message which we just had to get behind. We now hope for many more successes in the future.”
www.niftycomms.com
NIFTY COMMUNICATIONS WALKS THE WALK WITH NEW LUXURY STREETWEAR BRAND
COMPREHENSIVE SUPPORT FOR GROWING GREENER IN WORCESTERSHIRE & THE MARCHES
Funding for energy efficiency and renewables
Lowering energy bills can make a big difference to your bottom line and demonstrable action to reduce carbon emissions is becoming increasingly important to clients. The Business Energy Efficiency Programme (BEEP) and Low Carbon Opportunities Programme (LOCOP) can help. Free advisory support on energy efficiency or renewable energy opportunities is on offer and BEEP has grants up to £20,000 in Worcestershire and The Marches and LOCOP has grants of up to £100,000 for Worcestershire. Businesses in Worcestershire can also tap into innovation grant funding and advice to develop and commercialise technologies and services which will achieve a greenhouse gas saving. Businesses receive free and bespoke support, which can help consider markets, funding streams, scaling-up, IPR protection, technical collaborations and product testing. Grants of up to £30,000 are available.
