unLTD. Connecting business across Sheffield City Region #53 by unLTD magazine

AUG 2022 | ISSUE 53 | FREE | UNLTDBUSINESS.COM

Sam Harris talks to unLTD about appearing on Homes Under the Hammer and what the future holds for the property market

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CONTENTS

STORY: SAM HARRIS FROM AUCTION HOUSE SOUTH YORKSHIRE 35 COVER

HOW WORKING FROM SHEFFIELD BUSINESS HOME CAN WORK FOR YOU 52 2021 26 AWARDS

THE FUTURE OF SHEFFIELD CITY CENTREBUSINESS LIVING 48 2021 26 AWARDS 4

WHAT TRAMLINES SHEFFIELD BUSINESS MEANS TO SHEFFIELD 62 2021 26 AWARDS

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CONTENTS

INSIDE... 6-12: News A round-up of the latest news from our region including updates from Cadam Construction, Sheffield DM and the Pet Vet. 15-17: Appointments New recruits join SEO Works, plus the latest career moves around the region. 50: The future of property in Sheffield Local estate agent Redbrik tells us why more people are making the Steel City their home. 59: Sheffield manufacturer’s history The Backroom Agency explains how they helped woodturning manufacturer Robert Sorsby with a brand-new video. 72: Have lunch with… unLTD’s Brogan Maguire sits down for lunch with Box Barre’s Sophie Whittam to chat about fitness, discipline and running a global empire.

77: Bringing back businesses Owner of China Red restaurant, Kelvin Quick, calls on the people of South Yorkshire to support their independents.

EVERYTHING ELSE: 19: Legal Matters 23: Launchpad 25: Highlander 27: The Source 31: Equality in STEM 90: Charity

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HEART OF THE CITY

A lot is happening in our towns and cities at the moment. We’ve had the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 in our region over the last month or so, bringing the vibrancy and diversity we have needed and breathing a fresh lease of life into the area post-COVID. Seeing so many people gathering in our streets, enjoying all our bars, restaurants and attractions, has been a sight to behold. Speaking of attractions, this month we have been taking a deep dive into the property market in our area and seeing what we need to do to keep people thriving in our urban environments. From more flexible office space to more leisure opportunities and retail, there are plenty of ideas flying around from urbanists like Urbana and architects like Whittam Cox about how we can provide better living for our residents – and attract more of them to come and join us. Our cover star Sam Harris from Auction House South Yorkshire has also given us an insight into what selling your property via auction entails and filled us in on his exciting appearance on Homes Under the Hammer. Look out for him on a TV screen near you! We’ve also been speaking to some experts about what you need to be aware of when working from home – from insurance considerations to mortgage changes and employee wellbeing – there’s lots to think about. So, plenty to go at there – we hope you enjoy!

UNLTDBUSINESS EDITORIAL News & features editor Brogan Maguire Brogan@hrmedia.org.uk Editorial editorial@unltdbusiness.com General hello@unltdbusiness.com 0114 252 7760 ADVERTISING Dan Laver dan@unltdbusiness.com 07867 313995 Phil Turner phil@unltdbusiness.com 07979 498034 General advertising@unltdbusiness.com FINANCE Lis Ellis accounts@exposedmagazine.co.uk DESIGN Marc Barker CONTRIBUTORS Andrew Rowley Beth Burley Chris Coates Jackie Cook Jo Davison Matt Holmes Ryan Kennedy Georgina Kerr Dan Laver

Sam Leeder Brogan Maguire Jade March James Marriott Rachel Measures Wendy Ward Helen Williams

unLTD is published monthly by Blind Mice Media Ltd Unit 1B Rialto, 2 Kelham Island Sq., Kelham Riverside, Sheffield S3 8SD and HRM PR | Creative Unit 1A Speedwell Works, Sidney Street, Sheffield S1 4RG The views contained herein are not necessarily those of Blind Mice Media Ltd and HRM and while every effort is made to ensure information throughout unLTD is correct, changes prior to distribution may take place which can affect the accuracy of copy, therefore Blind Mice Media Ltd and HRM cannot take responsibility for contributors’ views or specific listings.

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SHEFFIELD DM CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION IN INDUSTRY Tek it ome this summer

Sheffield City Council has teamed up with artist Luke Horton to encourage people visiting our gorgeous parks and green spaces to take their litter home. Every summer the council employ extra staff and put additional bins in place to tackle the litter problem left in our parks. This year, residents and visitors are being asked to do their bit by taking rubbish home and recycling. In a bid to encourage participation, there will also be an online competition to win ‘tek it ome’ tote bags throughout August. Cllr Richard Williams said: “The weather we’ve had attracts BBQs, parties and picnics. Our green spaces are a huge asset to our city and it’s fantastic to see every green space being enjoyed. We’re asking for our communities and individuals to do their bit to help keep Sheffield tidy and safe.” Luke said: “I’m excited to work on this project with SCC. We’ve got so many great parks in Sheffield and I want to help make a positive impact on keeping them all tidy’.’ Ruth Bell, head of parks and countryside at SCC, said: “We understand that people want to make the most of the lovely weather but we need your help where possible. If you see other litter around, please pick it up and dispose of it appropriately." If you’re visiting Sheffield this summer, please use the bins or even better #TekItOme.

unLTD was delighted to be one of the sponsors of Sheffield DM Goes Large at Kommune last month. The all-day event featured insights from a number of expert marketers and SEO specialists in the form of presentations, panels and talks. Panellists Beth Nunnington, Jasmine Granton and Saffron Shergill discussed the insand-outs of digital PR, while Thierry Ngutegure, Rejoice Ojiaku, Saffron Shergill and Hannah Butcher spoke about the importance of diversity and inclusion within the industry. Other speakers included Keira Davidson from SALT. agency, Lucy Dodds from Evolved Search, Chris Ridley from Evoluted, Jazveena Sahota from Slate and Andi Jarvis from Eximo Marketing. The conference was Sheffield DM’s biggest event to date and saw almost 100 marketers gathered together. Attendees were served a delicious brunch to start the

jam-packed day, as well as an impressive buffet lunch with food from vendors across Kommune. One of the event’s other sponsors, Sitebulb, hosted a drinks reception in the Kommune bar at the end of the day, providing guests and speakers with the opportunity to network, chat and unwind. unLTD’s news and features editor Brogan Maguire, who attended the event, said:

“It was so inspiring to hear so many people from the digital industry talking about their areas of expertise and discussing such important topics. “I met so many passionate people throughout the day and learnt so much. It’s amazing to have this network of people in our area and to be able to draw on their experience and share our stories.”

Digital Innovation Grant helps joinery business nail growth Father and son Robert and Lee Crookes founded their traditional joinery business Crookes and Son in 2010 - since that time the Hillsborough-based business has successfully breathed new life into a range of historical buildings. The company recognised that changes in the way wood is treated can mean their wooden frames can provide an eco-friendly alternative to uPVC double glazing. With rising demand for their product, the pair recognised they needed to embrace new

LEE CROOKES

forms of technology to fulfil their orders. The Digital Innovation Grant (DIG) allowed them to purchase software to automate their production process, increasing production by more than 40 per cent, keep up with orders and reduce waste. The DIG scheme provides businesses with funding worth between £1,000 and £5,000 for digital projects worth up to £10,000. The closing date for applications is July 15. Learn more: https://tinyurl. com/3nfb7tx3

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SOUTH YORKSHIRE VET BECOMES UK’S LARGEST INDEPENDENT PRACTICE VIA LATEST ACQUISITION South Yorkshire-based The Pet Vet, which has surgeries in Rotherham, Barnsley and Doncaster, has purchased all eight The Vet-branded surgeries, becoming the largest independent familyowned practice in the UK and the first to have a national presence. Owner, Rob Jones, said: “Corporate practices dominate 70 per cent of all veterinary practices now. We’re unique in that we’re family owned and independent and staying that way. “This gives us an advantage in the industry - we can put our people first. If you look after your colleagues, they’ll look after your customers. We live by that. “The corporate model restricts the expertise of local surgeries and moves them to purpose-built referral centres instead – often expensive and unfamiliar to customers. “We have purpose-built veterinary centres keeping everything in-house as much as we can. People can deal

with the vets they love and trust. “In Rotherham alone, we have nine consulting rooms, three operating theatres, two cat wards, two dog wards, a CT scanner and different

specialists.” With almost 100 employees, including 24 full-time vets, the practice is known for investing in its people, technology and inhouse diagnostics.

Tickets for Good reaches landmark 100,000+ NHS staff registered Tickets for Good, an events ticketing company with a social purpose, has now registered more than 100,000 NHS staff on its platform. The organisation uses a secure ticket delivery platform to distribute free tickets with a small booking fee as the only cost to its members. Since launching its dedicated NHS platform in 2021, a staggering 100,000+ NHS staff from across the UK have signed up and saved over two million in tickets for theatre, live music,

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sports and other events. The platform hosts a vast range of events, including high-profile live sports, music and theatre. Last year, over 800 NHS staff watched the London Lions basketball game in a

partnership that has seen thousands of new supporters for the East London-based team. Internationally acclaimed Sheffield-based festival Tramlines has also pledged tickets. As the events industry continues to recover, Tickets for Good is well placed to offer an ever-increasing number of tickets to an expanding user base, which now includes NHS students and staff and is being piloted to include key workers.

Applications for Clean Energy Start-up Accelerator open With up to £100,000 of grant funding available for 12 clean energy start-ups, the TechX Clean Energy Accelerator programme will help companies scale up through mentorship, expert technology development guidance, commercial support and access to an extensive industry network. The Net Zero Technology Centre will welcome the next cohort of pioneering companies to close the gap in net-zero technologies through its award-winning programme – backed by global Strategic Partners bp, Equinor and ADNOC. To achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, almost half of the emissions savings needed rely on technologies that are not commercially available. Disruptive start-ups that bring these technologies to market will be essential in expanding energy innovation.

NHS organisation launches life-changing employment programme A life-changing ‘transition to employment’ programme for young people with learning disabilities and autism was launched in Rotherham with the South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw Integrated Care System (ICS) and Rotherham Local Authority. DFN Project SEARCH aims to get 10,000 young adults with learning disabilities and autism into full-time paid jobs over the next decade. Over 1,475 interns are securing full-time paid employment already.

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KEY FIGURES REACT TO UNCERTAINTY AROUND DONCASTER SHEFFIELD AIRPORT ESOL STAFF AND STUDENTS CELEBRATE AT THE PENNINE 5 LAUNCH.

College of Sanctuary status awarded to The Sheffield College The Sheffield College has been awarded College of Sanctuary status by the network organisation City of Sanctuary for providing inclusive education and support. As the largest English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) provider in the city, the College supports asylum seekers back into learning through its ESOL courses. Around 4,000 adults (aged 19-plus) and 200 young people (16 to 18-yearolds) a year study full-time and part-time ESOL courses. The courses develop speaking, writing, listening and reading skills and enable students to get into work, gain employment and access further or higher education. The College of Sanctuary award recognises good practice and the College’s commitment to the values of fairness, respect, equality, diversity, inclusivity and engagement that aim to underpin everything it does. City of Sanctuary UK works with individuals, groups and organisations in every area and in every sector to encourage inclusivity, compassion and solidarity with refugees and people seeking sanctuary. Sheffield became the UK’s first City of Sanctuary for asylum seekers and refugees in 2007.

Doncaster Sheffield Airport’s future has come into question after directors announced it “may no longer be financially viable”. The site is part of Peel Airports. The Peel Group has said a six-week consultation into the airport’s future will be conducted, following the damage from the COVID-19 pandemic and recent issues with cancelled flights. Responding to the review, Barnsley & Rotherham, Doncaster and Sheffield Chambers of Commerce said in a joint statement: “Airports are not just assets for their shareholders but for the economies and communities they serve. If aviation activity at Doncaster Sheffield Airport ends or scales back, this would be another major blow to the region’s infrastructure after several others, including the axing of our planned HS2 connection and rail services from South Yorkshire to

Manchester Airport. The evidence is well-established that international connectivity underpins inward investment.” South Yorkshire leaders said in a joint statement: “Doncaster Sheffield Airport is crucial to South Yorkshire’s economy. It supports thousands of jobs, attracts inward investment, supports trade and connects South Yorkshire internationally.

The aviation industry has suffered in recent years due to the changes brought about by Brexit and the continuing impact of COVID-19. However, working with the owners of the site, operators and government, we are committed to not only finding a means to save DSA but to establish it as a thriving airport at the forefront of South Yorkshire’s future.”

Olympic Legacy in Action Dinner to take place in Sheffield Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park will host a celebratory dinner featuring a line-up of sporting superstars to mark the 10th anniversary of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Sheffield’s wide contribution to the success of London 2012, and the unique legacy being delivered in the city, will be marked at the special celebration on September 9, hosted by Sheffield’s own Paul Walker, sports commentator for both TV and radio. Olympians and Paralympians from 2012, 2016 and 2020 made and trained in Sheffield have

been invited to the gala dinner taking place in the centre of the indoor athletics arena at the English Institute of Sport Sheffield. Up to 1,000 guests are expected to attend the event to celebrate Sheffield’s contribution to London 2012, including Sarah Stevenson, MBE, British taekwondo athlete, celebrating

the legacy being delivered in the city through transformational economic, health, sporting and environmental change. That next phase of the Park is being delivered by development partner Scarborough Group International (SGI), who is also the dinner’s headline sponsor. The evening will also be a major fundraiser for Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity’s six-million-pound Helipad Appeal and will feature a live auction sponsored by Westfield Health and hosted by wellknown Sheffield auctioneer Lucy Crapper, director of residential sales at ASG Estates.

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GREY TO GREEN OPENING CEREMONY CELEBRATES DIVERSITY IN SHEFFIELD The Grey to Green Opening Ceremony on Saturday, July 16, explored Sheffield’s local history and celebrated the city’s diversity with a plaque commemorating Sheffield’s boycott of Apartheid industries and marking the anniversary of the Sharpeville Massacre in South Africa. A plaque was originally placed on Angel Street, Sheffield, in 1985 and following the redevelopment of the area, the opening ceremony unveiled a brandnew plaque outside of Kommune. The event was open to the public. Visitors and passers-by got to listen to speeches from Cllr Terry Fox, Paul Blomfield MP, Olivier Tsemo (Sadacca) and Richard Caborn, followed by performances from Khula Arts, including Zulu, Ndebele and Xhosa traditional music, plus the dance and drumming of the Nguni people. Additional funding was secured from the European Regional Development Fund and Sheffield City Council to extend the Grey to Green improvements to Angel Street, which remains a key link of the gateway into the City Centre. The project incorporates colourful meadows, a sustainable drainage system

Sheffield is halfway into its UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 journey and already, the city has set a new record, welcoming thousands of international visitors and witnessing unbelievable scenes from fan walks to the stadium. With the first two Group C games, Netherlands v Sweden and Sweden v Switzerland, Sheffield has shone in the glorious sunshine with live coverage across the BBC and across the eyes of the world’s media. Devonshire Green was packed with the orange jerseys of Netherlands fans,

which reduces flooding risk and an improved environment for walking and cycling which should dramatically enhance the experience of visiting, living and working in the area as well as providing a setting for new development opportunities in the area and supporting existing businesses and civic buildings through new footfall.

Sheffield Hallam secures up to £1.2m to evaluate Government funding encouraging more active travel In 2020, the Department for Transport (DfT) published Gear Change, a strategy outlining a two billion pound investment to help make walking and cycling the first-choice mode for many journeys. The strategy highlights an ambition for half of all trips in towns and cities to be cycled or walked by 2030. Academics will carry out the five-year project in CRESR and the University’s Sports and Physical Activity Research Centre alongside partners NatCen and Mosodi. It will help to understand how active travel interventions are being delivered, their impact on encouraging people to cycle and walk, whether interventions

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Sheffield shines during UEFA Women’s EURO 2022

are valued for money and how they are contributing to the Department’s cycling and walking targets. The Government’s plan to increase cycling and walking seeks to: provide better streets for cycling and pedestrians, have cycling and walking at the heart of decision-making, empower and encourage local authorities and enable people to walk and cycle safely. The research, funded by the Yorkshire and Humber Local Government Association, found that small, planned changes from individuals have the potential to make a big difference to communities.

bouncing up and down as they partied through the afternoon and Division Street was full of yellow with the Frog & Parrot pub as the hub of Sweden’s activity. Visiting fans loved their time in the city, as reflected in the city centre footfall figures, which showed a considerable increase - up around 10,000 on the previous Saturday, a whopping 22 per cent rise. In addition to the bustling bars, cafes and restaurants, all the city’s hotel rooms were full during the weekend of the opening fixture.

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SHEFFIELD OLDER PEOPLE’S CHARITY APPEALS FOR VOLUNTEERS TO HELP COMBAT LONELINESS HAYDEN FOX OF SALES GEEK.

Sales Geek tohelp businesses deliver more sales Hayden Fox is bringing his Sales Geek expertise to South Yorkshire to help businesses grow. Launched in 2017, Sales Geek was named as the Northwest Most Exciting Company in 2021 and the Blackburn-headquartered company has doubled its turnover every year since. It’s Your Sales Director™ package and blend of sales training services are delivered both online and face-to-face across the UK and internationally. Launching Sales Geek in South Yorkshire, Hayden, who is a qualified engineer, brings his own twenty-year sales experience. From growing revenue at high street bars to the corporate world, working with accounts such as Caterpillar and Ocado. He has also transformed sales teams to bring them in line with selling in the modern world, resulting in a record year for his previous business in 2021. Hayden said: “I’m excited to be bringing Sales Geek to South Yorkshire. One of the reasons I started this business was to work with people who put their heart and soul into their businesses and to work shoulder-to-shoulder with them to scale up their businesses.”

Sheffield Churches Council for Community Care (SCCCC) is reaching out to volunteers. Coordinating a successful Good Neighbour Scheme, they match volunteers with isolated older people across Sheffield to combat loneliness and are looking for volunteers based in (or can travel to) S5, S6, S12, S2, S8 and S13. Across this area, there are 55 older people currently awaiting a friend. Lynn Smith, SCCCC’s volunteer recruitment officer, said: “Our older people have fascinating stories to tell and our volunteers often tell us they enjoy getting to know them, getting back more than what they give.

ROB SOUTHERN

“Everyone deserves to have some company and our volunteers give their time and care so generously to make a difference.” Rob Southern has been volunteering with a gentleman called John for nine months. He said: “I get a sense that I’ve made a difference – John is very explicit about how much he enjoys the visits. Because I see him for only an hour each week, it’s amazing how so little from me makes such a difference. It’s so important, we’re all going to be there one day and we might need that kind of support.”

Beer and burger night to raise cash for Children's Hospital Charity Helen Williams, unLTD’s regular columnist and founder of HEW, is among a group of local business faces who will be climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s tallest mountain in September. Before they head off, the team will be hosting a get together and fundraiser at Triple Point Brewery & Bar in Sheffield on September 6. Join them for one (or more, we won't judge!) of Triple Point's very own brewed beers, a homemade burger courtesy of Twisted Burger Company and a spot of fundraising on the final week before departure to take on Africa’s tallest mountain. Tickets can be booked at https://bit.ly/3S45Pf8

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PIONEERING EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMME TEACHES FOUR-YEAR-OLDS ABOUT CAREERS IN HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE A new programme has launched in South Yorkshire to educate primary school children about careers in health and social care. The programme will introduce around 2,700 pupils to roles that are different to doctors and nurses while dispelling gender stereotypes. The Jobs for Everyone Primary Schools programme, launched by the Schools Engagement Team at NHS South Yorkshire, introduces Reception and Year 1 pupils to more than 20 different jobs in health and social care, promotes equality and diversity and dispels stereotypes around the roles. Funded by Health Education England, the programme was spearheaded by Caroline Boot, primary school project lead at South Yorkshire Integrated Care System in January 2020. It was delivered to two schools before COVID-19 brought it to a halt. It has now been re-launched and

Northern College at Wentworth Castle launches on Airbnb CHILDREN ENJOY JOBS FOR EVERYONE ACTIVITIES over 40 schools have signed up for the programme. Caroline said: “While we’ve seen this kind of educational support for older children, this is the first we know where it is tailored towards Reception and Year 1 pupils. “We often find that by Years 5 and 6, preconceptions around job roles have already been

formed and we believe it is important to challenge these stereotypes and ensure children keep open minds. It’s also about raising awareness around the multitude of roles in health and social care – moving beyond just doctors and nurses to learn about radiographers, dietitians and phlebotomists, for example, as well as non-clinical roles.”

Cash boost for millions of workers as government backs new law to ensure all staff keep their tips New legislation which makes it unlawful for employers to withhold tips from staff means customers will know for certain that all tips will go to hardworking employees. Over two million UK workers will now be able to take home more of their hardearned cash under new governmentbacked legislation, banning employers from withholding tips from their staff. Despite most hospitality workers – many of whom are earning the National Minimum Wage - relying on tips to top up their pay, there are still too many businesses who shamefully fail to pass on service charges from customers to their staff. This overhaul of tipping practices will help to ease pressures caused by global inflation and an increase in the cost of living.

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Surrounded by glorious gardens, woodland and parkland, Northern College is excited to announce that their 24 en-suite rooms will shortly be available to book via Airbnb. Northern College is the only adult residential college in the north of England and it’s set in the grounds of Wentworth Castle surrounded by acres of National Trust Gardens. The events team at Northern College have been working hard on both refurbishing and promoting their event spaces and their residential rooms to ready them for the launch. Rebecca Jackson, business development manager, said: “It’s been an exciting time as we looked at the facilities available to us and new ways to use them. Our bedrooms have become increasingly popular as part of residential getaways such as yoga retreats and wellness conferences that really appreciate the amazing, calm surrounding we have here. We wanted to be able to open that up to everyone, so we are thrilled that we are finally there.” The new rooms are set within the courtyard of Wentworth Castle and are available to book from just £50 per night.

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DOUBLE AWARD SUCCESS FOR SOUTH YORKSHIRE DEVELOPER AND CONTRACTOR

Cadam Construction Group has received prestigious awards at the LABC Building Excellence Awards, celebrating its very own director Cain Green and its new-build office and storage premises, Cadam Court. Cain speaks to unLTD’s Rachel Measures about how the business got there and what it means for their future.

Cadam Construction, a Chartered Building Company, has provided professional services delivering turnkey projects of exceptional quality to clients across a wide range of sectors and industries for seven years. Working closely with their clients from the initial stages of their project to routine and reactive maintenance, the team provide a professional, honest and prompt service. Their focus on commercial and residential developments draws upon years of experience and a vast supplier framework, so all their projects are completed to a high quality. The company has received prestigious awards at the South Yorkshire and Humber Local Authority Building Control (LABC) Building Excellence Awards. The LABC represents all local authority building control teams in England and Wales and its Building Excellence Awards celebrate outstanding projects and individual contributions to the construction industry. The awards focus on the best in technical innovation and construction quality, helping raise the level of construction quality across England and Wales. They particularly look for creative solutions to sustainability and energy efficiency as part of the criteria to choose their regional winners. Lee Rourke, principal building control officer, said: “The nominations were judged by Building Control professionals from Sheffield, Barnsley, Doncaster, Hull,

North Lincolnshire and Northeast Lincolnshire Council. “Despite facing severe competition against nominations from all these authorities, to be successful with both of his nominations is testament to the high quality of workmanship and compliance from the Cadam Croup.” Cadam Construction Group achieved Best Professional, awarded to Cain Green, and Best Commercial Building, awarded to their premises in Rotherham. Cain said: “I have over 20 years of experience in development and main contracting construction and I’ve been involved in projects across the region, working closely with Rotherham Building Control for 15 years and Rotherham Chamber since I founded the Cadam Group in 2015. “However, as I run the group and give full credit to our team,

I see these awards as about the company more than they are about me. Looking to the future, our new HQ is a big part of this.” Cadam Court, the business’ headquarters, was showcased as a hybrid building that integrates a raft of renewables and achieved an ‘as built’ EPC ‘A’ rating. Solar and heat recovery renewables were introduced to the building – rainwater harvesting was designed to save water and site levels were lifted by importing 65Nr 20T loads of spoil to minimise the need for landfill. Underfloor heating, a heat recovery ventilation system and an air course heat pump were all part of a mechanical package added to the project. Site inspections were undertaken and together with Rotherham Building Control, the aim was that the building

would have lower running costs and a lesser environmental impact. Cain said: “The bespoke hybrid office and storage building was built to allow us to expand and increase our turnover within the LABC Yorkshire and Humberside Region and beyond. “We now have a good foundation to expand into regional commercial main contracting and new build housing development. We will use the new office and the awards as a springboard for growth.” After a three-year planning and land purchase process, Cadam’s next big project includes the development of 24 luxury new homes at Thorpe Hesley in Rotherham. Find out more about Cadam Construction Group by visiting: www.cadamconstruction. co.uk.

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PROPERTY PROPERTY NEWS 100 new homes to be constructed in South Yorkshire

BERECO IS HELPING TO CONSERVE THREATENED LANDSCAPES AND WILDLIFE

BERECO DONATES £28,000 TO THE WORLD LAND TRUST Timber window and door supplier, Bereco, has revealed the total donated to the international conservation charity World Land Trust since 2017. From July 2017 to March 2022, Bereco donated £28,000 to the World Land Trust as part of its ‘Buy an Acre’ programme, designed to protect the world’s most biologically important and threatened habitats. For each door sold, £1 is donated to the World Land Trust, which so far has protected 269 acres of habitat through the programme. The donations made currently support the creation of permanently protected nature reserves in Argentina, Brazil and Kenya. Nicola Harrison, director of the Bereco Group, said: “We are very proud of the donations we have made to the World Land Trust over the last five years. “As a business reliant on timber, we are highly conscious of the damage deforestation can cause to the natural world, so we only use FSC® 100 per cent wood sourced from FSC® certified forests. “Our next target is to reach 1,000 acres of protected rainforest habitat through continued donations to the World Land Trust and we are confident we will achieve this.”

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Bereco also invites its customers to join its support of the World Land Trust with the option to match the donation at the point of ordering. Timber is one of the most sustainable building materials, as not only are responsibly managed forests fully renewable, but trees capture carbon dioxide. When harvested, the timber acts as a carbon store, retaining its carbon content without releasing it back into the environment. By buying Bereco timber windows and doors, you are helping to promote the growth of the forest in Europe and worldwide and are protecting our planet from deforestation and climate change. To find out more about Bereco’s pledge to sustainability and work with the World Land Trust, you can read more on the website: www. bereco.co.uk/sustainability

More than 100 homes could be constructed on a site in South Yorkshire under newly submitted plans. Avant Homes, supported by Johnson Mowat, has submitted a reserved matters application to Barnsley Council for an 8.9acre agricultural site off Hay Green Lane in Birdwell. Planning permission is sought for a total of 114 homes, comprising two, three- and four-bedroom properties in a mix of detached, semi-detached and terraced units. Of the properties, 11 homes would be designated as affordable housing. A network of greens is proposed as part of the development. A planning statement accompanying the application said the proposal represented a “high-quality, well designed and sustainable residential scheme”. It added that the proposed development “facilitates the continued growth and delivery of Birdwell”. Outline planning permission is in place for a development of up to 118 homes on the site. The new application seeks approval for details of scale, external appearance, landscaping and layout.

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APPOINTMENTS

SPONSORED BY

GLU RECRUIT CELEBRATES SIXTH BIRTHDAY AND RAISES OVER £2000 FOR PACES Local-based specialist recruitment consultancy, Glu Recruit, celebrated six years in business at an event held at Kelham Island, Sheffield.

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FROM L-R – MARK ROSS, REDBRIK MANAGING DIRECTOR, HEATHER STAFF, STREET GROUP COFOUNDER AND TOM STAFF, STREET GROUP CO-FOUNDER.

ALL PHOTOS TAKEN BY MULTIWEBMARKETING.

The celebrations raised over £2000 for Paces, a Sheffieldbased charity that helps children, adults and families with cerebral palsy and motor disorders. This amount was matched taking the total to over £4000. Julie Booth, head of fundraising and communications at Paces, said: “We were delighted to be the chosen charity and to be invited along to celebrate Glu Recruit’s sixth birthday. They have been supporters of Paces for many years and we absolutely love working with the fabulous team! “Rob took on the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge for us a couple of years ago and more recently they have become founding members of our brand-new business club, Club 300. “It was great to see so many people come out to join the celebrations and, on the evening, we raised over £2000 which will be match funded – which is just amazing! “This will be used towards our ‘New Home for Paces’ appeal as we move our children into their new school later on this year and without donations like these, this wouldn’t be possible.” Over 200 free tickets were sent out for the event, with many local businesses, big and small, in attendance. Fire breathers, street food and a live DJ came as part of the ticket package as guests celebrated in the sunshine.

At the beginning of the year, Glu announced 2022 as their ‘year of growth’ and after the opening of a brand-new office based at Electric Works in Sheffield City Centre, this celebration marked more than just a business anniversary. Rob Shaw, managing director of Glu Recruit, said: “Our birthday event was more than we could have ever hoped for. We are overwhelmed with the support we have received from friends, businesses, clients and candidates. It was incredible to see so many people there, celebrating with us.

“We’re over the moon to have raised over £2000 for Paces, a charity that we love working with. The work they do is so important and with the help of everyone at our event, we managed to raise

more than the amount we originally expected. “We’re excited to see what’s next for Glu Recruit and are looking forward to meeting lots of new faces now that we’ve landed in Sheffield City Centre!” MultiWebMarketing, a Doncaster-based team of marketing professionals, were there on the evening taking care of all the event’s photography and said: “MultiWebMarketing are always excited to support Yorkshirebased businesses like Glu Recruit. Our partnership with Paces makes sponsoring this event so much more special.”

AGENDA APPOINTMENTS

CURRENT VACANCIES

ABOUT GLU RECRUIT Glu Recruit are a full-service recruitment agency established in 2016. We specialise in temporary, permanent, contract and graduate recruitment – offering a tailored solution from entry level to senior management and board level spanning your entire organisation.

As an independent recruitment agency, we focus on the long-term stick of the placement. Whether you’re a candidate looking to make a career move, or an employer looking to add to your team, our thorough and proactive recruitment and retention service ensures you are well looked after! Call: 0114 321 1873 Email: hello@glurecruit.co.uk www.glurecruit.co.uk

Role: Head of Community and Events Fundraising Salary: Up to £45,000 per annum Sector: Charity Location: Sheffield Role: Business Development Manager Salary: Up to £30,000 per annum Sector: Construction Location: Rotherham Role: Marketing and Communications Manager Salary: Up to £38,000 per annum Sector: Marketing Agency Location: Sheffield

PROFESSIONAL ENERGY PURCHASING STRENGTHENS ITS ENERGY MANAGEMENT TEAM Peter Levesley has joined Sheffield-based independent energy consultancy Professional Energy Purchasing (PEP) as a graduate trainee energy manager to bolster its Energy Management team. This exciting position will play a vital role in helping businesses find long-term energy and carbon savings through energy efficiency solutions and plan for Net Zero. Peter said: “This is the perfect opportunity for me to use my first-class honours degree in Renewable Energy

Engineering and grow with the business. I love the fact that I will be able to help businesses make long-term

savings as well as fight climate change.” Energy management projects have grown significantly over the last 12 months at PEP with their existing clients looking for support with energy plans. The business has also successfully secured partnerships with the Sheffield, Barnsley and Rotherham Chambers of Commerce, along with Sheffield City Council, to deliver energy audits as part of a Low Carbon Business Support Grant.

Key hires and warehouse expansion further strengthens Mattress Online team Mattress Online has added roles across its digital and commercial operations, bolstered by additional warehousing space at its Rotherham headquarters. Alison Straw has joined as general operations manager with 10 years of experience. She will oversee operations across warehousing, logistics, customer service and dispatch

for the online retailer. Adam Blaxhall and Michael Rhodes have taken

up roles in the Sheffield office as content strategist and e-commerce marketing manager, respectively. Adam spent 10 years with the Press Association and has a strong in-house and agency background. Michael joins the team from BT Plc, where he was responsible for delivering high-end performance.

Hydra Creative appoint new senior sales and account executive A Sheffield dad who put Meadowhall on the map in his first job out of university is now charting a new career with a city firm. Steve Molloy, 31, joined Google after completing his business and operations management degree at Sheffield Hallam University. He was a field operations lead - a role which included refining Google Maps in more detail - and one of his first projects was Meadowhall Shopping Centre. Steve also worked on plotting buildings worldwide and has now joined Woodseats-based Hydra Creative, as their new senior sales and account executive. He said: “My experience is a big part of what I bring to Hydra. I feel good about joining Hydra, especially because everybody’s input is valued. That was very important to me.”

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AGENDA SPONSORED BY

TWO PROMOTIONS IN BHP’S CHARITIES TEAM Award-winning Yorkshire accountancy firm BHP has announced two senior-level promotions within its Charities team. Neil Baldwin and Rachel Heath have both been appointed directors. They will have more influence over strategic decision-making, staff training/management and liaison with clients as part of their new roles. The promotions come after a period of growth for the Charities team at BHP, which acts for more than 250 clients in the third sector. In the 2021 Charity Finance magazine annual survey of charity audit firms, based on client feedback, BHP scored 100 per cent for charity expertise and 93 per cent for client service. Rachel trained with BHP in the nineties and returned to the company in 2014 and Neil has been part of the BHP team since 2015 after the company acquired the firm he previously worked for. BHP’s Charities and Not-for-Profit team act for a range of third sector clients, from smaller organisations that require independent examinations to large organisations with complex fund structures.

SCCCC welcomes new team member

L-R: NEIL BALDWIN, RACHEL HEATH

Group of new starters gives huge boost to the SEO Works team SEO Works, a certified Google partner, has recently welcomed several new starters to strengthen their team. Eleanor Hayward Mitchell and Laura Nuttall have recently joined as senior SEO account executives. Previously, however, William Smith joined as a marketing assistant, Ciara Murphy joined as an SEO account executive, following a year spent at Twinkl, and Ophelia Baudoin and Jake Laud joined as account executives. Jake had previously worked as a web content assistant for Frasers Group and Ophelia as a freelance SEO web writer. SEO Works has grown a reputation for delivering tangible results and excellent customer service. The business helps clients get more customers from search, winning awards along the way.

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ELEANOR NUTTALL MITCHELL

LAURA NUTTALL

Sheffield Churches Council for Community Care (SCCCC) welcomes Amelia as a new team member. She has already been busy in her first week, out and about supporting isolated, vulnerable older people in Sheffield. The staff at SCCCC are extremely passionate about what they do. Their passion comes from a real desire to help older people. They take the time to listen, to understand what’s needed and to provide appropriate solutions every day. If you fancy joining Amelia, SCCCC is recruiting team members and sessional workers. There are also volunteering opportunities available. Their volunteers are seen as crucial partners in their mission to help older people and have been the heart of SCCCC for 50 years. Over that period many people have given their time and energy and enabled them to continue the work and bring SCCCC to the place it is today.

DO YOU HAVE A NEW STARTER?

CIARA MURPHY

WILL SMITH

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BUSINESS

LEGAL MATTERS

BY JADE TAYLOR, BELL & BUXTON INCORPORATING IRONMONGER CURTIS Jade looks at what businesses can do to help retain staff during the Great Resignation.

THE IMPACT OF THE GREAT RESIGNATION The “Great Resignation” is a term derived from the US to describe a record number of individuals leaving their jobs post-pandemic. Businesses in the UK have struggled to retain staff since the easing of restrictions. CV Library, the UK’s leading independent job board reported 76.4 per cent of UK professionals intend to look for a new job in 2022 with 57.6 per cent looking to reskill or retrain. We may be suffering the impacts of the “Great Re-Evaluation” as employees rethink their relationship with work. The top five reasons for moving on in 2022 are career change, higher salary, pandemic uncertainty delaying the decision to leave, more flexible working opportunities and employment burnout.

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Businesses are looking to replace staff at a time when the demand has caused salaries to increase. Whilst having to remain financially competitive the rehiring and training process costs businesses money and hours of management time. Alongside the obvious concerns of being understaffed and having to rehire, businesses are also suffering other concerns including reduced productivity, efficiency and customer service. The best option could be to invest time and resources into retaining instead of replacing staff members and there are a multitude of options available to businesses. Increased salaries due to the cost of living and one-off payments to staff to help with rising costs, offering benefits e.g. private health care

and enhanced sick pay, plus regular wage and role reviews are just a few of the ways to help employees feel more valued and encourage them to stay in their current roles. Due to the pandemic workers have also been used to having an enhanced degree of flexibility over their working day and location, so maintaining that balance (for the benefit of the business and the staff member) can lead to improved productivity and staff satisfaction. If your employees have returned to their pre-pandemic working routine, then it is even more important to be able to identify and prevent burnout. Regular check-ins, breaks and mitigating long hours where possible can all help your employees stop burnout. Staff

might also welcome being provided with additional annual leave as a bonus for long service. Having the right culture in a business is imperative to maintaining healthy and successful working relationships and making staff feel valued. Training and career development, as well as progression and training opportunities, demonstrate that staff are valued and that the business is willing to invest in them. Whether you have suffered a loss of employees or not your business should be proactive in retaining and nurturing your current talent. Jade Taylor Employment and Litigation Paralegal J.Taylor@bellbuxton.co.uk

AGENDA

ENTREPRENEURSUPPORT FOR MORE INFO, CONTACT HELEN @ HELPING ENTREPRENEURS WIN

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN THINGS DON'T GO TO PLAN? This is a big one, whether it’s in your personal or professional life. This has been a hot topic of conversation within the HEW team recently, a couple of us doing individual challenges to raise money for charity. It is fair to say that everything didn’t go exactly to plan! But the most

interesting thing here is our mindset when this happens and our reaction or response to the situation. The emotions, upset and frustrations are very real, and I am sure when reading this, you can recall a time when something you wanted to happen, and had planned for, just didn’t work out

the way you’d hoped. Think of a time personal to you. Take a moment to think of how you felt, what you thought, and what you did. Were these behaviours rational and well thought out, or was it instinctive, rash, and loaded with emotion? Do any of these common responses resonate?

The demon mindset Negative inner chatter- ‘I knew I couldn’t do it, I’m such a failure, I’m never doing that again’ • Blame others- avoid all responsibility and lash out at others • Go into hiding- pretend it’s not happening and bury

For more info on how coaching with HEW can help you and your business please visit

HELPINGENTREPRENEURSWIN.COM

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AGENDA

your head in the sand • Strong internal emotionsfeelings of embarrassment, shame and regret • This is where that keyword comes into play againAwareness! Let’s be honest, how often do things go exactly how we want them to? There will always be something, which is why it is so important to shift our perspective to one of learning and growth.

So, consider the following, and learn how to become your own biggest cheerleader! The Cheerleader Mindset • What can I learn from this situation? • What is within my direct control and what areas can I influence? • What would I do differently next time? • What went well? (don’t forget this one!)

What have I learned about myself? This approach ensures we look forward with positivity and increased knowledge rather than back with shame and regret. Compare the two approaches. Which do you currently use, and which would serve you better? So next time something doesn’t go to plan, don’t beat yourself up; lift yourself up! That way you can move forward with clarity while having a clear picture of reality and all the

learning gained. Remember the story of Thomas Edison regarding the invention of the lightbulb on the 100th attempt, this sums up perfectly the importance of perspective. “I never failed at making a light bulb; I just found 99 ways not to make one” Enjoy the journey and believe in yourself! For more information on how coaching can help, visit helpingentrepreneurswin.com

Or email

helen@helpingentrepreneurswin.com

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LAUNCHPAD

FRAGRANCE OILS DIRECT LTD Cheryl Sanderson from Fragrance Oils Direct Ltd explains how Launchpad helped her business focus on supplying bigger manufacturers and retailers. Tell us about your company? We are a family-run business supplying new and unusual fragrance oils and essential oil blends to wax melt and candle makers, soap makers and other cosmetics product makers. As well as providing fragrance oils, we offer lots of support to our customers around upcoming changes in legislation, offering general advice on using our products in our friendly Facebook group. Most of our sales come through our website and our customers range from hobbyists making wax melts and candles at home to large retailers and candle manufacturers. When did you first decide to start up on your own and what inspired you? As wax melt and candle makers, we wanted different fragrances than what many of the suppliers offered, so in June 2020, we had the idea - we spoke to one of the fragrance oil manufacturers about some of our thoughts deciding to become fragrance oil suppliers. While much of the UK was furloughed, we were busy sourcing bottles and packaging, finding workbenches, testing fragrance oils and creating our website. We started selling oils in September 2020, working from our garage and moved into our current unit in March 2021. How has Launchpad helped you? Launchpad helped in the early days by reviewing our business

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plan and giving us pointers as to where we should position our business. We attended many of their online training sessions on marketing, social media, photography, website SEO and more. These sessions helped direct our focus on the critical areas to enable us to grow the business. Initially, we focused on supplying smaller volumes to hobby makers and other small businesses like we were but launchpad helped us to plan further and supply to manufacturers and retailers.

other fragrance oil-related products, but we feel that this would detract from our key focus. In the short term, we want to expand our range, increase our online presence, and grow our customer base. In the long term, we want to increase the scale of our business whilst retaining high levels of customer service – repeat business accounts for around 30 per cent of our current sales and we don’t want to lose this by sacrificing customer service for growth.

What are your hopes and aims for the business? We want our business’s key focus to continue to be on supplying fragrance oils and essential oil blends. We could widen our offerings to provide

Contact Instagram: @Fragrance_Oils_ Direct_UK Facebook: Fragrance Oils Direct - UK Facebook Group: Fragrance Oils Direct Customer Chat

Advisor statement from Darren McDool Launchpad business advisor: “Cheryl and Andrew have worked hard to develop a really clear offer, from expertly guiding clients through their unique library of fragrances right through to advice and guidance on product labelling. Even though they have a wealth of relevant business skills and experience between them they wisely took advantage of specific bits of the free Launchpad support to fine-tune their business model. We’re really pleased to see them make such a promising start and wish them the continued success their efforts deserve.” “Starting and growing a business is not easy and that’s why the Launchpad programme was created. Part funded by the European Regional Development Fund and our partners means there is no cost to the entrepreneur, so we can get straight to work on turning those dreams into reality. “Stop dreaming and do it. Contact us for information now on 03330 00 00 39 or email growthhub@ sheffieldcityregion.org. uk.”

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DIGITAL

HIGHLANDER

Highlander’s Owen Hanley reflects on the changing work patterns since the pandemic

If there’s one thing we have learnt from this pandemic, it is how to adapt. Some people, like me, probably never thought working from home could have gone so well. From personally - with the dogs flying around wanting to be fussed, school out at 3.30pm and Amazon deliveries to deal with – and professionally – would my team be as productive, would they still deliver excellent service and would they still be pushing forwards with their aspirations? Thankfully, they have. However, while workforces up and down the land have gained trust in abundance, productivity and results for most have risen, I reflected on how we managed that – we did it though our ability to continue with the ‘office’ and ‘face to face’ experience through several robust communications platforms – Teams, Zoom, Google and Webex to name some. Fast forward two years and we’re now probably blessed with a far better work/life balance that what we had pre COVID-19, but we now need to empower our teams to accomplish more no matter where they are working because some want their office spaces back, but not as they used to be. At recent networking events I’ve been hearing more and more from businesses that want to make their office spaces more appealing from a practical perspective and from a health

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and wellbeing perspective. You’ll be happy to hear there’s lots out there in the tech world to help you implement a thoughtful return-to-office plan that will boost collaboration and connections that will enable your employees to do great work in our new-norm world. Some numbers for you – 80 per cent of employees’ time is now spend collaborating yet only 15 per cent of meeting rooms are equipped for it properly with the right video and audio. 50 per cent of the working population that can adapt to a hybrid working

pattern now see the office as a place to engage and socialise and are more productive on tasks such as onboarding new clients, one to one meetings, strategic planning, training and their personal development. So, what’s available in your office spaces to give your staff the flexibility to conduct

in-office and remote meetings with clients, colleagues and suppliers? Do they really want to come to work to be locked away in yet another room to conduct these meetings - I suspect most don’t all the time? So, what’s the solution? Collaboration zones, breakout spaces, flexible hot desking, community areas? All sounds great but how can these work when we still want that element of privacy, how do we know these open – and in some situations closed – spaces are available, easy to work within and allow us to connect? This is where choosing and investing in the right technology is crucial to making it a success. There are many solutions available, whether you are a big or small office, a Windows or Google house, Apple or Android, Cloud or on Prem, Teams, Zoom or Webex. Just some thought needs to go into introducing the right solution by providing access to reliable and purpose-built spaces that allow for a collaborative ideation that further improves the work/life boundary. Though our internal specialists and the support of our trusted Channel Partner network we here at Highlander can give you an insight to these options to make this as easy as possible to use it. Just drop us a line to get in touch by emailling owen. hanley@highlanderuk. com or jon.carr@highlanderuk. com

SKILLS

SKILLS FOCUS

SPONSORED BY THE SOURCE SKILLS ACADEMY The Source Skills Academy in Sheffield is passionate about bringing out the best in people. It has been helping businesses to increase the talents of their teams since 2003 and is proud to sponsor Skills Focus, a monthly spotlight on training and apprenticeship news and funding to help you develop your staff.

AWARDS GLORY FOR TALENTED APPRENTICES Talent trained by The Source dominated the South Yorkshire Apprenticeship Awards…

The training academy’s young people scooped five of the eight awards for apprentices at the glittering finals in June - and a further three were Highly Commended. In addition, two Rotherham businesses The Source provides with apprentices celebrated wins. Micky Arter, head of IT at Candlelight Products in Aldwarke was named South Yorkshire’s Mentor Of The Year for going above and beyond in passing on his lifelong passion for IT. Property lettings specialists Yorkshire Accommodation Bureau Ltd (YAB) won the Diversity and Inclusion award. The multi-cultural company on Wellgate has given many people a start in life via training and apprenticeships. Tricia Smith, CEO of The Source, said: “We are hugely proud. Our talented apprentices, and two businesses we support, won seven of the 13 categories. Many more of our apprentices were finalists. “This success is validation of their talent and dedication, and of The Source’s expertise in nurturing apprentices and understanding what employers need. “We support people right the way through the apprenticeship process, helping them gain qualifications and confidence before skillfully matching them with businesses. Then

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WINNERS AT THE SOUTH YORKSHIRE APPRENTICESHIP AWARDS our tutors are with them throughout their learning journey.” Health & Public Service Apprentice of the Year went to Emma Driver, who began as business admin apprentice on reception at Sothall Medical Centre. She wanted to do more for patients in the pandemic, conquering a phobia of needles and took a second apprenticeship to qualify as a nurse support worker within 14 months. Evie Concannon, of Rotherham fashion emporium Yella Brick Road, was named Intermediate Apprentice of the Year. The pandemic had affected Evie badly, leaving her housebound with agoraphobia, but she overcame and became Yella’s creative and digital

wizard and the face of the brand on its website and social media. Winner of the Rising Star award was Chloe Anne Carnall. She didn’t let Asperger’s Syndrome and a severe hearing problem deter her when she began a business admin apprenticeship with Carterknowle & Dore Medical Practice. Chloe discovered a passion for healthcare and now has her sights on university in her quest to become a paramedic. Tom Cutts won IT and Digital Marketing Apprentice of the Year for his phenomenal IT skills, which helped the Sheffield logistics company he joined to grow and successfully launch sister business Cloud9 Fulfilment. Tom was made lead developer within a year and the

website he built helped Cloud9 hit a multi-million turnover and gain 80 staff within 12 months. He now manages a £100k marketing budget. Professional Services Apprentice of the Year went to Georgia Walker, of Medical and Legal Admin Services, who is studying for a Level 3 business administrator standard. Since joining in 2019, she has trained and mentored new employees and has risen to the demanding challenges of the company’s bespoke services. Highly Commended certificates went to Joshua Longden (Candlelight Ltd) in the Intermediate Award, Blenheim Park Estates apprentice Sophia Ward in the IT and Digital Marketing category and Jenny Asquith (Mirage Ltd) in the Higher/ Degree award.

Getting you results

through online lead and sales generation.

Paid Search Paid Social Media Display Marketing Digital Marketing Reporting Local Marketing SEO Content Strategy Organic Social Media hello@logica-digital.co.uk 0114 551 1534

DIGITAL

DIGITAL MARKETING AMY RENARDSON

Director at Logica Digital, Amy Renardson, explains the importance of marketing spend

SHOULD YOU STOP MARKETING TO SAVE MONEY? The Government recently announced it will be launching a campaign to encourage brands to stop marketing spend in order to cut prices and help to mitigate the current cost of living crisis. The new campaign will be advertised widely… But should you take the Government’s advice and cut back on spend or should you carry on as you are? Our advice is never to cut marketing spend, and here’s why: “A man who stops advertising to save money is like a man who stops a clock to save time” - Henry Ford. Why shouldn’t you cut your marketing budget? You can stop your watch to save time, but does it stop anyone else’s time? Of course not. You might be able to save money by stopping your marketing efforts but, the chances are, your competitors won’t be. And

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that means new customers are theirs for the taking and yours for the losing. The COVID-19 pandemic saw more people searching online for products and services than ever and this has not changed. For example, ‘near me’ searches have grown by over 50 per cent on Thursdays and health, gaming and passive income are the activities that are seeing continually rising search activity (Think with Google). Cost effective digital marketing tips to help you prepare for 2023 Getting the best return on investment for digital marketing is all about finding the activities that work best for your business. Here are a few of our top digital marketing tips that won’t cost you the earth but will still help to get your brand in front of the right customers, at the right time. When looking to make a

purchase, customers are still researching and considering their options, so you need to make sure your brand is there at each stage of the funnel. Create and optimise content finding what your customers are searching for and writing content with that in mind is a great way to drive traffic to your website. It might take time to produce the content but getting it out there doesn’t cost you anything! This is a great way to boost your site’s rankings and make sure you’re visible in the search engine results pages (SERPs). Invest in Google Ads - these are perfect for reaching your target audience exactly when they’re looking for you. They’re ready to buy and looking for the best solution so you will often get a higher ROI. Use email marketing to nurture leads - not everyone

who visits your website or reads your content is ready to buy yet. Email marketing can help you to share useful information and remain top-of-mind for when your prospects are ready to buy. Use social media to get in front of your target audience billions of potential customers use social media platforms every day. This makes social media a great way to engage with customers, build brand awareness and promote your products and services. Whether you’re using social media organically or you’re paying to show ads to a targeted audience, what better way to reach your ideal customers? If you’d like to find out more about how digital marketing can help you grow your business, please contact us on hello@logica-digital.co.uk and we can provide you with a free digital marketing strategy.

STEM

FEMALE ROLE MODELS PROMOTING EQUALITY IN STEM

Our Mission: To attract, develop and retain a diverse and inclusive mix of people in STEM careers

MADDY PENNOCK APPRENTICE

MECHANICAL DESIGN ENGINEER AT LBBC TECHNOLOGIES What does your role involve on a day-to-day basis? I work with CAD software such as Solidworks and AutoCAD. These are 3D and 2D design programs I use to create models and drawings that are then issued to our suppliers to be manufactured.

In school, I achieved sevens in maths and science (equivalent to an A) at GCSE level. I then went to Appris, where I completed my level two and three diplomas in advanced manufacturing engineering, and I’m currently studying to achieve level four.

How did you get started working in STEM? When I was studying in school, I had no idea where I wanted to end up. I knew my strongest subjects were maths and science, and my careers adviser pointed me to an engineering college called Appris, which could help to find me an apprenticeship. I then came for a two-day trial at LBBC doing Mechanical Design and decided very quickly that I didn’t want to work anywhere else.

Why do you love working in STEM? When I first started my apprenticeship, I had little to no clue about engineering, however what I love the most is all of the learning I am able to do. LBBC gives me loads of opportunities to learn and grow my engineering knowledge through training sessions, site visits, and onthe-job learning. I love to look back and see how far I’ve come from when I started to where I am now.

What qualifications did you take or gain along the way?

What challenges have you faced in your career, and how

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have you overcome them? I have dyslexia, which mainly affects my reading and writing, so I chose a more maths and science-based role. However, since starting my apprenticeship I can see how much my English skills have improved. Everyone around me has worked hard to help me improve my essay writing by checking over my work to make sure it reads well and giving me advice on where it can be improved so that I can pass my courses.

What do we need to do as an industry to attract and keep more women in STEM? I think we need to change the stereotype that STEM is a ‘man’s world’ from a younger age. I know that throughout my younger school years, I thought STEM was for men and beauty was for women. However, this perception needs to be changed so that when young teens are deciding the subjects, they don’t have a fear of being the ‘odd one out’.

What advice would you offer for someone joining the STEM sectors? I would recommend going through an apprenticeship route. By learning and earning at the same time, you are jumping into the world of work while still gaining the knowledge and experience that I needed within the role. I can’t recommend it enough!

For the full article please visit our blog at: www. equalityinstem.org.uk/blog

5 MINS WITH

THE FAN CAVE’S

DAN HOYLAND

Dan Hoyland, managing director of The Fan Cave, tells unLTD how he built a successful business within the memorabilia industry and how the Sheffield business scene has supported him. I was inspired to start my business by … I was always inspired by my parents growing up and what they managed to achieve. From humble beginnings to running successful pubs, they set the perfect example for me. The desire to make money and see how far I can take something has naturally been instilled into me and I think that’s what gave me the confidence to put everything into The Fan Cave. My favourite thing about running my business is … Having the opportunity to regularly meet and work with incredible sports, TV and film stars. I feel so much pride in seeing the business expand and watching the people within develop and grow.

The three words that best describe my business are … Unique, multifaceted and inclusive! Sheffield City Region is a great place to start a business because… There is so much support around and so many fantastic, established businesses that are willing to offer a helping hand. The networking opportunities in Sheffield are brilliant too because you create relationships with people who are willing to provide support in the early stages when you need it the most. The best advice I ever got was … To be early is to be on time, to be on time is to be late and to be late is to be unacceptable.

The worst advice I ever got was… To be content with where you are. I felt that was a one-way street to losing my aspirations for The Fan Cave. Rejecting that advice has got me where I am today, and it proved to me that you have to take risks and dream big every step of the way. The organisations that have supported me and my business include … Redtooth Memorabilia have been a huge support and working alongside them provided a much stronger infrastructure for The Fan Cave, so I am grateful for Redtooth’s support. British Land, which partowns Meadowhall where The Fan Cave is based, was also incredibly supportive of small businesses during the pandemic and ensured flexibility for companies during what was a really uncertain period for us all. The main challenges facing my industry/sector are… Authenticity and trust are a huge challenge when it comes to memorabilia. Showing

people you are legitimate is difficult because there are so many people trying to cut corners with fake merchandise. That’s why I am so passionate about The Fan Cave being open and transparent. We always try and provide pictures of the players we work with holding our sign to prove we are directly working with them. We provide certificates of authenticity and all of our proof is available online to prove we are legit to gain our customer’s trust. In 5 years’ time I expect my business to … Be the leader in memorabilia in the UK and further afield. With us only being five years old, we’ve got so much space to grow and expand both online and in the retail sector. I want us to be in a position to be able to do more to support other businesses in the Sheffield city region and give back to our local community. To find out more about Fan Cave visit: www. thefancavememorabilia.co.uk

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DON’T SWITCH OFF YOUR MARKETING Let us help you make every penny of your marketing budget work hard for your business

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MARKETING

Mark Shipley of fenti Marketing explains how change brings opportunities for savvy business leaders. Overheads are on the rise. Customers are tightening their purse strings. Cash reserves are dwindling. In years gone by, when times were tough, the instinct to batten down the hatches and weather the storm has worked for some. Not anymore. Today, business never sleeps. Regardless of what sector you’re in, hiding away simply means you miss

out when the green shoots appear and that market share you’ve worked so hard to grow, will shrink. Every economic downturn has its winners and losers. Change always brings opportunities for savvy business leaders with foresight. If you have confidence in your business, products and services, your team, and your customers,

now is the time to expand your market share. Throughout the last 11 years, fenti Marketing has witnessed the effects of what happens when a business switches their marketing off. Business doesn’t just stop in recession and neither should marketing. Today’s buyers are millennials – some of whom we wish a happy 41st birthday this year - and the earliest Gen

Z digital natives. Consumers often see their suppliers as part of a value chain, so named because every partner is expected to contribute value to a production or purchase process. Today’s generation of business buyers know that competing on price is just a race to the bottom and are wary of such tactics. If you want to sell to this generation of industrial buyer, added-value services are where the competitive edge lies. Millennials expect the standard of service they

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MARKETING MARK’S RECESSIONPROOFING TIPS: Get your accounts in order Keep close to your clients and especially those persistent late payers. Make sure you work with them to keep the cash coming in and keep a close eye on costs. Be ready to speculate and accumulate. Work with the business community A bit of back-scratching goes a long way. You may be able to share contacts and identify opportunities for each other. There’s nothing like a fresh pair of eyes on a challenge. Go have a catch-up over a coffee. Your website is a valuable asset I don’t want to bore you with tech talk but keeping your site healthy and engaging for visitors can mean the difference to your brand showing up on page one of Google rather than languishing on page two or worse.

receive in their personal life to extend to their working life. You might be reading this thinking, ‘yeah, we do offer our customers an outstanding service.’ The trouble is, if you don’t shout about how great your products and services are, no one will know you exist, especially those new customers you’re eager to build a lasting relationship with. In our experience working with both B2B and B2C businesses, weathering the storm is about consistency. One of our B2B clients over in the U.S. refers to the drip-drip effect when we are reviewing the results of a campaign. We work out exactly who we want to market to and map out their ‘watering holes’ and influencers plus we keep the conversation going at key customer touch-points. Exposure to our clients’ consistent messaging accumulates over time, turning into a conversation with high-buyer intent.

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Throughout the pandemic, many digital marketing tools proved to be a low-cost option for our clients which they could leave us to manage on their behalf: email, social media, advertising, and pay-per-click (Google Ads). The other side of the success story for our savvy clients was maintaining a healthy and engaging website. Working to outperform their competitor websites paid dividends during and after the worst of the pandemic. At fenti, we learn from the best and our clients comprise some of the city’s most highly regarded business leaders. A forwardthinking approach means they came out of each lockdown busier than ever, with their order books healthier than ever. Almost all of our clients were able to retain their employees and loyal customers while building relationships with new customers, thanks to the drip-drip effect of their marketing campaigns.

The lion’s share of voice If you book them, they will come. Maintain or even upscale your marketing efforts. Many of your competitors will lose their nerve, so there is a tendency for advertising costs to lower during a recession. Have confidence in your value proposition and keep your brand front of mind. Don’t ask, don’t get Be cheeky! If someone is offering help and advice, snap their arm off. You don’t know what you don’t know, so draw on all the experience around you. I have learned so much from my clients over the years and whenever they have offered business advice, I have run with it and usually marvel at the results.

My team and I are here to offer advice on how you can make every penny of your marketing budget work hard for your business. We perform free website checks and are happy to have a chat about your marketing plan, whether you have one in place or not. Call us on 0114 218 0626 or email us at hello@fenti.co.uk You will be glad you did.

AHEAD OF THE GAME

The selling of properties via auction is rising in popularity and leading the way within our region is Auction House, the UK’s largest traditional auctioneer. unLTD’s Matt Holmes spoke to Sam Harris, area manager for Auction House South Yorkshire, regarding his recent appearances on Homes Under the Hammer, his expertise in the South Yorkshire property market and what the future holds.

The ease of purchasing properties via auction, as opposed to the traditional private treaty route is rapidly increasing in popularity and is perhaps something you should consider doing yourself in the future. Bearing that in mind, you might want to know more about the auction experts behind the properties that go under the hammer. Meet the area manager for Auction House South Yorkshire, Sam Harris. Sam has been working in the industry since he was 18, beginning his journey in property dealing with sales and lettings via various estate

agents in South Yorkshire and Derbyshire. So, what made Sam make the leap to auctions? I asked him how Auction House South Yorkshire became the successful business that he now manages, and he told me: “I was always looking to expand my property knowledge so when a position at Auction House came up, I jumped at the chance to learn something new!” It sounds like it was a good decision, as the rate of buying and selling property at auction has skyrocketed in recent years - there is a multitude of buyers including budding developers looking to make a tidy profit through to landlords hoping to expand their portfolios. A key benefit of buying and selling at an auction is the speed of sale and the certainty of an immediate exchange. There is no faster way to buy or sell - whether you are bringing a residential, mixed-use, or commercial property to market or are looking to sell land, an auction is a fantastic option for selling quickly. Typically, after a sale is made, there is an immediate, exchange of contracts then a 28-day fixed time period for legal completion and this agreement is legally binding for both parties. This makes buying or selling via auction a fantastic option if you are under time constraints - for example, if you are relocating, are under financial pressure, or disposing of an investment property. Sam suggested Sheffield United’s Bramall Lane stadium as a good location for taking photographs to accompany this feature, and other than the fact it makes for a very impressive backdrop, I wondered why there? Not only is Sam a huge Blades fan, but it is also his second home as Bramall Lane Business Hub happens to be the head office of Auction House South Yorkshire. It is where you will find their Livestream auctions taking place, and if they eventually go back to holding

COVER STORY

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COVER STORY

in-room auctions, they will be held right there in the suites of Bramall Lane. I asked Sam if he could give us an expert insight into the current property market as a whole. Sam told me that although you could expect business to be quieter in the summer months, properties at auction are still achieving fantastic returns. He said: “The property market seems to be cooling as we enter the busiest time of year for holidays and with the children being off school. That being said we are still seeing some fantastic prices being achieved for the stock we are listing!” The typical stock that Auction House South Yorkshire would have in their catalogue are properties that can often be impossible to sell via private treaty but are excellent contenders for selling at auction. It is these auction lots in particular that seem to be attracting the most attention right now and are achieving the best prices in the current market. “There are a lot of newer developers and property traders coming into the market wanting to try their

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hand at refurbing and flipping a property for a profit,” said Sam. For investors looking to purchase a property to add to their portfolio, Auction House South Yorkshire also offers some fantastic opportunities to find an investment that is already tenanted. Meaning the buyer will begin to receive rental income right from the day of completion. This means that whether you are searching for a property to ‘flip’, buying an investment property for the first time, or simply adding to an existing portfolio, auctions are an excellent route for buyers and sellers alike. Auction creates a level playing field compared to traditional private treaty, as everyone has the opportunity to place a bid and potentially secure their perfect property. I asked Sam if there is anything affecting the property market right now, both negatively and positively. He told me that in the summer months there is always a negative impact on the property auction market, however, they expect to see the market pick back up

towards the end of August and the start of September. However, the transition from in-person auctions to televised livestream events has enabled Auction House to reach an even wider audience, with people able to join the auction from wherever they are. The livestreams continue to go from strength to strength, with record-breaking numbers being achieved all the time and over a 95 per cent success rate as they were the only auctioneer in South Yorkshire to implement the format over two years ago. I really wanted to know why South Yorkshire appears particularly popular for buying at auction recently. Sam responded that “Property sales within South Yorkshire have grown exponentially in recent months and South Yorkshire as a whole has always been a favourite location for investors, but we are seeing areas of growth, particularly around Barnsley, Rotherham and Doncaster.” This is clearly fantastic news for property developers and investors in the region. South Yorkshire has an abundance of housing stock that are

Property sales within South Yorkshire have grown exponentially in recent months and South Yorkshire as a whole has always been a favourite location for investors

perfect candidates to be sold at auction, and if untapped markets across the county can be targeted, then that opens up an even bigger market and potential for redevelopment and investment growth. One of the most exciting aspects in relation to buying a property at auction is how popular and exciting certain lots can be. Recently, Auction House South Yorkshire offered an end-of-terrace property on Langsett Road in the S6 area of Sheffield. The property had been split into two apartments and needed to be fully renovated throughout. However, as is often the case with terraced properties in this area of Sheffield, the property was leasehold – but with only 15 years remaining on the lease. Auction House guided the property at £35,000 and the lot attracted a huge amount of attention nationwide and saw a flurry of competitive bidding on auction day from buyers all across the country. Astonishingly, it sold for an amazing £162,000 much to the delight and surprise of Sam, the team, and the client! unLTD readers may recognise Sam’s face as this isn’t his first appearance gracing the pages of the magazine. We first met him in June’s edition where he announced that he was due to feature in an episode of the hit daytime property show Homes Under the Hammer. In this particular episode, we saw Sam valuing a property that was in poor condition in Doncaster, a typical lot that you would expect at auction. Since then, the episode has aired, so of course, I had to ask him how it went. “I thoroughly enjoyed the whole process,” said Sam. “I didn’t really know what to expect going into the day of filming, but I gave it my all, and, although short, I was pretty pleased with my time on the screen!” Auction House South Yorkshire are now a regular contributor for Homes Under the Hammer, always keen to showcase any auction

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COVER STORY

opportunities that they have in South Yorkshire and Sam will be featuring in another two episodes before the end of the year. Business is obviously doing well! Not only is it brilliant for Auction House to be featured on such a popular programme, but it’s great for South Yorkshire as a whole too, showcasing what the region has for anyone looking at selling or purchasing property via auction. If you have ever

been tempted to sell or buy a property at auction, chances are you were inspired by watching the show, and if Sam can help inspire a new generation of auction buyers and sellers, then that’s fantastic. Are you interested in selling a property via auction? Auction House South Yorkshire are now inviting entries for their next livestream event on Thursday, September 8.

We will be there to listen, respond and deliver, whenever you need us. hentons.com | sheffield@hentons.com | 0114 246 1722 14 Jessops Riverside, 800 Brightside Lane, Sheffield S9 2RX

FUNDING

THE GAME-CHANGING NEW FUND IMPROVING WHERE WE WORK AND LIVE The innovative £2m Economic Recovery Fund has been hailed as a game-changer by business leaders. Sheffield City Council set up the fund in March 2021 to help get communities back on their feet after the pandemic.

The fund approached local businesses, traders and community groups directly to help inform how the money would be best distributed. Sheffield Chamber then assisted in the process of allocating these funds to 26 projects across the city, 15 of which were led by businesses in district centres. Taking the lead from those living in the heart of communities has enabled Sheffield City Council to direct funds with laser precision. Sheffield Chamber interim chief executive Louisa Harrison-Walker said: “This new approach to funding in collaboration with community groups and private businesses is a real game-changer. “Working in this way has allowed fresh ideas to emerge and Sheffield Chamber has been there to share specialist knowledge of the local economic picture and what works best for businesses.” Firth Park is one of the areas to have benefited from the Economic Recovery Fund, which distributed £50,000 for smaller projects and up to £200,000 for larger projects. Chamber board member Emma Marshall said: “The business community, Firth Park Community Forum, and councillors were keen to share

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(L-R): FISEHA, ELDANA AND SELAMAWIT TESFALDET ENJOYING ONE OF THE NEW BENCHS IN FIRTH PARK ON A SUNNY DAY the message that the area is family-friendly and packed with things to do. “They used the funding for new picnic tables and benches near the shops and they’ve filled the area with flower beds and planters. New public art is also being developed in consultation with the community. They are also using some of the funding to support a programme of community events which are bringing people to the neighbourhood.” Cllr Martin Smith, chairman of the committee overseeing

the Fund, said: “Businesses and communities are best placed to come up with initiatives that help customers and visitors return. The Economic Recovery Fund was an opportunity to do things differently and I’m pleased that this dynamic relationship is proving successful and building pride in local communities.” Funded projects across Sheffield include a new parklet and festival on Abbeydale Road, cycle parking, planting, and greenery in Hillsborough, new

seating, noticeboards, and signage in Chapeltown and a promotional campaign to attract visitors to Spital Hill. For full details of areas to receive funding visit https:// bit.ly/ERFProjects

Austin Fletcher is a multi-disciplinary construction consultancy, supporting businesses and organisations across the UK

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INSURANCE B2B marketing doesn’t have to be boring, says marketing manager and blogger Alex Myers, but have we got ‘exciting’ wrong too? A recruitment company just swore at you. That’s not what you need on a Monday morning. It’s okay though - they could’ve done something far, far worse… they could have been boring, but let's start at the beginning. For a long time, we were living under a cloud of boring marketing, at least in the B2B world - whilst the shiny world of B2C could have peanuts wearing a top hat, winged horses, or cringe-inducing humour… we could dream on. Then came a wave of marketers who decided enough was enough and they were right - B2B marketing can do all the things B2C does. Yes, the purchase decisions are potentially more considered. Yes, we are often dealing with

something a bit more expensive than a packet of peanuts or a bottle of perfume, but don’t let the suit fool you - it’s still a human looking at the ad. It’s our job to tap into people’s wants, needs and emotions with memorable communications, and develop positive brand associations. Whether B2B or B2C, this doesn’t change. The only rules we’re governed by and have to play within are those of branding - making sure the executions we decide are the right fit. Yes, how professional you need to be will vary depending on your industry - a law firm using humour may be difficult… or an engineering business using cartoons… but again, professional doesn’t have to mean boring either.

Come on, use your imagination - there is a middle ground. Plus, humour, lightheartedness and action may not be right for your brand in the first place - and that’s fine. Again, the only alternative to those isn’t ‘boring’. We’re confusing content style with content quality. So that’s where we are now - B2B marketing doesn’t have to be boring. Businesses are waving goodbye to their stale corporate marketing approaches, and our eyes have never been more grateful. But then something weird happened - people got a bit over-excited. We forgot the old mantra so aggressively that we started to wave goodbye to the basics of branding too. Now again, it’s worth repeating - no

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one’s marketing needs to be boring, or stale, or unnecessarily serious or sensible, but it does need to make sense and it does need to work. Therefore ‘not being serious’ doesn’t mean randomly swearing in your social content. In an effort to rebel against ‘B2B marketing is boring’, some brands have created a strange game of chicken with what they’ll do to market themselves, forgetting that if it isn’t linked to their brand or what they do, being boring is the least of their problems. So, brands, please don’t think controversial content is the easy way to my heart unless it’s right for your brand and what you do and considering I just sat and wrote this, I’m sure you can imagine that most of the time it’s not.

There are so many people behind the amazing projects and developments that occur in our towns and cities, from architects to consultants and developers. We spoke to two people who are heavily involved in South Yorkshire’s changing landscape and asked their thoughts on where the region is currently at and where it looks to be going.

AUSTIN FLETCHER

Wayne Fletcher, founder and director at professional consultancy firm Austin Fletcher, reflects on the most popular developments in South Yorkshire. What are the most common type of developments you’ve been seeing in South Yorkshire? Obviously the big one is the regeneration of Sheffield City centre as a whole and I include the developments being undertaken by Sheffield Hallam University as part of that. Collectively there is a lot going on in Sheffield right now and will be for a number of years based on the plans being set out at the moment. From a business point of view, we have several live projects in the region in a number of sectors, including mixed use and hospitality. Most of which are in and around city centres. Developments in the logistics sector are popular right now, not only in the South Yorkshire region but across the UK as a whole.

a massive shift in the types of developments that we have been involved in, albeit we are seeing more refurbishment work coming through where clients have decided to refurbish and maintain their existing assets in lieu of purchasing or developing new properties. Generally though, our large developer clients have maintained a healthy workstream of new build developments and we have seen an uplift of new, and repeat, business in this area. The big difference is higher costs and reduced material availability which is a trend that has continued since COVID-19 restrictions eased. Materials are at a premium now and this hits a client’s budget hard. What they could afford to build prior to COVID-19 is different to what they can afford to build now, which is why sound cost management is vital now more than ever before. What is your role in the development process and how can you help businesses in the region? We are a multi-disciplinary construction consultancy, so we provide a variety of services which include project management, quantity surveying/cost management, contract administration and health and safety services, to name a few. Generally, we aim to work with our clients right from the start of their development journey so we can help build the project team and ensure the client receives the right help and advice to be able to make informed decisions at the right time. We work mainly in the commercial market; however, we have seen a large uplift in high end domestic work over the last 12 months which is possibly as a result of COVID-19 and a new found appreciation for ‘staying in’.

Are there any standout projects you’ve worked on in the region recently? Possibly the one project that stands out, for a number of reasons, is the development of the building on Fargate which was previously occupied by Next. Unfortunately, the project hit a few hurdles and has been in delay for a while, but the team have now overcome those issues and it is moving forward. We should see some big changes on the site over the next few months and the finished building should be a standout feature on Fargate by the end of the year. Have you noticed any trends in the types of projects you’ve been involved in post-COVID? From a pre and post-COVID position, we have not seen

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PROPERTY SPECIAL

Managing director at Coda, Matt Bowker, discusses the current state of property development and what Coda is doing to address the issues facing urban neighbourhoods. What kind of developments are working best in Sheffield and South Yorkshire? We are finding demand continues to be strong for one- and two-bedroom apartments in Sheffield city centre. There is also a huge demand for three-and four-bedroom family homes close to local and regional centres. We are designing a range of multi-family and clustered housing types in sustainable, walkable places which are compatible in scale with more traditional residential neighbourhoods. What needs to happen to keep people working in offices and urban centres? Humans are social creatures and even after the COVID-19 crisis which saw many working from home, people are choosing to return to the office to realise the benefits of being around colleagues and reinforcing relationships through ‘face-to-face’ contact. Our urban centres should support our natural instinct to ‘gather’ and continue to evolve and develop a broader appeal. They should be attractive, vibrant environments that people want to visit, not only to work and do business in but to live and spend their leisure time in. I would like to see our town and city centres become greener with people-friendly, public spaces that encourage people to meet and socialise with their colleagues, friends, and families. I strongly believe vibrant urban centres should provide more affordable and diverse housing options linked via public transport and better walking and cycling infrastructure, to employment, education, local shops, public open spaces and parks, health and community services, and leisure and culture.

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What kind of property do we need to be seeing within inner cities to keep people there? We need to be seeing larger apartments and homes with three+ bedrooms that are suitable for a greater range of households and critically, families. Supported by local services and amenities, larger homes will provide more options to continue to live in inner cities, and not make people feel they have no choice other than to move to the suburbs as their life circumstances change. What developments are Coda doing right now that are contributing to keeping people in South Yorkshire’s dense urban areas? We are very active in the inner-city neighbourhoods of Kelham Island, Neepsend and Shalesmoor. We are also working on a new local centre for Waverley with Harworth and delivering hundreds of homes at Waverley with Sky House. If you want to discuss bringing your idea to life, check out Coda at www.codaarchitecture.co.uk

PROPERTY SPECIAL

The future of city centre living Ensuring our towns and cities maintain a vibrant and modern feel is no easy task, but work is underway across South Yorkshire to do just that! unLTD’s Georgina Kerr spoke to local town planners and architects to find out what’s next for the region. With town and city masterplans in progress across the area, from the Heart of the City in Sheffield to the Glassworks in Barnsley and Forge Island in Rotherham, our urban spaces are experiencing major overhauls – but what is the motive behind the types of spaces being constructed? What kind of developments are working best in our cities? Building cities with purpose and style starts at the planning stage. In Sheffield and beyond, town planners, Urbana, are working to guarantee city centres are places where people want to spend and enjoy their time. Georgia Parker, urbanist at Urbana, said: “The most effective developments are those that deliver a genuine mixture of homes, be this in size or tenure, and is then intertwined with an exciting and accessible public realm.” Georgia went on to discuss how people are truly the centre of the best developments, giving Little Kelham in Sheffield as an example. She said: “This scheme has tucked away cars and sought to create a visually interesting environment, which as you walk through reveals pockets of life in the ground floor, such as restaurants Domo and Salt.” What do we need to do to encourage people to live and work in our town and city centres? Georgia reiterated how important it is to create spaces people really want and will use, adding: “Be this through the inclusion of cafes, restaurants, bars or museums, we need to ensure our cities are exciting and somewhere people want to live.” One major project which fits the bill is Kangaroo Works, forming part of Sheffield’s Heart of the City II regeneration masterplan. Whittam Cox Architects worked on this development to design 365 apartments, five commercial units, plus open community space all in one site. This fantastic development is expected to be completed in 2023 and is a brilliant example of how building design can encourage community formation. Corrine Hall, associate director at Whittam Cox and project architect for Kangaroo Works, said: “Part of

Sheffield City Council’s strategy for the city centre is to prioritise housing, with the provision of up to 20,000 homes within the city centre. This goes further than the proliferation of student housing we have seen in recent years and seeks to bring more diverse communities into the city centre, which in turn will reinvigorate the retail and leisure space.” What kind of property do we need to be seeing within the inner cities to keep people here? City centre living, for the most part, requires a certain lifestyle. Often, people move out of the city and into the suburbs when they are ready to settle down and raise their families. This means there is usually a low volume of people renting for the long term within the city centre. Georgia said: “I think this boils down to a lack of community feeling in city centres, as high-density residential units often do not facilitate space for communities to thrive. At Urbana, we work with our clients to deliver developments which encourage organic interactions, both within buildings and at street level. This can be achieved through the injection of more communal areas within mixed-use developments. The inclusion of terraces, residence lounges and anywhere where residents can get involved and build long-lasting relationships that make urban environments feel more personal.” As a region, we have a renewed interest in enjoying our living and working space to the fullest and finding spaces which fulfil all aspects of our lives from areas to enjoy the great outdoors, to the perfect restaurant to meet up with family and friends.

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With headlines evolving month to month, we wanted to find out what the Sheffield property market will look like for the rest of this year and beyond. unLTD’s Georgina Kerr spoke to local estate agent Redbrik to find out more. In their latest house price index, Rightmove reported another rise in Yorkshire property prices, reaching a record high for the sixth consecutive month. With an updated prediction from Rightmove on annual house price changes now sitting at seven per cent, it does not come as a surprise to hear that buyer demand in Sheffield remains high. Buying in Sheffield At Redbrik, potential buyers and sellers are registered in the estate agent’s client database, powered by Street. A leader in estate agency

software, the Street Group are constantly working with agents to improve their day-to-day workflow and the experience agents offer their clients. Street provides the Redbrik team with all the information they need to easily identify buying trends, including who is buying, where they’re buying and what they’re buying. Looking at their sales data, Redbrik tells us that firsttime buyers are making a big impact in the city centre, with a third of this year’s sales in the area purchased by registered first-time buyers. New apartment buildings in Sheffield including Burgess House at the Heart of the City and Cotton Mill Row in Kelham Island have both been incredibly popular developments with new buyers. Support from Help to Buy and other government schemes also means that first-time buyers of new builds can purchase their first home with as little as a five per cent deposit. This makes new developments across Sheffield an excellent choice for anyone in search of their first home.

which meet these buyer demands. Homeowners who hadn’t previously thought about moving are introduced to the idea that there are buyers interested in properties matching their home’s specification through postcards from their local Redbrik agent. Of course, when we think of city centre homes and the reasons people are moving into Sheffield, we have to consider the part all our new businesses play. From cafes and bars to independent shops, there is a diverse range of retailers now taking up city centre space. So far this year searches for city centre activities have seen a 128 per cent increase compared to the same search terms five years ago with ‘Restaurants near me’ seeing a large jump of 56 per cent. These new retailers are just one appealing feature to city centre buyers and renters, so it is no surprise that with superb new venues like these we are seeing an increase in interest for city centre homes. So with this in mind, how is Sheffield adapting to meet buyers’ needs?

Returning to the city Over the last month, Rightmove has reported a total of 68,647 searches for properties in the S1 and S2 postcodes. This is a huge number for just four weeks, showing that buyers are still very interested in city centre properties. With buyer demand up 26 per cent since 2019, the need for prospecting within estate agency has grown. Spectre, the prospecting service from Street, is one way to make this process simpler for agents. Mark Ross, managing director at Redbrik said: “Home movers are now more certain and specific in their property requirements than ever. Movers want to be closer to where it’s all happening, but they also want to maintain the home and outdoor space they got used to during lockdown.” Prospecting is one way of identifying more properties

Investment in Sheffield With both outdoor and indoor space at the forefront of buyers’ minds, towns and cities must evolve. The Heart of the City project is a huge part of the current effort to create a space that people are excited about in the city centre. Comprised of beautiful apartments, community parks, contemporary office space and so much more, Sheffield City Council’s Heart of The City Masterplan will create 1.5 million sqft. of multi-use space perfect for welcoming the growing city population. Buyers are also more aware than ever of the natural environment and place a high value on the time they spend outdoors. In November 2021, Sheffield was named as the UK’s greenest city, scoring highly for the number of green spaces, how the city manages waste and recycling, and renewable energy production.

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PROPERTY SPECIAL

With so much outdoor space, and plans to create more, Sheffield can easily be presented as the best of both worlds for movers looking to relocate. Looking to the future of energy efficiency in property, we are also preparing for the introduction of new EPC legislation in 2025. Currently properties only require an EPC rating of E or above, however under new rules all newly rented homes will have to be rated at a C as a minimum. At the beginning of this year, Property Investor Today named Sheffield as an investment

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hotspot for 2022 and during the last six months, Redbrik has seen an increasing number of investors registering their interest for buy-to-let properties. Alongside buyer registrations, there has also been a growing number of lettings applicants from the south of England, particularly London, who are interested in relocating to Sheffield. Whether they have family roots, because of the city’s excellent commuter links, or just because of the proximity to the Peaks, Sheffield is the place to be.

With businesses now adopting working from home as a long-term approach, what are the practical considerations businesses and individuals need to take and is homeworking as simple as just allowing people to work from home? unLTD’s Rachel Measures finds out. Working from home is no longer the necessary lifestyle change it once was in March 2020. Things have moved on and working from home or hybrid working is now a longterm plan for many businesses. Using your home as your

workplace – or allowing your employees to work from theirs – may seem more convenient and flexible, but it’s essential to understand there are several factors to consider when making or offering these choices.

What are the Health and Safety considerations? Tracy Cartwright, health and safety consultant at Danum Business Solutions, says both employers and employees forget that when you work from home, you still come under the Health and Safety at Work Act. Your employer has just as much of a duty of care to those working from home as those working in the office. She said: “Businesses need to make sure they have things in place at home to help employees work safely -

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PROPERTY SPECIAL

have individuals got space to work? Have they got the right equipment? Have their items been PAC tested? Are there enough electricity points? Have they got the right chair? Do they know how to get out of their house in an emergency? Is there a fire extinguisher? Are people aware that if they have an accident at home related to their work, they must report it to their employer? “There’s a lot to consider and we’ve had some instances where people have requested to work from home and because they’ve not got the space to

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work safely – they’re sat on the sofa all day, and while this was okay during lockdown for a short period, it shouldn’t be permanent.” What should employers do? “Employers need to carry out a homeworking risk assessment and it’s not about filling in a form and ticking a box. It’s about having that guided conversation with a person and checking that things are in place or making sure people are looked after. “Finally, we must also be aware when we ask people to work from home that

their home life might not be conducive. For instance, if you have someone living in an HMO that is an awful place to be, are you putting them at additional risk? If someone suffers domestic violence or abuse at home, are we exposing them to harm?”

What are the legal considerations? Homeworking agreements Toby Pochron, director at Freeths Solicitors, regularly advises clients on homeworking agreements. He said: “If you’re

amending someone’s place of work to their home, you must send them a new contract of employment - otherwise, you’re in breach of the employment rights act. All it needs to be is a simple letter saying that your place of work is now your home but if you don’t do that, you go against Section 4 of the Employment Rights Act and a claim can be brought against you later down the line. “Additionally, reduced commuting costs and increased utility costs must be factored into those homeworking agreements, but when it comes

to salary agreements, it’s also about how your services are valued. Normally when a salary is put onto a job role, it’s based on performing a certain service, so some employers are trying to reduce pay for individuals who work from home because they’re no longer paying for the commute and then when you’re in the office they’re paying for both your usual output but also your ability to be collaborative.” What should individuals do? “Have an open conversation with your employer, work out what service they want from you, where the value is, and what you need from them to work comfortably from home. This conversation will form the basis of your homeworking agreement and then both the employer and employee can review this regularly to check that everything is still working.” Confidentiality Charlotte Higgins, associate solicitor at Bell & Buxton, advises on how to keep yourself compliant with confidentiality. She said: “Employers need to put in place policies where employees don’t use their personal devices for work and employees should lock their computers when they’re not near them to ensure that other people in their house - visitors, children, housemates – can’t see confidential information. “When working on public transport or in public areas, be mindful of what’s on your screen. I’ve sat behind people on the train, and I’ve seen all their work. If you’re a defence lawyer, for example, and you’re working with people’s personal information, you could be responsible for a massive information breach in that situation. To protect yourself you can use privacy screen protectors that prevent people from seeing your screen unless they look at it square on.”

What are the technological considerations? Connectivity Paul Ridgway, director at The Curve Consulting, said: “Connectivity is a huge

consideration - there’s so much fragmentation with regards to the internet depending on where people live. It’s gotten better and there is more access now, but some of our staff still can’t get internet other than via their phone line which is quite old-school now and this means they don’t have the benefits of being able to interact through a webcam.” Communication and collaboration Ed Hardie, technical director at Impelling Solutions, said: “One of the biggest challenges involved with working from home is collaborating with colleagues on a joint project or working towards a collective goal. “It’s easy to feel isolated, and without clear channels for communication, the physical distance between everyone can start to become all too apparent. Luckily the pandemic catalysed an already growing video call and remote communications industry. Today, we’re lucky to have several tools like Zoom, Teams and Hangouts to help us communicate.” Protecting your business Steve Brown, managing director, and Rich Davies, business development manager at Highlander, provide information about cyberattacks and how to protect your business. “With more cyber-attacks being delivered on an industrial scale, every organisation is feeling the squeeze from an increased volume of threats from cybercriminals. There are two types of companies:

working from home. He said: “Businesses are obligated to provide a safe working environment and working practices and must undertake a risk assessment of both. In addition to the impact of homeworking on health and safety, it also has insurance implications. Your insurance company cannot easily defend a claim for a workplace injury or stress-related illness if the relevant assessments have not been made and policies and procedures adjusted accordingly. “Where work equipment is concerned, a normal insurance policy will apply to business equipment in the office unless insurers are specifically advised. You should contact your insurers to confirm the value of the equipment taken home. Generally, insurers will include this but may charge a higher premium.”

those that have been hacked and those that are about to be hacked. At least 81.4 per cent of UK businesses experienced at least one successful cyberattack in the last 12 months. “A successful exploit can lead to data breaches, interrupted services and ransomware extortion, all of which come What are the utility with financial, operational and reputational impacts. Even with considerations? the proper protections in place, In light of the cost-of-living malicious emails and potential crisis, Katie Gill, Business threats can still penetrate your Development Manager at CU defences and slip through the Solution, speaks about the net to land at the door of your considerations employers and users. employees need to take when “You then must working from home. rely on your people to identify and For employers manage these Ed Hardie “Offering a risks. Your recommends flexible, users are a activating multi-factor homeworking crucial line authentication wherever policy can of defence, possible – it’s so effective provide more so you must that Microsoft reckons that just benefits than ensure they by turning it on, you reduce reducing are armed the chance of your account the running with the being compromised costs of your knowledge by 99 per cent. office but allow and tools to employees to have do so – more so greater control over their if they are working working and personal lives. from home. “Employers need to be “Undertaking regular security awareness training will mindful that not everyone help to prepare your colleagues will thrive in a working-fromfor these attacks and reduce the home environment, but this option can retain employees risk of a potential breach.” with other needs including What are the insurance childcare responsibilities. considerations? “Whilst an employee may be concerned about an increase Sam Leeder, owner of Actus in utility bills, this can often be Insurance, reflects on issues greatly offset by savings on fuel that must be managed when and other expenses, as well

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PROPERTY SPECIAL as extra time to spend doing what’s important to them.” For employees “The recent price cap increases and the general cost of living should play a huge part when individuals decide whether to work from home. There are three key areas to consider – cost, time, and environment. “Cost – along with increased energy costs, fuel costs are also rising, with households paying on average more than £500 per year extra to run a medium-sized petrol car. You should consider if the change in utility bills from working from home outweighs the cost of commuting to the office. “Time – is your time best spent commuting to and from the office? Flexible working can be just that, so when considering that drive in rush hour traffic, would it work better for you to log on a little earlier and subsequently finish earlier? “Environment – are you the type of person that thrives on social interaction and could become unmotivated and unproductive in a homeworking environment? Not only should individuals consider whether this change in working will suit their personality, but also do they have the available space within their home to ensure they have a comfortable, distraction-free area to be productive?”

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT WORKING FROM HOME AND HYBRID WORKING? Paul Ridgway, director at The Curve Consulting, said: “With being able to offer working from home, we’ve been able to decentralise our team, which means we can find skills elsewhere in people that are further afield. While this means we can’t all make a regular team lunch anymore, we’re trying to organise quarterly events where we pay for hotels for those that live further away. I think that’s been really useful in getting the best from hybrid working.” Hannah Ellis, marketing manager at Treat Time, said: “As someone who has recently moved to working remotely full time, I think it’s essential for employers to recognise the social aspects of the working day that are lost. You don’t get the kitchen catchups while making a cuppa, the Friday 5pm drinks, or the team lunch breaks. It’s so important for your team’s wellbeing to replace these things with scheduled virtual coffee breaks, the odd treat through the letterbox to stay in touch and more regular catch-ups to touch base and check in.” Mark Carradice, senior pensions administrator at Capita, said: “My company provides full flexibility in working arrangements, so I’m able to work fully remote. It provides me with the freedom I need, saves me time going to and from work and has a positive impact on my productivity as I’m not stuck in an office, whilst having the opportunity to go in if I want to see colleagues who continue to work from the office.” Alice Grundy, a reporter at Solar Media, said: “Having the ability to work from home has been a great opportunity. While it can add additional utility costs, it’s been more economical for me as it’s allowed me to work outside of London, saving the exceptionally high rent and travel costs I was paying there. “It’s also helped me to focus on a day-to-day basis more by being away from the chatter, buzz and constant phone ringing of the office and helped me to eat healthier and exercise on my lunch break. “It can get lonely if you’re not making sure to jump on calls with team members and still have those (online) water cooler chats! I recommend popping outside, even if it’s just a five-minute walk, so you’re still getting fresh air and sunlight.”

EVENT Freeths Sheffield Employment Workshop Reaping the benefits of hybrid working

The Freeths employment team invite you to the first instalment of a new series of breakfast workshops, taking place at our Sheffield offices on 8th September 2022. Tom Draper, Toby Pochron and Lee Williams will explore how employers can get the most of their hybrid working model. Topics up for discussion will include: • • • •

benefits of hybrid working for employers and employees. implementing appropriate and effective homeworking and hybrid working policies. an employer’s rights and obligations when responding to flexible working and homeworking requests. resolving tricky homeworking and hybrid working related ER issues and avoiding claims.

During the free workshop there will be plenty of opportunity to ask questions and breakfast will be provided.

Start: 8.30am End: 10.30am

Freeths, Fifth Floor 3 St Paul’s Place 129 Norfolk Street Sheffield, S1 2JE

To reserve your place please email: thomas.williams@freeths.co.uk

HYBRID WORKING

The team at WorkfromHub have been looking at how employers are responding to hybrid working. From listening to a range of businesses, they have heard new policies are needed to support staff and that data privacy has been brought back into the spotlight. It seems that people’s workspace environment is a factor in leaking information. They explain more… Remote working has created a great opportunity for a better work/life balance for many. With the potential to work from anywhere, people are ditching the five-day week in the office and exploring their hybrid working options. This change to the working week is well supported by evidence, for example according to a Leeds University study: • 49 per cent of employees want Hybrid working to be their permanent way of working • 9 out of 10 businesses expect the majority of workers to undertake some form of hybrid working

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• 30 per cent of employees seek a third space to work from However, hybrid working is creating a new set of challenges for employers. At the start of the lockdown, we were all in emergency mode – we did what we could to make it work. Some did better than others and many benefitted from new-found flexibility. As we have moved out of the emergency phase and into recovery, things are beginning to change. Picture this not-souncommon scene: you were on the move and away from your normal office, you needed somewhere to work from or to join your team meeting on Zoom, then a client meeting, before finishing off an end-ofquarter report. The co-working space or café was your only choice and now your habit. You knew people could see and hear what you were doing, but you had no option. We know this scene happens, and we also know that sensitive information will be leaking out of companies. There is no denying hybrid working

is here to stay and employers are adapting to this new way of working. The question we’re being asked is: “how do we support remote working, without compromising our data?” This is where WorkfromHub can offer a helping hand… WorkfromHub not only provides a high quality and

connected space, but the key is PRIVACY. • Our hubs are soundproofed, to stop our users from being overheard. • One way glass eliminates the possibility of anyone capturing a glimpse of your private data. • Space for two people, to have those private conversations without being overheard or overlooked. Coming up with a remote working policy will be a task for employers to constantly re-evaluate, and studies have shown that it’s vital to include employees in that decision too. However, the need to ensure data is always private, protected and secure will never change. If you are looking for re-assurance that your information isn’t leaking when employees are working remotely, then WorkfromHub is here to help. Our vision is to provide calm, distraction-free and private spaces for people to do their best work, anywhere. Find out more: www. workfromhub.co.uk

Sheffield woodturning manufacturer Robert Sorby recently refreshed its look after a move to a state-of-the-art new facility. While the firm was modernising its operations, the team didn’t want to lose its almost 200-year history. UnLTD’s Chris Coates found out how they did it. Established in 1828, Robert Sorby has been a staple of Sheffield manufacturing for almost 200 years. The company is one of the world’s premier manufacturers of specialist woodworking tools and has developed a global reputation for manufacturing some of the finest woodworking equipment available. In its 194-year history, Robert Sorby has been based at several sites around the city. Earlier this year the company took the bold step of relocating to a modern facility on Atlas Way at Brightside. The move came alongside investment in new machinery, refreshing work processes and improving the

working environment. Alongside this, the new premises also presented an opportunity to refresh Robert Sorby’s marketing materials. With such a rich history, this was a delicate task and one which had to be carefully considered. How can you modernise the look of the business while retaining the proud history and tradition it has built up over almost two centuries? To make sure the right balance was struck, Robert Sorby enlisted the help of the Backroom Agency, a Sheffield design and branding agency which has worked with a range of manufacturers on similar

projects. Their experience within the industry capturing both photography and moving footage of the old factory and master craftsmen before the relocation was crucial. Joanne Dyson, marketing manager at Robert Sorby said: “I have worked with the Backroom Agency in a previous job, so I knew the standard of work they could produce and the fact they have worked with a range of manufacturers in the past made them the perfect fit for the job.” To capture the history of Robert Sorby, the Backroom Agency were commissioned to produce a two-and-ahalf-minute ‘Day in the Life’

video giving an insight into the manufacturing processes Robert Sorby woodworking tools are renowned for. Combining the traditional processes which are still done by hand, with modern robotic equipment, the video captures the way Robert Sorby is blending 21st-century methods of manufacturing with centuries-old crafting methods. On the recommendation of Backroom co-founders Andrew Brown and Stephen Delaney, the craftsmen take centre stage, with one of the team even voicing the script to maximise its authenticity. Joanne said: “The guys spent four days filming

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MARKETING

at the old factory, and the attention to detail they showed when getting the footage is undoubtedly reflected in the quality of the final video. We are absolutely thrilled with what has been produced.” Alongside the video, the Backroom Agency are working with Robert Sorby to produce a new website and product catalogue, both set to be launched soon. The next stage will be to focus on the new facility and how the production processes will help Robert Sorby develop and improve productivity in the years to come. Joanne said: “We firmly consider Andrew and Stephen

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to be an extension of our team. They have immersed themselves in our business to capture the content for all our future marketing material. Their attention to detail from the start has played a big part in the standard of the work they are currently putting together. “What we have done so far is just the starting point for the work we have planned with the Backroom over the coming months. I would wholeheartedly recommend them to anyone needing support to refresh their marketing materials, especially in the case of companies like Robert Sorby where the process must be done with care.”

MARKETING

ALL THE CREATIVE SERVICES YOU’LL EVER NEED, ALL WITH A SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT unLTDBUSINESS.COM

With a combined 35 years of industry experience behind them working with top brands, Andrew and Stephen became disillusioned with how many agencies tend to focus on working for and not with clients. The ‘Backroom’ Agency - named to reflect the idea of people operating behind the scenes and making things happen - was set up to deliver marketing and design in a way the client feels part of. Stephen Delaney, co-founder of the Backroom Agency, said: “However you choose to promote your business, strong imagery through still or moving footage will engage people and create a lasting impression. At the Backroom, we interpret and communicate your ideas, people and product brand values. "Video marketing is an effective way to increase customer engagement for your business. YouTube, Facebook, Instagram & TikTok (to name a few)

have turbocharged the videography industry. Whether it’s social content or explainer videos, this is one of the fastest-growing sectors around. In the era of fast download times and 4G/5G connectivity, online video is more important than ever before to help customers instantly engage with your brand.”

Crafting imagery that is unique to our clients, reflecting the true personality of the company. Andrew Brown Backroom Agency

Tramlines Festival is one of Sheffield’s most iconic events, bringing thousands of people into the area every year and featuring some of the biggest names in music. unLTD’s Brogan Maguire caught up with operations director Timm Cleasby to discuss the growth of the festival, it’s role in the community and what it means for local businesses.

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TRAMLINES The three-day festival has been running since 2009, when Sheffield-legends James O’Hara and Dave Healy – among others – put their heads together to bring something fresh and new to the city. What started as a few artists and bands performing at city centre venues quickly grew into something much bigger and today the festival has a 40,000-person capacity, sells out within weeks and occupies the whole of Hillsborough Park. But there’s one man who knows the festival inside and out – quite literally – and that’s operations director Timm Cleasby. Speaking of the festival’s growth over the years, he told me how the idea quickly spiralled into something much bigger and it became clear that keeping its original format in the city centre was no longer sustainable. He said: “I think it was obvious very early on that Tramlines had legs and was growing much more rapidly than anyone thought. I remember Public Enemy playing on Devonshire Green in 2014 and seeing how busy it was, with people still on the side-lines unable to get in. That’s why we moved it from the centre to the Ponderosa, so we had more space. “We had three great years there and it worked really well. It’s tricky to manage a festival like that in any urban environment but I think we did everything we could with it.” But as the names on the roster got bigger and the interest grew, it was clear a new home was needed. That’s why, in 2018, the festival moved out to Hillsborough Park, where it has seen huge headliners like Noel Gallagher, Stereophonics and Madness, as well as a massively increased capacity. What I was really interested in when I spoke to Timm, however, was the impact that such a large event has had on the city – and the region – as a whole. “There are lots of great things to come out of Tramlines,” he said. “One of them is the Fringe, where we hold events at locations across the city, meaning venues have the chance to maximise on the number of people already in Jon McClure, passionate Sheffielder and frontman of Reverend and the Makers, gave us his take on why Tramlines is so important for the area. “I am a massive Tramlines fan and every year we get to play it is an honour. It’s just one big Sheffield party – it makes us look so open and cool. But economically speaking it puts us on the map and brings in such a boom, with people coming to the city, staying in hotels, drinking in bars and eating in our takeaways and restaurants. Once we get people here, they see how culturally diverse the city is, how welcoming we are and how much we have to offer. Long may it continue!”

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Sheffield for the festival and local bands and artists get an opportunity to showcase their talent by playing different gigs. “Another is that our increased capacity means we bring a huge audience into the area who will spend money on their way in and out of the festival. “Having this volume of people going past businesses for three days – and maybe even longer if they choose to stay over – surely can only be a good thing.” Moving the festival slightly further afield also means more people will be venturing to a part of the city they haven’t spent much time in before. “It really puts Hillsborough on the map and makes it a destination,” he added. “Holding the event here shines a spotlight on all the wonderful things going on and hopefully makes people want to come back and explore.” That’s not the only way the Tramlines team gives back to the area, though, as Timm is passionate about supporting local suppliers and vendors. He likes to ensure that as many of the food and drink traders, artists and logistics providers as possible are from Sheffield and the wider Yorkshire area. He said: “We are still very keen that, despite drawing in people from all over the country, Tramlines is an event that is ultimately for Sheffield. “We want to work with local suppliers as much as we can and make sure everything we do brings some benefit to the area. We try our best to keep everything authentic and true to our Yorkshire roots. “We work with local businesses and residents to produce a festival that benefits Sheffield and we’re always really keen to hear their feedback and suggestions.” Giving back to the community is always high on the team’s agenda, which is where the Tramlines Trust comes in. The Trust provides funding and charitable donations to good causes across the area and has raised more than £100,000 since the festival moved to Hillsborough four years ago. As well as offering grants and financial support to charities and community groups across Sheffield, the Trust works with local schools and colleges to give students another aspect to their learning. Every year, schoolchildren are tasked with drawing pictures of the performing artists, which are then printed onto tea towels and sold at Tramlines. University students are also given the chance to take part in paid internships to get a taste of the industry and some experience working on a large event site. “There are so many ways that we are supporting the people who need it the most and that is at the heart of what we do,” Timm said. “Tramlines has always been, and always will be, a festival for the people – and especially the people of Sheffield.”

Healthy & Tasty

Always Fresh! Always Home Cooked

The Moor or Kelham Island?

On a cold day, there’s no beating an authentic hot pot. This dish consists of a shimmering pot of broth filled with various tasty ingredients like egg noodles, eggs, meats, veggies, tofu and even dumplings.

We get our produce fresh daily so our specials change often! From seafood to some incredible meats we work with the best suppliers from Sheffield to ensure we keep amazing standards of food.

We have 2 places for you to try our Szechuan food, join us at our Restaurant on the Moor or at our new street food stand at Cutlery Works.

Address: Phone: Email: Website:

3 Rockingham Gate, Sheffield, S1 4JD 73 – 101 Neepsend Ln, Neepsend, Sheffield S3 8AT 0114 272 1332 chinaredbookings@gmail.com www.chinaredsheffield.com

Book Winter Wonderland Christmas Party at Crowne Plaza Royal Victoria Available Fridays: 2nd, 9th & 16th December Available Saturdays: 3rd, 10th & 17th December £45.00 per person in Ballroom

Photobooth included with Ballroom parties

£39.00 per person in the Assembly room Scan QR code to see our brochure

LAW The head of commercial property at BEST Solicitors, Ian Osborn, tells us about his role in commercial property law.

THE BENEFITS OF USING A SMALLER LAW FIRM FOR COMMERCIAL PROPERTY MATTERS

Even at university, I wanted to work for a smaller firm. Why? Was I daunted by the corporate culture of city brands? Didn’t I think I could “cut it” at larger firms? The answer is no. It is a cliché in customer service, but the truth is that I wanted both accountability and the opportunity to personally drive objectives for my clients and make a difference. What is Commercial Property Law? Commercial Property covers a nuanced area of law. The word “commercial” applies widely, from large operational businesses, with expansive real estate portfolios to

sole investment companies with one or more buy-to-let properties.

very distinct hourly rates and 95 per cent of work offered as fixed fees.

WHY USE A SMALL LAW FIRM FOR COMMERCIAL PROPERTY? Get a More Personal Approach Larger, “corporate” firms often window-dress. The hierarchical structure is convoluted – legal assistants, paralegals, associates, senior associates, junior partners, equity partners … the list continues. With smaller, focused firms like BEST Solicitors, clients will only ever be serviced directly by me as Head of Department and an assistant. Two people, two

Guaranteed Efficiency It is not the quality of knowledge or work that is criticised. No doubt, these corporate teams will consist of thoroughly educated individuals who have worked hard to attain their position. The difference here is twofold: firstly, fee structures at smaller firms are often vastly more reasonable and clearly set out at the start of a transaction. Secondly, senior directors, partners and heads of departments directly interview, hire and personally train all their staff, who then work as direct assistants and learn practical skills on the job – all whilst carrying out reliable legal work on a cost-effective basis. Work With One Dedicated Individual Throughout Clients – particularly new clients – will often say to

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me: “Sounds like a salespitch to me, Ian!” I reply that it is exactly what it is! The commercial property law market in Yorkshire and South Yorkshire in particular is saturated with a great number of providers, so the importance of setting yourself apart from the competition has never been greater. As a head of department I would actively encourage clients to shop local. You will often hear consumer groups calling on sensible shoppers to support local businesses rather than be enticed by the deals offered by the purchasing power of multinational corporations. Ironically, clients will often find that the service offering of smaller, locally based solicitors’ firms are not only more competitive on price but can deliver equal – if not more productive and cost-effective – service delivery timeframes.

NIGHT OUT

For over 90 years now, Owlerton Stadium has been established as Sheffield’s premier destination for greyhound racing. You’d have to go back to 1932 for their opening night of races, an event which reportedly attracted 10,000 visitors, and if you fast forward to the subsequent century, the S6 destination remains a popular night out for groups seeking an exciting gettogether. Naturally, over the years there have been a number of significant developments to both the stadium and overall experience. Today the culinary offering is just as important as the live entertainment and the modern glass-fronted Panorama Restaurant seats up to 300 people, promising a seasonal menu choice from highly experienced chefs. The restaurant package also includes a personal waiting service throughout four hours of racing as well as tote runners who work the tables to take bets. The idea is to ensure that you’re fully taken care of and once you're settled into your seats everything is in place for a comfortable but exhilarating

evening of socialising. As our party of four were welcomed into the restaurant area, we quickly realised just how popular the place was. Friday night was in full swing and there didn’t appear to be a table spare amidst the sleek, bustling setting. Once seated, we ordered a bottle of merlot from the impressive global wine list and our host explained how things worked – handy as it was the first visit for two of our party. The races began as our starters arrived and the convivial atmosphere picked up a notch or two. For our starters, we’d doubled up as couples on the smoked haddock and cheddar tart and the pressed gammon and

mustard seed terrine. Creamy, cheesy and with a delicate smokiness from the fish, the fluffy pastry was complemented nicely by an accompanying tangy pickle sauce. The super savoury terrines provided a salty, hearty treat spread onto a toasted bloomer and mixed with sides of pickled veg supplying a welcome piquant kick. Now on to the mains, where three of our number were thoroughly won over by the chargrilled sirloin steaks (truth be told, a sly peek at the orders of the table behind us helped to influence this near-unanimous decision) while our remaining companion chose the welcome vegetarian option of pancake cannelloni. While our mains

were being prepared, we could relax and turn our attention back to the conversation, our racecards and the perfect panoramic views of the track, providing a clear eagle-eye angle to proceedings (though we also had handily placed tv screens displaying the action for when things got a bit close to call). The sumptuous steaks were cooked to medium-rare perfection, served in a velvety, rich red wine jus and topped with a beef bourguignon garnish of sauteed onions, mushrooms and velvety mash. Sides were ample and we could pile our plates further with honey-glazed carrots, roast potatoes, cabbage and red onion. My partner’s indulgent pancake cannelloni

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arrived in a sizeable dish capped with gooey mozzarella cheese, the pasta inside stuffed with sweet butternut squash and tangy sun blush tomatoes. The more than generous servings (there’s no question of value for money here!) had almost written us off, but we had enough in the tank to share a tempting cheeseboard with celery, chutney and biscuits, plus the pear and almond tart – a classic sweet pairing elevated with the decadent addition of honeycomb ice cream and Biscoff crumb. The whole evening seemed timed to perfection as we just finished off desserts in time for the final race. Alas, there were no victors at the table from the racing on show, but when it came to the food on offer and general night out satisfaction, we felt like real winners. All of the Owlerton Stadium hospitality packages are available to view and book online at owlertonstadium. co.uk

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If you are a property investor it is likely that you have already encountered a negative experience when dealing with a utility provider. Poor communication, navigating a complicated and regulated process, volatile costs or unexpected lengthy lead times are common complaints which cause delay. A delay can of course disturb your lending conditions. At Utility Source we believe in sharing information with our customers to provide ongoing education and understanding.

HERE ARE THREE TIPS WHICH MAY SUPPORT YOUR UTILITIES JOURNEY: Carry out a utilities review before you buy a piece of land or a building. The results may identify potential cost and inconvenience and in some cases can support the land price negotiation. No two jobs are ever the same. Try not to shoehorn data from your last project into your new project as it can lead to nasty surprises. Site specific data will influence an accurate budget and help mitigate any costly delays. Understand timescales! It is normal to allow four weeks to collate utility quotations and 6-8 weeks to have the work completed. There are many unavoidable factors which can slow these anticipated lead times and you need to know what they are.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT US ON 01709 763237 OR AT INFO@UTILITYSOURCELIMITED.CO.UK

BOXING OR BARRE? CHOOSE YOUR WORKOUT BOOK YOUR CLASS GET FIT & HAVE FUN! FIRST MONTH UNLIMITED MEMBERSHIP HALF PRICE 1 WEEK UNLIMITED CLASS PASS £25 SINGLE CLASS £15

844 ECCLESALL ROAD (NEXT TO WILDCARD) S11 8TD W BOXBARRE.co.UK | T 0114 551 8815 68

INSURANCE James Harvey writes about the value of an insurance broker during the cost-of-living crisis.

HOW A BROKER CAN HELP WITH YOUR BUSINESS INSURANCE The UK’s inflation rate is at levels not seen since the 1980’s and sadly, small businesses are not immune to its impact. As costs continue to rise, many firms will understandably be looking closely at their cost base to see if savings can be made during these uncertain economic times. With this in mind, an insurance broker has a key role to play by ensuring firms have the correct policy in place even if they decide to reduce their cover to save money. Underinsurance A good example of this is the impact of underinsurance. The soaring inflation levels are impacting prices across all sectors of the economy. The cost of raw materials in the UK is expected to more than treble in 2022, according to the Building Cost Information Service Materials Cost Index. As a result, replacement costs may be much higher

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than expected following a claim, leaving some firms underinsured. To combat underinsurance, it’s always advisable to speak with your broker well in advance of your next insurance renewal. You should discuss how inflationary increase could affect your sums insured and ensure that your assets are valued correctly so that in the event of a claim, your policy will respond. Although most policies are index-linked, an increase in the cost of building materials could directly impact on rebuilding costs. A broker can also help ensure replacement cost estimates for buildings, contents, equipment and business interruption are set at the appropriate coverage levels. Buying insurance direct As costs increase, the lure of buying insurance online for small businesses becomes more inviting. Insurance is always an easy

and obvious target to save money. However, those firms thinking of purchasing insurance online should think carefully about what they are buying and what is at stake for their business. With a non-advised purchase there could be a greater chance of your business becoming underinsured. An example of this could be when an insurer repudiates a major claim on the basis of an unfulfilled warranty. In this scenario a small business may need to contend with months of uncertainty in negotiating with the insurer. This could drift into years if it results in litigation. Many businesses just won’t have the resources to survive such an extended period of loss of income, clients and reputation. What’s more, many small businesses will need an insurance pay-out paid swiftly following a major incident such as a fire, flood or other unexpected disaster. The role of an insurance

broker is to give small business owners a greater insight and understanding into what the crucial areas of cover are and what sums insured will be correct for their business. Also, a broker’s job is to ensure that insurance cover does deliver and that a policy will perform exactly as expected in the event of a claim. In these challenging economic times, a broker’s duty and value is to remind business owners of the consequences of underinsurance and more importantly how they can take the right actions in a cost effective and efficient manner. What’s more, if a business does need to reduce its insurance cover to save money, its vital to engage with a broker to discuss which elements of cover can be reduced and which elements must remain for their ongoing protection. Jamie Harvey is a director at chartered broker IFM Insurance.

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LAW Shakespeare Martineau’s corporate team reflects on a strong start to 2022 with revenue growth across all the department’s service lines.

SHEFFIELD LAW FIRM’S CORPORATE TEAM CONTINUES IN STRENGTH

In the first half of the year, the team has advised on a wide range of international and domestic M&A and private equity deals – ranging in size from seed investments in start-up businesses to multimillion-pound acquisitions across a variety of sectors. The firm – which has 10 office hubs nationally, including Sheffield – has ambitious growth plans for the rest of 2022, having already welcomed two high-profile dealmakers to its corporate team. Partner and head of corporate Duncan James (pictured) said: “Despite a great deal of economic uncertainty, the team had a strong first half of the year, with revenue increasing. “Deal dynamics are definitely changing with multiples being under pressure as forecasts for the next couple of years are placed under the microscope.

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Many sectors are still feeling robust, with healthcare, MedTech, manufacturing, TMT, and life sciences, in particular, holding up.” The past six months have also seen no let-up in activity for the corporate team’s banking department. Naomi Tudor, partner and head of banking and financial services, said: “We have continued to act, not only for our usual well-known more traditional lenders but also for an increasing number of the cohort of new funders, which are becoming a bigger feature in today’s midmarket lending space. These new players have the appetite to support many businesses struggling to get funding from their usual sources.”

DEAL SPOTLIGHT 27 forests from across England, Scotland and Wales were sold by the Foresight Inheritance Tax Fund to Foresight Sustainable Forestry Company Plc as part of an investment fund portfolio disposal worth £113.4 million. Kavita Patel, partner and head of investment funds, said: “Clients have continued to raise funds and make investments, with some really interesting opportunities in the technology, renewables and healthcare space. It has been great to see investors and entrepreneurs continuing to work together to drive the UK economy despite what continues to be challenging times.” Viessmann Group acquired a majority stake in Pacifica Home Services Ltd – the largest service and installation platform in the UK for integrated climate solutions in buildings.

HAVE LUNCH WITH... HAVE LUNCH WITH… SOPHIE WHITTAM

From running a boutique gym to heading up an international sportswear brand and dressing some of the world’s biggest boxers, Sophie Whittam is one of the busiest names in Sheffield business. unLTD’s Brogan Maguire sat down for lunch with her to discuss fitness, discipline and running a global empire from the middle of the Steel City. I was so excited to go for a proper chat with Sophie, as she’s someone I’ve admired for a long time but have never had chance to spend much time with. Ironically, on the day I met her for lunch, I was still aching from doing two of the hardest classes of my life at her Box Barre gym just a few days earlier. As I hobbled to my seat with the sorest hamstrings I’ve had in a long time, Sophie appeared looking glowy and glamorous, straight from her warehouse on

Sharrow Vale Road. Fight Label, Sophie’s primary business venture, sees her designing and making outfits for boxing legends like Anthony Joshua and Floyd Mayweather. It’s a business that has taken her all over the world and seen her have some amazing experiences – as well as plenty of sleepless nights. But the hard work and long hours are no trouble for Sophie, who has had her own business since she was a

teenager and puts her success down to her fighting spirit and determination. As she tucks into her salad (case in point!), she tells me: “When I’ve locked my mind onto something, I’m not going to stop. I was a figure skater growing up and that has given me the mindset to have the discipline to do whatever I need to do and to work for it. You get out of anything what you put in.” It’s that thought process that she applies to fitness, too, and

WHY ECCLESALL ROAD SOUTH IS THE PLACE TO BE Ecclesall Road in Sheffield has always been a buzzing part of the city, but it’s not just the main strip which is a hive of activity. The southern area of the street, past Endcliffe Park, has seen a number of new openings in recent years and is fast becoming the place to be. From brunch spots like Marmadukes and Dysh to cool bars like Wildcard, The Dark Horse and Itchy Pig, the food and drink scene is absolutely thriving. Whether you need a venue for a lunch meeting, date night or after-work drinks with colleagues, there is something for everyone on this street. It is also where Sophie Whittam’s boutique gym Box Barre is located – making it the perfect place to start or end the day. I’ve got to say, I’m not usually one to enjoy a workout on a Sunday morning, but I absolutely do not regret rolling myself out of bed a few weeks ago to take part. I did two classes – one toning barre-sculpt and one more HIIT-style boxing – and I have never felt so strong, focused and accomplished

(albeit sweaty and tired!). The class environment spurred me on to do things I never knew my body was capable of and the trendy neon interior made me feel like I was an Instagram celebrity. In just one morning I felt like I had worked harder than I usually would in an entire week of my normal gym routine. I had plans afterwards but that was no problem, as the showers at the gym are absolutely amazing and feature everything from designer body wash to professional hair treatments. There are even hairdryers and straighteners, so you never have to worry about being in a rush! Feeling fresh and revitalised – and smelling better than I ever have – I headed upstairs to Sophie’s juice bar to grab a post-workout treat. Here you can enjoy juices, protein shakes and healthy light bites before going about your day. And where better to spend the rest of it than perusing this fantastic area of Sheffield, checking out the amazing local businesses and taking a stroll in the park?

is what inspired her to open her own boutique gym right in the heart of Sheffield. The luxury fitness centre is conveniently located in the up-and-coming Ecclesall Road South area and is one of the most amazing places I have ever been. With a mixture of barre and boxing classes and a range of options for both strength training and cardio, you leave the gym with a huge rush of endorphins, feeling like you have worked every part of your body. Not only that, but there’s state-of-the-art equipment, beautiful-smelling changing rooms with every product you can imagine (and GHD’s!) and a fresh juice bar serving up every healthy option you can think of. “It’s Sheffield’s best kept secret,” Sophie says. “I’ve always loved fitness, for me it’s a lifestyle. When I’ve been in America I’ve been to some amazing boutique gyms where they live and breathe it, but there just wasn’t anything like that around here. “I know people are busy, so I came up with a concept that’s both quick and effective. At Box Barre you can come and do a class that’s going to leave you feeling amazing – at a time that works for you – before having a lovely shower and going about your day feeling fresh and energised.” I can definitely vouch for that – fitness has never looked so good!

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In this month’s issue, Business Sheffield put us in touch with two high street heroes. Molly’s Deli & Café and Moonko are two of the city’s well-loved independent businesses. We spoke to their owners to find out more.

MOLLY’S CAFÉ & DELI A family-run establishment, Molly’s Café & Deli, is a unique independent business in the heart of Hillsborough, right next to the tramlines. Lucy Green, director, tells us all about her and her husband’s journey in cultivating their unique brand. Lucy said: “We are a husband-and-wife team - my husband is Polish, I’m English – so we took our inspiration from both cuisines and our passion for eating out to create our fusion menu. “We opened a day before the first lockdown – to say our business plan went out the window is an understatement. We had to change our entire business overnight to survive. “Social media was our saving grace, along with our fantastic family and friends, ensuring we got the word out there. We posted about our grand opening being disrupted by COVID-19 and how we had fresh produce going to waste and 28,500 people reacted to it. “Through the pandemic, independent businesses adapted quicker than the

larger corporate companies. Although it wasn’t a positive experience, we believe COVID-19 made us. We stayed open throughout lockdown to serve our local community. When we decided to introduce a delivery service of our now famous cheese and charcuterie boards, it took off and people got more familiar with us. “When our doors opened to welcome people in person, the queues down Hillsborough were unbelievable and heart-warming. Our local community supported us all the way - it’s a testament to them - to queuing in the rain and keeping our dream alive when it could have easily ended before it even began. “I have lived in Hillsborough all my life. I greatly advocate for our local area, what it has to offer and its history. I remember the wet fish shops, butchers, fresh fruit and veg stalls, bakeries and the abundance of independent businesses. “Over time, the area has gotten slightly run down – there are lots of empty units, graffiti and lifeless shopping

areas, but since we opened, other independent businesses have opened their doors too - restaurants, bars, retail, art and craft shops - and people no longer have to travel to Kelham Island for that. “Shopping local is more than just individual independent small businesses. It’s about businesses working together

in our local community for our local community. It’s what I always wanted when starting my own business and means more to our customers. We can put them first - nothing is too much trouble at Molly’s – that’s been our ethos from the start. We are nothing without our customers, so we do our utmost to keep them returning every single day.”

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SHOPSTORY LOCAL COVER

MOONKO MoonKo is an award-winning shop selling everlasting flowers and gifts. With many of the flowers being dried naturally in the shop, without chemicals, the stock remains ethical and completely homemade. Founded by Deborah Moon in 2010, MoonKo is in Sheffield City Centre on Division Street - the home of many small independent shops and local pubs. Deborah said: “I’ve been running Moonko for over ten years and have had this shop on Division Street for most of that time. I was an art lecturer

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before this, but I wanted more flexibility. I’d never thought of being self-employed before. However, this was a way to use my arts background, still work

hard and make money, while being around for my family. “The pandemic was exhausting, mentally and physically, and I had to keep changing my business to adapt. Fortunately, when you’re a small business, you don’t have shareholders telling you what to do. If you need to change something, you can. “I moved towards dried flowers during lockdown because they weren’t perishable - it saved my business. When I opened again and footfall was low, I turned the shop into my workshop to occupy the space.

I love the process of making and sharing that with people. It is a very traditional way for a shop to work, like a cobbler, but now it’s pretty unique. “People love MoonKo because they feel they know me and understand what I’m about. I’ve had customers travel a long way to visit because they want to experience the environment of the shop and it’s great being among a mix of other businesses in the independent quarter, meeting people from all walks of life, never knowing who will come through the door.”

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BUSINESS Local business owner Kelvin Quick is calling on the people of South Yorkshire to support their independent retailers.

The owner of China Red restaurant, and Taiwanese bubble milk tea store ALS Gongcha Sheffield, is encouraging local businesses and South Yorkshire residents to begin re-visiting their old favourite restaurants. Kelvin said: “During the last few years I have noticed a significant decrease in footfall throughout The Moor, particularly on evenings. We have been in our current location on Rockingham Gate since 2006 and this is one of the quietest periods we have ever seen in the city centre for food retailers. “This is why we are working on an exciting new project to remind people of all the fantastic Asian businesses in the community and how much variety there is in the city! We can’t wait to get started and make some great connections with other vendors and create something really special.” Supporting local businesses and charities is something Kelvin is very passionate about. The produce used at China Red is all bought from suppliers in the community, whether that is the local butchers, farmers or fishmongers. Over the last few years and throughout the pandemic the restaurant has given out free food to those most in need, to give back to the community durng a difficult time and has donated to local charities. Kelvin believes this Christmas will be ‘make or break’ for many independents after two years of closures, cancellations and curfews.

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With offices already planning their Christmas parties, he believes it is more important than ever to consider smaller, independent restaurants rather than big chains. China Red is a fantastic location for entertaining, whether it. be a corporate hospitality or a social event. Above the restaurant is another of Sheffield’s bestkept secrets - a karaoke suite, fantastic for adding something different to your night out!

Kelvin added: “It’s all a chain. When people spend their money with independent retailers like myself, I can then stock my restaurant with products from other local businesses.” The dishes served at China Red are all authentic Chinese meals, prepared with a great deal of care by staff. When the unLTD team visited, we were amazed by the quality of the food served and the amazing recommendations

from Kelvin. With a wealth of restaurant experience, he loves to help his customers find the perfect dish and invites them to experiment with new dishes outside of their comfort zone. China Red is open seven days a week from 12 noon until 9.30pm Sunday to Thursday, and until 10pm Friday and Saturday. Both walk-ins and bookings are welcome throughout the week.

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With Iván Garcia • Sundays FROM 7PM We’re delighted to announce a brand-new Latin dance night for all the Salseros out there who just want to dance. The classes will be led by the talented, charismatic, and well-respected dance tutor IVAN GARCIA.

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ACTION COACH Jon Asquith of Action Coach Sheffield speaks with client Adam Murray of Urbana about their work as urbanists, planners and development consultants in their aim of making cities.

There’s a lot of talk about ‘Purpose’, ‘Culture’ and ‘Leadership’ at the moment and how important it is in today’s economy and especially in the SME sector. If there ever was a leader that put purpose and culture at the forefront of everything they do, Adam Murray is that leader. Having worked with Urbana for nearly two years and seen the growth and impact that they have had on our local economy, it is evident how leading with purpose is a vital skill to master. I for one cannot wait to see how the team at Urbana keeps innovating, challenging the norm and leading the way when it comes to planning in today’s ever more urban world. Tell us a little more about your business? Urbana is an urbanism, town planning and development consultancy with a passion for the built environment and making cities better places to live. We’re a small but passionate team – with “team” being the key word. We like to work with like-minded people from across the industry who share our key values. What growth have you seen in the last twelve months? We’ve had an interesting 12 months. One that has seen an upward curve in turnover and profit, and some more awards to add to the trophy cabinet. However, most importantly, in recent months, following on from a few situations we’ve had to deal with, we’ve rediscovered each other. We don’t just believe that people make cities, but that people are the essence of Urbana and why we do what we do.

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Personal growth and goals sit alongside professional achievement in Urbana, and we all act together to ensure we all grow and achieve together. What would you say has been the biggest thing you’ve done in the last year? Creating Urbana Partnerships. This vehicle allows us to work in close partnership with landowners, investors, developers, contractors, end users and public sector bodies to ensure we can take a proposal from the first concept all the way through to people living and working in our completed proposals. The Urbana Partnerships model works differently from a simple client/consultant relationship, as everyone

in the team is involved in all aspects of the scheme, working to agreed principles of great design, sustainability, and commercial reality. This ensures we are living our core values of making cities better and creating communities that people want to live in. QIf you were to offer advice to any entrepreneur reading this, what advice would you give them and why? Surround yourself with people who you trust, people who have achieved in your industry and can provide insight and greater knowledge in the key areas you are working in. Also, go for it, don’t sit in your comfort zone, if you’re not a little bit scared, you’re not doing it right.

What’s next for you and the business? What should we look forward to seeing? More from our new Urbana Partnerships business. We have some big and exciting schemes we’ve been working on for some time. These will become public very soon, allowing us to demonstrate to the industry and the wider public, the benefits of committing to schemes in this way. sheffield.actioncoach.co.uk

SMART ENERGY

HOW FIRMS CAN TACKLE THE RISING

COST OF DOING BUSINESS With the rise in the cost-of-living, Smart Energy gives their take on how firms can cope with dramatic cost increases.

We’re all familiar with the cost-of-living crisis and how households are struggling to keep up with bills and afford the rapidly rising cost of food, fuel and other essentials. But there’s another crisis, similar to the struggle households are going through, which is dramatically hitting businesses and that’s the ‘cost of doing business’ crisis. Firms across the country are being confronted by rapidly rising costs of vital raw materials, fuel, wages and energy. Many businesses simply don’t have the spare income or the savings to manage such instant and dramatic increases.

What’s caused this? The current price inflation is one of many impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, which interrupted supply chains, clogged manufacturing, and created the global delays that are being seen years later. This has been worsened by worldwide issues such as the conflict in Ukraine and the continuing COVID-19 lockdowns in China which have also increased prices. Battered businesses now face a stark choice – whether to pass on the increases to their customers or to try and absorb these new expenses to keep prices down.

A positive step for businesses To cope with these dramatic cost increases, firms need to get a grip on their expenditure. Unexpected bills are the last thing they need in this current climate – particularly energy bills which are a significant worry for a lot of bosses. There’s some good news though - installing a smart meter is a positive step in taking control of business outgoings. Once installed energy readings will be sent directly to the supplier bringing an end to estimated bills. That means that businesses will only pay for what they use – and some energy suppliers may

also offer an in-home display screen to show exactly how much energy is being used. It’s a handy way to bring an end to shocks at the end of the month! Firms with 10 employees or less could be eligible for a smart meter. To find out more, visit www. smartenergygb.org. You can also contact your energy supplier or broker.

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ACCOUNTING Sam Newton of Gravitate Accounting explains some of the most common issues people have with their accountants – and how his firm is different.

ARE YOU FED UP OF YOUR OLD SCHOOL ACCOUNTANT?

Gravitate Accounting is a digital accountancy company based in Sheffield’s trendy Kelham Island, with a peoplefirst approach and a big focus on using the best technology to help clients save time, money and stress. With a casual dress code, friendly demeanour and true passion for helping businesses to achieve growth and results, Gravitate Accounting is a firm like no other. Here, co-founder Sam Newton tells us some of the most common complaints businesses have when dealing with their accountants and why Gravitate Accounting doesn’t take the same approach. “I only see my accountant once a year” Sam says: “We insist on having at least six touch points a year with our clients, as we believe this is a key way we can add value to the business. The best thing about this approach is that it means we can help

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clients save on their tax bill in the current year, rather than being retrospective. We often hear clients say their old accountant would hold a meeting weeks or even days before the year end and tell them a tax liability due that hasn’t been planned for.” “My accountant charges me per hour for menial tasks” “There are two elements to this,” Sam says. “One is that charging per hour of work completed is old school and doesn’t benefit the client. If the work is inefficient, then clients will pay more as it takes

longer to finish. To avoid this, we charge transactionally, which encourages us to work faster and be more effective. Another is that traditional accountants tend to put clients off from calling them as they get charged just for picking up the phone. Here, we encourage our clients to reach out to us. We want to know more about the business and how we can help them, so we actively promote that interaction.”

the dark about what they are doing and I don’t understand” “Most of the time accountants like to think the work they do is magic and aren’t willing to share this knowledge with their clients,” Sam adds. “Instead, we want to work with you and we train you to use the best digital accounting software so you can get the most out of it. We want to make life as easy as possible for our clients.”

“The pricing my accountant gives me can be ad-hoc and is not agreed upfront” Sam says: “At Gravitate Accounting, we use piecemeal pricing software so clients know exactly what they’re being charged and what services we will deliver in return for that work. If we have to do anything outside of that scope, we quote upfront, so there are no surprises or unexpected fees.”

“My accountant insists on paper documents” “All our accounts are signed off digitally using our secure portal, even our year-end meetings can be held on Zoom or Teams is the client prefers. We know they are busy so we can be flexible to suit their needs. ”

“My accountant keeps me in

If you are having any of these issues, reach out to Gravitate Accounting on 0114 321 7459 or visit: www.gravitate.digital to see how they can help you.

EVENTS MANGEMENT Business owner Zoe Wadsworth was delighted to win two awards in June. Here she shares why awards mean more than something to put on a shelf…

WHY AWARDS MATTER TO YOUR BUSINESS. Ask Zoe, formerly known as Fab Events prior to May 2022, has gone from strength to strength by receiving not just one but two awards in June. Zoe Wadsworth of Ask Zoe stated in a recent conversation with unLTD Magazine: “I have put a lot into the rebranding and refocus of our business over the last two years. When the pandemic hit in 2020 my events management work stopped dead overnight. At the Business Success Awards in June, I was recognised in the Business Growth category, for having grown 750 per cent in the last two years, and at the SME News UK Enterprise Awards we were awarded Best Events Company for the second year, for our efforts from May 2021 to May 2022. It was wonderful to win these awards and to be acknowledged by our peers.” However, there are other reasons why they matter to our business and why awards mean more to us than something to put on a shelf.

could be more valuable than the prize itself”. Rewarding efforts An award impacts many aspects of your business. Internally your team feels that their efforts have been noticed. To the wider world, it is an endorsement of your work. If you want to grow your business, then talk to someone who has won an award for growing theirs. Survive and thrive I have been reflecting on what these awards mean to me personally. In 2020, after 15 years in events management, I was facing the same situation as every other business owner. What was I going to do next?

I was still the same person with the same skills, so by treating my own business as my best customer I decided I could apply my expertise in business development, events and marketing strategies to help others avoid the pitfalls and help them generate ideas and strategies to survive and thrive. That’s the story that appears on my awards applications, and this is how I aim to help others, by showcasing awards and our efforts to ensure we not only make an impact in our own business but make an impact in our customers’ businesses too. To find out more about the support offered by Ask Zoe, visit the website: www.askzoe.co.uk/

A fresh perspective The process of putting together the application for an award nomination can be used as a valuable business improvement tool by itself. In an article on why entering awards is good for business, Phil Bridgeman of Business West said: “The application process for entering a business award can often force you to look at your business from a different perspective.” He went on to say it “will help you think about ways you could be doing things better and identify areas for improvement and is one of the ways your business could benefit that

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ADVERTORIAL

THE HOME OF BUSINESS IN BARNSLEY

We provide small businesses with a supportive environment that nurtures business growth with our wide range of meeting and office space in Barnsley.

ACCELERATING BUSINESSES TOWARDS NET ZERO The Business Village has been helping Barnsley businesses work towards net zero since October 2021. Through the Net Zero Accelerator, we’ve provided a range of workshops and one to one coaching for 36 fascinating businesses. In January 2021 we opened our new state of the art building with 25 offices and hybrid workspaces. Sustainability was built in from outset, with initiatives such as: • VRF (variable refrigerant flow) air conditioning • Electric vehicle charging points • 50kW solar system on the roof Understanding our tenants’ needs has always been important. Lately they’ve requested more EV charging points so that’s something else we’re working on. We also have an active travel plan to encourage green travel. From this, we’ve created more cycle storage and incorporated shower facilities onsite. The Net Zero Accelerator at The Business Village The UK Government has a target to reduce emissions by 100 per cent relative to 1990 levels by 2050. In doing so, the UK will be a net zero emitter. Legislation was passed in June 2019 and three months later, Barnsley Council declared a climate emergency. It led to the Community Renewal Fund which, in turn, helped fund the Net Zero Accelerator. The support offered through the Net Zero Accelerator means 36 Barnsley businesses have already begun reducing their carbon emissions. We also arranged a series of roadshows to help us reach

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ZOE WADSWORTH FROM ASK ZOE, LOVED HER RENAULT ZOE. more people. Business Village tenant, Zoe Wadsworth of Ask Zoe was commissioned to project manage the events. Speaking about the project, Zoe said: “Net zero is all about innovation and the bigger picture. It’s not a single element. It’s not just reducing costs. It’s about making things better.” Connecting The Dots Zoe and Kevin Steel, business development manager at The Business Village, were discussing cars. During the conversation, Zoe mentioned that one of her favourite cars was the Renault Zoe. She’s called Zoe, her business is Ask Zoe, and she liked the Renault Zoe. The Renault Zoe is an electric vehicle with a range of approximately 238 miles. Kevin connected the dots. He contacted local car dealerships to ask whether any would like to loan a Renault Zoe for the roadshows. Cars2 in Barnsley stepped up to the plate.

Barnsley Council had commissioned a video about the projects supported by the Community Renewal Fund. And when Deadline Digital arrived to film The Business Village, Zoe, from Ask Zoe, arrived in a Renault Zoe. Zoe was a firm convert. “I loved the car. When I first saw the Renault Zoe, I didn’t realise it was electric. But this has opened my mind up to an electric vehicle. It’s a much cheaper way to drive, especially in comparison to fuel. Being asked to drive the car for a day was a nice perk and I’d highly recommend test driving one.” Small things lead to big changes The Government’s target for net zero is 2050. However, Barnsley Council’s plan is for the entire borough to be carbon neutral five years earlier. The Net Zero Accelerator at The Business Village has

firmly placed Barnsley at the forefront of this strategy. Participating businesses have made some huge strides towards net zero. However, smaller businesses such as Ask Zoe can also play their part. Zoe told us that she is mindful about the environment and net zero. She reduces waste as much as possible, recycles and refills water bottles. It may only seem like little steps. But as scientist Allen Hershkowitz says, “Small things lead to big changes.” We’d like to thank Cars2 for jumping on board with our ideas. It helped to promote net zero, electric vehicles and the Renault Zoe. And that can only be a good thing. To find out more about The Business Village: barnsleybic.co.uk or contact Business Development Manager Kevin Steel on 01226 249590 / 07970 930560 or via barnsleybic.co.uk/staff/ kevin-steel

ADVERTORIAL

ORB RECRUITMENT PRIORITISE

COMMUNITY SUPPORT Prioritising the local community is central to ORB Recruitment. Regularly supporting everything from football teams to an array of charities, we hear about their recent Three Peaks Challenge and Daniel Pidcock’s motivational talk to a local college.

Daniel Pidcock, group business development manager, delivered a motivational talk to about 30 students at Harrison College, which supports young people in Doncaster with autism and other special educational needs. Diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) at age five, Daniel knows how the condition affects a person’s behaviour and can make them have difficulty concentrating. After struggling at school, his condition made it difficult to hold a job. He also struggled with relationships with family, friends and colleagues. After discovering a natural ability for sales and being offered a chance by ORB managing director Stewart Olsen, Daniel found his professional path. Recently promoted to group business development manager, he focuses on bringing in new business and managing existing contracts.

DANIEL PIDOCK. Daniel said: “Delivering a session at Harrison College was important to me. As soon as the opportunity presented itself to potentially help, I didn’t hesitate. I wanted to

help at least one student, but, in the end, I achieved more than that, with multiple students finding it eyeopening. “ADHD has been massively

misunderstood in the past, but now much better treatment and support are available. After attending an ADHD clinic, I was immediately re-medicated and, as a result, have been more focused and motivated to work. I wanted the students to know what resources were available to them to help them find employment.” Gail Stonier, chief operating officer at Harrison College, said: “Thank you to Daniel for an extremely well-pitched, open, honest and inspirational session. Daniel’s talk enthused the students and some already have shown a bit more selfbelief in their futures.” This has been the latest link-up between ORB and Harrison College – however, ORB also recently donated a minibus to the college. Learn more: ORB Recruitment: www.orbrecruitment.co.uk Harrison College: www. harrisoncollege.co.uk

YORKSHIRE THREE PEAKS CHALLENGE RAISES MONEY FOR THE SERENITY APPEAL Vanessa Ogden, director, and Josh Clamp, head of construction and civils, completed the Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge with hopes of raising money to increase the level of care in maternity bereavement at Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals. Completing the massive 24-mile hike in just 12 hours, Vanessa said: “If I had to describe the challenge in three words, I’d say nuts – as you’ve got to be nuts to do it in the first place, determined - as I could have quit at the 10-mile checkpoint and grateful – although it was tough, it’s something not everyone could do and I was fortunate enough to. Plus, I’ve raised £200 with more donations coming in.” Josh said: “While the walk was a little tough on my knees, I didn’t think it was too bad physically. The challenge was more of a mental and psychological battle. However, I particularly enjoyed the pub halfway around and chatting to everyone.”

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CHARITY

A host of star names and celebrities were on hand for the first City Taxi’s Thank You NHS Gala Ball, in partnership with Sheffield Hospitals Charity, smashing expectations and raising over £140,000 on the night.

The sell-out evening took place in the elegant surroundings of the Winter Gardens and St Paul’s Mercure Hotel in Sheffield, raising funds for the Sheffield Hospitals Charity “We’ve Got You Campaign” in support of NHS Workers. Opening the event was award winning dance group Flawless. Over dinner, the magical talent of Britain’s Got Talent’s Damien O’Brien and a headline performance from 80’s icon Martin Kemp ramped up excitment. Add into this a menu curated by Michelin Starred Chef Jean Christophe Noveli and the hosting talents of Sheffield’s very own Dan Walker gave guests a night to remember. One of the most emotional moments of the evening was acknowledging the hard work and determination of our amazing NHS Staff from across Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, with many receiving standing ovations for their efforts. The funds raised from the evening will go towards the Sheffield Hospitals Charity “We’ve Got You Campaign” specifically aimed at supporting staff from across the hospitals as they come to terms with the aftereffects of the pandemic. The total raised from the

evening currently stands at over £140,001.30 which will go towards kick starting the new campaign. Martin Kemp said: “What an amazing evening. It’s a privilege to support City Taxi’s and Sheffield Hospitals Charity and their work for our NHS." Gareth Aston, CEO of Sheffield Hospitals Charity said: “To raise such an incredible amount in just one evening was an extraordinary achievement and we cannot thank Arnie Singh, the City Taxi team and all of the guests for helping us reach it.” Arnie Singh, managing director of City Taxi’s said “When we approached Sheffield Hospitals Charity to hold an event in partnership to celebrate and say thank you to our local NHS teams we never imagined the night to be a fraction of the success we had, although we aren’t known for approaching anything with half measures. Thanks again to everyone involved for getting behind the event and the charity and making it the success it was. The generosity in the room completely blew us all away. I have to give special thanks to Gareth, Sam and the team at SHC who worked tirelessly to make sure the event was perfect for everyone involved.”

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CHARITY SPONSORED BY LET'S SAVE

AUGUST IS HERE AND WHAT A SCORCHER JULY HAS BEEN! COVID-19 finally caught up with me last month, scuppering my holiday plans in Cornwall. Having rampant chills in a heatwave was weird! A raging temperature meant going through two sets of bedding a day. Thankfully I was triple jabbed thanks to our wonderful NHS. It gave me time to think about some of us who have had to deal with the effects of how COVID-19 has changed the world. There are so many who are now classified as living in deprivation and poverty, with health conditions being overlooked or diagnosed later than normal, Long-COVID is now a thing that debilitates chronically and don’t even mention how mental health has been affected. Please dig deep if you can,

to support the charitable and non-profit sectors that genuinely support those who really can’t support themselves. The poverty gap is widening - fuel poverty, food poverty - please consider the children who are now eating less than they do when at school, the elderly that will have to choose between the fire going on and having an evening meal this winter. Grant funding is available and non-profits don’t have to pay for all of these online portals anymore. Drop me a line and I’ll send you a list of websites and newsletters to subscribe to for FREE. If you need my assistance on anything else, email me on wendy@letssave.biz, or give me a call. 0772 9481010.

LOOKING AT A YEAR OF YORKSHIRE AIR AMBULANCE OPERATIONS IN THE REGION Yorkshire Air Ambulance is a lifesaving rapid response emergency service operating 365 days a year to the five million people across Yorkshire. On average, the charity responds to five incidents across the entirety of the region every single day. Between April 1 2021 and March 31 2022, the Yorkshire Air Ambulance treated 1,211 patients across Yorkshire, with nearly a fifth (18 per cent) of these patients being from South Yorkshire. Of those responded to in South Yorkshire, seven per cent were also flown to hospital for lifesaving treatment. Car-related road traffic incidents and falls from height were the most common in the South during the last year, followed closely by cardiac arrests and road traffic incidents

involving pedestrians. August and October were the busiest months in the South Yorkshire region with 24 incidents each. Most incidents in the region were in Doncaster, followed by Sheffield and then Barnsley with the average patient age being 17-39 years old.

Of the 219 patients treated, Yorkshire Air Ambulance was the first emergency service on the scene for more than a quarter of incidents and 5 per cent of patients were given a potentially lifesaving blood transfusion on-scene. Sheffield Northern General is South Yorkshire’s Major Trauma

Centre and one of four leading hospitals that Yorkshire Air Ambulance fly its critically ill patients to for treatment. In the last financial year, 81 patients were flown there. Donate to Yorkshire Air Ambulance: https://www. yorkshireairambulance.org. uk/.

Give Wendy at Let's Save Consultancy Services a call on 0772 9481010 or email wendy@letssave.biz

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Are you ready for The Big Switch Off? Analogue telephone lines, which many businesses still use, are being phased out across the country from 2025. Don’t be caught out!

Contact one of our experts to find out more. 0114 362 7000 info@affinityit.co.uk

Up to £5,000 Grant Funding for Your Digital Innovation Project The Digital Innovation Grant (DIG) can fund 50% of a project costing £2,000-£10,000* which will help you to introduce new products, offer new services, and access new markets. *grant value £1,000-£5,000

DIG has funded projects such as: ●

E-commerce websites

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Livestreaming facilities

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Cloud solutions

Bespoke software and app development

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Remote working technologies

The grant is available to small and medium-sized enterprises across South Yorkshire. You can apply online during one of our application calls, and the DIG webpage is regularly updated with the current, upcoming, and future call dates. For more information about eligibility and how to apply, visit the Enterprising Barnsley website: enterprisingbarnsley.co.uk/digital-innovation-grants

The Digital Innovation Grant Programme is an ERDF funded project and Barnsley MBC are the accountable body. The project is receiving up to £1.6m of funding from the England European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020.