unLTD. Connecting business across Sheffield City Region #37 by unLTD magazine

APRIL 2021 | ISSUE 37 | FREE | UNLTDBUSINESS.COM

BEREYT?

NO,BE

GREAT! Urbana Town Planning MD Adam Murray on the firm’s plans for Sheffield’s development – and why the city must not ‘settle’ and instead ‘strive for better’

THE FUTURE OF

SHEFFIELD CITY REGION

: E M K S A U IF YO

Y T R E P O R P SPECIAL

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CONTENTS

MINUTES WITH: VOUCH 43 FIVE

STORY: ADAM MURRAY, URBANA TOWN PLANNING 28 COVER FUTURE OF CITY REGION 48 THESHEFFIELD

YOU ASK ME: 34 IFPROPERTY

STORY: EVOGO 60 SUCCESS

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CONTENTS

INSIDE... 6-9: News A round-up of news in the region, including website launches, Brexit support service and property news from Nomad, Redbrik, and Gripple. 10-11: Appointments All the latest appointments from around the Sheffield City Region. @UNLTDBUSINESS UNLTD BUSINESS UNLTDBUSINESS

A REYT VISION FOR THE REGION! 40: Urban Splash The team on the future vision for ‘an icon of Sheffield’. 45: Transport SYPTE calls for businesses to help them steer travel plans postpandemic. 64: Digital marketing Fishtank on creating a dreamy new online identity for BedWorld. 68: Doncaster Chamber Awards The results from the glittering online ceremony. 72: Sheffield United The Club on retail remaining an ‘ever-important source of income’.

EVERYTHING ELSE: 13: The Diary 15: Financial Health 17: Entrepreneur Support 19: Legal Matters 21: Evolving Technology 22-23: Skills Focus 25: Troubleshooting 47: Launchpad 59: Sheffield City Region 63: Podcast Spotlight 82: Charity

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Well, here we are in April – and spring has definitely sprung. And along with the green shoots of cautious optimism as the Sheffield City Region (SCR) works along the ‘road to recovery’ outlined in our February cover story, we are very happy to be back in print! Not only that, but to have a magazine bursting full of features about creating a brighter and better future for the region, too. Cover star Adam Murray founded Urbana Town Planning in 2019. Now with rising staff and client numbers and set for further growth, he tells Jill Theobald of the firm’s plans for Sheffield’s future development. He also explains more about why his beloved home city must not settle for ‘reyt’ and instead strive for ‘great’! Read the full feature from page 28. Adam is not alone with his ambitious aims – check out our Future of the SCR feature from page 48. COVID-19 will ‘keep causing uncertainty for some time to come’, as the Sheffield Chamber directors note in their opening article. But they also acknowledge that, while there are challenges, there are opportunities aplenty for all ‘agile and well-connected businesses’ across the region. A range of businesses from sectors such as sport, recruitment, security, and training share their vision of our region as we emerge from the pandemic and plan for a brighter, better future. Plus, they also share a fair few exciting opportunities on the horizon which will enhance the SCR in the short and long-term, too. And last but certainly not least – after a few teasers so far in 2021, we launch unLTD’s property focus with a bumper themed If You Ask Me feature. Read all about the current trends and emerging opportunities from industry leaders including Resonate, Auction House, Redbrik, and Austin Fletcher from page 34.

EDITORIAL Richard Fidler richard@unltdbusiness.com Jill Theobald editorial@unltdbusiness.com General hello@unltdbusiness.com 0114 252 7781 ADVERTISING Dan Laver dan@unltdbusiness.com 07867 313995 Phil Turner phil@unltdbusiness.com 07979 498034 General advertising@unltdbusiness.com FINANCE Michael Johnson accounts@exposedmagazine.co.uk DESIGN Simon Waller, Simon Garlick and James Martin CONTRIBUTORS Matthew Ainscough Marc Barker Chris Coates Jo Davison Mike Durham Matt Holmes James Marriott

Bronte Saulle Raj & Fiona Shah Ian Snow Steve Vickers Helen Williams Ash Young

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.

AGENDA NEWS

PAUL FLETCHER

South Yorkshire call centre set to provide firms with telemarketing and digital marketing services South Yorkshire-based contact centre CC33 is set to expand its service offering and provide UK businesses with telemarketing and digital marketing services. The service, ‘CC33 Data’, allows users to obtain real-time data of potential customers to aid them in their marketing strategy, regardless of the industry they operate in. It comes with a view that easing of lockdown restrictions over the coming months and a return to some degree of normality, demand from businesses wanting their services known to clients will increase and data intelligence will play a key part in delivering it. CC33 has enjoyed a period of rapid growth despite the pandemic, with the company set to recruit 400 new members of staff. The firm recently expanded into more accommodating offices in The Portergate on Ecclesall Road in Sheffield, as well as their office on Mansfield Road in Rotherham. MD Paul Fletcher said: “It’s fantastic to be able to push our CC33 Data service to more businesses across the UK. Right now, data is the most valuable thing a marketer can have in their arsenal.”

GOOD THINGS COME TO THOSE WHO WAIT – LENSGO VISUAL MEDIA LAUNCH WEBSITE Stuart Turner of LensGo Media has had a busy time since setting up a successful visual media business three years ago. Winning awards, becoming a dad, and working with a wealth of clients like Gulliver's Theme Parks, Def Leppard, Benchmark, Resolve IT and Sheffield Wednesday meant that LensGo’s long planned website kept getting nudged back further on Stuart’s to-do list! Stuart, who proudly unveiled his new website last month, told unLTD: “We had the best intentions in 2018 to get cracking with it straight away but then we got busy. Really busy. If truth be told, it’s much more fun working with clients and getting their marketing to look epic, than it is working on our own!” Among Stuart’s many distractions was his commitment to helping those struggling with the latest lockdown. Having produced previous videos discussing mental health, Stuart rallied lots of South Yorkshire faces to share their tips for getting through the dark days and isolation this winter. “As much as I tried not to show it the first two lockdowns really

STUART TURNER

affected me. With a new born baby, and work being reduced I struggled as I know so many people have. “Fast forward to this lockdown, my son keeps me going every day, LensGo Visual Media is as busy as ever and

will continue to raise awareness around mental health. Remember: it's okay not to be okay.” To find out more about LensGo and their projects, visit the new website: www.lensgo.co.uk

B. BRAUN SUPPORTS MAJOR NEW EXPERT ADVISORY NETWORK Leading healthcare company B. Braun Medical Ltd has further developed its support with the Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England) becoming the major supporter of a new research group for innovation in surgical education. The Expert Advisory Network is an initiative developed by RCS England to help shape its future learning agenda

and aims to bring together professionals, from clinical and non-clinical backgrounds. Brian Chapman, professional and clinical relationships manager at B. Braun Medical Ltd, said: “I have been involved with the development of the Expert Advisory Network project from its inception. It fits in very closely with B. Braun’s strategy of partnership and our ethos of sharing expertise,

and so we are delighted to be collaborating with, and supporting the College on this exciting new initiative.” Richard Kerr, RCS England council member and co-chair of the Expert Advisory Network, said: “Collaborating with other industries and exploring successes and failures will help us move forward in progressing education, technology and innovation within surgery.”

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AGENDA

KEEBLES LLP’S CORPORATE TEAM COMPLETES £135M OF DEALS IN TWO WEEKS

Rotherham stately home ‘stars’ in Netflix drama Wentworth Woodhouse is streaming into the living rooms of crime drama fans as a location for Netflix series The Irregulars.

New electric chargers now live Sheffield Council has installed 18 new rapid electric vehicle chargers in seven locations across the city.

Chesterfield Waterside ‘continues apace’ MATT AINSWORTH

UK top-200 law firm Keebles LLP completed more than 20 deals in just two weeks earlier this year, as the business world continues to overcome the challenges caused by the pandemic. The high-profile transactions saw the corporate department bring in deals worth £135m including advising the management of Birminghambased fire and security services provider CCSS as it was acquired by EA-RS Fire Group. Keebles, which has offices in Sheffield, Doncaster and

Earlier this year, in just

WEEKS Keebles LLP’s corporate team completes 20 deals

Leeds, also advised on deals across the recruitment, retail, real estate, logistics,

healthcare, engineering and financial services sectors. Partner Matt Ainsworth said: “We have seen a general spike in deal flow over the last few months in the wake of uncertainties around the Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. “Our team has risen to the challenges of this demanding period which comes on the back of a strong 2020 in which we completed more than £250m of private equity, M&A and fundraising deals and is a positive start to 2021.”

DIGITAL AGENCY SHOWS SUPPORT FOR ST LUKE’S The award-winning digital agency, Hydra Creative, dug out their running shoes last month, taking part in the ‘Home Run’ to support their charity of the year, Sheffield’s St Luke’s Hospice. Studio assistant, Jana Kukebal and David

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Saunderson, graphic designer took part on behalf of Hydra. “In my home country of Estonia, we don’t really have anything similar. I know this sort of fundraising is popular in the UK, so I was excited to take part,” says Jana. Managing director,

Gemma Daniels said: “We love being able to support and partner with a charity like St Luke’s. “We are huge advocates for corporate responsibility, and believe it is so important to support local businesses and charities where possible.”

The £340 million Chesterfield Waterside scheme continues apace following the submission of an additional Reserved Matters application for the remaining elements of Basin Square, to the new ‘One Waterside Place’ office accommodation.

Champion Health reveals staff wellbeing trends in 2020 The pandemic has affected employee wellbeing, but also impacted on how employers prioritise staff wellbeing, according to data from Champion Health.

£1.2m awarded to design Parkinson’s drug Researchers from the University of Sheffield have been awarded over £1 million from Parkinson’s UK to develop a drug to slow down the disease’s progression.

AGENDA NEWS

SHU installs first of its kind energy harnessing playground in India Working with local project partners, researchers from Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) have designed and installed the first of its kind energy harnessing playground that stimulates crop growth as children play and learn. The prototype hydroponic playground, developed by a design research team led by Heath Reed and Andy Stanton from the University’s Lab4Living research group, stimulates crop growth by harnessing the energy generated by the children as they play. The pilot playground garden, Playponics, includes seesaws and hydroponic growing frames and has been installed at Khanpur Garbi primary school in Uttar Pradesh, India. It will enable the team to test how specially constructed play equipment in a school environment can use the power generated from children’s play to sustain hydroponic and conventionally grown crops. Principal researcher Heath Reed said: “The ambition is that the children grow up with enhanced awareness of the environment and we are trying to teach this subject in experimental and creative ways.” The SHU team worked alongside Indian partners and local businesses including Ativa, a design consultancy based in New Delhi. Assistant teacher Imtiyaz Ali said: “It has proved to be very successful and popular amongst the students.”

BUSINESS SHEFFIELD IS HERE TO HELP WITH YOUR BREXIT ENQUIRIES Business Sheffield, the business support programme for Sheffield City Council, is funding a dedicated Brexit Support Service for Sheffield companies to help them trade successfully post Brexit and support them with information and advice from a single service. Business Sheffield’s business growth manager Yvonne Asquith said: “We want to give our local businesses the best opportunity to continue working with their customers and suppliers across Europe and support new growth

opportunities for those aiming to develop new markets. We are funding a dedicated team to ensure the service is personal – you can speak to someone rather than being lost in web pages or pressing the next phone option.” The service is co-ordinated by Sheffield Chamber of Commerce with the support of the Sheffield International Trade Centre and specialist advisers. Enquiries to date have included a wide range of organisations from start-up companies and retailers to

advanced manufacturers with questions about trading with Northern Ireland, selling online to Germany, how to import from Turkey and talking through the numerous documents and declarations now required. The phone line is manned from 9am-5pm Monday to Friday where you will speak to someone, or you can use the email address and receive a callback. Tel no: 0114 223 8188 Email: brexitsupport@scci.org.uk

Leading dealmakers advise on multimillion-pound cross border deal BHP Corporate Finance acted as lead advisor and Keebles as legal advisor to the shareholders of GB Eye Limited in its multi-millionpound sale to France-based acquiror Abysse Corp. GB Eye is a Sheffield-based business specialising in the pop-culture, poster and gifting products markets. Abysse Corp has a global presence in the fan-focused merchandise market. Following the acquisition, the combined group will employ almost 300 staff and expects a consolidated turnover close to

The combined group will employ almost

300

staff following the acquisition

€60 million in 2021. The BHP Corporate Finance team was led by David Forrest, Declan Savage and Mark Cooper. David Forrest, partner, said: “The commercial logic was very strong, particularly

following Brexit, and this is a strategic acquisition for Abysse which very much retains the strong GB Eye brand and its manufacturing and distribution presence in the Sheffield City Region.” Paul Trudgill and Russell Bainbridge led the Keebles team. Paul Trudgill, partner, added: “Having acted for Charlie and the team for almost 20 years, it was really satisfying to be able to assist the shareholders in the final step of their journey to secure the successful transition of the business to the new owners.”

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AGENDA PROPERTY NEWS ADVERTORIAL

ARE RISING MORTGAGES AND STAMP DUTY EXEMPTIONS CAUSING AN INCREASE IN HOMELESSNESS? While it is great news for some, many first-time buyers are finding it increasingly difficult to get onto the property ladder. Rising rents and job insecurity caused by COVID have meant that more than ever, young people are finding themselves homeless. Nomad Opening Doors are a homeless prevention charity based here in Sheffield, providing good quality shared accommodation to those facing homelessness in our city. There are 280,000 people facing homelessness in the UK right now. For just £19 per day Nomad can provide

accommodation which will enable someone to transform their life for good. You can help us make this difference by taking part in our SUFC Shirt Raffle. Nomad Opening Doors have been gifted a shirt, signed by the first team, and will be raffling this prize for just £5 per ticket. You can enter as many times as you like, and the winner will be announced at the end of April. To find out more about Nomad’s work, and this chance to win visit www. Nomadsheffield.co.uk or call 0114 321 0262.

Gripple grows to cope with increasing product and services demand Growing demand for Gripple Fast Trak, one of Gripple Limited’s ground-breaking products, means the repurpose of a brand-new building – previously intended to be home to Gripple Automation – and acquiring a new home for GA, which has outgrown its existing premises. Gripple had invested £2m in a new 18,000 sq ft building on Foley Street which is now dedicated to Fast Trak manufacture. Christened The Norfolk Bridge Works, this building will provide the additional production space required for Fast Trak, the rapid trapeze bracket solution designed for the suspension of building services. The ‘next generation’ Gripple building, will provide 15,000 sq ft production and 2,000 sq ft office space and a showcase

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GRIPPLE'S NORFOLK BRIDGE WORKS

for the latest Gripple products, in addition to a ‘green’ wall and solar panels. The bespoke automated production and processing solutions provided by Gripple Automation, both in-house and external, continue to increase beyond expectations. This necessitated a move into another building – a new

16,000 sq.ft facility, with a 9,032 sq ft build space, close to the Advanced Manufacturing Park in Orgreave. The new building incorporates an increased machine build area, a larger inhouse machining department, giving the team – increasing from 20 to 30 in the last year – more scope to continue growing.

First look at apartments inside Heart of the City development, Burgess House Redbrik has officially launched Burgess House, as part of the Heart of the City regeneration scheme. Progress is already being made on the 52 highspecification apartments in Sheffield city centre, with the opportunity for buyers to purchase off-plan and an expected completion date of September 2021. Burgess House will house a mixture of studio, one, two and three-bedroom apartments, featuring expansive windows, openplan living spaces and views across the city. Redbrik's Land & New Homes Manager, Jen Beal, said: "We're thrilled to have been appointed as the sales agent for Burgess House. "The new community is perfectly positioned for modern life and will breathe vibrancy, opportunities and style into Sheffield city centre." Heart of the City is expected to create around 500 construction jobs and support between 5,500 and 7,000 jobs once complete. As a mixed-use scheme, it will comprise of retail, offices, hotel and residential developments, leisure facilities, and public realm spaces. For more information, visit www.burgess-house.com and www.redbrik.co.uk/ land-new-homes

AGENDA APPOINTMENTS Frenchgate unveil new general manager Frenchgate Shopping Centre has appointed a new general manager and it is a familiar face who will be taking the helm of the 800,000 sq ft retail and leisure destination. Karen Staniforth, who was previously assistant general manager, has been promoted following five successful years at Frenchgate. After joining the team as marketing manager in 2015, Karen was promoted to assistant general manager two years later. Her new role will see her welcoming high-profile new food and beverage brand, Elephant and Castle, as well as working alongside retailers in navigating the continuing unprecedented times facing the industry.

BHP CORPORATE FINANCE BUILDS ON SUCCESS WITH DEAL ADVISORY TEAMS

WILL SYKES, LEFT AND MATHEW OLDFIELD

A multi award-winning division of leading regional accountancy firm BHP now has over 20 deal advisory specialists sharing expertise across all aspects of corporate finance.

Building on 18-months of increased deal activity during a global pandemic, BHP Corporate Finance has bolstered its headcount with Will Sykes moving into its M&A advisory team

and Mathew Oldfield into Transaction Services. This closely follows significant growth in team numbers in recent years, including two partner appointments in 2019. Following a successful internship with BHP Corporate Finance in 2018, Will spent a year with the firm’s audit and tax teams through their Graduate Recruitment Scheme before returning to Corporate Finance full-time. Mathew followed a similar route, training and qualifying with BHP’s audit team before switching to his new role in November 2020. Martin Athey, transaction services partner, added: “These recent recruits not only demonstrate BHP’s commitment to nurturing and developing its people, but also highlight the specialisms, expertise and strength in depth across all of our service lines.”

Sarah is 'perfect addition' for Verus KAREN STANIFORTH

Karen said: “I am incredibly passionate about ensuring Frenchgate offers our loyal customers the best possible shopping and leisure experience. It is well documented that the retail sector has been hit particularly hard over the last year due to the global pandemic and it is important we work with retailers to ensure they prosper over the forthcoming weeks and months. “The stores within Frenchgate collectively make the centre a significant employer within Doncaster and a huge contributor to the local economy.”

Sarah Briggs, formerly of Sheffield Chamber of Commerce and Museums Sheffield, has joined Verus Recruitment Partners in a newly formed position as their business development executive. Sarah said: “In my role at the Chamber I regularly had conversations with businesses who were frustrated by the lack of talent applying for their vacancies or high staff turnover, so I’m really looking forward to having the opportunity to offer further support through my new role. “Verus aren’t just about filling roles, you’re paying a specialist to really get involved in your business, have a fresh pair of eyes on what your team really needs

SARAH BRIGGS

and work with you to find the perfect match.” Jamie Griggs, founder and director, said: “Sarah’s strength lies in building relationships, and she

thoroughly enjoys getting to know people and finding out about their businesses – making her the perfect addition to the Verus Recruitment family.”

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TRAVELSOUTHYORKSHIRE.COM/BUSINESS

EXPERIENCED ENERGY EXPERT JOINS PROFESSIONAL ENERGY PURCHASING Sheffield-based independent energy consultancy Professional Energy Purchasing is expanding its team to strengthen its energy procurement service for businesses by appointing Dan Wilson. Dan said: “Despite being in a pandemic and the extra challenges it brings, I’m really looking forward to playing my part in driving the business forward. I was interviewed virtually but already feel like part of the team thanks to the warm welcome I’ve had.” MD Linda Spencer said: “Dan is an excellent fit for this position, both in terms of his knowledge of energy procurement, but also his values which align perfectly with our business.

“He understands the importance of providing a first-class service to clients which is the bedrock of the company and is fundamental

New Addition at Spärka

SCR Mayor appoints arts and cultural sector director

Spärka, a leading provider of high-quality architectural ironmongery and specialist supplier of fire-rated door hardware, has expanded its senior management team by appointing Rebecca Fortescue-Halliwell as marketing manager. Rebecca brings 13 years of previous experience working within product development and marketing in the construction industry from her previous role at TIMco. She joins founders Kelvin Hughes, Mark Hughes and Joshua Watkins who started the company in July 2019. Rebecca said: “I can’t wait to work with the Spärka team as well as our builders’ merchant customers to promote our industry-leading door hardware across the UK.”

Sheffield City Region Mayor Dan Jarvis has appointed a director to help South Yorkshire’s arts, culture and heritage sector recover from COVID and thrive. Kate Brindley previously worked for the Arnolfini in Bristol, the Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, Bristol Museums, and Chatsworth. She said: “We want the region to be a place where people flourish through participation in arts and culture, and that our fantastic story and offer is recognised across the country and the globe. “Growing up in Sheffield I loved visiting the region’s theatres, cinemas, music venues and art galleries. My experience of South Yorkshire’s rich cultural heritage fundamentally shaped who I am today.” Mayor Jarvis said: “By uniting our cultural offer we

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DAN WILSON

to me personally. “It’s an exciting time to join the business and I’m sure he will prove to be another key member of the team.”

KATE BRINDLEY

can put South Yorkshire back on to the national stage and attract millions of tourists a year to our region, giving our economy the boost and recognition it needs.”

Further growth for Glu Recruit Glu Recruit, the South Yorkshire based specialist recruitment consultancy, has added three new members to the team as it plans for further growth in 2021. The now nine-strong team welcomes a new strategic partnerships manager, a recruitment consultant, and an apprentice recruitment administrator. MD Rob Shaw said: “As demand from clients continues to grow strong, we want to make sure we have the infrastructure in place to be able to manage this effectively, as well as seek out new opportunities.

L-R: CAITLYN HASLAM, ASHLEIGH NAUGHTON & DANNY JOHNSON

“While we have added to our recruitment team, we have also created a new role that focuses purely on business development and new client partnerships. We’re delighted to bring in an experienced sales manager in Danny Johnson as our new strategic partnerships manager, to focus on enhancing our existing client relationships, as well as developing new ones with businesses across the Sheffield City Region. “In addition, Ashleigh Naughton joins the Glu family as our new recruitment consultant, as well as Caitlyn Haslam as apprentice recruitment administrator. “We are really looking forward to seeing what the rest of the year has in store for us!”

AGENDA

THE DIARY BY RICHARD FIDLER

Our editor on how town centres will take on a ‘different shape and feel’

WHAT IS THE ‘NEW NORMAL’ FOR OUR TOWN AND CITY CENTRES? The readership of this magazine is primarily those from South Yorkshire – or the Sheffield City Region to give it its mayoral combined authority name – so here’s a question. When did you last visit a local town or city centre? Answers to this are obviously skewed by the pandemic, and the chances are you will have been in to a town centre for one reason or another occasionally over the past six months or so. But what I mean is, the regular visits. Whether that’s for work, for retail, for socialising, for entertainment. Again, I’ll caveat my original question with the fact that the last year has been anything but normal and even in the periods of relaxation

of restrictions it still wasn’t conducive to businesses being able to go full throttle. The reason why I ask is that as we work our way through the roadmap set out by Boris Johnson more and more of our day-to-day normalities in town centres will come back on stream. But will they? And, crucially, will we want them to? If you have been working from home for more than 12 months how do you feel about the morning and evening commute? Sure, you’ve missed your colleagues and deep down you know you’re more creative in an office environment surrounded by like-minded people, but do you really want to lose an hour at each end of the working day? And if you feel like that,

then you can guarantee that millions of other people will have similar thoughts. So, businesses will adapt. Maybe not to the extreme of closing down their offices, but maybe downsizing, providing flexibility for teams to meet but to primarily base themselves at home. It’s been a popular discussion to have about what new working arrangements will look like. Well, it’s nearly here folks. Add that to closures of major high street stores like John Lewis in Sheffield city centre and questions begin to be asked about what will our centres look like. I think people picture wastelands of empty retail units and office blocks. For a time, this may be true. But already our centres are

taking on a different shape and feel. City and town centre living is hardly a new concept, but people will want a higherquality of existence. More open space and areas to relax are needed. This may mean that some buildings are demolished to make was for parks and plazas. For me, that’s a positive step. Sheffield has ambitious plans for its Heart of the City development. And Rotherham has set its course for making the town centre a place to live and bring up a family. Our city and town centres are changing. For some people this will be hard to take, for others it’s a sign of progress. Either way – just like we have for the past year – it’s a reality that we have to deal with and make the best of.

Got views of your own? Let me know: richard@unltdbusiness.com LinkedIn: Richard Fidler

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FINANCIAL HEALTH BY RAJ SHAH AND FIONA SHAH OF BLUE WEALTH CAPITAL

The financial planners on the most important measure of value for clients

BEYOND INVESTING “The money I have entrusted you with represents years of hard work and sacrifice. Your actions will impact this family for generations. It not only will be long-term business for you but the opportunity for my children, and their children’s education and well-being, are in your control. “Please don’t let us down.” 1 This quote pretty much sums up why I do what I do. I have to admit, if I think about it too much, I can scare myself. But it is always bubbling away, under the surface, in my subconscious. It is just what I do. What do clients want? The results of an investor feedback survey 2 (carried out annually from 2016 to 2019) has shown the most important measure of the value clients receive from their adviser is a 'sense of security or peace of mind'. This was closely followed by 'knowledge of my personal financial situation' and, in turn, 'progress against

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my goals' and only then, 'investment returns'. Why is financial security or peace of mind so important? At Blue Wealth, we are fascinated – and led – by what drives human behaviour. One of the best-known theories of motivation is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. The concept was first introduced in 19433, and its premise was that our actions are motivated in order to achieve certain human needs. The hierarchy suggests that people are motivated to fulfil

Selfactualization Esteem Love/belonging Safety Physiological

basic needs before moving on to other, more advanced needs. Like Maslow, we are interested in learning about what makes people happy and the things they do to achieve that aim. As a humanist, Maslow believed people have an inborn desire to be ‘selfactualised’. In other words, to be all they can be. To achieve these ultimate goals, however, a number of more basic needs must first be met such as food, safety, love, and self-esteem. Once these basic needs have been met, people then move on to the next level, which are for safety and security. How do we give you financial peace of mind? It is simple. We: • Acknowledge – we listen to you. We really listen. Because we are interested. • Clarify – we understand you. And we keep checking that we understand you. • Explain – we help you. And we keep helping you, by coaching.

Investment – and beyond Our work at Blue Wealth and the high-quality financial planning we deliver goes way beyond investing. You can put a value on investing – and by this, I mean we can give you an idea of what your money will be worth in 30 years using projections. You can put a value on good advice (the adviser’s fees). The value of financial security and peace of mind, however, is priceless. If you would like to learn more about our approach, please contact us for a no obligation chat. Raj Shah is founder of Blue Wealth capital and has been shortlisted for Financial Planner of the Year and Investment Adviser of the Year bluewealthcapital.com raj@bluewealthcapital.com 1. An end client quote from the [Dimensional] 2017 Global Investor Feedback Survey. 2. Dimensional Investor Feedback Survey 3. ‘ A Theory of Human Motivation’, Abraham Maslow, 1943.

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ENTREPRENEURSUPPORT BY LAUREN BRADY, HELPING ENTREPRENEURS WIN

Our columnist says why wait? Get your accountability training gear on now!

DO WHAT YOU SAID YOU WOULD If we asked you to evaluate the first three months of 2021 right now, how would you rate them? Most people fall into one of two camps – those who can shout ‘awesome, nailed it, smashed it out of the park’ or, ‘it’s been ok, got some stuff done, not sure exactly what, read and sent some emails, ate and slept, survived!’ We have all had days, weeks and months that fall into either of these camps. We are not here to berate you – there’s a good chance your critical inner voice is doing that fine on its own. We are also not going to tuck you up on the sofa with a blanket, a hot water bottle, pat you on the head and say: ‘never mind dear, better luck next week’. What we do want to do is talk about doing what we

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said we would do. Not to our boss or our business partners, not to our other halves or our coaches/mentors, not even to our customers or our social media following. We are talking about doing what we said we would do to OURSELVES. Accountability is a word that gets thrown out a lot in our industry. Being accountable for our actions, behaviour, goal setting, outcomes…the list could go on. It’s something we hear from our clients and from our social media every single day: ‘how do I stay accountable, girls? How?’ The answer is genuinely really simple: do what you said you would do. Full stop. The hard bit is that when you set the goal, or planned

the outcome you wanted, you had a certain feeling. It may have been excitement or enthusiasm. It may have been fear or pure dread of pain you want to avoid. What happens along the way – real life, real business, throw in some lockdown pandemic mass media madness! – is we lose those initial feelings. But we do what we said we would do, regardless. After what has felt like a pretty long and hard season, the fog is lifting for so many of you right now. Maybe it’s the road out of lockdown or the lighter evenings, maybe it’s because enough is enough and you’re sick of feeling stuck, frustrated, and annoyed with letting yourself off the hook. We can feel the tide turning, we have listened

as SO many people have said ‘please help us be more accountable’ to ourselves and to our teams. Don’t wait. Don’t say ‘maybe next time’. Don’t think ‘we have all the time in the world’. If 2020 has taught us anything, we never know what is around the next corner, where the next hurdle will appear. So, let’s get our training gear on now and get ready. Let’s be accountable for one thing at a time and then, by god, let’s watch that muscle grow! We would love to help you nail this, send us an email today and book in a consultation call. helpingentrepreneurswin.com

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Trusted by generations.

0114 249 5969 legals@bellbuxton.co.uk www.bellbuxton.co.uk

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LEGAL MATTERS

BY MATTHEW AINSCOUGH, BELL & BUXTON SOLICITORS INCORPORATING IRONMONGER CURTIS The senior employment lawyer advises employers against a ‘risky’ COVID jab policy

‘NO JAB, NO JOB’? EMPLOYERS WARNED TO ‘BE WARY’ ‘No jab, no job’ headlines are frequently appearing in the media at the moment, in the wake of the government’s rapid rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine programme. However, looking beyond the headlines, what are the legal issues that an employer would have to consider before introducing such a policy? In short, employers should be very wary of introducing such a policy. At the time of writing, ACAS guidance advises that it is best for employers to encourage staff without making it a requirement. Any employer considering imposing a mandatory vaccination requirement should consider the following issues, which make it a risky proposition: • Requiring an employee to be vaccinated without their consent could amount to a fundamental breach of contract, entitling them to claim constructive dismissal. • Vaccination is not suitable for everyone, for example pregnant women.

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• Mandatory vaccination could be indirectly discriminatory on the grounds of protected characteristics (such as disability, age, religion/ belief, or pregnancy) and/ or a breach of the right to privacy under the Human Rights Act. • Currently, individuals must wait their turn in order of priority, to be offered vaccination. Allowing only vaccinated employees to return to the workplace could potentially lead to indirect or direct age discrimination claims by younger employees. • Mandatory vaccination could be difficult to justify on health and safety grounds, as currently it is understood that vaccines are not 100% effective. • An employee might have an adverse reaction to the vaccine, and if so they might attempt to bring a personal injury claim against the employer. • Mandatory vaccination

could result in negative publicity for the employer. In light of the risks of a mandatory vaccination policy, employers should instead encourage take-up, and consider what other alternative measures could be introduced to reduce the risk of COVID-19 in the workplace, such as: • Regular testing. • Regular health and safety reviews and risk assessments. • Allowing employees to work from home. • Temporarily adjusting an employee’s role to reduce risk e.g. for pregnant or disabled employees. Can an employer dismiss an employee who refuses to have a COVID-19 vaccine? If an employee has less than two years' service, then they do not have any unfair dismissal rights, so it is possible to dismiss them for refusing a vaccine, provided that there are no potential discrimination issues, such

as pregnancy, disability or religion. However, if an employee has two or more years’ service then an employer should be aware that a dismissal for refusing to have a vaccine could be unfair (and potentially discriminatory, depending upon the reason for the refusal), although inevitably it will be dependent on the individual circumstances of the case and the nature of the workplace – for example in cases where employees are working with vulnerable individuals. In summary, there are many potential risks associated with introducing a mandatory vaccination policy, and employers are best advised to take legal advice before making any decisions.

Please contact Matthew Ainscough on 0114 249 5969 or m.ainscough@ bellbuxton.co.uk for advice on any Covid-19 work issues, or any other employment law enquiries.

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EVOLVING TECHNOLOGY BY ASH YOUNG

Our tech expert with a guide to developing strong SEO visibility

TOP 8 SEO TIPS FOR SMALL BUSINESSES Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the process of improving the quantity and quality of traffic to your website through organic search engine results. Are you a small online business wanting to get started with Google SEO? For small business promotion, there is little that can compete with high, organic search engine visibility. It may seem daunting to begin but I’ve put together the top actions you can take to get started: Create a Google My Business Listing Google My Business (GMB) is important as it helps to increase your chances of showing up in organic rankings for local businesses and Google Maps.

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free service that provides information on how you’re ranking, what search terms bring people to your site, your site map, link errors and much more. It also monitors the health of your website and makes recommendations for basic improvements. Conduct initial keyword research Understanding what your potential customers search for is key to effectively optimising your website. To do this, you can use Google Keyword Planner (part of Google Ads), or Moz Explorer. Identify your core terms, by using your own judgement. What services or products do you sell? Think about how you would search for it. Plug those in to discover average monthly search volume and similar keywords. Even very simple keyword research can help you to guide on the structure and optimisations for your site.

Keyword to page mapping Now you have a list of keywords to target, do you have an appropriate page on site for each term? This will help you to rank higher for keywords relevant to that page, and provides a targeted landing page that matches user intent.

Crawl your site The free version of Screaming Frog will crawl 500 pages, usually enough for a small business. The output will allow you to review your URLs, page titles, meta descriptions and H1 tags, and make sure they’re optimised for your focus keywords.

Add location pages If your company has multiple physical stores, then I would recommend a page for each of these locations. This will help to develop strong local SEO visibility.

Conduct a page speed and mobile-friendly test You can use Google’s PageSpeed Insights and Google’s Mobile Friendly Test, and this will provide a report for potential optimisations to improve your site.

Local link building Gaining links back to your site from external authoritative websites can help to improve your search rankings. Do you have any existing partners locally? Do you provide a service or products to a local company? Do you have a wholesaler, manufacturer, or distributor? Any of these businesses may add a link back to your site.

For help with starting SEO, get in touch with the Evoluted team.

SKILLS

SKILLS FOCUS

SPONSORED BY THE SOURCE SKILLS ACADEMY

BOUNCE BACK WITH APPRENTICES AND UP TO £4,000 OF GOV CASH, URGES THE SOURCE Companies preparing to Build Back Better after lockdown are being urged to turn to apprenticeships - and take advantage of up to £4,000 cash from the government to help with the cost. Any employers who hire a new apprentice from April 1-September 30 will receive £3,000, regardless of the apprentice’s age. The new, enhanced incentive was announced in the March 3 Budget. It is on top of the £1,000 payment already provided for new apprentices aged 16 to 18 and those under 25 with an Education, Health and Care Plan - meaning that some employers could receive £4,000 in total. The apprenticeship financial incentive was introduced in 2020’s Summer Budget. It gave firms £2,000 when taking on 16 to 24 year olds and £1,500 for the 25s and over. The new cash bonus changes the amount to £3,000 across the board. It is a significant boost to employers and also puts job-hunters of all ages on an equal footing, says The Source Skills Academy in Sheffield. “The Chancellor has

RICHARD WILLIS, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER AT THE SOURCE

effectively doubled the amount companies receive for taking on an older apprentice and gives them £500 more than previously for taking on under 24s,” said Richard Willis, business development manager at The Source, a widely-respected training provider with charity status.

“This could be a real gamechanger for small businesses who need to fill skills gaps as they re-start. It eases the financial risk of taking someone on in a time of uncertainty. £4,000 will pay almost half an apprentice’s wage.” The payment can be spent on any apprentice costs,

including your apprentice’s salary, and does not have to be paid back. It is accessed through the Digital Apprenticeship Account on the Gov.uk website, which The Source can provide support with. Contact apprenticeships@ thesourceacademy.co.uk

Richard’s team is helping companies regenerate Richard Willis brings 18 years of experience to managing The Source’s business development team. He spent five years at Sheffield College, enabling local construction firms to find the right apprentices, expanded his career during 10 years at Barnsley College and

joined the Source in 2018. He is now leading the team as it gears up to help Sheffield City Region companies regenerate via apprenticeships and employee training “Throughout my career I’ve seen the value of apprenticeships - on

both learners and the companies who benefit from their enthusiasm and commitment,” said Richard. “Apprentices have an important role to play in the challenging times ahead as the region builds back after the pandemic. “In addition, we are helping

businesses access a range of fully-funded training and employment initiatives, such as the Kickstart programme. “These schemes complement each other and will help people and businesses of all backgrounds to regroup, expand and develop,”

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SKILLS 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. Contact 0114 2635600 Marketing & thesourceacademy.co.uk

KAREN RENDI OF ZEBRA MOTORING SCHOOL

Karen is ready to steer her own future Karen Rendi is ready to launch her own driving school thanks to a course she studied with The Source Skills Academy. Zebra Motoring School will be ready to roll in Rotherham as soon as lockdown eases this spring and Karen, (50), already has customers lining up. She studied a Business Startup course online during the first

lockdown, and qualified as a driving instructor in September. By October she had bought a dual-control car and was ready to launch, but had to put the brakes on when South Yorkshire went into Tier 3 restrictions. Karen was the owner of Thorpe Hesley’s Village Store but on selling up she decided to become an instructor

after helping her eldest son Alexander learn to drive. While qualifying she took a part time job with The Source and discovered its range of CPD courses. “My six-week course taught me a huge amount – research and costings advice and how to do my own accounts and marketing,” said Karen,

a quality administrator. “Although I’d been in business before, there was a lot I needed to know to start a business from scratch. “The course gave me many ideas and strategies. Because it was online, I studied when I had free evenings. I really enjoyed it and the tutor was knowledgeable and helpful.”

BOOST SKILLS NOW TO PREPARE FOR LIFE AFTER LOCKDOWN Lockdown could soon be over, but there are still testing times ahead for business. Companies getting workforces ready, or people planning to launch their own businesses, can prepare by boosting their skills. A wide range of Continued Professional Development courses have been specially collated by The Source Skills Academy with busy professionals and budding entrepreneurs in mind. Many are Ideal for someone stepping up to a

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new role or taking on more responsibilities. Others are tailored for business start-ups. Leadership Skills courses available include Managing Meetings, Presentation Skills, Effective Communication and Project Management. Marketing professionals and new businesses can increase their skills in social media, marketing, and search engine optimisation. HR training ranges from Time Management to Stress Management and awareness of mental health – the latter

are key issues of the pandemic. Courses for the selfemployed and company directors include Techniques in Lean Organisation and Business Improvement. “Maybe there are things you’ve long felt under-confident about, such as managing a meeting or negotiating with an unhappy customer,” said Danny Slinn, employment and skills project manager. “Or post-lockdown your organisation will be leaner, with staff needing to take on new responsibilities. Our

courses will address those skills gaps. “Experts predict many people made redundant during the pandemic will see a future in self-employment. Many of our courses will help people on that journey.” CPD courses are low cost – from £30 Study time can be completed at your own pace. Work is done online, with tutors on hand. Find out more at www. thesourceacademy.co.uk/ online-training-0

BUSINESS SUPPORT

TROUBLESHOOTING BY STEVE VICKERS, TAX PARTNER, HART SHAW

Our columnist says now might be a good time to check the accuracy of COVID claims

FURLOUGHED EMPLOYEES? CLAIMED COVID SELF-EMPLOYED HELP? READ ON… Furloughed your employees? Claimed COVID help for self-employed? How are you sleeping? As early as September, the press were reporting that up to £3.5bn Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) claims were fraudulent or incorrect. HMRC are equally concerned about COVID SelfEmployment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) claims. Rishi Sunak in his recent budget speech: “We’ll also tackle fraud in our COVID schemes, with £100m to set up a new HMRC taskforce of around 1,000 investigators.” Those making genuine mistakes will be asked to pay it back. Do this voluntarily and

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there shouldn’t be any penalty payable. After all, the schemes were invented ‘on the fly’ and were new to all of us. You can pay it back via a reduced future CJRS claim. Or, if you’re not claiming anymore, or it’s SEISS, then contact HMRC for a payment reference. By November 2020, £382m had already been paid back by claimants. Alternatively, leave it for HMRC to find the errors for you, and you could pay a penalty. The maximum possible penalty is up to 100 per cent of the spurious claim. In the case of genuine error, the penalty is likely to be much less. Of much more interest to those new, keen HMRC

investigators will be rooting out fraudulent claims on both SEISS and CJRS. SEISS claim criteria include either being unable to trade or being “impacted by reduced demand” due to COVID. Claimants must declare they intend to continue to trade AND believe there will be a significant reduction in profit. Easy to prove when a business is forced to close. Less so if you’ve been trading throughout 2020. HMRC are currently emailing about 20,000 SEISS claimants querying why they said they were continuing to trade (one of the SEISS qualifying criteria) but have now permanently ceased trading?

CJRS claim criteria include similar stipulations around preserving jobs. Many CJRS claims will fail due to employees working when they were supposed to have been furloughed (and HMRC are asking them!) This is just the start. If it’s a good night’s sleep you’re after, now might be a good time to re-visit and check the accuracy of claims you’ve made or, indeed, whether you should have claimed at all. Sweet dreams… Steve Vickers Tax Partner Hart Shaw LLP steve.vickers@hartshaw.co.uk 0114 251 8850

ADVERTORIAL

SWITCHING IT …

BEFORE YOU SEE RED! Ian Snow, MD at CT, takes a look at some red flags that could indicate you are on the lookout to switch IT provider Switching IT support provider is not a decision to be taken lightly, but it is often one born from necessity rather than from choice. The perceived pain of changing often paralyses businesses – leading them to endure a substandard service until things become too costly to continue. During this past year, getting the right support for IT has become far more important. We have had so many conversations with potential new customers looking to make the change and we wanted to share the triggers to making that first important move. We’re fed up with poor customer service. “Our existing IT company used to be great, but recently their service levels have been dreadful! They keep missing their SLA (service-level agreement), they never return our calls, and we are bored with having to chase them to fix our IT problems!” It’s all about resources. Service level shortfalls can occur when a helpdesk team is overworked, understaffed, or both! It’s also possible that the engineer/s with the most knowledge about your network have left. We don’t cut corners when it comes to recruiting good people in the numbers required to exceed

our clients’ expectations. The knowledge of your systems is shared on our secure knowledge base, meaning multiple engineers can support your requirements. We can’t get 24/7 IT Support. “Our existing IT company doesn’t provide support outside traditional business operating hours.” Our engineers are always on-call. Our UK-based team can provide telephone and remote IT support 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Our IT company lacks knowledge in new technology. “We’re interested in using new technologies, but our existing IT company doesn’t seem to know the answers to any of our questions!” We’re a highly technical organisation. We’ve been successful for over two decades because we’ve continuously evolved our skillset to support the latest technologies. Your dedicated account manager is on hand to answer ANY IT-related questions and supported by our team of consultants and project managers who are available to offer expert impartial advice for complex requirements.

Our IT Company isn’t ISO accredited. “We handle lots of sensitive client data, but our existing IT company isn’t ISO27001 accredited. It’s a shame because we are happy with the service, but we can’t take the risk of being non-compliant.” We’ve got that covered. Our IT Department is one of only seven UK IT support companies that is both ISO9001 and ISO27001 accredited. We work with clients from many sectors, including the legal and financial services that require an ISO-compliant IT support service.

We’re fed up with unreliable cloud services. “Our IT company provides us with a range of cloud services. But the platform is unreliable, and it takes them forever to get any cloud-related issues resolved.” We have our own cloud infrastructure. Many IT companies resell white label cloud-services under their own brand, meaning both support and reliability are out of their control. We continue to invest heavily in our very own cloud infrastructure that resides at four of the UK’s most advanced independent Tier 3 and Tier 4 data centres, allowing us

to provide a better standard of service and faster reactive support. We don’t have a clear IT strategy. “Our IT company seems to be more reactive than proactive. The technology is always having to play catch-up with what is happening within our organisation.” Our Strategic reviews align technology with your business goals. Recently, this has been our number one feedback from businesses. Having an IT strategy which aligns to your business goals is now paramount. With technology playing a more important role in growth and resiliency, business owners want to know what they need to invest in beforehand, so they can plan the budget and not be hit with any nasty surprises along the way. Every new CT client undergoes a Strategic IT Review where we map out all short, medium and long-term recommendations. This is then reviewed regularly to take changes into consideration.

Our technology seems dated. “We always feel like we have to chase them for advice on the ‘next best thing’ to use rather than them coming to us.”

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ADVERTORIAL

Our experienced team are always one step ahead. With a wealth of technology experience across many different sectors, our consultants will always make recommendations that make a real business difference. Your IT strategy will be reviewed regularly and include a review of the processes involved within the different departments of your business. Wherever possible, your account manager will already work with clients in your industry, giving them extended

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knowledge which can be shared across the client base if appropriate. We feel we’ve outgrown our current provider. “Our current IT company simply haven’t got the resource, skillset, knowledge or services to meet our requirements.” We can support all your new IT needs. Around 30 per cent of businesses we meet have simply grown too big for the current IT provider to support.

For example, you’ve quickly grown and have three times as many employees to support. You may simply be looking for an upgrade of support and need a more strategic thinking and proactive IT partner to take your business to the next level. We had a security breach and/or lost data. “Our provider was late to install security patches and we have since been hacked. This has caused us huge downtime, stress and worry.”

Security is the heart of everything we do. Our Data Security solutions are designed to keep your business moving and minimise downtime. We are specialists in design, supply, installation, and maintenance of backup solutions. All customer data is stored in secure data centres, right here in the UK that comply with ISO 27001. To find out more about how CT can help your business, get in touch today on 01246 266130 or visit our site on www.ct.uk

COVER STORY

BE REYT?

, NO BE

GREAT! With rising staff and client numbers, an office in London and operating nationwide, Adam Murray, founder of Sheffieldbased Urbana Town Planning, tells Jill Theobald of the firm’s plans for the city’s future development – and why his beloved home must not settle for ‘reyt’ and instead strive for ‘great’

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COVER STORY “I’m a planner but I’d rather call myself an urbanist – I’m involved in this because I love cities.” It’s not long into our Zoom interview that Adam Murray’s love for cities, and Sheffield in particular, emerges. The Sheffield-born MD of Urbana studied planning at the University of Sheffield, with a year abroad at the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign … which is where the company name comes from. “Life since then has been mostly in the UK but a lot in the US, too,” said Adam, chatting from Urbana’s HQ at Steel City House – itself reminiscent of New York’s iconic Flatiron building. “I have a lot of love for Chicago, where I spent most of my time and my friends live, but also New York and the west coast. “The US has been a big influence on me, but not as much as my home city. Sheffield is where my heart is, I am a big United fan and my family have been here for generations! A city getting better is really important to me and that’s why I became a planner in the first place – being interested in the urban environment and built environment and thinking, ‘there’s a lot I love about Sheffield but there’s a lot we can improve’. So how do we make it a better, more prosperous city while not leaving anyone behind? If you’re going to make an area great, then everyone should be involved.” Despite describing Chicago and Sheffield as ‘apples and oranges’, Adam acknowledges some similarities. “Chicago may have skyscrapers, but it’s

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the great sustainable urban neighbourhoods that excite me. All interconnected by the El/L – their Supertram – and all designed to house all amenities and services and that’s a similar feeling in Sheffield with your Broomhills, Sharrows and Nether Edges. “But as someone who is always looking at urban areas and how we can improve these, the differences are obviously huge, and it’s in the attitude. America is very much a ‘go get it’ kind of a place. The UK is increasingly, but Sheffield has always tended to be a bit embarrassed – we’re happy with what we’ve got.

That attitude of ‘settling’ is something we need to challenge, and I think we are – things are changing.

“The associated phrase is ‘Be reyt’ – but for me, while that’s cute and comforting, it’s not good enough for the city. Being reyt is being average, not striving for the best and at Urbana we want to turn ‘be reyt’ into ‘be great’! “That might sound cheesy, no doubt – but it’s something for me personally which Sheffield needs to take on. You look at every index on deprivation, employment and unemployment levels of the core UK cities and Sheffield is at the bottom. That doesn’t mean it’s not a great city, but it’s certainly not performing at the level it needs to be, we’re not quite there. “That attitude of ‘settling’ is something we need to challenge, and I think we are – things are changing.

MAKE YOUR BUSINESS SOAR BY SUPPORTING THE EAGLES FOR MORE INFORMATION ON HOW SHEFFIELD EAGLES WILL WORK WITH YOU TO PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS, PLEASE CONTACT MARK HANNIGAN ON 0114 398 1998 OR EMAIL MARK.HANNIGAN@SHEFFIELDEAGLES.COM

SHEFFIELDEAGLES.COM

ADVERTORIAL COVER STORY Over the last five years or so, people are saying ‘we love this city so let’s do things right – how we can do things better?’ That’s something we strive for.” This ambitious approach is rooted in Adam’s professional background. Post university, temping at Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council in development control gave him firm foundations in planning. “But it didn’t really excite me – I knew I wanted to be on the other side of the fence working with the people putting the plans together.” That opportunity came along with Harworth Group which, in 2007, was UK Coal with a property division, Harworth Estates. The Harworth Group today lead on high profile projects including Waverley and the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham. When Adam worked in the estates division, he and his colleagues were tasked with ‘40,000 acres of land that used to be part of the old mining fabric of the north and Midlands – exploring different sites and what might be appropriate for delivering development and trying to deliver jobs’.

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Harworth was ‘a great place to be…it was where my career really started to take off, but it still wasn’t what I wanted – I always wanted my own thing’. Adam partnered with Coda Architecture to create Coda Planning in 2013, a very successful partnership that lasted six years. “By this time, I’d built a planning team around me, but we were still often seen more widely as an add-on,” explains Adam. “Planning consultancy sometimes is seen this way in the industry, but that undermines its importance, makes it feel like policy analysis sat at the side of what’s actually going on.” It was time to establish Urbana – ‘based on the kind of values we believed in’. “Over the first year we really did that – we started working with Sheffield Hallam University which has been absolutely fantastic to be involved in such huge sites and working with partners like BDP Architects to see how we can make

We all got into this because we love cities and want to make them better.

these areas absolutely pop! “The work we’re doing on the City Centre Masterplan is just phenomenal and going to make such a difference, particularly the entrance coming up the hill on Howard Street from the station. “Projects like that really drove us and we’ve come to the point where it’s time to grow again. Over the last few months, we’ve been sitting down together – on Zoom and Teams obviously! – and talking about what does Urbana believe in? “We all got into this because we love cities and want to make them better. We love development but we want schemes that drive a thriving economy and make people want to be in the city. We want neighborhoods where people are within a community rather than soulless estates in suburbs. We want to provide that different aspiration.” Boosting the current growth curve is the promotion of Charles Dunn to director (‘he’s gone through the ranks. He’s a phenomenal urbanist’), and two more recruits have started this year, with another joining in June – all with that Urbana passion.

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Ready to re-open? As the road map looks to deliver us out of the current situation, we all look optimistically towards the future with the hope that lockdowns will be a thing of the past. Are you able to start planning now to ensure your business is able to re-open with a real focus on growth?

I have been in business for over 13 years and employ more than 100 people. I have made all of the mistakes you can imagine, big and small! From staff challenges and cashflow issues through to growing pains and learning how to delegate. Since setting up iekos I have been working with a number of SMEs, providing support and helping to alleviate the frustrations that have stopped them moving forward. I love helping people to improve and grow their business. So, do you need help in a particular area within your business? Could a little clarity get your business moving in the right direction? For the month of April and May I am offering Business Booster Clarity calls for just £99. These calls are designed to help you to gain clarity and focus, eliminate the daily frustrations and move your business forward on the right track. Places are limited so get in touch today to find out more about how I can help you get your business working for you!

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ADVERTORIAL COVER STORY “That’s where our values stem from,” says Adam. “We believe in communities, inclusivity, the green agenda – and into the centre of all that comes great design. I don’t see ourselves as a planning consultancy looking at policy analysis – we’re urbanists who want to create and work on great projects for a better city. “That means we need to work with clients with the same values, in the public or private sector, who believe in the need to do things in a more sustainable and inclusive way. That includes anything from how we look after our elderly

in terms of accommodation to the LGBT community and other minority groups. We also have to have to work out how we can live more sustainably and more green. We have to take all those things coming at us in the wider world and understand how they work in a community so we can design for them and make them better for everyone. “That’s our vision – we’re not there yet, but we’re honing it. Over the next year, I just see more and more schemes coming forward that we’re going to be really proud of.”

PLANNING, PROJECTS, AND OFFICE LIFE POST COVID – AN URBANA UPDATE Back in our October issue, we chatted about town planning trends during and post COVID when Adam told us there was a ‘great appetite for Sheffield’ and described the need for the social side to office life as ‘critical’ post-COVID. Here he updates us: “We meet new clients in London – all the developers and investors who are very similar to us in terms of what they want to do – and who say, ‘Is there anything happening in Sheffield for us?’ And we say, ‘Of course there is!’ We have a lot of projects in early stages, not yet in the public arena, but there’s a lot going on. “A lot has progressed since October, too – Godwin Developments is now submitted with the council. The proposal is beautifully designed by Bond Bryan, and we’ve got a perfect location for a build to rent scheme. It has lots of communal areas and amenities onsite, but it’s also slap bang in the city and Sheffield needs more people in its centre – the more people, the more vitality. “With the impact of lockdown and the pandemic on people’s mental health, the last 12 months has been an absolute nightmare on every level. The first instinct of being human is to be with people, to create relationships and have communication – but we’ve not been allowed to do that. “From an office perspective, here we have the standard COVID protocols like QR door codes and lateral flow testing to allow people back in office over coming months, we want to give that option – for people who want to be social and safely around others. A few of us are back but we’re spread out and it’s been much better for my mental health and has done me the power of good. “People understand there’s the need for communication and camaraderie in office life – how companies deal with that means gone are the days of banking people in rows and clocking in and out. Flexibility is key – you can be in these nice spaces with people, but it’s understood we can work from home if needed. But I don’t see the development side dropping off with new office buildings – Sheffield has a huge under-provision anyway and I see more and more of that on the way.”

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IF YOU ASK ME

IF YOU ASK ME:

PROPERTY After a few teasers on our news pages so far in 2021, this month sees us launch our unLTD property focus with a bang.

And what better way than by asking the experts from across the Sheffield City Region (SCR) with a special property themed If You Ask Me feature?! From current trends to emerging opportunities and a few predictions thrown in, too – over the next few pages we chat to estate agents, auctioneers, and property investors. So read on as Matt Holmes, Dan Laver and Bronte Saulle chat to a range of local industry professionals to get the SCR and national lowdown on the property market – and the developments to look out for, too.

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IF YOU ASK ME MARK CODY, PROPERTY SERVICES DIRECTOR, RESONATE PROPERTY What are the stand-out trends you see currently in your industry? The property market both within the Sheffield City Region and the wider UK continues to experience price growth. Much of this growth over the last 12 months has been attributed to the increased demand stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic coupled with the financial support received by the industry from the government. The market is shifting. Due to homebuyers and tenants looking for larger properties and more external space, we are seeing greater numbers of investors drawn to access these markets by providing properties that can work for a mix of target buyers and tenants with additional space both in and outdoors. Having recently launched our lettings business – MOVR (www.movrhomes.com) – we have observed particular shifts in the number of bedrooms required, to the size of rooms and extra features on offer from tenants looking to upsize or change property type altogether. We have also seen tenant demand sky-rocket, taking an average of more than 25 enquiries per property within a day of marketing.

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end up costing them over the course of their ownership. If you’re investing in property, it remains imperative to look for properties with good fundamental investment benefits to safeguard your future success. Buying the right properties at the right price will afford investors great opportunities as the market continues to navigate the pandemic and an uncertain future.

Looking ahead, how do you see these trends developing and what are your predictions for the next big opportunities lying ahead for the property market? The future of the property market does remain uncertain but with continuing support from the government over the short term and a staged reduction of the same over the medium term, we are likely to see continued moderate growth within the market for both homebuyers and investors and predict price rises of around four per cent in 2021, down from more than seven per cent in 2020. Investors should be wary about the potential to overpay for a property which could

The property market both within the Sheffield City Region and the wider UK continues to experience price growth.

In the Sheffield City Region, what are the biggest trends and opportunities we should be looking out for locally? Due to the current economic situation and the development that is already underway within the Sheffield City Region, there are abundant opportunities for those looking to invest in property within South Yorkshire. However, choosing the right areas for both targeting and letting to the right tenants remains critical. We’re continuing to secure properties at great value and put the right tenants into those properties for investors, helping to maximise their time and the opportunities currently on offer. We are very excited and optimistic about the coming months and expect that ‘steel city spirit’ of Sheffield City Region to boost us after the significant changes brought about by the pandemic.

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IF YOU ASK ME JAMES HOLDING, REGIONAL AUCTION MANAGER, AUCTION HOUSE SOUTH YORKSHIRE

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What are the stand-out trends you see currently in your industry? We have seen a move towards virtual eventing such as our very successful Livestream auction format. This is unique to Auction House in South Yorkshire and is, in essence, a televised live auction with our auctioneer taking bids in real-time from the internet, telephone and by proxy. This has resulted in competitive bidding which has translated into very strong end values for our vendors, regularly matching or even surpassing market value; this has translated into a success rate in excess of 95 per cent for our Livestream auctions since we began them at the start of the COVID pandemic. A further trend has been the move towards video viewings due to social distancing and reducing contact, as well as the increased reach of social media channels such as Facebook and Instagram, with AHSY one of the first companies to standardise video viewings prior even to the COVID landscape. Looking ahead, how do you see these trends developing and what are your predictions for the next big opportunities lying ahead for the property market? I am strongly of the opinion that the COVID epidemic has changed the traditional

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in-room auction format forever and if, and when, we are allowed to return to the traditional auction room, we would be looking to implement a hybrid scheme whereby buyers have the option to either bid via the Livestream system or attend in person if they still wish to do so. We are also finding that a majority of buyers are purchasing property without having had a physical viewing and I think this will continue, aided by the fact that we endeavour to have comprehensive legal packs

available for any properties listed in our auctions prior to the event and advise potential buyers to read this information accordingly. In the Sheffield City Region, what are the biggest trends and opportunities we should be looking out for locally? I think that the Sheffield City Region continues to be a standout region in which to invest in property and continues to present many opportunities for either seasoned or first-time property renovators to be

successful within the sector. This is aided by strong resale values and higher yields that are still achievable within the region, as opposed to other populated areas further south or indeed, in cities such as Leeds or Manchester. Projects such as Heart of The City II will only aid this growth and reinforce that the Sheffield City Region is a true Northern Powerhouse in respect of its economy and subsequent benefits that this brings to the property sector and businesses such as Auction House South Yorkshire.

IF YOU ASK ME WAYNE FLETCHER, FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR, AUSTIN FLETCHER What are the stand-out trends you see currently in your industry? We have seen a rising interest in a number of our services, one area in particular being health and safety. This has been emphasised by the pandemic and, although we will see some of the COVIDrelated services drop off as we start to ‘return to normal’, we expect a number of the trends to become the new normal and continue in demand. COVID-compliant office space and distanced working practices are a hot topic now as businesses look to welcome

more staff back to the office environment. The residential sector seems to be running full steam ahead from what we have experienced, and we expect this will continue due to demand for housing and the release of land by local authorities for future developments. Looking ahead, how do you see these trends developing and what are your predictions for the next big opportunities lying ahead for the property market? Restructuring of office space and the introduction of COVID-compliant useable space will inevitably be a priority for those who are not yet compliant as we continue to live with the virus. Although the current working from

home trend will continue indefinitely for some, there will still be a need for an office environment for a lot of businesses, albeit in some cases with a reduction in capacity involving a hot desk/ flexible working environment or shared space approach. We will no doubt see a shift in the way city centres are perceived and utilised going forward and this should create opportunity for regeneration and repurposing of existing buildings. A focus on improved health and wellbeing should encourage the creation of open green spaces in city centres and air quality upgrades to existing office spaces. I expect the hospitality industry to make a resurgence – we have already seen several measures and incentives being put into place by the government and this, coupled with post lockdown public demand, will likely create a boom in the sector.

We will no doubt see a shift in the way city centres are perceived and utilised going forward and this should create opportunity for regeneration. In the Sheffield City Region, what are the biggest trends and opportunities we should be looking out for locally? Hospitality, as noted previously, should start to bounce back and Fargate, in my opinion, is the prime location for the creation of a ‘hospitality hub’ in Sheffield’s centre. We have already seen some confidence from our clients in this sector with one of our projects recently starting on site on Fargate itself. The restructuring of Sheffield city centre will continue to create opportunity and help the city ‘adapt to change’ regarding the way we work and how we use our city centres in the future. We are starting to see more interest in the city for a variety of development opportunities which is an exciting prospect going forward.

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IF YOU ASK ME CLAIRE SHIPMAN, AREA MANAGER OF REDBRIK NORTH WEST SHEFFIELD What are the stand-out trends you see currently in your industry? It’s a great time to sell, as there are plenty of buyers and not a high level of sellers. There’s demand for all property types, but as ever, well-presented and modern properties sell fastest and at the best price. Looking ahead, how do you see these trends developing and what are your predictions for the next big opportunities lying ahead for the property market? We’re predicting a busy spring for the property market. It’s an excellent time for homeowners to maximise their property’s value as

lockdown restrictions ease further. This will continue to increase demand and make for an even more buoyant sales market. The S35 and S36 areas, in particular, are growing in demand – on top of the development of transport links, new restaurants, and stylish new-build estates is that increased buyer interest in properties outside of the city, with more green space. In the Sheffield City Region, what are the biggest trends and opportunities we should be looking out for locally? Investment opportunities for landlords – the rental market has strengthened over the last 12 months both in and around the city. If you’re looking to invest, I’d advise you to buy now while the area is on the up and benefit for years to come.

ROCHELLE GILBURN, DIRECTOR, GILBURN INVESTMENT GROUP What are the stand-out trends you see currently in your industry? We are in a sellers’ market. For every property on the market, up to 40 people are viewing in the first few weeks and very few properties are sticking around long. Investors are competing with first time buyers willing to pay more for a property. A common conversation with investors is there are no deals to be had. However, we have proved them wrong by delivering the deals they are looking for. It is more difficult, but we are actively out viewing on and off-market properties, being proactive and putting in offers. Looking ahead, how do you see these trends developing and what are your predictions for the next big opportunities lying ahead for the property market? At some point the bubble will burst. Once the government relax their artificial stimulus, we will see an increase in

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properties for sale, a decrease in buyers and house prices will start to drop. In an upward market, we need to be wary of not getting caught up on over-inflated prices. We advise clients to buy properties that have value to be added value straight away to help protect from any downturn. While investors are struggling to find deals on the open market, there is an increasing trend in commercial to residential developments – this is likely to increase as a result of lockdown, businesses closing, and units left empty. In the Sheffield City Region, what are the biggest trends and opportunities we should be looking out for locally? There is not enough housing for the growing population so the government have already begun to relax the planning process which will make turning an old bank or shop into apartments much easier. If you own an empty commercial unit, it’s worth considering whether it would be prime for residential development. Or if you spot an empty building, enquire to see if they are willing to sell.

FEATURE

THE FUTURE VISION FOR

‘AN ICON OF SHEFFIELD’ Park Hill is undoubtedly an icon of Sheffield, soaring above the city atop one of its many hills. Now well underway in a mammoth regeneration and rebirth with developers Urban Splash and Places for People at the helm, unLTD’s Matt Holmes speaks to Nicky Harries, Park Hill’s senior commercial lettings manager, about the past, present and future of life in Europe’s largest listed building

We begin with Nicky giving us a brief background on the commercial history of Park Hill. When it opened in 1961, there were grocery shops, a school, a doctor’s surgery and four pubs. One of which, The Scottish Queen, keeps its name but has been an exhibition space and art studios for S1 Artspace but is now due to be a new retail outlet. Another space in Phase 3, the new student block called Beton House, is due to become a new convenience store named Park Hill Provisions, which we revealed in last month’s magazine. Since Urban Splash came on the scene in 2007, phase 1 has been completed and comprises 260 homes and 17 contemporary commercial

units, home to a mix of businesses in the creative and digital industries, filmmakers, designers, merchandising and recruitment. A brilliant feature is the Grace Owen Nursery, although now housed in a new purpose-built space, it has been part of Park Hill since 1963! The eclectic combination of Urban Splash’s vision, architects Hawkins\Brown and urban designers Studio Egret West gained Park Hill a nomination in the coveted RIBA Stirling Prize in 2013. Phase 2 of the development sees Mikhail Riches as architects. Phase 2 will see a further 20,000 sq ft of commercial space added to Park Hill. And it appears that locating somewhere with

NICKY HARRIES

an established business community, but which is still developing itself is an attractive prospect as Urban Splash is delighted with the interest in the space despite current circumstances. So, what is it about occupying a commercial space

at Park Hill that stands out from other developments? “The location and being part of the wider community,” says Nicky. “The commercial spaces themselves at Park Hill are raw, concrete and beautifully quirky – completely open to imagination and design. A true blank canvas for our customers to really put their stamp on.” The offering at Park Hill includes small and large selfcontained shell spaces which businesses can buy or rent, meaning occupiers of all sizes can invest in their future. Not to mention, of course, that this is an Urban Splash development, and as Nicky says: “We are very much a hands-on landlord and look to exceed in the service our customers receive from the day of their first enquiry right

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FEATURE SOUTH STREET PHASE OF THE DEVELOPMENT

through to the day they move out, which we hope they never do!” Urban Splash commercial tenants can expect active encouragement in putting on an events diary throughout the year – current restrictions permitting – enabling both commercial and residential members of the Park Hill community to meet and be neighbourly, which is a rarity these days. In this edition of unLTD we are looking ahead to the ‘Sheffield City Region of the Future’ – so, as a key iconic development in the city, we wanted to know how Park Hill fits into and enhances that vision. Nicky identified the three key areas of the SCR Renewal Action Plan, which aims to make the economy and society of the city region ‘stronger, greener and fairer’. As she notes, Park Hill has attracted “developing businesses that reflect the creativity, technological and entrepreneurial spirit

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HOW THE PARK HILL SHOPS USED TO LOOK

of Sheffield. The location of the development means that you can do business easily anywhere in the UK with close proximity to Sheffield Station and a direct train link to London in two hours. “The location and history also attract clients to the city, as Park Hill becomes a business hub contributing to the economic status of the region and adds value to the region’s knowledge economy, too.” Regarding how Park Hill fits in with the environmental

aspect, its heat source is from Sheffield’s District Energy Network, which produces heat by burning the city’s refuse. Being at the centre of the city, it is also directly impacted by the plans to transform transport in the city centre. Commitment to being fairer is demonstrated by complete openness that any business is welcome at Park Hill. “It was always intended to provide homes of mixed tenure and our current

residents reflect the multicultural mix in Sheffield,” says Nicky. “Our commercial space allows for a similar mix with flexible units.” And what of the future of the commercial market from an Urban Splash perspective? Nicky is hugely optimistic for Park Hill’s commercial space and overall portfolio. “Business owners and members of staff have been given the chance to evaluate the way they work, the space they need and the way in which they offer their services. “Park Hill has such a fantastic community that’s constantly growing, and I have every confidence it will evolve into something quite spectacular…watch this space!” For more information on commercial property available at Park Hill, visit website www.urbansplash. co.uk/commercial or get in touch with Nicky Harries at space@urbansplash.co.uk.

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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.

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FIVE MINUTES WITH...

VOUCH

Vouch founder Simon Tillyer shares how advice from the Sheffield Eagles and a supportive business community helped him set up the ‘fresh, agile and different’ Vouch – which delivers a referencing solution ‘designed and built by letting agents for letting agents’ I was inspired to start my business by… We couldn’t find a service that worked! As a letting agent for years, we discovered a need for a better product … and Vouch was born. My favourite thing about running my business is… Finding and developing the next idea – it’s important to not get bogged down in the day-to-day and keep looking for new opportunities. The three words that best describe my business are… Fresh, agile and different. Sheffield City Region is a great place to start a business because… It’s great! Lots of other good companies – and, more importantly, people – to work with to help you get your idea off the ground. Sheffield City Region is a great place to grow a business because… The people are great! Every

part of Vouch has been designed built and managed by Sheffield people. Even down to our supplies, we keep everything in Sheffield wherever we can. The best advice I ever got was… It was in massive letters on the wall of the Sheffield Eagles office when I used to play there. ‘Solutions NOT excuses!’

There is no point bringing someone a problem, good people offer a solution.

very carefully, you are going to be spending a lot of time together!

The worst advice I ever got was… Before Vouch, we tried to start a different business. We teamed up with the wrong development team and it was a very expensive mistake. Instead of ‘worst advice’, I would say pick the people you want to work with

The organisations that have supported me and my business include… There have been loads, I will name a few of the Sheffieldbased ones we still work with: Flinch Design. Helen Turner Bookkeeping. SMH Accountants. Lucky Fox for Friday team lunch! The main challenges facing my industry/sector are… Regulation – the goal posts are constantly moving with snap decisions made by people who don’t understand the impact. At least it keeps things fun! In 5 years’ time I expect my business… To be the biggest supplier in our industry. We have already grown from zero to third biggest, overtaking some established brands along the way. Only a couple more places and a few thousand clients to go.

VOUCH FOUNDER, SIMON TILLYER

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TRANSPORT

HAVE YOUR SAY AND HELP SHAPE THE REGION’S TRANSPORT NETWORK South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE) is calling on businesses of all shapes and sizes to help them better understand work and travel plans in a post-pandemic future, and to inform the roadmap to rebuild the region’s public transport network

SYPTE is asking all businesses across the region to play their part and share their thinking on how employees could return to the workplace once coronavirus restrictions are lifted. Mayor of the Sheffield City Region Dan Jarvis said: “As we optimistically look forward to exiting the pandemic, engaging businesses on what their employees need and expect from bus and tram services will help our recovering public transport network to ensure services are both convenient and viable. We must make our public transport system one that serves communities and helps people get to the places they need to be.” SYPTE’s Employer Survey, launched in March, follows on from previous research undertaken in 2020 that looked at people’s travel

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habits in and beyond lockdown. Tim Taylor, director of customer services at SYPTE, said: “We want to understand what future commuting patterns will be like and make sure we’re rebuilding South Yorkshire’s public transport network to meet those travel needs. “We’re asking, will employees carry on working from home? Do businesses predict a quick return to the office, and will people be working there full or parttime? And for those heading back to the workplace, how are they planning to travel there? “The answers to these questions will help to identify expected demand on the network and contribute to shaping our recovery plans for public transport, walking and cycling. Our priority is to ensure that everyone can

...engaging businesses on what their employees need and expect from bus and tram services will help our recovering public transport network to ensure services are both convenient and viable.

travel safely and that we keep South Yorkshire moving.” Whilst the message continues to be an instruction for everyone who can work from home to continue to do so, the government’s recently released ‘four-step roadmap’ means that this guidance will remain in place until 21 June 2021 at the earliest. By this time many office-based workers will have been working remotely for around 15 months and an en-masse return to the office appears to be unlikely. Increasing numbers of companies may be considering how they can adopt a more hybrid model of working or bring back their employees to the workplace in a phased manner. The survey is open until Wednesday 28 April 2021 and employers are encouraged to get involved by visiting: http:// bit.ly/travel-survey-mar-21.

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Sheffield Libraries, in partnership with the British Library, are inspiring a thriving community of new and existing business owners. It’s free to join and open to everyone. Whether you’re just starting out, need advice on protecting your assets or are ready to take the next step, the Business & IP Centre Sheffield is here to help. Whatever your business, you could be another one of our success stories. Find us online at sheffield.gov.uk/bipc BIPCSheffield

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Business & IP Centre Sheffield

sheffield.gov.uk/bipc

LAUNCHPAD

SWEET SISTERS CAKERY Becki Foster tells unLTD how support from Launchpad helped her turn a ‘little pop-up stall’ into the sweet success of a nationwide postal service on social media by consumers – every tag is a great win for me! Secondly, I cannot wait to be back ‘on the road’. If everything goes to plan with the lifting of the lockdown, I am especially looking forward to being a regular stall holder at the ever-growing Traxx Market in Chapeltown, Sheffield. Weekly returning customers is my jam!

Tell us about your company? Sweet Sisters Cakery is an independent bakery based in South Yorkshire supplying the whole UK with baked goodies. We are now running from a little bakery unit to create, produce, cut and pack all of our treats. These are sent though the post with a ten-day shelf life. When we’re allowed, we will be heading back to food festivals and artisan markets around South Yorkshire! When did you first decide to start up on your own and what inspired you? Around ten years ago, while working in a bank, I had a huge passion for baking that stemmed back to baking

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with my Grandma at a young age. With a little planning and preparation, I booked a two-week holiday from work to bake cupcakes and sell them on a local Christmas market. That was it! I was hooked. I then convinced my sister to take a leap and we bought a little shop together! We expanded this little shop and ended up with a deli, butchers, sweet shop and the original little bakery counter. However, the bakery side was my passion and after six years we decided to sell up and drastically change the business. How has Launchpad helped you? After the sale of the shop,

it was like starting a brand-new business. I had experience of running a business, but Launchpad taught me so much more. Launchpad helped me look at the business with a better perspective on how to make it profitable and sustainable. Launchpad also gave me the knowledge, tools and confidence to adapt during the coronavirus pandemic, turning my little ‘pop-up’ stall into a nationwide postal service! What are your hopes and aims for the business? Firstly, I aim to grow my online presence and become more recognised as a brand! I love to see my products being posted

Launchpad advisor Ben Hawley said: “Making the decision to close one business down and start another isn’t easy, but Becki did the right thing by taking the element of the previous business she loved and focusing on it. “Becki has worked really hard to get the business established and it’s wonderful to follow that journey and see her reaping the rewards. “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.”

SCR OF THE FUTURE

SHEFFIELD CITY REGION E R U T U F E H T F O In this edition we look ahead to the ‘Sheffield City Region of the Future’ – and what that might mean for established and emerging sectors. We chat to a range of businesses from security and recruitment, training and digital marketing, to media and sport, about the current trends in their sectors and their vision of our region as we emerge from the pandemic … and plan for a bigger, brighter, and better future.

unLTDBUSINESS.COM

SCR OF THE FUTURE and positive influence on how our economy grows in the years to come. The pandemic provides us with a real opportunity to rip up the rule book. Politicians, business leaders and the voluntary community need to work far more closely together on some practical aims and objectives for our economy. If we do not, our region will be left behind.

ALEXIS KRACHAI AND LOUISA HARRISONWALKER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS, SHEFFIELD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE What are the stand-out trends you see currently in your industry? There are three big trends shaping everything we see. Speed, uncertainty and opportunity. Markets and industries are accelerating at pace. Old business models are dying out. New ones are being invented overnight. Companies that do not innovate are being left behind. COVID-19 will keep causing uncertainty and will leave

unLTDBUSINESS.COM

deep scars for decades to come. With the right support, our business community will stay agile and well-connected to navigate through this new uncertain world. There are challenges but also massive opportunities. Businesses that scan the horizon, question everything and focus on innovation will do well. It is these types of businesses that are increasingly joining Sheffield Chamber. Looking ahead, how do you see these trends developing and what are your predictions for the next opportunities to follow? The world is getting faster. Changes in industries will

only accelerate as technology, automation and Artificial Intelligence become more sophisticated. Businesses and government bodies in our region are going to have to be super smart to make sure our economy is successful. We need to work harder to create the conditions where every business can thrive. Making sure our region keeps pace means government and business are going to have to join up like never before. Politicians are powerful. Government can be super smart. The same goes for business leaders and businesses. The right mix of ambitious political thinking with savvy business leadership can have a huge

In the Sheffield City Region, what are the biggest trends and opportunities we should be looking out for locally? We need to be honest. Sheffield needs to up its game. For too long, Sheffield’s economy has not been strong enough. That impacts on businesses and communities inside and out of the city. Look out for the impact that our new city leaders could have in Sheffield. The Council’s new Chief Executive, Kate Josephs, and Council Leader, Bob Johnson, have a real opportunity to drive the city forward. They cannot do everything or solve every problem on their own. Every institution across the city has an important role to play in helping Sheffield achieve its potential. The newly ambitious Sheffield Chamber is ready to play a role in the new Team Sheffield.

SCR OF THE FUTURE MELINDA SCHOFIELD, STATION DIRECTOR, HALLAM FM AND GHR What are the stand-out trends you see currently in your industry? Since March 2020 we have been in regular contact with our consumers to understand changing attitudes and behaviours during the pandemic. This has provided a unique insight into a year of unparalleled challenges – with high levels of uncertainty about the virus and people becoming increasingly frustrated, fatigued, and isolated during the third lockdown compared to the initial lockdown. As a result, more people are turning to radio and listening for longer – this is evidenced by an increase of 24 per cent more people now tuning in than before the pandemic. We are a mood-enhancing media and listening to music continues to be a keyway to de-stress. Radio has played a key role in supporting and providing entertainment during the pandemic – we are and continue to be the friend in the room. We have continued to be a strong and reliable vehicle for our advertisers – commercial radio provides brands with a way to engage with millions of people via a medium they can trust. Radio provides reach resonance and is an emotional influencer with a power to

enhance brand perception at a subconscious level. Looking ahead, how do you see these trends developing and what are your predictions for the next opportunities to follow? Audio and connected listening are increasing, and more people are listening to more connective devices – this opens further opportunities for advertisers to reach their audiences, build brand relevance, trust and to further achieve their desired business outcomes. In the Sheffield City Region, what are the biggest trends and opportunities we should be looking out for locally? Spending bounce back: consumers are far more positive about spending more now than pre-pandemic, there has been a shift in online buying, and this has changed the important factors affecting purchase decisions. However, there is a need for local business to be ready to go on the B of the Bang once restrictions allow. This pent-up desire will see High Street shopping, leisure, and entertainment bounce back as there is a huge appetite for an experience online simply cannot provide. Couple this with the return of the student population and you have the ingredients required for the economic fightback for our Sheffield City Region.

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SCR OF THE FUTURE MARK HANNIGAN, COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR, SHEFFIELD EAGLES What are the stand-out trends you see currently in your industry? As a professional sports club based in the self-proclaimed ‘city of sport’, The Sheffield Eagles and the sport of Rugby League have a bright future in the Sheffield City Region (SCR). Sport in general has stalled somewhat over the last 12 months due to the international COVID-19 pandemic. It was, without doubt, the correct decision to suspend games, but it has also been a very difficult time. The sport of Rugby League does not have the financial might of other sports meaning times have been particularly tough. The club has been nomadic for a number of years now following the demolition of Don Valley Stadium back in late 2013. Over the past eight years, the club has played in seven different venues, four in the city and three outside, including Doncaster and Wakefield, but with the commencement of the Community Stadium at The Olympic Legacy Park, we will, finally, have a place to call home. Looking ahead, how do you see these trends developing and what are your predictions for the next opportunities to follow? The opportunities on the horizon for the SCR and

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but it also opens a number of commercial opportunities for businesses to get involved.

the business community specifically are vast in the next 12 months. Later this year will see the 2021 Rugby League World Cup coming with the hosts playing Greece at Bramall Lane and a number of the wheelchair matches, including both semi-finals, being played at the EIS. The Keepmoat Stadium in Doncaster, The Eagles home for 2021, will also play host to group games during the tournament. Not only will this put Sheffield and the SCR in the spotlight,

There has never been a better and more exciting time to get involved with the club and the sport.

In the Sheffield City Region, what are the biggest trends and opportunities we should be looking out for locally? The Sheffield Eagles will certainly be looking at using our new Community Stadium and the World Cup as a way of promoting the SCR business community and to promote the club and sport as a whole during 2021 and beyond. There has never been a better and more exciting time to get involved with the club and the sport. After the 1998 Challenge cup final win, the back-to-back Grand final wins of 2012 and 2013, coupled with being the inaugural winners of the 1895 Cup at Wembley Stadium in 2019, we hope this new era of the club and the game in the city of sport can yield more success both on and off the pitch. The club is working with Sheffield City Council, Sheffield City Trust, our Foundation and the Rugby Football League to appoint a development officer also with some exciting plans to develop the grassroots of the sport in the city and re-engage with the community. For more information of how to get involved, please get in touch with me at mark.hannigan@ sheffieldeagles.com or call the club on 0114 398 1998.

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SCR OF THE FUTURE JASMINE SAVERY, MARKETING APPRENTICE, HYDRA CREATIVE What are the stand-out trends you see currently in your industry? A current stand-out trend in the digital industry is more and more businesses investing in bespoke cloud software. This has become increasingly urgent as the flexible and hybrid home working arrangements we have all had to adapt to over the past year have highlighted the need for effective software solutions to support these changes. Bespoke software solutions are being used to support businesses with a remote workforce by providing essential functionality such as task monitoring, as well as Customer Relationship Management (CRM) data integration. This means employees no longer need to be in the office to access their internal systems safely and securely, which ensures business continuity. Looking ahead, how do you see these trends developing and what are your predictions for the next opportunities to follow? After the journey we’ve all been on over the past 12 months, it is likely more businesses than before will be considering the option of remote working in certain circumstances when it is of benefit to the business, staff and customers. In a recent study the CIPD reported that

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within just a few clicks, and from anywhere in the world. It will also enable staff to have a clean transition to remote working, if ever needed in the future.

40 per cent of employers said they expect more than half of their workforce to work regularly from home 1, which means an increased need for bespoke software and systems. This shift will also see more organisations integrating digital solutions into their standard business practices, to make way for ‘smarter working’, with software that will make remote teamworking seamless. Following this, we believe we will also see the use of software solutions as part of contingency planning to prepare for potential business disruption. Cloud software can allow businesses access to everything in their workspace

Over the coming months, we will also see a big focus on local SEO, as we have seen a huge increase in customers wanting to shop locally.

In the Sheffield City Region, what are the biggest trends and opportunities we should be looking out for locally? We have seen many manufacturers turning to digital solutions to assist in the production process. For many, we have seen this massively increase both efficiency and productivity. We expect more manufacturers to follow in the near future. Over the coming months, we will also see a big focus on local SEO, as we have seen a huge increase in customers wanting to shop locally and support small businesses. In 2020, there were big changes in attitudes towards local businesses. Thirty eight per cent of UK consumers said they had shopped more at local businesses during 2020, with 88 per cent of those saying they would be more likely to choose to shop locally in the future.2 Following this trend, we will see an increase in demand for businesses looking to improve their local web presence, and investing in SEO, as businesses will want to make sure they are visible to potential customers online. 1. www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/ fundamentals/relations/flexibleworking/planning-hyrid-working 2. www.startupsmagazine.co.uk/articlegoogle-finds-we-are-economy-kindness

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SCR OF THE FUTURE RAY BYRNE, CEO, WHYY? CHANGE What are the standout trends you see currently in your industry? We are seeing the demand for hybrid learning with training providers moving to a more digital approach. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is also emerging in the education sector, with more people now looking to use this technology to automate their marketing material and support their VLE (Virtual Learning Environment). We are also seeing an increase in the demand for digital training in communication and marketing. Looking ahead, how do you see these trends developing and what are your predications for the next opportunities to follow? The influx of digital training bodes well with the

development of people in the Sheffield City Region, helping to support the digital skills required to keep people connected via Zoom and Teams. Businesses are also looking to develop their agility by expanding their operational excellence knowledge and skills.

In the Sheffield City Region, what are the biggest trends and opportunities we should be looking out for locally? One of the biggest opportunities is utilising the AEB (Adult Education Budget) funding stream to deliver full and meaningful training to local residents, by

MATT BRUCE, CEO, BRUCE & BUTLER LIMITED What are the stand-out trends you see currently in your industry? Working in the data protection and cyber security sector, the trends are an increased risk in cyber. This could be due, in part, to organisations taking the decision to move to flexible and home working due to the pandemic to remain operational. We are living in a time where digital technology is profoundly impacting our lives, from the way we connect with each other to how we interpret and view our world. These trends will only continue to accelerate and amplify due to the way in which the world is becoming more digital (and obsessed with data). As we become more digital, naturally the exposure to data and cyber risk increases.

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Looking ahead, how do you see these trends developing and what are your predictions for the next opportunities to follow? With the ever accessible and advancing pace of technological change, particularly with the emergence of Cloud, Big Data, Analytics and Artificial Intelligence, the compliant, secure and ethical processing of personal data will continue to form a top corporate risk in the future and will

local training providers who work collaboratively. Another is exploiting the £3000 apprenticeship incentive that has been recently rolled out by the government. Any business can employ an apprentice – as long as they are 16 years old – and receive the increased incentive payment.

require added assurance protections to be in place, around the clock. However, protecting data has become more challenging as people work in new ways, creating and sharing data across boundaries. Hackers are also always finding new or more sophisticated ways to access data and compromise systems. The value of data and the impact if something goes wrong will be too much to risk.

We are living in a time where digital technology is profoundly impacting our lives.

In the Sheffield City Region, what are the biggest trends and opportunities we should be looking out for locally? We have a thriving digital/ tech sector in Sheffield. Ensuring cyber security and data protection/privacy controls and compliance are baked into the development journey from the start will create a great opportunity to ensure the end product remains secure and builds digital trust.

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SCR OF THE FUTURE MARK SLATTER, DIRECTOR, ALBION DETECTION SYSTEMS What are the stand-out trends you see currently in your industry? Creating a COVID-secure environment has been something our clients have been working at for some time. Lockdowns have seen us continue to work within different environments at not just getting them safe for people in the short term, but able to operate at a greater capacity as social distancing regulations are relaxed. We work with clients from hospitals to pubs, so we have been able to offer advice that employs techniques used in one sector, to help future-proof another. Looking ahead, how do you see these trends developing and what are your predictions for the next opportunities to follow? When restrictions were last relaxed, measures involved

en ,

ROB SHAW, MANAGING DIRECTOR, GLU RECRUIT

elp e

What are the stand-out trends you see currently in your industry? An increased confidence in employers hiring, but a more cautious feeling in candidates changing jobs. A typical trend in the recruitment industry is to have a higher candidate-to-client ratio, with lots of candidates applying for a lower number of jobs. However, during the most recent lockdown we have found it to be quite the opposite. Sheffield City Region businesses are still recruiting, but the candidate market is more cautious to move at present. This could be for a number of factors – feeling more secure in their current role, or, if they are on furlough not wanting to move until this comes to an end.

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environments are safe for us all. I wouldn’t be surprised to see changes such as these becoming legislative over the coming years.

spacing tables or desks further apart and erecting screens. Longer term, Internet of things (IoT) technology will enable businesses to monitor their working environments more closely and employ responsive methods that take automatic action to keep variables like air quality at safe levels. We offer a solution to monitor data such as CO levels, CO2 levels, humidity and temperature and this data can be used to observe spikes in these and other factors. As we see more intelligent and accessible solutions develop, smarter systems will become

commonplace across more diverse industries, employing technology that is used today in a hospital or secure environment in your local village pub. It’s solutions like these that will help keep a workplace safe and thrive as people return to venues. Customers are keen to get back to their favourite places, but the memory of the pandemic will stay with them for a long time and customers will vote with their feet if they don’t feel safe. Beyond that, the government has a responsibility to ensure

Looking ahead, how do you see these trends developing and what are your predictions for the next opportunities to follow? As the economy starts to open up again, we should see an increase in confidence from the candidate market. As furlough comes to an end and employees get to know where they stand with their current

employers, this could be the catalyst for them to decide where their future lies. In the Sheffield City Region, what are the biggest trends and opportunities we should be looking out for locally? SCR businesses are starting to plan their pandemic exit strategies, and this includes recruitment. We have found

In the Sheffield City Region, what are the biggest trends and opportunities we should be looking out for locally? In Sheffield, I think the decentralisation enforced by lockdowns will play a big part in how the city evolves. People will return to the office, but I think time will be split with home working, with an out-oftown leisure economy seeing a sustained popularity. In city centres, I wouldn’t be shocked to see large retail units that are currently empty become residential as city centre living continues to be popular, particularly for younger generations. This creates its own safety issues, as fire regulations in the shadow of Grenfell are a much bigger concern to tenants and buyers, who are becoming more aware of factors that affect not just their safety, but the saleability of the investments.

that a lot of businesses have used the unexpected down time to re-strategise, and this has resulted in identifying new areas which they need to recruit for. As confidence improves in the candidate job market, local businesses should start to see plenty of activity as they advertise their new vacancies.

SHEFFIELD CITY REGION

INVESTING IN SOUTH YORKSHIRE’S

RECOVERY AND RENEWAL James Muir, Chairman of the Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership Board, reflects on the Government’s Spring Budget and looks ahead to South Yorkshire’s future This year has been difficult for businesses in South Yorkshire, but predictions for economic recovery, extended support from the Government and news about the new South Yorkshire Renewal Fund give us reasons to be positive about the future. Although I welcomed the Chancellor’s extension of its short-term measures to support businesses, I was disappointed the budget offered nothing by way of shifting power and resources to level up our economy and support our long-term growth with a jobs-led recovery. I had hoped to see longer-term investment in our jobs, skills and infrastructure to drive economic renewal. We will continue pushing for support for projects that will attract investment to our region. In South Yorkshire, we’re taking action to help our people and businesses recover. We’ve achieved so much already. Working in partnership with local authorities we’ve created jobs, trained workers and revitalised our high streets. We’ve cemented our reputation as the heartland of British industry and innovation and made our places even better

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2022, including infrastructure and transport and funding for jobs and skills. We’re investing in the things that matter to you, with ambitions to transform South Yorkshire by backing our people, businesses and places with support to help them thrive. JAMES MUIR

places to live, work and invest. We’ve started to transform South Yorkshire. We’re using our powers and resources to create a new Renewal Fund so we can attract businesses and grow our economy, with a pipeline of up to 50 priority projects already identified for development. These have the potential to create more than 8,400 jobs across industries including digital, energy, advanced manufacturing, scientific research, retail and logistics. We are investing up to £860m in total to support our region’s recovery and renewal, starting with an injection of £339m this year. We’re laying the foundations of future prosperity by investing up to £500m in our places from

We will: • Create jobs and apprenticeships, and help people find them • Back our businesses to survive and thrive • Put spades in the ground to reimagine our high streets and build homes • Get people moving with better transport, by foot, bike, bus, tram and train • Protect our planet – retrofitting homes and improving flood defences We know that confidence in the vaccination programme coupled with a more positive outlook has boosted consumer confidence, which is now at its highest level in over a year. There are expectations of pent-up demand which should lead to a spending spree once the economy opens up in a sustainable way. There is a direct correlation

between footfall recovery and urban centre size, which means that smaller towns will recover faster than larger cities. A challenge for urban policy makers is to create jobs that put money into people’s pockets, and for high streets to adapt to offer something different to online to capture this potential spend. These are some of the things we’re aiming for as we work together to transform South Yorkshire. Your business can be part of South Yorkshire’s prosperous future. Support is available to guide you along your own path to business recovery. If you need support to develop and grow your business, get in touch with the Growth Hub team. We can help to guide you through. Contact our team on 03330 00 00 39 or Email: growthhub@ sheffieldcityregion.org.uk.

SUCCESS STORY

EVOGO DRIVING SUCCESS FORWARD After launching in 2016, flexible car leasing firm Evogo has now supplied more than 10,000 vehicles to customers across the UK. Chris Coates spoke to Evogo director John Tustin about the company’s journey and how it is adapting amid a pandemic and the rise of electric vehicles Tell me a bit about the business. Evogo is a smart alternative to vehicle leasing or car ownership, with a focus on vehicle subscription and flexible rental agreements. We offer 89-day contracts which can be renewed, but after the initial 89 days the vehicle can be handed back without cost, allowing customers to drive the latest makes and models without the cost of ownership or the burden of a lengthy lease. How has it developed over the years? Evogo was originally based in Chesterfield when vehicle subscription was in its infancy. After initially offering the flexible rental scheme to family and friends of our staff and receiving excellent feedback, we started to roll the service out to the wider public. Due to our rapid expansion, a move quickly followed to our

current head office on Upwell Street in Sheffield. It’s a 65,000 square-foot warehouse and office space which was formerly part of Sheffield Forgemasters. Our vehicle fleet quickly grew thanks to a large volume of referral business, resulting in us opening a second location at Houghton Regis in Bedfordshire in 2017. We now have a wide range of brand-new vehicles to choose from and have supplied in excess of 10,000 vehicles since launch. What are the key milestone achievements in recent years? The first milestone was to reach a fleet of 1,000 cars, which we achieved fairly quickly. Beyond that, opening the new premises at Houghton Regis was a big moment as it helped us to manage movement of our vehicle stock and improved accessibility for customers in the south of England.

We are now at the point where we have manufacturers contacting us asking if we want to take on a fleet of their vehicles, which I consider to be a milestone achievement. It shows we have built up a reputation to the extent that manufacturers, who we would previously approach to purchase vehicles from, are now requesting to work with us – that demonstrates the progress we have made in the past five years. How has the company dealt with challenges caused by the pandemic? Like many businesses we have had to adapt our operations, but some of the changes we have made will become permanent even after we return to some form of normality. Firstly, we have digitised the process a customer goes through when they want to lease one of our cars, meaning

that they no longer have to visit our site. We have received excellent feedback since we started offering the service so we will never go back to the old process. At the start of the first lockdown, we also allowed customers to return vehicles before the end of their rental agreement at no extra charge. The idea behind this was to make it easy for customers who were either being financially impacted by the pandemic, or were simply not using their vehicles, to be able to return them without being penalised. Some of these customers have since returned to take out new contracts when restrictions were lifted. We have also seen increased demand for commercial vehicles with the rise of online sales and the subsequent increase in delivery jobs. Our service is ideal for selfemployed drivers who need a

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SUCCESS STORY

van to make their deliveries, especially those who are looking for a short-term job to generate income while they cannot do their normal work due to lockdown restrictions. What sort of feedback do you get from staff about the company culture and workplace environment? We aim to make our working environment as enjoyable as possible for our staff, most of whom have been with us since we originally launched back in 2016. Prior to social distancing rules, we created an open plan office environment where all departments work closely together – a setup we will return to when restrictions allow. This ensures everyone is aware of what each department is doing. Our fleet support team members are also cross skilled and can carry out numerous functions within the business, increasing efficiencies and

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EVOGO DIRECTOR JOHN TUSTIN

contributing to an improved customer experience. We have a flat management structure which gives our staff the freedom to make decisions, allowing us to react to any

customer requirements with flexibility and ease. What are your plans for the future to drive further success? We are very much following

the motor industry as it moves towards hybrid and electric power. Currently, EVs carry a significant premium over the equivalent petrol and diesel vehicles, and we know that some customers are unsure about whether an EV will work for them, so they are reluctant to spend the extra money on buying one outright or taking out a long lease. Evogo is an ideal way for those people to sample electric vehicles and work out whether the current offering of EVs are suitable for their needs. We are also exploring the possibility of offering longer leases after receiving requests from customers. Some people are happy with their cars and have no desire to change them after six months, so we think by offering a longer contract we can add further options for customers depending on their specific needs.

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unLTD PODCAST

PODCAST SPOTLIGHT This month our podcast producer James Marriott leads with some industry insight, top tips – and turns the spotlight on his choice of another local homegrown podcast for readers to check out Follow, follow, follow! What a difference a word can make. Big news in the podcasting world this month as Apple announced they're switching to a 'follow' link button rather than the existing 'subscribe'. So, at the moment, if you go onto the Podcasts app on your iPhone, it'll invite you to subscribe to shows. But in the next update, instead that'll say follow. Yeah, it's just a word, but it's significant. Subscribe is a weird word. It generally has negative connotations – commitment, cost – which doesn't reflect how podcasting works, and I worry can be a barrier to new listeners. There's still plenty of people out there who have never listened to a podcast. At some point, hopefully, they will decide the time has come to give it a try. If they go exploring

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in their podcast app and see the word 'subscribe' everywhere it could scare them back off. 'Follow' is friendlier and more accurate. This is a change Spotify introduced ages ago and so it's great to see a bit of an industry standard finally forming on this. Podcast Spotlight: Help Sheffield If you're active on Twitter, you'll likely be well aware of Help Sheffield. It's an account run by a handful of lovely people with the aim of helping people across the city and wider South Yorkshire area. You might not know that they do a podcast and have been for a couple of years now. It's an honest, organic show, which highlights some of the great stuff going on around the area. They're 31 episodes strong now, so there's a good back

catalogue of content to catch-up on. The most recent, touching on mental health issues in lockdown, is well worth a listen. Podcasting Q&A: Does it matter what day you release episodes on? This has long been a debate around the podcasting world. I've seen people get really hung up on worrying about the right day. Wednesday is a particularly popular day for podcast releases. Monday and Friday also. Weekends a bit less so. Does it matter? For some podcasts, it probably has a bit of significance. For most, to be perfectly honest, it's as long as it is wide. Most podcast listeners subscribe (sorry, follow) loads of shows, and end up with a queue of new episodes

waiting for them to get to. They probably don't listen to your show on the day you release it. If there is a day which stands out as obviously the best, then go for it. Otherwise, go for whatever works best for you. Is now the right time for you to start a podcast? There seems to be much more hope and confidence as we start to head toward summer and, ultimately, restrictions being lifted. If you don't already, maybe now is the perfect time for your business or brand to launch its own podcast. If you want to learn more about what's involved, and how to get things off the ground, we can help! Just drop me a line at james@unltdbusiness.com and we'll get a good old chinwag in the diary!

DIGITAL MARKETING

SWEET DREAMS ARE MADE OF

DIGITALMARKETING unLTD’s Mike Durham caught up with Fishtank to discover how they washed away BedWorld’s old online identity in favour of a digital makeover that put all their website worries to sleep and helped them sail through the pandemic

Honesty and trust – two values that digital agency Fishtank believes are key to building a successful relationship with clients. It’s exactly this sort of transparency that brought director Yusuf Zaman back to the digital agency two years ago for a reinvention of bed and mattress manufacturer BedWorld’s brand and website following previous work on their sister company, Chelsea Beds, back in 2015. “BedWorld was a successful brand, but Yusuf knew it was time to take it to the next level.” said Gemma Curry, Fishtank’s head of client services. While there were many challenges involved in modernising the look and feel of BedWorld, particularly ensuring a cohesive style that would work both online and within the business’ showrooms across the UK, the real difficulties involved the website. This was because the site, which at the time was the biggest B2B e-commerce platform Fishtank had ever encountered, was developed using Magento 1 – which was

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increase in revenue that's Jan 2021 vs Jan 2020

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increase in users

being phased out in favour of Magento 2. Ola Tambor, Fishtank’s head of digital, said: “It was more than just building a website. It was transferring 6000 products from one system to another, with two systems speaking two different languages." It quickly became a huge task for head of development, Mike Garlick, who spent many months getting the site ready for an overnight launch just weeks away from Black

increase in revenue (May 2020 vs May 2019)

increase in pageviews

growth in users

Friday that thankfully all went according to plan. Over time, a great working relationship formed between Mike and Yusuf which has been key to BedWorld’s swimmingly successful digital presence. Once Mike even picked up the phone at 3am after a glitch caused the website to go down. Gemma added: “Mike was under no obligation to pick that phone up and jump into action, which just demonstrates his dedication

to BedWorld and the affinity between him and Yusuf. “It’s also a clear example of how no one is off limits to our clients. Sometimes in an agency environment you’ll only speak to an account manager, but we’re happy for clients to speak to our designers and developers. Everyone adds something to a project.” It should come as no surprise that Yusuf had the confidence in Fishtank to ask them to turn their attention to sister companies like AAA Beds. At the time, Yusuf already had to manage thousands of products on BedWorld alone, and was looking for a way to streamline the way he regularly updates several websites. This led Mike to design a bespoke multi-site solution which housed them all within one convenient platform. Yusuf also entrusted Ola to take a look at AAA Beds digital marketing, and encountered a Google Ads strategy unlike anything she’d seen before. Ola said: “It was one of the most peculiar things I’ve ever seen. They basically had an ad

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DIGITAL MARKETING

group for every single product, and there were thousands of them, and every ad group had just one key word in it. However, every ad was exactly the same, so they didn’t differ at all between themselves.” With the help of a Google strategist, Ola made the campaign more logical and focused, and saw a boost to revenue of 66 per cent within just one month. Gemma said: “Yusuf trusted us to build these bespoke solutions that ultimately streamlined things from a business point of view and helped aid internal processes. “Our developers want to be challenged and thrive on identifying new technical solutions which help clients to achieve their potential and ultimately create more profit as, at the end of the day, they are businesses.” According to Ola, the scale and challenge of Fishtank’s long relationship with BedWorld has also helped to take the digital agency to newfound heights. “Yusuf understands the statistics, understands the user journey, and is very much

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As an agency it’s our duty to stay at the forefront of digital marketing, and do whatever is necessary to assist our clients on their way to success.

aware that an additional click in the journey might be costing him money. It’s great to work with someone like that as you learn yourself. “Over the years I was lucky enough to learn a lot about marketing, and have built up a lot of degree and agency experience, but collaborating with someone who runs very successful e-commerce platforms – and who is keen to develop and invest in them – is invaluable. It has definitely helped to elevate us as an agency.” It should come as no surprise that the pair are eager to continue working together, especially when you factor in the fact that Bedworld’s monthly revenue more than tripled over the past 12 months with Fishtank’s support.

The digital agency is set to return to the sister company where the relationship first began, Chelsea Beds, which is in the early stages of a digital revamp set to highlight its unique boutique feel. “We’re not afraid to take on new, complicated things. We don’t limit ourselves and say, 'We’ll build you a website and that’s it'. We don’t say, 'We won’t do this for you because it’ll take our head of development for six months'. “As an agency it’s our duty to stay at the forefront of digital marketing, and do whatever is necessary to assist our clients on their way to success.” You can learn more about Fishtank by heading to: www.fishtankagency.com

ADVERTORIAL

THE SMARTER WAY TO MASTER TRAVEL IN SOUTH YORKSHIRE Matt Smallwood, MD of TravelMaster, sets out how businesses can help staff and customers master travel across bus, tram and train in South Yorkshire Okay, so we’re not quite London’s Oyster (let’s get that elephant out of the room right away) but we’re not far off! Did you know that South Yorkshire arguably has the UK’s most flexible and lowest cost multi-operator ticketing system outside of London? That’s what TravelMaster is – we make it easy for passengers to travel on any bus, tram or train in South Yorkshire no matter what colour it might be painted. With more than 600,000 smart cards providing over 20 million (pre-COVID) journeys across all buses, all trams and all trains in South Yorkshire, we’re one of the most advanced smart ticketing systems outside of London. Now it’s never been easier for the region’s businesses to add the easier way to master travel to their own customer offer or employee benefit schemes. So, how can we work with you? Well, no matter what sector

you operate in, we can help you reward customer loyalty through providing discounted travel, help you provide your employees with a greener way to travel as an employee benefit or simply add our products to your own commercial offer. Education and Training Providers We already work with schools, colleges, universities and training providers to help them provide travel for their students or clients, but we want to work with more. If you’re one of these providers you can fully, or partially, fund travel for your students in bulk virtually, or you can sell our products through your own storefronts with no hardware/software requirements.

Hospitality and Conferencing With recovery in mind, we want people to visit the region and, when they do, explore and make the most of it. To help if you run a hotel you can easily add unlimited travel products to room bookings without needing complicated technical development or if you run a conference venue you can easily add travel to your event packages. Retail Likewise, we want people to visit city centres, to support our independent retailers and to help get the local economy kickstarted. Therefore, we’ve made it easy for retailers, or city centre venues, to reward customer loyalty and retention by funding discounts for their customers.

So, if you run a shop you could, for as little as £650, give 200 customers 20 per cent off a weekly ticket valid on every bus and tram in Sheffield. Employee Salary Sacrifice Benefits We want to make it as easy as possible for organisations of all sizes to provide public transport as an easy to access employee benefit. So, from providing a simple way to offer a salary sacrifice scheme, through to letting businesses easily fund discounted travel for their staff, we’ve loads of options for you. All this is just the tip of the iceberg of what I think is possible when we work in partnership to integrate the region’s integrated ticketing system even further – so there’s never been a better time to get in touch with us at partnerships@sytravelmaster. com to see how we can work together for the region.

Learn more about TravelMaster at sytravelmaster.com

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AWARDS

DONCASTER BUSINESS

AWARDS: CELEBRATED IN A YEAR LIKE NO OTHER

Doncaster Chamber of Commerce had to ‘pivot’ the annual awards ceremony like so many businesses who have persevered and performed through the pandemic. Here unLTD turns the spotlight on the digital ceremony and its ‘high calibre’ winners Excellence despite adversity was celebrated at the Doncaster Business Awards, sponsored by Doncaster College and University Centre, on Friday 12 March. Forced to pivot and go digital, a bespoke platform was created to mirror as much of the calendar highlight as possible, and it didn’t disappoint. Welcome to Yorkshire CEO James Mason kept a Zoom room of finalists enthralled as an online audience looked on, with special recognition accolades to show the business community’s appreciation of the borough’s NHS workers and a special Doncaster Business Hero award that recognised contributions by the private sector to tackling the issues created by the pandemic. The virtual ceremony brought a new dimension to the Doncaster Business Awards, but the raw reactions

of winners live on screen as they were revealed were as powerful as they have been in the two decades prior at the in-person events. More than 100 entries were submitted for the 14 competitive categories including Large Business of the Year and Success through Innovation and Diversification. The winners were announced by sponsor judges having passed through a rigorous two-stage judging process that included a written application and interview. The award ceremony was interspersed with NHS Recognition Awards, sponsored by ORB Recruitment. Nominees from Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust and Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust were

voted on internally at both organisations across four categories: Compassionate Care, Unsung Hero, Community Hero, and Outstanding Contribution. Jade Dyer, business director at Doncaster Chamber said, “The last year has been tough for every business, but we remain amazed at the high calibre of entries to the Doncaster Business Awards. The judges had a real challenge on their hands this year and every finalist should be very proud of their achievement.” Jill Wood, Chamber President said: “We were delighted to shine a spotlight on Doncaster’s NHS heroes at the Business Awards. They have done so much to support Doncaster’s communities this last 12 months and we were honoured that so many NHS workers could join us to celebrate Doncaster’s success and resilience.”

WINNERS AND RUNNER UPS OF THE DONCASTER BUSINESS AWARDS 2020/21 Excellence in Customer Service, sponsored by Pristine Commercial Cleaning Services Winner: Murray, Morrison & Knowles Runner up: Merlinsoft Marketing Campaign of the Year sponsored by HSR Law Winner: Fellowes Runner up: Plan.Grow.Do Excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility sponsored by Investors in Community Winner: Keepmoat Homes Runner up: ORB Recruitment Business Engaging with Education sponsored by Opportunities Doncaster Winner: Active Fusion Runner up: We Can Grow

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AWARDS

HOST JAMES MASON OF WELCOME TO YORKSHIRE AND DAVID CHAMBERLAIN, ELLGIA, SPONSORS OF THE SUCCESS THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS AWARD ANNOUNCES THE WINNER

Excellence in People Development sponsored by ORB Recruitment Winner: Concorde BGW Group Runner up: Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals Success through Partnerships sponsored by Ellgia Winner: Cast Runner up: Doncaster UTC Success through Innovation and Diversification sponsored by Pegler Yorkshire Winner: Navy Professional Limited Runner up: NCM Auctions Business Start Up of the Year sponsored by Finance for Enterprise Winner: HD Forwarding Runner up: Plan.Grow.Do Third Sector Organisation of the Year sponsored by Atherton Godfrey LLP Winner: darts (Doncaster

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Suzy Brain England OBE, Trust chair, said: ‘’This past year, every single member of Team DBTH has made me incredibly proud and gone far beyond what we would normally ask of them. I would like to congratulate each of the winners and nominees for their hard-earned awards.” Community Arts) Runner up: South Yorkshire’s Community Foundation SME Business of the Year sponsored by Keebles LLP Winner: ORB Recruitment Runner up: Navy Professional Limited Large Business of the Year sponsored by Polypipe Winner: Concorde BGW Group Runner up: Carlton Forest Group

Young Business Person of the Year sponsored by VolkerRail Winner: Tom Miller, Fellowes Runner up: Daniel McLaughlin, Unipart Rail Green Business of the Year sponsored by The Translation Energy Research Centre at the University of Sheffield Winner: VolkerRail Runner up: ENGIE Apprentice of the Year sponsored by Doncaster

College and University Centre Winner: Owen Cooper, St Leger Homes of Doncaster Runner up: Michael Bent, Unipart Rail Doncaster Business Hero Winner: Lauren Cuttell, Club Doncaster Foundation NHS Recognition Awards sponsored by ORB Recruitment NHS Compassionate Care Winner: Dr Ken Agwuh, DBTH NHS Unsung Hero Winner: Adam Tingle, DBTH NHS Outstanding Contribution Winner: Team DBTH NHS Community Hero Winner: Combined Planned & Unplanned Community Nursing Team RDaSH

ADVERTORIAL

‘A PROVEN TRACK RECORD OF SUCCESS’ Andy File Associates Ltd is currently celebrating 12 years in business. Here MD Andy File tells unLTD all about the organically grown recruitment firm – and introduces the team behind the ‘professional, passionate and personable’ service

DEBRA FOSTER, ANNE BRAITHWAITE, REBECCA THOMAS, DANIEL OWEN AND ANDY FILE

The team has over 85 years’ combined experience from a variety of recruitment backgrounds ensuring the experience to find you your next job, or match your company’s needs to candidates and source the talent required. Andy File Associates Ltd offers a professional, passionate, and personable service to which our clients and candidates have testified, with a proven track record of success. Every team member has been with the company for at least five years. We know how important it is to create a positive experience for candidates and clients, but we also know that can only come from a positive workplace. Debra Foster – associate Debra has worked across several sectors in business development/sales and marketing roles and has held various senior management positions. Her ability to communicate confidently and articulately and her keen listening skills are key to providing a good

experience for clients and candidates. Three words that describe my approach Professional, responsive, and helpful. Something about me... Debra enjoys seeing the family, walking, reading, Greece, girlie breaks, café culture and clothes shopping/ browsing. Anne Braithwaite – business manager Anne has over 30 years’ recruitment experience in both private and public sectors, recruiting across the board for a wide range of organisations from SMEs to blue chip companies. It’s a surprise for Anne to find a role she’s not filled before. Three words that describe my approach Professional, efficient, and supportive. Something about me... Anne loves rugby, rock music and her favourite staycations. Rebecca Thomas – associate An innovative recruitment consultant with seven years

experience at Andy File Associates and a further three years working for the same national agency as Andy. Three words that describe my approach Friendly, understanding, and consistent. Something about me... Rebecca loves all things art and design and likes to holiday in Italy and discover new places to visit. Daniel Owen – operations manager Dan recruits in different industries from IT sales/ technical to heavy engineering. He comes from a strong sales background and previously sold many different products from media to football sponsorship and recently apprenticeships and exhibitions. Three words that describe my approach Knowledgeable, honest, and supportive. Something about me... Self-confessed sci-fi and movie ‘nerd’, Dan enjoys spending time outside work with wife Elizabeth, daughter

Erin, family and friends, with an occasional game of golf thrown in. Andy File - MD Over 25 years’ recruitment experience, 13 years with a national agency. I started Andy File Associates in 2009 with an initial investment from friend and Sheffield entrepreneur Paul Collings of www. createpartnerships.com and have steadily grown the business and team of associates. We recruit across the board from financial director to playground installation labourers. Three words that describe my approach Passionate, conscientious, and empathetic. Something about me... I’m a sports lover including rugby, football and cricket. I’ve played rugby for Dronfield Rugby Club since graduating from Sheffield University in 1994, including two seasons as 1st XV Captain. Find out more – visit www.andyfileassociates.com

Client testimonial – HRM | PR & Creative We have been working with the team at Andy File for a while and have been very impressed with all aspects of their service. They take the time to understand our business to ensure they select the right candidates for us. Our recent appointments were candidates Debra successfully sourced for us. I would absolutely recommend Andy File Associates to other businesses. Allie Dransfield, head of client management – HRM

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ADVERTORIAL

TRIBOSONICS LEADING SUSTAINABILITY CHARGE FOR REGIONAL SMES Sheffield sensing technology business Tribosonics tells unLTD how the team is ‘setting an example for fellow regional businesses’, by embracing the new era of digitisation to enhance its environmental, social and governance sustainability offering to the market

Tribosonics primarily focuses on markets in transport, power generation and manufacturing, driving digital transformation to enable increased energy efficiencies and value creation. Circa 23 per cent of the world’s energy is wasted through tribological contact (Holmberg and Erdemir 2017). Tribology is the science of interactive surfaces in relative motion and the effect of wear, friction, and lubrication. Tribosonics is at the cutting edge of addressing these challenges as it designs, manufactures and deploys unique ultrasonic measurement platforms and products – it embeds sensors in components and machinery to create smart systems by generating measurement data that enables actionable insights, adds value and improves sustainability. The company has seen steady growth in recent years from start-up to scale-up, driven by a talented, multi-disciplinary team, led by current CEO Glenn Fletcher. Glenn has overseen the company’s recent development and, despite the recent

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global pandemic states that sustainability is key: “Many industries and companies have been adversely affected by the pandemic, but we are fortunate to work with a number of large corporates who have recognised the need to innovate and accelerate towards the post-COVID world that will require a more operationally efficient, digitised and sustainable industrial base.” Tribosonics recently received an investment of c.£1.1million from regional investors Mercia Asset Management PLC, as part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF), which Glenn states has been crucial in powering the scale-up of the business: “The investment rationale was to provide the business with growth capital, which is being applied in a number of ways.

There’s investment in building on an already talented team – we are recruiting and have taken on a number of people since the investment so as to capture and deliver future growth. It has also enabled us to further develop and productize our technology and to build on our intellectual property portfolio. Innovation is at the very core of our business, but we recognise that innovation is invention plus commercialisation. The investment we received has given us the momentum and resources to direct our technology development towards what the market needs and is helping us to create a great platform for the future.” As for the future, Glenn states that developing current team members, recruiting the right people and maintaining the

business’ culture will be crucial in seeing Tribosonics grow to the next level through sustained innovation: “An important factor in the future of a business like Tribosonics is the people involved. I would define success as being able to develop and attract the right people, at the right time, to do the right thing. You need people with exceptional functional skills, but you also want innovative and fearless people who believe they can make a real difference to the business and really change things, thereby contributing to a better world. At Tribosonics we pride ourselves on our collaborative and inclusive culture that facilitates our innovative approach to developing sustainability enhancing solutions. It’s important that we maintain and enhance that culture as we grow.” If you would like to speak with Mercia on finance for your business email info@mercia.co.uk

FEATURE Pinders partner with SU Women’s first team

SPOTLIGHT ON RETAIL Paul Reeves, head of commercial at Sheffield United Football Club, says the last year since the pandemic has been ‘inconceivable’ for retailers – but for the Club, retail remains an ‘everimportant source of income’. “As a growing retail business, we learned quickly to cope with furlough, staff working remotely, supply chain challenges, and the shutdown of both Bramall Lane and Meadowhall stores. Then, after re-opening in June 2020, we navigated a retail world with new rules of social distancing and customer safety measures including hand sanitiser, facemasks and one-way systems and red and green signposting. “Our retail team were operating well in the new climate, only to have further store closures from December 2020 until present day and the glimmer of hope of retail returning from April. “The Club developed our e-commerce retail offer to maintain contact with supporters and a revenue stream. A re-structure gave clarity on navigating key retail function areas and a new position was created to focus specifically on digital –

PAUL REEVES

through this, online sales have grown by 70 per cent since April 2020. “A new website and app launched in November 2020, aimed at driving a first-class digital user experience for Blades fans all over the world, providing greater access to the latest content and underpinning our commitment to innovative communication and access. Fully integrated with the club's new single sign-on function, fans can log in just once on the website and automatically be logged in across our ticketing and retail sites, providing a more seamless user journey. “Digital marketing has

played an increasingly important and creative role. The commercial, retail and marketing functions work extremely closely on product design and product promotion. Feedback is extremely positive, and we continue to look at ways to further enhance this, with new products and brand collaborations such as New Era headwear. “No matchday activity has affected revenue as store footfall has obviously been hit massively, but we continue to grow online purchases to sustain our overall success through innovative supply chain solutions, creative and engaging marketing and a continuously evolving supporter experience. “We are very lucky to have a loyal fan base but as we look to grow our brand across the world, we are now in an era where media, fashion and football are coming together to create an exciting global entertainment business – our new retail team will be key as we continue to successfully navigate a ‘new normal’ retail world after the pandemic. For the latest retail products and offers visit www.sufcdirect.co.uk

The Blades have announced a new partnership for Sheffield United women’s first team with print and signage experts Pinders agreeing a two-season back of shirt sponsorship deal. Sheffield-based Pinders are a specialist, family-run organisation with a dedicated team, fully committed to providing professional signage, print and graphic display solutions. MD David Whiteway said: “We started working with Sheffield United in 2006, creating everything from matchday menus to event banner stands and perimeter boards. “Over the years we’ve established a trusted relationship, providing signage around Bramall Lane and the Shirecliffe Academy, stand-branding and day-today print requirements. “With the club in the Premier League, we’ve taken on the branding for key sponsors, media suites, tunnel and dugouts, helping present the best possible view of the stadium on both a local and global scale. “Having our brand on the women’s team kit can only help promote our business further due to the fantastic media spotlight now on the ever more popular women’s game.” Zoe Johnson GM for SU women’s team added: “We are extremely thankful for this level of support from Pinders, who have been an integral part of the club for many years. We look forward to continuing our relationship with them in the future.”

FI FI F

Visit www.thinkpinders.com

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F E I L E B R F O E I F L T E I F B R F O E I F L T E I F B R O F FIT FIT FOR BELIEF

S H O P N O W A T S U F C D I R E C T. C O . U K

Thank you! to all the Sheffield businesses putting in the hard work to re-open safely. Let’s keep doing the right things so that we don’t have to go without haircuts ever again…

Get excited about re-opening at welcometoSheffield.co.uk/makeyourselfathome 12April 21 A UnLTD.indd 1

@VisitSheffield 25/03/2021 18:54

ADVERTORIAL

THE CORNERSTONE

FOR BUSINESS Whether it is a challenging HR issue that needs expert advice or help cutting costs, the Chamber is here to help. Sheffield Chamber also has to offer a strong voice in the conversations that matter about the state of Sheffield and the future of the city

Why? Because if we can make Sheffield the best place in the UK to do business, then every single company in the city will benefit and be more successful. There is only so much an individual business can control. Often the challenges a business faces need to be dealt with on a citywide basis. There are examples of the need for this bigger thinking wherever you look. Finding the right talented people to help grow your business involves having a great recruitment strategy, but it can also mean making sure our education system is giving local people the right skills for the modern workplace. Where to locate a new office or factory

can be the biggest decision a company makes, but often the decision is influenced by Sheffield City Council plans to improve the local road system as much as the company’s plans for growth. In the last nine months, Sheffield Chamber has made sure the organisation and its members are plugged back into the conversations that matter about the future of Sheffield. Politicians need to hear from business organisations. Policymakers need business data and insight to make smart decisions. Decisions to help every local business to grow successfully and sustainably. During the pandemic, the Chamber has been front and centre. Supporting the Council,

they distributed more than £100m in grants to businesses impacted by the restrictions. Chamber members are represented in key meetings with local politicians and health officials as the city battles COVID-19. The Chamber is also grappling with some of the bigger questions that will shape our economy in the decades to come. How do we build a more skilled workforce fit for the modern economy? How can we help local businesses to export more? What is the city going to do over the next 30 years to compete for investment in a fast-moving global economy? All of these questions need answering. None of these questions can be answered

successfully without insight and data from businesses. Sheffield Chamber not only deals with requests from members, but the Chamber is also working with local leaders to make sure Sheffield really does become the best place in the UK to do business. If you want to shape the future of our city, get involved. We are stronger together. Contact the Chamber Team at membership@scci.org.uk or on 0114 201 8888.

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L I M I T E D

The evolution of change Future Life Wealth Management offers a bespoke financial planning service to Generators of Wealth, including business owners, executives and professionals and also to Receivers of Wealth, such as inheritors, divorcees, widows and retirees. You may be at the beginning of your financial journey and need to establish your future life financial plan, or be heading towards your golden years and wishing to consider tax efficient ways in which your estate can be distributed. Future Life Wealth Management Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate taxation & trust advice. We are entered on the FCA Register No 509960 at http://www.fca.org.uk/register.

Tel: 01246 435 996 | Fax: 01246 435 629 Email: info@wealthmanagement.uk.com www.wealthmanagement.uk.com Future House, 54 Ravenshorn Way, Renishaw, Sheffield, S21 3WY

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WANT A BETTER FUTURE FOR SHEFFIELD?

GET PLANNING! Jillian Thomas is managing director of Future Life Wealth Management and a former president of Sheffield Chamber of Commerce – here she looks at the future of our city

Where will Sheffield be in ten years? Well, I don’t have a crystal ball, but as someone who spends her day planning, I do know that it will be in a better place if we plan! It sounds obvious, but it is easy to just let things drift and see what turns up. But I am a financial planner and letting things drift is not in my DNA. We work with our clients to give them the best possible chance of the best future they can have. We’re called Future Life Wealth Management for a reason! So how can we plan for Sheffield? Like any good plans, it starts with where we are now. We need to do a bit of ‘situational awareness’, a bit of a review of what we have already, and then what we know is surely going to come. When we sit down with clients, we need to know all about them and we need to know what life events are likely to come along (children going to university, elderly parents with potential care needs, their own potential care needs, business succession, retirement etc). We also probe to find out about their attitude to risk. And then – and only then – do we start to plan. It is a bit like doing a SWOT analysis,

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or for those of you who like longer processes and longer words, a PESTLE analysis. Once we have started to work out our strengths and weaknesses, and considered the threats, we can start to think about the opportunities. Sheffield has some real strengths. It has fantastic universities, a University Technical College, and an airport just down the road (and I mean Doncaster Sheffield, not the one over the Pennines or the one down the M1). It has weaknesses – talented people leaving

the city for opportunities elsewhere as we don’t always have the second and third jobs in the career ladder that people need. We do have a good rate of people staying on after university, but we need more talented people to make it their home – we want the jobs that are well-paid and have greater spending power, to bring prosperity to us all. We need an economy that is positive and forward-thinking and a city where people want to stay and grow. We need ambition from our leaders.

We need to look ahead to the sectors that are emerging and those that will emerge in the years to come. We have some fantastic digital industries in the city, games designers, digital marketeers, app designers, health tech experts, IT whizzes…the list goes on. But where will the next industrial revolution come from? Will we be ready? And what about our infrastructure? Will our digital connections and our transport connections give us greater connectivity? The Government has announced a £137m upgrade to the Hope Valley line, which will improve one link to Manchester, but we need more. In ten years’ time will HS2 be here or be on its way here? Will Doncaster Sheffield airport be a hub, not just for passengers, but for freight, too? There are endless possibilities. We need the Government to really deliver on its promise to ‘level up’, but we need to play our part, too. We need to be brave, take risks perhaps, and build a Sheffield where people want to stay, and a Sheffield where people want to come to and invest in. And that starts with a plan.

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REOPENING YOUR BUSINESS FROM LOCKDOWN As many firms in Sheffield begin the gradual process of returning from the latest and hopefully final lockdown, they will need to plan for what is likely to be a staged return to the workplace. As the easing of lockdown continues, it’s vitally important that firms plan a resumption of their activities in a controlled and safe manner The following are some of the key areas for local firms to consider when reopening their business.

RISK ASSESSMENT It is vital you conduct a thorough risk assessment – when the government allows your business to reopen. This means looking at working areas and activities, checking equipment and premises, and considering what needs to be done to enable your employees to successfully distance themselves from colleagues and work safely.

REOPENING PREPARATION It is likely that your business will need to make social distancing protocols, which will be specific to your industry sector. It may also be necessary to change the layout of your workplace. In addition you will be required to clean and disinfect the workplace thoroughly. You should consider introducing new rules and procedures for staff at the workplace, to include for inperson interactions and physical contact. Depending on the nature of your business, it may also be necessary to introduce employee scheduling. Communicate to staff before reopening about what your new ways of working might look like and what might be expected of

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them. Make sure they’re fully informed before inviting them back to work, consider running training sessions for your staff before you reopen your business and document these sessions for your records. If your firm uses commercial vehicles it’s vitally important to enforce social distancing, cleaning and hygiene practices while operating them. Establish a response team that recommends and oversees workplace protocols to control the spread of COVID-19.

EMPLOYEE SCREENING Consider implementing a screening procedure for staff before they enter your workspace so you can identify any potential COVID-19 cases. Employees who test positive or believe they have been infected should be instructed to follow the advice of a medical professional and self-quarantine. Staff who are symptomatic or who have tested positive should not return to work until official government conditions are satisfied.

cases visors. They need to share guidance with them on how to correctly place, wear and remove face masks.

on arranging the best insurance cover and not a bundle of clauses that effectively prevents policyholders from making a claim.

TRAINING MATERIALS

Jamie Harvey is a director at chartered broker IFM Insurance in Sheffield

Provide staff with safety information, which clearly explains the protocols around social distancing, use of PPE, personal hygiene, workspace cleaning responsibilities, and any industry-specific considerations.

INSURANCE Check with your insurance broker that your business has the right insurance in place to ensure you are properly covered for new ways of working. A broker who is local and accessible knows what is at stake as we emerge from lockdown. The future of your business rests

HEATH AND SAFETY Increase hand washing and surface cleaning frequency should be put in place. Some firms may need to provide their employees with the correct protective equipment, like gloves and masks and in some

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YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS

NURTURING LOCKDOWN BUSINESSES Barnsley College is celebrating the success of a growing number of students who have launched new business ventures, with support from the iTrust initiative – here they share two success stories iTrust is a joint venture between the College, Barnsley Chronicle and The Business Village which supports enterprising students by providing access to an array of information and guidance, including mentoring from the College’s Enterprise team, The Prince’s Trust, industry specialists and local businesses from the College’s Talent United networking community. The scheme can also provide a start-up grant of up to £250. Jess Widdowson, enterprise team leader at Barnsley College said: “We have seen a record number of businesses launched over the past year, with support from iTrust and the practical guidance and advice contributed by established business professionals. “Talent United partners can devote as little or as much time as they wish and there are some extremely worthwhile benefits associated with the scheme, not least the fulfilment gained from mentoring a young person and watching a fledgling business grow. The College continues to Transform Lives and help our students to fulfil their potential throughout this difficult time.”

KELSEY WHITE (LEFT) AND CHLOE HEWITT

Chocoholics Student Kelsey White stirred her love of sweet treats into a business venture after her fondness for hot chocolate inspired her to start selling chocolate stirrers and other confections. Kelsey became familiar with entrepreneurship after helping out on her mum’s market stall selling sweets and children’s toys. She began working on flavours and recipes during lockdown, while curating a Facebook page for her business. Just three weeks later she had sold more than 2,000 hot chocolate stirrers. She has since been awarded an iTrust grant of £250 which has allowed

her to invest in chocolate moulds, tags, packaging, and ingredients leading to a higher sales and increased profit. Kelsey, currently studying Level 3 Travel and Tourism at Barnsley College, said: “I have to say a big thank you to iTrust for supporting me constantly with my business – all of the team are amazing! I would recommend other students get in touch if they have a business idea as they provide so much useful help and support. In the future I would love to own my own successful restaurant or cafe!” CH House of Beauty Student Chloe Hewett recently picked up the keys to her very

own beauty salon having worked hard to hone her skills and establish her business, with help from iTrust. Chloe said: “My interest in nails started as a hobby in 2017. I found employment at a salon and that’s when I realised I could earn more by being self-employed, but to be able to do this, I needed more qualifications, so I decided to enrol at Barnsley College. “When I was studying Nail Technology, my tutor was fantastic. She really believed in me and my potential and spurred me on lots.” Lockdown enabled Chloe to complete online courses to further her knowledge, and she also joined virtual groups to network. Jess Widdowson added: “Chloe first came to me in February 2020 with a full business plan and a list of long-term goals. To achieve so much in such a short space of time is an excellent example to all our students that anything is possible.” To find out more about iTrust or employer engagement initiatives offered by Barnsley College, visit www.barnsley. ac.uk/enterprise or email enterprise@barnsley.ac.uk

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WINNING TIMES

FOR WOSSKOW BROWN After winning the Accelerator of the Year Award at the Yorkshire Financial Awards 2021, the team at Wosskow Brown Foundation tell unLTD more about the foundation Hosted by comedian Lucy Porter, 18 awards were handed out at the Yorkshire Financial Awards 2021 to various companies all around the Yorkshire region. Jim Lawson, director of the Wosskow Brown Foundation, said: “We are absolutely honoured and delighted the Wosskow Brown Foundation were given the first award Lucy gave out that night, the Accelerator of the Year Award! “To win this award, the Wosskow Brown Foundation came up against other amazing nominees including Barclays Eagle Labs, Sheffield Hallam University’s Hallam i-Lab, and NatWest Accelerator. “We would also like to highlight the really valuable work the other nominees in our category do in helping businesses to grow and scale, acknowledging all the other business accelerators in the region.

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“When we launched the Wosskow Brown Foundation in 2014, our main purpose was to help regenerate our local economy and through the vision of Ian Brown and fellow partners of Wosskow Brown Solicitors, we have been able to help more than 1,000 businesses. “Finally, we must thank our unsung heroes, the many entrepreneurs and professionals in the region who responded to our rally call and have engaged and supported all we do.” Private Sector Initiative The Foundation is a private sector initiative from the partners at South Yorkshire law firm, Wosskow Brown. It was set up as a response to the Government’s call for the private sector to help regenerate the local economy, after a £3bn Gross Added Value gap was identified in the region, as well as 70,000 too few jobs and 6,000 too few businesses.

“The WB100 programme was launched to offer useful support for businesses, sports clubs, charities, and social enterprises,” says Jim. “We delivered workshops to upskill SME owners in everything from cashflow management to social media, from winning business to recruitment. “To support this, we set up a pro bono mentoring programme which brought together local professionals and experienced entrepreneurs with founders of start-ups and scale-ups. We must thank these entrepreneurs for their kindness, giving up their time to mentor new business owners with workshops, supporting the aims of the Wosskow Brown Foundation. The willingness to help others is really an admirable characteristic of the people in this region.”

space to businesses finding their feet, which included free phones, Wi-Fi, and mentoring, using the space available at our head office of Wosskow Brown in East Sheffield,” added Jim. “In the five years to November 2019, we had helped, engaged, or otherwise assisted more than 900 organisations in the Sheffield City Region. In just the past three years, we have made almost 600 B2B introductions for companies looking to engage with business specialists in a wide range of sectors. Therefore, we have become widely known as a ‘connector’ organisation.”

Free Office Space “The Foundation has also offered a year of free office

CHARITY

COACH HOUSE REDEVELOPMENT SET TO START Age UK Sheffield has received formal permission from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to start the redevelopment of the Grade II listed Old Coach House in Hillsborough Park, after signing the lease with Sheffield City Council. The lease includes a longterm lease for both the Old Coach House building and the Potting Shed that sits to the side of the Walled Garden. Once converted, the Potting Shed will be used to provide dementia-friendly activities

from crafting and woodwork to gardening and sewing. It is hoped the restoration and building work will begin in April. Steve Chu, Age UK Sheffield CEO, said: “The project is going to have such a positive impact on the community and provide some amazing opportunities for older people across Sheffield to engage in inclusive and exciting activities and events, which will have a real positive impact on reducing the loneliness and isolation faced by so many.”

Councillor Mary Lea, Cabinet Member for Culture, Parks and Leisure at Sheffield City Council said: “Hillsborough Park is already one of Sheffield’s most popular parks, but this development will really take it to the next level.

“As well as the important benefits the scheme will bring to those living with dementia, it will also provide brand new café and toilet facilities to all visitors and will preserve the wonderful heritage of the Old Coach House building.”

INVESTORS IN COMMUNITY SEE INCREASE IN CHARITABLE GIVING IN 2021 While 2021 has seen the continuation of the pandemic, the need to give back is stronger than ever. Whether local businesses are helping to support people with disabilities or donating laptops for home schooling children, there’s nothing quite like knowing your small act of kindness can have a positive impact on the world. Many more businesses are recognising the value of giving back and Investors In Community, a digital platform which enables businesses to connect with charitable projects in their area and measure the impact of their Corporate Social Responsibility activities, has seen an encouraging start to 2021 as donations via the platform have grown by 18 per cent. “Businesses have responded to charities in crisis by offering various kinds of support

including volunteering and donating gifts in kind, and this is continuing,” said Lisa Newton of IIC. “Those still looking for support locally include SCCCC, who are looking for people to keep in touch with our local

older population. “Mums in Need is appealing for old tech donations and we are hosting four fundraisers for Support Dogs’ Charity Abseil in May. “We are also helping to make a success of Liniar's

Easter Egg project and collecting donations to support Derbyshire WISH, a supported housing project which provides emergency short term refuge for women and children fleeing domestic violence.”

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