Norwich based energy consultancy Indigo Swan are rewarding individuals for any business referrals they make to them. From now until the 31st October 2019 each time you refer a business to them, using the form on their website, you will be entered into a prize draw for a chance to win a £50 M&S voucher.
As an additional bonus, if the business you refer agrees to let Indigo Swan investigate their energy requirements and sends them a letter of authority (LOA), they too will be entered into a separate prize draw for a chance to win a £50 M&S voucher.
The simple referral scheme is their way of showing their appreciation for the kind words and trust others put in them. You can find out more on their website.
Experienced accountant Jeremy Gilks has launched a new accountancy practice on Ber Street in Norwich specifically aimed at small businesses and individual tax-payer clients.
Norwich is set to benefit from the addition of a new walk-in TaxAssist Accountants shop when Jeremy Gilks FCCA opens his practice on 113-119 Ber Street on 27th August.
“Since joining the TaxAssist Accountants network in November 2018, I’ve been on the look out for the ideal location to open a shop, which will provide a warm, welcoming environment for me to meet with new and existing clients to discuss their tax and accountancy requirements,” said Jeremy.
“The shop on Ber Street ticks all the boxes as there is a high volume of passing traffic and a vibrant local traders association.
There is also plenty of on-street parking for clients to use when popping in, as we want to be convenient to the city centre, to make it easy for clients to come and visit us while doing their shopping.
“We do not consider ourselves to be typical accountants, which is clear from the look and feel of our modern shop. We are passionate about offering a bespoke, tailored service to every kind of small business client and we have adopted the latest software on offer, which allows us to be more responsive to clients’ needs and provides greater efficiencies. But, we have a best of both worlds approach for those who enjoy using tech and those who prefer just to come in and talk to us. I would like to encourage anyone interested in finding out more about our services to pop in for a free initial consultation.”
As well as providing all the regular services you would expect from a local accountant, Jeremy, who has over 30 years’ accountancy experience across a range of sectors, is looking for his shop to become a destination for new start-ups by providing a business hub. This will offer a flexible working environment with space to hire by the hour, half day, day, week or month.
“I’m keen to offer help, to nurture and support new start-ups” said Jeremy. “In addition to hiring out desk space, we will be looking to offer lock up offices with provision for a board room with large screens for presentations, which will run independently of the accountancy practice.”
Karl Sandall, Chief Executive Director of The TaxAssist Group said: “I’m very excited to see another fantastic looking addition to the TaxAssist Accountants network of shops and would like to congratulate Jeremy on the look and feel of the shop after it has undergone an extensive refit.”
Jeremy’s shop on Ber Street joins an established network of over 210 TaxAssist Accountants shops nationwide, including shops in Norfolk on Aylsham Road in Norwich, Attleborough and King’s Lynn.
Kings Lynn’s Captain Fawcett, purveyor & manufacturer of simply ‘First Class Gentleman’s Grooming Requisites’ has been flying the flag for West Norfolk by taking part in an epic five-day motorcycle journey the length and breadth of England raising funds for a most marvellous national children’s charity.
On the 11th August a fine fellowship of mad-cap adventurers, united by their passion for bikes and barbering, set off on a mission to support Make-A-Wish which turns the dreams of seriously ill children into extraordinary real-life magic.
Completing a hat trick, the third BarbersRide was an absolute triumph, with funds racing past the target to reach over £15,000 – and more donations are still coming in. Huzzah! https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/barbersride-2019
Owner of Captain Fawcett Richie Finney, who was elected King’s Lynn Business Person of the Year in 2019 and is a West Norfolk Champion, is one of the founding members and a key sponsor of BarbersRide. An annual road trip adventure bringing industry leaders, barbers and bikers together on a journey of camaraderie and merry mayhem. By day taking to the highway in all manner of wild and wonderful British weather, each evening features an intimate seminar hosted by some of the most prestigious names in the barbering world, followed by legendary after parties with live music, auctions for superb sporting memorabilia and food and drinks to revive spirits.
Past rides have raised over £20,000 for The Lion’s Barber Collective along with London’s Great Ormond Street and Liverpool’s Alder Hey children’s hospitals.
In 2019 BarbersRide said: “Make-A-Wish grants special wishes for sick children when they are most in need and bring positivity and happiness in times of distress. We really wanted to work with a national children’s charity this year so that children from each region could benefit – Make-A-Wish were the perfect organisation to partner with and we’ve had incredible support from our sponsors, riders, barbers and the barbershops who hosted seminars and of course the guests who attended each event.”
Our first commercial clients to join our digital signage networks were Leathes Prior, a Norwich based solicitors located in the heart of Cathedral Close.
Leathes Prior has had a healthy and well-established reputation in the city since 1876, so the intention was to increase brand awareness further to our captivated audiences to whom they have or haven’t yet reached. BBA Digital Media’s screens offer both bright, crisp imagery and HD video so Leathes Prior’s message caught the eye of 10,000+ people! Each of our screens is situated in high footfall locations that have been hand picked for both the quality & quantity of consumers.
The advert was displayed at two different locations: one being at Carrefour Health & Fitness and the other at 24/7 Fitness at the Riverside complex. The advertisement was of static content featuring some personal messaging and website details, displayed on our eye-catching digital screens in one of our twelve advertising slots for a duration of 10 seconds every 2 minutes.
Three former newspaper colleagues have been reunited in an expanded publicity department at Great Yarmouth-based TMS Media.
Richard Batson, a former chief reporter and community editor with Archant, joins fellow journalists Rachel Moore and Steve Scott at the agency.
The three have more than a century of experience behind them. Rachel Moore, TMS Media’s PR and communications manager, is a former news editor of the Norwich Evening News and an Eastern Daily Press chief reporter. She still writes a weekly column for the EDP.
Steve Scott, managing director, was a journalist at what was then Eastern Counties Newspapers for 14 years, half of that time as chief reporter of the company’s Cromer office, where Rachel began her career as a trainee reporter. Richard, who lives in Southrepps, was community editor at Cromer for four years after serving as chief reporter for 23 years.
Formed in 1989, TMS Media is a 12-strong full-service agency that provides graphic design, website development, photography and exhibition management alongside its publicity work, which has more than tripled in the past year. Four major contracts awarded in the space of four months for clients in construction, energy and tourism prompted the move to expand the PR team.
“The success of our publicity service centres on outstanding relationships with the media and well-written press releases,” said Steve Scott. “So in looking to expand the service it was absolutely vital to recruit a journalist who could write our clients’ news stories in the editorial style that hard-pressed newsdesks are looking for. Richard has huge experience, is an excellent writer and a great asset for us and our clients.”
Rachel joined TMS in August 2014, succeeding another former Archant journalist, Roy Strowger, who was PR and communications manager for seven years.
Residents of Quayside Court in Lakenheath, Suffolk, are enjoying warm homes with significantly lower heating bills, thanks to a new communal ground source heat pump. In partnership with East Anglia’s largest heating company, Gasway Services, part of Flagship Group, Norfolk-based renewable heating expert Finn Geotherm has completed yet another district heating system.
Owned and managed by housing association Flagship, the 21 bungalows in Quayside Court were built during 1970s. Heating was provided by individual electric storage heaters and a shared oil boiler, which were inefficient and expensive to run. Having completed an award-winning district heating scheme for Flagship in 2017 for 30 flats in Watton, Finn Geotherm were appointed to design and install a similar solution.
The new district heating scheme uses one central ground source heat pump to provide heating and hot water for all homes on the estate. Heat is collected from under the ground via 14 boreholes installed beneath the parking area and two ground source heat pumps generate all the heating and hot water for each home. Every bungalow is individually metered and customers are only charged for the energy they use. The heat pump equipment is housed in a standalone plant room meaning that maintenance and servicing can be undertaken without having to disrupt residents in their homes.
By installing this renewable energy heating system, residents at Quayside Court are enjoying cheaper energy bills – costing around 56% less than before. Energy use has also been cut by 70%, making a significant impact on carbon emissions and providing a more affordable and efficient living environment for Flagship customers.
In addition, the installation qualifies for the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), a Government scheme which assists with the project’s capital cost by providing quarterly payments for 20 years, allowing Flagship to roll out the much-improved heating systems for more customers in the future.
Charlie Conley, Head of Asset Investment at Flagship, said: “Working with heating experts such as Finn Geotherm and Gasway allows us to explore further opportunities to reduce the cost of living for our customers, and the savings should make a real difference for them. Quayside Court is our second district heating installation and we hope to see many more in the future. It is also interesting that this technology, which was actually developed in 1945, can help towards tackling fuel poverty.”
Guy Ransom, Commercial Director at Finn Geotherm, said: “We are delighted to complete this second district heating installation for Flagship, which has had such a positive impact on the residents at Quayside Court. Not only does this system eradicate fuel poverty and create homes that they can enjoy living in, but the system will also significantly reduce energy use and cut carbon emissions. It is a pleasure to be working with an organisation which not only puts its customers at the heart of its operations, but also its environmental responsibilities.”
Key benefits of the project include:
Heating bills cut by 56%
Energy use reduced by 70%
Encourages customers to heat their homes, positively impacting on their health and wellbeing
System lasts three times longer than a conventional boiler
For more information on ground and air source heat pumps and details on Finn Geotherm, visit www.finn-geotherm.co.uk.
The team at Ellgia are building on their success with key appointments across the business. They have recently recruited Adrian Smith for Head of Operations at Scunthorpe, Mark Goodchild as General Manager for Southern Operations, David Chamberlain as Head of Marketing & New Business Development, Tony Steventon and Christine Heaver.
Adrian joins with a wealth of experience in Senior Management, Operational Delivery, Waste Processing and Fuel Production. He has spent a number of years within Suez in the role of Production Manager delivering 120k tpa of SRF per annum and has spent time running the PFI contract for Biffa in Leicester incorporating both the collection and waste processing businesses. Of late Adrian was the Operations Director for the significant processing and production of SRF at Mid UK.
Jack Lavington Operations Director For Ellgia said:
‘It’s great that Adrian has decided to join The Ellgia team in Scunthorpe, the Team have done an amazing job in helping transition the business from the transfer station to waste processors to product manufacturers. It is all credit to their commitment, dedication and work ethic that we’ve been able to transition so quickly. It is now absolutely the right time to compliment those efforts with the additional skill and expertise that Adrian will undoubtedly bring allowing us to continually develop not only our operational capabilities but also our efficiency and ability to deliver the next stage of our sites evolution’.
‘Ellgia has very quickly become one of the most recognised forces within the recycling community, particularly in the regions of the east of England, Lincolnshire and South Yorkshire. I’m extremely excited to have been given the opportunity to join the business in a time of significant growth and transformational change. I’m looking forward to working with the already fantastic Team of people at our main processing site in Scunthorpe and with my expertise help to build on the great work that has already been undertaken’.
Adrian Smith Head of Operations
David joins Ellgia having worked on a consultative basis for the past 12 months. Through his hard work, passion for the Business and perseverance he has made a significant contribution not only on the Businesses brand recognition & marketing position but also on the development of new working relationships between key regional partners along with forging strong partnerships with new customers across the entire Ellgia Business. David has a wealth of experience in marketing/design & digital/social media platforms having operated his own Business Origin8 Limited for the past 23 years.
“Having had the opportunity to work on a consultancy basis for Ellgia over the past 12 months, in developing its brand recognition and building NEW and exciting Business Partnerships I’m now extremely excited to now be joining the business in a full-time capacity.
What the last 12 months have demonstrated to myself is that Ellgia as a business will not accept second best, the attitude and aptitude to grow the business from top to bottom is of a Business much bigger than it currently is. The challenge for me is to make sure that we reach the heights we aspire to and I’m very much looking forward to meeting that challenge head on.’
David Chamberlain Head of Marketing & New Business Development
“We are delighted that David has decided to join Ellgia on a permanent basis and look forward to him continuing the fantastic work that he and the rest of the Team have already delivered. We’ve a huge appetite to grow the business and its capabilities and David’s role is an integral part of those ambitions and to build on the incredible growth we have already enjoyed over the past 7 years.”
MHA Larking Gowen is pleased to welcome new trainees to the firm.
The students, who will be based across Norfolk and Suffolk, will each be completing either their AAT (Association of Accounting Technicians) or ACA (Association of Qualified Accountants) apprenticeship with the firm. Once qualified, they will have the opportunity to take up exciting challenges as they grow their career within the business. Many of our people at the firm started out as trainees and are still with us years later.
Jon Woolston, Managing Partner, said: “We are pleased to welcome our new trainees, who bring with them a host of talent to support the firm across the eastern region. Our flexible training programme will allow them to achieve their chosen qualification and gain work experience to give them a strong background in essential areas of accountancy.”
As a member of MHA, a national association of independent accountants, MHA Larking Gowen is networked throughout the UK and internationally through the MHA membership of Baker Tilly International. Through these connections we can provide our people with potential opportunities for secondments and continued growth in their career.
Jon Woolston, Managing Partner MHA Larking Gowen (centre) pictured with the student intake for 2019.
The Maids Head Hotel, in Tombland Norwich, has acquired a rare 1950 Bentley Mark 6, left hand drive convertible, with a Park Ward body. Only four of this particular model were made and only two survive.
The Mark 6 was Bentley’s first post war luxury car and was manufactured between 1947 and 1952.
This is the hotel’s second classic car; earlier this year a 1963 Bentley S3 was purchased and has proved very popular, taking hotel guests on chauffeur driven explorations of the city. The bride and groom at weddings hosted by the hotel are also able to take a spin in the Bentley, with resident chauffeur Dave Currums, and have photographs taken at Pull’s Ferry, at St James Hill, overlooking the Anglican Cathedral and the city centre and in the Market, buying and ice cream.
Christine Malcolm, General Manager, the Maids Head Hotel said: “We are very excited with the addition of this very rare Bentley to the Maids Head’s family. The new Bentley will also be providing classic car experiences for our guests and will, I am sure, be a very popular photography ‘prop’ for our weddings.”
The way to donate transparently this Christmas! Your Own Network.
There is so much great stuff going on, that those of us that want to reach into our pockets to make a donation are often overwhelmed. And local businesses are no different
Your Own Network offers the solution!
Your Own Network offers the unique opportunity to give direct to a vulnerable young person setting up home for the first time.
And we’re launching our campaign in partnership with Norfolk Chamber of Commerce – they too see the benefit of #transparentgiving. They will be supporting Your Own Place to reach local businesses.
Who wouldn’t want their hard earned cash to go direct to the person benefitting rather than disappear into the company accounts? And it’s no different for local businesses who also want to make a difference at this time of year and may be feeling the squeeze.
How it works:
Young people starting out on life and moving into their own place without family to help them out need furniture and household items. We all know that a house is not a house when it’s empty. Research tells us that if our homes are not furnished and looked after, we are less likely to hold onto them and could end up homeless.
We’ve teamed up with Argos so that young people create a wishlist of furniture and smaller household items. Donors – individuals or businesses can find out a bit about the young person on the website and buy them something from their wishlist. This helps to prevent youth homelessness!
This is giving with a difference #transparentgiving #yourownnetwork
What Aaliyah says about the things she has received: “Well I really appreciate the items that I received as had some money problems. I feel so grateful that random strangers want to help out. It’s given me hope”.
A bit more about Your Own Place Your Own Place CIC is based in Norwich and Ipswich and operates across Norfolk and Suffolk. We’re a social enterprise that works with over 150 young people a year to prevent them from becoming the future homeless population. We do this as a sustainable business working with all members of the community to secure a diverse income.
Your Own Place is a member of the Future 50 group.
We were also shortlisted for the FSB Small Business Award in 2018, the Homeless Link Social Enterprise Award in 2018, the EDP Skills of Tomorrow Award in 2017 and the PwC Social Impact award in 2016.
We were founded in 2013 by Rebecca White. Rebecca has recently featured in the Natwest Wise100 women social entrepreneurs in the country.
If I could give my 20 year old self one piece of advice it would be:”GET A QUALIFICATION!”
But wait a minute, I think my parents did tell me that and I think I completely ignored that advice! Many years later, we at TIPS for Good Management (a CMI Approved Centre) are passionate about convincing new managers and young people coming into industry that gaining a management qualification will put them towards the front of a lengthy queue…..
Here’s why, straight from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), the leading organisation for Leadership and Management Qualifications in the UK.
CMI qualified managers and leaders make a positiveimpact on businesses helping them to grow and thrive. Research shows that management and leadershipdevelopment leads to 23% increases in organisationalperformance and a 32% increase in employeeengagement.Chartered Managers on average deliver£391k of value to their organisations.CMI membership and resources makes you a bettermanager and leader, improving your career prospectsand getting you to the top of your profession.
Professional Qualifications and Chartered status are crucial if individual managers and organisations are tosucceed.Holding a professional Qualification leads to additionalearnings of £81,000 over a career for individuals.A professional Qualification makes individuals 9% moreemployable.
It’s easy to see the positive benefits of a management qualification, but without it you may well be starting at the back of a very long queue when it comes to career opportunities. We offer personal coaching together with affordable and accessible learning. Queue jumping was never made easier!
Start your qualification today. Don’t hesitate, call now, enquire via our website or e-mail us.
OK so we’re a bit early – consider this a timely reminder to start booking your Christmas digital advertising now! It may be four months away, but the busy Christmas period is probably something you’re starting to think about. The same is true of all the major brands across the UK, so now is the time to secure your digital signage advertising slotsbefore they sell out.
Timing is everything when trying to book on our digital screens, it’seven more important at peak times like Christmas. Companies like yourselves, especially in the retail sector, launch their big Christmas campaigns from the second week of November onwards. They’ll be starting to buy up large numbers of our space soon; some have started already!
The great news is that it isn’t more expensive to book during the busy Christmas period, but there are fewer advertising slots available due to high demand.It’s not too late to promote your business on our digital screens in prime locations across Norfolk, but you’ll need to get cracking!