Member News

New rules have come into force regarding the sale of coal and firewood to consumers.

See press release.

Restrictions on sale of coal and wet wood for home burning begin – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

In this week’s episode of Impromptu Business Chat, Mark and James chat about the benefits to business owners and their teams of adding more meaning to their businesses and lives. As usual, they end with 3 top tips, and along the way they refer to Professor Brian Cox, Motivational Maps and Limp Bizkit! 

If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever else you get your podcasts. Whilst you are there, we would really appreciate a 5* review, as this helps other people find our podcast!

Listen here

The last year has seen millions of people working very differently as we coped with the impact of the pandemic. We have adapted and responded and found new ways of doing things.

Now, as restrictions ease and more and more people head back into the workplace, it’s a perfect time to reflect and capture the learning from this period in our lives – to identify what worked well, and what people need now and into the future.

We’re running a survey and we’d love you to add your voice. Your views will help us to gain an insight into your experience of working during a pandemic, but also, will allow us to capture any best practice. We’d also really would like to know if the pandemic has caused your career aspirations to change.

Tell us what you think right here: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/L7W5RFK

*Want to know more? Find out about our recommendations for how companies can support people as they return to the workplace here: Engaging People Back to the Workplace | The Engaging People Company (engaging-people.co.uk)

Steadfast Training offer a comprehensive package of pre-employment and in-work support, including non-accredited training and accredited qualifications in Employability; ICT and Social Media; Customer Service; Business Admin; Warehousing; Health Care, Mental Health & Wellbeing; LGBT in the Workplace, as well as Team Leading & Management.

All training we deliver to support young people develop their skills in the workplace is fully funded and comes at no cost to the employer.

Training can be offered as block provision (Monday – Friday) or 1 day per week over several weeks

For more information please open the PDF below for our full leaflet or please contact us on 0845 223 2401 or email us on kickstart@steadfasttraining.co.uk.

Work with us to build the workforce of the future – Laboratory Science placements

East Norfolk Sixth Form College, based in Gorleston, has been at the forefront of preparing students for the future for nearly 40 years.

We offer the widest curriculum to ensure our students have the skills and knowledge in a range of specialist areas and to meet the needs of your workforce.

From September we will be offering T Levels, the first provider East of Norwich, and we are ready to work with you.

We are looking to collaborate with businesses that can offer work placements in a laboratory setting to support the delivery of our T Level in Laboratory Science & Metrology.

This course has been developed in collaboration with health and science employers so the content meets the needs of industry.

In return, we can offer you access to 1600 high calibre students, opportunities to gain direct access to your future workforce and promote your business.

If you want a passionate, skilled young person on work placement with you, contact us to find out more about supporting the next generation into your sector.

Get in touch with Amy Lerpiniere today:

alerpiniere@eastnorfolk.ac.uk

01493662234 ext 713

As part of the ongoing recognition of the importance of equal opportunities in the workplace, Howes Percival has produced a new strategy to help ensure equality and diversity remain ‘key strategic and business priorities’ and are given renewed focus going forwards.

The firm has appointed three partners – Jahid Ali, Katharine Danks and Alex Payton – to lead the new initiative. In addition, these leaders are supported by a dedicated Equality & Diversity Committee, which is made up of employees from across the firm.

The initial focus of the committee will centre on race and ethnicity, gender and gender pay and social mobility, although the firm will continue to recognise and deal with the full spectrum of issues and challenges related to diversity and inclusion.

Under the renewed strategy, the firm will also seek to undertake a comprehensive equality and diversity survey and review all of its processes and policies, including recruitment, promotions, appraisals and equality and diversity training, to ensure that they continue to align with its aims.

Equality and diversity partner, Jahid Ali said, 

“While the firm has shown its commitment to equality and diversity for many years, we recognise that we need to constantly review what we do and double-down on our efforts to ensure this remains a top priority. We believe we can attract the best talent by recruiting from a diverse pool and we want Howes Percival to be the place where all talented individuals can flourish. By announcing our renewed strategy, we are holding ourselves accountable to achieving our aims and we will continue to challenge ourselves as the strategy develops.”

The committee has already taken forward a number of employee-led initiatives including celebrating Black History Month, launching a book and film club, initially focusing on race and ethnicity issues, and taking part in International Women’s Day in March. 

Howes Percival are celebrating being named Corporate Law Firm of the Year in Insider Media’s Central & East Dealmakers Awards 2020. Howes Percival was also shortlisted for two deals in the ‘Deal of the Year (above £10m)’ category and for another two deals in the ‘Deal of the Year (below £10m)’ category.

The annual awards recognise high-quality work from the top professional services firms in the central and eastern region – corporate finance firms, banks, funders, private equity houses and individuals – who have excelled in dealmaking over the past year. The awards are judged by a panel of independent experts, each with in-depth knowledge of deals processes and structures. This year’s awards ceremony was cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions, and the winners were announced online.

Howes Percival was named ‘Corporate Law Firm of the Year’ for its involvement in deals across the whole region and praised for its proactive and client-focused services. The judges highlighted the sale of Metrol Springs to Lesjofors AB and the acquisition of Norfolk Broads Holdings by Craft Leisure.

In the category ‘Deal of the Year (above £10m)’ Howes Percival was shortlisted for the acquisition of Norfolk Broads Holdings by Craft Leisure, where the other advisers included MHA Larking Gowen; Barclays; Lees Accountants and Leathes Prior and the sale of Innotrade to The Libman Company, where Howes Percival worked with Grant Thornton.

Howes Percival was also shortlisted in the ‘Deal of the Year (below £10m)’ category for the sale of Metrol Springs to Lesjofors AB with Grant Thornton, Harris and Co Accountants, PM+M, FMGS Law and the sale of Digital Post Solutions to The Mailing Room, with Fortus and Bevan Kidwell.

Andy Harris, Corporate partner at Howes Percival, commented, 

“We are thrilled to have been named Corporate Law Firm of the Year and to have been shortlisted for four deals in total. We aspire to be the ‘go-to’ firm for corporate, commercial, and banking work in the Central and Eastern region and this prestigious award and the shortlistings show not only that our team is more than capable of handling some of the most complex and high-profile deals in the area, but also that the team is being recognised for doing so.”

“2020 was a breakthrough year for us, with what is still a relatively new team. We’ve invested heavily in the last couple of years and expanded our services significantly. As a result, we’ve also started 2021 with a real bang, completing 32 deals in the first quarter, with a combined value of £263 million. We are becoming known as a team to talk to in relation to larger transactions and are receiving more referrals from existing customers and other advisers. We’re confident that 2021 will continue to be a very busy year for us.”

For more information on Howes Percival’s corporate advisory services visit: https://www.howespercival.com/services/corporate/

Howes Percival has announced nine senior promotions across its Cambridge, Norwich, Leicester and Northampton offices, including three new partners.

Jay Mehta, Rob Starr and Matthew Thompson have been made partners in the firm. Jamie Childs has been promoted to the level of Director. Julia Parsley, Katie Easter, Ben Hancox, Harriet Rogers and Jasmine Mason have been made senior associates.

Commenting on the promotions, Geraint Davies, Howes Percival’s Chairman said,

“Congratulations to everyone on their promotions, which acknowledge the invaluable contribution these individuals have made in their respective practice areas and to the firm overall. These promotions also reflect our commitment to nurturing and developing talent within the firm – with four of the nine individuals completing their training with Howes Percival.”

PARTNER LEVEL APPOINTMENTS

Jay Mehta – specialism: Planning law (Norwich Office)

Jay supports his clients with the delivery of strategic residential development including large urban extensions and allocations, commercial, agricultural, and renewable energy projects. Recommended in the Legal 500, Jay’s clients include national house builders, promoters, and local planning authorities. He has significant experience in judicial review and planning appeals, with continued success in the High Court, Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court. Jay also advises on matters such as enforcement, certificates of lawfulness, complex section 106 and highways agreements, compulsory purchase, town and village greens, listed buildings consent and permitted development rights.

In March, Jay was listed as the sixth highest rated planning solicitor in the UK in Planning Magazine’s 2021 Planning Law Survey.

Rob Starr – specialism: Regulatory matters (Northampton Office)

Rob has built a formidable reputation advising companies and individuals. He has extensive experience of representing clients under investigation by enforcing authorities including the HSE, CQC, Environment Agency, Police and Fire Authorities. He also appears regularly before the Coroners court in relation to fatal accidents. As a former prosecutor with the Serious Fraud Office, Rob has an in depth understanding of the approach of regulators and has managed large complex cases and undertaken numerous internal investigations into fraud, corruption and whistleblowing allegations.

Matthew Thompson – specialism: Corporate, Commercial and Banking (Northampton Office)

Matthew specialises in a broad range of corporate transactional matters including acquisitions and disposals, mergers, investment and private equity based transactions, together with complex and high value corporate reorganisations and restructurings. He is also experienced in drafting and providing advice on all types of commercial contracts in a variety of sectors. . Matthew joined Howes Percival as a trainee in 2012 before qualifying into the Corporate, Commercial and Banking team and has since built his reputation as a leading corporate lawyer in the Northamptonshire region.

DIRECTOR LEVEL APPOINTMENT

Jamie Childs – specialism: Planning law (Norwich office)

Jamie is experienced in advising on significant, high profile and contentious residential development projects. He regularly advises on a wide range of commercial, energy and retail projects and has a proven track record of negotiating complex planning agreements on some of the largest development projects in the eastern region. Jamie also covers licensing law matters and was described as a “rising star” in the Legal 500 (2021).

SENIOR ASSOCIATE PROMOTIONS

Katie Easter – Estates (Norwich office).

Ben Hancox – Corporate and Commercial (Leicester office).

Jasmine Mason – Commercial Property (Leicester office).

Julia Parsley – Estates (Norwich office).

Harriet Rogers – Corporate, Commercial and Banking (Northampton office).

Howes Percival provides a full-service legal offering across a wide range of specialist sectors, for more information visit: https://www.howespercival.com/sectors/.

The team at Uptech have always strived to lead the way for IT support in Kings Lynn and West Norfolk. And they have always been at the forefront of Cyber Security, even going back to when it was a book through the post once a month. 

To mark our commitment to this, we have now been certified as a Microsoft Gold Partner. What does that mean for our clients? A Microsoft Gold Partner provides high-quality Microsoft-related products or services, in competencies (technical topics) that were awarded the Gold certification from Microsoft after achieving a few prerequisites and milestones in terms of performance, quality of service & customer care.

So, the Gold certification is a testament to the firm’s customer care ability & quality of service in the specialty designated in that certification / competency, and it is Microsoft’s way of acknowledging their best partners. It’s a way for companies to differentiate themselves from competition.

Also this month, the team has passed Cyber Essentials Plus Certification. What is Cyber Essential Plus, and what does it do? Cyber Essentials Plus is the highest level of certification offered under the Cyber Essentials scheme, an official UK wide, government-backed certification that helps companies guard against the most common cyber threats and reduce your risk by at least 95%.

Cyber Essentials Plus ensures you have the five technical controls needed in place, with cybersecurity verification completed by a regulated auditor. This audit is the key difference between Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus. 

Cyber Essentials is the guidelines we base our services on, ensuring that our clients have the key points in place to make sure that their data is secure, and their clients data is secure as well.  

For more information on our services, or how to obtain Cyber Essentials or Cyber Essentials Plus. book a call with us here. 

The underlying theme of our first series of Tourism Business Chat, was reflection. The guests looked back on 2020, and how the sector was weathering the COVID-19 storm. Series two launched as we were approaching the road map into recovery, so naturally, presenter, Chris Scargill, noticed a subtle shift towards a refreshed optimism, and guided the conversations around other aspects of working in the sector.

The series finale is a chat with Karen Hester, Chief Operating Officer of Adnams brewery in Southwold. Karen describes her story as ‘from mop to top’ – starting her career at Adnams as a cleaner, she’s now an award winning, glass ceiling breaking COO. This is the story of Karen’s personal journey into the world of business, and of her successes along the way; from suing the Ministry of Defence for sexism, to her supervision of the ground-breaking, multi-million pound, sustainable rebuild projects at Adnams.

Chris also chats to Geoff Bligh, co-owner of the hugely popular Hank’s Deli and Pub in Ipswich. Geoff left his successful career in the City to bring his passion for vegan food to Ipswich and was taken aback by the demand! Now with a supermarket, two take-aways and the region’s first fully vegan pub, Geoff speaks honestly about how they were able to turn the initial worries of lockdown into opportunities to expand.

Oliver Brown, from Wivenhoe House Hotel in Essex, discusses the role that Hospitality Action plays in supporting those with mental health issues and why their work is more important than ever. They discuss the Edge Hotel School, and how its students have overcome the challenges that the last 12 months have put on the shoulders of those studying hospitality, and indeed the hotel, whose job it is to train them, with no customers!

We also get a behind-the-scenes look at Thursford, home of the famous Christmas Spectacular. Brothers, George and Charlie Cushing, talk about how they set about creating a new theatre-esq show for 2020. Their enthusiasm is not just for Thursford itself, but in supporting the local economy, which relies on their thousands of visitors to the area, as well as the arts industry, within which so many professionals rely on them for seasonal work.

Judy Randon, a customer experience director from insight6, speaks clearly about what businesses need to be doing now in order to protect their brand, which is at risk coming out of lockdown. She also gives great advice on what businesses need to focus on and prioritise, including a re-evaluation of their values.

“I have found so much inspiration in these podcasts, listening to experts within the industry who have spoken so openly with Chris about their experiences” Judy said; “whether you’re interested in learning about strategy, culture in the workplace, planning for growth or the impact stay-cations will have, there is so much covered!”

There’s so much inspiration in this series; whether you’re interested in learning about strategy, culture in the workplace, planning for growth or the impact stay-cations will have! By the time we return for series three, businesses will be opening up again, and we can’t wait to hear how they are coping and, hopefully, thriving!

You can find Tourism Business Chat on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or you can listen online, just visit www.larking-gowen.co.uk/tourism-insights

This Friday 21 May, marking the end of Action for Brain Injury Week and Hats for Headway Day, Headway will attempt to set a new Guinness World Record for the most hats thrown in the air, at the same time, online.

They’re aiming to get 200+ people to participate online (Zoom). 

Would any of your team dig out a favourite hat and register to take part? And share a pic / video clip on social media in advance, to encourage others to sign up? Here’s all the info…

The charity is also asking a few businesses/organisations to shoot a short video, of their teams throwing hats in the air, to be used online on the day of the attempt.  (Short clip, shot landscape). Could you help?

Further details below.

HATS FOR HEADWAY – GUINNESS WORLD RECORD ATTEMPT ONLINE, 21 MAY 2021

What’s happening?

On Friday 21st May 2021 at 4pm, Headway staff and supporters will set out to break the Guinness World Record for the ‘Most People Throwing Hats Simultaneously Online’ – hosted on Zoom. It’s all part of the charity’s Hat’s for Headway day (21 May) and aims to spread some laughter across Norfolk whilst raising awareness around living with the after effects of brain injury and stroke.

Want to take part? Join Headway Norfolk and Waveney and be a record breaker! Take part from the comfort of home or from work. All you need is access to a computer screen, a Zoom account, a hat and bundles of excitement.

 Next steps

1. To register, simply email recordbreaker@headway-nw.org.uk ASAP with the name and individual email addresses of each participant.
2. Headway Norfolk and Waveney will send everyone the next steps via email. The Zoom invite will arrive before 20 May.
3. There’s no fundraising involved, no fee to take part, but any kind voluntary donations can be made via Headway’s Just Giving page.

Sign up and share on social

If you would like to be part of this record-breaking attempt, please tell everybody about it! And help Headway spread the word on social media.

• Send Faye.Anderson@headway-nw.org.uk (communications officer) a photo of you wearing a hat, or even better, a short video clip of you throwing your hat up in the air.
• Share your photos and videos on your social channels, and tag Headway Norfolk and Waveney – using #recordbreaker and #hatsforheadway.              Facebook                        Instagram                             Twitter
• Greatest Hits Radio and BBC Radio Norfolk have already booked interviews to get everyone talking about the world record attempt, and it has been in the EDP too.

 This will help raise awareness about the incredible support Headway delivers to people and their families, after such a life-changing event.   But; it’s also an up-lifting, feel-good charity event, and fun way to mark 4pm on a Friday!

The Best Employers virtual conference on Thursday 22 April 2021, marked the launch of the sign up click here >