Monthly Archives: November 2022

News

Over 1 in 3 mid-sized North West businesses plan to restructure as cost pressures mount

According to new research from leading business and financial adviser Grant Thornton UK LLP, a combination of inflationary pressures, rising interest rates and high energy costs, and ongoing supply chain issues are all significantly impacting the financial viability of many mid-sized businesses. 

 

Grant Thornton’s Business Outlook Tracker*, which surveyed 101 businesses in the North West in October 2022, found that, in the face of these mounting pressures, just under half (48%) of respondents have already restructured their operations, with a further 40% having plans to do so.  

 

Many businesses are having to secure additional finance to work through the escalating costs facing the market, with 48% already having secured further funding and 38% planning to do so. Similarly, 41% of businesses have already reviewed headcount with another 39% planning to. 

 

The strain on funding has also led to a drop in investment expectations across all areas monitored by the Tracker. The most significant drops compared to the last round in August 2022 were seen in technology (-11pp), employee wellbeing (-3pp) and recruitment (-2pp).  

 

But investment looks to be being directed to areas that will have the most impact on reducing costs. Well over three quarters (84%) of respondents have already invested, or are planning to invest, in productivity, efficiency and automation. 

 

Carl Williams, North West Managing Partner for Grant Thornton UK LLP, said:  

 

“Businesses are facing incredible cost pressures from all sides. The combination of input cost price increases, high energy costs and rising interest rates, are seeing businesses faced with increases from 5% to as much as 100% in some cases, when combined with the added strain of ongoing supply chain shortages in some areas. The severity of the environment is clear, with the majority of those surveyed either planning to restructure their operations, or already having done so.   

 

“There isn’t one solution to fix these issues but there are always sensible steps that businesses can take to start to rebuild confidence. For example, reducing the businesses debt level to counter interest rate rises, reducing energy usage and looking for efficiencies in the face of energy cost rises, and considering alterative, cheaper suppliers.  

 

“Many businesses are also reviewing their budgets for the next 6-12 months. It’s vital that these forward plans account for assumptions that may need to be made over this period, such as the impact of the end of energy bill relief, and rising interest costs. Businesses need to be proactive and take action where they can, rather than burying their heads in the sand – its these businesses who will work their way through this challenging environment, and emerge a more resilient, efficient organisation.” 

News

Over one third of mid-sized businesses in Yorkshire plan to restructure as cost pressures mount

According to new research from leading business and financial adviser Grant Thornton UK LLP, a combination of inflationary pressures, rising interest rates and high energy costs, and ongoing supply chain issues are all significantly impacting the financial viability of many mid-sized businesses. 

 

Grant Thornton’s Business Outlook Tracker*, which surveyed 50 businesses in October 2022, found that, in the face of these mounting pressures, 20% of respondents have already restructured their operations, with a further 40% having plans to do so.  

 

The survey recorded lower levels of optimism from respondents on their business’ funding position – dropping significantly (-42 percentage points) compared to August 2022, to just 42%.  

 

Many businesses are having to secure additional finance to work through the escalating costs facing the market, with 30% already having secured further funding and 38% planning to do so. 

 

The strain on funding has also led to a considerable drop in investment expectations across all areas monitored by the Tracker. The most significant drops compared to the last round in August 2022 were seen in technology (-39pp), plant, machinery and new buildings (-31pp) and employee rewards and benefits (-21pp). There was also a -17pp drop in the number of businesses planning to increase investment in both skills development and growth in international markets.  

 

But investment looks to be being directed to areas that will have the most impact on reducing costs. Over two thirds (68%) of respondents have already invested, or are planning to invest, in productivity, efficiency and automation. 

 

In the face of increasing costs and ongoing changes to government fiscal policy, the number of businesses optimistic about the outlook of the UK economy has also plummeted -32pp, compared to August 2022. 

 

Andy Wood, Yorkshire Managing Partner at Grant Thornton UK LLP, said:  

 

“Businesses across the country are facing incredible cost pressures from all sides. The combination of input cost price increases, high energy costs and rising interest rates, are seeing businesses faced with increases from 5% to as much as 100% in some cases, when combined with the added strain of ongoing supply chain shortages in some areas. The severity of the environment is clear, with the majority of those surveyed either planning to restructure their operations, or already having done so.   

 

“There isn’t one solution to fix these issues but there are always sensible steps that businesses can take to start to rebuild confidence. For example, reducing the businesses debt level to counter interest rate rises, reducing energy usage and looking for efficiencies in the face of energy cost rises, and considering alterative, cheaper suppliers.  

 

“Many businesses are also reviewing their budgets for the next 6-12 months. It’s vital that these forward plans account for assumptions that may need to be made over this period, such as the impact of the end of energy bill relief, and rising interest costs. Businesses need to be proactive and take action where they can, rather than burying their heads in the sand – its these businesses who will work their way through this challenging environment, and emerge a more resilient, efficient organisation.” 

News

Palatine exits first impact investment with sale of adult learning provider to City & Guilds

Palatine has successfully exited its investment in Trade Skills 4U, the market-leading provider of electrician training schemes, with the sale of the business to City & Guilds.
Palatine backed Trade Skills 4U in 2017 as the first investment from its Impact Fund which was established to invest in commercially driven businesses with a mission to positively impact on society or the environment. Since then, it has supported the business to open two new training centres in Leeds and Coventry, appoint a new chairman and financial director and improve the digital infrastructure.
The growth has led to an increase in the business’ impact, with the number of students completing career changer courses each year having more than doubled since 2017. Resulting in thousands of students having their career prospects positively impacted over the period of Palatine’s investment.
Trade Skills 4U was founded by CEO Carl Bennett in 2005 and focuses on the adult training market. It provides a range of electrical courses for individuals who have little or no electrical knowledge and those already in the profession who are looking to enhance their skills. Key to its mission is lowering the barrier to entry for adults seeking new career opportunities such as people who have left the military.
During the last five years, Palatine has also supported the development and introduction of NVQ and apprenticeship programmes, making the company’s training relevant to an increased number of students. Supporting people of all ages to train and retrain in skills that leads to jobs aligns exceptionally well with City & Guilds’ purpose, making City & Guilds the natural home for the next stage of Trade Skills 4U’s growth journey.
City & Guilds is a Royal Chartered Institute and a registered charity with a mission to provide the opportunity for people to retrain and relearn, gaining new skills at every stage of life, regardless of where they start.
Matt Coles, Impact Fund Investment Director at Palatine, said: “As our first ever Impact investment we are incredibly proud of all we have achieved with Carl and the Trade Skills 4U team over the last five years. Together we have grown an exceptional business which is having a clear impact on addressing skills shortages and improving social mobility in the UK.
“City & Guilds represents a natural home for Trade Skills 4U to continue to grow its scale and impact and we look forward to following the business’ future journey.”
Carl Bennett, Founder and CEO of Trade Skills 4U, said: “Over the last five years it has been a pleasure to work with the Impact team at Palatine with whom we’ve shared a learner-centric approach to growth, always prioritising the outcomes we can deliver. Their support and commitment has made this a rewarding and enjoyable journey.
“Joining City & Guilds is a natural progression for our company and team, as we work to continue to cement our position as the UK’s leading provider of electrical skills training to individuals and businesses.
Kirstie Donnelly MBE, Chief Executive of City & Guilds said: “Trade Skills 4U is joining the City & Guilds community at a critical time as the UK grapples with severe skills shortages. Trade Skills 4U prides itself on inclusivity and removing barriers to work, ensuring individuals from all walks of life can access high quality skills training that leads to meaningful careers. This perfectly aligns to our City & Guilds purpose of helping people into jobs and by championing this together we can ensure that we are further providing opportunities and the skills needed to succeed.”
News

Buyers rushing to reserve sustainable homes through early bird offers at Stonewood Homes’ sustainable development in Gloucesterhsire

LOW energy homes at Stonewood Homes’ sustainable neighbourhood Orchard Field are being snapped up thanks to an early bird reservation initiative offered from the developer.

All 21 two, three, four and five bedroom homes released in the first phase of sales at the development on the edge of the village of Siddington, near Cirencester in Gloucestershire, have been reserved and now buyers are able to reserve plots in the second phase.

“Because we’ve sold out on the first phase so quickly, and we have people chomping at the bit to reserve a plot, we have opened up the second and final phase so it is available for people to put their name against a plot,” said sales manager Caroline Ferris.

Buyers can secure their home of choice with a £1,000 reservation fee and then liaise with the sales team to move into arrange finance and move into the contract stage of the purchase once the build has progressed.

Already 35 homes from the second and final phase. Twelve families have already moved into the 11 acre development, which will be bordered by trees, parkland, fruit orchards and wildflower meadows on a 35 acre site on the edge of the village.

Each Cotswold stone or red brick home, designed by sister company Stonewood Design in conjunction with ecological consultant Greenguage, has solar panels embedded into the roof, timber frames, 45cm thick walls filled with eco-friendly insulation, triple glazing and airtight interiors to eliminate draughts and allow the energy-efficient heating system to cut bills by up to 70 per cent compared to standard new-built houses.

Ground-floor underfloor heating fuelled by an air source heat pump and the use of mechanical ventilation heat recovery, which removes warm air from the kitchen and bathroom and uses it to heat air flowing into the living room and bedrooms, keeps the homes warm in winter and cool in summer.

Every one of the 11 contemporary Cotswold styles of home in the community has been designed to meet stringent Association for Environment Conscious Building standards that demand excellent construction and low energy consumption.

Ms Ferris said: “People are adopting the sustainable approach because they can see the advantage of a home with minimal running costs at a time when everyone is concerned about rising energy bills. Buyers can order a battery pack so they can store up all the energy they are generating and use it to charge their cars. It’s a huge talking point at the moment.

“We are the only developers offering this because we really want to build a community of people who are invested in this development that we are so proud of. For all the talk of the homes market cooling off on the back of mortgage uncertainty, we just haven’t seen it at Orchard Field. We have had five reservations in the last week alone.”

Fruit orchards and 900 metres of hedgerow around the development will add to more fruit trees planted within four character areas across the neighbourhood that will include tree-lined walkways, courtyards, gardens, and a play area. Residents should be able to sign up for veg boxes produced from a community agriculture project set up on four acres of the site if a plan for this is agreed.

“Because it is a unique development where we have left a lot of the site undeveloped and turned it into green space, people love the idea of the wildflower meadow, the fruit orchards and the community agriculture scheme,” said Ms Ferris. “People are buying into the whole sustainability ethos.”

Stonewood Homes is the new name for the Stonewood Group’s housebuilding arm Stonewood Partnerships. Managing director Sam Smart said the feedback from buyers at Orchard Field has been excellent. “We have had some really positive comments from buyers who said they would not have dreamed of moving into a new build house but the quality of the design and build makes them feel like conversions of older homes.

“We are really proud of the neighbourhood we have created and the sustainable credentials it has. This is the benchmark for future developments and we are looking forward to seeing more families moving in over the coming months.”

To find out more about early bird reservations and or book an appointment to visit the neighbourhood’s show home, call 01454 809780 or email orchardfield@stonewoodhomes.co.uk.

A virtual tour of The Olive, one of the neighbourhood’s 11 styles of home, can be found here.

Pictured: Stonewood Homes managing director Sam Smart and site manager Chelsey Salt at Orchard Field neighbourhood at Siddington, near Cirencester

Education, Education News, News

New era for national education provider

Following a year of huge growth, Open Study College (OSC) has announced that the next generation of the family-owned and run business are now the principal drivers taking it forward into its 16th year.

Open Study College Co-founder and former Chairman, Mark Rutter, who this year celebrates 30 years in the distance learning sector, will be assuming a new role as Non-Executive Director.

His wife, Lisa, will be stepping back from her role as Director, allowing their daughters and the next generation of the Rutter family, Samantha and Shawna, to lead the business forward, continuing as CEO and Director respectively.

These organisational changes coincide with OSC’s 15th anniversary, which has seen them reach their 110,000th student milestone, increase turnover from £5m to nearly £6.5m, and increase operating profits tenfold over the last decade from £200,000.

Non-Executive Director of Open Study College, Mark Rutter, commented: “It’s been an incredible period of celebrations both for us as a business honouring our 15th anniversary, but for me personally too as I celebrate 30 years in the distance learning sector. Back in 2007, we had an idea to provide high-quality and affordable distance learning courses and believing in this dream, we made the tough decision to sell our family home to fund our start-up. It all began from our garage, printing and despatching just a few courses a week.

“Fast forward to today, we now have over 750 courses, two offices, 55 employees, and more than 100 tutors. But most importantly, we have helped over 110,000 students to achieve their goals and improve their lives. As a family-founded business, I’m proud to have worked alongside my wife, daughters, and other family members. Together, we have in excess of 80 years of experience in the industry and I have every confidence in the next generation of my family seeing us through another magnificent 15 years and beyond.”

Co-founder & CEO of Open Study College, Samantha Rutter, said: “This year has been an instrumental one for the business. We’ve heavily invested in our technology, systems and people – making sure we’re set up for the future and have the best, seamless learning experience for our students as we enter the next stage. As a leader in this market, Mark has solidified our status in the education sector. We’ve learned so much from our father and will continue to lean on his expertise, guidance and advice.”

Specialising in fully supported, high-quality education since 2007, Open Study College offers the largest selection of distance learning courses in the market, and works with over 70 tutors globally. With family at the heart, an ethos set from the get-go, OSC is firmly focussed on inclusivity, believing that everyone should have access to an education.

News

Reimagining Retail with Low Cost and Low Risk Innovation

Retail is being continually reimagined to attract and retain profitable customers. With  new economic pressures and heightened customer expectations, there is limited leeway for mistakes. Businesses can no longer afford to risk costly and long-winded trial and error in the real world, especially when it comes to sustainability and waste. 

There is, fortunately, a better way – using data and advanced analytics to rapidly test potential scenarios.  Yet while retailers routinely capture all the data required to assess new business ideas, it is locked up in point solutions. In order to make sure retailers only adopt proven innovations, a smart, cloud-based model is needed that integrates cross-business data assets with analytics and visualisation tools.

Only by building a platform for continuous, data driven improvement, can retailers reduce the risk and cost of innovation, explains Andrew Bithell, Senior Account Manager, CTS.

Unique Opportunity

Successful retailers are distinctive. Many retailers share core operational goals, such as driving sustainability, creating efficiencies, being more customer-centric, revenue growth and even reimagining store estates. But the way these goals are achieved will be what sets retailers apart and creates a competitive advantage. 

One retailer may aim to reduce waste by looking at local demand patterns to provide hyper-personalised ranges in different stores. Another may need to prioritise supply chain optimisation to reduce the costs associated with transport delay. Whereas yet another will explore the value of turning high street stores into mini-fulfilment centres, encouraging customers to collect items in store to drive down delivery costs.

With so many areas of improvement and so many different potential models, how can retailers prioritise areas of change and implement their new plans without incurring significant risk? Where is the proof that the investment needed to turn a store into a distribution hub is going to pay off? Or that a commitment to sustainable operations will realise benefits in both reduced wastage and improved stakeholder perception? Innovation is vital but given the pressure on profitability, there is no room for expensive mistakes. 

Unlocking Retail Intelligence

How can retailers innovate without incurring unacceptable cost or risk? To successfully achieve the ‘what next?’ requires not just innovative spirit but proof. Clearly such decisions have to be data led, and given the routine creation of billions of data points about customers and assets, retailers are better placed than many sectors to drive change. Yet while retailers are awash with information about products and stores from websites, mobile apps, warehouses, vehicles, fridges, even smart shelves, too much data is buried in siloed operational systems. 

From EPOS to Merchandising to Supply Chain Management and Customer Personalisation, retailers have an array of powerful operational systems that are delivering new levels of efficiency and control. But each system has its own data set which leads to both duplication and inconsistency, making it 

hard to create or trust a 360-degree view of the business. The processes used to integrate and store the same data across multiple applications – where that is even possible – add both cost and complexity. 

Yet every single area of innovation and retail change demands a cross-business perspective. Let’s consider in store supermarket picking. Today, the process is far too reliant on the whim of individual pickers – something that can cause no end of issues, and may become particularly problematic in a time of short supplies.

If, for example, there are only 100 bottles of champagne left, should they be sold to the customers already in the store or those who have already ordered a bottle online? Or further prioritise those with a regular basket that always includes champagne?

It is important to combine ordering information, inventory – whether it is on the shelf, in the back or on route to the store – plus customer history and orders to ensure picking is optimised at all times, even during a global pandemic or Suez Canal blockage, for example. The result is not only better customer service but a far more consistent approach.

Prioritising ROI

Point solutions cannot support retail innovation individually because they only have a partial fingerprint of the overall data required. Combining multiple, diverse datasets in an agile cloud environment provides an abstracted layer unconstrained by the usual feature availability and release management issues experienced with point solutions. This abstracted layer is therefore more flexible when considering testing and incorporating new hypotheses or capabilities. At the same time, the cost of such innovation is reduced and more transparent, enabling retailers to adopt a razor-sharp focus on ROI. Retailers need to use all the data they have, combine it, augment it and enrich it. This will help to rapidly understand just how and where innovation and retail reimagining should occur.  

Combining cloud computing with the latest analytics tools completely transforms the innovation process by providing retailers with a way to quickly build intelligence that can be shared with both people and systems. With a single source of cross-business data, retailers can use advanced analytical capabilities to explore the potential of an array of business ideas. They can even take advantage of pre-built analytics recommendation engines to prompt innovative thinking. These enriched data sets can transform business understanding, uncover insights, add intelligence, visualise trends, group and segment customers – whatever a retailer requires to drive its unique business outcomes. For example, using Google’s Recommendation AI for personalised and real-time recommendations, Ikea delivered a 30% increase in click through rates and 400% rise in relevant content put in front of prospective customers.

With a fast, effective way to test a hypothesis, a retailer will never move a use case into production that doesn’t deliver business ROI. And this is just the start. By creating a framework to quickly and definitively measure whether ideas and hypotheses are going to deliver any value to the business, a retailer now has a methodology for continuous improvement. Indeed, this is an environment that allows retailers to deliver not just one use case after another, but multiple use cases simultaneously to create a truly data-driven business.  

Conclusion

Retail reimagining is not just a priority but is also incredibly exciting. Innovative retailers are set to buck the economic trends as they evolve from store and category-based insight to a new level of granular insight that can look at an individual SKU, by store, by day. And whether the priority is increasing sales, decreasing waste, optimising the supply chain or enticing a new customer base with a phenomenal experience, granular data will transform the accuracy of both predictions and insights.

There is no doubt that the essence of retailing – attracting customers, converting them into customers and reducing cost of sale – and operational goals remain the same. But the ones that can unlock the value that lies in their data will thrive, while others fail. By building an ecosystem for change, retailers can capture and deliver unique retail success.

News

Softcat study reveals priority tech investments for smarter digital transformation

A new report by leading providers of IT infrastructure, Softcat, offers an exclusive look at the tech investments businesses are prioritising in the year ahead for smarter digital transformation.

The findings are based on the views of more than 1,800 customers in the UK and Ireland, across 27 corporate and public sectors.

The report, which is produced annually, reveals organisations are now prioritising Cyber Security above all other technology areas, with 62% of organisations saying that it is their focus over the next 12 months.

 

Adam Louca, Softcat’s Chief Technologist for Security, explained: “This figure is understandable. More organisations are recognising the vital role cyber security plays in enabling their tech adoption and unlocking further opportunities for innovation. Rising investment levels and C-suite buy-in reflect this evolving mindset, one that is moving away from an ad-hoc reactive threat response.

“It’s clear from the report’s findings that organisations understand that cyber security must underpin every part of digital transformation and investment needs to be a long-term strategy. This ensures that gains made are not lost as hybrid working and cloud approaches evolve.”

After Cyber Security, Devices is the second most cited technology investment area for the next year as organisations continue to invest in the digital workspace (46% of respondents).

At a time of skills shortages and the great resignation, equipping staff with the right devices and tools they need to work well from anywhere will deliver productivity gains and a high-quality and secure employee experience.

Hybrid Infrastructure is the third most important technology investment area, with 21% of customers citing Datacentre and Private Cloud as a priority area over the next 12 months, followed by Public Cloud (17%) and Managed Infrastructure and Support Services (16%).

Over the past few years of on-off disruption, cloud technologies have proven they’re enterprise-ready, offering organisations the scalability, flexibility, and greater efficiency. But modernising in the right way is key to releasing the true value when investing in cloud solutions.

In response, organisations are moving towards a hybrid approach to ensure the user and customer experiences are consistent, deliver value and achieve the required business outcomes.

It’s clear from the survey findings that sustainability is moving higher up the agenda for many businesses, large and small, with 19% of respondents citing it as a priority this year, up from 9.6% in 2021.

 

Richard Wyn Griffith, Chief Commercial Officer, commented on the findings:

“The past year has been one of transition and adjustment for our customers after the disruption and uncertainty of recent years.

“Today, organisations are focused on switching off ‘emergency’ digital transformation mode and turning on smarter digital transformation, setting a clear and concise roadmap for the deployment of new technologies.

“This will help them to remain agile in the face of new headwinds – from rising inflation to skills shortages and supply chain delays – as well as taking positive action towards our shared sustainability goals. 

“One thing is certain; it will be the digitally mature businesses who prosper in the future.”

 

The full findings from the 2022 Softcat Business Tech Priorities Report, including expert analysis, can be downloaded here. 

News

Clarity Stack releases Agency Edition of its sales intelligence platform

2B sales intelligence provider, Clarity Stack, today releases an Agency Edition of its award-winning business data platform. The new edition, designed as a limited version of Clarity Stack’s full product offering, provides customers with access to its Contracts, Insights and Intel features along with a new user dashboard.

The Contracts feature includes the ability to search, analyse, and bid on live RFPs/tenders and find new business opportunities instantly. Meanwhile, the Insights and Intel features enable users to reach their prospects at the right time based on what’s happening in the business. They can browse through data such as spending increases, newly appointed decision-makers, recent investments, office moves, stated buyer intent, and mergers and acquisitions.

The fundamental difference between Clarity Stack’s new edition and the full platform is the lack of its prospecting database. Agency Edition users can still view all necessary prospect contact details within a particular contract opportunity. However, they cannot browse the full database of over 10million businesses and their direct contact details or build prospecting lists. This provides a more cost-efficient alternative to the complete sales intelligence platform for agencies and companies that do not need access to the prospecting area.

“Our new Agency Edition is aimed towards businesses who have no need for – or time and resources to benefit from – our full prospecting database and therefore only require live opportunities as and when they appear within the platform. They can then reach out to those businesses directly and act on those new opportunities right away,” explains Clarity Stack CEO, Ben Harper

 

About Clarity Stack

Clarity Stack were founded in 2018 and specialise in B2B data, insight and lead generation. Its mission is to help businesses sell better by harnessing the power of sales intelligence to enable teams to make better decisions.

The company is registered in the UK and US with its HQ situated in Warmington, near Peterborough, and employs more than 50 people across the two locations with more than 700 active customers. The software caters to all types of businesses around the world. Find out more at www.claritystack.com.

App News, News, Social Media

Snapchat Announces Arrival of Premier League and Women’s Super League Football  

Fans will be able to watch Premier League and Women’s Super League football highlights, goals, behind-the-scenes content and new sport talk shows 

Snap has today announced a renewed content partnership with Sky Sports UK, one of the world’s largest sport broadcasters, to host made-for-mobile, short-form content on Snapchat Discover. 

Sky Sports, a content partner since 2015 with over 1.8 million Snapchat subscribers, will publish highlights from every single Premier League football match, Women’s Super League highlights, behind the scenes content, clips from Soccer AM, Monday Night Football and trusted football news on Snapchat. 

The new content deal, Sky Sports’ biggest with Snapchat to date, also features a new Women’s Super League (WSL) talk show from Sky Sports, The Dub. The show will bring viewers breaking news, insights and clips from the WSL.

Kahlen Macaulay, International Sports Partnerships at Snap said: “We are thrilled to continue strengthening our partnership with Sky Sports to bring more iconic football and sports content to Snapchat. Snapchat offers millions of fans around the world new ways to experience, celebrate and watch the best sports content – whether that’s catching up on goals from the weekend or using an AR Lens to celebrate incredible moments. We can’t wait to bring Snapchatters more great football and sports content as we countdown to a spectacular few months of sport, including the FIFA World Cup 2022.” 

Snapchat Discover reaches a global audience – in the second quarter of 2022, more than 40 Discover channels reached over 25 million global viewers each – from watching goals from the Men and Women’s Euros 2022, to highlights from the upcoming FIFA World Cup and the 2023 Women’s World Cup. Snapchat continues to transform the way sports fans experience and celebrate with their friends.

Jamie Hunt, Head of Digital & Social at Sky Sports said: “We are delighted to continue our partnership with Snapchat to reach a  highly engaged Gen Z community who talk about and watch sports and football on Snapchat every day. The way fans experience sports has evolved – with many fans using their phones to chat with friends, celebrate wins and access behind-the scenes content during matches. This partnership is therefore a great way to reach this community where they are.”

Other shows included in the deal include NBA talk show from Sky Sports, In The Paint and boxing talk show, Unanimous. These shows will bring viewers the latest news, predictions and topical debates from the world of boxing and NBA. 

Reaching more than 90% of 13-24 year olds in the UK, Snap is further cementing its position as the home for football and sport for Gen Z. The new shows are currently available on Snapchat Discover and can be accessed by searching Sky Sports on Snapchat. 

 

Events, interior design, News

APDO Unveils Plans for its Annual National Event

APDO, the Association of Professional Declutterers and Organisers, has announced plans for its upcoming annual National Organising Week, which aims to raise awareness of the industry and share the benefits of organising your life and home.

National Organising Week will take place 7-14 November, and the theme of this year’s event, which is ‘organising your life to save you money’, will focus on helping households to cope with the escalating cost of living crisis. By sharing easily applied tricks, valuable tips and practical guidance, APDO members will be using their knowledge and skills to help others cope with the rising costs of heating and eating, identify how they can change spending and daily habits to save money, and reduce stress by improving their organising skills.

The APDO community will be helping others make to positive and impactful choices in the way they organise and maintain their homes to help reduce waste and save energy, by sharing lots of helpful advice and information on their website: www.apdo.co.uk. Topics will include; how to save money on food and clothes, getting organised on a budget, how to have a cost-effective Christmas, best ways to save money at the weekend, and more.

APDO, the UK’s membership association for decluttering and organising professionals, sets standards, provides professional development and supports the growth of the industry. Founded in 2004, APDO is a non-profit organisation and belongs to a global community of professional organising associations which foster collaboration to advance the industry through sharing information and ideas.