As part of its growth plans to offer multi-service, added value solutions, Indigo Group have acquired the majority of shares and assets of BMSL Group, a leading recruitment company operating in the construction and transport sectors.

With operational bases in London and Cardiff, Indigo is one of the UK’s leading providers of commercial contracting, worker engagement and payroll solutions and the acquisition will push group revenue towards £600 million per annum.

Ian Cole-Wilkins, Indigo CEO, said: “This is exciting news for us and is a clear signal of our ambitious growth plans. BMSL is a stable, well run business with a strong geographic footprint and complements our long-term strategy perfectly. I am delighted that they can now be counted on as part of the Indigo Group.”

BMSL is headquartered in Billingham, near Middlesborough, and offers client-led solutions from branches located in London, Manchester, Crewe, Lichfield, Bristol, Cardiff and Glasgow.

Tony Shipley, Managing Director of BMSL, commented: “I am incredibly excited about what joining the Indigo Group means for myself and the BMSL team moving forward. I am confident that the enlarged business and its wider range of services and solutions will create great opportunities for future growth.”

Multidiscipline dealmakers the GS Verde Group advised on the deal.

To learn more about Indigo please visit: CIS Solutions | Outsourced CIS Compliance Services | Indigo (indigogroupservices.com)

Community of Purpose, an award-winning not-for-profit community interest company, is celebrating a decade of its landmark Bristol Together Championships, which has been recognised as the region’s best school’s social mobility programme.  

Launched in 2012 and supported by the city’s Mayor, Bristol Together Championships is an annual sporting tournament that pulls together primary schools from across the city, representing the diverse communities that make up Bristol and its surrounding areas.  

This project is one of three key initiatives for Community of Purpose, founded by siblings Amy and Joe Kington, aiming to transform the lives and futures of young people through businesses that act as a force for good. The team works to create purposeful partnerships so that businesses and the community thrive. 

Amy Kington, Co-founder and CEO of Community of Purpose, said: “We have supported 150 young people and 40 primary schools each year through the Bristol Together Championships, encouraging an ever-growing number of children to connect and build friendships across perceived divides through football.  

“It helps community cohesion by getting boys and girls to cross the race, class, geographical and faith boundaries that characterise life in the city. People in Bristol may famously speak 91 different languages, but the universal language of football can bring Bristol’s diverse communities together.” 

Teachers from schools across the region have praised the initiative for utilising a rare combination of lived experience, hands-on community experience, an expert level learning and development programme and delivery skills. 

Phil Whiddington, a teacher at West Town Lane Academy, said: “The Bristol Together Championships initiative is no ordinary learning and development programme and is certainly not a tick box exercise. Our young people grew in knowledge, understanding and language which is important to live successfully in a fully inclusive and diverse world.”  

In addition to the Bristol-based tournament, Community of Purpose provide all the necessary resources and support to take 30 children from six of the twinning participating schools on a three-day fully funded trip to Bristol’s twinned city of Bordeaux, giving children who are disadvantaged their first trip abroad and on a plane.  

The impact has seen 95% of children say they have been able to meet people from different backgrounds and religions and 91% want to learn more about those who come from different backgrounds and religions.  

Community of Purpose is dedicated to bringing mutual benefit to the community and the businesses that support it, such as the GS Verde Group, whose unique multidisciplinary team has provided valued accounting and marketing advice.  

Amy continued: “The knowledge generously unlocked within GS Verde to help an organisation like ours to keep an eye on the numbers to ensure we can sustain and increase our work, to continue delivering for our communities.” 

To connect businesses and the local community, GS Verde has organised a special quiz night, in partnership with Community of Purpose. The event is designed to bring businesses from across Bristol together for staff, clients and contacts to mingle, network, and enjoy an entertaining evening in a light-spirited setting while supporting Bristol Together Championships.  

To buy a ticket and support this impactful cause visit Eventbrite.  

Sphere Solutions, a leading construction recruitment company, has announced a series of senior appointments reflecting the growth and development plans for the next stage of the employee-owned business.

Providing recruitment services across all sectors and levels of the construction industry to almost 900 companies, including construction management, building, civil engineering, retail, housing and more, Sphere Solutions moved to an Employee Ownership Trust, a structure that has attracted a wealth of senior talent.

Phil Sharp has been named Area Director, and will focus on developing Sphere Solutions activities across Gloucester, Bristol and Exeter while Robyn Marshall has been appointed Social Value Manager, developing and delivering vital social and community-focused value strategies across the business’ recruitment projects.

Commenting on his new role, Phil Sharp, who brings more than 20 years of specialised construction recruitment experience to the business, said: “I am delighted to have joined Sphere Solutions, where collaboration, quality and commitment are key pillars. Since starting, I have been struck by the knowledge and talent here, and the synergy between the business and its clients.

“There are significant opportunities to develop these strengths and capitalise on new opportunities, both for us as a business and our client base. I look forward to driving growth into new sectors within the construction industry and building new relationships.”

A CITB Construction Ambassador who previously worked with leading construction and industry training firms, Robyn Marshall said: “Sphere Solutions has consistently demonstrated its commitment to communities across England and Wales, collaborating with organisations such as The Wallich, Boss Project and the School of Hard Knocks.”

“I am excited to identify further opportunities to promote diversity within the construction industry, supporting more women, young people, and those from disadvantaged backgrounds to consider a career in construction to address skills shortages and protect the future of the workforce.”

Sphere Solutions’ people-centric approach has seen the business grow significantly, filling 19,000 vacancies and placing around 8,500 individuals into constructions roles at all levels. This success led to the business moving to an Employee Ownership Trust last year, marking significant and meaningful recognition of its team’s contributions.

James Hughes, Managing Director at Sphere Solutions, said: “We are thrilled to have Phil and Robyn join our team at Sphere Solutions; their wealth of experience and expertise will help us to continue delivering the highest quality recruitment solutions for our clients while also ensuring that we make a positive impact on the communities we serve.

“We are confident that their appointments will be a key factor in our ongoing success and growth as a leading industry organisation.”

B Fit Personal Training has revealed an ambitious growth strategy, following the acquisition of a regional competitor in a deal advised on by the GS Verde Group.

Founded by serial entrepreneur Kev Foley, an expert business owner and coach with over 20 years’ experience in the fitness industry, B Fit has developed a specialist focus on personal training for people aged 40+.

The acquisition of Fithub30, which follows the B Fit Group’s growth in Bristol through the purchase of Empowered Fitness, is another leap forward on the business’ scale-up strategy.

Said Kev: “At the core of B Fit is the recognition that the majority of fitness services cater towards the younger generations, which is why we take a disruptive approach and have turned the standard gym business model on its head.

“Instead, our focus is on personal training that addresses the specific challenges the over 40’s demographic faces, such as a lack of confidence about exercising, working around existing injuries and health issues and remaining accountable to their fitness goals, to address this gap in the market.”

In the 10 years since the business began, B Fit has worked with thousands of over 40’s and has built a community of over 300 clients, demonstrating the value and popularity of this bespoke, mentorship approach to diet and exercise.

The business’ fast growth has highlighted the opportunity to expand B Fit Personal Training, consolidating the regional market while retaining the local identity and close relationships that the clientele value with trainers.

Kev continued: “Focusing on our targeted customer base has proven successful; our clients are often more settled, which leads to an increased retention rate and allows us to build a personalised fitness and nutrition plan that helps them achieve their fitness goals more effectively.

“I see real opportunity to expand our model and build the B Fit Group into recognised brand with multiple locations in South Wales and the South West, creating a fitness community of independently-run gyms. As we continue to develop our portfolio, the next chapter of B Fit is certainly exciting.”

Multidiscipline dealmakers GS Verde Group advised at every stage of the deal, after being selected as an advisor that could provide end-to-end support for B Fit’s growth ambitions.

Fast-growth MSP Flotek has revealed the next stage of its impressive strategy with the acquisition of ECS Solutions, a leading telecom service provider and system maintainer based in Chester, expanding the Group’s IT and Telecom service offering to North Wales, the Midlands and North West England.

This acquisition, the sixth since Flotek began in April last year, follows the business’ investment into South East telecoms specialist FlexiNet and furthers its strategic geographic growth to bring customer-centric support and fully integrated IT and telecoms systems to businesses.

Founded in 1985, ECS Solutions has a significant reputation, providing telecoms systems to industry-leading enterprises as a certified Alcatel Lucent supplier. Its acquisition increases Flotek’s turnover to £4.5m and its client base to 850 nationwide, with significant opportunities to provide IT support to the customer base.

Flotek CEO Jay Ball said: “To date, our business growth has focused on South Wales and England, so this latest acquisition is an exciting step forward that significantly expands our reach across the UK.

“ECS is renowned within the industry and is an incredible addition to our Group. The deal enables us to achieve a key target of providing a set-time response to clients through dedicated teams now with local engineers accessing North Wales and England, and forge relationships with key stakeholders in the region.”

Playing integral roles in Flotek’s expansion are co-founder and Financial Director David Middleton, whose first-hand knowledge of the region provides true understanding of clients’ needs, and Saleem Lone who has recently joined as a Senior Account Manager to act as direct support for customers.

Additionally, ECS founder and Managing Director Peter Hull will play a role in the business transition, utilising his invaluable knowledge and experience.

Said Peter: “Having built ECS into an industry-leading provider to our nationwide customers, I look forward to seeing the business prosper as part of the Flotek Group. Our clients can expect the same, high quality telecoms service they have always received, and will now have the added benefits of integrated IT support from one, dedicated supplier.”

Connect with Flotek at www.flotek.io.

Just as securing an accurate valuation is an important first step towards selling a business, it is also essential to identify areas of improvement early in the process. It is never too soon to plan for succession; taking the time to understand what needs to be put in place in advance will often lead to the greatest chance of success.

Working with experts such as the GS Verde Group to guarantee a business is ‘sale-ready’ helps to rectify any issues that could hinder progress further along in a transaction and raise the value to achieve the best possible sale outcome.

What is ‘reverse due diligence’?

Before any business is ready to sell, GS Verde strongly recommends conducting a full reverse due diligence exercise. This is a crucial process whereby GS Verde Group acts as a third party, objectively reviewing and assessing the business to determine its current condition, identify and plug any exposed areas of risk, and update or implement new contracts, terms and policies.

This strengthens the business ahead of the ‘real’ due diligence process, with the necessary paperwork carried out comprehensively, de-risking the ability of any potential buyer using this as a tool to negotiate on the commercial terms of the deal.

Key areas to examine include client and supplier relationships, ensuring protective and long-term contracts are in place to demonstrate future revenue, making sure employment contracts are accurate and compliant with up-to-date legislative requirements, and confirming that data is collected and stored appropriately and in line with data protection regulations.

Other aspects, such as assessing any ongoing or previous litigations to assess their impact on the business and its value from a buyer’s perspective, reviewing the business’ property and assets and their contractual obligations, and the nature of the shareholder agreements are all a crucial part of the business’ value and its future.

Planning ahead for future success

With so many facets of the business to consider, conducting a careful, comprehensive assessment of each part of the business takes time and the process cannot be rushed.

Resolving certain issues, such as updating employee contracts or data stored by a business, can be time-consuming and must be done before any deal discussions can occur.

Therefore, completing a reverse due diligence exercise before the business is marketed for sale both ensures that any upfront issues can be flagged early and allows enough time to resolve them.

Undertaking the process with expert advisors, such as GS Verde, is a beneficial exercise to ensure preparedness and efficiency – even if plans to sell the business seem years away.

Why conduct reverse due diligence?

The benefits of getting an outside perspective from specialists in a formal, organised manner cannot be overstated.

Reverse due diligence provides an opportunity to strengthen the value of the business, highlighting opportunities to improve efficiency ahead of any transaction.

The process also identifies areas for improvement to pre-empt any issues that could occur during the transaction. By preparing the business through reverse due diligence, a seller is equipped to answer any questions a potential buyer may have during the deal, enabling a smoother transaction and minimising the surprises from the potential buyer’s due diligence process.

As a result, reverse due diligence reduces the risk of delays and deals collapsing. Eliminating any issues that may pose a risk from a buyer’s perspective subsequently increases the business’ value and helps obtain the highest sale price.

Do you have a plan for succession? There are various options for selling a business, each with advantages for consideration. To discuss a business sale, or any other M&A matters contact the GS Verde Group.

• Aspire 2Be announces launch of the Level 3 Supporting Teaching and Learning Qualification

• This is the latest addition to the Level Up Apprenticeship portfolio, which includes the Digital Learning Practitioner, and ILM Leadership & Management for Educators qualification

• Specifically aimed at Educators, this qualification offers an innovative approach for school support staff to develop in their role

Aspire 2Be, a multi-award-winning learning technology company, this week announced the launch of the Level 3 Supporting Teaching and Learning Qualification. This qualification compliments the range of education-focussed Apprenticeships offered by Aspire 2Be, which also includes the Level 3 Diploma for Digital Learning Practitioners and ILM Leadership & Management for Educators qualifications.

The Supporting Teaching and Learning qualification is aimed at learning support staff, and is designed to further develop existing knowledge and skills, whilst also providing specific learning pathways to develop expertise across key areas of education. Learners will also develop a range of digital skills and explore how technology can play a central role in supporting a range of teaching and learning scenarios.

“The National Professional Learning Entitlement guidance from Welsh Government advocates for accredited, high quality professional learning available to all educators, including support staff,” comments Aspire 2Be Digital Transformation Director, Matt Smith.

He continues, “Our Supporting Teaching and Learning qualification provides a range of learning pathways, with a focus on the Additional Learning Needs Transformation programme alongside how to leverage technology to support teaching and learning. This latest apprenticeship ensures provision is available for existing support staff to continue their professional learning journey aligned to the new Curriculum for Wales”.

With a broad portfolio of digital tools, resources and platforms, and as a Professional Development Partner for Apple, Google and Microsoft, Aspire 2Be is ideally placed as industry experts, to provide this range of digital qualifications for learners.

If you are interested in learning more about our range of Education and Digital Apprenticeships, you can get in touch with us at Apprenticeships@aspire2be.co.uk, or read more here.

Educ8 Training Group, one of Wales’ top apprenticeship and training providers, has announced a partnership with Sky, creating a bespoke approach for the leading media and entertainment company’s apprenticeship provision.

Based at Sky’s Customer Contact Centre in Cardiff, home to over 700 staff, the partnership will focus on customer service apprenticeships alongside Sky’s own in-house training programme for their new representatives.

This announcement comes as Educ8 celebrates the success of National Apprenticeship Week, during which the training provider hosted an information fair with Welsh ICE and had numerous employers and learners sign up to its ILM Leadership and Management Qualification.

Grant Santos, Educ8 Training Group CEO, said: “We are constantly striving to support more businesses and learners across the nation to access their growth potential through apprenticeships, and National Apprenticeship Week 2023 was no exception.

“Businesses are facing significant challenges in terms of recruitment, training and development. Apprenticeships offer a way for businesses to address these challenges through a cost-effective, flexible and tailored approach to workforce development that can support their long-term success.

The theme of this year’s National Apprenticeship Week – Skills for Life – focused on how apprenticeships equip learners with the lifelong transferable skills to fuel their career progression and subsequently drive business growth and development.

With the first cohort of apprentices at Sky now firmly established, Customer Account Director at Educ8 Ann Nicholas said: “We are delighted to be working with Sky to support their strategy of attracting new talent and upskilling their people.

“The apprenticeships are a fantastic opportunity, allowing learners to develop their careers with real prospects. It is clear that Sky’s focus of apprenticeships, staff wellbeing and ‘life at Sky’ is fundamental.”

More widely, the week has seen Educ8 connect with even more employers across Wales at networking events, showcase employers and learners through social media takeovers, and launch ‘Learner of the Month’ with employers, to highlight achievements in the workplace.

A renowned training group, Educ8 offers opportunities across a wide range of sectors, including Leadership & Management, Business Administration, Digital Marketing, Social Media, Health & Social Care, Hair& Beauty with ISA Training, Customer Service, IT through digital solutions company Aspire 2Be and Equine & Animal Care through the prestigious Haddon Training.

Businesses and learners looking to boost their skillsets can learn more at www.educ8training.co.uk

GS Verde Group, the multidiscipline corporate advisory business, has acquired Integral Finance & Technology, to continue its ambitious, acquisitive growth strategy and broaden the business’ footprint in Ireland and the EU.

Founded by John Slevin and Sinead Leech in 1997, Dublin-based IFT provides a full suite of finance and accounting solutions to its clients via its technology and software-enabled systems and platforms; supporting start-ups, international businesses and owner-managed growth companies with services including management reporting, financial controls, and project finance.

IFT will integrate with the GS Verde Group offering in Ireland, adding an additional 12 employees to the GS Verde Group Dublin office, with IFT retaining its premises in Dublin 4 amongst organisations such as Google and RTÉ.

Nigel Greenaway, GS Verde Group CEO, said of the acquisition: “The addition of the IFT team, and John and Sinead as founders of that team, to GS Verde is an exciting milestone for the Group.

“It marks our continued growth as key advisors on mergers and acquisitions, expands our reach and services within Ireland and the EU, and is also of significant benefit to our clients, providing access to buyers and markets within the UK, Ireland, and further afield.”

John Slevin, IFT Director and co-founder, said: “We are delighted to be joining the GS Verde Group and start working closely with the multidiscipline dealmaking team. We look forward to the opportunities that this acquisition brings both for our clients and us as a business.”

Adding IFT’s services to the Group’s offering is part of an ongoing strategy for the corporate finance advisory business, which has grown significantly over the last year. Across GS Verde’s ever-expanding HQ in Cardiff, and offices in Bristol and Dublin, staff headcount has risen to over 80-strong, with continued growth planned throughout the UK and EU in 2023.

More widely, thanks to its multidiscipline approach to M&A, the GS Verde Group has been recognised as the most active advisor for mergers and acquisitions in its region for two years running by Experian MarketIQ, uniquely leading both the corporate law and finance rankings throughout the year, while CEO Nigel Greenaway was named ‘Disruptor of the Year’ at the prestigious Great British Entrepreneur of the Year Awards.