Category Archives: Business

Bristol, Business, Business & Property News, Business News, Cardiff, FInance, Finance News, Law, Legal News, Mergers & Acquisitions, News, News from England, News from Wales, Property, Property News, South Wales, South West, Wales News

GS Verde Group expand Bristol presence at Generator Building

Building upon the recent expansion of their Cardiff headquarters, dealmaking business GS Verde Group has increased capacity in Bristol city centre by more than double, signing a significant lease at the Generator Building, accommodating over 30 staff with capacity to expand further as the business continues to enjoy rapid growth across its multiple disciplines.

 

The new offices, situated in the contemporary and centrally located Generator Building at Finzels Reach, will support the increased staff count across the businesses’ multiple disciplines. The business has made several appointments already in 2022 with more vacancies available following a year of significant growth, as demand for the M&A and business sale specialists’ multidisciplinary approach has soared.

 

Having only recently doubled their Welsh office space, the new Bristol premises underpin the Group’s growing presence across England, Wales and Ireland furthering the team’s reach.

 

This substantial expansion also follows recent success for GS Verde in the Experian Market IQ reports on deal-making in 2021, achieving a unique feat by being the only firm to rank in both the corporate financial and legal rankings in Wales, in first and second place respectively.

 

GS Verde advised on over 100 deals across the UK and Ireland last year, in the business’ best year of trading to date, and expects to see their activity increase even further through 2022.

 

With GS Verde’s complete advisory team across corporate law, finance, tax and communications, these new offices are more than double the Group’s previous space in Bristol, a significant increase that accommodates the fast growth of the business.

 

Speaking of their expansion, GS Verde Group CEO, Nigel Greenaway said: “We are thrilled to be expanding our Bristol office and operations across the South West, augmenting the scope of our offering of unique M&A advisory services throughout the UK and beyond.

 

“Just a few months into 2022, GS Verde has already seen rapid growth in multiple locations, reflecting the value of our multidiscipline approach, and the appetite for corporate transactions.”

 

As GS Verde also progresses plans to expand their EU location in Dublin and expects to continue to acquire as part of its own buy and build strategy, there are still more exciting developments to come this year.

 

 

Business, Business & Property News, News, Property, South East

New chapter for Belvoir Portsmouth!

Samantha Bateman, owner of Belvoir Portsmouth has fulfilled a lockdown ambition to write and publish her book ‘Landlords, what’s holding you back? which is now available to purchase on Amazon.

“I’ve been working in the rental industry for 18 years, and during that time I’ve often been asked to use my experience to write a book and share my system for reducing the stress of being a landlord, maximise profits and avoid the many pitfalls,” says Samantha. “Eventually I decided the time was right and I wrote the book in about three months. I included lots of stories of my own experiences as a Belvoir agent, such as the time 15 years ago when a rental property was turned into a drug den, and another time when there was a fire at a property. These stories helped me to explain to landlords how to deal with challenges and avoid them in the future.

“Over the past 20 years the rental market has changed dramatically. For every property that a landlord owns or manages they need to be thinking about how they can maximise the profit on their investment. This is where a good agent comes in. By partnering with a reputable agent, the landlord can provide an attractive home for a tenant, whilst avoiding hefty fines and banning orders for non-compliance, as well as learning how effective management can help to keep costs down.”

Dorian Gonsalves, CEO of Belvoir says: “Samantha has worked in the industry for almost two decades and is a valued and highly respected Belvoir franchisee. I would like to offer her my sincere congratulations for writing and publishing this book, which I am sure will be extremely useful for landlords. This is a book that not only proves Samantha’s knowledge of the property industry, but also demonstrates her unique ability to help landlords achieve fantastic results in what is a fast-changing industry.

“I would encourage anyone who is interested in the property to read this book, which is a valuable resource for professional and personal growth.

Business, News

Mrs Buckét scrubs up head office

Leading commercial cleaning company Mrs Buckét has made a significant investment at its head office in a drive to provide its growing team with a fresh environment focused on wellbeing and collaboration.

Mrs Buckét, which has offices in Cardiff, Swansea and Bristol, has modernised its flagship Swansea office, adding more desk space and an additional informal space for collaboration and meetings.

The new concept office was designed in partnership with Ministry of Furniture, who also provided the furniture, with Mrs Buckét CEO, Rachael, the creative mind behind the project.

Rachael Flanagan, CEO of Mrs Buckét, said: “After a tough two years for everyone, we were keen to refresh our space as more of the team returned to office working.  Employee wellbeing is really important to us and so our main goal was to create a modern, fresh environment, a place where people are excited to come to work.

“We consulted with our team from the outset and designed the new offices purely with their feedback in mind. Team building is at the top of our agenda, and we really believe that having an inspiring space for our team to work from will help us in our drive to become one of the foremost employers in the cleaning and facilities management industry.”

Graham Hirst, Managing Director, Ministry of Furniture, said: “We worked closely with Rachael and her team to ensure that the investment at Mrs Buckét HQ was closely aligned with their vision for the office. They wanted a more collaborative working environment and I think that the final design will really help facilitate that creative energy that they were so keen to foster.

“Since the start of the pandemic, the way that people view their offices has really changed. We know now that people can work well from home so the office has to offer an inspiring, alternative work space. Rachael and her team were one of the first to identify this shift and their office is a great example for anyone considering making a change.”

There are currently nine staff based at the Swansea HQ, as well as the operations team, who split their time between being out in the field and the office.

Mrs Buckét is a high-quality commercial cleaning and facilities management company. Established by Rachael Flanagan in 2005, the business has grown to have 330 employees operating across south Wales and south west England.

 

Image credit: Ministry of Furniture

Business

Newsflare Hires Nyasha Bass as US Head of Sales

Newsflare, the world’s leading licensing platform and marketplace for user-generated video (UGV), has today announced it has hired Nyasha Bass, former Director of Business Development at Hearst Newspapers, as its new US Head of Editorial Sales. Incredibly well connected, Nyasha’s deep experience in building relationships with publishers will be a boon for Newsflare as it seeks to build awareness of its unique capabilities and accelerate growth in the US.

Nyasha’s appointment follows Newsflare’s recent Series B accelerator funding announcement and rebrand. With an investment-led expansion strategy in place, attracting new talent is a top growth priority for Newsflare as it seeks to dominate the user-generated video market.

Prior to her role at Hearst, Nyasha held senior sales and business development roles at Naviga, Accelerate Consulting, and Storyful. Bringing her 15 years of digital media experience to the fore, she will be tasked with targeting growth through new customer acquisition forming key relationships with publishers and finding creative opportunities to help them engage more effectively with audiences using Newsflare’s vast vault of emotionally powerful, authentic, quirky, and even downright brutal UGV content.

Speaking about the appointment, Neil Rampe, CCO at Newsflare, commented: “We’re excited to welcome Nyasha to the team, she brings a tremendous wealth of experience and will play an instrumental role in leading our next phase of growth in the US, the single biggest UGV market in the world. Publisher’s need ‘raw and authentic’ content to connect with audiences who are devoting an increasing proportion of their attention to UGV. We have more exciting announcements to come as we grow awareness of our bustling marketplace of storytellers and establish our brand as the global leader for the monetisation of UGV.”

Nyasha commented: “I’ve joined Newsflare because I am incredibly excited by its differentiated proposition, and the passion it has to help publishers capture the moment and share life’s spectacle with audiences everywhere. Newsflare offers me the unique opportunity to marry my professional experience and skills in sales, licensing, and syndication, with my personal love of all things video. I cannot wait to get started.”

Business, Business & Property News, Business Mergers, Acquisitions & Partnerships, Business News, Cardiff, Finance and Banking, News, Property, Wales News

GS Verde Group doubles HQ office space following significant growth

Following a year of significant growth, dealmaking business GS Verde Group has signed a lease to double their head office space in Cardiff, as part of impressive expansion plans for the multidisciplinary M&A advisory firm.

 

With a team of now more than 60 strong, the M&A and business sale specialists have seen a 30% increase in staff since the middle of 2021. The team’s growth spans the full scope of its multiple disciplines, with 5 new Legal experts, 10 Finance and Accounting specialists, 2 Data Analysts, and 3 Communications professionals.

 

This includes a number of high-profile senior appointments including new Directors, Joel Dunning (Corporate Finance), Fleur Riggs (Head of Specialist Tax), Garry MacKay (Commercial Law & IP), and most recently Simon Pathé, who joined the multi-discipline team as an Associate Director and Employment Law expert for GS Verde Law.

 

The growth in personnel, coupled with ever increasing demand for the Group’s dealmaking services, has led to the need to take on additional space at their head office in the Maltings, Cardiff.

 

Speaking of their expansion, GS Verde Group CEO, Nigel Greenaway said: “We are delighted to take on this additional space at the Maltings, a building we have been in since inception. To think we started as 2 people just 9 years ago, to now needing to double the capacity of our Cardiff office to meet our growth plans, really is credit to our excellent teams across the Group.”

 

Speaking on the signing of the new lease, Gareth Oram, Managing Director of the Maltings said: “We are delighted to continue our long-standing relationship with GS Verde as the home of their head office. We look forward to seeing the next stages of their exciting growth.”

 

With further expansion planned in both Bristol and Dublin in 2022, as well as the business planning to continue to acquire as part of its own buy and build strategy, this year is proving to be an exciting one for GS Verde.

 

Mr. Greenaway added: “Working as one team, we are building something very special at GS Verde.  Our offering is truly unique, and the board and I are extremely excited to see our ambitious growth plans coming to fruition.”

Business, Business News, Cleaning & Facilities Management

New A&R management team outline ambitious plans for 150 new jobs in 2022

Soft services provider, A&R Services is set for an almost 50% increase in staff this year, following the recent announcement of a Management-Buy-Out.

 

Based in Bridgend, the business has seen significant success year-on-year, closing 2021 as the sixth year of consecutive growth.

 

Now with ambitious plans for 2022, A&R is planning to create 150 new jobs across south Wales and the south west of England as the business looks to expand its footprint further across these regions.

 

Co-founder and Managing Director, Ashley Davies said: “After announcing the MBO at the start of the year, Dora, Chloe and I are delighted to share our ambitious growth plans for A&R, with a number of exciting initiatives in the pipeline for the next 12 months alone.”

 

The creation of 150 jobs will take the business to c.500 employees and will see the new management team on track to exceed a turnover of £5m this year.

 

The business has already been shortlisted for a number of awards this year, including Cardiff Life, of which A&R is the incumbent winner of the Business Services award, and the national St David’s Awards which recognise extraordinary achievements across Wales.

 

Operations Director, Dora Vasarhelyi added: “We are thrilled to receive continued recognition for the business’ growth and success. This is testament to the hard work of our team and the ability of us to adapt and overcome the challenges of recent years.”

 

A recurring ‘sustainable growth’ winner at the Fast Growth 50 awards, 2022 is set to be no different for A&R Services, with plans on track to make it another remarkable year of growth and success.

Business

The C-Suite Innovation Club launched to help mid-sized businesses thrive

New space for the C-suite to network and share insight into an all-too-often forgotten space in the market

A new networking and innovation platform for C-Suite and IT leaders of mid-to-large sized enterprises has been launched by the CEO and founder of a leading managed-IT company. The platform will be used by its members to share advice and insight on how the mid-market can navigate today’s greatest challenges and use technology to scale effectively.

The C-Suite Innovation Club is available through invitation or application – and only to individuals who identify as C-Suite, as well as IT leaders, and will provide an opportunity for both online and in-person discussion and resource-sharing.

Tarek Meliti, Interim Chair, commented: “The past few years have been without the hardest for many in business. Leadership – from the IT department through to finance– have lost vital insight as many of the traditional routes to gaining knowledge have either withered on the vine, or simply seized up. We believe that the power of experience and insight is one of the most important learning tools business leaders can turn to.

“IT teams, the businesses that rely on them, as well as the strategists that define their direction, have faced a myriad of problems over the last few years. Covid-19 and hybrid working have both supercharged the rate in which private and public organisations have had to digitally transform, and economic turbulence has made scaling a vital yet unpredictable undertaking.”

Tarek Meliti, the CEO of TDM Group, identified the deficiency in the market and bought together a number of his peers to form the group.

“I felt that the one market so often overlooked is what I would define as the mid-market, those businesses with 100 to 1,000 employees, often owner-run and founded. As with many businesses in this bracket, the question of who to turn to for advice and guidance is often blurred. For many business owners the solution is to turn to colleagues through networking and other such face-to-face forums.

“With the pandemic looking like it is evolving into an endemic, my peers and I felt the time was right to launch the C-Suite Innovation Club for business leaders to come and share ideas and experiences, as well as looking for help and guidance from those who have been through a particular experience themselves,” added Meliti.

The Club itself will only be available to the most dynamic of mid-to-large scale organisations and registration or invitation is via LinkedIn, providing the ideal online platform to meet and network.

“The aim has always been to create a space for continuous innovation and collaboration – and we soon hope to do this both in-person at networking events as well as on LinkedIn. This is firmly a members led organisation so we will be looking for active members who can form part of a management board, as well as make recommendations for events and speakers,” concluded Meliti.

The Club, as well as the details on how to apply for membership, can be found here: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7407369/

Business

The C-Suite Innovation Club launched to help mid-sized businesses thrive

New space for the C-suite to network and share insight into an all-too-often forgotten space in the market

A new networking and innovation platform for C-Suite and IT leaders of mid-to-large sized enterprises has been launched by the CEO and founder of a leading managed-IT company. The platform will be used by its members to share advice and insight on how the mid-market can navigate today’s greatest challenges and use technology to scale effectively.

The C-Suite Innovation Club is available through invitation or application – and only to individuals who identify as C-Suite, as well as IT leaders, and will provide an opportunity for both online and in-person discussion and resource-sharing.

Tarek Meliti, Interim Chair, commented: “The past few years have been without the hardest for many in business. Leadership – from the IT department through to finance– have lost vital insight as many of the traditional routes to gaining knowledge have either withered on the vine, or simply seized up. We believe that the power of experience and insight is one of the most important learning tools business leaders can turn to.

“IT teams, the businesses that rely on them, as well as the strategists that define their direction, have faced a myriad of problems over the last few years. Covid-19 and hybrid working have both supercharged the rate in which private and public organisations have had to digitally transform, and economic turbulence has made scaling a vital yet unpredictable undertaking.”

Tarek Meliti, the CEO of TDM Group, identified the deficiency in the market and bought together a number of his peers to form the group.

“I felt that the one market so often overlooked is what I would define as the mid-market, those businesses with 100 to 1,000 employees, often owner-run and founded. As with many businesses in this bracket, the question of who to turn to for advice and guidance is often blurred. For many business owners the solution is to turn to colleagues through networking and other such face-to-face forums.

“With the pandemic looking like it is evolving into an endemic, my peers and I felt the time was right to launch the C-Suite Innovation Club for business leaders to come and share ideas and experiences, as well as looking for help and guidance from those who have been through a particular experience themselves,” added Meliti.

The Club itself will only be available to the most dynamic of mid-to-large scale organisations and registration or invitation is via LinkedIn, providing the ideal online platform to meet and network.

“The aim has always been to create a space for continuous innovation and collaboration – and we soon hope to do this both in-person at networking events as well as on LinkedIn. This is firmly a members led organisation so we will be looking for active members who can form part of a management board, as well as make recommendations for events and speakers,” concluded Meliti.

The Club, as well as the details on how to apply for membership, can be found here: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7407369/

Business, News

Dae.mn Appoints Two Board Advisors to Expand Corporate Responsibility Remit and Market Reach

LONDON, 22 FEBRUARY 2022: Dae.mn, the consultancy that helps businesses to get the most out of technology, today announces the appointment of Judith Batchelar OBE, and Heath Jackson as Senior Board Advisors, to sustain a period of growth and help to deliver on Dae.mn’s brand values.

Judith Batchelar brings her wealth of experience to Dae.mn after 16 years with Sainsbury’s as Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Director. Judith was awarded an OBE in 2015 for services to farming and the food industry and has just returned from COP26. She also sits on the government’s Food and Drink Sector Council, is a non-executive director of the Environment Agency and the Rugby Players Association and is a trustee of the Prince’s Accounting for Sustainability Project, as well as the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Judith’s green credentials and impressive brand portfolio, such as Marks and Spencer and Safeways, will enable her to build upon Dae.mn’s own sustainability initiatives, including its target to become carbon negative. Judith will also fill the role of championing diversity and cultivating relationships with Dae.mn’s employees to mentor and support them further in their personal career development.

Heath Jackson has over 30 years of experience in the IT industry and joins Dae.mn from KPMG where he headed up its transformation practice and took the lead on several projects for its platinum clients. Prior to his time at KPMG, Heath occupied the role of Director at management and consulting firm Xantus Consulting, where his experience in business development was pivotal and led to its multi-million-pound sale.

With more business and IT leaders looking for answers to unique transformation issues, Heath’s expertise promises to add immense value to Dae.mn’s human-centred approach to technology challenges.

Co-Founder of Dae.mn, Calum Fitzgerald explains the rationale behind the appointments: “Both Judith and Heath are fonts of knowledge when it comes to their specific fields. They will undoubtedly open plentiful opportunities for Dae.mn in their respective areas and allow us to reach new places. Heath has a proven record of accomplishment in growing a consultancy and has an in-depth understanding of the growing pains associated with businesses of our size. His understanding of the market landscape will enable both Dae.mn and its clients to face business issues head on and continue to build great partnerships.”

Calum continues: “Sustainability is an extremely important core value at Dae.mn. We don’t want to just become carbon neutral, we want to be carbon negative. Judith has been at the heart of Sainsbury’s sustainability and corporate responsibility efforts – who Dae.mn have also been fortunate enough to work closely with. Harnessing her skill set and aptitude to reach that target, and to build the Dae.mn brand more generally, is something we really look forward to partnering closely on.”

To find out more about Dae.mn, visit dae.mn.

 

Business, Business Advice

Tips for Negotiating in 2022

The ability to negotiate successfully in today’s turbulent business climate can make the difference between success and failure. With this in mind, it is important to hone in on your negotiating skills, wean out your failures and build on your strengths in order to help your business thrive this year.

Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want.

Successful negotiators are assertive and challenge everything – they know that everything is negotiable. Negotiation consciousness is what makes the difference between negotiators and everybody else on the planet. Being assertive means asking for what you want and refusing to take no for an answer. Practice expressing your feelings without anxiety or anger. Let people know what you want in a non-threatening way. Note that there is a difference between being assertive and being aggressive. You are assertive when you take care of your own interests while maintaining respect for the interests of others. When you see your own interests with a lack of regard for other people’s interests, you are aggressive. Being assertive is part of negotiation consciousness.

 

Listen to your counterpart.

Negotiators are detectives. They ask probing questions and then shut up. The other negotiator will tell you everything you need to know – all you have to do is listen. Many conflicts can be resolved easily if we learn how to listen. The catch is that listening is a forgotten art. We are so busy making sure that people hear what we have to say that we forget to listen. You can become an effective listener by allowing the other person to do most of the talking.

 

Do your homework.

Gather as much pertinent information prior to your negotiation. What are their needs? What pressures do they feel? What options do they have? Doing your homework is vital to successful negotiation. You can’t make accurate decisions without understanding the other side’s situation. The more information you have about the people with whom you are negotiating, the stronger you will be. People who consistently leave money on the table probably fail to do their homework.

 

Don’t give without receiving.

Unilateral concessions are self-defeating. Whenever you give something away, get something in return. Always tie a string: “I’ll do this if you do that.” Otherwise you are inviting the other negotiator to ask you for additional concessions. When you give something away without requiring them to reciprocate, they will feel entitled to your concession, and won’t be satisfied until you give up even more. But if they have to earn your concession, they will derive a greater sense of satisfaction than if they got it for nothing.

 

Aim high.

Successful negotiators are optimists. If you expect more, you’ll get more. A proven strategy for achieving higher results is opening with an extreme position. Sellers should ask for more than they expect to receive, and buyers should offer less than they are prepared to pay. People who aim higher do better. Your optimism will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Conversely, if you have low expectations, you will probably wind up with a less satisfying outcome.

Negotiation is a key skill within a successful businessperson, and so start this year by finessing your negotiation tactics to go into your next negotiation feeling confident, strong and informed.