Tag Archives: family business

Awards, Healthcare, News, South East

Bridge Health & Wellbeing named best family-run health and wellbeing clinic in the UK

Bridge Health & Wellbeing is delighted to have been crowned Best Family-Run Health & Wellbeing Clinic – UK at the GHP Private Healthcare Awards 2022.

Launched in 2017, the Global Health & Pharma annual Private Healthcare Awards celebrate the efforts of healthcare providers, products, and professionals across the global industry. Each year nominations are open to the vast array of businesses within this varied sector, including but not limited to private medical clinics, dental clinics, aesthetics and cosmetic surgeries, therapists, rehabilitation services, health insurers, equipment suppliers, and the numerous businesses and products which support this vital industry.

Awards Co-ordinator Emma Pridmore commented on the winners recognised in this year’s programme. “Private healthcare is a vast and extraordinary sector, and regardless of whether you are a medical professional in that environment, or in administration, recruitment, logistics, product development or research, everyone has an important role to play. It’s been a pleasure to coordinate the awards this year. I offer my sincere congratulations to everyone in this year’s programme.”

Paul O’Connell, co-founder and lead physiotherapist at Bridge Health & Wellbeing, said: “What an achievement! It’s mind-blowing to be awarded the title of best family-run health and wellbeing clinic in the entire UK. Family has always been at the heart of everything we do. Our whole family was involved in the planning and development of Bridge Health & Wellbeing, and inspiring our children is what drives us to keep the clinic moving forwards.

Special thanks must go to our wonderful clients and our families who have been so supportive. Despite all the COVID challenges of the first three years of running our business, we are proud to have realised our dream of creating a dedicated wellness space where clients can get better, build strength and feel happy and healthy in their mind and body.”

Bridge Health & Wellbeing provides physiotherapy, chiropractic, sports massage and rehabilitation services, and Pilates, yoga, and other wellbeing classes from their state-of-the-art fitness space on Bridge Street in Christchurch, Dorset. To find out more or book your appointment, visit www.bridgehw.com, or call 01202 473800.

Food & Drink, News

Speight’s Gin Launch Shibden Valley tipple inspired by Anne Lister

The team behind Halifax’s award-winning gin brand, Speight’s Gin, has launched a Shibden Valley gin, featuring special edition Anne Lister-adorned birthday celebration bottles.

The Speight’s family has worked closely with the Calderdale Museums team at Shibden Hall to research the history of Anne Lister and Shibden. The family has produced the special edition gin, which will be available to purchase in-person at the Shibden Hall gift shop and on the Speight’s Gin website.

Shibden Hall was home to Anne Lister, the 19th-century diarist from 1791-1840. Anne Lister’s life is the focus of the popular BBC drama series ‘Gentleman Jack’, written and directed by Sally Wainwright. The series explores Anne’s life and the lives of those who lived in the Hall and Estate. Suranne Jones stars as Anne Lister in Gentleman Jack, with Shibden Hall featuring as one of the main filming locations featured in the show.

Peter Speight, owner of Speight’s Gin commented: “We are delighted to be working with the Shibden Hall team, it is truly a fantastic honour to be associated with such an iconic building which is part of our heritage”.

The Speight’s Gin brand is a family affair, with Peter Speight running the business alongside his son-in-law Daniel, his wife Angie, daughter Victoria. Each family member plays a different role within the company, with Daniel managing the distillery operations, and the rest of the Speight’s team pitching in with branding, events and marketing.

The Shibden Valley Gin officially launched this month at an exclusive event in the grounds of Shibden Hall, complete with a mobile gin bar, performance from local Band Scars on 45, canapes provided by our outside catering manager Ben Cole, live music and a performance from Brighouse Theatre Productions. Calderdale’s Mayor and Mayoress were also in attendance, along with several local business owners and residents.

Richard Macfarlane, Calderdale Council’s Museums Manager, said:

“The rich history of Shibden Hall and the beauty of the Shibden estate has provided inspiration for many people and we’ve been happy to share our knowledge with the team at Speight’s Gin to help support research for their latest creation.

“The popularity of Gentleman Jack and Anne Lister’s fascinating story has really increased interest in Shibden. We’re pleased to be able to welcome more visitors back to the Hall and support local companies, like Speight’s.”

Crafted in a purpose-built distillery in the Speight’s lush, floral family garden, the small-batch gin is made using a traditional copper still, blended using locally sourced ingredients and a secret concoction of 12 finest botanicals. Speight’s artisan gin is available in five unique flavours, including bilberry, huckleberry, pear, rhubarb and a signature floral gin.

Speight’s Gin has already received global recognition, with the Signature Gin being awarded ‘Best Distilled Gin’ out of entries from thirty-two countries at the Gin Guide Awards 2020, and their rhubarb gin winning a Silver in the World Gin Awards 2021.

Charity & CSR, News

Bedfont takes to the Skies for Heart of Kent Hospice

Local company, Bedfont Scientific Ltd., fundraises and skydives to raise money for the Heart of Kent Hospice

On Sunday 13th June, a group of Bedfont employees daringly jumped from a plane in a bid to raise £3000 for local charity, Heart of Kent Hospice, who provides specialist palliative care, advice and clinical support for adults with life limiting illness and their families in Kent.

Each member of the Bedfont Family had their own personal reasons for supporting the charity and the Skydive was a new and brilliant adventure for them to undertake.

Jason Smith, Managing Director at Bedfont, commented, “We’re incredibly proud of the Katie, Amber, Amy, Ryan, Hannah, and Tom for taking on this challenge to fundraise for a great charity, and we’re very grateful to all our friends, family, co-workers and business partners who have donated to such a great cause. We’re still a few pounds away our fundraising goal of £3000 so if you would like to donate to a good cause, please visit our Just Giving page.”

To donate to the Heart of Kent Hospice, please visit: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/bedfont-scientific

Logistics, News

How family-owned Cullimore Group has kept the wheels turning

by Moreton Cullimore, Managing Director, The Cullimore Group

The haulage industry has been one of the unsung heroes of Covid-19, bringing essential goods to stores across the country and keeping vital supplies for healthcare moving, going about its work largely unseen save for lorries meandering around quieter roads.

The Cullimore Group history dates back more than 90 years. In that time, we have provided vehicles to support the construction of airfields during World War II, and became one of the early pioneers of using motor transport for delivering milk and livestock to the local markets in the dark days of the 1920s depression. And most recently, during a year that none of us could ever had predicted, our vehicles have traversed the counties of Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, keeping the local communities connected and well-stocked.

It has been arguably one of the most monumental challenges my company has faced. I remember my first visit to the office a couple of days after the first lockdown was announced and how surreal it was to see 95% of the fleet parked up. It was like being there on a Sunday morning.

But, together, we have been able to keep on the road. At the height of the first lockdown, two of our drivers worked flat out to deliver flour and bread directly from a mill in Gloucestershire, as well as other journeys often in convoy, to make sure our local community shops could keep products on the shelves. At the same time, we still had orders for aggregates and concrete for use at water works and in construction projects which had not been put on hold.

As time has progressed, we’ve slowly been able to get back to something resembling normality. The first phased return in the spring saw us reopen our quarry sites following renewed orders for concrete and other construction materials, along with the MOT testing lane at our head office just off Junction 13 of the M5. When the second lockdown in England was announced, the entire Cullimore Group (Cullimore Mix, Moreton C Cullimore Gravels, and Moreton C Cullimore & Son) remained open for orders for essential materials, adhering to the social distancing guidelines we have followed throughout the pandemic.

Like businesses in almost every sector, the financial implications of Covid-19 have been strongly felt across haulage. Our sector has also had the added burden of tariffs and taxes which have continued to be a weight on our shoulders – even with the vast majority of fleets being parked.

Though we own our vehicles outright, there are still the standing costs to contend with; without customer orders due to projects being suspended, the repairs and general maintenance outgoings soon mount up.

Then, of course, came the reintroduction of the congestion charges in May and a subsequent increase in June. Though the support hauliers have received is welcome, in some areas, it wasn’t necessarily wide-ranging and still meant that gaps had to be filled.

The Cullimore Group has been fortunate in that significant projects have still required materials delivered by our vehicles. But I know that many of my peers have not been so lucky. It was by acting quickly at the start of the pandemic and remaining in constant communication with our customers that we have kept on going.

Slowly but surely, more of our vehicles are getting back on the roads but the fact remains that our sector has a turbulent period ahead with Brexit and the full impact of Covid-19 still yet to be realised.

If there is a silver lining to come out of the pandemic, it is that haulage is finally starting to get the recognition it deserves. A petition for better driver facilities at major infrastructure projects has received nearly 12 000 signatures, and my local MP has brought the sector’s vital contribution to the attention of the government.

As we start to understand what the new world will look like, small independent companies from all industries, not just haulage, must have the protection and the support to continue as the backbone of the UK economy. Just like a family, we all need to look out for one another, not just ourselves.