New owners of former Hilton hotel in North Wales
The new owners and name of the former Hilton hotel in North Wales have been confirmed. Hilton Garden Inn hotel opened in 2021 next to the surf lagoon at Adventure Park Snowdonia, Dolgarrog. The Ainscough family invested millions into the site and both schemes were backed by around £8m of Welsh Government grant funding. The surf lagoon closed in the summer of 2023 after a series of mechanical failures. But the hotel site - owned by Snowdonia Hotel Ltd - continued to operate under the Hilton branding. Last month Begbies Traynor were confirmed as administrator of Snowdonia Hotel with a pre-pack sale agreed and staff transferred to the new owner. It has been confirmed the sale was to Interesting Hotels for an undisclosed sum, with Enterprise Hotels and Hospitality advising on the deal. The freehold hotel was purchased unbranded and features 106 guest bedrooms. It has now been renamed as IXORA Hotel and Spa. Interesting Hotels Group's portfolio includes Chateau Rhianfa in Anglesey, Hawkstone Park in Shropshire, Poets House Hotel and Restaurant in Ely, Llangoed Hall in Powys and The Swan at Hay in Herefordshire. Gavin Wright, founder of Enterprise Hotels and Hospitality, said: "This was an exceptional opportunity to acquire a newly built hotel and spa fitted to an excellent standard near the Snowdonia(Eryri) National Park, which attracts nearly four million people every year. "The hotel has been successfully acquired by Interesting Hotels, who completed the transaction within just a three week period. The hotel has been renamed IXORA Hotel and Spa and adds to Interesting Hotels' existing portfolio, which includes three other hotels in Wales."
Excello Law launches in Nottingham with arrival of senior insolvency team
Excello Law has opened a new office in Nottingham and welcomed insolvency, corporate recovery and dispute resolution specialists Nicky Calthrop-Owen, Victoria Dunstall and Annabel Whittaker, who have joined from Actons. The Nottingham opening brings Excello’s national network to 11 hybrid office locations. The new insolvency team joins local real estate solicitors Matthew Neiland and Michaela Story, and a wider Midlands team of 35 based out of Birmingham and Leicester. Nicky Calthrop-Owen qualified as a solicitor in 1990 and became a licensed insolvency practitioner in 1998. She has been consistently recognised by the Legal 500 and Chambers legal directories and advises clients in complex insolvency and restructuring matters and partnership disputes. Annabel Whittaker is dual qualified – as a solicitor in 2006, and an insolvency practitioner in 2012 – and provides legal advice on corporate and personal insolvency matters. Victoria Dunstall, who qualified in 2001 and gained the diploma in advanced litigation in 2005, specialises in both contentious and non-contentious corporate and personal insolvency matters. Both are ranked as Next Generation Partners in Legal 500. Ms Whittaker said: “We have reached a point in our careers where we are confident that our reputation and experience enables us to generate our own work, and additional work we can refer to solicitors in other practice areas. “The freedom and responsibility offered by Excello Law’s structure and ethos was the main attraction of our move to an established and successful consultancy practice.” Excello chief operating officer Joanne Losty said: “Nottingham is an increasingly important commercial hub and it is great for us to have office facilities at the heart of our client base. “Our team is all locally-based and this solidifies our presence in the area, giving us a visible platform to recruit more consultant lawyers in the region. “We have the largest office network of any of the consultancy firms – and it was a natural extension of our growth ambitions in the central region to open new facilities in the East Midlands to support our team.
Future of £58m Bristol research centre in question following deal
Plans for a new £58m research centre in Bristol are reportedly in question after an acquisition deal. Wiltshire inhaler firm Vectura, which was behind the proposals, was snapped up last week by US manufacturer Molex - the parent firm of contract development organisation Phillips Medisize. It acquired the Chippenham-headquartered respiratory medicines business from tobacco giant Philip Morris International for a knock-down price of £150m ($198m). The Marlboro cigarette maker announced the sale of Vectura last September, three years after buying the business for more than £1bn. The acquisition deal in 2021 was criticised at the time because Vectura's products are used to treat lung conditions. In 2022, Vectura was granted permission by South Gloucestershire Council to build a large R&D facility at Bristol and Bath Science Park. Construction work was originally due to start in 2023, according to The Times, but so far only preliminary development work has been carried out on the site. The latest deal with Molex has now created uncertainty around the future of the “Inhalation Centre of Excellence” in Emersons Green. Paul Chaffin, president of Phillips Medisize, told The Times: "We recognise the Bristol site is a very valuable asset. Our primary focus is on integrating the Vectura employees into our team and building the Vectura customer pipeline. We will carefully evaluate the alignment of the Bristol site to our business needs and decide at a later date." Phillips Medisize will add approximately 350 employees to its team of more than 6,000 following the deal, including more than 1,200 engineers and scientists. Vectura was founded in 1997 as a spin-out from the University of Bath and employs around 450 people across Wiltshire, Cambridge Science Park, London and Basel in Switzerland. “The acquisition of Vectura reflects our commitment to advancing industry-leading medical capabilities for our customers,” added Joe Nelligan, chief executive of Molex, which acquired Phillips Medisize in 2016. "Together Phillips Medisize and Vectura will unlock significant growth potential to support the growing need for inhalation therapies.”
East Midlands appointments and promotions
Keep reading for the latest round-up of appointments, promotions and other jobs news from across the Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire region: Paragon Law Niche Nottingham immigration law firm Paragon Law has promoted two senior colleagues to directors (pictured above). James Firman has been promoted to operations director 15 years after joining the firm. He started as a general administration apprentice and has worked in finance, general operations, IT and HR. In 2021, he was named as Nottinghamshire Law Society’s practice manager of the year. Senior solicitor Emma Okenyi has been promoted to a legal director after celebrating her tenth year with Paragon Law and becoming head of the firm’s personal and family immigration team. Emma, who came to the UK as an international student from Kenya to study law, said: “I have enjoyed the opportunities that have been presented to me and now particularly enjoy training and developing new lawyers that join my team.” Founder and Director Thal Vasishta said: “Paragon Law continues to demonstrate our commitment to diversity and inclusion. “Emma is an example to all international graduates in the UK that you can reach the top of your field of work - 67 per cent of our senior leadership are women and 67 per cent are from a BAME background. Avant Homes Chesterfield-based Avant Homes has strengthened the team in its central region with the appointment of Katy Falls as regional planning manager. Katy has more than 12 years’ experience in the planning industry and began her career in local authority planning before moving into housebuilding in 2015. She will be responsible for moving potential sites through the planning process while building relationships with councils. She said: “As a planner, my favourite part of the job is successfully obtaining planning permission and seeing developments come to life. “It is exciting to play a role in delivering new homes for our customers, and to contribute towards creating communities where people want to live. “I have always favoured the residential side of planning, so I am looking forward to taking the next step in my career with a company which has such impressive and ambitious growth plans.” Avant Homes Central has nine live developments ranging from Chesterfield to Mansfield with many more due to start as the business continues to implement its growth plans. Cambridge & Counties Bank Specialist lender Cambridge & Counties Bank has appointed Patrick Newberry as its new chairman, replacing Simon Moore who has retired after serving 10 years on the board. Patrick’s executive career spans over 30 years with PwC, where his primary focus was on strategy, performance improvement as well as all things regulatory within the financial services and insurance sectors. During this time, he was the lead in major transformational programmes and worked with large financial institutions to set strategy and transform performance. Over the last nine years, Patrick has spent his time as non-executive director and freelance consultant for a number of financial and non-financial services organisations including Brunel Pensions Partnership, Historic England and the Cornwall College Group. Leicester-based Cambridge & Counties Bank announced in June this year that total lending had topped £1 billion for the first time, having seen staff numbers increase to more than 200 over the past decade, with major offices now in Sheffield, Bristol, London, and Glasgow. Gowercroft Joinery Alfreton-based timber window and door manufacturer Gowercroft Joinery has appointed Harry Dixon, from Mickleover, as its finance director to help spearhead the next stage of expansion. He brings almost a decade of commercial accountancy and building industry experience, having started as a credit control apprentice at one of the country's major chains of builders' merchants and then progressed his career with IT and construction companies. Harry said: "I am thrilled to be joining such a dynamic and rapidly expanding business. Gowercroft has had such an amazing track record so far, and I am very much looking forward to being part of its future successes." Managing director Andrew Madge said: “Gowercroft has expanded turnover by 110 per cent over the past two years by delivering highly innovative windows and doors to a string of new customers and prestigious projects nationwide." Bristol Street Motors Derby Nissan Vikki Brooks, who started as an apprentice at the age of 18, has been appointed as branch manager at Bristol Street Motors Derby Nissan. The former sales executive progressed her career, from new and used business car manager, to new car sales manager, to her current position. Over that time, she has undertaken many of the group’s training courses, including the company’s leadership development programme. She recently got engaged and is excited to take the next step in her career and her personal life. She said: “I am pleased and proud to be leading the team at Bristol Street Motors Derby Nissan. “The support I have received from management and colleagues during my seven years has been fantastic. I am very grateful to work for a forward-thinking company that values its workforce. “Although still male dominated, the industry is changing rapidly; to any woman who is interested in starting a career in the automotive industry, just go for it!” Precision People Recruitment business Precision People has promoted Anand Kakkad to head of technical. Anand joined the Meridian Business Park, Leicester, four years ago as team leader of the maintenance division. Over 14 months he built the team from two to six consultants, and was promoted to divisional manager of the technical perm team. Director Phil Walker said: “Anand manages the team how most managers don't - which is by empowering, leading, and coaching, whilst working the hard yards himself. “He also takes the time to have an interest in his people's success and well-being. This makes him the most successful manager Precision has seen. “This year, under his leadership, the technical team of permanent and contract recruitment has created six promotions, progressing two senior recruiters into managing consultants and building a team with them.“ He said Precision is on course to double the size of its team within the next three years to 40 people. Heavenly Desserts Derbyshire luxury dessert franchise Heavenly Desserts has made three key appointments to its team to secure the brand’s impeccable standards as it expands into international markets. Currently made up of 42 stores across the UK, the company has confirmed it will be launching the brand in Canada next month. Following her outstanding performance as restaurant manager in Southampton, Martha Prudence joins the Heavenly Desserts head office as the new store openings trainer. New brand excellence auditor Louise Wilkinson has more than 20 years’ experience in the casual dining sector, including work for Hickory’s Smoke BBQ and Marston’s. She is responsible for supporting franchisees and restaurants in all aspects of store operations, to ensure the Heavenly Desserts brand measures up to the company’s values of ‘perfection every time’ and ‘operational excellence’. Warren Smith is the new area manager for the North and Scotland. He has experience as a cluster manager for Farmhouse Inns - a Greene King offshoot where Warren managed 72 members of staff. He will oversee the series of new store openings in Glasgow taking place over the next few months. Armsons Barlow Derby-based project managers, construction cost consultants and building surveyors Armsons Barlow have appointed Paul Hanson as associate director. Paul joined Barlow & Associates in 1991 as a trainee quantity surveyor and went on to gain a degree in quantity surveying from Nottingham Trent University. During his time with the firm, Paul has delivered a variety of schemes for clients and worked in different roles including quantity surveyor, employer’s agent, bank monitoring surveyor, project manager and party wall surveyor. He has also broadened his skills and experience with secondments to contractors in both retail and civil engineering. In his new role as associate director, Paul will assume several new responsibilities, including managing a small team of surveyors and leading the companies’ services on a portfolio of schemes for one of their key clients.
Shopkeeper sentenced and tagged for selling potentially dangerous toys, electrical products and cosmetics
Trading standards officers said they found a shopkeeper selling hundreds of unsafe products including toys that failed to meet safety standards and items which posed a risk of electric shock. Derbyshire County Council said Phillip Rose, (aged 68), of Highfield Drive, Ilkeston, was given a four month community order and had a curfew imposed – monitored by tag – by magistrates after admitting selling unsafe goods including toys, hair straighteners and cosmetics. The council said Rose appeared at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates Court where he admitted four charges of selling multiple unsafe goods at his shop, the Catalogue Clearance Company, in Armstrong’s Mill, in the town. It said trading standards officers visited the shop in April 2021, after being told he was selling unsafe products. They ended up seizing 753 items including hair straighteners, power tools and robot vacuum cleaners. A spokesman said: “Examples of the goods were sent for testing and examination with five products found to be unsafe and posing a risk of electric shock. “The court heard that Rose had failed to put in place any steps to check the products he was selling. “As a result of the trading standards investigation 743 of the seized items were the subject of forfeiture and destruction.” The council said Rose, who the court heard has ceased trading, was ordered to pay the prosecution costs of £10,350 and a £95 victim surcharge. The council said the four charges Rose admitted included making available 312 items of electrical equipment and 62 toys that failed to conform to safety standards. It said he also made available 43 jars of Estee Lauder cream which failed to comply with safety standards plus a further 80 miscellaneous products which did not conform to required standards. Council cabinet member for health and communities Coun Carol Hart said: “Selling unsafe and unregulated goods will not be tolerated in Derbyshire and our trading standards officers will always act when informed of traders who are thought to be selling goods which could affect public safety.
NG Bailey relocates Leeds headquarters to White Rose Park
Engineering firm NG Bailey is moving its Leeds headquarters to White Rose Park in a bid to provide an "exceptional" office for its workforce. The £312m turnover business, which has worked on a number of high profile projects in the UK including the Hinkley Point nuclear power station, will swap its Brown Lane West headquarters in Holbeck for space in the ABC Building at the south Leeds site. Bosses say the new 25,230 sqft Grade A office space at White Rose Park was chosen for its high quality transport links and will provide a great place to work for the firm's Leeds-based team. NG Bailey was founded in 1921 in Leeds and has gone on to become a major player in the UK construction and engineering market. In its latest accounts for the year to the beginning of March 2024, it said the long term outlook for its markets was good, despite headwinds including high interest rates and political change causing caution among customers. Jonathan Stockton, CEO of NG Bailey, said: "Our move to White Rose Park marks an exciting new chapter for NG Bailey. While Brown Lane West has been our home over the past five decades, our relocation to a modern office space under a long-term lease is crucial for our growth in Leeds and the wider Yorkshire region. Our new office, combined with the numerous amenities in the Park, will foster a more vibrant and collaborative atmosphere for our team and visitors. The move supports our emphasis on sustainability and wellbeing in our workplace, with the Park being an exceptional place to work." NG Bailey can make use of health and wellbeing initiatives at White Rose Park including a running club, yoga classes, outdoor training parks and green spaces. The site is also home to a Starbucks, a nursery for pre-school aged children and a 200-seat communal restaurant area. David Aspin, chief executive of Munroe K, which owns and operates White Rose Park, said: “We are delighted to welcome NG Bailey to our White Rose Park Community. Their move is a real endorsement of our park and our collective ambition to provide the working environment of the future where people look forward to attending the office.