Ilke Homes: More than 1,000 staff made redundant

More than 1,000 staff have been made redundant at Flaxby-based Ilke Homes, administrators have confirmed.

AlixPartners were appointed to oversee the administration process of the company on June 30.

Ilke Homes, which is based off junction 47 of the A1(M), made the appointment after it failed to find a buyer or new investment.

In a statement at the time, administrators said a “significant majority” of the company’s 1,150 staff would be made redundant.

A spokesperson for AlixPartners has now confirmed to the Stray Ferret that 1,039 staff in the company’s homes section and 19 in its land section have been made redundant.

They said:

“The administrators have appointed a specialist agent to support former employees in understanding their statutory entitlements and making claims to the Redundancy Payments Service.

“The administrators are now working with a small number of retained employees to realise the assets of the business on behalf of creditors and are soliciting expressions of interest for any or all of those assets.”

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The move comes as the factory at Flaxby was immediately closed following the company entering administration and all site activities have been ceased.

Administrators added that the firm had “faced the challenges of unprecedented inflation and a lack of land supply linked to planning processes”.

Officials at Ilke Homes said previously that it needed additional funding to fulfil a £1 billion order book and to protect jobs, adding that new investment was needed to build its pipeline of 4,200 new homes.

Meanwhile, the Stray Ferret reported last week that more than 80 former employees of the company were to take legal action following the administration announcement.

Manchester-based law firm Aticus said it has been instructed by 80 staff members, 60 of whom are from Flaxby, to investigate concerns around how the redundancy process was managed.

Business Breakfast: Harrogate care company appoints new chief executive

The Stray Ferret Business Club’s next meeting is a breakfast event on Thursday, 27 July at Banyan in Harrogate between 8-10am. 

The Business Club provides monthly opportunities to network, make new connections and hear local success stories. Get your tickets by clicking or tapping here.

A Harrogate district care company has appointed a new chief executive.

Homes Together, which is based on Victoria Avenue, provides accommodation for disabled people across Harrogate, Ripon and Knaresborough.

The company has appointed David Ashton-Jones as its new chief executive, as well as restructuring its senior management team.

Mr Ashton-Jones said:

“I am incredibly proud to take on the role of chief executive at Homes Together. 

“This is an organisation that means a lot to me and I look forward to helping drive exceptional residential care for disabled young adults across our 13 different services in both Harrogate District and Gateshead.”

Meanwhile, the firm has also unveiled plans to invest in its training, infrastructure and technology in an effort to improve its services.

Harrogate company reaches sustainability targets

A Harrogate company has celebrated achieving three of its sustainability targets.

Techbuyer, which is based on Hornbeam Park, set nine targets including responsible consumption and production, quality education and good health and wellbeing.

The targets were set in line with the United Nations 17 sustainable development goals, which were drawn up in 2015.

Steve Sexton, group managing director of Techbuyer.

Steve Sexton, group managing director of Techbuyer.

Techbuyer has now reached three of the goals ahead of its 2025 deadline.

Of those it has achieved include logging 15,000 hours of staff physical activity, £3 million in savings for educational institutions and promoting sustainable technology to 5,000 organisations.

Steve Sexton, group managing director at Techbuyer, said:

“As a global organisation we are proud to be able to align our own ESG efforts with a number of the UN Sustainability Development Goals focused specifically on where we feel we can take meaningful action and make a real difference.”

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Business Breakfast: Knaresborough financial advisors appoint new board members

The Stray Ferret Business Club’s next meeting is a breakfast event on Thursday, 27 July at Banyan in Harrogate between 8-10am. 

The Business Club provides monthly opportunities to network, make new connections and hear local success stories. Get your tickets by clicking or tapping here.

A Knaresborough financial firm has announced a number of changes to its board.

Prosperis Ltd, which is based at St James’ Business Park, said it wanted to appoint experienced professionals to the company as part of its growth strategy.

Among the changes include Dave McLaughlin, who has been appointed as managing director of Prosperis Wealth and David Carrington joins as managing director of Prosperis Corporate Services.

David Carrington and Dawn Cockson.

David Carrington and Dawn Cockson.

Dawn Cockson also joins the board as operations director.

Niall Gunn, chief executive of Prosperis Ltd, said:

“These are exciting times for Prosperis. We are concluding our seventh acquisition with the next one due to complete in the autumn and our management team is stepping up to drive our service proposition to our clients. 

“Both Davids and Dawn will be a great addition to our board, bringing a wide range and skills and talents.”

Yorkshire Ambulance Service among top 100 apprentice employers

Yorkshire Ambulance Service has been named in the Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers for 2023.

The service, which operates ambulances in the Harrogate district and wider Yorkshire region, was ranked 36 in the list and was the highest ranked NHS organisation.

More than 500 of the service’s 7,200 staff are apprentices, including ambulance support workers, associate ambulance practitioners and paramedic degree apprentices.

It also employs apprentices in corporate services like finance, operational support, learning and development.

Kim Walsh, apprenticeships manager for Yorkshire Ambulance Service, said: 

“We are delighted to have ranked so highly; this establishes Yorkshire Ambulance Service as one of the leading apprenticeship employers in the country.”

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Business Breakfast: Harrogate social club wins CAMRA award

The Stray Ferret Business Club’s next meeting is a breakfast event on Thursday, 27 July at Banyan in Harrogate between 8-10am. 

The Business Club provides monthly opportunities to network, make new connections and hear local success stories. Get your tickets by clicking or tapping here.

A Harrogate club has won a Campaign for Real Ale award.

The Oatlands club, on Coronation Grove, was voted the best club in CAMRA’s Harrogate & Ripon area for 2023.

Alan Gould, chair of the Harrogate and Ripon CAMRA, presented the award to Kate Shutt, bar manager of the club, earlier this month.

Mr Gould said:

“Clubs provide an extremely useful community function, more so perhaps than pubs these days, so CAMRA is very keen to recognise and celebrate this, one way of doing this is to make an award to the best club in our area.”

Simon Williams, club president, thanked CAMRA for the award and paid tribute to the hard work of Kate Shutt and her team behind the bar.

Care home manager climbs Kilimanjaro

A Harrogate care home manager has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in aid of Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

Samantha Harrison, who works for Continued Care, took on the challenge and raised £2,320 for the charity.

Samantha Harrison with her team climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.

Samantha Harrison with her team climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.

The expedition was part of the care provider’s charity of the year fundraising events.

Ms Harrison said:

“Succeeding in reaching the summit of Kilimanjaro and raising £2,320 for Yorkshire Air Ambulance has been an incredible accomplishment and a once-in-a-lifetime ambition of mine.”

Tessa Klemz, North Yorkshire regional fundraiser for Yorkshire Air Ambulance, added:

”On behalf of Yorkshire Air Ambulance, we would like to extend our heartfelt appreciation to Samantha for her tremendous efforts in conquering Kilimanjaro in support of our charity.”

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Business Breakfast: Grantley Hall appoints new general manager

The Stray Ferret Business Club’s next meeting is a breakfast event on Thursday, 27 July at Banyan in Harrogate between 8-10am. 

The Business Club provides monthly opportunities to network, make new connections and hear local success stories. Get your tickets by clicking or tapping here.

Grantley Hall near Ripon has appointed a new general manager.

Nuno César de Sá, who previously worked for the Mandarin Oriental group, has joined the hotel after previous manager Andrew McPherson stepped down.

On his appointment, he said:

“I am honoured to become part of the Grantley Hall family. I have been fascinated by what has been achieved at Grantley Hall over the last six years.

“Now that I have been appointed as general manager, it is incredible that I will become an integral part of its future.”

Richard Sykes, managing director at Grantley Hall, added:

“We are thrilled to have Nuno on board as our new general manager.

“As a family-owned business, we understand that out people are the most important element of the hotel as they implement the magic of Grantley Hall to our guests and as Nuno shares many of the Grantley values, we know that he will be a perfect fit.”

Women’s co-working event to be held in Harrogate

A women’s business group is set to host a coffee and co-working event in Harrogate this month.

Women’s Business Club UK will be hosting the session at Manahatta off Parliament Street on July 21 from 11am until 2pm.

The group described the event as a chance for women to “have a natter and settle in for a morning of co-working”.

The co-working session is free, but pre-booking is essential.

For more information on the event and to book a place, visit the Eventbrite page here.

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Council to launch ‘once in a generation’ North Yorkshire economic strategy

North Yorkshire Council is set to launch a “once in a generation” economic strategy in an effort to support growth in the county.

The authority’s proposed economic growth strategy, which will first be considered by the council’s transport, economy, environment and enterprise scrutiny committee on Monday (July 10), has been drawn up to recognise the area’s unique scale and character and reflect the diversity of its component parts.

The document states: 

“This economic growth strategy is a key milestone, marking an exciting new phase for our economy.

“One where we take the lead on tackling some of the big economic challenges of our time such as net zero and energy security, and harness our strengths to combine accelerated economic growth with a carbon negative economy and outstanding quality of life.”

The document states the proposed strategy would provide business, investors, and other partners with a clear sense of North Yorkshire’s growth ambitions.

It adds: 

“These can only be achieved by partners from all of these groups working together in partnership to realise our collective ambitions for this great place.”

A final round of consultations, to be completed this month, is focusing on feedback from councillors, council bosses, and key external stakeholders to ensure the strategy aligns closely with other council strategies and plans for the new mayoral combined authority to be launched next year.

Cllr Derek Bastiman, the authority’s executive member for open to business, said the launch of the authority in April had presented a chance for a strategy that would not have been possible with seven different district council strategies.

He said: 

“I am quite excited as this document will benefit the whole of North Yorkshire.

“When there were seven different district authorities the boundaries did not give the ease and freedom to deliver a strategy targeting specific areas like this.”

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He said it was important north-south A1 corridor and east-west A59 and A64 corridor connectivity was identified as it would be the driving force for the economy of the county.

Cllr Bastiman said: 

“We must not take our eyes off what the market towns and larger villages, along with what smaller picture postcard coastal villages offer us.

“It is extremely important we take cognisance of all the area and the peculiarities, and I mean that in the nicest of ways, of such areas are taken into account because we don’t want to leave anybody behind with this. We want to bring people with us and consult all relevant bodies throughout the whole of North Yorkshire.”

Cllr Bastiman said he hoped the mayoral combined authority would play a supportive part in what North Yorkshire was trying to achieve.

“We do know the city of York will work with us on it, which is vitally important in delivering a cohesive, well thought out plan for the whole of North Yorkshire.”

ASE Computers disaster planning ‘invaluable’ for clients

This story is sponsored by ASE Computers.

Nobody likes to think about worst-case scenarios. But from a business perspective, planning for disaster isn’t just a good thing to do if you have the time. 

It’s an absolutely vital measure to protect the future of your business – and failing to do so could be catastrophic. 

One man who knows all about the importance of disaster planning is Chris Dickinson. 

Running IT sales and services company ASE Computers for almost 30 years, he has seen plenty of disasters in other businesses and has done more than his fair share of work to fix them. 

However, he says, some simple planning could save a lot of pain and cost if the worst should happen.  

Chris said: 

“When people go into business, they tend to focus on the positives – they don’t consider what might happen if things go wrong. 

“But it can happen so easily. A simple mistake or a fault can kick of a chain of events that lead a business into real trouble.” 

While most people don’t know where to start when it comes to planning for a potential disaster, Chris has a thorough approach to ensuring every possibility is considered.  

He begins with a series of questions: 

“What happens if your IT systems go down? Or your phones or internet supply? What if you can’t access your bank account?

“Is your data secure? What happens if it comes under attack or you lose access to it?

“If you can’t use your office because of a flood or a fire, what then? What if a key person is suddenly unable to work for any reason? 

“If something goes wrong, is there a system in place for reporting it and dealing with it? Who’s in charge? Who takes responsibility for what?

“All these sorts of questions really do need to be asked if you’re to protect yourself from the worst-case scenario.”

Disaster planning for payroll clients with 90% digital process

For one of ASE’s clients, putting in place a disaster plan has proved invaluable. 

Pay Me asked Chris and his team to do some research into the company’s IT infrastructure and produce a disaster recovery document. 

The firm offers payroll for companies around the UK, a process which is 90% digital. 

Once the review was complete, the ASE team put together a series of recommendations, explaining how each would benefit Pay Me and assist if the worst should happen. 

Once the IT system was in place, other aspects were considered: phones and internet, as well as staff responsibilities and hierarchy.  

The disaster recovery plan was put to Pay Me’s board for the final sign-off, which they were happy to do. 

Not only did it mean peace of mind for everyone from the directors down to the staff, it could also be used for Pay Me’s insurers. ASE produced an executive summary of the plan to demonstrate how prepared the company was for any eventuality.  

Chris said: 

“It might seem like a luxury to have a thorough disaster recovery plan, but if the worst should happen, you need to be prepared.

“The arrival of the covid pandemic and the need for everyone to stay at home shows just how quickly something can happen that affects how you operate.

“Companies with an effective plan were able to put actions in place quickly, getting their team members up and running at home, and therefore minimising any losses to the business in terms of productivity.

“While we hope we never have to face that kind of situation again, having a disaster recovery plan in place is absolutely vital to protect you from any eventuality.”

 

To find out more about how ASE Computers can help your business to be ready for anything, click here. 

Business Breakfast: Harrogate business meeting to focus on cybersecurity

The Stray Ferret Business Club’s next meeting is a breakfast event on Thursday, 27 July at Banyan in Harrogate between 8-10am. 

The Business Club provides monthly opportunities to network, make new connections and hear local success stories. Get your tickets by clicking or tapping here.

A Harrogate business meeting is set to focus on cybersecurity.

Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce will host the event on Monday (July 10) from 5:30 pm to 8:00 pm at the Majestic DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel.

PC Daniel Fawkes from the cyber crime division of North Yorkshire Police will be the guest speaker for the evening.

PC Fawkes will speak about business protection, social engineering threats and personal security considerations.

Meanwhile, Andy Morrison of Andisa IT Consultants will give a speech on how to implement security strategies.

Meanwhile, the evening will commence with a presentation from Harrogate Skills 4 Living at 6:15 pm, before the keynote presentation from the guest speaker.

For more information on the meeting and to book a place, visit the Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce website.

Harrogate district plant nursery launches horticultural training scheme

A Harrogate district plant nursery has launched a 12-week horticultural training course.

Johnsons of Whixley has set up the programme in partnership with Askham Bryan College in York.

The course, ‘An Introduction to Horticulture’, will offer employees from Johnsons the chance to broaden their knowledge in various aspects of horticulture, from plant identification to planting locations and the impacts of plant choices, with a mixture of practical and theoretical tests.

Johnsons of Whixley employees with Askham Bryan college tutors.

Johnsons of Whixley employees with Askham Bryan College tutors.

The weekly sessions will be held from July to September at the college.

Steve Bassford, Askham Bryan curriculum area manager, said:

“The college is looking forward to having the opportunity to deliver the bespoke course and building on already formed relationships.

“Having a positive impact on a local business such as Johnsons of Whixley enables a commercial education partnership which will be mutually beneficial to all.”

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Black Sheep Brewery makes redundancies at Masham office

Black Sheep Brewery has announced a “small number” of redundancies at its head offices in Masham.

In a statement, the brewery also said three of its pubs in Leeds and York would close with immediate effect.

A spokesperson for Black Sheep said the redundancies would be made in its retail arm.

Meanwhile, The Tap & Kitchen and Mr. Foleys in Leeds, along with The Last Drop Inn in York, will shut following an “extensive review” of the brewery.

A spokesperson said:

“Having recently conducted an extensive review of our business, we have explored every angle to try to keep these locations trading profitably, but without success.

“Unfortunately, the only avenue left for us was the closure of these premises. It is always the last resort for us to make redundancies, and we are saddened to see such dedicated colleagues leaving us, at this time.”

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Breal Capital bought the brewery for £5 million on May 26 as part of a pre-package administration deal.

Teneo Financial Advisory, which was appointed as administrators of Black Sheep, revealed sales fell from a high of £19 million in 2019 to £14 million last year, which resulted in a £1.6 million loss.

It added the company’s performance “suffered during the covid pandemic and trading challenges continued as a result of the current economic environment”.

The move also left creditors, including HMRC and suppliers, owed nearly £3 million.

Following the sale, Charlene Lyons, who was kept on as chief executive of Black Sheep, warned that other breweries faced administration amid the current economic climate.

Business Breakfast: Harrogate property company launches holiday and student lets

The Stray Ferret Business Club’s next meeting is a breakfast event on Thursday, 27 July at Banyan in Harrogate between 8-10am. 

The Business Club provides monthly opportunities to network, make new connections and hear local success stories. Get your tickets by clicking or tapping here.

A Harrogate property company has launched two new brands and appointed a property director.

Artium Group, which is based on Cheltenham Crescent, has hired Andrew Maxwell to oversee the launch of its new subsidiaries Allure Holiday Lettings and Alteza Student Accommodation.

Allure will operate as a a holiday lettings specialist with a portfolio of 30 properties within the Harrogate district.

Alteza will be a develop and operate purpose-built student accommodation in cities across the north of England including Durham, Leeds, Newcastle and York.

Mr Maxwell said:

“I am delighted to have joined Artium Group and am excited about this opportunity to help build the property management division alongside a talented and highly skilled team.”

Thomas Shotton, director and co-owner of Artium Group, added: 

“We have ambitious growth plans across the business and Andrew’s experience and expertise will be invaluable as we work together to achieve these.”

York and North Yorkshire LEP launches skills programme

York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership has launched a new skills programme.

Called Skills Bootcamps, the schemes are designed to help existing businesses develop their own workforces.

The enterprise partnership has pledged to meet 90% of costs for employers enrolling staff on the programmes.

The Skills Bootcamps offer a range of courses in areas such as cyber security, game design, programming, forestry, rail engineering and care.

Courses will be led by organisations such as Learning Curve Group, City of York Council, Calderdale Council, Coders Guild, Corecom Technology Academy and Northern Regeneration CIC.

Peter Emery, chair of York & North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership skills and employability board, said: 

“Skills Bootcamps offer a great way for learners to progress their careers and for employers to gain additional expertise. 

“This latest menu of courses offers an exciting range of opportunities and can be tailored to a company’s actual needs thus making them a very attractive option to many SMEs and micro-businesses.”

For more information on the courses, visit the Skills Bootcamp website here.

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