Harrogate-based purpose-built student accommodation company, Homes For Students (HFS), has welcomed a new major shareholder.
International real estate company Far East Orchard Limited has bought a 49% stake in the business in a deal worth £17.6 million.
Founded in 2015, HFS operates over 40,000 beds in more than 50 university towns and cities in the UK and Ireland.
Far East Orchard moved into the development and investment of purpose-built student accommodation in the UK in 2015. Legal firm Raworths, also based in Harrogate, advised HFS on the deal, having represented the company since its inception.
Martin Corbett, chief executive officer for Homes for Students said:
“The shareholders and I are pleased to welcome Far East Orchard as a new principal investor to the Homes for Students team following their purchase of 49% of the share capital from four of our exiting investors.
“Since May 2023, we have been operating Far East Orchard’s PBSA property and already established a successful partnership. We very much look forward to continuing to grow our enterprise together, investing in our people, technology and new business streams.
Far East Orchard was represented by CMS and the exiting investors were advised by Walker Morris and Dentons.
Harrogate architects become a B Corp
S+SA Architects has announced its certification as a B Corporation (or B Corp).
Verified by B Lab the certification assesses the entirety of a business’ operations and currently covers five main impact areas: Governance, Workers, Community, Environment and Customers.
Joel Smith, director of S+SA Architects, said:
“Over the past 10 years, our practice has grown, establishing a modern practice ethos that has people at the centre of its purpose. We pursued B Corp Certification to join like-minded businesses meeting high standards of social and environmental impact.”
Harrogate Hotel win TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards 2024
Cedar Court Hotel Harrogate team
Cedar Court Hotel has been recognised in TripAdvisor’s Travellers’ Choice Awards for 2024.
Cedar Court Hotel Harrogate hotel has celebrated its second consecutive win, while the Bradford branch recorded its first win.
Wayne Topley, managing director of Cedar Court Hotels, said:
“We are so proud of what our teams have achieved; these awards are a testament to the significant investments and renovations each hotel has undergone and the focus on the teams and our customers that is now very much part of our DNA.”
Oliver Stott, hotel manager for Harrogate, said:
“This has been a real journey. In 2019, the hotel ranked 25th in the Harrogate Market on TripAdvisor. I am so proud of the team and that they receive daily positive recognition for their efforts.”
Yorkshire audiologists introduce new clinic:
Bayfields Opticians and Audiologists has introduced a specialist service as the number of tinnitus cases in the UK continues to rise.
According to Tinnitus UK, prevalence of the condition has increased by 50 per cent in the last 15 years. Bayfields new Tinnitus Clinic, introduced to tackle the condition will include a free 15-minute tinnitus hearing health check.
Patients who are diagnosed with the condition will then be invited to an in-depth 75 minute personalised examination to determine the extent and cause.
Sarah Griffiths, tinnitus specialist audiologist at Bayfields Opticians and Audiologists, said:
“We’re seeing a real increase in clients who are suffering with the effects of tinnitus in recent years, and it’s affecting people of all ages. Modern life and the increased use of technology such as headphones, coupled with a faster paced lifestyle and higher stress levels can all play a role in the development of tinnitus.
Harrogate company become official on-seller of Abu Dhabi Grand Prix tickets
Tom Hesketh, Chloe Goodall, Luke Edwards, Joe Aikman from Impulse Decisions at the desert experience
Harrogate-based events company Impulse Decisions is one of only five companies in the UK to be official on-sellers of tickets for this years Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The event takes place on 5th-9th December this year.
Currently based in Windsor House in Harrogate, but moving to new offices soon, Impulse Decisions also offer a range of other sporting events and corporate hospitality in addition to their charity auctions.
Grantley Hall to sponsor Ebor Fashion Lawn
Megan Nicholls pictured outside Grantley Hall
Grantley Hall, Ripon, is set to be this year’s headline sponsor of the Ebor Fashion Lawn.
The event will take place across The Sky Bet Ebor Festival, from August 21-24 at York Racecourse.
The Ebor Fashion Lawn is a catwalk that’s open to all during the races, offering the opportunity for the most stylishly dressed to show off their outfits, whilst a judging panel will then select the best dressed each day of the festival.
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5 alternative Easter activities in and around HarrogateGrantley Hall near Ripon wins helipad appeal
Grantley Hall has won an appeal against a council order preventing it from using a helipad after an alleged planning breach.
The former Harrogate Borough Council issued an enforcement notice in September 2022 against the hotel for using the helipad for take off and landings without planning permission.
However, the luxury hotel, which is located five miles west of Ripon, challenged the order and appealed to the government’s Planning Inspectorate.
In documents submitted to a planning inspector, the hotel argued that there was “clear evidence for the demand for this facility”.
But, the council argued that the helipad location caused damage to the area and the significance of a heritage asset in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Now, a planning inspector has sided with the hotel over the matter and quashed the enforcement order.
Picture of the helipad in the Grantley Hall grounds, as submitted to the Planning Inspectorate.
B S Rogers, the inspector who oversaw the appeal, said in a report that he recognised that the hotel had already offered conditions for the proposal in a report know as the “Grantley Hall Hotel Helipad Aviation Summary Report”.
These included restricting flights to 72 visits a year, restricting arrival and departures between 9am and 7pm and that the hotel retain flight data and provide this to the council upon request.
Mr Rogers said it was common ground between the two parties that uncontrolled use of the site would “not be acceptable in this highly sensitive location”.
However, he added that compliance with the conditions would mean the helipad would not “unduly harm the historic environment, the natural environment or the living conditions of local residents”.
Mr Rogers said:
“It would provide a small but significant additional benefit to the local economy. As such, the development would not unduly conflict with the provisions of the development plan or of national policy.”
In response to the appeal outcome, Nuno César de Sá, general manager at Grantley Hall, said:
“Grantley Hall is delighted with the outcome of the appeal and the positive impact this will bring to our business.
“As the hotel enters its’ fifth year of operation and with trading going from strength to strength this decision will allow us to continue to attract key clients to the hotel who wish to arrive by helicopter.
“We will work closely with the local authority to fulfil the operational obligations set in place and remain open to constructive feedback and communication with relevant parties to ensure that minimum disruption is caused within our local environment.”
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Three planning withdrawals
The hotel withdrew plans for the helicopter landing pad for a third time in June 2021 after council officers recommended rejecting the proposal.
Nidderdale AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty), Grantley and Sawley Parish Council and several residents objected to the plans, with one local describing the application as “totally unnecessary” and “self-fulfilling”.
The hotel has withdrawn three applications and had another rejected since first asking for permission to use an existing helipad in 2018.
Grantley Hall opened as a hotel after a £70 million refurbishment in 2019.
It was once used by West Riding County Council between 1947 and 1974 as an adult education residential college, as well as a training and conference centre by North Yorkshire County Council.