The UK Knack Group Reviews Today’s Events ……

Kate Cairns Associates relocation to Dursley means potential jobs Kate Cairns Associates, the training consultancy company, have relocated to new offices at the St Mowden development in Dursley, Gloucs, totalling 506 ft. of space. The move comes as the company looks to expand their team.

New TK Maxx store opens in South Reading with 40 new jobs A new TK Maxx store is to open in South Reading, creating 40 new jobs.  The company has an annual turnover of £1.4bn and employs 14,240 staff.

Development of Bournemouth Winter Gardens brings potential new jobs APB Park is planning to redevelop Bournemouth Winter Gardens into a mixed-use development including 86,000 sq. ft. of cinema and leisure space; an 86,000 sq. ft. hotel; 64,000 sq. ft. of commercial space; and 125,000 sq. ft. of residential space. The development could create employment and business opportunities.

New Caerphilly Bargain Booze store creates 20 new jobs Bargain Booze, the Cheshire based alcohol retailer, along with sandwich retailers Subway, have opened new stores in Caerphilly’s Castle View Retail Park, creating 20 jobs. Mark Woods is franchisee for both stores, Bargain Booze has a turnover of £395m

Four new Bmi Regional routes from Birmingham creates jobs Bmi Regional is to launch four new routes from Birmingham Airport, to Gothenburg, Toulouse, Lyon and Billund.  Bmi Regional became independent from BMI in June 2012 and employs 400 staff throughout the UK. The expansion is expected to create new jobs and will provide links to currently un-served European markets from the Midlands.

3 new investors in Cloudant finance business expansion Cloudant, a database provider with offices in Bristol, has raised £7.9m in private funding from three new investors. Devonshire Investors, Rackspace Hosting and Toba Capital have all invested in the company in order to fund their global expansion.

Management Changes: Real estate team expanded at commercial law firm Watson Burton Commercial law firm Watson Burton has expanded its real estate team with the appointment of partner David Pridmore.  He will be primarily based in the firms Leeds office.  Turnover £12.1m, 120 employees.

Management Changes: Executive appointment at construction company J Murphy & Sons Construction company J Murphy & Sons, based in London, has appointed former Skanska director Colin Courtney as strategy and business development director.  Mr Courtney will support the implementation of the company’s strategic business development strategy. Turnover £485.3m, 2,980 employees.

Esh Group expansion in Yorkshire creates 100 jobs Construction firm Esh Group expects to create 100 jobs in Yorkshire, doubling staff numbers in the region.  It had an income of £22m in Yorkshire in 2012 and expects this increase to £40m in 2013, having already won £32m of contracts. The group has a turnover of £150m and employs 1,000 people.

New B&M store in Stoke means 35 jobs created Discount retailer B&M is to open a new store in Stoke and create 35 jobs.  The company has an annual turnover of £712.6m and employs 8865 staff.

Envirofusion creating jobs in Derby Envirofusion has developed innovative waste-to-energy technology, which operates at 1,700 degrees Celsius, at its new factory in Derby, with multi-million-pound backing from private investors. Delivery of the first systems is scheduled for summer 2013. The 7-strong company, which is recruiting dozens of engineers, draughtsmen, fitters and fabricators, expects to become a £100m business.

85 new call centre jobs at Hastings Direct, Bexhill-on-Sea Hastings Direct, the insurer, is to create 85 new jobs at its Bexhill-on-Sea HQ. The company have already created 200 jobs in Bexhill since 2012, making it the town's largest employer. The company has growth plans and will serve 3m customers by 2020.

Management Changes: Law firm DWF expands real estate team with 4 partners appointed Law firm DWF has strengthened its real estate team in North East England with the appointment of four new partners and eight lawyers from Eversheds.  The appointments add to DWFs expertise in the retail, energy, utility and transport sectors. Two appointments have also been made to the affordable housing team.

Rochester Riverside Redevelopment creates 3,000 jobs Medway Councils redevelopment of Rochester Riverside has received 4.4m in funding from the South-East Local Enterprise Partnership. The project will create around 3000 jobs as well as offices, shops, leisure facilities and up to 2000 homes.

Management Changes: Operations Manager appointed by Milton Keynes-based Airmax Milton Keynes-based Airmax, which supplies vehicle electronics such as telematics, has strengthened its customer service operation with the appointment of Glyn Meek as operations manager. Airmax is experiencing on-going growth in its SME fleet business.

Peninsula Business Services recruiting 30 new staff Peninsula Business Services, a Manchester-based employment law adviser, is to hire 30 staff to advise businesses on employment tribunal reforms being introduced by the government in 2013.  The £84m turnover company already employs 900 people.

Bank funding secured by Energen Biogas for anaerobic plant expansion with potential new jobs Renewables specialist Energen Biogas has secured a £7.25m loan and asset finance package with Barclays to fund the expansion of its Cumbernauld, Scotland-based anaerobic digestion business. The expansion of the plant, a joint venture with Shanks Group, could create employment opportunities.

Rail depot go-ahead means 7000 jobs as HS2 plans change Roxhill Developments Limited, Rugby-based developers of the rail freight interchange depot next to East Midlands Airport, have seen the government change plans to their HS2 railway project so that the depot can be built, creating 7000 jobs. The HS2 tunnel will now go under the airport and depot.

New CSL store in Solihull brings 60 new jobs Sofa retailer CSL is opening a store in Solihull, creating more than 60 jobs in the area.  The opening of the 22,000 sq. ft. store is part of a 1m investment in the West Midlands, which also includes a distribution centre.  Annual Revenues of £110m.

40 new jobs at Suffolk-based AKD Engineering Suffolk-based AKD Engineering has secured a £5m contract to help refurbish Bacton gas terminal for energy company Shell.  The contract will create 40 new jobs at AKD, which plans to expand its headquarters to meet increased demand for its services. Revenues are expected to increase from £12m to £16m in 2013.  140 employees.

Management Changes: 2 new associates at Turner Parkinson Turner Parkinson, the Manchester-based law firm, has made a number of promotions. Emma Yates and Helen O'Neill have both become associates in the intellectual property and commercial property departments respectively.

Flaxby hotel and leisure development means 300 potential new jobs York-based Skelwith Leisure is to start work on the £100m Flaxby Country Resort near York, in May 2013.  The hotel and leisure development will feature a spa and gym, restaurants and bars and boutiques, totalling 240,000 sq. ft. When opened, 300 people will be employed at the resort.

50 new jobs at Yorkshire-based firm Hica at Home Yorkshire-based firm Hica at Home is expanding its domiciliary care coverage in West Yorkshire creating more than 50 new jobs. Nationally the company employs 1,500 people who deliver 15,000 hours of care every week. Penny Winter – The UK Knack Group www.theukknackgroup.co.uk