Berry Recruitment Group’s inaugural Tony Berry memorial award for the business’s ‘combined top biller’ was won by Nicola Marshall from its Wild Berry Associates business in London. The company’s annual conference and award ceremony heard a tribute to its late chairman who died last year aged 81. He was among the leading businessmen of his generation and his drive and deal-making took him to the chairmanship of a £1bn-valued company. The award in his memory was presented by his son Spencer, the business development director, at the ceremony held at the Royal Thames Yacht Club in London. Staff from all of BRG’s near-40 branches from across England and Wales attended. BRG Managing Director Chris Chown said: “Tony introduced the awards evenings in 2009. He loved finding a great venue, getting everyone together, recognising some amazing achievements and having some fun. And that’s what we did.” “Although he is no longer with us, his legacy and values remain and he would be proud of how the company is progressing. And it was a pleasure to announce that the inaugural Tony Berry memorial award was won by Nicola Marshall who works at Wild Berry Associates and who has had a phenomenal year.” BRG’s latest accounts showed an 11 per cent increase in gross profits to £14.4m. In 1981 Tony Berry bought a controlling stake in Blue Arrow, a recruitment business in St Albans, Herts. He grew this company quickly and acquired a number of other businesses including Manpower and Brook Street. It was launched on the Stock Exchange becoming a FTSE 100 company and developing into the biggest recruitment business in the world. It sponsored Britain’s America’s Cup challenge in the late 1980s. Tony was once voted ‘best dressed man in the City’ and his generosity and largesse were legendary. In addition to his business interests Tony was a long-time director of Tottenham Hotspur and was club chairman in 1991-92. BRG, which Tony founded, has brands including Berry Recruitment, Wild Recruitment, Wild Berry Associates and First Recruitment Services.

HE Simm Group, one of the UK’s leading privately-owned Engineering & Services firms, has been awarded a place in the prestigious Sunday Times Best Places to Work list for 2023. Announced today (12th May) online, the list recognises companies in numerous categories for their commitment to being a fantastic place to work. HE Simm Group has secured its place in the ‘big’ employers’ category for companies which employ between 250 and 1,999 people. In fact, the company has been recognised as one of the top 40 most loved companies in the UK. PizzaExpress, Fat Face, and David Lloyd Leisure have been ranked in the top 10 best employers in the ‘very big organisation’ category, while Octopus Energy, Churchill Retirement Living and HE Simm Group were ranked as some of the best ‘big’ employers. EasyJet Holidays and Better Placed were celebrated in the medium and small organisation categories, respectively – amongst others. Gareth Simm, third generation family member, one of four grandchildren of the founder who work within the Group, and the company’s Chief Executive Officer, comments on the Sunday Times Award: “We are absolutely blown away that we have made this prestigious list. Having said that, it is a fitting tribute to everything that we have focused on over the years to ensure our culture is one of the best!” “Being recognised in this list in our 75th Anniversary year makes me very proud, and I am sure my grandfather would be too.” “It is very important to me, my wider Simm family and our Executive team that we look after our people, that they are happy to come to work every day and that our culture and the values that we live by help us to attract, recruit and retain talent.” This year marks the 75th Year of incorporation of HE Simm. The business – which is now highly regarded as one of the leading engineering and services firms in the UK – was set up in 1948 by Ernie Simm, off the back of him buying George Hockenhall Plumbing in Liverpool with a loan of £200. Ernie, shortly afterwards, renamed the company ‘HE Simm’ in honour of his father Harold Edgar. Since then, it has expanded to deliver specialist Mechanical, Electrical & Public Health (MEP) services to both long-standing and new customers nationwide. In more recent times, it brought all its Group companies together – under the banner of the HE Simm Group to offer a complete engineering and services package to its customers. It now offers MEP, fire & security installation, maintenance, offsite manufacture and H&S consultancy services to customers in sectors including residential, commercial, education, healthcare and custodial – to name but a few. Chris Longcroft, EVP Publisher, The Times and The Sunday Times, said: “The Sunday Times Best Places to Work awards recognise companies that create a happier and fulfilling working environment for all, by fostering engagement from their teams, yielding great business and performance in return. Wishing all of those companies who made the grade this year many congratulations.” Lord Mark Price, Founder of WorkL, said: “Many Congratulations to this year’s winners of the Sunday Times Best Places to Work, powered by WorkL. You should be very proud of your achievement of being recognised as one of the very best places to work in the UK. I have little doubt that these awards will help with both retention of your existing employees and drive recruitment of the best candidates into your organisations in the year ahead.”

After a decade of success, HMG Paints, the UK’s leading independent paint manufacturer, has renewed its Technical Partnership with Prodrive, one of the world’s largest and most successful motorsport and technology businesses based in Banbury, UK. The partnership, which began in 2013, has seen HMG’s range of paints and coatings appear on a number of iconic cars built and run by Prodrive in several global racing series and FIA World Championships. The most prestigious of which was the team’s win at 88th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance event in 2020 with Aston Martin Racing. The team’s cars use HMG’s Acrythane 4GTE paint system, and a colour developed by the HMG Advanced Colour Design Team. “We’re delighted to be renewing our technical partnership with Prodrive,” comments Paddy Dyson, HMG Marketing Manager. “The last decade has created some very special memories and we’ve been so proud to see our paints at such iconic events including 24 Hours of Le Mans, Six Hours of Spa and even the X-Games.” Even though Prodrive is renowned for running successful global motorsport programmes, including leading the 2023 FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) with its Bahrain Raid Xtreme Team, and winning the 1995 World Rally [Drivers’] Championship with Colin McRae behind the wheel of the iconic blue Subaru Impreza 555, the new partnership will also see HMG support Prodrive in other areas of its business. For almost four decades the Prodrive group of technology and design companies has also showcased its skills and agile approach to developing innovative engineering solutions in the automotive, aerospace, defence, and marine sectors alongside the design and manufacture of advanced lightweight composites. “Prodrive’s enduring success has been based upon long term partnerships across all aspects of our business, and we are therefore delighted to be entering a second decade of collaboration with HMG who, for the last 10 years, have supported not only our motorsport programmes but also the development of our facilities. We look forward to many more years of success together,” added Richard Taylor, Business Development Director (Motorsport) at Prodrive. The manufacturer’s latest endeavour in both motorsport and automotive sectors, is the Prodrive Hunter Hypercar. A 600 bhp, four-wheel drive all-terrain adventure vehicle with unrivalled ability and performance across any landscape, the Prodrive Hunter road legal model was born out of the Bahrain Raid Xtreme racing team competition vehicle. The race car, with its striking red and white painted livery, is driven by nine-time World Champion, Sebastien Loeb, in the toughest motorsport series, the W2RC, which includes the notoriously dangerous and challenging Dakar Rally as one of its race events.

Robinsons Brewery have announced the launch of two new beers – Pilsner Unfiltered and Citra Pale Ale – which join their roster of award-winning cask ales and kegged beers which are served across their 230 pubs across the North West, Cumbria and North Wales. The first beer, Pilsner Unfiltered, which recently trialed under Robinsons’ new Unicorn Brewing brand, joins the likes of HELLES, Pitch and Hopnik, bolstering their core range of kegged beers. Pilsner Unfiltered is a 4.0% ABV new world lager which uses four authentic German hops and is brewed to traditional methods with a modern twist. By unfiltering, Robinsons allow flavours to fully develop resulting in a clean and crisp lager with a slightly sweet taste, hoppy aroma and a short bitterness. Sam Kennerley, Brands and Drinks Manager for Robinsons, said: “We recently launched Pilsner into our craft keg club range to gauge feedback on this new liquid from both our partners and our customers. The goal was always to create a great drink that spins the idea of what a Pilsner is slightly on its head. We were blown away by the positive feedback to the beer, some of which called it our best lager ever, so it felt only right that we now make Pilsner Unfiltered a permanent part of the Robinsons family of beers.” The unfiltered nature of the beer also provides Robinsons with its first vegan-friendly beer that will be widely available as part of their range. “Providing choices in our pubs is really important to us. Like everyone, we’ve seen the growth of consumers making healthier and eco conscious choices, so offering a truly vegan friendly beer is a great step forward for our own range of beers.” Along with Pilsner, Citra Pale Ale will join Robinsons’ core cask range after successful stints as a seasonal beer throughout 2022. Citra Pale Ale is a popular hoppy 3.4% ABV pale ale that is jam-packed full of delicious Citra hops that deliver a sweet, fresh and citrus taste. “Citra is a beer we are really proud of at Robinsons. Just like Dizzy Blonde, it started out life as a seasonal beer last year and was immensely popular throughout our pubs. With summer just around the corner, the time felt right to bring Citra back as a permanent addition to our award-winning cask ale range and provide a great lower ABV cask choice for our customers.”

North-West based family brewers Robinsons have announced the acquisition of a delightful new pub in the heart of Cheshire. Hartford Hall in Hartford, Cheshire, sees the Robinsons managed pub portfolio grow to 28 properties, taking the total licensed premises to over 250 venues across North Wales and the Northwest of England. The iconic venue with 20 guest bedrooms was acquired from Marston’s through a private sale. Following 3 other successful acquisitions and transitions over the last 18 months for their managed pub estate, Robinsons are demonstrating a positive level of business growth. William Robinson, Joint Managing Director at Robinsons commented: “The acquisition of Hartford Hall is a very important part of our long-term growth plans for our managed pub estate, to secure and develop iconic pubs in exceptional locations. We believe that the pub has an exciting and prosperous future within our business, which has been around since 1838 and fully intends to be around for a long time to come.” Hartford Hall features a private dining area, perfect for small groups and warm celebrations, a suite bedroom with its own enclosed outdoor area, spacious shower and a freestanding bath, and a charming lit garden next to a pond with covered seating, perfect for the coming spring and summer months.

Leading maintenance, compliance and decarbonisation contractor Novus Property Solutions has continued its winning streak in the healthcare sector, having recently been awarded a significant measured term contract with The Christie NHS Foundation Trust in Manchester. This latest contract win comes as the national contractor continues to build its exceptional reputation within the healthcare sector as part of its ambitious five-year growth strategy. Novus’ expert team will carry out a series of internal refurbishments and alterations as well as external works across the hospital, which is one of the largest single site cancer treatment centres in Europe. The national contractor will also complete a variety of other maintenance and lifecycle improvement works throughout the measured term contract, which will see Novus on site for four years, with the potential to extend the contract for a further two years. Commenting on this latest contract win, Chris Murphy, Head of Operations at Novus Property Solutions said: “We’re delighted to have been awarded this significant contract with the renowned cancer centre The Christie, cementing Novus’ position as the go-to contractor for a wide scope of works in the healthcare sector.” “Our team is highly experienced in working in live environments while minimising disruption to both staff and patients, and prioritising health and safety. Our delivery processes will support the patient experience, and our full team will demonstrate sensitivity and compassion for the duration of this contract.”

Leicester City is delighted to confirm that talented midfielder Sammy Braybrooke has signed a new long-term contract with the Football Club. The 18-year-old, who made his first team debut for the Foxes in an EFL Cup victory over Newport County in November, has committed his future to the Club until 2026. He joined City’s Academy at the age of eight and has risen through the ranks to establish himself as a key player, both for the Under-18s and Development Squad. His performances at Academy level have also earned him international recognition, with the Wigston-born youngster captaining England’s Under-18s and Under-19s age groups. Upon signing his new deal, he said: “It’s something that everyone wants, to sign a new contract, extending my stay at the Club I’ve been at since I was eight years old.” “I’m very happy to get it over the line and hopefully I can build on from this and show why I was offered this contract. It shows great faith in me and gives me a lot of confidence, showing that they want me to stay here as long as possible.” The Club’s renowned Academy – who retained their Category One status last season – have a proud history of developing players for the first team, with the likes of Harvey Barnes, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Luke Thomas all progressing through the pathway. The trio, who are regular performers under first team manager Brendan Rodgers, have together amassed 229 Premier League games for the Foxes, with Barnes making his senior England debut in October 2020.

A recenty launched report has shown that a family-owned ingredients manufacturer has helped 529 charities with 14 tonnes of food donations since April 2022 - the equivalent of 33,320 meals. The annual Impact Report from Glenbervie-based Macphie Ltd has highlighted numerous ways that the business has improved the lives of its local communities and charities in an effort to hit its major environmental, social and governance (ESG) targets. The food firm was among Scotland’s first businesses to achieve B Corp status in 2015, having successfully demonstrated an unwavering high standard of social and environmental performance. In its latest B Corp assessment, Macphie achieved a 93.7 rating - the median score is 50.9 - up by 15% from its first scoring in 2015. In the last 12 months Macphie has taken a number of steps in key areas to strengthen its standing impact areas. Andy Stapley, Macphie’s CEO said: “Our ways of working have always been based on the principles of sustainability and we want to make a positive impact on both our local and wider environment, both now and in the future, by doing the right thing to protect the people and places around us." “Proving we’re not just talking the talk when it comes to sustainability, we are B Corp accredited which means we’ve proactively joined a community of like-minded businesses using their force for good and this report only highlights the work we have been successfully achieving up to this point.” Macphie’s Impact Report shows that the firm’s food donations have prevented the waste of 22.4 tonnes of CO2e, while its other contributions have included the hosting of local secondary pupils as part of a foundation apprenticeship programme and funding a scholarship and three-month work placement for a university food science student. To reduce its carbon footprint, Macphie has invested £75,000 into the installation of a sub-metre network across the Glenbervie site to closely track energy use and identify ways to operate more efficiently. Since 2014, the business has been using power from two on-site wind turbines installed and owned by Glenbervie Wind and the installation of a 1.2MW on-site biomass facility in 2008 made it the first food manufacturer to produce ingredients using this technology. Andy continued: “Since our move to Glenbervie in the seventies, we’ve closely aligned our ambitions to hit social and environmental goals, as well as financial targets, and have committed to continuous improvement across five key pillars covering governance, customers, communities, workers and the environment." “We have made great strides as a company towards our goals, yet we are still steadfast on our ESG journey, making it a priority to not only give back to the land and our external stakeholders, but also our own Macphie family.” A winter payment scheme was also introduced to provide staff with an additional £750 to help with cost-of-living challenges, and in partnership with the Scottish Refugee Council, two Syrian refugees were taken on as full-time employees. Macphie is an internationally renowned ingredients manufacturer established in 1928, which now employs more than 250 people across its three sites. It manufactures a wide range of products including cake mixes and savoury sauces, as well as offering plant-based and gluten-free options. Its vision is to be the go-to partner for food brands around the world, turning ideas and creativity into practical solutions. Its passion for making life easier for chefs and bakers is reflected in its “simply clever” strapline. You can read Macphie’s 2022-23 Impact Report in full here

Scotland will play four Test matches in the summer in preparation for the Rugby World Cup 2023, with three of those games taking place at BT Murrayfield. Starting with a home fixture against Italy on Saturday 29 July, Scotland will then welcome France a week later, before travelling to face the Rugby World Cup hosts on Saturday 12 August with the venue to be confirmed. After a week’s break, Scotland will complete their summer programme against Georgia at BT Murrayfield on Saturday 26 August, with kick-off times for all games to be confirmed in due course. The Rugby World Cup 2023 will take place between 8 September and 28 October next year, with Scotland drawn in Pool B alongside defending world champions South Africa, Ireland, Tonga and Romania. Head coach Gregor Townsend said: “2023 is a huge year for our national team and after the Guinness 6 Nations our focus will quickly turn to the Rugby World Cup.” “All four fixtures will provide invaluable experiences in our preparation for the tournament. Having the opportunity to play at home on three occasions before we depart will enable our players to feel the backing of our supporters ahead of setting off for the World Cup.” “The match against France away from home will be very important as we are going to spend time at our training base for the World Cup in Nice prior to the match and replicate the schedule our players will experience during the tournament itself.” The Scotland 2023 Summer Test Schedule is as follows with Kick-off times still to be confirmed: Scotland v Italy Saturday 29 July, BT Murrayfield Scotland v France Saturday 5 August, BT Murrayfield France v Scotland Saturday 12 August, TBC Scotland v Georgia Saturday 26 August, BT Murrayfield Ticket information for these matches will be available over the next few months. Keep an eye on scottishrugby.org for more details.

Funding to modernise recycling in Scotland’s biggest city and help increase national recycling rates has been announced. More than £21 million has been awarded to Glasgow City Council through the Scottish Government’s Recycling Improvement Fund to support the introduction of a new twin-stream service for the separate collection of recyclable materials. This will give residents separate collections of fibre (paper and cardboard) and containers (metals, plastics, cartons and film), improving both the quality and quantity of recyclables captured. Circular Economy Minister Lorna Slater announced the funding on a visit to Glasgow’s current recycling facilities at Blochairn. Glasgow City Council has committed £20 million of its own budget to develop a new Materials Recycling Facility to process the twin collections, alongside other waste centre facilities. This will ensure capacity to process the increase in recycling collected and means that more materials will be reprocessed for new uses rather than thrown away. Glasgow manages the largest share of household waste of any local authority in Scotland. This project will save over 6,000 tonnes of CO2 every year. Circular Economy Minister Lorna Slater said: “By investing more than £21 million towards improving facilities in Glasgow, we will help make it easier for households to recycle and increase local recycling rates.” “This is the largest single investment to date from our £70 million Recycling Improvement Fund. With Glasgow being Scotland’s biggest local authority area, it will also make an important contribution to the national recycling picture.” “This is a big year for recycling, with Scotland’s deposit return scheme going live on 16 August and our ambitious Circular Economy Bill being published soon for Parliament to scrutinise. These actions will boost recycling across the country, and make a major contribution to the fight against the climate crisis.” Councillor Ruairi Kelly, City Convener for Neighbourhood Services and Assets, said: “This funding award is great news for Glasgow and a huge vote of confidence in our plans for recycling in city.” “Our Blochairn centre is showing its age and the funding will help us to build a new recycling facility that ensures material from household recycling bins is sorted much more effectively. We will also invest in an expanded recycling service for kerbside collections." “These measures will ensure more of Glasgow’s waste goes on to be recycled, which is good for Glasgow’s recycling rates, but also for sustainability in Scotland as a whole.” Iain Gulland, CEO at Zero Waste Scotland, said: “The Recycling Improvement Fund exists to help councils improve and invest in their recycling and reuse services, helping citizens up and down the country move towards a circular economy, where materials and products are kept in use as long as possible.” “Zero Waste Scotland is happy to support Glasgow City Council in what is a significant and transformative project to increase their operational capacity for recycling as well as to improve the quality of materials collected.” “We look forward to supporting more local authorities through this fund in the future.”

Arbikie Highland Estate has completed the latest stage of their plan to be the world’s first green hydrogen-powered distillery with the installation of a new 1MW wind turbine to provide renewable energy. The installation of the new wind turbine means Arbikie is well on track to be one of the world’s most sustainable distilleries, having already distilled Nàdar (the world’s first climate-positive gin and vodka) in partnership with the James Hutton Institute and Abertay University and won the ‘Excellence in Sustainability’ award at the Scottish Whisky Awards Arbikie is now working in collaboration with Locogen and Logan Energy to power their distillery with green hydrogen. It will use renewable electricity from the wind turbine to split water in an electrolyser to create green hydrogen. This will be used in their hydrogen-compatible boiler to power the Arbikie Distillery with the switch having a significant impact on the distilleries carbon footprint. Iain Stirling, Director of Arbikie Highland Estate commented: “We are delighted to pioneer the use of green hydrogen in the distilling industry. As the latest custodians of our family farms and distillery it’s very important to our family to be as sustainable as possible.” Arbikie are working with customers, like Hilton and Marriott across the globe to create sustainable cocktails with their Nadars. Stirling added “Our Nàdar Gin and Vodka are in demand across the world as discerning consumers switch to planet-friendly spirits and our customers, including some of the world’s best bars, and hotels are using our Nadars to create sustainable cocktail menus.”

Renowned Scottish gin maker 1881 Distillery has been recognised at one of the industry’s most prestigious awards ceremonies, winning two honours at The Gin Guide Awards 2023. The brand’s navy strength gin, Honours, was crowned a winner in the High ABV category and overall highest scorer for Scotland, while 1881’s Tiffin Gin received a highly commended accolade in the Spiced Gin category. The awards celebrate the very best gins the industry has to offer, with an expert panel of judges examining the appearance, aroma, taste and overall appeal of each tipple from hundreds of entrants globally. The winners were announced online earlier this month. The 1881 distillery – which is located at Peebles Hydro Resort in the Scottish Borders – is named after the year the iconic venue was founded, with many of its gins drawing inspiration from its rich history, surroundings and culinary excellence. The hotel served as a military hospital during the second World War, with 1881 Honours Navy Strength Gin paying homage to those injured during the conflict. Meanwhile Tiffin Gin was expertly crafted in collaboration with Peebles Hydro’s cheffing team, originally as an accompaniment to an Indian concept menu offered at the hotel. Charlie Leckie, brand manager for 1881 Distillery, said: “It’s a real honour to be recognised in The Gin Guide Awards for yet another year. We pride ourselves on creating exciting, delicious gins which celebrate Peebles Hydro’s rich heritage and the people the hotel has welcomed over the years.” “This could not have been possible without the hard-work and dedication from our fantastic team. The enthusiasm and energy they bring is unmatched, and it’s that edge which I believe gives our gins the true gold standard.”