Watch: Insider's Business Briefing - 19th September
Jennifer and Stephen discuss the redevelopment of a Sheffield landmark, a new cocktail bar and results for a motorcycle retailer.
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00:00The redevelopment of a Sheffield landmark, plans for a new cocktail bar, results for
00:04a motorcycle retailer, featured in today's Business Briefing.
00:13I'm Stephen Fowell.
00:14And I'm Jennifer O'Keefe.
00:16Starting off today, we've got a story that means, or to me, is a Sheffielder.
00:20The ongoing redevelopment of the Park Hill complex.
00:23Now that's pretty familiar to our various Yorkshire viewers, but for those of you who
00:28don't know, Park Hill was built in the early 1960s.
00:31It was one of the UK's first brutalist buildings.
00:34So a major landmark is on a hill above Sheffield's railway station.
00:38So a real part of the skyline there.
00:42It was used in the filming of Doctor Who.
00:44It's been in various documentaries, and it even has its own musical,
00:48Standing at the Sky's Edge, which, should you get the chance, I would recommend.
00:52Now, it was acquired by the developer Urban Splash in 2004.
00:57Since then, the company and its partner, Places for People, have brought forward
01:01a number of phases of development.
01:03So there are now 455 new homes there.
01:06There's student accommodation, and there's workspace.
01:09The latest phase, Phase 5, was approved by the council earlier this week,
01:13and that's going to create 105 additional homes and some space on the ground floor
01:18for independent businesses.
01:20And Urban Splash have said that that will help to further grow the cultural
01:24and economic vitality of Sheffield.
01:27So, yeah, great to see plans going forward there.
01:29Brilliant, yeah.
01:31What's caught your eye this morning?
01:33Well, actually, down in Plymouth, the former nightclub, The Mousetrap,
01:38is set to be transformed into student accommodation.
01:41So the nightclub was located in a building next to the university there,
01:46but it has been vacant since 2019, although it had gained planning permission
01:52since then to be converted into offices.
01:54But now an application has been submitted for the change of use, conversion,
01:59and extension of the building to provide purpose-built student accommodation there.
02:05And Plymouth City Council will be considering the application later today.
02:11Oh, great stuff. Good to see some progress there, then.
02:13Yeah, absolutely.
02:14Well, a story we've got across a few of our newsletters this morning
02:17is the latest results for motorbike retailer Superbike Factory.
02:22Now, that's said to be Europe's largest retailer of used motorcycles,
02:26with about 3,400 bikes on sale.
02:29The company, first of all, acquires bikes, inspects them,
02:33and then sells them both online and through retail outlets in Macclesfield, Bradford,
02:37Bristol, Milton Keynes, and Donington.
02:39So its chief executive was fairly positive about the results,
02:42so it's like a reasonably good year for the company,
02:44and also spoke about its plans for expansion.
02:47That will be supported by investment from private equity firm Endless,
02:51which invested in the company right to the end of the financial year last December,
02:55a deal some of you may remember, a really big deal then.
02:58That investment will go towards opening a new site
03:01and also supporting its apprenticeship academy.
03:04So, yeah, a company to keep an eye on.
03:06Brilliant.
03:07I believe you've got some news from the North East to finish up with.
03:10Yes, some exciting news in the North East.
03:12The cocktail bar Mother Mercy has announced the opening of its newest bar
03:17in the luxury department store Fenwick Castle in Newcastle.
03:22So Mother Mercy launched back in 2019,
03:25and it has been voted as one of the top 50 cocktail bars in the UK.
03:30So it has four venues across the North East,
03:32including its newest one in Fenwick.
03:35It has its original basement bar on Cloth Market,
03:40Cafe Mercy, then on Grey Street,
03:43and Sheepfold Stables in Sunderland.
03:47So the bar is quite well known for its use of innovative cocktails
03:52and will be offering a bespoke selection from its menu
03:56that will be exclusive only to the shoppers at Fenwick Castle.
04:00So that will no doubt enhance the shopping experience for them.
04:05And have you got a cocktail of choice?
04:08Yes, probably a strawberry daiquiri would be mine.
04:10And what about yourself?
04:12I like an espresso martini personally,
04:14but yes, one or two I think is the limit there.
04:16Yes, of course.
04:18Well, for more on those stories, you can visit insidermedia.com.
04:22You can also there subscribe to our newsletters
04:24and find out about some of our events.
04:26Thank you for watching. We'll see you again soon.