Dan and Jennifer discuss the UK's 2025 City of Culture, a deal struck for the Nottinghamshire Golf Country Club and an Apprentice winner's first joint initiative with Lord Sugar.
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00:00The UK City of Culture 2025, an apprentice champions fitness investment, plans for a
00:06new restaurant and the acquisition of a golf club all feature in today's business briefing
00:10sponsored by Shawbrook.
00:18Morning Jen.
00:19Morning Dan.
00:20So what's caught your eye today?
00:21So actually over the weekend we had the opening events for Bradford's year of the UK City
00:25of Culture.
00:27So the 2025 programme is designed to attract visitors and investment while also creating
00:32jobs and boosting economic growth in the region.
00:36It will have events, performances and activities that will run from January until December.
00:43So as part of the launch event over the weekend, an outdoor theatrical event called Rise took
00:48place in City Park and Centenary Square.
00:51City Park hosted DJs, food, trucks and entertainers ahead of the show and the event had 200 performers
00:58including aerialists, acrobatics, magic, a community choir and an orchestra.
01:05So also launching later this month as part of the programme is Draw, which is a nationwide
01:11drawing project inspired and supported by the Bradford-born artist David Hockney and
01:16members of the public are invited to take part and there will be a lot more events taking
01:21place throughout the year so it will be something good to keep an eye on.
01:24So exciting news from Bradford and not too far from Bradford in Leeds, the most recent
01:30winner of the popular BBC TV programme The Apprentice has revealed plans to launch her
01:34first initiative with Lord Sugar.
01:36Rachel Woodford won last year's series with her business plan for boutique gyms securing
01:40the £250,000 investment.
01:44North Studio was established in Roundhay by Woodford in 2020 and she's now set to launch
01:50her first joint venture with Lord Sugar in her home city of Leeds.
01:53The project will see North Studio expanded to offer a dedicated reformer Pilates studio
01:59next door and Lord Sugar has partnered with Woodford to purchase the commercial premises
02:03for the expansion of the existing Leeds studio, which will see an additional 120 Pilates classes
02:10offered a month.
02:12Lord Sugar, who's hosted The Apprentice for almost 20 years now, said the expansion reflects
02:16the growth in demand for reformer Pilates in the fitness industry and Reeve said the
02:20investment will allow the business to keep growing while still remaining boutique, which
02:24is obviously very important.
02:26The Apprentice is back at the end of the month, the new series, I'm looking forward to it,
02:29it's one of my favourite shows.
02:30I understand you've got a deal for us.
02:33I do, indeed.
02:34So the Nottinghamshire Golf and Country Club, it announced, was acquired by The Club Company,
02:41which is one of the UK's largest country club operators.
02:44So I don't know if you know of The Country Club, but it is set in 340 acres and has a
02:49bistro, a wedding venue and 30 bedrooms.
02:53So the boutique hotel is also believed to be the only 36-hole golf club in the country.
02:58So Alan Hardy acquired The Club back in 2010 when it was Cockgrave Place and has since
03:03transformed The Club into a major hospitality complex.
03:06Following the deal, The Club Company collection now totals 18 clubs across England.
03:11Interesting.
03:12Well, so sticking with hospitality to finish off here, Rockcliffe Hall, the five-star hotel
03:17in Darlington, has secured planning permission for a new pavilion, which will house a flagship
03:21restaurant aimed at turning it into a gastronomy-focused destination.
03:26General Manager Shona Robb has said the approval signals an exciting new phase for the venue.
03:31The restaurant will be led by the resort's culinary director, James Close, who is a former
03:35chef patron of the two-Michelin-star restaurant, Baby Hunt.
03:39Permission has been secured for a dining area with an open kitchen, which will be designed
03:43to enhance interaction between guests and chefs.
03:46The project also includes a second planning application to restore the hotel's iconic
03:51old hall.
03:53Rockcliffe Hall is awaiting the outcome of that second application, but they have got
03:58approval for the first for the restaurant and work is set to begin on that in the next
04:02month.
04:04Exciting to see how that turns out.
04:06That's all we've got time for today.
04:08If you want to read more about the stories we've discussed, please visit our website
04:12insideindemedia.com, where you can find out about upcoming events and subscribe to our
04:16magazine.