Alice and Stephen discuss a music streaming app designed to boost exercise performance, an iconic film studio, and a £200m regeneration project in Middlesbrough.
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00:00A music streaming app designed to boost exercise performance, an iconic film studio and a 200
00:05million regeneration project in Middlesbrough, featuring today's business briefing brought
00:09to you by Shawbrook.
00:10So Alice, what's in the news this morning?
00:18So a film studio which produced a number of films for the James Bond franchise in the
00:2380s is set to launch a public consultation for its expansion.
00:29So you're obviously a bit of a film fan, so I'm sure you've heard of Pinewood Studios.
00:33It's pretty iconic and it's based in Iverheath in Buckinghamshire.
00:37So alongside producing James Bond films, it also produced Pink Floyd The Wall in the 80s
00:43and was recently described by the Prime Minister as the spiritual home of the British film
00:48industry.
00:49So very big praise there.
00:50Now the expansion for this studio would involve additional film studios, production facilities
00:58alongside the introduction of a data centre.
01:03So David Conway, he's the chief executive of the studio, he said he's committed to investing
01:08into the ongoing expansion of Pinewood Studios and as a result, a period of local consultation
01:14will launch.
01:15So that will run from the 25th to the 27th of February 2025.
01:20So pretty exciting for them and obviously a very iconic studio.
01:25Sounds like really exciting plans there.
01:27Well moving from film to music, in Yorkshire we've got news that a streaming app that is
01:32designed to boost exercise performance has secured investment from Finance Yorkshire.
01:36Pure Energy Music has been established by Andy Pickles, who is also behind Music Factory
01:41Recordings, which is a retro company that owns a significant music library.
01:46Pickles may be familiar to some of the audience from his time behind Giant Bunny, which had
01:52three number ones in 1989 and now we've got people in the office who are very keen to
01:57see that information included in the story.
01:58A bit before my time unfortunately.
01:59It is a while I think, I should be clear.
02:05So yeah, the Pure Energy Music is a new venture that's used by leisure centres, gym operators
02:10and fitness instructors who subscribe to the app, they can access curated music which is
02:15designed to boost workout performance.
02:19The tracks are produced in-house and they are designed to align with the latest research
02:23into exercise performance.
02:28Clients currently include various local authorities and leisure centres, it's in use at about
02:32450 locations currently and by thousands of instructors.
02:36The company is now aiming to expand its subscriptions during 2025 and Finance Yorkshire's investment
02:41will support that.
02:42The company is planning to create 10 new jobs, the majority of those they said will be based
02:47in Wakefield, its head office, but they're also looking for global sales roles as well,
02:51so a significant expansion there.
02:54Yeah, cool, sounds like a really interesting app actually, I'm not really a gym person
02:58so I probably won't get much use out of it, but for people who do like the gym.
03:02Yeah, for me it's just either Tiger.
03:05Well, moving over to the North East, some £200m plans to transform Middlesbrough have
03:13officially been submitted.
03:15So the scheme, known as the Gresham Project, it's in the Gresham area of Middlesbrough,
03:20includes more than 230 build-to-rent properties, a new student accommodation block for about
03:25400 people, as well as a hotel, and the project will actually be the largest single investment
03:31in Middlesbrough in a generation, so very significant and it's set to play a transformative
03:36role in shaping the town's future success.
03:39So the plans being submitted, it is a long time coming, these have been known for a while
03:45and they've undergone quite a significant period of consultation, so local people, local
03:51businesses and community groups have been able to look at these, they've given their
03:55thoughts and opinions, and they've helped shape the official final plans which have
03:59now been submitted to Middlesbrough's Development Corporation to hopefully be signed off.
04:04It sounds like a really significant project that.
04:07Yeah, it is.
04:08Well, sticking with property in Manchester, we've got the news that a landmark office
04:12building in City Centre is going to be revamped.
04:15Arkwright House is located within the Parsonage Gardens conservation area.
04:19It's a Grade II listed building, dates back to the 1920s, it was originally built as the
04:24headquarters of the English Sewing Cotton Company.
04:28Also during World War II, it was in use as the civil defence in the North West, their
04:32base.
04:33Today, occupiers include the head office of restaurant group San Carlo, workspace provider
04:38Orega, and Rambol, the consultancy.
04:42The building was acquired last year by Hillcrest Private Equity Real Estate, the company now
04:48has plans to revamp the space.
04:51Claremont, the interior design and fit-out specialist, has been brought in, appointed
04:55to the project.
04:56Work is going to include, well, various works to the historic building, maintaining its
05:01character, but also with the help of improving the public face of the building and making
05:06it more lettable to new tenants.
05:08Excellent.
05:09Always nice to see historic buildings with quite an interesting past being brought back
05:13to life, I guess, in some way or another.
05:15Well, if you want to read more about that story or any of the stories we've discussed
05:19today, you can do so on insidermedia.com.
05:22While there, you can subscribe to our newsletters, our magazines, and check out our events that
05:26we've got coming up.
05:27So, thanks for watching.