Adam and Dan discuss the acquisition of a recruitment company, funding for a wine brand, and a Sheffield building being converted to apartment.
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00:00Funding for a sustainable wine brand, a major deal in the recruitment sector, and a couple
00:06of landmark property schemes, featuring today's business briefing.
00:15Good morning Dan.
00:16Morning Adam.
00:17You alright?
00:18Yeah, I'm not bad.
00:19Are you kicking us off with a major deal?
00:20I am.
00:21It's quite an interesting deal for both the North West and the South East.
00:24A recruitment services provider based in Brighton that's been acquired by the Kingdom Group
00:28who are based in Newton, the Willows.
00:30So First People Recruitment, or FPR for short, they've been acquired and they specialize
00:34in providing temporary and permanent recruitment services across a variety of sectors.
00:40And so their chief executive Mark Foster is handing over the business after 20 years in
00:44charge and he's described the Kingdom Group as the perfect partner to lead them into this
00:49next chapter.
00:51So FPR will be rebranded as Kingdom People following the deal, sort of aligning with
00:55the existing brands within the Kingdom Group.
00:58And the senior leadership team, FPR, will remain at the helm of the workforce of more
01:02than 1,000 people joining Kingdom.
01:05Kingdom People will now offer an enhanced Southern proposition, leveraging combined
01:09expertise, operational synergies, and tailored recruitment services, so quite a big deal
01:14there for us.
01:15Certainly.
01:16I'm sure it'll garner a lot of interest.
01:17It will.
01:18I understand you've also got a deal of sorts.
01:19Yeah, but a very different one with a sustainable wine brand.
01:24Benin Rome has now passed its £200,000 crowdfunding target on Crowdcube.
01:30It's a company that sells its products in low-carbon packaging, such as paper bottles
01:35and cans, and that's with the aim of reducing the environmental impact from traditional
01:40glass packaging, which you'd usually find wine in, of course.
01:44Its products can be found in most major supermarkets, including Sainsbury's and Waitrose, as well
01:49as the likes of Ocado, WH Smith, and Amazon.
01:53Now the company actually said this represents its final crowdfunding campaign, as it's looking
01:58to target venture capital investors in the future, and obviously the funds will be used
02:03to support its growth.
02:04Yeah, so big plans there.
02:05You a red wine man or a white wine man?
02:07I lean towards red, but I'm not too picky.
02:09I can happily drink white as well.
02:11I'm the exact same, to be fair.
02:12I have a slight preference for red, but yeah, don't mind too much.
02:15Anyway, moving into the property stories we've got now.
02:18The former home of a well-known Yorkshire law firm is set to be converted into more
02:22than 100 apartments in Sheffield following a £11.9 million finance facility from Hampshire
02:28Trust Bank.
02:30So the development finance facility will help transform the Synergy Building in Sheffield
02:33into 108 private sale apartments, bringing much-needed homes to the city while also supporting
02:39its wider generation.
02:41The Synergy Building was previously home to the law firm Luton Fawcett prior to its relocation
02:46in September 2024, and planning permission for the conversion was granted last year.
02:51The project is already progressing at pace, with strip-out works underway and strong pre-sales
02:57reflecting market demand, so yeah, quite an interesting development there, one to keep
03:01an eye out for.
03:02Yeah, and interesting to see that they're making use of an existing space.
03:06Yeah, absolutely.
03:07You've also got one more property story for us?
03:10That's true, yeah.
03:11Plans have been unveiled for a £100 million regeneration of a historic ironwork site in
03:17Birmingham's Digbeth area.
03:19Hartwell is behind the plans and it's looking to transform the former Phoenix ironwork site
03:26in a scheme that could potentially provide 260,000 square foot of media and educational
03:31space as well as commercial space, 240 homes and retail units.
03:36The proposed Phoenix Yard scheme is forecast to create about 200 construction jobs as well
03:42as upwards of 500 FTE jobs upon completion.
03:46Ahead of submitting plans, the company has launched a public consultation so local residents
03:52and businesses can have their say on the plans.
03:55Interesting to see how they develop and always good to see a lot of jobs created as well.
03:59Yeah, definitely, and you can read more about that story at insidermedia.com along with
04:05many others, where you can also subscribe to our newsletters and hear about upcoming
04:09events.