After a record year for turnover, Stockport-based cash and carry group, Parfetts awarded its employees a 12% profit share bonus. The news follows the announcement of an eight per cent increase in turnover to £696m in the latest financial year.

The employee-owned wholesaler will share the bonus in October with all qualifying colleagues. The bonus comes in addition to the four per cent sales growth bonus paid in July and a 10% company-wide pay rise awarded in April 2024. 

Parfetts is growing rapidly with the launch of an eighth depot in Birmingham and more than 1,300 retailers in its Go Local fascia.

Guy Swindell, joint managing director of Parfetts, said: “Our colleagues work hard to ensure our retailers have the support they need to grow their businesses. Thanks to their efforts, we continue to go from strength to strength and deliver the service that attracts retailers from across the industry to partner with us.

“The trading environment is still challenging for retailers, and we are committed to doing all we can to provide great value and industry-leading service. We know that their success is our success. That’s why we continue investing in our people and service.”

As the wholesaler continues to expand operations to become a national operator, it has made significant investments in enhancing its digital order capture system, both desktop and app, to drive efficiency for retailers. Parfetts depots function as cash-and-carry centres from 6:30 am to 6:30 pm, handling delivery and click-and-collect orders overnight. Parfetts operates depots in Aintree, Anfield, Birmingham, Halifax, Middlesbrough, Sheffield, Sommercoates and Stockport. Its operations cover England and Wales.

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The largest revamp of train bogies belonging to Avanti West Coast’s Pendolino fleet has reached a major milestone.

The first part of the work to overhaul 1,148 bogies – a framework with wheels that sits underneath the train carriage – across Avanti West Coast’s Pendolino fleet has been completed by the UK’s leading train supplier, Alstom.

All 35, 11-carriage Pendolinos have had their sets of 22 bogies examined and reconditioned to give them a new lease of life after clocking up more than 750,000 miles – the equivalent distance of travelling to the moon three times.

In just one year, 770 bogies have been revamped by Alstom’s facility in Crewe – a centre of excellence for component repair and overhaul. Stacy Thundercliffe, Head of Fleet and Engineering at Avanti West Coast, said: “We’re proud to be working with Alstom to overhaul the Pendolinos – especially with much of the work being done local to the West Coast Main Line.”

Peter Broadley, Managing Director, Services UK and Ireland at Alstom, said: “We are thrilled to reach this important milestone in the overhaul of the Avanti West Coast Pendolino fleet’s bogies. This project showcases the outstanding expertise and dedication of our team in Crewe.”

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Cash Access UK, the organisation set up to protect nationwide access to cash, has opened the permanent Banking Hub in Stalybridge. The new Banking Hub is located at Units 1 and 2, Summer Quay and replaces the temporary Hub which was based in St Andrews House Medical Centre since July. 

The official opening will take place on September 27, and Jonathan Reynolds, Labour MP for Stalybridge and Hyde, will cut the ribbon.

The Hub will continue to offer a counter service operated by the Post Office, where customers of all major banks can carry out regular cash transactions, Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm. It will also offer a Community Banker service where customers can talk to their own bank about more complicated issues on the day their bank is in the Hub.

Community Bankers will work on rotation, with a different bank available on each day of the week: Monday: Lloyds; Tuesday: Santander; Wednesday: Halifax; Thursday: NatWest; Friday: Barclays 

The Hub was recommended by LINK, the UK’s cash access and ATM network, following confirmation of the closure of the town’s last bank branch. Stalybridge’s Banking Hub is the fifth to open in Greater Manchester, with Hubs currently open in Bramhall, Heywood, Horwich, and Ramsbottom. Cash Access UK is also progressing work to open a Hub in Westhoughton.

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Adam Garvey, 2nd left, with students Lola Mulgrew and Lucy Palin-Morgan and teacher Nicola Sharpe

North West home care specialist, Alcedo Care Group, has confirmed its partnership with Cheshire College South and West, which has 11,000 students and 1,000 apprentices and campuses in Crewe, Ellesmere Port and Chester.

With several Health and Social courses, each with the overarching objective of ensuring students understand what is required to make a real difference in people’s lives, Cheshire College South and West reached out to Alcedo Care, which has several branches close to the campuses, to provide greater understanding of the different types of roles a career in care offers. 

Bringing learning to life, and as a result of the partnership, the college has recently undergone renovations to include a ‘real life’ living room, bedroom and hospital ward at the campuses to match the work Alcedo does. As part of the partnership, Alcedo Care will now use these spaces to deliver bespoke practical sessions for the Health and Social students, replicating the varying types of home care Alcedo carers provide.

Adam Garvey, Group Events Manger at Alcedo Care, said: “With more and more people choosing to stay at home, rather than go into a care home, home care is growing rapidly so it is only right that students within the health sector are offered the opportunity to learn about home care.” 

April Proffitt, Health and Social Assistant Director at Cheshire College South and West, said: “Our students have access to industry-standard facilities to prepare them for a career in caring for others, so forming a partnership with Alcedo Care, who can provide informative practical sessions at our campuses, was an easy decision.”

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Colin Murray

DWF, the Manchester-based global law firm, has been appointed by the North West Legal Consortium (NWLC) to its new solicitors framework panel. It is one of 15 law firms involved in the framework, which covers the period from August 1, 2024 to July 31, 2028. Those selected may receive instructions for legal work from members.

Representing more than 40 public organisations – including councils, combined authorities, waste disposal authorities, social housing agencies, emergency services, transport bodies, and police and crime commissioner offices – the consortium facilitates collaboration in the procurement and commissioning of legal services.

Following a detailed procurement exercise, NWLC awarded contracts to up to six firms in each of five lots (except for projects, procurement, commercial and construction where they appointed 10 firms). DWF’s work on the panel will be led by Manchester-based Partner and Head of Local Government, Colin Murray.

DWF was appointed to four lots – for (1) civil litigation, prosecutions and regulatory; (2) property, planning and environment; (3) corporate governance, ethical standards and information law; and (4) projects, procurement and commercial, which will be led by Simon Belfield, Julie Simms, Michael Gilmartin and Ciaran Wells, respectively.

Jonathan Branton, DWF’s Head of the Public Sector, said, “This appointment underpins our ever-growing national public sector practice, and further builds on our Central Government appointments across the country. DWF’s Public Sector practice has advised on major projects around the country and continues to go from strength to strength. This appointment allows us to extend our reach further still in the key region of the North West.”

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Launch of Jobs Plus

A pilot project offering community-led employment support has been launched in Liverpool, celebrating Employability Day 2024, last Friday (September 13).

Jobs Plus has been set up by housing association Plus Dane in partnership with Transform Lives and supported by Liverpool in Work and First Person Project, to assist local residents in the Toxteth area looking for work.

Funded by the Department of Work and Pensions, it is one of 10 pilot sites in the UK taking part in the initiative, targeting areas of high unemployment. The model for Jobs Plus has come from the USA where it has a proven record of success in increasing employment and earnings for those who take part. It uses a community development and person-led approach to supporting people into employment or into better employment opportunities.

Jobs Plus has three key components: A community hub providing a ‘one-stop-shop’ for local residents looking for work; a ‘saturation approach’ to boost engagement, by encouraging community champions to share information; and the offer of financial incentives – like in-work credit, a back-to-work bonus, or credit against rent arrears – to ensure that work pays.

Ian Reed, chief executive of Plus Dane Housing, said: “We know the value in supporting people to have a decent home and a job – these are the basic underpinning features of a good life. When one fails it has a big impact; if both fail it can be catastrophic. The important thing is to work on both simultaneously. The Jobs Plus project is really exciting and we want to be part of how this develops into more hubs like this.”

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Fylde Rugby Club has revealed Evolve Document Solutions as the new First Team shirt sponsor for the new National League 2 North 2024/25 season.

Evolve Document Solutions will now prominently display its logo on the First Team shirts. The shirt sponsorship announcement follows the recently-announced new commercial partnership agreement with Evolve.

The addition of Evolve Document Solutions as the First Team shirt sponsor is a significant step in the club’s ongoing efforts to secure strong commercial partnerships that support both its on-field and off-field activities.

Daniel Maddox, owner of Bamber Bridge-based Evolve Document Solutions, said: “Seeing the Evolve Document Solutions logo on Fylde Rugby Club’s First Team shirts is a proud moment for us. We are honoured to support such a historic club and can’t wait for the rest of the season.

Anthony Hoskisson, Chairman of Fylde Rugby Club, said: “This is great news to have Evolve Document Solutions as our First Team shirt sponsor for the 2024/25 season. Daniel’s support will make a huge contribution in helping us achieve our goals both on and off the field. We look forward to a successful season wearing the Evolve-branded Fylde rugby club shirts with pride.”