Watch: Business Briefing: 3rd December 2024

Insider Media

Dan and Ben discuss a major office building renovation in Havant, employee ownership at an events business, a £400m train facility in Wales, and an historic insurance company which has rebranded and relocated to Leeds.

Transcript

00:00A building renovation in Havant, employee ownership at an events business, a £400m

00:05train facility, and an insurance company relocating and rebranding all feature in today's business

00:11briefing.

00:12Morning Ben.

00:13Morning.

00:14So I'll start things off for us today.

00:19Yes.

00:20An international events business, Pylon One, has transitioned to employee ownership.

00:24The business was founded in 2006 in Aylesbury and is behind a lot of the ICT infrastructure

00:29used in major events across the world.

00:31What kind of events?

00:34So they've worked on the King's Coronation and London's New Year's Eve, so some quite

00:38big events.

00:39Yes, definitely.

00:40And they've also partnered with Google and the Premier League for some of their events

00:42as well.

00:43So some big clients there.

00:44Yes, it's a big name in the industry and it's interesting to see yet another company transitioning

00:48to the model of employee ownership.

00:49So it's becoming increasingly common, isn't it?

00:52It is, and you're not the only one to make a note of that.

00:55FRP Corporate Finance advised on the deal and James Cooper, who's a partner of the company,

01:00he also highlighted how this is becoming an increasingly popular trend.

01:03He said it provides owners with an alternative route to exit, which both secures jobs and

01:07allows the company culture to be maintained in the long run.

01:11And Pylon themselves have said the move will provide long-term stability for their 15 employees

01:16and enable them to share the company's success in the future.

01:19Great to hear.

01:20A real positive step for them.

01:21Yes, so great news there.

01:22I understand you've also got a story from the South East.

01:25Yes, so we've got a serviced office building in the heart of Havant.

01:29It's now in the final stages of its renovation.

01:31So it's Arena Office's office space, Langstone Gate.

01:36It's now three quarters of the way towards completion.

01:39So it's a £1.1 million renovation and work will include external spraying and various

01:44other internal works that are underway.

01:46And the renovation is expected to be complete by spring.

01:50The space is also home to a variety of office spaces, working desk parts, breakout areas

01:56and meeting rooms.

01:58And currently it houses more than 50 businesses and is ready to welcome more.

02:02And previously the building was owned by Seward Properties before being acquired by Arena

02:06Offices in 2018.

02:09And also leading on the space's design is Arena's in-house design team and then co-office

02:14design.

02:15So a real big office renovation there in Havant and a positive step forward for them.

02:20Very interesting property development there.

02:22And moving away from the south and up north now, Integra Insurance Solutions, the historic

02:27insurance company founded in 1844.

02:29180 years old.

02:31Yeah, they've opened a new office in Leeds.

02:34So they've relocated their 70-strong team from Bradford into the Leeds office space,

02:38which is nearly 11,000 square foot and located in West Village off Wellington Street.

02:43Big space there then.

02:44Yeah, huge.

02:45As well as the move, the company is also rebranding.

02:48They've gone for a refreshed visual identity, as well as a new brand positioning lined up

02:53here to protect the core strategic values of integrity, innovation, and sustainability,

02:58which they say reflect their progressive model.

03:01So it's obvious from their long history that this firm knows how to evolve and maintain

03:05their allure in the long run.

03:08And this is obviously the latest step in doing so.

03:10Yes, and hopefully that can continue moving forward.

03:12Absolutely.

03:13And to finish off, you've got a story from Wales.

03:14Yes, we have.

03:15The chief executive of a business hoping to create a £400 million train and rail test

03:20facility has said that he's hopeful of securing funding for the project early next year.

03:26So the project is the Global Centre of Rail Excellence.

03:29It's on the site of the former Nant Helen coal mine.

03:32So that's on the Powys Neve Port Talbot border.

03:36And there's some big jobs news.

03:37It could generate a total of up to 2,100 jobs.

03:40A new scheme then.

03:41Yes.

03:42So far, the rail test project has received £50 million from the Welsh government and

03:46another £20 million from the UK government.

03:49So quite a lot of investment going into it there.

03:51And the chief executive of GCRE, Simon Jones, has said that the additional £330 million

03:58needed, that's within sight as well.

04:02And he was speaking at Insider's Swansea Property Bay lunch event.

04:06And he said the first phase of the test track could create work for about 1,100 people.

04:12And there's also additional opportunities that would follow from a technology park that

04:16would be built alongside the site.

04:18And Jones adding employment premises for over 1,000 people will be created.

04:22So a real huge investment there potentially for Wales and also lots of jobs being created

04:27as well.

04:28So yeah, real positive news there for the southwest Wales economy.

04:33Big investment and hopefully big results.

04:35Anyway, to find out more about the stories we've discussed today, please visit our website

04:39at insidermedia.com where you can also find out about upcoming events and subscribe to

04:43our magazines.

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