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Adam and Dan discuss the acquisition of a recruitment company, funding for a wine brand, and a Sheffield building being converted to apartment.

Transcript

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.

Watch: Insider's Business Briefing - 7th March 2025

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