Charity golf day organised by Focus Consultants raises funds for hospice

More than £200 has been handed to charity following an annual golf day staged by Focus Consultants. 

The company, which specialises in funding and economic development, project management, chartered surveying and energy, staged the event at Belton Park Golf Club in Grantham. 

Players donated £230 in the raffle, and the proceeds were presented by Focus Partner Trevor Newton to Ann Randall of St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice. 

Trevor, who is based in the Boston office of Focus, organised the event which has become an annual date on the Focus Consultants’ calendar, and attracted players from across the East Midlands. Twenty three clients, associates and staff took part in the charity day. 

Trevor said: “It was great to see so many clients at our charity golf day, and I am very pleased that we have been able to support the very valuable work carried out by St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice with our donation to charity.” 

Focus Consultants, which has offices in Nottingham, Leicester, Boston and Aubourn in Lincolnshire, and in Holborn, London, specialises in funding, research and economic development, project and programme management, construction and property services and energy services. The company works on private and public projects across the UK. 

Veronica Brien, Head of Fundraising and Marketing at St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice, said: “We are so thankful that Focus Consultants has chosen to support St Barnabas. The funds they have raised will go towards helping more than 9,000 people across Lincolnshire receive the specialist end-of-life care they deserve. Their support ensures that our patients and their families can make the most of every single second they share, regardless of how much time remains.” 

The hospice has been providing specialist palliative and end-of-life care for more than 30 years across Lincolnshire. In the last 12 months St Barnabas has cared and supported 1,215 people within the Boston area through their day therapy, hospice at home, out-patient and in-patient services. 

Focus chose to raise money for St Barnabas as the charity recently provided care to a colleague and family. 

For more information about Focus Consultants visit www.focus-consultants.co.uk

Press release issued by Nottingham PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk

J Tomlinson involved in ground source heat pump event after top results from recent installations

Contractor J Tomlinson has helped housing association tenants halve their energy bills after installing ground source heat pumps in 133 homes. 

The Nottingham-based company, which provides energy efficiency solutions and energy generation technologies, was appointed by housing provider Trent & Dove Housing to install the Kensa heat pumps in rural bungalows across 15 sites around the Burton upon Trent area. 

Three months later, tenants’ energy bills have halved, CO2 emissions have halved and the housing association reports that tenant health and well-being has improved. Over a year, tenants are expected to save £350 to £500 per household. 

Now the team, along with the Carbon Savings Alliance and the National Housing Federation, will be sharing their expertise about combating fuel poverty with other housing associations.

A special event is being held on 11th June at the Pirelli Stadium, Burton upon Trent, where the focus will be on ground-breaking retrofit heating upgrades. 

Following their own recent programme, which featured the replacement of electric night storage heaters with Kensa ground source heat pumps, Trent & Dove Housing will deliver a project blueprint and off-the-shelf package which delegates to the event will be able to use to improve their own housing stock, with the reassurance of a proven and well-defined fast track programme and support network. 

Co-hosted by Kensa Heat Pumps - the manufacturer and installer of the ground source heat pump systems - the free event will also be supported by J Tomlinson, who carried out the work on the bungalows, the Carbon Savings Alliance, and the National Housing Federation, with a keynote speech from NHF Chairman, Lord Taylor of Goss Moor. 

J Tomlinson managing director Steve Kirkland, who will be speaking at the event, said: “We are very pleased to have been a part of the team that has helped Trent & Dove achieve such excellent results and an outcome that many housing associations dream of. J Tomlinson has extensive experience of installing energy efficiency solutions and energy generating technologies, and it is always great to see real evidence of how these are having a positive impact on tenants and the environment. 

“At the event on 11^th June, we will share our expertise and knowledge, so that other housing providers can take forward the benefits of the scheme throughout their stock, transforming the lives of their tenants and providing a significant return to the social housing provider.” 

J Tomlinson, which also offers services in construction, refurbishment, repairs and maintenance, mechanical and electrical engineering, fit out and facilities management, is based in Beeston near Nottingham, and has depots across the East and West Midlands. 

The 11^th June event will provide Trent & Dove’s perspective on the drivers, challenges and process of retrofit heating upgrades, together with advice from industry experts on the incentives encouraging the adoption of renewable technology in social housing to combat fuel poverty and lower carbon emissions, to allow delegates to copy the provider’s successful formula. 

To book, and view the day’s agenda, visit: http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/trent-doves-renewable-retrofit-blueprint-tickets-16896550036?ref=ebtn

Visit www.jtomlinson.co.uk 

Press release issued by Nottingham PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk

Focus Consultants in the driving seat at museum redevelopment

Focus Consultants is playing a key role in the redevelopment of one of the UK’s most historically significant sites for motoring, aviation and engineering after helping Brooklands Museum secure a grant of more than £4.5 million. 

The company has been appointed as project manager on the scheme at the museum in Weybridge, Surrey, which is the birthplace of British motorsport and aviation, home of Concorde and the site of many engineering and technological achievements throughout eight decades of the 20th century. 

The redevelopment will transform the museum’s Grade II listed Second World War Wellington Hangar into The Brooklands Aircraft Factory; build a new annexe (the Flight Shed) to house more of the museum’s outstanding collection of historic aircraft; and restore the Finishing Straight of the Brooklands Race Track, the world’s first purpose-built motor-racing circuit. 

The Focus team was also instrumental in helping the museum to secure £4.681 million funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for its Brooklands Aircraft Factory & Race Track Revival Project. 

Associate at Focus Consultants, Eleanor Clarke, said: “We were very pleased to hear about the HLF investment in this significant redevelopment at what is a very important site for the history of motoring, aviation and engineering. 

“The team at Focus is now working on delivering this exciting project, which also aims to inspire current and future generations to embrace science, technology and engineering, and will include a training scheme for volunteers in historic aircraft restoration and a raft of new activities on the Race Track.” 

Nottingham-based Focus Consultants, which also has offices in Holborn in London, Leicester, Boston, and at Aubourn near Lincoln, has worked on projects at a number of British museums, including the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Imperial War Museum, the Charles Dickens Museum, MSHED Museum of Bristol and Sea City in Southampton. 

Focus specialises in creative approaches to securing funding packages and delivering high quality projects across the UK. Since its creation in 1994, Focus has helped to secure more than £953 million of grant assistance for a range of projects and businesses across the UK and delivered more than £1.1 billion of projects and programmes. 

The firm works across a range of sectors including heritage, museums, arts and culture, education and tourism. It is based at Phoenix Business Park, Nottingham, and this year celebrates its 21^st anniversary. 

The Brooklands Race Track was opened in 1907 and marked the start of organised motor racing in the UK. Within a year, early experiments in aviation were taking place on the site as well. From these beginnings, Brooklands rapidly evolved into an outstanding centre for the development and operation of racing cars, motorcycles and aircraft. The first person to travel over 100 miles in one hour, Percy Lambert, did so at Brooklands in 1913. The first British Grand Prix took place at Brooklands in 1926, as well as the first public demonstration of powered flight in the UK in 1909. 

The redevelopment involves relocating the museum’s Wellington Hangar, built in 1940 on top of the Finishing Straight of the Race Track and used for the assembly of Wellington bombers and later for a variety of other industrial purposes. It now houses the museum’s famous Wellington “R” for “Robert” recovered from Loch Ness in 1985 and restored at Brooklands, and numerous other aircraft. Under the HLF-funded project, the hangar will be completely restored on a new site adjacent to its current one, allowing the Finishing Straight of the Race Track to be brought back into use for both motoring and aviation activities. The hangar itself will be presented as an aircraft factory. 

The museum has raised more than £1.9 million in match funding for the project and is currently fundraising for the remaining £260,000. Including preparation and development work already undertaken, the complete cost of the project will be some £7 million, making it the largest endeavour the museum has ever embarked on.  

For more information visit www.focus-consultants.co.uk
Press release issued by Nottingham PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk

Kickstarter appeal launched for Nottingham-based Lisa Lemon hands free bags

Creative entrepreneur Lisa Robertson has been inspired to design a collection of hands free bags after years of fruitlessly searching for an attractive replacement for the ugly belt bag she had worn to keep her valuables safe during travelling. 

Now Lisa has quit her job as a commercial director in IT and is concentrating full time on her Lisa Lemon hands free bag venture. And she’s just begun a £5,000 crowd funding appeal to launch her first collection. 

“For many years when I’ve been out and about travelling, when I needed to either keep my hands free or keep my precious belongings close by, I used a rather ugly old belt bag,” said Lisa, from West Bridgford, near Nottingham. “After looking around for an alternative I found there was nothing on the market and that’s how Lisa Lemon hands free bags was born.” 

Her initial design, in two different colours, is now available, but Lisa has just started a crowd funding appeal to launch her collection, with two new designs added to the range, plus accessories. She hopes to raise £5,000 from the Kickstarter appeal which has just gone live and will run for 30 days. 

“You need more than one design for a collection and I am delighted to have added two more to the range, plus some accessories,” she said. “With the help of backers, I hope to produce my first collection of bags and accessories for both men and women.” 

The stylish bags are made in the Midlands, from luxury Italian vegetable tanned leather, and are designed for the savvy traveller, the fashionable festival-goer or anyone who’s out and about and needs to keep their personal possessions safe. 

“Lisa Lemon hands free bags are gorgeous, expertly crafted, leather bags which fit snuggly around the waist,” explained Lisa. “They are not designed to be discreet or hidden away. They are statement bags, happy to be in the limelight. 

“Each bag has an internal phone pocket and clip to keep your keys and Lisa Lemon accessories safely attached inside your bag.” 

Recent statistics show that each day over 400,000 incidents of pick pocketing occur around the world and the internal clip and accessories ring will give some peace of mind when you're out and about, added Lisa. 

After studying graphic design in Derby, Lisa worked for a number of design agencies in Nottingham, including a spell co-running her own agency with a partner. She has also mentored design businesses and graduates from creative courses at Nottingham Trent University. More recently she has been on the commercial side of business, working in IT as a commercial director. 

“I always had this yearning to go back to doing something creative,” said Lisa. “Someone said to me ‘you need to do something that feeds your soul’ and that resonated with me.” 

Lisa has had some excellent feedback from those who have already used Lisa Lemon hands free bags. 

“A group of girls from West Bridgford took one to Leeds Festival and they thought it was great,” she says. “A friend took one to America and said it was invaluable. She described it as being like her third hand. I used mine on a visit to Australia and it was perfect. I wasn’t stressing about having my bag stolen. All my valuables, like my purse, passport, phone and tickets were attached to me, which gave me peace of mind.” 

The first bags in her range, in orange and purple, are described by Lisa as statement bags. Of the three new bags, two, in blue and tan, are smaller and softer, and can be worn in a variety of ways. The third is large enough to carry a mini tablet. It’s made from soft brown leather and can be purchased with or without the belt. 

Kickstarter is a way to fund creative projects, which allows people to pledge money to project creators to help support their ventures. The idea behind the initiative is not new – Mozart, Beethoven and others used similar schemes – but now crowd funding is being given a boost by the internet, with thousands of projects launched every year. Funding on Kickstarter is all-or-nothing and projects must reach their funding goals to receive any money from those who have pledged to help. 

Lisa’s Kickstarter appeal for Lisa Lemon hands free bags offers pledges from £5 which will entitle backers to a thank-you and exclusive discounts on future products, up to £123 for a textured brown leather bag, with internal phone pocket and clip together with a textured brown leather belt with smooth leather inside, which can be worn with the brown hands free bag or as a belt.  

To find out more about Lisa’s Kickstarter bid visit https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/224065690/lisa-lemon-hands-free-bags-launch-the-first-collec 

She has worked with a range of creatives in Nottingham to compile a video, which was shot around Nottingham Trent University, and to create a portfolio of photos. Video production film and edit was carried out by Julius Ayodeji, Nottingham Trent University course leader in BA (Hons) Art & Design Media Practice, third-year BA (Hons) Art & Design Media Practice student at Nottingham Trent University Matt Mahjouri, with studio product photography by Honey Read Photography, Nottingham. 

Lisa’s website is http://www.lisa-lemon.com/

Press release issued by Nottingham PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk

Focus Consultants working with asra Housing

Focus Consultants has won a number of contracts to administer almost £5 million worth of planned improvements to homes run by asra Housing. 

It is the second year that the firm has been appointed to run the housing group’s kitchen, bathroom, window and roof replacement scheme. 

At the same time, Focus has also been appointed to a four-year consultants’ framework by asra Housing for contract administrator and stock condition surveyor roles for planned works for properties in the London area and the Midlands.

Partner at Focus Consultants, Keith Butler, said: “Focus Consultants has worked with the asra Housing Group for several years and we are very pleased to be extending our existing close relationship with the group through these contracts and through being appointed to the consultants’ framework. 

“Asra is one of the UK’s leading housing and regeneration providers, with a property portfolio of more than 14,000 homes in the Midlands and London, and this work represents a major investment in the group’s housing stock.” 

The contracts are being administered by the Leicester office of Focus, which has its headquarters in Nottingham and branches in Holborn in London and at Boston and Aubourn near Lincoln. 

Work has now got underway on two contracts, which in total represent almost £2 million worth of new kitchens and bathrooms to around 300 properties in Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and Northamptonshire. The projects are due to be completed by autumn. 

In addition, the Focus team is also administering a scheme to install almost £3 million worth of new windows, doors and roofs on around 500 properties over the same three counties which starts in the summer and will run until spring 2016. 

For more details visit www.focus-consultants.co.uk

Press release issued by Nottingham PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk

East Midlands family butcher takes England’s best sirloin steak crown

Family butcher Owen Taylor & Sons Ltd has been named as the producer of the best sirloin steak in England. 

The company, based at Leabrooks near Alfreton, triumphed at the EBLEX Quality Standard Mark Excellence Awards 2015. 

Richard Taylor, managing director at Owen Taylor & Sons Ltd, said: “This is a magnificent moment for us and our customers. We know we produce some of the finest steaks around, which come from quality animals from assured farms. Our sirloin steaks are well-matured and deliver fantastic flavour – and they are now officially the best in the country! 

“Not only is this great news for Owen Taylor & Sons Ltd, it is also great news for our customers too. Our customers who buy from our shop know they are getting the best sirloin steak in England, and our catering customers, such as restaurants and hotels, can be confident that they are serving their customers with a top steak.” 

The awards are the latest in a long line of accolades presented to Owen Taylor & Sons Ltd, based at Leabrooks, near Alfreton. The company, butchers since 1922, supplies retail and catering customers across the East Midlands, along with many of the region’s top restaurants and hotels, including Harts Restaurant, the Michelin-starred Restaurant Sat Bains and the award-winning Morley Hayes hotel and restaurant in Derbyshire. 

The vast majority of its beef, pork and lamb is sourced from farms in Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire, with additional livestock sourced from neighbouring areas such as Staffordshire, South Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and Rutland to satisfy customer demand.  

The company has a number of titles to its name, but being hailed as the producer of the best sirloin steak in England is a huge accolade, said Richard Taylor, the grandson of the founder of the business. 

“These awards are a fantastic recognition of the hard work and dedication that goes into producing our meat; from the farmers to our on-site team of butchers and bakers. We constantly strive to create the very best products for all our customers to enjoy and are delighted to be able to prove that this is the case – not just locally but nationwide too,” he added. 

The ‘Larder Trim Sirloin Steak’ from Owen Taylor & Sons was one of nine shortlisted products in the ‘Best Sirloin Steak’ competition, picked after two tense rounds of judging. Three finalists from each of the competition’s three categories – Independent Butcher, Multiple Retailer and Foodservice Operator – were then invited to a special awards ceremony in London when the category winners – and the Overall Winner were unveiled. 

After winning the ‘Independent Butcher Category’, Owen Taylor & Sons Ltd went on to be crowned ‘Overall Champion’ and purveyor of England’s Best Sirloin Steak. 

Owen Taylor & Sons Ltd also claimed the category winner title in the ‘Added Value Steaks’ section of the ‘England’s Best Innovative Steak’ competition with a ‘Denver Fire Steak’. Furthermore, their ‘12-Inch Steak and Stilton Pie’ was highly commended in the foodservice category of ‘England’s Best Steak Pie’. 

Competition organiser and foodservice project manager for EBLEX, Hugh Judd, said: “Often described as the ‘king of steaks’ the sirloin is a prime cut that has wonderful taste and texture. But there is a lot riding on both the butchery techniques and quality of the animal to produce the very best examples. Owen Taylor & Sons Ltd has the ideal processes in place and go to extraordinary lengths to get their sirloin steaks right each time. That is why they were chosen as Champions.”

For more details visit www.owentaylor.co.uk

Press release issued by Nottingham PR agency Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk