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Covéa Insurance introduces new direct- to-consumer offering
Covéa Insurance, based in Reading, has successfully launched its new direct motor- insurance offering, under the company’s Provident Insurance brand.
It has been launched initially with the price comparison site
Confused.com, and is also available directly through the company’s new website:
www.providentinsurance.co.uk ...
Ultima Business Solutions relocates to new HQ at Manor Park
Parago signs new Australian partner
Reading-based Parago Software, a world leader in cloud-based education inventory- management solutions, has signed a new Australian reseller and implementation partner, Oyonix Group.
Based near Sydney, Oynonix Group delivers innovative and collaborative solutions to businesses and governments within the APAC region, and like Parago is focused on providing cloud-based services ...
Miles Shepherd facilitates expansion of law firm Blaser Mills
Office supply company Miles Shepherd has collaborated with leading law firm Blaser Mills LLP to bring a new, modern and open- plan office to High Wycombe.
In 2015, Blaser Mills launched an ambitious re-brand and growth strategy, part of which included new office space for its High Wycombe and Amersham offices.
The High Wycombe office, situated along the Oxford Road, will accommodate up to 65 people ...
Katana Property takes a slice of Basingstoke
Parkview Business Centre in Crockford Lane, Basingstoke, has been sold to Katana Property for £675,000 by London Clancy and Lawson and Partners on behalf of a private investor.
The freehold property comprises circa 18,400 sq ft on the ground and first floors, with some storage and D1 space together with 60 car spaces ...
Ultima Business Solutions, the fast- growing IT solutions provider will, in the next few months, be relocating its existing Reading-based headquarters to Manor Park, a prime 118,800 sq ft business-and- technology campus on Basingstoke Road. All of the 230 Reading-based employees will be moved ...
Petroleum and gas companies hit by drop in crude-oil price, says R3
For the second month in a row, the number of extraction petroleum and gas companies in the South East at risk of insolvency has increased, according to figures released by the southern committee of R3.
Last month the proportion of companies at risk of insolvency increased by 7.28%, taking the number of companies at higher-than- normal risk of insolvency to more than a fifth (21.54%). The previous month there was an even larger increase of 12.73%.
The research, compiled by insolvency trade body R3, using Bureau van Dijk’s ‘Fame’ database of company information, tracks the number of active businesses across key sectors and the proportion of businesses that have a heightened risk of entering insolvency in the next 12 months ...
Technology to be key driver for commercial property
The commercial property market in Oxfordshire is on a new wave of technology and innovation- led growth, according to Richard Venables, a director at commercial property consultants VSL & Partners.
VSL reports that continued demand within the technology and innovation sector is shown by the volume of transactions for 2015 amounting to approximately 40% of take-up or 200,000 sq ft of commercial space.
Venables explained: “Despite the continuing fall in supply and limited pipeline development in both the industrial and office markets, development activity is now focusing on the technology and innovation sector with developments such as the newly-announced £90 million Oxford Technology Park at Kidlington.”
VSL has been appointed to market the 20-acre park, on behalf of Hill Street Holdings, which will create 430,000 sq ft of development space of bespoke accommodation for high-tech and research and development organisations.
Venables said: “The site is expected to attract pharmaceutical, biotech and high-performance
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engineering firms that want to enhance their research and development and production capability, in a format where they can have total freedom on how their space is configured.
“While inward growth is predicated on the commercialisation of high-tech products, growth in this sector has spin-offs for other businesses, so it’s good news for the overall economy.”
Other initiatives set to benefit high-tech companies include the Science Vale UK Enterprise Zones at Harwell and Milton Park as well as Didcot Enterprise Zone, which was launched in 2015. Businesses within these zones will benefit from business rates concessions for five years in addition to simplified planning legislation.
Meanwhile, another range of initiatives is set to further strengthen growth. This includes Oxford’s bid for the European Capital for Innovation for 2016, where Oxford is one of nine cities in Europe invited to tender for this title and the proposals to redevelop Oxford’s West End into a new quarter of the city.
Details:
www.vslandp.com
Theresa May opens The Northview Group’s new HQ
Home secretary Theresa May, MP for Maidenhead, recently opened the new headquarters of The Northview Group, which operates the mortgage- lending brands Kensington Mortgage Company and New Street Mortgages, and the mortgage servicing business Acenden.
May unveiled a plaque at Ascot House, Maidenhead Office Park, officially bringing together the three parts of the business which has already moved around 450 employees from Reading and High Wycombe to the new building.
Speaking at the ceremony, Amany Attia, CEO at The Northview Group, set out the Group’s aims of simplifying and demystifying the mortage process for customers who may have limited options, and of providing competition to traditional lenders by giving “more opportunity for hard-working individuals and families to realise their ambitions of homeownership”.
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – MARCH 2016
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