FEATURE Howes Percival
Celebrating the region’s attractions for business
Milton Keynes - situated in the centre of the ‘golden triangle’ – is one of the most well-connected places in the UK if you’re plotting on the map where to base your logistics and warehousing hub. With easy access to motorway links, rail freight and international airports, it should come as no surprise that many logistics and warehousing providers choose Milton Keynes and its surrounding counties, such as Northamptonshire, as their home. As a regional provider of legal services, we are in
the fortunate position of acting for some of the town’s best-known providers of logistics and warehousing services, as well as acting for businesses who need to utilise such skills as part of their operations. With a sharp jump in e-commerce operations during the past couple of years, the area has seen signifi cant growth in this sector, with further signifi cant construction projects under way near the M1 junctions serving Milton Keynes and Northampton, to help service an ever-growing industry. However, it can’t just be natural geographic advantage that gives businesses the edge in this city
10
Matthew Thompson Corporate and Commercial Law Partner Howes Percival
Opposite page Shital Odedra Senior Associate
- it takes an awful lot more to build and maintain a successful logistics business. At Howes Percival, we work hard to understand the key drivers for success in this sector, and we keep track of issues that will be impacting our logistics clients in the future. We have a team of lawyers in Milton Keynes and Northampton who
can assist you on a variety of topics in this area: - Location is key, as mentioned above. We therefore act for estab- lished businesses that obtain planning for and/or lease buildings for logistics and warehousing (if you can fi nd square footage, that is, at the moment!). We also act for landowners and developers who lead on the construction of such sites, and have had involvement in acquiring such land for the purposes of this sort of redevelopment. - We have a team of employment lawyers and regulatory lawyers who can deal with particular personnel issues facing the logistics sector – whether that is dealing with working hours queries, disciplinary procedures, grievances, issues with ‘O’ licence compliance, hours of operation and/or tachometer problems, we’ve seen it and advised on it. T e logistics industry has some unique challenges when it comes to managing its workforce and the nature of warehouse work naturally results in a high turnover of staff , so fi nding qualifi ed and experienced drivers in a competitive industry will always be a challenge which, when coupled with seasonal peaks and troughs, requires a degree of staff fl exibility not needed in other sectors. - On top of these industry-specifi c challenges, employment laws are changing all the time. IR35 and employment status is the hot topic at the moment and is certainly a minefi eld in itself for those who rely heavily on contractors. We advise on employment contracts and self-employed contracts for drivers and, alongside your accountants, can ensure we can guide you through the IR35 legislation. - T e press has made us acutely aware of the diffi culty in sourcing new vehicles, what with a perfect storm caused by Brexit, supply delays due to COVID, raw materials issues, higher production costs
ALL THINGS BUSINESS
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68
