Business Diary: September 25

The chairman of architectural firm The Harris Partnership, which is headquartered in Wakefield, spoke of the importance of having fun in a recent interview with the Yorkshire Post.

“I like to party. I think fun is important. I think you can be too serious, particularly in this game.”

And this attitude extends to his approach to staff management too.

“I just like to have a bit of fun with everything and that goes through into meetings too sometimes.

“The majority of our staff once they arrive they don’t go. They enjoy it. We give them quite a bit of freedom. We are all part of a team. It’s not run as an ‘us and them’ sort of situation.

“I’ve tried to instill a sense of fun in the whole thing.”

But it’s not all play. Mr Mitchell is in the office at 7am, he told Diary, adding: “And I’m not usually the first one in.”

Streets coming to life

AS a stalwart of Coronation Street for the last 52 years, William Roache, who plays Ken Barlow, has seen countless shopping trends come and go.

So he seemed the perfect celebrity to open a new retailer which could provide a shot in the arm for the economy in the North Yorkshire market town of Skipton, a community which is just as close knit as the fictional Weatherfield.

Diary was heartened to discover that Mr Roache had taken time out from his busy schedule to show his support for Yorkshire’s entrepreneurs.

Skipton, it seems, is on the up. Dacres Commercial yesterday revealed that it had let five retail premises in the town in a matter of weeks.

The largest deal was struck with local entrepreneur Kevin Horkin who has opened Ken Varey’s Outdoor World on Newmarket Street.

Mr Roache was on hand to give Mr Horkin’s business venture his support. Other transactions include the letting of 71 High Street to pawnbrokers Brown and Gold, the expansion of Craven Bakery into Swadford Street and the letting of Newmarket Street to Fleur Lingerie which sells swimwear and European lingerie.

A fifth property on Court Lane has been sold as an investment to a local investor.

Jeff Crabtree, from Dacres Commercial, in Skipton said: “While some towns are struggling, Skipton is maintaining its appeal as a town for businesses to expand into. Retailers are enticed by the loyal local population and the large number of tourists, both of which are attracting new retailers and investors.”

Bowel movement

Readers with a sensitive disposition may want to look away now. Green brick maker Encos earned an unfortunate moniker in its early days.

Made from incinerated sewage and ash, and bound with vegetable oil, its bricks quickly became known by a rather impolite nickname, which Diary shall leave to your imagination.

But the “bowel to trowel” story is no more, insisted chief executive Mark Nichols.

Instead, the Leeds-based company plans to sell bricks made from limestone scrapings bound together with rapeseed oil residue.

It hopes its recycled bricks will appeal to consumers keen to refurbish their homes in a huge sustainability drive.

“Imagine I’m a customer here. ‘Hi, I’m Mark Nichols from Encos and we’re going to use it (vegetable oil) to bind incinerated poo’,” said Mr Nichols.

“You’re asking people to go too far in terms of their risk attitude.

“I said ‘Forget all the excrement stuff; let’s find a material that they will know and understand’. We’re doing other things.”

Paying the penalty

Two Sheffield chartered accountants learned the pain of the penalty shoot-out at an international football tournament in the Netherlands.

Audit manager Simon Bladen and audit senior Scott Sanderson, both from Sheffield-based independent firm Hawsons, managed to reach the final when they played for the UK team of HLB International, a worldwide network of independent professional accounting firms and business advisers.

Along the way the team beat HLB sides from Denmark, Italy and the Netherlands before drawing in the final.

They then lost in a penalty shoot-out against a London-based side of accountants.

However, both Simon and Scott scored their penalties in the shoot-out and could hold their heads high on their return to South Yorkshire.

Simon said: “It was a tremendous experience to play on an international stage and we were delighted to get to the final.”

Better luck next time chaps.