Alice and Adam discuss funding for a bar and restaurant group, major mixed-use plans in Birmingham's historic Jewellery Quarter, and strong results for a 100-year old coach business.
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00:00Big plans for Birmingham's jewellery quarter, funding for a bar and restaurant group and profits up at a 100-year-old transport firm.
00:08That's all coming up on today's Business Briefing, which is brought to you by Shawbrooke.
00:18Morning Adam.
00:19Morning Alice.
00:20Well, as our resident Birmingham and Midlands correspondent, why don't you tell us what's going on in that region today?
00:26Sure, we've actually had some significant plans submitted for Birmingham.
00:30Galliard Homes and Apsley House Capital have brought forward proposals for the partnership St Paul's Quarter Development, which is a major mixed-use scheme.
00:39This follows consent being granted for the project in 2019.
00:43That previous consent featuring 305 apartments on the site, work actually started in 2020 with demolition works being undertaken.
00:53However, following the review, the JV said it has highlighted ways to improve the deliverability of the consented scheme.
01:01Now, the newly filed plans include 422 apartments along with approximately 65,000 square foot of commercial space.
01:10The partnership said it's hoped that the scheme will provide a vibrant contribution to the historic area of the city.
01:18Brilliant. I'm sure you'll be following that as it goes to the planning process.
01:21I certainly will.
01:22Well, over in the southwest, a bar and restaurant group, which has a really experienced management team, has secured a £1.1 million equity investment, which is set to boost its expansion plans.
01:34So, Deck House was originated in Gloucestershire and Somerset and it's looking to roll out lots of new sites across the UK.
01:42It's kind of inspired by the easygoing nature and vibe of the Devon and Cornwall coast.
01:49Really nice. It looks lovely on pictures that I've seen. I don't often go down there, but it looks nice.
01:54It's a long way from here.
01:55Yeah. It secured the funding from the British Business Bank's Southwest Investment Fund.
02:01And the business is actually led by managing director James Sprague.
02:05Now, he was previously chief executive of the Big Table Group, which, as you know, is the operator of lots of really big brands, such as Bella Italia, Cafe Rouge, Frankie and Benny's, the list goes on.
02:16So, he's got a lot of experience in, I guess, growing hospitality businesses.
02:22And it's also chaired by Mark McQuator, who's the former chief executive of Revolution and Barracuda.
02:29So, another big hitter in the industry.
02:32So, yeah, it looks really positive for them.
02:34And obviously, this £1.1 million will be very useful as they look to scale moving forward.
02:39And we're actually staying in the investment world for our next story.
02:43This time, it's a tech business with Storm Harvester, which is headquartered in Belfast, having secured a £8.4 million funding round.
02:52And this includes a £3.75 million growth capital investment from YFM Equity Partners.
02:58Storm Harvest is behind a software platform that helps water companies optimise the management of their sewer networks while reducing flooding and pollution.
03:08The platform actually uses machine learning and rainfall prediction to spot blockages and pumping station anomalies, excuse me.
03:16Not an easy word to say.
03:19The investment, which comes alongside the backing of existing investors, as well as Emerald Technology Ventures, will support the expansion of the company's sales and marketing capabilities.
03:31And it will also accelerate the company's growth in international markets like Australasia and North America.
03:37I feel like Storm Harvester is maybe in the running for name of the day.
03:41Yeah, it's a great name.
03:42Business name of the day.
03:43Yeah.
03:44Yeah.
03:45Well, one of the things that we really like to talk about and kind of showcase in Insider is longstanding businesses that are doing really well.
03:53And Edwards Coaches, which is headquartered in Wales, is one of those.
03:57So the business, which is 100 years old, has filed some new accounts, which showed that turnover and profits increased, which is lovely.
04:05So if you're from Wales or the southwest, that's why it's got depots.
04:09You might have heard of the business. It's got contracts with National Express, but it also does school transport services and also coach tours across the UK and in Europe.
04:19So a prominent name over that.
04:22Now, in the year ended 31st of March 2024, pre-tax profits improved to two point two million pound turnover, also jumped from about 42 million pounds to 47 million pounds.
04:35So in recent times, the business has been investing in its fleet.
04:38That's both its contract fleet.
04:40So for National Express, as well as its tour operation fleet.
04:44And it's looking to do that as it moves forward as part of its growth plans.
04:48But it's also focusing on making the business more profitable and sustainable.
04:53Always good to see a historic firm doing well.
04:55Excellent.
04:56Thanks for that, Alice. That's all from us today.
04:58You can hear about those stories and others on insidermedia.com, where you can subscribe to our newsletters and learn about upcoming events.