Daniel and Jennifer discuss a major appointment at Arrowpoint Advisory, 14 new openings at Manchester's Afflecks, and a crowdfunding campaign for a robotic drone to clean up Leeds' waterfront.
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00:00Crowdfunding tales, new traders at Afflecks and a major appointment at Arrow Point Advisory
00:06all feature in today's Business Briefing.
00:14Morning Jen.
00:15Good morning Dan.
00:16So I'm going to start things off for us today with a story from Afflecks.
00:19You know I'm a big fan of Afflecks.
00:20I do indeed.
00:21The popular retail destination in Manchester's northern quarter is celebrating a strong start
00:26to the year.
00:27They've reached full capacity after welcoming 14 new independent traders.
00:31This shopping destination now houses more than 70 businesses across its four floors, offering
00:36everything from vintage clothing and alternative beauty to an Oasis themed bar and a live music
00:41venue.
00:42They also got a bar bus as well, that's where I get my hair cut.
00:44So Afflecks is continuing to thrive despite wider headwinds in the sector, like rising costs
00:49and challenging retail conditions.
00:51They actually welcomed 1.3 million visitors last year alone.
00:55So among the new traders are the Oasis bar I mentioned, as well as a vintage menswear
00:59shop.
01:00But you can see a full list of the new traders on our website inside media.
01:04Anyway, moving away from that, you've also got a story in Manchester.
01:07I do, yes, something a little different though.
01:10So Arapoint Advisory, which is Rothschild's dedicated UK mid-market advisory team, has recruited
01:17a high profile dealmaker from PwC who will lead a newly established firm in Manchester.
01:23So Shabazz Kazim has extensive experience as an advisor in the technology space and has
01:28a successful track record of advising entrepreneurs, company shareholders and private equity investors
01:34throughout the Northwest.
01:37Arapoint Advisory then is one of the UK's most active advisors to mid-market companies
01:41and investors on M&A, debt advisory, management advisory and special situations.
01:48Its team provides specialist sector and product coverage across the UK and access to a global
01:53network of buyers and investors and an offering which is pretty unique to the UK mid-market
02:00advisory space.
02:01Very interesting to see the impact he has there.
02:03Yeah, definitely.
02:04Moving into a couple of crowdfunding stories now, an on-demand storage platform aiming to
02:09double its customer base over the next year has smashed its crowdfunding campaign.
02:14So Keeper, which launched in 2021, has raised more than £234,000 from 134 investors on Republic
02:22Europe at the time of recording, beating its £180,000 goal.
02:27The business has already served over 3,000 customers and generated more than £500,000 in
02:32revenue.
02:33Very impressive.
02:34So Keeper says it wants to make storage as easy and accessible as ordering an Uber with
02:39a flexible user-friendly platform.
02:40But as do people who have travelled between different countries to different homes will
02:44know how useful that is.
02:46Keeper has previously secured grant funding from Innovate UK, Princess Trust and the University
02:51of York.
02:52Its advisory board includes senior figures from Cedars and BGF, but you've also got a
02:58crowdfunding story for us to finish off.
03:00Yeah, I do.
03:01So over in Leeds, the Leeds Waste Shark, you may have heard of it.
03:04It is a robotic drone that has been cleaning up the Leeds waterfront since it was launched
03:09last summer.
03:10So the team behind it is now launching a crowdfunding campaign to keep it running after its first
03:15year of funding is now coming to an end.
03:18The Waste Shark was launched in June 2024 and it is a remote-controlled drone capable of scooping
03:24up to 160 litres of rubbish at a time.
03:28It is operated directly by its human controller and is also equipped with GPS, collision avoidance
03:34technology and a camera so as not to pose risk to wildlife or other water users.
03:40Its launch marked the first time that the technology has been used this way in the UK.
03:45So it has become a regular site on the rivers now and canals around the docks as it scoops
03:50up rubbish from the water surface.
03:52And so far it has collected thousands of litres of plastics and debris.
03:57And after being supported by sponsors during its first year, it now needs funds to keep
04:01up its mission or it risks being dry-docked permanently.
04:06The organisers of the crowdfunding campaign are looking to raise £24,000 to maintain the
04:13Waste Shark's weekly clean-up operation.
04:15I'm sure we'll be covering that campaign and seeing how it progresses.
04:19Definitely, yes.
04:20So if you want to hear more on that story and all the other stories that Dan and I covered
04:23today, you can head on over to InsiderMedia.com where you can go on
04:27also hear about our upcoming events and subscribe to our newsletters.