NEWS
“I’m a leader not a follower. Unless it’s a dark place, then you are going first.”
TO GIVE OR NOT TO GIVE Supermarket giant ASDA has done a dramatic u-turn that will see the return of permanent collection points for food banks and other charities in Sussex. Collection points were being removed across the country, and some foodbanks said that this would threaten 25% of their supplies. Howard Wardle, Operations Director at Eastbourne Foodbank, had said the move was “disappointing” and called on ASDA to rethink, saying it would harm vulnerable people. A Facebook petition was signed by more than 88,000 people and now the supermarket has announced the changes will not go ahead. Mr Wardle said: “We are obviously pleased at this change of heart, not least because it means we will be able to continue helping so many people. There is no doubt that a great deal of pressure was placed on ASDA, and to their credit they have listened and realised that they needed to change their mind. Local people were shocked at what was seen as a very negative move. It is very important to people who want to give to others less well off, and these collection points serve a great purpose. In Eastbourne alone, we support more than 750 people each month – these collection points are so vital to society today.”
COPHALL PARKING GATWICK for the owners of Cophall Parking Gatwick Ltd, which involved the sale of the
THE SOUTH EAST WINS AGAIN
business and site to Group First, the investment arm of Park First, who are
Leading South East
renowned for their world-class airport car parks.
financial planners
Cophall Parking Gatwick, a family business with three decades’ experience
Skerritts has been
in providing sophisticated car parking solutions at Gatwick Airport, was
awarded the prestigious
approached by Group First in December 2015 who expressed an interest in
New Model Advisor
buying the business with its quality reputation and excellent position at Gatwick.
(NMA) Award for the sixth
DMH Stallard was first instructed to manage the deal just before Christmas and
consecutive year.
successfully completed the sale on 29th February 2016.
The awards recognise the
Jonathan Grant, the Partner at DMH Stallard responsible for managing the sale,
best financial planning
Award-winning Sussex law firm DMH Stallard has completed a significant deal
explained: “We have a great working relationship with Cophall Parking Gatwick, but that’s not to say that this project didn’t come with its challenges. The nature of the deal required the sale of both the business and the land, but required careful planning to preserve an area of land for our client that neighboured the site sold. We also had to satisfy the buyer’s requirements for site access and
firms across the UK and gives them an opportunity to be rewarded for their progress during the previous year. The judges focus on income, profit and how firms operate. The annual awards, which are run by Citywire, are split into eight regions nationwide and, despite stiff competition,
that our client had right of way over the retained land.
Skerritts was crowned the best in the South East region.
Emma Beasley from Cophall Parking Gatwick, commented: “We were delighted
The Skerritts team was delighted to receive the award for the
that DMH Stallard’s combined corporate and property teams were able to deliver
sixth time in a row, especially as only one previous winner had
this complex sale involving a number of connected property titles and a trading
been given the award for two consecutive years.
business, whilst preserving the full value of the deal.
Skerritts Managing Director, Richard Skerritt, said: “The
“We had no idea how difficult projects like this can be to coordinate. DMH
financial industry has invited bad publicity in the past because
Stallard supported us through the whole process and approached every query
of unscrupulous advisers and this led to a period of financial
and challenge positively, finding a solution for us quickly and efficiently. It was
advisers not being trusted. At Skerritts, we never wanted
very involved and at times quite stressful, so we were very thankful to have DMH Stallard in our corner. I certainly don’t think we could have done it without them. If we ever need support again, I will certainly be instructing DMH Stallard.”
to be tarred with the same brush and the NMA Awards are all about doing things the right way. It shows our high level of professionalism and reflects our modern way of doing business. We want to do things differently and our customers stick with us because of that. We always try to be one step ahead of what’s coming and constantly re-evaluate our proposition.”
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