BARCLAYS TO OPEN NEW EAGLE LAB IN OXFORD

Barclays has launched its latest Eagle Lab at the Wood Centre for Innovation in partnership with The Oxford Trust.

The Barclays Eagle Labs network is one of the largest incubator networks for start-ups and scale-ups in the UK, providing a platform to connect the UK’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

The labs are spaces to help entrepreneurs and ambitious businesses to access a broad range of skills to stimulate innovation, promote collaboration and enable skills development. The Eagle Lab at The Wood Centre is Barclays’ first dedicated science and technology lab. It will provide space for up to 40 entrepreneurs while offering onsite facilities, including 28 permanent and 12 hot desks. It is expected to open this month.

Barclays now has a network of 25 labs, including Oxford, which are helping nearly 2,000 entrepreneurs.

Business Park owner announces expansion of Chalgrove site

Global investment manager Hermes has acquired MEPC, the UK commercial real estate developer and asset manager whose portfolio includes Milton Park, a major science and technology park in Oxford.

Beside Milton Park and a similar facility at Silverstone, MEPC is developing mixed-use urban regenerations in Manchester, Leeds and Bristol.

Chris Taylor, CEO of Hermes Real Estate, said: “This acquisition of MEPC provides Hermes with a conduit for best in class development management expertise, supporting our ambition to be the leading provider of great places, which deliver positive outcomes for both society and the environment. There are many synergies between the two brands and an already long-lasting and successful relationship, which can now be built upon further.”

James Dipple, Chief Executive of MEPC, said: “This is an exciting transaction for MEPC, allowing us to combine our long track record of success with a leading real estate investment manager.

“Our strategic ambitions for the future are fully aligned with those of Hermes and, therefore, a strong basis for the growth of MEPC.”

REGIONAL ROUND-UP OXFORDSHIRE

Historic Oxford builders go into administration

Symm, One of Oxford’s oldest and most respected building companies has fallen into administration.

Lawrence King of Critchleys LLP has been appointed administrator and a statement on the firm’s website said: “The company has experienced recent tough trading conditions and the current pipeline of work is not sufficient to continue this longstanding and highly regarded Oxford brand. The directors have explored various alternative paths but have taken the difficult decision to appoint an Administrator.”

The company, which employed around 150 people, operated its joinery and cabinetry business from Pershore, Worcestershire with its main construction function based in Oxford.

For decades Symm, which had its headquarters at Cumnor in the city, was synonymous with quality and heritage and worked on some of Oxfordshire’s most prestigious buildings.

Last September Symm Chairman James Axtell, participated in a Business & Innovation Magazine round table. He said the company’s future was about trying to retain what it excels at but encouraging more sophisticated ways of delivering it. “Rigorous financial controls are going to be critical for us,” he said at the time.

The founders of Symm were Daniel Evans, born around 1769 in Fairford, Gloucestershire, and Joshua Symm from Northumberland. The men were awarded an Oxfordshire Blue Plaque in 2004, mounted on 34 St Giles, part of a terrace of three houses that Daniel designed and built in 1829.

Operating a payroll can be both time consuming and complicated, and the introduction of Pensions Auto-enrolment has increased the burden on employers, heightening the potential risk of penalties for noncompliance or late submissions.

The Pensions act of 2012 introduced new legislation that made it compulsory for all employers to implement a company pension scheme irrespective of the size of their business. Since then, all companies must offer their staff the opportunity to re-enrol into the scheme every three years.

Whitley Stimpson, one of the largest independent accountancy practices in the area, with offices in Banbury, Bicester, High Wycombe and Witney, has a dedicated payroll team supporting clients in dealing with all the everyday issues associated with employing staff, including Pensions. It offers a confidential, cost-effective solution to meet individual business requirements, whatever the size or complexity of your business, or simply provides support when needed.

Earlier this year the Pensions Regulator announced a new wave of short-notice mandatory inspections targeting employers that they believe are ignoring their automatic pension enrolment duties. The inspections started in the summer and are ongoing, with failure to comply a criminal offence. The message from the regulator is clear: break the law, and you’re very likely to get caught.

Tracy Gill heads up Whitley Stimpson’s payroll team of five and explains: “Inevitably there will always be a small number of rogue businesses that seek to flout the rules but sometimes law-abiding businesses that have made entirely innocent errors or accidentally missed deadlines are at risk of action from the regulators.

“Re-enrolment comes with complex rules, for example - the re-enrolment date must fall in the three months either side of the first anniversary of an employee’s staging date. That’s the date their workplace pensions started. And whatever the outcome, employers must then submit an online declaration of compliance form to confirm to the regulator that they have met their re-enrolment responsibilities.”

Our focus is not just on aiming for continuous improvement here but working with clients to improve their whole approach and this includes compliance with pension auto-enrolment.”

The Whitley Stimpson payroll team has enjoyed tremendous growth over the last few years, with an average of 10% yearon-year increase in the number of new

“The aim for 2020 is to actively market a newly streamlined accountancy payroll service and to look to recruit even more people to support this growth and maintain our excellent work on behalf of our clients. Our focus is not just on aiming for continuous improvement here but working with clients to improve their whole approach and this includes compliance with pension auto-enrolment.” clients. The team was named as a finalist in two Reward Strategy Awards categories this year for the Service Provider Team Award and The Next Generation Award. speak to one of Whitley Stimpson’s payroll experts please contact Tracy Gill on 01295 270200 whitleystimpson.co.uk