BEARD COMPLETES STUNNING RESTORATION OF UK’S OLDEST LIDO

Beard Construction had to take to the water to complete a £6.2 million restoration of Cleveland Pools in Bath, the UK’s oldest lido.

The 15-month project to restore the 207-year-old Georgian site to its former glory posed significant logistical challenges for the Oxfordshire and Thames Valley construction company.

All plant and materials could only be brought to the site by boat on the adjacent River Avon.

The £9.3 million restoration is the culmination of an 18-year community campaign by the Cleveland Pools Trust, supported by thousands of Bathonians.

The restoration was led by project director Anna Baker, a chartered architect who specialises in historic buildings.

She said: “It’s been complex and very challenging. But it’s also been unique, the project of a lifetime.”

Beard’s project manager Mark Tregelles added: “Having access only by river really tested our initiative, not only getting materials in and out, but also in the method of construction, given the limited plant and equipment that we could get to the site.”

Halfords becomes the UK’s leading commercial tyre provider

Redditch-based Halfords Group has become the UK’s leading commercial tyre provider after buying Lodge Tyre for £37.2 million.

Lodge Tyre, based in Staffordshire, services business-to-business customers from 50 garages and 248 mobile vans.

The acquisition takes the Halfords garage services business to 656 garages, 253 consumer vans, 440 commercial vans and nine warehouses.

Halfords is already the UK’s market leading motoring service provider to consumers and will now also be the UK’s largest B2B commercial tyre provider by revenue and national coverage.

Graham Stapleton, Chief Executive Officer of Halfords, said: “The acquisition of Lodge Tyre will mean that motoring accounts for more than three-quarters of our total revenue. The current trading environment reinforces the rationale for building ever-more resilient, needs-based revenue streams, which is exactly what the motoring category offers.

“Lodge perfectly complements our existing commercial tyre businesses of McConechy’s and Universal Tyres and gives us a much greater reach across the UK.”

Derriere Equestrian founder passes reigns to new owner

Derriere, the first equestrian undergarment range in the world to provide riding underwear for the comfort of riders’ bottoms, has been sold to its brand ambassador Laura Thyer.

Oxfordshire-based Laura, a chartered certified accountant, has been associated with the brand as an ambassador since 2015, and in 2020 started advising on Derriere’s finances.

The company, based at Great Tew in Oxfordshire, was launched in 2013 by dressage rider and equine therapist Claire Gale.

Having tried all the equestrian underwear on the market in search of a truly supportive and non-chafing product, she decided to design her own.

She worked with the University of Padova in Italy incorporating the most advanced pressure testing technology and with leading cycle pad manufacturer CY Tech to design a pad system specifically tailored to the horse rider. She then turned to a French lingerie designer to fine tune her designs using minimal seam processes and fabric bonding.

Cheltenham-based BPE advised Claire on the sale.