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Samuel Freshfields Announces New Manager for Its Multi-Asset Charity Income Fund

By
John Richardson
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The firm has been examining a short list of three executives to identify the most suitable candidate
Samuel Freshfields, a next generation investment company that aims to give its clients access to a broad range of financial instruments, promoting the highest standards of integrity, responsibility, and competence to produce a highly personalized counseling process, is pleased to announce that its Board of Directors has reached a mutual agreement regarding who of the three enlisted executives will occupy the newly founded position of Fund Manager, for the Samuel Freshfields Income and Growth Charitable Fund. The new role will be entrusted to Mr. Shun Way, currently one of the Members of the Board for Samuel Freshfields.

The company’s Income and Growth Charitable Fund has been recently created to provide its class of philanthropic clients with an investment product that has a multi-asset approach and engages in assets such as equities, bonds and alternative asset classes, both locally in Hong Kong, and globally in accordance with environmental, social and governance (ESG), and ethical guidelines.

The Samuel Freshfields Income and Growth Charitable Fund will be managed by a team of six market experts already occupying key positions within the firm’s staff members. The team will have an overarching authority, the Supervising Authority Figure, in the person of Mr. Patrick Lim, Chief Executive Officer and President of the Samuel Freshfields Foundation, due to the charitable inclinations of the Fund. Mr. Lim will have a final decisional role to play in regards to the direction that the Fund will ultimately pursue, which considers client’s expectations above all, however, there is a need for an executive manager to oversee and lead the team.

Samuel Freshfields has been evaluating Mrs. Carol Wing Wong, who is Vice President and Director of Business Development, Mr. Gordon Suen, the company’s Executive Vice President and Portfolio Manager for Real Return Strategies, and Mr. Shun Way. 

“Shun has a vast experience in collaborating with the necessary partners worldwide in order to overcome any shortages of information or influence that one might encounter when dealing with managing such an ambitious project. We are very pleased with the new developments. Congratulations to Shun”, Mr. Lim declared.

“I am honored to carry out the firm’s strategy regarding this innovative Fund and I prefer to allow the results we will bring to our clients to speak for me and my new team”, Mr. Way concluded.
About Samuel Freshfields

Samuel Freshfields is a next generation investment company that aims to give its clients access to a broad range of financial instruments and markets as well as professional advice to maximize returns. Samuel Freshfields’ investment advisory and brokerage services are multidisciplinary, allowing the company to devise custom strategies and deliver exceptional results for our clients. The company’s major goal has been to work hand-in-hand with clients to meet their investment needs. While many financial firms push one-size-fits-all products, Samuel Freshfields strives to coordinate the fundamental disciplines of the company’s dividend-growth philosophy with the unique needs of our clients regarding the growth, use and preservation of their wealth.

SOURCE

New September date: Nelson Mandela’s grandson auctions books as NFTs

By
John Richardson
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Artists turn two of Dumani Mandela’s acclaimed works into digital assets – with proceeds going towards new mental health app Nelson Mandela’s grandson is turning two of his books into NFTs (non-fungible tokens) – with a highly-anticipated auction now rescheduled for September.  Dumani Mandela, 44, is the son of Phumla Makaziwe Mandela – the second daughter of the former President of South Africa and Nobel Peace Prize winner. A published author, Mandela has been collaborating with agency BlockSmart NFT this year to turn his works into NFTs and put them on the market.  Proceeds from the auction will go towards the development of mental health app My Minimalist – which allows users to book video calls with expert practitioners.  Mandela has teamed up with renowned creatives to produce NFTs of two of his books: I Dream of Kemet – an African magic realism novel – and Young and on the run from Apartheid – a story about a man’s search for humanity amid the apartheid. These digital assets have been produced as part of a collaboration between Gary Cartlidge – a cybersurrealist and street artist – and The Santosa – an art advisor in Mural and 3D Trick Art Museum since 2014.

Instagram Link
 Two tiers have been created for the auction.  Diamond Tier
●     x50 NFTs●     x1 3D cover art piece ●     x1 digital download of book●     Physical version book, hand signed and dated with limited edition cover●     Nelson Mandela struggle series print


Platinum Tier

●     x100 NFTs●     x1 3D cover art piece. ●     x1 digital download of book●     Physical version of book, hand signed and dated with original cover●     Nelson Mandela struggle series print

Considerable outside interest from artists has seen the auction move from its original summer date to September 30.  The digital assets are being promoted and marketed by BlockSmart NFT – an agency specialising in full, turnkey management for creatives; advising on strategy, tokenisation and representation to monetise NFTs. Richard Ossei, BlockSmart NFT CEO, said: “BlockSmart works with some amazing artists and content creators regarding NFTs; supporting them in our role as an agency by handling all the marketing.  “We’ve had high interest from artists on this project and we’re very excited to see these artworks going up on the OpenSea platform in September – with some of the proceeds going to a great cause.” The NFTs will be listed on the OpenSea platform from September 30. Media contact

Mr Richard Ossei
BlockSmart NFT
Horndean, United Kingdom
info@blocksmartnft.comwww.blocksmartnft.com

World Peace Summit Calling for Concerted Action for Sustainable Peace in the “New Normal” Era

By
Shelby Grey
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World Peace Summit Calling for Concerted Action for Sustainable Peace in the “New Normal” Era
On September 18th, 2021, the 7th Anniversary of the September 18th HWPL World Peace Summit was held online. This year’s event focused on progress of international efforts and plans to promote the peace agenda in the ‘New Normal’ era, shifting from post-Covid to with-Covid.


The organiser of the event, Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL), has conducted citizen-centred peacebuilding activities since 2014 to create a “culture of peace” advocated by the United Nations and international community and an environment of peaceful coexistence.


This event presented the concerted action for sustainable peace with case studies from various sectors such as international law, religion, education, and media. It also addressed cooperative international efforts to overcome the current COVID-19 crisis, which has threatened the coexistence and harmony of mankind.


HWPL’s peacebuilding efforts establish legal foundations and international norms for peace through connecting global actors, and are embodied by the Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War (DPCW), an international peace law now being taught to law students around the world.


“The DPCW Handbook enables us to systematically teach international law and the essence of peace to these students and others. It enables them to become lecturers in the following course,” said Dr. Mizanur Rahman, Chief Advisor of Asian Association of Law Professors (AALP) as well as Former Chair of National Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh (NHRC-BD). In his address, Dr. Rahman highlighted the need for more public discourse on peacebuilding by academia.

 
In addition to the basic principles of peace which nations should uphold, the DPCW presents principles for the present era, such as prohibiting the use of force, fostering religious freedom, and civic participation to spread a culture of peace. In particular, it states that efforts for peace come from all members of the global society by identifying not only nation-states but also international organisations and all citizens as the main actors of peace.
“We know that it will be hard to achieve peace if we are not all working for it. This is why we need to encourage children, the youth, and adults to prevent verbal abuse and work towards reducing inequalities and eradicating disparities to achieve a more equitable, stable, and peaceful world,” said Former President of Ecuador, Dr. Rosalia Arteaga Serrano.


Hon. Octavia Alfred, Minister of Education, Human Resource Planning, Vocational Training, and National Excellence of Dominica, said that through HWPL Peace Education, students learn the necessity of mutual coexistence and cooperation and pass it on to their friends, parents, and teachers. It also develops students’ psychosocial competency, such as respect for diversity, order, conflict resolution, and negotiation, which also makes it useful for teacher training.

HWPL’s mission and challenge to the international community was summarised in Man Hee Lee’s (HWPL Chairman) keynote speech: “Our objective is to end wars in the global village and establish peace and make it a permanent legacy for future generations. Without peace, everything that we managed to build would be destroyed. …We should not let this happen. So, to achieve peace, shouldn’t we achieve our objective with the same spirit?”

New Report: How UK Executives Adapted to The Pandemic & How UK Business Can Thrive Post COVID Restrictions

By
John Richardson
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A new survey reveals how UK executives coped, adapted, and survived during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how UK businesses can go on to thrive. 
The pandemic affected businesses globally, let alone nationwide. This survey digs into how UK executives managed to overcome the obstacles that COVID-19 and the associated restrictions created, with several interesting points:

  • 83% of execs surveyed said that lockdowns interrupted their way of working
  • But 91% of executives surveyed said they felt they could work either in a VERY efficient way (55%) or relatively efficiently (36%), leaving only 9% feeling their efficiency was sub-par.
  • Only 8% of execs surveyed stated that business relationships suffered as a result of the pandemic

Most executives had to buy additional hardware or software (or their businesses did), and most felt that adapting to working from home in the future would be easier.

Many Would Change Jobs For More Flexibility

Interestingly for business leaders, 72% ofexecutiveswould consider changing roles to a different executive position if it offered more flexibility in terms of remote or hybrid working. Considering how hard it can be to recruit top-talent, and how important it is to keep them, businesses should take note of this fact.
The full report write-up is available freely with no opt-in required, here, and Novo are available for comment or interview: https://www.novoexec.com/blog/Survey–From-surviving-to-thriving-What-Executives-Are-Saying-About-The-Future-Of-Hybrid-Working-Post-Covid-Growth
Comment From Novo:

Jon Hollier, Founding Director, Novo Executive Search & Selection, states:

“Without doubt, UK industry had to respond decisively to the pandemic in order to remain effective and ensure continuity. The workforce and executives clearly responded to the situation and adapted working practices, relationship management and resources.

The outlook for UK industry is certainly positive and the growth in investment and trading opportunities has been gathering pace. “

About Novo Exec:

Novo is a leading executive search and selection company providing clients with highly innovative executive search and selection methodologies. Novo has industry expertise in many key areas, along with excellent networking capabilities.  

SOURCE

In 2021, Chinese Bitcoin miners are actively “marginalizing”?

By
Shelby Grey
-

In the past ten years, too many legends have been born in the cryptocurrency mining industry.

For example, Zhang Nangeng, the founder of Canaan Technology, the first Chinese mining company, built the world’s first Bitcoin FPGA miner and the first ASIC miner.

For example, Wu Jihan and Yang Zuoxing, the former established Bitmain, a miner company. The latter has established a Shenma miner capable of competing for the first place. The latter has established a Shenma miner capable of competing for the first place.For example, Shenyu, Pan Zhibiao and Xu Xin, the first two created today’s world’s first and second Bitcoin mining pool Yuchi and Binyin mining pool. In contrast, the latter created Ethereum’s largest mining pool, Spark Pool.Many bigwigs active in the cryptocurrency circle also come from the mining industry, Jiang Zhuoer, Zhu Fang, Yang Haipo, Zhuang Zhong, etc.

However, 2020 is a watershed. These pinnacle figures of China’s mining industry seem to be withdrawing from the stage of cryptocurrency discourse one by one. Does this mean that mining is becoming less and less critical? Marginalized? I prefer to interpret that the era of cryptocurrency has changed, cryptocurrency has entered a new era, and mining has also entered a new stage of development.

At the turning point of the times, Bitcoin miners “retreated behind the scenes.

“Mining is about to be marginalized. At least it feels away from the center of discourse. Why? I thought of 2 reasons.

1. Bitcoin is becoming more and more stable, and mining has become the guardian of the value network.

In the next four years, it is foreseeable that Bitcoin will not be halved, and it is unlikely that there will be a fork, and the primary Bitcoin network will become more stable.Although it has been under development, there will be almost no sound on the Lightning Network in 2020. It can be said that with Ethereum’s Layer 2, the value of the Lightning Network is no longer what it used to be. The bearers can directly say: It is meaningless.In 2021, perhaps Bitcoin will become a configurable asset of financial institutions. There are countless beautiful stories, but that is not the stage for miners.Miners are the maintainers of the Bitcoin network. There is no stage for mining practitioners to perform without the new dynamics of the underlying network of suspense and stories.

2. Embracing new infrastructure and transforming the Bitcoin mining industry, will it “de-circulate”?

The current mining industry has a non-compliant side. Still, not all links are non-compliant, and the most significant impact of new infrastructure on the mining industry is the introduction of new infrastructure funds into the mining industry under the premise of compliance. Moving towards compliance is a significant trend in the development of the mining industry. All links from electricity consumption and mine construction to fire protection, environmental protection, land and taxation will be compliant.Today, many Bitcoin mining farms seek financing, and even some mining farms seek to go public. This was completely unthinkable before. Therefore, instead of thinking of it as a Bitcoin factory, it is better to think of it as a computing power center in the blockchain world. This is a vast blue ocean market.

In 2021, 2 things to look forward to in the mining industry

1. Is the mining tycoon coming back out of the arena?

In 2020, Wu Jihan faded out of the stage. At the end of 2020, Wu Jihan left with BTC.com, Bit Deer, and overseas mining operations.In 2021, Bitcoin miners are hard to find, and futures miners have been sold until the middle of the year. We can expect that as the turmoil of their respective companies subsides, opinion leaders may return to the arena again. At that time, I don’t know if they can make a sound from the mining industry.

2. With the rise of overseas power, how will the mining trend change?

Few people know that Kazakhstan’s Bitcoin hash rate accounts for 6.17% of the world’s total, which makes it ranked fourth in the world, second only to China, the United States and Russia. Specifically, in the seven months from September 2019 to April 2020, Kazakhstan’s Bitcoin computing power increased by 334%, leading the world.In 2020, a tremendous feeling was that Chinese miners go to sea and overseas companies enter mining. For example, at a computing power conference in Chengdu, Whatsminer’s overseas orders rose rapidly, including North America and Europe, accounting for about 40%.Recently, there has been more news of this kind, including NASDAQ-listed Ninth City, Marathon, Core Scientific, etc..

Companies that have heard of it or have not heard of it are all setting up mines and buying miners.The miners sold by Zeus Mining include the Antminer S9, the Antminer L7, and the Antminer L3+. Click on the official website to learn more about the miner.

 Previously, the buyers of miners were small and medium-sized miners, and everyone wanted to pay back quickly and was keen to calculate the payback period. Today, the return cycle of miners has been dramatically extended, and significant capital has entered the market. The annualized return of capital is equivalent to saying that the basis of calculation has changed.

Capital values long-term mining, and the future is a large-scale, intensive, and refined mining world, and the expectation of a quick return to costs is unrealistic.From crypto-finance to crypto-mining, the United States has begun to take the lead. Will this trend change in 2021 and beyond? Let’s look forward to it together!

Ethical Investing: Ending the era of prioritising profits?

By
Shelby Grey
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Investing is no longer a purely financial decision where the best outcomes are based on profits. 

In recent years more philanthropists have been basing decisions not just on the money they make, but the benefit their investments will have to communities and the bigger social good.  

With ethical investment you’re not just making a financial investment, you’re making an investment for the future. And this kind of ethical, social investment is on the rise. 

By 2019 ethical investments were worth £5.1 billion – an increase from £830 million in 2011, according to Big Society Capital,  It’s clear that ethical and social investment is here to stay. But with so many options, where to invest your money can be daunting. 

Brevio, a platform that matches grant givers and non-profits, has put together a guide to ethical investment. 

So what exactly is ethical investment? 

Ethical investments are investments that have goals beyond financial return. They aim to have a positive impact on society, through incorporating environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into investment decisions.  Put simply, it means investing your money into socially conscious, ethical and responsible organisations who have a clear mission to improve society. Whether that’s investing in ‘green’ companies or those with a higher social purpose. 

For more check out the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association’s explainer on sustainable finance. 

How does it work?  

An ethical investment works just like any other investment. But as well as (or instead of) monitoring financial returns, you monitor the investment’s impact on a specific cause.  From using investment funds or wealth managers, to apps like Nutmeg, to managing your own investments, there are many ways to invest your money. For example, you might invest in an organisation that’s committed to reforesting tropical areas with native species as part of a broader strategy to combat climate change and create the conditions for biodiversity gain.  You could monitor the impact of your investment by looking at how many trees were planted, what species were included, and what total area was impacted – all as a direct result of your funding.  

What’s the best way to do it? 

Before you start your ethical investment journey, it’s important to consider the following:


· What are your values?

· What do you want to get out of it?

· What impact do you want your investment to have?


· Where is your money already invested?

· Do you have a timeframe for the investment? 

Answering these questions will help you to create an investment plan and set your goals. Once you’ve clearly defined your investment plan you should consider whether you want to work with a wealth manager or investment fund, or manage your own investments.  

There are pros and cons to both options. While using a wealth manager or established fund will give you the benefit of experience, managing your own investments will ultimately give you more control. And there are plenty of apps and tools to help you get started.  

The Times money mentor also has some great tips on investing ethically. Just keep in mind that going it alone comes with considerable time to research your investments and ensuring you understand the company’s values, as well as your potential returns. 

How do you find the right charity? 

Picking the right charity or organisation to invest in can be challenging. But working through the questions outlined above will help you find the charities most aligned to your values. You can discover causes that need support at the moment here.  

Just keep one thing in mind. Your investment still needs to return you some financial benefits. You might have a cause you care about particularly, but choosing the right charity or ethical investment shouldn’t just come down to your personal preference. Look for something that you believe will contribute to a greater good and have the biggest societal impact.  It’s important to do your own research. 

Brevio’s Insights & grant builder takes you on a user-guided journey that delivers real insights while you build your criteria. It can help you to identify causes, groups and locations that are in need of urgent funding to help you target your investment towards the right causes that will do the most good. It could also help you discover new areas of investment you might not have through about before – especially if you’re new to ethical investing.  

There’s many ways to invest ethically. We hope these tips will help you to get started. 

Kneip appoints Cyril Molitor as Chief Operating Officer

By
Shelby Grey
-

Molitor joins Kneip to drive its technology and operational strategy and support the next phase of the company’s expansion


20th September 2021 – Luxembourg – Kneip, the global leader in fund data management, is today announcing that it has appointed Cyril Molitor as its new Chief Operating Officer (COO). Molitor brings 20 years’ industry experience, having occupied several senior positions at leading financial services institutions, including HSBC, Credit Suisse and AXA. He was most recently the CEO of Woven, a leading outsourcing provider, where he drove technological innovation and delivered service excellence to its clients. Prior to this, he was the Chief Transformation Officer and Director at Innovation Group Business Services, a leading InsureTech company which he set up in South Africa. Molitor is an experienced and accomplished leader with an impressive background in driving innovation and running operations in financial services and private equity backed businesses. He graduated from Reims Management School with an MSc in Management. 


Based in Kneip’s Luxembourg office, Molitor will be responsible for Operations and Technology. In his capacity he will be driving the company’s operational strategy. He joins Kneip as a member of the Executive Leadership Team, reporting to the CEO, Enrique Sacau.


Commenting on his appointment, Cyril Molitor, Chief Operating Officer of Kneip says: “This is a truly exciting time for me to be joining Kneip. Over nearly three decades, Kneip has built a world class reputation for delivering innovative products and solutions for some of the biggest names in the fund industry. I am thrilled to be joining an ambitious executive team, and I look forward to delivering outstanding client experience and building the structures that will support the next stage of Kneip’s expansion.”


Kneip’s CEO, Enrique Sacau commented: “Cyril’s appointment reflects our commitment to innovate and deliver exceptional service for our clients. We are thrilled that he is joining our team at an important time in our company’s development as we embark on the next stage of Kneip’s growth. His impressive track record in operations and technology gives Cyril the perfect experience to drive innovation and deliver high value to our business and to our clients.”


With Molitor’s arrival, Kneip’s current COO, Mario Mantrisi, who had stepped in the role a year ago, becomes responsible for market development with an emphasis to grow Kneip in new markets. As the newly appointed Strategy Director, Mantrisi retains his role as a member of Kneip’s Executive Leadership Team.


Kneip’s CEO, Enrique Sacau, says: “Mario took over Client Services last year and leaves Cyril a transformed operation. Thanks to his exceptional knowledge of our product, our clients, and our regulatory environment he will now have the opportunity again to grow Kneip.”


 Cyril Molitor, Chief Operating Officer of Kneip

Recruitment Industry Disability Initiative Awards 2021 – Finalists Announced

By
John Richardson
-

The finalists of the Recruitment Industry Disability Initiative (RIDI) Awards 2021 have been announced today after another record year of entries. 

Now, in their 8th year, the RIDI Awards celebrate pioneering employers and recruiters who, as we return to a very different working world, are safeguarding and progressing opportunities for disabled job seekers through accessible and equitable employment policies and processes.

RIDI is a unique initiative to lead change in recruitment by encouraging and supporting recruiters and businesses to remove the barriers faced by the millions of disabled job seekers particularly at a time when many organisations are recruiting to fill a high number of vacancies. 

Head judge Jane Hatton commented:

“The breadth, diversity and calibre of finalists in the 8th annual RIDI Awards actively demonstrates the progress being made in the UK towards greater disability inclusion. Our Awards celebrate the very best of disability confident recruitment and I would like to congratulate all the finalists, who have made it through to the final round of judging. These are stories of best practice and success that should inspire the recruitment industry to continue to take the necessary steps to recruit back better and put disability confident recruitment at the top of the agenda.”

Look out for the virtual awards ceremony on 3rd December. 

2021 RIDI Awards finalists in alphabetical order:

Best Inclusive Recruitment Campaign

·       Business as Usual

·       GTR (Govia Thameslink Railway)

·       ViacomCBS

·       Zero2Hero Apprentice Scheme

Disability Confident

·       Atkins

·       Becoming Disability Confident Leader

·       Network Rail Disability Matters Programme

·       Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust

Disability Specialist

·       C Talent

·       Patchwork Hub

·       Pembrokeshire Supported Employment Team

·       The SAMEE Charity

Getting Started

·       Mace Group – Enabled at Mace ERG

·       North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust – Learning Disability Expert by Experience Recruitment

·       PageGroup

·       Travelers Europe

·       UNIQLO Europe Limited

Inclusive Recruiter of the Year

·       Beth Kume-Holland and Patchwork Hub Team

·       Civil Service Fast Stream and Emerging Talent Team

·       North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust – Learning Disability Expert by Experience Recruitment

·       PageGroup

·       TPP Recruitment

Making a Difference – Private Sector

·       Balfour Beatty Vinci Systra JV

·       Financial Times Early Careers Programmes

·       Steve Mills, DPD UK

·       Utilita

Making a Difference – Public Sector

·       Go East Young Man (and Woman)!

·       Improving Experiences of Disabled Staff

·       North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust – Learning Disability Expert by Experience Recruitment

·       Searching for the Best!

Recruiting Back Better

·       Ability Above All Else

·       Guidant Global

·       myInterview

·       Patchwork Hub

·       Recruiting for Diversity

SOURCE

Alison Handling announced as finalists at the BIBAs 2021

By
John Richardson
-

Alison Handling is proud to announce that following the latest round of judging, that they have made it through to the final of the BIBAs 2021 in the small business category.  

The BIBAs is a celebration of some of the most exciting companies and entrepreneurs based in Lancashire, showcasing their success stories, and highlighting Lancashire’s position as a world-class business community. The BIBAs is Lancashire’s most prestigious and longest running business awards programme and is run by the North & Western Lancashire Chamber of Commerce. Since 2008, thousands of entrepreneurs have entered the BIBAs, and they have welcomed over 10,000 guests to their renowned annual ceremony.

Alison Handling is up against GRP55 T/A Group55, Nextday Freight Ltd, Nutree Life Ltd, Nybble IT, SR Supply Chain Consultants Ltd, Training Works (NW) Ltd and Vital Life Nutraceuticals at the nail-biting finale. 

This year the awards ceremony is taking place at The Blackpool Tower Ballroom, in Blackpool on 17th September.  Renowned for welcoming the biggest names in world entertainment, previous guest speakers include Eamonn Holmes, Russell Watson and Lulu to name but a few and this year’s BIBAs ceremony is an event not to be missed.

The judges include some of the best business minds in Lancashire and the UK. Every category has experts relevant to that individual sector. The process of making a successful entry is itself much more than submitting a paper entry and a short conversation. For finalist businesses, the ‘BIBAs on tour’ model saw the judges visit the business on-site to get a first-hand look and feel about how the business operated. By entering, Alison Handling is already testing themselves against the best in the business and being shortlisted is an achievement in itself.

Glenn Broomfield, managing director of Alison Handling said “as clearly the most prestigious business awards in the area, we are overjoyed to have been selected and shortlisted for this fantastic award and shows how far we have come as a business over recent years. I am particularly thrilled for all the staff here at Alison Handling and the recognition this brings to all their hard work through these challenging times.”

Alison Handling is the Uk’s largest independent stockist of new plastic storage boxes, plastic boxes, plastic trays, plastic skips, plastic totes, plastic pallets and plastic pallet boxes. At Alison Handling, we are proud of our reputation for the right product, at the right price, at the right time, promptly delivered from stock, coupled with an enviable level of customer service. Alison Handling is also environmentally responsible, and all our plastic storage solutions are fully recyclable.

SOURCE

UK logistics company grows despite driver shortage

By
Shelby Grey
-

A leading UK logistics company will be opening another three offices as demand for speedy delivery services surges. 

The announcement comes in the wake of a national driver shortage that is being felt countrywide. 

Recruitment website Totaljobs UK said they had seen a rise in driver job requests since February.

Data shows that in July 2020, about 5 561 delivery driver search queries were performed compared to almost 20 000 similar search queries in 2021. 

A spokesman for the site said that these figures were more than four times higher than in the same period in 2020 and three times higher than pre-pandemic levels. 

During the week 16 to August 22, over 4 000 driving or delivery roles were advertised on the site.

According to Google Trends, the week of August 30 to September 6 saw a spike in driver job search queries. 

Ongoing driver shortages – in all sectors such as long-haul trucking, courier, and retail – have led to delivery delays across several retail sectors. 

Pegasus Couriers operations manager Phil West, 50, said that the driver shortage had impacted most businesses in the logistics industry. “We were fortunate enough to be able to flex our recruitment approach and adapt. However, the entire industry is feeling a shortage of drivers. It is a concern for all in the sector. Year on year, we have seen an increase in deliveries but a decrease in drivers for each job. We are expecting a busy season with the pre-Christmas shopping starting around the end of September.” 

The move to increase the company’s reach comes as forecast predictions show an increase in online post-pandemic shopping, particularly before the festive season.

In the build-up to Christmas last year, Pegasus Couriers delivered around 42 000 parcels a day, totalling more than 300 000 a month.

The provider’s operations currently cover Scotland, Ireland, and the north of England. 

The three new operations will be near Belfast, Warrington on Manchester’s outskirts, and Jarrow outside Newcastle. 

Pegasus Couriers Director Martin Smith,56, said that all logistics businesses were scrambling to find drivers, mostly picking staff from the same shrinking resources pool.

Smith added that several hospitality and retail workers signed up as temporary delivery drivers during the lockdown, but several left to return to their pre-pandemic jobs. “The recruitment websites figures prove our point. Our recruitment teams are seeing an increase in applicants from the end of August; however, we have also embarked on a more multi-platform advertising campaign.”

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