Purple Sprout has expanded its growing team with a new member of staff.

Mathew Haining, from Wolstanton, has joined the team as a web developer after previously working in the education sector.

The 27-year-old said: “I wanted to work on more varied projects and I was looking for a role which would allow me to be more creative. Purple Sprout has a really creative approach and the team have made me feel very welcome.

“It’s an exciting time for the company because we’re growing fast and I’m looking forward to working on some big, exciting projects.”

Mathew’s appointment follows a successful pitch by the agency to deliver a marketing strategy for property management company Unitas, and seven other client wins since January.

David Mellenchip, acting managing director, said: “We’re really impressed with the work Mat has done so far and he’s fit into our team right away. We’re seeing more demand for websites and SEO and Mat’s skills will help us meet this demand.”

Software development company, Langley Foxall Ltd, are celebrating their exponential growth by launching a new website and expanding their range of offerings for customers.

The Stafford based company has recently realigned their branding and are moving forward with ‘exciting new prospects in mind’ according to their Marketing Manager.

Since being founded by Nicholas Langley in 2013, Langley Foxall have experienced rapid growth year on year and now boast a team of 20 talented individuals just over 5 years later, even opening a sales hub in Manchester.

The company has recognised there is a high demand for custom software after seeing first hand the frustrations of running a business with industry standard tools. “As we make headway in the industry we decided to realign our branding accordingly, it has been in the pipeline, but celebrating our growth by providing more offers for our customers seemed the perfect course of action for Langley Foxall” states Nicholas Langley, Managing Director.

The company states ‘many businesses start with the belief that you are doing something different within your industry, or to a better standard’.

“Yet you are limiting your capabilities and adapting your vital (potentially unique) processes to suit industry standard software. This has been known to cause issues such as; bottlenecking, long (sometimes even paper based or spreadsheet assisted) processes with the use of multiple systems failing to communicate effectively with each other forcing duplicated tasks.”

Langley Foxall have been helping companies all over the UK to solve these issues and will continue to do so as they grow from strength to strength.

The company is considered by many to be a leading force in this area of their industry and with that, they are focusing heavily on code based standards.

Keele University won medals in three categories at the annual The University Caterers Organisation (TUCO) Competitions held at Warwick University on 26^th and 27^th March 2019.

The first win for Keele University was a Bronze Medal for Pastry Chef James Jefferies’ impressive cakes served in the Afternoon Tea Challenge at the Salon Culinaire. Creating four sweet items for an afternoon tea menu. James ‘choices were Bitter Chocolate & Peanut Brownie, Lemon Meringue Pot, Tonka Bean Choux Bun and Ginger, Apricot & Sultana Flapjack.

Sous Chef Kim Barnish, brought home the first Gold Medal for the eventing in the Grab ‘n’ Go Challenge where competitors were asked to produce a savoury hand-held snack and a dessert which must be allergen free. For the savoury snack, Kim chose a rolled flatbread filled and baked with mildly spiced coronation style chicken and for the dessert she created a typical Sicilian cannolo without any dairy products and utilising gluten free flour. At the awards dinner the pressure was on as Kim had won a similar event at last year’s competition. Always ready to deliver, Kim rose to the top of the leader board winning a Gold medal for Keele.

It was then the turn of the Cook and Serve Team Adrian Ascina, James Tudor & James Eardley to bring the second win of the evening. Creating a menu from pre selected ingredients, this was cooked and served for a table of four guests. 

Adrian, who has only competed once before this event, was asked to serve a pre-dinner drink which was Bombay Sapphire Gin with Spiced Tonic Water flavoured with Kaffir Lime Leaf. His precise and attentive front of house skills ensured the team outshone all others and he was awarded with Best Service on the day.

Attending the awards dinner, Adrian Lowe, General Manager for Keele Hall commented: “It was a fantastic evening to see our competitors win over tough competition.  Academic venues have great talent within their food and beverage teams, and this demonstrates the creativity we have with our catering services.”

Bodyline Clinic, the North West’s number one prescription weight loss company, is transforming lives with successfully guiding over 300 people in Stoke-on-Trent to achieve their weight loss goals since opening their doors only a matter of months ago.

Based on Festival Park, the women-owned weight loss business, which is the only UK organisation to hold both CQC and Home Office regulated status, are feeling the love from the Stoke community since they arrived.

“The Stoke opening came from Bodyline customers asking for a clinic to be on their doorstep. We saw many clients travelling some distance to visit us and as a business, we always listen to feedback and saw a gap in the market in Stoke. We have had a great welcome and feel very much at home since we opened our doors last year”, says Managing Director Sally Turner, who has owned and grown the business since she opened her first clinic over 15 years ago.

Each clinic is operated by a medical team that is overseen by the clinical director who is also an NHS consultant in public health.

The clinics offer advice and guidance on lifestyle, nutrition, diet and exercise, with each client receiving a tailored weight-loss plan and weight-loss-aid medication to enable them to achieve their weight loss goals.

Sally continued: “We welcome people from all walks of life through our doors, but they all have one thing in common, they’re lifelong dieters who are struggling with their weight. They have often exhausted all other usual routes and are still unable to shift those pounds. With our team of 25 clinicians, doctors and nurses we have the right skills, knowledge and products to help people lose the weight for good in a safe environment.”

Tracy Ritchings, clinic manager, at Stoke said: “We have already received such brilliant feedback from our clients, and we can proudly say we have helped them wave goodbye to total of 70 stone since we opened, and we look forward to adding to that ongoing total in every clinic session.”

“We know that hunger is such a huge factor in why diets continue to fail, but with our medication we can guarantee the pangs of hunger don’t exist, enabling those who have battled with their weight for most of the lives the chance to turn it around with our ongoing support.

“At Bodyline we are also at the forefront of developing high quality supplements, with our inhouse pharmacists designing and expanding our range of wellness products – such as our recently launch B12 and D3 sprays. We’ve also seen lots of excitement around our new weight loss injection, Bodyline’s SlimPen, also known as Saxenda, with individuals losing weight quicker and easier than ever before.”

The Donna Louise has welcomed local businessman, Nathan Walton as its new Director of Income Generation & Marketing.

Having previously been a Trustee, and through taking part in a number of fundraising events and challenges over the years, raising over £110,000 to support the families who rely on the services provided by the hospice, Nathan is no stranger to The Donna Louise. Not only that, he was one of twelve intrepid team-mates who took part in last year’s gruelling Tower to Tower challenge, a 4-day cycle, row and walk from Paris to London without sleep.

Nathan said, “As a long-time supporter of The Donna Louise, I’ve seen first-hand the wonderful and invaluable support that the hospice offers to so many local families, and have been fortunate enough to get to know many of them, and the wonderful team who care for them, over the years.”

Widely known across the region for his business knowledge and connections, Nathan was previously Managing Director of JSW Insurance Services, a company which he co-founded and led to success for almost 14 years. He brings with him a wealth of knowledge, skills and experience that will be invaluable to The Donna Louise as the team forge ahead with an exciting period of development.

Commenting on his new role at The Donna Louise, Nathan added, “I’m delighted to join The Donna Louise team. It’s a huge privilege and I’m proud to be joining such a fantastic, motivated team. I’m especially excited to be joining the charity at such an important time with the development of our services for young adults and look forward to using the knowledge, skills and connections I have gained in the business world to help this incredible charity thrive even further.”

Joe Gill has recently joined Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Growth Hub. In this new role, Joe will provide knowledge and expertise on human resource matters, plus processes to assist the B2B sector across Staffordshire.

He will be helping eligible companies by assessing which processes and information businesses need to provide to their staff. He will also be ensuring that businesses are up to date with current legal requirements.

Joe have several years’ experience working within HR teams, specifically focusing on SME’s and the challenges that they face. Joe has also recently completed an MSc Human Resource Management and Development at Salford University, obtaining CIPD Associate status at Level 7.

Prior to joining the team, Joe spent 6 years training staff in several operations departments for a high-growth business based in Stoke-on-Trent. Originally from Merseyside, Joe moved to Staffordshire in 2006 to study Law at Keele university and has settled in the county ever since. Outside of work, Joe enjoys Rugby League, walking and spending time with his daughter.

For more information, please contact Joe on joseph.gill@staffordshirechambers.co.uk

Hobson Health owner Dr John Hobson has recently completed The Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses UK programme, graduating in December 2018.

The Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses UK programme is designed to provide high-quality, practical education and business support to leaders of high-growth small businesses and social enterprises across the country.

These businesses play a vital role in creating jobs and driving economic growth in the UK through innovation and market expansion. The programme was established in 2010 to specifically address the support gap for small enterprises, helping them to unlock the economic and job creation potential of their businesses.

The programme is designed by leading experts and is run in partnership with the Said Business School at Oxford University, the Aston Centre for Growth at Aston University, Leeds University Business School at University of Leeds, and the Manchester Metropolitan University Business School at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Hobson Health owner Dr John Hobson says, “I first became aware of the GS10KSB programme in the spring of 2018 when the Chamber of Commerce organised an event to publicise the programme. I had not heard about it before and at the time I was taking time away from the business to edit a medical textbook and pursue some other projects relating to my academic commitments. One thing lead to another and after a quite demanding application and selection process, I was invited onto the programme starting in September.

“The outcome of the course was our business growth plan which I am now starting to implement. The statistics concerning businesses that go through the programme are impressive with the majority showing significant growth even in the first year after the programme. Whether we do grow or not, I know that the things I have learned will not only benefit our business but the businesses and organisations we work with and most importantly the people they employ in terms of protecting their health and enhancing their well-being.

I would recommend the course to anyone who owns or runs their own business and I am very happy to talk to anyone who might be interested in doing it or any of our partners who would like to understand more about our plans for the future.”

Hobson Health are delighted to announce that Tracey Davis has joined the team as Clinical Services Director.

Tracey’s initial responsibilities will include leading and developing the nursing team in both our Northwich and Stoke offices, where she will be based.

Tracey has substantial client facing experience having held a number of senior positions within the industry, including OH Manager, Director of Nursing, Operations Manager and Business Development Manager.

Tracey qualified as an OHA in 2000 and has a Masters Degree in Occupational Health.

Welcome aboard Tracey!