Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund's First Investment in Yorkshire

Author Daderot  Licence CCO  1.0  Source Wikimedia Commons

Harlow Carr Gardens Harrogate

 

Jane Lambert

On 24 March 2024, the British Business Bank announced the launch of a £660 million fund to invest in businesses in the North of England known as the "Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II" (see the British Business Bank's press release Launch of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II provides £660m boost for small businesses of 21 March 2024).  I wrote about the launch in Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II on 4 April 2024 in NIPC Northwest.   I learnt more about the fund at Innovate UK Regional Investment Spotlight – Liverpool which took place at the Liverpool Science Park on 26 June 2024 and I got the chance to question the funders at Daresbury on 12 July 2024 (see Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II - Meeting the Funders 14 July 2024 NIPC Northwest).

The British Business Bank has recently announced the Fund's first investments In Yorkshire, the North East and North West.  According to the Bank's press release of 18 July 2024  the first investment in Yorkshire was £2 million to Worthenshaws Ltd trading as Kirsty's in Harrogate from Mercia Equity Finance.  The investment will be used to fund the development of new products and is expected to create 15 new jobs. Another aspect of the transaction is that Ian Kent will chair the company.

Worthenshaws Ltd.' first came to the public's notice when the company's founder, Kirsty Henshaw appeared on the BBC's Dragons' Den in 2010.  On that occasion, she raised investment to produce a frozen dessert alternative to ice cream.  According to Megan Dansby, that product was not sufficiently profitable. The company rebranded as Kirsty’s and introduced a range of oven-ready meals (see Megan Dunby Dragons’ Den success stories: Worthenshaw’s (and what you can learn from them) 23 March 2023 Startups). The post contains a link to Ms Henshaw's arrival at the Dragons' Den. 

Anyone wishing to discuss this article may404 5252  call me during office hours on 020 7404 5252 or send me a message through my contact form.  

Hat Trick

Author Edgar Degas Public Domain Source Wikimedia Commons

Jane Lambert

I mentioned The Creative Collective when it hosted Rita Britton in April 2024 (see Meeting Rita Britton, a Living Legend 9 April 2024).  The Collectiive's guest this morning was milliner speaker and blogger Sherry Richardson, another South Yorkshire fashion influencer.

Sherry recounted her life and career before she became a milliner.  She remembered a newspaper report about a millinery course and decided to enrol,.  She hoped that it might be possible to sell a few hats to her friends,  She brought two examples of her handiwork with her as well as a hatter's block which could be anything from 80 to 100 years old.   In the course of Sherry's lecture, I remembered that I had been at school with David Shilling who famously made the most unusual hats for his mother.   Sherry remembered him from a charity event at which he was the guest of honour.

In my previous article, I mentioned that Rita Britton had said that she was designing a bag listing Barnsley among the world's fashion capitals.   Today I saw an example of that product with the latest signage which has evolved as follows:

NEW YORK

PARIS

LONDON

BARNSLEY

That is not entirely tongue-in-cheek. There is a growing community of highly talented designers, makers and distributors in South Yorkshire.

Hats like Sherry's are probably protected from copying by copyright for the rest of Sherry's life plus 70 years as works of artistic craftsmanship.  Designers with reputations should think about registering their brands as trade marks here and in every other country in which they have a market.  Designs of items that are to be manufactured or licensed should be registered under the Registered Designs Act 1949.

Anyone wishing to discuss this article may call me on 07966 373922 during UK office hours or send me a message through my contact page.

Huddersfield Health Innovation Partnership

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Jane Lambert

The Huddersfield Health Innovation Partnership is a collaboration between the University of Huddersfield, 3M Buckley Innovation Centre, Business Kirklees, the NHS and other local and regional health and wellbeing bodies.  It was formed to offer businesses in the healthcare and well-being sectors:

• business support
• events and workshops
• access to university and NHS expertise
• office and lab space
• funding, and
• facilities for product development.

The University's National Health Innovation Campus is a 7-acre site, with planning permission for up to 7 buildings.  It will include a health and well-being academy, research facilities for skin integrity and infection prevention, psychological therapies, addiction and falls prevention. specialist clinical teaching facilities and space and equipment for teaching members of the public

One of the first events to be offered by the Partnership is AI Innovation in Healthcare which will take place between 09:30 and 15:30 at the John Smith Stadium.  One of the topics to be discussed at that event will be AI in pharmaceutical development.  It is a topic in which I have an obvious professional interest and I have already signed up for it.

The new healthcare and wellbeing businesses that will occupy office and lab space on campus will doubtless require the best possible advice and assistance on intellectual property and healthcare law.  I will continue the initial advice and signposting clinics that I have run for the last 20 years.   In those clinics, I advise startups and other small and medium enterprises pro bono on topics in which I have expertise or refer them to experts in other professions for such services as patent, trade mark or design applications, product design or prototyping, taxation and so on.  As I retain virtual office facilities at the Huddersfield Media Centre on N Northumberland Street I am well placed to promote and assist the Huddersfield Health Innovation Partnership.

Anyone wishing to discuss this article may call me on 07966 373922 during office hours or send me a message through my contact page,