Dear Members We have long supported Manchester Curry Club. If you would like to join the list, please e-mail mike.barnes1@sky.com. The next lunch will take place on Wednesday February 19th. Please let Mike know by return e-mail, and no later than midday on the Monday beforehand, if you wish to attend, and the number & names of your guests. There is no need to reply, if you cannot make it, or if you have already booked your place. The following are the dates for the rest of the years luncheons :- 18/3, 22/4, 20/5, 17/6, 22/7, 19/8, 23/9, 21/10, 18/11 and the Christmas meal 23/12. Please respond by midday on Feb 17th at the latest. If you have any late changes on the morning of the Lunch, please phone me on 07976 342433. Regards. MPG
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A few pieces of news from our partners as MD Jason Roper kicked off November’s event with ABC Accounting Services who have just recently rebranded to Longden & Co. Partners of MPG from the very beginning, Managing Director Lee Longden chose to rebrand to coincide with their recent office move, it is more than worth while visiting their new website https://www.longdencompany.co.uk/ The next news was from our Partners at Connell Brothers Demolition who as some of you may remember presented to MPG earlier in the year. At the time their Commercial Director Mark Riley mentioned they were also working on a brand new website, that is also now live and looking very good indeed https://connellbrothers.co.uk/ Jason’s last piece of news from our Partners was in relation to Assetz Capital who have launched “Real World Finance”, much more news will be rolled out on this come the start of 2020 so stay tuned to find out all you need to know. Next it was over to our guest speaker Adam Kirwan who is a Director at WHP Telecoms who are professional infrastructure support partners to the telecommunications industry providing end to end services to enable to deployment, upgrade, improvement and densification of networks. Adam briefly touched on how and when WHP become involved in projects before explaining how they have managed to maintain being a trusted partner in the telecommunications industry since 1988 in which time a huge amount of evolution has taken place. They continue to work with all of the industry leaders including BT, Nokia, O2, CTIL and Samsung to name a few. Soon it was on to the eagerly await subject of 5G, not only in terms of business life but also personal life for absolutely everyone, the new network is even faster than the human brain. When 5G is eventually rolled out almost every industry will see significant changes and it’s not just manufacturing or technology-based business which will see the effects. Everyone has seen how mobile phones and home broadband have evolved over the past 20 or so years with the move to 3G then 4G but the biggest step will by far be the one from 4G to 5G as Adam illustrated with some facts and figures in his slides as the ones above. So naturally one of the key questions was when will 5G be ready? Adam’s answer to that question was by no means narrow as he explained that some parts of the UK still don’t received full 4G coverage which has been around for almost a decade now so it’s not going to happen overnight. The slide above which Adam also provided gives us an idea of the upgrades needed before everywhere within the M60 would be fully covered by 5G…….but you must also consider that the majority of hardware and devices such as phones, tablets and PCs are still not 5G ready so realistically we are still a few years off one of the biggest technological evolutions to date… If you have any new project coming up that need their own network or you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact Adam - (a.kirwan@whptelecoms.com) The next guest was Rob Fletcher from 4Tech who have recently been working closely with MPG to create a unique App which will enable all of our Members and Partners to stay connected better than ever before, the App will be live on the App Store for iPhone users and the Google Play Store for Android users by searching MANCHESTER PROPERTY GROUP.
Members who attended November’s event will already have received their unique login details with all other partners and members to receive theirs by email in the very near future. Rob kindly explained the basics, especially how the App will benefit our Members!! Well for a start the App will automatically notify you of all upcoming events, not only this, you can easily register for future events in just one click. The App will also allow you at add guests for future events and pay for them in advance directly through the App itself. As the App has push notifications all our news stories and partner updates will be readily available to all and easier to access than ever, as are contact details for all off our Partners and Sponsors. Rob and his colleagues will also be attending December’s Event to help assist anyone who is struggling to get set up with the App or who couldn’t make November’s event and requires login details. The winner of the Champagne in September sponsored by Landmark Development Solutions was Sam Ward with the meal for 2 at Albert's going to his guest Ellie Farrell. Our next event is a Christmas Drinks Event for Members and Partners only which is taking place on Thursday 5th December at Kiely’s Irish Bar. As we will not be holding an event in January, our first of 2020 takes place on Thursday 6th February, when we will be joined by Mark Hawthorn, Founder & Managing Director of Landmark Investments Group who has kindly sponsored the Champagne for all MPG events throughout 2019. If you are not a member but are interested to get involved with MPG please contact us today info@mpg-nw.com and we would be more than happy to provide information on our membership options and upcoming vents. We look forward to seeing you at December’s Event!!! Institute of Couriers Newsflash Sunday Oct 13 www.ioc.uk.com Well done TFGM for closed roads success in Manchester Heartland Sunday special. MPG ambassador, IOC Chairman joins Sixteen thousand in TFGM Manchester heartland for last mile delivery at thirteen miles. Carmen, Carl Lomas donned full high visibility rain top in Manchester to Join sixteen thousand runners on closed roads of TFGM heartland.
A wall of runners for the Manchester Half Marathon. Started in waves of targeted times, Lomas in purple set for a two hour window on the streets of Manchester. Transport for greater Manchester sorted the multi modal transport, tram and train for the start at Old Trafford Man United Football Ground. Manchester lined the streets in support of the giant half marathon turnout, Jelly Babies to cups of tea were waiting along the route, bands playing and church choirs singing. Runners focused on time windows mile by mile reading the pace watch and checking the giant mile marker boards for this middle England big one on closed roads as high vis marshals delivered a perfect package all the way to the final mile. Thirteen, no! There is just a bit more, put the pedal down and be sure the van is empty before parking up for the full half marathon distance. IOC team rallied up the mile marker calculations via tracking and mobile phone text as Lomas dug into the post ten mile distance watching the delivery time match the target. For lots more detail on this week's extracts, take a look at the IOC detailed web news. With three very exciting speakers lined up this month it was just a brief introduction and welcome from MPG’s Jason Roper before getting straight in to it with Peter Istrate, Founder of Moxels being the first guest speaker of the day. Peter is the Founder and Managing Director of Moxels, a Creative CGI Agency who’s services include branding, strategy and design. He began by questioning what an idea actually is before eventually elaborating to “it’s not what you do….but why you do it..” He continued to ask how we communicate our ideas in business, how do we tell a story backed up with an age old saying, “a picture speaks a thousand words”. Having talked us through slides showing some of the incredible CGI work Moxels have done for Real Estate clients, Peter wanted to remind everyone that people do not buy products, they simply buy solutions to their problems, or ultimately a change. Peter’s presentation was aimed at simplifying and explaining Moxels goal which is to bring great ideas to life making them accessible to everyone. Whether you’re an Architect, Interior Designer or Property Developer they will take your project from paper to realistic images to tell your story. Should you have any questions please do not hesitate Peter (peter@moxels.com). Our second speaker of the day was the Managing Director of Watts Group, Ian Ford. Having spoken at MPG on previous occasions Ian made it clear that he would be brief to leave the real speaking to his colleague Jim Wilson. Ian very briefly touched on how Watts have grown before playing two quite interesting promotional videos which he has edited all by himself, no small task in itself, which showed some of the exciting projects they have worked on. Last to speak but by no means least was Watts Director Jim Wilson. Jim has been a constant supporter of MPG since our inception and continues to work successfully with many of our Members on projects throughout the UK. Entitled Funder’s Due Diligence & Project Monitoring the subjects are self-explanatory, however, Jim wanted to use this opportunity to explain the importance of the DD process and the need for strict project monitoring. Jim touched on build cost appraisals where he touched on all the elements which are taken into consideration, the need for a contingency and for cash flow forecasts. This progressed nicely onto a brief update on construction costs (see slide above). The point that Jim stressed throughout his presentation was that the DD and monitoring process has one ultimate goal, that is to ensure a safe and profitable exit for all parties come the end of the project. Please contact JimWilson (jim.wilson@watts.co.uk) should you have any questions or wish to seek further advice. The winner of the Champagnein Septembersponsored by Landmark Development Solutions was Alastair Milton with the meal for 2 at Alberts going to Simon Graham of Njoy Living. Our next event takes place on Thursday 7th November when we will be joined by Adam Kirwan, Director with WHP Telecoms who will enlighten everyone about 5G and its upcoming impact to business and life. And …We will be launching our MPG App for your Phones, so there will be no reason to miss another event or to keep up with what is happening in the Property Market If you are not a member but are interested to get involved with MPG please contact us today info@mpg-nw.com and we would be more than happy to provide information on our membership options and upcoming vents. We look forward to seeing you all in November!!! Back to work in September for MPG members as the summer holidays are already a faint memory Members, Partners and Guests turned out in force to last Thursday’s event. Jason Roper provided his customary opening speech and tried not to touch too heavily on the B word, which is of course the ever present elephant in the room which is Brexit before diving into some interesting fact regarding new housing statistics and the end of the government’s help to buy scheme in 2023 and 2021 for Non first time buyers, where he posed the question of what will replace it and finally a brief mention of the unfortunate situation at Bury FC, a club close to the hearts of a couple our members. The first speaker of the day was our very own Clive Gawthorpe, Tax Partner at UHY Hacker Young who was once more thrown in at the deep end come the eleventh hour to stand in for his colleague Michelle Dale who was called to an urgent meeting to advise in advance of Brexit. The B word again rearing its somewhat ugly head this time on Tax. Clive having adopted Michell’s slides was amused to note that she had used his name as an example in some of the slides, when he was explaining the subject of the new domestic reverse VAT charges.Which will soon affect the construction industry, especially where sub-contractors are involved and more concerningly it will have an adverse impact on cashflow on those who find themselves in the middle of such chains. These new rules were due come into force on 1st October 2019, however 3 days after the talk, the government decided to delay it by a year to 1st October 2020. I guess we have more time now to get our ducks in a row!! Please contact Clive (c.gawthorpe@uhy-uk.com) or Michelle (m.dale@uhy-uk.com) should you have any questions or which to seek further advice. Next to the floor was MPG Partner and Managing Director of Real Financial Services Paul Ramsey who wanted to make everyone aware of the reality and importance of protection and the consequences of not having the correct protection in both your personal life and for your business. Paul went on to explain the different types of protection available and the cost which is relatively low considering what you can be covered for including long term illness, death of a key business partner and so on. One set of statistics Paul included within his presentation was just where people prioritise cover, it slips way down the order below car insurance, contents insurance, pet insurance and even mobile phone insurance, when seen in black and which it really is quite alarming. For more information on the advice and services Paul Ramsey and Real Financial can offer you please contact him by email:- paul@realfs.co.uk The winner of the Champagnein Septembersponsored by Landmark Development Solutions was John Farrell of Newington’s, with the meal for 2 at Alberts going to Dave Hardman of Assetz Capital. Our next event takes place onThursday 3rd October when we will be joined by Jim Wilson and Ian Ford (MD) from MPG Partners Watts Group Limited. We also have Peter Istrate from Moxels giving a brief introduction to his business in 3D Designs and more for property If you are not a member but are interested to get involved with MPG please contact us today info@mpg-nw.com and we would be more than happy to provide information on our membership options and upcoming vents. We look forward to seeing you all in October!!! As informal as MPG gets in August with a Summer Drink Reception followed by a few words from MPG Ambassador Carl Lomas MBE. We have been fortunate enough to hear Carl speak at a previous MPG event and this months short insight into his career and life experiences lived up to expectations yet again. Quickly touching on a few business experiences and words of advice to begin with Carl wasted no time in lightening the mood with some fantastic stories he picked up on his travels, most notably when his boat capsized in rough water while his family were on board and being rescued by a warship from the Royal Navy. The winner of the Champagnein August sponsored by Landmark Development Solutionswas Jamie Dutton of Watts with the meal for 2 at Alberts going to Nick Braithwaite of R&D Specialists.
We are back to business as usual on Thursday 5th September when we our guest speakers will include MPG Partner Paul Ramsey, Managing Director of Real Financial and MPG’s very own Clive Gawthorpe with his eagerly anticipated Tax update. If you are not a member but are interested to get involved with MPG please contact us today info@mpg-nw.com and we would be more than happy to provide information on our membership options and upcoming vents. We look forward to seeing you all in September!!! Another month flies by as we make a run for Christmas having passed the half way point on 2019 and look back to check where the time has gone. Our favourite host MD Jason Roper reflected on the year to date in the same fashion before announcing plans for a new look MPG in 2020. Having consulted MPG partners and members on the subject the new look MPG in 2020 will see bi-monthly events in a similar format as we currently see supported by a variety of other events and away days throughout the year so watch this space for more details as time draws closer. Not for the first time this year we had the pleasure of hearing from one of the most respected tax experts in the UK, UHY Hacker Young Partner and MPG Co-founder Clive Gawthorpe to bring us his usual Property update. The subject of choice on this occasion was Accounting IARF 16 in which Clive made us aware of the need to capitalise any lease longer than year on your balance sheets and the effects of doing do, the consequence of not doing so and the tax relieve also associated. For further information please contact Clive:- c.gawthorpe@uhy-uk.com Next to the step us was our guest speaker this month Michael Brennan returning to speak to MPG for the second time in 18 months. Michael is an exceptional entrepreneur who was listed on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe List in 2018 having founded Tootoot with is friend Kieran Innes in 2013 after leaving university. Initially launching the Tootoot app aimed at pupils as an anti-bullying reporting tool, Tootoot have since raised further funding to expand their vision into the workplace as an anonymous reporting tool. Initially backed by MPG Ambassador Terry Flannagan MBE with huge success, they have recently pushed for a further £500,000 of investment which has almost been achieved with just £80,000 up for grabs. Michael was very keen to share the success of Tootoot with MPG and explain the growth they have seen since he last visited producing figures which were absolutely astonishing. Since moving their app into the workplace they have had major success and been adopted by some large names, one example being Barclays. Their old process for employees to report consisted of an employee helpline costing £5 million per year to upkeep and when they did a survey less than 50% off all employees even knew the number existed. Moving to Tootoot has not only saved them a huge cost it also allows the employee an easier and more comfortable way of reporting. To listen to Michael speak is always a pleasure, he even followed up with a question and answers session which brought even more positive point to light including a retention rate of over 70%. All in all the journey to date and the steps Tootoot have made in both education and the workplace are huge but beyond all inspirational.
Watch this space closely because don’t be surprised is one day in the no so distant future Tootoot is up there with some of the most recognisable brands and symbols in the world! The winner of this month’s champagne draw sponsored by Landmark Development Solutions was first timer Jane Kirkham, with the meal for two at Albert’s going to Lee Longden, MPG Partner and MD of ABC Accounting Services. We look forward to seeing you all at our next event taking place on Thursday 1st August when we will be joined by Carl Lomas MBC, Chairman of the Institute of Couriers, Author and MPG Ambassador. If you are not a member but are interested to get involved with MPG please contact us today info@mpg-nw.com and we would be more than happy to provide information on our membership options and upcoming vents. We look forward to seeing you all in August!!! School holidays didn’t keep our members away as MD Jason Ropergot proceeding underway at June’s MPG event with his usual unique and relaxed way of hosting to disarm the room and make way for our guest speakers. First up to speak this month was Chris Oxley of UHY Hacker Young who was thrown in at the deep end last minute by a colleague (stuck in a client emergency) to provide a brief overview of ‘going digital’, a key subject which will affect all business very soon. Chris dipped into the ranges of software available to business and the reason most businesses will still need an accounting firm to assist, regardless of how revolutionary this new way of accounting is perceived to be. With these huge industry changes you are almostcertain to encounter hurdles somewhere along the journey, but in the long run it will be a huge step which us much needed to keep up with ever evolving technologies. If you have any questions please contact Chrisby email: -c.oxley@uhy-uk.com Next was the main event, speaking on behalf of MPG Partners Purple Bricks was Director and Head of Land & New Homes Stuart Richards who’s aim was to provide our members and overview of their restively new Land & New Homes Division. Starting with the basics, Stuart gave simple yet informative history of Purple Bricks as a whole business producing some amazing statistics for a business which is little over half a decade old. The pure scale of the business, the number of listing and sales, the worldwide expansion and record breaking Trust Pilot Reviews all telling an impressive tale of their own. Then Stuart moved to focus his attention on the Land & New Homes Division which he heads up nationally, the side of Purple Bricks which has most potential to connect with MPG Members and Partners. This division of the business is even newer, just two years beyond conception yet going strongly in the right direction. From his experience, some key tools which tend to appeal to developers when selling through Purple Bricks include the online app and booking system enabling developer to arrange and change viewing by contacting the purchaser via their app, the app also allows for feedback to be collected and processed efficiently. The cost of selling new homes through Purple Bricks can also be a huge are of saving for a developer, their fees are set solid and payment options can easily be discussed to suit particular. To finish with, Stuart opened up a Questions & Answers opportunity, he openly admitted he was expected tricky questions, however, he was willing to answer with total transparency.
Questions included the recent announcement that they were pulling our of the Australian market, to which he explained the model just wasn’t completely suited to the property market out there and rather that continuing to burn cash they made the commercial decision to pull out, this isn’t to say they won’t re explore at some time in the future just not right now. This was also used to explain the recent share prices. If you are interested in selling your development with the help of Purple Bricks or for further information please contact Stuart Richards (stuart.richards@purplebricks.com)or Adam Docwra (adam.docwra@purplebricks.com) The winner of this month’s champagne draw sponsored by Landmark Investments was guest member Michelle Thorniley of the LK Group, with the meal for two at Albert’s going to Dean Gormley of Irwin Mitchell. We look forward to seeing you all at our next event taking place on Thursday 4th July when we will be joined by Michael Brennan, Founder & CEO of Toot Toot. If you are not a member but are interested to get involved with MPG please contact us today info@mpg-nw.com and we would be more than happy to provide information on our membership options and upcoming vents. We look forward to seeing you all in July!!! May’s event was kicked off by our MD Jason Roper with some good news for MPG, our very own Jordan Roper passing her exams to become a qualified Mortgage Advisor, a feat made ever more impressive in the fact she had done so while being 6 months pregnant. First up to speak this month was Michelle Dale of UHY Hacker Young who chose VAT and Construction Services as her update topic, very relevant to all of our Developers in the room with changes to the liability coming into effect later this year. These rule changes will have certain exceptions but will still have an impact on the zero-rated construction industry. If you have any questions please contact Michell by email: - m.dale@uhy-uk.com. Our second guest speaker of the day was Mark Riley who is the Commercial Manager at Connell Brothers Limited. Connells have been partners of MPG from the very beginning and have worked with many of our Members and Partners over the years. Coming into the event with a topic of day advertised as “Asbestos – The Truth!”, Mark mixed things up by starting with an brief overview of Connell’s history before moving on to explain more of the specialist services they can provide including High Reach, Floor by Floor and Hand Separation but to name a few. Flicking through his slides Mark showed some Manchester landmarks which Connell’s have worked on over the years with mixed emotions from the attendees. A slide showing the demolition of the famous Hacienda was met with some whispers of disappointment (no surprises there) before a photo appeared of a half demolished Main Road Football Stadium, being the former home to Manchester City you can imagine the heckling which followed!!! Switching to a slightly more serious note with some key pieces of advise for any developers who are faced with a demolition project on a site they own, the biggest advise was to always carry out a full Refurbishment & Demolition Survey (R&D Survey) as failure to do so can be incredibly costly down the line. Other notable things to consider are the planning permission process prior to demolition and even things which sound so simple as the disconnection of services can be more time consuming and complex than you could imagine. For further information please contact Mark Riley: - mark.r@connellbrothers.co.uk The winner of this month’s champagne draw sponsored by Landmark Development Solutions was guest Ali Kader of Richmond Property, with the meal for two at The Albert Square Chop House going to Dean Gormley of Irwin Mitchell. We look forward to seeing you all at our next event taking place on Thursday 6th June when we will hear from Adam Docwra, Director of New Homes at Purple Bricks. If you are not a member but are interested to get involved with MPG please contact us today info@mpg-nw.com and we would be more than happy to provide information on our membership options and upcoming vents. We look forward to seeing you all in June!!! |
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