Chineham Park's new owners set to build on success

The sale of Chineham Park to the joint venture between Oaktree Capital Management and Patrizia ag has been completed today as part of a £430m deal to purchase three mixed use parks from Hermes Real Estate.

Rupert Batho, managing director of Chineham Park, explains: "Chineham Park is one of the region's success stories, with a strong track record for attracting and retaining businesses. The purchase by Oaktree and Patrizia is an exciting step in the next phase of the Park's evolution and with the existing management team transferring to the new ownership, we have the best team in place to build on the Park's pedigree."

Chineham Park joins Winnersh Triangle, Reading and Watchmoor Park, Camberley in Patrizia's and Oaktree Capital Management's joint venture portfolio which also owns a range of commercial property including offices and large mixed-use business parks.  For over 30 years, Patrizia has been actively involved in 10 countries and has a team of 700 dedicated staff in the fields of residential real estate and commercial property. This joint venture is now one of the largest owners of business parks in the UK.

Rupert adds: "In addition to the new ownership accelerating our refurbishment and development plans at Chineham Park, I can guarantee that, for our customers, it will be very much business as usual. Our hands-on style of management allows quick and flexible decision making, contributing to our enviable retention rates and enduring appeal for smart business."

A fantastic China fair for Tridonic

From June 9th to 12th, Tridonic, based at Unit 7 Lindenwood was well represented at the Guangzhou International Lighting Exhibition with a prestigious booth. The Tridonic team in China organised a successful time at this important lighting fair for the Asian market.

At its 173 square metre booth, Tridonic presented product solutions arranged by application segment, in much the same way as at the Light+Building fair. For the Retail and Hospitality segment the focus was on system solutions for the fashion sector, jewellery and supermarkets.
The big attraction was a fashion show held twice a day at the Tridonic booth in cooperation with the COCOON fashion label. This gave visitors a direct insight into the effect of innovative LED light.
For more information about Tridonic visit: www.tridonic.com

KONE to improve London Bridge

KONE, based at Unit 5 Beechwood, has been chosen to supply and install 24 escalators for the redevelopment of London Bridge railway station. London Bridge is the fourth busiest railway station in Great Britain, bringing in around 50 million passengers in to the city each year. KONE was selected as the supplier for the station on the back of its overall design solution which primarily focuses on smooth People Flow® and its demonstration of eco-efficiency.

The plans for modernising London Bridge station were unveiled in 2011 and KONE has been involved in the project from the start. The overall goal of the rail project is to cater for more people and to increase rail links. KONE's 24 new TransitMaster® 140 escalators will help ensure that all areas of the station can be quickly accessed and keep passengers moving in the station area throughout the day.
KONE Great Britain Managing Director Michael Williams said: "our involvement in improving people flow in public transportation is a significant part of KONE's offering. We're immensely proud to be working on such a significant public project. Our team understands the importance of effective people flow in such a busy environment and has worked hard to ensure our solutions satisfy the demands of the overall rail network."
The overall project is part of a wider scheme funded by the ThamesLink program to upgrade the rail network in Great Britain. As well as increasing the number of platforms at London Bridge and providing lifts and escalators for step-free access, there will also be improved links between the Tube and bus network. The upgrades to London Bridge are expected to be completed in 2018.
For more information visit: http://www.kone.co.uk/

Chineham continues to lead the way

In the first five months of 2014, Chineham Park has confirmed five new contracts and lease extensions.

Rupert Batho, Managing Director of Chineham Park, explains, "2014 has had a strong start for Chineham Park with existing customers re-affirming their commitment by extending their leases and new customers joining our thriving business community. The level of interest in the Park has been growing steadily since the end of last year and our reputation as Hampshire's premier business destination for smart business is continuing to attract companies."

Sensus, a global clean technology solutions company offering smart meters, communication systems, software and services for the electric, gas, and water industries, has acquired 7,100 sq ft at Unit 3 Lindenwood whilst Arjo Wiggins has committed for a further five years at Unit 4 Lindenwood. Gist has also extended their 28,000 sq ft lease in Rosewood until 2019. 

Rupert adds: "These deals are evidence of increasing corporate confidence and Chineham Park continues to demonstrate that Basingstoke is an excellent location for successful, growing businesses." 

Imtech wins contract in Norwich

Imtech Traffic & Infra, based at Lime Tree Way, has recently announced the opening of its Norwich service centre, following its success in winning the Norfolk County Council traffic signal services contract.

The team based at this location will operate this key contract supported by the wider Urban group located across the UK.
The local Imtech employees were joined by members of the broader UK team as they met with the client to celebrate the formal launch of this new contract earlier this month. The investment in this new service centre, which has been fitted out to specifically support this contract, demonstrates Imtech’s commitment to the local area.
The centre is located opposite a new technology college which is due to open soon and therefore Imtech is looking forward to forging future academia links and offering local apprenticeships.
The contract was awarded in January 2014 and runs from April for an initial seven years and, subject to performance targets being achieved, could be extended annually for up to 12 years. The core contract covers the maintenance of the county’s traffic signal infrastructure and supply of traffic signals as part of highways improvement projects working alongside Tarmac Lafarge and Mouchel. However, Imtech will also be providing revenue saving telecommunications services through their Infra Comms team.
Daniel Ruiz, Imtech Traffic & Infra UK Managing Director, said: “The feelings of excitement and anticipation on the day we opened our new service centre in Norwich were fantastic. We welcomed a number of new team members into the Imtech community along with a particularly open, collaborative and innovative client. Together, we have taken another step forward in growing our core market and reinforcing our position as our client’s first choice provider of technology solutions, operations and maintenance.”
For more information visit: http://www.imtech.uk.com/

KONE secures extended contract at Heathrow

Chineham Park occupier, KONE has successfully secured a five-year contract extension to maintain equipment for people and goods movement at all Heathrow Airport Limited terminals, including the new Terminal 2 building. KONE's around the clock service will aid the smooth and efficient flow of an estimated 72 million passengers per year in the terminals.

Heathrow Airport Limited has recognised KONE as being the service provider of choice and commissioned it to maintain over 1,000 lift, escalator and autowalk units across all of its terminals. The new maintenance contract which also covers the new Terminal 2 - Queen's Terminal will continue through 2019.
KONE was selected as the service provider of choice for Heathrow Airport Limited due to it consistently delivering an excellent people flow experience for passengers and service quality management. KONE's performance is published on a monthly basis across the airport and currently has a 99.7% equipment availability rate.
"I am proud that our long-term partnership with Heathrow Airport continues. It is a magnificent achievement to be awarded the contract to maintain all the equipment," said Michael Williams, Managing Director for KONE in Great Britain. "Heathrow is internationally renowned for being one of the busiest transportation hubs in the world. To be assigned the service provider of choice and to help passengers move around efficiently and comfortably is a huge credit to our team."
Over the years, KONE has modernised and supplied new lifts, escalators and autowalks to Heathrow Airport. KONE has been providing maintenance services to Heathrow Airport since 1990. Upon completion of the new contract KONE will have been providing maintenance for 29 years.
For more information visit: www.kone.co.uk

Yorktel employee writes blog for ‘Smart Business’

Vishal Brown, Vice President of professional services for Yorktel, who have international offices based at 3, Hazlewood has written a blog for ‘smartbusinessblog’ regarding how video has become an essential business tool.

The blog explains that a recent survey by Polycom has shown that decision-makers worldwide view video conferencing as the essential team collaboration tool. Of more than 1,200 decision-makers surveyed in 12 countries, 96 percent agreed that video conferencing removes distance barriers to improve productivity among geographically scattered teams.

The blog post says that ‘most companies have frequent opportunities to experience the benefits of video, with 56 percent of the respondents participating in video calls at least once a week. More than half (52 percent) of those surveyed expect video to become their top communication preference within three years.'

Vishal reveals in the blog that Even President Obama advocates video conferencing!

Tridonic launches new web tool

Tridonic, based at Lindenwood offer a new web tool which enables you to easily find the right converter for the LED module and set up a perfectly matched Tridonic system.

Tridonic has made it its business to get to know all about your applications and assist you by developing innovative products that enable you to implement functionally and economically superior lighting solutions.

"Setbuilder" is available free of registration online and offline at www.tridonic.com/setbuilder. There are also three places you can find it from the Tridonic website:

-In the "Recommended Links" box on the start page.

-In the navigation bar as "Setbuilder" under LED Modules.

-On every LED module product page there is a separate "Setbuilder" tab.

 You can find the right converter from the Tridonic portfolio for any Tridonic LED module in just three easy steps. You define the parameters yourself. The three steps at a glance:

1. Select the LED module.

2. Enter the operating current, the number of modules and converter parameters.

3. Select the converter.

In the third step the search criteria are summarised and the recommended system is displayed together with a picture and article number. The system parameters and component parameters can also be found here. Setbuilder always offers latest versions of all the technical data. Print and mail functions are also available so the results can be immediately forwarded or printed out.

Young unemployed took part in national campaign to get into work

Young people from across the UK were given the opportunity to gain the skills they need to help them into sustainable employment when they visited Gist as part of a nationwide campaign to tackle youth unemployment.

Following the success of a pilot project in 2012, the entire food and grocery industry has launched Feeding Britain's Future - Skills for Work Month 2013 and is helping youngsters across the country get into work.

Gist, based at Chineham Park is one of the few logistics companies taking part in the scheme, giving young people a different viewpoint of the foods industry. As well as farms, factories and retail stores participants can see the entire supply chain and the broad range of career opportunities available in the industry.

Feeding Britain's Future, led by research charity IGD, is the first initiative of its kind, giving young people firsthand knowledge of the skills needed for a career in the food industry or elsewhere. Participants received CV and interview sessions with members of Gist's management team to help them develop their employability skills and improve their chances of getting a job. As well as workshops to improve their soft skills, all participants had the chance to speak to other employees about their careers and experiences in the workplace and see practical operational skills carried out, such as using voice technology systems to pick orders for food retail stores. This enabled them to see how the business is run and the wide range of careers available in the industry.

"Last year four of our sites took part in the project and we felt like we made a real difference to the young people who attended. We offered participants interviews for seasonal work and some were given temporary jobs during our Christmas peak period. We were very keen to take part again this year and I'm delighted that so many of our sites got involved." Said Karen Harrington, Project Manager - Gist Foundation.

"Gist is proud to have been a part of this scheme for the second year running, it's not only a great opportunity for these young people to gain employability skills but it gives them an insight into the broad range of career opportunities there are in the foods industry. Through this scheme, together with our apprenticeship, industrial placement and graduate schemes, we hope to provide many young people with excellent career opportunities." Said Martin Gwynn, Chief Executive, Gist.

The food and grocery industry is the UK's biggest private sector employer providing 3.7m - or one in seven - jobs and there are a huge range of careers on offer. Young people got a chance to learn about supply chain in the food and grocery industry when they visited Gist in September. Joanne Denney-Finch, chief executive, IGD, said: "The UK food and grocery industry employs 3.7 million people - making us Britain's biggest private sector employer. With that scale comes responsibility - we have a vital role to play in tackling youth unemployment by sharing our advice and experience."

Keeping cool is big business for Labcold

Labcold, leading specialist manufacturer of medical and laboratory refrigerators and freezers, is doubling the size of its premises thanks to increased sales across both product and service divisions here in the UK and across the globe.

Founded in 1932 and based in the area for the past 40 years, Labcold is moving to Chineham Park where an existing building is being extended to accommodate the company's growth. Robin Gregson, managing director of Labcold, explains," Labcold has experienced growth in turnover year on year. The additional space afforded by the move to Cherrywood cannot come quickly enough to meet our existing requirements to provide our products and services to the medical and scientific community and will allow the company to significantly increase it’s portfolio in the future. "

Labcold is a key supplier of medical refrigeration to the NHS and private hospital chains across the UK and beyond. Already accredited to ISO9001 standard, Labcold were the first UK manufacturer to gain medical device certification for their range of blood product storage cabinets. Labcold products can be found in la variety of laboratories, both public and private, and in diverse places such as RN submarines and the Antarctic, indeed anywhere where tight temperature tolerances and safety are paramount.

Rupert Batho, managing director of Chineham Park, adds, "Labcold's growth is another Basingstoke success story and we are proud to welcome this market leading company to Chineham Park. Their growth has meant that Chineham Park has also needed to grow and we are extending 1 and 2 Cherrywood by 10% to a total size of 35,000 sq ft to meet Labcold's requirements.

Deb’s beauty salon celebrates 10 years at Chineham Park

Deb’s beauty salon which is located upstairs in Fitness First, Spindlewood, is celebrating 10 years of business.

When Deb first started out, she was in just one treatment room. Since then, she has expanded her work space to two treatment rooms and has taken on three employees.

Deb said: “Over the last ten years I have notice how technology has improved treatments, such as gelfx nails which are more durable, dry immediately, have high shine and are chip free for at least two week as opposed to traditional nail polish. Also the science behind some of the treatments has improved, meaning that with treatments such as the dermalogica facials we all have to have the proper training which is dermalogica accredited.

“Being at Chineham Park for the last 10 years has allowed me to expand my business without having to move location, which makes things easier for me and my clients.”

Wendy Scott, customer manager at MEPC Chineham Park said: “Having a business such as Deb’s salon based on the Park helps create another amenity for other businesses on the Park to use. The location of her salon makes it really convenient for people to get a quick manicure during their lunch break. We are really pleased that Deb’s business has grown and continues to be successful.”

Film the Chineham Park summer party together

Vyclone is a social video app that lets multiple users create movies out of their shared smartphone videos. It is free to download and is available via the app store for iPhone or GooglePlay for Android users.

We are encouraging everyone to capture their experiences at the Chineham Park summer party on the 30th of August, to share with friends and colleagues on the Park.

With the Vyclone app, it matches videos shot in the same location at the same time, and using an algorithm, synchs and edits them to create a movie with multiple angles.

After the summer party, we will be hosting the video via Facebook and Twitter.

To find out more about Vyclone, click here >>>>

Basingstoke's IT cluster

In an article by Richard Frost of the South East Insider News website, tech giant Fujitsu is urged to join Basingstoke's IT cluster.

In an article by Richard Frost of the South East Insider News website, tech giant Fujitsu is urged to join Basingstoke's IT cluster.

Fujitsu should join Basingstoke's growing cluster of IT businesses, a senior figure at Hampshire Chamber of Commerce has told the online publication. The company has announced plans to close its operations in Reading and Slough, and relocate staff to either Basingstoke or Bracknell.

Chris Quintana, North Hampshire business development manager at Hampshire Chamber of Commerce, feels the company should pick Basingstoke because of its strong standing in IT circles. The town is already home to a number of prominent businesses in the sector, such as Accumuli and Voyager Software.

He said: "There are industry clusters around here. There are lots of IT businesses in the area so it's not like they're coming here on their own. This place is an extremely good town for business."

Rupert Batho, managing director of Chineham Park, added, "Basingstoke has a history of attracting innovative IT companies and at Chineham Park we have five Fortune 500 companies within our business community. Over 50% of our customers are involved in IT, ranging from app developers to IT equipment resellers."

Chineham Park has several major IT customers including: Computer 2000, Micro-P, Quark, Develop IQ, Voyager Software, Cirrus, Voiteq, Level 3 Communications and Google-owned Motorola.

See the full article here

MEPC sponsors new t-shirts for CPRC

The team at MEPC Chineham Park has sponsored the resident estate Chineham Park Running Club (CPRC) with new club t-shirts.

The sponsorship has bought 10 newly-designed t-shirts which have been produced through Chineham Park Running Club’s Club Captain, Jason Burke.

Jason Burke said: “The new t-shirts have gone down a storm as we take a lot of pride when putting on our club colours, but it’s very expensive getting new bespoke club team wear. As a new club, we have limited funds to purchase custom-made clothing. With Chineham Park's assistance we were able to go more upmarket to purchase a highly technical quality garment made to our exact design.”

“Our runners already had club running vests, but we needed a club t-shirt that was suitable for training, or for when the weathers a bit cooler. ”

As well as new t-shirts, CPRC also has a new area to train; MEPC Chineham Park has given the club permission to use the large grassed area in front of Central 40 building to carry out training.

Jason continued: “We train every Wednesday and usually meet outside Fitness First Gym in Spindlewood. As the club continues to grow, we found however that we needed a new training area to deliver our programme, we identified the larger grassy area by Central 40 being ideal and were delighted when MEPC kindly gave us permission to use it for training.”

Richard Hawkes, Estate Manager at Chineham Park said: “We are always keen to promote fitness and wellbeing at Chineham Park, so having a running club on the Park certainly brings that opportunity to our occupiers.”

Gist seals seafood deal with Macrae

Chineham Park headquartered Gist has extended the logistics services it provides to Macrae, part of Young's Chilled Division, and the UK's leading producer of chilled, private-label seafood products.

Gist will increase the volumes it manages to include a number of major food retailers across the UK.

Gist provides a supply chain solution for Macrae that includes collecting the chilled seafood products from the production facility in Fraserburgh and transporting these under strict temperature controlled conditions to the Regional Distribution Centres of a number of major food retailers across the UK.

Gary Paterson, Head of Supply Chain, Macrae said: "We produce a wide variety of quality chilled seafood lines in Fraserburgh. Gist's temperature controlled logistics network has a wide reach and their experience of delivering to all major UK retailers makes them a good fit with our requirements."

Martin Gwynn, Chief Executive, Gist, said: "Gist has a wealth of expertise and experience in providing time-sensitive, chilled product supply chains for manufacturers who sell to the large food retailers. Macrae's requirements for its seafood products logistics are a great match with what Gist has to offer."

Recruitment increasing in Basingstoke

Chineham Park based serviced office accommodation provider has just published its latest business confidence report which says 20% of local firms plan to increase their headcount by over 5% in the remainder of 2013.

Meanwhile, a quarter plan an increase of between two per cent and five per cent, while, just under half of local firms state that their recruitment drive will focus on sales and marketing staff, displaying a determination to sell their way out of the downturn. Forty-one per cent plan to take on more operations staff and 20 per cent are looking to recruit more admin staff, while just three per cent of firms polled are planning to take on more HR staff.

Regus managing director Steve Purdy, said: “Although it is highly positive that firms are turning their attention to hiring, this is an expensive phase for any business and they must be careful not to over-extend themselves in this fragile economy.

“This is especially true when it comes to property. In fact over two fifths of UK firms report that during previous downturns they had their fingers burnt by expensive and inflexible leases.

“This time round, companies are far better equipped due to the availability and acceptance in the business world of flexible working, especially in terms of the physical workplace. Judging from the way we see firms using our centres, many employers are turning away from full-time, permanent office space in favour of pay-for-what-you-use models. Keeping overheads low and remaining agile are vital to making recruitment plans affordable and achieving sustainable business growth.”

The Dayers bread challenge

Lunch and Venue Hire Basingstoke

Today at Dayers, there will be a bread challenge to celebrate National bread week.

From 11.00am Dayers will have several different types of bread for people to try and to guess what type of bread they are. The winner will be picked at random at the end of the day, and will win a free lunch from Dayers.

The bread of the day today is a Sub sandwich. A submarine sandwich, also known as a sub, is a sandwich that consists of a long roll of Italian or French bread split width wise either into two pieces or opened in a ‘V’ on one side, and filled with a variety of meats, cheeses, vegetables, seasonings and sauces. The sandwich has no standardized name, and many U.S regions have their own names for it. One study found 13 different names for the sandwich in the United States.

The terms submarine and sub are widespread and not assignable to any certain region, though many of the localised terms are clustered in the northeast United States, where most Italian Americans live.

If you fancy trying a sub sandwich today, then Dayers has a sub with pulled pork and slaw.

Neil Webster leaves Tridonic

Neil Webster has stepped down as the managing director, sales, of Tridonic UK. A company statement said Webster decided to leave the company with effect from 31 March to pursue his career elsewhere.

Shaun Dainton becomes the acting managing director sales UK and will take care of operations until a successor is appointed. The non-operative business will be handled by Peter Novak.

Webster joined Tridonic in December 2010 having previously worked in the process controls sector. He managed the company at a tricky time: in the most recent set of figures, revenues at the business, which is part of the Zumtobel Group, dropped by 7.3 per cent.

In a statement the company said: “We would like to take this opportunity and thank Neil for his contributions over the last 18 months and wish him every success in his future career.”

Infosec Cloud named finalists in the CRN Sales & Marketing Awards for Best New Website

Offices To Let Basingstoke

Chineham Park occupier, Infosec Cloud, has been successfully nominated as a finalist in channel publication, Computer Reseller News (CRN), Sales & Marketing Awards 2013 for the Best New Website within the Reseller Category.

The CRN Sales & Marketing Awards recognise and reward the achievements of the sales and marketing teams who sit at the heart of many successful channel businesses. The CRN Sales & Marketing Awards focus on innovation, evolution and development.

The new website was developed over three months with web design agency The Escape and went live in February 2013, to spearhead the launch of Infosec Cloud, a new pure-play cloud reseller.

The cloud market is full of hype and buzz words with a need for education and clarity. The Infosec Cloud website aims to help meet this need by presenting information which is relevant, timely and easy to find.

The shortlist was decided by a panel of independent sales and marketing experts, with the next stage being judged by a second panel of industry experts to decide the ultimate category winners.

The winners will be announced at an award gala dinner on the 19th June at the Lancaster Hotel, London.

KONE celebrates opening of KONE Park manufacturing and R&D site in China

KONE celebrated the official opening of its new KONE Park manufacturing site, engineering facility and research and development (R&D) centre in the Kunshan New and Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone in Eastern China this week. At 240,000 square metres, the purpose-built KONE Park includes three elevator factories and an escalator factory, and is KONE's largest manufacturing unit in the world.

"We are proud of the Kunshan KONE Park, which enables us to better meet our customers' needs in China, the rest of Asia, and, indeed, the rest of the world," said Heikki Leppänen, Executive Vice President, KONE New Equipment Business. "While China is by far the single biggest market for new elevators and escalators, products from Kunshan are also exported to more than 90 countries."

The opening ceremony was attended by Finnish Foreign Trade Minister Alexander Stubb, Kunshan Mayor Lu Jun, as well as KONE Chairman Antti Herlin, and KONE President and CEO Matti Alahuhta.

KONE Park was planned according to KONE's global supply network needs and the lean manufacturing principle, aimed at maximizing efficiency and eliminating waste. Emphasis has also been on further reducing energy and water use as well as the unit's carbon footprint. KONE Park was constructed according to modern green building standards and aims to earn a LEED Gold green building certification.

The new site, which began operations in phases during 2012, is located close to the Suzhou-Shanghai Expressway, enabling good connections to both suppliers and customers. It replaces an older facility, which has also been located in Kunshan and has included both elevator and escalator production as well as research and development.

The three new Kunshan elevator module factories produce elevator cars, elevator electrification products and elevator motors. The escalator factory produces both commercial and heavy-duty escalators as well as horizontal and inclined autowalks. KONE Park also includes one of KONE's eight global R&D centers. A new high-rise test tower is under construction at the expanded Kunshan R&D site. The tower supports the development of KONE's People Flow® solutions for skyscrapers and will be opened in 2014.

KONE began operations in China in 1996, when it registered the KONE Elevators Co., Ltd. subsidiary. The first Kunshan factory was opened in 1998 at a site that is now in the midst of a residential area. KONE also operates through its majority-owned GiantKONE joint venture. KONE has a network of over 350 locations in China, employing some 8,900 people. Last year, KONE became the leading company in the Chinese market in terms of new elevator and escalator orders.