Unsworth Sugden Group

Safety first

February’s PR pic of the month comes once again from photographer Toby Savage.  It depicts Safety Bill, the new site safety mascot for client Barratt Homes.

Here’s Bill at Barratt’s Marston Park development in Marston Moretaine near Bedford with pupils from Church End Lower School. Toby captured some great shots, but all credit goes to the assistant site manager who pulled out all the stops to play the mascot character so brilliantly.

We hope to see more of Safety Bill (or Mr Housey as the children called him!) in the near future.

Snow problem!

It was a cold start to the year and client Raynsway Properties was once again prepared for the worst kind of weather.  To ensure the firm’s commercial tenants were able to keep working through the snow and ice at its three Leicester business parks, bosses invested in more clearing equipment.

Raynsway’s neighbourly approach to business has not only kept its customers problem free during the long winter but also helped secure them the Leicester Mercury’s Heart of the Community Award.

January’s chosen picture is a Raynsway employee with some of the shiny new equipment.  Our photographer Toby Savage was on stand by to capture the clearing team in action, proving whatever the weather getting the story and the right shot is ’snow problem’ for the USG PR team!

November’s PR pic of the month was selected by a special visitor to the PR team.  David Wilson Homes‘ graduate, Philippa Stewart spent a day with us in the department to see how life is agency-side.  We were delighted to show her around and get to know her better.  It was good to have an independent eye to review the November entries and Philippa’s winning shot is of the tree planting event for client David Wilson North Midlands at De Vessey Village near Sleaford.

Thank you to Page One Photography for a really super image.  Philippa said “The photographer has managed to capture the essence of community spirit by showing how everyone got involved, including the dog! It is great to see the people at the back of the photograph as well, all clearly eager to get involved.”

Randlay Whites FC U10s

October’s PR pic of the month shows Telford’s Randlay Whites U10s football team in their new kit sponsored by client Barratt West Midlands and was taken by photographer Rob Finney.

We love how Rob managed to get every child looking engaged and excited.  Team or group pictures are often quite hard to make look dynamic but this shot really works.  Standing the children in a parallel line also gives the composition something a bit different.

Well, needless to say, what a great opportunity for me to be involved with! If I’m honest, from what I’ve experienced with other work experience opportunities, I thought I was going to be a typical “tea girl” and be running errands for people. When in fact, I was being asked if I wanted a tea from another member of the team! Unsworth Sugden really knew how to make me feel part of the PR office.

With applying to university in November, it really got me thinking about my future. I knew I wanted to go into business/marketing. When I was looking at Unsworth Sugden’s website, there was no doubt I had to contact, as they look at PR, advertising, and marketing and digital media. With PR in mind, I thought I should get some work experience just to get a feel of this field.

After landing this work experience opportunity, I was constantly looking at Unsworth Sugden’s blog and seeing how other people’s work experience went. Now it is my turn to tell you my story…

After being greeted by Hannah, who organised this whole week, she took me to my desk where I was told to settle in. A list of jobs to do was given to me to make sure I was not bored through the week. From writing posts for Unsworth Sugden’s blog to making contact lists of different media companies, it gave me a variety of tasks that gave me an insight into the world of print media marketing and will be helpful to me in the future. I was then introduced to the whole team in the building – and I was not expecting quite as many people as there were!

I’d like to give a special mention to Dave who helped me a lot whilst Hannah was not there and also to Sarah, Kayleigh and Sophie for their help too! Thank you to Unsworth Sugden for this huge opportunity, and I wish each and every one of them the best of luck for the future.

Abby Law

Client David Wilson Homes East Midlands, has recruited two new people to its land department as the Bardon-based firm steps up its search for new development sites.

Newly recruited John Turner (left) Gareth Staff (right) and centre Managing Director, John Reddington

The appointments come after the company announced that a total of 1,500 jobs will be created thanks to the launch of several new developments across Leicestershire. These positions are integral to this planned growth and will aid the firm secure new locations for its high quality new homes.

John Reddington, Managing Director at David Wilson Homes East Midlands said, “We’re obviously delighted to have more hands on deck to help us acquire new land for the division – which is also great news for the economy.

“One of the best ways to boost economic growth and employment is through building projects. A whole range of jobs are created as part of the process and the people who ultimately move into the new housing will also spend their wages locally, which translates into a significant boost for local retailers.”

Newly recruited John Turner, 23, from Newtown Linford has been appointed as a Land Buyer. He said “It’s great to have secured this position at a company of David Wilson Homes’ stature in a difficult time for graduates. I am looking forward to getting involved with the acquisition of new sites for future projects.”

Gareth Staff, aged 34 from Nottingham has been appointed as Senior Land Manager. He said, “It’s great to work with company where you have real faith in the company’s ethos and product. The role is extremely varied and I’m really enjoying my time here.”

From all here at Unsworth Sugden, best of luck for the future John and Gareth.

A training specialist has seen a rise in the number of people starting apprenticeships in Nottingham over the last year.

Client Positive Outcomes, which is based in South Normanton, more than doubled the number of people it signed up for Government-funded training in 2011/12 compared to the previous year’s figures.

From August 2011 to July 2012 Positive Outcomes signed up 638 apprentices, a huge increase on the 249 who started apprenticeships between August 2010 and July 2011.

Chris Longmate, Managing Director, comments: “We think this is a really encouraging sign that people of all ages are keen to learn new skills and work towards nationally recognised qualifications through work-based training.”

Of the 638 apprentices signed up over the last year, 96 were aged 16 to 18, a figure Positive Outcomes is hoping to increase over the next year with its new Paid to Learn scheme.

Paid to Learn is a brand new website, created by Unsworth Sugden’s digital team, that provides a tailored service to 16 to 18-year-olds seeking apprenticeships around the country, allowing teenagers to find and apply for roles online, as well as access advice and support.

Since its launch in August, Paid to Learn has already generated 300 applications from eager apprentices around the country.  We’re delighted with the success of the website so far, it’s a great example of how fresh design and tailored SEO and PPC can really drive results.

Chris Longmate, Positive Outcomes' Managing Director

Homebuyers interested in purchasing one of the few remaining luxury apartments at client Kebbell Homes’ Caedmon’s Prospect development in Whitby were invited to a special open evening on Thursday 27th September where they could meet their potential new neighbours.

The event allowed those thinking of purchasing at the development the fantastic opportunity to view the limited number of apartments left available and to meet those residents already calling Caedmon’s Prospect their home.

Linda Tillisch, Northern Sales Manager for Kebbell Homes, comments, “This event at Caedmon’s Prospect provides potential customers with an excellent opportunity to visit the development, view the remaining luxury apartments and also talk to those who have already taken the opportunity to purchase here. There’s a really friendly community spirit here and we hope that by holding this open evening this will come across and help convince people that this really is the place to be in Whitby.”

Front Elevation of Kebbell Homes’ Caedmon’s Prospect development

Stuart Stokes, Site Manager, with students from The Lyng Primary School with their designs behind them on the construction site’s hoardings.

Children from The Lyng Primary School, have leant their artistic talents to client Barratt West Midlands at its The Lyng development, and recently visited the site to see how their creative flair has been used to decorate the construction site’s hoardings.

Local residents are being advised to keep their eyes peeled for fresh artistic designs as the hoardings are set to be updated with new pictures from the area’s youngsters every few months.

“We’re delighted with the artwork that the children have produced” commented Katie Yates, Sales Manager for Barratt West Midlands. “It has given the site a real splash of colour and we’ve all been really impressed with the creativity of the children’s pictures.

“It was great that the children had a chance to see how their creative efforts have contributed to the site. Our aim at The Lyng is to involve local people as much as possible and working with nearby schools is an important part of that.

“We would like to thank The Lyng Primary School and all the children for taking part, their artwork gives the site a real boost. We’re thoroughly looking forward to seeing what they create for our hoardings as the months go by.”

Unsworth Sugden designers helped produce creative hoardings turning the children’s artwork into large scale graphics.  We also sent a photographer down to site to get a few pictures!

Residents enjoying their coffee and cakes

Well done to the residents at client David Wilson Homes’ Newton Park development, who took part in the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning and raised over £700 for Macmillan Cancer Support.

The housebuilder gave a helping hand by accommodating the event in the show home on Wellington Avenue in Newton near Bingham and donating a huge chocolate hamper as a raffle prize.

Ruth Lilley and her parents who have lived at Newton Park since March helped organised the event. She said, “We were expecting to raise about £200 so we’re all thrilled that we’ve so much more has been donated.”

Newly recruited David Wilson Sales Adviser Bridgett helped the residents set up the event. She said, “It’s been so much fun helping out at the fundraiser. There’s a fantastic community spirit here - I’ve only been here a few weeks and the residents have made me feel so welcome.”

What once was just a few new homes in a small, countryside village, Newton is now home to over 80 families and a growing community – the Macmillan coffee morning is just one of a long line of events for them.

Resident Karl Richardson, aged 42 said, “Having lived in cities for quite some time, it’s really refreshing to be in a rural area and Newton Park itself has taken shape as a really welcoming community.”

Congratulation from Unsworth Sugden for raising a remarkable amount for Macmillan Cancer Support and we hope to see future events to turn out just as successful.