‘Enormous prize’ on offer to dismantle southern North Sea offshore platforms
Energy businesses in the East of England stand to benefit from business worth tens of millions of pounds over the next decade on work to dismantle and dispose of up to 50 aged oil and gas structures and equipment due to be removed from the southern North Sea. More than 40 offshore operators and businesses gathered in Great Yarmouth recently to look at how to take advantage of the region’s 60-year heritage in the sector and attract southern North Sea infrastructure decommissioning work to East Anglia rather than the Netherlands. The aim is to work together to bring in redundant platform topsides and ‘jackets’ – the yellow structures that stand on the sea bed supporting the topsides – and make the UK offer competitive compared to the Dutch and give operators a pipeline of steady work. The region’s prime potential is seen as a niche supplier of services for smaller offshore infrastructure – up to 3500 tonnes . There could be work for two yards in Great Yarmouth and one in Lowestoft.
Bill Cattanach, North Sea Transition Authority head of supply chain, said: “There is an enormous prize out there. We stand today with this opportunity ahead and should look to explore if we want to grab it with both hands or are we willing to sit back and watch it go over to the Netherlands?”
East of England Energy Group chair Kevin Keable said: “Let’s see what we can do to get as much of this dismantling work to East Anglia as we can. We are seeing work going to the Netherlands and other ports when we can do it here, where the industry began off Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft.” The opportunities were highlighted in a campaign to promote the region’s skills in the sector at the national Offshore Decommissioning Conference in Scotland last week.
Photo: Decomissioned oil and gas infrastructure from the southern North Sea in 2019 at the Gt Yarmouth yard.
M&S plans multi-million pound store outside Ipswich
M&S has unveiled plans to build a new 60k sq ft store at the Copdock Interchange, outside Ipswich in a multi-million pound investment offering food, clothing & beauty and a café. Subject to planning, it would create around 90 new jobs and open in summer 2027. The site is served by three bus routes and would sit alongside the retailer’s existing stores at Westgate Street in the town centre, Martlesham Heath and at Ipswich Hospital. Will Smith, property director at M&S, said: “At the Copdock site, we have a unique opportunity to create a brand defining M&S store in Ipswich alongside our existing Westgate Street presence and grow our footprint across East Anglia.”
Cllr. Neil MacDonald, leader of Ipswich Borough Council, said: “This is fantastic news for Ipswich. Ipswich gets the best of M&S with a new store at Copdock and a town centre store – something many other towns and cities can only dream of.” The investment has been enabled by Ipswich Borough Council and Suffolk County Council, as owners of the freehold and long leasehold of the site. Over the past three years, M&S has invested over £60m in new and renewed stores across the East of England and works with over 900 farmers in the region, 260 of which are based in Suffolk.
Cambridge increases its appeal to foreign investors
Cambridge has climbed one place to rank 9th in a league of the top 10 most attractive UK locations for foreign direct investment, buoyed by a strong jobs growth forecast for 2025. A study by Irwin Mitchell and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr), highlights the city’s strong infrastructure and high employment growth potential. But its attractiveness is hindered by a weaker performance in skills. London dominates the top of the table and Cambridge ranks below Oxford and Manchester but above Leeds. Bryan Bletso, partner and head of international at Irwin Mitchell, said: “Despite challenges in local skills and economic activity, Cambridge’s high qualification levels and strategic advantages position it well for future investment. This report underscores the dynamic nature of investment appeal across UK cities, with Cambridge emerging as a key player in attracting foreign capital.”
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Firms face new economic hurdles despite surprise fall in insolvencies
Corporate insolvency numbers saw a surprise fall ahead of the Budget although businesses in the region face new economic hurdles, says the Eastern branch of R3. Insolvency Service figures show that corporate insolvencies in England and Wales fell by 10.4 per cent in October compared to September and were down by 25 per cent on the month a year ago. R3 Eastern chair Hayley Watson (photo), a director at McTear Williams & Wood in the region, said: “The decrease in corporate insolvency numbers may seem surprising, as concerns about potential tax changes in the Budget resulted in high numbers of members’ voluntary liquidations in September and October. Directors of solvent companies chose to wind down their businesses before any changes were announced, which may have skewed this month’s figures.”
But she added: “The big question for many businesses, however, is how the upcoming changes to employer national insurance contributions and the minimum wage will affect them. …Businesses in hospitality, retail and construction are particularly vulnerable to these changes due to high staffing levels and a large proportion of employees on the national minimum wage. Directors of companies in these sectors will need to review all their costs, if they haven’t done so already, and think carefully about how these additional expenses can be absorbed.”
Law firm plans to keep recruiting after turnover and profits rise
Turnover at law firm Howes Percival, which has offices in Cambridge and Norwich, rose ten per cent and profits rise by four per cent, on an annualised basis in 2024 following a period of sustained growth. The firm posted turnover of £31.4m for the 11 months to end-March 2024. Howes Percival has created over 50 new roles in the last two years and increased the number of partners to 63, alongside investments in IT and office infrastructure. It plans to continue recruiting across all seven offices. Chairperson, Geraint Davies said: “The last 12 months have seen a new Howes Percival office opening in Oxford, growth in new instructions as we are increasingly viewed as a go-to firm in all our key markets, and ongoing success in terms of attracting the best legal talent to join us.”
Norfolk-based firm helps transform Cambridge office buildings into parkland science campus
Norfolk-based Anglian Demolition & Asbestos has completed a redevelopment project to help turn office buildings in Cambridge into a 42-acre parkland science campus. The three-month project at CamLIFE (Cambridge Lab and Innovation Focused Environment), formerly Capital Park, has delivered around 170,000 sq ft of fitted lab and office space, for Longfellow Real Estate Partners, a US life scienes buildings investor. Anglian acted as main contractor for Wates and employed a team of 30 on works including partial demolition, internal demolition, alterations and soft strip within three office buildings which were built in 2013. The new premises have cut carbon emissions by 40% compared to a new build. Andy Elvin, senior contracts manager at Attleborough-based Anglian Demolition & Asbestos, said: “This was a significant project for us which utilised the many skills we have within the team here at Anglian. As a business, we are committed to reducing the impact of demolition jobs on the environment by segregating and processing our waste as standard.”
New partner at accountancy and business advisory firm’s Colchester office
Dawn Lay-Flurrie has joined Larking Gowen as partner in the firm’s Colchester office to strengthen accountancy and business advisory services on offer in the Essex region. She has more than 30 years’ experience in accountancy and advisory firms in Essex, and has worked at partner level since 1997. “I have come from a background of having worked as a business advisory partner over many years, so we will be looking to develop these services for owner-managed businesses in the Essex region,” she said. Her expertise covers areas such as business planning, financing, restructuring, exit strategies and tax optimisation. She also has experience in dealing with complex and sensitive issues such as insolvency and restructuring.
