Motorbikes specialist is revved up for its expansion
A USED motor vehicles vendor is opening a head office and motorcycle distribution centre in a new industrial unit in Hinckley.
Completely Motoring Group is taking on Unit 14 at Lime Kilns Business Park, off the A5, with more than 20 staff to be employed there.
Group managing director Robert Ayland said the move is a big expansion for the company, who have let the space on a 10-year lease.
He said: “With plans to hold over 1,000 premium used superbikes in stock, it will cement our logistical capability across the UK.
“Recent times have shown that consumers demand efficient delivery of the specialist motorbikes that we stock.
“Expanding into this central location will allow us to exceed our customers’ expectations while reducing customer lead times and increasing capacity.”
The 37,650 sq ft outlet is part of a two-unit development built by Tungsten Properties, the same group who oversaw the construction of the retail park opposite the Hansom Cab pub, which opened in January 2020.
Jenny Clarke, development surveyor at Tungsten Properties, said: “As a growing company, it’s great that Completely Motoring has their new space to match their impressive expansion plans.
“Hinckley continues to be an attractive location to such businesses due to being well-connected to the road network and in a strong employment area.”
There has also been interest in the second unit, Unit 13, which totals 27,030 sq ft.
The development neighbours the Lime Kilns pub, separated by the Ashby Canal, and the landlord there raised concerns in February 2020 that the units were putting off customers as they were overshadowing the pub garden.
A spokesperson for the developer said at the time that the complex was being built in line with the planning
permission and the two units would provide “much needed industrial accommodation in the area and generate a number of jobs.”
The town is famous as being the home of motorbike manufacturer Triumph, although the major company has moved its mass production to Thailand as it expects a huge growth in sales in Asia and China in the coming years.
Its Hinckley base will now be used for making more bespoke models and for the business’s research and development operations.
THE rate of academy schooling in Leicestershire is far greater than the average in England.
Of the county’s 321 schools, 189 are now academies of some description, according to data from the Department for Education (DfE).
This is 59 per cent, higher than the national average of 32 per cent of the 27,280 schools currently open in England. In Leicester city, 44 of the 133 schools are now academies, or around 33 per cent.
In 2010 the Government introduced legislation that allowed all schools to make the change to become academies - including primary and secondary schools.
These institutions have more autonomy over their curriculum, budget and staffing than regular state-funded schools - something that the Government says improves educational outcomes for children.
Since then, there has been a shift in focus to get more and more schools to become academies.
This is also the main method it uses to address underperforming schools, by converting them into academies where performance is expected to be higher.
The policy is responsible for the vast majority of the 244 school closures in Leicestershire since 2000, as there were only 23 schools that stopped operating entirely during the two decades.
Another reason why a school may be listed as closed is because it has merged with another.
Leicester city saw 80 school closures since 2000, with 43 of these being academy converters or to make way for academies.
Across England, 8,852 schools have closed due to academisation since the year 2000.
This is the majority of the 16,269 schools that were marked as closed during the period.
The next biggest group, at 3,390, was closure as a result of a merger.
There are another 49 schools proposed to close in England before the end of this year, with 46 of these closing for academies or being converted into one.
Just one was closing for good, Christ Church, Church of England Primary School in Gloucestershire.
And a total of 48 new academies are being proposed to open by September 1 this year.
A DfE spokesperson said: “Every year, hundreds of schools make the
choice to become an academy, enabling them to benefit from the opportunities and support that being part of a strong trust brings.
“We know many schools have benefited from the support provided by their academy trust during the pandemic and we continue to support some schools to convert to an academy during this period at a suitable timescale.”