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Adam and Stephen discuss the expansion of Villa Park, the acquisition of an engineering consultancy and funding for a business that works with McLaren and Lamborghini.

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00:00The expansion of Villa Park, the acquisition of an engineering consultancy, and funding

00:04for a business that works with McLaren and Lamborghini, featuring today's business briefing.

00:14Good morning Adam.

00:15Morning Selim.

00:16I believe you've got some exciting news for Austin Villa fans today.

00:18That's right, yes.

00:19The Premier League Club have actually confirmed plans to expand their North Stand at Villa

00:24Park. It actually forms the latest instalment in a landmark regeneration project, which

00:30the club says is aiming to create a world-class sports and entertainment venue. The redevelopment

00:36will actually increase the number of seats in the North Stand to more than 12,000. This,

00:41combined with the ongoing upgrades to this stadium's other free stands, will increase

00:46capacity at Villa Park to in excess of 50,000, so a big development. The stadium renovation

00:52is expected to be completed in the second half of 2027, ahead of the 2028 Euros, which Villa

01:01Park is, of course, a host venue for. Villa first announced its plans to expand the North Stand

01:08in 2022 when a full rebuild was proposed, but the club is now planning to reuse and redevelop

01:16the existing structure.

01:17Oh, great stuff. Sure. Welcome news for the Austin Villa fans in the audience.

01:21Well, moving on, we've got news of a significant deal. Aegis, a global architecture, consulting,

01:28construction engineering, and mobility services group, has announced the acquisition of a

01:32UK engineering consultancy. Omnia Projects was established in 2012 and specialises in

01:39transmission and distribution engineering, project management, and technical assurance.

01:42The company has about 110 staff and has bases in North Allerton, Stafford, and Warrington.

01:47It's undertaken a number of critical infrastructure projects over the years, including work for

01:53clients such as National Grid. And by joining Aegis, it will become part of a group that operates

01:58in 100 countries and employs about 20,000 people. So big, big group there, really, really significant

02:03business. The acquisition is expected to create a broader service offering for Aegis' clients

02:09involving energy transition and grid modernisation. The directors of Omnia have said the deal will

02:15mark some exciting milestone for their business to open up new opportunities for both its people

02:21and its clients. So, yeah, really good deal there.

02:23Yeah, and we're moving from one deal to another, in fact. With a company in the West Midlands

02:28securing some funding. The company in question is B Lighting, which is based in Redditch and specialises

02:35in lighting design and manufacturing for high-end vehicles. Now, the company works with a host of

02:40well-known brands you'll have heard of, like McLaren, Lamborghini, Lotus, Aston Martin, and Ford,

02:46is using £150,000 from the Community Investment Enterprise Fund to help with working capital. Now,

02:52that's supporting day-to-day operations, enabling the business to increase sales and production.

02:57One of the company's founders said the funding has also helped to secure, sorry, at least 20 jobs

03:03and put it in a good position to win new business. The company has actually recruited three new people

03:10within the last three months and said it is planning to recruit further over the next year.

03:15Okay. Well, last thing today, revised plans to Redditch Business Park in Bristol to create student

03:21accommodation and industrial space are going to go back before the council's planning committee next week,

03:26on Wednesday. Dominus Bristol is behind the application for the new development of Premier

03:31Business Park. Its plans include a 549-bedroom student accommodation block and 60,000 square foot

03:36of industrial space. Plans also include outdoor amenity areas and improvements to the transport network.

03:42Now, the original application was actually refused planning permission in June last year. Conserves were

03:49raised about the loss of employment land and the height of the proposed development at the time.

03:54As since the end of the application, the applicant has gone back and made changes to the plans

03:59and the office's report prepared for the upcoming meeting has said that it has

04:04addressed, satisfactorily addressed, all the issues for refusal from last year. So, when the plans go

04:10before the committee, there is now a recommendation for approval. So, it looks like there'll be some good

04:14news on the horizon now. Yeah, and of course, Insider will be covering the result of that. You can read

04:20about the stories we've spoken about today at insidermedia.com, where you can also subscribe to our

04:25newsletters and learn about upcoming events. Thank you.

04:28you

04:32so

Watch: Insider's Business Briefing - 25th April 2025

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