Happy businesses, a bright future, vegan ice cream, and sunbathing in King’s Square!
A chance remark led to Raikes discovering Mr Whippy’s real name, what businesses think of the city centre investment, a lust for vegan ice cream and point to a changing face of Gloucester.
Dear Readers,
We hope you’ve had a good week.
It’s been a week in which we have eased our way back into the saddle after a few days off and the Bank Holiday weekend, and one in which we have spent doing what we do - speaking to people in the community and listening to their stories.
We have a great tale for next week of a partnership forged in Gloucestershire that is helping to tackle a crisis restricting the number of flights worldwide and impacting the whole aviation sector.
On Friday we usually paywall our stories for our paying members only, but after paywalling yesterday’s tale about a family firm that has grown to a turnover of more than £27 million and which has revealed a partnership with a major Chinese business that could further transform its fortunes, we thought we’d give everyone access and all of you something light to read.
A lot has been made of The Forum development in Gloucester city centre and what that might mean, but little has been said for the impact it’s already having on a city that is changing before our very eyes. So we’ve taken a light-hearted look at just that. And it’s hardly award-winning investigative reporting, but by chance we discovered ice cream legend My Whippy’s real name!
Have a great weekend.
Please send us your stories/ideas about companies/people/issues you think we should write about. Email andrew.merrell@raikesjournal.co.uk or telephone 07956 926061.
Some briefing notes...
📈 🏉 A Gloucestershire tech firm which has enjoyed a 77 per cent increase in revenue and a 45 per cent growth in its client base in the last two years has announced a new appointment to help drive yet more growth. Cheltenham-based technology consultancy Emerge Digital, which also offers IT support, cloud services and cyber security, has appointed former Gloucester Rugby player Mark Atkinson as business development manager. Atkinson, who still holds a business development position at Kingsholm, joined the Cherry & Whites in 2014 and went on to play 168 times over 10 years at the club. He was also capped for the Barbarians and England. Read the full story here.
🤝 In case it skipped your notice, South Gloucestershire and Stroud College’s science and technology park at Berkeley was sold for £6.5 million to Chiltern Vital Berkeley Ltd. Ian Mean, Gloucestershire director for Business West, which represents hundreds of businesses across the county and many more West-wide, called the development is a “potential economic gamechanger for our region”. It is a move, he said, that opens the door to create the UK centre of excellence for nuclear research and development and skills training in partnership with Rolls Royce SMR.
👷🏼 👷🏽♀️ There is less than a week to go before the great and good of the county’s construction sector are set to gather for their high summit. This is Constructing Excellence Gloucestershire’s annual conference at the University of Gloucestershire’s Business School at Oxtalls Campus, University of Gloucestershire. Panel topics will include new Government policy, early contractor engagement and social value. More than 150 are expected to attend to hear what has to be said and for the valuable networking opportunities. Due to take place from 2pm to 5pm on Thursday 5 September. Entry if free. You can book tickets here.
🙁 According to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) confidence in the business community has slumped by almost a third in the last quarter of 2024. The FSB did also make sure it mentioned the information was collected pre-General Election. More business owners than the previous quarter said they had slimmed down their staff numbers and two thirds said they regarded the current economic conditions as their biggest barrier to future growth. Lee Nathan, chair of FSB South West, said: “There were some positive signs in the report this time but the big disappointment is the overall headline confidence figures.”
🍻 One of Gloucester’s lost pubs, the historic Grade I listed Dick Whittington at 100 Westgate Street, has reopened its doors after a restoration project by its new landlord and landlady, Lee and Vicky Bradley, who also run The Avenue pub on Bristol Road. The city centre building dates back to at least the 1400s and is named after one of the city’s most famous sons, Richard Whittington, who famously went on to become the Lord Mayor of London. The pub was bought in 2018 by Four County Inns and refurbished, but closed in 2020 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
* Everything you read on The Raikes Journal is made possible by our incredible Founding Partners: QuoLux, Willans LLP, Gloucestershire College, Merrell People and Randall & Payne, our sponsors Hartpury University and Hartpury College, our Founding Members and wonderful paying subscribers.
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Happy businesses, a bright future, vegan ice cream, and sunbathing in King’s Square!
A chance remark led to a series of conversations that saw Raikes discover Mr Whippy’s real name, what businesses think of the city centre investment, a lust for vegan ice cream and point to a changing face of Gloucester.
By Andrew Merrell
A few years ago if anyone had told you crowds of people would be making a point of stopping by King’s Square in Gloucester to enjoy the sunshine, relax, play and feast on vegan ice cream you might have raised an eyebrow in disbelief.
A marketing person’s dream, maybe, not reality.
But that is exactly what is happening. The revamp of the square, resulting from the partnership between Gloucester City Council and Reef Group, is beginning to work its magic.
The £107 million scheme includes The Forum, a 600,000 square foot digital campus hailed as a new gateway to Gloucester will include 43 apartments, a four star hotel, cafes, bars, a gym, retail units and a new car park when complete.
It was the thought of someone trying to flog 120 litres of ice cream on the once oh-so tired eyesore of a square that caught our attention, thanks to a gentle nudge from someone who acts for Colliers – the property experts that manages the space, alongside the adjacent King’s Walk shopping centre.
That led us to Anthony Hier, known best to anyone in the city - especially on his regular route - by a famous alias of ice cream vendors nationwide, Mr Whippy.
“You have to deliver something that will stand out, and you have to do it well. Lots of people, probably more than you think, are vegetarian or vegan and I get asked a lot for vegan ice cream by parents because of food intolerances too,” said Hier, explaining the vegan option.
Hier has a pitch on the square for his van and will be in situ on Saturday from 10am.
Will he sell all that ice cream?
“I can see us running out, yes. At which point I will revert to the award-winning ice cream we usually sell – so there will be plenty to go around.”
Hier grew up in Gloucester, went to Hucclecote School and has seen the city change – he thinks for the better – in recent years.
It was after a career as a salesman working for various companies that he ended up re-inventing himself in his current role.
“I was made redundant and decided I didn’t want to go through a series of interviews aged 52, and was open to ideas. I had done an ice cream round when I was really young for a while and really enjoyed it, and it became an idea that wouldn’t go away,” he said.
Scouring the country for a suitable van he found a Whitby Morrison, what he called the Rolls Royce of ice cream vans, in storage in London. He then got a licence from the local authority and his new business was born.
“It’s hard work, but I really enjoy it,” he said.
“I think the work that has been done to the square so far has transformed it. It’s great to see families coming here and enjoying the summer and the water fountains. It’s a good free space everyone can use.
“By next year, when they finish The Forum and the university finishes the transformation of the former Debenhams building it really will be a cultural hub for the city.”
Luke Lutman, who is heading up the city’s remerging chamber of commerce, agrees that the square is beginning to work its magic.
“King’s Square is really good for the city and is bringing people into the centre. It’s giving the kids a space to play during the summer and it’s already been the home to a number of free events that have been staged there,” said Lutman, the founder of industrial design agency Phoenix Consultants, whose offices at Jolt overlook the square and The Forum development.
Those events he’s referring to ranged from open air cinema and battle of the bands to the start of the Rotary Club of Gloucester’s Santa charity fun run, all arranged in partnership with Colliers.
“Once the units around the edge have all been filled it will become a new hub for the city centre and a real destination to head for when you arrive here by train or a bus,” said Lutman, referring to the retail space that extends along one whole side of the square.
“The hotel that is coming soon, with its rooftop bar, and the work by the university to transform the former Debenhams building, will help bring lots more people into the centre and make even more connections.”
Neville Morse, the boss of Gloucester bakery Jane’s Pantry, which has a shop and cafe in the Kingswalk parade that looks across the square, said: “The transformation of King’s Square has certainly made it look good, but I believe it still needs to be used a lot more, especially during the summer months. It’s a vast space that remains underutilised.
“With the university moving into the old Debenhams building and the development of the new Forum, I’m hopeful that these changes will breathe some much-needed new life into the square and the city as a whole, which is long overdue.”
For Hier, the focus is on Saturday, meeting new customers and selling that ice cream.
His last role before My Whippy was as salesman for a cider company and he knows only too well the pressures on the hospitality sector and cost of living crisis is having on businesses and people.
His own costs have risen too (prices of ice creams and lollies have risen by 25 per cent of late). But, perhaps it is because we have had to cut back on other luxuries, ice cream is something we seem happy to continue to buy.
The revenue in the ice cream segment of the food market in the United Kingdom was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by £0.4 billion (that would be a 28.57 per cent increase).
That would make for 10 consecutive increasing years and make it a market worth a cool (if you’ll excuse the pub) £1.8 billion.
How much of that is vegan, we couldn’t tell you.