Bringing Aycliffe Business Park Together | 7
/NEWS
SELLING YOUR
BUSINESS?
MANTIS WORK
ON FOOTBALL BOOK
A Newton Aycliffe media
company has helped to produce
a special souvenir football book.
Aycliffe-based Mantis Media have worked
with Boro firm Dave Allan Communications
to publish One Giant Leap – a book
to celebrate the 10th anniversary of
Middlesbrough FC’s Carling Cup victory
in 2004, the only major title in the club’s
137-year history.
Lifelong Boro fan and former employee
Martin Walker, managing director of
Mantis Media, designed the 200-page
hardback book, which was written by his
ex-MFC colleague Dave Allan, formerly
the club’s media and communications
manager.
Boro supporter Dave led Middlesbrough
FC’s in-house media department for 17
years before setting up his business in
2011, while fellow fan Martin was part of
his team for five years before going solo
with his business.
One Giant Leap is the first book published
by Dave Allan Communications, who
provide a public relations, media and
communications service to business
clients across Teesside and beyond.
Dave said: “Having been there, as the
club’s media manager, to see Boro lift the
only major trophy in the club’s history, I felt
it important to mark the 10th anniversary
of the cup win and was delighted when
the football club asked me to publish the
book.
“Whilst media and PR work remains
the core element of my service, it was
fantastic to rewind the clock and catch up
with the likes of Steve McClaren, Gareth
Southgate and Juninho to gather their
memories of the biggest day in the club’s
history.
“Martin and I have remained in
regular contact since our Boro
days and I immediately turned
to him as I knew he would be as
professional and passionate about
the design as I was about the
book’s content.
”
While Martin normally focuses on a
range of business clients in the Aycliffe
area, he readily agreed to a trip down
Memory Lane when Dave offered him
the opportunity to design a book that is
proving a big hit with Boro supporters.
“Although I had never previously designed
a book, design work is a key element of
the Mantis Media offering, so I was thrilled
to take on the work and confident of
producing a book Boro fans could be proud
of, he said.
”
“While the book was naturally a labour
of love, it was a great opportunity to
showcase my design skills.
”
Mantis Media, publishers of Aycliffe
Today Business, AT Monthly and www.
aycliffetoday.co.uk, is based at The HUB
on Aycliffe Business Park and offers an allround media and PR service, working with
an increasing number of local companies.
One Giant Leap is available exclusively
from the MFC Retail stores and online
at www.mfcofficialdirect.co.uk
Pic: Mantis Media managing director Martin Walker
(left) with Dave Allan at Boro’s Riverside Stadium
The Law states that when a
business or part of a business
is sold or transferred from one
employer to another the Transfer
of Undertakings (Protection of
Employment) Regulations 2006
apply to that transfer.
These Regulations are referred to for
convenience as the TUPE Regulations.
They apply regardless of the size of the
business being transferred and regardless
of the number of employees employed by
that business.
The Regulations protect the terms and
conditions of employees of the business
that is being transferred to a new owner.
Those employees automatically become
employees of the new employer once
the transfer has taken place on the same
terms and conditions that existed prior to
the transfer.
At the end of October 2013 the
Government published draft legislation to
amend the TUPE Regulations. Whilst no
date has been set for the implementation
of the new Regulations it is expected that
they will become law in January 2014.
The most important changes are:
• Increasing the time limit for providing
certain information about employees to
the prospective new employer from 14
to 28 days.
• Whereas previously if the new employer
asked an employee to work at a