A FINANCIAL services firm has been fined almost £100,000 after it invested more than £12 million of its customers’ cash in risky investments.

Topps Rogers Financial Management invested funds over a six-year period on behalf of 94 customers, who could now lose their money.

The Hope-based firm has been fined £97,600 by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) which investigated.

Martin Rigney, the company’s principal partner, was separately fined £117.300.

He has also been barred from carrying out any similar business transactions on the grounds he is not a fit and proper person.

Topps Rogers went bankrupt last November and the liquidators have decided not to pursue appeals against the verdicts on cost grounds.

One man involved in the case, who asked not to be named, said his relative had given money for investment to Topps Rogers - only to find the cash had been frozen and could no longer be accessed.

He said: “The money was invested in high-risk funds contrary to the wishes of the investors, some of whom handed over life savings.

“My relative has not got his cash back and, although we are happy with the penalty, there is a feeling it is nowhere near enough.”

In its ruling the FSA said Topps Rogers’ conduct had fallen below the standards of the regulatory system and breached customers’ trust by failing to ensure its investments were suitable.

A spokesman for Mr Rigney said he was of the view he had been fined twice by the FSA for the same matters.

The spokesman said: “Mr Rigney has been forced to accept the findings in both cases, but continues to appeal the fine against him and the firm, because they will cause hardship to him and his wife.”

He said clients who had lost out due to Mr Rigney’s advice were able to claim compensation from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

Contaminated water from Africa’s on-shore oilfields is being cleaned up thanks to an innovative Barnsley consultancy.

Barnsley Business and Innovation Centre-based Oceans ESU was initially called in by the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company to carry out work at the Heglig oilfield in Sudan.

The company’s bioremediation system, comprising six reed beds, was so successful that a second project followed and now six more have been set up at other GNPOC oil fields in the region.

Now, with the help of business support organisation Enterprising Barnsley and business coach Mike Kilroy, Oceans ESU has high hopes of securing more contracts in the UK, Eastern Europe and other countries around the world and expects to increase profits by almost three quarters in the current year.

Managing director Lucian Gill said: “The scale of what we do and our emphasis on dealing with complex chemicals and reusable applications is unique in the world.

“We engineer reed beds to get the best possible treatment capability in the smallest area. The reeds regenerate every spring so it’s very low maintenance and, of course, the process doesn’t use any energy and the clean water itself can be reused.”

The reeds have extensive roots that provide an ideal habitat for natural soil bacteria which break down a wide range of common chemical pollutants and the beds can remove all traces of oil from 220,000 tonnes of water every day.

The cleaned water has been used to irrigate newly planted forests at Heglig, replacing those damaged in clashes before Southern Sudan gained its independence last year, and to create a wetland habitat for birds, insects, reptiles, amphibians and mammals.

Many of the creatures that are thriving have been under increasing threat from human development and more than 100 species of birds have been seen there, including the white-headed vulture, black crowned crane and other species that are on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s red list of threatened species.

Mohamed Musa, head of GNPOC’s environment section, said: “The management of the bioremediation systems has continued to produce results which far exceed the environmental standards of both Sudan and worldwide.

“We feel that the bioremediation is a success of which we are proud, and Oceans has contributed a great deal towards this success.”

Ten of Oceans ESU’s team of 25 employees are working exclusively in Sudan on GNPOC schemes and three other systems for petrol companies.

The company is designing reed bed systems for two oilfields in Columbia and has installed a smaller scheme in South Africa that treats run-off from a petrol station.

Sheffield has been ranked as one of the Top 10 Small European Cities in terms of its prospects for attracting inward investment and achieving economic development and business expansion.

The accolade comes from leading provider of foreign direct investment intelligence, fDi, in its latest research report, European Cities and Regions of the Future 2012/2013.

Sheffield is ranked sixth in terms of its strategy for attracting foreign direct investment and eighth in terms of its overall prospects - behind four cities from continental Europe and Bristol, Liverpool and Manchester from the UK.

The city is also ranked eighth overall among the Small Cities for its infrastructure, ahead of Leeds and Cardiff, but fails to get a ranking for being “business friendly” or for human resources.

“The best small city of the future is Bristol in the UK, scoring particularly well in the business friendliness category, due in part to its concentrated high-tech and knowledge-based sectors,” says the report.

Sheffield City Council leader Julie Dore said: “We are delighted to see Sheffield’s credentials as a leading location for business investment to be reflected in the fDi rankings.

“We continue to invest in the City’s future, and to create an environment to encourage and support business and economic growth.”

James Newman, chairman of the Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “There is no doubt at all of the huge economic potential of the Sheffield City Region.

“Although we are well aware of the City Region’s attributes and attractiveness for potential investors, it is excellent that this has been reflected in the fDi European Cities ranking.”

Fifty digital designers and developers have descended on Barnsley’s Digital Media Centre to attend the town’s first Digital Barn.

It was the brainchild of Matthew Watson and Kimb Jones and attracted digital specialists from big names like Microsoft and BSkyB.

Matthew said: “We kept travelling to other towns and cities and thought we’d put on our own event and bring together the creative community.

“The Digital Media Centre was the perfect venue and we’re delighted with how the event went. The feedback was excellent and a lot of networking and collaborative working came out of the event. We hope to put on another Digital Barn later.”

Digital Media Centre manager Gareth Scargill said: “The DMC is a huge asset to this region and to the creative and digital industries sector and part of our mission is to host innovative events like Digital Barn.

“It also gives us the opportunity to showcase the centre and the town to people from all over the north of England.

“We’re seeing more and more creative and digital businesses choosing to base themselves in the DMC. Now we’re connected to the Digital Region super-fast broadband network, we’re the first choice for digital and creative businesses looking for affordable space and structured business support.”

Design experts from Sheffield Hallam University have helped an Derbyshire company to add some new sparkle to its innovative self-heating food cans.

The university’s in-house design consultancy, Design Futures, was called in by Derbyshire-based Heat Food & Drink to give a new look to its HOTCAN range of tinned meals.

John Kirkby, creative director of Design Futures, said: “The old design was quite busy and we wanted to make sure the main message was as prominent as possible. We also wanted to create a sense of character and tone for the range that would appeal to the target audience.”

Design Futures developed new product titling, a new strapline and a new logo, incorporating a ‘degree’ symbol before the ‘C’ in the word ‘Can’ to highlight the self-heating capability.

Heat Food & Drink’s managing director, Mark Taylor, said: “HOTCANs have been produced for over 30 years but in 2010 we took over the product, so it was certainly time to revisit the packaging.

“We were looking for a distinctive, timeless identity that would really stand out on the shelf and we knew instantly that Design Futures had hit the nail on the head when we saw the proposals.

“We’re really happy with the redesign – it gives the product a really new vibrant image. It’s been part of a complete revamp for the product, which has also included upgrading the heating mechanism, developing a new range of high quality food and we’ve even reduced prices to make the product more cost-effective for our customers.”

HOTCANs are made by securing a smaller can inside a larger one. Food is placed in the inner can and the space between the two cans is filled with granular limestone and a sachet of water.

Each HOTCAN comes with a spike that is inserted into the rim between the cans to pierce the sachet of water, allowing it to mix with the limestone, which causes a chemical reaction that generates heat and warms the food up to 70C in minutes.

An innovative initiative that combines networking with an invigorating walk through a Sheffield park is attracting members from the rest of South Yorkshire.

NetWalking Sheffield is the brainchild of marketing and PR consultant and trainer Faye Smith and is attracting business people ranging from “solo-preneurs,” who run their own one-man businesses, to bank managers.

“One of my clients asked to join me on my early morning walks as it was a great way to clear our heads, get fresh ideas while getting fresh air and exercise in a more informal, creative environment.

“It was so successful, we decided to invite our business contacts.

“Now we have over eighty in the Net-Walk network, with more booking on each month as word spreads,” says Faye.

The last Net-Walk attracted participants from Barnsley.

The next event takes place on Friday, February 24 and places on the free event can be booked by telephoning: 07985 038265 or e-mailing: faye@keepyourfork.co.uk.

Brinsworth Academy of Engineering is looking for new premises in response to increasing demand for its cutting edge training services.

The Rotherham-based company revealed it is considering two sites in the Sheffield region as it launched three new apprenticeships, focusing on instrumentation and control technology, electronics and welding and fabrication.

Managing director Mick Crossley said: “We are looking at two sites within the Sheffield city region and we want to have a training centre that reflects our ambitions of developing a modern academy that provides young people with the best environment to become highly skilled engineers.”

Mr Crossley said the company saw synergies with the new University Technical College and Advanced Manufacturing Institute planned for South Yorkshire, which he believes will earn the region national recognition for developing employees within the engineering sector.

Brinsworth Academy of Engineering’s new courses will be part of the New ERA programme which it developed with Rotherham-based Newburgh Engineering and Sheffield-based Air Accessories. New ERA apprenticeships are intended to provide training above and beyond current apprenticeship programmes and create a new breed of highly skilled young engineers who are ready to go straight into employment with sponsoring companies.

Sheffield’s City Council and Chamber of Commerce have joined forces to create a single source of support, designed to help local businesses to establish themselves and grow.

The Sheffield Enterprise Programme Gateway is targeting people who want to start a business or develop an existing one and has been set up in the wake of the Governement’s abolition of Business Link.

The Gateway will be manned by enterprise experts from the Chamber’s Sheffield Enterprise Agency operation and will link up with other support agencies and intermediaries to give businesses access to training workshops or one-to-one support from a business adviser.

Sheffield Enterprise Agency business support manager Paul Tinsley said: “We want to create more opportunities for businesses so Sheffield continues to develop a diverse economy with a strong base across sectors.

“Sheffield Enterprise Agency’s aim is to encourage business growth, as well as the number of business start-ups in the region, creating more employment opportunities and increase the city’s presence both nationally and internationally.”

The Sheffield Enterprise Programme Gateway is part of Sheffield City Council’s drive to ensure Sheffield is a ‘business-friendly city.’

Council cabinet member for business, jobs and growth, Helen Mirfin Boukouris, said: “Enterprise matters to the council.

“We are faced with one of the biggest economic challenges in our lifetime. Our approach for the next few years is to work with all sectors of the economy to get Sheffield back on its feet.

“We will work with both existing businesses and new start ups with the potential to create jobs and stimulate economic growth.

“We know we have a challenge ahead of us, but we are committed to doing all we can to support business, grow our economy and see our city flourish.”

The Sheffield Enterprise Programme Gateway can be contacted by calling 0800 0435522 or emailing gateway@senta.co.uk.

First TransPennine Express has been named the Train Operator of the Year at the Rail Business Awards.

The rail company, which operates services across the north of England and into Scotland began its franchise in 2004 and had it extend until 2015 last year. It carries around 25 million passengers a year.

Managing director Nick Donovan said: “We are all really delighted to be named the best train operator in the country. It is a fantastic achievement and one that has been brought about by focusing on our customers’ needs.

“Winning this award shows that we are delivering the things that matter, including customer service, performance and safety.”

A SHEFFIELD-BOUND train travelling at about 100mph hit a bike thrown on to the tracks in a ‘mindless act of vandalism’.

British Transport Police are now investigating after witnesses told officers a youth, aged about 15 or 16, threw the red and silver mountain bike on to the tracks before fleeing moments before the CrossCountry Trains express service struck it.

Sgt Cliff Parker, of BTP, said: “This was a mindless act of vandalism which could have caused injuries or worse. Thankfully, on this occasion the train remained upright, on the tracks and no one was injured.

“Although this may seem like fun to those who commit such offences, what they don’t realise are the potentially serious consequences of their extremely-foolish behaviour.”

The incident at Yate station, Gloucestershire, on Sunday, involved the 5.24pm Exeter to Leeds service, which was due to call at Chesterfield and Sheffield shortly after 9pm.

Richard Gibson, CrossCountry Trains spokesman, said: “We’re disappointed mindless acts of vandalism can occur and we will continue to work with BTP to ensure the safety of our customers.”

Sgt Parker said: “The train that struck the bike suffered damage to its air pipes which caused delays to passengers as a result.

“A number of other services had to be diverted, causing further delays and inconvenience to passengers.”

Entrepreneur Imran Zahir has launched a new South Yorkshire day care centre for the elderly in a former Rotherham pub, creating five jobs in the process.

Mr Zahir, who has residential homes and children’s nurseries in Rotherham and Leeds, used funding from Barclays Corporate to buy and convert the former Toll Bar public house in Maltby into the Melton Court Day Care Centre.

He said: “With an ageing population, services for the elderly and their carers have never been so important.

“I hope the new day care centre will provide respite for the elderly in the local community in Maltby.

“It’s also great that we’ve managed to renovate a previously unused property which will help regenerate the area.”

The funding package was put together by Barclays corporate relationship director Russell Briggs, who said: “It really is a pleasure to see a local healthcare company go from strength to strength and buck the current market trend.

“Barclays Corporate remains committed to the Yorkshire business market and this deal highlights our appetite to support quality customers in a tough market.”

Imran Zahir’s ventures include Care Maltby, Care Headingly and Tot Spot Early Years.

CBRE’s industrial agency team has disposed of three units on the Hellaby Industrial Estate in Rotherham on behalf of Suon Industrials.

The property consultancy has sold a 10,000 sq ft unit to Rotherham-based security equipment manufacturer Pyronix and a 6,000 sq ft unit to Industrial Battery Charger Services, the forklift truck battery specialist.

CBRE has also let a 12,000 sq ft unit to Clarence Merwe Systems of Worksop.

Roger Haworth, senior director of industrial agency at CBRE in Sheffield, said; “This development has proved hugely successful to date with the three new occupiers joining a number of well-known companies including Stanley Tools, Cert Logistics and Dexel Tyres to name but a few.

“Interest in the units was high when the properties came to the market and the deals represent an excellent result for all parties.”

A 6,000 sq ft detached unit is now available for sale or to lease.

Students from Sheffield University’s Town and Regional Planning Department have come up with a series of proposals to breathe new life into Attercliffe. Their plans, which are designed to fit in with Sheffield City Council’s new Action Plan for Attercliffe, will go on show at an exhibition in Sheffield’s Winter Garden tomorrow which has been arranged by Sheffield City Council, the University, The Attercliffe Business Connection and Attercliffe Asian Business Connection.

Proposals include enhanced public realm along Attercliffe Road, bringing vacant properties back into use, improving green spaces, and addressing the high levels of heavy goods traffic which currently use Attercliffe as a through route.

Regulars at The Shoulder of Mutton in Worrall can be forgiven for thinking they’re seeing double.

There’s not one landlady behind the bar, but two.

Since December, the running of the quaint little village pub has been a sister act.

Claire Cinnamond and her little sis Katy Edgeley are sharing the hostess with the mostest role. “We are both front of house; it can get quite bossy in there sometimes,” grins Claire, 38.

“We often end up falling into good cop, bad cop roles – Katy’s the former. We don’t always agree and because we’re sisters we speak very plainly to each other. But it’s a good thing – it clears the air and we instantly get over it. And another huge plus is that we trust each other 100 per cent.”

The girls have plenty of experience of working with family. They grew up in the licensing trade; mum and dad Norman and Sheila Cinnamond owned Middlewood Hall in its heyday, moving on to 450-year-old Fernie Castle in the Scottish Highlands and a luxury hotel in Maidenhead before moving back to Walkey in their retirement.

“It was our life when we were growing up. We would help out in the school holidays. I worked for my parents before running a couple of bars in Lincolnshire,” explains Claire, a mum of one.

Katy, 31, went into hairdressing, but when she was made redundant last winter, the pair spotted the empty pub in the village they had grown up in and despite the fact that Katy’s first child is due in May, decided to take it on. Claire says: “The Shoulder was always a lovely pub; when we were little our parents used to bring us here for lunch.”

It had stood empty for a number of years but since December the girls have been breathing new life into the place, much to the pleasure of owners Enterprise Inns.

The sisters are growing accustomed to customers peering over their shoulders in search of a landlord. “Some are quite traditional in their view and expect a man to be in charge. But times are changing,” says Claire, whose partner Richard Bland, a financial consultant, rolls up his sleeves and helps out when he gets home from work, alongside Katy’s joiner husband Matthew.

They plan to turn the pub into a gastro food destination and have hired talented Sheffield chef Richard North, who trained in pastry at London’s Park Lane Hotel and worked under respected local chef Christian Kemp at Chesterfield Road’s Blue Room Brasserie.

Richard is building the menu and training up the kitchen team. The emphasis is on quality dishes packed with locally sourced, freshly-prepared ingredients. Slow-cooked lamb shank, game skewers featuring produce from the local shoot and rack of lamb are specialities and the Sunday roast is so popular, 30 hopeful diners had to be turned away this weekend.

It’s a chance for pie-lovers to get positively pie-eyed...

A pie-eating competition is being staged at city centre bar The Hop in celebration of next month’s British Pie Week.

Teams of four are invited to get their teeth into a savoury-stuffing relay challenge at the West One Plaza venue.

The fare will be quality stuff, hailing from award-winning Andrew Jones Pies ‘n’ Pasties of Huddersfield, regulars on the menu at The Hop’s Pie Hole kitchen.

For the grand final on Saturday, March 10, pies will be filled with steak and treacle stout. The winning team will get £100, a trophy and a pie meal a week for six months.

Competitors have a risk waiver to sign, acknowledging that the risks of eating vast quantities of pie at speed can include illness, injury and indigestion – and being turned off pie for life afterwards.

Heats will be held on March 8. For rules and application forms, call the pub on 0114 2781000 or go to www.thehopsheffield.com.

Closing date for entries is noon on March 1.

Good news for beer-lovers planning to make a night of it at the 20th Rotherham Real Ale and Music Festival, running from Wednesday, February 29, to Saturday, March 3, at Magna, showcasing over 200 traditional ales from the UK and beyond.

Transport bosses have laid on a special ‘beer bus’ which will run from early evening until last orders from stand C1 in Rotherham Bus Station and D3 in Meadowhall Interchange.

Fares are £1 return.

For bus times go to www.travelsouthyorkshire.com and for festival info go to www.magnarealale.co.uk

Nonna’s restaurant was transformed into a school cookery class at the weekend when Westbourne School pupils were invited to get hands-on.

Led my Nonna’s head chef Jamie Taylor, pupils kneaded, dolloped and sprinkled their way to pizza perfection before being given a preview of the restaurant’s new family-sized gourmet sharing pizzas, due to launch on Sunday nights from March 11.

Milestone owners Marc Sheldon and Matt Bigland will be stepping into the heat of their own kitchens on Monday night, helping head chef James Wallis cook up funds at a charity-night in aid of the eight-year-old niece of senior sous chef Craig Power.

During the role-reversal night, chefs will be going front of house to wait on tables, and a silent auction will be held.

Niamh, of Rotherham, has just undergone a third operation to remove a brain tumour. Cash from the £30-a-head event (or £50 VIP seats upstairs) will go to The Sheffield Children’s Hospital and the Hope for Niamh Fund.

TRANSPORT chiefs in South Yorkshire have set a budget for next year that will see £88.2 million collected from councils.

A grant of £89.7 million, down by £8.6 million, has been made to South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive by the county’s transport authority in its 2012-13 budget.

The money incorporates a levy of £88.2 million on Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley and Doncaster councils, funded by Government transport services grants.

The authority funds concessionary travel on public transport for the young, old and mobility impaired, uncommercial local bus and train services plus bus interchanges. It also works with councils as well as transport operators to make improvements.

Scones from South Yorkshire are winging their way Down Under as part of a job creating export drive, launched by Barnsley bakery Haywood & Padgett.

The bakery, on the Carlton Industrial Estate, launched the export initiative after investing more than £2 million in new technology and buildings, with backing from Yorkshire Bank’s Doncaster Financial Solutions Centre.

Haywood & Padgett was founded in 1987 by managing director, Wayne Padgett as a one-man band.

Staring out with just a rolling pin, pastry cutter, a food mixer, £5,000 of his own cash and a loan for the same amount from Yorkshire Bank, Wayne has built a £13 million business, which employs 120 people and counts ASDA, Morrisons, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Iceland, ALDI and Lidl among its customers.

Following the recent investment, which includes spending £600,000 on a 40-metre long oven that can produce 50,000 scones an hour, Haywood & Padgett has started exporting to France, Portugal and Spain as well as Australia.

Now the company plans to target the US and Asia as part of a growth strategy which will create new jobs and also involves expanding its premises.

Wayne Padgett said: “This business started with Yorkshire Bank backing and now the bank is supporting us as we take the company into a new era.

“We believe that we are the world’s biggest scones manufacturer. We are pleased to be expanding in a difficult climate as we have big plans with other trademarked lines, which are to be developed thanks to Yorkshire Bank’s investment and our strong partnerships with supermarkets.

“Without Yorkshire Bank’s help we would not be able to consider expanding. It would just not be an option.”

Yorkshire Bank’s Neil Bradburne said: “The business has stayed true to its original principles of high quality and value for money so is ideally placed to continue to expand and Yorkshire Bank is pleased to be supporting this business through our Investing for Growth initiative.”

A MOCK trial organised by the Sheffield and Leeds-based Northern Chapter of the Hong Kong UK Business Forum has been named International Best Initiative by the Federation of Hong Kong Business Associations Worldwide.

The trial highlighted the advantages and disadvantages of using Hong Kong as a gateway to mainland China.

Northern chapter chairman and DLA Piper partner, Josh Wong, said: “To win this award out of all the Hong Kong business forums in the world is a huge honour and demonstrates the quality of support we can offer the business community.

“China remains at the top of the list for many organisations in the UK looking to expand overseas and Hong Kong provides the ideal entry point.

“An economic powerhouse in its own right, it is also uniquely positioned as a Chinese city which has a UK business infrastructure, making the commercial transition much more straightforward.

“We work hard to ensure that our members are kept well informed of news, market intelligence and networking opportunities relevant to the market, providing a helping hand for those looking to expand their business interests into the Far East.”

Delegates attending seminars about the impact of new environmental laws will have the chance to visit one of only 14 commercial properties in the UK that generates more energy than it consumes.

The seminars, backed by networking group The Met Club, are taking place at the offices of renewable energy systems specialist EverGen at The Old Corn Mill at Millhouse Green, Sheffield.

The Mill complex, which dates back to the 1750s, uses a combination of technologies to ensure it is as green as possible.

For more information about the seminars, e-mail: lorraine@themetclub.co.uk.