United Leeds Endeavours Looks at Yorkshire’s Olympic Success

United Leeds Endeavours takes a look at the incredible display by Yorkshire’s athletes at the London 2012 Olympics.

Much has been made of the incredible success of Team GB’s athletes. With 29 gold medals, 17 silver medals, and 19 bronze medals the British team achieved their highest ever medal tally of 65. United Leeds Endeavours, a direct sales and marketing company based in Leeds city centre looks at the fantastic statistics and shares why they think the county is so successful.

Whether you look at the most gold medals, or the total number of medals Team GB came in either 3^rd or 4^th. Both statistics make for fantastic reading. The team at United Leeds Endeavours will be resting their voices for the next few days to recover from all the cheering and shouting that they have done for their local athletes. A lot has been made of the fact that Yorkshire has been so successful. United Leeds Endeavours has pulled together some of their favourite statistics to share with you.

Yorkshire has finished the Olympics with seven gold medals, two silver and three bonzes which would put it in twelfth place in the final medals table if it were an independent country. That means the county beat Jamaica, Spain, South Africa and Brazil!

The gold medal winners were

Nicola Adams, boxing, Leeds

Jessica Ennis, heptathlon, Sheffield

Alistair Brownlee, triathlon, Horsforth

Ed Clancy, cycling, Huddersfield

Andy Triggs-Hodge, rowing, Yorkshire Dales

Kat Copeland, rowing, North Yorkshire

Luke Campbell, boxing, Hull.

United Leeds Endeavours are already enjoying the lasting legacy being left behind by their medal winners. “We’ve loved watching the special postboxes springing up around the place over the last few weeks as Royal Mail have honoured the gold medal winners by painting a postbox gold in their hometown. What a fantastic tribute, something that the whole community will be able to treasure and take pride in.”

So why does United Leeds Endeavours think that Yorkshire has been so successful? “There are so many reasons for the success. Firstly we have fantastic facilities in the region. Sheffield in particular is a hub for athletics and Hull and Bradford are training up a new generation of boxers.

Secondly there is a real passion for sport in the region, it’s well supported and this means everything to young athletes and spurs them on.

Finally we believe that Yorkshire has the competitive nature that we take great pride in having at United Leeds Endeavours as well. The athletes we produce have grit, determination and drive. They train hard, and learn fast. These are all values that make them so successful and also the things that we look for in our industry of direct sales. It has been an incredible Olympic games. Well done to the organisers, the volunteer and the athletes. You all did us incredibly proud.”

United Leeds Endeavours Prepares to Cheer on Brownlee Brothers

United Leeds Endeavours gets ready to cheer on local heroes Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee in the Olympics triathlon tomorrow morning.

Wow what a weekend! At United Leeds Endeavours we’re almost too exhausted after all the excitement of an epic weekend to keep going for another week. But keep going we shall, with a busy week ahead at our Leeds headquarters, and even more local heroes to cheer on in the Olympics we can’t rest yet.

On Tuesday morning local boys Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee will take to the water in the Serpentine at Hyde Park to compete in the London 2012 triathlon event. Starting at 11:30 the brothers will be hoping to build on an incredible couple of years in the sport which has seen then become ranked numbers one and two in the world. The brothers have dominated the sport and are fantastic medal hopes for an already spectacular Team GB. A spokesperson for United Leeds Endeavours summed up the excitement of the company, “We can’t wait to watch the Brownlee brothers compete, triathlon is one of the toughest sports out there and we admire the grit they put into their races. At United Leeds Endeavours we work with a competitive bunch of people, sales is a competitive environment after all and we love the competition that Alistair and Jonathan have between each other.”

In an act seen by some as draconian the brothers have apparently been warned that they will be disqualified if they attempt to cross the line together. This comes in the wake of the ‘fixing’ scandal that took place at the badminton which saw eight players disqualified. Jonathan has previously said “To win a joint gold medal with my brother, that’s the dream.” However Paula Kim, a spokeswoman for the International Triathlon Union (ITU) has said ‘Intentionally trying or agreeing to cross the line together, under ITU rules, brings a mandatory penalty of automatic disqualification.’ United Leeds Endeavours has some sympathy with the ITU, “Sports is about competition, the Williams sisters have had to play against each other before and there can only be one winner. It slightly makes a mockery of the situation if they don’t want to compete with each other. We’re sure that when it comes down to it, they will compete their hardest and whoever is best on the day will win.”

United Leeds Endeavours was also delighted to learn about the dominance of Yorkshire athletes in the Olympics. Athletes from Yorkshire have won more medals than most participating countries and as of this morning would have been ranked 7^th in the Olympic medals table! “This is fantastic testament to the strength of sport in this region. We have fantastic facilities and training programs that are producing the best athletes in the world right now. We’re incredibly proud.”

United Leeds Endeavours Cheers on Leeds 10K From Office Window

The 2012 Run for All 10K raced past the headquarters of United Leeds Endeavours this Sunday raising huge amounts for charity.

United Leeds Endeavours wrote a couple of months back about the Run for All 10K race that would be taking place through Leeds City Centre. Well the day finally came and the rain thankfully held off long enough for the race to be completed. The event in aid of Jane Tomlinson’s foundation was a huge success with 7,500 runners taking part. This event has become a mainstay of the Leeds calendar after 6 years. Since it began it has raised over £4.5 million for charity.

United Leeds Endeavours understands that there has been some talk that the route will be changed next year to add a different challenge for those who have been taking part for many years. Though nothing has been confirmed yet it seems a sensible idea and should hopefully attract more entries as well.  Gary Verity Chief executive of Yorkshire’s tourist board, Welcome to Yorkshire, took part in the race this year and said that it was a fantastic way to promote Leeds and Yorkshire as a whole.

As a successful direct sales company United Leeds Endeavours is fully behind the work being done in the county to promote businesses in Leeds. So they were excited to learn that Yorkshire is putting in a bid to host a stage of the Tour de France and Mr. Verity believes that the Headrow would make a great starting point. “This stretch of street would look particularly good with about 250 cycles on it, and what a day like today proves is that we can do it.”

A spokesperson for United Leeds Endeavours showed that there was incredible pride in the city. “Events like this show what a fantastic city Leeds is and how it is putting itself on the map as a ideal location for business and sports events. We mustn’t however forget about the reason for this run. Jane Tomlinson was a true Leeds hero and the legacy that she has left behind has helped countless charities and individuals. Huge congratulations should be given to those who completed the race, not just from the running aspect but also for all the hard work they’ve done for their chosen charities.”

United Leeds Endeavours Pleased By Flight Links Between Leeds and London

United Leeds Endeavours, a direct marketing and sales firm in Leeds, have heard that flights between Leeds Bradford Airport and Heathrow are to be restored.

Following the takeover of BMI aircraft and landing slots by British Airways plans are in motion to restore direct flights between Leeds Bradford Airport and the capital. The Harrogate Chamber of Trade and Commerce have been lobbying for a restoration of the scheduled service between Leeds Bradford Airport and Heathrow ever since BMI withdrew the service in 2009. United Leeds Endeavours feels that the links between London and Leeds Bradford Airport are extremely important to businesses in Yorkshire as they need to be able to travel between to London for meetings or office visits. Although there is a good train service from Leeds to London the flight time of under an hour is preferable.

From Kings Cross Station, where East Coast trains from Bradford and Leeds arrive, connections to Heathrow from Central London can often take up to an hour. This means that many people wishing to catch an international flight will find it much easier if they can fly directly to Heathrow and then just catch another plane abroad. United Leeds Endeavours feels that this could also help encourage foreign visitors and investors to visit more tourist attractions and businesses across Yorkshire. The restored flights will also be useful for the local population of the area serviced by Leeds Bradford Airport.

A manager at United Leeds Endeavours commented, “The restoration of direct Leeds Bradford to Heathrow flights can only be beneficial to the business community in Yorkshire as people will be able to travel to the financial capital more quickly and efficiently. We can only hope that other smaller airports across the country also gain this great business advantage!”

United Leeds Endeavours is a marketing and sales company with offices around the UK and Spain. Their mission is to provide world class marketing service driven by results for our clients and excellent service for our customers.

United Leeds Endeavours Expresses Confidence in New Enterprise Zone

United Leeds Endeavours was pleased to learn that a new business enterprise zone has officially opened for business in Leeds.

The Aire Valley Leeds Enterprise Zone was launched at the beginning of the week by Leeds City Region LEP in partnership with Leeds City Council. Based along the route of the East Leeds Link Road, the 142 hectare site is designed to be an area where businesses can settle with huge incentives. United Leeds Endeavours, a direct marketing and sales company based in the city centre, understands that analysts predict that the zone will create an additional £550m of activity in the area by 2025 and create up to 7,000 jobs.

What is a Enterprise Zone? Leader of Leeds City Council, Keith Wakefield, explains. “The enterprise zone will provide a focus for businesses and a powerful incentive for them to invest in the region.” United Leeds Endeavours learnt that the huge area already has planning permission for a wide-range of activity, including large-scale manufacturing, grade A office space and distribution. The incentives include reduced business rates worth up to £275,000 over five years, a business support programme and fast track planning permission.

Development director David Wells said that the area is ideally placed with “excellent transport links and a close proximity to the M1 and Leeds City Centre…[it] will provide an ideal location for companies in healthcare, low carbon manufacturing, renewable energy, waste management, logistics and distribution.”

A spokesperson for United Leeds Endeavours said that the company believes that this is just the next step towards Leeds becoming the premier business region in the North of England. “We have a huge technology funding expo going on in the next couple of months and now the enterprise zone. Businesses have got every reason to pick Leeds as their home of choice with these fantastic incentives. We’re hopeful that this is the beginning of a new era of huge success for the region.”

United Leeds Endeavours Excited by Leeds Funding Expo

A new funding expo will make £2.bn in investment available to Yorkshire businesses. United Leeds Endeavours investigates the opportunity.

Held at the Royal Armouries in Leeds on 21st September 2012 the first ever investor pitch expo is an incredible opportunity for Leeds-based manufacturing, technology and engineering businesses to gain funds. United Leeds Endeavours understands that the event is targeted at businesses which already have an annual turnover of £5m or over.

This event is the first of its kind in the north of England and United Leeds Endeavours feels that it will be a huge success as 50 venture and development capital firms and 100 business angel investors are already committed to the event. They bring with them around £2bn of investment which the direct sales and marketing firm feels will make a huge difference in the region.

The expo works by having 50 distribution, engineering and technology firms exhibiting at the event and each will seek a minimum £500,000 investment. A spokesperson for United Leeds Endeavours said, "We're talking serious investment here, we've continually championed small businesses in this area but to really kick start the economy, the medium sized businesses need to have their opportunity. They're already established, working well and they have the potential to expand and help increase the manufacturing output that has really failed in the UK through the economic downturn."

Leeds-based entrepreneur Martin Penny, who founded hair care brand ghd is backing the event. He said, "I think this is a great opportunity for businesses who are finding it increasingly difficult to secure traditional bank funding to explore other avenues of investment." He continued, "There are many solid well performing businesses whose growth is being hampered by the UK banks' current intransigent attitude towards lending. Not only are the individual businesses suffering but this is having a knock on effect on the economy as a whole."

The spokesperson for United Leeds Endeavours concluded, "It's a clever but simple idea, put a whole bunch of companies looking for investment into a room with a whole bunch of investors looking for a great opportunity. We're delighted that this kind of thing is finally happening outside of London. We're confident it's going to be a huge boost for Yorkshire."

United Leeds Endeavours is a direct marketing company specialising in outsourced sales for the entertainment and communications industries.