Tec Partners, which is based in Reading and Norwich, and specialises in recruitment in the technology, science, gaming and engineering sectors, has appointed administrators.

The group made the move in early May and it includes its holding company, the Tec Recruitment Group Limited, and its subsidiaries, Tec Partners Limited and Tec Partners (South East) limited.

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The three companies owed creditors a combined £4,549,449 – including £402,627 to HMRC.

Based in Greyfriars Road in Reading, and Norwich – and founded by Andrew Bailey – the firm advertised jobs across the Thames Valley including regularly in Oxfordshire and employed almost 30 people in total.

However, since the company’s collapse, it has been purchased by Tec Partners Recruitment Limited in a pre-pack sale for £175,000.

The Tec Partners website (Image: Tec Partners)

A pre-pack is when a company enters administration and is immediately sold by the administrator, with the deal typically being negotiated before the formal appointment of insolvency practitioners.

The new company has the same directors as the previous one, namely Christopher Beech, Leigh Howard and Paul Kitley.

According to our sister paper the Eastern Daily Press, the directors said the business had “faced extremely challenging market conditions” over the last few years.

“Those challenges came to a head following well-publicised restructures at several major clients, where tens of thousands of roles were made redundant,” the three directors said in a joint statement.

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“This led to the immediate termination of a significant number of contractors we supported, reducing revenues by a critical amount almost overnight and placing the business under severe financial pressure.

 “After seeking professional advice, the appointed insolvency practitioner advised and conducted a wide-ranging marketing exercise for the business, which attracted a number of offers, with the offer from the incumbent directors considered the strongest outcome available.

“Most importantly, this has enabled the business to preserve all jobs, continue trading and provide a more stable environment for the future.”

ROLF BIENERT

Technical & Managing Director

OpenADR Alliance

We are living in an age fuelled by data, and with this, growth in data centre energy demand. Driven by power-hungry AI applications, could microgrids be a solution? 

A request made through ChatGPT consumes 10 times the electricity of a Google Search, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). With a power grid already under stress, the industry will need to rethink the way it adapts to these challenges.

With the rise of AI and expectation of what it can deliver, the next few years will see a significant rise in the number and size of data centres, with companies like Google pouring billions into new data centre investment.

This all has serious consequences for the energy sector at a time when technology firms are under growing pressure to make data centres energy efficient and sustainable.

Microgrids – or virtual power plants (VPP) – could be the answer in providing a more efficient energy supply for data centres. While the concept of a microgrid can vary depending on how they are used, they can be defined as small-scale, localised electrical grids that operate independently or in conjunction with the main power grid. They range in size from a campus to a home. 

As a global industry alliance, we are seeing them used in some interesting scenarios, from residential to large campuses like Apple in the Silicon Valley. One interesting example is California Community Choice Aggregator, MCE, which has established a standardised setup for residential VPPs with OpenADR used as the utility connection to manage pricing and consumption.

It’s intended to serve as a model to help homebuyers at every income level access clean, all-electric technology for their homes, helping participants save money with clean energy technologies and receive monthly credits on energy bills. In exchange, they allow their smart energy devices to respond to MCE’s signals to shift load based on the grid’s needs. This includes reducing energy use during more expensive times of the day, sending energy back to the grid when needed, and reducing grid strain when weather events threaten outages.

The feasibility and suitability of microgrids depends very much on factors like the specific requirements of the data centre itself and regulatory environment.

The advantages are in helping overcome grid constraints and improving reliability by managing consumption and maintaining power during grid issues. For data centres that require uninterrupted operation, this ability to deliver resilience is critical. 

Sustainability is another one. By integrating renewable energy sources, such as solar, microgrids can help reduce carbon footprint. They can also reduce operational costs by utilising local power generation and demand-response strategies, and when it comes to regulation, they face fewer regulatory hurdles compared to other options, like nuclear power facilities, because they operate mostly ‘net zero’ on the grid connection.

But for data centre operators and investors trying to address power supply and stability issues, the use of microgrids can also mean challenges. 

This begins with start-up costs. While we talk about a reduction in operational costs once up and running, set-up costs for microgrids can be high, requiring significant capital investment especially for larger data centres, so important to bear in mind. 

Sustainability may be a big plus point, but the use of renewables like solar and wind depend on the weather – and the weather can be fickle. This necessitates robust storage solutions, backup power or large grid connections to ensure reliability and stability at all times. 

It’s also important to stress that the effective integration of these various distributed energy sources and systems can be technically challenging, so working with good integrators and partners is paramount. 

When it comes to powering data centres, microgrids are not the only option. Alternatives like small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) are also be touted as potential power sources. 

The fact is that the data centres of the future will need a very high continuous supply of power and microgrids offer options for a more resilient and responsive energy infrastructure. 

Decentralised power through a network of microgrids could help dynamically manage power loads and optimise renewable energy sources, especially as demands on the grid continue to grow in an AI-powered future.

Oxford Mushroom Farm officially opened on Monday, May 25 with a launch party from midday to 5pm.

Based at a previously unused patch of land beside Hinksey Heights Golf Club, the new business is providing fresh gourmet fungi to homes and businesses across Oxfordshire.

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Lifelong Oxford local Steve Hart, who attended Cherwell School, launched the farm in January 2024 with an ambition to transform unused ground into something productive, sustainable and community-focused.

Now, after two years of balancing the project alongside a full-time job as a builder, landscaper and heating engineer, Mr Hart has officially opened the farm to the public.

A new Oxford mushroom business has been launched next to a golf club (Image: Steve Hart)

He said: “Every decision has been intentional, from the growing environment to sourcing the best possible ingredients.

“I want the farm to produce high-quality food for Oxford while also exploring the environmental benefits fungi can offer.”

Among the farm’s offering is Lion’s Mane, oyster, shiitake, speckled chestnut and other varieties of mushroom, with the businesses based around sustainability.

A new Oxford mushroom business has been launched next to a golf club (Image: Steve Hart)

Premium mushroom substrates are produced using sawdust sourced as a natural by-product from sawmills in the mountains of Snowdonia, combined with pure Snowdon Mountain spring water in collaboration with North Wales-based growers Fungi Foods.

Alongside supplying fresh produce locally, Mr Hart is also interested in the emerging science of mycoremediation, an eco-friendly technique that uses fungi to help break down ground pollutants and restore damaged land.

He said: “My main goal is feeding Oxford, but also using science and mycoremediation to help heal polluted land and fly-tipping ground in Oxfordshire. 

Steve Hart (L) setting up the Oxford Mushroom Farm (Image: Steve Hart)

“The world needs healing and I hope this will play a part and grow… mushroom!”

The lead farmer, who recently received diagnoses of autism and ADHD, said creating the farm had been a major personal achievement.

He said: “After two years of hard work, I’ve finally turned this space into something positive for the community.

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“I really want to make the mushroom farm a success and create something that helps feed Oxford while bringing people together through food, science, art and nature.”

The launch saw visitors tour the farm and see the gourmet mushrooms growing with music and food on offer.

As well as mushrooms, shoppers can also buy kits so that mushrooms can be grown at home with a range of dried mushrooms also being worked upon.

Products can be purchased at the farm or delivered directly to people’s homes.