The Oxford Artisan Distillery, known as TOAD, traded for seven years from its site in an historic barn near South Park in Headington.

It ceased operations in Oxford in 2024, when the company scaled-up to its partner’s premises in Yorkshire to continue trading as The Yorkshire Distilling Company.

The Oxford Artisan Distillery (Image: TOAD)

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Original founder Tom Nicholson recently announced the triumphant return of Oxford’s first distillery to its original site, based in the grade II listed character bran, Cheney Barn in South Park, for summer next year.

A planning application lodged with Oxford City Council to retain the distilling premises, New Barn, for the purpose of reinstating the distillery was approved shortly after the business’ announcement.

The Oxford Spirit Group, the new outfit set to reopen the distillery, bought the barn and gained temporary permission to turn the building into a storage barn, while it got the distillery ‘up and running’.

Still Life: The official opening of The Oxford Artisan Distillery (TOAD). Founder Tom Nicolson and master distiller Cory Mason leading the first tour. Picture: Jon Lewis

The temporary permission lapsed, however, after plans for a new visitor centre at the site, including a restaurant, tasting room and bar, ‘became too big for the business at that stage’.

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Plans reveal that the company is now developing a new masterplan to include visitor facilities on a smaller-scale including dual function tasting and dining rooms, a reception, toilets, hospitality areas and a kiosk for users of South Park.

Oxford City Council granted permission for the company to retain the use of the distilling barn while the rest of the site is developed, for a further period of three years.

The distillery is expected to reopen in summer 2027 with a further planning application outlining full plans for the site expected to be submitted soon.

Founded in 2017 by Mr Nicholson, the company’s Oxford Rye Dry Gin was launched into more than 150 Waitrose stores across the country five years later in 2022.

The original planning application said: “The site comprises the remnants of a farm originally known as Headington Farm which then became Cheney Farm and it contains a derelict 18th century grade II listed Threshing Barn, alongside other more recently built buildings now occupied by TOAD.

“The Threshing Barn is the earliest standing building in the conservation area and dates from the 18th century.

“The adjacent farmyard buildings include a cowshed and the shelter shed which was originally open-fronted.”

TrueRights has appointed Harry O’Hara as Commercial Director, expanding the company’s work in sport.

O’Hara joins from the E1 Series, where he worked on commercial partnerships across the championship’s international rights portfolio. Earlier in his career, he held roles at West Ham United and in financial markets in the City of London.

He will report to Founder and Chief Executive Officer Benjamin Woollams and oversee the company’s commercial strategy, including partnerships across sport, talent, media and brand sectors.

The appointment comes as sports organisations face growing scrutiny over how images, likenesses and other intellectual property are used in AI-generated content. Clubs, athletes, leagues and other rights holders are also considering how to license and manage those assets as generative AI becomes more common in marketing, media and entertainment.

TrueRights operates in the rights and licensing technology market, focusing on the use of content and likeness in digital media and AI systems. It positions itself between intellectual property owners and AI or media platforms, managing permissions, usage terms and reporting on how assets are used.

Sports rights

Sport has become an increasingly sensitive area in the debate over AI and intellectual property, as athlete likenesses, club branding and competition footage all carry significant commercial value. That has created a market for companies promising greater oversight of how those assets are licensed and tracked.

O’Hara said that focus on sport was part of the appeal.

“Generative AI is fundamentally reshaping how content is created, consumed and valued, and that shift is only accelerating. What drew me to TrueRights is that it’s building the infrastructure the industry has been missing: the rights, consent and attribution layer that ensures IP is used correctly, monitored properly and fairly compensated,” said Harry O’Hara, Commercial Director at TrueRights.

He added that rights holders are looking for practical ways to manage and monetise their assets in an AI-driven market.

“Having spent much of my career working with rights holders in sport, I’ve seen first-hand how valuable intellectual property can be and why greater visibility around its use matters. The opportunity is remarkably broad, particularly as more rights holders look for practical ways to manage and commercialise their IP in an AI-enabled environment. There’s a real chance to build partnerships that help talent, brands and agencies license and manage IP with confidence and transparency.

“Add to that the calibre of the team and investors behind the business, and the decision became an easy one. This is a rare chance to help shape an emerging category at a point when the industry is actively looking for solutions, and I couldn’t be more excited to be part of that journey,” O’Hara said.

Commercial push

For TrueRights, the hire marks a stronger push into sports and adjacent media markets, where ownership and control of content are becoming more contested. As AI tools make it easier to generate and distribute synthetic content, rights holders want clearer records of consent, licensing and attribution, the company argues.

Woollams said O’Hara’s background aligned with the company’s focus on commercial partnerships in sport.

“Few people understand the commercial world of sport the way Harry does, and that matters enormously right now. Rights holders, including athletes, clubs, teams and championships, are increasingly focused on what generative AI means for their likeness, content and intellectual property,” said Benjamin Woollams, Founder and Chief Executive Officer at TrueRights.

“As generative AI accelerates both the opportunity and the risk of IP misuse, monitoring where and how content is used has become critical, nowhere more so than in sport, where an athlete’s likeness and a club’s IP are among their most valuable assets.

“Harry has spent his career building partnerships at exactly that intersection. He understands the commercial realities facing rights holders today and shares our belief that greater transparency, accountability and control will become increasingly important as AI adoption continues to grow. We couldn’t be more pleased to have him leading our commercial strategy,” Woollams said.

TrueRights was founded by people from the creator economy and AI sectors. Its platform is designed to structure intellectual property data, issue permissions, enforce usage terms and provide audit trails and reporting on the use of content, likeness and other rights.

According to the company, it works with talent, rights holders, unions and AI platforms. In sport, that places it in a growing part of the market where technology groups are trying to help rights owners respond to the spread of generative AI across content production and distribution.

SOFIAH NICHOLE SALIVIO

News Editor

EcoOnline has formed a global partnership with risk advisory firm J.S. Held, combining software tools with advisory services for workplace safety and crisis response.

The agreement focuses on three areas: environmental, health and safety management; crisis management; and lone worker protection. Both groups say employers face widening operational risks and fragmented oversight.

New survey data from EcoOnline points to a sizeable gap between worker concerns and employer preparedness. Nearly half of workers surveyed said they had experienced a workplace accident or illness, while 74% said more digital tools would make them feel safer at work.

The findings also suggest crisis planning remains poorly understood in many organisations. Only 31% of respondents said their employer had a crisis management plan they fully understood.

Lone worker safety emerged as another concern. EcoOnline said 32% of workers identify as lone workers, but only 56% believe their employer takes responsibility for their safety. One in three also said they had an accident while working alone in the past year.

Shared offer

Under the partnership, EcoOnline will provide software for incident reporting, safety management, crisis planning and lone worker monitoring, while J.S. Held will add field-based advisory services in risk assessment, preparedness and response.

The arrangement is intended to give organisations a more joined-up way to manage safety and operational disruption, linking digital reporting and oversight with support for implementation and field response.

The initial focus will be on the three areas outlined in the agreement, with scope expected to expand across EcoOnline’s broader software portfolio over time.

The tie-up reflects a wider trend in corporate risk management as companies try to connect compliance systems, workforce communication and emergency planning. Employers in sectors with dispersed staff, hazardous environments or isolated roles have faced growing scrutiny over how they monitor risk and respond to incidents.

EcoOnline’s survey also suggests worker expectations are shifting. Some 77% of respondents said an unsafe workplace could prompt them to change employer, placing safety alongside pay and flexibility as a retention factor.

Risk pressure

For crisis readiness, the partnership aims to improve access to plans and co-ordination during disruption. For lone worker protection, it focuses on oversight, communication and escalation when an employee is operating alone in a higher-risk setting.

Both companies argue that risk has expanded faster than the systems many employers use to manage it, leaving some organisations reliant on disconnected processes for workplace safety, emergency response and employee protection.

Kris McKenzie, chief revenue officer at EcoOnline, linked the partnership to the survey findings. “Workers are already aware of how broad operational risk has become. What they’re less confident in is whether their employer has the plans, processes, and visibility to deal with it,” said McKenzie. “J.S. Held’s hands-on advisory expertise amplifies the impact of our intelligent automation, giving organisations a clearer path to future-proof their readiness and protect their people.”

J.S. Held said the partnership fits its approach to advising businesses on connected operational risks, particularly where safety, resilience and supply chain issues overlap.

Andrea Korney, vice president of sustainability and supply chain at J.S. Held, said businesses were dealing with increasingly intertwined threats across day-to-day operations.

“We work with businesses facing more complex, connected risks across safety and operations,” said Korney. “Our role is to help them understand that complexity in context and act with confidence. EcoOnline’s comprehensive suite of out-of-the-box safety and sustainability software gives customers a practical foundation to implement faster, strengthen oversight, and build a more unified operational picture.”

The partnership gives EcoOnline a way to pair its software with consultancy support at a time when employers are under pressure to show that safety systems are understood in practice, not just documented in policy. For J.S. Held, it adds a software layer to advisory work for clients seeking more consistent visibility over incidents, staff exposure and emergency procedures.

Both companies present the alliance as a response to a workplace risk landscape that no longer sits neatly within separate departments. The data they cite suggests many workers already see that shift, with accident rates, lone working concerns and weak understanding of crisis plans pointing to the same problem: employers may have tools or procedures in place, but staff do not always trust that they are connected or effective.