psmv5: Non scoring trolley

Regular readers will know all about trolley life, with the most recent action being noticed at reference 10. Sadly, the trolley snapped above is not without interest, but is well outside the scoring parameters. A non-scoring trolley.

A large trolley from Synergy Health UK/LMS, used for collecting bed linen and such like. Careful inspection failed to turn up a manufacturer's plate, in the way of Wanzl trolleys used by most of the better supermarkets. On the other hand 'Synergy Health Ltd' was stamped into the framing tubes at several points on this trolley, while 'Property of NHS supply chain' was stamped on at least one of the otherwise identical trolleys parked in front of the lifts.

Synergy seems to be quite a popular brand name in the health world. So reference 1 seems to be about workplace and workforce health. Strong on corporate waffle: '... at Synergy Health we make it our business to consistently collaborate with our clients to gain a true understanding of their challenges and determine how we can best help them achieve more of their goals. Check out below some of the new initiatives we're currently delivering...'. Reference 2 sells healthy diet supplements, probably not including trolleys.

Reference 3 looks rather more promising: a company which grew impressively from its start in Corby in 1991: '... The company's services include the medical device sterilisation, sterilisation of reusable medical instruments, provision of outsourced laundry services and the reprocessing of surgical linen...'. The only catch is that in 2014 they were bought out by the Steris Corporation, who look from reference 4 to be into all kinds of medical products and services - for example, endoscopes - but who do not look to be into laundry.

And then I strike gold at reference 5. An outfit running four laundries up north, a fleet of lorries and offering bed linen services, presumably to hospitals, care homes, nursing homes and their like. The Sheffield laundry is snapped above, backing onto the River Don and sporting a large number of trolleys which might be more or less identical to the one that I started with.

Further digging reveals that in 2016, the European fund manager STAR Capital Partners acquired Synergy Health Managed Services Limited – the operator of the UK Linen Management Services (LMS) business – for £50m from Steris PLC. A rather round number, so perhaps a rather speculative purchase. Star Capital still exists, still includes Linen Management on its portfolio at reference 6, and is headquartered in Cavendish Square. We must have walked past the place on many occasions, quite without realising its significance to Epsom folk.

A block which was once, in whole or part, occupied by the BHS headquarters and main store, the outfit which once employed BH as a Saturday girl in its Exeter branch. A company which came to an undignified end during the reign of Sir Philip Green. I read at reference 7: '... The department store’s grubby end came after even grubbier beginnings, with part of site on the Cavendish-Harley estate once home to Nibbs’s Pound for lost pigs, according to Saint. There was also a stable yard nearby, alongside the Phoenix pub...'.

News which is corroborated at reference 8. People whom I may have first come across in 2017 and noticed at reference 9.

The things by which one is amused when banged up.

References

Reference 1: https://www.synergyhealthltd.com/.

Reference 2: https://www.synergy-health.co.uk/shop/.

Reference 3: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synergy_Health.

Reference 4: https://www.steris.com/.

Reference 5: https://www.synergylms.co.uk/.

Reference 6: https://www.star-capital.com/.

Reference 7: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/dec/26/oxford-street-buildings-through-time-photo-essay.

Reference 8: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/architecture/sites/bartlett/files/sol_oxfordst_introduction.pdf.

Reference 9: https://psmv3.blogspot.com/2017/10/three-shops.html.