Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
New innovation partnership to accelerate growth of Shipley textile manufacturers
A McLaren race car with a cover by Specialised Covers - copyright United Autosports
The two-year project is a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP), part-funded by UKRI (UK Research and Innovation) through Innovate UK, and is led by Dr Catherine Ashworth, Senior Lecturer in Global and Strategic Marketing in Leeds Business School.
Dr Ashworth explained: “Specialised Covers are an ambitious company with a strong reputation in the UK textiles industry, designing and manufacturing British-made protective covers for vehicles, caravans, defence, motorsport and garden equipment.
“The KTP aims to accelerate the company’s growth and resilience through introducing strategic marketing and AI-driven tools, expanding into new international markets, diversifying product offerings across market sectors, and creating a culture change across the organisation to encourage sharing of knowledge and expertise between colleagues.”
Katie Fishwick, Managing Director of Specialised Covers, said: “Through the KTP with Leeds Beckett, we are looking forward to building on our strong brand and reputation to grow in both the UK and international markets. This long-term growth will be underpinned by embracing innovation. By integrating new, cutting-edge AI tools and advanced digital technologies, we aim to improve our efficiency, customer engagement and long-term resilience and competitiveness.”
An experienced graduate will be recruited to manage the project as a KTP Associate. The role, Strategic and Digital Marketing Lead, will be a full-time member of the Specialised Covers team, with full support of the LBU academics. For more information and to apply for the role, please visit the Leeds Beckett jobs website. The closing date for applications is 22 May 2026.
The full LBU KTP team consists of:
- Dr Catherine Ashworth, Senior Lecturer in Global and Strategic Marketing;
- Dr Christine Zhang, Senior Lecturer in Marketing;
- Dr Stefan Lawrence, Senior Lecturer in Digital, Governance and Marketing;
- Ruth Gosnay, Senior Lecturer in Marketing, all within Leeds Business School at Leeds Beckett University.
In this article
Dr Catherine Ashworth
With a practitioner background at an international level, a strategic marketing PhD and over 15-years of successful knowledge transfer partnership (KTP) business transformation experience as lead academic, Catherine has won innumerable Innovate UK bids and led countless organisations to sustained growth.
Dr Christine Zhang
Dr. Christine Zhang is a Senior Lecturer in Marketing and an academic researcher at Leeds Business School. She specialises in marketing communications, digital marketing and the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in marketing.
Dr Stefan Lawrence
Dr Lawrence serves as Associate Editor of Leisure Sciences and sits on multiple international editorial boards, including Leisure Studies and Annals of Leisure Research. In these roles, he contributes to shaping peer review standards, editorial direction and the development of emerging scholarship across North America, Europe and Australasia. He regularly reviews fornational and international funding bodies, including the European Commission, AHRC and ESRC, contributing to the evaluation of major research investments in governance, equality and civil society.
He has led and co-led externally funded research projects with organisations including The Football Association, Premier League Charitable Fund, Sporting Equals, The Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMO) and local authorities, translating research into workforce development, governance reform and digital transformation initiatives. Within the university, he contributes to doctoral examination, research mentoring and research ethics leadership, supporting the development of a rigorous, inclusive and strategically aligned research culture.
Ruth Gosnay
Ruth M Gosnay is a Senior Lecturer in Marketing at Leeds Business School who has been teaching on higher education programmes for over 18 years. Previously, Ruth worked for leading brands such as Morphy Richards and Spear and Jackson.
