Midlands Business News

Businesses in Boston can learn how to make their company more digitally savvy with a free conference this month.

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Fourteen East Midlands directors have been recognised for their business excellence and entrepreneurial skills in the Institute of Directors (IoD) East Midlands Directors of the Year awards.

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The environment and competition from the East were the key challenges identified for the future of aviation on both sides of the pond, by speakers at an American/UK business conference. Paul Kehoe, chief executive of Birmingham Airport spoke at the British American Business Council transatlantic conference about the major transformation currently affecting the industry. He [...]

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Business owners in the Marches are being urged to sign up for an innovative, fully-funded programme that aims to unlock the economic and job creation potential in their companies.

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Private residential landlords in Shropshire face a “double whammy” from new Government legislation, warn property experts.

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Boosting the employment opportunities for people in Notts is the aim of an event being held for careers professionals.

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A Warwickshire MP has urged the region’s manufacturers and engineers to come together to help drive forward the economy. Chris White, the MP for Leamington and Warwick, has agreed to speak at a major event organised by the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce on Friday, May 24. The breakfast event – ‘Masterclass – Supporting [...]

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Business leaders in Greater Birmingham have urged the government to press ahead urgently with the development of the High Speed Rail (HS2) despite a report released today which expresses reservations about the Department for Transport’s (DfT) business case. But Birmingham Chamber of Commerce Group (BCCG) welcomed the news that the development will include a tunnel [...]

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Two new directors have been appointed to the board of BHSF Occupational Health Limited based in Birmingham.

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Nottingham city centre has once again seen higher footfall figures compared to nearby regional cities as well as other towns and cities in the UK, according to the latest information from Springboard. This is great news says Neil Fincham, a director of the Nottingham Business Improvement District (BID). Footfall in Nottingham city centre was up [...]

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Altodigital, one of the UK’s leading independent suppliers of digital print and document solutions, is celebrating after one of its young apprentices has been selected for a national award recognising his academic and vocational excellence, beating 5,000 others along the way. 20 year-old Jake Williams, who joined Altodigital’s Kingswinford office as an apprentice at the [...]

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Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent companies are playing their part in the West Midlands manufacturing boom, over 90 delegates were told at an inaugural LEP-backed event this week. The Funding, Finance and Manufacturing Futures event at Burton’s Pirelli Stadium gave company representatives the opportunity to learn more about accessing funding, new technologies and how they can increase [...]

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Cyber crime is a growth industry with both Government and business as prime targets.

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A Shropshire-based enterprise organisation today welcomed a new report to the Prime Minister recommending the removal of the age cap on start up loans to encourage the launch of more owner-operated businesses.

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East Midlands’ intermediaries need to work together to help local firms break into new international markets, according to the Director of Strategic Partnerships for RBS, David Houghton MBE.

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The Midlands has an opportunity to prosper on the back of a resurgent manufacturing sector, Dennis Turner, former UK chief economist at HSBC, has predicted.

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A dearth of debt to support transactions hit the values being paid for private equity deals hard in the first three months of 2013, according to BDO’s latest Private Company Price Index/Private Equity Price Index (PCPI/PEPI). The index, which compares the EV/EBITDA ratios being paid on the sale of private companies to trade (PCPI) and [...]

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Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership has commissioned a major survey of manufacturing across the County.

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Northampton businesses are setting their sights on growth, according to the latest business confidence report from Regus, the global workplace provider with a centre on Brackmills Business Park. The report shows that a quarter of firms (24%) plans to increase their headcount by between 2% and 5% in the reminder of 2013, and a further [...]

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Deleg8 it is a virtual assistant service for busy business owners who don’t have the capital, premises or enough work to justify employing someone.

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Business Secretary, Vince Cable put the official Government seal of approval on a new Access to Finance Scheme for Black Country businesses during a visit to UK Steel Enterprise this week.

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Midlands manufacturers are calling on the Prime Minister to hold good his promise of leading a proper, informed debate about Britain’s relationship with the EU. Making the call ahead of the vote on an amendment in Parliament on an EU referendum, EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation believes the current debate is ‘letting British business down’ with [...]

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More than £0.3 million in grant funding has been awarded to 21 businesses in the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership area – stimulating total investment of some £0.6 million and helping to create or safeguard 135 jobs. The Business Development Programme has, in its first 6 months of operation, funded more than £0.6 [...]

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A new and exclusive entrepreneurs and investors club has met for the first time for its inaugural Dragons Den-style event. The Longbow Business Club aims to become recognised as the premier East Midlands-based group of like-minded successful entrepreneurs who share knowledge, skills and experience to benefit enterprise and the community. Founded by Nottinghamshire entrepreneur Chris [...]

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Specialist Insurance Broker, Heartland Events Limited has launched an innovative insurance policy aimed at protecting businesses and other organisations against the effects of the (not so) Great and often unpredictable British weather. Policies are designed to cover against a business’s additional costs and/or reduced turnover which has occurred due to the weather conditions over a [...]

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Dr Ralf Speth, Chief Executive Officer of Jaguar Land Rover, will be among the high profile speakers at the British American Business Council (BABC) transatlantic conference in Birmingham this week. The conference, from May 15 to 17 at the International Convention Centre and other locations in Birmingham, will include a series of special events and [...]

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Businesses across Telford may have no idea just how vulnerable they are to both physical and online threats. So Telford Business Partnership has brought together three local experts who will host a masterclass that explains how to keep company secrets safe with security systems that really make a difference. The event will be held on [...]

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A Northampton firm is helping Colombians grow bigger tomatoes, an announcement which comes during UK Trade & Investments (UKTI) Export Week – High Growth Markets. Derby Road-based Agentra has secured a licence to sell its special organic fertiliser in Colombia where it is being used to grow tomatoes 85 per cent bigger than before, as [...]

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As Birmingham’s most valuable overseas market, the US was responsible for nearly a third (27%) of all foreign direct investments into Birmingham during 2012/13*. Aiming to replicate the city’s success in attracting American investment this year, inward investment programme Business Birmingham has joined forces with transatlantic business network the British-American Business Council (BABC) to welcome [...]

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Government Minister Nick Hurd will outline how public sector bodies and social enterprises can work together to add ‘social value’ to their communities next month. Mr Hurd, who is Minister for Civil Society, will give a keynote speech on the Social Value Act and its impact at the SEWM Social Value Conference in Brindleyplace, Birmingham, [...]

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Business advisors at RSM Tenon’s Birmingham office are the first in the firm to complete training with UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) on all aspects of exporting. The training will enable them to offer up-to-date and in-depth guidance to clients on what is a core growth area for UK businesses. Following the successful completion of [...]

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Shropshire Chamber of Commerce is staging another of its highly acclaimed Business Expo evenings in Shrewsbury next week.

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Over three-quarters of business managers and owners want the UK to stay in the European Union and fear that leaving could damage the economy, according to research conducted by private equity house Key Capital Partners. KCP’s Growth Panel, a survey of company bosses from across a range of sectors, revealed that businesses are concerned that [...]

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Independent private equity house Key Capital Partners has promoted Richard Thomas to investment director in its Birmingham office.

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Derby firm JD7 Technology Ltd has received a huge boost after winning an order in excess of £200,000 to assess a number of water mains for MWA, the water authority of Bangkok, with help from UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) East Midlands. The 10 year-old firm which employs 10 full time staff at its HQ [...]

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Most Real Ale lovers would say you can’t put a price on insuring one of Shropshire’s best-loved bitters – Shropshire Lad.

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The CLA is celebrating two major lobbying successes resulting in reduced planning regulations

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The political theatre of ‘Question Time’ came to the Black Country recently, when eighty Year 10 and 11 pupils grilled local business leaders on the subject of employability.

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Firms across Coventry and Warwickshire will get to know their Nordics from their Baltics at an event to promote international trade. The event is being held by the UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) team based at the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce on Friday, May 17 from 10am until 1.30pm. It is taking place [...]

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Business confidence improved this month, driven by steadily climbing optimism levels in the services sector. However, overall business confidence is still below the 95.0 mark that indicates growth, as the outlook for the manufacturing sector remains bleak, according to the latest Business Trends report by (region)-based accountants and business advisers BDO LLP. Service sector confidence [...]

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A business centre launched last year has welcomed new clients and is experiencing a high level of inquiries during its first six months of operation. The Oberoi Business Hub, on Pride Park, was set up by entrepreneur Kavita Oberoi to help nurture start-up businesses and provide inexpensive flexible office space for firms setting up in [...]

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Companies across Coventry and Warwickshire are gearing up for a major event at the start of next month. The Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce is holding its annual Business and Trade Expo at Mallory Court Hotel, in Leamington, on Friday, June 7, from 10am until 3pm. The free event is predicted to be one [...]

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Virgin Media is teaming up with Innovation Birmingham and social enterprise Freeformers to run a series of free digital workshops for businesses in the city. The digital communications provider, a major employer in Birmingham, is funding a series of unique sessions at the Innovation Birmingham campus to show how digital skills, including developing a social [...]

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A local company has signed a contract with Hong Kong based Cathay Pacific Airways in a major deal that will also see the firm opening a new office in China – all with a little help from UK Trade & Investment (UKTI).

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The Nottingham Business Improvement District (BID) is celebrating following the success of its latest 48 Hours of Fashion extravaganza that took place in the Old Market Square and across the city centre on 26 and 27 April.

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Acua Solutions Limited, a leading workplace development organisation, hosted an international delegation as a partnership was forged to share vocational education in the logistics sectors in the UK and China. Logistics and educational officials from China were welcomed to the Coventry headquarters of Acua Solutions Limited as part of a visit organised by Skills for [...]

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First Enterprise Business Agency (FEBA) is managing an £1 million loan programme for Nottingham’s Creative Quarter and is urging growth businesses and start-ups to come forward and access it.

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A team of Shropshire business consultants are looking to work with a number of privately owned care homes across Shropshire and the West Midlands in a bid to secure the future of care for the region.

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Employers who attended a social media masterclass in Telford now have all the skills they need to protect their business.

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D2N2 LEP chief executive David Ralph has welcomed news of the HS2 Hybrid Bill in yesterday’s Queen’s Speech that firmly puts the £33bn project on track. It will give the government permission to build the line and the powers to operate it while the High Speed Rail Preparation Bill, which was also announced, will provide [...]

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