Coventry & Warwickshire in business
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Accountants acquire new offices to accommodate growth
From left: Phaedra Elson, Lucy Hawkins, Anne Wordsworth, Amy Gould, Lucy Clayton Photo Credit: Annie Johnston Photography
Rugby-based accountants Cube Accounting has acquired new office premises to accommodate the growing needs of its business. The small business started by Anne Wordsworth in 2013 is thriving and has seen a real period of growth leading up to and during the pandemic, which
has resulted in this move. In addition, there is also a need to recruit two new team members to be able to confidently manage the increased number of new clients. Anne Wordsworth, owner of Cube Accounting, said: “Since starting the business in 2013 and working from my home office, I quite quickly realised that there was a need for a plainspeaking accountancy service that offered a quality service at affordable prices. Small businesses owners in particular that outsource their finance requirements don’t want to be baffled by complicated terminology; they want a straightforward approach that they can understand and in turn better manage their business. “For many business owners the pandemic has resulted in things slowing down and they have had time to review how they operate. Expensive retainer
fees charged by some practices that offer little support in return for, in many cases, simply filing tax returns are no longer considered acceptable. Owners are looking for a more supportive service.” The new premises in Davy Court, Castle Mound Way, Rugby are easily accessible by major road links, offer plenty of parking and can not only accommodate the existing team but are of a size that will meet the continued growth and space requirements predicted by the business over the next three to five years. The move marks an important milestone for Cube Accounting and supports its commitment to staying in Rugby and serving the business community in Warwickshire and the wider Midlands area. For more information visit www.cubeaccounting.co.uk
The ever-changing digital transformation landscape New technology is so exciting. Constant innovation and an upgrade culture have taken its grip. We subscribe to more things than ever before – movies and TV, music, storage, software, hardware and smart phone apps. Not only do we rent apartments, cars and our gym, we now pay an online rental for our daily life. The latest solutions and introduction of high-tech products, superfast broadband and instant content communication is routine. We can look at the roll-out of social media and the change it has brought to marketing and communications and how content is delivered, we can look at latest innovations through automation, digitisation, 3D printing and industry 4.0. However, there is something missing. With clever innovation should come clever communications solutions, but
companies forget this. Are things better or are they just quicker and cheaper? Products are now often almost instantly obsolete, only built to last a limited time, not a lifetime! Customer support is more important then ever, especially with online purchases. We rely on the instruction manual but we also require a drip-feed of content to help us step-by-step. What is needed is excellent after-sales and customer service. These improved services will lead to more effective presales and improvement of our products.
What can make a difference? Product life-cycle specialists now offer extremely cost-effective, clever and innovative e-commerce apps. For instance, Innovadome apps are based on various pre-built, customizable, AI modules, ready to inject into your new app.
Les Ratcliffe MBE TD DL MD at Community Engagement Limited
The objective of this app is to simplify e-commerce development by adding ready-made modules such as registrations, warranty upgrades, a spare parts and accessories catalogue, product documentation, push notifications for content marketing and more. Finally, we have something to match innovation, something that provides a connection directly to your customer’s back pocket!
Society appoints HR specialist
Nicky White
The Heart of England Co-operative Society has appointed Nicky White as human resources manager. Aged 41, Nicky brings a wealth of experience to the position and will oversee the
www.cw-chamber.co.uk
roles and responsibilities of the teams within the society’s human resources (HR), training and development and payroll departments. After leaving school in Nuneaton she went straight into employment, working for Boots where she worked her way up, gaining experience in all areas of the business. She started on the shop floor and over a period of 16 years rose through the ranks, becoming store manager and area manager and also working in HR, learning and development and customer services. Nicky went on to work for an occupational skin care and
hand hygiene manufacturer, Deb, which later merged with household cleaning firm SC Johnson. After working in training and HR roles at the company, she spent a year as head of HR at Warwickshire College Group. During her career and while raising her family, the mother-of-four also studied for a degree in HR and went on to complete a master’s degree in 2019. Nicky said: “I was delighted to be offered the position at the Heart of England Cooperative Society as I’m of an age where I’m keen to work for a business that fits with my own values.
“Whilst customers and members come first, the society also operates a culture where its employees are valued. There is a community feel, a family feel, and it’s a business that has been able to enjoy continued growth by placing itself at the heart of its communities.” Nicky said the events of the past year had prompted her to look at employee wellbeing as a priority, building on the society’s progress in this area to date. She is looking to implement an employee assistance programme and an annual wellbeing calendar that will address different topics each month through the company’s intranet.
Breathing new life into fight against COVID-19 Nobody could have predicted what 2020 had in store for us, with COVID-19 creating the largest global pandemic in living memory. The sudden onset of the virus in so many countries put massive pressure on national health systems in every corner of the world and prompted many governments to explore new ways of treating huge volumes of patients outside of traditional hospitals. In England, seven Nightingales were established to create additional capacity in areas that were under significant medical pressures and these impressive facilities were devised and built-in record time. It quickly became apparent that the one thing COVID-19 patients relied heavily on for their care was oxygen and all of these temporary super hospitals needed to create a safe and secure supply. Lawton Tubes’ reputation for supplying medical gas copper pipes saw it quickly approached by the government, NHS and healthcare providers to supply products that would safely transport oxygen to people who needed it most. The family-run engineering company, a copper pipe manufacturer, was open throughout every stage of the pandemic. This meant that it was front and centre in the supply of these vital copper pipes to the Nightingale Hospitals and dozens of other locations across the UK, including nursing homes, pop-up clinics and existing hospitals. Robert Lawton, business development director at Lawton Tubes, said: “I don’t think we’ve ever seen a period like we faced in March. Usual lead times were cut in half even to same-day deliveries, our stock make-up had to change beyond all recognition and staff were asked to work flat out, at weekends and during holidays. “Thankfully, investment in technology and new equipment gave us the agility we needed and our manufacturing processes meant we could move people around the factory to get the most throughput.” Lawton Tubes’ role in the pandemic wasn’t purely restricted to the UK. The firm’s pipes were supplied to 35 different countries including Ghana, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, United Arab Emirates and Vietnam.
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