Business News

L-R Senior Production Operative Andy & Kay Frost, Co-Founder of The Posh Shed Company

ROOM TO ZOOM IN A POSH SHED

It is estimated that 20% of the population are still exclusively working from home and significant increase in homebuyers looking for properties with gardens, garages, and offices to support the shift from office to home.

Chamber Member The Posh Shed Company saw a significant increase in sales of garden sheds as the pandemic gained momentum, with a strong demand from customers looking for additional garden space to create that all-important work-life balance.

The Posh Shed Company’s co-founder, Kay Frost, said: “Early into the first lockdown of 2020 enquiries for our sheds followed a distinct trend; customers were looking for garden buildings that provided a solution to working at home away from their house but could also easily be used as a hobby space, potting shed or a just a beautiful storage solution that blends into the garden perfectly. This is where our new ‘Comfortably Posh’ range has developed from.” 2020 was, like many other online garden businesses, one of the company’s busiest years on record. To meet the increased demand, the company has taken on six new staff in their office and production teams with more job creation expected before the end of the financial year.

www.theposhshedcompany.co.uk

“The 2020s is one of those decades that will go down in history as defining, momentous and significant. Its impact on people’s lives is still yet to be written, but one thing for sure is this will be the decade when the X-Gen will come into their own.” The opening lines of the LeaderX book, written by Lucy Barkas who predicted a decade of change. Leaders are well rehearsed in how to pivot, reinvent and become agile. Now is the time to do so strategically rather than reactively as we move from the sprint into the endurance race. The skills now needed are openness, curiosity and creativity with a huge dose of grit. The world will never be easy and smooth, and changes will continue to cause problems. Yet, when you keep searching for ways to change or improve your situation for the better, you stand a chance of finding the solutions you seek.

www.3wh.uk.com

TIME IS NOW FOR NEXT GENERATION OF LEADERS

EBC GROUP CHOSEN AS TECHNOLOGY PROVIDER

Global manufacturers Titan Europe PLC have selected EBC Group as their chosen technology provider, as part of ongoing investments in their IT infrastructure. Through a rigorous tender process, EBC Group were chosen to provide Titan with a full suite of managed services. The addition of Managed Cloud, Cyber Security and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) will a deliver a number of service improvements throughout the business. Chris Askers, Managing Director, Wheels Division at Titan Europe, comments: "We are experts in making wheels, but not experts in IT and this is a really important part of our business and with Covid it is becoming even more important. Thankfully we have expertise purchased through EBC Group.” ‘’EBC Group are big enough to have the expertise and remain updated in a fast-moving industry, but small enough to be human and care about the customer."

www.ebcgroup.co.uk

Chris Akers, Managing Director, Wheels Division at Titan Europe

Oxford Biomedica’s Oxbox facility

LARGEST-EVER FMS INSTALLATION HELPS VALIDAIR ACHIEVE SPECIAL TSI AWARD STATUS

Notable among Validair’s business successes in 2020 is the largest Environmental Monitoring System installation in the history of TSI Inc, the world leader in particle counters and monitoring software. Validair is a Gold Standard Channel Partner to TSI. With over 1,000 sample point capacity, the TSI FMS5 installation at Oxford Biomedica’s Oxbox facility was delivered, installed and commissioned by the Validair team late in 2019 and during the first coronavirus lockdown in 2020. Coincidentally, the Oxbox FMS solution is playing a prominent role in the production of one of the Covid-19 vaccines. This prestigious installation was one of many during 2020 for Validair that contributed towards special recognition by TSI, and it elevates Validair to TSI Directors Club status. “Naturally, we were delighted to provide the environmental monitoring and critical alarm system to Oxford Biomedica last year, and rewarding to know that the expertise of our team is contributing to the highly acclaimed national vaccine programme.” says Deborah Haisman, Commercial Director at Validair Monitoring Solutions Ltd.

www.validair.com/vmsl

How and where we work has been slowly evolving in the past few years, leading some to question the role of the office. The way offices are viewed and used has changed now that businesses have had time to take stock and think clearly about their office needs since being away from them. With many starting to worry that the offices market would face the same issues as the high-street – Gowling WLG conducted a survey among circa 500 senior decision-makers and found that only 3% are considering moving to full time home working. Despite the adoption of increased remote working, the respondents to this research have indicated that it does not replace the need for an office environment. Although the market is not in jeopardy, office landlords will need to upgrade existing space to higher specifications and provide flexible models to help meet changing occupier needs and flexible working arrangements.

www.gowlingwlg.com/en

RESILIENCE OF THE OFFICES MARKET

HOW MARKETING AGENCY MODUS ADAPTED DURING THE PANDEMIC

Keeping on top of your working capital requirements is crucial to ensuring a viable business. The more cash tied up means there is less available for investment and growth. Working capital is the cash tied up in the running of a business on a daily basis. The higher the working capital requirements in a business, the greater the amount of funding it will require. If a business can keep its working capital requirements low and still meet its everyday needs, the more cash is free for investment and growth. Bishop Fleming Restructuring Directior, Luke Venner suggests that businesses should be focussing on releasing working capital to help fund investment and growth The Restructuring Team at Bishop Fleming helps businesses assess and implement strategies to more effectively manage working capital. This might involve reviewing your existing systems and supply chain management, preparing financial forecasts, restructuring, or raising finance.

www.bishopfleming.co.uk

Back in March 2020 Modus CEO, Guy Marson called a team meeting presenting his strategically thought-out SWOT analysis detailing the affects the pandemic could have on the business, should it not be prepared. Flexibility was key to their survival, and that wasn’t just letting staff work from home, sitting in their pajamas whilst on a morning Zoom. The marketing agency operated transparently, navigating through the challenging times, hunting down, and pitching to new clients whose wants and needs didn’t typically follow their traditional business model. Working closely with covid throughout the pandemic they created educational videos and launched a website on how to effectively and clinically perform a Covid Rapid Antigen Test with Professor Sir Chris Evans OBE. The agency also branded, packaged and created informative, punctual marketing campaigns for Breathe Happy, a reusable face mask which still to this day offers the highest filtration available on the consumer market.

www.modusagency.co.uk