SUPPORTING OUR FUTURE LEADERS TO TAKE THE NEXT STEPS
INTERVIEW HOW DAN POYNTON GOT CREATIVE AND SET UP A BUSINESS
POLITICS ECONOMIC PRESSURES AND DEVOLUTION ON THE AGENDA FOR 2023
It was back in February 2020 when the Chamber made one of the most important new additions to our wide range of services. Three years ago this month, we held an event at the Hilton East Midlands Airport hotel to launch Generation Next – a network pitched at young professionals, business owners and future leaders aged between 18 and 35.
Of course, no-one had any idea what was in store as Covid-19 lockdown prevented the network from gathering momentum but, ever since the membership offer was eventually introduced in October that year, it’s enjoyed fantastic growth with 325 individuals now signed up.
We know the pandemic had a disproportionately negative impact on many young people, whose career prospects and growth potential suffered along with experiencing isolation in some cases. Generation Next has provided something of a “safe space” for them to find their feet in a professional environment, where they can network with like-minded individuals at a similar stage in their careers – in offbeat environments ranging from cocktail masterclasses to Peak District walks.
There have also been ample learning and development opportunities, with Chamber members leading sessions on topics includ ing public speaking, personal branding and managing budgets. Last year, we also set up a mentoring scheme so our Generation Next members can tap into the leadership experience that exists across the Chamber network.
At a time when many businesses are preoccupied with the challenges of here and now, it’s perhaps never been more important to keep an eye on tomorrow. A common issue for many organisations is attracting young talent to replace an ageing workforce and one of the great strategic hurdles for our region is retaining the young people we educate here.
At the Chamber, we are trying to do something about this and that’s why the first issue of Business Network in 2023 puts Generation Next under the spotlight. In our focus feature (p60), we hear from some of our members about their journey so far
Our third instalment of the Generation Next Awards is also open to entries – more information on p45 – and one of last year’s winners, Creative Award recipient Dan Poynton, is the subject of our big interview on p27. The awards are open to individuals aged 18 to 35 from all Chamber members so this is a great opportunity to recognise the young talent in your organisation.
Visit generationnextemc.co.uk/awards
Dan Robinson, Editor, Business NetworkFEBRUARY 2023
NEWS UPDATE
4MEMBER NEWS
Derbyshire businesses backing apprentices
24APPOINTMENTS
New strategic partnerships manager Lydia to help you maximise Chamber membership
THE BIG INTERVIEW
27 Dan Poynton, founder of On Poynt Creative
32 STRATEGIC PARTNERS AND PATRONS
Nottingham becomes ABHI partner city
34CHAMBER NEWS
Region looks to the future at Midlands Energy Summit
SUSTAINABLE EAST MIDLANDS
50 Just where are we at with the Green Industrial Revolution?
INTERNATIONAL TRADE
52 How creative business Katapult is designing themed attractions across the globe
POLITICS
54 Devolution on the agenda at Annual State of the Economy Review
FEATURES
58FOCUS FEATURE
Members of the Chamber’s Generation Next network reflect on how its support has impacted their career journeys
65APPRENTICESHIPS
What the end-point assessment means and why it’s so important
68 Why it makes sense to hire an apprentice
72 How a Derby firm is reaping the benefits of investing in apprenticeships
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT & EVENTS
74 Why 2023 is the year of developing your people
DIGITAL & TECHNOLOGY
Publishers Kemps Publishing Ltd Unit 8, The Courtyard, 707 Warwick Road, Solihull, B91 3DA
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Managing Editor Laura Blake
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BUSINESS NETWORK is produced on behalf of East Midlands Chamber (Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire) by Kemps Publishing Ltd and is distributed to members without charge. The Chamber and the publisher are committed to achieving the highest quality standards. While every care has been taken to ensure that the information it contains is accurate, neither the Chamber nor the publisher can accept any responsibility for any omission or inaccuracies that might arise. Views expressed in the magazine are not necessarily those of the Chamber. This publication (or any part thereof) must not be reproduced, transmitted or stored in print or electronic format without prior written permission of Kemps Publishing Ltd.
76 Taking a fresh approach to technology
BUSINESS SUPPORT
80LEGAL
What new Flexible Working Bill proposals mean for employers
82FINANCE
It’s crucial to get your state pension in shape
84SKILLS
Sixty-year-old apprentice proves it’s never too late to learn
87PROPERTY
Derbyshire firm playing a key role in Nottingham’s Island Quarter development
88MOTORING
Nick Jones reports on Motorcycle Live 2022
89INFORMATION
Is it time to spring clean your sales pipeline?
90 New Chamber president Stuart Dawkins outlines his plans for the coming year
A trio of young Nottingham scientists have been recognised for their work to transform brain imaging with the development of a new kind of wearable brain scanner.
Elena Boto, Ryan Hill and Niall Holmes, from the University of Notti ngham’s School of Physics and Astronomy, have been awarded the Clifford Paterson Medal from the Institute of Physics.
It recognised their work on the development of wearable, lightweight brain imaging technology that can provide images of human brain function with unprecedented accuracy, even while the patient is moving.
The team, which has been working on this project since 2015, has pioneered the rapid development of this new scanner, which employs quantum-enabled sensors to measure magnetic fields above the scalp – a process termed magnetoencephalography (MEG).
Professor Matt Brookes, who leads MEG research at the University of Nottingham, said: “The work that Elena, Ryan and Niall have done is genuinely ground-breaking, with far reaching implications for healthcare.”
Two Derbyshire-based businesses have joined forces to promote growth and employment opportunities for young people wishing to pursue an apprenticeship.
Full-service marketing agency Purpose Media has been using apprenticeship provider EMA Training for many years to meet its needs for IT and digital marketing apprentices.
‘To create more employment opportunities for young people’
In this latest partnership, they will combine skills to enable EMA to promote apprenticeship opportunities to the wider East Midlands market, with Purpose Media having already created a new website for the training organisation.
Chloé Farmer, head of marketing at EMA Training, said: “Our new, innovative website aims to inspire and guide school leavers, young professionals, parents and employers.
“Purpose Media has provided us with an accessible and appealing platform to attract, inform and
educate them of the benefits of apprenticeships. Even today, we find that many people do not fully understand apprenticeships and our website aims to dispel the myths.”
Grace Golden, head of client growth at Purpose Media, added: “Over our 14-year company
history, Purpose Media has a long track record of nurturing apprentices – in fact, many are now in senior management roles. We are delighted to be partnering further with EMA to create more employment opportunities for young people.”
A Derby digital agency is easing the cost of living for its young staff members by launching a cooperative-style profit share scheme to boost their earnings every month.
Alphageek Digital, based at Cubo in Victoria Street, introduced the initiative last month to add extra money to its 16-strong workforce’s incomes in return for their hard work.
The founders Art Lindop, Kieran Flynn and Alex Mills decided to take action following a busy year in which the company relocated to the city centre and grew staff numbers.
Alphageek’s staff are aged mainly between 20 and 26, and every month they will together be allocated a 10% share of the company’s profits. They can choose to save it all up until the end of the tax year and take it as a lump sum or can opt to take their bonus at the end of the quarter.
The scheme mirrors a profit-share scheme operated by bakery chain Greggs, which also hands out 10% of its profits to staff, and retailer John Lewis which, as a co-operative
owned by its workers, pays them a yearly bonus.
Alex said that most of its staff have opted to go for the quarterly option, which will pay out at the end of the month.
He said: “We already pay above the Living Wage and have recently given pay rises too, but although
our costs as a business have also soared, we wanted to be able to make a difference to our staff while also incentivising everyone and keeping morale raised.
“While some may be able to put the money towards a treat or a holiday, we’re very aware that increasingly staff are struggling to
meet the day-to-day costs because prices keep going up.”
One staff member who will benefit from the scheme is 26-yearold Dan Wild, who is head of paid marketing.
He added: “I’m married and have been able to make changes to my lifestyle and budget, such as coming into work by train rather than using my car, so I will be able use this bonus for treats and anything extra I like.
“However, I do know that others are finding the cost of living more of a challenge, so it’s great to be offered the payments above our salary so everyone gets a reward for all their hard work.”
Set up in 2019, Alphageek offers a whole range of digital marketing services including social media advertising, pay-per-click, web services and content creation.
Last year, it won the Breakthrough Award and Entrepreneur of the Year categories at the Chamber’s Generation Next Awards, which are open to individuals aged under 35.
An innovative doughnut company has proved to be a major player on the bakery scene – having bagged a deal to provide sweet treats at a Wembley NFL game.
Derbyshire-based Project D sold 9,000 doughnuts at the Jacksonville Jaguars vs Denver Broncos clash last October – which had a sell-out 86,000 crowd.
The firm, whose three founders won the inaugural Entrepreneur of the Year title at the Chamber’s Generation Next Awards in 2021, first impressed bosses at Wembley concessions operator Delaware North when it sold its doughnuts at the England vs USA women’s football match at Wembley earlier in the same month.
The NFL game involved a major operation, featuring 18 Project D employees and a further five agency staff selling across a fourand-a-half hour period. There were seven Project D stands across three floors of the stadium, along with six hawking units.
Project D’s events manager Angela Allen said: “It was a massive operation. This was the first time we’ve ever been given an opportunity to trade at Wembley by Delaware.
“The women’s international friendly was a trial run –it was nothing in comparison to this. It was such a long trade window.
“The vision from the lads was always to move forward with
KCH Garden Square family barrister Jamal Jeffers (pictured) has been appointed to deputy district judge on the Midlands circuit – and is the youngest ever Black judicial appointment. He is committed to increasing diversity and inclusion within the legal profession to see it represents the society it serves.
Jamal, who was appointed during Black History Month last year, said: “It is an honour and a privilege to be appointed as a deputy district judge, made even more special by knowing I am the youngest Black judge.
“Black history is not just consigned to the pages of history books. My appointment shows it is living and relevant for us all. I look forward to my time on the bench and will do right by all people.”
bigger and better events – I don’t think you get much bigger than the national stadium.”
Angela, who moved to Project D from her previous job with Derby County Football Club, added that this game was “the biggest achievement of her career”.
Project D designed a new doughnut in the Jacksonville
Jaguars’ badge colours, using Project D’s signature doughnut base with turquoise piping, chocolate sprinkles and a caramel glaze.
Max Poynton, director of operations at Project D, added: “We are hoping to do a few more events at Wembley over the next year.”
Jamal was the first recipient of the Nottinghamshire Law Society’s Equality and Diversity Champion award in 2022. He is a co-founder of both BME at The Bar, a Midlands-based group of Black barristers seeking to increase the number of Black practitioners within the profession, and the JeffersNunn Award at the University of Leicester, which aims to support individuals from underrepresented groups.
Head of chambers Jeremy Janes said: “Jamal is a fantastic ambassador for chambers and those we strive to represent, and this appointment is a further recognition of that.”
One of the first Derby College T level students to graduate from the new gold standard in technical and vocational education was among more than 100 guests at a national celebration event held at the House of Lords.
Alec Barnden, 18, studied T level design, surveying and planning for construction at Derby College, and has now secured a quantity surveyor apprenticeship with developer Bowmer and Kirkland. He said: “The T Level has given me a stepping stone into the real world and I wouldn’t be where I am today without it.”
Alec represented the college along with professional
construction teacher Mark Welsford at the event, which was a celebration of the T level programmes, hosted by Baroness Barran MBE, the parliamentary under-secretary of state at the Department for Education.
Derby College was the first further education college in the East Midlands to deliver the initial tranche of T levels in September 2020, in design, surveying and planning, education and childcare, and digital production – all of which are equivalent to three A levels.
The two-year programmes involve 80% of time spent in college and 20% on an industrial placement.
‘I don’t think you get much bigger than the national stadium’The Project D team celebrates NFL success at Wembley Alec Barnden
An honorary professorship has been bestowed by De Montfort University upon a Leicestershire philanthropist and business leader.
Dr Nik Kotecha OBE DL has been appointed professor of entrepreneurship, innovation and philanthropy for the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, some 35 years after he completed his PhD in medicinal chemistry.
Since leaving education, Dr Kotecha has become a well-known entrepreneur, having founded Loughborough-based Morningside Pharmaceuticals in 1991, which he divested last October. In 2017, he established the Randal Charitable Foundation, which has an aspiration to directly save one million lives in the UK and globally.
Dr Kotecha, who is also a prochancellor at DMU, said: “DMU teaches many students who are in the situation I was in 40 years ago. Many are the first generation of their family to go to university, from disadvantaged families and diverse ethnic cultures.
“When I meet their families and see these young people walk by me onto the stage at graduations, in my role as pro-chancellor, I am incredibly proud that DMU has provided these excellent graduates with the opportunities they deserve.”
Vaillant has unveiled its new multi-million-pound heat pump production line at its headquarters in Belper –making it the first manufacturer to produce heat pumps and high-efficiency boilers in the UK.
The new development is in response to the Future Homes Standard legislation coming into force in 2025, which will ensure that new homes will produce between 75% and 80% fewer carbon emissions than homes delivered under current regulations.
Marking a £4m investment in the factory’s low-carbon production capabilities, it reinforces the company’s commitment to ensuring all UK homes can be heated via the most effective technology.
The new line was officially opened by John Forkin MBE, managing director of Marketing Derby, who was joined by Pauline Latham, MP for Mid Derbyshire.
Henrik Hansen, managing director of Vaillant Group UK & Ireland, said: “We know there is no single solution when it comes to heating our homes in the UK as the breadth of property type is diverse.
“Heat pumps and new technology can offer decarbonisation benefits – however, the future is likely to be made up of a mix of heat pump, hybrid and boiler technologies. Ultimately, we want to help consumers feel in a position to make an informed choice about what will work for both their lifestyle and their property.”
Nottingham-based accountancy firm Page Kirk welcomed American accountant Alexandra Baron for a three-month secondment as part of a work exchange programme.
Representatives from five organisations based throughout Bassetlaw have been appointed to the North Notts BID board to bolster operations as the BID starts its second term following a majority “yes” vote at the ballot last June.
Operating the second largest BID in the UK, the private sector board is responsible for overseeing the finances, governance, decisionmaking and delivery of North Notts BID projects alongside two observers from Retford and Worksop Business Forums.
Two of the key board appointments will strengthen the BID’s representation of Worksop businesses, including Rob Holder, National Trust general manager at Clumber Park and Mr Straw’s House and Dr John Price, headmaster at Worksop College.
George Buchanan, chair of the North Notts BID board, said: “As a business-led, business managed venture, these latest appointments will help aid the fantastic initiatives we have laid out across our second term.”
While she swapped the sunny beaches of California for the East Midlands, her counterpart Tom Johnson flew out to San Jose to experience life with firm Wheeler Accountants.
The transatlantic trips were part of a scheme by Accelerate and CPAmerica, which provides an opportunity for qualified accountants to widen their experience and knowledge and gain new perspectives on the work they do for clients.
Tom graduated in 2017 with a first-class degree in accountancy and finance from Nottingham Trent University. Having joined Page Kirk, he was due to be part of the exchange back in 2020, after he successfully completed the firm’s graduate programme, but the trip was postponed due to Covid travel restrictions.
He said: “The US secondment has been a once-in-a-lifetime experience and something I’m extremely grateful to Page Kirk for arranging. Being part of a foreign work culture has allowed me to develop professionally and personally.
“I will be able to integrate the techniques and tips I learned out there into my day-to-day work now I’m back in the UK. Furthermore, the professional connections I have made across the Atlantic can only be a positive for my career.”
A survey of more than 3,000 employers and workers shows that although 83% of businesses wanted their employees to be based within the office for at least three days per working week, only 20% of employees were prepared to do it.
The study, conducted by Gigabit Networks, targeted SME owners and operators in the Midlands, with a second study focusing on the wishes and expectations of employees. Research showed that employees were more interested in returning to the workplace to save money on their heating bills (33%) or socialise with colleagues (51%) rather than improve productivity.
Nine in 10 employees said they considered the quality of their work to be superior when produced at home, despite problems with unreliable internet connections
Gigabit Networks co-founder David Yates said: “The study made us question how much more businesses could benefit by providing their home workers with the ultrafast speed – up to 20-times faster than standard broadband. Incredible broadband is no longer a ‘nice to have’, it’s a ‘must have’ for hybrid staff working in 2023.”
Businesses across the Cathedral Quarter in Derby have voted in favour of renewing their status as a business improvement district (BID).
The renewal of Cathedral Quarter BID commences on 1 March and businesses with a rateable value of £2,000 or above will pay a levy based upon the value, creating a collective fund of more than £1.4m to spend over the next five years on improving the trading environment and representing business interests.
It follows many months of planning, in-depth interviews, surveys and a month-long ballot in which hundreds of businesses in the area were asked to vote on the proposals.
The vote resulted in 85% of those in favour of the BID renewal ballot, and 89% of votes in favour of the BID by rateable value. This marked the best-ever ballot result in its four reviews since 2007.
Martin Langsdale, chair of the BID, said: “The BID’s business plan has been designed to address the issues which came up during the lengthy consultations with many of the businesses in the BID area, from the small independent businesses to large national businesses.
“The money will now be spent through the three key strategic objectives and their related activities.”
Businesses in Derby have praised the launch of a free money-saving app, saying it has already proved “invaluable” in attracting, and keeping, new customers.
LoyalFree promotes money-off deals, local events and interactive listings at Derby businesses.
Since it launched last September, hundreds of visitors to Derby’s Cathedral Quarter and St Peters Quarter BIDs have downloaded LoyalFree, with shoppers unlocking discounts and deals from shops, cafes, restaurants, and bars across the two BID areas.
Leicestershire-based telecoms support services company HG Comms has been acquired by Vinci – one of the worlds’ largest infrastructure groups.
A careers initiative that helps thousands of secondary school pupils across Derby hopes that being shortlisted for a regional award will help with its plea for more volunteers.
E4E was set up by Derby City Council in 2014. It provides CV writing workshops, mock interviews, mentoring and a Dragons Den-style Enterprise Challenge Day, where pupils pitch a project to business leaders who volunteer for the session.
It was recently shortlisted in the Chamber’s Derbyshire Business Awards in the Education and Business Partnership category and manager Arshad
Iqbal hopes this recognition will be the catalyst as he seeks more volunteers from the business community. He said: “E4E relies solely on a dedicated group of volunteers from businesses in Derbyshire but, as demand for our sessions grows, we really need to add to our pool of volunteers.
“For schools to organise an event such as something like a morning of mock interviews, it can be hugely time-consuming. We have volunteers from various sectors that we can tap into, but there are so many other businesses whose expertise we would appreciate sharing with young people across the city.”
Founded in 2019, HG Comms employs about 40 staff working from its head office in Rearsby, and provides the telecommunications industry with full turn-key maintenance and installation services.
Vinci is a world leader in concessions, energy and construction, and is active in almost 120 countries. The purchase was undertaken and completed by Cobra IS, a Vinci subsidiary company based in Madrid, Spain, which was also acquired by Vinci in December 2021 for €4.8bn.
Cobra, which works across various sectors including telecoms, rail, renewables and power, has purchased HG Comms to grow its UK footprint and expand its already well-established portfolio.
Penny Price Aromatherapy, which makes therapeutical essential oils and delivers complementary training, signed off 2022 by winning two awards.
Hinckley and Bosworth MP Dr Luke Evans chose the family-run business as the recipient of the MP HEROes Award, which celebrates female entrepreneurship, while founder Penny Price was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Federation of Holistic Therapists (FHT).
Penny Price Aromatherapy, and the Academy of Aromatherapy and Health Studies, were established in Hinckley, in 2003, with the ethos to deliver the best in training and products.
From modest beginnings teaching from a living room, the company has established a strong reputation in manufacturing skincare and cosmetics using natural oils, supplying big brands and creating its own range. Products are distributed internationally to markets including Canada, Hong Kong and China.
The company also has purpose-built academies in the UK, Japan, Hong Kong and Canada, training aromatherapists and massage therapists, as well as an outreach through e-learning.
Reflecting on the MP HEROes Award, Penny said: “Out of all the businesses he must know, I was humbled that he chose me for this award. Dr Luke was so helpful to our business during Covid and my thanks are with him.
“We will be 20 years old in May, and over that time we have had to be flexible, innovative and open to new
Derby’s longest-established independent funeral director has published a new book to help adults come to terms with losing a loved one.
The activity book, Missing you –working your way through loss, was written by Wathall’s bereavement support co-ordinator and qualified counsellor Fay Bloor, and illustrated by University of Derby graduate and freelance illustrator Michael Ashley.
The latest book aims to offer support for adults who have suffered a bereavement.
Fay said: “I wanted to create something that would help people better understand, and feel less alone in, their own feelings.”
ways of working. It has been an exciting journey and some things have not changed, including the quality of our essential oils and other aromatherapy products.”
Dr Luke, MP for Bosworth, added: “It was a real pleasure to welcome Penny and her daughter Ellie Dunmore, who is managing director, to Parliament and commend them for their excellent entrepreneurship.”
Penny was also recognised by the FHT for her four decades in the industry, her dedication to the health and wellbeing of others, and for going above and beyond to give time to good causes.
Barbering students at West Nottinghamshire College have been busy promoting their learning company College Cuts to boost sales and practice their new skills.
One of the six students who works for the barbering learning company is Sienna Barwick, 18, who studies on the intermediate certificate in barbering year one. Sienna’s first customer was towards the end of last year was college principal and chief executive Andrew Cropley.
The college’s learning companies have been set up to enhance students’ work-related knowledge and skills to run alongside their study programmes. Key employability skills such as customer service, financial management, problem-solving and teamwork are applied.
Andrew added: “Sienna did a first-class job with my hair. I enjoyed talking with her, and learning of her experience at college and ambitions for the future.”
Nottingham-based AST Language Services has branched out into a new specialism to help clients’ translation needs for the forestry industry. The firm will focus on translations for the German forestry industry, with hopes it will assist clients within the sector with their trade agreements.
The company has also launched a new forestry section on its website to support timber exporters, other forestry websites, and trade magazines with their translation requirements.
Managing director Andrew Schlich said: “The German forestry industry is much bigger than ours and the potential for us in that sector is huge, so I’ve been planning this development for some time.”
Forestry accounted for 1.3m jobs in Germany in 2019 and had an annual turnover of more than $150bn. Contrast this with the UK, where according to the Forestry Market report from Savills, the UK market in 2021 was valued at £262.7m.
Andrew added: “This is a natural area for us to focus on because everyone employed by the company – all 10 of us – are German speakers.”
‘We will be 20 years old in May and over that time we have had to be flexible and innovative’Penny Price with the FHT award
SMEs across the East Midlands have been invited to register their interest in a project that bids to increase the skills and productivity of manufacturing businesses.
The Business Gateway Growth Hub, D2N2 Growth Hub and Business Lincolnshire Growth Hub joined forces to win £3m funding from Government to roll out the Made Smarter East Midlands programme.
It aims to advise more than 400 SMEs, undertake 133 business assessments, provide intensive support to 70 firms, and boost the leadership and management skills of 36 senior manufacturing leaders.
It will also help businesses implement more automation and take advantage of new technologies, such as 3D printing, artificial intelligence and virtual reality.
Businesses can register their interest for Made Smarter East Midlands at bit.ly/LLEPmadesmarter
A group that connects experienced senior leaders with business owners on a consultancy basis is setting up a new build-to-sell peer networking board.
Being launched by The Alternative Board Derby & East Midlands in the early part of 2023, it will support business owners to build value in their company with the aim of exiting within two to four years.
It will focus on the specific issues that a rise from planning exit strategies and developing businesses to reach their maximum potential. There are multiple exit options open to business owners, and the board will give business owners the tools and space to clarify their personal vision to help them take the right decision for their future.
Julian Smith, an experienced businessman and executive coach, will spearhead the group. He said:
“Having worked with many business owners over the years, taking those first steps to think about what your life will look like after your business and how to plan the actions to get there can be the most daunting part.
“Having a group of like-minded individuals around you, that you can bounce ideas off in a safe and confidential environment, can be saviour for many. I’m very much looking forward to working with new members to support them in realising their personal visions.”
A new business lounge has opened at Great2Work’s co-working hub in Chesterfield.
The space, located at Hayfield House in Devonshire Street, aims to attract freelancers, micro and small businesses to the town centre, giving them a comfortable place to have informal meetings with colleagues or clients, and a place to work from in-between members. A monthly membership costs £50 with no tie-ins.
Business growth and support company Great2 unveiled the lounge at a special event in November, featuring speakers including the firm’s CEO Andy Ball and Destination Chesterfield co-ordinator Dom Stevens.
Andy said: “Our new business lounge is a first for Chesterfield and our aim is to give local businesspeople a professional, flexible and comfortable place to work from – keeping businesses in the town.
“The business lounge, alongside our co-working space and business support services, allows Great2 to provide a full suite of tools to help local businesses grow.”
The Alternative Board is actively recruiting board members who are ready to help develop each other’s companies in preparation for an exit. They will be supported by experts in the fields of valuation, sale advisory and legal.
In addition to the monthly board meetings at the company’s office in Pride Park, Derby, business owners will have one-to-one coaching sessions to work through strategies to improve business value and structure in readiness for sale, as well as focus on their personal vision.
For more information about joining the board, contact Julian at jsmith@thealternativeboard.co.uk
A company that provides premium cleaning services to high-end commercial clients has enlisted Hygiene Solutions to deliver washroom services.
After Astrum Cleaning’s previous supplier was taken over by a national firm and found a rapid decline in its service level, it invited the Hinckley-based company to tender for the contract.
Independently-owned Hygiene Solutions has more than 20 years’ experience in washroom services, with high customer retention rates and an ability to provide a bespoke service.
Finnian Brown, director at Astrum Cleaning, which has offices in the East and West Midlands with more than 300 customer sites, said: “It is important to work with a reliable service provider such as Hygiene Solutions as we have such a high standard of service that we deliver to our clients. We are pleased with the partnership and have received nothing but good feedback so far.”
At the Chamber’s AGM in December, leaders from the three Business of the Year winners told their stories to fellow members, as Dan Robinson reports.
Derbyshire Business of the Year: Katapult
Leicestershire Business of the Year: Scope Construction
Nottinghamshire Business of the Year: Copley Scientific
From its Derby studio, Katapult’s team of creative minds work on projects for theme parks and visitor attractions across the world.
Lego, Cartoon Network, Merlin Entertainments and Ferrari are just some of the major brands to have called on its services in designing themed experiences from concept to completion.
These include the Ferrari Experience in Orlando, which features simulator rides, an esports adrenaline hub and dining experiences; the DOTS immersive experience for children at 11 Legoland Discovery Centres; and an upcoming family entertainment centre project for Cartoon Network World in Kuwait.
“We have a lot of fun in what we do,” said CEO and co-founder Dawn Foote. “We’re fortunate that we get to travel the world to see and experience things, and go into new markets.
“We want to change the narrative around Derby – it is known as a manufacturing city, which it absolutely is, but we are a creative business on the world stage and want people to know there are a great number of innovative businesses here.”
Katapult started life in a student flat more than 20 years ago, with the company established the day Dawn and co-founder Phil Higgins graduated from the University of Derby.
Named in the Creative England 50 list of the country’s most creative companies, Dawn said it is “known for being innovative, creative and dreaming of what people don’t know is possible”.
Dawn, an executive committee member for trade body Experience UK, added: “We’ve always refocused the business to make sure it’s what we love and harnessed a culture that people, including myself, want to be part of.”
It is an employee-owned business, giving staff growth shares, and everyone has access to unlimited annual leave. The people-first policy also prioritises employee mental health.
Scope Construction has expanded rapidly since being formed just over three years ago – while inviting its supply chain on the journey.
The Loughborough-based construction services provider has grown turnover from £250,000 to £5.6m through “a lot of hard work, sacrifice and hurdles along the way”, according to director Maz Patel.
He spoke about how he and business partner Paz Patel left their corporate jobs to “follow their dreams” by setting up Scope in late 2019, just a few months before Covid-19 lockdown.
“It was difficult but we were determined to succeed,” he said. “This award was testament to our hard work.”
Key construction, refurbishment and fitout projects have included the What A Goal sports complex in Leicester, Rodin Cars showroom at Donington Park and Loughborough burger restaurant Boo.
Scope also won the Outstanding Growth award, and Maz said key reasons behind its success were his team – 90% of staff are aged under 45 and includes a number of graduates – and a loyal supply chain the company has helped to grow.
Three local contractors have doubled their turnover to a combined £1.6m after being educated on aspects such as processes and management systems, while it has supported another contractor that went into liquidation to make a comeback, protecting 25 jobs.
“Developing our supply chain is obviously going to help us grow so it’s important we do this,” he said.
Nine of the world’s 10 largest pharmaceutical companies use products made by Nottinghambased Copley Scientific.
It counts more than 1,200 commercial clients in 96 countries and has more than 70 years’ heritage in developing healthcare testing equipment that pledges accurate and reliable results.
Yet winning the Nottinghamshire Business of the Year award was an important milestone, acknowledged CEO Mark Copley.
“It was a blow-away moment,” he said. “It’s had a massive impact as a business internationally because to be seen as a successful company in our area is important, while it’s also great for recruitment at a local level.”
Copley Scientific is the world’s largest supplier of inhaler testing equipment, including systems that enhance reproducibility and productivity. It is also one of the top manufacturers of testing equipment for other pharmaceutical dosage forms and equipment for detergent testing.
A recent landmark achievement was playing an instrumental role in supplying test equipment that was used to approve the first orally-inhaled Covid-19 vaccine in China.
“We know how innovative the East Midlands is,” added Mark. “I’ve seen a lot of small companies come out the woodwork that no-one has heard of before but they’re doing incredible things.
“We export 90% of everything we make to all corners of the planet. This puts Nottingham and the East Midlands on the map, as well as helping with the country’s balance of trade.”
The Sir Thomas White Loan Charity (STWLC), provided seven interest-free business and education loans totalling £105,000 to Leicestershire and Rutland organisations in the final quarter of 2022.
Six businesses – including a gym, patisserie, smokery and online education platform –received a share of £95,000, while one education loan of £10,000 will support postgraduate studies of a bar professional training course.
Established in 1542, STWLC hosts quarterly application windows each year in which people aged 18 to 45 can apply for unique interest-free loans of up to £20,000 to aid local businesses, or £10,000 to support students wishing to return to post-graduate education.
Chair of the trustees Lucy Womack said: “It’s not an easy time for businesses at the moment and we hear so much about a lack of financial support being available, but that’s where we can step in and make a real difference.”
Application packs for STWLC’s interest-free business and education loans are available to download at www.stwcharity.co.uk
Accountancy and business advisory firm Duncan & Toplis has launched a new foundation to support local good causes.
The Duncan & Toplis Foundation will serve as the company’s philanthropic arm, leading new fundraising initiatives and increasing the impact of the team’s charitable activities.
It was launched at the end of 2022 with the initial target of distributing £500,000 to local initiatives by 2025, which will mark the 100th anniversary of Duncan & Toplis.
The firm – which employs more than 400 people across 11 offices in Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire – provides services including accountancy, tax and business advice, audit, assurance services, HR, payroll, legal services and IT to more than 12,000 businesses and individuals.
Clients will soon be able to join the foundation to create their own structured corporate social responsibility programme.
Managing Director Adrian
KCH Garden Square, a barrister chambers in Nottingham, helped to bring some festive cheer to elderly people living alone.
The firm donated Christmas hampers, created by Derby-based Colleague Box, to people supported by the Rushcliffe Community and Voluntary Service (RCVS) in December.
The service provides a range of support services to help people –particularly those who are frail, elderly and vulnerable – to live as independently as possible.
One of the people who the KCH team met was 81-year-old Mary, who uses the voluntary transport scheme to get to essential appointments and looks forward to visits from her befriending volunteer Annette each week.
Hannah Scothern, chief operating officer at KCH Garden Square, said: “It was lovely to hear first-hand from Mary what a difference just an hour a week from Annette makes, as well as learning from Annette
about the benefits she has found in volunteering.”
RCVS is urgently seeking volunteers. Anyone who can offer an hour per week, in person or by phone, can get involved by calling 0115 969 9060 or visiting rushcliffecvs.org.uk
Reynolds, who chairs the foundation, said: “We’ve always supported and encouraged our team members to volunteer, donate and engage with charities and good causes and many team members have really seized on these opportunities and led initiatives to do great things.
“With the Duncan & Toplis Foundation, we can now take things to another level by getting
the whole Duncan & Toplis group behind each activity.”
The Duncan & Toplis Foundation will primarily support initiatives that seek to improve the quality of local communities within a 20-mile radius of the company’s office locations, with causes such as the provision of food and shelter, mental health, palliative care and youth employment among those given priority support.
A defibrillator has been donated to Derbyshire classic car visitor attraction, Great British Car Journey, in Ambergate.
The life-saving device was gifted by EPC-UK, a market leader in the field of commercial explosives and blasting services based in nearby Alfreton.
To ensure easy access, the defibrillator is situated within the museum’s main display, which features more than 140 classic cars. Staff at Great British Car Journey have also received training on how to use the equipment.
There are about 60,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests that occur every year in the UK. Research show that deploying a defibrillator within three to five minutes of collapse can result in survival rates as high as 50% to 70%.
Tell us what your company does?
I set up Ryley Wealth Management in 1999 to manage, protect and grow our clients’ wealth throughout their lifetime and for generations to come. Over 20 years, we’ve grown to nearly 40 employees across two offices – and we’re growing all the time.
We offer financial planning for both private and corporate clients, and as a business we provide advice on a comprehensive range of financial matters – from inheritance tax, retirement and investment planning to employer pension schemes and succession planning for business owners.
Who are your main customers and what is your USP to them?
What is your position in the business and what does your day-to-day role involve?
I am both the CEO and a chartered financial planner. Day-to-day, a large part of my role involves liaising with my clients and reviewing their plans, so I’m still very hands-on. In addition, I take an active stance on working alongside our managing director Ruth Harrison to lead the direction of the company and establish myself as a leader of our core values.
I am also the founder of a charity called the 1% Matters Fund, which provides small grants to local nonprofit projects and charities, and several other businesses ventures in a variety of industries.
events like the war in Ukraine have raised questions around investment. Our goal is to ease customers’ minds by offering a platform for any questions they may have.
What are the company’s plans for the future?
Simply to grow, innovate and continue to provide a high level of service for our current and future clients. We are growing our team in order to continually update our standard of customer care and satisfaction by investing in new technologies to keep our practice at the cutting edge of the industry.
Location: NG2 Business Park, Nottingham
Number of employees: 37
Spokesperson: David Ryley CEO and Chartered Financial Planner
We all have goals, whether that be planning for retirement, saving for a property or helping our children with their university tuition. It’s my desire help my clients achieve these milestones and lead the other financial planners and support staff to deliver a great level of service. We provide bespoke, jargon-free financial advice to help clients plan for their future financial wellbeing.
What challenges have you faced in recent times and how did you try to overcome them?
The Covid-19 outbreak caused the company to adapt rapidly to keep our employees and clients safe. We managed to overcome this with minimal difficulty due to our dynamic capabilities. Face-to-face appointments were conducted over the phone or via video call, and our staff were given support and tools to work from home. International
As more and more people become aware of the importance of financial planning, we work hard to ensure we are here to help them with their concerns, questions and financial ambitions for the future.
How long have you been a Chamber member how have you engaged with the membership benefits?
We’ve been a member for 15 years and for the past few years we’ve sponsored the Business Awards in the Entrepreneur of the Year category, supporting rising new talent as well as established and thriving businesses across our region.
In November and December 2022, the Chamber welcomed 39 new members:
•AEI Acoustics Limited
•The Alchemist Co
•Bio-Icon Limited
•BN Finance
•The Carpenters Arms (Midlands) Trust
• Cathedral Quarter Company Ltd
•Choice Utility Ltd
•Creed Healthcare
•Digit Music
•Equity Release Midlands Ltd
•FlowchemUK Ltd
•Hothorpe Hall (Venues) Ltd
•The House of Shayaa
•Innovative Leisure Ltd
•Jarvale Construction Ltd
•K B Event Ltd
•KOFFEEMAKERZ LTD
•Leicestershire Training Team Ltd
•Natalia Rafi Ltd
•Nationwide Hygiene Supplies Limited
•GMV NSL Limited
•Objective Creative Ltd
•The People Partner HR & Training
•The Pleasley Pit Trust
•Power & Control Ltd
•PRS Training
•Quensus
•Rachael Ashley Photography
•The Radisson Blu Hotel East Midlands Airport (pictured)
•RVL Group Limited
•Seven Hills Creative
•SPARTAN Elite Security Ltd
•Trent Vehicle Charging Limited
•Upbeat Clean
•Upbeat Communities Ltd
•Urban&Civic Ltd
•Volute Limited
•WHP Group
•Xact Packing Limited
People with ideas for change are being invited to turn them into exciting new businesses, with the help of university experts.
Budding entrepreneurs can submit their ideas to the Ingenuity Programme, a business creation competition, where they will be supported to develop and progress their initial idea with the help of experts from the UK’s top universities, charities and businesses. This year’s prize fund available to winners totals £75,000.
The Ingenuity Programme, run by Nottingham University Business School, supports start-ups to directly address the UK’s social and environmental challenges to drive change in local communities.
By entering the programme, entrepreneurs will receive one-on-one support from specialist mentors to develop their idea into a business plan and be in with a chance of receiving significant investment and support.
Entrepreneurs will also have access to online learning materials and tutorials from industry and academic experts. The programme brings together a network of 30 partner universities, charities and businesses across the UK to support ideas that promote sustainable ways of living.
The 2023 programme, which has been designed alongside Nuffield Health, is looking for ideas that focus on building stronger communities, improve health and
address health inequalities, and promote environmental sustainability.
Elizabeth Smith, director of the Ingenuity Programme, said: “At Ingenuity, we are committed to making the UK’s start-up landscape more inclusive, diverse and accessible. You don’t need any prior business experience to take part, and we will provide you with all the support you need to turn your ideas into a reality.”
Keasha Kellam was awarded the 2022 Impact Entrepreneur of the Year title. Powered by her own lived experience, she founded Honour Thy Woman, a community support group that helps domestic abuse survivors in the local area. With support from the Ingenuity Programme, she later turned it into a social enterprise and has developed an idea for providing safe accommodation for women. Keasha has received advice on intellectual property, developing a USP and pitching to investors, as well as funding to employ a resourcing developer to build a programme so that the business can work with international partners. Keasha said: “Since winning, so many more opportunities have opened up to me. The authenticity of winning an award has helped me to network with potential collaborators and investors, and I have been able to successfully attract more funding.”
Sign up for the 2023 Ingenuity Programme at ingenuityimpact.org
Leicester-based Go Travel Solutions has announced that Emma Ahmed (pictured) is joining its team as a LocalGO Ambassador for the sustainable urban extension in New Lubbesthorpe.
As a resident of New Lubbesthorpe, Emma will use her local knowledge to build positive relationships with the residents of this new and thriving community.
To help decrease the number of single occupancy vehicle journeys in the area, leading to reduced carbon emissions, Emma will aim to raise awareness of the sustainable travel consultancy’s LocalGO travel package.
This package offers residents a range of sustainable and active travel discounts and offers, as well as a range of sustainable travel events and initiatives which will take place at the development this year.
Emma said: “I have lived in New Lubbesthorpe for five years and have made many lasting friendships. I am looking forward to helping residents save money and explore the sustainable ways that we can travel as individuals and as a community.”
North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College (NWSLC) has welcomed a new member to its executive team.
Colin Butler (pictured) has joined the college as executive director of people and culture, with a brief to lead on workforce and organisational development.
Colin has a strong background in working within the further education sector, most recently for Loughborough College.
He said: “I am excited to be joining NWSLC and welcome the opportunity to support the team across all its campuses to deliver the best possible experience for students.
“In my experience, this depends on building an ethos where employees are well-supported, enjoy coming to work and feel valued.”
Derbyshire-based Purpose Media has made two appointments and two internal promotions as its recruitment drive continues in response to growing demand for digital marketing services.
Joining the full-service marketing agency is account executive Georgia Weston and client services apprentice Harriet Fell. Promotions also include Becky Sandars, who has been promoted to account manager, and Olivia Beesley, who is now a senior content and marketing executive.
Georgia joins from a retail background and holds qualifications in branding and photography. Harriet has an automotive industry background and will be studying for a business
administration apprenticeship arranged by EMA Training.
Head of client services Grace Golden said: “When we take on new people our goal is to always nurture their development so that they build confidence and enjoy their work from learning new skills.”
Derby entrepreneur Amanda Strong has also joined the agency as a partnership manager. For 33 years, Amanda was the owner of Mercia Image Print, during which she won accolades for entrepreneur of the year and outstanding female entrepreneur of the year.
In her new role, she will introduce Purpose Media to her network and explain the benefits of partnering together for mutual benefit.
ranked as “up and coming” in Chambers and Partners 2023 legal rankings.
James is now responsible for co-ordinating the firm’s real estate teams across its four Midlands offices in Birmingham, Derby, Leicester and Nottingham.
Patrick Adie has also been named national head of housebuilding and strategic land, giving him responsibility for promoting the firm’s offering in these key sectors. Patrick is an award-winning solicitor and
Darren Williamson, partner and national head of real estate at Freeths, said: “We have been consistently ranked as tier one in the leading directories’ legal rankings, where James and Patrick operate, and these appointments will help further our aims. Both James and Patrick are ‘home-grown’ talent, having trained at Freeths and built outstanding practices over their careers.”
A new strategic partnerships manager has joined the Chamber –with a remit to help businesses get the most out of their membership.
Lydia Prestney-Archer, who has a career background in events and account management, took up the role in December.
She will oversee commercial sponsorship opportunities across the Chamber’s awards, events and other initiatives.
Lydia will also work alongside the Chamber’s senior leadership team to develop new strategic partnership and patron agreements, as well as support with the account management of existing partners.
“I’m delighted to join the Chamber at a time when we are working across so many exciting projects and growing the services we offer,” she said.
“I’m looking forward to supporting members to maximise their partnership with the Chamber and collaborate more closely with us.
“Not every member will know where to begin on this journey so I
Bus operator trentbarton and its parent group Wellglade has welcomed John Bickerton (pictured) as the new group engineering director.
It’s a return to the East Midlands for the former Derbyshire resident. The chartered engineer joins from Arriva UK Bus, where he was head of zero emissions.
John’s new job will include directing the care of the 400plus buses and coaches in the combined fleets, which are based at six depots, as well as leading a team of engineering managers and about 100 engineers and apprentices.
He said: “The next decade is going to be extremely interesting for bus operators as the nation moves towards a zero carbon future. We already carry more people per tailpipe than any other sector and buses will be a big part of decarbonisation, including at Wellglade.”
would be thrilled to have conversations with any member that wants to reach out and discuss in more detail what our various commercial partnerships involve.”
Born and raised in Barrow-uponSoar, near Loughborough, Lydia now lives in Shipley, Derbyshire. After graduating with a first-class degree in event management from Lincoln University in 2018, she worked as an events co-ordinator at Imago Venues, on the Loughborough University campus –where she organised events for organisations including the England and Wales Cricket Board and British Athletics.
She also spent two years at Loughborough-based business technology specialist The Access Group, where she worked as customer success manager and account manager.
To speak to Lydia about commercial partnership and sponsorship opportunities, call her on 0777 659 6889 or email lydia.prestneyarcher@emcdnl.co.uk
Following a senior leadership team restructure in last spring, duo Katie Bregazzi and Lauren Doyle have taken the helm at Derbybased Balls2 Marketing.
Hot on the heels of further senior appointments, and a double award win at the CIPR Midlands PRide Awards, the full-service agency is on track for its ambitious growth targets.
Also appointing Julie Bednall as account director, the agency has strengthened its team while
diversifying its market capabilities in the construction and retail sectors. With 18 years’ experience in marketing and communications, Julie boasts career experience at ITV, HomeServe and most recently the Bristan Group.
Katie said: “It’s an exciting time in our journey at Balls2 Marketing, and Julie’s appointment and sector experience in the construction and home improvement industry is integral in helping us achieve our goals.”
Experienced estimator Andy Lillington has joined workplace consultancy and office fit-out specialist Blueprint Interiors.
Andy (pictured), who lives in Leicester, has a degree in construction management and has more than 20 years’ experience in the construction industry. Over the past 10 years, he has focused on the interior design and build market, working in a various roles including site manager, contracts manager and pre-construction manager. His new role at the Ashbybased company will involve working with the design team to prepare project specifications and quotations, liaising with sub-contractors, and preparing detailed project information to enable the smooth handover to the delivery team.
Andy said: “Blueprint’s WorkLife Central is an inspiring head office with awesome collaborative environments, which were a real attraction for me to join an award-winning team.”
DSA’s three new faces
Leicester-based practice Design Studio Architects (DSA) has expanded its team with three new hires.
Claire Stephens joins the team as an architectural assistant, Noha Hossam as an architecture designer and Andy Muncie as a senior architecture technologist and BIM co-ordinator.
Claire has 17 years’ experience in the sector, and is set to become RIBA part three-qualified in 2023.
With more than 15 years’ experience, Noha has a master’s degree and a passion for sustainable architecture, while Andy has more than nine years’ post-qualification experience and is looking to progress his career at DSA.
Dan Poynton is part of a new generation of business owners who turned to entrepreneurship during the Covid-19 pandemic, when he channelled his creative thinking into founding his own agency
On Poynt Creative in Leicester. Having reaped the rewards of his success by winning the Creative Award at last year’s Generation Next Awards, he shares the highs and lows of his story with Jasmine Thompson.
Creativity is not just a job for Dan Poynton, it encapsulates his way of life – whether that’s when finding new ideas for projects at his agency On Poynt Creative or solving everyday challenges on his daily walks with his golden retriever, Marmalade.
He was recognised for his ingenuity at the Chamber’s Generation Next Awards last July, winning the Creative Award to mark a string of successful projects for the business, which has been operating for just shy of three years.
On Poynt’s ethos is to do “everything disruptively”, challenging convention and producing concepts that are purposely designed to make clients rethink how they approach their customers.
“I get so much satisfaction from helping our clients gain something that makes their jaw drop and demonstrates how creative entrepreneurship can propel their business,” says Dan.
“It’s unbelievable how ideas fall into your lap if you allow the time to make it happen.
“I have to create that headspace to be able to think how I want to do things and how to make them better.
“I’ve come to learn the best place you can be creative is not sat at your desk – I could be taking the dog for a walk, sitting in front of the cricket or even in the shower. Just anywhere that I don’t need to think too much about the activity.”
Not that Dan’s journey to awards recognition has always been plain sailing. The 29-year-old is happy to have conversations about the challenges he’s experienced in his career so far, including his difficulty managing stress and anxiety.
“This is a bit of a theme throughout my career and in education,” says Dan. “There's always been a few bits and pieces that have challenged me.
“I’m a very driven person, but the other side of this is I always put too much on myself. Having conversations with other business owners that understand this pressure, alongside counselling, has been brilliant though and I’ve been introduced to mechanisms like meditation to help ease stress.
“Being able to do this facilitates what I create because it gives me that headspace to be able to think how I want to do things and how to make what I do better.”
He’s part of a new generation of business owners who value transparency around the myriad of issues encountered while embarking on a career or founding a start-up, many of whom are part of the 325-strong membership base of Generation Next.
Dan believes this generation has a greater understanding of how their health and wellbeing can have a detrimental impact on their business if it’s not supported.
“If you get your own ducks in a row, your business will fall in line behind you,” says Dan. “For a long time, there was such an importance placed on working every hour of the day to succeed. But when you actually look at how people properly succeed, it’s because they are listening to what their bodies are telling them and allow themselves to breathe.”
SETBACKS ARE A common trait for many business owners and Dan’s drive has helped him to overcome his fair share. At 18, he was knocked back for a product design degree at Loughborough University. With tuition fees due to rise from £3,000 to £9,000 the following year, taking a year out wasn’t an option and he ended up at Lincoln University, where he achieved a first-class honours in the same course.
“It was almost like I had a point to prove,” says Dan.
Instead of applying for graduate jobs, he spent four months working on his family’s farm over summer, which allowed him to create a “piggy bank” and reflect on the career he wanted to pursue.
The type of company was important to him too and he identified Joules, the fashion retailer with a head office in Market Harborough, as ideal.
He says: “It had those family values that are really important to me, as well as an agricultural and environmental element to its products.”
Once this idea was in his head, Dan couldn’t wait for a position to open at Joules, which was in its 25th year of business at the time, and let his creativity lead the way. He designed a “hay bale” packaging concept, wrapped up in a timeline to send to representatives at the company.
“I did that thing everyone tells you to do at university, and went into Joules’ head office to drop off my CV at reception without being asked – and by mid-afternoon on the same day, I received a call from the head of HR,” explains Dan.
“They were taken aback because no-one had ever done that before, and asked me what I wanted to do at the company. A day later, I’d got an interview as a packaging designer, which wasn’t a position Joules had before.
“For my first interview, I redesigned all its ecommerce packaging, but as a menswear option instead of using Joules’ inherently female brand. Then for my second interview, I designed a sock box based on Beatrix Potter’s design of Peter Rabbit – which isn’t strictly Joules, but I showed enough drive to get the job.”
A job at a multinational company is a career prospect all graduates hope for straight after university, and Dan admits he had a moment where he had an option to “sink or swim”.
Luckily, he swam, and spent five years there designing the yellow floral carrier bags seen on high streets across the country, as well as gift
boxes, swing tags, labels, zips, screenprints and even delving into 3D window schemes. Eventually, an itch to do something different returned.
“By the fifth year, I’d started to redesign pieces I’d already designed three or four times, so the work wasn’t as exciting as when I first started,” he says.
“I was 26 at this point and because I’d gone straight from university to employment, I hadn’t done any travelling, which is something I’d always wanted to do. I had the freedom personally and financially to be able to consider that as my next plan and I wanted to prove to myself I could do it.”
Dan travelled to Cambodia in early March 2020 to embark on a six-month trip around Southeast Asia but it was shortlived as the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic forced countries worldwide to shut their borders.
Ten days after arriving, he was forced to get
‘I had the freedom personally and financially to be able to consider that as my next plan and I wanted to prove to myself I could do it’
the last Emirates flight out of Cambodia back to the UK, where he now found himself without a job as the huge uncertainty facing firms put a squeeze on recruitment.
“Something my mum has repeated is that ‘everything happens for a reason’, and it seems to have held true on this occasion,” he says.
“I’d been in a couple of conversations with agencies in Leicester before leaving for the Far East with the hope of joining their team on my return. I rang them up when I was back, and noone was hiring – in fact, they were furloughing staff.
“At this point, I had the option to do something creative by myself or get a job in one of the supermarkets, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but it just wasn’t me. Setting up a business became a necessity.”
An avid sports fanatic, the beginnings of On Poynt Creative stemmed from Dan illustrating prints for cricket, Formula One, tennis, football
and skiing in his parents’ spare room to sell on Etsy.
“I got 40 or 50 designs done in a period of a month or so, and the Etsy work was turning over my Joules salary within two or three months,” says Dan.
“It was a very passive income, which allowed me to sit back and think about what I wanted from this. The reason I left Joules was due to the variety of work, which is something you can get at an agency because of the different clients.
“So I thought, well if I can’t join one, I might as well have a go at starting one.”
Dan’s is a journey shared by many budding entrepreneurs, many on furlough or unemployed, who saw an opportunity during the pandemic to take the plunge and become their own boss. The Office for National Statistics reported 407,510 businesses were formed during 2020, a record for a calendar year.
“We hopped on the back of this trend
Even though creative ideas can “fall from the sky”, for Dan it is important to get into the correct headspace to generate innovation. He shares his top tips on how to fuel creative thinking.
MOVE AWAY FROM YOUR DESK
“My best ideas are often created when I’m either walking or playing with my dog Marmalade. I listened to a good podcast that explained if the analytical side of your brain is working overtime, all the blood is going there, which means it’s not feeding the creative side.
“If you’re sat at your desk working really hard at an idea, nothing will come of it because your brain isn’t being fuelled –whereas if you step back and do something else completely different, that’s when your ideas can fall from the sky without you realising.”
“What constantly flows through our work at On Poynt Creative is the fact we do everything disruptively and we produce concepts for people that are purposely designed to make them rethink their business concept.
“If something has been done, a client won’t want to see it done that way again. If you can bring something new to the table, that’s where creative agencies – or any business – can really make a difference.”
and, from my contacts through Joules, we started to build our client base,” adds Dan.
“We were a cheaper option than loads of agencies out there, with it just being me in a spare room with a MacBook. We started to gain clients and build a portfolio, and from there, we made contacts with the right people.”
RUNNING A BUSINESS rarely goes smoothly, as Dan soon learned in his first six months of founding On Poynt Creative.
He could call on his learnings from doing business studies at school but he didn’t feel equipped with the right knowledge to understand the “behind the scenes” elements of running a company, including finances and business planning.
“It was six months of running a business blindly without a clue how to do it,” he admits.
“I had no preparation for it. The first year of accounts was really difficult because I wasn’t properly tracking my finances so had to go back over my emails trying to find receipts. But that's the thing, no-one prepares you from the ages of 16 to 18 for this type of experience.
“What education courses are teaching isn't always practical advice of how to run your business. A lot of it is about adaptability and thinking on your feet because to get to point B isn’t a straight line – you have to go to point D or G and work your way back from there.”
Research from the Federation of Small Businesses shows 70% of small businesses that receive mentoring will survive for at least five years, which is double the rate compared with non-mentored entrepreneurs.
For Dan, it was in accessing mentoring advice through a coach that helped him start to understand his company’s growth and how to make meaningful change to expand it further.
“I needed really specific help because I was growing the business quite rapidly but needed guidance on how to expand at the rate I needed,” he explains. “My business coach has been a massive source of support.”
Once he took the time to get his feet under the table of the business world, he began rapidly bringing in new clients, describing the key to growing his client base as “speaking to everybody that you can possibly speak to”.
The majority of On Poynt’s initial clients joined via manufacturing contacts. Dan positioned his company to be their creative arm, developing branding and websites to set their products up for success.
But he remained cautious of “niching down” into a particular industry.
“It went against why I got into being an agency in the first place, which was for the variety of work,” he says. “I wanted to develop a culture whereby we were working with different clients that sold different products and services every day.”
Taking on a variety of clients helped the agency side of the business catch up with the Etsy orders by summer 2021 and Dan made the decision to move out of his parents’ spare room and into an office space at Leicester’s LCB Depot, where he also hired his first of three team members.
“I was finding that I was packing print orders until midnight, and then having to do the agency work in the middle of the day, as well as trying
Networking has been an invaluable mechanism for Dan when seeking new opportunities for growing his business. He references networking groups like Generation Next, BNI, Creative Coffee Leicester and KuKu Connect as “the ways businesses succeed”.
For him, “speaking to everybody that you could possibly speak to” has helped to get On Poynt’s name out into the East Midlands business community.
“There isn’t any substitute for getting out there talking to people – there are so many business owners who don’t do that,” says Dan.
“I spend most my evenings at the moment networking, meeting everyone under the sun to make sure we have at least a connection to businesses across the East Midlands. I was even on a walk with the dog recently when I got speaking to a person who was initially asking questions about the dog. As we got speaking, it turned out he owned a business and we had a mutual client. We are hopeful this relationship could blossom in the future.
“It's all about meeting people and being an honest, friendly person, with a printed portfolio ready to go.”
Rubbing shoulders with other start-up owners at the LCB Depot, in Rutland Street, also pays off, as he explains: “Everyone around here is creative. It’s the ability to be able to go up to someone and say ‘I know you've probably been in this situation before, what should I do?’, or to ask advice about hiring, or contracts. It’s great to know you’re not the only one going through this and those people have been massively influential in how this business has grown over the past 12 to 18 months.”
“Whenever I think about the future of my business, I want to create an environment where everybody feels as passionate about working for On Poynt as I do,” says Dan. “One where people are having fun, working hard and everyone looks out for each other.
“That’s integrally what a modern business is –and what the difference is between the older generation of business and new company owners.
“There is so much importance on workplace culture now, whereas in the past it was placed on the final numbers and profit, creating a machine-like way of working.”
In order to realise this future, Dan refers back to the importance of maintaining his health and wellbeing to allow him to run his agency sustainably.
A useful way of managing this is through having honest conversations and maintaining relationships with other business owners in a similar position to himself – whether that’s meeting likeminded people through networking groups like Generation Next and Creative Coffee Leicester or other start-ups at the LCB Depot.
Dan adds: “Working until you start to suffer creates no empathy in your decision-making because almost all business owners go through sleepless nights – you’re thinking, ‘where’s my next invoice going to come from? Or how am I going to pay my staff?’
“Having the support mechanisms to combat those feelings, and being able to ask others for a bit of advice to collectively find a way through issues, is so invaluable to getting the big decisions right.”
to run the business,” he says. “It was just unsustainable doing everything on my own.
“The first hire I made was on the Etsy side of the business to pack all the orders so I could concentrate on all the agency work. But very soon that still got too much, so I had to hire my first designer.
increase the agency’s headcount to 10 people and turnover to £1.2m over the next decade.
But Dan’s vision for the future goes broader than this, and he’s thought long and hard about developing a culture that’s reflective of a modern business outlook.
His company already has a flexible working policy, enabling team members to change their hours as long as the client’s work is complete and leading to improved productivity – and he’s looking ahead to future trends, aspiring to be “one of the first to adopt a four-day working week”.
“I went to the student shows at De Montfort, Loughborough and Nottingham Trent universities, and managed to find my junior designer from De Montfort’s stock of third years, which was fantastic. And Harry's still with us today.”
Since then, Dan has been able to focus on growing the business. As a result, during the first two years of trading, On Poynt almost doubled its turnover, and its clients now include Leicestershire Cricket Club, Invest in Leicester, Toynamics and Quantum-4.
WHILE THE AGENCY has come a long way from sports prints being designed in a spare room, Dan hasn’t stopped keeping an eye on the future.
He has ambitions to expand On Poynt’s services into further media avenues including social, as well as building on its web development offering. To do this, he wants to
Winning the Creative Award at the Generation Next Awards last summer gave Dan an opportunity to reflect on his personal and professional growth as a first-time business owner.
Category sponsor PPL PRS, a Leicester-based music licencing company, labelled Dan a “rising star” when presenting him with the award. At the time, he had never dedicated time to look back over the growth he had achieved since founding On Poynt Creative in March 2020.
“To go through the process of applying for the award and then obviously winning it gave me a chance to reflect on how the business has developed, where it's come from and what it's developed into, as well as all the hard work that's gone into it,” says Dan.
“It was lovely to be recognised for that because sometimes I don’t even recognise myself for it. On Poynt has a long way to go and we’re nowhere near a finished article, but we’ve had fantastic growth over the past two years.”
The recognition from Generation Next has also helped to land new clients, enabling On Poynt to use the emblem of an “award-winning creative agency”.
He adds: “To be recognised as an up-and-coming agency in the East Midlands and having that pedigree has meant the receptionists at LCB Depot have been able to say we’re an awardwinning agency when enquiries come in – and we’ve got work with Leicester City Council off the back of that, as well as a number of private clients.”
A new season of the Generation Next Awards has launched – find out how to enter on p45.
‘I want to create an environment where everybody feels as passionate about working for On Poynt as I do’
Nottingham has become a partner city with the Association of British HealthTech Industries (ABHI), following the signing of a new agreement with the University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University.
With the highest number of HealthTech companies in any region of the UK, the Midlands boasts several world-class universities and centres of excellence. Nottingham alone is home to the NIHR Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre, NIHR Nottingham Clinical Research Facility, Sir Peter Mansfield Imaging Centre and Medical Technologies Innovation Facility (MTIF), making it a thriving hub for HealthTech.
Nottingham’s universities and their civic partners will provide access to university facilities, support the ABHI in its national policy work and international engagement, and facilitate collaborations between ABHI member companies and regional stakeholders.
The partnership forms part of the shared commitments under the Universities for Nottingham Civic Agreement, a collaboration between the city’s two universities and eight key anchor institutions that sets out their commitment to working for the benefit of the Nottinghamshire community.
One of the key ambitions of the agreement is to establish a
Leaders from across Nottingham’s public services have joined together to take part in a transformation programme created to tackle the needs of the city and its organisations.
Designed by Nottingham City Council and Nottingham Business School (NBS), part of Nottingham Trent University, the Nottingham Leadership Transformation Programme is aimed at those with responsibility for managing people, projects and innovation within their organisation.
Dr Mel Bull, assistant head of postgraduate and executive education at NBS and programme lead, said: “This programme breaks down silos and encourages leaders across Nottingham’s core public services to work together and understand their own needs in relation to those of the city.”
Nottinghamshire HealthTech innovation cluster, building on the combined expertise and worldclass facilities of the universities.
Professor Sir Jonathan Van-Tam MBE, pro vice-chancellor for medicine and health sciences at the
University of Nottingham, said: “We’ve already made progress forging strong relationships in the industry, thanks to our existing collaboration with Medilink Midlands, and firmly believe this new partnership with the ABHI will
help bring our ambitions even closer to reality – making Nottinghamshire a leading destination to invest in, or establish, new health and life sciences businesses both nationally and internationally.”
Community Chesterfield, a growing project run by the University of Derby and Derbyshire Voluntary Action, has been recognised with an award.
The initiative, which supports the health and social care sector in Chesterfield by bringing the university and community together, won the Partnership Plate at the Voluntary Sector Awards 2022.
The awards were launched by The Volunteer Centre Chesterfield and North East Derbyshire in 2014 to recognise the outstanding work carried out by the voluntary sector in the area. Community Chesterfield was launched in 2019 as a partnership between Derbyshire Voluntary Action and the University of Derby.
Bev Crighton, senior lecturer at the university’s Derby Business School, said the project “has really helped Chesterfield and its surrounding communities ”.
The project has presented training, research and shared
learning with the university, as well as local volunteers and charities. It puts students, teachers, professionals and residents in reallife situations and then encourages them to share their experiences, forge lasting connections and
embolden them to champion community involvement.
Community Chesterfield hosted a voluntary sector marketplace event in November to introduce students and lecturers to groups across the county so they can work together.
With the theme for National Apprenticeship Week 2023, running from 6 to 12 February, being “skills for life”, Access Training managing director Corrina Hembury (pictured) discusses how companies can benefit from developing their own skillsets via apprenticeships.
Businesses are facing some of their hardest challenges yet. The cost of simply doing business – rising wage bills, energy costs, supply chain issues and a chronic shortage of suitable candidates – means many are taking the decision to “make do” with their existing headcount rather than recruit new staff.
This approach is perfectly understandable. The last thing a business owner or manager needs when they’re facing such huge impacts on revenue and profit is to take on the responsibilities of a new salary.
Yet expecting more of the existing workforce – albeit only until market conditions improve – is, I believe, to the detriment of growth. Introducing new people to a business brings in new skills, new approaches and a fresh perspective to sit alongside the knowledge and experience of long-serving staff.
I definitely see that in our three new business admin apprentices – Megan, Jodie and James – who, only a few months in, are already making their mark in our engagement and compliance teams, and who, I’m sure, will develop a long career with our business. Their support has been invaluable in supporting existing team members to improve the service we provide to our employer and learner clients – for example, through improving our response times and the provision of a dedicated contact person.
At this early stage of their working careers, each is a walking advert for the 2023 National Apprenticeship Week theme of “skills for life”. The same applies to a growing alumni of learners whose early training with Access Training has led to senior positions in the NHS, education and other sectors.
Businesses based in Leicester, Nottingham and Loughborough can now apply to take advantage of a free sustainability audit from Loughborough University.
By participating, companies can receive a useful assessment of their practices in areas such as energy, water, waste, procurement, travel, community and biodiversity. The audit typically takes up to two hours and is undertaken physically at an organisation’s premises by trained students.
The findings are fed back in the form of an environmental impact report, helping it to recognise next steps and potential savings.
Susan Boon, work and opportunities officer at Loughborough University, said: “Businesses are understandably concerned about the volatility of the energy market and the recent drastic increase in the cost of powering their operations.
Our business is certainly not immune from the challenges of finding “work-ready” candidates. Like many of our clients, we’ve taken the decision to “grow our own” through apprenticeships. In our line of work as a training provider, we come across so many candidates who lack life experience but come with spades of enthusiasm, and who we know would thrive from the support offered by a structured training programme.
There is, however, still a misconception that apprenticeships are only suitable for new recruits. In fact, they are an affordable route for businesses seeking to train staff of any age who may already be part of their workforce – apprenticeships are funded at 100% for companies employing fewer than 49 people, with an additional £1,000 incentive where the apprentice is aged 16 to 18. Of course, an individual who has benefited from structured training is likely to repay that investment by staying with the business for the long term.
However effective you consider your approach to leadership and supervision, customer service or business administration, it is structured apprenticeship training – whether that be for a new or existing member of staff – that is likely to lead to new and more efficient business operations.
“By employing the services of our students for a sustainability audit, they can gain a better understanding of their most energy-inefficient practices and, importantly, how they might address them in the quickest and most costeffective of ways.”
Depending on the outcome of the audit, eligible businesses will be offered funded short-term student placements to support with resourcing on sustainability or digital-related projects.
Businesses can register their interest at employer.services@lboro.ac.uk
‘We come across so many candidates who lack life experience but come with spades of enthusiasm’
Opportunities for the region in the future energy agenda were at the centrepiece of the Midlands Energy Summit, held by the Chamber in partnership with the University of Nottingham at the Hilton East Midlands Airport hotel in December. Dan Robinson rounds up some of the key discussion points.
The East Midlands needs to determine which part of the future energy agenda it wants to lead if it is to attract overseas investors.
This is the view of Nora Senior CBE, chair of the East Midlands Freeport, which will offer businesses a package of tax, customs and economic incentives to businesses moving into three tax sites, with the aim of creating 61,000 jobs and pumping £8.9bn into the local economy over the next 30 years.
Nora explained how net zero and decarbonisation are at the heart of its plans to create world-class clusters in sectors such as advanced manufacturing, advanced logistics and low-carbon energy.
A Hydrogen Skills Academy will also be the UK’s first practical, industry-based training centre associated with the production, handling, storage and use of hydrogen.
“We want to decide what we will be famous for as that will be the best way of attracting inward investment,” she said.
“A lot of activity is happening in hydrogen, batteries, carbon capture, fuel cells and zero-carbon transport, so we’re mapping the landscape to identify the best opportunities to gain a competitive advantage.
“There’s no point in saying we can do everything – we’re better looking at where our strengths lie and where we can create clusters so that businesses, both large and small, can feed off one another.”
Referring to an EY study that showed local attitudes to net zero was a priority criteria for investors, she added: “That’s a really big message for us to take away in how we commit to net zero, and understanding whether we are really walking the talk, because this will help us get the inward and public sector investment for capital projects.”
In the Chamber’s blueprint for growing the regional and national economy, A Centre of Trading Excellence: A Business Manifesto for
Growth in the East Midlands and Beyond, it set out how the region has key assets in its industrial heritage, central location, the country’s largest pure freight airport – and leading-edge universities.
One of those is the University of Nottingham and its vice-chancellor Professor Shearer West CBE believes “universities have a
massive role to play in climate change”.
She highlighted a “strong plank of research programmes” dedicated to environmental sustainability, ranging from energyefficient buildings and smart grids to energy storage and advanced materials.
Professor Gavin Walker, director at the Sustainable Hydrogen Centre for Doctoral Training based at the University of Nottingham, said future energy research seeks to address three challenges –transportation and mobility, energy generation and management, and communities and the built environment.
“We’re looking at how we can get those innovations into the community by developing links with industry,” he added. “We will start off with on-campus demonstrators and then go into civic demonstrators.”
One demonstrator is the Trent Basin housing development in Nottingham. There are more than 70 homes equipped with solar panels that each transfer electricity to an energy centre, which determines where it is best used –whether it’s in residents’ meters to reduce utilities bills or to support the grid.
A joint venture between the university, developer Blueprint and community energy specialist SmartKlub have created Trent Basin Energy Services Company with a vision to create a new business model for community energy projects.
Gavin said collaboration was an important aspect of pushing forward innovation, adding: “If it’s going to be an economic reality, it has to make good business sense so it’s important to work with industry.
“Trent Basin is often taken as an exemplar to what can be done with community energy and what we need to do now is replicate it elsewhere at scale.”
Trent Basin is just one of many smart energy demonstrators that form part of the Energy Research Accelerator (ERA), a crossdisciplinary energy research hub that draws on the expertise of the Midlands Innovation group of universities – including Leicester, Loughborough and Nottingham –plus the British Geological Survey.
‘Trent Basin is often taken as an exemplar to what can be done with community energy’Nora Senior CBE The Chamber’s Chris Hobson addresses the summit Faye McAnulla
The ERA co-authored a report titled Smart Energy – An Energy System for the 21st Century, published in November, setting out a blueprint for turning the Midlands into a world leader in smart energy systems. It estimated the Midlands can benefit from savings of £68bn in energy costs by 2050 while slashing hundreds of thousands of tonnes of CO2 emissions, while it could add £1.5bn to the region’s economy and create 7,000 jobs per year.
ERA programme director Faye McAnulla: “The Midlands still has a lot of fossil fuel supply compared to other regions, with a lower proportion of renewables, so smart energy is really important to maximise what we get out of the renewable generation we have.”
The ERA, which advocates the establishment of a regional body for energy planning, is also conducting a review of nuclear activities and opportunities in the region. These are headlined by Rolls-Royce’s work in developing small modular reactors and the West Burton A power station being chosen as the location of a prototype nuclear fusion plant.
The Government has committed to decarbonising the power system by 2035 and has made progress, with a 68% reduction in emissions since
2010 – thanks largely to removing coal and installing 37 gigawatts (GW) of renewables in that period.
Dr William Knight, head of future electricity security strategy at the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, said there is an ambition to also move away from international commodity markets and become more selfsufficient to help with net zero targets and reducing fuel costs. A £400bn investment is required to reach the 2035 target.
The Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA) programme was published in September 2022 following a wide-ranging consultation on the most significant piece of electricity market reform in a decade.
Dr Knight admitted current market arrangements that have served the UK well until this point are not appropriate for a net zero system so a new energy market will have to be establish ed.
Priority areas of investment may include hydrogen, carbon capture and storage, and demand-side management technologies to assist with system flexibility.
He added: “We’re aware this is a massive change to the market structure and we’re signalling a lot of changes to get to 2035. There’s a lot of work to do and we’re acutely aware of the impact this has on industry, so we want to be clear about the direction of travel.”
‘Smart energy is really important to maximise what we get out of the renewable generation we have’
2022 was a difficult year economically, with a series of events negatively impacting activity and sentiment – some out of our control and others selfinflicted.
The State of the Economy Index – an “at a glance” picture showing direction of travel for the local economy – has trended downwards throughout the year. However, within that data lies a multitude of experiences, not all negative, and some signs for positivity as we enter 2023.
Domestic demand has softened slightly as the year has gone on, with international activity also softening but showing some small signs of recovery. From Q2 onwards, cashflow has deteriorated with investment intentions also softening slightly as the year has progressed.
Recruitment difficulties have been the perennial issue, with this final set of data suggesting a dropoff in businesses seeking to recruit.
So, given the negative data described, what exactly are the causes for optimism?
Firstly, despite a softening, activity has not fallen off a cliff. The Bank of
England forecasts a recession, but a shallow one as opposed to the sharp slowdown seen in 2008. Responses to our Quarterly Economic Survey back this up.
The gradual slowdown in demand has also created capacity within the economy – opening the pressure relief valve on prices that has been one of the drivers of inflationary pressure.
While we’re on inflation, and the policy response, this has been one of the biggest concerns across the past 12 months. However, there are signs to suggest the drivers of this inflation may not be persistent across the coming year.
In Q1, the biggest factor causing inflation was raw material costs –this has fallen now, with costs for a number of commodities returning towards pre-pandemic levels as supply chains and demand find a new level.
This has been replaced by rising people, utility and fuel costs, but there is hope the latter two – driven largely by the war in Ukraine – are now starting to reduce and that employment costs will follow suit as demand for staff slows.
These changes, evidenced by our
data, have all helped contribute to a fall over the year – albeit a gradual one – in the number of businesses telling us they are planning to put their prices up.
Finally, that elusive but principal issue of confidence. Our respondents’ confidence in future turnover and profit increases has dropped significantly from where it was at the start of the year.
The war in Ukraine, political instability and policy flip-flops have all had a massive impact on sentiment, and we know that sentiment impacts tangible decisions – evidenced by the dropoff in investment intentions.
However, as the year closes out, there appears to be some greater political stability and a more consistent approach to policy, both of which may be behind a small improvement in Q4 of those businesses expecting profitability to improve in 2023.
To turn these green shoots into real economic growth in 2023, it is essential that policymakers work with businesses to support them in their growth aspirations.
Our Business Manifesto for
Indicators; Net value Q3 2022; Net value Q4 2022; Net change over quarter (highlighted in green or red to indicate positive/negative direction of change)
UK sales 5% 5% = no change
UK orders 3% -6% -9%
Overseas sales -10% -5% 5%
Overseas orders 2% 0% -2%
Labour force (past three months) 13% 5% -8%
Labour force (next three months) 24% 16% -8%
Cashflow -14% -17% -3%
Future price rises 58% 57% 1%
Investment in machinery
1% -5% -6%
Investment in training
11% 3% -8%
Confidence in turnover 25% 24% -1%
Confidence in profitability -13% -3% 10%
*Net value = increase/decrease
Growth, launched at Westminster in November, provides a blueprint for this.
While there is no one silver bullet, an immediate action Government could take is to better incentivise business investment in equipment and training, reducing inflationary pressures by both creating further capacity and softening the impact of high staff costs.
Policy and geopolitical events aside, the biggest thing businesses will be hoping for in 2023 is a bit of calmness and consistency from those taking decisions on the direction of the UK economy –along with meaningful engagement with those businesses that will ultimately deliver the growth to ensure any recession is not just shallow, but short.
Stuart Dawkins (pictured), a former communications director for a FTSE 100 bank who has sat on numerous strategic boards across the region, is the new Chamber president.
He brings wide-ranging business experience, having spent 18 years at Alliance & Leicester, including seven years heading up corporate communications.
Stuart departed following its acquisition by Santander in December 2008 and has since undertaken nonexecutive director roles for organisations including the Chamber, EMB Group, Leicestershire & Rutland Community Foundation, East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust, De Montfort University, and Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I Sixth Form College in Leicester.
He was inducted into the honorary role at the Chamber’s annual general meeting, which was held at the Museum of Making, in Derby, on 13 December, taking over from Futures Housing Group chief executive Lindsey Williams.
In his first speech as president, Stuart – who is also secretary of Welland Valley Cycling Club and on the board of Leicester City’s supporters’ group Foxes Trust –set out two priorities for the coming year.
These are to build on the Chamber’s stated mission “to enhance East Midlands businesses and communities” by encouraging firms to further engage with and support their communities, as well as have a real impact on the prospects of future generations within the region.
He said: “If there is one thing the past two or three years have shown us all – as individuals and as businesses – it is how connected we all are: connected through our supply chains, connected to the services that support the places we live in, to the places our families live in.
“Business is a fundamental and vital part of our society. It is the engine of wealth. But, at heart, we all live in places; and our customers live in places; and our staff live in places; and our loved ones live in places. And those places form communities.”
Stuart urged businesses with employees aged under 35 to engage with the Chamber’s Generation Next network for young professionals and business leaders, which has grown to more than 320 members since launching in 2020.
‘Business
He added: “This priority also means a focus on, for want of a better phrase, ‘Generation Next-but-one’. On the young people whose education and life achievements can be helped by more and better access to business.. The disconnect between business, education and young people is often talked about. It is not solved easily, but it is something we can and should all aspire to improve.”
In her outgoing speech, Lindsey Williams – who continues to sit on the Chamber’s board of directors –reflected on key successes for the Chamber throughout her year as president. These included placing thousands of young people into jobs via the Kickstart Scheme, launching a Business Manifesto for Growth in Westminster and being named the UK Chamber of the Year by the British Chambers of Commerce.
She presented her three nominated charities – Focus, Treetops Hospice and Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust –with cheques for their equal share of the £15,000 raised throughout 2022, a record total for the Chamber.
SMT College Group principal and CEO Dawn Whitemore was elected as the new vice-president and Daniel Nikolla was installed as Generation Next chair.
The Chamber’s Business of the Year winners for Derbyshire (Katapult), Leicestershire (Scope Construction) and Nottinghamshire (Copley Scientific) gave speeches and there were presentations to Copley Scientific and John A Stephens for 50 years in membership.
The Chamber’s chief executive Scott Knowles gave a presentation about the Chamber’s activities over the past year and an overview of its financial position.
Stuart Dawkins has nominated three community foundations for the Chamber’s charitable fund in 2023.
Foundation Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Rutland Community Foundation, and Nottinghamshire Community Foundation will benefit from fundraising activities throughout the year.
Community foundations run affordable grant-giving funds for families, individuals, companies and the public sector, as well as revitalising dormant trusts. They give those grants to local charitable groups that help to keep communities thriving. With the support of individuals, companies and others, community foundations reach people who need their help, giving millions of pounds in clearly-defined support. This mitigates some of the harshest effects of the cost-of-living crisis and improves the quality of life for all who live, work and do business in the East Midlands.
For more information, visit foundationderbyshire.org, www.nottscf.org.uk and www.llrcommunityfoundation. org.uk
is a fundamental and vital part of our society’
Almost £3m of funding has been pumped into East Midlands businesses by a project spearheaded by the Chamber.
The East Midlands Accelerator project, part-funded by the Government through the UK Community Renewal Fund (UKCRF), awarded 391 grants with a combined value of £2.89m.
It has also supported 2,153 businesses across a wide range of support, from assisting decarbonisation plans to employing people, between November 2021 and December 2022.
Other project achievements included:
• 148 unemployed people supported in finding work and training
• 423 new jobs created
• 521 jobs safeguarded
• 98 new businesses created
• 5,351 business support interactions delivered
• 415 specialist consultancy projects brokered
• 179 businesses adopting new products
• 231 decarbonisation plans created.
The project – which received £5.27m funding from the Government via UKCRF – was delivered in the Derbyshire Dales and High Peak, Bassetlaw, Mansfield, Newark, Nottingham city and Leicester city local authority areas. It was led by the Chamber in partnership with Marketing Peak District & Derbyshire, University of
Derby, University of Leicester, De Montfort University, B-Global, NBV Enterprise Solutions Ltd, and the Food & Drink Forum.
It offered funding, training and advice to help businesses grow, create and safeguard jobs, recover from the pandemic, and adopt new products, technologies and sustainable practices.
Chamber deputy chief executive Diane Beresford said: “Matching businesses with the support they need, when they need it and how they need it – through the region’s most comprehensive business ecosystem yet – is surely the most important legacy of this project.
“East Midlands Accelerator serves as the perfect springboard for the new UK Shared Prosperity Fund, and for growth in our region.”
Owner Geoff Smith had the idea of a new commercial venture to sit alongside his existing fishery business – a state-of-the-art smokery to tap into growing consumer interest in food provenance and in the consumption of “top” rather than “bottom” feeders.
Funding has helped Geoff to invest in the equipment needed for his new processing area. Additionally, the Food & Drink Forum offered specialist business and technical advice on new product development, labelling and decarbonisation.
Geoff said he has been able to fast track his food manufacture plans, adding: “In turn, this generates investment for the long-term future of the reservoir as a visitor destination, securing the valuable role it plays in the lives of so many local people.”
This manufacturer of bath bombs, bath salts and soap bars grew out of an original idea of sisters Tequila Buchanan and Sarah Stark to create a pain relief balm to help treat their mother’s sciatica.
Funding has improved the business’s manufacturing processes, and peer support via the Chamber’s new East Midlands Manufacturing Network means valuable mentoring is always at hand from some of the region’s leading industry experts.
Tequila said: “Our business is already showing huge potential for growth, with interest from as far afield Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. With the unfailing support of the Chamber and its industry experts and partners, we are in our best as a position to scale up.”
This Parisian-inspired boutique in Leicester’s historic Stoneygate district offers a selection of artisan patisserie and macarons. From humble beginnings in a home kitchen, husband-and-wife team Naeem and Nailah Mohamed now have three stores nationwide and have been on BBC2 show Nadiya’s Everyday Baking
A grant has financed a much-anticipated upgrade to the kitchen, including a new freezer and cold room, as well as heavy equipment, giving the business capacity to serve more customers and conduct more R&D into an ever-growing range of cakes and pastries.
Naeem said the support “has had an immediate impact on futureproofing our business at a time when costs are only increasing”.
A full gallery of supported businesses is showcased on the Chamber’s website at www.emc-dnl.co.uk/about-us/our-successstories
Delegates from the Chamber travelled to the capital to receive the UK Chamber of the Year award.
Chief executive Scott Knowles and director of resources Lucy Robinson were joined by thenpresident Lindsey Williams and chair of the board Ian Morgan OBE in a trip to the London Stock Exchange on 1 December.
They were given a tour of the trading floor and presented with the award by the British Chambers of Commerce, which named the Chamber as the winner in its Chamber Business Awards, sponsored by Quest, in October.
Speaking at the Chamber’s Christmas lunch event, Lindsey said: “The judges said we spread a good geographical balance between members in Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire. They said our Chamber’s strength is in our diversity and sustainability, which are really important to our region.
“We pave the way for other Chambers and they follow us, which I think is down to the fantastic team we have, our strong financial performance and, in the words of the judges, an exciting investment strategy.”
Seven projects across the three counties were successful in their bids for the second round of the Levelling Up Fund.
About £130m of the £2.1bn fund was awarded to local authorities in Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire. These were:
•Ashfield District Council: £3.1m towards a new Science Discovery Centre and Planetarium in Suttonin-Ashfield (pictured above)
•Bassetlaw District Council: £18m to transform Worksop town centre, including a new leisure facility and towpath link along Chesterfield canal
•Broxtowe Borough Council: £16.5m to make town centre improvements in Kimberley and a cycle path network
•Derby City Council: £20m towards a new Learning Theatre at the former Assembly Rooms (pictured below)
•Derbyshire Dales District Council: £13.3m for the Ashbourne Reborn town centre regeneration scheme
•Mansfield District Council: £20m to transform former Beales department store into office space and civic hub
•Rutland County Council (including Melton Borough Council): £23m for a rural place innovation scheme including a new outdoor food market and event space in Melton Mowbray.
The Chamber often features in local and regional media reports when commenting on key issues affecting East Midlands businesses and communities. Business Network rounds up key soundbites from chief executive Scott Knowles (pictured), over the past month.
Responding to Prime Minister
Rishi Sunak’s speech outlining his priorities for 2023
“Businesses will be heartened that innovation will be a central plank of his economic growth plan –particularly in the East Midlands, the birthplace of transformative innovations such as the world’s first factory, DNA fingerprinting and traffic lights.
“We have the expertise here but to develop the products and services of tomorrow, our businesses need more support from Government. This should begin with a new R&D tax credits system that broadens the definition of what qualifies as research and development, as well as enhancing innovation funding aimed at subsidising firms’ access to universities such as via knowledge transfer partnerships.
“If the Prime Minister really wants to make the British economy ‘the most innovative in the world’, he should begin by looking at our region – and back the East Midlands to back the UK.”
Commenting on the Government’s new Energy Bills Discount Scheme
“Businesses have been desperately seeking some certainty ahead of the new financial year, so the Government’s announcement of a two-year provides some clarity about the road ahead.
“Scaling back the support towards energy costs will be a blow for many firms, however, as the cost-of-doing-business crisis that has thwarted them over the past year has been driven predominantly by escalating energy prices that remain at sky-high levels.
“While it was anticipated that support would decrease, this will nevertheless squeeze many companies that are already fighting cost pressures from across the board and ultimately affect their ability to invest.”
Reflecting on the latest ONS labour market statistics, showing the East Midlands unemployment rate increased
from 3.3% to 3.4% in the three months to November 2022
“After an upwards trajectory in the level of unemployment since the summer – although against a context of still being at historically low levels at 2.4% – it is reassuring to see this curve begin to flatten in recent months.
“However, our own research suggests unemployment levels may not remain so low in the future. Our final Quarterly Economic Survey of the year found there was an 8% decline from quarter to quarter in the proportion of East Midlands businesses that added to their workforce in the previous three months, while there was a similar drop-off in recruitment prospects over the coming three months.”
The new chair of the Chamber’s board of directors believes East Midlands businesses will demonstrate their resilience despite 2023 set up to be a challenging year.
Kevin Harris, Leicester office managing partner at audit, tax and consulting services firm RSM UK, took over from Ian Morgan OBE as chair on 1 February.
He said: “Without doubt, this is going to be one of the most challenging years for East Midlands businesses. Many would be forgiven for being battle-weary as the costof-living crisis, and the impact of the pandemic and Ukraine war, are leaving deep imprints on the ability of local companies to survive and thrive.
“But I have a huge amount of optimism in our business community. Despite the difficulties,
they are showing their mettle and resilience in the face of adversity and getting on with what they do best, which is running their businesses in local, national and international markets.
“However, they can’t do that in isolation, which is why taking up the mantle of chair for the Chamber in 2023 is a privilege with purpose.
“Our region’s businesses need an environment in which to flourish, to invest in skills and capital, and boost productivity.
“They are a vital part of the UK’s GDP and important for job and wealth creation. The levelling up and devolution agenda locally needs to remain high on the UK’s agenda, and my role will be to champion this and many other issues our local businesses need to succeed.”
The best of young business talent across the East Midlands will once again be celebrated at the Generation Next Awards – as a refreshed look is revealed for 2023.
Launched at an event held at Derby Quad on 11 January, the awards are the showpiece programme of the Generation Next network for young professionals and entrepreneurs aged between 18 and 35, which is run by the Chamber in conjunction with headline partner the University of Derby.
It features 11 categories, ranging from a Start-up Award and Customer Service Award through to Innovation and Technology Award and the Generation Next Future Leader.
The programme includes a new addition that recognises a “rising star” who shows ongoing growth and development, as well as refreshed guidelines for prizes recognising outstanding contributions in diversity and inclusion, creativity, corporate social responsibility and sustainability.
The application process has been streamlined for a “one form fits all”
method involving a reduced number of questions.
•Generation Next Future Leader Award (sponsored by University of Derby)
•Apprentice of the Year Award (sponsored by Loughborough College)
•Start-up Award (sponsored by Nottingham University Business School)
•Entrepreneur of the Year Award (sponsored by Fraser Stretton Property Group)
•Innovation and Technology Award (sponsored by Hardy Signs)
•Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity Award (sponsored by RSM UK)
•Creators and Makers Award (sponsored by PPL PRS)
•Volunteering and Charitable Impact Award
•Environmental Warrior Award
•Customer Service Award
•Rising Star Award (new for 2023)
Lucy Robinson, the Chamber’s director of resources and Generation Next lead, said: “The Generation Next Awards are a celebration of the amazing young talent within the East Midlands, and our diverse programme recognises the next generation of business who make outstanding contributions to their communities.
“We want to encourage young professionals from across the region to tell their story and celebrate their successes. There is
an award to suit everyone at each stage of their career.”
Last July, Generation Next held its first in-person awards celebration at Bustler Market in Derby. It was an awards ceremony with a twist, featuring street food, a live DJ and arcade games. More than 220 people attended, marking it as a new milestone in the Chamber’s events calendar.
This year’s ceremony will be held on 13 July, with the venue to be
confirmed in the coming months.
Entries are open for the 2023 awards until Monday 6 March. They can be submitted either by individuals within the 18 to 35 age bracket or on their behalf by a colleague or line manager.
Applications can be downloaded at generationnextemc.co.uk/ awards and should be emailed to the Generation Next team at gennext@emc-dnl.co.uk
The Chamber’s Generation Next lead Lucy Robinson (pictured) reflects on the network’s development in 2022 and looks ahead to 2023.
We kicked off 2022 by launching our mentoring scheme, which connects members with business leaders from across the region.
Our mentors have a range of expertise, including communications, leadership, people and manufacturing. They dedicate their time to support a mentee with industry-specific knowledge, or soft-skill development.
We ran our first full year of face-to-face events to complement our learning and development webinars, and it has been great seeing our delegates interact with people they wouldn’t usually meet on a daily basis.
With 556 delegates attending our
programme of events across this year, we’re hoping this is only the start of creating fruitful connections for our members.
It wouldn’t be Generation Next if we organised a typical business awards-style event.
On 14 July last year, more than 220 delegates joined us at Bustler Market in Derby for a festival-style celebration, featuring street food vans, feel-good anthems and a shorter awards programme so people could get back to the party.
It was amazing to hear success stories from the winners – it hammered home just how impressive the young talent is within the East Midlands – and we are looking forward to reading the applications in this year’s awards.
This year, we’ve welcomed new members to our board, including Rikan Patel and Karishma Karia, and appointed vice-chair Daniel Nikolla,
Our 2023 events programme is structured by key topics to help build our members’ transferable skills to the benefit of their career development.
We framed our themes based on a membership feedback survey to ensure we are hitting the most beneficial topics for young professionals. Our monthly networking events will continue, and we’ll be back with another awards celebration in the summer.
We’re also working hard to add new advice documents complementing these themes to the members-only portal on our website, giving members a holistic support package to work through during the coming year.
Get in touch with the Generation Next team at gennext@emc-dnl.co.uk to discuss membership packages. Employers can find out how Generation Next can benefit their young employees by visiting www.generationnextemc.co.uk/employerguide.
‘A celebration of the amazing young talent within the East Midlands’
Last year, the Chamber’s Enterprising Women network celebrated its 25th anniversary. Its co-chairs Jean Mountain and Eileen Perry MBE DL reflect on the network’s activity in 2022 and what’s to come in the year ahead.
Over the past year, our events programme has ranged from business lunches with inspirational speakers and panel discussions to wreath-making and awards celebrations.
It was also the first time we’ve ran a Level 7 women in leadership course, which members of our network could attend for free.
Our gala dinner last September marked the progress and achievements of the Enterprising Women network over its 25-year history.
We welcomed more than 350 delegates to Leicester Tigers’ Mattioli Woods Welford Road Stadium, where we celebrated the finalists and winners of our 2022 awards programme – with new additions including Lifetime Achievement, Diversity Champion and Rising Star to mark the special occasion.
WE KICKED OFF 2023 by welcoming charities from across the East Midlands at our January event, held at the Priest House Hotel in Castle Donington, to help delegates discover new CSR opportunities in the year ahead.
For our next event on 16 February, we will meet at the Chamber’s Chesterfield office for a gin-tasting social delivered by the Dog and Spoon Distillery.
We will host an International Women's Day Conference on 9 March, where we will welcome leading businesswomen to give inspirational and informative presentations. The event will also mark another launch of the 2023 Enterprising Women Awards.
It’s going to be another full-on year for Enterprising Women, and we can’t wait for what’s in store.
For more information on Enterprising Women and to book tickets for the events, visit www.emc-dnl.co.uk/ enterprising-women
Executive and business support professionals are being encouraged to celebrate their achievements by entering the inaugural East Midlands PA Awards.
It is the first major event since the PA Forum, which previously covered only the West Midlands, became a Midlands-wide network following its merger with the East Midlands Personal Assistant Network (EMPAN) last summer.
The East Midlands PA Awards build on the success of the West Midlands PA Awards over the past six years, and features seven categories that are inclusive of all experience levels across all sectors.
These are:
•Team of the Year Award
•Newcomer of the Year Award
•Outstanding Achievement Award
•Lifetime Achievement Award
•Independent Virtual Assistant of the Year Award
•Administrative Professional of the Year Award
•PA of the Year Award
The awards recognise individuals and companies based in Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire.
Entrants don’t have to be a
member of the PA Forum, with nominations open to anyone working in a range of roles, including personal assistant, executive assistant, virtual assistant, office manager, office junior, administrative assistant, business support manager and secretary.
PA Forum founder Daniel Skermer said: “The PA Forum is proud to have enjoyed six years of celebrations in the West Midlands, and we are extremely excited and delighted to be able to deliver the same now in the East Midlands.”
It is free to nominate and people can make entries across as many categories as they like.
The awards launched on 9 January and entrants are advised to make their submissions by mid-
February. Planned dates include a nominee celebration event on 31 March, a finalists announcement via email and social media on the week commencing 17 April, a judging day on 19 May and the East Midlands PA Awards 2023 at Radisson Blu Hotel East Midlands Airport on 8 September.
For more information about entering the awards or to find out about sponsorship and partnership packages, contact Daniel on Daniel@pa-forum.co.uk or the Chamber’s executive support manager Lesley Young on Lesley.Young@emc-dnl.co.uk
To make a nomination, visit paforum.co.uk/pa-awards-eastmidlands
Businesses that use high amounts of energy are being sought to partner on a green energy project in Swadlincote.
R&P Clean Power, a developer of low-carbon baseload power generation capacity, is creating an energy-from-waste power plant.
Swadlincote Resource Recovery Park is planned as a hub for post-recycled waste recovery, recycling, reuse and green energy.
It will have capacity to process up to 230,000 tonnes of waste each year and produce 20 megawatts-electrical (MWe) of power.
The company is looking to partner with intensive energy users that would benefit from a private wire source of baseload electricity supply or direct supply of heat from the plant.
It would like to set up an introductory discussion to explain more about the project, understand a company’s energy needs and explore the possibility of a collaboration.
Contact director Adam Hinds on adam@rpcleanpower.com and for more information about the project, visit energisingswadlincote.com
You will notice a new, simple wordmark has replaced the logo that has represented us ever since Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce merged with their Leicestershire counterpart in 2013 to form today’s organisation – the UK Chamber of the Year, no less.
A subtle change within this new logo, which uses lower-case lettering for a modern appearance, is we have reordered the counties alphabetically. The merger is just a milestone in our long history and it’s important to reflect the even split in how we represent each of Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire in everything we do.
Our core purple colour is formed from the three county colours of
the original logo and we have retained those colours – red, green and blue – in our seconda ry palette.
Look closely and you will notice the leaf of the British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) brand identity, which represents the concept of growth that is fundamental to businesses.
It’s important at this stage to explain how we arrived here.
Throughout 2022, we held six virtual focus groups comprising more than 50 members across the three counties to determine where our priorities should lie. Six other member organisations – Six
Degrees,
Bright Owl, Ashton Court and Matthew Jones
Photography – have supported the project delivery and we also engaged members of the Chamber’s 150-strong team to influence direction.
What we learned was that heritage is important to the Chamber but it was also vital to modernise our brand to keep up with changing business needs.
Focus groups also identified three core reasons for why our stakeholders interact with us – for themselves, their business and their local area – as well as how they use and navigate our services.
This also helped us with designing our new-look website, which aims to showcase what we do more clearly. The website is more userfriendly across multiple devices, and pages are streamlined to include all the necessary information in one place. Further enhancements will be rolled out throughout 2023.
We believe this new-look Chamber identity positions us well for a modern, digital world in which the way business support is delivered will continue to evolve.
Explore the new-look Chamber website at www.emc-dnl.co.uk
A new year marked a new-look brand and website for the Chamber. Head of marketing Zoe Waistell (pictured), explains what’s new and how members have supported.
www.emc-dnl.co.uk/sustainability
The effectiveness of a new low-carbon iron-making process has been proven after tests undertaken by global teams of experts – including at the University of Nottingham.
Over the past 18 months, the university’s research group has worked with global mining group Rio Tinto to advance an innovative new technology to deliver lowcarbon steel.
The process, called Biolron, uses sustainable biomass in place of cooking coal as a reductant and microwave energy to convert Pilbara iron ore to metallic iron in the steelmaking process, providing a potentially cost-effective option to cut industry carbon emissions.
By Professor Christopher Sansom
It already seems a long time since the Government published its Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution.
Yet it was only in November 2020 when thenPrime Minister Boris Johnson set out the UK’s approach to build back better, support green jobs and accelerate our path to net zero.
Decarbonising heating (and cooling, which is often forgotten about) is one of the most problematic.
The process has been tested extensively in Germany by a project team from Rio Tinto, the University of Nottingham’s Microwave Process Engineering Research Group, and Metso Outotec.
The Microwave Process Engineering Research Group is a multi-disciplinary research area that focuses on the development and commercialisation of electromagnetic technologies for materialprocessing applications in industries such as mining, energy, food and much more.
Chris Dodds, head of the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering at the University of Nottingham, said: “It has been incredibly exciting to have the opportunity to take part in this research that, if developed to a commercial scale, has the potential to have an immense impact on decarbonisation within the steel production process.”
The Biolron process will now be tested on a larger scale and, if these are successful, there is the potential over time for the technology to be scaled commercially to process Rio Tinto’s iron ore fines.
This was at the height of a pandemic that has had a huge impact on our lives and businesses –coming two weeks after the beginning of a second national lockdown – and when you add the war in Ukraine and the energy crisis, it is not surprising the plans for a low-carbon future have failed to make the front pages on many occasions since then.
Reminders have come at regular intervals along the way, including COP26 and COP27, and the extreme UK summer temperature events of 2021 and 2022, but these were isolated headlines.
For SMEs then, what priority should we give to decarbonising our businesses?
Grid carbonisation would seem to be happening in parallel with our day-to-day business operations, with large offshore wind and solar PV farms leading the way. If this is someone’s else problem, all well and good.
Electric cars and larger vehicles running on hydrogen or biofuels are closer to commercial realisation than two years ago. Unless you are a company in that field, or in its supply chain, perhaps that’s not going to perturb your “business-as-usual” either.
So, what role should the small and medium business owner play in the UK’s quest to reach net zero by 2050?
Unfortunately, not all the routes to net zero are quite so straightforward, and not so far removed from your decision-making processes.
Whether you require heat as part of your processes, or whether you are simply providing a comfortable working environment for your staff, this is one decarbonisation area that requires thinking about today and action soon after.
Heat can be provided in a number of ways, and it is worth taking the time to find out more about the options.
Electrical heating is the simplest, but not necessarily the cheapest or most efficient. For hot water, don’t rule out solar thermal panels –for some reason, the forgotten solar technology.
Heat pumps are a good means of space heating, and can provide cooling during extreme summer temperatures.
Despite my earlier comments about electricity grid decarbonisation, you might want to consider the energy security, lower cost and revenue opportunities offered by installing solar PV.
Even onshore wind is back on the agenda since the Government relaxed the planning regulations again last month. A small vertical-axis wind turbine (VAWT) would be relatively unobtrusive.
Finally, if you invest in low-carbon renewable power or heat generation, do remember that much of it is intermittent.
For “dispatchable” energy, you should consider energy storage. Storing electrical energy is expensive, despite the developments in battery technology.
Storing energy as heat is cheaper and easier, at least as far as the small scale is concerned. Academics are busy working on seasonal heat storage, storing summer heat to use in the winter.
But you’ve probably got enough to worry about for now! I’ll save that for another day.
‘It has been incredibly exciting to have the opportunity to take part in this research’, professor of concentrating solar panel and zero carbon theme lead at the University of Derby.
Nottingham Venues, the brand behind meetings, events, hotel stays and a collection of venues across the University of Nottingham’s campuses, has been awarded the ECOsmart Silver accreditation.
The accreditation by environmental sustainability specialist Greengage Solutions is awarded to hotels and meeting venues demonstrating an eco-friendly approach.
Nottingham Venues comprises the Orchard Hotel and Restaurant, The Jubilee Hotel and Conferences, Hugh Stewart Manor House, East Midlands Conference Centre and the university’s three campuses.
General manager Tom Waldron-Lynch said: “Sustainability is an increasingly critical issue with green credentials as a supplier taken into account in many decisions, be it for meetings and major conferences or overnight and shortterm accommodation in terms of the commercial market.
“Becoming ECOsmart certified venues provides our delegates and guests with industryrecognised reassurance of knowing we have been
comprehensively and independently assessed, and that we operate in a sustainable way.
“It is a fantastic achievement considering we have only been operating under our new brand and structure since the summer, and is testimony to the hard work of the team in fulfilling our vision of a more sustainable future for hospitality.”
The ECOsmart accreditation includes a sustainability audit across five areas – food and beverage, energy and water conservation, waste management and recycling, corporate social responsibility, and facilities.
It works within the framework of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, Global Sustainable Tourism Council and ISO 14001, with accreditation awarded from bronze to platinum status.
Andrew Perolls, CEO of Greengage Solutions, said: “Nottingham Venues is a great example of embracing environmental and social sustainability at an advanced level.
“An eco-approach is comprehensively embedded in the operations and fabric of the buildings with features as diverse as LED lighting, elimination of palm oil, use of recycled
ocean plastic in promotional items, using green spaces to encourage biodiversity, and paying particular attention to looking after the wellbeing of staff.”
The recognition for Nottingham Venues follows confirmation it has now returned to prepandemic levels of business a year on from reopening fully.
It also comes amid a major recruitment drive with 10 vacancies at the end of last year.
Tom added: “Business bookings are especially rising, as many organisations return with renewed vigour and confidence to the exhibitions and conference schedules that have been mothballed for so long.
“Of course, recruiting and retaining team members to help us to deliver these experiences can be another challenge. We hope that by going the extra mile for our people and our planet, we can be an employer of choice for the industry locally, and a partner of choice for guests and delegates globally.”
The Chamber has called on Government to help firms trade more freely with overseas markets after research highlighted the Brexit trade deal is not delivering for them.
A study by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) found more than threequarters (77%) of UK firms affected by the Trade and Co-operation Agreement (TCA) signed in December 2020 say it is not helping them to increase sales or grow their business.
More than half (56%) of the 1,168 business leaders surveyed said they have faced difficulties adapting to the new rules for trading goods, while four in five (80%) had reported increased costs of importing since January 2022.
The Chamber’s chief executive Scott Knowles said: “As a region of manufacturers, the East Midlands produces goods that are distributed around the world in industries ranging from automotive and aerospace to food and medical.
“As we have stated in our Business Manifesto for Growth, there is a big opportunity to back us further as a Centre of Trading Excellence to grow both the local and national economy. But the gridlock many firms have experienced at borders is having a significantly detrimental impact on trading relationships in Europe.
“We need to cut red tape and reduce barriers to trade without neighbouring markets, but also make it easier to export to non-EU countries.”
The BCC has published the TCA Two Years On report, which sets out 24 recommendations to increase UK-EU trade. Its top five proposals for quick action are:
1. Create a supplementary deal with the EU that either eliminates or reduces the complexity of exporting food for SMEs
2. Establish a supplementary deal, like Norway’s, that exempts smaller firms from the requirement to have a fiscal representative for VAT in the EU
3. Allow CE-marked goods and components to continue to be used in Great Britain after 2024
4. Make side deals with the EU and member states to allow UK firms to travel for longer and work in Europe
5. Reach an agreement on the future of the protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland with the European Commission in the early months of 2023, to stabilise our trading relationship.
The Chamber supports exporters and importers via services including ChamberCustoms and Your Export Office, as well as international trade training courses. Find out more at www.emcdnl.co.uk/services/international
Creative business Katapult was one of the big winners at the Chamber’s Derbyshire Business Awards last year, winning the Excellence in International Trade and Business of the Year. Co-founder and CEO Dawn Foote (pictured), speaks to Business Network about the Derby-based company’s work across the globe and how it is supported by the Chamber.
What does your company do?
Katapult designs themed attractions and experiences that amaze and engage visitors globally. Our work is enjoyed by 50 million visitors, at 81 attractions, in 18 different countries, every year. As well as enhancing guest experience, we thrive on helping visitor attractions generate more income, more fans and bring the vision for their attraction to life. We are fortunate to work with some of the world's leading brands such a Lego, Ferrari and Warner Bros Discovery.
What does your international trade operation involve?
A great example of the work we do, which resulted in us winning the Excellence in International Trade Award, can be described by our ongoing relationship with The Lego Group. A recent project, called Rebuild the World, saw us
work with eight of the Legoland Parks worldwide to introduce a new experience for guests.
The idea for the experience was initially developed between ourselves and the central team at The Lego Group based in Denmark, before our team set to work on designing what the space would look like and what guests would do.
We then worked with individual teams at its parks in the UK, Germany, Malaysia, Japan and three in the United States – including its newest park in New York. We helped to roll out the new experience while working with local in-market suppliers to ensure consistency and quality. All experiences were opened to the public in 2021.
Which are your biggest markets and how would you compare your relationships between each of these?
The leisure and attractions industry we operate in is a tight-knit community, despite our geographical distance apart. Regular international events and expos mean we have been able to foster great relationships with clients, suppliers and industry peers no matter which country they reside in.
We have, however, seen significant interest in our expertise from Europe, Middle East and the Americas –with various countries and companies seeking to boost their local tourism and visitor attraction market.
How have the events of the past couple of years affected your importing and exporting activity?
Clearly at the start of the pandemic, everything from theme parks to museums were closed. Therefore, there was very little work within our industry. But as consumer demand for out-of-home entertainment reemerged, so did our pipeline of
This year, HMRC will implement the export stage of the UK’s new single customs platform. With the deadline for transition just extended from March 2023 to 30 November, the Customs Declaration Service (CDS) is a digitised world-leading system that forms part of the Government’s mission to create a fully digitised UK border by 2025.
The changes mean businesses will no longer be able to use the current Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) and National Exports System (NES), facing heavy delays for exports if they aren’t up to speed.
work. The mainstream use of virtual meetings and video conferencing as a by-product of the pandemic has made our efforts easier to seek more international trade. Our expertise in creating or enhancing an amazing themed visitor attraction is universally required, therefore demand for our services has naturally increased.
We faced challenges when importing and exporting build and fabrication items for experiences, some of which was down to the UK being classed as “rest of world” across Europe.
To help with this, we got the entire producer team trained via the Chamber’s international trade team in understanding what these changes meant so we were prepared. We also experienced delays in anything that was shipped due to congestion at ports and routes, leading us to shift to air freight, which was more stable.
What made you turn to the Chamber for support and how has this helped?
Firstly, the badge of being part of a Chamber of Commerce makes a huge difference to some international clients we work with. It gives us legitimacy to new people we talk to within our industry and is required for some international procurement checks.
Secondly, the East Midlands is renowned for its international trade expertise, albeit in the high-tech industrial sectors. Knowing that we have the safety blanket of the Chamber’s support and city’s heritage of global go-getters provides us with huge psychological confidence that pushes us deeper into existing markets, or venturing into the new.
For imports, the CDS has been operational since 1 October last year so many businesses will be aware of the system already and should be registered ready for the changes coming into force. However, from the end of March, the old systems will now cease operating, meaning anyone currently still using the old methods will be unable to make export declarations for goods they send out of the UK.If this is coming as new news to you, the first thing to do if you aren’t registered is to get yourself set up straight away. It takes time to complete all the details so make sure you act immediately. There is plenty of information out there so talk to export experts or follow the guidelines on the Government website.
For those already registered, don’t forget to take advantage of the Government’s Trader Dress Rehearsal Service, which allows you to prepare for making declarations by submitting different declaration scenarios in a simulated CDS. It gives you the chance to trial the system, see how it works and make sure everything is working correctly before you go live without your licences and quotas being affected.
So, what do you need to know? There are several changes to be aware of which are all designed to simplify the process and provide more efficiencies within the system. Highlights include:
• Declarations will no longer be accepted in paper form as data is exchanged digitally
• Error codes have been cut to drive efficiencies with only 200 available on CDS compared to 4,000 on CHIEF
• Financial information will be available in a single financial account with new payment options available, including a new cash account.
The Chamber reflected on 12 months of stormy waters for businesses at its inaugural Annual State of the Economy Review, held in partnership with emh group, Geldards and the University of Leicester in December at emh’s headquarters in Coalville. Dan Robinson summarises a wide-ranging discussion that looked ahead to 2023 and beyond – with the devolution agenda dominant.
Data from the Chamber’s Quarterly Economic Survey (QES) throughout 2022 signalled an economy that has slowed from the first to final quarters. The major shocks of the war in Ukraine and related energy price crisis instigated a sharp downward trend by hampering business activity, with cashflow and sales down as capacity was constrained.
The proportion of firms at full capacity dropped from 39% in Q3 to 34% in Q4, as those attempting to recruit dropped from 66% to 55%.
Chris Hobson (pictured), director of policy and external affairs at the Chamber, argued these trends weren’t necessarily bad news, as full capacity means shortages in headroom.
“One of the big stories for businesses in 2022 has been the price pressures and knock-on impact for activity and inflation,” he said.
“It’s been getting better as the year has progressed, with the proportion of businesses saying they will increase prices dropping from 67% to 58% between Q1 and Q4, but that’s a historically high number still.”
Concerns linger about inflation, interest rates and access to labour, but a slight uptick in
business confidence at long last suggests the “mood music seems to be shifting”.
Spiralling inflation has forced central banks to embark on a policy of raising interest rates to bring it under control, and Barclays estimates the Bank of England base rate will peak between 3% and 5% by the end of the year.
Callum Woodall (pictured),vice-president for FX sales at Barclays, said there were still plenty of uncertainties ahead that would impact how this unfolds, including industrial strike action, the impact of a cold winter on energy security, China’s weak growth and the UK’s relationship with the EU.
A recession is widely forecast and expected to be confirmed by the first quarter of 2023, but it isn’t expected to be as deep or long as back in 2008/09.
“We’re not in a credit crunch,” said Callum. “People can access finance but it might just be a bit more expensive – whereas in 2008 they couldn’t get the credit, which created all kinds of issues.”
Business leaders discussed how the East Midlands should showcase itself to the wider world by agreeing on a USP.
As the devolution agenda presents an opportunity for the region to create a unified voice beyond its borders, some ideas on the key messages this should include were brought forward at the Annual State of the Economy Review.
Chan Kataria OBE, chief executive of emh group, highlighted the region’s ethnic diversity, with Leicester among Europe’s first major cities to have no ethnic group majority. He said: “We have the most diverse set of communities in Britain and a high level of entrepreneurship. This can help with exporting to other parts of the world and it’s not something we talk about enough.”
Professor Mohamed Shaban, of the University of Leicester’s School of Business, said the region was best known for its industrial heritage in sectors such as aerospace, automotive and textiles.
“We can sell ourselves as sustainable manufacturers by showcasing the environmentally-friendly production and technological advancements that are now becoming evident,” he added.
Meanwhile, Challenge Consulting managing director Dawn Edwards said: “We have the largest pure freight airport and road connections to the rest of the country. There’s some brilliant industrial hubs here too – biosciences in Nottingham, space innovation in Leicester and advanced manufacturing in Derby – so as a region, we could be self-sustainable. When you look at all those elements, our infrastructure needs to be able to cope with all the opportunities that could be presented to us.”
Demand from both domestic and international markets for products and services fell in the latter half of 2022, according to the QES, an experience shared by Peak Translations.
Managing director Helen Provart said: “The final two quarters were the most challenging for getting work through the door. We support exporters and they are struggling to trade. But when one sector goes down, another comes up – medical was quite buoyant, for example.”
While the war in Ukraine has been a significant hurdle for businesses, Bolsover-based lubricant manufacturer Aztec Oils’ international trade issues are longer in the tooth.
Managing director Mark Lord said: “Our problems go back more than three years to Brexit and Covid is still having an impact on supply chains too.
“The war in Ukraine has undoubtedly been the biggest issue over the past year as oil is a huge tradeable commodity and inflation has been massive in our industry – we’ve had to move our supply chain and we’re now selling our product at 40% higher. There’s no sign of this going down while the war continues.”
One of the tightest labour markets in recent memory was a significant constraining factor for many businesses in 2022, with QES data showing roughly four in five East Midlands firms that attempted to recruited struggling to fill roles across the year.
Aztec Oils’ Mark said there’s “a shortage of good people”, exacerbated by an ageing workforce that isn’t being suitably replaced by younger blood.
This has led to staffing costs for many businesses, with his company giving employees a 6% pay rise in April.
Mark Robinson, director of Leicester-based design agency Creative62, has experienced a similar scenario and identified staff retention as a key priority, with a performance-related profit share scheme planned in future.
“The last few years have taught us we probably need to evolve our systems a little bit quicker to look after our staff and build a family feeling within the business,” he added.
Nigel Mills and Alex Norris (both pictured), the MPs for Amber Valley and Nottingham North respectively and from either side of the blue-red divide, spoke about the importance of a united voice for the East Midlands at national level.
The East Midlands All Party Parliamentary Group which they co-chair has taken recent strides forward in this respect but both MPs believe devolution holds the key to a major breakthrough.
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire’s councils have agreed a deal with Government to establish an East Midlands Mayoral Combined County Authority. While the door remains open to Leicestershire, it was acknowledged time is running out to join the existing deal in time for a planned 2024 mayor election.
Chan Kataria, chief executive of emh group, has watched how combined authorities in the West Midlands and Greater Manchester have made it easier for businesses.
He said: “In order to develop, manage and maintain homes, we’re speaking to so many different parties but we only have to look at those areas to see how having a combined authority would allow us to co-ordinate easier as an area with a common purpose.
“Andy Burnham gets all the housing providers and agencies in the room to work out how to streamline their operations, and the mere fact you have people talking in the same room about the same agenda has huge potential.”
Dawn Edwards, managing director of training company Challenge Consulting, said: “Devolution can provide a clear decision-making process and create a consistent voice to get our message across. It can also create opportunities for procurement via economies of scale.”
Chronic underinvestment from central Government shows it is time for policymakers to “back the East Midlands to back the UK”.
That is the Chamber’s view after the latest Treasury figures indicated the East Midlands continues to receive the lowest public investment of all regions in the UK.
In 2021/22, spending per head in the region was £10,528 – below the UK average of £11,897.
In November, Chamber delegates were joined by members and MPs at a reception in Parliament to launch a blueprint for growing the regional and national economy, titled A Centre of Trading Excellence: A Business Manifesto for Growth in the East Midlands and Beyond
It presented Government with “the big opportunity” to further develop the East Midlands as a “Centre of Trading Excellence” via a series of policy asks including investing in infrastructure projects like HS2 East, Midland Main Line electrification and the A50/A500 growth corridor.
Director of policy and external affairs
Chris Hobson said: “For years, the East Midlands has been bottom of the pile when it comes to public investment and it’s held back our potential.
“Recent analysis by the Chamber and East Midlands Councils found we receive just 64.7% of the UK average for transport infrastructure spending – a gap worth £1.26bn per year to the East Midlands –while we also ranked bottom or near the bottom for spending on health, education, and economic and social affairs.
“If the Government is truly serious about levelling up, it must prioritise regions like ours and work with businesses to understand where it can target investment to grow the economy.
“Our Business Manifesto for Growth offers a useful starting point in this respect as we have set out a formula for how the Government can not only grow our economy but across the country too – in other words, it can back the East Midlands to back the UK.”
To read the manifesto, visit www.emc-dnl.co.uk/manifesto
‘People can access finance but it might just be a bit more expensive’Speakers at the Annual State of the Economy Review
CryoLogyx is developing cell models frozen in-plate and ready to use directly from the freezer. Their proprietary 'CryoShield' technology provides the best of both worlds – frozen cells that are bankable and easy to store, in the end-use format you needed for rapid, high quality research. In this interview, we speak with Tom Congdon, CEO of University of Warwick spin-out CryoLogyx about their innovative new technology that hopes to revolutionise cell-based assays for researchers across life sciences and drug discovery.
Please could you introduce yourself and your role at CryoLogyx?
I’m Dr Tom Congdon, the CEO and cofounder of CryoLogyx. Before I started CryoLogyx with Prof. Matt Gibson, I was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Warwick. My background is in polymer chemistry and synthesis, with a focus on developing polymer based cryoprotectants that enable new cryopreservation outcomes in cell biology.
Who is CryoLogyx, and how did it come to form?
CryoLogyx is a biotech tools company. We develop, and provide assay-ready cell models in plated, adherent formats, for use in drug discovery and other cell-based assay applications. We are a spinout company from the University of Warwick. The company came from two specific ideas. The technology we developed was based on years of research into how synthetic polymers could mimic the form and the function of antifreeze proteins. Antifreeze proteins are a fascinating class of biomolecules and evolutionary biology, made more interesting by the fact that they evolved independently in the north and south polar regions. We developed polymers that attempted to mimic the structure and function of these antifreeze proteins. We developed a polymer that dramatically improved cell recovery for adherent cells in monolayer format. The other idea that CryoLogyx is founded on was the question of where we could add genuine, transformational value to the life science sector and beyond. Cell-based assays enable a whole new dimension of R+D, and we believe that our technology could be developed to make those cell-based assays as easy, simple and fast as possible, to accelerate biotech research, and also to let anyone – engineers, physicists, material scientists access biological models.
How important are cell assays to the drug discovery and life sciences community, and what are the challenges that limit the efficiency of this process?
All early-stage biotech research and drug discovery utilises cell-based assays. In the drug discovery pipeline, cell-based assays are used right at the start for screening potential drug candidates for function and toxicity.
After this initial stage, where millions of candidates are screened, a number are selected and taken on for more functional, tailored cellbased assays, before being tested in vivo. There is a push to replace in vivo testing as much as possible with advanced cell-based models, to reduce the number of animals needed to develop new treatments and therapies. Cell-based assays are vital for modern drug discovery, and will only become more important in the future.
The difficulties come from maintaining cell culture. Cells are generally quite simple to culture, but the process takes time. During this time, cells will multiply and subtly change (genetic drift), which needs to be monitored. Cells can easily cross-contaminate, mutate beyond their original make up, and can get infected, even in the most rigorous of set ups. It’s estimated that 15–20 per cent of cell lines currently in use may not be what they are documented and reported to be.
CryoLogyx develops pre-plated thaw-anduse cells that accelerate biotech research, enabling scientists and researchers to carry out months of lab work in only a few days. Our pre-plated cells are adherent cell lines that have been cultured and plated into microplates with the specific format you need to conduct cell-based assays. No cell culture, counting or validation is required before use, simply store the plates frozen until needed, then thaw and use.
• No need for cell culture, a 90 per cent reduction in time to experiment, and on average of five hours of lab time saved per experiment.
• Plates can be made ready in less than one minute of the user’s time. Researchers can prepare experiments with complete flexibility and freedom.
• On average, an 86 per cent reduction in single use plastic waste compared to conventional cell culture.
As recently as 2008, 40 human thyroid cancer cell lines were analysed by genetic profiling. Only 23 unique profiles were obtained, and many of the cross-contaminating cell lines were not even thyroid in origin. These cell lines had been previously used for two decades in the field of thyroid cancer research. (Source: Cell Line CrossContamination and Misidentification; Common Cell Culture Problems - www.sigmaaldrich.com)
So, maintaining cultures becomes difficult time-consuming, and expensive. Trying to grow up enough cells to meet a large screening target is as much an art as a science. A large screen will usually involve lots of moving parts, and if equipment or the candidates are delayed, cells are usually discarded and the whole process started again.
For smaller operations, skills and contamination are the major issues. Researchers with experience in specific cell models are in short supply, and lab set ups can only culture so many different cell lines at one time. These limit capability and capacity, and ultimately slow down scientific progress.
As we are developing a frozen pre-plated ‘platform’ that can be applied to many different cell lines and formats, we wanted to focus on where we could develop products that would have the broadest need and provide the most value to researchers
We looked at routine cell culture operations that would benefit from being fast and simple to carry out, and earlier this year carried out an alpha test, delivering plates to cell users all over the UK. From that we found that users working with viruses really engaged with the plates, as they wanted to focus their efforts on studying the virus, not the cells.
“We have really enjoyed using CryoLogyx pre-plated cells in our assays. They were very reliable and easy to use, fitted perfectly into our existing protocols, and have saved us significant time and effort as we didn’t have to culture and plate cells before each experiment. We are looking forward to using them in multiple assays going forward”
Dr Nicole Robb, founder director at Pictura Bio and assistant professor, Warwick Medical School
From users in drug discovery, we found that they wanted hepatocytes in high density formats for screening applications, and assay-ready trans-well plates, as these assays generally require a month of preparatory cell culture before they can be used!
What are some of the case studies where these plates have been utilised?
Our plates have been used by virologists in plaque assays and viral neutralisation assays. We have also carried out drug toxicity screening using our assay ready plates measuring dose responses comparable to conventionally cultured cells. We are working on a range of plates for drug discovery experiments, due for release in this year, and are signing up researchers for prerelease evaluations right now.
A key component of CryoLogyx's pre-plated solutions is that cell culture processes are eliminated. What benefit would this bring to a researcher's workflow and, ultimately, the drug discovery process?
For the researcher, the primary benefit is time saving, and time-to-experiment. With no preparatory cell culture required, experiments can be carried out on demand, and workflows shortened. By cutting out cell culture, around fivesix hours of hands-on work are saved per experiment. In addition, a cell-based assay can be carried out in around a day from inception, compared to one-two weeks from inception currently. Because plates can be stored frozen and made ready to use in 24 hours, workflows are far more flexible than once requiring cell culture.
There are also significant advantages to reproducibility, as a large bank of cells can be prepared, with the same passage number, meaning that there would be no batch to batch variation over months of testing. This ultimately means that drug discovery becomes faster, more flexible, and more reliable.
CryoLogyx’s pre-plated cells use a significantly less amount of plastic waste compared to existing products. Why is it so important for the life sciences community to try and incorporate more sustainable approaches to research, especially in routine experiments?
A study in ‘Nature’ estimated that for institutes and SMEs, each bench scientist generates around a tonne of plastic waste per year. It was estimated in 2014 that around 5.5 million tonnes of lab plastic waste were generated world-wide. That is equivalent to the combined tonnage of 67 cruise liners, and equal to 83 per cent of the plastic recycled worldwide in 2012.
That amount of single use plastic generated is unsustainable, not only from an environment and sustainability aspect, but a financial angle too. Single use plastic is cheap, but with costs rising for plastic and energy, it won’t be forever. Businesses and universities are looking to reduce their plastic waste and life science laboratories will soon be under the microscope! There is already some fantastic equipment and initiatives to recycle and reduce plastic waste in the lab, such as My Green Lab, and Grenova’s TipNovus machine.
At scale, we can make large batches of plates that require far less plastic to be used. We are also looking at recyclable plate ideas. For smaller labs, we estimate that using our pre-plated cells would enable around an 86 per cent reduction in single use plastic waste generated to run five plates of experiments, compared to conventional cell culture work.
What are the next steps for CryoLogyx?
Over the summer we tested our products with early adopters and based on that feedback launched a range of cryopreserved pre-plated assay ready products for use in viral detection and analysis.
Now we are working on a product range for early stage drug discovery and toxicity testing. We are expanding our capability and next year will build an automated cell culture manufacturing facility to produce large volumes of assay ready plates, and work with our partners in pharma and CROs to expand, accelerate and simplify their cell assay operations.
Where can people go to stay up to date with the company's activities?
We regularly post news and information to our website, www.cryologyx.com, and our linkedin page.
Tomas, R.F.M., Bissoyi, A., Congdon, T.R., Gibson, M.I., Biomacromolecules, 2022 23, 3948-3959. Assay-ready Cryopreserved Cell Monolayers Enabled by Macromolecular Cryoprotectants.
Tom, the CEO of CryoLogyx, has been at the forefront of macromolecular cryoprotectant research for the last eight years and developed several cryoprotectant technologies.
Tom has a Phd in the Chemistry and Synthesis of Cryoprotectant Materials, and his postdoc research focussed on polymer and bioconjugate synthesis, and the evaluation of new cryoprotectant technologies.
In the summer of 2020, Tom successfully completed the ICURe (Innovation to Commercialisation of University Research) programme and subsequently founded CryoLogyx, which was awarded £300k from Innovate UK to begin commercial development of never seen before frozen cell products.
After completing the prestigious ICURe customer discovery programme and securing an Innovate grant and SEIS funding from Angel investors and Oxford Technology, Tom founded CryoLogyx with Professor Matthew Gibson.
The Chamber’s Generation Next network supports young professionals and entrepreneurs to develop their skills and build connections. Members speak to Jasmine Thompson about their career journeys so far, ambitions for the future and how the network has benefitted them.
Name: Ruby Birks
Age: 18
Job title: Project manager
Organisation: Purpose Media, South Normanton
Tell us a bit about yourself and how you ended up in your current position?
I knew from leaving school that I wanted to do an apprenticeship, but as it was 2020, there were very few companies recruiting at all, let alone hiring apprentices. Throughout my time at college, I knew it wasn’t what I wanted to do as it was presented as a pathway to university.
I started looking for apprenticeships again in November 2020, which is when I found EMA Training in Derby. I was put in touch with Purpose Media, and I landed a role in March 2021 as a digital project apprentice. This involved me working with the digital team on paid advertising campaigns, the development team on go-live processes for websites and the project management team on scheduling work.
I passed my apprenticeship with distinction last June, then progressed into my current role of project manager. This involves managing the timescales, budgets and scopes of projects; managing people’s schedules; and reporting on projects and retainers to check their profitability.
What challenges have you faced along the way and how did you overcome them?
There was a lot of pressure from my school to go to university as a pathway to a successful career, but I knew this wasn’t the path I wanted. The only time apprenticeships were promoted was to people who wanted to go into a trade-based career, which wasn’t something I was interested in.
I also initially faced the challenge that Purpose Media wanted an apprentice with a knowledge of html and
cascading style sheets (CSS) used in web documents, and I didn’t have much awareness of these. But I wanted the job, so before my interview I went away and learned both and used them to build a website to display my CV.
How did it feel to be a winner in the Generation Next Awards and what did you do to earn this recognition?
The fact that my company felt my work was good enough to recommend me for the award was lovely enough, let alone then going on to win it. Having the support of Generation Next was very validating and really helped increase my confidence in my work.
I often struggle with imposter syndrome so having the validation of someone thinking my work deserved an award was a very positive experience. I think the reason I stood out was my drive. When I want something, and I set my mind to it, then I do whatever I have to get it.
I’m a big believer in the idea you can teach skills, but you can't teach attitude, and that is something vital to consider when hiring an apprentice.
What impact has the award had on your career so far and how will it support your future ambitions?
Winning the award has helped me to meet new people in the local business world. I’ve met Chamber members and got involved with networking events that I previously wouldn’t have gone to. I’ve also been given opportunities to discuss promoting apprenticeships as an apprentice ambassador for Generation Next, which is something I’m very passionate about.
Who is your inspiration and why?
I’ve had the chance to work with a group of great women at Purpose Media, and it’s been a real inspiration to see so many successful women in business.
I also found it really inspiring to see so many successful women at the Enterprising Women Awards. Winning Apprentice of the Year really made me appreciate the women in business who have made it possible for me to have the opportunities I have today.
Name: Kevin Kapezi
Age: 32
Job title: Co-founder and SEO director
Organisation: Growthack, Nottingham
Describe your journey to founding your company and what it does?
Growthack, a boutique digital marketing consultancy, was cofounded by Leo Worsley and I at the cusp of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Our fresh approach, aiming to steer clear of being a one-stop-shop for agency services but instead focusing on clear-cut specialisms including SEO and paid media, means our clients gain expert specialist digital marketing services at a much more reasonable price.
We have built a network of specialist partners in various supplementary fields of marketing, such as copywriting, web design, development and graphics — a supply chain, so to speak, that extends beyond our brand.
What highlights and challenges have you faced?
As with most new businesses, generating demand proved to be our largest challenge. In the beginning, we started operating from our homes during all hours of the evening, and successfully transitioned to working within a shared office space at Nottingham Trent University’s Dryden Enterprise Centre from November 2021.
I worked at the credit giant Experian as lead SEO specialist for more than 20 of its B2B websites. We leveraged this knowledge to help attract some large B2B clients within a variety of sectors, one of them being a national law firm.
Leo’s specialism is in paid media advertising, and he’s been recognised through multiple awarding bodies such as EU Search Awards, Google and The Drum. These accomplishments resulted in high levels of trust among peers and
the network, which we benefitted from as we launched Growthack.
What are your future plans for the company?
We have a very clear set of operational goals about how we wish to grow the business. We’re already well underway with a “carbon negative” project –which formed a part of our first-hire process, whereby we have enrolled a member of staff on a training course to be Growthack’s sustainability champion. Beyond the ecological sphere, we will also continue to provide opportunities for graduates and young professionals to join and work with our business. We see Growthack as being the much-needed springboard for the next generation of exceptional marketing talent.
We will continue to bring together a network of partners that supplement our core activities. Taking pride in refusing to monetise all opportunities presented, and instead sharing work with other small businesses that truly specialise in their respective field.
We’ll also aim to further Growthack’s technological innovation, working with developers who specialise in Magento and Shopify, and continue to develop exceptional website experiences in line with direct user feedback and campaign initiatives.
What advice would you give others looking to start their own business? You can’t do everything yourself in the long run. Finding trustworthy people who you can work with will be key to your success. Bonus points if they are local. We’ve been blessed with such a diverse pool of businesses and people in Nottingham to lean on so we haven’t had to search too far.
DANIEL’S
PRIORITIES
The marketing manager at Hardy Signs speaks to Business Network about his background and the board’s ambitions for the year.
Becoming chair of Generation Next is quite a humbling experience. I realise this is not about me, the board or the Chamber. This network is about young people aged 18 to 35 in the region, and for years to come. This year also marks my 10th anniversary since my arrival to the UK from Albania and fifth year in our wonderful region.
I have always been a big advocate for young people. In 2015, I served as a student governor and student union president of my college, and then sat on the National Union of Students UK’s executive council.
At Hardy Signs, I’m grateful to have been given the freedom to develop my role and team, allowing me to get out and network. I have been lucky to be involved with various tasks, from preparing teas to pitching to clients – and even to Rolls-Royce when we won the Manufacturer of the Year in 2019 at the Chamber’s Derbyshire Business Awards.
Over the years, I have grown in confidence and improved my personal brand through several awards and recognitions in the Midlands, London and Albania. The only way I could have achieved what I have so far is through hard
work, organisation and dedicating time towards causes aligned with my core values. I was first introduced to Generation Next in 2020 at the Love Business Expo. Since joining, I have actively participated in most events. When I joined the board, I started speaking to many young people in the region because I wanted to have an informed opinion about what I would put forward in our meetings.
In 2022, I dedicated my efforts to helping our chair Emma as her vice-chair, and assisting Kate Nemeth and the rest of the team with establishing a process around learning and development content, which is accessible to the members via an online portal. Last year’s Generation Next Awards showed how much momentum had grown behind the network, despite overcoming hurdles. The reflective work after the awards was really important, as we made the decision to redesign the categories this year to be more inclusive to all sectors and pathways.
Name: Nicole Perkins
Age: 29
Job title: Procurement officer
Organisation: Futures Housing Group, Castle Donington
Tell us a bit about yourself and how you ended up in your current position?
I have been working in procurement for the past 10 years. After completing my A levels, I took a purchasing assistant role in the aerospace industry. The break from education didn’t last long, and I was back at college completing an NVQ in supply chain management, going on to complete my Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) diplomas at Levels 4 and 5.
After four years in this role, I landed a role as an assistant category co-ordinator for a gas company, where I began managing multiple categories including facilities, fleet and engineering. This role also enabled me to continue my learning and I completed my Level 6 CIPS professional diploma in 2019.
After more than eight years in the manufacturing and engineering sector, I wanted a role that would have an impact in helping others, leading to my current position as a procurement officer at Futures Housing Group, a housing association providing affordable homes and supporting people across the East Midlands. Although my role isn’t customer-facing, knowing the projects and contracts I am involved in help our customers gives me great job satisfaction.
What challenges have you faced along the way and how did you overcome them?
The main challenge I have faced is being respected as a young professional, with other departments sometimes depending on more senior staff when requests came in. Over time, this improved after proving my capabilities in resolving issues and fulfilling requirements as an integral part of the purchasing team.
I joined my current role in the pandemic, so building relationships and networking was hard, especially as I tend to shy away from it. But with the help of Microsoft Teams, I was welcomed into what I see as a great work culture.
How important is it to have a network like Generation Next for young professionals?
I have been a Generation Next member for just over six months and already I can see how much I have grown in both determination and self-reliance. From throwing myself into networking events to build my soft skills, which is something I have struggled to do throughout my career, to participating in a Peer Networks programme, where a group of young professionals help each other overcome challenges.
Each event or online blog has helped me in some way, and I look forward to continuing my journey with the network after booking onto many of the great events planned for 2023.
Who is your inspiration and why?
After growing up watching The Apprentice, Baroness Karen Brady quickly became my inspiration. From her determination to never give up and fight for respect in a male-dominated world as a female leader, to being able to balance career growth with starting of a family, she is always someone who has inspired me.
A quote of hers that sticks firmly in my mind is: “The most important characteristics you need to succeed in business are resilience, determination and persistence.”
Name: Fred Gough
Age: 34
Job title: Research and knowledge exchange co-ordinator (digital systems)
Organisation: University of Derby
Tell us about your journey from starting out to winning your Generation Next Award?
I began my career in 2007 and spent 10 years working at a local accountancy firm before studying at the University of Derby to improve my employability, having obtained a higher national diploma at the same institution in 2011.
After graduating from university, I enrolled on a fixedterm internship as a network co-ordinator at the Derby Talent Programme within the institution’s careers and employment service between September 2021 and April 2022. This was fundamental to developing strategies and considerations when applying equality, diversity and inclusivity to the operations of the service.
One of my main duties was to encourage recent graduates to get in touch with the careers and employment service via a form and engaging emails, which were inclusive and provided my colleagues with a picture of those who needed additional support.
All this was noticed on multiple occasions by staff at differing levels and led me to winning the inaugural Intern of the Month accolade in November 2021, and eventually being nominated for the Generation Next Diversity and Inclusion Award.
Following that role, I moved to a neighbouring department, initially contracted until December 2022 but obtaining an extension until the end of July 2023.
Throughout my career, I have been a strong advocate for mental health issues and proud to positively represent and
ally LGBTQ+ individuals. I am also candid about my own neurodiversity diagnosis of both autism and dyspraxia.
What has been the secret to your success?
Throughout my career, I have strived for success and developed further understanding if I felt I was not comfortable, and been prepared to take accountability for any spontaneous duties or responsibilities by actively listening and participating.
Additionally, I have a determination to value all people across the service I provide and assisting in making the workplace a community of positive-minded individuals contributing to set goals.
What tips would you have for any young person applying for business or industry awards?
When applying for an award, it is important to show your story is an honest reflection of who you want people to see you as, and that others can find a human element to what you have achieved.
No-one is perfect, but a willingness to demonstrate progression is essential and overcoming either personal or professional barriers to succeed will stand you in good stead – in my case, public speaking was one of those.
How does it feel to win recognition for what you’ve done via the Generation Next Awards?
Receiving the Diversity and Inclusion Award in July was a very special moment as it provided me with confidence to take forward ideas and be more assertive about what I hope to demonstrate to others when progressing my career.
I keep my award on my work-from-home desk and am proud to keep contributing to equality, diversity and inclusion practices by attending and contributing to a working group, looking at developing and implementing support and recognition mechanisms for staff across the university’s innovation and research team.
Kate Walker, who founded ExpHand Prosthetics to create affordable and customisable prosthetic limbs for children, was the first recipient of the Generation Next Future Leader award in 2021. She talks to Business Network about her journey so far.
Could you give us a recap on the journey you’ve been on?
I started ExpHand Prosthetics after meeting a two-year-old girl called Zoey, who was born missing her arm below the elbow. I looked into children’s prosthetics and found there was a massive gap in the market with prosthetics being heavy, expensive and hard to access. Additionally, children could grow out of them in as little as six to 12 months.
From here, I decided to use my dissertation project to try and design a better children’s prosthetic, something that could help children like Zoey to have the independence they wanted. I began designing an adjustable prosthetic that would be able to grow with a child to lengthen the product lifetime and decrease prosthetic turnover.
After working with 3D printing during my year in industry, I found this could be a great method of rapidly manufacturing prosthetics and provided a bonus of allowing customised colours with ease. By using 3D printing to manufacture our prosthetics, we were able to make our prosthetic lightweight and affordable, with the ExpHand being a fraction of the cost of competitor products.
Following my dissertation, I created ExpHand Prosthetics and began working from Loughborough University’s incubator, The Studio, and took part in my first enterprise competition, Ingenuity 19, hosted by the University of Nottingham. Through training sessions provided at Ingenuity 19 and workshops
I attended via the Loughborough Enterprise Network, I gained a good understanding of
start-up basics and created my first business plan. My first funding came from Ingenuity 19 and the Loughborough Start-up Fund. This allowed me to purchase a 3D printer to design and develop our prototype products.
Over the past three years, the company has grown exponentially – hiring interns, working with several universities, running user trials, filing patents, receiving multiple Innovate UK grants and being invited to speak at a variety of events to talk about the company and the journey we have been on, as well as innovations we are making in the sector. ExpHand Prosthetics has come a long way and we have many more exciting steps to come.
How has recognition as the inaugural Generation Next Future Leader winner, along with other awards, helped your career?
It was a great boost not only to the company but also to myself. Other awards we have received have mostly centred around the product and the technology we’ve been developing so it has been great to be given an award that celebrates my potential both within the company but also as a future leader.
Reflecting on the journey I’ve been on since starting my dissertation project, I can see a great period of growth and development has taken place. The Future Leader award celebrates this, as well as providing a boost in confidence that I am the right person to be taking ExpHand Prosthetics further.
What have you been up to since the 2021 awards and what does the future hold?
Since the 2021 awards we have completed our safety testing, which means the ExpHand is now UKCA-marked. We’ve also registered with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for class one medical device certification.
We have been part of the Innovate UK Fast Start and Young Innovators Next Steps programmes, which have provided us with additional grant funding to improve our website, complete product testing and improve the design of our product. We have also been able to complete our first investment round, bringing in additional finance and expertise into the business, and allowing us to fast-track our route to market.
In the future, we’re looking to hold a final user trial of our flagship product The ExpHand before releasing it on the market. After launching in the UK, we’ll be looking to develop our product range as well as expanding into new markets to allow as many people as possible to have access to our prosthetics.
THE GENERATION NEXT AWARDS 2023 IS NOW OPEN FOR ENTRIESFIND OUT HOW TO APPLY ON P45
Over the last few years, a lot of legal precedents have shaped the way transport is managed. However, one thing has not changed: a system is required!
From Traffic Commissioners in Public Inquiries to DVSA and Police in their audits, every single public body is asking operators to get organised, to have systems in place to manage legal and regulatory compliance.
It is worth understanding that all public bodies have their own internal management systems and they’re all, in some measure or another, based on or imitating ISO 9001. Governments love systematised organisations because they are easy to monitor, audit, provide predictable output and, very importantly, they offer what’s called (business) continuity.
Public servants working for these bodies need the organisation and easy oversight that a system offers in order to monitor legal compliance, and therein the issue lies: the authorities are faced with teaching operators about management systems. These are complex concepts that are not really often encountered in day-to-day life. But there is a simple solution… automation through the use of software.
A few of you reading this will say: I trust my pen and paper… and even those of you know you’re wrong!
Making a logical connection from the statement that systems are, by definition repeatable we can infer: anything that is repeatable can be automated and anything that is automated can be controlled by software… a lot more efficiently that any person would and, more importantly, cheaper.
There are numerous software systems out there. More precisely, there are systems for all individual needs; one supports fleet management, one helps analyse tachograph data, another aids in planning work and many more help with accounts, financing, even HR. But few are so complex as to combine all compliance needs of transport undertakings.
Here is where TecHGV comes in. We’ve been working for nearly two years on developing a software project that is ready for the future, ready for the Internet of Things (IoT).
By pulling and capturing telematics from fleet, additional data from drivers, suppliers and customers, TecHGV can offer compliance and simplicity in the palm of your hand. We call it “your electronic Transport Manager”, because it is!
Backed by over 10 years of research in transport legal compliance and management of small to large undertakings, we have worked with a team of full-stack developers to bring you the solution that will ensure compliance and profitability, minimise your downtime and, very importantly, support your every decision in respect to your fleet and drivers.
TecHGV provides a comprehensive approach to fleet management by covering all systems monitored by the DVSA and Police. Our modules keep track of:
• Fuel and ad-blue (live from your vehicle or by manual input)
• Tyre and wheel management, including your torque and re-torque systems. TecHGV even comes with a predictive tyre usage alert, notifying you when you should plan to change your tyres next
• Live MOT, tax and insurance monitoring
• Vehicle off Road (VOR) management system
• Preventative Maintenance Inspections (PMI) planning and management
• Accident reporting and investigation
• Driver licensing and expiry
• Driver CPC monitoring and recording
• Employee initial and periodic training recording and reporting
• Job and work allocation
• Driver’s hours, working time management with a comprehensive tachograph analysis package
• HR management function including staff performance
• Subcontractor and customer management
TecHGV comes with our telematics (hardware) product, TecNorn. Which is a complete tachograph remote download, tracker and telematics (CANBus) solution.
You can opt for just the software in choosing TecHGV or add the telematics by choosing TecNorn.
different? Like you, we wanted flexibility in a business relationship and we decided to offer it. Our services, although on contract, offer you the flexibility to suspend the subscription for periods of inactivity. Unlike our competitors we won’t charge you if you don’t use the service and when you use it, you have the flexibility to choose how much you use and save on costs.
TecHGV and TecNorn are modular and compatible with all major chains’ systems like Amazon’s Project 44, Royal Mail, DHL, Evri, etc. The first month will always be free and you can also change your mind. Basically, we’re bringing a consumer model into a B2B relationship and this is meant to help you through the difficult financial times ahead. We know operating in transport means small margins and way too much work, so in those months when business is slow why not take one cost off your bill?
For further information please contact us on:
T: 01332 323 989
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By Debbie Tuisawau (pictured), end-point assessment director at AIM Qualifications and Assessment Group.
Anyone who has recently been involved in apprenticeships – either employing an apprentice, training one or indeed have themselves been on a scheme – will know that towards the end of the formal apprenticeship, there's an end-point assessment (EPA).
But did you know the development and delivery of EPAs can take up to two years?
The role of the end-point assessment organisation (EPAO) in delivering successful assessments depends on three key things: Good relationships, effective development and a professional delivery service.
1. RELATIONSHIPS
Developing and delivering effective end-point assessments is dependent on a technical understanding of assessment methods and a detailed knowledge of the occupation and sector. Therefore, good relationships are needed between
employers, training providers, assessors and EPAOs. Trailblazers are groups of employers that come together to develop a new apprenticeship for an occupation. Employers are recognised by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) as being reflective of the range of employers in the occupational standard being developed.
EPAOs like AIM provide input and feedback during the development process. EPAOs can also help with consultation and promotion of the new standard.
The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) will not fund apprentices to start on a new apprenticeship until an EPAO has given an “in principle” commitment to deliver the EPA, or an EPAO has made a successful application to the register. A good EPAO therefore needs to understand the industry and needs of the employers, as well as having knowledge of the occupation to ensure the standard and the assessment methods are suitable and relevant.
Once an EPAO has approval from IfATE to develop and deliver an EPA, work can begin on developing the materials that will support their delivery.
These materials should be specific to each standard and include information for the assessor, employer and training provider – and, of course, the apprentice.
The materials should be available well in advance of an apprentice starting their EPA journey and a good EPAO will ensure each stakeholder understands not only their role in the apprenticeship, but the roles of others.
This is an essential step in ensuring that everyone has all the information and support they need upfront so there are no unexpected surprises when it comes to the EPA.
In order to assess a standard, an EPAO must ensure it has specialist assessors and quality assurers that have a thorough understanding of the subject area and have up-to-date relevant industry experience.
People who understand the latest industry practices, trends and technology. While we can teach people how to deliver assessments, if the assessor doesn’t have relevant industrial experience, they will not understand the job role or the skills, behaviours and knowledge demanded of the job holder.
A good EPAO will also have a dedicated, specialist team of people who can support the assessors out in the field, and people who can provide help, guidance and training to apprentices, employers and training providers.
A successful EPA is dependent on a successful team of people pulling together to support the apprentice.
The pandemic had a seismic impact on the workforce. That, coupled, with a looming skills crisis, means more businesses may be looking to take on an apprentice to boost their workforce. Apprenticeship schemes are becoming increasingly popular among young people, who see them as an entry to the world of work. However, there are also multiple benefits for the business owner. Business Network takes a closer l ook.
One of the best benefits of running an apprenticeship scheme is that an employer can build a dedicated workforce and foster an environment of loyalty. As the majority of apprentices are school or college leavers, many will be looking for a company that will invest in their training and help them climb the career ladder within the organisation, which could help to reduce staff turnover in the long run.
An apprentice who joins a business will also learn that particular way of working, eliminating the risk of hiring an experienced yet inflexible employee who prefers their own way of doing things. This makes it easier for a business owner to mould their work force, create a strong team work ethic and instil the company ethos.
Many companies, particularly those that work in STEM industries, are struggling to recruit people with the necessary skills to help move the business forward. An
apprentice can help alleviate this particular issue, as a business owner can hire someone who has an enthusiasm to learn and then train them to fill a specific role, particularly in such businesses where hands-on experience is more valuable than academic qualifications. As an apprenticeship can be tailored to a specific role or skillset, they will be flexible to the needs of the business, allowing the business owner to build up a well-rounded workforce.
Although an apprentice may be lacking workplace experience, they can offer new ideas and a fresh perspective, which can be a very valuable tool when it comes to growing a business. An apprentice can also bring strong technology, communications and social media skills, which can be used to a competitive advantage. Digitally savvy individuals can help a business stay on top of the latest trends and innovations.
As well as benefiting a business, hiring an apprentice can also be hugely beneficial to the individual. Apprenticeships can help give a young person the confidence they need to develop and become a valued member of staff. It can also help young people gain a recognised qualification and skills that are in demand in the modern workplace, along with work experience in a relevant field, all of which are becoming increasingly difficult to obtain in today’s working world.
‘Makes it easier for a business owner to mould their work force, create a strong team work ethic and instil the company ethos’
to further their careers.
ADerby-based global tech company is among the businesses that is reaping the benefits of investing in apprenticeships.
Bam Boom Cloud, which provides Microsoft software solutions to SMEs, has worked with EMA Training to hire 10 apprentices as it aims to build the next generation of people in the company.
The individuals are in level three roles including first line support engineer, first line Dynamics support technician, finance assistant and digital marketer.
Harry Jones, global head of recruitment and talent, said: “We wanted to upskill the team as soon as they step foot into the business and also give young people the chance to work in a thriving and growing environment, building careers for themselves.
in-person training that EMA offers has allowed me to dive deep into the digital marketing world.
“Being able to come into the EMA hub to complete days of learning has allowed me to meet friends who are completing the same apprenticeship as me, but at a different company. This has created a space for us to share and learn from one another's experiences and most importantly has introduced us to some amazing friends.
“I've progressed massively since starting my apprenticeship at Bam Boom Cloud as when I first started, I had limited knowledge and constantly doubted what I could achieve. Now, I'm confident in my role and know that it's okay to not know everything. This is thanks to the amazing support that I receive from EMA Training and the extraordinary team I work alongside at Bam Boom Cloud.”
Over the past year, EMA Training has placed more than 250 individuals on apprenticeship programmes in IT, marketing and finance across about 200 businesses.
“Not only have apprentices changed the dynamic of our company, but our digital marketer also completely overhauled our social media, making it their own and being able to put Bam Boom Cloud on the map through different platforms. Our support staff have shown what amazing customer service looks like, being nominated for awards within the apprenticeship customer support categories.
“It makes the job of recruitment easier and more fun – working with apprentices, showing them the growth potential and watching them bloom into the next generation of senior members of staff is definitely a highlight of my role.”
Digital marketer Liberty Alway is one of the apprentices and she is now enrolled on a marketing executive level four training programme.
She said: “The apprenticeship has played a crucial part in helping me grow and succeed in my career. The
During National Apprenticeship Week, which takes place from 6 to 12 February, it will build on work with businesses, schools and other partners across the region to break the stigma surrounding apprenticeships by showcasing the positive impact they have had on individuals, employers and the local economy.
Marketing Manager Chloé Farmer said: “This year’s National Apprenticeship Week theme is ‘Skills for Life’, reflecting how apprenticeships positively impact the lives of individuals through the development of skills and knowledge required for a rewarding career.
“Apprenticeships play an instrumental role in supporting businesses to develop a talented workforce that is equipped with future-ready skills to combat issues such as the digital skills gap.
“National Apprenticeship Week allows us to illustrate this by shining a light on the individuals and organisations that have really benefitted from apprenticeships.”
‘The apprenticeship has played a crucial part in helping me grow and succeed in my career’Main: Liberty Alway Above: Harry Jones Below: Chloé Farmer
Vicki Thompson (pictured), the Chamber’s head of leadership and training programmes, explains to Business Network why it’s important to continue investing in training opportunities for staff, and how her team can support businesses through 2023.
Ihave worked for the Chamber for some years. I have seen us through the recessions of the 1990s, when we recruited for new roles internally and had to upskill staff quickly, as well as positive upturns in the need for training and support as the marketplace opened up again. We’ve witnessed the rapid move to online training during the pandemic, but now we are facing a time where the cost of doing business is high, and firms are turning inwards to protect their operations.
And yet, through all of that, the Chamber has always responded in a way that offers a “safe pair of hands” for companies to approach when they need to consider developing, and most importantly retaining those staff who are the engine of business.
We have always been flexible and supportive, offering businesses the very best option for them, as they look at their team’s development requirements, whether through commercial training or funded opportunities – or a combination of both.
It is very easy to stop developing your teams when times are hard, but it is training and investment that will help you to retain a motivated and supportive workforce, which will work with you during stormy times. Between us, the commercial training team has more than 80 years’ experience supporting local businesses, working collaboratively with other teams that offer funded programmes to ensure you have access to courses, webinars, peer networks, workshops and networking opportunities.
Current and aspiring middle managers can extend their skills by enrolling on the Chamber’s ILM Level 5 in leadership and management course.
The next programme, which starts on Thursday 20 April, will give delegates a recognised qualification, preparing managers for more demanding leadership roles where teams and individuals may work remotely from them, or where they need to engage with partners and other project teams inside and outside their organisation.
The course contains core topics relevant at a middle management level, including managing self, leadership skills, innovation and change, stakeholder engagement, enhancing performance of teams and individuals, and communicating and presenting a persuasive case.
The ILM Level 5 in leadership and management course is delivered by Challenge Consulting and will take place in Nottingham, running for just under six months across nine sessions plus an assessment.
The course costs £1,695 + VAT. Visit bit.ly/3CWfyOA
If you are a business in the D2N2 area, you can access fully-funded training via two programmes:
• Science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) courses for businesses that work in the field
• Smart and inclusive leadership courses, which offer a range of leadership training from level 2 to level 7.
These programmes are funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and the Chamber is working collaboratively with many providers to signpost you to the relevant and appropriate courses.
We are now in phase three of the peer networks programme, and to date we have supported about 900 business leaders. Guided by expert facilitators, the trusted support networks allow business leaders to share new ideas and work together to find ways to strengthen their businesses and overall performance.
The East Midlands is a region with a strong manufacturing heritage and with the potential to have an equally strong future.
Launched in February 2022, the EMMN brings together key knowledge and skills to form dedicated and supportive peer networks for manufacturing businesses from Leicestershire to the High Peak, Nottinghamshire to Derbyshire. Meeting every six weeks, in each area the networks share best practices, focus on issues and challenges, explore the financial support on offer for manufacturing businesses, tap into specialist consultancy and advice on regulation and compliance, identify collaboration opportunities, and gain peer support and education.
We offer a full range of training courses, covering leadership and management, IT, sales and finance, through to health and safety, as well as options for companies that trade internationally. We also run fully-accredited Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) courses and development programmes.
In addition, we deliver about 80 bespoke training courses each year, which we tailor to the specific needs of businesses.
To explore the Chamber’s training options further, contact vicki.thompson@emc-dnl.co.uk or visit www.emc-dnl.co.uk/events
Atouch of magic was sprinkled on the Chamber’s Christmas Lunch as it returned for the first time in three years.
Britain’s Got Talent winner Lance Corporal Richard Jones – nicknamed The Military Illusionist – was the headline act at the event at Athena, held on 2 December.
He dazzled the 300-plus crowd with a series of tricks performed on the Chamber’s director of resources Lucy Robinson and Bradgate Estates operations director Aaron Levy.
The event has long marked the traditional start of the festive calendar for many businesses but was cancelled in 2020 due to Covid-19 restrictions and folded into the Leicestershire Business Awards the following year.
A Christmas raffle raised £805 – topped up to £1,000 by the Chamber – for president Lindsey Williams’ 2022 charitable fund. This went towards the total amount raised for Focus, Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust and Treetops Hospice.
1. ER Recruitment team with Lance Corporal Richard Jones
2. Chamber team, from left: Debbie Glover, Kam Atker, Zoe Waistell and Elina Strautmane
3. The Musical Village choir greeted guests with festive songs
A Leicester manufacturer has introduced technology needed to accelerate its global sales ambitions after receiving support from the Chamber’s Digital Upscaler project.
Micro-Fresh received a £24,000 digital technology grant and expert technical advice to transform its stock management systems.
The support enabled it to procure and implement a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to better support its international shipping and stock control management across a rapidly growing network of international offices.
The company, an innovator in the field of developing antibacterial coatings, first engaged with Digital Upscaler at a critical point in its digital transformation journey.
The innovative Micro-Fresh material treatment – which suppresses bacterial development and reduces odour – may have been originally founded in 2006 to tackle the hygiene challenges caused by mould growth in footwear, but its application to virtually any product during the manufacturing process makes it ideal for scaling into new markets.
A pivotal moment for the business came when De Montfort University, the UK’s centre for excellence in textile analysis, conducted a range of robust tests on the Micro-Fresh technology, proving it was effective in reducing
James Bowie of Micro-Fresh“To mobilise the ambitious improvements we had planned, we needed expert guidance and mentoring. The Chamber highlighted the Digital Upscaler project as a great opportunity for us to access one-to-one digital technology advice and technology grant funding to support our plans.
“The timing was perfectly in line with our need to accelerate our digital transformation journey and invest in the tech we needed to grow the business further.”
Looking to the future, the new ERP system will allow Micro-Fresh to give its “direct” customer base more control. Micro-Fresh will have the capabilities to set up its customers with individual user accounts, empowering them to directly order themselves, freeing up valuable internal resources.
‘The timing was perfectly in line with our need to accelerate our digital transformation journey’
the transferability of viruses, including Covid-19.
As a result, the business has reported significant growth across multiple sectors including textiles, hospitality, healthcare and sportswear. It now enjoys revenues of more than £6m worldwide and employs 10 staff in the UK alone.
The business’s backroom systems were, however, not keeping pace.
• Digital Upscaler business growth networking event: 15 February, Leicester
• Get to grips with GA4 (Google Analytics) and converting more visitors into sales leads: 16 February (part one) and 23 February (part two), Leicester
• Using technology to scale your business: 22 February (part one) and 30 February (part two)
• Social media workshop: 28 February (part one) and 1 March (part two), Leicester
• Digital Marketing Conference, Derby: 17 March, Derby
• Inbound marketing masterclass: 7 March (part one) and 8 March (part two), Leicester
• Social media workshop: 16 March (part one) and 17 March (part two), Leicester
• Get to grips with GA4 (Google Analytics) and converting more visitors into sales leads: 28 March (part one) and 29 March (part two), Leicester
Book a place at www.emc-dnl.co.uk/digitalupscaler
Managing director James Bowie said: “The business was using an outdated supply chain management system, alongside a mixture of resources and systems which were largely disjointed. We knew it simply wouldn’t be fit for purpose as the company continued to expand and only a state-of-the art ERP would support our international shipping and stock movement operation.
This will accelerate Micro-Fresh’s sales globally, increasing its reach and driving growth in key territories, including Latin America and the Caribbean (LATAC), and India.
Paul Humphreys, the Chamber’s head of scale up services, said: “The focus for Digital Upscaler is to work with our region’s most ambitious and innovative SMEs, helping them grow and scale through better placed technologies.
“Working alongside the team at Micro-Fresh, we’ve provided the guidance, framework, and funding for them to digitalise their entire business processes.”
Are you an ambitious business fast outgrowing the technology you use? Do you need help in managing and overcoming your technology challenges? Are you looking to future-proof your business by driving efficiency and profit through better use of technology?
Intensive one-to-one technology adviser support is on hand from the Chamber’s Digital Upscaler team to provide businesses with the knowledge, investment and capacity to scale-up through embracing new technologies. A limited number of consultancy awards are available to support new technology.
Email the Chamber team at: info@emc-dnl.co.uk
Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership (LLEP) and De Montfort University (DMU) will collaborate in extending a project to improve digital skills across the county.
DMU has been commissioned to lead the LLEP’s Digital Skills Partnership (DSP) in delivering the latest phase of its Digital Leicestershire project, which aims to upskill digital skills within small businesses, increase digital inclusion and develop educational pathways.
Helen Donnellan, pro vicechancellor for regional business and innovation at DMU, said: "Digital inclusion is a real issue in Leicester and DMU has been involved in support work for many years with the city’s communities.
“We know that employers struggle to find people with digital skills and the knock-on effect this has on their ability to grow and thrive. This valuable work will help address this, helping people not only to gain sought-after skills but to get them into jobs.”
The £90,000 project is the second phase of an original LLEP project that commenced during the pandemic to increase online inclusion.
Many services moved online due to lockdown, yet ONS data showed that more than 11% of the East Midlands population comprised noninternet users and 9% had no digital skills at all.
In the first phase, the LLEP skills advisory panel allocated £300,000 towards seven projects – providing recycled devices, laptop lending and digital buddy schemes.
The new-look DSP will serve as a single portal for small businesses to access digital expertise and technical training. It will also signpost courses varying levels and lengths, as well as working to facilitate inclusion through device, skills and connectivity.
Leicestershire-based digital marketing agency Digital Ethos has been acquired by South American marketing and analytics company Cadastra.
Digital Ethos, which has 50 digital marketing specialists in its team, joins a Brazil-headquartered group that employs 700 people across seven offices, with operations in more than 20 countries worldwide.
The agency has a well-recognised track record in England, having already completed two of its own acquisitions. Having worked with major organisations such as the NHS, Flutterwave, JD Group, Co-op and Scrivens, it aims to continue its rapid growth with access to bigticket clients via the acquisition.
Digital Ethos CEO Luke Tobin said: “We are beyond thrilled to have been acquired by Cadastra as the company is a global player within the marketing sector so Digital Ethos will only continue to thrive in 2023 and beyond.
“What is also important is that there will be no immediate change in day-to-day delivery, so our clients will continue to receive our usual level of high-quality services.
“I am excited to be staying on as CEO of Digital Ethos and this collaborative partnership with Cadastra brings together the best of our cultures and experiences to
scale our digital marketing strategies. Digital Ethos was chosen for the acquisition due to our scale of growth in a very short time, so it’s certainly a cause for celebration not only for me personally but for my whole team.”
Luke founded Digital Ethos, based in Oadby, in 2016 with just £100 invested and progressed his
way up the ladder to be named Great British Entrepreneur of the Year 2020.
He also joined Richard Branson’s Virgin StartUp scheme to mentor like-minded entrepreneurs starting their own businesses and founded Tobin Capital – a rapid growth capital investor specialising in accelerating start-ups.
Nowcomm has been approved as a supplier in an online catalogue run by the Government that helps public sector organisations buy cloud-based computing services.
The Derby-based managed service provider is now listed on the GCloud 13 framework in lot two, which relates to cyber security, networks and collaboration services.
The framework, managed by the Crown Commercial Service, aims to simplify the procurement for IT services such as cloud hosting and software by central Government departments and other public
sector bodies – removing the need for a time-consuming full tender process.
IT providers must apply and be approved to be included in GCloud, which comprises a series of framework agreements with suppliers from which services can be bought with on-demand payment options.
James Baly (pictured), founder and front office director at Nowcomm, said: "G-Cloud 13 is instrumental to us in helping organisations on their digital transformation journey.
“The unstable economic situation
means some public sector organisations may struggle with attempting to automate and digitalise more of their infrastructure.
“Moreover, as demand for greater network bandwidth is increasing, so is the threat of cyber-attacks.
“Our security-first approach to hybrid work and networking enables us to deliver sustainable high-performance, functionality and efficiency, while reducing risk and increasing visibility.”
Nowcomm is one of a small number of Cisco partners in the UK to hold both Cisco Gold Partner and Master Collaboration statuses.
With employees due to be given the right to request flexible working from the moment they start a job, businesses need to start implementing fair and consistent policies and procedures.
Following a consultation by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), the Government announced in December it plans to give employees greater access to flexibility over where, when and how they work.
Under the new Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill, which was introduced by Labour MP Yasmin Qureshi, employees will be able to ask for flexible working from the first day at their new job instead of waiting 26 weeks. And whereas previously, employees were able to make a request once every 12 months, they will now have the right to make two in the same time period.
Two decades have passed since the UK introduced the right to request flexible working. Over the years, the legislation has changed dramatically and the pandemic forced an increase in demand for more flexibility from employees.
As a result of the new bill, employers will be required to consult with employees and discuss alternative options before rejecting their flexible working request. Currently, it is not clear whether this will be a statutory requirement or just soft guidance.
The new plans will require employers to
respond to requests within two months, down from three. In addition, the procedure for requesting flexible working will be simplified by removing the requirement for employees to set out how the effects of their request might impact upon the employer.
While it is not yet known when the legislation will be introduced, it is important employers start putting in place the right policies and procedures to manage flexible working – ensuring consistency when processing and dealing with applications – if they haven’t done so already.
Under the new legislation, employers can still refuse a flexible working request if at least one of the eight prescribed grounds apply:
•Planned structural changes
•Burden of additional costs
•Detrimental impact on quality
•Performance or ability to meet customer demands
•Inability to recruit additional staff
•Detrimental impact on performance
•Inability to reorganise work among existing staff
•Detrimental effect on ability to meet customer demand
•Lack of work during the periods the employee proposes to work.
It is important to note the legal right is for an employee to make a request to their employer and have that request properly considered – but not to insist their employer makes the changes requested.
Ultimately, employers have businesses to run and it will be up to them to decide if the requested arrangements are viable. If an employer has reasonable grounds for rejection, it is possible to insist the job is performed as
advertised, even when faced with an immediate request for flexible working.
However, employers should remember that flexibility in the workplace is a lifeline for some, rather than a perk, and has provided significant benefits in terms of wellbeing and work-life balance for younger families, single parents, carers, and lower earners, in particular.
Furthermore, providing flexible working, where viable, enables employees to feel included, which means they are likely to be more engaged.
This sense of belonging breeds an atmosphere of trust, as well as loyalty, which fosters multiple benefits for the workplace.
For example, attracting and retaining employees is a much easier task when businesses have a reputation for being flexible and forward-thinking.
With this in mind, employers should consider every request carefully, weighing up the benefits for the employee and the company against any potential adverse effects and ensuring that any decision is not discriminatory.
Adamson Jones, part of legal and professional services group Gateley, has acquired Symbiosis IP Limited.
Founded in 2008 by directors Julie Myint and Rob Docherty, Symbiosis is a chartered patent attorney firm specialising in IP services for the life sciences industry. It has offices in Evesham, Sheffield, York and Cardiff, which are geographically aligned to UK universities that lead in the industry fields it specialises in.
The firm has a successful track record of supporting innovation coming out of those university incubators. Its team has been involved with early-stage university IP transfers, as well as advising large multinational pharma and biotech groups.
The acquisition, confirmed in October, further enhances Adamson Jones’ and Gateley’s development of complementary business services with an IP and brands focus. The group aims to
build an industry-relevant patent and trademark attorney offering via a mix of acquisitive and organic growth, and by adding new patent specialisms and geographical areas.
Simon Cooper, director of Adamson Jones, said: “Symbiosis enhances the IP and patent services offered by Adamson Jones’ core offering in medical devices, engineering, electronics and software. We are very much looking forward to working together.”
With Valentine’s Day around the corner and many workplaces filled with couples, Smith Partnership employment solicitor Alexandra Bullmore (pictured) looks at how best to approach office romances so they do not cause problems – or lead to claims of unfair treatment.
Despite the popularity of online dating, most people in a romantic relationship are still more likely to have found their partner at work.
In a recent survey by recruitment site Total Jobs, 22% of 5,795 respondents said they met their other half in the workplace – against 18% who were introduced though friends, 13% who matched through dating apps and 10% who got together on a night out.
While most people would agree that finding love is a good thing, romance that blossoms in the workplace can become a HR headache if it starts to interfere with work.
Conflicts of interests and confidentiality issues can arise – with secrets meant strictly for the boardroom shared at home.
Similarly, colleagues might make complaints of preferential treatment, especially in situations where one half of the couple is in a more senior role than the other.
In the US, it is common for employees to have to enter into an employer agreement called a consensual relationship agreement if they are dating a work colleague, but no such regulation exists in the UK.
An employer would find it difficult to enforce a similar policy here due to the EU regulations on a right
to respect for private and family life. A ban on workplace relationships is unlikely to be enforceable in Britain.
To deal with such sensitive matters of the heart, UK employers need to take a softer approach. They may, for example, want to draft a policy requiring employees to at least disclose any relationships so that steps can be taken to remove any possible issues, such as changing reporting structures. Relationships at work policies are an option, but they are still rare in the UK. Whatever action is taken, employers must always make sure one person is not treated less favourably than another if they want to avoid any potential upset or claims. If your workplace is experiencing difficulties caused by romantic relationships, then you need to seek employment advice. Every situation is different, so it is important to look at the specific facts of each scenario to prevent any claims being brought.
It’s the foundation stone of everyone’s retirement provision– yet the state pension is so frequently overlooked.
And it’s my belief that 2023 is the perfect time to remedy this.
In short, it’s essential we all know when we’ll be eligible for the state pension and also have peace of mind that our contributions are entirely up to date.
We’re all living through uncertain economic times, but it remains essential to plan ahead to ensure we can retire when we want with sufficient funds for the quality of life we desire.
Last November, buried in the small print of the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement was a simple admission the Government will be “looking at” the state pension age in 2023.
To my mind, this gave the clearest signal yet this age is now likely to increase.
Though there are rises planned that would see the age go from 66 now to 67 in 2028, then 68 between 2044 and 2046, it’s entirely possible the coming review will speed up this process.
Nonetheless, for those about to retire, the new full state pension is £185.15 per week and this
will rise by over 10% in April when the triple-lock mechanism forces the Government to uplift payments.
First, everyone must undertake their own state pension forecast which – genuinely - couldn't be easier. If you go to www.gov.uk and search “check your state pension forecast”, you'll quickly be able to find out when your first payment will be received.
Importantly, it’s also possible to discover whether you've any gaps in your payments.
Based on this knowledge, you can then identify the cost implications of remedying this situation to receive your full state pension.
To conclude, in retirement planning – as in life – it always pays to be as prepared and fullyinformed as possible.
It’s highly likely your state pension will form the foundation stones on which your retirement will be based.
So, don’t delay and make certain you know when you’ll be eligible for your pension and how much you’ll receive at the earliest opportunity.
A review into the process of collecting card-based payments for good and services by the Payment System Regulator (PSR) has led to a list of remedies that will affect businesses. Andrew Billings-Giles, head of partnerships at Modern World Business Solutions, summarises the changes.
During my time with three major acquirers – financial institutions that process credit and debit card transactions on behalf of card issuers – I have witnessed firsthand the various merchant challenges as they conduct their business and accept payments. Those challenges still remain.
The PSR exists to ensure payment systems serve everybody as best they can while promoting competition and innovation in the interest of business. The PSR regulated 40.4 billion payments in 2021.
The main concerns in the cardacquiring market identified were:
• Acquirers and independent sales organisations (ISOs) do not typically publish their prices for
• The indefinite duration of contracts for point-of-sale (POS) terminals discourage merchants from searching and switching for other providers
Given the PSR’s remit around improving competition, supporting innovation and promoting end user interests, a thorough review of the card market was undertaken.
While mainstream acquirers and their ISOs (15 in total) are included, smaller entities have been ignored – in our opinion, this is not representative of the whole addressable market.
This leaves a large proportion of small businesses still with little choice or power to negotiate.
The PSR has issued a summary
of the final remedies it is introducing, with effect from January 2023:
• Summary boxes containing bespoke key price and non-price information to be sent individually to each business and shown prominently in their online account. The summary box can be used alongside new online quotation tools to help businesses compare prices and other service features more efficiently
• Online quotation tool using the information provided in the summary boxes to make
comparisons with different providers online
• Trigger messages to prompt businesses to shop around and/or switch. Messages will be sent by providers of cardacquiring services to businesses and shown prominently in their online accounts
• A maximum duration of 18 months for POS terminal lease and rental contracts with a rolling monthly contract thereafter to prevent businesses from being locked into lengthy contracts over several years.
Chesterfield College and the University of Derby have been appointed by Chesterfield Borough Council as the training providers for a new Construction Skills Hub in Derbyshire.
The hub, in Mastin Moor, will provide specialist training and work experience for more than 5,000 learners on a live construction site over a 10year period as part of the Staveley Town Deal.
It will initially provide training in site and bench joinery, brickwork, groundworks and electrical installation before expanding to include training in retrofit and green technologies.
Professor Chris Bussell, pro vice-chancellor and dean of the College of Science and Engineering at the University of Derby, said: “Our ambition is for this to be ground-breaking, delivering a model that builds on the innovative approach of other such centres, and we are looking forward to developing our relationship with Chesterfield College as well as working with prominent private sector companies on this exciting project.”
A 60-year-old says “old dogs can be taught new tricks” after signing up for an apprenticeship with Derby-based Blue Lion Training Academy.
Pat Mullen (pictured), a technical manager at chemical company Ineos’ plant in County Durham, is studying for a level five apprenticeship delivered by the training provider, based at Pride Park in Derby.
Blue Lion Training Academy gives adult learners the opportunity to gain apprenticeships to allow them to benefit the organisations they work for.
Pat, whose company produces materials used in medical equipment such as blood bags, is studying an improvement specialist apprenticeship, which includes a lean six sigma black belt qualification – an improvement structure for the workplace founded by car manufacturer Toyota.
He said: “I’m a real advocate for the lean sigma process and I was interested in undertaking this specialist improvement course. My HR department said it could now be done through an apprenticeship.
“I was surprised the training programme would still be called an apprenticeship, because the word ‘apprentice’ conjures up images of 16 to 17-year-olds. But some old dogs can be taught new tricks!”
This is the first apprenticeship Pat has undertaken in his long and varied career. Having started out in the 1980s as a lab technician, he has been an experimental technician, scientist, development engineer and polymer technologist. He has undertaken a master’s degree in chemistry and is also lean six sigma green belt-trained.
Pat said the apprenticeship offered by Blue Lion fitted in well with his busy day-to-day job as a manager. His 14-month-long course requires 20% of off-the-job training, but this can be undertaken at work among day-to-day activities.
Most of the learning takes place through instruction delivered online, but there are some face-to-face meetings too.
He added: “There is a lack of technology and problem-solving training out there. People do have to find out how to problem solve if they don’t know. The lean process is all about reducing waste – whether that’s physical, financial or concerns time, and six sigma is about reducing variation. It’s a great system and I’d like to encourage more people to give it a go.”
Harj Dhanjal, founder and CEO of Blue Lion Training Academy, said: “It’s great to see that people truly can learn and keep growing, whatever their age. Hats off to Pat for signing up to this apprenticeship with Blue Lion.”
Blue Lion offers a wide range of management, marketing, and media apprenticeships from level two to six, with the aim of bridge the gap between right brain thinkers – who veer towards creative subjects – and left brain thinkers, who tend to favour logical and analytical processes.
A global car parts manufacturer with sites in Leicestershire and Derbyshire is helping smaller organisations across the Midlands with the cost of apprenticeship training and assessment.
Plastic Omnium is a family-led independent group that operates worldwide and has 137 production plants in 25 countries. In the UK, the company mainly produces external car parts for Jaguar Land Rover.
The business engaged North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College (NWSLC) to recruit its own apprentices in engineering, business administration and lean manufacturing.
As part of its corporate social responsibility objectives, Plastic Omnium made the decision to
share resources from its Apprenticeship Levy fund to help small businesses that may struggle
to afford the cost of training for their apprentices.
Six SMEs across the Midlands working in engineering, construction and materials handling are set to benefit from the levy transfer process, which enables businesses with a turnover of £3m or more to pass on 25% of the value of their Apprenticeship Levy for use by other organisations.
Richard Haswell, UK HR director for Plastic Omnium, said: “We are delighted to be able to assist small businesses across the Midlands to build a talented workforce of their own using Apprenticeship Levy funding to help them develop new recruits or upskill existing employees.”
‘It’s great to see that people truly can learn and keep growing, whatever their age’Manufacturer supports SMEs apprentice Plastic Omnium will support SMEs with apprenticeship training Professor Chris Bussell
Bowmer + Kirkland is playing a key role in the next stage of The Island Quarter development in Nottingham – one of the UK’s biggest regeneration sites.
The Derbyshire-based national construction firm is project partner with site owner The Conygar Investment Company for the student accommodation phase.
The 12-storey, 693-bed development is currently underway at the £1.4bn, 36-acre development and is set to welcome its first residents in September 2024 ahead of the academic year.
It will offer a range of room types including studio flats and cluster living, and has been designed by DAY Architectural as part of The Island Quarter’s wider masterplan to combat the continuing shortfall in student accommodation in the city.
Bowmer + Kirkland regional
director Christian Parnell said: “It is fantastic to see our team start work on this exciting phase of The Island Quarter, in the heart of Nottingham. It is a city with which we have a long association, and our entire team is looking forward to being a part of the project and bringing the plans to fruition.”
It is estimated Nottingham will experience a deficit of 7,000 student beds within the coming years and this purpose-built student accommodation – which includes a high-level sky lounge, private courtyard, socialising and studying space – will go some way to supporting student living in the city.
It is also part of the development’s broader masterplan
promoting intergenerational living, with housing choices that work for all ages available on the site.
Student residents will benefit from the development’s new and existing restaurants and bars, as well as the “green river” of outdoor space that runs throughout The Island Quarter.
Christopher Ware, property director at Conygar, said: “Work is well under way on the new student blocks and large cranes are in the sky. We are pleased to be partnering with such a wellregarded company as Bowmer + Kirkland to deliver our vision.
“The new space will support Nottingham’s reputation as a leading university city and will provide another choice for city centre living for students, which will benefit future generations attending the universities for decades to come.”
Fleet Auction Group has acquired the final unit at Wymeswold Business Quarter, in Leicestershire.
The auto auctioneer is the last business to take up space at the development, which adjoins the existing Wymeswold Industrial Estate.
The overall scheme will create almost 100 jobs once construction has been completed early this year on 20 purpose-build industrial units, which range in size from 1,900 sq ft to 12,000 sq ft.
The Prince Group, which has developed the site, has included incentives to further reduce the environmental impact, including a green travel plan, ride-to-work scheme and free bus passes.
St Saviours care home, in Retford, has been bought by Firs Oakmount – with the support of law firm Shakespeare Martineau.
Previously owned and managed by the Sooriah family, St Saviours is a 58-bedroom facility for the elderly, offering care for those with dementia and physical disabilities.
Firs Oakmount, which also owns and manages The Old Rectory care home in Uttoxeter, purchased St Saviours as part of its growth strategy and has its sights set on further takeovers in the future.
Roger Harcourt, partner at Shakespeare Martineau who led the deal, said: “It’s great news for the residents of St Saviours and their families to see a high-quality provider like Firs Oakmont succeed the Sooriah family, who have been providing excellent care to the people of Retford for so long.”
The warehouse in Daniels Way
A warehouse located between junctions 26 and 27 of the M1, spanning just under 50,000 sq ft, has been leased to a DIY retailer on a 10-year deal.
FHP Property Consultants secured the deal to dispose the building in Daniels Way, Hucknall, on behalf of the owner.
UK Home Shopping, which sells discount home and DIY goods, has taken on the lease as part of its expansion.
A spokesperson said it will use the site to launch its new “tools to go” concept, making it the “biggest megastore of tools and machinery anywhere in the East Midlands to both the general public and the trade”.
Tim Gilbertson, director of FHP, said: “I am pleased with the result we gained here, securing a 10-year lease without break for our client on this good-quality building.
“A particular feature of this unit was its large yard, which is always a big selling point these days and helped us to secure the length of lease required. We wish the new tenant well in its expansion into the building.”
‘The new space will support Nottingham’s reputation as a leading university city’
In a break with tradition, motoring journalist Nick Jones –accompanied by his photographer Steve Hopkins – turns his attention from four wheels to two. He took a trip to the NEC for the Motorcycle Live 2022 show in November to find out what to expect for all things motorcycles in 2023.
Both Steve and I have attended motorbike shows many times and each year we both marvel on how many new innovations and razzmatazz ensue.
From electric test ride zones and adventure trials to Arenacross experiences and new models for 2023, the annual Motorcycle Live never fails to add excitement for all bikers. Here are our highlights.
BMW has a new bike for next year. The M 1000 R, its second M variant, boasts 210 horsepower and weighs just 199kg – it’s very much superbike meets dynamic roadster.
BSA is represented by the Gold Star bike and full range.
Ducati has four new bikes on offer – a Monster SP, Multistrada V4, Panigale V4R (the closest ever road bike that compares with a competition bike) and Streetfighter V4 Lamborghini. At an eyewatering cost of £56,000, you’ll need to be a real bike nut to order one of these. Stunning though, as you’d expect.
KTM has an on/off-roader dubbed the KTM 890 Adventure R designed with both tarmac and dirt in mind.
Honda has a new Dax, an updated version of the 1960s icon that may stir some memories from the past.
Kawasaki has two new entries for 2023, a Z400 and a Ninja 400. The latter is a street-born, trackinspired bike that looks gorgeous.
Norton has a new Commando 961 – the rebirth of a true modern classic.
Suzuki brings to the party no less than five new offerings, three scooters and two new off-roaders. The highlight is the V-Strom 1050DE, with high suspension travel for greater play when the going gets serious.
Triumph has a new Street Triple 765 R and RS, plus a limited edition Moto2 racer for the road.
Last but no means least is Yamaha with a new R125, delivering performance with affordable RSeries excitement.
A task that can set businesses up for a more effective year in 2023 is to spring clean your sales pipeline. Campbell McLean, of Sales Geek, explains the necessity of a realistic update to refresh and invigorate your prospects.
One of the realities of managing a sales pipeline is that sales professionals are born optimists –filling our pipeline with dream accounts we might like to win, rather than factually-driven prospects we have a chance of winning.
While it’s necessary to be optimistic and resilient, it’s good practice to have a long, hard look at what information we have on prospects, assess their value to the business and to make a hard-nosed assessment if they represent something valuable or not.
All too often, prospects that were once meaningful and valid have
become stale and unwinnable. Why clog up your sales pipeline with pipedreams when a more sparse, but truthful, pipeline will better direct you where to focus.
Help is at hand – perhaps even within your own business. Get the sales team and put them side by side with a few slightly more sceptical people from the business to ask questions about the age, status, winnability and value of each prospect.
If it’s dead, push it into a contact cadence for the future; if it’s alive,
give some thought to what needs to happen to move it forwards in the sales funnel.
Be brutal. Don’t start 2023 with a false revenue outlook based upon a perspective that could be at least a year old. Don’t be afraid to leave your pipeline looking thin at the end of the exercise.
Perhaps it’s time to refresh it with prospects in need of your help now and better aligned to your current value proposition.
At Sales Geek, we spend a significant amount of time helping customers build their revenue through being
• How old is the opportunity? Does the customer’s need still exist?
• When did the customer last speak to us? A sure indicator of when the customer has lost interest is they stop giving us their time
• Is it winnable? In the cold light of day, were we ever going to win? If not, move on
• Is it worth winning? Does the work you need to do for this customer adding value to your business’ bottom line?
• If in doubt – call them. If you are not sure the prospect is still active, try and arrange a meeting with the customer and their acceptance of a meeting is a good indicator they still want to deal with you.
honest and brave about what we are working on with them.
A position of transparency is far healthier than an opaque set of data that often creates a false sense of security with regards to what revenue is incoming. Don’t fall into that trap –spring clean your sales pipeline.
Iam delighted and honoured to be president of East Midlands Chamber for 2023. The Chamber is a huge asset for our region and a worthy winner of UK Chamber of the Year for 2022/23. Lindsey Williams did a great job as our last president, giving energy and wisdom to the role at a time when we were emerging blinking into the sunshine after the darkness that was Covid and its many restrictions. I will do my best to be equally worthy of the role.
I was born in Leicester and live in the city. My career began at HM Treasury. I had a couple of years as a management consultant before joining Alliance & Leicester. I became head of strategic planning, project-managed the bank’s flotation when it joined the FTSE 100, and was eventually director of corporate communications and part of the bank’s executive committee.
I later took up a number of non-executive roles together with some consultancy work. These have covered the public, private and notfor-profit sectors. I was deputy chair of East Midlands Ambulance Service, chair of WQE Sixth Form College in Leicester, a member of the audit committee of the University of Leicester and am currently a governor of De Montfort University. In addition, I am secretary of one of the region’s biggest cycling clubs and on the board of the independent supporters trust for Leicester City Football Club.
I joined the board of Leicestershire Chamber in 2005. As deputy chair, I worked closely with the chair, Kevin Harris, to progress the merger with Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, which formed East Midlands Chamber. I am chair of the risk and audit committee, and have the same role for EMB Group, a thriving business that is two-thirds owned by the Chamber.
The Chamber has scale and high-quality staff, enabling it to deliver excellent services. It also holds a special place as one of the very few voices for the East Midlands as a region.
As chair of the Chamber’s Leicestershire member’s forum for many years, I have seen how discussions with members around themes such as the skills agenda, levelling up, investment, trade policy, climate change, devolution and much more feed through into action, such as the publication of the Chamber’s Business Manifesto for Growth, A Centre of Trading Excellence, launched in Parliament at the end of 2022.
I know from discussions with MPs and others the work of the Chamber on policy issues is really appreciated and fills what would otherwise be a void.
Business is the main engine of wealth in our economy. My belief is that good business leadership also recognises a broader purpose, not just the creation of profit and wealth. My two main themes as president reflect this view. They are; to give meaningful support – to our local communities and, also, to our next generations These themes form the basis for two challenges I would like to set out for all of our members.
Already, more than two-thirds of Chamber members engage with CSR (corporate social responsibility) and ESG (environmental, social and governance) activities. I want to encourage more to do so and, more importantly, ensure engagement is done in ways meeting the real needs of their communities.
My first challenge for all our members is to spend time in 2023 to find out how they can help with the real needs of their local community.
This can be tricky – where do you start to find out about these real needs? One of the best ways is to talk to your local community foundation. These are independent charities that manage funds for businesses, individuals, Government and others to support the many local organisations that keep our communities safe and healthy – often organisations that are small and fly under the radar, but whose support
for our communities is vital. I am proud to chair the Leicestershire and Rutland Community Foundation (LRCF), and equally proud to have made Foundation Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire Community Foundation and LRCF my three charities of the year. I hope the modest spotlight the presidency gives me can help raise awareness of community foundations as key parts of our regional infrastructure.
Any help for our next generation and generation next-but-one will bear fruit not only in addressing skills shortages, but also for the broader wellbeing of our society.
Better connections between business and education can help the delivery of training. It can also raise the awareness of young people about their opportunities and raise their aspirations.
My second challenge for our members is to spend time in 2023 to find out how they can most effectively support local education providers.
The Chamber’s own Generation Next also plays a role here. As you will see elsewhere in this issue, this network is building a thriving set of activities and support for younger business leaders.
The Generation Next awards are open for entries now – I attended the awards presentation last year, and it was a vibrant and uplifting event highlighting some great personal and business stories. If you are under-35 or employ people who are, please check out Generation Next at generationnextemc.co.uk.
My hope is that any members who accept my two challenges can start a productive, lasting engagement, to deliver real change not just “ticking a CSR box”.
I am proud to be a part of the work the Chamber does, and proud to be its president. This year will, I am sure, have its broader challenges as well as my two modest ones. I wish all our members and the Chamber the wisdom, the will and the compassion to rise to and meet those challenges and to thrive in 2023.
