Business Network July August 2021

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BUSINESS

Keep up to date on latest developments at

network www.emc-dnl.co.uk/news

JULY/AUGUST 2021

@EMChamberNews

LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL? HOW THE RETURN OF SPECTATORS HOLDS THE KEY TO SUCCESS BOTH ON AND OFF THE PITCH INTERVIEW

POLITICS

LEICESTER TIGERS CEO ANDREA PINCHEN ON STARTING ROLE MID-LOCKDOWN

NEW CAMPAIGN TO CONNECT NOTTINGHAM AND LEICESTER WITH COVENTRY

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T: 01709 529709 W: www.daviesturner.com E: rotherhamsales@daviesturner.co.uk

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THE FIRST WORD

CONTENTS JULY/AUGUST 2021

NEWS UPDATE 4

MEMBER NEWS Morningside Pharmaceuticals renews cricket deal

26 APPOINTMENTS Graduates join the team at accountants

here’s many things I’ve missed over the past 16 months but, as an avid sports fan, one of the biggest has been the ability to attend big sports events. Whether it’s watching my football team home and away in freezing, semi-crumbling stadiums or taking in a sweltering T20 game under the Friday night lights at Trent Bridge, life without live sport has certainly been an inferior existence.

In the East Midlands, we’re fortunate enough to have a wealth of top-level clubs on our doorstep across sports including football, rugby, cricket, basketball and ice hockey.

They’re part of the cultural fabric of our three counties, so it should be a big concern for everyone just how damaging the pandemic has been on their finances.

The gradual relaxing of lockdown restrictions means fans have finally been allowed to return, but 25% and 50% capacities are just not quite the same as a packed, bouncing stadium – and getting back to full venues must be the ultimate goal.

Ian Morgan OBE, who chairs the boards at the Chamber and Derbyshire County Cricket Club, says his club is losing money by hosting matches for reduced crowds because of the overheads involved with implementing Covid-secure procedures.

He is joined in our focus feature (p66) by a Nottingham University Business School academic, who explains the wider economic impact on our cities by effectively banning public sporting events.

There are crises and there is the situation Andrea Pinchen walked into when she took over as chief executive of Leicester Tigers two months into the first lockdown – a period, she tells us in the big interview (p28), that was the worst in its 140-year history as just about all income streams were cut overnight.

It’s been a challenging time but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t take stock and celebrate what out region has to offer – not just in sport, but in a whole host of key sectors – as we do in the second East Midlands Top 500 Companies Index, profiled on p34.

Meanwhile, after the Chamber recently launched a new campaign to help businesses engage with their communities in a more impactful way, we’re delighted to showcase the best examples of CSR and ESG activities on our new EMComingTogether page on p18.

We hope you enjoy this issue – and that by the next one, we’ll be back in full stadiums.

T

Dan Robinson, Editor, Business Network

THE BIG INTERVIEW 28 Andrea Pinchen, CEO of Leicester Tigers 32 PATRONS Designing a hybrid workplace for the future 34 CHAMBER NEWS East Midlands Top 500 Companies Index

SUSTAINABLE EAST MIDLANDS 52 University leads fight against climate change

INTERNATIONAL TRADE 54 Meeting the demands of post-Brexit trade

POLITICS 56 Campaign group wants direct rail link between East and West Midlands cities

FEATURES 59 REGENERATING THE EAST MIDLANDS Securing our future… in more ways than one 63 Can technology save our high streets?

66 FOCUS FEATURE The return of sports fans after Covid-19 71 SKILLS & TRAINING Future skills: Are you thinking about them?

77 Cognitive diversity: A workforce need

TRAINING & EVENTS 80 Business Awards 2021 finalists revealed

DIGITAL & TECHNOLOGY

Editor Dan Robinson T: 07764 431028 E: dan.robinson@emc-dnl.co.uk Contributor Jasmine Thompson All Submissions E: magazine@emc-dnl.co.uk Chamber Membership E: membership@emc-dnl.co.uk Follow the Chamber W: www.emc-dnl.co.uk Twitter: @EMChamberNews

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BUSINESS NETWORK is produced on behalf of East Midlands Chamber (Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire) 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) may not be reproduced, transmitted or stored in print or electronic format without prior written permission of Kemps Publishing Ltd.

82 How the Digital Upscaler programme can help ambitious businesses

BUSINESS SUPPORT 86 LEGAL Reporting your organisation’s gender pay gap 90 FINANCE Adopting ESG in investing decisions 92 SKILLS Mansfield and Ashfield's plan to embrace automation 94 PROPERTY Work progressing at Nottingham canalside development 96 MOTORING Nick Jones tests the DS 7 Crossback 97 INFORMATION Navigating the return to the office

COMMENT 98 THE LAST WORD Chamber president Eileen Richards MBE on how the East Midlands continues to be a hotbed for innovation business network July/August 2021

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MEMBER NEWS

Morningside renews cricket deal Junior cricketers have been invited

by Leicestershire County Cricket Club (LCCC) to learn about sports science and medicine – after Morningside Pharmaceuticals renewed the naming rights for its health centre.

Morningside Medical Centre, based at LCCC’s Uptonsteel County Ground in Grace Road, was originally founded in 2016 to treat both players and the public for injuries or other medical issues.

Since then, the facility has become a critical treatment area for the players, who can receive both specialist physiotherapy and urgent medical assistance in an emergency.

‘Developing sports science is an essential part of the club’s long-term plans’ As the medical centre has become more established, it has developed into a hub for sports science and medicine, and the cricketers aged 10 to 18 from LCCC’s academy are now being invited to visit and learn more about these key study areas.

Dr Nik Kotecha OBE, chairman of Morningside Pharmaceuticals, said: “At Morningside, we’re immensely proud to continue our support of the Morningside Medical Centre.

“We’re passionate about promoting sports, healthy living

Leicestershire CCC players and coaches, including club captain Colin Ackermann (right), outside Morningside Medical Centre

and teamwork, as well as education, skills and helping young people into the world of work.

“Developing sports science is an essential part of the club’s longterm plans and, in particular, we are very supportive of their focus on how sports and physical activity promotes good health, mental

Derby Property Summit set to return Derby is to showcase £1.2bn of investment opportunities when the Derby Property Summit returns.

Featuring a line-up of respected keynote speakers and panellists, the event will take place in Derby city centre on Wednesday 14 July.

Sponsored by Adair, Scenariio and Faithful + Gould, it is expected to attract business leaders, key decision-makers and investors from across the region and beyond.

Once again, the Derby Property Summit will be hosted by business journalist Declan Curry – but for the first time, it will be a hybrid event.

The networking element will take place in Market Place Al Fresco Dining Experience, with the conference held at the QUAD cinema.

John Forkin, managing director of Marketing Derby, which is hosting the summit, said: “The Derby Property Summit has become a landmark event in providing delegates with insight into the investment journey and future pipeline.

“This year, we have an incredibly exciting line-up of speakers and panellists – all of whom are playing critical roles in repurposing Derby for the future.”

Tickets to the live event and face-to-face networking area are limited to event sponsors only.

For more information or to register for the event, visit www.marketingderby.co.uk/derby-property-summit

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business network July/August 2021

health, wellbeing and teamwork.”

About 225 young cricketers will benefit from the programme – which is being run through LCCC’s academy of cricket by strength and conditioning coach Edd RileyGibson and physiotherapist Ryan Smith.

Sean Jarvis, chief executive of

LCCC, added: “Working with the local community, particularly young people, is very important to us, which is why introducing them to the medical centre’s work is a crucial part of our ambitions to raise awareness of sports science and other sports and medical focused careers.”

LRS grants help sports firms stay in business Support from Leicester-Shire and Rutland Sport (LRS) has helped sports businesses across the county keep going during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Open water triathlon venue Race Rapid, based in Mallory Park, was among the recipients of a small grant and support from LRS after 80% of its large multisport events planned in summer 2020 were cancelled.

This left founder Rob Osborn facing the distinct possibility that his fledgling business at the UK’s only private open water triathlon venue would close.

When he received a small hardship grant from LRS it was the last resort to meet the most pressing costs and keep the business going.

The funding bought Rob the time he needed to pivot to a new model for his business.

By introducing a new “walk-up” strategy for local runners, cyclists and swimmers wanting to use the specialist facilities, he broadened the customer base with informal footfall needed to sustain the business across the season.

That model, combined with a promotional campaign supported

by LRS, sustained the business and increased its customer base.

It means Rob now plans to invest on an expansion strategy.

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MEMBER NEWS

Larger facility for Covid19 test manufacturer A company that has been at the frontline in the fight against Covid19 is to create up to 1,000 new jobs after agreeing to purchase a new manufacturing centre in Nottinghamshire.

Derby-based SureScreen Diagnostics plans a phased increase of its workforce up to 1,300 after moving into the new site at Sherwood Business Park, in Annesley, in June.

The expansion follows an order for tens of millions of antigen tests for Covid-19 from the UK Government.

Director David Campbell said: “This is a huge step to increasing our capacity to meet demand, but also to establish one of the best lateral flow manufacturing facilities for the future.”

Since Covid-19 first emerged in late 2019, SureScreen has developed antibody and antigen

tests that have been exported to 53 countries and dependencies in every corner of the world.

Their accuracy was deemed to be excellent, and, as a result, 20 million were ordered by the UK Government for its national rapid testing programme.

Orders for both tests prompted an increase in people from 60 to more than 300 over the course of a year.

But with SureScreen's new site, based near junction 27 of the M1, it believes headcount will grow rapidly given the high levels of demand.

Foundations for sporting success Derby construction firm Hodgkinson Builders is hoping to build up the nation’s sporting success by becoming the latest sponsor of the Derbyshire Institute of Sport (DIS).

The property developer, based in Pride Park, has taken out gold sponsorship with the DIS – and the support enables the organisation to extend its work with young talented athletes.

As a gold sponsor, Hodgkinson Builders will receive a raft of benefits for its own employees – all designed to improve physical and mental wellbeing.

Operations director Robert Hodgkinson said: “Sporting success transcends sport in that it inspires people in every walk of life – not just to lead healthier lifestyles and be more active, but to be the best they can be.”

Derby rams set to cause bidding frenzy A Derby public relations agency says it is looking forward to what promises to be a frantic bidding war for the city’s popular ram trail sculptures after it agreed to sponsor the auction where they will all be sold off.

Penguin PR, based in Ashbourne Road, has given its support to the Derby Ram Trail auction event, which will be held at the Derby Museum and Art Gallery in the Wardwick when the trail comes to an end in September.

Thirty of the fibreglass rams are set to go under the hammer during the auction, which will be conducted by Charles Hanson, who runs Hansons Auctioneers and is a regular face on TV’s Bargain Hunt and Flog It. Penguin PR director Simon Burch said: “The Derby Ram Trail has already created a huge impact in the city and it’s wonderful to see so many people visiting the rams and having their photos taken.

“What you don’t really appreciate until you get up really close to them is the skill and wonderful attention to detail that the artists have shown while painting them, which reminds you that they are each a work of art.”

Proceeds raised at the auction will go towards the Derby Museums’ Endowment Fund, meaning that every penny raised will be doubled with match funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund supporting the long-term future of Derby Museums.

Simon added: “There is bound to be a huge interest owning the rams so we’re delighted to be sponsoring the auction.”

Penguin PR directors Simon Burch and Sarah Newton with “Rameses”

The Chamber’s young professionals’ network Generation Next is also supporting the Derby Ram Trail – and its ram, “Ramtastic”, is listed number one on the trail map.

Read more on page 45.

business network July/August 2021

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MEMBER NEWS

Safeguarding historic artefacts Almost a millennium’s worth of heritage and some of Nottingham’s most treasured artefacts have been protected during the £30m redevelopment of the city’s castle – thanks to technological innovation by citybased firm Ramtech.

After three years of closure for extensive refurbishment and conservation works, Nottingham Castle reopened to the public on 21 June.

Castle Marina-headquartered Ramtech, which designs and develops wireless solutions, worked in partnership with Nottingham City Council and Nottingham Castle Trust to provide a tailored fire detection and alert system during the renovation programme.

Lead contractor G F Tomlinson specified Ramtech’s EN54-

compliant WES3 technology and REACT system, which provided 24/7 fire and emergency monitoring to the construction site – minimising the risk to lives, mitigating site damage and protecting irreplaceable assets.

‘It feels like a birthday gift to be able to showcase how far we have come’ Andy Hicks, managing director at Ramtech, said: “Being involved in such an important project for Nottingham – and using our expertise and innovative solutions to keep lives safe, and protect the city’s treasures – has been a privilege.

“We were founded in Nottingham, we’re based in Castle Marina and we are currently

celebrating our 30th anniversary, so it feels like a birthday gift to be able to showcase how far we have come by working on a major landmark in our home city.”

The extreme likelihood of fire damage occurring on job sites is widely recognised. Latest figures from the Home Office show that between April 2018 and March 2019, fire and rescue services attended 365 fires on construction sites in England – increasing from 333 in 2014/15.

Andy added: “Ensuring the heritage of Nottingham Castle was preserved, as well as protecting the lives of construction workers, was key. However, safeguarding 953 years of history from the risk of fire during a significant refurbishment was a challenging undertaking, especially as the castle site is particularly complex.”

Cushions help home workers An award-winning cushion developed to help people in wheelchairs is being snapped up by osteopaths across the UK to help deal with an increasing number of back problems caused by working on home furniture.

Derbyshire firm Airospring Medical originally produced the wheelchair cushion specifically for Paralympic cyclist Karen Darke MBE, who used it when she won a gold medal at Rio in 2016.

Now the cushion has been given a new lease of life after an explosion in back problems due to people working from home on kitchen stools and sofas.

Osteopath Sue Morrison, who practices in East Anglia, says she is seeing increasing musculoskeletal problems stemming from workers sitting for long periods of time on unsuitable kitchen or dining chairs.

Sue said: “We are dealing with a lot of spinal problems. During lockdown people’s everyday lives were restricted, so they couldn’t go to the gym or a Pilates class and instead they were spending long hours on their laptops.

‘Our cushions have proven invaluable for so many people working from home’ Airospring Medical owner Charles Wood

“A laptop is not set up as well for them as their office station would be and these cushions are extremely good as they offer support to stop the back sagging.”

Airospring Medical, which belongs to Baltex, started in 1831 when the Industrial Revolution was in full swing.

Today, ever forward-looking, the company has used its award-winning 3D technology to manufacture the special pressure-relieving cushions.

The Airospring cushion won the Innovation Prize for Technical Textiles at a Textile Institute World Conference. Each is made from at least three layers of fabric, which spread the weight between them so that the pressure is not just localised in one area.

And Charles Wood, the eighth-generation owner of the Ilkeston-based technical textiles maker, says a number of employers have also bought the highly 6

business network July/August 2021

supportive cushions to make home workers more comfortable and ward off back problems in the future.

Charles said: “The pandemic has meant millions of people are now working from home and will probably continue to do so for at least part of the week, well into the future.

“Our cushions have proven invaluable for so many people working from home. Long Zoom and Teams calls can be uncomfortable, and our fabric technology is the best way to avoid ‘numb bum’.

“We are also receiving a lot of enquiries from HR heads who know they need to give strong consideration to looking after their staff when they are working from home.”

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MEMBER NEWS

Ramtech's technology provided 24/7 fire and emergency monitoring to the construction site at Nottingham Castle

WES3 is a wireless fire, evacuation and emergency alarm system that has been engineered to deliver the highest standards of legislative compliance, while meeting the unique fire safety challenges of construction sites.

It links with REACT – Ramtech’s next generation of cloud-based wireless fire safety systems – enabling site management teams to have complete control of communications.

Sara Blair-Manning, chief executive officer at Nottingham Castle Trust, said: “The Ducal Palace and its grounds posed a complex site that had to be considered not only in relation to personnel safety, but ultimately the protection of over 1,000 years of history. The completion of the renovation safely has allowed us to open as soon as Covid-19 restrictions have allowed and to finally unveil unique treasures that will secure Nottingham as a global tourism destination.”

Ceilings secured by partnership A three-year knowledge transfer partnership (KTP) between SAS International and Loughborough University has developed a new ceiling design to be used in countries at the greatest risk of earthquakes.

The ceiling bracing system has greater performance than existing products, is easy to manufacture and simple to install – and possible patenting options are currently being explored.

In addition, a range of upgrade kits have been created for many of the company’s existing products to ensure suitability in seismic regions.

Matt Harrison, head of technical at SAS International, said: The KTP programme delivers opportunities for truly impactful collaborations between academia and industry while offering unique development opportunities for graduates.”

As a result of the partnership, the markets within which SAS International can now operate has significantly expanded, and the company has opened new offices in the US.

Louise McElvaney

E-learning firm is top place to work Learning Pool has been recognised as one of the best places to work by a specialist in employee engagement.

The e-learning platform provider was given a three-star accreditation, the highest standard achievable, by Best Companies in its 2021 ranking.

The company, which has an office in Nottingham, received a two-star rating in 2020.

The new rating coincides with a year of growth, including the recent acquisition of Colorado-based learning management specialists Remote Learner.

Louise McElvaney, director of people and performance, said: “Obtaining the top accreditation from Best Companies during a particularly challenging time is a tremendous achievement.

“Our team, which has grown to more than 260 colleagues over the past year, is the engine behind our sustained success and continued growth.”

Working with some of the world’s best-known brands, Best Companies measures, improves and recognises workplace engagement and compiles annual “best companies to work for” lists for organisations such as The Sunday Times and Business Insider.

Learning Pool CEO Ben Betts added: “Accreditations like these reaffirm our commitment to ensuring a positive working environment and provides colleagues with an open channel to offer suggestions on how we can improve.

“Our colleagues throughout the business have astonished us this year with their continued focus and enthusiasm, despite obvious challenges.”

The Chamber also featured in two categories of the Best Companies to Work For lists – ranking 77th in the Midlands’ 100 Best Companies to Work For and 13th in the national Business Services’ 20 Best Companies to Work For. business network July/August 2021

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MEMBER NEWS

Finding the right component to weather Covid-19 An Ilkeston filter specialist has come through the pandemic in a healthy state, taking increased orders that has resulted in a move to larger premises and hiring extra staff.

AB Components is a wholesale distributor of quality filters and filtration accessories – from halfinch square items for garden machinery to seven-foot-high units to deal with dust in food preparation.

In 2008, the company relocated its warehousing, sales and accounts to the Manners Industrial Estate, moving round the corner into larger premises in 2014.

Earlier this spring, it moved again to a larger unit on the estate at Mercian Park, doubling its footprint from 6,000 sq ft to more than 12,000 sq ft with purposebuilt offices, conference facilities and storage at a cost of £150,000.

Company director James Edgar said: “While other companies were shutting or furlough staff because

of the Covid restrictions, we carried on with full working and actually grew. This is because additional companies needed more filters for their businesses and ordered more supplies. We hope that the health problems caused by viruses will encourage more people – both businesses and individuals - to buy our products for their premises and homes.”

The company sells air purifiers for anything from small rooms to whole buildings – some business premises don't have windows that people can open for fresh air – and filters for motorbikes, cars, trucks, tractors, diggers, fridges and even hot tubs. The filters, which are sourced from 150 suppliers across the world, all have the same purpose – either to stop harmful particles getting into the environment or causing damage to complicated and expensive machinery.

AB Components claims they eliminate at least 99.99% of

James Edgar

‘We hope that the health problems caused by viruses will encourage more people – both businesses and individuals - to buy our products for their premises and homes’ airborne pollutants, including viruses, bacteria pollen and dust, from the air – which is particularly important for people with allergies and breathing problems.

The company, which is the sole distributor for some brands and has about 9,000 filters in stock at any one time, had a turnover in the last financial year of £2.5m.

The family business includes two brothers-in-law among the 20 employees and James has plans to expand following its recent growth.

“We have plans for three more staff in the next quarter and we expect to take on more,” added James, who is a hands-on boss taking on sales and marketing as well as attending business shows.

Healthcare provider acquires capital share

SME support service on offer at Uni of Derby The University of Derby has launched a new programme to support senior managers of small and medium-sized businesses.

The Help to Grow: Management scheme, which is 90% funded by the Government, will support senior managers to boost their SME’s performance, resilience and long-term growth.

Taking place over a 12-week period, the new training programme will combine one-to-one mentoring with a practical curriculum that will be taught by the university’s business experts.

Professor Kamil Omoteso, pro vice-chancellor dean of the college of business, law and social science at the university, said: ‘Our academics have a wealth of knowledge and experience, and are ideally placed to support small businesses to help upskill their workforce, innovate and realise their growth ambitions.”

To register your interest on the Help to Grow: Management programme, visit: bit.ly/help-to-grow 8

business network July/August 2021

HealthNet Homecare has acquired share capital from its parent company Lexon UK. The Derbyshire homecare provider, which was supported

by Barclays Corporate Banking, said the deal marked a “new era” of future investment in patient care at home and helping the NHS transform the way speciality clinical homecare is delivered across the country.

This comes off the back of fast year-on-year growth for HealthNet, going from a start-up business in 2015 to being the third largest provider of clinical homecare today.

CEO Kerry Hinton said: “We would like to thank Lexon UK for its valuable support and to Barclays for supporting the acquisition of Lexon UK share capital, to ensure that our future business not only continues to grow, but also that ongoing investment will drive even greater focus on innovation and technology.

“We know that by streamlining the way we work with the NHS

and pharmaceutical companies, we can help change the landscape of how chronic, acute and rare diseases are managed in the community.”

Its success has stemmed from continued investment in people and premises, alongside using a fully integrated pharmacy supply chain and clinical support model to drive efficiency and clarity for its stakeholders.

Kerry added: “We have focused on making our core services steadfastly reliable and simple to use. This has allowed us to concentrate on ways to create the successful programmes that drive adherence, reduce wastage and gather assessment data or patient reported measures to improve clinical outcomes.”

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MEMBER NEWS

Innovative savings for Murphy & Son Murphy & Son – an international professional brewing supplies and consultancy business – says it has saved almost £100,000 over the past three years after making a commitment to product development and innovation.

The Nottingham-based business, which has supported the world’s leading breweries for more than 130 years, is well known for its forward-thinking liquor treatments and has recently made progress towards a number of product advancements.

‘We are constantly striving to develop and bring new products to the market’ These advancements include testing levels of sensitive proteins and tannic acid when creating a more sustainable cloudy consistency for beverages, working towards the production of vegan beer, and manufacturing its renowned remodelled layer board for transporting stock more efficiently.

Charles Nicholds, managing

The laboratory at Murphy & Son

director at Murphy & Son, said: “Innovation and technical support are incredibly important parts of our business.

“We are constantly striving to develop and bring new products to the market, improve our own manufacturing processes and help the industry with beverage storing methods.

“Now more than ever, it’s essential that we stay ahead of the curve and put time, money and resources into developing our offering as a company.”

R&D tax returns – which were secured by accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young Nottingham – have played a key part in the success of its projects, helping secure funds to continue its innovation.

This corporation tax relief was introduced by Government in 2000 to incentivise SMEs to invest in advancing their overall levels of knowledge and capability by allowing them to claim an enhanced tax deduction for qualifying expenditure incurred, with the ultimate policy aim of

increasing cutting-edge research and wealth creation across the UK, by companies in the UK. Murphy & Son’s projects have benefited from additional tax relief on 130% of all costs attributed to its R&D efforts – including lab equipment and consumables, product trials and testing, and staff costs.

James Simmonds, partner at UHY Nottingham and head of the firm's national drinks sector group, said: “By identifying all aspects of the business’ recent projects that qualified for research and development relief, we’ve been able to supply the company with essential funds to ensure the brewery sector continues to progress and innovate – despite the difficulties that have recently fallen upon the industry following Covid19.”

Charles added: “UHY's services have ensured that we can continue to extend our research by helping us to benefit from the Government’s R&D initiative and save money on key costs across the business. We’ve worked with the UHY team for three years now and look forward to working closely with it for the foreseeable future.”

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MEMBER NEWS

Leicester’s new business tourism service takes off

Tina Brown

Rebrand for CCM Group Nottinghamshire-based CCM Group has relaunched its B2B creative arm after a rebrand.

The multi-faceted company has experienced substantial employee and financial growth over the past year, which has now enabled the team to rethink the direction of its CCM Creative division – which specialises in multi-channel marketing, graphic design, brand creation, print and product procurement and fulfilment.

The rebrand will align the division more closely with its personality, full-suite marketing offering and the needs of its creative clients.

Tina Brown, managing director of CCM Creative, said: “As we’ve grown over this past year, we have been able to invest in our offering, our technology and our team, which has enabled us to develop this side of the business even further.”

The main purpose of the new brand is to combine the three main services into a full, all-encompassing offer to save clients’ time and money in having to outsource all elements of marketing, including digital marketing, design work and print fulfilment, to multiple agencies.

Tina added: “We’re confident that identifying what it really is that we are able to bring to the table for our clients and more importantly, why that is so valuable to them, is what sets us apart from other marketing agencies, and allows us to deliver on clients’ projects from each and every online and offline angle.

“Being that one point of contact for all of our clients’ creative requirements is something we’re very proud to offer, and the feedback we’ve had so far has been incredible.”

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business network July/August 2021

A new initiative to support the recovery and growth of Leicester’s business tourism market has been launched.

Meet Leicester is a public-private sector partnership comprising 40 venues based in and around Leicester and the wider county.

Its aim is to increase business tourism in the area by promoting the portfolio of venues available to the conference and meetings.

Funded by Leicester City Council, Leicestershire County Council, and the Leicester and Leicestershire Local Enterprise Partnership (LLEP), Meet Leicester is led by business tourism manager Samantha Hall and assistant Pasquale Buonanno.

‘The vibrant city offers so many options for events – from its countryside venues, to the story of King Richard III found in a city centre car park’ It offers a free and impartial venue-finding service to conference organisers for any size of meeting from 10 to 1,000 delegates.

Samantha said: “I am so proud to be promoting such an exciting destination and helping to support the recovery of such a diverse range of quality venues.”

The team at Meet Leicester is now raising awareness about the attractions of hosting events in the county – and has launched a new website to make it easier for organisers to find the right venues for their events.

Samantha added: “Leicestershire is situated in an ideal location, home to East Midlands Airport and just 30 miles to Birmingham International Airport – with a mainline station just a 66-minute train journey from London St Pancras, and easy access from the M1.

“The vibrant city offers so many options for events – from its countryside venues, to the story of King

Pasquale Buonanno and Samantha Hall will lead Meet Leicester

Richard III found in a city centre car park and the tales of the planets in the National Space Centre, alongside its range of sporting venues and hotels – and our easyto-use website will help organisers find the right fit for their event plans.”

To view the 40 venues listed on the Meet Leicester website, visit www.meetleicester.co.uk

BookBench trail to drive footfall Residents and visitors are being encouraged to follow a new “BookBench” sculpture trail that has been unveiled across North Nottinghamshire – with the hope of driving footfall back to town centres.

The trail has been organised by North Notts BID in collaboration with Wild in Art – a producer of public art events – and includes 40 uniquely-designed benches on display in Worksop, Retford, Harworth and Tuxford.

They can be uncovered using a virtual trail map available for download on the North Notts Journeys website, or printed versions that can be picked up in shops and cultural institutions in the area.

Sally Gilborn, chief executive of the BID, said: We're really looking forward to seeing people explore the sculptures with their friends and family – uncovering parts of North Nottinghamshire that they may have never seen before and

North Notts BID chief executive Sally Gillborn and board director George Buchanan with one of the benches

helping to drive footfall back towards the town centres to support local businesses after a difficult year.”

The BookBenches were created by local schools in partnerships with artists and businesses, celebrating the region’s heritage and showcasing its creative talents.

Inspirations include the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower crossing and a tribute to NHS keyworkers.

The trail will run for eight weeks throughout the summer, with people encouraged to post pictures on social media using the hashtag #NorthNottsJourneys.

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New market created by firms’ merger A merger between Derbyshirebased Mercia Image Print and Sheffield-based The Print & Design Factory has created a new market to help springboard the company’s recovery after Covid-19 caused havoc to its hospitality and retail sales.

Managing director Amanda Strong was approached by The Print & Design Factory in October 2020 with an offer to buy Merica Image, and the businesses successfully merged.

The Print & Design Factory group commercial director Craig Ikin said: “The future certainly looks brighter than it did last year for Mercia Image, with the diversification into bespoke packaging and with the retail and hospitality sectors now returning. As those industries get going again, things are certainly looking rosy - endorsing the fact that we are indeed stronger together.”

Bringing sweet treats to Nottingham Customers visiting Nottingham’s Victoria Centre are in for a treat after a food gifting wholesaler opened a new store.

TTK Confectionery has opened a new Treat Kitchen shop, based in the same unit as the old Thorntons shop at the entrance to the centre.

The store will feature a selection of delicious food gifts including sweets, biscuits, chocolates and toffee – and will be led by customer experience manager Kay Dixon, who has worked in confectionery gifting for 18 years.

She said: “We are pleased to be able to continue offering our in-store personalisation and giftwrapping services but also excited to introduce customers to new products from the Treat Kitchen range. Working closely with local businesses, customers will be able to grab a takeaway coffee provided by local roastery Stewarts, a delicious cake from Jasmin and the team at Homemade, as well as an ice cream from Bluebells Diary.”

TTK Confectionery has not had a Treat Kitchen store in Nottingham since 2017, deciding to build up the wholesale business, which is now selling into 21 countries worldwide.

Brand director Jess Barnett added: “We feel a strong connection to the city, so I am thrilled that we have this opportunity to open a new retail store in Nottingham. We will be using the store to promote our local charity partners Base 51 and Double Impact with the profits of dedicated ranges going to fund amazing projects across the city.”

The Treat Kitchen store features a selection of food gifts

Branding agency wins top award Dr Kate Godfree

HR views sought on sick leave HR professionals are being encouraged to share their thoughts on how Covid-19 has affected long-term sick leave in their workplaces, to help inform policy changes in the future.

The Mental Health and Productivity Pilot (MHPP), a Midlands Engine initiative, is seeking to interview 40 HR professionals about how the pandemic has changed their approach to managing longterm sick leave.

Dr Kate Godfree, research associate at Loughborough University, said: “These interviews aim to explore how we can better support those across the Midlands Engine area.”

Any HR professional wishing to be interviewed should get in touch via Prowork@lboro.ac.uk

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A Nottinghamshire marketing and branding company has been recognised as one of the leading agencies of its kind in the UK by picking up a top industry award.

Threerooms, based at Strelley Hall, was one of just three UK companies to receive the prestigious brand strategy award in the Drum Recommends Awards for Marketing and Advertising 2021.

It was the only company to receive the award in the under 40 staff category.

The Drum Recommends Awards are the only advertising and marketing awards based on real client ratings. Each year, marketing magazine The Drum collates detailed ratings to identify the teams and agencies that produce the best work and go the extra mile for their clients.

Director Ian Morris said: “Having been nominated for four years, it's amazing to finally bring this accolade home. It formally recognises our expertise and reputation in brand strategy and design.”

The award was announced just days after Threerooms appointed

two new members of staff – a new brand strategist and a new creative designer. The company serves clients locally, throughout the UK and in Europe, with an emphasis on the technology, education and charity sectors.

Speaking of the company’s expansion, Ian said: “We have been very fortunate to have been able to

Ian Morris (back) with new hires Maxim Hill and Jennie Bennett

grow the business.

“Luckily, many of our clients have thrived during the past year and have realised the importance of investing in their brand.

“We were delighted to welcome Jennie Bennett and Maxim Hill to the team. They are helping us to deliver even more to our clients while fulfilling increasing demand.”

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Email: info@breedonconsulting.co.uk to claim your

FREE CONSULTATION

to discuss your HR management and employee development queries.

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MEMBER NEWS

Tech firm rolls out new digital platform Bloc Digital is supporting the global shift to digital integration and communication with the launch of virtURL – a new virtual events and product showcase platform.

The Derby-based company, which pioneers business use of immersive and creative technologies, has announced the industry roll-out of its new online platform, which combines personto-person communication and networking in a customisable, interactive and virtual environment.

Building on its international reputation for digital visualisation and immersive tech services, virtURL I Powered By Bloc is the first dedicated product to be launched by the business.

Bloc Digital co-founder and director Keith Cox said: “Digital remote communications, networking and interactive experiences are now required to cut across all sectors of a business from operations, product design, marketing, training and skills learning.

“The restrictions of the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as the need to be more immersive, resilient and sustainable, means that our clients are requiring new ways of connecting, collaborating and marketing. virtURL has been developed to meet this need.

‘It delivers virtual environments which maximise personal interaction and communication’

Bloc Digital directors Chris Hotham and Keith Cox

“It delivers virtual environments which maximise personal interaction and communication.

With no licence fees, and just a one-off start-up and customisation cost, our platform offers businesses the ability to tailor and brand their environments to suit the developing and ongoing needs of their operations.”

By integrating online communication, virtual presentations and 360-degree navigation within one customisable

platform, organisations can engage their customers in real-time interactions and 3D product demonstrations, which closely simulate previous in-person live events.

As well as the ability to hold virtual events and create an online presence at conferences and exhibitions, the platform can also be used for operational purposes such as product development, sales demonstrations and training.

Head of sales and solutions

development Steve Bentley, who led the design and production of the platform, said: “Bloc Digital’s expertise in 3D modelling, animation and software engineering coupled with our experience in developing industry focused solutions, particularly for our engineering and manufacturing global clients, has put us at the forefront of developing solutions which take businesses to a new level of interaction and communication.”

Recruiter forges pact with Armed Forces Midlands recruitment agency Encore Personnel has signed a pact with the Armed Forces, which enshrines its commitment to supporting ex-servicemen and women in finding work.

The business is building on its work during the pandemic supporting essential services by signing the Armed Forces Covenant – an agreement that states a business will do all it can to ensure ex-military personnel do not face discrimination.

Encore – which has 10 branches across the region, including its head office in Leicester, and offices in Nottingham and Derby city centres – employs more than 200 staff and specialises in warehousing, manufacturing, logistics, driving and engineering recruitment.

Inspired by the suggestion of business development consultant James Simpson, who joined in 2020 after serving five years with the 26 Regiment Royal Artillery, 159 Battery (Gutersloh, Germany) and 132 Battery (Newcastle), the company’s commitment to

Encore ex-army employee James Simpson (second left) and his manager Andrew Fletcher (third left) at 159 Regiment RLC in the Midlands

supporting ex-servicemen and women is both an internal and external pledge.

James said: “As soon as I was settled at Encore, I knew it was a business that really cared about its employees, their wellbeing and future prospects. Having served in the forces, I know first-hand how it

feels to step out of the routine of military life into the working world.

“So, I pitched the idea of signing the Armed Forces Covenant to the board of directors and they were all in positive unison. It basically means that we will do our utmost as a business to give a fair shot to people who’ve

left the forces, be that as candidates for our customers or new recruits to our own teams.”

James added that there was likely to be a large uplift in the number of ex-military personnel looking for work in the coming years as the army scales back its numbers as a result of the recent defence review – so now more than ever before it is important other businesses follow suit.

He added: “I was astounded to learn that less than 0.5% of all registered recruitment businesses in the UK have signed the covenant. It would be fantastic to see more agencies follow our lead.”

Managing director Pete Taylor said: “Signing this covenant really was a no-brainer for us, a simple and effective way of both showing gratitude to ex-service men and women for the sacrifices they have made for our country and our collective safety, as well as furthering our commitment to equal opportunities and a level playing field for all candidates and our own teams.”

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New bill offers benefits for start-ups Young entrepreneurs and new businesses founded during the pandemic should build on their skills set by taking advantage of a new scheme launched by the Government, says a Derby accountancy firm.

The “lifetime skills guarantee” that forms part of the Skills and Post-16 Education Bill – allowing all adults to get a “flexible loan” for part or full-time higher education and training at a university or college – can help to boost the UK economy, according to DuffieldRoad based Vibrant Accountancy.

‘We have seen a wave of young start-ups and also companies reimagining their business model’ It was launched in May, around the same time it was revealed by the Office for National Statistics that GDP shrank by 1.5% in the first three months of 2021.

Beverley Wakefield, who set up Vibrant Accountancy with business partner Ian Ball just four months before the first coronavirus lockdown, said: “It is staggering the sheer volume of businesses which have been created during the past

Ian Ball and Beverley Wakefield

12 months, particularly here in the East Midlands.

“We have seen a wave of young start-ups and also companies reimagining their business model – the likes of Derby doughnut company Project D. “Because there have been very few jobs for young people out there over the past year, this Generation Next age group, the under-35s, have almost been forced into trying something new and that, I believe, has made them more entrepreneurial.

The Skills and Post-16 Education Bill will benefit hundreds of people in the East Midlands, believes Beverley.

She added: “This second year of business, though, will be more about consolidating their position in the marketplace and, to do that successfully, they may need to gain a whole new skill set to run their business successfully; they may want to learn more about digital marketing and PR – or even have a better understanding of accountancy.

Duo take careers a STEP forward Two probate specialists in Duncan & Toplis’ legal division have qualified for the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP).

Amy Codd and Lesley Harrison now qualify as trust estate practitioners (TEPs), which are members of STEP – the international professional body for advisers specialising in trusts, inheritance and succession planning.

Its members exemplify high standards of professionalism and are subject to well-regarded codes of conduct.

Established last year, Duncan & Toplis Legal Services supports families, individuals and businesses with legal matters including probate, company law, deeds, partnership agreements and regulated private client work.

It is part of Duncan & Toplis group, which supports more than 4,500 clients in the East Midlands with a wide range of business advice and accounting services.

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Amy Codd

She said: “Trust is extremely important when it comes to inheritance and succession planning so having the support, guidance and advice of a professional who’s an expert in the field can make all the difference.

“As qualified TEPs, clients can be assured that the service they receive from our team is of the highest professional standard, giving them peace of mind and confidence.”

Lesley trained as a chartered legal executive at Duncan & Toplis

Lesley Harrison

Legal Services after working at a senior management level in the NHS. She specialises in private client practice dealing with wills, powers of attorney and estates.

She added: “STEP is a wellrespected organisation for trust and estate practitioners. Although many aspects of planning aren’t regulated, meaning anyone can write a will, STEP members are rigorously assessed, and all members must be certified so you can be sure you’re in safe hands.”

“Experience and seeking out those people with experience who can help and support you is vital in making your business a success.”

The Chamber runs Generation Next – a support network for young professionals aged between 18 and 35. It connects members with likeminded individuals, as well as leading business professionals from across the region, to build their networks and skills. Read the latest news about Generation Next on page 45.

BSI to steer CE successor BSI has confirmed it is now an approved body for the UK Conformity Assessed (UKCA) marking.

Informed by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, this new marking is required for placing relevant regulated products on the market in England, Scotland and Wales from 1 January 2021.

The UKCA mark replaces CE marking in the UK post-Brexit, although CE marking will continue to be recognised for products that have been certified by an EU notified body until the end of the year.

As an approved body, the company can work with organisations on the required conformity assessment procedures that will allow them to affix the UKCA marking.

Group product certification director Shahm Barhom said: “We’re committed to helping organisations to be resilient and encourage trust in this new regulatory landscape.”

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Dimensions funds 30,000 breakfasts Castle Donington-based Dimensions has supported the Greggs Foundation Breakfast Club by funding 30,000 breakfasts at Roe Farm Primary School in Chaddesden, Derby.

The corporate clothing provider has been working with the national bakery’s charity since July 2014, supplying its workforce with branded uniform and then becoming a supporter of the breakfast club programme in 2016.

With commitment to a further two years of funding, Dimensions will have donated 30,000 breakfasts to the children who live in food insecure households at the school.

Lynne Hindmarch, Greggs Foundation Breakfast Club manager, said: “Food insecurity is a major issue in the UK and it is shocking to think that not every child in the country has access to breakfast.

“One in three children live in poverty in the UK, with an estimated 2.5 million living in food insecure households. Our support has never been more needed due to Covid-19 and the challenges this brings.”

To date, the Greggs Foundation has supported 600 school breakfast clubs nationally, over 39,000 pupils each school day and 7.1 million breakfasts a year.

Lynne added: “Our partners are critical to the success of this programme – each business will bring their own particular skills to the scheme and by coming together we share and learn from each other.”

Manufacturing a moment of rest for hospital workers Key workers at eight Midlands hospitals hoping for a welldeserved rest after their efforts during the pandemic can take a seat on a bench created by a Derby-based manufacturer.

Eggleston Steel stepped up to the plate to make the outdoor furniture and donate them to local hospitals, including in Loughborough and Chesterfield, after responding to a Facebook campaign by Maria White.

The Derby resident was seeking to raise £1,200 from the community to provide an extra bench seat for the staff at Derby Royal Hospital.

Little did she then know her campaign soon became a regional wide phenomenon as her plea came to the attention of Richard Hewitt, managing director of 212year-old family firm Eggleston Steel.

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Within days, he asked operations director John Ready to design and lead on the manufacture of a unique key workers’ bench with the help of several local businesses, including Ripley firm The

Gatemaker and Little Eaton-based Little Eaton Smithy – all for free.

Richard said: “It was a privilege to provide a lasting monument to the hospitals. I hope it allows patients and staff alike to rest and reflect.”

Holidays resume for disadvantaged children A Leicester charity is taking disadvantaged children on adventure holidays again this summer after Covid-19 restrictions were relaxed.

And for the first time, Leicester Children’s Holidays, based in Highcross, has organised a match-funding scheme where companies and schools pay towards the trips, with the charity funding the rest.

Schools across Leicestershire are paying half the holiday costs for seven children so far this year, with the charity paying the rest.

Leicester Children’s Holidays manager Nicky Kandola said: “We have for a long time wanted to give companies and schools a chance to match-fund holidays with the charity making up the rest.

It means we as a charity can pay more towards the holidays.

“We are on the look-out for companies to help us with donations or match-funding from as little as £100 to give a vulnerable child a much-needed holiday.”

To offer support, contact Nicky at nicky@leicesterchildrensholidays.co.uk

New chief to steer charity Irshad Baqui (pictured) has been appointed as chief executive at Children First Derby – and will steer the charity’s drive to strengthen and further develop its support for vulnerable children and families.

Children First Derby provides three bespoke services – a family support service, mentoring service for youngsters aged between 10 and 18, and a supervised contact service for looked after children in the city.

With more than 15 years of charity management experience,

The team at Eggleston Steel on the key workers' benches it manufactured for hospitals in response to a social media campaign

Irshad’s most recent role was chief executive of the Muath Trust.

He said: “With my previous experience in charity management and growth, I’m looking forward to developing the charity further.”

THE EAST MIDLANDS: WHERE GOOD BUSINESS MAKES GOOD SENSE The Chamber has launched the EMComingTogether campaign to raise awareness about the opportunities available for businesses to engage with their communities in a strategic way to foster a holistic relationship between commerce and community. Because when our communities thrive, our business does too.

Community engagement can take on many personas; from corporate social responsibility (CSR) to, more recently, environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG).

We want to go back to basics, where supporting the community you operate in just makes good business sense.

For more information, visit www.emc-dnl.co.uk/helping-youinfluence/emcomingtogether-campaign

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Firm adopts vulnerability charter

Keeley Woodcock

Future Life Wealth Management has become one of the first financial planning firms in Britain to adopt the Personal Finance Society’s (PFS) new financial vulnerability charter.

The pledge demonstrates the Renishaw-based firm’s longstanding commitment to providing the best possible service for every client it works for.

The new charter aims to support the profession to better recognise and address the various forms of consumer vulnerability, improve client outcomes and increase access to financial advice.

Director of operations Keeley Woodcock said: “Protecting vulnerable clients and being sensitive to their individual requirements have always been priorities for us. When we discovered that the PFS was

creating the financial vulnerability charter, we immediately wanted to demonstrate our commitment and we were delighted when we were subsequently among the first financial advisers in the country to be accepted.”

Future Life Wealth Management offers a bespoke financial planning service to generators of wealth – typically business owners, executives and professionals – and to receivers of wealth, such as inheritors, divorcees, widows and retirees.

The PFS is the professional body for the UK’s financial planning profession, which aims to lead the financial planning community towards higher levels of professionalism through technical knowledge, client service and ethical practice.

Keeley added: “The charter is

Treetops' Stacey Smaller (left) with Fay Bloor

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Find out why a Future Life Wealth Management financial adviser Emma Baumback is chairing Generation Next on p45.

Adam Bamford with Silver Birch Creative founder Karl Shaw

Funeral director helps children cope with loss Derby-based funeral director Wathall’s has created an illustrated activity book to support children and young people who have lost a loved one. It has been published as part of the family-owned company’s dandelions bereavement support service to gently explain what happens at both burial and cremation services, as well as highlighting the importance of sharing emotions following a bereavement.

Bereavement support co-ordinator and qualified counsellor Fay Bloor has worked with University of Derby graduate and freelance illustrator Michael Ashley to create the book, Missing Someone Special – Working Your Way Through Loss.

She said: “We hope that the children’s activity book and the booklet will be useful aides for families during what is a particularly difficult time in all their lives having lost a loved one. Adults often feel like they must protect children from the harsh reality of death and are obviously mourning a loss themselves. Avoiding the discussions can cause confusion and anxiety for the child. The activity book is therefore designed to gently explain what has happened and highlights the range of emotions that they may be feeling.”

The activity book costs £12.99, with at least £1 from the sale of each book given to Treetops Hospice and put towards its children’s bereavement service.

about how we treat people and how we do business.

“We’ve always treated all our clients – including those who can be classed as vulnerable – with the utmost respect.

“For example, we regularly send colleagues on dementia awareness training courses which ensures that they can identify any clients in need of additional support or guidance quickly and appropriately.

“Our role means that some clients can be in a position of dependency on us. They trust us to act in their best interests - and this is what the entire team at Future Life Wealth Management is committed to.”

Entrepreneur raises a glass to business club A networking club for business owners to chat online over a few drinks has been launched by a Derby entrepreneur.

Adam Bamford, one half of Derby start-up Colleague Box, has launched the Beer and Business Club – an online get-together aimed at fellow entrepreneurs to give them time to network and have a chat.

At events, delegates sample some of the latest craft beers, which will have been carefully chosen by Adam and his team, and sent out to participants before the start of the meeting, along with selected snacks.

The venture is being launched as a subscription-led model, with the attendees paying £16 each month for the service.

Adam – who runs Colleague Box with his wife Natalie, and this year

celebrated the 100,000th gift box since setting it up during lockdown – says that the idea came to him late one night after a busy day at work.

“I have longed to have a podcast but I didn’t think that was suitable for me; I don’t think that my monotone voice is really suitable,” said Adam. “So I created a platform whereby I can enjoy a few beers responsibly, we can all relax and chat about anything we want to.”

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MEMBER FOCUS: M&E ACCIDENT REPAIR CENTRE Leicester-based M&E Accident Repair Centre is a car bodywork specialist but has reached into new markets during the pandemic. Owner and technical director Marcin Ciesielski tells Business Network about how important diversification and risk has been to the business over the past 18 months, as well as the networking opportunities included in Chamber membership.

Tell us what your company does and a brief overview of its history?

We’re a “wet” coatings bodywork specialist with the skills, equipment and quality accreditations to prepare and spray a range of different surfaces using many different types of paint-based coatings. Our core experience is in automotive body repair and restoration where coatings and paintwork require the highest professional expertise.

I began my career as an engine mechanic in Gdansk, Poland, and came to the UK in 2006, getting a job at an accident repair company in Leicester.

I set up M&E in 2012 and we now employ 20 people with a modern 25,000 sq ft facility in Thurmaston, equipped with spray booths and baking ovens.

We’re a member of the Retail Motor Federation, the auto body professionals club, and were awarded the BS10125 kitemark for vehicle damage repair in 2014, which is important for quality assurance.

We became an approved supplier to Stellantis, owner of Peugeot, DS Citroen and Vauxhall, in 2016 – one of only two repair suppliers in Leicestershire – and for Kia UK in 2019. We work directly with Porsche Leicester, Lawman Commercials, DPD Vans and Enterprise Rent-A-Car. We also run a repair and restoration service for classic vehicles and do bespoke customer conversions using the VW Transporter camper van.

Marcin Ciesielski (centre) with (left to right) consultant Ian Guyler and M&E colleagues Kamila Rorzkowska, Sim Yoxen and Marcin Lipinski

What are the company’s plans for the future?

While automotive work is the core of our business, the pandemic has shown we can expand into other market niches that also need high quality coatings. We also handle timber for furniture and metal/UPVC window frames – and have done specialist work for luxury watch manufacturer Breitling.

What is your role in the business and what does your day-today role involve?

I’m a hands-on owner, balancing business management with getting my hands dirty. I love the artistry that goes into repair, painting and expert coach working, and like to keep my skills sharp. We’ve got an experienced management team here and the division of responsibilities works well.

How long have you been a member of East Midlands Chamber and how has it helped your business?

We joined in November 2020 so we could develop our position within the East Midlands business community.

As we add other markets to our core automotive business, it’s been really helpful to meet other members, make new connections and explore new applications for what we do.

How have you fared during the Covid-19 pandemic?

Life is different – but still the same. It has taught us the importance of diverse operations that spread risk. We quickly realised that being able to coat intricate components of varying materials to the highest quality finish meant we could do the same with any solid surface.

What do you believe is the most important role of a chamber of commerce?

Clearly it’s a facilitator for business links and the sharing of best practice.

Our region is a major commercial hub for the country and an integrated network of members in touch with each other makes good business sense.

Business club welcomes Nigel as new president Nigel Rowlson has been unveiled as the new president of Nottingham City Business Club (NCBC).

He will carry out his presidency alongside his day job, where he is managing director at Nottinghambased creative agency The Dairy – which he set up in 2002.

Founded in 1924, NCBC is the oldest business club outside London and was created as a member organisation to provide a forum where people can discuss business and social interest matters through regular lunches.

Nigel said: “There are three key themes I’m looking to develop over the next year. First, I want to make the committee more diverse and representative.

“We also need to become 22

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NEW MEMBERS In May, the Chamber welcomed 37 new members: • • • • • • • • • • •

stronger financially and build on our membership base. The pandemic has, understandably, affected numbers, so we need to build back up our position.

“Finally, we have a growing and dynamic network in and around the city, and I would love to hear more from local entrepreneurs and provide a platform for them to share their stories.”

• • • • • • • •

Acis Group Almac Group ALP Schools AST Language Services Ltd Fareshare Midlands Feather Partnership The FE People Flanders Investment and Trade Flexi-Films UK (International) Focus Charity Futures Advice, Skills and Employment Limited HealthNet Homecare (UK) Ltd Home Curtains (UK) Limited The Input Group Jetpack Marketing Limited Kobold Instruments Limited (International) Laughtercise Ljutzkanov Limited Marriott Gibbs Rees Wallis Limited

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Meet Leicester & Leicestershire Melton Foot Clinic Limited Mergia Limited Mimi's Soul Food & Lounge Bar LTD My Internal World Nanpantan Hall PacWolf Fulfilment Ltd Nettl of Newark and Grantham Project D Rene House CIC Sholes Wealth Management Seven Restaurant & Café Bar The Sporting Club Holdings Ltd TRY Ltd Unipart Digital Valve & Process Solutions Limited (International) Weird Wolf Ltd Zaremba Marsden Ltd

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APPOINTMENTS

Graduates join the team at Nottingham accountants Two university graduates have joined UHY Hacker Young’s Nottingham office as they take their first steps towards a career in accountancy.

Abigail Riley and Luke Broughal have both entered the sector as student chartered accountants, and will be working across UHY’s accounts and audit departments to support increased demand for the firm’s services across the region.

Abigail previously studied chemistry at Durham University before moving to New Zealand for 18 months to travel. She has now relocated back to the UK to join the firm, based in Park Row. She said: “I’m really looking forward to getting stuck in with the Nottingham team. As soon as I saw the position being advertised, I knew it was something I had to go for and was absolutely delighted when I was able to secure an interview – even if it did mean taking the call in a New Zealand restaurant at midnight due to the time difference.

“Due to the number of graduates UHY selectively recruits per intake, I knew my experience here would

be personable and that I would receive the support required to truly develop my skills.”

Luke, who attended the University of Reading to study economics, added: “After completing my degree, accountancy was the natural next step for me, so I am incredibly grateful that UHY has given me the opportunity to explore the industry further.

“The firm was an obvious choice for me because – by servicing a selection of clients that vary in size and sector– it will provide me with a broad range of experience and allow me to master my skillset once I have decided on my chosen area of expertise.”

Both graduates joined the firm during the UK’s third national lockdown, and have had to adapt to meeting the team virtually and undertaking inductions online.

James Simmonds, partner at UHY Nottingham, added: “We’re incredibly happy to be welcoming both Abigail and Luke to the team. We’re delighted they have chosen UHY to start their careers and are certain they will help us to continue to deliver a high-quality service to our clients across the Midlands.”

Abigail Riley

Luke Broughal

All change at leading law firm

CW Sellors appoints trade sales manager CW Sellors Fine Jewellery has appointed Phillip Connors (pictured) as its new UK trade sales manager.

Phillip joins the company to help develop and re-engage its portfolio of regional and national jewellery accounts, while broadening its offering to heritage and tourist sites across the UK. Phillip said: “I am excited to start a new challenge with CW Sellors and look forward to working with the team to further develop their already extensive product range and service.

“Having seen the passion for British gemstones, design and manufacturing running throughout the business, I feel fortunate to be joining a company that prides itself on providing finely handcrafted British products and quality of service within both the jewellery industry and gift sectors.”

Director Rebecca Sellors added: “Having been fortunate enough to find someone of Phillip’s calibre, we feel we are not just fulfilling what is a wide-ranging sales role but adding to how things are achieved within our manufacturing services.”

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Law firm Shakespeare Martineau has welcomed two new property specialists to its Midlands teams, with legal planning director Julie Russell joining its Leicester hub.

Julie brings more than 14 years’ experience, working on all aspects of legal planning, development and infrastructure work.

Legal planning partner Anna Cartledge will also join the firm’s Birmingham hub.

Alex Smith, managing director of the infrastructure and specialist markets business unit, said: “From small listed buildings to large development projects, planning is a complex area law and it requires specialist knowledge – both Julie and Anna have great expertise and are well-placed to advise clients across the Midlands and nationally.”

Anna and Julie’s appointment follow an announcement of 13 internal promotions in the firm and two of its group companies, Lime Solicitors and Marrons Planning – six of which are in the East Midlands.

Julie Russell

David Pendle

Contentious trust and probate expert Debra Burton, who works as part of the inheritance disputes team at Lime Solicitors, has been promoted to partner at the firm’s Leicester office, and in Nottingham, David Pendle and Jenny Keen – who work as part of Marrons Planning – have been promoted to planning director.

Elsewhere in Nottingham, family law expert Nikki Aston has been promoted to legal director for Shakespeare Martineau and Aller Dawlat has been promoted to an associate.

Duncan James, East Midlands regional head at Shakespeare Martineau, said: “This year has seen huge developments for us in the East Midlands. Not only have we seen a raft of promotions, but we also welcomed several new lateral hires and expanded into Lincoln for the first time.

“We want to maintain this momentum into the next financial year and are open to hearing from talented individuals who share our ambitions.”

Anna Cartledge

Jenny Keen

Debra Burton

Nikki Aston

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APPOINTMENTS

A new role for Rena at Freeths

Rena Magdani

Muskaan Jiwani

Commercial law firm Freeths LLP has announced the appointment of Rena Magdani as its new national head of employment, pensions and immigration – alongside the promotion of predecessor Julian Middleton to deputy chairman of the firm.

The national team of more than 40 legal professionals provides a specialist employment law and HR advisory service to business clients on strategic employment advice and matters including discrimination, whistleblowing, unfair dismissal and restructures.

Rena, who has more than 22 years’ experience in employment law, said: “It’s a privilege to lead our team of talented, commercially-minded lawyers, who put excellent client service at the centre of everything they do. I’m looking forward to the continued growth and success of the team by recruiting and developing the best lawyers across our 12 offices.”

The immigration practice also works with some of the largest global brands, providing corporate support to recruit overseas nationals, offering an end to end service, supporting our clients at every stage of the licensing, recruitment and visa process.

The expert immigration practice works with some of the largest global brands, providing end-to-end corporate support to recruit overseas nationals, while its pensions department advise employers and pension trustees on all aspects of transactions.

Julian added: “I am delighted that someone of Rena’s calibre is picking up the reins. I am sure she will oversee the continued growth and significant success of our group of talented and dynamic lawyers.”

Chair position for Professor McMillian Midlands Innovation has named Professor Trevor McMillian as its new chair.

The partnership is made up of the region’s top eight universities to collaborate on research, development and innovation.

Prof McMillan, who is vicechancellor of Keele University, has been at the forefront of bringing academia and business closer together in his national role as knowledge exchange champion for Research England.

Prof McMillan said: “This year, ERA is putting a compelling case forward, backed by businesses, LEPs, MPs and local authorities in the region, that, with further investment, it can not only help to deliver levelling-up in the Midlands by creating nearly 7,000 jobs and delivering £1.5bn GVA to the regional and national economy.”

Tesfa Lennox

Freight forwarder extends welcome to new recruits NKR Freight has appointed Tesfa Lennox and Muskaan Jiwani to business development manager and customer support executive respectively.

The Leicester-based freight forwarder provides import and export support for air, sea and road logistics.

Tes’ career has seen him broaden his problem-solving skill set, forming relations with all types of clients, from individual sole traders to larger corporations such as Jaguar Land Rover and Aston Martin.

He said: “I am thrilled to be joining NKR Freight at this exciting

point in its growth.

“I wanted to continuously challenge myself in terms of business account management. The most important thing of all is the support shown by the directors for my ideas.”

Muskaan’s background in logistics derives from in-house experience developed within the electrical and mining industries.

She said: “I am very excited to have been given this opportunity. I have a passion to excel in the logistics sector, and I look forward to developing new skills and serving the existing clients at NKR Freight.” business network July/August 2021

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THE BIG INTERVIEW

Leading the way during trying times As CEO of Leicester Tigers, Andrea Pinchen is front and centre of one of the region’s most famous sports clubs and a titan in English rugby. After coming through a first year in charge that involved overcoming financial challenges previously unheard of in the club’s 140-year history, she speaks to Dan Robinson about navigating stormy Covid waters and her journey to the top of the sport industry. ndrea Pinchen was only a few weeks into her new job when she addressed fans via Leicester Tigers’ in-house TV channel to inform them the club had decided to release five high-profile players, including England international Manu Tuilagi.

The announcement in early July 2020 followed discussions about the club’s decision to impose 25% wage reductions for higher earners in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, which had also led to 31 of the 160 non-playing and coaching staff being made redundant.

Agreements couldn’t be made with the five stars in question and confirmation of a parting of ways was one of the first key tasks for Andrea, who had been appointed CEO two months earlier after climbing the ladder during 17 years at the Mattioli Woods Welford Road club.

“That was a really tough time in which we had to make some very, very difficult decisions,” she recalls.

“It was a massive learning curve because how do you handle that? It’s not a negotiation where we say ‘we would like to do this, how do you feel about that?’ This was about survival and we needed to curb the wage bill.

“Making that announcement as one of my first tasks in the new job was out of my comfort zone but the decision-making process was that no single player was bigger than the club, and no-one would be treated any differently to the next person.

“It was tough but that started to rebuild the culture to succeed, in which everyone is clear about the direction we’re heading in.”

A

DESPITE BEING NEW to the top role, Andrea’s vast career experience positioned her well to drag the club through to the other side.

Born and bred in Leicestershire – originally from Birstall, just north of Leicester, she now lives in Hoby, near Melton Mowbray – her first job was in private healthcare sales back in 1985.

A desire for something new led her to the airline Emirates, initially working in cabin crew before progressing through the ranks to cabin service director and eventually delivering training programmes in leadership, management and aviation security, based in Dubai.

Andrea says: “I’d initially thought I’d go there for six months and travel around the world, then come back, but I ended up being with Emirates for 11 years.

“It was a great opportunity for my development because I was exposed to so many cultures. There were more than 110 different nationalities within the crew and you’d never be kept with the same group, so I was always learning.

“When I look back now, I can see how the experience really stood me in good stead to communicate with 28

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different people from all walks of life. I’m forever grateful for that.”

After 11 years with Emirates, it was time for a change once again. But having worked with Dubai’s police force on aviation security, mitigating the threat of hijacking and bombs, the idea of returning to a normal nine-to-five job didn’t have much appeal.

At the beginning of 2004, Andrea entered the sports industry at Welford Road. While her chosen sport during her youth was the speedway – she watched the Leicester Lions with her dad and sister – she needed no introduction to the city’s rugby club. “Who doesn’t know the Tigers, coming from Leicester?”

Her first role was as ticket sales manager and it didn’t take long to introduce some subtle but important changes.

Andrea explains: “Really early on, I wanted to change from a reactive box office, where someone would ring us and we’d sell them a ticket, to a proactive approach where we had to find a way of filling all these seats.”

She also changed older working habits that were “inherent” within the club, such as treating players who wanted to buy tickets for friends and family as colleagues rather than ordinary customers, which helped integrate various parts of the organisation.

TIGERS ROARING BACK UP THE LEAGUE Leicester Tigers are on their way back after almost hitting the bottom, believes Andrea.

The club, which is one of the most successful in England, hasn’t won the Premiership since 2013 and came within one place of relegation in the two seasons before the campaign that recently ended.

In the 2020/21 season, head coach Stephen Borthwick guided the Tigers to an improved sixth position and a European Challenge Cup final that they narrowly lost to Montpellier.

Andrea says: “A number of things have happened.

We’ve probably been guilty of doing the same thing to maintain the success we’ve had.

“At the same time, we didn’t see how other clubs have mimicked what we were doing but then driven on, and before we knew it we’d been overtaken.”

The gradual erosion of culture at the club identified

by Andrea has also focused her mind when it comes to placing the right people in the right roles, while equipping them with KPIs to help hit common goals.

“Everyone is now clear on the direction we’re going in,” she adds. “We’ve hit the bottom and are on our way back up. But we’re just at step one on a long journey and there’s a lot of work to do.”

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THE BIG INTERVIEW

FINDING NEW OPPORTUNITIES While survival has been the name of the game for Leicester Tigers during Andrea’s short time as CEO, new business opportunities have also arisen during the pandemic.

The club has managed to bring new partners on board and, in lieu of being able to offer the usual matchday hospitality and advertising packages, has provided avenues for promoting new types of content via its social media channels.

“When we come out the other side of the pandemic, we don’t want to look back and realise we’ve not done anything but survive,” says Andrea.

“We needed to be in a firm position to start driving forward and recouping some of the lost revenue, and a lot of it’s been from creating new types of social media content for our partners.

“By having to innovate more than we would normally have needed to, it’s given us new avenues to monetise.”

“Whether you were on or off the pitch, we wanted people to realise they were all working for and important to Leicester Tigers,” she adds.

“Another thing that struck me at that point was how the people in the ticket office were just used to churning through a lot of work.

‘We weren’t achieving what we wanted to, or what we felt we could achieve’ “So a couple of minutes before kick-off, I’d lock the door, get them all outside and tell them to look around the stadium, so they could see they’d facilitated every person being there for all this excitement and enjoyment. By seeing the outcome of all that work, I was trying to create the feeling of real ownership and belonging to the club, which felt like the start of the journey if you like.”

PROMOTIONS FOLLOWED TO lead teams in hospitality, conferencing and events, and sponsorship, before bringing all those facets under one umbrella when Andrea was offered the role of commercial manager in 2012.

She was instrumental in growing and securing key sponsors and, two years later, was appointed to the

board as commercial director. Another elevation to chief operating officer arrived in August 2019 before the top job came beckoning in May 2020 – replacing Simon Cohen, who had been CEO for eight years.

Andrea is keen to highlight how Simon and chairman Peter Tom CBE have championed her cause throughout her ascent in the club.

But her appointment also felt like a natural progression for someone who has sought to integrate every aspect of the club and encouraged employees to realise the role they play in the cog of a matchday.

She tells an anecdote about how, when working as commercial director and primarily based at the stadium, she turned up at the training ground for a meeting and surprised coaches by asking how the respective threeyear plans of the playing and commercial operations could be closer aligned for mutual benefit.

For Andrea, it’s all about creating a culture in which everyone is rowing in the same direction – something she feels had been eroded in recent years along with the performance of the team, which finished secondbottom in the 2018/19 and 2019/20 seasons.

“Let’s be honest, results weren’t going our way and we weren’t achieving what we wanted to, or what we felt we could achieve,” she says. “So we needed to stop that decline, reassess to see what was going wrong and work out what we needed to put in place to rectify that.” business network July/August 2021

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THE BIG INTERVIEW

EASIER SAID THAN done when there’s the small matter of Covid-19, which struck just as Andrea was getting to grips with the cultural changes initially while she was COO. It was in February last year when the warning signs could be identified and mid-March when the rugby season was initially suspended for five weeks. It wouldn’t be until August when it finally restarted behind closed doors and the financial impact has been profound – costing a club with an annual turnover just shy of £20m about £1m each month since the pandemic hit.

Pulling no punches, Andrea says: “We’ve been a club since 1880 and to have something so big that could threaten the survival of the club meant it was probably the worst time in the club’s history.

“The paramount objective during the first lockdown was purely just about survival. With all live sport stopped, we lost our main source of income, so it was all about consolidating our costs and getting what help we could from the Government.”

Alongside the redundancies and wage cuts for higher earners – lower earners had their salaries protected – most of the remaining off-field staff were placed on furlough and overheads were slashed by moving the remaining employees from the stadium to the training ground in Oadby. The club was also kept afloat by a bank loan and shareholder investment.

DIVERSITY BENEFITS BUSINESS Being a role model for young women who want to pursue a career in the sports industry is a mantle Andrea is eager to take on.

She is one of only two female CEOs in elite English rugby alongside Saracens’ Lucy Wray, although Leicester is in a unique position in that its two biggest sports clubs have women at the helm – with Susan Whelan the CEO at Leicester City.

Andrea, who also credits the Chamber’s Enterprising Women network for supporting her career, says: “I’ve always felt a responsibility to encourage other women coming through in business and sport to see the opportunities available to them. If you have the right ability and personality to drive things forward, it doesn’t matter who you are.”

Diversity is an important subject to Andrea – not just for equality’s sake, but because it offers real business impact.

“It helps you to understand and appreciate people,” she adds. “If you all think in the same way and come from the same angle, you aren’t going to get far. Having different experiences will drive a business forward.”

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TAKING RUGBY INTO THE COMMUNITY The Tigers are building links with communities in Leicester and further afield to help feed interest in rugby over the long term.

There are plans for a women’s team, initiatives to promote the club among BAME communities, and coaches visit schools to show how the game can be played on concrete playgrounds rather than just grass pitches.

Meanwhile, it continues to work closely with Indian outfit Delhi Hurricanes, which is a global partner that benefits from the English club’s expertise with the aim of growing the sport in the country.

Andrea believes these networks could prove crucial in maintaining interest in rugby, should it drop off during the pandemic as youngsters have been unable to play or attend games.

“More and more, we’re realising that unless we go out and facilitate community programmes, people aren’t going to come and knock our door down to give rugby a go,” she says.

“We’re trying to promote rugby as a sport for all, where we can showcase the health and nutrition benefits alongside the enjoyment of playing.”

The past season has arguably been the toughest as games have been held without any fans in attendance, while many of the cogs in the Tigers wheel – from medics and cooks to media and administrators – have been brought back from furlough.

“A really large proportion of our wage bill has had to come back off furlough, while we’ve had to go through some stringent Covid protocols,” says Andrea.

“That started with the testing regime, which costs £30,000 per month, while there’s also PPE costs.

“We’ve absolutely haemorrhaged money and each game you’re not able to open your doors for – and every conference or event you cancel – has a huge impact on the ability to claw anything back.”

WHILE THE PUBLIC health, economic and social effects of Covid-19 have been tragic for many people, Andrea recognises how it’s given everyone a chance to reflect.

Like many in business, she has embraced everyday digital transformation by using tools like Zoom and Teams, which she believes will save her lots of time in the future when it comes to meetings.

A sense of normality is returning, with Mattioli Woods Welford Road able to welcome some fans back at last for the final home game of the season last month, but Andrea is eager to heed the lessons she’s learned over the past year and a half.

She adds: “As awful as Covid has been and the impact it’s had globally, it has afforded us an opportunity to reset.

“We’ve needed to do that as a business and a rugby team. We were heading in the wrong direction but we’ve been forced into making some tough decisions that will put us on a firmer footing in the future.

“Every department, and each decision in those departments, is now aligned to common goals.

“It means we’re not just chasing short-term results but we now have the opportunity to look at what we want to achieve over the next few years and beyond.”

‘As awful as Covid has been and the impact it’s had globally, it has afforded us an opportunity to reset’

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BUSINESS NETWORK

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PATRONS

East Midlands Institute of Technology

Designing a hybrid workplace for the future Many businesses are striving to encourage people back to work and meet the desire for flexible working, while also grappling with other factors such as ensuring inexperienced people gain the right skills and experience. Rob Day (pictured), founder and chairman of workplace consultancy and commercial office fitout specialist Blueprint Interiors, offers his insight and views from other business leaders from a recent roundtable he hosted alongside The Business Desk.

Potential IoT makes next round Pioneering graduates from a new East Midlands Institute of Technology (IoT) would lead the UK’s green and digital revolution and form the beating heart of the country’s post-pandemic recovery.

Loughborough College, Loughborough University, the University of Derby and Derby College Group (DCG) have joined forces on a £13m plan to create the highly advanced workforce needed to lead the digital revolution – otherwise known as Industry 4.0.

It has been selected by the Government to enter the final round of applications to become one of eight new UK IoTs. The East Midlands IoT would focus on levelling up the critical engineering, manufacturing and digital skills needed by employers to address the grand engineering challenges of clean growth by embracing the advanced skills required for AI and a datadriven economy.

Graduates will be part of a net zero-carbon workforce and support the UK’s journey to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

The IoT centre would be based at Loughborough College’s Radmoor Road campus, with other sites at the University of Derby’s Enterprise Centre and DCG’s Roundhouse technical and professional skills college.

It would support students by specialising in programmes such as engineering and manufacturing technologies, science, ICT, and construction and planning, working alongside employers including Rolls-Royce, Toyota, National Grid ESO, Alstom, Fujitsu, Uniper and Bloc Digital.

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While working from home, people have had a lot of time to reflect, and are much more aware of the things they need to be happy and more productive at work.

As employers begin preparing their workplace for the return of their most valued asset – their people – they will need to take notice of these needs, or risk losing their best talent to organisations that recognise their importance.

When planning for the return of people to the workplace – whether an office, factory or hospitality complex – it’s vital that people are placed at the heart of all decisions.

However, it’s clear that whenever the Government decides to relax restrictions, most businesses still don't really have an idea of what “good” looks like when it comes to office layout and design.

When considering design, a key message being vocalised loudly is that most of us enjoy being around people and anything that risks shutting down the interaction between staff isn’t a good thing.

We’ve always created workplaces designed to enable people to collaborate, work in teams, be mentored and, of course, provide all-important social interactions.

But for businesses still grappling with what they need to do about their office design, we’ve found these are the key areas for focus.

WHETHER TO DOWNSIZE? An “oversized” office doesn’t have to be a bad thing.

Instead of downsizing, ask staff how they want to work and consider utilising your extra space to create agile working environments that foster creative thinking and collaboration.

Break-out spaces, meeting rooms, work cafés and gyms all give people the freedom and flexibility to work when and how they feel is best.

Remember that some employees may value quiet, distraction-free working. For these people, you may wish to implement quiet zones and comfortable seating arrangements. This is an approach supported by Leena Patel, of Consultus Care & Nursing in Leicester. Her company wants to use space differently and she told the roundtable that “business owners will need to reassure people they have the correct precautions in place so staff can return and feel confident about being in the office”.

DIGITISATION AND COLLABORATION The adoption of digital technologies has also accelerated. Everyone who took part in the roundtable agreed that collaboration between businesses is a model that will be followed.

Andrew Millington, from consultancy firm Finch, said its consultants have been working across a vast amount of sectors, and remarked at “how agile our clients have been in adapting to the use of technology to ensure they could carry on communicating with us – even to the point of doing virtual on-site tours”.

Some employees may value distraction-free working

BUILDING SAFETY CONCERNS Another barrier to the office return could be a perception of risk. One way of offering safety reassurances to staff and visitors is to attain the WELL Health-Safety Rating, a new accreditation informed by the WELL Building Standard and more than 600 experts. The Chamber was one of the first organisations in the East Midlands to sign up to achieve this seal and Blueprint Interiors is actively promoting the scheme as a consultancy service.

Paul Godwin, of LRB Consulting, believes companies need their employees to feel valued, saying “they’ll need to be treated like VIPs when they return to the office”.

SKILLS GAPS AND MENTORING Your team is the driving force behind your company’s success. While some employees may cherish the convenience of working from home, others may miss the social aspects of offices.

There’s no substitute for the knowledge gained from overhearing office conversations involving more experienced colleagues. These offer the impromptu opportunity to learn and ask questions that quite simply never arise if people are working from home, which could create a significant skills gap.

Miles Bates, of international property and construction consultancy Gleeds, advises businesses to “act quickly to train, upskill and nurture their talent, and ensure people have the right opportunities to be mentored”.

All staff need variety and won't want to come and sit in the same place for 40 hours a week. They'll need to feel valued, supported and have their skills nurtured. If employers do this, they’ll create a happier and more motivated workforce that’s much more likely to look after clients to the best of their abilities.

Now is a perfect time to catch up with your team and see what people want their working arrangements to look like now the world has changed.

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PATRONS

Teaming up to address the skills gap Sporting excellence is at the heart of the offer at Loughborough College, which has agreed to become the latest Chamber patron.

The college, which counts England footballers Jude Bellingham and Ben Chilwell among its alumni, has created training programmes and pathways for international captains, Olympic and Paralympic medallists, and world champions.

As well as being one of the largest sports colleges in the UK, it also has expertise in space engineering – working with the National Space Academy to prepare students for work in aerospace, aeronautics and advanced engineering.

Despite the pandemic, it has invested £2.3m in a new T Level Centre that will support more local people into training and employment, has been involved in a partnership that is bidding for £13m of Government funding to create an East Midlands Institute of Technology, and has worked

alongside Loughborough University to create a Careers and Enterprise Hub to upskill Charnwood residents.

Jo Maher (pictured), principal and CEO of Loughborough College, said: “The power of partnerships and collaboration is at the heart of Loughborough College’s strategy to support the continued growth of the local and regional economy.

‘It is important that we now focus our energy on supporting our learners to progress and achieve their goals’ “Joining the Chamber is an important step for us to broaden our understanding of what skills employers need and to ensure we position the college to better support employers, by plugging them into our talent pipeline.

“As we move out of the pandemic and into recovery, it is

important that we now focus our energy on supporting our learners to progress and achieve their goals, and to ensure we continue to meet the needs of our employer partners.

“With our investment in our T Level Centre, the prospect of creating a new Institute of Technology and the creation of the Careers and Enterprise Hub, Loughborough College is in a really strong position to spearhead the provision of skills needed for Industry 4.0.”

Founded in 1909, Loughborough College has about 10,000 students enrolled in courses ranging from ALevels to vocational programmes and degrees.

It employs about 1,000 people, operating mainly out of the college’s Radmoor Road campus in Loughborough, but it also has a training facility for international sport based in Mallorca. The elite athletes it works with are spread around the UK.

Future plans include creating a Digital Skills Hub on its campus as part of the Loughborough Town Deal funding, which also secured the Careers and Enterprise Hub, to support advanced digital skills in its communities.

Jo spoke at the Chamber’s Employability and Skills Summit and the college is also a partner of Generation Next, the network for young professionals.

Chamber chief executive Scott Knowles said: “Skills gaps are some of the biggest hurdles to growth for the businesses we represent and addressing these will be crucial for rebuilding our economy postpandemic.

“It’s essential that businesses and education providers work closely together to ensure our workforce is equipped for future industry needs, and we look forward to extending our already great relationship with new patron Loughborough College.”

THE CHAMBER IS HONOURED BY THE SUPPORT OF ITS STRATEGIC PARTNERS AND PATRONS

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CHAMBER NEWS

Driving growth in the region t’s one of the world’s bestknown chemists, playing a central role in helping to keep Britain healthy – and Boots’ value to the East Midlands has now been confirmed.

The high street health and beauty chain, which has roots in Nottingham dating back to 1849, has once again been named as the region’s largest business in an index after registering a turnover of £6.79bn in the year to August 2018.

While this was down slightly from £6.837bn the previous year, its headcount of 40,000 employees remained stable in the pre-Covid era.

The East Midlands Top 500 Companies 2021 Index is the second listing of its kind, having launched in May 2020 as a partnership between research teams at De Montfort (DMU), Derby and Nottingham Trent universities alongside East Midlands Chamber, news publisher Reach plc and sponsor Bradgate Estates Ltd. It covers the period between July 2018 and June 2019 – due to a lag in which businesses must report performance – ranking companies by annual turnover and also includes the number of employees, according to data from Companies House accounts.

It is only eligible to private and public limited companies with their registered offices in Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire.

Professor David Rae, director of the Centre for Enterprise and Innovation at DMU, said: “This index

I

Professor David Rae

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EAST MIDLANDS TOP 500 COMPANIES KEY FINDINGS The 500 companies in the 2021 index reported a combined turnover of £94.37bn turnover, a 1.48% increase on the £92.97bn figure last year. The number of employees is also up from 454,682 to 455,657 – a 0.22% rise.

There were 55 new entrants to this year’s listing, primarily due to firms increasing their turnover above the threshold, along with some examples of changes in corporate structure and registered office moves into the region making them newly eligible.

One of these was Miller Homes Group’s move to Derby, springing it into the top 30 businesses for the first time, while corporate structure and reporting location changes were also the reason for RollsRoyce’s drop from sixth to 17th and Steris Solutions Ltd’s fall from 10th to 379th.

The top 10 consists of four retailers, three automotive manufacturers and retailers, two housebuilders and one manufacturer, but the 11-30 groups has a much wider range of activities.

Manufacturing is the most prevalent sector across the Top 500, with 158 companies employing 98,571 people and a combined turnover of £22.98bn.

By revenue, this is followed by retail trade (£20.35bn), motor vehicle trade (£15.33bn), construction (£10.51bn), business support services (£3.9bn) and wholesale trade (£3.87bn).

CELEBRATING THE SUCCESS OF OUR REGION After a year and a half that has presented unprecedented challenges for businesses across a whole host of sectors, it’s vitally important to take stock and celebrate success.

We’re lucky to have so many great businesses on our doorstep, packed with household-name brands and many others that may not be so familiar to the average person on the street but are titans of their industries.

It’s long been recognised the East Midlands is the engine room of the UK’s economy – a manufacturing powerhouse, a hotbed of innovation, and a logistics hub that can put the region at the centre of Britain’s post-Brexit global trading relationships.

None of this has changed as a result of the pandemic and it’s perhaps more crucial than ever to do something where we often fall short – shout about what we’ve got loudly and with a united voice – because we have an amazing story to tell.

The East Midlands Top 500 Businesses Index sets this out in vivid detail, showcasing the huge contribution our region makes to UK Plc and the strength in depth of our business community.

It’s the second listing of its kind and while many of the top positions remain stable, it’s interesting to observe which companies have climbed the table and those that have fallen.

While eyes will initially doubt be drawn to the high-profile businesses, looking down the list makes it clear that there’s a wide variety of smaller companies that also make our economy tick.

It also demonstrates the strength of the supply chain we have established in the region, one that is increasingly becoming interconnected – while providing much of the employment, skills and innovation this region has built its reputation on.

Scott Knowles, chief executive of East Midlands Chamber

shows the range and strength of the leading businesses in the East Midlands, in the three counties of Derbyshire, Leicestershire and

Nottinghamshire areas covered by the East Midlands Chamber.

“These businesses are at the heart of the East Midlands

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CHAMBER NEWS

EAST MIDLANDS TOP 500 COMPANIES: HOW TO FIND FULL INDEX The East Midlands Top 500 Companies Index 2021 has been published online by Reach plc’s Business Live, with coverage including reports on key industrial sectors, how businesses have responded to the effects of Covid-19, and features on top companies in the region.

Visit www.business-live.co.uk/all-about/east-midlands A virtual roundtable was also held on 1 July. There will be a downloadable report of the complete index and analysis available, intended for businesses and policymakers to use, at www.emc-dnl.co.uk/news

THE TOP 30 BUSINESSES ARE LISTED BELOW: Ranking (2020 position)

economy, and are high on the list of those most likely to drive growth and create jobs in the future.

“Their prosperity affects not only the workforces, supply chains and the communities around them, but ultimately everyone in the region.

“The East Midlands Top 500 Companies 2021 appears in a changed economic climate in which the region’s businesses have shown great resilience and are responding to the many new challenges and opportunities they face.”

The index builds on the Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire Top 200 Companies lists, which featured annually on Reach’s Business Live online news platform.

It was established as part of a proposed new approach for sharing business intelligence to support economic development across the region.

With the region lacking a single organisation that brings together economic and business insights, it is hoped this could help to strengthen its ability to make regional-level decisions and present a unified voice to national policymakers.

While the listing is based on historic data, Prof Rae said it remained highly relevant, particularly because of the ability to now compare with the 2020 research.

“The index is becoming a valuable baseline for economic recovery from the pandemic and for assessing the resilience of businesses and the wider economy,” he added.

Company

Revenue

Employees

1 (1)

Boots UK Ltd

£6.79bn

40,088

2 (2)

Sytner Group Ltd

£5.954bn

10,403

3 (3)

Barratt Developments plc

£4.763bn

6,419

4 (4)

Pendragon plc

£4.627bn

9,880

5 (5)

Next plc

£4.167bn

28,151

6 (7)

Sports Direct International plc

£3.701bn

27,531

7 (8)

Toyota Motor Manufacturing (UK) Ltd

£2.005bn

2,687

8 (9)

Eco-Bat Technologies Ltd

£1.985bn

3,170

9 (12)

Bloor Investments Ltd

£1.696bn

3,867

10 (11)

Amalgamated Holdings Wilkinson Ltd

£1.556bn

20,111

11 (13)

Greencore Group

£1.432bn

11,632

12 (14)

Aggregate Industries UK Ltd

£1.297bn

3,577

13 (21)

Bombardier Transportation UK Ltd

£1.247bn

3,863

14 (N/A)

Boots Management Services Ltd

£1.206bn

40,088

15 (19)

Staffline Group plc

£1.128bn

2,437

16 (22)

Caterpillar (UK) Ltd

£1.110bn

2,113

17 (6)

Rolls-Royce plc

£1.107bn

4,348

18 (16)

Dunelm Group plc

£1.1bn

6,470

19 (15)

Samworth Brothers (Holdings) Ltd

£1.064bn

9,300

20 (18)

Motorpoint Group plc

£1.059bn

783

21 (N/A)

Miller Homes Group Ltd

£943.6m

888

22 (20)

Bowmer and Kirkland Ltd

£937.57m

1,489

23 (23)

Langley Holdings plc

£761.64m

4,234

24 (24)

Experian Ltd

£670.3m

3,232

25 (25)

Watches of Switzerland Company Ltd

£608.2m

1,981

26 (26)

Capital One (Europe) plc

£580.47m

1,051

27 (52)

Vaillant Group UK Ltd/Vaillant Industrial UK Ltd

£508.03m

775

28 (32)

Avant Homes Group Ltd

£483.45m

760

29 (30)

Center Parcs (Holdings) Ltd

£480.2m

8,722

30 (29)

Porterbook Holdings Ltd

£474.89m

120

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CHAMBER NEWS

Jobs market moving in the right direction More people in the East Midlands are returning to work, according to the latest Government figures.

The unemployment rate reported by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) fell to 4.8% in the February to April period this year, down 0.4% compared to the previous three-month period and only 0.1% above the UK average.

However, it remains 0.9% higher than the unemployment rate for the same quarter in 2020.

Nationally, the number of job vacancies in March to May this year was 758,000 – just 27,000 below pre-pandemic levels.

Scott Knowles said: “The jobs market appears to be moving in the right direction, with yet another decline in the unemployment rate alongside an increasing number of vacancies and people on payroll.

“For much of the pandemic, the East Midlands has suffered disproportionately, with a significantly greater proportion of people in our region out of work than across the UK, so it’s a relief to see the gap being narrowed.

“We’d expect to see further positive news for the three-month period to May, as step three of the Government’s roadmap out of lockdown commenced, and more people came out of furlough.”

Tapering of furlough payments must be delayed The postponement of an end to lockdown restrictions should be met by a delay to support for businesses and employees, believes the Chamber.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed last month that the proposed commencement of stage four of the Government’s roadmap out of lockdown, scheduled for 21 June, would be put back by four weeks until 19 July.

Scott Knowles, chief executive of the Chamber, said it was a “huge disappointment to everyone” and pointed out how it meant businesses would have to “stagger on” for almost a month longer than anticipated.

“Without proper support, for some this may prove to be one setback too many,” he said.

‘This must be the final delay to lockdown restrictions’ “It’s crucial that the Chancellor responds by providing enhanced support in the form of grants for businesses in the hardest-hit sectors until the economy is able to reopen fully. Every week that goes by in which restrictions are in place has a real-life impact on the owners of hospitality, events and leisure businesses in particular as they must operate significantly under capacity.”

At the time of publication, the tapering of furlough payments was still due to begin on 1 July but Scott called for this to be postponed for the duration of the roadmap, while he also said grants would be needed to help firms that had lost both expenditure and expected income.

He added: “This must be the final delay to lockdown restrictions and, indeed, the four weeks should be a maximum period.

“The Prime Minister has consistently said his policy would be dictated by ‘data, not dates’ – therefore if the increase in Covid-19 cases doesn’t translate into significant numbers of hospitalisations and deaths, we would expect stage four of the roadmap to commence at the earliest opportunity.”

Chamber calls for travel to open up Moves to open up international travel aren’t happening quickly enough, believes the Chamber.

The Balearic Islands and Malta were among the countries added to the green list in the latest update, but it followed earlier changes in which Portugal was added and then subsequently removed three weeks later.

Scott Knowles said it was a “step in the right direction” but the Government must be “as swift at adding countries as it is at removing them if the travel industry is to salvage any kind of a summer”.

He added: “With infection rates falling across many destinations, and the number of adults having received two vaccinations continuing to grow, this doesn’t go far enough.

“We welcome the Transport Secretary’s announcement that fully vaccinated people will soon not have to isolate when returning from amber list countries, and would urge the Government to introduce this policy at the earliest opportunity.

“This would provide the certainty needed by consumers, businesses and the aviation industry – which has received no tailored support package throughout the pandemic – that international travel would be here to stay, and not be turned on and off like a tap.”

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Birthday honours for members The boss of Marketing Derby was among four Chamber members and affiliates to be recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list.

Dr John Forkin DL, managing director of the city’s inward investment agency, was appointed an MBE for his services to international trade and investment.

TJ Duncan-Moir, who previously ran a manufacturing business and now owns the Retford-based consultancy Business Glu, was named an MBE for her services to female entrepreneurship and business recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Other recipients included Loughborough University vicechancellor Professor Robert Allison, who received a CBE for services to higher education; and Dr Adam Marshall, former directorgeneral of the British Chambers of Commerce, who was made a CBE for services to business.

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Encouraging Q2 suggests region is bouncing back The results are in for the Chamber’s latest Quarterly Economic Survey for Q2 2021 after responses from more than 400 businesses between 17 May and 8 June. Director of policy and external affairs Chris Hobson (pictured) gives an insight into the results.

STATE OF THE ECONOMY INDEX 400 354 368

389

411

375

379 377 386 383 276

200

206

194

190

153

215

194

248

392 355 362

360

335 290 254

238

241

215

204

174

199 152

141

95 17

20

Q4 2020

0

Q3 2020

S0E Value

143

183

293

279

375 320

-200

-400

-411

Q2 2021

Q1 2021

Q2 2020

Q1 2020

So not all plain sailing. However, problems associated with growth are immeasurably more preferable than those associated with decline and businesses overall will be encouraged with where the economy currently is, particularly given where we were six months ago.

Indeed, looking ahead to the next quarter, investment intentions

Q4 2019

However, it’s important to note this does bring with it some potential growing pains. As workforces increase, we’re also seeing an uptick in businesses reporting difficulties in recruitment.

Six in 10 attempted to recruit in the quarter and, of those, 62% struggle to fill roles. These difficulties were particularly acute for skilled and professional jobs,

Q3 2019

CONFIDENCE IS BACK ON TRACK

Q2 2019

SKILLS AND PRICING ISSUES

Q1 2019

but were also present across less skilled role types.

Pressure on prices is the biggest issue to watch, with a net 49% anticipating increases in their prices over the coming quarter.

The biggest pressure is coming from raw material prices (60%), particularly for manufacturers, but pressure is also coming from other overheads (42%), including energy costs, and, related to this previous point, pay pressures.

Q4 2018

Q3 2018

Q2 2018

Q1 2018

Q4 2017

Q3 2017

Q2 2017

Q1 2017

Q4 2016

Q3 2016

Q2 2016

Q1 2016

businesses have been allowed to open and confidence has grown, a net +7% reported a cashflow improvement over the quarter, although it should still be noted a quarter of all respondents saw access to cash worsen.

While there remain certain sectors for whom the roadmap has been slower to reach them and are still in need of support, the overall picture is one of strong growth and strong prospects for future demand and activity.

Q4 2015

Q3 2015

Q2 2015

Q1 2015

Q4 2014

Q3 2014

Q2 2014

Q1 2014

Q4 2013

Q3 2013

Q2 2013

Q1 2013

Q4 2012

Q3 2012

Q2 2012

Q1 2012

Q4 2011

Q3 2011

Q2 2011

Q1 2011

First things first, the overall performance in the second quarter of the year is incredibly encouraging.

Building on the recovery seen in Q1 2021, growth across Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire – both in terms of activity and sentiment – continued to strengthen as the Government roadmap for re-opening progressed across the past three months.

Our State of the Economy Index – a measure of regional economic health – is now at a level not seen since Q3 2018. Domestic markets performed particularly strongly for both sales and orders, while overseas markets were stronger for advanced orders than in-quarter sales.

Employment has also increased, with a net +20% seeing their workforces grow over the past three months and net +41% anticipating growth for the coming three months.

Encouragingly, following a year of cashflow deterioration, as more

continue to grow, for both plant, machinery and equipment (net +17%), and training (+23%), while overall sentiment for future improvements in turnover (net +62%) and profitability (net +41%) also trend upwards quarter-onquarter.

It is important the roadmap continues with no more delays, and measures such as social distancing, test and trace, and restrictions on international travel are eased or modified to take into account the fantastic vaccine rollout so more businesses can operate at full capacity.

The scars on the economy from the past 18 months of operating conditions won’t heal overnight, but we are now back on the right track.

Businesses and decision-makers must remain vigilant of those issues that might yet act to hinder growth and incorporate these into their planning.

Equity investment rising but disparity remains Businesses in the East Midlands secured 2% of UK equity investment in 2020, worth £76m, according to new data from the British Business Bank.

This marked a 167% increase on the £29m invested in 2019. Despite this, the East Midlands remains under-represented in its

share of UK equity investment compared to the region’s share of high-growth businesses.

The British Business Bank backed 10% of equity deals in the West and East Midlands in 2020 – a steady increase for the past five years and bucking the trend of the overall equity market at 5%. Its supported equity deals are

becoming more regionally diverse, with deals undertaken in London reducing sharply from 68% in 2016 to 42% in 2020. This bank said the shift signals a positive change for regional businesses and has been driven by increased activity from the Midlands Engine Investment Fund, as well as its own equity programmes.

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Managing expectations for a return to the workplace With the delayed relaxation of lockdown restrictions later this month expected to feature a lifting of homeworking guidance, it leaves businesses with big choices to make on their future workplaces.

Lucy Robinson (pictured), the Chamber’s director of resources, offers some advice. t’s now approaching 16 months since the world was in full flow, when busy morning and evening commutes for workers were all part of the daily routine.

For many of us able to work from home, the much shorter journey from bed to desk has been a welcome change, although for others the lack of social interaction has made it a more isolating experience.

But while we might not have missed the gruelling journeys and having to dress up every day, if we’re honest with ourselves then we knew this couldn’t continue forever and many businesses are now at a crossroads when it comes to deciding how their people will work in the future.

It feels unlikely many will return to full-time office work. Nine out of 10 businesses have adapted to hybrid working, according to research by business change consultancy PDCS, with the same proportion of employees saying they’d like to continue homeworking in some capacity post-Covid.

What’s clear is employee expectations have fundamentally changed. Pre-Covid, there was a tacit acceptance that people must visit a dedicated workplace to carry out their job, but lockdown has shown this doesn’t have to be the case.

PDCS reported 56% of employees felt happier when working from home and there’s an increasing shift in priorities towards work-life balance.

This puts pressure on businesses in the race to attract and retain the best talent, although many companies that have seen cost and efficiency benefits are probably not in a rush to get everyone in the office just yet – with some firms even saying they’ll shut their offices for good.

fewer breaks than if they were in the office.

It might be a good time, then, to refresh training for managers so they understand how best to lead teams remotely – not only in their day-to-day tasks but also how they assess overall performance.

Remember employees are individuals and this approach will often need to be unique for each person.

I

SO WHAT SHOULD BUSINESSES BE DOING? Many of the struggles from the past year and a half have been a result of constant uncertainty, so it’s imperative your people are assured about what’s in front of them in their working lives.

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A NEW WAY OF WORKING

Lockdown has shown that people can work from home

‘PDCS reported 56% of employees felt happier when working from home’ They will want to know what your plans are for reopening offices and how often they’ll be expected to be present, so communication is key.

Employers will also need to find the best way to monitor performance in this new age of flexible working.

While productivity is a fundamental measure of employees, hybrid working performance can’t be measured with the exact same parameters as office working. Therefore, organisations must create new policies to establish the performance markers and best practices for homeworking.

For example, there should be a well-established timetable of communication to allow people to plan their schedules so they don’t feel tied to their laptops – allowing them to take guilt-free breaks and tailor their hours to best suit them.

Don’t forget to carry out risk assessments for homeworking and communicate what the organisation is doing to ensure people’ safety. Employees may also wish to know HMRC is accepting

tax relief claims of up to £6 per week to cover homeworking bills during 2021 and 2022.

MANAGING HEALTH AND WELLBEING While lots of people have enjoyed remote working, a sizeable cohort have struggled with their physical and mental health due to increased stress and social isolation.

The lack of visibility meant some employees felt it was necessary to show their worth by putting in a longer shift.

The PDCS survey found almost one in three (30%) people increased their hours while working from home, 53% felt they had to be available constantly and 52% took People need reassurance after a long period of uncertainty

Once employees are back in the office, you should ask whether the space fits the new way of working.

It should have a positive impact on wellbeing and performance, featuring collaborative spaces where people connect with their teams and the wider organisation – as well as still being able to have virtual meetings.

When making all these decisions on how your business will look, consider the impact they’ll have on recruitment.

For instance, enforcing everyone to come into the office five days a week might give people a reason to leave and the geographical constraints would narrow the talent pool when it comes to replacing them.

Of course, hybrid working may not work for all roles and this will probably have been apparent during the past 16 months anyway, but speak to those people about why they may need to be in the office more rather than ignore the issue.

Ultimately, this forthcoming period will be one of more experimentation, making tweaks and adjustments to find the right balance. But putting your people at the heart of everything will go a long way to maintaining a happy workforce.

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Businesses determined to develop community links

Awards show will be back with a bang The countdown is on for the Chamber’s Enterprising Women Awards – with co-chairs Eileen Richards MBE and Jean Mountain (pictured) looking forward to welcoming members and finalists to a gala awards dinner on 8 October.

Finalists across the eight categories of the 2021 awards, held in partnership with headline sponsor Futures Housing Group, were announced last month and winners will be selected at a virtual judging day ahead of the event.

It is currently planned to be held physically at a venue in Nottingham, with ticket details to be released soon.

‘Every year, we are surprised by the incredible calibre of entries’ Jean said: “it feels like it has been so long since we have been able to celebrate in-person with our members so it’s going to be a gala dinner to remember, applauding the talent we have among East Midlands enterprising women.”

Eileen added: “Every year, we are surprised by the incredible calibre of entries and this year was no different with the sponsors facing extremely tough decisions on shortlisted finalists and winners.

“We’re delighted to see the amount of women who have survived and thrived throughout the past 18 months.”

Meanwhile, the next Enterprising Women network event is planned for Friday 30 July. A speaker will be confirmed soon at www.emcdnl.co.uk/connectingyou/enterprising-women

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Going “beyond raffle prizes” and establishing long-term relationships is the recipe for successful community and social engagement among businesses.

This was the view of a group of East Midlands business leaders as they discussed how firms can make more meaningful impact in their local areas.

Senior representatives from companies including Capital One, Futures Housing Group and Morningside Pharmaceuticals joined the debate at the Chamber’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Summit in late May, in which an EMComingTogether campaign was launched to help organisations improve the output of their CSR and ESG (environmental, social and governance) activity.

Lindsey Williams, chief executive of Ripley-based housing association Futures Housing Group, said it was “more important than ever for businesses to think about” after the pandemic’s harsh impact on many communities over the past 16 months.

Although being socially-focused is the central focus of her not-forprofit organisation, its services go beyond finding shelter for people and include working with charities in areas such as homelessness and domestic violence.

She added: “We don’t just do this work to be altruistic – although that’s important for us to help local communities thrive – but we also feel that in the current age, the younger generation in particular is looking for socially-responsible organisations to work for and we’ve received a 97% employee engagement score.

Lindsey Williams (left) and Jess Barnett with husband Martin

“Also, as part of the Government’s ESG accounting requirements, the benefit organisations have will become much more important in terms of sustainability and social responsibility. It’s difficult for businesses to know where to direct their energy, so I’d encourage them to play to the strengths and partner with other organisations around certain activities.”

Jess Barnett, co-owner and brand director of Nottinghambased food gifting business TTK Confectionery, said her company’s CSR activities began with being bombarded by requests to donate goods for raffles.

But it has evolved to go “beyond the raffle prize” by identifying key issues it wants to tackle, including deprivation, unemployment, addiction and mental health issues.

It works with local organisations

including addiction recovery charity Double Impact to offer work experience and employment to service users, and has supported young people’s charity Base 51 in its web development, marketing and recruitment.

Jess believes procurement is one of the easiest ways to support and the company has hired Radiant Cleaners – which offers employment opportunities to people who have faced multiple barriers to work – to clean its offices and manufacturing plant.

“Our CSR activities are now based around one key goal – to be a responsible and sustainable company focusing on our local community,” she said.

“You shouldn’t be ashamed to shout from the rooftops about your CSR work because it can be part of your strategic growth.”

More firms benefit from giving back Two-thirds of East Midlands businesses now engage in social or community activities – with an increasing number seeing the benefits of giving back, according to research by the Chamber in partnership with the University of Derby.

It found the proportion of companies involved in CSR activity has grown from 60% in 2017 to 66% in 2020. However, there are significant discrepancies between large firms and SMEs, with those not engaged in charity activity citing a lack of time and financial resources.

In the survey of more than 400 businesses in Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire, nine in 10 large companies were

engaged but the figure was 65% for SMEs, and just under 50% for microbusinesses. Engagement was highest in the service sector (67%), with manufacturing (56%) the least active.

The most popular CSR activity was one-off donations, but companies also offered skills, premises,

structured volunteering opportunities and more regular donations.

The Chamber will showcase the best examples of CSR activity in membership on a new EMComing Together page in member news.

See p18 for this month’s highlights.

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CHAMBER NEWS

• Family-run business • Manufacturer of 1L, 5L and 20L bottled water • Water filtered through triple purification technology (RO + UV + Ozonisation) • Door-to-door service within a three mile radius • Leicester-based

T: W:

E:

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I couldn’t be prouder to back our next generation The Chamber’s Generation Next network for young professionals is overseen by a board of “champions”, comprising employees and leaders representing businesses across the region within the 18 to 35 age group.

Jasmine Thompson meets chair of the board Emma Baumback (pictured), a 30-year-old independent financial planner at Future Life Wealth Management, based in Renishaw, North East Derbyshire.

My second biggest career achievement was being listed in the Top 30 Next Generation of Financial Advisers in the UK in December last year.

WHAT HAS YOUR CAREER JOURNEY BEEN TO DATE AND WHAT DOES YOUR CURRENT ROLE INVOLVE? My route to becoming an adviser didn’t involve higher education.

After leaving school I felt a bit lost, having no desire to go to university nor did I have any idea what I wanted my profession to look like.

I only knew I wanted my career to be meaningful and in something that helps people. Living in London, I decided to get a job in the City until I worked out my career path and secured an administrator role for a global financial services firm.

This really opened by eyes and I realised that no matter what stage we are in our lives, managing our financial health is important – there’s so many things we don’t get a second chance to do.

I wanted to learn how to help others take care of themselves financially and this job is so much more than simply investing money or encouraging people to save. I get to build relationships with people from all different aspects of life – nurture them, educate them and support them to achieve their financial goals, no matter how big or small they may be.

WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE GOALS? Generation Next offers a range of support

I spent the next seven years working my way through the ranks from administrator to paraplanner, before becoming a financial planner in 2019.

WHAT HAVE BEEN YOUR BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENTS TO DATE AND HOW DID THEY COME ABOUT? The qualifications you need to become an independent financial planner, as for many professionals in similar sectors, are intense and all self-study, which is not easy alongside a full-time job.

I’ll never forget that feeling of self-achievement when I got that final exam pass and promotion to financial adviser, I was incredibly proud of myself – and relieved!

I have an ongoing goal of never staying in my comfort zone by doing at least five different things each year to really challenge myself.

I still have so much to learn and so much room to grow. The first challenge I set myself many years ago was to start networking as the very thought absolutely petrified me. However, I learned it’s invaluable in growing our business and quickly realised how much I enjoy it.

I’ve never been part of a board before, but I’m determined to give it my all and make a real change for the next generation of business leaders in our region.

DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE TO OTHER YOUNG PEOPLE ON HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS OR THEIR CAREER? 1. Get ready to challenge yourself and don’t hold back. Have a clear goal of what you want to achieve

and remind yourself of this regularly to keep you going.

2. Be authentic. Being yourself and doing the very best job you can is a quality that we all respect at any stage of life

WHY DID YOU WANT TO BE INVOLVED WITH GENERATION NEXT AND HOW CAN IT HELP YOUNG PEOPLE? There’s lots of barriers when starting a career and simply being “young” can be one of them. Not having the resources, finance, communication or even the opportunity can add so much pressure and take a huge toll on our confidence.

These are obstacles I’ve experienced and this is why Generation Next really sits close to my heart. Having the opportunity to be a part of a community that provides the tools to support and better ourselves is amazing.

In the short space of time I’ve been a member of Generation Next, I’ve learned how to better market myself and our business, improve my leadership skills, make responsible and sustainable changes, along with meeting a tonne of amazing likeminded people who are keen to support and grow together.

Ram sculpture reflects group’s inclusive nature Inclusivity is the theme for Generation Next’s contribution to the Derby Ram Trail.

The young professionals’ network has sponsored a colourful 5ft sculpture designed by artist Amrit Singh and named “Ramtastic”.

It is one of 30 rams dotted around Derby city centre and is located at the very beginning of the route outside Derby Museum & Art Gallery.

The trail, which runs from 27 May to 22 August and can be followed using a free app, has been organised by Derby Museums in partnership with Wild in Art, with the aim of promoting the city’s open spaces and cultural heritage. The rams will be auctioned for charity on 9 September.

Lucy Robinson, the Chamber’s director of resources and Generation Next lead, said: “We’re delighted to be taking part in the Derby Ram Trail, which is a great initiative to bring people back to the city centre and showcase everything it has to offer.

“It’s great to be at the very start of the trail, with Amrit’s colourful and vibrant design fitting in nicely with Generation Next’s commitment to diversity and inclusivity.”

Generation Next will run its first face-to-face networking event to explore the Derby Ram Trail on Friday 23 July.

Visit www.generationnextemc.co.uk/event/the-ramble

Ramtastic is sponsored by Generation Next

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Scheme helps latest escape room to kick on Robbing banks and investigating paranormal activity is the name of the game at a new Chesterfield venue – which has used the Kickstart scheme to bolster its team.

Chesterfield Escape Rooms, which opened in May, has used the Government-backed employment programme – aimed at 16 to 24year-olds on Universal Credit or at risk of long-term unemployment – to hire six games masters among its 16 employees.

It applied for funding to create the initial six-month placements via the Chamber, which is a Kickstart gateway organisation and has worked with Chesterfield Borough Council to engage businesses about the scheme’s benefits.

Nick Hogan, who owns the escape room business, said he initially considered employing people on zero-hour contracts due to the unknown nature of bookings, but felt this wouldn’t help to build a workforce with a “sense of belonging”.

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“When Kickstart came along, it allowed me to recruit and be selective in the recruitment process,” he said.

“In working with these six people, it’s reminded me that everyone deserves a chance. The younger generation is tomorrow’s workforce and unless we give the opportunities to succeed, our businesses won’t survive.”

‘The younger generation is tomorrow’s workforce’ One of the Kickstart employees is James Bryan, from Chesterfield, whose role involves customer service, sales and running the games, which require players to solve a series of puzzles within a set time to unlock the room.

The 21-year-old said: “I can already feel I’ve gained more confidence in speaking to customers and leading games.”

The Department for Work and Pensions funds 100% of the agerelevant National Minimum Wage, national insurance and pensions contributions for 25 hours a week over a six-month period.

Employers can choose to top up this wage and are also eligible for a £1,500 Government grant for training people on a Kickstart placement. Once applications are accepted, young people are referred into the roles via a Jobcentre Plus work coach.

The Chamber has secured more than 2,800 placements among 700-plus businesses. Over 600 of these roles have been filled, with 1,600 vacancies live.

Deputy chief executive and Kickstart lead Diane Beresford said:

“Businesses taking part are supporting and preparing our future workforce, while they also benefit from a relatively risk-free opportunity to trial new roles that could lead to future growth.”

The Chamber worked with the council to hold information sessions for businesses in the area.

The council’s deputy leader Councillor Amanda Serjeant said the workplace experience people gain from the scheme will "help them develop new skills and build a career”.

Businesses interested in applying for a Kickstart scheme grant should contact Pieter Eksteen on pieter.eksteen@emc-dnl.co.uk or 0333 320 0333 (Ext 2241).

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CHAMBER NEWS

Support package enables tech firm to go for growth A Derby technology company is hoping to bring 10 new products to market this year after receiving a package of business growth support.

One-to-one coaching, mentoring and workshops helped Devtank, an opensource hardware and software firm, to undertake the next stage of its growth quicker than originally anticipated.

It’s also hoping to create new jobs after benefiting from the D2N2 UpScaler Project, which was delivered by the Chamber in partnership with Nottingham Trent University before recently coming to an end.

Darren Millington, project and business development manager at Devtank, based in Mickleover, said: “The support we received from Digital UpScaler, and particularly the coaching, was really beneficial.

“It enabled us to refine some of our internal processes and focus our future growth strategy to get ready for our next phase of expansion.

“It’s helped our business to grow at a much faster rate, employ more

people, move into new sectors, develop new products and grow the awareness of our brand.”

Founded in 2014, the company develops test and measurement equipment, automation systems and design solutions for a host of sectors.

It is split into four core groups – product design, consultancy, training and test facilities – with its applications including aerospace support equipment, telemetry applications, engine control systems

and laboratory instrumentation for the electronics industry.

Devtank experiences rapid initial growth by launching new products and applications into different sectors.

It had moved into its own premises in January 2019 and, with plans to grow its workforce from eight people and launch more products, it required support to manage further expansion more effectively and standardise its operating procedures.

Several key members of staff attended D2N2 UpScaler workshops on subjects including user experience, strategic marketing, branding and leadership.

As well as the coaching and support in growing its network of potential customers, the company received a grant to create a graduate placement and purchase new technology for introducing new innovations.

UpScaler subsidised Devtank’s ISO mentoring to help it prepare for a quality management accreditation process, enabling the employee growth.

It’s time to apply for Queen’s Awards Applications are now open for the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise 2022 – with East Midlands businesses of all sizes urged to enter.

The UK’s most prestigious business awards have four categories – innovation, international trade, sustainable development and promoting opportunity through social responsibility.

Four Chamber members – Brunel Healthcare (international trade), Cofresh Snack Foods (international trade), HUUB (innovation) and MasterMover (international trade) – were among 205 winners this year.

They are allowed to use a recognised royal emblem for five years, helping them to become globally recognised as an outstanding British brand and grow sales.

The deadline for applications is 9 September 2021. Visit www.gov.uk/queens-awardsfor-enterprise/how-to-apply

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CHAMBER NEWS

The online revolution has been a key feature of the pandemic – and now small and microbusinesses in Chesterfield can embrace these digital trends in an innovative new support scheme.

The Chesterfield Digital High Street project helps those reliant on bricks and mortar to transition into an online world by creating highly visible e-commerce websites equipped with the latest forms of payment, such as Apply Pay and Google Pay, and modern shopping concepts like “click and collect”.

‘It’s crucial these SMEs are futureproofed by creating modern websites’ Funded by Chesterfield Borough Council and delivered by the Chamber, it aims to support small outfits in sectors such as retail, hospitality and leisure, which have been hit hardest by lockdown restrictions, to become more resilient.

Scott Knowles, chief executive at the Chesterfield-headquartered Chamber, said: “The pandemic has had a huge impact on small and microbusinesses in sectors such as retail, hospitality and leisure, which have previously relied on their physical venues to trade successfully.

“While we’re all looking forward to a return to normality as we come out of lockdown, it’s crucial these SMEs are future-proofed by creating modern websites to embrace some of the consumer

Photo courtesy of Matt Jones Photography/Destination Chesterfield

Funding to create a Digital High Street

The council-funded scheme is aimed at Chesterfield’s retail, leisure and hospitality sectors

trends that were already noticeable pre-Covid.

“Not every company can afford to do this, however, so we’re delighted to be playing a key role in supporting businesses in Chesterfield to establish and maintain the latest e-commerce solutions on behalf of the project funder, Chesterfield Borough Council.”

The support available to businesses via the programme includes access to a Digital High Street adviser with specific ecommerce and online skills, who will work intensively with at least 120 businesses to help them

develop and maintain their new or existing digital presence.

They will also be able to attend dedicated webinars, delivered outside working hours, and use marketing resources for free.

Grants of £2,200 – covering 100% of costs – will also be awarded to 50 of these businesses to help them set up an e-commerce website that is search engine optimised, with the package also including web hosting provision for a year and access to ongoing digital training.

All participating businesses can also benefit from free Chamber membership for a year.

Councillor Dean Collins,

Chesterfield Borough Council’s cabinet member for economic growth, said: “In Chesterfield, we have lots of fantastic local independent businesses and after the last 18 months, there has never been a more important time to support them.

“We hope this funding will help lots of these businesses sell more effectively online, which will help guarantee their future in our town and hopefully allow them to grow.”

Applications can now be made for the Chesterfield Digital High Street project at www.emc-dnl.co.uk/chesterfielddigital-high-street

Free crime-fighting partnership in Chesterfield Up to 2,000 businesses in Chesterfield and Staveley can now sign up for free to a Chamberrun scheme that helps to reduce town centre crime and anti-social behaviour – as new figures show the cost of crime is rising for retailers.

Retailers, hospitality venues and other companies can access Disc, an online crime information-sharing system that connects businesses with local police forces, as part of the Derbyshire Business Crime Reduction Partnership (BCRP).

The BCRP, which is run in partnership with Derbyshire Police and Crime Commissioner Angelique Foster, secured funding from Chesterfield Borough Council to roll out the scheme, which usually costs up to £100 to join, at no cost for the first 12 months in a bid to maximise its effectiveness by encouraging more businesses to join the 80 current members.

It follows the launch of the Love Chesterfield campaign by the council and Destination Chesterfield last month to support the town’s retail, hospitality and leisure sectors as national lockdown eases.

Chesterfield town centre’s famous outdoor market

Jackie Roberts, BCRP manager at the Chamber, said: “The Disc portal is an integral part of crime reduction strategies as it makes it so much easier for businesses to share intelligence about incidents and offender images between members, police, community safety officers and other partners such as the BCRP team.

“By working with local authorities such as Chesterfield Borough Council, we’re delighted to offer this scheme for free to businesses in

order to make them more resilient – a key theme during the post-Covid economic recovery.”

The British Retail Consortium’s 2021 Retail Crime Survey found there were 455 violent or abusive incidents towards staff per day nationally in 2019/20 – up 7% from the previous year.

The total cost of crime has also risen from £700m in 2016/17 to £1.3bn in 2019/20 – with customer theft the most significant, costing companies £935m – while the cost to retailers of crime and crime prevention was £2.5bn last year, an increase of 14% on the previous 12month period.

Councillor Dean Collins added: “I want to encourage every local business to sign up to this programme because I believe it will be a positive step for our town. It shows how we can work together to build a thriving borough.”

Anyone interested in discussing how to get involved with the Derbyshire BCRP can email jackie.roberts@emc-dnl.co.uk business network July/August 2021

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CHAMBER NEWS

Employers must take the lead on skills development The skills landscape is finally ready to be transformed – and employers will be placed at the heart of a new plan to transform, a key Cabinet member claimed at a Chamber event.

Gillian Keegan, minister for apprenticeships and skills, said the Department for Education’s Skills and Post-16 Education Bill introduced to Parliament in May included “bold reforms” for post-16 education.

Speaking at the Skills and Employability Summit last month, she referenced findings from the Chamber’s Quarterly Economic Survey for Q2 2021 – in which 48% of businesses reported difficulties in recruiting people with the required skills – as evidence of the “increasing skills mismatch”.

‘The East Midlands has different labour markets and skills to other parts of the UK’ Mrs Keegan said: “I spent the first six months in my role in meetings discussing skills shortages across many sectors and in many parts of our economy, at many different levels.

“The good news is we now have a plan and my argument is a simple one. By implementing it, we will transform the qualifications landscape and expand opportunities across the country, so people can get the skills that lead them to really good jobs and, of course, benefit business.”

She admitted many of the gaps long predate Covid-19, but the pandemic has exacerbated the problem.

Gillian Keegan

Making changes to the school system couldn’t be achieved alone, she said, adding: “We recognise the importance of employers and businesses, and how vital they are to the school system.

“You know which skills you need and it’s logical, therefore, that you play a key role in the system because businesses are critical to realising the reforms.”

Mrs Keegan told businesses they now had a “great opportunity” to transform their productivity by having an influence on how the education system is reconfigured to deliver the right skills, which would in turn “transform business productivity”.

She added: “If we are to really tackle skills issues around the country then we need to recognise that one size does not fit all approach.

“The East Midlands has different labour markets and skills to other parts of the UK, so we will give more power to local areas in developing your skills – so that you’re training people to do the jobs that you need.

“We want local areas to plan and we think local employers are the best people to lead this process.”

Businesses are being encouraged to engage with more schoolchildren

Examples already underway include skills boot camps in Greater Manchester that train people to retrofit council houses so they are more energy-efficient.

Areas can also apply to become a trailblazer for the local skills improvement plan this year as part of its Skills Accelerator, which will set out the key changes needed in a local area to make technical skills training more responsive to employer needs.

T levels, which follow GCSEs and are developed in collaboration with businesses so course content meets industry needs, are also designed for a similar purpose.

Addressing businesses, Mrs Keegan added: “Get involved in the biggest revolution in technical education and skills training we’ve ever seen in the UK, and help us to recover from the pandemic.”

Also speaking at the Skills and Employability Summit, which formed part of the Chamber’s People and Skills Week, was Nick Chambers, chief executive of the charity Education and Employers.

He spoke about how his organisation’s research has found that employee engagement was crucial in raising the aspirations and attainment of children.

“It’s about broadening horizons, motivating kids and exciting them,” he said. “It’s about showing them which jobs you have and which roles there will be in the future.

“A lot of children don’t really know what’s out there – and why should they, because a lot of it’s based on who they know and who they see.

“Importantly, we know that if children are motivated, they do better as they can see the potential of what they can be.”

Businesses can have their say on Becketwell Businesses in Derby have been invited to have their say on a proposed new events centre that will form part of the £200m Becketwell regeneration scheme.

The project’s developer St James Securities has launched an online consultation for the 3,500-capacity venue, which is planned for the site of the former Laurie House offices and NCP multi-storey car park in Derby.

The company and Derby City Council announced in June that ASM Global has been awarded preferred bidder status to manage, operate and programme the flexible venue, which would be capable of staging more than 200 concerts, theatre, conferences and exhibitions each year.

It would open in 2024 and is projected to attract 250,000 annual visitors to Derby.

To take part in the consultation, visit www.becketwell.co.uk

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The proposed new events centre in Derby

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CHAMBER NEWS

Celebrating 150 years of pioneering service Davies Turner is one of the UK's leading freight forwarder and logistics organisations, with 21 branches throughout the country. With a warehouse capacity of over 1,000,000 square metres and a network of overseas partners, you can be assured of a fantastic service. With ISO 9001 accreditation too and a UKwide collection and delivery service that fuels an ann ual turnover of over £145 million, Davies Turner are flexible experts in logistics, storage and supply chain management solutions. Anything from courier to overland can be tackled, as well as freight by sea and air, with IT support in the form of in-house management systems and the latest WMS software, ensuring security and safety.

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SUSTAINABLE EAST MIDLANDS

www.emc-dnl.co.uk/sustainability

University leads fight against climate change

Bichar could store carbon from the atmosphere

The University Nottingham is to lead the world’s largest trial to evaluate the viability of a material called biochar to store carbon from the atmosphere – potentially countering the impact of climate change.

The £4.5m project is one of five UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)-funded demonstrators investigating the adoption of greenhouse gas removal technologies to cut CO2 emissions at a scale that may help Britain reach its net zero target by 2050.

Work on the four-and-a-half-year project began in May and field trials will be conducted at arable and grassland sites in the Midlands and Wales, as well as former mines, railway embankments where engineering work has resulted in loss of vegetation, and woodlands.

‘The aim is to take carbon from atmospheric emissions and trap it in the biochar’ Biochar is a charcoal-like substance produced by heating organic biomass from agriculture and forestry waste in the absence of oxygen (pyrolysis) to make it carbon-rich and chemically-stable.

At present, in the UK, it is produced on an extremely small-scale in kilns and it is mainly sold as a mulch for horticulture.

It is similar to commercial-grade charcoal used in barbecues but, ideally, should be produced at higher temperatures to produce carbon that will be stable over hundreds of years. However, its effectiveness, cost, social acceptability and limitations need to be better understood and proven at scale.

Project lead Professor Colin Snape, director of the university’s Centre of Doctoral Training in 52

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The University is trialling use of the charcoal-like substance

Carbon Capture and Storage and Cleaner Fossil Energy, said: “The aim is to take carbon from atmospheric emissions and trap it in the biochar.

“That carbon will then be locked in the soil for centuries, if not millennia, so its sustainable production could be a powerful tool in the fight against climate change.

“However, we need to get a detailed and accurate picture of the longevity and stability of biochar carbon in soils to ensure it has no detrimental impact.”

MEANWHILE, ANOTHER GROUP of scientists at the University of Nottingham and University of Warwick has been awarded £4.8m funding for a project in which they will aim to create cleaner and greener chemical processing methods for everyday products.

The five-year, business-led research programme will investigate how to make chemicals used in fuel additives for cars, personal care products, clothing and hand sanitisers more environmentally sustainable.

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SUSTAINABLE EAST MIDLANDS

Recycling firm joins DE-Carbonise project Metal recycling and waste management specialist Ward has partnered with the University of Derby to support its DE-Carbonise project – with a vision to increase sustainability and reduce emissions within the construction supply chain.

The Ilkeston-based company’s sustainability team will work with Derby Business School to help decarbonise the local supply chain.

By collaborating with a group of forwardthinking contractors in the area, it will assist them to innovate and improve their waste practices, moving towards increasingly circular forms of resource management.

It’s the latest example of how the European Regional Development Fund-backed DECarbonise programme – which involves the university as well as Derby City Council and Derbyshire County Council – supports SMEs across the county to radically improve their energy and resource efficiency.

Ward environmental officer Joanne Upton said: “This project is a fantastic way for us to engage directly with our local supply chain and SMEs to promote the circular economy, reduce emissions and improve environmental impacts across the region.”

The DE-Carbonise project offers free technical support and on-site carbon reduction surveys to identify ways to cut emissions among businesses.

This could result in the implementation of more

Neil Philpott

Family firms need green strategies

efficient lighting, insulation, heating and cooling systems, through to transport upgrades or cultural behaviour changes.

Grants of between £1,000 and £20,000 are available to support carbon reduction measures, covering up to 40% of the total cost of works.

Dr Fred Paterson, an associate professor and low-carbon business network lead at Derby Business School, added: “There is enormous goodwill among companies of all sizes in the construction supply chain to collaborate on making the essential shift towards a net zerocarbon economy and our national clean growth targets.”

For more information about the scheme, visit www.derby.gov.uk/decarbonise

British family businesses risk falling behind other countries in their commitment to prioritising sustainability, according to PwC’s latest Global Family Business Survey.

While more than half (53%) of UK family firms surveyed believe they have a responsibility to fight climate change, only a third (33%) have developed and communicated a sustainability strategy – compared to a global average of 37%.

The survey reveals 79% of respondents in mainland China, 78% in Japan and 49% globally report “putting sustainability at the heart of everything we do”, compared to 39% in the UK. Neil Philpott, PwC’s Midlands family business leader, said: “A commitment to a wider social purpose has always gone handin-hand with family business in the UK, but there is growing societal pressure to demonstrate more meaningful action.”

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INTERNATIONAL TRADE

Meeting the demands of post-Brexit trade Many importers and exporters are still coming to terms with customs changes resulting from the UK leaving the EU. With upskilling employees an important aspect of how companies respond, Business Network speaks to two businesses that have enrolled staff on the Chamber’s international trade training courses.

STACIA ROWBOTHAM, EXPORT ADMINISTRATOR AT JOWITT ABRASIVES, BASED IN CHESTERFIELD What does your company do?

Jowitt Abrasives is a specialist abrasive manufacturer of discs, segments and wheels for surface grinding, spring grinding and knife grinding. We employ 33 people and ship all over the UK and worldwide.

How has the way you trade internationally changed since Brexit?

Although we’ve maintained great working relationships with our EU customers, we’ve faced a lot of difficulties with the new rules postBrexit. The commercial invoices now require a lot more detail, such as EORI numbers and customs procedure codes, for EU trading.

What have been the biggest challenges this has posed for your business?

Like all exporters, we faced a lot of challenges at the beginning of the year when goods were stuck at the borders, which were closed. Once this was resolved, we faced even more challenges with the new rules and spent a lot of time at the beginning of the year streamlining our processes to ensure they met the rules and suited our customers. For example, the incoterms we were trading with no longer suited our EU customers, so we had to work closely with our freight forwarder to use a new incoterm that suited.

PETER MARTIN, INTERNATIONAL ACCOUNT MANAGER AT ROMPA, BASED IN CHESTERFIELD What does your company do?

More than 30 years ago, Rompa was created to improve the quality of life of people of all ages and all abilities. Employing 50 people, we are now the globally-recognised market leader in designing and installing sensory rooms for hospitals, schools, care homes and domestic settings.

What have been the biggest challenges Brexit has posed for your business?

Export documentation and new customs procedures have been the biggest challenges we have faced so far. Fortunately, we were able to initiate the implementation of the necessary changes towards the end of 2020, which has allowed for the shipment of goods to reach their final destinations as planned with minimal delays.

How have you responded to these challenges?

We have responded by ensuring our documentation is correct and that everything is aligned for the safe import of goods into their final destination countries. Communication between our partners has been key as it has become evident that each EU country has different requirements and needs. We’ve invested in training our workforce so every division has a good understanding of the new changes and their implications.

How has the Chamber supported you in your international trade training requirements?

The Chamber has been our main training 54

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Rompa designs sensory rooms for a variety of settings and customers

provider for a variety of international trade courses and it has been instrumental in highlighting the changes we’ve needed to make to ensure minimal impact on our business and operations.

We have been fully supported by the Chamber’s team and our questions have always been answered promptly. The training courses we completed are in customs declaration, export documentation and Incoterms 2020, while three of our colleagues completed an ITOPS course.

How have you responded to these challenges?

We’ve spent time making sure we fully understand exactly what the new rules mean for both for our business and customers. We’ve been very proactive keeping up with any new changes and have been constantly updating the way we do things.

How has the Chamber supported you in your international trade training requirements?

The Chamber has supported us by answering any questions, no matter how big or small. It has consistently given us the best advice and advised us where funding was available. Because of this, I’ve been lucky enough to do my ITOPS, which I’m really enjoying.

Jowitt Abrasives is a specialist in grinding tools

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INTERNATIONAL TRADE

New rules require new skills if you want to go global International Trade Operations and Procedures– better known as ITOPS – is one of the key qualifications for employees in a business that has new administrative burdens for importing and exporting with the EU. Julie Whiting, international trade training and services manager at the Chamber, explains what it involves and how it’s already helped some companies make huge savings.

The ITOPS course, delivered in partnership with Fidelitas Training, is a practical and relevant qualification designed to prove that candidates have the necessary skills to accurately operate the administration procedures in an international trade administration environment.

It’s suitable for anyone employed in an international trade environment, such as a manufacturer, supplier or freight forwarder.

Delegates will learn how to avoid costly mistakes and improve their international trade procedures. By being able to quote accurately, they will understand all the costs involved, and avoid the problems of losses and hidden charges such as demurrage, fines and overcharging errors.

Some previous candidates have saved their employers thousands of pounds by learning the skills on how to make and save money when dealing with international trade administration.

One example was an exporter saving £250,000 by improving its processes, while a freight forwarder saved £38,000 after streamlining its freight charging processes.

THE ITOPS COURSE Delivered virtually across four separate online workshops, the course covers the main elements of export administration – administration procedures, export documentation, customs and excise, export payments, and dispatch and shipping.

Candidates also have the opportunity to visit the DHL East Midlands Airport hub to gain invaluable experience.

It is followed by an assessment about four months after tuition ends, with successful candidates awarded the ITOPS qualification and British Chambers of Commerce foundation award in international trade.

The next ITOPS course begins on 1 September and runs until 20 October. It costs £1,690 + VAT for members and £2,364 + VAT for non-members.

Visit www.emc-dnl.co.uk/enablinginternational-trade/internationaltrade-qualification-itops

The five Cs for developing India free trade agreement after Covid and Brexit As the UK and India commit to working towards a future free trade agreement, Morningside Pharmaceuticals founder and Department for International Trade “export champion” Dr Nik Kotecha OBE (pictured), who has both family and business ties to India, explains the key points for developing relations between the countries in the post-Covid and post-Brexit era.

India is an important part of the UK’s postBrexit future. The country is viewed romantically by many Brits who reference shared language, culture and history, but the current and future relationship can really flourish if we focus on certain areas.

Going forward, the relationship between the UK and India should be characterised by five Cs. First, Covid, which both countries have and still suffer from. As we know, the second wave in India has been lethal.

The UK has been sending urgent medical supplies to India and it’s heartening the countries have worked together on rolling out vaccines. More than a billion doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine are being produced by the Serum Institute of India.

The second C is commerce, which was the focus of the free trade agreement announcement that aims to double trade by 2030.

UK-India trade was already worth £23bn in 2019, and supports about half a million jobs in each other’s economies. Pharma is a particular sector of strength, with UK exports growing by 21.4% to £96.75m in 2019.

‘The Indian economy is expected to have one of the fastest growth rates in the G20 this year’ I know from my trade visits that India is particularly keen on Britain’s burgeoning expertise in life sciences, MedTech and diagnostics.

A Confederation of Indian Industry survey, also in 2019, highlighted the potential of Indian businesses in the UK, identifying 844 Indian companies operating in Britain, with combined revenues of over £48bn.

UK political and business leaders appreciate the Indian economy is expected to have one of the fastest growth rates in the G20 this year, and offers a market of 1.4 billion people.

According to many estimates, India will be the third largest economy in the world by 2030.

Given these encouraging statistics, it’s no surprise the UK views India as such an important economic and trade partner.

The third C, for community, refers to the British Indian community numbering some 1.5 million, which provides the rocket fuel in the relationship.

They contribute hugely to the economic, cultural and social fabric of the UK. While

comprising just 4% of the UK population, they pay some 10% of taxes to the Treasury.

The Anglo-Indian community is an entrepreneurial one. Research last year showed that Indian diaspora-owned companies have a combined revenue of more than £35bn and employ over 174,000 people.

British Indians have reached the top of business, politics, professions, science, the arts and other areas of public life, while Indian culture has mainstream appeal.

Fourth, the C of Commonwealth is an important glue in the relationship. India, of course, is the giant of the association.

It joined in 1949 as a founding member when Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru said it was “better to keep a co-operative association going, which may do good in this world, rather than break it”.

The UK, which is the current chair-in-office and India are two pivotal forces in working together to maximise its effectiveness.

The final C is climate change. In November, the UK will host the global climate change conference COP26.

India is one of the countries that could be most affected by global warming. There is scope to collaborate on shared solutions, which is already happening on issues such as scaling up the electric mobility markets.

There is so much potential in the UK-India relationship. Together, our two countries can work on shared challenges and mutually beneficial trade. business network July/August 2021

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POLITICS

Just 25 miles apart yet separated by an invisible divide A new report by Midlands Connect calls for new direct rail links between Coventry, Leicester and Nottingham, which it says would bring major economic and environmental benefits for a relatively small investment. Dan Robinson reports from a campaign launch event. hen Coventry City Council leader George Duggins found himself in Leicester in August 2019 for a meeting with his counterpart at Leicestershire County Council, Nicholas Rushton, they discussed how they’d barely been to each other’s cities other than for “accidental reasons”.

Despite being just 25 miles apart, there’s been an invisible barrier between them.

“Psychologically, we seem a long, long way from Leicester – and there’s the same feeling vice-versa,” says Councillor Duggins.

In a new era of unity between the East and West Midlands, driven by the Midlands Engine publicprivate coalition, it’s a striking reminder that there remains a chasm that requires bridging.

Midlands Connect, the pan-regional transport research and development group, believes the reason is clear – a lack of infrastructure, with no direct rail link between the cities.

W

‘What we’re trying to achieve is a fundamental change in the economic geography of the region’ It has now released a report advocating a new route from Coventry to Leicester, Loughborough, East Midlands Parkway and Nottingham. It would cut journey times by 30% between Coventry and Leicester, and by 35% between Coventry and Nottingham.

Mayor of Leicester Sir Peter Soulsby, who supports the campaign, says: “I’ve done some checking and can’t find any two cities anywhere else in the UK that are as close to each other as Coventry and Leicester without a direct rail link.”

THE GAP IN rail provision has existed since 2004, when an upgrade to the West Coast Main Line created more fast services from the West Midlands to London, but meant there was no space for Coventry-Leicester-Nottingham services to pass through a bottleneck at Nuneaton. Passengers must now get off one train at Nuneaton station, change platforms and board another, culminating in a slow, inconvenient service.

As a result, just 3% of journeys along this corridor, which has a combined population of 56

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well above a million people, are made by rail – compared to 30% of trips between Coventry and Birmingham, a journey that enjoys a regular, fast and direct rail connection.

Midlands Connect’s plans – which could involve several options, the most popular among its rail experts being to “dive under” the West Coast Mainline at Nuneaton – would increase this to 20% by cutting journey times along the route significantly.

Trips from Coventry to Leicester would fall from 54 to 38 minutes, while those from Coventry to Nottingham would reduce from 108 to 70 minutes.

The scheme, which would cost between £90m and £100m, would bring benefits of more than £170m to the local economy – while creating more than two million extra train seats an hour would have significant environmental benefits by removing cars.

Andrew Clark, Midlands Connect’s senior rail programme manager and the project’s technical lead, says: “Less than 40 minutes is a much more competitive journey time and for passengers, we think this would be a very attractive journey.

“But this is about much more than providing a train service between two cities. What we’re trying to achieve is a fundamental change in the economic geography of the region, with increased economic interaction between these

There are currently no direct rail services that link both Leicester and Nottingham with Coventry

Midlands Connect is creating a detailed plan for establishing a direct rail link

cities that would create a step change in productivity.”

Midlands Connect has surveyed more than 3,000 people in the three cities and 87% were in favour. It will create an outline business case for the project by the end of next year, with hopes the new line could be up and running by 2025.

FOR LILIAN GREENWOOD, the Nottingham South MP and former shadow transport secretary, the project is a “no brainer” as it would make journeys “cleaner and greener”.

Sir Peter believes it’s a “quick win” for the levelling-up agenda – minister for transport Chris Heaton-Harris prefaces the discussion by saying the Government recognises the importance of rail connectivity to achieving this – and isn’t aware of another infrastructure scheme with such a positive cost-benefit ratio.

“It would undoubtedly benefit our cities by restoring this line – and it is a restoration because it was there in the past, so it can be there in the future,” he adds.

And it would likely make visits between Leicester and Coventry, in particular, less accidental in the future, believes Cllr Duggins, who says it’s “probably one of the easiest schemes to approve”.

He adds: “What we want is for people to travel between Coventry and Leicester for employment purposes but also to visit each other’s cities. We simply can’t lose if we get this connection back.”

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POLITICS

Rolls-Royce has created a prototype for the world's fastest all-electric plane

Region can lead in sustainable aviation Making a breakthrough in sustainable aviation could be just the type of innovation to propel the Midlands on to the global stage, says a key figure at Rolls-Royce.

Matheu Parr, customer business director at the Derby-based engineering giant, is leading a project to build the world’s fastest all-electric plane as part of the ACCEL (Accelerating the Electrification of Flight) initiative.

The company expects to race the plane later this year and go above 300mph – way beyond the 210mph record set by Siemens in 2017.

Speaking at the “Big ideas to change the Midlands” session at The Business Desk’s Invest Midlands conference in late May, he said: “The project is about inspiring innovation as we begin to think more about sustainable aviation.

“One of the key components is to invest in gas turbines, which we make in Derby, and continuing to invest in sustainable aviation fuels – but equally in disruptive technology, such as electrification.

“What better way to go and show the capabilities that exist in the Midlands in terms of electrical engineering than go and create the world’s fastest all-electric plane?”

Matheu believes the project is testament to the Midlands skills base, as Rolls-Royce has been able to create a small team of about 20 people – including some engineers with experience in

The ACCEL project will equip the East Midlands with a unique skillset to help make aviation more sustainable

electric vehicles after working for Midlandsbased companies such as Jaguar Land Rover, as well as existing Rolls-Royce talent.

“It hasn’t just been about the innovation for speed, but the technology we hope to move into other markets as well,” he said.

“The technology we’re developing, such as the battery, is exactly the same as we’d like to include in urban air mobility and air taxis.

“It’s also the same ground infrastructure you’d need to recharge these aircraft safely and get passengers turned around quickly.

“So while there’s a focus on speed, we’ll also be focusing on things like efficiency, zero emissions, noise reduction.”

Midlands Engine chairman Sir John Peace spoke at the conference about the region’s role in the UK’s “green revolution” and Matheu agreed that sustainable air technology could be one of the Midlands’ major contributions to this agenda.

He added: “For the UK, we’re creating a unique skillset. When we started this project, there wasn’t an engineering expertise, supply chain or infrastructure.

“We’ve had to create all that over the past few years for the record attempt. We’ll take all these learnings back into our aviation base in Derby and start to think about what it means for future aircraft, as well as feed that skillset into the rest of the world.”

New MD to lead East Midlands Development Corporation A pioneering body that aims to help generate 84,000 new jobs, 10,000 new homes and add billions in value to the East Midlands economy in years to come has taken a major step forward by appointing a managing director.

Richard Carr (pictured) has taken the reins of EM DevCo Limited, a new company set up by five local authorities to oversee work on the proposed East Midlands development corporation.

The organisation will help accelerate the planning and development of three major sites located in the East Midlands Airport area, Toton and Chetwynd, and land around Ratcliffe-onSoar Power Station.

Richard joins on the back of a 25-year career in which he has worked with the private and public sector to drive multibillion regeneration initiatives.

A former CEO at city, unitary authority and district level, he also has a wealth of experience liaising with Government and business. He will lead an organisation that is currently recruiting a small team of planning and economic specialists, who will build momentum behind its work.

Richard said: “I’m delighted to be part of a groundbreaking initiative, which aims to shift the dial of economic performance in the East Midlands. It’s no exaggeration to say this is one of the single most important economic development opportunities across the whole of the UK.” EM DevCo is being backed by Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire county councils, North West Leicestershire District Council, and Broxtowe and Rushcliffe borough councils. The move to formally set up a body to begin its work lays the foundations for a new kind of statutory development corporation that was flagged in the Queen’s Speech as part of Government plans to boost growth through planning reform.

It follows the submission of a detailed business case to Government highlighting the potential to use the three sites in order to fuel a step-change in regional economic performance. It will develop detailed plans for development, infrastructure and investment to benefit the wider region.

Supported by regional businesses and universities, it will also work to secure funding to help support developments, speak to investors and developers to establish potential, and liaise with local communities about proposals.

The DevCo has launched a new website at www.emdevco.co.uk

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FEATURE

Securing our future… in more ways than one With the latest figures showing 1.6 million people remain out of work, it means creating new jobs will be central to the post-Covid economic recovery. Simran Basi (pictured inset), a development officer at Leicestershire Cares – a charity that brokers partnerships between businesses and communities – believes it therefore makes sense to look for opportunities where there are obvious future needs, starting with the green economy.

he pandemic may have given us an exciting opportunity at tackling the climate emergency, which is bigger and longer lasting than the pandemic.

In November, the Prime Minister outlined his 10-point plan for a green industrial revolution to help meet those 2050 net zero emissions targets, aiming to create up to 250,000 new jobs.

This is a promising start, but research shows more investment in a greener economy can create thousands of more jobs.

Green New Deal, a non-profit organisation, released a report providing UK-wide estimates for potential job creation from a programme of investment across the country, finding that:

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The green economy offers a wide range of opportunity

• A Government investment of £69bn in the first two years of the deal could create 1.2m new green jobs. This might be enough to help soak up the shorter-term employment consequences of the Covid crash.

• Investing £48.75bn across two years would create nearly 600,000 green infrastructure jobs straight away.

• £20bn invested in the care sector, across two years, would create 600,000 jobs and nearly two million permanent jobs in the future.

ECONOMIC BOOST FROM GREEN JOBS There is already evidence across the world that shows investment in the green sector can create jobs and boost the economy.

For example, South Africa is constructing several solar farms, which are expected to create 75,000 jobs and power thousands of homes. business network July/August 2021

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New Zealand has built a wind farm in Manawatu that created 100 full-time jobs in its 12-month construction period and continues to generate $8m to $11m into the Manawatu economy each year.

GREEN JOBS AND EQUALITY However, there a few things to take into consideration when creating these new jobs. One is the quality and type of jobs, and the other is who will likely to be able to access and benefit from it.

The effects of Covid-19 have been uneven, with certain groups more likely to be unemployed than others, such as young people, ethnic minorities, those with fewer qualifications and those working in industries shut down due to lockdown.

A green industrial revolution needs to ensure these groups of people are not left behind and that everyone has access to the same opportunities.

Green jobs are very diverse and, with the right investment, opportunities for non-graduates and those with few or no qualifications can be created in several industries, including rail, technology, and health and social care. Apprenticeships and traineeships can be developed to help young people train in these areas and help them build a sustainable career.

Several sectors are going to need to adapt to prevent unemployment through the transition and ensure workers are reskilled to do a green job.

The new green jobs need to be of a high quality, offer a decent wage, improved work conditions, and have plenty of progression and career development opportunities.

Like with anything, there will be a number of associated challenges, but the potential of a green industrial revolution should not be underestimated.

Read about how the East Midlands is engaging with the sustainability agenda on p52

The variety of green jobs is as diverse as the range of people that could do them

PROFESSIONAL

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An established cleaning company since 2000 operating 24/7 in the East Midlands.

Proving a professional reliable service that not only meets our customer needs but exceeds them. Using highly trained staff, environmentally friendly products and modern cleaning techniques.

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FEATURE

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Farrow Walsh is a design led, structural and civil engineering practice with a difference. We are a progressive, forward thinking agency with BIM and sustainability at the forefront of our solutions.

The difference lies in our heritage and the breadth of experience offered by our team.

With headquarters in Leicestershire, we operate on a national and international level across multiple industry sectors.

We offer a creative and innovative approach to deliver time critical, cost effective and commercial solutions; meaning that clients return to us time and again.

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FEATURE

Can technology save our high streets?

By Mitchel Annable, founder of Love My Town Group

inTech, PropTech, InsurTech – why not TownTech? If any sector of our economy was in need of a shot in the arm (no pun intended) that can be provided by relevant, useful and reliable technology, then surely our high streets should be first in the queue.

As we slowly venture back into our towns and cities, the painful impact of the pandemic is only too clear to see in the form of empty units that are ubiquitous across all high streets.

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The past 15 months have seen the acceleration of a process not rooted in the Covid-19 pandemic, but one that has seen our struggling high streets being reshaped and repurposed over a number of years firstly due to the growth of “out of town” shopping followed by the double whammy of 24-hour online retail.

However, it is also apparent that the pandemic has accelerated the adoption of technology by our high streets’ businesses to communicate with and serve customers during the periods of lockdown. business network July/August 2021

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From Instagram product launches to click and collect ecommerce, the relationship between necessity and invention has created an environment where previous technophobes have embraced technology in a way that may just provide a roadmap to how our high streets could flourish in the future.

Undoubtably the big online retailers such as Amazon, ASOS et al are here to stay and will continue to grow exponentially as their technology becomes even more entrenched into our lives, fridges and wardrobes. However, if the pandemic has taught us anything, it is how much we miss social interaction and its importance to our mental health and wellbeing.

A busy high street acting as the social hub for our community creates an environment that simply cannot be replicated online. But how can technology assist in both the recovery and ultimately success of our local high street?

What can we take forward from the lessons learned over the past 15 months to give the high street a competitive advantage in the battle for both footfall and clicks?

SOCIAL, MOBILE AND OMNICHANNEL RETAILING WITH A REAL PERSON Social media platforms, such as Instagram, have played a vital role in providing businesses with the ability to engage with and increase their customer base even with the doors closed.

Combining a strong social media presence with seamless click and collect services is now a far closer reality for many more businesses than seemed possible 12 months ago.

However, regardless of how many Instagram followers or how mobile-friendly a shop’s e-commerce website, ultimately the quality of the experience for the shopper and the value added to the buying process by the retailer are of critical importance to the success of any business.

But if our high street businesses can combine a compelling offer and great experience with the continued embracing of technology to maximise customer

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High streets cannot ignore the power of social media

engagement, trust and loyalty, then our high streets may just be able to start to reverse decades of decline.

The potential for our high streets to once again become the social hubs of our communities cannot be overstated and while there does seem to be a clear will to support our local independent businesses, let us hope that over the next few months and years this “will” can be matched with a “way”.

Undoubtably, technology in whatever form will have an important role to play.

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BUSINESS OF SPORT

Bouncing back The return of sports fans after Covid-19 From elite football and cricket to shining stars in the smaller worlds of basketball and ice hockey, the East Midlands is a hotbed of sport. But the pandemic has put a huge dent in their finances, with the gradual return of fans only making up a fraction of the shortfall so far, as Dan Robinson reports. t had been 20 months since the last time they’d had the pleasure but, on Thursday 20 May, Derbyshire County Cricket Club’s fans were back in their seats at the Incora County Ground to watch their team take on Durham. The weather was most likely similar to the typical English elements the last time they were present – sunshine interspersed with drizzle – and many of the players were the same.

Otherwise, this visit was noticeably different. There were queues into the ground for fans to pass through kiosks that checked temperatures and dispensed hand sanitiser, face masks were a requirement and the attendance was noticeably lower, capped at 850 people due to coronavirus restrictions.

Chairman Ian Morgan OBE says: “It was great to be able to open the ground again and watch a cricket match for so many people.

“But it was noticeable that there were some regulars who didn’t attend because they were still a bit worried about the whole situation.”

For the club, the constraints on admitting fans – less than 25% of the 5,000 capacity due to local regulations – were less than ideal.

It required a threefold increase in the number of stewards and catering staff, alongside a large team of cleaners, while splitting the stadium into six contained zones meant installing more portable toilets and refreshments stands.

“The problem is not only did we have to significantly reduce the capacity, but the cost of reopening is huge and the process of getting people into the ground is very timeconsuming,” says Ian.

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Ian Morgan OBE at Derbyshire CCC’s Incora County Ground 66

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“Essex CCC was only allowed 250 people and reverted to playing behind closed doors because they were making such a big loss.

“We’re certainly losing more money than we were when matches were played in an empty stadium but we felt we owed it to our members, who haven’t been able to watch any cricket for so long.”

FOR CLUBS LIKE Derbyshire CCC, and countless others in less wealthy sports, the pandemic has had a crippling effect.

The cricket season was due to get underway in March last year but, as Britain went into the first lockdown, it wasn’t until August when play finally started without fans.

Derbyshire was one of the luckier clubs, having loaned its ground for a fee to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to accommodate touring teams playing England.

And while the ECB also kept up broadcasting payments to county teams – making up the shortfall by agreeing to additional international matches – the lost revenue from tickets, refreshments and hospitality events including a postponed Michael Bublé concert meant the club, which usually turns over £5.5m annually, found itself £2m short.

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CLUBS SCORE NEW INCOME STREAMS DURING THE PANDEMIC The digital transformation of sport has been accelerated by the pandemic – with the potential to bring in new income streams long after it’s over, believes Purpose Media managing director Matt Wheatcroft.

His company, a digital marketing agency based in South Normanton, has helped a range of sports clubs to ensure their websites are equipped to show live broadcasts of matches. Teams it works with include Derby County, Rotherham Town, Leyton Orient, Alfreton Town, and Derbyshire and Middlesex county cricket clubs.

Matt says: “Clubs have lost money through tickets, hospitality, and food and drink sales in the ground, so streaming matches has been a lifeline as the only income generator over the past year and a half.

“Rather than refunding their 18,000 season ticket holders, Derby County can offer this service and others can buy one-off games, which keeps the money coming in.

“There’s a massive opportunity to accelerate digital transformation now in sport as clubs are learning what to do with it.”

Purpose Media has worked with Derby County on its website since Matt Wheatcroft with Brandon Furse 2016, streamlining the ticket booking system to help increase sales by 50%.

After a law preventing 3pm Saturday matches being broadcast was dropped during the pandemic to allow fans to watch their teams, it enabled clubs to upgrade their online streaming capability.

Purpose Media has partnered with specialist providers to deliver fast and efficient services, which can carry advertising and sponsorship.

Investment in video equipment has allowed clubs to add camera angles

For clubs like Alfreton Town, which plies its trade in National League North and turns over about half a million pounds, it has been crucial.

Matt says: “Alfreton Town contacted us saying they had no income at all. They probably only get about 500 home fans so they rely on big away followings from the larger clubs in their league to make money.

“So we created a platform with a ticketing gateway that links up to a Vimeo stream to show their games with a couple of fans commentating.

“The away teams can buy access too so they made their money from selling advertising. ” In cricket, investment in websites and video equipment has enabled many clubs to add more camera angles and offer a better online viewing experience – leading to larger audiences and offering new business opportunities for clubs capturing their data. How many of these innovations will be allowed to remain post-Covid will largely depend on regulations and the flexibility of broadcasting rights.

Prof David Paton says: “Covid has exacerbated the inequalities that already existed in sports, hitting some of the smaller sports and the smaller clubs within large sports. While many people will want to go back to supporting their local teams, there’s scope for some of those things to continue in the long run with a hybrid of physical and digital.”

To survive, contracts for incoming overseas players were deferred, as were VAT payments, and the club was aided by two-thirds of its near-1,000 members agreeing to donate their annual fees rather than ask for the refund they were due.

But while 23 of the club’s 48 off-field staff were placed on furlough, another 19 sadly had to be made redundant.

There had been hopes of a return to half-full stadiums from 21 June as per the Government’s original roadmap out of lockdown, but the four-week delay keeps it at a maximum of 25% for all but a handful of major sporting events like Wimbledon.

Ian adds: “We were fortunate enough to actually beat our budget forecast last year because of the various mitigations we put in place.

“But this year will be the tough one because although opening up again is great, the costs that come with having a limited capacity are huge.

“We ultimately need to be at 100% just to break even, but my guess is we’ll have those zones and kiosks for the whole season.

Fans can now return to Derbyshire CCC at a reduced capacity

Professor David Paton

Nottingham Forest matches can each be worth up to £200,000 to the local economy

“We’re now playing the T20 Blast, which is the most popular format of the game, so restricting us to less than 25% for another four weeks means a significant loss of revenue and lots of disappointed fans – some who may never come back.”

WHILE THE HIT to club finances is obvious – numerous other clubs in the region, ranging from Chesterfield FC and Mansfield Town to Nottingham Panthers and Leicester Riders, have been forced to use furlough and make significant cutbacks – the wider economic impact of effectively banning large public sports events can go under the radar.

When Trent Bridge played host to the ICC Cricket World Cup for five matches over a six-week period in the summer of 2019, analysis by accountancy firm EY suggested it would bring an £18m economic boost to Nottingham.

It reported how three-quarters of the 87,500 people attending matches would travel from at least 25 miles away, and considered the spending both residents and visitors would have on matchday food, drink and merchandise, as well as wider spend in the hospitality, retail and transport sectors. business network July/August 2021

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THE HOME OF INNOVATIVE SPORTS TECHNOLOGY START-UPS Wearable technology and data analytics are among the key technology innovations that continue to push sport into the 21st century – with many start-ups within this space based in the East Midlands.

Loughborough University, which has an international reputation for sport education, is home to a thriving ecosystem of sports tech start-ups.

They include INCUS Performance, which has developed a lightweight INCUS Performance founder wearable device for triathletes that Chris Ruddock captures and analyses high-quality motion and technique data.

Established in 2016, it has been hailed as a rival to GPS behemoth Garmin and double Olympic champion Alistair Brownlee is among the investors.

Founder Chris Ruddock, a former swimmer who came up with the concept to help athletes train better using data while studying product design engineering at Loughborough University, says: “We help everyday people to capture high-quality data that uniquely describes their technique and performance, and crucially, we help them to understand and use the numbers effectively by crunching the numbers for them.”

Chris, who also spent a year studying at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, claims other wearables such as wristwatches can’t capture dynamic insights.

The INCUS technology is worn on an athlete’s back, with the unique position and advanced algorithms it uses said to provide the first direct measurement of their left and right sides from a single device – a particularly useful training tool for swimmers. Running products are also available, with a cycling device to follow soon.

Tzuka founder Tom Jelliffe

While that was a one-off global event, a separate study found that Nottingham benefited from a £1m economic boost every time it hosted an international test match.

Even for Nottingham Forest matches, which attract up to 30,000 fans on 23 occasions a year, the figure is around the £100,000 to £200,000 mark each time, predicts David Paton, a professor of industrial economics at Nottingham University Business School.

‘It shows just how important getting stadiums open again, and at full capacity, is to businesses’ He says: “We’re talking about pretty big numbers here but it’s not just about the big test matches and football games.

“Nottingham Panthers have a very loyal fanbase of people who might go for a meal and do a bit of shopping before they go to the National Ice Centre.

“The East Midlands is a very sport-intensive region, so when you multiply this across all the clubs we have, you get an idea of just how big a hit our cities and towns are 68

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Another LUSEP start-up is Tzuka, which has designed the “world’s most durable” sports earbuds.

It was founded by geography and management graduate Tom Jelliffe after he and a gym buddy broke nine pairs of earbuds in a year.

His design is specifically engineered for anaerobic sports – including underwater – and has a world-first impact resistance certification while the built-in MP3 player can store more than 60 hours of music playback.

Tom says: “We have totally revolutionised the assembly process behind earbuds – no other earbuds in the world are manufactured this way. Tzuka’s earbuds are designed to be as tough as whatever your workout.”

Tzuka, which is based in LU Inc, the university’s business incubator supporting graduate start-ups, has secured two substantial investment rounds and employs two people. It is hoping to begin selling products within the coming months.

Loughborough University has developed a formidable ecosystem for sports innovation, being home to the largest concentration of world-class facilities and support across a range of sports.

Its infrastructure includes the Sports Technology Institute – one of the globe’s top research groups of its kind, partnering on innovation with brands such as adidas, Nike and Umbro – and the Loughborough University London postgraduate campus at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, which is home to the Institute for Sport Business.

The LUSEP hosts SportPark – comprising 19 national governing bodies and sports organisations including UK Athletics, England and Wales Cricket Board and UK AntiDoping – and the LU Inc business incubator for supporting innovative earlystage companies originating from both inside and outside the university.

Across the 53-hectare site are more than 90 companies, employing in excess of 2,500 people.

The university’s incubator manager Pete Hitchings says: Pete Hitchings “We have lots of different elements of support for sports innovation businesses across the spectrum.

“We’re trying to create a seamless journey for a business to develop with us through collaboration and show there’s no better place in the world to be a sports innovation business.”

taking as a result of clubs not being allowed to welcome fans. It shows just how important getting stadiums open again, and at full capacity, is to businesses.”

The longer restrictions continue, the more likely it will have affect sports participation and interest, believes David, identifying a strong symbiotic relationship between grassroots and professional clubs.

He says playing for local football and cricket teams will spark a child’s interest that may result in becoming a Nottingham Forest season ticket holder or attending T20 matches at Trent Bridge, while watching elite athletes also feeds a desire to participate.

“The past year and a half has been tough on those relationships and will likely have long-term consequences on interest at all levels of sport,” adds David.

“We might find that online experiences and video games have grabbed the attention of more youngsters.

“But from a more optimistic perspective, we’ve seen with the bounceback for hospitality that just as people aren’t going to stop going to pubs, so it’s likely there’ll be a latent demand for live sport and participation.”

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SKILLS & TRAINING

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Future skills Are you thinking about them?

By Lucie Andrews, sector engagement manager at the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership are vital to delivering big challenges on the horizon.

WHAT ARE THE BIG CHALLENGES THAT FACE US?

he Covid 19 pandemic has created massive upheaval in business management and operations. Over the past 15 months, everyone has gone through a mandatory selfdiscovery exercise – processing complex information, modifying behaviour, interpreting risk, and understanding how to manage and deliver under circumstances that none of us had encountered before.

Having looked at the future skills needs for our workforce, I believe the change we have undergone is only the start, and the skills that employees bring to organisations

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Achieving net zero in the face of climate change is perhaps our biggest challenge. The drive towards an economy that puts less stress on our environment and is more sympathetic to the use of its resources is the biggest risk the world faces today. In 2019, the UK became the first big economy to pass legislation to achieve net zero by 2050, and this applies to all sectors. But what will this involve?

Electrification: Getting Britain's electricity system to meet our zero-carbon emissions target won't be easy. Net zero is a “system problem”, meaning we need to understand and solve the whole issue using a co-ordinated crosssector approach, rather than looking at singular problems in isolation. The effective storage, transportation and use of renewable energy sources and alternative fuels like hydrogen will be key to a cleaner, less resourcehungry way of living. This could change how we move, live and work as we understand business network July/August 2021

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how best to manage this essential resource and slow down the effects of climate change.

Digitalisation: As we become increasingly digitally connected, we will start using technology at a breadth and scale not previously seen. From fully autonomous motorways to lights-off factories, the use of technology to manage our businesses and deliver services will continue to grow, as will the need for the infrastructure to support it.

WHICH SKILLS ARE GOING TO BE IMPORTANT? My research over the past six months really has been an eyeopener. Below are a few of the skills I think will be important for businesses over the next few years.

Science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM): All roads from a skills perspective point to the importance of STEM. From changing the environmental impact of buildings, and delivering the first electric and hydrogenpowered plane, to creating robots or AR and VR to train people, STEM skills will play a central role in supporting and developing products and services that can be effectively positioned in global markets.

IT and digital skills: Digital skills are important in our adjustment to current and future trends. Currently,

SKILLS & TRAINING

one in five adults lack some important digital skills. As we move towards a more digital way of life, it will be important for us to understand and interpret data, secure our IT infrastructure (from hackers) and manage a more interconnected world. We will also need more people to manage and support our IT infrastructures.

Individuals will need basic digital skills, and a large proportion of us will need enhanced digital skills to support new technologies being developed.

Leadership skills: Leaders in organisations need to shift away from focusing on the day to day.

They need to see what is in the future, scan their environment, understand their strengths and weaknesses, and ask the big questions of employees while providing the creative space to solve them. Organisations need to develop a culture to encourage innovation, creativity to implement digital improvements and adapt and support society to improve the way we live and work ethically and sustainably.

IS THE EAST MIDLANDS READY? As the sector engagement manager at the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), I genuinely believe we have everything we need in the East

Midlands to be a forerunner in developing future skills and addressing local skills challenges.

Our focus is to drive the development of a skills ecosystem that can flex and respond quickly

to changing demand and challenges – through early careers interventions and strengthened provider infrastructure – and maximise the use of skills and talent from all sources.

Want to know more about which skills your business might need? Get in touch with the D2N2 Skills Access Hub at d2n2skillsaccesshub.co.uk

Lovely, lively language lessons for adults!

• Language for fun classes teaching adults in social groups • Language for fun classes for businesses wanting to offer classes to employees • GCSE classes to support 14-16 year olds

07794 051355 www.languageforfun.org christianne@languageforfun.uk

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THE HUB PROVIDES: • BESPOKE ACTION PLANNING TO UPSKILL EXISTING EMPLOYEES • INFORMATION AND GUIDANCE ON INCLUSIVE RECRUITMENT METHODS AND SUCCESSION PLANNING • SUPPORT TO CREATE APPRENTICESHIPS, INTERNSHIPS AND GRADUATE PLACEMENTS • TRAINING PROGRAMMES WHICH WILL MEET YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS

Book a meeting with a Skills Adviser today, visit: www.d2n2skillsaccesshub.co.uk

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FEATURE

Cognitive diversity: A workforce need

By Ian Clarke, director of Workforce Solutions Group

nly a few weeks ago, I was reminded about diverse thinking. I coach colts rugby and had, for my sins, agreed to help the under-sevens team. Being prepared for herding cats, I planned a session to finish with a game. One seven-year-old explained how I could improve the game. I reluctantly entertained his idea and it was a hit. I had fun, the kids had fun and we were more productive in achieving the same outcomes of evasion, pace and teamwork.

So let me ask you to stop and think. Yes, stop and think. How many people do you have in your workforce that look like you and agree with you? My other rugby coaches did not question the game.

A lot has been written about diversity in the past 25 years and

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much has been concerned with demographic diversity. That is, diversity which is based on our colour or race, sexuality, gender, age and culture.

Rightly so. Demographic diversity is a must. It has been proven many times that an organisation that does not actively engage in diversity can limit ability and productivity.

Organisations with a diverse workforce have the ability to be more productive. The Royal Academy of Engineering identified research into culture and inclusion in engineering and found that “inclusion benefits the performance of individual engineers, with 80% reporting increased motivation, 68% increased performance and 52% increased commitment”.

Failure to engage with people who are diverse has led to welldocumented disasters such as the 9/11 bombings. The CIA at the time was populated with highly intelligent men – “the best of the best”, white, Ivy League-educated men.

They overlooked the warning signs of an impending terrorist attack. Why? Because they could not perceive the threat or signs of a build-up in terrorist activity. Despite the high entrance examinations and psychological assessments to become an agent for the CIA, they lacked diversity and a reference experience of beyond their world.

They lacked understanding of an

impending problem. Their perception in the context of attacks in the USA was: it will never happen, they cannot win. The CIA agents were all from a similar mould and this had served the CIA well.

However, while the agents lacked demographic diversity and reference experience to a problem, they also lacked cognitive diversity. Cognitive diversity is simply how you think and what you value – what drives or motivates you. Our cognitive style is not our personality. It's not fixed but it's flexible.

‘Fostering demographic diversity gets different views but it is not targeted’ Let me give an example. You know when you have experienced a problem and you have contacted a friend or called a wise parent who has provided new insight to your approach because they experienced the same or a similar problem before? I suspect you can recall how grateful you were for their input and how much time it saved you.

Imagine doing this always in the work environment.

Fostering demographic diversity gets different views but it is not targeted. This will only partly meet the world of change we face with artificial intelligence, which poses

many challenges to our work.

With complex problems, we need a variety of views on how to approach and understand the information, or to solve problems.

PwC states that we are living through a fundamental transformation in the way we work.

Automation and “thinking machines” are replacing human tasks and jobs, and changing the skills that organisations are seeking in their people.

These momentous changes raise huge organisational, talent and HR challenges – at a time when business leaders are already wrestling with unprecedented risks, disruption, and political and societal upheaval.

So if we are going to meet the demands of the future, we need to develop our understanding of others, and perhaps we need to develop a change in what we ask when seeking the right people for the roles. Instead of asking “who do we need?”, perhaps we ask: “what do we need in terms of thinking style and values against our long-term needs and gaps in the organisation?”

After more than 20 years of coaching rugby, a diverse and uninhibited thinker, aged seven, brought fun and energy to my coaching. Cognitive diversity in the workplace to meet future demands is so important because #thinkingmakesitso.

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What’s in it for you?

Access to funding available for each job.*

Want to help us in kick-starting the DWP’s Kickstart Scheme by becoming a Mighty Employer? Get involved in this £2 billion fund by supporting young people aged 16-24 by offering 6-month placements.

£1560 cash grant to support each Kickstarter.

Transform a young person’s life by helping to build their confidence and skills.

As a charity dedicated to fighting for the creative voices of young people, we have a wealth of experience in improving their lives through creative and cultural education. We have strong connections in the East Midlands and afar, so we’re able to offer the experience and know-how to support you.

If your organisation works in the media, digital, creative, cultural or educational field, then visit our website to find out more.

www.themightycreatives.com/what-we-do/programmes/kickstart-scheme *available for each job to cover the relevant National Minimum Wage for 25 hours a week, plus the associated employer National Insurance contributions and employer minimum automatic enrolment pension contributions.

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EVENTS

A celebration of regional success as awards finalists are revealed Excellence in Collaboration – Sponsored by HSBC • Derby Voluntary Action • Marketing Derby • Penguin PR/Colleague Box and Vibrant Accountancy • Safe and Sound • The Swap Shop

LEICESTERSHIRE BUSINESS AWARDS 2021 FINALISTS he finalists of this year’s East Midlands Chamber Business Awards have been revealed. About 165 organisations from across Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire have been recognised in the 2021 edition of the annual contest, which is once again run in partnership with principal sponsor Mazars.

The awards are split into three events for each county and feature 13 categories, with a new award this year for Collaboration Project of the Year to celebrate pioneering partnerships within Chamber membership. There’s also a new-look Excellence in Innovation award, which replaces the Innovation in Manufacturing category, as more ground-breaking firms are invited to showcase how they are pushing boundaries in their sectors.

Winners are chosen during a virtual judging day by a panel including sponsors, a Chamber board member and a representative from the Chamber’s

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senior leadership team. An overall Business of the Year is also selected for each county from all the finalists by Mazars.

After the awards ceremonies were held virtually last year due to lockdown restrictions, the Chamber plans for a return to physical events in late 2021, pending Government guidance.

The Derbyshire Business Awards will take place on Friday 12 November, Nottinghamshire Business Awards on Friday 19 November and Leicestershire Business Awards on Friday 3 December.

Chamber chief executive Scott Knowles said: “Last year, we were proud to celebrate the achievements of more than 120 organisations during what was a difficult period for many, so it’s absolutely fantastic to see even more businesses, social enterprises and charities recognised this year.

“We can’t wait to hold another set of memorable awards ceremonies, with the brilliant support of our sponsors.”

• Griffith Foods • Liniar • MVIS

DERBYSHIRE BUSINESS AWARDS 2021 FINALISTS Business Improvement Through Technology – Sponsored by Purpose Media • Futures Housing Group • Healthy Stuff • Penny Hydraulics • Scenariio • Thompson Tree Services (Midlands) Community Impact Award – Sponsored by University of Derby • Fortem Solutions • Griffith Foods • Liniar • MVIS • Resilient World Solutions Outstanding Growth Award – Sponsored by Amazon • Fibre Tec Solutions • Professional Heating Solutions • Project D • Sky Recruitment Solutions • SureScreen Diagnostics Environmental Impact Award – Sponsored by Futures Housing Group • Derby City Council – DE-Carbonise Project • Devtank 80

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Commitment to People Development Award – Sponsored by 2020 Training • AIM Commercial Services • Aztec Oils • Nelsons • Peak Indicators • Purpose Media Apprentice of the Year – Sponsored by Derby College Group • Keenan Gregory – Futures Housing Group • Lisa Scarboro – Futures Housing Group • Amelia Burton – Griffith Foods • Mia Cooper – Joined Up Careers Derbyshire • Tom Sharratt – Neuways Entrepreneur of the Year – Sponsored

by Ryley Wealth Management • William Crooks – Cawarden • Adam Bamford – Colleague Box • Peter Ellse – Cosy Direct • Jillian Thomas – Future Life Wealth Management • Max Vaughan – White Peak Distillery Education and Business Partnership Award – Sponsored by RDS Global • Access Training East Midlands

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Derby College Group Dronfield Heritage Trust Embark Federation REAL Education

Excellence in Customer Service – Sponsored by Aston Lark • Anoki • MaryJanes Catering • Purpose Media • The Accountancy Recruitment Group • UK Asbestos Training Association Excellence in International Trade - Sponsored by HSBC • Atlas Copco Medical • Aztec Oils • Cathelco • Graphoidal Developments • SureScreen Diagnostics Small Business of the Year – Sponsored by Begbies Traynor • Peak Indicators • Project D • The Input Group • Think3 • Thompson Tree Services (Midlands) Excellence in Innovation – Sponsored

by Rolls-Royce • HSG • Liniar • Scenariio • SureScreen Diagnostics

Business Improvement Through Technology – Sponsored by De Montfort University • Due Diligence Checking • Kitking • North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College • Steps Conductive Education Centre Community Impact Award – Sponsored by emh group • Alex’s Wish • Charity Link • Hope Against Cancer • Shama Women’s Centre • Zinthiya Trust Outstanding Growth Award – Sponsored by Morningside Pharmaceuticals • Jake & Nayns • Loughborough Finance for Sport • Metalfacture • Myonex • Pattersons Commercial Law Environmental Impact Award – Sponsored by Cambridge & Counties Bank • Abacus Flooring Solutions • Go Travel Solutions • Michael Smith Switchgear • PacWolf Commitment to People Development Award – Sponsored by De Montfort University • Alex’s Wish • Noble Events • Pick Everard • Precision Facilities Management • REAL Education Apprentice of the Year – Sponsored by Loughborough College • Millie Clayton – Almac Group • James Cook – CS Ellis Group • Emily-Rose Moore – Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council • Chloe Grantham – Paragon Sales Solutions • Alice Deeping – Unsworth Sugden Group Entrepreneur of the Year – Sponsored

by Leicester Business Festival • Jaz Kaur and Narinder Nijjar – Fraser Stretton • Satwinder Sidhu - Paradigm Wills and Legal Services • Brij Thankey – Precision Facilities Management

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TRAINING

A welcome return for face-to-face training • Navroop Kaur – Prime Casual • Alex Slack – The House of LM Education and Business Partnership Award – Sponsored by Blueprint Interiors • De Montfort University – Small Business Leadership Programme • Loughborough College • MIRA Technology Institute • North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College • REAL Education Excellence in Customer Service – Sponsored by ER Recruitment • Furnley House • Glenfield Electrical • Growth Partners • Kazzoo IT • Paradigm Wills and Legal Services Excellence in International Trade – Sponsored by HSBC • A Mistry • Metalfacture • Worldwide Express (UK) Small Business of the Year – Sponsored by PPL PRS • Arthur Civil Engineering • Charnwood Regency Guest House • Precision Facilities Management • We Love Surveys • Your Tender Team Excellence in Innovation – Sponsored

by RSM • Access Rating • Penny Price Aromatherapy • Printvision (UK) • Structural Adhesives Excellence in Collaboration – Sponsored by Fraser Stretton • Alex’s Wish • Creative62 • De Montfort University – Round-toKnives • Joined-Up Working Associates • Leicestershire Cares

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE BUSINESS AWARDS 2021 FINALISTS Business Improvement Through Technology – Sponsored by Air IT • Forsyth Barnes • NT Voice & Data Solutions • Performance Networks • Ryley Wealth Management Community Impact Award – Sponsored by Breeze Corporate Finance • Maggie’s Nottingham • Nottingham Forest Community Trust • René House • RideWise • TTK Confectionery Outstanding Growth Award • Air IT

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CCM Group Eight Days a Week Print Solutions Forsyth Barnes TTK Confectionery

Environmental Impact Award • JG Pears • Plastek UK • RideWise • Shredall SDS Group Commitment to People Development Award – Sponsored by QTS Group • CCM Group • Plastek UK • Portland College • REAL Education • Ryley Wealth Management Apprentice of the Year – Sponsored by EMA Training • Amie Betteridge – Fidler & Pepper Lawyers • Joshua Ruthven – Page Kirk • Martin Cull – Page Kirk • Megan Langley – SourceCloud Entrepreneur of the Year – Sponsored

by Eversheds Sutherland • Trent Peek – CCM Group • Richard Fletcher – Ignys • Rebecca Bull – My HR Hub • Iwona Lebiedowicz - PAB Languages Centre • Faye Harding – The FE People Education and Business Partnership Award – Sponsored by Nottingham University Business School • Access Training (East Midlands) • REAL Education • The Futures Group Excellence in Customer Service – Sponsored by Eight Days a Week Print Solutions • KuKu Connect • Plastek UK • Ryley Wealth Management • SourceCloud • Voldi Excellence in International Trade – Sponsored by DHL • JG Pears • Mobile Air Traffic Control Systems • Plastek UK • Unic International Small Business of the Year – Sponsored by Nottingham Trent University • CCM Group • Forsyth Barnes • PLM Global • TTK Confectionery • Unic International Excellence in Innovation – Sponsored

by HSBC • Affari Media • Home Curtains (UK) • KuKu Connect • Performance Networks Excellence in Collaboration – Sponsored by Motorcycle Funerals • Arc Partnership • Love My Town Group • Maggie’s Nottingham • Rotheras

The Chamber’s commercial training arm was forced to pivot to virtual delivery overnight 16 months ago but, as we gradually return towards normality, business training manager Vicki Thompson and her team are now looking ahead to what the future will bring – while continuing to support a wide range of businesses and individuals.

How do you feel today? If I asked you to describe your thoughts about returning to the training room and sitting, albeit socially distanced, with people you don’t know for a full day, how would you respond?

We are planning courses all year – initially, the decision is to continue with online delivery, which is working really well, and we are getting some great feedback from our delegates.

However, it would be really great to get an idea about how YOU are feeling. It would be great if you take just a few minutes to complete our online survey at bit.ly/2U2OWYv.

DEVELOPING SENIOR LEADERS As one of the leading business support organisations in the East Midlands, we know how difficult the past 16 months have been. We have spoken to thousands of businesses, supporting them through some very difficult waters.

As well as offering support and guidance, we also offer development, and at this time, more than ever, it’s important that as a business you have the vision required to support and grow your business.

Our Director Development Programme is designed to equip directors and senior manager with the skills and confidence they need to drive their business forward and achieve objectives.

Craig Harbron, from Bennett Engineering, attended our face-to-face programme and remarked on how he had “no idea that my level of motivation would be as great or I’d learn so much in those five days”.

And more recently, online programme delegate Richard Hewitt, from Codel International, observed how the course material had been “engaging and insightful” by using breakout sessions that enabled people to work in smaller groups on various tasks.

“The range of topics tackled by the course is extensive and it really helped me gain a useful insight into areas of my company that I previously thought did not need to concern me,” he said.

“Undertaking this course has had a tangible impact on the way I operate within the senior management structure, but also with my direct reports and team members.”

We are currently unsure if the autumn course will be face-to-face or online, but we can see both versions are giving great results.

For more information, visit bit.ly/3qm4Vx3

WE'RE ON THE HUNT FOR PARTICIPANTS FOR THE NEXT PHASE OF PEER NETWORKS Having worked on the pilot phase of the D2N2 Peer Network Programme over the winter months, I’m delighted to be joining forces with the scheme again to offer the opportunity to 200 new businesses.

Peer Networks is a peer-to-peer networking programme for SMEs in which diverse cohorts of individuals can work collaboratively through common business issues, guided by expert facilitators.

It enables members to discuss their challenges, gaining and reflecting on valuable feedback, and implementing practical solutions to overcome them.

The fully-funded programme is available to any SME that’s operated for at least one year, has five employees minimum and a turnover of £100,000-plus – not to mention an aspiration to improve, and the potential to scale up or export.

If you like the sound of it then please complete an expression of interest form and we'll be in touch to start you on a journey that is so worth your time – visit bit.ly/3wpLJjS

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DIGITAL & TECHNOLOGY

How the Digitial Upscaler programme can help you Digital transformation used to be a very “corporate” phrase, focused on significant system and process change, as well as equally significant investment challenges. But today, it’s a necessity for businesses of any size, says Jason Roper (pictured), digital technology adviser for the Chamber’s Digital Upscaler programme. He explains how it feeds into the mid-pandemic themes of agile working and online engagement using the example of a business he recently supported.

recent Harvard Business Review survey reported 81% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the ability to rapidly adopt new technologies, and embed them in their employees’ everyday work, was a competitive differentiator in their industry.

Organisations have reshaped their workforce, overturned age-old business models, and embraced digital technologies, from chatbots to blockchain, in response to the pandemic.

A March 2020 survey of 2,000 adults by Sykes Enterprises found that 60% said Covid-19 made them more likely to consider using workplace-provided health services in the future and that number has pretty much played out.

The physical, mental, and emotional health and wellbeing of employees and management is also a primary key to business success in these changing and challenging times. Informing and including the use of wellbeing technology needs to be an important factor of any current and future digital transformation plan.

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HEALTH AND WELLBEING DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IS A GAME CHANGER The Digital Upscaler programme supports, advises and drives SMEs to design, develop and deliver digital transformation via workshops and one-to-one specialist digital technology advisers including myself.

We use a holistic approach to being a “critical friend”, taking a pragmatic approach to helping deploy a robust long-term digital strategy, driving knowledge to ensure businesses make an 82

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informed and considered decision about any technology change or investment, of which elements of health and wellbeing are inclusive.

Take Game Changer Performance, a Derby-based company that helps professional sports stars achieve peak performance. It works alongside the Football Association and Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) at England’s national football centre at St George’s Park, in Burton upon Trent.

It identified this transformative opportunity of health and wellbeing in the workplace to help businesses improve the physical and mental health of workforces by enabling technology-based support and review.

The company enrolled on the Digital Upscaler programme last year just as lockdown hit. It was looking for support and advice in relation to delivering a mobile application via a health and wellbeing algorithm it was in the process of developing.

Game Changer felt challenged trying to understand the process of developing the algorithm into a fully functional health-screening Curve app that provided a health audit, as well as insights and analytics, at an individual level – while delivering anonymised data at departmental, regional and organisational level.

Through the one-to-one support and advice offered through Digital Upscaler, it was able to improve the algorithm development process to better integrate with mobile application development and connected to another Derby business, Bloc Digital, which developed its prototype application.

Jake Keeling, director of Game Changer, explains: “We wanted corporates to benefit from the same programmes that help our elite sport clients, something which would ensure their staff are better supported both with their physical and mental health to be able to perform at their absolute best. The Curve application will create a

tailored programme for every participant. It will look at their lifestyle, movement and mindset and highlight areas where support would be useful.”

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION ISN’T AN OVERNIGHT PROCESS Game Changer went through a digital transformation, having a

steep learning curve on the insand-outs of application development and realising there is far more infrastructure required than “just a mobile app”.

Designing that long-term digital strategy is an on-going process which is an important thing to understand. Digital transformation is a fluid process that takes time to implement.

Don’t expect to transform in a few weeks. To be successful, you need to understand map and document your business end-toend process, which takes time and effort.

Once you have that, you can place your current systems against the process and identify those digital transformation opportunities.

If you’d like help driving your digital transformation, new product development or technology investment, enrolling with the Digital Upscaler project may be that “critical friend” you need.

HOW TO FIND OUT MORE Need digital support? Businesses can access fully-funded support via two digital programmes managed by the Chamber, the Digital Upscaler and Digital Growth Programme.

Digital Upscaler, part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), aims to provide high-growth businesses across Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire with the knowledge, investment and capacity to scale up through embracing new technologies. Visit www.emc-dnl.co.uk/digitalupscaler The Digital Growth Programme is designed to help SMEs located in Leicester and Leicestershire to improve productivity and growth using digital technology via themed action planning workshops, grants and digital advice. It is part-funded by the Chamber, ERDF and Leicestershire County Council. Visit www.leics-digital.co.uk Businesses based in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire can access similar support by visiting www.d2n2growthhub.co.uk

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DIGITAL & TECHNOLOGY

Understanding the key cyber security terms

How password managers are making businesses more secure

Navigating the language of cyber security is a minefield that complicates the online safeguarding process for many businesses. Sarah Knowles (pictured), principal security consultant at Nexor, explains what some of the key terms mean.

BS 10754: An industry standard providing a specification for improving the trustworthiness of systems, software and services

The majority of cyber-attacks are caused by weak passwords that hackers are able to crack in a matter of seconds – but employees aren't always aware of this. In light of Air IT’s recent password management service launch, chief technology officer Lee Johnson (pictured) explains the pitfalls of poor password hygiene and tells us how businesses can remove both the burden and risk.

Cyber Essentials: A simple but effective Governmentbacked scheme to help organisations protect themselves

THE DANGERS OF WEAK PASSWORDS WITHIN YOUR BUSINESS

Denial of service: When legitimate users are denied access to computer services, usually by overloading them with requests

The average person has access to more than 70 password-protected accounts.

While most of us know our passwords probably shouldn’t be as simple as our pet’s name or our date of birth, it seems impossible to think of a unique, strong password for each of our accounts and be expected to remember all of them. So, many people end up using the same easyto-remember password across all their accounts.

This poses a huge cyber threat – if your password is simple, it’s an easy target for hackers. If you’ve reused it several times, suddenly they have access to a whole host of accounts. If there is no password policy in place within your business, and employees are left to their own devices when it comes to passwords, your business is at significant risk of being breached.

THE THREAT IS GREATER AT HOME The change in environment when going from the office to home means many people are less vigilant about cyber security than they would have been prepandemic, and personal devices are being used in a professional context they weren’t designed for.

In addition, having a remote workforce means you may not have been able to carry out training or refresh your staff on the importance of password hygiene.

Whether you’re planning on reopening the office, staying fully remote or introducing a hybrid of the two, it’s important all your colleagues are up to speed on best practice regarding password security.

PASSWORD BEST PRACTICE To generate a strong password, you should avoid using personal details such as your name, date of birth, hometown or pet’s name in your passwords.

It should be at least 12 characters long, consisting of a mix of upper and lowercase letters, numbers and symbols. You should also use two-factor authentication for your accounts where there is the option.

This adds an extra layer of defence to your passwords as it requires an extra step (usually entering a six-digit code from your mobile device) to prove your identity.

Cross-domain: The act of manually or automatically accessing or transferring information between different security domains

Flow control: Ensure data only flows in one direction required to support the business process. Often delivered by a firewall (two-way data flow) or a data diode (one-way data flow) Gap assessment: Reviewing a system or process against a known baseline or standard to see where the company might be deficient Information Exchange Gateway: A system designed to facilitate secure communication between different security and management domains

PASSWORD MANAGEMENT So how do we reach the seemingly unfeasible balance of having secure passwords we can remember, which aren’t reused across all our accounts?

To avoid having to remember your passwords off by heart or writing them all down, you can make use of a password manager.

This is a useful tool that creates highstrength passwords, stores them in a secure vault and autofills them on the login pages of your websites and apps.

Your vault is accessed via one master password, so you’ll only ever need to create and remember one strong password to access all your accounts.

Built by industry professionals, password managers are created with security as the top priority and your passwords are encrypted to ensure they’ll never be visible to anyone but you.

When used within a business, password managers can go a long way in preventing cyber-attacks and making employees’ lives easier.

Network security: Combining multiple layers of defences at the edge and in the network, with each layer implementing policies and controls Open systems: A system that allows entities from different enterprises to access information related to tags used in the system Phishing: Untargeted mass emails sent to many people asking for sensitive information or encouraging them to visit a fake website Transform: Modify the content or protocol for interoperability or security purposes. Sometimes referred to as a gateway Web guard: The guard messages secure information exchange for web downloads and uploads Zero trust: A security concept centred on the belief that organisations shouldn’t automatically trust anything inside or outside its perimeters. Instead, they must verify everything trying to connect to its systems before granting access For a full A to Z of cyber security, visit bit.ly/AZcyber

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LEGAL

Reporting your organisation’s gender pay gap: Your questions answered In 2017, the Government introduced an annual gender pay gap report for companies employing more than 250 people and while their obligations to report were waived due to the pandemic last year, the process is back and employers have until 4 October 2021 to submit their data. Banner Jones’ head of employment law Katie Ash (pictured) answers some of the most frequently asked questions – including what’s required, and by when.

What is a gender pay gap report?

In the Government’s words, “the gender pay gap is the difference between the average (mean or median) earnings of men and women across a workforce.” The report data is calculated upon hourly wages and includes ordinary pay and bonus pay Why does it matter?

While gender pay gap reporting may feel like drain on the time and resources available, it’s hoped that by holding employers accountable, it will help them understand how inclusive they are.

It can help to facilitate change within organisations that didn’t necessarily realise they had a problem, and in turn that can help send the right message to current and new recruits, suppliers, investors and customers alike.

The ACAS guidance relating to the gender pay gap goes a step further and recommends that employers put in place an action plan to reduce the gender pay gap in their organisation.

How do I submit my gender pay gap report?

You will need to visit the Government’s website and click “Report your gender pay gap data” within the Employing People section. You’ll then have to create a login before submitting your data if you haven’t done so before.

Your report should give a snapshot of 31 March 2020 if you

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are in the public sector, or 5 April 2020 in the private and voluntary sector.

Which employees do I include in my data set?

To calculate your data, you’ll first need to work out who your “full pay relevant employees” are. You will also need to record their gender. Note that “relevant employees” includes both contracted employees and those who are self-employed.

You should exclude those who were on annual leave, familyrelated leave, sick leave, special leave or sabbatical at the time of the snapshot. Employees who are on furlough are also excluded.

You can find specific details of who to include on the Government’s website.

What do I do if I have employees who do not identify as male or female, or are going through a transition?

The regulations state that an employer must report on males and females, but doesn’t offer any definition on these categories. It is therefore left to you as an employer to decide how best to include non-binary or transitioning employees.

One option is to use the HMRC or payroll information held on these employees. However, this information may be out of date and it may be more accurate to look at

how the employee identifies at the time of the snapshot.

Do I need to submit anything alongside the data?

It’s a good idea to submit a supporting narrative alongside your pay data to show you have analysed any gap across the genders and are taking action to close it. You might even spell out the specific steps you’re going to take to make sure men and women are paid the same.

Though it can be helpful, the narrative is an additional extra and you are not obliged to submit it as part of your pay gap report.

What will happen to my report and why is it important?

Your gender pay gap report will be accessible to all on the Government website. That means potential employees can check your record in paying people of all genders equally. If the gap between men and women is large, they may be dissuaded from applying for, or accepting, a position with your company. You may want to publish a link to your organisation’s written statement and response to show your commitment to fair pay.

What if we miss the deadline?

Following the introduction of gender pay gap reporting, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) was given the necessary powers to impose fines for those in breach.

In 2019, the EHRC even went as far as to name and shame the companies that had failed to meet the deadline.

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LEGAL

Successfully integrating a team in the midst of a pandemic Acquiring a business is a highly complex situation that requires months of meticulous planning and preparation before the deal is finalised and two teams can become one. Integrating during a pandemic is even more difficult but Glynis Wright MBE (pictured), who sold her Leicester-based family solicitors Glynis Wright & Co to Nelsons at the end of last year, explains how it can be done.

The key to any successful acquisition is strong leadership.

There must be absolute trust and faith in those leading the organisation – and that applies to both the leader bringing their team across and the new leadership at the acquiring company.

Due to non-disclosure agreements during the process of our acquisition by Nelsons, my team only had 14 days to digest the news before we transferred Glynis Wright & Co over to Nelsons – and just to add even more pressure alongside the pandemic situation, those 14 days happened to be in the lead up to the Christmas period.

We work in a people industry, and after all those months of separation and isolation I was,

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undeniably, concerned about the impact the sudden acquisition would have on my staff.

‘I’m immensely proud of my team for the way it responded during those two weeks’ That’s why, when the time came to announce the acquisition to my team by virtual means, something I’d much rather have done in person but could not because of the lockdown, it was crucial for me to be authentic and transparent, explaining why I’d made the decision to sell and what I thought the benefits would be to them.

I was also honest with my team about the fact I understood my decision would have been a surprise to them and that the integration would be different because of having to manage everything in a pandemic. I encouraged my team to talk to me about their feelings and to express any anxieties they had so we could work through them together.

I’m immensely proud of my team for the way it responded during those two weeks. I strongly believe the gold thread that kept the team together and maintained its focus was holding on to our purpose – to be there for the client, which is central to the core values of Nelsons too, and in family law is crucial given the distress most of our clients suffer during a divorce.

Now nearly five months on, the team has settled in and looking forward to embracing the opportunities that Nelsons can provide. It really helped that each team member I brought across was buddied up with Nelsons’ colleagues who organised one-toones to help with integration, and welcome them to the company.

Virtual coffee catch-ups, lunchtime socials and a virtual cocktail night were organised for the team to get to know their Leicester and regional colleagues.

It’s now been half a year since Glynis Wright & Co was acquired and we’ve enjoyed an unbelievably strong first quarter with Nelsons, proving that a team can successfully integrate, even in the heart of a pandemic.

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FINANCE

Adopt ESG now or risk getting left behind Jillian Thomas (pictured), managing director of Future Life Wealth Management, based in Renishaw in Derbyshire, makes the case for ethical considerations when investing or doing business.

I have written before about the importance of ESG issues and I am not going to apologise for banging that drum again.

It might be just three letters (and it stands for environmental, social and governance by the way) but increasingly those three letters will become more important.

We used to talk about CSR, or corporate social responsibility, but ESG goes much further than that.

ESG is not just about sending staff on a volunteer away day or recycling your office paper, it is at the heart of how you do business – to look after people and the planet. It doesn’t matter how small or big you are, ESG is something we all need to think about.

The normalising of ESG can also be seen from where people are investing their money. According to the Investment Association, the UK’s assets under management in responsible investment funds grew 89% between January 2019 and June 2020.

And PwC has estimated the share of European assets held in ESG investments could boom from 15% today to 57% by 2025.

‘There are gradations of ESG compliance, from simply avoiding doing harm to proactively doing good’

NORMALISING ESG In May, Shell found itself caught up in a wrangle about carbon emissions when it lost a court case in the Hague, which basically ruled that its aim to be carbonneutral by 2050 was not soon enough under Dutch law – evidence perhaps that ESG is not some fad talked about by a few, but something that is very much becoming mainstream.

Thus, those not in the ESG camp could soon find themselves left behind. That might be something to consider when thinking about where to invest your hard-earned money.

WHY ESG MATTERS TO BUSINESSES But what about you as a business owner? Is this all relevant if you don’t have shareholders? Well, I would argue yes it is – and it will become increasingly so.

Firstly, from a moral perspective, don’t we all want to do the right thing for our staff, our customers and our planet?

And secondly, it is important when doing business with others.

Many potential clients and partners will look at your ESG credentials when checking out your business.

You may already be asked about your environmental policies and in some situations you will be asked for more.

A survey showed that currently only a large minority saw ESG as

an important factor when carrying out due diligence on potential partners, but I would argue that minority will become a majority.

I am not talking about “greenwashing”, I am talking about something that makes a real difference to our future.

There are gradations of ESG compliance, from simply avoiding doing harm to proactively doing good. For example, at one end is not polluting or using sweatshops, while at the other is creating products or services that benefit the planet.

Remember, you might not have shareholders, but you do have customers and they can vote with their feet.

My advice? Adopt ESG and embrace the culture, or get left behind. It is not just a passing fad, it is a way of life, so adopt or prepare to fail. I am not Greta Thunberg, but I will keep banging the drum.

No individual investment advice is given, nor intended to be given in this article and liability will be accepted in respect of any action you may take as a result of reading this article. If you are unsure you are urged to take independent investment advice.

East Midlands GDP is poised to take off A combination of restrictions lifting, pent-up consumer demand, accumulated excess savings and a range of Government incentives are expected to spark a strong lift-off for the East Midlands economy by 2022, according to a new report.

The latest analysis by KPMG in its UK Economic Outlook predicts this cocktail of positivity will lead to the region’s GDP growing by 6.3% in 2021 and 4.8% in 2022, allowing the economy to reach its pre-Covid level by Q1 2022.

The contraction the East Midlands suffered last year was mainly caused by falls in manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade – but recovery was able to begin as manufacturing operations weren’t restricted after the first lockdown.

The region’s large manufacturing presence is likely to benefit from the increased demand for investment, as well as the introduction of the super deduction allowance on plant and machinery introduced in this year’s spring budget.

Marc Abrams, East Midlands office senior partner, said: “Our latest analysis shows that the East Midlands’ pace of economic recovery is accelerating as restrictions ease and looks set to do so at a quicker pace than the majority of the UK’s other regions.

“One of the many great things about the East Midlands is the variety of its businesses and the breadth of skills available, which will be beneficial in enabling a broad-based recovery.

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‘The East Midlands’ pace of economic recovery is accelerating as restrictions ease’

Marc Abrams

“The new freeport will also present opportunities for stronger growth in the long term, increasing the region’s attractiveness for inward investment.

“While there’s a sense of cautious optimism, and rightly so, it’s still incredibly encouraging to see that the East Midlands’ GDP growth could return to pre-pandemic levels by the start of next year.”

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SKILLS

College’s bold plan to embrace automation In 2018, the Centre for Cities think-tank predicted a third of jobs in Mansfield could be lost to automation by 2030. But the town and surrounding Ashfield district is fighting back with a vision to turn challenge into opportunity with a new Automated Distribution and Manufacturing Centre, a national hub for automation and robotics training, backed by the Government’s Towns Fund initiative.

One of its chief architects Andrew Cropley (pictured), principal and chief executive at Vision West Nottinghamshire College, explains to Dan Robinson what impact this could have.

What are the issues you’re addressing?

When I arrived in Mansfield in May 2019, there were probably 10 occasions in my first two months when I heard the statistic about how many jobs in Mansfield and Ashfield could be lost because of automation, as well as about the “brain drain” issue of people leaving the town to get a degree and high-quality jobs.

Those two factors made me think about how we can embrace automation and turn it into an opportunity, rather than a threat.

We can help businesses to attract people that will stay here, raise families and put they money back into the community.

How is the college supporting with the technical skills needed?

Those challenges led us to seek to become a skills centre of excellence in automation and robotics. We received about £660,000 in

The ADMC will create a centre for cutting-edge research

funding from the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership, which we topped up to total just under £1m, in order to create an automation and robotics education package.

This summer, we will launch short and flexible automation and robotics courses for adults, who may wish to retrain or be upskilled by their employer in order to operate and develop new equipment.

In September, we’ll also add automation and robotics as a fourth pathway in our Level 3 BTEC extended diploma in manufacturing and engineering, while the Level 2 engineering programme will include an element of robotics.

What role do businesses have in your skills offer?

We’re working with a range of businesses across the various schemes. We had some old automation kit that we’d planned to throw away but control systems

specialist PNE Controls helped by updating the machinery.

The company will also work with us to ensure the courses are high quality, while we’ve also partnered with the automation giant ABB to ensure our trainers are accredited in using ABB robots. Then we’ve also brought Amazon, DHL and Sports Direct around the table to develop our Level 2 and Level 3 curriculum.

What is the Automated Distribution and Manufacturing Centre (ADMC) and how will it complement your new skills programme?

The ADMC is a £30m new development to be built in the Ashfield district – its precise location yet to be decided – by early 2025 that is backed with a £20m grant from the Government’s £3.6bn Towns Fund secured by Ashfield District Council, which received £62.6m in total last month.

This will take what we’re already starting to do an order of magnitude further has developed out of conversations between many stakeholders, including the college, Ashfield District Council and Nottingham Trent University as well as an extensive consultation exercise. It will offer four elements: 1. Drive the skills offer even further by working with more universities in our area 2. Showcase the work of UK businesses producing automation hardware and software through demonstrations, which would usually be made at trade shows or by European companies

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3. Test facility for businesses investigating the prospect of automating production lines, without having to create disruption at their existing sites 4. Create a centre for cutting-edge research into automation and robotics, led by university partners.

What is your vision for the impact the ADMC could have on Mansfield and Ashfield?

We’re not going to stop those jobs from being lost as predicted – automation is going to happen.

But my ambition is that rather than people just losing their jobs, we’re going to make sure that when these companies go out to look for people to operate this equipment, they hire from our patch because we’ll have the high-calibre, industrymatched skills to offer.

As local businesses become confident and feel supported to embrace these new technologies, they will become more productive and more competitive, and we can work with them to create well-paid, secure jobs for local people.

Hopefully, we can also attract companies to base themselves here. Pretty much all of Next’s distribution centres are in Yorkshire, so my ambition is for the next one to be here.

We can demonstrate to these firms we’re near the M1, close to the upcoming freeport – and soon we can add the skills base to ensure we get those high-quality jobs. This would allow people in our area to earn the money they need to stay on our patch, and create this notion that students can stay here for higher education.

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SKILLS

Preparing children today for the future workforce The dawn of AI, machine learning, robotics, cloud computing, AR and VR means young people are more likely at risk of job automation within the next decade.

Mital Thanki (pictured), founder of Leicester-based tuition provider Spark Academy, explores how education must adapt to prepare our future workforce FUTURE DESIRABLE SKILL It’s widely forecasted that AI will accelerate the shift in skills that the future workforce needs. The need for basic physical and manual skills will decline and there will be an increased requirement for workers to have high social and emotional intelligence, as well as advanced technological and cognitive skills.

People with advanced heuristics and cognition will play vital roles in both problem-solving, decisionmaking and establishing the logic behind the evolving machines.

Deconditioning from unconscious bias is also required to ensure ethical integrity.

FUTURE SHIFTS IN WORKFORCE COMPOSITION Digital innovation means there will be a growing prevalence of independent working by

freelancing and contracting, which will boost the emerging gig economy, which experienced significant growth during the pandemic.

In 2018, McKinsey & Co reported that 61% of organisations expected to hire more temporary workers instead of full-time employees.

Employers will have a wide range of applicants to choose from and are not limited geographically when recruiting, with advancing technologies allowing people to work from home efficiently.

It will be commonplace for workers to change careers throughout their lifetime and suited to their desired lifestyle.

While this may mean greater freedom of choice for the individual worker, it also means the security of a stable job, with a regular salary and benefits including pensions

and a normal working day routine, will become a thing of the past.

Is our current education system supporting future needs of a largely entrepreneurial workforce? Are we preparing pupil mindset and spirit to adapt to instability? Are we doing enough to build their resilience?

IS THE CURRENT EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM PREPARING YOUTH FOR THE FUTURE? Not yet, but this will need to radically evolve. The pandemic has accelerated the use of technology to deliver education through a more blended learning methodology, which uses a combination of technology and traditional pedagogical strategies.

Although this is a positive step in the right direction, there’s a requirement for the educational

system to shift its curriculum to develop the desirable skillsets for the future.

From a technological perspective, there’s an absolute necessity for Government to support schools in purchasing the latest software so their students are equipped with the tools to be future-ready.

Embedding digital at the heart of school culture and embracing blended learning in curriculum redesign will be essential in bridging the gap between now and the future.

Schools have placed fantastic efforts into investing in the short term and there will need to be consideration of the long-term strategic view that allows us to explore new models of sustainable, affordable and high-quality blended learning.

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PROPERTY

Work progressing at Canal Turn New images of the proposals for The Island Quarter in Nottingham have been released as part of an event to mark the progress of works on Canal Turn, the opening phase of the development.

Nottingham South MP Lilian Greenwood, Nottingham City Council leader David Mellen, chief executive Mel Barrett, and other guests were shown around the 36-acre site – one of the largest of its kind in the UK and a key part of the city’s Southside area regeneration – by Robert Ware, chief executive of The Conygar Investment Company PLC. The dignitaries were joined by children from Sneinton C of E Primary, who planted a time capsule as part of the ongoing work on Canal Turn, which is due for completion in early 2022.

The images released at the event included an updated masterplan for the site, showing increased amounts of green space and the positioning of the currently active phases in the wider context of the site.

Robert said: “Canal Turn will be a true entertainment spot for the city, with event spaces, restaurants and panoramic views across the waterfront. When completed, it will open up the canal basin area, enhancing one of the city’s most under-utilised assets.”

Plans for the opening phase also feature a bandstand and a substantial area of new, attractive public space, which will link with a network of public realm and access routes for pedestrians and cyclists.

The Island Quarter masterplan, which received outline planning approval in April 2019, has been designed with a full lifecycle of uses – including

Ceremonial spades were gifted to Robert Ware and Cllr David Mellen

A new CGI of Canal Turn

hotels and hospitality, office space and community living – and green spaces at the heart of the plans.

As part of the development of the site, Conygar has applied for Homes England funding and is in the process of exploring the Levelling Up Fund, which is designed to support investment in places where it can make the biggest difference to everyday life.

Councillor Mellen said it will become a “significant new destination” as the site develops.

He added: “It’s transformative developments like these that put Nottingham in a strong position to bounce back from the pandemic and forge a bright future.”

The Island Quarter masterplan

(Photo credit: Benoy)

Artist’s impression of the forthcoming housing development in Pilsley, Derbyshire

Plans for stadium development Nottingham Forest has submitted a revised planning application for its proposed stadium redevelopment.

The Reds want to knock down and rebuild the Peter Taylor Stand at the City Ground, alongside improvements to the Trentside area, and the Brian Clough and Bridgford stands. It would increase the capacity from 30,000 to 38,000 seats.

The multi-million pound plan was announced in 2019 and work had been due to get underway last summer, but was put on hold.

The new proposal was lodged last month with Rushcliffe Borough Council, which will now consider it.

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New houses for Peak District Residential developer Forge New Homes has signed on the dotted line for a seven-acre housing development in the Peak District, with the help of law firm Shakespeare Martineau.

Having achieved planning permission to develop a mixture of bungalows, two, three and four-bedroom homes for sale, along with two and three-bedroom homes for shared ownership and affordable rent, the developer has now completed the acquisition of the site in Pilsley, Derbyshire.

This will be the first development for Forge New Homes, which operates in the Sheffield city region and is backed by five housing associations.

Jenny Walker, legal director and land acquisition specialist at Midlands-based Shakespeare Martineau,

led the deal. She said: “We are delighted to have worked with Forge New Homes on its first land acquisition and look forward to seeing the housing development take shape.

“New build plots are hugely popular and always have been. The stamp duty holiday caused a surge in activity, with reservation levels being the same or higher as compared with previous years.

“The new-build market continues to be a robust market, with confidence levels remaining high.”

Andy Beattie, project director at Forge New Homes, added: “We are thrilled to have reached this stage of our development plans and take positive steps towards building much-needed, high-quality family homes in the area.”

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MOTORING

Citroen’s upmarket assault The DS 7 is a large SUV, fashioned out of PSA Group’s decision to build a premium brand that sits above both Peugeot and Citroen. Motoring journalist Nick Jones looks to see what the fuss is all about, and find out if the extra money for this premium marque is worth it. his is a handsome, imposing car what with the stylish grille, wide air intakes and a real high waistline – images don’t really do it justice as to the class it oozes.

It goes up against some quality competition from the likes of Audi, Range Rover and Mercedes, but that’s just what the DS brand hankered for.

Two petrol versions can be had – a whizzy threecylinder 1.2-litre engine and a more powerful 1.6-litre.

You may think the smaller unit wouldn’t have much gusto, but it certainly does and makes a great soundtrack.

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‘The digital instrument display is clear and decisive, and can show any information you want along the way’ Then you can choose from two diesel variations – firstly, a 1.5-litre that produces 130 brake horsepower (hp), with a six-speed manual transmission.

It’s perfectly acceptable around town and pottering about. It does take a bit of winding up to get up to motorway speeds, but it’s a smooth operator.

Next up is the 2.0-litre diesel, the most powerful of the pair. It churns out 180hp and has an impressive 400Nm of torque, using a very smooth eight-speed automatic gearbox.

Top speed is 134mph and it hits 60mph in just 9.4 seconds. I’m impressed with the low emissions at just 128g/km – couple that with the promise of 57.6 miles per gallon and the higher-powered diesel looks very appealing.

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You can also choose an E-Tense plug-in hybrid, which packs four-wheel-drive, 197hp with two electric motors that achieve an impressive 297hp. It’s pricey but looks good for the future.

I wafted along in comfort mode all week, as my DS 7 had the active scan suspension that reads the road surface. It works surprisingly well and absorbs the worst of road surfaces with aplomb.

Step inside and you’re met with an upmarket, stylish cockpit. It has quirky switches, jazzy trims and it feels ahead of its time.

I love the 12-inch infotainment screen that dominates the dashboard, with buttons to operate it that are fixed.

The digital instrument display is clear and decisive, and can show any information you want along the way.

There’s plenty of room for five adults in here and lots of storage space to boot.

I’m impressed – it’s a very good effort indeed from DS and provides a real threat to the established brands in the large premium SUV sector.

FACTFILE MODEL DS 7 Crossback 2.0-litre diesel

PERFORMANCE Top speed: 134 mph 0-60 mph: 9.4 seconds

CO2 EMISSIONS 128g/km

COMBINED MPG 57.6

PRICE OTR From £33,125

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INFORMATION

Navigating the return to the office Despite the roadmap out of lockdown being thrown slightly off course, it still feels like the pandemic could be drawing to a close. Julian Smith (pictured), a coach at business advisory service The Alternative Board, explains how firms should approach this.

The end is nigh. No not that one, the one where we can look forward to a return to the office for our team members who have been furloughed or working from home during this last crazy year or so. An end to lockdown, finally!

What do I mean? I mean the changes in working practices, processes and environment that we need to consider and have in place for employees.

Businesses have had to adapt working practices and manage costs in ways they never had to consider before. Many have shown great adaptability to manage their way through remote working and the world of online meetings very well.

THE PEOPLE PROBLEM The major challenge I don’t personally feel we’ve seen or had to deal with in any major way is the people problem.

As business leaders, we’re expected to have the answers, be

on the front foot and lead. Now is the time to do that as we manage our employees back into the workplace. If you want to achieve your financial goals, then your team must come first, and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) provides information on social distancing and hygiene management for when team members return.

Some of the bigger questions we need to consider are: • What new working practices will you provide your team?

• Will you offer flexible hours for them to be in the office and when they can work from home?

• Will you adapt working hours so that they can work from home one day a week or more?

• Do you need to have rotas in place that provide the chance for all team members to work in the office but adhere to the HSE requirements at the same time?

• What will your policy be towards staff who don’t wish to have the vaccine or other staff who don’t wish to sit near them?

• How will you approach and support the needs of your employees with their mental health and general wellbeing?

HAPPINESS IS KEY TO SUCCESSFUL WORKPLACE I raise the final question above because I believe this is critical.

I read a great article recently from James Timpson, CEO of Timpsons, where he said he has three secret weapons in his business: Elaine, Marion and Janet.

One is a trained counsellor, one a financial health first aider and, finally, Janet who is director of happiness.

James accepts not every business can afford three superstars like his, but his point is that every person in your business

needs to be heard, helped and nurtured.

The mindset, health and perspective our employees are facing as they return to the workplace has been influenced by extreme circumstances from losing loved ones because of the pandemic to financial hardship, lack of motivation or even agoraphobia.

Their needs and demands from their employer could well be different to what it was. Have you really given enough thought to this? Are you ready for it?

And don’t forget yourself in all this and what you need to stay well balanced and healthy.

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COMMENT

THE LAST WORD Chamber president and ER Recruitment owner EILEEN RICHARDS MBE on how the East Midlands continues to be a hotbed for innovation hree centuries on from the opening of the world’s first fully mechanised factory and the impact of industrial innovation continues to be felt across our region.

It was good to see that Lombe’s Mill – newlyreopened in Derby as the Museum of Making after a £18m revamp – includes co-working space for the innovators of tomorrow.

New thinking that pushes the boundaries of existing technology is regularly reported in the pages of this magazine. In this edition alone, there is rich description of how our sportintensive region has adapted to the external forces of the pandemic.

Of course, it’s been a welcome development to see the recent return of spectators to stadiums (albeit in reduced numbers). This is particularly true for Leicester City fans, who were lucky enough to be among the 21,000 supporters in Wembley to see our club lift the FA Cup! Over the years, I’ve sponsored players at the Tigers, Riders and Leicestershire CCC. As with our approach at the Chamber, I like to support other businesses in my area. I’ve really missed being able to watch top professional athletes in action live.

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Leicester Tigers are one of the region's big teams

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However, technology has – as with the silk throwing machines of the 18th century – continued to develop in order to reflect and respond to the needs of markets and society.

Recent British Business Bank data reports that smaller UK tech businesses attracted a record level of equity in the first quarter of 2021. Such investment in emerging products and services is increasing as Britain positions itself for a postCovid, post-Brexit world.

In our own region, Purpose Media identified the opportunity of using digital technology to provide live broadcasts linking sports fans with the matches that have been playing out behind closed doors in largely empty stadiums.

‘It’s not just emerging startups that are positioned to make an impression on a global stage’ Meanwhile, Tzuka is showing how digital technology can be matched with engineering and manufacturing as it prepares to launch the world’s most durable earbuds from Loughborough University – itself a world leader in sport science.

Leicestershire Innovation Week demonstrated it’s not just emerging start-ups that are positioned to make an impression on a global stage. Nemaura, the Loughborough University-based private pharmaceutical organisation, has generated tens of millions of dollars of funding in recent years and is listed on the Nasdaq stock market.

Meanwhile, Rolls Royce – for so long synonymous not just with world-leading research, engineering and design but also with the East Midlands – will test the sustainable propulsion systems of the future after investing £90m at its Testbed 80 in Derby.

The UK Government has set four “grand challenges” to position the UK at the forefront of the industries of the future. Its motivation in doing so is to improve lives and increase productivity.

The East Midlands has so much to offer in this regard. It has shaped industrial innovation for 300 years. It very much continues to do so today.

HOPE AMID FURTHER DISRUPTION Scott Knowles was right to take to LinkedIn last month to express the deep concerns of the leisure and hospitality sector at the four-week extension of Covid restrictions.

As the Chamber has repeatedly reported and discussed, this is a sector that has been battered by external forces for such a long time. As with our sports clubs, events and hospitality venues remain closed or, if open, operating significantly under capacity.

There was positive news at the time of going to press, with the reopening of not just the Museum of Making but the magnificent revamp of Nottingham Castle as well. Meanwhile, of course, a successful Download Festival was staged for 10,000 music fans at Donington Park.

But for many in the leisure and hospitality sector, last month’s Government decision meant planning was disrupted once again.

It looked, as Scott noted, as though this might prove one setback too many for some. That’s why, like our chief executive, I think an extension of Government restrictions should be matched by the extension of Government support.

RECORD YEAR FOR AWARDS On a brighter note, we have now shortlisted dozens of businesses from a record-breaking haul of nominations across a raft of Chamber awards.

Judges for the Chamber’s three Business Awards recently spent a wonderful day looking at the best of business from our three countybased awards. Winners will be revealed in November and December.

On top of this, there’s the Enterprising Women Awards gala dinner in October.

Meanwhile, the brilliant young businesspeople who constitute our Generation Next group will be celebrated in July at their own virtual event.

All our finalists are fantastic and we look forward to seeing them face-to-face at our events later this year.

But, to be honest, everyone deserves a pat on the back for tackling the opportunities and challenges of the past 12 months. Like selecting finalists from the best of the 2021 awards nominations, it’s not been easy.

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