Chamberlink May 21

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The official publication of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce

CHAMBER Free to Members l £5.00 where sold

Back In Demand

Brighter days ahead as Business Improvement Districts join fightback - See special reports inside

May 2021

LINK

Pictures: Marc Kirsten

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Contents May 2021

20 37 Burton & District: New president welcomed 38 Lichfield & Tamworth: Lichfield Festival to make dazzling return

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39 Sutton Coldfield: Video firm moves into new premises 40 Solihull: Office market is resilient, says report

Business News 4

Editor’s View Optimism returns to the city

42 ABCC: Film festival offers ray of hope

5

Kier welcomed as Chamber patrons

Sector Focus

6

Birmingham’s great re-opening – special report

54 Business Travel: National Express buses keep Brum on the move

12 President’s Focus Jason Wouhra, president of Asian Business Chamber of Commerce 13 Chamber awards to feature new categories 15 Where do you fancy?

Cosy Club

56 Finance: Support for IPOs at a high 58 Technology: Data protection expert appointed

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59 Retail: Bullring to offer more to shoppers 60 Legal: Include pets in your will

16 Chamber report calls for business support

62 Property: Law firm advises on housing deal

17 Goldman Sachs to open Birmingham office

65 Manufacturing: Pandemic leads to rise in sub-standard parts

18 Campaign to welcome back Solihull shoppers

66 Sport: Students sign with Aston Villa

19 Consumers urged to ‘get out and shop’

Member Section

20 The Griffin Report Nicola Fleet-Milne, chair of the Colmore Business Improvement District

67 Member Profile Wendy Merricks, Jumar 68 New Members Chamber welcomes new members

22 Patron in shift to employee-owned model 23 Chamber restructure means more benefits for members

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24 Royal manufacturer remembers Duke 26 High demand for exporting services bucks the trend

Chamber Patrons

Features

28 New material offers better protection

1813 Club and Premier Members

Professional Services

30 KFC franchises sold

45 New opportunities for the future

International

48 The prevalence of specialist finance post-pandemic

32 Brexit causes fall in exports, says report

Chamber Group 33 Commonwealth: Online event offers export help 34 Transatlantic: Leaders urged to reopen travel corridor 35 Future Faces: Awards back in August 36 Cannock Chase: Designer outlet opens

Communications & Marketing 51 Marketing on Facebook 52 Marketing communications: vanity or sanity?

70 …any other business News from Chamber businesses

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Opinion

CHAMBER LINK

The official publication of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce

Editor’s View

By John Lamb

Cannock Chase

Optimism returns to the city

Chamber of Commerce

Sutton Coldfield

Chamber of Commerce

Greater Birmingham

Commonwealth Chamber of Commerce

Greater Birmingham

Transatlantic Chamber of Commerce

Front cover: Colmore BID chair Nicola Fleet Milne along with (inset, from top) fellow Birmingham BID bosses David Pardoe, Mike Olley and Lawrence Barton

Editor John Lamb 0121 274 3237, 0797 1144064 j.lamb@birmingham-chamber.com Deputy Editor Dan Harrison 0121 274 3239, 0797 1144052 d.harrison@birmingham-chamber.com Reporter Jessica Brookes 0750 8317356 j.brookes@birmingham-chamber.com Reporter Claudia Congrave 0775 7798567 c.congrave@birmingham-chamber.com You can now read the latest issue of CHAMBERLINK and view back issues online at: www.greaterbirminghamchambers.com

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Kemps Publishing Ltd Unit 8, The Courtyard, 707 Warwick Road, Solihull, B91 3DA 0121 765 4144 www.kempspublishing.co.uk Managing Editor Laura Blake Designer Lloyd Hollingworth Advertising 0121 765 4144 jon.jones@kempspublishing.co.uk Printers Stephens & George Print Group PRIVACY NOTICE: Kemps Publishing Ltd process personal information for certain legitimate interest purposes, which includes the following: • To provide postal copies of this publication to Chamber members and Kemps' customers; and • To offer marketing and promotional opportunities within this publication to Chamber members and prospects.

Whenever we process data for these purposes, we always ensure we treat your Personal Data rights in high regard. If you wish to, you can visit www.kempspublishing.co.uk to view our full Privacy Notice and to learn more about our legitimate interests and your rights in this regard.

CHAMBERLINK is produced on behalf of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce by Kemps Publishing Ltd and is distributed to members without charge. The Chambers 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 Chambers 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 Chambers. 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.

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hat better news could our readers have than our popular “Where do you fancy..?” eating out feature is back (see page 15)?

We suspended it in the dark days at the beginning of the lockdowns but now we are confident that things can only get better. In fact, the problem now lies in securing a table – excellent news for those pubs and restaurants back in demand but not for we would-be diners.

However, the return of “Where do you fancy..?” is far from the best news in town as we emerge blinking into the post-Covid atmosphere. In this edition, Chamberlink has devoted several pages as a follow-up to the Chamber’s successful “Keep Business Moving” campaign with many stories and features on how we are fighting back.

Among them is the fantastic news that the merchant bankers Goldman Sachs Group intends to open a new office in Birmingham later this year. Among the reasons for the move, the firm says, is: “…the city’s proximity to our London office will allow for easy travel between UK offices for our people to stay closely connected with other divisions and clients”.

And, of course, that advantage will become even more meaningful when HS2 is running.

The announcement of the group’s intentions has rightly been met with universal acclaim, hailing it as a demonstration on confidence in the future of the city. It has also added to the growing sense that optimism is picking up to the point where we might recapture the high we were on pre-pandemic when everything seemed to be going so swimmingly for Greater Birmingham.

Engineering will be Goldman Sach’s first division in Birmingham with a mix of hiring and employee transfers. “Similar to other strategic locations, multiple areas of the firm will also

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leverage this opportunity and we expect to have a headcount of several hundred across a number of divisions over time,” the announcement added.

When the normally London-centric ‘Financial Times’ devotes its page three to the news, you know that this is indeed a major development.

“Birmingham remakes itself as an alternative to London,” it trumpeted, and added: “Goldman decision to open an office confirms second city’s rise as a finance and tech hub”.

The New York-based group is a big global player, providing a wide range of financial services to a substantial and diversified client base that includes corporations, financial institutions, governments and individuals.

Founded in 1869, the firm maintains offices in all major financial centres around the world. And Birmingham can be proud that it is now among those “major financial centres,” a move initiated a few years ago when HSBC and Deutsche Bank set up headquarters here.

The group says its Birmingham office is “an exciting opportunity to build on the successful expansion of other strategic locations and technology hubs in Europe in recent years, including Warsaw and Stockholm”.

And Richard Gnodde, chief executive officer for Goldman Sachs International, said: “Establishing a new office in Birmingham will diversify our UK footprint and give us access to a broad and deep talent pool in the local area. We see tremendous opportunity to enhance our UK presence and continue delivering for our global clients.”

What a refreshing change it is to report new and exciting opportunities for the city region, which are reflected in this edition of Chamberlink as we emerge from one of the worst crises since World War II and the recession.

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Business News

Business News Latest news from Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce

Commitment: Sophie Timms Home work: Aerial shot of Kier’s huge residential development in Perry Bar

Kier welcomed as Chamber patrons

By Jessica Brookes ier Group plc, a leading provider of construction and infrastructure services, have joined Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce (GBCC) as patrons.

Kier works on projects across a range of sectors and sizes, which includes the construction of schools, hospitals and the defence and prison estate.

It has offices throughout the UK, including in Birmingham, and works on a number of vital projects in the West Midlands.

It is responsible for the maintenance and repair of the strategic road network around the West Midlands, including the M6 and M42. Other works in the area include; Plot 6 of the Perry Barr Residential Scheme, 80km of HS2 in a joint venture with Eiffage, Ferrovial and BAM Nuttall and it is also constructing the new Ambulatory Care and Diagnostics Centre at Heartlands Hospital.

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In addition to these projects, Kier is currently appointed by Birmingham Highways Ltd to maintain the city’s roads.

Works include maintaining the city's traffic operations, completing planned and reactive maintenance, inspections and winter servicing.

‘We’re delighted to welcome Kier to Chamber patronage’ Last year, Kier launched a social and environmental sustainability framework, titled ‘Building for a Sustainable World’, which aims to create more job and training opportunities in the locations in which it operates, and to achieve net zero carbon across its operations and supply chains by 2045.

Sophie Timms, group public affairs director at Kier, said: “Given Kier’s strong history of delivery and ongoing commitment in the West Midlands, we are delighted to become patrons of the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce.

“With continued investment in infrastructure across the region to support economic recovery and the transition to net zero emissions, we look forward to working with the Chamber, our copatrons and local decision makers to stimulate growth and create jobs and opportunities.”

Henrietta Brealey, chief executive of the GBCC, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Kier to Chamber patronage, where it will be joining some of the best and biggest employers in Greater Birmingham.

“Our patrons are all civic-minded businesses, deeply committed to helping connect, support and grow the local business community.

“Kier has a vast record working on major projects in Birmingham and the surrounding West Midlands that will be crucial to the city’s development and future prospects.

“As Kier ramps up work on these projects, we look forward to supporting the Group in all of its business objectives, via our tailored range of services and benefits associated with patronage.”

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Business News

Business bouncing back

Get Shopping! Retail therapy ready to This month Chamberlink focuses on how Birmingham city centre and surrounding towns are preparing to open up after the Covid-19 lockdowns. It picks up on the highly successful Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce campaign ‘Keep Business Moving’.

Chamberlink reporters JESSICA BROOKES and CLAUDIA CONGRAVE have been talking to business leaders, including representatives of the city’s Business Improvement Districts, across the region.

Read their reports over the following pages.

Jessica Brookes

Claudia Congrave

Pictures: Marc Kirsten

By Claudia Congrave s a key part of the economy that accounts for almost 5.1 per cent of the UK GDP, the retail industry has been one of the hardest hit during Covid-19.

Following the impact of national lockdowns, the Office for National Statistics reported that total retail sales volumes fell by 1.9 per cent in 2020 compared with 2019, constituting the largest annual fall on record.

With the road to recovery in sight, Birmingham’s Retail Business Improvement District (Retail BID) have been hard at work ensuring that the city’s significant retail offering is in the best position to re-open and draw customers back

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over their threshold.

Retail BID carried out a big spring clean in March, which included a deep-cleanse of streets in high footfall areas. This was carried out by specialist cleaning company Ramora Ltd, who will continue the regular cleaning programme throughout the summer.

‘I expect customers will be just as excited as we are for retail to open again’ Victoria Square is now a hive of activity as Retail BID, in partnership with Colmore BID and Birmingham City Council, hosts its ‘Summer in

the Square’ initiative to support the city’s leisure and hospitality industry.

The square features sociallydistanced seating for 120 people, a band stand for live music and entertainment as well as four beach huts with vendors selling a range of food and drink.

The council’s facilitation of Temporary Pavement Licence arrangements will also see a number of pop-up pavement cafes along John Bright Street.

David Pardoe, vice-chair of the Retail BID and head of retail and marketing at Mailbox, spoke on the evolution of the shopping experience and the plans to keep people shopping in-store.

He said: “Our city’s high street

offering is a huge part of what makes Birmingham so brilliant, and there is a thriving community within the Retail BID that is excited to make its return.

“Online experiences over the past 12 months have exposed a basic human need for in-person interactions; research has shown that even trips to the supermarket have been instrumental in combatting loneliness during the pandemic.

“So, whether it’s an excuse to catch up with friends after months apart, treat themselves to something new, or just a way to get out of the house and enjoy a change of scenery, I expect customers will be just as excited as we are for retail to open again.

Jewellery Quarter set to sparkle once more

By Jessica Brookes Despite Covid restrictions pushing consumers to shop online, there is still a huge appetite to experience the “forgotten art of shopping in person”, according to Luke Crane (pictured), executive director at the Jewellery Quarter Business Improvement District (BID).

Like other retail and hospitality hubs across Birmingham, this historic part of the city, famous for its renowned jewellerymaking heritage, has transformed to accommodate outdoor dining and welcome the return of shoppers hunting for a diamond deal.

Parking bays in Water Street and St Paul’s Square are being used to create more space for hospitality businesses, and temporary seating has been put in place Golden Square, adjacent to the Chamberlain Clock.

The 118-year-old beloved clock, which sits as a landmark in the Jewellery Quarter, has itself undergone a facelift in time for the easing of restrictions. Clockmakers Smith of Derby

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restored the clock to its former glory by treating the cast iron column with new primer and undercoat, a lick of fresh green paint and applied an English gold leaf.

Even more plans are afoot to brighten up the area, as works are underway to embed a new eco-garden at the Jewellery Quarter’s railway station.

On the roads, in order to accommodate venues which are operating al fresco operations, traffic has been diverted or prohibited in several areas.

Small-scale roadworks to prohibit vehicles turning left from Queensway onto Livery Street and to suspend the one-way system in the section between Lionel Street and Queensway have been implemented, to enable businesses to create outdoor hospitality areas within a safe space.

Alongside the various projects and logistical acrobatics that the BID have had to perform, Luke paid tribute to venues on their compliance with the new rules.

He said: “Our venues have been working hard to adapt to comply with Covid restrictions

and social distancing so their customers can enjoy themselves in safety. These include the installation of perspex screens, sanitisation stations and outdoor furniture.”

Luke expects to see more shoppers out in person, as there is huge appetite from consumers, as restrictions ease.

He said: “The lockdown has meant that many have had to adapt their shopping sprees to online sales. However, there is a huge appetite to get back out there and experience that forgotten art of shopping in person!

“As lockdown restrictions are eased, we think a visit to the Jewellery Quarter will be more about the experience as a whole, and we’ll start to see retail, food and drink and other entertainment begin to be rolled in to one event. The Jewellery Quarter is a tourist destination at the end of the day.”

He added: “If people want to continue to enjoy the Jewellery Quarter as a haven of small independents, then they need to come out and support local.

“We have over 700 independent retailers in the Quarter all offering the most unique of experiences. It’s so important that shoppers come out and spend with these fantastic traders to ensure the longevity of the Jewellery Quarter and to push our local economy forwards.”

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Business bouncing back

Business News

speed the region’s recovery “The BID is doing all we can to support our stores, whilst ensuring visitors can enjoy a comfortable and safe environment at all times.

“Retail is so much more than just a transaction; it’s an experience, and at Mailbox we are continually looking for ways to excite new visitors and attract footfall in a responsible way to support our occupiers.

“For example, industry stalwarts such as Harvey Nichols, which holds pride of place at the Mailbox, continue to deliver success with this thinking. By creating and nurturing relationships with brands, influencers and customers in bolstering its in-store offering, Harvey Nichols has positioned itself as a destination more than anything else.”

Selfridges, one of Birmingham’s most indulgent retailers, have introduced a host of new retail spaces which they hope will drive more sustainable fashion sales.

Sam Watson, Selfridges general manager, said: “We are thrilled to reopen our doors and to invite customers to discover the experiences Selfridges Birmingham has to offer. While we’ve been

Evolving: David Pardoe says city’s retailers must continue to innovate

staying connected through our digital channels and virtual experiences, we have a whole host of in-store experiences, exclusive launches and product edits planned that we know our customers have been missing.

“With sustainable shopping at the heart of everything we do, we’re proud to be launching a host

of new retail spaces with COW Vintage, a Barbour Repair Factory and the chance to get old trainers revived with The Sneaker Doc. “Whether it’s a much overdue beauty appointment at one of our counters, some takeaway food from our delicious new Greek restaurant Kouzina or simply being able to browse and try on clothes in-store,

our customers will be able to safely indulge in the unique Selfridges instore experience.”

Despite the hit taken by retail in the past year, the Birmingham Retail BID are optimistic that the region has done more than enough to entice customers back this spring.

David added: “Although uncertainty remains on what the future of the retail industry looks like, this isn’t the first time the high street has been challenged by online shopping’s popularity, and the demand for physical stores is unlikely to disappear.

“However, it’s important that our city’s retailers continue to innovate and adapt and offer Birmingham’s visitors something new to experience in store, as we continue to evolve.”

See Chamberlink’s special reports inside

May 2021 CHAMBERLINK 7

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Business News

Business bouncing back

BID brings optimism back to Southside

By Claudia Congrave nown as the cultural heart of Birmingham, Southside is a vibrant and diverse scene that is home to the Chinese Quarter, the Gay Village, Theatreland and a plethora of businesses.

Working behind the scenes to support those businesses throughout the pandemic, the Southside Business Improvement District (BID) has continued its work to ensure that the area is in the best position to welcome visitors back this summer.

As the district phases their reopening over the next few months, chair of the Southside BID, Lawrence Barton, has shared his optimism for bringing the district back to life.

He said: “As the cultural heart of Birmingham, Southside is home to a huge number of independent and iconic businesses across the leisure and hospitality sector. The past year has had a devastating effect on many businesses, and as a BID we are focused on doing everything we can to support their reopening and create a safe and welcoming environment for visitors to return.

“A big focus for us is maximizing outdoor space, which will continue to be a priority for businesses and customers for the foreseeable future. We will be relaunching the Southside StrEATery after its success last year, which saw us pedestrianise Hurst Street to allow venues to increase their capacity outside, resulting in a 25 per cent increase in revenue for participating restaurants.”

Last year, eateries used outdoor areas to extend their capacities in a safe and socially distanced way, including Pepper Chef, Topokki, The Dragon Inn, Missing and The Loft Lounge, Eden Bar, Miss Vietnam, Chili Kitchen and Malaysian Delight.

Lawrence added: “This year’s initiative will see additional venues added, so we can give our businesses as much support as possible throughout the important summer months. The development of creative, safe and welcoming outdoor spaces will remain a longterm focus for Southside.”

In a bid to rejuvenate the arts and culture sector and draw people back to the venues, Southside are

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Venues need our support: Lawrence Barton

driving investments in Hippodrome Square and have plans to build on the area’s existing infrastructure.

‘We are working collaboratively with our venues and arts organisations on a new festivals strategy for the district’ He continued: “Work on the £9.5m redevelopment of Hippodrome Square is now underway, due for completion in spring 2022, which will see new street furniture, lighting, as well as the introduction of more trees into the space, creating a flexible space for visitors to enjoy. The redevelopment also includes plans to expand the famous Hippodrome.”

The refurbishment proposal was put forward by the Allford Hall Monaghan Morris architectural practice and was granted permission from Birmingham City Council.

It will introduce a first floor terrace and an external seating and refreshment area at street level.

The project will also create new rehearsal space at second and third floors, a new performance space and entrance on Inge Street.

Lawrence stressed that working collaboratively with local venues and arts organisations has been key in confirming the district’s signature events this year.

“Southside is home to a diverse range of festivals, from Chinese New Year to Birmingham Pride, and we are working collaboratively with our venues and arts organisations on a new festivals strategy for the

district. This September, the iconic Birmingham Pride event will return, giving us a chance to shine a spotlight once again on our city and Gay Village.”

Those performing at this year’s Birmingham Pride include Cheryl Cole, Eve, Katy B, Sophie EllisBextor, Ms Banks, Boney M., Baga Chipz and Rainbow Voices.

With many provisions in place to ensure Southside’s safe and prosperous return, the district is sure to be buzzing once more and welcomes people from across the region to aid businesses in their recovery.

Lawrence concluded: “It won’t be an easy road to recovery. Southside is full of pioneering businesses who have battled to survive, and now they need all of our support so they can rebuild and thrive.”

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Business News

May 2021 CHAMBERLINK 9

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Business News

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Business bouncing back

Business News

LEFT: Renewal: Mike Olley BELOW: Raising a toast: Customers enjoying the reopening of outdoor hospitality

New marquees stand as symbol of renewal

By Jessica Brookes arquees that have popped up on Broad Street stand as ‘totems of renewal’ for the hospitality sector, according to Mike Olley, chair of Westside Business Improvement District (BID).

In preparation for reopening the Westside area of Birmingham, including Broad Street, scores of outdoor seating areas and marquees have been dotted along the area so that more venues can entertain guests.

Late night venues such as Velvet Music Rooms, Coyote Ugly and Players Bar have now reopened for outdoor hospitality, alongside other venues in and around Brindleyplace such as Craft Dining, All Bar One and Bank Birmingham.

In order to entertain thirsty punters, venues on Broad Street have been granted pavement licenses. All the new outdoor areas will be in place until phase three of

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the Government’s ‘roadmap plans’ to lift restrictions.

According to Westside BID, thousands enjoyed hospitality venues in the area when Covid restrictions relaxed in early April.

For Mike, the marquees symbolise renewal from the pandemic.

‘I think we’re going to have a whole new economy which is going to satisfy the changing work patterns and the people that are now living in the area’ He said: “These marquees are going to be like totems or symbols of renewal as we come out of the phase three of the roadmap. I think the marquees themselves are quite significant.

“But they are a short term thing in many respects, because come 17 May we’re all going indoors, and the marquees will come down.

“But in that interim period of just five weeks or so, the marquees will stand there as totems of renewal.”

Looking to the future, Mike says that due to the tram extension widening the pavements on Broad Street, the area may be set for an economic boom due to a new early evening economy emerging.

He said: “With the people that live in the area, I think what we’re going to have is an early evening economy emerge, because people are going to go to work, they are going to work from home as well, and when they go to work they are going to make a day and a night of it. That’s where you get the early evening economy emerging.

“I think that a café society kind of thing will be on Broad Street, because of the broader pavements,

because of the technology that is there to make the outside experience warm, cosy and inviting.

“I think we’re going to have a whole new economy which is going to satisfy the changing work patterns and the people that are now living in the area, which tend to be young professionals with high disposable income. It is going to really change Broad Street.”

But for now Mike says that consumers must return to venues, or they risk losing them for good.

He said: “You need people coming into your premises to get the economic activity going, because without that economic activity, if we’re not buying, selling and trading among ourselves, then we’re all going to be damaged financially ultimately.

“We need to go out for our economic and our social health, and if that doesn’t happen, then venues will simply have to close.”

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Business News

Business bouncing back

President’s Focus Jason Wouhra, president of Asian Business Chamber of Commerce (ABCC), assesses whether businesses are seeing a light at the end of the Covid-19 health crisis tunnel. e have all been through a very tough 12 months with the coronavirus pandemic.

Many of us have faced the irreplaceable loss of loved ones, family, and friends and due to that it has been the most distressing time for all of us.

I have personally lost family members, and both sold and bought a business in that time.

Many businesses have fallen by the wayside.

Many have struggled to keep their heads above the rising water.

I am an ex-director and shareholder of East End Foods Plc, and alongside my family, I had been in the business all my life until the sale of it in November 2019.

I bought back the very successful wholesale business which serves many Asian businesses in the West Midlands.

This now trades under our company Lioncroft Wholesale Limited, which is a business we aim to grow four-fold in the coming five years. Lioncroft Wholesale supplies 5,000 independent retail stores, restaurants, bars, clubs, and casinos in the West Midlands which has been a challenge.

As president of the ABCC, I am proud to say, we represent thousands of such businesses across many sectors, industries, and channels; small, medium, and large businesses; entrepreneurial, owner managed and familyowned businesses.

The Asian community represent four per cent of the UK and contributes nine per cent to the economy. Covid-19 has not just hit the Asian business community, but the nation and the world at large. Issues faced by us are collective as a society.

Now we are glad to see a gradual reopening of businesses and there seems to be a light at the end of this tunnel.

It is most important to support small and local businesses because they are reliant on the earnings they achieve, which is not quite like larger multinational businesses which are in existence only to deliver shareholder value and have a relatively short-term view.

Conversely, owner managed businesses are entrepreneurial and support families and local communities.

At the ABCC we have supported smaller businesses during the pandemic with translation services, explained government guidelines and raising knowledge of and assisting them in these guidelines.

We have created a helpline which they can call for advice and guidance for how to access government business assistance and support that is available to them.

We aim to continue in the same vein, helping businesses get though these unprecedented and tough times.

However, ever the optimist, it is important to look to the future, to ensure our local and

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Jason Wouhra

independent business owners are equipped to weather this ongoing storm. I have personally always found it is important to have mentors who have achieved greater heights than oneself and learn best practices from them.

At the ABCC we aim to provide this service.

Our board members are highly knowledgeable across a range of industries, from food to accountancy, sports to legal services, and education to the creative industries. So, we have a full range of experience which we are happy to share through networking, our events, and our advisory communications.

We are holding many events on digital platforms in response to the new way of doing business. And we are here to serve the Asian business community as we as we have done for almost 34 years.

During my term as president, I aim to make this already strong organisation, the largest of its

kind with a national footprint.

That would be fitting of the Asian community who have provided so much economic growth to the UK. We all hope our friends, colleagues and community grow, thrive, and prosper as we come out of this dark period of history.

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Business bouncing back

Business News

Chamber awards to feature new categories

By John Lamb Two new categories to reflect changing times are to be included in this year’s Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce (GBCC) annual awards, which will again take place online.

The awards, again supported by headline sponsors Birmingham City University (BCU), will be revealed on 28 July.

They are open to all businesses and include new categories for the hospitality and retail sectors and a special one for companies showing excellence in sustainability.

It will be the second year the Chamber awards have been digital because of Covid-19 restrictions, but plans are already underway to return to the ICC next year for an awards night bonanza with up to 1,500 guests.

Steve Allen, president of the GBCC, said: “We are, of course, disappointed that we can’t all gather at the ICC the normal way. However, we proved last year that it is still possible to have an evening of excitement and drama on-line.

“We shall still dress up for the occasion as many of our guests and viewers did last year.

And we shall be announcing shortly the additional attractions we are arranging to make the evening go with a swing.”

Henrietta Brealey, the GBCC’s chief executive, said: “We are really looking forward to

Last year’s event had all the pomp and ceremony of the awards dinner at the ICC and represented a fitting reward for some amazing businesses.”

The closing time for entries is 5pm on 4 June.

Sponsorship and entry are available on greaterbirminghamchambers.com President Steve Allen

Award categories include:

championing the local business community with our 2021 Awards. This well-loved, high-profile celebration is a brilliant platform for businesses to showcase everything they have achieved during the past year.

“We are delighted to once again have the support of BCU as headline sponsors and we look forward to working with them on what we know will be a fantastic celebration of the region’s business community.”

Professor Julian Beer, deputy vice-chancellor at the BCU, said: “It is a privilege to again join with the Chamber for the most prestigious business awards in the region.

“And we look forward to sharing the digital stage in July when the winners will be revealed.

• Excellence in Contribution to the Community • Excellence in Customer Service • Excellence in Hospitality & Retail • Excellence in International Business • Excellence in Manufacturing • Excellence in People Development • Excellence in Responsible Business • Excellence in Sales & Marketing • Excellence in Sustainability • Excellence in Technology & Innovation • Excellence in Third Sector • Excellence in Training & Education • Greater Birmingham Business of the year (picked from the category winners)

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Business News

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Business bouncing back

Where do you fancy?

Business News

Part of a nationwide chain, Birmingham is home to two Cosy Club venues on Bennetts Hill and in Brindleyplace, offering relaxed dining alongside a mix of British, European and Asian inspired dishes, with a nod to North America at brunch. In a reprise of its Where Do You Fancy feature, Chamberlink takes a quick tour of Cosy Club’s two venues, which are both due to reopen in May.

Breakfast, lunch or dinner…

Cosy Club Birmingham Cosy Club Brindleyplace Address 33 Bennetts Hill, Birmingham, B2 5SN Unit 9F The Water's Edge, Brindleyplace, Birmingham, B1 2HL

Restaurant description Bennetts Hill Built in 1830, this Corinthian-styled masterpiece was originally the headquarters for the Birmingham Banking Company. In 1914, the building was taken over by the Midland Bank. The venue is furnished with sink-into leather sofas, velvet pouffes and a large opulent bar area.

Brindleyplace Brindleyplace Cosy Club can be found on the Water’s Edge. The first floor bar and restaurant has floor to ceiling windows and a terrace overlooking the canal. Visitors can dine under art deco inspired interiors or sip on something delicious in the venue’s beautiful bar.

Menu description Breakfast From a hearty Full English to a Gluten Free Shakshuka, both Cosy Clubs offer a variety of tasty dishes, including: Buttermilk Pancakes (With maple syrup or

berry compote and fresh fruit), Avocado Brunch, Huevos Rancheros, Bubble & Squeak.

Lunch Whether you are looking for a leisurely meal or a quick bite to eat before heading back to the office, Cosy Club says its lunch dishes will hit the spot every time, including: Cosy Club Sandwich, Cosy Eggs, Fish Finger Sandwich, Veggie Cheese Burger.

the Holden Room can have a maximum of 50 people seated and standing. The room facilities include: • A private bar – Board Room only • Sound system • Free WiFi • Presentation screen • Projector • Flip chart • TV – Board Room only • No room hire fee

T: 0121 695 1131 01215 460438 W: cosyclub.co.uk Owner Loungers PLC Opening hours Food served 9am-10pm daily Mon–Sun, 9am-11pm

Dinner Both venues offer a warm and romantic setting for a dinner date with a loved one or to celebrate a special occasion. The dinner menu is diverse and caters for all tastes and number of guests.

Menu items include: Pan-Fried Seabass Fillet, 28 Day Aged 8oz Sirloin Steak, Vegan Fish & Chips, Golden Dame Burger.

Dietary options Vegetarian, Vegan and Gluten-free available.

Business facilities Business-friendly Private dining and conference facilities Cosy Club on Bennetts Hill has two private dining options via its Board and Holden rooms. The Board Room can seat between 20 and 34, and May 2021 CHAMBERLINK 15

1. Chamberlink May 1-26.qxp_Chamberlink 29/04/2021 09:29 Page 16

Business News

Business bouncing back Government must go further: Henrietta Brealey

Funding success: Lichfield Garrick

Arts sector gets financial aid The arts and culture sector has been awarded thousands in grant and loan cash in a bid to offset the severe impact caused by Covid-19.

More than £400m has been awarded to organisations via the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund, as part of a drive to help culture and heritage sectors reopen.

Seventy per cent of funding has gone to firms located outside of London.

Nearly all of the original £1.57bn Culture Recovery Fund has now been allocated, with more than £1.2bn in grants and repayable finance offered to more than 5,000 individual organisations and sites.

Swathes of Greater Birmingham-based organisations received funding, including Birmingham International Jazz Festival, Birmingham Museums Trust, The Rep, Birmingham Royal Ballet, the CBSO, Ex Cathedra, Ikon Gallery, Lichfield Garrick, Lichfield Festival, Midlands Art Centre, Services for Education, Sutton Coldfield Town Hall, DanceXchange and the Jam House.

Karen Foster, chief executive Lichfield Garrick, one of the organisations which received a cash boost from the fund, said: “After a very difficult year for the arts, the news that we have been successful in the second round of emergency funding means that we can now rebuild our programme of performances.”

For more Lichfield and Tamworth news, turn to page 38

16 CHAMBERLINK May 2021

Chamber report calls for business support

By Dan Harrison

Recommendations include:

New sector-specific support for the hardest-hit industries and reforming the business rates system to free up cash for businesses are among a number of recommendations to Government in a new report published by Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce.

Keep Business Moving II sets out areas of Covid-19 business support which require urgent action.

The report was produced in consultation with the Chamber Council, a group of elected business figures who work with the Chamber’s policy team on where to best target resources and feed back the views of members.

• Make sector specific interventions to support those industries such as live events and aviation that have received relatively little financial support

‘The Chamber will continue to stand side by side with our members by championing, celebrating and promoting them’

• Widen support mechanisms for those currently excluded from existing measures such as limited company directors and those significantly impacted supply chain companies

Building on the findings of the Back Our Businesses document released in January, Keep Business Moving II identifies a number of gaps in existing support packages and sets out a series of recommendations in order to alleviate those issues.

Henrietta Brealey, CEO of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, said: “There are still many businesses in the hardest hit sectors that have not been able to operate fully or at all, in over a year and despite the unprecedented nature of support provided by the Government to date, a number of worrying gaps remain in play as our latest report sets out.

“The Chamber will continue to stand side by side with our members by championing, celebrating and promoting them as impacted businesses reopen at each stage of the roadmap and as always, fight their corner.”

• Ease the crippling cash burdens that businesses across the country are facing right now in order to free up much needed cash by exploring the possibility of reforming the business rates system and also making it much easier for businesses to invest in their people and products

• Bring forward enhanced grant support for the most impacted ‘closed’ businesses with high overheads • Offer full clarity on how they will assess their four tests for reopening the economy and provide regular updates on progress in between steps to help business plan ahead

Keep Business Moving II includes case studies and quotes from several Chamber members including Marija Ezren, co-founder at Solutions 2, Tracey Stephenson, co-founder at Staying Cool and Erica Love, director at Culture Central.

The report is available at greaterbirminghamchambers.com

1. Chamberlink May 1-26.qxp_Chamberlink 29/04/2021 09:29 Page 17

Business bouncing back

Boost in jobs as Goldman Sachs set to open office

By Dan Harrison Banking giant Goldman Sachs is to open a new office in Birmingham in a move that could lead to hundreds of roles being based in the city.

The bank said its engineering division would be the first to base staff in Birmingham, through a mix of hiring and transfers.

It is hoped the first staff will begin working in the new office by the third quarter of this year.

The news has been hailed by leaders across the region, including Henrietta Brealey, CEO of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce.

She said: “Goldman Sach’s investment is further testament to the city’s burgeoning position as a tech and professional services hub.

“This, together with recent announcements of investment in the city from the Department for Transport, the BBC and green shoots as businesses begin to unlock, all add to a growing sense of optimism and momentum returning to this incredible city and region.”

Neil Rami, chief executive of the West Midlands Growth Company, the region’s official investment promotion agency which was formerly known as Marketing Birmingham, said: “Goldman Sachs is one of the world’s most prestigious investment banking institutions, renowned for its laserfocus on recruiting the best and brightest talent and the preeminence of its data-driven, customer-centric technologies.

“We are delighted that Goldman Sachs has chosen Birmingham as the home of its major new presence, where it will harness the region’s entrepreneurial talent to develop its mission-critical digital expertise, creating hundreds of jobs.

“As the investment banking landscape continues to innovate in the face of rapid FinTech transformation, the West Midlands Growth Company put forward a compelling appraisal of the region’s digital engineering workforce, academic facilities and longstanding influence in the field of banking and finance.

“The region boasts the largest and most high value financial and professional services sector outside the capital and is super-charging

3P innovation launch state-of-the-art virtual showroom!

UK leading med-tech and custom automation company, 3P innovation Ltd, have launched their state-of-the-art virtual showroom. The new, interactive space enables visitors to experience 3P’s technologies at their fingertips.

The launch of the showroom has been largely influenced by the Covid-19 pandemic, forcing the cancellations of tradeshows and conferences aimed at the pharmaceutical industry.

This prevented 3P and other companies from being able to showcase their technologies and have in-person interactions with customers.

In response, 3P created an engaging 360-degree virtual space that offers a digital insight into their technologies and enables participants to interact with 3D models, download information and have a personal guided tour at the click of a button.

Momentum in foreign investment: Neil Rami

the UK’s innovative potential through SuperTech, the UK’s first and only dedicated professional services-tech accelerator.

“Already the thriving home of client-facing operations for investors such as Deutsche Bank and HSBC UK’s headquarters, the West Midlands is successfully recasting typically London-centric banking structures, offering a premium but far more costeffective base for innovative businesses with a growth-mindset.

“This is just the beginning of a surge in momentum in foreign investment here, with the 2022 Commonwealth Games and Coventry’s City of Culture status opening up new international avenues to strengthen trade and investment flows into the region.

“Goldman Sachs’ investment undoubtedly cements the West Midlands’ prominence on a global scale - it is powerful affirmation of our region’s appeal to the aspirations of the world’s most iconic, multinational financial services brands and the talent they seek to attract.”

Business News

The leading manufacturer in fill-finish has launched a new virtual space that gives customers a 360-degree experience of their innovative lab-scale machines, with the addition of their commercial machine range launching soon.

“Although the launch of this virtual showroom has been largely influenced by the pandemic, we see this as a great opportunity to showcase our worldleading technologies to our international customers in the years to come,” said Dave Seaward, Founder and Engineering Director. “It gives our customers the chance to explore our technologies at their own pace at any time and any place, unlike tradeshows where you often have limited hours. Although we can’t replace in-person interactions, this virtual space gives us the chance to engage and connect with our customers through one-to-one personal guided tours.”

T: 01926 408 933

E: enquiries@3pinnovation.com W: www.3pinnovation.com

May 2021 CHAMBERLINK 17

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Business News

Business bouncing back

Campaign to welcome back Solihull shoppers

By Jessica Brookes High streets up and down the country are getting ready for the ‘Great Reset’, according to Melanie Palmer, Solihull Business Improvement District (BID) chair.

And BIDs, in Melanie’s view, will be there to flick the switch.

She said: “The retail empire has collapsed against a backdrop of recession. The halcyon days of the 1950s when the UK had over 600,000 shops have been hacked to just half that number, and over 660,000 jobs were lost in hospitality alone last year.

‘We are now seeing our town centres transform into greener, more open, meeting spaces where the emphasis is less transactional, more experiential’ “With shared ambitions, BIDs and local councils across the country are taking a pragmatic view to reshape our towns and local centres with a suite of improvements that we would not have seen pre-Covid.”

Solihull town centre has itself welcomed visitors back via a new campaign. The BID’s Solihull ‘Welcomes You’ campaign has urged locals to shop, dine and relax

Welcome back: Benches set up in Theatre Square

safely in the town centre again, and revealed a number of Covid-safe measures.

A new community seating hub has been installed on High Street, complementing a similar arrangement in situ in Mell Square.

The BID has also transformed the Theatre Square area of Touchwood shopping centre by the Core Theatre, into an attractive outdoor dining area with chalets and benches.

More than 50 benches have been brought in by the BID for use in Mell Square and the High Street for shoppers.

The BID’s street wardens are also on hand as a reassuring presence

for the public, alongside Covid marshals to help keep visitors safe.

Looking ahead, Melanie is distinctly hopeful and optimistic for a great reprise of town centre shops and hospitality venues following months of disruption, and envisages greener, more open town centres are the pandemic ends.

“Recognising that shopping during the Covid restrictions seemed more of an obstacle course than a pleasure, we are now seeing our town centres transform into greener, more open, meeting spaces where the emphasis is less transactional, more experiential, people need people and high streets are essential playgrounds to

support just that,” explained Melanie.

While optimistic, Melanie has made a plea to bakers, butchers, fishmongers and more to take a slice of the high street life.

She said: “As future residential blends with retail there should be a growth in the butcher, baker and candlestick maker which we have seen sadly melt away like a baked bean slice from the high street before.

“Calling all artisan bakers and butchers, fishmongers, cabinet makers, come into our towns and cities, make your passion your life, we will treat you so nicely you will never want to leave….”

Consumer confidence will help revive Burton Burton needs consumer confidence to return to help some of the hardest hit hospitality and retail firms in the town, writes Jessica Brookes.

That’s the view of Ben Robinson, chairman of the Burton Town Deal Board and also the town’s football club, Burton Albion. Mr Robinson is urging consumers to use the town’s businesses on a daily basis.

He said: “It’s vitally important for Burton’s prosperity that we have a thriving town centre with people using our shops, cafes and pubs on a daily basis.

“The pandemic has hit the retail and hospitality sector especially hard and pubs and brewing 18 CHAMBERLINK May 2021

heritage are an important part of the character of the town and we need these businesses to bounce back.

“Government support has offered these businesses a lifeline and what we need now is consumer confidence to help them succeed going forward.

“I know these businesses will have customer health and safety as their number one priority and by providing the right environment for the return of customers we can make them feel secure and ready to come out and enjoy some brilliant shopping, dining and drinking experiences.”

After the pandemic, Burton’s

town centre is set for a revival. In March, government awarded nearly £23m to improve the town.

Plans are in place to construct a new library in the town, community centre and enterprise centre, with the hopes of driving huge increased footfall into Burton.

On the cash injection, Mr Robinson said: “The town has been successful in securing £22.8m in funding from the Government’s ‘Stronger Towns’ fund and as chairman of the Burton Town Deal Board it’s my job to make sure we use this money wisely and make best use of this investment to secure our future prosperity.

“There is no doubt that it has

Ben Robinson: Burton needs thriving town centre

been an incredibly difficult year, but if we work together there is now light at the end of the tunnel and a chance to show what’s best about Burton again.”

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Sponsored by: NTS Communications

Business bouncing back

Consumers urged to ‘get out and shop’ in town centres

Can you work anywhere?

By Jessica Brookes Retailers and hospitality venues across Cannock Chase, Lichfield, Tamworth and Sutton Coldfield are throwing open their doors to customers again, with the help and support of local organisations dotted across the regions.

‘Get out and shop’ is the rallying cry being made to locals in Cannock Chase by Fred Pritchard, chairman of the Cannock Chase Town Centre Partnership.

Shop local: Fred Pritchard

‘Get out and shop and do business in your town to retain your shops and local businesses’ He is urging punters to return to the heart of the community, the town centre, in order for venues to move forward past the pandemic.

Fred, a former Cannock Chase Chamber president, said: “Cannock

town centre is the heart of the community and it is vital that it returns back to normality as a matter of extreme urgency once more, to resume normal life and vitality to our town centre for every one in business particularly following these extremely difficult times and for the benefit of our community.”

He added: “The message is also clear to the community, get out and shop and do business in your

Business News

town to retain your shops and local businesses; and remember, if you don’t use it you will lose it.”

In nearby Sutton Coldfield, the royal town’s shopping centre Gracechurch has been enticing shoppers back through a number of offers and live events, as well as working with retailers to boost health and safety measures.

Gracechurch manager Angela Henderson said: “As lockdown restrictions start to ease, we urge people to shop local and visit the centre to help support their local retailers. A great deal of effort has gone into making The Gracechurch Centre a safe place for staff and customers. Everyone has a part to play in this, and we would ask all our customers to be respectful of others and always follow the latest Government guidelines as closely as possible when visiting the centre.”

Lichfield District Council has to made efforts to encourage shoppers back to venues, via its Love Local campaign. The campaign features posters, banners, leaflets and social media adverts which firms can use to encourage visitors to wear face coverings, social distance and shop local.

Down the A5 in Tamworth, a line-up of shows and events have been organised for Tamworth families to enjoy this summer by the town’s borough council.

After a year of limited outdoor events and the closure of all theatre venues across the UK, a great line-up of events and acts are being planned for Tamworth, ready for the anticipated easing of restrictions.

The outdoor arts and events calendar will kick off at Tamworth Castle grounds, with an outdoor stage performance of David Walliams story ‘Mr Stink’ on 30 May. Subject to roadmap restrictions easing from 17 May, Tamworth Assembly Rooms theatre shows will begin with children’s entertainment the Twirlywoos in late May, then the Sarah and Duck Show in June, along with the talented D-Day Darlings performance on 27 June.

Other planned Assembly Rooms performances include Francis Rossi, from Status Quo, a Take That Tribute and the Barricade Boys direct from the West End, in July.

The journey out of lockdown is impacting on businesses in different ways. For some it means reopening shops or pubs that have been closed, for others returning to workplaces after a year of working from home.

But is it right to go back to the office? This year has meant many businesses have been able to reassess their operations. It has become clear that we don’t all need to be based in the same building to be productive.

Many big businesses have announced a more flexible approach to working hours post-pandemic, with Nationwide, PwC and BP all offering employees more flexibility. Nationwide have introduced a “work anywhere” policy after a survey showed that employees preferred to work from home.

These decisions have huge financial implications. Office rental and associated costs can be a significant part of a business’ budget, and fewer office workers means less need for costly office space. But if you want to offer maximum flexibility to your workforce, you need to have the right technology in place. Customerfacing teams need access to the right information to enable them to answer customer queries, take payment, process refunds and solve problems.

Non-customer facing teams need to be able to collaborate virtually as well as they can if they are all in the same office.

System security and disaster recovery plans need to be built in as standard. There’s a lot to consider, but we can help.

If your business future includes the “work anywhere” approach, please get in touch: Alan Pallett and Steve Ward Directors NTS Communications Promoting Growth Through Technology Specialists in Unified Comms, Contact Centres, Cloud T: 0345 450 0333 E: info@nts-comms.co.uk W: nts-comms.co.uk

May 2021 CHAMBERLINK 19

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Business News

The Griffin Report The Colmore district in the centre of Birmingham represents the heart of the city’s professional sector. Estate agent Nicola Fleet-Milne is chair of the Colmore Business Improvement District and Chamberlink columnist Jon Griffin, spoke to Nicola about how the diverse area of business will fare in the recovery from the Covid-19 lockdowns.

irmingham city centre’s professional services sector has ‘pivoted’ and adapted to survive the biggest global health emergency for 100 years – clearing the path for a ‘new version' of the 21st Century workplace.

B

Sampling “Summer in the Square”: Nicola Fleet-Milne in Victoria Square 20 CHAMBERLINK May 2021

The resilience of some of Birmingham’s most prominent offices in the teeth of the Covid-19 pandemic – from multi-national accountancy firms to solicitors and marketing companies – was revealed by Nicola Fleet-Milne, chair of the Colmore Business Improvement District (BID).

With around 500 organisations employing 35,000 people occupying 5.6 million square feet of office space, Nicola and the rest of the BID team oversee the heart of the city’s professional sector, which generates hundreds of millions of pounds a year for the regional economy.

And the woman whose own £1m turnover estate agency lies at the

centre of the district in Colmore Row is full of praise for the efforts of firms, big and small, to battle through more than 12 months of stop-start lockdown.

‘Professional services have had the resources and technology to survive’ The owner of FleetMilne Property gave an upbeat assessment of the future prospects for Birmingham city centre’s best known professional sector – but warned of the impact of workloads on office-bound staff forced to

operate remotely over the past year. She told Chamberlink: “Professional services have had the resources and technology to survive. Had this happened 20 years ago, it would have looked very different. Thankfully, the technology has allowed so many people to work remotely.

“In some cases, firms may well have increased their staff numbers because they have had an increase in work. A prime example is the property market which has not slowed, so requests for conveyancing have increased. And sadly, insolvency firms have had more work coming in over the past 12 months.

1. Chamberlink May 1-26.qxp_Chamberlink 29/04/2021 09:29 Page 21

Business bouncing back “Professional firms have pivoted to deliver their services in a different way, to ensure their survival, and in some cases, have thrived.”

Nicola and her team have also run a series of initiatives to help staff across the district cope with the effects of remote working on mental and physical health over the long months of enforced lockdown.

“We delivered Wellbeing Fortnight, focused around physical and mental health needs, which was incredibly popular. People were dialling in for an hour’s yoga, mindfulness, reflection, meditation.

We have also had online gym classes with PureGym. “We then introduced networking every other Thursday evening for a couple of hours. It’s a big Zoom call, you get separated into ‘rooms’ with lots of mingling, and most people turn up with a glass of wine or a cup of coffee in hand.

“At FleetMilne we have learnt that people working from home work incredibly hard. It has been a gratefully received learning curve around trust over the last year. I regularly have 7/8pm meetings, and a day off, what does that mean anymore?

“At FleetMilne I have encouraged proper rest when people are ‘on holiday’ saying ‘when you get your downtime, please use it, get some

Transformed: Summer in the Square plans proposed by Colmore BID

sun on your face, get some sleep; you are more valuable when you are refreshed and not burnt out.’”

She warned that the new phenomenon of Zoom calls had its drawbacks. “We have used it for our board meetings at the BID but I do still prefer meetings in person; it’s impossible to look directly into someone’s eyes on Zoom.

‘Every company will be guided by its own internal culture. It will just be the latest version of life’ “I have clients that I want to go to see, I want to chew the cud, be natural with somebody, nurture

personal relationships.”

Nicola said the hospitality sector – which comprises eight per cent of the Colmore BID’s levy payers compared to 92 per cent for professional services – had been harder hit by the pandemic but was well positioned to bounce back.

“A lot of people in hospitality have been furloughed. We have had businesses close, we have had new businesses coming in... bars and restaurants have their time and place.”

Meanwhile, companies across the district are gearing up for a longawaited return to a greater degree of normality post-lockdown. “Every company will be guided by its own internal culture. It will just be the latest version of life.

“My team will come back five days a week but there will be a more

Business News meaningful flexible-working policy.

“There has got to be a level of trust with your team to say it is OK to work from home just to get the job done. However, if somebody wants to only work remotely, that is unlikely to work for us with our immersive team culture.”

With its members paying levy fees based on 1.5 per cent of their rateable values capped at a maximum of £25,000, around £1.2 million is generated in annual income by the Colmore BID, enabling the organisation to provide security teams and other support.

“We have maintained our security teams out on the streets throughout the pandemic. They liaise with the police and are the eyes of the district, on the ground with the street community, the homeless and rough sleepers.”

Nicola is now looking forward to the end of lockdown and “Summer in the Square” in support of the city’s leisure and hospitality industry, when Victoria Square will be transformed into a new space with socially-distanced seating for 120 people, a bandstand for live music, four beach huts and an array of entertainment.

“I think the hospitality industry is going to be inundated. People are desperate to get out, there will be an enormous demand.”

May 2021 CHAMBERLINK 21

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Sponsored by: Invest Northern Ireland

Alternative supply chain planning – Invest Northern Ireland There are many lessons to be taken from the last 12 months.

For manufacturing and tradeable services, one of these is the importance of a robust and resilient supply chain.

When Covid-19 hit, ports and airports around the world ground to a halt and businesses found themselves facing challenges of how to get the parts they needed to manufacture their goods.

Additionally, since the end of the EU transition period in January, businesses have also had to adjust to the new requirements on the movements of goods.

It is vital now, more than ever, that businesses plan, understand and effectively manage their supply chains.

Many supplier relationships will have been built over many years, building trust, pricing, favourable credit terms and certainty of supply. Even with delays, this is probably the best short term solution for your business.

Changing suppliers can be a difficult task but starting that journey may be the wisest strategy for your business.

Following the UK’s exit from the European Union, Northern Ireland continues to have unique access to the Great Britain (GB) and the EU markets for goods.

This dual market access position means that Northern Ireland can become a gateway for the sale of goods to two of the world’s largest markets and the only place where businesses can operate free from customs declarations, rules of origin certificates and non-tariff barriers on the sale of goods to both GB and the EU. To discuss how we can help you with your supply chain, contact: Charles Goodier, head of trade for Manufacturing & Supply Chain E: charles.goodier@investni.com T: 07583 101130 W: www.investni.com

22 CHAMBERLINK May 2021

Culture first (from left): Adam Farrow, Andy Dawson and James Farrow

Chamber patron in shift to employee-owned model

By Dan Harrison Change consultancy Curium Solutions has become a majority employee-owned company.

Curium – formed in 2008 by cofounders Adam Farrow, James Farrow and Andy Dawson – has set up an Employee-Owned Trust (EOT), which will have a majority stake in the business.

The firm, a patron of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce (GBCC), is keeping its remaining board and team in place.

Adam Farrow said: “After such a successful year against such a challenging market backdrop, we decided that now was the right time to move to this new model, recognising the immense contribution that every employee makes to our success.

“Apart from setting up the trust, nothing else will change. The team and board remain the same, backed by our ambition to grow, develop new services and support many more customers for years to come.”

‘My first impression of Curium was that its culture is a superpower’ James Farrow added: “Culture is everything and this new structure gives us a very firm and secure platform for growing Curium in the future.

“The interests of the team, ourselves and our customers remain perfectly aligned. We’ve always believed that looking after your team is the best way of ensuring that you will deliver the best outcomes for your customers.”

What is an Employee-Owned Trust?

The Employee-Owned Trust (EOT) ownership model was created by the Finance Act 2014 to encourage more companies to become employee-owned.

While day-to-day management remains in the hands of a board or management team, an EOT is run by its trustees to ensure the company is led in a way that maximises employee engagement and commitment.

Perhaps the most high-profile example of an EOT is the John Lewis Partnership which at one stage had 80,000 employees across its department stores and Waitrose shops.

In the West Midlands, award-winning engineering and process automation company, 3P innovation Ltd also moved to an EOT model this year – with the trust now owning 100 per cent of the firm’s shares.

Throughout the process of becoming an EOT company, Curium Solutions used fellow Chamber patron RSM as advisers.

RSM’s regional managing partner Mark Taylor says the EOT model of ownership is becoming more attractive to businesses.

He said: “Our specialist team are seeing an increased amount of work on EOT projects as more and more businesses are attracted to this model of ownership.

“It was great to put in place a structure that supports the growth plan of such an exciting local business and fellow patron of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce.”

Having formed during the recession in 2008 and successfully navigated lockdown over the past 12 months, the company is remaining positive about the future, according to Andy Dawson.

He said: “Everyone is excited by the opportunity to grow the business and take advantage of the many opportunities that are unfolding as the world unpauses.”

Curium has enjoyed remarkable growth over the past decade, opening its first US office in Florida in 2017, as well as expanding into Canada.

In 2018, the firm was crowned Greater Birmingham Business of the Year at the GBCC’s annual

dinner and awards.

Curium has been actively involved in the annual Growth Through People productivity campaign for the past five years.

Tracy Westall, chair of the board at Curium, said: “My first impression of Curium was that its culture is a superpower with a just cause of empowering potential for customers, so the decision to become an EOT is an obvious evolution to the story.

“What better way to encourage the potential of the team to drive growth and success whilst maintaining the valuable and irreplaceable culture, values and spirit of the business.”

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Restructured team: Katrina Cooke (centre) with Lillian Elekan and Russ Ashman

Chamber restructure means more benefits for members

By Jessica Brookes A restructure of the Chamber’s commercial operations will mean more benefits for business members.

Lillian Elekan, formerly head of Solihull Chamber of Commerce, has been appointed as head of membership, Russell Ashman, formerly advertising and sponsorship manager, has been named head of new business and Anna Assinder has been appointed as head of marketing and events.

‘The new structure aims to provide more benefits to businesses following the pandemic’ They will report to Katrina Cooke, who was appointed as the Chamber’s chief commercial officer earlier this year.

Their appointments form part of a re-structure of the Chamber’s commercial operation in which a new team has been established incorporating the Chamber’s marketing and events, membership and new business operations. Katrina explained that the new structure aims to provide more benefits to businesses following the pandemic.

She said: “The purpose of the new structure is to ensure that our commercial operation is reflective of the full range of products and services we have to offer businesses, including membership.

“As the economy starts to re-open, we are taking the opportunity to review our membership packages and products to ensure that our benefits deliver on our promise to connect, support and grow businesses.”

Lillian said that there may be scope for more crossdivisional membership services, following the pandemic, due to demand from members.

She added: “The virtual world has also shown us how much members have enjoyed meeting other members from across the wider geographical Chamber group, so I also think we will continue to offer more crossdivisional opportunities as part of our services.”

Russell said that he is hoping to expand the Chamber’s preferred partnership scheme, whereby businesses provide preferential discounts and rates to Chamber members. He said: “We are looking to attract more Chamber preferred partners and our new commercial team set up is designed to ensure that we are continuing to attract and offer reach to potential partners and crucially that these partners are delivering value and benefits to our members.”

Online festival celebrates business A virtual campaign is set to be a “fantastic celebration” of the resilience of business communities across Greater Birmingham.

Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce (GBCC) has announced that it will be a hosting a five-week campaign celebrating the business communities that are a part of the group.

The Festival of Business

campaign is being held in lieu of in–person exhibitions being unable to be hosted by the Chamber due to coronavirus restrictions.

As part of the festival, members of the Chambers will be encouraged to attend a number of webinars and virtual networking events being hosted as part of the campaign. All 10 divisions of the Chamber will be a part of the

campaign, starting on 1 June.

Lillian Elekan, head of membership at the GBCC, said: “Our aim is for The Festival of Business to be a fantastic celebration of the resilience of the business communities in each of our Chamber’s regions. We will be shining a light on some amazing local businesses, and we’ll discuss what’s to come in each region.”

Project tackles race tensions Lightpost Theatre Company, The Black Pounds Project and Titan Partnership, alongside Birmingham Repertory Theatre, have launched Lightbearers, which aims to remedy racial tensions in schools.

Lightbearers will provide a series of workshops to be developed by Black mentors, working alongside teachers in mainstream schools to create change. Experienced drama and workshop facilitators will use elements of performance to convey a message.

CJ Lloyd Webley, Lightpost Theatre’s lead artist and creator of Lightbearers said; “The Lightbearers initiative will allow us to remedy some of the racial tensions that exist within school environments between staff and students. The issues that the Black community face are very specific - this project allows us to raise awareness as we begin to tackle some sensitive issues.”

Lightpost Theatre Company comprises young black men between 18 and 26 from across Birmingham and the West Midlands. It seeks to challenge social stigmas and ideas associated with young black men, using theatre as a gateway to create new plays of social and historical importance.

For more information visit lightpost.co.uk

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Business News

Royal manufacturer remembers Duke

By Jon Griffin Birmingham’s oldest manufacturer is mourning the loss of the Duke of Edinburgh - after supplying HRH for a marathon 65 years.

Firmin and Sons Ltd, founded in 1655 and the UK's oldest privately-owned business, has held a Royal Warrant to supply the Duke and his household with badges, buttons and insignia for around 30 years.

The Newtown company’s flag has been flying at half mast to mark the death of the 99 year-old Duke, who has proudly donned the Birmingham firm's historic products for military pageants and other Royal engagements since 1956.

‘The Duke would have made the original decision to grant the Royal Warrant’ The firm, whose buttons and badges have also brought a colourful dash to Waterloo, the Charge of the Light Brigade, Trafalgar and Rorke's Drift as well as the 2012 Olympics and the weddings of Princes William and Harry, is the only firm in the city to hold the Duke’s Warrant and one of just 35 nationwide.

Senior sales manager Tony Kelly said: “We are saddened because we are the only one in the city and one of only 35 companies in the country that holds the Warrant to the Duke’s household compared to 800 holding the Queen's Warrant.

“We have held it for more than 30 years but we have supplied him for much longer than that.

We are very proud because it is a recognition of products of the very finest quality and exceptional service.”

Mr Kelly said the Duke would have made the

Zone payment system goes live Businesses are being urged to familiarise themselves with a new fleet payment system, used to manage payments for polluting vehicles entering Birmingham’s Clean Air Zone.

Fleet operators can now check and pay for any registered vehicles that may be subject to the zone’s charges via a dedicated page on the government’s website.

Chamber head of policy Raj Kandola said that it was ‘vitally important’ that firms were clued up on payment processes.

He said: “As we approach 1 June, it’s vitally important that businesses are familiar with the payment process and how it will function before the Clean Air Zone goes live.

“With the Clean Air Zone in Bath starting last month, it’s essential that businesses and individuals in our city are fully up to scratch with the process.”

The plea is part of final preparations to prepare businesses for the implementation of the Zone on 1 June.

24 CHAMBERLINK May 2021

Royal Warrant: Tony Kelly

original decision to grant the Royal Warrant, which comes up for renewal every five years.

He said: “I remember because it was me who made the original application. It is not a civil service decision, it would be his decision in the first place - we have done a lot of work for the Duke.”

Such is Firmin’s reputation with the Royal Family, the Birmingham manufacturer is also already discreetly planning ahead for the funeral

of the Queen and the subsequent Coronation.

It has been the proud possessor of a Royal Warrant since the 18th Century and also boasts a vast range of other products, from busbies to gauntlets and medals to swords and scabbards.

The order book for the firm, part of the Kashket Group, has also included buttons for MCC members at Lord's, and products for staff at Claridges, the Dorchester and the Ritz, along with many other prestigious customers.

Work to commence on new health innovation campus Work is set to begin on the first phase of Birmingham Health Innovation Campus this summer after planning permission was granted by Birmingham City Council.

The first phase will see the development of 133,000 sq ft of lab and office space designed for health innovation and life sciences businesses, with a focus on those working in medtech, precision medicine, biopharma and digital healthcare.

‘The region has all the raw ingredients the sector needs’ The building will also be the home of the University of Birmingham’s Precision Health Technologies Accelerator (PHTA), providing innovation and incubation spaces for businesses to engage with academics and clinicians, bringing together capabilities in diagnostics, data, clinical trials and medical technologies.

The campus positions the West Midlands to capitalise on the UK’s emerging health technology sector, which attracted £1.12bn in investment in 2020, according to the latest report by Tech Nation, and has already been designated a ‘Life Science

Opportunity Zone’ by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

David Hardman, managing director, Bruntwood SciTech - Birmingham, said: “The response since announcing the development of Birmingham Health Innovation Campus, in partnership with the University of Birmingham, has been extremely positive. It’s clear that this is being seen as a real milestone in the evolution of the West Midlands as a health innovation and connected healthcare technologies powerhouse.

“The region has all the raw ingredients the sector needs - world-class universities, a number of specialist NHS Trusts, quality infrastructure and a growing cluster of SMEs - to support the journey from early R&D to manufacture and market adoption of new health products and services.

“The campus will be the epicentre where all these come together and attract further inward investment to ensure the West Midlands has one of the country’s most exciting life sciences propositions for years to come.”

Birmingham Health Innovation Campus is being built in Selly Oak, in the heart of the University of Birmingham’s academic and clinical cluster with the first phase set to complete in 2023.

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Business News

Main picture: The Grand Hotel Colmore Row, Birmingham

Providing beautifully designed and expertly installed flooring and soft furnishing solutions to commercial properties throughout the Midlands and beyond since 1946.

Clients include hotels, retail, pubs, offices, airports, leisure centres, nursing homes, hospitals and public holdings.

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Business News Return of trade conference The hugely popular Global Trade Conference, hosted by Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, will be returning virtually in June, streaming to a global audience.

Following the success of the 2020 Global Trade Conference, and the Transatlantic Conferences held in 2018 and 2019, this year’s conference promises to help businesses learn more about new markets and trading internationally.

The conference will take place on 23 June and focus on the global economy following the events of the last year, with discussions around international connections, valuable trade insights, success stories from companies who have benefitted from an international footprint and how to grow sales and client bases.

Among the speakers attending the conference are high-profile duo and leading economists Simon Hart and Joe Brusuelas from Chamber patron RSM.

‘The Global Trade Conference is shaping up to be a spectacular day’ Former Bloomberg chief economist Mr Brusuelas has more than 20 years’ experience in finance and economics, while Mr Hart sits on the board of RSM UK as international partner, with responsibilities to promote the firm to the global market.

Last year’s digital event involved a global audience, attracting almost 600 delegates from 24 countries.

The conference reached 2.8 million people on Twitter.

Stefanie Bowes, international business manager at the Chambers, said: "The Global Trade Conference is shaping up to be a spectacular day with a week of informative sessions as well as forming valuable connections with key business partners to help boost business opportunities."

“We look forward to welcoming delegates back to the conference this year.”

The conference is free to attend for Chamber members and non-members.

26 CHAMBERLINK May 2021

High demand for exporting services bucks the trend

By Philip Parkin Despite many reports claiming that there has been a huge slump in exporting activity in the first quarter of the year, the Chamber has yet to see much evidence of this.

David Harris, manager of the Chamber’s documentation department, said there had been a continuing high demand for his team’s services from exporters. He did concede that when Brexit kicked in at the start of January there was an initial impact on exporting, mainly because of people who were not prepared for the new paperwork regime.

He said: “Documentation services have been in high demand during the first quarter for us, but we only see a sub-section of what businesses are exporting, as not every exporter, country or product requires our services. During our first quarter, the madness and panic of Brexit certainly had a huge impact in January – as we were hearing from exporters who were

unprepared or were simply confused by what custom declarations or carnets were.

“But Brexit was never going to impact businesses that export outside of the EU, such as in the Middle East. They already knew the score on exporting and documentation.

“The businesses that struggled were those that had only ever exported to the EU, because they suddenly had to understand custom declarations and carnets.

“Although general questions on exporting have slowed down, we are anticipating more enquiries on carnets - temporary certificates of exported goods.

“As Covid restrictions ease, we have a lot of our motorsport and racing clients we know are waiting to go to expos and events overseas, but cannot at present due to restrictions. When they can travel again, they will need carnets in order for their vehicles to travel with them to these events.”

• Report claims Brexit causes exports slump – see page 32

Vodafone partnership extended Wasps has announced an agreement to extend its partnership with phone company Vodafone.

The Premiership team’s new deal will last until the end of season 2023/24.

Vodafone began sponsoring the Ricoh Arenabased outfit at the start of the 2019/20 season.

The extension of the agreement will see the Vodafone brand continue to feature on the front of the men’s and women’s rugby shirts, as well as on the dresses of the club’s netball team.

‘The support Vodafone have given the club has been priceless’ Adam Benson, Wasps’ chief commercial officer, said: “This new long-term agreement demonstrates the strength of our relationship. The last 12 months have been extremely challenging for so many of us, which is why the support Vodafone have given the club has been priceless, and underlines just how much we both value this partnership.

“Everyone at the club is extremely proud to wear the Vodafone name on our kits and we look forward to continuing to work closely with the Vodafone team over the coming years.”

Staying connected (from left): Wasps’ stars Elizabeth Crake, Sophia Candappa and Paolo Odogwu

The partnership has produced various initiatives, including the 2019 opening of the Vodafone Business Lounge at the Ricoh Arena, designed to showcase emerging technologies for businesses, such as 5G, the Internet of Things (IoT) and high-speed fibre.

Vodafone also conducted the world’s first 5G haptic rugby tackle at its Reinvent conference in the same year.

Whilst wearing a haptic suit, Wasps’ centre Juan De Jongh, who was at the Sky Garden in London, was able to feel a physical tackle made by teammate Will Rowlands who was at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry.

Wasps also installed a Vodafone heat detection camera at its training ground to help safeguard staff and players as they returned to training following the outbreak of Covid-19.

Anne Sheehan, business director, Vodafone UK, said: “We are delighted to be renewing our partnership with Wasps for a further three years.

“This partnership continues on our promise to invest in the West Midlands region. We can’t wait to unveil new and exciting case studies bringing 5G and IoT to life, demonstrating the key role these technologies will play in transforming the worlds of sport and business.”

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Business News

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Chamber Patrons

Chamber Patrons Contact: Henrietta Brealey T: 0121 274 3266

Greater Birmingham Chambers’ leading supporters Judges revealed for scholarship An impressive line-up of influential professionals from a range of STEM industries will be a part of the judging panel for this year’s Millennium Point Trust Scholarship final.

Now in its seventh year, the Millennium Point Trust Scholarship has already funded six inspiring young people from the region through their degrees at Birmingham City University’s Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment.

Previous winners of the scholarship include Sagal Qodah in 2017, who has since gone on to graduate with a first class honours degree in Civil Engineering.

The distinguished judging panel, which will be headed by Abbie Vlahakis, CEO of Millennium Point, also features Professor Hanifa Shah, associate dean research, Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment, at Birmingham City University, Kari Lawler, founder at Youth4Code and Youth4AI, Mike Ridler - head of Business Development and Education at Learn by Design and Sam Gibbs, CEO at IT specialists 81G. Abbie saidd: “The calibre of finalists for this year’s scholarship is impressive as ever, so it’s only right that the quality of our judging panel is equal to it.

“This is a phenomenal opportunity for all five students - not just the winner of the lifechanging scholarship, but the advice and support they all receive from the Trust, both before and after the final.”

The judges will hear presentations from five selected finalists during a special assessment day on 21 May; seven days later, the winner will be announced during a closed ceremony at Millennium Point on 29 May. The event will be streamed live from the newlyrefurbished Auditorium in Millennium Point across the multi-award-winning venue’s digital channels.

28 CHAMBERLINK May 2021

New material offers better protection Soldiers, athletes, and motorists could lead safer lives thanks to a new process that could lead to more efficient and re-useable protection from shock, impact, explosion, and vibration, according to a new study.

Researchers from the Universities of Birmingham and Oxford, together with Ghent University, Belgium, have published their findings on the pressurised insertion of aqueous solutions into water-repellent nanoporous materials, such as zeolites and metal-organic frameworks, in the Nature Materials journal.

‘The process we have discovered creates a material that can absorb more mechanical energy per gram’ The international research team experimented with hydrothermally stable zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) with a ‘hydrophobic’ cage-like molecular structure – finding that such systems are remarkably effective energy absorbers at realistic, high-rate loading conditions, and this phenomenon is associated with the water clustering and mobility in nanocages.

Dr Yueting Sun, lecturer in Engineering at the University of Birmingham, said: “Rubber is widely used

Effective absorbers: Process could provide athletes with enhanced protection

for shock absorption nowadays, but the process we have discovered creates a material that can absorb more mechanical energy per gram with very good reusability due to its unique nanoscale mechanism.

“The material has great significance for vehicle crash safety for both occupants and pedestrians, military armoured vehicles and infrastructures as well as human body protection.

“Soldiers and police could benefit from better body armour and bomb suits, athletes might wear more effective helmets, knee pads and shoe insoles as the material is liquid-like and flexible to wear.”

Researchers also say that the material could also be incorporated into machinery to reduce harmful vibrations and noise - reducing maintenance costs.

Businessman helps Aston students Former chief executive of price comparison website GoCompare, Matthew Crummack, has made a six-figure donation to Aston University, to help students in financial need.

Matthew’s own experiences of studying at Aston University in the 1990s were, he says, formative, and his significant donation will be used to support students via scholarships and the institution’s student hardship fund.

Matthew has been a long-time supporter of Aston University and is an enthusiastic spokesperson for its achievements, especially the university’s focus on employability.

He himself graduated from a BSc in International Business and French at Aston University in 1993.

His career to date has taken him into well-known companies such as GoCompare, lastminute.com, Expedia, Nestlé and Procter & Gamble.

In April 2020 he was appointed as senior independent director on

Giving back: Matthew Crummack

a job and be motivated to work hard and do well. It also gave me lifelong friendships and a whole collection of happy (and funny) memories.

‘I count myself as fortunate to have had the opportunity of a good education’

the main board of National Express plc.

Matthew was awarded an honorary doctorate by Aston University in 2016, in recognition of his professional achievements and service to the university.

He said: “I count myself as fortunate to have had the opportunity of a good education, as it opened so many doors for me.

“My time at Aston University gave me confidence to go out, find

“I hope this gives young people who are struggling financially the opportunity and confidence to build a strong future for themselves.”

Aston University’s director of development and alumni relations, Kerrie Holland, added: “We are delighted to receive this donation and so grateful to Matthew for his support. Thanks to his generosity, many Aston University students with financial difficulties can stop worrying about making ends meet and stay focused on achieving their ambitions.”

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Chamber Patrons Development potential: The current NEC site

British Chambers support forces

Homes to be part of NEC development Part of the NEC site in Solihull could be unlocked for a major development.

The NEC Group says it is working with Birmingham City Council to “unlock the development potential of the NEC site” for a mixed-use scheme.

Already home to the National Exhibition Centre, Resorts World, and the Resorts World Arena, the NEC Group says that the 140-hectare site presents one of the best development opportunities in the region to deliver new homes, commercial space and leisure attractions. Birmingham City Council sold the NEC Group in 2014 but has retained a freehold interest in the land at the site.

Paul Thandi, CEO of the NEC Group, said: “I am delighted to have a shared ambition with Birmingham City Council to unlock the full

development potential of the NEC site. Not only is the site home of the country's premier destination for exhibitions and events it is also an unrivalled opportunity to deliver a major mixed-use development with leading edge sustainability credentials.

The NEC Group is also a long-standing patron of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce (GBCC).

Henrietta Brealey, chief executive of the GBCC, said: “The further development of the NEC is an exciting prospect for one of the most important destinations in the country.

“The plan by the NEC and the city council to include homes in the development represents a huge step by creating living space in the heart of the country along with existing assets and major developments, like HS2.”

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) are the latest organisation to sign the Armed Forces Covenant.

The Chambers signed the pledge during a virtual event attended by the assistant chief of defence staff, Major General Simon Brooks-Ward.

The Armed Forces covenant is a promise that those who serve or have served, and their families, are treated with fairness and respect in their communities, economy and society for which they serve with their lives.

Major General Brooks-Ward said: “This is a very important step which brings together the supportive pledges of many individual Chambers across the network.”

Apprenticeship funding available Employers are being urged by University College Birmingham to take up ‘significant’ new apprenticeship funding, which has been made available by Government.

Businesses can now receive up to £3,000 from the Government, per apprentice of any age which join their organisations.

Gail Tipper, director of the university’s Centre for Apprenticeships, said: “This is really significant incentive, but, as part of the Covid- 19 support package, it only lasts until September, so employers need to go for it if they want to take advantage of this opportunity and do something great.”

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1813 Club and Premier Members

1813 Club and Premier Members

Premier Membership Contact: Gary Birch T: 0845 6036650

Greater Birmingham’s leading companies

Tasty sale of eateries Where there’s a will: Rebecca Clarke

Wills inquiries surge during crisis Solicitors at national law firm Clarke Willmott have reported a big increase in inquiries about wills since the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus pandemic.

Private client specialists at the firm, which has an office in Birmingham, say that the worry of the health implications of the virus and people having more time on their hands during lockdown has led to a spike in wills being drafted.

Recent studies have consistently shown more than half of UK adults do not have a will, a statistic Clarke Willmott is hoping to redress.

Rebecca Clarke, a senior associate in the private client team, said: “It has been interesting to see the increase in both enquiries and wills being drafted this year during the pandemic.

“Speaking to clients it is a combination of being faced with such a real and present health danger and lockdown boredom meaning that those admin jobs that are always being put off, are finally being ticked off the list.

“Whatever the reason, it is great that more people are writing their wills and safeguarding their family’s future fortune so that they get the maximum benefit from any inheritance left to them.’

To help people looking into making a will, Clarke Willmott has developed a free, online ‘Which Will?’ tool that prompts users to think about what is important to them when making a will and recommends which will best meets their needs.

Ms Clarke said: “It’s important to make a will as early as possible and to keep reviewing it. We are calling on people to use the tool as a sign of their commitment to making a will in 2021.”

30 CHAMBERLINK May 2021

A 13-strong chain of KFC restaurants in the South East has been sold to a fellow franchisee of the famous American fast food business.

The 13 restaurants belonged to Castlebarn, who have sold out of Caskade Group, in a deal put together by franchising experts from Smith Cooper Corporate Finance (SCCF).

The buyer now operates 47 KFC and 21 Taco Bell restaurants, having joined the KFC family in 1996.

Castlebarn was acquired by industry veterans David Catterall and Anton Jebaharan in 2007, following a management buy-out. They went on to develop it into the chain of restaurants that it is today, which employs more than 500 staff.

At the same time, the pair ran a number of Taco Bell restaurants, which, like KFC, are a subsidiary of Yum! Brands. They sold these restaurants several years ago as a first step towards retiring from the restaurant trade.

KFC itself was famously founded by Colonel Harland Sanders during the Great Depression, in 1930.

Sanders, one of the first to see the potential of franchising, sold out in 1964.

Representing Castlebarn in the deal

were Smith Cooper’s John Farnsworth and David Crump, who initiated, negotiated and project-managed the transaction through to completion.

Mr Catterall said: “We’re delighted to have completed the transaction despite the Covid-19 pandemic, and to have sold to a fellow KFC franchisee.

“SCCF demonstrated great knowledge of the sector and deployed this, and their deal management expertise, to drive the deal to a completion - always considering the commercial, operational and financial implications for us as sellers.”

John Farnsworth, who is head of Corporate Finance at SCCF and a specialist in the food and beverage sector, said: “A sale was originally agreed prior to the first Government-imposed lockdown - which brought all the deals we were working on to a temporary halt.

“However, the strength of the KFC brand meant that trading recovered quickly and, as a result, the delay on this transaction was a matter of just a few weeks – making this completion our first during the pandemic.

“That recovery is a testament to both the business skills and experience of David and Anton, and to the team at KFC UK & Ireland, who demonstrated real sector leadership in challenging circumstances. It is really pleasing to complete this deal during a very difficult time.”

Finger lickin’ good deal: John Farnsworth

PwC appoints wellbeing expert

Caitroina McCusker

Midlands-based Caitroina McCusker has been appointed as the national leader for education in PwC UK’s government leadership team.

She will be helping higher education institutions (HEIs) in the UK and globally to recover from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

Ms McCusker helps organisations to transform themselves, both in terms of the introduction of new technology but also in the implementation of modern ways of dealing with employees and others.

In the past year she has been supporting universities across the UK – including Aston University to navigate the challenges of the pandemic, which has included prioritising mental health and wellbeing services for staff and students.

She said: “Increasing concerns are quite rightly being raised around the mental wellbeing of students enrolled in higher education as a result of the pandemic. PwC has been delivering mental health group

training and e-learn sessions to our staff based across the UK. “As a firm we recognise the importance of mental health advocacy, so we are building on our long term association with the Samaritans to produce a team activity for Aston University to rollout with their staff and students.”

Alec Cameron, vice-chancellor of Aston University, said: “We place a great deal of importance on the mental health and wellbeing of our students and staff at Aston.

“Working with PwC has enabled us to extend our offering, giving our academic and professional staff skills to support our students and each other in this increasingly significant aspect of university life.”

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1813 Club and Premier Members

Insurance renewal hike avoided thanks to risk firm Insurance and risk management firm Gallagher has helped a major manufacturer avoid a hefty hike in costs when renewing its insurance cover.

Cradley Heath-based metal casting firm Westley Group – one of the largest in Europe - hired Gallagher to help with its insurance needs after fearing that market forces would see it hit by higher costs.

Westley specialises in the production and supply of copper-based and aluminium alloy metal parts, and has its headquarters at Doulton Road, Cradley Heath, plus manufacturing sites at Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, and Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire, employing some 280 people.

The firm has clients in a range of sectors, including the marine, oil, power generation, process engineering and architectural industries.

Westley finance director Mike Richards said: “Before engaging Gallagher’s support, we were aware that the insurance market was going through a period of ‘hardening’ – characterised by insurers charging higher premiums, and lower enforcing tighter terms and conditions– and we were concerned about significant cost increases when it came to our insurance renewal.

“From our very first meeting, the team at Gallagher impressed us with their sector knowledge, and the time they took to visit each of our sites in order to ensure they fully understood our business. The team were able to negotiate us a deal that saw our cover increase, and premium reduce, providing us with the peace of mind we need to focus on growing our business.”

Then look no further than Club 3000.

We are a community of those looking to build a better future for young people and families facing challenges and hardship in the Nechells area of Birmingham.

Club 3000 members support the work of free@last, an organisation working with the mission to ‘improve the lives of the

Fully insured: A casting in progress at Westley’s Cradley Heath site

Gallagher is one of the leading providers of insurance and risk management advice to the manufacturing sector, and looks after a broad range of businesses in the UK, from new ventures to large manufacturers with complex risk management requirements.

With offices in Birmingham, Coventry and Brierley Hill, Gallagher is one of the largest brokers in the West Midlands, employing more than 400 risk and insurance specialists across the region.

Gallagher sales director Richard Grosvenor said: “As a local community broker, providing an on-the-ground service to businesses in the region where we’re based, we’re proud to be working with a firm which has a longstanding presence in the West Midlands, and which has an excellent reputation in the metal casting industry.”

UV system is cleaning up A high-tech solution for dealing with bacteria and viruses is being offered to business premises.

The system uses ultraviolet light, and is often found in hospitals and similar premises for sterilising medical equipment and treating wastewater.

Cradley-based water and air hygiene specialist Dakro Environmental is now offering the system to businesses of all kinds.

Dakro says UVC light can sterilise an environment in just minutes. This can range from sterilising items such door handles and photocopiers, to personal items and entire office spaces.

The firm’s marketing director, Trevor Field, said: “The importance of hygiene is at an all time high.

“This new programme provides the higher level of sterilisation that companies are seeking after the arrival of Covid-19 to create safe environments for their employees to work in.”

children and young people of Nechells and to turn a community of poverty into a community of prosperity and opportunity’.

Our members also benefit from being connected to a likeminded community of business owners and enjoy a variety of discounts, from flowers to dining, jewellery to photography, and many more.

May 2021 CHAMBERLINK 31

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International Trade

International Trade T: 0121 725 8994 E: ibh@birmingham-chamber.com

Brexit causes fall in exports, says report The British Chambers of Commerce’s Trade Confidence Outlook for the first quarter of the year has underlined the gloom facing UK exporters in the first months after Brexit.

Shipping delays, red tape and the effect of the coronavirus pandemic are all being blamed for the fall in exports that has been felt across the board by UK businesses.

The survey of more than 2,900 UK exporters revealed that the percentage of firms reporting decreased export sales had increased to 41 per cent, up from 38 per cent in the previous quarter.

Expansion: Luke Tobin

Digital agency expands into Germany Marketing agency Digital Ethos has opened a new office in Germany.

The specialist digital agency in the UK, which has offices in six UK cities, wants to become a force in Europe, and has opened a base in Hamburg.

The office is located near the Fischmarkt, in the city’s Altona district.

As part of the move to Germany, Digital Ethos is working alongside a venture capitalist which specialises in digital business, Autark Ventures.

Digital Ethos’ decision to expand to Germany follows a series of high-profile client wins and the addition of 12 new staff in the UK during the first quarter of this year.

The company’s managing director, Luke Tobin, said: “The opening of the Hamburg office is an incredibly exciting step for us and one that has been possible due to our recent period of growth.

“Working alongside Autark Ventures, we will be building a team of experts capable of delivering industry-leading marketing services that will place us at the forefront of the digital landscape in the UK, Germany and beyond.”

Autark CEO Lino Remmen said: “The increasing need for Digital Marketing is a window of opportunity that we can better take advantage of through partnering with a like minded agency with strong growth ambitions is the perfect fit for us and our ventures.”

32 CHAMBERLINK May 2021

‘The fact that situation is continuing to deteriorate is concerning’ The percentage of businesses reporting increased export sales fell to 20 per cent, down from 22 per cent in Q4 2020. Forty per cent reported no change in their export sales.

The historical percentage balance data for this indicator shows that the proportion of firms reporting increased export sales remains at a historically low level and has, in fact, worsened compared to the previous quarter.

The balance of manufacturers reporting

increased overseas sales was down to -9 per cent from -8 per cent, while for services firms there was a drop to -26 per cent from -22 per cent.

The survey found that hotels and catering firms and retail and wholesale firms have been the worst hit, with 81 per cent and 60 per cent of respondents respectively reporting a decrease in export sales this quarter.

Just four per cent of hotels and catering firms reported an increase in export sales, with only 14 per cent doing so in retail and wholesale. Among production, manufacturing, and construction firms, 36 per cent reported decreased export sales, with 27 per cent reporting an increase, and 37 per cent reporting no change.

Respondents cited Brexit and the impact of Covid-19 as the biggest causes of problems in trade.

British Chamber’s co-executive director Hannah Essex said: “Given that export sales are at some of the lowest levels ever recorded in the history of our data, the fact that situation is continuing to deteriorate is concerning. These new figures show that UK exporters are currently facing a range of issues that go beyond just those that have been created by the pandemic.”

Milestone for specialist

Happy birthday: Rob Whittall

Accountancy firm Dyke Yaxley LLC, which specialises in providing US/UK tax and business advisory services to clients on both sides of the Atlantic, is celebrating its tenth anniversary.

The firm was launched when Rob Whittall was working at the international partner of a US accountancy firm and also as an employee of Dyke Yaxley Ltd, based in Shrewsbury.

In 2011, he persuaded the latter to let him use their name in the USA, and Dyke Yaxley LLC was born.

In the past decade, the firm has increased its revenue by an average of 25 per cent annually, and represents many businesses in the Midlands and throughout the UK who are expanding to the USA, as well individual clients who have US and/or UK tax responsibilities.

With offices on both sides of the Atlantic, the firm has grown from two to 15 employees.

Mr Whittall said: “We are honoured to work alongside the many clients who have placed their trust in us, and in many cases have become friends. We are excited for the next 10 years and look forward to the journey ahead.”

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Commonwealth Commonwealth Chamber Patron

Greater Birmingham

Commonwealth Chamber of Commerce

Contact: Mandy Haque T: 0845 6036650

Online event offers export help

By Claudia Congrave Meriden MP and former Chamber president Saqib Bhatti hosted an online event offering businesses guidance to export and grow internationally, in the wake of Brexit and the impact of the pandemic.

The event followed a report from the Office for National Statistics that saw a 40.7 per cent drop in European exports in January, a loss of some £5.6bn.

The West Midlands Parliamentary Export Programme webinar was part of a wider series hosted by MPs from across the region, and detailed the benefits of working with the Department for International Trade (DIT) when looking to branch out into exporting.

The DIT provides different levels of guidance to businesses, including export support for SMEs via local international trade advisers and the chance to join the export academy which provides businesses with the education and mentoring needed to transition to exporters.

Towards the end of last year, the DIT also announced a £38m Internalisation Fund which offers grant support to small and medium sized enterprises looking to grow their overseas trading and strengthen their business.

‘You quickly realise on this journey that one size does not fit all’ One company which has had a successful partnership with the DIT is Midlands- based forensic software innovator Forensic Pathways.

Forensic Pathways was founded in 2001 as a provider of technology for crime scene forensics and cyber threat intelligence. The firm sought the advice of the DIT in 2003 as they began their export journey, which involved Turkey.

Deborah Leary, vice-president of the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce (GBCC) and chief executive and founder of Forensic Pathways, attributed the support of her trade adviser to the success of her business when

Optimism on the rise among German-British businesses

Dr Ulrich Hoppe: Business is more upbeat

An annual survey of the German-British business community has revealed that there is more optimism about than there was six months ago.

The annual German-British Chamber’s Spring Survey found that 44 per cent of companies currently viewed their operations in the UK as performing positively or very positively, with another 38 per cent saying they were stable.

And 52 per cent also expected the UK economy to perform better or significantly better over the coming 12 months, with 22 cent anticipating things will remain stable.

However, companies think that a full recovery from the coronavirus pandemic for the UK economy is still some way off, with the majority expecting a full recovery to take at least another 18 months.

In terms of investment plans, companies are also much more positive, with more than a third (35 per cent) planning to increase, and only 10 per cent planning to cut back.

Nevertheless, Brexit and Covid are still having a significant effect on a majority of companies as trade barriers/customs formalities and travel restrictions continue to be the top two challenges for businesses.

In terms of the future structure of supply chains, the Brexit-related trade barriers also appear to have a very significant (and much larger than Covid-19) effect on future sourcing decisions.

Dr Ulrich Hoppe, director general of the German-British Chamber of Industry and Commerce, said: “The survey results suggest that, despite the current challenges of Covid-19 and Brexit, the sentiment in the German-British business community is much more upbeat than six or 12 months ago.

“However, the effect of Brexit on the future structure of supply chains should not be underestimated, as trade barriers/customs formalities and extra costs remain a critical issue for many businesses.”

navigating the international market She said: “You quickly realise on this journey that one size does not fit all. You’ll need a different strategy for each product or service you’re planning to export.”

In light of this, she advised businesses to be proactive and not reactive when treading the road to export and to not see exporting as a quick fix, but rather a long-term investment.

Forensic Pathways have since expanded their exports to Europe, USA, Australia, South Africa, Nigeria, and have interests in Singapore and UAE. The firm has also become part of the ‘Export Champion Community’, which provides peer support from more than 1,000 experienced businesses.

Chamber international director Mandy Haque said: “The Parliamentary Export Programme event highlighted the significant difference that the support of an international trade adviser can make to your business on the exporting journey, with practical tips on trading to help you with every step.”

Chamber pays tribute to Duke of Edinburgh Greater Birmingham Commonwealth Chamber of Commerce has paid tribute to HRH The Duke of Edinburgh for his lifetime of service to the UK and the Commonwealth.

According to official records, HRH made 229 solo visits to Commonwealth countries between 1949 and 2016. These were in addition to visits he made to Commonwealth countries to accompany Her Majesty the Queen. These numbers do not include countries visited in Royal Navy ships without any Royal duties being carried out or private engagements such as weddings and funerals.

HRH had a number of Commonwealth appointments and military affiliations in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Trinidad and Tobago.

He also held Patronage appointments in 12 different Commonwealth countries.

In 1956, he founded The Duke of Edinburgh's Commonwealth Study Conferences - a scheme still going on today.

Commonwealth Chamber president Joel Blake said: "On behalf of the Greater Birmingham Commonwealth Chamber of Commerce I would like to pass on our condolences to the Royal Family at the passing of HRH the Duke of Edinburgh.

"As well as giving a lifetime of service to the UK, his life of dedication and commitment to the Commonwealth can empower us to build a more equitable Commonwealth for generations to come.”

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Transatlantic Transatlantic Chamber Patrons

Greater Birmingham

Transatlantic Chamber of Commerce

Monavate secures USbacked seed funding New-to-market payment solutions provider Monavate has secured seed funding of £5m from a major US institutional investor, signalling one of the largest seed funding rounds for a UK fintech in the last 12 months.

Monavate provides a technology-enabled, compliance and card scheme sponsorship platform that simplifies the way companies create, manage and grow financial products.

The funding will support investment in Monavate’s expertise and pioneering technology platform, allowing companies to launch financial products quickly, easily and cost-effectively. It will also enable the Cambridge-based fintech to accelerate its global expansion in the card issuing and ATM space.

Leeandrajae Vaile, chief executive officer of Monavate, said: “There’s no shortage of great ideas to help consumers and businesses spend, save and invest smarter.

And no shortage of investment in fintech either. However, getting great ideas to market is still a major pain point. That’s why Monavate was formed, and why we’re already making a difference.”

Scott Lucas, chief commercial officer of Monavate, said: “Bringing good financial ideas to life can be complex and time-consuming.

This is tough for start-ups, who suffer more under the weight of red tape and other people’s legacy. Yet even for more established firms, the status quo is unscalable.

“At Monavate, we’re combining expert guidance and fit-for-purpose technology to help clients launch real financial solutions fast.”

Contact: Mandy Haque T: 0121 725 8994

Leaders urged to reopen travel corridor Transatlantic business leaders have written to both the UK prime minister Boris Johnson and US president Joe Biden urging them to restart travel between the two countries.

US citizens entering the UK are currently required to quarantine, while UK citizens are banned from entering the United States.

But BritishAmerican Business (BAB), of which the Greater Birmingham Transatlantic Chamber is part, is calling on both leaders to revise those restrictions in order to boost trade between the two nations.

BAB says the UK and US have achieved ‘world-leading success’ with their vaccination programmes, which puts them in a position to demonstrate to the safe reopening of a crucial air-corridor.

Both letters are signed by BritishAmerican Business CEO Duncan Edwards, KPMG’s chair of board and New York office managing partner Bob Garrett, American Express’ president of global commercial services Anna Marrs and Marsh McLennan president and CEO Dan Glaser.

The letters read: “The UK and the US are two of the world’s greatest trading nations, and air travel is a vital ingredient in ensuring this source of prosperity for both countries.

“Estimates of the economic losses for both countries from the continued closure of the air corridor are staggering.

‘The UK and the US are two of the world’s greatest trading nations’ “The impact is felt most severely by smalland medium-sized businesses that do not have extensive teams in the other market. These companies rely heavily on traveling to see their customers and their suppliers, and are most likely to delay or cancel investment if they are unable to visit in person. Both countries have done a remarkable job in getting their populations vaccinated and now have the chance to lead the world again in demonstrating how safely to re-open a crucial air corridor.”

Ready to resume: United is one of the main airlines operating flights between the UK and the US

Key appointment welcomed

Key Role: Yael Lempert

34 CHAMBERLINK May 2021

Transatlantic business leaders have welcomed a key appointment at the US Embassy in London.

Yael Lempert has taken up the role of chargé d’affaires – having previously served as deputy chief of mission at the embassy.

The position of chargé d’affaires is effectively the deputy to the US ambassador to the UK, a role which is currently vacant with president Joe Biden yet to appoint a successor to Robert ‘Woody’ Johnson.

Ms Lempert took up her assignment as deputy chief of mission at the embassy in London in 2019.

She is a career member of the US Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor, and served as acting deputy assistant secretary of State for Egypt and North Africa from June 2017 to December 2018.

Ms Lempert was the senior director for the Levant, Israel and Egypt at the National Security Council from 2014 to 2017, and also served as

Special Assistant to the president from 2015 to 2017. Prior to her assignment at the NSC, she served for three years as the deputy principal officer at the US Consulate General in Jerusalem.

She also worked at the US Embassy in Libya from 2009 to 2011, where she spent more than half of her tour as the acting Deputy Chief of Mission.

Mandy Haque, international director at the Chamber and vice-president of the BritishAmerican Business Council, said: “Yael is a familiar figure to the Transatlantic Chamber having served as Deputy Chief of Mission since 2019 and I had the pleasure of meeting her during past visits to the Embassy in London.

“The Transatlantic Chamber’s close links with the US Embassy are vitally important in our aim to develop trade between Greater Birmingham and US businesses and we look forward to working closer with Yael to build on those links.”

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Future Faces Future Faces Chamber Patrons Contact: Anna Assinder T: 0845 6036650

Awards back in August Investment in young talent: Anna Assinder

Paragon invests in potential future leaders

Cheers: The Chamber team behind Future Faces annual awards 2020, which also took place virtually

By Claudia Congrave Future Faces (FF) has revealed that its highly anticipated annual awards will return in August.

This year’s flagship event will take place virtually on 27 August and will feature three new award categories.

The three additional awards include Future Faces Champion, Future Face of Hospitality and Retail and Future Face of Sustainability.

The event will be hosted in association with the B irmingham Young Professional of the Year (BYPY) awards, following Future Faces' merger with Business Professional Services (BPS) Birmingham last year.

Future Faces merged with BPS Birmingham in order to create a unified group for the city’s young professional business community, with this year’s combined event building on the success of the hugely popular BYPY awards.

Popular leadership events series is back A popular event series covering different aspects of modern leadership is being hosted once again by Future Faces and Aston Business School.

The Aston Business School Leadership Skills event series comprises five events, led by academics, entrepreneurs and careers consultants from Aston University, and will examine the essential skills that modern business leaders need.

The first event took place last month and focused on mindfulness and boundary setting when using technology for work.

Others will feature discussions on managing underperformers, the benefits of ‘game storming’ for creativity and innovation and pitching and presentation skills.

All those who complete the entire series will receive a certificate of completion from Aston Business School.

To book a place at the next event, visit greaterbirminghamchambers.com

Due to the intake of BPS members and m any other influential partnerships for FF at the beginning of this year, the awards event could welcome an online audience of up to 400 attendees.

Award categories include: • Future Faces Champion • Apprentice of the Year • Future Face of Arts and Culture • Future Face of Charity and Social Enterprise • Future Face of Entrepreneurship • Future Face of Finance • Future Face of Industry • Future Face of Legal • Future Face of Public Sector and Education • Future Face of Retail and Hospitality • Future Face of Sales, Marketing and Communications • Future Face of Sustainability • Future Face of Technology and Innovation One winner from the categories will be crowned the Future Face of Greater Birmingham.

New Members Ashleigh Key (Birmingham St Mary's Hospice) Ashley Waitt (Co-Arch) Sarah-Jo Clarke (SGS) Phil Houghton (Paragon Bank) Chloe Heath (Paragon Bank) Rob Knight (Paragon Bank) Payal Grover (Paragon Bank) Steve Hayward (Paragon Bank) Annette Coyle (Paragon Bank) Lucy Burns (Paragon Bank) Jack Meechan (Paragon Bank) Emma Doran (Paragon Bank) Carla Bramhan (Paragon Bank) Ben Jones (Paragon Bank) Lori Roworth (Paragon Bank) Douglas Fairbrother (Catalyst) James Helmore (Paragon Bank) Kat Schorah (Paragon Bank) Rosie Cloonan (Paragon Bank) Jo Caley (Paragon Bank) Christina Healy (Paragon Bank) Naeem Mulla (Paragon Bank) Suzanne Fogarty (Paragon Bank) Josh Pope (Paragon Bank) Monika Skrobich (Paragon Bank)

Long-standing Solihull Chamber member Paragon Banking Group has taken 30 Future Faces (FF) memberships.

Paragon’s young professionals will have the opportunity to network and develop their careers through their FF membership.

Future Faces manager Anna Assinder said: “It’s great to seen Paragon investing in the development of their young professionals, particularly at a time where our young leaders will be instrumental in driving the growth of our businesses and economy forwards.”

Following the launch of their High Potential Programme, which offers support to employees who have shown potential as future leaders, Paragon saw Future Faces as an avenue for boosting networking skills.

Nichala Sawrey, development consultant at Paragon Group, said: “We are very excited to have launched our first High Potential Programme. We were keen to include a professional network as part of this programme and discovered that the Future Faces membership would give delegates some fantastic opportunities.”

Steve Guest (Paragon Bank) Sue Leighton (Paragon Bank) Carly Nicholls (Paragon Bank) David Brampton (Paragon Bank) Kush Tailor (Paragon Bank) Millie Flynn (Paragon Bank) Kerri Leavy (Paragon Bank) Darryl Mowbray (Paragon Bank) Nichala Sawrey (Paragon Bank) Andrew Matthews (Lloyds Bank PLC) Sarah Lea-Smith (Lloyds Bank PLC)

Upcoming Events Future Faces Social Networking Date: 11/05/2021 How to Manage Under Performing Employees (Aston Business School Leadership Series) Date: 18/05/2021 Future Faces Professional Development Topic: Sustainability Date: 27/05/2021 For more information and to book a place contact events@birmingham-chamber.com

May 2021 CHAMBERLINK 35

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Cannock Chase Chase Chamber Patrons

Cannock Chase

Chamber of Commerce

Contact: Chris Plant T: 0845 6036650

Open for business: the new Cannock designer outlet

£160m shopping village opens The long awaited £160m McArthurGlen designer outlet in Cannock has opened its doors to shoppers seeking a bargain.

The new outlet, at Mill Green, was given planning permission five years ago, and construction started in 2017.

The development is McArthurGlen’s first UK opening for more than two decades, and marks a return to the market where it introduced the concept of designer outlet retailing in Europe, with Cheshire Oaks in 1995.

The centre is McArthurGlen’s seventh British designer outlet, joining others at Ashford, Bridgend, Cheshire Oaks, East Midlands, Swindon and York, and it is the group’s 26th across Europe and in Canada.

Susie McCabe, joint CEO of McArthurGlen, said: “This opening represents not only a huge milestone for McArthurGlen as we continue to grow our European footprint, but a defining moment for brick-and-mortar retail as the only

stand-alone shopping centre to open in the UK this year.

“As we emerge into a new consumer landscape, we know customers still crave the extraordinary day-out shopping experiences and moments of magic that only physical retail can offer, and we remain extremely confident that West Midlands will deliver this.”

The Designer Outlet West Midlands is home to many international brands, including Coach, Kate Spade, Hugo Boss, Levi’s, Lacoste, Tommy Hilfiger, Guess, Calvin Klein, Ted Baker, Reiss, Kurt Geiger, Gant, Radley and Joules.

‘We know customers still crave the extraordinary dayout shopping experiences’ There are also leading names from the world of sportswear, including Nike, Adidas, Under Armour, Asics and Skechers, while Wagamama,

Support scheme is launched A £5m countywide package of support programmes for small businesses and apprentices has been launched by a partnership of Staffordshire councils, including Cannock Chase.

The new initiative is ‘Staffordshire Means Back to Business’, and it is being backed by Staffordshire District Council to the tune of £302,000.

Most of this will go towards funding wages for 500 apprentices, and it is hoped that this will incentivise employers to take on 16 to 24-yearolds by contributing to the costs associated with recruiting and retaining an apprentice.

Chase Council is also contributing funds to the programmes.

Councillor Tony Johnson said: “The Covid-19 pandemic has struck the economy hard, the funds being directed to this initiative will help to

36 CHAMBERLINK May 2021

mitigate the effects by creating more employment opportunities.”

Staffordshire County Council deputy leader Philip White said: “It is critical that as a county council we continue to prioritise support for small businesses and people whose jobs or employment prospects have been impacted by the pandemic.

“In an area like Staffordshire that has a county council plus district and borough councils with their own Covid-19 funding this support is far more effectively delivered by close collaborative working between councils and a range of other partners to make our respective funding go further.

“We hope that our three new programmes will reach more people and businesses affected by the pandemic. We owe it to businesses and communities to direct all available funding where it is needed most.”

Starbucks and Five Guys are among the food and beverage brands to open.

The development is a joint venture between McArthurGlen, Aviva Investors and the Richardson family. Covering 285,000 square feet in total, the centre will create 1,000 new retail jobs for the local community. In addition, it is supporting a partnership with Walsall College for a new training academy, which has already helped connect local people to job opportunities with the development’s stores.

To help reduce its impact on the environment, the centre features around 400 newly planted trees, along with solar panels, on-site beehives, a wormery, electric car charging points and bicycle parking.

Darren Freed, director at Aviva Investors, said: “Designer Outlet West Midlands is an exceptional addition to Britain’s retail landscape and arrives at a time when the outlet sector continues to outperform the wider retail market.”

Rugeley IT firm makes senior promotion IT support company TechCare, based in Rugeley, has promoted John Hoey to head of marketing..

He was previously a search engine optimisation specialist at the firm, helping clients to improve their all important Google search rankings.

He said: "I am over the moon about my promotion to Head of Marketing at TechCare. I love what I do, and helping our clients move their business forward is a big part of that.

“By running the marketing team, I feel I can make a real difference in clients' business success, which is amazing. I can't wait to get stuck in and see where the future takes us."

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Burton & District Burton & District Chamber Patrons Contact: Chris Plant T: 0845 6036650

New president vows to help town recover Shaun Gray is taking over as president of Burton Chamber at this month’s annual general meeting.

Mr Gray, who is European managing director of Chinese-owned manufacturer Ginho, is taking the reins from Nik Hardy of Hardy Signs at the online AGM on 18 May. Born and bred in Burton, Mr Gray says he is looking forward to helping the town get back on its feet after the devastation caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

He said: “I feel extremely proud to take up such a role within my local town. Burton is a town that I have grown up in and seen it change over a number of years.

“We should be very proud of the past and history of our town but we must also look to the future and engage with local, regional and international business to bring sustainable growth at all levels and sectors within our town and region.

Locals invited to have their say on library move

‘I enjoy international travel and the understanding of different cultures in relation to doing business on a global scale’ “With the continued unlocking of the economy from Covid restrictions it will be great to local business and the town centre gradually and safely coming back life.”

Mr Gray began his career as an apprentice engineer with the William Cook Group and has worked for a number of businesses in metal industries throughout the world.

He said: “I have worked for some the metal industries largest companies globally, working in various roles both in a technical capacity, commercial, senior management and directorships.”

Today, he is based back in Burton, as European head of Ginho, which is a specialist manufacturer of precision castings, components and assemblies.

The company was founded in 2003 as Gaomi Yonghe Precision Casting Ltd, and in 2014 Ginho Europe Precision Manufacturing was established in the UK. German and US based divisions have since followed.

Mr Gray said: “With both European divisions, I have the responsibility to manage for the main board the full profit and loss, employees and legal affairs.

“I also have a more strategic overview of European sales, company growth and also group expansion and key acquisitions within Europe.

“I enjoy international travel and the

On the move?: Burton Library

Shaun Gray: Burton born and bred

understanding of different cultures in relation to doing business on a global scale.”

Ginho’s European business has been consistently growing at more 20 per cent each year and has a long term order book in excess of €100m.

Chris Plant said: “He is going to become an international trade champion at Burton College, where he studied, and he’ll fulfil that role for us as well.

“He is vastly experienced in international trade and I am looking forward to working with him and focusing on helping our members become aware of the international trade opportunities that are on the horizon.

“He is the European managing director of a global business that employs 1,200 staff in China, and this will hopefully lead to some great links between Burton and the Far East.

“Shaun’s business is also one of the largest in Burton and I am looking forward to working with this true Burtonian.

“I would also like to say a personal ‘thank you’ to Nik Hardy, both personally and professionally. He has represented us at numerous business events during his time as president, and I view him as a great president and a good friend.”

Burton residents will be able to have their say on outline proposals to move and improve the town’s library at a series of public engagement events this summer, ahead of a final decision on its future next year.

The library proposal is one of seven connected projects that are part of a plan to revitalise the town centre.

They make up the Burton Town Investment Plan, which was awarded £22.8m from the government’s Towns Fund in the spring Budget.

Local councillors say this is a ‘once in a generation opportunity’ to transform Burton’s library service using ringfenced central government funding, rather than money from local taxpayers.

Under the plan, the library would be moved to the historic Market Hall. Burton Library is one of Staffordshire’s busiest libraries, and its relocation would allow the addition of new facilities that would see increased visitor numbers and support the regeneration the Market Place area.

In addition to the library, the Market Hall building would house a range of community services, including enterprise space for small businesses, exhibition and flexible performance space, meeting rooms, and a cafe.

The total cost of this would be £7.3m and would include a new roof, heating and lighting systems, extension of the balcony area to create office space and a ground floor extension to create meeting rooms.

Staffordshire County Council’s cabinet member for communities and culture Victoria Wilson said: “At present, no decision has been made to relocate the library.

“We do have an exciting proposal on the table which could see Burton having a library to rival the quality of the new Lichfield library, where visitor numbers doubled after its relocation from its previous site but whether this will happen or not is yet to be decided.”

Lichfield Library was relocated in 2018 from The Friary into the former St Mary’s church on the Market Square.

During its first year of operation the relocated library saw a 97 per cent increase in footfall, 85 per cent increase in new membership and a 19 per cent increase in stock issues.

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Lichfield & Tamworth Lichfield & Tamworth Chamber Patrons Contact: Chris Brewerton T: 0845 6036650

Exciting time: Richard Gill

Expansion for ATLP as schools join partnership The Arthur Terry Learning Partnership (ATLP) is expanding with the addition of two primary schools in Erdington and Lichfield.

The schools are Lichfield’s Greysbrooke Primary School and Erdington’s Osborne Primary School are now officially part of ATLP, which has 16 academies and one teaching school hub in Birmingham, Staffordshire and North Warwickshire.

CEO and chairman of the Teaching Schools Council, Richard Gill, said: “It’s an honour and a privilege to welcome both schools to the partnership. Greysbrooke and Osborne are fantastic primary schools at the centre of their communities. Headteachers Ellie and Michelle lead wonderful teams who share our commitment to putting children at the heart of everything we do.

“This is an exciting time for the ATLP as we strengthen our geographical learning hubs and expand the partnership.”

Lichield Festival to make dazzling return Organisers of Lichfield Festival have confirmed that the popular event will return this summer, with a star-studded line-up.

Last year’s edition of the festival could not go ahead, due to Covid restrictions.

Singers Mica Paris and Eddi Reader, impressionist-turned pianist Alistair McGowan, Grimethorpe Colliery Band and Yorkshire Shepherdess Amanda Owen will lead the lineup at this year’s Lichfield Festival in July.

From 8 to 18 July there will be an eclectic programme of ballet, cabaret, symphony orchestras, steel pans, family fun, chamber music, live cooking, story-telling, drama and laugh-out-loud comedy.

The annual event brings thousands of visitors to the cathedral city and is a cornerstone in the region’s cultural calendar.

“We’re thrilled to be back with the 39th Lichfield Festival this July – a year later than envisaged – with a typically exciting range of superb artists to bring the joy of live performance back to the city,” said Lichfield Festival director, Damian Thantrey.

“With distancing and regulations expected

AR experience is launched The National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire has launched a new augmented reality experience, ‘ARboretum’, which will run through to June.

‘ARboretum’ is aimed at youngsters and was developed by local virtual and augmented reality experience experts at Fennec Labs, based in Stafford.

The programme is available for download for free from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. It is designed for visitors aged seven and over when accompanied by an adult and will be available until at least June 2021.

Pre-booked visitors to the 150-acre garden and woodland site can download it interact

Family fun: The new app will help bring the Arboretum to life for young visitors

38 CHAMBERLINK May 2021

with a cast of colourful characters as they discover memorials connected with the emergency services and other organisations that have been involved in the pandemic response.

Chris Ansell, head of participation and learning at the Arboretum, said: “Our new free family activity uses augmented reality technology to provide a fun, interactive experience that helps them engage with incredible stories of service and sacrifice.

“Our everyday heroes in the NHS, emergency services, Armed Forces and countless other organisations have been essential to the UK’s pandemic response, with many individuals putting their lives at risk in the service of others.”

still to be in place, things will be a little different this summer, with shorter event times and repeated performances, particularly those in the smaller venues.

“There will also be a number of outdoor events making the most of the glorious summer weather (we hope) and some of Lichfield’s beautiful and verdant outdoor spaces.

“We’re looking forward to joining artists and audiences alike, immersing ourselves in eleven days of fabulous entertainment and culture.”

The festival opens on 8 July with Ballet Cymru performing a brand new version of the classic ballet ‘Giselle’ in the spectacular setting of Lichfield Cathedral.

The Cathedral is the centrepiece of festival activities and this year plays host to some amazing vocalists who top the line-up, including the undisputed British Queen of Soul Mica Paris, and Brit-award winning folk singer/songwriter Eddi Reader.

Other highlights include fiery flamenco with guitar and Spanish dance duo Xuefei Yang and Maria Vega, and a slimmed down BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

Virtual market day to boost local trade Staffordshire has held a ‘virtual market day’, in an effort to boost trade in the region as the Covid lockdown begins to be lifted.

The ‘Staffordshire Day’ event was put together by Enjoy Staffordshire, the public/private sector partnership that promotes the county. Ahead of the event, organisers called on all local businesses to take part, including artisans, makers, producers and independent retailers.

John Henderson, chief executive of Staffordshire County Council said: “Over the last five years, Staffordshire Day has allowed us to celebrate everything that’s great about our county, from our amazing people, rich heritage and culture to our stunning locations and places to visit.

“Local businesses also play a huge part in the Staffordshire story, helping make it a great place to live and work while attracting more and more visitors to the county.

Alongside the market, businesses were able to promote their products with a short live or pre-recorded slot in the ‘Staffordshire Day’ event programme, to be broadcast on the Enjoy Staffordshire Facebook page.

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Sutton Coldfield

Sponsored by: Royal Sutton Coldfield Town Council

Sutton Coldfield Chamber Patrons

Sutton Coldfield

Charity of the Year

Chamber Contact: Chris Brewerton T: 0845 6036650

of Commerce

Sutton Coldfield Town Hall

Town Hall receives crucial recovery grant Changing spaces: Ark’s state-of-the-art new offices

Fast-growing video firm moves into new premises Video production company Ark Media has moved to larger offices at Wrens Court in Sutton Coldfield to accommodate a growing team and ambitious plans for the future.

Despite the challenges of the last 12 months, the company has major plans and a growing client base including the likes of Willmott Dixon, Twycross Zoo, Ishida and the Department for Education.

Phil Arkinstall (pictured), managing director at Ark Media and president of the Sutton Coldfield Chamber of Commerce, said: “There’s no doubt the last year has been significantly challenging and I think as a business we have managed this well.

“We have seen more enquiries for animation work plus with the media deals available for television advertising many organisations are realising how accessible and lucrative this can be.

CX expert: Anita Ellis

“Right now, with the roadmap out of lockdown we are also producing return to work videos for clients who want their staff to feel comfortable about their return to the workplace.”

Lockdown presented the firm with a number of challenges, including being unable to have film crews out on the road.

However, an increased number of animation enquiries and a commission from the Department for Education meant the crew could film as keyworkers to deliver videos for children learning in lockdown.

Phil added: “The team at Ark have really stepped up during the past year, winning some good projects and giving us a great platform for coming out of the pandemic. I’m really looking forward to settling into the new office and we are looking forward to when we can introduce our clients to the new space.”

Sutton Coldfield Town Hall has received a grant of £34,400 from the Government’s £1.57bn Culture Recovery Fund to help the organisation recover and reopen.

More than £300m has been awarded to thousands of cultural organisations across the country including the charitable trust-run Town Hall in the latest round of support from the Culture Recovery Fund.

The venue, which is currently being used as a vaccination centre for the NHS, will now be able to recommence planning of its 2021/22 shows and room hire.

The staging of ‘Cinderella’ had been in jeopardy with not enough reserves to support the production of the show, which is key to the venue’s financial sustainability.

As a result of the grant, the Trust can return more staff to work, enabling the venue to market its autumn programme, which starts in September with the sell-out Gary Powndland comedy show.

The Town Hall’s managing director, Julie Rennison, said: “This funding is crucial to our recovery. With this support, and with confidence in a return to full houses once vaccinations are complete, we have a much better chance of a successful relaunch in the autumn and a welcome return of our traditional Christmas shows.”

Copywriter shares wisdom A business owner and copywriter from Sutton Coldfield has contributed to a new book about best practice in customer experience.

Anita Ellis, director of Lexicomm, is one of 28 co-authors from around the world who have contributed to the new book, ‘CX3’, which is out now.

Featuring authors from Europe to the US and UAE, the book brings together the best in global thought leadership on the subject of CX. It is the third book in the best-selling series, and Anita has written a chapter on the impact of marketing communications on customer experience.

Anita, who set up Lexicomm during lockdown, said: “I see so many businesses with an opportunity to make their marketing more meaningful.

Putting the customer at the heart of your communications, especially your website, makes

content so much more compelling. It’s a simple tactic but easy to get wrong.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to be part of a project that brings customer experience to the fore, and humbled to be working alongside CX experts from all over the world.”

Sutton Coldfield Chamber vice-president Naeem Arif is the founder and project manager of the book series.

He said: “I wanted to give a voice to new talent who maybe haven’t been heard before.

“Customer service and experience is so important right now, especially for the retail and hospitality sectors which I am very passionate about supporting.”

‘CX3’ is available to pre-order now on Amazon and follows ‘CX1’ and ‘CX2’ which were both No.1 best sellers across three different continents.

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Solihull All the latest news, advice and events for the Solihull business community Contact: Samantha Frampton T: 0121 678 7488

Enthusiasm: Solihull pupils get active during rehearsals

Sixth form students take to the stage Aspiring young thespians at Solihull Sixth Form College have been sharpening up their acting skills, by taking part in a play as part of the National Theatre Connections Festival.

The students have been tasked with performing the play ‘Look Up’ by Andrew Muir, which has been written specifically for The National Theatre.

Pupils are responsible for all aspects of production from costume design to performing.

The play explores a world free from adult intervention, supervision and protection. It tells the story of nine young people, as they create new rules for what they hope will be a brighter future.

Rehearsals have been held via Microsoft Teams during lockdown, and started in person rehearsals in March.

The group will perform a ‘Home Performance’, which will be watched by a mentor director from The National Theatre and be given guidance and support to refine their production in preparation for the festival.

Students will work with Nottingham Playhouse as part of the festival and will have the opportunity to present their work on a professional stage and participate in workshops provided by the theatre during May half-term.

Nadia Kouhi, drama teacher at the college, said: “The National Theatre Connections Festival is a fantastic project to be involved with and I'm so pleased we have been able to continue this despite lockdown.

“It has been great to see the students developing their ideas and they really enjoyed the Zoom workshop with Andrew Muir, which gave them so many ideas.

“Now that college has reopened the students are able fine tune their performance with weekly rehearsals. I can't wait to see the finished product.”

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Staff at Bear Grylls Adventure have held an extraordinary meeting 65ft in the air, while finalising plans for reopening.

The informal meeting was on the attraction’s high ropes course, which reopened in April to

thrill-seeking visitors. The course has some 36 obstacles, including rope bridges and rolling logs.

Other activities at the attraction are due to reopen on 20 May.

Office market is resilient, says report assess the long-term trends of this market, including Greater Birmingham’s popular out-oftown office locations, occupier behaviours and sectoral analysis.

John Bryce, director of KWB, said: “The Solihull commercial property market has shown remarkable resilience over the past decade, at times defying downward trends of the wider office market and the economy at large. This makes it an excellent investment opportunity for developers and those wanting to put their capital into commercial property.

Remarkable resilience in office market: John Bryce

Solihull’s office market is highly resilient, attracts a diverse range of sectors, and is one of few office locations in Greater Birmingham that offers businesses space they need to grow, according to a new report from KWB. The findings have been revealed in a new report, Solihull & M42 office market insights for 2021, published by commercial property specialists KWB, which features six years of research on the Solihull and M42 office market.

The report contains a variety of advice for investors, developers and landlords on this area’s office market.

With this report, KWB has used its research spanning a six-year period from 2015 to 2020 to

‘The Solihull commercial property market has shown remarkable resilience’ “The statistics show that the area routinely achieves a sustainable level of annual office takeup of around 320,000 sq ft. This report demonstrates that, despite 2020, Solihull and the M42 corridor still hold the same potential they’ve demonstrated in previous years.

“We’ve included a range of information indicating what’s likely to happen this year as the lockdown eases and companies return to their offices. It’s going to be less ‘me space’ and more ‘we space’.

“We do expect to see some businesses reducing their office footprint. And this will create welcome opportunities for occupiers that have been seeking space in the area for a long time.”

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Solihull Solihull Chamber Patrons

Widower builds adoption legacy

Adoption legacy: Harjinder and his late wife Geeta

A widowed man is being helped by an agency in Birmingham to help build an adoption legacy in the name of his late wife.

Harjinder Kalsi tragically lost his wife Geeta to Covid-19 in January at the age of just 45, as they were on the verge of becoming parents through adoption.

In Geeta’s memory, Harjinder is now leading a campaign to raise money to help others going through the adoption process and to encourage more people to consider adoption.

Harjinder said: “When Geeta died I felt like my dreams and my future died with her. It is still incredibly raw, but what is keeping me going now is to do something positive in Geeta’s memory – something I know she would want me to do.

“I’m raising money for an adoption charity and I also want to get the message out there to encourage people to adopt – to tell them that the process is not as scary and daunting as they might think.”

Harjinder and Geeta had been approved for adoption by Adoption@ Heart who, following Geeta’s death, put Harjinder in touch with Adoption Focus, which was crowned ‘Outstanding Charity of the Year’ at Solihull Chamber’s 2020 annual awards.

The memorial campaign has raised more than £5,000 so far.

Adoption Focus CEO Anna Sharkey said: “It is a privilege for Adoption Focus to be working with Harjinder in his amazing efforts to honour the memory of his wife Geeta in such a positive way”

Covid-safe business pledge is launched Solihull Council has teamed up with Coventry and Warwickshire councils to launch a new Covid-safe business pledge.

The initiative is aimed at all businesses across the regions, including shops, factories, offices and eventually hospitality, as a way of reassuring staff and customers that businesses and venues are operating in a Covid-secure manner.

It is entirely voluntary, but by signing up to the pledge, the councils say that businesses are making a positive statement that they are following the relevant guidelines to ensure their premises are Covid-secure. The pledge covers social distancing, face coverings, ventilation, vaccination, testing and isolating, employee health and well-being and risk assessments.

Nick Page, chief executive of Solihull Council, said: “The Business Pledge is a simple way for Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire authorities to help businesses reassure customers that they are doing all they can to operate in a Covid-secure way.”

GREAT HR IS ABOUT PEOPLE. We believe that your business, and ours, is where the best people come to do the best work of their careers. At Brave Human Capital Group we are experts in what we do. We are proud to offer the best, most comprehensive outsourced HR and resourcing consultancy service to clients of all shapes and sizes.

TAILORED HR AND RESOURCING CONSULTANCY. We believe that people are at the heart of your business and that great HR is about enabling them to reach maximum performance day in, day out. It's about so much more than process - it's about doing the right thing and in the right way. With our tailored approach, and focusing on the detail that matters to your business, we create a bespoke HR solution that will work for you.

INTELLIGENCE IN RECRUITMENT. Recruitment is the most important thing you do. Our comprehensive, insight-led approach enables you to attract the best candidates and make a successful hire, every time. Through our unique, industry leading methods of recruitment planning and selection, you'll not only hire the right people but you'll also do it quicker and more efficiently than you thought possible.

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ABCC Updates and useful information from the largest ethnic support organisation in the UK Contact: Anjum Khan T: 0845 6036650

Showing soon: A theatrical poster for The Beatles and India

Film festival offers ray of hope The hugely popular UK Asian Film Festival will be hosted by Belgrade Theatre in Coventry, in association with Phizzical.

The world’s longest running South Asian film festival outside India features screenings at the Belgrade from 27 to 29 May. Now in its 23rd year, the festival is produced

by Tongues on Fire and historically showcases South Asian feminist films and the work of pioneering female artists and auteurs.

At a time of global unrest and displacement, the curation of this year’s festival is inspired by the theme ‘Ray of Hope’.

Alongside films, the festival will be hosting series of online workshops for Coventry-based film enthusiasts.

Screenings will open at the Belgrade with the world premiere of ‘Toofan Mail’ on 27 May. Based on a true story, a woman lands at the New Delhi railway station claiming that she’s the Queen of Awadh.

After asking to meet Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, she demands for her ancestral palace and wealth to be restored. With her head held high, she is the living answer to the question ‘How do you become a Queen?’

The award-winning film Zindagi Tamasha will be screened on 28 May. The film has been caught up in a blasphemy controversy, with its theatrical release in Pakistan suspended.

‘Cinema has been a ray of hope for all of us during this pandemic’ Despite the banned status in its country of origin, Zindagi Tamasha still went onto become Pakistan’s official entry for selection for the ‘Best International Feature’ category at this year's Academy Awards.

Other films to be screened at the Belgrade

are ‘Khape’ and ‘Fire of Teak’, ‘Flame of Chinar’.

Screenings will close at the Belgrade with the world premiere of ‘The Beatles and India’ on 29 May. The documentary chronicles the enduring love affair between The Beatles and India, featuring rare archival footage, photographs and eye-witness accounts.

UK Asian Film Festival creative director and senior producer at the Belgrade, Samir Bhamra, said: “Cinema has been a ray of hope for all of us during this pandemic. Its power to entertain, provide escapism and boost our wellbeing has held us all together during this pandemic.

“And just as characters in films go on a journey of growth, UKAFF has expanded to Coventry this year. Working in partnership with Belgrade Theatre, we are delighted to be one of the key headline events during the UK City of Culture to celebrate the best of South Asian culture, positivity and creativity.”

Competition to win sleeve sponsorship Warwickshire County Cricket Club (CCC) is offering businesses the chance to win the rights to have their brand feature on the sleeve of Royal London Cup shirts for the 2022 season.

The Royal London Cup is a 50 overs competition which was introduced in 2014.

Following the launch of its Bears Club, a membership offering designed to bring together

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members of the business community across the West Midlands, Warwickshire is now offering the sponsorship opportunity, worth £8,000 in media value, to one of the first 20 businesses to sign up to its Bears Club gold package.

The Bears Club gold package is the highest level of membership and will give businesses access to events, the opportunity to hire three

meeting rooms at Edgbaston for free across the year, 15 per cent discount on hospitality as well as extensive access to Warwickshire memberships and Bears T20 season passes.

To be in with a chance winning this prize, please contact Scott Elstone on scottelstone@edgbaston.com

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ABCC Premier+ Partners

ABCC Patrons

Awan Marketing takes home ‘Wholesaler of the Year’ title Awan Marketing, based in Hockley, has been crowned ‘Wholesaler of the Year’ by Republic Technologies UK, during the distributer’s annual awards.

Republic Technologies UK owns and operates smoking accessory brands such as Swan and Zig-Zag. Awan Marketing is the first independent firm with a single company depot to win the coveted award, which is usually won by multinational wholesalers.

Nasir Awan, vice-president of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, runs the business with his two sons Adam and Salman.

He said that he was “honoured and delighted” to have been awarded the accolade, and paid tribute to his sons’ diligence over the past year.

He said: “The last year has been unlike any time of our 40 year business, not just for us but for every business around the world, being an SME, we adapted very quickly, “I have to pay tribute to my sons, who were very quickly realised that to keep the business

running, drastic measures had to be implemented.

“We are one the very few companies that did not furlough any of our staff, and due to the size of our rateable value, we were not eligible for any grants from the authorities.

“As a financially secure company, Adam and Salman immediately invested in stock, so that we were able to supply to our customer base, comprising mainly independent trade, rationing and limits had to be out in place to ensure that all customers were able to be supplied regularly and without any inflated rates.

“This insured a good customer flow as well as loyalty by the customers.

“Our customer base also grew during this time as we were known to have availability of stock, we worked with manufacturers and suppliers, accommodated all their terms of delivery and payments, this ensured that we had a constant supply.

“Through our office in China, we managed to secure masks, gloves as well as sanitiser which

Success: Nasir (centre) with his sons Adam and Salman and the award

was supplied to the multinationals. With the added sales of the PPE, our sales grew last year by 50 per cent. This helped secure that award.

“We have been very fortunate and all credit goes to Adam and Salman for their initiatives and taking risks at a very testing time.”

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Professional Services

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Professional Services

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New opportunities for the

future

By Chris Leggett, Director, Osborn Communications

he easing of lockdown restrictions is the perfect time to redefine how your business communicates with your target audiences.

After months of enforced social distancing, consumers and businesses are growing in confidence about planning for the future. But do not assume that everyone will now pick up where they left off before life ground to a halt in March 2020.

The fresh start will bring new opportunities. Drawing upon our national media and digital experience, Osborn Communications is growing its client roster by providing content and communications support for small-to-medium sized enterprises and family-owned businesses.

Our diverse list of clients across the West Midlands are working with us to achieve their objectives, all around growing revenues or presenting themselves more effectively to target audiences.

Ensuring your marketing and communications plans gain you the attention you need, throughout 2021 and beyond, can help you on the way to success.

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Whether you have in-house expertise or draw upon an external specialist like Osborn, following some simple steps will bring results amid the rapid changes your business faces in the post-pandemic recovery period.

1. Conduct a communications audit It does not have to be a formal process but understanding what activity has been delivered over the past 12 months can help identify trends and insights. The aim should be simply to understand how your website is being used, what content about your business is being consumed either on the site or on social media and reviewing the coverage of your firm or sector in external media.

For some businesses, the past year may have shown that website visitors went up but there was not enough content to keep them for long. Or you have trialled posting images on Instagram with no real response, but LinkedIn followers have grown. Review before you progress to avoid missing vital information.

‘Do not assume that everyone will now pick up where they left off before life ground to a halt in March 2020’

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Professional Services

2. Plan where you want to go We have all been dreaming about travelling since lockdown began. For some it has been aiming for exotic climes while others saw an evening in the pub as a welcome first step back to normality.

Similarly, you need to shape a plan of what you want to achieve from your marketing and communications. Mix your ambitions with some realism about the steps needed to get there, then get started. After months of gloom, do not underestimate how many audiences will welcome hearing any positive news about your work.

3. Create once, publish everywhere Getting your business back on track is the focus so you need to be efficient in using resources.

Taking time to plan your messaging, or dedicating resource to do it, should be based around making as many uses as possible of the results.

This could be publishing a story about the business on your website and sharing it with your local or industry media. Or it may be creating content for your YouTube channel then sharing shorter versions on your social media.

We have all adapted over the past year, so continue to use content in as many smart ways as possible.

4. Do not overlook awards and other acknowledgements of your achievements The ban on live gatherings halted many annual award events for business success in 2020. Some moved online but you should be primed to enter

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awards as a way of gaining external recognition of individual or business achievements.

Writing award entries is a skill – Osborn clients made up a third of the finalists of the recent Business Desk WM Leadership awards shortlists. If you choose to produce the submissions in-house, give yourself as much time as possible and focus on meeting the criteria while sharing details which will stand out from the crowd.

5. Welcome the chance to reconnect Restrictions on everyday life have led many to reassess what is important. If you now appreciate the connections made with partners or clients, look for ways you can promote your joint working.

After months of everyone pulling together, celebrating your collective achievements through collaboration via a social media post, a video, an advert or a press release will ensure your network know you appreciate key support.

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Professional Services

The prevalence of

specialist finance post-pandemic

By Russell Martin, founder of ARMCo

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he implementation of technology within the finance industry has certainly enabled businesses to keep track of their finances, placing bank balances at their fingertips through mobile phones, tablets and PCs. Tasks such as transferring money, paying invoices and executing payroll is all done far easier and seamlessly than it used to be – certainly compared with when I joined Lloyds Bank in 1988.

For personal clients, using the latest technology, banks can apply for personal loans, residential and Buy-to-Let mortgages with technology, using algorithms and scraping data from various sources

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making the decision. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for businesses looking to access finance.

In times of need, it can be extremely difficult for a SME to secure the financing required for their business, whether that be a commercial mortgage, an overdraft facility, a small business loan or more specialist areas such as development finance or a bridging loan. High street banks, challenger banks and specialist lenders can only offer their suite of products and support clients who fit their criteria, and this process is often not very transparent. Furthermore, many clients don’t have a bank

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Professional Services – and this is true when it comes to brokers. In strong market conditions, general brokers can successfully purport to be specialists when in fact they are not, but they can still get deals completed as there is a strong lender appetite. This is certainly not the case in a poor or uncertain market.

The pandemic has brought with it drastic changes to the lender trading landscape in the commercial and specialist marketplaces. Many have limited the brokers they will deal with to the select few that have consistently provided quality business. Most have changed criteria and a number have stopped lending altogether due to legacy issues.

‘In times of need, it can be extremely difficult for a SME to secure the financing required for their business’ manager these days, so trying to route through to the correct person to assist feels like mission impossible.

The pandemic-induced changes to the specialist lending arena

Over the last decade, the need for a specialist broker that uses a broad panel of lenders with an intrinsic knowledge of both the marketplace, and the specific requirements of each lender, has increased immensely. As with any sector, there can be good and bad

Don’t give up – the right lending solution is out there Many clients who seek finance believe that if their bank say no that they are not a fundable proposition. This is not the case.

There are some varied and

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wonderful solutions out there and a good broker will often use more than one lender to tailor a solution to a client’s needs. My advice for a client requiring specialist finance would be to engage with a specialist broker and not a general one. This way, once they understand the client’s requirements, they will approach the right lender for the client’s profile that provides products that satisfies requirements. I would also strongly suggest avoiding brokers that charge up-front fees.

The ARMCo Group of companies is a relationship-driven business that provides our clients with specialist finance brokering among a number of other collaborative businesses that add additional value to almost every transaction by specialising in certain areas. This way we can adapt to a client’s requirements in many ways, ensuring the best possible outcome.

The landscape of finance has changed forever. The days of leading banks being a one-stopshop has long gone, and has been replaced by brokers who provide an across-the-market solution.

Don’t try a push a square block through a round hole - source a tailored solution from a specialist, but make sure you choose the right one.

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Communications & Marketing

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Marketing on

Facebook Facebook isn’t just for sharing holiday snaps or reminding you of a long-lost acquaintance’s birthday – for small business owners, it can be a brilliant and easy way of marketing your business.

Chamberlink explores some simple and effective ways to utilise your Facebook page as a branding tool.

Posting with purpose If you’re utilising Facebook as a business, it’s not enough to post what you like and when you like it – that strategy won’t gain you very much traction. Instead, you should go forth with the idea that every post should have a purpose beyond content for the sake of it. To post with purpose, you need to identity what you want your content will achieve i.e. what action do you want your followers to take? With that in mind, you should then think about what kind of post best serves that purpose; for example, text posts are good for generating conversations and should be used to ask a question/ask for feedback, while photo posts are better at grabbing the attention of the scrolling user.

Unless you are jumping on a timely, viral trend (in which speed is of the essence lest you miss the boat!) you should consider adopting a content calendar. With this, you can pre-plan your posts and use a scheduling tool to autopost your content. This can help free up your time and take the stress out of coming up with new ideas every day.

Groups Being active in groups relevant to your business/target customers is a great, organic way to market yourself and your business, drive engagement back to your page and generate new leads. The Facebook algorithm recognises high-engagement users and will make their posts more visible, so you can gain increased visibility by regularly posting useful content to groups. They key word here is useful – be careful not to be flagged as spam.

Video content Photo posts might be more popular than text posts, but in recent years, video content has surpassed photos as the best way of grabbing attention and boosting engagement. And it’s clear to see why – videos can be used to communicate directly to your audience, offering a more casual and personal way for customers

to get to know your brand. Videos can also provide a behind-the-scenes look at your business – and, in a world in which customers increasingly value strong business ethics and corporate social responsibility; video content allows you to demonstrate your transparency and values. Best of all, you don’t need to invest in high-tech equipment to create good videos content – short videos can be filmed on your phone and uploaded with ease.

Optimisation When people are in need of a new product or service, they typically turn to the internet to find what they looking for. Therefore, your Facebook page should contain all of the information a potential customer might need – not only your contact details and opening hours, but also reviews and images or videos of your product/service in use. Your cover photo and profile picture should be inviting and clearly show off your brand, and you should provide clickable links for your website and phone number so you can be reached with ease. If you don’t provide enough information, customers won’t waste their time looking for it and will quickly move on.

Extra tools Facebook offers extra tools for business pages that will help you manage your page more effectively.

• Facebook Business Manager is described as “a one-stop-shop to manage business tools, business assets and employee access to these assets” – among other benefits, it serves as the central place to track and monitor the effectiveness of your Facebook ads, and allows you to control multiple users’ access to other online resources such as your company Instagram account. You can grant access to your staff, allowing them to handle your online marketing and effectively freeing up your valuable time.

• Facebook Insights measures audience engagements through such metrics as likes, reach and engagement. It can also track how many people unfollow your page – essentially, Facebook Insights help you determine which kind of posts work for you, and which don’t.

• Facebook Chatbots will help you connect quickly and efficiently with potential customers. Using automated AI messaging software, a chatbot will reply instantly to queries or questions, identifying needs and providing customer care.

Advertising If your budget allows for it, you will find that it is relatively easy to start an advert campaign on Facebook. Using the Facebook Ads Manager, you can choose your ad objective, set your budget and schedule and identify your target audience, which will help get your ad in front of the right people. You can also set ‘brand safety’ parameters, which will automatically exclude any type of content that you deem inappropriate to appear alongside your advert.

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Communications & Marketing

Marketing communications:

vanity or sanity?

By David Mitchell, managing director of The Marketing People and vicepresident of Cannock Chase Chamber of commerce

t is mid-April as I write about marketing and communications (Marcoms) and ponder how in one page, I can help answer the myriad of questions that both B2C and B2B businesses have today.

Many articles, blogs, webinars and statistics are available on, and offline that relate to specific Marcom disciplines that make up overall marketing communications; for instance, the above mentioned are content marketing and earned media/PR and apply to both B2B and B2C as part of an overall strategy. These, in turn, assist and support other areas of Marcoms, such as inbound marketing, social media marketing and SEO. I can see that this particular piece will become another one of those lists.

Stating what you must do to survive and thrive in today's economy,

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which probably wouldn’t be of much help by adding more things to do that you will “around to” at some point or dismiss as all this high-level marketing stuff only applies to big business, and for many regional business owners who don't have an in-house marketing agency, department or qualified marketing staff marketing becomes time-sapping and may consider price matching instead as a quick win.

OK, you can search for what Marcoms is, what strategies are there for B2B and B2C and get your lists.

Now you have your list, how do you go about using the required channels to market and achieve your particular business objectives.

Marketing. And you're off. You can do this stuff. You have been doing it anyway before and during the pandemic. You have a website and blog, chat facility, social pages set, LinkedIn business and personal page. You are using Facebook and Google paid ads, following what Google and Facebook say, boosting ads, automating your search ads etc. Feels good to be doing something and getting stuff out there, using Chat facility, phone and Zoom, Teams and messenger meetings as part of your conversational marketing. So do

more to obtain those conversations, and it should work, right!

The strategies for marcoms you now have for reference are reliant on content. You also know there is a lot of noise, unrelated content that is pushed to you, you find on every channel and touchpoint in the digital space. How do you know if what you are spending time, money and effort on is working? Or is it just more noise. What metrics are you using to identify what is and isn’t working? How you cut through the noise and start building relationships, sales, maintaining customers, and getting those customers to refer you.

‘What do they need to see and hear to make them choose your brand?’

Vanity metrics - The feel-good metrics, impressions, likes, time on site etc., fulfil your vanity, but does it correlate to return on investment.

Do they show if they achieved the required goal, converted to a customer? They can help inform but only show part of the story. Good for Brand awareness, but do you have a brand or just a logo, and a brand strategy, tone of voice and messaging to stand out from your

competition, be aligned with your target customers, capitalise on attention and bring viewers through the sales funnel.

Look to improve your marketing investments, your time, your teams time and costs, your providers time and costs, your advertising budget.

Before you continue to add to the noise, take a step back from the marketing stage. Look at premarketing.

Put yourself in your customer’s shoes. What do they need to see and hear to make them choose your brand? What experience will they have overall from the first contact to becoming a customer and then an advocate? What channels are they using to engage with your products or services, are you there with them providing the right content to attract, engage, convince and convert them? There is little point in planning automation, omnichannel, or other marketing strategies if you don't have the premarketing sorted. Time spent at this stage is proven to return on investment, setting out your goals, checking against the plan, using insights gathered to tweak as you progress and refine your marcoms to suit.

Turnover is vanity – or in this case, views, likes is vanity, cash is sanity, period.

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Sector Focus

Business Travel

Business bouncing back

Sector Focus The latest news from the sectors that matter to business

National Express buses keep Brum on the move

Getting back to work: There are now more buses on the roads of the West Midlands

The region’s biggest transport company, National Express West Midlands, has been running buses safely all through the past year, but as Birmingham starts to come out of lockdown, the operator is doing everything it can to encourage people out of their cars and onto public transport.

As part of its efforts, the company has increased the number of buses in service across the region, alongside other initiatives, according to commercial director Chris Gibbens.

He said: “National Express is ready when our customers want to join us back on the bus - or if people’s circumstances have changed and they’re trying out the bus for the first time.

“As of 18 April 2021, we’re increasing the number of buses we’re running - in fact, we’re putting more buses out in service than we usually would to make sure everyone can travel while safely social distancing.

“We’re still carrying out our enhanced cleaning regime that focuses on touchpoints, and cleaners will be jumping on board at town centres and bus stations to 54 CHAMBERLINK May 2021

give buses an extra wipe down mid-service.

“And our cleaners ‘fog’ every bus every night with aerosol disinfection that contains a highperformance antiviral solution.”

National Express has worked with a Dublin technology start-up company to create a handy little online tool to show the times of day when buses are at their quietest - for people who can choose when to travel.

‘To make bus travel even greener, National Express is investing millions in zeroemission vehicles’ The big question in the world of work is whether people will go back to the office. According to a Transport for West Midlands survey, a fifth of people don’t know whether they would continue to work from home over the next three months, go back into their workplace, or do a mixture of both.

National Express West Midlands has created new flexible bus tickets for people who aren’t going into

their workplace five days a week at the moment. And the bus company has worked out that for many people, it makes no financial sense to run a car any more - even ‘Top Gear’s’ reasonably priced one.

The famous red Vauxhall Astra 1.6 - raced around the track by celebrities on the popular BBC show - costs £3,083 a year to run.

That’s £257 a month. Yet even For people working three days a week, the new National Express Flexifare provides 13 days’ travel a month for £45. That’s a saving of over £2,500 a year compared to your reasonably priced car.

Daljit Kalirai, sales director at National Express Bus, said: “National Express works with hundreds of companies in the West Midlands - including many Chamber members and patrons - to provide discounted bus travel via a bespoke online page which pushes tickets directly onto qualifying employees’ mobile phones. Our new flexible fares are included in this deal.

“For employers, making a travel plan and encouraging your staff to get the bus in to work is the quickest, easiest and cheapest way to hit your company CSR goals.

“And with Birmingham’s Clean Air Zone coming in June this year - and the city’s target for becoming carbon net zero set as 2030 - now is the time to make that commitment.”

To make bus travel even greener, National Express is investing millions in zero-emission vehicles.

Mr Gibbens added: “In February 2020, National Express pledged never to buy another diesel bus. We also promised that our entire 1,600strong fleet of buses will be zeroemission by 2030. We already run 19 fully electric double deckers every day between Birmingham and Solihull via Hall Green, and we’re very excited to be operating Birmingham City Council’s 20 hydrogen buses when they arrive later this year. We are also working closely with Transport for West Midlands to bid for Department for Transport funding for hundreds more hydrogen buses and the refuelling infrastructure that goes with them.

“We are extremely keen to get these out in service in time for the Commonwealth Games next year and are doing everything we can to make that happen. What a way to welcome the world to Birmingham in 2022.”

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Business Travel

Sector Focus

New routes: EasyJet

EasyJet announces new holidays from Birmingham Airport EasyJet has revealed details of new routes and holidays available from Birmingham Airport for this summer.

Starting from 29 June, flights and holidays will take off from Birmingham Airport to Majorca, Málaga and Alicante in Spain, Faro in Portugal, and Corfu in Greece.

All EasyJet holidays are ATOLprotected and include flights, accommodation, a 23kg bag allowance per person and transfers.

The new routes and holidays add to the extensive summer 2021 and summer 2022 portfolio already on sale via easyJet and easyJet holidays. Flights will include: - Birmingham to Málaga flights will operate twice weekly on Tuesdays and Saturdays from 29 June - Birmingham to Faro will operate three times per week on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays from 29 June - Birmingham to Alicante will operate three times per week on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays from 30 June - Birmingham to Majorca will operate three times per week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 3 July - Birmingham to Corfu will operate twice weekly on Thursdays and Sundays from 4 July Nick Barton, chief executive of Birmingham Airport, said: “We are

more than pleased that EasyJet will be adding additional leisure sun destinations direct from Birmingham Airport this summer.

“EasyJet already offers direct routes to Amsterdam, Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Geneva, so these additional sunshine routes demonstrate the strong demand in the region for both business and leisure travel and the carrier’s commitment to serving the Midlands.

‘Customers can now book with confidence even if their plans change’ “We are continuing to work with easyJet, looking at future route opportunities and an expansion of its services to ensure customers have a choice of destination, flexibility and price from Birmingham Airport.

“Customers can confidently book with easyJet with the reassurance that their flights and holidays are ATOL and ABTA protected.”

EasyJet have introduced flexible customer policies under what it calls its ‘protection promise’ scheme, meaning that customers can book now with the confidence that if their plans change, so can their booking.

EasyJet now operates up to ten routes from Birmingham, offering services to a range of city and beach destinations across the UK and Europe.

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Sector Focus

Finance

Support for IPOs at a high despite Covid-19 Roger Buckley: Sense of optimism

M&A market rises despite pandemic The Midlands mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market is as ‘buoyant’ as ever, after deal volumes rebounded in the first quarter of 2021.

Despite the pandemic, the advisory division of BDO LLP has seen a rise in transactions in the first three months of the year, advising on 50 deals in the Midlands. This compares to 41 deals advised on in Q4 2020, with a notable proportion of transactions in the region attracting private equity investment.

The firm said that this demonstrated a ‘continued appetite from private equity houses to invest significant amounts of capital’ in the regional market.

BDO said the strength of corporate transactions in the first quarter of 2021 had been driven by corporates continuing to consolidate in key markets and dumping non-core businesses.

The market was also boosted by the sale of a number of businesses hoping to beat anticipated increases in Capital Gains Tax in the Spring Budget.

Roger Buckley, M&A partner at BDO, said: “Amid high levels of uncertainty, we saw many reasons for optimism in the region in 2020 – so much so that it created a strong expectation that M&A activity levels would rebound towards the end of the year and into 2021.

“That sense of optimism is being reflected in the pattern of M&A deals our Midlands team is seeing in the market, with the Industrials and services sectors, showing particular robustness as the market stands up to the challenges being faced.”

In Q1 2021, the Midlands team acted as lead advisers on deals including the sale of Mar Risk Services Limited (MarRS) to Costero Holdings, the sale of Allegion plc subsidiary QMI Door Solutions in the UAE to HLD Group in the UK and the sale of HVAC company Mikrofill 2000 Limited to Stuart Turner Limited.

56 CHAMBERLINK May 2021

Despite the coronavirus crisis, private companies seeking to go public have found plenty of support so far in 2021.

According to ‘big four’ accountant EY, UK listings experienced a very strong start to the year with more funds raised in the opening quarter of 2021 than in any other opening quarter since 2007, and the most raised in a single quarter since 2014.

Both the main market and Alternative Investment Market (AIM) have built on the resurgence of activity seen in the second half of 2020, with 12 IPOs (initial public offering) raising £5.2bn on the main market and eight IPOs raising £441m on AIM. In the first quarter fund raising achieved a total of £5.6bn, more than half of the £9.4bn raised in the whole of 2020. Total funds raised in 2021’s first quarter were the largest of any opening quarter since the £5.8bn of new money raised in 2007, and the most raised in any quarter since the £6.9bn raised in the second quarter of 2014.

The performance during the first three months of 2021 is in stark contrast to the same period in 2020, when there were just three IPOs on the main market and two

Scott McCubbin: Positive performance

on AIM, which raised a combined total of £615m – a value nine times lower than this year’s opening quarter.

Scott McCubbin, EY Partner and UK IPO leader, said: “The UK has had the strongest opening quarter for IPOs for 14 years, with the markets successfully weathering the effects of Brexit and bouncing back from the stall in activity caused by the onset of the pandemic a year ago.

“With an effective vaccine rollout underway, momentum and

confidence in the UK IPO market should continue to build, but future growth may vary depending on the sector.”

Confidence in the UK’s IPO markets as an exit route has been reinforced by the significant private equity (PE) activity in the quarter.

Three PE-backed IPOs (the same number as in the whole of 2020) were responsible for 41 per cent of funds raised in Q1 2021, with the biggest, Dr Martens, raising £1.5bn.

The UK’s status as a tech market has also attracted growing interest from funders.

In the first week of the second quarter, the UK saw its biggest tech listing on record.

Mr McCubbin: “Given the tech sector is of increasing importance for both the IPO market and wider economic growth, the UK’s ability to attract tech IPOs is likely to be under scrutiny.

“The reputation of the UK as a tech IPO market will in part depend on the performance analysis of listings that fall within this broad sector, which includes both traditional tech companies and those that heavily rely on technology. Such a positive performance in the first quarter shows confidence in the strong fundamentals of the UK IPO market.”

SMEs have eyes on investment More than a quarter of SMEs (27 per cent) plan to invest more in their businesses in the year ahead compared to a typical pre-pandemic year, according to a survey by Virgin Money.

These findings were reported in the Virgin Money ‘Business Pulse’, which provides a comprehensive insight into the performance of the UK’s SMEs and the environment in which they operate.

The Business Pulse surveyed 1,002 SME decision makers through Censuswide during the first two months of this year.

Overall, the report marked an optimistic future for businesses’ in the upcoming year and revealed a large focus on growth.

The business creation indicator was at a record high in the last three months of 2020 as the annual growth rate in the number of registered companies surged to 8.3 per cent.

This underlined by data from Companies House that shows the pandemic has seen more than 90,000 more businesses created in 2020 than in 2019, highlighting a growing confidence among entrepreneurs.

It was also found that more than a third (35 per cent) of SMEs plan to invest between £10,000 and £10m this year, a rise on 32 per cent from 2020.

While the relaxation of lockdown measures saw the economy bounce back with quarterly GDP up 16.1 per cent, business performance and outlook fell again to 42.9 in Q4 when restrictions returned.

As a result of lower business performance, more than half (57 per cent) of SMEs reported currently having staff on furlough, with just one in five expected to be able to retain all furloughed employees after the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme comes to an end.

In more positive news, however, 18 per cent expect to take on more employees in 2021 and around a quarter say improvements in the economy will make them confident enough to expand their workforce and cater to pent up consumer demand.

Group business director at Virgin Money, Gavin Opperman, said: “It has been an incredibly challenging environment over the last 12 months, but our latest ‘Business Pulse’ shows that many firms have adapted with incredible pace to the new environment, demonstrating extreme resilience and innovation to navigate through the difficult landscape.

“While there are undoubtedly significant challenges ahead, many businesses remain optimistic and intend to invest for the future as the economy recovers.”

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Finance

Sector Focus

Bank receives high praise from staff Ethical banker Unity Trust Bank has been showered with praise by its employees in the 2020 Banking Standards Board (BSB) report.

In its fifth annual survey, more than 73,000 employees across 31 UK banks and building societies responded to the report, which provides a snapshot of workplace culture within the banking industry.

When asked to describe Unity, 95 per cent of the Birmingham bank’s employees felt that its purpose and values were meaningful to them, with ‘ethical’, ‘collaborative’ and ‘inclusive’ the most commonly used terms.

Furthermore, 98 per cent of employees said they were proud of how Unity Trust Bank had helped its customers and clients throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, with 85 per cent claiming that their health and wellbeing had been supported during the crisis.

The impact of the pandemic also spurred on the bank’s workforce, who continued to deliver a high

level of customer service despite having to quickly adapt to new ways of working.

Unity CEO Margaret Willis (pictured) said: “We joined the BSB in 2016, to demonstrate Unity’s commitment to help raise standards within the industry.

Positive culture derives from the top and we carefully analyse BSB’s results each year to identify ways in which we can improve as an organisation.

“We are extremely proud of our colleagues’ resilience and how they have supported each other throughout the last 12 months – it is a real testament to our culture and what we stand for as a business.

“As a purpose-led organisation, we work to instil a sense of genuine inclusivity for employees, from our tailored learning and development opportunities, support for professional qualifications, volunteering and fundraising programmes, to employee share schemes which align the interests of our people with those of the bank.”

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Sector Focus

Technology

Data protection expert joins Gateley as partner New tech to help golfers The famous Belfry Hotel best known for hosting the Ryder Cup - has introduced a new range of technology to help golfers with their practice sessions.

The North Warwickshire hotel is now offering golfers the chance to use its ‘Toptracer’ practice tool at its newly refurbished academy.

Toptracer, owned by Topgolf, uses video monitors in driving range bays, which are connected to cameras that track the flight of a ball and replicate it on a screen.

Anyone hitting a drive will also see a range of statistics about the shot, telling them how good (or bad) it was, including distance, speed, launch angle and shape.

Gateley Legal has appointed Toni Vitale as a partner in its commerce, media, and technology team.

Mr Vitale will provide clients with effective solutions on how to navigate data protection and privacy regulations, comply with rules and avoid and protect themselves from data breaches.

Mr Vitale has joined from JWM Solicitors, where he headed up their data protection team. He has also led data protection and information teams at Addleshaw Goddard and Winckworth Sherwood.

During his 30-year career as a technology, IT and digital media lawyer, Mr Vitale has advised clients across a wide range of data protection issues, including privacy, regulations, compliance, GDPR, net neutrality, cyber security and reputation management.

‘His skills, knowledge and expertise are something that more and more of our clients are looking for’ He said: “I was attracted to the role at Gateley Legal because the business is going from strength-to-strength and has a very impressive, broad client base – all

of whom have data protection and cyber needs.

“The group already has a strong data protection and reputation management team in place, but I want to collaborate with the Gateley Legal team to build on this even further. I look forward to playing an instrumental role in growing this part of the practice both regionally and nationally.”

Gateley Legal partner Paul Hayward said: “We’re really excited to welcome Toni and think he will add real value to the business and our clients.

“His skills, knowledge and expertise are something that more and more of our clients are looking for, as data and cyber breaches become increasingly common.”

Gateley Legal has expanded its data protection team over the last few years in line with the introduction of significant changes to UK data privacy laws.

The team advises a broad range of clients on data protection compliance, risks associated with data breaches, privacy, sharing agreements and more.

‘We can’t wait to start welcoming everyone back to the resort’ The Belfry says the system can be used by anyone, from beginners to frequent players.

It can be used for serious practice purposes, or simply for fun, as it can also be used to play various games, such as ‘Approach Shot Challenge’, where golfers can hit their best approach shot on nine different virtual golf holes, suitable for golfers and competitors.

Belfry Resorts general manager Chris Eigelaar said: “Toptracer Range transforms The Belfry into a sports entertainment destination, enhancing our golf technology offering and adding to our already top-class facilities.

“We can’t wait to start welcoming everyone back to the resort to experience our exciting new additions.”

The refurbished academy also has a new bar area, as well as a 34-bay floodlit driving range, putting green and short game area.

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Data protection expert: Toni Vitale

Events centre develops video conferencing solutions A conference and events centre has come up with some new solutions for virtual business meetings, after learning of some of the problems that the long-running pandemic has caused.

The events centre is Corporation Street-based Etc.venues, which says that among the issues plaguing business meetings taking place online are muted mics, frozen computer screens and awkward silences during virtual meetings.

To combat this, the business has come up with several solutions, including ‘Room in a Box’, which is a video conferencing solution which brings a small group together so they can collaborate easily, even if some attendees can’t be in the room.

The second is an event platform, the result of a partnership with event software provider, Glisser.

This brings larger in-person and remote groups together through interactive polls, quizzes and social feeds.

The third, developed with Encore, is a purposebuilt virtual stage that uses green screen technology to create an immersive experience for audiences.

Declan Cassidy, director of sales at Etc.venues, said: “After speaking with a number of clients over the past 12-months, we realised that there’s a lot of dissatisfaction and confusion in this space so we made it our mission to ensure hybrid meetings are as easy as one, two, three.”

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Business bouncing back

Retail

Sector Focus

Bullring to offer more to shoppers Bullring & Grand Central’s general manager, Stephanie Lacey, looks ahead to 2021 following the reopening of the iconic centre.

When we fully reopened our doors last month following the third lockdown period in 12 months, we were encouraged to see customers heading back into the centre in a safe and sensible way.

As anticipated some of our stores saw queues as they reached capacity, but were safely managed and we were able to provide our usual high standards and experience. We have a number of safety measures in place in order to deliver a safe and enjoyable visit for customers including enhanced cleaning procedures, hand sanitiser stations and a one-way navigation system are the centre.

We’ve known for a while that retail has been evolving in line with customer’s needs and demands,

and Covid has accelerated some of those changes. Customers are now looking for a more rounded experience when they visit our centre and that’s why we’re looking to introduce more leisure facilities to the scheme.

This month we hope, that in line with the government’s roadmap, the new Treetop Adventure Golf experience will open in the former Forever 21 unit. They are investing £2.5m to bring two indoor 18-hole mini golf courses to the West Mall as well as three new food and beverage offerings.

Also due to open soon is China’s largest hot pot restaurant chain, Haidilao. The 8,070sq ft restaurant in St Martin’s Square will be the brand’s first in the UK outside of

Retail Therapy

By Stephanie Lacey General Manager, Bullring & Grand Central

London and will include traditional hot pots at every table with customers being able to choose from the brand’s renowned soups.

The two new brands join other new retailers such as VSK Vietnamese Street Kitchen, Kate Spade and Peloton that have also

opened at the centre over the last 12 months. A continuous focus of ours is to ensure that we keep our offer fresh and exciting, we know that we need to give our customers a reason to keep coming back so the retail mix alongside events, mall enlivenment and commercialisation partnerships is key to helping to deliver the overall Bullring & Grand Central experience.

We hope that over the coming months, government guidance pending, we can unveil an events schedule to bring more enlivenment to our outdoor spaces whilst following social distancing protocols.

Finally, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everybody at Bullring & Grand Central who has kept essential stores and our food takeaway services open, along with keeping the centre clean while we’ve been in lockdown. We couldn’t have done it with you all.

New Italian restaurant opens in The Mailbox Italian restaurant Lucarelli has finally opened its doors at the The Mailbox in Birmingham.

The 140-cover restaurant was due to open last December, but the coronavirus crisis put paid to that.

The new restaurant occupies the former Red Peppers site at the rear of the Mailbox.

Among its features is an £80,000 outdoor terrace which has a retractable roof and heating. The terrace seats 24 and the outdoor paved area has seating for 16 under parasols.

A Lucarelli spokesman said: “We’re hugely excited to be opening Lucarelli at the Mailbox, in such a fantastic location. We hope to create a ‘go to’ destination restaurant which places the customer at the heart of everything we do.

“Our staff hail from various regions across Italy and have the knowledge and passion for creating delicious, authentic recipes that we’re confident our guests will love.

We look forward to welcoming diners for a safe and enjoyable experience with us”.

David Pardoe, head of retail, marketing and occupier engagement at the Mailbox, said: “Our canalside dining has always been incredibly popular with guests, and Lucarelli is the perfect addition to our existing selection of bars and restaurants.

“By continuing to bolster our leisure offer, we hope to continue to provide something different for our visitors.”

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Sector Focus

Legal

Sponsored by: Thursfields Solicitors

Insolvency rules extended

Include pets in your will

The extension of temporary measures to protect businesses and their directors during the coronavirus pandemic has been welcomed by corporate lawyer Sam Pedley.

Mr Pedley, a partner at Midlands law firm Mfg Solicitors, said businesses had been given vital ‘breathing space’, thanks to the extension of two insolvency measures until the end of June.

Measures brought in last summer as part of the UK Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 provided temporary protections during the coronavirus crisis.

One measure was the suspension of personal liability for ‘wrongful trading’, which has protected directors from being prosecuted if they fail to act in the best interests of their company’s creditors, once the business becomes insolvent.

That was meant to have ended on 30 April 2021, but has now been extended.

The other measure prohibits creditors filing winding-up petitions on the basis of statutory demands or where Covid-19 has had a financial effect on a company. That measure was meant to have expired at the end of March 2021 but has also been extended.

Mr Pedley, from Mfg’s commercial litigation department, said: “The extension of these temporary provisions provides ongoing breathing space to companies whilst coronavirus-related restrictions remain in place, ensuring that an immediate cliff edge is avoided.

“Both measures go hand-inhand when it comes to protecting commercial tenants who might otherwise have been confronted with a raft of statutory demands this spring.

“The extension until 30 June covers businesses until the planned end of legal limits on social contact, currently set at 21 June 2021. Whether this is the final extension remains to be seen, but for now this is a much needed lifeline for businesses who find their ability to trade severely hampered by things that are completely beyond their control.”

A staggering 3.2 million of UK households have acquired a pet during lockdown, and lawyers are now encouraging owners to update their wills to cover the new member of the family.

The surge in pet-owning homes takes the national total to 17 million, according to the Pet Food Manufacturers’ Association, and lawyers say owners should make sure these animals are provided for after their death.

Private capital expert Paul Davies from national law firm Clarke Willmott says adding a pet to your will is simple, and can save a lot of stress later down the line.

He said: “Everyone knows that a pet is not just for Christmas and it’s not just for lockdown either. Taking ownership of a pet is a big decision and part of that is considering what would happen to your pet when you die.

“A pet can be left under the terms of your will and there are various options available. The most formal is a trust in the owner’s will with trustees given a sum of money to provide for the pet’s care and asked to find a home for them. This needs to be carefully drafted by a legal expert.

“Another option is to give the pet to an individual in the will with a request that they provide a home for the pet.

“The request would not be legally binding so thought would have to be given as to what happens if the person can’t or won’t look after the pet.

“The least formal option is a letter of

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wishes accompanying the will setting out how you would like the executors to deal with your pet. This can be updated without changing the will but is not legally binding, although it would have moral force.

“It might also be possible to ask a charity to rehome your pet. For example, the Dogs’ Trust operates a scheme whereby the owner completes a canine care card. Someone is chosen by the owner as the Dog Guardian who can pass over ownership of the dog to the Dogs’ Trust who will then attempt to find a new home.

“One of your executors may be the best choice of Dog Guardian and it would be a good idea to include these instructions in your will.

The owner might like to leave a legacy to the charity rehoming the pet.

“A similar service for cats is offered by Cats’ Protection and both charities pledge never to put down an animal because a new home can’t be found.”

Clarke Willmott recently developed a free, online tool called ‘Which Will?’ to assist people looking into making or updating a will. The tool prompts the user to think about what is important to them when making a will and recommends which will best meets their needs.

Paul Davies: Don’t forget about your pets when you shuffle off this mortal coil

Charities must delegate authority It is crucial for all charities to have an official delegated authority in place so that their trustees are legally protected, according to Thursfields Solicitors.

The warning is part of new advice that the Midlands law firm is issuing to the third sector on legacy income and protecting charity trustees.

Katherine Ellis, a senior associate solicitor in the charities and communities sector team at Thursfields, said it was important for all charities to have an official delegated authority in place to avoid possible personal liabilities.

Ms Ellis said: “A delegated authority confirms which charity employees may carry out which specific tasks or make certain decisions on behalf of the charity’s trustees.

“Without this, even simple tasks such as approving estate accounts, acknowledging receipt of legacy income, or making decisions about

Katherine Ellis: Trustees should have written agreement about their obligations

an estate and any arising issues should not be undertaken by anyone other than the trustees.

“To do otherwise presents risks for not only the trustees but also the employees involved as, even if they were acting in good faith, both could find themselves personally liable if an issue were to arise later down the line.”

Ms Ellis explained that it was unlikely to be feasible or practical for charity trustees to oversee every action that might arise.

She said this is why it was imperative that an official delegated authority document existed for the protection of the charity’s trustees, employees, and the whole charity.

Ms Ellis said: “This document clearly sets out which charity employee or employees are permitted to undertake which tasks, and how far their powers of decision-making extend.

“It is also essential that existing forms of delegated authority are reviewed and updated periodically.

“Also, trustees may wish to bring certain aspects of the legacy management role under their control, or to rely more heavily on specialist staff to oversee additional aspects of the legacy management process, allowing them greater decision-making scope.”

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Legal

Consider the legal requirements of new workplace practices businesses are starting to implement new ways of Employers looking to update working practices and working, including increased remote working. associated policies could be taken to the cleaners, if “If place of work is contractual in nature, then they are not careful. consultation will likely be required before changes can Employment law specialists Pinsent Masons have be made. Unlike non-contractual polices, any warned that legal action might follow if employers do contractual term can only be changed if there is an not consult their workforce and carry out risk existing contractual right to do so, by agreement, or by assessments. terminating the existing contract and offering reA number of organisations have already revealed engagement on the new contractual terms. intentions for permanent changes to these policies, as “A refocus on health and safety obligations will also firms begin to drift back to work after lockdown. become more important, especially where employers Among them is working from home – but Pinsent encourage staff to work from home on an lawyers say that there are a number of legal ongoing basis. requirements employers must ensure they follow “Employers have a duty of care for the before implementing new working health and safety of their workforce, arrangements. regardless of whether staff are officeWorkplace policies and ‘place of work’ in based or working remotely. It is particular, may be a contractual term and if important to carry out work station so, employers are likely to have to consult assessments and consider employees before making permanent safeguarding the mental health of changes. home workers in good time before Additionally, organisations must ensure they policies are implemented. continue to meet their health and safety “At the same time, employers obligations, which is challenging with should not rush into making more people working from permanent decisions without home. having gauged staff Amy Hextell, an employment preferences and properly law specialist at Pinsent, said: thinking through the steps “The last 12 months have needed to ensure health allowed companies to see the and safety of those benefits of working from Amy Hextell: Employers shouldn’t working from home.” home, and a number of

Sector Focus Lawyers advise on housing deal Law firm Bevan Brittan, led by a partner from its Birmingham office, has advised housing association Catalyst Housing Group on its link-up with Rosebery Housing Association.

The link-up – described as a ‘partnership’ - means Rosebery will operate as a subsidiary of Catalyst, but with its own board and management team, operating within a defined geographic area.

Catalyst owns and manages 34,000 homes in London and the South East and Rosebery has around 2,700 in Epsom and the surrounding areas.

The partnership will deliver 2,000 new homes in Rosebery’s area of operation within 10 years.

Bevan Brittan partner and social housing specialist Sarah Greenhalgh, who is based in the firm’s Birmingham office, led the 20-strong team that advised Catalyst on the partnership.

She said: “ It is enormously satisfying to play a part in a deal like this which will help to improve communities and provide much needed homes.”

rush into making changes

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

Checking whether ‘The Price Is Right’ when buying or selling a business ‘The Price Is Right’ might be a clichéd game show title, but it’s a fundamental point to get clear from the outset of negotiations for anyone buying or selling a business.

As deals activity has bucked the Covid crisis and continued to flourish, with many potential buyers and sellers considering their options.

When businesses are being bought and sold, everyone’s focus is ultimately on achieving the best deal for them but agreeing terms to buy or sell a business is not always as clear cut as it may at first appear.

Often negotiating parties will agree a headline price with very little detail as to what this includes or what it is based on, and this is particularly an issue if you are buying or selling a limited company.

Our experience shows that flushing out the detail of the deal terms as early as possible will ultimately save our clients time,

costs and avoid misunderstandings as the deal progresses.

Is the deal price fixed?

Often the deal price first stated is a headline starting point and not the actual cash price the seller ultimately receives, the headline price is often accompanied by the phrase “cash free/debt free”.

This can mean that the buyer will require various deductions to be made, such as bank loans or overdrafts outstanding at completion.

Or a seller may have large cash reserves in the business and will expect this cash in addition to the headline deal price.

To avoid misunderstandings, state explicitly what you consider to be included and excluded from the deal price quoted so that expectations are clear from the outset.

What’s the price based on?

Is the headline price based on the assumption that at completion the

net asset position of the business will be no worse than set out in the last set of full accounts provided to the buyer prior to it making its offer?

Or, does the buyer require a specific minimum net asset target to be achieved at completion? If so, make that target amount clear and state also whether there is an expectation of a minimum amount of cash being left in the company.

What are ‘completion accounts’?

The practicalities of how a final adjusted price is established should be discussed at the same time as agreeing the price.

It can often be a requirement that ‘completion accounts’ are drawn up to establish any price adjustments to be required to reflect apportioning of precompletion income and expenditure. These are accounts drawn up to the date of completion as though that date were the business year end.

They seek to be as accurate as possible about apportioning income and expenditure to the period pre-completion, and enable a level of accuracy to be achieved in finalising the price payable.

A deal will always progress more smoothly if all the above issues on are the table from the outset of negotiations.

We will guide you through the entire process of buying or selling your business, from the point of initial negotiations to final completion and always look to ensure that as far as possible the deal you agreed is the deal you get.

For further advice contact Fiona Boxwell, Corporate Associate Director on 0345 20 73 72 8 or fboxwell@thursfields.co.uk.

May 2021 CHAMBERLINK 61

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Sector Focus Harvey completes BT hub fit-out Henley-in-Arden based commercial decoration company Harvey UK has completed the decorating and fit-out of BT's Birmingham strategic hub at Three Snowhill in Birmingham.

Almost 4,000 BT employees have begun to move into the landmark building in the heart of the city's business district. BT is taking over most floors of the 17storey building and will become one of Birmingham's biggest employers.

Harvey UK carried out all of the painting, fit-out and finishing work on the new offices, which form part of BT's ‘Better Workplace Programme.’

Harvey UK managing director Tony Harvey said they were delighted to be involved in such an exciting project on behalf of developers Overbury, which represented a new sector for the family-owned firm.

He said: It is fantastic to see BT making such a major investment and commitment to Birmingham and we are delighted to play our part in ensuring that these offices will be a fabulous place in which to work. The standard of finishing in these offices is of a very high standard.”

Established in 1966, Harvey UK is a family-owned finishing and maintenance specialist. It has a wide portfolio of blue-chip client projects including JLR, Muller, the NHS, Kier, Balfour Beatty, Skanska, Lendlease and the Royal Air Force.

Work starts on flats at St Paul’s Work has begun on transforming an old manufacturing site in central Birmingham into new housing.

More than 300 flats are being built at St Paul’s Quarter, a joint venture by Galliard Homes and Apsley House Capital, on a four-acre site in Newhall Street, formerly occupied by engineering firm AE Harris.

The scheme will also include 100,000 sq ft of commercial space, including offices and shops, as well as a new public square in the centre of the scheme.

The Galliard Apsley Partnership is also working on another scheme in Birmingham, its Soho Loop site, which will see another 750 new homes being built.

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Property

Law firm advises on social housing deal One of the country’s largest social housing providers has transferred 180 homes and 11 flats to a firm that specialises in affordable shared ownership properties.

The deal will see the 191 shared ownership homes move from Orbit Group to Residential Secure Income plc (ReSI).

The deal represents a £16m investment funded through ReSI’s £300m 45-year debt facility, and brings the organisation’s total shared ownership portfolio to 549 homes.

Law firm Clarke Willmott – which has an office in Birmingham - advised Orbit, which has been a client of the firm since January 2019. A multi-disciplinary team was involved in the transaction.

Vicky Kells, partner in the commercial property team specialising in the affordable housing sector, helped to lead the deal.

‘Shared ownership allows a purchaser to buy a property with a lower deposit’ She said: “We were delighted to work collaboratively with Orbit and Jones Lang LaSalle on this sale, which involved input from across our national social housing team, including property, leasehold and asset management, planning, corporate, charity law, tax and employment.

“It was great to support Orbit through the sale, which was part of its portfolio densification strategy, driving operational efficiencies for Orbit and supporting the delivery of more affordable new homes.”

Kary Withers, managing director of Clarke Willmott’s property services division, said: “This was a great outcome for our client and a fantastic effort by our multi-disciplinary team who worked hard to get it over the line.

“We look forward to continuing working with Orbit in the future.”

Shared ownership allows a purchaser to buy a property with a lower deposit requirement and lower annual costs, making the homes more affordable.

Hand-over: Graham Workman and Phil Morgan from Living Space, Sue Carpenter and Anne Murray from Accord and Zoe Jones from Waldeck, a consultancy assisting with the project

Affordable homes handed over Living Space Housing has handed the first tranche of homes over to Accord Housing at a new development located off Stadium Way, Hadley, Telford.

A total of 26 affordable homes are being constructed at the 1.3acre brownfield site, which has a development value of £3.6m.

All of the homes on the development are affordable rent.

The development land borders Hadley United Services Bowling Club and was previously used as a camping and caravan centre.

The scheme is the result of partnership with Telford and Wrekin Council, which received £884,000 funding from Homes England.

Paul Breen, commercial director at Living Space, said: “Delivering handcrafted new homes while

keeping everyone socially distanced and safe has been no easy feat.

“All the project team is delighted with the quality of the street scenes that have been created here, which has regenerated and brought new life to this brownfield site.

“Having handed over the first tranche of homes, we are now working at pace to complete all the remaining works, so that all 26 affordable homes can be ready for occupation.”

Living Space secured planning consent in late 2019 to develop the 14 two and three-bedroom houses and 12 one and two-bedroom apartments.

Sue Carpenter, senior regeneration officer at Accord, said: “We are delighted to

complete these much-needed high-quality affordable homes for local people. There is a high demand for new housing in Telford – this scheme will deliver an affordable option for families and individuals looking to rent, helping to meet local housing demands and create happy homes.”

Solihull-based Living Space Housing was launched in 2019 and is currently constructing seven affordable housing developments across middle England, with a number of additional sites in the planning system.

Three of its live sites are in Telford. The combined construction value of its development portfolio is in excess of £72m, which equates to 580 affordable houses, apartments and bungalows.

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Sector Focus

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Manufacturing

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Manufacturing

Pandemic leads to rise in sub-standard parts The number of sub-standard parts supplied to the world’s manufacturing industries has rocketed during the coronavirus crisis.

Birmingham engineering company G&P, which specialises in the inspection and rectification of parts supplied to some of the world’s leading manufacturers, says it witnessed a 73 per rise in faulty parts during 2020.

The firm reworked more than 27 million parts for its customers during the year to bring them up to scratch, and removed a further seven million substandard components from the manufacturing supply chain altogether.

‘2020 presented new challenges with a massive disruption to working practices’ G&P said the huge rise in substandard parts had happened without there being any increase in the numbers of parts being produced and tested.

Quality street: a part undergoes inspection at G&P

G&P’s chairman, Geoff Cousins, said: “2020 presented new challenges with a massive disruption to working practices, such as social distancing, travel restrictions, interruptions to supply chains, remote working and different shift patterns, to name a few.

“Under these circumstances it was even more important to maintain robust quality protocols, and G&P was able to improve the level of service and results, reworking an increased number of parts to OEM (original equipment

manufacturer) standard.

“G&P’s core focus is to help manufacturers and suppliers increase quality standards and improve efficiency, whether it’s achieved through the utilisation of G&P’s innovative technology, a flexible and rapidly deployed workforce or tried-and-tested inspection methods.”

G&P provides independent inspection, rectification and technical services to a number of sectors, including automotive and aerospace.

Sector Focus Brewer opts for renewable energy Carling brewer Molson Coors – which has a major production site in Burton – has become the first UK brewer to make its products using renewable electricity.

The firm – which has a major production site in Burton – is famous for its Carling brand, which will now be made using electricity produced at a wind farm in South Yorkshire. The electricity will come from RWE’s Tween Bridge wind farm, where it operates 22 turbines.

The electricity will power Molson Coor’s other UK sites at Tadcaster, Rock and Suffolk.

The deal with RWE means that all of the one billion pints Molson Coors produces in the UK in an average year will be made with electricity from entirely renewable sources. In an average year Molson Coors consumes the same amount of electricity as around 25,000 households.

Fraser Thomson, operations director, Western Europe at Molson Coors Beverage Company said: “One of our values at Molson Coors is taking accountability, and that includes being responsible for the impact our business has on the environment. That’s why we’ve made such bold commitments to play our part in tackling climate change – because it is the right thing to do.”

Cabinet maker secures partnership A manufacturer of heated display cabinets for the catering industry has appointed a local firm as its partner for parts and accessories.

Flexeserve has partnered with First Choice Catering Spares, a Cannock firm that has been supplying spare parts to the catering industry for more than 20 years.

Jamie Joyce (pictured) CEO at Flexeserve, said: “Our equipment is incredibly robust, because of the high-quality accredited components we use, our expertise in assembly and rigorous approach to testing.

“However, when a replacement part is required, it tends to be needed quickly. That’s because our units have become such a vital part of our customers’ operations that they want to avoid any downtime. With First Choice assisting us with parts distribution, we can be sure that our customers, distributors, and service and maintenance partners will continue to receive genuine Flexeserve parts and in the most appropriate timescale and delivery method for them.”

Steven McLaren, head of manufacturer partnerships at First Choice, said:“It’s a proud moment for all involved at First Choice Group, to be officially partnering with such an innovative company as Flexeserve.

“We can now offer their customers the efficiency and availability of OEM parts stock on some of the most pioneering foodservice equipment solutions. Similarly, Flexeserve will see a significant investment in UK stockholding, together with award-winning customer service. They will also be able to take full advantage of our infrastructure, built solely around the supply of genuine OEM parts.”

Adi takes home award A Birmingham engineering firm has further cemented its reputation as a socially responsible business after winning a sustainability award.

Kings Norton based Adi Group was named ‘best performer’ in the wholesale, services and professionals category in an annual awards scheme run by rankings platform EcoVadis.

EcoVadis rates firms on their record in a number of fields, including environmental, labour and human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement.

The idea is to demonstrate who are the ‘good guys’ in industry, and so far EcoVadis has rated more than 75,000 businesses worldwide.

Adi was itself rated by EcoVadis last year, and was granted

‘platinum’ status, after scoring highly in the above areas, placing the company the top one per cent of businesses in the world for corporate social responsibility.

Adi CEO Alan Lusty said: “We’re really pleased to receive further recognition from EcoVadis.

“As a vital support cog in the world of manufacturing, our remit has always been to help minimise process and operational inefficiency.

“During this global pandemic, such aspects have been highlighted even further, as key sectors such as food and beverage and biosciences have been sent into production overdrive to help support the UK’s fightback.

“Adi has led the charge in ensuring clients maximise outputs while minimising production downtime.”

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Sector Focus

Sport

The Business of Sport New basketball partnership Broadway Academy School in Perry Barr is forming a partnership with Birmingham’s biggest community basketball club.

The academy is joining forces with the City of Birmingham Rockets Basketball Club, to take advantage of the latter’s track record of producing elite athletes.

Utilising its existing national and international partnerships, Rockets will endeavour to help Academy players develop by finding the most suitable career path for them.

City of Birmingham Rockets managing director Rob Palmer said: “We are really proud to work alongside a supportive educational partner. We look forward to developing a longterm partnership that will produce high level athletes and students based at Broadway Academy School.”

66 CHAMBERLINK May 2021

Students sign with Aston Villa Two of Birmingham Metropolitan College’s brightest soccer starlets have signed on the dotted line for Aston Villa Women’s Football Club.

The pair are 18 year-old sports science students Freya Gregory and Isobel Goodwin, who will be hoping that they can help boost the fortunes of the struggling Women’s Super League club.

Freya and Isobel started on the Level 3 sports academy course delivered by BMet’s Sutton Coldfield College and Aston Villa FC last September, and were based at the latter’s Bodymoor Heath training ground.

Freya, a goal scoring winger, is a lifelong Villa fan, and said: “I am so happy to be now classed as an official professional player.

“My experience at BMet and the club has taught me to be more resilient and to strive to be the best that I can be, which are key attributes that will carry me through my career.”

Signing on: Freya (left) and Isobel

Isobel, a striker, said: “I am really buzzing and so thankful to BMet and the club for helping me get to where I am today.

“My future now looks really bright. I am so looking forward to playing against a variety of great teams and building up my profile on the competitive field.”

Richard Steeples, a sport and exercise lecturer at BMet and

goalkeeper coach for Aston Villa Women’s first team, added: “It is fantastic news to hear that two of our star players have been able to officially reach a professional standard due to their skills, hard work and determination.

“Both players have successfully combined their footballing abilities with a desire to learn through education, which has all paid off.”

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Member Profile

Member Section

Chamber Insight Focus on a member

Name: Wendy Merricks Company: Jumar Job Title: CEO

What does your company do?

Jumar is, essentially, two businesses that complement each other: one is technology recruitment, and the other provides I.T. consultancy and software development. As a Microsoft Gold Partner, we support clients in implementation and integration of CRM, Sharepoint, and other technologies.

For many businesses, the last twelve months has resulted in revenue reduction and therefore growth will be a priority as the pandemic subsides.

What has surprised you most in your job?

My most recent surprise has been the way that everyone seamlessly adapted to home working and stepping up without complaint.

This camaraderie and commitment has really empowered people to flourish.

How did it all start?

Jumar traces its history to the 1990s when I built a successful IT recruitment company, later acquiring a software business, creating one of the country’s fastest growing tech companies.

What advice would you give to someone starting out?

Keep your business simple and focused. Don’t overcomplicate: always stick to what you’re good at. Don’t get drawn into the flattery of going outside your area of expertise, as it weakens your brand. A strong brand will grow and strengthen.

What’s your greatest achievement so far?

The last 12 months has demonstrated that my greatest achievement has been building the phenomenal team that has guided us through the pandemic.

Which business do you most admire?

I wouldn’t like to name a particular business, but those that revamp their business model to stay competitive are those I admire most.

What is the biggest risk you’ve ever taken – and did it work out?

Giving up a highly-paid corporate job to set up Jumar. Our success demonstrates it did work out, and I’m proud to have been able to offer employment to so many people in the West Midlands, and within our client base.

What exciting projects is your business working on?

We’re providing an innovative staffing solution to drive a massive, five-year digital transformation at a well-known insurance provider.

Also, our work with a software house in Solihull to upgrade their legacy technology will result in a completely rewritten, futureproofed platform.

What keeps you awake at night?

Firstly, keeping up with the rapid speed of change in the technology sector, and how clients’ requirements evolve with it. And secondly, the responsibility that goes with employing people.

These things matter and it’s important to care about them.

If you could turn the clock back, what would you do differently?

In hindsight, there have been times when our growth plans meant we were quick to employ staff who turned out not to be right. I would ensure that we were more selective about preventing this from happening.

There is also momentum building to re-engineer supply chains, with new entrants to supply markets, whilst some businesses have unfortunately ceased trading. Brexit and Covid-19 have encouraged a lot of UK reshoring and this in turn encourages investment to create capacity and improve efficiencies.

Adam Smith, director of ADS Procurement & Supply Chain, believes there is great potential for those willing to adapt. He said: “Those that look to the future with positivity and fresh ideas will succeed.

This is a reset for many businesses who are realising that the supply chain offers a lot of innovation Adam Smith and opportunities.”

Purchasing goods and services competitively will of course always remain a priority, but other dynamics are starting to take prominence. Having a sustainable supply chain, by taking carbon footprint and many other environmental factors into consideration, will be demanded by future consumers and can no longer be an afterthought. There is plenty of evidence that implementing sustainable sourcing can lead to lower total supply chain costs.

What made you join Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce and how are you making use of your membership?

As a Birmingham-based business owner who loves networking, I joined to meet and share expertise with like-minded organisations in the region. We welcome the Chamber introducing Jumar to other members where our services may support them, and vice versa.

E: andy.holmes@jumarsolutions.com T: 07825 632 694

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Member Section

New Members

New Members

Whatever your business size and requirements, the Chamber has a membership scale to suit your needs.

For more information visit: www.greaterbirminghamchambers.com/membership

Your guide to new recent sign-ups Ask Identity Consultancy Community Interest Company Human health and social work activities Peggy Chukwusa 07778 038818 www.askidentity.org.uk Birmingham Chamber of Commerce Beating Time Administrative and support service activities Heather Phillips 0775 3832521 www.beatingtime.org Birmingham Chamber of Commerce Birmingham Repertory Theatre Arts, entertainment and recreation Rachael Thomas 0121 236 4455 www.birmingham-rep.co.uk Asian Business Chamber of Commerce Bluefin Guardians Other service activities Stephen Ford 0121 634 3795 www.bluefinguardians.co.uk/contac t-us Birmingham Chamber of Commerce Denso-Wave Europe GMBH Information and communication Tim Thompson 07917 156493 www.denso-wave.eu Birmingham Chamber of Commerce Electronic Business Systems Ltd Management consultancy activities other than finance Darren Tolley 0121 384 2513 www.e-b-s.co.uk Birmingham Chamber of Commerce EMC Hire Administrative and support service activities Anthea Barker 01462 817111 www.emchire.co.uk Birmingham Chamber of Commerce Emotive Health Human health and social work activities James Martin 07532 362317 www.super8hydration.co.uk GBCCC 68 CHAMBERLINK May 2021

Gibcom Marketing Support Ltd Professional, scientific and technical activities Gibson Nyendwa 0121 663 6844 www.gcmarketingsupport.co Birmingham Chamber of Commerce Gunner Cooke LLP Professional, scientific and technical activities Caroline Rigg 03330143401 www.gunnercooke.com Birmingham Chamber of Commerce Happy Marketer Ltd Administrative and support service activities Sophie Blackmore 07527 721420 Solihull Chamber of Commerce HBBA Accountancy and Business Ltd Professional, scientific and technical activities Hilda Johani 0121 717 4738 www.hbbaaccountancy.com Solihull Chamber of Commerce Improve Consultancy Professional, scientific and technical activities Neil Hames 07803 051655 Solihull Chamber of Commerce

Jane Woolrich Couture Ltd Manufacturing Jane Woolrich 01283 763764 www.jane-woolrich.co.uk Transatlantic Chamber

National Business Register Ltd Combined Office Administration service activities Bevan Edwards 0121 678 9000 www.start.biz Solihull Chamber of Commerce

Jellybean Agency Ltd Professional, scientific and technical activities Laura Hogan 0121 232 4649 www.sweetdigital.co.uk Birmingham Chamber of Commerce

NCH (UK) Ltd Manufacturing Silvano Bisconti 01902 510200 ncheurope.com Transatlantic Chamber

Kersey Freight Ltd Transportation and storage Lisa Stirling 01473 825180 www.kerseyfreight.com Lichfield and Tamworth Chamber of Commerce

Nectar HR Limited Administrative and support service activities Sonia Rai 01902 258369 www.nectarhr.co.uk/ Birmingham Chamber of Commerce

KWB Group Professional, scientific and technical activities John Bryce 0121 233 2330 www.kwboffice.com Solihull Chamber of Commerce

Oxbridge Education Stacey Ryan 0121 272 9910 oxbridgehomelearning.uk Solihull Chamber of Commerce

My Zambia My Africa Limited Professional, scientific and technical activities Leya Kawamba Kemp 0203 581 5768 myzambiamyafrica.com Transatlantic Chamber

Soak and Slumber Ltd Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles Philippa Miller 07957 225196 www.soakandslumber.co.uk Solihull Chamber of Commerce

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New Members

Member Section

As the voice of local business since 1813, we strive to help firms across the region

connect, support and grow.

St James' Place Wealth Management- Martin Jeffers Professional, scientific and technical activities Martin Jeffers 07507 634432 Birmingham Chamber of Commerce The Art of Coaching Ltd Other service activities Lorna Shaw 07789 202254 www.theartofcoaching.co.uk Birmingham Chamber of Commerce The Governance Forum Ltd Administrative and support service activities Karl George MBE

0845 505 1875 www.thegovernanceforum.com Birmingham Chamber of Commerce Theft Stop Limited Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles Jaroslaw Brzuzy 07889 044 491 www.theftstop.co.uk Asian Business Chamber of Commerce YACreates Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles Yejide Adeoye yacreates.com GBCCC

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Member Section

Competition

...any other business A roundup of news from Chamber members EY’s donation helps students Kind-hearted accountant EY is donating nearly £290,000 to 24 schools, charities, social enterprises and organisations that support young people and children based in the UK, including five based in the Midlands.

The schools and organisations will use the funds to purchase laptops for their students, many of whom have been adversely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The one-off donation is part of EY’s wider focus on social mobility and is helping to support UK students to access the technology they need.

The 24 schools and organisations have been recommended by the EY Foundation, the firm’s independent charity, which works directly with young people, employers and social entrepreneurs to create or support pathways to education, employment or enterprise works.

Schools selected either have higher than average numbers of pupils that qualify for free school meals, higher than average numbers of young people with special education needs, or higher than average numbers of young people with English as their second language. Those set to benefit from the donation in the Midlands include George Dixon Academy and Queensbridge School, in Birmingham, Colton Hills School in Wolverhampton and Thistley Hough Academy and the City of Stoke Sixth Form College in Stoke.

Simon O’Neill, office managing partner at EY in the Midlands, said: “As one of the UK’s largest student recruiters, it’s important that we are playing our part and are accessible to the broadest range of talent.

“No student should be left behind, and I hope that our donation plays a small part in helping to support those young people who need it most at this difficult time.”

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School of Jewellery plays host to BBC competition Birmingham City University’s historic School of Jewellery has been revealed as the location for BBC Two’s new primetime jewellery show ‘All That Glitters’.

Prior to its launch, the show kept its location as a secret – other than saying it was somewhere in the heart of Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter.

The programme - fronted by comedian Katherine Ryan – will see eight of the UK’s best jewellery makers battle it out to impress a panel of judges by making two pieces of jewellery.

The first of these will be designed to appeal to a mass audience, and the second tailored for a client in need of a statement piece for a special occasion.

The show’s judges are awardwinning British designer Solange Azagury-Partridge and Shaun Leane, who has created catwalk

Glittering show: BBC’s new series is filmed at the School of Jewellery (pic courtesy BBC)

jewellery with Alexander McQueen and designed Princess Beatrice’s engagement ring, as well as fine jewellery for celebrity clientele including Lady Gaga and Elton John.

Founded in 1890, Birmingham City University’s School of Jewellery provides courses such as silversmithing, horology and gemmology at its home in

NEC gets on its bike in aid of Cure Leukaemia Birmingham’s NEC is joining up with Cure Leukaemia in a fundraising event for World Blood Cancer Day on 28 May. Cure Leukaemia co-founder, professor Charlie Craddock, and exWolves and Crystal Palance footballer and blood cancer survivor Geoff Thomas will ride round a five-mile circuit at the NEC campus as part of the Festival de Cyclisme fundraising event.

The event is open to both novice cyclists and experienced bikers, who are invited to ride as many laps as they want across a threehour period. The ride will raise money for the charity’s Trials Acceleration Programme (TAP).

Cure Leukaemia chief executive James McLaughlin said: “It is fitting that ‘Festival de Cyclisme’ will be taking place in Birmingham on World Blood Cancer Day this year.

“Birmingham has been a global leader in the treatment of blood cancer for many years and this event provides an opportunity for people to ride alongside our co-

On your bikes: Geoff (left) and Charlie get ready for action

founder Professor Charlie Craddock who has been central to establishing Birmingham’s world leading position in this field.

Soccer star Geoff said: “I am really excited to take part in this event on World Blood Cancer Day cycling alongside the man who helped save my life, Professor Charlie Craddock. All funds raised from the event will help our Tour 21 team progress closer to our goal of surpassing £1,000,000 raised for Cure Leukaemia.”

Birmingham’s historic Jewellery Quarter.

The school celebrated its 125year anniversary in 2015, and four years later was named the winner of the prestigious Queen’s Anniversary Prize in recognition of its history of innovation spanning 130 years.

‘All That Glitters’ is on BBC Two on Tuesdays.

Azets take on M6 challenge A group of employees from accountant Azets Birmingham are travelling 232.2 miles – the length of the M6 motorway – in a health and wellbeing office challenge.

They are not actually physically zooming up the motorway – it’s an online challenge, so they are walking or running the same distance.

Praveen Gupta, office managing partner at Azets Birmingham, said: “As a team, we are always coming up with new ways to support one another and this has been particularly important over the past year.”

Rachel Green, administration manager with Azets Birmingham, said: “We wanted to encourage colleagues to get outdoors and make time for themselves – especially during difficult periods of lockdown.

The challenge has been really well received, with lots of people getting involved.”

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