Business

ARENA’S NEW NAME

Arena Birmingham is set to become Utilita Arena Birmingham as a part of a new tie-up with the Smart Pay As You Go energy provider. The arena will take its new name from 15 April and as part of the deal Utilita will also become a partner of the NEC Group’s other flagship arena at Resorts World. NEC Group CEO, Paul Thandi, said: “We’re looking forward to working with Utilita to get our audiences thinking about their environmental footprint.”

NEWS BUSINESS

WIN AND BEAR IT

Less than a year since launch, Birmingham-based marketing agency Tribera has added another exciting new client to its consumer portfolio – the Bear Grylls Adventure. Operated by leisure attractions giant, Merlin Entertainments and Bear Grylls Ventures, the Bear Grylls Adventure boasts 10 adrenaline-rushing activities for visitors. As part of the contract, Tribera will run a number of marketing activities, including national and regional consumer PR, trade PR, PPC and paid social.

Former Worcestershire cricketer, Matt Rawnsley, has been appointed as chief executive of Edgbaston Priory Club. He succeeds Rob Bray who left the club in December after 14 years in the role. Matt started his career as a professional cricketer for the Pears before moving into industry, holding senior leadership positions at both Caterpillar and Barnes Group Inc. Most recently, he was chief executive of Worcestershire County Cricket Club. MATT’S CLUB MOVE

IN THE HOT SEAT: Matt Rawnsley, right, with Edgbaston Priory Club chairman David Tucker

PRINCIPAL FINALIST

Jessica Wheeler, principal of Elmhurst Ballet School, the vocational school in association with Birmingham Royal Ballet, has been selected as a finalist in the Business Woman of the Year category of the Ladies First Awards 2020, a charity event in support of the Katie Piper Foundation. During 10 years working at Elmhurst, Jessica has changed and developed the culture of the school, encouraging students to take part in Elmhurst’s development through a school council and student leadership programme.

AIRPORT HELP

MARATHON MAN

Lord-Lieutenant of the West Midlands, John Crabtree, presented a fund-raising award to a local chief executive after he raised £57,000 running the London Marathon to support Midlands-based charity, the ExtraCare Charitable Trust. ExtraCare chief executive Mick Laverty, from Sutton Coldfield, was one of the event’s highest money-raisers. The cash helps support the well-being of more than 1,500 older people living in ExtraCare’s Birmingham and Coventry retirement villages and housing schemes. Birmingham Airport has signed a new three-year corporate partnership with locally based mental health charity, Solihull Mind. The decision to support Solihull Mind came from airport staff who were given the opportunity to nominate local charities. All 800 employees had the chance to vote for the new charity partner. Airport CEO Nick Barton, pictured far right, said: “We’re excited to be raising awareness of the incredible work of this charity and have some exciting activity in the pipeline.”

Ultimate Fitness Birmingham was named Best Independent Gym in the Midlands at the UK Fitness Awards. Based at 100 Holloway Head, the gym was opened in 2013 by owner and MD Simon Fan. Simon runs the gym with wife Kirsty and is a former British bodybuilding champion with more than 30 years experience in the fitness industry. Guests at the UK flagship event included Golden Gloves champion Joe Egan, comedian Kane Brown and West Midlands mayor Andy Street. FITNESS TITLE

West Midlands law firm Higgs & Sons raised £22,250 for good causes in 2019. Half of the funds went to Higgs’ Charity of the Year, WINGS Wombourne Special Needs Support Group, with the remainder split between 11 good causes. Simon Lilley of WINGS said: “This very generous financial support will make a significant difference to our work in the community.” The firm’s Charity of the Year 2020 is the Teenage Cancer Trust. SUPPORT GROUP: From the left, Nick Taylor, managing partner at Higgs, Rita Tonks and Sheila Freeman from WINGS and Tim Jones, head of the CSR programme at Higgs CHARITY CHAMPS

DRAGONS FIRED UP

The dragons have a new home! Birmingham’s famous Dragonboat Race is moving to Pendigo Lake at the NEC as part of a three-year tie-up between the venue and organisers, Birmingham-based Cure Leukaemia charity. The popular event is promising to be bigger and better than ever on Saturday 5 September and marks the launch of the charity’s Blood Cancer Awareness Month. Teams taking part in Dragonboat events have helped raise £300,000 for Cure Leukaemia over the last five years.

PAUL CLEANS UP

A Midlands industrial designer who has spent more than 20 years in the floorcare industry has launched his own company and a new vacuum which he says will ‘disrupt’ the competitive UK cleaning sector. Paul Bagwell from Leamington Spa has designed Capsule by Halo, a cordless vacuum which uses a carbon fibre body – a first in a domestic appliance – to create the only lightweight cordless with the same capacity and power as a traditional full-size upright appliance. More details: www.capsuleclean.com

STUDENTS AWARD

Leading Birmingham purpose-built student accommodation operator Student Roost has landed first place nationally in the Top Student Accommodation Operators Awards. Student Roost took the accolade after an online survey of students by Student Crowd, an independent review platform used by 1.3million students in 2019. Jason Andrews, director of operations at Student Roost, said: “This is huge accolade from what is known as the ‘TripAdvisor for students’.” The award was presented by Student Crowd CEO, Paul Humphreys, to Student Roost CEO Nathan Goddard.

HAVING A BALL NICOLA HEADS BID Lettings and estate agency owner Nicola Fleet-Milne has been appointed the new chair of Colmore Business Improvement District (BID). Nicola, who owns a residential property agency at Colmore Row, has been a director on the BID board for seven years. She takes over from property consultant Gary Cardin, who chaired Colmore BID since its inception in 2008. Alex Tross of property consultancy LSH and Paul Fielding of Brewin Dolphin have been appointed joint deputy chairs of the BID.

BUSINESSBITES

GRAND DATE Private investment company Starwood Capital Group has revealed the Grade II* listed Grand Hotel will open its doors this summer following a dramatic restoration that will return the city centre landmark to its former glory and features 185 rooms and suites.

EXCELLENT NEWS Heartlands Hospital (University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust), was officially recognised as a paediatric centre for clinical excellence by Muscular Dystrophy UK at a special award ceremony.

EVENTS BOSS Paul Bartlett has been appointed director of Warwick Conferences – the University of Warwick’s conference, meeting and events organisation. He steps up after six years at the organisation, which last year hosted more than 17,000 events.

The ‘home of competitive social gaming’, Roxy Ball Room, has launched in Digbeth. The 13,000 sq ft space at Heath Mill Lane offers pool, beer pong, shuffleboard and arcade games and is the ninth UK venue for the Roxy Leisure brand. Director Matthew Jones said: “Digbeth shares our rebellious spirit and as the creative quarter of the city with a really interesting retail, food and drink and leisure offer it feels like the perfect home for us.”

LAW BOOST WELCOME: Head of Lodders’ real estate practice Mark Miller with new senior associates Donna Bates and Theresa Spalding

Regional law firm Lodders has boosted its real estate team with two senior appointments. Theresa Spalding and Donna Bates join as senior associates in the firm’s real estate practice, which is one of the largest in the West Midlands with 32 specialist real estate, commercial property, planning, construction and highways legal experts, including nine partners.

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LEGAL FIRM MARKS 10-YEAR MILESTONE

Employment specialists joined by friends and clients for celebration S chofield & Associates celebrated its 10th anniversary at Hogarths, Solihull. The employment specialist law firm, based in Knowle and headed by principal Eileen Schofield, was joined by friends, colleagues and clients to celebrate the landmark occasion.■

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1 Charlie Cooper, Sarah Coyne, Carina Jheeta. 2 Gerard Dufficy, Richard Moxon. 3 Sandrine and Andy Wakefield. 4 Sarah Dwight, Judy Groves. 5 Stephanie Boyce, Janie Frampton. 6 Chris Allen, John Dufficy. 7 Angela Richards, Gill Travitzky. 8 Eileen Schofield, Diane Benussi, Mike Kelly. 9 Richard Fallon, Calum Nisbet, Henrik Court. Photography by Jas Sansi

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TIPPLES AND TRICKS AS GUESTS GET CREATIVE 3 2

Clients and partners enjoy magical

networking event hosted by EDGE E DGE Creative hosted another of its exclusive events at the Jam House. More than 100 clients and partners had the opportunity to network with professionals across many industries while sampling a special selection of Botanical Vodka from drinks provider, Diagio. The event – which even had a magician performing close-up tricks and illusions – was sponsored by Hayward Wright and KLO Financial Services. ■ 4 5

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1 Louise Panayides, Melinda Rice, Liane Denton. 2 Stephen Cloves, Jonathan Ratcliff, Gary Simpson. 3 Kathryn Small, Ros Wilson, Elizabeth Mee, Clare Macleod. 4 Kyri Christou, Jessica Greaney. 5 John Laycock, Darren Riley. 6 John Glavey, Paul Warren. 7 Rebecca Mander, Paul Ord. 8 Sophia Raftery, Jodie Green, Pavan Harnal, Dan Styles. 9 Iain Hall, Amy Lloyd, Mark Abrol. 10 Faye Wilson, Amy Brown.

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SIGNATURE AWARDS SIGN IN AT THE ICC

Audience of 600 sees manufacturing and service industries finest honoured T he annual Signature Awards for the manufacturing and service industries were held at the ICC in front of an audience of nearly 600. Keynote speaker at the awards, hosted by Deputy Lieutenant of the West Midlands, Ninder Johal, was Paresh Davdra, co-founder of RationalFX. Winners included Lola Ojomo (Business Person of the Year), Tehmi Parinchy (Business Woman of the Year), Imperial Roofing Supplies UK (Small Business of the Year), Gurpreet Bassi (Entrepreneur of the Year) and Enzen (Business of the Year). The event was presented by Tommy Sandhu and raised £13,000 for Acorns children’s hospice.■

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1 Excellence in Creative and Design – HDY Agency. 2 Small Business of the Year, Imperial Roofing Supplies UK. 3 Business of the Year, Enzen. 4 Business Woman of the Year, Tehmi Parinchy. 5 Entrepreneur of the Year, Gurpreet Bassi. 6 Excellence in Legal Services, FBC Manby Bowdler. 7 Business Person of the Year, Lola Ojomo. 8 Excellence in Diversity & Inclusion, Irwin Mitchell. Photography by Jas Sansi

WOW! MEET THE CITY’S GREAT ENTERTAINERS

Best entertainment businesses

celebrated at WOW Awards 2020 B irmingham’s entertainment district celebrated its finest venues and businesses in style at the annual Wonders of Westside awards held at Pryzm Birmingham, Broad Street. Organised by Westside BID and sponsored by Jelley’s Organic Vodka, the WOWs 2020 saluted the venues, bars, clubs, restaurants, hotels, organisations and businesses in and around Broad Street and Brindleyplace. Winners were Pushkar (Best Fine Dining), Hyatt Regency Birmingham (Best Hotel), Hampton by Hilton (Best Hotel Manager), Vodbull (Best Promoter) and Jurys Inn (Best Front of House). The awards were hosted by ITV Weather presenter Des Coleman. ■ Photography by Jas Sansi

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BUSINESS LEADERS ENJOY NETWORKER

Asian Business Chamber of Commerce holds successful lunch hosted by Amplify T he Asian Business Chamber of Commerce held a successful lunchtime networking event at Arena Birmingham. The event was hosted and sponsored by Amplify, the premium hospitality provider for the NEC Group, and keynote speakers included ABCC president Qasim Majid and Amplify general manager Sally Walder. As well as some fine networking, guests enjoyed great food from Amadeus, caterer for the NEC Group. ■

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1 Qasim Majid, Anjum Khan, Sally Walder, Jas Sansi. 2 Susan Kelsall, Asim Fiaz. 3 Neelam Afzal, Zoe Clulow. 4 Ifraz Ahmed, Neelam Afzal. 5 Sarah Wallace, Erica Burke. 6 Kevin Page, Chantal Herbert, Rick Grain. 7 Julie Ledesman, Anjum Khan. 8 Ikhlas Alvi, Mohan Bhogal, Lee Clayson. Photography by Jas Sansi

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BENVENUTO! MILANO RELAUNCHES IN STYLE 3 2

Big welcome as new team serves

Taste of Italia at Arcadian party

4 5 6 7 G uests were treated to a Taste of Italia showcase when Milano Kitchen and Bar relaunched in the Arcadian. Authentic canapés, Italian favourites such as authentic pizza and speciality pasta and Italian wine were served. Under new ownership, the Milano has been refreshed with the arrival of Antonello Atzori, formerly of the Fig & Olive, and a new chef team. ■

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1 Navneet Mangat, Sarah Hartley and Anita Champaneri. 2 Lauren Morton, Amelia Frizzel. 3 Stefania Pellegrino, Elizabeth Mee, Janna Kuhl, Shaheen Shah. 4 Antonello Atzori. 5 Rabia Raza, Rebecca Bannister. 6 Stefano Neofitou, Denisa Antonia Neo. 7 Kate Morley, Matt Roden. 8 Phil Oldershaw, Julia Robinson. 9 Matt Barnsley and Stephanie Taylor. 10 Tony and Lucy Elvin. Photography by Jas Sansi