Tim Squires, chair of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce’s Coventry Local Business Forum

So, another season ends painfully for Coventry City Football Club but when you reflect on how far the club has come in a short space of time, you can only look to the future with positivity.

Since the Sky Blues were relegated from the Premier League back in 2001, the club has rarely come close to a return, yet in the last three seasons we’ve made the play-offs twice and reached an FA Cup semi-final.

Fingers crossed, the 2025/26 season will finally see the club take the final step back to the promised land.

Economically, it would be great news for the city and the region. Seeing the Coventry Building Society Arena packed out week after week has been wonderful and there are all of the other additional benefits that it brings too in terms of spend in the city.

In terms of profile, Coventry feels like it is back on the map for the right reasons and if we were to make it back to the top-flight under Frank Lampard, I have no doubt that local businesses would see a positive impact.

When it comes to positive news, I would like to add my note of thanks and praise to everyone at the Chamber for their work on the Coventry and Warwickshire Business & Community Awards in March.

The event, which took place at the Belgrade Theatre, was a huge success. Many congratulations to all of those who won and who were shortlisted, but it is also fair to say that everyone who attended felt a real sense of pride in being part of such an incredible region.

Corin Crane, the chief executive of the Chamber, said in advance of the event that he wanted it to be a real celebration of everything great about Coventry and Warwickshire and it 100 per cent delivered on that!

Again, it’s another reason to feel positive about the future!

And, hopefully, the trade deal that the UK has recently agreed with the USA is a sign of better things to come.

The uncertainty created by the tariffs imposed by the US has been the latest in a long line of factors to cause instability in the economy.

Businesses crave certainty and whether it has been Brexit or Covid, domestic politics or overseas events, it feels like we’ve been plagued by uncertainty for many years.

Who knows what might be around the corner, but for now we can only hope that whether it’s Coventry City or global trade, there are even better days ahead.

Karen Shuter, chair of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce’s Rugby Local Business Forum, says companies in the region are crying out for stability.

The consultation on Rugby’s Local Plan is coming to a close and this will help define where new homes, employment land and vital infrastructure will go over the next 20 years.

I am very pleased to have been able to represent the business view in this process and, as ever, have been making the case for more employment land to satisfy the needs of businesses to be able to expand and grow in the area, as well as being able to attract new investors into the Borough.

It’s absolutely vital that businesses can see what the plans are and are able to make decisions around what the future may look like for the region.

Sadly, certainty is something that has been lacking at a national and international level for many years and we can only hope that recent events start to create some stability.

A few weeks ago, the picture was bleak with tariffs from the USA causing all sorts of knock-on effects for the global markets.

But, since then, we’ve seen a drop in interest rates in the UK and deals signed with India and the USA, the latter mitigating the tariffs that had been placed on the UK which had led to genuine concern for companies in our area.

I’m not sure we are completely out of the woods yet but we can only hope that the coming weeks, months and years create a more stable environment for businesses in this region.

It has been a very tricky time to navigate – whether it was Brexit or Covid – and companies prefer to invest when they have a clearer picture of what the future may look like.

There are still other factors to contend with, from an increase in the minimum wage through to a jump in National Insurance costs which are adding to the overall cost burden of doing business and employing people.

It is, therefore, no surprise to see the national rate of unemployment creep up slightly as businesses look to absorb the additional costs as best they can.

This was something that came up when the Chamber surveyed businesses in Rugby ahead of putting together our manifesto that will help us to shape the economic future of the region.

The final document is being worked on now but it will give us a really solid plan for where we focus our efforts when it comes to speaking up for our members.

As the voice of business, it’s vital that now, more than ever, we take on board every issue that matters and be ready to champion the cause of our businesses and our region to decision-makers at every level.

Coventry & Warwickshire in business

Credit where credit is due!

Larry Coltman, chair of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce’s South Warwickshire Local Business Forum, says employment land is vital for growth

It’s not often that anyone writes in praise of local councils so I am going to start by giving credit where credit is due!

As a Chamber, we have come out in support of the Local Plan put forward for South Warwickshire which is a combination of work by Stratford-upon-Avon Council and Warwick District Council.

We have, for a long time, through our Employment Land Group made the case that local authorities have given too much focus to the housing need when it comes to planning for the future of the area.

Of course, this is understandable. National politicians and national media put so much emphasis on the need for more housing, with incredibly ambitious targets, that local authorities will tend to follow suit.

But, as a Chamber, we have always sought to see the bigger picture. With more houses (and people living in them) comes the need for greater infrastructure and, crucially, places for those residents to go to work.

That’s why we have always called for a balanced approach between housing and employment land. We want our businesses to be able to expand in this area and not have to look elsewhere if they want to grow.

We also want to attract investment from companies looking to expand into this area too. So, it is pleasing to see that the plan for this region reflects that and we have fed back accordingly.

This was one of the topics of conversation at our most recent Local Business Forum at the Walton Hall Hotel & Spa in Wellesbourne.

We also covered a variety of other topics from skills to business confidence and it was clear from the meeting that companies of all sizes and sectors are crying out for some stability.

The tariff situation with the USA hasn’t helped matters and we can only hope that now a deal has been signed with the US – as well as India – that this will start to settle things down on the international stage from a UK point of view.

Domestically, businesses are now starting to be hit by the rising cost of National Insurance and minimum wage as well as other additional burdens on doing business and it is, therefore, not a surprise that unemployment has ticked up slightly.

That said, our forum proved that there are still businesses crying out for staff with the right skills and credentials to help them grow.

Hopefully, with more solid foundations and a bit more stability, the slight rise in unemployment is a blip and we can see people taking up the roles that our local businesses need filling.