Business News

CHAMBER MEMBERS INVITE CHAIR TO BE THEIR GUEST

Josh Guest and Becca Byford invited Chamber Chair Mike Forrester to join them at their Headquarters for a discussion about their business. Guest Homes Ltd was founded in 2018 with 3 apartments in Brighton. The holidays lets and management business grew year on year by taking on properties around England. In 2020 the business expanded with a customer service team and a property manager and they continue to take on new management properties. Guest Homes are now focusing on consolidating their current properties to maximise their potential and ensure all of their clients are making the most money they can from their let. In addition, Josh and Becca have committed to raising the profile of their business locally. They’re maximising their Chamber membership by exhibiting at the recent business Expo and appointing a PR agency to support their growth. The recent visit from Mike Forrester solidified their union with the Chamber and allowed them the opportunity to chat about business and pick Mike’s brains when it comes to expansion of the organisation. Josh says: “It was great to meet Mike, tell him about our business and ask him for advice about its growth. Mike’s unique position and years’ of experience have given us some food for thought and we look forward to making more positive changes to support our expansion.” Guest Homes have doubled their turnover since 2018 and now have 85 properties under the belts and employ 7 people, with an additional 3 full-time Virtual Assistants and a team of nationwide subcontractors. Josh continues: “Our aim is to fulfil our clients’ needs and make sure every customer has a happy stay. We welcome a chat from any Chamber member wanting to discuss their business needs with a short or long term lease.” Mike agrees: “I was delighted to be invited to join Becca and Josh at Guest Homes and was really buoyed to hear about their expansion. Their forward-thinking and ability to adapt and diversify has meant they have grown year on year. I encourage Chamber members to take a look at what’s on offer at this expanding business. It really is one to watch.” If your business is looking for flexible corporate lets for their business guests then Guest Homes is a great local choice. For more about Guest Homes please go to: www.guesthomes.co.uk or call 01905 347469. Local decorating manufacturing company LG Harris have donated £5,000 to the Norton Collection Museum in Bromsgrove to help boost funding for their ongoing renovations after Sajid Javid MP got in touch to see if they could help out. The Norton Collection Museum exists as a result of one man’s passion for collecting. Dennis Norton started collecting in 1949 and has never stopped. Over the years, he has amassed a huge array of items that help tell the history of how we lived in years gone by. Many of the exhibits also help tell the story of the town he made his lifelong home, Bromsgrove in Worcestershire, including LG Harris & Co. Ltd. Chris Wood Managing Director at LG Harris says “we were pleased to have donated towards this very worthy cause and have also opened dialogue about how we can help further - through the donation of tools to help redecorate the museum and offering to canvas for volunteer decorators amongst the team. We have also agreed to share with them any interesting artefacts from the Harris and Hamilton history.

L-R Chamber Chair Mike Forrester meets with Becca Byford and Josh Guest from Guest Homes Ltd.

LG HARRIS DONATE £5,000 TO THE NORTON COLLECTION MUSEUM

FAUN ZOELLER GAINS SILVER STATUS FROM INVESTORS IN PEOPLE

FZUK Ltd are delighted to announce that they have been awarded the silver accreditation from the Investors in People scheme. Investors in People specialise in transforming business performance through people and is known to help businesses grow, develop, and compete ensuring that people always remain at the forefront. Silver status means principles, policies, and practices around supporting people are embedded in every corner of the organisation. This is the first time participating and receiving accreditation, FZUK looks forward to progressing further within the scheme. Simon Hyde, CEO of FZUK, was thrilled with the silver status as he explained, “Our team is the heart of the business and are the key to every success that we achieve. I am so proud of all the team by keeping that family feeling that enables the business to stay grounded. It’s an honour to be awarded this for the first time, but it is also an opportunity to gain experience as it highlights areas, we should be proud of and like every area for improvement, helping to hold us accountable to our people and our values.” Paul Devoy, CEO of Investors in People, said: “We’d like to congratulate FAUN-Zoeller UK. Silver accreditation on We invest in people is a remarkable effort for any organisation, and places FZUK in fine company with a host of organisations that understand the value of people.” Silver is a fantastic achievement and something only 15% of the organisations we assess achieve. Stewart Gregory, commercial director at FZUK said “For our team to receive this recognition is a fantastic achievement and I am thrilled by the result. It really underlines our organisations core values. Investing in all our stakeholders, including our staff, clients, suppliers and shareholders, is what we do at FZUK. It is in our DNA.” Catherine Kings, HR commented, “achieving silver IIP status is such an amazing achievement for all of us. Our core values identified by the whole team really are at the heart of everything we do. I am so proud to be part of the team who share ambition and a desire for success. ‘Corporate family’ is one of our core values and describes well what it is like to work at FZUK. Supporting, developing, and looking after our people is of high importance to us; therefore, growing and progressing with the IIP scheme is good for employees and exciting.” FZUK look to have a promising year ahead with more work being done in supporting many of their clients and helping the growth of the business throughout 2022.