WHY RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS IS GOOD BUSINESS
CSR, ESG, giving back – there are so many terms used now to describe how businesses support their communities beyond their usual commercial operations. Whether it’s charity fundraising, staff volunteering, long-term partnerships with community groups, environmental initiatives, working with schools or providing employment opportunities to under-represented demographics, there are so many activities this could encompass.
Perhaps it is just about being a responsible business – one that understands the importance of making a contribution to their local area, a worthy cause or a particular section of society.
At the Chamber, we updated our vision in 2019 so it reads “to enhance East Midlands businesses and communities”. In our latest business plan, one of our goals is to “be the exemplar and champion responsible business across the East Midlands”, and part of this has involved gathering intelligence that can inform future business support activity.
A study we ran in partnership with the University of Derby and Loughborough University, found that while 66% of firms were engaged with corporate social responsibility (CSR) at the end of 2022, this marked a 6% drop-off compared to a year earlier.
Barriers included a lack of resources – particularly for smaller companies – but those that did take part cited important business benefits including attracting and retaining employees, winning contracts and tenders, and better recognition within their community.
This is why we are keen to promote the benefits of being a responsible business among our members – we firmly believe it isn’t just the right thing to do, but business-critical.
A roundtable discussion held in February to take forward this research found that one of the ways to support more businesses involved providing case studies of other organisations they can relate to, which is where Business Network can play a key role.
We have a dedicated EMComingTogether section in every edition to showcase the latest CSR activities, while the focus feature (p60) in this issue shines a spotlight on numerous SMEs in our region that are giving back in some form.
The next step for those already engaged is to ensure being a responsible business is embedded into every facet of the organisation. Stephen Vickers, CEO of the Devonshire Group, which runs Chatsworth alongside having numerous other commercial enterprises and charities, tells us why this is important in the big interview (p27).
To find out more about the benefits of CSR and where to begin, come along to our East Midlands CSR Summit on 6 July – you can register for free at bit.ly/CSRSummit23.
Dan Robinson, Editor, Business NetworkJULY/AUGUST 2023
NEWS UPDATE
4MEMBER NEWS
Chamber members extol benefits of interest-free loans
24APPOINTMENTS
First female equity partner for accountants
THE BIG INTERVIEW
27 Stephen Vickers, CEO of the Devonshire Group
32 STRATEGIC PARTNERS AND PATRONS
Wealth manager expands with acquisition
35CHAMBER NEWS
This year’s East Midlands Top 500 Companies index
EVENTS
46 Shortlist unveiled for 2023 Enterprising Women Awards
SUSTAINABLE EAST MIDLANDS
50 Wind turbine blows Glastonbury away
INTERNATIONAL TRADE
52 How a truly healthy business is expanding
POLITICS
54 Event seeks solutions to the skills shortage
FEATURES
56Regenerating the East Midlands Addressing the issue of inclusivity
58 The challenge of sustainable regeneration
60FOCUS FEATURE
East Midlands businesses discuss their corporate social responsibility activities and why they are important
67Skills & Training
What does devolution mean for disabled people?
73 How MIRA is driving the hydrogen revolution
Editor Dan Robinson
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Contributor Jasmine Thompson
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DIGITAL & TECHNOLOGY
78 Funding for robots gives firm a lift
80LEGAL Consultation period is crucial when making redundancies
82FINANCE Getting a return on your ESG projects
85SKILLS
Careers scheme to build future workforce
86PROPERTY
Sports facility will help save energy
88MOTORING
Nick Jones test drives the Audi RS4 Avant
89INFORMATION
Learn how to become a B Corp
THE LAST WORD
90 Chamber president Stuart Dawkins looks at the history of CSR activities
Staff at Fosse Park are making a big switch to sustainable travel for their commute – with single car occupancy journeys down by almost a quarter, according to an annual commuter survey undertaken by Go Travel Solutions.
The travel consultancy also observed bus use doubling since 2018 for workers at the Leicestershire-based shopping destination.
The resu lts are based on responses from 525 staff, representing 45 retailers at the park. The survey also asked staff for initiatives they would like to see introduced to improve sustainable transport provision.
To help achieve these results, a range of sustainable transport initiatives, including discounted bus tickets, have been provided to staff as part of the “Getting To Work” scheme. Launched in 2021, the initiative works with the retailers to encourage staff to consider alternatives to the car, while supporting those that already use more sustainable methods.
Phil Saunders, Getting To Work project manager at Go Travel Solutions, said: “These findings reveal a positive change in travel behaviour by staff at Fosse Park and a continuation of the trends seen in the previous staff travel survey. It really goes to show that if suitable support is available, people are willing to make changes to their travel behaviour.”
The scheme is part of the Fosse Park Sustainable Travel Strategy, which was created to meet planning obligations following the extension of the park in 2021. In partnership with Leicestershire County Council and Blaby District Council, the strategy aims to lower the number of vehicles on the local road network and improve air quality. Main bus operator Arriva used feedback from the surveys to implement service changes in 2022 to better align with evening staff shift times.
Two Chamber members have urged other budding entrepreneurs to explore the possibility of interestfree loans to get started after taking advantage of support from a charity to establish their own businesses.
Orange Fox Studios and 1284 are among the companies backed by the Sir Thomas White Loan Charity (STWLC), which provides up to £20,000 in loans that are interestfree for nine years, with nothing to repay in the first three.
STWLC’s business loans are approved for eligible start-up ideas, or established businesses needing investment, across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.
Lee Tomes, founder of Leicesterbased creative video storytelling agency Orange Fox Studios, used the loans to obtain a master’s degree and invest in £10,000 worth of filming equipment to start his business in 2018.
He said the loan terms were “completely unrivalled”, adding that the three-year repayment delay “allows you the freedom to develop and grow your professional career or business at a nice pace without the pressure of immediate repayments”.
“When repayments do start, they are taken over a six-year period, which makes the amount you pay affordable and simple,” he added.
“Putting it simply, STWLC’s interestfree loans are an absolute gamechanger for people looking to kick on in their career or grow a business.”
Leicester PR agency 1284 is another business to benefit from the charity’s interest-free loan. Founded by George Oliver, 1284 was set up in the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic but progressed quickly, and achieved its business plan objectives 15 months earlier than planned.
This left George facing a decision
in late 2022 – continue as an independent or start recruiting to grow the business further.
“The result was Amy Orton joining as account director in March 2023,” said George. “We applied for an STWLC loan to fund our first marketing campaign, which will develop 1284’s offer and help move it towards the 150% growth planned in for the coming four years. It makes sense to use the STWLC loan to get experts in and free up our time to focus on what we do best –writing and comms strategy.”
Michael Smith Switchgear has won an international award for its efforts to drive sustainability in manufacturing.
Schneider Electric – which provides world-leading energy technology – has named the Leicester-based manufacturer as the winner of both national and global prizes in its National Schneider Electric Sustainability Impact Awards.
Michael Smith Switchgear, a carbon neutral electric equipment manufacturer, received the awards in the Impact to My Company category in recognition of its sustainability leadership in its operations.
The firm’s work included extensive research and development to increase airflow within switchboards and to not use plastics as insulating materials. It resulted in a 25% reduction in raw material usage within the manufacturing process.
It offset more than 137 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent across the group in 2021. Other measures have included installing LED lighting throughout its factory,
fitting 284 solar panels to the roof of its building, and swapping to sustainable packaging.
The company was just one of six global winners in its category of the Schneider awards. Judges described Michael Smith Switchgear Ltd as “committed to sustainability in all aspects of the business”.
Sean Smith, managing director at Michael Smith Switchgear, said:
“Sustainability is at the forefront of our business decisions, and to be recognised on a global and national level by Schneider Electric for our commitment is a huge honour.
“Partnering with Schneider Electric and the EcoXpert programme has helped us offer our customers more sustainable solutions using Schneider’s innovative technologies.”
G F Tomlinson has supported Arena Church to deliver sanitation facilities at its Nottingham premises.
The church, which is based in Western Street, Hockley, provides refuge, shelter and hot refreshments for vulnerable residents in the city who need it most.
The Derby-based contractor has worked with local sub-contractors alongside Pastor Jono Kirk, from the Arena Community foodbank, to convert previously unused space into a shower and washer-dryer facility for residents to use who lack access to basic sanitation facilities.
The additions will act as an extension of Arena Church’s mission to “go, grow, love and serve” in Nottingham, and facilities will be on hand ready for when the church launches its new “care for a coffee” initiative once funding is secured, which will provide warm spaces for people to get a weekly hot meal.
Kevin Dodds, construction director at G F Tomlinson, said: “We
are great advocates of the work that Arena Church does for the local area, and are proud to have been involved in the delivery of vital sanitation facilities in the building, helping to support vulnerable communities.
“We hope those who need it most are reassured that there is a safe space where they can spend time, have a hot meal and use the shower and washing facilities.”
Jono added: “We are so thankful for the work that G F Tomlinson and all subcontractors have carried out, transforming previously unused space to make an incredible difference to the lives of people with no access to such facilities.”
Lauren Pickard
Chesterfield-based CMP Legal has launched a new service to keep local businesses informed on the latest changes in HR, employment law and best practices.
The programme, named “HR Hour”, is free to attend by business owners, HR professionals, managers and accounts staff. Attendees will also have the opportunity to network with like-minded professionals in the region.
The next event will take place on Monday 17 July 2023 at 9am at CMP Legal's premises in The Bridge Business Park.
Lauren Pickard, employment director at CMP Legal, said: “I have found the most enjoyable events are informal, informative and engaging. HR Hour ticks all these boxes, as well as providing a forum for likeminded individuals to share their experiences and build a network of contacts.”
Derbyshire-based charity Safe and Sound has recruited individuals from the business community to help raise awareness of the dangers facing vulnerable children and young people.
Entrepreneurs Persha Ward and Nadia Jane Asamoah, as well as University of Derby lecturer Bev Crighton and marketing specialist Claire Morrison have become official ambassadors for the specialist child exploitation charity.
Mother-of-two Persha runs her own business administration business S&A Management and was supported by Safe and Sound as a teenager.
Nadia runs Nadia Jane Performing Arts, in Green Lane, where hundreds of young people have trained over the years in a wide range of dance and performing arts disciplines.
As well as lecturing in business
Ambassadors from Safe and Sound
management at the University of Derby, Bev is currently employability lead in the education department at Derby County in the
Community Trust (DCCT), as well as deputy chair of Erewash Partnership and an active member of the DCFC women’s board.
Claire, meanwhile, helped Safe and Sound raise its social media presence while previously working for digital marketing agency, Creationz.
They join the existing team of ambassadors, including Derbyshire actor Molly Windsor, businesswoman Amanda Strong and child exploitation survivor Louise Murphy-Fairclough.
Safe and Sound chief executive Tracy Harrison said: “Our ambassadors have an important role in our work to raise awareness of the dangers facing children and young people both online and in our local communities.
“Talking about child sexual exploitation is not an easy conversation but our ambassadors do an incredible job to spread the word about the issue and the work of Safe and Sound in their own networks.”
‘We hope those who need it most are reassured that there is a safe space where they can spend time’
An “anti-networking” business club is working wonders for the mental health of Derby businessmen.
Beers and Business provides a chance for local entrepreneurs to get together over a beer and discuss all aspects of their businesses.
Since launching in June 2021, the club – set up by Adam Bamford, co-founder of bespoke gift company Colleague Box – has built up a firm following, with around 30 members.
Royal Mail has launched 10 special stamps to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the internationally popular miniatures from Warhammer.
Six stamps in the main set depict characters from the worlds of Warhammer – space marines and orks from Warhammer 40,000; stormcast eternals and slaves to darkness from Warhammer: Age of Sigmar; and high elves and dwarfs from Warhammer: The Old World
The “miniature sheet”, meanwhile, shows four stamps featuring iconic illustrations from the past 40 years of series by its manufacturer Games Workshop.
Helen Smallridge, global head of marketing at Games Workshop, said: “From humble beginnings, Warhammer has grown into a British institution and a global success, with our fantasy miniatures collected by millions around the world. We hope this new stamp
range will be a treat for fans, and for those who have yet to discover our rich and fantastical worlds.”
David Gold, director of external affairs and policy at Royal Mail, added: “With millions of devotees across the globe, Warhammer is a creative, collaborative pursuit with a unique power to spark the imagination.”
Nottingham Venues has created a mental health first aid team to support its 270strong team.
The initiative aims to raise awareness of the importance of mental health and provide support to employees who may be experiencing mental health problems.
Beers and Business launched as an online networking event, providing a platform for people to speak to each other during lockdown. The subscription box provides people with a monthly gift box of carefully curated snacks and drinks, but allows them to cancel at any point.
Its second in-person event took place in May, coinciding with the launch of Derby highend menswear brand Mr Shaw moving into its new home on Sadler Gate.
Adam is the first to admit he’s not one for public speaking or networking events. As a childhood sufferer of attentiondeficit hyperactivity disorder, he shied away from rooms full of people, but found his calling with Beers and Business.
He said: “We talk about business, money problems, problems with staff, stock –the real nitty gritty of what it’s like to run a business. Maybe people have mental health struggles with business – it’s about having a beer and being comfortable enough to chat about those things.”
in Leicester was recognised at this year’s Serviced Apartments Awards.
CEO Snizhana Yesaulenko, managing director Mark Copson and general manager Mark Hills picked up the trophy for Best Operator (51-200 units) at the ceremony in central London.
It recognises the aparthotel's delivery of best-in-class guest experience and innovation in product, amenities and customer service, as well as adapting its offer through the post-pandemic period to keep guests safe.
Staff and customer engagement, community and environmental policies, and effective sales, marketing and distribution were also considered by the judging panel.
Snizhana said: “Winning this prestigious award is an amazing achievement and we’re really proud of the success at The Gresham Aparthotel since we opened 18 months ago.”
The Serviced Apartment Awards 2023, presented by Boutique Hotel News editor Eloise Hanson and A Place in the Sun presenter Scarlette Douglas, are the first and only dedicated awards created for and by the international serviced apartment, aparthotel, extended stay and short-term rental industry.
A team of 12 people from a range of roles within the organisation’s venues across University of Nottingham campuses have undergone mental health first aid training, designed to equip them with the skills and knowledge needed to assist colleagues, and potentially guests.
The training was conducted and accredited by MHFA England, and covered a range of topics, including how to identify the signs of someone struggling with their mental health, how to provide initial help and support, and how to guide people towards professional support if needed.
HR director Suzie Adams said: “According to research from the University of Cambridge, approximately one in four people working within the hospitality industry have mental health problems. It is an issue in our sector and something we are aware of as a business.
“We are committed to supporting the wellbeing of our team and creating a positive working environment where people feel empowered to help one another or seek help if needed.”
‘It’s about having a beer and being comfortable enough to chat about those things’The Gresham Aparthotel From left: Mark Copson, Snizhana Yesaulenko and Mark Hills
Tell us what your company does and a brief overview of its history?
Working in the resin flooring industry for more than three decades has allowed myself to look at the industry as a manufacturer and contractor.
While working as a contractor, I quickly realised I could deliver a greater level of customer service. Hence in July 2020, I decided to make a difference and formed Abacus Flooring Solutions.
We are a resin flooring contractor installing seamless resin flooring in all industries, from manufacturing to transport and warehousing, to name a few.
Who are your main customers and what is your USP to them?
Our main customers are JCB, Wembley Arena, Leicester City Football Club and companies in aerospace manufacturing. Our USP is simple, we deliver the highest level of customer service. We also support this by supplying the most environmentally friendly flooring system in the world.
What is your position in the business and what does your day-to-day role involve?
My role as managing director involves wearing many hats, from salesman to contracts manager and customer service representation. I still see my main role as the person who finds the work through many avenues.
I must be the glue that holds the business together, and by setting the standards high in
the business, it ensures that everyone involved delivers the same standard.
What are the company’s plans for the future?
Our future aim is what we started with – to grow a business that is sustainable, and to provide a place to work where everyone feels valued and wants to invest their time for the good of the company – and I feel we have succeeded in our targets.
Taking a business from a standing start, growing it to a £1m business, makes me feel immensely proud.
How long have you been a member of the East Midlands Chamber, and how have you engaged with the membership benefits to support your business activity?
We applied for membership after only trading for two weeks, winning our first award with the Chamber, to which we remain proud and grateful.
I knew being a member of the Chamber would ensure we kept up to date with all the relevant rules and regulations.
We have attended many Chamber events as I find meeting new people, sharing our stories and hopefully helping each other where possible invaluable.
We will continue to work closely with the Chamber and its members to learn new ways to ensure we remain as successful in 10 years as we are today.
Location: Coalville, Leicestershire
Number of employees: Five, with an additional six subcontractors
Spokesperson: Nick Megson, managing director
Six of the seven East Midlands cities included in PwC’s Good Growth for Cities Index are outperforming the UK average on delivering against the public’s priority on transport.
The index measures the average commuting time to work, as the UK improves on work-life balance and hybrid working following the pandemic.
Additionally, Derby, Leicester, Lincoln and Peterborough perform ahead of the UK average for income distribution, measured by the ratio of median to mean income, an indicator of wealth equity.
The Demos-PwC Good Growth for Cities Index ranks 50 of the UK’s largest cities (generally considered those with populations of at least 350,000 people), plus the London boroughs as a whole, based on the public’s assessment of 12 economic measures. These include jobs, health, income, safety and skills, as well as work-life balance, housing, travel-to-work times, income equality, high street shops, environment and business start-ups.
The analysis shows that East Midlands cities score in line with
Alex Hudsonthe UK average in health, work-life balance, new businesses and safety. Indicators identified for improvements include income, high streets and affordability of housing.
Overall, weaker economic activity is expected in the East Midlands compared to the rest of the UK in 2023 and 2024. In 2023, the East Midlands economy is expected to contract by 0.06% in 2023, compared to growth of
Nottingham-based Yü Energy has been named in The Sunday Times Best Places to Work List for 2023. The prestigious list recognises the top UK employers, with a particular focus on employee wellbeing, job satisfaction, and work-life balance.
Being recognised among companies such as EasyJet Holidays, the business energy supplier secures its position in medium organisation category, dedicated to businesses with 50249 employees. The survey
reviewed six vital aspects of employee engagement including reward and recognition, information sharing, empowerment, pride, job satisfaction, and wellbeing.
Group HR director Navaz Dean said: “Our employees are at the heart of everything we do, and we believe that a happy and motivated workforce is essential to our success. This recognition is a testament to our commitment to creating a positive and engaging work environment for all our employees.”
0.05% in the UK as a whole, and in 2024 the East Midlands will grow by 0.88% compared to 0.99% overall in the UK.
Alex Hudson, market senior partner for PwC East Midlands, said: “The outlook in the East Midlands is a positive one, and it’s pleasing to see our cities generally faring well in our analysis this year.
Aligned with the Government’s levelling up agenda, local
government and employers have a part to play in providing opportunities for people to grow their businesses, careers and skills right across the region.”
For the second year running, Leicester is the highest-performing city in the East Midlands at 16th in the index, continuing to perform well for overall economic growth. Areas for improvement are income, affordability of housing and high streets.
Derby is ranked 24th in this year’s analysis, dropping slightly from 23rd in 2022. The city performs above the UK average on jobs, transport, skills in over-25s, income distribution and safety indicators. It is in line with the UK average on income, health, worklife balance, skills for 16 to 24-yearolds, affordability of housing, the environment and high streets.
Finally, Nottingham is ranked 36th, down slightly from 34th in 2022. The city performs above the UK average on jobs, transport and safety indicators, and is in line with the UK average on the remaining indicators. Areas highlighted for improvement are jobs, income and new businesses.
Nottingham-based Circle Software & Design has introduced a new design agency arm solely dedicated to branding and design services.
Named Circle Design, the launch of the new website and brand arrives as the company continues to expand its services and provide solutions to its clients’ evolving needs.
Head of marketing Lisa Searcy said: “We are thrilled to launch Circle Design, which will allow us to focus solely on our passion in helping businesses in and around the Midlands on their brand journey –whether that be rebranding, new brand development or becoming that bolt-on design team for local businesses.”
The new brand and website have been designed to provide a better user experience and make it easier for clients to access the services they require. By focusing solely on branding and design, the agency can provide a more targeted marketing approach and improve its search visibility.
Head of design Fernanda Rizzo added: “We wanted to give our new venture its own unique brand identity that connects with the right audience. By creating a stronger brand image and tone of voice, clients will be able to identify what our core skills and services are easier than before.”
‘It’s pleasing to see our cities generally faring well in our analysis this year’
Severn Trent has announced plans to create 1,000 new jobs over the next two years – and will increase its existing financial support for up to 50,000 of customers.
The Midlands FTSE 100 company has confirmed it will support 315,000 people a year with paying their water bill, with up to 50,000 receiving additional debt support.
It will also commit to its biggest intake of 130 skilled apprenticeships, 65 graduate placements and 60 summer internships to help achieve its target of 1,000 new jobs.
The water provider will deliver an investment programme worth more than £2.5bn on network improvements and projects spanning the region.
Chief executive Liv Garfield said: “Creating job opportunities, continuing significant regional investment, and financially supporting more customers than ever before is made possible by the strong results we have delivered this year.
“This support is being delivered while continuing with the multibillion-pound investment in the region to improve water and waste services, providing an exceptional service and investing in our people who go above and beyond every day to make a positive impact in our region.
“We are expecting the biggest investment period the sector has ever seen, with a focus on water resources, improving environmental standards and on net zero, and we feel more than ready for this exciting opportunity ahead of us.”
The 1,000 new jobs for the Midlands build on the company’s 10-year programme to help 100,000 people out of water poverty by 2032, giving people the skills and support to help find work. The programme will have also provided up to 4,800 work experience placements, aimed at offering opportunities for schoolchildren living in some of the most deprived areas across its region.
Derby-based The Stay Company has revealed plans for further growth across the East Midlands after celebrating the opening of its 100th apartment.
The serviced apartment provider, which has its HQ in Friar Gate, wants to add more high-quality sites to its Derby and Nottingham portfolio after achieving the centenary milestone by opening Phoenix Court.
It is currently exploring suitable opportunities in Leicestershire and is excited to introduce its stylish, high-quality serviced apartments to a new city.
Director Dan Wilkinson said: “It is clear there is a growing demand for premium, extended stay accommodation in and around the East Midlands.
“We have numerous apartments in and around Derby, and our recently-opened trio of sites in Nottingham are proving very popular with tourist travellers and business people alike.
“We’re now looking to extend our portfolio across the East Midlands. This has been our plan for some time, but in the beginning, we wanted to concentrate on Derby and Nottingham.”
This year, The Stay Company launched Phoenix Court in Gedling – a purpose-built block offering quality one and two-bedroom apartments. This new acquisition followed the launch of the £2m investment in Whitefriars House in Nottingham city centre, in October 2022.
Living Without Abuse (LWA) has been awarded almost £15,000 in funding from the Severn Trent Community Fund to refurbish its Loughborough and Leicester offices.
The funds will enable the charity, which supports victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence across Leicestershire and Rutland, to provide staff with areas for mental wellbeing and relaxation, as well as a welcoming safe space for clients escaping trauma.
Severn Trent Community Fund awards grants to improve the three elements of community wellbeing – people, places and environment.
Operational manager Tammy Clinton-Harris said: “Having the funding to add separate spaces for staff break times has been vital for our staff and organisation to fully embrace trauma-informed practice.
“The breakout space that we are creating will be a fundamental part of staff wellbeing to ensure they are practising in a safe environment and have space to step away and have adequate break times.”
WBR Group (WBR) took over Leicester’s National Space Centre (NSC) for an all-day staff event billed as Discovery 2023.
More than 120 employees attended and were joined in the evening by clients, contacts and friends of the business, which provides small self-administered scheme pension services and tax expertise.
Guest speaker Mandy Hickson, a former RAF fighter pilot, led WBR staff on a “flight of discovery” to understand risk management, leadership and team working.
Peter Collier, director of marketing and distribution, said:
“This was a fantastic day and from the moment everyone arrived for the rocket launch in the iconic 45metre-high Rocket Tower, we knew it was going to be a success.
“The NSC is a must-see venue and Mandy’s talk was mesmeric and amusing in equal doses. The excitement of our rocket building workshops had us working together like never before and an inspirational speech from CEO Tom Moore outlining the future vision for the business brought everyone together.”
The director of a Derbyshire social marketing agency who is working to help families navigate children’s mobile phone use has praised Kate Winslet for her impassioned Bafta acceptance speech highlighting the dangers of social media.
Anna Hutton, marketing director of MacMartin, delivers talks to teenagers in secondary schools aimed at helping them take back control of their social media consumption.
Passionate about using her social media knowledge to help young people develop healthy online habits, Anna said the Titanic actress’ speech, in which she called for the criminalisation of harmful content, was “timely, necessary and powerful”.
“It was so great to hear Kate Winslet call out harmful social media content when she accepted her Bafta for I am Ruth,” said Anna.
“I thought it was brilliant that she used her acceptance speech to highlight how dangerous social media content can get for young people when they are going through their most vulnerable years.
“Criminalising harmful social media content is definitely a conversation to be had but, in the meantime, I think dramas like I am Ruth have such an important role to play when it comes to highlighting how quickly teenagers’ self-image and confidence can be derailed by allowing social media to take control.”
A fast-growing doughnut company’s crowdfunding campaign attracted five-times its prospective investment target in just two weeks of trading.
Derby-based Project D launched a £400,000 crowdfund campaign at the beginning of May in an effort to inject cash to speed up its already rapid expansion. On the launch day alone, the preregistration figure totalled more than £500,000.
Within two weeks of launching its online campaign on the Crowdcube platform, it received expressions of interest amounting to more than £2m, in addition to the £150,000 lead investment already generated prior to the launch.
More than 2,500 potential investors keen to claim their own stake in the booming bakery business have flocked to the
crowdfunding site to reg ister an interest.
The company, which was launched from a kitchen table in 2018 by three former school friends, is now keen to encourage more potential future shareholders to pre-register before it decides how much to increase its original £400,000 target by.
Max Poynton, co-founder and marketing director for Project D, said: “Given the level of interest, we will probably now look to overfund our original investment target.
“It’s unbelievable how many
Derby businesses are celebrating the news the city has been awarded the prestigious Purple Flag accreditation for its evening and night-time economy (ENTE) for the 10th year in a row.
The Association of Town and City Management (ATCM) confirmed Derby has retained its Purple Flag status for a further year. An international accreditation scheme, it recognises excellence in managing the evening and night-time economy.
The award acknowledges the work of Derby City Council, Cathedral Quarter and St Peters Quarter Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), and the businesses in the area which have played a key role in providing a safe and enjoyable night out in the city.
Areas with Purple Flag accreditation are recognised as providing a vibrant and diverse mix of dining, entertainment and culture, while promoting the safety and wellbeing of visitors and local residents.
Brad Worley, BID Manager for both the Cathedral Quarter and St Peters Quarter BIDS, said: “The retention of Purple Flag status is a hugely positive reflection of the work that so many local agencies undertake, including our BIDs, and we are proud to have helped in providing a decade of safety for our night-time visitors.”
individuals want to be a part of our company. It’s also really rewarding to see some real interest from everyday people, including hundreds of our loyal social media followers.”
About 45% of the £2m total came from professional investors, while 55% came from first-time investors, most of whom showed an interest in investing between £50 and £1,000.
Finance raised will be invested in product innovation, retail expansion, digital marketing and e-commerce, and key office hires.
A brand manager at Nottingham-based Ketchup Marketing has been recognised at the Business Growth Awards, hosted by Nottingham Trent University’s Enterprise programme.
Ellie Jenkins (pictured) has received the Best Employee of a Growth Business title in the awards, which recognise excellence within the business community. She was selected for the award based on her strategic focus, passion and ability to create unique solutions to meet her client's needs.
Michelle Jones, managing director at the marketing agency, said: “We are immensely proud of Ellie and her fantastic achievement at the Business Growth Awards. The award is a testament to Ellie's hard work, dedication and expertise.”
The founder and CEO of Derby-based App4 has been shortlisted in the Great British Entrepreneur Awards.
Ian Chambers (pictured) is a Midlands regional finalist in the Technology Entrepreneur category for his role in the company’s success over the past decade. App4 provides end-to-end mobile app, online and instore food and beverage ordering solutions.
The awards, which are in their 11th year and take place at London’s Grosvenor House on 20 November, include Dragon’s Den entrepreneur Stephen Bartlett in the hall of fame.
Ian said: “To be shortlisted as a regional finalist is a wonderful achievement for all of us here at App4. Like all successful entrepreneurs, I wouldn’t be where I am now without the backing of an amazing team behind me.”
A growing Derby business says it will use a Government grant to help strengthen other organisations in the city and boost the local economy.
Visual marketing agency Briight has received Innovate UK funding that was made available to “develop and realise the potential of new ideas, including those from the UK’s world-class research base”.
Directors Rob Dawes and Drew Taylour-Davis will use the money – almost £30,000 – to make a creative impact on the area.
“The demand on digital and creative industries is huge right now,” said Rob, who has been running agencies with Drew for more than eight years.
“We want our studio in Jubilee Business Park to be a creative hub. We want to be able to develop our studio space to increase our capacity and scale of projects, and be a fully functional space that will be hired out to
other businesses and creatives in need of a large flexible filming space.”
Rob and Drew have worked with local businesses, as well as on campaigns for household names, including the BBC, Microsoft, and, most recently, HECK – the North Yorkshire-based supplier of sausages to major supermarkets.
They want to share their expertise with the next generation of creatives and creative entrepreneurs by giving local people work experience that could eventually lead to permanent roles within the company.
Drew added: “Our ambition at Briight is to host a creative space that can help nurture talent and produce great work.
“We want to push people locally to be more ambitious, understand the power of great visual marketing, and apply it at all levels.”
Tori Murphy is an English textile brand dedicated to creating thoughtful, timeless and sustainable products for the modern family home. Rooted in designer/founder Tori’s contemporary approach to pattern and commitment to English craftsmanship, fabric is woven in Lancashire, washed in the Yorkshire Dales and made up into products in the East Midlands.
After graduating from the Royal College of Art, Tori worked in Milan designing prints for clients including DKNY, Fendi and Christian Dior. Experiencing the factory floor for the first time, Tori developed a sound understanding of textile production. She returned home, determined to combine her love of pattern design and newfound passion for manufacturing with her early and unwavering commitment to the English textile industry. With a firm belief and plenty of perseverance, she succeeded in finding local weavers, finishers and machinists willing to support the fledgling business.
From her first run of twelve metres of woven merino wool, Tori produced a capsule collection of throws and cushions. Within a year, Tori Murphy was creating exclusive products for British brands including TOAST and Jo Malone and was stocked in Heal’s, Selfridges, Harrods,
Harvey Nichols, The Conran Shop and Daylesford Organic.
The range has evolved and the brand is now a thriving fabric and made to measure curtain and blind business, providing bespoke window treatments and supportive measuring advice.
Tori (pictured above) said: “We have used our manufacturing background to enter a complex market while keeping it simple and inspiring for customers. This allows us to make the aspirational accessible which is unique in the market where we occupy a space between interior designers and conventional service-led brands.”
Global interest is signalling a future growth opportunity, underpinned by recent export activity to Europe and trade partners drive volume while showcasing the designs in exclusive hospitality venues, including Soho House, The Ned and Gleneagles.
Tori Murphy’s reputation steadily grows as the go-to brand for English fabrics and homewares, designed and manufactured for over a decade in the East Midlands, with character and integrity.
Tell us what your company does and a brief overview of its history?
This year marks 10 years of EMA Training. I founded the company in August 2013, offering finance apprenticeships, and have since moved into digital and creative apprenticeships.
We provide a full recruitment service to our clients and candidates. Our team works to really understand the clients they work with and match them up with the best apprentice for their business. That seamless, hassle-free service adds value to our customers and the aim is for every single apprentice to enjoy a long-lasting career in their chosen sector.
Who are your main customers and what is your USP to them?
That’s a difficult one to answer, as the landscape for apprenticeships has changed dramatically in the past 10 years. Apprenticeship eligibility has no age limit, but most of our apprentices are between 16 and 19 years old.
We’re seeing a spike in “career changers” enquiring about apprenticeships. This is encouraging as it tells us the perception of apprenticeships is changing for the better and it’s easier to transition your career later in life.
Location: Derby and Nottingham
Number of employees: 49
Spokesperson: Tracey Mosley, managing director
In terms of our other core customer, we typically work with SMEs in the East Midlands. We also provide apprenticeships to a number of larger organisations. The reputation of EMA as a high-quality provider of apprenticeships has increased massively in the past three years, with our USP being the exceptional level of face-to-face
A brand-new programme to help businesses and organisations in Leicestershire become heathier places to work has been launched.
The Healthy Workplaces Leicestershire programme from Leicestershire County Council’s public health team has been designed to help organisations achieve the “Healthy Workplaces Leicestershire Accreditation”, with Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service 700-stong workforce becoming one of the first to benefit from the programme.
Businesses and organisations that sign up can benefit from
support including a workplace health needs assessment, health MOTs for staff and training for managers. The programme ensures a fully bespoke and tailored programme for each workforce.
Councillor Louise Richardson, lead member for health and wellbeing at Leicestershire County Council, said: “We spend so much of our adult life at work, so it is important that we make steps to ensure both our physical and mental health is looked after in the workplace. Our new initiative will enable businesses across the county to do just that.”
training in our Nottingham and Derby hubs, by industry experts.
What is your position in the business and what does your day-to-day role involve?
I’ve got a strong senior management team, which manages the day-to-day operational delivery of EMA. My focus is very much on the strategic positioning of EMA and ensuring all areas, including quality, delivery, curriculum, recruitment and sales, are running in line with our business stability and growth strategy.
What challenges have you faced in recent times and how have you tried to overcome them?
Like most businesses, we switched to remote working to protect our team and their families. It was tough as the team are really close –but we had weekly Teams calls, and an online Christmas work event. Looking back, it brought us closer together. We value the faceto-face engagement with our team and customers. That’s why as soon as we could, we switched our course delivery back to the hub.
What are the company’s plans for the future?
Last July, we received an Ofsted
grade of “good” for our apprenticeship services, with “outstanding” for personal development. It’s the added value of our apprenticeships that have allowed us to move forward and replicate what we have achieved from our flagship Derby hub into another city. This summer, we launched our content creator and digital marketer Level 3 courses to Nottingham, with the same addedvalue and expert-led training we’ve been proud to offer in Derby..
How long have you been a member of the East Midlands Chamber, and how have you engaged with the membership benefits to support your business activity?
We’ve been a member of the Chamber for a few years now and it’s been very useful. We’ve recently hosted a Chamber Connect networking event from our Nottingham hub and advertised various events of our own through these s essions.
My team often attends the Chamber-led workshops to upskill themselves and we enjoy supporting the regional Business Awards. Last year, EMA won the Small Business of the Year award, which I’m sure you can imagine we were absolutely thrilled about.
In May, the Chamber welcomed 28 new members:
• Akeenah Group Ltd (International)
• Arc Mobiles
• Aslockton Forge
• Better-IT Limited
• BrightLife
• Candle-Mad
• Dairy2Door
• Derventio Housing Trust
• Guy Walsh Photography
• Harsco Rail Ltd (International)
• Imperial Roofing Supplies UK Limited
• IntaForensics
• IT Collections Ltd
• IvyJack Communications
• Magnetic Control for Industry Ltd
• Musclecoach U.K LTD
• Myrtle’s Home Furnishings
• Nottingham Festival of Science and Curiosity
• Revolution Nottingham
• SALCS Installations Ltd
• Smart Business Recovery Limited
• Sorbus Finance
• Southwell Racing & Golf (pictured)
• Swadlincote Electrical Supplies
• Syscat Limited
• Taylor Made Group Ltd
• Tulipa Hair & Beauty Supplies
• Unique & Loved
A brand-new car is up for grabs in the Treetops Hospice summer raffle after a donation by Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire car dealership Ron Brooks Toyota.
The juniper-blue Toyota Aygo X Edge was donated to help the end-of-life charity celebrate its 40th birthday this year.
Kevin Slack, managing director at Ron Brooks Toyota, which is also celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, said: “It’s really important for us to give something back to the community and Treetops Hospice is a great charity. It makes such a difference for hundreds of local people every year.”
The hospice hopes that raffle ticket sales will help raise more than £20,000 for the charity, which provides end-of-life nursing care and counselling support in the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire community.
Derby secondary school
Alvaston Moor Academy joined forces with local businesses to hold its first ever work experience week.
About 60 year 10 students at the academy in Bracken’s Lane were given the opportunity to get a taste of the workplace during a week in May.
The cohort of Alvaston Moor pupils spent time in a wide range of organisations, including John M Lewis & Co, Day-Night Pharmacy and Nippon Auto Spares, with some prestigious names such as Rolls-Royce and Alstom also volunteering as hosts.
Vice-principal Dan Ingram said: “Given this was the first time Alvaston Moor Academy had held a work experience week of any kind, I’m delighted at the response we had from local companies willing to allow our students into their offices for a day or two.”
BrightLife has confirmed Magnavale as its first business donor for its 2023/24 fundraising campaign.
Following a significant change in the fundraising landscape for charities since the pandemic, BrightLife has found itself having to adapt to sustain its support services, which help alleviate isolation and loneliness in elderly people.
Reaching out to the local business community to raise funds is a first for the charity, and its new campaign will help it to not only sustain existing operations, which include a telephone befriending service, but expand them.
It plans to add a new support service to provide 10 face-to-face social meetings per year, which will create the opportunity for people to socialise with like-minded individuals who are otherwise on their own, creating long-term connections and friendships.
Ann Monk, the charity’s chief officer, said: “In these difficult economic times, it’s important now more than ever that we all work
more closely together to deliver solutions for what are ongoing problems and challenges within our communities.
“The support of Magnavale has been incredible. As a small, local charity it’s important that we look to reciprocate value back to our business donors wherever possible, and we can do so via various volunteering initiatives, as well as the marketing support we can offer businesses.”
A group of young women from Leicester charity Soft Touch Arts have been able to access a fullyfunded, two-night activity break with the Youth Hostels Association (YHA).
The national youth charity turns donations into adventures for children in poverty, respite breaks for young carers, and precious memories for families facing hardships.
Staying at YHA’s dedicated Peak District activity centre in Edale, the group of six completed a night hike, canoeing, archery and various team-building activities. Arriving by train — which was, itself, a first for some of them — the funded break was an unforgettable adventure and built bonds of friendship through experiencing new things.
Soft Touch Arts uses a variety of art forms to engage with young people in Leicestershire, supporting them to develop and progress with their artwork and their mental health and wellbeing. The young people they work with often have complexities in their lives such as family problems, struggles with mainstream education or living in
Derby College has reached its 20-year milestone supporting local charity Jericho House, a nine-bed residential addiction recovery project based in Alvaston.
It provides a holistic approach to drug addiction with elements of housing support and resettlement.
The college has supported staff and residents at the charity with a range of learning opportunities over the past two decades.
Neil Ainslie, manager of Jericho House, said: “Derby College provides a comprehensive range of support, starting with assessing new residents’ current level of maths and English.
“The college then goes on to help them achieve personspecific qualifications for the duration of their stay with us. We have so many stories where our residents' lives have been transformed by our wraparound care and this includes providing a route to education.”
areas of deprivation.
Group leader Kelly Grace said: “Everyone engaged with all the activities, and I was so impressed at how they all overcame their nerves and mental barriers, how they worked together and threw themselves into every activity.
Drinking hot chocolate around the fire, we sat together and talked about everything we’d done. This has created great memories for them.”
By
Nik Kotecha
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting and disclosures form part of the modern business world. Whether mandatory, as for large firms, or increasingly reported voluntarily for smaller firms preparing for a direction of travel that will soon expect more, no-one reading this will be unfamiliar with the evolving landscape of ESG policies.
That’s hand-in-hand – some might say – with the everdeepening appreciation there’s a demonstrable economic value associated with these areas.
That “awareness” is so much more, in fact. It’s a vast and rapidly growing knowledge base, with choices from macro-commercial investment through to day-to-day consumer purchases being shaped by perceptions and understanding of just how businesses are operating.
That level of understanding includes being alert to company values, the extent to which a firm might mitigate adverse business impacts, the way business is done within “four walls”, and the “above and beyond” positive impact we seek to bring.
It's not all about external forces, though. A group of studies published in 2013 and 2014 showed good corporate sustainability performance is strongly linked with good commercial results. That’s likely to be because ESG-related reporting requirements are important for many aspects of corporate performance too – from risk management, talent attraction and retention, employee satisfaction or operational performance.
So – there’s a wealth of drivers behind ESG.
But I’d challenge you to consider this. Is satisfying required compliance and securing commercial value where you’re at? Or is your business already doing more? If not –could it? Does benefitting your own community feature in your business mindset?
And by that, I mean the community that matters to you –locally, nationally or by sector.
AT THE HEART of my business philosophy at Morningside Pharmaceuticals, from 1991 to 2022, were central values of fairness, accessibility of medicines and quality in all we did. This led to a core tenet of our corporate plan being to provide affordable medicines worldwide, including to global aid agencies like the Red Cross.
We did that competitively and commercially, but I was determined to secure business fairly and, in turn, secure supplies of trusted medicines for use in global aid responses. This goal, underpinned by my business philosophy, drove my business choices. While it was not the easiest business to land, it was good business, making good commercial sense, but it also delivered for a community I actively sought to support.
This philosophy still fundamentally drives me across my current business interests, but now into my wider philanthropic work, which is centre stage for me today.
My focus on this is the same today, leading a charitable foundation with global reach, as it was when I started out as a microSME, exporting medicines to developing countries – just me, my fax machine and my garage. I have no doubt that the values-led business I went on to build, in a challenging commercial landscape, harnessed success from these deep
seated, community-centric foundations.
Today, I focus this philosophy through my work as founder of the Randal Charitable Foundation –delivering for a community which I still actively seek to support; those facing disadvantage, those without access to good healthcare, education and those in poverty.
Saving and improving one million lives in the UK and globally is our central goal –and we’re making exceptional progress towards this –powered by commercial success which was underpinned by a parallel set of goals.
Our work in my home city of Leicester, across the East Midlands region, throughout the UK and globally will deliver life-saving, lifetransforming change. At this point, I would ask, is now when you take a moment to consider further, how your business can collaborate with organisations doing good in your community, for causes that deeply matter to you?
THE POWER OF business, through partnerships with the third sector, can do much to tackle social and environmental challenges, strengthen communities and create opportunities for greater growth and long-term prosperity.
Business – your business – is already an opportunity driver in your community today. Should you –can you, will you – take a step further forward and do more for your community?
Your business values and personal goals will be unique to you. But I’d urge you to go further than ESG. It’s maybe less of a step that you think to fully embed your own values firmly in your corporate planning, your strategy and your business voice.
Seek out those collaborations. Connect with partners you have synergies with. And the benefits you could secure – for your company, your teams and your community – could be transformational.
‘The power of business, through partnerships with the third sector, can do much to tackle social and environmental challenges’Dr OBE (pictured), founder of the Randal Charitable Foundation Dr Nik Kotecha’s business was built on the principle of supplying affordable medicines worldwide
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has appointed Richard Collier-Keywood (pictured) to its board.
Richard brings with him a wealth of international and UK business experience, operating at the highest level of industry. He served as managing partner of PwC UK from 2008 to 2011, and as the organisation’s global vicechairman from 2011 to 2017.
Following this, Richard went on to become a senior adviser to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport for four years. He now spends his time working with organisations spanning the charity, business, public and NGO sectors.
Sarah Howard MBE, chair of the BCC, said: “We are honoured to have Richard join the BCC board. Not only does he bring with him experience working at the top of the international business world, but also years of involvement with brilliant charities, third-sector organisations and public bodies.”
Laura Pain has been promoted to equity partner at Mitchells Chartered Accountants and Business Advisers – the first female equity partner in the company’s 155-year history.
A fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA), Laura has been with the Chesterfield-based accountancy firm since 2008 and became an associate partner in 2021. She joins fellow equity partners Tim Leeman, Tony Hornsby and Andrew McDaid in leading the business.
She said: “Becoming an equity partner coincides with my 15th year
WBR Group (WBR) has announced the appointment of Tom Lodge to the position of tax director and Akshay Vaghela as tax manager.
Tom will have overall responsibility for the day-today management of the Leicester-based firm’s tax function, with 11 people reporting to him. He will be a member of the executive board, headed by David Downie and will also report to the main board on all tax related matters.
Tom joined the independent provider of small selfadministrated (SASS) pension scheme services and tax experts in 2019 and has over 10 years’ experience in the tax sector.
Akshay joined WBR Group in 2021 as a senior associate with a specialisation in restructuring.
Metal recycling and waste management specialist Ward has appointed two new members to its commercial team.
Mick Roots joins as national construction manager and Kieron Shanks moves into the newlycreated role of senior bid-manager.
Both appointments will be based at Ward’s head office, Donald Ward House in Ilkeston, where they will join the commercial team.
Heather Foo, head of purchasing (metals) and sales (waste) at Ward, said: “It is great to have Mick on board to further enhance the waste team and the wider business. His experience and passion shines through and we are very pleased to have him as part of the Ward family.
“The business is equally thrilled to welcome Kieron to the team, who will have a key role in expanding the business through the bid process.”
WBR Group CEO Tom Moore said: “Tom has been with the business for four years and has been an
with the firm, making it an incredibly special milestone for me.”
As equity partner, Laura will continue to lead the firm’s team of digital accountants, who specialise in advising start-ups and small businesses to leverage the power of cloud accounting to automate their business processes and reduce costs.
Senior partner Tim Leeman added: “Laura’s experience and passion for the business and clients is very much valued, and will be instrumental in helping us grow the business further.”
invaluable member of the team, with a strong appreciation for technical detail, taking a keen interest in case law and future developments of tax policy.
“The promotion of Tom and Akshay further strengthens our tax team and demonstrates our commitment to providing our clients and professional connections with the highest level of expertise and service.”
Leicester-based Howes Percival has announced 14 senior promotions, including three new partners Alexandra Hornsby, Nick Benton and Jennifer Laskey.
Alishia Marrocco, Gary Pitt, Owen Franks, Jeremy Hyde, Lucy Elianu, Ben Hancox, Danielle Chetwynd, Miles Barnes and Jasmine Mason have all been promoted to the level of director. William Taylor and Kiran Vohra have been made senior associates. Chairman Geraint Davies said: “As a firm, we have a
reputation for promoting from within and it is great to be able to reward so many people this year for their exceptional efforts in supporting our clients.
“The firm has had a really successful year and this achievement has been driven by exceptional people, working really hard together. Our people have been at the heart of that and consistently provided excellent service to our clients, which has enabled us to capitalise on the opportunities that have arisen.”
Dave Allum, an expert in the charity sector and ownermanaged businesses, has been promoted the role of partner in the Nottingham office of UHY Hacker Young after two decades with the national accountancy firm. He joined in 2002 as an audit senior, progressing through the ranks and a range of roles to become one of seven Nottingham partners.
Assisting the firm’s client base with audit and accounts, Dave has developed his specialism of supporting owner-managed businesses with their complex needs, including the nuances of charitable organisations.
He said: “From strategic advice to succession planning and post-Brexit implications for international business, it is incredibly rewarding to work with members of the Nottingham team and other UHY
Copley Scientific has appointed a new applications specialist to maintain a customer-centric focus as growth continues.
Dr Clair Brooks has joined the Nottingham-based company, which is a major provider of pharmaceutical testing systems with worldrenowned expertise in the field of orally inhaled and nasal drug products (OINDPs).
She is a seasoned life sciences professional with a track record of delivering infield support for a leading molecular diagnostics company. Her primary focus at Copley will be to help customers optimise equipment use.
Managing director Jamie Clayton said: “Understanding the evolving requirements of the pharmaceutical industry and providing our customers with the tools to meet them is paramount, and this appointment will add to our capabilities to do that.”
offices to help our clients across the UK, and internationally, prosper.
“As a father to two children with disabilities, I am incredibly grateful to the support that UHY continues to provide to enable me to prioritise their needs and maintain a healthy work-life balance. Despite being a national firm, we’ve managed to remain true to our values and culture to provide the best environment for the team – a significant reason for why I am proud to have worked at UHY for so long.”
A five-strong team from company secretarial (CoSec) Bruce Wallace Associates, including directors Susan Wallace and Martha Brice, have joined East Midlands full-service law firm Shakespeare Martineau following a merger.
The union takes the CoSec team to 13 within Shakespeare Martineau, which has hubs in Nottingham, Leicester and Lincoln.
The department provides specialist corporate governance advice and company secretarial services to public companies listed on the alternative investment market (AIM), aquis stock exchange market (AQSE) and the main market, as well as several large private groups.
East Midlands law firm Nelsons has promoted three employees at its Derby office within its commercial property, dispute resolution and residential property departments.
Oliver Maxwell has been promoted to legal director, Sarah Burns to senior associate and Fiona Cox to associate.
Dispute resolution specialist
Oliver graduated from the University of Birmingham with a master’s degree in law in 2011, before obtaining his postgraduate diploma in legal practice at the Nottingham Law School. Oliver qualified as a solicitor in 2014 and joined Nelsons in 2017.
Sarah has been with Nelsons for more than a decade after graduating from the University of Northumbria with a bachelor’s degree in law, combining a postgraduate diploma in legal
practice. She started at Nelsons as a legal assistant before being promoted to a paralegal, then qualifying as a solicitor and now becoming a senior associate.
Fiona, who specialises in house sales and purchases, joined the firm in 1999 when Gadsbys merged with Nelsons.
Stewart Vandermark, chief executive at Nelsons, said: “Oliver, Sarah and Fiona are all integral members of the team in Derby who have shown great commitment, not just to their role but also to their clients and teams. I’d like to congratulate them all on their very well-deserved promotions and look forward to seeing what they achieve in the future.”
Meanwhile, Paul Hinchcliffe will head up the Derby commercial property department after being promoted to partner.
Bruce Wallace Associates cofounders Martha Bruce and Susan Wallace are both fellows of the Chartered Governance Institute and are regarded as experts in their field. They provide complex advice and support to AIM and main market-listed companies, as well as financial conduct authority-regulated and groups of companies.
Susan said: “Martha and I believe this is an excellent move for us and our clients, who will benefit from continuity of service and the 1,200-strong team of experts available across Shakespeare Martineau and the Ampa group. We are keen to grow our team and client base, and the infrastructure Shakespeare Martineau offers will enable us to do just that.”
As one of the distinct features of the Peak District, Chatsworth is a symbol of the region’s tourism offer. But the work of the Devonshire Group, which oversees the attraction’s charity and a number of businesses across various sectors, extends into its surrounding communities and beyond. CEO Stephen Vickers talks to Dan Robinson about the importance of being a responsible business and how this ultimately supports organisational objectives.
There is an internal strapline used within the Devonshire Group that sets out an aim “to make a decent profit but to do so decently”.
“We use it whenever we speak about our plans for growth as a very simple reminder about how we go for that growth,” says Stephen Vickers. What this means in practice will vary for every business but for the Devonshire Group it takes various forms.
An organisation that comprises both charities and commercial enterprise, it operates on behalf of the Devonshire family that has spanned 16 generations over 500 years, now led by Lord Burlington, William Cavendish, and the Lady, Laura Roundell.
Its diverse commercial portfolio spans sectors including property, retail, hotels and hospitality, farming and forestry. The group’s two core charities are the Chatsworth House Trust, which manages the long-term preservation of Chatsworth House, many of its contents and the surrounding landscape, and the Duke of Devonshire’s Charitable Trust, which provides grants to charitable causes located in its estates’ communities.
Even outside those charitable activities, environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards are embedded into its business so that suppliers must meet certain ethical criteria, a housing development will be used as a live work experience site to bolster local skills, and employee inclusivity training creates a sense of belonging within the workforce while also maximising its customer offer.
Stephen says: “There’s no difference in how we manage on a charitable basis to the for-profit business – we will still go about our business in a responsible way economically, socially and environmentally. There is no quarter on that.
“It comes from the family for who we work. Community and charity is part of their DNA, and therefore it’s part of how we do business and is also evident in the types of people we attract to work in our business.
“We don’t necessarily see CSR or ESG as a separate thing. We take a triple bottom-line approach of people, planet, profit – and so we genuinely won’t take forward investment ideas if they do not meet all three criteria.”
THIS SENTIMENT DOESN’T just exist in boardroom discussions but is backed up by a mission statement that is updated annually.
10 Goals for 10 Years is the Devonshire Group’s commitment to its core purpose, which is broken down into three areas around preserving heritage assets for future generations, supporting its communities and being regarded as a leader in everything it does.
These goals cover everything from community regeneration and heritage investment, to
The Devonshire Group comprises charities and businesses throughout the UK and Ireland. These include Chatsworth, which sits within the Derbyshire Estate, the Bolton Abbey Estate in North Yorkshire, Lismore Estate in County Waterford, and Compton Estate in Sussex.
The businesses include heritage attractions, shops, restaurants and luxury accommodation at Chatsworth, Bolton Abbey and in Lismore Castle in Ireland.
The estates include tenanted businesses and residential property, a property development business with a pipeline of 2,000 homes, sustainable forestry and farming businesses, and an estate farm shop at Chatsworth.
The Chatsworth House Trust, established in 1981, oversees the Grade II-listed house –which is home to one of Europe’s most significant private art collections – and surrounding environment, which includes a stables, 105-acre garden, 1,822-acre park, farmyard and adventure playground. The registered charity directly receives every penny of visitor admission income.
reducing its environmental impact and both educating and training young people.
Stephen, who joined as CEO in January 2019 with more than two decades’ experience working for organisations with diversified interests, believes this document is an effective way of holding the leadership team and wider business accountable in its ESG objectives.
He says: “In business in general, there is a growing awareness of ESG. More organisations are prioritising having an ethical approach to their own procurement and we see banks are now including more emphasis on non-financial elements of what we do in their questions that feed into lending decisions.
“We have an approved supplier list that’s predominantly focused on areas that fall within ESG and local procurement is important to us too, so one of our goals we’re really driving now is for half of our suppliers to be within a 30-mile radius. For example, our hotel business invited local spirit companies to a supplier event so it can move towards these brands.
“If we go down this route, our customers won’t see the brands they recognise so we would need to make sure our colleagues understand the offer and can talk about them, because that sustainability piece is really important – both in terms of fewer miles travelled for supplies but also in terms of supporting the viability of local businesses.”
The group recognises the importance of having a symbiotic relationship with the communities surrounding its estates – not just at Chatsworth but in North Yorkshire, Sussex and County Waterford, Ireland.
Part of this involves working closely with local authorities and stakeholders to mitigate the impact of major events on road networks, but more broadly it talks of a “shared future” –whether collaborating with local wildlife trusts and the Peak District National Park Authority to tackle environmental challenges, or ensuring surrounding towns, villages and businesses reap economic rewards from its own success.
TO THAT END, in March 2020 the Devonshire Group entered a two-year knowledge transfer
partnership (KTP) with the University of Derby, funded by the Government-backed UK Research and Innovation, to recruit student James Pickering as an applied economist with the aim of developing a rigorous basis of measuring the economic and employment impact of its activities.
The inaugural economic impact report, covering the 2019 to 2022 financial years, was published in October 2022.
In October 2022, the Devonshire Group published its first-ever economic impact report following a knowledge transfer partnership with the University of Derby.
It highlighted the impact of the Devonshire Group on the UK economy over the previous three years, beginning in 2019/20 immediately prior to the pandemic. Key findings included:
• £224m GVA contribution to UK economy in 2021/22, up from £141m in 2020/21 and £197m in 2019/20
• £56m impact of Covid-19 calculated from these figures
• £97.6m GVA contribution to Derbyshire economy in 2021/22, up from £89.1m in 2019/20
• 1,863 FTE jobs in Derbyshire supported in 2021/22, up from 1,736 in 2019/20
• 574,000 visitors to Chatsworth in 2021/22 up from 304,000 in 2020/21 – which had marked a 48% drop from 581,000 in 2019/20
Among the findings were that the company made a £224m contribution to the UK economy and supports 3,338 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs – including £97.6m and 1,863 jobs in Derbyshire – in 2021/22, but the damage of the pandemic had been estimated at £56m a year.
Stephen explains: “We always believed the way we operated our organisation delivered not just for us but our local areas too, so in part this is about running our business with as much factual evidence as we can with a repeatable piece of work.
“The timing was interesting as it allowed us to look at the impact of Covid-19 and the data allows us to have informed conversations with our partners.
“One of the interesting findings was that if we can convert a person who visits for one day into a single overnight stay, there’s a 10-times multiplier in their impact on the local area.
“They will spend £240 per overnight trip on average, rather than £24 for a day trip, in shops, hotels and pubs across the wider area. This substantiates one of our strategic priorities to
• The 2021/22 GVA impact comprised tenants (£93m), operations (£73.4m), visitor expenditure (£35.8m), supplier expenditure (£16m) and employee expenditure
• 3,338 jobs supported nationally in 2021/22, up from 2,539 in 2020/21 although slightly down from 3,379 in 2019/20
• 650 full-time equivalent (FTE) people (75% of these in Derbyshire) directly employed by the Devonshire Group in 2021/22, up from 557 in 2020/21 but down from 672 in 2019/20
convert ‘days to stays’. The idea is to have an annual update and we’re also looking at how we might do something about the ESG impact.”
Economic and social value isn’t just about supporting incomes for local businesses, as evidenced by a new Construction Skills Hub being established at Mastin Moor, where the Devonshire Group’s property arm has planning permission to build 650 homes and community facilities.
• £54.6m spent by visitors to Chatsworth and Bolton Abbey in 2021/22 across sectors such as retail, accommodation and hospitality – generating £38.5m GVA and supporting 769 FTE jobs, with the vast majority (£28.5m GVA and 628 FTE jobs) generated locally
• £24 spend on wider economy by day visitors to Chatsworth, climbing to £240 per trip for an overnight stay.
To read the full economic impact report, visit devonshiregroup.co.uk
The hub – which is led by Chesterfield Borough Council with funding from the Staveley Town Deal – aims to provide training, careers insights and work experience for more than 5,000 learners, with Chesterfield College and the University of Derby appointed as training providers.
They will gain practical work experience on a live development at the Mastin Moor site, just outside Staveley – developing skills
‘We always believed the way we operated our organisation delivered not just for us but our local areas too’
initially in areas such as bench joinery, brickwork, ground works and electrical installation, but in future expanded to include retrofit and green technologies.
Stephen says the idea to get involved with the hub was formed after learning from the Construction Industry Training Board how the East Midlands required an additional 17,500 skilled construction workers by 2027.
“The scale of the Construction Skills Hub means we will get a repeated cohort trained over time in a lot of different roles,” he adds.
“Providing skills for future generations and retraining the existing workforce are important facets of the regeneration theme that drives the Mastin Moor site.
“We want to make sure there are skills and job opportunities for people who want those roles in our community, and I’d like to think it’s something the Devonshires have been doing for centuries.”
A PROUD HERITAGE does not stop continuous evolution and that word from the beginning crops up again in the Devonshire Group’s values of “always improving; decency; being inclusive”, which are showcased externally.
An example of this can be found in the voluntary training on British sign language and awareness courses on neurodiversity now offered to employees after feedback from teams on the ground who recognised the benefits it could bring.
Having the ability to communicate with both colleagues and customers in BSL has obvious rewards when required, but less is known about neurodiversity – an overarching term for the diagnostic labels used to explain diverse ways of thinking, learning, processing and behaving, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD), autism, dyspraxia, dyslexia and Tourette’s syndrome.
Stephen believes an equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) policy is a crucial part of the business, adding: “When we face into our own business, we must think about why people want to come and work for us in the first place, and how we make them want to stay for a long time.
“It’s about making ourselves as welcoming as possible, so we must be aware of the challenges and opportunities – and I say opportunities because neurodiversity is a superpower because it can bring strengths in areas such as creativity, focus, attention to detail, problem solving and processing information.
“Secondly, if we want to be a quality-led business, it’s important to have customer-facing staff who are actively seeking these self-improving attributes and taking them to our customers.”
The self-development journey never stops at organisational level either. Later this year, fully accessible changing places will be installed at Chatsworth to support staff and visitors with complex needs.
Sustainable tourism remains an ongoing agenda for the group to consider. It will shortly recruit a head of natural capital, a new leadership role with a remit to bring together various biodiversity workstreams and develop a long-term sustainability strategy while working with local partners.
Stephen admits there is no silver bullet for a heritage asset located in the middle of the Peak District with no railway station in the immediate vicinity.
The Devonshire Group employs about 1,300 people, roughly half of which are seasonal workers, and they are the driving force behind many of ESG activities.
“It’s not necessarily the senior team or the Devonshire family saying ‘this is a good thing to do’ – the vast majority are colleague-led and our job is to facilitate it,” says Stephen.
He highlights some of his favourite ESG and CSR activities from recent times:
“During the pandemic we had to shut down our catering operation, so our catering team in the Carriage House Café kitchen came forward with the idea to produce ready meals for foodbanks.
“The Duke of Devonshire’s Charitable Trust donated the cost of the food, we provided the kitchens and the estate chefs donated their time. They delivered 150 meals a week –including frozen portions of cottage pie, lasagne, macaroni cheese and risotto – to the Jigsaw Food Bank, which supports households across the Peak District who are unable to provide for themselves due to loss of income, employment or benefits.”
“The goal for our 650-home development at Mastin Moor is to create great places to live.
“So in our negotiations with housebuilders, the driver has not necessarily been about selling to the highest bidder, but identifying the housebuilder that will give us the best homes, street designs and environment.
“These will be the homes where people spend their entire lives, so we want to make sure it’s done in the right way.”
“Our people team is fantastic – always talking to colleagues to discuss how to improve what we do.
“British sign language (BSL) and neurodiversity came up recently as ideas and we’re now carrying out voluntary training on BSL and awareness courses on neurodiversity.
“This helps internally for neurodiverse colleagues, but also for when facing customers – it gives people the ability to be more aware and maximise the quality of what we do.”
“We have supported the Derbyshire Charity Clay Shoot, the largest one-day event of its kind that takes place annually to raise funds for children’s and cancer-based charities in Derbyshire and Sheffield.
“We had 500 people attend this year and it’s partly a fantastic success because of the support Chatsworth provides in hosting the event within the most amazing setting.”
Established in 2019, the Devonshire Group’s long-term strategy is governed by its 10 goals in 10 years, which are updated annually. The current goals summarised are:
1. Help create 1,000 homes and 1,000 jobs in the local area
2. Double the benefit to local economies from its organisations
3. Buy at least 50% of its supplies and services locally
4. Invest £50m in its heritage properties a nd landscapes
5. Enable every child in local schools to experience its estates
6. Achieve excellence in visitor feedback scores
7. Be recognised as an excellent employer
8. Create 500 work opportunities for those in and just out of education
9. Reduce its impact on the environment
10. Improve the quality of life and wellbeing for local communities
But that hasn’t prevented it from taking steps to enhance its environmental credentials –including a zero waste to landfill policy, changing bins to separate waste at the point of deposit, offering discounted entry to visitors who use public transport and plans to install electric vehicle charging points in the car park. Chatsworth is rated gold in the Green Tourism scheme.
“We’re conscious most of our visitors will continue to visit us by car, by virtue of the fact they have little other choice,” says Stephen. “That doesn’t stop us from doing what we can to be greener and we’re part of the Peak District National Park’s joint effort to look at the whole question of sustainable transport.
“None of us can solve it on our own, and it needs a lot of regional and national attention because with the best will in the world, there is no new railway coming into the Peak District any time soon.
“We also work with other bodies such as the Derwent Valley Cycleway to continue building our sustainable transport options. There’s no easy solution but it’s something we’re constantly working on.”
A tornado of external headwinds causing a cost-of-doing-business crisis has forced firms to tighten their belt and scale back investment plans, but Stephen is passionate about protecting ESG and CSR activities from any sacrifices.
He adds: “At an economically challenging time, it might be an easy thing to think you can’t spend money on certain items because you need to focus on core business –but my response is that ESG is core business.
“The mantra we’ve said is that the one thing we won’t fall short on is our quality of service. When times are tough, we don’t look to economise too much because if people are going to make a choice about how they spend their money, we want to make sure they are making a very good decision. That’s why for us, our strapline of making a decent profit, but doing so decently, is writ large.”
Mattioli Woods has acquired 50.1% of White Mortgages Limited in a deal worth £420,000.
As part of the agreement, the wealth management firm, which has an office in Leicester, also has an option to acquire the remaining 49.9% based on certain conditions and targets.
Founded in 2011, White Mortgages specialises in providing independent mortgage advice, while also offering bespoke protection advice. Based in Lincoln, it employs nine people, comprising four advisers and five administrative staff, all of whom will remain with Mattioli Woods following completion.
In the year ending 31 March 2022, the company generated revenues of just over £500,000,
with a profit before taxation of £220,000.
Michael Wright, group managing director of Mattioli Woods, said: “Our investment in White Mortgages is an exciting extension to our existing client proposition and is another step forward for Mattioli Woods as we continue to expand our operations.
“Over the past six months, we have seen significant changes in the economy, none more so than immediately after the mini-budget last September and the impact it had on the mortgage market, with a leap in mortgage interest rates, the withdrawal of many mortgage products and a rapid tightening in lenders' underwriting criteria.
“By bringing Steve and his team into the group, we are better
positioned to help those clients looking to finance a new property purchase or re-finance existing lending.”
Steve White, director of White Mortgages, added: “We are very excited to partner with a likeminded management team with
Leicestershire’s three universities have signed up to a new regional pact to help tackle climate change and make the county net zero by 2045.
De Montfort University, Loughborough University and the University of Leicester are among the organisations to partner with Leicestershire County Council on a commitment to tackle climate change and nature decline through an ambitious set of principles.
The Leicestershire Climate and Nature Pact is based on the principles of the Glasgow Climate Pact, signed by the UK Government at COP26 in November 2021.
It supports national and
international efforts by bringing together businesses, community and voluntary organisations, social enterprises, universities and other educational institutions, public sector and people of Leicestershire to drive local action and work towards a number of shared environmental aims.
The core requirements of the pact are the need to act on climate change; reducing carbon emissions to net zero; reducing the impacts of climate change; halting ecological decline and supporting climate recovery; enabling climate action; and working together to deliver greater action.
Loughborough University’s
environmental manager Nik Hunt said: “Supporting this pact is in keeping with our civic universities agreement work.
“It also strongly aligns with our strategic aim around developing meaningful partnerships locally, as well as the university’s climate change and net zero theme, both part of our Creating Better Futures Together strategy.
“The synergy between what we need to achieve as a business and what we need to achieve as a community and county, as well as the role Loughborough University can play in this, makes signing and actively supporting the pact the logical and right thing to do.”
high growth ambitions.
“The sale will help accelerate our growth plan by broadening our proposition with the support of Mattioli Woods. We will continue to place integrity, reliability and a commitment to excellence at the heart of our business.”
The University of Nottingham has launched a new hub dedicated to social sciences research around climate change, sustainability and the net zero challenge.
The SHAping Sustainable Futures research hub comprises more than 50 experts from across the university’s Faculty of Social Sciences. It will pool their research to make it accessible to policymakers and the general public.
The hub has been developed by the university’s Institute for Policy and Engagement and was partially funded by the ESRC Impact Accelerator Account (IAA).
Academic experts include professor of climate risk Simon Gosling, professor of industrial economics Arijit Mukherjee and professor of international human rights law Aoife Nolan.
Stephen Meek, director of the University of Nottingham’s Institute for Policy and Engagement, said: “The rationale behind the hub is an acknowledgement that the challenge of creating a sustainable future is as much a social challenge as a technical one.”
East Midlands accountancy, business adviser and wealth manager Duncan & Toplis is accelerating its growth plans through external investment from private equity firm Blixt Group.
Blixt is a pan-European private equity firm headquartered in London, with access to more than €250m (£215m) of long-term institutional investor funding. It focuses on growth-orientated businesses within the accounting, wealth management and legal services sectors.
Duncan & Toplis said its growth strategy was underpinned by continued investment in its team, the expansion of its service proposition and leveraging of technology to unlock new opportunities – complemented by acquisitions. The deal is subject to regulatory approvals and is due to complete this autumn.
Managing director Adrian Reynolds said: “The core of our
culture is based on doing right by our people, our communities and our clients, and this will remain so.
“Over almost a century, Duncan & Toplis has been a trusted partner to generations of people, businesses and communities, and we’re always working to have a greater positive impact.
“Our new growth strategy will start the next 100 years as we mean to go on, accelerating our progress and protecting what makes our business special, while
Construction is underway for the development of the University of Derby’s new business school.
It is being built by Kier on land adjacent to the university’s One Friar Gate Square, and is projected to be the study base for more than 6,000 students by 2030, supporting the local economy and adding to the vibrancy of the city centre.
To mark the key milestone, a ground-breaking ceremony was held at the site on 9 June, with guests including Chancellor Lord Burlington DL, academic colleagues, and representatives from Kier and Derby City Council.
The university says the business
school will provide a facility for cutting-edge research, learning and teaching, and support businesses in the region and across the globe.
Professor Kathryn Mitchell CBE DL, vice-chancellor of the University of Derby, said: “This new development is ground-breaking for many reasons. The state-of-theart facilities will not only enable the university to extend its opportunities to undertake innovative and impactful research, but will also enable staff to deliver experiential learning and teaching through co-location and cocreation with businesses, and will become the front door of the
taking it to the next level.
“Blixt is an ideal partner for us because it shares our focus on culture and growth for the right reasons. It also brings incredible expertise in strategic thinking, supporting us in the direction we want to travel in, helping us further along the path and accelerating our progress.
“Fundamentally, its support means that in the next few years, we can achieve what we would have hoped to achieve in 10-plus
years, and that’s very exciting.”
Carl Harring, CEO at Blixt, added: “We are delighted to be working with Duncan & Toplis. We have been impressed by the quality, track record and ambition of the business, and its exemplary commitment to both its people and its clients. We really look forward to partnering with the team at Duncan & Toplis and other likeminded accounting firms to help accelerate growth.”
Duncan & Toplis was founded in 1925 in Nottingham before it relocated to Grantham and expanded across the East Midlands, with 11 offices today in locations such as Loughborough, Melton Mowbray and Newark.
It provides businesses and individuals with a range of services including accountancy, audit and assurance, tax and business advice, wealth management, legal services, payroll, marketing, HR, and international business services.
university for the business and wider community.
“At Derby, our ethos is on equipping students with the skills and confidence to become gamechangers in their chosen career. As a leading institution for applied research, we recognise the
importance of providing relevant activity to industry and the wider world, leading the way in impact from industry engagement.
“We look forward to seeing the project develop and continuing to work closely with key stakeholders to drive the new site to completion.”
For the fourth year running, the Chamber has partnered with De Montfort University (DMU) and others to publish the East Midlands Top 500 Companies index. David Rae (pictured), professor of enterprise at DMU’s Leicester Castle Business School, explains how it works and examines some of the key findings.
The East Midlands Top 500 Companies index (EM Top 500) aims to highlight the largest businesses based in the region, and to track the changes in the composition and performance of this group of companies.
The index shows the range and strength of the leading businesses in the East Midlands, across the three counties covered by the Chamber – Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire.
These businesses are at the heart of the East Midlands’ economy, and are high on the list of those most likely to drive growth and create jobs in the future. Their prosperity affects not only the workforces, supply chains and the communities around them, but ultimately everyone in the region.
The first EM Top 500 was launched in May 2020, with both the 2020 and 2021 reports published as the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown impacted on our lives and businesses, while the 2022 report was overshadowed by uncertainty from political events and the war in Ukraine.
The fourth EM Top 500 for 2023 again appears in a changing economic context, in which the UK economy has avoided recession and the region’s businesses continue to show resilience in response to diverse challenges, as well as emerging opportunities.
The 500 companies in the 2023 cohort had a combined turnover of £82.1bn, compared with £90.47bn in the 2022 list – a 9.3% decrease.
They employed a total of 434,348 people – both nationally and internationally in some cases –and this figure fell by 7.5% from 469,512 in last year’s index.
The decrease in aggregated
turnover continues the declining trend that first became apparent in 2022 with a 4.3% drop. It should not be a surprise this has fallen at a greater rate in the latest listing because it shows the impact on sales performance of most companies arising from the pandemic.
The 7.5% reduction in employment is smaller and suggests employers were retaining staff, supported by the Government’s furlough scheme.
For comparison, UK GDP fell steeply by 25 points during the period from April to June 2020. After recovering, there was a second, smaller dip from September 2020 to January 2021, before continuing to recover more gradually.
Given this was an exceptional period, the recovery started to occur at different times in different sectors, depending on the resumption of “normal business” face-to-face sales and service.
We anticipate this will be apparent in the next EM Top 500, covering the 2021-22 period – whether it illustrates the trend in declining sales performance slowed, or more likely, that revenues increased.
There were 96 new entrants in the 2023 list. These are primarily due to companies with increased turnover, which brought them above the
The EM Top 500 index lists private and public limited companies with their registered offices located in Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire. It does not include large employers who have their registered offices elsewhere; nor does it include public organisations, mutually owned, co-operatives, and educational and health trusts that derive most of their income from Government.
The 2023 index uses historical data from Companies House accounts filed for the period between 1 July 2020 and 30 June 2021. It ranks companies by their annual turnover and includes the number of employees.
The gap between the company year-ends and publication of the index means the information is historic rather than current, but it is not “out of date”. The availability of the three previous years means that comparisons over a four-year timespan from 2020 to 2023 are now possible. The index is increasingly recognised as a valuable baseline for economic recovery and the resurgence of businesses and the wider economy.
threshold, together with changes in corporate structure and registered office moves into the region.
This is an increase from 78 new firms in 2022, and represents a 19.4% turnover of companies – indicating an increased level of “churn” within the index. Of these, 39 are in the 401-500 tier of the index, and includes companies to watch in the future for continued growth.
The departures of 97 firms reflects companies whose turnover declined or grew less than the index, or who became insolvent, dormant or went into administration; acquisitions or sales; and registered office moves out of the region. Even here, there was a happy outcome for clothing retailer Joules, which was bought out of administration by Next plc and continues to trade as a going concern.
Looking at the top 10 businesses in the 2023 table, it reflects a continuing concentration in their business sectors.
Dunelm Group is the sole new entrant, having increased turnover by a remarkable £278m, and as a retailer it joins Boots, Frasers Group, Next and Wilko in making up half of the top 10.
The automotive sector is next, with Sytner Group and Pendragon as major dealership groups and Toyota as a manufacturer. Finally, Barratt and Bloor as major housebuilding companies complete the top 10 – and these were the only other firms whose turnover, based on house sales, increased during the year.
The companies in the 11-30 grouping reflect a wider range of business activities. The strength of the housebuilding and construction materials sectors remain evident with five companies.
There is a strong manufacturing industry, led by Bombardier, RollsRoyce’s group of companies and Vaillant Group as significant businesses, and also including the food manufacturing sector with Samworth Brothers and Refresco.
Major business services and
finance organisations retain high positions, as do a range of retailers – including Games Workshop, which rose 20 places, as well as Watches of Switzerland and Crown Crest Group, which owns the Poundstretcher and Bargain Buys brands.
Writing in June 2023, it is hard to predict the future from looking at the past performance of EM Top 500 companies. However, having followed the fortunes of this group of businesses over the past four years, several observations can be made.
Firstly, all businesses experienced the impact of the prolonged Covid-19 lockdowns and eventual recovery during the year. Some businesses were able to benefit but most experienced disruption, additional costs and loss of sales. They have also experienced, and adapted to, the lengthy Brexit separation and changes in trading, imports and exports with the EU, and the associated effects on workforce, regulation and market access.
Having endured and risen stronger from adapting to these challenges, for the past 18 months businesses have been confronting massive price rises in energy and raw materials, from foodstuffs to timber, cement, steel and plastics. As a result, inflation has risen, accompanied by continuing interest rate rises aimed by the Bank of England to reduce inflation, but which increase costs to businesses.
The East Midlands hosts a large and successful group of businesses that are generally very wellmanaged. In many cases, they are world-leading, and continue to ride out and recover from the many challenges they encounter.
The East Midlands Top 500 Companies index is published online by Reach plc’s Business Live in partnership with DMU, University of Derby, Nottingham Trent University, Bradgate Estates and the Chamber. To read the full list, visit www.business-live.co.uk/all-about/east-midlands
It was launched at a breakfast event held on 30 June at Leonardo Hotel East Midlands Airport. A downloadable report featuring the complete index and analysis, intended for businesses and policymakers to use, is available at www.emc-dnl.co.uk
The top 20 companies are listed below:
For the fourth year running, Boots UK is the number one company in the East Midlands, based on a turnover of £7.8bn, although this is down from £8.71bn.
All the companies carrying the brand name Boots, owned by US-based parent company Walgreen Boots Alliance, were once again grouped together, in line with the policy of grouping together firms that have common ultimate ownership.
The top four highest new entrants moved their registered offices from other locations to the East Midlands. The highest of these is C&C Topco, which owns a growing portfolio of domiciliary care service businesses. Now based in Nottingham, it ranked 36th with a £299.59m turnover and 13,890 employees.
Among Chamber members, the highest new entrant is Healthnet Homecare (UK), now registered in Swadlincote, Derbyshire. The company provides nursing and pharmacy services to home and community care patients in partnership with the NHS, specialising in patient-centred homecare. Listed at number 60, annual turnover grew by £61m to £195.57m in 2021 and it employs 159 people.
The highest climber is Chamber member Ward Group Holdings, which rose from 290th to 66th place. Operating under the primary trading business of Donald Ward Limited, the fourth-generation family business recycles metal and waste, employing 339 people. It achieved 22% growth in turnover in 2020-21 to £173.91m, driven by increased sales volume, and a further 76% the following year – making it a company to look out for in future EM Top 500 rankings.
Industrial plant engineering and hire firm WB Power Services, also a Chamber member and located in Heanor Gate, also had a strong showing by climbing 202 places from 480th to 278th. Turnover was up by 73% to £44.5m after it attracted large contracts and grew its power generator hire fleet.
A member of the Chamber’s board of directors has been awarded an MBE for services to business and the economy in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.
David Williams, who is also chair of Geldards LLP, was recognised in the in the King’s birthday honours list.
An MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) is awarded for outstanding achievement or service to the community, which has had a long-term significant impact and stands out as an example to others.
David, who has lived and worked in the region for more than 30 years, has long been a champion of the East Midlands, advocating for the region’s growth and prosperity in the various positions he holds.
Alongside his role at the Chamber, these have included deputy chair of D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership, chair of EMB Group and board member at Nottingham Trent University.
Internationally, David regularly represents the region abroad, participating in trade missions to China as well as attending MIPIM in Cannes, the world’s leading property event.
He said he was “truly honoured” by the recognition, adding: “I am committed to driving the East Midlands forward to become a regional powerhouse of productivity and growth for the country.
“With its unique blend of infrastructure, business innovation and superb transport links boosting connectivity to and from the region, the East Midlands is an outstanding and ambitious area for business to succeed and grow. With its ambitious plans, our region can compete nationally and internationally to be among the best in which to conduct business.”
Jeff Pearson, chief executive at Geldards, added: “David is an extremely worthy recipient of an MBE for his tireless support for the East Midlands.”
The results are in for the Chamber’s latest Quarterly Economic Survey for Q2 2023. Director of policy and insight Chris Hobson (pictured), explains what it tells us about the state of the region’s economy.
Against a backdrop of continued concerns about stubbornly high levels of inflation, low growth and Bank of England decision-making, the results from the Chamber’s second Quarterly Economic Survey of 2023 suggest the East Midlands economy is bucking the trend and performing well – with improvements seen in sales activity, cashflow and pricing expectations.
There was also a second consecutive fall in the number of businesses reporting difficulties in recruitment, down to approximately seven in 10 of all those looking to employ new staff, compared to eight in 10 at the end of last year.
While performance as judged by these results is relative to what’s come before, responses to questions around concerns and events driving price pressures give further credibility to the argument that factors such as higher utility costs, inflated wage settlements and expensive fuel are all easing as problems for businesses during 2023.
The percentage of businesses reporting pressure to increase their own prices has fallen sharply, down to 36% - compared to 54% last quarter and 60% three quarters ago –with a corresponding growth in those looking to keep prices the same, suggesting many of the increased costs have now been passed on.
While messaging from policymakers and media remains tentative, the mood music among businesses is much more positive, with 41% of firms now expecting their profitability to grow over the next quarter, an increase over the previous three quarters from 38%, 34% and 28% respectively. In contrast, those expecting a drop in profitability has fallen from 41% in Q3 2022 to 26% this quarter.
We’re clearly not completely out of the woods yet – advanced orders saw a slight slowdown and investment intentions remain stubbornly low – however, the regional economy is continuing the pick-up that began at the start of this year. A more stable policy environment over recent months will have supported an
Indicators: net value Q1 2023; net value Q2 2023; net change over quarter (highlighted in green or red to indicate positive or negative direction)
UK sales: 6%; 10% +4%
UK orders: 9%; 4% -5%
Overseas sales: 1%; 9% +8%
Overseas orders: 6%; 5% -1%
Labour force (past three months): 12%; 14% +2%
Labour force (next three months): 30%; 24% -6%
Cashflow: -13%; -2% +11%
Future prices: 52%; 31% -21%
Investment in machinery: 1%;2% -3%
Investment in training: 15%; 12% -3%
Confidence in turnover: 39%; 38% -1%
Confidence in profitability 8%; 15% +7%
To read the full QES report, visit www.emc-dnl.co.uk/ services/have-your-say/ qes-reports
improvement in sentiment.
As we get closer to a general election, it’s important that politicians and institutions behave responsibly with regards to policy announcements and fiscal decisions. The UK economy has already defied the expectations of six months ago. It’s important to capitalise on this now and not do anything that may inadvertently rocking the boat.
The Chamber is helping to lead a new national movement for championing inclusive recruitment practices among exoffenders.
The Fair Chance Business Alliance aims to change the employment landscape for the eight million working-age adults with criminal convictions in the UK, reducing the stigma, and untapped unemployed and under-employed talent.
By joining the alliance, the Chamber will ensure the needs and interests of SMEs are represented as it works alongside other businesses and charities to create a tiered quality standard, similar to the Disability Confident employer badge.
The Chamber is supporting members to create inclusive recruitment and workplace strategies in order to tap into a wider labour pool amid acute shortages in available workers and skills.
Chief executive Scott Knowles, who also chairs an employment advisory board at HMP Sudbury, said: “Giving people who have made mistakes a fair chance to leave their past behind reduces reoffending, improves communities and often secures excellent, hardworking employees for organisations willing to give them an opportunity.
“There are a lot of myths and misconceptions around hiring from this section of our society, and employers often aren’t sure how to do so reliably and safely.
“By joining the alliance, the Chamber will be positioned to ensure the interests of SMEs are fully reflected in the finished standard.”
Each year, the Chamber president selects three charitable organisations to receive support from the Chamber’s Charitable Fund. This year, Stuart Dawkins is supporting the three community foundations for Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire. Business Network will spotlight each organisation, starting with the Leicestershire and Rutland Community Foundation, whose CEO Katy Green explains how these organisations operate.
What is the background to your charity and who do you support?
Community foundations are placebased, grant-giving charities, providing millions in grants to local charitable, voluntary and community groups, which offer vital support to local communities.
Our local charitable groups work with babies, children, young people and adults of all ages, including the elderly, through really difficult challenges – debt, poverty, homelessness – and also offer affordable access to sports and the arts, as well as working to improve our local environment and wildlife.
Together, they help make our region an attractive place to work, live and do business. But they are often unsung and unseen despite the huge contribution they make.
Individuals, families, companies and public sector agencies all use community foundations for their unapparelled knowledge of the local area and their affordability.
Most people know some local charities – community foundations know, and are known by, hundreds. They make robust checks and assessments that projects are viable, and they “level the playing field” by ensuring all groups working to strengthen and support our communities can access funds and donor support.
Why do you believe community foundations have an important role to play in local areas?
The work that goes on supporting
n Nottinghamshire Community Foundation: www.nottscf.org.uk
n Foundation Derbyshire: foundationderbyshire.org
n Leicestershire and Rutland Foundation: www.llrcommunityfoundation.org.uk
people when they need help that often isn’t seen, thereby keeping our social and economic fabric strong and flexible.
Community foundations do see it, and make it easy for local companies and individuals to add their shoulder to the wheel of creating a really thriving place to live and work.
What are the biggest recent challenges you’ve had to overcome?
As for everyone, the pandemic was a huge challenge, having to alter overnight our working patterns on tight budgets. Community foundations were selected to deliver vital National Emergencies
Trust funds of many millions to give communities targeted local support. We had the networks and profile among local groups to do this, but were working faster than ever before.
Challenges continue during the cost-of-living crisis, with overwhelmed and often underfunded public services, people struggling with health or debt, or other challenges causing people to turn to local charitable
groups for help. They, in turn, come to us for support in dealing with increased demand, plus their own rising operational costs.
How important a role do businesses have to play in supporting your charity?
They are crucial. They share with us the goal of living and working in an area that isn’t broken, that can help attract and retain staff, and customers.
Most modern companies are outward-looking and don’t want to just “grab and go” – they want to make profit and contribute to our world. Community foundations are an affordable and straightforward route for businesses to achieve their ESG goals.
What does the future hold for your organisation?
In the current climate, no charity or business is without some concerns – it is tough out there.
We have no plan to change our remit, however – we’ll continue to set up effective grant-giving funds to enable people to support their local communities.
In the last edition of Business Network, the Chamber published research conducted in partnership with emh group that illustrated how and why East Midlands employers adopt inclusive workplace policies. Lucy Robinson (pictured inset), the Chamber’s director of resources, gives an overview of where companies can begin their equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) journey.
While the headline figure in our research showed an increase from 48% to 54% of employers with a specific EDI-related policy over the past year, the fact that 37% of companies have no such policy gives us a starting point for how the Chamber can support businesses in this area.
Respondents were also asked about why they don’t have a policy, and barriers included a lack of time or understanding, a perception it isn’t needed in their workplace or not a priority, or a fear of causing upset or achieving employee buy-in.
The research would suggest this should be a priority. McKinsey’s analysis found companies in the top quartile for gender and ethnic diversity in executive teams were 25% and 36% more likely to have strong profitability than those in the fourth quartile.
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), meanwhile, has reported on the
“psychological contract”, finding that people want to work for organisations with good employment practices, which include inclusive workplace cultures and flexibility in the job design.
At a time of significant people and skills challenges – the Chamber’s Quarterly Economic Survey shows seven in 10 employers that attempt to recruit are struggling to fill vacancies – these are all important considerations.
1. Choose your champions
A good place to begin is by including those who are ultimately affected by any workplace policy –your people.
Choose a small group of “champions” who are passionate about this subject, and can form a working group to help to develop
an EDI strategy (or whatever term you wish to give it).
This isn’t just about including employees for the sake of it, but calling on their knowledge and skills to develop something important to the future of the business – in fact, champions are great to have in all sorts of subject areas.
It should include someone relatively senior within the group to help with getting leadership buy-in.
2. Start with the basics
Find a policy that will work best for your organisation and shape what you do internally, but keep it simple. The Chamber’s EDI policy is a single-page document that outlines the key aspects of what it involves and gives our champions a
basic structure to work with.
Rather than overreaching what is achievable, we take three actions to focus on for the year – small steps we can take that don’t overburden people in doing their jobs.
3. Tap into external support
Think about where your knowledge and skills gaps are, and look at where this can be sourced externally, whether it’s paid training or HR consultancy, or free resources.
This is where the Chamber can be a great support mechanism. We regularly host forums and roundtables on these issues so that businesses can learn from each other, while we are also able to signpost members to other avenues of support.
Alfreton-based Guilford Fabric Textiles, part of Lear Corporation and the largest automotive textiles manufacturer in Europe, is an example of a company that has an inclusive workplace policy for its 286 employees – as operations director Chris Biddulph explains.
EDI comes from the top-down via Ray Scott, CEO of Lear, which has plants in 280 countries and 170,000 employees. We have multiple employee resource groups to support staff and create communities within the business, which helps to foster a more inclusive workplace so people can bring their whole and true selves to work.
Initiatives include GROW, which aims to create global resources and opportunities for women, and Lear Loves, which supports the LGBTQ+ community. In our Expect Respect campaign, Lear provides training to make sure everybody has a common understanding of how to behave, and what is and isn’t acceptable in each culture.
One of the impacts of engaging with EDI is we have an extremely low turnover of staff at below 1% and a very low absence rate, which rarely goes above 2%. We believe this comes from having a work environment that actively supports and includes all our employees.
With diversity, you get so much talent because people have different views, different perspectives, different life experiences – all the things that, when combined, make an organisation far greater than the sum of its parts.
This is not a “flavour of the moment” policy. This is about how we work and how we do business. It's not a bolt-on – it’s ingrained
within the culture of the business. Caring about people as people is our greatest strength, and it helps them to get their job done in the best way possible.
Fundamentally, EDI never stops. It becomes an iterative process – the continuing commitment and mechanisms of how we support people from all background – and there is always room for more to manage.
Plans to boost speeds along the Nottingham to Lincoln rail corridor have been revealed.
Midlands Connect, which researches and develops transport projects for the region, has submitted a strategic outline business case to the Department for Transport that calls for an £18m investment to improve journey times between the cities.
Just 10% of journeys between Nottingham and Lincoln are taken but in a report titled All change: The Castle Line, the group details proposals to increase train speeds from 50mph to 75mph. It says this would make train travel more attractive, reduce car dependence and benefit the local economies.
Midlands Connect CEO Maria Machancoses, said: “This is an important connection between two major urban areas, and our plans for investment represent the first step in encouraging more passengers to use the trains.
“We recognise the need to make train travel more attractive and help people transition to sustainable transport. Our purpose is to create a fairer, greener and stronger Midlands. Faster connections between our towns and cities will bring a boost to the area for all the residents, businesses and visitors.”
Under the proposal, work would start in April 2026 and be complete in summer 2028.
Young professionals are invited to fill out a survey by Generation Next, the Chamber’s network for 18 to 35-year-olds.
The survey will help the network to understand what help young people working in the East Midlands want to achieve and what support they require to realise aspirations.
Generation Next, established in 2020, aims to help develop the next generation of business leaders in the region by supporting, connecting and mentoring young talent via workshops and social events, as well as recognising their achievements via the annual Generation Next Awards.
To fill in the survey, visit bit.ly/GenNextsurvey
Businesses and educators can gain an insight into skills supply and demand at local level using a new online dashboard created by the Chamber.
Insight Unlocked is a new ‘collective skills intelligence observatory’ that pulls together insights from existing data sources around job adverts, occupation projections and qualification levels.
It aims to help people make better decisions around training or studying, assist colleges in how they design the curriculum, and support businesses to find the most effective recruitment routes.
The observatory was developed as part of the Leicester and Leicestershire Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP), a pilot scheme funded by the Department for Education and led by the Chamber along with partners.
“This has led to a recruitment crisis that puts a lid on capacity and productivity, which needs to be raised significantly if we are to bring down prices and inflation.
“But skills gaps are nothing new in many industries, including nationally-critical sectors such as manufacturing and construction, which means we need to start adopting new thinking to tackle deeply-embedded challenges if we are to ever get a different outcome.
Using a mobile app to engage businesses via short daily surveys on their live requirements for skills, knowledge and behaviours alongside automated data collection, this established a new data-driven approach to understanding what employers need from their workforce and what’s on offer from educators at local level.
Insight Unlocked has since been rolled out for use by other chambers of commerce in Staffordshire, Hereford and Worcestershire, and Coventry and Warwickshire, with potential for it to be deployed by local authorities and local enterprise partnerships in the future.
Chris Hobson (pictured), director of policy and insight at the Chamber, said: “People are front and centre of minds for businesses right now as they grapple with one of the tightest labour markets ever witnessed.
“Our work in the Leicester and Leicestershire LSIP was underpinned by this mantra and the data-led approach to how decisions are made across the skills ecosystem led to some fascinating insights that have now been submitted to Government, with recommendations to take these ideas forward.
“It has also enabled us to develop an exciting new product in collaboration with our partners that can have a real-world impact for businesses, colleges, training providers, young people and others.
“We use data in every aspect of the economy, and now this can be deployed in skills development to ensure we are giving people the skills, knowledge and behaviours that will be needed not just for today’s jobs, but those that will exist in future decades.”
To find out more about Insight Unlocked, visit www.insight-unlocked.co.uk
‘We need to start adopting new thinking to tackle deeplyembedded challenges if we are to ever get a different outcome’Lincoln Cathedral
Working as an executive assistant (EA) in a start-up is very different to working in a corporate environment, but as someone who has done both I can honestly say I love it.
Never has the phrase “every day is a school day” been truer. Every day is the chance to try something new, learn a skill and to showcase what the EA role can look like. It’s definitely not just the stereotype of diary and email management – in fact, it might not include that at all.
For me, working as part of a very small team, it’s critical I care about what I do and stay true to the purpose of both the business and my role.
My role is being a strategic business partner and everything I do has the potential to make a difference, both to the business and our founder, who I support.
Within the team, I help to ensure we stay focused on our priorities by challenging anything that doesn’t fit, creating processes and systems that help us get there faster, and improving or eliminating anything that slows us down.
Part of this means embracing technology. There has been a lot of talk about AI and the impact it will have on EA roles, but I think when we embrace AI it can have a really positive impact.
Take Calendly, a web-based automation tool for scheduling meetings – it still needs someone to intelligently set it up. Once that’s done, rather than spending hours emailing back and forth on availability for candidate and client meetings, I just send a link, they pick a time that works for them, and I spend my time doing something more valuable.
It also means being willing and able to roll my sleeves up and get stuck into whatever I find in front of me, which could be anything from building a website to embedding new technology into our systems, or jumping into a meeting to discuss strategy or business development.
Working in a start-up won’t be for everyone as there really is nowhere to hide, but if you’re willing to show up every day and give it your best, then it can be incredibly rewarding – it certainly is for me.
For more information about PA Forum events across the East Midlands, contact the Chamber’s executive support manager and company secretary Lesley Young on lesley.young@emc-dnl.co.uk
Business leaders discussed what the private sector can bring to complement and enhance the East Midlands devolution deal during a panel session at a major property conference.
The D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) hosted the discussion at the UK’s Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum (UKREiif), held in Leeds on 17 May.
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, which are represented in the LEP’s geography, already have an agreement with Government to create an East Midlands Mayoral Combined County Authority (MCCA) in 2024, leveraging at least £38m over 30 years.
Will Morlidge, chief executive of the D2N2 LEP, talked about devolution providing a “pathway to the East Midlands joining the ‘Premier League’ of regions”. He said there was an opportunity to generate value added, citing how every £1 of public sector funding invested in the Liverpool city region generates £5 from the private sector.
Sir Chris Haworth, chair of the East Midlands Development Company, called devolution “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to put the region first, to have unity of purpose among our stakeholders, coupled with strong collaboration to necessitate and enable long-term vision over 30 to 40 years, and planning on an economic masterplan.”
Andy Dabbs, board director at Whittam Cox Architects, said this was “a chance to be aspirational, to deliver more funding direct to the region and to pool resources and expertise, to give business long-term confidence and to change the perception of the region”. He also stressed the importance of having the right people and skills to deliver on these aspirations.
All speakers – who also represented organisations including Harworth Group, Scope Group and BWB Consulting – emphasised the importance of effective collaboration between the public and private sector to drive growth across the region in pursuit of a common goal.
The Chamber is working with Derbyshire County Council to deliver business briefings on devolution.
As part of its strategic engagement on the establishment of an MCCA, the council will run a series of in-person sessions to update the business community and garner feedback.
Each morning event will include a roundtable discussion chaired by Councillor Barry Lewis, leader of the council.
There are four sessions, which are open to any business:
• 11 July: East Midlands Chamber office in Chesterfield
• 25 July: Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, Middleton
• 1 August: Mercia Marina, Willington
• 22 August: High Peak – location TBC
Each event is listed at www.emc-dnl.co.uk/ services/engaging-decision-makers
‘A chance to be aspirational, to deliver more funding direct to the region and to pool resources and expertise’Will Morlidge was one of the speakers Sir Chris Haworth
Female talent from across the East Midlands business community has been showcased through the Chamber’s Enterprising Women Awards.
Finalists across 10 categories were announced for the 2023 awards, in association with headline partner Michael Smith Switchgear, at a summer networking and barbecue event, held at Stapleford Park Hotel and Spa on 8 June.
Actor Melissa Johns, best known for her roles in ITV’s Grantchester and BBC’s LIFE, delivered an inspirational speaking slot at the event. She discussed her experience in being part of the acting industry with a disability, as well as her work campaigning for more inclusivity within it.
The finalists will go on to take part in a judging panel on 11 July, comprising members of the Enterprising Women team, Chamber board of directors and category sponsors to get their chance to pitch before winners are decided.
Winners will be announced at Enterprising Women’s flagship gala dinner, which will take place on 6 October at Winstanley House, in Leicester.
are delighted to be able to recognise their achievements through the Enterprising Women Awards each year.”
The Enterprising Women Awards 2023, which will be hosted by ITV weather presenter Emma Jesson, features a three-course meal as well as entertainment throughout the evening. Individual tickets are priced at £75 + VAT for members of East Midlands Chamber and £90 + VAT for non-members. Tickets at a charitable rate will be available for eligible organisations at £60 + VAT. A discount will be applied to bookings of tables of 10 at £700 + VAT. Tickets can be purchased via https://bit.ly/EWAwards2023.
Apprentice of the Year (Sponsored by Futures Housing Group)
Alice Lees – Rolls-Royce
Courtney Brindley – Express Recruitment
Florence Comasky – EMA Training
Lucy Coope –trentbarton
Lucy Hilton – Cosy Direct
Sophie Shapcott – Smith Partnership
Social Commitment Award (Sponsored by She Inspires Global)
Generation Next ambassadors
PPL PRS collections team
Longstanding categories are up for grabs, such as Small Business of the Year, Female Employee of the Year, Apprentice of the Year, and the headline award Business Woman of the Year, as well as the refreshed She Who Innovates Award for those working in STEM-related industries.
Categories introduced last year to mark the network’s 25th anniversary will also return to the programme, including the Rising Star Award and Lifetime Achievement Award – which doesn’t have a shortlist and will instead be given as a surprise to an unsuspecting winner.
Enterprising Women co-chair Jean Mountain said: “We’ve received another cohort of outstanding applications from women working across the region, and the shortlist features some truly inspiring achievements and stories.
“It’s fantastic to see women in business across a wide range of sectors and backgrounds recognised through the programme, as well as those across different parts of their career journey – from those just starting out in apprenticeship roles to highly successful business leaders representing everything that is great about our region.”
Fellow co-chair Eileen Perry MBE DL added: “Shortlisting the finalists has been a massive challenge for our category sponsors from the high calibre of entries, and we’re really looking forward to the judging panel to hear more about their work.
“Women in business across the East Midlands are doing fantastic and inspiring work, and we
Cosy Direct Guildford Europe
Rosie May Foundation
Rotheras Solicitors
Spenbeck
Female Employee of the Year (Sponsored by Nelsons)
Asiya Parekh – Leicester Hospitals Charity Brogan Lees-Collier – Forsyth Barnes
Cherryl Holland – trentbarton
Emily Brailsford – Rural Action Derbyshire
Sarah Budgie – Regency Source
Rising Star (Sponsored by Amanda Daly –The Turnaround CEO)
Chloe Heard – MHA MacIntyre Hudson LLP
Coral Guard – GBS Apprenticeships
Katie McLoughlin – Soft Touch Arts
Ruby Birks – Purpose Media
Scarlett Tinsley – ER Recruitment
Female Entrepreneur of the Year (Sponsored by Fraser Stretton Property Group)
Julie Adams – Auditel
Julie Clark – Savage Lighting
Sally Faulkner – Bond Street Distillery
Sarah Withers – Withers Gin
Therese Lord – Construct3D
Team of the Year (Sponsored by Breedon Consulting)
Flame UK
PPL PRS marketing team
Rotheras Solicitors
She Who Innovates (Sponsored by Pick Everard)
ChangeXtra – Claire Mann
Construct3D – Therese Lord, Jacob Lord, Jason Lord
e-bate – Leanne Bonner-Cook and team
Purpose Media – Ruby Birks
RimPro-Tec Wheelbands – Deborah Chester
Small Business of the Year (Sponsored by Unique Window Systems)
Blueprint Interiors
CMP Legal
Design Studio Architects
Katapult
S&D Roofing
Business Woman of the Year (Sponsored by Michael Smith Switchgear)
Becky Valentine and Victoria Green –Spenbeck
Dawn Brown – Rose Cottage Doggy Daycare
Emma Allen – Acute Business Advisory
Jaz Kaur – Fraser Stretton Property Group
Sandy Prime – S&D Roofing
Lifetime Achievement of the Year (Sponsored by Paradigm Wills & Legal Services)
*No finalists for this category – winner will be announced at gala dinner
‘It’s fantastic to see women in business across a wide range of sectors and backgrounds recognised through the programme’Eileen Perry MBE DL (left) and Jean Mountain (right) with actor Melissa Johns
The Generation Next Awards will take place on 13 July at Bustler Market in Derby – with MUTV presenter Kirsty Shelts announced as host.
The achievements of young professionals, and the organisations they work for, will be recognised at the event, where 11 category winners will be announced.
It is not a typical awards event, with a shorter ceremony and casual dress code to create a relaxed environment maximised for young professionals to practise their networking skills and socialise with their teams, families and friends.
Broadcast journalist, reporter and TV presenter Kirsty will host the ceremony, who currently reports and presents for Manchester United’s MUTV, covering the post-match interviews and interviewing both fans and A-list celebrities who attend the matches.
Prior to this, Kirsty has worked in a variety of sports including football, rugby, swimming, rowing and athletics. She is a former national swimmer and biathlete, graduating with first class honours in broadcast journalism from the University of Staffordshire back in 2014.
Local DJ Beaujack will return to perform a set at the event’s “after party”, while the ticket includes a £20 drinks voucher and a street food meal from vendors Yard Bird or Syiok Lah to enjoy in Bustler’s beer garden.
The deadline for the Chamber’s Business Awards programme is approaching on 17 July.
Businesses, charities and individuals from Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire will be recognised across 14 categories, including:
• Business Improvement through Technology
• Community Impact Award
• Outstanding Growth Award
• Environmental Impact Award
• Commitment to People Development Award
• Apprentice of the Year
• Entrepreneur of the Year
• Education and Business Partnership Award
• Excellence in Customer Service
• Excellence in International Trade
• Small Business of the Year
• Excellence in Innovation
• Excellence in Collaboration
Headline partner Mazars will also select a Business of the Year winner for each county.
Finalists will be announced at a president’s summer celebration on Thursday 24 August and they will then have a chance to state their case at virtual judging panels taking place on the week commencing 11 September.
Gala dinners will take place in each county on Friday 3 November (Leicestershire), Friday 10 November (Nottinghamshire) and Friday 17 November (Derbyshire).
To enter the Business Awards 2023 visit www.emc-dnl.co.uk/services/business-awards
The winners will be awarded by Generation Next’s cohort of partners, headlined by the University of Derby, which have had an active role in the shortlisting and judging process.
These also include Nottingham University Business School, Nottingham Trent University, Fraser Stretton Property Group, Hardy Signs, Loughborough College, Futures Housing Group, Express Recruitment, ITS Technology Group, Hydropath and PPL PRS.
A full round-up of the winners from the Generation Next Awards 2023, and pictures from the event, will feature in the September edition of Business Network. The last few remaining tickets can be purchased at bit.ly/GNAwards2023.
Directors and senior managers can gain the key skills needed to drive forward growth and development within their business, ensuring they have the capacity to take their teams along the journey with them, at a five-day training programme run by the Chamber.
The Director Development Programme, which begins on 27 September and runs until 22 November, is designed for individuals who want to support and grow their business, or the department they lead.
The objective is to equip them with the skills and confidence needed to achieve objectives that will ultimately drive the business forward.
Delivered as a five-day modular programme with each session roughly two weeks apart, it covers the following topic headings:
•Developing vision, values and strategy (27 September)
•Planning and direction (11 October)
•Finance for non-finance directors (25 October)
•People management approaches (8 November)
•Driving performance and leading change (22 November)
The course is structured as progressive stages in a business development process, with participants having specific action steps to begin during the session and complete between each one.
At each subsequent session, they will be expected to discuss how they have applied the material covered during the previous instalment.
The Director Development Programme is delivered by course trainer Charles Barnascone at the Chamber’s office at NG2 Business Park, in Nottingham.
The programme costs £1,450 + VAT for Chamber members and £1,850 + VAT for non-members. For more information, visit https://bit.ly/DDPSept23.
The Chamber-led East Midlands Manufacturing Network (EMMN) is a supportive peer network for manufacturers in the region.
The meetings unite local manufacturers, enabling members to harness the crossindustry, business, engineering and manufacturing knowledge necessary to evolve and expand.
•North Nottinghamshire – 4 July, 7.30-10
•Nottinghamshire – 12 July, 7.30-10
•Derbyshire – 25 July, 7.30-10
•Leicestershire – 1 August, 7.30-9.30
•Derbyshire Dales and High Peak –18 August, 7.30-10
To book onto the events, visit www.emc-dnl.co.uk/emmn
It is important for individuals and teams to be offered ongoing training opportunities to keep up to date on the latest knowledge and professional skills – but it can be difficult to know where to start.
Whether looking to refresh or learn transferable skills, the Chamber’s training programme offers a range of courses that can be applied to a variety of roles to help people develop a well-rounded skillset to improve performance, job satisfaction and knowledge.
Selling for non-sales people
14 July, 9.30-4.30 (£245 + VAT)
Puts into practise simple methods to identify a client’s motivations in buying a given product or service. Non-sales people increasingly generate more trust and future business, and this course will give them an understanding of techniques to identify what motivates clients to buy, how to represent value in their language, and how to gain further sales opportunities.
The flexible leader – the future of leading hybrid teams
21 July, 9.30-4.30 (£245 + VAT)
The way we work is constantly evolving, with an increasing number of teams collaborating in a mix of online and office environments. This course helps leaders to get the best from individuals within their teams, and looks at how to keep them informed and motivated, while managing performance and increasing efficiency. Additionally, the Chamber offers courses via the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) for individuals to further develop their leadership skills.
Handling difficult situations and people
21 September, 9.30-4.30 (£245 + VAT)
Everyone experiences difficult situations and people at work. This course enables participants
The Chamber offers a bespoke training package, which allows participants to align their training requirements to the goals and objectives within the organisation, and to their own personal development. Delivered through a variety of formats, the Chamber’s trainers design and develop specific sessions that directly relate to people’s roles and responsibilities.
Whether its support on the Microsoft Office suite, leadership or director development, the Chamber can help teams on a variety of subjects and requirements to help them thrive in their performance.
To explore bespoke training opportunities, contact Vicki Thompson at vicki.thompson@emc-dnl.co.uk
to explore their own behaviour and to rationalise this in others. It also provides practical ways to maintain positive relationships and avoid hostile situations at work.
Friend to supervisor
3 October, 9.30-4.30 (£245 + VAT)
Provides techniques and tactics to establish authority within a supervisory role, while maintaining good relationships with those you manage, making it easier to clarify expectations and manage performance.
Time management
12 October, 9.30-4.30 (£245 + VAT)
Time management can be applied at all levels of a job role, in all sectors. Delegates will be able to identify where their time is wasted, establish priorities and organise themselves and others.
has become one of the largest family-run packaging companies in Europe.
At the start of the anniversary year, company boss Björn Schumacher, who runs the company in the third generation with his brother Hendrik, explained: “Along our anniversary motto ‘Unboxing the Future of Packaging’, we are pursuing clear goals for the future. We see considerable potential to make packaging even more climate-friendly across the entire value chain. That’s why we want to further reduce the proportion of plastics in packaging across all sectors and replace it sensibly with the natural raw material paper.”
completely natural. They are not waste, can be returned to the material cycle 100 per cent or decompose in nature within a short time without leaving any residues. Currently, more than 85 per cent of corrugated and solid board packaging is recycled – this means that it is reprocessed into packaging after use. Unlike plastic-based reusable systems, no CO2 is emitted during return transport and cleaning,” said Björn Schumacher. “We exploit this potential by leading the way and constantly developing new industryspecific and sustainable products. In this way, we can offer long-term security of supply and be a reliable partner - now and in the future.”
The Schumacher Packaging Group, one of Europe’s largest manufacturers of customised packaging made of corrugated and solid board (www.schumacher-packaging.com), successfully continued its dynamic growth course in 2022.
This year, the company celebrates its 75th anniversary and is investing more in sustainability: the focus is on expanding renewable energies and reducing plastics in packaging by using natural raw materials.
By 2025, Schumacher Packaging plans to invest around €700m in the expansion of existing plants and the construction of new ones.
For 2023, however, the focus is on sustainability. This is because the packaging specialist is pursuing the ambitious goal of climate-neutral production by 2035 and is therefore relying on the most modern, efficient and environmentally friendly technologies. Around €45m is being invested in the construction of solar power plants, and €10-20m is earmarked for the expansion of wind energy. Currently, a solar park is under construction at the German site in Forchheim, and two more parks are being built in Poland.
The construction of five more solar power plants in Germany and Poland is planned for 2023 and 2024. The total output of all photovoltaic plants will be around 12 GW/h.
With its innovative solutions made of corrugated and solid board, Schumacher Packaging has grown continuously over the past 75 years and
To achieve this, the family-owned company is leading the way in the industry: it provides information, works on innovations and seeks dialogue with stakeholders. The management assumes that more than one fifth of the plastic packaging currently used can be replaced by paper-based solutions. By using plastic-free, biobased barrier coatings, packaging with protective functions can be produced that can be fully recycled. Plastics can thus be completely replaced - with the greatest potential in the food industry.
Sustainability is of great importance to Schumacher Packaging’s business. “The biggest advantage of paper-based packaging is that it is
Despite the difficult economic situation due to the Ukraine war and the sharp rise in energy prices, Schumacher Packaging 2022 managed to grow.
The packaging manufacturer reacted flexibly and quickly in the crisis year and was thus able to guarantee supplies to its customers. Strategic decisions contributed to this, such as the acquisition of the Kaierde cartonboard mill, the majority stake in the Italian corrugated base paper manufacturer Cartiere Modesto Cardella SpA and the acquisition of the Leipzig Land GmbH cartonboard mill.
“The consistent expansion of our production and processing capacities represents an important contribution to securing the market's supply situation in the future and is part of our strategy for the future,” said managing director Hendrik Schumacher.
For more details contact Naomi Harvey at Schumacher Packaging sales_bir@schumacher-packaging.com
An Octopus Energy wind turbine helped to contribute more sustainable power for food stands at Glastonbury Festival –providing the energy for thousands of green, clean snacks and meals consumed by more than 200,000 festival-goers.
The eye-catching wind turbine was 20 metres tall with eight-metre-long blades –the height of five large giraffes – and is finished off with Octopus tentacles wrapped around its purple tower and pink blades.
The temporary structure was erected in a day in William’s Green field, near the famous Pyramid stage. It was only ordered at the end of April, which Octopus said demonstrated the speed at which it can build new renewables if considerations and connections allow.
Octopus also installed solar panels to complement the wind turbine, along with a battery to store the green energy produced.
The wind turbine and solar panels supplied clean energy to a microgrid that powered food vendors in the field. It was expected to produce up to 300kWh of energy per day – enough to power 300 fridges.
Greg Jackson (pictured), founder and CEO of Leicester-based Octopus Energy Group, said: “I am excited to be able to not only generate green energy at the Festival, but to work together for the long term too.”
What does your company do and how does your business model embrace the sustainability agenda?
As a hotel, meetings, conferencing and events organisation, adopting sustainable strategies to control our environmental impact is crucial. The hotel sector historically places increased pressure on the environment and is demanding on natural resources. Along with business concerns such as rising costs, economic imperatives and social concerns, this has placed sustainability at the heart of our business.
We have assessed how we can improve sustainability in all areas of the business and built in effective sustainable strategies to minimise our impact. This is an ongoing process and we have an internal “green team” made up of representatives across the business, who assess what we are doing and seek recommendations on how we can approve.
The Orchard Hotel, our four-star eco hotel set within the grounds of the University of Nottingham, was built to the highest environmental standards and includes biodiverse green roof gardens to increase heat retention, 60 square metres of solar panels and thermal wheel air handling units that recuperate heat.
We have grey water recycling at our Jubilee site, have invested £1m in better heating and management systems at the East Midlands Conference Centre, and successfully implemented strategies to reduce our single-use plastics. For example, we have removed all single-use miniature toiletries from our hotel rooms.
Across all venues, we aim to only work with local producers, such as Castle Rock Brewery, 200 Degrees and Owen Taylor Butchers in Alfreton, thereby reducing the CO2 produced during its transportation.
What prompted the decision to embrace the sustainability agenda and how has it impacted your business?
Wastage in our industry is a huge issue, both in terms of energy and produce, so we wanted to ensure we are doing all we can to be more sustainable. Clients’ concerns around environmental issues are growing and sustainability is becoming an expectation. Ultimately, our sustainability strategy is in our DNA because it is the right thing to do.
Location: Beeston Lane, Nottingham
Number of employees: 270
Brief description of company: Nottingham Venues is a collection of independent venues specialising in meetings and events, including the 4* Orchard Eco Hotel and the East Midlands Conference Centre.
Spokesperson: Tom WaldronLynch, General manager (pictured)
We are seeing an impact on the business in terms of our reputation for sustainability, with many clients sharing our values and efforts. There are also cost savings for the business as we are using less energy, which is especially important given the recent price rises.
How important do you believe embracing the sustainability agenda is for businesses today? It is essential. The commercial pressures to do so are huge, not to mention the moral one.
If we all took sustainability seriously then energy use, wastage and adverse environmental impact would be dramatically reduced. Our actions may bring some cost savings for our business but ultimately, we have to contribute to the bigger picture of saving the planet. If we do not protect the planet, tourism and leisure opportunities in a decaying world will decline, and our business along with others will shrink.
What are your future plans for making your business more sustainable?
Immediate plans include looking at ways of reducing wastage within the hotel bedrooms and continuing to reduce the amount of single use plastic used across the business. This is still a work in progress, and there is more to learn and implement across the business in the coming years.
Engineering consultancy Rodgers Leask has teamed up with a company that supplies products used in building roads and car parks to reduce the carbon footprint of infrastructure projects.
Rodgers Leask, which has offices in Derby and Nottingham, is collaborating with PowerCem Technologies to convert soil that exists on a construction site into an engineering material.
This avoids the need to use lorries for taking unsuitable soil to landfill and bringing in freshly quarried stone, resulting in estimated carbon savings of between 80% and 90%.
The process – which combines PowerCem’s RoadCem soil stabilisation product, design by Rodgers Leask and installation by one of its groundworks contractors – can be used to create temporary and permanent roads, working platforms, piling mats and car parks.
A Nottingham recruitment agency says it is now able to track its sustainability journey and showcase key changes both internally and externally after using the Zellar software platform – with the support of the Chamber.
EMEA Recruitment was among 400 businesses that took advantage of free access as part of the Net Zero Accelerator, which was one of five strands in the Chamber-led East Midlands Accelerator programme that received funding from the Government’s UK Community Renewal Fund.
Zellar is designed to help businesses measure, plan, activate, report and share their sustainability journey, including tracking carbon emissions.
EMEA joined the scheme last August and, since then, has reduced both energy use and emissions by 7%, resulting in £681 cost savings.
Marketing manager and sustainability champion Rose Jinks (pictured), said: “Sustainability is no longer a choice, but a necessity.
Andy Leask, director of Rodgers Leask, said: “With the traditional solution utilising stone, it is difficult to keep the surface clean, soil gets tracked in and, in many cases, the stone has to be treated as contaminated and sent to tip.
“The RoadCem-treated ground is impervious and can be cleaned mechanically or with water. This is a great benefit for bored piled projects where the soil from the bores gets tipped onto the piling mat, which contaminates the traditional stone mat.”
Andy said the RoadCem additive had advantages over other ground improvement techniques, including working well with topsoil, its capability of binding in contaminants so they don’t leach out into the
environment, and ability for installation in wet weather.
A recent project his company worked on involved building a large car park for Toyota Manufacturing (UK) in Derbyshire.
Starting with a wet, boggy field, the company stripped off vegetation and prepared the ground with RoadCem and a small amount of asphalt – which was the only material brought to the site, reducing the environmental impact.
Rodgers Leask, which also created a piling mat for Severn Trent at Claymills sewage works in Burton-upon-Trent using soils present on site, has collaborated with another business to create low-carbon concrete by incorporating incinerator bottom ash and a PowerCem product.
Andy added: “Concrete is responsible for about 7% of the world’s carbon emissions so a significant reduction in this footprint would be a great step towards net zero.”
“Zellar isn’t just about offsetting our carbon emissions. All the features, like its green energy switching service, energy checklists, green marketplace and an online community will help us to become net zero.
“The scoring system quantifies and displays all our sustainability actions. And because it’s live and available for anyone to view, it holds us to account and pushes us on to take the next step.”
Head of finance Claire Stone added: “We want to demonstrate what we’re doing via the platform to our clients, candidates and potential employees.”
Across the first 259 businesses to gain free Zellar access as part of the Net Zero Accelerator, more than £372,000 was invested in green technologies such as solar, LED lighting and electric vehicle chargers, 1,474 energy-saving checks were carried out on the platform and at least £266,000 was saved on energy costs as a result – worth more than £1,000 per company.
Chamber members can claim one year’s free access to Zellar, worth up to £299, by signing up at bit.ly/EMCZellar and using the code 7GF7HSBAEWD4.
‘Concrete is responsible for about 7% of the world’s carbon emissions so a significant reduction in this footprint would be a great step towards net zero’Before (above) and after images of a project in Walton-on-Thames One of Rodgers Leask’s car park projects Andy Leask
The LLEP Business Gateway Growth Hub has joined forces with Santander to offer an exclusive package of products to local export businesses.
Exporters across Leicestershire will gain free access to Santander Navigator, a digital portal that supports the needs of export businesses, from start-ups through to seasoned exporters managing complex shipments.
The Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership (LLEP) is the first LEP in the UK to offer the access to Santander Navigator.
It will enable local companies to explore opportunities in new markets around the world, find potential export partners, streamline customs processes, and overcome bureaucracy and regulatory challenges.
It also details steps needed to get products to international markets, offers insights and training for employees and new exporters, and sets out various shipping options and discounts.
Access to the portal typically costs £1,800 annually, but the pilot scheme allows businesses to use it for free for 12 months from their sign-up date. It means dedicated exporting support for local firms operating in sectors including food and drink, manufacturing, retail, life sciences, and tech.
Sonia Baigent (pictured), LLEP board member and chair of the LLEP Business Board, said: “Exporting is one of the key challenges facing local businesses, which is why we were keen to join forces with Santander and offer this opportunity.
“It means local businesses will have access to events and training, support with logistics, a directory of providers, and a community of others in similar situations.”
Despite an uptick in exports for UK businesses, measures need to be in place to sustain it, says the British Chambers of Commerce as trade with the EU remains weak.
Data from the Office of National Statistic (ONS) reported the UK trade deficit narrowed to £12.3bn in April – whereas trade in services surplus rose by £1.9bn to £40.3bn.
It highlighted a welcome rise in exports but goods exports to the EU remained weak, declining by 0.5%.
William Bain, head of trade policy at the BCC, said: “The recovery in UK goods exports to the rest of the world in April after a disappointing first quarter of 2023 is welcome, but needs to be sustained.
“The Government’s Export Strategy needs to maximise growth in services exports across a range of business activity this year, but so far in 2023, they have been broadly flat.”
Having landed the Derbyshire Business of the Year title in the Chamber’s Business Awards in 2021, SureScreen Diagnostics went on to snap up two King’s Awards for Enterprise in international trade and innovation in May. Director David Campbell (pictured) speaks to Jasmine Thompson about the company’s international trade operations.
What does your company do?
SureScreen Diagnostics is one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of diagnostic tests, including lateral flow tests used for many areas –from pregnancy to drug and alcohol testing.
It was founded by forensic scientist Jim Campbell OBE. While its scientific expertise has been well known in the industry for more than 25 years, it recently came to the fore during the Covid-19 pa ndemic when its antigen lateral flow tests (LFTs), which are among the most advanced tests in the world, became the first European tests to pass the validation process in the laboratory by Public Health England.
What does your international trade operation involve?
We manufacture and export to more than 50 countries worldwide, including across Europe, Australia, Latin America and the Far East.
We sell both direct to customers and via distributors in a number of overseas territories, serving organisations in a range of industries, including the military, construction and transport, and medical and healthcare providers. We also work closely with overseas partners to identify new markets and new applications for the technology, including new diseases such as the recent M-Pox outbreak.
Which are your biggest markets and how would you compare your relationships/ approaches between each of these?
Our biggest market is Europe – in fact, our first overseas market was Germany, where we started exporting after a successful trade show in Düsseldorf. We still supply both direct and through distributors.
Most LFTs are manufactured in the Far East, but we have been picking up quite a lot of new business in Europe because we are quick to react to customers’ needs and do not have the supply issues that some have found importing from the Far East. Since we’re closer, we can also save customers’ shipping costs.
We like to work closely with our partners and distributors. A good example of this is our office in Australia, where we are working hard to expand the product line for the Asia Pacific market. The regulatory landscape is a little different in Australia, so we are working close with the team there to adapt accordingly.
How have the events of the past few years affected your importing and exporting activity?
While Brexit has created challenges, the increase in demand for LFTs from the pandemic has created many opportunities. We have always exported, right from the early days of
the company, but our export activity has grown a lot in recent years. We have benefitted in those countries that were struggling to get tests from China, and it has allowed us to increase our facilities and benefit from economies of scale.
A legacy that we see from the pandemic is the way it has made LFT testing so accessible. Before the pandemic, very few knew much about testing – however, this has been completely changed with routine testing regimes, and this experience has been replicated worldwide. We believe it has opened the opportunity for better early diagnosis in healthcare for the future.
It also means that not only are companies more willing to invest in testing for things like drug testing – both in the face of increased prevalence of drug use and an increase in legislation compelling firms to test for substance abuse – healthcare systems are looking at selftesting as a technique for lessening the cost of medical treatment for patients by using it as an alternative to lab testing.
Our tests can return a reliable result in a matter of minutes, rather than hours or days. This is convenient for the patient but also means they can start with their treatment much earlier, which is vital when you are talking about something like influenza.
DATE: 19 July
TIME: 9-3.30
COST: £280 + VAT
This course will lead delegates through the procedures and documentation required to successfully complete an import transaction.
Delegates will learn about the import process from initial contact with potential supplier to the import customs clearance process to ensure receipt of goods in time and within budget.
Inward/outward processing
DATE: 13 July
TIME: 9-12
COST: £160 + VAT
Introduction to methods of obtaining inward and outward processing relief from customs duty and VAT on international transactions
Customs procedures and documentation
DATE: 16 July
TIME: 9-3.30
COST: £285 + VAT
Learn about details such as the critical data required for a customs declaration or the legal responsibilities of the importer and exporter
Letters of credit
DATE: 26 July
TIME: 9-4.30
COST: £285 + VAT
How has the Chamber supported your international trade operation and what impact has this had?
The Chamber has always helped us by giving us advice and has been very supportive when it comes to the documentation we needed to complete for our export activity. Getting the right authorised documents or certificates of origin have been critical when opening up new markets.
What have you done to secure a King’s Award for Enterprise and how will this recognition boost your organisation’s objectives?
We are delighted we are the UK’s only King’s Award double winners this year. It is a fantastic tribute to our team, whose incredible hard work saw SureScreen reach new heights during the pandemic by developing world-beating tests that helped people across the world during lockdowns.
Our innovation in technology allowed us to make one of the most accurate and user-friendly tests on the market, becoming the only UK manufacturer to supply the NHS with antigen LFTs during the pandemic. Alongside this, our exports have continued to thrive over many years, with exports usually accounting for around 40% of our revenue.
These awards will help raise our standing in the industry further and awareness of our company.
Detailed guide on how to be proactive in opening a letter of credit, how to work with the documents and present to the bank correctly
Customs declarations
DATE: 27 July
TIME: 9-2
COST: £349 + VAT
Learn how to accurately produce a customs declaration or check one being produced by a customs agent for your company
Export documentation
DATE: 31 August
TIME: 9-4
COST: £285 + VAT
Practical programme equipping delegates with necessary skills and knowledge to prepare and process documents when exporting goods overseas
*Prices listed are exclusively for East Midlands Chamber members
Book on to courses at bit.ly/EMCinternationaltraining
Amid one of the tightest labour markets ever experienced by businesses, there has never been such a big focus on recruiting and retaining talent, developing skills and widening the pool of workers through inclusive strategies. The Chamber’s People and Skills Summit, hosted in partnership with Loughborough University at its West Park Teaching Hub on 8 June, addressed challenges and opportunities. Dan Robinson picks out the key topics under discussion.
The Chamber has led on the development of the Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) for Leicester and Leicestershire since Autumn 2022, with the final plan submitted at the end of May this year.
Similar plans are being developed across the rest of England having been introduced by the Department for Education to try bridge the gap between what employers need from their workforce and what’s on offer from local educators.
A data-led approach has been at the heart of the Leicester and Leicestershire LSIP, using a mobile app to engage businesses with a short daily survey on which knowledge, skills and behaviours were important to them over a sixweek period.
This led to the creation of a Collective Skills Intelligence Observatory (CISO), which can be found on the website Insight Unlocked and showcases the results of the LSIP plus wider analysis of other existing data sources around job adverts, occupation projections and qualification levels.
Dr Gareth Thomas, managing director of Skills and Employment Support, also worked on the LSIP and CISO. He said: “As a former public servant, I know we’re very good at preaching to the converted and having the same voices in the conversation, but we deliberately wanted to do things differently and democratise the process.
“Knowledge, skills and behaviours are the important part in this – not just skills for specific jobs, but something that is transferable to lots of roles.
“In the future, we want to create physical maps to show how supply and demand works in different areas so we can understand where we need to build learning centres and provision.”
Baroness Nicky Morgan has a lot of experience in speaking to local businesses from her time as Loughborough MP, and said it never takes long for careers and education to come to the fore.
These are issues close to her heart as a former Education Secretary and current role as chair of The Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC), which aims to bring employers and educators onto the same page for careers education.
“At its best, careers education connects the ambitions of everyone involved so it improves outcomes for young people, businesses and wider society, where everybody wins,” she said.
“When young people are inspired, and given meaningful experiences and guidance, they make better transitions into the world of work. They become more productive and prosperous, and in turn they inspire the next generation to follow them.
“It’s also true that when businesses inspire and engage with purpose, they secure betterequipped, talented and diverse young people who are more productive, making the business more prosperous.”
The CEC was set up in 2015 by then-Education Secretary Baroness Morgan, who was inspired by her conversations, facilitated by the Chamber, with Loughborough-based businesses that were keen to go into schools and colleges to deliver career-based workshops but didn’t know where to begin.
This support infrastructure is now provided by The CEC, which runs a national network of careers hubs, which bring schools and colleges closer together with employers and apprenticeship providers in local areas to drive forward careers education.
Hubs employ enterprise co-ordinators to help schools and colleges develop careers plans, train their careers leaders and implement the socalled Gatsby Benchmarks on what world-class careers provision looks like. Enterprise advisers, meanwhile, facilitate partnerships with key employers committed to improving careers across an area.
Businesses can become a cornerstone employer or encouraging their employees to become voluntary enterprise advisers. Both schemes involve closely collaborating with schools and colleges to enhance careers education.
Baroness Morgan added: “By working with schools and careers educators, this will make our education system and economy much stronger.
Your story can be very inspiring to a young person about what they can do next.”
THE ‘MISSING WORKERS’
Economic inactivity has become a watchword when discussing recruitment challenges for businesses, as it describes working-age people who have opted out of the workforce for various reasons, including long-term ill health, early retirement, caring and studying.
The East Midlands has had one of the largest economic inactivity rates over the past 18 months, peaking at 22.7% in the three months to December 2022.
This is an important issue because the UK is one of only two G7 countries whose employment rate is weaker than pre-pandemic, with 300,000 fewer workers than before the first lockdown.
Analysis by The Learning & Work Institute (LWI) found that if pre-Covid trends in rising employment had continued, the UK labour market would have a million more workers to call upon.
‘When young people are inspired, and given meaningful experiences and guidance, they make better transitions into the world of work’Baroness Nicky Morgan
“We need to think about how many of these people we can get back into work, which about 100,000 people in the East Midlands who are outside the workforce say they want to do,” said Naomi Clayton (pictured below right), deputy director of the LWI.
“This isn’t just about the pandemic, so when we think about labour shortages, we need to think about how we address longer-term, stubborn gaps.”
The biggest skills gap involves disabled people, a potential labour pool of 2.4 million people, followed by lone parents, residents in areas of lower employment, ethnic minorities and people aged 50 to 64.
There are also significant geographical disparities. While one in 100 people living in Surrey are economically inactivity, it is one in seven people in Merseyside – and about one in 12 in parts of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.
The LWI’s recommendations for Government include extending employment support to reach more people who are out of work, in particular
People are a critical ingredient to businesses realising their growth ambitions, yet many have faced major challenges in finding the skills they need from one of the tightest labour markets we have ever seen.
In 2023, we are in a position where a multitude of changes are unfolding –whether it’s in technology, ways of working or the make-up of our society and workforce – which means we must adopt new thinking to how we recruit and retain our people for business needs.
those who have disabilities or are older; better joined-up work, health and employer support by bringing in other organisations like housing associations; and supporting best practice among employers when it comes to greater inclusivity in recruitment and job design.
With the latter point in mind, a panel of business leaders were asked how to make workplaces more inclusive in order to attract and retain talent, as well as provide examples of benefits already experienced.
Chan Kataria OBE, chief executive of Coalvilleheadquartered affordable housing and care provider emh group, highlighted research his organisation carried out in partnership with the Chamber that showed 54% of East Midlands businesses now have an equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) workplace policy.
Explaining why this is important, he said: “A lot of our labour and customers come from areas in Leicestershire with largely non-white communities. We want to reflect those people but also offer them opportunities, and ensure they are bringing their entire selves to work –otherwise they’ll go to other workplaces.”
The organisation also has initiatives to support women into boardroom roles, an LGBTQ+ champion to help colleagues talk confidentially about issues unique to them, and providers training to contractors so they can develop their own inclusivity policies.
“This isn’t just altruism, it makes good common business sense because if we get the right people and anage their talent properly, it leads to a more productive workforce,” he added.
Amit Sonpal, head of mid corporate in the East Midlands for UK corporate banking at Barclays, said inclusivity had been strategically implemented from the top downwards, but it was always evolving to get staff buy-in.
Inclusive activities include having an internal calendar of cultural celebrations so these can be embraced within the organisation and ensure people are given time off when needed, having a
The Chamber has a key role to play in helping firms navigate these areas, and the East Midlands People and Skills Summit was a major milestone in this body of work, with the insights we learned helping us to determine the practical business support tools we can create.
These cover how they can tap into the young talent coming out of our schools, colleges and universities, but also includes how we engage those people who have left employment since the beginning of the pandemic.
We must also consider how to create a sense of belonging within workplaces, which engages a more diverse workforce with the ability to bring new ideas, perspectives and skills to an organisation –ultimately benefitting the bottom line.
cultural quiz for staff and providing facilities for workers to mark their religion.
“Having different backgrounds in the boardroom brings so much more to decisionmaking, which helps us to seek new opportunities commercially,” Amit added.
Veronica Moore, director of student equity, diversity and inclusion at Loughborough University, believes institutions like universities have an important role to play in creating “more equitable” environments.
She spoke about the traditional demographics represented within the university – for example, engineering and sports courses included more male students than female – while staff from minority backgrounds could sometimes struggle to integrate, which had retention issues.
Practical ways of striving for greater equity have included creating a new pro-vice-chancellor for equity, diversity and inclusion position, which Veronica said “signals we’re holding this issue as important and something we’ll do to make a difference”.
Sam Cary, associate director at Inclusive Boards, an executive search consultancy specialising in EDI, insisted skills would always be the number one requirement when hiring, but believes getting ahead in recruitment by having conversations about reasonable adjustments where appropriate can break down barriers to welcome people from diverse backgrounds who have those skills but may not usually apply.
After the Chamber called for new thinking in how businesses can plug deeplyentrenched skills gaps in certain industries as part of its equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) policy work, Becky Valentine (pictured), co-owner of Nottingham-based property developer and consultancy Spenbeck, looks at how the Dear Sirs campaign is trying to make the property and construction industry more inclusive.
Dear all….
There you go, it wasn’t difficult, was it? In a word, you have become truly inclusive. So why is this not the norm?
With the war on talent showing no signs of abating, the importance of EDI policies as a recruitment and retention tool has never been greater.
The use of gender-neutral language plays a key role in being genuinely inclusive and yet within the legal, property and construction sectors in particular, the use of the default male to represent everyone within contracts and communications is undermining efforts to ensure companies with EDI policies are practising what they preach.
The use of Dear sirs as the default salutation might seem an irrelevance – “there are bigger fish to fry” – but as a female co-owner for over 15 years, I do not feel it professional or appropriate to be addressed in this way. The brainchild of London-based Brickworks estate agency coowner Ellie Rees, I am delighted to be supporting the Dear Sirs campaign as its East Midlands lead to drive the use of inclusive language across these sectors.
In March this year, women comprised 47.6% of the overall UK workforce, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), but only a fifth of UK businesses were womenowned in 2022.
This is by no means a women-only issue. Yet, what it does highlight is the structural sexism that remains
embedded in our business practices and which serve as a barrier, subconscious or otherwise, which makes women feel that ownership or decision-making roles aren’t for them.
In sectors such as the built environment, where women currently constitute only 15% of the workforce according to Engineering UK, any drive to make the sector more attractive and welcoming comes unstuck when those targeted are given the impression they don’t belong.
Various pushbacks are given as to why the default male can’t be changed, from “it’s automated in our software” to “Dear all isn’t professional enough”. Yet in a world where Chat GTP can produce a 10,000-word dissertation in minutes and companies have recently promoted their Pride credentials, are we honestly saying that changes can’t be made?
If Dear all doesn’t work for you – too informal perhaps –then how about Dear colleagues, which is gaining traction in legal circles? Or the old faithful, To Whom it May Concern? Personally, I would far rather any of these than be given the impression I don’t have any agency or can’t possibly own my own company.
James Bond got it right when he said, “actions speak louder than words”. So what’s stopping you?
To sign the Dear Sirs pledge to petition for change, visit brickworkslondon.mailchimpsites.com
‘The use of gender-neutral language plays a key role in being genuinely inclusive’
By Mayur Patel, managing director of Scope Group, and sustainability champion Glenn Slater, head of business development and partnerships.
What is sustainable regeneration? And what are the challenges we face when aiming to deliver a regeneration project that has a social, economic and environmental impact on our places, spaces and communities?
Here, we will outline three key considerations when embarking on any regeneration project – whether it is the refurbishment of a single building or the regeneration of a town, city or estate – and consider sustainability in its widest sense.
The regeneration process is now part of any project lifecycle. The importance of regeneration in today’s market is more significant than ever due to elevated demand and decrease in supply of property, land and brownfield sites with intercity locations.
The regeneration lifecycle starts from the concept stage of any development, whether it be for financial gain or community interest. The introduction of new and enhanced building regulations allows the regeneration process to be more focussed, albeit not always commercially desirable in a market where materials and labour costs are ever increasing.
The below are key considerations:
1. Social impact
How the use, design and lifecycle of the project will affect the social environment. This could involve, for example, job creation or losses, increased traffic and congestion issues in intercity locations.
2. Social value
How is this impacting the value it brings to the local environment? For example, councils are now opting to move towards supporting the development of purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) schemes to support the demand in the higher education market.
One of the main reasons for this is the social value these schemes add to the heritage and local community regeneration. Councils are trying to move away from residential areas becoming small student villages and encourage residents to move back into these areas, serving a demand for affordable homes.
The PBSA schemes also offer students better-quality housing in a better environment, with better facilities.
3. Commercial viability of investment
Is regeneration expensive? This will always be an argument of developers looking at increasing yields.
However, in a combined effort to move in the right direction and with incentives, its can very much be viable and achieve sustainability in its widest sense.
Interestingly, the Oxford definition of regeneration refers to the “process of making an area develop and grow strong again”.
If our only project driver is cost, then we get what we value – the cheapest project, but not necessarily the best outcome that will allow a community to thrive and grow.
Scope Group aims to limit the environmental impact of its construction projects. Below, from left: Paz Patel, director and co-owner, Glenn Slater, head of business bevelopment and partnerships, Richard Eden, director, and Maz Patel, managing director and co-owner
While capital cost is always a consideration – any project has to make commercial sense – what about social and environmental costs?
As anyone experienced in construction knows, this means a fabric-first approach to reduce energy and heat demand before installing zero-fossil fuel and smart, renewable energy systems.
However, to be truly sustainable, our thinking needs to go beyond the building fabric and technology.
We challenge clients, designers and project managers to go deeper and adopt Doughnut Economics principles – considering planetary boundaries and social foundations when designing the regeneration of our places, spaces, towns, cities and buildings for future generations.
When planning your project, ask: How can our place be home to thriving people, a thriving place while respecting the wellbeing of all people and the health of the whole planet?
These are challenging questions to tackle. But if, at design stage, we don’t address decarbonisation of the built environment, if we don’t consider biodiversity and “blue” or “green” landscapes, if we don’t consider community when building in our towns and cities, then the negative impact on our planet, and the health and wellbeing of humanity – our children and grandchildren – will be far greater.
So make sure your regeneration project goes deeper to have a positive impact for all.
From corporate fundraising and staff volunteering to environmental initiatives and lending commercial expertise to charities, there are a wide range of corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities that six in 10 East Midlands businesses tell the Chamber they are engaged in. Jasmine Thompson speaks to companies of all shapes and sizes to find out more.
Location: Nottingham
Number of employees: Two
Spokespeople: Becky Valentine and Victoria Green (both pictured), co-owners
What does your business do?
Multi-award-winning Spenbeck provides interior design, sustainability, and building health consultancy support and training, alongside personalised office lettings in the heart of Nottingham’s Lace Market.
How have you incorporated being a ‘responsible business’ into your overall strategy – and why is this important?
Being responsible is integral to who we are as a second-generation family business, aligning with our family and, in turn, company values. Every decision is taken through an ESG lens, and we have a sustainability policy published on our website, allied to Nottingham City Council’s 2028 carbon-neutral pledge.
Proactivity is key to ensuring our business
continuity, and we are constantly horizon scanning for ESG and climate change macroenvironmental impacts.
Our expertise and passion are essential in driving sustainability across every sector we support. We are thought leaders and disrupters of the status quo in terms of supporting sustainability within the heritage built environment. We are vocal advocates for the need to bring this sector into mainstream net zero conversation and the need to bridge the heritage skills gap to achieve the successful delivery of the Government’s retrofitting targets. Incorporating responsibility not only provides us with competitive advantage – generating the profit required to deliver our ESG goals – but strengthens our brand and ensures true alignment between our values and operations.
What types of CSR activities do you take part in and why did you choose these?
We have placed the promotion and delivery of environmental, business and health suitability at the forefront of our business model. We support our office tenants’ B Corp and ISO 14001
aspirations and certification, and help to optimise their work environments.
We donate long-term, pro-bono support to charities and organisations, including fundraising planning, business continuity efforts, promotional activities, training and talks. Victoria is a trustee at Emmanuel House Support Centre and sits on Nottingham’s Heritage Panel, while Becky is a board member at Nottingham Civic Society.
Aligned with our values of stewardship and custodianship, we are committed to the improvement our of local community – be they people, buildings or environment.
What support is needed to increase engagement among companies on being a responsible business?
Varied support is required to truly embed holistic sustainability, including funding for ESG and carbon literacy training; increasing ongoing capabilities via funded mentorship or support programmes; and grant funding for specific sustainability role recruitment across an organisation.
Location: Derby
Number of employees: 14
Spokesperson: Toni Hibbert (pictured), owner
What does your business do?
We provide professional cleaning services to the highest standards of security and service. We also provide laundry and ironing services.
How have you incorporated being a ‘responsible business’ into your overall strategy – and why is this important?
Bright & Beautiful has a code of values, one of which is philanthropy, and I have always felt it is important to be involved in my local community and part of our success is being able to “put something back”.
What types of CSR activities do you take part in and why did you choose these?
I wanted to support a local charity as part of our overall ethical business strategy and very early on I met Maria Hanson, who is the founder of me&dee charity and our values aligned.
The charity’s mission is very special, which is to ensure families going through difficult and uncertain times are gifted with memories they can treasure, never losing sight of what truly matters.
I have been a regular monthly sponsor since 2019, and have been involved in fundraising. Last year, I became a volunteer, and have since been invited to become a trustee, which I have found enriches my day-to-day life. It has been a huge opportunity for me to learn and grow, and I would encourage other local business owners to get involved in this way.
What support is needed to increase engagement among companies on being a responsible business?
Although there is a greater awareness of CSR and responsible operations, there is still a percentage of companies that do not engage. More information and case studies for SMEs to explain the many ways they can be involved would help, as they can highlight the benefits and positive impact it can have on both a business and a personal level.
Location: Leicester
Number of employees: Nine
Spokesperson: Mark Robinson (pictured), director
What does your business do?
We are a creative design agency that focuses on building long-term branding and marketing success for businesses across the country.
How have you incorporated being a ‘responsible business’ into your overall strategy – and why is this important?
As a business, we have become more responsible by simply getting the topic on our meeting agenda. This has allowed us to focus time on easy actions and schedule for those that will take a bit of planning.
We are now building on this in terms of the time we give to our local community and the actions we take to become more efficient with our output. We might be small, but we have made some significant changes that are already positively affecting the business, the people we work with and the broader community.
What types of CSR activities do you take part in and why did you choose these?
We are proud to partake in regular workshops with high school children around Leicestershire in partnership with Leicestershire Education Business Company (LEBC), where our team provide career advice to the young people, guiding them towards their next steps. One of our directors has become an enterprise adviser, to help a designated local education establishment with their careers activities.
Creative62 acts as a strategic partner for Leicester-based disability charity Mosaic 1898. This relationship requires a commitment of eight hours per month from us, where we provide marketing support to help increase the charity's online and offline presence.
We have also built up our commitment to eco credentials as we continue to reduce the amount of waste we produce, print less, and to recycle any paper and plastic we do use. We have introduced smart switches and LED lighting, meaning no energy is wasted when it isn't needed, in turn reducing our CO2 output.
What does the future look like in terms of your CSR and wider ESG strategy?
Moving forward, we intend to continue with and increase our time given to these commitments, but also to take a much more dedicated approach towards our environmental efforts. Our next mission is to become a B Corp certified company. What support is needed to increase engagement among companies on being a responsible business?
Smaller businesses will always need help with commitments outside their income-related activities. As companies grow, it becomes more manageable, but considering the number of solo or microbusinesses in the region, there is a need for a higher frequency of messaging.
Location: Leicester
Number of employees: Eight
Spokesperson: Scarlett Tinsley (pictured), business and marketing manager
What does your business do?
ER Recruitment is a bespoke recruitment consultancy located in Leicester that operates across the East Midlands.
How have you incorporated being a ‘responsible business’ into your overall strategy – and why is this important?
We strive to make a positive difference both internally and within the community we operate. Our policy consists of three key areas – our people, community involvement, and diversity and inclusion.
Within recruitment, we are aware of the strong influence that CSR activity is having on people’s perceptions of the workplace, with individuals emphasising the importance of a brand actively supporting CSR activities. We therefore regularly review our own activities, and work with clients to help them be viewed as an employer of choice.
What types of CSR activities do you take part in and why did you choose these?
This year, we have three chosen charities: Hope Against Cancer, Bodie Hodges Foundation and Wooden Spoon. Our business is also actively involved in sponsoring and membership across other local charities including Menphys, Warning Zone and The Big Difference Company.
Our contribution is measured by our internal marketing team, which reports quarterly on our involvement and impact. Each team member is encouraged to boost their personal profile by engaging with charities and the community to really make a difference where we live and work.
What does the future look like in terms of your CSR and wider ESG strategy?
We are proud of the impact we have been able to have on our local community. In more recent years, we have identified ways in which we can utilise our professional contacts and networks to create a larger impact to the causes we support.
Part of this involves driving forward our #BleedForHayley campaign in partnership with NHS Blood and Transplant to encourage businesses to provide staff with time out of the working day to donate blood.
What support is needed to increase engagement among companies on being a responsible business?
Companies need to be aware of the benefits and importance of being responsible. Raising awareness about the positive impact on the company's reputation, employee morale, customer loyalty and long-term sustainability can help drive engagement.
Location: Leicester
Number of employees: 13
Spokesperson: Ellie Dunmore (pictured), managing director
What does your business do?
We teach clinical aromatherapy, as well as formulate and manufacture aromatherapy-based, natural products for the wellbeing and satisfaction of clients.
How have you incorporated being a ‘responsible business’ into your overall strategy – and why is this important?
We have strived to be a responsible business since our conception in 2003, using only naturally-harvested plant materials in our products and to teach the importance of natural wellbeing.
Being a responsible business is part of who we are, and we share this with our customers so they feel good about our products, knowing these are handcrafted without animal testing, harsh chemicals or petroleum – and therefore beneficial for holistic wellbeing.
What types of CSR activities do you take part in and why did you choose these?
We're always looking to make improvements to be more environmentally friendly – no task is too big and no change is too small. With our sustainablysourced ingredients, we are looking closely at the “four Rs” to make PPA as sustainable as possible.
We have many options for recycling on-site for both visitors and staff – not just the packaging we receive and send out, but also for the smaller steps, such as crisp packets and confidential paperwork.
We support hospices, offering them a special discounted price on products they may need for therapy centres, as well as offering bespoke training.
Our team of volunteers work within the local community, most recently helping with a litter pick and enhancing biodiversity at Bradgate Park. I am a school governor and support initiatives such as schools speed networking and working with the LLEP.
What does the future look like in terms of your CSR and wider ESG strategy? Our future strategies are to build on our foundations, expanding and keeping on top of technical advances and products to enable us to be as sustainable as possible. We are also looking to further support charities and our local community via various options, such as “easy fundraising” and building a relationship with the Look Good Feel Better charity for product donations.
What support is needed to increase engagement among companies on being a responsible business?
Support is needed to help with the advancement of systems and processes used, making new technology easier to access and affordable, and ensuring these messages are clear to those who have not already engaged.
Location: Long Eaton
Number of employees: 15
Spokesperson: Andrew Buxton (pictured), managing director
What does your business do?
We are an IT programme and project management consultancy.
How have you incorporated being a ‘responsible business’ into your overall strategy – and why is this important?
The concept of CSR has evolved over time, and there is no single person or organisation that can be credited with defining it. Embark CSR is on a mission to define what it means for SMEs to encourage more positive behaviours among community and charity organisations in the East Midlands. Directors Chris Shaw and Stacey Wragg share their thoughts on the current landscape.
CSR equates to a company's responsibility to operate in a manner that promotes positive social, economic and environmental impacts. In other words, it is the way businesses integrate social, envi ronmental, and ethical concerns into their operations, while engaging with stakeholders such as employees, customers, suppliers and communities.
It can help businesses build strong relationships with their stakeholders, enhance their reputation, create a more sustainable and resilient business model, attract and retain talent, improve operational efficiency, manage risk and showcase their social value.
Moreover, CSR can have a positive impact on society and the environment by addressing issues such as poverty, inequality, climate change and environmental degradation.
The Chamber’s research into CSR engagement, which covered 400 businesses and was conducted by the Derby Business School, found the most popular types of CSR engagement are charitable activities (40%),
We recognise that we have a responsibility to the environment beyond legal and regulatory requirements. We are committed to reducing our environmental impact and continually improving our environmental performance as an integral part of our business strategy and operating methods, with regular review points.
What types of CSR activities do you take part in and why did you choose these?
Our activities focus on reducing our usage of paper, energy and water. We also seek environmentally-friendly options for office supplies and maintenance, including renting or sharing equipment before purchasing, as well as transport by promoting alternatives to in-person meetings and using electric vehicles.
We comply and exceed all relevant regulatory requirements, and continually monitor environmental performance to identify areas for improvement through monthly management meetings. Training is provided for staff to ensure a company-wide implementation of our policies for greater commitment and improved performance.
What support is needed to increase engagement among companies on being a responsible business?
Communication and awareness are critical. Impacts of the pandemic, the downturn in the economy and the cost-ofliving crisis has had a negative effect on ESG and CSR.
We need to think seriously about the long-term effects of the global environmental crisis and try, although it’s not easy, to look beyond the financial and economic constraints we are all currently feeling and think about what we can do to protect our planet.
environmental initiatives (27%), community initiatives (23%) and staff volunteering (10%).
Yes – while CSR and ESG are related concepts, ESG is often seen as a more comprehensive approach that goes beyond a company's voluntary actions. Whereas CSR might be more likely to align to and support a company's values, the information a company discloses via ESG reporting is based on its materiality in relation to its operations and business model.
ESG reporting is not yet mandatory, although it is moving in that direction. The EU has passed the world’s most far-reaching mandatory ESG reporting regime thus far.
The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) will apply to an initial group of large EU companies from 2024 and gradually extend its reach to smaller companies over the course of the following four years. The UK is on track to follow suit, and already there is a requirement for climaterelated financial disclosures for companies and limited liability partnerships (LLPs).
A common framework used for identifying key CSR/ESG issues is the United Nations’ SDGs. They are a set of 17 goals established in 2015 to promote sustainable development worldwide. Small businesses can use these goals to align their business operations with global sustainability.
There are many examples of highly productive responses to CSR across the East Midlands, as demonstrated within the Chamber’s annual CSR report. The aim now is to encourage and help more companies to develop an approach to CSR that benefits them and their local communities.
To read the Chamber’s CSR research, visit bit.ly/EastMidlandsCSR2023
Location: Nationwide, with offices in Nottingham and Leicester
Number of employees: 2,900-plus
Spokesperson: Alistair Wesson (pictured), partner at the Nottingham office
What does your business do?
Mazars is an internationally integrated partnership, specialising in audit, accountancy, advisory, tax and legal services.
How have you incorporated being a ‘responsible business’ into your overall strategy – and why is this important?
Mazars in the UK is committed to placing sustainability at the core of our business. Guided by our One24 strategy, we are committed to minimising harm and maximising our positive impact on our people, our clients, wider society and the environment.
To ensure this is possible, we actively ensure that sustainability is embedded across every part of our business.
What types of CSR activities do you take part in and why did you choose these?
We work with charities local to our 15 offices so we can have a direct impact within our communities, and this is driven by our community champions in each office.
By partnering with IntoUniversity, we are proud to support young people from the ages seven and up across the UK to achieve their academic potential, develop vital soft and professional skills, as well as gain experience of the world of work.
In Nottingham, we have funded the Year 5 primary FOCUS programme, which inspires students to think about their future education and raises aspirations. Our team members have also volunteered their time to support the Careers in FOCUS series.
The supported charity for the Nottingham office is Emmanuel House, which is an independent charity that supports people who are homeless, rough sleeping, in crisis, or at risk of homelessness.
Staff volunteering has also helped causes ranging from social mobility and diversity and inclusion in schools, to support for vulnerable 11 to 25-year-olds with mental health issues, one-to-one support for LGBTQ+ young adults and counselling for survivors of serious violence.
Through the Mazars Charitable Trust, which was established in 1983, we are proud to have supported several initiatives within Nottingham – including the Better Books 2021 campaign, which aimed to provide all Nottingham primary schools with a set of culturally diverse reading books.
What does the future look like in terms of your CSR and wider ESG strategy?
The focus for our community’s strategy is to amplify our social impact nationally and locally by introducing a more targeted approach and continuing to build lasting and impactful relationships. We are also looking to develop robust pro-bono offering for our team, which will add another dimension to the way we can make a difference to our local communities.
ESG has become a core part of the UK’s most prestigious business awards, the King’s Awards for Enterprise. Formerly known as the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, they recognise organisations in the areas of innovation, international trade, sustainable development and promoting opportunity through social mobility. Dan Robinson speaks to a past winner of the Sustainable Development category.
Cosy
Location: Tutbury, near Burton-onTrent
Spokesperson: Peter Ellse DL, CEO
What does your business do?
We are a multi-award-winning designer and developer of school and nursery supplies. We sell 4,000 products to 20 countries each year and employ 100 people.
What made you enter the King’s Awards for Enterprise (then known as the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise) and how did you find the application process?
We entered the sustainable development award as the communities we operate from are in our DNA. We support our 400-strong SME partner supply base, more than 20% of our products are upcycled or low energy-processed, and 10% of our profits go into our market-leading community fund, the Cosy Foundation – which builds African schools, pays scholarships, supplies Derby Kids Camp and supports 80 other initiatives. We have a range of community investments, from solar to trees, bees and doves on site.
Given our heritage and the unparalleled standing of these awards, it felt a good one to test ourselves against. We failed first time around, simply because we had too junior a team involved and hadn’t explained ours achievements well enough.
The judges’ response showed there was a real depth of integrity to the process and we were encouraged to try again. We needed to uplift the team input to board level – the judges wanted to see the whites of the eyes of the leaders’ passion, and we used this as a part of our process. This allowed us to further develop ourselves. Prof Kath Mitchell and John Forkin’s advice on statistical base was a useful nudge.
How did it feel to win the awards and why do you feel you deserved this accolade?
‘The judges wanted to see the whites of the eyes of the leaders’ passion’The Cosy team celebrates the Queen’s Award accolade
A really magical feeling. Those in business will tell you the risks and opportunities rarely stop, so it was good to reflect on an enduring moment of achievement.
We won it for our depth of involvement in this area, whether it’s the 100 employees who we fund to volunteer, our famed local carbon sourcing or prison upcycling –community sustainability is a way of life at Cosy.
What impact has the recognition had on your business and how do you plan to continue using this in the future?
We’ll wave the flag joyously. We have had numerous parties at Cosy, celebrations in Derby Cathedral during Gaia and palace meets with the King before he was famous!
A rare treat was to be fortunate enough for a royal visit from the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester for the raising of royal flags. The staff, and Cosy families and charities, are all extremely proud.
Royalty adds glamour and confers status to business by association. It’s excellent for commercial recognition and really makes a material impact on export connections too.
The award lasts for five years so we will use the anniversary to check our progress and ask ourselves whether we would have won it for this year’s extra effort?
What would be your advice to other companies deliberating on whether to apply for the King’s Awards for Enterprise?
Do it. It’s rightly earned the moniker of “MBE for business”. Since winning this, I have crossed to the other side onto the lieutenancy team as Deputy Lieutenant of Derbyshire to promote and encourage these awards.
The East Midlands is starting to earn a reputation as a real leader – in 2022, Derbyshire was fourth in the UK in the number of winners.
Contact your local lieutenancy office, which will usually be able to help you on pre-application. Back your application with a mixture of statistics and demonstrating the story of your firm through the leaders with depth and width.
My other advice is to spurn the professional national award writers, who can be spotted a mile away. Do get local help from people who know you well –your business advisory firm accountants, lawyers, the Chamber, PR firms or local bid specialists. But if you’re not also prepared to personally put in, you will not win.
Don’t be afraid to ask winners how they did it. If at first you don’t succeed but you believe you have a strong case – well then, try, try again.
EAST MIDLANDS BUSINESSES HAVE UNTIL 12 SEPTEMBER 2023 TO ENTER NEXT YEAR’S KING’S AWARDS FOR ENTERPRISE.
The awards, which are free to enter, recognise organisations for their achievements across innovation, international development, sustainable development and promoting opportunity through social mobility.
Winners are announced in May 2024 and are permitted to fly the King’s Awards for Enterprise flag at their main office and use the emblem in marketing materials for five years.
They will also receive an official certificate known as a grant of appointment and a commemorative crystal trophy.
For more information about eligibility criteria and to apply for the King’s Awards for Enterprise 2024, visit www.gov.uk/kings-awards-for-enterprise
The East Midlands devolution deal, which will create a new mayoral combined county authority in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, could be the beginning of a great new deal for disabled people – but only if our politicians seize the moment.
Thanks to the ambition and co-operation of political leaders across council boundaries and political parties, we will have more public investment and more control over spending.
The key objectives are:
• Boosting productivity, pay, jobs and living standards
• Spreading opportunities and improving public services
• Restoring a sense of community, local pride and belonging
• Empowering local leaders and communities.
Will progress on these objectives help disabled people in the region?
The devolution deal covers a population of 2.2 million, with 88,000 businesses providing more than 930,000 jobs.
About 18% of our working age population have a disability and just under half of them are economically active, compared with 83% of non-disabled people.
This so-called disability employment gap is nearly three percentage points bigger here than nationally – that could be more than 5,000 people available immediately for the workforce.
Health deprivation is also a significant issue in our region and this correlates with disability.
Another challenge is the age and quality of housing stock, and a shortage of accessible housing – preventing people from living independently and further stressing the costly care system.
Finally, in terms of the ambition for local people to live in communities with a real sense of belonging, disabled people often experience social isolation.
The opportunity now is to persuade our political leaders to put disabled people into all the thinking and planning that the new mayoral authority will be doing.
Thinking about the celebrated book on the pursuit of Olympic gold, Will it make the boat go faster?, the idea here is to ask a couple of key questions of any new policy or initiative:
• Is it accessible to disabled people?
• Will it make disabled people’s lives better?
There are clear economic benefits for our region if we have more disabled people in employment, and if we get better at retaining people in the workforce when they become disabled or experience mental health difficulties.
There are clear business benefits if employers take active steps to close that disability employment gap, helping to resolve those very real recruitment challenges.
With a strong focus on technological development in the Midlands Engine economic plan, there is massive potential to harness the power of assistive technology (ATech) to support disabled people in day to day life.
Simple and very low-cost adaptations to the home, work or social settings, through voice or motion-controlled technology can significantly enhance opportunities and participation in society.
Our award-winning Maples SMARTHome which uses Alexa, Bixby and Google technology, is leading the way in our sector, enabling people and their families to experience technology that can be easily replicated in their own homes for very small investment.
Our quadruple-awarding Portland Pathways focuses on closing the disability employment gap in Nottinghamshire.
Our very small, charitably-funded team, comprising one manager and three advisers, has worked with more than 1,200 individuals, who were mostly on long-term benefits, in the past four years. The team has supported 250 job starts and over 600 people into our recovery college programme for people experiencing mental health difficulties.
Apprenticeships are a great route to progress your career, combining on the job training with theoretical and technical expertise that brings academic rigour to your work.
They are also a brilliant way of developing a range of soft skills which will help you thrive in the workplace, helping you build and maintain relationships and achieve goals.
“Employers are increasingly putting value on soft skills when they look at who in their organisation is ready to step up and progress,” explained Danny Buckley, senior lecturer in Enterprise at De Montfort University in Leicester (DMU).
“Because of their collaborative nature, our apprenticeship programmes help learners develop these sought after skills which can help support culture change and grow a positive work culture.
“Our programmes give people that space to think about their role at work, how they approach issues and offer practical tips and solutions which complement the theory and the on the job training.”
Here are five key soft skills that you will develop through studying an apprenticeship:
Through an apprenticeship, individuals learn to articulate their thoughts and ideas concisely, both verbally and in writing. This skill allows them to express themselves confidently and
engage with colleagues, supervisors, and clients more effectively.
Industries and workplaces are constantly evolving. The ability to adapt quickly to new circumstances and embrace change is crucial for career growth. Apprenticeships expose individuals to different tasks, challenges, and working conditions, enabling them to become more flexible and adaptable. This soft skill allows apprentices to navigate uncertainty, learn new skills efficiently, and stay ahead of the curve in a rapidly changing job market.
During an apprenticeship, individuals learn to juggle multiple responsibilities, meet deadlines, and allocate time effectively. By developing good time management habits early on, apprentices can enhance their productivity, reduce stress, and demonstrate their reliability and commitment to future employers.
Apprenticeships often present individuals with real-world challenges that require critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Apprentices learn to analyse complex situations, identify root causes, and develop innovative solutions. This skill set allows them to approach problems with confidence, think creatively, and contribute to the success of their team and organisation.
Building a strong professional network is essential for career advancement. Apprenticeships provide valuable networking opportunities, allowing individuals to connect with mentors, industry professionals, and fellow apprentices.
Studying for an apprenticeship not only provides learners with technical knowledge and hands-on experience but also offers a fertile ground for the development of critical soft skills. The cultivation of communication, teamwork, adaptability, time management, problem-solving, professionalism, networking, and emotional intelligence sets apprentices apart.
Want to find out more about apprenticeships at DMU? Visit www.dmu.ac.uk/apprenticeships
Viritech’s world-beating hydrogen-fuelled hypercar, the Apricale, has been on display at the MIRA Technology Institute (MTI) to showcase the revolution in high-performance zeroemissions powertrains
The MIRA Technology Institute (MTI) was established by a unique collaboration led by North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College, and its partners HORIBA MIRA, Coventry University, the University of Leicester and Loughborough University. It has a remit to create specialist skills in electrification, autonomous and connected vehicles, cyber security and safety. Operations director Lisa Bingley (pictured) explains how it is preparing for a hydrogen economy in transportation.
The drive towards cleaner, greener energy is getting everyone talking about the potential of hydrogen as an exciting alternative fuel source, and earlier in June we heard from a leading organisation that is currently showcasing its hydrogen-fuelled hypercar at the MTI.
Walk into our reception area and you will see the amazingly sleek Viritech Apricale taking pride of place after
a session by Viritech founder and CEO Matt Faulks, who spoke at the MTI about the revolution in high-performance zero-emissions powertrains.
While it was fantastic to hear about how Viritech has redesigned the fuel cell powertrain to achieve weight parity with petrol and diesel vehicles for the first time, my focus today is not on cars but on fleet vehicles within the logistics sector.
As investment in hydrogen continues to grow, we will inevitably see broader access to refuelling and transportation infrastructure but in the short term, the benefits of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCEVs) are strongest for organisations operating LGV and HGVs.
We also cover the basics of hydrogen technology as part of our current electric vehicles course, as well as an advanced one-day course covering hydrogen fuel cells more generally.
The MTI is at the forefront of developing capacity in this area of skills development, helping businesses to understand and realise the potential of hydrogen as an alternative clean source of energy, which can keep their vehicles on the road with the minimum of downtime while reducing their environmental impact.
Hydrogen technology is an exciting area, and the Midlands is making strides with investment in its production, storage and transportation, catching up with the plentiful supplies already being generated offshore on Humberside and in Scotland.
Naturally abundant, hydrogen contributes to 75% of the mass of the universe where its atoms occur in water, plants and all living creatures. It is converted to a gas through the process of electrolysing water, releasing its component elements of hydrogen and oxygen.
Hydrogen is classified by a system of colour descriptions based on how it has been created – whether the process is fuelled by natural gas (blue), nuclear energy (pink), solar or wind power (green).
In the automotive sector, Toyota led the field introducing its hydrogen-powered Mirai, but the consumer market is immature and lacks the available infrastructure to secure mass appeal.
The situation is changing rapidly, and the logistics and transportation sector can start to benefit from hydrogen use immediately.
Hydrogen is an excellent fuel source for LGVs and HGVs because vehicles can be refuelled very quickly with no downtime for lengthy charging periods. The range of these vehicles is inevitably longer as they have larger batteries than cars. Hydrogen-powered fleet vehicles produced by Tevva, HVS and Volta Trucks are already being built in the UK and availability is only set to grow.
At the MTI, we have been instrumental in building capacity and designing training specifically for hydrogen fuel cell technology for HGVs and LGVs as part of the Department for Education’s Strategic Development Fund.
We are now offering one-day and three-day training courses for businesses and individuals in the automotive and logistics sector to help them gear up for the switch to cleaner, greener energy.
Beyond hydrogen, every business within the automotive supply chain is now embracing new technology – whether they produce e lectric vehicles or are involved in their sale, transportation recovery, maintenance, servicing or repair. The MTI is perfectly placed to address these skills needs as access to new technologies unfolds at a rapid pace.
‘Hydrogen technology is an exciting area, and the Midlands is making strides with investment in its production, storage and transportation’
A Leicestershire manufacturer is expected to enhance productivity by between 60% and 120% after receiving support from the Chamber’s Digital Upscaler project.
MJ Products, which supplies material handling equipment, received a £23,000 technology grant and one-to-one digital technology assistance from adviser Prashant Gandabhai to integrate robotics into its fabrication process.
With the potential to now make products at more than twice the current speed, the business is forecasting it will be able to create two to three-times as many products in the same factory footprint.
Managing director and founder Mark Jackson said: “Without the funding support and advice we received, we almost certainly wouldn’t be looking to achieve the meteoric growth we’re forecasting.
“While the robotic solution is not an order-winning criterion in itself, customer acquisition will definitely be enhanced by the additional capabilities it will provide once it’s in full production. And because the tech is installed on-site, we’ll be able to maintain our ‘made in the UK’ declaration – a key selling proposition for us.”
Mark reached out for support when interest in the company’s Vanmate brand – a portable lifting solution for van and delivery drivers – was rapidly gathering pace, and several new avenues were beginning to open up across a diverse range of sectors, including retail and utilities.
One such new customer was Openreach, which maintains telephone cables, ducts, cabinets and exchanges. It placed a substantial order worth more than £640,000 with MJ Products after seeing Vanmate in action, and immediately realising its potential for moving engineering equipment quickly and easily out in the field.
While the deal was transformational, securing it also presented the company with several challenges to keep up with
demand, including resource, limited space on the production line and lack of skilled workers in the labour market in welding and fabrication.
accuracy and greater efficiency.
“I’d heard about the Digital Upscaler project during previous roles and made contact to find out more about how we could access the advice and funding needed to find and implement a solution quickly.”
With the grant, the compay purchased cobot technology, which involves a robot intended for direct human-robot interaction within a shared space. This has created a more-varied, less-repetitive work and a more-engaged workforce.
programme and maintain a robotic welder, the uptake would be high. It’s just a bigger draw in the emerging labour market, and younger people want to be involved in this area,”
After developing a selection matrix for a robotics specialist, Mark enlisted Prashant’s support during the process, to help him make the right choice.
“We couldn’t physically make enough units by hand to meet the order,” Mark said. “From previous experience, I knew an automated, robotic welding solution was the answer. This would allow us to do greater volume more consistently in a smaller area and to accelerate manual human tasks with higher
Mark added: “The robotic capabilities will support and supplement growth and complement the human skills we have in the business.
“In the current market, if I were to advertise for a production welder, I’d anticipate uptake would be pretty low as there’s been a real decline in young people looking to train for this type of work.
“However, I’m confident that if I were to advertise for a trainee to
Prashant said: “Working alongside MJ Products throughout its cobot-technology-investment journey has been fascinating. I’ve really enjoyed helping Mark and his team to identify how this technology can support the business in automating certain processes to drive efficiency and bridge skills gaps in the business.
“This is a remarkable demonstration of how robots and humans can work together and how technology is helping businesses to unlock growth and meet operation goals.”
‘While the robotic solution is not an order-winning criterion in itself, customer acquisition will definitely be enhanced by the additional capabilities it will provide’
By this point, everyone has heard of TikTok. Most of us are used to getting sucked into an endless pit of video content, wondering where three hours of our life went.
At six years old, TikTok has developed from a music video style app into the more video-based social media that we know today. With video content creators, otherwise known as “influencers”, businesses and individuals really capitalising on the platform, what is it that has made TikTok take over the world?
It’s no accident the video content TikTok is serving up is relevant and engaging for you. Try swapping phones with a friend and seeing how different the videos are on each of your pages – no person will see the exact same stream of videos on their app. One of TikTok’s biggest secrets to success is how intelligent its algorithm is.
TikTok knows you. If you spend any amount of time on the app, it will learn more and more about your interests, humour, gender, age, career, personality and lifestyle.
Sounds scary right? Well, realistically it’s simply getting to know you so it can deliver a more personal and entertaining experience.
TikTok has done an incredible job of answering questions without ever advertising itself as an educational app.
Ever searched on TikTok like it’s a search engine? Whether people are looking for inspiration on their next holiday, a workout regime, the best eateries or tips for their career, TikTok will deliver the answers.
Google has been the go-to for these questions. So, why the shift? TikTok is not serving you answers from a brand’s website, the videos
are made by real people and all organic videos are made with no alternative motive. Therefore, users feel they can get more trusted and relevant information.
In fact, 18 to 24-year-olds are turning to TikTok as their first port of call for queries, with 40% now using the platform as a search engine.
Friendship groups love having an inside joke. Something you can laugh with your mates about that feels exclusive and personal to you. Well, TikTok has been built on global “inside” jokes.
We saw a similar occurrence with the app Vine in 2013, but the platform didn’t last. TikTok took a similar concept and turned it into something that became globally used and loved – transforming shortform video content into addictive and viral entertainment that everyone with a phone can access.
Short-style video content has burst wide open across all social media platforms over the past few years, as TikTok kickstarted this new way to consume.
TikTok has done video content right. That’s why it’s being used individually and by businesses across the globe. It’s growth and continued progression sees it dominating the social media world, and we’re not expecting that to drop-off any time soon.
In the UK, employment law protects employees from unfair redundancy selection. A failure to follow the correct procedures when it comes to consultation periods could land a company in really hot water facing damage to their reputation, or worse, in front of politicians, an employment tribunal judge, and even facing a criminal prosecution.
Firstly, when considering redundancies, it’s important to stress it is the job or role itself that is redundant, and not the person. This is an important differentiator. There must be a genuine reason behind why an employee is being made redundant too, not simply because a business wants to get rid of a troublesome employee. A proper and meaningful redundancy process also needs to be planned, with sufficient time given to communicate the proposals to staff before commencing consultation.
With 19 or fewer redundancies, there is no minimum requirement for the length of the consultation period. However, where 20 or more
redundancies are proposed within a 90-day period, then the consultation period must be at least 30 days before any dismissals can take effect. This increases to 45 days where 100 or more redundancies are proposed.
If there is no trade union or existing employee representatives, then an election process will need to be undertaken, and this can add a significant amount of time to the process before any consultation has actually taken place.
Following the correct redundancy process is important for a number of reasons. Firstly, because it is the law, and businesses and business owners could face considerable claims for compensation where they get it wrong.
In the case of a failure to consult for the minimum period of time where 20 or more redundancies are proposed, it could also face criminal penalties, including fines, as well as compensation claims for up to 13 weeks’ actual pay per employee.
Secondly, a fair consultation process allows employers and employees to discuss other options that could avoid redundancy entirely, while also giving workers time to prepare and begin searching for alternative employment.
By communicating meaningfully with staff, it allows them to understand:
•The reasons for the proposed redundancies
•If redundancies can be avoided
•How the impact of redundancy can be mitigated – for example, through alternative roles or retraining.
It’s important to remember that when making an employee redundant is not a fast and easy way to solve problems within your business. Without a genuine reason for redundancy, businesses could face legal proceedings for unfair dismissal, which not only costs money, but your reputation, too.
Mukesh Patel, former managing partner of Freeths Leicester, has been honoured for his services to the region’s business community following his tragic death in February.
A very popular member of both Freeths and the local community, Mukesh led the firm’s dispute resolution team in Leicester and subsequently headed up the office in 2014. He died unexpectedly on Saturday, 18 February, aged 54.
Much-loved husband and dad-of-two Mukesh received the President’s Lifetime Achievement award at the Leicestershire Law Society Awards 2023, which celebrated the achievements of the best law firms and individuals working in the legal sector across the city and the county.
The Lifetime Achievement recognises his tireless dedication to the firm and local business community.
Lisa Gilligan, managing partner of Freeths Leicester, said: “This honour for Mukesh is truly well deserved. An inspiration to many, Mukesh was a trusted and valued member of our management team. He was an exemplary team player and would always place his personal interests second to those around him for the common good.
“We lost a real force for good in the Freeths community, but his legacy will most certainly live on throughout the Leicester business community.”
Meanwhile, Smith Partnership was named the Large Law Firm of the Year at the awards, held at Winstanley House in Leicester on 19 May.
Della Phillips, partner and branch manager at Smith Partnership’s
‘There must be a genuine reason behind why an employee is being made redundant’Leicester office, said: “I could not be prouder that the team in Leicester has been recognised by this prestigious award against some very strong competitors in the region.” (pictured), head of employment law at Banner Jones Solicitors Above: The Smith Partnership team at the Leicestershire Law Society Awards. Inset: Mukesh Patel
Almost half of middle-market businesses in the UK will seek private equity finance in the next 12 months, according to new research from RSM UK.
The audit, tax and consulting firm’s latest The Real Economy Report found 47% of companies expect to use private equity finance in 2023, rising from just over a third (36%) in October 2022, meaning it remains the most popular finance avenue to raise capital and ensure growth.
The survey also revealed more than a quarter of businesses (28%) planned to take out bank loans and 26% intended to use public markets to raise funds.
Some 44% said making capital investments was the main reason for accessing finance in the next 12 months –citing the need to improve efficiency and productivity, grow the business, and cut costs.
The survey also found:
•Nearly a third (28%) of businesses said restructuring their supply chain was the most important investment priority in the next 12 months, followed by entering new markets (22%) and expanding internationally (19%)
•Higher energy costs remained the single biggest risk to businesses (14%), but this fell from 21% in October 2022
•Almost half of businesses are still consistently accessing finance to make capital investments (44%), up from 43% in October 2022
•Three-quarters (76%) of middle-market executives said their business was prepared for recession.
John Bryant (pictured), M&A partner in the East Midlands at RSM UK, said: “There is currently a significant amount of capital available – $1.2tn –globally for private equity investors to deploy, so looking further into 2023 we expect private equity to continue to be highly active in transactions.
“Therefore, it remains an attractive option for many companies seeking capital to grow, enter new markets and make acquisitions, and seeking strategic partners who can help navigate the current climate.”
For any business considering the best way to finance their environmental, social and governance (ESG) projects, maximising investment returns is essential. Future Life Wealth Management’s managing director Jillian Thomas (pictured) highlights some simple steps that can help.
It is time to ensure your money is truly working as hard as possible for you, your colleagues, and your business.
And this could also prove an excellent way to ensure those ESG projects that are right for your organisation – but might have previously placed on hold due to their cost – come to fruition.
Please allow me to explain what I mean and what can be done.
While the costs of living – and operating businesses – have undoubtedly gone up, so have the interest rates that some bank and building society accounts pay.
After a decade in the doldrums, businesses with “cash in the bank” are finally witnessing a better return.
It’s now incumbent on every business to ensure they’re making the most of their money at their disposal.
Invariably, this starts with ensuring any invested funds are providing the best possible return.
While this may sound obvious, running a business is frequently allconsuming, which can result in money not being moved to accounts offering the best-possible interest rates at the right point in time.
Depending on the sums of money invested and the length of time they are invested for, this clearly has the potential to have significant financial repercussions.
In the past, our commercial bankers would support us with comparably worthwhile interest rates on the corporate monies we held with them.
In the short to medium term, this doesn’t appear to be happening and companies must now seek other solutions to secure preferential interest rates.
And this is where cash platforms can potentially prove invaluable. In short, these platforms provide a single place for investors to buy and hold their investments.
The best option for many might be the cheapest platform, while for others it may come down to performance, ease of use or even the tools and features that are available.
But financial planners have
access to platforms that can provide higher rates of return than can be obtained from the wellknown high street names.
For some clients, Future Life Wealth Management has been able to increase the interest rate clients enjoy by 45-times more than the rate they’d previously received.
Maximising these investments clearly has the potential to fund –either partially or in full – those important ESG projects that might otherwise languish in the “to-do” folder.
With recent rises in interest rates and increased market volatility, some investors are starting to consider the amount of interest a platform pays –but, in my experience, there’s still work to be done if they have any money sitting in cash.
Reducing risk while simultaneously increasing clients’ returns not only makes sound business sense, it also affords a golden opportunity for those organisations to bring wider, universal benefits.
‘After a decade in the doldrums, businesses with “cash in the bank” are finally witnessing a better return’
A pioneering scheme linking a school with property and construction firms in Chesterfield is inspiring young people to pursue careers in the industry.
Careers Made in Chesterfield is a pilot project involving 20 professionals from 11 local businesses delivering careers and educational workshops to 110 year 10 pupils at Parkside Community School.
Businesses are being encouraged to put forward young employees for recognition in the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Apprenticeship Awards.
The awards are run by National World, publisher of titles including Derbyshire Times and Mansfield Chad, in partnership with headline sponsor the East Midlands Apprenticeship Ambassador Network.
After carrying out an initial speed networking session in which they answered students’ questions and gave an insight into the various jobs within the industry, the business leaders tasked pupils with designing a new building within the Northern Gateway area of Chesterfield.
Each group of five was allocated an employer mentor to help develop a design for a community venue.
Four in 10 students who completed the programme expressed a high interest in working in property and construction in the future, rising from two in 10 when the scheme was launched in September 2022.
Meanwhile, 14 students have since taken part in work placements to gain further insight
into careers.
The initiative was launched following a report by Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), which outlined how an extra 225,000 workers are required in the UK’s property and construction industry by 2027, equating to roughly 3,500 per year in the East Midlands alone.
One of the professionals involved was the Devonshire Group’s property development director Andrew Byrne.
He said: “One of the main issues being faced by the property and construction sector is that its workforce is getting older. It is vital to begin bringing in the next
generation, and Careers Made in Chesterfield is one of many initiatives that will help to secure the future pipeline of talent our businesses rely on.”
Ben Riggott, headteacher at Parkside School, said the programme “represented a step change in creating sustained connections” between students and companies.
“This model is fantastic for several reasons,” he added. “Perhaps most importantly, students build relationships with employers across the programme, which in turn enhances their confidence and the likely outcomes of work experience.”
There are 14 categories for businesses and individuals, including SME Employer of the Year (0-249); Large Employer of the Year; Diversity and Inclusion Programme; Training Provider of the Year; Mentor of the Year; Intermediate, Advanced, Higher and Degree Apprentices of the Year, and Apprentice awards in Professional Services, Health & Public Service, Construction, Engineering/Manufacturing, Technology and Digital sectors. Individual nominations can be submitted by apprentices, employers, college or training providers, or by friends and relatives. Businesses can also nominate themselves, their own teams and trainers for employer awards.
The entry deadline is Thursday 24 August and nominations can be submitted at www.dnapprenticeshipawards .co.uk
The careers and employability team at West Nottinghamshire College celebrated the opportunities given to students through work and industry placements.
An event was held at the college’s Derby Road campus in May to reward both employers and students with certificates.
Organisations that had supported students to enhance their employability and technical skills in the workplace – including providing mentoring and performance feedback – included Innovation Nottinghamshire, Thoresby Hall Hotel and Spa, Go Active Falconry, and Complexions Salon.
West Nottinghamshire College’s employability and progression manager Maxine Buttery said: “It’s essential our young people have the chance to become better
equipped for the world of work by developing their employability skills – and this can only be achieved with the involvement of our business networks and, of course, the dedication of the work placement team.
“As T levels come on-board, students on full-time courses will be required to spend more than 45 days in the working environment to pass their course. Therefore, these partnerships with the local community, and bringing business and education together, will be even more critical.”
Innovation Nottinghamshire has worked with graphic design students to create logos and a graphic with careers information that is used in presentations to businesses, while performing arts and media students have created videos to explain about 5G.
‘It is vital to begin bringing in the next generation’The Careers Made in Chesterfield project involves professionals delivering careers and educational workshops to year 10 pupils at Parkside Community School Members of the careers and employability team at West Nottinghamshire College celebrate with students
A major expansion to house the highest concentration of sports organisations at Loughborough University Science and Enterprise Park has achieved Passivhaus classic accreditation, widely regarded as the most challenging energy efficiency and comfort standard in the world.
The first Passivhaus development on the university campus, SportPark Pavilion 4 enables sports organisations to secure environmentally future-proofed accommodation.
Occupants can reduce their carbon footprint due to triple glazed windows that can be opened, an enhanced thermal efficient airtight building fabric, external solar shading and a highly efficient heat and ventilation system.
Going beyond Passivhaus requirements, the University chose to fit SportPark Pavilion 4’s entire
roof with solar panels, to further reduce its energy demand.
Martin Channell, assistant director of capital projects and programme management at Loughborough University, said: “When SportPark was completed in 2009, it achieved BREEAM excellent, which put it in the top 10% of environmentally rated nondomestic buildings.
“Pavilion 4’s Passivhaus accreditation sets the benchmark for quality and low energy building efficiency across the university estate to achieve our zero-carbon agenda for 2050.
“This outstanding achievement is testament to the commitment of our industry partners Henry Brothers Construction, David Morley Architects, Beyond Carbon
Associates and many subcontractors. Now, we can monitor the efficiency between the original pavilions and the new expansion.”
SportPark will be a unique living lab that enhances the university’s cutting-edge building energy research.
Joel Callow, director of Beyond Carbon Associates, said: “The construction team has worked closely with Loughborough’s researchers to ensure highly detailed measurement of the performance of the building over the coming years.
“This will allow us to draw down even more data on energy efficiency, giving vital feedback. This information can then be used to inform the design of the next generation of zero carbon buildings at the University.”
SportPark Pavilion 4 is delivered by the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership (LLEP) as part of the Getting Building Fund.
Funds were designated for investment in local, shovel-ready infrastructure projects to stimulate jobs and support economic recovery across the country.
The LLEP was allocated £20m, supporting the SportPark expansion with £6m. Further funding support has been provided by Loughborough Town Deal.
LLEP co-chair Andy Reed OBE added: “Sustainability is a pillar of our economic growth strategy and, in funding SportPark Pavilion 4, we enabled development of a superb building at the highest standards of energy efficiency.
“In addition, the project has supported more than 410 jobs within the construction phase alone, brought additional sportsrelated organisations to our region, and created a living lab for local architecture students with an interest in sustainable building design.”
The industrial and warehouse sector is witnessing a good level of activity so far in 2023, according to an East Midlands commercial property agency.
Despite the continued economic uncertainty, FHP Property Consultants says enquiries have remained constant and offers are still being presented, resulting in strong capital and rental values.
But it said stock levels under 10,000 sq ft in Derby are very low, meaning properties on the market are quickly being placed under offer.
Jamie Gilbertson, a surveyor based in the Derby office, said: “We are regularly receiving good-quality enquiries from local businesses that are looking to move into their first warehouse or expand into a larger premises as a result of growth.
“The problem being, we have few industrial
and warehouse units available to match these enquiries. This is evident in both Derby and across Derbyshire. We are therefore seeking more stock to satisfy this demand.
“While there are a number of new-build schemes coming through, these are being sold
or let prior to practical completion, which shows the strength of the market.”
‘A superb building at the highest standards of energy efficiency’Warehouses like these in Alfreton have been popular with businesses
Three surveyors from the Derby office of commercial property agency Salloway Property Consultants have passed the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ (RICS) assessment of professional competence (APC).
Following two years of dedication and preparation, Chris Keogh, Hugo Beresford and William Speed completed the APC qualification process. They and are now fully qualified chartered surveyors and professional members of the RICS, giving them the initials MRICS.
The trio follow in the success of managing director Stephen Salloway, who is a fellow of RICS with more than 45 years’ experience in a variety of professional disciplines within the field of commercial and residential land and property.
The company has offices in Derby, Nottingham and Burton. It believes the Derby office is unique for an agency of its size to have four qualified chartered surveyors.
Stephen said: “It was clear to me that Chris, Hugo, and Will had the qualities and skills to become chartered surveyors, but just needed a little encouragement to commit to the formal qualification process.
“So we discussed a way forward and agreed
upon a programme which would work for everyone. I am hugely impressed with the effort they put into maintaining the high levels of client service their regular caseload demanded while finding the significant extra time needed to devote to their courses.
“I am delighted their efforts and teamwork have been rewarded through qualification. Three new chartered surveyors will take our professional services to new heights.”
Chris joined Salloway in 2013 and has since become an associate director, scooping the Estates Gazette Award for Most Active
We can take advantage of the opportunity presented, converting and upgrading unused, sometimes unloved and occasionally unsightly commercial properties and repurposing these into much needed residential properties, enabling first time buyers to get a foot on the property ladder. This is real life property upcycling.
Hugo has been with the company since 2016 after spending time there while studying at Nottingham Trent University.
William is the latest to join in 2019 as a graduate from Oxford Brookes University. He said: “Becoming a Chartered Surveyor was always the pinnacle since starting my RICS accredited degree and to be able now to say that I am a chartered surveyor gives an unparalleled sense of achievement and pride. Achieving the MRICS title brings with it a considerable amount of respect and admiration in the industry.”
It has been well documented in the news that the UK has an undersupply of housing. How can we contribute to solving this problem?
Many high streets have changed radically over the past few years. Out of town shopping, online buying habits and even banks are closing their doors. In every town there are many unused and empty properties.
In light of this and aware of the housing situation, the government brought in new laws that allow the change of use of old commercial and retail units into residential properties. Instead of being “stuck” in the full planning process, properties can now be repurposed more efficiently. Typical properties that can be converted following these development rights cover a broad range of uses, including, retail, cafes, financial services, offices and light industrial.
Our business size and position is such that we can focus in a highly professional and efficient manner on these developments. These developments are too small for the big nationwide developers and too big for the private individual who traditionally would buy, renovate and sell houses, as often seen on many television programmes.
Backed by more than 30 years of personal experience delivering successful engineering projects to blue chip clients I lead the property development team. This team consists of highly experienced professional services partners, typically: business advisors, project managers, architects, planning consultants, lawyers/solicitors, financial brokers, investors,
quantity surveyors, structural engineers, safety advisors, construction contractors, mechanical and electrical contractors, commercial and residential estate agents and design consultants. We are a new start property development business so this is an exciting time for us. To take advantage of the opportunities presented and to grow our business we are looking to develop our network of trusted partners. We would really like to meet and discuss opportunities with professional services providers, investors, commercial/residential property owners that are looking to sell now or at some time in the future and both commercial and residential estate agents.
If you would like to know more about Watcal property services, what we do, our aims and objectives or would like a general fact finding discussion over a coffee then please contact Steve Watkinson T: 01572 270027 E: stevewatkinson@watcalpropertyservices.co.uk
‘I am hugely impressed with the effort they put into maintaining the high levels of client service’Salloway’s new chartered surveyors, from left: Chris Keogh, Hugo Beresord and William Speed
In this environmentally sensitive world of hybrids and EVs, it’s refreshing to jump into something that really brings a smile to your face. Motoring journalist Nick Jones takes the Audi RS4 Avant for a blast and despite its astonishing performance figures, it proved to be well-behaved when it comes to economy, emissions and efficiency. .
No longer do you have a 4.2-litre gas-guzzler –instead, this newest version has a 2.9-litre V6 and despite it being smaller is actually quicker, faster and bestows better emissions and economy.
As a performance estate, you get the bonus of extra load space in the flat-floor boot, enabling both the Labradors to get to the open spaces comfortably and quicker. And what a cracking-looking car it really is – it looks mean, has a low-slung look and shouts “performance” at you.
The fact it has the proven Quattro all-wheel-drive system, fitted with a central self-locking differential, means that torque is distributed between the front and rear as demanded by the conditions.
This ensures maximum traction in all weathers is an automatic plus-point. The Tiptronic eight-speed gearbox works smoothly and, should you want to use
the paddles, then one can with a couple of sports options for even greater response.
Internally, it’s classic Audi, with the whole cabin smelling luxurious while fit and functional. You know you’re driving an RS version as it is stated all around, and special mention must go to the sports sets that really do hold you in place as the pace increases.
In terms of where it sits in the market, it occupies a lonely furrow with no real direct competition combining both performance and practicality, albeit maybe one from the Mercedes-Benz camp.
That’s probably why it is so much the object of desire of hardened drivers who demand the performance of a supercar, with the load-lugging capability of chucking your mates’ golf bags in the back and escorting them four-up anywhere. Cheaper than an RS6 too.
FACTFILE MODEL
Audi RS4 Avant Quattro TFSI i PRICE OTR
From £73,955
PERFORMANCE
Top speed: 155mph
0-60 mph: 4.1 seconds
POWER
450 horsepower
ECONOMY
28 mpg
It’s difficult to overstate the importance of purpose in business. Profit may enable a business, but purpose is what drives it.
Historically, a business’ purpose has been to maximise shareholder value. However, more corporate governance policies are highlighting the importance of non-shareholding stakeholders, such as their people, local communities and the environment.
B Corps are a product of this shift in values –redefining what it means to be successful in business and using their company as a force for good.
Organisations with certified B Corp status are legally required to consider the impact of business decisions on their people, customers, suppliers, communities and the planet.
Since launching in 2007, more than 6,900 companies working in 161 industries worldwide have achieved the certification and, as more leaders recognise that businesses need to play their role in driving societal and environmental change, the number of companies actively seeking the status is growing.
Certification signals a commitment to transparency through publicly publishing results.
It shows clients and customers that the highest verified standards of social and environmental performance, public transparency and legal accountability have been met.
The younger workforce is increasingly demanding that business should improve society and B Corp status is a shorthand indicator of intent. With the war on talent raging on, the accreditation will set businesses apart when it comes to attracting applicants wanting more meaning in their careers.
Part of the B Corp certification process involves identifying and shedding light on hidden areas that need improvement when compared to peers.
The conventional wisdom when it comes to business suggests there is a choice to be made between making money and doing “good”, but this is a false dichotomy. It is a misconception to say B Corps have to stop being as profitable. Not
only is it the right thing to do, but it forms part of a sustainable hard-wired business strategy. Our clients, people, stakeholders and communities are asking questions surrounding social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability.
Achieving B Corp certification is a good way of making sure you are living up to society’s standards, while ensuring your business understands the impact of its decisions and behaviours.
‘With the war on talent raging on, the accreditation will set businesses apart when it comes to attracting applicants’
In a recent Chamber survey, some 40% of businesses said they do not engage with CSR issues. On the positive side, virtually all responders to the survey were looking to maintain or increase their activity.
Drafting this piece made me reflect on the “why?” question: why should an organisation, notably a private-sector, profit-maximising organisation, engage with CSR?
The thought took me back to the early 2000s when, as communications director for a FTSE 100 bank, I recommended to my board of directors that we should produce an annual CSR report. CSR as a topic, and an acronym, was then fairly new and our decision to produce such a report was actually quite unusual.
The reason for my recommendation was basely pragmatic. The bank’s CSR activities formed a pretty good story, but more importantly there was beginning to be scrutiny from stakeholders on these matters. The first, embryonic, CSR ratings were being produced by institutional investors, customers were beginning to ask questions about how companies engage with their communities, and staff were beginning to ask similar questions about the kind of organisation they wanted to work for. The pragmatism of my approach was that by having a single document, queries could be handled efficiently by simply saying “here, read this”, rather than using limited staff resource to respond piecemeal. By and large, the approach worked well.
Twenty years on and the world is quite different. There is ample evidence that customers, particularly younger generations but others too, care about the profile of the companies they buy from. There is even more evidence that staff are placing a far higher weighting on the ethical and community stance of their potential employers.
At a time when attracting and retaining staff is right at the top of business concerns, making your offering as an employer more attractive has to make sense. This, and more, makes the pragmatic case for organisations to engage with CSR far stronger now.
This topic also triggered another memory. Around twenty years earlier still, as a master’s student I had to go through the maths behind the statistic, which is almost ubiquitous in academic studies of inequality – the Gini coefficient.
I am not going to try to replicate the proofs now (even if I could nearly 40 years on!) – the key thing is the Gini coefficient provides a single number to indicate the amount of financial inequality.
A score of 0% would be an economy with completely even distribution, a score of 100% would be complete inequality. The latest score for the UK, as provided by the Office of National Statistics, is a Gini coefficient of 36% in 2022. That’s largely in the pack for a developed country.
But a look at the trend is revealing. In 1978, the coefficient was 25%. There has been a steady climb to the mid-30s in percentage points, where it has stayed. That is significantly rising inequality.
This underpins another reason to support CSR activities. The free market is an efficient creator of wealth: capitalism has flaws, but it generally does wealth creation pretty well. History shows, however, the free market often goes through quite long cycles when it is considerably less efficient about how that wealth is distributed.
Long-term inequality means there are many families who are getting a low share of the wealth our society generates. I could turn this into a moral argument, that this is inequitable and should be rectified. But, again, I will go for pragmatism instead.
The pragmatic case is a society that leaves a significant number of people feeling marginalised does not provide a stable base in which the free market can operate well. We have seen this instability reflected in recent political shocks across the world. Instability is not good for business.
My choice of the two themes for my year as Chamber president were partly driven by this logic. They are a focus on using whatever wealth, power and influence we have to support better our local communities, and a focus on doing the best we can to support the next-but-one generation.
So, to summarise my short trip down memory lane – taking an active engagement in CSR issues is a sensible, pragmatic thing to do. It is a small step to ensuring a well-functioning, stable society and economy.
Is additional focus on CSR in your organisation going to materially change the world? Probably not, but it certainly cannot do any harm to your local community at least.
CSR can be tenuous to define. I think it is more important that businesses recognise they play a vital role in their communities, and that some aspects of all our local communities require our help.
The Chamber provides resources to help members navigate their way through this, and if my musings have chimed any response in you, I urge you to look them up.
Similarly, elsewhere in this issue of Business Network there is an article about the three charities chosen as charities of the year for my presidency. They are the three community foundations that cover our region.
If you, or your business, have the financial resources and desire to make an effective local impact, I urge you to look them up too.
The Chamber’s vision is to enhance East Midlands business and communities. Business and communities are inextricably linked. That is surely a reason to engage in CSR?
Chamber president StuartDawkins
takes a trip down memory lane to explore the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and why it’s important to businesses.Economic inequality is increasing
