Business Network May 23

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MAY 2023

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THE TOURISM INDUSTRY IS FIRING BACK! THE EAST MIDLANDS SETS ITS SIGHTS ON BOOSTING VISITORS POST-COVID

INTERVIEW

POLITICS

TWYCROSS ZOO’S VISION 2030 IS BACK ON TRACK

OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES IN MANUFACTURING

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THE FIRST WORD

CONTENTS MAY 2023

NEWS UPDATE 4

MEMBER NEWS Online booking service aims to boost visitor numbers in Leicestershire

17 APPOINTMENTS New office managing partner for RSM UK in Nottingham

herwood Pines, Chatsworth House, National Space Centre, Drayton Manor Resort, Heights of Abraham, Creswell Craggs, Belvoir Castle, National Justice Museum, City of Caves, Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre, Gulliver’s Kingdom, Crich Tramway Village, Wollaton Hall.

These are just some of the great attractions that bring visitors to our three counties throughout the year, driving a multi-billion-pound tourism industry that is an important part of the East Midlands economic jigsaw.

From Robin Hood to Richard III, and Mr Darcy to Lord Byron, there are countless characters, heritage and storylines that provide a hook for both our own residents and those from outside the region.

Almost 600,000 people will visit Twycross Zoo this year, where they will meet Coco, Europe’s oldest living chimpanzee at 58 years old. She resides in Chimpanzee Eden, an enclosure designed to encourage natural behaviours among its primate occupants. It opened in 2018 as part of the Vision 2030 investment programme, which aims to put the Leicestershire attraction on the world map as a destination for vital conservation work.

In our big interview (p19), director of conservation Dr Rebecca Biddle outlines how the next piece of the jigsaw involves building a National Science and Conservation Centre, while director of finance Craig Watson gives an insight into the post-Covid battle to bring back visitors amid a cost-of-living crisis.

Businesses of all shapes and sizes benefit enormously from the visitor economy, which is worth £6.8bn in gross value added (GVA) to the wider Midlands economy and employs more than 360,000 people across 30,000 enterprises, according to the latest figures from the Midlands Engine Observatory.

It was among the sectors most adversely affected by Covid-19 lockdown but there are signs of promise ahead – particularly in the “crown jewel” of the region’s tourism industry, the Peak District, as we learn in the focus feature (p48) of this edition. We also explore how each of our three cities are faring, and what they must do to entice new and returning visitors.

As we enter a month with three bank holidays and the summer fast approaching, let’s hope it’s the beginning of a busy tourism season that benefits us all.

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THE BIG INTERVIEW 19 Dr Rebecca Biddle and Craig Watson discuss Twycross Zoo's Vision 2030 investment programme 24 STRATEGIC PARTNERS AND PATRONS Major accolade for Nuclear Skills Academy 26 CHAMBER NEWS Peak District businesses look to the future

EVENTS 36 Business Awards are back and Generation Next Awards shortlist revealed

SUSTAINABLE EAST MIDLANDS 38 BECO Green leading the way with environmentally-friendly tableware

INTERNATIONAL TRADE 40 Is the Windsor Framework a solution to the problematic Northern Ireland protocol?

POLITICS 42 A round-up of the topics discussed at the Chamber’s recent East Midlands Manufacturing and Trade Conference

FEATURES 44 Conferencing & Events How technology is impacting live events 46 Choosing the perfect venue for your corporate event

Dan Robinson, Editor, Business Network

48 FOCUS FEATURE Region’s tourism industry looks to the future after a difficult few years 55 Growing your business Why employee health should always be a key consideration for your business

Editor Dan Robinson T: 07764 431028 E: dan.robinson@emc-dnl.co.uk Contributor Jasmine Thompson All Submissions E: magazine@emc-dnl.co.uk Chamber Membership E: membership@emc-dnl.co.uk Follow the Chamber W: www.emc-dnl.co.uk Twitter: @EMChamberNews

Publishers Kemps Publishing Ltd 8, The Courtyard, 707 Warwick Road, Solihull, B91 3DA T: 0121 765 4144 w: www.kempspublishing.co.uk Managing Editor Laura Blake T: 0121 765 4144 E: laura.blake@kempspublishing.co.uk Designer Lloyd Hollingworth Advertising T: 0121 765 4144 E: jon.jones@kempspublishing.co.uk Printers Warners (Midlands) plc

58 Give consideration to your carer-workers

DIGITAL & TECHNOLOGY 60 Role of ChatGPT in sales and marketing

BUSINESS SUPPORT 62 LEGAL How divorce can impact your business 63 FINANCE An update on lifetime allowance charges 64 PROPERTY Mercia Marina gets planning approval 65 SKILLS New mentoring programme for businesses

PRIVACY NOTICE Kemps Publishing Ltd process personal information for certain legitimate interest purposes, which includes the following: •

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

BUSINESS NETWORK is produced on behalf of East Midlands Chamber (Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire) by Kemps Publishing Ltd and is distributed to members without charge. The Chamber and the publisher are committed to achieving the highest quality standards. While every care has been taken to ensure that the information it contains is accurate, neither the Chamber nor the publisher can accept any responsibility for any omission or inaccuracies that might arise. Views expressed in the magazine are not necessarily those of the Chamber. This publication (or any part thereof) must not be reproduced, transmitted or stored in print or electronic format without prior written permission of Kemps Publishing Ltd.

66 MOTORING Nick Jones test drives the Kia XCeed 67 INFORMATION Mastering sales by unlocking a new skillset

THE LAST WORD 70 Chamber president Stuart Dawkins highlights the importance of identity for the East Midlands May 2023 business network

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MEMBER NEWS

New booking service aims to boost county’s tourism

‘Dough-nosaur’ event for Project D Project D hosted a “mammoth” pop up event to showcase its doughnuts at one of the country’s biggest theme parks.

The Derby-based firm provided its limited-edition, dino-themed treats at Drayton Manor’s Dinosaur Breakout event, which dared visitors to go face-to-face with some of Europe’s largest dinosaurs.

The prehistoric event, which ran in February half term, marked the launch of a partnership between Drayton Manor and Project D, which hopes to eventually establish a permanent base at the Tamworth attraction.

Operations director Max Poynton, who founded the brand with childhood friends Matthew Bond and Jacob Watts in 2018, said: “We are hoping it’s the first of many activities at Drayton Manor for us. The doughnuts will appeal to adults and children alike.

“Drayton Manor is one of the leading theme parks in the UK and it’s a huge achievement for us to be part of this collaboration.”

Tourism body Visit Leicester has joined forces with two technology companies to launch a new online booking service designed at boosting overnight stays and visitor numbers.

It has partnered with Tourism Exchange Great Britain (TXGB) and Simpleview to create a platform that enables visitors to connect with multiple accommodation, events and attraction suppliers in one place.

The Visit Leicester website works with multiple booking platforms, including travel sites Booking.com and Expedia as well as Leicestershire-based organisations, to make the customer experience seamless.

Mike Denby, director of place marketing for Visit Leicester, said: “Tourism attracts 30 million visitors to our city and county, and contributes £2.7bn to the local economy each year.

Mike Denby

‘Tourism attracts 30 million visitors to our city and county, and contributes £2.7bn to the local economy each year’ “Our county-wide tourism campaigns have seen a significant uplift in traffic to visitleicester.com, with visitor figures exceeding seven figures. Our customers can now book hotel stays directly through our website, allowing us to provide a great customer experience, driving much-needed footfall to accommodation providers in the county.”

Sally Coleman, strategic tourism manager at Leicestershire County Council, said: “Partnering with platforms such as TXGB will benefit both our visitors and our local tourism businesses, providing them with choice while reaching national and international markets.

“TXGB offers the opportunity for those businesses currently unable to offer online bookings on their websites, the chance to become more competitive. We plan for more venues and experiences to be bookable online through visitleicester.com, supporting a thriving local visitor economy.”

Visit Leicester was established to showcase Leicester and Leicestershire as a single visitor destination, taking

advantage of its tourism assets and grow the value of the local visitor economy.

Mike Denby gives an insight into Visit Leicester's tourism campaign in the focus feature - p48

Switchgear goes for gold by playing it safe Sean and Emily Smith (front) with the Michael Smith Switchgear team

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Michael Smith Switchgear won gold for the seventh consecutive year for prioritising the health and safety of employees and customers.

The Gold Medal Award from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) is an internationally-recognised prize, judged by a team of health and safety professionals.

The standard demonstrates the Leicester-based manufacturer’s continuing commitment to excellence in its performance, policies and procedures.

Michael Smith Switchgear took the top prize again this year for work done over the course of 2022 – once again showing its dedication to putting people’s safety first.

The firm, based at Braunstone Frith in Leicester, will be presented with the Gold Medal Award at a RoSPA ceremony later this year.

Managing director Sean Smith, who also chairs the Engineered Systems Product Group for the British Electrotechnical and Allied Manufacturers Association (BEAMA), said safety is paramount in any manufacturing process.

“Protecting our team members and customers is our top priority and I’m really pleased that commitment has again been recognised with our seventh win in a row,” he added.

The RoSPA Health and Safety Awards is the largest occupational health and safety awards programme in the UK.

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MEMBER NEWS

New daily flight service to the City of Light Natalie Bamford

A new daily flight has launched between East Midlands Airport (EMA) and Paris Orly.

Travellers can now fly to Paris’ second largest airport and can book onward Air France connections to destinations across the airline’s global network that includes Africa, South America and the Caribbean.

The daily services to Paris Orly, which launched last month, are operated by Eastern Airways, which also runs the new EMA to Newquay route.

Boxing up the best of Derbyshire

‘EMA is the starting point for travel to destinations much further afield’ As well as providing a quick connection into the French capital – which can be visited as a day trip due to the flight timings – Paris Orly offers easy direct shuttle bus access to Disneyland Paris.

Securing a regular service to a major European hub airport has been a goal for the airport as it significantly expands the list of destinations available to EMA passengers.

Steve Griffiths (pictured), managing director at EMA, said: “This partnership with Eastern Airways and Air France opens up the world to our passengers, bringing global destinations such as Africa, the Caribbean and South America within one stop of EMA. “Ongoing connectivity via a major European hub has been a strategic aim of this airport for some time and I’m thrilled this opportunity has arisen. While the majority of our passengers use EMA to easily reach their favourite European holiday destinations, this latest development now means that EMA is the starting point for travel to destinations much further afield.”

Street food business adds venue A Nottingham venue that hosts some of the UK’s best street food traders is giving independent traders a leg-up to help boost the local economy.

Bustler Market, which originated as a small street food market in Derby back in 2017, has taken on a second unit at its Nottingham base in Sneinton Market, which opened in October 2022, after the business experienced a post-Covid boom.

The unit will have three permanent kitchen spaces to enable food traders, which may not have their own facilities, a base to push their businesses to the next level.

Managing director Olivia Pritchard said: “The second unit is directly next to us and offers so much promise. Our aim is to make it an intimate espresso and wine bar, and home to three permanent kitchens, enabling us to expand the whole Bustler offering and adding to the hub of activity in the bustling Sneinton Market area.

“We will cover the majority of the fit-out by reinvesting any

The Bustler team checks out the new Nottingham unit

profits. However, fit-outs don’t come cheap and therefore we need to raise additional funds to make this happen. These kitchens will give those passionate street food traders access to key facilities that will help push their businesses to the next level.”

Since opening Bustler Nottingham, the venue has hosted

food traders including Secret Burger Club, Prad Thai, Kebab Cartel and Treat Kitchen, which held a decorate-your-own biscuit session at Bustler over the Easter holidays for children.

With a bar serving craft ales and cocktails, plus live entertainment, Bustler is fast becoming the go-to venue in Nottingham.

Bespoke gift service Colleague Box is seeking help from the public to decide how to encapsulate the best of Derbyshire in a single package.

The Derby firm, founded in 2020 by husband-and-wife team Adam and Natalie Bamford, is launching a Derbyshire gift box containing items that best celebrate the county’s heritage, taste and creativity.

Initial research, using the couple’s own knowledge and their subsequent request for ideas from the public via social media, has revealed a wealth of potential products that could easily make an ideal home in the box.

But the pair also unearthed some Derbyshire brands and products they were either unaware of or had forgotten were from the county.

So, they have issued another appeal to see if there are any other worthy contenders out there before the final shortlist of contents is agreed.

Natalie said: “Plenty of people suggested famous Derbyshire products, like Bakewell tart, Derbyshire oatcakes, Ashbourne gingerbread, Thornton’s chocolate and Hartington cheese. But we were also very pleasantly surprised to discover some amazing new brands.

“It’s easy to forget huge brands like Swizzels and Weleda skin products are from Derbyshire. And we’ve learned about other incredible products like the beautiful hand-painted pendants and banners from Darwin & Gray, or the exquisite creations of Cluny Lace Company, which has been running in Ilkeston since 1845.

“Then we have newer companies like Derby doughnut firm Project D, which has seen a meteoric rise in popularity since it launched in 2018. If anything, we’re spoilt for choice.”

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MEMBER NEWS

Move is red letter day for Ketchup Digital marketing agency Ketchup has opened a new office in Nottingham’s Creative Quarter.

The move to its largest office to date follows a year of growth at the agency – which was previously based at the Dryden Enterprise Centre – where it has welcomed 15 new clients and three new employees.

Managing director Michelle Jones said: “We thoroughly enjoyed our time at the Dryden Enterprise Centre. It was our first step into Nottingham city centre, and we developed great relationships. As ‘team red’ continues to grow at pace, we’re excited to enjoy a collaborative space of our own, where we can welcome our clients.”

New additions to the team include digital search specialist Fernando Fukunaga, digital marketing manager Lucy Robinson and marketing executive Kirsty Moody.

Ambitious marketing can ensure a Briight-er future A growing Derby business that has undergone a major transformation over the past 18 months says it wants to push local firms to be “more ambitious through their marketing” after working on a national campaign with a leading sausage maker.

Visual marketing agency Briight, which is led by creative entrepreneurs Rob Dawes and Drew Taylour-Davis, has worked on campaigns for household names including the BBC, Microsoft, and, most recently, Heck.

After the North Yorkshire-based food producer, which supplies sausages to most major supermarkets, announced last year it would invest heavily in advertising, Briight was signed up to create a promotional video complete with an eye-catching choreographed dance routine – also recording the “UK’s first sausage soundtrack” that is

‘We are always trying to do things differently, and show everyone the real personality of the business’ available to stream on Spotify.

Heck co-founder Jamie Keeble said: “We are always trying to do things differently, and show everyone the real personality of the business and the people behind it.

I’m no natural when it comes to dancing, but it was great fun learning the routines and we hope the brilliant video will put a smile on people’s faces.”

Rob and Drew, whose marketing and business podcast BriightCast reached number two in Apple’s charts, have been running an agency together for more than eight years, and moved into the

Jubilee Business Park in late 2021.

They have since transformed the building to create an enjoyable space for their team to work and allow creativity to flow.

Rob, who is keen to promote Derby as a filming location, said: “It was great to work with the team at Heck. 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 marketing, and apply it at SME level.

“We want to help businesses, and alongside the services we provide, we’ve launched a networking event called Briight’s Social Slice, which is held on the last Wednesday of every month. It came about after Drew and I bonded over making pizzas during lockdown and thought we could take it into the business.”

Agency gets creative to meet changing demand Ruddocks has repositioned as a creative production agency in response to changing customer demands.

The former design and print agency has a history dating back 140 years, specialising in mostly print before the growth of its now 11-stong design team.

As the demand for different creative services has continued to increase and diversify, it has embraced digital and technologydriven solutions and built partnerships to support additional services.

The agency is now working with clients on video projects, photography, web development and animation, through to merchandise, events staging, copywriting and marketing and communications consultancy.

Creative director Ian Cant said: “Creativity isn’t just about design, 6

business network May 2023

it’s how we approach absolutely everything at Ruddocks, from customer service to delivery. It’s about solving problems and developing solutions. Put simply, we bring in the right people with the right skills at the right time to ensure we deliver results for our clients, while taking the stress away from sourcing multiple suppliers.”

There are some subtle visual changes to the Lincolnshire-based company’s branding, which supports and reflects how it has developed, moving towards a cleaner and mature visual identity, while continuing to promote the human element to include peoplefocused imagery.

Managing director Paul Banton added: “Our evolution to a creative production agency better reflects who we are today and is a robust, sustainable platform from which to continue to grow.”

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MEMBER NEWS

The Duchess (left) and Duke of Gloucester (second right) with Cosy founders Amanda and Peter Ellse DL

Richard has finally earned his bus pass!

Credit: Victoria Wilcox, Pictoria

Richard Sherratt (pictured) has retired after 32 years of planning how trentbarton’s bus services run and its drivers are deployed.

Richard, 61, who lives in Hilton in Derbyshire, joined trentbarton’s traffic office in 1979 before working elsewhere for a while and then returning.

He scheduled his own departure from the business at the end of March and has been succeeded by Thomas Fellows.

In 2020, Richard was named the first winner of the Joe Wood Scheduler of the Year Award.

He was one of five finalists for the national award.

Richard said: “It was nice to be recognised as schedulers are the glue that hold everything together, satisfying the public’s needs while providing workable shifts and rotas that keep the drivers happy.

“Schedulers usually work in the background so it was good to know we are appreciated.”

Trentbarton managing director Tom Morgan added: “In having Richard in our team, we have been blessed with one of the best – probably the best – schedulers in the industry.”

Royal visitors get Cosy at nursery supplier’s HQ Award-winning company Cosy welcomed royalty as the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester visited its Derbyshire headquarters.

Staff at the business, which received a Queen’s Award for Enterprise for Sustainable Development in 2022, gave a tour of Cosy’s 75,000 sq ft building.

Peter Ellse DL, who founded the ethical school and nursery supplies company with wife Amanda in 2011, said: “It was an absolute honour and a real joy to welcome the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester to Cosy, to share our vision for the future and our beliefs. They were so generous with their time and interest. The real icing on the cake to winning this amazing award – the

entire firm is on cloud nine.”

Cosy is one of the organisations taking part in The Big Help Out, a nationwide initiative launched to celebrate King Charles’ coronation on 6 May. Cosy will close during the week commencing 8 May, with all 100 staff volunteering their services to help Staffordshire and Derbyshire schools.

Peter added: “Volunteering not only makes a positive impact on the community, but it is also good for mental wellbeing and creating those ‘softer skills’ sought by employers. It will be a chance for us at Cosy, to bring various departments, of varying ages, together for a good cause.”

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MEMBER NEWS

Emily Winsor-Russell with Gi Group marketing director Mark Tuban

Major HR contract win for Eden PR Nottingham-based Eden Public Relations has been appointed to lead the UK PR and social media strategy and delivery for Gi Group, one of the world’s largest HR companies.

The specialist PR consultancy, which recently expanded with several new appointments, was selected following Gi Group’s acquisition of Encore Personnel in October 2022.

Encore was a long-standing client of Eden PR, and the Encore board recommended the agency to its new owner.

Emily Winsor-Russell, director and head of new business at Eden PR, said It was a “monumental account win” for the agency.

“Our team has been fully immersed, for almost a decade, in the PR approach for Encore, as an embedded part of the business’ marketing and communications department – so we know the recruitment sector inside-out,” she added.

Liniar team at new mixing plant

Liniar will go straight to top with new mixing plant Liniar has opened a new state-ofthe-art mixing plant in Denby, Derbyshire.

It’s the company’s second site in the area, where it manufactures polyvinyl chloride un-plasticised (PVCu) systems, and now offers the largest mixing capacity in Europe.

After 10 months of construction, the £3m site was opened by senior members of Liniar’s parent company Quanex, including chief financial officer and treasurer Scott Zuehlke, and chief accounting officer and controller Mark Livingston.

‘The completion of our new mixing plant allows us to increase capacity and enhance operational flexibility’ The two mixing plants will run in tandem, deploying the latest technology to seamlessly switch between rigid and foam PVCu mixes for optimum efficiency used to create products such as windows, doors and conservatories.

Energy efficiency boost for NCHA Residents living in 300 homes owned and managed

by Nottingham Community Housing Association (NCHA) will benefit from energy efficiency improvements after it received a £4.2m grant.

The funding, part of wave 2.1 from the Government’s Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF), will enable NCHA to greatly expand its retrofit programme.

The SHDF 2.1 grant will be more than matched by an NCHA contribution, bringing the total funds available to almost £9m and enabling it to bring 300 existing homes up to an energy performance certificate (EPC) rating of “C”, at a cost of about £30,000 a home.

Chris Pryke-Hendy, head of sustainability at NCHA, said: “This fantastic grant will enable us to offer great improvements to many of our residents’ homes, helping them stay warmer in the winter months, ease energy costs and reduce carbon emissions.”

Each individual home will be surveyed to identify which works will offer the biggest benefits, which include keeping homes warmer to maintain residents’ wellbeing and reducing energy costs.

It is expected that external insulation will be offered to the majority of the 300 homes. New windows and doors, and both loft and internal wall insulation, may also be included in the upgrades, while ventilation will 8

business network May 2023

NCHA’s retrofit team

be an essential consideration in all works to reduce the possibility of damp and mould.

The first wave of the SHDF funding provided a £934,000 grant to NCHA and is supporting the association’s ongoing retrofit programme involving more than 80 homes in North Nottinghamshire

Martin Thurley, group managing director at Liniar, said: “The completion of our new mixing plant allows us to increase capacity and enhance operational flexibility – both of which ensures we can continue our growth plans without compromising on either safety or customer service.

“Building in additional headroom ahead of the requirement to do so is a proven business model for Liniar and helps to assure continued customer service excellence as output increases.”

Photographer off to a flying start A young Derby-based photographer has been shortlisted in the national StartUp Awards.

Robert Simpson (pictured), 22, founded Hand and Paws Photography in 2021, and specialises in capturing memories of families and their pets.

The business has been nominated for the Creative StartUp and Consumer Services StartUp of the Year, and the results will be announced at an awards ceremony in Birmingham on 18 May. The awards recognise the UK’s start-up scene, which has accelerated since the pandemic.

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MEMBER NEWS

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MEMBER NEWS

The Precept team

Don’t score a social media own goal Companies should give their social media policy a spring clean and make sure everyone knows the rules, says a HR and employment law firm in the wake of the Gary Lineker and BBC debacle.

The BBC has launched an independent review of its social media guidelines after the presenter discussed personal and political opinions to his 8.9 million followers on Twitter, which led to the former Leicester City and England striker being temporarily removed from his hosting spot on Match of the Day. Emma Tice, head of employment law and HR at Derby firm Precept,

Third acquisition for pension specialist WBR Group has acquired Wimbledon-based Bespoke Corporate Pensions Limited (BCPL) for an undisclosed sum.

Based in Leicester, WBR Group is the UK’s largest independent provider of small self-administered pension scheme (SSAS) services and tax experts, and the acquisition creates the firm’s first London presence.

Tom Moore (pictured), CEO of WBR Group, said: “We have made no secret that we are acquisitive and have shown how we can successfully integrate these businesses.

“This is our third acquisition and follows the purchase of the James Hay SSAS book in March 2021 and Rowanmoor’s SSAS book earlier this year.

“The acquisition of BCPL is a great fit for us as it is rare you have the opportunity to acquire such a loyal group of clients and a quality book of business.”

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says there are lessons to be learned from the episode, which sparked a national debate about freedom of speech.

“You don’t want to play the lottery with your social media policy at work,” said Emma, who has recently led a rebrand for the Mansfield Road-based company.

“What this issue has done is placed the spotlight on the impact social media can have on your business – the good, the bad and the ugly.

“Used well, social media is a great tool to promote the business.

You can even test the boundaries and have a bit of fun, but having a

‘You don’t want to play the lottery with your social media policy at work’ robust and up-to-date social media policy is key.”

Precept – formerly BMcPrecept – rebranded earlier in March to reflect its personable approach and celebrate expansion of its team from one to five.

Offering tips to businesses, Emma added: “Ensure you are raising awareness in the workplace about what is and is not acceptable use of social media.

“Commonly, employees behave on business-related social media, such as LinkedIn. However, they can forget any associations with the business on their personal accounts, such as Facebook and Instagram. Your policy needs to cover both.

“Things like defamatory comments about the business, bullying of staff, and other comments and remarks that may damage the reputation of the company, all need to be carefully set out to employees – both in writing and in refresh sessions, as well as the consequences for them if they do break the rules.”

Agency helps menopause campaign A company that advises the biggest names in British industry on how to support staff working through menopause enlisted the support of a Long Eaton digital agency to protect its place at the top of online search rankings.

Nottingham-based Henpicked: Menopause in the Workplace said the work carried out by Repeat Digital helped defend its market-leading position online from new rival organisations seeking to claim its top spot.

Henpicked is one of the UK’s largest online communities for women who are facing or going through menopause. Its sister business Menopause Friendly provides industry-recognised training to employers large and small under its Menopause in the Workplace brand.

It has worked with more than 150 organisations to change people’s lived experience of menopause through upskilling managers and colleagues, holding menopause awareness events, CPD training, and developing e-learning and video resources.

As well as being a brand name, Menopause in the Workplace is also one of the most popular search terms used by other organisations offering a similar service, which prompted a bidding war on Google for companies to get their adverts and website mentioned first.

In response, Repeat Digital used its expertise to

Rob Sherwood

devise a campaign involving search engine optimisation to improve its ranking on Google, and a pay-per-click campaign to ensure it returned to the top of the search results and stayed there.

Rob Sherwood, commercial director at Repeat Digital, said: “Henpicked: Menopause in the Workplace gets a significant amount of leads through its website, so any loss of position in the search results will have a negative effect. This is why we put into place a series of tactics and encouraged it to invest in a Google Ads campaign in order to maintain its position.”

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MEMBER NEWS

Scenariio lights the way for office development A Derby IT and building technology firm has helped one of the most exciting office developments in the South East to meet sustainability targets by making its lighting high-tech and low energy.

Scenariio, based in Siddals Road, has completed its third smart lighting system project at the Here + Now development, a major refurbishment of two office buildings at Thames Valley Park in Reading.

‘We’ve helped create a smart building that achieves both of V7’s objectives’ The buildings were acquired from original owner Microsoft by BauMont Real Estate Capital, which has teamed up with London-based management company V7 to create a highly sustainable campus focused on environmental, social and governance investing and wellness.

The scheme comprised about 1,000 lights, each one powered via low-voltage ethernet wiring and each with a sensor attached, and 23 smart engines, with the total area covered by the installation measuring 45,000 sq ft.

George Pritchard, technical director at Scenariio, said: “We’ve helped create a smart building that achieves both of V7’s objectives, but the lighting is just the start. Although everything is running on some of the original hardware, there are no power limitations, so we can add indoor air quality sensors and Bluetooth beacons with just small additions of kit.”

The Alphageek founders

Marketing firm in recruitment drive A digital marketing agency is expanding by recruiting up to eight new team members to support its recent growth and ever-increasing client portfolio.

The new roles are being advertised by Derby-based Alphageek Digital, which was launched in 2019 by three friends and currently employs 20 people.

The recruitment drive comes on the back of new national and international client wins for the company. Among the new roles are a senior SEO specialist, full-stack web developer and photographer.

Co-founder Alex Mills said: “We always knew that 2023 was going to be an important year for us in terms of scaling, but even so we are far exceeding our expectations at the moment. We have ambitions to move into different cities this year too, so the future’s looking bright.”

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MEMBER NEWS

MEMBER FOCUS: HEALTHY STUFF Tell us what your company does and a brief overview of its history?

Healthy Stuff is a global allergy, intolerance, sensitivity and health testing company. Our bespoke, £300,000 lab was built in 2020 specifically for this style of testing, making us one of the only companies in the world to offer this range of tests.

Healthy Stuff started in 2008, and was incorporated in the UK in September 2013. We have a range of testing companies under our banner, including Test Your Intolerance, which offers a range of different tests.

Who are your main customers and what is your USP to them?

We aim our products at those who want to take their health into their own hands.

Our range of at-home testing gives people an understanding of their kidneys, liver, hormone levels, plus much more. Our main product is an allergy and intolerance testing kit, which gives users an easy-to-understand report on what their body needs to avoid.

What is your position in the business and what does your day-to-day role involve?

As the sales and marketing director, I oversee the customer service, marketing and web development departments. My day-to-day is coordinating the team to ensure we are growing our online presence and also helping as many customers as possible. I have a great team who keep our customer satisfaction rating high, as well as ensuring the journey is simple to navigate.

Location: Castle Donington Number of employees: 24 Spokesperson: Cris West, sales and marketing director

What challenges have you faced in recent times and how have you tried to overcome them?

NEW MEMBERS In March, the Chamber welcomed 42 new members: • Ace’s • Aligned Vision Business services • App4 Developments Ltd • BFY Group • Bhayani HR & Employment Law • Blind Screen Limited • Blueprint Software Systems UK • Brabourne Ltd (International) • Bridgewater Construction Supplies Limited • Chesterfield Rotary • Cavendish Philatelic Auctions Ltd • Cave Escape Nottingham Ltd • Chesterfield Royal Hospital charity • The Craft Workshop • CRS Interiors • Definitive Audio Ltd • The Duston School • The Fitness Collective • Future’s Positive • Go Beyond • Halcyon Golf Travel Ltd

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• Hands and Paws Photography Limited • Hart’s Hotel and Kitchen • The Haus Development Group Ltd • Just Journey Ltd • KEW Beauty Clinic • Kieron Edwards Construction and Development Ltd • LDC • Legion Express • Lemon & Black Group Ltd • Liz Robinson Wealth Management Ltd • Neil Richardson • Orla Toland Art • Owen Bennett Consulting Group Limited • Peak Media Marketing • SAA Intl Ltd • Second Chance Learning Academy • Stageheads • True Lens Services Limited (International) • UtoR Solutions Ltd • Venatu Recruitment Group • Wrights Renewable Heating Ltd

During Covid, we struggled with our global postage processes, so quickly developed a hub in New South Wales, Australia, and Florida, USA. These hubs have grown since this period and allowed us to reach new areas inbound and outbound.

However, as these areas grew, we struggled with our global communication, so we developed a 24/7 communication policy via LiveChat, in any language.

We now have helped more than one million people across all our brands and testing, and as our range of testing continually grows, so does our customer basis.

What are the company’s plans for the future?

Our range of testing is expanding, for both our at-home health testing, and our blood sample testing.

We want to be the go-to place for all health needs. Our range of add-ons for health is growing too, and our most exciting development is further expansion across the UK with the acquisition of a few exciting businesses.

How long have you been a member of East Midlands Chamber, and how have you engaged with the membership benefits to support your business activity?

We have been a member of the Chamber since 2019, and are very proud to have won two different awards, the E-Commerce Business of the Year in 2019, and Business Improvement through Technology in 2020. We go to many of the different events offered, including the regular sessions to meet other businesses, but also take part in training and support from the Chamber's wide range of services.

Women in Innovation Award for graduate Kate Loughborough University graduate entrepreneur Kate Allan is among the winners of this year’s Innovate UK Women in Innovation Award.

Kate is one of just 50 of the UK’s leading women entrepreneurs with game-changing ideas to be backed

by Innovate UK. To support the scale-up of their business, each winner benefits from a £50,000 grant, one-to-one business coaching, and a suite of networking, role modelling and training opportunities.

ExpHand Prosthetics, Kate’s company, has developed a lightweight, adjustable, affordable and colourful prosthetic upper body limb for children that grows with the user. She was inspired to launch her company in 2018 after meeting a young girl who needed a prosthesis.

Kate, who was recognised by the Chamber as its inaugural Generation Next Future Leader winner in 2021, said: “Currently, 90% of people across the world don't have access to the prosthetics

Kate Allan

they need, mostly due to a lack of doctors, lack of access and expensive products. ExpHand Prosthetics looks to change this by creating affordable prosthetics that can grow with you.

“This award gives me a great platform to further grow the business – and will hopefully inspire more women to start their own companies and take on new leadership roles.”

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MEMBER NEWS

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MEMBER NEWS

emc-dnl.co.uk/EMComingTogether

Restoration work will help ensure there’s life on Moors Macmartin director Anna Hutton with Jo Barlow, assistant headteacher at John Flamsteed School in Denby

Youngsters given social media tips Young people at a Derbyshire secondary school have been learning how to manage their social media and mental health, as well as how they can play a part in societal change towards attitudes around platforms such as TikTok and Instagram.

Anna Hutton, marketing director and co-founder of award-winning agency Macmartin, delivered a workshop to year 11 pupils at John Flamsteed Community School, in Denby.

She spoke to pupils about how they can take back control of what they see on their social media feeds and how social media companies keep people engaged for as long as possible in order to collect data from their users.

Anna said: “I love social media. But my aim is to live in a world where young people have individual control over how social media affects their mental health.”

Moors for the Future Partnership has completed £3.3m worth of restoration work to bring degraded peatland in the Peak District back to life.

The organisation – using funding from Severn Trent Water, Yorkshire Water, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and Natural England – planted an area the size of 270 football pitches of sphagnum moss around the Upper Derwent Valley area of the national park between August 2022 and March 2023.

Sphagnum moss is an essential carbon store, accumulating over time to create new layers of peat. It is able to absorb up to 20-times its own weight in water, protecting and maintaining the wetness of the peat underneath and holding peak water flow on the hills, rather than allowing it to overwhelm river systems below.

The work is returning this oncebleak landscape to life, providing a home for a rich selection of moorland species of plants, insects, birds and mammals.

It is part of a five-year Moor Water project in collaboration with Severn Trent, which has a target to plant 625 hectares.

Businesses can support the project by making a donation via the Peak District National Park Foundation, noting “Moors for the Future Partnership” in the message section of the donation page. Visit peakdistrict.enthuse.com/donate#!

The restoration work has involved the planting of sphagnum moss

Another chapter for law firm Geldards will sponsor Derby Book Festival for the ninth year running.

The festival, which takes place from 19 to 27 May, features a nine-day programme of cultural events across Derby at 10 venues.

Funded by the University of Derby and Arts Council England, as well as local business sponsors, it offers diverse celebrations of all things literary.

A schools programme – featuring “meet the author” events, writing competitions, workshops and street theatre shows – aims to inspire a new generation of young readers.

Geldards chairman David Williams (pictured) said: “The festival plays a vitally important role in Derby’s cultural scene and is a stalwart in the calendar each year.”

Children’s charity sets fundraising challenge

On course to make a difference Business leaders will take a swing at raising £100,000 for charity in an annual golf challenge.

The Three Bunkers Challenge, which is based on the format of the Three Peaks Challenge, involves 24 players from six teams playing 27 holes of golf across Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire in one day.

Taking place on Friday 26 May, it will raise funds for Big C Little C, a charity that aims to help find a cure for cancer and also support vulnerable children. It is organised by Bev Cook, founder of Simple Marketing Consultancy, and businesses represented include Breeze Corporate Finance and Shakespeare Martineau.

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Derbyshire’s specialist child exploitation charity Safe and Sound is inviting people to spend the King’s coronation bank holiday tackling an action-packed fundraising challenge.

Monday 8 May has been declared a bank holiday following the coronation of King Charles III, and people are being encouraged to join the Big Help Out and make a change in their local communities.

Safe and Sound’s “Earth Wind and Fire” adventure challenge starts with an accompanied morning walk around the Peak District or Darley Park.

This will followed by a 80ft abseil off Miller’s Dale Bridge in the Peak District and the day will finish with a late afternoon fire walk on burning coals at Darley Abbey Mills.

Participants can join individual

challenges, or all activities, and the sponsorship money raised will go towards supporting Safe and Sound’s programmes for young people and families.

Safe and Sound CEO Tracy Harrison said: “I will of course be joining in and I look forward to welcoming many others who are keen to put something back into their local community, help support our work and raise awareness of the growing dangers of exploitation facing young people both online and in our local communities.”

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APPOINTMENTS

Sheetal steps up to head RSM’s Nottingham office Sheetal Sanghvi, corporate tax partner at audit, tax and consulting firm RSM UK, has been appointed as the new office managing partner in Nottingham.

She succeeds Richard King, who has held the role for 10 years. Having spent more than 17 years at the firm and as an RSM “lifer”, Sheetal joined as an audit tax assistant in 2005 and has progressed through the ranks to partner.

Fiona joins family team at Geldards

‘I am just one of many examples of our ‘grow our own’ strategy’ As head of innovation reliefs in the central region, she was the first person in the firm to get a focused role in this niche area. She has extensive experience in advising a range of businesses, from start-ups to large corporates, across a range of sectors in making significant R&D and patent box claims.

In her new role, Sheetal plans to build upon the existing team culture in the 90-strong office, including having an open style of leadership and ensuring a strong team mix across all sectors and service lines.

“For me, this is the next big step in my career at RSM,” she said. “Having kickstarted my career with the firm as a graduate trainee, I am just one of many examples of our ‘grow our own’ strategy.

“I have, and continue to be, very lucky to work in a supportive and collaborative environment where our people have plenty of opportunities to learn and develop, but most importantly be themselves and have some fun along the way.”

Sheetal Sanghvi

Uni business school appoints new dean Youngest team leader for bus firm Scarlet McCourt (pictured) has been promoted as trentbarton’s marketing and communications manager, making the 25-yearold the bus operator’s youngest team leader.

Scarlet, who lives in Long Eaton, has been with trentbarton for five years after joining from Nottinghamshire County Council, where she was an apprentice and then part of the digital marketing team.

At trentbarton, Scarlet started as a marketing and communications assistant before her first promotion to digital marketing executive, leading the company’s social media and wider online presence.

She said: “Trentbarton is a very forward-thinking company, especially in its marketing, so I was very excited when this new opportunity arose.”

Fiona Tweedie

The University of Nottingham has appointed Professor David Park as the new dean of Nottingham University Business School.

Dr David Park is a professor in entrepreneurship and innovation, and was previously associate dean (external engagement) and director of executive education for the school.

Prof Park holds three degrees (BEng, MSc, PhD) from the university, in engineering and artificial intelligence, and has a wealth of practical entrepreneurial experience gained in the UK and New Zealand from running his own businesses and social enterprises.

He has first-hand experience in raising millions of dollars’ worth of start-up funds, growing effective and multi-disciplinary teams, and completing multi-million-dollar licensing deals with FTSE100 companies.

As well as providing strategic support and mentoring to hundreds of early-stage companies and social enterprises across the UK, he has mentored and taught thousands of undergraduate and

Professor David Park

postgraduate students from across the world.

Prof Park said: “This is an exceptionally exciting time to become dean of Nottingham University Business School. There are some fantastic opportunities on the horizon in academia and business to help us realise the school’s potential.”

Law firm Geldards has bolstered its family team with the appointment of experienced associate Fiona Tweedie.

Fiona has more than nine years’ experience as a private client solicitor working for City law firms in London, advising high-net-worth clients, and specialising in onshore and offshore trust structures.

Following a relocation to the East Midlands, she decided to pursue her passion for family law and brings to the team a wealth of experience in complex financial arrangements, estate and succession planning, and a sound background in financial remedy planning.

Fluent in French, Fiona will put her multi-jurisdictional skills to good use advising clients with interests overseas and dealing with international disputes.

New project manager for EMEC Nottinghamshire-based East Midlands Environmental Consultants (EMEC) has appointed Lee Holland (pictured) as a new project manager.

He will be responsible for project managing regional and national projects, where EMEC is responsible for acting as the consultant ecologist tasked with protecting habitats and offering advice to developers.

Lee, who prior to joining the firm was a captain in the Royal Army Medical Corps, said: “Having recently left the armed forces, I qualified as a project manager and wanted to join a smaller, local business that was ambitious while maintaining strong core values and beliefs – and EMEC ticked all these boxes.”

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THE BIG INTERVIEW

MAIN IMAGE: Dr Rebecca Biddle, director of conservation INSET: Coco, the 58-year-old chimp, at Chimpanzee Eden

Celebrating 60 years of our animal adventure On 26 May, Twycross Zoo will celebrate its 60th birthday, offering an opportunity to reflect on its growth from modest beginnings into an internationallyrecognised conservation charity and one of the East Midlands’ most popular visitor attractions. During a tour of the Leicestershire zoo, Dan Robinson learns about its ambitious Vision 2030 growth masterplan from director of conservation Dr Rebecca Biddle, and speaks to director of finance Craig Watson about the post-Covid recovery. id you know the bonobo shares 98% of its DNA with humans, making it our closest living cousin?

This is one of the big takeaway facts for visitors at Twycross Zoo, whose biggest selling point to visitors is being home to the four great apes – which also include the chimpanzee, orangutan and gorilla.

But during an early-morning springtime tour of the park, there are a number of stop-off points that represent key milestones in its own evolution.

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THE BIG INTERVIEW

RECOVERING FROM COVID AND COST-OFDOING-BUSINESS CRISIS Like many tourist destinations, Twycross Zoo experienced a significant impact from the pandemic – but has now returned to post-Covid visitor numbers.

The park was closed for long periods during lockdowns and had capacity limited by social distancing, as well as a reduced public appetite for mixing with crowds, but welcomed about 570,000 people through its gate in 2022 – a similar number to in 2018.

Craig Watson (pictured), director of finance, says: “We are still in recovery mode now as, while we have returned to 2018 levels of visitor numbers, in the absence of Covid we were targeting growth for 2022 with the launch of The Gruffalo Discovery Land.

“So although visitor numbers are steadily rising, it’s difficult to quantify how much of this increase is driven by the new attraction and how much is from people returning after the pandemic.”

The simultaneous crises in the cost of living and cost of doing business have replaced Covid-19 as the biggest headache for visitor attractions, and Twycross has not been exempt.

Craig says rising interest rates have a cost impact for the zoo given the business is sitting on loan capital.

One response, like many similar attractions, has been to increase ticket prices – which went up by about 5% this year, now costing £23.95 for an adult at a weekend but discounted when booked early online.

“We’re facing a squeeze from both sides because there is possibly a reduced desire among customers to spend money when they are facing financial pressures, but also the costs of overheads for the business are going up,” says Craig.

“This is the next phase of the challenge but we feel well-placed to take it on. The intention is to grow our visitor numbers through both public demand and our educational offering.”

‘In order to play a big role in global conservation activities and breeding programmes, we have to be very careful with our use of resources and work collaboratively’

From new giraffe, rhino and tiger enclosures to an interactive zone inspired by a children’s book character, and a National Science and Conservation Centre (NSCC) set to be built onsite, Twycross is midway through its Vision 2030 masterplan to become a recognised European conservation centre of excellence.

Its ambition is to make a significant contribution to the global conservation of biodiversity, educate more young people on the natural world than ever before and add millions to the Midlands economy – while at the same time, broaden its appeal to visitors in the East Midlands and beyond.

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Dr Rebecca Biddle, who as director of conservation heads up outreach activities including education and research, says: “A few decades ago, zoos started to question, more critically, exactly what our role was and recognised that in order to play a big role in global conservation activities and breeding programmes, we have to be very careful with our use of resources and work collaboratively.

So we have to make sure that when it comes to site development and new species habitats, everything we’re doing is benefitting the bigger picture.”

Twycross has integrated world-class academic research into new animal habitats that form part

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DEVELOPING AN ATTRACTIVE MIDLANDS TOURISM OFFER While the average visitor probably has their favourite zoo from memories formed in childhood and continuing into adulthood, as a community these institutions see themselves as collaborators rather than competitors.

The same could be said about tourist attractions across the Midlands working together to put the region on the map as a UK tourist destination.

Drayton Manor Resort, Warwick Castle and the National Space Centre are among the leisure destinations within an hour’s drive but there are a great number of other ways of spending time and money for the modern-day consumer.

When unveiling Vision 2030, which had a stated aim of reaching one million annual visitors, then-chief executive Dr Sharon Redrobe OBE highlighted a catchment area of 20 million people for the zoo to attract.

Craig says: “We don’t pitch ourselves as just being in direct competition with other visitor attractions as the same money we’re going after could also be spent on a meal out or trip to the cinema.

“We benefit from repeat customers, who come for the first time and see what we’re doing here both as a visitor attraction and a conservation charity then become members, and we hope to continue strengthening our relationship with those visitors.

“Those visitors who come once a year are a harder win, particularly in the current economic climate.

“The vast majority of our visitors live within less than an hour’s drive time, so having a stronger tourism economy across the Midlands benefits everyone.”

MAIN IMAGE: A visitor gets a closer look at one of the zoo’s Humboldt penguins (Credit Ashley Cockerham) INSET LEFT: Meerkats are one of the most popular animals at Twycross

of Vision 2030, such as the Gibbon Forest and Chimpanzee Eden, which have been designed to closely replicate natural environments to encourage natural behaviours among their occupants.

But it has also branched out from at-risk primates into other endangered species. Some are classed as “critically endangered”, including the eastern black rhinos and Sumatran tigers introduced in 2019, as part of European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) breeding programmes.

Even the space provided to two male giraffes housed in the Giraffe Savannah enclosure, the first development in the investment programme, contributes as it allows other zoos to breed and protect the future of this species.

As well as being part of the wider zoo community’s progressive mission, these site developments have a positive bottom-line impact for the registered charity that runs the visitor attraction given the increasing social conscience among current and future consumers.

Twycross Zoo employs more than 130 full-time staff and has a £10m turnover generated by the near-600,000 annual visitors, whose ticket money is crucial to its conservation activities.

These include the zoo’s in-situ conservation fund, which has contributed more than £500,000 to 55 conservation and welfare projects in 27 countries around the world since it was created in 2006.

“The general zoo visitor these days is much more informed about social and environmental issues, and therefore more conscious about the impact of their choices,” says Rebecca.

“When they come to, and support, the zoo, they want to know their money is going towards valuable conservation work.

“The challenge for us is to make sure we remain sustainable as an organisation by enhancing our attraction to visitors, and balancing this with our animal welfare and conservation responsibilities so we aren’t reducing our global impact.”

MASTERPLAN It was on Sunday 26 May 1963 when Twycross Zoo opened its gates to visitors for the first time.

Pet shop owners Molly Badham and Nathalie Evans’ zoological collection had outgrown their three-quarters of an acre site in Hints, Staffordshire.

With an intense love of primates, Twycross Zoo was founded on their dream to protect these animals and has developed an innovative approach to animal welfare that set standards followed by other zoos around the world.

It remains closely associated with primates and it has recorded the first UK births for 13 different species, including the bonobo, siamang, agile gibbon and woolly monkey, which have contributed to numerous conservation breeding programmes. It is also at the centre of multiple research activities, including the May 2023 business network

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EDUCATING STUDENTS AND THE WIDER COMMUNITY

Ape Heart Project in partnership with the University of Nottingham and University of Birmingham to better understand great ape heart diseases.

One of its most famous residents is Europe’s oldest chimpanzee Coco, who hit the headlines last month for celebrating her 58th birthday.

Amanda Addison, animal team manager of great apes, spoke about how since arriving in Leicestershire in 1969, Coco had been “an important ambassador for her species – with six children, 19 grandchildren and three grandchildren to date”.

The zoo’s offer to the public has broadened over time and it now accommodates about 500 animals from 82 species across the 90-acre site, which sits on the Leicestershire-Staffordshire border.

In 2015, the zoo launched an ambitious masterplan to transform itself into a top-class centre for tourism, conservation, research and education.

Vision 2030 was underpinned by a £55m investment programme to establish new wildlife habitats, visitor attractions, and scientific study and teaching facilities.

But while there were a glut of new developments in quick succession between 2015 and 2019, the pandemic put a pause on growth until The Gruffalo Discovery Land eventually opened in spring 2022.

The four-acre attraction, a UK first, combines film clips and animatronic characters from a best-selling children’s book with real-life animals in an immersive experience aimed at young children.

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Every year, about 60,000 children descend on Twycross Zoo as part of an educational visit, helping to develop interest in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects.

Of those, 25,000 take part in educational workshops at the on-site education centre, with sessions linked to the national curriculum and designed to engage all age groups.

Lessons range from challenging key stage one pupils to figure out which animals might be in danger, through to key stage three and four students conducting their own research on an animal facing threats in the wild.

Educational sessions and tours were relaunched in 2022 after two years and form a major pillar of the zoo’s offering.

“We noticed there was a high demand for them as a lot of schools were visiting with self-guided tours, and they’ve been really popular since they were brought back,” says Rebecca, whose educational team has been bolstered over the past year.

Seven thousand students also pass through specialist STEM-based programmes, which are important to building interest and skills in areas that have traditionally lagged, with the

NSCC set to give this a major boost.

Rebecca adds: “It’s really important for our future employment that we are engaging young people with STEM subjects, while these can also offer broader transferable skills that benefit the regional economy.”

Education extends to the wider community, too, with Twycross keen to engage the general public and businesses to demonstrate how they can contribute in their everyday lives and workplaces.

“There’s been such a change in attitudes to conservation in the past few years,” says Rebecca. “Some of it results from the pandemic as people became more connected with their natural environment, which encouraged them to support local conservation activities. That’s where zoos have to step up their game as Twycross is – because we’re here for conservation but also to show our visitors how they can make a difference in their everyday behaviours.

“Anyone can become an advocate for environmental sustainability and what they learn here can be taken back into their organisations in any industry to influence positive change.”

enclosure. The whole point is to get children outdoors interacting with the natural environment, and inspiring them to care for nature, by using a new approach via the friendly Gruffalo character.

“It’s been very well received and now we’re turning our attention to our next and biggest investment project, which is the National Science and Conservation Centre.”

THE “FOUR great apes” helped Twycross Zoo to make its name as a world primate centre but it is also home to the Amur leopard, which is the most critically endangered big cat in the world.

Housed in the neighbouring enclosure is a family of meerkats, which are at the opposite end of the conservation spectrum as “least-concern species”, but hugely popular among visitors.

Our tour guide Meg Wright, a conservation education officer at Twycross, explains how the juxtaposition of these animal habitats reflects the four pillars of a zoo’s traditional role in the world – for conservation, education, research and recreation.

A recently-published paper put forward a new “Sphere of Influence” model in which zoos are at the centre of a web of activities including species and habitat conservation, education and training, scientific research, public health and wellbeing, conservation finance, economy, and policy.

Rebecca says: “It’s a much more holistic way of appreciating the role and benefits of a zoo – whether it’s for schools and higher education, local skills development and employment, the green space we provide to aid people’s mental

Signposting some of the main attractions at Twycross Zoo Credit: Dan Graves

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THE BIG INTERVIEW

VISION 2030 – KEY MILESTONES 2015: Giraffe Savannah – An open-air paddock for giraffes was opened on the site of a former car park, featuring a high-level covered viewing platform 2016: Gibbon Forest – An innovative habitat that is designed to replicate the natural forest environment for its gibbon occupants, which are encouraged to display natural behaviours such as loud calling, rarely descending to the ground and brachiating (swinging by arms from branch to branch

MAIN PICTURE: Debrazza Monkey Credit: Ashley Cockerham INSET ABOVE: Chimpanzee Eden LEFT: Conservation work is a central to the zoo community's progressive mission Credit: Dan Graves

health, or the important conservation work that has a global impact.”

She believes much of the financial backing that has been provided to the zoo’s masterplan recognises its multi-layered purpose, with funding schemes linked to conservation, education and community projects.

An example is the location of our interview, the Himalaya visitor centre, a free family-friendly

Family visitors check out one of the ‘big’ attractions at Twycross Zoo in the Giraffe Savannah enclosure, which opened in 2015

2018: Chimpanzee Eden – An outdoor and indoor environment with climbing structures that have been specifically designed to replicate the physical and mental challenges that chimpanzees face within their natural environment 2022: The Gruffalo Discovery Land – Young visitors can follow characters of Julia Donaldson’s best-selling children’s book The Gruffalo in an interactive journey through a woodland area, meeting animatronics and real animals along the way 2025: National Science and Conservation Centre – A purpose-built science teaching and research centre featuring a lecture theatre and conference space, classrooms, laboratories and accommodation.

venue that features a café and restaurant overlooking the snow leopard enclosure, soft play, gift shop and Windows on the Wild conference facilities.

Another is the “butterfly paradise”, an indoor exotic garden that gives visitors an insight into the lifecycle of a butterfly.

“Native species conservation, for example in the zoo’s own nature reserve, is also becoming a much higher priority for zoos,” explains Rebecca.

The Government’s Levelling Up Fund, which pledges to invest in local infrastructure that has a visible impact on people, their communities and the post-Covid economic recovery, has backed the development of the NSCC to the tune of £19.9m.

This purpose-built centre, due to open in 2025, will become the next major visual symbol of the new Sphere of Influence concept and is the first of its kind in the UK. The brainchild of the zoo’s previous CEO Dr Sharon Redrobe OBE, who stepped down last July after 12 years and will be replaced in the coming months, the NSCC will offer researchers from around the world the opportunity to study the four great apes and more than 100 endangered species in naturalistic complex environments.

The 36,000 sq ft centre will be connected to the zoo via its new purpose-built orangutan enclosure, and will provide classrooms, laboratories and breakout spaces for further and higher education teaching and research in areas such as conservation, animal welfare and biosciences.

A 200-seater lecture theatre will be adaptable as a venue used for global scientific conferences, while up to 30 researchers and visiting professionals can be accommodated in bedrooms on site.

Twycross hopes the NSCC will “propel the zoo, Leicestershire and the UK into the heart of the fight against the global extinction crisis”, while becoming a hub for public engagement with science and STEM skills development.

Rebecca adds: “It’s a fantastic concept that will bring together scientists from around the world but will also provide great educational opportunities.

“This will be a unique facility that has the ability to educate young people from school to degree level. By mixing with PhD students and academics from a young age, it will stir interest in careers within our sector and ultimately help to tackle the biodiversity crisis.”

It has three main focus areas – education, research and community engagement.

The zoo is working with FE colleges and universities to develop new modules and degree programmes based around conservation training, while there are also partnerships with academia being explored to apply conservation research in areas such as genetics, veterinary medicine and behavioural studies.

Twycross wants the NSCC to become a community hub for conservation work that can be accessed by anyone.

Rebecca adds: “It will help us to become a European centre of excellence from a conservation and research perspective, but we also want to become a resource for the wider community by offering access to our researchers and students for on-the-ground projects.

“For a long time, conservation has been seen as confined to a subset of people who work in this area, but we want to change this attitude so that no matter who you are or what your job is, there’s a way you can play a role to benefit conservation activities.”

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STRATEGIC PARTNERS AND PATRONS Kevin Harris

Middle market shows resilience Middle-market businesses are demonstrating strong resilience while investing in people and productivity to rebuild profit margins, according to research from RSM UK. The audit, tax and consulting firm’s latest Middle Market Business Index (MMBI), the first economic index to focus solely on businesses with annual revenues of between £10m and £750m in the UK, has risen to 131.4 points in Q1 2023 – an increase of 16 points, the largest rise since the index began.

The first MMBI of 2023 shows middle-market leaders are more positive about the economic outlook compared to last quarter’s data, with 39% saying the economy has already improved, and 54% expecting it to improve over the next quarter, a significant jump up from 38% last quarter.

Almost 45% of business leaders say their net profits are already up compared to last quarter, while 60% said they expect their net profits to increase over the next six months, a rise from 47% last quarter.

Kevin Harris, office managing partner in Leicester at RSM UK and chair of the Chamber, said: “The rise in businesses expecting the economy to improve suggests renewed positivity and aligns with what we’re seeing with our clients in the East Midlands, but we are not out of the woods yet.

“Business leaders in the region should plan for another drop in economic growth, and inventory management is key to weathering the storm.

Leaders should also focus on the recovery in the second half of the year, as businesses that invest in their people and productivity now will be best placed to benefit from the upswing when it arrives.”

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Representatives from Rolls-Royce Submarines and the University of Derby, from left: Lee Warren, Professor Kathryn Mitchell CBE DL, Stephanie Cook, Steve Layton, Dr Louise Richards, Chris Poulter, Andy Storer, Professor Warren Manning and presenter Louise Minchin at the UK Nuclear Skills Awards 2023

Top award for team-up’s Nuclear Skills Academy A partnership between the University of Derby and RollsRoyce Submarines focused on developing nuclear skills and experts of the future has been recognised at a top industry awards ceremony.

Together, the organisations scooped Employer & Training Provider Partnership Award at the UK Nuclear Skills Awards 2023, held at the Kimpton Clocktower Hotel in Manchester last month.

The award recognises the strong partnership working between the two organisations, in particular the collaboration on the new Nuclear Skills Academy (NSA) in Derby, which opened its doors to 200 new apprentices in September 2022.

Developed at pace, the academy is the first of its kind and aims to sustain nuclear capability within the UK’s submarines programme by creating a dedicated pipeline of

‘Our Nuclear Skills Academy has been a truly collaborative effort from the start’ talent at the start of their careers.

It is supported by other industry experts, including the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, the National College for Nuclear and Derby City Council, ensuring apprentices have access to the best courses and mentors throughout their apprenticeship.

The university has provided nuclear apprenticeship pathways and converted the academy’s iHub site into classroom and digital learning spaces that also host industry-standard engineering workshops.

Lee Warren, engineering and technology director at Rolls-Royce, and a former apprentice himself,

said: “The launch and delivery of our Nuclear Skills Academy has been a truly collaborative effort from the start. Receiving this prestigious award, around a year after we announced our intentions to launch a dedicated centre for nuclear education, is a testament to the strength of our partnerships and the pace with which we’ve brought it to life.

“The expertise and support from the University of Derby, and other NSA partners, have been invaluable and this is another step on the way to cementing Derby as the home of nuclear excellence.”

University of Derby vicechancellor Professor Kathryn Mitchell CBE DL added: “We have a long-standing relationship with Rolls-Royce and are delighted that our approach to partnership working has been recognised through this award.”

Applications invited for incubator Loughborough University’s business incubator LUinc is taking expressions of interest for its sixmonth Wayfinder programme.

Successful applicants can receive free support packages worth up to £10,000 for new businesses, including office space, mentoring and cut-price software.

Other perks include expert-led workshops and training sessions, potential follow-on funding, and networking opportunities and events.

The Wayfinder programme is open to people working on new, early-stage products or services, and applicants do not need to be connected to the university to apply. Interested entrepreneurs should act quickly, with about 20 spaces per cohort and strong

demand expected.

Incubator manager Pete Hitchings said: “It’s a challenge to start a business at any time, but the current pressures make the Wayfinder offer even more valuable.

“As well as providing practical benefits, such as free office space and car parking, the programme

provides coaching, training and help applying for funding – all of which helps our members to establish and grow.”

Businesses already launched through LUinc have included professional consultancies, social enterprises, tech innovators and creative start-ups.

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STRATEGIC PARTNERS AND PATRONS

Ex-ITV studio now a creative production hub A former television studio in Nottingham has been transformed into an immersive creative production hub that will boost film and TV production in the Midlands, and help businesses to reach new audiences, using future technologies.

The former ITV studios in Lenton Lane were once used to make well-known 90s sitcoms and gameshows such as Blockbusters, Catchphrase, Family Fortunes and Bullseye.

The site is now owned by the University of Nottingham and it has been brought back to life with a new Virtual Immersive Production (VIP) studio.

The facility will allow filmmakers, performing arts companies, and creative industry leaders and businesses to explore future technologies in areas such as virtual reality, animation and 360degree immersive sound technology.

It will focus on collaborative research and experimentation, and the studio will also play a key role

in supporting an environmentally sustainable screen industry by limiting the need to film on location.

The VIP studio has been created as part of the Live, Experiential and Digital Diversification: Nottingham (LEADD:NG) programme, which is funded by the European Regional Development Fund and was set up to help businesses maximise their potential through immersive technologies following the pandemic.

Helen Kennedy, professor of creative and cultural industries at the University of Nottingham, oversees the LEADD:NG programme and is director of the VIP studio.

She said: “There is increasing application of virtual, immersive and game-based technologies in film, television and cutting-edge theatre production. We are witnessing an increase in collaborations and experimentation across these sectors – and these are the innovations that we are seeking to advance in our studio.”

The Virtual Immersion Production studio in action

Underemployment project Academics at the University of Nottingham are exploring the lived experiences of underemployed workers as part of a first-of-its-kind, multi-institutional research project.

The £950,000 Economic and Social Research Council-funded study will involve Nottingham working with other universities, local authorities and charities across the country to track levels and experiences of underemployment over time in the UK and across Europe.

Underemployed workers are classed as individuals who work below their potential or preference in terms of hours, wages and skills.

From January 2023 until January 2026, the team will analyse the characteristics and effects of underemployment, detail the composition of the underemployed workforce, pinpoint the predictors and outcomes of being underemployed, and highlight the lived experiences of underemployed workers in four UK cities.

Tracey Warren, professor of sociology at Nottingham University Business School, said: “People might argue that ‘having any job is better than having no job at all’. Our research project is querying that mantra. It is highlighting the lives of those workers who are in employment but are having to work in inadequate jobs.”

Office interiors firm earns partnership accolade

From left: Blueprint Interiors employees Kim Bates, Gemma Ryder and Francesca Curry

Workplace consultancy and commercial office fit-out specialist Blueprint Interiors has been recognised as a Steelcase Platinum Partner 2023.

The Ashby-de-la-Zouch-based company becomes one of only 34 dealers for office furniture manufacturer Steelcase from 230 in the EMEA region to achieve this designation.

The award criteria included reaching company sales goals, demonstrating financial stability and an ability to meet Steelcase dealer co-branding requirements in its marketing and PR.

Blueprint’s furniture project manager Gemma Ryder said its customers had “helped us to create the kind of successful business partnerships that have made this recognition possible”.

Over the past 22 years, Blueprint has developed a reputation for designing peoplefocused office spaces, with recent project completions for Melton Building Society, Gleeds, Worldline Beeston, Futures Housing Group, Roythorne Solicitors and Consultus.

THE CHAMBER IS HONOURED BY THE SUPPORT OF ITS STRATEGIC PARTNERS AND PATRONS

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CHAMBER NEWS

Conference sees Peak businesses looking to future

The Chamber’s Diane Beresford addresses the conference

More than 80 businesses attended Business Peak District’s 2023 Conference & Expo, held in March at the historic Buxton Crescent Hotel. Rebecca Erskine reflects on some of the key points discussed.

DEVOLUTION AND SUPPORT FOR RECOVERY AND GROWTH HIGH ON THE AGENDA Dales and Peak businesses heard from a range of informative speakers, from county and district councillors to business support organisations including the Chamber, D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership, Business Peak District (BPD), and Visit Peak District and Derbyshire (VPDD).

Councillor Barry Lewis, leader of Derbyshire County Council and Will Morlidge, chief executive of D2N2 LEP, gave insights into what devolution would mean – in short, a guaranteed funding stream of £1.14bn over 30 years for the East Midlands Mayoral Combined County Authority covering Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, along with spending powers over areas such as housing, transport and economic development.

COST-OF-DOING-BUSINESS CRISIS AND SKILLS SHORTAGES HIGHLIGHTED Current economic challenges faced

by Dales and Peak businesses was the topic for a panel discussion led

by Chris Hobson, the Chamber’s director of policy and insight.

Helen Provart, managing director of Peak Translations in Whaley Bridge, cited the difficulties created by stalled decision-making as a

result of political uncertainty during 2022.

Will Throssel, chief operating officer of Archaeological Research Services, a national business based in Bakewell, spoke of the impact on its order book from delays to certain sections of HS2, as well as the shortage of capable archaeology graduates.

Mark Gilman, professor of economics at the University of Derby, emphasised the need to put in place cohesive strategies.

He reported that only 10% of SMEs have a strategy that encompasses a wide number of necessary areas including skills, competences, the environment, plus an understanding of supply chains and technology.

In addressing the skills shortage in the Dales and Peak, he made the point that many working practices date back to the Industrial Revolution. Money can no longer be considered the main motivator – purpose, mastery and autonomy are what now make an individual choose one role over another.

RURAL INVESTMENT CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES There is a higher cost to investing in rural areas, with a start-up rate lower than average, according to Mick Evans, senior policy and

Chris Hobson leads a panel discussion

FUTURE OF BUSINESS SUPPORT

further supported by the organisation’s focus on business support in the areas of accessibility, sustainability and digital.

Steve Capes, director of regeneration and policy at Derbyshire Dales District Council, and Amanda Brown, principal regeneration officer at High Peak Borough Council, provided a roundup of UK Shared Prosperity Fund support to Dales and Peak businesses respectively.

Diane Beresford, the Chamber’s deputy chief executive, highlighted how tapping into fully-funded workshops on offer from the Chamber and D2N2 helps businesses to grow.

Dales and Peak businesses are invited to join Business Peak District for free at www.businesspeakdistrict.com

Lindsay Rae, VPDD’s deputy director, presented the results of its recent member survey, which cited energy bills and recruitment as key concerns. Forward bookings are, however, looking good, and will be

A full list of workshops on offer in Derbyshire can be accessed by applying ‘Derbyshire’ as the location filter at: www.emc-dnl.co.uk/events

research analyst at Derbyshire County Council.

The good news, however, is that the business survival rate in these areas is consistently higher than the average in England.

According to the latest ONS figures, the High Peak and Derbyshire Dales have both slipped on productivity.

Dr Peter Dewhurst, director of strategic projects at the university and BPD’s deputy chair, remarked that any recovery in the region is uneven across sectors.

The cost-of-living crisis is hitting hospitality businesses particularly hard, with some closing several days a week and continuing to struggle finding a workforce.

Ex-Education Secretary joins People and Skills Summit

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Baroness Nicky Morgan of Cotes will be one of the guest speakers at the Chamber’s People and Skills Summit next month.

The former Loughborough MP and Education Secretary, who is now chair of the Careers and Enterprise Company, will discuss how to improve the transition from education to employment in order to create better outcomes for young people and businesses.

Naomi Clayton, director at the Learning and Work Institute, will discuss the issue of “missing workers” by presenting research

into trends in economic inactivity, while Loughborough University’s deputy chief operating officer Dr Manual Alonso will explain how companies can built links with higher education to retain talent in the East Midlands.

The Chamber’s director of policy and insight Chris Hobson will give a presentation on the Collective Intelligence Skills Observatory, which provides a new approach to understanding skills supply and demand at local level, and lead a panel discussion into how businesses can build truly inclusive

workplaces.

Delegates can also attend workshops on topics such as succession planning through apprenticeships, employment law updates, grant-funded skills bootcamps, T levels and recruiting ex-offenders.

The summit is held in partnership with Loughborough University and takes place at its West Park Teaching Hub on Thursday 8 June from 9am to 1pm.

To register for the free event, visit bit.ly/EMCPeopleSkills23

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CHAMBER NEWS

First King’s Award winners unveiled Eight businesses located across Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire have been honoured in the first-ever King’s Awards for Enterprise.

They were commended for their achievements across innovation, international development and sustainable development.

In total, 148 companies were celebrated in the awards, which were previously known as the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise and are recognised as the UK’s most prestigious business awards.

Scott Knowles, chief executive of the Chamber, which had six members in the winners list, said: “We often talk about how the East Midlands is a Centre of Trading Excellence – a place for making things, moving them and innovating in how we do this – and these businesses are testament to this reputation.

“At a time when we need to be exploring new international markets, finding new ways of raising productivity and growing our competitiveness in the right

way, it’s fantastic to have some shining examples for our region’s business community to look up to.”

Awards recipients 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.

Applications for the King’s Awards for Enterprise 2024 open on Coronation Day, 6 May 2023. For details, visit www.gov.uk/ kings-awards-for-enterprise

KING’S AWARDS FOR ENTERPRISE 2023 – EAST MIDLANDS WINNERS Derbyshire • Archaeological Research Services Ltd, Bakewell (Innovation Award): Non-intrusive landscape prospection service to detect presence or absence of significant archaeological remains prior to development.

• MasterMover Ltd, Ashbourne (Innovation Award): Innovative electric tug solutions for safe and efficient material handling for applications across industrial manufacturing • SureScreen Diagnostics Ltd, Derby (Innovation Award and International Trade Award): Development of the fastest, most sensitive and reliable Covid-19 lateral flow tests in the UK • Trade & DIY Products Limited, trading as TDP Ltd, Wirksworth (Sustainable Development Award): TDP aims for positive impact through sustainable product design, strong ethics and good governance.

Leicestershire • Blanson Limited, Leicester (International Trade Award): Manufacture of certified pressure rated cast acrylic components to exacting quality standards • PCE Automation Ltd – parent company of db automation, Lutterworth (Innovation Award): Specialises in clinically intricate ocular automation with complete contact lense manufacturing systems.

Nottinghamshire • Anpario plc, Worksop (Sustainable Development Award): Works with nature to champion production of safe, sustainable and healthy food globally • Upperton Limited, Nottingham (International Trade Award): Specialist contract development and manufacturing organisation providing dosage form development services to pharmaceutical industries.

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CHAMBER NEWS

The East Midlands Freeport team at Space Park Leicester

LLEP appoints chief executive The Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership (LLEP) board has appointment its new chief executive.

Phoebe Dawson (pictured) is due to start in May after being offered the position following a comprehensive recruitment process.

She is completing the notice period in her role of director of business engagement and partnerships at Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership (WLEP). Prior to joining in 2019, she spent two years as chief executive of Worcester Business Improvement District.

Phoebe said: “I am delighted to be joining the high-performing executive team at LLEP. I look forward to working with the board, our partners and our stakeholders to build on the strong reputation of the LLEP, and bring further growth and prosperity to this exciting and innovative region.”

LLEP co-chair Anil Majithia added: “Both myself and the board are really looking forward to having Phoebe join us as CEO and she will provide excellent leadership at a critical stage.”

Government approval clears freeport for take-off The East Midlands Freeport (EMF) has been given formal Government approval to open for business.

It is England’s only inland freeport with 533 hectares of prime, strategic development land at three sites – East Midlands Airport and Gateway Industrial Cluster (EMAGIC), East Midlands Intermodal Park (EMIP) and the Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station redevelopment site.

Centred around East Midlands Airport, the country’s largest dedicated cargo airport, EMF offers unrivalled UK access to air, rail and road links, connecting businesses and customs sites to national and global markets.

By targeting businesses to locate within the freeport sites via a package of economic and tax levers, EMF aims to create trade hubs to drive the low-carbon and renewable energy, advanced manufacturing and advanced logistics sectors, as well as support investment in research and development.

This in turn will create thousands of new high-quality jobs in the East Midlands and boost the region’s economy by £8.4bn over 30 years, according to its business plan.

EMF chief executive Tom Newman-Taylor said: “The freeport represents a massive opportunity for the East Midlands. We can now set about delivering on our core objectives: to drive up low-carbon investment and innovation in the region – boosting jobs, skills and wages for the communities we serve.”

‘The freeport represents a massive opportunity for the East Midlands’ As part of the announcement, world-leading space research centre Space Park Leicester was given the green light by the Government to become a customs site operator for EMF, significantly bolstering the freeport’s focus on driving innovation and skills.

Since opening in spring 2022, it has generated an estimated £89m for the economy in its first year of operation, supported 607 jobs and landed five major foreign direct investments.

A strategically placed space

sector cluster with a national and international focus, it is forecast to contribute £750m a year to the UK space sector over the next decade.

Space Park Leicester executive director Professor Richard Ambrosi said the freeport “will have an impact in attracting inward investment and boosting export opportunities”.

The freeports model has three objectives for the Government – to establish national hubs for global trade and investment, create innovation hotbeds, and promote regeneration.

Formal Government approval enables businesses located on the three sites to have access to a range of special incentives, including a zero rate of secondary national insurance contributions for employees, enhanced capital allowance for plant and machinery, enhanced structures and buildings allowance, and relief from stamp duty land tax and business rates.

Scott Knowles, chief executive of the Chamber, said EMF’s focus on innovation and skills was “critical as these are two of the biggest challenges facing businesses right now”.

Public support put Derby’s GBR bid on track

Derby railway station 28

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Derby’s successful bid to be the headquarters of Great British Railway (GBR) received the largest public backing of all the finalists.

It received 45,614 votes from a total of 205,000, more than 5,000 ahead of the second-placed candidate. Other shortlisted locations were Birmingham, Crewe, Doncaster, Newcastle and York.

As well as the public vote, Derby came top in an assessment process in the competition overseen by Government, which will set up GBR as a new state-owned body.

Explaining the reasons for its successful bid, the Destination Derby team was told by the Department for Transport that its “excellent” application: • Highlighted how important rail is

to the city and its people through its links with the industry, supply chain and customers • Demonstrated a strong railway heritage and robust links to the wider network with its extensive cluster of private sector rail businesses.

• Showcased a strong local education and research base, helping support growth in jobs and skills connected to the sector.

• Received strong and wideranging stakeholder, community and MP support, combined with the public vote.

The Destination Derby team will now engage with the GBR transition team to establish where the HQ will be located.

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CHAMBER NEWS

Taking the lead after overcoming some ‘ruff’ times!

As the Enterprising Women Awards returns for another year, Jasmine Thompson speaks to last year’s Female Entrepreneur of the Year winner Dawn Brown, who owns DogLand, in Chesterfield.

What is your business and your role within it?

At DogLand, which trades as Rose Cottage Doggy Day Care, we are very similar to Legoland, Flamingo Land and Disneyland in that we provide a unique holiday experience – but for dogs!

There is no howling and barking in kennels, as we have a 5.5-acre secure site that features different spaces to suit every dog’s physical, emotional and social needs. We mix them in small manageable packs to ensure they have the best time while with us, and if they are staying overnight, their luxury

kennels feature heating, air conditioning, TVs and sofas.

My role is to oversee a team of eight, including two managers, and build our franchise model. I have just qualified to teach people how to do what we do and stay compliant with council regulations, which are forever changing.

What challenges have you faced since founding your business and how did you overcome them?

There’s been so many, I should write a book! Hence why I want to teach people, so they don’t make

UPCOMING ENTERPRISING WOMEN EVENTS 18 May, 1-3.30pm: The Peer Share Puzzle – Dryden Enterprise Centre, Nottingham (£15 for Chamber members) A networking event with a twist, with attendees challenged to consider how they can use existing skills to solve problems and “escape” career obstacles. Afternoon tea and refreshments included

8 June, 1-3.30pm: Enterprising Women Awards 2023 finalists reveal – Stapleford Park Hotel, near Melton Mowbray Find out who has been shortlisted across 10 categories at the awards, held in association with headline partner Michael Smith Switchgear.

To book, visit www.emc-dnl.co.uk/enterprising-women

Dawn Brown (left) and Emma Jesson at last year’s Enterprising Women Awards

mistakes I made in the early days.

For example, not realising I was over the VAT threshold and then having to repay £27,000 – a lesson learned and now I have three accounts for my business.

Like the rest of the world, we also had the challenge of the pandemic, although we took out positives from all the doom and gloom by creating new services to help solve the problems people were facing. The absolute gamechanger for us was introducing a “field of freedom”, an idea I had while laid in a hospital bed after having an emergency Csection with my now three-year-old Hope.

The field enabled handless handover, allowing us to stay open to provide day care service to our frontline workers while adhering to Government guidelines. We rented it out by the hour so people could let their dogs off the lead safe in the knowledge they would not be anywhere near any other people or dogs. We also created an online shop for all doggy needs like treats, beds and toys, and after weathering the storm, we are coming back stronger than ever.

When were you introduced to Enterprising Women and how did it feel to win an award?

After joining the Chamber, I quickly became involved in Enterprising Women. It inspires me to make a stand for women in business and has grown my self-confidence.

Winning this award was so emotional. My team and the business have won awards nationally and locally, but for me this award really was personal as acknowledgment for the rollercoaster ride I had been on – and still am on – to build and scale up the company.

Running a business is bloody hard work, and emotionally and physically draining sometimes, so winning such a prestigious award was mind-blowing. I’m so grateful.

Why are networks like Enterprising Women so important?

To get women heard! We are super, and we need the support and confidence that networks like this offer. Being a woman is hard work, and we all need to support and help each other.

Huge number of entries for inaugural PA Awards

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More than 100 entries were made for the inaugural East Midlands PA Awards, which celebrate the achievements of executive and business support professionals.

Nominations were made by organisations including Arup, DHL Supply Chain, De Montfort University, Eversheds Sutherland, Express Recruitment, Futures Housing Group, Holland & Barrett, KPMG, Loughborough University, Shakespeare Martineau, Shoosmiths, University of Leicester and University of Nottingham.

The awards, which are run by the Midlands-wide PA Forum, recognise individuals across a range of positions, from administrative assistants and secretaries to

executive assistants and business support managers.

Lesley Young, the Chamber’s executive support manager and company secretary, is a member of the awards committee.

She said: “Our nominees are trailblazers and we invite them on the journey to be recognised for the difference they make.”

Finalists will take part in a judging day on 19 May at Burleigh Court, in Loughborough, as well as a networking and celebration event on 20 June at Sixes Social Cricket in Leicester.

The full shortlist can be viewed at pa-forum.co.uk/pa-awards-eastmidlands

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CHAMBER NEWS

Worker programme has created real opportunity East Midlands Conference Centre

Annual Dinner tickets available Tickets are now on sale for the Annual Dinner, the premier formal evening in the Chamber’s event calendar.

The evening will bring together prominent business leaders from across the three years to reflect on the past year and look to the future, with plenty of opportunities to network and a chance to hear from keynote speaker Charlotte Ivers, political correspondent for Times Radio and a columnist for The Sunday Times.

Chamber president Stuart Dawkins will give an opening address and speak about his three chosen charities for the year – Foundation Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Rutland Community Foundation, and Nottinghamshire Community Foundation.

The Annual Dinner takes place at East Midlands Conference Centre, at the University of Nottingham, on Thursday 29 June from 7pm.

Tickets, which cost £95 for members and £140 for nonmembers, can be bought from bit.ly/EMCAnnualDinner23

An innovative programme that connects local authorities, businesses and other key agencies with the aim of tackling long-term unemployment has supported 8,908 economically inactive people across Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.

The D2N2 Building Better Opportunities (BBO) scheme, which comprises three distinctive projects promoting social inclusion, has helped 1,102 of these individuals to progress into employment, assisted 864 into long-term education or training, and enabled 492 people to independently search for jobs.

Funded by the European Social Fund and National Lottery Community Fund, BBO – which ended in March after six years – has been led by a consortium of voluntary and community organisations.

Paul Needham

‘It’s fantastic to be able to reflect on the tremendous work of the BBO programme’ In the D2N2 region, four stakeholder managers were employed or seconded to the Chamber and hosted within the four upper-tier councils, with a remit to coordinate the £31m programme across the wider employment and skills landscape. The Chamber has also played a central role in connecting individuals with employers, and promoting an inclusive recruitment agenda among businesses that have skills gaps.

Head of employment services Paul Needham said: “It’s fantastic to be able to reflect on the tremendous work of the BBO programme in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, where the lives of many people have been transformed because of the support it has offered them.

“Our stakeholder managers have been remarkable additions to the employment and skills landscape in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire over the past five years, generating new person-centric ideas and influencing system change in how we tackle the issue of long-term unemployment.”

The three employment and skills projects are: • Opportunity and Change: A £9.8m support programme led by Framework for people with multiple and complex needs, such as homelessness, substance abuse, at risk of offending, mental ill health and domestic abuse victims

• Towards Work: Led by Groundwork Greater Nottingham, the £14.6m scheme provides a personalised service to help people overcome barriers to work and take their first steps towards employment • Money Sorted in D2N2: Led by St Ann’s Advice Centre, the £6m project helps people experiencing financial difficulties to feel more in control of their finances.

Paul added: “These projects have provided us with many learnings, which we will take forward in our other workstreams within the Chamber’s employment support programmes, in which we work in collaboration with Government and work agencies to give people a helping hand into sustainable work and training.”

For more information about the Chamber’s employment and recruitment services work, visit www.emc-dnl.co.uk/services/recruitment-services.

To find out more about the Building Better Opportunities programme achievements, visit bbod2n2.org.uk

Chamber backs diverse entrepreneurs’ charter

Professor Katherine Linehan, pro-vice-chancellor for equality, diversity, inclusion and people at the University of Nottingham, and Professor Todd Landman, pro-vice-chancellor for the Faculty of Social Sciences, sign the charter 32

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The Chamber is one of the first signatories of a new charter that aims to improve diverse entrepreneurship in the East Midlands.

It joins the University of Nottingham, D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership, and Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship in signing the Charter for Inclusive Entrepreneurship.

Established by the university and The Women’s Organisation, it aims to minimise barriers to, and enhance outcomes from, starting a business among underrepresented groups – which include women, ethnic minorities, young people, migrants and people with disabilities.

The charter outlines the core

principles for implementing and supporting an inclusive entrepreneurship ecosystem in East Midlands across five key areas: 1. Promoting diverse role models across the enterprise ecosystem 2. Delivering inclusive enterprise support 3. Enabling lifelong learning of entrepreneurship education 4. Ensuring equal access to enterprise finance 5. Implementing measurable targets for inclusive enterprise policy and procurement practices.

For more information about the charter, visit bit.ly/ CharterInclusiveEntrepreneurship

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PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT Free communication skills workshop offer Business owners and team managers based in Leicestershire can attend a free one-day workshop into mastering leadership communications.

The course, which takes place at Charnwood Regency Guesthouse in Loughborough on 31 May, covers topics such as communicating in a remote working environment, active listening, effective feedback, persuasion strategies, and engaging with teams and individuals.

Delegates will gain an understanding of their natural communication style, how to run meetings and communicate change effectively, and how to tailor their communications in different situations.

The workshop will be delivered

by High Growth founder Stuart Ross in partnership with the Business Gateway Growth Hub – in which the Chamber is a member of the consortium – and part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

Register at bit.ly/ MasteringLeadershipComms

Army Cadets option to fill skills gaps Exploring how businesses can work with Army Cadets to fill skills gaps will be the topic of discussion at the next meeting of the Nottinghamshire Manufacturing Network.

Nicky Weston, honorary colonel of the Nottinghamshire Army Cadet Force, is guest speaker at the free event, which takes place at the University of Nottingham Jubilee Campus on Wednesday 17 May from 7.30am to 10am.

Chris Corkan, regional manager for the Midlands and East at industry body Make UK, will give an update, before the opportunity for an open debate between members.

The network is part of the wider East Midlands Manufacturing Network, which brings together senior leaders from manufacturers to discuss common challenges and share best practice in a trusted environment.

Other upcoming meeting dates include: • 23 May, University of Derby Sports Centre: Derbyshire Manufacturing Network • 24 May, Vision West Nottinghamshire College, Mansfield: North Nottinghamshire Manufacturing Network For more information, visit www.emc-dnl.co.uk/services/eastmidlands-manufacturing-network 34

business network May 2023

Ambassador scheme to help young professionals Generation Next has launched an ambassador scheme to further enhance its support for young professionals and entrepreneurs in the East Midlands.

The group of 20 individuals will act as a conduit between the Generation Next board – known as “champions” – and its members to provide feedback on key developments and ideas. The ambassadors cover a range of industries, from manufacturing to creative, as well as specialist subjects such as apprenticeships, networking and mentorships. Their role also involves promoting the network within their respective sectors.

‘The new ambassador scheme is now a prominent element of Generation Next’ The network will be headed up by Isabella Sellers, human resources lead at meal kit company HelloFresh, which is set to open a major distribution hub at SmartParc in Derby next year.

She said: “The new ambassador scheme is now a prominent element of Generation Next, with the strategic objective to raise the profile of the network, and to further support and open opportunities for young professionals in the region.

“I am very much motivated and excited to help drive the success of the scheme in my role as head of the network. I feel proud to work closely with so many talented and diverse young professionals from various industries.”

Facilitated by the Chamber, Generation Next runs a series of networking and educational events, led by business leaders across the region, alongside a mentoring scheme and document library, to develop its members’ professional networks and skills.

Since being launched in February 2020 to support and retain young talent within the East Midlands

GENERATION NEXT AMBASSADORS Head of network: Isabella Sellers, human resources lead at HelloFresh Ambassador for apprentices: Ruby Birks, project manager at Purpose Media Ambassador for Enterprising Women: Scarlett Tinsley, business and marketing manager at ER Recruitment Ambassador for young lawyers: Ella Sheppard, senior associate and solicitor at Nelsons Ambassador for young lawyers: Ruby Ashby, associate and solicitor at Nelsons Ambassador for young lawyers: Shivani Daudia, paralegal at Brethertons Ambassador for manufacturers: Preethi Kang, commercial manager at Qinesis Ambassador for finance professionals: Helen George, investment management assistant at Brewin Dolphin Ambassador for finance professionals: Matt Robinson, chartered financial planner at Brewin Dolphin Ambassador for universities in Nottingham: Rebecca Cliff, employer engagement marketing executive at Nottingham Trent University Ambassador for mentoring: Theo Kirk, director of people at Express Recruitment Ambassador for wellbeing: Fred Gough, research and knowledge exchange co-ordinator at University of Derby Ambassador for EDI: Blu Hardy, marketing executive at Hardy Signs Ambassador for creative businesses: Cameron Hogan, senior videographer/ photographer at AVIT Media Ambassador for the charitable sector: Verity Mitchell, head of fundraising at Base 51 Ambassador for young sales professionals: Benjamin Wileman, leasing consultant at Select Car Leasing Burton-on-Trent Ambassador for young professionals in procurement: Nicole Perkins, procurement officer at Futures Housing Group Ambassador for young professionals striving for excellence: Joshua LeachAslam, general manager at Ocean King Ambassador for young professionals in design: Dan Poynton, owner of On Poynt Creative Ambassador for young professionals in networking: Harriet Fell, client services apprentice at Purpose Media To find out more about the ambassadors, visit www.generationnextemc.co.uk/champions

region, its membership base has grown to 350.

The board of champions was established in April 2021 and comprises young business leaders and professionals from across Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire, who guide the network’s development and support its profile.

Chair Daniel Nikolla, who is marketing manager at Hardy Signs, added: “It is very exciting to see the ambassadors scheme up and

running. It has come as a natural progression, considering the wealth of different sectors in the region.

“In line with the agenda of widening participation and representation through connecting with all young professionals’ bodies, we decided that members of Generation Next would benefit from this scheme.”

• The Generation Next Awards 2023 shortlist has been revealed – see p36

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CHAMBER NEWS

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EVENTS

Awards are a chance to celebrate firms’ achievements in tough times he resilience of the East Midlands business community during a tough trading environment will be celebrated at a trio of upcoming awards ceremonies later this year – and firms are invited to put themselves forward for recognition.

Entries are now open for the East Midlands Chamber Business Awards 2023, which includes three gala dinner celebrations in Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire.

Businesses, charities and individuals from each county will be recognised across 14 categories, ranging from Outstanding Growth and Excellence in International Trade through to Environmental Impact and an Education and Business Partnership Award.

Headline partner Mazars will also select a Business of the Year winner for each county. Last year’s winners were Katapult (Derbyshire), Scope Construction (Leicestershire) and Copley Scientific (Nottinghamshire).

The Chamber’s chief executive Scott Knowles said: “With the cost-of-doing-business crisis following hot on the heels of the pandemic and Brexit, the past few years have been as tough a trading environment as many of us can recall.

Despite this, we’ve seen tremendous resilience on display among our region’s business community, which has found new ways to grow, innovate and collaborate. We are once again hugely excited about celebrating these achievements in our Business Awards, which are always one of the most highly-anticipated events in the Chamber calendar – thanks to the

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sponsors that help to make it happen.”

The deadline for the East Midlands Chamber Business Awards 2023 is Monday 17 July.

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 take place in November on the following dates: • Friday 3 November: Leicestershire Business Awards • Friday 10 November: Nottinghamshire Business Awards • Friday 17 November: Derbyshire Business Awards Current sponsors include Mazars (headline partner), Air IT, Amazon, Aston Lark, Blueprint Interiors, Cambridge & Counties Bank, Concertus, De Montfort University, DHL, Eight Days a Week Print Solutions, emh group, ER Recruitment, Eversheds Sutherland, Express Recruitment, Fraser Stretton Property Group, Futures Housing Group, Geldards, ITS Technology Group, Loughborough College, Nottingham Trent University, Purpose Media, Rolls-Royce, RSM UK, University of Derby and University of Nottingham.

To enter the East Midlands Chamber Business Awards 2023 or to find out about sponsorship opportunities, visit www.emc-dnl.co.uk/services/business-awards

EAST MIDLANDS CHAMBER BUSINESS AWARDS 2023 CATEGORIES IN ASSOCIATION WITH HEADLINE PARTNER MAZARS • 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 • Business of the Year

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EVENTS

Generation Next Awards shortlist Young professionals and entrepreneurs across the region have been recognised among the finalists of the Chamber’s Generation Next Awards 2023.

The shortlist has now been revealed for the awards, held in conjunction with headline partner the University of Derby, which celebrate the achievements of individuals aged under 35 and organisations led by people in this demographic.

There are 11 categories, ranging from a Startup Award and Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity

Award through to marking achievements in Innovation and Technology and recognising a Generation Next Future Leader.

A new prize this year honours rising stars in businesses, aimed professionals at all levels, including junior roles.

Virtual judging days take place on 9 and 10 May, in which finalists will be interviewed by members of the Chamber’s senior management team, Generation Next board and the category sponsor.

Winners will be crowned at an alternative

awards ceremony on 13 July, where the network returns to Bustler Market in Derby to build on the success of last year’s event, which welcomed more than 200 people for the first-ever inperson awards ceremony.

Tickets for the Generation Next Awards ceremony at Bustler Market, Derby, on 13 July cost £65 + VAT for Generation Next members and £75 + VAT for non-members. A 10% discount will be applied on the purchase of five or more tickets. Visit bit.ly/GNAwards23

GENERATION NEXT AWARDS 2023 FINALISTS – IN ASSOCIATION WITH HEADLINE PARTNER UNIVERSITY OF DERBY Apprentice of the Year (Sponsored by Loughborough College) • Abbie Hartshorn: Apprentice test engineer, British Standards Institution • Ella Mossop: Recruitment consultant, Express Recruitment • Evie Culligan: Marketing executive, Invictus Group Ltd • Hattie Parnham: Apprentice painter and decorator, Ashby Decorator Centre • Kai Taylor: Audit semi-senior, MHA MacIntyre Hudson • Phoebe Bromley: Accounts assistant, Express Recruitment • Polly Oakes: Digital marketing executive, Express Recruitment • Rebecca Houlston: Head of brand marketing, Cross Productions • Callum Cole-Needham: Trainee financial planning administrator, Future Life Wealth Management • Sophia Shapcott: Marketing and development executive, Smith Partnership

• Nicole Perkins: Procurement officer, Futures Housing Group • Rebecca Cliff: Employer engagement marketing executive, Nottingham Trent University

Entrepreneur of the Year (Sponsored by Fraser Stretton Property Group) • Dan Poynton: Founder and CEO, On Poynt Creative • Jack Thompson: Managing director, Thompson Tree Services Midlands • Jordan Cooley: Managing director, ICS Group Midlands t/a ICS Electrical Contractors • Joseph Bentley: Managing director, ACT Medical • Michael Gladwell: Head of enterprise, Upbeat Communities • Olly Fisher: Managing director, Repeat Digital • Paulina Poziomska: Managing director, Volt-Age • Rob Spence: Managing director, Paragon Sales Solutions

Environmental Warrior Award (Sponsored by Hydropath Technology)

Creators and Makers Award (Sponsored by PPL PRS) • Dan Poynton: Founder and CEO, On Poynt Creative • Deshaun Hancock: Founder, Bloom and Flow • Izzy Plummer: Graphic designer, TTK Confectionery • Nathan Addai: Founder, Mental Roots • Olivia Waldron: Digital marketing co-ordinator, MHA MacIntyre Hudson • Tom Young: Feature writer, Cross Productions • Yudan Deng: Lead of language teaching and content, Follow the Orient • Liberty Always: Digital marketer, Bam Boom Cloud • Jamie Quince Starkey: Founder and director, Down to Earth Derby • Nayaab Mohamed: Founder, Nayaab Mahomed Limited

Customer Service Award

• Ben James Stuchbury: Founder, Intertwined • Jamie Quince Starkey: Founder and director, Down to Earth Derby • David Allerton: Founder, SE-LF • Komal Shahzadi: Chairperson, Enactus DMU • Nikolas Kordula: Cost manager, Turner & Townsend • Sam Whetton: Founder, Reika Bags • Grace Golden: Director, Pretzel Energy

Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity Award (Sponsored by Futures Housing Group) • Katie Michaels: Founder and designer, Moti Me • Michael Gladwell: Head of enterprise, Upbeat Communities • Nathan Addai: Founder, Mental Roots • Samantha Morley: Employer engagement coordinator for ESF Reskill and Recover, Nottingham Trent University

Start-up Award (Sponsored by Nottingham University Business School) • David Allerton: Founder, SE-LF • Joseph Bentley: Managing Director, ACT Medical • Sam Whetton: Founder, Reika Bags

Volunteering and Charitable Impact (Sponsored by ITS Technology Ltd) • Courtney Brindley: Assistant to the temporary division, Express Recruitment • David Allerton: Founder, SE-LF • Jo Walchester: Head of marketing, Rotheras LLP • Kate Frisby: Trainee solicitor, Nelsons • Leah Binney: Buying director designate, TTK Confectionery • Hopeful Futures team, Hope Against Cancer • Shannon O’Neill: Volunteer perinatal peer supporter and student social worker, Connected Perinatal Support CIC • Yudan Deng: Lead of language teaching and content, Follow the Orient

Future Leader Award

(Sponsored by Express Recruitment) • Archie Hill: Graduate management trainer, The Silver X Group • Ben Wileman: Senior leasing consultant, Select Car Leasing Burton-on-Trent • Ben Wilkinson: Tax manager, MHA MacIntyre Hudson • Cameron Hogan: Senior creative manager, videographer and photographer, ‘AV IT! Media • Ella Sheppard: Senior associate, Nelsons • Georgia Evans: Digital marketing executive, Paragon Sales Solutions • Harriet Fell: Client services apprentice, Purpose Media • Josef Hicks: Business applications second line support engineer, Bam Boom Cloud

• Emma Priestley: Head of product, ACT Medical • Fran Jesson: Bakery project manager, TTK Confectionery • Hattie Parnham: Apprentice painter and decorator, Ashby Decorator Centre • Jack Wilkinson: Business development executive, Express Recruitment • James Bird: Accounts assistant apprentice, The Silver X Group • Katie Michaels: Founder and designer, Moti Me • Nayaab Mahomed: Founder, Nayaab Mahomed Limited • Ross McLeod: Assistant project manager, Turner & Townsend • Ruby Birks: Project manager, Purpose Media

Innovation and Technology Award (Sponsored by Hardy Signs) • Joseph Bentley: Managing director, ACT Medical • Finlay Riggott: Business analyst, Cosy Direct • Louise Flood: Business analyst, Express Recruitment • Marian Muresan: Systems administrator, RDD Europe • Paulina Poziomska: Managing director, Volt-Age • Purpose Media team

Rising Star Award (Sponsored by Nottingham Trent University) • Cerys Graham: Trainee architectural technologist, Morrison Design

(Sponsored by headline partner University of Derby) • Joseph Bentley: Managing director, ACT Medical • Joshua Leach-Aslam: General manager, Ocean King • Renee Sunnar: Business applications support team leader, Bam Boom Cloud • Ruby Birks: Project manager, Purpose Media • Sarah Deaves: Senior project manager, Turner & Townsend • Theo Kirk: Director of people, Express Recruitment • Umar Razah Boodhoo: Managing director, Mauricare • Verity Mitchell: Head of fundraising, Base 51

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SUSTAINABLE EAST MIDLANDS

www.emc-dnl.co.uk/sustainability

Expert help for ESG-driven firms A team of world-leading experts in business transformation have joined forces to empower environmental, social and governance (ESG)-driven companies to thrive by making sustainability more profitable Leading the charge is the Centre for Business and Industry Transformation (CBIT) at Nottingham Business School (NBS), part of Nottingham Trent University.

It has teamed up with Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), one of the top 50-ranked universities in the world, and industrial partner Think ESG, an ESG auditing company appointed by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

The British Council has provided a £160,000 grant to the global project, which will codeliver a series of workshops with business leaders, as well as co-create and test a range of “more sustainable, more profitable” – abbreviated as MoSMoP – business models.

The team will develop a toolbox and manuals to guide businesses to be MoSMoP, as well as provide a foundation for performance benchmarking. Workshops will cover topics such as competence mapping for business sustainability, creating new value proposition and business model innovation.

Xiao Ma (pictured), professor of entrepreneurship and management at NBS and director of CBIT, is an internationally recognised thought leader and educator in entrepreneurship, business transformation and digital economy.

He said: “Typically, ESG criteria and standards are viewed as a ‘compliance’ issue and are only addressed from the supply-side of the business.

“However, ESG can also be a profitmaking force if it is treated as a demandside requirement. By incentivising firms to proactively innovate and develop more sustainable offerings with better profit margins, ESG can become a driving force for profitability.

“Targeting leading businesses with a strong ESG drive, the MosMop workshops will enable us to support these businesses in co-creating and testing new business and economic models that align with sustainability goals.

“This approach will ultimately result in new products, services and business models to empower greater profitability for these businesses, as they better meet the demand for more sustainable offerings.”

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What does your company do and how does your business model embrace the sustainability agenda?

BECO Green is launching environmentallyfriendly bamboo fibre straws, cups and tableware, as well as other products.

Many businesses assume that sustainability and profitability are mutually exclusive, but that's not necessarily the case. By adopting sustainable practices, businesses can often reduce waste and save money in the long run.

Additionally, offering eco-friendly products can attract environmentally-conscious customers and help businesses differentiate themselves from their competitors.

At BECO Green, we work with businesses to help them find the balance between sustainability and profitability, and we believe it's possible to achieve both.

What prompted the decision to embrace the sustainability agenda and how has it impacted your business?

We believe the future of the eco-friendly industry is bright. Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the impact of their choices on the environment, and they're actively seeking out eco-friendly products and services.

As a result, we're seeing more and more businesses adopting sustainable practices and offering eco-friendly products. We think this trend will only continue to grow as people become more conscious of their environmental footprint and look for ways to live more sustainably.

How important do you believe embracing the sustainability agenda is for businesses today?

We believe in taking a holistic approach to sustainability. That's why we not only offer ecofriendly products, but also provide education and training to businesses on sustainable practices.

We work with our clients to help them reduce waste, minimise their environmental impact, and implement green policies and practices. We also encourage businesses to engage with their customers and educate them on the importance of sustainability.

Case Study Company: BECO Green, part of AHCT Limited Location: Leicester Number of employees: 6 Spokesperson: Ting Huang, director

What are your future plans for making your business more sustainable?

As an environmental protection enterprise of bamboo fibre products, we are committed to continuously improving our sustainability practices. Our future plans include: • Sourcing: We will continue to source our bamboo fibres from certified sustainable sources, and work closely with our suppliers to ensure responsible forestry management and sustainable harvesting practices • Product design: We will strive to design our products to be even more eco-friendly and sustainable by reducing the amount of material used, increasing durability and making our products easier to recycle or compost at the end of their lifecycle.

• Education and outreach: We recognise the importance of educating our customers on the benefits of using sustainable products, and will continue to raise awareness through social media, events, and other outreach efforts.

Overall, our goal is to be a leader in sustainable business practices and inspire others to make more eco-friendly choices.

We believe that by continuously improving our sustainability practices, we can help protect our planet and ensure a better future for generations to come.

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SUSTAINABLE EAST MIDLANDS

Flooring firm steps up its use of plastic waste Leicestershire-based Abacus Flooring Solutions has made history by inventing a way to use waste plastic, which would otherwise go to landfill, in industrial resin flooring.

The ground-breaking invention, named Abaplas, is set to transform the flooring industry, as well as providing an eco-friendly method for replacing harmful bulking materials in other products such as tile adhesives.

Nick Megson, managing director of Abacus Flooring and the brains behind the pioneering Abaplas system, has already proven his idea after carrying out a painstaking series of tests over several years.

Having arrived at the perfect formula, which performs even better than traditional resin flooring, his world-beating patent for Abaplas has now been approved.

Resin flooring, along with many other industrial products, has traditionally been manufactured using silica sand, which is a dangerous and potentially carcinogenic substance when inhaled.

‘It could turn the plastics recycling industry completely on its head’ Abaplas instead contains non-harmful recycled plastic which is ground down to a white powder.

The process will vastly reduce the volume of waste plastic ending up in landfill or the world’s oceans.

Nick said: “We carried out so many tests that it seemed as if it would never happen. We conducted tests using numerous grades and types of plastic before we finally achieved the fantastic result we have today.

“On our first ever project using this product, the installation guys said it was the best selfsmoothing resin system they had used.

“Further research uncovered many other uses for our 100% recycled plastic, in things like our primer coats, scratch coats, self-smoothing screeds, repair compounds – and even things like tile adhesives.

“It could turn the plastics recycling industry completely on its head and really make major strides in helping to save the planet.”

The world’s first resin flooring using 100% recycled plastic was installed by Abacus in the enormous VIP visitor centre auditorium at JCB’s global headquarters in Staffordshire.

The company has since gone on to install

Nottingham City Council’s V2G demonstrator project

V2G project charges ahead

Abacus Flooring Solutions founders Nick and Amanda Megson

Abaplas flooring in warehouses, medical facilities and football stadiums throughout the UK. Nick has established a new firm, Abaplas Recycling Limited, to handle all the plastic recycling for Abacus, as well as beginning the sales of treated plastic for use by other product manufacturers.

Abaplas has already led to Abacus winning a number of awards, including a Green World Award – a global environmental campaign that rewards the world’s greenest countries, communities and companies.

With more than three decades of experience working with resin flooring, Nick has been the industry’s ambassador for sustainability and recycling since 2005.

Abacus is also a member of the Resin Flooring Association (FeFRA), of which Nick sits on the board of directors to help maintain industry standards.

He founded Abacus Flooring Solutions with his wife Amanda during lockdown three years ago.

The company now turns over more than £1m per year and manages an ever-expanding order book at its manufacturing headquarters in Coalville.

A vehicle-to-grid (V2G) demonstrator project has launched in Nottingham in a first of its kind for the UK. Installation of solar panels, battery storage and 40 bi-directional electric vehicle charging units in March marked the completion of the CleanMobilEnergy pilot at Nottingham City Council’s Eastcroft Depot.

Funded by the EU-funded programme Interreg North-West Europe, with a contribution from Innovate UK, the V2G pilot will show how technology can be used to improve energy demands caused by changing fleets from traditional internal combustion engines to electric vehicles.

Repurposed EV batteries – which are no longer sufficient for car journeys but have plenty of life remaining for energy storage – and the 40 V2G vehicles will provide shortterm storage of electricity generated by solar panels at the depot.

Monitored by a purpose-built energy management system, the bi-directional charging units can send power back to the buildings on the depot or to the grid during peak times, balancing the demand of electricity and reducing energy costs.

The council’s director of environment and sustainability Wayne Bexton said: “The installation of the batteries concludes the infrastructure side of a remarkable project that enables energy from solar panels to be stored and sold back into the grid at the most lucrative times of day.

“As a demonstrator microgrid, it means we are less reliant on energy from the national grid to power our electric vehicles, helping us save money, save carbon and work towards carbon-neutrality.”

College wins funding to make it more sustainable SMB College Group has secured £2.7m in funding as a part of the Government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme.

The funding, initiated by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and delivered by Salix Finance, will help the college to make positive environmental changes at its Brooksby Campus, a specialist 850-acre, land-based and sport site.

With a focus on the Brooksby Hall area of the estate, the college will replace an oil-fired district heating system with air-source and water-source

heat pumps, install solar power and upgrade windows.

Dawn Whitemore, principal and CEO of SMB College Group, said: “This investment is highly important to the college group as we continue to work towards becoming more sustainable as an organisation.

“Long-term investment strategies such as this will safeguard the future of our college, ensuring that we can continue developing the skilled workforce our country needs.”

SMB College Group’s Brooksby Campus May 2023 business network

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INTERNATIONAL TRADE UPCOMING INTERNATIONAL TRADE TRAINING COURSES COURSE OF THE MONTH: EXPORT DOCUMENTATION DATE: 16 May TIME: 9-4 COST: £285 + VAT Practical programme equipping delegates with necessary skills and knowledge to prepare and process documents when exporting goods overseas.

It is fully supported with user-friendly and up-to-date notes, including copies of completed documents, to ensure they can operate effectively back in the workplace.

Delegates will study the principles and current industry practices required to ensure they can process documents, thus ensuring they operate both legally and cost-effectively.

They will study all the critical documents and leave with knowledge of how to complete them, what to do with them and why they are preparing them.

Import procedures DATE: 17 May TIME: 9-3.30 COST: £285 + VAT Learn about the import process from initial contact with a potential supplier through to the import customs clearance process to ensure receipt of goods in time and within budget

Letters of credit DATE: 31 May TIME: 9-4.30 COST: £285 + VAT 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

Incoterms 2020 rules DATE: 6 June TIME: 9-12.30 COST: £285 + VAT Get a detailed and focused commercial view of the latest Incoterms 2020 standards used for moving goods

Customs declarations DATE: 7 June 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

Rules of origin DATE: 8 June TIME: 9-12.30 COST: £160 + VAT Learn about the certifications required by customs officials around the world to demonstrate the origin of a product, which determines how tariffs are decided Prices listed are exclusively for East Midlands Chamber members

Book on to courses at bit.ly/EMCinternationaltraining

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Are we finally on the right road with the Windsor Framework?

By David Pearson (pictured), director of partnerships at the Chamber The UK-EU Brexit Trade Co-operation Agreement has certainly caused some changes and challenges, especially when it comes to Northern Ireland, since it was signed on 30 December 2020.

Northern Ireland is, of course, part of the UK but shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland, a member of the EU. This made the issue of the Northern Ireland border extremely complicated during the Brexit negotiations.

To avoid a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, the UK and EU agreed to the Northern Ireland Protocol, which essentially keeps Northern Ireland in the EU's single market for goods and requires some checks on goods coming from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. This means that Northern Ireland is still technically part of the UK, but has different rules when it comes to trade and customs.

However, the implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol has not been without issues. Some businesses have faced difficulties in getting goods into Northern Ireland from Great Britain, and there have been some protests and political tensions as a result.

The UK and EU have been trying to work out some of these issues through various agreements and negotiations, and this has resulted in March 2023 with what is now known as The Windsor Framework.

WHAT’S NEW IN THE WINDSOR FRAMEWORK? The Windsor Framework includes three main measures designed to address some of the concerns and challenges associated with the Protocol, not least the impact it has had on trade

between Northern Ireland (NI) and the rest of the UK. There are three main elements of the new agreement – on the movement of goods from Great Britain (GB) to NI; on NI’s status with respect to VAT and domestic subsidies; and on governance of the protocol going forward.

First change: This involves some amendments to the rules regarding goods moving from GB into NI. In the past, most GB imports into NI were treated as though they were going to be released onto the Republic of Ireland (ROI) market and therefore imported into the EU. This meant customs declarations and certificates, like an export health certificate for animal products, were required. However, this was never fully implemented because grace periods were put in place to ease the transition.

Under the new arrangements, goods that are staying in NI for final sale will be exempt from most checks and requirements.

These goods will go through a “green lane”.

But if the goods are moving onwards to the ROI or the rest of the EU, they will have to go through the usual third-country checks, which is the “red lane”. For businesses to access the “green lane”, they will need to become a customs authorised economic operator (AEO), otherwise known as a “trusted trader”.

Once they have done this, they will provide a simple description of the goods moving to NI, but they will avoid customs declarations and, in most cases, border inspections, which is the real bonus.

For more sensitive goods, such as agrifood, some certification requirements will remain, and

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INTERNATIONAL TRADE

Commodity codes are crucial to customs compliance Rachel Stockton (pictured), managing director and import/export expert at CIE Services, looks at what businesses can do to simplify the process and explains why simple mistakes with commodity codes are costing businesses thousands of pounds each year.

Incorrect commodity codes are one of the biggest issues facing businesses when it comes to customs compliance. Added to custom declaration forms, they identify the products being shipped to calculate the duty needed to be paid – but with thousands of different codes to use, it can be confusing working out which one is right for each item.

Getting the wrong code could be a costly mistake resulting in fines, lengthy delays and even thousands of pounds of products being seized.

WHAT ARE COMMODITY CODES? Every item that is shipped is identified by a commodity code. The code is made up of 10 or more digits for imports, and eight digits for exports.

This code identifies the product being shipped, and for imports the duty and/or excise to be paid along with any certification or licences that may be required. Customs will check shipments and inspect products to make sure paperwork complies with the information on the customs declaration, and prevent items being released if they are not classified correctly.

HOW DO YOU KNOW WHICH CODE TO CHOOSE?

The Parliament Buildings, also known as Stormont, are the seat of the Northern Ireland Assembly in Belfast

physical checks may be necessary at dedicated facilities at NI ports and airports. Medicines will be subject to dual regulation by both UK and EU authorities.

Pets will be able to be moved between GB and NI without needing an additional passport, and personal parcels can be sent without extra paperwork.

Second change: EU VAT requirements for NI have been loosened, bringing NI’s VAT status into greater conformity with the rest of the UK. Third change: This relates to the politically sensitive issue of how the protocol is governed and who enforces the agreed rules.

The European Court of Justice will still have a say in what happens under the protocol but Stormont will now be given the opportunity to vote on EU laws that were previously amended or updated automatically under the protocol, under the so-called “Stormont Brake”.

This concession, which has been passed by the UK Parliament, sets out how and under what circumstances Stormont can have a veto over rules imposed by the EU.

A SIGNIFICANT MILESTONE IN POST-BREXIT RELATIONS Overall, the Windsor Framework represents a significant milestone in the ongoing effort to find a workable solution to the challenges posed by the Northern Ireland Protocol.

While it is not a perfect solution and there are still many challenges ahead, it provides a framework for ongoing dialogue and cooperation between the UK and the EU, and offers hope for a more stable and prosperous future for Northern Ireland.

With thousands of codes to choose from it can be confusing to know which one you should be using.

However, all commodity codes are broken down by five simple characteristics. To work out what code you should be using, ask yourself the following questions: • What is the product?

• What is it used for?

• What is it made from?

• How was it made?

• How is it packaged?

You may only need to answer a few of these questions to identify your goods but by following these rules, it will help to clarify the correct code.

WHY DOES IT MATTER? If you import goods into the country that have been mis-classified and your shipment is inspected, it will be held by customs until it is fully investigated. The items will be checked against the paperwork and can take anywhere from a day to several months to be cleared depending on whether they need more information, paperwork or licences.

If an error has been made, you will be required to pay the correct duty before your items are released and if you have already been warned before, could be fined or even have your goods seized.

Recently, a company came to me after having had £25,000 of goods seized for failing to pay a £500 duty bill. Having been warned on a number of occasions, it incorrectly declared imported brushes for vacuum cleaners as “vacuum cleaner parts” rather than “brushes constituting parts of machines, appliances or vehicle”. If it had just sought advice before the error, then this could have been prevented.

In another case, a supplier was importing plastic rattan effect garden seats with a value of £45,000.

The company had used commodity code 9401530000 (seats of rattan), which held a 4% duty. It should have used 9401800000 (other seats) as they were not actually made of rattan and this had no duty to pay. The error was picked up during a customs health check and it received a £1,800 refund for the overpaid duty.

Understanding how to classify goods is essential when it comes to customs. Not only is it required by law, but it can be a costly error for your business if you get it wrong.

CIE Services offers a customs health check and a goods classifying service to help businesses identify goods appropriately so they don’t fall foul of customs checks.

Our consultancy is Your Export Office The Chamber has a unique consultancy service that covers all aspects of export administration.

Your Export Office is designed to allow businesses to fill any staffing or skills gaps by utilising members of the Chamber team on a retained basis. It can be used to cover staff absences or one-off projects, or to just provide that little bit of support to complete an export document when it is needed.

Documents we can raise for a company include certificates of origin, EUR1, commercial invoices and packing lists.

To speak to the Chamber’s international trade team, call 0333 320 0333 (option 4) or email international@emc-dnl.co.uk

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Creating East Midlands identity is top priority Two major assets of the East Midlands economy were put under the spotlight at the East Midlands Manufacturing and Trade Conference – one firmly established in East Midlands Airport (EMA), the UK’s busiest pure-freight airport, and the other a new addition in the recently-greenlit East Midlands Freeport.

The country’s only inland freeport, located across three tax sites in Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire, offers a package of economic incentives and levers to businesses with the aim of attracting inward investment, driving regeneration and creating innovation hotbeds that will also upskill the region’s labour market.

The freeport’s chair Nora Senior CBE (pictured) spoke about the region’s proposition to external markets – having a “vibrant economy”, a skilled workforce of 3.3 million and an “unparalleled geographical location”.

Meanwhile, EMA managing director Steve Griffiths presented an economic study showing how the average export tonne that passes through the airport’s cargo operation is worth £335,000 – 1.9-times higher than other UK airports, 168-times higher than the average for all British ports and double the £158,000 import value it handles.

Yet the region continues to be bottom of the pile when it comes to public investment, with the £10,528 spent per head in the region during 2021/22 the lowest in the UK and well below the national average of £11,897, according to Treasury figures.

The airport’s head of corporate affairs Ioan Reed-Aspley believes part of the problem is “central Government doesn’t understand the East Midlands”, adding the region has “always had an identity crisis”.

He said the agreed DerbyshireNottinghamshire devolution deal, which will create an East Midlands Mayoral Combined County Authority in spring 2024, offers hope as a figurehead similar to Andy Street in the West Midlands and Andy Burnham in Greater Manchester will provide clear leadership.

“The freeport brings an economic focus to this region that it hasn’t had in the past,” he added. “Once we have this holistic approach, we can start developing the message that will tell our story using the raw ingredients, which together make a fantastic, dynamic economy.”

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Industry reflects on challenges and opportunities The major economic, political and technological challenges experienced by the manufacturing and engineering industries over the past 18 months were at the heart of discussions at the Chamber’s East Midlands Manufacturing and Trade Conference, held in partnership with Geldards LLP and Loughborough University at the latter’s West Park Teaching Hub on 6 April.

Dan Robinson picks out the highlights.

THE BIG PICTURE FOR MANUFACTURERS Manufacturing industry body Make UK frequently surveys its members and its results in 2022 were among the worst on record amid rising costs, tightening cashflow and full capacity – reflecting the Chamber’s own Quarterly Economic Survey.

But optimism returned in its latest Manufacturing Outlook, output and orders travelling in the right direction once more.

“The sombre sentiment has been shaken off and we’re now outpacing expectations that had been deemed optimistic,” said Charlotte Horobin, Midlands and East of England region director at Make UK. Sky-high inflation persists, however, and while margins are improving, there is an expectation the patience many businesses have shown to refrain from passing on price increases is “hitting a glass ceiling”.

“But confidence is rising, which tunes into investment,” added Charlotte.

There were 97,000 live vacancies reported last year, one of the highest numbers on record, but this has fallen to 75,000 in an indication the labour market is finally loosening.

A shortage of technical skills endures, however, and with an ageing workforce – the average employee is 52 years old and up to a fifth of workers will retire in the next decade – huge challenges remain.

The good news in this respect is nine out of 10 manufacturers will maintain or increase their training budget this year, having already invested £2,125 per head on training over the past 12 months.

AI IS HERE AND IT WILL BENEFIT BUSINESSES As an internationally-recognised authority on artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomous systems, Loughborough University’s vicechancellor and president Professor Nick Jennings is well placed to identify opportunities for the technology.

He discussed how AI is already here and routinely used in platforms and decision-making, whether it’s Amazon and Netflix making recommendations to customers, Uber picking which driver will pick up a passenger or a supermarket scheduling deliveries according to product demand.

Professor Nick Jennings addresses delegates at the conference

‘In the future, I very much feel AI systems will work in partnership with humans to solve complex problems’ Exponential increases in the availability of data and compute capacity, along with new algorithms, are driving mass interest in AI, he believes. Prof Jennings batted away suggestions there should be a pause on AI research – as a letter co-signed by Elon Musk and Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak called for in response to concerns over the danger of powerful AI systems – as “preposterous” given the “incredible momentum” already behind it.

He also dismissed talk it will have a negative net impact on jobs – admitting about 10% to 15% of jobs are at risk due to having a high degree of automation, but “the main focus is on augmentation of tasks rather than replacing them”.

When it comes to manufacturing, automation is currently constrained to conducting repetitive tasks and operating within clear boundaries, he explained, but the next generation of corobotics, or cobots, will more flexibly intermingle with human operatives.

“AI is here and will be increasingly important,” Prof Jennings added. “In the future, I very much feel AI systems will work in partnership with humans to solve complex problems.”

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POLITICS

Conference speakers, from left: Professor Shahin Rahimifard, Mark Goldby DL, Professor Niels Lohse, Chris Hobson, Charlotte Horobin, Ioan Reed-Aspley and Jamie Goldberg

Charlotte Horobin, Jamie Goldberg and Ioan Reed-Aspley

THE CHAMBER’S VIEW

By Chris Hobson, director of policy and insight.

challenging times. “One challenge that occurs to me is having enough headspace to consider how we’re going to go about this investment and implement the exciting technological innovations that are out there.”

BARRIERS REMAIN TO AI ADOPTION The main potential for bringing AI and autonomous systems into manufacturing processes lies in maximising productivity, which increased just 0.3% annually in the decade following the 2008/09 financial crisis.

Niels Lohse, professor of manufacturing automation and robotics at Loughborough University, pointed out how the UK lags far behind competitors when it comes to robotics deployment, ranking 24th of 111 countries, according to the World Robotics 2022 report.

He is principal investigator in the Smart Cobotics Centre, a collaboration between six universities including Loughborough that aims to integrate cobots into industrial environments by eliminating social and technical barriers.

Prof Lohse said: “The big thing for me is we could achieve a productivity gain of more than 22% by increasing automation – that’s not via research, it’s just adopting technology that’s already on the shelf.”

Reasons for barriers to adoption were debated at length during a panel discussion.

Cost, a shortage of technical skills and cultural factors were cited by Make UK’s Charlotte Horobin cited, who added: “We have a lot of high-value, low-volume manufacturing in the East Midlands, which perhaps hasn’t traditionally lent itself well to automation, but this is changing.”

Jamie Goldberg, a partner at law firm Geldards, identified time constraints for business owners who are “consumed by survival” during

A DEFINITIVE INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY One bone of contention between delegates and panellists was the flip-flopping of policies that failed to provide businesses with the confidence to make long-term investments.

Charlotte said there had been about a dozen industrial strategies over the past decade, but industry desperately needed a cross-political, long-term view to help them plan for the future – while firms must also play their part by engaging with schools to inspire a new generation of workers.

“We need stability and consistency,” she said.

“Our chief executive has been here for five years, so think about how many prime ministers and chancellors we’ve had during that time.”

Professor Shahin Rahimifard, a specialist in sustainable manufacturing, called for the development of a definitive Industrial Strategy that is backed by comprehensive, targeted investment.

He said: “They are often shiny pamphlets about what we want to do but the investment plan is the most important part of any strategy.”

Mark Goldby DL, who chairs the Chamber-led East Midlands Manufacturing Network, added: “We need to go further by creating a sector-bysector, and region-by-region strategy.

“By having meaty content that’s relevant to each sector and the areas where they are located, the investment zones announced in the Spring Budget will become meaningful as places for investment.”

It’s always important to tap into the knowledge base of our region’s manufacturing leaders, who live and breathe the everyday reality of running a business in an industry that holds the key to unlocking future economic prosperity but is also experiencing a long list of challenges.

This event was a cornerstone of our engagement programme linked to our regional economic blueprint, titled A Centre of Trading Excellence: A Business Manifesto for Growth in the East Midlands and Beyond, which was launched in Westminster last autumn.

The 12-page manifesto is led by “The Big Opportunity” for Government to further develop the region’s key assets – its industrial heritage, leading-edge universities, central location and the country’s largest pure freight airport – to establish a formula for economic growth across UK regions as part of priority national agendas such as levelling up and net zero.

One of the threads that ran through several discussions at the East Midlands Manufacturing and Trade Conference was the importance of having a consistent, shared vision between Government and business.

Policy has changed direction far too often, including numerous industrial strategies in recent times, for companies that require a stable environment to breed the certainty which ultimately leads to longterm investment plans.

When creating this vision, it’s vital that SMEs are at the heart of it in a bottom-up approach, while it must also be underpinned by targeted public investment.

For businesses, the message is they should also be willing to play an active role in these discussions with our policymakers.

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CONFERENCING & EVENTS

Technology and the live events industry

By Paul Fitzgerald (pictured far right), director at Showcraft. he live events industry has long been a staple of entertainment and culture, providing audiences with unforgettable experiences and memories.

From music concerts, to sporting events, to corporate productions and trade shows, live events have always been about people gathering and coming together to share best practices, developments, successes, and in the excitement and energy of the moment.

As technology continues to advance at an unprecedented rate, the industry has undergone a massive transformation across all aspects – from the way audiences interact and participate, to how an event is marketed and tickets sold, to streaming technologies and much more. Recent advances have revolutionised every aspect of the live events industry.

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NEW TECHNOLOGIES ENABLE VIRTUAL AND HYBRID EVENTS The rise of social media and live streaming has enabled events to be more accessible and engaging than ever before. Video shorts are a creative marketing tool for promoting events, showcasing new technologies, as well as providing additional revenue streams.

One of the most significant changes in the industry has been in live streaming, which also led to the development of virtual and hybrid events, where audiences can participate in a live event experience from the comfort of their own homes or offices, anywhere in the world.

Virtual and hybrid events allow organisers to reach a far wider audience and provide a more inclusive experience for those who are unable to attend in person.

This technology has proven to be particularly valuable in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, where many live events were cancelled or postponed.

It is testament to the reliability and success of these technologies that many organisations are still utilising both virtual and hybrid solutions for their events.

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‘One of the most significant changes in the industry has been in live streaming, which also led to the development of virtual and hybrid events’

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TRANSFORMING THE LIVE EXPERIENCE IN PERSON In addition to virtual and hybrid events, technology has also changed the way that audiences experience live events in person. For example, many live events now use LED video walls, LED and wireless lighting, and projection mapping to create immersive environments that transport audiences to another world.

These visual technologies create an entirely new level of engagement for attendees, enhancing their overall experience. Moreover, technology has enabled event organisers to collect and analyse data that can help them improve their events.

By tracking attendance, engagement and other metrics, organisers can identify areas where they need to make adjustments to create a better experience for attendees.

This data can also help organisers to personalise the event experience, tailoring aspects such as the event agenda, workshops, music selection and lighting to meet their specific preferences.

Finally, technology has also improved the safety and security of live events. For example, facial recognition technology can now be used to identify potential security risks and ensure that only authorised personnel are allowed access to sensitive areas.

Other technological advancements such as radiofrequency identification (RFID) wristbands and mobile apps allow organisers to monitor the location and movements of attendees, ensuring their safety and security at all times.

‘By tracking attendance, engagement and other metrics, organisers can identify areas where they need to make adjustments’

MORE CHANGE ON THE HORIZON In summary, technology has transformed the live events industry in ways that were once unimaginable. From the way an event is marketed, to the way events are experienced, technology has revolutionised every aspect of the industry.

As technology continues to advance, we can only expect to see further changes and improvements, creating new and exciting opportunities for event organisers, artists and audiences alike.

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CHAMBER FEATURE NEWS

CONFERENCING & EVENTS

Choosing the perfect venue When looking to book a venue for your next corporate event, it’s important to remember that you aren’t just hiring a building, but also its facilities, staff and the service they provide. Limiting your research to a web-based search is no substitute for a live experience of a venue. But how do you get the most out of an on-site visit? Business Network offers some top tips.

MAKE AN APPOINTMENT

JUST WHAT ARE YOU GETTING FOR YOUR MONEY?

Turning up to one of your shortlisted venues unannounced and expecting a full show around will most likely prove to be a waste of your time, as the specific rooms you are interested in may be in use and therefore unavailable to view.

Though you will still be able to view common areas, such as the reception area, restaurants and bars, will you really be getting a proper feel for the space?

Book an appointment at a time that is convenient for both you and the staff members who will be handling your event. Only then will you be able to appreciate how the venue will look, talk through the different set-up options and spot any potential logistical issues.

Don’t lose sight of the fact that you’re not just hiring a venue; you’re hiring an experience.

Firstly, the size and condition of the main room should be considered. It must comfortably accommodate your group in your preferred layout. If it’s too small, your guests will be cramped, but if it’s too big, they may feel intimidated or lost within the space.

The venue should be able to provide photographs from previous events depicting the space set-up in different layouts, helping you visualise the final look properly.

View the space from all angles, making sure all your guests will get a clear view, making a note of the nearest toilets and emergency exists. If there are any obstructions, how can these be managed?

A good venue should be happy to give you demonstrations of any audio-visual equipment that is included in the price, but make sure you are also shown how to control lighting and temperature, and take note of the speed and reliability of internet connections.

Does the venue offer a decorating service or will you need to hire an outside company? If so, how early will the space be made available to you and how much time is allotted for room clean up? How much more will it cost if you need more time to set up or pack away?

FIRST IMPRESSIONS Everyone understands the importance of a good first impression. Are the spaces clean and nicely lit? Are the furnishings well maintained? Are there any strange odours or disruptive noises?

Note any wear and tear, carpet stains and build-ups of dust or rubbish, and check to see if the venue has any refurbishment or maintenance work planned that could clash with your event. If you need to add guest bedrooms to your package. ask to see all standards of rooms.

THE GUEST EXPERIENCE Imagine that you’re one of your guests arriving at the venue, as this is the best way to anticipate any issues that might occur on the day. Make a note of anything that could be a potential issue or create a bottleneck, such as the size of the car park, the lift capacity, disabled access and how many staff will be available at check in.

How close is the venue to public transport links? How long will it take your guests to get from point A to point B? Are the facilities clearly signposted? How many staff members will be at your guests’ disposal should they need help? Anything you spot as a potential concern could have an impact on the overall guest experience.

Try to meet as many staff on your walkaround as possible, as this will give you a good indication of the standard of service available.

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PROVIDING REFRESHMENTS Organising food and refreshments is one of the most important components of hosting a corporate event.

Whether you’re offering a three-course meal or coffee and snacks during a break, how well a venue can provide for your guests should be a huge influence on your final decision.

The first thing to establish is guest numbers and see how many people the venue can cater for. A good venue will offer multiple menu packages to choose from, discuss potential themes and, of course, your budget.

Make sure you establish options for those with dietary requirements, as you don’t want any such guests to feel like an afterthought – their meals should be just as impressive as those eating off the standard menu.

‘Don’t lose sight of the fact that you’re not just hiring a venue; you’re hiring an experience’

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TRAVEL & TOURISM

Tourism industry finding new ways to attract visitors Tourism is one of the East Midlands’ most important industries, but it has been through significant challenges over the past three years amid Covid-19 lockdowns and subsequent economic pressures.

Jasmine Thompson takes a look at how the region’s ‘crown jewel’, the Peak District, is being promoted to attract domestic and overseas visitors, with an ambition to increase valuable overnight stays. he numbers are stark. Annual inflation is in double digits and at a 40-year high, creating a cost-of-living crisis that has seven in 10 people worried about covering essential bills, according to Nationwide’s latest research.

One might presume this might have an equally severe impact on a tourism industry, which in the Peak District – the jewel in the East Midlands’ visitor economy crown – generated £1.9bn for the local economy and supported 31,000 jobs in 2021.

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Climbers take a break at Castle Naze – one of many outdoor pursuit attractions in the Peak District 48

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Yet there is little suggestion the 35 million people who visit one of the UK’s most cherished national parks each year are looking to turn their backs on day trips, weekend breaks and week-long stays.

The same Nationwide study that illustrates the financial concerns of households also shows a willingness to keep holidays within their budget planning, with non-essential spending rising by 11% year-on-year in January 2023.

Visit Peak District and Derbyshire (VPDD), the body that drives tourism in the area, has also discovered a positive sentiment among businesses. In its quarterly business sentiment survey conducted during the first three months of this year, 63% of respondents stated they were “confident” in the performance of their business moving forward.

“The feedback we’ve had from consumers is that holidays are a non-negotiable when it comes to allocating their discretionary spend, with people looking to cut items, such as buying clothes, over holiday breaks,” says managing director Jo Dilley.

This offers a modicum of hope amid entrenched uncertainty, but Jo says growth levels in the tourism and hospitality sectors are “not quite” at pre-pandemic levels, when they had been growing at 3% each year.

In 2019, GVA grew by 7.8% – one of the largest increases on record – to £2.5bn, but this value dropped by 44% the following year to £1.2bn as the lockdown effect took hold, according to data from Scarborough Tourism Economic Activity Monitor (STEAM).

During the sporadic lifting and resumption of restrictions between summer 2020 and June 2021, businesses managed to claw back some of this value, returning to about 80% of 2019 levels, but capacity was constrained and overheads increased with adaptations to meet social distancing requirements. Operations that particularly benefitted could call on outdoor spaces and self-catering accommodation to “hop on the back of the staycation boom” while international travel wasn’t an option.

“We attracted a lot of domestic visitors who would normally go overseas, and these are actually returning because they experienced a great staycation,” says Jo. “We’ve almost built a new market of domestic visitors off the back of this period.”

Jo Dilley, managing director of Visit Peak District & Derbyshire

TRANSPORT LINKS KEY TO THE FUTURE Developing transport links across Derbyshire is key to attracting visitors, believes Jo. Visit Peak District and Derbyshire is working with Derbyshire County Council on its £47m bus service improvement plan, which aims to make public transport more sustainable, affordable and connected.

“Transport connectivity is going to be crucial for the future,” says Jo. “We want to offer visitors more public transport options, such as smart tickets that link up rail and bus journeys.

“This also benefits inbound visitors who don’t want to hire cars – the US market, for example, doesn’t typically like driving in the UK. “There’s great potential for us to work in partnership with new products that could be coming on board, such as green buses, and how we position this to attract more visitors.”

Some “exciting opportunities” are coming via new attractions, including the

VPDD is keen to push public transport

300-acre leisure and entertainment destination Peak Gateway, in Chesterfield, and the Bike and Boot Hotel opening later this year in Hope Valley, which is aimed at the national park’s primary “outdoor consumer”.

Jo gives a nod to the iconic stately homes in the area – Chatsworth House is a business “constantly reinventing itself” with a calendar of events that welcome more than 600,000 visitors each year, noting the importance of “having such a progressive business within the patch”.

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TRAVEL & TOURISM

The stunning Heights of Abraham in Matlock Bath

Chatsworth House is one of the Peak District’s most popular tourist attractions (Credit: Chatsworth House Trust)

There was a balance to strike, however, between attracting visitors and capacity management of “hotspots” like Ladybower Reservoir in Bamford and the Chatsworth Estate during times of social distancing. Communications activities were carefully pitched to reinforce sustainable tourism practices and discourage negative behaviour Coming out of lockdown, businesses have faced new challenges and opportunities that make it difficult to pin down long-term trends underpinning the sector’s performance.

Jo describes being “squeezed at both ends” – rising supply chain and energy costs are affecting businesses’ at input, while inflationary pressures hit the consumer in the pocket.

She adds: “Businesses are caught in the middle of a dilemma around prices – they’d like to put their prices up to manage those narrowing margins, but can they increase them when customers are searching for value for money?”

PROMOTING THE PEAK District as a “hidden gem” within the international market has the potential, Jo believes, to increase visitor numbers by up to 10% over the next three years.

At the same time, the VPDD team aims to tap into the domestic market – which accounts for 78% of total tourism spend and represents a strong growth area – by building the area’s reputation as a “365-day tourism destination”.

“I believe we can add real growth by helping to extend the season,” says Jo. “We’re always very busy across the summer holiday period, so by focusing our energy on driving visitors within the quieter months, we can create more sustainable opportunities for businesses. This creates better non-seasonal jobs for people too.”

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SUCCESS TRANSLATES TO OTHER AREAS It’s not just hospitality and visitor attractions that benefit from a thriving tourism economy for the Peak District.

Peak Translations, a translating services business in Whaley Bridge, worked with Treak Cliff Cavern – home to the famous Blue John stone, a semi-precious mineral – to translate an existing audio tour and record it in Polish, French, German, Spanish and Chinese languages. It means the tourist attraction has been able to increase its appeal to foreign visitors and boost revenue streams.

Helen Provart (pictured), managing director of Peak Translations, says: “It’s had a great impact and we now need to do more in marketing the fact this accessibility is available at our destinations to people coming to the Peak District from surrounding cities. We also work with food and drink producers in the Peak District that export. The labelling is important because as those products grow in popularity, we will see more people wanting to visit the place where they came from, which brings in more tourists.”

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PUTTING CHESTERFIELD ON TOURIST MAP Chesterfield has a bold ambition to increase the value of its visitor economy by 20% by 2030, bringing an additional £32m into the town annually.

The town wants to build on its heritage, retail and leisure offering as well as its proximity to the Peak District – its border is just five miles from the town centre – to increase the number of overnight stays.

As part of a drive to attract people to visit and stay in the town, its inward investment marketing campaign Destination Chesterfield has appealed to businesses and residents to “talk up the town” within their networks and help attract visitors.

Peter Swallow, chair of Destination Chesterfield, says: “There is an opportunity for us to attract more people to visit and stay overnight in Chesterfield using the town as a base rather than just passing through on their way to the Peak District.”

The tourism economy has already helped Chesterfield to attract major investment via the £300m Peak Gateway development, the first phase of which is expected to be completed in 2025.

The town is home to the four-star Casa Hotel, as well as a Premier Inn that opened in 2019, and a further 120-bed hotel is planned within the £320m Chesterfield Waterside scheme located near the railway station.

Mark Thurman, managing director of operator Casa Hotels, adds: “We don’t need to reinvent the wheel. We have wonderful accommodation, great restaurants and fantastic transport links to bring people to Chesterfield to then go and explore the surrounding area.”

FOCUS FEATURE

but she also wants to see them staying in the area for longer periods.

The promotional work behind this involves signposting to key experiences, attractions and businesses via itineraries to encourage people to stay longer.

Her team also searches for new avenues to attract new footfall by pushing a destination towards different markets, such as people interested in sustainability or the millennial generation, by using bloggers, influencers and extended seasonal offers.

‘We want more people staying overnight and out of season, while diversifying our audience to bring new people here’ “It is the most accessible national park in England,” adds Jo. “If you think about the urban connections surrounding us, we've got about 20 million people within a 60-minute drive time.

“Visitors who only come for the day might only spend money on a coffee and a cake, or a sandwich, and then go home.

“While we want those day visitors, and they support the high streets in particular, they are not bringing in the same level of economic value as overnight stays. So we want more people staying overnight and out of season, while diversifying our audience to bring new people here.”

Alongside marketing activity and research-driven industry insights, VPDD – which recently rebranded from Marketing Peak District and Derbyshire, and reports to the Chamber as the accountable body – connects businesses with support and funding.

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TRAVEL & TOURISM

Driving tourism to East Midlands cities Derby, Leicester and Nottingham all have unique attractions that form part of their individual tourism proposition to visitors, as Dan Robinson explores.

DERBY A proud industrial heritage, calendar of cultural events and location at the gateway to the Peak District give Derby a unique proposition for attracting tourists.

Brad Worley, manager of the Cathedral Quarter and St Peters Quarter Derby Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), has a front-row seat to the city’s visitor economy, which he says has almost returned to pre-Covid levels in terms of footfall, public transport use and spending.

Key events like A Jurassic Day Out in Cathedral Quarter attracted more than 5,000 people on a single day in the summer, while a city centre ice rink as part of the Festive Derby initiative welcomed almost 13,000 people during December.

Art installations like Gaia, which details NASA imagery of the Earth’s surface, and Peace Doves have brought people to the cathedral itself, while other landmark events have included Derby Caribbean Festival and Celebrate Sadler Gate, both in July.

“We’ve been on an upward trajectory since coming out of the pandemic and many businesses have told us these events resulted in some of their busiest days of the year,” says Brad, who is employed by Partnerships for Better Business, which specialises in the development and delivery of BIDs across the country.

“Derby has bags of community spirit with being a small, interconnected city centre, so we have embraced these community-based events that bring businesses and residents together.”

He acknowledges how, as a relatively small city, it must develop a clear offer to tourists as well as focus on persuading its own residents – who have high purchasing power with 10% higher salaries than the UK average – to visit their city centre more often.

Part of this is about promoting its position at the “gateway to the Peak District” and provide overnight stays to tourists spending weekends at Kinder Scout, Chatsworth et al to the north, but also “marketing Derby to Derby”, as Brad frames it.

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Derby’s Jurassic Day Out in Cathedral Quarter

He says: “We want to tap into those people who sit on the edges of the M1 and might visit other places nearby to tell them we have a wonderful offer here.”

The Museum of Making, billed as a world-class visitor attraction situated at the site of the first ever modern factory, is playing an important role in telling Derby’s industrial story since opening in May 2021, and there is a lot of excitement surrounding the 3,500-capacity entertainment venue due to open in early 2025 as part of the £200m Becketwell regeneration scheme.

Brad adds: “Derby is steeped in history so having the Museum of Making, as well as Pickford’s House, is a great asset to explore some of this but we perhaps need to shout a little louder to the people around us, not just those further afield.

“As a BID, we’re also trying to push this with a heritage trail that takes people to sites they might not usually visit and includes business promotions.

“The Becketwell Arena has huge potential.

Since the Assembly Rooms closed nine years ago, it’s left a huge gap for some of the bigname performers, so this will be crucial in bringing those back along with a new demographic of visitors who can see Derby in a new light.”

LEICESTER With more than 2,000 years of history and as the birthplace of popular tourism, Leicester and the wider Leicestershire county is on a renewed quest to attract visitors. Mike Denby, director of inward investment and place marketing at Leicester City Council, gives an insight its Visit Leicester strategy.

From large visitor attractions like the National Space Centre and Twycross Zoo through to independent tea rooms and B&Bs, Leicester and Leicestershire’s tourism sector sustains more than 20,000 jobs, welcomes more than 30 million visitors and has an economic impact of over £2bn per year.

Visit Leicester is right at the heart of this tourism picture, and our aim is to support local businesses to boost the value of the visitor economy and help the region rebuild from the impact of the pandemic and prolonged lockdowns.

Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire

St Martin’s Square in Leicester

When Visit Leicester was established, one of the big challenges we faced was low awareness of our tourism offer.

The team works to create national campaigns highlighting what is special about the area. In 2021, we launched the first major tourism campaign, Uncover the Story, which drew on our 2,000 years of history and Leicestershire’s ability to tell some of the UK’s most important stories – from the ending of the Middle Ages in a field in Bosworth to Leicester’s role in the conquest of space.

Other campaigns to package our tourism offer include Fitcation, which encourages active adventures and short breaks in our glorious countryside and on our waterways, and our latest campaign Taste the Place, which celebrates our remarkable food and drink heritage along with independent producers, hospitality venues and retailers.

Combine this with the most comprehensive events listing for the county, and the ability to search and book accommodation on a website with more than a million views per year, Visit Leicester is the first port of call for anyone considering coming to our region.

We are also working to bring national and international tourists to Leicestershire as solo visitors or as part of group travel opportunities – again, raising the profile of the region is key in doing this. We work across the city and county to partner with local attractions and tourism businesses, such as the Canal & River Trust and National Forest Company.

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TRAVEL & TOURISM

Nottingham Castle has undergone a major refit and is due to reopen next month

We are working with both local and national government to take advantage of new opportunities and funding. All these partnerships are vital to successfully promote our region as a destination of choice to visit, live, invest and study. We are also working with local business organisations, including East Midlands Chamber, Federation of Small Businesses, Leicester BID, local universities, and Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership.

We recently set up the Leicester and Leicestershire Strategic Place Marketing Group to develop new ideas and support the delivery of consistent messaging about the region that all organisations can share with their wide-ranging audiences. If we all beat the same drum, the noise is louder and heard by many more people.

NOTTINGHAM From “Batman’s home” to the Prince of Thieves, there is plenty in Nottingham to catch the eye of tourists – but the city is failing to capitalise on its vast potential.

This is the view of Becky Valentine, coowner of Spenbeck, the family-run property developer and consultancy support company that knows a thing or two about realising potential having played a central role in transforming The Lace Market area from post-industrial dereliction into a thriving cultural hub.

Spenbeck directors Victoria Green (left) and Becky Valentine

Despite boasting one of Britain’s strongest international icons in Robin Hood, she believes the city has consistently failed to turn it into a strong identity that can draw in visitors akin to the Manchester bee or The Beatles in Liverpool.

“I don’t think Nottingham knows its own identity,” she says. “I’m born and bred here, but don’t feel a collective sense of what we stand for as a city in a way

that somewhere like Manchester or Liverpool does. There’s a lot of proud heritage and contemporary assets, but they are all in disparate groups rather than packaged in a single cohesive offer.

“It’s also obvious we don’t do nearly enough with Robin Hood, an icon that so many other cities would absolutely love to have, or the caves, which are of huge interest in Europe.”

Tourism is all about storytelling and Becky believes a new tale could be emerging in the “city of rebels” moniker that is gradually being adopted locally.

This burgeoning reputation stretches back to the English Civil War when Nottingham Castle was commandeered by the Roundheads who opposed King Charles I. It recognises the Luddite proworker movement, outspoken Nottingham Forest manager Brian Clough, writers DH Lawrence, Lord Byron and Alan Sillitoe, and of course Robin Hood.

“I really like that we’re a city of firsts like tarmac, traffic lights, the MRI scanner and Salvation Army,” says Becky.

“We’re disruptors, entrepreneurs who pushed against the system, rebels. There’s a real opportunity under that banner to bring together our heritage and contemporary assets, with Robin Hood front and centre of it, and create something positive and energising.”

Key contemporary assets that Becky would like to see receive greater attention include Rock City, which is internationallyknown as a great live music venue; the Theatre Royal, where West End shows have been tested before launch; Wollaton Hall, the setting of Batman’s home in The Dark Knight Rises; the city’s sporting institutions; and the critically-acclaimed Sky Mirror sculpture that is tucked away outside Nottingham Playhouse, itself a hotbed of creative and sought-after excellence.

But one she is less enthusiastic about is Nottingham Castle, which is due to reopen in some form next month after closing in November, less than two years after a £30m refit that failed to bring sufficient visitors. Becky, who believes her company’s experience in regenerating the Lace Market shows the benefits of bold and flexible thinking, adds: “We’ve maybe fell into the trap of building something that’s just about okay for now.

“But we need to be ambitious and think about what’s going to consistently draw people from different generations and demographics to come back.”

FOCUS FEATURE

Digital skills are a key focus area, with small businesses taking up support to add online booking forms to their websites and improve search engine optimisation.

A hospitality charter established in 2021 aims to raise the profile of the hospitality industry – which is tackling acute labour shortages resulting from the pandemic, Brexit and rising economic inactivity – as a place to work by changing perceptions of the sector.

The organisation also hosts events for its members at popular attractions, headlined by an annual tourism conference, to build awareness of key activities, best practice and provide thought leadership.

One of the key policy topics is the devolution agenda in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, which will establish an East Midlands Mayoral Combined County Authority in 2024 to bring new funding and localised decision-making powers.

Jo wants to ensure tourism has a seat at the table, adding: “Our industry can keep places vibrant. If you live in a great place and you attract a lot of visitors, the quality of where you live instantly rises because the quality of the offer to the visitor.

“It’s our job over the next 12 months, and beyond once the mayor is elected, to make sure the visitor economy is recognised in the list of sectors that can help Derbyshire grow.”

‘People don’t see the boundaries between the Derbyshire Dales and High Peak’ THE PEAK DISTRICT National Park stretches across 550 square miles, featuring many dozens of towns and villages while bringing three regions into its orbit.

It is home to numerous local authorities, businesses and other organisations with their own agendas, but Visit Peak is keen for these to work together as a single destination to drive visitors.

“People don’t see the boundaries between the Derbyshire Dales and High Peak, for example, they just think they are in the Peak District,” says Jo. “If we stick to one destination and build those itineraries in the mind of visitors, where they can see everything they want to do, we are adding much more value to them.

“Everybody benefits if we work together – we are a sector that, as a whole, is greater than the sum of our parts.”

A collaborative approach involves businesses crosspromoting each other and using local supply chains. Not only does this keep the tourism industry’s economic value within the area, but it’s also part of the visitor offer.

“That’s exactly what customers are looking for when they are on a break – a chance to experience the local food offerings and local attractions,” says Jo. “We've got to pull everything together to give us the opportunity to create an offering that is flexible within multiple markets and demographics to compete with the industry giants like the Lake District and Cornwall.”

Cromford Mills

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Employee Benefit programmes are often designed and delivered based on hierarchy, where senior employees receive the best of everything, and benefit generosity tends to reduce towards the bottom of the hierarchy.

If employers want their benefit programmes to truly engage and reward their employees throughout their working lives, then those programmes must be flexible, dynamic, and responsive to changing needs.

This approach no longer works in attracting and rewarding today’s diverse, multi-generational workforce facing varied and significant financial and wellbeing challenges. People’s lives change, their personal circumstances change, and their priorities change.

This defines Broadstone’s approach to employee benefits design. A powerful combination of our market knowledge, independent consultancy and flexible digital platform brings contemporary, responsive, and engaging employee benefit programmes to life, making us the ideal partner for your business.

business network May 2023

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GROWING YOUR BUSINESS

FEATURE

Protecting your most valuable asset – your people

By Brett Hill, head of health and protection at Broadstone.

n the face of a worsening public health crisis, private medical insurance (PMI) schemes are an increasingly essential part of an employer’s people asset risk management strategy that helps keep their most valuable asset – their workforce – present, healthy and productive in the workplace.

Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows the number of working-age adults now economically inactive due to long term sickness has increased by 25% since 2019 and is fast approaching 2.5 million.

Government figures lay bare the impact of sickness absence on UK businesses. Even before the pandemic, Government data showed over 131 million working days were being lost each year to illness, with 42.5 million of these resulting from musculoskeletal and mental health conditions. With NHS waiting lists having increased by 63% since then, those numbers will only be increasing.

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Figures from the British Medical Association (BMA) show that during the same period, the NHS waiting list in England grew by 63%, and now stands at 7.2 million, the highest figure since records began.

PRODUCTIVITY COST OF POOR ACCESS TO HEALTH TREATMENT Perhaps more worrying for employers, research by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) shows the health of those actively in work is also deteriorating, with 30% of working adults carrying at least one medical condition (up by 13% since 2019), and over 10% of working adults are carrying two or more medical conditions (up 20% since 2019).

Sadly, there is no reason to believe the situation will improve anytime soon. With staff shortages across the NHS, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (ISFS)

‘Private medical insurance schemes are an increasingly essential part of an employer’s people asset risk management strategy’

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GROWING YOUR BUSINESS

forecasts that NHS waiting lists are likely to continue at or above their current levels until for at least the next two years.

In the face of such alarming data, employers could be forgiven for feeling powerless to manage the inevitable impact on their business, but recent research by Frontier Economics, commissioned by AXA Health, showed that for AXA Health customers, the fast access to medical treatment provided by PMI clawed back lost productivity by more than £32m compared to the productivity cost of current NHS waiting times.

BUSINESS CASE FOR INVESTING IN PMI FOR EMPLOYEES Fast access to treatment can also significantly improve patient outcomes, especially for conditions such as cancer, where NHS performance against target treatment times has been steadily declining since 2018 – with the latest data showing fewer than 55% of patients are being treated within the target timescale.

Failure to quickly treat conditions such as cancer and cardiovascular disease generally results in more complex treatment being required. This not only impacts patient outcomes, but can result in the prolonged absence of employees, and increasing claims costs and associated premium costs on group income protection schemes or, in the worst cases, group life insurance.

In an increasingly tight labour market, where employers are finding it ever more difficult to recruit the skills and experience needed to grow their businesses, the need to protect the health of their existing employees is greater than ever.

As the UK navigates a period of unprecedented and sustained pressure on its public health service, the business case for investing in company-paid PMI has never been clearer. * All figures accurate at time of publication.

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Brett Hill

‘The business case for investing in company-paid PMI has never been clearer’

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GROWING YOUR BUSINESS

FEATURE

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

DMU wins ‘Good’ Ofsted apprenticeship rating ational inspectors at Ofsted have rated the apprenticeship provision at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) as Good, praising its “valuable” support for learners.

In the first inspection by an Ofsted team of the university’s courses, the Ofsted visited DMU’s Leicester campus and met with students and staff on a number of courses.

They looked at the quality of teaching, support for students with different needs, the relationship DMU has with employers and the safeguarding practices in place on campus to protect learners, saying “Apprentices appreciate the safe, respectful and inclusive environment at DMU” Professor Katie Normington, Vice-Chancellor of DMU, said: “We are all very proud of this result.

“Degree apprenticeships and foundation courses are a big part of our strategic aim to build strong partnerships with purpose around the local region.

"With our degree apprenticeships, we are working all the time with more employers and businesses to craft courses which give students the skills they need to develop their careers, so it is very gratifying to hear this work cited by Ofsted in this way.”

The courses provide businesses with the opportunity to train staff who work full-time in their organisation, while studying for a university qualification that is relevant to their job. Course

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Professor Katie Normington Vice-Chancellor of DMU

time comprises of 80% on-the-job training and 20% off-the-job training.

Ofsted inspectors praised the way DMU’s degree apprenticeships were developed in conjunction with local employers to make sure students were getting the skills needed in industry.

They said: “Leaders and managers work well with local employers to plan course topics so that they equip learners and apprentices with the skills and knowledge they need.”

Inspectors also looked at the quality of student support offered on the apprenticeship courses, such as wellbeing and employability information.

Interested in finding out more about DMU’s courses?

Contact DMU’s business development team to see how we can help.

Email: apprenticeships@dmu.ac.uk

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Emma Whatson (left) and Naomi Skykes

Helping businesses to grow and carers to thrive

By Emma Whatson, new business and partnership development manager, and Naomi Skykes, QSCS development worker at the Carers Federation.

More than three million people in the UK juggle caring roles with their jobs, which amounts to one in nine workers.

Two million of these carers work full time, while an additional one million work part time.

The statistic that really matters is about 1.6 million of these carers find it difficult to combine paid employment with their caring role.

This could be due to reasons like time taken to give routine physical care to the cared-for, the stress of worrying about the cared-for’s safety and wellbeing while at work, attending medical appointments that may fall during working hours, crisis management, or the need to make phone calls to check on their loved one's wellbeing.

Whatever the reason, a carer-worker’s life will inevitably be more difficult given they’re effectively holding down two jobs. Often, two full-time jobs.

So how can an employer – with all the demands of running a successful business – support these carers in order for them to further contribute to the company? With help, that’s how.

FINDING THE ‘HIDDEN’ CARERS Almost a quarter of carers have given up work to provide care for an ill, disabled, or older relative or friend, while another 30% of carers reduced their working hours to accommodate their caring role.

Additionally, 36% of carers turned down job offers or promotions due to their caring responsibilities. These statistics all point to a negative impact on staff retention, business continuity, staff morale and the loss of organisational knowledge.

To make things worse, many carers are “hidden” – not identified at work or within the healthcare system, and sometimes not even recognising themselves as carers.

While legislation has been passed – The Work and Families Act 2006 gave carers the right to request flexible working, and it is now a statutory responsibility for employers to consider flexible working requests from employees who are carers – it's still imperative for employers to identify and support working carers, and the 58

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identification of carers is a problem legislation has not solved.

ASSISTING BUSINESSES TO SUPPORT CARERS The Quality Standard in Carer Support (QSCS) was launched by Carers Federation to help businesses do just this – identify and support carers while developing an organisation-wide approach to ensure systems are in place to do so in the future.

As an accredited QSCS employer, Carers Federation can help you increase your carer awareness, support carers within your workforce, and attract a new pool of potential employees and customers who recognise the benefits of a more inclusive approach.

The Carers Federation has more than three decades of working with carers via a range of free-to-access services in the Nottingham area.

The QSCS is effective in developing a robust framework to allow organisations to put support processes in place that ensures carers do not fall through the gaps. It has been developed so that organisations can identify their current processes and how these can be adapted to meet the needs of carers.

CREATING AN INCLUSIVE WORKPLACE FOR CARERS In addition to addressing legal responsibilities, creating a carer-friendly environment in the workplace is vital for fostering an ethos of diversity and inclusion.

Once established, it can encourage inclusion of other vulnerable groups and further potential for growth.

By supporting carers in the workforce, employers can ensure increased productivity, staff morale and staff retention, while reducing sick leave and growing their business.

It's time for employers to recognise the importance of carers and to create an environment for them to thrive in both their personal and professional lives.

Find out more about the QSCS accreditation by requesting an information pack from QSCS@carersfederation.co.uk

‘Whatever the reason, a carerworker’s life will inevitably be more difficult given they’re effectively holding down two jobs’

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FEATURE

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DIGITAL & TECHNOLOGY

The Chamber’s upcoming digital events programme • 15 May: Website speed quick wins – two-hour webinar • 16 and 17 May: Social media – two-day academy, Leicester • 16 and 17 May: Making the switch to GA4 – two-day academy, Nottingham (Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire businesses) • 18 May: WordPress masterclass – Market Harborough (Leicestershire businesses) • 18 May: Selecting the right social media for your business – two-hour webinar • 18 and 25 May: Mastering ChatGPT and generative AI for marketing – two-day academy, Leicester • 23 and 24 May: How to master digital display and video advertising – two-day academy, Leicester (Leicestershire businesses) • 23 and 24 May: Creating an email marketing strategy – two-day academy, Chesterfield (Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire businesses) • 25 May: How to master digital display and video advertising – Derby (Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire businesses) • 25 May: Making the Switch to GA4 – Market Harborough (Leicestershire businesses) • 30 May: Introduction to marketing AI – two-hour webinar • 30 May: Convert more web visitors into sales – High Peak (Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire businesses) • 31 May: Using video in your content marketing – Buxton (Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire businesses) To book a place, visit www.emc-dnl.co.uk/events and apply the category filter “digital & technology”

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How ChatGPT and AI will impact sales and marketing

By Martin Broadhurst (pictured), director at Broadhurst Digital.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly evolving, with significant advancements in recent years like ChatGPT developed by OpenAI, a cutting-edge AI research organisation.

As businesses look for innovative ways to leverage AI, particularly in sales and marketing, staying informed about the latest developments and potential regulatory impacts on this technology is crucial.

WHAT IS CHATGPT? ChatGPT is a chatbot based on the GPT-4 architecture, a large-scale language model capable of engaging in human-like conversations.

This powerful tool has opened new avenues for businesses to enhance customer experience, streamline sales processes and generate more personalised marketing campaigns.

However, it has also raised concerns about data privacy and security, prompting regulatory authorities to examine the technology closely.

One recent example of AI regulation is the Italian ban on ChatGPT due to concerns about user age verification and the massive collection of personal data for training the chatbot.

As governments and regulatory bodies worldwide begin to consider similar measures, businesses must stay vigilant and adapt their practices to comply with such regulations.

CHATGPT IN SALES AND MARKETING In sales and marketing, AI technology offers immense potential. Sales teams can use it to automate lead qualification, improve response times, and provide personalised product recommendations, leading to increased conversions and revenue.

On the other hand, marketers can leverage AI for targeted advertising, sentiment analysis and content generation, enhancing their ability to reach and engage with customers.

Despite these opportunities, businesses must also consider the ethical implications of AI use.

Ensuring AI tools are used responsibly and transparently will maintain customer trust and avoid potential regulatory backlash.

The growing popularity and success of ChatGPT have caught the attention of industry giants like Google.

Google's CEO Sundar Pichai recently announced plans to integrate conversational AI features into its flagship search engine, allowing users to engage with large language models (LLMs) directly through search queries.

This move not only represents Google's response to OpenAI's ChatGPT but also signals a broader shift in the industry toward embracing AI-powered communication tools.

DON’T FALL BEHIND THE AI CURVE Google's initiative underscores the importance of businesses keeping up with AI advancements and exploring ways to integrate them into their sales and marketing strategies.

Early adoption of these technologies can provide a competitive edge, but monitoring the regulatory landscape and ensuring compliance with new guidelines or restrictions is essential.

AI technologies like ChatGPT offer significant opportunities for businesses to enhance their sales and marketing efforts, while raising concerns about data privacy and ethical use.

Companies must balance leveraging AI's potential and navigating the evolving regulatory environment.

As industry leaders like Google respond to the rise of AI-powered tools, businesses should stay informed about the latest developments and be prepared to adapt their strategies accordingly.

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LEGAL

Will I have to sell my business as a result of my divorce?

In April last year, “no fault” divorce legislation came into force, simplifying the divorce process and leading to a record number of new divorce applications. With the prospect of a divorce particularly daunting for business owners, Dominic Lee (pictured), partner at John Hooper & Co Solicitors, explains the approach the family court takes when it deals with businesses.

The first thing to say is it is unusual for a business-owning spouse to be forced to sell his or her business on divorce.

While the family court has the power to sell the shares in a limited company, in most cases there are other alternatives that usually mean a sale can be avoided.

If you have an interest in a business, it will be taken into account on divorce. This is because the business is a “financial resource” – assuming it is viable – available to you.

Separated spouses owe a duty of financial disclosure to each other. As such, you will be expected to disclose your business interests.

If there is uncertainty about the value of your business interests, the company accountant or an independent forensic accountant will need to assist in fixing a value to the business.

neither spouse will want the business to be sold and it could be agreed that one spouse should keep running the business alone.

In those circumstances, the spouse exiting the business will be entitled to their share of the business. The only question is, how does that spouse get their share of the capital in the company?

In such cases, there is sometimes sufficient liquidity within the business for a “company purchase of own shares” or for the shares simply to be transferred from one spouse to the other.

Removing capital from the business or transferring shares can have significant tax implications. Again, the assistance of an accountant or corporate lawyer might be needed to structure the release of the capital or transfer of shares in the most tax and financially-efficient manner, and to formally record the arrangement within the divorce settlement.

SPOUSES WHO ARE JOINT SHAREHOLDERS IN A BUSINESS

ONE SPOUSE WITH A BUSINESS INTEREST

It may be that you and your spouse are in fact joint shareholders in a limited company. Often,

Even in cases where only one of the spouses has an interest in the business, a sale can usually be

avoided by adopting the following strategies: • The value of the business interest is offset against the other assets of the marriage – for example, the other spouse could receive more from the family home in return for the business-owning spouse keeping their business interest • Periodical payments (spousal maintenance as it is more commonly known) may be paid by the business-owning spouse to the other spouse. This might be appropriate if the shares in the company have provided a source of income for the family and ongoing financial support is still needed. The amount of the spousal maintenance and for how long they continue, will need to be carefully considered and negotiated • It could be agreed the other spouse should have shares in the company (which then enables them to receive dividend payments), but this means financial ties between the spouses remain.

The above options are not an exhaustive list of the ways in which business interests are dealt with on divorce.

A tailored approach will usually be required in each individual case – in such cases, the knowledge and quality of the advising professionals is obviously of uppermost importance.

Commercial law firm offers free workshops Free employment law training workshops and health checks are being offered to East Midlands businesses by a Chesterfield-based niche commercial law firm.

CMP Legal launched the workshop series last month and has so far covered topics such as handling disciplinaries and grievances, managing sickness absence and harassment in the workplace.

The next workshop on redundancies and restructures takes place on Tuesday 16 May. The firm is also offering free employment law health checks to help companies navigate the ever-changing employment law landscape.

This will assess whether all HR documentation – including policies, contracts, staff handbooks

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and privacy notices – are up to date and compliant.

Lauren Pickard, employment director at CMP Legal, said: “In April 2020, new legislative changes to employment contracts were introduced, but we are finding a lot of employers have not updated their employment contracts to comply with these changes due to it being overshadowed by the pandemic.

“Many employers have now introduced remote or hybrid working as a result of the pandemic, but have not updated their employment contracts or policies to reflect this.

“We want to support local businesses to ensure they are compliant with the latest changes in employment law.”

Stacey Pocock and Lauren Pickard

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FINANCE

Christine Newitt

Time to overhaul VAT ‘minefield’

Lifetime allowance charge has gone – but for how long?

One of the big items in Jeremy Hunt’s Spring Budget was the unexpected abolition of the lifetime allowance (LTA) charge. Tom Moore (pictured), CEO of Leicester-based tax adviser WBR Group, explains what this means.

Until the Chancellor’s announcement, the LTA stood at £1,073,100. LTA limits the maximum tax-privileged benefits that can be enjoyed from pensions. It is only relevant when benefits are drawn (or at age 75 if earlier), which is a “benefit crystallisation event”.

These events absorb all or part of the LTA and, once exhausted, the payment of any excess benefits will give rise to a tax charge. The rate was 25% for income benefit payments and 55% for capital payments.

With the LTA charge being abolished, pension savers need no longer worry about the overall value of their pension in this context. The limit of £1,073,100, unless there is protection under a previous regime, will still be used in the calculation of the “pension commencement lump sum”, generally the maximum amount of tax-free cash that can be taken.

POLITICAL LANDSCAPE Immediately, the Labour Party retorted that it intends to reverse the abolition: could this have retrospective effect, and be read as though nothing had ever happened? Given current opinion polls, there might be just a narrow “window of opportunity” for

pension members to benefit.

There are perilous dangers to any government of reliance on retrospective legislation, even if a new administration will want to maximise the tax take from the reversal. In our opinion a backdated change is unlikely, but make no mistake, governments can effect any legal changes they want, subject to the normal processes.

The real danger lies in the credibility of, and faith in, our legal system upon which the nation’s administrative and economic framework depends. Retrospective changes make it impossible to know with certainly what the “current” law is. How can any citizen plan their life in this situation?

REES RULES It has long been accepted the Government may use retrospective tax changes to counter the financial risks from tax avoidance. The “acceptable” approach was codified in 1978 in the so-called “Rees Rules”.

Steps taken in 2004 by the then Labour Government to counteract a number of schemes aimed at avoiding tax on employment income can be read as indicating a strong desire to remain within the boundaries of the Rees Rules.

Further changes introduced in

2008 to avoidance schemes exploiting double taxation treaties were, however, justified by the Government on the basis that it did no more than clarify the law.

There was cross-party political agreement, and within professional circles, that the schemes were unacceptable, and the arrangements should be blocked.

The abolition of the LTA is entirely different. There is no political – or even economic – consensus on whether the limit should be retained, altered or abolished. So long as the law change receives royal assent, the LTA will be abolished from 6 April 2024, whatever the stated plans of the opposition.

To re-impose the LTA with retrospective effect would obliterate the Rees Rules. Anyone finding equivalence between such a change and the anti-avoidance measures referred to above is simply mistaken.

Our strong view is that any reversal of the abolition of the LTA – if it happens – must include some form of “grandfathering” provision to protect those who have legally benefitted from the brief absence of a cap.

As value-added tax (VAT) reaches 50 years in UK law, the head of VAT at an organisation supporting more than 4,500 businesses in the East Midlands is calling for drastic reform of Britain’s most contentious tax.

From April 2022 to February 2023, HMRC collected £150.5bn from VAT alone – but with 428,615 businesses closing in 2022 amid unprecedented operating costs and energy prices, the Government has been urged to create clearer regulation to avoid unexpected charges.

Christine Newitt, head of VAT at Duncan & Toplis, said it had been a “constant minefield” for businesses to navigate ever since its introduction on 1 April 1973 because the system includes “more exceptions than it has rules – often resulting in unexpected interpretations by HMRC”.

“VAT was introduced as a directive from the EU, but after Brexit, we’re no longer bound to follow these rules,” added Christine, who represents businesses on the VAT and duties group of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

“We have a chance to reimagine VAT in a way that could benefit business owners across the country – VAT’s golden anniversary is a golden opportunity for it to be reformed.

“Some countries like Brazil, for example, have adopted a split payment system, where VAT is split out at the point of sale and paid electronically directly to the tax authorities.

“This would be a bold move but would certainly shift the onus from over-burdened business owners, making sure HMRC always receives the tax it is owed and giving businesses the certainty of knowing that, from a VAT perspective at least, they won’t face any sudden surprises.”

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PROPERTY

Marina plans get the green light Plans for a new £6m mixed-use building at the site of the UK’s largest inland marina have been approved – despite complaints that Government policy discourages entrepreneurial investment.

South Derbyshire District Council approved Mercia Marina’s proposed Promenade building, an iconic glass, stone and timber structure housing 14 apartments above seven ground-floor retail units.

The planning application, lodged more than a year ago, succeeded in March due to what the marina’s owner John Thornton (pictured) describes as “foresight” of the local authority, which recognised the scheme’s £11.9m estimated benefit to the local economy over 10 years and the creation of 43 new jobs.

Yet John, former CEO of Derbyshire-based chocolate manufacturer Thorntons, also criticised recent Government policy and attitudes that, he claims, offer few incentives to regional private investment schemes such as the Promenade development.

Construction of the Promenade, which the marina expects to begin in around 12 months, follows the completion of two similar developments on the 77-acre site over the past decade – the Boardwalk and Piazza – which have won national awards for architecture.

‘A heritage asset complementing the Canal Conservation Area’ The Promenade will replace three existing buildings, one of which was originally a timber fishing hut prior to the marina opening 15 years ago and is now a much-loved tea room that will relocate to the new building.

John, founding partner of Mercia Marina, which sits next to the Trent & Mersey Canal at Willington, Derbyshire, said: “We very much hope and believe that the Promenade, which is in keeping with the style of the existing Piazza

and Boardwalk buildings, will, when built, become a heritage asset complementing the Canal Conservation Area.

“It has been a slow and difficult process. But it is thanks to the foresight, support and leadership of South Derbyshire District Council, which realises the region’s economic, employment and cultural welfare depend upon the encouragement of private investment, that the project has been approved.

“When the economy strengthens, inflation recedes and confidence returns, we look forward to bringing the project to fruition.”

John called on national policymakers to recognise the important of encouraging “private initiative and investment” to create jobs and wealth locally.

“The great wealth and social progress created in this country during the 19th century was through private rather than public

investment, and the levelling up that everyone wishes to see throughout the nation will only be realised when the conditions necessary to encourage and foster local private initiative and investment are created,” he added.

Mercia Marina has grown from a former fishing lake in a gravel pit to becoming one of the leading leisure and tourism businesses in the East Midlands, attracting around 800,000 visitors annually.

The marina supports more than 300 jobs directly, and many more indirectly. An economic impact assessment (EIA) submitted with the latest planning application estimates the site contributes £18.8m per year towards the local economy, with the Promenade set to add a further £11.9m over the next 10 years.

The EIA also warns that a lack of investment will result in declining visitor numbers – therefore a loss to the local economy.

Building work starts at Derby housing scheme Building work has begun on 60 flats specifically designed for young people in employment, education and training in Derby.

YMCA Derbyshire is working in partnership with a Nottingham Community Housing Association and Blueskies consortium to develop the site in Cotton Lane.

The project was initiated following an extensive piece of work via the YMCA movement, which looked at the housing market from a young person’s perspective.

The research found that young people entering work or on low wages faced considerable barriers to accessing the housing market.

Affordable and social housing is in short supply and the private sector requires references, deposits and rent in advance makes this sort of housing beyond the reach of the young people.

Gillian Sewell, chief executive at YMCA Derbyshire, said: “This project has been four years in the making and we are so pleased that, thanks to support from our partners, Derby City Council and Derby Homes, we’ll be able to provide this offering to young people in Derby.

“It’s so important that we invest in the youth of our city as they become the future leaders of our businesses and our communities.”

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YMCA Derbyshire team on site at the Cotton Lane development in Derby

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SKILLS

Mentoring programme will help to develop your staff Businesses seeking to upskill their staff are being offered support with the launch of a new learning and skills mentor apprenticeship.

Access Training (East Midlands) is one of the first in the region to offer the Level 4 qualification, approved for delivery by the Institute for Apprenticeships & Technical Delivery in March.

Corrina Hembury

‘When staff are trained well, they work efficiently, effectively, and according to the appropriate legal requirements’ The learning and skills mentor role is designed to support individuals and teams with their learning and development, with the objective of achieving agreed goals. It applies to any sector where there is a need for training and development, such as healthcare, manufacturing, construction technology and professional services.

Subjects covered by the apprenticeship include how to establish and manage a mentoring contract, mentoring theory and models, methods of communication and providing feedback, and the impact of an individual’s own values, beliefs and behaviours on mentoring practice.

Access Training managing director Corrina Hembury said: “When staff are trained well, they work efficiently,

effectively, and according to the appropriate legal requirements for the sector or task in question.

“The impact on an organisation’s bottom line is immeasurable. To enable that to happen, the person delivering staff training must understand the best way to structure training and to communicate with different learners who have different learning styles and needs.”

Individuals enrolled on the apprenticeship are required to mentor two mentees for the duration of the apprenticeship, and must be an expert in the subject matter of their mentees. In addition, they will be expected to commit to their own professional development and reflective practice.

NBS launches online course in leadership Online courses to help managers build their professional leadership skills in a flexible and “stackable” way have been launched by Nottingham Business School (NBS).

The qualifications on climate change, leadership resilience and ethical problem solving are taught by sector-leading academics and informed by real-world research.

Available on global platform Future Learn all the courses include a formal online assessment and lead to 10 Level 7 postgraduate credits from Nottingham Trent University. They are designed to upskill professionals without the time and cost commitment of a full degree, and cover issues relevant to all modern workplaces.

Dr Alex Hiller, head of postgraduate and executive education at NBS, said: “These courses are affordable and flexible.

They allow people to develop skills that are sought after by employers in a way that is less intimidating.”

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MOTORING

XCeeding all expectations Kia continues to surprise with the quality and styling of every new model, but here it has really pushed the boat out with its sporty alternative to the traditional compact crossover, as motoring journalist Nick Jones finds out with a drive of the Kia XCeed. ots of cosmetic work has been carried out externally – with new LED headlamps, a revised grille, front bumper and air intake design – while at the back we gain a new diffuser, LED tail-lights and a sloping roof-line giving a coupe-like appearance.

Internally, there are new graphics around the sculptured dashboard, and a 10.5-inch touchscreen sits prominently with touch-sensitive buttons, dials and switches for audio, heating and ventilation.

For a brand such as Kia, one thing that really stands out are the quality of the build and materials, not to mention how the soft-touch materials project a sense of refinement.

So, four models to choose from and across the range lies a 1.5-litre turbo petrol engine – mine here is a plug-in hybrid option, which has an additional 44.5kW electric motor coupled to a 1.6-litre petrol with a

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six-speed dual-clutch auto transmission.

The plug-in hybrid provides bags of grunt, with an all-electric range of around 40 miles and should get you to work and back solely on a single charge, which should take about two hours using a 3.3kW charger.

Despite having a battery pack, the XCeed still has plenty of room internally, providing nearly 300 litres of space – and quadruple that if you fold down the splitfold rear seats.

Drive it enthusiastically and it provides bags of grip and a comfy ride – a nice combination on today’s roads.

While Kia is a Korean brand, the XCeed was designed in Germany and tested extensively on European roads, making it a welcome addition in Britain.

Interestingly, last year Kia sold in excess of 100,000 cars, and almost a third of them were electrified vehicles.

FACTFILE MODEL Kia XCeed 1.6 GDi

PRICE OTR From £33,000

PERFORMANCE Top speed: 100mph 0-60 mph: 10.6 seconds

POWER 140 horsepower

ECONOMY 40 miles all-electric

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INFORMATION

Mastering sales: Unlocking success with sharper skills

By Campbell McLean (pictured), director of Sales Geek (East Midlands).

Businesses today face unprecedented uncertainty and volatility. As a result, building sales resilience has become a key priority for many SMEs. The importance of investing in your employees' skills, mindset and goals can’t be overstated, particularly when it comes to sales training. Not doing so can result in missed opportunities, stagnation and a lack of resilience in your business.

However, the challenge of developing effective sales practices can be daunting, especially for companies that lack the resources and expertise of their larger counterparts.

Many SMEs have undefined sales processes, or have adopted a singular sales approach and stuck to it aggressively despite the evidence that it is increasingly ineffective in the current business climate.

Relying on antiquated or single sales systems is unlikely to deliver long-term success. Instead, businesses need to adopt a more blended approach that incorporates the best aspects of different sales practices relevant to their niche.

This approach will help SMEs break through glass ceilings and achieve sustainable success.

To achieve this, businesses need to invest in

‘Many SMEs have undefined sales processes, or have adopted a singular sales approach and stuck to it aggressively’ their people to develop their skill set, mindset and goal set. Effective sales training is the means to develop the necessary skills and knowledge to navigate today's uncertain business environment – however, the key sits in the word “effective”.

By investing in sales training, SMEs can build resilience into their businesses and position themselves for long-term success.

Studies in 2022 showed companies that invested in sales training were rewarded with a 353% return on investment and continuous training for salespeople resulted in a 50% increase in their sales.

Sales Geek has reimagined the sales training process and it’s been a game-changer for those we have worked with. Our training programmes are designed to be fun, engaging, and impactful, with a focus on helping clients sell more products, more often, and more ethically.

By taking a blended approach to sales methodologies, SMEs can overcome barriers and build a resilient sales team that can adapt to the ever-changing business landscape.

The benefits of a resilient sales team are clear: increased revenue, customer loyalty and a competitive edge in the market.

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COMMENT

THE LAST WORD Chamber president Stuart Dawkins reflects on the question, “what is the East Midlands?”, and why it matters.

This edition of Business Network has a focus on travel and tourism, and through this lens the East Midlands has many treasures.

The industrial revolution began here. Areas of natural beauty and interest abound, including the Dales, Sherwood Forest and my childhood home-from-home, Bradgate Park.

We have re-interred a King and been the site of more than our fair share of decisive battles.

Yes, there is much of beauty and interest in the East Midlands, and that provides the basis of a growing tourism industry that is a thriving part of our economy and infrastructure, despite the absence of the perhaps more usual attractions of seashore or mountain range.

BUT WHAT IS THE EAST MIDLANDS? As someone born and raised in Leicester, who left for about 15 years and then returned, it is a question that has often perplexed me.

Indeed, by a curious quirk, I have been a board member of no fewer than four different organisations with the phrase “East Midlands” in their name, and yet I still find it a tricky one to answer. I used to joke that if you colour in the parts of the UK with a clear and understood regional identity, the part that was left uncoloured is the East Midlands.

That would certainly be one explanation for the definition used for Government statistics and the old regional development agency. Bundling the three counties that make up the Chamber’s territory together with Rutland, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire never, somehow, felt a properly coherent whole.

WHY THIS MATTERS This might all make for a harmless musing, except that increasingly it is a question being raised and discussed by Chamber members.

The main context for this is central Government’s approach to local devolution. To my mind, defining the East Midlands as simply Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, together with their two cities, does not really meet a sensible definition of a region.

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created, called the East Midlands Mayoral County Combined Authority (MCCA), which defines the East Midlands in precisely that way.

The Spring Budget made clear that Government business support and investment will increasingly be channelled through the mayoral authorities, with the role of local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) being absorbed into new structures.

It also announced the creation of a new East Midlands special investment zone, which sounds jolly good except the Budget also states that decisions about that zone will be made by the MCCA – in other words, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire only.

Does this matter? Well, another answer to “what is the East Midlands?” would be “that region of the UK which has consistently received less central Government support per head than any other”. This has been the case for a long time.

One oft-cited possible reason for this is the East Midlands often neither speaks nor acts as a unified entity. I can’t see that further fragmentation of what counts as “the East Midlands” is going to help matters.

THREE COUNTIES WORKING TOGETHER Personally, I like the Chamber’s version of the East Midlands. Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire (with their respective cities) form a decent-sized, coherent economic geography.

Of course, there are many variations of business and community within this definition, but that will be the case for any boundary.

Considering the three counties as an entity is also consistent with the catalyst to growth that can be provided by the East Midlands Airport (that phrase again!) and the East Midlands Freeport (and again!), which has now been created by Parliament.

These sit right in the centre of the three counties, and together provide a fantastic opportunity to coalesce the region around industries and infrastructure that can support future generations of “East Midlanders”.

THE ROLE OF BUSINESSES IN DECISIONMAKING The timing of Brexit has roughly coincided with the major political parties grappling with the question of devolution and local accountability, making this a time of flux.

As it stands, we seem to be moving towards a period of fragmentation, compounded by the risk of a diminished role for business in the structures that are evolving. LEPs have varied in their effectiveness – although my personal view is the ones on our patch generally did a pretty good job.

They did at least include a leading role for local businesses in their set-up. This is now ending, and none of the structures currently being defined include such a clearly defined role for business.

It is all a bit messy. For example, the Chamber has for many years delivered business support projects across the East Midlands.

Significant European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) money was allocated at LEP level.

Since Brexit, the replacement funds are not only smaller, but as things stand, are being distributed on a very micro-basis via the many tiers of local government.

Currently, to talk about funding available via the UK Shared Prosperity Fund – which was set up to help replace ERDF funding – requires the Chamber to talk to 27 different local authorities, hardly a recipe that enables easy strategic regional thinking.

My experience from talking to our members is they increasingly recognise and value the role the Chamber can bring to addressing these matters, and are increasingly asking where a strategic, joined-up role for business is supposed to appear.

Without the wealth created by our businesses, there is less funding all round for all aspects of government. Without the East Midlands getting its fair share of Government support, businesses – particularly small and new businesses – are facing an uphill battle compared with their competitors in other places.

The Chamber recognises this challenge and aims to play a constructive role in taking things forward in a more strategic and suitable way.

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