LAUNCHPAD

When faced with never-ending economic uncertainty there is little option but to keep driving forward through new thinking, optimism and sheer hard work.

The alternative of doing nothing is an alien concept, I would wager, to most of our readers who have weathered the economic shocks of the past and emerged with vigour.

This thinking is also engrained within the team at The Business Magazine and we have continued to innovate and push forward in 2023 with the launch of HampshireBizNews this month.

The site builds on from our acquisition of DorsetBizNews in January whose brand of positive, upbeat and people-focused business journalism has built a loyal audience.

We believe in the model and plan to roll out more BizNews sites later this year.

We have also expanded The Business Magazine website to include the South West and Midlands following our acquisition Business & Innovation Magazine last year.

Our events programme continues to go from strength-to-strength with March seeing the Solent Deals Awards recognise the achievements of the best in the corporate finance business.

This issue of The Business Magazine is, as usual, packed with news, interviews and features.

But first, we pay tribute to King Charles III on his coronation. Our new king was, as

Prince Charles, forthright in his views on many topics, not least of which was giving disadvantaged young people a helping hand.

In 1976, after leaving the Royal Navy, he launched The Princes Trust. In 1983, the Trust set up its enterprise programme which has since helped more than 90,000 young people between 1830 to start their own business.

Our headline feature is Keep the Money Flowing. Where do start-ups, scale-ups and SMEs go to find growth funding?

We’ve interviewed some of the region’s most knowledgeable investors and explain the range of funding options available to ambitious companies.

We meet Sean Taylor, CEO of Redwood Technologies in Bracknell, who has built the business he founded with his brother Martin into a multi-million tech titan.

We also got to talk to Kath Shimmin, Chair of law firm Blake Morgan, who talks on her career, how the law firm is investing in the next generation and why she gave up rugby for sailing.

We also look at the fast-growing wine industry across the South East.

Elsewhere in the magazine we put research and development under the microscope, explain Quantum Computing and reveal 10 of the region’s coolest technology innovations, from sustainable jet engines to a clever smart socket designed to cut down on small power waste.

What all the innovators behind these new technologies did was never give up. Did you know that Sir James Dyson created more than 5,000 prototypes before he succeeded in building his DC01 bagless vacuum cleaner.

As Thomas Edison, the 19th century inventor of the light bulb, was reputed to have said: “I have not failed, I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

Mr Edison also contributed to the invention of the phonograph and the motion picture camera. It’s not too grandiose a statement to say that this man changed the world. But little could he have known the global impact his innovations would have just a few decades after his death in 1931.

We hope you enjoy the read.

Stephen Emerson Managing Editor stephen.emerson@black-ox.com

Farnboroughbased BAE Systems reports record order intake of £37.1bn

Farnborough-based BAE Systems has reported a strong performance in 2022, with an order intake of £37.1 billion, up from £21.5 billion in the previous year.

The defence firm also reported a 4.4 per cent increase in sales, bringing it to £23.3 billion from £21.3 billion.

Highlights for the year included the acquisition of Bohemia Interactive Simulations, progress on BAE’s ESG (environmental, sustainable and governmental) goals including work towards its Net Zero 2030 target and increased self-funded research and development, and capital expenditure.

Its Electronic Systems division opened three new facilities in the United States and was selected to design energy management components for GE Aviation’s megawatt class hybrid electric propulsion system.

BAE also delivered the first eight Eurofighter Typhoons to Qatar, while its first Type 26 frigate entered the water.

Charles Woodburn, Chief Executive, said: “We’ve delivered another year of strong results across the Group. Our employees have done an outstanding job to effectively manage supply chain and inflationary pressures whilst delivering critical capabilities and driving efficiencies for our customers.”

The firm also stated it expects to see sales rise between another three to five per cent for the next financial year.