News in brief
A roundup of business headlines from across the county
Work starts on £2.5m Headquarters
Work has started on a new £2.5m headquarters in Warwick for a construction contractor which has completed projects for the likes of Jaguar Land Rover, Next and Ferrari.
https://www.insidermedia.com/insider/midlands/work-starts-on-2.5m-headquarters
Radiant Worlds relocates as Rebellion Warwick transition completes
The games studio formerly known as Radiant Worlds has moved into a new studio as it fully establishes itself as Rebellion Warwick.
in January of this year, Sniper Elite developer and publisher Rebellion acquired the company and retained all 70 employees, rebranding the studio Rebellion Warwick.
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2018-11-20-radiant-worlds-relocates-as-rebellion-warwick-transition-completes
Rugby company enhances its global presence
A business based near Rugby that makes, supplies and installs surveillance and security equipment – including covert devices – has grown its global market share after receiving a decade’s worth of support.
https://bdaily.co.uk/articles/2018/11/19/rugby-company-enhances-it-global-presence
West Mids creative companies to benefit from £4m scale up package
The government has announced a £4m package to assist scaling up creative businesses in the West Midlands, Greater Manchester and the west of England
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/20-million-to-boost-creative-industries-across-england
Premier Inn owner opens new town centre restaurant
The owner of the Premier Inn hotel chain has opened a new restaurant in Leamington Spa as part of a wider £3.2m transformation project. The opening has created 30 jobs.
https://www.insidermedia.com/insider/midlands/premier-inn-owner-opens-new-town-centre-restaurant
Warwickshire brewery named small business of the year
Purity Brewing Company has been named Business of the Year Less Than 50 Employees at the SME National Business Awards 2018. The awards ceremony, which took place at Wembley Stadium on Friday, December 7, celebrated Britain’s industrious, hardworking and enterprising SMEs.
https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/business/smes/purity-brewery-sme-business-award-15537395
Warwickshire motor manufacturer reaches the semi-final of ‘Best British Tech Startup 2019’
https://www.kpmgenterprise.co.uk/events/midlands/bbts-regional-heats-2019-birmingham/
Green light for new Go Ape site
The go-ahead has been given to open a new Go Ape site in Warwickshire in 2019.
Talks between the company and Coventry City Council over opening a site in Coombe Country Park to the east of the city as early as April 2019 were revealed in July and now the plans were voted through by Rugby Borough Council at a meeting on Wednesday 5 December.
https://www.insidermedia.com/insider/midlands/green-light-for-new-go-ape-site
Aston Martin reveals ‘closely guarded secrets’ of new hypercar
"Closely guarded secrets" of Aston Martin's new Valkyrie hypercar have been revealed.
The Warwickshire-headquartered listed luxury car maker has developed the V12 car in conjunction with longtime technical partner Cosworth, which is headquartered in Northampton, at its Gaydon base.
https://www.insidermedia.com/insider/midlands/aston-martin-reveals-closely-guarded-secrets-of-new-hypercar
Office supplier snapped up by London counterpart
A Warwickshire supplier of office equipment such as printers and photocopiers has been acquired by a London-based counterpart.
Regent Document Solutions, which operates out of Leamington Spa, has been snapped up by Corona Corporate Solutions (CCS) in a deal advised on by EMC Corporate Finance.
https://www.insidermedia.com/insider/midlands/office-supplier-snapped-up-by-london-counterpart
Major government contract awarded to tech consultancy
A Warwickshire-based technology consultancy has secured a six-figure contract with the Department for Education (DfE).
Tisski, which operates out of Kenilworth, has been handed the two-year tech support contract which includes the development of customer relationship management systems for the Education and Skills Funding Agency and the Education Data Division (EDD), Independent Education and Boarding Team (IEBT) and Inter Company Adoption (ICA) business units.
https://www.insidermedia.com/insider/midlands/major-government-contract-awarded-to-tech-consultancy
Construction starts on £10m university project
Construction has started on a £10m Degree Apprenticeship Centre at the University of Warwick.
Kier has been named as the contractor for the centre which will be used by the Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) and is due to be completed in 2019.
https://www.insidermedia.com/insider/midlands/construction-starts-on-10m-university-project
New era for specialist bakery wins deal of the month
A deal for a specialist bakery which started as a corner shop in Warwick in the 1960s and now sells more than six million products a year has won Insider's Deal of the Month for November.
Margaret Hall – which makes a range of tarts, cakes and biscuits under its own brand ‘Margaret’s Country Kitchen’ and as white label – has joined Panicium as part of a buy-and-build strategy to scale-up and acquire like-minded craft bakeries.
https://www.insidermedia.com/insider/midlands/new-era-for-specialist-bakery-wins-deal-of-the-month
HOBIRA MIRA wins six-figure MOD contract
Horiba Mira has won a further 845,000 in funding from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for the third phase of an autonomous vehicle project.
The Nuneaton-headquartered company, which specialises in advanced automotive engineering, research, development and testing, is working on the ATLAS Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) Autonomy research programme.
https://www.insidermedia.com/insider/midlands/horiba-mira-wins-six-figure-mod-funding
Queen’s award-winning jeweller’s turnover passes £40m
Turnover at a Queen's Award-winning jeweller has jumped past the £40m mark during its latest financial year, newly filed accounts have revealed.
George Pragnell, which is headquartered in Stratford-upon-Avon, has posted a turnover of £43.2m for the year to 31 May 2018, up from £36.7m in the prior 12 months.
https://www.insidermedia.com/insider/midlands/queens-award-winning-jewellers-turnover-jumps-past-40m
Coventry & Warwickshire businesses urged to take up free IT support
Firms across Coventry and Warwickshire have been told not to let slow broadband or outdated IT stand in their way of growth and to tap into free advice and support.
The Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce is offering free, impartial advice to businesses across the area to help them find the right IT systems and to improve broadband speeds. There is also funding available, depending on eligibility, to increase broadband speeds.
http://www.bqlive.co.uk/midlands/2018/12/04/news/coventry-and-warwickshire-businesses-urged-to-take-up-free-it-support-34535/