Featured News
Brand new festival ready to light up Coventry and Warwickshire business scene
The Coventry & Warwickshire business scene is about to see a brand new festival storm into its annual business calendar.
From 20th November to 1st December, the first Coventry and Warwickshire Business Festival will bring the region to life with a jam-packed fortnight of diverse and stimulating business events - the majority of which are completely free to attend.
It is set to be the biggest festival of business to ever take place in Coventry & Warwickshire with around 100 events in the programme and an anticipated attendance of over 7,000 people - 15 per cent of whom are expected to travel from outside the region.
Initiated by the Coventry & Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership Growth Hub, the leading business support service in the region, the Business Festival has been established to attract interest and encourage investment in the Coventry & Warwickshire area as well as providing a fresh and exciting way for organisations to develop their business and employees.
Managing director of the Growth Hub, Craig Humphrey said: “The Growth Hub is thrilled to be at the forefront of this completely new initiative that aims to drive economic growth and inward investment to support the local business community and its continued success.
"The Coventry and Warwickshire Business Festival will also provide an excellent platform for businesses to unite and showcase the region’s commerce, innovation and culture, positioning Coventry and Warwickshire as the ‘Knowledge Capital of the UK’.”
The events in the Business Festival programme are all run by business for business. They vary in theme and size, spanning eight key sectors from Automotive and Advanced Manufacturing, Construction, Creative, Digital, Culture and Tourism and Logistics to Games Development and Serious Gaming, Professional and Financial Services, Healthcare and Education.
There is a huge range of events on offer including national food and drink expos; manufacturing shows; debates on Brexit; web, digital and financial services workshops; tourism and heritage seminars; HR workshops and business awards.
Anyone can attend the events in the Festival. Whatever an individual's business needs, there will be something for absolutely everyone!
Tickets must be booked in advance however, via the Coventry & Warwickshire Business Festival website.
The Coventry & Warwickshire Business Festival is supported by a number of organisations which all understand the importance and relevance of the Festival and want to contribute to its success.
In addition to the CWLEP Growth Hub, Business Festival partners are: Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, Coventry University and the University of Warwick.
Sponsors include: Federation of Small Businesses; the futureworks and CityFibre.
It is also supported by: Coventry City of Culture Bid; Coventry City Council; Deeley Construction; North Warwickshire Borough Council; Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council; Rugby Borough Council; Stratford on Avon District Council; Warwickshire County Council and Warwick District Council.
Please visit www.cwbusinessfestival.co.uk for more information and to book tickets.
Warwickshire Food and Drink event will showcase the region's excellence
More than 200 businesses large and small will gather to showcase Warwickshire's wide-ranging excellence in the Food and Drink sector at a major new event in November.
The one-day expo Warwickshire Food & Drink will take place at the Warwickshire Golf & Country Club, Leek Wootton, on Wednesday 22nd November.
It has been organised by Warwickshire County Council, in partnership with Shakespeare’s England, as part of the inaugural two-week Coventry & Warwickshire Business Festival.
The expo will bring together the best of the region’s local producers. With hundreds of delegates, from supermarket chains to independent retailers, in attendance, it will provide the perfect opportunity to connect suppliers with key buyers and decision-makers - and for valuable long-term contacts to be made.
"Warwickshire and the surrounding districts have a fantastically diverse and eclectic range of great suppliers," said Laura Taviner, tourism officer at Warwickshire County Council. "This event will bring them together in a formal and focused way, offering lots of opportunities for engagement."
Warwickshire is long-renowned as a home for food and drink, from cider and coffee, from produce to preserves and much more with many award-winning businesses using locally-sourced produce. And alongside exhibitors at Warwickshire Food and Drink will be experts on all aspects of business in the sector, including food standards, funding opportunities and digital marketing trends.
Experts on hand will include Dr Rosemary Collier (director of Warwick Crop Centre based at the University of Warwick), Russell Allen (managing director of Aubrey Allen butchers) and one of the region's top chefs, Adam Bennett, chef director at the Cross, Kenilworth.
Exhibitors are already booked in from all parts of the region, covering every kind of food and drink.
Among them are Rugby-based Springfield Kitchens, exhibiting their delightful range of chutneys, jams and pickles suitable for coeliacs and vegans; Purity Beers, from Alcester, which has recently introduced its cask ales across five of the Ricoh Arena’s concourse bars, resulting in the venue being awarded Cask Marque status usually reserved for pubs high- quality cask ale; and Henley Chocolates, Warwickshire’s leading provider of hand-crafted artisan chocolate with fresh, local ingredients.
Cllr Izzi Seccombe, Leader of Warwickshire County Council said: “I’m really impressed by the sheer variety of different offerings we have here in Warwickshire. With so much to choose from, this trade show is essential for anyone in the catering industry. I wholeheartedly encourage businesses to make the trip in November and discover for themselves all there is to offer.”
* Registration is free to trade and there is a nominal charge for suppliers who wish to attend, alongside an exhibitor package.
For more information, please visit: www.warwick-food-drink.co.uk or telephone Laura Taviner on 01926 418004.
Adam looking forward to making connections at "fantastic showcase" for Food and Drink sector
Adam Bennett, chef director at the Michelin-starred Cross in Kenilworth, believes the inaugural Warwickshire Food and Drink event will be a 'fantastic showcase' for all that the county's vibrant food and drink sector has to offer.
One of the UK's most highly-renowned chefs, Adam will be among hundreds of visitors at the event at the Warwickshire Golf & Country Club, Leek Wootton, on Wednesday 22 November.
He is looking forward to mixing with the more than 200 exhibitors covering all aspects of Food and Drink in the county - and making new connections to help him further enhance the nationally high reputation established by the Cross since his arrival there in 2013.
"I'm really looking forward to Warwickshire Food and Drink," Adam said. "It will be a fantastic showcase for everything that's going on in the county.
"Making connections is what every business needs to do and this event will offer great opportunities to do that. It will bring people together, enabling producers to get their messages out there and restaurants and retailers to find out what great things might be on their own doorstep.
"It is a brilliant idea. I was recently down in Cornwall on holiday and it was really noticeable how suppliers there put forward their produce. It was very impressive. The Warwickshire Food and Drink event will help us do the same.
"Sourcing produce locally is very important to us at the Cross in Kenilworth. We use local suppliers whenever we can. When I had an allotment it occurred to me, 'why would we bring in produce from afar when it might be right in our own neighbourhood?'
"There may well be suppliers locally that are just not known about - and if you can get great produce locally then that's perfect."
It is also great for a small county like Warwickshire to have Michelin-starred restaurants on the patch - and chefs of the calibre and repute of Coventry-born Adam. He is passionate about delivering the highest standards and also ensuring that the requisite skills are passed on to the next generation so that those standards remain.
"It is very important to us at The Cross to train people well," he said. "We are a small team but always have two or three apprentices on the staff and that has worked really well for us because we have had pretty much the same team together for three for years which is quite rare in this business."
* For more information on Warwickshire Food and Drink, please visit www.warwick-food-drink.co.uk or telephone Laura Taviner on 01926 418004.
Council/University partnership among winners at Tourism and Culture Awards
Coventry and Warwickshire’s diverse cultural and tourism mix has been celebrated at a major awards ceremony – at which everything from Shakespeare through to bubble tea was honoured.
The annual Coventry and Warwickshire Tourism and Culture Awards were held at Coombe Abbey Hotel and saw 14 main awards handed out to businesses and organisations across the region.
Warwickshire entrants, as always, enjoyed more than their share of accolades and among the county's success was the Tourism Event Award which was won by Warwickshire County Council and the University of Warwick in partnership for their work on the OVO Energy Women’s Cycle Tour.
A clutch of special awards also went to organisations and individuals which have made a key contribution to the region. Special awards went to butchery group Aubrey Allen, The Episode Hotel, Ricoh Arena and to Lee House, described as a ‘legend’ for her work as director of the hugely successful Godiva Festival.
The event was organised by Touch FM and Rugby FM and supported by Coventry City of Culture Trust (the organisation behind Coventry’s bid to be UK City of Culture), Coventry City Council, Warwickshire County Council, Shakespeare’s England and the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce.
Shakespeare’s England landed the Business Tourism Award while Avonlea, in Stratford, won the best Small Hotel/B&B/Inn award. Best Hotel went to Mallory Court Country House Hotel & Spa while The Boat Inn, Birdingbury, took home the award for Best Pub.
Oscar’s French Bistro (part of the Aubrey Allen Group) based in Leamington Spa, found the recipe for success to win Best Restaurant.
Theatre Absolute, situated in Coventry, won the award for Best Venue for Live Music/Arts/Theatre and Motionhouse, in Leamington, picked up The Culture Award.
In2Cultures, in Stratford, landed the Cultural Education Award, while Twisted Barrel Ale, based at FarGo Village, was raising a glass after winning the Artisan Award.
Rugby Art Gallery & Museum won the Kids & Families Award, Shakespeare’s Schoolroom and Guildhall lifted the Visitor Attraction Award and Bubble Boba, also based at FarGo, won the Customer Care/Team Award.
The Royal Shakespeare Company's "The Play’s The Thing" overcame stiff competition to win the History & Heritage Award.
Kya Wakelin, of Conference Coventry and Warwickshire, won a rising star award, while 12-year-old Darcey Harrison was also highly commended for his commitment to volunteering and Coventry’s medieval history.
Jo Billings, Regional Events Director of Quidem Media, the company behind Touch FM and Rugby FM, said: “It was a wonderful celebration of Coventry and Warwickshire’s outstanding mix of cultural and tourism businesses, organisations and individuals.
“Every winner, every finalist and everyone who entered, attended or sponsored the event can be extremely proud of the part they play in what this region has to offer.
“And I would urge the people of this region to look at the award-winners, look at the list of finalists and go out and give them a try – there is so much to do in Coventry and Warwickshire and, very often, it’s not always appreciated.
“These awards were designed to make sure they are appreciated and celebrated and this was a fantastic way of showcasing our great region.”
Exports are key to region's economic health
Coventry and Warwickshire is responsible for the highest value of exports in the country, outside London, business leaders have been told.
The Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce held its latest Business Outlook event with Warwickshire County Council to assess how the region is faring and the prospects for growth over the next quarter and into 2018.
The event, held at Kenilworth’s Holiday Inn, was one of the largest economic briefings in the region, attracting more than 100 people from business based across Coventry and Warwickshire.
The Chamber, alongside WCC, presented analysis on the Quarterly Economic Survey (QES) for Quarter 2 of 2017 and also heard from David Bharier, business insight manager from the British Chambers of Commerce.
Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce’s QES is now contributed to by more than 500 business people – making it one of the most comprehensive reports of its kind across the country.
Dave Ayton-Hill, Economy & Skills Manager at WCC, said the data is drawn from a good split of manufacturing and service sector organisations.
“This quarter we have seen a record number of respondents to the QES," Mr Ayton-Hill said. "It is firmly established as one of the leading surveys feeding into the national British Chambers of Commerce QES which influences key decision-making at the highest level.
“The Coventry & Warwickshire economy remains strong and buoyant, and high levels of business confidence bodes well for the future months. Business confidence in the region is extremely high, with 73 per cent of manufacturers and 63 per cent of service sector respondents believing their turnover will increase in the next three months.
“Key to our economic performance is our strength in exporting. Coventry and Warwickshire has the largest value of goods exported overseas – £17.8bn last year – of all Local Enterprise Partnership areas in the country, aside from London, with two-thirds of this to non-EU countries.
“The area is performing well in comparison to other areas of the country against a backdrop of continued uncertainty, which is extremely positive to report for the region.”
Louise Bennett, chief executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “With more than 500 responses to this QES, it is a very accurate barometer of our regional economy.
“We are delighted our Business Outlook events are also growing tremendously, and our latest event was one of the largest economic outlook events held in the area.
“The feeling within the room was that while we are still very much operating in uncertain times, particularly in regards to Brexit, the majority of businesses in the region are taking a business as usual approach, and this is reflected in the results of the QES.”
The full results can be downloaded here: https://www.cw-chamber.co.uk/media/3233/qes-q2-2017-survey-results.pdf
Current trends revealed in our Quarterly Labour Market Bulletin
Quarterly Labour Market Bulletin: Third Edition
In the current climate the economic principles 'full employment' and 'labour market slackness' are much-discussed - yet frequently misunderstood.
So in the third edition of our Quarterly Labour Market Bulletin series we decided to explain these in detail and, within the Jargon Buster section, use definitions, examples and graphs to help explain the concepts.
The Jargon Buster will become a regular feature of the bulletin as part of our commitment to help businesses, stakeholders and other interested readers to use the report as a platform for independent research.
Labour supply continues to struggle to meet job market demand
Each quarter, counter-balancing labour market forces eventually transpire into changes in the employment and unemployment rates. The prevailing direction in the last eight years has been towards a higher-than-average employment rate and lower-than-average unemployment rate.
Data for the first quarter of 2017 reinforces this trend, with the gap between Warwickshire and the UK widening on both fronts.
Labour demand, represented by the level of employment and job vacancies in the market, is strong.
The employment rate in Warwickshire increased from 76% to 77% in the last three months, with North Warwickshire, Nuneaton & Bedworth and Rugby all experiencing a larger-than- average increase.
Job market demand continues to expand. Job postings, corrected for population size, are almost double the national average and are growing at a faster-than- average rate. This reflects our increasingly tight labour market and strong business activity.
Labour supply, represented by the unemployment rate and labour force participation, is struggling to keep up with the increasing demand. The unemployment rate fell from 3.4% to 2.9% - its first fall in two years. The pool of available workers is also falling over time as the rise in the proportion of over 65s rises outweighs the increase in their labour force participation.
The latter amplifies the effects of the former to create an environment in which the number of job seekers per job posting is falling.
With little slack in the labour market and an unemployment rate that is close to its natural level, we should begin to see wages increase in the county. As the pool of available workers becomes smaller, the amount businesses need to pay to attract the right people should rise. For those who are unable to, a skills shortage will become more prominent and re-training or alternative employment options should be considered.
Inclusive Enterprise Programme rolls out across Warwickshire
A programme offering tailored support to people new to running their own business, or thinking of starting one up, has been expanded throughout Warwickshire.
After more than 18 months of delivery to targeted deprived areas of Nuneaton & Bedworth, the Inclusive Enterprise Programme (IEP) is being extended to other parts of the county, starting in Leamington, Warwick, Rugby and North Warwickshire.
The IEP's main messages are that enterprise can be for all and that business ownership is a realistic aspiration.
Their Business Dream offer to clients who have not started their own business, or have been trading for less than 12 months, consists of an intensive and specifically-tailored package of support. It is designed to meet the needs of clients from a range of backgrounds, personal situations and circumstances.
And now people throughout Warwickshire can gain access to that support as the IEP strives to make its services visible and accessible to everyone - including those people who might not even realise that have the skills and potential to succeed as an SME.
"We know there are talented people out there who have not traditionally accessed business support services or, indeed even considered enterprise as an economic option,” said Sheridan Sulskis, IEP Project Manager. “We believe that by extending our workshops and support to include other areas of deprivation in Warwickshire, we can significantly improve our engagement with clients.
“Through our intervention we will level the playing field by finding these clients, who would not otherwise engage with business support organisations, upskilling them to the same level as those with whom mainstream would normally engage.
"The uniqueness of The Business Dream is that it opens up the opportunity for a whole new group of people to consider the possibility of starting a business through personalised group workshops and peer-to-peer networking groups."
Meanwhile, alongside the expansion of pre-start support in Warwickshire, the IEP will also soon launch the first Creative Springboard programme - designed to get pre-start and newly-started creative businesses based in Warwickshire to think more like a business, utilising digital platforms.
“We are searching for entrepreneurs looking at ways to turn their hobby into a real money-making business or wanting to grow their existing business through the support of specifically tailored workshops, peer-to-peer support and advice from industry experts,” said Sheridan. “The programme consists of six days – two days a week over three weeks – run in November and will cover a range of topics to help develop the building blocks of your business and how to think more digitally.”
The ERDF-funded IEP, managed by Warwickshire County Council, has been serving the most deprived areas of Nuneaton and Bedworth, striving to provide their residents with easy and fair access to support that could change their lives through the pre-start up support programme The Business Dream.
The other project under the umbrella, Creative Warwickshire, helped over 30 businesses from the digital and creative sectors explore new markets and reach their next level of growth.
For more information about The Business Dream or Creative Springboard, please check out www.inclusive-enterprise.co.uk or give us a call on 07494 442 869.
Bespoke training from Skills 4 Growth helping to close skills gap
Nuneaton-based VCS Manufacturing Ltd is among the latest companies to benefit from the Coventry & Warwickshire Skills 4 Growth project (CWS4G) which delivers skills support to SMEs in the region.
Skills 4 Growth, part-funded by the European Social Fund with additional funding from Coventry City Council and Warwickshire County Council, offers a range of training to eligible businesses in the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership postcodes.
Through the scheme's delivery partners extensive training is available to help individuals gain accredited full qualifications and units of qualifications at Level 2 and below and units of qualifications at Level 3 and above.
An Organisational Training Needs Analysis is conducted with eligible SMEs to identify skills gaps in the workplace which may be creating a barrier to growth. CWS4G, together with the employer, identifies the skills gaps within a business and a Skills Training Package is developed to meet those needs.
VCS Manufacturing team-member Natalie Masterson is just one of the successful recent candidates.
VCS Manufacturing provides a full turnkey service, from simple to complex components and fabrications. The company works with clients to create and engineer designs to become reality in the most cost-efficient way.
Coventry Adult Education Service (AES) undertook a Training Needs Analysis with the organisation to identify its current skill-base and future training requirements to support business objectives.As the company is on a journey of considerable growth and expansion, training for the purchasing and finance team was identified as a priority, to ensure best practices are in place to support the directors in managing and monitoring business performance against Key Performance Indicators.
VCS Manufacturing Ltd is always keen for individuals to develop their skills, so is supporting Natalie to complete the computerised bookkeeping qualification in October, to further develop capabilities of the team. Natalie attended a four-day training course and achieved a SkillsFirst manual bookkeeping qualification in July.
"The course has given me a much better understanding of bookkeeping and its importance to the business," she said. "I thoroughly enjoyed the course; bookkeeping is much more interesting than I expected."
VCS managing director Paul Smith said: ‘I have noticed greater confidence in Natalie and her increased ability to take on a greater role in the team. I am really pleased with the progress she has made and the initiative she shows.
"The fact that she found the course so enjoyable has motivated her to continue to the next level which will benefit her and the business."
The Skills 4 Growth programme is managed by Coventry City Council in partnership with the Coventry & Warwickshire LEP, Coventry & Warwickshire Growth Hub, Warwickshire County Council and other major stakeholders. A 50% contribution of funding for eligible training costs is made by the project.
For further information on how Skills 4 Growth may be able to support your business to close Skills Gaps please contact Anne-Marie Tranter anne-marie.tranter@coventry.gov.uk Tel 02477 719782.
Digital Schoolhouse brings new dimension to skills challenge
Staff and students in Warwickshire will be trained up with the latest technical skills after the inclusion of four county schools in the Ukie's Digital Schoolhouse programme.
Warwickshire County Council has signed up to Digital Schoolhouse to enable Campion School (Leamington Spa), The Coleshill School, Kineton High School and King Edward VI School (Stratford) to benefit from top-level training.
But far more than those four schools will benefit as the expertise and knowledge they take on board will cascade through other schools, including primary schools, in the locality.
Digital Schoolhouse, a pioneering project powered by PlayStation with the collaboration of the likes of the BBC, Disney and INTEL, is designed to help schools fully embrace fast-evolving technology.
The objective is to ensure that, in years to come, businesses in the digital sector are fully supplied with the skilled young people they need.
The four secondary schools in Warwickshire will receive teacher-training by university and industry professionals, a unique and innovative personalised programme of support and access to a wide variety of lesson plans, resources and engagement with industry.
Each school will also form the centre hub of a local network linking up with primary schools.
Warwickshire County Council became involved after it became clear that the prestigious scheme will be beneficial on all fronts: helping business to address the skills gap, young people into work and, in the medium and long terms, the county to retain its place as a leader in the Digital Creative Sector.
"In Warwickshire our need to keep these skills in this sector coming through, in the next generation and the ones after that, is paramount as we have such high standards to maintain," said Warwickshire County Council head of transport and economy Mark Ryder.
"That key challenge is being addressed by our Skills for Employment programme which works with schools, colleges and employers in a number of ways to improve careers awareness amongst young people and give them the tools and skills needed to meet local business needs.
"The additional input from Digital Schoolhouse gives what we offer a whole new dimension- one with long-term benefits. Many schools, at present, just to do not have the capabilities and resources to fully address and maximise the benefits from this key part of the curriculum.. Digital Powerhouse will address this problem from within.
"Warwickshire County Council is delighted to have enabled four vibrant and impressive schools - Campion, Coleshill, Kineton and King Edward VI - to become involved with Digital Schoolhouse. That the schools are spread throughout Warwickshire will enable the benefits to be felt around the county."
Support on CUE for innovative businesses
A new source of funding support is open to SMEs and micro-businesses in Warwickshire with various grants available through Coventry University Enterprises (CUE) Business Solutions, a subsidiary of Coventry University.
One such award, the Proof of Concept grant, funded by the European Regional Development Fund, targets small businesses which are developing innovative new products or processes.
More than a dozen companies in Coventry and Warwickshire have already benefited from the grants, which cover 40% of project cost (for projects from £5,000 to £25,000). Further applications are welcome before the deadline in 2019.
Applications are assessed on a monthly basis, or more frequently if necessary, so the process can move quite quickly.
Proof of Concept grants will fund external expenditure for:
- Intellectual Property (IP) due diligence & protection
- Market research/analysis/assessment
- Prototype development
- Business Plan development
- Other PoC/Feasibility activities.
Among businesses already supported by the grants is Medherant Ltd, based at the University of Warwick Science Park. Specialists in drug-in-adhesive patch technology (TEPI patches), Medherant will use the PoC grant to commission an in-depth commercial analysis to identify the next TEPI patch product from a range of candidate drugs.
Dr Phil Green, CUE Business Solutions business delivery manager for Proof of Concept, said: "The Proof of Concept scheme is open to Coventry and Warwickshire-based SMEs as well as staff within Coventry University and the University of Warwick. We aim to support over 150 projects in the next two years and will provide all the necessary support in securing successful applications.”
The grants form just one of many strands of support available from CUE Business Solutions which works closely with both public and private sectors to help companies innovate, grow and internationalise. To date, the organisation has interacted with 48,917 SMEs, provided detailed support to 4,095 and distributed almost 300 innovation grants - a package of business support which has earned the Queen’s Award for Enterprise: International Trade
For more information about the Proof of Concept grants, please visit https://www.cuebusinesssolutions.com/proof-of-concept/
For more information about all support available from CUE Business Solutions please visit https://www.cuebusinesssolutions.com/
Delivering Innovation for Warwickshire
In her regular round-up from Tech Central, Sarah Windrum considers the great things that can happen when creative minds, engineers, and commercial thinkers come together.
Tech Central recently hosted an event at Warwick Arts Centre which brought together digital and creative businesses.
A series of round-table discussions focused on the role that both sectors could play in transforming public sector services across the region. One business owner said to me afterwards: “If we could harness the energy in that room, all our problems would be solved.” And I know he is right!
Something exciting happens when you bring technology engineers and creative minds together and set them challenges. I believe we call it innovation!
But the idea is only the beginning. In my very simplified version of the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) scale, we need to develop the idea; prototype it; test it; deploy it; and introduce it to market. That is a difficult journey which often means that a great idea never makes it to its final destination.
I have always been fascinated by the story of Apple. As a company, it brought together creative minds, engineers and commercial thinkers. Creative minds push the boundaries of what is possible by focusing on what problem they want to solve or the difference they want to make. Engineers know what the technology can do and how it does it. And the commercial thinkers provide the business model. It is a team of all three that will see an idea through prototype; testing; deployment; and delivery to market.
The evolution of the iPod is a great example. The creative vision was to allow consumers ready access to the music we want to listen to when and where we want to listen to it. When the idea first appeared to Jobs and team, the technology already in existence could deliver the iPod, which Apple produced in 2001. So we had access to music when and where we wanted with a lightweight device we could carry around easily.
But we didn’t all have access to the music we wanted. Originally we had to transfer our existing collection (whether on CD, vinyl, or even mini-disc) onto our iPod. It was no different to any other mp3 player. Then in 2003, Apple brought us iTunes and we could buy music instantly. iPod sales went from 25,000 in 2001 to two million by the end of 2003. And Apple were no longer just a company that made computers. They made people’s lives better.
Then came the competitors. In 2006, Spotify offered us a legitimate music-streaming subscription model and delivered true ‘music-as-a-service.’ In 2016, Spotify had 30 million paying subscribers. Apple introduced their subscription service as Apple Music in 2015 and had a paying subscriber-base in 2016 of 13 million. Although Apple may feel they showed up a little late to this particular party, the dream has been realised. Now we can truly listen to whatever music we want to listen to whenever and wherever we want.
Tech Central’s mission is to support this region to deliver innovation. We want to bring creative minds, engineers, and commercial thinkers together in the way that Apple did. We hold regular socials and are keen to hear from any business or organisation who would like to hold their own event to showcase their experience of delivering innovation.
Register here for our next social: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/tech-central-10810612248
Please contact me on sarah@emerald-group.co.uk regarding hosting an event.
Exhall company has lift-off with Manufacturing Growth Programme support
An Exhall-based aerospace precision component manufacturer is flying high after securing a $1 million deal in the United States.
And, backed by support from the Manufacturing Growth Programme (MGP), Arrowsmith Engineering expects to double annual sales to £7m by 2020 after impressing customers with world-class quality and ‘right first time’ 
performance.
The company has also just been awarded the Silver SC21 award, making it one of a select group of firms across the UK to achieve this supply chain standard.
“Our client base is the 'who’s who' of the aerospace sector," explained Jason Aldridge, managing director of Arrowsmith Engineering. "And the only way we get to supply into that type of businesses is by offering precision components and on-time delivery - the latter is at 98% for the last year. This was a key factor in us winning the new order and will take the business to a whole new level.
"We’ve had to employ 12 new people to cope with the increased demand, including three interns, two apprentices, a quality engineer and six machinists.”
Arrowsmith Engineering, which employs 60 people at its recently extended facility in Bayton Road in Nuneaton & Bedworth district, manufactures a production part for the engines of aeroplanes that fly millions of miles every year. The business has been supported by the MGP (funded by the European Regional Development Fund and delivered by Economic Growth Solutions) which provided access to specialist assistance to help manufacturers grow and improve.
Through a 19-strong network of experienced Manufacturing Growth Managers, the programme opens up access for manufacturing SMEs to industry specialists and offers grants of up to £3,500.
Experienced Manufacturing Growth Managers work with SME manufacturers to:
- Create plans for growth and improvement
- Work with the best external experts to implement those plans
- Provide up to 35% of the cost through a growth/improvement grant
- Connect to wider support to maximise opportunities for growth
Support is bespoke so the SME gets exactly the specific assistance they need. These are some of the areas the Manufacturing Growth Programme can help with:
- Lean Manufacturing
- Leadership and management training
- Productivity and capacity
- Innovation and R&D
- Quality systems
- Sales and Marketing
- Supply chain development
Accessing the Manufacturing Growth Programme is quick and easy. Call Michelle Connor on 07790 358 674, email: michelle.connor@egs.live, or visit www.manufacturinggrowthprogramme.co.uk
To find out more about the range of other support available to grow your business, please contact the Growth Hub on 0300 060 3747.
Midlands Engine Investment Fund is up and running to support SMEs
Warwickshire SMEs have access to a new avenue of potential support following the launch of the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF).
The MEIF Debt Funds (including small business loans) were officially launched last month with further Equity Funds to be released in due course.
MEIF is a collaboration between the government-owned British Business Bank and ten Local Enterprise Partnerships (including Coventry & Warwickshire) in the Midlands. It provides commercially-focused finance to help SMEs start up and grow.
The Fund combines £250m from the UK Government, European Regional Development Fund, British Business Bank and European Investment Bank to help businesses in the region to scale-up and become a successful part of the government’s Midlands Engine vision.
The Midlands Engine Investment Fund will produce greater levels of investment, increase the focus on the potential opportunities across the Midlands Engine regions and provide increased flexibility in the type of funding provided. Together, these will contribute to better economic outcomes for the regions’ businesses, growth and jobs.
The British Business Bank is investing £32.5m of its own capital into MEIF, which is being matched by an additional £32.5m from the European Investment Bank. Bringing allocations together into larger funds allows more resources to be targeted at businesses with growth potential across a wider area, with economies of scale meaning more money can be invested directly in smaller businesses.
The British Business Bank has worked with LEPs from the West Midlands and East & South-east Midlands and with the Department for Communities and Local Government to aggregate the European Regional Development Fund money they receive for the LEP areas into a combined fund which addresses gaps in access to finance identified by local areas funds.
You can find out more about MEIF, including the funds available (debt finance, small business loans, proof of concept and equity finance), news, case studies and upcoming events on the new MEIF website.
Progress event will offer employers first-hand experience
Coventry and Warwickshire employers and stakeholders are invited to an event in October to learn more about how they can get involved with 'Progress,' a youth employment initiative aimed at 15-24-year-olds.
The event, at Coventry Transport Museum, Millennium Place, Coventry, on Wednesday 18 October (2-5pm), will engage attendees by inviting them to experience first-hand some of the activities which young people have been doing to improve their chances of finding employment.
Attendees will also be able to meet some of the young people enrolled in the programme, and programme partners.
As well as the interactive sessions, the event will be 'storyboarded' by a local graffiti artist and attendees will be urged to make a pledge about how they will help to inspire or help local young people to achieve.
Progress, which is funded by the Big Lottery Fund and the European Social Fund, works with some of the most marginalised NEET (not in education, employment or training) 15-24-year-olds across Coventry and Warwickshire - those youngsters who are the furthest away from getting into work. It is led by community charity Groundwork UK alongside a partnership of leading youth charities and local partners, including Warwickshire County Council, specialising in engaging young people.
The programme offers tailored, one-to-one support and group work to increase the confidence, self-esteem and well-being of those enrolled, boosting social and personal skills as well as employability.
Charlie, a young person enrolled on the programme said: "If it wasn’t for Progress building my confidence and motivation I wouldn’t have had the confidence to apply for the job I’m in now. I would recommend Progress to any young person that needs help finding their goal in life."
Graham Duxbury, CEO of Groundwork said: "The event on October 18 has been designed to both showcase the success of Progress so far and to engage local employers and stakeholders with how they can make a difference to local young people.
"The vision and passion that young people bring to the table can help to inspire companies to embrace new ideas and technologies and help make positive future-proof changes. We look forward to seeing everyone at the event that aims to be a huge success and ultimately help local young people to achieve their life goals."
For any local employers or stakeholders interested in joining the event, please register your interest here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/building-better-opportunities-progress-stakeholder-event-tickets-37001249734 or contact progress@groundwork.org.uk.
More than 500 businesses signed up to 'Keep Me Posted' alerts
In his regular column, Business Crime Advisor for Warwickshire Alex Williams rounds up the latest news from Warwickshire Business Watch and gives all the lowdown on local crime prevention initiatives that can help support your business.
Online training sessions for businesses from the comfort of their desks!
The Business Crime Advisor for Warwickshire recently ran an online training session for businesses on the topic of cyber-crime prevention.
The session proved very popular, so much so that another cyber-crime session will be planned for the near future.
In addition to the online training the Business Crime Advisor also delivers face-to-face training to businesses and business groups on a range of crime prevention topics.
#WiFiSavvy Campaign
In the March edition of WMB we told you about a campaign ran by Warwickshire County Council’s Community Safety team encouraging businesses to review the security of the WiFi they provide to customers and demonstrate their commitment to their security by displaying posters and window stickers.
The Posters describe some of the steps the business has taken to ensure the customers' security but also some advice for customers on the safe use of public WiFi. The campaign launched county-wide in June and has been extremely successful.
If you would like to find out more about the scheme, please visit www.warwickshirebusinesswatch.co.uk or contact the Business Crime Advisor via the details below.
Resources
There is a range of crime prevention resources available from the Business Crime Advisor. These range from counterfeit note detector pens to the Little Book of Big Scams information booklets.
If you would like any of the resources or would like to enquire as to what resources are available, please get in touch with the Business Crime Advisor.
Warwickshire Business Watch Update
Warwickshire Business Watch consists of the website, social media account and the two alert systems – the Police Community Messaging Service and the Warwickshire County Council 'Keep Me Posted' alerts. The 'Keep Me Posted' Alerts has just passed 500 subscribers, which we are really pleased with, and some of these also cascade this information out to others.
To sign up to the Keep Me Posted Business Watch alerts, please visit the link below and enter your email address.
https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/UKWARWICKSHIRE/subscriber/new?topic_id=UKWARWICKSHIRE_22
To access the Warwickshire Business Watch website and sign up to either of the alerts, please visit www.warwickshirebusinesswatch.co.uk or use the Twitter address @WarksBusiness.
To contact the Business Crime Advisor please email alexcharleswilliams@warwickshire.gov.uk.
Centenary Business Centre offers perfect environment for tech company to grow
"We couldn't wish for more," says managing director of award-winning company about business centre base
Nuneaton-based IC Solutions 24/7 has been successfully audited against the prestigious International Standards Organisation 90001: 2015 Standard.
One of the first businesses to receive this distinction, IC Solutions 24/7, based at Warwickshire County Council-run Centenary Business Centre, delivers the latest infection control products and services. Its customers range from the National Health Service to privately-owned businesses across the United Kingdom and Europe.
It was established in 2010 by Oliver Canty whose background in infection control and healthcare spans decades.
"We are excited to be awarded the latest ISO 9001:2015 Standard, making us one of the first companies in Warwickshire to receive this international quality rating,” said Mr Canty, the company's managing director. "This recognition follows the ongoing hard work and diligence of all the staff at IC Solutions 24/7 Limited. The certification provides businesses with several benefits - it enables us to show our customers that we are constantly striving towards quality while it can also lead to increased productivity within the workplace."
The decision to work towards the new standard was agreed upon by Oliver and office manager Sharon Burbidge after they decided that, without it, their customers could not be assured of ongoing, state-of-the-art quality.
The standard has become more stringent as technology has improved, so the team devoted a lot of time and effort to ensuring that they conformed - and that effort proved well worthwhile as the company passed on its first attempt.
It is another success story for a company based at the Centenary Business Centre which, says, Mr Canty, has provided the perfect base for his business.
“Centenary Business Centre has helped IC Solutions grow rapidly,” he said. "Our premises there offer us many add-ons which we would not get from renting in the mainstream. From photocopying and faxing to a very welcoming, professional reception area, we couldn’t wish for more. Normally, one would expect to pay a large salary to admin staff that excel in their role, but all this comes with the package at CBC.
"From small start-up units, you can move to larger units as your business grows, and importantly, you are on a monthly contract rather than being tied into a three-year commitment.
"If you want business premises with the resources you need as a start-up (or even established) business, then CBC is certainly worth investigating. I can’t thank the management staff enough for assisting us in growing to the level where we are today.”
City of Culture briefing event in Warwickshire
Coventry City of Culture Trust and its various partners across the sub-region are working hard to make Coventry the successful bidder for City of Culture 2021.
A recent important milestone was reached when Coventry made it onto the shortlist, with Paisley, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Swansea as well as Coventry still in the running.
Current hosts Hull are enjoying an upturn in visitors, with Hull Trains reporting a 17% percent increase in train journeys during the first month of the year (compared to an industry average increase of just 4%) and 52,000 passengers in the first five months with overall year-on-year growth of 12.7%.
On winning the bid, Hull hoped to generate an additional £60m of spending and create 7,500 new jobs over the course of the year, so as well as a boost to the arts there are clear potential benefits to Coventry and the surrounding area.
For Warwickshire businesses keen to find out more about the benefits for Coventry and the surrounding area, and how they can get involved, the City of Culture bid team, in association with Warwickshire County Council and the five district and boroughs is hosting a City of Culture: Warwickshire Briefing Event.
The event will talk about the “ripple effect” of potential economic, tourism, cultural and social benefits, the ways partner can work together to help Coventry win and the latest news from Hull on the impact on the city and its neighbours.
The event takes place on November 6th from 7pm at Warwick Castle, and is open to all kinds of businesses, including those in the arts but also any business who would like to get involved and support the bid.
For more information contact Michael Mogan on Michael.mogan@coventry2021.co.uk
HS2 Business and Economy Fund
A new fund has been launched to support local economies disrupted by the construction of HS2.
The fund is intended to add benefit over and above any mitigation and statutory compensation, with applications invited for capital or revenue funding from £10,000 to a maximum of £1 million for projects to support local economies.
As applicants must be established as not-for-profit organisations, the funding is targeted at bodies that have formal objectives that support the development of local businesses and or tourism.
Examples given of the type of initiatives that might be funded include:
- Schemes to improve the public realm, especially in retail and tourist areas
- Improved local cycle and pedestrian access to local economic centres
- Events that increase footfall or promote business activity during seasonal periods
- Town/village discount cards to retain spend in local areas
The fund is being administered by Groundwork with full details of how to apply, including an eligibility checker, available at https://www.groundwork.org.uk/hs2funds
CSW Broadband to reach another 15,000 premises
High speed fibre broadband will be delivered to more than 15,000 additional premises in Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire following the latest expansion of CSW Broadband.
Following a rigorous procurement process, the CSW Broadband partnership, which includes Warwickshire County Council, has awarded all three Lots that comprise Contract 3, Part 1, to BT.
Most of the 15,000 homes and businesses will get Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) technology capable of delivering ultrafast download speeds of up to 1 Gigabit per second (Gbps) and upload speeds of up to 220Mbps.
As with Contract 2, the CSW Broadband team has built headroom into the contract, meaning that if additional funding is secured then this can be rolled into the current contract without the need to go through a lengthy procurement process.
For the first time since the CSW Broadband project started, parts of Coventry will be included in the rollout, though it is unable to move into the city centre (i.e. inside the ring road) as this is considered to be urban and therefore outside the scope of the State Aid approval for the current project. However, significant parts of the remainder of the Coventry City Council area will be included in the Contract 3 rollout.
As the fibre broadband network is being installed by Openreach, households and businesses will have a wide choice of fibre broadband providers.
Upgrades do not happen automatically. Residents and businesses wanting to benefit from the upgrade will need to place an order with their chosen fibre broadband provider once the work has been completed.
Openreach uses its existing underground ducting wherever possible, minimising disruption and the need to dig up roads and pavements.
The first locations to benefit are expected to be announced in early October. We are working on a new mapping system that will go live with the announcement of Wave 8. The Contract 3, Part 1, areas will be shown on that map.
Updates on the roll-out are available from: www.cswbroadband.org.uk