Business News

Downtown in Business (DIB) will host a further fifty plus events in 2023, which will include conferences, awards dinners, breakfast forums, leaders’ lunches, private roundtable dinners and a new social networking brand.

Awards evenings will take place in Manchester, Birmingham, and Liverpool. The DIB inaugural ‘Business of Sport’ conference will take place in September at the Old Trafford Cricket Stadium, and the Change Makers Live Summit will happen at the Grand Hotel in Birmingham in October.

Speakers at Downtown events before the end of the year will include Gary Neville, Montell Douglas, Wes Streeting MP, Caroline Simpson, Tom Stannard, Deborah Cadman, Angela Barnicle, Chris Oglesby, Jonny Reynolds MP, Andy Street, Steve Rotheram, Cllr Liam Robinson, Nuala Gallagher, and Steve Reed MP. The new social networking brand ‘Downtown Unplugged’ will also be launched in September.

His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince, Prime Minister and Chairman of the Supreme Committee for Transport and Logistics Services launched the master plan for logistics centres, which aims to further develop the infrastructure of the logistics sector in the Kingdom, diversify the local economy, and strengthen the position of the Kingdom as a leading investment destination and global logistics hub.

Brazilian footballer Neymar Jr. is taking his passion for sport and Brazil to the next level by joining forces with Portuguese business group Horse Team/Campline Horses, a reference in the equestrian world and in the defence of the Purebred Lusitano horse.

A start up language support business, CruxMate, has secured four-figure funding from First Enterprise – Enterprise Loans under the British Business Bank’s Start Up Loans programme to get the business up and running. 

CruxMate – Language Support Services assists individuals facing difficulties in English by providing interpretation and translation services as well as professional phone support services in communication with government agencies such as HMRC, the Home Office and local councils.

Tata Communications, a global digital ecosystem enabler, today announces the launch of its global, cloud-based 5G Roaming Laboratory (Lab), enabling Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to trial 5G standalone network use cases before introducing the service to their subscribers.

The arrival of Lionel Messi at Inter Miami has turned the fortunes of the newly established MLS club both on and off the pitch.

The Mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street, showed the boss of Ofgem first-hand how businesses locked into sky high energy contracts are being forced to lay off staff as they battle for survival.

Thousands of homeowners trapped by shared appreciation mortgages (SAMs) in the 1990s should take legal advice as soon as possible as there are time limits within which compensation must be claimed.

 The full line up of guest speakers has been announced for the city’s Annual Business Breakfast and now includes expert speakers from the official tourist board for England, Visit England, and the City of Liverpool. 

The breakfast will take place on Thursday, September 28 (8.30am – 11am) and is sponsored by The Halls Wolverhampton. Investors operating in the food and beverage, entertainment, leisure, arts and culture, and hospitality sectors are invited to attend to hear about the huge potential growth prospects of Wolverhampton’s expanding visitor economy, how it is driving wider regeneration in the city, and the exciting opportunities available for businesses.

The Argentina Football Association (AFA) and International licensed forex broker XTrend today announced their sponsorship agreement for the Argentine National Team. This agreement will allow XTREND to promote and become a regional sponsor for the Argentine National Team.

Britain has an opportunity to expand green manufacturing, secure its supply chains, and develop cheaper safer energy sources if it learns from other countries’ responses to the US’ Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a think-tank says today.

The Social Market Foundation – a cross-party think-tank – has said that fears that the IRA hurts British firms by locking them out of the American market are overblown. Instead, the SMF argues that the IRA should inspire the UK government to support its own businesses and put the country’s transition to net zero on a secure path.

An expanding IT firm has appointed a new Head of Operations to lead its further growth. Michael Quinn, who has 30 years of experience in the IT sector, has joined Integrity IT Solutions, part of Eco Group.

Integrity, which has offices in Dumfries and Galloway and Cumbria, serves clients across Scotland and the north of England. Michael (pic), who ran his own successful IT business, is already starting to grow the company’s business across Glasgow and the rest of the Central Belt and is targeting further growth in other parts of the UK.

The upcoming Downtown in Business ‘Business of Sport’ conference will be offering an opportunity for delegates to hear about some great sporting performances and achievements, learn about the attitude and dedication required from elite sportswomen and men, and get great insight into the mindset of a winner. However, they will also be exploring the commercial elements of sport – and in no other game is the word ‘business’ more relevant than in modern football.

Webb Fontaine, a global leader in trade technology solutions, has partnered with Kenya National Electronic Single Window System Operator, State Agency, known as Kenya Trade Network Agency (KenTrade), to revolutionise the Kenyan logistics landscape with the Digital Logistics Market Place (DLMP). This innovative, first-of-its-kind platform is poised to reshape logistics practices, igniting trade volumes, catalysing e-commerce growth, and serving as a catalyst for further development of this immense trade marketplace. 

A state-of-the-art industry centre is designed to be the catalyst for a cluster which leads the way in UK operational technology cyber security. A new Operational Technology Engineering Centre is being created by Sellafield Ltd on the site of the iSH Enterprise Campus in Cumbria to support Sellafield’s mission to create a clean and safe environment for future generations.

Dave Jones, who leads a team of 200 staff at Sellafield, is heading up the project to develop Unit 18 which will also open up far-reaching opportunities for the wider community.

In light of the release of the latest inflation rate data, which has dropped to 6.8% in the year to July, personal finance experts reacting to the news with the comments:

Lily Megson, Policy Director at My Pension Expert said: “Inflation falling and wages rising will bring relief to Britons. But it might only be temporary. Indeed, inflation's persistent grip on people's finances is not set to loosen any time soon. Hardly a settling prospect for those in, or approaching, retirement.