Business News

Rail passengers are being asked to check before they travel as Transport for Wales introduces an emergency rail timetable from Wednesday 22 December. This is to prepare for an expected rise in staff shortages due to the emergence of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 and to ensure the company can continue to provide a reliable service throughout this latest stage of the pandemic.

Businesses in Greater Birmingham made a remarkable partial recovery in the last quarter of 2021, a new report reveals. And business leaders today pledged to keep the momentum moving in the face of pressures in key areas.

Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce (GBCC) said their Quarterly Business Report recorded the highest proportion of businesses reporting an increase in UK sales since records began in 1997.

West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) has received an additional £1.1 million of funding from the UK Government to roll out nine more digital skills bootcamps across the region.

The funding will allow another 300 West Midlands residents to take part in skills bootcamps covering cybersecurity, coding, digital marketing, TV and film production, AI and machine learning, and more. 

Birmingham’s Southside District has added its voice to calls for urgent support for the hospitality sector, as a survey of businesses reveals that 41% fear they are facing collapse.

Southside BID represents over 270 businesses in one of Birmingham’s most vibrant and diverse districts, including leading hospitality and entertainment venues, from The Hippodrome and Birmingham Royal Ballet to The Glee Club and the O2 Academy, alongside a wealth of independent bars, restaurants and nightclubs across both Chinatown and the Gay Village.

Midlands based business founder Lorri Delahunty the founder of VEGAN Happy Clothing has been named as Entrepreneurial Spirit Winner for the Midlands at this year’s Great British Entrepreneur Awards. In partnership with Starling Bank, the ceremony was held at Grosvenor House in London recently and saw 159 entrepreneurs across the UK recognised for their entrepreneurial stories and achievements over the last year. 

The Chancellor and UK Government must intervene with financial support for hospitality as a matter of urgency, a retail analyst and economist has said today.

Dr Steven McCabe, Birmingham City University, spoke following the news that a major UK pub operator is closing a number of premises in the capital owing to low trade from customers and high Covid cases amongst staff.

The managing director of a Northampton-based family-run industry leader in British woodworking has been shortlisted for a prestigious award.

Amarjit Binji, who runs AJB Group Limited, is among six finalists in the ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ category of the Midlands Business Awards (MBAs). Now in its 16th year, the MBAs recognise and reward achievers who demonstrate remarkable outputs and contribution in line with category criteria.

As this year’s festivities draw to a close, Birmingham City Council has again set up a number of locations for residents to recycle their Christmas trees. Disposal points for anyone with an unwanted real tree are clearly identified close to the main entrance to each of the following parks:

Panda Joy, an Oxfordshire based publisher of sustainable and eco-friendly greeting cards is excited to announce the launch of their 100% tree-free greeting card range, using bamboo and cotton linter as a source to eliminate the use of virgin trees to produce greeting cards. As such, Panda Joy is the latest addition to the UK’s £1.7 billion greetings card industry.

The large international online retailer Wildberries announced its entry into the United Kindom, which become the company's 19th country of presence

UK customers can proceed orders in a separate online store at uk.wildberries.ru, as well as through iOS and Android-based mobile apps that work in English and Russian.

Following the Bank of England’s rate decision and minutes, Simon Lister at the financial comparison website, InvestingReviews.co.uk, commented: 

“With the Omicron variant wreaking havoc across countless sectors, the Bank of England’s decision to raise bank rate was the ultimate curveball.

The chief executive and group chairman of Downtown in Business, Frank McKenna, is urging Chancellor Rishi Sunak and the government to re-introduce some financial support packages for businesses, as the imposition of new restrictions threatens many with closure.

Mr McKenna said: “Many of our members in the hospitality sector are reporting a huge spike in cancellations.

A Sandwell charity has scooped £20,000 as part of Persimmon Homes’ hugely successful charity campaign supporting under-18s.

Sandwell Young Carers won one of the top prizes in the Persimmon Homes Building Futures campaign, which encouraged applications in three categories – education & arts, health, and sport.

HS2 Ltd today confirmed that a Hitachi/Alstom JV has been awarded the contracts to build Britain’s next generation of high-speed trains at their factories in Derby and County Durham in a major deal set to support 2,500 jobs across the UK.
The landmark contracts – worth around £2bn – will see the JV design, build and maintain a fleet of 54 state-of-the-art high-speed trains that will operate on HS2 - the new high-speed railway being built between London, the West Midlands and Crewe.

City of Wolverhampton Council has expanded its Relight Business Programme grant to support independent retailers and help businesses across the city invest in low carbon and other environmental measures.

The move comes following feedback from businesses across the city on how best they can be supported after being hit hard by the pandemic.

People are live in a time, following the recent pandemic, when ‘vaccine’ has become a buzzword, at the forefront of everyone’s mind.

But for Kitty Liao, the founder and CEO of UK company Ideabatic, the fascination began seven years ago, when she decided to set up her award-winning social enterprise and present her first product – the SMILE vaccine cooling system, currently on display at the Expo Live Pavilion – The Good Place. The best way to explain how SMILE works is to describe the problems it addresses.