Business News

Birmingham Airport has entered another year drawing in record breaking monthly passenger figures with January being the busiest start to the year on record for the airport. In total 775,176 passengers were handled in January 2017 – giving a 16.1% growth year-on-year compared to the same month last year. Long haul demand for seats was also very significant showing a 29.5% rate of growth. Short haul also experienced strong growth up by 13.4% year-on-year.

Birmingham Airport announces that more than two million passengers have flown between Birmingham and New York/Newark with United Airlines, as the airline approaches its twentieth anniversary serving the route. Operating non-stop flights from Birmingham Airport since 15th July 1997, United Airlines provides direct access to New York/Newark, with onward connections to over 300 destinations throughout North, Central and South America and the Caribbean, including more than 100 served non-stop from Newark. Popular onward destinations taken by Birmingham Airport passengers include Las Vegas, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Wolverhampton Interchange Partnership has announced the name of the preferred contractor to deliver a new multi-million pound city railway station. Plans to demolish the existing station building and replace it with a new one were approved in November. Galliford Try - one of the UK’s leading construction groups and responsible for putting the retractable roof on Wimbledon Centre Court - has been appointed.

Unilever announced the team from Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) as winners of Unilever Talent Hunt 2016 (UTH 2016) at the grand finale held at a local hotel. Students from universities across Pakistan competed for the opportunity to represent Pakistan at Unilever’s Future Leader’s League in London, a global competition that brings together students from across the world to experience the nuances of future leadership.

Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce has kicked off its Growth Through People campaign - in a bid to help businesses achieve better results by managing their employees more effectively. The campaign will focus on how businesses – particularly SMEs - can effectively manage their staff and increase productivity and growth by doing so. Throughout the month-long campaign, GBCC will be working with a range of partners to deliver activities including free training sessions, seminars and networking events.

The future of the West Midlands built environment could lie in the hands of the under 25s, according to industry professionals at the West Midlands Great Debate. This week over 200 industry professionals came together to grill the latest mayoral candidates on their vision for the region’s future. The joint event between the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), Landscape Institute Midlands, Royal Institution of British Architects (RIBA), Institution of Chartered Engineers (ICE) and Royal Town Planners Institute (RTPI) debates the biggest topics facing the West Midlands built environment each year.

The Professionals Network has conferred the Best Sustainability Report Award to K-Electric during the 6th Corporate Social Responsibility Awards 2017. Zehra Mehdi, Deputy Director ESG and Sustainability received the award on behalf of the organization during a ceremony held at a local hotel here in Karachi.

Nominations are now open for the first annual Wolverhampton Independent Retail Excellence (WIRE) Awards. The awards, commissioned by the Leader of City of Wolverhampton Council, Councillor Roger Lawrence, are being led by Wolverhampton Business Improvement District (BID) in partnership with the council. The aim is to celebrate and praise the entrepreneurial spirit, dedication and hard work of those involved in running and managing a successful independent business, as well as to recognise the loyalty and dedication of the staff that work in this sector.

The Department for International Trade’s (DIT) Export Hub is making a week-long stop in the West Midlands next week, with the aim of helping businesses realise their global ambitions. A series of free events is being held as part of the roadshow, which take places between February 6 and 9 and will offer a range of advice to companies that want to start exporting or increase their international reach. It will also provide opportunities for one-to-one meetings with international trade experts and give businesses the chance to learn about new export markets.

A Shropshire food manufacturer is celebrating its first major export deal to Japan – just months after visiting the country on an international trade mission. Helen Graham, co-owner of the Ludlow Nut Company, has secured an order for 2,400 units of its luxury fruit, nut & seed muesli from Minato Shokai Co Ltd. To mark the occasion, Mr Sugiyama, the company’s president, visited the Ludlow factory.

Organisers of the IAAF World Indoor Championships Birmingham 2018, which will be held in March next year, are using the opportunity that comes with hosting a major sporting Championships to profile the city and celebrate some of Birmingham’s best known landmarks. The official logo for the event, which will see around 400 athletes from about 150 countries competing at Arena Birmingham* in early March, was unveiled last year.

People travelling to the USA were today warned to be wary of handing over details of their social media accounts and telephone data to Border officials. National law firm Clarke Willmott LLP has advised its own lawyers that they could be breaking Data Protection regulations and client confidentiality obligations if they comply with the current regime, which invites participants in the visa waiver program to give up social media details on a voluntary basis.

Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce has further strengthened its international ties after welcoming representatives from Bursa – one of Turkey’s key industrial cities. The meeting saw GBCC sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Bursa TSO - Bursa’s Chamber of Commerce – which will see the two organisations collaborate in the future. Bursa is one of the largest cities in Turkey and has a number of similarities with Birmingham, notably in the strength of its automotive, manufacturing, textile and food sectors.

Santander employees across the UK have raised more than £1.1 million for the bank’s charity partners Age UK and Barnardo’s through fundraising events during 2016. Following an all staff vote, Age UK and Barnardo’s were selected to be Santander’s charity partners from 2016 – 2018 with the bank aiming to raise £3 million over the three-year period. Throughout 2016, bank employees raised funds through a range of activities.

A global expert on cities urged the West Midlands to “bang the drum” to ensure that the area made the best of devolution and an elected mayor. Alexandra Jones, chief executive of think-tank Centre for Cities was speaking at a Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce (GBCC) patrons’ lunch hosted by the Park Regis Hotel. She told leading business people: “You should be pushing the mayor, the combined authority and national government to deliver what is best for the region in the months ahead as Britain negotiates a new role in the world. 

The Black Country Chamber of Commerce is proud to launch a campaign for 2017 which has a focus on the manufacturing industry. Events will take place throughout the year that focus on the key areas manufacturers need support and guidance on, as well as sharing best practice. With this in mind, the Chamber is delighted to introduce Rachel Eade MBE as their new Manufacturing Ambassador. Rachel will work with the Chamber to raise the profile of manufacturing in the Black Country and support the growth of the industry.