Business News

British shoppers defied Brexit fears over the summer, as retail sales surged at the fastest rate in six months, according to a survey by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). The CBI's survey showed that 35% of retailers reported higher year-over-year sales volumes in August, compared to 26% who said sales were down.

A major step towards the development of new homes at the former Royal Hospital site in Wolverhampton has taken place this week, with the submission of a planning application by Homes & Communities Agency (HCA) planning consultants Cushman and Wakefield for up to 146 new homes on the bus depot part of the site. The HCA acquired the former Royal Hospital site earlier this year to create new homes and a high profile gateway development into the city centre.

City of Wolverhampton Council’s new five-star rating system to improve the quality of housing in the city will go live next month. ‘Rent with Confidence’ will pioneer the way local authorities work with private landlords and is aiming to encourage greater customer choice and raise living standards. It will function in a similar way to the rating scheme used by the Food Standards Agency for restaurants and takeaways.

One in ten online shoppers abandons their online shopping basket at checkout, when they see how much they could be spending, according to a study commissioned by Royal Mail. The findings suggest UK adults could be experiencing cold feet associated with spending more than they have or more than they set out to spend online, leading them to abandon their shopping baskets altogether.The annual Delivery Matters report found that a third of UK online shoppers (34 per cent) frequently abandon their online shopping basket after loading it up with items.

Greater Birmingham business leaders say the UK economy is “defying pre-referendum predictions” after the Bank of England unanimously voted to leave interest rates unchanged. Paul Faulkner, chief executive of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, hailed the decision as a sign that confidence in the economy is growing. The Bank of England today voted to leave the interest rates at an all-time low of 0.25 per cent, while its quantitative easing programme also remains unchanged at £435bn.

The forthcoming Chamber Expo at the Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham city centre will have ‘Connect, Support, Grow’ as its theme. The event, which takes place on 14 October, will include a major programme, of speakers, who will address each element of the main theme. Qasim Majid, founder and CEO of Jewellery Quarter web firm WowZone, will speak about ‘connect’, HS2 supply chain manager Robert Slater will cover ‘grow’, and author, speaker and strategist Moe Nawaz will discuss ‘support’.

Business leaders in Greater Birmingham said that Andy Street had been an “outstanding ambassador” for the region after he announced that he is resigning as chair of the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership. Mr Street (pictured) said he is standing down because he had applied to be the Conservative candidate for the West Midlands Mayoral election next year. The party is expected to announce the candidate at next month’s conference at the ICC in Birmingham and should he be successful, Mr Street has agreed to stand down from his role at John Lewis.

One in five landlords are too embarrassed to admit it, according to a recent poll of almost 800 residential property investors. The findings show that on average 21 per cent of landlords have been too embarrassed to admit it before. Across the UK, more landlords in the East of England and the East Midlands said they were embarrassed to admit it compared to any other region (29 per cent and 28 per cent respectively).

Business leaders in Greater Birmingham expect manufacturing output from the region to “bounce back” in August after national figures for July showed that it fell by 0.9 per cent on the month, but was up by 0.8% on the year. Total industrial production in July 2016 was up by 0.1 per cent on the month and was up by 2.1 per cent on the year. Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce (GBCC) are currently surveying members for their third Quarterly Business Report of the year.

Wolverhampton Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) will have the chance to win £10,000 of support and advice from KPMG in the ‘Wolves’ Den’ during the city’s Business Week.City of Wolverhampton Council has joined forces with the leading professional services firm to offer eight slots to local SMEs, who will then pitch to a panel of experienced business professionals and partners from KPMG.

Capital expenditure of £5m in 2015, bringing the investment total to £30m over the last five years, is identified as the reason Aston Manor Cider continues to outperform expectations and transform its business. The numbers, revealed as the accounts for 2015 are filed, point to a consistent investment approach and are a clear signal of the confidence the management team has in their future prospects.

A Midlands textile designer, who creates retro-style aprons using her own hand-drawn fabric designs, is cooking up the next stage of growth after her initial export success. Gaena Martin, who launched The SundayGirl Company with her partner from her Kidderminster home nearly three years ago, is also set to launch her own dress collection after the retail success of her kitsch 1950s-style aprons.

Sandwell's businesses can now sponsor more than 80 roundabouts and boundary signs across the borough to promote their businesses. Council bosses are hoping the move will generate much-needed revenue to help protect front-line services. Sandwell Council leader, Councillor Steve Eling, said: "The council is having to look at alternative ways of raising money as part of our efforts to defend services hit by government cuts.

Average property prices in the UK’s top 50 university cities have risen by more than 27% or £66,000 in the past three years, according to research by online estate agents HouseSimple.com. And in 60% of these cities - for students on a three-year degree graduating this year - house price growth would have covered the £27,000 tuition fees they had to pay - or rather their parents had to pay.

Following the success of The Platinum Group, a strong brand working with the manufacturing, automotive, logistics, freight & transport sector; Black Country Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce the launch of The Platinum Group Service Sector. This network of strategically important businesses within the service industry, representing key service providers across Tourism & Leisure, Travel, Accountancy, Law, Banking, Training, Health & Safety, Insurance, Architects and Education will be working together to build strong business relationships through peer-to-peer working and sharing best practice.

As the Country's leaders begin to reconvene, we saw a creative and courageous 'Junior Cabinet' come together to put their views across on how we should tackle the big issues of the day, and offer food for thought for the full time decision makers. The event was pulled together by Stagecoach Performing Arts, whose mission is to equip the UK's children of all ages with a broad range of skills for life through the experience of creative arts.