Business News

More than 25,000 small and medium businesses (SMEs) across the UK have now benefitted from the Government’s Broadband Connection voucher scheme, latest figures published today show. The scheme, which helps SMEs get connected to superfast broadband has seen a huge surge in demand in recent months.

At The Caribbean Tourism Organization’s (CTO)  silver anniversary ball, Simon Reeve UK’s best-selling author and TV personality, presented the Telegraph Caribbean Travel Awards at The Millennium Hotel, Mayfair.

Responding to recent press articles about the combined authority, Mike Dell, Managing Director of BC Barton Ltd and Chair of the Black Country Chamber of Commerce Devolution Group, said: “I agree with Andy Street, Chair of the Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP.

The government backed British Business Bank hosted an event in Birmingham to discuss the variety of funding options available for smaller businesses in the Midlands.  The British Business Bank’s goal is to make finance markets work better for smaller businesses, allowing them to prosper, grow and support the economy throughout the UK.

Qatar Airways completed a successful week at the Paris Air Show, one of the world’s leading aviation events, where it made history by being the first airline to ever display five aircraft on static display at the show. The airline brought its A380, A350, A320, A319 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner to Le Bourget.

New research placing Wolverhampton in the top 10 of the fastest-growing areas of the UK has been welcomed by the leader of the city council. Councillor Roger Lawrence was reacting to the UHY Hacker Young study which ranks the city as eighth for gross value added (GVA) - the value of goods and services it produces - between 2009 and 2013.

The British Safety Council has formally launched its prestigious 2015 Sword of Honour and Globe of Honour awards, designed to recognise and celebrate exemplary management of health, safety and environmental risks by businesses around the world.

As part of Victorian Arcade Shopping Centre’s on-going commitment to the local community, the centre is challenging budding young Walsall writers to follow in the footsteps of Arthur Conan Doyle himself and write a Sherlock Holmes story for the chance to win a hamper filled with £50 worth of prizes.

Saint Lucia joins the rest of the Caribbean in celebrating phenomenal increases in visitor arrivals in 2015.  The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) announced that visitor arrivals to the region was up 6% at the end of the first quarter, whilst Saint Lucia alone, recorded a 6.4% growth over the same period last year. 

If you are not sure, don’t open the door - that’s the advice from the Consumer Council for Water (CCWater) which is urging elderly residents and people living alone to register a security password with their water and energy company to help thwart distraction burglars.

Latest employment figures released today serve to illustrate the strength of businesses in the West Midlands, according to Greg Lowson, president of Birmingham Chamber. During the period between December of last year and March 2015, 40,000 new jobs were created in the West Midlands – the largest increase of any region in the UK.

Emirates have announced its plans to launch services to Multan, Pakistan, beginning 1st August, 2015. Service to Multan, Pakistan’s 5th largest city by population, will commence with four weekly flights operated by a Boeing 777-300 in a two-class configuration - 54 seats in Business Class and 310 in Economy Class.

More than three-quarters of Midlanders will never buy from a company again if their first phone call is not handled satisfactorily, research has revealed. This result puts them among the least tolerant in Britain, behind only people from Wales and the South East, while closely followed by East Anglians.

New research from the Centre for Retail Research (CRR) and VoucherCodes.co.uk has revealed the ever increasing role of mobile in the customer shopping journey, and the implication of this for brands and marketers.

According to PwC’s latest Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2015-2019, the UK Entertainment and Media market is expected to grow by 3.2% compound annually from 2014-2019 to a value of £66.6bn in 2019.