Business News

The organisation that helps businesses to export to China has appointed a new adviser in the West Midlands. James Westwood, a 34-year-old Birmingham entrepreneur who set up three businesses in Shanghai over 10 years, joins the China-Britain Business Council (CBBC) as China business adviser for the West Midlands region. Birmingham born and bred, James headed for Shanghai at the age of 23 to work and learn the language and culture.

Councils across the country are to receive a £5m cash boost to tackle rogue landlords in their area, Housing Minister Brandon Lewis announced today. Forty eight councils will share the funding so they can take on the irresponsible landlords that force tenants to live in squalid and dangerous properties, making their lives a misery. The cash will also allow councils to root out more ‘beds in sheds’. Since 2011 nearly 40,000 inspections have taken place in properties with over 3,000 landlords facing further enforcement action or prosecution.

Average pay (median) in the West Midlands is still worth £1,981 less in real terms than it was in 2008 – a shortfall of £38 a week – according to new analysis published by the TUC. The figures confirm that, despite some strengthening of real wages over 2014 to 2015, workers in the region still have a long way to go to restore all the earnings they lost following the longest squeeze on wages since records began in the 1850s.

The Black Country Chamber of Commerce are delighted to announce that they have appointed Keith Bryan as the new Chief Executive. After qualifying as an accountant whilst in the engineering industry, Keith joined the Tarmac Group and rose ‘through the ranks’ to eventually be Managing Director of the £350 million turnover building materials business and a member of the Tarmac Group Executive Committee.

Homes across the South of England are to benefit from environmentally-friendlier drinking water in the new year thanks to a cooling innovation being implemented by leading cooling engineers at Aqua Cooling, which has recently won several substantial deals in the Northern Powerhouse cities including Manchester and Liverpool.

Exploratory plans for a West Midlands sovereign wealth fund and ‘Brummie bonds’ to pay for new homes in Birmingham have been welcomed by business leaders. Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce says the proposals by new Birmingham City Council leader John Clancy to invest the public sector pension pot in new houses and infrastructure could tap into a ‘potentially great untapped asset.’

Birmingham City Council’s efforts to become a better employer for lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) people have been recognised with another improved ranking in the latest Stonewall Top 100 Employers list. The council is 28^th in the 2016 table - a leap of 31 places from last year’s 59^th and an improvement of 63 places from 2014. In the council’s submission to Stonewall, the leading LGBT charity, a number of initiatives and projects supported by the local authority were outlined.

Leading law firm Irwin Mitchell are taking part in a project aimed at helping clinicians in Bangladesh learn how to identify, treat and rehabilitate those who have suffered a brain injury. Irwin Mitchell’s specialists in Birmingham are working in conjunction with neuroscientist, Dr Dave Quinn, and Professor Graham Powell, a Chartered Psychologist, to support the Nasirullah Foundation.

Birmingham’s oldest Taxi firm, TOA Taxis, has kick-started a fresh new year with the appointment of a new Secretary and plans to make updates to their cab technology. New Secretary, Mohammed Imran Akram, recently took on the role after twelve years of service as a black cab driver and five years as a TOA driver. Mohammed’s new position involves taking on new drivers, organising contracts with local businesses, marketing and day to day management of the office itself.

West Midlands MEP Daniel Dalton today launched his report aimed at tackling non-tariff barriers within the EU at a public hearing in the European Parliament. The draft report highlights areas where small businesses trying to trade in another member state still face unfair discrimination and barriers to entry that favour existing market players. It was welcomed by small business associations, including the FSB, as a positive step forward in helping SMEs to trade on a more level playing field.

Small businesses that work with Birmingham City Council and other organisations have been recognised for the efforts they make to operate in an ethical and socially responsible way. A total of 37 organisations were awarded the Birmingham Business Charter for Social Responsibility during a ceremony on January 7. Of those given the honour, 20 were SMEs (Small and medium-sized enterprises) – and received praise from senior city councillors for the positive example they are setting for businesses large and small.

People planning to retire in the coming 12 months expect to receive an annual income of £17,700 – the third annual increase in a row – according to the latest research by Prudential¹, a leading provider of pension saving and retirement income solutions. Each year Prudential conducts unique research into the financial plans and aspirations of people planning to retire in the year ahead.

Work has begun on construction of the new Wolverhampton Coach Link as part of the city’s multi-million Interchange plans. City of Wolverhampton Council announced at the end of October that it had been granted £500,000 by the Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) for the development of a new coach facility and related works. Wolverhampton Coach Link will be based in Bilston Street and will make use of the now redundant side of the St George’s Metro stop.

Rubery Owen Holdings Ltd based in Darlaston, Wednesbury, are the latest company to join The Platinum Group, part of the Black Country Chamber of Commerce. Rubery Owen Holdings Ltd is a family business established over 131 years ago and has a rich heritage, having employed thousands of people across the globe. It has been involved in many interesting projects such as the famous BRM racing team and the development of Donald Campbell’s Bluebird.

Birmingham Airport has celebrated its most successful year to date, handling 10.2 million passengers during the 2015 calendar year – almost 5% more than the previous year. 2015 also ended with the busiest December on record as almost 700,000 passengers used the airport, up 10% from December 2014.