Business News

Nine of West Midlands’ most talented property professionals are in the running for nationwide recognition after making it on to the shortlist for the 2016 RICS Matrics Young Surveyor of the Year Awards. The annual awards launched three years ago in a bid to raise awareness of, and reward inspirational role models in the land, property and construction sectors.  Hundreds of young surveyors from across the UK – aged 35 and under - were nominated, with a shortlist of 78 aspiring to be crowned ‘Young Surveyor of the Year’ in their respective sector or specialism.

The first tenants have moved into homes built as part of a £1.7 million City of Wolverhampton Council pilot project to deliver newbuild council housing on four small derelict sites across the city. The works were carried out by the council’s Strategic Construction Partnership (SCP) contractors, - Wates Living Space and United Living – who have delivered 12 homes at Redcotts Close, Fallings Park; Hughes Road, Bilston North; Welbury Gardens, St Peter’s; and Sunset Place, Spring Vale.

HomeServe has been named as one of the UK’s best companies for supporting its employees’ work-life balance. The UK home assistance company came third in a study by independent jobs and recruiting marketplace company Glassdoor, which rates companies based on the feedback from their employees. Only financial recruiters Goodman Masson (1^st) and telecommunications company Cisco Systems rated higher. 

Birmingham Airport is supporting childhood cancer by being part of its awareness campaign.  From the 1^st September Birmingham Airport’s Air Traffic Control Tower (ATC) will be lit up gold from dusk to dawn to support a group of parents of children with cancer to raise awareness of children’s cancer. 

Elementary entrepreneur Gabrielle Goodwin recently raised $28,000 on Kickstarter with the help of her mom Rozalynn. She will use the capital to manufacture new designs and colors for her hair accessory solution GaBBY Bows. The mother-daughter duo solved the age-old problem of disappearing girls’ hair barrettes by inventing The Double-Face Double-Snap Barrette by GaBBy.

Key industries in some Commonwealth nations could take massive hits if appropriate steps aren’t taken following the UK’s departure from the EU. The forecast over so-called Brexit comes from policy experts’ analysis in two new research papers published by the Commonwealth Secretariat. "Brexit is a journey into unknown trading arrangements, both for the UK dealing with the EU, and the UK’s trading relationship with a large number of developing countries. Many have benefited from EU trade preferences," said Dr Mohammad Razzaque, head of the Secretariat’s international trade policy section.

This autumn, Jumeirah Carlton Tower is celebrating its 1960s beginnings with a 'Sixties Knightsbridge Style' exhibition in collaboration with Harrods and a Swinging Sixties Afternoon Tea.  On display in an area of the hotel's Chinoiserie lounge, the complimentary exhibition will run from 10th September to 20th November and will feature photos taken in the hotel in the 1960s, as well as images and clothing from the Harrods archive.

The most iconic packaging on British shelves has been revealed...as the Cola-Cola glass bottle. A study of 1,500 Brits explored the influence of packaging and branding on everyday shoppers and found that one in six thought the Coca-Cola bottle was the most identifiable in terms of packaging, and was just as recognisable without its logo or the product itself.

Multi-million pound Westside development plans will reach another milestone tomorrow (Wednesday) when preparatory work starts on the demolition of Heantun House and the Market Halls in Market Square, Wolverhampton. The building is no longer in use following the relocation in April of the indoor market traders to purpose-built cabins as part of the new-look city centre market.

A number of Tesco stores across London will open 24hrs in line with the new Night Tube schedule in a bid to increase convenience for late night and early morning travellers. From Friday 19 August Tesco will trial opening seven additional stores for 24hrs on Friday and Saturdays along the Victoria and Central lines.

Australia's top travel writers and public relations professionals were honoured at the annual ASTW Awards for Excellence at a gala awards ceremony held at Durbanville Hills in Cape Town. The top writer accolade, Travel Writer of the Year, which is judged from a selection of three stories by the writer, was awarded to John Borthwick. John, has been a member of the ASTW since 1990 and his award-winning stories were published in both the travel sections of The Australian and Sydney Morning Herald's Traveller section.

A number of factors - including cheaper mortgages, a rise in first-time buyers and more choice - have combined to create a positive outlook for the property market. The Bank of England’s recent decision to lower the base rate to 0.25 per cent has encouraged eight of the UK’s ten largest mortgage lenders to lower their standard variable rates, while figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders show 68,200 loans were taken out by first-time buyers in June, an increase of 26 per cent on May and eight per cent on June 2015.

The Black Country Chamber Annual Exhibition will be taking place on 29th September at Wolverhampton Racecourse from 9am to 1pm. This is set to be a great event, with all of the stands selling out in record time and the number of delegates increasing each day. Proving itself to the one of the highlights of our annual events calendar, the exhibition will feature over 54 stands and usually attracts approximately 500 delegates, thereby serving as an ideal opportunity to network with a wide variety of local businesses.

Park Regis Birmingham – the new four-star luxury hotel in the heart of the city - has become Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce’s latest patron. The hotel, located at the former Auchinleck House at Five Ways, opened its doors in March following a £50m transformation. As well as offering 253 rooms, including a giant Presidential suite, Park Regis Birmingham boasts two restaurants, its 1565 Restaurant, Bar & Terrace, as well as its 16th floor Japanese eatery Rofuto.

The Caterer.com People Awards 2016 recently shortlisted The Belfry Hotel & Resort as one of the leading HR organisations in the country following their nomination in the HR Team category.The awards themselves, seek to recognise the initiatives that nominees develop and subsequently the hard work and dedication that goes into implementing them. Having already been nominated in the HR excellence awards in May 2016, this new shortlist adds to the impressive reputation the resort HR team is building within the HR industry.