Business News

From seeds....to bloomers! Introducing Bread & Butter, the UK's first food and drink founders' festival for start-ups to scale-ups looking to grow their businesses - and make them earn their crust. The two-day festival will feature hands-on interactive content, workshops, six unique zones and a schedule of inspiring must-see speakers who have all been there, seen it and done it.

Fraudsters are targeting students’ first loan instalments just weeks before thousands of students start the new academic year. The new wave of phishing emails have been reported to the Student Loans Company, claiming that failure to respond with personal information updates will see students ‘lose or delay’ their September student finance payment. The Student Loans Company is warning students not to disclose any details or respond to the email, which purports to be from Student Finance England.

The number of people living in each household is set to fall, as one-person homes and smaller families become the norm. New statistics from the Department for Communities and Local Government show there is set to be a decline in the average household size from 2.35 to 2.21 people by 2039. While the number of people making up each home is predicted to fall, the total number of households is forecast to rise significantly from the current 22.7 million to 28 million.

Businesses and regional partners from the West Midlands are being encouraged to drive forward the Midlands Engine and take part in its inaugural market visit to the USA and Canada this autumn.The first in a series of market visits was announced by Government at the Midlands Engine Business Summit last month (July), and it will be the first time that businesses and organisations from across the entire region will come together as one to promote trade opportunities.

Helpful Holidays has been shortlisted for Best UK Accommodation (group) at the Family Traveller Awards 2016. Acknowledging and congratulating the best of the best in family travel, the Family Traveller Awards is the only event of its kind, with 25 categories ranging from Best Long Haul Accommodation to Best Kid's Club and everything in between. Bigger and better than ever for 2016, nominations have increased from 2015's inaugural year with a further seven categories bringing the total number of awards to 25.

Birmingham Airport has yet again welcomed over a million passengers in a single month through its terminal. In total 1,221,212 people were recorded travelling through the airport in July, up by 14% compared to the same month last year. This has meant the airport is continuing its record breaking run of month on month passenger growth, which now stands at seventeen consecutive months and means the airport is set to celebrate a record breaking summer season.   

Qatar Airways and Qatar Aircraft Catering Company (QACC) have launched a new waste reduction and recycling programme in Doha, further contributing towards local and international environmental solutions. As a world-leading airline Qatar Airways is continually improving how it manages its impact on the environment and has been working to introduce additional measures that will minimise packaging and increase recycling to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill.

Traders are being urged to get in touch and take up market stalls still available at three great Sandwell  summer events. Sandwell Valley Country Park is hosting two fantastic family fun weekends this month plus a big Bank Holiday Monday market. Traders, whether they are food concessions, vintage clothes and crafts or anything else, are being urged to get in touch if they want to take part in any of the events.

City of Wolverhampton Council has revealed its new housing company will be called WV Living.The detailed business case for the company is set to be approved by Full Council in September and it will start trading shortly after.Work on the first phase of homes to be built is then expected to begin in spring 2017. Wolverhampton currently has sufficient land identified to meet projected housing targets but the council is eager to increase the rate of delivery.

Mark Rogers, Chief Executive of Birmingham City Council said: “Dr Mashuq Ally is retiring from Birmingham City Council at the end of August. His leadership and contribution to tackle inequalities in the city leaves a positive and significant legacy in Birmingham. I would like to thank Dr Ally for all his hard work in the field of equalities.” In light of Dr Ally’s retirement, over the autumn there will be a review of the longer term organisational arrangements for equalities, cohesion and community safety in the city council.

A trade mission, organised by JAMPRO, the Jamaican government agency which promotes export business opportunities, brought six representatives for their MICAF Fresh Produce trade mission to visit Grace Foods UK's headquarters in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire. The group heard about the growing demand for Caribbean food and drink in the UK, and how Grace Foods' authentic Jamaican products had helped them to establish a strong, market-leadership position.

A new law that came into force on August 1 will help people recover damages they are owed from a business that has become insolvent. Alex Jakubowski, Commercial Litigation Partner at solicitors Clarke Willmott LLP, says The Third Party (Rights against Insurers) Act 2010 will mean that many people will now find it easier to pursue a claim against a defendant’s insurers if the insured is or has become insolvent.

Law firm Clarke Willmott LLP has advised on the multi-million pound acquisition of telecoms provider Evolve by communications specialist Onecom. Onecom will take over Evolve’s operations in London, Cambridge and Shoeburyness, along with Cardiff-based The Word, which is owned by Evolve and will become Onecom’s first office in Wales. The deal is expected to bring Onecom an additional £7m of earnings before tax and deductions (EBITDA) in the first 12 months.

Waitrose has become the UK's first major supermarket brand to operate a cashless store after opening in Sky's new flagship head office building at its campus in Osterley. It is the first Waitrose to open on a workplace campus in almost 20 years and at 1,400 sq ft becomes the second smallest store in the retailer's estate. The little Waitrose branded shop is located inside Sky's new office building - Sky Central - which will be home to more than 3,500 staff.

A Bellway Site Manager has won one of the house-building industry’s most prestigious awards for the fourth consecutive year, for his work at a development of new homes in Solihull. Steve Brown received a Quality Award in the National House Building Council’s (NHBC) annual Pride in the Job awards for his work at Dickens Manor, a development of 125 new homes being built on land off Dickens Heath Road.

UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) West Midlands has launched a new, free service for businesses that are planning to export their goods and services for the first time. The Export Essentials masterclasses have been designed to help companies develop their export strategy and to understand the fundamental principles of international trade.