Boost for businesses as tariffs suspended on over a hundred products ahead of SME conference

All importers of the affected products could benefit from the suspension of tariffs on the likes of flowers, leather, fruit juices, and car parts, among others – as the Business Secretary sets out plans to back British manufacturing to help grow the economy.

Boost for businesses with Chancellor visit to West Midlands to launch new tech support scheme.

The Chancellor held a virtual roundtable with small businesses to launch Help to Grow: Digital, designed to support smaller businesses adopt new tech to help them thrive.

Rishi Sunak hosted the call with over 30 businesses from across the UK at CineBowl in Uttoxeter on January 20th to mark the launch of the scheme, where he spoke to people on a big screen about their experiences before taking part in a Q&A session. The scheme includes a dedicated website providing free advice and support and software vouchers to boost productivity and help businesses grow.

Boost for people struggling to rent a decent, energy efficient home

Families struggling to afford to rent a good quality, energy efficient home are set to benefit from a new Black Country housing scheme, built on derelict land using some of the latest low carbon construction technology. The former Wood & Moore Builders Merchants in Wallows Road, Brierley Hill, which was also previously used as a glassworks, has been unlocked for new residential development thanks to an investment of nearly £700,000 from the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA).

Boost for UK AI as Microsoft unveils £2.5 billion investment in skills and new datacentres

The Chancellor of the Exchequer has hailed Microsoft’s major investment in AI infrastructure and skills as critical for future growth and innovation, boosting the country as a science and technology superpower.

Boss of British woodworking firm announced finalist in ‘Entrepreneur’ category

The managing director of a Northampton-based family-run industry leader in British woodworking has been shortlisted for a prestigious award.

Amarjit Binji, who runs AJB Group Limited, is among six finalists in the ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ category of the Midlands Business Awards (MBAs). Now in its 16th year, the MBAs recognise and reward achievers who demonstrate remarkable outputs and contribution in line with category criteria.

Boutique private equity firm acquires £4million haulage and logistics company

Winch & Co have announced that it has completed the acquisition of Eclipse Distribution, a haulage and logistics business based in Loughborough, founded in 1989. 

The boutique private equity firm based in Leeds city centre said the acquisition outlines its latest investment mandate to find logistics and distribution businesses by which it will grow its group.

BPL extends ‘Worcester’ relationship with £1m press investment

One of the UK’s leading sheet metalwork specialists has extended its long-term partnership with Worcester Presses with a new £1m investment.

BPP announces first group of businesses to benefit from new free mentorship programme

Following months of planning and a period of interviews, The Black Pounds Project is thrilled to announce the names of the first Black owned SME businesses in the West Midlands to benefit from the organisation’s free mentorship programme. The Black Pounds Project (BPP), founded by Birmingham playwright CJ Webley in 2020, aims to help Black businesses who have been severely hit and at risk because of COVID-19, continue to contribute to the regional economy.

Sue Bedward founder of Midlands Business Leadership Academy and member of the interview panel said: “In the current climate we are delighted to welcome onboard our first cohort of eight-businesses, who will receive mentoring, coaching, workshops, business support and advice services through the BPP. The high calibre and the diverse range of products and services they offer is exceptional and we look forward to helping them take their businesses to the next level in building capability, capacity and a stronger local economy for the West Midlands, #blackbusinessmatters.” Those announced were amongst thirty businesses to make it to the shortlist.

The West Midlands-based businesses confirmed are: Fiona Morrison, Fegus Designs offering a range of eye catching and vibrant merchandise and art for children, with a strong emphasis on diverse characters; Craig Markham, Bubble Bar a full service bar with a full range of local beers, ciders, wines, guest cocktails, gins and soft drinks served from a vintage caravan; Christianne Lee, Broke and Beautiful UK creating a brand for girls  who want a luxury handbag on a budget and on-trend for each season; Dave Daniels, Ms Tita Coffee a distinct, luxury and hearty coffee brand, born in the Jamaica Blue Mountain region; Ebony Hemmings, Breathe in Media helping businesses to maximise their digital platforms and engage with their audience through social media, video and content marketing; Kenya Mcfarlane, Natju  providing a range of freshly made natural juices, teas and a popular detox programme to suit all budgets; Ayisha Hamilton-Amos, Yeesh LTD a skincare and haircare beauty brand that specialises in naturally sourced products allowing men and women to take back control of what they allow on their skin and crown and Cleo Wright, Cleo’s Kitchen providing tasty healthy, vegan desserts and treats.

Founder CJ Webley said: “This Mentorship scheme will offer access to a pool of professional advisors who are dedicating their services for free to help kick start the businesses for when we come out of lockdown.  Topics covered will include professional development coaching and training in becoming legally and regulatory compliant across all areas and, where necessary, funding to help with digital and branding strategies, marketing materials, set up costs, graphic design and finance management.”

The BPP will support each business over a twelve-month period and, as the project develops, the team will compile a directory of high quality, professional Black owned businesses that everyone can benefit from.

The Black Pounds Project launched its fundraising page in June 2020. For the project to support as many Black businesses as possible during this time, further funding is desperately needed.

Bremont announces its new CEO

Bremont, Britain's largest manufacturer of luxury watches, have announced that it has appointed industry veteran Davide Cerrato as CEO and a member of the Board.

Bolstering Bremont's in-house capabilities, Cerrato brings with him extensive experience in branding, product design and development, supply-chain management, and production. Cerrato has a proven track record, having worked with some of the most notable brands in the watch industry including Tudor, Montblanc and Panerai.

Brexit negotiator call Brexit trade deal a moment of national renewal

Following the agreement announced on Christmas Eve, after months of fraught talks on issues such as fishing rights and business rules, Prime Minister Boris Johnson's chief Brexit negotiator, Lord Frost, has said the new trade deal between the UK and the EU marks the beginning of a moment of national renewal.

He (Lord Frost) described the agreement as "one of the biggest and broadest" ever, with MPs voting on the deal in Parliament on December 30, as the UK prepares to exit existing trading rules on December 31. The European Parliament also needs to ratify it, while EU ambassadors received a Christmas Day briefing on the trade deal from EU negotiator Michel Barnier. A 1,246-page document, which has been published on the UK government's website, sets out the post-Brexit relationship with the EU and includes about 800 pages of annexes and footnotes.

When speaking to reporters, Lord Frost said: "There's no more role for the European Court of Justice, there's no direct effects of EU law, there's no alignment of any kind, and we're out of the single market and out of the customs union just as the manifesto said we would. "All choices are in our hands as a country and it's now up to us to decide how we use them and how we go forward in the future."

Senior members of the UK negotiating team added the deal allowed for a "managed divergence" from EU rules and standards. A free trade agreement usually rules out tariffs being applied to imported goods. Under the terms of this deal if either party acts in a way the other views as anti-competitive, they can go to an independent arbitrator. If that doesn't resolve the complaint, either party can impose tariffs.

The French Minister for Europe Clément Beaune said: "There is no country in the world that will be subject to as many export rules to us as the UK."

But the UK negotiators described the rules as "standard" for third party trade deals.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer - who campaigned against Brexit - said the deal did not provide adequate protections for jobs, manufacturing, financial services or workplace rights and was "not the deal the government promised". But with no time left to renegotiate, the only choice was between "this deal or no deal", he added.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described it as "fair" and "balanced", saying it was now "time to turn the page and look to the future".

Brian Butterfield’s ‘Call Of Now’ UK and Ireland Tour 2024 announced

September (and a bit of October) 2023 was an important month in the world of business, as Brian Butterfield made his live stage debut, imparting all his business knowledge from his decades spent within the business world working as everything from Lord Mayor’s Croupier to Circus Horse Dentist.

Bridgette Daley delivers digital solutions for Caribbean SMEs and beyond

Through a journey filled with various professional experiences and amassed capabilities, Caribbean-American digital marketing expert and entrepreneur, Bridgette Daley is making major impact in the global digital revolution. She is currently on a mission to use her mastery of this field to benefit small and medium sized enterprises and organizations in her native Jamaica and the wider Caribbean region.

Brilliant Planet Limited announces the closing of its $12 million Series A funding co-led by Union Square Ventures and Toyota Ventures

Brilliant Planet Limited (formerly Susewi Ltd), the nature-based carbon capture and storage company, announced the closing of its oversubscribed $12 million Series A funding co-led by Union Square Ventures and Toyota Ventures.  Additional and follow-on investors include Future Positive Capital, AiiM Partners, S2G Ventures, Hatch and Pegasus Tech Ventures.

Brilliant Planet is unlocking the power of algae as an affordable method of permanently and quantifiably sequestering carbon at the gigaton scale. 

Britain’s best property pockets for first-time buyers

The latest research from lettings and estate agent, Barrows and Forrester, has revealed which areas of the property market are currently the most first-time buyer (FTB) friendly based on current price, annual change and cost compared to the broader average in each area.

The research shows that both the average price paid by FTBs and the average price paid across the broader market have both increased by 2.9% in the last year. However, at a current average of £198,513, FTBs are still getting on the ladder at a lower cost to the wider average of £238,414. 

When it comes to overall affordability, Inverclyde is home to the lowest price paid by FTBS at £72,435. East Ayrshire (£74,876), the Western Isles (£76,122) and North Ayrshire (£87,447) are also amongst some of the most affordable FTB areas of Britain for outright house price.  

In England, County Durham (£90,488), Tyne and Wear (£121,976), Lancashire (£122,721) and Merseyside (£124,725) are home to some of the lowest prices paid by FTBS, while Blaenau Gwent (£95,729), Merthyr Tydfil (£99,995), Rhondda Cynon Taf (£105,380) and Neath Port Talbot (£116,805) are the most affordable markets in Wales. 

In contrast, the average FTB is paying £924,576 in the City of London although this drops considerably to the next most expensive county, with the cost coming in at £335,933 in Surrey.

18 areas of Britain have seen the average FTB house price drop or remain static over the last year.

13 of these areas are located in Scotland, with the Western Isles (-24.8%), Inverclyde (-12.7%) and East Lothian (-9.3%) seeing the most considerable reductions.

Gwynedd (-3.5%) is the only area of Wales to see the average FTB house price drop in the last year. In England, County Durham (-0.5%), Cambridgeshire (-0.4%), Hertfordshire (-0.1%) and Bedfordshire (0%) have remained largely flat.

When it comes to the most significant FTB discounts when comparing the average FTB house price with the wider average in each area, Perth and Kinross is currently the best place to buy your first home. The average FTB house price of £140,886 is -26.1% more affordable than the wider average of £190,758 in the area.

In England, FTBs can find the biggest relative discounts in Surrey (-25.3%), Bucks (-25.2%), Herefordshire (-23.1%), Hampshire (-21.8%) and Rutland (-21.5%). Monmouthshire (-22.3%), Vale of Glamorgan (-16.8%), Flintshire (-15.7%) and Anglesey (-15.6%) are home to the biggest FTB discounts in the Welsh market.

Managing Director of Barrows and Forrester, James Forrester, commented: “Buying your first home is a huge mile marker in life, and finding the right property can be a daunting process.

For many, affordability will be the deciding factor and the price paid by first-time buyers varies dramatically across Britain, with the majority of areas seeing this cost of getting on the ladder increase over the last year.  

However, while Scotland is home to the greatest wealth of first-time buyer affordability, those house hunting at the other end of Britain are unlikely to up sticks and move that far from their desired area.

The good news is that all but one area of Britain is home to a lower price paid by first-time buyers when compared to the wider market. With this relative discount ranging from around five to 25 per cent.  

While first-time buyers may have a location in mind, expanding their search to the surrounding areas could mean a much more affordable property or a more significant saving.”

British Airways resumes cheap flights to Riga

British Airways has resumed its route to Riga, in Latvia, after a 15-year hiatus.

British Army set to be reduced by 10,000 troops, Defence review reveals

The British Army is set to be reduced by about 10,000 soldiers as part of a move towards robots, drones, and cyber warfare.

The defence review is likely to see the loss of some tanks and aircraft - but the government said there would be more ships, submarines and sailors. Numbers in the regular Army will be reduced to about 70,000 soldiers, having already fallen in recent years.

The UK’s Defence Secretary, Ben Wallace, will make a statement in the Commons aster saying he was making decisions in the context of an increased defence budget. There were 80,010 soldiers in the UK's regular Army in January 2021, latest figures showed, down from 86,080 in October 2015.

Labour responded by saying the number of soldiers was being cut despite an increase in threats facing the UK. The latest reduction in the number of soldiers could be made through natural movement, with those who leave the service not replaced by new recruits.

As part of the military restructure, the Royal Marines will be transformed into a new Future Commando Force, taking on many of the traditional tasks of the special forces - the SAS and SBS. The force will receive more than £200m of direct investment over the next decade to carry out maritime security operations and to pre-empt and deter sub-threshold activity, and counter state threats.

Following the publication last week of the separate so-called integrated review of foreign and defence policy, ministers have said big changes are necessary to create a more agile military. As part of that review, the government increased the cap on UK nuclear warheads from 180 to 260.

British Business Bank’s start up loans programme celebrates 10th anniversary and reveals its West Midlands Ambassador

West Midlands-based Thatch and Stone, an interior accessories company, is among 12 small businesses to be selected as champions of UK start-ups by Start Up Loans, part of the British Business Bank. The announcement comes as the programme celebrates its 10-year anniversary, having delivered more than 8,000 loans worth more than £73m to new business owners in the West Midlands since 2012.

British crowd and public safety tech company honoured with King’s Award for Enterprise

Halo Solutions, the Nottinghamshire based tech company behind the UK’s leading crowd safety and security operations software, has been honoured with a King’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation.

British Safety Council announces winners of the International Safety Awards 2022

549 organisations around the world received a highly prized accolade for their work in health, safety, and wellbeing, as British Safety Council revealed the winners of its prestigious International Safety Awards 2022.

The awards recognise and celebrate organisations from around the world which have shown a true dedication in the last year to keeping their workers and workplaces healthy, safe, and well. 

British tech companies leading global race to innovate the tech and education metaverse

Two of Manchester’s leading tech companies are leading the race to innovate the global education metaverse with their own science and tech campus, Credersi World, using a mixed reality platform that includes virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR).  

While Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg has outlined his vision of what a global metaverse might look like, tech and science educators Credersi and 3D tech innovators PixelMax are at the forefront of developing and shaping what the education metaverse will actually be.