Business News

Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine and the consequent energy crisis has tested the resilience of the West Midlands economy – but “significant opportunities” lie ahead for the region’s business sector. The annual Birmingham Economic Review produced by Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce and the University of Birmingham City Region Economic and Development Institute (City-REDI) reveals that the region is well placed to counter ‘once in a generation’ events such as the energy crisis and make Birmingham the best location for business ambitions.

The West Midlands has announced its formal submission to Government for a package of Investment Zones capable of accelerating economic growth and delivering tens of thousands of new homes and jobs. If accepted by Government, the zones have the potential to boost the regional economy by more than £4.7bn a year, creating 65,128 new jobs, 18,616 new homes and 3.1m sqm of commercial space.

A recent report led by the NHS Counter Fraud Authority (NHSCFA) on local NHS healthcare spend during the COVID-19 pandemic has identified that good practice across NHS procurement saved millions of pounds during this unprecedented and challenging time.

The PEA (Post Event Assurance) exercise found that despite the mounting, varied and complex operational pressures, most NHS organisations maintained good levels of financial governance, assurance, transparency, and fraud risk management.

On Friday (October 14) the government announced that Corporation Tax will increase to 25% from April 2023 as already legislated for, raising around £18 billion a year and acting as a down payment on its full Medium-Term Fiscal Plan.

The decision has been taken in recognition of the need to ensure the UK’s economic stability and reassure markets of its commitment to fiscal discipline, after elements of September’s Growth Plan went further and faster than markets were expecting.

West Bromwich-based charity, the Kaleidoscope Plus Group is set to provide a cost-of-living support payment to employees. The support, totalling a one-off payment of £650 for each employee, will be paid in October.

The move comes as energy prices increase and cost-of-living increases for all. The Kaleidoscope Plus Group charity helps thousands of people across the UK each year and offers a range of services for people in need of support. 

National law firm Mills & Reeve has appointed six new trainees in its Birmingham office as part of a nationwide programme to prepare and train the next generation of lawyers - including four being graduates of the University of Birmingham. The new trainees will gain experience across various departments including health and care, technology and sport before eventually choosing a speciality to move forward with.

The UK’s largest event for the built environment, UK Construction Week (UKCW) Birmingham, made a welcome return to the NEC last week, with visitor numbers up 19% from last year. The show drew over 23,900 visitors from as far afield as Turkey, Brazil, Australia and Canada, and included a host of high-profile names including West Midlands Mayor Andy Street, Channel 4 presenter George Clarke, and BBC journalist and presenter Simon Jack.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer has responded to the latest labour market statistics, below.

The Chancellor, Kwasi Kwarten, said: “Countries around the world are facing economic challenges, but today’s statistics remind us that the fundamentals of the UK economy remain resilient, with unemployment at its lowest point for almost 50 years.

Five percent of iPhone 14 production is expected to shift to the country this year, much sooner than analysts had anticipated. By 2025, a quarter of all iPhones the company makes could be produced in India, say analysts at investment bank JP Morgan.

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.

MOT and vehicle servicing company Motorserv UK has been named the Solihull Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year. The business was crowned at the Solihull Chamber’s annual dinner and awards ceremony at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole, with 400 guests attending.

The awards night was sponsored by Solihull College & University Centre, Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council, and the Hilton Birmingham Metropole.

Ahead of Birmingham Tech Week, a fast-growing Solihull technology company is set to play a key role in the proceedings with a focus on diversity and inclusion.

Wise, located in Solihull town centre, will be playing a key role in Birmingham Tech Week, which is the UK’s largest regional technology festival.

NFU Mutual is warning ghost brokers who buy fraudulent policies on behalf of others that they will be found out and could face prosecution.

The mutual insurer is supporting the Insurance Fraud Bureau’s campaign to raise awareness of ghost broking, which can leave vulnerable people with inadequate or non-existent cover while ghost brokers line their pockets.

The Mayor of Dudley visited Netherton-based manufacturing firm Midtherm last week to unveil the business’s new-look logo. The visit was the latest in the Made in Dudley Borough series where senior leaders celebrate local firms who are doing great things.

Midtherm is a family-owned traditional UK manufacturing business with over 50 years’ experience specialising in the production of domestic and commercial flue systems.

Passengers planning on travelling during RMT strike action today (Saturday 8 October) and tomorrow (Sunday 9) are being warned not to get caught out with trains finishing much earlier than normal. Only nine trains per hour will depart from the station - that's compared to an average of 40 departures an hour on a non-strike weekday.

An accomplished team of Leominster designers and engineers have created a new ‘construction’ innovation that will change the way temporary steel supports are adjusted. Having experienced the pain of using ‘acrows’ first hand on a renovation project, Grove Design’s Austin Owens challenged his colleagues to come up with a solution that would transform the time-consuming process to make it safe, quick and easy to adjust the supports using a standard impact driver.