Business News

HSBC UK has launched a £15bn lending fund for small and medium sized businesses with £1.5bn ring-fenced to support local economies, employment opportunities and drive growth across West Midlands.

Whilst concerns about the broader market remain, HSBC’s customers are thinking about growth via investment, acquisitions and capital expenditure.

Cybersecurity training platform Hoxhunt, Finland’s fastest-growing SaaS company according to Deloitte, announced it raised $40 million in its Series B round led by New York-based Level Equity Management, along with participation by existing investor Icebreaker.vc. The new funding will aid the development of Hoxhunt’s leading-edge technology and accelerate growth in new markets, particularly North America.

A rogue landlord that put tenants at serious risk has been fined for £4,808 for breaking housing regulations on a property in Wolverhampton.

The City of Wolverhampton Council prosecuted Maciej Piotr Zaremba, previously of Third Avenue, Wolverhampton, for breaching Management Regulations for a house of multiple occupation (HMO).

The Midlands corporate finance team of Azets, the UK's largest regional accountancy and business advisor to SMEs, has advised on the multimillion-pound sale of the Ernest Engineering Group. The Ernest Engineering Group is a family business and was established in 1970. Based in Coventry, it specialises in the manufacture of specialist brass and steel threaded parts and trades under the names of Anchor Inserts and Bailey & Wade.

Analysis from the UK’s leading equity release adviser Key Later Life Finance ahead of the Platinum Jubilee shows house prices have increased 138 times in value during the Queen’s 70 years on the throne.

Average house prices were £1,891 in 1952 at the start of her reign and are now £260,771 – which is an increase of 138 times. 

A new start-up called Ad Astra has launched, becoming the UK’s first non-fungible token (NFT) agency that specialises in connecting artists, art collectors and galleries with end-to-end NFT services.

The company intends to break down the entry barriers for many artists who have the desire, but not the resources, to create and sell innovative NFTs that fully utilise the potential of the medium.

Conrad Energy continues to enable the UK’s energy transition with the announcement that their first significant strategic solar development has been awarded planning approval. Larport Solar Farm, an installation which will provide an environmentally friendly, low cost and safe way of delivering clean power to the equivalent of more than 11,000 homes, has been unanimously approved for build out by Herefordshire County Council.

Legatics, developers of the leading legal transaction management platform, today announced the findings of a new survey conducted in collaboration with YouGov that reveals the impact stress, burnout and over work are having on the legal profession, and lawyers’ day-to-day lives in law firms and legal departments.

Manchester City is following the cue of other teams that achieved success after heavy spending.  According to safebettingsites.com analysis, its net expenditure of $1.53B in 2018 more than doubles Chelsea's $658.9M outlay.

“Spending big on a team's development has its advantages,” says safebettingsites.com’s Edith Reads.

People across the region facing increasing cost of living pressures can access a £30 million support fund being launched today by Severn Trent. As the cost of living continues to rise, the water company has pledged to support an extra 100,000 customers who are struggling to pay their water bills. The funds are available to those on low incomes.

Young traders are being invited to show off their stalls to hundreds of shoppers thanks to a free business opportunity organised by City of Wolverhampton Council.

As part of the national Young Traders Market programme, entrepreneurs aged between 16 and 30 can take advantage of special events being run throughout July and August.

Sandwell Leisure Trust (SLT) is heralding its latest independently verified success story of generating and delivering nearly £7 million of social value* back to the borough.

This figure for the 21/22 financial year has increased significantly from £1.8million in financial year 20/21 - highlighting the impact of COVID-19 closures on Social Value – plus the Black Country-based charity (which still runs nine leisure facilities for Sandwell Council across the borough) is well above standard for the industry.

At a time of global climate crisis, when nations are looking to governments for comprehensive plans to secure a green future, new research from Novuna Business Finance reveals that half of the UK small business community are sleepwalking into landfill by not yet recycling plastic bottles and tins cans (50%). Further, four in 10 enterprises (39%) are not recycling paper and, worryingly, only a third use confidential waste to process sensitive documents.

Businesses across Solihull can now apply for the chance to be recognised in the Solihull Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Dinner and Awards ceremony, returning this October at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole hotel.

This year’s awards will take place on Friday 7 October from 6pm at the flagship hotel who became patrons of the Solihull Chamber of Commerce earlier this year.

West Midlands Mayor Andy Street has headed off on a transatlantic trade mission to beat the drum for the region with North American investors, business leaders and tourist chiefs.

With the Commonwealth Games less than 70 days away, the week-long trip to the USA and Canada will see the Mayor visit Chicago before travelling to Toronto where he will lead a West Midlands showcase event featuring the arrival in the city of the Queen’s Baton Relay.

Water Saving Week, run by Waterwise, aims to raise awareness of the issues around water use and help people understand the value of water, so they can use it wisely.

Bromford, which is providing a range of properties for local people in the West Midlands, is committed to making sure its homes are water and energy efficient, in a way that is beneficial to both the environment and homeowners’ wallets.