Business News

Jonathan Webber, director of international trade at Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce (GBCC), has died after a long battle with cancer. He was 58. Jonathan, who joined the Chamber in April, 1999, was awarded the MBE for services to international trade and development in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2011 and was made a deputy lieutenant in the West Midlands in 2014.

With well over 500,000 Brits now employed in franchising across the UK and industry turnover amounting to £13.7 billion, there has never been a better time to adopt one of the UK’s most successful business models. In the West Midlands specifically annual turnover from franchising in 2015 was £1.5 billion, up 15% on the last 5 years.

Qatar Airways was officially unveiled as KidZania Singapore’s latest industry partner at a press conference and special preview of the KidZania Singapore establishment on Sentosa Island. Visitors entering KidZania Singapore will be welcomed at the Qatar Airways branded airport terminal, complete with check-in desks and personnel dressed in Qatar Airways uniforms. The facility is also home to the Aviation Academy where kids can immerse themselves in the world of aviation and travel.

Business leaders in Birmingham welcomed an up-beat report from the company which part-owns Birmingham’s Grand Central and Bullring shopping centres. Property giant Hammerson this month acquired Grand Central shopping centre for £350 million and has reaffirmed its “strong commitment” to Birmingham.

Birmingham City Council has guaranteed there will be no school crossing patrol job losses next year after launching the School Crossing Safety Trust. And council leader, Cllr John Clancy, is continuing talks with businesses and other potential partners to fund the service in future years. Cuts to the service were among budget proposals published in December but Cllr Clancy stressed his preferred option was to launch a trust to fund crossing patrols in future years.

Facewatch, the revolutionary, hi-tech system launched last year to help businesses report crime is already seeing success following a string of arrests.  The first success saw ‘report to arrest’ within five hours where a prolific shop lifter responsible for 2 thefts from Selfridges totalling £210 was remanded in custody due to the high quality footage available.

Cabinet is set to approve the adoption of a plan to tackle the long-standing issue of low skills in Birmingham by ensuring people of all ages are equipped with the skills they need to secure sustainable and well-paid jobs. Developed in conjunction with partners, the Birmingham Skills Investment Plan (BSIP) sets out the challenges relating to low skills and unemployment in the city and how these will be addressed in the long-term.

Wolverhampton's Youth Offending Team is working well to protect the public and prevent young people from reoffending, according to inspectors. They gave the City of Wolverhampton Council-run service top marks in four of the six inspection areas, and the second best rating in the other two, making it one of the best performing Youth Offending Teams in the country.

Qatar Airways has been ranked as one of the world’s most valuable brands for the first time, becoming the only Qatari company to be represented in the 2016 top 500 global brand ranking. Brand Finance, a world-leading independent brand valuation consultancy, listed Qatar Airways as one of the most powerful global brand in the annual ranking. The UK-based company is widely recognised as conducting highly extensive analysis of the world’s most successful businesses to produce a definitive list of valuable brands.

Dozens of businesses from the West Midlands region are on their way to exporting to Sub-Saharan Africa after experts travelled to the UK to offer specialist advice. Companies ranging from technology and education to construction took part in a Meet The Experts event, organised by UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) West Midlands.

It was the first of what intends to be an ongoing series of networking evenings to create the best possible platform and access to tools for engaging business – small, medium, or large, meet like-minded organizations and individuals and find ways where working together can help grow their individual economy and that of a greater scale.

For the seventh year running, Severn Trent customers are receiving the best value in Britain following an announcement that its bills are still the lowest in the land, and will remain that way until 2020. Planning to spend around £6billion - £1,4000 per household or business, on new pipes, fixing leaks more quickly and much more, including improving the quality of rivers and the environment and reducing sewer flooding. In 2016/17, the average household bill will remain unchanged at £329. 

Young entrepreneurs are a unique breed of business men and women. They look at the world through different eyes and want to change it. For some, the desire to help change the world and be the next big thing comes at a very young age - even as young as just 10 years old.

Member of European Parliament, Neena Gill, recently met with Barclays bank in the West Midlands to discuss support for small and medium sized businesses and online protection for customers. Ms Gill, the Labour member for the West Midlands, spoke after the event saying: “As one of Britain’s biggest lenders Barclays  play a fundamental role in supporting entrepreneurs to set up small businesses and drive the West Midlands’ economy.

The EU and US have reached a deal on data sharing, whereby a US director of national intelligence will sign a pledge that the US government will avoid “indiscriminate mass surveillance” of EU citizens when their data is sent from Europe to the US, referred to as the 'Privacy shield'. This agreement replaces former data-sharing arrangement – 'safe harbour' - used by thousands of companies to transfer highly sensitive personal data.

After winning the prestigious Advisor Firm of the Year award at the New Model Advisor Awards (NMA) 2016, celebrations were in full flow for Midlands based Cooper Parry Wealth. Following its merger with Clement Keys at the turn of the year, the firm managed to beat numerous other wealth management firms to be crowned winner in London.