Business News

Downtown In Business (DIB) hosted its first City of Birmingham Business Awards in almost two years at the stunning The Grand Hotel – and the first in-person awards event in the country this year.

More than 80 City of Wolverhampton micro and small businesses have now completed the Council’s new Relight Business Programme thanks to over £60,000 investment so far.

Covid-19 has put a spotlight on what people consider to be their top values and life goals, as well as what is needed for a financially secure future. New research from Templeton Emerging Markets Investment Trust’s (TEMIT) Foreign to Familiar report shows that when considering what is most important to them, adults in West Midlands revealed that their health (25%), professional goals (14%), and income (10%) were top of the list.

Many also think about their finances and how they can achieve long-term financial security. When asked how they’re planning to achieve this, 29% of respondents in West Midlands said that a secure job was needed and a further 26% were focused on savings. Despite the superior long-term financial returns they can offer, only 11% said a pension was required to achieve financial security and worryingly only 8% said investments.

The stark reality for those that are focused more on savings to provide financial stability is that while there is more than £1.5tn currently sat in easy access savings accounts across the UK, these are earning a meagre interest of less than 0.39%. This means that UK savers could be missing out on more than £38bn a year in dividend income if savings were invested – the equivalent of £1,350 per household.

Andrew Ness, Portfolio Manager at Templeton Emerging Markets Investment Trust: “Covid-19 has not only made us think about what life goals we aspire to, but also how we manage our finances day-to-day, and what we need to do to achieve a financially secure future. However, many consumers are unaware of the benefits and growth opportunities of investing in emerging markets.”

When looking at investments as an option for future financial stability, only 11% of adults in West Midlands revealed they currently invest in emerging markets. This means a huge 89% are missing out on significant investment returns these markets have to offer.

“Ultimately, emerging markets can offer exciting growth opportunities and are expected to lead the global economic recovery. Indeed the Covid-19 pandemic has strengthened key trends in emerging markets: increased institutional resilience, growth of consumption, technology, innovation, and the ability for companies to "leapfrog" developed-world competitors. Awareness of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues has also intensified in recent years,” explained Andrew.

To put this into context, a monthly investment of £50 a month into a cash account over an 18-year period (an overall investment of £10,800) would mean an investor would have a mere £11,176. An investment into the FTSE100 over the same time period would have returned £18,987. An investment into the passively managed MSCI Emerging Markets Index would have returned £27,859, and finally an investment into the actively managed TEMIT will have returned you £33,403. That’s £22,227 more than what one would have earned in a savings account.

TEMIT’s Foreign to Familiar report, which used quantitative data Adoreboard’s cutting-edge Emotion AI analysis, looked into the emotions and perceptions consumers have when asked about emerging markets and found that many pre-existing perceptions on emerging market countries and a general lack of knowledge of these markets have a huge influence on investment decisions.

Looking into what is holding investors back from taking advantage of the growth potential in emerging markets, the research found that 13% of respondents in West Midlands currently invest money but don't invest in emerging markets, and would not or don't know if they would consider them in the future. Delving into the reasons why this is, 75% are concerned about their lack of knowledge of emerging markets, and 25% are worried about their risk of loss.

However, the same nervousness cannot be said over consumers’ product purchase choices. In fact, of those who said country of origin was not important in their product choices, when looking into the reasons why 14% said that they don’t care where the product is from, and would rather focus on the quality of goods, the selection criteria, and price. Demonstrated by the number of consumers in the UK who use emerging market products everyday (93%), whether that be a TV or washing machine made by Samsung in South Korea, or a 5G chip for their mobile phone manufactured in Taiwan, for example, consumers are inadvertently investing in emerging markets through their product choices. However, when it comes to their investments, consumers are much more hesitant about actively investing their money in emerging markets, despite the favourable returns these markets can deliver.

“Stigmas attached to emerging markets, as well as general nervousness held by investors means they are missing out on favourable investment opportunities. It’s clear that investors need more information and reassurance when it comes to emerging markets – many of which are in fact leading the way in innovation and technology – so it’s important that we highlight where the imbalance is between perception and reality to help consumers reach their financial goals,” Andrew said.

Southern Wind Group, the team behind South American rodizio brand Fazenda, is rewarding all team members with an ongoing 10% pay bonus, passing on savings from the government VAT reduction to the people pursuing careers in one of the hardest hit industries by Covid-19. As part of Westminster’s support package for hospitality, VAT rates were cut to 5% on food and non-alcoholic drinks.

The shareholders of Southern Wind Group have decided to give savings from this back to all team members, including chefs, front-of-house staff and managers, as a thank you for their commitment, loyalty and hard work in successfully opening the restaurants. The first payment of the VAT Bonus Scheme went into June’s paycheque and will see the Fazenda teams all receive an extra 10% in their salaries every month until the end of September – a bonus that will also be added for any new starters joining Fazenda as the restaurants reopen fully.

All employees, from managers to service staff, have worked relentlessly to ensure that each Fazenda site reopened following lockdown. The decision to pass these savings on to the team was an easy one, with the chief executive and managing director visiting each restaurant upon reopening to personally thank the teams in place.

Southern Wind Group hopes its decision to boost wages helps their people recover financially from the impact of the pandemic, as food and beverage looks to bounce back following an uncertain 12 months. More than ever, career paths in hospitality need to be celebrated and the VAT Bonus Scheme is a way to shine a spotlight on the sector.

Fazenda currently has restaurants in Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Edinburgh and Birmingham, with further expansion plans lined up for the next 12 months. The restaurant brand employs more than 330 people across its five sites, all of which are eligible for the VAT Bonus Scheme.

Terence Langley, chief executive at Southern Wind Group, said: “The teams we have across the UK are the reason we have been able to build our brand and such a great reputation. From first walking through the doors, to making drinks, cooking the food and serving our guests, our teams are the lifeblood of Fazenda.”

Managing director for the group, Tomás Maunier, said: “Whilst the past 12 months have been hard, we now want to look to a positive future. We want to use our VAT Bonus Scheme as a thank you to our team for their dedication, and as an assurance that we are committed to helping them as best we can.

“Hospitality is integral to our economy and our lifestyles, and we want to make sure people are rewarded, and that it remains an attractive career choice for so many.”

hmv is set to open a new store at Solihull-based shopping centre, Mell Square, on the entertainment retailer’s 100^th birthday.

The 4,500 sq ft store, which creates eight new jobs for the local area, arrives on 20^th July, 100 years since the very first hmv store opened its doors to the public. The first 100 customers will receive a goodie bag, but all will be able to take advantage of amazing in-store offers, including:

·         Two-for-£40 on best-selling vinyl titles

·         20% off high-definition Blu-Ray and 4K film and TV

·         hmv’s Century of Music and Film promotions, showcasing the best of the past 100 years

·         Great savings across the technology range, with up to half price on headphones and turntables

In addition, hmv’s highly anticipated 1921 Centenary Edition vinyl will be on sale in store from 24^th July. The collection of some of the retailer’s favourite albums from the past 100 years includes Sam Smith’s acclaimed debut album “In the Lonely Hour”, Kate Bush’s “Hounds of Love”, Dolly Parton’s “The Very Best of” and The Star Wars Trilogy’s Original Soundtrack.

Local customers can also look forward to pop-culture must haves, with exclusive t-shirts, sweet treats and collectable figurines, alongside an extensive range of over 5,000 vinyl LPs, collector’s edition Blu-Ray and 4K Ultra HD titles for film and TV lovers, with a great selection of classic turntables and the latest headphones too. Solihull shoppers can also take advantage of hmv’s brand-new “hmv delivers” service, allowing customers to order any items not in store to be delivered direct to their door.

Claire Preston, Store Manager, said: “We’re very glad to be back in Solihull, and look forward to welcoming everyone to the new hmv shop.” hmv Managing Director, Phil Halliday, said: “As we celebrate our 100th anniversary, we’re excited to offer music, film and TV fans in Solihull the chance to browse our incredible range and take advantage of amazing in-store offers.”

Councillor Ian Courts, Leader of Solihull Council, (which now owns Mell Square), said: “It’s great that such a well-known brand as hmv is returning to Mell Square with a new store. It shows that Solihull is still a good place to do business, remains attractive to retailers and I am confident they will not be the last to invest in the town. It also seems auspicious that the store will open on hmv’s 100th birthday, especially for the first 100 customers! I wish hmv and their new staff all the best for this new venture and look forward to other retailers joining them in the future.”

The store’s opening hours are:

·         Monday – Saturday: 9am-5.30pm

·         Sunday: 10.30am-4.30pm

The Office for National Statistics published a detailed report on the full impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the hospitality sector. The responses of 4 small business owners in the sector are below.

Kate Allen, owner at luxury holiday lettings company, Salcombe Finest: "The hospitality sector is definitely starting to recover but the major challenge for all the businesses in it is the frankly ludicrous Test and Trace app. This ill-thought out and expensive piece of tech is screwing us over and kicking us down just as we were starting to get up. We have team members dropping like flies and it is simply unsustainable. It's no surprise the app is being deleted in the hospitality industry faster than a U2 album on iTunes. Coastal hospitality businesses make between 70% to 80% of their annual turnover in the next six weeks during the school holidays. If the app isn’t abolished right now, our window of opportunity will be gone."

Craig Bunting, owner of Derby-based coffee shop, Bear: "We've reached Freedom Day but for most businesses in the hospitality sector the Test and Trace app is an outright farce. It's destroying us, just as we are getting back to our feet. While various Government schemes have provided a degree of support to hospitality businesses, the cost of the pandemic is still immense, both financially and psychologically. We now have to bounce back mentally exhausted and saddled with debt."

Jo Ferreday, director of Market Harborough-based events company, Sheer Edge: "The pandemic has changed the way that all businesses operate, but the hospitality and events sector has most definitely been one of the hardest hit. In March 2020 I wondered how on earth our 5-year old business would survive, given that 90% of the revenue we generated at the time was through corporate hospitality booking and event support services, which evaporated overnight. Fortunately, we adapted and were able to support our clients in their transition to running events virtually. The main theme in the hospitality and events sector right now is the shift to hybrid events, a model that is likely to remain popular in the short to medium term, as the uncertainty generated by new Covid-19 variants lingers."

Maddy Alexander-Grout, founder of the Southampton-based small retail business national discount scheme, My VIP Card: "I'm not sure the hospitality sector will ever be the same again. It has been turned inside out by the pandemic and it will take years for the scars to heal. Many of the businesses we support are within the hospitality sector and their experience of the past 16 or so months has been brutal. Even though the economy is now open, there is still a lot of caution among the public and this will prevent a rapid recovery for hospitality businesses. There's a long road ahead."

Boris Johnson’s speech in Coventry today demonstrated little in terms of substance, a leading academic has said, suggesting that ‘real levelling up would require a 'Solidarity Tax' on London and the South East’.

Economist, Professor Alex de Ruyter, Director of the Centre for Brexit Studies at Birmingham City University, expert said: “Boris Johnson’s speech in Coventry today demonstrated little of substance in terms of concrete measures to support levelling-up; Rather he chose to frame the debate in terms of local leadership being the “ketchup of catch-up.

“The Prime Minister has ignored the deep structural inequalities in the UK economy that have been exacerbated by spending cuts to public services over the past 10 years. Indeed, real levelling up would require a Solidarity Tax on London and the South-East of England.

“If Johnson is serious about learning from the German reunification experience then he should raise a Solidarity Tax like Germany has done to ‘level up’ the East of the country over a thirty-year period. In the UK this could be the imposition of a Land Value Tax that would preponderantly affect the South of England.”

In 2019, Germany raised €19.1bn. Scaled for the UK’s economy, that’s very roughly the equivalent of £12bn every single year for the next 30 years – a total of £360,000,000,000. This is the kind of order of magnitude about which we must be talking.

“In addition to this, Germany has state governments (Länder) that have significant powers independent of the Federal Government and they are entitled to a share of VAT and income tax. German states control their own stamp duty.”

New data from Centre for Cities’ High Streets Recovery Tracker shows that the recovery of high streets stuttered in June as footfall fell back across the UK – raising concerns about the UK economy’s bounce-back from Covid restrictions.

Seaside and tourist destinations saw the sharpest drops in visitor numbers between the end of May and end of June, with visitors to central Blackpool and Bournemouth falling by almost half. Meanwhile, weekend visitors to other tourist destinations such as Brighton, York and Edinburgh also fell steeply.

Overall weekly footfall numbers fell by the end of June in 62 of the 63 city and town centres studied. On average, overall footfall in large city and town centres fell by seven percentage points.

Pubs, bars and restaurants are also likely to have taken an economic hit as night-time visitors to city and town centres fell by six percentage points between the last weekend of May and last weekend of June.

Despite the fall, small and medium city and town centres continue to have seen the strongest recovery overall since restrictions were lifted, while bigger cities continue to struggle. Southend, Blackpool and Basildon have come back strongest, with footfall being more than 70 per cent of February 2020 levels but London and other large city centres lag a long way behind – footfall in the centre of the capital was at just under a third of February 2020 levels.

Centre for Cities’ Chief Executive Andrew Carter said: “Much discussion in the lead up to restrictions being lifted was about the amount of pent up demand that lockdowns had created, and the likely splurge in spending as a result. But while there was an initial jump, the data suggests this may have faltered.

“The weather and growing Covid-19 cases may be reasons for this, but with the end of the furlough scheme is in sight, high street businesses and workers will be hoping that the removal of restrictions on 19^th July will help to sustain the high street’s recovery and bring more people back to the centre of our cities.”

On 19^th July national law firm Clarke Willmott LLP will move their Birmingham office from Edmund Street to a new location at Colmore Row. The new office has been designed by the firm to support their future growth as well as their plans for, and commitment to, full flexible working for staff.

Stephen Rosser, Chief Executive at Clarke Willmott, said: “Our Birmingham office move comes at a really exciting time for the firm and for the team in Birmingham specifically. Prior to the pandemic we had plans for Birmingham including a more flexible use of our office space, but in the last 16 months we have learnt so much that we have been able to be more adventurous with our plans.

“Our lawyers and support staff have delivered at higher levels than ever before and have communicated their desire to work flexibly in future. We will deliver this for them and our Birmingham team is leading our move in this direction.”

Rayner Grice the firm’s Head of Office in Birmingham has led the new office project. “Over 90% of our staff have told us via our surveys that they want to work flexibly going forward and this has given me freedom to design our new office for that purpose,” explained Grice.

“Staff who prefer and want to work in the office can do so. Staff who want to dip in and out as their needs change are also accommodated. By using a desk booking system and having created a space with a full range of work environments from private booths through to a business lounge, our people can collaborate with one another, socialise or work quietly on confidential matters.

“Every staff member has different preferences, but our aim is to accommodate everyone in such a way that they can do their best work for our clients. Clarke Willmott were advised by property consultants Harris Lamb and their support across all property matters was invaluable in enabling us to secure this excellent new location.”

Returning to the subject of growth Rosser further commented: “We continue to see Birmingham and the Midlands as an important and vibrant growth region and we want to play our part.

“Our big challenge is to continue to attract the highest calibre lawyers to work with our excellent clients. The door of our new office is very much open for great people who are attracted to our culture and our commitment to flexible working supporting individual work and lifestyles.

“At the end of what has been a challenging year for everyone, this office move and redesign is a great opportunity for us all.” Clarke Willmott will move to 7 Colmore Row from 19^th July.

The firm operates a full range of legal services. In Birmingham Clarke Willmott has partners covering Commercial Property, Construction, Corporate & Commercial Law, Employment Law, Commercial Litigation, Insolvency, Family Law, Private Client Services and Clinical Negligence & Serious Injury Law.

Clarke Willmott is a national law firm with offices in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Manchester, London, Southampton and Taunton.

The recently appointed chair of Homes England Peter Freeman is the latest high-profile speaker to be confirmed for the Dib Parliamentary Reception to be held on the evening of Monday October 18 at the Palace of Westminster.

Freeman is co-founder of the property developer Argent and is well known as one of the visionaries behind the revival of Kings Cross, as well as major developments in Birmingham and Manchester.
He will be joined at the event by the speaker of the House, Lindsay Hoyle MP and the Transport Minister for HS2 Andrew Stephenson MP.
DIB boss Frank McKenna said: “I am delighted Peter has agreed to join us for what promises to be a fantastic evening. As chair of Homes England, he will paly a crucial role in the regeneration agenda over the next three years.
“We are expecting a couple of dozen parliamentarians to attend the event, and it provides a great opportunity for our members to connect with MPs and Lords from across the political parties. I am sure it will be a great night.”

Plans to transform a depot site into a zero-carbon development with a majority of brand-new council homes has moved a step closer. On a mission to decarbonise Haringey by 2041, the Cabinet approved the appointment of an architect to progress the design of the project on Tuesday July 13.
 
The brand new zero carbon homes will contribute to the borough’s first major council house building programme in a generation and responds directly to the climate emergency declared by the council in 2019. The current proposal is for 60 per cent of the accommodation at the eco-friendly development in Tottenham to be let at council rents, with 65 per cent of these made up of three-bedroom properties.  
 
As well as dramatically reducing each households’ carbon footprint, the high-quality homes will be cheaper to run – tackling ever increasing energy costs and offering tenants more financial freedom. The building at the Ashley Road Depot site will be surrounded by lots of open space and complement the major improvements planned for Down Lane Park.  
 
The local area will also be enhanced by better integration with neighbouring homes, open spaces and new town centre emerging at Tottenham Hale. The scheme offers the potential to build 298 homes in total after the current leaseholders, Veolia, move to a new site at Marsh Lane, N17, due to take place before January 2022. 
 
The council will fully engage with the community on any plans for the site with Haringey Council’s Cabinet Member for House Building, Placemaking and Development, Councillor Ruth Gordon, saying: “Sustainable projects such as this are exactly the type of housing development we need in the borough.
 
“Not only does it mean we are able to provide much needed high-quality council homes for local families, but the eco-friendly nature of the development will help us deliver on our ambition to become a zero-carbon borough. I’m also very pleased that the scheme will provide welcome and precious open space for new tenants and the surrounding community.”
 

After the success of the first two phases, Shropshire developer, SJ Roberts Homes Ltd, will be offering new houses to families at, Allscott Meads, Allscott, Shropshire.

As part of Phase Three, more spacious family homes are available to reserve. These homes are part of an ongoing project through which Allscott’s old sugar beet factory is being transformed into a thriving community space giving the 64-acre site a renewed purpose.

The team at SJ Roberts Homes, have built up extensive knowledge on how to maximise energy efficiency using cutting edge technology whilst ensuring green credentials are maintained. Their designs promote functional family living, which can be seen in their use of power sockets integrated with USB and C-type charging points and data-plates provided in fourth and fifth bedrooms to accommodate modern families working from home!

Phase Three of Allscott Meads is an example of beautifully designed homes across Shropshire catering for all demographics. SJ Roberts Homes’ vision continues to be creating a community that offers people everything they need for their daily life, with the added benefit of a close connection to nature.

With 470 new homes, Phase Three includes an array of new house types, including, two, three, four and five-bed, terraced, semi and detached homes – there really is something for every new home buyer. Phase Three showcases a new way of living, ecological benefits, schooling, parks and more!

Despite the pandemic, Allscott Meads has seen a huge demand. The team reacted quickly to increased interest in Shropshire’s housing market by ensuring potential buyers can view homes safely and are supported along every step of the buying process.

SJ Roberts Homes has built their reputation upon solid foundations – providing quality homes with a quality service to match, at affordable prices. With more than 30 years’ experience and expertise in new home construction, SJ Roberts Homes sees it as their highest priority to ensure customers‘ long-term happiness with their new home.

The team behind the business consists of a group of passionate professionals working in construction, interior design, quality control and sales. When it comes to creating modern communities, environmental protection forms a strong part of SJ Roberts Homes’ values.

By liaising with renowned landscape architects and understanding the immediate needs of the community, they are able to ensure Allscott Meads offers the perfect backdrop for the local flora and fauna to coexist with its residents. SJ Roberts Homes has spent years partnering with local, independent suppliers to beautifully – and where possible, sustainably – furnish their show homes.

Prospective and future residents appreciate the attention to detail and cost-effectiveness of the decor on offer. SJ Roberts Homes continue to encourage the community to live a modern and responsible lifestyle where residents look after each other and create a family-friendly space for everyone.

It’s more than just a house. It’s a thriving community everyone is eager to call home.

Mr Mike Sambrook, Managing Director of SJ Roberts Homes, said: “The satisfaction of a job well done is best exemplified by our customers’ happiness when they first see their new home. The pride we feel knowing that these homes surpass their expectations motivates the whole team to work even harder so that everyone has the opportunity for beautiful living spaces tailored specifically to them.”

SJ Roberts Homes is currently taking viewings by appointment only to ensure guidelines are adhered to and everyone remains safe.

Businesses from across the West Midlands are being encouraged to support their local communities by signing up to the Mayor’s Giving Month.

Andy Street, the Mayor of the West Midlands, today hosted a virtual event with some of the region’s biggest employers and local charities to call on businesses of all sizes and sectors to give something back to communities in the region.

This could be through financial donations to charities and community groups, or practical help by offering time and expertise.

The Giving Month, which starts on 21 September, will also celebrate the work that local businesses are already doing to help communities.

The Mayor said: “The events of the last 15 months have been unprecedented, and I would like to thank the many charities and voluntary groups who have selflessly helped us get through these difficult times by working harder than ever to support vulnerable and isolated people.

“We have seen throughout the pandemic that businesses are keen to volunteer and help their local communities by offering their skills, knowledge, expertise and time along with raising essential funds and donations.  

“Their generosity has been fantastic – including helping young people learn valuable job interview skills – and I look forward to us working with businesses of all sizes during the Giving Month and beyond, as the region starts to recover from the pandemic.”

Jo Harris, Lloyds Banking Group Ambassador for the Midlands, said: We know that funding is really important to charities and community groups but they need more than just money to really thrive, and volunteering and the sharing of skills, experience and resources all make a vital contribution.

“When businesses and charities work collaboratively together, they can a make a big impact in their local community, and we have seen so many examples of that through the pandemic.  

“It’s great that the Mayor is offering West Midlands charities and businesses this opportunity to share and gain together. Lloyds Banking Group are proud to be supporting the Mayor’s Giving Month and I look forward to seeing relationships between charities and business strengthen over the months to come, as we help our local communities to recover.”

The launch event will include an ‘in conversation’ with the Mayor and Jean Templeton chief executive of St Basils charity. She said: “There has never been a more important time for sectors to work together to ensure the most vulnerable are not disproportionately disadvantaged as we rebuild. The voluntary and community sector make an important contribution but can’t do it alone.

“Our ‘offer’ is to work with partners to ensure your contributions make a real difference. Our ‘ask’ is that you use your skills, knowledge and resources to work with us to make that difference.”

Businesses that would like to contribute to the Mayor’s Giving Month can sign up at: https://www.wmca.org.uk/who-we-are/meet-the-mayor/giving-month/

A new survey from Acas has found that half of employers in Great Britain expect an increase in demand for flexible forms of working from employees after the country comes out of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. 

Acas commissioned YouGov to ask British businesses about changes to working practices that they are expecting once the COVID-19 pandemic is over compared to before the pandemic. The poll found that:

·         Over half of employers (55%) expect an increase in staff working from home or remotely part of the week; and

·         Nearly half of employers (49%) expect an increase in staff working from home or remotely all week.

Acas has published new advice on hybrid working that can help employers introduce it and manage requests from staff who wish to split their time between working remotely and in their employer’s workplace.

Acas Chief Executive, Susan Clews, said: “The pandemic has greatly impacted working life and it’s unsurprising that many employers and their staff have seen the benefits of flexible working during this difficult period.

“Hybrid working existed before Covid and our survey reveals that more than half of employers in Britain expect this type of flexible working to increase once we come out of the pandemic. Our new advice can help employers look at the potential benefits of hybrid working, consider whether it is suitable for their workplace, and fairly manage any staff requests.” 

Acas advice is that hybrid working can help businesses attract and retain staff as well as increase staff productivity as the flexibility allows them to balance work and personal responsibilities. Employees can benefit by saving costs and the time spent travelling to work as well as enjoying a better work life balance.

Acas’s advice for employers includes:

·         Consult widely with staff or their representatives about introducing hybrid working and discuss practical considerations such as regular communication, technology, performance management and health and safety;

·         A company hybrid working policy could look at which roles are eligible, how someone can request it and any principles such as allowing remote working for a maximum number of days a week;

·         Ensure staff who are working remotely are not excluded and have access to the same opportunities as those in the workplace such as team building activities, training and development;  

·         Decisions around whether to approve a request for hybrid working should be fair, transparent and other forms of flexible working that could work as possible alternatives can be discussed with employees;

·         Think about training line managers and staff to help them prepare for and manage hybrid working; and

·         Consider a trial period to see if it works and if any further adjustments to arrangements are needed.

Rail passengers are being warned of changes to trains in and out of London Euston so urgent repairs can take place after severe flash flooding.

The deluge in the capital on Monday July 12 caused an electricity substation to catch fire disabling London Overground services to Watford. Urgent repairs need to take place to pump away any remaining standing water and fix cables damaged in the electrical fire.

The work means all lines in and out of London Euston must be closed between 11pm today and 6am tomorrow (Thursday July 15). Passengers are being asked to travel early tonight.

The urgent repairs will impact Avanti West Coast, London Northwestern Railway, Caledonian Sleeper and London Overground passengers at the end of today and first thing tomorrow morning. Bus replacement services will be in place to keep passengers on the move and people are being urged to check www.nationalrail.co.uk for the latest information.

James Dean, Network Rail’s West Coast South route director, said: “I’m sorry that your journeys have been disrupted this week. Our engineers will be making critical repairs tonight. 

"The floods made the railway look like a swimming pool, but with 750 volts of electricity running through it. We’ve had to make the site safe before going in and pumping away the remaining flood water and repairing the fire damage.”

Mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street, visited Aceleron to find out how the Birmingham business is revolutionising batteries for transport, industrial and residential use. The visit followed the recent announcement that the low carbon sector is the fastest growing sector in the West Midlands economy and took place in advance of the West Midlands hosting the landmark UK100 international summit – part of the build up to the UK’s Presidency of COP26 in November. 

Aceleron was established by self-declared ‘proud Brummie’, Dr Amrit Chandan, and fellow entrepreneur, Carlton Cummins. Their innovation proposition was simple: traditional battery production was “rubbish”: too much material was sent to waste, putting unnecessary pressure on the planet’s finite and precious resources. 

Aceleron’s response was to develop the ‘Essential’ – the world’s first, fully maintainable battery. Its patented design meant that components could be disaggregated, rebooted and reused.

Their batteries can now be found in everything from quad-bikes to camper vans, from residential energy storage to providing emergency energy supply to data centres. 

Mayor of the West Midlands Andy Street said: “Aceleron are an exceptional business – their vision and innovation is making a massive contribution to how we can start to decarbonise so many parts of the world economy without generating more waste from the technologies we develop. Just as we were the birthplace of the first industrial revolution, the West Midlands is the home of the green industrial revolution – our manufacturing businesses, our energy innovations and our depth of research and development are all driving the new industrial revolution that will protect and restore the resources of the planet.

“Aceleron’s products are revolutionising battery technology – a sector that we are really carving out a world-leading expertise in. I’ll be hosting an international conference on net zero next week, with representatives from across the UK and the world – it will be vital that we recognise the opportunities we face to create the green marketplace for companies like Aceleron, and many others across the West Midlands. 

“It’s also great that Amrit is contributing his expertise and insights to our Circular Economy Taskforce – and I’d like to thank everyone who is taking part in that. Redesigning products so that they can be maintained and continue to be used rather than just scrapped, is a key part of that work.” 

Aceleron’s co-founder and chief executive Amrit Chandan said: “It was really great to welcome Mayor Street to the offices today and to talk him through the innovation behind our products. 

“Birmingham and the West Midlands is brilliantly placed to help the UK, and the whole planet, start to address the climate emergency, and Aceleron will do whatever we can to help that. We can’t underestimate the challenge: if we don’t address battery manufacture, then we could see 22 cubic metres of batteries sent to waste over the next 20 years just from electric cars!” As well as their cutting-edge innovation and their contribution to the region’s plans to develop a Circular Economy which aims to reuse and recycle materials and products, rather than wasting them, Aceleron are also playing their part in global social issues.

The WMCA is next week hosting the UK100 summit, an international net-zero local leadership conference aimed at strengthening the powers of regions to deliver net zero. The West Midlands has set out its own #WM2041 carbon reduction plan. Welcoming the visit, Councillor Ian Courts, portfolio lead for environment and energy at the West Midlands Combined Authority and leader of Solihull Council added: “It is absolutely right that we celebrate and showcase the great companies in the West Midlands that are producing these green solutions. 

“As the region that spearheaded the first transport revolution we are well placed to lead the second. We’ve seen that Low Carbon is the fastest growing sector in the region, and it’s companies like Aceleron with their innovations in battery technology and reduction in waste that will maintain, and help increase, our growth. 

“Their success demonstrates that going green is how we will create new jobs and new economic opportunities as well as saving the planet.”