Small businesses in West Northamptonshire will be put on the map by the Small Business Saturday campaign later this year, after plans were announced to bring its next national roadshow to the area this autumn. The Tour will visit local businesses in Northampton on Monday, 18 November 2024 as part of a month-long journey across the UK, telling the inspirational stories of the UK’s 5.5 million small businesses and spotlighting the real people and communities behind them. Supported by BT, the Tour will visit small businesses in over twenty UK towns and cities, undertaking ‘behind-the-scenes’ style scenes, interviewing local business owners and sharing these across social media. The Tour marks the official countdown to Small Business Saturday later in the year on 7 December. A grassroots, non-commercial campaign, Small Business Saturday celebrates small business success and encourages consumers to ‘shop local’ and to support businesses in their communities. Running for over a decade the campaign is backed by principal supporter American Express and has engaged millions of people and seen billions of pounds spent with small businesses across the UK on Small Business Saturday. Cllr Daniel Lister, Cabinet Member for Local Economy, Culture and Leisure at WNC, said: “We are so proud to be working with Small Business Saturday UK to bring a focus on West Northants and it is fantastic that our local businesses will be recognised by the national Small Business Saturday campaign. “This is a fantastic opportunity to showcase the unique and diverse businesses that make our community vibrant and thriving. Small businesses are the backbone of our local economy, and campaigns like this highlight their invaluable contribution. This is why we are so dedicated to supporting every local enterprise & providing funding to enable inclusive, sustainable growth across all of West Northants. “We encourage everyone to join us in celebrating and supporting these businesses, not only on 7 December, but throughout the year. Let’s continue to ‘shop local’ and ensure the success and growth of our small business community.” Alongside the roadshow, the campaign will also offer a month of dedicated free online support for small businesses in the UK. This includes daily webinars and mentoring covering a wide range of relevant topics, as well as insight sessions with small businesses and industry experts. Michelle Ovens CBE, director of Small Business Saturday UK, said: “Small Business Saturday has always been about supporting and celebrating the UK’s fantastic entrepreneurs and the amazing contribution they make to local communities all across the UK. “Small businesses sit at the heart of communities like West Northants forming the cornerstone of local economies. We are really excited to have Small Business Saturday’s Tour visit the area and shine an important light on all the fabulous small businesses here, as well as all across the UK, bringing to life their brilliant and unique stories and impact.” Travelling over 3,000 miles The Tour will make use of electric vehicles to reduce emissions and reflect the sustainable switches many small business owners are making, as part of their vital role in the race to net zero. Chris Sims, BT’s Managing Director for Small and Medium Enterprise, said: “Given the massive role that small businesses can play in helping to boost the UK economy it’s important that we give Britain’s entrepreneurs all the support they need to succeed. “The Tour is a brilliant way for small businesses across the country to get tailored support around growing their capability for the future. We are delighted to be supporting this effort once again, through our Skills for Tomorrow offering, which has helped over one million entrepreneurs grow their small businesses with free digital skills training.”

Almost 200 jobs have been lost at a JD Sports warehouse on Derby Commercial Park, following the decision to close the distribution centre. Staff were told on Friday that they were being let go following a six week consultation period, according to BBC reports. A process is said to be in place to see if there are alternative roles within the business for employees affected. It follows the retailer signing a 20-year lease on the 514,000 sq ft distribution centre just three years ago.

Flint Bishop, a leading law firm, has made a significant move in the legal sector by acquiring the entire Volume Banking & Finance Recoveries division from the wider Banking & Finance team of Walker Morris LLP, welcoming 34 new staff to the business. The strategic acquisition also marks Flint Bishop’s entry into the Leeds market and substantially enhances the firm’s capabilities in broader litigation and recoveries work, along with establishing a firm footprint to develop its full legal services offering across the UK. The Walker Morris team, known for its national reputation and inclusion on several bank panels, was carefully selected by Flint Bishop for this strategic move into the financial services sector. The acquisition propels Flint Bishop into the bank recovery and litigation arena, positioning the firm as one of the top legal providers to major banks and financial institutions. Flint Bishop has revealed plans for significant investments in staff, systems, and technology to further expand its national presence in this sector. The acquisition brings numerous senior-level experts into the fold, increasing the firm’s total staff to over 280. As part of the transfer, Justin Coley will assume the role of Head of Recoveries, whilst Rebecca Calland and Ellen McLean have been promoted to the position of Partner. Other key figures joining from Walker Morris include banking litigation senior associates Georgina Davis and Olena Jarockyj. Flint Bishop has also recruited banking litigation specialist Kate Hicks, currently with Yorkshire Building Society and formerly with DLA Piper and Walker Morris, to lead the Finance Dispute Resolution team, which will manage complex and contested banking litigation matters. Niall Gilhooley, former Chief Executive of Ascent, a division of Irwin Mitchell, who joined Flint Bishop two years ago, will serve as overall Debt Services Division Head. Qamer Ghafoor, Chief Executive of Flint Bishop, said: “This strategic acquisition positions Flint Bishop as one of the UK’s top legal firms specialising in volume banking litigation and recovery-related work. It dramatically strengthens our Litigation, Debt and Property Services business by expanding our reach in the financial services market.” Jeanette Burgess, Managing Partner at Walker Morris, said: “This strategic move allows us to focus on complex banking and finance litigation and other main practice areas, while ensuring the clients within our Recoveries division will continue to receive high-level service they are accustomed to. We wish the team great success in their new home.” Ghafoor added: “The acquisition presents a prime growth opportunity and an excellent location for all our practice areas to capitalise on and have a presence. Not only will it grant us access to new markets and clients, but it will also introduce us to a thriving city for recruiting additional skilled lawyers to enrich our firm’s capabilities in existing and new practice areas. “I am highly committed to growing the firm across all commercial and private client practice areas, providing opportunities for all, and ensuring our full-service offering thrives across all three locations: Derby, Birmingham, and now Leeds, with other planned locations on the horizon. With a fantastic team backing us, we’re in a prime position to introduce the Flint Bishop brand into new sectors across the UK and make a significant impact.” This bold move signals Flint Bishop’s ambition to become a dominant force in the UK banking litigation and recoveries arena, setting the stage for accelerated growth and market leadership in the coming years.

Six of the seven cities in the East Midlands included in PwC’s Good Growth for Cities Index are out-performing the UK average on income distribution, measured by the ratio of median to mean income, an indicator of wealth equity. The Demos-PwC Good Growth for Cities Index ranks 51 of the UK’s largest cities (generally considered those with populations of at least 350,000 people), plus the London boroughs as a whole, based on the public’s assessment of 12 economic measures, including jobs, health, income, safety and skills, as well as work-life balance, housing, travel-to-work times, income equality, high street shops, environment and business startups. Leicester maintained its position as the region’s highest ranking city (20th), despite slipping down slightly from 16th position in the previous index. Derby, Lincoln, Nottingham, Northampton and Peterborough have all seen an increase in overall rankings on the index, with Northampton achieving the biggest increase, moving from 42nd to 39th. The full East Midlands rankings are below:

• Leicester – 20th
• Peterborough – 22nd
• Derby – 23rd
• Lincoln – 24th
• Nottingham – 35th
• Northampton – 39th

The report states that the East Midlands is expected to see slightly slower economic growth compared to the UK average in both 2023 and 2024, with a predicted growth rate of 0.7% in 2024, and 1.6% in 2025. This compares to the UK average of 1.0% in 2024 and 1.7% in 2025. Alex Hudson, East Midlands Market Senior Partner, PwC, said: “The outlook for the East Midlands is promising, with our cities generally performing well in this year’s analysis. Leicester has historically been a top performer in the index and it’s pleasing to see other cities including Derby and Nottingham move up the rankings this year. Equally, improvements on jobs, income distribution and environmental scores highlight sustainable growth in the East Midlands with more opportunities to come. “That said, the report indicates that the East Midlands slightly lags behind the UK average in areas like income, house prices, and predicted economic growth. With the new East Midlands devolution deal, this should be seen as a roadmap for opportunity, identifying where ongoing support can significantly improve key public priorities.” Across the East Midlands, improvements were made in jobs, income distribution and environment, and are either above or in line with the UK average for home ownership, transport and skills. The highest priority for those living in the region is income, followed by safety and work life balance. Jobs, environment and income distribution are also top priorities, scoring above the UK average.