For more information on exhibiting at the event click here.
To register to attend the event for free click here.
To secure tickets for the networking lunch click here.
A perfect day for networking: the East Midlands Expo returns this November
On Monday 14 November 2022 the East Midlands Expo will return, providing a perfect day for networking and business generation – meet more potential clients in one amazing cost effective day, than it would take months out on the road.
An established event of over 20 years, for which Business Link is a proud partner, the free to attend expo is well targeted and aimed at the construction, property, business, investment, finance, professional services and related B2B markets.
Taking place at the De Vere East Midlands Conference Centre, Nottingham, the exhibition will open to attendees at 9am, with a seminar taking place between 10:45am and noon.
A special networking lunch (for which tickets can be purchased here) will then take place between 12:15pm and 2:15pm, and the exhibition will close at 3:30pm.
“Spectacular” National Licensing Week Event returns to Nottingham
Licensing Law Consultancy (LLC) has hosted its National Licensing Week Event 2022 in Nottingham, an event described as spectacular.
The National Licensing Week Event was conceived and first delivered in June 2019 by Walaiti Rathore and Licensing Law Consultancy.
The purpose was to support the Institute of Licensing’s annual National Licensing Week campaign, with a large scale national event to celebrate and raise awareness of licensing and the role it plays in everyday lives.
The chair of the Institute of Licensing, Dan Davies said: “I am delighted to support this event and I thank Walaiti Rathore for having the vision and energy to make this happen.”
This year’s event, an invitation only black tie celebration, was held at Alea and was attended by representatives of the Institute of Licensing, directors of UK Hospitality and the Confederation of British Industry, Nottingham BID, Pub Watch, Hospitality Association, leading operators with a local and national presence, representatives from international hospitality brands as well as leading businesses and professionals from all sectors.
Guests were treated to canapes, a three course meal, unlimited complimentary drinks all evening, spectacular entertainment acts and music, and received designer gifts on departure from fashion designer Paul Smith.
The evening was compered by Bikram Rathore, who gave an overview of the current landscape and positive outlook of the hospitality sector as per a recent research briefing issued by the House of Commons Library, before introducing guest speakers, Jim Cathcart, director of policy and regulation for UK Hospitality, and Amy English, chief inspector of Nottinghamshire Police for the city centre.
Both speakers emphasised the importance of partnership working to help overcome the current challenges faced in hospitality and licensing, to ensure vibrancy and safety in businesses as well as in our communities.
Walaiti Rathore said: “I am humbled, once again, by all the guests who attended as it would not have been possible without them, some of whom travelled long distances to Nottingham to support LLC and this event.
“Once again the idea was to involve representatives or members of organisations within or closely connected to licensing and also people from businesses and professionals with no such connections. This has proved to be the best way to reach out to the wider public.
“A special mention for Nottingham BID, PIB Insurance and Alea for their incredible support as well as Micheal Wisher Team Support, Chaiiwala, Equinox Audio Visual and Freedom Brewery. Also, a special thanks to Dan Carver of Fletcher Gate Industries.”
How to effectively manage your warehouse
A warehouse is critical for any company that stores or ships products. Many businesses rely on their warehouse to manage inventory and fulfil orders. So, if you’re new to the management role of a warehouse, it can be difficult to know where to begin.
Efficient management of your warehouse can help maximize productivity and improve profits. You’d want to ensure security in your warehouse, for example, or ensure that everything is well fixed as it should. To make your life easier and your work fun, you may even visit ESE Direct to find essential tools to improve productivity.
You can also apply these tips to manage your warehouse effectively:
Become Familiar With Warehouse Management Software
Warehouse management software is one of the best ways to keep track of inventory and ensure that it doesn’t get lost or damaged during shipping. For starters, the software you’d choose should be compatible with any other technology (like barcode scanners) you already have. If they aren’t compatible, then they won’t be able to interact in any meaningful way.
You should also ensure that it’s easy for employees who use it regularly. And most importantly, ensure the price tag isn’t too high to not negatively impact other areas of business revenue generation like marketing or sales efforts.
Create A Warehouse Layout That Makes Sense
This is more important than you might think. A well-planned warehouse layout will make your workers more efficient and safer in the long run—and it can also help you streamline your entire operation. For example, a logical layout will make it easy for employees to find what they need without wasting time or effort.
An efficient layout means that workers spend less time traveling between areas of the warehouse and complete their tasks faster. An easy-to-understand layout will also make it easy for new employees to learn how things work. All these will allow flexibility in the entire system for product inventory needs.
Implement A Warehouse Organization System
The warehouse organization system is the foundation for a highly efficient and productive warehouse. There are several ways you can implement a warehouse system, depending on your current setup. In a world where warehouses are like an investment, you can redesign your current layout from scratch, especially if you’ve been in business for more than two years.
You can also modify an existing layout by adding additional racks or shelves. This will boost your warehouse’s value and make your business efficient.
Establish Clear Operating Procedures
Operating procedures are essential because they provide a step-by-step guide on how to complete tasks in your warehouse and what to do if something goes wrong. These written instructions should be communicated to all employees and updated regularly to keep up with any changes or new equipment being introduced. When writing procedures, be sure they’re easy to understand and follow.
Track Key Performance Indicators
Key performance indicators (KPIs) are the metrics you use to measure your warehouse’s performance. Tracking these KPIs helps you identify areas of improvement and take actionable steps towards achieving them. For example, if you want to reduce the number of bad inventory pieces in your warehouse, you may track how many customers per month returned defective items. This way, when it’s time to make decisions about the future of your warehouse operations, you can see what has worked and what hasn’t worked so well.
You may also want to consider the inventory turnover ratio. How long does it take for an item in storage to be sold or used up for its intended purpose?
Improve Worker Productivity
First, ensure that your employees are well trained and know their expectations. You should also provide clear instructions for each task and ensure your tools and equipment are easy to use. If you want them to improve their work, you can set goals and reward employees when they reach them.
For example, if you’ve been struggling with productivity, you could offer a bonus at the end of each month to the employee who makes the highest number of products or moves more boxes per hour than anyone else in your warehouse. This doesn’t mean your work environment should be toxic; you can set any other reasonable and work-friendly metric to boost their productivity. You can also maximize their productivity by encouraging them and providing feedback. It helps them know how well they’re doing to keep improving at their jobs over time.
Conclusion
You can efficiently manage your warehouse with some basic strategies. Having adequate space for all the goods that need to be stored is a sure way to make your warehouse work-friendly and navigable. You must also be creative with your layout and organize your inventory to make things run smoothly. With everything in place, you’ll be able to keep everyone on the same page and improve worker productivity.
‘Huge unease’ among businesses as rising interest rates hamper investment prospects
The Bank of England has announced that interest rates will rise from 1% to 1.25%, as it tries to get a handle on soaring inflation, which is currently at a 40-year high of 9%, and could surpass 11% later this year, according to the Bank.
The Bank said rising energy prices were expected to drive living costs even higher in October, but added it would “act forcefully” if necessary should inflation pressures persist.
David Bharier, head of research at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said: “While expected, the decision to raise the interest rate will add further concern to businesses amid a weakened economic outlook, soaring cost pressures, and labour shortages.
“The increase signals the Bank’s intention to tackle inflation but businesses have been raising the alarm about spiralling prices since the start of 2021 and a higher interest rate is unlikely to address many of the global causes of this.
“The increase could impact smaller businesses who may be reliant on banking or overdraft facilities, for instance, those buying goods in bulk in an attempt to offset raw material shortages.”
East Midlands Chamber Chief Executive Scott Knowles said: “Many businesses will have been expecting yet another hike to interest rates to combat spiralling inflationary pressures, but this doesn’t detract from the huge unease they will be feeling about the direction of travel, as the Bank of England appears to be overseeing a prolonged period of aggressive monetary tightening.
“Against a backdrop of continued domestic and global headwinds that are causing a very real cost of doing business crisis – which we can see is now seriously affecting the economy with output falling by 0.3% in April – we should be backing firms to invest in order to make the productivity gains that will drive the growth we desperately need.
“By hiking interest rates, businesses face another barrier to spending as the price of debt accelerates. Our latest Quarterly Economic Survey for Q2 2022 showed that investment intentions in plant and machinery among East Midlands firms fell by 6% compared to the previous quarter.
“At the same time, intentions for investing in training – something of major importance during a time when four in five businesses attempting to recruit are struggling to find the skills they need – dropped by 3%.
“Declining business investment is a serious cause for concern and urgent Government action is needed to halt this fall. Cutting VAT on companies’ energy bills to 5% would ease the squeeze on their cashflow and give some room for manoeuvre.”
Inspector dismisses planning appeal in homes bid for Mansfield quarry
A planning inspector has dismissed an appeal by a landowner seeking to build 204 houses at Gregory Quarry in Mansfield.
Lee O’Connor appealed against a decision last year (6 July) by Mansfield District Council Planning Applications Committee to refuse outline planning permission for the development with access off Quarry Lane.
A four-day inquiry was held in April at Mansfield Civic Centre during which Siobhan Watson, of the Government’s Planning Inspectorate, heard evidence for and against the development.
Her 10-page decision was issued on Tuesday 14 June and concluded: “Whilst there are some benefits to the scheme, including the provision of market and affordable housing, these do not outweigh the cumulative harm I have found.
“The loss of the GI [Green Infrastructure], whatever type of habitat existed, and the harm to LG [Local Greenspace] and COS [Community Open Space] are sufficient to make the scheme unacceptable even without the additional biodiversity harm.
“The proposal therefore conflicts with the development plan as a whole and does not represent sustainable development.”
The Inquiry heard in April that the development was contrary to the council Local Plan designations on GI and would have an impact on the biodiversity of an important area of peaceful habitat supporting, among other species, certain rare varieties of bat.
The Inspector also decided it would have detracted from the quality of local green spaces – namely Quarry Lane Local Nature Reserve (LNR) – which her report said provided a unique place for school trips and family outings within a heavily built-up area.
She said the quarry and nearby LNR and River Maun Local Wildlife Site (LWS) and the Maun Woodland and Scrub LWS remained important habitats for invertebrates and bats, even though Gregory Quarry had been largely cleared of vegetation before the inquiry.
The inspector said bat surveys that were carried out had been inadequate but still showed that the site was an important foraging habitat for a significant variety of bats. Seven species were spotted, including the rare Leisler’s bat and the serotine species, which is extremely rare in Nottinghamshire and has only been recorded five times in 15 years.
The inspector also pointed to a “clear policy conflict” with the council’s Local Plan as it would involve the loss of a significant area of GI in central Mansfield.
Cllr Stuart Richardson, portfolio holder for regeneration and growth, said: “We are pleased that this decision has recognised the importance and value of retaining areas of green space within an urban environment.
“Even though this quarry is not open to the public, it still represents a valuable natural asset in this part of Mansfield and its continued presence also enhances the quality of local green and open spaces around it.
“Yes, we need more houses – like everywhere in England – but this should not be at any cost. Green corridors are also an important feature of any urban landscape.”
Plans approved for extension of Lincoln business park
North Kesteven District Council has approved plans for a third phase of Kirk’s Yard in Branston, Lincoln.
Kirk’s Yard is a 2.4-acre business park, located approximately 4 miles from Lincoln City Centre, which has been developed by local commercial property developer, Stirlin.
Stirlin completed the first phase of Kirk’s Yard back in March 2019, which comprises 6 industrial units, ranging in size, from 1,000 sq ft to 1,400 sq ft.
Due to high demand, this was swiftly followed with a second phase, which provided 5 more units at slightly larger sizes, ranging from 1,507 sq ft – 2,005 sq ft.
Following the success of these phases, with all units now occupied by a variety of growing businesses, Stirlin have been given the go-ahead to extend the site and construct a further 10 units.
Phase 3 will provide industrial units ranging in sizes from 1,507 sq ft – 2,005 sq ft. Each unit will be built to a high specification, providing warehouse space with an electric sectional door and personnel door, DDA compliant toilet facility and allocated parking spaces.
Managing Director of Stirlin, Tony Lawton, says: “We’re delighted to receive planning approval for a third phase at Kirk’s Yard. Following the significant interest we received for the first two phases, with all units now sold, we’ve seen a strong demand for new employment space in the area.
“The site has proven extremely popular, particularly due to its easy access to the new Lincoln Eastern Bypass, which allows people to avoid traffic congestion in the City Centre.”
Jamie Thorpe, chartered surveyor at the site’s sole estate agency, Pygott & Crone, says: “Stirlin’s development of Kirks Yard in Branston has been hugely successful. Phase 2 saw all units sell off-plan well in advance of build completion and we are experiencing pent up demand in this location, with a waiting list of enquires. It comes as no surprise that the Local Authority welcomed a much-needed extension to the business park that will facilitate business growth and job creation in the area.”
Tony continues: “In addition to this scheme, we have numerous other new developments and phases on the horizon. We are continuously exploring opportunities to provide more space to facilitate growing businesses and bring further employment to the county.”
Construction of the new phase on Kirk’s Yard is due to start on site in the coming months, with further details to be announced very soon.
Sports tech business secures £250,000
Nottingham-based BatFast has received £250,000 of funding via the Recovery Loan Scheme which will enable the company to invest in its sales and marketing resources, creating 15 new jobs, and undertake further product development.
BatFast is a sports technology and entertainment business that has developed a patented augmented reality sports simulator for cricket, tennis and baseball. The simulator aims to make team sports more accessible by re-engineering pitches to fit inside urban entertainment or training spaces.
Founded by ex-professional cricketer Runish Gudhka and co-founder Jignesh Patel, BatFast has supplied simulators to multi-entertainment centre operators globally and major cricket events, including during the 2019 Cricket World Cup and the 2021-22 Ashes series in Australia.
Runish Gudhka, CEO of BatFast, said: “BatFast has a clear mission to use technology to drive increased global participation in sports. We are grateful for the support from MEIF and Maven Capital Partners and are excited about the opportunities this investment will create.”
Jonathan Lowe, investment director at MEIF Maven, said: “BatFast have developed an incredibly engaging sports simulator which has broad appeal to experienced and new players alike. We look forward to supporting the company with its global expansion and help realise its future growth and success.”
Will Morlidge, interim Chief Executive at D2N2 LEP, said: “I’m delighted to see the Midlands Engine Investment Fund supporting another dynamic and ambitious business. BatFast is a great example of a firm innovating and adapting to accelerate growth and provide job opportunities, supporting our collective ambitions for inclusive economic growth across the region.”
Nottingham-based supplier of renewable, low-carbon fuel secures funding to drive growth plans
Maven has funded Nottingham-based Roadgas, through MEIF Maven Debt Finance. The business has ambitious growth plans and plans to use the funding to help achieve its goals.
The business designs, manufactures, installs and maintains liquefied and compressed renewable gas refuelling stations, and will use the funding for the installation of dedicated refuelling stations across the UK.
Since 2007, Roadgas has established a strong reputation for its engineering capability and the business has delivered a large number of renewable gas refuelling infrastructure projects to date. It works with several fleet operators across both the public and private sector, including Nottingham City Transport, which owns and operates a fleet of 167 biogas double-decker buses as part of its campaign and commitment to improved air quality.
Growth capital will finance the construction of four new refuelling fuel charging stations in the UK, which will dispense lower carbon density gases only, including bio-BioCNG, b, Bio-LNG and bBiomethane.
David Rix, Managing Director of Roadgas, said: “The exciting expansion plans we have for Roadgas require additional financial support and resources beyond anything the company has seen before. We are delighted to partner with Maven Capital Partners and especially Richard Brighty, who continues to work with us with regard to our financial planning and investments.
“Roadgas has a progressive leadership team, bringing together many years of experience in the gas industry, coupled with an ambitious strategic vision for our continued growth over the next five to seven years to keep us at the forefront of the UK’s green recovery.”
Richard Brighty, investment manager for Maven, said: “Roadgas is delivering an effective solution to the problem of greenhouse gas and carbon emissions in the transport sector. Roadgas is already working with major clients in the haulage and logistics sectors and their strong management team will only accelerate the company’s growth. We look forward to working with David and Becky Rix and watching their team continue to shape and lead this high growth sector.”
790-bed student scheme tipped for approval
Plans for a major student scheme at the site of Forest Mill on Alfreton Road, Nottingham, have been recommended for approval.
The development would house 790 student bedspaces, together with leisure and retail facilities, while 19 family houses are also included in the proposals for the currently vacant site. The family housing is to be provided for a housing association and would be entirely affordable units.
The student element of the scheme is spread over three buildings that front onto Alfreton Road, Highurst Street and Thackeray Street. The tallest element of the scheme would reach to eight storeys, stepping down along Alfreton Road to the former Lloyds bank building on the corner of Boden Street.
Three types of student accommodation are proposed; town houses, cluster apartments, and studios.
What does success mean to you? By Fiona Duncan-Steer, founder of RSViP Business Networking Agency
Fiona Duncan-Steer, founder of RSViP Business Networking Agency, considers what it means to be successful.
This month I have been celebrating fourteen years in business and as many do in conjunction with business anniversaries, I have been milking the occasion for all it is worth by running various campaigns and incentives to my audience.
Reaching this kind of milestone in business has also brought on feelings of reflection and gratitude. Appreciation that after fourteen whole years my business RSViP is still standing, still going strong, and still fulfilling me after all these years.
I have often been asked what my definition of success is and my response is this;
🔑 To wake up every day and look forward to what lies ahead.
🔑To feel true job satisfaction.
🔑To make a difference to others and to the world in some way.
🔑To be accountable for my own actions and to be able to choose who I surround myself with.
🔑To have creative freedom to design and build.
🔑To find the work life balance that suits me and those close to me.
🔑To appreciate and never take for granted the lifestyle my business has afforded me.
🔑To love what I do. Every. Single. Day.
The revenue is just a bi-product and I am in no doubt that if you prioritise all of the above then the money will come – look at tech giants such as Elon Musk who’s main objective was to solve a problem, explore and push boundaries, and to turn what he loves into a business and in turn happened to become one of the richest people in the world in doing so. Steve Jobs – another who’s creative urge led him to launch one of the largest brands in the world, which is still as popular today even after his death; his products making a huge impact and connecting people all over the world.
On a much smaller scale, I still do a little dance each time a new member joins my network, or an exciting enquiry turns into a training, speaking or coaching gig, as I have never allowed myself to become complacent in my business, always striving for growth and development – always looking to help others and make a positive impact in some way, however small.
The pandemic has definitely thrown my industry of events and training into chaos, but I, amongst many others, have chosen to rise and overcome the challenges faced and so this month I celebrate the return of the events industry, I celebrate my business still going strong and I celebrate me, yes me – because if you don’t blow your own trumpet once in a while, who will?
Fiona Duncan-Steer, RSViP www.rsvipnetwork.co.uk www.fionaduncansteer.com
