This Thursday (15 September), property and construction professionals will gather at Trent Bridge Cricket Ground for the highly anticipated East Midlands Bricks Awards 2022. Recognising development projects and people in commercial and public building across the region – from office, industrial and residential schemes, through to community projects such as leisure schemes and schools – there’s not long left to secure your seats at the prestigious event, to celebrate the region’s property and construction industry while connecting with local decision makers. With time for networking before and after the glittering awards ceremony revealing winners, don’t miss this opportunity to forge new contacts and strengthen existing ones. The event, which will begin at 4:30pm and continue until 7:30pm, will also feature John Forkin MBE DL, Managing Director at award-winning investment promotion agency Marketing Derby, as keynote speaker, as well as award-winning mind reader, magician, and professional mentalist Looch, who will bewilder and astonish guests during the evening’s networking.

Tickets can be booked for the East Midlands Bricks Awards 2022 here.

Complementary drinks and canapés will be served on arrival. Dress code is standard business dress.  

Shortlist for the East Midlands Bricks Awards 2022

Most Active Agent – sponsored by Blueprint Interiors Mather Jamie OMEETO BB&J Commercial Commercial Development of the Year – sponsored by Frank Key Broad Marsh Bus Station and Car Park – Galliford Try Construction Etiquette Park – Clowes Developments Nottinghamshire Police and Nottinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service joint HQ – Henry Brothers Responsible Business of the Year – sponsored by Press for Attention PR Cawarden Arc Partnership Phoenix Brickwork Residential Development of the Year – sponsored by Sterling Commercial Finance The Rise, Southwell – Stagfield Group Glenvale Park – Glenvale Park LLP Hindle House – KMRE Group Deal of the Year – sponsored by Blythin & Brown Insurance Brokers St James Securities – Phase Two of the Becketwell regeneration scheme in Derby – 3,500 capacity Becketwell performance venue with ASM Global Wells McFarlane, APB and Newton LDP – sale of 460 acres of land in North Leicestershire, making way for a new garden village Morgan Industrial Properties Limited – acquisition of the former Ewart Chain site in Shaftesbury Street, Derby Developer of the Year – sponsored by Ward Hockley Developments St James Securities HBD Architects of the Year – sponsored by OMS Swain Architecture Rayner Davies Architects CPMG Architects Excellence in Design – sponsored by Cawarden  St. Peter’s Gate renovation – CPMG Architects Health and Allied Professions Centre at Nottingham Trent University – Pick Everard Brookside Farm – Chevin Homes Sustainable Development of the Year – sponsored by Viridis Building Services Refurbished HQ for LKAB Minerals – Scenariio Northern Gateway Enterprise Centre – Chesterfield Borough Council, Whittam Cox Architects, Robert Woodhead Group Broad Marsh Bus Station and Car Park – Galliford Try Construction Contractor of the Year – sponsored by RammSanderson Galliford Try Construction Cawarden Enrok Construction The Overall Winner, sponsored by Streets Chartered Accountants, will also be announced at the ceremony, who will be awarded a year of marketing/publicity worth £20,000. Thanks to our sponsors:                                      

To be held at:

James Pinchbeck, partner at Streets Chartered Accountants, presents useful advice as businesses battle the cost of living crisis. Few, if any of us, will have experienced the current economic conditions that have led to unprecedented cost of living hikes and inflation at a 40 year high, with further increases more than likely. The skyrocketing increases in energy prices, leading to eyewatering increases to both domestic and business energy costs, are not the only contributor to the current situation and rising prices for goods and services. The conflict in Ukraine, along with labour shortages, wage pressures, frustrated supply chains and growing food scarcity with the prolonged hot weather and lack of rain leading to crop shortages are all contributing to rising costs. Whilst businesses have shown resilience in managing the impact of the pandemic over the last couple of years, they now find new challenges ahead. Many businesses are still reporting strong order books and customer demand still seems strong. An economic downturn is though predicted, not least by the Bank of England for next year, as consumers and businesses tighten their reins and seek to manage the situation. Getting ahead of the curve is invariably the trick for any business seeking to deal with the situation. There is a real need for business leaders and owners to assess how their organisation is and might be affected and to look to put plans in place to manage the same. There is a well-used adage that cash is king, certainly a focus on your cashflow for the year ahead is a great place to start. Reviewing forecasts and considering the demands on cash, along with perhaps changes to the timing of income and expenditure will be key. It may also be beneficial to consider your availability of working capital, perhaps the need to defer capital spend and/or review the facilities you have in place to weather the storm. It might be time to review your funding model, to see if your cost of finance could be reduced and/or additional facilities put in place. Certainly, if you don’t already do it, monitoring of cash within the business needs be a timely, perhaps daily activity, along with the management of debtors and creditors. The cost-of-living crisis is undoubtedly having a significant impact on margins, with input costs seemingly changing on a daily basis. As a result, greater attention should be given to managing margins with regular reviews helping as much as possible to ensure margins are maintained. There is a need to keep a keen eye on pricing, especially for those quoting or contracting for work. It may be difficult to honour future prices, so do ensure your terms allow for management of any increase in costs. With some indication that business failures and insolvencies are on the upward trajectory and the risk of bad debts are on the increase, more close management of your aged debtors and rigorous debt collection must be on the cards. A focus on suppliers too could be worthwhile, as the loss of one could have an impact on your own business. Whilst a focus on finance is key, there are a number of other aspects that you may need to take into account. Like you, your staff are no doubt looking at how they manage the situation, many will be concerned about how they are going to cope. This could lead to increased anxiety and health issues and potentially reduced productivity, even absenteeism. Being aware of this and looking to help where you can no doubt will be beneficial to one and all. Employers are also likely to see pressure on pay, as employees seek pay rises, along with potentially staff leaving for higher paid jobs. Unfortunately, like economic down turns, the current situation is likely to give rise to increased fraud, theft and cyber-attacks. It is therefore important that proper and robust systems and processes are in place for early detection, management and avoidance. To manage the situation, businesses really need to ensure that they have timely and accurate financial information. Certainly, with the development of online/cloud-based accounting applications it is possible to have such information, even in real time. However, there might be a need to ensure the information provided is what you need and that action is taken as appropriate, rather than ignored or kicked down the road. What is measured can and tends to be managed. See this column in the September edition of East Midlands Business Link Magazine.

The latest KPMG and REC, UK Report on Jobs: Midlands survey pointed to further sharp increases in permanent placements and temporary billings as demand for staff continued to rise strongly. This, allied with further marked falls in candidate numbers, fed through to further increases in staff pay, with temporary pay inflation accelerating particularly sharply over the month. The KPMG and REC, UK Report on Jobs: Midlands is compiled by S&P Global from responses to questionnaires sent to around 100 recruitment and employment consultancies in the Midlands. Sharp increase in permanent placements August data pointed to a sharp rise in permanent placements in the Midlands, with the rate of expansion accelerating to the fastest in four months. Permanent placements in the region have increased on a monthly basis throughout the past year-and-a-half, with the latest expansion the sharpest of the English regions covered. Where placements rose, recruitment firms mainly linked this to increasing demand for staff. A sharp increase in permanent placements was also seen in London, while the North of England posted a fall for the first time in 19 months. Growth of temp billings accelerates After having softened to a 25-month low in July, the rate of expansion in temp billings reaccelerated in August. The latest rise was marked and the fastest since May. That said, the increase in the Midlands was softer than the UK average. Anecdotal evidence suggested that growth of temp billings reflected both demand for contract work and difficulties for firms to find suitable permanent candidates. Temp billings increased across all four monitored English regions, with the sharpest rise in London. Vacancies for both permanent and temporary positions continued to increase sharply during August, although in both cases rates of expansion softened over the month. Demand for permanent staff rose for the nineteenth month running, albeit to the least extent for a year-and-a-half. This was also the case with regards to demand for temporary staff, where the sharp pace of growth was nonetheless the weakest since February 2021. Permanent candidate numbers fall sharply A reluctance among workers to change roles given wider economic uncertainty contributed to a further steep decline in the availability of candidates for permanent positions in the Midlands during August. The reduction in candidate numbers was steeper than that seen in the previous month, and broadly in line with the UK average. Permanent staff availability has deteriorated in each month since April 2021. The North of England posted the fastest fall in permanent staff availability, with the softest decline in London. Steep decline in temporary staff availability In line with the picture for permanent candidates, the availability of temporary staff declined at a sharp and accelerated pace midway through the third quarter. Some recruitment firms signalled that candidates were more interested in permanent roles at present. The drop in temporary staff availability in the Midlands was the second-sharpest of the English regions covered, behind London. Further steep rise in permanent salaries Midlands recruitment companies indicated that salaries for new permanent joiners continued to increase sharply during August, with the rate of inflation ticking up from that seen in July. Rises in salaries reflected candidate shortages, with hires able to demand higher pay in order to move roles. The increase in the Midlands was the strongest of the four monitored English regions. The North of England registered the softest pace of inflation. Marked acceleration in temp wage inflation The rate of inflation in hourly wages for temporary staff accelerated sharply in August and was the strongest since November last year. The rise in the Midlands was by far the steepest of the English regions covered by the report. Anecdotal evidence indicated that a combination of rising demand for staff and falling candidate availability had been behind the increase. Of the four monitored English regions, the slowest rise was in the North of England, but inflation was still substantial here nonetheless. Commenting on the latest survey results, Claire Warnes, head of Education, Skills and Productivity at KPMG UK, said: “Unsurprisingly, the economic uncertainty continues to impact all aspects of business as we come to the end of the summer. August’s data show an increasingly challenging jobs market, both in the sharp decline in the supply of candidates and in the slowdown in recruitment which we have seen for the last few months. Despite these challenges, it’s vital that investment in people continues. Businesses may be better able to weather the economic storm through sustained investment in upskilling the available workforce.” Neil Carberry, Chief Executive of the REC, said: “August was another month of growing placements across temporary and permanent roles. While the post-pandemic jobs rush is now abating, there were no real signs of a slowdown in employer demand. Indeed, reports from REC members suggest that any lowering of confidence in the market is driven primarily by candidates playing it safe, with the effect of further tightening the market. So it’s no surprise that pay rates continue to rise, especially considering increasing inflation. In this market, hiring companies need to think hard about the right approach to getting the skills they need, working with professional recruiters. “The big question is now about the sustainability of this positive position, as labour shortages damage growth and pay over the long term. Controlling inflation and a clear plan for growth are essential parts of making sure the UK is resilient to economic uncertainty. But both rely on our new Prime Minister and her team working with businesses to address shortages across our labour market. Radical reform of the failed apprenticeship levy, support on small business energy costs, an immigration policy that helps the economy and regulation that supports temporary work rather than penalising it, all have to be on the agenda.”