The finalists of this year’s East Midlands Chamber Business Awards have been revealed. About 150 organisations from across Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire have been recognised in the 2023 edition of the annual awards, celebrating the region’s world-class business community and once again delivered in association with headline partner Mazars. The awards are split into three events for each county, and feature 14 categories, ranging from Community Impact and Excellence in Collaboration through to Excellence in Innovation and Commitment to People Development. Finalists now have a chance to state their case for winning at virtual judging panels next week. Panels will be made up of sponsors, a Chamber board member, and a representative from the Chamber’s senior leadership team. An overall Business of the Year is also selected for each county from all finalists by Mazars. Last year’s winners were Katapult (Derbyshire), Scope Construction (Leicestershire) and Copley Scientific (Nottinghamshire). East Midlands Chamber chief executive Scott Knowles said: “The resilience, ingenuity and hunger for growth within the East Midlands business community never ceases to amaze. “Our firms have faced some of the greatest challenges they will have ever encountered in recent times. Rather than become consumed by these, they have instead found new ways to succeed, whether that be through collaborating with other organisations, adopting new technologies to innovate, connecting with local communities, developing new export markets, or identifying opportunities for driving environmental and cost efficiencies. “These achievements are reflected across the line-up of this year’s Business Awards, along with individual honours that recognise the tremendous entrepreneurship existing in our region, as well as the future generation of talent among our outstanding apprentices.”

An offer from the owner of HMV to save Nottinghamshire retailer wilko has gained the backing of creditors, according to new reports. The Times says the firm’s administrators, PwC, are now looking into the financials behind the deal, thought to come as debt from Gordon Brothers. Last week it was reported that Doug Putman’s deal could save roughly 8,500 jobs, as noted by Sky News. Putman was said to be looking to acquire over 300 of wilko’s 400 shops. The news came as OnBuy put forward an improved offer for the wilko brand and after PwC confirmed a raft of redundancies.

While nominations for the East Midlands Bricks Awards 2023 are assessed, book your tickets for the highly anticipated event taking place on Thursday 28 September. Recognising and celebrating those behind the changing landscape of our region – the very best companies, teams, individuals and projects – the event showcases the exceptional work carried out across the East Midlands over the past 12 months. The awards also present a perfect networking opportunity, with the leaders of property and construction businesses from across the East Midlands in attendance. The event will additionally feature Mike Denby, Director of Inward Investment and Place Marketing at Leicester City Council, as keynote speaker. Attend the glittering awards ceremony at Trent Bridge Cricket Ground to see who takes home the title of Contractor of the Year, Developer of the Year, Commercial Development of the Year, Residential Development of the Year, Sustainable Development of the Year, Deal of the Year, Most Active Agent of the Year, Architects of the Year, Excellence in Design, Responsible Business and of course Overall Winner.

Tickets can be booked here.

The event will begin at 4:30pm and continue until 7:30pm, with additional time thereafter for networking and celebrating. Complementary drinks and canapés will be served on arrival. Dress code is standard business dress.  

A new cyber cluster has been launched to support SMEs across the East Midlands in the cyber security industry to help the sector grow and boost the region’s economy. Backed by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and endorsed by the UK Cyber Cluster Collaboration (UKC3), it will create networks and collaboration between cyber security companies across the East Midlands. Its three founding directors are De Montfort University Leicester (DMU)’s Dr Ismini Vasieliou, David Nicholls, MD of Better IT, and Phil Harding, director of CyRisk. The collaboration is one of several projects that form the second phase of the LLEP’s Digital Skills Partnership, funded by £90,000 of Government investment. By mapping the ecosystem and hosting events, the East Midlands Cyber Cluster will bring together people and companies working in cyber, whether it be products or services, across Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Northants. The cluster aims to boost collaboration by mapping the current ecosystem and hosting events and training sessions such as masterclasses. It will help support activities to address the digital skills shortage, promote the region’s cyber expertise and showcase innovation at a national level. Phoebe Dawson, LLEP Chief Executive, said: “Ensuring local businesses are cyber secure is incredibly important. This project is enabling companies to become as resilient as possible and lower the threat of cyber attacks whilst also upskilling the local workforce. “I would encourage local businesses to engage with EMCSC and explore the other programmes on offer as part of the Digital Skills Partnership.” The East Midlands has among the country’s lowest levels of cyber security companies, despite producing thousands of graduates from cyber security and computing courses every year. One of the aims of the cluster is to look at ways of retaining graduates by making sure they are aware of the career opportunities which exist in the region. Dr Ismini Vasileiou, Associate Professor in Information Systems at DMU, said: “The East Midlands Cyber Cluster will be a key pillar in supporting the East Midlands Economy, promoting strong partnerships between cyber security businesses so we can build upon and grow our cyber ecosystem. “We want to have a positive impact on the region’s economy and help create a talent base that will support innovation and skills, and we’d encourage cyber companies to get in touch.” By building cyber security knowledge, skills, infrastructure, and capabilities the cluster plan to support local businesses to become more resilient to cyber-attacks. The new cyber cluster will complement East Midlands Chamber’s work with the Leicester Skills Improvement Plan to give employers the best access to information on where to upskill and train their staff, and access the best talent. David Nicholls, MD of Better IT, said: “Working with SME’s in our region means I get to see the disruption and longer-term impact of cybersecurity incidents up close. “I am delighted to be involved with the EMCSC as it gives the East Midlands an independent platform to educate businesses and collaborate to improve cybersecurity skills and standards.” Linda Smith, Chair of UKC3 and Strategic Advisor to Midlands Cyber, said: “UKC3 is delighted to acknowledge the formation of the East Midlands Cyber Security Cluster and to welcome all future members into the wider national ecosystem. “This important sector economic representation for the region will provide many new opportunities for collaboration and growth.”