< PreviousEvoEnergy installs sky-high solar arrayat South Bank TowerLondon’s newly-redeveloped South Bank Tower will harness the power of thesun to light up its 193 luxury apartments, shops, restaurants and bars after asolar array was installed on the roof by a Notts-based company.The 1970s skyscraper – formerly known as King’s Reach Tower – was oncehome to one of the biggest publishing companies in Europe, IPC Magazines.After being derelict for almost ten years, it has now been transformed intoluxury apartments, 370,000 sq ft of office space and 72,000 sq ft retail space –complete with a 100-panel, 26 kWp PV system on top. Another 11 floors wereadded to the building during the process, taking it up to 42 storeys in total(155m).The system, developed and fitted by Nottinghamshire firm EvoEnergy,comprises 50 Solarworld 260 panels on the 41st floor and 50 on the 42nd,making it one of the highest solar installations in the UK. It is expected togenerate 22,400 kWh per annum, saving the tower around 11,850 kg of CO2.James Fuller, project manager at EvoEnergy, said: “Getting a solarsystem on top of a building this high is a complex process; it bringsdifferent challenges to an installation, on say, a two or three storeybuilding. There’s a lot of planning to be done around the logistics of theproject, and once you’re up there you’re having to contend with theever-changing British weather – there were a few times we had tostop working due to the high winds!“The finished solar system looks fantastic and reallycomplements the building’s new, modern look. Not only is itgoing to help reduce the tower’s annual energy costs, it’s alsoan attractive feature which may appeal to those looking foreco-friendly features in their new home”.South Bank Tower is nestled in-between two iconicbridges, Blackfriars and Waterloo, and forms part of theon-going regeneration of South Bank. It has beendeveloped by CIT, a London-based private andindependent real estate investor and developerand Jadwa, an investment bank based in SaudiArabia.PROPERTY NEWSEast Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk10Stepnell nails majorjoinery teaching blockscheme at LeicesterCollegeConstruction specialist Stepnell has begun workon a £1.6 million scheme to extend and refurbishthe carpentry and joinery teaching block atLeicester College, creating an advanced learningfacility for students.The scheme, designed by Leicester-based MossArchitecture Interiors, will significantly transformthe existing joinery workshop at the Freemen’s Parkcampus in Aylestone Road, creating a 900 sq mmodern and flexible, open-plan zoned joinery andbench joinery teaching space. The project is goingahead with the help of funding from the Leicesterand Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership.Stepnell’s Nottingham construction team willmake significant internal alterations to open up thespace, creating a power tool pod in the centre ofthe room and 19 working spaces for students onone side. A new silicon glazed curtain wallingextension will be installed to provide an extendedwood machine room and computer aided designarea. New windows and curtain walling will beinstalled within the existing façade to maximisenatural lighting within the existing building andenhance the learning environment.Paul Hirscher, director of construction atLeicester College, said: “The update to thecarpentry and joinery teaching block will provide apractical work space that will enhance the learningexperience. We are excited that we can worktogether with Stepnell again to be able to help thenext generation of construction workers”.Stepnell operations and commercial managerThomas Sewell added: “We’re extremely pleasedto be continuing our strong working partnershipwith Leicester College, one of the UK’s largestfurther education colleges, to deliver theseimpressive teaching facilities for carpentry andjoinery students.Clegg FoodProjects goes for a GreggsNottingham-headquartered CleggFood Projects hasbegun its 19th projectfor Greggs, the UK’sleading bakery food-on-the-go retailer.Having worked withthe company for 15years, Clegg FoodProjects has startedwork on Greggs’ newdistribution centreproject in Enfield. Thedevelopment will improve efficiency and increase capacity for delivery toits stores in the south.This year will also see the completion of Clegg Food Projects’ 18thcontract with the Greggs at its Centre of Excellence for savouries inNewcastle upon Tyne. Clegg Food Projects is currently coordinating andmanaging the design and installation of more efficient refrigerationequipment. The project, which has been developed in partnership with theGreggs team, includes the replacement of equipment and pipe work as well asan extension to the facilities, and is due for completion late summer 2016.Business development director John Moxon said: “Our first ever project withGreggs was back in 2001 and since then we have supported the company withprojects across the UK, from Scotland to South Wales.“The new distribution centre at Enfield is a significant project for us and we areworking closely with Greggs to alter and refurbish the site to meet their specific needs.“It’s great to be back working together”.New STEM building to be top of theclass at the University of DerbyContractors Willmott Dixon held a topping out ceremony on 13thJune to celebrate reaching the highest point of the University ofDerby’s new £12.5m science, technology and mathematics (STEM)building.The new building will focus on real-world learning, combiningfunctional space with infrastructure designed for the specific needs ofengineering and computing.The STEM building will create a 30% increase in size of theuniversity’s existing site at Markeaton Street and the project –procured through Scape Group’s Major Works framework – will becompleted by 2017.Hari Punchihewa, deputy chief executive and finance director at theUniversity of Derby, said: “We are extremely delighted that we are atthe stage now where the roof has been completed on our new STEMbuilding.“This is to be a fantastic facility which will focus on real-world learning, combining functional space withinfrastructure designed for the specific needs of advanced engineering and computing.“We are dedicated to providing our students with top-class facilities to provide them with outstandingtools to gain the skills needed for their chosen careers”.Derby design agencymoves to Marble HallFast-growing Derby design agency Koobr has movedto Marble Hall, the newly renovated former Rolls-Roycebuilding owned and managed by Connect Derby.Managing director Craig Barker said: “We’ve enjoyed awonderful time at our old studios but it feels like we’veoutgrown them now. After a successful few years sincewe first moved in, we want to continue pushing things tothe next level. We’ve more than doubled in size,acquiring some very talented team members along theway; and that’s really enabled us to bolster and broadenour expertise as a brand communications company”.The iconic building now boasts over 40 offices, super-fast broadband, car parking and meeting facilitiesamongst other benefits.Barker added: “Banks Mill was a perfect environmentto help us get to the level we are at now.“We’ve benefitted so much as a growing companywith their support. Moving to a building with such arich, respectable heritage and diverse businesscommunity as this, feels like a natural progressionfor Koobr”.PROPERTY NEWSwww.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 11APPOINTMENT NEWSEast Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk12Lloyds Bank strengthens EastMidlands SME teamLloyds Bank Commercial Banking hasstrengthened its SME team in the EastMidlands with the appointment of TomGawne, Lucy Blackbourn and LisaDawson as relationship managers.The new joiners will each work acrossa broad range of clients throughout theregion as part of a seven-strong team,offering guidance to businesses ofdifferent scales and complexity. Therelationship managers will deliver anarray of financial services to clients, aswell as supporting fundingrequirements.Gawne re-joins Lloyds Bank havingspent the past two years at HSBC ascommercial manager. He joins theLincoln team as a relationship manager,working on a portfolio of 160 groups ofcustomers in the Lincolnshire area, withan annual turnover of £2.5 million to £10 million.Blackbourn joined the team in April, having spent six years working infinance at Lloyds Bank. She has taken on a relationship manager role, workingwith 220 groups of customers across the Horncastle and Louth area.Dawson has also arrived on the team from a branch manager role for LloydsBank in Boston and Skegness, bringing 20 years of banking experience withher. She has stepped in to the role of relationship manager also, and will belooking after 220 groups of customers valuing at £1 million to £2.5 million perannum in the Boston area.Steve Thomas, area director for SMEs at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking,said: “Tom, Lucy and Lisa are in strong positions to identify businessopportunities for SMEs in the areas that they are looking after, and enhanceour current team of seven.“These additions to the team, and the experience each candidate has, willensure we can continue to offer the very best service to our SME clients to suittheir unique needs”.V Formation celebratesgrowth with new recruitsNottingham-based marketing consultancy V Formation hasexpanded its team with the addition of a new marketingconsultant and a graduate placement student. The new recruitsare part of the business’s growth strategy, which has beenaccelerated by a recent increase in new client acquisitions.Marketing consultant Leah Bradley is an experiencedmarketer and communications specialist. She has a backgroundin professional services and has also worked agency-side,where she honed her project management skills.As well as supporting clients with their marketing initiatives,Bradley will also be driving V Formation’s own marketingplanning and execution.V Formation Director Hilary Campton said: “I first workedwith Leah when she joined Berryman solicitors (now part ofShakespeares) as a marketing executive almost 12 years agoand have always been impressed with her energy, enthusiasmand client focus.“Leah is a great fit for V Formation and we are delighted tobe welcoming her on board as a permanent part of the team”.Bradley added: “I am thrilled to be working with Hilary andSue at V Formation and to be joining such an energetic andambitious team. I look forward to being part of the business asit continues to grow and working with more of their interestingclients”.Bradley’s portfolio includes a range of projects frommagazine production, copy writing and event organisationthrough to content generation for websites, writing newsstories and blogs and social media management. She haspreviously worked with a number of V Formation’s clientsincluding Enscite and Brady Solicitors.As part of a collaboration with the University of Nottingham’sindustrial placement scheme, V Formation is also welcomingMSc student José Francisco Gonzalez. Gonzalez, who has abackground in biotechnology and innovation management, willbe supporting some of V Formation’s life sciences clients andassisting with the firm’s own marketing initiatives.Sue Carr, director at V Formation, said: “We are delighted towelcome José to the team for the next few months. It is greatto support José and help him to gain valuable experience aswell as involving him in some of our client projects. He hasalready started to make an impact and is injecting some freshenergy and ideas into the work we do”.100 up forCambridge &CountiesThe Leicester headquartered niche bankCambridge & Counties has passed the landmark ofcreating its 100th job in its first four years.Cambridge & Counties Bank opened its doors insummer 2012 and has this month welcomedseveral new arrivals to its New Walk HQ, takingits staff headcount beyond a hundred for the firsttime.CEO Mike Kirsopp says the newest postsreflect the huge diversity in employment opportunities in the Bank’s growing team.He said: “Our newest dozen recruits are aged from 18 to 58, which shows we have a welcome forapplicants from all stages in life.“Lots of them live in Leicester, but some have been attracted to work in the city from as far away asYorkshire to work with colleagues from Nottingham, Derby, Northampton, Peterborough, Birminghamand Lincolnshire.“The posts we are creating are full-time and part-time. Flexible working hours are available. And weare recruiting people not just from financial services backgrounds, but from sectors such as legal,property, utilities and more.“We’re very far from a banking stereotype of middle aged men in suits – our team is diverse ingender, age and cultures. Our colleague Rachel Curtis-Bowen is one of very few women on theexecutive boards of UK banks and has just been appointed as our CCO (Chief Customer Officer)”.Cambridge & Counties was the fastest new start bank to reach profit, achieving the feat after just 13months of trading, and Kirsopp puts this down to the quality of the people recruited to the team.He said: “We have recruited school leavers, worked with our local education institutions to offerinternships, developed a graduate programme, staff have recommend friends and we’ve also got agreat line in family recruits … we have two husband and wife teams, three sets of parents and theirchildren and a set of cousins.IT, intellectual property and data protectionexpert joins KnightsA well-respected commercial contracts lawyer with more than 25years’ experience has joined Derby-based Knights professional services.Karen Harrison joins the growing team as a partner, bringing a wealthof experience in non-contentious IT and intellectual property, dataprotection and freedom of information issues.Having worked both in-house and in private practice Harrison islooking forward to growing her client base at Knights.She said: “The demand for support in IT, IP and data protectionissues has grown rapidly.“It’s now commonplace to work with IT and large amounts of data.And with the EU referendum around the corner it’s an important time indata protection law; post-referendum businesses could find themselvesfacing huge 20 million euro fines by 2018 if they aren’t in-line withregulations, so it’s our role to ensure clients are ready for any change”.Knights opened its Derby office in August 2015. Since then, the office has grown to more than 30professionals and aims to reach a target of 50 within six months.Harrison added: “I was attracted to Knights because of its entrepreneurial approach to providing services andits refreshing attitude to making quick decisions that benefit both clients and staff. It’s also exciting to join a new,growing office in a national firm that has so many interesting clients.“My aim is to continue providing an excellent service for clients, while growing a specialist team at Knights inthis expanding sector”.Andrew Pilkington, office leader, said: “Since opening our new office in Derby last August, we have quicklyattracted some of the best professionals in the Midlands and we have expanded our team of specialists.“Karen will be a welcome asset to our team and will be working closely with our business experts who support araft of clients across the region and the UK.“We’ve always been open about our desire to attract the very best talent and reward employees with a sustainablebusiness model and a positive culture that benefits everyone”.New corporatepartner at FlintBishopFlint Bishop Solicitors has announcedthe appointment of Rachel Bennett as anew partner. She is a specialist corporatesolicitor who has been based in theLeicester office of national law firmGateley for the last 4 years.Bennett advises on a full range ofcorporate matters including acquisitionsand disposals, shareholder and jointventure arrangements and private equity.She has a strong reputation throughoutthe region and is recognised bychambers and partners for her “strengthin the M&A and private equity sphere”.Bennett will be working alongsidepartner and head of corporate MartynBrierley, who was recently promoted tolead the corporate team earlier thisyear.Qamer Ghafoor, managing partnerfor commercial services, said: “Weare delighted to welcome RachelBennett to the firm. She has afantastic reputation for deliveringexcellent legal advice to the clientsshe services. I am sure Rachel willsettle into the department andwider business in no time and onbehalf of the partnership, wewish her all the very best”.www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 13APPOINTMENT NEWSEEF to help manufacturers becomemore sustainableEEF, themanufacturers’organisation, isofferingcompanies afree diagnosticsession to markthe launch of anew service tohelpmanufacturerssave money andimprovesustainabilitythrough carbonand energymanagement.EEF’s new Energy Services is a one-stop-shop of specialist sustainability solutions thatspans ISO50001 implementation, managed metering services, energy efficiency, carbon andenergy compliance and professional training, through to setting a carbon and energy strategy.It brings EEF’s full range of sustainability solutions under one umbrella and one specialistconsultancy team. The move is designed to provide manufacturers with a more holisticapproach to an area that is growing in strategic importance, but which is also highly technicaland involves complicated and ever-evolving regulation.At the same time the company has boosted the support it can offer by adding managedmetering services to the range. This service is designed to help firms tackle unnecessarilyhigh energy costs by identifying where and why energy waste occurs. It providescomprehensive and reliable data that justifies and validates energy efficiency implementationand can provide important benchmarks and data for achieving certification for energymanagement systems.Energy affordability is a concern for over eight in ten manufacturers (83%), while energyspend represents over 6% of total turnover for over a quarter of UK manufacturingcompanies. The launch of Energy Services is the latest step in EEF’s drive to supportmanufacturers in their efforts to manage such risks and harness opportunities fromsustainability.Earlier this year it established a series of regional ISO14001 transitioning hubs to helpbusinesses meet new requirements and make the most of their environmental managementsystems.James Wyse, national sustainability lead at EEF, said: “We’re excited about the launch ofEnergy Services as it’s the first time we’ve pulled all our energy, environment andsustainability services together to provide businesses with one cohesive, comprehensive andcomplete view.“It’s an important step because sustainability is of growing strategic importance tobusinesses but remains a challenging and complicated area. There is a pressing need tomanage risks and harness opportunities, but very few firms have the in-house skills andknowledge to do this. By bringing all our services under one umbrella we can provide a moreholistic and seamless service, while also making it easier for companies to understand whatexpertise they actually need to tackle their own particular concerns”.MANUFACTURING NEWSEast Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk14What do Rutland Plastics, Carrie Fisher, Tom Hanks andMel Gibson have in common?Injection moulding company Rutland Plastics is celebrating its 60-year milestone this year along with the aforementioned celebrities.The East Midlands business was founded in 1956 by Ron Smart and Don Ansell, with the pair selling their cars to raise enough money fortheir first two moulding machines. In the last six decades, successes and constant reinvestment have helped to build up the company’scapabilities, capacity, size and strength, yet it has retained its family lineage and close community ties.Sparing the glitz of a Hollywood birthday party, Rutland Plastics celebrated with a day-long summer festival packed with activities andentertainment for its 110 staff and families. The dry weather held tight, which is more than can be said of those trying their hand on the rodeobull.Steve Ayre, MD and grandson of Don Ansell, said: “Family values and integrity lie at the heart of the business, a mini RP Festival seemed themost inclusive way to mark the occasion and thank all our staff for their loyalty and contribution to the company’s longevity and success”.Local businessesrecognised in DigitalMarketing IndexDerby-based portable machine tools manufacturerMirage Machines has topped a list of 50 Midlandsmanufacturing and engineering firms produced bymarketing agency Katapult. The listing recognises thecompany’s digital marketing efforts within the pastyear.Katapult’s Midlands Marketing Index, now in itssecond year, hopes to draw attention to examples ofexcellent digital marketing practice within theindustry while also inspiring companies to get aheadin the online world.The top 50 Midlands-based companies wereshortlisted from an initial list of 350. Businesses werescored for their overall online presence includingsocial media activity, mobile responsiveness,blogging, SEO and lead generation performance.With a score of 77 out of 100, Mirage Machineshas a website that is optimised for convertingwebsite visitors to leads, and a keyword led blogwhich shows that it is maximising the opportunity toget found by relevant prospects through organicsearch.Making it into the Top 50 were last year’s leadersBaxi, who remain within the top 10, construction firmJCB and aerospace giant Rolls-Royce.Many manufacturers still rely heavily on their salesteams for generating leads and winning newbusiness, and can shirk away from using digitalchannels – but this is a changing space.Katapult’s business development manager EmmaJones said: “It’s fantastic to see more and moremanufacturing companies in the region embracingdigital marketing technologies to build their brandsand generate new business leads.The Wilkins Group grasps window ofopportunitywith latestinvestmentThe Wilkins Group hasinvested £300,000 in a new state-of-the-art rotary window patchingand lining machine as part of itsongoing investment plan toincrease capacity.This latest equipmentpurchase follows a string ofinvestments intended to enhancethe value of the Nottinghamshire-based company’s products in thefood and textile sectors.The Heiber + Schröber WPMaster Window Patching Machine now installed at The Wilkins Group’s UK factory in Colwickuses up to four different run modes.Justin Wilkins, sales and marketing director at The Wilkins Group, said: “Following a verysuccessful year for The Wilkins Group, and the inclusion of new business, we knew that weneeded to make a few important investments to be able to continue to not only give ourcustomers the best quality of product, but to remain proactive in each individual demandingsector.“Speed and turnaround is vital in this industry and especially in the food and textile sectors,the way that packaging looks has become vital for so many of our clients. The window patchingand lining machine will help us to offer our clients a high quality product that also helps topromote the appearance of their individual products”.The Wilkins Group, which had a turnover of £33m last year, has one of the largestindependent packaging factories in the UK and specialises in producing packaging for textiles,chilled and frozen food, confectionery, toiletries and household products.After a successful year, this latest investment follows the purchase of a new £2m printingpress and a £300,000 state-of-the-art foil-blocking machine.Wilkins added: “I have said before that following a successful year we are now putting infoundations all over the world for future growth. We are reinvesting heavily in the business sofor years to come we can stay at the forefront and continue to not only adapt to demandingchanges but always be one step ahead”.MANUFACTURING NEWSwww.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 15Penny Hydraulicsnamed “FamilyBusiness of the Year”for the MidlandsClowne-based lifting solutions manufacturerPenny Hydraulics has been named “FamilyBusiness of the Year” for the Midlands at theFamily Business of the Year Awards 2016.The Family Business of the Year Awards werecreated to celebrate the UK family businesssector, in order to recognise the diversity offamily firms across the country and to celebratethe contribution that they make.The organisers, Family Business United,continue to be a leading resource for the sector.The awards ceremony took place on 2nd Juneat the Mayfair Hotel in London.The judges were particularly interested in whatmakes the company different, its core values, theway the business is governed, its philanthropicactivities and what marketing strategies thecompany uses.Penny Hydraulics has a core value ofcommitment to innovation demonstrated by asignificant and on-going investment in InventorCAD and stress analysis software as well as theappointment of high calibre mechanicalengineering graduates.Customer service, excellence, quality andprofessionalism are also key for the firm.The board of directors at Penny Hydraulics is50/50 family to non-family members, and shareownership is kept to people working in thebusiness to prevent profits being taken out byparties who do not contribute towards it. Thisapproach has proven very successful and hasseen a third generation come up through themanagement structure. A key point made in thesubmission for the Family Business award is thatPenny’s shareholders are considered to becustodians and not owners.MD Robin Penny said: “Business founder JohnPenny Senior was a great all-round engineer whosaw no boundaries to what was achievable. Hislack of formal training meant that he was notconstrained by rulebook but he relied heavily onexperience. He was an eccentric characterbuilding boats, cars and aero-planes in his sparetime.“This practical ability and can do attitude with ano boundaries approach still runs through thecompany today and I believe sets us apart frommany other businesses who are simply able tooffer off-the-shelf products”.COVER STORYEast Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk16In profile:Black HareMarketing Black Hare Marketing is an East Midlands-based marketingagency run by Chrissie Rowell and her partner JamesFallows. Rowell is also the brains behind Fusion, Derby’snewest monthly networking event.Tell us a bit about your background“I graduated with a degree in creativewriting from the University of Derby andstarted out as a journalist for the Long EatonTopper. I wrote – in fact I still do – entsreviews for the Evening Post and I wrote acolumn for GQ for a year and a half. “However, as a freelancer it wasbecoming increasingly difficult to pay thebills, so I veered off into marketing. I gotrecruited by an agency who set me up withsome contract work, including a copyproject with Sky. I was then taken on as afull time copywriter with the agency, but Ididn’t want to be chained to the deskforever. That exciting ‘Mad Men’-stylemarketing culture probably does actuallyexist in London, but not in towns likeNottingham. So, after a period working inPR I decided that I wanted to work formyself”.COVER STORYwww.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 17What’s in a name?“I like hares as an animal! They areflexible, reactive and agile and that’sexactly how I want us to operate as amarketing agency. “James and I are both passionateabout ending animal cruelty, and thisinforms our ethical policy at Black Hare.We could never justify marketing abrand or product that has involvementor product origins in animal cruelty. Inthe past when working for otheragencies, I have been asked tocompromise on this and it didn’t sit rightwith me. It’s one of the reasons I wantedto set up Black Hare. I wanted to makemy own rules and choose clientsaccordingly”. What else makes the businessunique?“We offer a range of services that areaffordable to small businesses. We do alot of work with new start-ups becausewe are able to keep costs down. I thinkit’s important for us to work with newcompanies because funding is hard tocome by, and some marketing agenciescan be prohibitively expensive. “But people still want and need qualitybrand development services even if theyare on a budget, and that’s where wecan help out. We provide a wide rangeof services but in a streamlined way, andwe don’t force people into retainers. Wedo have a retainer package which allowsclients to use any of the services weoffer, but we can also do things on an adhoc basis. “Working in this industry appeals tomy creative side. We try to applycreativity to everything we do, and welike to collaborate with other agenciesand freelancers. This creative,collaborative approach means we canlearn from other people. Workingwith freelancers is great – sometimesthey go away and acquire new skill-sets which they can then feed backinto our business. When you are in-house somewhere there’s perhaps adanger of losing that little bit ofspark”. What are your growth plans forthe business?“We are based from home and arecurrently looking atpossible locations for our firstexternal office. We would like to bringin apprentices with a view toexpanding at some stage. We’re verybusy at the moment, so we’re goingto have to think seriously aboutwhere we want to go next”. How do you find the East Midlandsas a base? “This area is very supportive for start-ups and there are lots of greatnetworking opportunities, like Fusion!We have never struggled to find positive,collaborative relationships in the region.The East Midlands is also well placed todo business with other areas –geographically speaking it’s a great placeto be”. LinkingbusinesstogetherEast Midlands Business Link has been bringing businesses together through itsonline pages and we’re now offering even more chances to network andcreate new relationships with a host of special events – and there are numerous sponsorship opportunities to help promote your brand!Round TablesBringing together leading names from local businesses, our round table events debate the latest hottopics. By sponsoring the event you can decide on the topic and help shape the guest list to ensurerelevance. The resultant debate will appear in our pages.Breakfast EventsEast Midlands Business Link's breakfast events present topical and incisive discussion. A panel ofexperts offer their views on business matters in front of an informed and interested audience –alongside plenty of opportunities to network! Sponsors of the event receive access to the delegate list as well as extensive pre- and post-event coverage.AwardsHighlighting the best of local business, there are myriad sponsorship opportunities atEast Midlands Business Link's awards evenings. Bringing together guests from across the region,sponsoring a category or even the entire event will ensure exceptional exposure for your business! These events are also a great place to entertain and welcome distinguished guests.Business Link is renowned as the voice of the East Midlands business scene. By partnering with us at these special events you can take advantage of our strong reputation and enjoy exceptional exposure for your brand!Connectwith us today to see what we can do for your business...BREXITwww.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 19The view from theEast MidlandsAs news of the historic referendum result broke on the morning of 24th June, businesspeople inthe East Midlands were quick to offer their thoughts on what Brexit might mean for the regionand the wider economy. Tom Craig, co-founder of Nottingham digitalagency Impression, said: “It’s a big moment. Forall of the people who will be surprised by theresult, there are more, just, who will be excitedabout the opportunities it could bring. I think rightnow businesses need to sit tight, carry on asnormal and wait for the political and economicwrangling to catch up with events. As for what itmeans for the local economy; time will tell”.Fairgrove Homes MD Steve Midgley said: “It isfar too early to establish what the full impact ofthe referendum conclusion will be. However, as ahousebuilder that has remained in business forover 20 years, adapting our company and offer inorder to continue through a challenging few yearsand emerge successfully, it’s ‘business as usual’as far as we are concerned. The UK’s housingcrisis remains, thanks to many years ofundersupply coupled with an ageing populationand an increase in single person households.Therefore, as a company, and as part of theindustry as a whole, we will continue to work withthe government and others to ensure we candeliver the number of homes the country willneed for future generations”.Ed Vernon OBE, chairman at Midlandsrecruitment consultancy Macildowie, said: “Aschairman of a business which operates in a sectoruniquely connected to employment opportunities,I am surprised by the result.“At Macildowie, we were aware of the impactleaving would have, with the associateduncertainty while the government renegotiates theUK’s position in the world.“But this is the will of the people and thedecision to leave the EU now creates anopportunity to pave the way for new approaches.I am optimistic about the determination andcommitment of business leaders across the EastMidlands and the UK as a whole to succeed.“The government now needs to listen tobusiness to determine the best way forward. Weare a nation of innovators and Macildowie willcontinue to partner with companies to buildSHUTTERSTOCK.COM/RRA7921 ÁNext >