Similar to last year, Lulu Hypermarkets, a large UAE based supermarket,are looking for new British products for showcasing at their Best of British Festival in April this year.
Lulu puts on a Best of British Festival every year, which runs for 10 days usually in April or May. During the festival they showcase and highlight all the British brands they already stock, along with new products which they procure just for this festival. Depending on sales/demand, those new products then get an opportunity to continue supplying to Lulu even after the festival.
Last year, 100+ UK companies were introduced to them, out of which they selected products of 18 companies which were showcased at their festival. They are now placing regular orders with a handful of those 18 companies.
The plan is similar for this year’s festival. They want us to source out new UK companies, which they haven’t dealt with before, to get their products stocked at Lulu Hypermarkets in time for the festival.
Below is the criteria you would need to meet:
Categories interested: free from products, organic, healthy foods Type of companies: manufacturers only – no consolidators, distributors or any other intermediaries Note: Companies shouldn’t be already supplying to Lulu Hypermarkets in Dubai (either via Y International, other consolidators or UAE distributors).
If you wish to put your name forward forthis great opportunity, please send us an email. Deadline for all applications is 31 January 2017.
With Brexit now seeming more like a reality, everyone is taking their turn to spell out their demands to the Government negotiators with the latest being a joint approach by organisations representing farmers, food and drink manufacturers and retailers.
They want the UK to adopt an approach to Brexit negotiations that will ensure stability and continuity for agri-food and drink businesses.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC), the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) and the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) set out seven priorities for the food supply chain in the UK’s post-Brexit trade regime.
They are calling for a smooth and orderly Brexit, with transitional arrangements aimed at maintaining frictionless trade in goods between the UK and the EU, avoiding costly and disruptive customs checks, processes and procedures.
A bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) should be negotiated with the EU, their joint statement says, delivering two-way tariff-free trade.
The UK should also establish itself as an independent member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), thereby providing continuity and predictability by adopting the EU’s current schedule of Most-Favoured-Nation (MFN) bound tariff rates.
Benefits for UK traders of existing EU preferential trade arrangements should be secured, including the UK’s “fair share” of tariff rate quotas for agricultural imports and any preferential access for UK food and drink exports – at least until they can be replaced with better arrangements.
Once the terms of the UK’s future trading relations with the EU are clear, the statement goes on, the Government should engage in formal trade negotiations with non-EU countries.
Attention should also be given to establishing co-operation with these countries on regulatory equivalence and ensuring that all new trade agreements consider differences in regulations and standards when market access is negotiated.
In addition, the BRC, NFU and FDF want interested parties to be consulted and detailed economic impact assessments undertaken when future trade negotiations start and before any deals are agreed.
Join us on our Treasure Hunt for a fun evening tracking down clues in Norwich before a delicious meal and prizes for the winners!
Our fundraising event is taking place on Thursday 28th September and is ideal way to socialise with a team of your work colleagues, family or friends. We suggest your team should have between 2 and 6 people.
By taking part you’ll be funding projects like our Social Supermarket which provides cheap groceries to Norwich residents who can’t afford enough food. We’re helping around 2,000 families in this way and the numbers are growing.
The Event
We’ve teamed up with Last Pub Standing on Upper King Street to be our venue. You’ll check in there to collect your clues then head off on foot with your team around the city centre. Return to the pub for some great food provided by Norwich Soul Kitchen and The Feed which is included in your ticket price. There will be prizes for the winners and you can buy your own drinks at the bar.
There are a limited number of Early Bird tickets available until 1st August or until they sell out. Use the code EARLY to book these. The cost is £23 plus fees.
Above: Greater Anglia train. Credit: Greater Anglia
Train operator, Greater Anglia, has upgraded its website to enable visitors to access online content and services more easily, in a way that best suits their needs.
As part of the company’s accessibility strategy, website visitors are now able to access a wide range of accessibility and language support tools to customise their digital experience through Recite Me assistive technology.
Being able to offer an inclusive experience is essential to support over 20% of the population who may encounter barriers online due to having a disability, learning difficulty, visual impartment or if they speak English as a second language.
The new Recite Me assistive toolbar on Greater Anglia’s website includes screen reading functionality, multiple reading aids, customisable styling options, and an on-demand live translation feature that offers over 100 languages, including 65 text to speech and styling options.
James Bonehill, Greater Anglia’s Accessibility & Inclusion Manager commented, “Accessibility is extremely important to us and we are committed to ensuring that all of our customers can access information and services in a way that best meets their individual needs.
“Therefore, we are incredibly proud to be able to provide Recite Me’s innovative assistive technology across our website.”
The internet can be an incredibly intimidating place for those with access barriers, and those lacking the tools they need to adequately understand or communicate are at a significant disadvantage, hence the importance of trying to make online information more user-friendly.
Ross Linnett Recite Me’s Founder and CEO, commented, “It is important to provide an inclusive online experience, where everyone can use our digital world in a way in which best suits their needs. As more organisations provide accessibility tools online, those who face online barriers can access information and services hassle-free. The digital world must be accessible for all.”
To explore using the Recite Me accessibility support tool, anyone can visit the Greater Anglia website and click the ‘Accessibility Tools’ link at the top right corner of the website.
Canary Konect (Route 35) provides the only direct link between The Nest and Carrow Road Stadium, serving Norwich Airport and Norwich Rail Station on the way.
Canary Konect runs up to every 60 minutes, 7 days a week.
Norwich City Council have released their latest economic barometer. The report highlighted:
Locally
Norwich based Topic Biosciences have secured a £60,000 Eastern Agri-Tech Growth Initiative grant to develop new varieties of coffee plant at Norwich Research Park
According to a ManpowerGroup survey, employers in the East of England are ‘most likely to hire’ for the second quarter running
Business activity at firms in the East of England grew at a slower rate, although firms are still more optimistic about their growth prospects in the coming year
Average house price in Norwich grew by 0.4%. the average house price in Norwich currently stands at £192,080
Nationally
UK construction sector growth slowed in March, led by a weaker rise in residential building activity
The UK manufacturing sector had a solid finish to the first quarter. The boost to export competitiveness from the weak sterling exchange rate contributed to this
Britain’s retailers saw falling sales in March, according the BRC, takings were down by 1%
According to the ONS, average weekly earnings for employees rose by 2.3%, including bonuses, when compared with a year earlier
Exciting news! Credo Capital Finance are thrilled to announce that we have won the prestigious Business Moneyfacts Award category ‘Asset Finance Broker of The Year’
This award recognises the hard work and dedication of our entire team in providing exceptional financial services to businesses across the country.
The Business Moneyfacts Awards, which took place on Thursday 20th April at the Evolution Battersea, London, are the industry’s most highly respected awards, recognising the best products and services in the financial sector. Winning the Asset Finance Broker of the Year award is a significant achievement for Credo and The STAR Group, as it demonstrates the company’s exceptional performance and commitment to providing its clients with outstanding service.
We are grateful to our customers for trusting us with their financial needs and for allowing us to help them achieve their business goals. Winning this award would not have been possible without your support and loyalty.
Upon receiving the award, The STAR Group expressed its gratitude for the recognition and thanked the judges for their impartial assessment. The company also praised its team of experts who work hard to ensure that clients receive the best possible service and support.
Jim Higginbotham, CEO of the STAR Group said “Winning the Asset Finance Broker of the Year award is a tremendous honour for us, and we are delighted to be recognised for our commitment to providing exceptional financial solutions to our clients. Our team has worked tirelessly to ensure that we deliver the best possible service, and this award is a testament to their hard work and dedication.”
Lewis Buckley, Head of Sales at Credo added, “We are grateful to our clients for their continued support and trust in us. We will continue to work hard to provide them with the best possible financial solutions that meet their specific needs.”
And secondly, our CEO Jim Higginbotham won a National Leadership Award!
Jim’s honesty, integrity, trustworthiness, and strong work ethics have been highlighted through the shortlisting, values that we believe are cornerstones of any successful business, and certainly reflect the way we want to work with our customers, so we are delighted to see this recognised.
We are incredibly proud that the STAR Group have won three National Awards within the last 6 months, including ‘Asset Finance Broker of The Year’ at the Leasing World Gold Awards in November 22. We are proud of our achievements, and we take pride in serving our customers with excellence and exceeding your expectations.
Join us for our second ‘Live Knowledge Hour event!’ Following the success of our first event, we’re inviting you to spend an insightful 60 minutes with the Norfolk Knowledge Hub experts and have the opportunity to ask questions and meet other attendees, on a range of engaging and relevant topics.
Many people think that improving employee wellbeing would be a good idea, but do not know where to start. Luckily, there is a wealth of existing evidence out there for what to do and how to do it. The PrOPEL Hub (Productivity Outcomes of workplace Practice, Engagement & Learning) is a major initiative designed to support improvements in productivity through enhanced workplace practice and employee engagement.
Content/Takeaway
Join us to hear from the UEA’s Dr Helen Fitzhugh and Claire Glancy and discover ‘5 ways to wellbeing’ tips and how to implement them in your organisation.
Discover the impact of their research and how it can help you pursue productivity within your business
Find out how you and your business can access their research and resources
Dr Helen Fitzhugh will focus on wellbeing, looking at ‘5 Ways to wellbeing’ with tips relevant to current circumstances.
When you register for your place, you will be sent a calendar invitation as confirmation of your place. The invite will include a unique link from Zoom for you to join the video call.
About the Speakers
Helen is the Knowledge Exchange Fellow for the PrOPEL Hub at Norwich Business School, University of East Anglia. She is also a Senior Research Associate in the workplace wellbeing research team. Helen has carried out applied and academic research for the private, public and third sectors on varied ways organisations create social value.
Claire is Manager of the PrOPEL Hub and is based at the University of Strathclyde. Claire is an experienced HE Professional with interests and skills in policy development, stakeholder engagement and knowledge exchange.
The Hub brings together leading researchers from 8 UK universities alongside the CIPD, to develop practical tips and tools to help businesses take advantage of the latest insights and expertise. So join us to discover more form the experts on better ways for business, people and the planet.
Events. We run a series of events exploring links between management practice, employee engagement and productivity. These range from our larger Masterclass events targeted at a senior business audience, our International Research Seminars aimed at an academic audience, to our smaller more engaged workshops and hacks which allow organisations to problem solve within their own specific business context
Research. All of our activity is underpinned by a robust evidence-base. We have 5 major on-going research projects funded by the ESRC which explore links between workplace practice and productivity through a range of different perspectives. You can learn more about these here.
Webcontent. Our website shares findings from our own and other key stakeholder’s research in a format that can be usefully and practically applied by businesses. We offer blogs, podcasts, videos and ‘How To’ toolkits.
Work with Us
We work with all different types of workplace stakeholders. For opportunities and to get involved, please sign up for our mailing list at www.propelhub.org or email us at contact@propelhub.org
The Norfolk Knowledge Hub is available to every business, the content is provided by every business that would like to share their knowledge, skills and expertise. It is curated by your Norfolk Chambers of Commerce.
Monday 24 April: East Anglia’s Complete Commercial Finance, an independent business finance brokerage based in King’s Lynn, has launched its third annual Business Survey. The survey, which was first launched in 2021, invites companies across the region to share their views on business confidence and trading conditions.
In this year’s survey, participants are asked to rank the challenges currently affecting them, including rising costs, taxation, staffing and finance. In previous years, the survey has shown how the pandemic, Brexit and spiralling fuel costs affected trading.
While the pandemic prompted many to use a business loan for the first time, in the form of government-backed schemes such as the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) and Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), previous surveys revealed low level usage of other finance products. This year’s study will map changes in borrowing over the three-year period.
“We are interested to see whether attitudes to commercial finance have changed during this time,” says Complete Commercial Finance director Karl Lanham. “There are always challenges for businesses to contend with, but the current cost of living crisis and labour shortages have peaked pressure on cashflow. This is leading more companies to look at finance solutions to bridge the gap and it will be interesting to see how this shapes views this year.”
Businesses can participate in the survey here by Monday 31 July.
Ahead of the general election, Norfolk Chamber is setting out the key Norfolk business asks for any future government and is calling for improvements to mobile signal coverage throughout Norfolk.
Overall greater mobile coverage is needed to provide better reliability. This include erecting more mobile signal masts and creating a simplified planning process to gain the necessary permissions. Another simple solution to improve existing coverage would be to allow mobile roaming across the existing network providers.
Nova Fairbank, Public Affairs Manager for Norfolk Chamber said:
“Norfolk Chamber wants to ensure that our business community is able to take advantage of new technology developments as they evolve and one of those key areas is the rise in the mobile office and the need by more business people to do business on the move. To do this we need more investment in our mobile signal infrastructure and changes in how the service providers operate i.e. roaming signals.”
A network of providers ensures that the majority of Norfolk receives mobile signal coverage. But no one provider can deliver a high percentage of overall signal coverage across the county. At present the providers do not allow seamless roaming between their networks – so every business user, no matter which network provides their service, suffers from unreliable mobile signal coverage in Norfolk. This effectively means that overseas visitors to Norfolk can expect better mobile coverage than local businesses and residents.
A recent British Chambers of Commerce survey showed that 83% of Norfolk business users experienced ‘not spots’; 43% had access to 4G; and more concerning, 11% of business users still only had access to 2G – voice calls only with no internet or data.
Neil Orford, President of Great Yarmouth Chamber Council and Partner at Lovewell Blake said:
“Nearly every Norfolk business person can give examples of the difficulties they have faced when trying to make business calls on their mobiles. We all know of local dead spots in and around commercial and residential areas and try to plan our mobile business calls accordingly. If we wish to be seen as a place to do business, we must continue to press for improvement in the service provided.”
The IOSH Managing Safely course is the industry-standard health and safety qualification designed for managers, team leaders, and supervisors across all sectors. Delivered over three engaging days, this training provides essential knowledge to help delegates confidently manage health and safety responsibilities within their teams.
Certified by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) — the world’s largest health and safety membership organisation — this course combines expert instruction with practical application, ensuring long-lasting impact.
The Norfolk Hospice Tapping House, is thrilled to be one of three local charities that will showcase a show garden at this year’s prestigious Sandringham in Bloom. With the help of Dean Price Horticulture, they plan to create an emotive concept design that represents the support offered to people with terminal illnesses.
To maximise the impact of their garden, The Norfolk Hospice is seeking sponsorship from local businesses to purchase water features, oak pergolas, and ornamental screening. In return for their generous sponsorship, the businesses will receive publicity for their brand as their name will be displayed on a plaque within the garden. In addition, the show garden and sponsor plaques will be transported to The Norfolk Hospice in Hillington after the event, where they will become a permanent feature in their gardens. Victoria Rush, Community Fundraiser at Norfolk Hospice, said, “Sandringham in Bloom is a wonderful opportunity for The Norfolk Hospice to showcase the love and support we offer to our patients. We rely on the local community and businesses in order to provide our vital services and we would love to hear from any businesses who could support our show garden and be part of this prestigious event.”
From June 3rd to June 11th, Sandringham in Bloom will celebrate the beauty of the Royal Estate’s flora and fauna with its vibrant displays of flowers and foliage. Visitors can expect to receive expert advice, enjoy live music on weekends, and relax with a drink at the gin bar in the gardens. This year, the event will be even more special as Queen Elizabeth II’s Floral Coronation Robe from Salisbury Cathedral will be part of the displays inside Sandringham House. This is a unique opportunity for local businesses to showcase their commitment to the community while increasing their brand’s visibility at a highly anticipated event. Interested parties can contact Norfolk Hospice’s fundraising team at 01485 601701 or email fundraisingteam@norfolkhospice.org.uk for more information on how to sponsor the show garden.
Image provided by The Norfolk Hospice Tapping House
