Alan Boswell Group has welcomed nine new apprentices to its Norwich and Cambridge offices as part of its long-standing apprenticeship programme. The recruits will be working towards the Level 3 Insurance Practitioner – Junior Broker Apprenticeship, gaining hands-on experience across multiple departments and learning directly from the Group’s 450-strong team of professionals.
Since launching in 2010, the Group’s scheme has been designed to give trainees the skills and knowledge to build lasting careers in insurance. Many participants have stayed on to build careers within the business, with 24 former apprentices still employed at the Group today. The scheme highlights the company’s ongoing commitment to developing local talent and supporting the next generation of insurance professionals.
Gillian Anderson Brown, HR Director at Alan Boswell Group, commented
“We’re delighted to welcome this year’s apprentices to our Norwich and Cambridge offices. Our apprenticeship scheme continues to play a vital role in nurturing young talent and providing them with opportunities to learn and grow in the insurance sector. We look forward to supporting them as they embark on their careers with us.”
Maps and Pathways is designed to answer the common problems with appraisals: compliance focused, often de-motivating, nearly always time consuming and never able to provide organisation-wide insight to support genuine and effective talent management.
Our software solves those problems by replacing those low frequency, high stakes, admin heavy processes with innovative appraisals linked to insightful analytics for all levels of your organisation.
Our development cycle is engineered for speed, enabling us to be exceptionally rapid in responding to customer feedback. We listen, we adapt, and we release improvements quickly, often within in days, always within weeks. The result is a platform that continually evolves to reflect the needs of modern organisations.
NARS is committed to helping businesses across the region ensure their teams feel confident to perform CPR and use a defibrillator in an emergency.
With survival rates from out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in the UK at less than 10%, early action makes all the difference. Knowing how to recognise a cardiac arrest, start CPR, and use a defibrillator can save a life.
Our experienced team deliver free practical and engaging one hour sessions either at your workplace or at our base. We run multiple group sessions which take around one hour each for 15-30 people at a time.
The Space Norwich – A local venue is hosting its first-ever Open House Day on 6th February from 2 PM to 6 PM, inviting the community to explore its spaces and discover how it can host a variety of events, including performances, corporate gatherings, and celebrations.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for people to see our venue in person,” said Masha Brompton, Events and Marketing Coordinator. “Our team is so excited to meet everyone, have the chance to chat, and share ideas about their events!”
Guests will have the chance to see all the rooms and possibilities firsthand, enjoy a friendly chat with the venue team, and network with other attendees in a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere.
The venue is partnering with CMA Event Hire, a trusted name in catering equipment for over 35 years, to showcase creative and inspiring event setups. Complimentary refreshments will also be available throughout the day.
Parking is free, with overflow options available, and the venue is fully accessible with disabled parking and facilities.
Don’t miss this chance to get inspired and plan your next event!
For more information or to Book your free ticket press here .
Scrutton Bland, part of the Sumer Group, has further
expanded its East Anglian footprint with the acquisition of Argents Chartered Accountants, a well-established accountancy firm based in Norwich.
The move marks another significant step in Scrutton Bland’s
regional growth, following the acquisitions of Jacobs Allen in October 2024 and
Tile & Co in February earlier this year. Together, these developments
strengthen the firm’s presence across Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex, while
enhancing its ability to support local businesses with specialist advice and
personal service.
This latest acquisition not only extends Scrutton Bland’s
geographical reach into Norfolk but also bolsters its expertise in the
agricultural sector, an area where the firm continues to see strong growth and
opportunity.
A team of 21 new colleagues join Scrutton Bland from
Argents, led by Jon Spoor and Mark Johnstone, who both join as Partners,
strengthening Scrutton Bland’s Senior Leadership Team. Jon brings extensive
experience supporting clients in the agricultural sector, while Mark
specialises in working with owner-managed and family-run SMEs, as well as
charities and voluntary organisations.
Commenting on the acquisition, Jon Spoor said:
“We’re really excited to be joining Scrutton Bland. From the
outset, it was clear that our values align, putting clients and people first,
and providing forward-thinking advice with a personal touch. This move creates
fantastic opportunities for our clients, who will now benefit from an even
wider range of expertise and services, and for our team, who are joining a
business that’s ambitious and growing across East Anglia.”
Jason Fayers, Managing Partner at Scrutton Bland,
added:
“We’re delighted to welcome Jon, Mark and the whole Argents
team to Scrutton Bland. Their reputation, expertise and local connections make
them a great fit for our business, and together we’re in a strong position to
continue growing our presence in East Anglia. This acquisition is another
important milestone in our ongoing journey to build and grow, whilst delivering
exceptional advice and support to clients across the region.”
Argents will be rebranded as Scrutton Bland over the coming
weeks and months, as the team integrates into the wider business.
Tudor Lodge Consultants are pleased to announce that we have recently started works on Tales of Teddy’s website. Tales of Teddy are a blog and luxury dog product website started over the last few years by Samantha Murray Greenway, who has previously worked across national newspapers and publications in the UK.
Initially started as a blog and dog information website, Tales of Teddy has evolved into one of the best-known ‘dog blogs’ on the internet. The products sold include handstitched collars, luxury dog bowls and a wide range of other British made, handcrafted products for dog and the discerning dog owner and lover.
Tales of Teddy approached us with the desire to climb higher up Google for numerous dog-related searches such as ‘schnauzer’ and ‘luxury dog collars.’ With their website already build to a good standard on the WordPress content management system (CMS), Tales of Teddy were in a strong starting position.
What We Are Doing
We started with a comprehensive consultation between ourselves and the client to identify their targets and goals and what they would like to achieve through extensive search engine optimisation (SEO). Through the feedback we received, we were able to provide a list of around 50 keywords that Tales of Teddy want to be found online for via search engines. We then assessed the met data of their website to research how well they are currently performing.
This was done as part of a comprehensive SEO audit that assessed various aspects involving the overall SEO status and online presence of Tales of Teddy. This included their meta data, content, link profile and general site health. It is the results of this audit that have helped shape the plan moving forward for Tales of Teddy.
We have updated their CMS so that it has a range of SEO-friendly plugins and features favoured by Google and other search engines. This ensures that all content and features on the site and everything featured is crawled by search engines in the most efficient manner.
We are also working on updating all of the website’s meta data, content and user experience and will be working to improve the site speed. We look forward to building on our progress and building a thriving partnership between the teams at Tudor Lodge and Tales of Teddy for the future.
A team from professional recruitment specialists Pure braved lots of mud and obstacles to complete the Only The Brave charity race in aid of the East of England Air Ambulance on Sunday (2 April).
The four-strong team from the recruitment agency’s Cambridge office looked anything but pure by the time they had completed the tough course at Elveden Estate, near Thetford Forest. However, they all agreed it was worth it to help support such fantastic cause.
The Pure team consisted of Caroline Batchelor, Gemma Pritchard-Jones, David Atkin and Ellie Steinfeldt. They all completed the five-mile course, which this year was bigger and muddier than ever before. Between them they ran, crawled, climbed and scrambled their way to the finish line, tackling obstacles including mud pools, water slides, climbing walls, piles of hay bales and monkey bars.
Caroline Batchelor, Associate Director at Pure, said: “The words mud and mayhem definitely spring to mind! The organisers certainly lived up to their promise of making the course as gruelling as possible. But it was a great team bonding experience and lots of fun. This is a major fundraising event for the publicly-funded air ambulance. We’re all extremely proud to have played a small part in helping to raise the £11million needed to keep these life-saving helicopters in the sky.”
The Only The Brave event has been inspired by the East Anglian Air Ambulance’s pilots, doctors, patients and families. The air ambulance flies 365 days a year, taking highly skilled medical teams to people who have been unfortunate enough to be involved in accidents or medical emergencies in Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire. The crews need to be brave, and overcome physical and emotional obstacles every single day.
Becky Wilson and Clare Fuller from Pure also gave up their time to be part of the team of volunteers which helped to ensure everything ran smoothly on the day.
As well as the entry fee to take part, the Pure team has raised a further £300 in sponsorship, with more donations still being received.
Pure will be hosting its second Women’s Leadership Alumni event, bringing together past and present delegates, and their employer sponsors, for a morning of continued development and inspiring guest speakers.
Held at The Jockey Rooms in Newmarket on Wednesday 24 May the event has been organised for previous participants of the Women’s Leadership Programme and anyone interested in finding out more about inclusive leadership.
The Women’s Leadership Programme was first developed in 2014 by professional recruitment specialists Pure, in conjunction with strategic HR consultancy People & Performance. It has already helped more than 65 aspiring female leaders in the Eastern region to strengthen their leadership skills, develop their confidence and to work with their employers to remove any barriers to progression. The second alumni event will be an opportunity for all those involved to come together and to continue discussions on progressing gender equality in businesses of all shapes and sizes.
Lynn Walters, founder and director at Pure, said: “As well as supporting the continued development of aspiring female leaders in our region, this event also provides a great opportunity for them to further develop their professional networks. Our aim is to inspire organisations across the region to create inclusive work environments, where any barriers to progression are removed and everyone can work in a way that makes them feel productive and engaged. We will be joined by guest speakers from the region’s leading organisations who will facilitate discussion and workshops around leadership, culture and strategy.”
The event’s speakers include Dr Andy Wood, Chief Executive at Adnams, David Britain, a strategic HR Consultant who will be leading a workshop on aligning culture and Lynn Morgan, CEO at Arthur Rank Hospice Charity (ARHC) and Donna Talbot, Fundraising Director at the charity. Donna is a previous programme participant and, with Lynn, will share the story of ARHC raising £10m to build the spectacular new hospice which opened in Cambridge last year.
Limited spaces are still available for employers and aspiring leaders who are interested in finding out more about the programme and who would like to hear from those who have already taken part. All ticket sales will include a donation to the Arthur Rank Hospice and a special discounted ticket is available for not-for-profit and charities.
The next Women’s Leadership Programme will begin in June and a part-funded place is available for an aspiring female leader working at a not-for-profit or smaller enterprise in the region. Sponsored by the Blossom Charity, which supports women in the East of England to be the best they can be, applications for the sponsored place are open to female managers and directors working within social enterprises, not-for-profit organisations, early stage start-ups and SMEs across Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire.
For more information about the Women’s Leadership Programme, attending the alumni event or the sponsored place on the next course, contact Lucy Plumb: lucy.plumb@prs.uk.com
East-Anglian contract and specialist cleaning services provider, Monthind Clean LLP has appointed Richard Redding as its new Sales Director.
Richard will lead the group’s sales team in generating new business, strengthening relationships with its existing client base across its East Anglia and exploring new markets in Kent and London. He will oversee all sales and marketing activities across the growing business, which includes Monthind Clean, and Cambridge-based Atkins Gregory.
Having spent almost 20 years in the facilities management industry, with the last eleven of those as Commercial Director at Facilicom, Richard brings a wealth of valuable experience to the Monthind group and its client base.
Although this is a new role for Richard, his relationship with Monthind stretches back some years, as he explains. “Monthind’s operations director, Simon Biggs and I worked together for some years at Mowlem’s cleaning division in London. When the opportunity to join Monthind came along and I saw the work culture, and the plans for growth, I decided I wanted to be part of it. The people-first ethos of the company, and the level of loyalty Monthind has from customers and staff says everything about Monthind. I’m delighted to have joined the organisation at such an exciting time.”
Now in its 41st year, Monthind has earned an excellent reputation, and the business has grown organically to exceed a £10 million turnover, with significant growth planned in the next five years. Simon Biggs says, “We’re delighted that Richard has joined us at this stage of our journey. To have him on board with the valuable experience he has, fits well with us, and our plans at this time. Richard’s experience of bidding for various types and sizes of contract and his proven ability in supporting a sales team, I know, will add to Monthind’s reputation of delivering a first class service across the region.”
The anticipation of the budget is now behind us, and as we decipher and work out what that means for businesses, as well as ours – it’s important to help each other through potential tricky times. I read a post, ahead of the budget from Nova highlighting that 86% of businesses within the Chamber are Small and Midsize Enterprises (SME’s) and the budget applies to a large proportion of us members.
Nobody likes a spreadsheet, so following the budget, we will factor what this means into our own forecasts via cutting-edge software to see what impact the changes have on our own business, as well as our client’s businesses in real-time. You could be manifesting devastation regarding your business affairs, when in reality, you can manage it. Or, you could feel that your business will get through the next year of trade, when it may not be as plain sailing.
Key facts:
-The National Minimum Wage will increase by 6.7% to £12.21 for a worker over 21. National Minimum Wage will increase for workers aged between 18 and 20-years old from £8.60 to £10.
– The lower rate of capital gains tax (CGT) will be increased to 18%, and the higher rate will increase to 24% from 30/10/24. CGT rates on residential property will be maintained.
– Employers NIC will be increased to 15% from April 2025. The secondary threshold will be reduced to £5k.
– Employment allowance will be increased to £10.5k from April 2025.
– Effective from 31 Oct 2024, there will be an increase in the Stamp duty land tax surcharge on second homes by 2% to 5%.
– Inheritance tax (IHT) threshold freeze will be extended until 2030. Inherited pensions will be brought into IHT from April 2027, with reforms on Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief. From April 2026, the first £1m of combined business and agricultural assets will continue to attract no inheritance tax at all, but for assets over £1m, inheritance tax will apply with 50% relief, at an effective rate of 20%.
Have you got a forecast to see the impact of the budget on your business? Does your current accountant have your business interests close to their heart to assist with big decisions like the budget? If not, JHW can help.