Tracey Renshaw, MD at Dereham based consultancy Import Export Support is making a donation to The Benjamin Foundation to help their work preventing youth homelessness in Norfolk.
As the winner of a golf tournament in Turkey, Tracey Renshaw had the honour of nominating the charity to receive the money collected from her Bawburgh Golf Club friends during the week long tournament. Tracey straightaway chose The Benjamin Foundation, doubled the donation through her firm, and presented a cheque for £200 to Jessica Glover at the charity’s offices.
Having been briefly homeless as a teenager herself, Tracey Renshaw understands how important the charity’s work is in helping Norfolk’s young people. Tracey Renshaw says: “When I needed help all those years ago, I didn’t know who to turn to, so I really understand the difference The Benjamin Foundation make to young people’s lives”
Jessica Glover, Event Coordinator at The Benjamin Foundation says “The support of local businesses is so important to our work and we’re incredibly grateful to Import Export Support for their generous donation”
Image: Tracey Renshaw and Tim Sims present the £200 cheque to The Benjamin Foundation. From left to right: Jessica Glover, Event Coordinator, The Benjamin Foundation, Tracey Renshaw, MD, Import Export Support, Tim Sims, Bawburgh Golf Club
The latest MHA Manufacturing and Engineering Report confirms small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) manufacturers in the East Anglian region remain optimistic and confident about future growth, despite the uncertainty surrounding Brexit, rising production costs and skill shortages.
The report, released on Tuesday 6 February, details the national findings, covering England, Wales and Scotland and also highlights interesting regional variations. Sector expert Matt Rooney, Engineering Policy Adviser at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, has provided commentary throughout the report.
All of the respondents in East Anglia were SMEs with less than 250 employees with a turnover range of under £1 million to £20 million and operated in a wide range of manufacturing sub-sectors. Optimism is high in this region, with over 73% of businesses expecting revenue growth in the next 12 months. Investment in R&D is also high, with 73% of businesses spending a percentage of their turnover, although this is lower than the national average. It is therefore surprising that 36% of respondents will not be making a claim for R&D tax credits in the next 12 months. It is promising to see a commitment to further investment in the sector, as 36% suggested that their level of capital spend would increase.
Given the recent increase in the annual investment allowance to £1 million for two years from 1 January 2019, it will be interesting to see the level of capital spend in the next two years in the region.
This is a question Cooper Lomaz Recruitment want to look back and ask in years to come. The reason? Friday 1st February 2019 saw the launch of an exciting new business engagement and change programme. This 12 month project which will see an overhaul of the company vision, values, brand and engagement strategy is the next exciting phase of Cooper Lomaz Recruitment’s recent evolution.
Creatively named the Apollo project, this is based on the ambition famously shown by JFK in 1961 when he committed that Americans would land on the moon by the end of the decade. A project which acknowledged the sheer size of the task, the work and commitment needed to stay the course no-matter what the obstacle to achieve such an ambition. This is something which resonated with Cooper Lomaz Recruitment and the company’s ambitions for the future.
Under the mantra of ‘Great people do Great things’, Cooper Lomaz Recruitment have targeted a range of internal and external projects which are all allocated an Apollo mission number. Whether it be the re-design of the Norwich office to provide a more productive work environment, or the launch of a 12 month employee Health and Well-being Programme which was the basis for the already launched Apollo, these projects will see the company change its business model and offering.
Next on the list is a change to the company’s internal recruitment process as the target for staff growth begins in earnest. The basis for Apollo 2 is in a crowded recruitment agency market, an arguably vanilla business world, how does the business stand out as an employer of choice? Watch this space to see how Cooper Lomaz Recruitment look to demonstrate this to the market.
Other Apollo projects currently preparing for launch during 2019 see a review and tweak to the company’s brand for the first time in a number of years, along with the launch of a new website which is designed to improve transparency and information for the local market to benefit from.
2018 was a year of expansion with new teams created and new offices opened for Cooper Lomaz. 2019 sees a significant growth and change management programme in place over the coming 12 months. Coming into its 30th year, Cooper Lomaz Recruitment aim to stand out as pioneers of specialist recruitment in the East of England, something we believe is fantastically exciting.
2019 is going to be a great year for Cooper Lomaz Recruitment. Will it be a great year for you?
If you would like to know more about our plans and how you can become a CLR Astronaut please contact – Apolloproject@CLR.co.uk
Leading communications agency undertakes expansion in vote of confidence for the region
PLMR, a leading national communications agency and global top 250 PR company, has today launched a new office in the East of England as part of the company’s plans for continued growth into 2019.
Headquartered in Chelmsford and with additional offices in Cambridge and Norwich, PLMR’s expansion will enable the company to bring its integrated communications offering closer to businesses, charities and other organisations across the region.
The launch of the new PLMR office builds on the work of Snapdragon Consulting, a planning communications company, which was acquired by PLMR in 2017.
The decision to launch an expanded office will enhance this previous success and provide a greater diversity of communications services to organisations across the East of England.
The decision by PLMR to dramatically increase its presence in the East of England represents a strong vote of confidence in the economic strength of the region and its potential for further growth. With an extensive track-record of working with companies across the infrastructure, transport, technology, education and health sectors, PLMR’s team are keen to bring this expertise to bear across the East of England region.
Commenting on the launch, Simon Darby, Head of East of England at PLMR said: “I am thrilled to be leading PLMR’s expansion in the East of England. The region is home to a vast range of exciting sectors and businesses, from tech clusters and advanced manufacturing to nationally vital infrastructure schemes and world-leading financial and professional services. As such, this represents a hugely exiting opportunity for us as a business and we are keen to work with organisations across the region to help them succeed.”
Commenting, Rebekah Pazcek, Managing Director of Snapdragon at PLMR, said: “Since opening Snapdragon’s original East of England office in Cambridge in 2015 we have gone from strength-to-strength, providing market-leading planning communications support. We’re delighted to be able to expand and increase our offering to businesses in the region and are hugely excited to begin the next stage of our growth across the East of England”
Businesses across East Anglia are turning to interns and placement students from the University of East Anglia (UEA) to help innovate, digitalise and future-proof their organisations. Increasing numbers of businesses are hosting placement students and interns with many offering permanent positions for UEA students when they graduate.
Interns and temporary student employees offer valuable benefits to businesses in accelerated growth phases. “UEA have been fundamental to EposNow’s growth mission, the interns we have had here are full of creative ideas,” said Jacyn Heavens, CEO at EposNow which is the fastest growing Electronic Point of Sale company in the UK.
International consultancies are capitalising on the benefits of the diverse pool of UEA students, says Pete Waterman, Growth Advisor and Brand Projector at Grant Thornton: “Students have great exposure to many different international cultures and are guided to think more broadly. Bringing this mind-set of showing respect to others and being curious into our business is a massive asset for us.”
The University works with businesses to meet their needs, including providing recruitment support, placements and internships. The UEA Internship Programme contracts are extremely flexible, providing temporary paid workers who can work within a company from three weeks to one year on a part-time or full-time contract.
Julie Schofield, Joint Head of Careers, Business Engagement at CareerCentral at UEA, commented: “We find that businesses need economic and agile recruitment solutions and quality talent – which is what they can find here at UEA. We work in the most appropriate way to help and if needed we can manage the recruitment process, including advertising to over 17,000 students, sending over CVs, and processing PAYE through our systems – making it much easier to hire a new resource and appreciate their impact right away. We also often have subsidies to help with the costs.”
Chris Sargisson, CEO of Norfolk Chamber of Commerce, who encourages work-based learning opportunities between local businesses and UEA, said: “We know skill is one of our region’s biggest challenges and with many businesses struggling to prepare for a digital future, interns and student workers can be valuable assets in a difficult labour market. Businesses can benefit from fresh new talent, with desirable digital and research skills, who can help define new channels to reach customers or identify inefficient processes that could save them resources or money.”
Internships are a win-win for both students and employers and a try before you buy solution for both parties. Simran Kaur Kalsi, a second year International Development student, completed an Internship at Great Yarmouth Council and said: “This experience shows that I am capable of working in a council environment, in teams and on my own. During my internship I found that my confidence improved and I look forward to using my new skills in the future.”
UEA is one of the UK’s top 15 Universities in the country and hosts a pool of over 17,000 students from all over the world, with access to 4,000 recent graduates. If you think your business could benefit from hiring a UEA intern or placement student, contact UEA Careers Service at access.talent@uea.ac.uk.
Whatever the size of your business, if you have business premises then you would benefit from the services of a professional industrial cleaner. A clean and sanitary workplace is important on many levels, and you may be surprised at its return on investment.
My staff can clean up after themselves!
Many employers expect their staff to keep the workplace clean and whilst we would agree that employees should take some responsibility for keeping things hygienic and tidy, it can have a negative impact on staff relationships and morale if they have to clean up after each other. Not to mention the health and safety implications, training requirements and lack of monitoring. It only takes one forgotten wet floor sign, one misuse of a chemical cleaning product, or someone using the wrong mop and bucket in the kitchen and you could find yourself in the middle of a lawsuit that is going to cost far more than the money you saved on a contract cleaner.
Health and Safety
We’ve touched on this slightly but would stress the value of well trained, health and safety compliant, knowledgeable staff, managed and supervised by someone who understands your business. By handing over the responsibility to an expert team, you and your staff can get on with what you do best in a clean and healthy environment.
What happens if something goes wrong?
In the unlikely event that it does, a professional industrial cleaning company will have insurance to cover breakages and liability etc. Their recruitment processes should include police checks and security vetting, so you know you can trust the people who are cleaning your premises. At Monthind, we value our staff and, as a result, we retain them, so you will get to know the operatives, and they will become part of your team, without any of the associated staff management. We never sub-contract; if there is a short notice absence, we will cover it, even if it means one of the management team rolling up their sleeves and donning a pair of rubber gloves (a rare occurrence, you’ll be pleased to hear!).
I see the ROI, but how else does it help my business thrive?
Outsourcing your cleaning will keep your premises clean and tidy, ensuring a good first impression, and helping to attract and retain customers. It’s not just your customers you will impress, your staff will see that you care about the environment they work in, you want them to be comfortable, and you are prepared to invest in their good health and wellbeing. It demonstrates pride in every aspect of your business and sends a clear message that your brand is dependable.
Your staff will be more productive, on a day to day basis and through lack of sickness absences, you will attract more customers, and your assets, including equipment and furnishings, will last longer and require less maintenance.
If that doesn’t get you reaching for the phone and calling us on 01206 215300 for a no obligation quotation, we’re not sure what will!
At the time of writing (February), Britain will exit the EU at 23:00 on Friday 29th March. You’ll also be aware that the Public Procurement Regulations 2015, which are the UK’s transposition of European Procurement rules into domestic law, apply to all public sector and many other ‘contracting authorities’ such as some charities and many bodies governed by public law. A no-deal Brexit is currently still a very real possibility and the Government is stepping up ‘no-deal’ preparations.
Recently the Cabinet Office published guidance on public-sector procurement after a no-deal Brexit. The guidance states that if the UK leaves the EU without a deal, then the public procurement regulations will remain ‘broadly’ unchanged.
Government will need to amend the current legislation to ensure that it remains “operable and functional on exit”. The procedures will remain exactly the same, with the key difference being that their will be a new, UK e-notification service rather than an EU publication service. In layman’s terms, the term OJEU (Official Journal of the European Union) will disappear, but the concept of OJEU will remain and it will become something like (I’m guessing here) ‘UKENS’ (UK e-Notification Service).
Public-sector organisations and all ‘contracting authorities’ will still be required to advertise. Those that use e-procurement should check with their procurement software providers that they intend to integrate their software to the new e-notification service. BiP, Proactis and several others have already done so according to Cabinet Office, but by no means all of the e-procurement software providers yet.
Procurements commenced before Brexit will need to continue under existing legislation, however award notices will need to be via the UK e-notification service, not OJEU. The amended regulations will need to be followed from the point of exit.
Suppliers to the public-sector will need to also make sure that they are aware of this so that they update their searches for opportunities. Additional information has been published by the EU which confirms that suppliers wishing to tender for EU work, will still be able to access OJEU and TED as they currently can, although this reassurance is limited to access to opportunities and does not cover any aspects of tariffs or commercial implications.
The residential conveyancing team at Norwich solicitors Cozens-Hardy LLP continues to grow, with the recent appointment of experienced Graduate Legal Executive, Georgie Harrington. Georgie deals with all types of residential conveyancing – freehold/leasehold sale and purchases, transfers of equity, new build transactions, acquisitions of land, re-mortgages, right to buy purchases and company purchases.
Having studied Law at the UEA, Georgie is at the Graduate member stage of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives qualification and hopes to qualify into Fellowship and Chartered Lawyer status.
Abate Pest Management Services based near Wymondham Norfolk, has become the latest British company to achieve CEPA certified status and prove that they are meeting the European standard (EN 16636) in pest management service. They join an elite group of UK pest control businesses choosing to demonstrate their professionalism in this way.
The CEPA Certification demonstrates credentials and acts as a benchmark of quality throughout Europe. It defines best practice and acts as an assurance that member companies are fully qualified to deal with all species of both rodents and insects, and are experts on integrated pest management, the use of chemicals and health and safety issues. The Standard is the cornerstone of a strategy to portray a positive image of the pest control industry in terms of public health, food safety, environmental sustainability and economic significance.
Jon Blake, Managing Director of Abate Pest Management Services said “We have joined a small number of pest control providers in the UK that have become CEPA certified. It reflects our quality service and we’re extremely proud of achieving this. EN 16636 outlines the requirements for the reduction of harm and damage caused by pests, with a view to protect public health, property and the environment.
Being CEPA certified means we operate in a way which satisfies these international standards, which not too many pest control companies can claim. It’s nice to be able to share some positive news regarding something to do with Europe with all the Brexit discussions taking place. The UK will leave the EU but not Europe!
To achieve this certificate, the company had to undergo a technical audit which looked at management system documentation; effective implementation; competence and training; client and site risk assessment; pest management planning; management of site waste; and, management of pesticides and equipment. Jon continued “This was a complete audit of our services, from enquiry through to execution, and is known as EN 16636 process flow.”
Abate Pest Management Services passed their audit without any non-conformances. This accreditation gives confidence to customers and potential customers that Abate Pest Management Services operates to the highest standard.
Now in its 20th year of operations, Abate Pest Management Services has developed into a very successful business and is currently expanding its operations throughout the UK. They are a full servicing member of the BPCA, have gained CHAS, ISO 9001, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001 and SafeContractor. With the CEPA certification they have again proved that they are at the forefront of modern, efficient pest control in the UK.
Today Foster Refrigerator and Gamko have launched a free next day delivery service across their most popular products.
It can be debilitating for any foodservice operation to wait days or weeks for their replacement refrigeration. Getting products the very next day, free, when ordered before 12:30pm, can save restaurants and bars from wasted produce and a potential drop in custom.
Ewen Cairns, UK Sales Manager for Foster and Gamko said, “Whether your refrigeration was on its last legs or suffered an unexpected breakdown, we know how important it is to receive your replacement product as soon as possible. Food can spoil if it isn’t kept at the right temperature, and a restaurant without a fridge is like a phone without a battery, it just won’t work!
“In terms of chilled drinks, we all know that an unintended warm beverage, or long waiting times at a bar due to limited stock, can put people off returning. Foster and Gamko know how important it is to ensure the smooth operation of anyone serving food or drink, and so to avoid loss of both money and custom, we’re delighted to launch our free 24-hour delivery service ‘SOS’, helping you to Save On Stress!”
With this in mind, industry leaders Foster and Gamko have been working hard to offer customers a service, that by industry standards would have previously cost upwards of £125, for free.
“After speaking to foodservice professionals about their pain points, we knew our SOS service would help rectify the issues they were facing with delivery times in the industry,” said Nick Bamber, European Head of Marketing for Foster and Gamko.
The SOS free 24-hour delivery is available across our most popular ranges, including EcoPro G2, XTRA, Slimline, Blast Chillers, Maxiglass and more!
To ensure customers get their order on time and as they expected, Foster and Gamko have produced a helpful video highlighting the important initial checks all customers should make before using the SOS service or ordering in general.
Last year the Norfolk and Suffolk Police commissioned us to create a series of short ‘insta’ stories in a bid to tackle and raise awareness of the issues around consent in relation to serious sexual offences.
The 30-second videos will be released on the forces’ Instagram accounts as ‘stories’ over five weeks to coincide with Sexual Abuse and Sexual Violence Awareness Week, which runs from Monday 4 until Sunday 10 February 2019. Do go to the Norfolk and Suffolk Constabulary Official Page at https://lnkd.in/gCbd-8R to find out more and watch the full campaign unfold over Instagram over the next few weeks.
Head of Safeguarding in Norfolk, T/Det Supt Andy Coller, welcomed the campaign saying: “There is often confusion about what is meant by consent and so we hope, by showing a range of everyday situations where people clearly have not consented to what has happened to them, these thought-provoking films will encourage discussion and lead to a wider understanding about what consent means in a sexual context.”
Imperial China takes centre stage in the latest Asian-themed slot to debut at online casinos this week. iSoftbet have been producing quite a few of these titles of late, with the new Imperial Wealth slot the third such release in as many months. Imperial Wealth may have a much in demand theme, and a set of nifty special features, but the new game does still contain graphics and a payline structure which are bog-standard for the modern casino world. Will any of that matter to players trying the new slot, though? Arguably not.
Snag a Bit of Imperial Wealth
This new iSoftBet slot offers the same 5-reel, 20-payline game structure you can find in most simplistic Asian-themed titles. Wagers are also not going to blow anybody away at 20p per spin at their cheapest and £20 a turn at their costliest. At top non-progressive prize worth 1,900x your total bet is fair, though. Where the Imperial Wealth slot does stand out, though, is in its ability to offer players access to a raft of nifty special features, many of which aren’t found in any great number in rival Asian slots from other software providers.
Follow the Fortune Tree
One such feature to debut in this game is the Imperial Roar bonus. It can be triggered randomly on any spin in the game. When it is, the lions located beside the reels may roar and add wild reels, extra wilds, or a guaranteed five-of-a-kind winning combo onto the reels, or they may trigger the bonus feature. That bonus feature is the Fortune Tree, and it is triggered by landing 3 or more bonus icons to win between 5 and 15 spins. Players can select wallets from a fortune tree before the bonus, and these can add multipliers, wilds, or free spins to their tally, which are then worked into the gameplay of the free spin bonus round.
Other Top iSoftBet Games
Imperial Wealth debuted this week and follows 3,888 Ways of the Dragon and other leading Asian-themed slots from this provider. Such games can be found to play for free across the net, or they can be played for real money at many online casinos with iSoftBet games right now.