The much-promised legacy of the 2012 Olympics may appear much further afield than East London, with news that UK companies are already winning big contracts for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
According to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, London’s successful summer of sport has put UK firms in the box seat to win contracts with future international events.
So far, 22 British companies have won 36 contracts for the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games (all to be held in Brazil), which together amount to over £70 million.
Projects include urban and transport planning for nine World Cup host cities, the Olympic Park master plan design contract, and communications and IT facilities.
Prime Minister David Cameron has led a trade mission of 58 companies to Brazil, where he brought British companies together with key decision-makers in Rio 2016 at a special summit on hosting sporting events.
Britain wants to make the most of its experience as hosts of London 2012 to strengthen its relationship with Brazil and deliver an economic legacy for the UK, he explained.
Research published by Deloitte reveals that more than a quarter of British firms (28%) believe the successful delivery of London 2012 will help UK firms boost their exports to the host countries of future major events.
The research also found that 50% of companies feel the Games have increased confidence in British companies’ ability to deliver large infrastructure projects.
As the Membership manager of the Norfolk Chamber, getting out there and experiencing the innovation of our Chamber members is always eye opening and inspiring but sometimes i do get to have a bit of fun in the process. Today I was invited to attend Ride and Drive day with Dingles Toyota at Sprowston Manor and experience two cars that sit at either end of their range.
First up was the Prius Plug-in
One of Toyota’s true electric cars. In support of the green economy, it’s not hard to see why 85% Toyotas fleet market is made up of sub 100g/km cars when in
Norfolk the awareness of the Green Agenda is growing daily. Reducing you businesses carbon footprint has now become a critical part of lots of our member’s businesses plans and every time I visit a business they are keen to tell me how they work hard in reducing costs and thinking working hard and becoming more sustainable. Those that have a fleet of company cars can dramatically reduce costs and carbon emissions by investing in hybrid technology and this car with CO2 emissions of just 49g/km and an astounding 134 mpg is one of the many sustainable solutions to reducing a fleet’s carbon footprint and saving fuel costs. With the emergence of more and more plug in points throughout Norfolk this type of hybrid will be seen more and more on our streets and hopefully in the fleets of our businesses looking to cut down on that all important Carbon footprint.
Second up was GT86.
Yes my job does have its perks and getting to drive Toyota’s long awaited performance car is certainly up there with the best of them. Yes the little boy in me made me take this out on the road for a spin and you can instantly see why the whole point of this car is to be fun to drive. You can’t help but grin ear to ear as
you pull away from the tree lined drive of Sprowston manor and hear the growl of the 2.0 litre Boxer engine and watch as the electronic speedometer hurtles through the numbers to 60 mph in just 7.6 seconds. There is a bit of a strange anomaly with this car as for some unknown reason the earth’s gravitational pull seems to have a dramatic effect of your right foot as soon as you get in.
Although not in exactly in line with the green economy, this is an example of car manufacture catering for all types of driver and although you would want to drive a Hybrid for work, you would want a GT86 in your garage at home.
So In my last few months I have experienced helicopters, steam-trains and cars, so what’s next in line for my excisions into the diverse Norfolk business community’s offerings? There is so much to choose from so one can only wait and see.
Members of Great Yarmouth Chamber Council, together with Cabinet members of Great Yarmouth Borough Council met recently to discuss the private and public sector working in partnership to promote economic growth.
The meeting, held at Great Yarmouth Town Hall, covered topics such as: broadband: road infrastructure, including the third river crossing; inward investment; the Enterprise Zone; and tourism.
John Morse, President of Great Yarmouth Chamber said “We are delighted that there is now a much closer engagement between the public and private sectors, working together with a clear aim of developing Great Yarmouth into a vibrant place in which to do business. Going forward, we eagerly look forward to working with the Cabinet to convert dialogue into practical solutions and to maximize employment opportunities in the town.”
The 116th Norfolk Chamber of Commerce Annual General Meeting was held at Dunston Hall Hotel on Friday 5th October 2012. The event was well attended and the finalised minutes can be viewed by clicking on the attachment.
Entries are being invited from local businesses for the Mayor’s Business Awards, which have launched today (23 October).
The awards, originally established in 1989 by former mayor Cllr Les Daubney, are the borough council’s way of publicly acknowledging outstanding business achievement and recognising the contribution that local businesses make to the economy of west Norfolk.
Borough Mayor, Cllr Geoffrey Wareham, who will be helping to judge the awards this year, said: “As I have engaged with local businesses during my year as mayor, I have been impressed by the determination and optimism in the business sector in what we all know are challenging times.
“The Business Awards are well established and I would encourage local businessmen and women to put their enterprise forward for one of these awards. Previous winners and their staff have benefited greatly from the publicity and feel-good factor. I am looking forward to visiting this year’s nominations and seeing for myself the growth in our business sector.”
There are three categories to enter:
Manufacturing Business of the Year
Service Business of the Year
Young Business of the Year (for businesses trading between one and four years)
Judges for the Mayor’s Business Awards are particularly interested to learn about achievements in areas such as:
business growth
marketing and promotion
business innovation
development and investment
training and managing staff
performance management
environmentally friendly initiatives
Cllr Alistair Beales, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, added: “Our local businesses are vital to the west Norfolk economy and, despite the ongoing difficulties of the current economic climate, they continue to succeed. Celebrating their successes and achievements is absolutely crucial and helps us to show others that despite the challenges, local businesses are thriving. We are really keen to hear about local business achievements, whatever they may be, and would encourage people to submit their entry forms as soon as possible.”
Entries can be made by downloading the entry form on the borough council’s website www.west-norfolk.gov.uk. Entries must be received by 30 November. Shortlisting of the finalists will take place by the end of the year, with judges visiting the finalists during January. The winners of the Mayor’s Business Awards will be announced at a prestigious awards ceremony on 15 March 2013.
The Mayor’s Business Awards are organised by the Borough Council of King’s Lynn & West Norfolk with support from Lynn News, KLFM 96.7, NWES, Norfolk Chamber of Commerce and the West Norfolk Partnership.
For further information contact Paul Harrison, Business Development Officer, on 01553 616735 or e-mail paul.harrison@west-norfolk.gov.uk.
This year’s Norfolk Chamber Autumn B2B was a brilliant day with some wonderful speakers. Jake Humphrey, Formula One and 2012 Olympic Games presenter showed a real passion for local Norfolk businesses as he talked about how proud he was to have gone from being just a ‘Norfolk boy’ to becoming a BBC TV presenter, through hard work and determination. He talked about how businesses should work together and how this can be achieved by being part of the GoGoGorilla project, of which Jake is patron.
Delegates also heard from David McNally, Norwich City Football Chief Executive who talked about running the football club as a business. He highlighted the importance of having a good team around you from a business perspective as well as on the pitch. David was really enthusiastic about business in Norfolk and was pleased that the football club could be part of bringing them together at this B2B event.
The exhibition was opened by Emma Baker, ITV Anglia who also judged the best stand awards. Emma was impressed with the variety of exhibitors at the event and after much deliberation she announced the winners. The Break Charity won the overall best stand for their gorilla statues, one of which was being painted live at the event and NVCS Ltd was a clear winner for Best Stand Design for their great coffee display. The Forum won Best On Stand Promotion as they had a great opportunity to win a table of eight at their upcoming Comedy Store night.
Attendees also had the opportunity to gain knowledge as well as do business with four free workshops. Two workshops were delivered by Nial Adams, PUSH Academy who helped attendees to make marketing work and offered some top tips on selling more in a tough climate. Julie Bishop from JobHop highlighted how lots of companies use social media for recruitment and that it is an important tool for finding the right candidate. Finally Jean McNeil, Best Support led a really interactive workshop that discussed personality profiling, the different types of personalities and how these personalities affect networking style.
Overall there was a real buzz around the exhibition which wasn’t just coming from Hugh J Boswell’s buzzer game, won by Sarah Mintey from the Open Youth Trust. There was plenty to see and do, from putting at the Royal Norwich Golf Club stand to perhaps bagging yourself a green rubber duck at the Green Duck stand. 99Squared also showcased a unique way of using digital advertising with their square-code that could be scanned with a Smartphone and Archant were there as our Media Sponsors. The event was a huge success and allowed lots of local companies to raise their profiles, work together and do some great business.
Commenting on the announcement by the Deputy Prime Minister of successful bidders in the latest round of the Regional Growth Fund (RGF), John Longworth, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said:
“We are pleased that the £1bn promised for the third round of the Regional Growth Fund has been allocated to projects that will spur business investment and job creation in the regions. However, pace is critical. Many RGF projects have been delayed by bureaucratic hurdles, meaning that they have not yet started to have an impact on the ground. Some bidders have even withdrawn, meaning that over £100m has been recycled back into the fund.
“Ministers should take a bold step and use RGF funding to introduce a Growth Voucher scheme, which would get support to the businesses quickly. The £100m scheme could give 20,000 businesses with clear growth plans up to £5,000 each to get help with the planning system, advice on accessing finance, or growing their staff. Growth Vouchers would have an immediate impact and would complement the RGF schemes being taken forward by bigger companies.
“The government should also consider a second voucher scheme that would provide support for companies that need help with exporting. Together with Growth Vouchers, Export Vouchers would build confidence and help kick-start the rebalancing of the UK economy.”
The Global Marketplace Series begins with our first event, taking place on 08 November at Fluke Precision Measurement Ltd in Norwich.
“Spotlight on Turkey” will look at this most dynamic and attractive market for UK companies. Already sizeable, the Turkish economy will be the second fastest growing economy in the world by 2018 and will out-strip those of Italy and Spain in the next decade.
A young growing population and EU funding mean there are opportunities for UK companies in a variety of sectors including:
Refined Petroleum
Chemicals
Harbours and harbour services
Automotive OEM and Side Services
Automotive OEM Investments
Automotive Side Supplier Investments
Railway/Tram Locomotives and/or Railway Cars
Transit Pipe Line Transportation Services
Electronics
Medical, High Precision and Optical Equipment
Pharmaceuticals
Aircraft and Space Vehicle and/or Parts
Machinery (including Electrical)
Integrated Metal Production
Hear from our host who, as a regular exporter to Turkey, can advise you of their experiences of trading with this market. All the information provided will help aide your decision on whether you should take the next steps to trading there.
Delegates will be able to learn from an informative workshop delivered by Matthew Dabbs, International & Trade Channel Manager of Barclays, who are sponsoring the series.
Registration will begin at 3.30pm for a 4.00pm start, ending at 6.00pm with a light networking buffet.
Book your FREE PLACE at this seminar to find out how you can access this thriving market, by emailing export@norfolkchamber.co.uk
Take a look here for details of the next five events in this series, covering Libya, Dubai, Angola, Saudi Arabia and Emerging Europe.
For help and advice any other matter relating to International Trade, you can contact Tracey direct on Tel. 01603 729711 or email: tracey.howard@norfolkchamber.co.uk
The Norfolk Chamber and enterprise GY are launching a brand new free-to-attend event to help businesses to gain the skills they need to successfully pitch for new business, and at the same time practice what they have learned.
Called ‘Pitching for Business’, the free to attend half-day morning event will be held during Global Entrepreneurship Week, on 14 November at the Novus Enterprise Centre, Great Yarmouth. It combines a series of informative workshops, networking opportunities with key Norfolk buyers, and a business support exhibition.
Caroline Williams, CEO of Norfolk Chamber, said: “GY Businesses have benefited in the past from the ‘Meet the Buyer’ events run with enterpriseGY. ‘Pitching for Business’ has a different more informative and informal style. Businesses from start up to more established businesses have a choice of 6 workshops throughout the morning to hone their presentation and procurement pitching skills, learn about online marketing, relationship building, securing finance and find guidance as a new start up going into their second year.
There will also be a networking lunch, attended by key regional buyers, where businesses will have the opportunity to practice what they have leaned.”
Peter Wright, Economic Development Officer at Great Yarmouth Borough Council, said: “enterpriseGY aims to enhance entrepreneurial activity across all sections of the community within the GY Borough. ‘Pitching for Business’ is specifically aimed at helping new and existing businesses to develop local markets and learn how to win business .
We are delighted to be working closely with the Chamber .They are well known for their meet the buyer events and they have good contacts within the business community.”
The series of six, 40-minute, interactive workshops will be presented throughout the morning. Their topics range from online marketing tips, to securing business funding, relationship building and procurement and public sector pitching. One of the most popular workshops is proving to be ‘Pitching & Presentation Skills’, delivered by Jean McNeil, from Best Support. She said: “This workshop will be very interactive and help you improve the key pitching and presentation skills essential for any business.
“When a golden opportunity comes along you don’t want to blow it! You want to impress the buyer and not depress them. In this session you will learn how to prepare for specific buyers – learn what buyers tell us they need, deliver a clear message for maximum impact, avoid the pitfalls – top tips on what works and what may not, handle questions – listening and responding skills, and prepare yourself and be confident – people buy from people they like.
“Three of the main criticisms we have had from buyers regarding people who have pitched to them is that firstly they haven’t done their research, secondly they don’t listen and thirdly that they haven’t tailored their pitch to suit the buyers’ needs.
“I will be researching the key buyers before the event and during the workshop I will ask the attendees if they have done this research and help them to pick out relevant points to ensure they are fully armed with as much knowledge as possible before they actually speak to the buyers at the networking lunch.”
Buyers attending the event will include Gardline, HSBC, Hugh J Boswell, Midexco, Norfolk County Council, Performance Plus Partnership and Waveney District Council.
There will also be a business support exhibition, with stands from organisations looking to help and advise delegates in a variety of different areas that will compliment their business. They will be A4E, Economic Development Unit – Enterprise Zone, Federation of Small Businesses – Great Yarmouth & Waveney, Great Yarmouth College, New Anglia LEP, Norfolk Chamber of Commerce, and the University of East Anglia.
‘Pitching for Business’ will be held on 14 November at the Novus Enterprise Centre, Great Yarmouth, from 8.30am to 12.30pm, followed by a networking lunch until 2pm. For further information or to book your place, go to Pitching for Business
We are delighted to welcome two new Chamber Gold Patrons -Aviva, and Greater Anglia rail franchise – who join existing Gold Patrons Hugh J Boswell and Chapelfield.
Pictures show Chamber CEO Caroline Williams with Andrew Dernie, Head of Business Operations at Aviva, and Chris Perry, Chamber Membership Manager, with Jonathan Denby, Head of Corporate Affairs at Abellio (Greater Anglia Ltd).
Last week saw business policy developments in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. On Tuesday a package ofmeasuresto help cut unnecessary red tape were announced as new amendments to theEnterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill. The amendments include removing automatic liability on business for civil damages in health and safety cases when they are not found negligent, and the removal of the provisions in the Equality Act 2010 which make employers liable for harassment of its employees by third parties, such as customers or clients, over whom the employer does not have direct control.
In the House of Lords, the beginning of the week saw a series of debates take place on trade, investment and start-up businesses in the UK. The Chamber Network’s important role helping businesses to export was cited during these debates by both Lord Cope of Berkeley and Lord Haskel.
This week will see the report stage of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill as well as the committee stage of theInfrastructure (Financial Assistance) Bill. The Chamber network will, as ever, be lobbying in the coming weeks to ensure that these Bills help to provide businesses with the support that they need to grow.
The deadline for agreeing a new EU budget for the next seven years is fast approaching; and if anyone harboured any hopes that this budget would be reoriented towards growth, they will be sorely disappointed. Farm ministers of France and Germany argued that CAP spending between 2014 and 2020 should be frozen, and not cut as some countries had demanded. If this position is maintained there will be no headroom in the budget for the EU’s policy priorities to be matched with more EU spending. France and Germany are arguing that the CAP can be a catalyst for growth, employment, innovation – rather than allowing opponents to portray the CAP simply as a social security scheme for farmers. The UK Government will undoubtedly regret this development but may not choose to fight it as it will need to use its political capital to defend its budget rebate.
The Commission consults on VAT
Last week the Commission launched a consultation on reduced VAT rates, as part of a wider exercise to reform the EU VAT system in order to make it simpler, more efficient and more robust. The consultation focuses on 3 specific areas where reduced VAT rates need to be reviewed: the impact of reduced rates on competition within the Single Market; the choice of goods and services which can benefit from a reduced rate; and the impact of technological developments on the VAT treatment of similar goods and services (which was agreed by Member States many years ago, and EU policy has developed and evolved since). Therefore, respondents are asked whether certain reduced VAT rates now contradict EU policy objectives. Here, answers should be concentrated on the reduced rates for water, energy, waste management and housing.