News

Staffordshire Chambers is delighted to announce that renowned author, keynote speaker and AI expert Katie King will be joining us as the headline speaker for this year’s Let’s Do Business.

Delegates will enjoy an exclusive insight into AI, digital transformation, and the future of marketing from Katie, who was recently voted a ‘Top 10 AI influencer’.Katie will share her insights on how businesses of all sizes and across all sectors can harness AI ethically for competitive advantage.

On Thursday, 12 October, at Uttoxeter Racecourse, Katie will outline how businesses can exploit new tools and processes across their marketing, sales, CX and HR, and provide insights into how they can get started, cost-effectively, using her Scorecard for Success. Book your free delegate space, here.

Business stands are filling quickly! Exhibit your services at Let’s Do Business and enjoy exposure to over 1,000 new customers, clients and suppliers! Book your stand, here.

Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce is delighted to reveal that our President Kate Beardmore will be delivering an exclusive insight into ‘Wellbeing Tips for Daily Living’ at the 2023 Better World Festival.

The Better World Festival, proudly sponsored by Staffordshire Chambers, is returning to the City Centre on Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th July. This free, family-friendly event is a celebration of all things music, mindfulness and community engagement.

Kate, who is scheduled to speak in the Wellness Area located on Market Square at 2:30pm on Sunday, 30 July, said: “I am delighted to speak at the event on one of my favourite topics – wellbeing!

“With over 16 years in Corporate and a few burn-outs along the way I now know there is a way to achieve success without self-sacrificing.

“I will share a few tips that are easy to integrate into daily lives. They may surprise you!’”

With a kaleidoscope of performances across two stages, zones for mindfulness and a delightful artisan market, there’s something for everyone to enjoy!

The World Music Stage located on Piccadilly is set to showcase acclaimed artists specialising in global music including Royal Bollywood Music Strings, Kotu Drummers and Los Gitanos Kings, with headline spots secured by award-winning DJ Kavita and World folk rap band Mobius Loop, following their successful 2022 slot. Better World Festival favourites are also set to return, including Jon Walklate, July Julay and Julia Mosley.

Complimenting the musical line-up, Better World Festival will bring together speakers, activists, pioneers, charities, community groups and artisan market vendors with an interest in creating positive change during this weekend event.

Charitiy members from Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce will also be exhibiting on the day and showcasing their vital work in the local community.

Kate added: “This event goes beyond being a vibrant celebration of art, music, and inspirational speakers in our city centre.

“It serves as a vital platform for exceptional charities within our region to showcase their work, enabling them to focus on what they do best – serving and helping people in our community.”

Find out more by clicking here.

Staffordshire Chambers is thrilled to announce the release of the Summer 2023 edition of its highly anticipated Focus magazine, which is now available to read in full online for free.

On the cover of the latest edition is ‘Natalia’s Story – From warzone to workforce’, an emotional account of Natalia’s journey as she fled the conflict in Ukraine and launched her own business in the UK.

Focus magazine is the official business magazine of Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce and, launched in 1952, has a long, proud history in the local business community.

Speaking about the release, Staffordshire Chambers Deputy CEO Chris Plant, said: “We are delighted to present the latest edition of Focus magazine that provides an interesting and insightful read for businesses of all sizes and sectors.

“Focus Magazine’s themed issues provide an in-depth look at issues important to our membership; from environmental sustainability to economic updates and business features. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I have!”

Click here to read Focus in full.

National law firm Freeths has announced expansion into Scotland, with two key appointments and the opening of a new office in Glasgow, its first base outside of England.

Freeths has launched in Scotland with the appointments of Partners Paul Ockrim and Nick Taylor who join from Addleshaw Goddard. They will open the new Glasgow office at Atlantic Quay, Robertson Street with plans to establish a full-service offering in the region.

This comes as the firm announced another year of outstanding growth, increasing revenues by 15% taking turnover to £129m, up 220% from £40.2m in 2014 all through organic growth.

National Managing Partner of Freeths Karl Jansen said: “As a firm, we have ambitious plans for further growth in the coming years. Scotland is an important part of the UK’s economy and therefore integral to our core strategy.

“There is real opportunity for us to build our business in Scotland, delivering an innovative and progressive service for clients in the region. Aligned with our culture and values, both Paul and Nick bring a skill set that will add more breadth and depth to our national offering.”

Paul specialises in all areas of commercial real estate and regularly advises developers, tenants, investors and funding institutions in retail, leisure, banking, investment and development deals. He acts for high profile clients on deals right through from inception to conclusion.

Nick has a focus on investment and development finance matters. Advising investors, developers and lenders, he has assisted clients on a wide variety of different real estate resource-based projects such as renewable energy developments.

The Glasgow site will be Freeths 13^th office in the UK, with the entrepreneurial firm having a well-known reputation for establishing successful operations across its regions.

This includes having built its London base from a team of two in 2013, led by Senior Partner Philippa Dempster, who won The Lawyer’s Hot 100 award for her development of the office, to a 100-strong multi-disciplinary team in 2023.

In just three years, Freeths’ Bristol office has also rapidly expanded from a team of two in April 2019 to a team of more than 50 lawyers as the office continues its recruitment drive in all legal service areas. In addition, the office’s revenue has increased by 51% over the last 12 months.

Paul Ockrim continued: “Nick and I have worked with Freeths over a number of years, so we know them well and share their values and ambitions, and the opportunity to join their exciting journey and open the new office in Scotland was too good to miss.”

Staffordshire based Top Online Partners Group (TOPG), which owns the UK’s leading cashback site TopCashback, has invested £6million in Highlands Rewilding.

Highlands Rewilding is a project which seeks to rewild and re-people the Scottish Highlands by increasing carbon sequestration, growing biodiversity, creating green new jobs and generating sustainable profit for purpose.

The funds from Top Online Partners Group will be invested into the recent purchase of Highlands Rewilding’s third estate Tayvallich, a 1,300-hectare estate in Argyll, Scotland.

The investment will enable the restoration of temperate rainforest on the estate, which should absorb carbon dioxide thus removing it from the atmosphere.

The project also hopes to gain new understanding and data while restoring Scotland’s natural ecosystems. These new insights are expected to inform more effective land management for biodiversity.

Olly Ragg, chief executive and co-founder of Top Online Partners Group, said: “We are delighted to have provided the Highlands Rewilding Limited with financial support. The work Highlands Rewilding is hoping to achieve with the funding has exciting implications for climate and biodiversity.

“As a company we have always tried to have a positive impact in our local community as well as the rest of the UK.  This investment is the latest in a series of sustainability initiatives we are supporting, alongside our commitment to impact investing and our pledge to the Race To Zero Campaign.”

Dr Jeremy Leggett, chief executive and founder of Highlands Rewilding, said: “Top Online Partners Group’s investments have been vital in establishing Highlands Rewilding as one of the leading pioneers on the frontier of the embryonic nature-recovery industry. This is essential in an emerging market, if our children are to have a viable future, and full of potential for ethical profitability and job creation.”

Engineering consultancy Rodgers Leask is working with PowerCem Technologies to improve sustainability on construction sites by converting unsuitable soil into an engineering material called RoadCem, drastically reducing a project’s carbon footprint by 80% to 90%.

Using RoadCem and expert design techniques, Rodgers Leask can support contractors in creating temporary roads, permanent roads, working platforms, piling mats and car parks. Manufactured in Holland, RoadCem is a product designed and sold for building stabilised soil road base, used as a sustainable replacement for unbound stone and binder course.

The innovative soil stabilisation material works well with topsoil, while other ground improvement methods cannot deal with greater than five per cent organic content, and is capable of binding in contaminants so they do not leach out into the environment. Additionally, it can be installed in wet weather while alternative methods only work in dry conditions.

Andy Leask, director at Rodgers Leask, said: “It is crucial that we are thinking of new ways to reduce the environmental impact of construction projects and our collaboration with PowerCem is an innovative example of this. With the introduction of RoadCem into designs, the risks of environmental pollution and use of a finite resource are reduced. And any reduction of concrete, which is responsible for around seven percent of the world’s carbon emissions, is a progressive step towards a net zero future.”

This eco-friendly method has been used in Burton at Claymills sewage works. Rodgers Leask came up with the solution that allowed a piling mat to be constructed in only seven days using the very soft silty soils present on site. Using the soil that already existed on site avoided significant HGV transport taking unsuitable soil to landfill and bringing in freshly quarried stone. The traditional method of constructing a piling mat for a structure of this size would have needed an excess of 2000 truckloads of stone delivered to site.

RoadCem was adopted at Claymills after desktop studies and on-site trials with industry experts confirmed that it would be most suitable method for stabilising the silty organic soils.

For more information on civil, structural, geo-environmental and transport engineering consultancy Rodgers Leask, please visit rodgersleask.com.

Last night I was at the fantastic gala presentation evening for the 2023 Staffordshire Chambers Business Awards at Double Tree by Hilton on Festival Park, hosted by Dave Bryon and Kirsty Hulse.

Our Chamber Awards night is a real highlight in Chambers’ event calendar and last night did not disappoint with a remarkable gathering of the region’s top businesses and industry leaders.

The high number of entries for this year’s awards reflects the unwavering entrepreneurial spirit and dedication to excellence within our region. reflecting the thriving business ecosystem in Staffordshire and its enviable reputation as a hub for innovation and success

As always, our hard-working judges faced the toughest of tasks to narrow entries down to three nominees for each of the 15 categories from such high-quality entries.

The evening shone the spotlight on the rising stars, hidden gems, brilliant employers, and the great talent that helps businesses to innovate and grow.

A huge congratulations to all our winners, especially waste management experts, Willshee’s Waste who won ‘Business of the Year Award’. They were chosen from the category award winners ranging from young employee or apprentice of the year right up to the large business of the year.

Each of the winners was presented with an individual award plate made by Duchess China 1888 in Longton. You can see them being made here: (5) Post | Feed | LinkedIn

A big thank you our generous awards sponsors HSBC and all the category sponsors, the judges, the team at the Chambers, the entrants, and the many businesses in Staffordshire for doing what you do by being positive, innovative, and forward thinking.

Congratulations also to Philip Carter of Ornua Foods UK Ltd who won the special Staffordshire Ambassador of the Year Award, presented by This is Staffordshire, shortlisted from the 170+ strong Ambassador Network in recognition of their ongoing passion, commitment, and dedication to promoting Staffordshire both inside the county and beyond our borders.

You can see a full list of winners and find a link to the streaming of the ceremony here: Awards – Staffordshire Chambers

If you want to talk to us about any business issues, including funding, you can call our switchboard on 01782 202222, call the Business Helpline on 0300 111 8002 or email: info@staffordshirechambers.co.uk

Staffordshire’s leading businesses enjoyed an evening of celebrations on Thursday night at the 2023 Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce Business Awards.

Held at the prestigious DoubleTree by Hilton, Festival Park the sold-out event witnessed a remarkable gathering of the region’s top businesses and industry leaders, marking a momentous occasion for the local business community.

Taking home the top gong of Business of the Year was waste management experts, Willshee’s.

Sara Williams OBE, Staffordshire Chambers CEO, said: “This year’s Business Awards proved to be the most fiercely contested to date, with over 300 applications flooding in from enterprises across Staffordshire.

“The unprecedented response highlighted the unwavering entrepreneurial spirit and dedication to excellence within our region. The record-breaking number of applications truly reflects the thriving business ecosystem in Staffordshire and its enviable reputation as a hub for innovation and success.”

Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce would like to extend its deepest appreciation to all the sponsors, partners, judges, and attendees whose invaluable support contributed to the resounding success of the 2023 Business Awards.

For more information about Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce and its initiatives, please visit StaffordshireChambers.co.uk/awards

Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce is delighted to announce that it has been awarded a portion of funding from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF). This allocation aims to bolster local businesses within the city, and it reflects the Chambers’ commitment to supporting economic growth and prosperity in Stoke-on-Trent.

Under the Supporting Local Business priority, Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce has been granted £347,427 for the Promoting Innovation Pathways (PIP) project. PIP will play a pivotal role in fostering and stimulating innovation across Stoke-on-Trent, providing invaluable assistance to businesses in their pursuit of developing new products, processes, and services.

Furthermore, Staffordshire Chambers has also received £47,335 for the Responsible Business Scheme, a pioneering pilot project designed to enable businesses of all sizes to adopt sustainable business practices. This scheme will create a framework for companies to integrate environmental and social responsibility into their operations, driving positive impact within the local community while ensuring long-term viability.

Sara Williams OBE, Staffordshire Chambers CEO, said: “Funding the UK Shared Prosperity Fund will help us continue in our efforts to support local businesses in Stoke-on-Trent.

“The Promoting Innovation Pathways project and the Responsible Business Scheme will play a crucial role in fostering innovation and sustainability in the region, driving positive impact within the local community while ensuring long-term viability.

“These initiatives demonstrate our commitment to supporting economic growth and prosperity in Stoke-on-Trent, and we look forward to commencing these projects in September 2023.”

The projects are set to commence in September 2023, marking an exciting new phase in the economic development of Stoke-on-Trent. These initiatives, funded by the UKSPF, demonstrate the city’s dedication to creating a prosperous business environment and improving the quality of life for its residents.

Cllr Jane Ashworth, leader of the city council said: “We’re really pleased to have been able to award this funding to support local businesses and projects in Stoke-on-Trent.

“I know that the Cost of Living Crisis is a huge concern for local people and businesses and we are working to ensure that we make the best use of the resources we have available to deliver help, advice and support. The UKSPF funding will fund these three interventions that support local businesses to thrive, innovate and grow.”

To learn more about the recipients of the Communities category, which were announced last week, please visit www.stoke.gov.uk/news. The People and Skills category recipients will be announced in the coming week.