BUSINESS NEWS Tender alert helps
firm win contract Worcestershire-based Judd Medical Ltd, which provides specialist medical instruments, has won a substantial contract using Birmingham Chamber of Commerce’s tender alert services. The company is to supply 103 sets of surgical instruments to the Belfast Health & Social Care Trust. Paul Baker, commercial director
at Judd Medical, said: “The tender alert service provides us with up- to-date, comprehensive and accurate information of the latest NHS tenders, enabling us to pinpoint the specific needs and specialised requirements of the Trusts involved.” Elexis Spencer, Chamber client
services executive, said: “The Chamber’s tender alert service is one of the most accurate in the UK. Our team and a powerful tender matching system ensure that firms receive all the tenders relevant to their sector, providing them with the edge to win new business.”
For more information on the tender alert service call Elexis Spencer on 0121 607 1911.
Robots on the
Run’s college job City College Birmingham has appointed communications agency Robots on the Run to its marketing roster. The Birmingham-based agency has been working with the college on a range of design and marketing projects and will now become an additional member of the marketing team, offering full service support to the college.
POLICY MATTERS
Hope for jobs despite drop in business
BY JOHN LAMB
according to Birmingham Chamber’s latest economic survey. This is one of the few glimmers of hope revealed in
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the economic survey for the third quarter of the year conducted by Birmingham Chamber of Commerce Group (BCCG) in conjunction with the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP). The BCCG survey has now been expanded to include the whole LEP area, which comprises Birmingham, Bromsgrove, Cannock Chase, East Staffordshire, Lichfield, Redditch, Solihull, Tamworth and Wyre Forest. And the way the region’s businesses are maintaining
their confidence and fighting back in these difficult economic conditions drew praise from both the Chamber and the LEP. Despite the LEP outperforming the UK picture, the
area was not immune from the weakening global business environment. Figures for manufacturers who have increased exports in the last quarter are the lowest since September last year. Forty-three per cent said they are increasing sales, compared with 38 per cent.
‘23 per cent expect to take on more people in the next three months’
Advance orders fared worst with only 37 per cent saying they had increased, the lowest figure since March last year, when it was 36 per cent. Increases in home market sales dropped to 41 per
cent compared with 47 per cent in the previous quarter. Orders were also falling with 40 per cent reporting a rise against 43 per cent in the previous quarter. The picture was much the same in the service sector with home and export sales and orders in decline. However, the jobs front looked more optimistic, particularly in the service sector. Not only did 22 per cent, compared with 16 per cent in the previous quarter, say their workforce had increased but 23 per cent expect to take on more people in the next three months. In the manufacturing sector, the number of firms
Whitby guest at
patrons’ lunch Mike Whitby (above), Leader of Birmingham City Council, was the guest speaker at a Birmingham Chamber of Commerce patrons’ lunch at Birmingham Metropolitan College in the city centre.
8 CHAMBERLINK NOVEMBER 2011
increasing their workforces had declined to 30 per cent compared with 35 per cent in June. But 26 per cent expected to be recruiting in the next quarter compared with 24 in the previous quarter. Christine Braddock, then president of Birmingham Chamber, said: “The slight increase in job prospects, although small, is encouraging but there is still a long way to go and demonstrates the determination of businesses to overcome current trading difficulties. “All current and future sales margins and prospects
are extremely small and there is little doubt that disappointing figures in exports reflect the problems in the EU – our largest export market. “The service sector’s export market has also
experienced a significant decline but is doing relatively better than the UK market.”
ob prospects in the Greater Birmingham and Solihull area are likely to improve marginally over the next three months,
Andy Street, chair of the Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP
Business confidence remains static and relatively high, given the difficult trading conditions both at home and abroad. Sixty-one per cent of manufacturers were confident that turnover would improve while 47 per cent expected to improve profitability. Confidence was a little higher in the service sector – 63 per cent expecting to improve turnover and 60 per cent looking at boosting profitability. Andy Street, chair of the Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP, said: "In the face of continuing difficult economic news, the resilience shown in this survey is relatively encouraging. It reflects the determined efforts of the Midlands business community - from SMEs to our biggest firms - to remain competitive, win market share, and adapt to the changing economic environment."
• Companies will be hit hard following the shock October rise in inflation to 5.2 per cent, business leaders have warned. Michael Ward, president of Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, said: “It has largely been driven by rises in energy prices which have gone up rapidly in recent months. “This will hit businesses hard as inflation eats
into disposable income and savings and dampens consumer demand. This will also put pressure on wage settlements which have been rising slower than the rate of inflation. “We still expect inflation to begin to fall towards the end of next year as previous inflationary pressures such as the VAT rise are not repeated. “We would therefore urge the Bank of England
to continue on its current course of holding interest rates at their current level and injecting money into the economy through quantitative easing.”
• Business leaders in Birmingham welcomed cross-party support for HS2 as MPs debated the issue in the House of Commons. The development of the rail link between
London and Birmingham is expected to bring 22,000 jobs and deliver a £1.5 billion boost to the West Midlands economy every year. Jerry Blackett, chief executive of Birmingham Chamber of Commerce Group, said: “It’s encouraging to know that HS2 proposals have already received endorsement from all of the party conferences.”
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