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Thames Valley businesses gather at Business Barometer event
UPCOMING FEATURES
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE
Elcot Publications was founded in September 1993 and over the past 20 years has been flying the flag for the Thames Valley, positively promoting the region and its businesses.
In the special anniversary issue in September, we interview key business names on how the Thames Valley has changed over
the past two decades and we catch up on two people we profiled in our very first issue....
MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
Also in September: The M&A market is tricky, with deals taking longer to reach completion. However there are positive signs, as our special section reveals.
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Social networks, sustainability Dining & Your Business
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David Murray at
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www.businessmag.co.uk
BIRTHDAY ISSUE 20 YEARS OF
UPCOMING FEATURES
UPCOMING FEATURES
Business leaders across the region have voted Waitrose as the Most Admired Business of the Year at The Thames Valley Business Barometer one-year anniversary celebration. The event, which took place at Danesfield House in Marlow, also served as a forum to debate the key business issues faced within the Thames Valley and the region’s business leaders urged central government to invest in infrastructure and superfast broadband to create sustainable economic growth in the area.
Simon Brooker, head of BDO Thames Valley and Paula Elliott, managing director C8 Consulting and founder of the Twenties Club, welcomed guests which included the businesses interviewed throughout the year for the Barometer survey, the stakeholder organisations who provided support and their own perspectives, leading media partners and local industry influencers.
The Thames Valley Business Barometer is a collaboration between BDO LLP and business network The Twenties Club, providing a quarterly snapshot of business and economic confidence in the Thames Valley. The results offer a compelling street-level view of business sentiment, helping to inform decisions on growth, investment and employment in the region. Four surveys have been published in June, September and December 2012, and most recently in April 2013.
During the evening, BDO’s Karen Meenderink provided an overview of the Barometer’s results, and described how over the course of the four barometers business growth and expectations of growth have remained a predominant theme, with the Thames Valley being described as the "powerhouse of the UK economy".
The evening event also celebrated the companies that were voted ‘Most Admired’ in the Barometer survey as well as companies that had contributed profile interviews. These included ByBox, Camp Hopson, GCS Recruitment, Grundon Waste Management, JCA Coatings, London Irish, Peter Brett, Pink Elephant, Romans Group and Ultima Business Solutions.
Each of the organisations was given the opportunity to talk to the group about their highs and lows over the past year, including their achievements to date and potential challenges for the future.
Other topics discussed included concerns over Thames Valley Infrastructure such as transport links and reduced broadband speeds in the region. The lack of sustainable broadband supply was deemed particularly ironic, given the location of some of the global telecoms players in the Thames Valley.
Simon Brooker (right) presents the Most Admired Business of the Year award to Alex Hume of Waitrose
The group also talked about Western Rail access to Heathrow, which they felt should now be implemented within a shorter time frame. Everyone acknowledged that the initiative should not be allowed to become blocked by politics. It was also felt that Heathrow should be able to continue to expand within reasonable bounds that respected social and environmental concerns. Media and political support for alternatives in the Thames Estuary created uncertainty and is against the wishes of the business community across the Thames Valley. The Berkshire, Bucks, Oxon and other relevant Local Enterprise Partnerships are now exploring how they can work together to raise these concerns at senior levels.
One of the other key themes discussed was the need to improve education and skills in all sectors to ensure there is an adequate local talent supply. Skills shortages are acute in key sectors, especially at professional levels such as civil and structural engineers and specialist software engineers.
The latest Q1 2013 Thames Valley Business Barometer report can be downloaded via the BDO LLP website (
www.bdo.uk.com), and also the C8 Consulting website (www.c8consulting.
co.uk/Twentiesclub), founders and the inspiration behind the Twenties Club.
The Business Magazine publishes extracts of the quarterley Business Barometer.
measuring results
business barometer THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – JULY/AUGUST 2013
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