Business News In Brief
Greater collaboration and communication with the business community is central to making the West Midlands Combined Authority a success, Chamber delegates have been told. Speaking at a joint event
involving Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, Black Country Chamber of Commerce and Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, the WMCA’s vice chairman, Councillor Peter Lowe called for business figures to make their voices heard in order to help the Combined Authority bring ‘added value’ to the region. “The WMCA is open for
business and this gives us the opportunity not just to follow other areas of the country but to actually be central in driving the proper devolution agenda,” said Mr Lowe.
Birmingham Children’s Hospital has marked a significant moment in its history by burying a time capsule in the foundations of its new £37.5million clinical block. Nurses, doctors and surgeons
from cancer, rare diseases and theatres were among those who joined Interserve construction workers for the milestone burial. Inside it were mementos
including a signed nurse’s uniform, children’s paintings and information about the hospital’s current £3.65 million Star Appeal. The new clinical block – due
to open on Whittall Street at the end of 2017 – will house a new combined inpatient and outpatient cancer centre, a pioneering rare diseases centre and three new theatres.
The ICC Birmingham has received a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence – an accolade awarded to venues, eateries, hotels and attractions which have achieved star reviews on the travel website. The Certificate of Excellence
accounts for the quality and quantity of reviews submitted by travellers on TripAdvisor over a 12-month period. ICC Birmingham received an average score of 4.5 out of 5.
Mondeléz International has announced the appointment of Glenn Caton as president, Northern Europe. He will be responsible for
Mondeléz International’s businesses in the UK, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark, where Mondeléz manufactures and sells some of Europe’s best-loved snacks brands, such as Cadbury, Oreo, Maynards Bassetts, Ritz and belVita.
10 CHAMBERLINK October 2016
New programme gets off to a flying start-up
A new programme for start-up businesses in Greater Birmingham has attracted a huge response. It was launched by Greater
Birmingham Chambers of Commerce and its head of enterprise, Anabela Ferreira (pictured), said: “We were inundated with inquiries from people who wanted to join our new Start-up membership package when we launched in August. “Delegates to our first
workshops were given advice about the importance of market research and marketing plans and future events are already planned to take place over the coming weeks. “These will include financial
“Our first workshop demonstrated that there are a lot of people out there in Greater Birmingham with some excellent business ideas, including one company which is marketing an alternative to salt. This is proving extremely popular among people who have to have a reduced salt diet but it’s also likely to attract interest from the health-
‘One of the biggest benefits that emerged was the opportunity to network with like-minded people’
planning, employing people, legal issues, social media and other topics relevant to start-ups and young businesses. “But one of the biggest benefits that emerged was
the opportunity to network with like-minded people. They were able to swop notes on a variety of issues and this threw up a lot of ideas and help. “I think start-up businesses who attend big business
events early on can feel intimidated but this is eliminated at our events. Everyone is at a similar stage of their journey and therefore instantly at ease when talking about their experiences.
conscious.” Other start-ups who have received help include a travel company, a stationery business, care personnel provider, a life coach and a leadership management concern. The Start-up programme has also been adopted by Birmingham City University, where it is being
used to support their enterprising students. Russell Jeans, director of membership and business
services at the GBCC, said: “We are delighted with the response to our start-up offer. The Chamber’s record in quality business support is unrivalled across the West Midlands and Start-up is becoming an important element of our operations.” A Start-up membership is priced and £240 a year (including VAT) and payment terms are available.
To find out more or to sign up call 0800 603 6650 Airport supports culture bid
Coventry’s bid to become UK City of Culture is set for international take off thanks to its latest backing. Birmingham Airport is supporting
Coventry’s effort to land the prestigious title as a Bid Development Sponsor and joins a host of businesses and organisations behind the city’s bid. David Burbidge chair of the
Coventry City of Culture Trust, said: “We are thrilled to have Birmingham Airport on board because having region-wide support is great for Coventry.”
For more information on supporting Coventry’s bid to be UK City of Culture in 2021 email
michael.mogan@
coventry2021.co.uk
Bid buddies: David Burbidge (left) with David Winstanley, chief operating officer at Birmingham Airport
Meanwhile, 29 political and business leaders from the West Midlands have written to the Prime Minister to urge her support in growing a competitive network of airports, rather than developing an expanded hub in West London. The chief executives of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, Marketing Birmingham and Birmingham Airport, alongside businesses, other Chambers of Commerce, LEPs and parliamentarians from across the region welcomed the Prime Minister’s backing of the £222 billion Midlands Engine. They also pointed towards the increasingly national role that Birmingham Airport will play with HS2.
Greater Birmingham’s business community has
expressed regret that American Airlines is ending its Birmingham-New York service in January. Paul Faulkner, chief executive of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, said: “It has been invaluable to the business community and will also be missed by the wider travelling public. We understand that the airport is optimistic about filling the gap left by American’s departure and that there is still a strong demand for the service from Birmingham.” Birmingham Airport has a daily non-stop New York
Newark service with United Airlines, and regular connections are also available from several other carriers.
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