CHAMBER NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM SPONSORED BY:
Venturefest is open for business
By Michele Pattison Senior Marketing Officer - Energy Innovation & Collaboration The University of Nottingham
Venturefest East Midlands is returning to the region in March. The region’s premier business event for generating innovation and growth will be at Derby Arena on Wednesday 22 March and delegate places are free of charge. With a focus on growing
your business, Venturefest East Midlands is a must attend event in the East Midlands business calendar. Delegates can look forward to hearing from Gold Medal winning Paralympian, Richard Whitehead, who will be considering how a winning mentality helps business growth and David Robinson, former CEO of sports giant Speedo, discussing innovation in design and sports. Other sessions at the event
will feature transport giants Rolls Royce and Balfour Beatty considering the future of the transportation industry and a focus on the healthcare industry from Johnson & Johnson. As well as the main stage
sessions, whilst at the event delegates can enjoy a full day of networking and meet a range of businesses throughout the Innovation Expo, as well as hearing about the very latest innovation funding and support opportunities from Innovate UK, D2N2 Growth Hub and LLEP Business Gateway.
Delegate places at Venturefest East Midlands are free of charge and can be booked now at
www.venturefestem.com.
Keep up to date with all the latest news from Venturefest East Midlands on Twitter at @VfEastMids.
If you’re a business interested in exhibiting at Venturefest East Midlands please email
vfem@hollandalexander.com
Economy is robust despite uncertainties
Businesses across the East Midlands are accelerating into 2017, according to the latest data collated by the Chamber. But they are still seeking
assurances when it comes to negotiations over Brexit and there are concerns about inflationary pressures in 2017 and how they will impact on growth. Both domestic and overseas
markets were robust in the final quarter (Q4) of 2016 with 43% of firms reporting improved domestic performance and 40% reporting improved overseas sales. Looking forward to this year, 40%
of respondents to the Chamber’s Quarterly Economic Survey (QES) for Q4 said they were seeing improved orders from domestic customers and 43% said they had seen no fall off. When it comes to overseas sales,
37% said they had seen increased orders and 44% reported no decline. The weaker pound following the
vote to leave the EU is responsible for reducing the cost around the world of ‘Made in Britain’-branded goods but it is also making imports of raw materials more expensive, which is driving inflation. As a result, 50% of respondents said they expected to see price increases in coming months. While 62% said they expected
turnover to increase in the next 12 months, 50% said they anticipated profitability would increase. Contrasting the Q3 dip in
confidence, 23% of firms said they intend to increase investment in plant, machinery and equipment in Q4 and 25% intend to increase spending on training, up from 17% and 19% respectively.
14 business network February 2017 The SEI figure for Q4 was 293, 89
points higher than the Q3 figure (204) and the highest since Q2 2015. Chris Hobson, the Chamber’s
Director of Policy, said: “Despite the inevitable uncertainties that businesses have faced since the vote to the leave the EU, the economy in the East Midlands is robust. “Domestic and overseas sales
Chris Hobson
‘It is apparent that clarity is still needed over what the main features of a successful UK economy outside of the EU are likely to be’
Reflected in ONS employment
figures from the end of 2016, businesses continued to expand in terms of employee numbers, with 29% increasing the size of their workforce. Looking forwards, 32% said they
expected to increase their workforce in Q1 2017 and only six per cent expected staff numbers to decrease. But employers continue to report difficulties recruiting suitably skilled staff and still want assurances from Government over the future of their staff with EU-backgrounds. The data collected in the
quarterly surveys is used to create a State of the Economy Index (SEI) – an indicator of the direction-of- travel of the economy.
have grown strongly, particularly for our many manufacturers taking advantage of favourable exchange rates which make ‘Made in Britain’- branded goods less expensive overseas. “However, the clear message from
this survey is the likely impact, particularly in the manufacturing sector, of increasing levels of inflation and the inevitable difficulties this could cause from a planning and investment perspective. “It is apparent that clarity is still
needed over what the main features of a successful UK economy outside of the EU are likely to be. “Details and time-scales are
lacking from Government regarding the types of trade deals the UK will negotiate and what Brexit will mean for those employing staff from EU countries, the uncertainty over which EU regulatory directives are likely to be kept and the dwindling amount of opportunities for those largely-dependent on the sourcing of EU funding. “We look forward to working
with Government to make sure that the needs of business, which were compiled in a short report – Shaping a Great Future for the East Midlands: Leading a balanced and sustainable growth in a post-Brexit economy – are paramount during Brexit negotiations.”
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