Opinion CHAMBER LINK
The Official Publication of Greater Birmingham Chambers of commerce
Editor’s View
By John Lamb
A time of change, growth and success for Birmingham
It’s all change in Birmingham. In fact that has been the case for 1,400 years, having evolved from an Anglo Saxon hamlet to a bubbling 21st Century city of global significance. That is why so many businesses have relocated to Birmingham, now the “capital” of a city region
stretching from the Black Country and Burton through Solihull to Coventry. And in this edition of Chamberlink we are celebrating those companies which have decided their
Sutton Coldfield
Chamber of Commerce
future lies in Birmingham. Not just the huge businesses like HSBC but many from the SME sector (see pages 6, 7, 8 and 12). And to reflect the new regionalisation which is the result of devolution a new body to attract
investment into the region has been created. After 35 years, Marketing Birmingham has now morphed into the West Midlands Growth Company with Chamber president Paul Kehoe as its chairman. And an immediate feather in the Growth Company cap has been a report from the Midlands
Economic Forum that growth in the region is outperforming the rest of the UK. Despite the uncertainty generated by a hung Parliament and the start of Brexit negotiations, the
Front cover: Phil Innes, of Loki Wines
See page 12
Editor John Lamb 0121 607 1781, 0797 1144064
j.lamb@
birmingham-chamber.com
Deputy Editor Dan Harrison 0121 607 1887, 0797 1144052
d.harrison@birmingham-chamber.com
You can now read the latest issue of CHAMBERLINK and view back issues online at:
www.greaterbirminghamchambers.com
West Midlands was the third best performing region in the UK. The Midlands showed the strongest output performance according to the latest Lloyds Bank
Regional PMIs, the Purchasing Managers' Index which is an indicator of the economic health of the manufacturing sector. The PMI is based on five major indicators: new orders, inventory levels, production, supplier deliveries and the employment environment. The growth in the Midlands’ PMIs was largely driven by increases in new orders, particularly
manufacturing companies. New export orders were outstandingly strong in May, with manufacturers’ efforts to seek new foreign markets yielding good results. So we don’t have to look very far to understand why Birmingham and the West Midlands are such
attractive propositions for business of all sizes. And by working across a unified region, the growth company will be able to tell a much stronger
story internationally and use this collaboration to its advantage in securing more investment and visits into the West Midlands. Marketing Birmingham has worked closely with partners across the public and private sectors to
secure a record-high number of foreign direct investment projects, the largest growth in international visitors of any UK city outside London.
Published by
• Chamberlink will be taking a break in August. We’ll be back with the September edition, the editorial deadline for which is Monday, 7 August.
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Managing Editor Laura Blake Designer Lloyd Hollingworth
Advertising 0121 765 4144
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CHAMBERLINK is produced on behalf of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce by Kemps Publishing Ltd and is distributed to members without charge. The Chambers and the publisher are committed to achieving the highest quality standards. While every care has been taken to ensure that the information it contains is accurate, neither the Chambers nor the publisher can accept any responsibility for any omission or inaccuracies that might arise. Views expressed in the magazine are not necessarily those of the Chambers. This publication (or any part thereof) may not be reproduced, transmitted or stored in print or electronic format without prior written permission of Kemps Publishing Ltd.
4 CHAMBERLINK July/August 2017
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