Business News
...The Griffin Report from page 17 SCC’s profile may be understated
– but its 43-year (and counting) commitment to Birmingham has seen over £100 million invested in creating an international technology campus in Tyseley. “Should a business of our scale
have its headquarters in Tyseley? It is not a natural home for an IT business but we love Birmingham, it is our home. We have always been a Birmingham business – we will stay here.” James envisages busy times
ahead for SCC as the unstoppable march of technology continues apace. “What we are not short of out there is demand. IT is a strong sector to be in. “Some companies’ core systems
are 20, 30 years old. We have lots of conversations with customers about new technology – they have serious issues in their infrastructure. We say ‘talk to us, let us make your IT more modern, more efficient, more secure. If you look at security, it’s a bit like insurance, everybody hates paying insurance – we see that so often with customers who come to us after an incident.” James stresses that latest
statistics on security breaches ‘speak volumes’. Government figures reveal that 43 per cent of businesses experienced a breach or attack in 2018, costing small companies an average of £3,000, while costs to medium to large businesses were estimated at more than £22,000. But while demand for SCC’s
expertise in a post-industrial world is clearly not an issue, skills shortages regularly exercise the minds of James and his management team. “Trying to find people with the
skills we need is a real challenge. We struggle to fill vacancies, especially in technical roles.” James also freely admits that ‘money talks’ when it comes to staff retention, with giants of the digital world such as Amazon and Microsoft able to target trained SCC staff. But the firm remains a proud Birmingham-based operation which mushroomed out of one man’s vision and energy 43 years ago to grow into one of the UK’s most successful family businesses. Well into his seventies, Sir Peter
Rigby still works full-time as the chairman of the Rigby Group, with his sights set on a £1bn market value target by 2025. Son James says: “It is his creation, his baby”, before adding: “I think he should work less hard.” It is, however, difficult to
envisage any member of the Rigby clan slowing down any time soon. As Sir Peter says in the Rigby Group annual report: “The Rigby family are serial entrepreneurs. It’s in our genes.”
20 CHAMBERLINK September 2019
Diverse range of firms lead region
The top 50 fastest growing companies in Birmingham and Solihull created more than 2,600 jobs last year while generating an extra £950m of combined turnover, according to a new report. The second annual Birmingham and Solihull Growth Report, published
by accountancy and business advisory firm BDO, claims Sutton Coldfield- based Dignity Funerals top a table of business growth based over a three- year period. During this time, the company’s turnover rose from £547,000 to £26.6m, including a 51 per cent growth rate over the last year.
‘The 50 fastest-growing businesses in the region have increased turnover by an average 153 per cent over the last three years’
The total turnover generated for the top 50 companies
over the last 12 months came to £948.7m, with an additional 2,683 jobs created in the same period. Well-known brands such as Purplebricks and Gymshark also made it into the top 10, alongside pub company Hawthorn Leisure, Hills Numberplates and more. Jon Gilpin, partner at BDO in Birmingham, said: “There are
a total of 13 industries represented across the top 50 this year, which is really positive for the Birmingham and Solihull economy. This diversity helps to insulate an economy against shocks, as well as sending out positive signals to entrepreneurs that any sector has the potential to thrive.” The 50 fastest-growing businesses in the region have
increased turnover by an average 153 per cent over the last three years, to achieve combined revenues of almost £3.6bn.
Cure Leukaemia to fund national centres
Cure Leukaemia has announced the 12 centres across the UK that will receive funding for the Trials Acceleration Programme (TAP) Network over a three-year period. The centres were selected from 21 applications to receive dedicated
specialist research nurse funding from January 2020 to December 2022. They are:
• Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre, Glasgow • Belfast City Hospital • Churchill Hospital, Oxford • King’s College Hospital, London • Nottingham City Hospital • Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham • Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield • Southampton General Hospital • St James’s University Hospital, Leeds • The Christie, Manchester • University College Hospital, London • University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff
They will receive grants of £50,000 per year from Cure Leukaemia to support the employment of a research nurse who will work closely with the TAP Hub at the University of Birmingham to deliver practice informing trials in blood cancer. Building on the successful track record of the TAP programme,
previously funded by Bloodwise from 2011 to 2019, patients from a catchment area of 20 million people will have access to the wave of new drug and cellular therapies. Cure Leukaemia chief executive James McLaughlin (pictured) said:
“Sending the letters of confirmation to the centres was a significant moment for Cure Leukaemia and a proud one for myself as chief executive.”
Jon Gilpin: Diverse economy
A need for job opportunities
New job figures highlight a need for greater employment opportunities in the West Midlands, business leaders say. Although unemployment in the
region decreased by 0.4 per cent, it still remains well above national figures. And West Midlands employment levels are still below the national average, having fallen by 0.4 per cent between December 2018 and February 2019. However, the UK enjoyed its
fastest rise in nominal wages since 2008 in the year to May 2019, while real basic wages rose by 1.7 per cent for the last quarter. Greater Birmingham Chambers
of Commerce chief executive Paul Faulkner said: “These statistics only reiterate the need emphasised in our latest Quarterly Business Report to create greater employment opportunities outside of the South. “The construction of HS2 is
central to this process, and we are pleased to see politicians recognising this. “We now urge the House of
Lords to similarly demonstrate their commitment to balancing the UK economy by passing the HS2 Phase 2A: High Speed Rail (West Midlands to Crewe) Bill.”
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