Our keynote feature this month looks at two ways in which universities and businesses are starting to work more closely together.
Circumstantial evidence seems to suggest that the deals market is improving. Bank funding appears to be freeing up and there is a little more optimism about the underlying economy. But is that feeding through to deals on the ground?
Arguably, manufacturers that are still up and running have seen out the worst of the recession and are now in a good position to benefit from any upturn.
Now would be about the time that Christmas Party bookings are made but for party organisers this year’s pickings are likely to be relatively slim. But is cancelling a Christmas Party a false economy?
Trading with the world’s emerging economies offers tremendous potential but such business is often fraught with danger. Regulatory systems are often more rudimentary than in the developed world, for example.
There is a feeling that Coventry may be a city on the cusp of big things. Huge amounts of city centre regeneration work – some estimates suggest £10bn – are finally breaking the dreaded ‘concrete collar’ that has limited expansion of the city centre whilst expanded business parks and major plans for development around the city’s train station should offer high quality space for office occupiers.
Our monthly marketing feature focuses on getting your message across on a shoestring. We look at the options for firms on a limited budget.
The second in our series of inward investment-related features and events looks at the inward investment strategies of Coventry, Wolverhampton, the Black Country and Nottingham.
We are in a in a litigious era. One person’s unfortunate redundancy is another person’s unfair dismissal. Employment lawyers have never been busier as disgruntled former companies sue their old companies. But this makes up only part of their heavy workload. Firms may find themselves taking legal action against former employees who have set up on their own or joined a rival firm. And then there are the constructive dismissal cases brought on a regular basis against firms who are accused of ‘forcing’ employees out.
Initiatives such as Advantage West Midlands’ Rural Regeneration Zone are an attempt to include non-urban business models into regional economic thinking. This may be through the setting up of centres to be used as bases of innovation and enterprise for rural businesses or through more direct forms of aid.
Aerospace is one of the key sub-sectors in Midlands manufacturing. It has faced economic pressures, as has the rest of the sector, but there is feeling that the products and processes put in place in this sector over the last few years have stood it in good stead during the downturn.
In this much anticipated annual feature, we turn our attention to the region’s architects. We look at the work that has been completed over the last 12 months and at that which is still in the pipeline. We look at style and trends and ask how commissions are won.
Our review of Nottingham, Derby and Leicester amounts to an essential guide to understanding what makes one of the UK’s most dynamic and exciting regional economies tick.
