As all our blinds are hand made to your measurements here in Norfolk, we can take bookings quite close to Christmas and still get them fitted for you in time for the big day!
If you wouldlike yournew blinds fittedbefore Christmas, you can order any timebefore 12th December. As you can see from the list, this date applies for venetian, roller and vertical blinds.
You will need to book an appointment for the measurements to be taken, and to discuss designs.
KLM UK Engineering’s new facility is off to a flying start with the steel structure starting to take shape for this two bay aircraft hangar. The hangar is due to officially open in November 2020 a long with its new Workshop facility.
Following extensive refurbishments, Caistor Hall Hotel, in Caistor St. Edmund, Norfolk, is hosting an exclusive event for local businesses to come and experience the new offering on Thursday 5th March from 6.30pm-8.30pm.
Nestled within 32 acres of historic grounds and woodlands in the roman town of Caistor St Edmund, Caistor Hall is a boutique hotel offering luxury accommodation and breathtaking rooms ideal for corporate events but also for weddings, business and leisure breaks.
Following a brief name change in 2019 to The Boudicca, the hotel is proudly returning to its roots and reverting back to its original name of Caistor Hall; a decision influenced by the strength of the brand within the local community over the years.
Caistor Hall is inviting local businesses to join the new management for an intimate evening of wine and canapes on March 5th between 6:30 to 8:30pm; providing the perfect chance to take a look at the newly refurbished facilities Caistor Hall has to offer.
Caistor Hall is an ideal venue for hosting meetings, training courses and awards celebrations for all size businesses, with a variety of room sizes, a capacity of up to 300 people and the option to hire the venue exclusively. Located south of Norwich City Centre with ample free parking on site, just 2 miles from the A47 and a short taxi ride from Norwich Airport and Norwich Train station, the venue also provides an ideal accommodation for those attending an event in Norwich or the surrounding area.
Having remained a firm favourite with both local residents and the wider community for decades, Caistor Hall perfectly captures the beauty and heritage unique to Norfolk and is committed to providing guests with a stylish, unique experience that is second to none.
Caistor Hall is also home to Palm Court Bar & Restaurant, attracting both local clientele and those visiting the area for business. A new chef has been hired to oversee the menu, which is set to be a modern-european bistro with fresh produce that is locally sourced wherever possible. The restaurant will be ‘floating’, as there is the capacity to move the restaurant to several other beautiful rooms within the main body of the house depending on requirements. The bar will be stocked with wines, champagnes, brand and local spirits, and local ales.
Advance reservations for the local business event on the 5th March 6:30pm-8:30pm can be made by calling 01508 494998.
OpenContact have launched a campaign to support a Norwich-based charity as part of their 20th Anniversary Celebrations.
The “20 for 20 in 2020” campaign was officially launched by CEO Fiona Brown in the EDP paper last week, with the aim of raising £5000 for Priscilla Bacon Hospice.
Fiona’s father Ron Pollin, founder of OpenContact, was admitted to the Priscilla Bacon Lodge in 2018 shortly before he lost his battle with cancer. During his time there it became clear to Fiona that the current hospice is no longer fit for purpose, “It’s clear that the current Lodge is not enough for the whole county, and I absolutely see the need for a new hospice,” says Fiona.
An expanding and ageing Norfolk population is now outgrowing the 16-bed Lodge and a £12.5 million appeal was launched last spring to build a new and bigger Priscilla Bacon Hospice on a site near the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital at Colney.
Ever-increasing demand, for inpatient beds as well as day and respite care means that greater capacity is desperately needed. The new hospice will offer the most modern facilities, plus a wider range of community day care and out-patient services, providing those who need care a greater breadth of choice.
Already more than £5 million has been raised, but there is still a long way to go before work can start on the 24-bed unit which will serve all of Norfolk.
Fiona and the OpenContact team are now formulating plans for 20 events, which will raise much-needed funds for the Priscilla Bacon Hospice appeal, while honouring the man who founded OpenContact 20 years ago.
Already in the mix are the possibility of an assault on the Three Peaks Challenge to climb the highest mountains in England, Scotland and Wales within 24 hours; one of the team will be seeking sponsorship for running in the Norwich Half-Marathon; bucket collectors will be out in the city; and a planned big birthday bash for clients and staff later in the year could feature a secret auction and a raffle.
Hatch Brenner Solicitors on Theatre Street in Norwich is delighted to be included in the Headway Solicitor’s Directory once again for 2020. The Directory is a resource for brain injured individuals and their families to identify the leading Solicitors in the UK who have the required experience in handling brain injury cases. All the Solicitors featured in the Directory have agreed to abide by the Headway Personal Injury Lawyers Code of Conduct providing clients with confidence in the quality and expertise of their work. Colin Cook, experienced brain injury lawyer and Hatch Brenner Partner and Head of Dispute Resolution commented: “We are very pleased to be recognised once again as a leading firm for our brain injury work by Headway, the brain injury association. I sit on the board of trustees for Headway Norfolk & Waveney and am proud that Hatch Brenner is both a long supporter of this important charity, and is recognised by Headway UK as a leading firm in this field. “We take the time – through home visits, and spending the time with clients to understand their symptoms, explore their funding options and access appropriate rehabilitation. We understand the impact on the client’s close family, and provide support and advice.” You can view the full Headway Code of Conduct on the Headway website, or click here to view the full Head Injury Solicitors Directory.
Alan Boswell Group, one of the UK’s largest independent insurance brokers and financial advisers, today announced that it has acquired S-Tech Insurance Services Ltd.
Founded in 1982, S-Tech provides guidance on insurance to both businesses and individuals and has more than 65 employees based at its head office in Cambridge. S-Tech will retain its name and all staff as an ongoing enterprise.
The acquisition sees gross written premium for the expanded group rise to £82m, while the Norwich-based firm will see staffing numbers exceed 300 people.
“We have been actively looking to broaden our reach into Cambridgeshire and S-Tech is the perfect fit. The company shares the same values as us, providing expert, friendly advice to its clients. But S-Tech also offers the group something new, because it specialises in technology and science, research and development and credit insurance,” said Alan Boswell, Executive Chairman. “I’m particularly pleased that we have been able to secure S-Tech’s independence, which is a rarity these days.”
Shaun Walker, founder and CEO at S-Tech, added: “We are delighted to become part of Alan Boswell Group. The sale provides security for our staff and enables us to grow our business in our chosen sectors under our existing brand and management.
“I’m sure both our existing and new customers, professional networks and introducers will continue to benefit from the group’s commitment to customer service – a key driver in reaching this agreement.”
Alan Boswell Insurance Brokers directors, Chris Gibbs, Alastair Drew and Alan Boswell will join Shaun Walker, Desmond Matthewson and Laurence Hill, on the board of the new company.
Production Bureau recently scoopedtwo Awards at the EVCOM Live Awards heldat Supernova inLondon.Pb were successful in two categories, AV/Production Supplier and Use of Venue. The Awards recognised the company’s execution of the Doosan Global Business Forum, held during July atThe Gleneagles Hotel . Pb transformed theresortstennis centre into a high specification conference space for the prestigous event.
Their reputation fordeliveringsuch creative production for a wide variety of high profile events during 2016, hasseen Pb togrowtheir team significantly. The company now employs 60staff across two sites in Norwich and Edinburgh.
Greater Anglia has been named Train Operator of the Year in the Rail Business Awards 2020 – after judges praised the company for continuing to innovate and improve while also preparing for the arrival of new trains. Last year, Greater Anglia delivered a number of customer-focused improvements, including introducing the Norwich in 90 service, improving its delay repay compensation scheme (to include all delays of 15 minutes and over) and starting to introduce brand new trains. At the same time, the company made real progress in improving punctuality, which resulted in over 35,000 more trains arriving on time in 2019 (compared to 2018). This sustained punctuality drive led to some months of record-breaking performance, especially on the Great Eastern Main Line and Southend line, which saw four successive months of over 94.5 per cent of trains on time from March to June – some of the best-ever performance seen on these routes. The company also continued to invest in stations, car parks and new services and saw passenger numbers increase. Car park improvements included extending Manningtree and Shenfield car parks and installing Automatic Number Plate Recognition at 20 car parks across the network. A new station, Meridian Water, opened in June, with additional services between Stratford and Meridian Water starting in September. Meanwhile, Greater Anglia launched further ticketing initiatives to make it easier for customers to buy season tickets on Smart Cards, including developing the Greater Anglia app so season ticket holders can upload their season tickets onto their Smart Cards using their mobile phones. Jamie Burles, Greater Anglia managing director, said: “To be named train operator of the year is a tremendous accolade and a credit to the hard work and determination of everyone in our team, across the whole of Greater Anglia, to make our service much better for our customers. We have seen our improvements in punctuality recognised across the industry and have been named most improved London and the South East operator for punctuality on our commuter lines in Essex and Hertfordshire. Customer satisfaction has also increased by 8% to 81%. We’ve replaced all the trains on our rural routes with high quality, state-of-the-art new trains, with more seats and a much better travelling environment which, as they bed in, are starting to improve our reliability, as well as our customers’ on-board experiences. We have also begun to bring in new intercity trains on the main line between Norwich, Ipswich, Colchester and London. We recognise, of course, that last year ended on a difficult note on our rural lines due to signalling issues and that punctuality is not consistently where we want it to be so far this year. We’re sorry for those occasions when we have let people down and we are determined to get performance back on track as soon as possible. We fully intend to live up to our new title of train operator of the year, to continue to improve our service to our customers, raising standards further and continuing the roll out of a complete fleet of new trains.” The citation for Greater Anglia’s award at the Rail Business Awards, which are organised by the Railway Gazette, said : “Greater Anglia had an excellent year in 2018-19, continuing to innovate while preparing for the arrival of its new trains. The judges commended it for launching the Norwich in 90 service with existing stock, whilst also improving regional and commuter services.” Last year, the Stansted Express Liverpool Street to Stansted Airport service, which is managed by Greater Anglia, was named international operator of the year in the Global Air Rail Awards.
Andy Slade has opened his shop on 137 Buxton Road, Heaviley
Andy Slade FCA joined TaxAssist Accountants in March 2019 and has opened his new shop in time to benefit from self-assessment tax return season.
“I would like to thank the Norwich based Support Team who helped me to source and fit out the shop which looks great – I’m so pleased with it. It’s highly visible, well located and has plenty of parking available nearby,” said Andy.
Andy worked in industry for eight years, culminating in becoming a group financial controller before moving to Manchester, where he began working as a contractor. Knowing that he wanted to establish his own business, he turned to franchising, discovered TaxAssist Accountants and the rest, as they say is history!
“I wanted to build something more permanent to be proud of,” explained Andy. “I also wanted to get back to having and managing my own team and be more involved in my local community. “I’ve really enjoyed meeting with and helping clients over the last 10 months, and I’ve had a really busy January. I am actively looking to grow the practice, so would encourage anyone interested in finding out more about our services to pop in for a free consultation.”
Andy’s shop joins an established network of 229 shops nationwide.
If you are interested in finding out more about joining TaxAssist Accountants, regular Discovery Days are held, where you meet with the Directors of the franchise and find out more about the technical and business development support on offer. Call 0800 0188297 to find out more.
Here at The Enterprise Centre we’re really excited about the launch of our new 3D virtual tour, courtesy of local business, Vortex Visual. The tour is now live on our website and beautifully showcases the building to anyone who hasn’t had the opportunity to visit in person. You can see more for yourself here.
Covering all commercial areas of the building, Vortex Visual’s Will Wooster and Max Giddings kindly came to The Enterprise Centre early on a Sunday morning in December to ensure the spaces could be filmed when completely empty of people. It was also an ideal opportunity to get some shots of the sunrise from the stunning roof terrace.
Given the high end architectural design of the building, the option to show potential clients the tour has great implications for The Enterprise Centre. From the early days of opening in June 2015, the team were quickly aware that once people had visited the building they would be keen either to base their business there or hold a future event. Fearn Ainsworth, Commercial Manager, said ‘We’re delighted with the new 3D tour of the building. It truly is a stunning space and now people can see that for themselves even if they don’t have the opportunity to visit in person.’
The Norfolk Chamber are in part to thank for bringing the 3D tour to fruition as Angela Macdonald, Tenancy and Business Development Manager for The Enterprise Centre, first met Will and Max when visiting the Vortex Visual stand at the October Chamber B2B event at Norfolk Showground. Following a couple of meetings on location and the subsequent filming, start-up Vortex Visual have also signed up for one of the tenancy packages with The Enterprise Centre. It just goes to show how productive business events can be!
Does your business use interpreters, translators or other language skills? Do you market your products and services internationally?
Our member Sprowston High School are looking for business people to share their experiences of using different languages in business with Year 9 students. They are at a crucial point in their academic career to decide whether to continue with language education, and we would like to show them some of the uses in their later career.
Venue:Sprowston Community High School, Cannerby Lane, Sprowston, Norwich NR7 8NE