We are delighted to announce we have won the Business Awards UK Education and Training award for best learning and development strategy!
We are so grateful for this award and want to thank every single member of our amazing team for all their hard work, this award belongs to us all, we couldn’t have done it without you all!
A multidisciplinary team from Ashtons Legal has recently advised Camgrain Stores Limited in relation to their involvement in a new multi-million pound, state of the art, oat processing plant in Northamptonshire.
The other parties involved in the creation of new entity Navara Oat Milling Limited were Frontier Agriculture Limited and Anglian Maltings (Holdings) Limited. Along with Camgrain Stores, the plant will be owned and run through the new Navara Oat Milling brand.
The Kettering plant, which has already started to be constructed, will be the largest, most modern oat-processing facility in Europe. Expected to complete in 2023, it will produce oat ingredients for the food and drink industry.
Advising Camgrain Stores on the venture were partners Paul Whittingham and Geoff Hazlewood from Ashtons’ Corporate and Commercial Team. They were ably assisted by partner Simon Cunningham from the firm’s top-tier Agriculture & Estates Team.
Paul Whittingham said: “Myself and the team at Ashtons’ are delighted to have assisted Camgrain and their co-operative members on this exciting project which will meet the ever increasing demand for oat ingredients which we all use in our day-to-day lives.”
Simon Willis, Group CEO of Camgrain Stores adds “We would like to thank, Paul, Geoff, Simon and the team at Ashtons for their professional help and guidance completing the complex legal documents requirement to conclude the Navara Oat Milling, Joint Venture Agreement. The new joint venture will see the plant built alongside our existing Camgrain Advanced Processing Centre in Northants. This is great news for our farmer members as it expands opportunities for them with an increasingly sought-after cereal grain and will involve them in projects such as the development of new varieties. It’s good to be bringing advanced technology to the UK food supply chain, adding value not just to farmers, but also to the local community.”
This year we were wondering what would be an amusing thing we could do to raise some money for Children in Need?
Fancy Dress? Jokes? Forfeits?
All amusing, but not quite enough… so we decided that sending some Directors to work on our IT help desk would be far more amusing, for everyone else. So this Friday, the average age of the helpdesk team will rise considerably due to our new additions, Kevin and James!
It must be said that both are no strangers to providing helpful and friendly IT support and advice, but it also must be said that they were fairly well acquainted with Windows 95 and computer mice with actual roller balls inside.
So if you call us this Friday, please do be aware, that the (older)newbies may pick up the phone or your support ticket, please be gentle! If either one of them tries the old “switch it off, switch it on again” trick be sure to report them to their line manager!
Of course we are very grateful to Kevin and James for getting in to the spirit of things, so if you could spare a few pounds for Children in Need, it would be greatly received. Please do click here to use our Justgiving link if possible.
Turning Factor, a learning and development training provider with offices in Norwich, Cambridge and London, has joined the Future 50 as a partner for its 2022 programme.
The company was founded in 2005 by Kathryn Horton, who previously spent 16 years at insurance giant Aviva – then Norwich Union – as a senior corporate trainer. Having seen her brother launch and build his own business, she was inspired to do likewise.
“I left a very comfortable corporate role to start my business, but I also wondered whether I could build a business from a blank piece of paper that could eventually run independent of me,” says Kathryn. “That is my drive and ambition to achieve.”
Like any business, Turning Factor has had its bumps over the past 16 years, but Kathryn is a firm believer that any successful business owner must experience, and learn, from failure.
“You’re not an entrepreneur until you’ve built a few companies and maybe lost a few along the way, and If you haven’t experienced failure, you haven’t pushed yourself hard enough” she says. “If I could wind back the clock and do anything different, I probably wouldn’t because of the experience I’ve gained building and running a business and employing people”.
It’s this experience that informs the services that Turning Factor provides to clients, from large corporates to ambitious start-ups like those in the Future 50 programme.
A recent EDP article on SouthGate Packing, a fast-growing East Anglian packaging equipment firm are launching a major recruitment drive as it rides the wave of the e-commerce boom. Southgate Global in King’s Lynn has already boosted its team by 50% over the past three years to meet substantial growth in e-commerce business and has just taken on 11 new employees. It is in the process of recruiting for a further seven roles across IT, customer services and logistics to boost its 72-strong workforce.
To provide efficient and accurate stock levels with just in time delivery, yet maintain optimum stock to deliver customer WOW experience.
About Us
Southgate are evolving the industrial packaging and order fulfilment sectors through innovation, productivity and trusted product brands.
Southgate are a family owned business, employing over 60 people across multiple disciplines. We adopt a ‘can do’ attitude with a collaborative approach.
ip21 celebrates it’s 21st Birthday in late November!
East Anglia based Intellectual Property (IP) experts ip21 are celebrating their 21st birthday shortly on the 21st November as the company was founded on the same day back in 2000. The company has planned an evening reception in Norwich on Monday 22nd November for its local clients and contacts, and various social events for its staff to celebrate the milestone.
Looking back the firm’s founder Bill Jones comments, “The last 21 years has seen drastic periods of change within the business community as the world adapted to the financial crisis and the covid pandemic, yet throughout these difficult times our clients have always been innovating and finding solutions to the challenges facing society. It’s always impressed me how entrepreneurial our region has been over these many years.”
Associate Director Dr Cristina Penine adds, “It’s an interesting time in IP right now as the government tries to drive business innovation through various incentive schemes to support the economic recovery. These include generous grant funding for IP Audits and the follow-up securing of newly-registered IP rights, and a number of tax incentives including R&D tax credits and Patent Box which innovative organisations should be looking to exploit.”
Now with offices in Norwich, Cambridge, Bury St Edmunds, Chelmsford and London, the firm has steadily grown since its founding in the new millennium and this year alone has taken on an additional six members of staff. The company drafts, registers and enforces patent, trade mark and design rights and advises on all aspects of IP Law.
In this week’s Impromptu Business Chat, Mark and James reflect on the importance of trust between leaders and their teams. Using the co-founder of Netflix, Feargal Sharkey, and Mark’s fashion sense, they come up with 3 great ideas to help build greater trust.
You can listen here, and catch up on all episodes in the series here.
You can also listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts!
This Christmas, visit the historic city of Norwich and indulge in a luxury stay at Barnham Broom.
Although just a few miles from the centre of the medieval city of Norwich, Barnham Broom is perfectly secluded in the beautiful Norfolk countryside; the perfect backdrop for a spot of festive escapism!
Barnham Broom is a luxury resort with two immaculate golf courses, indulgent spa, health and fitness club, outstanding dining and a tranquil and relaxed atmosphere.
With everything you need to unwind and get away from it all this Christmas, allow our team to take care of you and take all the stress out of the season, giving you plenty of opportunity to relax during this specially-curated four night stay.
You can expect to feel thoroughly pampered this Christmas with our indulgent four night break.
Here is a flavour of what you can expect from this very special stay in Norfolk.
Your stay includes a 25 minute treatment in our tranquil Spa, use of the facilities at The Edge Health & Fitness Club including gym, swimming pool, bubble pool, sauna, steam room, table tennis and squash courts. There will also be a range of activities to enjoy during your break including archery, yoga classes, wine tasting and a race night.
Our Business Awards are back and we’re celebrating achievement, innovation and diversity shown by businesses in Broadland and South Norfolk.
Nominate your business for one or more of our 10 awards; we have added five new categories to recognise the challenges of the past 18 months, including Outstanding Employer, Business Resilience, Working Together, Business Innovation and Business in the Community.
We also have our Retailer of the Year award open for public nomination. If you have a favourite independent retailer that goes the extra mile nominate them today and you could win £100 of shopping vouchers.
If you’re a retailer, make sure you request a marketing pack to encourage your customers to nominate you.
With the support of our headline sponsor Fosters Solicitors, we will showcase the best of Broadland and South Norfolk’s talent at an awards ceremony on 23 March 2022 at Norwich City Football Club.
The road to responsible growth – this edition centres on the pharmaceuticals and life sciences sector. In the report, we make the argument that a focus on innovative medicines, lifecycle affordability, and geographic diversity will provide the springboard for responsible growth. The report sets sector challenges and opportunities in their economic context and offers five tangible suggestions of what to do next.
PwC’s Green Jobs Barometer measures the relative performance of UK regions and industry sectors on their progress developing green jobs* over time. It aims to build an evidence base to assess and support a fair transition to net zero.
The report highlights ‘the triple squeeze’ facing consumers through rising inflation, higher interest rates and fiscal changes going into 2022. The report also notes that regional polarisation caused by the pandemic has been significantly more severe than any previous downturn, and explores some of the drivers of this disparity.
The LSA is the leading sustainability network for law firms and the UK legal sector. It is a collaborative network which allows its members to share best practice and to work together to ensure law firms play a full part in tackling the climate crisis. The LSA provides members with access to a range of tools, resources and advice to help firms become sustainable.
Howes Percival has committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2030 and its dedicated Environmental Committee has already embarked on a series of initiatives to reach this target which include reducing the use of paper, optimising recycling across offices and reducing the volume of marketing materials.
“As the COP26 Climate Change Conference shines a light on global environmental issues, we are really excited to do our part and push forward in our sustainability journey by joining the LSA. Reducing our environmental impact is a key priority for Howes Percival and we are really pleased to join a network of like-minded organisations”.
Find out more about a career in construction – Pathway into Construction – Featuring CV, employability, and guest speaker workshops in partnership with local industry experts.
These free accessible 6-week introductory courses offer you the chance to learn a trade or explore a career in the construction industry. Come and learn the basics, whether you are considering a career or want to make some home improvements; these courses will get you started.