Recognising and rewarding excellence in British business, the Chamber Business Awards is one of the UK’s most contested and prestigious business award programmes. Each year, from Aberdeen to Cornwall, organisations of all sizes and sectors compete for the coveted titles and the national recognition they bring.
NEW THIS YEAR – only members of Accredited Chambers of Commerce can apply, and it’s free to enter.
The 2018 Chamber Business Awards categories are:
Small Business of the Year
Export Business of the Year
Best Use of Technology
High Growth Business of the Year
Employer of the Year
Education and Business Partnership
Customer Commitment Award
Workplace Wellbeing Award
Digital Communication Campaign of the Year
Last year Norfolk based firm epos now were crowned regional winners in the East of England, receiving the ‘Commitment to People Development’ Award and were shortlisted as a finalist at the national awards ceremony.
We are delighted to announce that not only will this year’s Business of the Year winner get to open the London Stock Exchange when British Chambers of Commerce launch next year’s award programme in March 2019, they will also get the opportunity to work with Rada in Business and join a one day communication skills and impact course.
These awards are open for entry until 29th June 2018. For more information and to enter online visit: https://chamberawards.co.uk/
Due to the severe weather conditions in Norfolk, the Norfolk Chamber of Commerce office in Norwich is closed for today (Wednesday, 28 February 2018).
The phones will not be answered today, please leave a message and our team will return your call when the office reopens. For urgent enquiries please email [email protected]
Unfortunately we have had to cancel two training courses taking place Thursday and Friday at our office, all delegates have/will be notified.
We apologise any inconvenience caused and hope to reopen the office tomorrow, weather permitting.
National Apprenticeship #NAW2018 is fast approaching and we are in the final stages at Norfolk Chamber of Commerce with our campaign to support this week and forthcoming events such as the Norfolk Skills and Career Festival, which runs from Wednesday 7March and Thursday 8 March, 2018 at the Norfolk Showground, Norwich https://norfolkskills.co.uk
It would be great if we could ask for your collaboration with this campaign, as it is an ideal opportunity to showcase the great work we all do within this area. The aim is to feature our Chamber of Commerce members who have apprentices and what it is like to be an apprentice.
These snap shot stories will all be featured on our social media channels. Do get in touch at [email protected] if you are a Chamber member and would like us to feature a story on your apprentice.
On Thursday 22nd February over 100 Norfolk Chamber members joined us at Norwich City Football Club for a morning of networking with a delicious breakfast and a presentation from Mike Jones, Former General Manager of BT Business Specialist Sales on the Future of Work.
We also had Wrightway Health, Marketing Mavens, Bigfork, Select Office furniture, BT Local Business and our featured charity Musical Keys all had exhibition stands at the breakfast.
Our Chief Executive, Chris Sargisson hosted the event he started by highlighting key themes that members have identified as opportunities and challenges for 2018. Chris highlighted a big day in Norfolk’s calendar coming up on Friday 27th July called ‘Norfolk Day’ this is a day for businesses to go out and show what they love about Norfolk.
Members started off the morning with Business Bingo our networking activity for the morning. A full English breakfast was served and members got a chance to speak to the people they were sat with. To introduce more networking member were mixed up with a safari move swapping them to different tables to make more connections.
Mike Jones took the floor after breakfast to give guests an insight into the future of what work will be like with the new emerging technology and what the world would look like with driverless cars in the future.
The last seven months have been a busy time for Max Morris, who is our Apprentice and Membership Administrator at the Norfolk Chamber of Commerce. What does a normal working day look like for you Max? ‘Well a normal working day for me starts at 8.30am and begins with dealing with our new and current members, uploading social media and managing aspects of the website too!’ Being an apprentice has been a real learning experience for Max and has given him the chance to find out what the workplace is all about, ‘I’ve learnt twenty times more on the job than I ever imagined.’
Max’s role is not just desk based, he also is a key member of the digital media team. ‘One of the best parts of my job is when we have events, as I film, edit and prepare the videos for our social media channels. I really enjoy this part of my role as I get to talk to Business people on a personal level, and use my digital media skills too.’ Max came to us from The Hewett Academy, Norwich after studying A level Graphics, Business Studies and Law.
In the future Max is hoping to work towards achieving his level 3 in Business Administration and hopefully secure permanent employment too.
Norfolk Chamber today welcomed the decision by Vattenfall to opt for a cabling technology which will reduce the potential impact of the wind farm’s onshore connection between landfall and the National Grid.
Vattenfall, the energy group behind the Norfolk Vanguard offshore wind farm, made the significant design decision to deploy High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) cable technology to connect Norfolk Vanguard and its sister project Norfolk Boreas to the UK’s National Grid.
The wind farm developer said today that it has made a strategic decision to back HVDC for its Norfolk wind farms as it believes it will be cost competitive in the early 20’s with HVAC whilst being better for local people and the environment where onshore infrastructure is located.
After eight exhibitions in Norfolk and direct feedback from nearly 800 individuals and organisations, Vattenfall set out its local design decisions in an Interim Consultation Report, published today. This report shows how the views of local people and statutory consultees have influenced the latest design of the offshore wind farm and onshore electrical infrastructure.
The key design decisions include:
Adoption of HVDC transmission connections which will avoid the need for cable relay stations near Happisburgh for Norfolk Vanguard and Norfolk Boreas
Using HVDC transmission technology means a much narrower cable corridor throughout – offshore and onshore. The 45m wide onshore cable corridor running from landfall near Happisburgh to a substation near Necton, 60km away, allows Vattenfall to avoid sensitive sites including historical heritage, like buried archaeology near St Mary’s Chapel, Kerdiston and a medieval moat north of Necton. (Vattenfall originally used a 100metre corridor in line with HVAC requirements).
Long range horizontal direction drilling (HDD) at landfall near Happisburgh – where power transmission cables from the offshore wind farm come ashore – will avoid impact on the cliffs and mean no works are required on the beach
Due to additional long range HDD, Vattenfall will avoid impact on all county wildlife sites and a number of important local amenity and tourism sites by adding further sections of trenchless crossing. As a result, features like Paston Way, Knapton Cutting, the Marriott’s Way and Wendling Carr will be avoided
Near Necton, the HVDC Norfolk Vanguard substation will be quieter than the HVAC alternative as it will incorporate fewer low-frequency noise emitting components and acoustic insulation. Also, the footprint of the HVDC project substation will not change, but the structure will be enclosed in taller buildings than the HVAC alternative. Vattenfall will work with local residents and groups to minimise the substation’s impact.
Commenting on the decision, Nova Fairbank, Public affairs Manager for Norfolk Chamber said:
“Vattenfall’s decision to use HVDC shows that they have truly listened to the feedback they have received from both residents and businesses alike. The Norfolk Vanguard and Norfolk Boreas offshore wind projects have the potential to deliver skills and local jobs for the future generations both onshore and offshore; together with supply chain opportunities to a diverse range sectors – all of which will help increase economic growth in Norfolk.”
Ruari Lean, Vattenfall’s Project Manager of the Norfolk Vanguard offshore wind farm development, said: “We have listened very carefully to what local people told us about our plans for Norfolk Vanguard. In combination with our strategic review of transmission technology, the concerns raised by local people have influenced our decision to adopt pioneering HVDC infrastructure for Norfolk Vanguard. By backing HVDC technology, we will minimise the impact on people and the environment whilst keeping the cost of electricity down for the British consumer.”
Ruari added: “I would like to thank all of those people and organisations who have set out their hopes and concerns in evidence based feedback about our proposals for Norfolk Vanguard. It has been enormously helpful to us.”
Vattenfall will submit final plans for Norfolk Vanguard to the Planning Inspectorate in June 2018. Norfolk Boreas, also 1.8GW, is following Norfolk Vanguard in the planning process.
According to ferry company DFDS, 2017 was a record year largely due to the “continuing positive development” in volumes on its 10 freight routes across the North Sea.
However, according to CEO and President Niels Smedegaard, transport companies are beginning to experience some shortage in drivers as trips to the UK are not as attractive as they used to be following the fall of the pound in the wake of the Brexit vote.
“This has resulted in some freight forwarders changing from using trucks with drivers to just sending unaccompanied trailers on DFDS’ freight-only ships,” he explained.
Overall, DFDS’ North Sea freight volumes grew by 7% in 2017 and, in spite of the ongoing debates over Brexit, the company notes that the UK’s economy is still growing, and it is planning for this to continue at just over 1% in 2018.
To accommodate the expected volume growth over the coming years, DFDS has ordered four new mega ships with a capacity of 475 trailers each for the North Sea routes. The ships will be delivered from 2019 and onwards from the Jinling Shipyard in China.
“In spite of the challenges Brexit may lead to over the coming years,” Mr Smedegaard continued, “we can also see opportunities for providing our customers with new, valuable, customs clearance services after Brexit, should customs clearance become necessary.”
His company is located in the ports and already has experience in dealing with these issues as a result of its UK to Norway service, he pointed out.
The first North Norfolk Business Awards were held last week hosted by Chris Sargisson, chief executive of Norfolk Chamber of Commerce, with seven businesses of all sizes and sectors taking home winners’ trophies.
The victorious seven were:
Agricultural Award -Sands Agricultural Machinery, crop-sprayer manufacturer
Business Development and Innovation Award – Structure-flex, heavy-duty thermoplastic coated technical textiles
Business Growth Award – PSS, steering for trucks, buses, vans and military vehicles
Environment Award – Woodfruits, organic shiitake mushrooms
New Business Award – Amber’s Rose,flower preservation
Tourism and Hospitality Award – Thursford Christmas Spectacular, festive variety show
Young People and Skills Award – Bill Cleyndert & Company, custom-made furniture
The awards were organised by North Norfolk District Council on Thursday 15 February and included a dinner at Gresham’s School.
After the event, NNDC Leader Cllr Tom FitzPatrick said: “One of the main purposes of the awards was to promote the quality and diversity of the district’s business scene.
“If you look at the list of winners it has done just that – businesses large and small; businesses which provide entertainment, specialist services, small scale environmental operations and manufacturing were all included. Many thanks to all those involved with supporting the event, entering the awards and, overall, showing that we have a great deal to celebrate here in North Norfolk in terms of business success and ambition.”
The evening also saw the unveiling of one of the Go Go Hares being supported by North Norfolk District Council for this summer’s Break Charity trails around Norwich and Norfolk. Break representatives attended the awards to speak about the charity, the trails and their gratitude for support from all around the county in setting up the event. The hare revealed, called Something for the Weekend and decorated by artist Anne Schwegmann-Fielding using white, silver and gold crockery, mirror circles and bus shelter glass, will be placed in North Walsham for the opening of the trail in June.
To view all the photos from the business award click here.
Set to take place on Friday, July 27, Norfolk Day is an opportunity for the county’s residents and businesses to show how proud they are to live here, and day in which everyone is encouraged to get involved.
Chris Sargisson, Chief Executive of Norfolk Chamber is endorsing Norfolk Day, he said: “We need to change the perception of Norfolk. We all know that it is a great place to live and work, but much of the outside world isn’t aware of this. We have a diverse and dynamic business community and we need to do more to shout about our success and potential.
“We have a highly successful insurance and professional services sectors and we are world leaders in food science and agri-tech with the Norwich Research Park and Hethel Engineering. We also have a strong emerging sector in digital/ICT.
“Norfolk should be very proud of our successes to date, but must be much more vocal about what we can achieve. I would urge all Norfolk businesses to get involved with Norfolk Day and show the rest of the world just how good we are!”
To find out more about getting involved on Norfolk Day email: [email protected] or tweet @norfolk_day or log onto the Norfolk Day Facebook Group.
The latest Bank of England Agents’ Summary of business conditions has been published. The key highlights for February 2018 are:
Growth in activity had held steady at a modest pace. Professional services firms had reported a pickup in growth; goods export volumes had strengthened, construction output growth had continued to slow.
Investment intentions had remained positive, but mainly reflected investment to maintain business activity.
Recruitment difficulties had remained at an elevated level, and pay growth had picked up.
Consumer spending growth had changed little. Growth in retail sales values had been broadly steady, but within that there was downward pressure on sales of furniture and homewares. In addition, the market for new cars remained challenging
Manufacturing output growth had remained moderate. Export volumes growth had increased, supported by strong global demand and the fall in sterling. The latter had led to some, albeit still limited, switching from overseas to cheaper, domestically produced goods.
Housing market activity remained subdued with transactions steady at a low level, reflecting weak supply and demand. Within that, the new-build and rental sectors were buoyant, pushing up prices and rents. Housing demand was particularly weak in London and the South East, especially for the most expensive properties. The rise in Bank Rate had little discernible impact on demand as mortgages remained cheap and readily available.
Whether it will continue to defy expectations as this year’s Brexit negotiations progress is anyone’s guess, but trade between the UK and the continent has certainly held up well in the period since the EU referendum.
For example, ferry company DFDS has just reported another record result for 2017.
The operating profit of over £300 million was based, among other things, on what the company described as continuing positive development in volumes on its 10 freight routes across the North Sea.
According to CEO and President Niels Smedegaard, North Sea freight volumes grew by 7% in 2017.
“In spite of the Brexit issue, and the delayed Brexit agreement between the UK and EU,” he said, “we see that the UK’s economy is still growing, albeit at a slower pace. And, according to the UK Government’s official prognosis, growth is expected to continue at just over 1% in 2018.”
To accommodate the expected volume growth in North Sea traffic over the coming years, DFDS has ordered four new mega ships with a capacity of 475 trailers each. The ships will be delivered from 2019 and onwards from the Jinling Shipyard in China.
Mr Smedegaard pointed out that DFDS foresaw opportunities for providing its clients with valuable customs clearance services after Brexit, should the final agreement between the UK and the EU make this necessary.
In the last quarter of 2017, the survey results showed that whilst there were many business bright spots across Norfolk and the rest of the UK, the evidence showed that growth and confidence remain subdued overall as we entered the new year. Labour and skills shortages also looked set to be the biggest potential drag anchor on business in 2018.
Now we are in the first quarter of 2018 – how are businesses reacting to the current economic climate? Today (Monday 19 February) is the first day of the fieldwork period for the Q1 Quarterly Economic Survey (QES).
It is more important than ever that as many Norfolk businesses as possible complete the survey.
The QES is the largest independent business survey in the UK and is used by both the Bank of England and the Chancellor of the Exchequer to plan the future of the UK economy. It is also closely watched by the International Monetary Fund.
The balance of firms reporting increased export sales rose from +27 to +31, the lowest since Q4 2016. Export orders remained static +27 to +26. The balance of firms reporting increased domestic sales fell from +19 to +17 and domestic orders rose slightly from +21 to +23
The percentage of manufacturers that attempted to recruit in the last three months remained static at 83%. Of those, 73% had recruitment difficulties. Of these, skilled manual labour was the leading area of recruitment difficulties (79%).
The percentage of manufacturers expecting their prices to increase jumped from 26% to 54%, standing near historic highs. The price of raw materials remaining the key driver, with 80% reporting it as a cause of price pressure (down slightly from the 82% in Q2 and Q3)
Norfolk Services sector:
The balance of firms reporting improved export sales fell slightly from +12 to +8, and whilst orders rose from +2 to +6. Domestic sales rose slightly from +14 +16, and also orders from +6 to +10
The percentage of businesses attempting to recruit remained static at 64%. Of those, the percentage of services firms reporting greater recruitment difficulties rose from 63% to 83%, the highest since records began
The balance of services firms expecting prices to increase, rose considerably from 33% to 49%, the highest since Q3 2008