A second date has been announced for a free seminar to steer small and medium-sized enterprises through the HS2 procurement process.

The new event was added after the first ‘sold out’ within 24 hours.

Organised by East Midlands Chamber in partnership with HS2, places at the first event were snapped up by firms looking for ways to cash in on the huge infrastructure project.

With a waiting list of over 50 delegates, the Chamber and HS2, along with the D2N2 Growth Hub, decided to repeat the event.

Once up and running, HS2 will not only improve passenger and freight capacity on rail routes through the East Midlands but will contribute about £4bn a year to the GVA of the region and parts of Yorkshire.

But there will also be billions of pounds worth of opportunities for regional businesses during the construction of the new rail line.

The procurement event highlights the wide range of works, products and services needed before, during and after construction and are more than just civil engineering and rail related.

Ian Bates, the Chamber’s Sector Forums Manager, said:-

“Demand for the first event was incredible and every place was filled within 24 hours of it being announced. We had over 50 people on a waiting list, so decided to run the event again and are pleased to be working with the D2N2 Growth Hub to make this happen.

“HS2 will be transformational for the region and it’s important that local firms know how to identify and grab the opportunities it will offer. Those opportunities exist today, will grow during the construction of the line and continue long after the trains start running.

“But there is a process that firms must follow and unless they know what it is they will either arrive too late at the party for the best of the buffet or simply miss out altogether and we want to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

Matthew Wheatley, Interim Chief Executive at the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership, said:-

“HS2 presents a fantastic opportunity for Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and the wider East Midlands.

“With our excellent construction, transport equipment and supply chain manufacturing businesses, the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire area has a lot to bring to the table where HS2 is concerned, but it’s also important that businesses in our area are ready to seize the opportunities HS2 offers.”

Examples of opportunities that sit outside the larger civil engineering, railway systems and rolling stock elements of the project include landscaping, tree surgery, wildlife habitat and woodland relocation, telecoms, site office and compound works, site security, signage, CCTV, traffic surveys and management, ground investigation, drone surveys, labour and staff wellbeing, plant hire, aggregates, ducts and pipework, pest control, specialist photography and more.

The #Fit4HS2 event will be held at Chesterfield’s Proact Stadium on 14 June. It is underwritten by the European Regional Development Fund through the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership’s Growth Hub.

David Beckford, Managing Director of Chesterfield Champion organisation Pronto Paints, was named as the new President of the British Coatings Federation (BCF) at the federation’s Annual Conference and Gala Dinner in Oxford in May.

During the event, outgoing BCF President Vincent O’Sullivan, of PPG Architectural Coatings handed over presidency of the BCF to David Beckford, of Pronto Paints.

Commenting on his new role, David said:-

“The coatings industry faces a number of challenges, including the uncertainty surrounding Brexit, the defence of TiO2 and continued pressure on raw material prices. It’s in times like these we need our trade associations, and I know the BCF will continue to work hard on our behalf to ensure that we have the support and knowledge to be able to adapt accordingly, so that we continue to grow and prosper as an association and industry.”

Vincent O’Sullivan thanked the BCF team and said it had been an honour and a privilege to serve as BCF President and that he was incredibly proud of the achievements of the BCF during his term.

The Gala Dinner followed a day long business conference, with topics ranging from the political and economic position of the coatings industry, recruiting and retaining talent, to apprenticeships and sustainability. The afternoon focussed on cybersecurity and how to protect your business online, and a review of the last 12 months from BCF completed the programme.

Tom Bowtell,  Chief Executive of the BCF, commented:-

“I’ve really enjoyed working with Vincent O’Sullivan as President – he’s challenged myself and the team to take things to the next level, and I look forward to working with David Beckford as we continue working on Brexit and other challenges, to support the future prosperity of the UK coatings industry.”

Thirty years on and going from strength to strength, ra Information Systems are proud to celebrate 30 successful years in the IT industry.

Initially ra started life in 1988 as a software house, writing bespoke software, predominantly for local authorities.

As ra has built relationships with their clients they found they wanted more from them and it quickly became apparent that there was a gap in the market for a company able to provide IT support and solutions. They therefore setup an IT Services division to complement the existing software development business and over the years the two parts of the company have complemented each other with customers regularly becoming clients of both sides of the business.

In 2008 ra outgrew its Sheffield premises and relocated to its current location, ra House, in Chesterfield, Derbyshire.

As of today, ra has grown to become a leading IT company providing its services throughout the UK and wider Europe. ra’s growth has strategically been aimed towards providing expertise in all areas of IT and telephony. The company has grown to now have its own in-house helpdesk of IT experts – all 1st line support, two in-house software development teams, IT/infrastructure/telephony specialists and admin, sales and marketing teams.

Whilst IT support and infrastructure specialisms underpin the company’s service offering, ra has also created and developed three thriving software management solutions:

• ezytreev – Tree, TPO & Asset Management Software now used in over 100 councils, universities and housing associations across the UK and Ireland. (www.ezytreev.com)
•  ibcs – Business Centre Management Software used in over 120 business and conference centres. (www.ibcs-software.com)
• CLARITY CORE – Science Park, Innovation and Incubation Centre Software used in over 100 sites. (www.clarity-core.com)

Annette Dabbs, Director of ra Information systems, commenting on this anniversary,  says:-

“What a milestone to reach 30 successful years in business! It really is hard to believe but good to look back over the years at how we have developed and grown as a company, both in personnel, the breadth of expertise they bring, and the services we provide. Something well worth celebrating.”

“ra has achieved all of the above, throughout recessions and changing Governments, whilst moving forward alongside huge technological advancement. Overcoming these challenging factors to becoming the company ra is today is why this momentous 30th year in business is a cause for major celebration.

“Finally, ra would like to convey a huge thank you to all their existing clients for their highly valued custom over the years. Here’s to the next 30 years.”

The quest to find this year’s crème de la crème of regional commerce is coming to an end.

Organisations have just days left to take part in the East Midlands Chamber’s Business Awards – the only annual industry honours where submissions are judged purely by corporate peers.

And they are the only county-by-county accolades that offer winners a chance to compete on the national stage of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) Awards.

The winner of the 2017 East Midlands Chamber Nottinghamshire Outstanding Growth Award – iCON Aerospace Technology, of Retford – went on to win the BCC High Growth Business of the Year Award for increasing turnover by 30% and creating 150 jobs in two years.

The company is a world leader in highly-engineered products utilising polymers in sealing, containment, propulsion and protection systems worldwide.

Scott Knowles, the Chamber’s Chief Executive, said:-

“You can’t overestimate the value of taking part in awards. They make organisations focus on what they do best, offer opportunities for outward promotion, raise the kudos of the firm and make employees more proud to belong to the organisation. It’s win-win at every level.

“The Chamber’s Business Awards are one of the most contested and prestigious awards programmes and the only ones that offer winning businesses on a county-wide basis the chance to compete on a regional and national scale.”

Organisations can enter as many awards categories as they like. The categories for each of the three counties are Apprentice of the year, Business Improvement Through Technology, Commitment to People Development, Community Impact, Education and Business Partnership, Entrepreneur of the Year, Excellence in Customer Service, Excellence in International Trade, Manufacturer of the Year, Marketing Campaign of the Year, Outstanding Growth and Small Business of the Year.

One of the category winners in each county will also win the Business of the Year Award, sponsored by Mazars, one of Europe’s largest accounting firms and headline sponsor of the Chamber’s awards programme.

The deadline for entries to this year’s awards is 5pm on Friday 18 May. For further details and to download county-specific application forms visit http://www.emc-dnl.co.uk/businessawards.

The Chamber will host gala dinners in Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire in the autumn at which the awards will be presented.

Winners of specific awards from each county will go forward to the BCC regional awards for a chance to compete for a national accolade.

Following a sustained three-year period of significant growth, Shorts Chartered Accountants are delighted to confirm that they have joined Praxity Global Alliance, the world’s largest alliance of independent accounting and consulting firms.

As part of their long-term growth strategy, they wanted to enhance support for those clients who are exploring overseas opportunities, through joining an international association whose members provided a strong worldwide footprint.

Andy Irvine, Managing Partner at Shorts, explained:-

“Increasingly, commerce is becoming ever more global.  This trend, together with UK business starting to adapt to the longer-term implications of Brexit, has resulted in many of our most successful clients actively considering expansion overseas.  Being a member of Praxity will allow us to continue to provide these clients with the high-quality advice they require, confident in the knowledge that our partner firms in other territories are there to support and guide as appropriate.”

“We wanted to join an international alliance which consisted of independent firms very much like our own.  Shorts is focussed on giving the very best advice and service to our clients, whilst ensuring we never lose touch with the fact that people do business with people.  It was clear from the member firms we spoke to, that Praxity embodies these same core principles.”

Welcoming Shorts to the Praxity Alliance, Executive Director Graeme Gordon said:-

“The addition of Shorts enhances Praxity’s presence in the UK and underlines the Alliance’s continuing policy of effective growth based on quality firms in strategic locations. We are unashamedly selective in the firms we welcome to Praxity, each of which retains their own branding, independence and financial responsibility.

“We’re delighted that Shorts has chosen the Alliance to enhance the services it can provide those clients who are considering the opportunities of expansion in an increasingly global marketplace. We look forward to enjoying the distinctive experience and insight their continuing development will bring to the firms in the Alliance”.

Andy Irvine is clear about how Praxity membership can contribute to the future of the firm:-

“Our staff are excited by the news that we have joined Praxity, as this is another significant step in our growth strategy and will help with our goal to be recognised as the go-to firm in our region. The opportunity to work on more international work is one that I know they will find stimulating but they will also be pleased that the individual, independent culture at Shorts is not going to be subsumed into a large corporate monolith.”

Participant firms are handpicked for their size, strength, reputation, financial condition, leadership and strategic geographic relevance. As part of the Alliance, Shorts can connect with 65+ other participant firms and share expertise with the 47,000 people at Praxity firms in more than 100 countries.

Chesterfield Champion VHS Fletchers are celebrating continued growth of their business with a move to a new office building on Beetwell Street.

VHS Fletchers is a client-focused firm of solicitors dedicated exclusively to crime and regulatory law.  The solicitors acquired the criminal department, and its staff, of local firm Banner Jones in the Spring of 2015  in order to offer expert advice across the entire Derbyshire region, in addition to their offices in Ilkeston and Derby. Since 2015 they have shared their Chesterfield offices with Banner Jones.

The move not only marks growth in the business where other local law firms have closed their criminal offices but a desire to Invest in Chesterfield town centre. The new office, 50 yards from the police station, was chosen so that people needing to speak to the police and want a solicitor can simply pop in on their way past to receive expert advice which, at the police station whilst being interviewed by the police, is always free.

David Gittins, Partner at VHS Fletchers, says:-

“We had the choice to go to an out of town purpose built office but deliberately chose to re invest in the town centre for ease of clients and to assist in the regeneration of the town.

“We are also focused on investing in local people having recently recruited well known local solicitor Denney Lau in addition to local lad Ben Strelley who joined us from a Sheffield firm.”

Further to the move to new offices, VHS Fletchers are also extending their services, having taken the step of retaining a specialist full time Crown court department in Chesterfield to provide the full remit of criminal legal advice to the residents of Chesterfield and surrounding area.

A Derbyshire based law firm is celebrating after one of the firm’s trainee solicitors achieved full qualification. Irena Stavrinidou is now well on her way to carving out a successful career in the legal profession.

Irena is now a fully qualified Solicitor working in the private client team at Derbyshire Family Law Chesterfield, where she specialises in matters relating to private law children, care proceedings and injunctions.

The qualification is the culmination of several years’ hard work for the 29 year old who, joined the firm three years ago.

Irena said:-

“I am delighted to have achieved qualification. I am now looking forward to being able to develop my experience further with Family Law Group and continue to assist clients at a challenging and stressful time in their lives.

“I would like to thank all my colleagues, who have been there to guide and support me at every stage.”

Simon Leach, Director at Family Law Group, added:-

“We would like to congratulate Irena on her achievement. Right from when we met Irena over three years ago, we knew she was the sort of person who really saw family law as a vocation. She is an important member of the Chesterfield and Derby team and her qualification is a rich reward for her hard work.”