Latest updates and stories from Bedfordshire Chamber of Commerce and its Members

Schoolreaders is a national child literacy charity, and their vision is that every child should learn to read well.  The charity was founded in Bedfordshire in 2013 and so celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. By recruiting volunteers and placing them into primary schools across the country to provide one-to-one reading support sessions, Schoolreaders is bringing greater literacy skills to many thousands of children every week.

“Cutting and simplifying” – this is how the Government headlined its 2023 Spring Budget.

So, we did some cutting and simplifying of our own, boiling the budget down into its business essentials to highlight the changes and opportunities you need to be aware of - and how we at the Chamber help our members take action to get on top of them.

Time is running out for businesses to access a free intensive support programme designed to help them achieve sustainable long-term growth.

It’s been a busy few weeks here at the Bedfordshire Chamber of Commerce.

We welcomed a visit from the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) Director General, Shevaun Haviland, published the results on an opinion poll on the planned expansion of Luton Airport, met with Vauxhall to discuss electric vehicle strategy and funding, and hosted a Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) event to help businesses combat the skills shortage.

Company’s industry-leading passive products receive renowned recognition in annual Asia awards, achieving accolades for excellence five years in a row

Peli BioThermal, the life science industry’s partner from discovery to distribution, is celebrating its latest awards success, including being announced as Best Temperature Control Packaging Provider.

James Trumper, is a sixth-generation member of the family-owned Neville Trust group of businesses based in Luton that includes Neville Special Projects, Neville Joinery and Neville Funerals. He made the decision that a degree apprenticeship, that will lead to him being fully qualified as a Quantity Surveyor via the programme offered by Westminster University, was the choice that best suited his needs, and his future plans.  

Giving her full reaction to today’s spring budget, Shevaun Haviland, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce, said: 
 
“The Chancellor has acted to address the unfilled jobs blighting our economy. It is especially good to see the help on childcare and for over 50s workers.  

Five ways looking at your foreign exchange provision can help you cut costs in 2023

By Sophia Awan
Strategic Partnerships Manager at Moneycorp 

Kirkby Diamond is celebrating being crowned the leading commercial property agent in Bedfordshire after completing 122 deals in 2022.

One of the region’s longest established family-owned businesses Neville Trust, which comprises of Neville Funerals, Neville Special Projects, and Neville Joinery has announced it will be supporting the local homeless and welfare charity, NOAH Enterprise in a year-long partnership.

The Residential Conveyancing team at leading regional law firm Taylor Walton has been strengthened with the arrival of Chartered Legal Executive Tricia Moxey, who joins after a 25-year career with Dunstable law firm Knowles Benning.

A major new occupier is coming in to land at a new headquarters at London Luton Airport, commercial property consultancy Kirkby Diamond announced today.

People of Bedfordshire will be able to access free and informal peer-to-peer bereavement support from Thursday 9 March, when Sue Ryder launches its brand-new Grief Kind Space in Milton Ernest just north of Bedford.

Expansion of Crēdo™ product portfolio to include deep frozen applications optimised to minimise amount of dry ice required without sacrificing superior thermal performance.

What’s coming your way, what’s it worth, when will it pay out, and how likely is it to come good? If you needed a handy definition of a sales pipeline, you probably couldn’t do better than this.

But like any pipe, it’s susceptible to two common problems: it can easily become too full of stuff that sinks to the bottom and doesn’t make the distance, or too empty of the stuff that flows through healthily.

With the usual yearly flurry of cards, chocolates and flowers, Valentine’s Day has come and gone again.

But whilst we hope you and your beloved enjoyed the occasion, here at Bedfordshire Chamber of Commerce we believe in spreading the love all year round - in a strictly professional sense, of course.

Commercial property consultants Kirkby Diamond has rewarded its senior team for another outstanding year of business by announcing four key promotions.  

Wyboston Lakes Resort will mark 40 years of trading from its site in Bedfordshire this year with several events and activities.

Assure Consulting Ltd, based in Bedford has raised £5,000 for palliative, neurological and bereavement support charity, Sue Ryder, during a year-long partnership.

Louisa Watson, Director of Marketing at Wyboston Lakes Resort and Sustainability Director of beam has been recognised as Sustainability Industry Champion at the prestigious Greengage Sustainability Awards.

National healthcare and bereavement charity Sue Ryder is on the search for volunteers in Bedfordshire to help set up a new local initiative offering vital support to residents who are living with bereavement. 

The charity is opening a series of Grief Kind Spaces across the country in 2023, with the first in Bedfordshire opening in Milton Ernest, just north of Bedford in the coming months.

With the national labour shortage making it increasingly difficult for Bedfordshire businesses to fill posts with suitable candidates, bringing workers in from abroad can be a pragmatic solution, especially as the UK is seen as an attractive professional destination.

6th – 12th of February marks National Apprenticeship Week, with this year’s theme focussed on Skills for Life. The week aims to bring together businesses and Apprentices across the country to shine a light on the positive impact that Apprenticeships make not only to individuals, but businesses and the wider economy too.

 
Wyboston Lakes Resort has made an outstanding start to 2023 following a year of record results in 2022.

More than 3,000 trees have been planted in Bedford as part of a Miyawaki forest project involving Cranfield University. 

Bedford had its first Miyawaki trees placed in the ground on Saturday (21) – through a partnership between Bedford Borough Council, Cranfield University, the Forest of Marston Vale, and Bedford Rotary Club. The project is part of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ funded Trees for Climate initiative.

Nothing makes people rethink their health and wellbeing like a succession of hard knocks – and if we didn’t all know that before, we certainly do now, in the wake of assorted global and national turmoil.

Esther Roche has been named one of the UK’s most inspirational and dynamic female entrepreneurs by the f:Entrepreneur ‘#ialso100’ campaign.

In recognition of its wide-ranging support for small businesses, outstanding student entrepreneurship provision and dedicated work with small or medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to support growth in the local community, Cranfield School of Management has achieved the Small Business Charter Award.

•    After significant declines across all business conditions tracked by the BCC in Q3, most indicators have stabilised at a low level. 
•    Profitability confidence remains at Covid-crisis levels; only one in three (34%) businesses believe their profits will increase over the coming year, while more (36%) expect a decline.   
•    Just 33% of firms experienced an increase in sales over the past three months, while 25% of firms reported a decrease, with hospitality firms the least likely to report improvements.  
•    More firms are reporting taxation (38%) and interest rates (43%) as growing business concerns.  

Years ago, a proverb was inscribed over the fireplace of an old Bedfordshire pub: “Fear knocked at the door. Faith answered. No-one was there.”

It’s a reminder that, even in times of turmoil, all is often not what it threatens to be, and we believe that there are genuine signs that the coming year potentially holds hidden promise for businesses forearmed with the right knowledge and the right connections, despite the wider economic issues.

Here are a few examples of what’s on our radar.