The new Fairplay Gift Emporium opened its doors following an official opening in May 2018.

The Chair of Fairplay, Cllr Peter Barr and Steve Shipp, MDS Ultra Marathon runner and Fairplay supporter, officially opened the new shop at Chesterfield Market Hall, alongside Fairplay young people and staff.

The aim of the Gift Emporium is to give young people the opportunity to learn valuable employment skills in a safe, supportive environment.

Fairplay has looked for suitable premises for many months and jumped at the offer of unit 21 on the side of the market hall. A grant from the National Lottery Awards for All has helped to get the project off the ground.

‘’The shop is in a great location as there is a lot of footfall around the market hall. We hope that our lovely range of gifts will encourage people to shop with us and support the young people in this exciting new venture’’.

‘’There is a lovely range of products for sale including cards, scarves, unique prints by Dave Draws based in Manchester as well local artists.’’

Leading national consultancy Commercial Property Partners LLP (CPP) has secured three new occupants for Wilson Business Park, a speculatively developed 13-unit scheme at Markham Vale in Chesterfield, with a further 4 units currently under offer.

The units, ranging from 1,200 – 3050 sq. ft. are available to buy, presenting a unique opportunity in the market for businesses looking to own a building on Derbyshire’s flagship business park. The scheme was recently developed by Priority Space in conjunction with Hunt Group and designed to address  a chronic shortage of high quality SME business space in the region.

New occupant Direct Track Solutions (DTS) has agreed a long-term lease on Unit 1 after the building was purchased ‘off plan’ by an investor. DTS manufacture products for the rail sector and have now taken occupation of a 1,450 sq ft unit.

Shotblast Solutions Ltd, the second new occupant on the estate, has purchased Unit 14, totalling 1,250 sq ft, the company provides parts to the surface preparation industry, along with 24/7 repairs and maintenance services for shot blasting machines.

Magpie Beauty, an online retailer of beauty products, will occupy Unit 9. The 2,300 sq ft unit at Wilson Business Park will form their new HQ and distribution depot.

All new occupants will join the wider Markham Vale site, a key employment site in the region which has attracted likes of Ready Egg, Gould Alloys, Inspirepac, Meter Provida, Great Bear and Ferdinand Bilstein, all of which have committed to large scale warehousing and distribution facilities on the park.

Stuart Waite, sole marketing agent on the scheme commented:-

“We are delighted to welcome the first occupiers into Wilson Business Park, and we hope to be in a position to announce further deals in the near future, with a further four units currently under offer.

“The accessible nature of the scheme, being just off J29a M1, the quality of the units and the option to buy has been a key driver of demand. For companies needing a location to service a customer base across the region, and even the UK, the units at Wilson Business Park are ideal.”

Lee Buchanan of Priority Space commented:-

“We feel the deals completed up to this point provide a real endorsement of our decision to speculatively develop a scheme of this nature on one of the region’s flagship business parks. It’s great to see activity on the site and we are confident this will lead to further concluded deals in the near future.”

Wilson Business Park forms part of the wider Markham Vale regeneration area, which benefits from its own dedicated M1 motorway junction, Junction 29a – just 5 miles east of Chesterfield and approximately 20 miles from Sheffield, Nottingham and Derby. Markham Vale is a 200 acre employment led scheme being delivered by Henry Boot in partnership with Derbyshire County Council.

Chesterfield Champion, Whittam Cox Architects, have been listed in the fifth edition of London Stock Exchange Group’s ‘1000 companies to Inspire Britain’ report, published this month.

The report is a celebration of the UK’s fastest-growing and most dynamic small and medium sized businesses across the UK. To be included in the list, companies needed to show consistent revenue growth over a minimum of three years, significantly outperforming their industry peers.

Of the 1000 companies listed, around 40% are based in London/South East. The East Midlands and Yorkshire region, where Whittam Cox Architects are based, represents 14% of companies listed. Less than 10 Architects practices were listed in total.

The report states that creative industries continue to live up to their name by being one of the most innovative parts of the UK economy, generating an estimated £10.5m every hour and employing 3 million people. Creative industries have also been growing twice as fast as the whole economy in recent years; with a 7.6% increase in the sector’s gross value in 2016 alone. And, while the industry is often associated with the London tech sector, in fact, two-thirds of creative industries jobs are outside the capital, in areas as diverse as architecture music, fashion and museums.

The report has been supported cross-party from leading politicians, including The Rt Hon Theresa May MP who provided opening commentary in the report. Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond MP also attended the official launch of the Report on the 15^th May.

Nick Riley, Board director at the practice, commented:-

“We are genuinely delighted to have been recognised in this impressive publication; particularly in the context of its multi-sector national spread. We have put a huge amount of time and energy into redefining and shaping our business direction over the last three years. Whilst change process can of course be challenging at times, we believe we have created a strategic and operational model which will hopefully sustain us for the long-term.”

Ashley Turner, CEO at the practice, added:-

“As an Architect’s practice, our success is defined by our people, who are the reason for our ongoing success and we are grateful to everybody, both within and associated with our business, for supporting us along the way.”

Nikhil Rathi, CEO at the London Stock Exchange Plc, added:-

“We warmly congratulate all of the companies identified in this year’s ‘1000 Companies to Inspire Britain’ report. Five years on, the report continues to demonstrate the strength and diversity of British businesses across the country. These dynamic companies are the backbone of our economy, playing an important role in the UK’s ability to innovate, export and grow.”

A full searchable database of all of the companies along with a downloadable pdf of the publication can be found online at www.1000companies.com

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.