Confident firms in the East buck the trend and get set to increase hiring
The East of England has bucked the national trend by recording an upturn in business confidence with more firms planning to hire staff, according to a business barometer survey for April from Lloyds. Its shows improved optimism amongst firms in the region in both their own trading prospects and on the outlook for the economy. The headline confidence reading in the East stood at 42 per cent, up from 29 per cent in March. By contrast, overall confidence across the UK in April fell by ten points to 39 per cent. Kirsty Sadler, regional director for the East of England at Lloyds, said: “The East is bucking the national trend this month with a rise in business confidence – a reflection of the ambition and resilience of the region’s firms. Local companies will be looking to build on this outlook and press ahead with their plans for growth.” Meanwhile, a net balance of 30 per cent of businesses in the East also expect to increase staff levels over the next year, up seven points on the previous month.
Nationally, manufacturing confidence remained broadly unchanged, while the construction sector fell by 22 points to 26 per cent and retail and service sector confidence both fell to three-month lows. Hann-Ju Ho, senior economist, Lloyds Commercial Banking, said: “With the announcement of global tariffs from the United States on 2nd April and the market volatility that followed, it is unsurprising that business confidence saw an impact this month.”
Targeted investments in clean growth and skills & innovation show progress
Local businesses are reporting strong progress in workplace development, green innovation and sustainable growth following the launch of targeted investments through two funds six months ago. The Freeport East Clean Growth Fund offers financial help to local firms in clean energy and other target sectors, such as green hydrogen, agritech, engineering and digital. Meanwhile, the Freeport East Innovation and Skills Fund focuses on areas such as clean energy, logistics and trade. Since the funding was allocated, fifteen businesses across East Anglia, including those in clean energy, infrastructure, agriculture and MedTech, have drawn down around £135,000 worth of the grant funds. Steve Beel, chief executive of Freeport East, said: “We’re pleased to see the real-world impact of these targeted investments – not just for the businesses receiving support, but for the communities around them.” He said the funds were helping local firms take bold steps forward in sustainability, technology, and workforce development.”
One firm benefiting from the fund is Revolve Labs (photo, above), a creative media company in East Anglia using immersive technology to transform healthcare training. With support from Freeport East, the company has developed a series of virtual reality training modules for the healthcare and medtech sectors, including a “dementia patient journey” for GPs and a “conflict resolution” module for frontline NHS staff.
Insolvencies climb as political issues take toll on local businesses
Political issues have impacted heavily on local businesses as the prospect of higher employment costs and the threat of trade tariffs across England and Wales pushed up corporate insolvencies in March, says the Eastern branch of insolvency and restructuring trade body R3. Insolvency Service figures show that corporate insolvencies increased by 9.1 per cent in March, compared to the previous month to a total of 1,992. R3 Eastern chair Hayley Watson said: “Longstanding challenging trading conditions and the increased willingness of public and private sector creditors to turn to winding-up orders to pursue monies owed have impacted heavily on business distress, both locally and nationally.”
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Freehold site for aparthotel put up for sale
The freehold site of a fully-consented Residence Inn aparthotel by Marriott Cambridge at Mitcham’s Corner has been put up for sale. It provides a development ready site for a 134-bedroom aparthotel with a franchise agreement secured with Marriott International, and a gross development value of over £50 million. The four-storey scheme will feature an open plan reception, lounge, restaurant and bar, gym and business centre and retail unit on the ground floor. Savills has been appointed by Pan Albion Group to sell the site at 121-123 Chesterton Road which is next to the River Cam on the north side of Cambridge city centre.
Growth at Norwich taxi firm following acquisition by tech platform
Norwich-based ABC Taxis has been rebranded and is now operating under the name of Veezu, a growing private hire technology platform which acquired the business in 2022. Since joining the Veezu network, ABC Taxis has seen significant growth – completing one booking every 20 seconds in 2024 – as demand grows for app-based, online, and phone booking options. The rebrand also involves upgraded technology through the app with improved services for passengers. Veezu has over 600 local corporate clients including Norfolk County Council and over 75 per cent of the firm’s near 500-strong fleet is hybrid or electric vehicles.
New launch marks 30 years of laser coding at Cambridge company
Cambridge company Domino has marked the 30th anniversary of the introduction of laser into its portfolio of coding and marking technologies, with the launch of its latest-generation laser printer. Bar Hill-based Domino has launched its Dx-Series of CO2 laser coders for a wide variety of packaging types and across sectors including food, beverage, life sciences and cosmetics. They deliver up to 30 per cent faster coding than previous CO2 lasers, with no reduction in quality, making them ideal for complex requirements such as QR codes. Frauke Schroeder, senior product manager laser at Domino, said: “Interest in laser technologies in the coding and marking industry is booming, with global market growth predicted at rates of almost 10 per cent per annum until 2029. This growth has resulted in part from global government policies and regulatory frameworks driving the need for high-resolution on-product 2D codes….” Domino’s laser journey began 30 year ago with the acquisition of Directed Energy, a small laser marking business based in California.
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