Business prospects warm up for hospitality and leisure sector
Business confidence in the East has reached its highest level this year raising hopes for a strong summer for the region’s hospitality and leisure sector although more firms are planning to reduce staff numbers. Confidence rose 16 points to 42 per cent at the beginning of June according to a business barometer from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking. The good weather and a reduction in food and energy prices should benefit leisure and hospitality businesses in coming months. Dene Jones, regional director for the East of England at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: “It’s great to see confidence levels in the region hitting record levels as businesses get into the swing of what looks likely to be a busy summer season, particularly for the region’s hospitality and leisure sector.” Firms in the region reported higher confidence in both their own business prospects and on the economy. But a net balance of 20 per cent of businesses in the region expect to reduce staff levels over the next year, down seven points on last month. Almost half of businesses firms in the East see evolving product and service offerings as their top target for growth in the next six months. Nationally, confidence amongst both services and manufacturing firms reached the highest level since early last year and eight out of 10 regions reported a more optimistic picture. Hann-Ju Ho, senior economist at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: “It’s encouraging to see business confidence rebounding following last month’s five-point dip to 28 per cent…However interest rate rises and cost pressures are still felt by many and we await to see the impact of the latest 50 basis point rise in the base rate. Meanwhile, expectations for average pay growth, although down slightly this month, appear to have picked up compared with the start of the year and remain elevated relative to pre-pandemic levels.”
Six hundred new homes set to be built in Ipswich after £18 million land sale
An 82 acre land site in north east Ipswich has been sold for £18 million, paving the way for up to 600 new homes. A site to the rear of Humber Doucy Lane allocated for residential development have been bought jointly by housebuilders Barratts and Hopkins Homes. Some 57.5 acres within Ipswich Borough Council’s area has been allocated for 449 homes and 24.5 acres within East Suffolk Council’s area for 150 homes. Planning permission is required before work can start. Andy Redman, director at Savills in Suffolk and Essex who completed the land sale, said: “The rise in the cost of living and increasing interest rates have led to the housing market becoming more price sensitive in recent months – but there continues to be a desperate need for new homes in Suffolk and land such as this, which has already been allocated for development, rarely comes to market.” He added: “This is a significant sale and there was strong interest from a number of parties – showing the robust demand among housebuilders for strategic sites in edge of town locations.”
Key contract confirmed on major windfarm to be built off region’s coast
ScottishPower Renewables has confirmed a contract for the transport and installation of the foundations and inner-array cables for the East Anglia THREE offshore windfarm with Seaway7, part of the Subsea7 Group. East Anglia THREE will be the world’s second largest windfarm when it comes into operation in 2026, some 43 miles off the Suffolk coast. Its 95 turbines will have a combined capacity of 1,400MW, enough to power more than 1.3 million homes. It will support over 2,300 jobs during the two-year construction period and more than 100 roles in operation and maintenance over its lifetime. Seaway7’s scope of work includes the transport, logistics and installation of 95 monopile foundations, associated seabed preparation and scour protection along with the engineering, supply and installation of the inner-array cables. Ross Ovens, ScottishPower Renewables’ managing director for the East Anglia Hub offshore windfarms, said: “We’ve been moving at pace to put all the building blocks in place to ensure East Anglia THREE can get to work as quickly as possible, producing more green electricity in the UK for the UK and delivering all the benefits that come with that for the region – jobs, investment and opportunities. We’re already seeing the impact of that and the long-lasting legacy it creates thanks to East Anglia ONE, which came into operation in 2020.”
Law firm moves to new office in Suffolk town
Regional solicitors Fisher Jones Greenwood has relocated its Sudbury office to a more prominent, central location in the Suffolk town. It follows an increased demand for services from residents and those in the surrounding villages following the firm’s acquisition of Steed & Steed last year. FJG’s new office on Sudbury Market Hill was officially opened last week by chief CEO Tony Fisher and chief operating officer, Paula Fowler (photo, right). Paula Fowler said: “Our new office will provide us with a flexible modern space and we are really looking forward to enhancing the experience and services we can provide our clients while maintaining our excellent location, right in the heart of Sudbury.” FJG will be based at 18 Market Hill and the new office will be open 5 days a week, Monday to Friday from 9am to 5.15pm. The new modern space will serve both new clients looking for a solicitor in Sudbury as well as existing clients more conveniently.
Employment survey offers chance to win funds for charity
Law firm Thompson Smith and Puxon has launched an employment survey which will run until the 25th August to gather views from those who own/run businesses or manage the HR function on flexible working and recruitment. Those who complete the survey will get a full insight report as well as a chance to win £250 for the charity of their choice.
Full details and a link to the survey can be found on the link here: TSP Legal Win £250 for the Charity of your Choice! – TSP Legal
See Profile Thompson Smith and Puxon
New electric vehicle charging facilities open at Norwich shopping centre
Zest, an electric vehicle charging network, has invested in new charging facilities at one of the region’s largest shopping centres at Chantry Place in Norwich. The firm is providing 16 EV charging bays at the city centre retail destination and will also operate and maintain the facilities. Research shows three quarters of electric vehicle drivers would visit destinations with charging facilities more frequently. The new chargers at Chantry Place reflect the average stay time, with 22kW fast chargers adding around 90 miles range in an hour. Zest CEO Robin Heap said: “We know that people just want to charge where they park as part of their normal routine. Retail destinations, like Chantry Place, that respond now to this demand are those that will thrive as new EV drivers establish theircharging habits.”
Photo: Zest CEO, Robin Heap with general manager Paul McCarthy, GM at Chantry Place
Cambridge-based biotech company raises $10 million
Camena Bioscience, a Cambridge-based synthetic biology company providing genes to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, has closed a $10m Series A financing round led by Mercia. The new funding will be used to scale up operations and continue development of its pioneering DNA synthesis platform, gSynth. Camena Bioscience CEO Steve Harvey said: “The ability to read, write and manipulate DNA is the foundation of the synthetic biology value chain, yet developments in DNA synthesis have not kept pace with DNA sequencing and editing capabilities. Camena’s gSynth platform is revolutionising the DNA synthesis market by unlocking access to genes and accelerating discovery pipelines.”
Royal welcome for Suffolk-based recycling business
Suffolk-based recycling business Sackers has had a royal welcome as a result of winning the King’s Award for Enterprise, for International Trade. As part of the award, a representative from Sackers was invited to meet King Charles and Queen Camilla at Buckingham Palace last Tuesday evening and network with fellow winners. CEO David Dodds (photo, right) attended the reception and said: “Getting this recognition was unbelievable, we have faced some incredibly challenging times over the last few years, so to get this was brilliant news. We have been able to fly the King’s Award flag and add the trusted emblem to our literature, but being able to meet our new King hosting this event for the first time as the King’s Award was a real privilege and a very proud moment for me. Meeting the other winners, was the icing on the cake and there was real buzz in the room. We will soon be receiving our crystal and scroll which will be great to have on show for staff and customers to remind them of what a great job we have all done.” The award lasts five years and acknowledges “outstanding short-term growth of international trade.” Sackers was one of 148 businesses to achieve the award this year and one of only 7,000 since it was launched in 1966.
Convention bureau wins award for green achievements
Meet Cambridge, the official convention bureau for Cambridge and the surrounding area, has been given a silver award for completing a wide range of tasks to enhance the organisation’s sustainability. Meet Cambridge secured the accolade in Cambridge University’s annual Green Impact Awards. The Meet Cambridge team made several important changes in the office, including conducting an energy audit to examine current behaviours and identify energy-saving opportunities. They also hosted a vegan lunch, taste-testing various dishes and stopped using single-use plastic on Mondays, which has significantly reduced the team’s waste output. Sarah Maycock (photo, right), venue-finding and marketing executive who led the initiative, said: “As well as thinking about our own environmental impact, we aimed to provide inspiration on sustainability issues to our network and to promote best practice to our members and partners. After completing the tasks in the Green Impact workbook, an assessor from the Green Impact team visited our office to conduct an audit – and subsequently we were very pleased to hear that we had achieved the Silver we had been aiming for! It’s great to have our efforts recognised in this way.”
Broadband provider reaches milestone for remote network connections
Essex-based rural alternative network provider County Broadband has accelerated its delivery of full fibre broadband to remote homes and businesses on the outskirts of villages across the East. It has recently connected its 200th remote property to its core network. Meanwhile its bespoke connections team has expanded with Katie Munn and Tayla Butler joining as project coordinator and project planner respectively and Julie Farrin being promoted to project manager. Gavin Ashkettle, manager of the group’s bespoke connections team, said: “County Broadband typically connects over 80 per cet of a rural village to our full fibre network as part of our main build. The remaining properties can’t easily be connected, often due to physical challenges such as being hundreds of metres away. …Whilst some other providers might ignore them for financial reasons, we believe it’s vital they have access to full fibre broadband just like everyone else. Our dedicated team works closely with each home or business to identify how we can connect them in a way which is cost-effective and minimises unnecessary disruption.”
