Norfolk fire extinguisher firm expands as it ‘takes the market by storm’
A South Norfolk-based engineering company is expanding after seeing strong demand from home and overseas for its fire extinguishers. Britannia Fire recently hosted Ben Goldsborough MP for South Norfolk to its hq in Ashwellthorpe to mark the opening of a new administration centre and unveil a new fire safety initiative for local businesses. One of the largest employers in the area, Britannia Fire has seen rising sales in the UK, Europe and the Middle East for its lightweight, composite P50 fire extinguishers. Its new 350 sq m administration centre has a Grade A energy efficiency rating and provides office space, meeting rooms and amenities for its 56 employees. The firm’s fire safety training initiative is designed to help local firms with their legal responsibilities and improve workplace fire safety ahead of a coming ban on PFAS extinguishers. Last year, the firm invested more than £1m at its factory to increase P50 production by 150 per cent and cut lead times. Managing director Andy Spence (photo, left) said: “Our innovative P50 fire extinguisher has taken the market by storm and continues to drive strong year-on-year revenue growth, enabling us to invest in the future of Britannia Fire and the local economy. That growth has seen us create new jobs, expand our operations, and launch our new fire safety training initiative that directly benefits businesses in our community.”
Ben Goldsborough (photo, right) said: “Companies like Britannia Fire are exactly why our area has such a strong reputation for engineering excellence, creating skilled local jobs while exporting British-made products around the world.”
Contractor appointed to deliver new London Stansted skylinks
Farrans, a Belfast-based contractor with wide experience on airport projects, has been appointed as the main ‘delivery partner’ for London Stansted Airport’s new skylink walkways. The company, part of Sisk Group, was the main contractor on the recent £100 million phase 1 extension of Leeds Bradford Airport’s terminal and is currently working on a refurbishment at the site. It has also worked at Bristol and Luton airports and on facilities for Marshall Aerospace in Cambridge. The new skylinks at Stansted will create walkways to connect the terminal to the airport’s satellite buildings which house the departure and arrival gates. It will mean Stansted’s track transit people mover system can be decommissioned. A ‘transformation programme’ will also involve a three-bay extension to the existing terminal, adding 16,500 sq m of space and with new shops, bars and restaurants. Work will begin later this summer with pre-assembly of skylink sections taking place off-site in a vacant airport hangar. Farrans has worked at Stansted on the design, planning and enabling phases of the skylinks project. Rob Stewart, the airport’s capital delivery programme director, said: “We now move to the construction phase of the work, where Farran’s expertise and experience of delivering airport projects in busy operational environments will be invaluable.”
Glenn Gilmore, regional director at Farrans, said: “Construction in aviation environments comes with many unique challenges including making sure that our clients’ business operations can continue 24/7 with minimal disruption every day. We are specialists in managing these tricky interfaces with our extensive experience on site at numerous other UK airports.”
Photo: An aerial view of skylinks connecting to extended terminal building
Cambridge ranked amongst top ‘AI-ready’ cities
Cambridge has been named amongst the top 10 ‘AI-ready’ cities outside London. The AI Cities 2026 Index evaluates centres outside the capital on criteria, including job opportunities, innovation funding secured, education opportunities, broadband speed, and business activity in the sector. Cambridge ranked tenth in the index – produced by AI and analytics company SAS – and scored highly for the number of AI businesses and for attracting some of the largest AI grants from the government’s InnovateUK fund. The city is home Cambridge AI, an initiative that includes the university’s Artificial Intelligence Group and the Cambridge Centre for AI in Medicine. Manchester topped the list for the third year running, thanks to its educational strength, business activity and AI employment. Glyn Townsend, senior director of education services at SAS for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said: “It is clear that Cambridge is actively seeking to strengthen its AI sector, recognising how it can be used to boost jobs, increase opportunities and assist in long-term economic growth.” See the full report here
Suffolk finance firms merge to combine commercial and agricultural lending experience
Two Suffolk finance specialists with wide experience in commercial and agricultural lending -Woodstone Funding and David Booth Finance – are merging. Ipswich-based Woodstone Funding has almost 17 years arranging finance for commercial vehicles, plant, machinery and business equipment. Based in Woodbridge, David Booth established his business ten years ago after a lifelong career in agricultural finance. He will continue to work with the Woodstone Funding team. Woodstone funding director Rob Gaffer said: “Between us, we already support more than 500 businesses. Bringing the two businesses together means we can continue to provide the personal service our customers value while giving them access to an even broader range of funding options and specialist knowledge.”
David Booth said: “… This merger allows us to continue doing what we’ve always done while giving customers access to a broader range of funding options and the support of a larger team and more funding options.
Photo: Rob Gaffer (left) and David Booth
