business confidence

Concerns over price rises temper business confidence

Turnover set to rise but survey reveals recruitment challenges

Many firms in Northamptonshire are expecting their turnover to increase this year. But they are also bracing themselves for a rise in prices.

Service sector companies were the most upbeat about 2022, according to the county’s most extensive business survey. Most manufacturers are also confident about their future turnover figures but they also anticipate that their profits will fall in the next 12 months.

The findings have been published in the latest Quarterly Economic Survey by Northamptonshire Chamber of Commerce for the last quarter of 2021. Chamber head of policy Sean Rose said: “It is good to see that Northamptonshire businesses are positive about the future. However, despite the optimism, concerns about price pressures are once again dominating our survey results.”

Almost nine in ten service firms and nearly 60 per cent of manufacturers who responded to the survey expect prices to increase during the first three months of 2022, he added.

Almost half of the county’s service firms had seen domestic sales grow during the last quarter and more than 80 per cent of manufacturers had seen their current and advanced domestic orders remain constant or increase. A similar percentage of Northamptonshire’s service firms report that their overseas orders had increased or remained at the same level as the previous three months.

Around half of service firms also said their workforce had grown at the end of 2021 and nearly 70pc of manufacturers reported that their numbers had remained stable. However, businesses in both sectors which tried to recruit at the end of 2021 Sean Rose

said they had experienced difficulties in hiring new staff.

The QES is part of the biggest and most representative survey of its kind in the UK. QES data is used by the Bank of England to inform interest rate decisions, by the Treasury to help formulate economic policy and by international finance institutions to assess the UK’s economy.

Government reappoints law firm to private sector contracts advisory panel

Aconsortium of three law firms has been appointed to a central government panel to provide legal advice to government departments and their agencies.

Howes Percival, which has offices in Northampton, joined forces with Sharpe Pritchard and Bevan Brittan to submit a joint proposal for a place on the Crown Commercial Service Legal Services Panel, a four-year framework with a potential value of more than £300 million.

The consortium has secured one of 12 slots on Lot 1 – General Legal Advice and Services, a single tier of firms that will all have the opportunity to work with central government over the next four years. The Crown Commercial Service was established in 2014 by the Cabinet Office to manage central government contracts with private sector suppliers centrally.

The three firms have significant track records in advising central and local government. Howes Percival has previously advised government agencies including HM Revenue & Customs and the Insolvency Service on instructions such as the investigation into the failure of retailer BHS.

Howes Percival chair Geraint Davies said: “We are looking forward to continuing to provide central government with formidable legal expertise alongside our Londonbased consortium partners.”

Tech showcase hails innovation

An invitation has gone out to businesses, organisations and academics involved in innovative technology to take part in a showcase.

Merged Futures, Digital Northampton’s annual technology innovation showcase, brings together digital and tech experts in business, education, healthcare and more from Northamptonshire and beyond.

The June showcase will be the fourth event and will return to the University of Northampton. In 2020 and 2021when the event went online it gained a global audience. n To find out more, visit www. digitalnorthampton.com/events2/ merged-futures-4

Magazines celebrate

Staff at community publisher Northampton Magazines are celebrating after the business was named Best Community Magazine in Northampton at the SME Midland Enterprise Awards.

Northampton Magazines has published community based, bimonthly magazines for 15 years, delivered door to door across Northampton.

The company also publishes the quarterly Northants Fifty Plus magazine.

Exhibition aims to ‘supercharge’ businesses

Join us, Chamber president urges firms

International Women’s Day next month has been chosen as the date for the first Northamptonshire Chamber Business Exhibition of 2022.

The event on March 8 takes place at Kettering Conference Centre and will feature talks by key Northamptonshire business leaders, including Chamber president Robyn Allen.

More than 50 companies are expected to showcase their products, services and expertise and visitors also have the opportunity to network and join two topical seminars. The exhibition, sponsored by Chamber Business Platinum Partner dbfb, is open to Chamber members and non-members and is free to attend for all visitors on the day.

Chamber president Robyn Allen said: “I am very much looking forward to my first exhibition as Chamber president. As ever, the Chamber team has been hard at work on making the event the best it can possibly be and, as a Women With Vision Champion, I am delighted to see this fantastic event take place on International Women’s Day.”

Exhibition day begins with a Business Before Hours networking event, from 8.30am until 10am, with breakfast and structured networking. Later comes a panel discussion on Unconscious Bias, hosted by the Chamber’s Women With Vision Network and a Social Media for Small Businesses seminar, delivered by 123 Internet Group.

Ms Allen said: “Our Women With Vision Network was born from a passion to help businesswomen and to create a community of support and mentorship. Holding an exhibition exactly a year since its conception, seems a very fitting way to mark the first anniversary milestone and celebrate its success.”

Places for the breakfast networking and seminar must be pre-booked. dbfb managing director Simon Pickering said: “We are excited to be the headline sponsors at this year’s Robyn Allen

exhibition. After a challenging few years for many, we are looking forward to physically networking with other local businesses to create new connections and supercharge our local business community in 2022.

“dbfb is fully behind the theme of the exhibition,” he added. The company is front-of-shirt sponsor for the women’s first team at the Northampton Town FC. “We are fully invested in supporting and mentoring women within the community,” Mr Pickering added. “It is great to see the Chamber running the exhibition on such a significant day, accompanied by an important theme.”

Exhibition stands are available to book for Chamber members strictly on a first come first serve basis. To find out more and to book a stand, call the Chamber on 01604 490490 or email events@northants-chamber.co.uk

The Chamber’s deputy chief executive Julie MacLennan said: “This exhibition and included events will allow the local business community to network, share best practice and make new connections, which is everything our Chamber aspires to provide for those we serve. If you are an entrepreneur or businessperson, come along and make the most of this fantastic opportunity.”

n To find out more and book your exhibition stand, call Northamptonshire Chamber of Commerce on 01604 490490 or visit www.northantschamber.co.uk

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Travel firm acquires boutique agency

Luxury travel company The Avventura Group has completed the acquisition of a long-standing retail travel business for an undisclosed sum.

The deal for Journeys à la Carte, which has traded from offices in Uttoxeter for more than 25 years, adds a business that has won awards including the UK’s Best Travel Agency to the expanding Northamptonshire business.

The Avventura Group, based at Hannington near Wellingborough, already operates Avventura Travels, which launched in 2019 and specialises in tailor-made itineraries for exclusive luxury adventures. Both Avventura Travels and Journeys à la Carte will trade under the holding company The Avventura Group.

Avventura Travels’ chief executive Richard Hadfield said: “We are delighted to be strengthening our travel business with the addition of what is an exceptional retail travel business.

“Journeys à la Carte has a strong reputation for its extensive knowledge, honest and impartial

Richard Hadfield and the team at Journeys à la Carte

advice and unrivalled expertise and we very much aim to keep it that way. Avventura Travels provides bespoke travel services for clients looking for highly personalised itineraries and our business ethos, and that of Journeys à la Carte, are very similar.”

Journeys à la Carte was founded by Staffordshire businesswoman Margaret May in 1995 and has won major awards, including The UK’s Best Travel Agency with The Guardian and The Observer. Staff at Journeys à la Carte will remain working at the agency under Avventura Group’s ownership. “The team has been very supportive of our acquisition and it is good to be able to give them employment, certainty in these challenging times,” said Mr Hadfield. “We also have very exciting plans to strengthen and grow the business.”

The UK travel industry has been one of the most impacted sectors of the pandemic but Mr Hadfield believes that its prospects remain strong, especially following the decision by the UK government to relax testing requirements.

“There is a huge pent-up demand for travel and holiday sales have already picked up on the back of the government’s announcement,” Mr Hadfield said. Travel industry research shows that UK holidaymakers are eager to travel again. “We fully intend to make sure that we are ready at Journeys à la Carte to take advantage of the comeback.”

‘Strong resilience is coming through’

SEMLEP survey confirms hopes for 2022

Optimism amid a challenging environment is the message from business across the South East Midlands as companies prepare for the recovery post-pandemic.

More than a quarter say that performance has improved over the past 12 months and 40 per cent anticipate the trend to continue in 2022. However, 34 per cent say that business worsened in 2021. Investment in. staff training has reduced the skills gap but the perceived lack of skilled employees remains a major constraint of growth, says the annual business survey by the South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership.

The survey, conducted in October and November, spoke to more than 1,800 local businesses to identify economic issues and opportunities. The South East Midlands continues to be rated increasingly highly as a place to do businesses and to attract inward investment. 75 per cent of organisations surveyed rated the region as ‘good’ or ‘very good’. However, innovation, the green agenda and inclusive recruitment are all issues that have significant scope for future development. A total 46 per cent intend to become more sustainable in their operations but only 11per cent have a specific aim to achieve net zero.

The findings of the survey will inform and shape economic strategies and development activities over the coming year, said SEMLEP chief executive Hilary Chipping. “While it can come as no surprise that the business environment remains challenging, many businesses are dealing with multiple, long-term obstacles,” she said. “It is pleasing to see strong economic resilience and a positive outlook coming through.”

Business can be optimistic for 2022, she added. SEMLEP will continue its business support, grants and skills programmes. SEMLEP’s senior economic analyst Claire Ackroyd said the survey’s findings were an important part of the business information SEMLEP uses to clarify its support and investment needs. “The findings of this survey particularly will help us to map the response of businesses to economic shocks, providing us and our local authority partners with important data to shape future strategies.”

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