HS2 Ltd announced the formal start of construction on the high speed rail project which is set to link London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds, providing opportunities to create up to 22,000 jobs during the coming months and years. The move by HS2 Ltd comes after the Department for Transport gave approval to issue a ‘Notice to Proceed’ in April to the four main works civil contractors working on the project. Today’s symbolic announcement signals that the MWCCs are moving from enabling works, scheme design and preparatory work, to full construction of the railway. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said; “HS2 is…
Author: sme-admin
The UK’s first quantum computer to be commercially available to businesses will be located in Abingdon in Oxfordshire, Science Minister Amanda Solloway was announced on Wednesday 2nd September 2020. The new machine will be developed alongside experts from Oxford, London, Bristol and Edinburgh, and forms part of the Minister’s radical ambition for the UK to become the world’s first quantum-ready economy. Backed by £10 million government and industry investment, this new machine will strengthen the UK’s offer to businesses wanting to explore how they could harness the power of quantum computing in the future. Quantum computing offers the chance for…
Using unregistered waste removal firms could cause rubbish to be dumped or burned and the person who hired them given a criminal record Facebook users in the South West who use unregistered waste carriers could become accidental criminals, warns the Environment Agency. Waste carriers, like other licensed trades, are required to register and operate in line with a set of rules that protect the environment and their customers. These rules include disposing of waste in the right place, storing it safely and keeping accurate records of transfer and disposal. Registered waste carriers in the South West have become concerned about…
IK Investment Partners (“IK”) is pleased to announce that the IK Small Cap II Fund has acquired a majority stake in Forthglade Foods Limited alongside the current management. This is the first investment by IK’s newly established UK team. Financial terms of the transaction are not disclosed. Forthglade is a fast-growing UK based natural pet food brand, producing premium wet and dry dog food and treats. The Company was founded in 1971 and has been led by Gerard Lovell and Chris Brooking since their management buyout in 2011 and subsequent investment by Piper in 2015. IK will acquire a majority…
Thousands of households will now have the option to have Waitrose food and drink delivered to them in as little as 30 minutes for the first time after announcing a new delivery relationship with Deliveroo. The trial will be initially for 12 weeks, giving over half a million households the opportunity to have Waitrose food delivered direct to them. If successful, they expect to extend the trial into more locations before looking at further opportunities to roll out on a larger scale. More than 500 Waitrose products will be available for Deliveroo customers to choose from, including ready meals, fruit, vegetables,…
Released today, the Waitrose.com report ‘How Britain Shops Online: Food and Drink Edition’ is based on comprehensive new OnePoll consumer research of people across Britain – not just Waitrose shoppers. This data is supported by insight from Waitrose e-Commerce experts, online search trends and millions of purchases on Waitrose.com. James Bailey, Waitrose & Partners Executive Director, said: ‘Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, there are few retailers that wouldn’t have predicted the continued growth of e-commerce relative to physical shops. But what would have previously been a gradual upward climb in demand has – with the outbreak of Covid-19 – turned into a…
Schools and colleges across England will start to welcome back pupils with protective measures in place to help keep young people and staff safe. Hundreds of thousands of children and young people across England will reunite with their teachers and friends as schools and colleges start to open their gates from today (Tuesday 1 September). After months of hard work and dedication from school staff across the country to implement protective measures first set out in July, pupils will begin to be welcomed back into classrooms for the autumn term. Pupils will return to school environments with a ‘system of controls’…
Are You A Workaholic? Why not attend the Global Online Workaholics retreat on 11th of September 2020. The Workaholics retreat is a 1 day event designed to help and support women in any stage of their career or life journey. This global event provides you with the inspiration, guidance, entrepreneurial support to achieve your dreams and ambitions. This global virtual summit is not to be missed! Every visitor that attends the summit will have the opportunity to network, be inspired by our phenomenal keynote speakers, informed by our industry-leading workshops, and be empowered to take you and your business to…
The Government has announced a further batch of sporting events that will be used to pilot the safe return of spectators, after the Prime Minister confirmed it was safe for the trials to resume from 15 August. These Events will support ambition to allow fans to return to live sport from 1 October with social distancing. The new phase of the programme began with the finals of the World Snooker Championships at the Crucible, Sheffield, on 15-16 August, and will continue with events including a Brighton & Hove Albion pre-season friendly this weekend. The events have been selected to test…
When I launched Centric HR in October 2016, amongst the excitement and trepidation, I realised the upcoming years would be full of highs and lows and also various challenges which we would embrace and learn from…never in my wildest dreams did I expect a world wide pandemic to be one of them! Like all others, back in March our lives were shaken and a new way of working was forced upon us. The timing for us as a business, as many others in the same boat, wasn’t ideal, but when was ideal to face a unknown virus? We had just employed a new member of…