Structural steel company John Reid & Sons Ltd (REIDsteel) is back to pre-Covid productivity levels at its manufacturing facility in Dorset. The company has welcomed staff back into its workshops with social distancing, and has resumed operations on construction sites. Now they are looking to phase the return of office staff at their Christchurch headquarters, the majority of whom have been working remotely from home. Managing director Simon Boyd said: “We have reached and are now exceeding pre-lockdown productivity levels in our manufacturing facility. Praise must go to all of our people who returned to work raring to go and…
Author: sme-admin
Everton FC are updating the design of their proposed new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock. The planning application for Bramley-Moore Dock makes it one of the largest Liverpool City Council has ever received. Over recent months, the planning department has been consulting on the applications with the public, as well as neighbouring authorities, emergency services, heritage and environmental organisations. As part of this process – and to address some of the feedback from consultees – the club has been working with the Council and other agencies to amend some elements of the designs that were originally submitted as part of the…
Gatwick has announced plans for a significant restructure across its business. The move is designed to further reduce operating and staff costs in light of the dramatic impact COVID-19 have had on its passenger and air traffic numbers. The new proposals could result in the region of 600 job roles being removed from across the business, which is approximately 24% of the current workforce. The company will now enter into a formal consultation process with employees. In August, usually one of the airport’s busiest months, passenger numbers are over 80% down when compared with the numbers of passengers Gatwick saw in…
In our changing world the threats to human health posed by viruses are intensifying. Corporations are morally or legally obliged to take precautionary measures to protect visitors and employees. The InfraSpector Thermal Entry Screening Portal is a fast and pragmatic tool to help reduce these threats. The InfraSpector series of entrance control portals from Inspection specialist Mek (Marantz Electronics), are designed for the detection of elevated body temperature, or “fever detection”, and counting the number of people in and out of premises. Created to protect employees and visitors from the spread of viral infections, there are IR thermal imaging camera…
Every business will experience ‘bumps in the road’ as they look to invest and grow. The bumps come is various shapes and sizes but they all have something in common – each one has the potential to cause cash flow problems. There is an old adage – ‘Turnover is vanity, profit is sanity and cash flow is king’. If you fall into what’s known as the ‘cash flow trap’, it doesn’t matter how profitable you are, you will be in danger of going out of business. Inevitably, some of these bumps have become more severe since the arrival of COVID-19. Over…
Millions of self-employed people whose livelihoods have been affected by coronavirus will be able to claim a second support payment as the government continues to help drive the UK’s recovery. The second stage of Self Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) opens for applications today and those eligible will receive a government grant worth up to £6,570. Over 2.7 million benefited from the first stage of the SEISS – with the government handing out £7.8 billion of grants to help them through the crisis. The second and final grant, worth 70% of average monthly trading profits, will be set to land…
Millbrook has secured funding as part of the government’s new £900million Getting Building Fund through SEMLEP (the South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership) for an additional electrical feed to its Millbrook Proving Ground in Bedfordshire. It will enable Millbrook to continue to expand its test facilities in Central Bedfordshire in support of the key themes of electrification, transitioning towards zero emission road transport and enhancing connected vehicle technologies. Hilary Chipping, SEMLEP Chief Executive, said: “We are delighted to have secured more than £27m from government to help support economic recovery in this area. These projects will support key priorities including skills for…
Online sales soar by 800% for London-based start-up OLLY’S after losing 40% of its monthly revenue overnight due to the Coronavirus pandemic. A swift switch to e-commerce has saved healthy snack start-up OLLY’S during the Coronavirus pandemic after 40% of its monthly revenue disappeared due to grounded airlines and cancelled rail services. Founded in his parents’ kitchen three years ago, a love of olives inspired Olly Hiscocks to create the world’s first unpasteurised olive snack pouch. He quickly went from selling them at Richmond’s Duck Pond Market to supplying major airlines and over 8,000 global stocking points. Due to growing…
During the current coronavirus outbreak we asked one of our Keynote speakers at the forth coming SME Today Online Expo what advice he would give business owners during this time. So, as we are all in lockdown we have time to reflect on the previous year. I can honestly tell you, for me, 2019 has been my favourite year since 2010. Lots went wrong, it did, that’s life, that’s business. But so much went right. Probably the best thing is I feel wonderfully content and happy in my own skin, with the person I am. I’ve achieved more than a…
The government have introduced a new Kickstart Scheme in Great Britain, a £2 billion fund to create hundreds of thousands of high quality 6-month work placements aimed at those aged 16-24 who are on Universal Credit and are deemed to be at risk of long-term unemployment. Funding available for each job will cover 100% of the relevant National Minimum Wage for 25 hours a week, plus the associated employer National Insurance contributions and employer minimum automatic enrolment contributions. The new scheme will see hundreds of thousands of state-funded jobs created for 16-to-24-year-olds who are currently claiming Universal Credit and at risk of long-term unemployment. Those…