Investment News, November 2011

Greater Birmingham & Solihull LEP allocates £14.9m for infrastructure

www.solihullforsuccess.com/invest-in-solihull

The Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) will get to allocate £14.9m of funding for infrastructure improvements to kick-start development projects that have stalled during the recession. And the West Midlands as a whole will benefit to the tune of £50m from grants under the Growing Places Fund, unveiled on November 7th.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, visited Birmingham and Solihull, announcing details of the fund, which will see £500m invested across the country.

The aim of the Growing Places Fund is to make available 'revolving funds' to take forward projects that can help stimulate economic growth, jobs and house building, with money eventually paid back and re-invested locally.

Examples of eligible projects include the development of strategic link roads and access works to unlock major mixed-use developments, enabling the delivery of homes and commercial space.

Mr Alexander said: "This is a flexible fix-it fund that will make a real difference on the ground, improving the lives of local residents and boosting the local economy. From building strategic link roads to reducing congestion, the investment will set businesses free and create jobs."

Draft proposals for schemes which could benefit the Greater Birmingham & Solihull area are expected to be brought before the LEP board on November 24th.

Solihull - A great place for European business & investment

Results of a new survey demonstrate that Solihull is amongst the best places in Europe to invest and do business.

The 22nd edition of the internationally recognised Cushman & Wakefield survey provides an overview of perceptions that corporations have about areas of Europe and their relative appeal, and how perceptions have changed over time.

With the global economic outlook still uncertain and with companies continuing to focus on locations that can provide a cost effective, yet efficient base, towns and cities continue to be in competition with each other in order to attract inward investment. This report examines a number of key issues that organisations consider when assessing new locations and indicates how well regions are perceived, with Solihull clearly able to compete strongly with its European competition.

For the third year running, the top priorities in deciding where to locate a European business are easy access to markets, availability of quality staff and the quality of communications on offer. The factor most likely to impact on business over the next 10 years was clearly identified by corporations as the opportunities from emerging markets for products and services.

Solihull and its region impressed highly in the access to markets category, being placed as the second best UK location in a position to be able to do this effectively. The region also came 14th in the top European locations for quality of telecommunications, with overall perceptions significantly improving over the last 12 months. However, it was for external transport links and value for money of office space that the region saw its best perceptions throughout Europe, ranking 6th and 8th respectively in the overall top 20.

For further information concerning the Cushman & Wakefield European Cities Monitor Report, please refer to www.cushwake.com

Solihull - A great place for European business & investment

Aarca comes to Solihull

Solihull Council welcomes Aarca to their new offices at Cranmore Place, Shirley, Solihull.

Aarca Sales Recruitment UK serve both British and international clients, providing recruitment support for specialist sales roles. Their central location within Solihull provides them with an ideal platform to recruit for clients across the Midlands and further afield, with clients in the UK, USA, Canada, the Middle & Far East and throughout mainland Europe.

John-Paul Shields, Aarca's Managing Director commented: "Cranmore Place is a very fresh and new serviced office environment. It offers us a great environment for our staff to work in, whilst at the same time we have the facilities necessary for candidate interviews and client sessions. We would also like to thank the Council who provided us with invaluable information that helped us to identify the appropriate commercial premises that suited our needs."

Maxine Dobson, Business Centre Manager at Managed Serviced Offices Limited, said: "Cranmore Place is just a few minutes off the A34 Stratford Road, located within easy access of public transport links. It's our newly refurbished flagship business centre which offers potential occupiers high quality bespoke accommodation."

Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Regeneration, Councillor Courts, said: "Solihull has seen a wealth of recent investment from both established business sectors, including professional service firms such as Aarca, through to high growth areas including medical and ICT. The borough also has a track record in developing business and helping them to grow and expand within the local area. We look forward to working with Aarca to support them with areas such as networking and building links with the local community".

The Council can provide free and comprehensive advice for all businesses who want to relocate in Solihull, as well as support for building a business. For more information on the Council's business team, contact 0121 704 6920 or email business@solihull.gov.uk

Solihull business named in list of UK's fastest growing technology companies

Solihull software consultancy, Contigo Ltd is amongst 4 Midland firms to appear in the 2011 Deloitte 'Technology Fast 50', showing a growth rate of 1019%.

Contigo is a leading provider of trading and logistics software products for the energy industry. Based at Blythe Valley Innovation Centre, Contigo is becoming a provider of choice for many energy companies who seek expert knowledge of their business in a supplier, quickly becoming the market leader in addressing both energy retail portfolio management and fuel logistics.

Staffordshire based Voice2Voice, Birmingham company Mercato Solutions and Innovise Plc complete the list of the top 4 West Midlands 'Technology Fast' companies.

Major new expansion for Jaguar Land Rover in Solihull

Jaguar Land Rover is to launch a major new expansion plan at its factory, here in Solihull, worth hundreds of millions of pounds, leading the way for new model production and extra jobs being created in the Borough.

The building programme which will last 2 years has been drawn, centred on a 88,000 square metre site. This will include extending a Land Rover production line to accommodate new models, as the firm upgrades Range Rover and Discovery.

The significant redevelopment of Lode Lane will also see new and extended production facilities, warehousing, a new fire station data centre, internal road works and an upgraded entrance.

The expansion follows a significant sales boom over the last 18 months, with JLR achieving pre-tax profits of 1.1 billion in the year to March 31st, 2011, compared to 14.6 million the previous year.

The success of both Jaguar and Land Rover products has led to extra shift-working, increased overtime and a range of new production worker jobs across the Solihull and Castle Bromwich plants. It is also believed that plans are in development for the Jaguar factory at Castle Bromwich, including a new body shop for extra models.

The Solihull expansion comes a year after JLR announces it was planning to invest £5 billion, creating thousands of new UK jobs. Solihull, the largest manufacturing facility in the West Midlands covering a 3000 acre site, currently has a 5,000 strong workforce, with the Castle Bromwich plant employing around 2,600 people.

Helping Businesses Succeed

Solihull Council works to support local businesses, through a number of directly run activities and by signposting to other organisations who can help.

Areas of support include:

networking with other local businesses
recruitment, apprenticeships and work placements
entering new markets and exporting
tender and business to business opportunities
getting involved in local community activities
commercial property availability and relocation support
business start up advice

Our Business Support Team are keen to offer free and confidential business support on an individual basis to local companies.

To find out more, or to arrange an appointment with the Team, call: 0121 704 6151

For enquiries please get in touch in the following ways:

Phone: 0121 704 6920
Email: business@solihull.gov.uk

Solihull MBC, PO Box 18, Council House, Solihull, West Midlands,
B91 9QS

www.solihullforsuccess.com/invest-in-solihull

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