Business

Business news from across Milton Keynes and North Bucks. For more business news head to www.businessmk.co.uk

13th Jan 2023

10 Purse-Friendly January Deals from Local MK Independents

Great Gelato Last week I took a trip to one of my Stony Stratford favourites, Great Gelato. Until the end of January, they are offering a ‘BOGOF’ offer on their thick, traditional original Italian hot chocolates. We got 2 giant cups of what I can only describe as the very BEST hot chocolate I’ve ever had in the UK for £3.50 in total: an absolute steal! If you fancy something different, every week Great Gelato have a whole host of different options including: daily specials, gelato, cookies, brownies, pizza slices and more. All their products are freshly made on site, every day. T’s and C’s: Both Hot Chocolates must be the same flavour and exclude extras. This offer is not valid on Signature or Seasonal Hot Chocolates or Hot Chocolate Combos. Website: https://www.greatgelato.com/ Hustle Gin Local luxury award-winning gin company Hustle Gin is currently offering amazing New Year discounts across their..

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19th Dec 2022

Fresh Fast Food Giant itsu Celebrate their First Opening in Buckinghamshire

itsu has finally landed in Milton Keynes, having celebrated the opening of their first location in Buckinghamshire last Wednesday. The Asian-inspired, healthy fast-food restaurant brand opened inside Centre:MK in Milton Keynes at 11am on Wednesday 14th December. The healthy haven of fast, nutritious, beautiful food will offer local residents and businesses alike a delicious range of hot & cold dishes to takeaway, dine in with their friends or be delivered to local offices as a fresh meal option. “We’re looking forward to opening our first branch in Buckinghamshire while creating new career opportunities for locals on the lead-up to Christmas. Our new location nearby to John Lewis will be the perfect stop-off for those looking for a nutritious & affordable meal to keep them feeling healthy and happy throughout the festive shopping period.” - Neil Miller, Chief Customer Officer. itsu’s ‘steamed not fried’ philosophy sees their menu including hot noodle..

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22nd Nov 2022

The MK Café That’s Really Changing the Game...

If you haven’t already heard of ‘The Gamechanger Kitchen’ in Giffard Park, I’d be surprised. This gem of a café has recently undergone a fairly substantial expansion – and for good reason; TGK was crowned as the ‘Best Coffee Business/Café’ at the prestigious MK Food and Leisure Awards this year. I am lucky enough to live just a stone’s throw away from this incredible café which means I have seen first-hand the huge transformation it has gone through over the past year. A little bit on the owner, Alessandra: having been forced out of a 9-5 job in 2018 and ending up working the odd shift in her father’s coffee shop, Alessandra’s passion for health-conscious but tasty food and drink started to take off. Taking over the café inside ‘Fitness First’ in November 2019 seemed like a great move, until..

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12th Oct 2021

Entries are now open for the MK Business Achievement Awards 2022

Taking place on 24 March 2022 at Stadium MK, the Milton Keynes Business Achievement Awards present an exciting opportunity for businesses to reflect on their highlights and share their successes with the Milton Keynes business community. The theme for the 2022 awards is ‘MK – Leading the UK’s Green Recovery – Survive, Revive & Thrive’ but the entry categories go far and beyond that central topic: Environmental Sustainability – sponsored by: Mazars Charity of the Year – sponsored by: PJ Care Design & Creativity – sponsorship available Culture & Arts – sponsorship available Technology Business – sponsored by: Integral Powertrain New Business – sponsored by MK:U and Cranfield University Customer Service – sponsorship available Leisure & Entertainment – sponsorship available Professional Services – sponsored by: dbfb Business Impact in the Community – sponsorship available Small & Medium Business – sponsorship available Entrepreneur of the Year – sponsored by: MacIntyre Hudson..

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06th Oct 2021

Make a Will and help support Willen Hospice

Local people are being invited to take advantage of a Will writing service this October as the Willen Hospice Will Month returns. The charity has teamed up with solicitors and Will Writing Professionals to make this service available for anyone who would like to create a new Will or change an existing one. Throughout the whole of October, they are offering to write Wills in return for a donation to the Hospice. People have the choice to complete their Will in the comfort of their own homes by using the fast and simple online service, or by booking a face-to-face appointment. Lynn O’Gorman, Head of Development at Willen Hospice, said: “It’s never too early to write your Will, and if it’s been a task on your to-do list, Will Month gives you the perfect opportunity to tick it off. Your donation, no matter how big or small, makes a real..

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16th Sep 2021

One of the major CoP26 and Race to Zero campaigns is coming to Daventry on 23rd September

Prologis DIRFT Zero Carbon Tour. Join us on the next stop of the Zero Carbon Tour in Northamptonshire sharing the net zero message with the local business community.  The #ZeroCarbonTour is headed to Prologis DIRFT in Northamptonshire as they make their way through the UK to COP26 in Glasgow in November, sharing the net zero message with the business community. Join them and their hosts, Prologis as we accelerate the UN-backed Race to Zero as part of the UK's #TogetherForOurPlanet campaign. Shaping a brighter future is not something any one organisation can achieve alone. It requires collaborative and decisive action that will create a future of unprecedented business opportunities – finding new growth and talent, lowering costs and building greater resilience. On the day, you’ll see the UK's first 100% electric coach, affectionately named the ‘Carbon Battle Bus’, find out more about the UN-backed Race to Zero and Together For..

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31st Aug 2021

Powerful partnership brings us closer to our clients

For Square Media Solutions, success is about nurturing and developing a long-term relationship with its clients. Collaboration, says managing director Matthew Rigby-White, is key. That is why the company is so excited about a new partnership it has forged with Pulse Group Media, publisher of the lifestyle MK Pulse and NN Pulse magazines and of Business Times and Business MK, the leading business newspapers in Northamptonshire, Milton Keynes, North Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire. The link-up will see Square Media bring its expertise in web design and functionality to upgrade the websites of the area’s leading publications in their field, bringing them closer to their customers as they evolve to meet the changing demands and needs of their customers. And Pulse Group Media will deliver Square Media’s message to its total readership of more than 200,000. “We have the digital capability and expertise and Pulse Group Media has fantastic reach and reputation,”..

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24th May 2021

Driving your sales leads with great tools, for free

This month’s article is about ways you can find and secure new customers for little to no spend. What’s not to like about that? What many people don’t realise is that the old payment model for software has completely changed so there is plenty of software available that doesn’t have to cost you a penny. SaaS and how it has changed the way we pay for software Largely, gone are the days when you paid for a software license. It came in a nice box with a manual and you owned it forever. Most software developers now prefer a cloud-based Software as a Service, or SaaS, model meaning you pay for the software monthly or annually and what you pay is based on the features you choose and how many people use it. The downsides to this are that you never really own it, the costs can change at any..

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15th Mar 2021

Destination MK offers free website listing to help visitor economy businesses

Destination Milton Keynes (DMK), the official visitor and tourism information provider for the city, is offering all businesses within the retail, leisure, hospitality, arts and culture sectors a free listing on their recently re-launched website. The visitor economy has been the hardest hit sector during the COVID pandemic with some businesses being shut for over a year. Yet pre-pandemic the visitor economy was worth more than £230 million to the Milton Keynes area, so it is vitally important that it gets back up and running as soon as it is safe to do so. In an effort to help the recovery of this sector, DMK is offering all businesses looking to increase footfall from visitors a free listing on its new website. Businesses can simply head to the website, upload their details and an image to create their own free listing...

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10th Mar 2021

Breaking news… Publishing companies make their own headlines by joining forces

Two of the leading publishing businesses in Milton Keynes, Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire have joined forces to create a new ‘print powerhouse’. Lunar Publishing Ltd, which produces the monthly MK Pulse and NN Pulse lifestyle magazines, has relaunched the well respected and long-established Northamptonshire business publication Business Times earlier this year. Now it is to amalgamate Woburn Media Ltd, publisher of the leading monthly business publications Business MK and Business2Business, to create an unrivalled and powerful portfolio of titles. As the government begins to ease the lockdown restrictions, now is the perfect time for the publications to join forces to deliver matchless high-quality news, picture and feature coverage, as well as a peerless offer to advertisers of both the B2B and B2C markets across the three counties, printing over 70,000 copies each month, reaching a total of more than 210,000 readers. “When the opportunity arose to partner with Business MK and..

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17th Feb 2021

Brand position and direction to maximise opportunity...

The world doesn’t stand still and neither should a brand. In fact, things change so fast nowadays that brands simply can’t do enough to keep up with the times and often miss major opportunities that can be exploited by a real shift in direction. This month’s article is about how your brand should evolve not only to survive but to prosper. Why your brand must never be static Let’s remember first exactly what ‘brand’ means. Your logo is not your brand. It is only a part of your brand, often referred to as your ‘branding’ or ‘brand identity’. The brand itself is every aspect of how you do you what you; the very fabric of your business, the values and beliefs that drive things from the inside and how every detail of..

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10th Feb 2021

Digital Marketing Agency Gives Boost to Local Businesses

A local digital marketing agency has been helping other businesses to come into the 21st century during the pandemic. As the economic effects of COVID-19 continue to bite, the team at Fracas Digital have been providing on-call support to firms who have been forced to start trading online.  This follows the news from Fortune that website hosting companies have seen a dramatic increase in their subscriber numbers during the pandemic. As shops have shut their doors, eCommerce adoption has accelerated and more firms are now doing business on the internet than ever before. Social media matters Speaking from the firm’s offices in Milton Keynes, Managing Director Zara Hall was keen to point out the importance of digital marketing for businesses that were perhaps coming online for the first time as a result of lockdown. “Its all about engaging with your clients and attracting new customers by showcasing what you can..

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09th Feb 2021

New Alchemy Virtual Assistant franchise launches

Midlands-based Gemma McMillan is pursuing her business dreams during lockdown as the demand for Virtual Assistant services continues to skyrocket. Gemma has just set up her professional business with the award-winning Alchemy Virtual Assistance (VA) team, who have reported a record number of client enquiries from businesses globally – with numbers having quadrupled since COVID hit. With decades of experience across various admin, sales, customer service and client liaison roles, Gemma says the time is right to leave her secure job at an international shipping firm to focus on her new venture providing flexible, remote admin and PA services to entrepreneurs, not for profit organisations and business owners. “Sure, there are lots challenges right now but there are also lots of opportunities as a result of COVID and Brexit, and many small businesses are thriving, especially those that are virtual,” said Gemma, who had been following Alchemy VA’s founder -..

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08th Feb 2021

House builder searching for new apprentices

Barratt and David Wilson Homes Northampton is continuing its positive work to support local employment, skills and training by creating two new apprenticeship roles to develop talent across the areas in which it builds. The leading housebuilder, which is based in Northampton, aims to recruit two new trade apprentices, one specialising in bricklaying and one in carpentry and joinery, to work across its operational areas. These could include: Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire.  The vacancies come ahead of the 14th annual National Apprenticeship Week, running from February 8th to 14th, which celebrates the benefits of apprenticeships for individuals, businesses and the wider economy.  National Apprenticeship Week is a celebration of apprenticeships across England and is a time to recognise and applaud apprentices across the country.  Throughout the 14 years, the awareness week has brought together apprenticeship supporters from across the country, with MPs, ambassadors, apprentices, training providers and top employers..

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25th Jan 2021

Harnessing web-based advertising for sales and enquiries

Internet advertising, often aggregated together under the term ‘PPC’, can be a powerhouse opportunity for anyone wanting virtually instantaneous product sales or service enquiries. At the same time, it is a minefield, so how you determine where your budget is best spent and avoid the common beginners’ scenario of it disappearing down a plughole with nothing to show? What is ‘PPC’ and how does it work? PPC stands for Pay-Per-Click (advertising). However, web-based advertising actually extends beyond this, for example Sponsored Search (paying to go to the top of Google search results), so it is very much a generalisation and also a misnomer. The theory behind it is that, on a given website, your advertisement(s) will be shown and you pay a variable price for each person that responds to your ad, usually by clicking on it. The variable price is calculated based on several factors: How much are other,..

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