Business

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

09th Jan 2021

Baker Brothers Celebrates Prestigious Award Win

Baker Brothers Diamonds is celebrating its sparkling success in the prestigious Billboards Awards 2020. The family-run, Bedford based jewellers was announced as the winners of the Most Eye-Catching Campaign category in the national awards. The business, run by successful sisters, Lizzie McAuley and Rebecca Church, was awarded the accolade after the billboard campaign, which featured illustrative characters, was voted the best by the public, including Baker Brothers customers. It was the first time the business had been in the running in the awards process and follows Baker Brothers decision to try a very different visual approach with their advertising artwork, created with the help of marketing and PR agency, Rocket Creative.  Baker Brothers Director Lizzie McAuley said: “We are delighted to be announced as winners of the most eye-catching campaign in the Billboard Awards 2020. We hadn’t realised we were contenders and had been nominated in the national competition until..

Read More
08th Jan 2021

Kickstart Scheme For Business In 2021

Get Staffed are providing a free and secure gateway to access government funding, helping businesses to secure a £1,500 grant and a six month funded work placement, for free. Bedfordshire based online recruitment specialist Get Staffed are proud to announce their participation in new government scheme to become a Kickstart Gateway; an organisation to represent small businesses and employers, accessingwork placements for young talent and training them for future employment.  The Kickstart Scheme allows businesses to help young people (aged 16-24) who are currently on universal credit to develop the skills and experiences needed to find work via valuable 6-month  placements on a 25 hour-per week contract. The government will fund 100% of every placement; 25 hours per week at Minimum/National Living Wage (pending employee age), plus employer National Insurance and pension contributions, meaning the schemes are 100% cost neutral to employers. In addition to this, the government will give..

Read More
22nd Dec 2020

MK Business support Willen Hospice staff this Christmas

An act of kindness by staff at local accounting firm RSM UK will mean that those working at Willen Hospice over the festive period will be gifted a Christmas meal when on shifts.  The company raised more than £600 by holding a dress down day before the pandemic. The money will more than cover the cost of a festive meal, with the extra donated will help fund vital Hospice services. While most people look forward to a break over the Christmas period, Willen Hospice nurses, catering, and other vital members of staff will be working ‘business-as-usual’, caring for patients with life-limiting illnesses and at the end of their lives, while supporting their families to make sure they can enjoy precious time together at Christmas.  Tracy Priest, RSM UK Tax Manager, and Willen Hospice Ambassador, said: “Willen Hospice can only support the local community with the fantastic work they do if,..

Read More
21st Dec 2020

How to nurture and win new customers

This month’s article is focused on some winning ways to approach B2B (business-to-business) selling. There are so many different ways to find prospective customers but, when you have someone you would like to work with, how do you get them over the line? One good customer can be better than a bunch of bad ones You will have expended a great deal of time, energy and probably money to get your business to where it is now (unless you are just starting out). In order to progress and grow, it is not about the volume of customers you have but having the right customers. Always remember this; we all have experience of the ones that take up most of our time, can be a little painful to deal with and expect to pay as little as possible… and we have all needed those customers to progress in our journey. However,..

Read More
09th Dec 2020

Northampton PR company pledges support for businesses and charities hit by the pandemic

December 2020: A former journalist from Northamptonshire is gifting one lucky business or charity an eight-week PR and communications support package – a free present in time for Christmas. Jessica Pilkington, who runs PR, marketing, and social media company Pilkington Communications, is preparing to launch a new ‘Adapt, Recover, Rebuild’ Public Relations (PR) and communications Covid support package in the New Year. Before that though she plans to give one organisation an early Christmas present – £2,750 of PR support for free. This eight-week package has been designed specifically for organisations that have been negatively affected by the pandemic and that desperately need support – whether it is to redesign and write a website, plan a social media campaign, generate lots of press coverage, design and run campaigns, enter business awards or create short films. Jessica, who worked in print journalism before moving into PR nearly 20 years ago, said:..

Read More
25th Nov 2020

Cornonavirus, covid and carrying on in business

The situation with Coronavirus and Covid is arguably the worst challenge many businesses, and we as people, have had to face in a generation. In a time like this, it can be easy to lose sight of the way forward and to worry about what the future may hold. This month’s article is intended to provide business owners and managers with some positive guidance to help get you through these tougher times. Be clear on your responsibilities Your obligations, as an employer, are to provide a safe and compliant working environment for your staff and for any visitors. That has always been the case just with some added complications. In simplest terms, you need to put sufficient measures in place to minimise the risk of Coronavirus entering the workplace and, in the event it does, from spreading among your employees. To summarise, you need socially distanced workspaces, staff informed to..

Read More
25th Nov 2020

HR firm expands with acquisition

HR Solutions, which provides outsourced HR services to small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the UK, is expanding with the acquisition of Crispin Rhodes Limited, a human resources consultancy in Milton Keynes. This latest acquisition is the company’s second in Milton Keynes following the successful acquisition of HR Services (UK) in 2017 and shows further investment in the area. Greg Guilford, CEO of HR Solutions, said: “We are very pleased to announce this latest acquisition as it provides HR Solutions with an ever-increasing footprint in the Midlands and will likely to see additional job roles being created as the combined company continues to grow. “We were actively looking to acquire like-minded HR consultancies and, with Crispin Rhodes being such a well-established HR consultancy in Milton Keynes, it made sense for us to make an approach. “I am very excited about this deal and the future working relationship we will have..

Read More
24th Nov 2020

MyMiltonKeynes moves ‘intu’ Midsummer Places’ shopping centre

MyMiltonKeynes – the Milton Keynes Business Improvement District – has moved into its new home at intu Milton Keynes. Now operating from the heart of the town – in a unit just outside of the centre’s boulevard – MyMiltonKeynes continue their hard work to make central Milton Keynes a safe and enjoyable place to live and work. Their work includes organising events in partnership with Milton Keynes Council for the residents of Milton Keynes, such as their successful Spooky Halloween Drive-in cinema in October, which saw over 1900 cars and raised more than £9500 for MK Food Bank. The BID have also just announced their new ‘Festive Flix’ drive-in cinema this December with more details to follow soon. These two events have been a great way of driving safe footfall in Central Milton Keynes. Melanie Beck, Chief Executive of MyMiltonKeynes said: “We were delighted to move into the heart of..

Read More
08th Nov 2020

IMServ appoint New Metering Services Director

IMServ is delighted to announce the appointment of Alan Doody as Metering Services Director. This new role reflects IMServ’s recent growth and its strategic ambition to further develop its energy metering services. Alan will be responsible for all of IMServ’s metering activities across both office and field. This end-to-end responsibility will enhance IMServ’s ability to deliver to customer requirements and drive efficiency. Alan joined IMServ earlier this month. He was formerly Performance Support Director at Centrica for two years. Prior to that he spent over 18 years with British Gas in a number of senior management posts. Alan said: “I was attracted by IMServ’s commitment to empower companies to reduce energy usage. Their strategy will help the UK’s drive to net zero carbon emissions by 2050. “I was also impressed by their growth ambitions and progress to date which they have already demonstrated with their expansion into the Netherlands.” Due..

Read More
22nd Oct 2020

IMServ Expands into the Netherlands

Leading UK energy data collection and metering company IMServ has entered into the Dutch energy metering and data market this month. The company announced its arrival into the Dutch market this week after receiving an ISO9001 accreditation to operate there. This means that IMServ Netherlands is now officially operating as one of the country’s Meetverantwoordelijke (Meter Responsible Parties) and can provide electricity metering and data services to companies across the Netherlands. The IMServ Netherlands office is located in Hoofddorp. IMServ’s UK operation has over 25 years of experience and operates from its HQ in Milton Keynes. Clients include energy suppliers and some of the largest companies in the UK. IMServ MD Steve Brown said he was delighted to announce the company’s expansion overseas. “It has been a long held ambition of mine to take IMServ into new territories, and the Netherlands is an exciting market. I believe IMServ Netherlands has..

Read More
28th Sep 2020

Just brew-ti-ful: firefighter entrepreneurs serve up 20,000 cups of coffee to covid-19 key workers

A Milton Keynes firefighter and his colleague handed out over 20,000 cups of coffee to frontline key workers during the peak of the coronavirus in the UK as they gear up for a second spike in the pandemic. Tom Taylor, 28, from Olney, set up an online coffee company with Matt Broxton, also 28, because the instant coffee at the fire stations they both worked at was ‘terrible’ and ‘tasted like tarmac’. They felt all key workers involved in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic ‘deserved a decent cup of coffee’. The young founders set up Frontline Coffee with its profits donated to emergency service and health charities. The pair has sold 4741.25kg of coffee so far which at 7g a cup is the equivalent of 677,321 cups of coffee with 20,000 of those going direct to the frontline for free during the UK lockdown in the spring. Frontline Coffee aims..

Read More
26th Aug 2020

Boxx Communications announced as a City Champion for CityFibre’s services in Milton Keynes

Boxx Communications, a specialist provider of telephony and internet connectivity services, is working in partnership with CityFibre as a City Champion for Milton Keynes. Boxx will be working together to ensure all businesses and service organisations in the town are aware of, and have access to, the full fibre network that has been built by CityFibre. A 5Gbps CityFibre connection has already been installed at Milton Keynes University Hospital (MKUH) to support the digital transformation of services, provide fast internet access to more than 5,500 staff and ensure that future plans to extend services can be implemented. Boxx is now ready to help other businesses and services in Milton Keynes take advantage of CityFibre’s full fibre speeds. Dean Burgin, Co-Owner of Boxx, believes that this is an ideal time to invest in modern, future-proof internet connectivity. “The last few months have been a challenge for everyone, but the potential for..

Read More
18th Aug 2020

Pulse partnership launched to help businesses bounce back from coronavirus

Here at Pulse Magazines we are proud to announce a new partnership which is set to help businesses across Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire not just survive but also strive to thrive during these challenging times. We are now working with Northampton based PR firm Pilkington Communications to ensure our customers get more than ever before for their budgets. Kerry Lewis, editor of Pulse Magazines, said: “We are excited about resuming our printed magazines from August and proud to have continued promoting and supporting businesses even during lockdown. We appreciate that budgets are tight and that the challenges have never been greater, but also know that it is more important than ever for organisations to promote themselves, their products, services, trading details and so much more. “For this reason, we have partnered with Jessica and her team at Pilkington Communications who are working with us to ensure our customers’ printed and online..

Read More
04th Aug 2020

Radfield Home Care business prepares to launch in Milton Keynes

Radfield Home Care Milton Keynes team has been extremely busy over the last few months preparing for the launch of its home care business, opening in Milton Keynes in August. Owner and director, Jane Franks, has been busy introducing herself, the business and its unique services to the local community, businesses, groups and associations, creating lots of awareness in the region around its person-centred care services for older people that it will be offering in the Milton Keynes communities. Radfield Home Care has established offices across the UK and is a specialist home care provider for older people, caring for clients who wish to remain living independently in their own homes. Radfield is a privately owned company, led by Dr Hannah MacKechnie & her brother Alex Green, providing care for over 35 years, and during this time has built an excellent reputation for the high quality and responsive nature of..

Read More
26th Jun 2020

RESET, RESTART & RECOVER: A partnership approach for Milton Keynes

MyMiltonKeynes, in partnership with Milton Keynes Council, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), Milton Keynes Business Leaders Partnership (MKBLP), Destination Milton Keynes (DMK) and MK Business Council, has developed a plan to support the economic recovery of Milton Keynes and its surrounding suburbs.  The plan aims to advise and support businesses in creating a clean and safe environment that will instil confidence in employees and customers and ensure that we can work together to overcome any downturn experienced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. With the benefit of research, communication and free resources, workplaces and customer facing businesses can ensure a safe and sustainable return.  Nicholas Mann, Chair of MKBLP explains: “As we start welcoming our colleagues, members and customers back we’re working with businesses, organisations and the wider community to help create a seamless recovery process for all. “Working together with MyMiltonKeynes, FSB, DMK, the council and business..

Read More