Business

Two Biztech member companies have launched an exciting and unique new collaboration that is set to change the face of accountancy in Milton Keynes and beyond. Business intelligence and data analysts Develin, and Chartered Accountants and Business Advisers Keens Shay Keens MK are both based in Central Milton Keynes, and see the enormous challenges and opportunities being posed by digital technologies. Paul Clarke, of Develin, said: “New technology is threatening to take away some of traditional accountants’ main activities. It won’t be long before small companies that are simply interested in getting their returns done on time will be able to do that by using apps. “Skilled accountants are much more than form-fillers and we believe that the use of data to help customers hone their business activities provides a way in which the entire accountancy profession will be moving in the future.” Paul envisages his specialist company providing the..

The Milton Keynes Business Achievement Awards (MKBAA), presented by Milton Keynes Business Leaders Partnership (MKBLP) and in association with Interdirect and Evolution, has seen a record number of entries for 2018.  New judges Ben Turner, Ian Revell, Dr Josie Fraser and Ben McDonald will join veteran judges Sir John Southby Bt, Jon Corbett and returning judge Carole Mills, as they take on the huge task of picking the best entries for the final. The panel is an impressive cross section of MK organisations.  Following the success of last year’s two stage entry process, we have further streamlined entries for 2018. The first stage closed on 16 November 2017, with the second stage commencing immediately after, with shortlisted candidates to be advised in February.  There are 12 categories at the 2018 awards, including the arrival of Best Use of Social Media (to be agreed by the audience on the evening), Business..

It was a case of ‘honours even’ after Milton Keynes-based business owners – and firm friends – Ben Peters and Iain Row went head-to-head in the BizTech Bright Sparc awards last week. Both had been entered in multiple categories, and in one of the categories, Best Technology Collaboration, they both made the shortlist. “When I saw the shortlist, I was stunned,” said Ben, who runs Telematics Pro, a company which focuses on reducing company driver risk and improving fleet operating costs. “I was delighted to make the cut, and then to find I was up against Iain made it all the more interesting”. “I knew Ben and Telematics Pro would be tough competition", Iain agreed. His company, Visual Realms, had recently completed a 3D Scan and VR Walkthrough of Willen Hospice, which led to them being shortlisted. “I thought ‘Best Technology Collaboration’ was my best chance of an award, but..

Eight young people took over four of the top jobs in Milton Keynes for Takeover Day on Friday 17 November. Each young person was the winner of the council’s Takeover Day competition and this year they spent the day as either the Mayor of Milton Keynes - Cllr David Hopkins, Local Police Commander - Superintendent Yvette Hitch, MK Council’s Corporate Director for People - Michael Bracey, or MP for Milton Keynes South - Iain Stewart. The Takeover Challenge is a national event led by the Children's Commissioner for England and offers children and young people the chance to work with some of the most important decision-makers in their area. Jasmine Robinson and Matthew Farrow spent the day with Corporate Director of People, Michael Bracey. The group spent the morning at the MK Safeguarding Board Conference and later joined the five year anniversary celebration of Flowers House, a council sheltered housing scheme. Georgia Gray..

Dr Philip Smith MBE, Chair of Milton Keynes Business Leaders Partnership (MKBLP) promoters of The Milton Keynes Business Achievement Awards (MKBAA), looks back on the success of last year, discusses the changes to be implemented at MKBAA2018 and urges more entries from businesses and individuals in MK.  MKBAA2017 was our best awards yet, and MKBLP, Interdirect and Evolution are proud to have organised another fantastic event. Now in its fifth year, the glittering awards ceremony hosts more than 600 attendees at the DoubleTree by Hilton at stadiummk. The evening is an opportunity for businesses across MK to showcase the amazing talent that we have in our city.  The 2017 awards, which took place in March, paid homage to Milton Keynes’ 50 years of growth, and saw more entries and a bigger, better and more glamorous awards evening than ever before. This year’s event will be themed around International Trade.  We..

Four student trainees from Norway are spending time at the Securitas Security Operating Centre in Milton Keynes, in the first Erasmus exchange within the global security provider. “This is the first time Securitas UK is taking part in the Erasmus programme”, said Mark Barber, Securitas Academy and Qualification Design Manager. “Since our Training and Development Academy in Milton Keynes was awarded Centre status by City & Guilds in 2015, we’ve been providing development and skills training to our UK employees. Offering an international knowledge exchange is now a natural step up for us”. Lasse Isaksen, Caroline Pettersen, Marius Bremtun and Markus Andersen, aged 19 and 20, have been working for Securitas Norway as student trainees for the last two years. They will spend a month in various Securitas locations across the UK. In their first week the students will learn about the business strategy and priorities for the UK and..

Meetings may be the bane of many people’s working lives, but CapitalSpace Milton Keynes Business Centre has turned a necessary evil into a force for good by donating money from the hire of their meeting rooms to Willen Hospice. For two consecutive months Milton Keynes Business Centre raised funds for Willen Hospice by setting aside £1 of every hour booked for the hire of one of their meeting rooms, which they renamed the Willen Room to support their promotion and raise awareness of the charity. Dawn Clark, Fundraising Manager at Willen Hospice, said: “It's inspiring to see a company develop an innovative way of raising funds during its normal day-to-day operation. We’ve seen how even relatively small contributions can add up significantly over time.” Lynn Patey-Smith, Centre Manager of CapitalSpace’s Milton Keynes Business Centre, said: “We decorated the meeting room in support of the hospice.  It was great to see..

Skyline Taxis, a taxi firm with bases in Milton Keynes and Northampton, has invested in a fleet of electric vehicles (EVs) that are now in operation across Milton Keynes. The growing fleet, which includes one Nissan Leaf and three Tesla cars, has been part-funded by the Government’s Plug-in Car Grant for low emission vehicles. The move follows consultations with Milton Keynes Council and a pilot scheme in 2015, which saw Skyline trial a 24KW Nissan Leaf for a four-week period. Following the pilot, which was well-received by customers, it was decided to delay investing in a fleet until the 30KW model was released. Gav Sokhi, Managing Director of Skyline Taxis, said: “Skyline has been at the forefront of the EV taxi market in Milton Keynes for the last few years and was the first taxi company to register an electric vehicle with Milton Keynes Council back in 2011. We have..

A Milton Keynes-based website and marketing company, WSaaS, (Web Solutions as a Service) is launching a city-wide competition to create a website for a local charity for free, a gift from the company as part of the MK50 celebrations.  WSaaS, which creates complete website solutions for small to medium sized companies, is asking local people to put forward their favourite charity on their Facebook post within their page at www.facebook.com/wsaasuk.  “Whether you’re a charity yourself or would like to put forward a charity of your choice, we will provide a website with the latest features, a design to suit you and will include important analytics, optimisation and marketing assistance,” says David Vallance, Director at WSaaS.  The competition is live now and entries must be in before Monday 31 July. The top five most nominated charities will be contacted and sent a short application form. The responses from the five applicants..

MK’s Conservative Parliamentary Candidates believe the City could play a leading role for Britain as it seeks to form new trade relationships around the world. Mark Lancaster and Iain Stewart visited Tech Mahindra an Indian multinational provider of information technology who have their UK headquarters based in Central Milton Keynes. On the visit the candidates discussed why Milton Keynes has become a hub for national and international businesses. Since 2010 more than 3,000 new businesses have started up in MK and the area is consistently top of the league tables for economic growth and employment. The Conservative Candidate for Milton Keynes North Mark Lancaster said: “Today we visited a serious global business turning over billions every year which has not only decided to enter the UK market but also to locate its headquarters here in Milton Keynes. It demonstrates just how attractive MK has become to live and work. “But we..

CanTrack’s management team and staff assembled in the company’s Central Milton Keynes offices on 25th May for an awards ceremony when Parliamentary Candidate for Milton Keynes South, Iain Stewart, presented CanTrack’s MD Peter Thompson with the company’s ISO:9001:2015 certificate, which was awarded by NQA, the leading global certification body.  Iain commented, “I’m proud to have represented Milton Keynes South in Parliament and I hope to do so again shortly! MK is a vibrant business centre that can count world beaters like the Red Bull F1 team amongst a long list of responsible employers in the Borough. CanTrack is an excellent example of what we need more of in the British Economy, entrepreneurship, teamwork and innovation. CanTrack’s products help other businesses’ increase safety, security and efficiency all essential in this day and age.” Iain Stewart, standing at the General Election for Milton Keynes South, was elected for the first time in 2010..

Milton Keynes-based online marketing agency, Little Star Media (LSM), have scooped the “Best Place to Work” award at the 8th Women in Gaming Awards, which were held on Friday 12th May 2017 at the glamorous Savoy Hotel in London. The gaming industry is traditionally heavily male-dominated, so the annual national Women in Gaming Awards were created as an opportunity for employers to recognise female team leaders within their organisation and their contribution to the success of the business. Local company, LSM, were the first people to win the “Best Place to Work” award, as it was a new category this year. Content Manager, Laura Townshend, said: “I made the application as I knew LSM was a great place to work, but it was a wonderful surprise to actually win the award, especially as this category had some really stiff competition. We’re only a small company and we were up against..

Milton Keynes based, Perception PR has been named the PR Company of the Year 2017 in Milton Keynes by the Acquisition International Awards. Perception PR, which was founded in 2006 by managing director Leigh Strathearn, works with local and national clients focused on the leisure industry, including shopping centres such as intu Milton Keynes, garden centres, restaurants, bars and fitness clubs.  Leigh Strathearn said: “We are delighted to have been awarded PR company of the year. Last year was our 10th anniversary and Perception PR continues to build on its reputation within Milton Keynes and across the national PR industry. We love what we do and we’re extremely fortunate to have some wonderful clients that allow us to be creative and imaginative. A huge thank you to the team for their hard work.”

Milton Keynes based business GoCode Academy wins FSB Worldpay UK Business Awards 2017 Young Entrepreneur of the Year, South Central region. “I am delighted to have won this award from such huge organisations like FSB and WorldPay” said Robert Rajeswaran, CEO “GoCode has grown tremendously and will continue to make an impact as we expand to London and other parts of the UK” he added. “Robert has been a fantastic member of the Entrepreneurial Spark powered by NatWest community in Milton Keynes from day one of us opening the Hub back in August 2016, it's good to see the progress he has made with his business and the drive and determination he shows being recognised by this award. Its great that we can give Robert and other Entrepreneurs the support to achieve their goals through our network of Hubs throughout the UK.” said Steve Chown, Entrepreneur Development Manager at Natwest...

The Milton Keynes office of Mazars, the international accountancy and advisory firm, has raised an impressive £1,400 for Action Medical Research at its latest Ladies’ Afternoon Tea. Held three times a year and now in its fourth year, the event brings together Mazars’ female clients and acquaintances for a chance to network and raise money for a worthy cause. Becky Dacre, Director at Mazars said: “Over the years, our Ladies’ Afternoon Teas have become very popular and are a fantastic way to meet up and support local causes. It was wonderful to see so many friendly faces and to raise money for Action Medical Research, a charity whose focus is to fund vital medical research to beat the diseases that devastate the lives of so many children and their families. “I want to thank everyone who attended this event or made a donation to the cause. Your donations will go..