News

Calling Tourist Business Owners: The Holiday Park & Resort Innovation Show is back and promises to deliver incredible features and exclusive opportunities to help diversify and boost revenue

The Holiday Park & Resort Innovation Show is finally opening its doors, in person, at the NEC Birmingham on the 10th & 11th November this year. This is the UK’s most innovative event for ambitious holiday park & resort owners and managers who are looking to diversify and boost their revenue. So if you are interested in finding new ways to do so, we highly recommend that you attend!

What can you expect to see at the show?

 With over 1000 exhibitors, 500 seminars, and an incredible schedule of keynote speakers and panel discussions, the show will tackle everything from boosting your offering to marketing and new business strategies. These invaluable insights will be delivered by some of the biggest names and associations within the industry, including the likes of Tripadvisor, VisitEngland and Glendale.

Our speakers will be discussing the latest trends within the industry, sharing their experiences and tips and tricks, and answering your burning questions now that we can finally meet face-to-face, creating unparalleled networking opportunities.

This year the Holiday Park & Resort Innovation Show is launching its first series of panel debates, where the leading industry experts will be discussing the latest industry topics. This will give you the opportunity to hear how to keep up-to-date on trends, live and in person. From renewable energy to marketing tactics to enhance your holiday park or resort, make sure you take full advantage of this opportunity!

You can also see the latest industry products in action in the Live Demo area, where the experts will be showcasing their most innovative products and services. Be sure to make some time to visit this area and possibly even get involved yourself!

Discover the latest technology from the sector, receive exclusive offers on products from leading suppliers such as Veolia and Swift, and demo the next generation solutions which are paving the way for the future of the industry. You do not want to miss this event!

 

Awards

The Holiday Park & Resort Innovation Awards will be recognising the companies who have gone above and beyond within the industry, celebrating those that are combining an unprecedented blend of innovation, creativity and uniqueness in their work and customer offering.

 

Getting ready for the growth of the industry after COVID-19

After the tough year and a half that the industry has faced, our Business Growth Hub has been designed to provide specific products and services to help you prepare for the resurgence of the industry after COVID-19. Many rural businesses have utilised this time to upgrade and perfect their customer offering, which is why we are bringing you masterclasses, videos, news articles, podcasts and much more to support you along this journey. If you are interested in getting involved in the Business Growth Hub, contact chloe.jackson@prysmgroup.co.uk for more information!

 

Sustainability Matters

With sustainability becoming increasingly important to members of the general public, holiday park owners and managers are looking for new ways in which they can be more sustainable. This is why we are introducing Green Route this year, recognising the sector’s most sustainable suppliers who will be showcasing their amazing products and services, providing you with everything you need to go green ready for 2022. If you would like to be involved in our Green Route and showcase your sustainable product or service, then get in touch with william.mansfield@prysmgroup.co.uk for more information!

We are so excited to finally be meeting in person again and to bring you a show bigger and better than ever before. Make sure you don’t miss out and register for your free tickets now!

Food & Drink

Snow Globe Gin Liqueur now available at HARVEY NICHOLS and VERY – as it heads into Christmas Season with an Exciting New Look

Following the success of 2020’s Snow Globe Gin Liqueur®, Gravity Drinks have shared details of this year’s NEW and collectable light-up snow globe, due for release in stores this September.

The theme for 2021’s bottle is ‘An Enchanted Christmas’. The magnificent scene on the outside of the bottle features beautiful woodland creatures gathered around a country cottage in the snow. Look closely to see the cheeky snowman, glowing candles and lanterns, and Christmas wreaths. When you peer inside the cottage a quintessential cosy Christmas fireside scene awaits. Stockings hung over the mantlepiece, presents placed under the tree and even a mouse hidden in the corner.

The exquisite hand painted illustations have been lovingly drawn by award winning illustrator and artist Edwina Buckley who has worked for esteemed brands such as Burberry, Jo Malone, Estee Lauder and Samsung in the past.

The all-important gin liqueur inside the beautiful bottle is a taste of Christmas; an indulgent orange and gingerbread flavour made with cinnamon, spice extracts and Seville oranges. Plus, it features real edible 23kt gold leaf and a luminous base.  For that extra WOW factor, simply give the globe a gentle shake and turn on the light at the base of the bottle to illuminate the gold leaf cascading around the Christmas scene inside.

The Snow Globe comes in a beautiful, gold-foil gift-box, making it the ideal present for loved ones.

Tasting notes: subtly sweet and indulgent gin liqueur with zesty orange upfront, warmth from the gingerbread, and notes of cinnamon and dried cloves, which perfectly capture the spirit of Christmas.

Add to Prosecco for a bubbly twist, with your favourite tonic, as part of a festive cocktail or simply enjoy neat over ice.

The product is 700ml, 20% alc./vol., vegan suitable and allergen free.

Stockists: Harvey Nichols, Costco, Master of Malt, Firebox

 

News

Hubilo announces £92 million investment as the new era of events begins to unfold

Lead Investors Alkeon Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners Bet Big on Many-to-Many Collaboration Technologies

​​Hubilo, a leading global virtual events platform, announced that in a funding round led by Alkeon Capital and additionally, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Balderton Capital, it has raised £92 million in Series B funding to further the development of the future of events and engagement on Hubilo’s platform. This brings the company’s total funding to £113 million to date in less than 18 months. The investment, one of the largest in the event technology category, signals the revolution in ways by which people connect, engage, share experiences, and create opportunities at a time when uncertainty about COVID-19 and its variants have resulted in cancelled events and delayed a return to traditional office environments.

The Series B funding will supercharge Hubilo’s continued international growth by allowing the company to develop new business functions, advance innovation of its platform, strengthen its product, engineering, and design teams in India, and go-to-market teams in the US, UK, EMEA, and APAC. Hubilo also plans to set up new sales offices in key regions to expand its operations and reach a greater volume of customers. In addition, Hubilo will also increase the overall employees’ count by 150% to support its rapid growth plans and to respond to the increased customer demand for virtual and hybrid events.

“The power to engage with massive audiences unlocks the potential for more diverse, geographically dispersed communities to come together for business and consumer events, remote workforces to stay engaged, and organisations to rethink the way they hire and train. The potential ahead of us with this investment is massive,” said Vaibhav Jain, CEO and founder at Hubilo. “But what we’ve learned over the last 6 years is that an intuitive platform is just table stakes. Our commitment to event organisers is that we will always provide a dedicated event team to ensure flawless execution of every event. This is why so many event organisers make Hubilo their platform of choice.”

Hubilo was founded in 2015 to build event tech that increased attendee engagement at in-person events. When the pandemic hit in 2020, Hubilo saw revenues dwindling to zero, but rather than declare bankruptcy, they reworked their technology in 26 days and emerged as one of the leading architects of large-scale communications with the first version of their event platform. Hubilo works with some of the globe’s largest brands such as Blackboard, Walmart, United Nations, Roche Pharma, Maersk Shipping, with several others.

“We believe strongly in the global distributed workforce being a megatrend that will impact all of us in the future. It is clear that the way we collaborate and connect will need to be rearchitected in order for any global player to succeed,” said Abhi Arun, Managing Partner at Alkeon Capital. “In Hubilo, we saw a powerful technology capable of connecting the offline and online worlds, a strong CEO, and an amazing market opportunity that gave us the confidence to invest.”

Now that the Delta variant has cemented the need to rethink every meeting and event strategy for the long term, companies realise that collaboration and communication technologies are essential for more than just events. While Hubilo’s popularity grew as an events technology platform, its solutions go well beyond special occasions; it has successfully supported over 10,000 events with more than two million attendees across more than 100 countries.

“Businesses spend over one trillion dollars of direct spending on events. In the last couple of years, 15-20% of the enterprise events budget has permanently moved to digital events. Hubilo is one of the fastest-growing and innovative platforms serving this market. I expect in the next few years that Hubilo will be broadly acknowledged as a market leader in the space.” said Guru Chahal, Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners.

As the new era of events unfolds amongst the uncertainty, one thing remains steady: Hubilo’s innovation and commitment to foster human connection through the reimagination of events.

Commenting on EMEA’s importance for Hubilo, Vaibhav Jain added “As organisations in the EMEA region are now embarking on their post-pandemic recovery journeys, we have seen a great number of them look at innovative ways to network and reconnect internally, and with their customers and partners. Hubilo provides pan-European teams with the perfect platform to foster fruitful collaboration and attend large-scale events without needing to travel, empowering businesses to be more inclusive and break down the geographical barriers.”

Hubilo’s European Clients are names like University of Oxford, Smithers, European Athletics, EQS Germany, Acronis, Wolters Kluwer, Cognite, along with several others.

Click here to unleash the power of immersive events.

Hair and Beauty, News

Thérapie Clinic Celebrates Further Store Expansion

Thérapie Clinic are delighted to announce their latest store expansion, opening clinics in Liverpool, Essex’s Lakeside Shopping Centre, Esher, Canary Wharf and Ealing Broadway

Thérapie Clinic’s latest stores now bring its total number to 57 clinics across the UK and Ireland. 

Phillip McGlade, CEO of Thérapie Clinic, said:

“We’re delighted to welcome Lakeside, Liverpool, Esher, Canary Wharf and Ealing Broadway as our new store locations. We’ve always been champions of the UK and Ireland’s high streets and it’s important that we make our services as accessible as possible to our growing customer base. Our ethos has always been to deliver a superior, medical-led service at a fair and reasonable price and, so far, we have delivered more than 5 million treatments to our customer base – a volume which has enabled us to offer our services at an accessible price point. Despite the challenges of the last 18 months, opening new store locations is integral to our future strategy and our long-term goal is to expand further across the UK high street and internationally, too.”

Thérapie Clinic is the fastest-growing aesthetic medical clinic in Europe, with over 200 doctors on their team. Their facilities offer a wide range of aesthetic medical treatments, including laser hair removal, anti-wrinkle injections, dermal fillers and Clear Braces.

Climate, News

£12 billion investment over next decade to accelerate net zero objective

Written by Mr. Kunal Sawhney, CEO, Kalkine Media

The government of the United Kingdom has been working in an all-inclusive manner to achieve the short term goals in order to fulfill the long-term objective set out under the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan. With an ambition to drastically eliminate carbon footprint by 2050, the Downing Street administration has taken various measures including the rigorous steps to ban the sale of passenger vehicles powered by petrol and diesel by 2030 and fossil fuel-powered commercial vehicles by the end of 2040.

The comprehensive steps taken by the government to bolster the magnitude of the automobile industry of the UK are expected to establish a fresh interest among the consumers to buy the electric vehicles. On the other hand, many corporations have emerged as leading the change by committing to go carbon neutral over the course of next decade.

Supplementing the ongoing efforts, the Prime Minister’s will be mobilising a multi-billion pound government investment of £12 billion. The monetary funding is likely to create and support as many as 250,000 employment opportunities across the green energy sector over the next decade.

Alongside this, further investments to the tune of three times the government funding will be secured in the corresponding tenure by the end of 2030 to strengthen various initiatives. The upcoming opportunities and possibilities that can augment the Net Zero Strategy of the government are likely to be materialised in the upcoming weeks ahead of the two-week-long United Nations Climate Change Conference 2021 (COP26), scheduled to be held between 31 October and 12 November 2021.

Since the launch of the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan, the government has managed to secure more than £5.8 billion of foreign investment in green projects, as a result of which the green energy sector has created and supported at least 56,000 jobs across various conventional, as well as new-age enterprises.

According to the new data published by the Department for International Trade, the country has been ambitiously progressing with the objective of net zero by the help of green investment boost. The cumulative steps and investment in the sector are assisting the nation to emerge as the global leader in green technology and finance.

A funding of more than £900 million has been garnered to expedite the transformational shift to zero-emission vehicles, effectively supporting the predefined move of terminating the sale and usage of petrol, diesel vehicles. In 2021 itself, the government has managed to secure over £650 million for the technological advancements in offshore wind capabilities.

Since the launch of the PM’s Ten Point Plan, the authorities have managed to mobilise an investment of around £1.5 billion into the offshore wind industry. Combined with the £650 million monetary assistance to upgrade ports and infrastructure, the energy supply from renewable sources stands at 40% of the net electricity generation in the country.

The Green Industrial Revolution, thoroughly backed by the investments from UK and international partners, will be creating and nurturing thousands of skilled jobs in the upcoming years.

Obtaining private investments for clean technology has been one of the primary objectives of the government since the launch of Net Zero plan as considerable reductions in the emissions from industries, vehicles, power generation and other necessary operations certainly requires technological advancements, as well as periodic monetary injections.

Among the major steps to bolster the Ten Point Plan, the Department for Transport (DfT) is already working on a mega decarbonisation programme under which the administration is looking forward to introducing an all-electric bus fleet, effectively eliminating the polluting vehicles by 2040. The government has set aside a sum of £50 million to support charge points installations, while a £20 million has been allocated for increasing the number of on-street charge points for EVs across urban, as well as rural locations.

News, South East

Chalgrove-based 3D printing manufacturer E3D wins ‘Growing the Workforce’ award in the Thames Valley SME 100 Growth Index

E3D is proud to announce its recognition in the Thames Valley SME 100 Growth Index Awards for ‘Growing the Workforce’. 

The leading Oxfordshire-based manufacturer and retailer of advanced 3D printing extrusion systems has come out on top for the ‘Growing the Workforce’ award this year, after achieving a runner-up position for the same award in 2020. 

Clare Difazio, Head of Marketing and Product Strategy at E3D comments on the win: “We’re absolutely delighted to receive a TV SME 100 Growth award, and particularly this one – our workforce is absolutely essential to our success. We’ve recognised this even more so over the Covid-19 era and its many challenges the team has risen to. We increased our workforce by 57% in 2020/2021 and forecast strong company growth over the coming 12-14 months, which will only be possible through significant further recruitment and retention of passionate individuals.

2020 was a busy year for E3D. One of our biggest achievements was expanding production out of our main building to a dedicated unit in our business park. In pre-pandemic times this would have been a big enough task. During a pandemic, it became an astronomical task, and we’re incredibly proud of the production team for making it happen as efficiently and safely as it did. The cornerstone to this expansion has always been our people; we have invested heavily in the team that makes this possible, and this award and accolade is testament to the commitment, work ethic and passion they all share daily.”

The Thames Valley SME 100 Growth Index Awards recognise impressive results and strong leadership by the region’s top small and medium-sized businesses with turnover between £1m and £20m. There were six categories and awards to be won this year including: ‘Growing the Workforce’, ‘SME 100 Growth Award (over £10m)’, ‘SME 100 Growth Award (under £10m)’, ‘Leadership Through Challenging Times’, ‘Tech Company of the Year’, and ‘One to Watch’.

The judges’ comments on E3D’s ‘Growing the Workforce’ win: “Alongside their impressive growth as a business, they have constantly invested in their people and they fully recognise the importance of their employees throughout the journey they have made from the bedroom to moving the whole business under one roof.”

Since its launch almost ten years ago in 2012, E3D has stormed ahead in the 3D printing industry at a rapid pace. Starting out as a small British startup selling custom HotEnds to 3D printing hobbyists on a forum, E3D is now a worldwide industry name.

The company especially focused on the expansion of production during the pandemic, using this time to overhaul production processes and upsize workspaces for its team; all contributing to its new award win.

For more information on E3D, please visit: https://e3d-online.com/ 

News

Ready Steady Store are Finalists at the European FEDESSA Awards 2021!

Ready Steady Store are thrilled to announce that they’re finalists for two awards at the Federation of European Self Storage Associations (FEDESSA) Awards 2021!

With tough competition from applicants across Europe, Ready Steady Store were confirmed as finalists for both the Multi Site Operator of the Year Award and the Container Storage Facility of the Year Award.

Mehran Charania, CEO of Ready Steady Store, said: “We’re delighted for our team to be recognised on an international level – especially after a challenging year of operating during the Covid-19 pandemic. This year, FEDESSA confirmed that they had received over double the usual number of entries, so making the finals is an amazing achievement and we’re especially proud of all of our staff members who have worked so hard to provide the best possible customer service, which was key to achieving these accolades.”

The Federation of European Self Storage Associations (FEDESSA) represents the various self storage associations across Europe, including over 2,000 self storage facilities.

Ready Steady Store opened their first store in 2006 and now have 26 storage sites across the country. Whether people are looking to move home, store items whilst doing building works, decluttering their homes or are businesses looking for extra space to store documents, tools or stock, Ready Steady Store offer 24/7 access to storage units.

News

Shell Store named as Commercial Development of the Year finalist

The transformation of Hereford’s former munitions site into the county’s first dedicated business incubation centre is in the running for a top property award.

The £7.3m project at the Shell Store on Skylon Park has been shortlisted in the Commercial Development of the Year category of the Insider West Midlands Property Awards.

Barnwood Construction was the principal contractor on the project which saw the First World War site transformed into 2,500 sq metres of flexible and lettable business space under the site’s iconic roofline.

The development, led by Herefordshire Council and Skylon Park and Hereford Enterprise Zone Board will support new and growing enterprises as well providing conference, meeting and office space.

Councillor David Hitchiner, Leader of Herefordshire Council, said: “It has been fantastic to see new life breathed back into the Shell Store, which has played such a significant role in the history of Hereford.

“The building has been transformed around the original steel frame, providing a home for new and young enterprises, helping to build local skills and expertise and drive economic growth.”

Chairman of Hereford Enterprise Zone Andrew Manning Cox said: “As an ‘enterprise zone’, Skylon Park was keen to bring the building back into productive economic use with any development needing to be sensitive to its heritage.

“The Shell Store offers exactly the sort of high-quality start-up and grow-on space which Hereford needs to enable us to nurture the next generation of businesses.”

“New, innovative and growing enterprises will benefit from being part of Skylon Park’s thriving business community with support on-site provided by the Enterprise Zone team and the Marches Growth Hub.”

The success of the transformation involved multiple partners including Quattro Design Architects, One Creative Environments Ltd for the M&E design, Caulmert for the Civils and Structural design and Mace Group as project manager.

Principal contractor Barnwood Construction delivered the refurbishment and fit out of the project and Taylor Lane Timber Frame developed the internal pod structures which sit beneath the building’s historic roofline.

The West Midlands Property Awards – the region’s big celebration of commercial property – will celebrate the best of the region’s real estate successes during a challenging year. Winners will be announced on November 4 at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole.

The Shell Store was funded by Herefordshire Council, the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and a loan from the Marches LEP’s Marches Investment Fund.

It was officially opened by Robert Jenrick, then Secretary of State Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), in July 2021.

News

MOD selects FotoWare for digital asset management of new public photo archive

The MOD has worked with UK/Norwegian software provider FotoWare to launch a new website with a library of over 5,000 videos and 10,000 images available for the public to access.

Following improvements to its former site, which was customised by a third party company, the MOD needed a new site that retained all of the customised features, but also ensured compliance with the strict requirements laid out by the UK Government for all of its websites.

FotoWare had worked on a similar website for the Australian Government’s Department of Defence, where a custom front end was developed using the FotoWare solution and API (Application Programming Interface). That same front end was what the UK’s MOD wanted for its own new public-facing site, so FotoWare was employed to customise it.

FotoWare implemented a solution to take the new site forward, adding more keyboard controls and a cookie banner, which is a requirement of the UK Government for all of its websites, to ensure they are fully WCAG compliant.

Behind the scenes, FotoWare provides controls for the website including a resizable image slider and a powerful advanced search. For users searching for Red Arrow images, for example, the FotoWare solution makes it easier for the general public and news agencies to find exactly what they were looking for.

FotoWare also provided an extra layer of download security for the new sites including adding a CAPTCHA tool for download of files.

FotoWare has ensured that the digital asset managers and internal teams at the MOD can create albums, with specific metadata and tags, to control what appears on the news packages screen. So, all images with the same news story tags, are stored in one album for the media to view and download.

“The new MOD site is a nice window for members of the public to see all of the amazing defence imagery that is available. This includes all imagery from the armed forces, explains Panay Triantafillides, Defence Imagery Editor & Digital Asset Manager, Ministry of Defence.

To see the new MOD image website, visit: https://www.defenceimagery.mod.uk/

Image source: https://www.defenceimagery.mod.uk/Home/Search?Query=SCA-Official-20211008-784-002.jpg&Type=Filename

 

Driving, Logistics, Midlands News, News

91% of HGV drivers in UK feel undervalued, survey shows

More needs to be done to keep experienced truck drivers behind the wheel and help address the current shortage – with more respect and improved conditions top of the list.

Initial findings from a survey which commenced in August for Pertemps Driving Division, part of the Warwickshire-based Pertemps Network Group, showed 91 per cent of truckers believe they do not get enough respect for the job they do.

Many qualified and experienced drivers have left or are planning to leave their roles because they are fed up with the way they are treated, often at point of drop-off for customers and the general public.

Samantha Leleu, General Manager at Pertemps Driving Division, which has been offering free LGV training to entice new people into the sector, believes it is only by treating experienced drivers with more respect that the brakes can be put on the skills drain and the economy can begin to get back on the right road.

“There is a known driver shortage, and the noise has mostly been about attracting new talent to the sector – but what about those experienced drivers who have just had enough of difficult working conditions, and disrespect from customers and the public? They deserve better and it is the least we, as employers, can do to try and help as the UK seeks to address a shortage of 100,000 HGV drivers,” said Samantha.

“We have surveyed more than 2,500 drivers in the last couple of months and the initial results show that 91 per cent of existing lorry drivers feel they are treated with disrespect. In addition, 69 per cent do not think working conditions are good – and it is the more experienced truckers more likely to be disillusioned with their roles.

“Some people may point to the fact that pay rates have gone up significantly recently, but that does not compensate for years of being underpaid a decent going rate and treated ‘like a nuisance’ when making deliveries.

“We, the great British public, have to get a handle on this to keep these good people in the sector as everything we touch has been delivered on the back of a lorry, while we get the talent pipeline moving again for those looking to train to be lorry drivers.

“Things need to change and with the spotlight currently firmly on the sector, and people starting to see the importance of our lorry drivers to their everyday lives, we hope both customers and the general public will better consider how they treat these essential workers.”

Pertemps Driving Division has had to temporarily close its free training offer to new applications after more than 10,000 people applied in six weeks. The business is now working its way through the candidates to take forward all those that it can. However, tests are ultimately carried out at a pace set by the DVSA and a lack of test availability means there is lengthy tailback of waiting applicants.

Once qualified, the drivers are found roles with clients across the UK through Pertemps Network Group, one of the country’s leading specialist driver recruitment businesses.

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