Black Country news and blogs Tuesday 7 July 2015
Dudley business news
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Business
Profit up but ‘significant change needed’ at Dudley Building Society 
Birmingham Post 24 Jun 14
Chief executive warns more work to be done for society to remain competitive…
Business
NEW: Full year profits treble at Dudley Building Society as lending grows 14%
TheBusinessDesk 24 Jun 14
THE Dudley Building Society has revealed full-year pre-tax profits of £556,000 a threefold increase on its 2012/13 performance with lending rising 14% to £31m.
Business
Carney hints at gradual rates rise
Dudley News 24 Jun 14
BANK of England Governor Mark Carney appeared to play down the prospect of imminent interest rate rises today.
Business
‘Now you’re talking’ – good language skills vital for firms looking to export says CBI
TheBusinessDesk 24 Jun 14
MAJOR European languages remain in high demand from British businesses but there are signs of a shift towards languages used in the worlds fastest growing markets, such as Mandarin and Arabic…
Business
Kingswinford firm secures £25m finance package
Dudley News 24 Jun 14
PLUMBING fittings, valves and bathroom products manufacturer and distributor IBP Group has secured a £25 million finance package from HSBC and selected the bank as its new global banking partner.
Business
Tax system sapping firms’ hopes says CBI survey
Birmingham Post 24 Jun 14
Firms getting a raw deal from the UK tax system according to new research by Grant Thornton and CBI…
Business
MG unveils its hottest hatch yet as covers come off the Trophy Concept
Birmingham Post 23 Jun 14
The MG Trophy Concept is based on the MG3 built in Longbridge but bears little resemblance to the production car…
Business
Cuadrilla hails ‘year of progress’ and submits new fracking plans
TheBusinessDesk 23 Jun 14
ONE of the key players in the nascent but controversial fracking industry has lodged a fresh planning application to frack in Lancashire.
Business
Kidderminster woman earns award for driving sustainability
Dudley News 23 Jun 14
A KIDDERMINSTER woman has scooped an award for driving forward sustainability within the integrated support services company Carillion.
Business
Cadbury World invests £2m into new zone
TheBusinessDesk 20 Jun 14
BIRMINGHAM attraction Cadbury World has invested £2m into the creation of a new 4D zone.
Business
Medium-sized businesses need more help – CBI and Grant Thornton report
TheBusinessDesk 20 Jun 14
MORE help is needed to support medium-sized businesses (MSBs) grow, export and thrive, a report said today.
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Business
CSR Briefs: Lovell; Crowe Clark Whitehill; Thomas Horton; Bloomer Heaven; KPMG/Midlands Ability
TheBusinessDesk 20 Jun 14
Lovell team to take on gruelling sunrise to sunset charity challengeFOUR staffers from the Midlands office of construction firm Lovell are taking on a gruelling challenge for charity.
Business
Shrewsbury to London direct trains set to be running by the end of the year says operator
TheBusinessDesk 19 Jun 14
DIRECT rail services between Shrewsbury and London could be running by the end of the year, transport group Stagecoach has pledged.
Business
Jaguar Land Rover to build new Discovery Sport at Halewood
Birmingham Post 19 Jun 14
The new model, due to go on sale in 2015, will be the replacement for the Freelander 2, which is currently built in Halewood…
Business
Virgin wins rail deal extension
Dudley News 19 Jun 14
VIRGIN Trains today promised to increase capacity on the West Coast mainline after it secured a deal to continue running the franchise until March 2017.
Business
Discovery Sport production leads to 250 new jobs at JLR
TheBusinessDesk 19 Jun 14
JAGUAR Land Rover has created a further 250 jobs and invested £200m at its Halewood plant in Merseyside as it prepares to make the new Land Rover Discovery Sport there.
Business
London Midland owner on target for growth
TheBusinessDesk 19 Jun 14
LONDON Midland parent The Go-Ahead Group has reported good performance in its bus and rail businesses.
Business
Carillion signs contracts worth £384m
TheBusinessDesk 19 Jun 14
CONSTRUCTION and support service giant Carillion has been selected as a partner by the Highways Agency for an £184m smart motorway contract and has also signed a £200m contract with Nottingham Univers…
Business
Black Country Chamber’s ‘world cup’ won by ‘Brazil’
Dudley News 19 Jun 14
THE second annual 5-a-side Black Country Chamber football competition took place on the Halesowen pitches of Chamber member Lucozade Powerleague.
Business
Expanded KPMG team set for further growth
Birmingham Post 19 Jun 14
The now 12-strong team, led by Drew Bailey, is at the heart of helping businesses in the region with the recent focus on international taxation and transfer pricing…
Business
Rate rise more likely – MPC minutes
Dudley News 18 Jun 14
BANK of England rate setters have warned that a rise in interest rates this year is more likely than had been widely thought.
Business
Airport chief hails UK-Chinese trade talks as key to growth
TheBusinessDesk 17 Jun 14
BIRMINGHAM Airports chief executive has welcomed talks between the UK government and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on trade and visa requirements.
Business
Carillion awarded £70m Saudi hospital contract
TheBusinessDesk 17 Jun 14
WOLVERHAMPTON construction and support services giant Carillion has won the contract for Phase II of the Aldara Hospital and Medical Centre in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Carillion Saudi Arabia signed the c…
Business
Top contract win for Orb
Birmingham Post 17 Jun 14
Stourbridge-based Top Banana appoints branding agency as part of five-year growth plan…
Business
Sweet smell of success for JLR supplier JH Lavender
TheBusinessDesk 16 Jun 14
A WEST Bromwich-based precision engineering firm has invested £1.2m in new equipment after securing a financial package to enable it to fulfil orders from Jaguar Land Rover.
Business
Birmingham Airport announces record May as passenger numbers grow 5.3%
TheBusinessDesk 16 Jun 14
PASSENGER numbers increased 5.3% at Birmingham Airport last month compared with the same period last year as the hub recorded its busiest ever May.
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Business
Queen’s Birthday Honours for local business figures
TheBusinessDesk 16 Jun 14
BUSINESS figures from the West Midlands are amongst those to have been recognised in the Queens Birthday Honours.
Business
M&B buys the bulk of southern rival’s estate for £266m
TheBusinessDesk 16 Jun 14
PUBCO Mitchells and Butlers has acquired the majority of the activities of the Orchid Group including 173 pubs and its head office for £266m.
Business
Halesowen firm secures £300k funding to import new product
Dudley News 16 Jun 14
A HALESOWEN-based business has secured a £300,000 funding package from HSBC’s Birmingham Commercial Centre to support the import of a new product line.
Business
Jaguar Land Rover’s trio of honours in Tow Car Awards
Birmingham Post 16 Jun 14
Land Rover’s Discovery remains the pre-eminent car in its class and becomes the most successful car in the history of the awards with its seventh class win in eight years…
Business
Dudley law firm solicitor warns on DIY wills
Dudley News 15 Jun 14
TAKING on the legal affairs of someone who has died can be a dangerous step littered with pitfalls, a solicitor with a Dudley-based law firm has warned.
Business
‘Rio’ ride by Brierley Hill law firm staff boosts Prince’s Trust
Dudley News 14 Jun 14
A TEAM at law firm Higgs & Sons took to their bikes to raise money for the Prince’s Trust by covering the equivalent distance of Brierley Hill to Rio – Rio Ferdinand that is.
Business
City hunts for consultant to devise greenbelt masterplan
Birmingham Post 13 Jun 14
Controversial plans for 6,000 homes on Sutton’s green belt march on…
Business
Airline adds two new routes from Birmingham to ski slopes
Dudley News 13 Jun 14
SCHEDULED airline to leisure destinations Monarch has announced two new routes from Birmingham Airport – to Salzburg and Turin – as part of its winter ski programme for 2014/15.
Business
CSR Briefs: Higgs & Sons; Trust Group UK; The Wigley Group; PPDG
TheBusinessDesk 13 Jun 14
Higgs races to Rio for charityTHE thought of cycling from Brierley Hill to Rio may be daunting for some, but not for the team at law firm Higgs & Sons which took to their bikes to raise money for the…
Business
Fresh investment from JLR as its pledges Special Operations division for the West Midlands
TheBusinessDesk 13 Jun 14
VEHICLE manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover is to set up a Special Operations division based in the West Midlands to focus on meeting the increasingly high expectations of its customers.
Business
Leading branding expert Steve Edge to work with Jewellery Quarter-based CWA
Birmingham Post 13 Jun 14
CWA director Steve Wedge said the company was working with blue-chip clients and wanted a new, cleaner identity to reflect its growing customer base…
Business
Jaguar Land Rover to create 150 jobs with new ‘halo’ vehicle division
Birmingham Post 12 Jun 14
Special Operations division will be based in a new technical centre located close to the firm’s Coventry HQ and will employ a team of 150 specialists…
Business
Network Rail profits top £1bn
Dudley News 12 Jun 14
NETWORK Rail’s (NR) annual profits have soared to more than £1 billion despite falling further behind punctuality targets.
Business
£745m deal for Carillion group
Express & Star 12 Jun 14
£745m deal for Carillion group…
Business
JLR sales soar by 20pc in one month
Express & Star 12 Jun 14
Jaguar Land Rover today announced sales had soared by another 20 per cent in the past month.
Business
Jaguar Land Rover set for Chinese engine plant?
TheBusinessDesk 12 Jun 14
VEHICLE manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover could be set to expand its facilities in China even before its existing plant gets into full production.
Business
£30m revamp of Mander Centre moves closer
TheBusinessDesk 12 Jun 14
PLANS to redevelop Wolverhamptons Mander Centre, which include the creation of a new Debenhams store, have taken a step forward, according to reports.
Business
Carillion to lead first phase of Paradise Circus
Birmingham Post 12 Jun 14
Support services giant will start enabling works this autumn on £500 million regeneration project…
Business
Bhattacharyya warns UK against catching a dose of ‘The British Disease’
TheBusinessDesk 11 Jun 14
MANUFACTURING advocate Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya, chairman of WMG, has warned that the UK could be on the cusp of another boom-bust era fuelled by escalating property process in London.
Business
JLR to be prosecuted following worker death
TheBusinessDesk 11 Jun 14
CAR manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover is to be prosecuted following the death of a worker at one of its plants.
Business
Paradise for Carillion as it wins huge Birmingham city centre regeneration contract
TheBusinessDesk 11 Jun 14
WOLVERHAMPTON construction and support services giant Carillion has won the contract for the enabling and first phase infrastructure work on the £500m Paradise Circus project in central Birmingham.
Business
Birmingham Airport to sponsor the Masters Awards
TheBusinessDesk 11 Jun 14
BIRMINGHAM Airport has joined TheBusinessDesk.
Business
Flybe returns to profit
Birmingham Post 11 Jun 14
Airline whose largest base is at Birmingham Airport back in black after turnaround programme…
Business
Regus to open new office lounge at Birmingham Airport
Birmingham Post 11 Jun 14
Company chooses Birmingham for third airport-based ‘Regus Express’ workspace…