ENTRIES OPEN FOR SUSSEX FOOD & DRINK AWARDS 2020

ENTRIES OPEN FOR SUSSEX FOOD & DRINK AWARDS 2020

Entries officially opened for the Sussex Food and Drink Awards 2020 on Tuesday 24 September, with over 100 Sussex food and drink business leaders gathering at a launch event held at The Cider Tap in Bolney, West Sussex.

BBC Sussex radio presenter Danny Pike hosted the event, introducing all the categories now open for food and drink businesses across the county to enter at www.sussexfoodawards.biz

Set in the beautiful orchards of Old Mill Apple Farm, The Cider Tap hosted dozens of restaurateurs, butchers, farmers’ market organisers, food producers, shop keepers, brewers and vintners from the far reaches of East Sussex, West Sussex and Brighton & Hove.

The Sussex Food & Drink Awards started 14 years ago and annually receives over 300 business entries and last year attracted over 18,000 public votes, demonstrating the strength of local support for eating and buying local. The scheme is run by Natural Partnerships Community Interest Company (CIC), co-directed by Hilary Knight of the Sussex Food & Drink Network, a specialist consultant for local food businesses; and Paula Seager, Managing Director of Natural PR Ltd, a leading Sussex PR and community relations firm.

Said Hilary Knight, “We believe that buying local food and drink is the environmentally responsible choice for everyone, reducing food miles, waste and packaging, as well as helping to sustain the local economy. Through these unique awards and other projects including www.southdownsfood.org, it is our aim to help residents and visitors to the region find out about our fantastic artisan produce, as well as where to buy and enjoy it in Sussex.”

Crucial to the awards’ continued success is the sponsors, without whom the awards could simply not exist. Loyal supporters include Blakes Foods, Harvey’s Brewery, Horsham District Foodies, RP Meats Wholesale Ltd, Southern Co-op, SRC-Time, Natural PR and Sussex Food & Drink Network. New on board for 2020 is Lloyds Bank Cardnet who will be sponsoring the Sussex Eating Experience of the Year category. Working alongside Natural Partnerships CIC, the panel of expert judges is chaired by prominent Sussex farmer and Nuffield Scholar, William Goodwin.

Said Paula Seager, “We are absolutely thrilled to announce our sponsors for the Sussex Food and Drink Awards 2020 and we are looking forward to another bumper crop of entries, public votes and support.

“It’s a privilege to run these prestigious awards and as we enter our 14th year, it’s just incredible to see the Sussex food and drink revolution thrive and our county now proudly boasts some of the most-loved British brands in the UK. Our continued aim is to throw the spotlight on the very best in Sussex and encourage more and more people to discover and explore local markets, food shops and places to eat where they can sample excellent local produce.”

Entries are open until the 24 October for Sussex Food Producer of the Year, sponsored by Southern Co-op, Sussex Farmers’ Market of the Year sponsored by Harvey’s Brewery, Sussex Butcher of the Year sponsored by RP Meats Wholesale Ltd, Sussex Eating Experience of the Year sponsored by Lloyds Bank Cardnet, Sussex Food Shop of the Year sponsored by Sussex Food & Drink Network and Sussex Drink Producer of the Year sponsored by Natural PR. The top ten in each of these categories will then be announced and opened for public voting in November.

Entries for Sussex Newcomer of the Year, sponsored by SRC-Time; Sussex Young Chef of the Year, sponsored by Blakes Foods and Young Sussex Farmer of the Year, sponsored by Natural Partnerships CIC in association with Farmers Weekly close slightly later on 3 January 2020.

The popular finals day for Sussex Street Food of the Year will be held in Horsham Carfax on Sunday 27 October from 10am until 4pm. Sponsors of this category, Horsham District Foodies supported by Food Rocks, will be organising the competition and exciting market day with live music, where the public can vote for their favourite to win.

As well as earning the huge respect and recognition that these awards now carry, the three Grand Finalists in each category will be invited to attend a BAFTA-style ceremony on 29 April 2020 at the Amex Stadium, where the winners will be revealed and guests will enjoy a seven-course Sussex produce banquet, hosted by awards patron Sally Gunnell OBE and Danny Pike from BBC Sussex.

Entries are open now at www.sussexfoodawards.biz

Tap on, Tap Off with Brighton & Hove Bus Company

Tap on, Tap Off with Brighton & Hove Bus Company

Contactless payments have just got even easier for Brighton & Hove Buses’ passengers with the introduction of Tap On, Tap Off starting from today (Wednesday, 25 September).

Contactless payments began in Autumn last year but now they’re even more convenient.

Adult passengers just need to tap their bank cards or phones on the ticket machine reader when boarding and tap off on the exit reader when they get off. There’s no need to buy a paper ticket from the driver or to tell the driver where you’re going.

Commercial Director Nick Hill said: “We’re always looking for ways to make it easier for people to catch the bus and Tap On, Tap Off is a natural part of that. It should also speed up boarding and keep buses moving.”

There’s no need to register or sign up and it’s the same price as buying a paper ticket on the bus. The cost of the journey is automatically calculated and charged to passengers’ bank accounts by the end of the day. People can track their journeys and fares history using our Contactless Customer Portal.

Another great feature is that the ticket price is automatically capped at the cost of a bus day ticket, no matter how many Brighton & Hove Buses’ services passengers catch.

It means passengers won’t pay more than the cost of either a citySAVER or networkSAVER ticket, depending on the area travelled in. Passengers will need to use the same card or device to pay on each bus they travel on, though.

You can use Tap On, Tap Off across our Metrobus services in Sussex, Kent and Surrey too. If you travel on Brighton & Hove Buses and Metrobus services on the same day, the cost will be capped at the best value day ticket: the Metrovoyager.

Nick said: “This means you get the best value fare without having to ask for it, or even know about it. That’s especially good news for visitors and occasional bus users.”

How it works

• Board the bus and place bank card or device on the ticket machine reader at the front of the bus, wait for the beep and the screen will say ‘accepted’.

• When leaving the bus, tap off at the exit reader. These are on the left by the double doors on those buses that have them, or on the left at the front of buses without double doors.

• That’s it!

For more detailed instructions and other information, please visit Brighton & Hove Buses: https://www.buses.co.uk/contactless or Metrobus: https://contactless.metrobus.co.uk/

Government add more dates to their Brexit Readiness Events - Brighton 1st Oct

For more information click here.

Free Business Brexit Bootcamps Announced by Sussex Chamber of Commerce

Businesses are encouraged to consider their contingency planning and carry out a business risk assessment to consider the impact on their business if they were to lose any customers, suppliers, or the impact on EU employees, trade, data regulation, VAT, etc.

Summary:

• 7th Oct – Venue: Field Place, Worthing. 2.30pm to 5.00pm

• 14th Oct – Venue: East Sussex National, Uckfield. 3pm to 5.30pm

• 18th Oct – Venue: The Sussex Exchange Hastings. 1.30pm to 5.00pm

• 21st Oct – Venue: Freedom Works Manor Royal. 2pm to 5pm

• 29th Oct – Venue: The Mercure, Brighton. 2.00pm to 5.00pm

There will be experts on hand as well as the Brexit Checklist to help provide some guidance .

Further information can be found at: www.sussexchamberofcommerce.co.uk

Government announce e-bike grants to get your business moving

Helping local businesses with sustainable transport solutions

Does your business deliver goods across the city? Are you under pressure to make deliveries on time? Do you want your company to be seen as reliable? Now might be a good time to consider using an electric cargo bike for deliveries. E-cargo bikes can be used to deliver a wide range of goods, such as flowers and food or packages.

To help you purchase the right type of e-cargo bike, the Department for Transport has a grant that can contribute towards 20% of new e-cargo bike up a maximum of £1,000 per bike.

This fund aims to support the adoption of e-cargo bikes which offers an active and sustainable solution for urban deliveries, door to door.

For more information visit: https://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/transport/freight-and-retrofit/ecargo-bike-grant-fund

For support, email: transport.projects@brighton-hove.gov.uk

To apply now, visit: https://dftecargobikeapplication.est.org.uk/

Discover the wonders of the future at Brighton festival

Discover the wonders of the future at Brighton festival

A free festival that will peer into the weird and wonderful technologies of the future that will change our lives has been welcomed by Greater Brighton chiefs.

Brighton WonderFest will set out to show us how we will live in the future, how our health will be treated, where we will live, how we might travel, what our homes will look like and what jobs we might have.

A range of pioneers from the world of science, technology, engineering and the arts are expected to exhibit at the event to be held at Brighton Racecourse on October 26.

WonderFest grew out of the week-long British Science Festival hosted by the Universities of Brighton and Sussex in 2017. From there a charity called Curiosity Sussex was established with the aim of inspiring audiences through exciting science, technology and engineering events.

Organiser Dr Katy Petherick, from the University of Sussex, said: “We want to break down the barrier that sometimes exists between people and science by making it accessible, relevant and exciting.

“We hope Brighton Wonderfest gives people a fascinating day out and, who knows, maybe inspires some to want to contribute to creating our future.”

Chairman of Greater Brighton, Cllr Daniel Humphreys, said: “I’m delighted Curiosity Sussex have been able to reinvent the festival and keep interest going. Businesses and enterprises with science, engineering and technology at their heart are vital to the Greater Brighton region. We clearly need more young people interested in these subjects so anything that can inspire them is very welcome.”

Brighton WonderFest takes place at Brighton Racecourse on Saturday October 26 and is completely free to attend. The event opens at 10am for a quieter hour before opening to all at 11am. There are limited exhibitor spaces left and Curiosity Sussex are currently looking for volunteers to help on the day.

For further details go to https://www.brightonwonderfest.com/.

Future Proof Your Business with Love Local Jobs

Following LLJs successful breakfast club, they are launching their third in the series. Jointhem and learn how to future-proof your company.

About this Event:

Breakfast Club Three - Future-proof Your Business

Join Love Local Jobs on the 3rd October 8:30am at Hotel du Vin for the quarterly LoveLocalJobs.com breakfast club in partnership with The Skills Farm and Search Consultancy .

*** Please note: This event is designed only for those who lead or manage teams. ***

With change around every corner, it’s essential that leaders block time-out to think and act strategically. This is what you can expect from Breakfast Club Three:

We’ll start with a structure for Stating Your Expectations, perfect for offloading tasks, whilst motivating and ensuring that others take ownership of the work you are delegating.

Next, we’ll share with you our invaluable Succession Planning model. Use it to delegate longer term projects and ensure you have a fully capable and respected successor ‘waiting in the wings’ for when you need to move up and on.

Finally, you’ll learn what it takes to be a Strategic Leader - we’ll explore Strategic Thinking, Strategic Planning and Strategic Influence - to ensure that you can see around corners and get your team, department or company ready for what’s coming.

We look forward to seeing you all there and if you have any questions, please contact Elena at elena@lovelocaljobs.com.

LoveLocalJobs.com has an award winning family of regional job boards in Sussex and Surrey. It works proactively to link businesses, universities, colleges and schools, public sector, charities and community groups and other organisations to create and promote local employment opportunities in the South East, whilst also providing much needed careers, information, advice and guidance to local businesses and job-seekers alike.

The Skills Farm deliver outstanding training all over the world to companies including Apple, IBM and Deloitte. They understand that that thought-provoking learning and networking experiences hugely influence individuals which is why we want to share this experience with as many mid to senior level managers and leaders as possible.

Search Consultancy has become one of the UK's leading recruitment consultancies who place people at all levels across a wide range of commercial and industry sectors. They handle the recruitment process for some of the UK's top businesses and are the sole requirement suppliers for many major organisations.

Click here to book.

Plus X Brighton launches sustainable Disruptors competition

Product designers win chance to bring their sustainable idea to market

To be a disruptor is to create a product, service, or way of doing things which displaces the existing market leaders and eventually replaces them at the helm of the sector. Disruptors are generally entrepreneurs, outsiders, and idealists rather than industry insiders or market specialists.

Ahead of its official launch in January 2020, Plus X Brighton has launched a Disruptors competition seeking local entrepreneurial talent in the field of sustainable product design and the circular economy.

Mat Hunter, co-CEO at Plus X, said, “Plus X Brighton champions innovation and invention which is why we are launching our first ever Disruptors competition. Whether you think of yourself as an entrepreneur and innovator, or just an optimist and challenger, an artist, maker or simply a person with a good idea who wants to make a positive change, we are seeking Brighton’s most inventive minds!"

“With unthinkable volumes of waste from the products we use, we are looking for ideas that encourage us to behave in a more considered, circular and eco-friendly way. Have you got what it takes to disrupt the market with an innovative and revolutionary invention? If so, we want to hear from you.”

The winner will receive six months free desk space, access to workshops with specialist equipment and a placement on the Plus X mentorship programme at their state of the art new innovation hub located at Preston Barracks, Lewes Road to help develop their idea and bring it to market.

Four shortlisted candidates will be invited to present their sustainable idea to a ‘Dragon’s Den’ style panel of specialists from the fields of product design, eco brands, tech and finance on 12th November.

The esteemed panel of judges includes Mat Hunter, co-CEO of Plus X, whose career started in Silicon Valley with IDEO, then Chief Design Officer at the Design Council followed by being MD at the Central Research Laboratory in London; Holly Price, University Relationships Manager from Santander; and Marija Butkovic, founder and CEO of Women of Wearables and former co-founder of Kisha Smart Umbrella.

Jonathan Sharrock, Chief Executive of Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership, which contributed £7.7 million from their Local Growth Fund to help create Plus X Brighton, said:

“We are excited to be supporting this transformational project which will create a thriving space for local businesses, bringing tangible benefits to the local community and the city as a whole.”

Local business leaders are also invited to register to participate in the audience at the competition evening on November 12, which will be held at Unbarred Brewery & Tap Room with beer and pizza included!

Olga Hopton, MD of Plus X Brighton said, “As well as showcasing Brighton’s most innovative and inventive talent, this will be a fantastic networking opportunity for local business and partners, so we welcome as many audience guests as possible to attend”.

To enter the competition or to register to attend the Disruptors event, visit hub.plusx.space/disruptors

The closing date for competitor entries is 3rd November 2019.

PORT CELEBRATES LONDON INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING WEEK

PORT CELEBRATES LONDON INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING WEEK

This week, members of the Shoreham Port team attended London International Shipping Week (LISW). The event is one of the largest maritime events in the world that boasts a packed programme of 200 meetings, seminars and functions across the capital, peppered with major announcements by industry and government professionals on the future of the UK’s £40bn maritime sector. Around 20,000 individuals from every sector of the global maritime industry gathered in London to take part in a variety of events throughout the week.

The British Ports Association (BPA) and UK Major Ports Group released a report alongside LISW this week which demonstrated the hugely significant economic impact ports have on the UK economy and jobs. The report showed that 95% of the UK’s imports and exports are carried through British ports, handling around 500 million tonnes of freight each year, adding £9.7 billion of direct value to the UK economy.

The report also revealed that UK ports directly employ around 115,000 people across the country, with the South East region representing the biggest share in employment by the ports industry with 26,900 jobs. In the wider supply chain, the industry supports 431,000 jobs and 277,000 through wider spending!

Martin Lawlor, BPA Chairman commented “Ports are the foundation of the entire marine economy – whether it is leisure, fishing, offshore energy, marine aggregates or anything else that uses the seas around this island – it matters that the industry continues to deliver.”

Martin continued “Ports are delivering jobs, investment and prosperity – but that is no accident. If we are to continue to deliver, we cannot stand still, the world is constantly changing, and we must constantly change with it and ensure we have a business environment that continues to support success and a world class ports industry.”

Rodney Lunn, Shoreham Port’s Chief Executive continued to fly the Shoreham Port flag during LISW, attending a number of key events held by international shipping and marine trade associations and UK Government; including the BPA, of which he is a Council Member. Julian Seaman, Harbour Master also represented the Port at various events including the British Ports Association Regional Ports networking meeting during the week.

Nicky Goldsbrough, Director of Corporate Services at Shoreham Port, was invited to present at the Women in Shipping Summit; a two day summit focusing on gender equality and diversity within the maritime sector. Nicky’s presentation exhibited a case study of Shoreham Port’s commitment to gender diversity, both within the Port and within the wider maritime industry.

Nusrat Ghani, UK Maritime Minister commented “Our maritime industry is thriving, and fundamental to our success as a trading nation, contributing £14.5 billion to the UK. As the largest trade event this year, LISW is a unique opportunity for us to promote our ambition for a Global Britain, and for the sector to secure fantastic trade for the UK.”

LISW is held every two years and runs for one week in September. Watch Nusrat Ghani’s interview about this year’s event here, or find out more at www.londoninternationalshippingweek.com.

ROYAL PAVILION ICE RINK TO HOLD 10TH ANNIVERSARY SKATE-A-THON

ROYAL PAVILION ICE RINK TO HOLD 10TH ANNIVERSARY SKATE-A-THON

As tickets go on sale for this year’s winter season at the Royal Pavilion Ice Rink, organisers have announced they will hold a 10th Birthday Skate-a-thon to raise funds for Sussex Wildlife Trust and are calling for local businesses to register their teams now.

The Skate-a-thon will be held on Friday November 1, so participants can be first on the ice, before the rink opens from November 2 2019 to January 19 2020.

All abilities, from beginners to advanced, are welcome and individuals or relay teams of up to ten skaters can sign up for either the 5,000-metre half skate-a-thon, equivalent to 50 circuits of the rink, or the15,000-metre full skate-a-thon, equivalent to 150 circuits. Teams can stay for as long as they like on the day, which runs from 10am to 5.15pm on November 1 2019.

Funds raised will support Sussex Wildlife Trust’s ‘Sussex Flow’ project, to help plant thousands of trees in and around Sussex near floodplains, slowing the flow of water and reducing the chance of flooding in communities downstream. In doing so they are creating new habitats in Sussex, helping wildlife like dragonflies and bats and building resilience to climate change.

Shella Parkin, CEO of Laine Ltd, which creates and operates the ice rink, said, “We already use clean energy to power the rink, but this year we are increasing our efforts to protect the environment, by supporting Sussex Wildlife Trust and delivering the highest possible performance in terms of energy efficiency and minimising carbon emissions.”

Skate-a-thon participants must be aged 8 or above, and are required to commit to raising a minimum of £100 and to pay a £10 registration fee, all of which will go to Sussex Wildlife Trust. Special prizes will be on offer for the individual who achieves most circuits, the team achieving most circuits and best costumes on the day.

Find out more and register at: www.seetickets.com/go/rpir

Get Ready For Brexit

Get Ready For Brexit

The United Kingdom will leave the European Union on the 31 October 2019 and your business will need to take action to get ready.

Join us at a free Brexit Business Readiness Event in your area to meet government advisers and to find out what actions your business needs to take to prepare.

The events will combine a keynote address, interactive support, advice stands and in-depth sessions led by subject matter experts. They will provide you with specific business-focused advice and help.

Join us at a location near you to get free help and advice to get your business ready for Brexit.

Brexit Business Readiness Events will take place across the UK:

In most locations we will run sessions in both the morning and afternoon:

Morning - 09:00 - 11.30

Afternoon - 13:00 - 15.30

Confirmed locations:

England:

• Hull - 3 October

• Leeds - 4 October

​• Leicester - 24 September

• London - 20 September

• Northampton - 16 September

• Nottingham - 17 September

• Sheffield - 23 September

​• Swindon - 19 September

Northern Ireland

• Derry/Londonderry - 7 October

• Belfast - 8 October

Scotland

• Glasgow - 25 September

Wales

• Cardiff - 14 October

More locations to be announced soon.

Register now

CLOCK RETURNS TO HANNINGTONS ESTATE 154 YEARS AFTER IT WAS ORIGINALLY INSTALLED

CLOCK RETURNS TO HANNINGTONS ESTATE 154 YEARS AFTER IT WAS ORIGINALLY INSTALLED

154 years after its initial installation, an Edward Funnell three train turret clock has been fully restored and reinstated at Hanningtons Estate in Brighton.

The clock was commissioned and installed in 1865 when The Whigs were in power, Queen Victoria was on the throne, America was in the midst of a Civil War and quite fittingly Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, which was inspired by the writer’s visits to Brighton, was first published.

The clock mechanism had been sold off at auction, when the much loved Hanningtons department store closed its doors for the last time in 2001. It was restored by William F. Bruce of Lewes, but lay undiscovered for many years, until Redevco came across it in 2017.

Andrew Foulds, Portfolio Director at Redevco, owner of the redeveloped Hanningtons Estate comments, “A colleague of mine just stumbled upon the shop and clock one day, shortly after we acquired the former department store. It was an exciting find and ever since we have been determined to mark its place in history, by finding a new home for it within the recently completed Hanningtons Lane.

“It now has pride of place in the window of one of our new shop fronts with an information plaque, explaining its significance to clock enthusiasts and the general public alike. Thanks must go to Bill Bruce for having the foresight to rescue the clock and painstakingly restore it.”

The well-known clockmaker Edward Funnell supplied the three train turret clock mechanism, with its ‘dead-beat’ escapement for accurate time keeping. Additionally it was fitted with both hour and quarter-hour bell chimes, with all three trains powered by three 90-160 lb weight stacks dropping three storeys into a void below. These trains required weekly manual rewinding.

These days the rewinding of the weight is performed by an auto-wind motor, engineered by turret clock specialists Gillett & Johnston of Edenbridge.

Andrew Foulds adds, “We are sure the public will welcome the clock’s return with the same enthusiasm they have greeted the new Lane. We have been overwhelmed by positive feedback to the design of the new stores and those brands that have made themselves at home here including Hotel Chocolat, Watches of Switzerland, The Flint House, Brass Monkey, Habitat, Oliver Bonas and Humpit Hummus. There are some exciting pop ups and further new stores planned and work started on another large scale art project this week.”

KLM Retail and GCW advise Redevco. Morgan Carn is the architectural advisor on the project and has overseen the clock’s reinstatement.

“The future of town centres is bright” - Greater Brighton chairman speaks at national conference

“The future of town centres is bright” - Greater Brighton chairman speaks at national conference

New work spaces, world-class digital infrastructure and more homes are key to reviving our town and city centres, according to Greater Brighton Chairman Daniel Humphreys.

“We may be paying the price of a past overemphasis on retail, but if we collaborate, take the lessons from the past and learn from each other, the future is bright,” he said, speaking on Thursday at a London conference on the future of city centres.

Organised by the Centre for Cities, the conference - entitled What future for the British high street? - explored what urban centres need to do to survive.

Cllr Humphreys, who is also Leader of Worthing Borough Council, added that cultural and social amenities should be seen as assets rather than a problem to be managed, and that it was important for local authorities to promote and become involved in private regeneration initiatives where needed and appropriate.

The conference agreed good jobs and a strong economy were key to restoring the high street. For Cllr Humphreys this should involve supporting further and higher education to produce a more qualified workforce to attract businesses.

He said that Greater Brighton had strong skills-based and academic education provision both at its colleges, including Greater Brighton Metropolitan College, and two universities.

The Centre for Cities is an independent think tank dedicated to helping UK cities improve. In its recent report What’s in Store? How and why cities differ for consumers, it challenges the idea that high streets can be revived solely through direct interventions such as business rates cuts, online sales taxes or cultural initiatives.

It argues that taken in isolation, these fail to address the core reasons some town and city centre economies are struggling: a lack of diversity in both amenities for consumers and places of production for businesses.

Cllr Humphreys said: “Town centres are crucial to the future fortunes of Greater Brighton which is why we must work together to ensure they remain vibrant hubs for our communities and attractive to visitors.

“In Worthing we have already started on plans costing millions of pounds to protect the centre, changing the mix with more housing and more leisure attractions on our seafront together with plans for a re-landscaping project on many of our main thoroughfares.

“Similar plans are underway across the City Region - from Crawley to Burgess Hill, Lewes to the centre of Brighton. I look forward to these developing over time.”

Announcing Brighton Summit’s opening keynote

Announcing Brighton Summit’s opening keynote

Brighton Summit’s opening keynote is Hannah Dawson, founder of Brighton based global business Futrli

Hannah owned and ran a successful pub in Devon before turning her hand to create a tech company that offers tools to help businesses take control of their finances, and ultimately, succeed. Futrli has taken the accounting world by storm. With 40,000 clients and now in over 130 countries we are keen to hear how she’s done it in just five years.

Two more speaker sessions have also been added:

Keeping afloat in challenging times

Chan, Dashal and Ezda Beevers are siblings and the co-founders of BeFries a business that originated in the family’s childhoods eating Belgian fries in Amsterdam. The three will talk about the development of their business and the introduction of new revenue streams – BeSaucy launched this summer to keep afloat in these challenging times.

The Rise of the Planet Z: How young people are changing things forever

You’ll find Lizzie Hodgson and Brandon Relph – the hosts of the popular podcast The ZX Spectrum, in conversation with two trailblazers aged under 25 will explore how the workplace will change with the emergence of a blended workforce of four generations, all with vastly different experiences and expectations.

With just one month to go – now is the absolutely the time to get your ticket (while still on general release),and join 100s of other for a this exciting day of networking, learning and inspiration.

“The Brighton Summit provides a unique combination of high-octane brainfood and low-intensity networking. It’s the best day you can spend out of the office all year, a great investment of time that always leaves me fizzing with new ideas and new collaborators to explore them with. To be strongly recommended.”

Sam Knowles, Insight Agents

You can book your ticket here https://brightonsummit.com

Brighton web technology company Cohesion has been acquired by US digital giant Acquia

Acquia Acquires Cohesion to Accelerate the Creation of Digital Experiences

Only Acquia Customers Now Have Unprecedented Creativity and Speed for Building Digital Drupal Experiences

Digital experience company Acquia has acquired the UK-based Cohesion, creator of DX8, the first enterprise-grade, low-code Drupal website builder. With this acquisition, content marketers and site builders with minimal coding skills can create Drupal websites up to 4X faster, according to user testing.

Drupal is the most powerful and flexible platform today for building digital experiences and managing website content. With Cohesion DX8, Acquia continues to invest in technology for creating on-brand Drupal websites. Cohesion DX8 offers the in-browser creation of themes, layouts, and pages to empower designers and marketers to quickly build beautiful new sites.

“Businesses need to launch, manage, and update their websites quicker and more efficiently than ever before,'' said Dries Buytaert, Acquia co-founder, CTO, and chairman. “This acquisition allows Acquia to continue simplifying the way organizations of all sizes build, style, and design websites. Using Cohesion DX8 will be a complete game-changer for many; it will enable organizations to launch Drupal websites much faster, while still offering unprecedented creative freedom, brand consistency, and governance for digital marketers and content authors.”

By bringing Cohesion DX8 into the Acquia product portfolio, customers and partners, as well as digital marketing teams and agencies, can now create scalable websites from scratch on Drupal in a fraction of the time of traditional development. Cohesion DX8 can also uniquely help large multi-brand organizations with dozens or hundreds of Drupal websites, providing brand consistency across all websites while empowering regional creativity. With Cohesion DX8, Acquia is the only Drupal company that lets organizations quickly create and modify sites, layouts, and templates using an intuitive drag-and-drop interface.  

Markus Hugenbach, head of digital marketing platforms at Bayer, said, “Bayer has screened the market searching for an enterprise website builder capable of handling thousands of sites. Cohesion DX8 has the capability to create standardized websites at scale without the need for developer involvement, thereby transforming our website operating model. Since we are also an existing Acquia customer, Cohesion DX8 complements the Acquia product suite by adding a powerful low-code site builder. The combination of the Acquia and Cohesion DX8 solutions together accelerate Bayer forward.”

Acquia harnesses the power of new innovations to empower the world’s most ambitious brands to create customer moments that matter. Cohesion DX8 shares Acquia’s vision for digital experiences, resulting in best-in-class website editing capabilities and the ultimate productivity kit for Drupal. Through this acquisition, organizations will be able to get the most out of Drupal to build, edit, and optimize sites and respond to client requirements in a leaner way.

“Cohesion’s vision was to revolutionize the way Drupal websites are built through low-code, visual solutions,” said Drew Griffiths, Cohesion CEO and founder. “With the addition of Cohesion DX8’s technology, Acquia will make it possible for organizations and agencies with demanding requirements to launch websites faster, while maintaining consistency across multiple brands, regions, or divisions. This allows technical resources to focus on more complex functionality, so organizations can spend more developer time on high value areas of the website and less time pushing pixels.”

Acquia’s acquisition of Cohesion DX8 follows Acquia’s May 2019 acquisition of Mautic, the world’s only open marketing automation and campaign management platform, which allows Acquia customers to automate, personalize, and measure the entire customer lifecycle.

Cohesion DX8 is available today. For more information and for pricing, please contact Acquia. Additional resources include:

• Acquia Blog

• Video Demos

• Twitter

• LinkedIn

• Careers

High growth business event – the future of sales, marketing and influencers is here

High growth business event – the future of sales, marketing and influencers is here

The focus of Brighton Chamber’s next event for high growth businesses will be marketing

We’ve all seen them. Brilliant people launching brilliant products or services that the customers absolutely need/want. And then in a year or so - or sometimes months - they disappear. Why?

Mostly it’s lack of cash. This lack of cash may be from lack of investment, but often that lack of investment has been caused by the same thing.

Regardless of how much you invest in fancy people, business plans, offices, shiny brands, unless customers buy what you’re marketing to them you’re dead.

This is the problem. In a lot of organisations sales and marketing is seen as either a poor relation, a block box of opaqueness that magically produces clients or two siloed divisions that are overpaid or spend too much money.

Our panel has been pulled together as a team of experts successfully driving forward their businesses with superlative marketing and sales. They’ve taken the old models and shaken them up into something that’s often scarcely recognisable.

Join us to:

• understand what a sophisticated marketing and sales ecosystem looks and feels like

• see how content marketing creates relationships both in advance of - and for a long time after the initial sales transaction

• learn how the age of influencer marketing is very much upon us - if not already evolving into something else

• establish what metrics, measures and analytics are vital to judge the effectiveness of the sales and marketing function

• understand the importance of organizational mission and purpose in sales and marketing

• marvel at the array of channels that must be pushed to drive total sales and marketing effectiveness

And there’ll be time for discussion and questions, facilitated by Si Conroy from Scarlet Monday.

Our panellists include:

• Dr Dave Nicol, Founder of VetX

• Marlon Bouman, Head of Creative at All Conditions Media

• Myles Anderson, CEO and Co-founder of Bright Local

• Bethanie Mardon, Marketing Director at RocketMill

Join the discussion about what the future of sales and marketing looks like, and what this means for resourcing these roles. And consider with our panel whether Seth Godin’s assertion, ‘Marketing is the act of making change happen. Making is insufficient. You haven’t made an impact until you’ve changed someone’ is true.

Date: 19 September

Time: 5.30pm – 7.30pm

Venue: Barclays Eagle Labs, BN1 4QU

Tickets: https://high-growth-sales-marketing-and-influencers.eventbrite.co.uk

Gingerman Restaurant Group celebrates 21st anniversary with the opening of their fifth restaurant

Gingerman Restaurant Group celebrates 21st anniversary with the opening of their fifth restaurant

Despite the well documented challenges facing the hospitality industry the Gingerman Group, a Brighton based restaurant business, is thriving and celebrated its 21st birthday with the opening of a fifth outlet.

Ben McKellar, was born in Brighton in 1973 and studied at City College in Brighton before leaving at the age of 18 to gain experience at restaurants in France, the UK and New York. Once he had mastered his trade he decided to return home to Brighton to start his own business.

The Gingerman Group was started in 1998 by Ben with wife and business partner Pamela, when they took on their flagship restaurant close to Brighton seafront, the Gingerman.

Over the next 20 years the company has expanded to four Ginger-branded sites in total, one of which includes luxury guest accommodation, The Ginger Pig and Ginger Rooms in Hove, The Ginger Dog in Kemptown and The Ginger Fox a few miles outside of Brighton.

The company continues to evolve and in April the Gingerman Group opened a new dining concept in the heart of the Brighton Lanes, the Flint House, A modern restaurant and bar with a focus on fast turnaround food – tapas, street food style but still of great quality. The restaurant also has a cocktail bar and rooftop terrace.

Ben McKellar said: “After gaining experience as a chef in some of the most exclusive Michelin-starred restaurants in the world, I decided it was time to return home to Brighton and open my first restaurant, ‘The Gingerman’.

The business has done well and I believe the secret to this is that we have always tried to look long term by concentrating on the three most important elements of any business, quality, service and price.

Also, having the freehold for the majority of our premises gives us the freedom to adapt. It means that we can support smaller and more local brewers in the community, creating a wider choice which our customers appreciate.”

Ben and Pamela are committed to helping other business to thrive and have developed a growing consultancy business supporting other restauranteurs with their operations and strategy. They are already working with some big name brands including Compass Group and Zoe Ball’s online food website.

The company has diversified further with ‘Ginger at home’ where Executive Chef Ben Mckellar creates and cooks a bespoke 5 course tasting menu for customer gatherings in their own homes.

The Gingerman Restaurant Group has a long standing relationship with Barclays, with the bank providing the finance for much of the expansion of the company.

Tony Forster, Relationship Director, Corporate Banking at Barclays, said: “Part of the reason that Ben and Pamela have been able to continue their growth despite the headwinds facing the industry is that they have concentrated on their core offering – higher end food, while also diversifying into accommodation and private dining.”

It’s been a pleasure to support their ambitions and I look forward to working with them for many years to come.”

Brighton firm features in Britain’s top 100 tech list

Brighton firm features in Britain’s top 100 tech list

This weekend, The Sunday Times Hiscox Tech Track 100 has featured Brighton-based firm MPB in this year’s ranking of the most exciting and fastest-growing tech companies in Britain. MPB, which is an online platform for trading in and buying used camera gear, employs 120 people in Brighton and New York City.

Matt Barker, founder and CEO of MPB, says “I’m delighted MPB is flying the flag for Brighton in The Sunday Times Hiscox Tech Track 100. Brighton has always been a vibrant, innovative and exciting place to live and work, and that’s certainly reflected in this company. And the Brightonians who work here.”

“I’m incredibly proud of all my teams here at MPB, from dispatchers to devs, marketing to maintenance. MPB was included in the list before, in 2015, and it’s great how far we’ve grown since then. We’re all excited for the steps ahead.”

Barker started MPB in 2011 as a graduate, trading on eBay in his bedroom. The company now employs 97 people, working in central Brighton and Hollingbury. An additional 23 employees work in New York City, where MPB has an office and is opening an operational centre - funded by a recent £9m investment from Acton Capital Partners in Germany.

MPB is on track for revenue in excess of £40m this year. The online platform is used by 135,000 photographers and filmmakers across the UK, Europe and America. There are around 4,500 different cameras and lenses available to buy - all of which are second hand.

This year’s Tech Track 100 companies achieved average sales growth over three years of 105% a year to a combined total of £3.4bn. They employ 18,200 staff, having added 13,200 employees to their combined workforce over the period. The full league table is published as a 10-page supplement within the business section of The Sunday Times on 8 September, both in print and in the digital edition, and on www.fasttrack.co.uk.

You can access the MPB platform at www.mpb.com

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Government urged not to overlook Greater Brighton

Government urged not to overlook Greater Brighton

The new chairman of Greater Brighton is urging government ministers to visit the City Region and provide the resources to help this part of the UK unleash its economic potential.

With the Prime Minister promising to help all corners of Britain boost productivity, Councillor Daniel Humphreys has written to secretaries of states in five Whitehall departments pressing the case for investment in the south east.

Within his letters, the Greater Brighton chairman highlighted the great strides already made by the City Region, securing more than £160 million of funding which has unlocked £2 billion of private investment.

However, he warned that the region was often overlooked - meaning key obstacles to growing the economy, such as transport, housing and low productivity, remained in place.

With extra support, funding and levers, Cllr Humphreys claims the City Region will be able to deliver quickly on its one aim: to bring jobs and prosperity to the area which covers much of the Sussex coast, from Brighton north to Gatwick.

Cllr Humphreys, who is also Leader of Worthing Borough Council, writes: “The Prime Minister in his first speech in Downing Street outlined his desire to unleash productivity in every corner of the United Kingdom.

“I commend the Prime Minister for this ambition, however it should not be assumed all parts of the South East are realising their full potential.

“In Greater Brighton we have our challenges, such as low productivity, housing, affordability, a lack of commercial space, congested transport infrastructure and pockets of low skills.”

He adds: “The needs of our region are often overlooked. However, given access to the right levers and the support from the Government we can realise your ambitions to deliver the housing, inward investment, transport and digital infrastructure the region needs and strengthen our economy.

“We want to build on successful public and private investment into the City Region. With support we could achieve results better and faster, not just for the benefit of the City Region but the wider benefit of the south east economy and the UK as a whole.”

The letters were sent to the Department for International Trade; Department for Transport; Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy; Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport; and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

As well as making the case for new powers and investment, Cllr Humphreys also explained more of the work of the Greater Brighton board, which is currently made up of six local authorities of different political persuasions, businesses, two universities and a growing international airport.

Recently it agreed a new five year plan which outlines the ambition to become a City Region which is international, creative, connected, talented and resilient.

Cllr Humphreys said: “The City Region is an outstanding and inclusive environment in which to live, work, learn and visit; comprising of historic market towns, the UK’s second largest airport , two world-class universities, a Premier League football club and iconic cultural assets.

“We work collaboratively to maximise opportunities to ensure that Greater Brighton is able to fulfil its full economic potential and support the growth and prosperity of the wider south east economy.

“Partners have secured more than £160 million in Local Growth Funding which is unlocking £2 billion of private sector investment and will deliver 18,000 new homes, 750,000m2 of employment floor-space and create 24,000 jobs.”

He ended the letters with an invite for the Secretary of States to visit adding it would be a chance to “see first-hand the excellent work we are doing and how by working closely together we can overcome the challenges we need to address”.

Brighton brothers recreate journey as child evacuees 80 years on

Brighton brothers recreate journey as child evacuees 80 years on

Two Brighton brothers yesterday (September 3) relived the journey they took eight decades ago as child evacuees, on the 80th anniversary of the declaration of WWII.

Barry and Gerald Gooders were evacuated to Brighton from their home in Thornton Heath, London when they were just 7 and 5 years old, after war was declared.

Yesterday they retraced their steps, catching a modern Thameslink train to Brighton Station, then a classic Brighton & Hove Buses’ Routemaster bus to Downs Junior School, which houses the only school air raid shelter open to the public in Britain.

The room fell silent as Chamberlain’s declaration of war was replayed on the radio at precisely 11.15am.

Barry said the day had brought his memories flooding back.

“I have to say, when I was on the train I did feel a touch of emotion, a touch of nostalgia. I’m pleased to be able to recreate it.”

He said he clearly recalled the day he was evacuated.

“Once we left all the weeping mothers at the school gates we were excited. It was a day out with friends and teachers that we knew.

"It seemed like an adventure. None of the nasties had happened at that stage, the bombs and the guns, so we didn’t have any foreboding.”

After their train arrived at Brighton Station the children piled on to a Brighton Hove & District green double decker bus to be sent to their host families.

Barry said: “They called the children from the bus, introduced them to the person in the house and we were just left there.”

The evacuees’ arrival by bus certainly caused a stir in Brighton.

“The locals in Upper Bevendean were agog. They’d never seen a double decker up there before!” said Barry.

Brighton & Hove Buses’ Managing Director Martin Harris said: “It would have been such an emotional journey for those children – terrifying and exciting at the same time.

"I don’t think any of us who haven’t lived through war can really imagine the enormity of it. It’s another reminder of the sacrifices that were made for us all during that war.

“We were privileged to be there with Barry and the children to recreate the journey he took with his brother all those years ago.”

Downs Junior School interactive air raid shelter museum, Take Shelter, is open to individuals and school groups for tours. The school is currently trying to raise money to improve access to the shelter.

For details: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/help-us-make-our-ww2-air-raid-shelter-accessible