Leading glass packaging firm, Croxsons, together with long-term customer, Eden Mill Distillery, have produced primary packaging for the launch of Ramsay’s Gin, a premium London Dry Gin launched in collaboration with the internationally renowned chef, Gordon Ramsay. Inspired by the Scottish landscape and with a focus on sustainable produce, Ramsay teamed up with the award-winning distiller to craft a gin that was far from ordinary, derived from the very best ingredients and giving a real taste of Scotland. The bottle therefore needed to be a unique design that weaved in elements of the chef’s personality and passion, reflecting a modern twist and liking for pushing the boundaries that Ramsay’s Gin represents. It was also important that the bottle’s production was as sustainable as possible, and that it was produced in the UK. In producing the primary packaging, Croxsons opted for a bespoke, clear 70cl bottle, made from 18% less glass than the industry standard, thereby representing a lower carbon footprint. Using the ‘R’ from Ramsay’s signature, Croxsons embossed the bottle throughout. In addition, intricate lines were included to represent waves lapping on the St Andrews shoreline – the sea being a shared passion of both Ramsay and Eden Mill. On closer inspection, each line weaves into a small fishtail at the base of the bottle, a representation in glass of the chef’s love of fishing. A small label panel front and back completed the look, together with a Croxsons GPI (Glass Packaging Institute) stopper. Commenting on the project, Matthew Turner, marketing director at Eden Mill Distillery, said: “From the outset, Croxsons stood out to us as a great partner for this project due to the company’s sustainable ethos and trusted reputation.” “The process from start to finish was exceedingly smooth with Croxsons. They were on hand to help with design and any production queries, and we can’t thank them enough. Since launch, we have received comments on the distinct and modern nature of the Ramsay’s Gin bottle.” Croxsons’ CEO, Tim Croxson, added: “We are really pleased with the final product. The sustainable bottle looks incredible and the quality of the finishing adds a lot of extra value to the consumer. We look forward to being involved in future projects with Eden Mill as they continue to develop innovative and unique products.”

The culmination of the Family Business of the Year Awards 2023 saw Croxsons take home the London & South East Family Business of the Year award at a gala awards evening held at The Royal College of Physicians in Regent’s Park in London. Organised by Family Business United, these prestigious awards are now a firm fixture in the family business calendar and celebrate the very best of British family firms from all corners of the UK. Awards are given by region, sector and nationally in recognition of qualities such as entrepreneurship, innovation and sustainability, community engagement and ultimately one family business is crowned the Supreme Champion. As Paul Andrews, Founder and CEO of Family Business United explains, “As an organisation we champion and celebrate family-owned businesses across the UK, recognising the contribution they make in terms of employment, income generation and wealth creation as well as the impact they have on the communities in which they operate.” “Since 2012 these awards have grown to become something really special, recognising family firms from all sectors, young and multi-generational family firms alike, large and small but all sharing the same underlying values, pride and passion for what they do and a strong desire to do business the right way. Each of the winners is a great business with a strong narrative and is a great ambassador for the broader family business community too.” Croxsons, with over 150 years of expertise in the industry, is a shining example of a family-owned enterprise. Their journey has been marked by continuous growth, with each generation building upon the achievements of the last, driven by a relentless pursuit to understand their clients, innovate in their approach and constantly look towards the future. As Paul continues, “This was another difficult decision with some strong contenders from across the London & South East region but Croxsons stood out to the judges. This is a business that has been on a journey and transitioned well to the next generation.” “The business has adapted over time, and continues to do so, they have a long history and a presence where community, values and their role in doing business in the right way is readily apparent too.” As Stuart Hatcher, Head of Family Business at Forsters who sponsored the award confirms: “Croxsons have demonstrable evidence to support their desire to be sustainable, as a business and on the global arena and take their role as a family business seriously, making an impact that can be measured globally.” “They are the epitome of a successful and close-knit family business, demonstrating immense pride in their work and continually investing, innovating, and looking towards the future. They deserve all the accolades that winning this award brings.” On receipt of the award, Tim Croxson, CEO of Croxsons, said: “We are thrilled to be honoured with this award, which further emphasises our unwavering dedication as a family business. It also serves as a testament to the ceaseless efforts of the entire team, who work diligently to uphold the company’s legacy and drive it forward towards a future that remains aligned with our deeply rooted values.” As Paul concludes, “Family businesses are the engine room of the UK economy and these awards celebrate their contribution. It was great to bring the family business community back together in person to recognise the incredible family firms that operate throughout the UK and to crown some fantastic winners.” “Congratulations to Croxsons on winning this award. It is fantastic recognition of what they do as a business, and it was a pleasure to present them with the award during a fantastic evening that once more put the family business sector on the map.”

The culmination of the Family Business of the Year Awards 2023 saw Make An Entrance take home the Small Family Business of the Year award at a gala awards evening held at The Royal College of Physicians in Regent’s Park in London. Organised by Family Business United, these prestigious awards are now a firm fixture in the family business calendar and celebrate the very best of British family firms from all corners of the UK. Awards are given by region, sector and nationally in recognition of qualities such as entrepreneurship, innovation and sustainability, community engagement and ultimately one family business is crowned the Supreme Champions. As Paul Andrews, Founder and CEO of Family Business United explains, “As an organisation we champion and celebrate family-owned businesses across the UK, recognising the contribution they make in terms of employment, income generation and wealth creation as well as the impact they have on the communities in which they operate.” “Since 2012 these awards have grown to become something really special, recognising family firms from all sectors, young and multi-generational family firms alike, large and small but all sharing the same underlying values, pride and passion for what they do and a strong desire to do business the right way. Each of the winners is a great business with a strong narrative and is a great ambassador for the broader family business community too.” Make An Entrance is a family-run business based in Lincolnshire. Founded from charitable roots, they have been operating online since 2005. They supply homes and businesses across the UK with made-to-measure door mats of every type. Husband and wife team, Stuart and Samantha Burlton created the business, following in the footsteps of Stuart’s father Allen, who in the 1990s, managed a Royal School for the Blind factory, where visually impaired people were employed to make handmade mats. The Burlton family has prevented this traditional skill from dying out and is now training a new generation of mat makers in their Lincolnshire workshops. As James Shore, Head of Family Business at SME Capital who sponsored the Small Family Business of the Year award confirms: “The family have built an award-winning business with an incredible web presence and become a market leader in what they do, rekindling the art of a traditional craft that was being lost.” "The duo behind the business are a formidable force and entrepreneurial in nature, treating others as they want to be treated themselves. They are professional and commercial, kind and valued as a business and a business at the heart of their community. Sustainability plays its part and innovation drives the business forward.” “As a British manufacturer this business continues to evolve, innovate and their team work hard each and every day. A great family business and truly deserving winners of the Small Family Business of the Year title," concludes James. Stuart & Samantha Burlton Co-Founders at Make An Entrance added: “We are so proud that the business we created together, following in the footsteps of Stuart’s father Allen has been recognised by these prestigious awards. Running a small family business is hard work at times and the last few years have presented significant challenges for us as UK manufacturers. To win this award is an enormous pat on the back for all the hard work of our entire team, who diligently put in the work every day for our customers. We are a family business and we count all our employees as members of that family, so this is a win for the whole team." As Paul concludes, “Family businesses are the engine room of the UK economy and these awards celebrate their contribution. It was great to bring the family business community back together in person to recognise the incredible family firms that operate throughout the UK and to crown some fantastic winners.” “Congratulations to Make An Entrance on winning this award. It is fantastic recognition of what they do as a business and it was a pleasure to present them with the award during a fantastic evening that once more put the family business sector on the map.”

Maldon-based Osea Leisure Park celebrates 90 years in business this month. Family owned and operated, the park has transformed from a camping facility for visiting pea-pickers in 1933 to the leading, innovative and community-focused business it is today. Always innovating and at the forefront of tourism and hospitality, the park has continued to move forward with this ethos and has continued to successfully grow its offering since its 80th birthday, including launching the iconic pastel beach huts located on the Blackwater Estuary, quadrupling the number of staff, doubling the size of the Deckhouse bar and restaurant, and successfully building up the meadows, a five star glamping and touring park. The Osea story began pre-WW2 in 1933, when Mabel Speakman opened the land to pea and fruit pickers for camping and to enjoy spending time with their families. Current Managing Director and Mabel Speakman’s great-granddaughter, Janie Robinson, has been directly responsible for the park’s operation since 2007. Janie has continued to innovate to grow the business and pushed boundaries to develop an additional 33 acres of the park to offer luxury camping facilities on The Meadows, including the Glass House, the Royal Pod, the Malvern pod, safari tents and Shepard’s huts. Osea Leisure Park has always been part of Janie’s life and she is proud of its heritage and the traditional, community values it was founded upon. The Park has been owned by four generations of the same family, great grandmother, grandmother, mother and current owner, daughter, Janie, since inception, and now provides holiday home owners with the perfect getaway, a friendly and hospitable ambience, where children can play in safe and secure surroundings. Never one to rest on her laurels, Janie bought back her Great Grandmothers home in 2015 and transformed it into a leading wedding and events venue, Vaulty Manor, which is owned by Osea Leisure Group and has a five star rating on Hitched. The employees of Osea Leisure Group work across both Osea Leisure Park and Vaulty Manor. Janie comments: “In the past 10 years, it has been so important for us to continue to innovate and find new ways to provide fun for all of the family. I am so proud of all that we have achieved including being able to employ more staff and expand our business, particularly given the challenges of the past three years due to the pandemic.” “A lot has changed since 1933, but one thing that has remained constant is the need for families to have a place where they can relax, spend time together and be close to nature. We offer a home from home environment and create the community spirit that has continued to attract holidaymakers year after year to the park. We can’t wait to see what the next 90 years brings for Osea Leisure Park.” Osea Leisure Park is an award winning Family Park from winning Best Campsite/Caravan Park at David Bellamy Gold awards through to gaining a four Star visit England excellence award. Today the park is fortunate to have many fourth generations of the same family as clients, including generations of the original pea-picking families. Many have grown up visiting Osea and now bring their families to the park to enjoy time away from the hustle and bustle of modern living. The ideal location of Osea Leisure Park makes an abundance of outdoor activities possible including sea and fresh water fishing, the use of the beach, swimming, cycling, boating, kayaking and Kayak hire, bird watching and walking, with access to an exclusive menu and bar at The Deckhouse Bar and Restaurant. Janie and the team have worked hard to build relationships with local businesses and the community outside of the park, including holding regular family fun days and refurbishing the bar and restaurant facilities to attract more outside visitors. Supporting the local community is a priority for Osea Leisure Park and support includes sponsoring two teams at Maldon Rugby Club, where both of Janie’s children have played. In addition, Osea Leisure Park offers ownership opportunities of both new and used holiday homes, static caravans and beach huts, as well as Saltmarsh Point – an exclusive development of luxury lodges. Saltmarsh Point has 32 privately owned luxury holiday lodges within an exclusive enclave. A quiet and natural setting rich in wildlife, it is set alongside the beautiful coastline. An inspirational business women, Janie has had a successful career, including being the youngest female RAC Rally driver competing in the UK and Europe. Janie’s eldest son, Jack Robinson, is following in her footsteps and those of his great uncle from his father’s side as a racing driver, currently racing for Fox Motorsport, a local Maldon team. Jack races in a Ginetta car, who were originally friends of the family and based in Witham.

The German firm, Carl Kühne GmbH & Co. KG is an outstanding example of how a family business can not just survive but thrive for over 300 years and is now in the tenth generation. Only a tiny percentage ever make it to the tenth generation so how have they done it? We asked Stefan Leitz, the current chairman of the management board. What’s The Secret Of Kühne’s Success? There’s no one single answer. Part of it is about having a strong brand, recognised all over Germany, but we’ve also always been good at understanding the trends in our market and the needs of consumers and customers. The business was built on vinegar; as early as 1900 Kühne was making mustard, mayonnaise, sauerkraut, pickles, and preserves. Since then, Kühne gained a market-leading position by a combination of smart acquisitions, and continuous product development in related categories. By the time I became chairman in 2013, our customer base was ageing, and we weren’t developing enough new products to appeal to younger consumers. My challenge was obvious: to rejuvenate the Kühne brand without neglecting the master brand. So What Did You Do? We focused on new product development and renewing our working culture. So one of the first things I did was to introduce the informal way of communicating and a culture of giving and receiving feedback across all levels of the company. The management now also focuses much more on results rather than processes. This was a major change for us – we were quite traditional in the way we worked together. But it was significant as a way of signalling that things were going to change. We added other similar changes, like a more casual dress code, and various Kühne events for our employees, like regular barbecues, and an Ice Bucket Challenge to foster participation and teamwork. It was the start of a whole new ‘Kühne Kultur+’. Now we are redecorating and modernising our offices as well. The heart of this new culture is our mission of being ‘KUEHN’, which means ‘bold’ in German. Each of those letters stands for some aspect of that central idea: Konsequent (consequent), Unabhängig (independent), Erfolgshungrig (hungry for success), Herzlich (heartfelt), and Nachhaltig (sustainable). And the new culture is underpinned by our equally bold vision we created: ‘Kühne in every kitchen’. What’s Changed Since Then? We’ve been a lot bolder! You can even see it in the names of our new products: we used to have names like Gipsy (Zigeuner) Sauce or Curry Sauce; now it’s Firestarter and Sweet Angel. And the mix has changed too: we’ve developed a new sub range called Kühne Enjoy, targeted at younger consumers, and included vegan salad dressings and a new line of barbecue sauces named ‘Made for Meat’, as well as vegetable chips. All these were developed from the start with the international market in mind. We want to move from being a German company with a large international presence to an international company with German roots. Furthermore, we automated the production process in a single quantum leap, we foster internationalisation, and we are considering acquisitions. And There Is More To Come… We love our heritage and we take pride in it. Although we’ve had a successful track record for over 300 years, to be successful in the 21st century we need to think more like a start-up. That’s what we’re doing now. The proof is in the results: we’ve had record sales, growth in profitability and market share three years in a row. This feature forms part of the PwC Global Family Business Survey 2016. It has been reproduced with permission of PwC.

Businesses could lose the battle for talent due to automation, warns leading workforce solutions provider, Reed Talent Solutions, with research showing that Gen Zs1 are more likely to prefer human interaction in the recruitment process. A survey of 1000 people who had secured a new job, with a new company, in the last 12 months, conducted by Reed Talent Solutions, found that the majority of Gen Zs (77%) felt frustrated with not being able to speak to someone directly during the recruitment process. In comparison, only 64% of Gen X and Boomers felt the same. On top of this, the research also found that Gen Zs were much more likely to pull out from the recruitment process, with six in ten (60%) withdrawing an application early – with the most common reasons being the process was too slow (45%) and they would rather deal with a real person opposed to automation (37%). In comparison, less than a half (46%) of the Gen X and Boomer generation have withdrawn their application early, with the top reasons being the process was too slow (51%) and that they weren’t fully aware of the job description and salary (31%); only 16% of this generation withdrew due to automation. “Businesses need to reconsider how they use automation throughout their recruitment processes to attract the next generation of talent. We all assume the younger generation prefers technology and its convenience – but in reality, the human element is so important,” says Julie Hinchcliffe, Managing Director of Contingent Workforce Solutions at Reed Talent Solutions. On top of this, when asked if they would prefer more or less automation during the recruitment process, less than a third of Gen Z (31%) and Gen X (24%) candidates wanted more automated processes, in comparison to nearly half (47%) of Boomers. Julie continues: “Automation can help some recruitment processes, making it faster and easier for both the candidate and the employer. If done well, you won’t lose talent by implementing automation, but what is key, is ensuring the time it takes between encountering automation and hearing back from a person is kept to a minimum. The longer you leave it, the more disengaged the candidate will be." “Those hiring also need to make sure candidates are given all the information they may desire throughout the process – from salary to the working environment – as without speaking to someone, if the information is not there, they are likely to be frustrated. “In a market where attracting talent is more of a competitive sport than a walk in the park, businesses need to regularly assess and evaluate their recruitment processes to ensure they’re as inclusive as possible.” When asked about the effectiveness of chatbots, Gen X and Boomers were the least impressed. Nearly half of Gen Zs (43%) stated chatbots were helpful, whereas only a quarter (25%) of the older generations agreed. The survey also found that different generations of workers preferred automation at different stages of the recruitment process. The Boomer generation were much more likely to prefer chatbots when trying to book an interview (51%), whereas only 29% of Gen Zs agreed. The research also found some key trends that were quite consistent for all generations. For example, the majority of people would prefer to be told they have secured an interview for their job from someone directly, as opposed to via an automated response. The top reason for this was due to it being more personal and engaging, and because a real person can provide clarification and additional information. “The survey brings some interesting differences to light that HR teams ought to consider. We found that Gen Z candidates are much more likely to want more human interaction during the interview stage, whereas Boomers prefer human assistance during the booking of interviews and tests, and during the reference and vetting process,” continues Julie. “Knowing when to implement human interaction or chatbot assistance, can really change the recruitment experience for potential candidates. If candidates leave you feeling heard, valued and respected for their time in the application process, they are much more likely to want to accept a job offer, or even try for another job with you in the future if unsuccessful.”

Leading UK plant nursery, Johnsons of Whixley, has provided £130k worth of plants for two luxury holiday park developments by Darwin Escapes, including a new self-catering retreat due to open on the Blenheim Palace Estate this summer. The Yorkshire-based horticultural business has been chosen as the primary supplier of plants for the project, which will see a collection of one, two and three-bedroom lodges constructed in the grounds of the historic Blenheim Palace Estate. The retreat will be the first venue of its kind on the grounds of a historic British palace. With a supply worth £100,000, Johnsons of Whixley has provided a diverse range of plants to enhance the outdoor areas of the Lodge Retreat, which is a blend of contemporary and traditional design in keeping with the Palace and its grounds. From Lavender, Euonymus and Hebe shrubs to vibrant Perennial plants including Rudbeckia, Geraniums, Iris and Salvia, the selection encompasses a rich variety of species, each carefully chosen to create a harmonious and captivating ambience. In addition to the Blenheim Palace project, Johnsons of Whixley is proud to have received a further order to supply the grounds of Plas Isaf Lodge Retreat, in North Wales, another recent project by Darwin Escapes, which opened its doors earlier this year. To date, the nursery has delivered plants worth £30,000 to Plas Isaf Lodge Retreat, encompassing a diverse range of species. The supplied plants include an assortment of hedging varieties, such as Acer campestre, Crataegus monogyna, Ilex aquifolium, Ligustrum vulgare, Pyracantha 'Red Column,' Prunus rotundifolia, Sambucus nigra, and Viburnum opulus. Johnsons of Whixley has a long-standing relationship with Darwin Escapes and has previously supplied plants for several of its notable projects, including Sandymouth, Woodside Beach, Keswick Reach Lodge Retreat, Canterbury Fields, Stratford Armouries, Norfolk Woods, and The Springs. J ohnsons of Whixley marketing manager, Eleanor Richardson, said: “We are thrilled to continue our partnership with Darwin Escapes and to have the opportunity to supply both Blenheim Palace Lodge Retreat and Plas Isaf Lodge Retreat. “Our team is dedicated to sourcing and supplying the finest quality plants, tailored to the unique requirements of each project to enhance the natural beauty and appeal of the landscape.” Lindsey Esse, Managing Director of Darwin Escapes added: “ Johnsons of Whixley have once again supplied us with a beautiful range of plants which perfectly enhance the landscape of our two newest luxury lodge retreats”.

The survival of family businesses may depend on their response to the climate crisis. A new coaching method goes straight to the collective unconscious of organisations, revealing the key to successful intergenerational transition. Evolving To Survive Over 60% of the world’s businesses are family firms. Leadership transition is a hazardous moment in the life of these organisations, and few survive as far as their fourth generation Among the critical factors determining their long-term survival is their capacity to develop a strong and distinctive entrepreneurial orientation (EO) in each generation: the capacity to reinvent the business, and to seize new opportunities amid shifting landscapes and challenges both within and outside the family. The EO of a company is naturally entangled with its younger members’ emotional ownership regarding the company’s ethos and activities. The achievements of one generation can be destroyed in the next if a family does not acknowledge these psychological conditions for its continued business success. The related challenge for specialists in family governance is to identify barriers to emotional ownership that disinclines the next generation to continue the family enterprise. For the current generation, response to the climate crisis is a crucial determinant – but few businesses are equipped to understand the dynamics governing their survival in the face of this generational challenge. The paper below explores the challenges in more detail:

A leading Scottish hotel group has announced its new charity partnership for 2023. Crieff Hydro Family of Hotels, has pledged to raise much needed funds for Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance (SCAA), which provides life-saving services to communities in every corner of Scotland, for the next 12 months. The funds will be raised by hotel employees across the hotel group’s eight properties within the portfolio, as well as guests who pass through its doors throughout the year, with a number of activities already earmarked to kick off fundraising. The hotel group’s big-hearted employees have a fantastic fundraising track record, having raised thousands for a variety of both local and national charities throughout the years, and the team at Crieff Hydro Family of Hotels are looking forward to doing all they can for Scotland’s only air ambulance charity. With a crew based at Perth airport, close to the hotel’s flagship property, Crieff Hydro, the charity recently marked its 10th anniversary. Since May 22, 2013, SCAA has doubled its operation, launching an Aberdeen base in 2020, responded to nearly 5,000 call outs, raised over £50 million and flown nearly half a million miles, saving thousands of lives and impacting on thousands more, particularly in remote and rural areas. Stephen Leckie, Chairman and CEO of Crieff Hydro Family of Hotels, said: “It’s vitally important for us to support those most in need through charity fundraising, and we’re very much looking forward to embarking on this new partnership with Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance. The dedication and skill of the pilots and paramedics involved is phenomenal and their life saving efforts makes SCAA a perfect fit for our charity partner of the year.” SCAA CEO, David Craig, said: “We are immensely grateful to Stephen Leckie and the Crieff Hydro Family of Hotels for choosing SCAA as their charity partner this year. The generosity shown by hotel employees and guests visiting their properties will undoubtedly help save lives as we respond to emergencies across Scotland, 365 days a year.” “SCAA’s life-saving service is only possible thanks to the ongoing support of the individuals, businesses and organisations of Scotland and partnerships like this with the Crieff Hydro Family of Hotels help to fly us into the future, ensuring we are there for the people of Scotland when we are needed most.” Crieff Hydro Family of Hotels comprises eight hotels located in Perthshire, Dundee, the Scottish Borders and the Highlands.

A soaring National Insurance bill is adding to the challenges businesses face in attracting and retaining top talent, says independent consultancy Broadstone. Analysis of government data by Broadstone, a leading employee benefits consultancy, reveals that the National Insurance Contributions (“NIC”) made by employers increased by 42% over the five-year period to March 2023. The total cost of NIC to UK employers was £103bn in 2022/23 according to the latest HMRC tax receipts data, up from £72bn in 2017/18. This comes at a time when increasing inflation has also seen wage bills increase. Sharp increases in NIC receipts in the past two years, 11% and 15% respectively, have coincided with wage increases of 7% per year. Paul McGuckin, Head of EB Distribution at Broadstone, which has more than 500 specialist consultants and administrators in its ranks advising employers in the UK on the best way to attract and retain talent, says employers are looking to improve their broader benefits package to offset the salary and associated NIC increases. Paul said: “Employers are facing a difficult environment, inflation is pushing up operating costs and salaries, at the same time as the tax burden is increasing. NIC costs a particularly punishing for businesses that are having margins squeezed as they are a tax on employment, not profit.” “As a result, we are seeing lots of interest in salary exchange programmes that can help employers offer valued benefits, like healthcare or wellbeing initiatives, while reducing the cost of NICs for both them and their workforce. Engagement is key when it comes to uptake, so employers are often using technology like flexible benefits portals to manage the employee communications.”

Britain’s manufacturers are seeing a continued rebound in activity in the second quarter of the year, easing fears of a significant recession for the sector according to a survey published today by Make UK and accountancy and business advisory firm BDO. The findings in the Make UK/BDO Q2 Manufacturing Outlook survey show a continued positive picture with the improvement being driven by strong demand in the Other Transport and Electronic sectors in particular, with the balance of output in Other Transport (largely aerospace) extremely strong at +82%. According to Make UK and BDO this reflects continued recovery in the aerospace sector with the increase in passenger miles, together with a spate of large orders for new aircraft over the last year. Furthermore, strong balances for electronics are becoming embedded as companies invest in digitalisation and extra capacity to counter labour shortages. These investments are now translating into consistently strong balances for the South East where electronics is the second largest industrial sector in the region. However, despite conditions remaining positive, Make UK is still forecasting a slight contraction for manufacturing in 2023, although the picture remains far better than the significant contraction Make UK was forecasting at the end of last year and in Q1. James Brougham, Senior Economist at Make UK, said: “Manufacturers are seeing a gradually improving picture but the word ‘gradually’ is doing a lot of heavy lifting. However, companies are at least seeing a relative period of stability after the political and economic turmoil of the last few years when they have spent most of their time firefighting. Substantial challenges still remain, however, and so long as there is an absence of an overarching industrial strategy growth prospects will remain anaemic at best.” Richard Austin, BDO’s National Head of Manufacturing, says the burden on manufacturers still lays heavy, adding: “Despite the first half of the year seeing some pressures easing, there are longer-term systemic challenges in the UK market, with built-in inefficiencies that need to be addressed urgently in order for UK manufacturing to effectively plan and invest.” “Supply chain pressures, for example, are an endemic issue for the businesses we talk to, particularly medium-sized firms. They are facing continued disruption and increased costs, at home and abroad, with many choosing to onshore operations but facing major barriers in doing so. These issues cannot be overlooked by policymakers or we run the risk of tepid-at-best growth for UK manufacturing while neighbouring countries outpace us.” According to the survey, the balance on output increased slightly from Q1 (+24% from +21%) and is expected to remain at a similar level in the next quarter at +22%. Total orders fell slightly to +21% from +28% in Q1 although companies are more optimistic for increased orders in Q3 with a balance of +27%. In line with this stable picture, UK orders fell slightly to +15% from +20% in Q1 although as with the picture for total orders are expected to pick up in Q3 to +21%. Export orders also saw a rise from +12% to +15%, although companies see a slightly weaker picture in the next quarter at +12%. The scramble to attract and retain talent also shows no signs of abating, with recruitment intentions remaining stable at +18% (+19% in Q1) improving substantially to +30% in the next quarter. These employment balances are very elevated by historic standards and, apart from the initial quarters of the pandemic, have been at elevated levels since the EU referendum. Investment intentions, whilst still positive at +10% eased back from the 14% in the first quarter, perhaps reflecting the crossover between the end of the super-deduction scheme and the onset of the benefit from full expensing. The survey also shows that, in the face of continued skills shortages and strong labour demand, wage growth shows little or no sign of easing with a fifth of pay settlements reached in April at 5% and a further 15% of settlements at 6% or above. In terms of overall output this year Make UK and BDO are forecasting a contraction of 0.3% although this is a significant improvement from the contraction of -3.3% made in Q1 and the -4.4% forecast at the end of last year. However, Make UK is maintaining its previous forecast for growth of just 0.8% in 2024. UK GDP growth is at 0.4% for 2023 and 1.3% for 2024. The survey of 327 companies was conducted between 19 April and 24 May.

Work is underway to expand the footprint and offering at St Edburg’s CE Primary School, in Kingsmere, with Willmott Dixon breaking ground on the £12m project to increase pupil places by 50%. Procured via the SCAPE framework and designed by Acanthus Clews Architects, the works mark a return to the site for Willmott Dixon, having built the original school in 2016 when it relocated from its historic building behind St Edburg’s Church in Bicester. With a significant increase in housing around Kingsmere in recent years, the number of students attending the school has steadily increased from 160 in January 2016 – when the school was built – to 420 in September 2022, leading to many of the form entries being oversubscribed. The school expansion located on a nearby satellite site and set to house the nursery, reception and key stage one classes will see the construction of a purpose-built, net-zero in operation (regulated) facility. To make the building net-zero regulated, the design incorporates numerous sustainability elements to help lower running costs and future-proof it. It is designed to be BREEAM Very Good and will feature air source heat pumps, a PV array on the roof and seven electric vehicle charging points. Michelle Cotterill, director at Willmott Dixon, said: “Being back on site at St Edburg’s School and helping to expand their offering is really exciting. The school is the oldest in Bicester, but it continues to move with the times – modernising and expanding its facilities to offer the very best for pupils, so we’re really pleased to be back.” “We’re also looking forward to getting to know the local community again. Throughout the project, our team will be engaging with local educational institutions to provide CV advice, mock interviews, site tours and work experience opportunities. We are also looking to run our award-winning enrichment programme that teaches secondary school students about the construction industry, and the careers available, and provides them with a Bronze Industrial Cadets certificate.” Andy Terrey, headteacher at St Edburg’s CE Primary School, said: “WITH DEMAND GROWING FOR PLACES AT THE SCHOOL, WE KNEW WE NEEDED TO EXPAND OUR FACILITIES. BY CONSTRUCTING A PURPOSE-BUILT SATELLITE SCHOOL, WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE A BRAND-NEW BUILDING THAT IS IDEAL FOR THE NEEDS OF YOUNGER CHILDREN – INCLUDING AREAS SUCH AS DEDICATED EXTERNAL PLAY AREAS, WHICH ARE KEY FOR OUTSIDE LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT.” “We’re also able to meet the needs of local families head on, with new housing still underway in local community. I’m therefore really looking forward to seeing the works get underway and to be working with Willmott Dixon again, following the team’s fantastic work on our current school.” Construction is now underway. Works are expected to be completed in June 2024, ready for the 2024/2025 school year.