A glimpse of the future of GFirst LEP
It's a measure of the potency GFirst LEP has wielded and how strong its voice has been for the county that a panel discussion about its future at Gloucestershire Business Show drew such a crowd.
🔓 Most of what you are about to read is free. But you will find the lion’s share of the main story today, an exclusive report into the future of GFirst LEP, paywalled. If you upgrade to paid and become a member (just £2.30 a week!), you will be able to see beyond the paywalls that will appear on our second and third editions each week (generally Thursday and Friday) and that locks our archive of stories after two weeks. You will be able to view our rolling Top 100 Businesses in Gloucestershire series and comment on our stories, and you will be helping make possible this community interest company dedicated to supporting Gloucestershire. If you haven’t already, please do consider supporting us.
Dear Readers,
We hope you have had a good week. It’s certainly been busy this end. We’ve interviewed a former marine turned businessman who is about to attempt an incredible feat to raise funds for a county charity - had a fascinating chat with one of the county’s chambers of trade, met a lady who is a true pioneer for her community, visited the Gloucestershire Business Show and more.
You’ll have to wait for the first two stories, but the visit to the business show at the University of Gloucestershire’s Business School allowed us to listen to a discussion about the future of GFirst LEP - a key economic catalyst for the county for the last 13 years, and one whose future has been in the balance since this time last year.
More on that story below. Our eye was also drawn to Hazlewoods accountants part in a multi-million pound management buyout of a telecoms firm and to the tender that went out from Colliers for someone to handle its social media and marketing.
When you are a multi-million pound business dealing with a property portfolio too huge the list here, you want the best. Colliers found it in Gloucester in the conversations it had with 10 Yetis.
Oh, and our charity featured today is a piece about the work of The Ernest Cook Trust, which is about to increase its spending on young people by £2 million annually!
Enjoy, and have a great weekend.
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Why today’s main story?
There are a lot of questions still unanswered from the story we run below on GFirst LEP, but we think that is telling in itself. There are also a good few clues as well as to where we are.
It’s easy to get used to what you have and presume all will be well when it ends, but those familiar with the efficiency of the local enterprise partnership in winning millions of pounds of investment money from central Government for Gloucestershire, and the stagnation that can occur when there is no cohesive decision making, will understand the anxiety around what may happen to GFirst.
Raikes has already heard of conversations between and in organisations outside of the LEP beginning to take place which see a future where small groups across must fight for itself as they sense a vacuum of leadership emerging. The article below might help stem some of that anxiety - just a little.
Our chosen charity: The Ernest Cook Trust
If you are one of those who mutter about young people needing to get out more and open their eyes to the great outdoors, then perhaps supporting this charity will help you turn those thoughts into something positive - while also staying true to them! The Ernest Cook Trust champions outdoor learning for young people, particularly those living in deprived areas. In 2023 it spent £3 million doing just that, but in 2024 it has announced plans to increase that spend to £5 million. It uses its 9,000 hectares of rural landholdings as an income stream to fund its charitable work. In 2022-2023 more than 42,000 young people benefited from its schools programme, it supported more than 2,500 pupils and more than 900 grants, totalling £2m, were distributed. You can read more in our PR Wire channel – where we post our favour press releases.
Your Raikes’ briefing
☎️ 💷 When the owner and founder of a telecoms firm wanted to make an £18.1 million management buyout of his company possible, he knew who to turn to make it happen - a Gloucestershire business with special expertise in just that area. It was the corporate finance team at Hazlewoods that Scott Woolaway chose to help handle the deal to sell the firm he founded in 2005, Smart Numbers, to private equity house YFM Equity Partners. According to Woolaway, who has a long-standing relationship with Hazlewoods corporate finance team, led by Rich Grover, it was always going to be thus. You can read more of the story in our Reports & Deals channel, also home of Raikes’ rolling Top 100 Businesses in Gloucestershire, our never-ending series tracking the financial fortunes of the county’s biggest firms by turnover. We’ve run a bit more of this story here in our Reports & Deals channel.
🏬 🏗️ 🏢 Multi-million pound turnover global property giant Colliers went looking for a team to manage its marketing and social media for the major property portfolio it has in Gloucester. We are talking about tens of millions of pounds of real estate including Eastgate Shopping Centre, Kings Walk Shopping Centre, Kings Square, and St Oswalds Retail Park and Gloucester’s flagship £107m development of The Forum. It’s a firm that could afford anyone, and wanted someone who could do everything - including marketing and event planning and community-focused campaigns!! After tendering nationwide one firm stood out - 10 Yetis Digital, which happens to also be based in the city too! Read more of the story in our Pr Wire channel.
A glimpse of the future of GFirst LEP
By Andrew Merrell
Along the side wall of the business school at the University of Gloucestershire sofas suddenly filled up, as a small crowd gathered to hear about the future of an organisation that has been key to Gloucestershire’s recent economic fortunes – GFirst LEP.
Ever since Chancellor Jeremy Hunt unexpectedly pulled the rug from under the nation’s local enterprise partnerships in his March 2023 Budget, years earlier than expected, those who understood the influence of GFirst LEP for Gloucestershire have been eager to hear what is next.
Those who gathered on the comfy sofas included the leader of Tewkesbury Borough Council, all there to glean what they could from a panel that included two LEP insiders in Dev Chakraborty and Ian Mean, as well as the FSB’s Sam Holiday and county businessman and deputy Deputy-Lieutenant of Gloucestershire, Oli Christie, with Darren Stevens of Prestbury Marketing chairing proceedings.
There was some absolute clarity.
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