It has a Silicon Valley vibe and can help launch your business skyward
This Gloucestershire town has the feel of San Francisco’s famous entrepreneurial community and is both inspirational and a launch pad for UK cyber businesses; it's 'dared to do something truly bold'.
Dear Readers,
We hope your week has gone well. We’ve been beavering away on a couple of cyber-related big-read stories this week, one of which is below. The other we might just publish tomorrow (Friday 14 June).
Those who follow the sector closely will know that a trade mission of exciting cyber businesses from the North of the country came to Cheltenham last week at the invitation of CyNam. We’re forever writing about how we in Gloucestershire are the ‘cyber capital of the UK’, so we thought it would be a good idea to see what they think. ‘Is it true’, was one question?
We think their opinions will surprise you, hopefully put you in a good mood for the weekend, and are certainly a huge insight into how effective CyNam, Hub8, the Golden Valley, Cheltenham Borough Council, HBD and others are in the county - and the collaborative working certainly ties in with the article by our expert columnist, Simon Merrell.
Merrell offers up his thoughts on something that is key to the newly published Gloucestershire Economic Plan working (the business plan for the county for the next 10 years unveiled in May) and that is partnership working. ‘Together we’re stronger’, and all that. But just how do you make them work? That’s the question Merrell gives some thought to, and his answers are applicable to businesses everywhere.
You can find that story linked below, along with news that after 60-plus years working and half a century helping build one of the biggest and most successful businesses Gloucestershire has ever seen, its founder is winding down. Well, just a little bit.
We’ve kept today’s post free to all. We usually paywall the Thursday editions for the benefit of our members. Please do consider joining them (£2.30 per week! Less if you pay for two or more people at once). You’ll be helping make this community interest compay sustainable and able to continue doing what it does, providing real journalism to support the county’s business, charity and education and training sectors and help create community.
We hope you enjoy.
Please do continue to bear us in mind for your stories and ideas. Contact andrew.merrell@raikesjournal.co.uk or telephone 07956 926061.
* Everything you read on The Raikes Journal is made possible by our incredible Founding Partners: QuoLux, Willans LLP, Gloucestershire College and Merrell People; our sponsors: Randall & Payne and Hartpury University and Hartpury College; our Founding Members and all our wonderful paying subscribers. If you upgrade to paid too, you’ll be able to see beyond the paywalls we place on many of our second and third email editions of the week and that lock our archive after two weeks. You will be able to view our rolling Top 100 Businesses in Gloucestershire series comment on our stories and you’ll be helping to make possible this community interest company dedicated to supporting the county, its businesses, charities and education and training providers — all for just £2.30 per week!! Cheaper if you buy a group subscription (when two or more people subscribe at once) For commercial opportunities visit our About us page or email andrew.merrell@raikesjournal.co.uk.
Will you go to the ball with me?
🤝🏻 This is something of a follow-up to the thread of stories we’ve delivered on Gloucestershire’s new economic plan. Gloucestershire County Council unveiled the plan in May and has begun to invite business people to join a new board for economic growth to help make it all happen. Key to its success, as the document itself spells out, will be partnerships - and more so, making them work. Just how do you create meaningful partnerships, be you an economic growth board or a business? What sort of questions do you need to ask yourself? Luckilly we have Simon Merrell, of Merrell People, on hand to explain how to unlock the answers. Find out more here.
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Your briefing notes…
👏🏼 Renishaw: Sir David McMurtry, one of the founders of one of Gloucestershire’s most successful home-grown companies ever, Renishaw plc, will step down as executive chairman of the business from next month (July). Sir David, now is in his 80s and a man who continues to win wards for his outstanding contribution to engineering, founded Renishaw with John Deer more than 50 years ago.
The Wotton-under-Edge-headquartered operation has remained committed not just to Gloucestershire, but engineering excellence and innovation ever since and created thousands of jobs in Gloucestershire and more around the world. It’s also reportedly earned its co-founder a personal fortune worth £1.25 billion.
Sir David will remain a non-executive director with senior independent director Sir David Grant assuming the role of interim non-executive chairman while the board searches for a permanent successor. Sir David’s son, Richard McMurtry, will also be appointed as an additional non-executive director.
📉 Superdry: Julian Dunkerton’s proposed rescue package for Superdry has cleared its latest hurdle with the founder of the fashion brand remaining determined to stave off the Cheltenham headquartered business entering administration. Creditors reportedly voted in favour of the plans, which pins the hopes of a revival on the label’s fortunes on rent reductions across 39 stores, raising equity and a delisting from the stock market. Dunkerton’s plan to take the company private fell through this year. Shareholders will now vote on the delisting of the firm and on the ‘equity raise’ at Friday’s annual general meeting (June 14). If that goes to plan the process moves to the High Court on Monday 17 June to get the plan sanctioned.
🏆 Deadline approaching! This is the deadline is tomorrow (Friday, 13 June) for anyone who wants to nominate a business or individual for the Believe in Gloucester Awards, which return this year for the first time since pre-covid courtesy of the city’s BID (Business Improvement District). Headline sponsors are WSP Solicitors and Gloucester Quays. There are 15 categories, ranging from business of the year, small business of the year and new business of the year to best retailer, best customer service, best bar or pub, community project, event and charity. Find out more here.
📢 Attention hospitality businesses!!! No one who runs a hospitality business needs telling that Christmas is key to success. What they might need help with, however, is a plan to get the most out of the occassion. According to experts the cost of living crisis continues to have a significant impact on consumer behaviour and is disproportionately affecting independents in the sector. Those businesses need to squeeze as much value as they can from the festive opportunity. In which case this should help… Daniel Jenkins, of Wagada Digital, Aimee, the head of creative from Christmas Makers, and Samantha Walker and Andy Barr of marketing supremos 10 Yetis, are coming together to stage a special seminar to make sure everyone’s plan is as good as can be. Find out more here.
It has a Silicon Valley vibe and can help launch your business skyward
This Gloucestershire town has the feel of San Francisco’s famous entrepreneurial community and is both inspirational and a launch pad for UK cyber businesses; it has ‘dared to do something truly bold’.
By Andrew Merrell
It is like San Francisco and it’s a launch-pad for cyber businesses into one of the most potentially lucrative sectors in the UK economy - and beyond - and it is right here in Gloucestershire.
Sometimes you can talk about something for so long – like how Cheltenham is about to become the UK’s ‘cyber central’ courtesy of the Golden Valley Development – that you begin to wonder whether we need a reality check.
If ever you were going to get such a thing you could do worse than invite a few friends from out of town, perhaps from the North East; friends who also happen to understand just what business, cyber and the digital economy is all about.
Which is exactly what CyNam did, the Cheltenham-based group that represents Gloucestershire’s cluster of cyber-related businesses here in the county - it invited its friends from CyberNorth down for the town’s science festival.
Raikes was intrigued to hear what they had to say, for all the reasons we outlined above. The feedback was fascinating.
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