Gloucestershire - where is your skills plan?!
All eyes are on the Golden Valley, but it's nuclear that will eclipse cyber and supercharge Gloucestershire's economy. Or is it? A senior figure in education sends this warning shot.
Dear reader,
We hope you’ve had a good week.
If you were at Cheltenham Festival, we hope the odds went in your favour. If you were in-hiding until the crowds finished partying, then we hope it was still a week well spent.
It’s certainly been a good week for The Raikes Journal, with our two editions being clocked by a good number of readers who number among the county’s business leaders, owners, leaders generally, and the curious among us.
Our piece that resulted from interviews with experts at Randall & Payne, which tells of a record number of owners looking at assessing the value of their businesses with a view to selling, was something of a hit. There is definitely a sea change afoot in Gloucestershire. As Will Abbott, Rob Case and Ollie Newbold explained, the wise view is that this is a time of opportunity for all – and they explain why here.
Yesterday’s article, built on the hard work of BBC journalist Carmelo Garcia (the BBC has approved The Raikes Journal to use its local democracy reporting resource on the ground here in Gloucestershire), also captured the attention.
Peter Cooke, who owns Gloucester business Sanctus, told us why he fell in love with a crumbling historic farm in the Forest of Dean and is about to transform it into a restaurant, wine tasting, cider tasting, family-friendly events venue and more. That’s here.
And so, to today’s full member’s edition. We hear from a senior figure who warns the county may not have what it takes to capitalise on perhaps the biggest economic boost in decades.
And in our second lead story directly below that one, we revisit devolution - hearing directly from the county council’s leader on where we are. Are should that be, where are aren’t?!!
If you are not a member, please do consider joining us. You’ll be able to read all of editions like this, and help support this bid to keep journalism alive and deliver a credible digital platform for the county - for you.
Have a great weekend.
Remember, for every person you refer to The Raikes Journal’s email service you get points towards a free membership allowing you to see beyond our paywalls. Please do sign up (free or otherwise), send the referral link to a friend or colleague, and help us grow.
Andrew Merrell (editor).
If you have a story, an issue, a news item, a charity or an interview you want us to write about or investigate, challenge the powers that be about, then please email me: andrew.merrell@raikesjournal.co.uk.
NB: We believe Raikes now publishes probably the best-read business-related email ‘newsletter’, pound for pound, in Gloucestershire. Readership is growing and 2025 looks good!
How to lead your business better
The book featured below, by one of our Founding Partners, was published this week. It’s the latest from a Gloucestershire business person whose firm is on a mission to elevate other businesses by getting them to invest in leadership. When Dr Stewart Barnes, of QuoLux, lays out the figures the argument is difficult to ignore. Few businesses invest in their staff, and those that do and concentrate on leadership thrive - they grow faster and enjoy greater profit.
In this latest book, Developing Financial Leadership in Small-Medium Businesses, he homes in on a particular element of leadership - financial - arguing that making it part of a company’s culture will deliver a dramatically more efficient business. He argues there’s a serious case for the Government and policymakers to refocus their attentions away from SMEs towards what he and co-author, Professor Malcolm Prowle, call SMBs - small and medium-sized businesses. This, they argue - and back it up with plenty of data and case studies - is where the growth is.
Change the optics slightly, the argument goes, and we could be staring at a large part of the solution to the nation’s employment and skills issues, its health and wellbeing, unemployment, productivity and growth challenges. The argument is compelling.
We’ll cover this off in some more detail on Monday. An official launch event is being planned for June at Kingsholm where copies will be available. In the meantime, if you can’t wait, you can buy one directly from the publisher, Routledge.
Your briefing notes…
⚡ If you are someone who gets instantly cross upon hearing business opportunities fall by the wayside because of the time it can take to get decisions from local authorities, then perhaps skip this one! Reg Daldry had been at the helm of building up a successful and popular car boot sale at Hempsted, beside the canal running south out of the city, until the site was closed in November last year. Daldry’s temporary license was coming to an end, but the city council said the site would be closed due to essential repair work to get it ready for the spring. In the meantime a long-term tender process has been underway. How far off a new lease being granted? No one is any the wiser, it seems. At a meeting of the council’s cabinet this week, Councillor Andy Gravells asked for an update. Council leader Jeremy Hilton told him his question was inappropriate. “We haven’t made a decision,” he told Gravells.
📉 Top 100: Major Gloucestershire employer, Cheltenham-headquartered engineering firm Spirax Sarco, has reported a fall in profits. The FTSE-100 firm, which employs an estimated 1,000 staff in the county, said turnover fell by one per cent to £1.6 billion for the 12 months to December 31 last year, with profits before tax also falling - from £309.2 million to £288.2 million. A predicted second half recovery did not happen either. However, there was some significant and positive sales news. You can find out what that is here in our Reports & Deals channel (sponsored by Randall & Payne), home of our Top 100 Businesses in Gloucestershire series, which tracks the financial fortunes of some of the county’s biggest firms.
🍻 A new pub is due to open in Stroud on Monday (17 March), creating 20 jobs. King Street Social Tap, owned by Amber Taverns, is based in the space formerly occupied by fashion retailer M&Co, and will open its doors at 10am. The Stroud Times has done a nice little preview of the new drinking establishment here. It’s a sign of the times that the pub’s manager chose to lead with its range of alcohol-free beers when given the opportunity to sell the place to the town.
Hartpury joins Vodafone’s EmpowHER programme to empower female rugby players
This weekend its women’s elite rugby team, Gloucester Hartpury - one of the nation’s most positive stories in sport - travels to London to take on Saracens in the final of the Premiership Women’s Rugby final. But Hartpury University and Hartpury College is intent on supporting those who participate in one of the toughest of games no matter what their level of ambitions. It’s just announced it is participating in Vodafone’s EmpowHER programme, designed to support and elevate young female rugby players. This collaboration aims to provide the tools, mentorship, and mental health support necessary to thrive both on and off the field. Hartpury players will receive one-to-one mentoring from rugby experts, including England stars Emily Scarratt and Mo Hunt, as well as broadcaster Elma Smit, whether they aim to play professionally, coach, manage teams, or work in sports media. Tom Radcliffe, director of elite sport at Hartpury, called the programme “transformative” saying it would help athletes “excel in rugby and beyond”.
Food for thought for the weekend…
Friday:
📽️🎞️ As part of Stroud Film Festival, Cotswold Playhouse (Parliament Street, Stroud) is due to screen Sunset Boulevard to mark the 75th anniversary of the Hollywood classic. Showing from 7.30pm.
Saturday:
🛍️ Stroud Farmers Market takes place every Saturday from 9am-2pm. Fifty-plus stalls with wares from 90 different producers.
⚽ Gloucester City AFC play Hanwell Town at home at Meadow Park at 3pm.
⚽ Forest Green Rovers FC play Southend Utd at home at The New Lawn Stadium at 5.30pm.
⚽ Cheltenham Town play Swindon Town away at 3pm.
Final games of the Six Nations Championship 2025.
🏉 Ireland play Italy at 2.15pm in the Six Nations Championship (BBC).
🏉 England Rugby play Wales at 4.45pm in the Six Nations Championship (BBC).
🏉 Scotland play France at 8pm in the Six Nations Championship (BBC).
Sunday:
🏉🏉🏉🏉 Gloucester-Hartpury play Saracens at the StoneX Stadium in the Premiership Women’s Rugby final at 3pm.
Gloucestershire - where is your skills plan?!
All eyes are on the Golden Valley, but it's nuclear that will eclipse cyber and supercharge Gloucestershire's economy. Or is it? A senior figure in education sends this warning shot.
We’ve run a few stories recently covering the pending arrival of the nuclear power industry in the county and the incredible potential that has for jobs. One person who’s been tracking this closer than most is Kevin Hamblin, the CEO and principal of South Gloucestershire and Stroud College. SGS College recently sold its 40-acre science park in Berkeley, Gloucestershire, to Chiltern Vital Group (CVG) in January. CVG plans to develop the site to produce a new kind of nuclear technology, establishing a low-carbon energy “super cluster” expected to drive economic growth for years. Acutely aware that if the emerging sector is to thrive in the county it will need skills, Hamblin gives his view of where the county is with all that below. Some way off, by the sound of it.
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