Is this Gloucestershire’s fastest-growing business?
Today we single out the first company in our 'Raikes Rewards' series, a business that's landed an exciting contract with EasyJet and a firm for which growth was already heading skyward in some style.
Dear reader,
Today we launch a series that will run throughout the year and are inviting your suggestions for future articles too. We’re calling it Raikes Rewards - a series that simply wouldn’t be possible without sponsors Willans LLP solicitors and QuoLux.
It’s all about rewarding businesses for their incredible achievements. This could be growth, an anniversary, a deal done, a transition from one generation to another, a change of ownership, a turnaround, pretty much anything that is positive and that catches our interest.
We’ll consider individuals’ achievements and anniversaries too. We even send each business or individual a certificate to mark the achievement too.
And we start with a business achieving growth that’s difficult to ignore and which has been enjoying a trajectory in keeping with the exciting sector it is in – training pilots to fly planes for some of the world’s biggest and best-known airlines.
We wanted to launch with a big business doing big things, a county-grown company that reflects well on Gloucestershire, and then go on to spread the love as far and wide as possible.
So if you have a suggestion for a Raikes Rewards article - do not be put off if that business is small or the person’s achievements sound small alongside the multi-million pound growth of the firm featured below. It’s all about celebrating the achievements of Gloucestershire businesses, its charities and education and training businesses too – and those who work in the county doing great things.
The email address to send ideas to is below. If we like the idea, we’ll do the interviewing, publish and send you the certificate. All we ask you to do is subscribe to Raikes as well.
Readership continues to grow. We get 12,000-plus views a month off our two to three published emails a week, have roughly 1,000 subscribers and rising, plus more than 13,000 connections on social media – all built on an untouchable reputation for quality and credibility.
There’s even talk of all the winners being invited to an end-of-year gathering to celebrate their collective achievements. We’ll write about that too.
What are you waiting for? Send me your ideas!
Best regards,
Editor | 07956 926061 | LinkedIn: Andrew Merrell | andrew.merrell@raikesjournal.co.uk
Your briefing notes…
🏘️Strategic planning is vital if councils are to secure the vital infrastructure and services needed to meet a 43,000 new homes target in Gloucestershire, says Tewkesbury Borough Council leader Richard Stanley. A strategic and local plan (SLP) is being developed jointly for Cheltenham, Gloucester and Tewkesbury to help guide development in the coming years. Last year, the area saw an increase of more than 20 per cent in the total number of homes the Government wants to see built over the next two decades, with around 43,000 new homes needed across the three districts. Sites for approximately 20,000 have been found so far, but there is a shortfall of around 23,000 homes which needs to be addressed by the strategic and local plan. More here.
💷 Business will create 40 new jobs in Gloucester: It might be called Gloucester Business Park, but the Brockworth site is actually on Tewkesbury Borough Council’s patch – and the council’s just approved the latest investment for a major business. Borough planners have backed the proposals for a new supermarket on a northern plot of the business park, which was once an airfield and site of a factory making iconic aircraft such as the Hawker Hurricane, Gloster Gladiator, and the Gloster Javelin. The scheme includes a 1,975 sqm store and will have 118 car parking spaces. More here.
👨💼👩🏼💼👨🏼💼 New board members have been appointed at global engineering firm Renishaw. John Shipsey is the new chief financial officer and executive director, effective 13 April 2026. His CV includes stints at Dyson, Smiths Group plc and Featurespace Ltd. Renishaw has also announced that Sir David Grant has been appointed as its permanent chairman with immediate effect for a period of up to two years, and Juliette Stacey has also been appointed to the role of senior independent director with immediate effect.
Global energy focus fuels growth at major Gloucestershire business
A focus on national energy security around the globe is driving capital investment in the energy industry, and that’s driving growth in one of Gloucestershire’s biggest but least known businesses. It won’t be a household name for most of us, but if you work in a sector where subsea safety is a priority, in defence, offshore wind, marine, chemicals, power, ports and harbours, electric vehicles, then it’s a different story. It employs more than 800 staff and develops and produces insulation that delivers vital safety barriers in all kinds of sectors – from protecting you should your electric car catch fire to blast-resistant materials for our Royal Navy vessels. Advanced Innergy Holdings, known as AIS, has just passed a £150m turnover and is making promising overtures for 2026 too. It’s a turnover that firmly places it within our Top 100 Businesses in Gloucestershire series. More here.
Diary Dates…
Tuesday:
Richard Brown, head of Lead Generation, is set to host ‘Promoting your business with AI’ at The Growth Hub, Tewkesbury, from 10am to 1pm. Brown will breakdown how to build content that not only performs well today but works hard tomorrow too. More here.
Wednesday
Experienced sales manager and director Jonathan Viney is due to stage this seminar - How to improve your sales approach - at The Growth Hub, Cheltenham, from 9.30am to 12.30pm. More here.
Network B2B stages this weekly Cotswolds Business Networking Event for Cirencester companies from 7.30 on Zoom. More here.
Friday
Women Talk Business - Business networking for women at The Ivy. From 10am to 11.30am. Tickets are £24. More here.
Worth knowing too…
📖 Realising Good Growth: a Practical Guide for Business Leaders - that’s not the name of the event; it’s the name of the book whose ideas the event will unpack. Authors. Professor Steve Kempster and Dr Stewart Barnes will discuss their key ideas, including why purpose-led business is also good business. In short, how placing people, planet and community at the heart of your strategy doesn’t come at the cost of profit but can actively drive competitive advantage, stronger teams and better long-term returns. Every time the QuoLux team has staged a similar event it’s been the best-attended business event of the year in Gloucestershire. Due to take place on Monday 18 May from 5pm to 8pm at Oxstalls Campus, University of Gloucestershire, GL2 9HW. More here.
💻 Food and drink producers, suppliers, farming and hospitality businesses are being summoned to a meeting at Cheltenham’s Hub8 MX on Thursday 21 May staged by Food For Thought CIC. Lorrin White, the former CEO of Bamboo Technology and now head of marketing and development at HCR Law, will give a masterclass on how to use Microsoft 365, how to reclaim your time and increase revenue and efficiency. Subsidised by Made in Gloucestershire, The Growth Hub and Gloucestershire County Council. From 10am till noon. Tickets are £10. More here.
Charity of the week: Community Connexions
Community transport charity Community Connexions has announced it is freezing its registration fees for 2026, reinforcing its commitment to keeping essential travel services accessible and affordable for those who rely on them most. The decision comes as many continue to face financial challenges during the current cost of living crisis.
Paul Riddick, chief executive officer of Community Connexions, said: “We want as many people as possible to have the freedom to access activities without restriction.”
Community Connexions provides what it calls ‘essential, prebooked transport for vulnerable people of all ages who may otherwise struggle to travel independently’.
Operating across Gloucestershire including Gloucester, Cheltenham, Tewkesbury, Stroud, Tetbury, Cirencester, Berkeley Vale and the South Cotswolds. The charity plays a vital role in connecting people to healthcare appointments, shopping, social activities, and community life. Its services include door-to-door transport, community bus routes, and group bookings, helping to reduce isolation and improve quality of life for passengers. To find out more visit Community Connexions.
The Raikes Journal is a community interest company. Everything you read by us is made possible by our incredible Founding Partners: QuoLux, Willans LLP, Gloucestershire College, Merrell People, our sponsors, our Founding Members and wonderful paying subscribers.
If you upgrade to become a paid subscriber you’ll be part of this CIC too. You’ll help make us sustainable, be able to see past the paywalls, comment on our stories, and know you’re making possible the county’s only editorially-led platform dedicated to delivering quality journalism for Gloucestershire about its businesses, charities, education and training sectors.
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Raikes Rewards: Is this Gloucestershire’s fastest-growing business?
Today we single out the first company in our Raikes Rewards series, a business that’s landed an exciting contract with EasyJet and a firm for which growth was already heading skyward in style.
We’ve been waiting for a big enough story to come along to properly launch what we’re calling our Raikes Rewards series of stories, and this story fits the bill.
The series aims to recognise growth, deals, major achievements and almost any kind of meaningful win for a business or organisation or individual involved in business, education, training or charity work in the county.
And today we take a closer look at Skyborne after its latest contract win was made public.
The Gloucestershire Airport-headquartered business, a specialist trainer of airline pilots, made the grand reveal earlier late last week, adding another household name to its impressive hangar of airlines it already trains pilots for.
From now on, if you fly with EasyJet, there will be an increasing chance your pilot will have been trained by the Staverton firm, which puts its trainees through its paces at Gloucestershire Airport and at its training school in Vero Beach base, Florida.
Lee Woodward, chief executive officer and co-founder of Skyborne (pictured below), said: “Our new partnership with easyJet as an official UK training partner for the Flightcrew Futures programme marks a significant step.
“Our new five-year agreement is a true testament to our ability to train pilots of the highest quality and standards in the industry, and we take pride in this fact.”
Easyjet joins the likes of British Airways, Flydubai and Indigo on the Gloucestershire firm’s books.
“Many of Skyborne’s graduates have already earned their seats in the flight deck with easyJet, and through our dedicated team of experts, we’re committed to delivering 500 of the most talented and skilled individuals over the next five years, who will go on to fly passengers across Europe and beyond,” added Woodward.
In fact, the figure for trainees across the UK and United States is nearer 660 and the current “enrolment profile” for Skyborne is 400 trainees.
Skyborne wouldn’t confirm the value of the contract with EasyJet on the record, but back in July 2024 the training deal it struck with British Airways was expected to see it benefit from a share of a £21m investment by the airline.
Skyborne was actually announced as the official UK partner for the British Airways Speedbird Pilot Academy in September 2023.
In 2024, its latest set of published accounts showed turnover was £13.5 million and profit was £3.6 million. Staff numbers have risen from 120 in 2020/21 to 140 in 2022.
In its last recorded financial year - 2023 to 2024 - turnover growth was in excess of 50 per cent, climbing from £17m to £27m.
The growth was fuelled by the aforementioned British Airways deal and similar arrangements with Flydubai and IndiGo.
It was creating jobs too. Recorded staff numbers were 257, up from 173 over the same period.
After writing the first draft of this article we heard from Skyborne that its consolidated revenue figure for 2025 will be approximately £40m, which gives some idea of the expected growth as a result of the EasyJet deal.
That growth trajectory explains why Skyborne is the first recorded winner of our Raikes Rewards series, which is made possible by sponsors Willans LLP solicitors and leadership development specialists QuoLux.
Training for the easyJet Flightcrew Futures programme will be delivered across Skyborne’s facilities at Staverton and Bournemouth as well as its Vero Beach base in Florida, in the United States.
Trainees will progress through ground school, flight training and Airline Pilot Standards Multi-Crew Cooperation (APS MCC) before joining easyJet.
You can find information about how to join its programme on the Skyborne website.
Skyborne also has relationships with Ryanair’s Future Flyer Academy, Jet2.com’s Jet2FlightPath and the SkyWest Professional Pilot Pathway.
It’s also the only academy to support DHL Air (UK) with a fully funded ‘integrated ATPL training initiative’ for its employees.
If you have a story or news of a business you think should be recognised as part of our Raikes Rewards series then please do get in touch. Email andrew.merrell@raikesjournal.co.uk.