Conversation Starters for Networking Events

Posted on October 23, 2014

Networking at a Business EventWhether you’re new to events or you’re adept at working a room, sometimes you might find yourself in need of a few conversation starters. Mingling at an event can feel particularly daunting when you’re new to a company or industry, but it’s a necessary part of the business world. Fortunately, there are some conversation starters everyone can employ to make events easier.

Look Out for Other People on Their Own

Unless the room is full of super confident networkers, the chances are someone else is going to be feeling out of place too. Take a look around the room for other loners and try the following:

“Do you work for (insert company name)? I work for (insert your company’s name)”
One of the best ways to get someone talking about themselves or their reason for being at an event is to find out more about their company. This is also a great opportunity to learn about their role and brag about yours.

“Hi there, I’m Sam.”
Okay, so starting with your name might seem a little simplistic. However, sometimes the simplest conversation starters are the best. If they’re struggling to network, they’ll appreciate pretty much any introduction.

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The Warrington Regeneration Plan

Posted on October 16, 2014

Warrington Town CentreThe Warrington Regeneration Plan is the Warrington Borough Council’s plan for redeveloping the Bridge Street area in the town centre. The £52 million regeneration plan was announced in 2013 and will revitalise an important retail hub for the town. Once complete, the project will create a family-friendly destination for shopping, entertainment and leisure.

About the Plan

Announced in October 2013, the Bridge Street regeneration plan will revitalise the traditional retail heart of the town centre. The plan for Bridge Street will include the development of a new multiplex cinema and a new civic centre, which will be the home of civic offices. One of the key components of the project will be the development of a contemporary market hall on Bridge Street. The new market will be built on the site of the former Boots building. The project will keep the Grade II listed building and maintain the existing heritage façade as the market’s entrance.

Planning permission for the project was submitted in August 2014 following a period of formal public consultation in June 2014. The Bridge Street regeneration project is being delivered in two phases to minimise disruption. The first phase will include the construction of a new building on the site of Time Square, which will be used as a temporary home of the market. The market will be located in its temporary home for two years while the former hall is demolished and the new building is built on Bridge Street.

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Office Requirements: Office Furniture

Posted on October 10, 2014

Prime Office Space has compiled a series of guides to help you with all your Office Requirements needs including Office Planning, Office Equipment, Communications Equipment, Office Furniture, Computer Software, Computer Equipment and Office Supplies.

This week we will be looking at: Office Furniture

Contemporary workplaces should have furniture of adequate quality, quantity, design, and size to meet the needs of current office technology. In the recent years, a key factor when selecting office furniture is the environmental responsibility of the products. This includes the location that the product is manufactured or produced, the degree to which a product can be recycled and what is the product’s impact on indoor air quality. Additionally, the office furniture market is rapidly changing. Employees work more efficiently and technological advancements require the use of proper office furniture, which can adjust to different business needs and how people are using working space differently.

You should primarily consider your office furniture budget. The amount of money you are willing to spend on your office furniture depends on your office space and needs. If you have a small office with a few employees, you are looking for less working stations and a low budget. Your budget will determine the type, quality and quantity of the office items you will purchase. Having a budget will help you control you spending and look for the best deals in the market.

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Re-Development of Infinity Park Derby

Posted on October 2, 2014

Infinity Park Derby is intended to attract thousands of jobs, primarily in the high-tech sector. The manufacturing and technology business park will also help Derby increase economic output and boot productivity in order to further establish the city as a leading high-tech hub. Marketed as the UK capital of innovation, Infinity Park is being jointly developed by Miller Birch and Wilson Bowden Developments.

About Infinity Park

Infinity Park is designed with a mix of commercial developments including offices, retail and leisure facilities and industrial space. Originally known as the Global Technology Cluster, the development was formally announced by local government and business leaders in October 2013. It is designed to build on the successes of Pride Park, an 80-hectare business park on former railway yards that is now at capacity. The business park is a partnership between Derby City Council, Rolls-Royce, the Harpur Crewe Estate, and developers Wilson Bowden and Miller Birch.

The new manufacturing and technology business park will support supply chain small and medium sized businesses in the aerospace, automotive and rail industries. When complete, the development will encompass 25 acres and will feature 1.5 million square feet of space when fully developed. The park will be zoned to allow for commercial, distribution, leisure and industrial uses. Although a focus of the sprawling business park will be on the high-tech sector, Infinity Park will also attract jobs and businesses from a range of other sectors. Construction on the new park began in 2014.

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Office Requirements: Communications Equipment

Posted on September 26, 2014

Office Communications EquipmentPrime Office Space has compiled a series of guides to help you with all your Office Requirements needs including Office Planning, Office Equipment, Communications Equipment, Office Furniture, Computer Software, Computer Equipment and Office Supplies.

This week we will be looking at:

Communications Equipment

Modern, high-quality office communications equipment makes a huge difference in business productivity and improves customer perception about the company.

Contemporary businesses have a multi-line phone system to handle a sufficient number of lines (typically more than two) for inbound and outbound calls. Each employee has access to a telephone and is able to transfer a call, place a call on hold, put a call on speaker or start a conference call for both internal and external customers. Also, a multi-line phone system has queuing and messaging capabilities and can also be linked to a computer for computerized call routing. The number of telephones that need to be purchased are subject to the number of employees, the business size and the call volume. However, with computerized call routing the need for more lines is possible as a result of downloading more data and using telecommuting options.

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Heathrow Airport for Business Travellers

Posted on September 18, 2014

Travel a lot for business? Flying in to London for a quick meeting? Read our business travel guide to Heathrow and make the most of your time in and around the airport.

Business Travel Stats

Heathrow Airport serves 28 of the top 29 world destinations based on their GDP ranking and handles nearly 190,000 passengers daily. It is estimated that the airport handles nearly 40 departures per destination weekly and serves 40 percent of all UK business travellers, of which 63 percent are from London.

Since 2009, nearly 1/3 of all passengers going going through Heathrow annually were business travellers. More specifically, the percentage of business travellers in 2009: 33.7% (22.2 million), percentage of business travellers in 2010: 35.3% (23.2 million), percentage of business travellers in 2011: 31% (21.5 million), percentage of business travellers in 2012: 30% (20.7 million) and percentage of business travellers in 2013 remained steady at 30% out of the 72.3 million people that travelled through Heathrow.

Heathrow passenger breakdown 2013

Business Services and Incentives

Heathrow is becoming increasingly attractive for passengers as a result of a huge transformation that took place from 2008 to 2011 with the operation of Terminal 5. Additionally, Terminals 1, 2, 3 and 4 have undergone modernisation improvements and remodelling. Especially for business passengers, the new airport facilities include self-service check-in desks, fast bag drops and extra security lanes. The Fast Track priority service is addressed to business passengers, who can save up to 30 minutes walking from the parking area to the airport, check-in area and gate. Regardless of the airline, the Fast Track priority service typically offers dedicated parking, duty free counters and priority check-in and boarding.

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Birmingham’s Regeneration Plan

Posted on September 12, 2014

Grand Ferris Wheel - Birmingham City CentreFor over two hundred years, Birmingham has played a crucial role in the development of the British economy. Since the early stages of the Industrial Revolution, this West Midlands city has been undergoing constant geographic and demographic expansion. While this has put pressure on the city’s resources, it has also provided numerous opportunities for growth and development. In this article we take a look at how the various regeneration projects that will soon be a reality in Birmingham can help boost even further the local economy and transform the Midlands city into a model for successful urban planning and high standards of living.

Birmingham’s Big City Plan

The Big City Plan is one of the most important regeneration initiatives currently underway in Birmingham. This regeneration masterplan is designed to transform the city centre area over a period of 20 years, increasing the city core’s total area by nearly 25 per cent and improving connectivity and standards of living.

The Big City Plan was devised by Birmingham City Council following the comprehensive report published by Baron Mike Whitby, who has shown a lifelong commitment to improving the city’s livability and infrastructure standards. The Big City Plan was launched in early 2008 and it is expected that once it is fully completed, it will add 1.5 million square metres of prime floorspace, create more than 50,000 jobs, build 5,000 new homes, and contribute more than £2 billion to the local economy every year.

This clearly ambitious urban regeneration plan has identified six economic zones that will attract high-value businesses to the city, which include the Jewellery Quarter, St George & St Chad, Eastside, Digbeth, and Westside & Ladywood. In addition to these core areas in and around the city centre, the Big City Plan also aims to transform other outlying districts, such as Greater Icknield, Bordesley Park, Longbridge, Sutton Coldfield, South Edgbaston, Selly Oak, Aston, Newtown, Lozells, and the areas along the Eastern Corridor, which currently connects the city centre with Birmingham airport.

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How Can The New Enterprise Allowance Help Business Startups?

Posted on September 5, 2014

Man with laptopThe British economy has always been characterised by being open to a large number of forward-thinking and adaptive initiatives. As a result, the United Kingdom has a dynamic business culture, and this fact has certainly played an important role in the country’s post-recession economic recovery. A growing number of business startups is considered one of the most important characteristics of a healthy economy, so it should not come as a surprise that many governmental schemes are geared towards facilitating the appearance of new business ventures. According to the Federation of Small Businesses, during the first two quarters of 2013, more than 90,000 business were launched across the UK, the majority of which were small ventures. But the UK has potential for much more than that, and it is precisely due to this reason that the British executive has made a special effort to revive the Enterprise Allowance business scheme. Take a look at how this initiative can help new business startups in the UK.

An introduction to the New Enterprise Allowance

What exactly prompted the development of this business scheme? In the first place, we must clarify that the New Enterprise Allowance is not exactly new. In November 1981, the Thatcher government launched the Enterprise Allowance scheme, which aimed to tackle high unemployment levels and to boost entrepreneurial culture across the country. Therefore, the objective of this initiative was two-fold: first, it hoped to get people back into work; and second, it aimed to improve the country’s economic indicators by offering financial support to entrepreneurs. The original Enterprise Allowance consisted of weekly payments of £40, an amount that was certainly much more desirable than the £26 per week paid to those on unemployment benefits.

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Office Requirements: Office Equipment

Posted on August 29, 2014

Multi functional office machinePrime Office Space has compiled a series of guides to help you with all your Office Requirements needs including Office Planning, Office Equipment, Communications Equipment, Office Furniture, Computer Software, Computer Equipment and Office Supplies.

This week we will be looking at:

Office Equipment

Office equipment is an integral part of any business. Before choosing your office technology or hardware, you need to consider the following:

• Choose the right printer equipment for the volume of printing material your business requires. Inkjet printers are low-cost, and provide good quality black and white and colour prints, whereas laser printers are more expensive because of their speed and quality of printing. Do a thorough market research a select a reputable brand that can meet your business needs. Reputable doesn’t necessarily mean expensive. You may find state-of-the-art technology at a low cost.

• For copiers, it is important to consider the value for money in terms of time. If your copier is slow and you constantly outsource promotional material and sales brochures at a high cost, buy a new copier that can print in colour and save money. Other things to consider are response time (how quickly the machine warms up), volume usage and paper handling (paper capacity). Ideally, a good, reliable, low-cost copier should be able to handle a wide variety of paper sizes and index cards (versatility).

• Fax machines have become all-in-one machines as many of them are also printers, scanners and copiers. Make sure to choose a reputable brand with a quick and reliable service, especially if you work with an all-in-one machine.

• When purchasing hardware, ensure compatibility with existing systems. Ideally, all desktops, laptops and computer peripherals should be the same brand to facilitate service. Additionally, an upgradeable hardware will allow you to add more memory in your computer if necessary.

• When purchasing software, it’s better to select software products with 24/7 support. Should anything go wrong in the installation or the compatibility with your existing operating system, you will able to contact the vendor and get technical assistance

• Select a reliable vendor and stick with them. Changing vendors may cost you time and money. In contrast, building a solid relationship with a reliable supplier will mean better service, better deals and timely delivery.

• Proper maintenance and support is very important. Make sure you have a warranty protection or a service contract to guarantee your equipment won’t be out of service and/or commission for long.

In conclusion, selecting the right office equipment while staying within budget requires good knowledge of the business needs as well as of technological advancements. The best thing to do is to consult the IT department and get the office equipment that can help you improve your operating results over the next years.

Next In The Series: Communications Equipment

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Liverpool Waters Regeneration Project

Posted on August 21, 2014

Liverpool Docks

Liverpool Waters is a redevelopment project that will transform Liverpool’s northern docks. The project will create a world class mixed-use quarter in the city centre from mostly redundant and derelict former docks. It will also provide significant economic benefits to Liverpool and the surrounding region, including thousands of new jobs. The project will also dramatically change the city’s skyline with new office towers, hotels, and residential development.

About the Project
Liverpool Waters is a 30-year vision for the Mersey Waters Enterprise Zone, one of Liverpool’s most important commercial centres. The project is led by the Peel Group, a private real estate, transport, infrastructure and media investment company based in Manchester. Liverpool Waters includes the creation of a mixed-use quarter with improved infrastructure between the city centre and the north end of the city. The regeneration project is one of the largest single-ownership, port-city development schemes in Europe according to its developer

Announced in 2007, development as part of the Liverpool Waters regeneration project is expected to take thirty to fifty years. The site’s first planning applications were submitted in 2004. Following community consultation on the proposed plans, Liverpool City Council granted planning permission for the Liverpool Waters project in 2012. The project is complemented by the Wirral Waters project on the west bank of the Mersey. The site will include a new 55-storey tower, which will become the tallest building in the North West of England.

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