Business in East Anglia

Brighter times on the horizon for region’s private sector

Demand in the East of England's private sector stabilised in May and employment increased for the first time this year whilst the 12 month outlook for activity also brightened, according to a key survey of purchasing managers. After falling for the previous three months, the volume of new business won by private sector firms was unchanged. The NatWest East of England business activity index rose to 49.7 in May from 48.8 in April - signalling a fractional decline in output. The improvement in the region was in keeping with national trends and firms in the region saw backlogs of work fall...

Region urged to 'fight harder' to attract direct foreign investment

Foreign direct investment in the East of England remained relatively high last year and Cambridge ranked as the 8th most attractive UK location for overseas projects for the second year running but the region is being urged to 'fight harder' to avoid losing out to other parts of the UK.

Although the number of foreign direct investment (FDI) projects in the East fell to 36 in 2018 from 59 in the previous year, it remains well up on earlier years such as 2015, when the region attracted just 21 projects. Ten FDI projects were recorded in Cambridge last year, down from 14 projec...

Call for offshore training to be recognised in tenders to avert workforce ‘crisis’

A 'workforce crisis' is looming in the region’s offshore wind industry unless companies are recognised for their investment in training when tendering for work, according to a leading figure in the sector. Graham Hacon, CEO of Great Yarmouth-based offshore wind services firm 3sun Group, told the SNS2019 conference in Norwich this week that businesses training technicians and inspection engineers can no longer carry the financial burden of funding training then lose tenders to companies that invest nothing. His firm has spent more than £3 million in the last two years on training new en...

New digital skills centres to be set up in Norfolk and Suffolk in £14.5 million investment

Four new projects to boost digital skills in Norfolk and Suffolk which involve new education and training centres in Ipswich and Norwich have been announced by New Anglia LEP in a new £14.5 million capital growth funding package.

At the University of Suffolk, a new £6.5 million digital skills & innovation accelerator will be set up as a 'nationally significant' ICT research and training centre with 1,600 sq m of space. Working with BT and the Adastral Park tech cluster, it envisages some 520 new students, 145 apprentices and 36 new jobs. Meanwhile, at City College Norwich a new £6.1...

Boost to region’s growing MedTech sector

A new report has been launched to help the region’s growing number of medical technology businesses sector navigate what has been described as the ‘often confusing’ pathway for firms to access the National Health Service.

The NHS spends £6bn a year on MedTech and there is significant growth potential for companies in the region. Cambridge ranks as the largest cluster of firms in the sector in Europe and the East of England has seen 27 life sciences sites set up over 2007-19 with over 1200 people thought to have joined the sector.

The new report from The Eastern Academic Health Sci...