Inspired by UKTI's Exporting is GREAT initiative to inspire and support an additional 100,000 businesses to trade abroad by 2020, here are my top 10 reasons to expand your business horizons. It's vital to look for new customers overseas as …
In recent days, I’ve spent time at Liverpool Science Park, Manchester Science Park and Daresbury Science & Innovation Campus and I’ve been thinking about how important R&D is to the future prosperity of the UK. I work a lot with …
Right now, world leaders are gathered here in Copenhagen for the UN’s COP15 conference to mitigate the causes of climate change. Thousands of governmental and non-governmental participants are here to play their part in the negotiations. I am deeply impressed …
I've been to Birmingham a couple of times before but have stayed in the centre of the City. My exercise regime has suffered since being back in the UK so thought I'd have a go at finding somewhere to run in Birmingham. Not usually the easiest task in the centre of a city, but actually Birmingham is set on a series of canals and the tow paths make a perfect running track. Winter has started to set in but I can imagine that an evening drink next to a canal on a hot summer’s day would be lovely and so close to the centre of a big city.
Recently I was excited by many of the companies I met at Software City when I sat on a Dragons' Den panel, but none more so than by the games companies based in and around Liverpool. Yesterday I went to …
We’re all doing a lot of planning at the moment, in our case thinking of internationalisation and how to persuade more firms of the benefits of going global. UKTI has its Take it to the World campaign and we’re certainly …
I'm surprised by the conscious, obvious, effort that UK companies are taking to reduce their carbon footprint. It's everywhere and it has changed so much even though I've only been gone a year.
After taking advice I have had to cancel my planned two day visit to Cumbria this week, the most disappointing news I’ve had for a long time. Cumbria is a fantastic county. It’s rightly famous for its lakes and fells, …
I took the Maglev to Shanghai airport this morning. At 430km/hr it was a symbol of China’s self-confidence, a celebration of innovation and a good illustration of the phrase, “if you don’t try, you won’t fail”. Of course some experiments will please some …
How many cities of 7 million people, capital of an area of 90 million people, have you never heard of? Would you imagine HMG has no diplomatic representation there when we have to the Vatican, Luxembourg, Uruguay and Nepal)? Welcome …
After Exeter I drove up to Worcester for the Export Factor an event where over 100 companies from the West Midlands met to hear how UKTI can support them to export. The West Midlands, with its dominant automotive, minerals and metals and advanced engineering industries, has had a tough time in the recent recession. Unemployment has risen sharply. The Export Factor brought together businesses that were looking to export their way out of the slump.
