Cardiff means business
A MAJOR new partnership representing some of Cardiff’s leading employers was formally formed today, with the core objective of ensuring that the views of major corporations are at the heart of the development of Cardiff as a competitive business destination. The new Cardiff Business Partnership will look at the factors that will shape the city over the next 20 years, considering issues such as globalisation, sustainable development and economic competitiveness in developing a city of the future. Cardiff is now one of the fastest growing economies in the UK and has the highest rate of growth in private sector employment of all major UK Cities.
Supporting businesses include Admiral Insurance plc, Tesco, Boomerang Plus plc, S. A. Brain, TATA Consulting Services, Legal & General, Media Wales, Freshwater UK plc, Hugh James and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Cardiff Council has also voiced its support for the initiative.
The mission of the Cardiff Business Partnership is: To represent leading businesses in the Capital of Wales, ensuring that the views of enterprise are at the heart of the development of Cardiff as a competitive business location.
Speaking at the Mansion House in Cardiff today the Chairman of the Cardiff Business Partnership and Legal & General director Adrian Clark said; “The Partnership represents leading businesses in Cardiff, employing well over 10,000 people here and many more elsewhere in Wales and across Europe. We want to make sure that our knowledge and expertise contributes to the city’s development. Cardiff Business Partnership will act as a voice for leading employers in the city. It will also be able to work with other key organisations charged with the development and promotion of the city to ensure that Cardiff maximises its potential as a major European capital.”
David Stevens Chief Operating Officer of Admiral Insurance added: “It’s very important to Admiral that Cardiff’s builds on the great progress made over the last decade to become an even better place in which to live and work. It’s important both for the future prosperity of the company and for the wellbeing of the 1,500 strong Cardiff–based workforce.”
Cllr Rodney Berman, Leader of Cardiff Council also offered the local authority’s support: “We’ve got some of the best and most competitive businesses in the UK, and the world, and this is something we should be shouting from the rooftops. Companies like Admiral have shown how businesses in the capital can continue to grow, even during a period of global recession and I am delighted this partnership has been formed, which I am sure will reap dividends for everyone involved.”
Cllr Neil McEvoy Executive Member for Economic Development at Cardiff Council echoed the private sector view and said: “Business in the Welsh Capital needs a distinctive voice and the Cardiff Business Partnership can provide this. In order to do this, we need the drive of the private sector working in partnership with the Council. It is essential to build bridges and facilitate so Cardiff can achieve greater prosperity for the city, the region and Wales.”
An integral part of the Cardiff Business Partnership will be the Cardiff 2030 Group, chaired by Huw Eurig Davies CEO of Boomerang Plus Plc. This group will give the city a clear path for becoming an internationally competitive capital.
Cardiff is a key driver of the Wales economy and generates huge economic benefits for the rest of the country. Since the beginning of the new millennium, Cardiff has accounted for more than a quarter of the total jobs growth throughout Wales, according to the latest Annual Business Inquiry data.
Two-fifths of Cardiff’s workforces, some 75,000 people, commute daily into the city from across Wales and the South East Wales region as a whole accounts for over half of Wales’s total economic output.
This major initiative is welcome news to many of the major employers and business movers and shakers in the capital city.
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this all sounds like a good idea, but what about the vast majority of businesses in Cardiff who are SMEs? Well over 99% are SMEs and I wouldn’t like to see their voice overshadowed by the bigger companies.
Mr Jones
Do the top 5,000 SMEs employ as much as the top 50 companies in Wales?
SMEs feed off plc’s.E.g Bosch Sony now moving from Wales.Why ? and see how this affects SMEs in South Wales.Who is voice of Sony and Bosch if these were welsh corporations.
Two in three pounds in Wales from public sector?
What do you mean by voice when FSB is very good.
Excellent news
Shame we do not comment how important jobs are in Wales and that we are bottom of GDP league. Good to have real business news about real companies employing real people. Not the shining the devolved theories we often see in Wales.
Whenever I read about this sort of initiative fro the first time, I tend to Google the name.
Not sure what to expect I didn’t expect this:
http://www.cbp.org.uk/content/home.htm
nor this:
http://archive.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/servicefirst/database/datastore/lgov/70.htm
So how do we contact this group?
First meeting of the Board was on Monday 24 November 2009 to agree formation.
CBP mentioned above is historic.
This is intiative is very different from other networks – web site will be up in 14 days.
Contacts will be made clear.It is not a public sector organisation.
Company incorporated under Cardiff Business Partnership Limited.
interesting
so how many employees do TATA and PwC employ in Cardiff? double figures just about.
why should they get a say in the direction of the City’s public services?
oh! there must be millions of £’s involved somewhere…
With Cardiff being such a huge inpact on the economy and developing so fast, how come its getting so little Olympic 2012 attention? It has the sports village and millennium stadium which are being used for olympic events and training, but it really seems to be less than one would have expected. Nevertheless, as for the initiative, I’m very glad to hear about how important Cardiff is regarded.
Cardiff – Ask the Board at Cardiff & Co.See that they spent £1m on this per annum in the Echo tonight plus Chairman’s salary and expenses…no accountability, he is appointed for a further two years.Cardiff & Co includes the former LiIfeboat CEO now the the Airport MD ask him about loss of turnover/customers to Bristol airport?Who will investigate Cardiff & Co?Not the Council they only put in half a million pounds.