Many local people will know that Ceteris delivers the Business Gateway service, is a major provider of commercial property, and also owns Gean House. What many people may not know… is why!
Our company is a non-profit distributing organisation whose aims and objectives are all centred around economic development and economic regeneration, primarily within Clackmannanshire. All of our activities and outputs are aimed at fulfilling these objectives, and I must say, I am extremely proud of each of our teams’ efforts and of our contribution to the overall economy of the area.
On the property side, we now have over 150 tenants in our premises, between them employing almost 1000 people and offering a diverse array of products and services, from Medical Diagnostic kits to wrought iron gates, and from personal care to high level consultancy. Too many to mention, but highlighted by the fact that 5 of the successful businesses in the recent Clackmannanshire Business Awards are Ceteris tenants. Over the last 18 months, we have attracted 19 new businesses into our properties and the area, bringing over 40 jobs into the area.
We’ve introduced an LED lighting replacement programme to reduce our carbon footprint and have recently set up a ‘Green Team’ to promote further initiatives. The enthusiasm of this team is such that it was highlighted in our latest Investors in People accreditation in September.
In addition to these efforts, over the last 18 months, our Business Development Team, through Business Gateway have helped start up 159 businesses with an estimated employment of almost 240 people. We work with around 25 growth businesses each year, and this year alone, have leveraged in additional funding of over £45,000 for those businesses, as well as approving a further 19 business projects worth over £20,000.
On top of this, Ceteris’s own business development project has delivered/approved support worth over £25,000 to 22 of our tenants to support their business growth. Other initiatives that we have been supporting recently include Developing the Young Workforce, a Forth Valley wide group set up to improve employer engagement with schools.
Career Ready, a national charity that also supports employer engagement with schools by providing a mentoring and work ready programme for pupils. This initiative is in the early stages this year, with two local schools participating. Next year we hope to have all the Clacks schools involved.
And, last but not least, we continue to operate Gean House. Much of our activity at Gean now involves social functions, such as weddings and anniversaries, but we still manage to cater for a myriad of business functions. We welcome over 7000 guests to functions and events every year, while also holding almost 200 business events/meetings each year. The dedication shown by the Gean House team was recognised in the local business community when they won the “Excellence in Customer Service Award” at the prestigious Clacks 2016 Business Awards last month.
All this is a rather long winded way of explaining why we’re organising Clacks Business Week, sponsored by French Duncan Chartered Accountants and Business Advisers, in November.
This area has a substantial number of really good businesses and the whole week is dedicated to supporting business growth. We have a variety of events aimed at all size of business, all sectors and all stages of business cycle. Our team has put so much time and effort into organising this week and we hope that we have managed to provide a programme that interests you all as much as it does us.
This is an exciting new development in the business calendar of Clackmannanshire. The theme of Clackmannanshire Business Week is “Business Growth” and over 30 events are spread throughout the week including presentations, round table discussions, workshops, networking breakfasts and working lunches, some not to be missed are:
- Developing Tourism in Clackmannanshire
- Forth Valley Breakfast Buzz
- Clacks Business Women Learn & Lunch by FSB
- French Duncan Present Tax 2020
- Everything you need to know about Auto Enrolment
- Charity business networking lunch for the benefit of Scottish Autism
We urge you to enjoy Clacks Business Week 2016. Please attend as many of these free events as possible and take advantage of all of the networking opportunities open to your business.Finally, don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook to keep up-to-date with all the latest #clacksbusinessweek news.Read “Going for Growth”, The Clacks Business Week Magazine HERE.