Category: Business News

Law firm Darbys, which has offices Thame and Oxford, has reported positive half-year growth revenues of almost

INTEROUTE Transport Services, which went into administration on May 17, has been taken on by Gregory Distribution who has bought the business and assets of the Thame-based company.

Devon-based Gregory paid an undisclosed sum to acquire the Thame distribution specialist based in Rycote Lane, Thame.

A total of 27 employees have transferred to Gregory and all key customers have been retained as part of the deal.
Gregory, which can trace its history back to 1919, stated that the operation has a “very strong fit” with its existing sites which includes transport operations at nearby Bicester, Minworth and Milton Keynes.

A deputy pub manager from Thame has landed herself the first seat on a plane to Kenya next year to take part in the life-changing experience of planting a forest in a week, on a new conservancy project on the northern boundary of the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem.

Serena Toh, who works at The Thatch in Thame, lined up against a group of other hopefuls to compete for one of just 11 places on a volunteer trip to the region next year. The challenge came from the company behind The Thatch, North Aston based Peach Pubs, who have set up a new charity initiative The Peach Foundation to raise money for two causes close to Peach?s heart, the communities its pubs are based in and the future sustainability of the planet.

Peach has always supported local and sustainable projects through The Thatch, for example by fundraising for Barley Hill Primary School to buy a greenhouse for the children to grow fresh fruit and vegetables; the pub donates 25p from every Caesar salad it sells to support healthy schools campaigns in the area.

This year it has created a foundation to help small organisations further from home in their bid to leave the world better than they found it, a cause Peach also champions. The first stage is to give financial and practical support to the Enonkishu Conservancy in Masai Mara, Kenya, to create a sustainable mix of tourism, forestry and Masai traditional farming to help preserve one of Africa?s increasingly fragile ecosystems.

Manpower ? or in this case spade-power – is a key part of this; Serena will be helping to plant 10,000 trees in the space of a week when she goes to Kenya in January, as she explains.

?I was put forward by my boss, Frazer Sutherland, to take part in this challenge. To earn it, I took part in a mastermind-style competition where I and my team mates answered quick-fire questions on our menu and our regulars ? what their names are, what they do, what they like to eat and drink, that sort of thing. We had to show we were heroes of hospitality.

?I was very surprised to win ? though I think my five years at the pub helped ? and I?m really excited to be visiting a part of the world I?ve never been to before,? she says. ?Finding out about the conservancy has really opened my eyes to what?s going on there, and how important it is to do what we can to help. This might be a small step from a small group of us, but I?ll be able to tell people in the pub about it and hopefully open their eyes too.

?It?ll be a great experience to be part of, and I can?t wait to swap my day job of working in a pub to helping people on the other side of the world. Though I?ll have to get practising with the digging to get a bit fitter ? Frazer?s promised me a pink spade!? she adds.

The company will be nominating 10 other ?Peach Heroes? from its pubs over the coming months, who have done something exceptional in their work or gone the extra mile in some way, to join Serena when she flies to Kenya in January. As well as planting the forest, the team of volunteers will take part in activities that promote sustainable farming, forestry and tourism in this part of Africa.

SOURCE: Contributed

TALK: Friday, June 28 – 08:30am – Cat Young of STW, based in Thame, is giving a 20-minute talk at a networking event being run by Adhere Training Club.

The event is a monthly meeting run by the Adhere Training Club to give local businesses a chance to network and gain some valuable skills from a 20-minute mini training session.

This month, Cat will be sharing her secrets to creating cracking content for your website, blogs & social media updates.

In this concentrated session you will discover:
Why creating content is so vital to SEO
Where you can distribute content to
How easy it is to know what to write about and when to publish

Click here to find out more about the event, or to book yourself in.

THE Infrastructure investment announced in the Chancellor’s Economic Statement yesterday, has been welcomed by the Federation of Small Businesses but delivery must happen soon, it has stated today.

Welcoming the Government?s infrastructure investment outlined today by Danny Alexander MP, John Allan, National Chairman, Federation of Small Businesses, said, on roads investment: ?The

A hair salon in Thame has become the latest location for people to donate to the Sharing Life Trust Food bank. Brothers in the Buttermarket, have installed the food bank in their reception area.

Salon Director, Adam Buckland, said: ?Brothers are delighted to be the first shop to offer itself to Sharing Life Trust to help people support families in Thame who are experiencing real food poverty. The food banks are located at the Town Hall, the Library, Thame churches and schools, but they all have restricted opening times so with Brothers being open from 9am ? 8pm most days, it gives our clients and passersby plenty of opportunity to drop off much needed food.?

For more information on how you can help and what food is needed you can visit the trust?s website: http://www.sharinglifetrust.org/foodbank or call them on 0845 466 0264

PAUL Stachura, well known locally for his entertaining cookery demonstration at the Thame Food Festival in 2011, has recently returned as manager of Connells in Thame, and he simply can?t believe the change in the local housing market since he was last here.

Paul, who spent six years in the Thame office, four of them as manager, has been working in another part of the business for the past eighteen months. ?When I left it was a difficult time for anyone wanting to sell property but now the market is fantastic,? he said. ?We are struggling to keep up with demand from people who want to buy in this area and urgently need more stock of all types, but particularly two and three bedroom properties on the Lee Park Estate.?

Commenting on his return to a town he knows so well, Paul added: ?It?s great to be back and I?ve already bumped into many people I’ve known for years. With so much more activity in the market I am looking forward to helping previous customers who are now ready to move home again and, of course, welcoming many new ones to the branch.?

THIS month’s late Breakfast event in the Eden Suite at The Spread Eagle Hotel in Thame, will be on Thursday, June 20, 9-10.30am when the guest speaker, Chantal Cornelius, will speak about how to SURVIVE 10.

How do you survive the first ten years of business?
How do you build a business that will last ?
This is the inspiring story of how one business did it, surviving the highs and lows and coming out at the other side fitter, leaner and stronger. Chantal, of Apple Tree Marketing, has just written her second book about how to survive the first ten years in business. On June 20, she’ll be sharing with you plenty of advice on the pitfalls and mistakes to avoid, as well as tips and ideas that you can use in your business, to build it to last.

Book before 12.00 on Wednesday, June 19, to appear on the guest list or simply turn up on the day. Either way the entry fee of

TWO fitness professionals from Thame are organising a quarterly Charity Lunch for all Fitness professionals in the Thame and surrounding area, to get together and throw ideas around over a healthy bit of food.

Martin King and George Anderson are sending out an appeal to other local fitness professionals via their
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/531152280284820/permalink/535069416559773/

A firm from Haddenham was delighted to have been shortlisted for a Local Authority Building Control (LABC) Central Region Building Excellence Award, for a second year running.

Haddenham-based company PCMS, an architectural design and project management firm, were finalists in the ?Best Educational Development? category. Their scheme to design and project manage a new Reception Classroom at Laburnum Lower School in Sandy, Bedfordshire, saw them reach the top three.

The prestigious Awards Event took place at Jury?s Inn, Milton Keynes on May 22, with the judging panel allocating awards to a wide range of public and residential construction developments.

In 2012 PCMS were also finalists in the ?Best Sustainable Project? category, a success that came in the same year as their appearance on Channel 4?s ?Double Your House for Half The Money?, featuring a house extension project in Easington.

Speaking on behalf of PCMS, Alex Bond said that the growing success of a local company was something to be proud of in a difficult and competitive marketplace.

PHOTO: The winning team fro PCMS, Haddenham