Business First South East

The new South East edition of Business First was launched at the South East Business Awards at Ascot Racecourse on Thursday night.

It was a glittering occasion, attended by the best of business in South East England. One of the many highlights was a fine speech by Digby, Lord Jones of Birmingham, formerly of the CBI and now one of Gordon Brown's GOAT's (Government Of All the Talents...).

The occasion was organised by SEEDA as a way of paying tribute to the fantastic quality of businesses in the region. Business First was the media partner for the occasion, whose sponsors were Qinetic, Shoosmiths, EDF Energy, The Environment Agency, The Learning and Skills Council, EEF South, Business Link and UKTI.

There will be a full report in the Q2 issue of Business First, coming out in May.

Also in the next edition:

• Innovation - ideas are fine, but are we any good at turning them into viable businesses?
  
• Southampton - city on the rise. A major report into plans to make Southampton the business jewel of the south coast.
  
• Commercial Property - where the smart money goes in an uncertain market...

...and the usual mix of brilliant businesses, sound advice, what to do with your downtime, not forgetting the rather irritable gentleman below.

The Sceptic Makes Waves

Our resident malcontent, The Sceptic, has been causing a stir among readers of the new magazine. His sardonic commentary on modern business life certainly pulls no punches.

"Obnoxious drivel - brilliant!" was one reaction we really liked (yes, they really said that).

The Sceptic is being tempted to turn his quarterly column into a blog...or will be, once we summon the courage to explain to him what a blog is and that he probably won't be paid any more for doing it.

You'll find his rant in the magazine - click on any of the thumbnails on the right or here to read it.

We want to hear from businesses who have interesting stories to tell. Send us your ideas. We can't write about everyone who wants us to - the magazine would weigh a ton otherwise! - but then your story might be the one that does get in.

We also want to hear from businesses who want to promote themselves to the most influential business market in the South East either through advertising or advertising features. The magazine is distributed quarterly by mail directly to named senior executives in the biggest companies in South East of England.

If that is your target audience, we will happily carry your message.