Financial Stability and Comfort

Firstly, let’s break down what £700 per week translates to on a monthly and yearly basis. With four weeks in a month, this amounts to £2,800 per month. Annually, this adds up to £36,400 of disposable income. This figure is significant and provides a substantial cushion beyond essential living expenses such as housing, utilities, groceries, transportation, and insurance.

Standard of Living

In many parts of the UK, £700 per week of disposable income allows for a comfortable standard of living. To provide context, let’s look at some average monthly living costs in the UK:

Totaling these expenses, an average individual or household might spend between £1,300 and £2,150 monthly on essential costs. With a monthly disposable income of £2,800, this leaves a substantial amount for savings, investments, and discretionary spending.

Savings and Investments

One of the key benefits of having £700 of disposable income per week is the ability to save and invest a significant portion of it. Financial advisors typically recommend setting aside at least 20% of your income for savings and investments. With this level of disposable income, one could potentially save £140 per week, or £7,280 annually. This savings could be allocated towards:

This capacity for substantial saving contributes to long-term financial security and growth.

Debt Management

For individuals with existing debts, £700 of disposable income per week provides a strong position to manage and pay off debts efficiently. Whether it’s student loans, credit card debt, or a mortgage, having this amount of disposable income can accelerate debt repayment plans, reduce interest payments, and improve credit scores.

Regional Cost of Living Variations

It’s important to note that the cost of living varies significantly across different regions in the UK. Here’s a comparison of monthly living costs in different areas:

In metropolitan areas such as London, living expenses are considerably higher than in rural areas. Therefore, £700 of disposable income per week will stretch further in regions with a lower cost of living.

Personal Financial Goals

Individual financial goals and obligations also play a significant role in determining whether £700 per week is good disposable income. For someone saving for a large purchase like a home, or with significant personal commitments, this amount may offer the flexibility needed to achieve these goals within a reasonable timeframe. Conversely, for someone with minimal financial obligations, this level of disposable income can translate to considerable financial freedom and opportunities for discretionary spending.

Conclusion

In conclusion, £700 of disposable income per week is generally a strong and favorable financial position for most people. It provides ample room for covering essential living expenses, saving and investing, managing debts, and enjoying discretionary spending. However, the perceived adequacy of this income can vary based on individual circumstances, regional cost of living, and personal financial goals. As always, sound financial planning and budgeting are crucial to making the most of one’s disposable income, regardless of the amount.

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Based in Warwick, United Kingdom, Moasure is engineering the future of measurement. The Moasure One is an all-in-one compact tool for measuring in 1D, 2D and 3D, diameter, circumference, angles and levels. A companion app for smartphones measures boxes, large areas, cable runs, curves and arcs, irregular shapes, and more. Moasure’s patented technology uses motion to take measurements, leveraging inertial sensors and a proprietary algorithm to deliver an innovative new way to measure.

LaunchIt is a 2019 CES Press Day Power Session that took place Monday, January 7, at Mandalay Bay, one day before the CES show floor opened.In order to even be selected to be a part of the LaunchIt showcase, Moasure had to stand out from more than 1,100 innovative applicants. Once there, Moasure was among twelve finalists selected to deliver five-minute pitches to a room filled with hundreds of top journalists and venture capitalists.

After grabbing top marks at LaunchIt, Moasure was invited to attend ShowStoppers @ CES, which took place Tuesday, January 8, 6PM to 9PM, at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas.

Working with the Consumer Technology Association, which produces CES, ShowStoppers LaunchIT helps entrepreneurs and startups raise early seed capital by selecting from the more than 1100 young, innovative, transformative and entrepreneurial startups that exhibit in Eureka Park, a marketplace within CES where retailers, venture capitalists, manufacturers and others will find entrepreneurs launching new products, services, apps and ideas.

Quote from International Trade Secretary Dr Liam Fox MP: “I am here at CES to promote the UK and our technology companies to the world’s leading investors and potential customers. With 200,000 attendees, and over 100 UK companies in attendance there is no greater stage to do business.

“At the UK Pavilion we are showcasing start-up talent including Moasure, winners of the ShowStoppers Launchit award – awarded to a transformative, innovative and entrepreneurial company at CES each year.

“The level of innovation across our sectors is second to none and my international economic department will continue to champion it on the biggest global stages.”

Moasure was one of 12 finalists – including consumer products, Fintech, medical devices, transportation and electronics/instrumentation startups from seven countries:

• FenSens – San Francisco, CA., USA — The world’s first wireless parking sensor and app. An affordable upgrade for any car. Installs in less than five minutes, no wires, and hands-free app.
• Loop Earplugs – Antwerp, Belgium — An earplug for music that reduces decibels and looks fantastic. Available in five hot colors, Loop lets wearers avoid tinnitus without looking like a dork.
• Mitte – Berlin, Germany — The first of its kind smart home water system that turns any water into mineral water.
• Padrone – Zug, Switzerland — A beautiful ring replacing the computer mouse and turning into the ‘mouse’ and ‘keyboard’ for augmented reality for office.
• Pigzbe – London, United Kingdom – A ˜piggy-wallet” that teaches children ages 6+ the building blocks of modern money management.
• QT Medical Inc. – Torrance, CA., USA — Better health care by innovation.
• Tempdrop – Kfar Saba, Israel — A sleeping temperature sensor, app and web dashboard that allows women to accurately track their cycles without waking up.
• Waverly Labs – New York, NY, USA — At the convergence of speech translation and wearable technology, developing Pilot, the world’s first smart earpiece language translator.
• Waycare – Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel — AI-driven mobility solutions for smart cities.
• WeatherCheck – Louisville, KY., USA — Exclusive premise-specific monitoring for severe weather damage, 24/7/365, with automatic notification and documentation to support insurance claims.
• Y-Brush – Lyon, France — Automatically deep cleans your teeth the way dentists recommend in just 10 seconds.

This year’s judges were:

• Nicholas Zaldastani, managing director, Zaldastani Ventures and a Mentor Capitalist leveraging his venture capital and serial entrepreneurial experiences.
• Marita McGinn, manager of hardware products, Indiegogo, an international crowdfunding platform.
• Philippe Wieczorek, directeur du groupe Logiciel – Minalogic innovation cluster. Based in Grenoble, France, Minalogic is a global innovation cluster for digital technologies in the Auvergne Rhone-Alps Region that brings together more than 400 members, a vast majority of SMEs (80%), large corporations (15%) and startups; 12 research centers and universities; 15 local government agencies, 16 economic development organizations, banks and private investors.
• Sharona Justman, a businesswoman known for connecting companies and leaders to align in creating rich opportunities for business. She co-founded STEP Strategy Advisors, an advisory firm focused on technology and consumer products, providing strategic planning and acquisitions advisory to facilitate expanding the growth of companies through market entry expansion planning and execution.

For more info, visit: www.moasure.com.

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Simon Wilson, owner and Managing Director of Intouch Games Ltd, a Midlands-based developer of online casino brands, mFortune, PocketWin, and Mr Spin, said:

“We are delighted to start the New Year by achieving Michelin style 1* accreditation as a Best Company to Work For. This reinforces our commitment to making Intouch Games one of the best possible places to work for and builds on last year’s recognition as one of the 1,000 Companies to Inspire Britain.

“Our goal is to become one of the top 100 workplaces in the country, helping to cement the Midlands place as home to some of the best and brightest brands and innovators in the nation.”

The eGaming giant was recently named as one of the biggest influencers and employers in Birmingham’s renowned tech industry and has reinforced this position with a Michelin Style 1* accreditation as a Best Company to Work For by independent workforce engagement specialist Best Companies Ltd.

With a BCI score of 685.5, the UK’s largest privately owned eGaming studio was ranked within the top half of all companies to achieve the Best Companies Limited accreditation, joining a select group of other businesses to have achieved this accolade.

Intouch Games Ltd was awarded the 1* ranking based on the results of an all-staff survey which cited personal growth opportunities, visible and approachable senior staff, flexible working hours, and the thriving company culture as some of the reasons why they were proud to work there.

Marketing Manager, Sumit Lakhina said: “The last few months of working at Intouch Games Ltd. have indeed been an enriching and exhilarating experience.

“It is inspiring to work for a company that encourages growth and where employees are valued for their work and sincerity. I am very proud to be a part of it. If you are truly interested in investing in your future, Intouch Games Ltd. provides endless career opportunities and notices growth amongst all employees.”

The survey, carried out in October 2016 by b.heard, revealed that employees have strong faith in the leader of the organisation and felt that their wellbeing was at the forefront as the business continues to grow. Something that Intouch Games Ltd will build on with the development of a purpose-built on-site gym.

This accreditation follows a bumper year for the West Midlands-based developer of online and mobile casino games which has seen a 228% rise in UK employees over the last 18 months.

After being named by The London Stock Exchange Group as one of the 1,000 companies to inspire Britain last year and the BBC as one of the top three technology growth companies in Birmingham, Intouch Games is looking to significantly expand the 200-person-strong team based at Fountain House in Halesowen.

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Simon Wilson, owner and Managing Director of Intouch Games Ltd, a Midlands-based developer of online casino brands, mFortune, PocketWin, and Mr Spin, said:

“We are delighted to start the New Year by achieving Michelin style 1* accreditation as a Best Company to Work For. This reinforces our commitment to making Intouch Games one of the best possible places to work for and builds on last year’s recognition as one of the 1,000 Companies to Inspire Britain.

“Our goal is to become one of the top 100 workplaces in the country, helping to cement the Midlands place as home to some of the best and brightest brands and innovators in the nation.”

The eGaming giant was recently named as one of the biggest influencers and employers in Birmingham’s renowned tech industry and has reinforced this position with a Michelin Style 1* accreditation as a Best Company to Work For by independent workforce engagement specialist Best Companies Ltd.

With a BCI score of 685.5, the UK’s largest privately owned eGaming studio was ranked within the top half of all companies to achieve the Best Companies Limited accreditation, joining a select group of other businesses to have achieved this accolade.

Intouch Games Ltd was awarded the 1* ranking based on the results of an all-staff survey which cited personal growth opportunities, visible and approachable senior staff, flexible working hours, and the thriving company culture as some of the reasons why they were proud to work there.

Marketing Manager, Sumit Lakhina said: “The last few months of working at Intouch Games Ltd. have indeed been an enriching and exhilarating experience.

“It is inspiring to work for a company that encourages growth and where employees are valued for their work and sincerity. I am very proud to be a part of it. If you are truly interested in investing in your future, Intouch Games Ltd. provides endless career opportunities and notices growth amongst all employees.”

The survey, carried out in October 2016 by b.heard, revealed that employees have strong faith in the leader of the organisation and felt that their wellbeing was at the forefront as the business continues to grow. Something that Intouch Games Ltd will build on with the development of a purpose-built on-site gym.

This accreditation follows a bumper year for the West Midlands-based developer of online and mobile casino games which has seen a 228% rise in UK employees over the last 18 months.

After being named by The London Stock Exchange Group as one of the 1,000 companies to inspire Britain last year and the BBC as one of the top three technology growth companies in Birmingham, Intouch Games is looking to significantly expand the 200-person-strong team based at Fountain House in Halesowen.

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For the first time ever, the borough is hosting the global Perl Quality Assurance Hackathon. The event will see a selection of the top Open Source Perl professionals descend on the Rugby Hotel between April 21-24 to discuss, maintain, collaborate, design and deploy code for projects that have a direct benefit to the Perl language.

Open Source software is often developed in a collaborative, public manner and is typically easier to customise than proprietary software alternatives. It’s a software option that is fast growing in popularity in the business world, with 78% of UK businesses relying on Open Source for core operations, according to the Ninth Annual Future of Open Source Survey.

The Perl QA Hackathon is sponsored this year by Rugby Based OpusVL, a company which has been providing Open Source solutions to businesses for more than 20 years, working with organisations in both the public and private sector. The Hackathon coincides with the launch of OpusVL’s Flexibase platform which is built entirely in Perl, and is one of many Open Source projects contributing to Code 4 Health, a project aimed towards stimulating innovation in the NHS and encouraging clinicians and community groups to get involved in building applications to deliver a sustainable UK healthcare infrastructure.

Perl users include some of the largest household names including Intel, BBC, Apple, Oracle, Barclays, IBM and Booking.com. The Perldoc website has seen over 178 thousand unique visitors within the space of one month and is growing in popularity and usage

Managing Director of OpusVL, Stuart J Mackintosh, commented: “It’s great to have so much Open Source activity happening in Rugby this month, and it demonstrates that the Midlands is a centre of excellence when it comes to technology and Open Source principles. There’s no doubt that the transparent nature and scalability of Open Source is being realised in both the business and consumer sectors and the technology looks set to grow in popularity over the next few years. At OpusVL, we have been helping businesses adopt Open Source solutions for many years and are also helping the NHS embrace a culture of openness with Flexibase.”

Stuart J Mackintosh recently delivered a talk at the Medetel international healthcare conference in Luxembourg, reporting on progress with the Apperta and Code 4 Health programmes in the UK, and is also writing a feature article on the subject for the Open Source Observatory, part of Joinup.eu.

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The Emerald Group in Leamington Spa has hit £950,000 turnover in the last year and was recently named Best Team in the Warwickshire Employee of the Year Awards. The company puts its success down to the strength and unity of its 15-strong workforce, which has gone through a journey of change over the last 18 months after embarking on a team building initiative with local Organisational Development Specialist Jav Mohammed.

The business, which is dedicated to helping SMEs leverage technology as a force for good in their business, has been focused on motivating and inspiring its team over the last year and a half, bringing its people together towards achieving the common goal of business growth. And the results speak for themselves with the company reaching almost a million pounds in turnover and revealing that over 95% of its customers are so satisfied they will refer the business to their own networks.

CEO of the Emerald Group, Sarah Windrum, has likened the company’s journey to when England won the Rugby World Cup final in 2003. Although it was Johnny Wilkinson who kicked the drop goal that sealed success, it would not have been possible without the team and support behind him.

Sarah Windrum commented: “We recognised 18 months ago that if we really wanted to achieve our growth ambitions, we needed to make sure that everybody in the team was motivated towards the same goal. That’s why we brought in Jav Mohammed to engage and motivate the team and ensure that everyone realises how important their role in the business is. It’s easy to hire and develop great individuals but it’s far more effective to develop a great team. That’s been the key to our success over the last year and a half.

“It’s the same in any sports team. It’s easy to identify talented rugby players like Johnny Wilkinson but more difficult to build the World Cup winning team that was around him.”

Working closely with Jav Mohammed, The Emerald Group has held a series of group activities and workshops aimed towards inspiring and empowering the team to perform to their full potential. The company is a keen advocate of training and development having invested over £15,000 in training for its team over the past year alone. This investment has been repaid in the company’s development of its own Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solution, which was developed, masterminded, and implemented by the wider team.

The project saw everyone in the business work together to develop a bespoke CRM solution based upon Microsoft Dynamics, which is unique to the individual demands and processes of the business. It has resulted in significant productivity gains for the company and enabled it to replace a previous manual ticketing system for support services with a fully automated solution enabling the business to run regular reports on call statistics, faults and other information to improve customer service levels and identify areas for further training for its team. The time saving efficiencies alone from this project have been a key contributing factor in Emerald’s recent growth.

Jav Mohammed, Managing Director of Arhine Solutions, who has partnered with Emerald and played a key role in developing Warwickshire’s Team of the Year commented: “A lot of businesses, and particularly SMEs, need to take a more focused approach when developing their staff in order to truly help their people realise their potential and improve overall business performance. It’s been really rewarding watching Emerald transform from a business that has lots of individual talent, into an award winning team that is working together to help grow the business, its reputation and its finances.

“Just like the great 2003 England Rugby Team, everybody in Emerald is motivated to achieve the same goals and this has been carried across by the leaders in the business through the culture of the company. Emerald’s achievements over the last 18 months are only the start of the company’s growth journey, as it continues to develop and motivate its dedicated team.”

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Award-winning Sadler’s Ales is setting its sights firmly on the overseas market for 2016 and aims to appoint a sales distributor and establish sales across the Baltic states and Scandinavia following a three-day Export Insight Visit (EIV) with UK Trade and Investment (UKTI).

The company joined a group of 21 small and micro companies on a delegation to Riga, Latvia, to see what opportunity there was to grow their business overseas.

Ian King, sales director of the Lye-based brewer, said he hoped the visit would be the catalyst for the company to become a pro-active exporter. The decision to look at the overseas market comes just eight months after it was asked by the Polish Chamber of Commerce to sell some of its ales in Poland.

As part of the Latvia visit, he and Sadler’s Ales’ managing director Christopher Sadler were able to exhibit their wares to Baltic supermarket chain Rimi and to high-end Finnish department store Stockmann, including giving buyers a sample taste of their local ales.

Ian said: “Next year we hope to start exporting and we used this UKTI visit as a fact-finding mission to see what help we could get, make contact with distributors and use what we learned as a basis for overseas trading in 2016.

“We’ve made some excellent trade contacts and we are following these up now. I couldn’t recommend an Export Insight Visit enough; it’s a must for anyone exporting or thinking of export.”

Christine Hamilton, acting regional director of UK Trade and Investment West Midlands (UKTI), said that this was the third year West Midlands companies had been able to explore the possibilities of exporting on such a trip, which is vital to help small organisations see the huge opportunity and support available to them.

She said “The early indications that Sadler’s Ales is already gaining interest from Latvia and Scandinavia is very encouraging and illustrate just what can be achieved on Export Insight Visits.

“These visits offer companies the opportunity to get in front of the right people in a new market and start the ball rolling when it comes to start exporting.

The next Export Insight Visits to take place are: January 18-20 in Lisbon and Madrid; and The Hague on February 16-18.

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Biosite Systems, at the Elmdon Trading Estate, provides biometric workforce management and site security systems to leading construction companies across the UK.

The company has developed technology which reads low quality fingerprints to enable access to building sites even when operatives’ hands are unclean.

Biosite, which employs 34 people, has witnessed significant demand for its access control systems with the products installed at more than 400 construction sites across the UK.

Biosite was established in 2010 and, with the support of Coventry and Warwickshire accountants and business advisers Harrison Beale & Owen (HB&O), has more than doubled its turnover in the last two years, enabling it to bring new products to market.

Li Wang, managing director of Biosite Systems, said: “We realised that there was a huge gap in the market as traditional biometrics are not sensitive enough for use on building sites due to the poor quality of fingerprints.

“The system has completely transformed workforce management and security within the construction industry as site managers are now able to accurately monitor how many workers are on site at any given time and can also permit or restrict access more efficiently.

“We work with some of the biggest names in UK construction including Wates, Kier, Balfour Beatty and Bouygues and have a big presence across the Midlands and London.

“We were recently contacted by Galliford Try to install access control at the Tollbar End extension project as well as providing security personnel to monitor CCTV footage.

“We have worked with HB&O since our inception and its advisors have provided excellent finance, HR and tax support which has facilitated our growth.

“The nature of Biosite means we are consistently investing in research and development to create new products and HB&O has worked with us from the start to enable us to maximise our research and development tax relief.

“We recently launched a Biosite wireless alarm and alert system which can be used to signal either fire alarms or first-aid alerts on site, helping firms to ensure they are compliant with health and safety procedures.

“We are currently looking to expand into new premises and employ around 10 additional staff and have been discussing the possibility of exporting our products over the next two years.”

Wayne Gutteridge, director at HB&O which has offices in Coventry and Leamington, said it is great that Biosite has been able to bring new innovation to the construction sector with its new technology.

He said: “We have worked with Biosite for five years and it has been rewarding to see how it has progressed within the sector and expanded its product range.

“Its software and equipment is manufactured in-house and as its client base has expanded, it has grown from strength to strength.

“We regularly assist the company with its accounts, HR and tax efficiencies including R&D tax relief and will continue to work with the firm to help it realise its export ambitions.”

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Snow has been appointed Chairman of the Heart of England Forest and hosted organisations from across the region at an event to mark the latest stage of the charity’s project to plant and preserve a native broadleaf forest in the Midlands.

Around 40 business professionals took the chance to hear about the vital work of the charity and its benefits to the public and wildlife, including representatives from Wright Hassall, Leader Communications and Vauxhall who have all supported the forest through corporate partnerships or volunteering.

The Heart of England Forest is the brainchild of the late publishing mogul Felix Dennis, and was established in 2003 with the aim of planting a 30,000 acre forest near his home in Dorsington, and now spreads across Worcestershire and Warwickshire.

Snow was a long-standing friend of Dennis and agreed to lead the charity’s board of trustees at Dennis’ request before he died last year.

“The forest is growing at the rate of 120,000 trees per year and last year planted five per cent of all trees planted in the UK, which is an outstanding achievement,” said Snow.

“It’s an incredibly exciting thing to be involved in and it has everything going for it and is going to have a massive impact on the area.”

“There really is lots of potential for the charity, and what we really want to do is spread the word of the forest and its work, and tell people that it is coming of age.”

“It will be a fantastic resource, and a lung, for businesses in the Midlands and beyond and I am incredibly excited to be a part of it.”

Since the charity was founded, more than 3,000 acres of new woodland have been created, including the planting of over 1.3 million native trees.

Alison Hunter, Trustee of the Heart of England Forest, added: “We’re delighted Jon has joined us as chair the board of trustees, and we’re keen to extend the reach of the charity’s vision and our ambitions to local organisations and spread the word within the local community.

“The event was a perfect opportunity to say thank you to the businesses who have already supported us on our journey to create this amazing forest in the local area but to also let new organisations know about how they can be involved and become ambassadors for what really is an incredibly exciting project.”

To find out more about the Heart of England Forest and how you can support its work, visit http://www.heartofenglandforest.com/ or contact corporate@hoef.co.uk.

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Crowd science and risk analysis specialist Professor Keith Still has joined eResponse Recruitment and will develop the training side of the firm’s newly launched crowd safety department alongside head of the department, Andy Hollinson.

The new department is dedicated solely to crowd safety management and includes a bespoke consultancy service. It will also offer a variety of recognised qualifications.

With more than 25 years’ experience, Professor Still has advised event organisers on a host of high profile occasions including 2011 wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the Sydney and London Olympics and the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

During his career Professor Still has also advised the Saudi Arabian government, worked with UK government departments and with Manchester City and Manchester United football clubs.

The 55-year-old crowd science lecturer, who is also the Professor of Crowd Science at Manchester Metropolitan University, will now be in charge of delivering training for eResponse’s clients on a variety of safety-related topics.

Paul Alekna, managing director of eResponse, said: “Crowd safety at any event is of huge importance and the new department will play a vital role in all crowd-related advice and training.

“To have someone like Keith working in the new team is fantastic and a big coup for us. He has exceptional credentials in the industry and with Andy, we have two people who can deliver first class training and advice on all aspects of event safety and security.

“Together they are already making a great contribution and are giving clients the essential skills for managing major events. Adding Keith to the team really does take the new department to a different level.”

Professor Keith Still, added: “I have been fortunate to be involved in crowd safety management for events across the world for the past 25 years. Now as part of the team at eResponse I am keen to pass that knowledge and experience on to clients in a whole host of different industries.

“It’s an exciting time for the firm and with Andy, I look forward to playing my part in developing and driving forward the new division.”

As part of eResponse’s new crowd safety division a dedicated website has been developed. It can be accessed through www.crowdsafetytraining.com

eResponse has five branches across the West Midlands with offices and training centres in Redditch, Kidderminster, Worcester, Coventry and Rugby.

The firm was established by brothers Paul and Joe Alekna in 2003 and has gone on to employ over 80 people. This year it was placed at number 45 in the Sunday Times Fast Track 100.

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