• THE next breakfast meeting organised by Fisher Jones Greenwood solicitors will be held on January 14, when the guest speaker will be Bob Sherer, of Essex Community Foundation.

The event will be held at the Food Factory in Colchester from 8am.

For more, e-mail phepburn@fjg.co.uk

  • WESTON Homes has been named best medium housebuilder at a national awards ceremony.

Twenty-three judges at the Whathouse? Awards said the quality and architectural innovation were among the reasons the Essex firm has picked up the gold award.

  • NEARLY half of entrepreneurs in the east of England who attended a bootcamp thought the recession was a good time to start a business.

During an intensive coaching session for entrepreneurs, attended by 200 delegates, only 19 per cent though it was a bad time to start something new.

The coaching session was the launch of BizGrowthEast, a programme of coaching and support staged by East of England Development Agency and sponsored by HSBC Bank.

  • A WINTER wine-and-dine evening gave firms a chance to learn more about training opportunities.

Held at Colchester Institute’s Balkerne Restaurant and organised by the Professional Training Centre (PTC), the commercial arm of the college, the event gave guests an overview of the benefits of training during difficult trading periods.

  • MORE firms and employees are seeking advice on redundancies, according to a survey.

Acas, which advises on employment relations issues, said enquiries about redundancy, lay-offs and business transfers hit a high in November in the eastern region, up 12 per cent since May.

It follows predictions by the group that job losses in the east of England could rise to six per cent in 2010.