Hull and Humber Chamber is preparing for Humber Business week with a “Get Ready for Humber Business Week 2025” event at the MKM Stadium in Hull this Thursday. It will bring the launch of a new website and lead the audience through the Biz Week event process and highlight the support available to help participants make the most of their involvement in the week. The preview will also encourage more people to hold their own events by sharing advice and insight on how to get the best from Biz Week, and by offering guidance on how to make sure the activities are inclusive and accessible. Students from Hull College will work with the Biz Week event team to gain experience of stewarding and catering, check-in and guest management, and media and PR tasks. Pat Coyle, chair of Humber Business Week, said: “I was delighted with the level of involvement by businesses and other organisations at Biz Week 2024 but we didn’t want to wait 12 months until the next one so we decided to do something new to bridge the gap and to help people get ready for June 2025. “By turning the annual stakeholder meeting into a preview and preparation event we’ve already had many more people sign up to attend than we usually attract for our stakeholder get-together, and we’re expecting more to register in the coming days. “We’ve made a significant investment to make it easier for organisations to get involved in Humber Business Week, to help them raise awareness of what they do and to promote collaboration – all under the Biz Week banner of bridging business, showcasing excellence.” Delegates at the half-day preview event will hear from Matt Scarr, head of sales and marketing at Reality Solutions, about the buzz his company enjoyed as first-time participants in Biz Week 2024. Matt will be followed by Helen Thompson from Helen’s Wheels Disability Access Solutions, and Paul McCartan, who works for Yara International and is chair of the Equality, Diversion, Inclusion and Belonging network operated by CATCH from its national technical skills centre in Stallingborough. A breakout session presented by Future Humber will explore how the new place brand values are reshaping perceptions, building pride, and positioning Humber as a leader on the global stage. Hull Truck Theatre will harness its team’s writing and acting expertise to deliver a presentation skills masterclass. Pat said: “With this event we’re raising the bar with bold changes, a refreshed Humber narrative, and a renewed focus on collaboration, inclusion, and excellence. This is an opportunity for every business to contribute, connect, and help shape a remarkable Humber Business Week 2025. Whether you’re a seasoned participant or a first-time organiser, this session will equip you with the tools, insights, and inspiration needed to make 2025 our best year yet.” Humber Business Week will take place across the Humber region starting on Monday 2 June, and the programme will again feature the Future Humber Bondholder Breakfast, the Humber Business Week Lunch, Chamber Expo, the HullBID Inspiring People Dinner, Hull City Council’s Business Breakfast, the University of Hull Celebration Dinner and The Business Day at Bridlington Spa. The full programme will be announced at the official Humber Business Week programme launch at Hull Truck Theatre from 5pm until 6.30pm on Thursday 10 April. The Get Ready for Humber Business Week 2025 event will take place on Thursday 23 January in the Circle Restaurant at the MKM Stadium in Hull from 8.15am until 12.30pm.

Helix Tool Company, which was recently backed by NVM Private Equity, has completed a double acquisition as it seeks to consolidate the industrial tooling distribution market. The Leeds-based business has acquired Floyd Automatic Tooling and Nsert. Floyd Automatic based in Hertfordshire is a highly specialist technical distributor of tools and consumables for the sliding head CNC market with deep technical expertise and several exclusive manufacturing partnerships. Nsert is a regionally focussed cutting tool and industrial consumables supplier to a number of large customers in the North East of England. The combination of the two businesses will enable the now enlarged Helix group to broaden its product range and offer enhanced value to clients in the precision engineering, automotive, aerospace and medical sectors. The new additions will also see the Helix team significantly expand both their existing locations and enlarge their geographical footprint. “We are thrilled to welcome Floyd Automatic and Nsert into the Helix family,” said Matt Cattell, CEO of Helix Tool’s holding company, MRO+ Solutions. “The combined deep technical expertise in both companies complements our existing offer perfectly. “Today’s announcement signifies a strong start to 2025 for Helix and we are confident that customers will see significant benefit both in terms of product offering and exceptional technical expertise.” Charlie Pidgeon, Investment Partner of NVM Private Equity, said: “Consolidation of markets is an obvious driver of growth and with such a strong reputation for technical expertise we saw a clear opportunity for Matt to integrate these businesses into an enlarged Group. “We are delighted to have supported them on their first two acquisitions and look forward to backing the team with more opportunities as they arise.”