The latest Duport Business Confidence Report found that 1,900 new firms began operating in Derby in 2012, a 14% rise on the 1,667 starts in 2011. Dupont said this was the highest number in a single year in Derby, eclipsing the national average of 8.6%.

Marketing Derby Bondholder East Midlands Airport has announced the addition of five new routes to its summer schedule which will sustain 2,300 local jobs.

Marketing Derby Bondholder Denby Pottery has reported the best order intake since the economic downturn in 2008, after attending events in the UK and abroad.

Derby City Council has embarked on a £263m capital programme to support the city’s development momentum and create local employment. The figure was announced last night by City Leader Paul Bayliss and Chief Executive Adam Wilkinson at an exclusive Marketing Derby Bondholder tour of the refurbished Council House.

A TEXAN oil and gas company, which is creating dozens of hi-tech jobs in Derby, has agreed a deal for offices on Pride Park reports the Derby Telegraph.

Cameron, one of the world's largest producers of equipment for the offshore oil and gas industry, has exchanged contracts to take the whole of the second floor of Capital House.Cameron hopes to receive the keys to the property later this month, after which it will begin fitting out the 4,500sq ft premises. It is hoped the offices will be fully operational by the end of next month.

Derby legal business, Bakewells  has merged with Nelsons Solicitors who are based in the East Midlands as part of an ambitious strategy for growth.Nelsons which has offices in Derby, Leicester and Nottingham employ more than 200 staff and is seen as a “regional heavyweight” in the national and independently researched Legal 500.

Cameron, a leading provider of flow equipment products, systems and services to worldwide oil, gas and process industries has announced its intentions to open a UK engineering centre in Derby. The global oil and gas company, which is head-quartered in Houston, Texas, chose Derby for access to engineering talent as well as its central location within the UK and the on-going regeneration of the city.

The Government has agreed to progress Derby’s £40m plan to support business investment and job creation.

Sports Arena Stays On Track

 Building works on Derby's £22 million multi-use sports arena has moved a step closer after the Environmental Agency gave the thumbs-up to the Pride Park plans.

The Derby Telegraph reports on planned activity by Monarch Airlines at East Midlands Airport

UP to 200 jobs will be eventually be created by an airline that is taking over some routes at East Midlands Airport, its boss has said. At the end of this month, Monarch Airlines will begin operating flights from the Castle Donington airport.

 From August 31, it will fly to Malaga and Alicante, both in Spain, Faro, in Portugal, and Palma, on the island of Majorca.

Monarch will be basing two aircraft at the airport, which will operate daily services until the end of October. During the winter months, this will reduce to one as it scales down the frequency of services. But next summer, daily services will begin again and the firm intends to add Ibiza to its list of flights.

Three of the routes were previously operated by low-cost operator BMI Baby, which is expected to fly its last route on September 9.

The routes that Monarch has taken over from BMI Baby are Malaga, Faro and Alicante. BMI Baby is set to close as its parent company, International Airlines Group, has so far failed to find a buyer for the business. Its closure will result in the loss of 374 jobs – but Monarch said it was recruiting some of these people.

Monarch Airlines Managing director, Kevin George said: "As a result of our expansion into East Midlands Airport, we are creating between 150 and 200 jobs. During the recruitment process, we have made BMI Baby staff aware of the positions."

Monarch, which has never flown from East Midlands Airport before, estimates that it will carry up to 81,000 passengers by the autumn.

Mr George said: "We already had a good relationship with East Midlands Airport's parent company, Manchester Airports Group, because we already fly out of Manchester. So, when the sad announcement was made about BMI Baby, we were able to move pretty quickly to fill the void. Before then, we had never considered flying from East Midlands because BMI Baby was a dominant force there. But when the opportunity arose we grabbed it with both hands. We hold East Midlands Airport in high regard. We always look to partner with airports which share the same values towards their customers as us – so East Midlands was a perfect fit."

Mr George said he hoped that BMI Baby customers would be impressed by his airline's approach. He added: "Our core values are choice, value and customer service. We know how important these routes are to local people and we hope they will enjoy flying with us."

Monarch is one of a number of airlines looking to expand at East Midlands to fill the gap that BMI Baby will be leaving. At its height, BMI Baby operated 32 routes out of the airport. But other airlines like Flybe and Jet2 are taking over some routes, introducing new ones and are looking to base more of their aircraft at East Midlands.

Brad Miller, the airport's managing director, said: "It is, of course, incredibly sad what has happened to BMI Baby. But having a greater choice of airlines at East Midlands Airport is great for the passengers and makes us stronger as all of our eggs will not be in one basket.Monarch is definitely the type of operator we want here. It has a great reputation and I'm confident that it will prove popular. Losing BMI Baby was a blow for us but I believe the expansion plans of all these airlines at East Midlands will help the airport grow."

Rolls-Royce, the global power systems company secured significant orders for engines and services from airlines at the Farnborough Air Show. The Group also announced enhancements for its Trent 700 and Trent 1000 engines that will offer even greater fuel efficiency for customers, and a major new defence support contract.

This week saw the announcement of a £500 million upgrade to a key railway line in Derby.

The Midland Main Line, which runs between Derby and London, is set to be electrified as part of the Government’s £9.4 billion rail projects nationwide for the next seven years.

Marketing Derby has won the coveted Team of the Year title at the inaugral Insider Midland Trade Awards held recently in Birmingham.

The awards gathered more than 150 companies and professionals at the National Motorcycle Museum. Kurt Jacobs, Midlands Business Insider editor, said they aimed to reward "not only the success of companies in the Midlands trading overseas but also those businesses that are helping to put the Midlands on the world map."

Other cities in the UK may want to keep an eye on developments in Derby where the Redfern Commission has been launched by Dr Alistair Redfern, the Lord Bishop of Derby.

The commission is tasked to examine ways to make Derby a better place to live and work and will take the form of public meetings where experts will present their thoughts on the issues facing the city.

Marketing Derby Bondholder Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, have been awarded a Certificate of Excellence for their new 1,000,000sq. ft.  distribution building at East Midlands Distribution Centre for client Marks & Spencer. The award, issued by BREEAM, sets the standard for best practice in sustainable building design, construction and operation and is recognized globally as the world’s foremost environmental assessment method of rating for buildings.

With plans to close bmibaby airline by September this year, Marketing Derby Bondholder East Midlands Airport has revealed that new operators are to begin flying from the airport soon. EMA, which secured both ‘Best Regional UK Airport’ and ‘UK Airport of the Year’ last year at the British Travel Awards, will be home to new operators, Monarch Airlines and Flybe.

The Derby Property Show, one of the most popular events in Derby’s business calendar, is set to be the stage for news on major city developments with over 500 attendees expected.Speakers at the morning seminar Russell Rigby and John Forkin will outline progress on up and coming city developments, including the Friar Gate Square office complex, now under construction, and the future of Duckworth Square.There will also be a presentation on the Castleward Urban Village project by Compendium Living Managing Director Dave Bullock – the development will see the creation of a boulevard linking the railway station to Westfield Derby in the heart of the city.Other commercial developments and properties in the city will also be present at the show held at Pride Park Stadium on Wednesday 16th May.Agenda for the day09:30 - Exhibition Opens10:45 - Seminar - "Derby - A Power House for Economic Growth"12:00 - Lunch14:15 - Seminar - "5 Ways to Run a Better Business" with Action Coach Neale Lewis15:15 - Exhibition Closes

To find out more click on:

http://www.marketingderby.co.uk/events/next-event

HEROtsc recently launched its new U.K. operations centre on Pride Park in Derby only weeks after announcing its intention to invest in the city. The company will initially bring over 800 new jobs into Derby which will act as a centre for direct contact with Sky customers on both service and sales related enquiries.

Work will start next month on a major new office development in Friar Gate assisted by Derby City Council’s Regeneration Fund. The fund is providing investment to facilitate the first phase of prestigious grade A office development within the historic Friar Gate Conservation area, known as Friar Gate Square.  The new development by Lowbridge (Derby) Ltd will re-establish this historic quarter as a key location for business and living.  Situated in a highly prominent location on the corner of Agard Street and Ford Street, the scheme will deliver significant economic and environmental benefits to Derby and will be the first high quality speculative office development delivered in the city in the last 20 years, changing the profile of the city centre office market.  Potentially, the completed first phase of the Friar Gate office development could create around 250 jobs.

University of Derby Corporate (UDC) has been recognised by the Times Higher Education Magazine as being the best in the UK for its employer engagement. The Outstanding Employer Engagement Initiative award recognises UDC's strategic and innovative approach to delivering employers' workforce development needs through accreditation and work based learning.