Northern Business Podcast

This episode of Business Unmuted (which was recorded 5pm Wednesday 19th October) sees Graham Robb once again joined by an expert business panel to discuss some of the hot topics in the world of business. The points of discussion covered this week include fuel pricing and taxation, how lithium could soon be mined in Weardale and getting inside the mind of your customers. To help navigate these topi...

It's business as usual on Business Unmuted this week as once again Graham Robb is back to take on the big issues facing the business world this week. In this episode, he, along with our expert panel, will discuss how growth is manifesting in the tech industry, take a look at the Local Digital Capital Index from techUK, and analyse the effects that recent government actions have had on the property...

In the wake of the Conservative Party Conference, with its twists and turns regarding tax cuts, Graham Robb once again takes a look at the current climate in the world of business. This week he is joined by Julian Jessop and Sam Harrison. Julian Jessop, an independent economist, walks us through his views on the latest policy announcements from the government, how he thinks they could have been ha...

Following the Chancellor's "mini-budget" last Friday, our host Graham Robb takes a look at the budget itself, as well as the knock-on effects it has had in the markets. The expert panel at his side this week is Kevin Gaskell, author of "Catching Giants" and business fixer, Pamela Petty, founder of Entreprenising, and Aman Chahal, CEO at TaperedPlus. Together they look at the fiscal measures outlin...

Ahead of the Chancellor's "Mini-Budget" (or Fiscal Statement) this week, our host Graham Robb takes a look at what could be announced. In a special interview with David Smith, Economics Editor for The Sunday Times, he tells us about what he thinks will and what should be in the statement. We also have our expert panel in, this week featuring Martin Anderson, CEO of Lemon Contact Centre, and Reshma...

In this episode of Business Unmuted, Graham Robb and guests pay tribute to the late Elizabeth II before going on to discuss the UK's latest labour market statistics and how to fill the record number of vacancies, which could be holding back the economy. He is joined by an expert panel: Donna James, research director at Populus Select; Nicky Jolley, founder of HR2DAY; and Nigel Peacock and Tim Lamb...

Business Unmuted is back after the summer break, and alongside it comes a new government. Our host Graham Robb is here to take a look at what this new government means for the country and, in particular, the business community. He is joined by an expert panel: Robert Forrester, CEO of Vertu Motors plc, Chris Lloyd, chief feature writer for The Northern Echo, and Emily Carver, acting Communications...

In the final episode before our summer break, Graham Robb leads a discussion on some of the hot topics in business at the moment. Social mobility; access to education and opportunities, the very latest retail sales figures, and how the Nation Insurance Contribution threshold will impact businesses bottom line. Joining the discussion is Roger Clarke, from the Alumni Leadership Board of The Sutton T...

In this week's episode, Graham Robb takes a close look at the state of the food and drink industry in the UK. He and the expert panel discuss the food supply chain, the challenges and opportunities with regulation of food production, and they speak with an entrepreneur in the beverage space. The panel today is Alan Wilkinson, Head of Food and Agriculture at HSBC, Mark Jones, Head of Food and Drink...

This is a special episode of Business Unmuted, recorded live in the Sunderland dealership of our sponsor, Vertu Motors BMW. Sport is big business both in the UK and around the world - worth trillions to the global economy. Being such an important and high profile sector comes with a responsibility to its customers, fans and the communities which provide unwavering support to make their business vi...

Caroline Theobald CBE is stepping in for our usual host Graham Robb this week. She is joined by an expert panel to tackle some of the big talking points from the world of business this week. Together they'll discuss the current state of the construction, industry, how the function and use of office space is changing, and how we can go about encouraging new entrepreneurs to get into business. The p...

Our host Graham Robb is back again this week and he will be taking a look at some of the hot topics from the world of business in the last week. This week, with figures from Zoopla showing growth in the housing market cooling, our panel will be talking about the state of the property market as a whole, how the process of moving house itself can be improved, and also taking a look at recruitment, s...

Our regular host, Graham Robb, is back at the helm this week, and he’s ready to tackle some of the hot button issues in business from the past week. He, along with our expert panel, will be taking a look at the world of insurance, energy prices for businesses, and how small businesses are having to innovate. To navigate these subjects, we have our panel: Sam White, Chair of Freedom Group Services,...

This week sees the return of guest host Mike Hughes, the Business Editor for The Northern Echo. In this episode he'll be taking a look what is up for debate in the world of business from the past week. On the agenda today: the recent launch of the Middlesbrough Development Corporation, the Power of Women campaign, and what needs to happen to combat the cost of living crisis. To tackle these topics...

Graham Robb is back again hosting this week's look at the hot topics in business. This week, with an expert panel, Business Unmuted takes a look at the economic state of the North East, the future of education and what that means for business, and our panel give their "reasons to be cheerful". On the show this week we have Steven Hugill, editor of North East Times, Dr Huw Williams, headmaster of Y...

Business Unmuted is back after a brief break for Easter, and with it Graham Robb returns to lead a discussion on the hot topics in the world of business this week. Subjects up for debate in this episode include: how confident businesses are feeling in the north east, the latest trends in the commercial property market and the importance of British manufacturing. To join in the discussion we have o...

Business Unmuted host Graham Robb leads a roundup of the economy ahead of the Easter break. Following a week of significant economic announcements, from GDP to jobs figures, inflation and car sales figures – plus big happenings in Westminster – an expert panel give their assessment of how the UK is shoring up. Guests this week: Fraser Brown, Founder and Managing Director of motor trade consultancy...

This week Graham Robb once again host a panel of business leaders as they tackle the big issues in business this week. This week our panel will be talking about green technology, the record setting amount of vacancies, and how this ties into bringing talent back to the north. Our panel this week is Sarah Ellerby, Chief Executive of Nova Pangaea Technologies, Alistair McLeod, Chief Executive of Gra...

We're back in the studio for the latest episode of Business Unmuted. This week our host Graham Robb tackles the big issues in the world of business. In the wake of the Chancellor's Spring Statement, we'll be looking at the changes in fuel taxes, as well as discussing cybercrime and any challenges with recruitment that our panel are facing. The panel this week is Steve Turner, Police and Crime Comm...

This week we are on location for a very special episode. You join us at one of the dealerships of our sponsor: Vertu BMW. This week we take a look at what the Chancellor delivered in his Spring Statement. On our panel we have Robert Forrester, Chief Executive of Vertu Motors, small business advisor Pamela Petty, Bill Scott, Chief Executive of WIlton Engineering and Joy Allen the Labour Police and...

This week, Business Unmuted host Graham Robb is joined by an expert panel: Clara Challoner Walker of Cosy Cottage Soaps, Matt Hewison of CyberWhite and Rick Smith of Forbes Burton. Together, our panel talk through some pressing issues - how retail has evolved and it's future prospects, impact of Russian sanctions, cyber security and the looming prospect of a recession.

This week is a special episode, taking a look back at the last three years of the UK economy and looking at where experts think it will go in the future. Our host, Graham Robb, is joined by a specialist panel this week: James Pomeroy, Global Economist for HSBC, John Elliott, Chairman of long-standing washing machine manufacturer Ebac, and Mandy Ridyard, Financial Director at aerospace engineering...

This week our host Graham Robb is in our studio to discuss some of the biggest issues in business from the week. This week we're looking at the end of Covid restrictions, tensions in Ukraine and North East Fintech. He is joined this week by Rik Hellewell from Ovenu and Aaron Holmes of Kani.

Graham Robb returns from his time off to host this week's episode of Business Unmuted. Topics on the agenda this week include rising inflation and the corresponding wage inflation, increases in productivity and the knock-on effects of the crisis on the Ukraine border. He is joined this week by Fraser Brown from MotorVise, Richard Osborne from UK Business Forums, and Mike Hutchinson from NTG Precis...

Our usual host Graham Robb is still enjoying some much needed time off this week, so Business Unmuted's producer Joss Havakin is in the hot seat. He's joined on the sofas by James Dentith from Baltic Apprenticeships, a leading apprenticeship training provider, and David Osborne from Roman, which has the UK's largest shower manufacturing plant. As it is National Apprentceships week, naturally they'...