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Nov 10, 2023 | 
elsevier.shorthandstories.com | Alison Bert |Ian Evans |Ann-Marie Roche |Julie Grisham
With our world changing at an ever-accelerating pace, the need to anticipate and adapt to future challenges has never been more critical. We’re facing grand challenges, from climate change, food insecurity and social inequities to healthcare shortages and the unknown long-term effects of generative AI. Fortunately, researchers worldwide are delving into these issues, collaborating across disciplines and boundaries to find creative solutions in their communities and beyond.
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Jun 29, 2023 | 
thebusinessdesk.com | Ian Evans
Nottingham researchers are amongst a consortium awarded £31m to create an international research and innovation ecosystem for responsible AI, the University of Nottingham (UoN) has revealed. The funding is part of a suite of AI investments worth £52m unveiled by UK Research and Investment (UKRI) that will bring academic and industry partners together.
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Jun 28, 2023 | 
thebusinessdesk.com | Ian Evans
Nottingham-based pharmacy giant Boots is set to close 300 stores in a bid to “evolve” its estate. It is understood the 12-month plan, which will involve consolidating outlets close to one another, will not involve redundancies. The company says affected staff will be offered roles at nearby stores. The move will reduce Boots’ portfolio from around 2,200 to 1,900 shops. It comes despite Boots posting a 13.4% uptick in quarterly sales driven by demand for its skincare products.
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Jun 26, 2023 | 
thebusinessdesk.com | Ian Evans
A tasty new tenant is set to move into premises vacated by the short-lived Italian restaurant Ottimo following the popular eatery’s unexpected closure last year. Nottinghamshire Live understands an operator trading as Glass Orchid will take over the empty unit in Beeston town centre this autumn, serving a menu consisting of cocktails and world tapas.
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Jun 20, 2023 | 
thebusinessdesk.com | Ian Evans
Frasers Group, the retail empire founded by billionaire entrepreneur Mike Ashley, has snapped up an 8.9% stake in Currys, with the news coming a little over a week after the group acquired a substantial portion of online electricals retailer, AO World. Frasers’ newly acquired shareholding in Currys is worth around £53.5m given the firm’s market capitalisation of £601.9m.
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May 30, 2023 | 
thebusinessdesk.com | Ian Evans
A social housing provider has joined forces with the stars of hit BBC series Brickies to create 47 eco-friendly homes in Lincolnshire. ACIS Group has appointed Derby-based Hodgkinson Builders to build the scheme on Birch Road, Louth, where work has now begun on 30 affordable rented and 17 shared ownership properties. The development is being built on land which stood disused for over a decade following the demolition of the former Wallis House factory.
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Apr 3, 2023 | 
thebusinessdesk.com | Ian Evans
Derby-based Rolls-Royce SMR’s designs for a new kind of nuclear reactor are a step closer to being actualised after the ONR, the Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales gave the green light for the project to progress to the next phase of assessment. Rolls-Royce SMR was established in November 2021 to bring a factory-built Small Modular Reactor (SMR) to market, capable of generating 470MW of low-carbon electricity for at least 60 years.
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Mar 28, 2023 | 
thebusinessdesk.com | Ian Evans
German chemicals giant Evonik has invested in Loughborough-based Interface Polymers through its Sustainability Tech Fund. Interface is based at the Advanced Technology and Innovation Centre on Oakwood Drive. It was established in 2016 to commercialise inventions made in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Warwick and has set its sights on becoming a global leader in compatibility and surface functionality solutions for the polyolefin industry.
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Mar 27, 2023 | 
thebusinessdesk.com | Ian Evans
A £1m turnover flooring manufacturer founded just three years ago has developed a new product which could “turn the plastics recycling industry completely on its head.”Leicestershire-based Abacus Flooring Solutions has invented a method of incorporating waste plastic that would otherwise go to landfill into industrial resin flooring. The invention, named Abaplas, could also provide an eco-friendly method for replacing harmful bulking materials in other products such as tile adhesives.
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Mar 27, 2023 | 
thebusinessdesk.com | Ian Evans
The US owner of Nottinghamshire-headquartered pharmacy giant Boots is reportedly mulling a sale of the business for the second time in 14 months. This is Money claims the company could be sold or floated “by the end of the year” as Walgreens Boots Alliance looks to place renewed emphasis on the North American market. It is unclear who might be in the frame to potentially take control.
