Heart of London Business Alliance

As we wrap up 2024, we would like to take a moment to reflect on the achievements of the past year. We’ve highlighted some of the key milestones we’ve achieved together with the HOLBA business community. See you in the New Year! ✨

Merry Christmas from the Heart of London Business Alliance team.🎄 We look forward to seeing all of our members in the new year! ✨ Ros Morgan Mark Williams Robin Hibbert Kirsty Tullett-Jones Dan Johnson Emily Cramer Abigail Davies Stephen Joseph Rachel McLellan Angela J Reed Dean Wade Lily Shaw Morris Emmanuel Aina Bob Wolstenholme Rico Pieri Ayla Guder Emma O. Matt Harris Antonia Stratford Ali Adeli Jeremy Brown Katie English William See

We had a great evening at our Chairman’s Festive Reception at Sofitel, hosted by Adam Wiles of Gascoyne Estates and our Chief Executive Ros Morgan.    We also welcomed Olivia Wasson from The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields, a leading London homeless charity who supports people sleeping rough and focuses on working alongside people as they recover from life on the streets.    Thank you to all our guests for attending! #HOLBA #FestiveSeason #London  

We are working with Westminster City Council to highlight how we can stop sexual harassment in the West End.   Find out how you can help here ⬇️   ✅ Enhanced women’s night safety training  Businesses in the West End can sign up to free anti-sexual harassment and vulnerability management training provided by City of Westminster. Register: https://lnkd.in/gcH5g_cM     ✅ Safe Haven  Become a City of Westminster Safe Haven and help support vulnerable women whilst keeping the West End safe by applying here: https://lnkd.in/eAvi9dGP     #ItsHerCityToo #NightSafety #WestminsterCityCouncil

📢 The latest real estate insights report from HOLBA is out, taking a deep dive into the Experience Economy.    🌍 This sector today constitutes upwards of 14% of Gross World Product, roughly five times the size of the global automobile industry.    💭 With 158.6 million visitors to the HOL area across 2023-24, the audience and potential customer base is huge. Read the report: https://lnkd.in/eJ8rhpSR #ExperienceEconomy #London #WestEnd

How prepared are you for the new property regulations? Buildings that do not have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) of B rating by 2030 risk becoming unlettable, as part of the Government's commitment to achieving net zero by 2050. So we can support you to mitigate the risk of non-compliance. Let us know in this short questionnaire below about your progress to becoming energy efficient. https://lnkd.in/eHEwT9EQ  #HOLBA #EPC #Netzero  

Last month, HOLBA submitted comments on the Government's Industrial Strategy Green Paper which identifies the Creative Industries as one of eight growth sectors for the UK. The arts and culture offer in the West End generates £4.8 billion annually with huge growth potential. Here are our key asks:  🛑 ‘Sub sectors' such as live entertainment, the performing arts, and cultural institutions need to be supported and protected, as a vital cog in our ecosystem.  🛑 Protection and support for the hospitality sector, as it is central to the West End’s unique appeal and a significant economic contributor.    🛑 Support for the growing Creative Technology 'CreaTech' sector, an industry that is creating new opportunities, particularly in immersive VR and AR media.  Read the full industrial strategy via the link in our comment section. ⬇️

📢 Our monthly Policing & Community Action Roundup is live, bringing you key insights to community support, crime prevention and enforcement work in the West End. Read below ⬇️ #CommunitySupport #CrimePrevention #WestEnd #PublicSafety

We are very grateful to Commander Owain Richards MSt. (Cantab) from the Metropolitan Police for giving up his time last week to talk to us and other central London Business Improvement Districts about tackling crime and anti-social behaviour. Thank you to BusinessLDN for organising the session. Keeping our visitors, employees and residents safe in the Heart of London area (and wider West End) is one of our top priorities. Every day, our excellent security team MY LOCAL BOBBY work closely with and support the valuable work of the Metropolitan Police. With more pressure than ever on the police especially in central London, over the coming months, we will continue to advocate to increase their resources and ensure that the new Team Structure for the West End is retained.

Members can now download our latest area performance report, link in our comment section. ⬇️ Thursday 31 October saw the month’s highest footfall, driven by Halloween, Diwali celebrations, and the half-term break, despite the heavy rain. This month, we also present a new data set which drills down into domestic footfall, categorising as residents, workers, or visitors.