Legal help at every turn, the legal services that Stephensons LLP with be showcasing at this year’s BIBA 2012 and the story of the construction firm who were fined after an employees near miss.

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All furture editions of Speed Medical Weekly will be available each Friday, and can be accessed by following @SpeedMed on Twitter

From Casualty to Big Fat Gypsy Wedding, everybody made a great effort to turn the office into a studio to rival “Media City”. As well as desk dressing, some teams also made cakes and cards to help in the fund raising and one ran a craft competition in homage to ‘Kirstie’s Homemade’.

The day was a great success and staff managed to raise £192 which was matched by the  company. The money will be donated to Derian House, a local childrens hospice which focuses on specialist palliative respite and terminal care for children who may not live to reach adulthood.

David Cameron and Barack Obama’s meeting, the Thomas Lubanga verdict & the story of the window and door manaufacturor who was fined after failing to follow health and safety procedures which led to an employees death.

Please visit http://bit.ly/AA2f0g for the full articles and further stories.

The future editions of Speed Medical Weekly will be available each Friday, and can be accessed by following @SpeedMed on Twitter

In addition, the business was placed at number 4 in the ‘Most Productive’ list, based on return on capital employed. Sue Douthwaite of Santander commended all companies listed and confirmed that even though growing a company can be difficult, it is even more so in the current economy.

This is the first accreditation for Speed Medical in 2012; following on from a successful 2011 which saw the company achieving a listing in the Telegraph 1000 list, and Lancashire Business View’s Hot 100. A great start to the year that will hopefully continue throughout 2012.

Burnham’s move, another departure from medical evidence provider Mobile Doctors, sees him join former colleague Mike Ball – now national new business development manager for Speed Medical – who made a similar transition earlier in 2011.

Responsible for developing existing relationships with clients and referrers as well as unearthing new revenue streams for Speed, Burnham has already delivered his new employers a couple of welcome Christmas presents agreeing contracts with two new referrers, set to generate a couple of hundred additional instructions per month, within his first few days in post.

Originally from Buckinghamshire, Burnham started his career issuing summonses from the High Wycombe County Court. He then joined VELO Accident Management where he spent 12 years, seven of which were in a key account management role. After that, for two years, he worked as a business development executive covering the south of England for Mobile Doctors.

Commenting on the appointment, Chris Chatterton, Speed Medical’s commercial director, said: “Steve is a great addition to our growing team. He brings with him a wealth of contacts and is genuinely committed to delivering unbeatable customer service. He has already hit the ground running and I wish him every success.”

Burnham added: “Speed’s unrivalled focus on customer service and its growing reputation for results within the industry were the key factors that persuaded me to move. What the guys are building here is very exciting and I’m proud to represent such a professional, compassionate business.”

Born in 1975, Burnham lives in Brighton with his partner Alessandro, an Italian chef, and their cats Bella and Rufus. Away from work, aside from continuing to improve his Italian, cooking and gardening take up most of his time.

Since that very first morning, Macmillan have raised over £60 million and that money has been used to help the charity achieve their goal of reaching out to and offering support to every person diagnosed with cancer in the UK. They believe that each individual who has been diagnosed deserves the right to receive the help they need no matter how big or small, and we at Speed feel that by taking part in the coffee morning each year, we can help Macmillan achieve this outstanding goal.

Speed Medical began supporting Macmillan through the hosting of the annual coffee morning in 2007. In order to add to the £608.81 (the company has matched this) that the company had raised in previous years, staff were asked to donate cakes and other delicious treats to sell during the coffee morning. This year, as in the past, staff at Speed Medical did not disappoint and provided a fantastic array of goodies which all sold out. Through the selling of cakes and coffee, staff managed to raise £114.40, it was later announced that the company would match the value that was raised, bringing our total £228.80.

As well as supporting Macmillan, each year Speed Medical also takes part in the ‘Race for Life’ and organises events to raise money for ‘Red Nose Day’ and ‘Children In Need’. In recent years, members of the company have taken part in the ‘London to Paris Cycle Ride’ and the ‘MegaHike’ which raises money for MedEquip4Kids.

When asked the question, ‘Will we take part next year?’ the answer is most definitely yes. We feel that by contributing each year we can help Macmillan Cancer Support make a difference to the lives of those that have been diagnosed in the UK.

The Telegraph’s report into the top 1,000 privately owned and Alternative Investment Market-listed companies, with annual sales of between £5m and £500m, published this week and billed as a celebration of the UK economy’s powerhouse – mid-sized companies that have weathered the economic storm, set to be the foundation upon which the UK’s recovery is based – was compiled with the help of NESTA, the innovation agency, which identified fast growing companies. Business information specialist Dun & Bradstreet then verified the information.

The Telegraph also polled more than a dozen membership organisations, such as the Chartered Insurance Institute, for their ‘ones to watch’. The report provides an encouraging picture to counter the widely reported and generally gloomy economic indicators.

Collectively, the 1,000 firms, based all around the UK, generated more than £50bn in sales during the last year. Despite representing different sectors, different types of business and being at different stages in their evolution, from young rapidly growing ventures to more established but innovative operations, they all shared one significant trait for which they were commended by the report’s authors: their extraordinary resilience during the recession and subsequent stuttering recovery.

Like many of the companies claiming a spot in the top 1,000, Speed Medical, established in 1998, has increased sales revenue and employment levels in consecutive years since 2009-10 with the latest figures standing at £40M and 145 staff respectively.

Its ambitious growth plans, revealed earlier this year, include a turnover target of 45M and a net growth in staff, month on month, over the course of the current accounting period.

Commenting on its inclusion in the Telegraph’s Top 1,000, Chris Chatterton, Speed Medical’s commercial director, said: “We are delighted to have been recognised as one of the companies that that are not just surviving, but thriving in the current climate which, let’s make no mistake, is as difficult as we’ve ever known it.”

“Like many companies we’ve had to face up to new challenges, think differently, focus on what’s really important and to take risks, to grab opportunities before they disappear. I’m happy to report that our strategy is working, we’re stronger than before and able to provide more support to our customers in the legal and insurance sectors than ever.”

Telegraph 1000

To date he has agreed deals with Ashsteads, the Wilkes Partnership and Fasttrack claims and he’s building a healthy pipeline of new contacts to meet with, initially adding hundreds of new cases to Speed’s workload annually.

Originally from Shropshire, Ball started his career as a fireman in the RAF but after stints as a manager in a finance company and as a regional claims manager in the insurance sector, for Quinn Direct, he moved into a business development role with Mobile Doctors. Whilst there, he successfully grew his portfolio of new clients and encouraged existing customers to place more of their business with the firm.

Commenting on this appointment, which follows hot on the heels of other senior sales, business development and marketing hires at the firm, as well as a rebranding and the launch of an ambitious new growth strategy, Chris Chatterton, Speed Medical’s commercial director, said: “Mike is a great addition to our growing business development team. He brings with him a wealth of contacts and a real passion for customer service, our main strategic imperative. He told me he loves a challenge so we’ve given him a tough one but I’m sure his drive and determination to succeed will see both him and Speed Medical benefit greatly.”

Ball added: “Even people within the industry don’t seem to know a great deal about Speed but from the customers I’ve already spoken to, there’s a great story to tell here so it’s my job to get out there and tell it, as often and as passionately as I can.”

Born in 1972, Ball lives in Telford, where he’ll work from, with his partner Dawn and three children. Away from work, and aside from his family, sport and music take up most of his time.

Collectively, the agreements, signed with Wisecall Assistance and Kindertons, ensure that the company will provide reports for thousands of additional personal injury cases per annum, boosting turnover in one of the region’s rising stars by around £2M in the first year alone. The deals also give Speed more opportunities to generate additional revenue through the provision of its innovative home-based rehabilitation service for injured parties.

Chris Chatterton, Speed Medical’s commercial director, comments: “We launched our new strategic plan just a few weeks ago and signaled our intent to move out from the shadows of our rivals by rebranding the company, refreshing procedures throughout the business and launching our unique home mobilisation service. If anyone had any doubt about how serious we are, today’s announcement should clarify once and for all that we mean business!”