We welcome Matt Jones, Founder of Oxbridge Home Learning into the Downtown Den for a discussion with Downtown Birmingham Chair, Paul Cadman.

Matt shares his story on how Oxbridge started and some of the learning opportunities they offer.

The Brummie Downtown Den heard first hand from charitable leaders in the city who are actively impacting our communities during this time of crisis. The panel featured Tim Andrews (Lovebrum), Carly Jones (Sifa Fireside), Toby Porter (Acorns) and Tina Swani (Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice). The discussion covered resilience, causes and support that is urgently needed to continue the work that is being delivered.

Professor John Ashton joined Downtown CEO, Frank McKenna in the #DowntownDen to discuss the UK governments handling of the Coronavirus pandemic.

John discusses the advice he gave to Bahrain authorities at the outset of the Coronavirus pandemic and why he has thrown his hat in the ring for the Police and Crime Commissioner role for the Liverpool City Region.

Birmingham Chair, Paul Cadman was joined by Stu Wood (Woodshires) Rebecca Simkiss (Simkissguy Recruitment) and Gareth Wilcox (OPUS LLP) in the Downtown Den for an afternoon of straightforward, no-nonsense business advice.

Liverpool’s elected Mayor Joe Anderson was in the Downtown Den with a clear message to the city’s business community “We will come out of this crisis stronger. We will continue to build our economy and do what this city always does best in times of crisis. Our spirt will get us through this.”

In a robust performance the Mayor told DIB members that he was confident that the major strategic schemes that he had announced before the lockdown, including developments at the King’s Dock, Festival Gardens and the Knowledge Quarter, would still be going ahead.

He also reminded the audience that, as the hub and economic driver for the city region, it was crucial that Liverpool was given the necessary financial support by government and other agencies to ensure as quick a recovery as possible.

This event was sponsored by http://www.projectfoursafety.com & https://sutcliffe.co.uk

Sacha Lord joined DIB chief executive Frank McKenna in the Downtown Den. The Night Time Economy Czar for Greater Manchester told us about the entrepreneurial approach and his first gig at the Hacienda that launched his fascinating journey into the world of music, events and hospitality; the emergence of the Warehouse Project and Parklife; his current role within Andy Burnham’s team; the United We Stream initiative – and how he got such a cool name!

The chair of the Leeds City Region Local Enterprise Partnership and the NP11 Roger Marsh visited the Downtown Den to chew the fat with DIB chief executive Frank McKenna. Roger spoke about his hopes for the future, the recent West Yorkshire devolution deal and his ambition for the North to be seen as a solution for the country in the future rather than a problem.

Paul Hodgins, CEO at Ginger - a shared transport business - joins Simon Danczuk, Downtown London chairman, in this latest Downtown Den conversation. They discuss micro electric vehicles, the Government's Future Mobility Zones, urban transport, the changing nature of town and city centres, smart cities and much more.

Downtown Birmingham Chair, Paul Cadman caught up with Cllr Ian Ward for a chat in the #DowntownDen.

Christina Wadlow, Head of Sales and Account Management at Western Union Business Solutions is the latest guest in the #DowntownDen.

In Conversation with Downtown CEO, Frank McKenna, Christina shares amongst other topics, how Western Union Business Solutions are helping their customers during these times and how they can help other businesses going forward.