Blenheim hosts eventful 5th B4 Platinum Quarterly

Over 60 B4 Members and Guests enjoyed listening to a wide range of guests at the August B4 Platinum Quarterly with Chief Executive, Dominic Hare, opening with a fascinating insight into the recent European Political Community summit held at Blenheim in July. The event provided the local economy with a huge £30 million plus boost but it was the impact on staff that clearly made its mark, recalls Dominic. “The day began with staff coming in from all over Oxfordshire (and many beyond) with arrivals from 4am. It really was a career high for many being in the same company as HM The King, President Zelensky and over one quarter of the world’s leaders.”

Sadly, the EPC won’t be returning to Blenheim, or the UK for that matter, anytime soon, but Dominic did have some good news to announce, adding. “I am delighted to confirm that B4, partnering with Oxfordshire LEP and Blenheim, will be staging the first Oxfordshire Business Summit next Spring here at Blenheim. We are all working to co-ordinate diaries and announce a date soon but, in essence, this will be a great opportunity for business leaders, primarily from the B4 community with invited local government leaders, to discuss, question, learn and quite probably contest some of the key issues facing our businesses in Oxfordshire. I personally think it will be a brilliant way for businesses to get to know how local government works and vice-versa with the end result being a better working relationship between both and one which will hopefully benefit the wider business community and economy. There will also be opportunities for businesses to understand how to overcome more of the day to day business challenges they face such as finance, scaling, recruitment, people management….the list goes on! You’ll hear more about this exciting event very soon. Fingers crossed this WILL be an event which returns annually!”

Our host for the morning, Della Wolfe, then introduced our guest panel of Jonathan Duckworth, Chief Executive of Oxfordshire Football Association; Justin Merritt, owner of Oxford City Football Club; and Tim Williams, Chief Executive of Oxford United Football Club.

Della commented, “What a treat to be able to hear from three organisations that have a clear passion for creating opportunities to have a positive impact in our community. The three panellists were a joy to host and entertained everyone with their intelligence and insight.”

Tim added. “The event for me was a great way of telling our story at OUFC but also to really provide a platform to understand what more we can do to support the Oxfordshire Community as a whole.  We are undoubtedly stronger together and by collaborating, we can draw on the huge expertise of everyone in the room. For me, this was a really enjoyable event from start to finish.  Really engaging people and interesting discussion.”

Jonathan also said. “B4 is a brilliant way to bring local businesses together for mutual benefit. This was a terrific event and thank you to everyone who helped make is such a success. Oxford City and Oxford United are both affiliated to the Oxfordshire Football Association and we already have long-term relationships on so many different levels. With the support of local strategic partners we are always looking at what more we can do to help everyone across Oxfordshire through the positive and inclusive impact which football can bring to the whole community.”  

We also heard from Kate Parrinder of Oxfordshire Community Foundation and Dr Ali Khan of Oxfordshire Youth who explained more about Raise’24, our charity event on 13th December which is aiming to raise over £150,000 for eleven brilliant charities. Kate commented. “I think we can all see the benefits of collaboration in modern business and as part of the B4 network, although I am sure there are still quite a few businesspeople who find that competition drives them to be their best too, just like in football! Happily, Raise’24 will be an outlet for both of these very human instincts! Teams will compete with each other to raise the most money or secure donations from the most famous donor they can find.” Ali also said. “Raise’24 is the perfect opportunity for a very different Christmas Party. We are offering you all an enjoyable option to, in the words of William Wordsworth, ‘achieve a noble cause’. Oxfordshire’s business leaders can help us to do something very special this year so please do enter a team and help us to make a difference for hundreds if not thousands of people this Christmas.” Read more here about the Christmas party you won’t want to miss this year: www.raise4charity.co.uk/news/f/raise’24-the-one-christmas-party-you-won’t-want-to-miss

Russell Stebbings and Daniel Blesovsky of Frilford Heath Golf Club also confirmed that they have made an amazing ‘donation’ to Raise’24 in the form of their Championship Red Course to raise funds for the eleven beneficiary charities. Each charity will have two x fourballs to sell for £700+VAT which will generate a donation of £1,000 for each charity – a whopping £11,000 to share amongst them! Read more here: www.raise4charity.co.uk/news/f/frilford-heath-golf-club-donates-course-to-raise24

B4 also reached a milestone with Jason McGuigan, Regional Director of Wren Sterling, confirming that the firm were joining B4 as the 75^th Platinum Member. Jason commented. “B4 has a great reputation for attracting the leading businesses in Oxfordshire and that was clearly evident at the Blenheim Quarterly. B4 is the perfect fit for Wren Sterling and we look forward to connecting with the community at some brilliant events over the coming months.”

B4 is now focused on reaching one hundred Platinum Members and with quotes as follows from Tim Walker, Chairman of Claire Logic, who was a guest at the event, we are clearly on the right track. “I attend a lot of events on the south coast and this was by far the most professional business event I have been to in a long time.”

With thanks to Dominic Hare, Heather Carter, Emma Rogers, Jack Butler, Maria and the rest of the team at Blenheim for expertly hosting B4 once again and to Tina Rosser for event organisation, Edward Rosser for videography and Inga Kebleryte for photography. See contacts below.

Would you like to join us at a future B4 event? With regular roundtable discussions, CEO & Leaders Lunches, dinners at Soho Farmhouse and Blenheim Palace, a golf day at Frilford Heath, Members lunches at Six by Nico and The Randolph and much more, please contact richard@b4-business.com to find out all about the benefits of B4 Membership.  

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About Blenheim Palace

A masterpiece of 18th Century Baroque architecture set in more than 2000 acres of ‘Capability’ Brown landscaped Parkland and award-winning Formal Gardens, Blenheim Palace provides a magnificent setting for all events, whatever the size and style. We have a selection of spaces available for an unforgettable celebration, whatever the occasion. From Champagne and canapés to dinner and dancing, the Palace boasts more than six venue options, while the Parkland can hold marquees for small and large events.

See more at www.blenheimpalace.com/hospitality/

About B4

B4 is a local business community which includes over two hundred like-minded, collaborative businesses from across Oxfordshire as its members. B4 is sector agnostic and provides its members with over 70 social and learning & development events, creating the perfect environment for its members to connect and collaborate. Established in 2006, B4 is regarded as the leading business community in Oxfordshire and includes Blenheim Palace, Unipart, Oxfordshire LEP, Le Manoir, Owen Mumford, Boostworks, Rhodes House, Plunkett UK, Oxford Brookes, Sobell House, Oxfordshire Youth and many more highly respected local organisations.

See more at www.b4-business.com

About Raise’24

On 13th December 2024, 300 people from the local business community will get together in Keble College for a fun-packed festive fundraising extravaganza, competing to raise the most donations on the day for Raise’24. We will hit the phones, social media and emails to bring in at least £500 per person, or a massive total of £150k!

See more at www.raise4charity.co.uk

About Jonathan Duckworth

A Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development with a Masters’ Degree in Human Resources Management, Jonathan was Head of HR at Twickenham Stadium for the Rugby Football Union and England Rugby teams from 1997 to 2001 when he was then headhunted by Harley-Davidson to be their first European HR Director.

In 2005 he became Group HR Director for the Jockey Club’s 15 racecourse venues before moving to a similar role with an international Ferrari-backed motor racing series based at Silverstone. In 2015 he was recruited by Swim England as their People and Development Director and in 2020 joined the Leicestershire County Cricket Club Board of Directors becoming Chairman in 2021.

He has been a special advisor to Sporting Equals since 2008 and a member of the Leicester City Football Club Equality Working Group. He became closely involved in local grassroots football in Oxfordshire in 2010 when helping to coach youth teams at Wychwood FC and joined the Oxfordshire Football Association Board of Directors in 2018 before taking on the role of current Chief Executive.

See more at www.oxfordshirefa.com

About Justin Merritt

Justin Merritt is a business founder and owner, former footballer and present owner of Oxford City FC.  He is a UEFA ‘A’ licensed football coach, graduated from the University of North London with a degree in sports science and sports therapy and a qualified vocational education tutor, specialising in management, leadership and coaching. 

Justin founded the Ignite Group – encompassing Ignite Training, Ignite Sport and Velocity Football – in 1999 and remains CEO of all three operations. 

He is also majority shareholder and owner of Oxford City FC. It was at Oxford City FC where Justin represented the club as a player, manager and general manager across 20 seasons before becoming majority shareholder in 2023. 

The club played in the National League – the highest tier of non-league football – for the first time during the 2023-24 season and has qualified for the FA Cup first round proper in three of the last six years.  

After launching the Ignite Group as Premier Sports Group 25 years ago, Justin has since grown the business from three full-time employees to over 40 staff today. 

Ignite Training operates nationally and helps businesses to upskill, train and develop new and existing staff through tailored vocational qualifications in coaching, marketing, content production, teaching, wellbeing and management. Clients include British Cycling, the Lawn Tennis Association, Queens Park Rangers, Bristol Bears and Oxfordshire Youth. 

Outside the above, Justin is a sports enthusiast which underscores his belief that everyone can aspire to become the best version of themselves through the power of sport and education. 

See more at www.oxfordcityfc.co.uk

About Tim Williams

Tim Williams is the CEO of Oxford United Football Club.  He joined Oxford United in September 2022 and has overseen a restructuring of the club’s senior management team and was part of the leadership group that saw the club promoted to the second tier of English football for the first time in 25 years.

A Chartered Accountant by profession, Tim qualified with KPMG in 1996 and after a series of senior finance roles in leading UK and global companies joined Manchester United FC as Group Financial Controller in 2009.  Tim left Manchester United in 2014 to take up the role of Chief Financial Officer of Italian Serie A Club, Inter Milan where he led the raising of in excess of $500M of funding and navigated the club through a Financial Fair Play settlement agreement.  From Inter Milan, Tim joined London based sports capital and advisory firm Tifosy in February 2021 concentrating on sustainable and structured funding for clubs outside of the English Premier League.

Tim has a passion for live sport, mainly football, and has a significant focus on the stability of the English game overall. 

He is a member of the advisory board of the Manchester Metropolitan University Business School and also its Institute of Sport.

See more at www.oufc.co.uk

About Della Wolfe

Della’s career can be summarised in three parts the first spent in scale leadership roles, firstly for a large corporate (Sodexo Live) initially within HR and then latterly Operations, finishing off her career at Silverstone Racing Circuit. She then joined Leicester City Football Club, in an Executive Board Level role as part of the team that delivered the new stadium in 2002.

The second part of her career was co-founding The Curve Group in 2004, an HR and Recruitment Business, which has grown to be one of the leading privately owned HR businesses in the UK.

Della remains a silent investor at The Curve Group and started her own Leadership coaching business last year (her third and final career!). She is passionate about the power of coaching and empowering leaders to reach their full potential. She works with C Suite executives, Company founders and high potential individuals. She holds her clients to account, supporting them in setting goals that are realistic, achievable, and tangible. She also delivers transformational leadership programmes and works with executive teams to create cohesive growth strategies.

She is a big sports fan, and loves nothing more than watching live sport, she also is a young person mentor and respite foster carer in Oxfordshire.

See more at www.thecurvegroup.co.uk

About Wren Sterling

Wren Sterling is a nationwide independent financial planning firm that helps thousands of clients to make informed choices about their financial future. Our experts are based throughout the UK. Many are Chartered Financial Planners, while others specialise in later life care and complex pension arrangements. Whatever your financial planning needs, Wren Sterling offers the industry knowledge and attention to detail needed to meet them.

See more at www.wrensterling.com

Contacts

Blenheim event hire enquiries:                   

Emma Rogers at ERogers@blenheimpalace.com

B4 event enquiries:                                  

Tina Rosser at tina@b4-business.com

B4 membership enquiries:                         

Richard Rosser at richard@b4-business.com

Oxfordshire Business Summit enquiries:       

Richard Rosser at richard@b4-business.com

Video enquiries:                                      

Edward Rosser at edward@b4-business.com

Photography enquiries:                             

Inga Kebleryte at Inga Kebleryte ingakeblerytephotography@gmail.com                            

and www.linkedin.com/in/inga-k-4a77a624a/