All Things Business - The Podcast

Ben has returned to Memento Exclusives to discuss the great strides the company has made since their last appearance on the podcast. He sits down with his long-term friend and the founder and CEO of Memento Exclusives, Barry Gough.

Ben visits the Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Association head office to learn about an amazing charity rowing challenge. He is joined by Matt Sirrell, Managing Director at MSL Logistics, and Steph White, Community Fundraising Area Manager East at the MND Association. On the 12th December, Matt and his three teammates will be rowing 3000 miles across the Atlantic. This challenge will raise money to support the MND Association. They will race against dozens of teams in the World’s Toughest Row over about 40 days.

This episode features the owners of Midland Scaffolding Services. Ben is joined by Commercial Director Amie Bailey, Finance Director Lisa Rooney, and Contracts Director Ben Ekins. Midland Scaffolding Services have supported some of the biggest construction projects across the midlands and beyond. Since being founded in Northampton in 1982, the business has grown from strength to strength and continues to develop.

For this episode, Ben’s hit the padel courts to speak with Edward Dowdall, CEO and Owner of Padel Social House and The Padel Consultants. They are also joined by Gail Emms MBE, former world badminton champion and silver Olympic medallist with Team GB. Ed and Gail share a passion for the sport of padel, describing it as a combination of tennis, badminton, squash and table tennis, as well as something entirely unique. Based in the heart of Brackmills Industrial Estate, the Padel Social House not only provides a modern and aesthetic space to play, but helps to build a community of padel enthusiasts.

In this episode, Ben travelled to the Henry Ford Academy in Daventry. He sat down with Grace Gardner, Commercial Marketing Specialist, and Dan Savory, Partnership and Performance Management at the Academy. The Henry Ford Academy was founded in 2015, and according to Dan greets about 150 people a day from Ford dealerships across the country. The Academy provides training, conferences, and events to employees of all kinds in the industry. Next door they are also fortunate to have an expansive Partnership Distribution Centre.

To celebrate International Women’s Day, this podcast features guests doing amazing work to amplify women’s voices and help them to pursue positions in senior leadership. Ben is joined by Dr Julie Mills, the chair of Women Leaders UK and Chantal-Lawren Welch, Marketing Manager for Silverstone Park and Founder of the Women’s Innovation Network.

In today’s episode Ben sits down with David Owens, Aimee Smith and Will Amos from Hawsons Chartered Accountants. Based in Hawsons’ Northampton office, David is the Managing Partner, Aimee is the Market Development Leader, and Will is a Partner.

In this episode, we dive deep into the Northamptonshire Limited Report 2025, exploring what it means for local businesses, investors, and the broader economic landscape. From key trends to strategic insights, we break down the report’s findings and discuss how companies can leverage this information to stay ahead in a rapidly evolving market.

Today’s episode of All Things Business – The Podcast finds Ben and his guests in a boxing ring in the heart of Northampton. James Conway is the founder of ShoeBox gym, and he is joined by two professional boxers he manages, Eithan and Charlie. Eithan James is a former European champion, and Charlie Hamilton is a former national champion. Both are talented sportsmen who are making a name for themselves in the boxing world.

In this episode of All Things Business – The Podcast, Ben is joined by Luke Prout and Joanne Surley from Cottons Group and Kirsty Simmonds from DFA Law to discuss succession planning.

In this episode of All Things Business – The Podcast, Ben is out of the studio and on the stage at the Derngate auditorium. He is joined by Jesse Jones, Holly Gladwell, and Jo Gordonfrom the Royal and Derngate theatre. Jesse is the Artistic Director and directs many original plays at the theatres. Holly Gladwell is the Deputy Chief Executive and the Director of Programming and Producing. Jo Gordon is the Chief Executive of the Royal and Derngate and the Corby Cube.

Former England international footballer John Barnes has opened up to All Things Business – The Podcast about his battle to put his side of the story after a series of damaging articles regarding his financial situation.

In the latest episode of All Things Business – The Podcast, Ben is joined by Matt Dann from Simply Techspace and Jon Bautista from Simply Workspace. After its inception less than 2 years ago, the business is rapidly growing from strength to strength. With 20 members of staff, one office already outgrown and multiple international clients, business is booming for Matt and Jon. Simply Workspace kits out offices with comfortable furniture and stylish displays, and then they pass the baton to Simply Techspace to rig it with top-notch telephony, Wi-Fi and screens. The result is a full office refurbishment, and very happy clients.

In this episode of All Things Business – The Podcast, Ben sits down with Alex Goldsmith, Richard Smith and James Syrotiuk from Medigold Health to talk about how the business has progressed since their last guest appearance in October 2024.

This episode’s guest on All Things Business – The Podcast is Richard Bell, who discusses co-founding his payment company Fourdotzero and the direction of the content creation industry.

In this episode of the All Things Business – The Podcast, Ben is joined by Grant McKenna, Managing Director of Apertus Group. Apertus specialise in automotive procurement, energy and utilities, and while Grant may be known as the Moaning MD, his ambition and drive have propelled his company to impressive heights.

In this episode of All Things Business The Podcast, Ben is joined by Chief Superintendent Emma Baillie and Amanda Marlow to talk about knife crime.

This episode’s guest is Peter Taylor, Chairman at the MK Breakers Basketball Club. The club’s meteoric rise has been the pride of the city, with the club winning national championships and their senior team achieving back-to-back promotions up basketball’s pyramid.

Daniel Crask and Sian Stone from Acorn Analytical Services join Ben for this edition of All Things Business – The Podcast. The asbestos management business has seen some extraordinary growth in the past few years and are using that growth to help promote and raise money for a number of local charities.

International Women’s Day is this Saturday (March 8th 2025), and today Ben is joined by three incredible women from the local business community.

Today’s guest is Nigel Wagstaff, Managing Director of Houghton Hams. Better known as Waggy, Nigel has had a storied career in business throughout multiple industries, but Houghton Hams has remained his pride and joy. A family-owned and run business, Houghton Hams began life in 1983. Waggy used his connections in the food business from his time as a sales manager to get started, getting his first ham cure from his former employer. Seeing a gap in the local ham market, he used some redundancy money and a loan from the bank to start the business, producing his first 50 hams and delivering them himself.

Ben and Nick welcome Ryan Evans, Director at MK Loft Boarding. The business offers loft conversion services: creating raised loft boarding, installing ladders and adding mains light support. Their boarding method, where the board is fixed directly to the joist, allows for better air flow and greatly reduces issues such as damp and condensation and is much more suited for lofts with insulation or wiring installed. This makes their lofts much more usable as storage spaces.

All Things Business – The Podcast welcomes Faryl Smith, who Ben bills as ‘Northamptonshire’s finest singer’, a title she’s hesitant to accept but one that’s difficult to dispute. Born in Kettering, Faryl recently returned to the county with her fiancé after ten years living in London. She was training to become an opera singer at Guildhall School of Music & Drama, completing undergraduate, postgraduate and opera-specific courses.

For the first episode of 2025, Ben is joined by Mike Tilson, Partner at Grant Thornton and Matt Thompson, Corporate Partner at Howes Percival. They’re here to discuss the Northamptonshire Limited Report, an annual report celebrating the top 100 businesses in the county produced collaboratively between the two law firms. This year, they’re including more detailed information on the fastest growing businesses and international contributors.

In the final episode of All Things Business – The Podcast for 2024, Ben sits down with renowned Olympian and Northampton’s own Derek Redmond. A life defined by determination and perseverance, here the full story on the latest episode of All Things Business – The Podcast.

Ben is joined by Nicholas Mann and Chris Langsford for the latest episode of All Things Business The Podcast.

Today’s guests on All Things Business – The Podcast are Sally Alexander, Chief Executive at Milton Keynes College, and Nick Mann, Chair of Milton Keynes Business Leaders Partnership. Nick is also an organiser of the Milton Keynes Business Achievement Awards. They are both here to discuss the links between business and education. One of Ben’s oft-repeated mantras is ‘business needs education, education needs business’. These two guests are emblematic of this.

Ben is back, this time with a panel of HR and employment law experts to discuss the Government’s new Employment Rights Bill, a new package of laws that grant new rights to employees and new obligations for employers. As owner of an SME, Ben has plenty of questions about this new bill. With 26 employees, that’s a lot of new rights to manage, so he’s assembled this amazing team to explain the key factors. Ben is joined by Naomi Butters, Chief Executive of Icena, an empowerment and social change training and consultancy business; Priya Magar, a Partner specialising in employment law at EMW Law; and Claire Butcher, Director at CE People, a HR consultancy.

This special episode of the podcast focusses on the challenges of mergers and acquisitions, using occupational health business Medigold Health as a case study. Ben interviews Alex Goldsmith, Medigold’s CEO and James Syrotiuk, their CFO. Medigold Health is a leader in the occupational health sector and recently acquired a competitor business, Health Management Limited, in early 2023. The move saw them double in size, becoming the largest occupational health business by head count in the UK, with over 1100 employees including 600 clinicians. Alex describes the acquisition as important to the business’s survival long term, with demand rising and resources becoming scarcer over the coming decade.

Ben is joined by Lorraine Lewis of the Lewis Foundation and Barry Tong of Sol Retail. The Lewis Foundation works to provide comfort and support to those going through cancer treatment by proving them with packs of supplies during their hospital stays. This includes support packs of toiletries and underwear, gifts such as books, and simply spending time with those going through an incredibly difficult period in their lives.

Dave Thompson is a serial entrepreneur and sales guru. He and Ben met over twenty years ago, both growing up in Wellingborough and have recently reconnected.

In this episode of All Things Business The Podcast, Ben travels to Memento Exclusives to talk to Barry Gough.

Ben is joined by the new owner of Kettering Town FC, Nadim Akhtar & Sporting Director Fabian Forde for the latest episode of All Things Business The Podcast.

Kacie Foskett and Joe Gilbert from Red Giraffe, a digital marketing agency based in Milton Keynes, join Ben for this discussion on one of the frontiers of flexible working: the four-day work week. Joe started Red Giraffe a decade ago and, in his role as Managing Director, has always been an advocate of practices that promote a healthier work-life balance. His thoughts around the four-day week began at home. His wife was struggling with her workload as a primary school teacher. After seeing how overwork affected her mental health, and how it improved dramatically after she reduced her hours and went part time, Joe began to see the value of personal time differently.

Ben is joined by James Geary and Hassan Shah, Managing Partner and Partner respectively at EMW Law. Hassan joined the firm as part of a merger, with his own firm SP Law becoming part of the EMW family. This deal expanded the range of services available to clients of both firms. SP’s specialties lay more in private law practices such as employment and property law, while EMW’s services are more focussed on commercial law, such as mergers and acquisitions and other business-related services.

Ben is joined by Ashley Riley, the Managing Director and namesake of Ashley Riley Communications, a PR, marketing, and communications agency. Ben and Ashley have an extensive and deep history together in business, with Ashley writing one of the first pieces of content for All Things Business Northamptonshire.

Ben welcomes Northampton-based singer-songwriter Billy Lockett to All Things Business – The Podcast. Billy is about to embark on a European tour in support of his album Abington Grove and is in the midst of writing his second full-length project. His love for music began at an early age, discovering a natural gift for playing the piano and committing himself to a music career, despite his Mum’s wish for him to continue in education.

Ben is joined by Andrew Jenkins, who recently rose to prominence on season 2 of The Traitors. The series was one of the most popular shows of the year, and Andrew has used his newfound platform to raise awareness around mental health.

As part of our continuing Mental Health Awareness Week series of podcasts, Ben welcomes Sherry Adams, CEO Of Kelly’s Heroes, a local charity that provides mental health awareness training and vital services for those suffering with poor mental health. The charity was started after Kelly, aged 24, ended her own life in December 2018. Her family, parents John and Rachel and sister Amy, began the charity in 2020 to create a legacy for her, to help those struggling with suicidal thoughts and poor mental health. Sherry became CEO of the charity in late 2020, using her decade of experience in the charity sector to help deliver services and develop them further.

Beginning the podcast’s Mental Health Awareness Week series, Ben is joined by Jon Manning from Arthur Ellis Mental Health Support. Jon has personal experience of NHS mental health services and started Arthur Ellis to help provide services to those who need them. After physical abuse early in his school life, Jon’s first interaction with mental health services was at age 5. After suicide attempts in his teens and early 20s, he went to his GP multiple times but was placed on a four-year waiting list. He saved up for a private appointment at the Priory and was finally diagnosed with bipolar disorder at age 25, which allowed his symptoms to begin to be managed.

Ben welcomes Joe Buckley, owner of The Tollymarche Arms in Harrington. The community he has cultivated around the pub has led to an interesting crowdfunding project, part of a wider trend in the hospitality industry.

Ben and Frazer are joined in the All Things Business studio by Leeds and Liverpool legend Dom Matteo, along with his wife: dancer and entrepreneur Jess Matteo.

Ben and Frazer are on the road again, finding themselves in the home dressing room at stadum:mk with Head Coach of MK Dons, Mike Williamson. He took over in October last year and has since lead the Dons to a comfortable top half position in League 2 and are likely to get a chance at promotion through the play offs if they maintain their current form.

A slightly unusual episode of All Things Business – The Podcast, with no guest this time. It’s Ben and Frazer, but this may be the last time we see them on screen together. Frazer will be leaving the All Things Business ‘conglomerate’. He’s still around till April, but this is his podcast send-off. Ben reflects on Frazer’s time with All Things Business, and the impact he has had across All Things Business’s channels.

Ben and Frazer are on the road again, just up the M1 in fact. They’re in Milton Keynes at the headquarters of Aiimi, a fast-growing data, AI and digital business, interviewing their CEO Steve Salvin.

It’s International Women's Day, and Ben and Frazer have invited some very inspirational women from the local business community to join them for this special 50th edition of All Things Business - The Podcast.

Our hosts are on the road again as Ben and Frazer visit the The Snooty Fox in Lowick. The pub boasts a picturesque location, a country-industrial interior and a wide array of beers and other drinks to choose from. The pair are joined by Richard Gordon, the owner of the pub and the Greedy Gordons Pub Group.

Frazer and Ben are joined by two DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) champions in this bumper episode of All Things Business – The Podcast. Ranjit Singh and Gamiel Yafai are co-founders of the Milton Keynes Ethnic Business Community, an organisation that aims to platform minority ethnic businesspeople and support them and their businesses to grow.

Ben and Frazer visit MK Dons for this edition of All Things Business – The Podcast. They’re interviewing Simon Crampton, Performance and Operations Director. It’s his 18th season at the club, during which time he’s worked his way up through the physiotherapy ranks to director level.

Ben and Frazer kick off 2024 by looking ahead to the coming year, discussing their goals and aspirations for the podcast, All Things Business and for their charitable work.