Wokingham Borough Connect
This is the last Business Matters bulletin in 2022. As we are pausing our email newsletter during the festive break, there will be a slightly longer gap to our next update. You will get the next Business Matters bulletin on 10 January 2023.
Since its launch in January, this bulletin has been seeing a growing number of subscribers. At present, about 8,800 people in the borough's business community receive this fortnightly update and stay informed of what matters to them and their business.
We are thankful to your continued support. Let's look forward to a new and prosperous start in 2023.
 Business Spotlight
This week’s Business Spotlight falls on Sultan restaurant in Market Place of Wokingham town centre.
Sultan is Wokingham’s oldest family-run Indian restaurant, but that doesn’t mean it’s stuck in the past.
Recently, the restaurant has undergone a £100,000 refurbishment. It now offers a vibrant menu of Indian dishes with a modern, fine-dining twist created by chef Awanish Roy, who has worked in some of the world’s iconic restaurants, such as The Cinnamon Club in London.
Mr Raja Majid, Sultan's owner, has a long and distinguished career in restaurant business. He has opened and run venues in the UK and Las Vegas, where he won multiple awards for his community service work.
Aside from offering exceptional food and service, serving the community is at the heart of everything Sultan does. The team has been dedicating tireless support to local charities, businesses and organisations, and Raja himself is a keen advocate for a town centre business forum.
Sultan operates from a charming listed building steeped in history that’s suitable for any occasion, with many dishes suitable for vegetarians and vegans.
To find out more, visit the Sultan's website or speak to the team by calling 0118 977 4397
 Community voluntary sector means business
On Tuesday 29 November, a number of local charities and business representatives gathered at a breakfast event at Wokingham Town Hall, where views on anti-poverty and winter hardship were discussed and the importance of regular volunteering emphasised.
The event was jointly coordinated by us and Wokingham Volunteer Centre. On that day, the audience hadn't failed to be impressed by the passion and pride that the eight charities demonstrated, as they introduced their services and explained the current challenge of enlisting support from more volunteers.
Businesses joining the event learnt of the vast range of volunteering opportunities, from as little as making a telephone call and having a chat, all the way to being a volunteer driver or gardener. They were also able to make immediate connections and take the messages back to their teams.
As the need for volunteers continues, we will carry on working with the community-voluntary sector in 2023 and beyond.
If you are interested in this topic and would like to better understand how your business can get involved, send us an email.
 Branching out for help protecting our trees
We want your thoughts on our plans to clearly outline how existing trees are cared for, and new ones are planted, in the borough.
We’re consulting until 22 January on our draft tree strategy, which we’re drawing up to protect the environment and biodiversity as well as local people’s health.
The proposals include better co-ordination of how our trees are managed, developers’ duties towards planting and how you can help us protect trees with historic or community value.
They also support our efforts to increase planting on public and private land, in line with our climate emergency action plan, to offset carbon emissions and a recent decline in individual trees.
For help completing the survey on our Engage platform, or to view and respond in other formats like paper or electronic (PDF), call us on 0118 974 6000 or visit one of our libraries.
 Help your business reach its full potential
Learn new skills, reach more customers and boost your profits with Help to Grow.
There are currently two Government backed programmes, namely Help to Grow: Management Course and Help to Grow: Digital.
Programme details
Help to Grow: Management Course is designed to fit alongside work commitments, this programme combines a practical curriculum, with one-to-one support from a leading business mentor and alumni networking sessions.
Help to Grow: Digital scheme offers advice and funding to buy and integrate software into your business. You can get 50% off, up to £5,000 in approved Digital Accounting, Customer Relationship Management and eCommerce software.
Who is eligible?
UK businesses from any sector that have been operating for more than one year and have between 5 to 249 employees are eligible.
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