Oliver Coffin

The man who built the DVD rental company LoveFilm and sold it to Amazon for an estimated £200m will be delivering the keynote speech later this month at the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Business Live event.

Simon Calver, who took over as CEO of Mothercare after the sale of LoveFilm, will pass on entrepreneurial, strategic and marketing lessons from Lovefilm to delegates at the event, which takes place on October 24 at the Lincolnshire Showground.

The annual Greater Lincolnshire LEP summit will provide a platform for business leaders and politicians to debate the big economic issues that face Greater Lincolnshire.

Meanwhile, the exhibition area will feature industry zones including property, finance, energy, digital, tourism and skills.

Three hundred delegates and exhibitors are expected to attend the free event at the EPIC Centre, which will also features networking, lunch and a chance to put questions to the LEP board.

LEP Business Live will be hosted by Ursula Lidbetter MBE, Chair of the Greater Lincolnshire LEP, and Steven Fletcher from Lincolnshire Media.

Ursula said: “We are very pleased to have secured Simon Calver as a speaker at LEP Business Live this year.

“He is a British entrepreneurial success story, having proved that you can take a good idea, build it into a successful business and attract the attention of a global powerhouse like Amazon.

“But he also has a wealth of corporate experience working with companies such as Unilever and PepsiCo. I’m sure our delegates will find what he has to say extremely interesting and useful.”

Places for the LEP Business Live are now fully booked, but a reserve list is open in case of cancellations.

A collection of donated bikes recycled by volunteers are now on sale to help people affected by homelessness in Lincoln.

The Framework recycling scheme was launched in June 2014 in partnership with Lincolnshire County Council’s Access LN6 and Sustrans.

An appeal was put out asking for owners of old unwanted bikes to donate to the charity.

After a total of 70 bikes were donated participants were put through a six-week programme where they learned how to build new bicycles or remodel them.

Some 15 bikes were remodelled by three young people who completed the course and deemed suitable for resale.

On Saturday, September 27 15 people took the bikes for a spin, on a 34 mile route from Water Rail Way to Kirkstead Bridge and back. The charity bike ride raised over £500.

On Monday, October 13, the bikes were displayed in the Lincoln House, where locals and staff of framework were allowed to come and view the remodelled bikes and buy one.

The bikes range from £35 to £150, with most of them costing between £35 and £75.

Most of the bikes have been restored completely with only a few needing small maintenance that can be achieved easily by the new owner.

Two bikes had already been sold to those who had participated in the charity bike ride.

David Spivey, Move On Worker at Framework, said: “We’re looking forward to the next steps and hopefully developing the scheme.

“Hopefully with all the money raised by the charity bike ride and that from the bikes bought on October 13 there will be enough money to keep the recycling scheme going, to help with youths improve their skills, independence and confidence in the future.”

David also hopes that in the future, if the scheme goes well that he will be able to open the remodelled bikes to the members of the public.

Councillor Richard Davies, Executive Councillor for Highways and Transportation at Lincolnshire County Council, said: “We have been extremely proud to work with Framework on this project and to see so many people benefiting from the bike recycling scheme is fantastic.

“We hope that this will continue for many years to come, and look forward to creating a lasting legacy with Framework and Sustrans.”