Over seven in 10 small firms in the West Midlands say coping with the recession is the single biggest challenge facing their business in 2009, but many still plan to invest during this year, according to a new survey among SMEs.

Research conducted by the e-Innovation Centre (e-IC), which is based at the University of Wolverhampton, revealed that only 12 per cent of businesses said they were ‘more confident' about their outlook compared to six months ago, with 47 per cent saying they were ‘less confident'.

Telford's e-Innovation Centre (e-IC) recently welcomed senior executives from ROI - Research on Investment - a specialist global market research company with corporate headquarters in Montreal, Canada.

ROI has been appointed to represent regional development agency Advantage West Midlands (AWM) in the United States and Canada.  Three ROI senior executives visited the e-IC as part of a tour of the West Midlands, organised by AWM, to highlight the region's diverse and dynamic business base and its success stories.

Tenants at the e-Innovation Centre (e-IC) in Telford were once again able to benefit from a free legal clinic held at the Centre recently.

Supervised by Niels McKenzie of McKenzie Law Solicitors, volunteer students Louise Howard and Sheree Harvey from the Legal Practice Course at the University of Wolverhampton offered one hour consultations without charge to help answer a range of business and commercial law queries from tenants.