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2 post business export challenge

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Firms are clamouring to begin exporting

EXPORT Challenge

1000

by Joshua Taylor

POST BUSINESS STAFF

joshua.taylor@trinitymirror.com

OUR campaign to get 1,000 extra North West firms doing business overseas is nearing its half-way point.

There are now 410 businesses that have taken the leap of faith and are preparing to venture into new territories thanks to the Export Challenge campaign.

The scheme was launched in July in association with UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) and Post Business’s sister publication, Greater Manchester Business Week. The campaign has the support of Chancellor George Osborne.

Andy Snell, director of international trade at Liverpool Chamber of Commerce, said: “I am delighted to hear we are nearing the half-way mark.”

The news comes as the chamber prepares to open a new international trade centre at its offices in Liverpool’s Old Hall Street.

The centre will contain information points, video conferencing facilities and access to expert advisers.

Companies already selling products overseas can collect export certificates at the centre, while both new and existing exporters will be able to receive advice and information from UKTI, Chamber of Commerce and Barclays staff who will be based at the facility.

Mr Snell said: “Opening this new facility in the heart of Liverpool’s commercial district should be the perfect spur to help us contribute to reaching the 1,000-firm target.”

The new centre is due to open on November 13 to coincide with Export Week. UKTI will host one of its ‘export essentials’ roadshows at the centre on its opening day.

Andy Snell, Liverpool Chamber Clive Drinkwater, UKTI’s regional director for the North West, said: “I hope the events taking place during Export Week will encourage even more businesses and entrepreneurs to start trading abroad.

“We are providing free sessions throughout the week on how exports can help businesses to grow, with the ‘export essentials’ workshops providing an excellent opportunity for new exporters to learn as much as they can at a one-stop shop.”

The Government and UKTI are currently aiming to double UK exports to more than £1 trillion a year by 2020 and get 100,000 more companies trading overseas.

Further information on the events taking place during Export Week is available by calling 0161 875 2341 or emailing events@uktinorthwest.co.uk

Getting paid is the most important part of any deal you do overseas

by Clive Drinkwater

UK TRADE & INVESTMENT I AM QUITE fond of saying “it’s a gift until you’re paid” and this obviously applies if you’re selling in this country or exporting.

But I am often surprised at how many companies who, otherwise run a tight ship, lose their heads and ship products half way around the world with absolutely no agreement on when or how they are going to receive payment.

Cash is just about the most vital thing to a business and we all see examples of firms failing, not because they aren’t profitable, but because they have run out of available cash.

So what are the sorts of things you should be doing about export payments?

My first piece of advice is don’t be afraid to discuss payment.

You should, when agree-

ing a contract, include clear agreement about when and how you will be paid.

You may have no trading history with your potential buyer so don’t be afraid to ask for bankers’ references.

Any decent company would be happy to provide them.

For your first order from a new customer there is no harm in asking for payment up front but you could very legitimately ask for a letter of credit.

Make sure it’s an irrevocable letter of credit confirmed by a London clearing bank.

You could ask for payment by draft or bill of exchange and in each case there is some degree of control of the ownership of the goods.

The key thing is to be clear about what you want.

In Europe it is more normal to trade on open account but if you end up having to extend credit to

your buyer you will face two key issues.

The first is the actual risk of getting paid and the second is the potential adverse effect on your cashflow of having to wait to get paid for periods which can go up to 180 days.

Talk to your bank about credit insurance or factoring or discounting your invoices to ameliorate the cash flow issues you may have.

If you wish to approach credit insurance agencies directly the British Insurance Brokers’ Association is able to help with impartial advice.

If, however, you encounter difficulties, UK Export Finance (UKEF) could possibly help.

UKEF is a Governmentbacked organisation that has a number of products and services tailored specially for firms that have encountered difficulty in getting support from their bank or other financial

organisation.

They have an Export Insurance scheme, an Export Working Capital scheme and a Bond Support scheme, plus several others that could, for example, guarantee letters of credit, provide lines of credit and they launched in September their Direct Lending scheme under which they will provide loans of between £5m and £50m directly to an overseas buyer of British capital goods and/or services.

They will directly negotiate terms and conditions with the buyer and arrange to disburse the funds though the process.

There has been a huge change in the last couple of years with UKEF (previously known as ECGD) and they are firmly operating in the SME area.

Last year they gave £4.3bn of support to British firms and are looking to do more, so check them out.

UKTI to play a major role in IFB THE Government’s international trade and export body, UKTI, has revealed the full scale of its involvement in the International Festival for Business 2014.

The programme of events, which will focus on particular sectors and on identified global markets, will be staged across Liverpool city region.

Organisers say it will showcase the region’s world class industrial and business assets before a global audience.

UKTI is to be an official partner for the event and has revealed that every part of the region will have a part to play during the six-week festival according to each area’s individual business and sector strengths.

The six districts – Halton, Knowsley, Sefton, St Helens, Wirral and Liverpool city centre, will each host events which will showcase sectors of excellence and international significance: ■ Education/Professional & Financial Services, July 2, 2014, IFB Hub ■ Food, July 3-4, 2014, Knowsley ■ Advanced Manufacturing, July 7, 2014, St Helens ■ Infrastructure, July 10, 2014, Sefton ■ Creative & Digital, July15, 2014, IFB Hub ■ Green Economics/Renewables, July 16, 2014, Wirral ■ ICT, July 24, 2014, Halton

POST BUSINESS DAILY A revolution in the way business people get their news Clive Drinkwater Do make sure you take appropriate advice about getting paid, your bank would be the obvious first port of call but your accountant and/or other financial institution should be able to help and there is a lot of potential support around, but do take the issue of getting paid seriously.

I will say it again – a gift until you’re paid.

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Thursday, November 7, 2013

news

Involve Northwest secures contract for Wirral jobs scheme A WIRRAL organisation which has helped hundreds of vulnerable and hard-to-reach people back into work in just 12 months has received a new contract from Wirral Council.

The ReachOut service was launched in 2006 by Wirral charity Involve Northwest and aims to overcome the challenges people in Wirral

are facing in finding employment.

Since the start of its latest contract in August 2012, ReachOut has helped 849 Wirral people back into work – far exceeding an original target of 634.

And 411 of these people have remained in employment for more than six months, with the programme

on target to reach a sustainability rate of 65%.

Funding to deliver the contract has been given by Wirral Council and ESF. Wirral Council has extended the contract for a further seven months with the programme running until the end of March 2014.

Involve Northwest chief executive Justine Molyneux

said: “The fact that Wirral Council has extended our contract for a further seven months is proof that the team at Involve Northwest/The Reachout Partnership are making a significant impact to the unemployment rates across Wirral communities and the local economy.

“On average, the ReachOut Partnership is helping 72

people to find work in Wirral each month.

“The fact that we are helping people to secure meaningful work makes a huge difference to their self esteem, health and well being.”

The ReachOut partnership includes The Social Partnership, AIW Health, Remploy, Wirral Change and Inclusive Access.

Green energy could provide jobs for 30,000, says Syvret The debate was organised by Liverpool Community College Pictures: TONY McDONOUGH

post business 3

Natwest organises Enterprise Academy NATWEST is holding a one-day “Enterprise Academy” aimed at start-up and existing businesses in Liverpool later this month.

The free event, being held on November 21 at St George’s Hall, will bring together many of the support agencies that exist on Merseyside to help small businesses.

There will also be a number of one-hour workshops on the day delivered by experts.

Topics of these sessions include social media, marketing, intellectual property, international trade, pitching, tender writing, procurement and the Social Values Act. Natwest’s Liverpool-based enterprise manager, Heather Waters, told Post Business: “When we started researching this we found there was a lot of support for small businesses in Liverpool.

“But what we also found was that not everyone was using them or was even aware of them.

“So we decided it would be a good idea to hold an event to bring them all together in one place.”

The event is being held as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week. It is free to attend but the workshops need to be pre-booked. Click onto http://www.events. rbs.com/esu.asp? eid=185E894A-37E7-481 E-861C-DAD061B2A8A9

John Syvret taking part in the round table

by Tony McDonough

POST BUSINESS STAFF

tony.mcdonough@liverpool.com

MORE investment in nuclear and wind energy projects could bring 30,000 manufacturing and engineering jobs to Merseyside, the chief executive of Cammell Laird says.

Speaking at a round table debate about skills and training in the green energy sector, Mr Syvret said “political will” was needed to reinvigorate the UK’s manufacturing sector.

Earlier this year, Mr Syvret told the Liverpool Post that the Birkenhead shipbuilding and engineering firm would be bidding for work in the Round 3 windfarm projects for the Irish Sea. Cammell Laird is currently involved in Round 2, providing a base for the installation and maintenance of wind turbines in the Gwynt-y-Mor wind farm.

Round 3 is a multi-billion pound plan for further out in the Irish Sea and Mr Syvret said that if the firm could grab just a 10% slice of that he could double his workforce to 2,000 and grow turnover to £500m.

At the latest discussion Mr Syvret claimed that if the Government gave the go-ahead for more nuclear power stations the economic benefits for the city region could be huge.

There are proposals to build five new nuclear power stations on the West coast of Britain.

Mr Syvret, speaking at the round table organised by the City of Liverpool Community College, said: “If we really want to help our local communities then we need support. We are not asking for financial help – just the political will.

“We could create 30,000 jobs over the next couple of decades in the green energy sector.

“The UK should have started building new nuclear power stations 10 years ago.

“People would not believe how thin the margins are in terms of us keeping the lights on. We need to take the opportunity to kick-start our manufacturing sector.

We need to be manufacturing ourselves but there needs to be political will.”

Mr Syvret repeated his call for the manufacturing of wind turbines to be done here in the UK. Presently, components are manufactured in Europe and elsewhere and shipped to the UK to be assembled.

Mr Syvret said offshore wind developments in places such as France, Germany and Holland were set up to maximise the employment potential for people living there.

He added: “If we look around the UK coastline at the moment we see various facilities set up to service the offshore wind sector.

“What they are is basically car parks set up to handle components that have been manufactured 2,000 miles away and shipped here.

“We spend a lot of time lobbying the people who make the decisions to help us capture more of those commercial opportunities. The first phase of the offshore programme has pretty much bypassed the UK. “There is a massive opportunity in offshore energy and if you look out you can see the giant turbines being

‘We can offer jobs to people at every level’

erected offshore. We have the ability to quadruple in size if we were able to capture more of that market.”

Chaired by Jayne Worthington, assistant principal at the City of Liverpool Community College, the debate at the Cotton Exchange focused on the key areas of growth in the low carbon sector and looked to identify the skills needed.

The panel, which included Howard Sloane, head of HR at Peel Ports, and Jerry Spencer, entrepreneurship manager at Liverpool Vision, concluded that it was vital to raise both skills and awareness of the green energy sector among young people.

Mr Syvret added that it was becoming difficult to find skilled people.

“The great thing about a business such as Cammell Laird is the people we can employ. And we can offer employment at every level,” he said.

“But we are struggling to bring in talented people.We have brought through 150 apprentices in recent years but we are struggling to get the right skills for the higher end jobs.

“If today we could take on six naval architects and six mechanical engineers then we would do – but at the moment we cannot get them.”

POST BUSINESS DAILY A revolution in the way business people get their news

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4 post business big feature

Bill Gleeson

Thursday, November 7, 2013

MBNA marks

Living Wage has attracted support from all quarters

After a long period of uncertainty, MBNA is once again looking to the future. Bill Gleeson reports

IT’S Living Wage week.

The living wage rate has been increased to £7.65 outside London and £8.80 in London.

The aim of the living wage campaign is to encourage employers to pay all of their staff a wage that allows them, at a minimum, to afford a basic, but acceptable, standard of living.

However, according to research published by accountancy firm KPMG and Markit, the number of workers in the North West earning less than the living wage has risen by 30,000 to 600,000 in the past year. Young people, women and part-time workers are the worst affected. The figures mean the region’s employers are the worst payers in the country.

The firm says the increase in the number of people earning less than the living wage arises because the cost of living has soared. Certainly we have all seen our energy and food bills rise.

Of course, earning the hourly living wage rate doesn’t secure an acceptable standard of living on its own. The number of hours worked each week also matters. Yet, we don’t hear a campaign for a minimum number of hours even though the number of part-time jobs has risen during the recent downturn, as has the use of “zero hours” contracts.

Ed Miliband has this week proposed offering employers a tax break if they sign up to the living wage rather than paying the statutory minimum wage of £6.31. The Labour leader says the tax break would be worth £1,000 per employee.

The Confederation of British Industry has welcomed the voluntary nature of Mr Miliband’s carrot rather than any compulsory stick.

However, it would make more sense from the taxpayers’ point of view if Labour promised to raise the statutory minimum wage to the level of the living wage.

One baffling aspect of the living wage debate is the way KPMG seems to have taken up the cause of the low paid. Most of the firm’s clients are big businesses that need to

BNA is this month marking 20 years of credit card lending in Britain. Back in 1993, the US bank based its new European headquarters at Chester Business Park.

Since then, its time in Europe can be divided into two distinct phases. For the first 15 years, MBNA enjoyed rapid growth on the back of strong consumer spending growth both in Britain and Europe.

However, this period of growth came to an abrupt end when the credit crunch and recessions in Britain and the eurozone brought an end to the good times.

Bank of America, which had acquired MBNA a few years before the recession, said it would either sell or close MBNA’s UK operations.

It is only in recent months that this threat has been lifted and the business appears to be back on track. It did, however, sell-off its ventures in Spain and Ireland, the only other European markets where it had significant operations.

Both Spain and Ireland, of course, were deeply affected by the credit crunch. The credit culture in those countries that had attracted MBNA to them in the first place, proved unsustainable.

Despite the ravages of the recent recessions, MBNA remains a very big employer in the town today.

The bank has recently recommenced investing in marketing and technology as it tries to move into the digital marketplace.

MBNA chief executive officer Ian O’Doherty was a junior member of team that 20 years ago made the decision to locate the bank’s European operation at Chester.

He said: “It’s come from a standing start to 12% share of the credit card market in the UK and we have 2,000 permanent employees with another 1,000 contractors, so we come a long way.

“We have evolved from a company that was small and unheard of to one that is recognised across the country.

“We have evolved from being one that was paper and telephone based to one that is involved in the digital space.”

MBNA’s arrival in Britain was greeted with some trepidation by the established players, who feared American marketing techniques would shake up the industry and make the price of credit cheaper.

The key marketing innovation that MBNA brought to this country was affinity marketing. MBNA would allow the likes of Liverpool and Manchester United football clubs to offer their own branded credit cards to their fans, and for professional bodies or trade unions to do the same for their memberships. Universities could also tap their alumni, and charities, such as WWF, could sell cards to consumers. The various partners would be able to take a cut of the bank’s profit.

Mr O’Doherty said: “When we came

compete globally with lower, sometimes much lower, wage economies.

You would expect them to argue for lower, not higher, wages. Yet here they are conducting research about social issues. There again, support for the living wage campaign has come from some other unexpected quarters, London’s Conservative Mayor Boris Johnson, for example.

GIVEN all the upbeat talk in recent months about economic recovery, it seems odd now that Ryanair has issued its second profit warning in as many months.

The Irish airline, which is also one of Liverpool John Lennon Airport’s biggest carriers, has said it expects fares to drop by as much as 10% in the winter months compared to last winter. Stiff price competition is blamed for the warning.

The profit warning caused shares in the airline to slump in Dublin and the shares of other airlines, including Easyjet, were also hit.

One interesting aspect of the increased competition for low fare travellers is the change it seems to have wrought on the behaviour of the airline, which is trying to improve its reputation for customer service.

It has attempted to reinvent its image by relaxing bag restrictions for passengers as well as through a reduction in baggage charges and an easing of booking conditions. Also, all seats will be allocated in advance from early next year.

Whether this will be enough to stop the airline being the butt of comedians’ jokes will have to be seen.

Not that this latest bout of pessimism has put the airline’s management off the idea of investing in expansion. It has opened seven new hubs, runs an extra 116 routes around Europe and has 140 new Boeings on order, so it’s not all doom and gloom.

However, there is a clear warning here for everybody, not just low cost airlines. Britain and, in particular, Europe’s economic recovery is still looking a bit tentative.

M

here affinity marketing was the mainstay and focal point of the way MBNA in America drove its business.

“But it has evolved over the 20 years.

Now our own core MBNA brand is the mainstay these days, though we still have 312 affinity partners today and we are still signing affinity agreements.”

Recent examples of new affinity partners include Etihad and Emirates airlines.

Mr O’Doherty added: “We are still in the market for affinity programmes but not at the rate of 20 years ago. They need to be a decent size both for us and the partner.

“The affinity market in the US is different. The people there have a different mindset about affinities. In the US, people like to show-off their connections. In the UK, people are less inclined to show-off their connections with the universities or professional organisations.”

Referring to the bank’s new emphasis on selling its own branded cards, Mr O’Doherty said: “We have had a lot of success with it over the years. We hope

‘Our own MBNA brand is the mainstay’

to build on it further. We have recently had a TV ad and poster campaign. It’s a competitive market for new business, but we have a very substantial book of existing business.”

As for taking down the “for sale” sign from above the door of the UK operation, Mr O’Doherty said: “It’s true to say that any business is for sale at any given time but at the moment there is no active search to sell this business.

“We are now singularly focused on the UK market. We had some subsidiary businesses in the past that have either been sold or closed down but the UK card business is still here and thriving.

“We have come through the crunch and challenging times and we are no longer pursuing a new owner.

“We are investing in technical to support for the business and investing in the brand. We are investing in growing the value of the business.

“There has been a change and it’s very different from a year ago.

“We are optimistic about the result.”

However, the uncertainty of recent years has damaged MBNA’s market share. It used to be 15%, not today’s 12%.

big feature post business 5

Thursday, November 7, 2013

20 years in Chester Alex Wilmot-Sitwell, left, and David Reilly at the opening of MBNA’s new command centre in Chester

MBNA chief executive officer Ian O’Doherty says the brand is now more recognised

Command centre will be critical to Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s global operations

The decline in market share is partly accounted for by the sale of part of its business to Virgin Money.

Mr O’Doherty said: “In the last couple of months we have turned that round.

You will see that number tick back up over time.”

However, the rapid growth of e-commerce is changing the way the industry recruits customers.

Mr O’Doherty explained: “What we do is give customers the opportunity to make a purchase today with money they are going to give us in the future. As things evolve, we see customers are behaving differently and we have to keep pace with our customer.

“The digital space is much more active than it used to be.”

As a result MBNA is developing what it calls its “wallet” technology, which offers a secure means of making payments online.

Mr O’Doherty said: “It’s indicative of what we’re trying to do. We’re looking to the future. There is a business here that is a healthy one and we’re looking

to invest in it sensibly.

“Our service is very basic. There will always be a value in that service and a need for it. When times are good people use their card because they feel buoyant and they want to make purchases. When times are bad they use cards to help spread the cost of purchases.

“But we need to provide the service where customers want it and need it.”

While the economy is picking up, the recovery is still in its early days. As a result, MBNA is unlikely to return to large scale recruitment any time soon. Mr O’Doherty said: “It’s unlikely in the near future for us to see big recruitment drives, but we have some targeted recruitment opportunities. There are efforts to hire in the areas of analytics, credit strategies and marketing, but not on the levels seen in the past – not for the present time.”

As for that original decision taken two decades ago to locate to Chester, Mr O’Doherty said: “It’s been a great location for many reasons.”

‘We are singularly focused on the UK market’

THE giant investment banking group Bank of America Merrill Lynch, which owns MBNA, has chosen Chester as the location for its European IT and other support operations.

Last week, it marked the official launch of its European “command centre” at Chester Business Park.

The bank took a delegation of local dignitaries and journalists around the newly-completed facility.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch has just recruited 60 new staff, and, going by the number of work stations in the room, it plans to double that number in the near future.

The command centre, housed at Chester Business Park, is one of three around the world. The other two are in Richmond in the United States and Singapore.

These centres will provide round the clock cover for all of the bank’s IT needs, including the systems used for stock market and bond trading.

They are there to spot problems and trouble shoot.

Alex Wilmot-Sitwell is Bank of America Merrill Lynch's president for Europe and emerging markets excluding Asia.

He said: “Chester is an increasingly important part of the business. We employ 3,500 people here.”

As well as MBNA’s credit card operations, the group has recruited more than 300 people to support Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s IT, HR and finance operations in Europe. That number is expected to rise.

Mr Wilmot-Sitwell added: “Over the last two years, we have employed hundreds of people in these operations.”

David Reilly, the bank’s chief information officer, said: “In two weeks’ time we switch to Chester. This command centre is critical to our business around the world.

“Whenever something goes wrong, it is the command centre that should see that

first and bring in the right people to fix it.”

He said that the group’s command centre receives about 4,000 alerts a day.

“As we looked for a location in the European time zone, Chester was selected.

At any given point in time two command centres will be in full production. That significantly reduces the risk for the bank.”

The bank has about 5,000 traders across the world.

Jeremy St John Brown, trading operations manager, said: “If a major trading system goes offline they can’t do their work. Our monitoring systems will pick it up.”

The company said it looked at a number of other locations but selected Chester because of the availability of talented IT staff and the universities in the region.

Mr St John Brown said: “There were 51 hires in 90 days. That would be hard to replicate anywhere in the world.”

6 post business wealth management

Thursday, November 7, 2013

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

Should Europe’s banks fear the wrath of Mario Draghi? market analysis

by Mike Taylor

LIVERPOOL OFFICE OF CHARLES STANLEY

ANOTHER EU summit has come and gone and the waiting room is still filling up.

Once again it seems to be Mr Draghi who is making the running, but this time his message is not so welcome. The very idea of some banks failing in order to prove the efficacy of the forthcoming stress tests is outrageous to the masters and mistresses of fudge in Brussels.

The question of who is supposed to put up the money to recapitalise the banks is almost as big a can to kick as bailing out sovereign states or, rather, it is a different part of the same can.

However, a new political crisis in Italy might reinvigorate the bond vigilantes of old who seem to have given up when Mr Draghi vowed to see them off last year. With unwelcome symmetry all the main Italian parties are divided.

Last week, Mr Berlusconi’s suspension of the PDL and re-launching of Forza Italia was boycotted by his hitherto anointed heir Angelino Alfano and his fellow PDL ministers.

Despite all the unpleasantness over immigration it is unemployment, retirement benefits and cuts in public services that are turning voters against established parties in Europe.

It is typical of the latter to delude themselves that stuttering growth in the next few years will make major reforms and cut-backs unnecessary.

Mike Taylor

More interesting is signs that UK consumers are feeling more confident to spend and invest and borrowing more to do so. The Markit/ CIPS Manufacturing PMI should offset the disappointment over last week’s CBI Industrial Orders, which were overshadowed by the first cut of Q3 GDP. The good news is that the economy has managed two successive quarters of growth close to the long-term trend and the services sector is operating above its pre-crisis level while production, construction and agriculture are at least managing some growth.

Further encouraging evidence came from the main headline from the public sector borrowing numbers that showed tax revenues increasing strongly. Not so good is the thought that most of this growth is being generated domestically and may not continue at the current annualised rate of around 3%. How all the more, welcome, therefore, to listen to Mark Carney dedicate himself to promoting growth in the UK economy as a whole, in the City and in the financial services industry across the country.

Moreover, as chairman of the G20’s financial stability board, Mr Carney has pledged to promote growth on a global basis. Henceforth, the Bank will be ‘the friend of resilient banks, continuous markets, and good collateral; and the enemy of taxpayer bailouts, fragile markets and financial instability’. This should not be taken lightly, either in the UK or elsewhere.

How must Mr Draghi wish he could have made the same pledge to support fundamentally sound banks. Instead, he has to contend with opposition from the German government and the Bundesbank who want to see ‘bail-ins’ of bondholders and other creditors as the first source of new capital for struggling EMU banks.

It does not help him that the French, Italians, Spanish, Irish and others disagree with the Germans on creditor bail-ins since they do not want to foot the bill either: they want the ESM bail-out fund to be deployed, which is another German battle line.

Next week will bring another set of terrible numbers on unemployment, soft retail sales but a very (very) modest increase in Spanish GDP after seven quarters of recession. The politicians in Europe’s ‘waiting room’ will only hear the news from Spain and the punters, who seem to have taken a great liking to the country recently, will increase their bets. Mr Draghi is not really going to fail any banks, is he?

notes ■

COMPETITION to attract current account customers has been stepped up as a major bank launched a new “cashback” scheme.

The initiative will see 1,000 Lloyds Bank current account customers every week having the cost of a purchase picked at random of up to £500 refunded.

Lloyds said that, from the end of November, its “everyday offers” scheme will allow current account customers to start earning up to 15% cashback on their spending with retailers including Ocado, Coast and Homebase, with more stores set to be confirmed in the coming weeks.

Once customers activate the offer within Lloyds Bank online or mobile banking, they will get cashback by spending on their credit or debit card. The money will be paid into their account the next month.

Customers who have registered for the scheme will also be eligible to get bonus cashback as part of an initiative called “it’s on us”.

■

Will Mr Draghi’s European Central Bank fail any banks?

THE UK is now on a “slow and steady” recovery path, business leaders have predicted, as they raise their growth forecasts for the next few years.

The CBI expects GDP growth in 2014 and 2015 to gather pace as business investment and net trade provide support to the economy.

Although the recovery “won’t be spectacular” it appears to be “better-rooted” after a recent boost in the manufacturing and construction industries and the group has forecast GDP growth of 1.4% in 2013, up from 1.2% in its August forecast.

House market at its best for three years

It’s a Christmas on credit

HOUSE prices surged at their fastest annual rate in over three years in October, according to Nationwide, as concerns over the risk of another period of boom and bust mounted.

Prices lifted by 5.8% year-on-year to reach £173,678 on average, showing the strongest increase seen since July 2010, the building society said.

On a monthly basis, prices rose by 1%, which is the biggest upswing seen since July this year

MORE than 1m people plan to take out a payday loan to cover the cost of Christmas, research by a Government-backed body has found.

The Money Advice Service (MAS) said one in 40 (2.44%) people surveyed for its research, equating to around 1.2m across the UK, is thinking about turning to a payday lender to fund their seasonal spending.

One third (32%) of consumers also said they will ramp up their

and marks the sixth month in a row of price increases.

The launch of a new phase of the Government’s flagship Help to Buy scheme offering state-backed mortgages to people with deposits as low as 5%, was brought forward to this month following expectations that the initiative would not start until January 2014.

State-backed lenders Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), NatWest, Halifax and Bank of Scotland have all started offering mortgages under the

scheme and other major providers, including HSBC, Santander and Barclays, have also confirmed plans to start offering products under the initiative at a later date.

Critics of the scheme argue that rather than launching initiatives to unleash more aspiring buyers into the market which will contribute to the upward pressure on house prices, the Government should, instead, be concentrating efforts on trying to address a lack of housing supply by building more homes.

credit card debts to pay for the festivities, while one in every 11 (9%) people said they are still paying off what they owe from last Christmas.

The findings also suggest that people will try to curb their spending compared with last year. People typically expect to spend £487 this Christmas, which is £21 less than 2012.

Two-fifths (38%) of the 2,000 people surveyed said they are already worrying coping.

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Employers wary of apprentice benefits NORTH West employers are split on the merits of apprenticeships, with 57% less inclined to offer on-the-job training, according to the latest Close Brothers Business Barometer.

The quarterly survey of small- and mediumsized businesses says of that figure, 14% claimed to be put off hiring an apprentice as they fear it will be too expensive, 33% were concerned about a lack of time to devote to training, and a further 4% weren’t convinced that there are enough suitable candidates.

This is despite evidence from the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) that says apprenticeship schemes will contribute £3.4bn per year to the economy over the next decade.

Close Brothers asset finance chief executive Mike Randall said: “There are understandable reasons why some businesses are hesitant to invest their time and money into training an apprentice. However, there is some evidence to suggest that they are worth the investment.

“Apprenticeships can reduce the time and expense of recruiting, while positively contributing to the overall performance of a business by offering an increase in competitiveness, a broadened talent pool and improved productivity.”

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post business 7

James provides a masterclass in overcoming adversity

James Buckley at work in Hotel Indigo in Liverpool

by Tony McDonough

POST BUSINESS STAFF

tony.mcdonough@liverpool.com

ONE of Hotel Indigo’s newest young recruits is already making a big impression on its well-heeled patrons – but few will be aware of James Buckley’s inspirational journey The 23-year-old has just emerged from the darkest period of his life during which a family bereavement led to three years of homelessness.

James was brought up by his mum in North Wales but when he was 19 she died of cancer.

In the aftermath, he lost everything, spending three years drifting from one hostel to another.

However, thanks to his determined grit, a will to strive against adversity, and guidance from a motivation initiative from employment provider, Ingeus, James has turned a corner.

He is now the food and beverage assistant in the Cotton Lounge at Hotel Indigo in Chapel Street, Liverpool city centre.

“Losing my mum was very sudden and a massive shock,” said James, originally from Holywell “I didn’t know what to do with myself. I got left with a lump sum of inheritance and lost it all.

“Looking back now, I suppose I was blocking away the pain, numbing my emotions.

“Within the space of four months I had no money left, no one to turn to, and I became homeless.”

This led to a period of living rough and floating from hostel to hostel.

He added: “I eventually ended up in Liverpool, staying in a shared house, which as the only non-Scouser wasn’t the best experience.

“But eventually I started to enjoy the city. I got involved in football, playing semi-professional, got fitter, and generally started getting my life back on track. I even got my own place to live.”

Unemployed, it was at this point that James sought help from Ingeus, which delivers the Government’s Work Programme throughout the North West.

He joined its TKO (Training, Knowledge and Opportunities) programme, which uses sport to develop leadership, teamwork and communication skills, and is designed to boost self-confidence.

TKO is a collaboration between Ingeus and former world champion boxer Glenn McCrory, and as part of it James and his fellow recruits spent a day at Hotel Indigo and were given an insight into the operations of a thriving city centre hotel and restaurant.

James clearly stood out from the crowd though, and was given his first break, and after a successful trial was offered a position.

“Looking back, I suppose I did kind of stand out,” he said.

“I came dressed like I was coming for a job interview. I made a good first impression and it paid off.

“Ingeus works really closely with you, and if you want to get something out of the programme, you will. It helped me a lot.”

As a food and beverage assistant, James operates the Cotton Lounge,

and has already made an impression with the regular customers.

He added: “It is quite a hands-on role, it’s really fun and I really enjoy looking after the customers.

“The support from the hotel has been amazing as well. They nurture me but also give me the freedom to give my own ideas and suggestions.

“Hopefully I can progress here. You know, if it wasn’t a challenge I wouldn’t be happy.”

James also starts a degree in science and football at Liverpool John Moores University this autumn, after completing his biology and chemistry A Levels during the summer.

“I’m made up because I didn’t quite meet the results needed to get on the course,” he said.

“But I sent quite a few emails and my personal statement helped because of all the volunteering work I do.”

When it comes to volunteering James offers up a lot of his time coaching football at FA level, working particularly closely with Liverpool Homeless Football Club.

New guide to understanding the process of house buying Download today for your free 30-day trial www.liverpool dailypost.co.uk/ businessdaily

A POLL by RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) shows that 24% of buyers in Northern England did not fully understand the process of buying their home.

Significantly, 27% of buy-

ers in the North also admitted to being unsure of the difference between a market valuation (the property’s actual worth), an agent’s appraisal (an estimate as to what it can sell for) and a

survey (a surveyor’s assessment as to the condition of the property).

Failing to grasp the fundamentals could create big problems for buyers and sellers alike and, in some

cases, could lead to unexpected costs and even potential transactions falling through.

At a time when schemes such as Help to Buy are seeing demand for homes in the North West rapidly increase,

RICS has today launched a set of free, consumer-friendly guides to help buyers and sellers understand exactly what to do and how to avoid any pitfalls. Visit www.rics. org/consumerguides

8 post business the bottom line

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Suttons sees growth despite tough economic conditions

by Bill Gleeson

POST BUSINESS STAFF bill.gleeson@liverpool.com

SUTTONS owner Thomas Cradley Holdings saw improvements in its top line last year despite weak economic conditions affecting international trade.

According to accounts for the year to April 2013, the Widnes-based bulk logistics group saw turnover rise 4.1% to £154.6m for the year to April 2013. Last year’s figure was £148.5m.

Profit on ordinary activities before tax rose to £7.4m from the £7.2m recorded in 2013.

Cost of sales was £124.2m versus £121.3m giving a gross profit of £30.4m compared to £27.1m in the previous year.

Administration expenses were £22m, up on 2012’s £19.4m. Operating profit was £8.3m, compared to £7.7m.

Once interest payable and similar charges of £904,000 (2012: £587,000) are taken into account, profit on ordinary activities before taxation was £7.4m.

The corporation tax charge is shown as £1.7m, down on the £2m shown for the previous year.

Once profit from minority interests are taken into account, the profit for the financial year was £5.9m compared to £5.1m in the previous year.

Thomas Cradley’s balance sheet shows fixed assets of £59.8m, higher than the £53.5m shown at the previous balance sheet date. Stocks were £394,000 compared to £757,000 at the end of 2012. Debtors due within one year were £30.7m, higher than the £28.6m shown at the previous balance sheet date.

Cash at bank was £14m, up on the £11m balance 12 months earlier.

Creditors due within one year were valued at £36.6m, up on the £32.4m last year. Creditors due after more than one year were £15.8m v £13.8m. The long term debts were all finance leases and hire purchase agreements.

Thomas Cradley had a total of £22.6m of such debts due at the balance sheet date once short-term debts are included.

When provisions for liabilities of £3.5m are taken into account, the group’s total net assets were £49m versus £44.5m.

The group, which trades under the name Suttons and transports chemicals and petroleum and provides warehousing, shipping and drumming services, said its turnover rose

John Sutton, left, with Andrew Palmer and, inset, Suttons Saudi Arabia trucks

“despite very low levels of economic growth throughout Europe and the USA”.

The group’s geographical diversity helped “it to perform well despite the difficult economic conditions. Efforts to improve efficiency meant that improved margins led to operating profit growth of 7.1%”.

The report added: “Despite maintaining the high levels of capital investment seen in recent years, cash

balances increased by £3m during the year.”

Suttons group chief executive officer John Suttons said: “This last year has been positive for the group.

“We have increased our turnover, margin and operating profit despite challenging conditions.

“We have also invested significantly in both our UK road tanker and international ISO tank fleets, ensuring our customers continue to receive

the highest standards of service in the industry.

“Highlights of the year include new business wins and contract extensions for our UK tankers division, significant progress in Asia and an important contract for our joint venture Suttons Arabia.”

During the year the group committed to contracts to replace a significant number of its vehicles and road tanks over the next year.

The directors’ report adds: “At the end of the year Andrew Palmer decided to step down from his role of group managing director. Andrew led the business through a very successful period and transformed the group into a leading global logistics provider.”

Mr Palmer remains on the holding company board as a non executive director.

The dividend paid during the year was £900,000, but the board didn’t recommend a final dividend.

Bad weather hits RSA Insurance’s full year profits forecast LIVERPOOL insurance group RSA said its weather losses for 2013 will be “materially above planning assumptions” after severe weather conditions in Canada and Europe.

In an update this week the firm, which employs 1,200 at its Liverpool operations, revealed its net written premiums in the year to date rose 7% to £6.7bn.

That included a 14% increase in Canada, to £1.34bn, a flat performance in Scandinavia at £1.48bn, a 17% improvement in emerging markets at £1.03bn, and a 3% rise in the UK and Western Europe with net written premiums of £2.84bn.

However, the group said it expects its return on equity this year will be below 10% due to bad weather claims.

Simon Lee, chief executive, said: “2013 is proving to be an exceptionally tough year for weather events for the group.

“Over the summer we saw the worst and the third worst natural catastrophe insurance events on record in Canada, followed by continued adverse weather across the country during the third quarter.

“More recently, Northern Europe suffered a severe windstorm. Our priority has been to provide the support our customers need to get back on track as quickly as possible.

“Assuming no further major weather events in 2013, we now expect the impact of adverse weather across the group to be around 1.5% points above our planning assumption.”

notes ■

LOW COST airline Ryanair warned its profits will be hammered this winter by downward pressure on fares.

The Dublin-based carrier, which is the second biggest operator at Liverpool John Lennon Airport by passenger numbers, expects a 9% drop in average fares for the current quarter and a possible decline of 10% in the three months after Christmas.

Issuing its second profits warning in as many months, Ryanair said its surplus for the year to March 31 may dip to as low as £423.3m, from the £481.7m achieved a year earlier.

For the period to September 30 – a period when airlines make most of their money – Ryanair recorded profits growth of 1% to £509.7m, a new first half record.

Average fares fell by 2% in the half year, although revenues from areas such as the roll out of reserved seating, priority boarding and higher credit debit card fees grew by 22% to £603.7m.

■

MARKS & Spencer said its fashion turnaround needs more time after slumping to its ninth back-to-back quarter of falling clothing and homeware sales.

M&S’s like-for-like general merchandise sales dropped 1.3% between July and September on a year earlier, as a revamp of its autumn/winter clothing range failed to ignite trading.

Heavy discounting and the cost of the star-studded womenswear overhaul helped drag underlying pre-tax profits 8.9% lower to £261.6m during the 26 weeks to the end of September.

While M&S warned shoppers remain reluctant to spend, its shares rose 4% as investors took heart at “early signs of improvement” in clothing. Its general merchandise sales decline was slightly better than City hopes and improved on a 1.6% first-quarter drop.

Chief executive Marc Bolland said the 129-year-old chain is showing “continuous improvement” in clothing, adding the new range was only in stores for three weeks of the period.

small business post business 9

Thursday, November 7, 2013

small

notes

business of theweek

■

by Neil Hodgson

POST BUSINESS STAFF

neil.hodgson@liverpool.com

E

XPANSION for one Birkenhead company has provided an opportunity for 40 more small businesses.

LT Print Group was acquired by Bob McWilliams in 1971 and operated from premises at 1 Hamilton Street, a stone’s throw from Hamilton Square rail station.

As the business grew Mr McWilliams relocated most of it to a unit in Seacombe around 1993, although he kept the digital print operation in the original site.

But now that, too, has been moved to a specially created digital suite at Seacombe, leaving the Hamilton Street site empty, and allowing his wife, Carole, to indulge her love of antiques.

She explained: “Up until recently you needed a high street shop, but now everyone does business on the internet. So the need for a high street printing shop has disappeared.”

So, she has created the Amorini Antiques Centre within the former print shop, offering room for 15 tenants to set up and run their own businesses, and 25 cabinets, which are glass presentation cases which can hold a selection of items that the centre will sell on behalf of the cabinet holders.

Ms McWilliams said: “My passion is antiques, and I have been dealing in them for 30 years.”

She said, in her opinion, the area has been crying out for a focus for antique dealers.

“There used to be 40 antique shops in the Wirral 30 years ago.

“This area used to be the antiques triangle.”

Now, she believes she has created a unique opportunity for dealers and customers: “There’s nothing like this in Wirral, Liverpool or Chester.”

She added: “I think people view antique shops as intimidating, but with this place there is something for everyone.

“Next door there’s a £5,000 piece of furniture, and here there’s a piece of China for £5.

“But the important thing for me is that for everybody that rents in here, it is as much their business as mine and I want it to be a collaboration venture.”

She said all the tenants will take it in turns to sit on the front desk and meet and talk to customers.

Even though the centre only officially opened this week, Ms McWilliams said every unit and cabinet has been snapped up and she now has a waiting list of prospective dealers.

She admitted: “I thought this was a good idea, but I was worried, would people come in?”

She said even while they were setting up the business people were calling from all over the region, including North Wales.

“I wasn’t prepared for so many people to want to come in so quickly.”

Among the items on display in the centre are antiques, collectables, militaria, jewelry, reproduction art deco posters and prints, and retro jewelry made by a young student.

Ms McWilliams said the venture is proving popular with a range of different tenants: “There are people who have wanted to do something like this

Carole McWilliams with an 1835 Secretaire, holding a bowl from Liverpool Town Hall dinner service

Carole bringing new hope with antiques for a while and this is their first opportunity to do it full time. And there are other people using it as a toe in the water for a new job.”

She said during the downturn the antique business had been in the doldrums, but it is now starting to pick up.

“Also, younger people are beginning to appreciate antiques much more. People used to say they don’t buy ‘brown furniture’, but that is changing.”

And she said given the response to the centre she is already considering extending the idea to another location in Merseyside: “This area is crying out for something like this. The more there is, the more likely we are to attract people to the area.”

Carole McWilliams holding a 19th century Chinese Vase

UNUSED Pay As You Earn (PAYE) schemes will be shut down, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has announced.

Employers who have not used their schemes will now receive letters explaining that their PAYE schemes have been closed.

Any PAYE schemes opened after April 5, this year will be shut down automatically where the employer has not sent any PAYE returns or paid HMRC within four months of the scheme being set up.

Schemes registered as annual schemes will not be closed by this process.

HMRC’s director general for personal tax, Ruth Owen, said: “Closing schemes that are no longer needed is really important for businesses and for HMRC as it means that HMRC won’t waste employers’ or taxpayers’ time and money by needlessly pursuing returns or debts when, in fact, none are due.

“Since April, employers or agents (acting on behalf of their clients) who have set up PAYE schemes that are no longer needed can easily close the scheme by reporting this on their final submission.

“This new process helps further as it means we can identify and remove unnecessary schemes earlier.”

More than 1.69 million employer PAYE schemes, covering in excess of 46 million individual records, are already reporting in real time since the launch of new reporting requirements in April.

■

LIBERIS, a provider of alternative funding to small firms, is celebrating the launch of a new drive to help the SME sector with a competition to find “Britain’s Friendliest Business.”

Adrian Fawcett, Liberis chairman, said: “The investors in Liberis, including myself, have been involved with over 2,000 small businesses across all industries in the UK in the past 20 years. We know what these businesses need to succeed, and we believe that Liberis provides it.”

The winner of the competition will receive £5,000 and one day’s free consultancy.

To enter go to: www. liberis.co.uk/bfbiz

10 post business creative & digital

comment

by MARTIN DOUGALL

Look out for robotic fraudsters IT MIGHT sound like something straight out of a science fiction novel, but computers, rather than conmen, look set to be the fraudsters of the future as criminals turn to robotics in an effort to avoid detection.

KPMG’s latest Profile of a Fraudster report suggests traditional fraudsters – typically male, 36 to 45 years, employees acting against their own organisation and at a senior level – will be joined by “seeker bots”: self-learning and self-replicating artificial intelligence, that will render the faces of many criminals invisible.

These “bots” will be designed to continuously test a company’s cyber defences to find a “hole in the fence”. On finding a gap, the bots will analyse the potential for fraud and launch a highly specialised “attack bot”.

The aim will be to remove assets to a virtual location which can be accessed by the fraudsters – which means any attempts to second guess or pre-empt tactics used by real people will not be enough.

The report also reveals that criminals behind fraud are now, by nature, collaborative, instead of following the stereotype of a reclusive loner.

A few years ago, hackers were motivated by political objectives. Most were simply seen as loners trying to make a name for themselves.

However, with the ability to master artificial intelligence, it’s only a matter of time until fraudsters harness the full power of technology to enrich themselves and criminal organisations.

Perhaps human features and emotions will no longer be a significant part of the profile of the typical fraudster.

Indeed, unless businesses take steps to protect themselves from the new threat, electronic features, signatures and behaviours may be all that a victim will ever know of the cyber fraudster who targets them.

■ MARTIN DOUGALL is KPMG’s UK Regional Head of Forensic

Thursday, November 7, 2013 IN ASSOCIATION WITH

‘Business can learn from our city’s cultural collaboration’

by Alistair Houghton POST BUSINESS STAFF

alistair.houghton@liverpool.com

THE cut-throat world of business can learn from the arts sector when it comes to the power of collaboration – that was the message from two of the city’s cultural leaders at a Liverpool business briefing.

Michael Eakin, chief executive of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra (RLPO), joined FACT’s executive director Iona Horsburgh at a Professional Liverpool networking lunch on the Business of Culture.

The duo said “culture plc” played a vital role in the economy of the city, both directly through the people it employs and indirectly by making the region a more attractive place to live, work and study.

Both speakers emphasised the power of collaboration in the sector.

The RLPO and FACT are both part of the Liverpool Arts Regeneration Consortium (LARC), through which managers and staff thrive to make a difference to the local economy.

Its mission statement says: “Together, we share a fundamental belief in the power of art and culture to change lives far beyond the confines of the concert hall, theatre, museum and gallery and are working as an informal consortium on a number of regeneration programmes.”

LARC’s other members are the Bluecoat, Liverpool Biennial, Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse, Tate Liverpool and the Unity Theatre.

Ms Horsburgh said: “I know a lot of people think it’s very easy to collaborate, with our different funding model. But we do all compete with each other for funding, investment, sponsorship, and individual giving.

“Although we do and have to compete with each other, we see the value of working together. “(At LARC) the CEOs meet every two weeks for two hours. We’ve done that every week since 2008.

“We believe that by working together, we increase the number of tourists coming to the city and who shop, eat, drink and stay in hotels in the city.

“We see our role as very much supporting regeneration in the city.”

Asked for tips on collaboration, Mr Eakin said: “It works most effectively when there’s a common cause.

“It’s easy to sit round a table and collaborate for collaboration’s sake.”

And Ms Horsburgh added that any collaboration had to have “clear aims and objectives” to be successful.

She said the seven LARC organisations together made a net contribution of £32m to the GVA of Liverpool city region.

Mr Eakin added that in 2012, across the seven organisations, there were 1,278 performances, exhibitions and events. Some 449,000 tickets were sold, helping to bring in £7.3m in cash and 4.3m visitors.

LARC also represents 530 permanent staff and 1,052 full-time jobs in the city region, as well as offering opportunities for 881 volunteers.

Mr Eakin said investment in the arts in Liverpool was continuing, with work well under way on the new Everyman Theatre and with his own organisation preparing for a £12m revamp of its historic home.

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic principal conductor Vasily Petrenko. Arts groups and cultural venues, including the Philharmonic Hall, help bring millions of pounds into the city each year Picture: COLIN LANE He added: “All of this is money being attracted to the city. It helps to create that sense of momentum, to create jobs and stimulate growth.”

Mr Eakin said the cultural sector not only created jobs itself, but also encouraged locals and visitors to spend money in the city centre. And he said potential investors could also be attracted by a city’s cultural offer.

He added: “Whether it’s students, people coming here to work or new businesses, they’re not going to want to relocate to a city that doesn’t have a strong sense of identity, a sense of itself as a thriving, modern, bustling city.

“Lots of things contribute to that – universities, good transport links, good schools, a good bar and restaurant scene – but absolutely great theatres, great music venues, great art galleries are part of that as well.

“So for any modern city, and Liverpool is certainly that, having a really strong and diverse cultural scene is crucial.”

Cultural organisations should, said Ms Horsburgh, be regarded as part of the business community.

She explained that they pulled in money from several different sources, from ticket revenues and corporate sponsorship through to the National Lottery and local councils.

With that complex funding pot, they then have to battle to make a surplus to continue their work.

Both speakers also stressed the role arts and culture could play in improving people’s lives.

Ms Horsburgh said a classic example of that was the RLPO’s In Harmony programme, through which

From left, Michael Eakin, Iona Horsburgh and John Hall every child in West Everton’s Faith Primary School is taught to play an instrument.

She said it had helped bring parents, children, the school and the wider community closer together.

OFSTED, she said, called the school’s musical achievement “astonishing”.

Corporate sponsorship of the arts in Liverpool had, Mr Eakin said, started to grow again after a dip during the recession.

Mr Eakin – last month named the Post’s Leader of the Year – thanked the RLPO’s sponsors, including Weightmans, Investec and Hill Dickinson. He added: “The old days of sponsorship have gone. We like to think of them as partnerships.

“The benefit to the private sector has to be as clear as the benefit to us.

It can’t just be a handout – it’s a deal.”

Mr Eakin said arts groups had to

show potential donors that they could deliver in three key areas – proving they had a viable business model, proving they made a contribution to the community – and, of course, “making great art”.

He added: “It might surprise you that we really haven’t talked much about great art yet.

“But it’s an abiding obsession for all of us. It’s why we’re in business.”

John Hall, chief executive of Professional Liverpool, said: “We are blessed to have such wonderful culture in the city and it was fantastic to welcome two major players in their field to talk about this.

“It is important to recognise the impact culture has on the economy, the social impact it has and the role it plays in helping to raise the profile and reputation of the city regionally and nationally.”

creative & digital post business 11

Thursday, November 7, 2013

South West success for newly-merged tourism specialist TOURISM website specialist New Mind | tellUs has enjoyed a successful start to the final quarter after sealing several local and national contacts.

The Liverpool agency, formed from the merger of New Mind and Oslo-based business tellUs, has been commissioned by Wirral Council to develop a new VisitWirral site ahead of the 2014 Open.

The Somerset Tourism Association has also commissioned a complete redesign and rebuild of the official Visitsomerset.co.uk web site – while Bath Tourism Plus has appointed the company to redevelop its website, VisitBath.co.uk for the fourth time. VisitBath is one of the highest-performing tourism sites in the country, attracting some 3m unique visitors a year.

New Mind | tellUs is also working on a website for Cornish Tourist Information Centres that will focus on promoting events and accommodation throughout Cornwall.

John Turner of Visit Somerset said: “This is an incredible step forward for the association, the Visit Somerset platform and the county.

“We are very proud of what has been achieved all through private sector development and innovation. I must thank my team and New Mind | tellUs for their incredible support and vision.”

The newly-merged New Mind | tellUs is looking to win more work with tourism bodies at home and overseas.

Director Richard Veal said: “As we embark on a new journey with our colleagues in Scandinavia, it is very satisfying that so many of our long-standing UK clients are continuing to re-invest in their e-tourism solutions.

“This is clear confirmation that tourism is a specialist sector and destination management organisations want and deserve a company dedicated to serving their digital needs.” Pulteney Bridge, Bath. New Mind | tellUs is building a new website for VisitBath

Liverpool couple wins NWF backing for smartphone app

by Alistair Houghton POST BUSINESS STAFF

alistair.houghton@liverpool.com

A LIVERPOOL-BORN couple who developed a smartphone app to allow businesses to get real-time feedback from customers has won a “six-figure investment” from the North West Fund for Venture Capital.

Husband and wife team Lee and Nicola Evans – who met while working at Grant Thornton in Liverpool – set up SurveyMe in 2011.

Their app allows companies or individuals to create and send digital surveys to customers’ mobile phones or tablet devices to capture “point of experience” feedback.

Today the company has more than 6,000 users in more than 53 countries.

They include Everton FC, Liverpool City Council and Hilton Liverpool, as well as New Zealand organisations Fastway Couriers and Whangarei District Council.

Mr and Mrs Evans both have years of

experience in the retail and hospitality industries.

Mr Evans, a former corporate finance adviser, established The Bear Factory in Ireland, a children’s retail concept in partnership with toy retailer Hamleys.

Mrs Evans has worked in marketing and business development roles for companies including The Coca-Cola Company and Rocco Forte Hotels.

As part of the investment, the company, now based in Cheshire, plans to recruit two new full-time technical employees.

Nicola Evans said: “Lee and I are very proud of our Liverpool heritage and the fact that the initial SurveyMe development work was done in Liverpool. We maintain strong links within the Liverpool business community.

“This significant investment will help us to continue to compete on the global stage – a position we’ve already reached sooner than we thought was possible through word of mouth.”

Richard Young of Enterprise Ventures, which manages the Venture Capital

Richard Young fund, said: “SurveyMe has already built a strong customer base within the leisure and retail sectors and there is huge potential for its use within other industries.

“This investment will allow it to pursue growth by stepping up its marketing, further developing the software and expanding its reseller network.”

The SurveyMe app

Start-up contest helps small firms collide with big brands FAST-GROWING digital firms have just a few hours left to apply to join start-up accelerator programme Collider13.

The scheme, organised by Pembridge Partnership and Creative England and supported by the Government’s Regional Growth Fund, aims to partner start-ups with established brands

including Unilever and William Hill.

It offers successful start-ups with £100,000 funding in a mix of loan and equity, mentoring for a year, access to brands, access to office space and technology testing facilities.

Start-ups can register by the end of today through www.collider13.com/apply/

The previous Collider programme saw seven companies gaining commercial deals, four companies raising follow-on funding, and the creation of 39 jobs.

Rose Lewis, founder and director of Collider, said: “The 2012 programme surpassed our expectation and we secured follow-on investment in three startups,

drawing in new investors as well. The formula of brands working with start-ups was immensely powerful for both parties.

“We’re expecting to deepen and broaden the investor, brand and adviser relationships we had with Collider12 into Collider13 – the format works well and the niche is focused and

well defined. Collider12 has turned out to be productive for all parties and we will continue with this model with Collider13.”

Jim Farmery, Creative England’s director of business investment, said: “I’m looking forward again to seeing what fascinating technologies and products we see from our teams.”

Ben Hatton

Marketers getting in the game GAMES have enormous marketing potential if used in the right way.

They allow brands to combine promotion by using entertaining content in a fun and engaging manner and gamified technology makes an app more appealing.

Using games as a way to engage users and promote a product or campaign is not new, and the number of brands using a game-based app is growing daily – technology research company Gartner states that as many as 70% of Global 2000 organisations will have at least one gamified app by 2014.

Skill-based games motivate users to play them over and over again as they improve each time it is played and the mechanics encourage the user to keep playing to continue unlocking new characters.

Metro Trains’ “Dumb Ways To Die” game is a good example of a gamified app supporting a campaign – in this case – a health and safety message. And Metro Trains, in Melbourne, said it saw a reduction of more than 30% in the number of “near-miss” incidents following the success of the campaign.

Those loyal to coffee chain Starbucks are rewarded by its visually simple yet effective gamified app with only one way to earn rewards.

The customer receives a “star” each time a purchase is made. The more bought, the more rewards received until the virtual coffee cup is filled.

It is important that brands which decide to develop a gamified app, develop the right type of game for the company.

Some companies lend themselves more easily to this type of app than others, but the variety of different games mechanics means companies can easily produce the best one to fit its purpose.

■ INTERNET entrepreneur Ben Hatton is founder and managing director of digital agency Rippleffect. Follow Rippleffect on Twitter @rippleffected

12 post business big interview

Tony McDonough meets JON WHYTE and VIP BHATT, directors of coffee shop chain, Bean

I

T CAN be said that one of the marks of a true entrepreneur is his or her ability to see the opportunity in a crisis.

Jon Whyte and Vip Bhatt launched the first outlet in their Bean coffee shop chain at the back end of 2008 – just as the financial world was coming crashing down.

The good times had come to a shuddering halt and even those earning a decent salary were looking to cut back on their spending.

Bean opened up at Brunswick Business Park, a short distance from Liverpool city centre, and Whyte and Bhatt profited from the dawn of the new age of austerity.

“At one time people at a managerial level would maybe spend £7 to £10 a day on lunch but it came to a point where even they were cutting back and bring their own lunch,” said Bhatt, 45.

“They would maybe only buy their lunch then one or two days a week and we have to be very price-sensitive to that market.”

Whyte, 33, added: “There was a lot of trepidation at the beginning and I think we were cautious.

“At the beginning Vip and I would work in the shop ourselves. My wife would work in the shop too and we had one member of staff.

“Brunswick Business Park is a close-knit business community – there is a mixture of corporate and small businesses – and at the times I think everyone was feeling the pinch – people were reining in their spending.

“That is why we brought in our freshly-made sandwiches – where it could be made in front of you.

“We would try to do it at a reasonable price and that ethos tied in with the financial climate at the time. People wanted quality at a fair price.”

And so their business model of opening coffee shops in business locations, rather that in retail areas, was born and it has proved to be a success. Since the launch of Bean in Brunswick another eight outlets have followed.

The company now operates from nine outlets – four in Liverpool, four in Manchester and one in Rochdale.

It also has a mobile unit – The Bean Machine – which is used as a promotional tool at marketing events and fairs.

The business employs 30 people.

Bean’s office headquarters are in Liverpool and here there is also a kitchen that makes all the food for both the shops and the corporate catering side of the business fresh every day.

It is this set-up, according to Whyte, that allows Bean to compete with the bigger chains such as Starbucks and Costa with their economies of scale.

“Larger chains do have the economies of scale and we compete on price by making everything ourselves – whereas they will buy their food in.

“If you buy sliced cooked meat, for example, one guy cooks it and another slices it and packages it and then gives it to a distributor.

“If you have one doing the whole thing then you don’t have several margins in the chain.

“We buy in the raw materials and make everything ourselves. It makes it more labour-intensive but it is still cheaper in the long run.”

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Bean counters the downturn with its fresh approach

Bhatt says helping organisations such as the Red Cross, above, is the ‘right thing to do’. Employee Luciano Pauli in the Bean Machine, inset In Liverpool the Bean outlets are at Brunswick Business Park, Liverpool Innovation Park, Princes Dock and the latest shop is Bean at Exchange Station – in the entrance hall of Ashtenne Space Northwest’s £5m office development in Liverpool city centre.

Bean aims to provide an envir-

onment where business people can hold meeting in comfort and enjoy good food and coffee.

Said Bhatt: “We want to attract people to come and meet here every day.

“And it is quite a comfortable environment and so people can have business meetings here without

q&a Age: Jon Whyte, 33, Vip Bhatt, 45 Biggest achievement in business: Both: Creating and developing the Bean brand in to what it is now Biggest regret: Whyte: Not sticking at karate. I started doing it when I was 17 then it became very on and off. Now I have the opportunity to take it up again.

Family: Both are married. Bhatt has three children and Jon has one with a second child due in the next few weeks Unfulfilled ambition: Bhatt: to learn a language and a musical instrument. Whyte: to travel more Best advice received: Vip: Change is inevitable – it is about managing the change

spending huge amounts.

“We have tried to create a community there – a hub for business.

“Our outlet at Liverpool Innovation Park is similar to what we have here at Exchange Station – a business hub where people can have meetings. They do want a nice place to meet.

“We sell great coffee and a wide range of food and I think the likes of Starbucks and Costa have a very narrow offering in comparison.”

Whyte added: “We have up to about 40 different food items in the fridge every day which is a lot more than you will find in the bigger chains.”

Coffee is big business in the UK these days and people have become very particular about the quality of their drinks.

Bean has created its own coffee blend and Whyte in particular has made it his business to become

something of an expert on the bean-to-cup process.

He explained: “There is a Bean coffee blend that we invented. We went and worked with a roaster who roasted it for us.

“They buy the coffee beans direct from the farms. We always want to buy ethically. It is not about price – it is about quality and guaranteeing to our customers the traceability.

“You can trace it all the way back to the farm “You can have the best beans in the world but if you don’t control the grind size, the freshness of the milk, the freshness of the coffee then it can still be horrible.

“Training of the baristas is a massive issue for us.

“Things can change throughout the day – humidity, air pressure temperature, air conditioning – these can all affect how the coffee is made.

creative & digital post business 13

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Alex

Turner Consensus before the finer detail THERE was a delightfully pointless piece of research published this week that claimed school-leavers in 1851 were better prepared for the world of work than in 2011.

The researchers – or, more accurately, their PR company – found that shoe-making was taught in schools in the 1850s (this being a generation before the 1870 Education Act, we do have to rethink our idea of schooling) when shoe-making was in the top five occupations.

The researchers’ spokesman, Mr Wood, said: “In today’s competitive and pressurised business world, employers are crying out for problem-solving skills and people who can analyse information and make decisions. More time needs to be spent on learning these crucial workplace skills, which will enable people to access the top jobs of tomorrow.”

This creates at least two problems – having bemoaned the lack of directly relevant job training in schools, he calls for better generic skills rather than, say, an exam subject called ‘retail’.

Secondly, in 1851 there weren’t trainee shoemakers who were destined to “access the top jobs”.

Of course, picking holes in PR masquerading as research does not require the analytical skills Mr Wood calls for. But it does open up the broader question of the role of education, especially with some arts subjects under pressure from recent Government pronouncements about the future of GCSEs. This has been interpreted as meaning Charles Dickens could disappear from the curriculum and that drama could go the same way as dress-making.

The shape of the curriculum is important. For example, I was reading a recommended study guide for GCSE pupils which summarised the financial crisis as being “caused by banks lending money to people who couldn’t afford to pay it back”.

If the history study guide takes the same approach, I expect it says World War II went on until 1945 because soldiers kept shooting at each other.

We also see this constant sniping in the political arena, which prevents a more fundamental discussion of what the purpose of education is in the 21st century. Only once we have consensus on that is there any point on debating the finer details of curriculum content.

‘We see sniping in the political arena’

Jon Whyte, left, and Vip Bhatt at their latest Bean outlet at Exchange Station in Liverpool Picture: GARETH JONES “Our baristas have to make sure they hit that ‘sweet spot’ each time.”

W

HYTE was born in Hammersmith in London, but brought up in Wirral. Bhatt is a native of Manchester and was a graduate trainee at Littlewoods Pools in Liverpool.

He did a business studies degree in London and after spending nine years at Littlewoods, moved to Stanley Leisure, then a casino and betting shop operator.

Whyte studied sports science at Liverpool John Moores University but by that time his heart was already in the catering trade.

“I was working as a glass collector in a bar from the age of 14,” he said.

“I then went from bars, to restaurants to hotels, where I ended

up working at a managerial level. I then left to manage a coffee shop” The two came together about nine years ago when Bhatt set up The Meeting Place at Brunswick, which would eventually become the first Bean outlet.

Whyte is very much in charge of day-to-day operations with Bhatt overseeing marketing and the two combine on forward strategy.

According to the pair, Bean’s current logistical set-up lends itself to expansion up to as many as 20 outlets – with a further 15 possible through franchising agreements.

“Franchising will enable us to expand our geographical range,” said Whyte.

“We want to stay within the M62, Greater Manchester and Merseyside areas for our own shops and anything further afield we can look at franchising.”

Bhatt added: “We have

everything in place for that – systems, training manuals, brand, products. We have spent quite a lot of time getting that right.”

They are also aiming to grow the corporate catering side of the business – something that was not part of the original plan.

Bhatt explained: “At the first shop people kept asking us ‘do you do corporate catering?’. You don’t say no to that.

“When we started doing it our fridge in the shop was full each morning of sandwiches we were doing for catering.”

“Catering is growing and it is about 10% of the business. We have clients such as the police, Red Cross, Vitaflow and others.

“We have a sizeable client base and we want to grow that.”

In a contrast to the early days when they had to roll up their sleeves, Whyte and Bhatt are now

building a management team.

But the urge to micro-manage can be hard to resist. Whyte said: “I am a freak when it comes to things such as hygiene, things being bright. I don’t like to compromise.

“It is a challenge not to micro-manage and I fight that battle every single day.”

There is an altruistic side to the business. They help small businesses through the Dream High organisation and are supporters of the Red Cross in Liverpool.

But their main focus is very much on Bean’s expansion – the “buzz of business” as Bhatt calls it – with the challenge of remaining competitively-priced in the face of rising food and energy costs.

“We work very hard not to pass those costs on,” said Whyte. “ “We are always working hard to buy better – we will never compromise on freshness and quality.”

■ Alex Turner is the general manager of financial training firm Ambitious Minds

14 post business legal

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Sharing technology costing people the apple of their eye Social media is now a real threat to relationships, research shows

Pauline McNamara, a director at Cassell Moore

by Helen Davies

POST BUSINESS STAFF

helen.davies01@trinitymirror.com

A FAMILY law practitioner is warning how technological advances such as iCloud can lead to divorce proceedings.

Pauline McNamara, head of family at newly-launched Liverpool law firm Cassell Moore, says she is seeing an increasing number of cases where either social media or sharing devices are costing people their relationships.

Apple’s iCloud service backs up pictures, text messages, emails and websites you have visited and is used by many people with iPhones and iPads. iCloud accounts are often linked to a shared family iTunes account, which, says Ms McNamara, can lead to spouses and children seeing content which was not intended for their eyes.

She said: “It is not just simply having a membership to a social media

website that can get you into hot water with your significant other.

“What I have noticed in many of our cases is the iCloud and subsequent Apple devices - although wonderful in making many aspects of your life run more smoothly - can also be detrimental to your relationship as we have had a number of cases where the ‘syncing’ of Apple devices has allowed partners to have access to their cheating partners’ illicit emails and pictures.”

In addition to divorce proceedings being started because of activity discovered through devices like iCloud, the lawyer, based in Edward Pavilion at the Albert Dock, says social media accounts such as Facebook and Twitter are the cause of more and more break ups.

She said: “Social networking has become the primary tool for communication and is taking over from tex-

ting, phone calls, emails and most importantly face to face interaction.

“If someone wants to have an affair or flirt with the opposite sex then using a social networking site is the easiest way to do it.”

Ms McNamara said the use of social media to make comments about ex-partners to friends has also become extremely common with both sides using the sites to vent their grievances against each other.

“I would advise clients that they need to be careful with what they publish online” she said.

“Once they click that sent button they have cemented it onto the web as a piece of evidence and no matter how many times they press delete it will always be there waiting to be used against them.”

But the lawyer said social media cannot take all the blame for these divorces.

‘I advise clients to be careful what they publish’

She said: “Many of these already strained marriages are bound to break with or without social media.

“Equally a couple doesn’t have to be experiencing marital difficulties for an online relationship to develop from mere online flirtation into a fully-fledged affair.

“At the end of the day, Facebook, Twitter etc. are social tools and engrained in everyday life – they are going nowhere.

“For single people, social networks can help them meet that special someone.

“Even for marriages, social networks can help further develop a relationship just like other social mediums. However, even the most innocent of intentions can turn ugly with improper use.”

Ms McNamara added: “Should you or someone you know be up to anything online that they shouldn’t be the thought that should be paramount in your mind is not ‘What will happen if I get caught?’ but ‘what will happen when I get caught?’.”

UK guide ranking law firms released CHAMBERS and Partners, an organisation which ranks law firms throughout the world, has released its latest UK guide.

The 2014 edition sees Brabners with the most rankings of any Liverpool law firm across the guide with 15 mentions in the publication.

Meanwhile Hill Dickinson, based on Old Hall Street, has the most Liverpool-based lawyers with 23.

The guide also features a list of new associates to watch and a list of up and coming partners.

Among those included are Alan Pugh and Michael Murphy from Hill Dickinson, John Gollaglee from DLA Piper and Helen Brown from Brabners.

Also on the list is Julia Hurlbut from Lees Solicitors and Jamie Campbell and Susan Sherry from DWF. New practice areas covered in this year’s guide are hotel and leisure and commercial contracts.

For the 2015 edition Chambers and Partners is particularly interested in hearing from small and medium sized firms and owner-managed businesses.

Next year’s publication will also feature for the first time art and cultural property law and a regional look at both criminal and civil fraud.

POST BUSINESS DAILY A revolution in the way business people get their news

Legal veteran celebrates 20 years as columnist A HIGH profile Liverpool lawyer is celebrating 20 years as a columnist for the Post’s sister paper the ECHO. Rex Makin, senior partner and founder of E Rex Makin and Co, this week reflected on two decades of his Makin His Point column.

The 88-year-old, who still turns up to work at his law firm every morning, said about writing for the paper: “My wife thinks it’s mischief.

“But it’s not just mischief, it depends how you look at things. What I hope people get from it is amusement and

information...and mischief !

“I keep my ear close to the ground and have many contacts who make sure that I’m not yesterday’s man.”

Mr Makin’s first ever column was headlined “My little list of failures” and gave the lowdown on people from

the city “who would not be missed” including the then Liverpool FC manager Graeme Souness and Bob Scott, “who oversold Manchester for the Olympic bid”.

Rex Makin

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women in business post business 15

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Reaching out to help Mersey small firms achieve growth

Val Davies is urging small firms to ask for help

by Tony McDonough POST BUSINESS STAFF

tony.mcdonough@liverpool.com

FORMER newspaper business executive Val Davies is using her 30 years of business know-how to help Merseyside’s small business sector.

Val rose to become a senior executive at Trinity Mirror, publisher of the Liverpool Post.

She also headed up the company’s foray into local television, managing its cable news station, Channel One Liverpool.

“I joined the Southport Visiter, which eventually became part of the Trinity Mirror group, at the age of 20 as a telesales person and was fortunate enough to be promoted to a raft of varied and managerial roles,” Val told Post Business.

Her final role with the company was that of business development director and at the same time she enrolled on a coaching programme to improve the skills that she offered as part of her voluntary work with The

Princes Trust. Although Val was hopeful that the course might help her to improve other people’s lives, she had no idea that it was about to transform her own.

“The coaching course forced me to look at my own life,” she explained.

“It gave me the time and space to think, and I realised that my dream of running a business of my own was not going to materialise unless I actually did something about it.

“I had to take action. I knew that I wanted to work in a business to business capacity and felt that I had something authentic to offer business leaders in terms of empathy, commercial experience and the knowledge I had gained over the years.”

Val discussed her plans with well-known Liverpool businessman, David Wade Smith, and within weeks of graduating from the course, she left her job to set up her own business and enlisted David as her first busi-

ness consultancy client.

She quickly accumulated an impressive list of customers but she felt she needed to prove to herself that her business offer was sound.

“I was concerned that my knowledge was based on the experience of one company and therefore may be too narrow, so I decided to take a Masters degree through the European Centre for Corporate Governance at Liverpool John Moores University,” she added.

The Business Consultancy degree lasted 18 months and Val passed with distinction, winning an EFQM prize for the highest scoring dissertation ever achieved on the course.

Val also built on her knowledge of the public sector by becoming an Independent Member of the Merseyside Police authority, responsible, along with 16 others, for setting the budget and strategy for the Merseyside Police Force.

‘I worry that SMEs will not ask for help’

She is now running a thriving consultancy working with public, private and third sector organisations all over the North West.

Her clients have included large organisations such as Liverpool John Moores University, Sefton Council and Liverpool Vision.

And this year alone, Val has supported more than 30 small businesses ranging from a start-up record label to a removals firm, helping to develop their business, brand and marketing strategies.

She said: “I worry that businesses don’t think of asking for help.

“Consultancy sounds pompous and expensive, but it needn’t be. What I do is facilitate strategic thinking, reserving the space for leaders to think about their ambitions, aspirations and ideal future.

“That way we can work together to align the business model and create an achievement plan.”

■ Val is offering a limited number of free one-hour business telephone consultations. Email val@valdavies.co.uk for more information.

Women stuck in traditional work roles THREE times more young women are employed in low paid, low skilled jobs than 20 years ago, according to a new study.

The TUC said the proportion of 16 to 24-year-old women in jobs such as office and hotel cleaning has increased from 7% to 21%, while the figure for young men has increased from 14% to 25%.

The research also showed that gender plays a huge part in career choice, with only 1% of women working in skilled trades compared with a fifth of young men.

Four times as many young women worked in occupations such as hairdressing, leisure and travel, said the report.

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “The youth labour market has become a much harsher place for young people, especially for young women. While there has been a welcome rise in the number of females gaining qualifications, many still find themselves trapped in low-skill, low-wage jobs.

“Young women are still being channelled down traditional routes.

“Unless we create better training and employment opportunities for young people, as well as challenging gender roles from the outset, the situation will not improve.”

POST BUSINESS DAILY A revolution in the way business people get their news

Bank awards scheme boosts six local ventures SIX social enterprises in the region have won support from Santander’s Social Enterprise Development Awards to help them grow their businesses.

The bank, whose commercial banking arm is based in Bootle, launched the awards scheme to help social enterprises carry out more work in the communities they serve.

The local winners include

Small Stories Theatre Company, which uses drama, storytelling and theatre to engage young children and help them connect with their local history.

It will use its £10,000 award to run more workshops and market its services to more schools and children’s centres.

Simon Carrier, regional dir-

ector at Santander, said: “At Santander we are committed to supporting communities and the Social Enterprise Development Awards were set up to help enterprises in the North West looking to grow.

“Small Stories Theatre Company is a great social business making a vital contribution to the area and we are delighted to be able to

help them realise their ambitions.”

As well as cash, the winning companies will also receive mentoring and support from Santander and the Community Foundation for Merseyside.

Katrina Riozzi, director at Small Stories, said: “The award will play a significant role in helping us to expand.”

Katrina Riozzi

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16 post business location

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Government needs to act to sort out mess of empty property rates

view point

by Jon Gorman, commercial solicitor at Maxwell Hodge DURING the five years since the government introduced Empty Property Rates (EPR), landlords across Merseyside have been hit with crippling business rates for vacant properties.

We have seen some landlords even

Flexible offer is popular BRUNTWOOD is reporting an 83% year-on-year increase in enquiries following the launch of its Move for Free offer.

The Manchester firm, one of Liverpool’s biggest owners of office space, launched the initiative in May this year.

It covers the removal costs of businesses relocating to one of its nine properties across the city, as well as providing rent-free periods and free office design services.

Now it says that enquiries from May to the end of October have soared compared to the same period last year.

As part of the next phase of the scheme Bruntwood, whose Liverpool estate includes The Plaza and the Cotton Exchange, is now offering one-month contract terms and office rents from £95 per month.

Bruntwood’s director of property marketing, Colin Sinclair, said the new Move for Free Plus package is a response to the initial success and the changing needs of the market.

“The level of take-up has been extremely encouraging and has led to us securing an additional 23 deals,” he added.

Commercial/Industrial Property Sale/Let

T J THOMAS 0151 708 6544

resorting to demolishing their properties rather than paying the rates required while unable to find new tenants.

Others have even seen their business rates exceed the potential rental incomes.

Paying tax on an empty property in this difficult economic climate is actually hampering development and progression.

Demand for commercial property is still low and it’s seemingly unfair that property owners are being hit with enormous business rates on empty properties which they can’t let.

The intention of EPR is to incur 100% charge on any properties that

remain empty beyond a three to six month period.

With no rent coming in to pay the bills how can landlords be expected to survive the less than buoyant economy?

Business rates are now being seen as a barrier to regeneration, with developers building less in towns and cities deemed as more high risk because demand isn’t strong enough, but it’s this exact regeneration that then stimulates higher demand.

A recent EPR report only highlights this issue – 92% of people

interviewed in the North West stated the policy was a barrier to town centre regeneration, while 89% felt the policy was restricting overall economic growth.

Landlords need all the help they can get in this difficult economic climate.

I would suggests that the Government start to offer longer exemption periods or abolish EPR altogether.

This gives commercial property landlords breathing space to survive the harsher economic climate and get the commercial property market moving again.

‘’Rates are seen as a barrier to growth of cities’

There are calls for George Osborne to scrap EPR

Oil and gas recruiter moves into new Warrington base

by Tony McDonough

POST BUSINESS STAFF

tony.mcdonough@liverpool.com

SPECIALIST recruitment firm First Recruitment Group has transformed a 20,000 sq ft building to create its new corporate headquarters.

First, which specialises in the oil and gas sector, acquired the site in Birchwood Boulevard, Warrington, and refurbished it to its own exact specifications.

The company needed a new base to accommodate its growth. Formed in 1997, its turnover has now passed the £100m mark.

It was founded by Andy Cartledge and Steve Farthing.

Mr Cartledge said: “When we bought the 20,000 sq ft building it was in state of disrepair.

“We saw this as an opportunity to create an office perfectly tailored to our needs as a company.”

Mr Farthing added: “Recruitment is a fast-paced industry and our staff often work long hours so we wanted them to be able to relax and enjoy their breaks, by exercising in the gym, socialising in the café or enjoying a game of pool, table tennis or table football in the break-out area with their colleagues.”

Local consultancy Jones Melling oversaw the refurbishment and they are so pleased with the results they are going to enter the project in the RICS property awards.

Ken Jones, joint founder and director of Jones Melling, said: “Following a chance meeting, we are delighted to have overseen such an innovative and contemporary project.

“The development plans have pushed a lot of boundaries and it’s been fascinating to watch them come to life.”

The headquarters includes an onsite café which will be run by Le

Interior of First Recruitment Group’s new offices and, inset, staff relax in the recreation room Brunch, a Culcheth-based bistro.

It will prepare breakfasts, lunches and snacks for the staff throughout the day.

John Urpi, chief executive of First Recruitment, added: “Steve and

Andy’s vision for the new office was to make it into a top class and fun working environment for our staff and also for the many creative and talented people that we need to attract to enable us to realise our goal – to be

the best specialist recruitment company in the UK.” The HQ is to be named Parry House as a tribute to Wendy and Colin Parry who lost their son Tim in the Warrington bombing in 1993.

KNOWSLEY IND PARK, Business units, 575sqft £100pw ERSKINE STREET Business units 850sqft £550pcm LIVERPOOL CITY CENTRE Shop unit £115pw

www.tjthomas.co.uk

Liverpool stock sells well at Eddisons Manchester auction EDDISONS reported “strong demand” for Liverpool stock at its latest property auction in Manchester.

These included residential

investments in the Smithdown Road area of the city.

A property in Boswell Street, which comprises six, one-bedroom flats producing

annual rental income of £23,920, sold for £172,000. The guide price was £120,000-plus.

And 49 Hartington Road, a semi-detached property

arranged as five self-contained apartments, sold for £138,000, off a guide of £100,000-plus. It produces income of £13,746 per year.

A tenanted self-contained flat in Fazakerley which generates £4,440 per annum, sold for £30,000.Eddisons sold 27 lots, generating £2.1m.

location post business 17

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Space in units rises but fall is expected EMPTY space within UK retail warehousing across the UK has increased to 10% – retail property research consultancy Trevor Wood Associates has revealed.

In an update to The Definitive Guide to Retail & Leisure Parks, published in March, Trevor Wood Associates finds the vacancy rate has risen still further from 9.9% at the end of 2012, which was the fastest rise since 2008.

In the North West the rate has risen to 10.7% from the 10% recorded at the end of 2012.

Many units are under offer, however, and with limited supply, rates are expected to fall by the end of the year.

Trevor Wood said: “The annual guide explored the impact of retail failures including Comet, JJB Sports and Peacocks and saw the vacancy rate for UK retail warehousing rise significantly to 9.9% by the end of 2012.

“Since this review was published however, there have been mixed and contrasting fortunes for retail warehousing, both when grouped by planning consent and by region.”

Much of the space vacated by Dreams, HMV, Staples and others in the first half of this year was “open non-food consented” which caused a temporary spike in the availability of this type.

POST BUSINESS DAILY A revolution in the way business people get their news

Former Space man launches venture to maximise value

Wayne Locke is starting his own venture

by Tony McDonough

POST BUSINESS STAFF

tony.mcdonough@liverpool.com

DURING his 13 years at developer Ashtenne Space Northwest, Wayne Locke had dealings with commercial property owners at all levels.

And he says he found it frustrating to see how so many property assets weren’t being managed to their full potential.

Now the Welshman has established his own consultancy – Locke Property Investments – and aims to hep investors maximise the value of their commercial properties.

As a director of Ashtenne, he was jointly responsible for around £600m of multi-let commercial property assets across the UK on behalf of Aviva Investors and the Homes & Communities Agency.

In Merseyside, those assets included Liverpool Innovation Park and Exchange Station in Liverpool city centre.

Overseeing the £5m redevelopment of Exchange Station in Tithebarn Street, formerly known as Mercury Court, was one of Mr Locke’s final projects before his departure a few weeks ago.

He is rightly proud of what he achieved at Ashtenne and is now keen to pass on that knowledge and experience to property investors in the North West and beyond.

“I have made a lot of contacts in the North West and I will also be looking at the South West and South Wales,” he told Post Business.

Mr Locke’s family home is in South Wales and he regularly commutes

between there and the North West.

He added: “In my 13 years at Ashtenne I observed that there were some property owners with assets that had not delivered the results they should have done.

“In some cases that was partly down to the state of the economy but their asset management approach was also often a factor. My approach for my clients will be as if I am the property owner myself and hopefully guide them to make the right decisions.

“Every owner will have a different perspective.

“At the moment I am talking to a haulage/logistics firm with property across the country.

“It obviously needs that property to service the business and the owner

‘If an asset is not nurtured it can be a liability’

Prospect GB to unveil Montell House

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DEVELOPER Prospect GB will be hosting a launch event to unveil Montell House, its newly completed refurbishment project offering 9,479 sq ft of office space in Chester Business Park.

Prospective tenants and property professionals will be able to join Prospect GB and appointed agents Legat Owen at any time between 12pm and 3pm on November 8 to view the results

of a comprehensive renovation.

Originally built a few years after the launch of Chester Business Park, the two-storey Montell House building now offers a possible headquarters for a single occupant but its flexible configuration allows occupancy for up to four tenants.

Neil Waddington of Prospect GB said: “Montell House occupies an attractive position

within the Kingsfield Court complex, at the heart of what has grown into one of the most prominent and prestigious business parks in the North West.

“This premium office space has been appointed to a very high contemporary standard.

“It is available for immediate occupation and we are excited about discussing Montell House with potential tenants.”

also wants to look at other angles on how those assets can be managed.

“On the other hand I may also deal with a people who are pure investors in commercial property.

“An institutional investor, for example, will typically keep hold of an asset for three to five years and they need to make the right decisions to maximise their returns.”

Mr Locke said that property owners will often hire a commercial agent thinking they will get the complete service when in reality the service offered may be much narrower.

“One agent might work well in terms of letting or selling the property while another will offer rent review advice,” he said.

“What I will do is look at the whole picture – that is what I did at Ashtenne.

“If an asset is not nurtured then it can quickly become a liability.”

Tax sparks fears HITTING foreign property investors with new taxes will damage the UK’s status as a country that is “open for business” and could also hit the commercial property sector, the British Property Federation is warning.

The BPF spoke out amid fears that Chancellor George Osborne is considering levying capital gains tax on foreign investors. It claimed it would create uncertainty among people considering investing in assets, including commercial property.

18 post business economic development

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Manufacturers looking focus on

growth

by Helen Davies

POST BUSINESS STAFF

helen.davies01@trinitymirror.com

T

HE Liverpool City Region has the potential to be a global manufacturing hotspot in years to come but it needs the support of businesses to ensure it has the skills and co-ordination needed to get there.

That was the rallying message from speakers at Making It, a conference held in Liverpool this week to address the future of manufacturing in the region.

The event, which was organised by the Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), saw hundreds of business men and women gather to see an exhibition showcasing some of the area’s manufacturing firms, before hearing from speakers including Business Secretary Vince Cable about issues and ambitions for the sector.

Robert Hough, chair of the LEP, told a packed auditorium: “Manufacturing defines the future.

“It will make possible some of the things which are currently impossible.”

He added: “One thing we must get right is how we engage young people for the future of manufacturing.”

The issue of attracting young people into careers in manufacturing was one which reappeared throughout the conference.

Mr Cable said: “In the UK we have the worst record in Europe for getting women into engineering.

“Unless we address this problem we’re not going to get very far.”

He added he thought the LEP was addressing problems such as this in a “sensible and progressive” way.

The Making It conference marked the culmination of a body of work by the LEP to map opportunities for growth in manufacturing over the next decade and beyond.

The LEP’s research has been put together into a series of reports which were launched at the event.

One of these examines the skills needed for manufacturing growth in the region.

Alan Seeley, human resources manager of Getrag Ford and chair of the LEP’s manufacturing forum, explained that a third of the manufacturing workforce in the UK is over 50 while only 11% is between 16 and 25.

He said: “These as we know are national problems but they also apply to us all locally too.

“We need to start now for the medium and long term benefit of enthusing young people about manufacturing and ensuring they see it as excellent career choice.”

The LEP used the Making It event to launch a short film it has made to inspire people to embark on a career in manufacturing which will be available for schools and businesses in the region to use for free.

Along with the report looking at

Business Secretary gives a speech at Making It, a conference about the future of manufacturing in the region skills needed in the region for manufacturing growth, another publication looks at opportunities for development in the manufacturing sector.

These are divided into short and long term projects.

Among those in the short term category is the possibility for the Liverpool city region to become an international exemplar for marine ballast water treatment, which involves making sure organisms in sea water carried by vessels do not cause contamination when discharged outside their natural habitat.

Long -term development possibilities include creating light-weight vehicles.

Alan Welby, executive director for the LEP, said: “These documents show where we are and where we want to put our combined efforts in the future.

“It’s about staying ahead of the game.”

The Making It documents are available to download from the LEP’s website and the organisation is eager to receive feedback from people in the region.

‘We want to know from you how we improve’

Mr Hough said: “We now want to know from you how we can improve on these plans.

“We want your help to become one of the world’s hot spots for manufacturing.”

Yoko Ono, John Lennon’s widow, sent a message of support to Mr Hough about the conference, held in the John Lennon Art and Design Building, and the event organisers’ plan for Merseyside to be a globally recognised centre for manufacturing.

She said: “I send my best wishes and support for Liverpool and its ambitions in manufacturing.

“The city is progressing in so many different ways - the arts,

retail, manufacturing, tourism that there is a real feeling of excitement on the streets.

“It's an optimism that just keeps making the city stronger and stronger.”

The Making It event also heard from Professor Sir Mike Gregory, head of the Institute for Manufacturing, who spoke about the need to engage in the global supply chain, saying there is a move towards companies concentrating on just one part of the chain.

He added it was important to look at sustainability and said: “We need to think about it because other people, especially in China, are thinking about it extremely hard.”

economic development post business 19

Thursday, November 7, 2013

to go global

Business men and women attend an exhibition about manufacturing at the Making It event

diary of an entrepreneur WHEN I was 16 , I was one of thousands of fans who went to watch Liverpool FC play in the FA Cup at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield.

I was lucky, I survived the disaster – however the traumatic events of that day left me reeling and out of control.

I spent a period of time in the wilderness, trying to establish the best way forward.

It was only through intervention from an inspirational school teacher that I was able to get back on the straight and narrow.

She turned everything on its head for me.

Rather than feel sorry for myself she told me I had a responsibility to myself and those people who didn’t survive Hillsborough to make the most of life and develop a plan which would change my life.

I have carried her advice with me throughout my professional life.

I went travelling in America and spent a number of months visiting inspirational places and meeting interesting people.

For me it was a life changing experience which also helped me to recognise there was a gap in the market place for a company that would help young people to secure work placements in American camps and benefit from amazing cultural experiences.

In 1999, I founded Camp Leaders – the international travel company which secures work placements for young people in summer camps in the United States.

Our success is based on the fact that we really look after the young people we place in camps.

The Camp Leaders team interviews each candidate on the telephone and we hold their hand throughout the process, assisting with visas and tickets.

For many of our young people this is the first time they have travelled on their own and they

Vince Cable looks at a robot designed by Aintree-based firm CNC Robotics

Business secretary encourages firms to invest PRIOR to attending the Making It conference, Business Secretary Vince Cable met with Post Business and spoke about various issues affecting businesses in the region.

The latest figures on the number of new small businesses formed in Liverpool show one in nine do not survive beyond the

first 12 months.

Questioned about what the government is doing to reduce this figure, Mr Cable said: “That figure unfortunately is not unusual.

“But numbers we are getting show there’s more companies starting up than ever before.”

He listed some of the government’s meas-

ures to help businesses such as getting rid of bureaucracy and helping with start up loans.

Mr Cable encouraged those business owners sitting on cash because of uncertainty about the economy to invest in developing their firms.

He said: “We know there is a sense of recovery happening.

“People who try to expand their business will be able to sell into a growing market.”

The politician also spoke about the problems facing town centres such as Runcorn, where more than 30% of shop are empty, and said he supported the continuation of small business rate relief.

Chris Arnold

and their parents get a great deal of reassurance that Camp Leaders will be on hand throughout their experience.

This hands-on approach has meant that Camp Leaders is extremely successful.

Today we operate out of 11 countries with an annual turnover of £5m. Camp Leaders has fuelled my love of enterprise and I passionately support entrepreneurial talent.

The organisation has helped us to develop a worldwide network of ambitious young people and we wanted to explore ways of helping this community to develop their talent and secure life changing opportunities.

In 2006, I launched Smaller Earth – a business which provides gap year experiences, volunteering, work and travel projects for young adults.

In 2010 we launched our youth leadership programme Your Big Year and the Merit Next platform.

62,000 contestants took part in Your Big Year 2013 competition and the final will take place in San Francisco this month.

World Merit has over 200,000 members so far and is growing rapidly.

We are also set to launch a new programme - Merit Next - which will invite 120 young people to benefit from our 12 month leadership programme.

Today I travel frequently and sit on the panel of global steering groups including the Global Enterprise Conference and together with Mike Taylor of Liverpool Vision and Councillor Nick Small helped bring the Global Enterprise Conference to Liverpool in 2012.

I am committed to driving enterprise – here in Liverpool and on a worldwide scale.

This is my passion and will continue to be my aim.

Chris Arnold Founder of Camp Leaders, Smaller Earth and World Merit

20 post business professional

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Fiona Kelsey, partner and North West head of assurance for PwC

PwC to step up its search for female leaders of tomorrow

by Joshua Taylor

POST BUSINESS STAFF

joshua.taylor@trinitymirror.com

UNIVERSITY students are being offered the chance to shadow senior female executives at an international accountancy firm.

PwC’s Liverpool office has announced it is increasing the number of places it will offer next year on its “shadow a female leader programme”.

The scheme was run this summer and described as a success afterwards by the firm.

The programme offers North West university students the chance to work under the supervision of a female partner or director for a week.

It aims to promote the accountancy profession among women, giving talented students a chance to gain an

insight into the industry. The participating students attend meetings, work with clients and gain experience of life in a leadership role.

Over the past six months, five students have taken part in the scheme in the region, with one shadowing partner and North West head of assurance Fiona Kelsey at the Liverpool office of PwC. All five students who took part this year have been offered the opportunity to return to PwC either as interns or a full-time graduate trainees, depending on their year of study.

The North West offices of PwC are now looking to double the number of places offered next year in the region.

Ms Kelsey said: “We’re really proud to have a high number of women in leadership positions at PwC in the North West within our deals, assurance, public sector and tax teams.

“And we think it’s right to share our expertise to help talented students reach their potential.

“Increasing the number of women in professional services isn’t just the right thing to do – it’s a commercial imperative to attract the brightest and best from the widest pool of talent in order to service our diverse, global clients.”

Senior female executives at PwC in the North West also include Christine Adshead, North West head of deals and a supervisory board member, and Jane Forbes, North West lead for the public sector.

Those students who impress during their week will go on to complete an interview and the door will then be open for them to return at a later date as an intern or a full-time graduate trainee.

Students are paid the living wage, which is higher than the national

minimum wage, and can range from £250 to £300 a week, depending on location.

It was claimed recently by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) that women in top management jobs were continuing to lag far behind men when it came to pay and career progression prospects, further emphasising the importance of attracting more female students to professional services.

According to the CMI’s research, male managers earned average bonuses twice as big as those of their female counterparts in the past year.

The difference in bonuses is exacerbating the gender gap when it comes to basic pay.

Male managers were paid an average of £6,442 bonus compared with £3,029 for women, on top of basic salaries almost 25% bigger than women’s salaries.

Fast loans ‘can hit mortgage prospects’ A MORTGAGE adviser has warned that potential borrowers who have taken out pay day loans are likely to have their application refused or the amount they are offered significantly reduced.

John Charcol says the ranks of potential home buyers continue to swell, thanks to more confidence in the market and the popularity of Help To Buy 1&2.

But spokesman Simon Collins said: “On the face of it, at least, payday loans are pretty straightforward (despite the astronomical APRs), with a staggering number of people taking them, but beware the law of unintended consequences; there is a danger that lurks within. Mortgage lenders hate payday loans.”

Although payday loan lenders have now been warned by FCA chief executive Martin Wheatley that he is putting them on notice that tougher regulation is coming when the FCA takes over regulation of consumer credit on April 1, 2014, having looked at the proposals John Charcol says that a lack of any warning about the impact on the future potential to obtain a mortgage is a glaring omission.

Mr Collins added: “As far as most mortgage lenders are concerned, if you’ve taken a payday loan, then this is irrefutable proof that you are living beyond your means; end of discussion. A recent payday loan is a massive negative in the eyes of mortgage underwriters but one that no-one warns borrowers about. So it’s buyer beware, because no one else will tell you.”

on the move ■

LIVERPOOL-based marketing agency Mint Umbrella has announced two new appointments.

Melissa Dilworth, who has recently relocated to the North West from the USA, becomes new head of marketing, while Stephen Clare has been appointed social media manager following a successful internship with the company.

Ms Dilworth, who has

a Masters degree from the Thunderbird School of Global Management in Arizona, has previously worked for Philip Morris in New York and Merill Lynch in Florida.

■

CRG (Castlerock Recruitment Group), the St Helens-based recruitment and health service provider, has bolstered its business development team with the appoint-

ment of a highly experienced industry expert.

Paul Allen, 59, joins CRG’s corporate services office in Mere Grange as group strategic business development manager.

He joins from Tascor Medical Services, where he served as a forensic medical contract manager.

■

DEESIDE scaffolding and industrial access firm Alstrad NSG

has appointed business development specialist Paul Mawdsley as group development director.

He joins after three years as head of business development at civil engineer D Morgan.

Managing director Mike Carr said: “Paul has a wealth of experience and an excellent network of contacts which will help to take Alstrad NSG to the next level.”

Melissa Dilworth – relocated from USA

Paul Allen – joins recruiter CRG

Paul Mawdsley – on board with NSG

networker post business 21

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Tatt’s the way to do it, as the views on ‘body art’ soften

Neil Hodgson on the perception among employers of tattoos in the workplace

ON the subject of staff displaying their tattoos in the workplace, these are a selection of views offered through Twitter:

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David @casuallymodern: “I always price jobs in long sleeves.”

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Stephen Johnstone @stitges: “I think we should stick to having them done in tattoo parlours.

“Too much screaming would be off putting.”

T

HERE was a time when it seemed pretty much only sailors or jail inmates proudly sported tattoos.

But times change and today “body art” is becoming more common.

Designs are much more bold, too, with small hearts and arrows or football club crests now more likely to be replaced with exotic Maori-style embellishments.

Toxteth businessman Emile Coleman, 34, is chief executive at coaching software specialist Globall Coach and in 2009 tried his hand, successfully, as a commodities trader in a TV reality show filmed in the heart of London’s financial district.

He is proud of his tattoos but said, in business, it can be a double-edged sword: “It matters when you meet people from all over the world. You have to be conscious of other people’s perceptions and you have to pick and choose who you show them to.

“On the TV show I wore a long sleeved jumper but I also like to wear T-shirts. When I go to meetings I tend to wear a shirt.

“All tattoos mean something different to you and one I have is a quote from George Bernard Shaw.

“I was in a meeting in Japan and a German guy saw my tattoos and said: ‘Are you a football hooligan?’ His attitude changed when I explained the George Bernard Shaw quote.

“The attitude to tattoos has

Tattoos – your view

■

a sol @lillepwss: “My brother, a carpenter, was given a job because the woman told him he was the only tradesman without tats.”

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Victoria Edwards @vickypetrocelli: “Tattoos – wrong on wrinkly skin.”

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Stevie Martin @5tevieM: “Unless you’re applying for a job in the House of Lords/you don't have a rude word tattooed on your nose it’s not a problem?”

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Sam Jobson @sam_jobson: “4 tattoos and no, although none of mine are on show! I’m not sure my employer would be fussed! They might be shocked if I started stripping in an interview though!”

Emile Coleman, chief executive of Globall Coach, is proud of his body art changed. They are becoming very trendy, especially with women. It is an art form now.”

He added: “If I have lost business because of my tattoos, it’s business I didn’t want. It is about a person’s ability, not a tattoo.”

However, Carmena Wood, director of recruitment firm Hays’ Liverpool office in Silkhouse Court, warned: “First impressions do count, so we would advise candidates with visible tattoos to cover them for interviews.”

She added: “There will, of course,

be differences between what’s acceptable in a corporate law firm and a creative agency, for example, but until you know what’s considered appropriate it makes sense to err on the safe side and keep those tattoos covered up.”

■

Emma-Louise Trotter @emglobetrotter: “nope! Think working in a creative environment means they are more accepted. Think facial tat might be an issue in most places tho!”

past business – nostalgia

Emily the elephant packed her trunk and said hello to the bank clerk

Emily the elephant discusses interest rates at Martins Bank, York, watched

by Ian and Debbie Gibb

WHEN MARTINS BANK made a jumbo commitment to customer service in 1965, a Yorkshire zookeeper decided to take it at its word.

That year it created a series of adverts with the slogan “Martins goes to extremes to be helpful”. Its most popular was one showing a little girl taking her pet elephant Rufus to a branch as her father opened her first bank account.

So Ian Gibb, curator of Yorkshire’s Flamingo Park Zoo, decided to take the bank at its word.

He took his three-year-old daughter Debbie to Martins’ branch in Davygate, York, to deposit £2 – and took baby elephant Emily with him.

He also, of course, took a photographer from the Mirror.

That paper noted wryly: “Your ‘friendly and understanding’ bank, Martins, is currently advertising that you can take your pet elephant into any branch while opening an

account and no-one will mind.

“And if you think this is just the dream world of the ad-men, you're quite wrong.”

So Emily turned up at the branch – and was welcomed in by staff and customers alike.

The Mirror noted: “Their arrival with their two-and-a-half ton friend didn’t raise an eyebrow.

“The customers just politely moved sideways to give Emily a little more room as they would for any lady with a 70-inch waist.”

In an interview with the Martins Bank archive website (www.martinsbank.co.uk), Mr Gibb revealed that the newspaper had put him up to the stunt.

He said the bank was given no warning of his visit but that staff were unfazed – saying they simply used another phrase from Martin’s advertising: “Who have you brought with you today?”

ALISTAIR HOUGHTON

Zookeeper Ian Gibb and his daughter Debbie walk baby elephant Emily into Martins Bank, York Pictures: Mirrorpix

22 post business networker

trading gossip ■

WHILE arts bodies preach the culture of collaboration, things can often be more difficult in the cut-throat world of professional services.

But business can learn from the arts when it comes to working together – that was the message from last week’s Professional Liverpool networking lunch on the Business of Culture, held at the shiny new offices of law firm Weightmans in Old Hall Street.

Iona Horsburgh, of FACT, joined Liverpool Post Leader of the Year and Philharmonic chief Michael Eakin to tell the assembled bankers and lawyers how arts bodies are run as businesses, battling to generate surpluses as public funding keeps being put under pressure.

Both FACT and the

RLPO are members of Liverpool Arts Regeneration Consortium (LARC), a group of seven cultural organisations that work together to help each other.

John Hall, CEO of Professional Liverpool, above, is clearly a fan of that kind of collaboration. With a knowing smile, he opened the event by saying: “It’s great to see (people from) DLA and Brabners in Weightmans’ building.

“That’s the kind of collaboration we need for the IFB.” And, at the end of the event, Hall returned to his theme, recounting that he had recently managed to get 15 rival bankers into a room for a meeting.

He smiled: “They didn’t find it comfortable, but I got them there.”

POST BUSINESS DAILY A revolution in the way business people get their news Download today for your free 30-day trial www.liverpool dailypost.co.uk/ businessdaily

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Hats off to Andy as he bids to revive the age of headwear

Positive Futures chief operating officer Andy Nolan, sporting one of his growing collection of hats

myday off Andy Nolan, is chief operating officer of Positive Futures, and has just started collecting hats

M

Y work with Positive Futures is incredibly rewarding in helping young people help themselves.

I’m regularly meeting potential donors that ultimately are saving the lives of young Liverpool people from

difficult backgrounds by giving them a fresh start.

It’s powerful stuff.

Equally powerful are the winds and the cold in our port city.

I’m out and about, so much so that I began collecting hats on my days off and it’s become a bit of a shopping hobby ever since.

It’s harmless really and as I’m not materialistic I don’t indulge in expensive ones, it’s just a flight of fancy.

I’ve only half a dozen at the moment but with the onset of winter, I’ve got my eye and my head on a few more.

I’ve seen some great ones in vintage markets, but so far have only dabbled in new.

The hat thing has also become a great talking point among all the people I meet.

I haven’t seen certain business networks for years, but as I’m out there again in ever increasing circles, when I turn up in a hat, it immediately sparks conversation and enables me to

introduce Positive Futures to people once the hat banter has calmed down, which can take a while.

On occasion, I will be introducing young people involved with Positive Futures to members of a corporate audience and it can be difficult for them to explain the world of a young person from a difficult background.

Some light-hearted conversation about my hats usually lightens the load and warms people to each other very quickly.

We held an event in Panoramic 34 recently and a few companies talked about hosting a future event in which everyone wears a hat.

Think I still need to convince a few really key people to this project to take part.

We’re slowly gathering the all-important financial support we need.

We are being greatly assisted by St James’s Place, Emerald Law and Facey Media and hopefully they’ll come shopping with me for a hat for

‘I’ve half a dozen – I have my eye on more’

the event which we’re thinking of calling Hatatorium.

You never know, it could herald the return of more people in business wearing hats in future – just like the good old days, although I am way too young to have seen Pathe news.

It’s a pity, too, that I never got into the hat thing years ago as I’ve spent a fair bit of time abroad.

But I’ll just make up for it next time on my days off when I’m out of the country.

That said, since I began collecting them, Liverpool’s shopping offer has become one of the best in the country.

I need to do a bit more research, though, into how good the hat offer is here in the city.

One conversation I had recently with someone was around how you decide whether a hat suits you or not.

Unless you seek out a milliner, I guess you go with what you like.

I also get asked how many different types/categories, or should that be hatagories, there are – I don’t know, I’m still learning, but on the ones I do know, I’m unlikely to wear a Fedora, unless it’s for a charity event.

Thursday, November 7, 2013

networker post business

23

networking

Rachel rocks

SOLICITOR Rachel Ashworth of Hill Dickinson was crowned Liverpool Idol and in the process helped raise more than £10,000 for Mencap Liverpool.

She sang Use Somebody by Kings of Leon at the Pan Am, above.

Liverpool Idol judges, left, Steve Macfarlane, Jennifer John and Brian Nash.

Trattoria 51 opens ONE of Southport’s most popular Italian restaurants has opened an outlet in the heart of Liverpool’s business district.

Restaurateur and chef Attilio Sergi opened his second Trattoria 51 in Old

Delfonseca in Stanley Street, Liverpool

my favourite lunch Michael Pratt of Liverpool law firm, Maxwell Hodge

Hall Street at the former Jigsaw Bistro site last week with an official launch party.

Toni Karemanaj, Gianluigi Sedd and Attilio Sergi at the launch of the restaurant, right.

Q What is your favourite lunch venue?

A Delifonseca in Stanley Street.

Q Why is this your favourite venue?

A It has some really interesting salads and well prepared delicious Italian food. Not to mention it serves the best cappuccino in Liverpool..

Wine at Delifonseca

ONE OF Liverpool’s most acclaimed restaurants hosted an Italian wine evening last week.

Delifonseca in Stanley Street showcased the event in association with San Sil-

vestro & Hallgarten Druit.

Pictured left, Claudio Scarsi from San Silvestro Winery and John Budd from Hallgarten Druit Wines with Delifonseca restaurant manager Danielle Youds.

Q What is your favourite dish and why?

A My favourite dish at Delifonseca is definitely sausage and mash with onion gravy.

It’s a good hearty dish, especially in the cold weather..

Q What is the best bit of business you have done over lunch?

A I met my wife over lunch, 33 years ago – enough said.

Q Who would you most like

business diary TUESDAY, NOV 12

LIVERPOOL John Moores University is joining forces with the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development to celebrate the organisation’s centenary with an event aimed at sharing best practice and current thinking across a range of topics – from disability rights and equality through to employee relations and improving professional knowledge. The free

event will hear from speakers Susannah Clements, Deputy CEO of CIPD, disability rights campaigner Sir Bert Massie, Ruth Gould, artistic director of DaDaFest and Shaun Rafferty, from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. The event is from 4pm to 7.30pm in the Redmonds Building, Brownlow Hill. Visit http://ljmucipdcentenary. eventbrite.com to book a place.

WEDNESDAY, NOV 13

Aintree-based Stack Group is inviting businesses to an event, The Unified Communications and Mobility Expo, at Aintree Racecourse to see how new technology can reduce the cost of business telephone systems.

The expo, which is aimed specifically at IT or telephony managers, will begin at 9.30am and finish at 2pm. Among the exhibitors will be integrated VoIP specialist Shoretel, hardware provider Icon and system operator

Daisy Communications. To register visit www.stack. co.uk and access the events page.

WEDNESDAY, NOV 13

WARRINGTON and Halton local authorities along with St Helens Chamber of Commerce are working with energy supplier SSE to promote a web portal through which local businesses can express an interest in works based around Fiddlers Ferry Power Station from SSE directly and their Tier 1 suppliers. The event will

be held at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington, and is applicable for all business sectors. Further information is available on www.o4bpennine.com and while attendance is free, people should pre-register at http ://sse-o4b.eventbrite.co.uk.

SSE currently spends £200m in the region and this initiative is part of SSE’s commitment to promote local procurement and source goods, works and services from small- to medium-sized enterprise organisations in the areas in which it operates.

THURSDAY, NOV 14

Michael Pratt to have lunch with?

A Ian Hislop. He is not afraid to criticise the establishment, a man after my own heart.

Q Where else do you like to go?

A Home – my wife is an excellent cook.

START-UPS and small firms can learn how to reduce the risk of a costly employment tribunal claim at a free breakfast seminar, ‘Employment law: how small businesses can stay out of trouble’, at the Marriott Hotel in Liverpool’s Queen Square, starting at 8am. The event is being hosted by Warrington-based ClearSky HR. To reserve a place call 0808 1471921 or email events@ clearskybusiness.co.uk with your name, company and a contact number.

THURSDAY, NOV 14

MITCHELL Charlesworth is holding a series of free seminars for employers on the most significant changes to impact on pensions legislation in the past 25 years. Its Liverpool seminar will take place at the Marriott Hotel in Queen Square, between 4pm and 6pm.

To book contact Cara Bartlett on 0151-255 2300.

■ Send your diary events to neil.hodgson @liverpool.com

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