Well Connected Liverpool Business Magazine January 2019

Well Connected Official Magazine for Liverpool & Sefton Chambers of Commerce - Winter 2019

Inside

• How to retain a productive workforce

· Improving transport infrastructure in the Liverpool City Region

· Opportunities in Egypt’s Transport and Maritime sectors

Sue Grindrod

Chief Executive Royal Albert Dock Liverpool

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Welcome & Contents

Welcome to the latest edition of Well Connected Magazine new Year: new Opportunities

elcome to the first edition of Well Connected for 2019.

W In a year which promises to be

both eventful and unpredictable, this edition highlights some of the reasons why we should be optimistic about the future in our city region. These include the ongoing developments at the Knowledge Quarter, transport infrastructure investment, the increasing strength of our digital economy and the ongoing trade

opportunities abroad, both within and beyond the boundaries of the European Union.

Our two feature interviews in this edition are Sue Grindrod, CEO of the Royal Albert Dock (pages 26/27) and Tony Reeves, CEO of Liverpool City Council (page 41).

Both have substantive roles to play in further improving and enhancing the city’s business and economic performance.

As the Chamber approaches its 170th birthday in 2020, we recognise and acknowledge our Strategic Partners, Liverpool Hope University, for their 175th birthday commemorations this year (page 18). Their continual

Find Inside...

Contents 4-5 7

8-9 11

12 14-15 16-18 20-22 23 24 25 26-27

Chamber News Chamber Membership Economy Health & Wellbeing Connectivity Skills Members News International Members News My Story Members News Cover Feature

28 29 30 32-34 38-39 40-41

Members News Education Members News Transport Chamber Events Culture & Growth 42-43 Members News 44-45 Ask the Expert 46-47 Chamber in the City 48 Staff Directory 49 New Members 50 5 Minutes with...

Enquiries Liverpool & Sefton Chambers of Commerce Number One Old Hall Street, Liverpool L3 9HG t: 0151 227 1234 e: membership@liverpoolchamber.org.uk w: www.liverpoolchamber.org.uk publisher Benham Publishing Limited, Aintree Building, Aintree Way, Aintree Business Park, Liverpool L9 5AQ t: 0151 236 4141 e: admin@benhampublishing.com w: www.benhampublishing.com published January 2019 © Benham Publishing

endurance is testament to the way in which they have adapted to the prevailing environment whilst maintaining commitment to their core values, a trait we hope we share in the Chamber of Commerce.

Despite the optimism, 2019 will also be a year of challenges and the Chamber is committed to providing an enhanced level of engagement and support for our Members, developing the initiatives we introduced in 2018 including our local Hubs.

We want to build on our position as the business association of choice in Liverpool and ensure the voice of our membership

page

11

32

page

40

Putting the passenger first – investment in local rail infrastructure

One of the biggest barriers to retaining a productive workforce

22

InTERnaTIOnaL

CuLTuRE and GROWTH

2019:The Carnet Crystal Ball for Brexit

Contributing Editor John Dean e: john@benhampublishing.com Editorial Content Manager Zoe Bleasdale e: editorial@liverpoolchamber.org.uk advertising and Features Karen Hall Tel: 0151 236 4141 e: karen@benhampublishing.com advertising Sales Tony Sheldon e: tony@benhampublishing.com Studio Mark Etherington e: studio@benhampublishing.com Media No.1636

page

TRanSpORT

HEaLTH & WELLbEInG

page

is heard at both a national and local level. To maximise the value of your membership in 2019 we would encourage you to get involved with our expanding knowledge, advocacy and campaign work and use the Chamber to further your networks, accessing information and expertise from across the spectrum of local businesses.

We can’t predict the future but we can help you to deliver your business priorities for 2019.

I hope you find some inspiration in this edition of Well Connected!

Regards paul Cherpeau CEO

Mayoral Club continues to support the city’s cultural agenda for 2019

disclaimer

Well Connected is mailed without charge to all Chamber members and distributed at all Chamber events.

All correspondence should be addressed to the Editor at Liverpool & Sefton Chambers of Commerce. Views expressed in publication are not necessarily those of Liverpool & Sefton Chambers of Commerce.

Reprinting in whole or part is forbidden except by permission of the Editor. © 2019.

Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy and reliability of material published in this journal, Benham Publishing and its agents can accept no responsibility for the veracity of claims made by contributions in advertising or editorial content.

Benham Publishing cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies in web or email links supplied to us.

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Chamber News

Liverpool & Sefton Chamber Celebrates Excellence in business their skills, talent and experience within the businesses community, adding: “I’m personally proud that the Chamber can boast of a history such as ours but more pleased that we have the opportunity to continue to contribute and serve our business community in the 21st century. Our dinner gave us the opportunity to reassert this purpose and we have so much to look forward to achieving together in 2019”

T

he Chamber’s Annual Dinner and Awards in November provided a snapshot of some of the amazing achievements of our city region business community.

Innovation, creativity, ethical and sustainable growth and a real commitment to staff health and wellbeing, were all celebrated by over 300 guests at the magnificent Rum Warehouse.

Sponsored by SP Energy Networks and hosted by Peter McDowall from LFC TV, we had an inspirational presentation with a distinctly local flavour from our keynote speaker, Mike Moran MBE.

4

The quality of award applications this year was exceptionally high, particularly so in the Local Hero category where we had two winners!

Congratulations to our amazing winners and to all our very worthy nominees. A full list of winners is below.

Paul Cherpeau, CEO of the Chamber said: “We have a responsibility to celebrate the excellence in business that exists in our city. Despite the increased political rhetoric criticising business, our local economy thrives by building upon their success in providing wealth, jobs, opportunity and social value.”

Paul also announced that the Chamber will be signing the Armed Forces Covenant, to reassert its commitment to servicemen and women, promoting the value of

The celebrations continued courtesy of our friends at The Richmond in Hatton Garden.

We would like to thank all of our sponsors as well as our event partners including Antonio Franco Photography, The Big Event Group, Fisher AV, The Know Group, Meet & Potato, The Richmond Hotel, RUM Warehouse and the Titanic Hotel Liverpool.

Most of all however, we would like to thank all those who attended for making this a celebration of local business to remember!

award winners

• digital & Technology: sponsored by BT Local Business Mashbo

• Workplace Health & Wellbeing: sponsored by Rutherford Cancer Centres Royal Liverpool and broadgreen university Hospitals nHS Trust

• Responsible Employer of the Year (under 250 employees): sponsored by Arriva North West & Wales Liverpool One

• Exporter of the Year: sponsored by Liverpool John Lennon Airport Yanco

• Responsible Employer of the year (over 250 employees): sponsored

by Growth Partners Mott Macdonald

• Local Hero award: sponsored by Proton Partners International

Gordon black, nW RFCa

Ian pollitt, peel Land and property Group

Chamber News

The 1850 Club is the Chamber of Commerce senior business development club for Strategic Partner members

It aims to facilitate and enable direct business development activity and create a high level network of people to build relationships, showcase products and services and create positive transactional business. The 1850 Club meetings take place regularly with each strategic partner having the opportunity to co-host an event during the year.

M

edicash were first to host an 1850 club event in

October which took place at

Revolution Cavern Quarter

followed by a Shiverpool tour, just in time for Halloween.

I

n December we hosted our very own 1850 Club at The

Alchemist where guests enjoyed all of the molecular mixology the Alchemist has to offer.

To find out more about the 1850 Club or becoming a Strategic Partner please contact Lee Stanley, Head of Business Development on 07383 090348 or lee.stanley@liverpoolchamber.org.uk

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Membership update

Membership

Hear about what the membership team have been up to throughout the past quarter. t the end of a very A successful period of growth for the Liverpool &

Sefton Chamber in 2018 I would like now to look forward to an exciting 2019.

With the continuation of our South Liverpool hub, we have now confirmed the launch of two new hubs from early 2019, the Baltic Creative and The Carroll Group, based at Sovini in North Liverpool.

Lee Stanley

Head of Business Development

The exciting programme will see us deliver quality events, speakers and themes centred around key business areas that we hope will provide a useful and purposeful platform for business development opportunities.

The 1850 Club has again delivered some great events with Medicash hosting in October. The event was a great opportunity for our high level members to see the great work that Medicash deliver in

appy New Year! Hope H you all had a fantastic Christmas and some well

Rich Smith

Business Engagement Manager

deserved down time over the festive period.

Reflecting on the last quarter, the stand out moment for me was our Annual Dinner and Awards Ceremony. Taking place at the Rum Warehouse at Titanic Hotel, the event was a great success and I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved for making it such a memorable occasion. I particularly enjoyed seeing so many of our guests enjoining the after-party festivities at The Richmond Hotel, occupying the dancefloor until the wee hours. Other highlights included our joint Carol Service with Professional Liverpool, Mock Interviews with Sacred Heart School, my drop in day with Baltic Creative and our latest Meet & Eat where we went behind the scenes with John Lennon Airport.

I’m very proud to say that last year was as fantastic as it was busy.

the city to both customers and charities. Following of from the amazing accolade of being awarded Freedom of the City of Liverpool a spooky tour of Liverpool with the fantastic Shiverpool was held. We finished the Year with the Chamber hosting the last 1850 event of the Year at the Alchemist. This was a great chance for us to thank the members of the Club for their continued support and to highlight key events in 2019 starting with our Grand National Festival event on the 4th April, followed by our first Golf/Resort day on the 14th June at Formby Hall.

I would like to welcome the following new members to the Strategic Partner network,

Clatterbridge Cancer Charity, Nationwide Fencing, Walton Flooring Centre, The Carrol Group, Mashbo, Yorkshire Bank and O’Connell & Squelch (OCANDS Ltd). In addition to this we have also added new patrons Inspired Energy from the New Year, who will provide real support to all members and the Chamber events throughout the next year.

As key partners I am looking forward to working with you all and the rest of the network in 2019. Have a great 2019 and please spread the word that we are looking for new Strategic Partners & Patrons to join this amazing group of businesses and the people who drive and operate their success.

lee.stanley@liverpoolchamber.org.uk

07383 090348

However, through conversations with our members we have made many positive changes to the membership offering, the Chamber in 2019 is looking like a very exciting place to be. One development I am particularly keen to share with you is our new geographical delivery of membership services across Liverpool and Sefton. Throughout 2019 we will be basing ourselves out of one of four ‘Hubs’ every Thursday, alternating between South Liverpool, Aintree / Bootle, Baltic Creative and Southport. From an engagement point of view I am very excited as while replicating our popular networking events, educational seminars, workshops and forums across the city, this will allow us to coordinate meetings more regularly with members who aren’t

necessarily based within the city centre.

In 2019 I am also looking forward to becoming more involved in our monthly #WellConnected events.

With a new location and format, we will be hosting this event from the new Thaikhun Street Bar at the top of Liverpool ONE on the first Friday of every month. These events will provide a great platform for attendees to showcase their businesses as well as provide an opportunity to network with fellow members and chamber staff.

The next #WellConnected date for your diary is Friday 1st February, we do hope you can join us.

Finally, we are well on the way with preparations for Aintree ’19. There are still some tickets available, so if you’d like to join us for the Grand National this year, don’t delay, book today!

richard.smith@liverpoolchamber.org.uk 07889 365925 7

BRITISH CHAMBERS OF COMM MERCE

QUARTERL LY Y ECON EC NOMIC SURVEY Q4 2018 The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) Quarterly Economic Survey – Britain’s largest and most authoritative private sector business survey y – based on more than 6,000 responses from firms across the UK – finds that the UK economy ended 20118 stuck in a holding pattern, with stagnating levels of growth and business confidence as a result of Brex xit uncertainty and other economic pressures.

“

The UK economy is in stasis. While it’s not contracting, it’s not growing robustly either. Throughout much of 2018, UK businesses were subjec cted to a barrage of political noise and drama, so it’s no surprise to see firms report muted domestic dema and and investment. In this new year, the government must demonstrate that it is ready to act to turb bo-charge business confidence.

“

Brexit is hoovering up all of government’s attention and resources, but it’s far from the only cause of uncertainty. Given the magnitude of the recruitment difficulties faced by firms clear across the UK, business concerns about the governmentt’s recent blueprint for future immigration rules must be taken seriously – and companies must be able to access skills at all levels without heavy costs or bureaucracy.

Dr Adam Marshall Director General, British Chambers of Commerce

Domestic Sales

AT A G GLANCE

Positive balance (+) = growth | Negative balance (-) = contraction

0%

UK GDP growth and QES balance of firms reporting 60% impro ov ved domestic sales

0% +25%

-25%

2.0%

+25%

-25%

1 5% 1.

40%

1. 0% -50%

+50%

-50%

+50%

20%

0.5%

0% -75%

+75%

-75%

+75%

0.0% -0.5%

-20%

-1.0% -40% +100%

-100%

...of manufacturers reported improved domestic sales in Q4 2018, down from +24% in Q3 2018

Q ES % -60% Balance 2006 2008

+100%

-100%

...of service firms reported improved domestic sales in Q4 2018, down from +22% in Q3 2018

GDP Growth

201 0

201 2

201 4

Service Sector QES

GD P % -1.5% Growth (ONS) -2. 0% 201 6 201 8 Manufa cturing QES

Balance of firms reporting impro ov ved export sales 0%

0% +25%

-25%

50% +25%

-25%

Recruitment difficuties

Export Sales E

40% 30% -50% -5

+50%

-50%

+50%

20% 10% -75%

+75%

-75%

+75%

0% -10%

+100%

-100%

...of manufacturers reported improved export sales in Q4 2018, up from +19% in Q3 2018

+100%

-100%

...of service firms reported improved export sales in Q4 2018, unc cha h nged from Q3 2018

50%

-20% Q ES % -30% Balance 2006 2008 201 0 201 2 Manufa cturing Secto r QES

201 4 201 6 201 8 Service Sector QES

Percentage of firms facing recruitment difficulties (of those attempting to recruit)

90%

50%

80% 70% 25%

75%

25%

75%

60% 50% 40% 30% 20%

0%

100%

0%

100%

...of manufacturers that attempted to recruit in Q4 2018 faced difficulties, up from 75% in Q3 2018

...of serv vice firms that attempted to recruit in Q4 2018 faced difficulties, dow wn from 72% in Q3 2018

(note: this is not a percentage balance scale)

(note e: this is not a percentage balance scale)

10% 0% 2006

2008 201 0 201 2 Manufa cturing Secto r QES

201 4 201 6 201 8 Service Sector QES

www.britishchambers.org.uk | @britishchambers w

BRITISH CHAMBERS OF COMM MERCE

LOOKING AHEAD The Quarterly Economic Survey (QES) examines business sentiment on a range of forward looking ing indica indicators, including investment intentions, turnover con nfidence, and prices. In Q4 2018, the survey results iindicate an increase in price pressures facing firms, as we ell as weakened investment levels, and fewer firms e expecting turnover and profitiability to increase over the next twelve months.

0% +25%

-25%

Firms facing pressures to raise prices due to the following factors:

0%

Manufacturing Sector

+25%

-25%

Service Sector 81% -50% -5

+50%

-50% -5

+50%

60%

Prices

-75%

+75%

-75%

45%

+75%

33%

30% 30%

25% % +100%

-100%

...of manufacturers expect their prices to incre ease, up from +38% in Q3 2018

+100%

-100%

16%

...of service firms expect their prices to increase, up from +27% in Q3 2018

Pay settlements

Raw materials Financial co osts

Other overheads

Balance of firms increasing investment in training 0% +25%

-25%

50%

0% +25%

-25%

40%

Em mployment Expectations

Investment

30% -50% -5

+50%

-50%

+50%

10% -75%

+75%

-75%

+75%

0% -10%

+100%

-100%

...of manuffacturers increased investment in training in Q4 2018, up from +17% in Q3 2018

+100%

-100%

...of service firms increased investment in training g in Q4 2018, up from +14% in Q3 2018

-20% Q ES % -30% Balance 2006 2008 201 0 201 2 Manufa cturing Secto r QES

201 4 201 6 201 8 Service Sector QES

Balance of firms expecting to grow their wo orkforce 0%

50%

0% +25%

-25%

40%

+25%

-25%

30% -50%

+50%

20%

-50%

+50%

10% 0% -10% -75%

+75%

-75%

+75%

-20% -30% +100%

-100%

...of manufacturers expect to grow their workforc r e over the next three months, unchanged from Q3 2018

+100%

-100%

...of service firms expect to grow their workforce over the next three months, down from +22% in Q3 2018

0%

0% -25%

Confidence

20%

-50%

-75%

+25%

-25%

+50%

+75%

-50%

-75%

-40% QES % Balance -50% 2006 2008 201 0 201 2 Manufa cturing Secto r QES

201 4 201 6 201 8 Service Sector QES

UK GDP growth and QES balance of firms confident 80% their turnover will increase

2.0%

60%

1. 5%

40%

1. 0%

20%

0.5%

0%

0.0%

+25%

+50%

+75%

-20%

-0.5%

-40% -100%

+100%

...of manufacturers are confident turnover will increase in the next 12 months, down from +44% in Q3 2018

-100%

+100%

...of service firms are confident turnover will increase in the next 12 months, down from +38% in Q3 2018

-1.0%

-60% QES % Balance -80% 2006 2008 GDP Growth

201 0

201 2

201 4

Service Sector QES

GD P % -1.5% Growth (ONS) -2. 0% 201 6 201 8 Manufa cturing QES

www.britishchambers.org.uk | @britishchambers w

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One of the biggest barriers to retaining a productive workforce In 2011, 90% of employers surveyed said that caring for someone living with dementia was affecting members of their workforce. was putting pressure on Iandtemployees, causing them physical mental health problems and leading to declined productivity and in some cases the loss of valuable staff members who felt forced to leave work to care full time. This problem is getting bigger each year.

The major issue both businesses and Carers face is that over 2 million people give up work at some point to care for loved ones and 3 million have been forced to work reduced hours. The peak age of caring also often coincides with the peak of an individual’s career responsibilities in their 40s to 60s.

Caring responsibilities can also produce additional negative impacts on work, like stress and tiredness which may also lead to lower efficiency and productivity.

The demands of being a Carer can also cause a business to lose the best person for the job.

Employees managing to juggle work and care often describe having to forgo promotion or miss job opportunities because they cannot increase working hours or move to take up a new position. Almost one in four (23%) say they have changed their working pattern to care and a further third were anxious that caring would impact on their capacity to work in the future.

Around one in nine workers in the UK has caring responsibilities and three million people combine caring for a loved one with paid work, so this is a major issue. Research by the Employers for Carers Business Forum into the impact of caring on the workforce, has highlighted how the loss of key and experienced employees results in expensive recruitment and retraining costs as well as a loss of vital expertise and knowledge. Estimates show a cost of £5.3 billion a year negative

impact to the economy in lost earnings and tax revenue and additional benefit payments.

Good employers will exhibit a little flexibility when dealing with Carers and reassure them that they understand the difficulty of juggling the twin roles of Carer and employee. A progressive business will benefit from this approach; but it does not necessarily solve the key problem. Half of Carers cited problems with accessing suitable care services as a key reason they gave up work or reduced working hours. Services are often inflexible and do not fit with working hours or are unreliable and this can make work impossible.

Health and Wellbeing

This is where Age Concern Liverpool & Sefton can help. We have recently opened a respite dementia day care centre in Clubmoor, Liverpool 13, which provides expert care for people living with dementia.

The service incorporates activities specifically tailored to the needs of older people living with dementia supplemented by companionship, stimulation and a 3 course meal and snacks. It is open Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm so that working Carers can continue with their career, secure in the knowledge that the person they care for is safe, well looked after and having a good time.

This could well be the answer your business and your employees, who are Carers, have been searching for. please let your staff know about this new service. They can find out more by: phone: 0151 330 5678 or email: mail@ageconcernliverpoolandsefton.org.uk

“The Talk Liverpool service provided easily accessible help for some of the most stressful and disheartening parts of my life”

How can Talk Liverpool help you?

We can all feel low or anxious or stressed at times, but sometimes these problems get worse and start to affect our day to day lives. Quite often, people struggle on without asking for help, hoping things will get better on their own.

Talk Liverpool is a free NHS service for any person experiencing anxiety, depression or stress; who is 16 or over and registered with a GP within the Liverpool City boundary. We offer access to talking therapies and practical support; we aim to offer the help needed when it’s really needed.

Many people have found that with help from us, they can feel a lot better.

People often find that one or two sessions are enough to clarify difficulties and explore more helpful ways of coping.

How to get help

We offer a range of options and ideas to suit each person which may include a short course, or help through an interactive computer programme.

•

• •

•

Phone – call us on 0151 228 2300 Online – complete the self referral form online www.talkliverpool.nhs.uk Speaking to your GP – or any health or social care professional who can refer you if they think it appropriate Voluntary or third sector organisations.

Helping yourself to feel better To help you understand your problems, we can offer solutions to: • Understand why you feel as you do • Explore links between your feelings, thoughts, symptoms and behaviours • Find out what you would like to change • Discover new ways of coping now, and in the future.

WORKING TOGETHER TO IMPROVE YOUR MENTAL WELLBEING.

“It’s nice here. To talk to someone who understands whatever you are going through and they’re ready to listen”

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Connectivity

Mobile data

When initially forming your company with no office, sometimes using your home broadband and hot spotting to a mobile data connection is all you need. For the majority of start-up SME businesses it’s fairly common for them to run their business entirely from a Mobile phone with a decent 4G connection. (Just ensure you don’t run up any big bills by overusing your data allowance).

Once set up with an internet connection mobile data is also great for resilience.

adSL / broadband

Obviously as the SME grows, recruits and acquires premises the need for a better connection occurs which often sees them moving onto Broadband and Superfast technology. At this point, it’s hugely important to look at the contention ratio and Service Level Agreements on offer from the different broadband providers. As in the majority of industries you really do get what you pay for when it comes to connecting to the internet. If a company is offering a connection for a quarter of the cost of what another company is offering, its more than likely that it will be

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In business What Internet Connectivity Should I Choose..?

We asked Andy MacGregor of BT Local Business what type of Internet should companies being looking at in 2019.

much more heavily contended and have much slower response times to any faults.

In layman’s terms, you may be sharing the connection within the network with 50 different businesses rather than say 10 for the “more expensive” one. You may be reporting your internet fault to a contact centre with less agents per customer and get a slower response time than reporting a fault to a company that has invested in a better support service.

backup Connectivity Something that has become common place in the market nowadays, as networks and

speeds improve, are 4G backup connections to Superfast broadbands with automatic failovers. Obviously these are limited to the reliability of the 4G connection, but it can certainly keep your business online when the broadband goes down.

Leased lines

More and more businesses are at a point now where a broadband connection of any type just isn’t reliable enough for their business.

As businesses begin to rely on the internet more and move more of their services to the

Cloud, the need for a guaranteed always on connection becomes a necessity for the business.

This is the point where you need to start looking at a dedicated leased line.

A fantastic question to ask yourself is “How would my business cope if my internet connection went down and stayed down this afternoon?”

If the answer is that it wouldn’t, the only option for you is a leased line.

As with broadband it then comes down to looking at the finer details such as what speed can I get and what Service Level Agreement (SLA) is on offer. If you couldn’t operate your business without the internet connection it’s important that you look for a provider that offers the highest availability guarantee and a rapid response in the event of any disasters.

I often say to businesses that if you need the internet to be accessible 100% of the time, there’s little point in buying a service that only offers a 99.5% SLA, they are already expecting to fail and ultimately you will be disappointed.

Investing in the people making a difference Charities and social enterprises can struggle to find finance that’s right for them. At First Ark Social Investment we enable organisations across the North West to overcome this barrier. With wrap around support from start to finish, we help them to first access funding and then get the most value out of it.

Recently we approved £150,000 of investment to help Make Liverpool redevelop their North Docks venue. Make have supported artists, makers and small businesses since 2014, providing them with access to the space and tools they need for their work. With a growing cultural and creative events programme, Make found that limited facilities, systems and staff were holding them back. To expand their offering would require significant investment. £150,000 was needed from First Ark Social Investment to improve facilities for their new site and develop the events management programme.

Getting investment ready Working with Make, we identified a number of areas that needed to be strengthened in order for them to become investment ready. We are an access point to several funds, providing organisations with pre-investment support as well as larger scale finance. With our support, Make submitted a successful application for a £14,000 grant, enabling them to develop a comprehensive business plan and financial control policies which would guide the company and its board over the period of investment.

Once their readiness plan was in place, Make were able to apply for further investment with us and a loan of £108,000 and grant of £42,000 was approved.

The funds will be used to convert part of the warehouse into a multi-use events space to accommodate more classes and educational programmes for the local community.

“

Working with First Ark Social Investment has been a transformation for Make. Using the Reach Fund before applying for investment, we were able to undertake supported work to get us ready to take vital next steps - we can help transform the work lives of the creatives that use our facilities and make a positive social impact in North Liverpool.

Liam Kelly

”

Chief Executive Officer, Make Liverpool

Are you an organisation making a positive social impact? Get in touch with our dedicated team and find out how we can help you take your next step.

Skills

lients from a wide range of C industries rely on Arvato’s portfolio of solutions, from

telecommunications providers and utilities companies through banks and insurance companies to e-commerce, IT and internet providers.

Staff from St Helens Chamber joined Arvato on September 6th to celebrate the success of their staff, who have completed a number of courses through the Chamber’s Business School.

Lyn Owen, Learning and Development Consultant, commented: “To say I am proud and honoured to be standing here is an understatement. It’s been a long journey for all 28 achievers and the journey hasn’t always been easy.

“This achievement is all down to each individual and I am so proud of everybody.

Congratulations to you all and thank you for your hard work.”

Sue Moister, Team Leader at St Helens Chamber, added: “It’s not easy doing these qualifications. It’s all about developing your skills, knowledge and behaviours, and then implementing them in the business.

Celebrating Business Training success at Arvato

Arvato is an international service provider that lives and breathes digital technology, providing innovative solutions for clients from all over the world. These include, intelligent customer service offers via all contact channels in the CRM sector, end-to-end e-commerce services for retailers and brands in the field, fraud prevention and IT services in the cloud.

“I hope you all feel that sense of huge achievement and have been able to put into practice what you’ve learnt in the workplace, not only for your benefit but for the benefit of the others around you.

“We have seen a huge amount of that collaborative work here, I know a lot of you have been multiskilling, multitasking, going on to work in different

teams and I think it’s a fantastic achievement. I’d like to wish huge congratulations to everybody, you all deserve every success.”

Staff gained Diplomas in a variety of different topics including Management, Team Leading, Business Administration, and Customer Service.

Michelle Moss, who completed her Level 4 Business Administration Diploma to gain extra qualifications and give her CV a boost, said: “I did my NVQ when I was 19, I am 42 now, so when the opportunity came about, I thought it was the perfect chance.

“I have 25 years’ experience on my CV and an NVQ Level 3 but most of the job roles I would be looking at need a level 4, so it’s just opening up more opportunities.”

Danny Doyle completed his Management Level 3 qualification: “I have been able to apply the things that I’ve learnt in this training to help me in my day to day responsibilities. And whilst I have been doing this training I have been promoted to a senior management level, I’m sure the training has helped contribute.

“I have enjoyed doing the research in order to be able to answer the questions, looking at case studies and looking at the science behind decisions that we make. I found that challenging, but also very useful at the same time.”

St Helens Chamber business School offers a whole range of qualifications from junior level right through to senior management. For more information about our range of business Training opportunities call 01744 742333 or email workforce@sthelenschamber.com

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Clickworks provides FREE digital training for your business at Liverpool Chamber

Part of St Helens Chamber, Clickworks is a new centre for all things digital, providing FREE digital training for local businesses and people.

lickworks aims to connect C business with the resources, skills and talent they need to

succeed, and as part of our partnership with St Helens Chamber, for a limited time businesses across Merseyside can now have access to free digital training delivered at Liverpool & Sefton Chambers of Commerce.

Courses will help develop your employee’s digital knowledge and skills, allowing staff to gain more confidence in their job role, improve efficiency and make your business run more smoothly.

Our courses are completely FREE, and your staff will achieve nationally recognised qualifications.

Forthcoming courses include: digital Essentials Digital Essentials will build on existing knowledge, update skills and make your business more effective and better placed to respond to new market opportunities.

Delivered over three days trainees will become proficient in: • Microsoft Word • Microsoft Excel • Microsoft Powerpoint To complete these courses your staff will need to have some basic working knowledge of Microsoft Office packages.

Introduction to digital Marketing From planning a marketing campaign, to editing a corporate video, posting on social media or creating a web page, having staff who can effectively use marketing in their job role can make a significant difference to commercial operations.

Digital marketing is no longer just the job of the marketing department – in many companies, the responsibility for tasks such as updating the company website and managing the social media feeds may fall on any number of employees. On this course your staff will gain an insight in to digital marketing trends and develop skills that can be used in many roles.

Skills

To complete this course your staff should have previous experience of using computers and a good understanding of areas such as file management and internet browsing.

This three day course will cover the following subjects: • Creating simple web pages • Social Media • Video and Imaging software • Search Engine Optimisation • Analysing websites/social media • Email Marketing • Internet Safety Want to find out more?

Get in touch! Call: 01744 742333 Email: enquiries@clickworks.info

Want to upskill your workforce?

St Helens Chamber Business School delivers award winning business training across Merseyside.

We will give you a free Training Needs Analysis to identify your training requirements and put together a bespoke training package specific to your company.

Qualifications available include: • Business Administration

• Sales

• Health & Social Care

• Financial Services

• Customer Service

• Childcare

• International Trade

• Management & Team Leading

• Teaching Assistant

• Marketing

• Business Improvement Techniques

• Warehousing & Logistics

• Digital Marketing

• Information Technology

• Construction

Contact our Workforce Development Team today and request a Prospectus.

Call 01744 742333, email workforce@sthelenschamber.com or visit www.sthelenschamber.com/business-school In partnership with:

15

News

as tree planting and new public realm features.

The other elements of this package, which will end in November, will see: he first package of works for T the Liverpool City Centre Connectivity (LCCC) scheme will

focus on re-engineering major routes from the city’s commercial district through to the city’s retail and knowledge districts.

Victoria Street will be first to be remodelled, from January, with the widening of pavements, removal of bus layovers as well

• A new City Centre Bus Hub on Old Haymarket, which together with re-routed bus services would take away 700,000 dead miles and 2,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide

• Improvement works to Brownlow Hill to support city council’s masterplan for the Knowledge Quarter Gateway.

• Improvements to Tithebarn Street and Moorfields - which will mirror the works previously carried out to Castle Street and Bixteth Street.

A far-reaching multi-million pound scheme to make Liverpool city centre easier to navigate for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists is to begin in the New Year.

• A new, improved city coach park by expanding the existing facility on Riverside Drive to accommodate 30 vehicles.

The LCCC scheme is one of the flagship projects in the city council’s wider £500m Better Roads programme.

One of its key aims is to improve the public realm in the city centre and enhance Liverpool’s international appeal to investors, shoppers and tourists with its visitor economy, currently valued at £3.6bn/year, expected to grow by 25% over the next 10 years.

Councillor James Noakes, Liverpool City Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways, said: ‘’This new connectivity scheme addresses many of our current

Outsourcing: Revolutionised.

The 2019 business model for SMEs

and future needs to improve the city centre welcome and provide an experience befitting a world class city.

“When fully completed it will redefine how everyone from residents, workers, shoppers, students and tourists can enjoy exploring and discovering this amazing city.’’

The remaining packages will see a remodelling of Lime Street, with a new event space, and The Strand as well as the introduction of new bridges from Albert Dock to Canning Dock to enhance the visitor experience to the city’s museums and World Heritage site.

www.liverpool.gov.uk/betterroads

Employee engagement company, Growth Partners, have celebrated a triumphant year. Coining it “HR with Benefits”, their selection of marketleading HR services, centered around improving the productivity and wellbeing of employees, is revolutionising UK workplaces. cross the pond on US soil, A Professional Employer Organisations (PEOs) are a

growing trend. What are they?

Recognised as a key driving force of American business growth, a PEO is a firm that offers affordable, outsourced business support services to (mostly SME) employers.

But what makes the PEO model so revolutionary, and what brings it to the UK? Unlike traditional HR outsourcing companies, a PEO takes an aggregated approach to business support, handling all HR and employee-focused functions such as Payroll, Benefits, Recruitment and more.

The NAPEO (National Association of Professional Employer Organisations) reports have tracked the last six years, showing how the PEO industry has grown

16

by an average 20 percent per year demonstrating steady demand. Now, tailored to the UK business market, the imported model is proving a massive advantage to SMEs.

In the UK however, the term PEO is still an alien concept, but Growth Partners are trying to change this, one workplace at a time. From CEO Paul Bresnihan: “Outsourcing is nothing new. Whether it’s IT support, marketing, staff training, the list goes on, to some degree or other, outsourcing is a key part of modern business strategy, especially for smaller businesses.

“At Growth Partners, we want to make employers’ lives easier, whilst making employees happier, healthier and more secure. Under the PEO model, employee wellbeing and performance

becomes as much of a concern to us as it is to the employer, and that’s what sets it apart from traditional models. By offering full HR support, taking on Payroll, Pensions, Employment Law and more, as well as providing Benefits schemes and Healthcare access to employees, we predict that in 2019 more organisations will be turning their backs on traditional outsourcing methods and exploring the benefits of working with PEOs.”

If you would like find out more about how our HR with benefits model could support your business, we would be delighted to sit down with you to explore the possibilities.

We offer an exclusive member-to-member discount to Liverpool & Sefton Chamber members.

To request a FREE business consultation, email: neil.bradley@growthpartnersplc.co.uk Or call: 07904784170 www.growthpartnersplc.co.uk

News

A place to live, work and play

ACSL Solicitors are delighted to confirm they have been appointed to act on behalf of Romal Capital in their ambitious, world class development at Central Docks.

adding modern twists to traditional authentic recipes

Authentic high-end Chinese restaurant, JIN, located within the Crowne Plaza Liverpool- John Lennon Airport Hotel, tells all on their restaurant, goals and aspirations for the New Year.

IN Restaurant opened its J doors for the first time at the Crowne Plaza Liverpool-

John Lennon Airport in September 2018.

All about adding modern twists on traditional, authentic Chinese recipes, JIN produces a range of incredible dishes inspired by regions across China. We want to immerse our customers in a Chinese dining experience like no other, providing them with the highest quality food and flavours.

"JIN is a Chinese restaurant like no other and we are immensely proud of its Chinese heritage and food culture.

We have worked closely with our Chinese colleagues at CTS (China Travel Service) to create the finest Chinese

dining experience in the UK" said Paul Gallon, General Manager at Crowne Plaza Liverpool- John Lennon Airport.

Our Head Chef, Kwok Cheung, has over 30 years of experience in Chinese cuisine, having developed his skills at some of the finest Chinese restaurants in the North West of England and London. Mr. Cheung and his team worked with their counterparts in Hong Kong and Beijing to tailor JIN's menu and create a selection of authentic dishes using only the finest ingredients.

"My team and I are committed to using our talent and expertise to ensure JIN stays true to its heritage, whilst providing our customers

entral Docks is highlighted as the C‘heart-beat’ of Liverpool Waters and is

key to its strategy of creating a community within the boundaries of the historic dock wall and providing a place to live, work and play. Romal Capital will deliver a seamless extension to the existing waterfront, providing much needed residential apartments and promoting connectivity to Liverpool’s waterfront and vibrant city centre.

with the very best that Chinese cuisine has to offer", said Mr. Cheung.

JIN is set within a unique location, the old Grade II Listed Liverpool airport terminal, which we plan to take full advantage of in 2019. As 2018 comes to a close, our goal for the New Year is to focus on welcoming more corporate dinners, wedding parties, as well as other events and functions.

Once guests have used the hotel's first-class facilities, they can then go on to enjoy a menu that is tailored for each event.

This time next year, we also hope to have become an award-winning restaurant, becoming a well established name within the City of Liverpool.

www.cpliverpool-johnlennonairport.co.uk

Having assessed their options within Liverpool, Romal Capital opted to work with ACSL Solicitors. Director Joseph Mulrooney is thrilled to be working with such a highly regarded developer, “Romal Capital have put actions into words. They are working closely with Peel and are set to become the first developer to complete a residential build as part of the Liverpool Waters project. We offer a professional and flexible service which is perfectly suited to the work involved in plot sales.

Romal Capital saw the value in our offering and we look forward to working with them for many years to come.”

“This contract demonstrates the growth and development of our excellent commercial and residential property services. The Liverpool property scene is so vibrant at the moment, and its future looks to be really exciting. We look forward to playing a large part in the way our amazing city continues to grow.”

17

Members News

MHa Moore and Smalley looks for Liverpool growth

MHA Moore and Smalley one of the UK’s top 50 accountancy and business advisory firms has chosen Liverpool for the latest stage of its expansion plans.

The firm, which employs 22 partners and over 317 staff across the north west and midlands, has opened its new office at Twenty Chapel Street.

The move follows a period of sustained growth for the firm which has included landing a number of new clients in the Merseyside region.

The Liverpool office will be led by a team that includes corporate finance director, Stephen Gregson, Karen Hain, partner, Jonathan Main, tax partner, Danny Houghton, business development partner, and Andy Webster, a consultant, who previously worked at Royal Bank of Scotland in Liverpool before joining MHA Moore and Smalley in 2016.

Danny Houghton, a partner at MHA Moore and Smalley, commented: “Liverpool is a city in the heart of the Northern Powerhouse strategy and we feel we have the right entrepreneurial spirit and technical services to play a part.

“We’ve had a strong presence in Merseyside for many years and the new office will allow us to be closer to our clients and professional partners, while creating new opportunities.

Liverpool is a global gateway and as a firm we have the expertise to help exporters with international trade matters.”

MHA Moore and Smalley provides a range of accounting, business advisory and wealth management services to clients across the north west and UK. The firm is also an independent member of Baker Tilly International, the world’s ninth largest accountancy and business advisory network.

18

Liverpool Hope university looks to the future as it celebrates 175 years Providing academic excellence for the students of tomorrow remains at the core of Liverpool Hope University’s mission, as it marks 175 years since the establishment of its founding colleges.

n 2019, Liverpool Hope will Ithrough be celebrating its rich history a series of special

events to mark the milestone.

The year-long celebrations will include hosting the Cathedral’s Group Choirs Festival, special guest lectures by author Ian Rankin and screenwriter Frank Cottrell-Boyce, and the inaugural Angel Field Festival.

While honouring its proud heritage, the University continues to look to the future, having invested substantially in both its Hope Park and Creative Campus in recent years.

In February 2019, the official unveiling of the newly regenerated Creative Campus will bring together old and new, as staff and students gather to witness the launch of the multi-million pound transformation of the Grade II-listed Cornerstone Building.

Home to the School of Creative and Performing Arts, the Creative Campus underwent a vast renovation during summer 2018 and now features a purpose-built Arts Centre.

Professor Pillay, ViceChancellor and Rector of Liverpool Hope University, described the decision to

overhaul the campus as “investment in our students and staff”.

He said: “We designed the space so that we could all be together and work together in an integrated School for the Creative and Performing Arts.”

The redevelopment is the latest in a series of investments the University has made in its campuses, with Hope Park welcoming a new state-of-the-art Health Sciences Building and sports facility in 2016.

As well as future-proofing the facilities, Liverpool Hope is forward thinking in its approach to academia, with a series of contemporary new courses launched for 2019 entry. Among these is Artificial Intelligence (AI) – a field that continues to grow and where there is a real skills shortage of AI practitioners.

This new course will produce a generation of graduates who are prepared for the technological revolution that AI is predicted to bring.

Liverpool Hope believes in providing the best teaching and facilities for its students, to ensure we provide academic excellence for another 175 years.

about Liverpool Hope university

With a history extending nearly 175 years, Liverpool Hope has a rich heritage that pre-dates many ‘red brick’ universities, but remains focused on the future.

The university has two main campusesHope Park, Childwall and the Creative Campus in Liverpool city centre.

Both have seen major investment, so traditional architecture now sits beside contemporary buildings and facilities.

• The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2019 places Liverpool Hope as one of the UK’s top 50 universities and 1st in the North West for student experience.

• The Destination of Leavers from Higher Education 2016/17 survey places Liverpool Hope 2nd in the UK and 1st in England for graduate employment, with 98.1 per cent of graduates in employment or further education six months after graduating.

• In the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), Liverpool Hope received Gold rating and is the only one of the three universities in Liverpool to get Gold rating. One in five Higher Education providers across the UK has achieved the Gold standard.

Liverpool. Home off great g culture, global businesses, a proud history, brilliant people and now home to MHA Moore and Smalley.

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19

International

destination Cork

Cork Chamber and the British Embassy in Ireland launched a report: ‘Joining the Dots - Promoting Economic Opportunity between the UK and South West Ireland’ on Monday 26 November in Cork.

From left to right: Khaled Zaki, Managing Director, Eurofinsa. Gamal Abu Ali, Partner, Hassouna & Abou Ali Law Firm.Alfred Azul,General Manager, Menarail Transport Consultants. Elena Enciso, International Trade Manager at the Chamber. Amr Noureldin, Advisor to CEO, GAFI

Opportunities in Egypt’s Transport and Maritime sector roundtable

Many UK companies are already doing business in Egypt. Significant investments in ports, airports, highways and railways are planned which will lead to the more efficient movement of goods. trengths of the Egyptian S market include a young workforce, newly-extended

Suez Canal -which is the hub for world maritime traffic, strategic geographical location – with proximity to Asian, African and Europe and it is the third largest economy in Africa.

We were delighted to welcome at our offices representatives from the Maritime and Transport sectors in Egypt, this event was sponsored by Sealand, a Maersk Group

20

company. Adam Lockart welcomed the delegation and presented the current routes and services to and from Egypt delivered by Sealand.

There were opportunities to ask questions and to engage in a constructive debate around the main topics of transport and Maritime, to understand why Egypt is open for business and the various sources of help and advice available in the UK and Egypt.

his report is a result of T collaboration between the two organisations.

The launch provided a significant opportunity to highlight this collaboration and bring together stakeholders from both sides to: • Highlight the overwhelming support for an improved programme of engagement between specific UK regions and SW Ireland

• Share knowledge around some of the joint activities currently being undertaken between the UK and Ireland • Hear from stakeholders on both sides about ways in which they would like to see improved interactions

• Provide a networking opportunity between UK and Irish organisations from government, business and academia

There were two panels discussing collaboration and joint Initiatives and the role of regions in the UK and Irish Industrial

Strategies, how we achieve smart, sustainable growth, and addressing global challenges such as ageing societies, safeguarding the environment, and the impact of technological advances on our lives. Liverpool & Sefton Chamber was represented in panel 1, discussing collaboration and joint initiatives. Ireland will be our main topic of discussion at our next International Trade Club in the New Year.

After hearing from keynote speakers including Simon Coveney and HE Ambassador Robin Barnett there is every reason to be optimistic and to continue to strengthen the relationship between these regions outside capital cities.

Liverpool & Sefton Chambers of Commerce has a partnership with the British Irish Chamber of Commerce and encourage members with interests in the Republic of Ireland to come for advice and guidance.

“After hearing from keynote speakers including Simon Coveney and HE Ambassador Robin Barnett there is every reason to be optimistic and to continue to strengthen the relationship between these regions outside capital cities.”

International

Customs declarations event in our South Liverpool Hub Crowne Plaza Liverpool John Lennon Airport Hotel In August, HMRC launched the first release of its new Customs Declaration Service (CDS), which is replacing the 25 year old Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) system.

e were delighted to W welcome HMRC at our South Liverpool Hub to explain to companies the changes, the migration timeline, what businesses need to do to prepare and where to go for support.

CDS is being introduced gradually and the timing of your move over to it will depend on when your business, or your software developer or

ith changes on Wtheir way, there

has never been a better time to invest in upskilling and training your staff.

Our Accredited programme of training kicks off in 2019 on the 24 January with a day of training covering “Customs, Rules of Origin and INCOTERMS”

agent, are ready.

Developers should already be working with HMRC to update their software applications and, if they haven’t already, will contact you soon to explain if there’s anything else you need to do.

Our HMRC speakers explained the next steps for companies to comply with a new set of international trade requirements.

The next training days are:

Liverpool & Sefton Chamber in partnership with HMRC will be running a number of events during 2019 to highlight changes in key processes during the export/import procedure.

We advise local businesses to take advantage of these sessions and get the clarity needed in order to avoid costly mistakes.

The next sessions will run on the following dates so please make time in your diaries:

21 February Follow up presentation on Customs declaration Services covering the tariff and data elements that are replacing the C88

18 april

23- May

20 June

What do you need to know about Customs: Warehousing & CFSp Focus on Inward processing

authorised Economic Operator, a necessity or a wish list?

Investing in training today will pay your dividends tomorrow

During 2019 we are going to focus on delivering training and making sure we equip our members with the right knowledge and skills to resolve everyday problems.

• 6th February, International Methods of payment with a focus of documentary Letters of Credit • 28th February we will be covering “Export documentation, Import documentation and agents and distributors agreements” • 13th March we are organising “Trading in a post bREXIT world”, this workshop will go through everyday paperwork that you need to be aware of to avoid mistakes. It will reflect on the changes and it will give you advice and guidance.

We can also organise bespoke training courses and arrange for consultancy sessions that look at particular issues experienced in different types of industries.

For booking your place or for information on any of the above please contact export@liverpoolchamber.org.uk 21

2019: International

The Carnet Crystal Ball for Brexit

Business confidence is in short supply with Brexit teetering on a razor’s edge. equipment between the hat is certain in this W nerve-wracking U.K. an E.U. if entered for balancing act is that, in temporary purposes. If your 2019, U.K. businesses will rely more than ever on specialists and organizations of their peers to help them navigate cloudy waters.

Here is an ATA Carnet Specialist’s view of what exporters need to know.

Whether or not shipments of temporarily imported commercial items to the E.U. will eventually be required to present a financial guarantee is unknown at this time. Recommendation: Prepare for the possibility of a temporary import guarantee requirement.

It doesn’t cost anything to do so. Liverpool Chamber’s ATA Carnet specialists can consult with members to plan and project costs in the event that ATA Carnets are required.

The possible temporary import guarantee requirement between the U.K. and E.U. relies on whether the Brexit deal includes withdrawal from the E.U. Customs Union (EUCU). If it is a “soft Brexit,” without withdrawal from the EUCU, there will likely not be a requirement for temporary import guarantees or documents such as ATA Carnets. Life will go on as usual if you ship demo equipment or samples between the E.U. and U.K.

A “hard Brexit,” including withdrawal from the EUCU, would likely mean ATA Carnets (or equivalent) will be required to ship or handcarry commercial goods or

business typically sends commercial samples to another E.U. country without the requirement of a financial guarantee, you would now have to provide an ATA Carnet or other guarantee of payment of duty and import tax.

A caveat: These speculations are applicable in the absence of a U.K. – E.U. free trade agreement.

But if some sort of FTA is negotiated, it might stipulate duty- and tax-free status for temporary imports.

A financial guarantee would be unnecessary in that case.

However, if those same items become dutiable or taxable if not re-exported H.M. Customs and the EUCU just might decide to require a guarantee anyway.

The ATA Carnet would be an obvious choice since it is widely used and accepted in all the E.U. countries.

One way both sides could protect themselves from the possibility of unpaid duties and import taxes on temporary imports throughout the transition would be simply to impose the ATA Carnet requirement.

If the U.K. exits the EUCU, guarantees of payment of import duties and taxes would already be in place.

The good news is that a few Chambers of Commerce, such as Liverpool, already provide highly automated, expedited and affordable ATA Carnet services.

Contact Carnet Specialist Sarah Woolley at 0151 227 1173 or sarah.woolley@liverpoolchamber.org.uk for more information.

22

t’s the sad reality that New IYear’s resolutions are rarely

kept. We start well by trying to think what is important and then probably break our resolutions within the first month. We then try to justify our failure but continue to break the resolution and eventually give up.

We also probably conclude that it was a resounding success and so rationalise our failure by saying we have already achieved what we needed and didn’t we do well!

So how do we make 2019 a good year?

Firstly it is true that, unless you believe in a divine power who delights in your misery, 2019 is not a bad year – it is what you make of it. Of course actions have consequences, and making bad decisions will result in bad outcomes. However, this year is unwritten, and is yours for taking hold of and making something happen.

Secondly, there is no reason to think that there is a single perfect decision you need to take – life often presents multiple good choices.

Too often we are paralysed by the idea that there is only one right decision but if may be we need to pick one option and step forward.

Making 2019 amazing!

Finally, life is complex. We live in a world where every person is making decisions and as that changes their environment, sometime those changes help our plans and sometimes they cut across them. This creates a complex environment which is hard to predict.

Members News

Steps to taking control of 2019?

1. be bold – don’t be paralysed by decisions. The world is made by people who take a step forward and seize new opportunities 2. be prepared – good and bad things will happen – your role is to seize the good and rebuff the bad. Taking time out to think what you might do in different scenarios will help you act quicker, even in new situations 3. be agile – having resilience in your business and the ability to change direction or scale quickly will make a significant difference to how you fair this year 4. be informed – the business owner who has robust timely information, and uses that to support decisions, is more likely to succeed. Identifying early warnings gives you more time to adapt 5. be proactive – business leaders make their opportunities. They can change their outcomes by building relationships, making markets and beating competition.

6. be determined – if you have a clear vision, whether you like straight lines or meandering walks – do not lose sight of the vision – take people with you and don’t let others hold you back.

Welcome to 2019 and, whether you like to make resolutions or just want to get on with business, this year can be as great as you want to make it and so hopefully you go on to make this a great one! Happy new Year!

Mark Sykes, Partner, BDO LLP

23

professional telephone answering My Story

portrays exceptional customer service Helen Christian, Office Manager at Face for Business, believes that a great telephone call can make all the difference to a business and that great customer service is key.

How long have you worked at Face for business?

I’ve been with the company for 4.5 years and have enjoyed every minute. It’s great working for a business that really does embrace great customer service.

The team is like a family, and we all work really well together and aim to achieve our mission statement of becoming the UK’s best virtual PA/receptionist provider.

What are the key elements to exceptional customer service?

Being polite, friendly, professional and treating people with respect are all ways of providing a good customer service.

Also, saying thank you and ensuring that staff have all the tools they need to complete the job in hand.

However, to make good service into exceptional service you need to do all of this and more. For example, asking for feedback is something that is often overlooked. But asking for feedback has no value if you don’t act upon it and respond to it.

What effect does a great telephone call make to a business?

A great telephone call can be the difference between securing business,

24

and not. A potential customer who is looking for a service wants to feel valued and appreciated by the company they are looking to do business with and their experience during that initial enquiry can make or break this.

1

We coach our PAs to go that extra mile, how to ‘delight’ our callers.

How does Face for business make the difference to its customers’ calls?

We ensure that our customers’ calls are answered by a live receptionist who will provide a high level of service.

The caller’s contact details are taken down accurately, a reason for the call is always obtained and should our client wish, we will also capture further information, such as an email address, from their callers.

Each of our clients has their own lead PA who works in a small team of PAs. This means that our PAs and her team become familiar with their client’s business and their callers. This enables continuity and as a result, an increase in the quality of our service.

www.ffb.co.uk

2

3

Helen’s top 3 tips for a great telephone call.

First and foremost, listen to what is being said and make sure that the message reflects what the caller is wanting to relay. Key words or phrases taken down incorrectly can make a massive difference to the message and possibly mean something completely different to what the caller is actually wanting to say.

Give the caller time, and smile when you’re talking to them. First impressions matter and when you are genuinely interested in your caller, they’ll be able to hear your sincerity. From our experience, callers really do want the person on the other end of the call to empathise with them (even the more grumpy callers!).

at the end of the call, always tell the caller what your next steps will be and make sure you do it! For example, reiterating to a caller that you will ‘pass John the message when he gets back in’, will give them peace of mind that John WILL get the message. It’s also a good idea if possible, to put a time frame on a response.

Strategic Partners Coeus Insurance Management Ltd conquer Mount Everest base Camp for Local Charity

Member News

Liverpool Chamber of Commerce reached new heights recently when Strategic Partner Stewart Jordan of Coeus Insurance Management Ltd climbed to Mount Everest Base Camp in support of local charity “The Steve Prescott Foundation”. tanding at 5,364 metres above sea S level, Stewart, proud co-owner of Coeus Insurance and lead sponsor for

the challenge, was part of a 30 strong team that conquered the 12 day round trip to Mount Everest Base Camp in extreme conditions. A number of the group suffered from altitude sickness along the way but all the team returned safely following a very difficult and challenging experience.

Speaking after the event, Stewart commented “This has been one of the toughest tests I’ve faced both mentally

and physically. Even the most straight forward of tasks such as slipping your socks on in the morning takes your breath away. I’m just glad we managed to complete the challenge and I look forward to supporting the great work of the foundation in future”.

Coeus Insurance Management Ltd are Chartered Insurance Brokers providing bespoke commercial & corporate insurance solutions to SME’s both locally and nationally.

For more information please visit www.coeusinsurance.com or www.steveprescottfoundation.co.uk

25

Cover Feature

“It is vitally important to us that the local communities we serve feel involved in the evolving story of the Dock. That is why in 2014 we set up the Royal Albert Dock Liverpool Charitable Foundation (ADCF) - aimed at providing other charities and communities unique access to the Dock for the benefit of the Liverpool City Region population.�

Iconic waterfront destination is leading its next phase of evolution

Chief Executive of AsRoyal Albert Dock

Liverpool, Sue Grindrod is responsible for the strategic development and management of this iconic waterfront destination and is leading its next phase of evolution.

She has over 20 years experience in the visitor sector.

Sue Grindrod Chief Executive,

Royal Albert Dock Liverpool,

and Chair and Director of Liverpool

Waterfront Business Partnership 26

Royal status announcement

It has been an outstanding year for the Liverpool City Region culturally - what are your personal highlights from 2018?

In June we announced that we had managed to secure the prestigious Royal title for the Dock, granted by Her Majesty The Queen in recognition of

the pivotal role the Dock continues to play in the fortunes of Liverpool. It was a fantastic moment, and while we were confident in that the Dock deserved the title, we didn’t know what the outcome would be.

People ask me why we applied for Royal status and what it means for the Dock. Royal status is part of our 175 strategy, a vision for the Dock we set out in 2016 which prepares for a year of celebration in 2021 - 175 years since the Dock was officially opened by Albert, Prince Consort. Anniversaries are really powerful in mobilising activation and over the next three years we will see some big changes at the Dock in our aim to assert its position as a world-class leisure destination and a protected heritage asset for future generations.

Make no mistake, I have not forgotten how the Dock looked in the 1970s and 80s when the water spaces were silted up and the warehouses crumbling.

Our vision is about futureproofing the Dock so we don't go back to those dark days.

Receiving Royal status also elevates the Dock’s position in the city region's visitor economy, and certainly from an international perspective as our overseas visitors love anything connected to the Royal Family!

The renaissance of albert dock in the 1980s has been credited in part to the decision to open Tate Liverpool – what can we look forward to in 2019 to take Royal albert dock Liverpool to the next level?

Visitors will notice our latest addition, Liverpool Mountain a striking, ten-metre-high sculpture located within a previously empty space adjacent to Tate Liverpool called Mermaid Courtyard.

This is international artist, Ugo Rondinone's first public artwork in the UK and forms a key element in our place-making strategy, and has come to the Dock thanks to a partnership between ourselves, Liverpool Biennial and Tate Liverpool, supported by Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.

We expect Liverpool Mountain to be a familiar sight here at the Dock for many years to come.

Cover Feature

Looking further ahead, we will also see the breaking ground of the new Welcome Pavilion a stunning piece of architecture

by K2 Architects and the first major new building on the Dock in many years. This will strengthen links between the Dock and the city centre, and provide an interesting space to communicate the heritage narrative of this iconic Grade-I listed site. Realising the Welcome Pavilion is the first part of a masterplan drawn up by landscape architects, PlanitIE, for the future development of the Dock's public realm.

We also have the ongoing investment being made on the inner quay by the commercial landlords which is gathering pace to improve frontages and the retail and leisure mix.

What changes at local and national level would you like to see to help achieve your aspirations for Royal albert dock Liverpool?

Connectivity is a massive priority for us and the visitor experience - not only in how people come into the city from elsewhere in the country HS2 for example - but how they move around the city when they are here. The waterfront has led the way in its approach to wayfinding, but it's about extending that beyond the traditional city centre and linking with the new communities such as the Knowledge Quarter and the Baltic Triangle. The city council's connectivity scheme, including the planned transformations to Lime Street, go a long way in addressing this, which is brilliant.

Over the next five years we will see a transformed and rapidly expanding regenerated waterfront, encompassing all that lies between Festival Gardens in the south and Peel’s Liverpool Waters scheme to the north, including Everton Football Club’s proposed new stadium at

Bramley-Moore Dock, the wider Ten Streets Liverpool Spatial Regeneration Framework (SRF), and the new Cruise Liner Terminal, set to open in 2020. It is vital that both Royal Albert Dock Liverpool and Liverpool Waterfront Business Partnership is geared up to respond to this everchanging landscape.

It is also imperative that we adopt a collective approach to address the growing needs of the city region visitor economy.

We need to be talking to other major attractions across the city region and develop opportunities to work together.

What more can we do to ensure that communities outside the city centre benefit from the growing visitor economy?

It is vitally important to us that the local communities we serve feel involved in the evolving story of the Dock. That is why in 2014 we set up the Royal Albert Dock Liverpool Charitable Foundation (ADCF) - aimed at providing other charities and communities unique access to the Dock for the benefit of the

Liverpool City Region population. To date the charity has delivered educational tours of the Dock with over 160 students; delivered and supported 27 student placements; works with two special education needs schools to deliver four yearlong internships; and developed “inspirational placements” for young people with special educational needs.

Aside to this, in March 2018 the Dock partnered with National Broadcasting School to launch Albert Dock Radio, providing a platform for training and apprenticeships for those interested in a career in broadcasting. It also continues the Dock’s broadcasting heritage - once the home to Granada Television and This Morning.

We are delighted that you have joined the Chamber board - what attracted you to the role?

The success of the Dock and wider waterfront relies on a robust city region economy around it. To achieve this the local business community must work together - both public and private sector - to influence change and attract further investment into the region. The Chamber provides a platform to facilitate this, sparking conversation and debate, and giving local business a voice at national level. I’m really looking forward to contributing to this conversation."

27

Members News

(L-R)- Gavin Sherratt (MD, Mashbo), Paul Cherpaeu (CEO, Liverpool Chamber), Steve Todd (Technical Director, Mashbo) and Jane Slinger-Brennan (Events Manager, Liverpool Chamber)

Mashbo Looks Forward to Strategic Partnership Software development company, Mashbo, has highlighted its

2019 plans for its new role as

strategic partner to the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce.

28

ashbo has committed to M working in partnership with the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce

to provide a programme of digital consultancy, insight and thought leadership for the city’s business community. Joining the Chamber’s impressive roster of strategic partners, Mashbo will take a leading role in the development of knowledge transfer and advocacy activity.

The team will also be instrumental in advising the Chamber on the enhancement of its digital offer to members, along with the creation of engaging and accessible content that will be designed to supercharge the digital potential of enterprises in the city.

Gavin Sherratt, MD of Mashbo, said: “Mashbo has always been focused on supporting the wider business community in the city and this new partnership will allow us to not only to help the Chamber to use technology to enhance its services and streamline its organisational processes, but also pass on those benefits to Chamber members.

“We’re looking forward to working with Paul and his dynamic team in 2019 to develop the Chamber’s digital offering. We aim to change the way members and other stakeholders engage with the organisation, building on strong

foundations and elevating the excellent work that it already does connecting businesses in the region and beyond.”

Paul Cherpeau, CEO of the Chamber, commented: “Mashbo bring an exciting and dynamic element to the Chamber network.

Their expertise is outstanding but so too is the ethos and the values that Gavin and his team imbue and can bring to our business association.

“We are blessed with outstanding digital expertise and talent throughout the Chamber network.

Mashbo will help us to harness such expertise for the benefit of the city and our determination to champion this strength on behalf of the city.”

The partnership commencement coincided with Mashbo’s celebration of its seventh birthday, its success at the recent Chamber of Commerce business awards where it won the Digital & Technology award and its first ever rebrand.

For more information about Mashbo, visit www.mashbo.com

Mba degree apprenticeships at Liverpool business School are transforming organisations both large and small

L

Many public and private sector organisations, both large and small, are already taking advantage of the apprenticeship levy and co-funding schemes to raise skill levels and good practice in the workplace.

iverpool Business School at LJMU launched their MBA level degree apprenticeship early on in 2018.

As we begin our first steps into 2019, we talked to both the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust and Village Software to tell us about their experiences and find out just how the MBA Degree Apprenticeship programme, one of three masters level Degree Apprenticeships on offer at the Liverpool Business School, is working out for them.

Meeting challenges in the workplace

Karen Mattson is the Head of Organisational Development and Learning at the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust. Having recently undertaken a restructure at senior management level, the Trust was looking at different options for ensuring that senior clinicians and managers had the necessary knowledge, skills and behaviours to deliver high quality,

safe and compassionate care, while meeting the challenging performance and financial targets and expectations. Karen explains why they chose Liverpool Business School: “The Degree Apprenticeship with LJMU gave us the flexibility to influence the course contents, customising it to address the specific needs of the Trust and ensure that our staff were able to receive practical development they could use back in their workplace which was based on best practice.” putting theory into practice

Despite the fact that the cohort have only recently started their programme, Karen is already seeing the benefits of their learning being brought into the workplace: “They are sharing with me examples of how they are beginning to challenge situations and practices back in the workplace and how they have changed their influencing skills.

They have also identified inefficiencies in the hospital which they want to work on together that will improve patient care.”

Education

Karen has no hesitation recommending the programme to other organisations as a result of how well the cohort are engaging with the programme thus far: “I am confident that their new knowledge and skills will provide a positive impact on their behaviours back in the hospital.

Staff have already expressed an improvement in their motivation and how they feel valued by the organisation for giving them this opportunity. It is also helping the Trust to make most effective use of the apprenticeship levy.”

Making the transition to management

It’s a similar story for smaller organisations. Village Software pride themselves in their collaborative approach to software development and rely on staff’s breadth of professional qualifications and experience. So naturally, when it came to fulfilling a need to widen the skills of software developer, Mike Banner, to enable possible transition into a management role, Liverpool Business School’s MBA Degree Apprenticeship programme seemed an obvious pathway.

Nine months into his MBA, Mike has gained a wealth of knowledge and has made significant progress towards his goals.

The company’s Commercial Director, Sue Roberts, says they are already feeling the benefits of supporting him through the programme: “He has encouraged a greater focus on productivity within the development team and mentored new recruits.

He’s also had greater input in client negotiations given the more comprehensive nature of his commercial and management understanding. Mike has applied himself to improving the internal business processes and consolidating the existing technical knowledge within the company.”

Sue is without doubt that other companies could benefit by getting involved in the MBA Degree Apprenticeship programme: “We would certainly recommend to another company that might have an employee aspiring to make the transition into management. It particularly worked well for us; being a technical company it is easy to become constrained by only offering technical training.”

To find out more about the degree apprenticeship programme within Liverpool business School, email degreeapprenticeships@ljmu.ac.uk or call 0151 231 8080.

29

Member News

2019 looks to be both promising in terms of growth opportunities for business in the North West, but also one of uncertainty around Brexit. With growth expectations constantly being revised it is hard to know where to put your efforts. Kingsley Recruitment give us their view on how to get the new year off to a great start: building a resilient workforce

new year, Fresh start, Kingsley tells us how to get ahead in 2019

Will 2019 be disruptive or productive?

One thing for certain is that Kingsley, the award-winning Property & Legal Recruitment Consultancy, will be helping both job seekers and employers make a fresh start for the new year.

30

There will be many challenges in 2019. Most notably, a potential loss of employees post-Brexit, coupled with skills shortages and changing job roles. Companies can build resilience, however, by ensuring they have both engaged and motivated workforces.

Finding talent that is skilled in soft skills such as emotional intelligence, critical thinking and teamwork will also be vital.

For those looking for a new professional role, the new year is an opportune time to upskill.

Ensuring retention and engagement

It is also imperative to find candidates who are the right fit.

Ones that can help companies achieve their strategic goals, hit targets and help break into new opportunities. Kingsley know from experience that candidates who demonstrate a good fit to a company's culture make the best employees.

“We know our clients’ work inside and out and that means that we know whether candidates will be a good fit with that clients’ culture and goals.” Founder and Director of Kingsley, Caroline Kingsley, explains how they improve retention by “matching people beyond just the list of skills and requirements.”

Increase collaboration with industry experts

According to the World Economic Forum, top skills over the next 10 years will focus on teamwork and collaborative working. The same applies on a business level. Using a collaborative talent partner with strong industry knowledge will give most companies an edge.

Using a professional recruitment partner can result in smarter hiring decisions that can tap into passive talent pools. This can enable companies to proactively find talent, creating a ‘recruitment bench as opposed to reacting to sudden gaps.

With over 20 years experience as a Chartered Surveyor, Kingsley Director Andrew Kingsley believes it is their experience that gives their agency the edge.

“Our team has almost 100 years worth of experience; in surveying, architecture, house building and the legal sector. That’s a huge breadth and depth of experience that we can draw on to benefit clients and candidates alike."

Optimise your professional profile

“Candidates and employees should be constantly updating and optimising their individual professional and company profiles. Look at managing your brand by engaging with your industry through social media.

Connecting with groups and posting insightful articles will set you apart from other candidates. Even if you are not actively seeking, you still shouldn’t neglect your online profile. So ensure that you are connected to the right people in both your industry and in the recruitment industry.”

Despite the gloom and doom in the headlines, Kingsley is optimistic for 2019. “With more investment in the North West and a construction boom, there has never been a more exciting time for us and for our clients.

We have fantastic career opportunities with marketleading clients throughout the North West.”

If you are planning to grow in 2019 or looking for a new opportunity and would like some confidential and practical advice, please contact either Caroline or andrew at Kingsley Recruitment on 0151 242 1630.

News

LIVERPOOL J O H N LE N N O N A I RP O R T

31

Transport

putting the passenger first – investment in local rail infrastructure

As business confidence in the North continues to grow, transport remains the key area where businesses feel that improvement is most needed.

nvestment in rail infrastructure is crucial if IVision we are to achieve Transport for the North’s for: “A thriving North of England, where

modern transport connections drive economic growth and support an excellent quality of life.”

For many passengers, whose daily commute has been disrupted all too frequently in 2018, this vision must seem a long way off.

Improving the passenger experience needs to be central to all future investment decisions if we want to achieve a transport system fit for commuters in the Liverpool City Region.

Investment is already taking place. For example, rail passengers in the city region will benefit from £340m of rail improvements by the end of 2019 through a wide programme of works. The investment, by Network Rail and the Liverpool City Region (with support from the Government's Growth Deal) will provide passengers with faster, more frequent and more reliable train services.

This includes the £140m upgrade of Liverpool Lime Street station which was successfully completed in the summer and which has created longer platforms with more space and seats for passengers. The track has also been overhauled and the signalling systems and overhead lines have been modernised, all of which will allow trains to run more reliably. These improvements will pave the way for three extra services in and out of the station every hour, including planned new direct services to Scotland.

The programme also includes the opening of Maghull North, the first new train station on the Merseyrail network for 20 years.

Let’s continue to make the passenger the priority in 2019.

32

nova trains:

The countdown has begun TransPennine Express (TPE) will be introducing the rollout of three fleets of brand new Nova trains in 2019 which will mean 13million extra seats and more carriages for customers across the North.

he state-of-the-art fleets T will be introduced in phases with 220 new carriages delivered in total as part of a £500million investment in not only new trains but more services and new routes too.

The first of the additional fleets, Nova 3, will start entering service from spring and will carry people between Liverpool, Manchester, Huddersfield, Leeds, York, Scarborough and Middlesbrough.

Built by Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) and financed by Beacon, these five-carriage trains each have 291 seats compared to the 181 on TPE’s existing trains.

This will be followed swiftly by Nova 2, which will transport customers between Manchester, Liverpool and Scotland.

These five-carriage electric trains have also been manufactured by CAF and owned by Eversholt Rail.

Finally, the Nova 1 fleet will operate between Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, York, Newcastle and Edinburgh.

Developed by Hitachi Rail Europe and owned by Angel Trains, these five carriage bi-mode trains will be able to run in either diesel or electric modes.

All three fleets are currently undergoing testing across the North of England.

Nova will totally transform the onboard experience for customers who will soon be travelling on some of the most modern trains in the country. In fact, from 2020, more than 70 per cent of TPE’s fleet will be brand new.

No matter which of the new Nova fleet you travel on, each features high quality, comfortable seating and spacious interiors with more luggage space, plug and USB charging points and free on-board Wi-Fi in both standard and first class.

Finding a seat will be made much more straightforward thanks to an onboard electronic traffic light reservation system.

The new trains will also be kitted out with a complimentary onboard entertainment system Exstream (found on all TPE trains), providing access to the latest news, tv shows, films and magazines.

TPE already connects towns and cities across the North and will be adding to this in 2019 with the introduction of a brand new direct service between Liverpool Lime Street and Glasgow Central as well as extending its existing Liverpool to Newcastle service to Edinburgh.

The train company has a vision to Take the North Further and is committed to delivering enhancements that will help the communities it serves grow and prosper.

Transport

eliable, faster than R the ones they replace and revolutionary for people

in wheelchairs or with prams or luggage, they will transform rail travel in the Liverpool City Region.

It’s not just individual passenger who’ll benefit either, but the whole City Region economy.

A better rail service is expected to bring an economic boost of £70m every year, creating around 1,000 new jobs.

The trains, being built by Swiss rail-builder Stadler, will be bought and owned locally by Merseytravel on behalf of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. This means that they have been designed specifically to suit our rail network.

The new trains will be safer, and thanks to pioneering slidingstep technology, will be much easier for people to get on and off, making Merseyrail the most accessible traditional network in the country. They will be able to carry more than 50 per cent more passengers while retaining the same number of seats. This will help the local rail network to accommodate the 2.5% increase in passenger journeys per year.

The trains will be faster, cutting journey times by 10 per cent – up to eight minutes on some end-to-end routes. They will boast the latest advances in safety and technology, such

new Rolling Stock for the Liverpool City Region

By next year, passengers on the Merseyrail network will begin travelling on brand new, state-of-the-art trains for the first time since the late seventies

as live streamed CCTV, and customers will benefit from a wide range of on-board features, including wifi and airconditioning – features people have said they would like to see.

The trains will have the potential to run beyond the current Merseyrail boundaries

to places like Skelmersdale, Wrexham and Warrington, meeting the ambitions of the Liverpool City Region’s Long Term Rail Strategy. The £460m new trains’ project incorporates infrastructure upgrades to power supplies, platforms and track, as well as the refurbishment of Kirkdale and Birkenhead

North depots, and continuous maintenance of the fleet. The new trains will all be in service by 2021.

Hein van der Schoot, managing director of Stadler Rail Service UK, commented: ‘Stadler is delighted to be making these new trains and thrilled to commit to the Liverpool City Region where we will service and maintain the new trains, employ more than 100 people and headquarter our UK operations.’

Liam Robinson, transport portfolio holder for the Liverpool City Region, added: ‘We are investing nearly half a billion pounds in a new, publiclyowned fleet for the Merseyrail network that will both transform how we travel and boost economic growth. The trains are innovative and designed for the people who use them, demonstrating our pioneering, creative spirit and supporting our established reputation as a premier place to do business and as an attractive visitor destination.’

Andy Heath, managing director at Merseyrail said: ‘These trains will transform rail travel in the City Region with faster and more accessible journeys. Merseyrail is an award-winning network and we are excited to see what more we can deliver for our passengers with the new trains.’

33

Transport

Why we all need to arrive Happy

from Simon O’Brien who talked about his lifetime love of cycling and the importance of creating the right environment to encourage people to walk and cycle.

Barry Millar, Area Director at HSBC, provided an employer perspective and outlined the importance of sustainable transport to HSBC as a business.

Employers from across the Liverpool city

region came together in December for the Combined Authority’s Arrive Happy

Sustainable Travel Champion Awards.

he breakfast event T celebrated employers and individuals who have been

supporting sustainable travel in the workplace, from cycling and walking to public transport to electric vehicles.

34

Liam Robinson, Chair of the Combined Authority Transport Committee, spoke about the wider health, social, environmental and financial benefits of sustainable transport focussing in particular

on the Cycling and Walking to Work Fund, a £1m programme of revenue support to help jobseekers and apprentices into work by walking and cycling as well as working with employers to support staff more generally. Liam also outlined proposals for future investment in cycling and walking infrastructure across the region.

The award winners included The University of Liverpool, Conference Centre at LACE and Aintree University Hospital Trust. Our individual winners were George Barnes (Agent Marketing), Chris Alston (Cycling UK) and a special Local Hero award for John Foley (Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust).

They received their awards

Barry said: “It has been well documented that businesses with a sustainability focus are more successful and this extends to the health and well being of employees where it is shown that active workforces tend to be happier and more productive.

The Arrive Happy initiative is a great way of sharing ideas and promoting best practice”.

SP Energy Networks

project to Map Electric Streets Gets Go Ahead A trailblazing £8.5m project, which aims to accelerate the wide-scale adoption of electric vehicles and help meet ambitious climate change and air pollution targets in SP Energy Network’s Manweb area, has received the green light from Ofgem.

he energy regulator has T awarded £6.85m from its Network Innovation Competition

fund to the CHARGE project which will be trialled in Merseyside, Cheshire, north Shropshire and north Wales.

To achieve the UK’s Road to Zero environmental targets it is essential that the transport sector moves quickly to decarbonise. CHARGE will, for the first time in Britain, merge transport and electricity network planning to create an overarching map of where EV charge points will be required and where they can be accommodated by the electricity grid.

CHARGE: Refuelling Tomorrow’s Electrified Transport will begin in January. It underlines SP Energy Networks’ commitment to delivering a better future, quicker for its customers and to do so at the lowest possible cost.

It could save customers over £795m, in addition to reducing carbon emissions by 5.66 mtCO2 by 2050.

The remaining investment of £1.65m will be met by SP Energy Networks and its project partners. It is hoped that the project’s learning will also be extended to SP Energy Networks’ central and southern Scotland licence area.

Frank Mitchell, CEO of SP Energy Networks, said: “We are delighted that our determination to deliver a better future, quicker has received this support from Ofgem.

“It is essential that distribution network operators (DNOs) like SP Energy Networks facilitate the transition from petrol and diesel vehicles to EVs, and help governments to meet their climate change targets and cities to achieve the health benefits of improved air quality.”

“For the first time in Britain, we will merge the disciplines of transport planning and electricity network planning to discover where charge points will be required and how the network would be impacted by them.

“This will facilitate better planning of electricity networks and will provide vital information for all sectors involved in helping the transition to low carbon transport and create a cleaner, greener environment for us all.” a

CHARGE will use information f from transport planning software which maps driver behaviour and journey details when new roads are planned, SP Energy Networks hopes to predict where customers are likely to need EV charge points and judge the likely demand on the grid.

This co-ordination could create a blueprint approach to EV charger connections which can be adopted by other distribution network operators (DNOs) to plan for their own future network upgrades.

a 0 o Stewart, SP Energy Stephen

Networks Director of SP Manweb, said: “The correlation

2 e a

between the road network and the electricity network is not well understood.

“Where there is transport capacity, it does not necessarily mean there is electrical capacity as these networks have, in the past, developed entirely independently of each other. CHARGE will aim to put these two networks together and find an optimal solution for EV drivers.

“The increasing demand from EVs on the electricity networks accelerates the need to develop new connections solutions and improved ways to deliver network flexibility.

“DNOs need to be at the heart of ensuring the timely and optimised connection of EV charging infrastructure to avoid delays, and Charge will help us develop clear guidance and connection standards to expedite the uptake of EVs.”

The project has been welcomed by the Welsh Government.

Lesley Griffiths, Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Planning and Rural Affairs, said: “I’m delighted SP Energy Networks has succeeded in securing funding for the exciting new project CHARGE.

under way. We look forward to partnering with SP Energy Networks to help prepare north and mid Wales for electric vehicles, and develop new approaches which will benefit the whole of Wales and the UK.”

Liverpool City Council’s cabinet member for air quality, Councillor James Noakes, also welcomed the announcement.

He said: “Liverpool City Council is delighted to be named as a key partner with SP Energy Networks for their innovative project CHARGE. More people are realising the benefit of electric vehicles as well as recognising the impact their choice of travel has on us all.

“We are looking forward to working with SP Energy Networks to deliver some of the infrastructure for this. Electric vehicles can play a role in our Let’s Clear the Air Liverpool plan to reduce air pollution and make the city a better place, where the environment for walking and cycling is improved as well.”

“We are already working with the Economy Secretary Ken Skates and across government to make sure Wales secures benefits from the transformation of the energy system which is

35

CONNECTING ELECTRIC VEHICLES Driving the way to a more susstainable future

Electric Vehicles in a UK Context Electric Vehicles (EV) will be one of the biggest catalysts in helping the UK Government reach its carbon emission ambition by 2040, and the Scottish Government’s target of 2032 respectively.

Although you may not have noticed, EVs are fast on the rise; in 2014 only 500 EVs were registered per month. Now, in 2018, we are seeing around 4,700 EV registrations each month. If this trend continues we will also start to see a rise in EV charging points. In 2011, there were a few hundred charging points across the UK. This has risen to at the end of 2017 having around 4,300. As the network operator for your local area, we’ve detailed important information our customers need to know about connecting charging points to our electricity networks.

The aim of this guide is to: • • •

Put into perspective the current outlook on EVs in the UK today Outline the details for connecting chargers to the grid Jargon-bust terminology and answer common questions about EV charging.

63 (QHUJ\ 1HWZRUNV UROH SP Energy Networks keeps electricity flowing to homes and businesses throughout our licence areas. We need to know when our customers are installing a charger to the grid, so we can continue to monitor the electricity supply and demand. We do not physically install your charger, this is the responsibility of your chosen installer.

Realise Realise a low carbon future at lowest overall cost for our customers

Inform

Ensure Ensure a safe and resilient network

Engage t

Inform our customers on the steps we are taking to prepare for a low carbon future

Connecting Electric Vehicles

Engage with our stakeholders to ensure we meet these objectives

e a

F FAQs

F

A Guide to Connecting Chargers

We have gathered some common questions our W customers have had on EVs and on EVs and charging below. c

The time, cost & impact on the network will depend on what you want to connect. The following should only be used as a guide as costs and time scales may differ depending on network constraints, such as distance to cables or available capacity.

2

?

Typically for residential houses or small offices, this would be a singular-small connection: on EVs and

Most modern domestic services should be able to cope with a single slowccharger without on EVs and c for their service. additional costs from us; however you would still need to pay your installer

What happens if t there are multiple electric vehicles at a property?

If an upgrade is required for a fast EV charger or possibly multiple slow EV chargers: • •

Upgrades required: Service cable upgrade Approximate impact: 10-20m cable, half day – 1 day of work

• •

Approximate cost: £300 - £3,000 Approximate connection time: 8 weeks

If you think you need something to suit a small business or carpark, we would regard this as a medium sized connection:

2

A number of fast or rapid chargers (up to 20 or so depending on size) may require a connection up to 1MVA, similar to the requirement of connecting the power of a new supermarket • •

Upgrades required: dedicated connection – either at HV or LV Approximate impact: Detailed network review and design required

• •

on EVs and

Approximate cost: £5k – 100k Approximate connection time: 3 – 6 months t

e a

c Multi-story carparks, offices, commercial premises or similar would be classed as a large connection:

Rapid charge stations with multiple connections– greater than 1MVA • •

Upgrades required: HV connection requiring new substation at HV or EHV Approximate impact: Detailed network review and design required

• •

Approximate cost: £100k + Approximate connection time: > 6 months depending on location

If an Extra High Voltage (EHV) connection is required it will have the typical cost of £1m or greater with an 18 to 24month installation time.

Key:

LV = Low Voltage HV = High Voltage

MVA = Mega Voltage Ampere EHV = 33,000 volts

As with a single vehicle charger it is the responsibility of the installer to ensure that the existing supply is capable of supplying the full properties electrical demand. Where multiple vehicles are being charged simultaneously this can often result in overloading of supplies or the requirement for a reduced charging output.

Before installing a charger it is important to understand if the charger will deliver the desired output and that it does not present a risk of overloading supply equipment.

f f

?

Will you charge for me connecting my EV to the network?

Provided a property’s supply capacity is capable of supplying the full demand of the property and the installer of the EV charging unit is using approved equipment suitable for use within the property, there will be no charges associated with an EV charger installation. You pay your installer to install your charger. You will pay for any power used by a normal electricity metering the charger using your a your demand exceeds your arrangements where supply capacity or you are using equipment which is not suitable for your current supply characteristics there will be a requirement for reinforcement work. In some cases this work is carried out by us free of charge, alternatively a formal quotation for the required work will be sent to the applicant.

? f

d

a f

Find out more at: www.spenergynetworks.co.uk or email: gettingconnectedupdate@spenergynetworks.co.uk

Can I have an EV charger if I live in a property without off street parking?

In the majority of cases where a charger is required to be on-street the user will request a new supply which is separate to their existing property’s supply.

It is not permitted to run charging cables across public footpaths so the charging unit will normally be located at the kerbside. Supplies which are street side will generally be provided with a supply utilising a Terra-Terra (TT) earthing arrangement, including Residual Current Device (RCD) protection.

Installers should ensure that they have the relevant permission from the local council or land owner prior to installing charging facilities on land not controlled by the Charge-Point owner.

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3 areas to focus on to scale up in 2019 Every business wants to grow and in a year that looks set to be particularly challenging, the few that grow exponentially will be the ones that understand how to make the most of market conditions and how to alter them in their favour.

M Growth predicts that in H 2019 these are the areas that will be important drivers of

business growth.

1 Your Culture Peter Drucker said that ‘culture eats strategy for breakfast’.

We’ve all heard it, but how many of us would call ourselves experts in culture and understand how it impacts on business growth?

Your business culture is a factor which will have a growing influence on your success.

Measuring ‘soft skills’ including behaviours, values, mind-set,

vision, inspiration and relationships is tough and less clear cut than ‘hard’ elements such as sales, costs and profit.

However, customer expectations are on the increase, so improving internal and external interpersonal relationships is likely to be critical in 2019.

2 Your Customers Customers will have a growing influence on how businesses operate as a direct response to their customer experience.

It is no surprise that in meetings, Amazon includes an empty chair

new breakfast Seminar Series for 2019 with Liverpool Chamber and HM Growth

16th January: position yourself for exponential growth Every business wants to grow.

There are a few businesses that grow quickly and there are a very select few that grow exponentially. Businesses that grow understand how to make the most of market conditions.

Businesses that grow exponentially understand how to alter market conditions in their favour. This workshop will explore the exact tools utilised by the fastest growing businesses so that you can understand what you need to do to position yourself for growth in 2019.

6th February: How to turn your customers into your best performing sales staff We all know that it is easier to make more out of existing customers than to go and find new ones. Understanding how

to represent the customer. They understand that customers can easily choose to go elsewhere and through public reviews, can strongly influence the buying decisions of others. We all know that it is easier to make more out of existing customers than to go and find new ones.

Understanding how to turn your existing customers into your best performing sales staff is vital for not only growing your business but developing a sustainable and secure customer base for years to come. So client servicing will be a key differentiator in 2019.

Chamber Events

3 Your Innovation Success will come by turning innovation from a buzz word into a habit you practise. Innovation is almost becoming a cliché.

People talk about it as though it is something novel and few understand what it actually looks like, or how they can implement it in their business.

Yet in 2019, changing the habits of your staff and business so that doing things better is something that is practised regularly could be the key to the elusive growth you are seeking.

Liverpool & Sefton Chambers are inviting you to a series of seminars designed for business owners, directors, senior managers and decision makers who:

• Feel like they are at, or nearing, a key inflexion point in their business journey.

• are interested in accelerating their rate of growth, rather than continuing business as usual.

• are aware that their staff and business could perform better, but not sure how to make this happen.

• Want to attract new staff and develop their existing staff to become drivers of growth.

• Stop being the one who sets the pace in your business.

• Create a culture of high performance.

to turn your existing customers into your best performing sales staff is a vital component of not only growing your business but developing a sustainable and secure customer base for years to come. This workshop will show you the exact tools, deployed by some of the leading businesses in the world, to turn your customers into your best performing sales staff.

6th March: Make your culture a driver of growth Peter Drucker said that culture eats strategy for breakfast.

We’ve all heard it, but how many of us would call ourselves experts in culture, or experts in how culture is linked to business growth? This workshop will give you an overview of the specific skills and tools you need to develop in your business to turn your culture into the primary driver of your business growth.

3rd april: Find the blind spots that will double the value of your business Have you found over the years that your businesses has grown and then reached a natural plateau? For most owners, our efforts usually focus on driving more sales at a greater profit.

There is however, a much broader range of capabilities that a business needs to grow. Often focussing on another area is what will make gains in revenue.

This workshop will train you in core areas of business you need to be competent in to grow the value of your business, whether you are looking to exit or not.

1st May: Turn innovation from a buzz word into a habit your business practises Innovation is almost becoming a cliché. Everyone talks about it as though it is something novel.

Few understand what it actually looks like in their business. Even less are experts at implementing it into their business.

This workshop will help you change the habits of your staff and business so that doing things better and differently (i.e. innovation) is something that is practised regularly.

5th June: Find out what you should be spending, and when, to grow as quickly as possible Ask 10 people what the word ‘growth’ means to them and chances are you’ll get at least 5 different answers. Knowing how and when to finance growth is the key to successful leadership in business. This workshop will give you a refreshingly simple way to look at how you forecast your growth; so you can get clear on what and when you should be investing.

Interested? These events are free to chamber members.

To register for any of these events please visit www.liverpoolchamber.org.uk/events or contact events@liverpoolchamber.org.uk

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Culture and Growth

Mayoral Club continues to support the city’s cultural agenda for 2019

2019 will be a year of creating and celebrating opportunity and the Mayoral Club will be continuing to support the cultural agenda by fostering a symbiotic ecosystem between the public and private sectors to collectively drive the cultural agenda of the city.

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n 2018, alongside a showIofstopping, ten-year celebration becoming European Capital of

Culture in 2008, Mayoral Club became the tangible link between business and culture, invading the silo that exists between sectors, and developing an ecosystem of culturally invested businesses.

Through high profile events, influential networking opportunities and a dedicated, personable approach, relationships have been strengthened, businesses have flourished and the cultural activity around Liverpool and the City Region has been nothing short of spectacular.

Next year will see a continuation of creating and celebrating opportunity, underpinned by the 20th anniversary of the city twinning with Shanghai. It is this year we will focus on international relationships and cultural exchanges, evolving Liverpool’s renaissance through collaborations.

showcase the largest number of internationally renowned womenfocused exhibitions in any one place. Alongside these, there will be a host of events taking place to commend our UNESCO World City of Music status, and not forgetting Fete le Vin Bordeaux Wine Festival, Mersey River Festival and River of Light - set against the backdrop of our breath-taking UNESCO World Heritage Waterfront. Continuing with the theme of music, Liverpool International Music Festival will be making a return to Sefton Park in July for a weekend of popular music for the whole family.

The Mayoral Club Annual Gala Dinner will be back at Liverpool Town Hall in February and each company will receive two complimentary tickets. There will be spectacular entertainment, the chance to win once-in-alifetime prizes and an evening spent in the magnificent Liverpool Town Hall. This year’s winning prize in the draw is Presenting Partner of the River Festival 2019 with an estimated audience of 250,000 and extensive media coverage across all marketing platforms.

Our season of events celebrating women will shine a spotlight on inspirational, trailblazing women, we will host the Netball World Cup and pay homage to our female leaders in the arts, sciences, business, sport and politics.

During this season, Liverpool will be the first in the world to For more information call 0151 233 0904 or email mayoralclub@liverpool.gov.uk

Culture and Growth

Liverpool’s growing pains: striving for sustainability For Liverpool, the 21st century can be best described as a tale of two cities.

ne is a city of rapid growth O – with billions of investment in regeneration projects reshaping its destiny.

The other, a city with some of the UK’s poorest wards in which austerity and Brexit are stifling hope and opportunity.

How can you reconcile these best and worst of times?

It’s a question the council’s new Chief Executive, Tony Reeves, has been thinking about…a lot.

Some of his answers can be found in the Mayor of Liverpool’s new Inclusive Growth Plan.

Tony, a father of two, with 30 years’ experience in regeneration, explained: “The goal is simple: to make Liverpool one the best cities in the world. The exciting thing is that the platform is there because the city has undergone fantastic renaissance over the past decade.

“What we need to do now is build on that success by developing a more balanced economy which will weather storms and tackle some of the

hard hitting problems which we experience daily in our city – homelessness, poverty, mental health illness and budget cuts.

“Meaningful regeneration is about transforming life chances, not just reshaping the built environment.

We need to empower people to take control of their future through developing skills.

“To do this, we need a step change in the city’s education agenda, to equip our current and future workforce with the skills needed for; the technological changes to come and the knowledge based economy which we need to build in this city.”

Tony sees the council’s role in harnessing existing strengths and taking a more commercially minded approach.

He continued: “Taking Liverpool Vision in house to refocus and rebalance its aims is part of that process.

I want the city to support and accelerate business start-ups, development and innovation.

That’s where growth lies.

“Equally, Liverpool must play to its strengths.

We must be bold, committed and focussed on our key sectors and transformational opportunities.

“That’s why Paddington Village is a real game changer for Liverpool. The city is focusing on its health and life sciences and creating a world leading innovation district.

This is the right approach. By developing globally significant sectors and the brands within them they in turn build supply chains. And by investing in training and development the jobs sector flourishes.

“This no easy task but ever since my arrival in Liverpool, I’ve been deeply impressed

by the collective desire of the people, the institutions and businesses of the city to build a strong future.

“The role of the Chamber of Commerce is in networking and fostering connections.

To maximise on the concentration of businesses and people, and the more they meet that leads to more exchanging of ideas and that leads to innovation.

“Like our football teams – success is built on partnerships. Public and private sector working together. Two sides.

One city. One goal.”

“Meaningful regeneration is about transforming life chances, not just reshaping the built environment. We need to empower people to take control of their future through developing skills.”

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Liverpool Energy company continue to excel in global power generation technologies

Member News

he award success was down to T Clarke Energy impressing the judges with two innovative projects

in the last year, both of which found new opportunities in mature or emerging markets. Firstly, a new biogas upgrading facility installed in France and secondly a hybrid power plant solution delivered in Nigeria. Both of these technologies have been developed for international application but the knowledge gained can be transferred to the domestic market in the coming years.

Clarke Energy has previously developed many cutting-edge renewable and high efficiency gas generation projects across

the world. Looking ahead to 2019, with the reduction in price of electricity storage technology and intermittent renewable power sources such as wind and solar energy, Clarke Energy see the business moving towards combining technologies for optimised power solutions for our customers.

Clarke Energy’s first such project has been delivered at a plastic factory in Lagos, Nigeria, which operates on a power island and uses gas engines previously supplied by Clarke Energy.

A new addition was commissioned to the facility in 2018, which deploys ultracapacitor storage

Clarke Energy were delighted to receive the Excellence & Innovation in International Trade award at Insider Media’s International Trade Awards 2018, following another record year of exporting across the 25 countries the company now operates in. units in order to smooth stresses on the local power station caused by high block loads from the plastics extrusion machinery.

This project is what Clarke Energy believe will be the first of many, with applications in other countries and is the companies first microgrid based power plant.

With one of Clarke Energy’s core market segments – biogas – there is now a move away from using the gas in an engine to directly produce renewable energy, towards the cleaning of the gas for injection into the gas grid or alternatively as a vehicle fuel.

In response to this Clarke Energy supplied and installed the first

Liverpool Man defies the odds to run Marathon Des Sables, four years after paralysis

A local cancer clinic, the Rutherford Cancer Centre North West, has enabled Liverpool student James Thompson to follow his dream of running the hardest marathon in the world, five years after he was involved in a cycling accident which changed the course of his life forever. he then-16 year old, who T cycled at a national level throughout school, was in a

horrific cycling accident which left him in a two-week coma with severe brain injuries with a 10% chance of survival. When he awoke, he was completely paralysed down his right side and had to relearn how to eat, talk and walk – something which his doctors doubted would be possible.

James became determined not just to walk, but to get back to cycling as soon as possible.

The results were astounding, with James improving to such a degree that he has since gone on to partake in two Iron Man

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competitions and will soon take on the ultimate challenge – the Marathon des Sables in April 2019.

The Marathon des Sables is known as the toughest foot race on Earth and will see James run more than 250km across arduous terrain throughout the Sahara Dessert in Morocco. Funds raised will go towards The Walton Centre, where James was treated after his accident, and North West Cancer Research (NWCR), following a friend’s recent treatment for testicular cancer.

His entry fees were provided by the Rutherford Cancer Centre North West in Liverpool,

as the team were touched by Mr Thompson’s story and felt it reflected the struggle which many cancer patients go through during their own treatment journey.

Mike Moran, CEO of Proton Partners International which runs the Rutherford Cancer Centres, said: “We strongly believe that fitness is a vital component of health and wellbeing and James’ story has many parallels with those suffering from acute illness. We hope that James will provide inspiration to those suffering from illness and trauma and will reinforce the message that it is possible to return to full health following serious illness or injury. As a Walton man myself,

such system at a biogas plant in Perpignan, France. Clarke Energy envisage using biogas upgrading in future as a substitute technology to gas engines, also with the option to both be used in parallel where power and heat are required on site.

Clarke Energy’s global headquarters is based in Knowsley and they are multinational specialist in the engineering, installation and maintenance of engine-based power plants. The company are a global market leader in the supply of gas engines and combined heat and power (CHP) plants which deliver fuel efficiency and help reduce carbon emissions.

I am delighted to see that the local hospital will benefit from James’ efforts.”

James said: “My accident was obviously a major setback but if anything, I’ve come back from it stronger and more determined to reach my goals. I have set myself many challenges and I hope it inspires others to do the same. Taking part in the marathon has been my dream for many years and I’d like to thank the Rutherford Cancer Centres for making this possible.”

donations can be made by visiting: https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com /JamesThompson67.

Members News

pp and software developers A Citrus Suite have taken the top floor studio in the corner of

the new scheme. Now 12 strong, their team has run out of space in their current studio, forcing them to pause their successful hiring formula of testing young people via in-house placements.

“It just gives us capacity and room to give people try-outs again,” says Citrus Suite co-founder Steve Donovan.

“We haven’t been able to do that for the past 12 months because we haven’t had the space.”

For other tenants, the move is key to empowering their ability to attract new talent, not just house them. Roderick Kennedy, founder and CEO of Simul, uses his background in plasma physics to create high-end sky renders for the games industry, trading with partners across the United States, Europe, Korea and Japan. The unique skills required to grow Simul’s team mean a dynamic environment is essential.

Roderick says, “When we’re hiring, we’re generally looking for people with strong physics

Thriving baltic Creative Community poised to grow into New Digital House With Baltic Creative CIC’s Digital House at 61–65 Norfolk Street nearing completion, many of the first studios have been taken by existing Baltic Creative tenants who are at full capacity in their current studios.

and mathematical backgrounds.

It’s difficult, not least because people with those skills can go to London and work for a bank.

So we have to compete with that. I think it’s very positive for

recruitment if we can point to a building like Digital House and show people the environment that they’ll be working in - Because that’s a big part of your life.”

Former British Gas engineer Michelle Dow founded All About STEM to promote STEM careers in schools throughout the North West. Digital House will allow her team to come together and “take things to the next level”.

Michelle commented: “When the idea of the new scheme at Norfolk Street came along I thought “Oh! That’s a natural progression”.

The environment at Baltic Creative has definitely helped build our business and it sounds cheesy, but it’s that sense of community that makes it.”

The new £2.6m Digital House (funded by ERDF and Charity Bank) is Baltic Creative’s next step towards providing high quality affordable space for digital companies in the Baltic Triangle and will be ready to let from February 2019.

If you are interested in studio space at baltic Creative's digital House, please contact info@baltic-creative.com.

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ask the Expert

Ask the Expert

What changes would you like to see to improve or develop your sector?

We caught up with Andy Thompson, General Manager

of GSTS to find out about the security industry and how Since leaving the police in 2008, I have been a client user of security services during my time as a security manager for a multinational transport and logistics company. I have also worked for and with several local, national and international security providers. This has provided me with the perfect opportunity to objectively assess just how good (or bad) the service is.

There are some security providers out there providing the clients with the service they deserve, but the anecdotal evidence and first hand experience I have gained over the years sadly sees the same problems emerging again and again. From a lack of training/career progression of security officers to poor line management; from the provision of untrained and inexperienced cover officers to a failure to respond quickly and decisively to the needs of the client.

The list goes on. The result is disillusioned frontline officers who feel undervalued by their employer and frustrated clients who are not receiving the service they are paying for.

It is my experience, that the bigger the security provider is, the further the management support becomes more distant from their frontline officers and the client. The smaller and

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he thinks services can be better delivered.

medium sized security providers tend to be more responsive and agile in reacting to the needs of their staff and their clients.

A couple of points here.

Firstly, I have found that the bigger security providers become, the less concerned they appear to be about a contract loss, especially then the client leaving them is small or medium sized where the reputational and financial ramifications are relatively small.

They seem to know they have been underperforming and have resigned themselves to the fact that the contract will be lost but so what, “we have bigger fish to fry”.

Secondly; management support.

In my experience, the bigger security providers, in an apparent effort to reduce outgoings and maximise profit, do not provide sufficient numbers of site or contract managers to support the client and frontline officers. This results in some frontline officers hardly ever seeing their line manager, likewise the client. Depending on exactly what their role entails, broadly speaking and in my experience, each site/contract manager should have no more than about 15 sites to manage.

I am aware that some site/contract managers have 40 + sites to manage. Providing the officers and the client with the quality support and service

they both deserve is simply impossible and as a result, everything fails.

I am not naïve enough to assume the issues I have highlighted here do not exist in other businesses – they do.

One fairly unique factor in the security supply industry though is the relatively low margins companies such as GSTS. Principally, as a labour provider the differential between what we charge the client and what we pay the officer are relatively small. When taking into account all the other outgoings such as management costs, uniform, equipment, holidays, VAT, PAYE, Pensions etc, there is little left to enjoy in the way of profit.

This is why for smaller security providers, losing a contract, even a relatively small one, would have a significantly more negative effect than it would for a large provider who have the luxury of a massive portfolio.

Smaller security providers have to work harder to keep pace.

The frontline officers and the client must be provided with the support and service they deserve. A contract loss does not bear thinking about for the minnows.

So what can we do to help those security providers delivering excellent service (and those who are not) to catch the eye of potential clients?

The introduction of a website such as www.checkatrade.com used by the construction industry/trades people and their clients would be hugely beneficial, not only for those security providers selling a quality service, but mainly for those businesses thinking of engaging a security provider a nd know little or nothing about the industry. Currently, the governing body for the security industry, the Security Industry Authority (SIA), operates an approved contractor scheme (ACS). Although well intended with an emphasis on improving standards and performance of security providers, experience shows that the scheme is largely unknown to clients and hardly ever features in their deliberations when choosing a provider. A well-publicised and respected website such as ‘Checkatrade’ would provide clients with objective, fully transparent and current information about a security provider they are considering engaging. The presence of such a website would not only allow a more informed choice for the client, but ensure those providers delivering the best service (like GSTS!) are more likely to get business.

It may not be THE solution to all the issues I have raised here but I believe it would go some way to addressing them.

Ask the Expert

Does your business have a purpose?

We met Sara Lawton of Construction

Impact Framework to find out about What is Construction Impact Framework (CIF)?

Established in 2015 Construction Impact Framework (CIF) is an award-winning, socially driven, construction framework. With 62 supply partners CIF is one of the most comprehensive frameworks on the market providing the publicsector with a one-stop-shop for construction works and services.

How is CIF different from traditional procurement frameworks?

CIF very different in that CIF is a business with purpose: our purpose being to support the public-sector by driving social value to positively impact communities.

How as a construction framework do you positively impact communities?

CIF is led by a team who have a combined total of 60 years public-sector experience; each time CIF is utilised by a publicsector partner, funds are set aside to invest in the delivery of community intervention and prevention services.

Our social investments help to sustain the Voluntary, Charitable and Social Enterprise sector whilst positively impacting on public-sector priorities such as employability, health, education and crime reduction. A stand-out feature of the framework is our understanding of poverty and its effects on both communities and the public-sector.

What is the inspiration behind the framework?

Growing up in one of the country’s most deprived areas, I was surrounded by poverty for most of my life. I then spent most of my public-sector life devising and delivering publicsector projects that impacted on public priorities such as; health, employment, education and crime. As a team we are driven by a desire to help others; we believe an effective way to do this is by helping to sustain much needed communities services.

Why do public-sector partners choose CIF? Our public sector-partners recognise CIF as an ethical, financially transparent,

leading a purpose driven business. socially driven framework that has the public-sectors best interest at heart.

As a team born out of the public-sector, we understand the challenges faced by frontline public-sector workers who are having to support communities with less and less resources.

CIF is much more than procurement; together with our partners we are helping to make communities safer, stronger, healthier and economically active.

What value does the framework offer its publicsector partners?

96% of our supply partners are SME’s (small to medium enterprises) which offers immediate value for money for our partners. There is also the realisation that cheapest price does not represent value; rather it represents risk.

By delivering quality work at the right price for the job CIF supply partners ensure quality projects that save our partners both time and money over the long-term.

In addition to this we also derive value for our partners from our social investments, for example: CIF invested in wheelchairs for NHS volunteers who assist vulnerable patients to their out-patient appointments.

The volunteer service aides 2000 outpatients per year, so, in addition to the many social benefits for both volunteers and patients this particular NHS Trust will avoid a loss of £240,000 per annum in missed outpatient appointments – this equates to a substantial 5yr saving of £1.2M.

This demonstrates how our investments not only support communities but saves publicsector finances year on year.

If you would like to find out more about CIF, check out their website www.ciframework.co.uk. you can also follow the team on twitter @ciframework

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k o o l a e k a T Chamber in the City

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er and our b m a h C e th t a h at w up to over the n e e b e v a h rs e me mb . past few months 2

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Chamber in the City

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Annual Carol Service with the Chamber and Professional Liverpool at Liverpool Parish Church An evening spent watching Paul McCartney thanks to Steven Hesketh and Marian Cotter of The Know Group Events Manager Jane attended Southport Business Leaders dinner alongside George Wright from MSIF and Nicola Simms from MHA Moore and Smalley The membership team caught up with Alison Hatchard from Rutherford Cancer Centres at #WellConnected and met the incredible James Thompson who is running the Marathon Des Sables, four years after paralysis (read more about James’s story on page 42) Chamber dinner kindly hosted

by Liverpool Cathedral and Heritage Portfolio

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Head of Business Development Lee addressed the guests at our Meet and Eat at Liverpool John Lennon Airport.

60 Really Useful Minutes in Southport with Mersey Care saw speakers and attendees discussing the importance of improving the wellbeing of staff

The chamber certificates team hit 10,000 European Certificates of Origin in December

Glen Smith, Managing Director of Yanco with his Liverpool Chamber Exporter of the Year Award, sponsored by LJLA.

10. Heritage Portfolio invited Events Manager Jane to an evening at the Echo Arena watching Rick Astley alongside guests including Suzanne Watson from Liverpool Convention Bureau

11. The Chamber welcomed representatives from the Bangladesh High Commission lead by S M Jakaria HUQ, Commercial Counsellor

12. Business Engagement Manager Rich Smith danced alongside his partner Gillian Orrett at Strictly Nugent 2018

13. We attended the Always Room Inside event celebrating a year on from the campaign launch.

14. Head of Business Development Lee attended the Clatterbridge Diamond Ball and can be seen alongside Jade Palmer from Clatterbridge

15. Business Engagement Manager Rich was invited on a tour by our new members at the Magical Beatles Museum

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Staff Directory Staff Directory

Chamber staff are here to provide dedicated support for business members of the Chamber.

The directory below provides a list of contacts for members should they need to contact us.

paul Cherpeau Chief Executive paul.cherpeau@liverpoolchamber.org.uk

Jon Cranston Director of Finance & Operations jon.cranston@liverpoolchamber.org.uk

Lee Stanley Head of Business Development lee.stanley@liverpoolchamber.org.uk

Julie Sankey International Trade Executive julie.sankey@liverpoolchamber.org.uk

Ian bulmer Programmes & Policy Manager ian.bulmer@liverpoolchamber.org.uk

Sarah Woolley Export Documentation Manager sarah.woolley@liverpoolchamber.org.uk

Heather Whitaker Export Documentation Analyst heather.whitaker@liverpoolchamber.org.uk

Lisa noon Export Documentation Assistant lisa.noon@liverpoolchamber.org.uk

Michelle Cameron Senior Policy & Communications Advisor michelle.cameron@liverpoolchamber.org.uk

Richard Smith Business Engagement Manager richard.smith@liverpoolchamber.org.uk

Jane Slinger-brennan Events Manager jane.slingerbrennan@liverpoolchamber.org.uk

Zoe bleasdale Marketing & Membership Executive zoe.bleasdale@liverpoolchamber.org.uk

Contact us :

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Tel: 0151 227 1234 | Email: membership@liverpoolchamber.org.uk | export@liverpoolchamber.org.uk | www.liverpoolchamber.org.uk | Lpoolchamber

New Members

Elena Enciso International Trade Manager elena.enciso@liverpoolchamber.org.uk

Welcome to our new Chamber Members

patron

Inspired Energy plc 01772 689 250 www.inspiredenergy.co.uk

Strategic partners aFEX

The Carroll Group

0151 708 1924 www.mashbo.com

0151 556 5566 www.clatterbridgecc.nhs.uk

0161 827 7960 www.afex.com/unitedkingdom

Mashbo

nationwide Fencing

0151 521 3417 www.nationwidefencing.co.uk

Helen Gibbons Accounts Manager helen.gibbons@liverpoolchamber.org.uk

O’Connell & Squelch (OCandS Ltd) 0151 305 1327 www.ocands.co.uk

Membership plus

blue Whale Media Ltd

01925 552050 www.bluewhalemedia.co.uk

China buzz Liverpool Limited

07455 000262 www.chinabuzzproject.com

novo

0333 772 9779 www.nim.uk.com

Membership

aquastar Interiors

Melissa Healy Office Manager melissa.healy@liverpoolchamber.org.uk

0151 630 6880 www.aquastar.co.uk

bo pura

07383 522627 www.bopura.com

Craftivty

0151 933 2526 www.craftivity.co.uk

dream apartments Liverpool 0151 363 8079 www.dreamapartments.co.uk

Falconer Chester Hall Ltd 0151 243 5800 www.falconerchesterhall.co.uk

Giant bicycles Liverpool Muj Miah Administration Assistant mujahid.miah@liverpoolchamber.org.uk

0151 707 6116 www.giant-liverpool.co.uk

Glow Care Limited 0151 558 1617 www.glowcareuk.com

Magical beatles Museum

0151 236 1337 www.magicalbeatlesmuseum.com

Charity Membership

Relate Cheshire and Mersyside 0151 237 3995 www.relatecm.org.uk

Royal College of physicians 02070 344909 www.rcplondon.ac.uk

0151 523 2277 www.thecarrollgroup.co.uk

The Clatterbridge Cancer Charity Walton Flooring

0151 268 6945 www.waltonflooringcentre.co.uk

Yorkshire bank

0800 456 1247 www.secure.ybonline.co.uk

prism Infosec

01242652100 www.prisminfosec.com

Royal albert dock Liverpool 0151 706 0576 www.albertdock.com

natwest business banking 07917 213381 www.natwest.com

new directions

0151 705 0300 www.ndirections.co.uk

property Lane

07712 257628 www.property-lane.co.uk

Sulem Care Limited 07471 861724 www.sulemcare.co.uk

Surelock Homes Security Ltd 0151 236 7500 info@shsecurity.co.uk

Sweet & Cheese

07481 035760 www.sweetncheese.com

Whitmore HR Consulting Limited 07818 036026 marc@whitmorehrconsulting.com

Team Oasis

07985 534784 www.theteamoasis.org

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5 Minutes with ...

Minutes with... company of Proton Partners International.

Rutherford Diagnostics’ mission is to deliver diagnostic centres around the UK and beyond.

It will provide state of the art equipment to not only meet unmet demand, but will support the development of research with academic partners within the cities we are established.

Rutherford Diagnostics’ model is to partner with local NHS trusts to ensure quality and excellence and to change health outcomes for all. Services that Rutherford provides includes PETCT, MRI, CT, Ultrasound, Endoscopy and Genomic Sequencing.

What changes would you like to see to improve or develop your sector?

dr Steve powell Chief diagnostic Officer Rutherford diagnostics

Introduce yourself – name, where do you sit in the business, and what does the business do?

Dr Steve Powell is the Chief Diagnostic Officer at the helm of Rutherford Diagnostics, a subsidiary

There are c. 50,000 avoidable early cancer deaths per year in the UK. Right now healthcare operates with a reactive paradigm, springing into action when disease is detected. Reacting in this way means the disease may already be in an advanced state, leading to poorer outcomes.

We must change the healthcare paradigm to one of prediction, prevention and earliest possible detection. With this in mind Rutherford Diagnostics is establishing a commercial scale genomics laboratory so, in the future, we can test individuals for disease

that they may be susceptible to, offer advice and counselling, and enter them into personalised screening programs.

We know that early intervention leads to better health outcomes and improving outcomes is our goal.

Where would we find you on your day off?

When I’m away from the office I spend as much time as possible with my family.

Like most fathers, I am regularly driving the dad taxi or watching a sporting event or dance competition. I am also a trustee of St George’s Hall, Liverpool and spend some time working on commercial opportunities for the hall. Having said that working at Rutherford Diagnostics isn’t a job, it’s a passion, and so the team and I find ourselves communicating whether on the weekend or on leave.

Who is your role model in business?

The person who I regard as my mentor in business is Mike Moran, CEO of Proton Partners international. Mike has enjoyed great success in business and has a wealth of experience to pass on to other business leaders like me. He has a strong focus on adding value in all aspects of the business and in particular from the perspective of the customer.

“We must change the healthcare paradigm to one of prediction, prevention and earliest possible detection. With this in mind Rutherford Diagnostics is establishing a commercial scale genomics laboratory so, in the future, we can test individuals for disease that they may be susceptible to, offer advice and counselling, and enter them into personalised screening programs.”

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