t h e
C H A N N E L
I S L A N D S
B U S I N E S S
M A G A Z I N E March / April 2017
Emma Martins All change for data protection
TECH TALK
EU DATA PROTECTION LEGISLATION
MAKING ENDS MEET
In our regular IT and technology column - how business resilience goes beyond IT
We find out how the islands are preparing for the biggest changes in data protection in 20 years
From a banking career to money advice worker for Citizens’ Advice Jersey. We talk to Teresa Bewhay
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Welcome to the SPRING edition of Contact
The promise of change is on the horizon in Jersey. 16 years late, but it’s on its way! More than a decade and a half after Sir Cecil Clothier recommended electoral reform of the States, elements of his report, proposed as a positive move for Jersey’s government, are finally going to be implemented. Change in the form of six super constituencies, with 48 States members. As a lobbying organisation, Chamber needs an effective government to lobby. So, should we be pleased and celebrate this electoral reform of Jersey’s States? No, at least not so quickly. If businesses took 16 years to implement the same relatively minor changes, and let’s be honest the change is subtle (one less politician with larger voting districts is hardly a revolution), but at that glacial rate of change companies would likely have folded. Especially if the changes were urgently needed. After 16 years of procrastinating, businesses would probably have been declared a failure, likely gone bankrupt, islanders would have lost their jobs, the economy and ultimately infrastructure would have suffered. So in business terms, this round of change should not be overtly celebrated. The entire house of 49 politicians should hold themselves in contempt for ignoring the Clothier report and more importantly the wishes of the people four years ago. We have missed an opportunity to reduce the number of politicians further, look at the pay structure and see ultimately how we can encourage a stronger calibre of candidates. Globally we all know the effects of a disenchanted, forgotten electorate but is an avalanche of change really what Jersey needs? Perhaps not on such seismic scales as Brexit and the Trump administration. However, there’s no denying the worldwide appetite for political accountability and one has to wonder if Jersey’s general election was right now, how many of the current elected representatives would remain? Perhaps 2018 isn’t that far away. Maybe Jersey will experience its own political bloodbath. Could it be that by next year party politics will have gained momentum and in fact we’ll see the highest voter turnout! It certainly feels like elections have begun, with decisions being made (and not made) with the elections in mind. What politicians need to remember is that commerce doesn’t exist to serve government, it exists to provide employment, generate revenue and support infrastructure, not prop it up with a steady stream of new taxes. Governments exist, in part, to provide infrastructure for commerce to prosper and each and every politician in Jersey is accountable to the electorate. Politicians who forget that in the current political climate do so at their peril. Kristina Le Feuvre, president, Jersey Chamber of Commerce.
First I would like to congratulate this year’s winner of the Anvil Award, which celebrates individuals who have shown exceptional flair in shaping industry, Justin Sykes. His work on developing the impact investing sector is truly inspirational and could help enhance Guernsey’s finance sector as a force for good around the globe. The past couple of months have been some of the most active since becoming president. It was a pleasure to invite Dr Adam Marshall, director of the British Chambers of Commerce, and Will Walden ex aide-de-camp to Boris Johnson, to our annual dinner. Their contribution to the lively Brexit debate was invaluable. It was heartening to hear Adam’s message that 80% of UK business are carrying on as normal, and for those entrepreneurs who thrive on change, Brexit presents a golden opportunity for market disruption. More on page 12. Population is an incredibly complex topic and debate has hit the headlines in both Guernsey and Jersey. Uncontrolled population growth impacting on scarce resources and water supply are natural concerns for most communities. However, population growth and economic development are closely inter-related, so what is a sensible level of population? The problem is if you follow this line of thought, you end up setting arbitrary population controls with unintended consequences for a globally mobile workforce. Moreover, even in large countries like China, with its one child policy from 1976 to 2016, it is not clear that population targets actually work. Arguably economic growth on its own lowered fertility rates in China without government intervention. Economists will mostly focus on economic growth, inflation, wealth distribution, and more recently, the happiness of a population. These are the things that matter, and the population numbers themselves are best left to find their own level. Importantly if population does grow, then it must be matched with infrastructure investment. To maintain our green fields we need architecturally inspirational living built around denser communities. Top politicians will recognise that a population balanced between the working and retired, hand-in-hand with world-class education, must be maintained for our economy to prosper. We in Guernsey Chamber strongly believe that we must plan for sustainable growth, invest in connectivity, infrastructure, and support the net immigration of a fiscally contributing workforce. Planning for growth brings us to the important topic of how to grow Guernsey’s economy. Chamber has been working hard on developing ideas to help promote inward investment on the built environment. It’s worth remembering what Brendan Morahan, ex-managing director of Taylor Woodrow said at a Chamber lunch regarding the built environment - ‘what do you want’ and ‘how will it enhance the community for generations to come’? So the question remains, what is it that 80% of the population would support? This is something you can expect to hear more of from Chamber over the coming months as we look to engage more widely with our members and the community to figure out what shape you would like the built environment to take. Martyn Dorey, president, Guernsey Chamber of Commerce
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E di to r Trish Grover editor@collaboratecommunications.com SALES Julie Todd sales@collaboratecommunications.com Desi g n & p ro du cti o n Mojoe joe@mojoecreative.co.uk
Contact is produced six times a year by Collaborate Communications Ltd. To receive Contact magazine call Julie Todd on: 01534 858514 or email: sales@collaboratecommunications.com www.facebook.com/ContactmagazineGuernsey @collaborateCI
Contact is published by Collaborate Communications Ltd. Copyright 2017. All rights reserved. Any reproduction without permission is prohibited. Contact contains editorial content from external contributors which does not necessarily reflect the views of the publishers. Contact does not accept or respond to unsolicited manuscripts and photographs. The publishers do not accept responsibility for errors in advertisements or third party offers.
Jersey Chamber of Commerce Chamber House 25 Pier Road St Helier Jersey JE2 4XW Telephone: 01534 724536 www.jerseychamber.com Guernsey Chamber of Commerce Suite 1 16 Glategny Esplanade St Peter Port Guernsey GY1 1WN Telephone: 01481 727 483 www.guernseychamber.com
www.alderneychamber.com
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F E AT U RE S
12 18 20 48 44 91
GUERNSEY CHAMBER NEWS
VIEWPOINT
With Richard Digard
JERSEY CHAMBER NEWS
EMMA MARTINS
All change for data protection
DAY’S WORK With Teresa Bewhay
Contributors Trish Grover writer Richard Digard writer Natasha Egre writer Chris George photographer Peter Trenchard photographer
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CHANNEL ISLANDS NEWS
The Atlantic flying the Jersey flag in Germany The Atlantic Hotel is continuing with its drive to attract more German visitors to Jersey despite uncertainty around the island’s air links for 2017. The family-owned small luxury hotel, which features the Michelin-starred Ocean Restaurant, launched its drive with an event
in Munich in the Spring of 2016 and has seen a noticeable increase in the number of visitors it receives from the German market. Despite there being uncertainty with regard to air routes, the hotel is unwavering in its commitment to promote Jersey in Germany. ‘As part of our on-going desire to tell the world about the beautiful island of Jersey, its world class produce and of course The Atlantic Hotel, Ocean Restaurant and Mark Jordan at the Beach, we will be hosting a dinner for a group of influential journalists at Berlin’s Schlosshotel Grünewald in March,’
The Royal Parks has unveiled plans for a £5 million ‘super nursery’ project in Hyde Parke which will be one of the UK’s most innovative greenhouses growing nearly all the 500,000 flowers and shrubs it plants across its eight London parks.
Guernsey firm appointed for ‘super-nursery’ project 4
The project is already underway, with the demolition of the old and dilapidated nursery in Hyde Park now complete to make way for a state-of-the-art nursery that will serve the 5,000-acre Royal Parks estate. The nursery will be constructed by Deforche Construct NV and Guernsey’s Climate Controls Ltd. It will be the first major glasshouse production facility in the UK to use Deforche Cabrio technology which, much like the roof at Wimbledon, can open and close dependent on the fickle British weather. The roof will help the
said owner Patrick Burke. ‘We know that there is significant interest in the Channel Islands and have certainly seen a marked increase in bookings from the German market over the last couple of years. We are committed to promoting the island in Germany for the long term and are confident that the current uncertainties regarding air travel will be successfully resolved.’ Germany is the world’s third most valuable outbound tourism market, worth an estimated $76.3 billion in 2015.
acclimatisation of young plants, so they do not have to be moved outside for hardening – saving on labour and maximising space. Covering the size of a football pitch, the new greenhouse will replace the previous 1960s nursery which had reached the end of its life and was therefore beyond repair. The glasshouse will also be split into 13 controlled zones, each operated by Climate Controls’ latest technology, which will adapt the climate according to the needs of the plants. Pierre Bisson from Climate Controls Ltd said: ‘In partnership with Deforche Construct we are delighted to have been awarded this prestigious project to design and build a high tech plant facility for the Royal Parks. The glasshouse will use the highly versatile unique Cabrio structure which will enable the site area to be utilised to its maximum.’
CH AN N E L IS L AN D S N EWS
Guernsey Awards for Achievement
founded upon and exemplifying Guernsey values, Aon is progressive, inclusive and innovative – all primary attributes for the Guernsey Business of the Year accolade.’
Excellence in Marketing Award Black Vanilla (other finalists The Guernsey Literary Festival; States of Guernsey Election 2016 Campaign)
A wide range of business sectors was represented amongst the winners of this year’s Guernsey Awards for Achievement held in February. All categories had a strong line up of finalists giving the judges some difficult decisions to take.
Winners
BWCI Innovation Award Galaxy Computers (other finalists Offshore; 1st Central)
Aon Insurance Managers took the Committee for Economic Development Guernsey Business of the Year Award. Aon was winner of last year’s BWCI Innovation Award. Peter Ferbrache, president of the Committee for Economic Development and chair of the judging panel commented on the win:
Condor Ferries Employer of the Year Award Sure (other finalist Vets4Pets)
‘Aon is a multi-jurisdictional business but
NatWest Small Business Award Kings Beauty (other finalists Avril Earl Dance & Theatre Arts Centre; Bijoux Boutique)
Investec Sustainability Award Bijoux Boutique (other finalist Galaxy Computers)
Committee for Economic Development Guernsey Business of the Year Award Aon Insurance Managers (other finalists Le Mont Saint Garage; Vets4Pets) Guernsey Ambassador of the Year Award Dance World Cup Team Specsavers Unsung Hero Ray Peacegood, founder of Active (formerly Menfun)
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C H ANNEL ISLA NDS NE WS
A new £40 million subsea power cable has been switched on ahead of schedule and is now supplying Guernsey with electricity via Jersey.
work. With our existing subsea connections, we can now import up to 95% of our energy demand – which improves our resilience and flexibility as a community.’
The operation of the Normandie 1 (N1) cable is a boost to the Guernsey’s security of electricity supply and is part of a multi-million pound asset replacement programme to meet current and future demand.
She added: ‘It was a pleasure to work with our colleagues at Jersey Electricity to get Normandie 1 into operation, with Guernsey Electricity jointly funding the £40 million programme to manufacture and install the cable.’
Work to install the 27km cable was completed ahead of schedule and has been supplying low carbon energy from France to Guernsey, via Jersey, since December.
The N1 cable follows the same route as the decommissioned interconnector EDF1 from St Remy Des Landes in Normandy, to Archirondel in Jersey. The marine installation of the subsea cable took just six days last August and it was laid on the seabed rather than ploughed in beneath it.
Sally-Ann David, asset management director of Guernsey Electricity, said the switch-on of the 100MW cable was positive news for the island.
Electricity cable in place
‘Guernsey Electricity is focused on providing a reliable service, ensuring security of supply and reducing carbon emissions. Normandie 1 is an important milestone in this on-going
quarter of comparable funds every year for the past three years and delivered a total return of 27.7% compared to the benchmark of -6.37% (MSCI Emerging Markets Index, December 2016). Managed by Jersey-based fund managers Craig Farley and Jonathan Schiessl, the focused fund invests in the stock-markets of China and India and was established at a time when emerging markets, particularly the ‘BRIC’ countries, were in vogue. 10 years on, and the managers believe both China and India continue to offer good prospects for investors.
China and India offer good investment prospects Fund managers at Ashburton Investments have pointed to ‘compelling’ investment opportunities in both China and India as their unique Chindia Equity Fund, which invests in the Chinese and Indian markets, celebrated its 10th anniversary. Domiciled in Jersey, the Chindia Fund was launched in December 2006 and since its inception its performance has been strong, having featured in the top
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Commenting on the fund Craig ‘ said: ‘In setting up the Chindia Fund, the team at Ashburton sought to deliver something a little bit different. In our minds, the combination of China and India offered a strong growth profile, relative economic and political stability, clear reform mandates, and underlying structural tailwinds. All this made for a solid investment framework, and the fund’s performance over the past 10 years has been testament to that.’ Jonathan added: ‘Our philosophy and approach to both markets have been developed and refined over the years. In India, a strong equity market culture, deep and liquid financial markets and
Following extensive preparatory works and testing in France and Jersey, the N1 cable was energised for 24 hours on 30 November last year. It was then fully commissioned on 1 December, with the cable continuously monitored since then.
arguably the best corporate management in Asia underpin our approach. Meanwhile, in China the chasm between the country’s vast economic size and impact on global trade compared to its capital market environment remains enormous and it’s worth remembering that China’s equity markets remain emerging in the context of a transitional economy. ‘Our view is that China and India remain compelling and offer some exciting growth opportunities, as both countries continue to evolve in their own ways. As we look to the months and years ahead, growth in both countries will be driven by a more sustainable balance of growth and investment, with each economy positioned to benefit from the drivers it needs most - China through consumption, India through investment. These tailwinds combined with decisive government mandates and reform agendas that address the most pressing needs of each economy mean that we see sustained investment opportunity in China and India in the long-term.’
CH AN N E L IS L AN D S N EWS
now the world’s sixth largest hedge fund management centre. Jersey Finance’s 2017 strategy of evidence-based advocacy will continue with independent research into key areas of the industry providing clear direction and thought leadership.
Jersey Finance sets out plans for 2017 Jersey Finance will be commissioning independent research into the value that the industry brings to UK pension funds, and working to enhance the perception of the industry in Jersey, as part of its 2017 marketing plan. Last year has been hailed a record breaking year by Jersey Finance CEO Geoff Cook with funds business in Jersey reaching its highest level since 2008 and the island
‘Jersey’s finance industry has evolved considerably over the past decade and more than half of our business is now institutional in nature. That means that Jersey firms are supporting things like pension, university and sovereign wealth funds, but that is perhaps not widely understood. For that reason, we will be doing some further research work this year to explain Jersey’s role in the global pension fund market,’ said Geoff. ‘Our funds industry, meanwhile, continues to both grow and diversify. Firms here are well established in the private equity, real estate, hedge and infrastructure fund space, but they are also reporting more activity in the private debt fund market, providing financing for investment activity around the world in the absence of traditional sources of financing.
Jon Moulton, chairman of the CISE, said: ‘The business has been developing very well over the last few years, with both an increased and more diversified flow of new listings but our longer term strategy for growth is based on continuing to expand our international footprint.
The Channel Islands Securities Exchange (CISE) will rebrand as The International Stock Exchange (TISE) from 6 March.
Commenting on the current geopolitical environment and particularly Brexit, Geoff said: ‘Above all, investors want stability and Jersey, with its regulatory framework and good rule of law, is well placed and should see some good opportunities. Our private wealth, funds and capital markets sectors are all posting positive figures, and pleasingly we are seeing a flight to quality and flows of business that might ordinarily have gone to other centres. We are not resting on our laurels, though, and we are talking regularly to stakeholders in Europe and the UK to ensure Jersey’s message is heard in all the Brexit noise. ‘Meanwhile, it’s important that we continue to do more to engage with the local community and we are working on a specific project this year to illustrate clearly the role the finance industry plays in supporting local services, complementing other sectors, and providing local people with good career prospects.’
‘We will be exploring the opportunities in
The exchange, which is headquartered in Guernsey and opened an office in Jersey at the start of 2015, will also launch a presence in the Isle of Man.
CISE becomes TISE
this innovative area more thoroughly.’
‘We already have business coming to us from many different parts of the world. Also, last year we made changes so that listing sponsors no longer have to be based in the Channel Islands but can be from further afield and we signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Bermuda Stock Exchange to explore opportunities for working together. In addition, next month we will be launching a presence in the Isle of Man where there is real enthusiasm for local access to an international exchange. ‘This is the next phase of the longer term strategy for the business and we believe now is the right time to reflect that through a
change in name.’ Fiona Le Poidevin, chief executive of the CISE, said: ‘Our plan to rebrand from CISE to TISE is a significant and very exciting milestone in the life of the exchange. It reflects the very international nature of our existing business base but also our plans for the future, with the next step along that path being the launch of the office in the Isle of Man. ‘I have made several visits to the Isle of Man in the last year and it is clear that there is significant interest from businesses in the island to have access to an exchange. The Isle of Man has trading companies within a diverse range of industries, including in the technology sector, who will be able to use the exchange to raise capital to help them grow and the exchange will also offer other firms the opportunity to participate in its success by being a listing sponsor or providing legal or administrative services to those companies being listed. Ultimately, we hope that our presence in the Isle of Man will directly and indirectly boost employment and growth in the Manx economy and generate positive revenues for the local exchequer.’
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Let’s talk numbers
previous year, before the Brexit decision and the election of Donald Trump.
going up, and 35% warning that profitability was falling.
The latest official statistics from the States of Jersey Statistics Unit suggest that the island’s economy is continuing to strengthen - but there remain worries over profits, and the cost of doing business, particularly for companies outside of the finance sector.
In the finance sector, 46% of respondents said that their business activity had increased in the last three months, and 41% reported an increase in new business enquiries. However, there were warning signs too, with 25% saying employment was falling, 18% saying that their input costs had gone up, and 9% said their profitability was going down.
Within the report, the Statistics Unit included the following comment:
The statistics cover the 12 month period to end of December 2016. Generally, the report suggests that business confidence has returned to the same level as the
Outside of finance, the worries about higher costs were more marked, with 57% of respondents reporting that they were
Playtech buys online bingo firm Eyecon Playtech - the world’s largest online gaming software supplier has bought a Guernsey-based online slots developer in a deal said to be worth £50 million Eyecon - founded in Australia in 1997 – focuses its activities on bingo audiences. It is licensed in the UK and in Alderney with more than 70 games within its portfolio and established its head office
Dates for Sure Customer Service Awards 2017 announced The awards events will take place in Guernsey in Market Square on Thursday 6 July, and in Jersey at the Radisson Blu Waterfront Hotel, on Thursday 5 October. Now in its sixth year, the initiative, organised in association with Guernsey and Jersey Chambers of Commerce, and Jersey Business, highlights and celebrates exceptional customer service.
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The awards comprise 10 award categories showcasing exceptional customer service provision across all business sectors. One overall winner is then selected from the 10 category winners. Sure customer experience director, Charlotte Dunsterville, said: ‘Sure is pleased to sponsor the events and to be a part of rewarding those who go above and beyond in the name of good customer service. Great customer service is vital for business success. At Sure we have a dedicated team of employees in our shops, on social media and at the end of the phone so we understand what is required to meet the high expectations of customers in the Bailiwick.’ Justine Gaudion, head of local markets at
‘Business optimism was essentially neutral for the non-finance sector overall. This was comprised of positive business optimism for the construction sector being offset by negative and neutral balances for wholesale and retail and the other non-finance sectors.’
in Guernsey in 2015. The sale is seen as part of Playtech’s strategy to acquire ‘bolt-on’ technology and content in key gaming markets. Scott Murray, founder of Eyecon, will remain with the business for at least three years. He said: ‘I am delighted that Eyecon will be joining the Playtech family. Integrating Eyecon’s specialist games and software with Playtech’s distribution power will allow us to penetrate new markets and retain our standard of best in class content’.
Barclays Guernsey said: ‘Barclays is pleased to be sponsoring a silver award at the Sure Customer Service Awards for the very first time. Our Barclays community banking team is passionate about providing excellent customer service and we were keen to participate in order to recognise great service in the island across all industries.’ The Customer Service Awards founder, and director of Collaborate Communications, Julie Todd, said: ‘Having so many fantastic island businesses as sponsors means that we can continue to make the awards one of the stand-out events of the year in the islands. Rewarding islanders for a job done well makes for a great evening. We will work together to make this year’s awards the best yet.’
CH AN N E L IS L AN D S N EWS
New year, new office, new extended team IT consultancy Donkeylogic has had an eventful first few months of the year. Having taken on two new members of staff plus a student on full time placement, the company has moved into larger premises to accommodate the growing work force. The new office, based in the Pitronnerie Road complex, offers an ideal open plan working environment as well as meeting facilities and has capacity to accommodate more staff members as the team continues to expand.
Rob Wood is the firm’s new senior consultant working in the data services department. Rob has many years’ experience in the IT field and is a specialist in SQL programming with expertise across a range of banking and trust systems. Rob most recently was working for Rothschild Trust and also spent over 20 years working for software company Microgen where he was employed since the days when it was a small fledgling Guernsey-based business – FSL. Scott Guilbert has joined the company as senior technician and works within the Mac department which covers a wide range of business support scenarios. Scott has spent time working with Sure setting up broad
Following a comprehensive open tender process Dufry has entered into a 10-year agreement with Ports of Jersey to continue to provide tax and duty free items under the World Duty Free brand in the airside departures lounge at Jersey Airport. The new contract will see an increase in the overall size of retail floor space by 260 square metres. The space extension will allow for the introduction of new products, including more ‘local’ goods as well as a redevelopment of the retail layout, which is due to start at the end of summer 2017. Just under 1.6 million passengers travelled through Jersey Airport in 2016 and the enhanced retail offer will deliver a world class airport shopping experience to travellers.
Dufry extends World Duty Free concession at Jersey Airport
On behalf of Ports of Jersey, group CEO Doug Bannister said: ‘After a thorough tender process we are delighted to continue our long standing and successful partnership with World Duty Free. In particular this renewed 10-year partnership agreement will allow us to maximise our retail offering at
band services and more recently at IQ where he ran the support workshop. Justin Guilbert, Donkeylogic’s managing director said: ‘This is an exciting time for the company as we see a growing demand for our services across all of our service lines. The re-location and the new appointments are a key part of our on-going development plan and will ensure that we continue to offer clients the highest level of service. I am sure that the expertise and experience both Rob and Scott bring will create new opportunities for Donkeylogic as we continue to build our client base and service platform.’
Jersey Airport as we continue to develop our facilities and service levels. ‘This significant investment by World Duty Free and the breadth of the company clearly demonstrates its real commitment and passion in delivering a world class retail experience in the local environment.’ Julián Díaz, CEO of Dufry, commented: ‘We are extremely pleased to have reached this agreement with Ports of Jersey and would like to thank the management team for renewing its trust in World Duty Free and Dufry. We have always worked in close partnership and value the relationship we have built up over the years. ‘We’ve demonstrated that we have the capability to offer landlords state-of-the-art retail solutions and we look forward to creating a fantastic store at the airport and introducing exciting new products for our regular Jersey customers, as well as the many visitors attracted by all that Jersey has to offer.’
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Business DIARY
Coming up… A few key business events for your diaries
March Date
Event
Time
Venue
Booking / Information
2 March
Blockchain Conference
08.30 -12.00
St Pierre Park Hotel
jennifer@startup.gg
8 March
Jersey Chamber lunch
12.30 -14.30
Radisson Blu Hotel
www.jerseychamber.com
8 March
IOSH Working Safely training course
09.00 – 17.00
Coppolo & Coyde
training@copcoy.com
9 March
How to use Google and social media to grow your business
12.00 – 14.00
Digital Jersey
ACTIONCoach - 01481 711703
9 March
Guernsey Speedbuzzing networking
08.00 – 09.00
Le Petit Bistro
www.thebusyguernseybee.com
10 March
How to use Google and social media to grow your business
12.00 – 14.00
Digital Greenhouse
ACTIONCoach - 01481 711703
16 March
Occupational health & wellbeing for business
09.00 – 17.30
Les Cotils
01481 727793
20 March
Guernsey Chamber lunch
12.00 – 14.00
OGH Hotel
www.guernseychamber.com
23 March
ACTIONCoach GROWTHClub 90 day strategy planning event
09.00 – 17.00
Digital Greenhouse
ACTIONCoach – 01481 711703
23 March
Channel Islands NED Forum
09.00 – 13.00
Royal Yacht Hotel
www.cineds.com
24 March
Institute of Law Annual Conference: The Future of Financial Law
All day event
Pomme d’Or Hotel
Tel 01534 826020
28 March
IoD Jersey lunch
12.00 – 14.00
Grand Hotel
www.iod.je
Date
Event
Time
Venue
Booking / Information
5 April
CITD Time Management
09.00 – 17.00
Grand Hotel
01534 737701
5 & 6 April
CISI managing cyber security with Midshore Consulting
09.30 – 16.30
Trinity Square
01481 730733
13 April
Guernsey Speedbuzzing networking
18.30 – 20.00
Le Petit Bistro
www.thebusyguernseybee.com
19 April
Jersey Chamber lunch
12.30 – 14.30
The Pomme D’Or Hotel
www.jerseychamber.com
24 April
Guernsey Chamber lunch
12.00 – 14.00
OGH Hotel
www.guernseychamber.com
25 April
Happy hours speed buzzing
18.30 – 20.00
The Club Hotel
07797 828950
25 April
IoD Jersey lunch
12.00 – 14.00
Grand Hotel
www.iod.je
27 April
ICSA annual conference
09.00 – 16.00
Royal Yacht Hotel
events@icsa.org.uk
28 April
Guernsey IoD lunch
12.15 – 14.15
Moores Hotel
www.iod.gg
28 April
IoD Jersey Director of the Year Awards 2017
19.00 – 01.30
Hotel de France
01534 610799
April
If you would like your event included in our diary please email details to editor@collaboratecommunications.com
GUERNSEY CHAMBER NEWS
New-look event proves popular Chamber’s reformatted annual dinner took place in January, and the ‘make-over’ to the largest event on Chamber’s calendar seemed to go down well with the attendees. Breaking with the ‘traditional’ black tie dinner and key note speech format, the event encouraged more interaction and audience participation with a slightly less formal dress code. Guest presenters were Dr Adam Marshall, director of the British Chambers of Commerce and Will Walden, former aide-de-camp to Boris Johnson. Adam told a packed audience that he wanted to see more dialogue between island businesses and his members.
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‘Businesses in Guernsey have been operating in a business environment outside the EU but trading with it for a very long time. ‘We have had 43 years inside that envelope and we need to start to talk much more between business communities here on the island and in the UK, so your peers can get the benefit of your experience, knowing what the pitfalls are and what we need to do in order to stay competitive, as you have,’ he said. The evening unsurprisingly delivered intense discussion over Brexit and panelists did refer to a post-truth era and noted the rise in popularist sentiment around the globe. Chamber president Martyn Dorey said ‘What fascinated me was that in the new Brexit world order, global trade could look a lot like a social media network for countries;
where countries ‘like’ each other, and establish bilateral trade on an individual country-to-country basis, not by trading blocs. According to our eminent speakers, the days of dealing with unwieldy trading blocs could be a thing of the past. With the exception of protectionist policies, new thinking on bilateral trade could benefit populations all over the globe - particularly in developing countries.’ Chamber’s ‘Anvil Award’ went to Justin Sykes. The award celebrates individuals who have shown exceptional flair in shaping industry and Justin was the worthy recipient for his work on developing the impact investing sector. If anyone would like to give Chamber any feedback on the event, particularly in relation to its new format, please email: events@guernseychamber.com
G U E RN S E Y CH AM B E R N EWS
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Brand new In case anyone has missed it, Chamber has a new logo and brand image – following much debate and discussion amongst Chamber council. This in itself was an interesting process as members expressed their individual views on what our brand (and therefore Chamber itself) stands for. The selected design was thought to be more symbolically thought-provoking than any of the alternative suggestions. The story it
Congratulations Rachel Rachel Richardson has been elected as vice chair of Chamber council. Rachel, who also heads up the renewal energy sub group and is a member of the legal, tax and impact investing sub group is a senior associate with law firm Carey Olsen. She is a specialist employment lawyer within the litigation and dispute resolution team and advises clients on all aspects of contentious and non-contentious employment law in the Channel Islands.
Heading for the hills… Chamber director Barry Cash will be stepping down from his role later in the year. Having served Chamber for nearly 10 years, Barry has decided that he now wants to pursue other projects and take life a little easier. He has even mentioned the word ‘retirement’ but we will wait and see on that. Barry has kindly given Chamber several
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tells maps the vibrancy and connectivity of what a successful Chamber should be an organisation that is flexible and constantly evolving rather than a solid chain with unbreakable links; no black and white but shades of grey and a rounded approach. Council believes that the selected design tells a story that positions Guernsey as a trusted network with a lighter, brighter, friendlier approach. Quite simply it’s forward looking in theme and contemporary in style. Thank you to The Potting Shed.
She acts as legal counsel for many local businesses and organisations on non-contentious employment matters. Rachel is also president of the Guernsey International Legal Association, a 300 strong membership of lawyers in Guernsey. Martyn Dorey, Chamber president commented on the new appointment: ‘I would like to send my warmest congratulations to Rachel who has accepted the position of vice president of Guernsey Chamber. We are fortunate to have her experience from the Guernsey International Legal Association on council and I very much look forward to working with her in the coming months.’
months’ notice allowing time to organise a smooth and timely transition and hand over to his successor. Martyn Dorey Chamber president said: ‘Barry has without doubt been one of the most successful directors Chamber has had and he has seen us through a number of major projects. Replacing him will not be an easy task. On behalf of Chamber council and all Chamber members I would like to thank Barry for his tireless efforts, his guidance, support and patience during his time with Chamber and we wish him a restful ‘retirement’.
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AL D E RN E Y NEWS
Air links to Alderney to get a boost A new airline aims to connect Alderney travellers to the budget carriers operating out of Jersey. Air Alderney Ltd has been granted exclusive route licences for Jersey and Cherbourg by the States of Alderney. Julian Storey, an aviation consultant and long-time Alderney visitor, is teaming up with Biggin Hill-based Wessex Aviation to operate two eight-seater turbo Britten Norman Islanders from the island. One of the aircraft will be used for freight and charters and the other for scheduled services. Currently Alderney’s only direct air routes are to Guernsey and Southampton, both served by Aurigny. The island’s direct link to Jersey fell away several years ago. Julian believes two daily flights to Jersey will pay for themselves if, on average, three seats are filled on each sector throughout the year. ‘My instinct is that if we can get people to Jersey where you can get flights to Gatwick
for £30, that twice daily to Jersey will be viable,’ he said. ‘There are lots of options once you get to Jersey or France. ‘But it will be a case of ‘use it or lose it’ - it does have to be paid for. But I hope Air Alderney will engender the same sort of loyalty that Aurigny used to have.’ The States of Alderney is working with the new company to help it obtain an Air Operator’s Licence. The States has also agreed to give the company a capped amount of financial support during its first year. James Dent, chairman of Alderney’s Policy and Finance Committee, said re-establishing a link to Jersey was an exciting prospect. ‘It’s very important for Alderney. There are low cost fliers coming into Jersey and a great
number of routes to the rest of Europe. If we can connect into those routes it has got to be good for Alderney.’ Alderney Chamber of Commerce welcomed the news, saying that its transport team was delighted to have been associated with the initiative from the outset. The Chamber has confirmed that it will continue to play an active role in supporting possibilities that will drive forward improved transport links which are an essential part of the infrastructure needed to rejuvenate the Alderney economy. The team is confident that new scheduled routes will stimulate growth by rebuilding passenger traffic numbers and supporting business development, tourism and individuals without detracting from the current passenger base.
Join Chamber today the voice of local business
Business support; networking events; business advice; business events; liaison with States departments; new interactive website. Email: office@guernseychamber.com Tel: 01481 727 483
www.guernseychamber.com
@GuernseyChamber
GuernseyChamber
G U E R N S E Y N E W ME MBE RS
1882 Group 1882 Group is a Guernsey-based organisation founded and run by a team of experienced professionals including Guernsey resident Simon Davies.
Help a Guernsey Child Help a Guernsey Child was established 15 years ago to support local youth groups and families in need.
JG Architecture Ltd
The company provides consultancy and implementation services to the financial sector to help companies unlock extra profit and value through the application of practical business management solutions, new capital and cutting edge financial technology (FinTech). Specifically, it has created a FinTech capability called ‘Edison’ that enables a financial business to connect new and existing best of breed software in
a secure, timely and cost efficient manner. Clients include Channel Islands and internationally based trust, asset management, hedge fund, lending and banking businesses of all shapes and sizes. The team welcomes informal discussions with Chamber members for mutual benefit.
Recently, the demand from families has increased significantly; in 2016, the organisation has dealt with more than 160 applications. Many of these are small - as little as £20 - and the majority are less than £500.The services offered are as relevant in 2017 as when the operation was first set up in 2001 as many islanders struggle to make ends meet.
Help a Guernsey Child benefits from some key sponsors who offer support, but still greatly appreciates donations to help in its vital work. If you are holding a fund-raising activity, the team would be delighted to hear from you.
JG Architecture Ltd (JGA) focuses on providing a clear route to obtaining Planning and Building Control approvals for domestic extensions, conversions and new build projects locally. Clarity, collaboration and sustainability are integral to their design approach.
JGA’s architectural services are provided by James Gavey (director) and Miles Pengelley (senior architectural technician) who have both completed a BSc (Hons) in architectural technology and share over 20 years of local industry experience.
With ‘buildability’ in mind and value assured, every client realises a new and exciting living experience that meets their needs.
Lightning Enterprises CI Ltd has, for more than 20 years, provided the Channel Islands with specialist lightning protection systems, earthing, test and maintenance services.
Lightening Enterprises CI Ltd
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The organisation is responsible for almost all of the critical infrastructure building systems including airports, hospitals and government buildings across each of the
Email: guernsey@1882.com Web: www.1882.com
Tel: 07781 442034 Email: rebecca@helpaguernseychild.org.gg Web: www.helpaguernseychild.org.gg
Tel: 01481 245767 Email: james@jga.gg Web: www.jga.gg
Channel Islands. In 2016 the company became a premier installer for the largest manufacturer of lightning protection products of which there are only 12 nationwide. Tel: 01481 244676 Email: tim@propertyplus.gg Web: www.lighteningenterprisesci.co.uk
G U E RN S E Y N E W M E M B ER S
ShuttleBuzz will create a public transport service in Guernsey using fully autonomous (driverless) shuttle pods / mini buses.
ShuttleBuzz
People will use an app to book their ride-share - like Uber, but without the driver - and they will be able to pay using their smart phone. The organisation’s goal is to be the first company to go commercial with a driverless
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ride-sharing service running on public roads (not segregated from traffic). This will be a huge benefit to people and businesses on the island, and will help promote Guernsey as place that welcomes technological innovations. Tel: 07781 169586 Email: info@ shuttlebuzz.co.uk Web: www.shuttlebuzz.co.uk
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VIEWPOINT WITH RICHARD DIGARD
Embracing new data protection standards is a no-brainer New data protection rules inspired by the EU might be onerous on businesses in the Channel Islands and on government itself, but there really is no alternative, argues Richard Digard. Brexit or no Brexit, an avalanche of EU-inspired regulation is thundering down on all Channel Island organisations that process the personal information of any individual.
This is an important point. Both States could have ignored it. Many smaller business will desperately wish that they had – the regulatory overhead is huge and the risk of non-compliance severe.
The reason for that, as detailed elsewhere in Contact, is because the States of Jersey and Guernsey have decided that they will enact their own legislation that mirrors the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
And in addition to the largely hidden costs that industry will face as a result of these decisions, taxpayers too will be drawn into it as more staff will be needed and the data regulator’s CI offices will have to expand to
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met the extra work. In effect, the islands’ leaders have taken an expensive gamble: that the benefits of complying with the GDPR outweigh the costs. In reality, however, backing the regulation to win isn’t that much of a wager as the islands had far more to lose by trying to avoid equivalence. As PwC put it in an initial
Time will tell – but what has been revealing is the way the two islands have been able to work together and put aside traditional rivalries in the face of European regulatory shifts that could have been damaging to CI interests
brief to Guernsey’s politicians: ‘The economic consequences of doing nothing are potentially significant as existing industries are threatened by the loss of Guernsey’s current “adequacy” status. ‘An appropriate response could however attract new commercial industries [and] opportunities, for example organisations managing health data.’ It is the same for Jersey, of course, as the economies of both islands are increasingly digital and data-dependent and both islands are targeting growth in the sector. Guernsey, through the Alderney Gambling Control Commission, and Jersey through its own, newer commission, have eGaming interests that can best be accommodated by ensuring that the islands’ own data protection regime matches that of the EU, which is now regarded as the gold standard. The digital landscape has changed beyond recognition since the 1995 regulations were introduced here – Facebook’s co-founder was aged just 11 for a start – and we had no reason to believe that King Finance wasn’t to rule forever. For those actively involved, data protection has been the poor relation of regulation and the EU’s approach to it means that it is about to assume as much significance as financial regulation. To some extent, that was already happening, as businesses, and those who advise them, responded to the risk of cybercrime and, particularly, the reputational risk of data loss. Seen against that backdrop, embracing the provisions of the GDPR – onerous and expensive as they are – is the only practical alternative to putting up a ‘closed for business’ sign.
That can also be seen from the level of collaboration between the two islands and the agreement reached to have identical legislation and forgo any opportunity for trying to obtain regulatory advantage over the other. And it’s no coincidence that each island has, within a few weeks of each other, unveiled strategies for developing their digital sector, with Jersey’s looking to create 125 new jobs annually over the next seven or eight years. What also emerged at Guernsey’s prestigious Awards for Achievement event is that a business destined to ‘sensationalise’ the island is poised to move in. Hopefully by now, whatever ‘worldwide financial institution’ it is and which economic development committee president Deputy Peter Ferbrache was too coy to name on the night will have been revealed.
establish ‘trusted jurisdiction’ status in the personal data arena while doing nothing would have risked disaster. As PwC notes, there is still a lack of clarity in how certain aspects of the EU legislation will operate, so flexibility will be required. That, too, could be an advantage. Financial services regulation has been criticised, particularly in Guernsey, as being imposed by the regulator in the absence of adequate guidance from government over the type of regime best suited to the island’s risk appetite and business requirements. The intimate way the States have been involved in assessing the implications of GDPR and the consequences of getting implementation right or wrong hold out the hope of ensuring the regime is what both islands actually need and what businesses accept is proportionate.
But it is clear that the data regime it will be operating under and the acceptability of that to Europe will have been a key part in determining whether to locate in the Channel Islands or not.
Time will tell – but what has been revealing is the way the two islands have been able to work together and put aside traditional rivalries in the face of European regulatory shifts that could have been damaging to CI interests.
GDP figures for both islands have reflected for some time the growth in business services and a large part of that has come from work in the field of compliance as ‘well regulated’ jurisdiction status becomes ever more important.
Key to that has been the involvement of the pan-island data regulator and her departments’ work in helping the two States recognise that they had a problem/ opportunity on their hands that couldn’t be ignored.
The GDPR actually significantly extends the regulatory regime and, according to one legal firm positioning itself in this area, the need for data compliance experts.
As the need for Jersey and Guernsey to work more closely together becomes ever more pressing, it’s clear from the work on the GDPR that having a shared facility is one of the keys to successful co-operation.
Ordinarily, Chamber members might rue mission creep by regulators but moving fast in this area genuinely does provide both islands with first mover opportunities as they
That’s been noted and the likelihood is that it won’t just be a newly shared medical officer of health that the islands have in future.
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JERSEY CHAMBER NEWS
Profile of executive committee Finance committee Having worked in the UK for most of my career, I moved to Jersey in September 2012 with my family. I was very surprised by the extremely high level of engagement that all businesses have with the Jersey Chamber of Commerce. I have not seen such an active group anywhere in the UK, and this prompted me to find out more, get engaged and led me to joining the finance committee in 2014.
sub- sectors • Funds • Banking • Law • Accountancy • Trust I must confess this was a relatively straightforward task, with volunteers coming forward to give of their own time, without hesitation. On the committee we have business owners, managing directors and CEOs.
I was asked to become the chair of the committee last year, and was delighted to accept. My day job outside this honorary position at Chamber includes leading a team of bank corporate relationship managers, who work with local Jersey businesses, and therefore the decisions taken by ministers and government do have a direct impact on my customers.
Being on the executive committee helps me understand from a different perspective the matters that each sector is faced with and provides an opportunity to shape broad discussions
Being on the executive committee helps me understand from a different perspective the matters that each sector is faced with and provides an opportunity to shape broad discussions.
They are passionate about their own individual businesses, and we all have the same aim of ensuring we lobby government as necessary, to play our part in facilitating Jersey’s competitiveness and productivity.
My first task as chair of the finance committee was to recruit senior professionals from the following
Having this very wide membership ensures we focus on the issues that are consistent across the finance community, and that we
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do not duplicate some of the technical input from the industry specific bodies. Brexit, taxation policies and cyber security are three key areas that will need to be carefully scrutinised over the next couple of years. What is pleasing is that government has shown a desire to communicate on these issues, and over the last few months the treasury minister and external affairs minister have very willingly offered their time to discuss these matters with our committee. This level of engagement ensures we are able to brief the executive committee, who in turn spread the word in their own specific sectors of the economy, our members are kept informed on the latest government policy and plans and importantly our views and that of our members are aired directly to government and the people formulating Jersey’s future plans. For me the next stage of evolution for this already very successful Chamber is to increase engagement with the new businesses, young entrepreneurs and young professionals. They will be the executive committee in years to come, and therefore a forum to intertwine them with the organisation at the very earliest point is essential. In summary, it is a privilege to be a part of a strong business focused organisation that is run for the benefit of the members, and that understands what all sectors need to thrive for the island in order to maintain its relative high standards of living and care. Neil McCluskey – chair, finance committee
J E RS E Y CH AM B E R N EWS
Building & development committee Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Increasing red tape and rising costs are two of the most common challenges that businesses wrestle with. It will come as no surprise then to hear that when Chamber’s building and development committee first heard the planning department was looking to simplify existing planning obligation agreements and infrastructure contributions into one all-encompassing charge, intended to be a fairer and simpler system for all, members were happy to contribute to the consultation process. However, as the consultation with Jersey’s Planning Department progressed, a number of changes have been proposed. The name has quietly changed from CIL to ‘Developer Contributions’. The proportion of projects that will be required to pay the ‘contribution’ has reduced, (social housing, hotels and light industrial are all likely to be exempt) leaving just housing, office and retail development. So, instead of one simplified charge, CIL or Developer Contributions will be just another charge on top of everything else. In other words, it’s a tax on one small sector of the business community. This particular ‘contribution’ (tax) is aimed at development, and is in addition to the many other costs the industry faces such as the increases in stamp duty, the exorbitant planning fees (higher than anywhere in the UK), the historic, archeological, environmental and ecological
surveys required, the potential third party appeals that are ever more likely and on-going and increasing building costs.
They may simply decide not to sell. In business terms, surely that flies in the face of supply and demand!
That is of course, if you ever get past the planning stage! Then there are the waste charges, increasing requirements in respect of energy conservation and the new health and safety project coordinators required for projects. Is it any wonder that building costs are so high?
So could it affect the end result and push prices up? This is unlikely, as market values at the time will dictate what a new house or office space is worth. So it will be just another factor in deciding whether a project proceeds or not, an additional risk in an already high-risk industry. Add in the competition from States own developments and private developers don’t stand a chance.
Something needs to be done to stop the introduction of this additional tax and the potential loss of a sector that’s one of the islands biggest employers So, how is this tax fair, I hear you ask? And what might the effect of this be? Chamber’s response to such questions would be, good point, well made, it’s not fair and the effects could be far reaching. If a development does not achieve financial viability, once all costs are taken into account and the project does not forecast the level of profit required by the bank, then it will simply not proceed. Planning’s advisers have suggested land values may have to adjust in order to take account of this new levy. I think we all know however, that this is unlikely on a small island where land is a sought after commodity. Why would landowners reduce the value of their land if they don’t have to?
There is a very real possibility therefore that this tax, if pursued and introduced by government, will prevent or greatly hamper development and rather than produce a sum of money with which to regenerate areas of St. Helier, it will produce nothing but a stalemate. New developments won’t go ahead and developers will find other jurisdictions, more conducive to business and develop there instead. The building sector is already starting to see evidence of this. So, something needs to be done to stop the introduction of this additional tax and the potential loss of a sector that’s one of the islands biggest employers. As a committee we challenge the States to come up with a fairer way of raising money for improvements to St Helier for the benefit of everyone, rather than taxing a minority of the business community, on whom they also depend.
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J ER S EY C HA MBE R NE WS
Retail strategy for Jersey We are lucky in Jersey in that we benefit from a diverse retail sector, which has proved to be quite resilient when faced with the recent challenging economic conditions. Our store occupancy rates remain above that of similarly sized towns in the UK and we are fortunate to still have an eclectic mix of local, national and international retailers here. The sector is the largest part of the private sector outside of finance in terms of both GVA and employment with over 8,000 people currently working in the sector, that’s approximately 15% of all people employed locally. The sector also contributes to States finances both through tax from local businesses but also to the tune of £25 million a year in GST as well through the collection of other taxes such as those applied to alcohol, fuel and tobacco. You could, therefore, be forgiven for thinking that the retail sector is an important part of Jersey’s economy. So important that government would
have a plan on how best to assist the industry. Well it does, sort of! The Jersey Chamber of Commerce retail and supply committee has been lobbying government for a number of years to update its original 2006 retail strategy. That initial strategy was developed in 2006 with a revised framework completed in 2010, since then it has remained relatively untouched other than some work completed on a development plan in 2014. For such an important sector, we believe it is important the industry receives the support it deserves from government and we are pleased that the Economic, Development, Tourism, Sport and Culture Department (EDTSC) has now agreed to undertake this work. The retail and supply committee has formed a sub committee to assist EDTSC with the development of the new strategy. We are keen to ensure that retailers are part of the process and that issues which are important to the industry are understood. Our hope is that by taking a more joined-up approach we can ensure that the value of retail is appreciated and supported. Some of the key issues we would like to see
The pace of change in retail is fast, consumer expectations, behaviours and needs are changing at a frightening pace and if the industry is going to continue to prosper it is going to need some assistance from government
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covered by any new plan are: • Parking and access within St Helier • Development of future resource through industry specific skills development • Development of key statistics and KPIs to measure the success or otherwise of the industry • Improved use of technology to support and enhance the sector • Sustainability, particularly with regards to food security The pace of change in retail is fast, consumer expectations, behaviours and needs are changing at a frightening pace and if the industry is going to continue to prosper it is going to need some assistance from government. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not asking for financial support or handouts I’m asking for greater co-ordination and understanding across States departments, which will help create the right environment for the industry to continue to grow and develop. Mark Cox, chair, retail and supply committee
J E RS E Y CH AM B E R N EWS
March 2017 Lunch Event
Women’s Day. Our guest speaker is Sam Cooper-Gray, Global Chair of HSBC balance, an employee resource group with more than 44,000 members worldwide, set up to support and drive gender diversity in the workplace.
How diverse is your workforce and why should you care?
International Women’s Day 2017 is asking the world to #BeBoldForChange and Sam will discuss how businesses in Jersey can make simple changes designed to forge a better working world, and why they should embrace diversity for the sake of the bottom line.
Speaker Sam Cooper-Gray, global chair of HSBC balance and COO of HSBC corporate banking CI and Isle of Man Date – Wednesday 8 March Venue - The Radisson Blu Hotel Time - 12:30-14:30 Overview Our next Chamber lunch event takes place on Wednesday 8 March, International
April 2017 Lunch Event The chief minister will deliver an update on government priorities and major activities for 2017. Speaker chief minister, Senator Ian Gorst
can have on your business, both financially and strategically. • The practical ways your business can harness the power of diversity and the changes it can bring about within your organisation • What the future workforce of Jersey will look like, and how business can embrace all the potential of future change. Event sponsors
Sam’s speech will cover • What diversity means, including and beyond gender diversity, and particularly what diversity means in our island workforce. • What impact diversifying your workforce
Date – Wednesday 19 April Venue - The Pomme D’Or Hotel Time - 12:30-14:30
Event sponsors
About the speaker Senator Ian Gorst was first elected as a deputy of St Clement and sworn to office on 5 December 2005 and re-elected in 2008. He was elected as a senator in 2011 and appointed as chief minister on 14 November 2011, re-elected in 2014 and re-elected as chief minister on 3rd November 2014.
Chamber lunch dates 2017 Wed 10th May
The Radisson Blu
Wed 14th June
The Royal Yacht
Wed 12th July
The Pomme D’Or
Wed 13th September
The Royal Yacht
Wed 11th October
The Radisson Blu
Wed 8th November
The Pomme D’Or
Wed 13th December
The Royal Yacht
For more information or to book tickets or corporate tables (of 10) online for any of our events please visit www.jerseychambertickets.com. For more information about any of our events or for any queries contact: Hayley Mallet, events and marketing manager hayley.mallet@jerseychamber.com or call a member of the Jersey Chamber executive team on 01534 724536.
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J E R S E Y N E W ME MBE RS The Stroke Association is the UK’s leading charity dedicated to conquering stroke. It provides vital services, campaign for better care and fund research to find better treatments for stroke.
Stroke Association Jersey
Sanne Group SANNE is a leading provider of outsourced alternative asset and corporate administration and reporting services.
Willis Towers Watson Willis Towers Watson is a leading global advisory, broking and solutions company that helps clients around the world turn risk into a path for growth.
In Jersey over 125 people a year are affected by stroke. It kills twice as many women as breast cancer and more men than prostate and testicular cancer combined.
Tel: 01534 724672 / 07829 845086 Email: jersey@stroke.org.uk Web: www.facebook/strokeassociationjersey
Listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange, Sanne operates from 15 leading financial jurisdictions located in the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia-Pacific. The company employs more than 1,000 people worldwide and administers structures and funds that have in excess of £160 billion of assets. Clients are serviced through dedicated business divisions that are led by directors with extensive expertise in
private debt and capital markets, real estate, private equity, hedge, institutional, executive incentives, private client and investment treasury services. Clients include alternative asset managers, financial institutions, family offices and corporates.
With roots dating to 1828, Willis Towers Watson has 39,000 employees in more than 120 countries.
clients with a local presence. FINEX Global places over US$2 billion of insurance premium per year into the global insurance market and as such enjoys powerful leverage to obtain broad policy coverage at extremely competitive premiums for clients.
FINEX Global is a division of Willis Towers Watson a leading provider of risk advisory and transactional insurance broking services to financial and professional service organisations and individual directors. With access to a global network of resources, it delivers professional advice and services to
Rozel Shipping is a newly established company specialising in the freight sector and operating a vessel between Granville, France and the Channel Islands.
Rozel Shipping
The Jersey association offers blood pressure checking events, called ‘Know Your Blood Pressure’, to corporates – high blood pressure is a leading cause of stroke. The services provided to support stroke survivors and their families in Jersey are funded solely by fundraised income.
It is our intent to provide a reliable and regular alternative to the current French links and realistically increase the trade with our closest neighbours.
Tel: 01534 722787 Email: info@sannegroup.com Web: www.sannegroup.com
Tel: 07829 988323 Email: anthony.kaywillistowerswatson.com Web: www.willistowerswatson.com
With a team which has over 15 combined years’ experience operating vessels on this route and multilingual staff the company offers a bespoke service for consumers in the Channel Islands. Tel: 07829 9908098 Email: ahoy@rozel-shipping.com Web: www.facebook/rozelshipping
A short company profile is available to all new members of Jersey Chamber of Commerce. For more information email: admin@jerseychamber.com or tel: 01534 724536 24
Brexit round-table meeting with the chief minister Throughout the UK EU Brexit negotiations it is vital Jersey’s business leaders are kept up-to-date with talks that our own ministers are having with Westminster.
It is also essential that commerce is kept in that loop and Chamber was pleased to facilitate the first of a number of round-table Brexit discussions between the chief minister and business leaders from within Chamber’s membership. Issues such as status as non-members or ‘third countries’ are vitally important for Jersey, as is immigration, the common travel area, customs union, tax and trade organisation membership.
If Jersey is to forge a strong position in these areas throughout the two-year exit process, then our own government must continue to push hard with their UK counterparts for major consideration at the negotiating table and in turn continue to listen and hear the concerns of commerce locally.
The Jersey Chamber of Commerce is the largest business membership forum in Jersey, representing businesses of all sizes.
Become a Chamber Of Commerce Member Member benefits: - Access to the most effective business networking community in the island, with regular networking events attended by more than 4,000 senior business people annually - Discounted Chamber Event tickets - ‘New Member’ promotion in Contact Magazine - Weekly communications, with links to the latest government reports & consultations that affect business - Dedicated Member email address listen@jerseychamber.com, to raise individual business concerns - Business listing on the Chamber website - Reduced rates on business services including obtaining Certificates of Origin & Letters of Credit - Member to Member discount offers - Reduced rate meeting room hire
For more information on membership please contact the Chamber Executive Team. 01534 724 536 | admin@jerseychamber.com
www.jerseychamber.com
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Wendy Martin, partner of EY UK
1. What have been the highlights of your career so far? There have been a few recently! Becoming a partner at EY in 2015 satisfied my careerlong ambition to reach the top in my profession, then being appointed head of tax for EY in the Channel Islands in my first year of becoming a partner. Just this month I was awarded bronze in the Citywealth Powerwomen Awards 2017 in the Leadership, Large Institution category and last year my team and I won an EY EMEIA ‘Better begins with you’ award for leadership and teaming. To top it all off, my team has nominated me for the Inspirational Role Model Award in the EY International Women’s Day Awards. It is amazing to be recognised for your ability but also as an inspiration to other people. 2. You have championed board diversity, why is this important? I champion diversity in all areas, be that at board level or within teams. For any team to succeed, including boards, they need a variety of skills and views which can only be achieved with a diverse group of people. For example, it is well known that women generally have a different view of risk to men. Therefore, bringing differing perspectives to a board when planning the future of the organisation will ensure the risk profile is more balanced. It has also been proven that having a diverse board has a direct and positive impact on profitability. Which board, shareholder or other stakeholder would not want that? 3. What is the Women’s Development Forum (WDF) in Jersey? The WDF provides an opportunity for people, not just women, to come together to support one another in finding greater career fulfilment. It is a relaxed environment in which women can network, meeting people from a very diverse range of businesses, backgrounds and levels to talk about matters that are relevant to women in
business. Traditional networking events can be daunting – this is a much more informal environment, covering some fascinating topics from career development, to style, to managing family finances.
It’s not about having token women or people from minority groups on boards and believing the responsibility of diversity is fulfilled. Leaders in all sectors need to commit to practices that provide women with the same opportunities as men, allowing the right person to be appointed for any position 4. Is diversity high on the agenda in Guernsey? I believe it is getting higher on the agenda but still has some way to go. There are many business leaders, but by no means all, who still do not fully grasp the benefits of diversity. It’s not about having token women or people from minority groups on boards and believing the responsibility of diversity is fulfilled. Leaders in all sectors need to commit to practices that provide women
with the same opportunities as men, allowing the right person to be appointed for any position. 5. Who are your role models? There are many people in whom I see characteristics that have influenced me during my career. Those who are driven, ambitious but achieve their aims whilst bringing others along with them inspire me. 6. Is it possible to be successful and achieve a work life balance? Absolutely. Of course you need to work hard to succeed at anything in life but that doesn’t mean you must forgo everything else. There will be times in your career where work takes priority over other aspects of your life but that cannot be sustained for long periods. It is important to make time for other aspects of your life including yourself. I will work hard during the working week so that I can keep my weekends largely work free. I have a very busy schedule but I could not do that if I worked all weekend - everyone needs down time. 7. What do you think makes a good leader? Patience, openness and leading by example. 8. What are your goals over the next five years? My career goals are to develop my successors and build the business to a level where everyone who wants to has the opportunity to grow. 9. What is the most important thing you have learnt throughout your career? Have a mentor – be that formally or informally – who can help you focus on where you want to go and give you the confidence to try. 10. Describe yourself in three words Honest, approachable, pragmatic.
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LET’S TALK TECH Becoming truly business resilient
Business resilience goes beyond IT. Antony Allen of C5 Alliance explains why. It’s safe to say that our reliance on technology is ever-increasing. With so many business functions across our industries now underpinned by IT, it’s more important than ever to consider the consequences to your business if you experience tech-related trouble. The cost of downtime, whether it’s due to a major IT crisis or a day-to-day issue such as being short on tech staff, can quickly escalate. This is why our core focus for 2017 at C5 Alliance is business resilience. Specifically, ensuring our business community understands the importance of being resilient across their whole organisation. As the Channel Island’s largest provider of IT services, we want businesses to understand that, while IT is a core factor, the scope of business resilience goes beyond IT. For us, business resilience means knowing your systems are available 24/7, having the people and skills to run efficiently, acting proactively to prevent issues in the future, and being able to continue in a time of crisis. Ensuring business resilience can save you a lot of time, effort and money! Here are some points to consider: People resilience The latest research from the Business Continuity Institute (BCI) revealed unplanned loss of talent or skills as the second highest cause for disruption in 2016. It’s no secret that there’s currently a shortage of digital skills across the Channel Islands. Local non-IT
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firms often don’t have the knowledge to train new tech staff themselves, resulting in either costly and time consuming training, or recruiting a specialist. These businesses often struggle to retain tech staff due to lack of job fulfilment. From an IT professional’s perspective, working for a non-IT business offers limited opportunities for advancement in terms of skills and overall career progression. This can result in money and time wasted on frequent recruitment and training, plus the additional overhead of managing and motivating the team. You must also consider what you’d do if a key member of the IT team is off sick or on holiday; do you have another individual sufficiently trained in your systems, or would issues just go on hold until their return? Working with an external team of experts is one way to avoid these risks. C5 clients benefit from our constant development and progression of new talent and succession planning, which means we always have multiple team members trained in client systems. We choose our staff based on their attitude rather than skillset too, and provide them with the skills they need in-house. IT resilience The BCI’s top cause for disruption last year was unplanned IT or telecommunications outages, accounting for 60% of disruptions. If you’ve invested in tech, you should ensure it is properly maintained and protected with proactive monitoring and problem management. IT resilience is about more than just responding to and resolving a single issue. It’s about understanding why they happen and preventing them in future. We find a proactive approach significantly reduces the volume of calls our clients make in regards to tech trouble. Protecting your
systems with the latest updates is also important. At C5, our 24/7 team often takes care of this out of office hours to relieve the strain from systems when they’re needed the most. Our partnership with Microsoft also helps, as we’re always aware of the latest issues to look out for and the patches to resolve them. Business continuity Business continuity (BC) is about considering risks specific to your business and mitigating them. Disruption comes in many forms and always has a negative impact. Fires, office floods, power cuts, telecommunications outages, damage due to bad weather, the list goes on. I’ve seen the repercussions first-hand - it does pay to have a plan for continuance in place. Recent local disruptors like the issues with JT undersea fibre-optic cables and the power cut in Alderney has only highlighted how vulnerable businesses can be and why BC is vital. There are many BC solutions to consider, whether it’s cloud-based, or an entire back-up office and systems. Expert and independent consultation will ensure you have the right BC plan for your business so it’s protected in the future. Think of it like insurance! The spiralling costs of downtime, loss of productivity and even revenue due to a lack of business resilience can have a significant impact. If you’re not a tech business, why should you have to suffer the fallout of tech issues? I challenge you to consider whether managing your own IT makes financial and strategic sense or if you’d be better off working in partnership with a specialist organisation to ensure your business resilience for the future.
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let’s talk your career
Aaron Bird
Danny Cole
Emily Haithwaite
Aaron becomes a director of AFEX Offshore.
Crestbridge has appointed corporate lawyer Danny Cole as a director of corporate services.
Emily becomes partner in the firm’s corporate team. She has almost two decades’ experience acting for banks and asset managers in the formation, listing and winding-up of funds, as well as for sovereign wealth funds, funds of funds and investors investing into Jersey funds. Emily is an expert on AIFMD regulation and is an active member of Jersey’s AIFMD industry working group.
The new role sees Aaron Bird lead the firm’s sales activity across the Channel Islands and Isle of Man from its Jersey office. Aaron has over 15 years of experience in the financial services sector specialising in treasury and risk management solutions and has been with AFEX since 2006.
Danny will be responsible for oversight of merger and acquisition deals, services to complex structures and acting as a director on a number of entities, which will benefit from his strong legal background.
Head of Ogier’s Jersey funds team, Niamh Lalor, said:
‘Since the Brexit vote in June we’ve seen more firms looking to hedge their FX exposure using our collateral free forward facilities. We are delighted at the growth Aaron and his team have achieved and are excited for the future of AFEX Offshore.’
‘I’m delighted to welcome Danny to the firm this year as he brings with him a strong legal background which will greatly benefit our corporate services team. We pride ourselves as an organisation that demonstrates extensive knowledge in a highly complex legal and regulatory landscape and Danny will make an excellent addition to our offering.’
‘We are delighted to welcome a partner of Emily’s calibre. I am very much looking forward to the opportunities that 2017 presents, including having Emily on board to bring additional strength to our team of experienced practitioners.’
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Stuart Holmes, general manager for EMEA at AFEX said:
James Surcouf
Paul Johnson
Simon Mackenzie
James has been appointed investment manager and will be responsible for building client relationships and managing discretionary portfolios for the firm’s range of intermediary clients, including professional advisers and trustees, and high net worth private clients.
Paul joins Logicalis as security operations manager with responsibility for the operational management of the security team, and the development of staff mentoring and coaching.
Intertrust Jersey has appointed Simon as managing director.
With over 15 years’ experience in the international financial services industry, James joins from HSBC Global Asset Management (International) where he worked for more than 12 years. Darren Zaman, CEO, International at Brooks Macdonald, said: ‘We welcome James to our team in the Channel Islands. Given our leading role in driving Brooks Macdonald’s international growth strategy, hiring experienced and qualified investment professionals is key.’
Paul has over 14 years’ experience with the Prison Service, carrying out investigations and auditing local departments, training and developing staff. He also researched and developed the new digital apprenticeship run by the States of Jersey Trackers Department. Ricky Magalhaes, head of offshore security for Logicalis said: ‘I am delighted Paul is joining the managed security services team. Paul will be assisting me in developing more formal and consistent processes and procedures that will become increasingly important as the team grows.’
Simon joined Intertrust following its acquisition of Elian in September 2016 where he was group director and global head of corporate services. He played a key role in the growth of Elian following the MBO of Ogier Fiduciary Services in 2014. In his new role, he is leading the organisational and governance changes necessary to achieve the full integration of the Jersey business into the group. Simon said: ‘I’m enthusiastic about the challenge of leading Intertrust Jersey and believe that there are some great opportunities to build on the solid foundation we have in the island.’
email us at: letstalk@glsrecruitment.com
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Simon Page
Spencer Mariscal
Tracy Garrad
Hawksford has appointed Simon as director of its funds division.
Spencer has been appointed investment director, re-joining the company from Brooks Macdonald where he was head of fixed income advisory and dealing.
Tracy is HSBC’s new CEO operations in the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.
Group chief executive Michel van Leeuwen said:
Chief executive Grahame Lovett, said: ‘We are delighted to welcome Spencer back to the team who, with 27 years’ experience in the finance sector has a wealth of expertise and a deep understanding of the local wealth management landscape.’
Chris Davies, CEO Europe International at HSBC, said: ‘I’m delighted to welcome Tracy into this key role. Tracy is an experienced leader with a track record of achieving excellent service for customers. She is very well positioned to continue HSBC’s successful business strategy in the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.’
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‘Simon’s rigorous technical understanding of the industry and client needs will be a huge advantage in driving the next stage of growth for Hawksford’s funds offering. Hawksford has an ambitious growth strategy in place and our funds division is one of its cornerstones.’
In his new role he will be providing fixed income advice and execution services to institutional clients, credit funds and ultra-high net-worth private clients and will also sit on the advisory fixed income and fixed income credit committees.
Tracy joined HSBC in 2012 and in her new role will oversee the local retail and commercial bank, HSBC Bank International as well as the private banking and trust businesses of the group in the Channel Islands and Isle of Man.
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A member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, Simon will lead Hawksford’s fund services team and is responsible for managing divisional operations and the delivery of excellent client service to the business’s private equity and real estate clients.
Nick Marshall
Steve Whittingham
Nick Browning
Nick has been appointed as a senior associate in the firm’s fiduciary team.
Steve is the company’s now creative director, responsible for leading its creative team, and working alongside the web development and digital marketing teams.
Nick has been appointed senior consultant at GLS where he will be working with the existing team to spearhead the growth and development of the operation. He will be responsible for managing his own candidate and client portfolio, with an emphasis on the finance industry.
Nick has significant experience in advising on private wealth structures and other fiduciary matters, specialises in all aspects of Jersey trusts and foundations law. He regularly advises on the establishment of trusts and foundations used for managing private wealth.
Prior to joining Switch Digital, Steve set up and ran his own award-winning brand communication agency, Side-on.
Fiduciary partner Kellyann Ozouf, said:
Damon Eastwood, managing director of Switch Digital said:
‘I am delighted to welcome Nick as part of the fiduciary department. He is a strong addition to our team bringing with him an exceptional amount of experience. As well as his industry knowledge, his understanding of Collas Crill and our firm’s culture and values makes him the perfect fit.’
‘We have worked hard over the last three years to become a leading digital marketing agency on the island. We are really excited to have Steve join the team. His appointment will mean that we can continue to deliver the very best creative, technical and tactical digital experiences for all our clients, both on and off the island.’
call us on: 01534 852 111
Previously, Nick spent 30 years working in banking, investment management and wealth management, specialising for the last 15 in business development. Marie-Clara Thaureux, director of GLS said : ‘We are delighted that Nick has joined GLS, his experience in industry adds strength to GLS’s core offerings and ensures our services to clients and candidates are continuously outstanding’
or visit: www.glsrecruitment.com
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No hiding place The new provision relating to enablers of tax evasion Raymond Ashton of ABT explains Introduction The attack and pressure on the offshore jurisdictions was recently increased with the coming into effect of the UK legislation relating to enablers of offshore tax evasion or non-compliance, SI 2016/1249. This potentially wide-ranging legislation has obvious implications for all offshore trust companies and professional advisers in both offshore and onshore jurisdictions. This short paper will examine these provisions and the implications for the trust and accountancy advisers. The provisions are set out in section 116 and Schedule 20Finance Act (“FA”) 2016. The taxes covered are capital gains tax (CGT), income tax (IT) and inheritance tax (IHT).
(whether a civil or criminal) has been committed, HMRC may use its existing wide ranging powers under Schedule 36 Finance Act 2008. In addition it also has power to publish information about the enabler which in the case of professional advisers might lead to regulatory and disciplinary action. In the press much has been made of the ‘naming and shaming ‘provisions. The potential deterrent effects are obvious but the experience of Southern Ireland is mixed. Some taxpayers have seen publication as badge of honour whilst many have felt embarrassed such as parish priests caught up in the naming and shaming maelstrom.
Coverage of the new legislation
The relevant offices and civil penalties
The legislation is cast in alternate terms in that it covers enablers of both offshore tax evasion and non-compliance by another person (the offence where another person commits a relevant offence or engages in conduct which makes him liable to a civil penalty and the enabler has encouraged, assisted or otherwise facilitated the conduct in question). To assess whether an offence
The offences and penalties are broadly defined along criminal and civil lines. The criminal offences are the common law one of cheating the public revenue involving offshore activity and the lesser offence of fraudulent evasion of income tax involving offshore activity under section 106 A Taxes Management Act (TMA) 1970
The legislation is new but it does show HMRC means business and we expect more prosecutions in the future especially ‘high profile’ ones with the intention of demonstrating that the legislation has ‘teeth’
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and failure to notify IT or CGT on or by reference to offshore income, assets or liabilities section106 B-D TMA 1970. The reference to assets is clearly intended to cover CGT and IHT. The second limb, where one or more of these offences have been committed involve situations where there are: (a) errors in a taxpayer’s document involving an offshore matter under Schedule 24(1) FA 2007; (b) failure to notify liability involving offshore activity, see Schedule 41 FA 2008; (c) failure to make a return for twelve months involving offshore activity see Schedule 55 FA 2009; (d) penalty in connection with relevant offshore assets (what the legislation refers to as moves), Schedule 21(1) FA 2015 For this purpose the term involving offshore activity is defined widely to include an offshore matter, an offshore transfer or a relevant offshore move.
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Conditions which must be satisfied before a penalty is payable In effect two conditions must satisfied. (a) that the person (which includes an individual, partnership or company) knew when he carried out his actions that they enabled or were likely to enable offshore tax evasion or non-compliance; (b) the other person has been convicted of a relevant offence and either the penalty has been assessed as final or he has entered into a contract settlement with HMRC in consideration of no formal proceedings being taken against him. It is irrelevant whether the relevant penalty or offence relates solely to offshore tax evasion or non-compliance or both offshore tax evasion or non-compliance and other tax evasion or non-compliance. It also covers other tax evasion or non-compliance, defined as conduct which constitutes cheating the public revenue or fraudulent evasion of tax or which makes the person liable to a penalty under any of the provision of the Taxes Act. The possibility of ‘double jeopardy’ is ruled out by Schedule 20 FA 2016 where the person has been convicted of an offence in relation to the failure in question. Penalties Where a person has enabled: (i) another person liable to a penalty in connection with the relevant offshore
asset transfer under Schedule 21 FA 2015 the penalty is the grater of 50% of the potential lost revenue (PLR) or £3,000 and
(ii) in the more serious case of tax evasion or non-compliance falls within any other relevant offence or penalty the penalty is the greater of 100% of the PLR or £3,000. In assessing the PLR where the person has enabled the commission of a relevant offence the fact that the other person has been prosecuted for the offending conduct is to be disregarded. Where the PLR relates to both offshore tax evasion or non-compliance and other evasion or non-compliance only, such share as is just and reasonable is taken into account in setting the PLR for the purposes of calculating the enabler’s penalty. HMRC has power to reduce the penalty where an enabler makes an unprompted disclosure (one made voluntarily and without any prompting by HMRC) or in special circumstances. Overpayments of tax are not regarded as satisfying this criteria. A detailed consideration of all the circumstances is beyond the scope of this article. Finally the naming and shaming provisions only apply where the PLR is greater than £25,000 and not surprisingly HMRC has discretion not to publish details where full mitigation of penalties has been given for making a prompted disclosure. Implications for offshore service providers In recent years it has become increasingly common for regulated offshore providers
to ask for and be given copies of the tax advice they have received when ether a client or a potential client wants to carry out a transaction. This is sensible but will not protect the service provider in the future. It will be necessary for the provider to consult and take his own tax advice. This will increase the cost of any transaction and act as a deterrent in terms of undertaking it. Service providers will also be required to show that not only was advice taken but also the instructions that were given. A potential problem will arise where the advice taken by the client and the service provider conflicts which is often the case in tax. My advice would be where the advice seriously conflicts would be to follow the advice given to the service provider even though you may lose the client. Apart from the safety aspects this is the course likely to be favoured by the regulatory authorities. Service providers might also as a matter of good practice apply this to transactions where HMRC is not involved especially given the requirements of CRS and FATCA. The legislation is new but it does show HMRC means business and we expect more prosecutions in the future especially ‘high profile’ ones with the intention of demonstrating that the legislation has ‘teeth’. One suspects that whilst HMRC might want to use the legislation against one of the larger firms of accountants a more likely target is a medium size firm of a smaller firm. The intent to the legislation is clear: beware of getting involved in offshore transactions, the lifeblood of the offshore world.
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These people made a great move
Adrian Gardner
Hazel Turvey and Marie Donnelly
Mark Oliphant
Adrian is Ipes’s new chief financial officer.
Cherry Godfrey has promoted Hazel and Marie to director level.
Mark has been promoted to head of communications for the exchange.
Hazel joined in 2013, and heads the collections team. With 22 years’ experience in the finance industry, she will now take more responsibility for shaping the company’s growth strategy.
He joined the CISE in June 2015, having previously spent nearly a decade at Guernsey Finance promoting the island’s finance industry to a global audience. Mark is also chairman of the Channel Islands group of the CIPR.
David Cherry, group managing director said: ‘Marie and Hazel bring significant strength, knowledge and expertise to the business. Being an equal opportunities employer, it is especially pleasing that we also now have a strong female representation at senior management and board level.’
Fiona Le Poidevin, CEO of the TISE, said: ‘I am extremely pleased that Mark has been promoted. This is recognition that he has been consistently operating at a high standard, just one of the elements that have helped contribute to the success of the business during the last year.’
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‘Adrian brings a wealth of experience from a variety of financial and professional services businesses and will be a great asset to our team. I am delighted Adrian has chosen to work with us and help us on our continued journey of growth.’
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Chris Merry, Ipes CEO said:
Marie joined in 2001 and became associate director in 2007. She has developed broad experience of the business, through working in different departments..
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Adrian, a chartered accountant, is an experienced CFO with a broad range of experience. Until recently, Adrian was CFO of International Personal Finance, the FTSE 250 financial services firm. He began his career at PwC, then spent 13 years at Lazard, latterly as a managing director in the TMT team.
Sam Shires
Alan Ibbotson
Christopher Chan
Sam has become a Guernsey advocate.
Alan is Sure’s chief financial officer.
He studied law and commerce at undergraduate level in New Zealand before completing his masters in law at Cambridge, has lived in Guernsey for 12 years. Advocate Shires’ time in France coincided with Walkers launching in Guernsey after acquiring AO Hall.
In his new role he will be responsible for the overall financial strategy and risk management of Sure across its network and will oversee the company’s financial planning and accounting, data analysis and procurement.
Guernsey Finance has appointed Christopher as its first Hong Kong representative.
He said: ‘Becoming an advocate is something I had considered for a while as I love being part of the island’s legal industry and its unique history. The other partners were incredibly supportive and the corporate team has been fantastic in maintaining relationships with our clients and handling the workload which has grown as a result of us joining Walkers.’
In previous roles Alan was the head of finance at Orange UK and Telefonica UK and was responsible for various commercial and financial activities at these companies. Sure’s CEO, Ian Kelly, said: ‘Alan has a lot of experience in the telecoms industry and we are very much looking forward to exploring the ways in which he can help Sure to identify and drive growth opportunities across the business.’
Christopher will lead Guernsey’s promotional efforts in Hong Kong as well as be an on-theground presence for Guernsey Finance and its member firms. He has worked in Hong Kong’s financial and corporate services sector for the past six years, with a particular focus on business development. Kate Clouston, director of international business development at Guernsey Finance said: ‘We’ve had a really positive experience since opening our Hong Kong office. There are a growing number of opportunities across all sectors and we’re therefore excited to be able to share Guernsey’s complete offering with the Asia market.’
Meet the team Left to right Jenny Melissa Nadine Liga
Lisa Anna Becky Kirstie Patrick.
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...and so can you with situations.gg
Martin Le Page
Paul Rogers
Peter Bruges
AFM has promoted Martin to fire and security manager.
Paul Rogers is the new CEO of the NP Group.
PraxisIFM has appointed Peter as group finance director.
CA James Cooke
Jody Newark
James has been appointed as a senior associate in the firm’s corporate and finance team.
GHA has elected Jody to its board as a full non-executive director following a one-year placement as part of the GTA University Centre board apprentice initiative.
James has worked in Guernsey and the BVI and initially trained at Eversheds in the UK. He specialises in corporate and commercial matters including mergers and acquisitions, banking and finance, investment funds and special-purpose acquisition companies. Ben Morgan, partner in Carey Olsen’s Guernsey office, said: ‘James’s senior appointment represents the continued growth of our corporate team and our commitment to delivering the highest level of client service. His extensive knowledge and experience will be a valuable addition to our corporate, finance and investment funds offering.’
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Jody took part in the GTA scheme which aims to widen the pool of board-ready individuals in the island by mentoring rising stars and supporting future board members. Deputy chairman of the GHA, Chris Hill, said: ‘Jody has proven herself to be a crucial member in the team, offering assistance in due diligence and corporate governance. Having a broad skillset and knowledge base within our board contributes to the on-going success of the GHA.’
Simon Thornton, group CEO, said: ‘Peter has a wealth of experience across a broad range of sectors. He is the perfect fit for PraxisIFM, which is one of very few independent financial services groups with a global footprint headquartered in the Channel Islands.’
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‘The group has a huge amount of expertise and experience within it which any member company can call on. The important thing is that we all play to our strengths, work together and share skills and knowledge for the common good.’
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‘Martin has soaked up a large amount of knowledge during the three years that he has been with us at AFM. He has acquired vast experience across a range of fire and security systems, which will help him as he transitions into his new management role.’
He has over 35 years’ experience working for two UK family-owned builders’ merchants. He was a director of one of them for 21 years, responsible for 18 branches and two DIY stores.
Peter’s new role encompasses group financial reporting, corporate governance, corporate finance as well as supporting the development and expansion of the business. He has held senior finance, IT and programme management roles in the retail and finance sectors and was head of internal audit and finance programmes at Specsavers Optical Group.
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AFM senior amanger Martin Pipet said:
He is also managing director of Norman Piette and will now oversee all six companies within the group.
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Martin will look after the day-to-day running of the facilities management company’s fire and security division. Following 10 years in the Army, Martin has spent three years at AFM as a fire and security engineer gaining valuable experience and knowledge in the field.
Stuart Crowley and Mike De Robilliard Stuart and Mike have been promoted and become signing directors. Stuart leads Deloitte’s offshore risk and quality function, with teams based in Guernsey, Jersey and Isle of Man. This role is increasingly important given the focus on audit quality across the industry. Mike has broad expertise in investment management and listed funds audits, across a broad range of alternative asset classes. His role includes involvement in transaction services, notably funds listing on the LSE. John Clacy, partner in the Guernsey office, said: ‘We feel these promotions are great news for our clients. With more signing directors we have greater capacity to support our clients on strategic matters in our role as trusted advisor.’
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Tips for trips Director of Travel Solutions Mandy Eulenkamp looks at the various things that influence our holiday choices and gives an idea of current trends The start of the calendar year is generally the beginning of a hectic booking period in the travel industry, and this year has been no exception. Short breaks, long haul, cruising, flight only, gap years whether you’re 18 or 80! – such a variety of trips.
another, and seek out where the locals eat. In the travel industry we mustn’t underestimate the influence of such programmes, and a good travel advisor will help you tailor your holiday to exactly what you want. Remember it’s your time and you can’t get it back … so think carefully about the reason that you’re travelling – is it to sightsee, to relax, to learn a new skill?
So what influences your travel plans? Is it friends and family telling you about the great holiday they’ve had? Or conversely, saying that they’ll never go to XYZ place again! World events? Television programmes? Films? Books? Advertising is a complicated business, with subliminal advertising sneaking in whilst you’re browsing Facebook, and then ‘traditional’ holiday adverts pop up on the TV – all designed to make you want to visit that special place. How do you decide? Often, people have a ‘bucket list’ of places and destinations they want to visit, and these can change depending on circumstances. I have been watching Rick Stein’s Long Weekends and, whilst I consider I’ve travelled fairly widely and extensively, I realise that there are a lot of treasures in Europe that I’ve not visited. So some of these places have crept onto my bucket list. The history of European cities is very often what drives someone to visit, and many hours can be lost in palaces, castles, museums and art galleries, followed by that oh-so-favourite pastime of people watching, whilst sipping a continental coffee (or maybe something a little stronger!). And as food programmes continue to be popular, trying local cuisine shouldn’t be underestimated – after all, isn’t one of the privileges of travelling to immerse yourself in the local culture? Try to steer clear of the big chains which often make one city centre seem like
Experiential travel is a growing trend, and more and more people of a certain age, who perhaps didn’t have a gap year as they simply weren’t so popular (I don’t remember any of my friends having one!), are taking a sabbatical or early retirement and having amazing holidays Be open to new ideas, too. Some people will dismiss cruising as they think it’s full of older people and not for them – but by matching you to the right cruise and itinerary, you could find yourself converted! Cruises are, in my opinion, ideal for multi-generational holidays as there is a huge amount of freedom on board to ‘do your own thing’, before meeting up with the family and sharing the anecdotes of your day.
I’ve been lucky enough to cruise with a number of different cruise lines, and to a variety of places – the Far East, the Mediterranean, the Caribbean and, my favourite, Alaska. Each cruise has offered something unique, although there is still that degree of familiarity to make you feel comfortable in your surroundings. But what if you want to break out of that comfort zone? To experience something that you’ll probably only do once in a lifetime? Experiential travel is a growing trend, and more and more people of a certain age, who perhaps didn’t have a gap year as they simply weren’t so popular (I don’t remember any of my friends having one!), are taking a sabbatical or early retirement and having amazing holidays. The Galapagos is one area that is flourishing, as is Antarctica. One of the most frequent things found on the ‘bucket list’ is to see the Northern Lights. Route 66 still holds a fascination for many, and self-drive holidays remain popular. A trip of a lifetime is also often bolted on to a family event, such as a wedding in Australia, or maybe a sporting event – F1, cricket, rugby to name but a few. Tempting though these amazing trips are, they do tend to be that once (or twice) in a lifetime, and I firmly believe that, whatever the holiday, however long, it is to be treasured. Hopefully it won’t go disastrously wrong, because those days and nights away from the routine of daily life should be special. When I look back on my holidays, I’ve had as much fun and as special a time messing about in the Lake District for a week as going to Alaska – ok, the scenery, the spectacle and the different culture are obviously something that you’ll never forget – but, perhaps the main reason for holidaying is to spend time with loved ones. So wherever it is this year, make it a good one. 37
For business or leisure, there’s always a little something extra Hotel de Havelet
Royal Hotel
Havelet, St Peter Port, Guernsey, GY1 1BA T: 01481 722199 E: stay@dehaveletguernsey.com W: www.dehaveletguernsey.com
David Place, St. Helier, Jersey, JE2 4TD T: 01534 726521 E: operations@royalhoteljersey.com W: www.royalhoteljersey.com
Wherever Life Takes You, Best Western Is There.ÂŽ
T OU RIS M & H OS PITALIT Y
The challenges ahead Sarnia Hotels’ Karel Harris outlines some of the current challenges facing the local tourism sector and how the accommodation sector will have to adapt to change On the tourism front in Guernsey our main concerns during 2016 were the transport links which impacted visitor numbers. The reasons have been well documented but we particularly noted the cost of interisland fares and the negativity surrounding Condor, as well as the timetable which led to a fall in day visitors. On the days when a cruise ship visits the town is vibrant, and we hope that in time many of the passengers will return for a longer stay – this is a fantastic opportunity to market the island. Another major issue during 2016 was staffing. There is a global shortage of qualified and experienced chefs and throughout the season most establishments were operating with vacancies. This will
enforce rate parity so should your website offer cheaper online rates, you may find your business slipping down their rankings and losing its online visibility. Going forward we need to engage with our guests to persuade them to book directly with us.
no doubt be even more of a problem this year, and with sterling’s low exchange rate the island may seem less attractive to our European colleagues. From April, we will also have to contend with the new population management regime – we are being assured that obtaining licences will be simpler in future, and the committee is liaising with the various industries who have to rely on workers from outside the island … so we will wait and see. We can also expect to see all our costs including energy bills rising.
Best Western will be launching an advantageous rate programme for members of its loyalty programme shortly. So there will definitely be challenges ahead – however there may also be positives to be taken from all this uncertainty. UK visitors may prefer to spend sterling, and feel safer closer to home. Our European friends may enjoy the strength of the Euro to visit our islands. We plan to continue investing and improving our hotels to meet rising customer expectations.
Another significant cost we face is the commissions charge levied particularly by the two global giants: Expedia (and their sister companies) and Booking.com. Search for any hotel in any destination on the net and, almost without fail, one of those companies will try to persuade you to book through them. These companies also try to
Some UK holiday trends •
According to VisitBritain’s research into British holiday makers, residents of Great Britain took 124.4 million overnight domestic trips in 2015, (9% more than the previous year).
•
The amount spent on these trips also increased by 9% to £24.8bn. On average each trip saw expenditure of £200 and lasted for three nights.
•
Holiday trips accounted for 45% of all overnight trips and 57% of all expenditure, with the typical holiday trip lasting for 3.5 nights and seeing expenditure of £253.
• The number of holiday trips is 8% higher than a decade ago whereas in
real terms expenditure on holiday trips is 9% higher. However, there has been considerable variation in the number of holiday trips across the past 10 years, with 2009 seeing the strongest ‘staycation’ impact.
increase in admissions during 2015, with gardens, farms and theme parks all seeing growth of 7% whereas at the aggregate level museums and galleries along with places of worship saw a slight decline in admissions.
•
During 2015 the number of ‘tourism day visits’ undertaken by GB residents stood at 1.525 billion with the amount of expenditure associated with these trips being £53.863 billion, giving an average expenditure per visit of £35.32.
•
During the first five months of 2016 the number of overnight trips was 6% down with the number of holiday trips 3% lower than during the first five months of 2015.
•
Figures on the number of ‘tourism day visits’ undertaken within Great Britain cover the first 10 months of 2016 and shows an annual increase of 14%, with expenditure up by a slightly lesser amount of 10%.
• The number of tourism day visits declined by 4% while the amount spent remained flat. • Visitor attractions in England saw a 2%
39
TO U R I S M & HOSPITA LITY
Working harder and smarter delivers results Tracey O’Neill, director of sales, Red Carnation Hotels, is upbeat about the 2017 tourism season and tells us why With two hotels in Guernsey, The Old Government House and Duke of Richmond, we have nearly 50,000 bed nights to fill each year which sounds like a challenge if you believe that tourism is in decline. While it’s true that collectively we have to work harder and smarter than ever before to attract visitors to the island and to our hotels, 2016 was actually a great year for us. Not only did we exceed our targets but also saw our best results in terms of bed nights and revenue since 2012. Looking back over the year, there was an increase in business from all of our market segments, but with business stays and leisure being the biggest successes. While the well-documented changes to air links between the islands and the UK have definitely impacted some of our corporate clients we are also seeing a healthy increase in new clients to the island and hotels. On the leisure side of our business, we certainly saw the benefits of aligning our marketing efforts closer than ever with the work being done by VisitGuernsey. The focus on event-led tourism such as the Heritage and International Food Festivals is great for the island and the hard work started to pay off for us last year. In Red Carnation Hotels we are fortunate to have owners who are continuously investing in their properties and last year was no exception. At The OGH we had two major refurbishments during the year, with our new-look Brasserie opening in February and our second-largest function space, the Colborne Room, receiving a make-over in the summer. A final new addition to the hotel in 2016 was our new OGH roof webcam. The camera has captured many stunning images of the
40
harbour and Castle Cornet, including the Liberation Day fireworks and some amazing sunrises. The live images are on our website and we’ve had some great interaction with followers on our social media channels. This is in turn increases hits to our own website and as we build interest we hope will drive direct bookings to the hotel.
Looking back over the year, there was an increase in business from all of our market segments, but with business stays and leisure being the biggest successes Outlook for 2017 For every business, where there is a challenge there is an opportunity and while we are not unique in being concerned about the short and long-term implications of national and international events we are also looking at how to grow our business further. We believe that uncertainty surrounding Brexit will be good for Channel Islands’ tourism and are again working with VisitGuernsey to promote the island to those looking for a break close to home. We’ve had anecdotal evidence from our main UK tour operators that bookings to Guernsey are up in the region of 8% compared with the same period last year and direct bookings to the hotels are also showing good increases on previous years. This is borne out by a comment made by Deputy Jennifer Merrett in early February.
The member of the Committee for Economic Development told the Guernsey Press that early indications were that 2017 had ‘got the island off to a good start, with forward bookings looking healthy for the peak season’. Specialist tourism A new initiative for us this year is to target the wellness tourism sector, which according to the Global Wellness Institute (GWI), is ‘travel associated with the pursuit of maintaining or enhancing one’s personal wellbeing’. The wellness market grew 10.6% to US$3.72 over the two-year period to 2015, according to the GWI, with VisitGuernsey’s own research also revealing that there is an appetite for short haul domestic destinations. We are currently working with local experts in areas such as yoga, nutrition and outdoor activities to put together two to four-day breaks targeting people wanting to detox, lose weight or just generally spend some much-needed ‘me time’ away from family commitments and work. Corporate sector Over the past three years we have seen a major change to our corporate business, with the last 12 months in particular seeing a significant growth in new clients looking to stay with us regularly. This can only be good news for Guernsey plc, with these clients coming from a range of sectors, all using existing business services here, from taxis and restaurants through to legal and accounting advice and so contributing to our economy. While budgets and internal guidelines for corporate travel have been tightening over the past few years we’re getting positive signals from our clients and planning for a successful 2017.
YOUR BUSINESS BASE IN GUERNSEY Two fantastic business hotels situated in the heart of St Peter Port Whether you need space for a small focus group or are looking to hold a meeting, seminar or large event, we can provide fully equipped business services you can rely on. Our elegant function rooms can accommodate up to 300 people in total comfort. Our events team can also arrange off-site excursions, entertainment and travel for individuals or groups where required. We offer competitive rates for overnight stays and business packages, to find out more about our tailored approach, please contact Tracey O’Neill, Director of Sales, on 01481 738623, or email toneill@rchmail.com.
Guernsey’s only five star venue
Four star luxury, five star treatment
Seven stylish function rooms
A choice of four superb reception rooms
Host everything from memorable meetings for six, to lavish banquets for 150 guests
Fully equipped for 16 to 300 delegates
Renowned cuisine and an excellent cellar Private dining rooms ideal for pre-board meeting dinners
Private bar and Terrace - perfect for refreshments State-of-the-art sound system and A/V equipment Ideally situated for easy access to the island’s business hub
Competitive business rates including full English breakfast, digital newspapers, and use of the hotel gym and spa
Competitive business rates with complimentary upgrades subject to availability, full English breakfast and high speed WIFI throughout the hotel
Telephone: 01481 738 504 Email: meetingsandevents@theoghhotel.com www.theoghhotel.com
Telephone: 01481 740 860 Email: events@dukeofrichmond.com www.dukeofrichmond.com
@OGH_Guernsey
/theoghhotel
OGH_Guernsey
@DOR_Guernsey
/dukeofrichmondhotel
DOR_Guernsey
FLIGHT GUIDE
2017 JERSEY
JER ANY
36+
2017
JER ANY Airlines
Routes
FLIGHT GUIDE
YOUR DESTINATIONS
12
Where we fly to: AIRPORT
OPERATOR
Aberdeen Basel Belfast Bern - via Basel Birmingham Bristol Cardiff Doncaster Sheffield Dublin Durham Tees Valley Dusseldorf - ll East Midlands Edinburgh Exeter Funchal (Madeira) - Charter Service Geneva Glasgow - ll Gloucester Guernsey Humberside Inverness Isle of Man Leeds Bradford Liverpool London City London Gatwick - ll London Luton London Southend Malaga - Charter Service Manchester Munich Newcastle Norwich Palma (Majorca) - Charter Service Southampton Tenerife - Charter Service
Year round www.ports.je
Summer only
Flybe SkyWork easyJet SkyWork Flybe Flybe Flybe Flybe Aer Lingus Flybe Eurowings Lufthansa
aerligus.com 0333 004 5000
Flybe Flybe Flybe Estrela Travel Flybe easyJet Flybe Citywing Flybe / Blue Islands Flybe Flybe Citywing Jet2 easyJet Flybe / Blue Islands British Airways easyJet easyJet easyJet FlyDirect Flybe Lufthansa easyJet Flybe / Loganair FlyDirect Flybe / Blue Islands
easyjet.com 0330 365 5000
FlyDirect
Winter only
blueislands.com 01234 589 200 ba.com 0844 493 0787 citywing.com 0871 200 0440
estrelatravel.co.uk 01534 724444 eurowings.com 0330 365 1918 flybe.com 0371 700 5000 flydirect.je 01534 496677 jet2.com 0800 408 1350 lufthansa.com 0371 945 9747 flyskywork.com 0871 977 6088
For periods of operation, times and prices please contact the individual operator. While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, Ports of Jersey cannot be held responsible for any subsequent changes to the information provided.
T OU RIS M & H OS PITALIT Y
The Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management Guernsey Marathon sets the pace for Guernsey’s sports tourism success
Sports tourism has undergone a dramatic rise in popularity over recent years and it’s now one of the fasting-growing sectors in the tourism industry. Cheaper travel and improved technology means people are able to travel longer distances for shorter trips, which is conducive to watching or taking part in sporting events - and clearly advantageous for Guernsey. The Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management Guernsey Marathon is doing its bit to sell Guernsey. Enticing runners with the promise of flower-lined lanes and sandy beaches, the marathon plays a major role in raising the profile of Guernsey to thousands of runners every year – many living overseas. Since the Guernsey Marathon’s relaunch in 2009 international entries have increased year-on-year – enticed by the picturesque location and prizes on offer. In 2009, 25 percent of entries were from overseas and by 2016 this figure had increased to 85 percent. Runners from 20 different countries travelled
to the island last year, including visitors from the Czech Republic, Finland, Denmark and Hungary for the first time. And many runners don’t just come for race day - they make a holiday of it and bring their families. Last year these extended trips generated 1,800 bed nights in local hotels and guest accommodation as well as spending on restaurant meals and shopping. More generally, sports tourism is making Guernsey a year round destination for visitors and a strong sporting reputation speaks of the quality of island life. The tourism industry has started to recognise these changes and accept sport as a valuable asset which has the potential to bring about a range of benefits. Nations compete over the chance to host sporting events such as the FIFA World Cup, the Olympic Games and the Island Games understanding that these events have the power to jumpstart economic and social change. Sporting events can also provide much needed investment to help transform places into
desirable tourist destinations. The legacy of sporting events can extend far beyond the final whistle or closing ceremony. A survey by the Brazilian tourism board found that while 61 percent of international visitors to Brazil during the 2014 World Cup were visiting the country for the first time, 96 percent said that they planned to return. Sports tourists often become repeat visitors and can help to increase the profile of the destination worldwide. Meanwhile, improvements to infrastructure for hosting big sporting events ensure that cities have the facilities and capacity needed to accommodate a boost in visitors for decades to come. Even on a smaller scale, sporting events fill hotels, restaurants and shops and project the profile of locations onto an international stage. Runners keen to enjoy all the pleasures of this year’s Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management Guernsey Marathon can secure their place at the starting line on 27 August by registering online at www.guernseymarathon.gg.
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TINS MEM A RMT A I N MBAR E LC HE R
DATA PROTECTION COMES OF AGE The islands are gearing up for fundamental changes thanks to new EU regulatory standards
Jackson advert
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E M M A M ART IN S
‘Beckileaks’ – publication after a rejected €1m ransom claim for the safe return of David Beckham’s private thoughts on the UK’s honours system after his tax affairs allegedly stopped him getting a knighthood – show the sensitivity and value of personal data. But less well known is how a new EU data protection law is going to affect everyone in the Channel Islands. Richard Digard reports Are you ready for the biggest change in data protection for more than 20 years, a tightening up of the rules that if you get them wrong could cost your business a fine of up to €20m or 4% of global annual turnover? It is a frightening prospect and one that the Channel Islands’ data regulator is trying to ensure doesn’t trip up the business community by embarking on significant educational and awareness campaign. But it’s not only the private sector that’s affected. The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will mean sweeping changes for government as well and the States of Jersey and Guernsey are actively collaborating to ensure the islands are adequately prepared. Time, too, is short as the GDPR will be enforced in EU member states and wherever else applicable from 25 May next year. The significance of the changes is explained by Emma Martins, the CI regulator who runs the Office of the Information Commissioner in Jersey and the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner in Guernsey. ‘We are undoubtedly at a turning point for data protection,’ she says, ‘and the GDPR has implications for the Channel Islands in two ways. Local companies targeting goods or services to EU citizens will be required to comply with the GDPR, regardless of what regulatory or legislative regime is in place locally. ‘Secondly, the islands’ “adequacy” rulings under the current EU Directive will be re-assessed against the GDPR and it is highly unlikely that the current laws will be considered adequate against the new
standard.’ Because of the scope of the changes and the consequences of not complying, Guernsey and Jersey have decided that GDPR-equivalent legislation will be enacted with the aim of being ready for implementation in May next year, in line with the EU’s timetable.
Are you ready for the biggest change in data protection for more than 20 years, a tightening up of the rules that if you get them wrong could cost your business a fine of up to €20m or 4% of global annual turnover? That’s challenging, not least because each island will have to draft identical legislation and have it approved by the respective States before sending it to the Privy Council for ratification. As important, however, the regulation puts greater obligations on public bodies, requiring scrutiny of data processing which will require a culture shift, investment in data protection officers and an overhaul of the procedures and staffing of the regulator’s offices. Emma, a straight-talking pragmatist, says that data protection has been the poor relation in the world of regulation but the EU’s GDPR will force a rethink of that attitude. She also acknowledges that the timetable for implementation is tight and that there is a lot of pressure on them to achieve it. However, both governments have embraced the need for the changes and are making resources available to hit the deadline.
What’s changing? Rules to protect personal data were first implemented by the EU in 1995 and specific Guernsey and Jersey laws followed in 2001 and 2005 respectively. While some aspects of this legislation are replicated in the forthcoming GDPR, there are some key differences for businesses to understand. The regulations will introduce a risk-based approach to governance and documentary evidence of compliance will be required. Accountability is introduced for data controllers and processors and there are strengthened rights for individuals and (for the first time) specific, high levels of protection for children. In addition, mandatory breach reporting will be introduced and the ‘legitimate interests’ processing condition will be removed for public authorities. As data protection regulation comes of age, the GDPR places more emphasis on building in effective data protection practices and safeguards at the beginning of all processing, which means it has to be taken into account early on in all projects involving data. Data protection impact assessments (DPIAs) are now best practice, Emma says, and are likely to be mandatory in circumstances where decisions made have legal effects, the situation involves processing special category data such as health, or where the monitoring of publicly accessible areas of premises is undertaken. In effect, data protection has to become an integral part of a business’s approach to risk management – and has to be seen to be so. That means processes have to become routine and well documented. In addition, as business models and processes change and evolve, so too do compliance needs. Regular reviews are therefore essential and should be proactively managed and recorded. Emma said: ‘I cannot over-emphasise the importance of being prepared for this legislation. I particularly want to stress this to the islands’ small to medium-sized business communities who may not have access to the legal or compliance expertise and resources available to larger organisations.
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EM M A M ARTINS
These seismic changes in how personal data is regarded have been triggered by two main developments: the amount of personal information we leave behind in our digital lives and the increasing value this has with greater amounts being sold – legally or illegally
‘The new regulations are certainly going to up the game in terms of compliance obligations and there is much greater accountability for data controllers and processors. Wherever personal data is involved – whether that is staff, client or any other information relating to individuals – data protection compliance will have to be considered and built in at the beginning of the process and to a more significant and demonstrable degree.’ And this built-in rather than bolted-on approach means directors and senior management have to embrace it as well. She added: ‘This is no longer an area that can be the responsibility of one individual. Board level engagement is essential, as is adding it to your organisation’s risk register.’ These seismic changes in how personal data is regarded have been triggered by two main developments: the amount of personal information we leave behind in our digital lives and the increasing value this has with greater amounts being sold – legally or illegally. While David Beckham’s difficulties are the latest high-profile case, cyber criminals are
46
increasingly targeting any data they can get their hands on and a luxury European hotel was recently faced with a ransom demand to release control of its electronic door locks following a hack of their systems. Because of the importance of data, the GDPR is strengthening an individual’s rights over it and this includes bringing in mandatory reporting of breaches leading to the loss of personal data. With that, of course, comes the increased risk of litigation and the right for individuals to claim damages. In addition, new levels of transparency will be introduced regarding what data is collected and held and the uses to which it will be put. If relying on consent as a justification for processing data lawfully, businesses will have to demonstrate that the individuals concerned have given their explicit consent for that processing. Individuals will also have the right to have their data – which includes facts as well as opinion about them – to be deleted when no longer required and the right to transfer their data to another provider ‘data portability’, for example when changing mobile phone providers.
The benefits of GDPR While the scope of the new regulation is considerable and requires businesses fundamentally to change their approach to data protection and security, there are also benefits and opportunities from embracing it. Colin Vaudin is Guernsey’s chief information officer and is working with his colleagues in Jersey to implement a pan-island approach to the regulation and says that the advantages include maintaining access to the EU market and building on the CI’s reputation for excellence in regulatory matters. Importantly, both States have agreed that they will enact identical although separate legislation as regulatory arbitrage is acknowledged as unhelpful. Both jurisdictions anticipate first mover advantage from aligning with the GDPR and being able to build on their reputations as ‘trusted’ jurisdictions to win new business from non-compliant jurisdictions. These benefits and equivalence with GDPR are seen as vital because the islands’ economies are based on digital technologies and services and the reliance of financial
E M M A M ART IN S
and other sectors on personal data. That is expected to grow, especially as new digital business is attracted to the CI in future.
and the tools, including adequate budget, specialised staff and independence, to put all this in practice.
As Colin says: ‘All industries are information intensive in one way or another.’
Emma, who has four people in her Jersey office and two in Guernsey, says they are assessing what staffing they will need under the new regime but believes it may have to triple to around 20, especially if they are to cope with the anticipated ‘spike’ in work and reporting when the regulation comes into force, as well as meeting their existing commitments.
The CI business sector can be split into five key industries: Production and sale of information, such as in consultancy services, communications and media; information processing including legal services, insurance and banking; disseminating information, perhaps through broadcasting and telecommunications; manufacturing information processing devices like hardware and software; and research, including areas such as medical, economic and social. Demonstrating adequacy Research carried out for the States by PwC in 2016 confirmed that all key industry sectors would be affected by the GDPR and that the two islands’ public sectors would also be significantly impacted. It warned, too, that financial services and eGaming – particularly relevant for Guernsey – could be vulnerable if the islands lost their EU ‘adequacy’ status. Demonstrating this will not just focus on any legal framework, however. It will be necessary for the islands to prove both that their regulatory models are robust and operating in line with the requirements of the GDPR, and that businesses on island are meeting those standards. In addition, an EU re-assessment of this status is expected to take place before 2020 and compliance will have to be demonstrated through an effective regulatory model, similar to a MoneyVal type assessment.
Technology is changing how we live and how we do business and the islands have a real opportunity to lead the field by continuing to innovate and adapt in a nimble way Working in conjunction with the regulator is Callie Loveridge-Newey, lead officer for data Protection and information governance for the States of Guernsey, who says the regulations will touch everyone in the islands and have a particular impact on government because they impose an obligation to use data only when it is appropriate to do so. The various departments and committees in Guernsey and Jersey hold considerable volumes of information about individuals and this underpins the existing ‘do it online’ and ‘tell us once’ initiatives in both islands.
It’s this last requirement that underpins some of the regulatory changes that will be required and has significant resource implications.
In addition, public sector organisations will be compelled to appoint a data protection officer (DPO) to ensure safe custody of personal data as protection becomes embedded into operations rather than being a tick-box approach.
The supervisory authorities here will be expected to have the powers, the legitimacy
There are additional obligations on
departments or organisations handling sensitive information and data protection guardians will be essential in ensuring that the States are compliant. She is optimistic, however, that the tight timetable will be met and says the changes and opportunities are very exciting for government and the private sector. That view is echoed by Richard Field, counsel at Channel Island legal firm Carey Olsen, who sits on the States Industry Working Party and advises extensively on data protection, regulatory and cyber security issues. ‘If we get the new legislation right, introduce effective and proportionate data protection measures and are seen to take it seriously then it’s another string to our bow as a trusted jurisdiction,’ he said. Like regulator Emma and government’s Callie, he is spending a lot of time with businesses and other organisations to build awareness of the GDPR and to highlight the benefits it can bring as well as the obligations it imposes. ‘Technology is changing how we live and how we do business and the islands have a real opportunity to lead the field by continuing to innovate and adapt in a nimble way,’ he says. ‘FinTech is revolutionising the delivery of financial services and we are seeing the same rapid pace of change with clients in the MedTech and RegTech sectors. This progress brings new opportunities but it also brings new legal challenges and these issues need to be recognised and understood.’ He urges businesses to start taking the changes seriously now, because there will be no grace period when GDPR is implemented in 2018. The changes are so significant and far reaching that he is now spending most of his working time for Carey Olsen on GDPR and regularly runs courses to train individuals and raise awareness within businesses in the lead up to its implementation.
47
EM M A M A R TINS
It is predicted that there will be seven times more connected devices than people (world population 7.4bn) by 2020 as the internet of everything takes off – and cybercrime has never been more lucrative He adds that companies need to consider what resources they will need to accommodate the new regime. Under the new rules, where an organisation is required to have a data protection officer, that individual will have to be an expert. ‘If you need to employ someone as a DPO you should start looking now, as those individuals will become very scarce and very expensive if you want someone good,’ he warns. ‘Hiring a good DPO will be expensive, but imagine the cost of hiring a bad one.’ Personal data needs to be regarded in the same way as any other asset and safeguarded accordingly, he said, and boards need considered and regular involvement in that process. Information security, and in particular GDPR, should therefore be on the radar of every board and preparations for 2018 should be discussed regularly, with involvement from all areas of the business. Carey Olsen has also been emphasising the reputational costs and risks of data breaches – particularly with the forthcoming mandatory reporting of breaches and, in certain cases, requirement to notify individuals that they have been affected. ‘Regular staff training, proportionate but effective use of information security and use of encryption are vital’, said Richard. While growing in popularity, businesses using the cloud should consider the data protection implications – where is the data being held
and under what legal and regulatory conditions? Many cloud providers will be caught under joint liability provisions affecting data controllers and data processors, which will mean a need to review and potentially renegotiate contracts with such providers. Under the ‘right to be forgotten’ provisions, individuals have the right to have their personal data erased if it is incorrect or no longer relevant. They can also withdraw their consent for it being processed at any time, so adequate and verifiable retrieval and destruction processes are required. Carey Olsen teamed up with Channel Island IT specialist Galaxy CI Computer Brokers for one presentation and Galaxy MD Stuart Moseley said: ‘A common misconception is for businesses to believe they can hold on to client data “just in case”. This is generally not compliant and it is important that companies understand the current law and adapt to meet the GDPR, including having a transparent audit trail when destroying data.’ The need for new regulation The island’s current data protection regime is based on an EU directive issued in 1995 – when there were just 16 million internet users and only 1% of Europeans were online. Research by PwC also highlights that Amazon had just started, Google was two years away from its own launch and Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder of Facebook, was
aged just 11. Today, Facebook has 1.8 billion monthly users, 90% of the data that now exists was created in the last two years and 30 billion messages are sent every day using WhatsApp. It is predicted that there will be seven times more connected devices than people (world population 7.4bn) by 2020 as the internet of everything takes off – and cybercrime has never been more lucrative. Hackers stole and sold 117m LinkedIn passwords, Yahoo lost data from 500m personal accounts and, closer to home, TalkTalk received a record £400,000 fine (under the old regulations) for security failings that the regulator said enabled attackers to access customer data ‘with ease’. While the fine might seem significant, the loss to the business is estimated by the Sunday Times to be closer to £70m in lost revenues and exceptional charges, with about 95,000 customers cancelling their contracts. Introducing these data protection reforms when the world is awash with data has been likened to placing King Canute in front of a tidal wave, but the protection of individuals’ rights in a digital age is something which is important to all of us. It can also be a big opportunity for businesses that get it right.
For more information
Jersey www.dataci.je
Richard Field can be contacted at Carey Olsen via:
The data regulator’s Guernsey and Jersey websites are regularly updated and have special sections on GDPR.
Guernsey www.dataci.gg
Callie Loveridge-Newey can be contacted via:
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richard.field@careyolsen.com or 01481 741572
callie.loveridge-newey@gov.gg or 01481 717000
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Outsourcing - why so many businesses are pushing the button Jo Carre from Centillion Consulting Limited discusses how outsourcing certain operational activities to third party service providers can contribute to organisational success Increasingly, more and more organisations are turning to outsourcing a variety of office functions rather than carrying them out in-house. But why?
requirements and processes are robust and in line with industry standards
improve employee morale and motivation and, in turn, increase productivity.
• management and control of key risk when on-boarding clients
Again, why does that matter, you may ask.
As with anything there are both advantages and disadvantages associated with outsourcing but if carried out correctly, the benefits should far outweigh the negatives.
• swift resolution of queries and problems based on guidance provided
Opponents of outsourcing would argue that information going outside of the organisation makes it less secure and susceptible to manipulation or that there may be issues regarding the turnaround time and quality of outputs. Managed and monitored correctly from inception, with detailed service agreements in place, these factors should not be an issue. Expertise Third party service providers should come with a wealth of specialised knowledge in their field. Often certain functions require specific expertise and knowledge, which an organisation may not already possess in-house. It may not always be cost-effective to source full-time employees to carry out these functions, to provide training to existing employees or alternatively there may not be any suitable candidates. In these instances using a specialist service provider may be the answer. It may also be the case that the service provider can bring innovative guidance and recommendations, which may ultimately help the organisation grow and increase revenue realisation. They should have the time and expertise to be able to apply their knowledge skilfully. The outsourcing of the compliance function to a skilled professional should result in • peace of mind that regulatory 50
Outsourcing of internal audit to a skilled professional should result in • more robust, effective internal controls • greater understanding of the risks facing the business and how to mitigate and manage them • an independent viewpoint and the ability to recommend processes that are in line with industry best practice Why does it matter, you may ask. Simply put, these are areas that cannot be ignored or treated lightly. Controls weaknesses, including failure to understand and manage risks, individuals not possessing the necessary skills, incomplete records and lack of appropriate systems and processes, have all factored significantly in the published public statements from recent regulatory site visit findings. Focused strategic direction Finding the time to ‘fit everything in’, and balance regulatory responsibilities and strategic growth, is a common problem for many organisations, not restricted to the finance sector. Using a third-party service provider to carry out specific functions will result in freeing up senior management time to focus more on business development and running the business. In the instances where employees are carrying out roles they shouldn’t necessarily be doing, due to there being ‘nobody else to do it’, removing this burden should ultimately
Simply put, a business runs more smoothly when the right people at the right level are doing the right tasks. It must be stressed, however, that the responsibility for the activities being outsourced remains with the directors of the outsourcer, who must have procedures in place for overseeing the work of the service provider and monitoring their performance. Cost savings There can be significant cost saving through outsourcing. An agreed fee for services is often more economical than paying a salary and all the related expenses and employee benefits that come with that. The past 10 years have seen seismic changes in the political and economic landscapes globally, 2016 has been no exception. Brexit and the results of the US presidential election will bring with them great change and uncertainty but one thing remains clear and that is that regulation will continue to increase. Demands on business resources and finances to meet their regulatory responsibilities can only grow as a result. Pushing the button The shape of outsourcing has changed from being traditional and faceless. The best service providers today will work hand-in-hand with your organisation and be present as much as you need. Your service provider should feel like your ‘right hand’ and an integral part of your team. So if you feel your business is ready to launch into the next phase of its growth, why not consider pushing the button on outsourcing.
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Haley, Director & Founder T: +44 (0) 7781 447221 E: haley@centillionconsulting.com
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Bringing together people, premises & processes.
Taking care of your working environment C H A N N E L I S L A N D S • I S L E O F M A N • G I B R A LTA R
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Outsourcing facilities management Facilities management combines people, premises and processes to enable business continuity. Mark Edgar, of AFM Limited, looks at the benefits Why outsource? Taking into consideration the current economic uncertainty, businesses are increasingly turning their attention to more effective and efficient working patterns. Managing a building’s FM requirements is both complex and time consuming. Outsourcing is a logical option for organisations seeking cost savings for the bottom line and enabling their own people to concentrate on what they do best – driving top line growth. Industry changes Over the last five years, the way local business leaders perceive FM has changed. Traditionally, companies would call on the services of an FM provider as and when they were needed, or at most they were placed on a one-year contract. Compliance was often overlooked due to a lack of understanding the dedicated processes or trained personnel required to manage it. Also, price tended to be king when it came to procuring FM services, achieved primarily by reducing maintenance frequencies. However, many have since discovered that the ‘save yourself rich’ approach can be financially detrimental in the long-term. Through the introduction of longer duration (often three to five-year) FM contracts, truly strategic ‘partnerships’ between provider and client can be built. By working on the contract as well as in the contract, these partnerships drive both improvements in quality of service and sustainable cost-savings. Lately there has been a convergence between FM, HR and procurement to focus on: • The function of an organisation’s building • Staff wellbeing • Staff productivity The link between these is simple: a well-run machine operates to maximum
capacity. So, if premises are well managed and maintained, employees will be happier and therefore more productive. By outsourcing, organisations can access the speciality services needed to achieve these ideals.
and Waitrose to name but a few. By engaging local providers that understand the unique challenges of operating within the Channel Islands, UK providers can ensure continuity of service to their clients’ offshore bases, in line with national guidelines.
Local insight A growing number of Channel Island organisations are reaping the benefits that outsourced FM can bring. Andium Homes Ltd in Jersey recently outsourced its response repair service for mechanical and electrical installations to an FM provider, which is able to offer a single point of supply (one-stop shop) for all types of services repairs to its extensive portfolio of domestic properties. AFM works proactively with clients of Andium Homes to not only reduce maintenance costs and prolong building life, but also to reduce the environmental impact of its buildings. This new price per property (PPP) based contract delivers a higher quality service, reduced administration, better value for money, and allows Andium Homes to concentrate on delivering its mandate to provide more high quality homes through the Affordable Housing Gateway.
What to look for when choosing an FM provider So what should be taken into account when choosing an FM provider? The answer is a number of factors:
As its long-term FM provider, Guernsey Post recently engaged AFM to report on the condition of its critical systems to determine remaining useful lifetimes and build up budgets for a longer-term replacement programme. The major benefit of the FM provider completing the condition report is that they have a full working knowledge of each system and its characteristics. Through sensible planned maintenance activity, the working lives of building systems can be significantly extended, thus reducing the need for major capital investment to replace them. The services of local FM providers are not restricted by jurisdiction. It is now commonplace for high-performing local providers to be appointed to national FM contracts for offshore branches of financial institutions and retail outlets – HSBC, Boots
• • • • • • •
Availability – do they have sufficient skilled local resources to meet your needs as well as their other clients 24/7/365 days a year? Quality – how do they measure service quality and performance? Are they ISO9001 registered? Flexibility – can they increase and decrease the contract scope as you require? Health and safety – do they comply to all H&S standards and professionally manage any risks posed? Technology – can they provide online access to up-to-the-minute information and management of tasks for your premises? Compliance – do they have full knowledge of current and future regulations with the ability to determine and coordinate remedial activity as required? Professional cover - do they have adequate professional indemnity and public liability insurance? Do they have up-to-date certifications in place to service building-critical systems?
When considering outsourcing you should ensure that you are procuring services that deliver both quality and value. If the emphasis is on price alone this inevitably means that servicing levels are reduced. Research has shown that this approach not only limits the operational capability of your premises but can create major cost implications down the line.
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Translation, localisation or transcreation? Hollie Duquemin, director of Multilingual Hub explains… Did you know the McDonald’s menu items are not the same worldwide? Obviously, you have a lot of the same things appearing on the menus wherever you go, but if you go to Morocco, you will find the McArabia, an Arabic-themed sandwich on the menu. If you go to France, you will find the Croque McDo, a French-inspired cheese and ham toastie, and if you go to Germany, you will find the Nuremburger, which combines burgers and bratwurst with fried onions and mustard sauce. This is an example of product localisation – making your product accessible, and in this case appealing, to its target audience, in whatever country or culture they may be. This also works when translation is your product. Translation is the written communication of the meaning of a source language text using a target language. But where is this not enough? Localisation is the translation, and further adaptation of the translation, to suit a specific country or region. Translating an English menu into French at a tourist hotspot is fine, but once translated, it may need some
further adjustments. For instance, you might need to explain what toad in the hole is, and why it is not literally a ‘crapaud dans le trou’… Another option is transcreation. This is most often used to recreate marketing content for target languages, cultures and countries.
knowledge of foreign markets and marketing trends can prevent a brand from falling flat or seeming pretentious in a foreign country The linguists involved usually have a background in marketing or creative copywriting, and are trained to have a high awareness of cultural sensibility. This is because knowledge of foreign markets and marketing trends can prevent a brand from falling flat or seeming
pretentious in a foreign country. Take the Haribo jingle, a fun children’s rhyme in German (‘Haribo macht Kinder froh und Erwachsene ebenso’ – literally, ‘Haribo makes children happy, and adults too’). Transcreation has enabled that same tone and message to be conveyed, although the words needed to be changed to recreate the rhyming jingle (‘Kids and grown-ups love it so, the happy world of Haribo’). This can make a foreign company feel local in a target culture. A transcreator will convey the core style and voice of your marketing content to recreate your text in a way that will be familiar to the target audience, but at the same time, as close to the original content as possible. Whilst a company’s marketing resources are often experts in that field first and foremost, a transcreator is a linguist first and foremost. Just as you wouldn’t see an ophthalmologist about a back problem, make sure you are getting the right work done by the right taskforce, or ask your language service provider to advise you on the best way forward.
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Tongue Tied was formed in 1989 in East Sussex initially just offering translation services with its first client being American Express. Since then it has gradually developed into the company it is today Both face-to-face and telephone interpreting were added in 1990, followed by typesetting into every known software platform, and print (both lithograph and digital). Tongue Tied also offers complete conference facilities such as sound booths and roving microphones so the company can organise an event in any location in the world, providing both the interpreters and the equipment. In the late ‘90s, Tongue Tied began franchising its business with mixed success. Tongue Tied Kent and Bristol were very successful, the directors of Tongue Tied Kent retiring a few years after the purchase and Tongue Tied Bristol being bought by BAE. Other franchises were moderately successful.
Our latest location is Jersey where the company is developing partnerships between many local organisations especially in relation to international websites seeking to attract business and cooperation with overseas companies and in any language. Tongue Tied offers three USPs - price, quality, and delivery.
a number of interpreting assignments. We are introducing European clients to Jersey including a company which is releasing a new drink - Tranquini. We are translating its website into 16 European languages, its corporate site into five and completing transcriptions and voice-overs into all languages.
The company has over 50 commendation letters from high profile ‘blue chip’ organisations that testify to these points and enjoys a 92% client retention level. Tongue Tied offers a ‘single source solution’ for translation, typesetting and print into any language.
John Shouler, director in Jersey, said: ‘With the addition of Fabio and Tina as project leaders, and Chris Scott as a consultant we are now five in total and this will increase as the business grows.
It has been a very eventful year for Tongue Tied (Jersey) Ltd. We now have 20 clients on the island and that number is growing weekly, mainly through website translations and other translation work, but also through
‘We also won the A1 Business Excellence Award for 2016 and now have clients in 36 countries worldwide. On a personal note, we are very happy with life in Jersey and would take this opportunity to thank Locate Jersey and everyone else who has helped us settle down on this wonderful island.’
A single source solution for translation, typesetting and conference services
‘We translated into Chinese on behalf of the States of Jersey which assisted them in obtaining the contacts for Jersey milk to be sold in China.’
We translate, typeset and print to every language : websites, manuals, software, patents, claims, books, print, etc. Jersey-based Tongue Tied can translate, typeset and print websites, manuals, software, patents, claims, books, print and plenty more in every language, Launched in the UK in 1989, Tongue Tied moved its headquarters to the Island two years ago where it has expanded from simple translation and typesetting, to offering complete conference facilities, That includes providing interpreters, sound booths and roving microphones anywhere in the world.
The company, which has developed franchise businesses in the UK and the US also owns 50% of UK technical translator Tech Trans. From its home in Jersey, it is partnering with Island-based international businesses looking for a wide-range of translation services around the world, including complex websites. Tongue Tied’s three USPs-Price, Quality and Delivery - translates into 92% client retention.
Tongue Tied (Jersey) Ltd Tel: 01534 735505 Email: sales@tongue-tied.je Website: www.tongue-tied.je Toungue Tied_Contact.indd 1
03/02/2017 12:39
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Why outsource your business call handling? Managing director of Smart Office Richard Lowe outlines the benefits
• Reduce and control operating costs – Outsource to an on-demand PAYG model • Improve company focus - By outsourcing non-core functions, a business owner can focus on growing the company • Leverage outside expertise – Professional service providers are more efficient and can add value • Free internal resources for other purposes – Focus people on core business functions • Resources are not available internally – Flexibility and peace of mind Repetitive operational tasks such as call handling are an obvious choice for outsourcing allowing firms to flex their operational costs in line with their needs, rather than taking on an under-utilised resource internally. In the past the perception was that if a business missed a call, it wasn’t an issue as the caller would leave a voicemail message and would wait to be called back. In reality this happened a lot less regularly than we believed. Leaving a voicemail message for some is slightly anxiety-inducing not to mention the fact the caller could not be sure that either a) the message had been listened to b) when or even if they would be called back.
Fast forward to the current day where communication in many areas has become so much more instant that just the idea of leaving a voicemail message seems highly inefficient and improbable, hence the reason a number of multi-national companies are now considering doing away with voicemail all together. Indeed, a recent survey suggests 85% of callers whose initial call is not answered never call back again.
Repetitive operational tasks such as call handling are an obvious choice for outsourcing allowing firms to flex their operational costs in line with their needs, rather than taking on an under-utilised resource internally
wanting to buy more aren’t able to reach you, but also the reputational impact to your business of nobody answering the telephone. What does this say about your customer service ethos and the professionalism of your firm? The good news is that technology is now allowing businesses to easily outsource the answering of their telephone calls to a local specialist provider, either as a dedicated virtual reception service or as an overflow service when the internal resource is not able to handle the calls. This ensures customer service levels remain high whatever the volume of calls and level of resourcing within the business. As the number of communication channels for customers to contact businesses by have increased, so it makes even more sense to outsource the management of those inbound communication channels to a third party which has the resources to handle this area efficiently. These solutions work effectively for businesses of all sizes, whether it is companies with a larger team or sole traders who simply work from a mobile phone.
There is not only the potential financial cost of missing calls, with the risk that prospective clients will look elsewhere and current clients
Never miss a call again with SmartCall, your local call answering service Professional call answering service Calls handled when unanswered in your office
Holiday cover for receptionists
Sales and booking enquiries captured
Channel Islands based personnel
Calls patched through or message sent via email and SMS
Low price-per-call
Jersey: 01534 717000 Guernsey: 01481 740366
www.smart-office.co.uk
OU T S O U R C I NG
A day in the life of a virtual assistant Tina Buesnel of LJB takes us through a typical day
The term ‘virtual assistant’ or VA is pretty new to a lot of people, and I often get people asking me what I actually do. So to give you an idea, what better way than to explain exactly what I do in a typical day. 7:30am I wake, and my day begins with a leisurely breakfast and I review the list of tasks I have to do today. I have a meeting at 11:30am with a previous client, Sator Regulatory Consulting Limited, to discuss a long-term project the company requires some help with. I am excited about this opportunity.
required. The deal is agreed. I walk away already planning in my head how I will manage their requirements. 12:10pm I have to ‘hot foot’ it to Jersey Chamber of Commerce to minute their Building and Development Committee meeting. I have prepared for the meeting the night before, I have the previous minutes and have reviewed the action points that will be discussed. I have the agenda so I also know the topics that will be up for discussion and I have a note of who will be attending and the apologies.
those I flagged earlier and check my social media and complete my timesheets for each client I have worked for today, I keep my timesheets up-to-date and bill my clients at the end of each month. 6:00pm There is no gym class tonight so time to start preparing something delightful for dinner, I love cooking up a storm in the kitchen, always trying to create something a bit different from the norm. Tonight we are having my chilli wraps, with sour cream and cheese. 7:00pm
At 12:30pm I am working for Jersey Chamber of Commerce, they are using my minute-taking services today, but I also provide in-house cover there, when required. Also I need to input some data for another client, Ternevents for whom I deliver various secretarial requirements from home. I note all that I need to do today and note the overall estimated time for each task in order to balance everything out. I also catch up with my social media, which consists of reviewing posts and sending a tweet, which feeds into my Facebook page and also reviewing posts and posting in LinkedIn. I also check my emails and reply if possible or flag for some more attention later. Then I have my shower and change, ready for the day ahead. 11:30am I have my meeting with Sator; we discuss the project which all sounds very exciting and then we discuss my terms and other client commitments I have to determine that I am able to give this project the attention
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1:30pm The meeting has finished early, so I have some time to myself, I do some shopping for dinner this evening and grab a coffee with a friend for a catch up. 3:00pm Now back home I begin typing up my minutes from the meeting I attended earlier. I always start these as soon as I can so it’s all fresh in my memory. I also do some data-inputting work for Sandy of Ternevents. Sandy and I have agreed set hours per month for me to work, so I give this half an hour of my attention. 4:30pm I have a discussion with my website developer about the resources page we are trying to create for my website, and how we are going to develop and promote this. 5:00pm I do a final check of my emails responding to
The soap opera fest begins - I do love my soap operas, much to my boyfriend’s delight! 9:00pm Final check of my emails, and make sure I am prepared for tomorrow’s tasks, documents ready and clothes ironed. Then sometime between 10:00pm –11:00pm Bedtime. I love my job and love the variety it gives me. I consider myself an office all-rounder. As a virtual assistant who is running their own office, you can see that I have strong self-management skills, I set schedules for myself and stay focused on the client for whom I am working at the time, as it may be necessary to jump from one set of duties to another, causing a sudden shift of attention. Some clients require me to work specific times and/or come to their office to coincide with their needs and requirements and I need to be able to manage this.
OU T S OU RCING IT outsourcing Outsourced IT services are more popular than ever before. Jason Connolly, business development director at Next Generation IT, explains how local companies are benefiting from outsourcing their IT What trends are driving IT outsourcing in the Channel Islands?
infrastructure, licensing, maintenance and support services.
With the current economic and political uncertainty and increasing competition from other jurisdictions, local organisations are striving to become more efficient, effective and flexible in order to survive and ultimately grow their business, despite limited headcount and budgets.
The benefits of outsourcing Outsourcing IT is no different from, say, the outsourcing of HR, bookkeeping, or administration; the key benefits are the same:
Many local businesses have embraced outsourcing to help them improve not only their competitiveness, but also the flexibility to grow or shrink or relocate their business quickly. Partnering with local IT specialists to buy in services has enabled forward-looking companies to focus on their core business, and gives them the flexibility to take advantage of new opportunities as and when they arise. In addition, the complexity of IT systems is growing at an exponential rate, driven by the expectations of management, staff and customers. Organisations want to take advantage of new more advanced technologies but the reality is that no one person can know everything about IT, and building a team of staff is costly. Outsourcing gives access to a breadth and depth of resources and expertise, wrapped in a fully managed service that includes helpdesk management, proactive maintenance, communication with staff, and advising the management team on IT strategy. The rise of cloud computing Cloud computing is the most important trend in enterprise IT today. Its meteoric rise is driving a new form of outsourcing, enabling organisations to flexibly buy-in specific applications, or their entire IT systems, without investing in infrastructure or large technical support teams. We have seen a significant increase in take-up of cloud-based services from organisations wanting to outsource the provision of their IT, moving from the traditional five-year infrastructure spend to a monthly service fee incorporating all
1. Cost savings – this is the primary reason many organisations buy in IT services. With economies of scale, the outsource provider is able to more efficiently provide the service. 2. Quality of service – IT providers gain a great deal of experience supporting many different organisations, and consequently specialist IT companies can draw on this experience to provide a consistently high level of service. 3. Access to specialised skills – IT is becoming a more diverse and complex discipline. No one person can be expert in every area of IT. Smaller businesses can gain access to specialist resources that only larger companies could afford to employ. 4. Flexibility – in these uncertain times, buying in service can give the ability to grow and shrink the service with your needs. Minimising costs in austerity, and providing the capability to grow resources rapidly, when growth returns. 5. Avoiding staffing issues – the recruitment, management and training of staff can be a real headache, especially within the constraints of the fixed local labour market. Buying in IT resource minimises this drain on a company’s resources, and frees up key staff to focus on the core business. Good IT people, particularly knowledgeable staff, with the right organisational and communication skills, are difficult to find. 6. Risk mitigation – IT providers employ a pool of people to call on, with experience of supporting similar organisations. The role of technical staff has grown and now includes cyber security, technical aspects of compliance and managing policies and procedures. For instance, in a typical outsource, we supply a fully trained and
experienced engineer every working day of the year. We take care of cover for holidays and sickness. 7. Management and control – a good outsource service does not just provide the engineer, but also management resource to ensure that the outsource service is meeting its service level agreements, that the staff are motivated, and to provide advice and communication to the client’s management team. Local businesses are highly dependent on IT as their work is document and email intensive and they need to be compliant with legislation relating to the storage and maintenance of corporate records. The overhead of employing non-fee-earning staff is not an option, and so by employing an IT company, they can access professional IT staff, but at a fraction of the cost. This does not mean we always provide a full time on-site engineer, but often provide a mixture of proactive weekly site visits, healthchecks, and reactive support. It’s a question of trust One potential disadvantage to outsourcing is that you are putting a critical part of your company in someone else’s hands. You have to ask yourself if you can trust them, if you think they will stay in business and if they can adapt to your growing and changing needs. Because of this, it is important to take the time to select a business with a proven track record and reputation in this area. Many of our clients outsource the provision of their IT systems and support, and rely entirely on us to meet their current and future IT needs and challenges. This gives them access to skilled and professional IT staff, whilst reducing spend and allowing them to focus on their core business. Outsourcing enables local businesses to embrace IT as a force for good rather than a necessary evil, to maintain their competitive position, increase organisational effectiveness and contributing towards their continued future success.
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Why outsourcing IT makes sense From cyber protection to more efficient systems, outsourcing IT allows companies to concentrate on core business - Tom Bale, business development and technical director, Logicalis Open an email, click a link, and within seconds, someone could have infected your company’s system with malicious software. If it’s ransomware, time is of the essence to stop the process before it wreaks too much havoc. When a client calls us, we will isolate the damage, and cut it off from the rest of the company’s data. Without the right protection on your network only a fast response can minimise the damage. The threat of cyber attacks has become a when and not an if for companies. Human error is the weakest link in any IT chain. People are the target of hackers, scam-artists and phishers. Staff need to be trained to not only spot a scam but, how to successfully avoid it. More importantly, they need to know who to call if a security infringement occurs. Most of our calls from clients are calls to action so we can immediately isolate and resolve the cybersecurity threat before it gets out of control. Technology is moving so quickly it’s essential to have an IT specialist who is up-to-date with the latest developments. IT outsourcing comes in many shapes and sizes. Companies should be able to focus on what they are good at and not worry about daily technical issues like – does my virus software need updating? The point of technology is to make lives easier, it should work for you. IT outsourcing serves the same purpose. We sit down and listen to our customers’ requirements, if you want to use cloud computing – we can do that. If you want your data in the room next
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to you – we can do that, or if you want a hybrid of the two (you guessed it) – we can do that. Every company is different and so our approach to their IT specifications reflects this. Cloud computing is here to stay. It is only going to get more sophisticated as it is continually refined. The ‘big boys’ like Microsoft with its 365 platform are dominating the field.
The threat of cyber attacks has become a when and not an if for companies. Human error is the weakest link in any IT chain But, what they can’t offer you is the security of knowing exactly where your data is. Outsourcing your cloud software to a company such as Logicalis means we can show you exactly where your data is stored. And we are just up the road and ready to come out at a moment’s notice to help you solve any issues you may be having. But it’s not solely about cybersecurity or providing data hosting services. IT support can fulfil a range of tasks that would otherwise be laborious for your company. For example, when it comes to an annual audit of the company there are often very technical questions about the company’s IT infrastructure. We can answer
those questions for our clients because we know the ins and outs of their IT systems. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into effect next year. Company IT systems will have to be restructured to ensure that all existing customer records and data are protected in line with the new regulations. Carrying out this process in-house will be a time-consuming process, wasting valuable energy that would be better devoted to your core business. Whereas, we know how best to fulfil these requirements and mitigate the risk. Another benefit of outsourcing IT is having access to a much larger team devoting its time to innovating technology to the next level. Constant development takes place at Logicalis to ensure the software and services we provide are the best. For example, we layer software so we can offer a less expensive, high quality product. There is no need to purchase software separately because we have the ability to incorporate the different systems together. Outsourcing, in general, has become overused as a term. Instead, I like to look at it as removing unnecessary IT housekeeping that distracts companies from their core business. We help you look at the most cost effective way of outsourcing your IT. Whether that is us coming into your office every morning, or providing sick leave for your IT department. And we are always merely a phone call away for crisis management. Whatever your IT needs, chances are outsourcing your requirements will be a more cost-effective and efficient way to fulfil your IT requirements.
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To find out how our people can help your business visit collascrill.com BVI // Cayman // Guernsey // Jersey // London // Singapore
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Last year’s winner: Donkeylogic
Calling all enterprising businesses The call is out for Guernsey’s most enterprising businesses to show the public what they have achieved in 2016/2017. Entries for YBG’s 2017 Bill Green Award for Entrepreneurial Spirit opened on Thursday 16 February, and close at 5pm on Friday 31 March 2017. The award, which is named in honour of celebrated local entrepreneur and politician Bill Green, is given each year to a company which has impressed the judges with its drive and innovative spirit. It offers entrants the chance to raise their company’s public profile, analyse their business, benchmark their success against others and differentiate from competitors. Applications are welcomed from all businesses, whether they are start-ups or long established. Previous winners include Livingroom, ibz.tv, Pet Technology Store and Donkeylogic. This year’s judging panel includes Jennifer Strachan, chief executive officer of Start Up Guernsey, Rachel Richardson, vice president of the Chamber of Commerce, YBG vice president Stephen Rouxel, YBG president
Lindsey Dean and YBG council member Dene Reardon. Short-listed entrants will be notified on 13 April 2017 and will be invited to an informal interview with members of the judging panel. There will be three finalists and each finalist will receive a pair of tickets for the YBG Summer Ball on 16 June 2017 where the winner and runner-up will be announced. Short videos of the finalists will be shown at the ball before the winner is announced. The winner and runner-up will be able to use the YBG Bill Green Award logos on stationery and marketing materials for the year following the award presentation. All three finalists will also be awarded a free trademark from the Guernsey Registry. Anyone interested in applying should contact Stephen Rouxel at: vicepresident@ybg.gg or, to enter online, visit www.ybg.gg/projects/bill-green-award for more details. About Bill Green Bill Green himself had entrepreneurial spirit in his blood. A much loved Guernseyman, always with a twinkle in his eye, he lived through various stages of the island’s economic growth as Guernsey evolved from depending on granite export to tomato growing, flower production and more recently its growth as a successful international finance sector.
during the occupation when he spotted an opportunity when the Germans requisitioned all the local cars and motorcycles. With bicycles soon becoming the primary mode of transport he set up a success operation, selling and servicing bikes (in Smith Street would you believe) and then – for a small fee - offered a ‘bike park’ facility at the shop where customers could leave their bicycles in safe keeping while they went about their business. Post war, Bill became an active member of Guernsey Chamber of Commerce, playing his part in re-building the island. He was elected Chamber president in 1963 and during his tenure he championed developing better relations with other chambers, supporting his belief that more could be achieved commercially through establishing strong bonds with other like-minded jurisdictions. Bill believed that the definition of luck was the ability to recognise opportunities – something which he seemed to have an intrinsic ability to do and today he would undoubtedly given Dragons’ Den a run for its money. This award was established after Bill’s death by his daughter Maggie – herself a successful business woman – to commemorate his long and successful life. It is given each year to a pioneering organisation in the island that is making its mark on the local business scene with a fresh direction or project.
Bill’s own earliest business venture was
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B U IL D IN G & CON S T RU CTIO N
Access to neighbouring land Martin Baudains, head of Guernsey property law at Ogier, gives an overview of what Guernsey property owners need to know about the new law Up until the start of this year, property professionals have seen transactions delayed – and in some case fall through altogether – where the owners of neighbouring properties have refused to grant access on to their land for necessary maintenance work to boundary features or drains. A gap in the law has now been filled with the registration of The Access to Neighbouring Land (Guernsey) Law, 2016 – a long-awaited piece of legislation, initially approved in 2014, which creates the ability for property owners to apply to court for an order allowing access onto neighbouring property for both maintenance and for works on services such as drains, cables and wires. The law also allows the court, on what is expected to be rare occasions, to award compensation where a neighbour is inconvenienced, or their privacy is infringed, by the granting of such an order. In most cases where access may have been required, rights were either contained in the title to the property (the conveyance documents) or the owners of the adjacent properties were able to come to a neighbourly agreement. Most of the time the absence of a formal right in title was not an issue for a property owner during the time he was living there – because neighbours are usually friendly and understand the need for such access. If there was going to be a problem it arose when the owner came to sell the property and the purchaser was intending to borrow some of the purchase price from his bank. The bank’s lawyers would review the title to the property and advise the bank that there were no formal rights of access and the bank, if it was cautious, would insist on the
vendor entering into an agreement with the neighbours whereby the neighbours grant the necessary rights. That process could hold up the sale of the property in question and has, in some cases, led to the sale of a property falling through. Most neighbours understood the need for an agreement and were happy to give their consent. However, some thought it would devalue their property (or were opportunistic) and sought compensation and others flatly refused to co-operate. In a case where a neighbour refused to cooperate a property could become unsellable. The new law now offers property owners the right to apply for two kinds of orders for access. An ‘access order’ can be granted by the Magistrate’s Court to gain access to a neighbour’s property to carry out maintenance work on your own property. The court will grant the order only if it is satisfied that the work is necessary and cannot be carried out without access to the neighbouring property, and the benefit to the applicant outweighs the hardship to their neighbour. Where an access order is granted, it will specify: a) the type of work that can be carried out; b) where access is authorised; and c) the period for which access is authorised. It may also specify: a) time restrictions on access; b) precautions that must be taken; and c) in rare occasions, where compensation must be paid for substantial loss of privacy or inconvenience. In practice, it is likely that the existence of
the law will make it easier to negotiate access between neighbours where no agreement had been possible before – because both parties will know that a court has the power to grant an application. A separate type of order – a servitude tacite – covers access to neighbouring land to carry out works on services that run under or over neighbouring land and jointly owned boundary features. The process only applies to services that were in place before the law was enacted, and will not be applicable for the creation of new services. A property owner can serve ‘a servitude tacite’ notice on a neighbour - and the neighbour can apply to court to vary the terms of the notice, or to seek compensation for financial loss, substantial loss of privacy or substantial inconvenience. The new law is a welcome development – it should help remove some of those obstacles that have been getting in the way of some transactions and, equally importantly, will create some assurance for lenders who had been understandably reluctant to lend money for the purchase of properties that had no formal rights of access for necessary maintenance. Ogier’s property team acts for buyers, sellers, developers, funders, landlords and tenants providing advice on the purchase, development, sale and lease of commercial and residential properties located in Guernsey. It regularly works on the largest and most complex commercial property transactions as well as advising on the relocation of professionals, their businesses and their families to the Channel Islands.
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Mood and moving forward Thomas Nichols, detailing technician with Babbe McCathie, spoke to some of his colleagues at the firm and explains how the company is adapting to changes within the industry Since its creation in 2014, Babbe McCathie (BML) has completed over 900 commissions in Guernsey and Jersey. Managing director Don Babbe, said: ‘We are ideally placed to observe and comment on changes to engineering practice across the Channel Islands.’ At the time of writing, Theresa May is going ‘Hard Brexit’ and Donald Trump has been sworn in. So, is everybody really hard pressed for cash? Do fewer want a conservatory, new build or extension? ‘My guess is they are playing ‘wait and see’, submerged by political uncertainty,’ said Don. Technical director Gary Bougourd added: ‘What’s happening in the wider world affects Guernsey businesses – of course it does because we don’t operate in isolation; but closer to home, the uncertainties and changes surrounding the Island Development Plan which came into play in 2016 have had a weighty effect on local building.’ So is uncertainty to be expected in the building Industry? BML believes that structured planning can promote sustainability for Guernsey. BML predicts the development of a younger profile for its business. As part of its business plan, BML has recruited graduate staff for late in 2017 and pencilled in roles for staff up to 2020. This follows the trend of organic growth predicted for BML through promotion, training, retention and further recruitment. ‘Personally, I would like to see and hear positive and encouraging language from the
States of Guernsey to stimulate confidence,’ said Gary. ‘The building industry in the UK has taken a hit over recent years and although Guernsey weathered that storm, it hasn’t escaped entirely. In the closing part of 2016 a number of local builders ceased trading. This is not good news. The mood in the industry has been nervous and uneasy with clients postponing or scrapping building projects.’ BML predicted spend fluctuations in its 201520 business plan before Brexit was even a word but, moving forward, BML would like to see new projects making greater use of local talent, circulating work to local outlets. BML maintains a close dialogue with Guernsey Water and Building Control something Gary would like to develop further. ‘I would like to see closer working relationships with public sectors, we need to think about surface water and its discharge so that the infrastructure of Guernsey isn’t overloaded. Historically, consideration of surface water drainage has been left until a build is complete leaving reduced area for soakaways or undue strain on existing drainage systems absorbing increased volumes from new dwellings. Additionally, with many smaller dwellings being created the future trend must be for discharge into communal cesspits using a sewerage metering system based on water usage.’ How will BML evolve to adapt to changing demands? Quality without compromise is the company mantra because client expectations of safe, attractive structures fit for purpose remain the same - this forms the bedrock of all good engineering practice. But in our modern computerised industry, time between clients approaching BML and their expectation of delivery of completed engineering project design is much less than in the past.
Where we see BML evolving to adapt to changing demands is at the very heart of Guernsey business success. Chairman of the T & G Group of Companies, Ian Bashforth said: ‘In the past, the group had no real barometer in place for monitoring the achievement of performance of BML in meeting client requirements. As part of our business plan we are focusing resources towards service delivery to highlight and adapt to meet those changing demands.’ Gary added: ‘We have to be constantly aware of and incorporate new software innovations into our business. By focused upgrading, BML produces the results clients want, within the time-scale they expect without compromising on quality.’ BML believes Revit 3D modelling is the way forward and is working hard to develop this area of practice so that clients will be able to view engineered projects before the drawings leave the office. This will greatly enhance the client experience and the company is receiving very positive feedback from initial trials. Like any business, new software and staff training have a cost implications but the alternative is to be relegated to the past. That’s not our expectation of BML, we expect to grow and meet changing trends head on. Babbe McCathie (BML) is a civil and structural engineers practice forming part of the T & G Group of Companies with offices in Jersey and Guernsey. Tom was short-listed for apprentice of the year in 2014 and 2016 having qualified with an HNC in construction and the built environment at Guernsey College of Further Education. He is an associate member of the Chartered Association of Building.
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Sustainable thinking James Gavey and Miles Pengelley from JG Architecture consider how ‘sustainable design’ could become an intrinsic part of the island’s planning philosophy Sustainable thinking is a significant part of JG Architecture’s (JGA) design approach. With the introduction of Policy GP9 (Sustainable Development) to the new Island Development Plan (IDP), we believe this policy could be developed to go beyond the current requirement. In June 2016, the UK Government adopted its fifth carbon budget, setting firm carbon targets for the period 2028 to 2032. To achieve these targets, bold and ambitious policy action is required by the construction industry, where it has been projected that the UK’s emissions from buildings will exceed those recommended by the Committee on Climate Change for the fifth carbon budget in 2030 by 18% (Guertler, 2016). Guernsey’s building regulations have always been several years behind the UK’s current edition. Therefore, neither the current Guernsey Technical Standards nor the new IDP meet the current sustainability requirements that require ‘bold and ambitious policy action’. A new policy on sustainability has now been written into Guernsey’s IDP under General Policy GP9. This requires designers to demonstrate consideration of the ‘triple bottom line’ (social, economic and environmental factors), paying special attention to the use of energy and resources that could impact on the environment. This will require consideration of materials, the site’s location, orientation, and the proposal’s resilience to climate change and flooding. The social factors within this policy ask us to consider the features of the proposed building and if it will impact on the amenities of neighbouring properties. Additionally, the protection of land, buildings or structures with special interest are also considered
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under the social factors of sustainability within GP9. While this generic policy is being developed, we will be interested to see if its content will represent a clear and measureable framework, similar to The Building Research Establishment’s Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM). JGA, as a design practice, are committed to providing a sustainable design approach for all of our projects. It is for this reason that we follow BREEAM’s voluntary framework; a framework of best practice in sustainable design. BREEAM schemes consider 10 criteria of compliance; of these criteria, JGA has identified the following key points that could prove beneficial to meeting Guernsey’s sustainability requirements during the planning stage: Energy: Reducing space heating requirements within the home will minimise the effects that mechanical space heating has on our environment because of the CO2 emissions produced during this process. This is largely achieved through insulation and material selection, but key considerations to thermal bridges and air tightness are also made. Health, safety and wellbeing: Providing a healthy and safe internal and external environment for building occupants is the ultimate aim of design, while simultaneously realising a new and exciting living space that is comfortable, and makes the most efficient use of the space available. Land use: JGA has found itself in a niche over recent years through projects requiring the conversion of an outbuilding to form
habitable accommodation. The recycling of these redundant structures makes good use of already developed land. JGA’s design approach sets out to preserve any existing natural habitats, biodiversity and ecology systems within a project site. This is achieved by introducing appropriate protection methods and, where possible, enhancing these natural habitats by provision of additional soft landscaping to the site. Waste: Where required, Policy GP9 requires a waste management plan to be submitted with a planning application that demonstrates how construction waste is to be minimised, existing materials are to be reused and how residual waste will be dealt with. In addition to this requirement, we will design with flexibility in mind when considering a building’s lifecycle, and how alterations to the property can be achieved with the least amount of remedial work. The ultimate goal, through design and the specification of building materials is to encourage a concept of ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’, which aims to divert construction waste away from landfill - a concept that is very topical in Guernsey. In 2012, 28% of commercial and industrial waste was recycled, 15% composted, 20% incinerated and 37% sent to landfill (Places, Spaces & People, 2016). While these landfill figures are slowly decreasing, designers should continue to help improve these statistics through sustainable design. JGA views sustainable design as ‘design that meets present needs, without compromising future generations to meet their own needs’, a philosophy that could be promoted by Guernsey’s Development and Planning Authority.
Our design approach will ensure that you realise a new and exciting living experience that meets your needs. Communicating effectively with our clients is fundamental. We will take the time to listen to and understand your vision, provide clear planning advice, and consider the construction process at an early stage. This will allow us to obtain the necessary Planning and Building Control approvals for your project, with buildability in mind and value assured. We advise that the construction phase is overseen by JGA to ensure your project is delivered in line with the approved specifications. This will minimise the gap between what is designed, and what is built – a gap that is common in the trade and we endeavor to prevent. Employing JGA to oversee your project as Contract Administrator will also ensure that the appointed Contractor carries out the work to a high standard of workmanship, in accordance with the chosen contract and without any unnecessary additional building costs.
jwrihoy.com
HELPING BUILD OUR LOCAL COMMUNITY. Main Contractor for GreenAcres
PROFESSIONALISM AND INTEGRITY IN CONSTRUCTION
B U IL D IN G & CON S T RU CTIO N
Setting the foundations of dementia care in Guernsey As one of Guernsey’s longest established building contractors, family-owned Rihoy & Son was honoured to have been appointed as the main contractor for the long-awaited GreenAcres project Formerly a well-known local hotel for over 40 years, planning permission was given for its conversion to a 47 en-suite bedroom specialist dementia care home. The build was scheduled to take just one year and Rihoy & Son, working alongside the professional team and a range of specialist subcontractors, completed the complicated project on time. Contract director from Rihoy & Son, Dave Tostevin explains: ‘This was not a straightforward build. From the outside it may look like the building is still the same but inside has seen a complete transformation. ‘We removed much of the original internal structure, including large amounts of asbestos and constructed new internal fire walls. Factor in a labyrinth of complex rewiring, plumbing, fire systems nurse-call systems, lifts and the complete replacement of the roof and you can appreciate what a mammoth task this was. ‘On top of that, there was a lot of specialist fitting out internally. All the en-suite bathrooms have been fitted out as wet rooms with hoist-assisted bath chairs and self-filling safety baths. All the corridors had to be widened and those to the bedrooms were fitted with grab rails to allow the
residents to move confidently around the home. ‘Externally, the walls had to have fire barriers installed and were then rendered with a render coat system and all the windows had to be replaced. The whole area around the building has been landscaped with paved brick pathways, planters and fenced garden to make the area both pleasant and safe for residents and visitors alike.’ Dementia is now the biggest cause of death in the UK and the opening of GreenAcres will go some way to providing islanders with the growing specialist dementia care required on Guernsey. Dave concludes: ‘It’s been an absolute pleasure to have been involved in such a worthwhile project which will provide much-needed specialist care for so many in the community. The opening of GreenAcres is a real testament to all those involved with it - from the immediate groundswell of public support for a specialist dementia home, to all those involved in the building project. It’s been a true collaborative team effort.’ About Rihoy & Son Now a third-generation family owned business, Rihoy & Son started out working exclusively for Guernsey’s
horticulture industry, building and maintaining glasshouses. Since its beginnings in 1924, its operations have expanded significantly to include the building of new homes, domestic extensions and refurbishments, as well as major projects in the finance, hotel and tourist trade, the industrial sector and work for the States of Guernsey. Projects have included one of the Channel Islands’ largest supermarkets, with the construction of the 52,000 sq ft Waitrose and B&Q superstore at Admiral Park. Rihoy & Son was the main contractor for the Cobo Community Centre, residential work on the site of the former Coq du Nord Hotel and all phases of Le Bouet regeneration, with the latter shortlisted in the Guernsey Design Awards 2014 for the People’s Choice Award. Rihoy & Son has also worked on the redevelopment of the former Royal Hotel site, including Royal Garden, Royal Terrace and Royal Chambers. The former Longue Rue residential home was transformed into Le Grand Courtil for the Guernsey Housing Association by Rihoy & Son and in the process the project was listed as a Premier Guarantee Excellence Awards 2014 ‘top development.’ The refectory at Elizabeth College was also transformed by Rihoys and more recently the company completed the construction of One, St Julian’s Avenue on the site of the former Vauxlaurens Brewery.
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2016 – An unexpected year Oliver Westgarth and Chris Martel from CCD Chartered Architects tell us more There is something cathartic about looking back on a busy period and considering where it has got you. There is no question that as a whole, the construction industry in Guernsey (in apparent contrast to Jersey) has suffered over the last 18 months. Whether delayed impact from the global financial crisis, a reaction to Brexit or simply a natural dip in confidence, there is less activity, fewer cranes on the skyline, and a noticeable impact on certain sub-sectors of the industry. The most significant impact has been on large scale housing and infrastructure projects and on the high end of the open market. The slowdown in both has seen Guernsey’s largest developer ‘go under’, a number of medium-sized building firms close down and many of the larger building firms make redundancies. The local housing market seems pretty sound, with consistent transaction stats reflecting a level of domestic confidence. At CCD we have also been affected and it is only recently, whilst looking back over the past 18 months, that it has become clear in which ways. In the last 18 months or so, we have been responsible for four out of five of the most potentially controversial open market planning approvals in Guernsey (three of which on beautiful cliff top sites). While four approvals (one of which represents the largest single dwelling ever approved on the island, at around 2,300 square metres or 24,226 square feet)
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represents a truly bumper year, we haven’t seen one of them start being built. But the delay in these projects, while frustrating, has had a positive effect on the rest of our portfolio. Senior members of the team, who might often be heavily committed to these demanding ‘flagship’ projects, have been able to focus more of their energy on less obvious causes. This nurturing of often less ‘thrusting’ projects has now lead to us having the most exciting, diverse and creative portfolio we have ever had. The fact that it has crept up on us just makes it more exciting. So in the same year that we have led the project to restore The Little Chapel using innovative conservation techniques to achieve minimal aesthetic impact, we have also designed Tinto, one of the most compact but visually individual restaurants on the island; designed a new children’s library for the Guille-Allès as a modern complement to the existing building; received planning approvals for a new centre of sports excellence at Blanchelande College and the conversion of the Fermain Tower into Guernsey’s smallest boutique self-catering unit, planned and seen planted a collaborative project to introduce a new apple orchard at the historic Les Caches Farm site, are undertaking two master planning projects, an underground swimming pool complex, partly cantilevered into a valley, a house hanging over a historic quarry, the sub-division of a listed building into multiple flats, a ‘radical’ listed barn conversion and much more besides.. All of these projects either relate to or are enhanced by our work on historic and
bespoke new buildings, touching on both sides of a virtuous circle. Whilst it is comparatively unusual that we are required to work with the level of sensitivity required on the Little Chapel it was partly with a similar mind-set that we were able to create a contemporary design for the Blanchelande sports hall, which, although unashamedly modern, draws from the scale, rhythm and detail of the existing crenelated school buildings, surrounding trees and steeply sloping site. Our design to refurbish the Children’s Library at the Guille-Allès is at an utterly different scale but has demanded in some ways a similar thought process. The design builds on the story of the existing historic building and rooms, the books, the shelves, the computers (!), the fact that this is a place for children to learn about reading and the enjoyment it can offer, at lots of different scales and for varied personalities. It involves reimagining that part of the building from the perspective of children, recapturing the building’s historic sense of space and creating new journeys and places to read; like a Harry Potter-esque reading adventure park at the heart of the library. There’s only space to touch on a few of the exciting projects we’re currently working on but in conclusion 2016 may have brought challenges for the construction sector generally, but in adversity we can also find inspiration. Let’s all hope the industry bounces back, there are signs it is, but let’s also not miss the fact that these are the very times that innovation and creativity often flourish most.
inspired solutions for modern living... and eating! CCD Chartered Architects & Interior Designers
With over 35 years of experience the multi award winning design practice is highly skilled in restoration, heritage projects, high quality contemporary houses, interior design, bespoke furniture design, landscaping, planning consultation & project management. Tel: 01481 726461 mail@ccd-architects.com www.ccd-architects.com
BUI LD I N G & C ONSTRUC TION
Staying current Ben Sparrow established Guernsey Trade Windows Ltd in November 2012. He tells us about his and the company’s story After working in the industry in UK for over 15 years I moved to Guernsey and worked for a couple of well-established local companies when I quickly realised that the industry in Guernsey was in desperate need for an organisation which could provide quality products with a professional reliable service and a personal touch.
Importance of using a local reputable company
In my opinion, local companies were not offering enough variety or the latest products. It’s extremely important to keep up to date with new products and technologies.
The window, door and conservatory industry is benefiting from new technologies which in turn are producing stateof-the-art products at affordable prices
The window, door and conservatory industry is benefiting from new technologies which in turn are producing state-or-the-art products at affordable prices. We stay up-to-date with these new products and carry out a lot of research before offering these to our clients. The islands’ natural marine and sea environment means we need to be confident that what we offer will stand the test of time.
I believe it’s important to use a reputable local company. As a non-local myself, I have witnessed some appalling practices in the UK and I have to say that the industry in Guernsey works to a much higher standard which is why it can sometime cost more to use local companies.
Staying up-to-date A good example of our drive to deliver current products to the market is when, in April 2016, we started supplying and installing a revolutionary new product that replaces old glass and polycarbonate roofs (plastic) with a super-lightweight tiled roof system. This system is taking the UK by storm; we carried out a lot of research into this product and its rival products before we decided to offer it to our clients. It has become extremely popular as it’s very quick to install (under one week in some cases) and is a cheaper alternative to knocking down your conservatory and extending. The benefits are exceptional. It reduces the sun’s heat in the summer and keeps the room warm during the harsh winter months allowing clients to use their room all year round.
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We are seeing an influx of UK and Irish window, door and conservatory companies which don’t provide a level of service they should. Unfortunately the bad practices that are brought over with these visiting companies tarnishes the reputation of the local industry. In my personal experience the local industry works to a much higher standard than our non-local counterparts. We know of many clients who have been on the receiving end of these non-local companies and it ends up costing them more money putting the works right as it’s extremely difficult getting these companies to come back to Guernsey to make rectifications. Some people argue that you get better value from non-local companies but that’s just not the case especially when you have to pay twice for the same work.
Our team and work With a highly experienced team we are able to undertake any sized project whether it be replacing and service windows or installing new windows and doors on large development sites. We have a team of four fitters and three office-based staff all of whom have many years’ experience in the industry. We have worked on many projects since starting in 2012 -both residential and commercial – and are still working on many more. Hougue Du Pommier Hotel - we replaced the old wooden windows they had to new high performing white UPVC windows. Roc Salt Restaurant - we installed marine-grade powder coated aluminium bi folding doors and windows. It’s extremely important to use marine grade powder coating and many other companies offer standard powder coating to their aluminium products which simply do not last in Guernsey’s severe marine environment. Fresh Dental Surgery - we were asked to install contemporary style pyramid roof lantern with marine grade powder coated aluminium windows and doors. Sark Methodist Church – we were contracted to fit new white UPVC windows and doors. Guernsey Housing Association – we supplied grey and white UPVC windows and composite doors for the Rodley Park and Epworth House developments.
Local suppliers & installers of: - Super-Lightweight tiled roof system - Profile 22 UPVC windows & doors - Solidor composite doors - Residence 9 windows & doors - Smart Aluminium bi-folding doors & windows - Roof lanterns & Skylights - Conservatories & sunlounges
Contact us : Tel: 01481 256586 Email: guernseytradewindows@gmail.com Like us on Facebook
BUI LD I N G & C ONSTRUC TION
Guernsey Property & Construction Awards Plans are well underway for this year’s event The event brings together all sectors within the property and construction sectors from architects to engineers, estate agencies to builders and everything in between to celebrate successes and achievements of this valuable local industry – both at individual and company level.
Year, Health & Safety Award, Rising Star Award and Lifetime Achievement Award.
Lifetime Achievement Award Ken Morrison
Thank you to those who have already signed up as 2017 sponsors Ogier, Channel Island Lines and RG Falla. There are still a few award category sponsorship opportunities available.
Special Recognition Award Eric Legg
The evening – compered by Jenny Kendall-Tobias – will comprise dinner, awards presentations and some great entertainment, details of which will be released soon. This is an ideal evening for those involved with any aspect of the industry to entertain clients and guests.
Last year’s winners
There are three new awards this year Property Agent of the Year, Industry Supplier of the Year and Innovation Award - for the best new product or service introduced in 2017. These are in addition to Engineering Project of the
Health & Safety Award Andy Ricketts, RG Falla
Property Professional of the Year Award Richard Lee, RG Falla Engineering Project of the Year Award Belle Greve Outfall, Guernsey Water
Rising Star Award Rob Lowe, CCD Architects
Details
The Guernsey Property & Construction Awards 2017 will take place at Beau Sejour, St Peter Port on Thursday 2nd November.
Tables of 10 are available for £750 or at a reduced rate of £700 for all bookings and payments made before 31st May.
Individual tickets are available at £75. For all enquiries, please contact Julie Todd at: julie@collaboratecommunications.com
IS L AN D POS T U RE CE NT R E
Richie McCurdy owner of Island Posture Centre bring us up to date with the latest news for the company and the importance of workplace assessments Richie has recently been accepted as a member of The Chartered Institute of Ergonomics & Human Factors (CIEHF). The CIEHF is a UK-based professional body with around 1,700 members. CIEHF members are practitioners, students and researchers working or studying in ergonomics and human factors or a related field. The CIEHF raises awareness of the discipline, sets and maintains professional standards, supports its members and promotes networking and communication among those who have an interest in ergonomics. Richie said: ‘As the only Channel Islands member of CIEHF I hope with the institute’s support to raise awareness of the importance and long-term benefits to all businesses of postural awareness and good ergonomically designed workstation setup.’
The Island Posture Centre has also recently been appointed by OH Assist as their Channel Islands provider of workstation assessments. OH Assist is one of the UK’s leading occupational health service providers working with clients and suppliers to create a workplace culture that recognises employee wellbeing as the heart of business success.
logistics and utilities. Both appointments complement the aim of the Island Posture Centre which is to ensure good workstation set-up and provide postural guidance which is vital for the prevention and management of pain and injury in the workplace. The aim of the workstation risk assessment is to not only assist employers in their legal obligations under the Health and Safety at Work Act but also to identify and analyse any factors that may cause health problems or reduce performance.
It delivers a comprehensive range of services including absence management, fitness for task assessments, health Factors may be 10:14:39 related to posture or the surveillance, vocational rehabilitation and contact-magazine.pdf 1 28/07/2014 design of a workstation or equipment. wellness programmes, as well as a full We work with Guernsey’s most innovative range of diagnostics and treatments to the product suppliers of ergonomic workplace public sector, including central and local equipment and collaborate with architects government, the National Health Service and interior designers to not only supply and UK and international clients from many the best ergonomically designed products market sectors including financial services, but also maintain that important pleasing manufacturing, media, retail, transport and aesthetic appearance.
As the only Channel Islands memberAre of CIEHF I hope with the you sitting institute’s support to raise awareness of the importance and comfortably? long-term benefits to all businesses of postural awareness and With many people working good ergonomically designedatworkstation setup desks, a properly designed C
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Are you sitting comfortably?
With many people working at desks, a properly designed workspace and the knowledge of how to have good posture is becoming increasingly more important.
workspace and the knowledge of how to have a good posture is becoming increasingly more important.
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BUS I N ES S I N THE C OMMUNI T Y
PwC in the community By partner Evelyn Brady
Our CSR strategy in the Channel Islands is very much focused on making a difference, empowering people, creating a legacy and investing in the future. We simply take the approach of ‘quietly making a difference’ and don’t focus on profile building Nevertheless, we were quite excited to see the PwC name in lights recently when we won the Corporate Social Responsibility accolade at the Guernsey Community Foundation Awards, having been nominated by The HUB. Our collaboration with The HUB in Guernsey originally stemmed from our provision of financial support for the costs of staffing this well-deserving charity, which supports teenagers in dealing with a wide variety of daily challenges. The relationship quickly evolved as PwC staff became ambassadors for The HUB and were passionate about how our firm could support the charity to make a real difference. Together we decided to launch a brand new initiative to target an unmet need – the provision of support for parents and guardians of teenagers. We consequently launched a series of sessions of
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which there has been four to date, covering such topics as the influence of the online world and cyber bullying, how the teenage brain works and emotional wellbeing. For us, it goes beyond the funding, and our staff genuinely get stuck in to help make these events a success, whether that be through the provision of administrative functions such as booking venues, circulating invites, or simply being present at these talks to chat with other attendees. It’s very rewarding for us to see our relationship with The HUB go from strength to strength, with our next session, covering key decider skills, scheduled for later on this month. Our engagement in the community focuses on four pillars, namely talent, education, sport and empowerment. For each, we aspire to be a catalyst for change for good, applying our passion and determination to make a
positive difference to our community. That’s why we focus on developing long-term relationships, so that we can make a lasting difference, and we hold regular review meetings with our community partners to discuss our progress.- relationships such as our long-term sponsorship of the annual ‘PwC Jersey Young Musician of the Year’ competition is a good example. It’s truly remarkable to see the incredibly high standard of performances from the young, gifted and disciplined teenagers who take part. The competition, having now reached its quarter of a century milestone, has a great track record of inspiring many musicians to drive forward with their musical careers, and go on to experience tremendous personal and professional success. Our support of the ‘PwC Learn to Swim’
B U S IN E S S IN T H E COM M U N IT Y
programme in partnership with Le Mourier swim school has now entered its fourth year. This is one of our most successful community projects in Jersey. The initiative provides 10 free swimming lessons to all children of reception class age, and is offered to all schools, without exclusion. It builds children’s confidence, both in the water and socially too, and gives them an opportunity to accomplish a skill that they may not otherwise get. As our relationship with Le Mourier has evolved, we’ve also identified certain PwC staff who can’t swim. They too will soon have the chance to embark on a series of lessons with Le Mourier over the coming months, so everyone’s a winner! In the Channel Islands, we attract in the region of 50 hard-working, disciplined and talented school-leavers and graduates annually to join PwC’s trainee programme. During the recruitment process, we find that candidates are particularly interested in hearing about how we work in the community and our level of commitment in this area has definitely helped us maintain high people engagement and retention over the years. We reassure newcomers, and indeed all PwC staff, that if they are passionate about a cause and are committed to making a difference, to come and talk to us about how we can help, whether that be through staff volunteering, cash donations or a matching scheme which is also offered to staff who fundraise for causes. It’s an attractive part of their overall career experience with us. At our recent staff
AGM, our CSR strategy was a key area of focus and it was great to see how everyone reacted when they discovered the varied nature of the activities we support. We’re really passionate about helping our staff identify how volunteering can be part of
We’re really passionate about helping our staff identify how volunteering can be part of their overall development and encourage them, as they set their annual objectives, to consider how they can make a positive, lasting difference in the community their overall development and encourage them, as they set their annual objectives, to consider how they can make a positive, lasting difference in the community. This long-lasting difference could be made simply by a staff member taking time out
to read with children at Guernsey’s Amherst Primary School, as part of PwC’s support of the ‘Every Child Our Future’ programme. The reward for our volunteers is knowing they’re helping instil that confidence in children that learning really can be fun. Alternatively, our staff also get ample opportunity to give something back on the sporting front as part of our community engagement programmes. We’re long-term supporters of both Guernsey and Jersey netball academies, as well as the Guernsey Junior Hockey Academy. With lots of disciplined sportsmen and women now working for PwC on both islands, there’s always demand for them to share their skills by taking part in a Sunday morning coaching session or giving a talk to the next generation of sporting enthusiasts on what it takes to be a real team player. In conclusion, when we were presented with the CSR award in Guernsey last November, it was announced that we won for ‘demonstrating a genuine passion for helping the community without focusing on brand exposure, for providing effective support to charitable initiatives by using staff skills and for promoting a model of staff volunteering’. We genuinely endeavour to apply this approach consistently across all of the community initiatives we’re involved with in Guernsey, Jersey and further afield. We see this as an integral part of being a responsible business, which creates value for our communities and for us...and it’s a formula that really does work!
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BUS I N ES S IN THE C OMMUNI T Y
Volunteers set up new Alderney bird hide
Deutsche Bank interns raise money for Autism Jersey and Guernsey
Rossborough raises money for cancer patients’ exercise programme
Lancaster Trust to support GFA Railway League
AFM CI weight loss challenge raises funds for Les Amis Jersey and GROW Ltd Guernsey
28 charities will benefit from the 20th Saffery Rotary Walk
RBC raises over ÂŁ57,000 for MacMillan Jersey
B U S IN E S S IN T H E COM M U NIT Y
RBC Guernsey donates over ÂŁ10,000 to Guernsey Stroke Association
Dementia Friendly Guernsey campaign launched
Dandara colour run will raise funds for Family and Home Care in Jersey
EYECAN, NSPCC Jersey and Teenage Cancer Trust chosen charities for Barclays Jersey Boat Show
FCG signs three-year support agreement for Guernsey Football Academy New home at Coronation Park for Jersey Arts Festival
Government House Guernsey goes purple for Rotary polio initiative
F U N DS
The evolving role of risk management Max Hilton, director of Clarus Risk, considers the various factors contributing to the changing role of risk management and how investment firms can use it to real competitive advantage The global financial crisis and subsequent financial re-regulation has unquestionably elevated the importance of risk management within the alternative investment funds industry, with the Alternative Investment Funds Managers Directive (AIFMD) requiring a ‘hierarchical and functional separation’ of risk management from portfolio management. The prevalent view, to date, has been that these additional demands simply equate to a greater compliance burden and cost but otherwise it remains business as usual. That view now appears to be changing and with it the appreciation of the role that risk management can perform. This shift can be attributed to a number of related factors: poor performance; growth of passive strategies; changing investor base; demands for transparency and the concept of beta-adjusted fees.
Since the end of January 2011, the S&P 500 has more than doubled while the HFRX Equity Hedge Index is barely positive. Unsurprisingly, a survey released by industry tracker Preqin found that 79% of investors believe that hedge funds have not met their return expectations over the past 12 months,
One of the greatest external threats to alternative funds is the rise of passive products. The trend for passive investing is accelerating, with a growing number of institutional investors moving away from actively managed alternative assets to exchange traded funds (ETFs) or exchange traded notes (ETN). In terms of total assets under management (AUM), ETFs and ETNs are now close to the estimated $3 trillion dollars in AUM of hedge
funds, having more than doubled over the last five years. Another noteworthy factor is the changing composition of the alternative assets investor base. Prior to the global financial crisis, family offices and ultra-high net worth individuals dominated alternative funds AUM. This segment shrank following the global financial crisis, and now institutional investors comprise a far greater proportion of total assets. It could be argued that the trust that family offices bestowed on hedge funds to generate returns and manage risk has been slow to recover. Institutional investors require greater transparency to provide a
Indexed Performance: S&P500 Versus HFRX Equity Hedge 240
Indexed Performance Base = 100 GDP
Following years of poor performance, alternative funds, and hedge funds in particular, are under growing pressure to justify both their fees and fee structures. Enhanced risk functions can provide a means to better communicate a fund’s performance and risk and hence support the fund’s value proposition.
with 73% seeking improvements in management fees. During September, CNBC reported that Brevan Howard was waiving its management fee. Other high profile managers including Och-Ziff, Third Point and Tudor Investment Corp have also lowered their fees.
S&P 500 HFRX Equity Hedge
220 200 180 160 140 120 100 80 Q1-11
Q4-11
Q2-12
Q1-13
Q4-13
Q2-14
Q1-15
Q4-15
Q2-16
Q1-17
Source: Bloomberg, Clarus Risk
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F U N DS thorough appraisal of performance and risk and they also now face a growing regulatory burden and associated liability, such as Solvency 2 for insurance companies. While performance remains a critical concern, being able to evaluate a fund’s risk is increasingly important, particularly when the institution may be allocating to dozens of alternative managers to deliver on specific mandates, which requires on-going monitoring that the funds stick to these mandates and do not exhibit ‘style drift’. Academic research has shown there is a meaningful (inverse) relationship between fees and market exposure and the concept of ‘beta-adjusted’ fees, since beta or market exposure is, through the emergence of passive investment strategies, effectively free. Therefore, it is increasingly incumbent on alternative investment managers to offer greater transparency, particularly over performance and risk attribution. While it is easy to measure returns and compare those returns to peers, it is highly informative to know statistics such as ‘batting average’ and ‘win-loss ratio’ across all historical trades. Also, to measure how much of a fund’s risk can be explained by specific equity, FX, commodity or style factors, such as value and momentum.
The higher the level of a fund’s systematic risk, other things being equal, the less an investor will be willing to pay for that risk exposure. An investor may want to understand how much performance can be attributed to idiosyncratic risk or ‘alpha’, or in a more traditional sense whether the funds is able to generate consistent outperformance from security selection or asset allocation or a combination of both. The Preqin survey supports this view and identifies ‘transparency’ as one of the leading issues for hedge fund investors, with only 27% stating that transparency had improved over the last 12 months and 56% stating that transparency is an area that needed to improve further over the next 12 months. With various headwinds facing alternative funds risk teams are being tasked to address three distinct requirements:
valuable reporting to investors rather than simply a compliance function will be at a competitive advantage. To achieve this requires leveraging financial technology and striking the right balance between what can be can best be done internally alongside complementary and flexible independent risk solutions. Financial technology is developing at a rapid rate. Several years ago, the primary challenge was sourcing the computational power and flexibility to work with complex multi-asset portfolios. As that challenge now diminishes the greater focus, and clear requirement from the marketplace, is on being able to control the presentation and delivery of reporting and data in a manner which can meet the needs of an increasingly sophisticated and demanding investor base.
1. internal management demands for measurement and evaluation 2. regulatory and compliance risk demands 3. the provision of risk data and reports to investors Firms that can use risk management as a means for providing transparency and
Risk Exposure Vs Equity Index 1612
MSCI World
Risk Exposure %
1438
1264
Exposure Index
1089
Source: Bloomberg, Clarus Risk
915 03-16
04-16
05-16
06-16
07-16
08-16
09-16
10-16
11-16
12-16
01-17
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If you’re looking for income and want to beat the bank, you should meet Bob.
Why? Because Bob can introduce you to Ravenscroft Investment Management. At Ravenscroft we understand the individual investment needs of each client and believe there is an investment for everyone, which is why you can start your own plan with a minimum investment of just £5,000. So if you’re looking for income and want to beat the bank, it’s worth meeting Bob. To find out more about Ravenscroft Investment Management’s products and services call Bob on +44 (0)1481 732769, email him at rtannahill@ravenscroft.gg or visit www.ravenscroft.gg
INVESTMENTS FOR EVERYONE Guernsey: +44 (0)1481 729100 Jersey: +44 (0)1534 722051
www.ravenscroft.gg
Ravenscroft is a trading name of Ravenscroft Limited (“RL”) (company number 42906) and Ravenscroft Investment Management Limited (“RIML”) (company number 49397) both of which have their registered office addresses at P.O. Box 222, The Market Buildings, Fountain Street, St. Peter Port, Guernsey, GY1 4JG. Ravenscroft Investment Management is a trading name of RIML. RL and RIML are licensed and regulated by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission and RL is a member of both the London Stock Exchange and the Channel Islands Securities Exchange. Ravenscroft is the registered business name of Ravenscroft Jersey Limited (“RJL”) (company number 99050) whose registered office address is at P.O. Box 419, First Floor, Weighbridge House, Liberation Square, St. Helier, Jersey, JE2 3NA. RJL is licensed and regulated by the Jersey Financial Services Commission in the conduct of Investment Business and Fund Services Business. About the Ravenscroft Group of Companies: RIML and RJL are wholly owned subsidiaries of RL.
F U N DS
Is bigger always better? Alex Chambers from Ravenscroft Investment Management considers benefits of investing in small funds
I recently read a book entitled ‘David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants’ written by author Malcolm Gladwell. The book aims to break down situations where being an underdog is, at least on the face of it, a disadvantage. When you scratch the surface however, a multitude of small factors can actually be seen as advantages and enable positive outcomes. This made me think of the extent to which the famous parable of David and Goliath applies within the investment world. The size of a fund plays a fairly large part in both a prospective and existing investor’s mind when evaluating it, and there is certain validity in the reason as to why size is such a big consideration. A relatively large fund can give an investor comfort in multiple ways, be it good liquidity for the investor, small ownership of the fund as a percentage of the total assets or even simply, great performance resulting in a decent following. Large investment firms tend naturally to have large funds. They have a surfeit of resource, which means that the research carried out is both extensive and broad - often meaning that outperformance can in theory be achieved through being able to find better investment opportunities than those without so much resource. They have manpower on their side, enabling them to roll out many different funds that focus on investing in different sectors, regions and asset classes. They also tend to have offices all over the globe giving them access to a large pool of investors. So why wouldn’t an investor go with a large, seemingly popular fund? Once a fund gains scale and is well-ranked
within their respective sector, this is where difficulties can arise. Most funds have theoretical capacity limits that mean their investment process (and the reason they reached this size in the first place) can become compromised once the fund reaches a certain size. Once a fund becomes ‘too’ big, it is particularly common for those that invest in smaller markets, for example in Asian equities, to close to new investors to prevent the problem of becoming ‘too’ big.
It’s not uncommon for smaller funds to have lower annual management charges than large, globally established funds, in order to attract investors An example would be a fund of 30 stocks that receives another £1 billion of investors’ money. The fund manager will prorate the new money across the existing holdings in the fund, but this may now mean that the fund holds a material position in an underlying company. This might give rise to unwanted corporate governance and it could also create an illiquid position. Closing a fund to new investors can be a conflicting choice for fund managers as their fee is usually directly correlated to the total assets under management. Crudely, declining new money is essentially rejecting a larger management fee. It is therefore very important to make sure that a fund manager’s main objective is to run the
fund without compromise to the investment process and that their interests are firmly aligned with those of the investors. This is a lesser issue for smaller funds and fund houses, which can simply concentrate on finding the best investment opportunities for their investors without sacrifice. One could argue that smaller funds have advantages over their larger counterparts which could actually mean they’re a favourable choice. As an investor in a smaller fund, the chance of direct access to the fund manager is increased and this could be invaluable as questions you might have could be answered by the very person who is radically responsible for the way your money is invested. It’s not uncommon for smaller funds to have lower annual management charges than large, globally established funds, in order to attract investors. While a slightly smaller fee doesn’t look like it would have much of an effect on the end value of an investment, once the difference is compounded over a long time frame, the effect will be more discernible. In conclusion, while there is perceived comfort in investing in large and well-known funds, often with merit, it’s important not to let the factor of size sway an investment decision. In a world where there are an overwhelming number of funds on offer, it could prove detrimental to an investor’s return to neglect the lesspublicised, smaller funds whose positive attributes may outweigh their behemoth counterparts’. It’s worth attempting to find these ‘Davids’ in a world where the ‘Goliaths’ tend to steal the show.
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F U N DS
Regulation – A time(line) of change Christopher Jehan of Midshore Consulting takes a look at the range of regulatory changes affecting island businesses in coming months Regulation never decreases, it just keeps on increasing in quantity and complexity. This has never been more true than in the period since the financial crisis in 2008 and this is set to continue, unabated, in coming years. In addition to local law and regulations there is an onslaught of international regulation that Guernsey businesses, in conjunction with government and the regulator, will have to contend with. Automatic exchange of information Firstly, we have another milestone in the automatic exchange of account information as first reporting under the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) is due to be submitted to Guernsey Income Tax 30 June 2017. Review of certain accounts should have already been completed in 2016 and the remainder should be completed by the end of this year. The 2017 reporting only includes the first wave of countries to sign up to CRS (early adopters), although the 2018 reporting will then be extended to include the second wave (fast followers). With several deadlines coming up, it is important that fund companies remain firmly aware of the progress in their CRS projects.
Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II) Implementation of MiFID II, and its accompanying regulation (MiFIR), might have been officially delayed to January 2018, but that is now rapidly approaching and the position for non-European Union jurisdictions (third countries) such as Guernsey remains unclear. The directive does allow for a third country passport, however the requirements for such a passport haven’t been laid out in subordinate regulation and therefore third countries are currently unable to start amending their regimes to meet the appropriate standards. Guernsey has experience in meeting EU standards, such as the recent Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD), however with AIFMD the third country requirements were set out much earlier and the local regulation implementing the required standards brought in smoothly. Local implementation of standards designed to meet MiFID II & MiFIR requirements might see investment licensees making changes to meet new rules. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
Of course, CRS is not the only information exchange programme. The US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) will remain as the United States has not signed up to CRS, however firms should now be bedding down their FATCA processes within business units. Action 13 of the OECD’s base erosion and profit shifting programme requires country by country reporting, however given that few Guernsey companies are ultimate parent entities and even fewer will meet the threshold requirements this is unlikely to have a large impact in the island.
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GDPR is not specific to the financial services sector, however it will impact on every business including the funds industry. For Guernsey businesses to continue dealing with EU clients, the island will have to implement a data protection law equivalent to the new GDPR that the European Parliament, Council and Commission are implementing. The States of Guernsey have committed to equivalent legislation within the Bailiwick and therefore businesses should be prepared to meet GDPR standards by the 25 May 2018 implementation date. Given that the
existing local data protection law is dated 2001, which pre-dates the boom in internet usage, we are clearly operating in a world very different to that for which the last law catered. A high level of change for all businesses can be expected, and largely anticipated by looking to the EU regulation. Local change We know that there are various changes coming on the local front that will affect the funds industry, some of which have been known about for several years. What we don’t know is the implementation timescale we can expect. The known changes include: • The new anti-money laundering (AML) handbook • Draft legislation resulting from the revision of laws project • Client asset and client money rules The AML handbook should have been released for industry consultation by the time this article is published, however this has already been delayed several times for a variety of reasons. Clearly this has to meet updated FATF principles and the results of the Moneyval review. However, given the results of the review we hope for measured and proportionate change. In its announcement on 22 December 2016 the GFSC indicated a consultation on client asset and client money rules in quarter three of 2017. Whilst the current rules are brief they are effective and we hope to avoid the volume of regulation seen in the UK CASS handbook. Conclusion Given the volume of change and the uncertainty of some (e.g. the AIFMD third country passport) firms will need to keep their regulatory impact programmes both agile and adequately resourced.
F U N DS
The funds value chain creating competitive advantage Mark Cleary, director of ZEDRA explains how the outcomes from Brexit and the recent US elections have put a spotlight on some quite significant stress fractures within western economies These recent events have raised questions about whether the economic system has worked sufficiently well for all. Jersey’s funds industry could never claim to be in a position to solve the world’s inequality problems but they are a very fundamental part of the financial and economic system and can be used as effective vehicles to channel [financial] capital to where it is needed for investment. This capital thereby serves as an essential ingredient for real growth at the point of investment, for example, whether in a clean energy project on the African continent or a FinTech project in Iceland, whilst simultaneously earning returns commensurate with the risk undertaken by investors. It is my best guess that allocations of financial capital by institutional investors and pension funds, amongst others, will be invested more towards private assets (such as private equity/debt or infrastructure) than is presently the case and this should create opportunities for service providers, such as those in Jersey and elsewhere. So, the question then becomes how can Jersey add value over and above some of our closest rivals such as Dublin or Luxembourg and successfully win business? While not the whole answer, I can offer three areas which if exploited, can help us win as an island, win for our investors and win for investee companies and economies. First, I think Jersey needs to work more closely and collaboratively with our sister island, Guernsey. It is a common argument
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that there is a healthy creative tension between Jersey and Guernsey which manifests itself in product innovation. A recent example in Guernsey is the professional investor fund (PIF) regime which is designed primarily for the private equity sector. Similarly, Jersey is reviewing its funds regime with the intention of rationalising and consolidating it and in the first instance is looking at the private fund regime. And in this respect, we should not loose sight of the fact that we are often perceived as the Channel Islands and consequently, I would argue that we may be stronger by collaborating more together. Most commercial firms do this now anyway. Secondly, one of the most fundamental and crucial functions that we fulfil in the ‘funds’ value chain in Jersey is that of fund governance. While these duties are complex, they can be distilled to acting in the best interests of the fund and by proxy, protecting and enhancing investors’ interests and their invested capital. As I mentioned previously, as investors tire of the returns generated from ‘efficient markets’ and seek out higher returns on their capital, it is almost inevitable that they will seek to increase their exposure to private assets or hedge funds, all of which must undergo governance on the island. This is where, in my opinion, Jersey has a competitive advantage over its European and further afield competitor jurisdictions such as Luxembourg or Ireland. Thirdly, and very importantly, Jersey adds considerable value in the funds arena due
to our inherent political stability, and given the turbulent nature of most the world at the moment, what better time is there to have this in the shop window? Investors will search out jurisdictions where their money will be adequately protected. The recognition and respect of private property rights are a fundamental element of a capitalist system. In this respect, Jersey has a very robust legal system to ensure private property rights are respected. Further, having witnessed first-hand (as a director of a plaintiff ) a fund related litigation case in Jersey, I can attest that the legal counsel available on the island is second to none and the judiciary is extremely diligent and competent. The quick summary to this is that your investment will be protected on our shores. So, there is an opportunity for Jersey and Guernsey to be stronger by working more collaboratively together and thereby create a win-win for both islands in terms of new funds business. In the fast, complex and volatile world that we now live, there will be a continued need for deep and strong governance skills. This is evidenced by many empirical studies linking good corporate governance to stronger corporate performance, which ultimately will feed back into stronger returns for investors. And finally, companies, projects and communities where the capital is actually invested and deployed will stand to benefit, be that through employment or through capital expenditure. Resultantly, in a very small way, a Jersey fund can contribute towards a more inclusive economic and financial system by supplying capital to where opportunities exist and where it is needed most.
O N AI R
This year seems to be going quicker than any other, although that means that the warmer weather will soon be here so it’s not all bad. Talking of the warm weather we are already preparing to be involved in several events across both islands over the coming months and let’s hope the weather doesn’t disappoint! I do have to say how disappointing it is to see no Jersey Live on the calendar this year. We do sometimes take for granted events like this. These events really do bring so much musical talent to our islands. It is easy to fall into the trap of assuming that they will always happen, always be there and I guess if a reminder is needed, we have seen that good things don’t usually last forever, unfortunately. It can be a thankless task to try and put on any event and the even greater challenge is to try and make money from them. The economies of scale on our islands make things even more of a challenge. Jersey Live was part of a Jersey Summer, part of the calendar, part of the fabric, the community. It was an ‘excuse’ for people to travel to Jersey. It was an event you wanted to be part of. On a personal level I wish the Warrens the very best for what they bring us next, I am sure it will be worth waiting for and well done chaps for entertaining so many of us and creating and providing many great memories.
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Tune in Mike Huston, Tindle Radio’s Channel Island station controller takes a look at some of the exciting events in the islands’ 2017 calendar
Fortunately there is still an awful lot of fantastic entertainment promised across all the islands over the coming months and these should be celebrated as well as enjoyed. I do feel that is also the responsibility of our radio stations to be supportive of these events where possible to help ensure they remain cemented on the calendar.
I do have to say how disappointing it is to see no Jersey Live on the calendar this year. We do sometimes take for granted events like this. These events really do bring so much musical talent to our islands Our biggest musical event is now gathering momentum and pace, and I actually think Legends and Big Gig get better each year. Last year was awesome across both nights but the perfect weather certainly helped. Fingers crossed for the sunshine this year.
I love the fact that both nights have their own very strong brand and identity and the bar gets raised substantially every year. It is nothing short of amazing to think that over a two-day period in July we will have Olly Murs, Louisa Johnson, Holly Johnson, Kim Wilde, Go West, Five star and Bjorn Again all playing in our back yard. Every year the organiser Caroline tries hard to make the experience at the event as good as possible and working with her we always try to look to enhance what is offered. This year, for the very first time, we will be producing a Legend and Big Gig programme, which will be full of exclusive photos and information. Whilst music is at the heart of what we do we will of course be out at many non-music events too. The air shows were a fantastic success again last year and we should be incredibly proud that these shows exist and the great entertainment that they provide as well as the social impact they have and I am sure they also contribute greatly to alcohol sales too! I for one am really looking forward to being involved in so many events this year, and to being entertained by some of the best talent around in much warmer weather (I hope!) Enjoy the next couple of months.
ALL IN A DAY’S WORK We speak to Teresa Bewhay, money advice worker for Citizens’ Advice Jersey.
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ALL I N A DAY’ S WORK
Three days a week Teresa Bewhay sits down with those who are struggling to make ends meet and helps them budget their finances. She works at Citizens Advice Jersey helping people in her capacity as a money advice worker and using her skills from her banking experience to help manage their finances. Teresa has been with the not-for-profit organisation since 2009. Her role has been funded through various sources over the years, but this year by the Lloyds Bank Foundation for the Channel Islands, an independent charitable trust that supports local charities who focus on improving quality of life, creating equality of opportunity and tackling disadvantage for those who are marginalised in society. The daughter of Irish migrants, Teresa is Jersey born and has led a life against the odds. She grew up at a time that offered opportunities that simply no longer exist, where she could get a job at a bank shortly after leaving school with no qualifications. Over time she went from being a switchboard operator to a cashier, dealt in foreign exchange, buying and selling shares and eventually worked her way to become a lending manager. She really enjoyed working with people and meeting customers and towards the end of her banking career she moved to a back office middle management role running various payment teams. ‘In general, banking was a rewarding career,’ said Teresa, but towards the period of the economic downturn she successfully applied for voluntary redundancy at the bank where she had worked 30 years. This move enabled her to fulfil her desire of studying at degree level and subsequently achieving a BSc in social science. Now, Teresa averages six appointments a week with people needing money advice. Once an appointment has been arranged, the client is asked to bring in three months of bank statements and to complete a financial statement which focuses on all essential expenditure and priority debts. Teresa then talks through the client’s circumstances, what has happened in their life to cause the debt, and more importantly
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what Citizens Advice Jersey can do to help them through it. The generalisation that people get themselves into debt through feckless spending can be very far removed from reality. According to Teresa, more often than not the cause of debt can be because of factors such as a cut in income, a relationship breakdown, loss of a job, a death or illness, all of which will place a burden on household expenditure.
year with her partner John to South Africa, Australia and America after she completed her degree. When she first started at Citizens Advice the majority of clients seeking money advice were white collar workers, says Teresa. The economic downturn had resulted in bonus payments being cut, salaries being frozen and disposable income being eroded, and in certain cases compulsory redundancies. Prior to the economic downturn, it appeared that credit was more easily available and people were more confident to take the opportunities. Teresa commented on current trends:
I am seeing more clients who are not in secure employment, who are in the low wage economy and are dependent on income support to top up their income Outside of work, she enjoys painting watercolours and attends an art class every week. She goes to keep fit classes twice a week, volunteers for the Grouville Gazette and on top of leisurely reading, gardening, and travelling she also collects wind-up toys and Noddy cars. She even went on a gap
‘I am seeing more clients who are not in secure employment, who are in the low wage economy and are dependent on income support to top up their income. Changes to the benefits system including the implementation of sanctions, the replacement of grants with loans, and more worrying, the rise in rents charged for social housing is resulting in many of our clients not managing financially or just about managing.’ Such situations vary greatly from the generation she benefited from with a booming economy and growing industry which granted her the opportunity to get a bank job straight from school. Next year, Citizens Advice Jersey will have been operational for 40 years and Teresa highlights that, without their loyal volunteers, the organisation would not be able to function successfully. The breadth of advice and assistance that is available through Citizens Advice is striking, especially as it’s free and confidential. Teresa considers her role to be a privilege and finds it a very humbling experience to be able to sit with those who feel they have hit rock bottom and to be able to help them through the anxiety of debt. None of this, of course, would be possible without the financial support that organisations such as the Lloyds Bank Foundation are able to provide for the benefit of our community.
Shop at Waitrose and leave the heavy lifting to us Use the Waitrose Delivery Service and we’ll bring it home at a time that suits you. Ask for details at the Welcome Desk in store.
Delivery costs £3 when you spend £50 or £5 for smaller shops. Terms and conditions: Delivery Service; Book a delivery slot at the Welcome Desk before you start shopping in store. Shopping must be completed at least 2 hours before booked delivery. Hot food and large bulky items are excluded. Food that should be consumed on the day of purchase must be delivered on the same day. For same day deliveries you will need to complete your shopping by 5pm. For next day delivery you will need to complete your shopping at least 1 hour before the branch closes. Charges; Spend of £50 or more will be subject to a charge of £3. Less than £50 will be subject to a £5 delivery charge.
With our flexible plans and a 24/7 network operations centre, we deliver a mobile roaming experience that businesses rely on.
Ever growing network of international roaming partners.
We know data is essential to your business. So that’s why we offer mobile data from just 15p/MB in the UK, France and Rep. Ireland or 25p/MB in the rest of Europe. Exclusive to our Sure International business customers.
Roaming prices as low as 15p/MB in the UK, France & Rep. Ireland or 25p/MB in the rest of Europe and free to receive calls in Europe with our business roaming booster.
With over 420 partners in 188 countries, our extensive roaming network means wherever you travel, you’ll be able to keep the data flowing.
international.sure.com
Receive calls in the UK for free.
Discount boosters for your calls and texts. Channel Islands and Isle of Man are on Sure’s local network so no roaming fees apply when you’re travelling there.
Pricing is ex GST and VAT where applicable. Terms Terms and conditions and conditions apply. apply. See wwwinternational.sure.com See international.sure.com for details.
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