Sussex Business Times - Issue 404 2016

HURSTPIERPOINT COLLEGE

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SBTWelcome MEET THE TEAM

Lee Mansfield, Managing Director/ Publisher

Simon Skinner, Clare Fermor, Group Director/Editor Operation Director

Jenny Ardagh, Deputy Editor

Thomas Allen, Features Editor

Lou Dobson, Sales

Harriet Weston, Production Manager

Elliott Mansfield, Sales

Jess Saunders, Features Editor

Geoff Diamond, Sales

Amy Watson, Amelia Wellings, Production Designer Financial Controller

CONTRIBUTORS

David Eagle, Partner, BDO LLP

Tracey Evans, Kate McCoy, Director at Juno Director at Cloud Nine PR & Marketing Wealth Management

Matthew Tyson, Director at Richard Place Dobson

Christina Ewbank, ACES Facilitator

Dan Shelley, Vice Principal, Sussex Coast College

As summer – technically – comes to an end, although the sun is very much still shining, we head into September and the business begins! Schools go back, employees return from their holidays and businesses start to announce activity for the run up to Christmas.

Christmas may seem an age away to most readers, and it does to us too, but nevertheless, this time of year brings with it an influx of organizational duties, and one of the big tasks is booking a Christmas party venue. Whether you’re planning to host a casual meal, a more decadent dining experience or something completely different, we have provided some of the best venues on offer in Sussex (see pages 27 – 32) plus some added ideas for celebrating the season with colleagues.

Elsewhere, we discuss where Britain stands in the technological arms-race, with the newest Barclays study suggesting that we’re lagging behind. Is it digital skills that are wasting away, or is it a general reluctance to modernize our training regimes? See page 16.

RSM and NatWest have clocked onto the idea that technology companies need support and change. Hosting a TMT lunch for the first time with a host of experts in the field, SBT was privileged enough to attend, learning some of the issues that businesses in Sussex – and across the country – face. We discuss the topical issue of cashflow on pages 16 and 17, inviting Mark Crowter of RSM to give his expert opinion.

With GCSE and A Level results received, we also take a look at how the ‘on paper’ academic skills should be combined with business training. We got in touch with successful entrepreneur and advocate for supporting business ventures, Tom Cridland in our education section this month.

Alongside our lunch review at The Red Lion, and our hotel review of Dale Hill Golf Club, we have our usual expert columns, Chamber news and motoring sections as well as our Made in Sussex – this month, Urban Industry.

I hope you enjoy your September read!

Jenny Ardagh Deputy Editor

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SBTContents

Issue 404

SBT

ISSUE 404

FREE

SUSSEX BUSINESS TIMES

CASH FLOW IN A GROWING TECH BUSINESS

RSM AND NATWEST DISCUSS ISSUES THEY’RE FACING AND HOW BEST WE CAN OVERCOME THEM

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TOP FINE DINING CHRISTMAS VENUES FOR 2016

EXPERT

ADVICE FROM LOCAL SUSSEX BUSINESSES

APPRENTICESHIPS THAT WORK FOR YOU SUSSEX SKILLS SOLUTIONS PROVIDING APPRENTICESHIPS & SKILLS TRAINING DAN SHELLEY, VICE PRINCIPAL AT SUSSEX COAST COLLEGE HASTINGS SHARES THE VISION OF A COLLABORATION BETWEEN TWO COLLEGES

SERVING THE SUSSEX BUSINESS COMMUNITY SINCE 1975

Cover: Dan Shelley,Vice Principal, Sussex Coast College www.sussexcoast.ac.uk

Managing Director/Publisher: Lee Mansfield lee@lifemediagroup.co.uk 01323 819 007 Group Director/Editor: Simon Skinner simon@lifemediagroup.co.uk 01323 819 017 Operations Director: Clare Fermor clare@lifemediagroup.co.uk 01323 819 007 Sales: Lou Dobson lou@lifemediagroup.co.uk 01323 819 007 Elliott Mansfield elliott@lifemediagroup.co.uk 01323 819 012 Geoff Diamond geoff@lifemediagroup.co.uk 01323 819 013 Deputy Editor: Jenny Ardagh jenny@lifemediagroup.co.uk 01323 819 011 Features Editor: Jess Saunders jess@lifemediagroup.co.uk 01323 819019 Production Manager: Harriet Weston harriet@lifemediagroup.co.uk 01323 819 010 Production Designer: Amy Watson amy@lifemediagroup.co.uk 01323 819 018 Subscriptions: Linda Grace linda@lifemediagroup.co.uk 01323 819 015 Accounts: Amelia Wellings amelia@lifemediagroup.co.uk 01323 819 007 Published by Life Media Group, Unit1, Swan Barn Business Centre, Swan Barn Road, Hailsham, BN27 2BY Printed by Berforts 17 Burgess Road, Ivyhouse Lane Hastings, East Sussex, TN35 4NR 01424 722733 www.berforts.co.uk All material in this publication is strictly copyright and all rights reserved. Reproduction without permission is prohibited. The views expressed in Sussex Business Times Magazine do not necessarily represent the view of Life Media Group LTD. Every care is taken in compiling the contents but the publishers of Sussex Business Times Magazine assume no responsibility for any damage, loss or injury arising from the participation in any offers, competitions or advertisement contained within Sussex Business Times Magazine. All prices featured in Sussex Business Times Magazine are correct at the time of going to press.

Copyright Life Media Group LTD 2016 ©

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News

View the latest local and national business headlines.

Spending it

Get boardroom ready with SBT’s best beauty products in every category - we’ve got it covered.

Best4Biz 2016

2016’s event is looking to be bigger and better than before and will, yet again, be accompanied by the Best of the Best East Sussex Business Awards.

Cash Flow In A Growing Tech Business

RSM and NatWest discuss issues they’re facing and how best we can overcome them.

The Eye of the Digital Tiger Economies

The latest research by Barclays shows the UK to be lagging behind ‘Digital Tiger Economies’. Where are we going wrong, and how can we digitally ‘empower’ our workforce?

SBT’s Top Fine Dining Christmas Venues

Sussex Business Times lists its choice of top locations for the perfect Christmas party.

Cover Feature: Sussex Coast College

A recent report has suggested that young people in East Sussex don’t see apprenticeships as a viable career option and would favour University to further their careers.

Health

We look at the ways in which illness affects businesses and employees and talk to Homeopath, Simone Oates about how the process of homeopathy remedies can help.

Education

Sussex Business Times looks at how education and business can come together to nurture the entrepreneurial community.

Tried and Tested in Sussex

Amy Watson stays at Dale Hill Hotel and Golf Club for a one night break in the beautiful Wadhurst countryside, whilst Simon Skinner tries the food at his local pub; The Red Lion, Pevensey.

Motoring

Simon Skinner, tests two saloons that find themselves bartering their benefits in the market right now.

Ask the Experts

Local Sussex business experts advise on relevant issues.

Made in Sussex

This month’s home-grown hero is Urban Industry.

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SBTLocal News Plans Take Shape for Bognor Regis Digital Hub Work continues on the development of plans for a creative digital hub in the centre of Bognor Regis, with the aim of appointing an operator in the new year. Led by West Sussex County Council, the project team is working with Hemingway Design and Wired Sussex to carry out engagement work with local businesses and develop the design of the hub.

It is hoped to have the hub up and running in spring 2017, shortly after an operator is appointed to manage the hub. Talks are ongoing about using space at Bognor Regis railway station for the project.

The hub would create high value jobs in the creative digital sector by providing a shared workspace for businesses. The aim is for a place where start-ups and freelancers can work side by side, share facilities and network and have access to training, support and dedicated support for start-ups.

To find out more about the project email business.support@ westsussex.gov.uk

Chichester Welcomes New M&S Foodhall Marks and Spencer (M&S) opens a new Foodhall in Chichester.

Located at Portfield Retail Park the Foodhall offers 4,000 food and drink products, as well as presenting a relaxing café for customers to enjoy.

From healthy cooking inspiration and freshly prepared meals, to delectable desserts and show-stopping party selections, the new store has something for every occasion.

Store Manager, Paul Gregory, commented: “We can’t wait to share our new Foodhall with shoppers.

To welcome the new season, the store will be stocked with autumnal treats including favourites from our Gastropub meals and speciality Taste ranges.”

M&S Foodhall is open from 8am until 8pm on Monday to Saturday, and 11am until 5pm on Sundays.

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Richard Place Dobson Committed to Helping Local Community On Sunday 4th September 2016, Richard Place Dobson, one of Sussex’s leading firms of Chartered Accountants and Business Advisors, will be returning to the St Catherine’s Hospice Dragon Boat Festival as part of their commitment of contribution to the local community.

After previously winning the fancy dress competition for five years running, they are now looking to reclaim their title again this year after a couple of years out.

The Dragon Boat Festival, which raised over £50,000 last year, gives local businesses the opportunity to take part in a series of competitive dragon boat races while raising money for St Catherine’s - a charity dedicated

to providing specialised end-of-life care and support to local people, their families, friends and carers.

The firm regularly raises funds for St Catherine’s as well as other local charities and has over twenty five years’ experience acting for charities and notfor-profit organisations

Creative Pod Undergoes a Complete Brand Overhaul and Introduces New Managing Director Creative Pod, a full service agency based in Manor Royal, unveiled their new brand and website after undergoing a total review and overhaul of all of their branding, with updated offices and the introduction of a new Managing Director.

Matt Turner has stepped aside as Managing Director of the company and has now taken on the role of CEO. The role of Managing Director has been filled by Rob Nunn, former National

Entrepreneur of the Year.

The relaunch reflects the evolution of the company with the complete reinvention of their offering. This sees Creative Pod become part of a larger umbrella group, The Creative Group, which houses the other brands in their offering including ECHO, a brokerage and The Printshop which solidifies the brands proposition and will aid its international expansion.

Visit www.creativepod.uk.com to see their new look and offering in action.

Remco Norden Appointed as New General Manager at London Gatwick Airport Hotel Hilton London Gatwick Airport has welcomed Remco Norden who was appointed as its new General Manager, replacing Guy Hilton who, after threeand-a-half years, leaves the hotel to continue his career at the Waldorf Hilton London.

Norden, who has been working in the hotel hospitality industry at the Hilton Hotels brand for more than 20 years, recently spent more than four years in Turkey as General Manager at Hilton Istanbul Bomonti Hotel & Conference Centre and, prior to this, spent more

than five years in a similar role at Hilton hotels in Czech Republic and Poland. His broad level of experience in hospitality in addition to great leadership will play an essential role in his position.

“I am very excited to have this opportunity to lead the team at Hilton London Gatwick Airport, the largest residential hotel at Gatwick Airport with its 821 bedrooms” said Norden. “This is a fantastic hotel with a superb team which I am very much looking forward to joining and developing even further”.

SBTLocal News Nearly £10,000 Already Raised for the Children’s Trust The latest event in a year of challenge by Grant Thornton’s South-East based employees took place in early September.

Rachel Parker, Ian Pateman, Harry Phipps, Martin Verrall and Sarah True cycled from London to Paris to raise money for The Children’s Trust on 1st – 3rd September.

Their target was to raise a further £5,000 and their challenge was to complete a total distance of 450km in 3 days, with 20-24 hours in the saddle.

The task involved 4,600m of climbing

– almost the height of Mont Blanc – burning over 12,000 calories.

Uniquely, in order to reduce costs and raise the maximum amount possible for The Children’s Trust, they organised it all themselves. So far this year the office has organised over 15 fund raising events from cake making to landscape gardening.

All donations go to The Children’s Trust, the UK’s leading charity for children with brain injury.

Brighton Summit Brighton Summit, run

by Brighton & Hove Chamber of Commerce, promises to be bigger and better than ever this time around, now in its fourth year. Set to take place on Friday 14th October, the event will allow entrepreneurs and budding businessmen and women to learn from and with successful business leaders, listening and taking in information and advice from prime speakers as well as getting involved in a range of different workshops.

Networking opportunities and nourishing mini-feasts will be available

throughout the day, finishing up with drinks, music and conversation.

The speakers set to attend this year’s Brighton Summit include Susan Carroll – expert in leadership and team performance, social media expert, James Dempster and Si Conroy – CEO and founder of Scarlet Monday and ConstantMentor.com.

This year’s workshops include: • Create a vision, create success.

• Double tap your way to a smarter social media strategy.

• The science of goal setting.

Hove-Based Architecture Practice Wins International Gold Award For ZeroCarbon House

Local architecture firm Koru Architects has won a Green Apple Award for the Built Environment, being presented with the Gold Award for the architecture category in a ceremony at The Crystal, London, on 8th August.

The prestigious international award was for a zero-carbon eco-house designed by Koru Architects, located in Lloyd Close, Hove. The detached property, which also houses Koru Architects’ company office, is run on 100% renewable energy via solar panels and a biomass boiler, even generating enough power to export a surplus to the grid.

The Koru Architects team are honoured to have their work recognised with this Green Apple Award. The Green Apple Environment Awards, run by the Green Organisation, were established in 1994 as an annual campaign to recognise, reward and promote environmental best practice around the world.

Rix & Kay Solicitors Completes Acquisition On Behalf Of Brighton-Based, New Era Education Brighton & Hove based law firm, Rix & Kay has advised New Era UK Holdings on its acquisition of Reading based UniServity Ltd. New Era UK Holdings has its UK HQ in Brighton, and is a market leader in the educational software industry and part of the

successful New Era global education group.

The deal underlines Rix & Kay’s growing reputation in the M&A mid-market and they boast a dedicated regional team of nine professionals, including four Partners, who are focused on supporting businesses in

Brighton, Sussex and further afield.

Leader of the deal, Dominic Travers commented: “It has been a busy year for Rix & Kay and we are pleased to have led on this deal, helping New Era to strengthen their market position. Our Corporate Team, which also included support from our dedicated commercial property and employment lawyers, has worked seamlessly together to get this transactions over the line”.

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SBTNational News House Prices Expected to Fall in 2017 Highlighting economic uncertainty following Brexit as a key reason, central London is likely to be worst affected but all regions will feel the effects.

House price growth is predicted to slow to 2.5% for the current year, down from the 4.5% growth expected prior to the Leave vote in June, before declining further to -1% in 2017.

This means people could see a drop in their property value in real terms, but it is expected this will be temporary with prices recovering to see a 2% growth in 2018.

Predictions are based on various economic forecasts for the coming years and their own expectations of how this may affect the housing market going forward.

Small Firms Hit By ‘Unfair’ Supply Contracts More than half of small businesses are being disadvantaged due to unfair terms in their contracts with suppliers, it has been claimed.

52% of firms surveyed by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) said they had been stung by unclear and inflexible contract terms which had cost them an estimated £4bn over the last three years.

A failure of suppliers to make automatic rollover clauses clear upfront was identified as one of the main problems, with 24% of businesses pinpointing the issue.

Lengthy notice periods, high early termination fees and the concealing of details in small print were also highlighted as significant roadblocks for firms.

Dominance UKTop Economy Shopping Of OnServices MobileInTo £53bn Creates Need for Businesses to Work with By 2024 Strong Partners to Find the Best Talent Figures have revealed that the output from the services industry increased by 2.7 in May 2016 compared with May 2015, with the sector now accounting for almost 90% of total GDP. One of the biggest services provided is technology – the sector requires approximately 745,000 additional professionals with digital skills, and businesses need a strong understanding of the talent market to ensure the ongoing quality of services.

Ameera Mohammed, Director of

Operations at Gibbs S3, comments: “With the UK economy being dominated by services, it really is the skilled employees that are helping to drive businesses forward. When it comes to technology employees across all sectors, it usually comes down to how talented and knowledgeable staff in this area are, to determine the overall quality of the service a business as a whole provides. So it is crucial for businesses to do what they can to secure the best talent.

Digital Enterprise Can Save the High Street As the latest Eurozone retail sales figures are released, we are seeing an average of 14 highstreet stores closing every day in the UK. The closure of bricks-andmortar shops is occurring at the same time when 65 per cent of internet users in the EU shop online, with 67 per cent of individuals aged 16-74 using the internet at least daily. E-commerce sales for businesses with 10 or more employees topped £561 billion, putting the opportunity for retailers to increase their profitability.

Founder & CEO of digital workforce solutions and consulting company,

Arrows Group Global, James Parsons comments: “Securing and retaining digital talent can be quite an issue for many retailers, especially in a market where there are more positions going than the skilled professionals to fill them. Retailers should not be afraid to look to skills around the globe, as the digital skills are a uniquely worldwide market. Often certain digital skillsets are more frequent in specific countries, so retailers need to make it a priority in the current climate, and consider new ways of securing the expertise they require.”

Digital Brand Key to Retail’s Future Prosperity Recent figures reveal that overall non-food online sales were up 11.2% in July in comparison to previous months. Older retailers are struggling in the current circumstances, with many increasingly declining as they fail to

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gain traction within the digital sales sector. With the demand for digital platforms becoming evermore popular, the importance of having a high-end digital platform has never been greater – a reported 69% of 55

to 64 year olds purchased goods online last year.

The amount of men shopping online also increased to a total of 77% in 2015, whilst amongst women the figures saw a 26% increase to 75%, proving that supplying customers with a frictionless online customer service experience is crucial to secure brand loyalty.

Events in Sussex

Brighton Business Expo 2016

On Thursday 20 October, Brighton Racecourse will host the Brighton Business Expo, bringing local and regional businesses together for inspirational seminars and networking opportunities

The Brighton Business Expo is a free to Sussex attend business exhibition for all Events ambitious businesses looking to grow and prosper in the Brighton and Hove region.

Whether you’re an existing business looking to grow, a business in the early stages, or you just want to explore the possibilities of starting your own business – as one of the biggest networking events locally, you will find something of interest at the show.

Including an exhibition hall, a seminar theatre, networking café, a connections wall and many other features that will provide you with support, inspiration or advice for starting or growing a business, the event will provide a hive of creativity and activity. The seminar programme will feature talks from some of the UK’s top business speakers and leading industry experts, who will cover everything from tax tips to social media advertising; the secret of profitable business to sales techniques.

In addition, a huge variety of exhibitors will be in the exhibition hall itself, showcasing the very best of local and regional business.

Business Expo Agenda: 10.30am – Paul Samrah (Kingston Smith Accountants) Top Ten Tax Tips for Entrepreneurial Businesses 11.00am – Natalie Montagnani Removing the Barriers to Successful Marketing 11.10am – Julie Nicholds (Loch Employment Law) How to effectively recruit, retain and reward your staff

11.50am – Andrew Abaza (ActionCOACH) Improving your profits by 60%

You can register for tickets online via the website: http://www.b2bexpos.co.uk/ brighton-business-expo/

12.00pm – Speed Networking, hosted

by Network My Club

It is also recommended that you plan in advance which seminars, exhibitor stands and keynote speakers you want to visit before attending the event to ensure you don’t miss any opportunities.

1.00pm – Emma Pearce Social Media Advertising Uncovered 1.50pm – Neil Laughton (Laughton & Co) Essential Ingredients for Business Success 2.00pm – Speed Networking, hosted

by Network My Club 2.40pm – Martin Searle (FSB) What is behind business cost and profit?

3.00pm – Sas Huntwood Fear of selling? Get over it!

How can I attend?

The Business Expo is free to attend, but it is recommended that you register in advance. This way, you can receive event updates and emails to allow you to effectively plan your day at the business show.

If you didn’t have the opportunity to register in advance, don’t worry. You can still come to the exhibition for free. Simply turn up on the day of the event and the events team will register you when you arrive at the registration area by the main entrance (please allow between 5-10 minutes to register on the day of the event). And remember to bring plenty of business cards!

Where is it?

Brighton Racecourse Freshfield Road Brighton East Sussex BN2 9XZ What time?

10 AM – 4 PM

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Boardroom Beauty Get boardroom ready with SBT’s best beauty products in every category from hair to skin-care, makeup and fragrance, we’ve got it covered.

BLACK BEE VENOM MASK Black Bee Venom Mask, super-strength for stronger expression lines or for skin that needs a heavier-duty workout.

Their patented formula, ABEETOXIN® immediately relaxes lines, tightens and firms skin. Can be used any day/night or every day.

Contains bee venom that works to control the facial muscles for immediate lifting, tightening and firming, whilst getting to work on frown lines and wrinkles. £163. www.heavenskincare.com

EAU DE TOILETTE: 100ML The fragrance opens with ozone notes accented by Sicilian bergamot and Ligurian basil, while the heart features a rich blend of jasmine, black tea and water mint. Rich base notes include Madagascan vanilla highlighted by sandalwood and patchouli, rounded off nicely with a good dash of oak moss and musk. £19.99. www.bluebeards-revenge.co.uk

SHAVE SHOWER SHAMPOO

PRORASO – HOT OIL BEARD TREATMENT

Apply in the shower or bath to damp skin, and massage in before shaving. Or use to cleanse hair and body.

Aids the growth of thick, strong hair and gives a close shave. For soft skin, silky hair and a closer shave. An all-inone time-saver. £37. www.heavenskincare. com

FACIAL MOISTURISER LIFT FACIAL MOISTURISER LIFT is an aftershave balm and moisturiser combined. Now you can have a great facial after every shave. Not only a nongreasy moisturiser but has mint & menthol to cool, refresh and help relieve redness. £14.95. www.men-u.co.uk

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From heritage Italian grooming brand, Proraso comes this intensely nourishing Hot Oil Beard Treatment. The treatment intensely conditions and moisturises even the wiriest of beards. This product is extremely unique; there are a number of beard oil treatments but not hot ones. £12.50. www.fatbuddhastore.com

WILKINSON SWORD HYDRO 5 More men than ever are shaving less and today, almost half are choosing not to pick up their razor to avoid a common battle with irritation. With 125 years under their belt in razor production, Wilkinson Sword has unveiled the revolutionary new, Wilkinson Sword Hydro 5, engineered to offer improved skin protection whilst shaving. With technology that surpasses the outdated lubrication strips, Wilkinson Sword has raised the game once again, equipping the razor with innovative gel pools designed for an improved glide to give the best protection from irritation. £9.99. www.wilkinsonsword.co.uk

y

SK:N BRIGHTENING AND FIRMING EYE CREAM Targets fine lines and wrinkles whilst reducing puffiness and is clinically proven to see results within 28 days. £25. www.sknclinics. co.uk

Urtekram will be launching four delectable products in the new coconut scent: shampoo, conditioner, shower gel and body lotion, each infused with organic virgin coconut oil and organic coconut nectar from palm trees in the South Seas.

Like all Urtekram products, all four new hair and body care lines have achieved the Ecocert COSMOS Organic Standard.

Prices start from £1.75. www.urtekram.com

BENECOS LIPSTICK IN FIRST LOVE

GINVERA EXFOLIATING MARVELWHITE Marvelwhite contains NO microbeads or gritty bits to scratch and irritate the skin. Infused with Japanese Shiso, which possesses incredible healing powers, it can repair, protect and rejuvenate the skin. Along with other beneficial ingredients like Green Tea, which is effective at reducing redness, working to improve the tone and health of the skin, coupled with other amazing ingredients makes this product a gentle kind exfoliator which is also kind to the environment. £16. www.janiro.co.uk

Enriched with organic jojoba, this nourishing natural lipstick comes in a beautiful deep muted pink shade, with a hint of coral to accentuate your lips. £6.95. www.benecos.co.uk

VEET SENSITIVE PRECISION BEAUTY STYLER The new battery-operated grooming gadget is fitted with a dual ended trimmer head which has been designed for slick precision to bag your brow goals and remove those fine hairs for standout definition. It’s the perfect preening tool for achieving the flawless brow-look as well as for a quick tidy in between salon visits and other longer lasting at-home treatments. The included comb attachment is ideal for obtaining the perfect uniform length for a clean finish. £23.99. www.Veet.co.uk

LIGHT & DARK DELIGHTFUL 5ML PURSE SPRAY This diamante purse spray is the perfect size so you can top up your scent on the go. This fruity fragrance has an explosion of red fruits that makes your mouth water from the first hit...With florals and a creamy base, the ah ping, blood orange, watermelon and red apple sit happily alongside delicate traces of jasmine and pink lotus. £9.50. ld-boutique.com

URTEKRAM COCONUTSCENTED ORGANIC BODY CARE RANGE

EGO JETSET Ego styling tools are designed using HW2 technology which incorporates a naturally occurring mineralladen earth from the Red Pine Forest in Korea.

This supreme dual voltage travel set, containing three powerful tools, will meet all your life styling requirements. £59.95. http://shop.egoprofessional.com

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Sussex Events

Best4Biz 2016 Following on from the resounding success of last year’s Best4Biz conference, 2016’s event is looking to be bigger and better than before and will, yet again, be accompanied by the Best of the Best East Sussex Business Awards

The Best4Biz conference, organised by the Events Alliance of Chambers in East Sussex (ACES) will take place again this year on Friday 14th October at Bexhill’s De La Warr Pavilion.

Last year saw the attendance of 200 business leaders from across Sussex and, with the topic of ‘Work in the Future’, this year’s event is set to be bigger and better than before.

Keynote speakers set to attend Best4Biz include Head of SME Partnerships at Google, Alex Storey and former Head of Digital Marketing at Microsoft, Allister Frost, who will examine how the digital world operates now and how he suspects it will work in future years. This is as well as giving advice on how to keep up with fast-moving, multimillion pound digital companies such as Facebook and Twitter – something all businesses can benefit from, especially seeing as digital platforms are becoming increasingly relied upon by customers and businesses.

The event will begin at 9am with coffee and registration, followed by seminars led by Allister Frost and the Director of Economy and Transport at East Sussex County Council (ESCC), Rupert Clubb, who will be talking about the importance of developing strong links with the business community as well as East Sussex County Council’s plans for the future of business in Sussex. Spectators will have the opportunity to become engrossed in a ‘Question Time’ style expert panel, made up of high-flying businessmen and women, as well as politicians such as Eastbourne’s very own Caroline Ansell and Wealden’s Nus Ghani. A lunch break and B2B Exhibition will take place afterwards, allowing businesses to exchange information, products or services.

From 1:30pm until 3pm, break out

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sessions will take place, giving business leaders and visitors a networking opportunity, allowing them to converse and share information. During these breakout sessions, spectators will pick one from four topics, presenting businesses a choice of what subject they feel will be more beneficial to their individual needs. These topics include: • Google garage

• Social media – so what if it goes wrong?

• The fastest ways to grow your

business • The latest council plans for your area Alex Storey will take to the stage at 3pm, giving his expert advice on how the world-conquering search engine – Google – works as a team and how it can help SMEs to grow and develop internationally.

This year also reintroduces the Best of the Best East Sussex Business Awards - see Chamber News for more information.

Tickets for 2016’s Best4Biz are free and are available to book online via onlineticketseller.com.

To get involved in the B2B Exhibition, contact stephen@ eastbournechamber.co.uk and all stands are available from £200 plus VAT.

9am • Coffee & Registration Welcome from Rupert Clubb, Director of Economy and Transport East Sussex County Council • Allister Frost, world renowned conference speaker and former Head of Digital Marketing at Microsoft • “Question Time” style panel hosted by Rupert Clubb, with Malcolm Diamond MBE, Allister Frost, Alex Storey, Caroline Ansell MP, Nus Ghani MP and Huw Merriman MP

12noon • Lunch and B2B Exhibition 1.30pm Break out sessions (choose one from): • Google Garage • Social Media - So what if it goes wrong?

• The fastest ways to grow your business • The latest council plans for your area 3pm • Alex Storey Head of SME Partnerships Google 4pm • Close

Plan Ahead to Pay for Care

October is West Sussex Care Month, so why not take some time to think about planning for care in the future?

Most of us don’t think about care until it affects a Advertorial loved one or we need to consider it for ourselves, but it’s good to know what information and advice is available when you do need support.

For example, did you know that you can seek financial advice about paying for long-term care and support for yourself or someone else through the Carewise care funding advice scheme.

Getting good financial advice in advance is essential, because long-term care could be one of the most expensive choices you make after buying a house. In West Sussex it can cost up to

“As people are living longer and need to fund a greater period of retirement than before, it makes sense to include potential care costs in your financial planning for the future” £50,000 a year for care in a residential care home.

There are a variety of ways to pay for care, such as selling or renting out your house, a deferred payments agreement, a care fees annuity and equity release, and whether you choose to put your pension into an annuity or an investment or withdraw a lump sum now could affect your care options later.

As people are living longer and need to fund a greater period of retirement than before, it makes sense to include potential care costs in your financial planning for the future.

The Carewise care funding advice scheme can help with that planning.

Are you a solicitor?

Find out more about the advantages of establishing close working relationships with local financial advisors at our ‘Be Carewise with your clients’ conference on Wednesday 5th October. This is a free CPD event where delegates can hear from leading experts in the field of financial planning for later-life.

The conference will take place on Wednesday 5th October, 10.00am - 1.00pm at County Hall North Horsham (Parkside), Chart Way, Horsham, RH12 1XH. To request your free ticket please visit www.eventbrite.co.uk and search ‘Carewise’ to have an e-ticket sent straight to your inbox.

Choosing care could be one of the most expensive decisions you make and good advice is vital.

Carewise upupbybyWest Sussex County To find out more go to www.

Carewisewas wasset set West Sussex County Age Council, Age Sussex, UK West Sussex, Council, UK West West Sussex Partners westsussexconnecttosupport.org/ Society of Later Advisers carewise or phone West Sussex inand Carethe and the Society ofLife Later Life Advisers. It (SOLLA) to provide specialist information and adviceCounty off ers independent, financial about Council’s Adults’ CarePoint advice about paying for for long-term on 01243 642121. choosing and paying long-termcare. care. Contact Carewise now to find out more.

01243 642121 01243 642121

www.westsussexconnecttosupport.org/ www.westsussexconnecttosupport.org/carewise carewise www.sussexbusinesstimes.co.uk 13

carewise@westsussex.gov.uk carewise@westsussex.gov.uk

Choosing care could be one of the most expensive

Sussex Events

Digital & You

SBT has partnered with an innovative New Business Show For Mid Sussex, Digital & You. Learn, interact, network and discover at the King’s Centre in Burgess Hill on 18th October As the digital landscape continues to rapidly evolve, Events it is essential that businesses are up to speed with the latest insights and solutions.

To be held on Tuesday, 18th October 2016 at the King’s Centre in Burgess Hill, West Sussex, Digital and You is an exciting new event which aims to empower companies in the region, from start-ups to corporates, in keys areas of digital technology and arm them with a powerful toolkit of effective ideas.

Provided by the Open 4 Business initiative of Mid Sussex District Council and in partnership with Sussex Business Times, this FREE presentation-led event provides the ideal opportunity to come and meet some of the region’s most influential digital thought leaders and find out how becoming digitally-savvy will help deliver your company’s objectives.

Why attend?

• LEARN – Listen to insightful and educational keynote presentations on various hot topics - from social

media and email marketing to cloud accounting and analytics - by leading digital experts. Come for a specific talk or feel free to stay for the afternoon.

• INTERACT – Engage in a lively

Q&A panel session with key speakers, presented by Simon Skinner, Editor-in- Chief at Sussex Business Times.

• NETWORK – Connect with renowned influencers and organisations, on hand to share their expertise in the exhibition area.

• DISCOVER - Find out how a blogger can help promote your business in the blogger zone.

Over 400 visitors are expected to attend the event, and Mid Sussex

14 www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk

District Council would like to thank its sponsors: Gatwick Diamond Business, Sussex University and the Federation of Small Businesses.

Councillor Gary Marsh, Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Property, comments, “This is a very exciting initiative and we wholeheartedly encourage businesses in the region of all sizes and digital experience to attend. We are thrilled to have been able to secure so many prestigious digital thought leaders and organisations to be part of the event and look forward to an extremely lively and informative afternoon.”

To register to attend, please visit www.o4b.org.uk and if you are a digital company wishing to exhibit, please contact Emma Bennett at open4business@midsussex.gov.uk ‘Digital & You’ Programme 11:30am - Doors Open for registration and networking 12:00 - 12:05pm - Welcome by Simon Hughes, Head of Digital and Customer Service at Mid Sussex District Council 12:05pm - 12:20pm - How Cloud Accounting Can Benefit Your Business by Tom Bowen, Senior Strategy Adviser for Hilton Sharp & Clarke

Cloud Accounting has revolutionised the way a company’s accounts are managed over the past few years and will continue to do so as new technology becomes available. By going digital, businesses are able to automate much of their administration – such as bank transactions and recording invoices - thus saving time and money. At the same time, accountants have real time access to how a business is performing, allowing them to offer better and more relevant advice to their client.

This presentation will outline the key features of Cloud Accounting software and explain how it can benefit your business 12:30pm – 12:45pm - First Things First: Preparing for an SEO Campaign

by Nathan Davidson, Founder and Director of Digital Davidson

Every company wants to be top of Google rankings! But it’s important to make sure you have certain elements in place before you undertake an SEO campaign, to ensure you reap the best results. This talk will examine the key areas you need to consider – from understanding what Search Engine Optimisation is and making sure your website is ‘well-built’ and responsive to knowing who your rivals are, the

Sussex Events

competitive space in which you exist and the opportunities that space may present.

1:00pm – 1:15pm - Digital Analytics: The Secret Ingredient to Online Success by Rhys Jackson, Head of Data and Insight at RocketMill

Google, Amazon, Netflix, Uber… all attribute their success to the intelligent use of data. But data and analysis is not esoteric magic. Rhys Jackson provides the steps to start outperforming your competition with evidence-led decision making.

1:30 – 1:45pm - Google Apps for Work – Your Office in the Cloud by Stephen Hannon, Account Manager at Cloud Technology Solutions

way organisations work, and describe the benefits these organisations have received. Cloud Technology Solutions continues to develop the world’s leading data migration tool, to make the journey to the cloud seamless and stress-free.

2:00pm – 2:15pm - Making Social Media Work for Your Business by Kerry Watkins, Founder and Director of Social Brighton

It can be hard to know where to start with social media and how best to spend your time, so Kerry will help to simplify the somewhat intimidating landscape of social media marketing and cover some of the basics.

Discover how social media can benefit your business, which networks are ideal for which types of organisation and how to approach developing a social media strategy. Kerry will share her top tips for social media success, learned from her years of experience, for you to take away and action when you get back to the office.

2:30pm – 2:45pm Content Marketing: What Happens When Brands Become Publishers? By Jon Norris, Head of Content at RocketMill

Google Apps for Work has been successfully transforming businesses for the past 5 years, helping them become more agile and keeping pace with modern methods of working. Creating truly collaborative workspaces increases team efficiency, saving businesses not just money, but valuable time too. The ability to work with a colleague in real time from any device encourages productivity levels to increase. Team-work is made easier and IT spend goes down. Stephen will provide an insight into the different ways Google for Work has changed the

help you, and how to get started. It looks at companies that do it well and different strategies you can employ to produce great editorial on limited budgets.

3:00pm – 3:15pm Top Email Marketing Tips for Growing Businesses by Komal Helyer, Head of Marketing at Pure360

Did you know the attention span of the average adult is eight seconds, meaning people don’t read emails – they scan them? Coupled with the fact that the average consumer receives 11 commercial emails a day, it soon becomes clear that standing out in an inbox can be tricky a business!

However, regardless of your email marketing sophistication there are plenty of ways in which you can overcome these challenges. Komal Helyer, Head of Marketing at Pure360, will provide top tips on how you can increase engagement, build brand loyalty with your audience and ultimately improve your ROI with the most popular digital marketing channel – email!

3:30pm – 3:45pm - Q&A Panel hosted

by Simon Skinner, Editor-in-Chief at Sussex Business Times 3:55 – 4:00pm - Closing speech by Simon Hughes, Head of Digital and Customer Service at Mid Sussex District Council

Event Details

This presentation will cover the basics of content marketing – what it is, how it can

Date: Tuesday 18th October 2016 Venue: The King’s Centre, 33-35 Victoria Road, Burgess Hill, West Sussex RH15 9LR Time: 11.30am – 4:00pm www.o4b.org.uk

www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk 15

Cash Flow In A Growing Tech Business

RSM and NatWest hosted a TMT Sector Lunch on Friday 15th July at the Entrepreneurial Spark offices in Brighton to allow local business representatives to discuss issues they’re facing and how we can best overcome them

On the rise since 2010, the Technology Media & Telecoms Finance (TMT) sector is taking off in the UK. Encouraged by local and national government initiatives and backed by some of the biggest global tech firms and learning institutions, the goal is to make Britain the go-to place for tech start-ups.

In July, RSM and NatWest co-hosted a lunch, bringing together some of the major players in the TMT sector in Sussex to discuss how we can move forward together to improve the world of tech start-ups.

Representatives from companies such as Madgex Ltd, DMH Stallard, Track Digital, Creative Pod and City & Guilds Kineo Ltd attended and started by sharing some of their biggest issues within their sector. Each delegate was asked to bring with them a question or statement which would initiate a discussion and take the edge off the sometimes awkward - first 5 minutes of getting to know one another. Whilst the points brought by each delegate sparked some quite heated debates on topics

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including data security, changing working habits to retain good teams and, perhaps most intensely, data storage, one point which was almost conspicuous by its absence was how best to turn excellent products into cash.

the rise of Uber and Deliveroo show that changes in delivery do lead and shape the marketplace.

The mind tends to be drawn to what makes the sector unique and differentiates it from others. This is why, whilst scrolling through the wide range Mark Crowter, of opinion pieces, Manager at RSM blogs and articles “In recent memory UK Audit LLP focused on issues there has been a rapid shared his facing the tech experience with sector you are likely change in consumer SBT on the topic to encounter pieces expectations. Being of cashflow; some which deal with the able to fulfil these of the issues we tech landscape, expectations has face and how we but which pay less can overcome attention to the dramatically reshaped them: underlying business. demand and has been In recent memory The assumption driven largely from there has been is that if you get developments within the the product right a rapid change in consumer the success of tech sector” expectations. Being the business will able to fulfil these follow. Having seen expectations has dramatically reshaped profitable businesses based on great demand and has been driven largely concepts fail, I know that this isn’t always from developments within the tech the case and that the fundamental rule sector. There is now a far greater focus of business impacts the tech sector as on businesses delivering their offering in much as any other – if you fail to manage a way which works for the consumer; your cash flow, your business will fail.

Money Matters

The changes in delivery makes this more complex and, in a rapidly changing landscape, how do you plan or attempt to predict the impact this will have on your business?

The key to managing cash flows remain the same, the change in landscape doesn’t mean that the principles necessarily change; rather it’s a case of having to be more versatile in your thinking whilst remaining focused on the following fundamentals that have always underpinned managing the limited resources of a developing business.

Early stage investment For any early stage technology company, raising cash to get the business off the ground is probably the most important consideration. Knowing where to find that cash and from who is one of the most common questions we are asked. And there as so many sources depending on the stage a business is at, be it friends & family, angels, venture capital, private equity and IPOs (source: on the heels of unicorns). There is always grant funding and bank loans too.

How much cash to ask for is fundamental – ask for too much and you end up giving away too much of the business at the outset, ask for too little and you face running out before you get to a critical stage. Being able to demonstrate this through the business model provided to potential investors will make sure there is a clear understanding of how and when the business will spend ‘their’ cash, be it on product development, sale and marketing or other costs.

“The old adage ‘cash is king’ is as applicable in tech business today as in any other. And importantly, the two should not be mixed, up profit is different to cash” Profit versus cash flow The old adage ‘cash is king’ is as applicable in tech business today as in any other. And importantly, the two should not be mixed up - profit is different to cash.

When scoping a potential customer

or thinking about the cost to bring the product to market, focusing exclusively on profitability can sink the business! Yes, it’s important to provide a return but if the business runs out of cash the project will, in the best case stall and in the worst case fail.

By thinking about the timings of cash flows using a month by month cash flow projection businesses are able to negotiate terms with customers that work for them – whilst something may have to be offered in return for prompt or staged payments, by understanding profit margins and cash flow needs, businesses can find the ‘sweet spot’ that delivers both a good return and provides cash ahead of it being spent.

Building good habits for the business and its customers The growth of automated billing means that being prompt when raising invoices is much less of an issue – the whole grubby topic of requesting to be paid is out of a business’s hands.

This does not mean that this aspect of the business shouldn’t be a central concern. Understandably credit control is no one’s favourite job but by being disciplined on when and how this process is undertaken can be a really powerful tool in managing cash. By being open and clear with customers on when payment is expected, planning on how to finish this project or fund the next is made a whole lot easier.

Contact Richard Heap, RSM UK Audit LLP for more information: 0845 057 0700

www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk 17

Swanning Around Sussex Business, Brexit and a nice glass of English sparkling

“Law firms” and “fun” are not terms which often enjoy sharing Advertorial the same sentence.

Then again Rix & Kay is not your typical law firm.

From the outside, Rix & Kay may look fairly traditional – an award-winning full service commercial law firm with its roots firmly in Sussex. Its first office opened way back in 1948, the same year as the creation of the NHS, and has since flourished with a reputation that has allowed it to develop a strong client base in Brighton & Hove and across the South East.

From the inside however, the picture tells a different story. Take, for example, Rix & Kay’s work this summer to support a unique expedition to save Europe’s smallest swan from extinction.

Flight of the Swans is a one-of-a-kind project, and this September Sacha Dench of the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) will fly a paramotor from the Bewick’s swans’ breeding grounds in Arctic Russia, 4,500km across 11 countries before finishing at the swans’ final destination in the UK. Rix & Kay are providing the

dedicated legal support for the expedition Partners and staff from Rix & Kay, and are thrilled to be involved. recently raised more than £20,000 for the Bruce Hayter, Rix & Kay’s Managing Brighton based charity.

Partner and Head of Corporate explains: The firm will again support the Sussex “When we were approached to support Food and Drink Awards and together the project there was not much more they continue to help boost local farmers, to say other than yes. We want to work food and drink producers and the outlets on projects that are inspiring and in across Sussex. Yes, the project helps the public interest. connect Rix & Kay with Our reputation in the its community, but there’s “It’s fantastic challenging expeditions also something to be that our people arena has helped us said about the quality of and teams are pick up projects like English sparkling wine at engaged in the this over the years. It’s the moment. It’s another fantastic that our people project and it fits example that underlines and teams are engaged the essence of making perfectly with in the project and it fits work enjoyable. our culture at perfectly with our culture So what about business at Rix & Kay. We want Rix & Kay” and Brexit? Well, much our people to work on like Rix & Kay’s approach projects that are both rewarding and fun.” to work, the firm is pragmatic but fully Closer to home, other projects leap prepared. It’s very much business as out that suggest Rix & Kay are not just usual for the firm’s teams and, if anything, concerned about supporting businesses the lawyers are busier than ever working and individuals with their commercial and on a host of impressive client projects legal needs. The list is impressive. The and deals. firm works closely with Active Sussex The firm’s Corporate Team epitomises supporting grass roots sport and is a Rix & Kay’s outlook and they are not primary supporter of The Starr Trust, dwelling on what may or may not happen where a team of cyclists, including post Brexit. Dominic Travers, Partner

www.rixandkay.co.uk | 01273 329797

18 www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk

Rix & Kay Solicitors

who leads Rix & Kay’s team in Brighton has recently completed three significant M&A deals, advising Brighton-based New Era UK Holdings on its acquisition of UniServity Ltd and two cross-border deals when he advised global operator, Flint Group, on the acquisition of Druckfarben Limited in the UK, and a UK - based business that was acquired by an Indian-based business.

Dominic comments: “A number of professionals across the region were surprised by the Brexit vote and are concerned it will impact the volume and quality of deals. While no one really knows what will transpire post-Brexit, particularly when Article 50 is triggered, we are remaining positive. The recent cross border deals we helped complete show that there will continue to be inward investment for the right businesses in the UK. We want to work with likeminded people who remain positive about business and who want to grow and succeed. Talking down the economy becomes self-fulfilling”.

So it’s no coincidence that Rix & Kay’s summer has been a particularly busy one, and the number of clients that continue Sacha Dench

Rix & Kay’s Corporate Partners Bruce Hayter

Dominic Travers

Alan Zeal

Sara Capenter

to return time after time speaks volumes about how the firm works with people. It’s not just about great client service, which the firm excels at, but how Rix & Kay go about their business.

They make a point of being open, approachable, always accessible and easy to talk to, as well as being commercially minded and technically brilliant. The result is that their people aren’t typical lawyers and they don’t wear “Lawyer” as a badge.

Alan Zeal, Partner in the firm’s Corporate Team in Uckfield reflects on some of the projects he has worked on over the last few months: “It’s hugely rewarding to know that clients put complete trust in our lawyers to handle their work and the fact that they don’t go elsewhere is testament to that. So far this year we’ve completed multiple acquisitions for a number of clients, one of which is Green Insurance Group which has been determined to deliver growth to its business. They know we can get the deals done for them and they know they are in safe hands”.

So what about the future? Rix & Kay makes no bones about the fact that it is ambitious and wants to continue to grow.

Not just in Brighton & Hove and Uckfield, but across Sussex and Kent. The firm has just opened a new office in Ashford, Kent and sees this as a great opportunity to build on its successful operations in Sevenoaks.

The Corporate Team is one of the

Uckfield | Brighton & Hove | Sevenoaks | Ashford | Seaford

Bewick Swans in Arctic Russia

strongest in the South East in terms of numbers and depth, with a dedicated regional team of ten professionals including four Partners who are focused on supporting businesses in the region.

Sara Carpenter, who is Partner in the firm’s Sevenoaks office and leads the team’s operation in Kent sums everything up: “Rix & Kay is a great place to work and that helps to recruit and retain the best people. Our team has grown over the last 12 months and it has needed to, bearing in mind the range of interesting and diverse projects that we are now working on. It’s hard work, but most importantly it’s enjoyable and rewarding, and this is reflected in our attitude to work. Above all, I think that’s what clients really like”.

You can find more information about Rix & Kay’s involvement with Flight of the Swans at www.flightoftheswans.org

www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk 19

Money Matters

The Eye of the Digital Tiger Economies

The latest research by Barclays shows the UK to be lagging behind ‘Digital Tiger Economies’.

Where are we going wrong, and how can we digitally ‘empower’ our workforce?

“The UK needs over 745,000 additional professionals with digital skills to cope with increasing demand between 2013 and 2017”

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According to new research from Barclays, the UK Finance could be in for a digital battle, as it fights to compete economically on the world stage.

The digital technology industry is growing rapidly all the time; there is no doubt that this is where the future is, so of course, we must invest intelligently. Failure to keep up and failure to invest in digital skills however, is feared to be more of a reality than previously thought.

Digital empowerment is the ability and desire to use one’s digital skills to work productively and creatively, and to have the opportunity to continually upgrade them to keep pace with

changing technology. The Barclays Digital Development Index benchmarks 10 countries around the world on their readiness to compete in the digital economy, and therefore their digital empowerment. The most recent study, which attributes an overarching digital empowerment score to each nation, found that the UK came in just fourth place behind new and emerging ‘digital tiger’ economies: Estonia, South Korea and Sweden.

Ashok Vaswani, CEO, Barclays UK wants to drive home the importance of digital empowerment – now, not sometime in the future: “We urgently need to secure London and the UK as the world’s pre-eminent powerhouse of tech innovation as well as make sure that

Money Matters

the UK has the digital skills and expertise to compete globally across all sectors and industries. At a time when the UK is considering its future outside the European Union, we have to remember that competing in the digital economy isn’t simply a European question, it’s about a global race that will define how prosperous and successful we are for decades to come.”

The findings are based on a survey of nearly 10,000 working adults combined with analysis of policy frameworks and support for the development of digital skills in each country. The research highlights a disconnect between policies to support digital engagement in the UK, which score well overall, and a lack of confidence in digital skills at an individual level among British workers. Workforce confidence was scored as particularly low when applied to basic digital skills, including security: protecting data and devices.

Workers in the UK are less likely to keep their phones and laptops secure than those in Brazil, South Africa or China, posing a potential risk of dangerous data leaks in the coming years as cyber hackers find increasingly sophisticated ways to access data.

When cyber security issues are already rife in businesses, big and small, it’s concerning that only 13% of people in the UK use password-generating software to create hard-tocrack passwords. This is compared to 32% in China and 32% in India. Equally, only 41% of people in the UK change important passwords regularly, compared to 59% in India.

One of the easiest ways of running into security issues is storing payment information on a laptop, computer or phone – especially when passwords are relatively easy to hack – but, despite this, only 38% of people in the UK never save or store payment information on online accounts, compared to 58% in South Africa.

So, the question is, is this due to a lack of skills, education or just simple denial?

Looking at digital skills in the UK...

The UK ranks just seventh out of 10 for coding skills and content creation.

As this is a key indicator of the ability to be a ‘digital creator’ rather than just a ‘digital consumer’, our readiness to be a competitor in the future digital economy is far from certain.

Businesses are finding it harder and harder to gain and retain the skills that they need to innovate and grow.

The UK needs over 745,000 additional professionals with digital skills to cope with increasing demand between 2013 and 2017, but the findings of this survey reveal this prospect to be very daunting indeed. Even in this day and age, where the Internet is King, every business has a website and the

majority of high street retailers seem to be struggling - a shockingly low 16% of people in the UK would be very comfortable building a website, compared to 39% in Brazil and 37% in India. Equally, with Smartphones pinned to eyes and ears all day long, it’s surprising to note that only 11% of people in the UK would be very comfortable creating a mobile app or game, compared to 22% in the USA, 27% in Brazil, or 33% in India.

In addition, just 12% of people in the UK feel very comfortable creating a software programme or game, compared to 23% in the USA or 33% in India.

All the while, the UK maintains its rank in 4th position in terms of support for the development of digital skills, performing well in selected areas of digital skills policy and advanced learning skills. We have the technology! Quite literally. But these strengths are offset by relatively low capability and confidence in digital skills on an individual level – here, the UK ranks in 6th place behind some of its biggest economic rivals China, India and the USA. So, we turn to education.

If the capabilities are there and the skills being taught, where are we going wrong?

Looking at digital training in the UK...

The two leading countries in the index are ahead of the UK in the ranking for digital policies. Both Estonia and South Korea are particularly strong on vocational and

www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk 21

Money Matters

“The digital skills gap costs the UK economy £63bn a year in lost GDP, which makes a strong case for investing in workplace training and education”

workplace digital skills, while South Korea leads the way on broadband access policy and digital skills in compulsory education.

With the UK coming seventh out of 10 in vocational and workplace skills, the research highlights a clear need for more to be done in the workplace to help boost digital skills. Estonia and South Korea, the joint leaders on digital empowerment, are also joint leaders on vocational and workplace skills. Only 38% of UK workers interviewed for the study say that their employer offers training in digital skills; this figure is considerably higher in China, the US (48% in both) and India (67%).

The digital skills gap costs the UK economy £63bn a year in lost GDP, which makes a strong case for investing in workplace training and education. This in turn will boost the UK workforce’s confidence and take us closer to our goal of not only securing our place in the digital battle, but in the UK’s economic future.

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Ashok continued: “In the last century, most of us had to cope with just one big shift in technology in our career or lifetime, and we’ve been able to rely on our early education to get us through.

But, now these changes are happening constantly though the evolution of the internet, smartphones, social media, and the advent of new technologies like blockchain, virtual reality, AI and open data.”

Of course, the workforce’s lack of confidence in basic digital skills suggests that, for example, some of the policies we already have in place are simply not being applied in the right areas. We then fall into a cycle where the confidence isn’t there to even teach the skills necessary, leading to a shortage of teachers qualified to provide instruction in digital skills, impeding any potential progress.

Ashok added: “This research shows Britons need to equip themselves with digital

skills whether to future proof their career, or keep personal data and devices safe.

Businesses also need to do much more to upskill each and every generation of their workforce; we need to create a new culture of lifelong learning.”

What can we do to improve?

Digital empowerment requires the government, businesses and other stakeholders to together provide workers with the necessary digital infrastructure, training and support. For all stakeholders, it means understanding and embracing the digital future, especially at such an uncertain time in our history.

“With the [EU] referendum sending a clear message that too many parts of the UK do not feel they are sharing in the promise of global prosperity, now is the time to take everyone in society forward in the digital age,” warns Ashok.

The comparison of digital confidence and policy across countries points to five objectives that UK policymakers, businesses and other key stakeholders should jointly pursue to build digital empowerment: accelerate efforts, widen the focus to all groups – not just the most relevant, introduce more rigorous training to provide others with educators, keep non-IT entities involved, and diversify the learning (we all learn differently, so we must cater for that). Only then can we try to close the digital skills gap that’s costing our economy millions, and isolating us as a country lagging behind the digital tiger economies.

When Time is Money – do you lay up or go forofthe green?

Great taste success with R&D

Tax Relief for brewers of craft beers If like me, you are the owner of an innovative business you’re most likely always on the go and quite probably subscribe to the adage that: time is money. However, a little timeout, if well spent, can potentially bring you significant rewards via a Research & Development Tax Relief windfall.

It’s not just technology and manufacturing companies So can what’s this for got R&D to do Tax with Relief. golf? Well, that apply Entrepreneurial perhapscan the now most claim time consuming brewers back thousands of pounds elementcosts of any round of golf, against connected withcertainly research and development if you exclude the walking from shot industry which projects. Brewing is a competitive to shot, is the consideration of which constantly has to address the public’s thirst for new club to use; dependant on the lie of the avours and products. In an environment like this, land – and of the ball - to maximise your opportunities to research raw ingredients and try out new advantage and, hopefully, build a good production methods and taste combinations are almost score. inexhaustible.

The decision is always dependant on the challenges or obstacles that

The Hackney Brewery is another good example of a business that could examine recouping costs for R&D. Brewers Tristram Stuart and Jon Swain spent time developing Toast Ale. They source left over fresh bread from artisan bakeries, then slice, toast and mash it, adding the breadcrumbs to malted barley, a mixture of hops, yeast and water. Prots from the sale of the ale, which is stocked in a number of different outlets in the UK, go to Feedback, an environmental organisation that campaigns to end food waste.

are placed in your way.

You take time Simon Bulteel, from Cooden Tax Consulting, is an R&D Inventive brewers can contact Simon at Cooden Tax deliberating and evaluating your options tax relief specialist.

He recently discussed how this tax Consulting for R&D Tax Relief advice in the hope you’llto make a decision relief can bethat applied brewers of various sizes with (www.coodentaxconsulting.co.uk). He works directly with that Beer will beWorld. right. For theCharles professionals Craft The Wells Brewery in Bedford businesses, as well as via Accountants, Solicitors and those are the decisions that make the are a wonderful example of precisely the sort of project Patent Attorneys. Simon will ascertain if you are eligible difference between winning and losing that could qualify for R&D Tax Relief.

Master Brewer for this specic tax relief and undertake the claim and how much prize money is received Chris Read spent “…a lot of time researching brewing process for you. He is currently processing a claim for a in each competition; or indeed - whether Fortunately, Cooden Tax Consulting is thatkeeping archives, looking for traditional malt and hop recipes and hop processor also manufactures for you out of the hop roughproducts and you win gold or silver. your experienced R&D Tax Relief caddie. ensuring you are a fairway ahead of your working out how best to evolve them for modern tastes”. the brewing industry.

Cooden Consulting has Due to the significant complexity of walked this course helped competition by helping to secure a cash£3k thethen application a number of work We’ve He went onprocess, to the development with his raw and playedsuccessfully businesses with claims between dozens of times and can best advise you rebate that could boost your business elements in this scenario come into play ingredients and “arrived at a blend of Galaxy, Simcoe and £300k. how to approach each part of it. growth. when you begin to consider the various and Goldings Hops, alongside various lighter malts, to If you invest a little thinking time with options for submitting an application for Which business owner wouldn’t raise a glass to that? create a traditionally bitter and hoppy IPA with a soft, us, we’ll plot a course from tee to green, www.coodentaxconsulting.co.uk R&D Tax Relief. modern, tropical avour.”

RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT TAX RELIEF SPECIALISTS RAISE GLASS WHETHER YOUAARE GOINGTO FOR THE GREEN BACK OR LAYING UP SHORT CASH FROM HMRC TALK TO US ABOUT R&D TAX RELIEF Call COODEN TAX CONSULTING NOW!

100% Success No Claim, No Fee Call us on: 01424 225 345

@CoodenConsults

Office 10

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email us on: info@coodentaxconsulting.co.uk

www.coodentaxconsulting.co.uk www.sussexbusinesstimes.co.uk

43 St Leonards Road

Bexhill on Sea

East Sussex TN40 1JA

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Photography: Nick Nault - nicknaultphotography.ca ©

Money Matters

Use Your Loaf Businessman and business mentor, Phil Gadd gives Sussex Business Times his unusual story, moving from the world of TV and film to the world of food, explaining how he’s now set his sights on helping others achieve similar success Earning a crust… making dough.

Although it’s Insight impossible to trace the exact date of the first slang usage of ‘dough’ or ‘bread’ as a term for money, it seems to have originated in the 19th Century. Where bread was the everyday necessity of life at the time, to earn one’s living was to earn one’s bread and therefore, bread became synonymous with money and currency.

The Oxford English Dictionary discovered that the earliest printed use of ‘dough,’ appearing as a slang term for currency was in 1851: “He thinks he will pick his way out of the Society’s embarrassments, provided he can get sufficient dough.”

British-born businessman, Phil Gadd, has lived out this expression with both of its meanings. Having discovered the beauty of life in the Canadian City, Fernie, BC while on a snowboarding holiday, the former Film and TV Editor made it his mission to find a way to both live and

24 www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk

make a living there. Inspired by a friend’s bakery/café concept in the UK, his plan was set in motion.

At the time, the local bakery in Fernie had recently closed, and he and his wife emigrated. Three years later he was running The Loaf as a million dollar plus business, living the life of his dreams; he was both literally and figuratively making stacks of bread and raking in the dough.

Phil explained to SBT in greater detail in this Q&A with Editor, Simon Skinner.

Hi Phil. Take us back to the start here, yours seems to be an irregular story of business progression and success.

Where did it all begin?

Hi, well imagine this: no work for six months with all the time you could need to follow a dream. This journey started for me 12 years ago when I decided to take a sabbatical from my career in London. My love of the mountains and snowboarding drew me to Fernie, which is a small mountain community made up of around 5000 residents, nestled in the southeastern corner of British Columbia in the Canadian Rockies. I booked myself

Business Coach

So what kind of process did you and your (now) wife go through from concept to action?

Primarily, we knew that we needed to come up with a way of making a living.

Our previous careers would be redundant as there were no big movie companies or large museums (Claire had been previously working at the V&A) in Fernie.

So, we came up with the brilliant idea of opening a new kind of bakery, although we had no previous bakery experience; we just knew it was a great concept. We recognised a gap in the local market and took inspiration from a UK business that we knew and liked.

The degree to which the community embraced the philosophy of ‘Real, Honest Bread’, (bread baked in the artisan style without ‘improvers’, ‘enhancers’ or any other additives) happily exceeded all expectations and over the next couple of years, it was apparent that we would need more space. It was right around that time that the original Fernie Quality Bakery building on Victoria Ave became available, and a new bakery grew out of the old. After complete renovation and development works, we opened the doors of our spacious retail bakery and 50 ­seater restaurant in late August 2012 and Loaf, a concept founded on the other side of the ocean, had finally come to full fruition.

So significant and quick expansion for a business that you never really knew would work. Phil, this period must have been a real whirlwind for you, how did you manage it?

It was. Roll on 18 months and I was going into meltdown. The business had been running for three years at this point and I had taken a company from exactly $0 to over $1.2M in gross revenue during the period. I needed help.

Thankfully, this came in the form of a chap called Greg Forzani, a business coach whose tried and tested program

Photography: Nick Nault - nicknaultphotography.ca ©

on a 12 ­week course and ended up as a certified level 1 snowboard instructor.

I then promptly packed up and headed back to the UK to continue life as normal.

But in my head I’d already made the decision to return to the mountains and live out my passion for snowboarding and Fernie, long-term. Fortunately for me, I met my wife-to-be and she had the same idea, so we started forming our escape plan.

is the one I now coach today; the same program that we utilise at Loaf Bakery & Restaurant. We can operate profitably, and this has enabled me to pursue my other passion: executive and business coaching.

The very term ‘Business Coach’ can instill fear in many an entrepreneur’s veins, but so many successful businesses have grown through accelerator programs, mentors and business coaching. How did you find Greg’s influence at the time and what tools, specifically, did you both implement into the workings of Loaf Bakery & Restaurant?

Working with Greg Forzani as my business coach helped me to regain my vision. I was then able to refocus on my plan and to execute it effectively. The key to the execution that turned the Loaf into a great business was the ability to routinely measure the plan, and to ensure that all activities were impactful. We kept re-evaluating until all our operations were routinely effective and this has led to great results.

So the real benefits of working with a third party coach/mentor is that of an experienced ‘outsider’ looking in with an objective opinion. Is that right?

I think so. Someone who can ask you

questions like, what’s going on in your business these days? In three years from now, where do you want to be? And, if there were no restrictions, what would you change?

A small handful of examples, but these kinds of questions keep the business owner focused on the more important elements of running and growing businesses successfully and that’s invaluable.

You mention that you’re now offering your services and experience in the way that Greg originally worked with you, is that right?

Yes, well, Loaf Bakery & Restaurant is running well and I’m loving the fact that I can. If any of your readers feel ready to make a positive change then I’m ready to talk! I’m available for Business Assessment Consultation at no charge.

Just head over to my website where you’ll find the tools to schedule a time that’s convenient.

I’m fascinated by business and constantly keen to find opportunities to talk to people about their business potential.

You can find Phil at philgadd.com and whilst you’re there, open a fresh tab to see Loaf Bakery & Restaurant’s website loafbakery.ca

www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk 25

Freddie Mercury

DOLLY PARTON

MADNESS WEEKEND

2ND DECEMBER

3RD DECEMBER

9TH & 10TH DECEMBER

£49.00 per person

£49.00 per person

£49.00 per person

ELVIS PRESLEY 10TH DECEMBER

£49.00 per person

SHOWTIME CHRISTMAS PARTIES AT THE AMEX STADIUM 2016 A collection of live tribute act events dedicated to some of the worldʼs best-loved performers.

LADY GAGA 16TH DECEMBER

£49.00 per person

TINA TURNER

DISCO FEVER

THE RAT PACK

17TH DECEMBER

2ND, 3RD, 9TH, 16TH DECEMBER

17TH DECEMBER

£49.00 per person

£39.00 per person

£49.00 per person

Book 20 places before 30 September and receive two free bottles of wine per table!

Quote SBT to qualify TO SECURE YOUR PLACE, WE REQUIRE A £15.00 PER PERSON NON-REFUNDABLE DEPOSIT AT THE TIME OF BOOKING

BOOK NOW CALL 01273 878272 OR EMAIL EVENTS@BHAFC.CO.UK 26 www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk

WWW.EVENTSATBHAFC.CO.UK

SBT’s Top Fine Dining Christmas Venues for 2016 Sussex Business Times lists its top locations for the perfect Christmas party

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year…” and it’s never too early to start planning your Christmas work parties.

Planning and finding the perfect location for this kind of occasion can be difficult and there’s a lot to get right – the food, interior and overall atmosphere included. Your aim is to bring together your staff to thank them for their year of hard work, so what better way than to provide them with top-rated fine dining at the most beautiful of venues?

Whether you’re planning for a large corporate business or looking for something a little more low-key and intimate, Sussex Business Times has plenty of recommendations for your festive feast. One thing we would recommend though, is early booking if you want to secure your preferred winter wonderland location.

5

Deans Place Hotel, Alfriston

Situated right in the centre of the beautiful Sussex countryside, Deans Place Hotel makes for the perfect place for a Christmas spread. The medieval village of Alfriston provides visitors with a breathtaking backdrop and interesting history.

If drinking mulled wine next to an open log fire sounds appealing then this is the place for you! Not only do the grounds of the hotel set a flawless scene, but also, the range of available hotel packages will suit the needs and desires of every business-goer. Deans Place Hotel is the host of four function suites that sit between 10 and 130 people – again, perfect for both large and small businesses.

Additionally, along with the cosy bar comes a palatable fine-dining menu, set to wet the mouths of all of your colleagues. Furthermore, Deans Place also caters for informal and intimate lunches as well as poolside barbeques – not exactly very festive but it’s nice to have a choice!

For more information and to book call 01323 870248 or email: mail@deansplacehotel.co.uk.

www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk 27

Sussex Venues

4

Cottesmore Hotel Golf & Country Club, Crawley Tucked away from the street hustle and bustle of Crawley town, Cottesmore Hotel is a glamorously themed venue just waiting for you to book your Christmas bash. Although the main attraction of this location is its golf club and spa treatments, Cottesmore Hotel also hosts beautiful function rooms and, lucky for you, Christmas party nights. Offering comfortable and fascinating seating at Martini-style tables with dimmed, intimate

3

Ashdown Park Hotel & Country Club, East Grinstead

28 www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk

lighting, Cottesmore Hotel promises to incorporate a stylish and festive interior to your Christmas do. However, the main attraction for this festive season is the Christmas Cocktail Nights. Cottesmore staff will serve up a range of cocktails to try, allowing colleagues to let off some steam before and after devouring a beautiful three-course meal, prepared by their experienced team of chefs. Guests will also get the chance to dance the

night away to old classics and modern hits during a disco. Cottesmore Hotel is able to cater for groups of up to 100 people and prices for Christmas Cocktail Nights start at £33 per head. However low-key lunches are also available from £21.95.

For more information, contact Cottesmore’s Function and Events Manager on 01293 861791 or email events@cottesmoregolf.co.uk.

Surrounded by the tranquility of Ashdown Forest, Ashdown Park Hotel offers complete bliss and luxury right in the heart of East Sussex. Not only does the hotel present guests with elegance and style, it is also the host of outstanding business and leisure facilities, making for a great venue for more lavish Christmas parties.

Last year, Ashdown Park Hotel won two Prestegious Star Awards; Most Prestigious Training Venue and Most Prestigious Wedding Venue, proving to be a great location for all kinds of functions and celebrations, as well as being incredibly popular among guests, with many returning. Ashdown

Park’s Anderida Restaurant will be serving guests daily with delicious Christmas banquets throughout December, making it an ideal dining venue for colleagues to celebrate the festive season. In addition to this, their Christmas Dinner Dance is also on offer, accompanied by a live band and four-course festive meal with a selection of house wines, all for £69.50 per person.

Spaces are becoming increasingly limited so we would advise you to book as early as possible.

Contact Ashdown Park Hotel via 01342 824988 or email events@ashdownpark.com.

Cparty hristmas nights 2016 Celebrate the festive season this year at the Manor Barn. We offer a three course dinner, followed by the chance to dance the night away with our popular Manor Barn entertainment.

available on 9th & 17th december Arrival at 7pm. Dining from 7.30pm.

Carriages at midnight.

To book your table please call the Manor Barn on...

(01424) 220 231 or 07442 504944 tables seat 10, 12 or 14 (Groups of less than 8 may have to share a table with other guests).

For larger bookings, private hire is still available.

Tickets ÂŁ35 per person. ÂŁ10 non-refundable deposit per guest.

www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk 29

ENJOY YOUR CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS AT OUR AWARD WINNING VENUE

Enjoy the party atmosphere at our festive Christmas Party Nights or book your company’s end-of-year celebration in our flexible, renovated Ascot Suite, accommodating up to 300 people.

Start your celebrations with a drinks reception followed by a festive three-course dinner, then party the night away to our DJ.

Christmas Party Nights – Join us on Saturday 3, Wednesday 7, Thursday 15 & Friday 16 December from 7:00pm.

Private Parties – Dates available throughout December.

PRICES FROM

£

40

To book, please call +44 (0)1293 610 809 or email enquiries to events.gatwick@hilton.com

PER PERSON

HILTON LONDON GATWICK AIRPORT

South Terminal, Gatwick Airport | West Sussex | RH6 0LL | UK +44 (0) 1293 610 809 | events.gatwick@hilton.com Booking Terms and Conditions 1. These conditions apply to all guests attending Christmas programme events (Event). 2. All Events are subject to availability. 3. All provisional programme bookings must be confirmed within seven days of booking and a deposit of £15.00 per person is due upon confirmation. 4. All bookings must also be accompanied by a signed booking form and any bookings not confirmed after seven days will be released without further notification. 5. All balances must be paid in full 30 days prior to the Event. All bookings made after this must be paid in full within seven of booking or, if the booking is less than seven days from date of the Event, payment in full is required immediately. For a full copy of the Hilton Terms and Conditions please ask 30 days www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk your Hilton Christmas Coordinator.

Sussex Venues

2

Or…

Photography Dominic Alves ©

If fine dining doesn’t sound like the right kind of Christmas event for you and your colleagues and you are feeling a bit more adventurous, SBT has other suggestions, perfect for the festive season…

AMEX, Brighton

Royal Pavilion Ice Rink, Brighton The outstanding, grand appearance of Brighton’s Royal Pavilion ice skating rink proved to be incredibly popular amongst people in Sussex last year, causing a sellout of tickets on a daily basis. Different time slots are available to guests, giving visitors the choice of a skate during the crisp winter mornings or beautiful lit-up evenings. Not only this, but the Rinkside Bar & Kitchen also offers guests the opportunity to warm up with a cup of hot chocolate or mulled wine and a range of different festive snacks.

Tickets can be bought both on the door or in advance via www.ticketmaster.co.uk, or for more information and booking, call 08448 471512.

Although not your typical dinner destination, this year Brighton & Hove Albion’s grounds are offering up the ultimate Christmas night to remember - something a bit different to try. You and your colleagues can enjoy a delicious and festive four-course menu – including a rustic bread roll selection on arrival – as well as watching a range of talented tributes as they perform their dazzling acts, adding a splash of entertainment to your evening.

This range of enjoyable acts include tributes to Tina Turner, Freddy Mercury, Madness, Elvis Presley, Dolly Parton and more – something to suit anyone’s musical desires. The mouth-watering menu includes a goat’s cheese winter salad to start, festive roast turkey and seasonal vegetables, and sticky toffee or fudge pudding with custard for dessert, as well as a vegetarian option of stuffed, roasted courgette.

Colleagues looking for a more relaxing and informal night can enjoy

a disco at the end of the evening, allowing people in attendance to completely let their hair down. 4500 satisfied guests enjoyed a party at the AMEX last year, and all came out with nothing but complimentary comments. However, why listen to others when you can try it out for yourselves? At prices starting at £39.99 a head, you can’t really go wrong with a Christmas party at the AMEX. Party nights start from Friday 2nd until Saturday 17th December, meaning there are limited spaces, so early booking is advised. Also, try out their Christmas party offer and receive two free bottles of wine per table if you book 20 places before September 30th.

For more information or to book your place at one of these events, please call 01273 878272 or email events@bhafc.co.uk.

Sittingbourne Greyhound Racing, Kent A night at the dogs will be an evening full of excitement for all kinds of businesses and colleagues. Enjoy an evening at Sittingbourne Race Course for an entry fee of £9.00 per person. Bet your money away while enjoying a stream of drinks from the bar or while gobbling up a three-course meal. Sittingbourne can cater for groups big and small and also allows the use of their 24 acres of land for outdoor hire.

For more information or for booking, contact 01795 475547 or email greyhoundenquiries@gmail.com More to come in the October issue...

www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk 31

1 Blanch House, Brighton

Private dining at Brighton’s very own Blanch House could well be the missing ingredient to your festive celebration plans. Located directly in the centre of the hustle and bustle of Brighton’s historic lanes, Kemptown, Blanch House is the perfect location for a luxury fine dining Christmas experience. Co-owner, Kerry Turner, promises: “From the moment you arrive at Blanch House for your Christmas party, you know that you are going to have a magical experience.” The staff at Blanch House are on hand to make your Christmas party planning and experience as easy and stress-free as possible and with the help of intimate lighting and table decorations, guests are made to feel cosy and relaxed from their arrival. A warm welcome awaits you with a sparkling Christmas tree, drinks are served in the lounge and Champagne Cocktail bar where you can circulate with colleagues and friends between the twinkling tea lights.

If modest elegance and classic, stylish space are elements you seek for your

32 www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk

Christmas event, then Blanch House’s private dining room, the Belle Époque Suite, will fulfil all of your needs – it is the perfect, soothing backdrop for hosting a personal banquet. Kerry’s team is expert in creating a festive atmosphere: “The Belle Époque Suite is an elegant room, decorated with a traditional Christmas tree where dinner is served. Here you can organise your own Secret Santa to add to the merriment and enjoyment of your private party. Blanch House is also delighted to assist with your music choice throughout your party.”

Blanch House offers private dining for up to 40 people and the attentive and helpful staff are on hand and available to suggest a range of different table plans to best suit your private dinner party and number of people in attendance.

Kerry’s team is passionate about food, “The varied menu featuring traditional roast turkey is prepared using fresh ingredients, many of which are locally sourced. Should you have any specific dietary requirements, Blanch House will be delighted to assist.”

Before starting your impeccable feast, why not begin your evening with a glass of premium Champagne or an exotic cocktail in Blanch House’s Champagne and Cocktail bar, as well as sampling a range of different canapés? The team has also created a special wine list which offers quality, yet an uncomplicated choice to accompany your menu.

Blanch House also regularly hosts two menu choices – a summer and winter menu, but the winter menu is

definitely suited to your desired festive celebrations. This menu has been designed using seasonal and locallysourced ingredients, however the staff also give guests the option to discuss or suggest special requests or dishes, proving that the happiness of their visitors is their main concern. The delectable menu offers a range of starters, mains and desserts, including the traditional roasted turkey breast with stuffing, spiced baked ricotta and a vegetarian option of winter vegetable fritters with chargrilled halloumi. This delightful menu is also accompanied by a selection of fine white, red and rosé wines to choose from.

What’s not to like? For an early bird booking including complimentary room hire, book by 31st October, contact Kerry Turner on 01273 603504 or email kerry@blanchhouse.co.uk for a truly memorable occasion.

Get in there quick if you want the ultimate Christmas celebration!

Christmas Parties

at Drakes of Brighton

Celebrate this year’s Christmas party in style at Drakes, Brighton’s top boutique hotel A meal at Drakes is not a formal affair, but it’s all about personal service, relaxed glamour and excellent fine dining in a laid back atmosphere.

Whether you are celebrating with a few close friends or part of a larger group, The Restaurant at Drakes is a perfect and intimate venue for a fun-filled Christmas party. Parties of 8 to 12 people who are looking to add that extra special touch to their event can book The Private Dining Room - a stylish, private space which includes the services of a designated waiter. There is no additional hire charge for the use of this room, which makes it all the more appealing.

Arrive at the hotel early for cocktails or a chilled glass of Champagne in the fabulous seafront Reception Bar before making your way downstairs for a fabulous festive meal.

Having achieved the highest score of all Brighton restaurants in The Good Food Guide 2016 for the 7th consecutive year, you can be certain the impeccable dishes created by Chef, Andy Vitez are set to impress.

After dinner return to the wonderful relaxed atmosphere of the bar to continue the festivities. Why not make a night of it? The bar is open 24 hours for hotel guests ensuring that everyone can relax and party until late without worrying about catching taxis or trains home in the wee hours. A short wander up the stairs to the beautiful bedrooms ensures a great night’s sleep and concludes a night of festive fun in style.

Most of the bespoke guest rooms offer breathtaking sea views, feature free standing baths or have monsoon wet

rooms for long indulgent showers. All are furnished with deep, hand made mattresses and covered with goose/duck down duvets and pillows that envelope you in soft, luxurious comfort. All rooms benefit from air conditioning, flat screen television with full Sky package, i-Pod docking and free wireless broadband.

For a very grown up, stylish celebration with relaxed fine dining, book your party at Drakes and enjoy a most memorable Christmas experience.

Contact the Restaurant Manager for prices and availability on 01273 696934 Option 2.

43-44 Marine Parade, Brighton W. www.therestaurantatdrakes.com E. therestaurant@drakesofbrighton.com

www.sussexbusinesstimes.co.uk 33

James Martin, Electrical Apprentice

Are Apprenticeships Being Over-Looked By 18-24 Year Olds?

A recent report has suggested that young people in East Sussex don’t see apprenticeships as a viable career path and would favour University to further their careers.

“The college was instrumental in helping 1,066 young people become more employable through work experience and apprenticeships via the Own Grown Challenge”

34 www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk

Cover Feature

When asked, only 7% of 18-24 year olds thought apprenticeships were the best way forward and less than a third (28%) of people aged

55+ agreed.

However, newly formed apprenticeship and skills training provider, Sussex Skills Solutions, would suggest that there is no image problem with apprenticeships; and in fact, there has never been a more popular time to start one.

Sussex Skills Solutions is a joint venture between Sussex Coast College Hastings and Sussex Downs College which this year helped to start over 2,500 apprenticeships in the local area; 10% more than the year before. Over 1,500 of these were taken up by people who were aged 19 and above.

Samantha McIver, 19, is currently

studying for her second apprenticeship.

She successfully completed a Level 2 at a local law firm and is now studying at Level 3 and working at Sussex Coast College.

Sam said: “I started my first apprenticeship when I left school and joined a local law firm. I gained a Business Administration NVQ level 2 and had 3 great years there.”

“I went from receptionist to legal secretary in the space of a year and progressed really quickly. Lots of opportunities were available to me; opportunities that I don’t think I would have had if I hadn’t started the apprenticeship.”

“I wanted to gain a Level 3 and experience a different sector, so I moved to the college. I have found that apprenticeships give you so many more opportunities to get into a job that you want to do. Some people go

Education: Bexhill College

to university and study for 3 years, and when they graduate they find it so difficult to get the job they want. The beauty of an apprenticeship is that you gain industry experience, which is what a lot of employers are looking for, as well as earning money simultaneously.”

Last year the CIPD released a report in which they found that more than half (58.8%) of graduates are in non-graduate jobs.

Sam continued: “I certainly disagree that apprenticeships have a bad image.

I knew an apprenticeship was what I wanted to do when I left school. I didn’t want to have a student loan, or face fierce competition for one job.”

“In my opinion, apprenticeships have changed a lot in recent times. It isn’t just about learning to be a carpenter or plumber anymore. There are lots of different options you can choose.

Plus, some employers really value the contribution of an apprentice and pay them more than the standard apprentice minimum wage; so it isn’t just cheap labour.”

In response to the NCFE call to action for better careers advice, Sussex Coast College Hastings has been championing apprenticeships for some time. In 2014, the college was instrumental in helping 1,066 young people become more employable through work experience and apprenticeships via the Own Grown Challenge. In March this year, they were fully behind National Apprenticeship Week to help raise its profile, and throughout the year have regularly held assemblies at the college and local secondary schools

Sam McIver, Apprentice

to help give career advice to students and parents. Now with the new formation of Sussex Skills Solutions, Sussex Coast College Hastings and Sussex Downs College will combine their knowledge and expertise to offer even more robust and dedicated advice.

James Martin, 21, studied at Sussex Coast College Hastings 4 years ago before returning to study an Electrical Installations apprenticeship in 2014.

He has just completed the course and gained full-time employment, as an electrician, with the college.

James said: “I wouldn’t consider apprenticeships to have a bad image at all. I’m so glad I did the apprenticeship as it’s got me to where I am today.”

“I’m working full-time in a job I love

doing and I’ve got a great qualification behind me.”

“I knew an apprenticeship was the best way to take my career forward because I could learn everything I needed to know while doing the job. I was able to learn so much from the team I was working with, which really added to the academic side of the course.”

“From here, I can go on to study a Higher Apprenticeship and further my qualifications if I wanted to, which is basically degree level. The apprenticeship has really opened up many options for me and helped me start my career.”

Susie Faulkner, 25, studied a Level 3 Business Administration apprenticeship at Sussex Coast College while working within the marketing department in 2011.

www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk 35

Cover Feature: Sussex Coast College

Who is Sussex Skills Solutions?

Sussex Skills Solutions is a brand new company, formed in partnership with Sussex Coast College Hastings and Sussex Downs College.

Susie has since gone on to study at University, will be graduating with a first class degree this summer, and is the Welfare Officer at Windermere Boarding School in the Lake District.

Susie said: “I left St Leonards academy not 100% sure what I wanted to do after school. Back then, I didn’t have to go to college or sixth form and could have chosen to find a job, but once I saw the position of Marketing Apprentice advertised at Sussex Coast College Hastings, I was really excited by the opportunity to work and study at the same time.”

“It was such a valuable experience as I was involved in lots of different projects, including the move to the new college site. You receive so much one-to-one support which develops you as a person and moves away from a ‘production line’ education. When I started my apprenticeship I was so shy. I only communicated through email, but by the end of the course I was giving presentations to hundreds of people. Apprenticeships allow individualised learning which is so relevant to the real world.”

“If I hadn’t done the apprenticeship, I probably wouldn’t have gone to university. I had never considered uni as an option, but getting a Level 3 qualification meant that I could.”

“Doing an apprenticeship at the college has turned my life around.

The job market is so competitive, so by doing an apprenticeship I feel I have an extra edge over other graduates because I’m leaving university with lots of work experience and a first class degree.”

Understanding the importance of helping businesses across Sussex build a confident and highly skilled workforce, Sussex Skills Solutions will deliver business growth by identifying needs and finding appropriate solutions through apprenticeships and skills training.

We offer a range of services to enable this business growth, from short one-day compliance workshops to longer-term professional development. With highly experienced trainers who pride themselves on delivering effective courses, flexible scheduling and competitive prices; Sussex Skills Solutions is the perfect choice for increasing the skillset of your employees.

By combining the expertise of both colleges, Sussex Skills Solutions will become the largest provider of apprenticeships in Sussex. Sussex Skills Solutions will be able to train new or existing staff in a number of areas including: Construction (Brick, Plumbing, Painting & Decorating, Carpentry & Joinery and Maintenance Operations), Engineering, Motor Vehicle, Hospitality, Accounting, IT, HR, Sales, Team Leading, Management, Customer Service, Childcare and Health & Social Care.

Dan Shelley, Vice Principal:

Enterprise, Employment and Skills, at Sussex Coast College Hastings said: “We’re really excited by the new venture between the colleges. By combining all of our efforts, we will be able to provide one training force that will meet the training demands of businesses in East Sussex much more effectively.”

“Sussex Skills Solutions has enormous potential to be the go-to organisation to help train employees and provide apprentices across the county; and even further into neighbouring counties.”

“The training will take place at either of the colleges or in the workplace depending upon the pathway, and with the apprenticeship levy for larger businesses being introduced in April next year, we will assist with advice, support with recruitment, and ultimately help to grow local businesses and increase productivity.”

Whether you have an existing member of staff who may benefit from undertaking training via an apprenticeship, or you need support in recruiting a new apprentice into your organisation, Sussex Skills Solutions is here to help.

For more information on how Sussex Skills Solutions can support you, please visit sussexskillssolutions.co.uk or call 030 300 39777 and speak to staff in our Lewes or Hastings offices.

W o fr to M

36 www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk

Apprenti

APPRENTICESHIPS

Cover Feature: CountyClean Group

WITH SUSSEX SKILLS SOLUTIONS

r e v o d e p l e We h e l p o e p g n 2,500 you start an p i h s e c i That’s why we are t n appre considered one of this year.

the best providers of apprenticeships in the South East.

A joint venture between Sussex Coast College Hastings and Sussex Downs College.

We offer over 48 types of apprenticeship from Accounting to Vehicle Maintenance.

Speak to our Apprenticeship Advisors today www.sussexskillssolutions.co.uk 030 300 39777

Apprenticeships_SBT advert.indd 1

PROVIDING APPRENTICESHIPS & SKILLS37 TRAINING www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk

8/23/2016 2:30:42 PM

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38 www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk

consumers had compared 2 or more providers when choosing a legal adviser.

It’s not just a question of quality either, with consumers often paying far more than they need to.

The way that buyers and sellers – customers and professional services – interact has changed dramatically over the past decade. With the growth of all things digital, more and more information can be shared, seen and spread online, and as so many business are now solely online, customers have had to go about purchasing services in a very different way.

As such, there has been a huge growth in digital feedback tools, online comparison sites, aggregator sites, tracking services and discussion platforms, but as with the internet as a whole, buyers have to be more careful than ever with what they read and believe online.

Aggregator sites that deal with prices, along with policy details, are often seen as a great way of finding a service at a competitive price. Insurance for many, can be purchased begrudgingly, often settling for a policy that’s hoped will be adequate. Aggregator sites are well visited, easy to use and a good way for prospective clients to view a multitude of companies and purchase a

Advertorial

policy without ever having to pick up the phone - a great sales tool, alongside the insurer’s own website.

Some prospective clients visit an aggregator site just to find the cheapest quote. This then begs the question, how do you stand out from the crowd? How can you, as a service provider, educate prospective clients that it’s not all about the price of the policy, but encourage them to take a look at the cover provided and equally as important, to have the availability to review service provided by the claims department, should their services be called for?

The true worth of any company comes at the customer’s time of need, for example when the insurance purchaser needs to make a claim. Quality of service at this time is what makes all the difference, and is what will build that allimportant reputation.

A recent survey by KPMG found that UK small businesses value their reputation as one of their key assets and, as such, this is an asset you must firstly protect and, secondly build upon.

Professional services could of course rely on traditional word of mouth, but this takes time and a lot of ‘what ifs’ and some companies can get complacent.

So keeping a watchful eye through client feedback would help make sure they

are maintaining the reputation they have worked so hard to obtain.

Once validated on the Checkaprofessional database, the business builds a score for all potential customers to see, beginning that valuable process of good reputation building. The spread of untrustworthy advice, reviews or information on a company’s service is not fair to either the business or the customer. Checkaprofessional.com is an ideal way of demonstrating to a huge range of potential and existing customers that your service is reliable, trustworthy and of high quality.

It is imperative that your customers are allowed to check a professional with absolute confidence, so with Checkaprofessional.com, your potential consumers can be sure that they’re choosing a high quality, trustworthy and efficient service, whilst professionals can be sure their reputation stays in tact and that any potential customers that are looking will be able to easily find them.

Let us help you build, or maintain your reputation. Contact us free on: 0800 093 8414, or email us info@Checkaprofessional.com

See what our members say and take a look at their profiles: Tom Millin, Fluent Architectural Design Services www.checkaprofessional.com/ FluentArchitecturalDesignServ/ “Since signing up to check-a-pro we have taken on two new staff and have also just put out two new adverts to help us with the expanding workload.

We currently don’t advertise anywhere else apart from on this site and are inundated with enquiries.”

The Bureau EG Ltd. www.checkaprofessional.com/ TheBureauEg/ “Selecting a good website design and marketing company is difficult at the best of times so having a sort of comparison site to help you choose makes a lot of sense. Having our existing clients help convince prospective ones that we deliver great designs, value for money and good service through their feedback has proved invaluable and the reason we joined Checkaprofessional last year.”

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Health

All Hail Homeopathy!

Sussex Business Times looks at the ways in which illness affects businesses and employees and talks to Homeopath, Simone Oates about how the process of homeopathy remedies can help

Ill health among employees often affects productivity Health and efficiency and, therefore the overall success of your business. To a large amount of people, work secures first place in their list of priorities whilst general wellbeing takes a back seat. Of course, work is one of the most important aspects of your life, but should it come before your health? Definitely not. Taking time off work for health reasons is not as easy as it sounds – especially if you are a business owner, which causes a large amount of people to dismiss the early signs of illness. However, doing this creates possibilities of long-term health issues in the future and as a result, more damaging effects to your business.

As the saying goes, ‘if you don’t listen to your body when it whispers you will not hear it when it screams,’ and the initial symptom your body recognises is actually its way of trying to correct the problem and heal itself. Ignoring these symptoms in the short term will not pose much of a threat to your work life, but the longer you leave it the more aggressive it will become. Trying to defeat the symptoms of illness with over-the-counter medicines may also force your body to find a substitute way of eliminating the contamination, preventing your body from curing itself in a natural way. For example, purchasing everyday creams to treat eczema can often stop the body from eliminating toxins and cause it to find other available routes, such as the respiratory system, which, as mentioned before, can cause long-term and more damaging issues like asthma, for example.

One or two sick days a year may not seem like too much of a problem, but when combining this with the

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“Trying to defeat the symptoms of illness with over-the-counter medicines may also force your body to find a substitute way of eliminating the contamination, preventing your body from curing itself in a natural way” 31.42 million people in work (at the end of 2015), I’m sure the end stats are resoundingly high, making a huge impact on business and the UK economy as a whole. The majority of short-term absences from work are due to minor illnesses such as common colds and flu, whilst the most common long-term illnesses resulting in absence include mental health problems such as stress, depression and anxiety, as well as musculoskeletal problems including back and neck pain. While we’re on the subject of these problems, it’s important for businesses to know and understand the ways in which they themselves can prevent the rising statistics of ill health in the workplace. For example, by providing

comfortable chairs, regular breaks and a manageable workload; decreasing the risk of back pain and stress in particular.

You will also find that this will demonstrate the domino effect, as high stress levels often bring on physical illnesses such as colds and flu. So by providing employees with a more feasible workload, you are lowering the risk of general illness too.

Back in 2013, men lost 1.6% of their total working hours because of sickness, while women lost 2.6%. A substantial amount of working days are also lost when female employees take days off on a regular basis due to period pains, menopause or morning sickness, especially when you bare in mind the fact that women make up 47%

Health

of the UK workforce. Menopause and premenstrual tension make women feel like rubbish, to put it plainly, but the negative repercussions that come from this can often affect other members of your staff too.

But fear no more, because SBT introduces homeopathy – a successful form of treatment used for anyone of any age in any state of health, which can be utilised alongside conventional drugs and will not interfere with prescribed medicines. We spoke to Simone Oates, who specialises in homeopathic remedies, to find out more about this natural therapy and how it can benefit employees and business owners alike.

Jess Saunders: Simone, could you give us a brief overview of the homeopathy treatment and how it works?

Simone Oates: Homeopathy is a remedy that will help an individual deal with stress, depression and anxiety as well as a range of other health related issues. It recognises that the human body is intelligent and it will always endeavour to heal itself and the symptoms it produces are evidence of this. With homeopathy we endeavour to give remedies that will produce symptoms similar to the symptoms of the illness and so aid the body to heal itself.

JS: Why is homeopathy more beneficial to individuals than other possible remedies?

SO: It could be really worthwhile to look at treatment with homeopathy as it looks at the symptoms a person has rather than the actual diagnosis.

Homeopaths can deal with issues that do not have a formal diagnosis. There is the hay fever season when the last thing you want is to greet new clients or make a presentation with the symptoms of hay fever. Homeopathy can help with hay fever and allergies; we have remedies for immediate relief and also remedies which will help to build up your body’s immunity and resistance to the allergen.

Also, many women want to achieve in their careers and therefore often put off starting a family till their late thirties. After years of taking oral contraception, achieving a pregnancy can be really difficult. 25% of women these days have fertility problems.

Homeopathy is excellent for helping

with fertility problems. I am now using the Liz Lalor fertility programme, this uses homeopathy sometimes with the addition of certain herbs and supplements. It has an 87% success rate, for women up to the age of 42, used over 4 menstrual cycles. Liz has so far enabled 340 births.

JS: How quickly do homeopathic remedies work?

SO: Some homeopathic remedies work instantly, for example the homeopathic remedy Nat Mur will stop a cold sore in its tracks and then heal it. It’s great for problems of this kind as, if you suddenly find that you have a problem with your image, then your self-confidence will plummet.

JS: How does homeopathy benefit businesses in particular?

SO: Many workplaces have staff off with stress related illness and often the lack of one member of staff has the knock on effect, increasing the work load for other employees and therefore, causing stress in other staff members. You may have employees who are often off sick – they may have tried their best to look after their health with conditions for which there are no answers in conventional remedies.

Simone is based at Seaford Osteopathic Clinic and Lushington Chiropractic clinic in Eastbourne, but also offers home visits. For more information, email Simone at simone. oates@sky.com or call 01323 894479.

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Educating the Nation With so many young people choosing to work for themselves rather than become someone’s employee, Sussex Business Times looks at how education and business can come together to nurture the entrepreneurial community and build on those skills needed to run a business As a country, our entrepreneurial community, and Education therefore business is growing. In 2015, 608,110 businesses were started in the UK - a new record compared to 2014’s 581,173 start-ups. The RBS Enterprise Tracker has consistently found that around a third of surveyed UK adults would like to start their own business. However, not only do only around 6% actually take the leap of faith, we also consistently find a large failure rate when they do: 50% of startups fail in the first year of business, whilst over 90% of businesses fail within 5 years.

So, where are we going wrong? Of course, it’s survival of the fittest out there, and we wouldn’t want it any other way, but a huge proportion of that 50% of startups could well have been saved from failure with a few simple solutions. Equally, the fear of failure is one of the top reasons

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young people don’t pursue their business idea – perhaps with a bit more education and confidence, that fear wouldn’t be so rife.

RBS’ Future of Identifying Enterprising Students paper in 2014 identified that 22% of students have a business idea they would like to develop, but only 4% expect to be running a business or be self-employed six months after graduation. The single biggest obstacle they found between student and enterprise opportunity was engagement; there exists a cohort of enterpriseminded students who are not aware of key organisations that can support them.

In simple terms, many students will be missing out on opportunities available to all, simply because of the university they attend or the lack of education they receive on the topic.

The RBS Enterprise Tracker in 2014 found that only a third (34%) of the public say that they know where to get information about starting a business and

many who do then find that they’re faced with problems that they simply don’t know how to manage.

Schools have long taught the basic skills young people need in life; to build their future; to secure a good career.

Mathematics, Sciences and English Literature are viewed as top of the list when it comes to essential knowledge up to the age of 16, but with the country’s future leaders, managers, employers and entrepreneurs at our fingertips, why are we not taking the opportunity to teach Business?

We got in touch with Entrepreneur, Tom Cridland, who is in the process of launching a campaign to help integrate education with business, offering young people in developing countries the chance to learn what’s needed in the business world.

Tom, you are now the owner of a very successful business. Tell us a bit about your start up story.

I founded Tom Cridland in 2014, aged 23 to make the perfect pair of men’s trousers and sell them direct to customer online. I took out a £6,000 government start-up loan and jumped head first into the fashion industry with no previous experience. We soon had the honour of making Tom Cridland trousers for people like Leonardo DiCaprio and Daniel Craig.

What support or training did you get when you were starting up?

I had the government start-up loan in terms of support but no training in business or fashion. I first designed clothing when I was 18 and I sold nearly £3,000 worth of “SWINE 09” t-shirts in a single week of school and donated all the profits to Médecins Sans Frontières!

Tell me about The Entrepreneur’s Shirt campaign. Who are you working with, what are the aims and how will you achieve them?

The Entrepreneur’s Shirt is an opportunity for people to support entrepreneurship in the developing world and amongst young people, whilst getting a sustainable Italian cotton Oxford Shirt in return.

We have campaigned extensively for sustainability in the industry with The 30 Year Collection and designing clothing is true labour of love for us. We are keen to give back and support aspiring young entrepreneurs, as well as those in the developing world who deserve the Do you believe it is important for opportunity to start businesses and work businesses and education bodies to their way out of poverty. We also want to collaborate? How can we tackle that campaign for a greater focus on nurturing skills gap that’s affecting so many entrepreneurial talent and providing potential entrepreneurs’ success? basic business training in our education The economic climate for our generation systems across the is making it world. harder for young “The economic climate 5% of The people seeking for our generation is Entrepreneur’s employment, Shirt campaign looking to buy making it harder for will be donated to property and young people seeking Young Enterprise to generally trying employment, looking inspire and equip to do the same young people in things our parents’ to buy property and Britain to learn and generation were generally trying to do the able to do far succeed through entrepreneurial same things our parents’ more easily. endeavour. Small On top of generation were able to businesses are the that, in an age do far more easily” lifeblood of any of supposed healthy economy tolerance and and, yet, in the developing world it is open mindedness, young entrepreneurs nigh on impossible for many people to are often treated in Britain like they’ve have the chance to work their way out of strayed from the herd. Many viewed my poverty through entrepreneurship. attempt at starting Tom Cridland as a

phase that I will grow out of before getting a ‘proper job’. Our businesses and education bodies need to collaborate.

From primary school to university level, unless you take a formal - and often impractical - Business course, you are taught everything from Geography and History to sport and music. Why therefore isn’t basic business and entrepreneurial training part of curriculum from an early age? It doesn’t matter if you run a small business or you’re an executive working at a big corporation. Everyone needs to know how to run a business and, more importantly, how to take initiative and think like an entrepreneur.

Apprenticeships are certainly improving this. They teach the value of money, hard work and are more vocational than degrees that are often simply an amusing few years of government subsidised trips to the pub.

The Entrepreneur’s Shirt campaign launches on September 15th on Kickstarter.

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Flexi and Weekly Boarding

The Popular Options for Children and Parents

When deciding on boarding options, increasing numbers of parents are choosing flexi or weekly boarding for their children, so SBT looks at what Hurstpierpoint College has to offer

“Boarding gives pupils a work-home balance. School life is busy, so boarding provides pupils with the chance to take part in extracurricular sport, drama or music after school” - Adam Hopcroft, Hurst Housemaster

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Boarding at an independent school falls into three Education categories; full boarding, weekly boarding and flexi boarding. Whilst full boarding involves living at school seven nights a week and weekly boarding five nights a week, flexi boarding allows pupils to board for a few nights of their choice.

Different schools operate their boarding in different ways. At Hurst College, the boarding community includes all three categories, with flexi and weekly proving most popular.

Flexi boarding really is flexible, with

pupils able to choose their nights even at short notice, while retaining their own bed throughout the term. As all pupils participate in co-curricular activities many find this particularly beneficial, as do parents who need to juggle a busy lifestyle.

Hurst’s weekly boarders can stay Sunday to Thursday or Monday to Friday, removing the stresses of a daily commute and allowing more time for co-curricular activities and study.

Full boarding is available for pupils whose parents work away from home or live abroad and is normally only available for Sixth Formers.

So what are the benefits of boarding?

Hurst Housemaster Adam Hopcroft said:

Hurstpierpoint College

“With a mix of international pupils and flexi boarders the girls are making connections - and life-long friends they wouldn’t normally make” - Kathren Lea, Housemistress

“Boarding gives pupils a work-home balance. School life is busy, so boarding provides pupils with the chance to take part in extra-curricular sport, drama or music after school.”

However, the benefits of boarding extend far beyond the extra-curricular options. Adam believes boarding gives pupils an advantage academically: “Boarding pupils have more access to their teachers as well as their friends.

Our pupils work in study groups during Prep and we make sure they are productive during this time. If they work well it allows them to have a more relaxed weekend.”

The Lower Sixth girls in Hurst’s Martlet house agree. Flexi boarder Tori comments: “Boarding helps to structure home time because you get all your work done in the boarding house and then home is fun time!”

Hurst’s Lower Sixth students Ellie, Jess and Olivia describe their boarding experiences: “At Hurst the Lower Sixth

don’t have to do work during Prep time; we can read in our rooms instead. But we do it then anyway because we’re already in ‘school mode’. Boarding changes the way you work.”

Kathren Lea, Housemistress believes that a boarding environment gives students a strong foundation for their future: “With a mix of international pupils and flexi boarders the girls are making connections - and life-long friends - they wouldn’t normally make.

“As boarders the children have to learn skills for life, which is preparation for their future. Our girls grow up in a

supportive environment and it becomes their second home.”

In the Upper Sixth, all pupils move into the co-educational house, St John’s, where boarders have their own single study bedrooms and the house ethos is based around preparing pupils for university. However, boarding from an earlier age also gives pupils independence with the security net of mum and dad close by.

In modern families where both parents are working full-time and childcare is expensive, boarding means parents don’t need to worry about the school run every day and can be confident that their child is being well looked after, taking part in educational activities and being supervised with their homework. This leaves weekends free for quality family time.

For children, boarding is a way to spend more time with their peers at one big sleepover. They can be better prepared for the school day, instead of the hassle of travelling to and from school. They also have the opportunity to take part in activities they wouldn’t normally, as well as learning the life skills to enable them to become independent and confident young adults.

Hurst is becoming known as the school where you board because you choose to, rather than need to. “I live 10 minutes away but I board because I enjoy it”, said Megan in the Lower Sixth. www.hppc.co.uk

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Lunch Review: The Red Lion, Pevensey In this issue, Group Editor, Simon Skinner heads to a venue he knows very well. His local pub!

The Red Lion

Stone Cross, Pevensey Address: Lion Hill, Stone Cross, Pevensey BN24 5EG Telephone: 01323 761468 Web: www.redlionstonecross.co.uk

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It’s a fair statement to make, that pubs aren’t what they used to be.

Review The days of drinking dens full of rowdy locals have been diminishing at a rapid rate. That’s not to say that these places don’t exist anymore, and thankfully there are still a good number of ‘proper’ boozers still out there. For many though, there has been a need to evolve, striking a balance between the restaurant trade and the traditional pub game.

This has indeed been the case for Harvey’s, the oldest and largest brewery in Sussex, who first established way back in 1790. As a result of being the oldest and largest brewery in the region, they also own the largest number of public houses in the county. An enviable title in more buoyant times, but with the downward trend for traditional boozers and stories of hundreds of pubs closing every week, Harveys have

been busy addressing the threat head on; refurbishing their (many) managed locations, bringing them bang up to date and ensuring their custom for many years to come.

The Red Lion in Stone Cross is within walking (yes, sometimes staggering) distance from both my house and Sussex Business Times HQ, so offers the perfect pit stop for a thirsty Editor.

It’s always primarily been one of the aforementioned ‘traditional’ boozers, with a host of locals, a function room open for private hire (many a wake has been held at the Red Lion due to its proximity to the local crematorium), pool table and standard menu for the occasional diner.

It’s fair to say that it needed a bit of love and attention.

It was, then with a fair level of excitement that I heard about Harveys’ plans to give my local ‘the treatment’ and I’m pleased to report that ‘the treatment’ has been delivered.

Murmurs of, “will it be a patch-up job”

Tried and Tested in Sussex

and “surely they’re not going to do all of that” have been completely and entirely eradicated and I’m proud to say that I now frequent what must be one of the finest Harveys pubs in Sussex.

In what has been nothing less than a sensational and comprehensive refurbishment, The Red Lion has been transformed, with a contemporary colour scheme, new furniture, decor and an impressive range of quality beers - along with the standard Harveys ales that are always on tap.

Along with the general aesthetic, the team have opened up what was basically a wasteland at the rear of the building, converting it into a brand new car park to accommodate the influx that has inevitably followed.

Adjacent to the new car park sits a brand new, private sun terrace - the perfect place to enjoy a quiet glass of something good and cold. Quite possibly a good place to hide from your respective other on a Friday evening after work too, but of course, I wouldn’t know anything about that!

Another impressive and notable update is that of what used to be a standard pub function room. It now sits as a beautifully

turned out intimate dining room with just 12 tables to choose from. And the menu!

Well, let’s just say that I would travel a lot further than the 5 minute walk I currently have to eat here frequently. It’s quite simply an excellent pub menu, served to outstanding restaurant quality. Just take a look at the pictures alongside this article and you’ll see the standard that’s leaving the kitchen. The ribeye steak dish represents the most expensive dish on the menu at £17.00 and there’s an extensive children’s menu too.

Harveys have nailed it with The Red Lion and have delivered an excellent

“Quite simply an excellent pub menu, served to outstanding restaurant quality”

venue that serves a broad range of customers, and with the parking and excellent menu, comes highly recommended by your humble writer.

If you are in the area with family, friends or indeed looking for a good spot for a business meeting in the Eastbourne/ Hailsham/Polegate area of Sussex, you could do a hell of a lot worse.

Simon and his guest’s selection: Smoked Salmon, Crayfish Tail & Cream Cheese Roulade with crusty bread and garnish - £6.00 Sweet Chilli Pork & Vegetable Spring Rolls with a peanut salad - £6.00 Harveys Battered Cod Fillet with House Fries, Buttered Peas and Tartare Sauce (twice) £10.00 and just £5.00 for kids.

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Hotel Review: Dale Hill Hotel

Production Designer, Amy Watson took the opportunity to visit Dale Hill Hotel & Golf Club in Wadhurst.

Dale Hill Hotel Wadhurst Address: Ticehurst, Wadhurst TN5 7DQ Telephone: 01580 200112 Web: www.dalehill.co.uk

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When I was offered the chance to review Dale Hill Hotel for this Review month’s edition of SBT, I quickly browsed to the Internet for some more details of what would be in store for my stay. A quick look at the Dale Hill Hotel & Golf Club website soon revealed what a treat I would be in for. Dale Hill Hotel is a AA black rated four star hotel, situated in over 350 acres of fine grounds in the Kent and East Sussex borders and less than 1 mile from the A229 between the villages of Flimwell and Ticehurst. Dale Hill Hotel offers AA Rosette awarded food prepared by the Head Chef and his highly skilled team and, alternatively, guests can play some pool in the clubhouse bar and enjoy a more relaxed meal. As if that wasn’t enough to entice me, Dale

Hill Hotel has also had a recent facelift, including a full refurbishment to all of their 35 en-suite bedrooms between March and July on a weekly rolling program, this was a fantastic opportunity for a review.

I arrived on a reasonably sunny Monday evening, around 7:30pm, and headed down the driveway where I am able to admire some of the surrounding golfing greenery - two 18 hole golf courses, including the Ian Woosnam and the Dale Hill course. Just from the exterior alone the hotel already looked beautiful.

I walked in through the main entrance with my partner, where the receptionist greeted me warmly. Upon giving some basic details, and being offered the essentials for the stay (I.e. Wi-Fi), we were given the contactless card for our room, which consisted of a generous sized bed, writing table, a TV, patio doors, large wardrobes and, of course, tea and

Tried and Tested in Sussex coffee making facilities. The room had its own living space through the next door, which included a sofa, writing table, and once again, large sliding patio doors. It all felt very modern with plenty of space for either single occupants or couples and had a great view of the surrounding 350 acres of land.

With the refurbishments, new carpets have been installed, new electric points, lamps and lighting; bathroom restoration and glazing; new door locks; new beds, chairs and sofas as well as soft furnishings. The rooms have been transformed from what they were to now sleek, modern and above all else products in a relaxing bath, mulling over comfortable spaces. Overall, the room the day and my surroundings. very pleasant indeed and set us up with After a tremendously comfortable high expectations of our one-night stay. night’s sleep, I indulge in the Dale Hill After taking some time to settle in and observe the surroundings, my partner and breakfast buffet – this includes hot beverages, such as tea and coffee, I headed upstairs to the Wealden View continental breakfast and a hot breakfast, Restaurant, where we were booked in for including sausages, bacon, eggs, beans, our evening meal. This too is a wonderful hash browns, tomatoes and mushrooms room, with impressive views and a fine- more than enough to start of the day dining yet relaxed atmosphere. nicely.

We were greeted promptly just outside Having appeared to be an ideal place the dining area, seated, and presented for a get-away, I then spent some time with the dinner menu, which hosts focusing on the hotel facilities – which, options for two course (£23), and three incidentally ended up being just as course (£29) meals. I impressive. The opt for the former and venue hosts 5 choose the soup of conference/meeting the day (tomato soup) “Without a doubt I rooms available for starter. For main, would recommend for hire: Dale Hill I go for the Corn Fed Dale Hill Hotel & Golf Suites 1,2 & 3, Chicken Ballotine Fairway Room with Wild Mushroom Club, whether you’re the and the Syndicate Farce, Pancetta a golfer or not, be Room. Very wellWrapped Fine Beans, priced day delegate Sweetcorn Puree, it for business or rates are available, Kohlrabi and Red pleasure, Dale Hill including morning Wine Jus. My partner and afternoon tea/ opted for the 28 Day has something coffee, water, buffet Matured Rib Eye for everyone” lunch, flipchart with Steak, Hand Cut paper and pens, a Chips, Peashoot, projector screen and Creamed Horseradish & Peppercorn of course the exclusive room hire. You Sauce (£7.00 Supplement). can also invest in packages that include a Throughout our meal the waiting staff night’s stay and three course dinner. were pleasant and helpful. Although, Equally, this is a great base for unfortunately, there was a relatively long exploring the wider region of Sussex, wait between courses, I have to say, due to the quality of the food, it was worth the and even making the most of the team-building activities on offer in the wait. Food wise it was certainly hard to surrounding area. For example, Arena fault; my Corn Fed Chicken Ballotine was Pursuits no more than a mile or so away, delicious, and the different flavours in the Bedgebury Forest just over 2 miles away dish were very enjoyable. My partner’s and Bewl Water just over 4. rib eye steak was beautifully tender and Without a doubt I would recommend succulent too. Once I we had finished Dale Hill Hotel and Golf Club, whether our meals, I then retired to the hotel room you’re a golfer or not, be it for business to sample the complimentary beauty

or pleasure, Dale Hill has something for everyone. Throughout my stay the staff were kind, considerate and helpful. And if you’re looking for somewhere peaceful, with great leisure and golfing facilities, then Dale Hill Hotel and Golf Club is the place for you. The staff at Dale Hill Hotel and Golf Club are looking forward to welcoming guests to the hotel and its new look bedrooms, and the General Manager, Carl Rundgren passes on his thanks to all the contractors that were used to complete the refurbishment project that has made this hotel and golf club way above par.

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The Alliance of Chambers in East Sussex

ACES represents 4,000 members across the County and you are automatically a member of ACES if you are a member of one of the Chambers listed overleaf. This entitles you to share your news stories in these SBT Business pages without charge - just contact your local chamber for more information

Local Council & Local Business Backs Citizens Advice Eastbourne (CAE) CAE provides free, independent and impartial advice to the people of Eastbourne about debts, housing, employment, benefits and many more issues. Embedded in the community their trustees, staff and 54 volunteers are all local residents and part of the fabric of the town.

While CAE benefits from being part of the national Citizens Advice network they are a local independent charity with their own management and governance structure and a need to raise funds to cover their valued services.

Many CAE clients are on low incomes, have mental or long-term health issues or a combination of all three and they support the more marginalised members of the community. That said, many people are surprised to discover friends or colleagues of their own have used CAE services in the past.

In 2014/15 the impact of CAE’s work was quantified using a social benefit model adapted and approved

by HM Treasury. This estimated that every £1 spent by CAE produced over £30 return in combined savings and benefits to government, the community of Eastbourne and the individuals themselves. Based on this model, the benefits provided in that year were valued at £582k to government services, £3.4m to the wider community and nearly £4.5m to individuals.

CAE has advised 2,669 people in 2014/15 rising dramatically to 3,658 people in 2015/16.

CAE also takes an active approach to social policy. They study trends and publicise them, like their recent campaign supported by

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Start-Up Workshop

the Eastbourne unLtd Chamber of Commerce to pledge a responsible approach to the use of zero-hours contracts. They are now focusing on the all too common instance of pregnant women being terminated from work when they announce their condition.

Highly valued by Eastbourne Borough Council, CAE has just confirmed that the council plans to continue their support for another three years.

Even with the Council’s continued support, CAE expects an annual deficit going forward. They have been successful applying for grants however,

these are not a long term solution to core funding shortfalls, so they look to the business community for much needed support.

They are holding a special fundraising dinner at La Locanda Del Duca, Cornfield Terrace, Eastbourne on Wednesday November 2nd at 7pm and tickets sold out in under two weeks, so the business community is clearly showing its support for such a worthwhile charity.

If you need help or would like to support Citizens Advice Eastbourne please go to www.eastbournecab.co.uk

Chamber News

What if the Unexpected Happens to your Business…

East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service has recently added a new case to their “Black Museum” website. This case involved a fire at a block of offices caused by a PC tower unit, which was left on 24 hours a day. It had overheated. The fire had been contained to one office by a good fire door, so the fire did not spread to any other areas, but there was substantial smoke damage to the room of the fire.

The virtual Black Museum website, which contains a library of images and stories from a range of different incidents, explores different causes of fire and gives personal accounts of the story behind the fire and will often include a powerful impact statement from those affected.

The virtual Black Museum was launched to highlight potential causes of fire and to give important safety messages, visit www.blackmuseum.info It’s a sad fact that 4 out of 5 businesses do not recover from unplanned disruption. You may be insured against fire but do you have a business continuity plan to cope after the incident?

One of the cornerstones of the work of the Fire and Rescue Service is in the area of Business Safety. This work is focused on assisting businesses to comply with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 so that the non-domestic buildings in which people

work, visit and enjoy leisure time in are provided with facilities that will ensure a safe means of escape in the event of a fire starting.

Business continuity plans can help a business to look at the potential impact a fire or other unplanned event can have on your workplace.

Following a serious fire or other unplanned disruptive event, there is a significant risk of a loss of service delivery and customers, which could eventually

Buy Local – Buy East Sussex Buy Local is a great campaign helping to highlight the value of buying local to all of East Sussex and was designed to help small, local independent businesses to raise their profile.

In essence Buy Local is for people to shop whilst minimising travel and supporting the local economy. So, it’s good for the environment and the community.

The most established local marketing company managing the Buy Local campaign is thebestof Eastbourne.

Working closely with business owners,

Managing Director, David Ruddle offers a positive contribution to the residents of Eastbourne and encourages them to share their experience via online testimonials.

This year the Buy Local campaign was extended to support local businesses throughout June and July with spot prizes for #BuyLocalSelfie and pledges from thebestof HQ. You can find all thebestof selfies on Facebook or the bestofeastbourne website.

The campaign also enabled thebestof Eastbourne to select one lucky business

lead to subsequent failure of your business.

Any business, no matter how small, can take simple and straightforward measures now to make their business more resilient from fire and a wide range of other risks.

In our work to ensure a safer and more sustainable community we would like to help you to ensure your business’s resilience. Please look at our website for further information.

to benefit from £596 worth of FREE marketing support. The winning business was Copylink Digital, a long standing supporter of Buy Local in Eastbourne Copylink Digital have been serving the needs of local businesses across Sussex, London and the South East since 1988 with a great range of printers, office supplies and stationary as well as office accessories.

For more information or to register your business for Buy Local visit www.eastbournebuylocal.co.uk

www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk 51

Advert Nov_Layout 1 14/10/2014 12:38 Page 2

Chamber News

in East Sussex

BestTRof the Best East Fastenings - Best Profits for 10 Years Sussex Business Awards (A Trifast Company)

F

ounded in a small rented office at the top of Uckfield High Street in 1973, Mike Timms and Mike Roberts established their business after becoming disenchanted working for a large industrial group in Birmingham that restricted their creativity and individualism.

They focused on sourcing and selling industrial fastenings to light assembly industries in the South East at a time when ex stock deliveries could take as long as three weeks from the larger industry market leaders. Their core values were “look professional, be professional, provide outstanding service, sell on value rather than the cheapest price, maintain dynamic cash management and motivate and take care of your staff”.

However, the DotCom crash in 2001 devastated sales and profits in just a few short months, and the two Midlands factories had to be closed as the focus was intensified into Asia.

A change of senior management in 2007 and the 2008 recession resulted in the near collapse of the Company, with 2008 revenues down to £84m with substantial losses, and in March 2009 the two previous retired CEOs (Malcolm Diamond and Jim Barker) were invited back by the shareholders to rescue the business.

By 2010 profitability started to recover, as did the share price.

In 2011 a major automotive bolt manufacturer was acquired in Malaysia, and in May 2014 a leading domestic appliance

ACES Battle Chamber of Commerce www.battlechamber.org.uk Bexhill Chamber of Commerce 01424 842892 www.bexhillchamber.co.uk Crowborough Chamber of Commerce www.crowboroughchamber.co.uk Eastbourne UnLtd Chamber of Commerce 01323 641144 www.eastbournechamber.co.uk East Sussex County Council 01273 481570 www.eastsussex.gov.uk Federation of Small Businesses 01424 754686 and Regional Office 01323 482018 www.fsb.org.uk/eastsussex Hailsham Chamber of Commerce 01323 310531 www.hailshamchamberofcommerce.co.uk

Hastings Chamber of Commerce 01424 205500 www.hastingschamber.co.uk Heathfield Chamber of Commerce 01435 865858 www.heathfieldchamber.co.uk The Institute of Directors 020 7766 8866 www.iod.com Lewes Chamber of Commerce

Malcolm Diamond MBE and Jim Barker In 1978, manufacturing of specialist fasteners was started in Uckfield, with subsequent factories in Northampton and the Best established Of Telford in the 80’s.

screw business in Italy was brought into the Group.

Sussex Downs College This year TR’s major customer sectors include Media Students filmed all the Best Awards East Automotive, Domestic Appliances, late 80’s, IBM selected TR as their most Electronics and Distributors – all of which are the Highly Commended Sussex will In bethehosted eligible component supplier to be trained in enjoying organic growth. nominations and created a by 4* Edinburgh Fringe zero defect/on time deliveries to a new In June 2014, TR announced the best sales, 2 minute corporate video Comedian, assembly Radio 4facility that relied on “Just In Time” profits and share price for a decade, now for each of them. presenter ofdeliveries Futurestraight Proof,to their production line. with 1,150 staff spread across 17 countries.

Successful compliance led to TR being a year the awards Trifast PlcThis is based in Uckfield and along with scientist andsingle author, source supplier with IBM, which then TR’s sales,will distribution and manufacturing attracted other include: Timandra Harkness whomajor telecoms facilities employs over 150 staff on site. As the manufacturers to TR. The massive 1990’s surge • Start-Up Entrepreneur of has a reputation for being employer, the Company largest local in the electronics sector carried it to a full LSE maintains close with both the Uckfield the links Year both intelligent listingand as a very PLC in 1994 named Trifast.

Chamber of Commerce a founder member • Small Business of funny.

By 2000, sales turnover peaked at £120m of the Alliance of Chambers in East Sussex YearCommunity College. sales, andbe by 2001 three component The Awards will (ACES) andthe the local factories had been established in Singapore, The College is the main annual provider • Business Person of of ‘A’ held at the iconic De La Malaysia and Taiwan, with sales and Level candidates for TR’s 2 year NVQ Business the Year Warr Paviliion in Bexhill on in Southern Ireland, distribution facilities Studies Apprenticeship scheme.

Norway, Sweden,at USA, Holland, Hungary and • The Innovation Award Thursday 13th October Despite global uncertainty there is clearly China, plus eight around the UK. • The Overall Business of the Year 7pm with a sparkling Sussex reception and a feeling amongst TR management The Company had become staff that there are grounds for cautious and a delicious three course meal.global by following its former UK based multinational optimism for the future continuing growth To book place Last year key thecustomers Business of the Year to lower cost economies of theiryour business as salesvisit for year ended March 2015 are forecast to reach Asia and www.acesalliance.org East Sussexoverseas Award– mainly was won

by Central/ Horder £150 million.

Eastern Europe.

Sponsors include pav IT, Healthcare in Crowborough. All the Basepoint Business Centres, nominees were superb having been Acumen Business Law, Our Jobs put forward by their local Chamber of Rock and Cyclr.

Commerce and the FSB.

www.acesalliance.org

07917 382316 www.leweschamber.org.uk Locate East Sussex 0844 4159255 www.locateeastsussex.org.uk Newhaven Chamber of Commerce 0800 107 0709 www.newhavenchamber.co.uk Peacehaven Chamber of Commerce 01273 586222 www.peacehavenchamber.co.uk Seaford Chamber of Commerce 0800 881 5331 www.seafordchamber.co.uk South East Local Enterprise Partnership 01245 431469 www.southeastlep.com Uckfield Chamber of Commerce 01825 722607 www.uckfieldchamber.co.uk Wealden District Council 01323 443322 www.wealden.gov.uk

Join your local Chamber (listed on the right here) and you will automatically become a member of ACES, the Alliance of Chambers in East Sussex. We have 4,000 members representing 15,000 staff and hold regular networking events to help you share best practice and meet new customers.

52 www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk Why not book to attend our Best4Biz Conference on Friday 14th October? Visit www.acesalliance.org for full details. As a member of ACES you are also entitled to contribute news on these pages free of charge. Call 01323 641144 for details.

www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk 53

Accountability: Send in someone to blame please!

“I’m going to hold you accountable”, what does that mean to you?

In many average or poor performing organisations Advertorial there is a lack of accountability, a culture of blame. This prevents learning – leading to, at best, average performance. This starts at the top, as do all elements of a culture. It means that someone needs someone else to blame.

My favourite definition comes from the excellent book “Winning With Accountability: The Secret Language Of High-Performing Organizations”, by Henry J. Evans. He says: “Accountability means having the responsibility and authority to act and fully accept the natural and logical consequences for the results of those actions…Clear commitments that - in the eyes of others - have been kept.”

In excellent, or world class organisations the high standard is driven by accountability.

Evans’ book explains that accountability doesn’t stand alone. It forms part of a tripod.

The three legs of the tripod are: • Responsibility • Authority • Accountability.

How do you create a balanced tripod?

Firstly, creating accountability demands setting clear expectations. There must be a clear understanding of responsibilities (clarity of expectation) set by all leaders.

Secondly, the authority necessary to fulfil these responsibilities must be available.

“I worked with Rachel for a year, first as my business coach and secondly for bespoke leadership and management training. Her support, advice and knowledge has been invaluable. I am now the business owner and leader I want to be. I can’t recommend Rachel highly enough.”

- Carrie Starbuck, MD Learning Performance Ltd.

Thirdly, there must be consequences.

Evans believes a culture of accountability means that all team members are holding each other accountable for their results and this has very positive effects, including greater accuracy, more vigilant problem solving, better decision making, more cooperation and higher satisfaction.

An accountability culture has three main themes: • Focus • Influence • Consequences The trick, according to Evans, is to develop a climate in which people can speak openly, admit to mistakes without fear, and worry more about serving the customer than looking better than a co-worker. Focus, influence and consequences are key.

Focus and Influence. Do your teams: • Clearly communicate and continually reinforce the organisation’s mission and vision?

• Establish clear standards of excellence for members?

• Track and analyse their own performance data and use performance feedback as the basis for meetings and problem solving sessions?

• Analyse work practices for improvement and act?

Consequence. Do you: • Tie rewards and compensation to team output?

• Allow teams to share in the financial success of the organisation?

T: 01323 332316 54 www.sussexbusinesstimes.co.uk W: www.bespoketrainingeastbourne.com E: Rachel@bespoketrainingeastbourne.com

• Do what you say and say what you mean - all the time?

• Publicly own up to your own mistakes and accept consequences for them?

• When mistakes or problems occur, focus on the future?

• Remember that intent is not the same as performance?

• Help people follow through on their commitments by regularly checking in on progress?

• Be explicit about accountability and expectations, be supportive and offer help when they are stuck or unsure?

In the weakest teams, there is no accountability. In mediocre teams, bosses are the source of accountability. In high performance teams, peers manage the vast majority of performance problems with one another.

To build a culture of accountability to ensure results you must start with yourself and the leaders in your organisation. You must “live” accountability.

You must set out crystal clear expectations. You must model and coach accountability.

“Ambiguity is the Achilles’ heel of accountability, but specificity enables you to raise the standards of your team’s performance” Lee Colan, Founder of the L Group, I spend time with business owners and senior leaders to help them develop a culture of feedback and accountability to drive results. I help businesses grow by developing expert leadership. Call the office on 01323 332316 or email Rachel@bespoketrainingeastbourne. com to book a free phone consultation.

I currently have space for 2 more clients before the New Year.

Sussex Events

Back to Back:

The Peugeot 508 Vs. The Kia Optima In an SBT first, motoring correspondent, Simon Skinner, tests two saloons that find themselves bartering their benefits in the market right now: The Peugeot 508 Active BlueHDi 120 Auto and the Kia Optima 1.7 CRDi ‘3’ ISG

The trusty saloon is a staple motor that finds its popularity Test transcending all Drive kinds of practical applications.

Extremely popular with business customers, the saloon car has proven to be a trusty rep-mobile for many a year and with the space, economy and price points of many, there’s no sign of this trend slowing. However, you are just as likely to find the average family, including the 2.4 children, trundling along in one of these, or towing a caravan - full to the brim, for many of the same reasons.

So it’s with some luck that I managed to book two current models, occupying this space, over two consecutive weeks, thus giving me the perfect opportunity to

River Fal Festival. Incidentally, those of compare them against each other. you who would like to read about that trip Given the popularity of the humble can find the full review saloon, you’ll find in the autumn issue of a whole stack of our sister title, Inspired options to choose “In the cockpit, you’ll Travel Magazine. from; VW’s Passat, find a Sat nav with First impressions the Ford Mondeo, a 7.0-inch colour of the Peugeot were, Skoda’s Superb, all display, touch screen as I’ve been finding make up just a small and reversing camera, with others in the party of this significant a six-speaker stereo current range of late, category. good. The cavernous allowing streaming boot showed promise The Peugeot 508 via Bluetooth. No of being capable of So kicking off with DAB radio, though, so taking the ridiculous the Peugeot. Being points lost there” amount of luggage partnered up with my needed for such trips wheels for the week outside SBT Towers, as I was, I pondered that include a 7-year-old and a 9-monthold baby. the impending journey that lay ahead, to The space inside was equally the West Country as this would serve as impressive and, happily, with levels of our chariot for the week’s stay during the

www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk 55

Motoring

comfort that ultimately delivered over the subsequent 7-800 miles covered over the week.

In the cockpit, you’ll find a Sat nav with a 7.0-inch colour display, touch screen and reversing camera (optional extra), a six-speaker stereo system that I, unfortunately, didn’t really get a chance to put through its paces but did allow streaming via bluetooth. No DAB radio, though, so points lost there.

The build quality of the interior is relatively standard. Fair quality with cloth covered seats and asymmetrically folding rear seats; the bench type with space for three people.

Where this car did particularly well was with its fuel economy. The leaflet boasts 72mpg, which as we know, is only a likelihood if nobody’s occupying the car and it’s been stripped of all of its components (like doors and seats) and the test is carried out in a vacuum.

Still, with all of that considered, the Peugeot performed well and we averaged over 50mpg during our trip and with enough performance being driven from the 6-speed gearbox to make for a comfortable, longer journey.

The Kia Optima This car didn’t quite have the same ‘real life’ test as the Peugeot in all honesty.

Once back from the (actually, for once) sunnier climes of Cornwall, I was back in the office with the Kia taking me to and from the occasional meeting through the week. Still, enough time was spent in the car to get a feel for things.

The Kia Optima is quite different to the Peugeot. It’s a good-looking motor and it has a fair amount going for it, not least the stunning, Kia seven-year warranty.

That’s hard to beat.

The (one) diesel engine in the range is the one we have for the week. A 1.7-litre offering that gives economy and emissions figures that leave me relatively non-plussed. The Skoda Superb 1.6 TDI Greenline is a much more efficient car and would be considerably cheaper to run as a company car. Also, and unlike rival manufacturers, Kia have also introduced the PHEV plug-in hybrid model, which is capable of travelling up to 33 miles on electricity alone and boasts emissions of just 37g/km CO2. With those figures to hand, it makes the car the cheapest company car option in the range by far.

The drive in the Kia isn’t at all bad.

56 www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk

Motoring

“The Optima has a fair amount going for it, not least the stunning, Kia sevenyear warranty.

That’s hard to beat” Regular readers will know that I’m no fan of 6-speed manual gearboxes in underpowered/overweight cars, but the Optima doesn’t perform too badly here.

It’s a noisy engine and seems to give just about enough grunt in each gear to keep you on track. Even though it doesn’t sound like it wants to. It’s faster than the Peugeot but in all honesty, these aren’t racing cars and I don’t expect to see either in a drag race anytime soon.

All versions of the Optima give you sat-nav, DAB radio, Bluetooth connectivity and a USB socket. Also as standard comes front and rear parking sensors and a reversing camera; only in the top trim do you see the advent of wireless mobile phone charging and a 360-degree, bird’s-eye view cam.

The space in the car is generous. As with all saloon cars, there’s plenty of it; perhaps not as much as you’ll find in some rivals, but enough for most people to be happy with. Stepping on from this

kind of space, you’ll probably want to consider a tourer or even a full-on estate car instead. The build quality is good too; sturdy and sleek all at the same time.

In conclusion For me, the Kia wins. There’s not a lot to choose from between the two if I’m honest; they’re both great cars and in all honesty, I’d be happy to be handed keys for either if I was being handed a company car. They’re both naturally practical, fuel efficient, spacious and comfortable, but if I had to choose, and I do, the Kia pips the Peugeot to the post by way of standard features. I have become so used to having DAB radio in new cars nowadays, that I find it puzzling that many still don’t have them. It’s odd and surely the tech is so cheap and commonplace today, that there really isn’t

a reason not to have them loaded up?

Beyond that, and even though the Peugeot won on average fuel consumption, the Kia is a better looking car in my opinion. The 7 year/100K mile warranty is hard to ignore for anyone looking at buying but even aside from that, the build quality is such, that you get the impression that you won’t need to call them on it.

The Peugeot is the kind of car that better suits the family crowd. Probably.

It’s the kind of car that you can expect to see towing the aforementioned caravan.

It’s not trying to be cool or quick, whereas, the Kia is sleeker and the noisy engine screams ‘travelling sales rep’.

I know which ones I’d order for my fleet.

The Peugeot 508 Engine Capacity: 1560cc Transmission: 6-speed manual gearbox 0-62mph: 11 seconds Max Speed: 125mph Insurance Group: 28E Retail price (OTR): £24,125.00 Kia Optima Engine Capacity: 1685cc Transmission: 6-speed manual gearbox 0-60mph: 9.7 seconds Max Speed: 121mph Retail price (OTR): £23,495.00

www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk 57

SBTMotoring News Entries Open for the Sixth Annual Henry Surtees Challenge ‘All-Comers’ Event The Challenge, which has rapidly become an essential fixture on the racing calendar for motorsport talent, provides a unique opportunity to win a spectacular range of career enhancing prizes, considered to be the best prizes ever offered at a karting event.

The highly competitive event will see the drivers battling it out, using the superb Club 100 Birel Karts. The top three drivers will be awarded the prestigious Henry ‘H’ trophy title. The drivers then, according to finishing order, get the choice of exclusive prizes that will greatly assist their racing preparation for the 2017

Triumph Confirms September Date For Land Speed Record Attempt At Bonneville Piloted by TT star, Guy Martin, the Triumph Infor Rocket Streamliner will return to the famous Bonneville salt flats and attempt to beat the current 376.8mph record speed on an 11 mile-long course. Despite having a good course surface for testing the team felt that the salt wasn’t yet fully capable of supporting a top-speed streamliner run. In consultation with FIM course manager Mike Cook, the team are targeting the September dates as the best possible opportunity for the optimal course conditions required for the record attempt.

The practice week, which ended with the 274.2mph run, demonstrated that both the Triumph Infor Rocket Streamliner and rider Guy Martin are ready for the task ahead.

When asked about returning in September,\ Markstaller commented: “We achieved a great deal during our test week at Bonneville and feel we are in a great position to move ahead with our record attempt. Guy settled into the streamliner very quickly and impressed us with the speed in which he mastered both the motorcycle and riding on the salt.

58 www.sussexbusinesstimes.co.uk

season. Prizes will also be awarded for fastest lap, the most unlucky driver and a heavyweight prize for 80kg or above.

The first three will automatically be awarded the Puma race equipment listed below.

John Surtees said: “The first Henry Surtees Challenge took place in 2010, and Buckmore Park seemed the natural venue to host it; It is the circuit where Henry first sat in a kart, at the age of 8, but also where he had gained

success. During its 52 years, the track has seen the likes of World Champions Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button hone their racing skills amongst many others”.

Cost of entry: £500.

To register your interest, please email: leonora@ henrysurteesfoundation or you can enter via the website: www.henrysurteesfoundation.com

Leading Dealers Set to Wow Crowds at the Classic & Sports Car Show Joining a host of themed features and a classic car auction from Coys, Alexandra Palace will play host to industry-leading classic car dealers including DD Classics, Desmond J Smail, Arthur Bechtel Classic Motors, Classicmobilia, Stanley Mann Racing and many more.

Collectively, these dealers will wow crowds with everything from the rarest Aston Martin, Ferrari and Porsche models to the finest Jaguars

or Mercedes-Benz, and even modern day classics.

Daniel Donovan, owner and founder of DD Classics, said: “We’re delighted to be returning to The Classic & Sports Car Show this autumn, the venue of Alexandra Palace proved to be a majestic backdrop last year and the show was full of enthusiasts. We’re looking forward to welcoming people to our stand again this October.” www.classicandsportscarshow.com

Ford Mustang Leads UK High Performance Car Sales Since Ford started taking orders in January 2015, the Ford Mustang has topped 4,000 sales to date, with total 2016 registrations at 2,317, so far.

Top 10 250PS+ Performance Vehicles - Up to July 2016 • Ford Mustang (2,317) • Jaguar F-Type (1,446) • BMW 6 Series (1,367) • Porsche 911 (1,315) • Porsche Cayman (787) • Audi TT (778) • Porsche Boxster (526) • Mercedes SL (489) • Porsche 718 (482) • BMW i8 (382) The current split in sales across

models shows that 70% of customers specified the 5.0-litre V8 engine, with the remaining 30% favouring the 2.3-litre EcoBoost. Total customer orders for the Ford Mustang in Europe now stand at more than 19,500 since the car was launched in the third quarter of 2015.

The Ford Mustang is available from the 75 FordStore locations across the UK, and online configurator: www.ford.co.uk

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Email: sales@berfort.co.uk · www.berforts.co.uk

SBT

ASK THE

SBT Ask the Experts is sponsored by

EXPERTS

WE ASK THE EXPERTS TO GIVE YOU THE ANSWERS YOU NEED

EXPERT How can UK businesses combat uncertainty after the Brexit vote?

Business strategy • Set up a Brexit task force within your business.

• Analyse how different post-Brexit trading models will affect your business.

• Build flexibility into your business plan.

People • Review the potential impact and give employees what reassurances you can (even more relevant to employees of EU or non-EU origin.)

• Review employee contracts and consider what action may be needed to

EXPERT

What’s happening to the State Pension?

The so-called ‘New State Pension’ came into force from April 6th 2016 and will affect all pensioners who reach state pension age from that date onwards. For women, this means that you will be affected if you were born on or after 6th April 1953. For men, you

info@checkaprofessional.com 62 www.sussexbusinesstimes.co.uk

David Eagle, Partner, BDO LLP ensure talent is protected and retained.

Tax Keep focused on any changes in tax and UK transfer pricing rules that emerge and keep in mind the following: • Managing your VAT registrations and administration costs.

• The working capital needed to finance the VAT cash flow costs of imports and exports.

Mergers and acquisitions If considering an EU-based business acquisition it could be prudent to move more quickly before Brexit negotiations begin or are completed. Can you bring forward a sale to an EU based competitor before the Brexit negotiations are finalised?

Operational considerations Take a look at your supply chain and ask:

• How would total costs compare from EU suppliers versus non-EU suppliers? (or non-EU origin).

• Are sales within the EU large enough to justify relocating some operations to an EU site to avoid a customs duty hit on margins?

Contracts For contracts that will be active beyond 2018, consider carrying out a Brexit review to determine the flexibility to survive potential changes.

Where new contracts are being negotiated, consider whether to incorporate break clauses or price adjustment clauses following Brexit.

Regulation If your business is operating within the regulated industries, consider transferring functions within the EU to continue to benefit from ‘passporting’.

Tracey Evans, Director at Juno Wealth Management will be affected if you were born on or after 6th April 1951.

pension, depending on their exact length of contribution.

How much could I receive?

The New State Pension attempts to simplify the old system and tackle inequality by introducing a single onetier state pension. This pension will be available to all depending on how many years of National Insurance contributions you have and a handful of other factors, such as whether you have contributions or credits from before April 2016. In essence though, if you have 35 years of National Insurance contributions then your state pension is likely to be the maximum amount available. Currently this is £155.65 per week.

Everyone with between 10 and 34 years of National Insurance contributions will receive a portion of the single tier

When will I be able to get my new state pension?

The New State Pension also introduces other changes which will see the state pension system continue to change in the coming years. The pension age, for example, will increase from 66 to 67 at some point between April 2026 and April 2028.

We recommend that everyone obtains a state pension forecast to help them plan via www.gov.uk For more information, contact Tracey on tracey.evans@ junowealth.co.uk/01444 237822 or visit www.junowealth.co.uk

0808 901 9042

SBT

ASK THE

SBT Ask the Experts is sponsored by

EXPERTS

WE ASK THE EXPERTS TO GIVE YOU THE ANSWERS YOU NEED

EXPERT

Matthew Tyson, Director at Richard Place Dobson • Articles about Brexit • Discussions on the housing market • The Basic Rate restriction on tax relief available to landlords There are still plenty of ways that you can get tax relief for the interest you pay.

Tax relief is available if you use the money you borrow to:

Tax Relief on Interest – is it still available?

The word “interest” has attracted a lot of attention in the media recently, mainly due to: • The Bank of England base rate dropping to 0.25%

EXPERT

• Buy or improve commercial property; the new 20% restriction only applies to residential property and residential landlords will still be able to reduce their tax by up to 20% of the interest paid.

• Buy ordinary shares in or lend money to a limited company where you own more than 5% of the ordinary shares or most of your work time is spent in the management and conduct of its business.

• Acquire an interest in a trading or

1. PR is not advertising. The role of advertising is to ‘tell and sell’, the role of PR is to ‘show and glow’. This generates a fabulous reputation - a magnet for new customers.

info@checkaprofessional.com

Note: this does not apply to credit card or overdraft interest.

If you would like to discuss your Tax Relief, please contact us on: 01293 521191 or info@placedobson.co.uk

Kate McCoy, Director at Cloud Nine PR & Marketing Very few people can explain what people in public relations really do. Ironically, it seems that the PR industry does a terrible job of PR! So to help explain our role to the general public, the occasional stranger and the odd grandparent, we’ve come up with ‘5 Things Everyone Should Know about Public Relations’.

5 Things Everyone Should Know About Public Relations

professional partnership, including an LLP. • Provide funds to your partnership, including an LLP, or sole-trader business where the funds are used wholly for the business.

• Buy equipment for use in your partnership, LLP, sole-trader business or employment where capital allowances are available on the equipment.

• Buy ordinary share capital in an employee controlled company where you are a full time employee.

• Acquire a share or lend money to a cooperative where the money is used wholly and exclusively for its business.

2. PR is all about persuasion. We can’t order the media to cover your stories or give you a spot on the couch of This Morning. Yet as PR people we achieve this result via persuasion and influence.

3. PR people are storytellers. We find the positive messages and translate these messages into engaging stories for all media channels - traditional and social.

4. PR is also used to protect. When the news is bad, we formulate the best response and mitigate the damage.

5. PR is not a sprint – it’s more a marathon with the best results coming to those who stick with it. Of course there are times when you need a ‘quick fix’ typically in moments of triumph or crisis - but the core strength of PR is when it is an integral part of your overall business strategy.

For more information, advice and tips on PR and marketing visit: www.cloudnineprandmarketing.co.uk

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Networking in Sussex

SBT

Society Las Iguanas celebrates second opening in Brighton!

This summer Las Iguanas announced it would be delivering double the South American flavour to everyone’s favourite sunny city with the launch of their second Brighton restaurant in the Marina. The Bristol-based Latin restaurant and bar operator has been in Jubilee Street for over 10 years and the new restaurant, part of the £250 million redevelopment of the Marina area, will reflect the same ethos of fresh food, classic cocktails and vacation vibes.

The new restaurant can seat up to 135 people, with a vibrant décor theme and Latin music constantly playing. In August, the eyes of the world were on Rio, so to get in to the sporting spirit the newest site celebrated with 2 for 1 on all champion main and also held a Big Burrito Giveaway - 100 free burritos to the first 100 guests on Saturday 30th July between 12- 3pm.

Address: Las Iguanas, Unit 3 Brighton Marina, Outer Harbour Development, Block F1, Brighton BN2 5UT Website: www.iguanas.co.uk Opening times: 12pm – 11pm Email: brightonmarina@iguanas.co.uk Twitter: @lasiguanas Facebook: Las Iguanas Brighton Marina

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Join us at Digital & You – an exciting new presentation-led business event that aims to empower companies throughout Mid Sussex in key areas of digital technology including Social Media, Content Marketing, Cloud Accounting, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), Email Marketing, Analytics, Training and much more.

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OCTOBER 2016

11:30AM – 4:00PM

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THE KING’S CENTRE, 33-35 VICTORIA ROAD, BURGESS HILL, RH15 9LR

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Made In Sussex

Made In Sussex: Urban Industry

For this issue’s Made in Sussex, SBT’s Jess Saunders caught up with Urban Industry’s Dan King to find out about his journey so far

Jess Saunders: Dan, could you give us some background Brand on an overview of Focus what your business specialises in?

We started Urban Industry back in 2002 and we’ve just celebrated our 14th year! We started off in South Street, Eastbourne and now ship out of a warehouse just off Lottbridge Drove. We specialise in men’s fashion clothing in a particular part of the market, which has been called Streetwear. We sell well-known brand names such as Nike, Adidas, The North Face and Levis, but we also stock a large number of brands that are off the beaten track. A lot of our products you won’t find on the traditional high street and that is our point of difference.

What was it that made you decide to start your own business. How did you go about it?

After various jobs in the web industry in London and Eastbourne, I was made redundant. My wife and I had been toying with the idea of having somewhere to base our clothing brand from, so we borrowed a small amount of money from my parents and an equally small amount from the bank and just went for it. It was incredibly difficult for the initial two years.

You now ship from a warehouse, but how long did it take you to make this step?

It took us five years to get our first, separate warehouse. We started in July 2002 and opened the first website in May 2003, using the basements of the two stores we had to house the stock for the shop above. Facebook and Twitter didn’t exist when we started the web store, so we had to rely on Google and Yahoo to pick us up in searches for our products.

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How soon would you say it took for your business to take off?

It wasn’t until 2007 that we really felt the business was motoring. The internet side of the business was really driving the whole thing forward and it was around then that the sales from the web overtook that of the shop we had. When we outgrew the basement we decided to try a short-term lease on a warehouse in Hailsham, which proved to be a success, so we made a plan to close the high street store and put the whole business into a new warehouse development. It took three years to finally outgrow that unit, but then we made the decision to move over to our present unit.

Tell us a bit about your distribution We primarily sell to the UK – it’s by far our biggest market. We do ship globally every day with big marketing in the US and Hong Kong. Depending on currency fluctuations we also sell a lot into Europe too, which is now a focus for us.

What would be your advice to people

QU

with the same aspirations that you had?

I think the most important element to remember if you are starting a new business is that no one is going to do the work for you. I feel we really tried everything we could to make those important early sales to keep the business going – lots of local activity and, of course, constant web marketing in later years. I’m still learning every day. I would also add that small is beautiful. Try and keep your business moving forward with a really keen eye on the costs, keeping them under control. It seems obvious but you can get carried away with big investments into the business that might not actually pay back. www.urbanindustry.co.uk

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