Contact magazine - December-January 2017-18

contact Together We Grow Stronger

December - January 2017-18

ROGER WHITESIDE:

On a roll at Greggs

Plus TO THE FORE WARWICK BRINDLE ON THE BUSINESS OF GOLF MAGIC CARPETS BUCKING THE RETAIL TREND AT FRANKS FACTORY FLOORING HOW TO MAKE AN ENTREPRENEUR WE ASK DR SUSAN LAING - CAN YOU REALLY TEACH ENTREPRENEURSHIP?

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A brighter future.

Exam Dates Girls’ School: Saturday 20th January Boys’ School: Saturday 27th January Juniors and Sixth Form: Please contact the Head of Admissions.

Parents are welcome to arrange a visit to any of the Schools. 0191 275 0608. www.dameallans.co.uk

DAME ALLAN’S SCHOOLS building the future

Welcome...

Chamber president John McCabe Twitter: @John_fusionPR

Over the last couple of months we’ve seen significant progress made on a number of Chamber policy priorities and I’ve had the pleasure of meeting many members at our networking events.

We have launched our support for mental health awareness in the workplace - a cause I am particularly passionate about. I’m pleased the Chamber has signed up to the Time To Change campaign in the interests of our colleagues’ wellbeing. Since speaking out about my own experiences of mental ill health, I’ve been overwhelmed by the support I’ve received from the business community; I’m very grateful.

As I write, the ink is drying on a North of Tyne devolution deal. This is a major opportunity for another part of our region to benefit from investment decisions taken at a local level. This is already working well in the Tees Valley and hopefully the deals that are in place today can be built on and extended across the North East.

I was delighted to introduce two outstanding speakers at our recent Northumbria and Durham Dinner and our autumn President’s Club Lunch. Sir Vince Cable was the guest of honour at the dinner and his speech didn’t pull any punches about the need for politicians to roll up their sleeves to work with business on devolution.

Equally plain-speaking was Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s First Minister, who chose our lunch to announce a study into improving journey times between Scotland and England. Questions from the floor covered potentially controversial areas like Air Passenger Duty, which Scotland hopes to abolish in time. Mrs Sturgeon’s response to this question indicated she would support the reform of the duty across the UK. Outlines of both speeches are in this issue and I’m sure you will find them as thought-provoking as I did. It just remains for me to wish you the very best for 2018… it promises to be quite a year!

John McCabe, Chamber president EDITOR Jane Pikett EDITORIAL TEAM Dean Bailey Jane Hall Paul Robertson Contact is the magazine for North East England Chamber members. News and press releases should be sent to submissions@neechamber.co.uk ADVERTISING Colin Rutherford 01661 844 115 colin@offstonepublishing.co.uk PHOTOGRAPHY Kevin Gibson Nicky Gibson Dave Charnley Gilbert Johnston Peter Skelton

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“At the end of the day, everything is driven by convenience.

We aren't fighting the tide, we are flowing with it” Roger Whiteside, Greggs

36 A round with: Warwick Brindle

On a roll: Roger Whiteside of Greggs

Contents

06 A round with...

44 Success

Rockliffe Hall's Warwick Brindle

The magic of carpets and flooring, the Franks Factory way

10 In my view

Last Word: Catherine Johns

www.neechamber.co.uk

With James Ramsbotham

46 Focus

13 Inbox

We put the spotlight on accessing business funding in the North East

News and views from the world of business

55 Motoring

14-23 News

The future's electric...

News from the Chamber and its members, including the North East Businesswoman of the Year and Nicola Sturgeon in the region

Movers and shakers across the region

58 People

28 Policy

60 Events

The Chamber's view of the Budget

Where you there?

34 Profile

64 Last word

How to make an entrepreneur with Teesside University's Dr Susan Laing

'Why I don't use the word innovation' by innovation leader Catherine Johns contact 5

A round with "I've had opportunities to be part of creating big businesses, but I've always preferred working with people rather than being the lonely entrepreneur" The Rockliffe Hall chairman, former media executive, and keen golfer Warwick Brindle talks golf - and business - with Dean Bailey Spend an hour with Warwick Brindle and the conversation will stretch across newspapers and golf, travelling and football. An open, charming Lancastrian, he has run newspapers including The Scotsman and Teesside's local paper, The Gazette, and is a former senior vice president with the Thomson Group, for whom he oversaw newspaper operations in the US and Canada. These days, though, you’ll find him closer to home, enjoying a round at his home golf club in Whitley Bay or at work overseeing Rockliffe Hall in Hurworth, near Darlington. We caught up with him to find out what the future holds on and off the golf course…

He challenged me to do as well as he had and was delighted when I was successful. I’d also add the Burnley footballer Jimmy McIlroy, who I always wanted to be like. I could have watched him play football forever.

Q Let’s start at the beginning, if I were meeting you for the first time how would you describe yourself? I’m ‘that Lancastrian bloke’. I’ve been called that in London, Scotland and the US and it’s always worked pretty well.

Q You’ve played all over the world, what is your favourite golfing memory?

Playing Rockliffe Hall for the first time. Spending years developing the business and the golf course then getting the chance to play it for the first time was one of the proudest moments of my life.

Q Tell me about what you do in one sentence.

I oversee a strong team of people and use my experiences to support them in developing Rockliffe Hall.

Q You’ve always been a keen sportsman, how did you come to play golf?

My parents were golfers, my mother was very good and encouraged me a lot, and so I started with them when I was 12. I split my time between playing football and lots of other sports so I didn’t start playing properly until 30 years later when I had to stop playing football for good.

Q Who did you look up to as a child?

My father, Norman. He did very well in life, running the family textile business before going on to become managing director of the business which bought it out – Smith & Nephew – which is now a world leader in manufacturing medical equipment.

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Q With a packed schedule, how do you fit golf in?

As chairman of a five-star resort with a championship golf course, people assume I play every day - I wish I could! I try and play at least once a week at Whitley Bay and as often as I can in the events at Rockliffe. My handicap has crept up to 11, though I plan to play a bit more next season.

Q That’s the good bit, what about the embarrassing moments on the course?

I’ve hit a lot of bad shots over the years! The most embarrassing one has to be the only one ever caught on TV. The camera came up right behind me and I proceeded to shank it into the trees. It’s the only shot I’ve ever played on TV and it’s one of the worst shots I’ve ever hit.

Q Where do you enjoy playing?

Aside from Rockliffe, I love playing links golf so I enjoy a trip north to Goswick and south to Seaton Carew on Teesside.

Q What’s the most satisfying moment of your career to date?

Being appointed MD of The Scotsman, which was then the biggest newspaper outside London, was fantastic. Following my career in the media, seeing www.neechamber.co.uk

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A round with attention. He played the game with a flair which I don’t think anyone has had since.

Q And who do you admire in business?

The Alabama reporter-turned Thomson Reuters chief executive Jim Smith. He had a style which I’ve rarely seen in anybody; he never lost his temper and he always had time for people. I very much admire how he got to the top of the industry.

Q Who is in your dream fourball?

Seve Ballesteros, Denzel Washington and Henry Blofeld. Seve was the most inspirational golfer I’ve seen so I’d love to play with him, Denzel Washington is a fantastic actor, and Henry Blofeld could give us his one-man show. Seve and Denzel might be a bit confused, but it would be great fun.

Rockliffe Hall develop has been incredible and I’m very proud to watch people teeing off on the golf course or watching a bride come out of the hotel.

We’ve achieved our vision and employed 300 people. On the opposite side of the coin, closing a newspaper in Chester and making 200 people redundant is by far the worst moment of my career.

Q What’s the best decision you’ve made and why?

My family may disagree, but taking the job in America was one I got right. I learned so much about the media industry and business, and I enjoyed it.

Q What are your strengths on the course?

I’m a straight driver and a good putter. On the weaknesses, I’m shocking from 50 yards out.

Q And your strengths in business?

I was taught early on that the numbers are vital, so I’ve always been one to stay on top of the money side of the business. The most important one has been encouraging people to do better. It starts with employing the right people and being able to be tough with people who can’t do the job – which is always best for the person and the business. From there, you have to allow good people to grow and become capable of filling your shoes.

Q Which golfer do you admire?

It has to be Seve Ballesteros. I met him at The Belfry once and he had this aura which captured people’s 8

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Q What would you be doing if you weren’t in your current job?

I was due to trial for Bury as 15-year-old before I broke my leg so I like to think I could have been a professional footballer. I’ve had opportunities in the past to be part of creating big businesses but I’ve always preferred working with people rather than taking on the role of the lonely entrepreneur.

Perhaps I could have rolled the dice and taken those risks, though that’s never been my way.

Q Who would play you in a film of your life?

I’m sure Al Pacino could get the accent right, or I’d go for Dudley Moore.

Q Why is golf good for business?

When I worked in Scotland, golf was a very important part of the business landscape so I had to get out and play. When I moved to the US, it was even bigger in those executive circles. I played a lot of business golf in the US and learned that there’s no better way to talk to people and get to know them without pressure. You build different relationships on the golf course; it’s unlike any other sport, and the things you talk about and what you learn about people is very important when you work together.

Q What’s next on your bucket list?

Taking my wife Maureen, who plays a lot of golf as well, to Augusta National for the Masters and then to Pebble Beach in California.

Q What does the future hold?

More travel, developing Rockliffe Hall further, and playing more great golf courses. www.neechamber.co.uk

In my view

Chamber chief executive James Ramsbotham considers the Government's Industrial Strategy and looks forward to a very special event in 2018

Chamber chief executive James Ramsbotham Twitter: @NEEChamberJames

We have been waiting for the Government’s Industrial Strategy to be published and find there is much in it to be positive about. If implemented thoroughly, it will go some way to closing the gap in investment and economic activity between regions.

However, we believe the Government still has more work to do if it is to eradicate this disparity. This strategy is good, but not yet good enough.

The Budget contained good news with funding for new Metro trains and £123m for the South Tees Development site.

We were delighted to have played our part in campaigning for these.

Thank you to members who completed our latest Quarterly Economic Survey (QES). This helps us to understand the current economic situation and we used it to guide our advice to the Chancellor ahead of the Budget.

The latest QES, the largest independent analysis of business opinions in the region, shows our key economic indicators are generally positive. Our members’ sales and orders in the UK and overseas are growing, with regional firms substantially increasing orders

“The Government has more to do to eradicate this disparity”

10 contact

compared to this time in 2016.

There was a marked decline, however, in confidence over the future among manufacturers, especially in regard to turnover, profitability and workforce numbers. This was contrary to the optimism shown by the services sector.

We hope the manufacturing figure is a Brexit exchange-rate blip and we will continue to monitor it closely.

The latest employment statistics show unemployment is down over the year and we are campaigning to ensure future employees have access to the right apprenticeships and training.

We have also pledged our support for mental health awareness in the workplace. This issue is championed by our president John McCabe, who has been frank about issues affecting him in the past and how he overcame them. It is vital that our employees are supported and able to highlight issues impacting their mental wellbeing at work.

We have enjoyed some fantastic events with thought-provoking speakers recently, including our second year supporting the North East Expo, where our Chamber Showcase floor was full of networkers. Chamber events brought members together from every sector and size of business, many of whom www.neechamber.co.uk

Sir Vince Cable addresses the Chamber's Northumbria and Durham Dinner

heard Sir Vince Cable speak at our Northumbria and Durham Dinner in November. He was blunt about the need for us to grasp the potential of devolution to benefit from greater decision-making powers in the region.

He also encouraged business leaders and politicians to work together to make a difference in areas including training, housing and social care - a great endorsement for our own statement that ‘together we grow stronger’.

A similar message was delivered to the autumn President’s Club Lunch where we welcomed Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon. She spoke fondly of her strong family connection to Sunderland and her affinity with North East England.

She emphasised the reliance of Scotland on our transport infrastructure, particularly the Port of Tyne and Newcastle International Airport, and announced a new feasibility study into train journey times between Scotland www.neechamber.co.uk

and England in a bid to reduce the journey time between Edinburgh and Newcastle by a third to one hour. She also emphasised the Scottish desire to work in partnership with the North East for mutual advantage.

Innovative businesswomen were celebrated at the annual Business Woman of the Year (WIN Awards).

The event powerfully showcased the achievement of 11 outstanding women in business who have shown true grit and determination to develop their organisations.

As we begin to turn our minds to 2018, we are delighted to announce that we will host next year’s Chamber Annual Dinner in the splendour of Durham Cathedral; the first time such an event has been held in this very special building. For the North East business community as a whole, it promises to be an extraordinary evening. Tickets go on sale in mid-January. contact 11

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Inbox Have you got something to say about Contact magazine or about business in general? Then this page is the place.

Email your news, views, comment and gossip to submissions@neechamber.co.uk

l-r Ian Humpish MD at The Roundhouse, Cardioproof founder Prof Michael Norton, Joseph McMinn, Paul Aitken-Fell, lead consultant paramedic, and Paul Liddell, operations director at Lookers Audi

Lookers all heart

Audi Newcastle has supplied the Ambulance Service with a new emergency response vehicle to help improve NHS response times for cardiac arrest patients, potentially saving an additional 50 lives each year.

The Lookers franchise dealership partnered with North East non-profit organisation Cardioproof to provide the new Audi SQ5.

The car is fitted with the latest life-saving equipment and will cover the whole of the North East. The vehicle is the result of a friendship between Lookers COO Nigel McMinn and his neighbour - Cardioproof founder Prof Michael Norton.

Lookers has provided a number of vehicles to worthy causes over recent years, including a Vauxhall Mokka to England Deaf Rugby Union and cancer support charity Help Harry Help Others.

Pedalling the pounds Staff from HR and payroll firm Cintra have raised more l-r Oliver Rix, Josh Holloway and than £5,000 for international Andy Mackenzie children’s charity COCO after taking part in a 137-mile Coast to Coast cycle race.

A total of 28 riders in eight teams of three pedalled from Whitehaven to Tynemouth to raise the funds to support COCO’s work in helping young people in communities in remote regions of East Africa to access education so they can build successful futures for themselves.

Cintra chief exec Carsten Staehr says: “COCO has been Cintra’s charity for many years, mainly because it makes a really big difference to the lives of children in marginalised communities. We love that they always tell us how our donations are used and always work on projects that are sustainable.” www.neechamber.co.uk

TWEET TWEET

Our pick of recent events across the region on Twitter James Ramsbotham (@NEEChamberJames): Incredible atmosphere with 400 @NEEChamber Members #ChamberDinner with @vincecable @NCLairport @gatesheadcoll @John_FusionPR Peter Grant‫‏‬ (@PeterGrantMedia): And the winners are... #dcra #Durham #Shopping #Retail @Ramside_Hall Kay Wilson‫‏‬ (@NEEChamberKay): On Budget day its good to be reminded of other important parts of life @NEEChamber @NGinitiative World Transplant Games 2019 @jnlbusiness St Chad's College‫‏‬ (@StChadsDurham): Thanks to @NEEChamberPaul @NEEChamberJames @NEEChamber @COCO_Charity @swinburnemadd @HodgsonSayers @profRoys for their support at the launch of our new Intern:NE regional graduate retention initiative last night! Looking forward to working with you all!

Newcastle Eagles‫‏‬ (@NewcastleEagle): We're throwing a double thumbs-up of support to @SunderlandAFC and @Bradleysfight to create a holiday home for sick children and their families #ForBradley

Dementiafriendly partnership Dementia Care has been announced as intu Metrocentre's new charity partner for 2018.

The charity has centres in Newcastle and Hexham, and more than 200 people use its facilities each week, including for respite care, home support, day services and independent supported living housing.

As part of the partnership, intu Metrocentre will be organising a range of events and donating promotional space.

Joyce cuts a ribbon held by hotel manager Ajith Kuriakose, left, and leisure manager Paul Nickson

Hotel makes a splash

A £360,000 leisure club upgrade at The Marriott Hotel Gosforth Park in Newcastle has been officially opened by 83-year-old member Joyce Miller.

The retired physiotherapist has been a member at the club since she retired in 1994 and is still going strong with regular aqua aerobics, aqua zumba and lengths of the pool.

The club’s 750 members can now enjoy the benefits of a new steam room and upgraded sauna and changing facilities. contact 13

News NEWS IN BRIEF

l-r Tanya Harding and Naomi Shedding, Trend Bible; Allison Raper,Teesdale Cheesemakers; Lizzy Hodcroft, The Sweet Beet UK; Lynsey Wilson and Emily Cox, Virgin Money; Janet Maitland, Janet Maitland Hair Excellence; Nicki Gott, She's Gott It!

Leading business women honoured Leading entrepreneurs have been honoured at the prestigious North East Business Woman of the Year (WIN) Awards at the Hilton Newcastle Gateshead.

Trend forecaster and brand analyst Joanna Feeley, of Newcastle-based Trend Bible, took the Susan Dobson Memorial Award for her company’s success in working with major international clients including Bloomingdales and TK Maxx.

Allison Raper of Barnard Castle-based Teesdale Cheesemakers won the NatWest Best New Business Award, while Gill Rice took the Newcastle High School for Girls Woman in STEM Award for her achievements with her Prudhoe-based company Tyne Valley Plastics.

Nicki Gott, chair of the Chamber's Women’s Advisory Group, said: “This is the eighteenth year of our awards and the standard of entries was higher than ever. We have an outstanding range of winners who have shown such determination to succeed, with great results.”

Michaela Reaney of Newcastle-based Gradvert took the Best Small Business Award sponsored by Tees Valley Combined Authority; Rachel Lumley and Kathryn Meadows of Katie’s Garden took the Virgin Money Award for Best Practice; Sheridan Mordew of Shape up with Sher took the Rising Star Award; and Lizzy Hodcroft of The Sweet Beet UK was Young Entrepreneur of the Year.

House open for business Offices at iconic Commerce House in Middlesbrough are now available to rent thanks to a £1.2m refurbishment by Commerce Chambers Ltd. The building, which was originally built in 1872, is in the heart of the city’s commercial district and a choice of spaces are available, all fully furnished and equipped with high-speed broadband.

There is also a 43sqm boardroom, The Chairman’s Room, available for use by tenants and to hire.

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JUST THE TICKET Stagecoach North East has reached the £1m milestone for contactless payments across the North East, less than a year after the stateof-the art technology was launched in the region. Following the launch ten months ago, more than 221,000 contactless transactions totalling more than £1.1m have been made by passengers on Stagecoach buses.

FLYING HIGH Construction work at a new £17.5m wind farm near Darlington has reached its halfway point with the erection of the scheme's third turbine. Banks Renewables is building the Moor House wind farm on land to the north east of Barmpton and the project team is on track to put the remaining three turbines in place over the next few weeks.

AWARD WIN Sunderland Software Centrebased McDonough Marketing Communications has been named New Business of the Year at the Sunderland Echo Portfolio Awards. Sponsored

by The Bridges shopping centre, the award was collected

by MD Natasha McDonough at the Stadium of Light.

Brexit call Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen and his fellow northern metro mayors have called on chief brexit minister David Davis MP to protect funding post-Brexit.

EU Structural and Investment Funds to poorer areas are worth £25m a year to the Tees Valley and in an open letter, Andy Burnham of Greater Manchester, Steve Rotheram of Liverpool City Region and Ben Houchen of Tees Valley pressed for cash from a proposed Shared Prosperity Fund that will replace EU payments. They also pressed for powers repatriated from Europe to be devolved to the regions.

A joint letter from the trio says: “We will need to demonstrate that Brexit has been effectively managed in terms of investment in local communities. This is best achieved through a commitment to at least match the levels of investment in individual areas that would otherwise have been secured from current UK and EU programmes.”

Strong move Independent chemical manufacturer Thomas Swan & Co has announced it is expanding its range of formulated Elicarb® Graphene materials with a prototype product focusing on the manufacture of a carbon fibre composite prototype.

Thomas Swan will continue to develop, test and improve the materials and will work with selected partners to turn them into products.

MD Harry Swan says: “This represents an exciting step forward." www.neechamber.co.uk

Super shipment for Port of Tyne

Nicola Sturgeon speaking at the Chamber President's Club Lunch

Sturgeon's bid for NE-Scots relations Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has pledged her commitment to a North East-Scots alliance, including improving cross-border transport.

Speaking at the Chamber’s President’s Club lunch at the Hilton Newcastle Gateshead, she said: “We have thousands of people crossing the Scottish border into England every day for business and pleasure. Our transport links through the North East, such as the Port of Tyne and Newcastle International Airport, are the bedrock of our own infrastructure.” She added feasibility studies were being commissioned to identify options to improve train journey times, resilience and reliability on services between Scotland and England. "This will enhance the opportunities for trade and leisure travel and send a serious signal of intent that we are not just waiting for solutions to come from the South,” she added.

She also spoke about common causes shared by Scotland and the North East, including a need to influence the Government’s Industrial Strategy and devloution.

“Greater devolution would help give the North East a competitive edge and Scotland could be an ally for you," she said. “The prosperity of the North East matters to Scotland, such are our inter-connections. It makes sense for us to work together on issues including tourism, education and business.”

Healthy sale Newcastle law firm Mincoffs has advised on the sale of a chain of 15 North East pharmacies, Ashchem Chemists, which has been sold to Milton Keynes-based Juno Health for an undisclosed sum.

Ashchem Chemists has been trading in the region since 1981 and has grown from a single pharmacy to one of the largest independent retail pharmacy chains in the North East, with branches across Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland and Durham.

Juno Health is led by CEO Mark Peatey who has many years experience in launching, accelerating and transforming companies in the UK, Europe and the USA. www.neechamber.co.uk

Bulk cargo vessel St Dimitrios sailed straight into the record books when it discharged the biggest cargo of wood pellets ever handled at the Port of Tyne.

A total of 62,000 tonnes of wood pellets were unloaded over five days on their way to Drax Power station in North Yorkshire.

The 229m-long vessel sailed almost 8,846 nautical miles over 44 days from Vancouver, Canada with its cargo of wood pellets, which are now replacing coal as fuel in power stations providing electricity for the National Grid.

Since 2010, the Port of Tyne has handled almost 7m tonnes of environmentally sustainable wood pellets.

Hugh Welch of Muckle, Caroline AfolabiDeleu of charity Success 4 All, and Sam Roberts of Muckle at one of the law firm's charity activities

On the shortlist Muckle LLP has been shortlisted for a national award for its voluntary legal work for worthy causes and charitable organisations.

The firm has been shortlisted in the category ‘Best contribution by a firm with a Regional Head Office’ in the national LawWorks Annual Pro Bono Awards 2017.

The shortlisting recognises the breadth and range of pro bono activity undertaken by Muckle. contact 15

News

Partners update I N A S S O C I AT I O N W I T H

It was great to see a record number of Chamber President’s Club members at our President’s Club Lunch, where we welcomed Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister of Scotland, as our keynote speaker.

The First Minister was in good form and spoke positively about collaboration with North East England on transport links, economic development and tourism, and answered questions on Brexit, Airport Passenger Duty and cross-border transport infrastructure.

I am grateful to Deloitte for sponsoring the lunch and to the She’s Gott It team for their AV support.

I was also pleased to have the opportunity to meet and talk about the work of the Chamber to Newcastle Building Society managers recently. It was also good to hear of the continued growth of Atom Bank on a recent visit and exciting to see the work of Clouston Group in the construction of the North East Futures UTC building in the Stevenson Quarter in Newcastle.

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With Tom Warnock, Chamber partnerships manager Chamber Partners form an exclusive group from a range of sectors across the region, working closely with us to maximise their impact on the North East This is my first column since taking over as partnerships manager and it’s been a fantastic couple of months getting to know our Partners.

Back in September we had our Corporate and Partners Dinner sponsored and hosted by Durham University, where our Partner and Corporate members came together to hear from Andrew Batterbee, area director for Yorkshire, Humber and the North East at the Department for Business Innovation and Skills.

We’ve also enjoyed two Partner lunch events with two very different and equally engaging speakers. In October we met at Gateshead College to hear from Phil Roberts, head of regional programming at the BBC. At November’s lunch we visited Trinity House, Newcastle where our guest speaker was the Rt Hon Sir Vince Cable. I’m excited to bring some more fantastic speakers to our Partner members in 2018.

News from our partners includes Womble Bond Dickinson completing its merger with US Firm Womble Carlyle, creating a firm with more than 1,000 lawyers working out of 24 offices across the UK and US. Gateshead College has recently announced a partnership with Chamber member Greggs to deliver its national apprenticeship programme. Meanwhile, our newest Partner Lichfields is working alongside us, using its expertise on a series of round tables to investigate the challenges faced by the retail industry, particularly in our town centres.

OUR PARTNERS

www.neechamber.co.uk

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News Dinners bring businesses together

James Ramsbotham, John McCabe, Olly Smith, David Grant of Durham Tees Valley Airport (Drinks Reception sponsor) and Zoe Lewis of Northern Skills Group (Headline sponsor) at the Tees Valley Dinner

Olly Smith at the Tees Valley Dinner

CONTACT YOUR RELATIONSHIP MANAGER TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR MEMBERSHIP Essentials Portfolio - Julie Digman tel 07912 478 964 julie.digman@neechamber.co.uk Twitter @NEEChamberJules Teesside - Jo Shepherd tel 07833 480 474 jo.shepherd@neechamber.co.uk Twitter @neechamberjshep Darlington and West Durham Susan Anderson tel 07736 799 727 susan.anderson@neechamber.co.uk Northumberland - Claire McCabe tel 0191 3746487 clare.mccabe@neechamber.co.uk Twitter @NEEChamberClare Newcastle/Gateshead - Lynsey Fairless tel 07834 444 627 lynsey.fairless@neechamber.co.uk Twitter @NEEChamberLyns

James Ramsbotham, Judith Doyle of Gateshead College (Headline sponsor), Sir Vince Cable, Nick Jones of Newcastle International Airport (Headline sponsor) and John McCabe at the Northumbria and Durham Dinner

The Chamber’s annual dinners brought together hundreds of business leaders and innovators to hear speeches from Liberal Democrat Leader Sir Vince Cable and Darlington-born TV wine expert Olly Smith.

At the Northumbria and Durham Dinner, Sir Vince urged local politicians to work with business for devolved power.

He told 400 guests at Newcastle Civic Centre: “Regions like the North East need genuine autonomy. Some people in local government need to get their act together to grab devolution opportunities, while businesspeople and politicians need to work together to make the difference in areas like training, housing and social care.”

Of Brexit, he said: “Skilled staff are leaving the UK and going back to the EU and the devaluation of the pound is resulting in companies sitting on cash rather than investing it. I think, due to a number of factors, including the Government being so dis-united, there is a 20% chance Brexit will not happen.”

Business leaders at the Tees Valley Dinner were told by wine expert Olly Smith: “This region is one of the best places in the country and a perfect example of the Chamber’s statement that together you grow stronger. I have been so impressed by the passion and commitment to success I have heard from the guests here.”

Durham Cathedral will host the Chamber’s 2018 dinner next September, welcoming more than 500 business leaders from around the North East and replacing the Chamber's traditional two dinners. The event, sponsored

by Gateshead College and Newcastle International Airport, will support the cathedral’s Foundation 2020, which aims to raise £10m for restoration work.

International - Les Dixon tel 07850 740 645 les.dixon@neechamber.co.uk Twitter @NEEChamberLes Sunderland and Durham - Julie Charlton tel 0798 025991 julie.charlton@neechamber.co.uk Twitter @NEEChamberjac1 18 contact

Jeff Brown at the Northumbria and Durham Dinner

John McCabe at the Northumbria and Durham Dinner www.neechamber.co.uk

Commercial Profile

When a relationship breaks down...

Former Chamber president Mike Matthews, of Nifco UK

Supply chain Brexit-ready drive A campaign has been launched to support the North East’s manufacturing supply chain in taking advantage of the post-Brexit landscape.

Organised by North East England Chamber of Commerce and commercial law firm Square One Law, the Brexit-Ready Supply Chain campaign is a focal point for a planned and collaborative approach to Brexit preparations.

Highlighting the importance of effective supply chain management and innovation in manufacturing, the campaign will produce a report and work with business to identify the implications of Brexit and encourage comprehensive planning.

Mike Matthews MBE, MD of Nifco UK and a former president of the Chamber, said: “The need for the manufacturing supply chain to collaborate and communicate pre-Brexit to ensure a positive outcome post-Brexit is of vital importance. Every business is only as strong as the next link in the supply chain; preparation will be vital.”

Watson Burton advises on £3.5m IT contract Northumbrian Water Group has made a significant investment in its IT infrastructure with the support of commercial law firm Watson Burton.

Newcastle-headquartered Watson Burton advised the water company on a £3.5m plus contract with IBM United Kingdom for the provision of system integration and hosting services for 24 months.

Watson Burton’s team was led by Duncan Reid, Duncan Reid, Watson Burton partner and head of corporate partner and head of corporate and commercial and commercial. www.neechamber.co.uk

A relationship breakdown is one of the most stressful life events you can go through. The emotional impact can be significant and often there are financial issues or issues concerning children to resolve.

Whilst taking legal advice may not seem the most Lucy Mead, Head of Family urgent thing to do, it can be hugely beneficial to make contact with a specialist family lawyer at an early stage. In order to make the most of a first appointment, we suggest the following:1. Consider the different options available to you. Court is not the only option; indeed we take the view that whilst sometimes necessary, litigation in Court is the last resort. We suggest that you look at the Resolution website www.resolution.org.uk and consider your options.

2. Think about the issues that need resolved. Are there issues surrounding financial matters and arrangements for children or are you and your partner/spouse able to agree some of the issues between yourselves.

3. Pull together some basic financial information. If financial issues need resolving, bring basic details about you and your spouse/partner’s income, assets, liabilities and outgoings. This will mean more progress can be made at the first meeting.

4. Bring a friend or family member to support you through the meeting and make a list of questions you want to ask.

5. Remember that you are giving your solicitor instructions.

Any course of action agreed on needs to be what you feel comfortable with.

At David Gray Solicitors we have an award winning team of 14 specialist accredited family solicitors including 2 higher rights advocates and cover all aspects of family law with our clear pricing policy.

Contact our dedicated Customer Relationship Manager, Louise Law on 0191 232 9547 for an appointment. contact 19

News NEWS IN BRIEF

e2E director Barry Ross

£1.5m investment Telecoms innovator e2E Engineering (e2E) has gained a £1.5m investment in its future growth.

Specialist private equity fund manager YFM Equity Partners backed the investment into e2E, a technical consultancy which has particular expertise in satellite communications.

With offices in Gateshead and Welwyn Garden City, e2E has been at the forefront of evolving technologies and service innovations since 1999.

With support from the European Space Agency and Innovate UK, e2E has developed a suite of products and services. The investment will commercialise and launch NEATaccess, an innovative communications node unique in the market place.

As part of the investment, YFM has introduced Mark Hurley to the board, while the company will continue to be led by Barry Ross, Eliot Minn and Chris Clarke, who together founded the business.

Andy Thomas, investment director at YFM, said: “We were attracted to this opportunity due to the strength of the long-established management team and the exciting and unique technology they have developed over recent years.”

Allay stakes its claim Newcastle-based claims management support business Allay is investing The Allay team in Newcastle £350,000 to accommodate its growing workforce as it seeks to create a further 25 jobs by the end of the year.

Formed in 2015, Allay provides back-end processing and technology systems to the claims management industry via web and app-based platforms. The company has expanded its North East headquarters at Generator Studios to 12,000sqft and it expects demand for PPI claim services through to 2019, generating revenue until 2023.

20 contact

WORK SMART Business comms and systems specialist Cellular Solutions is spearheading the rollout of smart communications system NEC SL2100, which is designed to support businesses scaling up and adapting to industry and workforce changes.

EPIC LAUNCH Durham-based social media agency Epic Social has launched with a £100,000 investment by three directors and nine staff to offer businesses fully managed social media activity.

DATA ON DATA Independent telecoms provider CCS is developing its analytics and reporting division to help businesses combat excessive telecom and data charges. Newly developed reports provide customers with data intelligence including un-used data and devices.

GOOD MOVE Regional property experts Convey with Me, Jan Forster Estates, and Mincoffs Solicitors have joined forces to trial a scheme to allow sellers to get their property ‘solicitor ready’ before a buyer is found, potentially saving 14 days on the conveyancing process.

The Great North East Brewery Guide launch

Cheers to new brewery bible

Contact magazine publisher Offstone Publishing has brought out its first book under its Cheers magazine brand.

The Great North East Brewery Guide (Offstone Publishing, £15) is the definitive celebration of everything hop related from the Tweed to the Tees. It is on sale at Waterstones, independent bookshops, and direct from breweries. Chef Terry Laybourne, owner of the 21 Hospitality Group, penned the foreword to the guide, which contains 132 full colour pages and detailed write-ups on each of the featured breweries.

Dan Cooper, senior manager at Ryecroft Glenton

Service adds up Newcastle-based advisory firm Ryecroft Glenton has expanded its digital cloud accountancy department following the successful roll-out of a new accounting and advisory service.

The firm has created two additional roles within its 17-strong digital team to support demand for its OutsourcedFD service, which manages a range of accountancy functions. www.neechamber.co.uk

Hitachi bid for HS2 billions

l-r Poppies’ new owner Nichola Bowron with previous owner Elizabeth Richardson and solicitor Sarah Carr from Swinburne Maddison LLP

Cleaning up

British Rail Class 395 Javelin high speed trains manufactured by Hitachi

Hitachi Rail Europe has been shortlisted

by HS2 Ltd to deliver Britain’s next set of high-speed trains in a multi-billion pound contract which, if won, will secure hundreds of jobs in the North East.

The shortlisted bidders for the 225mph trains are Hitachi Rail Europe, Alstom Transport, Bombardier Transportation UK, Patentes Talgo SLU, and Siemens PLC. They will tender in spring 2018, with contracts awarded in

www.neechamber.co.uk

2019 to design, build and maintain at least 54 trains in service from 2026 Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has said: “Bidders need to push the boundaries and I want to see innovation and ambition in their plans.”

Hitachi Rail Europe’s manufacturing facility in Newton Aycliffe, Co Durham is currently building more than 100 Intercity Express trains for the Great Western and East Coast lines.

Durham-based law firm Swinburne Maddison has acted on the sale of cleaning franchise Poppies Durham.

Operated by founder Elizabeth Richardson for 34 years prior to her retirement, the company has been sold for an undisclosed sum. Poppies employs 40 people and new owners Jonathan Marinan and Nichola Bowron have entered into a new franchise agreement with Poppies (UK).

contact 21

News Products in the handPICKED store

intu's million pound baby A pioneering retail venture which has benefited dozens of budding entrepreneurs has revealed it has generated almost £1m of sales since its launch three years ago.

In 2014 Gateshead College and shopping centre owner intu teamed up to create an environment where students and retail entrepreneurs could sell their products to the public.

Based at intu Metrocentre in Gateshead, handPICKED provides entrepreneurial students and designers with the chance to showcase their retail flair and grow their start-up businesses. Gateshead College secured £50,000 of funding from NatWest to launch the venture.

It's good to talk

The hydrotherapy pool at Ramside Hall Hotel, Golf and Spa

Ramside races into Fastest 50 Hotel and leisure operator Ramside Estates has been named one of the fastestgrowing firms in the North East.

The family business is listed in the 2017 Fastest 50 rankings, which recognise outstanding business achievements by local companies.

Employing more than 600 people, Ramside Estates owns Ramside Hall Hotel Golf and Spa, Hardwick Hall and Bowburn Hall, all in Co Durham, and has recently announced a £200,000 investment in improvements to its golf course at Ramside Hall.

It also operates Ramside Event Catering, Newcastle bars Colonel Porter’s and Beyond Bar, Gateshead’s Lancastrian Suite and the Pavilion Café at Alnwick Garden.

The annual list, organised by law firm Ward Hadaway, identifies the fastestgrowing profit-making private companies and Ramside Estates is listed 34th for its turnover in excess of £24m over the last three years, representing average turnover growth of 17.5%.

Grand designs Newcastle Building Society engaged fellow Chamber member Jo Darby, founder of public speaking training company Voice in the Room, to deliver a one-day interactive session for 40 of its branch network team.

Held at the Centre for Life in Newcastle, Going The Extra Mile helped society staff build confidence and engage positively with people.

22 contact

Law firm Swinburne Maddison LLP is investing £500,000 in transforming its new 10,000sqft base at Aykley Heads, Durham.

Washington-based AMH Interiors is working on remodelling the building to create a contemporary working environment with openplan office spaces, a relaxed staff and client lounge, serviced meeting rooms, and a redesigned reception area Meanwhile, Swinburne Maddison is also working on a new communications strategy which is due to be released to coincide with the completion of the refurbishment in early 2018.

l-r Swinburne Maddison partners Jonathan Moreland, Carolyn Beal and Martyn Tennant with Heather Baxter and Ian Moir from AMH Interiors www.neechamber.co.uk

Agency's a big wheel

All your marketing skills in one study centre l-r SHA directors Nigel Hartley, Daran Atkinson, Phil Lynagh

World Wheel Co Hong Kong has appointed Newcastlebased independent advertising agency SHA to work across its properties worldwide.

World Wheel's Giant Observation Wheels - huge ferris wheels in major cities - carry massive LED screens for advertising and messaging and SHA will handle brand planning and development, ideation and production across its sites. SHA has been appointed for an initial three-year period likely to generate £1.8m-£2.3m of revenue per location per annum to the agency.

Director Phil Lynagh says: “This is a game-changer for the agency, taking us to a different level. To represent a brandnew concept in entertainment and media is awesome and a source of great pride for us.”

Bob Boyle, CEO of World Wheel Company says: “Phil and the team at SHA stood apart. No other agency came close to grasping the concept in its entirety and with such passion. SHA demonstrated an immediate understanding of the concept and immediately offered ideas for continuous development that will offer tremendous benefits to sites that we intend to develop around the globe.”

Care giant recruits Nigel Wright Recruitment has been chosen as the recruitment partner by care provider HC-One, which is creating 130 jobs at its Darlington HQ following its recent acquisition of 122 Bupa care homes.

The new jobs will cover a support roles at a range of levels across IT, HR, marketing and hospitality, sales, finance, procurement and operations. The acquisition of the 122 Bupa care homes will see HC-One become the largest provider of care in the UK, further boosting HC-One’s position as a leading employer in Darlington. HC-One will be investing in developing its current site in Darlington to accommodate the expansion. www.neechamber.co.uk

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contact 23

Fab Ellen Thinnesen Principal Sunderland College

It was an Amstrad Stack System HiFi which, to my awe, included a turntable, double cassette player (yes, double!) and equaliser.

Recollections of my ‘state-ofthe-art’ gift fondly remind me of childhood mischievousness, for in the early hours of Christmas morning, my sister and I stealthily opened each gift around the tree before carefully resealing. To our amusement, our parents refuse to believe this story to this day.

5 THE QUESTION

What is the best Christmas present you've ever received?

Louise Fawcett General manager The Laundrette, Newcastle

A blown-up copy of one of the photos we took as we drove through the Alps last year from my boyfriend. The canvas had an envelope taped to the back with flight details written on, as well as ‘from one adventure to another’.

We both work in the hospitality industry and are at our busiest during the festive period, so he arranged a New Year trip to Poland. We stayed in a beautiful hotel and had fun trying out the gorgeous bars and restaurants.

Kelvin Linstead

Paul Hardcastle Head of sales, marketing and business development at Allay

Membership sales manager Close House

A mountain bike made by the Scottish racing cyclist Graeme Obree, a World Record holder known as The Flying Scotsman.

Graeme was the brother of my mum’s partner, Gordon, and at his request he made a mountain bike each for me and my brother for Christmas in 1995. Shortly afterwards, Gordon tragically passed away in a car accident, so these bikes hold a very special place in our hearts to this day.

Without doubt an electric blue Raleigh max 21 speed mountain bike when I was 12. It had an oversized frame, grip shift gears and brakes that could pull off some amazing skids. I played on it every single day, rain or shine, for years and I was the envy of my friends. More recently, I received a simple photo frame with a picture of my two children inside which takes pride of place on my desk at work.

It has to be the TaylorMade Burner Bubble Driver which I got when I was 14. The electricity went off at home that Christmas Day, which delayed Christmas dinner, though it didn’t matter because I spent the entire day on the driving range at Bellingham Golf Club with my dad and brother. If I’d been told back then that it would lead to working with one of the best courses in the UK I wouldn’t have believed you.

Head chef City Bistro, Sunderland

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www.neechamber.co.uk

Commercial property NEWS IN BRIEF

Epic lease US-based video game development company Epic Games has leased a refurbished office suite in the centre of Newcastle overlooking the city’s historic Theatre Royal.

The firm has taken on a 3,500sqft suite on the third floor of Earl Grey House in Grey Street.

Earl Grey House, acquired

by Schroders Regional Office Property Unit Trust in February 2016, provides 58,000sqft of quality contemporary accommodation incorporating leisure and office uses over six floors.

Schroders has also secured a tenant for the basement – formerly home to Legends nightclub – in the shape of Everyman Cinema.

Pitching tipi Taras Properties, owner of the East Pilgrim Street regeneration area of Newcastle which includes the former Odeon cinema site, has agreed a short-term lease with Danieli Holdings to accommodate its Hadrian’s Tipi anchored Winter Wonderland for the festive period.

The site forms part of an overall regeneration programme which extends from Swan House roundabout up to Northumberland Street.

Development proposals for East Pilgrim Street will accommodate mixed-use employment, leisure and residential development, with ancillary retail as well as high quality public realm improvements. www.neechamber.co.uk

ALL AT SEA(WEED) The North East Business and Innovation Centre’s (BIC) Innovation Programme has supported North Shields-based Seaweed & Co. to take its seaweed powders, which may tackle obesity and help to manage blood sugar levels, to a wider market. The programme helps SMEs with funding for unique products, services or processes, providing advice, access to industry experts and links to other support.

ALL IN THE NAME Orion Business Park in North Shields, Belmont Industrial Estate in Durham, Lingfield Way in Darlington and Skippers Lane in Middlesbrough are under new management, having been rebranded from the previous Evans Easyspace to Flexspace.

RATES RELIEF Middlesbrough Council is to provide discretionary rates relief for businesses setting up or expanding in the town, and supporting those affected by the Government’s rating revaluation by targeting funding to businesses with a rateable value of less than £200,000 which have seen a rates increase of more than £100 or 5%.

GVA BIG Nine Q3

Tony Wordsworth of GVA Newcastle

The GVA BIG Nine report for Q3 2017 reveals North East office take-up is steady as Government deals swell regional office take-up across the UK. New key occupiers in Newcastle city centre include The Princes Trust, law firm Norton Rose Fulbright, and computer gaming company Ubisoft. In the out-of-town market, engineering consultancy Siemens, electronics components specialist Isocom, and Durham Constabulary have all completed deals over 10,000sqft.

Across the rest of the UK, more than 1m sqft of lettings to the Government Property Unit in four deals in Cardiff, Leeds, Liverpool and Birmingham lifted take-up to the highest quarterly total on record across the major regional cities.

The deals in Cardiff, Leeds and Liverpool are the largestever in those cities and Birmingham’s is the largest in a decade. Along with Edinburgh’s GPU deal in Q2, total city centre and out-of-town take-up for the year is expected to rival the levels witnessed at the peak of the market in 2015 .

GVA Newcastle director Tony Wordsworth says: ”Newcastle has not seen the impact of large-scale Government office take-up, with relocations primarily being accommodated in existing stock. There has been a steady level of activity with a handful of medium-sized deals.”

Firms merge North East chartered surveyor and property consultant YoungsRPS has merged with commercial surveyor and estate agent Stanton Mortimer to create a major player in the regional property market.

Stanton Mortimer’s branches in Newcastle city centre and Northallerton have come under the YoungsRPS banner across commercial property, rural and residential agency markets. The new locations join the existing YoungsRPS network in Hexham, Alnwick and Sedgefield.

The merger brings staff numbers to 35 across five branches and the two brands will continue to exist. contact 27

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l-r Jason Van Hee, owner of Realty Media; Jess Carroll, facilities assistant NBS; Chris Pearson, partner, Gavin Black and Partners; Mary Campbell, planning director, Stephenson Halliday; Irena Peel, finance director, NBS

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NBS welcomes first tenants The first tenants have moved into NBS’s new incubator space at the Old Post Office on St Nicholas Street, Newcastle.

The Old Post Office has undergone a £5.8m redevelopment including new units for digital and tech SMEs and start-ups. The furnished offices include suspended ceilings, perimeter trunking, a separate meeting room and a manned reception.

Its first two tenants are Stephenson Halliday and Reality Media. The former provides planning, landscape and visualisation services to the development industry and its team of planners and landscape architects is currently based in Kendal, Glasgow and Ireland. Reality Media specialises in digital assets for property marketing, with 3D modelling of the built environment and fully immersive 3D virtual tours.

Two units remain to let which range from 119 - 408sqft at £17.50 per square foot. Lettings are being handled by Chris Pearson, Partner at Gavin Black and Partners.

Space for tech boom Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen has announced funding to kick-start the next phase of Middlesbrough’s Boho Zone, the town’s flagship development for digital and creative businesses.

Boho Next Generation will provide another 10,000sqm, which is enough space to accommodate 830 new jobs required growing companies in the Tees Valley - with £100,000 of Combined Authority funding to support the move.

Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen, centre, with Double Eleven COO Mark South and CFO Kimberley Turner at BOHO 1 www.neechamber.co.uk

Commercial Profile

There has never been a better time to do business in Durham From the multimillion pound redevelopment plans underway in the historic cathedral city, to the £12.6m expansion of the county’s flagship science park, Durham is buzzing with investment and opportunity.

As the economic development organisation, working on behalf of Durham County Council, and largest commercial property landlord in the region, we have links to a wide range of industrial units, office spaces and laboratories to support your growth plans.

“We’re a landlord people can trust,” says Peter McDowell, business property director with Business Durham.

“There really is the right property for everyone whether they’re small start ups or bigger firms looking to scale up.

For us it’s all about the business, it’s the most important thing. If it’s good for the company, it’s good for us.”

One of the commercial sites in County Durham offering scale up support include the award-winning Salvus House, Durham County Council’s flagship 30,000 sq ft office space and business incubator unit at Aykley Heads, which has already attracted several industry leading businesses to its accommodation. It boasts incubation, office and desk space for lease for one to 90 people and is now home to firms in the finance, accounting, engineering, communications and digital design industries. There are unique larger spaces including the West Wing (3915sq ft) & East Wing (3655 sq ft) both offering fantastic open plan space with a number of smaller private offices, spiral staircase leading to the mezzanine floor plus access to an outside balcony area.

And we’re much more than simply a landlord. Our team can offer extensive connections and networking opportunities, growth support and training advice, as well as access to finance. We’ve even launched our own innovative investment fund, Finance Durham, to support the growth of high potential businesses located in or looking to locate to the county. Finance Durham will invest between £200,000 and £700,000 per business to support

"Aykley Heads and Durham City in general is a place where companies can have their HQs or their local offices and Salvus is a showpiece in the county’s crown." the growth plans of businesses of all sizes and invest in some of the most dynamic industry sectors. 10% of the Fund is also available to invest up to £40,000 per company in start-ups. www.financedurham.co.uk Adds Peter: “With competitive rents, great transport connections and a wide mixture of premises in the county, Durham has a great deal to offer.”

Says Peter: “Salvus is a flagship office space which has hot desks and smaller offices in the incubation centre and larger officers for bigger companies. Aykley Heads and Durham City in general is a place where companies can have their HQs or their local offices and Salvus is a showpiece in the county’s crown. But we also have a range of offices and factory units for all requirements across the county.” www.businessdurham.co.uk/salvushouse www.neechamber.co.uk

www.businessdurham.co.uk, 03000 265265 enquiries@businessdurham.co.uk Twitter: _BusinessDurham contact 29

Policy

Does it add up?

Jonathan Walker, the Chamber's head of policy, reflects on the Budget The Budget can often be a time for frustration at missed opportunities by the Government to help change our region’s fortunes, but this one provided more positive news for us than we have had for a while.

Our campaigning ahead of this Budget has been successful on a number of important issues for the North East.

We wanted new Metro trains as a matter of priority and we are delighted these are now on their way. As part of our desire to see a more influential North East, we had asked for more funding and powers for the Tees Valley and the completion of a North of Tyne devolution deal.

It is great news that the Chancellor has listened on both of these issues.

Along with other business organisations in the North East, we’ve consistently advocated devolution over the last two years. It’s great to see the North of Tyne deal going ahead. This will mean the area has the flexibility to tailor policy and investment decisions to local economic conditions, instead of them being made in Whitehall.

We’re already seeing the success of devolution in the Tees Valley so it’s great that this can be reflected in the North of the region too. In due course we want to see all parts of the region covered by devolution deals, but from the outset this will be a big step forward in helping deliver our ambitions for growth.

Ahead of the Budget we called on the Government to get serious about the need to change the distribution of investment and economic activity in the UK. The announcements 30 contact

are a big step forward, but we await a long-term shift in Government thinking which will hopefully come forward with the publication of the Industrial Strategy.

I have written in the past about the importance of a working North East, so the Budget announcement on funding for the retraining of employees and STEM subjects is an important measure which will allow people to develop and update their skills to match industry needs. However, we were disappointed there was no additional support for careers advice in schools and colleges.

The significant investment in the digital sector is further good news and with assets including Digital City in Tees Valley, Sunderland Software City and the National Innovation Centre for Data in Newcastle, our region is well placed to capitalise on this.

The direction of planning reform indicated by the Chancellor seems designed to address issues in the South East where development land is in short supply and the big issue is total housing numbers. In our www.neechamber.co.uk

region, we need flexibility to improve the mix of housing and develop in areas where people want to live. Issues like density and green belt protection are much less relevant here.

The measures introduced in the Budget which move from RPI to CPI should provide some welcome relief for businesses contending with rising business rates. The change from three- to five-year revaluation on rates is also good news. Both changes were campaigned for by Chambers nationally.

Electric vehicles offer a great opportunity for our region and we welcome the investment and commitment to infrastructure for this automotive sector. As a global leader in this technology, the Budget was particularly positive news.

The Chancellor’s announcements appear to signal significant investment in the Tees Valley. Funding for the redevelopment of www.neechamber.co.uk

South Tees represents a real step forward in the remediation of the site and will smooth the way for new private sector investment. £123m is exactly what we had hoped for and represents an excellent example of what devolution can achieve. This builds on the work of the SSI Task Force of which the Chamber was a part.

Similarly, we welcome the announcement of a further £59m for transport projects which should deliver the Darlington Northern relief road and start scoping work on a new Tees Crossing.

All in all, our campaigning with our partners has results in some definite gains for the North East and gives us a platform to build on, but this is not the whole job done as far as funding goes. We will start 2018 with our continuing push for investment so we can deliver to our full potential. contact 31

Skills NEWS IN BRIEF

l-r Student Adam Stewart; Charlie Thompson, marketing and business development manager Metnor Construction; Samuel Van Looy, student; Denis Heaney, enterprise coordinator North East LEP; David Coe, transition and progression coordinator Newcastle 6th Form College; Jim Baldwin, operations director Metnor Construction; Gerard Garvey, principal Newcastle 6th Form College; Reet Kaur, student

New foundations Newcastle Sixth Form College is partnering with Metnor Construction as it works to plug skills shortages in construction.

The collaboration is part of Metnor’s involvement in the Enterprise Adviser Network - a national initiative managed regionally by North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP). The LEP is encouraging every school and college in the region to adopt Good Careers Guidance Benchmarks - a framework of internationally researched careers good practice. The framework guides schools and colleges in providing meaningful interactions with business and improving young peoples’ experiences of work.

Metnor Construction operations director Jim Baldwin says: “Metnor is committed to employing apprentices, supporting and investing in their education as they study alongside work. By believing in these young people, they receive a lasting career.”

United approach The North East has been chosen as the first region outside the US to implement a new employer engagement model which has dramatically raised attainment in American schools.

Representatives from North East LEP, the Edge Foundation, Ford Next Generation Learning, and the CBI will join teachers and career leads from three schools who are heading to the US to find out about the Academies of Nashville model, which emphasises employer engagement in education. The model includes a Career Academy within schools, setting learning within applied contexts, offering courses relating to specific professions, in addition to workbased placements and projects with employers.

32 contact

SPARKING CAREERS Matthew Fletcher, 18, from Sunderland, and Cameron Cook, 19, from Hartlepool, have taken their first steps onto the career ladder after being chosen as property and energy firm Banks Group's latest fabricator/ welder apprentices.

RAISING THE BAR Muckle LLP has welcomed three new solicitor apprentices to its team in Newcastle with the arrival of 18-year-olds Joe Torre into the commercial and employment team, Anna Douglas into real estate litigation, and Ben Evans into real estate.

SAFETY SKILLS Cramlington-based pharmaceutical ingredients manufacturer Sterling Pharma Solutions is investing in a training programme that will see 30 engineers undergoing extensive coaching in mandatory safety skills with AIS Training of North Shields.

DIAL STEM FOR MURDER Students at The Oaks Secondary School in Spennymoor, Co Durham, got a whiff of murder when they visited Northumbrian Water’s sewage treatment works in Tudhoe, as the site was transformed into a 'crime scene' to inspire young people into STEM careers.

Harrison Green from Burnside Business and Enterprise College, Wallsend

Mind the gap Teenagers from a North Tyneside school have been learning about the world of work first hand.

The Year 9 pupils at Burnside Business and Enterprise College, Wallsend, have been taking part in the free year-long Building My Skills employability programme supported by the Chamber and developed by Esh. Harrison Green, 15, wants to be an A&E doctor and do an apprenticeship with the NHS. He said: “Through the programme I am more prepared for work by developing soft skills such as teamwork, leadership and how to follow employment rules.”

Welcome for aspiring engineers Year 11 students from across the Tees Valley have gained an insight into the world of engineering at two open events at TTE. As the only Ofsted Grade 2 rated engineering and process training provider in Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland, TTE is one of the UK’s largest apprenticeship training organisations for the engineering, manufacturing, oil and gas and process sectors.

Students discussed training, job options and took a tour of TTE's industry-standard facilities. www.neechamber.co.uk

Virgin Trains apprentice Ondre Brooks

Age of the train

l-r Newcastle High School for Girls head girl Emma Carrie, Jacqueline de Rojas of Tech UK, Jamie Callaghan of Northumbria University, Hillary French of Newcastle High School for Girls, Lindsey Joy of NELEP, and Natalia Blagburn of Northumbria University’s Newcastle Business School

Next-generation thinkers inspired Leaders from the worlds of business, education, technology, the media and the arts shared their knowledge with more than 450 young women from schools across the region at the third North East Women (NEW) Leaders conference hosted by Newcastle High School for Girls in partnership with Northumbria University.

Delegates heard speeches from Jacqueline de Rojas, president of Tech UK and named in Europe’s Inspiring Fifty most inspiring female role models for 2017, and Kate Denby, executive

director at Northern Stage. Women from Ernst and Young, Nestle, Trinity Mirror and other leading organisations spoke and led workshops at the event sponsored by North East LEP as part of its NE Ambition strategy.

Natalia Blagburn, senior lecturer in Entrepreneurship at Northumbria University's Newcastle Business School, said: “Research shows a shortage of female leaders is bad for the workplace and the economy. Having more women in top positions can open growth and profit opportunities.”

A third group of engineering apprentices from Virgin Trains has joined the team at Darlington Locomotive Works to help construct the steam locomotive No. 2007 Prince of Wales.

The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust is building the locomotive over seven years at an estimated cost of £5m. The project will utilise modern computer design techniques to enable the new locomotive to deliver its full potential hauling passenger trains at high speed across today’s network.

Judith Doyle

Out of Africa

Call to invest in technical skills

TTE Technical Training Group is working with Durham University to help graduates from Nigeria gain skills to support their careers in the Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) industry.

The 45 technicians employed

by Nigeria LNG are spending four months in the North East. Devised in partnership between TTE, Nigeria LNG and Durham University, the bespoke programme covers engineering disciplines including mechanical, process and electrical as well as a specialist focus on LNG operations.

Judith Doyle, principal and CEO at Gateshead College, has called on the Government to put greater focus on technical education.

The college is concerned a devaluation of technical training is being encouraged by current funding and methodology.

Judith Doyle says: “Not only must education providers be fleet of foot in responding to the changing demands for skills, they must be able to re-train and re-skill the workforce.”

www.neechamber.co.uk

contact 33

Export

l-r Maria A. Leon, Daniel Velarde, Lilla Preston, Yrenis Perez

New hub for overseas entrepreneurs

l-r Dave Mosley, CISRS; Paul Attrill, AIS Training; Quynh Pharm, Black Cat; Dave Adams, AIS Training; and Ho Minh Kha of Black Cat celebrating CISRS accreditation for the new Vietnamese training centre

AIS rises to scaffold training challenge North Shields-based industrial trainer AIS Training is expanding its global reach with a new training centre in Vietnam.

The centre, run in conjunction with territory partner Black Cat Insulation Technical JSC, will offer internationally recognised scaffolding and insulation courses and is accredited by global scaffolding body CISRS. The new facility will be used by Black Cat to up-skill its own employees in addition to servicing the training needs

of the Indo-China construction and oil and gas markets. Black Cat, which employs around 200 people in Vietnam, is a key supplier to the Indo-China oil and gas and sector, providing and installing insulation, protective coatings and passive fire protection systems.

AIS director Paul Attrill says: “This is a great achievement in raising standards.

Current skills training in the area adheres to local standards, but there is a drive by Black Cat to bring skills and competencies into line with UK standards.”

Shining a light on innovation Barrier-Ex has secured new distribution agreements in the Middle East and USA following the Offshore Europe Exhibition in Aberdeen, where the company showed its new hazardous area lighting innovation, Quazr.

Manufactured at Barrier’s facility in Wallsend, Quazr is designed for use in hazardous areas by sectors including petrochemical, water and waste treatment, ports and terminals, the military, distilleries, and pharmaceutical plants.

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The North East Business and Innovation Centre (BIC) has once again welcomed European entrepreneurs to the region as part of a five-week mentoring programme.

In association with EOI, the BIC is supporting three Spanish entrepreneurs as they participate in the ‘soft landing’ programme which aims to help businesses develop and grow.

BIC special projects manager Lilla Preston says: “With our long-standing membership of global business network EBN, we can connect our customers to local, national and international partners for positive impact on the economy.”

Tomlinson Hall rolls out solution

l-r David Lindsay, Nordic and Colin Simpson, Tomlinson Hall

Barrier-Ex MD Steven Lee with a Quazr floodlight

Billingham-based international pump specialist Tomlinson Hall is helping storage terminal operators prevent damage to their tank facilities with an innovative control system.

Tomlinson Hall, an approved global distributor of leading pump brands, has introduced the DEPA Fluid Level Control to its range. www.neechamber.co.uk

Paul Quigley, head of API development and bioanalytical services at Arcinova

Arcinova invests for global growth Multi-service Contract Research and Development Organisation (CRDO) Arcinova has made a major investment in its Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) capabilities.

Alnwick-based Arcinova, which provides end-to-end solutions and standalone services to pharmaceutical and biotech companies, has introduced two new 20-litre GMP vessel streams to its API manufacturing facility, allowing it to offer fully integrated drug substance and drug product capabilitie.

Arcinova works across drug substance synthesis, drug product

manufacture, Chemistry Manufacturing and Controls (CMC), Bioanalytical and Metabolism services, radiolabelling synthesis and synthesis of toxic and highly potent APIs. It also provides consultancy services and works in partnership with companies throughout the drug development process.

Paul Quigley, API head of development and bioanalytical services, says: “This is part of our business growth strategy and will enable us to further enhance our service to our global customer base."

European markets sewn up Durham-based children’s clothing brand Freya Lillie is preparing to enter new international markets with support from the Department for International Trade (DIT).

The company has received ERDF support administered by DIT to take its organic clothing to markets including Germany, Denmark and Norway.

Founder Michelle Jones says: “Working with DIT has allowed me to go to countries where the idea of organic clothing has really taken hold.” www.neechamber.co.uk

Michelle Jones with her daughter Freya Lillie

l-r Joint-MD and majority shareholder of the Lift-Rite Group Ken McDonald, entrepreneur Ally MacDonald and Graeme Robson

Lift-rite Group acquired Ryecroft Glenton Corporate Finance and Square One Law have advised on the sale of Lift-Rite Group to Benbecula Subsea Services led

by Ally MacDonald, the former CEO of Wellstream, MD of Technip Umbilicals and chairman of Tekmar Energy.

Lift-Rite Group, based in Wallsend, North Tyneside, operates three divisions serving the global offshore, marine and engineering sectors. It has enjoyed strong organic and acquisitive growth since it was founded in 2003, building a workforce of 48 and turnover in excess of £6m.

Within the group is Lift-Rite Engineering Services, which designs, manufactures, inspects, repairs and hires out lifting equipment, in addition to offering on-site rigging and mobilisation services along with Tyne Gangway and DDS Metals. Existing jointMD and majority shareholder Ken McDonald remains with the group while fellow majority shareholder Graeme Robson retires from his position as joint MD. contact 35

Profile

Earning a crust

Greggs CEO Roger Whiteside talks to Jane Hall about stottie cakes, sausage rolls, salads and streamlining an iconic North East brand that’s now hitting the spot with food-on-the-go lovers across the UK It all started in 1939 when John Gregg got on his bike and travelled the streets of Newcastle delivering yeast and baked goods.

Nearly 80 years on, and the Greggs bakery chain can still be found peddling its wares around the streets of the regional capital.

But nowadays it’s not fresh bread and eggs that the famous food business born and bred on Tyneside is bringing to the mining terraces of Newcastle. It’s the firm’s trademark golden puff pastry sausage rolls and steak bakes, freshly made sandwiches, sweet treats, salads, smoothies and yoghurts that are being whisked to time-starved office workers, late-night revellers, and lazy duvet day homeowners.

In October, Greggs teamed up with UberEATS to launch a trial delivery service exclusively into Newcastle. Available within a mile of participating Greggs shops, it costs £2.50 per order with no minimum spend required.

The ultimate convenience, it has come hot on the heels of a drive-thru opened in Salford, and Greggs Delivered, which is aimed primarily at businesses with a minimum £20 spend and being tested in Newcastle, Manchester and London. It’s all part of the reinvention of Greggs, which has seen the bakery side of the business put on the back burner in favour of food-on-the-go, helping reignite a brand whose sales were in freefall.

The man credited with turning things around is chief executive Roger Whiteside, Marks and Spencer’s former head of food, a Punch Taverns and Thresher Group supremo, and one of the founding team behind the online grocer Ocado.

But he is modest. “I didn’t turn Greggs around,” he says emphatically. “I had a good brand that as a team we have re-focused.”

There is no denying, however, that when he took over the reins in February 2013, Greggs was struggling to compete against the likes of McDonald’s and coffee chains Costa and Starbucks.

Like-for-like sales had dropped and shares in the company were at their lowest level for four years. Greggs was far from being on the way out, but there was a feeling it was becoming less relevant as Costa and Starbucks took an increasingly larger slice of the cut-throat food-to-go market.

Luckily, Whiteside knew Greggs was a good business, albeit one that needed a hefty shot in the arm, having previously served as a nonexecutive director on its board from 2008.

The problem, he says, was that Greggs was trying to compete on three fronts: bakery, food-on-the-go (which it had inadvertently moved into), and coffee, as it bid to wrest back customers from the multinational coffeehouse chains.

❝It's a good brand; as a team, we have refocused❞

36 contact

www.neechamber.co.uk

www.neechamber.co.uk

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Profile ❝We are busy creating hot food options and if we get that right it will open up the evening market❞ Tough decisions needed to be made in a rapidly changing retail market. “In the 1960s people bought food from specialist shops like the butcher and baker. Then the supermarkets came along and those specialists disappeared,” Whiteside says.

“Greggs had already started adapting to the changing circumstances before my arrival.

Rather than just selling bakery items we had already started offering food-on-the-go.

“But we had been pushing that while still trying to retain our position in the take home market, when only 20% of our business was coming from the bakery side.”

With the bakery war already won by the

Roger Whiteside at Greggs HQ in Newcastle

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supermarkets, the decision was taken to focus on food-to-go. Loss-making shops were closed and the best bits of the bakery/coffee/ food-to-go triumvirate were brought together in new, modern high street outlets.

Nearly five years on, Greggs is thriving. It now boasts around 1,800 high street and motorway service station outlets across the UK. Total sales in the half year to July 1 rose 7.3% to £453m, and excluding the costs of an ongoing expansion plan and restructuring of its manufacturing operation, profits grew by 1.8% to £27.6m.

A crucial element behind the impressive retail turnaround has been Greggs’ decision

to reposition itself as more than a ‘sausage roll maker', although the savoury pastry is still a firm favourite with customers.

The breakfast menu has been revamped and now offers porridge and fresh fruit alongside the ubiquitous bacon butty, with stores opening earlier to cash in on the commuter market.

A key driver has been Greggs’ breakfast deal of a hot drink and a bacon, sausage or egg roll for just £2.

“Go back 15 years and a typical Greggs was busy at lunchtime and dead in the morning and afternoon,” Whiteside says. “We decided to look at the breakfast offering, and now we are number two in the UK breakfast market.”

(McDonald’s is top).

But it has been the firm’s healthier eating Balanced Choice range that has been the real surprise. It now accounts for 10% of Greggs’ total sales and it's growing.

The next push will be into hot food to attract post-6pm customers. “We are busy creating hot food choices and if we get it right that will open up the evening market,” Whiteside says. “Where we don’t currently trade is 6pm-9pm. As yet, we don’t have the menu for it, but we are confident we will find that.”

That may help Greggs crack the lucrative South East market. Generations of northerners have grown up with Greggs, but for southerners it is still a new experience.

It isn’t snobbishness. “That’s not confined to the South East,” says Whiteside, who was born in Fulham but travelled the globe with his family as his father was in the armed forces. “It applies to all backgrounds.”

Whiteside meets me in a second floor meeting room at Greggs’ modern glass and steel headquarters on the Quorum Business Park, Longbenton, Newcastle. It happens to overlook a Greggs shop serving thousands of workers employed by Tesco Bank, Balfour Beatty, Engie, Convergys and British Engines at Quorum.

Whiteside – whose first job was with M&S, www.neechamber.co.uk

where he stayed for 20 years - is an engaging interviewee and clearly passionate about Greggs and its 20,000-odd employees who serve millions of customers each week.

He is confident, engaging, witty and relaxed, despite the obvious pressures of trying to stay one step ahead of the opposition in overseeing the transformation of what has been a decentralised business into one run entirely from Newcastle.

Shops no longer order stock individually, and consistency is being achieved across the product range, which is all made by Greggs.

It means Whiteside can concentrate on an ambitious store expansion as Greggs strives to catch up with Costa’s 2,350 shops and Subway's 2,500 outlets.

“We are now well on the way to 2,000 stores, and when we get there we are going to go for 2-3,000,” Whiteside asserts.

He believes it is an achievable target by 2020, with drive-by locations, business and www.neechamber.co.uk

industrial parks and service stations top of his list.

The man who admits he is still “M&S to the core; cut me in half and I am M&S all the way through,” and is never happier than when out on the shop floor meeting the staff who are the public face of Greggs, says: “We have more shops to open and more channels to explore, all in a growth market.

“At the end of the day, everything is driven by convenience,” he says, which is why delivery, drive-thru, longer opening hours, more accessible locations, and Greggs' digital loyalty rewards app launched in 2014 are the way to go. “We aren’t fighting the tide, we are flowing with it,” he explains.

A regional brand that is now very much a national food player, one thing is likely to remain unique to the North East: the stottie cake. As Whiteside says: “Nobody else eats them outside the North East.”

Their loss, our gain. contact 39

Profile

How to be an entrepreneur The Dean of Teesside Business School, Dr Susan Laing, is at the forefront of pushing the go-getters of the future, those who will play an increasingly essential role as the North East strives to continue making its mark in a competitive world. She meets Jane Hall What is an entrepreneur? The dictionary definition is “a person who sets up a business or businesses, taking on financial risks in the hope of profits.”

Dr Susan Laing is your typical serial entrepreneur. She had her own knitwear business selling handcrafted garments to the thousands of visitors who flock to Edinburgh.

“I had 100 hand knitters working for me at its peak,” she says.

The 55-year-old has also run property companies and been on various business and development boards.

Now, she says: “My career has moved from being hands on in business to having a parallel academic career.”

On June 1 , 2017 she officially took over as the new Dean of Teesside University Business School. It was something of a meteoric promotion. Just five months earlier she had left Edinburgh’s Napier University after 28 years to take up a new post as Associate Dean at Teesside.

"The town’s business school had been on my radar in terms of entrepreneurship, and when the Associate Dean role came up it ticked everything I liked,” she explains of her surprise move south of the border.

It would be fair to say, however, that Teesside University Business School had lost its identity, no longer a unit in its own right but grouped in with Social Sciences and Law. In February 2015, Professor Paul Croney had joined Teesside from Northumbria University in Newcastle as Vice-Chancellor. A former Dean of Newcastle Business School, Dr Laing says: 40 contact

“He saw that this business school needed to be picked up and put back into the public profile.”

The next thing she knew, Teesside was advertising for a Dean. “I put my hat in the ring, and on June 1 started this job. I was given two months to get my head around that, and consciously start decoupling from Social Sciences and Law to once again be Teesside Business School.”

It’s a work in progress. She has set up a pop-up Deanery in what was a corridor in the Clarendon Building, and taken on more staff ahead of the £6m refurbishment of the Student Centre just a few minutes’ walk away to provide interim accommodation while a new purposebuilt business school is completed.

Due to open around 2023, it is part of a wider £300m investment being made over the next decade across the campus to provide a cuttingedge environment for Teesside University’s 18,000-plus students.

Dr Laing’s dream is to create “the corporateness of a Goldman Sachs building with the Googleness inside to generate creativity.”

She admits she is Dean of a tiny business school at the moment, with around 1,000 UKbased and international undergraduate, postgraduate and doctorate students.

But she is confident she will have double that number by 2020, bringing with them not just much-needed investment, but creativity and expertise that will, in many cases, feed into North East businesses, helping to boost not just the region’s economic growth, but its global standing as a powerhouse of know-how and www.neechamber.co.uk

❝I have moved from being handson in business to having a parallel academic career❞

www.neechamber.co.uk

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Profile

innovation. And we aren’t just talking about the traditional image of an entrepreneurial business tycoon in the mould of Sir Richard Branson, Lord Sugar, or Deborah Meaden.

Dr Laing describes an entrepreneur as someone who is “civic in their thinking, entrepreneurial in attitude, collaborative in action and global in outlook,” and adds: “It is the start-ups and SMEs who get the headlines, but you can be creative and entrepreneurial in any walk of life. It doesn’t have to be about starting your own business, it can be about individuals who can take ambiguity and through their mindset and confidence can move from uncertainty to certainty, which could be achieved through running their own enterprise or by working within the NHS or a charity.

“We need people to start their own businesses, but being entrepreneurial can also better help to develop existing businesses.”

Dr Laing is chatting over lunch in her 42 contact

makeshift office. She is frantically clearing her in-tray before she heads off to India to sell Teesside Business School as a viable academic option in the emerging Asian market.

India, China, Vietnam and Singapore are becoming lucrative marketplaces for UK universities seeking new sources of student and corporate funding.

Passionate in her mission to foster the highfliers that will form the backbone of not just the North East’s but the UK’s and even global entrepreneurial creativity, a betting man would surely put money on her winning over her hosts.

“Why wouldn’t you come to Teesside?” Dr Laing says forcefully. “In India, especially, there is a huge desire for Western qualifications and an appetite for the UK. “More and more students are now looking beyond London. Your money will go further in the North East, and we’re a good place from which to experience places like Scotland www.neechamber.co.uk

❝Why wouldn't you come to Teesside?❞

and Manchester while still being within easy reach of London. We are talking about affordability, quality of life, and security.” She can add to that list access to a top-performing university in terms of preparing its students for graduate-level jobs, and a rapidly expanding business school offering a portfolio of 45-plus undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

Dr Laing came to Teesside having been the director of the acclaimed Napier University’s Centre for Entrepreneurship (CFE), which earned the respect and patronage of leading figures in the Scottish business community.

The philosophy behind the CFE lay in the theory that in order to improve the business culture, there was a need to boost the supply of entrepreneurial talent, ultimately, but not exclusively, within the UK. Dr Laing has brought with her to Teesside a raft of innovative ideas to build on the www.neechamber.co.uk

business school’s blend of academic excellence, entrepreneurial thinking and real work orientation, many of which are already being implemented.

Entrepreneurial students can now set up a business as a core part of their degree. The BA (Hons) Team Entrepreneurship is learning largely based on practice. Guidance and support comes from business coaches instead of lecturers, with students directing their own learning. And instead of examining case studies, they run their own business and trade from the first year. Based on a model pioneered in Finland, it is one of only a handful of such degrees in the UK. The MBA has also been unpicked and rebuilt to make it more relevant to today’s changing workplace, with an emphasis on developing the necessary skills to make an immediate impact and meet today’s global strategic challenges.

As Dr Laing states, careers for life are a thing of the past. “Our input is to develop people who can manage uncertainty, being comfortable in that rapidly changing, complex landscape.”

But can you teach entrepreneurship? “We can’t make entrepreneurs,” she says. “But we can give our students the mechanics and methodology to better take the entrepreneurship route. What we can provide is a framework for entrepreneurship and help people to think in a way that develops the process of entrepreneurial behaviour.”

Overall, the university supports more than 2,500 full-time equivalent jobs across the Tees Valley and wider North East economies every year, and contributes an additional £115m GVA per annum across the two areas.

Dr Laing believes Teesside Business School can be a catalyst for growth in the North East.

“We have an exciting vision for growth over the next few years. Our style of learning is in response to the needs of the next generation, so we can ensure entrepreneurial students are equipped with the essential mindset, attitude and business skills to increase their employability and ensure they can make a real contribution to the economy.” contact 43

Success

Magic carpets How does a carpet retailer keep growing when the competition is floored?

Kay Wilson finds out Ask Mick Copeland what it is about flooring that has inspired him to spend 32 years of his career in this particular sector and his response is not entirely unexpected. “I love carpets, me!” he says with a broad grin, the famous catchphrase from Franks Factory Flooring’s past advertising campaign clearly still holding true for him.

The business manager of Franks The Flooring Store has been instrumental in turning this family business headquartered in Shildon, Co Durham into a huge North East success story, unafraid to innovate and readily embracing new markets.

Post-credit crunch, Franks has defied retail trends, embarking on a successful growth campaign, retaining its faith in the high street and, in the process, growing its presence in the North East to 34 outlets, offering a wider range in addition to its traditional budget offering and embracing changes in trends.

“We have re-invented ourselves over the past few years,” he says. “The Franks brand was synonymous with low-cost, good-value flooring, but it was at the bottom end of the market. We still aim to be the best for value, but our brand needed to change with the times. Our customers had traditionally been looking for carpets at under £10 per metre, and we’re now adding products in the £10-£20 per metre bracket.

“We also looked at how other successful retail brands were selling their products. For example, we saw how companies like Next grouped similar items together, so we developed that approach as well. So our customers can look at all our vinyls in one distinct part of the showroom because we 44 contact

have created specific departments where customers can see what is available in a few seconds.”

Adapting to trends has also had a positive effect as Franks has seen huge variation from the days of patterns and Axminster wool to today’s preference for plain designs, muted colours, and luxury vinyl flooring.

Copeland has long experience of the changes in customer demand, having begun his career in carpets straight after leaving school with an independent retailer in Sunderland. This was followed by eight years with the city’s Joplings department store, where he was promoted to carpet manager aged 23.

After further roles with a flooring manufacturer and as a carpet sales manager, he joined Franks and has been a key part of its management team for many years, using his sales experience to spot opportunities for growth. He says: “I joined the Franks business in 2001 and a few years after I started, there was the credit crunch, which had a devastating effect on www.neechamber.co.uk

many retail businesses. I saw this challenge as an opportunity. I started to study other retail operations and looked for low-risk opportunities to expand the business; the conclusion being to look at smaller high street stores covering most of the towns in the North East. We had six open within three months and have never looked back.

“We build trust with everyone we deal with, whether customer or supplier. We look for long-term relationships, quality relationships, so our ethos is to always be fair and deliver great service, and this approach means we are suppliers’ first port of call."

Franks’ changes with the times include embracing an unusual trend for artificial grass.

“People are really taking to it,” says Copeland.

“They see it as a trouble-free way to have a lovely lawn.”

The grass is not always greener, however, www.neechamber.co.uk

for companies like Franks, which have to trade with Europe. The majority of the flooring sold by the company is bought from EU countries, Belgium in particular, which means Brexit is a major issue. In order to grow its way out of trouble caused by the fluctuating euro/pound exchange rate, the company is opening new stores, most recently in Sunderland and Coulby Newham, Teesside.

It’s not all living rooms, stairways and back gardens, either. Among the more interesting requests Copeland has managed was sourcing vintage replica flooring for the last 1960s Trident 1C passenger plane in the world, which was being restored by the North East Air Museum in Sunderland.

“We’re passionate about being part of the North East and supporting projects which put us on the map and make the region even more successful,” he says.

Mick Copeland

contact 45

when the sun goes down are your lights on? thousands of businesses waste thousands of pounds every year leaving lights, computers and equipment turned on when they are not in use If you’re an SME based in County Durham contact us to get a free energy audit and see if your business can save money by being more energy efficient.

You could even be eligible for a grant fund of up to ÂŁ24,999 to support the purchase of energy efficient equipment!* Visit our website to find out more www.beep.uk.net or contact us at beep@durham.gov.uk The Business Energy Efficient Project works in partnership with Business Durham, The North East Chamber of Commerce and The Federation of Small Business. *Terms and conditions apply

Focus

Does your business need capital? If so, where will you seek it? This special feature is designed to help you find out...

Which funds are open to your business? How do you access them? Who do you speak to? This month we look at the funding landscape in the region, and the successes of some of the funds and the businesses they support… www.neechamber.co.uk

contact 47

Commercial Profile

Focus

40 plus years of steel support We’ve got great ways to finance your business...

Dave Simpson, chief executive officer at Glythera

Cancer treatment support ... to help you with working capital, re-locating, buying premises, equipment or with a management buy-out.

Investments are tailored to your company’s needs and we support businesses operating in many sectors. Our aim is to help the economic regeneration of steel areas so we can often be more flexible than other lenders.

Our equity finance provides investment funding of up to £1m.....taking a minority stake in your business but leaving control with you.

Our loan finance starts from £25,000, is often unsecured and with fixed interest rates.

Our Regeneration Fund backs start-ups and early-stage businesses that may need just a few thousand pounds at a vital early stage.

UK Steel Enterprise, a subsidiary of Tata Steel, has been supporting businesses for more than 40 years, investing more than £20.6m into companies in its Northern region alone.

If you want to join UK Steel Enterprise-backed companies in the North including Hart Biologicals, Micropore Technologies, Cleveland Containers, BMM Heaters, Pinnacle Re-Tech and JDP Contracting Services .........get in touch.

Call 01642 777 777 and talk to Sarah Thorpe or email north@uksteelenterprise.co.uk to see how UKSE can help your business grow. Web: www.uksteelenterprise.co.uk 48 contact

The North East Business and Innovation Centre’s Innovation Programme is helping SMEs across the region realise their innovative possibilities by providing funding for the creation of unique products, services or processes.

Newcastle University-based Glythera Ltd, an Antibody Drug Conjugate (ADC) development company which works to treat cancer through direct targeting of tumours, is just one for the businesses which has already grown thanks to the BIC’s investment.

Essentially bolting toxins to antibodies and delivering these conjugates directly into affected cells, Glythera is working alongside industry leaders including Cancer Research UK to help patients with difficult to treat cancers.

Dr Dave Simpson, chief executive officer at Glythera, said: “Antibody Drug Conjugates are created by connecting highly potent toxins to antibodies, but currently only small amount of the active drug will reach the tumour cells due to the instability of these molecules.

“The funding provided by the Innovation Programme has allowed us to carry out extensi=ve research into the way we connect the toxin to the antibody, and we have already seen success – with our ADCs proving to be more active and better tolerated.

“We are already uniquely positioned in the global drug development arena and through our research endeavours, supported by BIC we continue to strengthen our patents and remain at the forefront in ADCs.” Elizabeth Shaw, innovation manager at the BIC, added: “it’s a privilege working with the Glythera team. Where a world-leading technology has been created here in the North East, to improve the lives of patients living with cancer.” www.neechamber.co.uk

Unlock your Innovation potential with 40% funding The SME Innovation Programme is designed to help SME’s realise their innovative possibilities by offering...

• Independent advice and guidance • Access to industry experts and suppliers • Up to 40% Project Funding • Links to other support agencies

Get in touch... innovation@ne-bic.co.uk www.ne-bic.co.uk/innovation

Focus Three ways to maximise investment in your business Amy Wanless, associate at leading commercial law firm Muckle LLP, shares some top tips for getting investor-ready...

There are various ways to access finance, and whichever route you choose, the same principles will apply to help boost your business.

First, you must get your numbers right. Fundamentally an investor will want to know about both historical and future forecasts. Ensure you have a detailed business plan, financial model and realistic valuation figure in place.

Get your paperwork in order – investors will look at your entire business, not just the financials, so anticipate questions covering all aspects of your company. Investors will expect detailed answers and good legal housekeeping from the outset saves time and money when you want funding. A well-organised business is more attractive to investors.

Ensuring you have a strong team (and this need not be big) of knowledgeable, experienced and trustworthy people and professional advisers is key. It shows that your business is well managed and possesses the skills to go to the next level.

If you’re a startup, looking to scale up or considering your exit options, call Amy Wanless on 0191 211 7978 or email amy. wanless@ mucklellp.com

Sarah Thorpe of investor UK Steel Enterprise

In safe hands A six-figure investment from UK Steel Enterprise that was secured “at a crucial time” has seen a Middlesbrough-based container company increase turnover to an expected £11m and double its workforce to nearly 50.

In the past two years Cleveland Containers has built a new suite of offices as well as a paint-blasting facility costing more than £300,000 on its seven acre site in Grangetown. It has taken on more fabricators and welders and grown its sales, accounts, administration and credit control teams.

The £100,000 investment provided by UK Steel Enterprise, the Tata Steel business support subsidiary, in 2015 was made up of a £50,000 loan and a £50,000 grant from the Regional Growth Fund.

“The investment came at a crucial time,” said director Johnathan Bulmer.

“Sarah Thorpe and her team have done a fantastic job in supporting us.

Without doubt, it was the springboard that has enabled us to grow.”

Sarah Thorpe, UK Steel Enterprise’s area manager, added: “Our primary objective is to assist economic regeneration in steel areas and this does mean we can be more flexible in our lending. We offer loans from as little as £25,000, often unsecured and with fixed interest rates, and loan and equity packages of up to £1m, providing finance needed for working capital, equipment purchase, relocations, premises, MBOs and other funding needs.

Our Regeneration Fund helps start-up and fledgling businesses.

“We look at every company’s investment needs on an individual basis."

First property fund loan A Northumberland developer has become the first to secure backing from a new £10m property fund.

W Brown & Son has begun work on four three-bedroom bungalows and a three-bedroom cottage in its home village of Thropton, near Rothbury, after receiving a £750,000 loan from the North East Property Fund. Conceived and managed by investment firm FW Capital and backed by Santander and the LEP, the fund was created in response to demand from SMEs.

l-r Tony Cullen of FW Capital, Andy Lowe of W Brown & Son, Michael Shuker of Square One Law and Matthew Ebbatson of NELEP www.neechamber.co.uk

Say hola to your International Trade Adviser Whether you’re a new or experienced exporter, Department for International Trade can provide you with the knowledge and expertise of highly experienced international trade specialists who will support your entry into new markets with confidence.

Call the Department for International Trade North East on 0345 136 0169 or email northeast@mobile.trade.gov.uk

Commercial Profile

Case Study: Tees Valley Business Compass helps local business target growth with new loyalty scheme A Stockton-based marketing agency is launching two new business tools with help from a grant secured with the Tees Valley Business Compass.

Using the Growth and Innovation Fund, the company has created a live, campaign portal system, which allows customers to track their progress in marketing and lead generation campaigns. The tool operates as an online, two-way platform between Pink Penguin and clients, who can both log in and view the campaign, target lists, resources and track activity.

The company was also able to access the fund for its new ‘VIPenguin’ Scheme, which will allow customers to accumulate points, when purchasing different services from the company or referring potential clients. The points can be banked and spent on any services that the company offers, for example 1,000 points could earn gift vouchers, cash or design and print of various marketing materials designed and printed by Pink Penguin.

Pink Penguin specialises in bespoke marketing solutions split into six channels, including lead generation, web design and graphic design. It currently employs four people at its Stockton premises.

Aware of the work Tees Valley Business Compass conducted from a previous position, David contacted the organisation to see what services his company could access. He was then put into contact with Growth Service Manager Shak Asghar, who gave him advice on the support available. The company then secured £8,118 in Innovation funding towards their £24,600 project.

David said: “Shak’s guidance and understanding of the business enabled us to access funding which will allow not one, but two of our business ideas to become a reality.

Developing these programmes will allow us to expand, and strengthen our customer base, which will inf luence the growth of our company in the marketing field and what we have to offer.”

Shak Asghar added: “Businesses often have the necessary skills, drive and right ideas to progress their growth. What they sometimes need help with is advice to access funding to result in the best growth possible.”

If you think your business could benefit from the funding available, please register your interest here www.teesbusinesscompass.co.uk/registeryourinterest

NEW YEAR NEW START ACCESS OUR FUNDING TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS & START THE NEW YEAR OFF RIGHT

GET IN TOUCH WITH US NOW REGISTER YOUR INTEREST WWW.TEESBUSINESSCOMPASS.CO.UK/REGISTERYOURINTEREST @TEES_COMPASS

01642 939386

PROJECT LESS THAN £25K? ASK ABOUT OUR NEW TVBC EXPRESS SERVICE 52 contact

www.neechamber.co.uk

Focus Funding success Tees Valley Business Compass is celebrating a successful first year after supporting nearly 500 businesses and start-ups across the region.

The local growth hub has completed a total of 486 diagnostics on Tees Valley-based companies and 584 appointments with business owners since January, supporting and advising them on funding opportunities, as well as securing grants to supplement growth.

The largest project it has supported was on behalf of Stockton-based catering firm Direct Line Supplies, worth £118,200, with Tees Valley Business Compass awarding a £39,006 Business Growth Grant to support the company’s marketing, sales management platform and mobile app.

In addition, Tees Valley Business Compass has delivered six events across the five local authority areas in the Tees Valley, including business growth surgeries with a number of the region’s leading organisations.

Tees Valley Business Compass is the local growth hub delivered by BE Group on behalf of Tees Valley Combined Authority.

The support available for companies through Tees Valley Business Compass, the local growth hub, comes

www.neechamber.co.uk

from an investment of more than £9.5 million from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), secured

by Tees Valley Combined Authority. Support is available for consultancy projects resulting in growth, along with support for increased broadband connectivity, research and development, innovation, and energy efficiency.

To access funding and support visit www.teesbusinesscompass.co.uk/registeryourinterest

contact 53

Clear the way to grow Want to grow your business but not sure where to start? Prepare to take-off and maximise your investment potential, with advice from the North East’s top dealmaker. n

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11/24/2017 2:18:14 PM

Motoring

Batteries and plugs included Electric cars are having a moment. As Chancellor Philip Hammond announces a £500m boost for electric and driverless cars in his autumn Budget, it’s time to plug into a greener age of motoring, says Jane Hall Those of a certain age may remember the futuristic early 1970s sci-fi series, UFO. A live-action TV show from the Gerry and Sylvia Anderson stable – the couple behind Thunderbirds, Stingray, Joe 90 and Captain Scarlett and the Mysterons – UFO homed in on the work of a secret, international agency called SHADO and its efforts to defend Earth from an alien invasion.

Set in the near future (actually 1980), it was full of high-tech gadgets, space-age clothes, and probably one of the most memorable cars to hit the small www.neechamber.co.uk

screen - Commander Ed Straker’s long, low, gull-winged coupe.

Fast enough to outrun any pesky aliens, it glided along emitting a low, pulsing hum thanks to the gas turbine that generated the juice for the electric motor.

Many gadgets featured in UFO have since come to pass – cordless phones, electronic fingerprint scanning, iPod-style music players, and computers in every home - but thankfully not the clingy silver suits and mauve wigs bizarrely worn by the female contact 55

Motoring

The new Tesla Roadster, announced last month. This will be the fastest production car ever made with an expected range of 630 miles per charge. Available from 2020

56 contact

staff working on the Moon Base. It’s taken rather longer, however, for electric and hybrid vehicles to become commercially viable.

But with a UK-wide ban on both petrol and diesel cars set to come into force in 2040 and Philip Hammond’s Budget announcement that an extra £500m is being committed to installing more charging points and extending help to motorists buying plug-in cars, we’re all going to have to get switched on to a new way of driving.

Car manufacturers have risen to the challenge. Concerns over reliability, endurance and design – many early electric and hybrid models lacked kerb appeal – have been successfully overcome.

Sadly, you still can’t get your hands on Straker’s stunning car (really a modified Zephyr-Zodiac Mk IV), but there are plenty of other sophisticated zero-emission models on the market.

They are becoming more competitively priced too. Renault’s Zoe hatchback – just slightly larger than the Clio on which it is based – has a starting price of £18,745, while you can drive off in the SmartForTwo ED coupe for £16,420.

There are obviously more expensive brands. Tesla’s eye-catching Model X SUV with its attention-grabbing falcon wing rear doors, has a starting price of £70,500 for the 75D. But like both the Zoe and SmartForTwo, the

Model X does qualify for the Government’s maximum £4,500 ‘plug-in’ grant offered on a sliding scale for new electric and hybrid cars that meet set CO2 emission targets (£8,000 for vans).

Also on the category 1 list which pays 35% of the purchase price up to the maximum £4,500 are the BMW i3, Volkswagen e-Golf and e-up!, Nissan LEAF and e-NV200 (five and seven seater), Kia Soul EV, Hyundai IONIQ Electric, Ford Focus Electric, BYD e6, Citroen CZero, Peugeot iON, Renault Fluence, Smart forfour ED, Tesla Model S, and Toyota Mirai.

So yes, you can still feel good about driving a sporty and nippy BMW. There’s even a Mini Countryman Plug-in Hybrid and Mercedes-Benz is delivering both frugal running costs and dynamic looks with its C350e and E350e SE. Perhaps the most remarkable thing about all these cars, though, is that they have seamlessly evolved to meet the demands of our greener motoring needs without having to sacrifice style, speed or space.

Tesla has unveiled an impressive new electric four-seater Roadster sports car which will be available from 2020, cost £151,530, have a top speed of 250mph with an option to go even faster – making it quicker than a McLaren FI or Ferrari’s hybrid LaFerrari – and cover 630 miles between charges.

Surely music to the ears of even the most diehard petrolhead?

At the same time, the American company also launched an electric semi-truck set to go into production in 2019, capable of accelerating from 0-60 in five seconds and with a 500-mile range.

Even Dyson, best-known for its cordless vacuums, is getting in on the act with plans to spend £2bn on developing a ‘radical’ electric car set to take to the roads in 2020. Sir James Dyson will no doubt be hoping to clean-up in the market.

With the Government expecting half of all new cars sold in 2027 to be battery-powered, both Volvo and Jaguar Land Rover pledging to make only electric or hybrid vehicles from 2019 and 2020 respectively, range anxiety fears fading and charging points becoming a familiar sight, it seems green will finally kill off mean, unclean gas guzzling machines. www.neechamber.co.uk

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People

Changing lives Donna Bulmer, managing partner at Haines Watts North East, has been appointed to the finance subcommittee of the national charity Changing Lives. She will help the charity, which provides specialist support services for vulnerable people and their families, to consider new ventures and audit findings.

Commercial brain New recruit Katie Cummings has joined Gordon Brown Law Firm’s commercial property department. She joins the team to support its growing client base.

Called up Contact centre Echo-U has appointed Dave Halford as sales director to aid its strategic business development plans across the UK. He will work closely with Echo-U’s senior management and marketing teams to generate overall sales growth across the ownermanaged contact centre business.

New solutions Sunderland business communications and systems specialist Cellular Solutions has appointed software support engineer Gary Butler to its business systems team as it continues to grow its services across sectors.

Fleet Recruitment MD Neil O’Connor with Scott Martin

New recruit Recruitment specialist Scott Martin has joined Newton Aycliffe-based Fleet Recruitment, which provides recruitment and training services to a wide range of sectors and is now expanding its services.

Head in the cloud Hybrid cloud solutions provider Pulsant has announced the appointment of Kenny Lowe as lead Azure solution architect. He will focus on refining and delivering the company’s Azure Stack and hybrid cloud proposition.

Some of KPMG’s 21 newly promoted professionals, with office senior partner David Elliott front, second from left

KPMG expands The Newcastle office of professional services firm KPMG has announced the appointment of 17 new recruits and the promotion of 21 colleagues as it bolsters its support for North East business and public sector clients.

The 17 people to join the Newcastle office comprise graduates and school leavers as well as six apprentices.

58 contact

The Saville board l-r Graham Carling, Andy Dyson, Ann Pickard, Colin Nixey, and Colin Etchells

In the market Newcastle marketing consultancy STO Consulting has appointed Morta Jablonskaite as marketing executive.

Morta brings agency experience and will be marketing STO and supporting the company’s international growth.

On board Saville Audio Visual has announced a new board line-up following a successful management buy-out earlier this year. New directors Ann Pickard, Colin Etchells and Graham Carling will sit alongside joint MDs Andy Dyson and Colin Nixey. www.neechamber.co.uk

NEPIC chief executive Iain Wright

Former minister for DigitalCity l-r Prof Paul Croney, Lord Sawyer of Darlington, Paul Drechsler CBE, and university board chairman Alastair MacColl

Dreschler takes university helm Paul Drechsler CBE has been officially installed as Teesside University’s new Chancellor, becoming the university’s third Chancellor and succeeding Lord Sawyer of Darlington.

Paul Drechsler, who is president of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), began his career on Teesside, working for ICI for 10 years. He then held various

senior positions in Brazil, the USA and the Netherlands, which concluded with five years as chief executive of one of ICI’s principal international businesses and as a main board director. He is currently chairman of Bibby Line Group and previously chairman and chief executive of the privately owned construction firm Wates Group.

A former North East MP who has served as a Government minister and chairman of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy select committee, has joined the board of DigitalCity.

Iain Wright, chief executive of the North East Process Industry Cluster (Nepic) and former MP for Hartlepool, will help to improve the use of digital technology by businesses in traditional sectors at DigitalCity, which is based at Teesside University and works alongside the five Tees Valley authorities.

Recognition for lawyer A well-known North East solicitor has been named once again as a leading lawyer in the region as he heads towards 50 years in practice.

Peter Blackett, senior partner at BHP Law, has worked on many significant commercial and agricultural property transactions for major land owners and property developers across the region.

He has been named in the latest Legal 500 leading lawyers list for his work in agricultural and trust-related matters.

New chair for BT's North East board Simon Yellowley has been appointed chair of BT’s regional board in the North East, where it employs more than 8,500 people.

“I’m passionate about supporting my home region in its ambitions," says Yellowley, who replaces Farooq Hakim. "I'm determined to ensure BT plays a major role as an investor, innovator and major employer. We are one of the region’s largest private sector investors through our roll-out of technologies including superfast broadband and 4G mobile comms, and we most certainly are not stopping there." www.neechamber.co.uk

Simon Yellowley

l-r Veronica Swindale and Diane Earles

Ambassador appointed Veronica Swindale from North East-based CIM Accredited Study Centre nesma has been recognised as Ambassador of the Year at the 2017 CIM Northern Awards.

Diane Earles, network manager for CIM, said: “This recognises Veronica’s commitment to CIM.” Veronica, who was made a Fellow of CIM earlier this year, said: “It’s great to be recognised for my contribution to promoting the CIM and marketing as a career and a discipline that all organisations should follow.” contact 59

Events Chamber Christmas Exchange

Chamber Exchange September 14, Beamish Hall, sponsored by Scottish Widows and Beamish Hall

December 14, Blackwell Grange, Darlington, 11:00-14:00, FREE The Chamber’s flagship round-table networking event encouraging an exchange of experiences, ideas and offers between members with Chamber staff including senior management and partners leading each table.

Venue sponsor

Karyn McMillan and Lee Watkins (Scottish Widows), and Nikki Nichol (Namco)

Members networking

Chamber Exchange

February 8, Sage Gateshead, 11:00-14:00, FREE Venue sponsor

John Atkinson (NBSL) and Leoni Yorston (Beamish Hall)

Mustafa Khaliq (Magnum Packaging), George Zeitoun-Wallis (Western Union Business Solutions) and Rachel Thompson (Eurochange)

Graham Nicholson (CrossbarFX) and Dan Macleod (Bespoke Bids)

Chamber Exchange Be part of upcoming Chamber events The Chamber has various opportunities for event sponsorship. For more information contact Tom Warnock, tom.warnock@ neechamber.co.uk, tel 0771 484 5617

October 12, Marriott Sunderland, sponsored by NE Growth Hub and Marriott Sunderland

Ruth Paisley and Janine Blacklock (Sunderland Marriott)

Jenny Forrester (Innovation SuperNetwork) and Aimee Muirhead (Narrative Communications) 60 contact

Members networking

Muhammad Ali (Senserve) and Mike Peeke Vout (Wubbleyou Ltd)

Natasha McDonough (McDonough Communications) and Sarah McKenna (HR Recruitment)

www.neechamber.co.uk

Presidents Club Business Leaders Lunch November 6, Hilton Newcastle Gateshead, sponsored by Deloitte Presidents Club in association with Brewin Dolphin

Eamonn Leavey (Chamber), John McCabe (Chamber), Nicola Sturgeon Stephen Hall (Deloitte) and James Ramsbotham (Chamber)

Gary McLafferty (Ministry of Defence) and Kim Miljus (This is Global)

Nicola Sturgeon and Nigel Mills (Lakes Distillery)

Charlie Nettle (AV Dawson), Ivan Jepson (Gateshead College) and Jon Watson (United Carlton)

Nicola Sturgeon

Stand Up and Be Counted October 18, Wallsend Town Hall Chambers

Allison Lawton (Chat Heroes) and Martin Pearce (Wallsend Town Hall Chambers)

Graeme Tennick (GT Accountancy)

Jonathan Heeley (Lane Systems) and Michelle Cooney (Dept Int Trade)

Global Lunch September 13, Crowne Plaza, sponsored by NBS

James Ramsbotham (Chamber), Tim Bailey (XCITE Architecture), Giselle Stewart OBE (Ubisoft) and Richard Waterhouse (NBS)

www.neechamber.co.uk

Richard Waterhouse (NBS)

Tim Bellhouse (NBS)

contact   61

Events Diary FEATURED EVENT

FEATURED EVENT

FEATURED EVENT

DECEMBER 14

JANUARY 25

FEBRUARY 08

Chamber Christmas Exchange 11:00-14:00 Blackwell Grange, Darlington FREE

Coffee & Connections 10:30-12:30 Seven Stories, Newcastle FREE

Chamber Exchange 11:00-14:00 Sage Gateshead FREE

TO BOOK

www.neechamber.co.uk/events

Networking DEC 01 - CHAMBER CHRISTMAS EXCHANGE

0300 303 6322

Area Meetings

International

DEC 01 - DURHAM AREA MEETING

JAN 24 - LETTERS OF CREDIT AND METHODS OF PAYMENT

11:00-14:00 • COPTHORNE, NEWCASTLE

08:15-10:00 • NORTHUMBRIAN WATER, PITY ME

DEC 05 - CHAMBER LOCAL (TEAM VALLEY MONTHLY)

DEC 05 - MIDDLESBROUGH AREA MEETING

08:30-10:30 • AREA NORTH, TEAM VALLEY

08:15-10:00 • TEESSIDE UNIVERSITY

FREE

FREE

FREE

JAN 17 - CHAMBER LOCAL

FREE

DEC 06 - HARTLEPOOL AREA MEETING

10:30-12:30 ST CUTHBERT'S HOSPICE, DURHAM

16:00-17:30 • VISITORS CENTRE, HARTLEPOOL POWER STATION

FREE

FREE

JAN 24 - CHAMBER LOCAL 08:30-10:00 • SANTANDER, DARLINGTON

FREE

DEC 12 - DARLINGTON AREA MEETING 08:15-10:00 • MERCURE DARLINGTON KINGS HOTEL

FEB 06 - CHAMBER LOCAL (TEAM VALLEY MONTHLY)

events@neechamber.co.uk

09:00-16:00 • DURHAM COUNTY CRICKET CLUB

£350**

FEB 08 - IMPORT PROCESSES, COMPLIANCE AND DOCUMENTS 09:00-16:00 • DURHAM COUNTY CRICKET CLUB

£350**

FEB 22 - EXPORT PROCESSES, COMPLIANCE AND DOCUMENTS 09:00-16:00 • DURHAM COUNTY CRICKET CLUB

£350**

FREE

Department for International Trade Events

Flagship

Skills, Knowledge and Information Network

DEC 05 - GO DIGITAL – BOOST YOUR INTERNATIONAL SALES ONLINE

MAY 02 - CHAMBER SHOWCASE @ NORTH EAST EXPO

DEC 08 - MAXIMISING YOUR MEMBERSHIP

09:00-16:00 • NEWCASTLE FALCONS, KINGSTON PARK

08:00-10:00 • NEWCASTLE GATESHEAD MARRIOTT METROCENTRE

11:00-17:00 • ST JAMES’ PARK, NEWCASTLE

SEPT 06 - CHAMBER ANNUAL DINNER 2018

JAN 05 - QUARTERLY ECONOMIC SURVEY

JAN 24 - INTRODUCTION TO EXPORTING

18:00-00:00 • DURHAM CATHEDRAL

08:00-10:00 • TBC

11:00-17:00 • NORTH EAST BIC, SUNDERLAND

08:30-10:30 • AREA NORTH, TEAM VALLEY

FREE

EXHIBITION STANDS FROM £180

£1,500 PER TABLE*

FREE

FREE

08:30-12:30 • BUSINESS CENTRAL, DARLINGTON

FREE

DEC 05 - INTRODUCTION TO EXPORTING FREE

FREE

*Chamber Member Price+VAT. Bookings open January 2018. ** Global member price £240+VAT. Foundation Award in International Trade: Global Member Cost: £640.00+VAT (3 courses) £800+VAT (4 courses). Standard Cost: £900.00+VAT (3 courses) £1000+VAT (4 courses)

62 contact

www.neechamber.co.uk

Chamber Annual Dinner 2018 Durham Cathedral Thursday 6 September 2018 £1500 plus VAT per table of 10 Tickets on sale mid-January; to pre register email events@neechamber.co.uk Join us to experience a momentous occasion in our great region’s history. The Chamber Annual Dinners will move to one regionwide event hosted within a North East icon and one of Europe’s finest buildings. The first ever dinner to be held in the Nave of Durham Cathedral will be the business moment of the year, a perfect opportunity to entertain clients and colleagues.

Headline Sponsors

www.neechamber.co.uk

contact 63

Grow your reach The Chamber has an extensive global network and equips members with the skills, contacts and the confidence to break into new markets.

The Chamber offers a range of courses and services to assist with global trade: Customs Compliance, Processes and Documents Course This accredited course is designed to increase delegates’ understanding of customs procedures. It explains in detail your obligations and responsibilities to HMRC. Authorised Economic Operator 1-day Seminar This course will allow you to understand Authorised Economic Operator status and it’s financial and supply chain benefits together with the important place it has in the UCC. Export Processes, Compliance and Documents Course This accredited course is designed to increase delegates’ understanding of the key aspects of the export process and it explains in detail the forms involved and the exporters’ statutory obligations and responsibilities.

Import Processes, Compliance and Documents Course This accredited course is designed to equip delegates with an increased knowledge of the commercial and contractual issues involved in importing goods in to the UK and an understanding of customs compliance responsibilities of the importer.

International Payment Methods, Letters of Credit Course This accredited course is designed to give delegates essential practical guidance to ensure that they are paid for their exports under a letter of credit on first presentation of documents and the confidence to talk to the banks effectively.

The Chamber also provides Letters of Credit services and has a number of commercial offers around assisting businesses to achieve AEO status.

If you’re ready to grow, get in touch. We’d love to help.

Contact jacqui.tulip@neechamber.co.uk Visit neechamber.co.uk Call 0300 303 6322

Last word

Why I don’t use the word ‘innovation’ The word ‘innovation’ has a multitude of meanings. Use it to mean one thing, odds are other people will think you mean something else, or worse, that it’s something that has nothing to do with them. Which is why, suggests Business Durham’s innovation and business growth director Catherine Johns, it’s a word to use carefully...

www.neechamber.co.uk

contact 65

Last word

It may seem an unusual stance to take. I’m the Innovation Director for Business Durham, the economic development organisation for County Durham, but I’m increasingly careful about how I use the word ‘innovation’.

Why, you may ask?

The word ‘innovation’ means different things to different Catherine Johns is innovation and people. It can conjure up images business growth director at Business Durham of shiny labs and people in white coats, creating high tech products. And that’s true.

It’s also so much more than that.

Fundamentally, it’s a questioning, collaborative process that encourages new and better solutions to problems; solutions that are then successful because they meet real needs. Successful solutions mean successful businesses, sustainable businesses, which create a range of jobs.

As a forward-thinking local authority (we’re part of Durham County Council) we like to foster an inclusive attitude to innovation. It’s a different approach to developing high quality economic activity.

The first step was putting our own societal challenges at the heart of the process, using our expertise in innovation to reframe them as market opportunities and unlocking them to use to stimulate growth.

Therefore, our health sector goal is not about having ‘world-class life-sciences’, it’s about wanting to be the best in solving health problems associated with social isolation.

For our space and satellites sector, it’s about how we use satellite data to help companies develop new services that help people feel safer in the world: better transport, food chain security, disaster resilience, etc.

"It's about finding opportunities and the right support for businesses"

66 contact

It’s about finding opportunities and the right support for businesses – from the tiniest start-up to larger companies which can diversify to help us solve the societal problems the North East faces.

These can range from health issues to transport challenges, and they can be solved with the fantastic resources, skills and technology we have here. It’s about using problems to stimulate participation in problem-solving and unleashing capabilities in all businesses.

We believe in getting in at the ground level too. We helped New College Durham design an innovation management module as part of its foundation degrees.

We want to harness ideas in the brightest minds and capitalise on them.

We already have the shiny labs – the North East is rich in innovation assets: universities, Catapults, national technology centres, all of which are vital to our long-term prosperity.

We have some of the world’s most cutting-edge businesses based at the North East Technology Park in Sedgefield.

Sending instruments to Mars, and halting the blindness associated with diabetes are just two examples.

But there is something about our challenge-led approach to innovation that is really connecting with people, and with a much wider range than would normally engage with high tech innovation.

It’s starting to ignite the same sense of meaning for “innovation” that people currently experience with art and culture: pride in the past, knowledge of the now, and hope for the future.

If you have a business in the North East, you have the opportunity to develop products and services that will impact on people’s lives, here and now. You can see how your solutions can make a real difference – and who wouldn’t want to be a part of that? www.neechamber.co.uk

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