PLATINUM BUSINESS MAGAZINE - ISSUE 18 - SURREY EDITION

The widest-read business publication in the South East

PLATINUM

SURREY EDITION . ISSUE 18 . 2015

NATWEST GROWTH TRACKER

Good news for the SE economy

INTERVIEWS KPMG SITE VISIBILITY SKERRITTS

GLOBAL TRAVEL MANAGEMENT THE FUTURE OF TRAVEL

PLATINUM PLUS: Business Funding Guide International Trade Legal Issues Accountancy Wealth Management Business Travel Chamber News Business Style Editorial Opinion Networking Motoring

JAGUAR AWD F-TYPE

Driven to destruction

THE BIG STORY

SIMON COWELL THE MARMITE MAN

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WELCOME

24

THE BIG STORY SIMON COWELL Superb self-publicist or raging narcissist?

It’s that time of year again when some feel joy, some horror and some just look forward to a break from work, with family and friends, fine wine and food and a chance to unwind.

Of course, this magazine will be with you all the way and in this issue Daryl Gayler from NatWest brings us the 2015 Q2 growth tracker and jolly good news it is too as we head for the break. We wonder what Simon Cowell might have in his stocking and have a fascinating chat with Tim Rush and David Bywater from KPMG. Maarten got hold of the new 5.0 litre AWD Jaguar F-Type and whilst stating what a good job the Indians had done with the company, then let rip about the Chinese in his barely contained Anger Management.

Ian interviews Richard Skerritt of Skerritts Wealth Management, about the extraordinary growth of the firm.

And we hear from Rosemary French OBE with details of the Gatwick Diamond Business Barometer.

68 10 52 14

We have been busy.

SANDOWN MERCEDES Explain Fleet Management

NATWEST Daryl Gayler reports on the latest Growth Tracker

2016 in the Chinese calendar is the year of the Monkey and we leave you to make any spin on that you wish but all we will say is that if you read or contribute to any other business publication except for Platinum, remember, pay peanuts and you always tend to get monkeys.

everything you wish for yourself.

MOTORING Jaguar’s first AWD F-Type

KPMG We interview David Bywater and Tim Rush and hear about 13,000

GLOBAL TRAVEL We discover Global Travel Management and hear of their remarkable success

4

We are delighted with this progress and thank all our readers for making it happen.

Happy Christmas, Happy New Year and we wish you

accountants dancing

40

As we approach our first full year of the magazine, we would like to thank our Founding Partners, our contributors, colleagues and friends that have made Platinum the largest business magazine in the country. We are now reaching over 235,000 business leaders a month across the South East and having launched the highly successful Surrey edition in June, the new year will see the Hampshire and Kent editions burst into life. Our Twitter followers reached 9,000 and our digital subscribers reached 123,000. That is quite a year!

Maarten & Ian

Platinum Business Magazine, Surrey November 2015 All rights reserved. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher. The publisher cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions relating to advertising or editorial. The publisher reserves the right to change or amend any competitions or prizes offered. No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior written consent from the publisher. No responsibility is taken for unsolicited materials or the return of these materials whilst in transit.

Platinum Business Magazine is published and owned by Platinum Business Publications Limited.

Issue 18 - 2015

The Team

Maarten Hoffmann – Director maarten@platinumbusinessmagazine.com 07966 244046

AT A GLANCE 6

Local News

52 Global Travel Management

10

NatWest – Regional Growth Tracker – The South East Success Story

54 Burt, Brill and Cardens –

12

KPMG – Small is Beautiful

56 Nova – Little Donkey

16

Agovo – CRM – An essential element of a business strategy

58 Anger Management –

19

Midnight Communications – Crisis? What Crisis?

62 Prowse –

D.I.V.O.R.C.E. - Nothing to Declare?

The Chinese Takeaway Making the Case for PR

20 National News

63 Motoring – New Metal

23 Diamond Dance

64 Motoring – Jaguar F Type AWD

24 The Big Story – Simon Cowell –

66 Motoring – Mercedes-Benz E-Class Estate

The Marmite Man Ian Trevett – Director ian@platinumbusinessmagazine.com 07989 970804

32 Skerritts – The Art of Investing 37

Gatwick Diamond Businesses Back Europe Awards – Last call for Entries

40 Women in Business Awards – The Winners

42 Skerritts Wealth Management – Bring the Washing in or Get the Sandbags Out?

45 Lloyds Bank – Fraud Prevention 46 Kreston Reeves – The Tectonic Plates of Business are Shifting Julia Trevett - Accounts Manager

Mercedes-Benz – Fleet Management

34 DMH Stallard – Visible Growth

38 Gatwick Diamond Business

Amanda Spicer - Senior Designer

68 Sandown Group

48 Platinum Style – Dressing for the Occasion

50 Rockinghorse – Britain at its Best

70 Cranleigh Chamber of Commerce

73 Young Start-up Talent – Year Two in Croydon

74

Surrey Chamber Events

75 Croydon Chamber of Commerce

76

Surrey Chambers of Commerce

78 Kingston Business Awards – The Winners

80 Secret Surrey –

Winter Wonderland

82 Institute of Directors –

Exporting for Success

Hannah Monkcom - Staff Reporter

Lauren Psyk - Staff Photographer

5

NEWS

LOCAL NEWS

Compiled by Hannah Monkcom

NEW OPPORTUNITIES WITH RENEWED GROWTH More than 100 policymakers and businesses received an update from the Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership at its bi-annual Forum on the 2nd of November at the Hilton London Gatwick Airport hotel.

In his final Forum as Chief Executive before retiring at the end of the year, Ron Crank spoke about the post-election period bringing new opportunities with many businesses in the area planning for renewed growth, how the LEP will be supporting future growth sectors such as STEM and emphasising the importance of apprenticeships.

Transport consultant Iain Reeve revealed Coast to Capital has contributed £10m towards the revamp of Gatwick Airport railway station, and 19 infrastructure projects will create better roads, walking and cycling facilities, as well as improved train and buses systems in the area.

Ron Crank concluded the Forum by saying: “When I took the helm of the newly-formed Coast to Capital LEP, it was with a passionate belief in the power of partnership working to achieve change. We set ourselves robust targets, over the next 25 years, we will have created 100,000 new jobs, increased trade by £780m each year and increased annual output by £11.1bn.”

Coast to Capital is the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) for West Sussex, Brighton & Hove, Lewes, the Gatwick Diamond and Croydon.

IS YOUR BUSINESS WORTHY OF AN AWARD? HRH The Prince of Wales’ charity Business in the Community (BITC) is calling on businesses across the South East to showcase how they are taking practical action to address pressing issues, as the 2016 Responsible Business Awards opened. The most prestigious and respected awards championing responsible business in the UK and abroad will identify and celebrate inspiring examples of businesses making a difference by creating stronger communities, building more inclusive workplaces and tackling societal and environmental challenges. Now in its 19th year, the awards are open to companies of all sizes - from SMEs to multi-national companies - and across all sectors.

For more information visit www.bitc.org.uk/awards. The closing date for entries is 12 February 2016.

LOVECROYDONJOBS! A new jobs board has been created with the aim of getting local people into local jobs and promoting Croydon as a great place to work. LoveCroydonJobs.com is dedicated to creating and promoting pathways into work for local people, while raising their aspirations and improving employability skills. The aim is to better connect Croydon employers with work-ready candidates by providing relevant employability advice and guidance – both online and face-to-face.

As a special offer to mark its launch, all organisations in the borough are being invited to post their vacancies on the site free of charge between now and the end of 2015 by using the promo code CROLAUNCH2015.

Rosanna Farrar of LoveCroydonJobs.com, a familiar face in Croydon having worked for many years in community-focused roles with Allianz Global Assistance and White Label Creative, believes the addition of Croydon to the LoveLocalJobs.com portfolio, which already runs award-winning regional job platforms across Sussex and Surrey, is great news for the town.

“The company accountant is shy and retiring.

He’s shy a quarter of a million pounds. That’s why he’s retiring..

6

NEWS

“A computer lets you make more mistakes faster than any invention in human history - with the possible exceptions of handguns and tequila.”

HORLEY BUSINESS PARK PLANS The development – dubbed Gatwick Airport City – would involve green fields either side of Balcombe Road, between the town and the airport, being built up with office buildings, with the aim of attracting large companies to the area.

The plans, put forward by Reigate and Banstead Borough Council, have already been met with opposition from residents and the launch of a Keep Horley Green campaign.

This week Green county and borough councillor Jonathan Essex said there was “no need” for the development. Surrey County Council, which in 2013 dropped its opposition to a second runway at Gatwick, owns 48 acres of the proposed site. Councillor Essex said: “The land is currently valued for farming, but as real estate its value could be as much as £1 million an acre.

So it seems the economic benefits could be to the council. Meanwhile, an online petition calling for the proposal to be thrown out has attracted more than 2,600 signatures. East Surrey MP Sam Gyimah has also responded to concerns over the plans, posting on his Facebook page: “I understand Horley residents’ concerns about proposals for a new business park given its location on a flood plain, its potential impact on the green belt, and the possibility of compulsory purchases. I will be meeting senior officials at Reigate and Banstead Borough Council to put forward these concerns.”

KPMG STUDY LIVING WAGE KPMG has announced that 6 million UK employees are trapped in working poverty by earning less than a Living Wage.

The figure indicates that 23% of all employees now earn less than the Living Wage - up from 22% last year.

In the UK, the modern Living Wage movement began in 2001 and is led by Citizens UK and the Living Wage Foundation. The current UK Living Wage is £7.85 an hour. The current London Living Wage is £9.15 an hour.

KPMG operates from 22 offices across the UK with approximately 12,000 partners and staff. The UK firm recorded a turnover of £1.9 billion in the year ended September 2014.

AWARD WINNER OPENS BUSINESS Bamford has just opened her advanced treatment clinic

EASYJET OPENS FLIGHT ACADEMY AT GATWICK

DermaSpa Aesthetics.

Budget airline easyJet has opened

Mrs Bamford, 37, from Salfords, spent a decade working

a new state-of-the-art training

for other salons before deciding to go it alone.

facility which will create 40 new

She said: “I studied at East Surrey College and found my niche in non-surgical

jobs at Gatwick Airport.

facials and chemical peels. I used to do a lot more traditional treatments

The airline will also take on

such as nails, waxing, eyelashes, tinting, but I’ve decided to just focus on a

1,140 new pilots and cabin crew

few advanced treatments. I am closing in on my audience but I wanted to do

members across the country over

something a bit more different. The market is so flooded with salons.”

the next year.

While at the Redhill college in 2013, Mrs Bamford won the national Student

The £2.7 million easyJet Gatwick Academy contains classrooms, a

Electrotherapy Beauty Therapist Award.

cabin simulator, an evacuation slide and a fire training rig.

It was when an opportunity to run a college tutor’s establishment fell through

It will be used to train more than 1,300 employees a year in

that Mrs Bamford felt she was ready to go solo. Great to see more women

everything from making the perfect cup of tea to how to help a

branching out into solo business, congratulations Suzi!

passenger give birth on a plane!

Setting up shop at Priory Farm in Nutfield, Suzi

7

NEWS

LOCAL NEWS

Compiled by Hannah Monkcom

TWO SURREY COMPANIES NAMED FINALISTS The shortlist for the 12th annual Startups Awards has been announced – with Frog Bikes and Nutriment from Surrey making the cut as two of the UK’s brightest new businesses.

Based in Englefield Green and Camberley respectively, Frog Bikes and Nutriment are joined by finalists from across the country, all of whom are hoping to take home a prestigious Startups Award.

Sponsored by the UK’s favourite business insurance broker Simply Business and organised by Startups.co.uk, the number one website for start-ups and small businesses, the Awards recognise the success of Britain’s newest businesses which have been trading for four years or less.

Between them the Surrey businesses have earned four nominations. Frog Bikes has been named a finalist in the Export Business of the Year and Product Business of the Year categories, while Nutriment is shortlisted for the Lean Start-up of the Year and the Women in Business Award.

The companies will also go head to head in the People’s Champion category, an award voted for by the general public.

SURREY BUSINESSES TO SAVE THOUSANDS THANKS TO PAPERLESS BILLING SCHEME Surrey and East Sussex county councils have joined forces to launch a paperless billing service which the authorities claim will save businesses hundreds of thousands of pounds a year. The new electronic system cuts costs by automating most of the invoicing and payment process. Using the technology is expected to save around £180,000 annually within three years through slashing time spent on completing and processing around 125,000 invoices annually. It will also cut invoicing costs for businesses by up to 40%, according to research by the National e-Invoicing Forum.

Denise Le Gal, Surrey County Council’s cabinet member for business services, said: “With our budgets under pressure, this is another great example of technology helping us work more efficiently while also saving businesses time and money.”

IOD WELCOMES NEW CHAIRMAN The Surrey branch of the Institute of Directors (IoD) is pleased to announce its new chairman as Robert May, who has served on the IoD Surrey committee for a numbers of years including as deputy and acting chairman.

Robert is managing director of Godalming-based IT company ramsac which he founded in 1991. ramsac was listed in the 2013 list of top 50 managed services companies for the EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) region, and is one of Microsoft’s top 10 partners in the South East.

Speaking about his appointment Robert said: “I’m delighted to become Chairman of IoD Surrey. We are a thriving local branch of one of the UK’s leading business membership organisations. And as the largest of all the southern branches, our membership encompasses directors from all sectors and all business sizes which adds a depth and dimension hard to find elsewhere.”

“You don’t want another Enron? Here’s your law: If a company can’t explain, in ONE SENTENCE....what it does....it’s illegal.”

8

NEWS

“Catch a man a fish, and you can sell it to him. Teach a man to fish, and you ruin a wonderful business opportunity.”

SATRO STEMX AWARDS The event, held at the WWF Living Planet Centre in Woking was attended by the High Sheriff of Surrey and local dignitaries, including the Deputy Lord Lieutenant Paul Coleman, and the Mayors of Guildford and Woking.

The awards are run by Surrey-based charity SATRO, which aims to inspire young people to gain skills in science, technology, engineering and maths and find jobs in the British industry.

Apprentice carpenter and joiner Danny Smith, who works at Kier Living, won a special STEMX award for personal endeavour in recognition of his determination to succeed. He received his award from Surrey’s High Sheriff, Elizabeth Kennedy. Daniel’s trainer at Nescot College said: “Daniel is a great ambassador and has shown other students that with the right motivation, hard work and support you can achieve and build a great future for yourself.”

Seven more local youngsters scooped top STEMX awards: The Coleman Trophy for achievement went to Brooklands College student Stewart Dick while Max Samyint, also from Brooklands, was awarded the Wates Cup for apprentice contribution to business.

SURREY CHAMBERS TEAM UP WITH TOP FIRM

TWO MORE BUILDINGS COMPLETED AT SURREY BUSINESS PARK

Surrey Chambers of Commerce

St Modwen has

has welcomed top 20

completed two industrial

accountancy firm, Wilkins Kennedy LLP as their new patron for the finance sector. As a fast-growing firm with a strong local presence, Wilkins Kennedy offers the businesses and residents

and warehouse buildings at Henley Business

of Surrey, a service which is second to none.

Park in West Surrey.

Surrey Chambers of Commerce recognised that by welcoming

Henley Business Park

Wilkins Kennedy on board, they are able to offer not only the

is the largest industrial

benefits of experts based in their offices in Guildford and Egham,

regeneration project

but also across the wider firm. They are now able to work

in West Surrey. It was established during World War II as an armaments

together to provide more opportunities for local businesses, in the form of events, financial updates, information and direct access to their dedicated specialists and expertly trained

factory by Vokes Ltd and the company maintained a presence there until the site was acquired by St Modwen in 2002.The speculatively-built units

professionals. Partner at Wilkins Kennedy’s Egham office,

provide accommodation of 20,800 and 34,000 sq ft. They represent the

Matthew Hall, said: “Working more closely with the Chambers

third phase of Henley Business Park, which has detailed planning consent

will give us further insight into the issues faced by local

for a further 135,725 sq ft of new business, industrial and distribution floor

businesses and, as patrons, we plan to support the Chambers to

space. The company said it plans to start work on two more speculative

deliver their objective of helping businesses to grow.”

builds of 23,000 and 27,000 sq ft as soon as these buildings are occupied.

9

FINANCE

THE SOUTH EAST SUCCESS STORY

by DARYL GAYLER, NatWest Regional Director, Sussex & Surrey.

T

he Q2 Regional Growth Tracker paints a promising picture of the UK economy.

Economic growth picked up and the

gains were very unevenly distributed. Out in front, on its own, was London. The capital grew

than most on these.

And after a good start to the year, the

by 0.7%q/q. The reason? ICT and professional,

North East and North West found themselves

economy expanded by 0.7%q/q. However, our

scientific and technical services. Both sectors

falling back slightly from the head of the pack.

Regional Growth Tracker suggests that the

had a good quarter and London is more reliant

Bringing up the rear, Yorkshire & the Humber,

10

FINANCE whose higher reliance on a manufacturing sector that struggled in Q2, saw its economy grow at a much slower rate of 0.3%q/q.

At a local area level, there were some familiar faces leading the way. Inner East London came top, growing by an estimated 5.1%y/y.

The rest of the top 5 regions in England & Wales in Q2 included: Milton Keynes, Inner West London, Cambridgeshire and Berkshire.

Their outstanding

the rate of unemployment, the South East still

performance was driven by a mix of service

enjoys the second lowest rate of joblessness

sectors ranging from retail to business

in the country and earnings growth has been

services, as well as their industrial

well above the UK average. The good times are

competitiveness relative to their peers. With

clearly rolling.

the exception of Milton Keynes, this has meant

There is a noticeable sense of confidence

a fall in unemployment rates over the past

in communities across the South East

year.

with business owners keen to explore new opportunities as well as trying to adapt to rapidly changing consumer trends and

“The South East’s competitive advantages are well known, with growth driven by ICT and professional services, sectors that the South East has in spades.”

demands. Our own hatchery launch with Entrepreneurial Spark in Brighton was the fastest to be filled from all of our UK sites when doors opened in August and this now houses 80 exciting new businesses to increase economic opportunity right across the region.

An area of focus for us in the South East is raising awareness amongst school children

grew by 0.6%q/q, putting it alongside the North West and South West as the UK’s equal second fastest growing region. Milton Keynes was one of the top performing local area economies in the UK, but Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Hampshire also posted growth rates above 3%y/y and the latter three have all seen unemployment rates fall over the past year, a very pleasing set of circumstances.

With so much good work being undertaken by companies in the South East, we are on track to exceed this growth in 2016. With

about enterprise and self employment as a

many of our largest companies launching

career choice to consider into the future, as this

programmes with our local Universities to

is becoming an ever increasing option.

assist graduates into work and retain the best

Our economic progress is strong and with

of them within the region, apprentice schemes

continued hard work and development, we

witnessing a healthy take-up, initiatives such

will continue to be one of the world’s leading

as Entrepreneurial Spark, and the increasing

economies.

number of start-ups in the region all point to a

We estimate that the South East’s economy We would also note that the UK Continental

“There is a noticeable sense of confidence in communities across the South East ”

healthy and successful 2016.

Shelf, a region we do not cover in our growth

The RBS Regional Growth Tracker is put together by Royal Bank of Scotland

tracker, made a significant contribution to UK

economists to estimate and track growth across the UK including Scotland, Wales

growth, as oil and gas extraction had a very

and nine regions of England as well as smaller local areas.

strong quarter. Excluding this sector, the UK

We calculate our growth estimate by taking the UK growth rate of each sector and

economy grew by 0.5%q/q, meaning that on our estimates London, the South East, the South

weighting them by the sector shape of each region’s economy. For Scotland, we take

West and the North West all grew at or above

the data provided by the Scottish Government. We then make an adjustment for each

the national average.

region’s historic competitiveness. This reflects each region’s inherent strengths/

The South East’s competitive advantages

weakness, and the fact that some have tended to grow more quickly/ slowly than

are well known, with growth driven by ICT and

their sector shape implies they “ought” to have done. Differences are small from

professional services, sectors that the South East has in spades. And despite a slight rise in

quarter to quarter, but can become large over time.

11

INTERVIEW

“We don’t just do auditing, we are not just consultants. We get involved in truly momentous things.”

SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL The global Big Four accountancy firms have traditionally been associated with medium-to-large businesses. In the modern, fast-moving business world, a start-up can quickly become tomorrow’s next big thing, and KPMG has been quick to recognise the importance of embracing the ambitious new start-up and early stage companies.

PBM visited KPMG’s Gatwick office and met with David Bywater, Office Senior Partner and Head of Tax, and Tim Rush, Managing Director of KPMG Enterprise in the South East, to discuss the challenges and opportunities of today’s dynamic business scene.

“C

an you imagine 13,000 accountants dancing to Tinie Tempah?” asks David Bywater, Office Senior Partner and Head

of Tax at the Gatwick office of KPMG. It’s a

to engage with, and “reboot”, the whole

overseeing the integrity of the first democratic

firm, giving everyone a sense of pride in the

elections in South Africa. I think everyone will

organisation they worked for.

have walked away from that day – I certainly

“It was a phenomenal day. It wasn’t a heavy

did – with a spring in their step, feeling proud

whole new world out there. It’s not just Apple

corporate day, but instead was focussed upon

who can host a spectacular event. If you want a

recognising some of the successes that we

great event, then KPMG is the place to be.

had had as a firm. By this I don’t mean saying

Tempah, Florence and the Machine, and, for the

“It was September 2014, and 13,000 people

to work for KPMG. “We had several music acts, including Tinie

we grew a certain percentage, or that we

older generation, Madness. There was a lot of

trooped along to the O2, including staff,

had won certain new clients, but instead we

inspirational stuff as well. Martine Wright, who

contractors, security staff and anyone else

focussed upon the wider impact of our work

was seriously injured in the 07/07 bombings

engaged in the business,” recalls David. “The

and the difference we had made to society,

but who then competed for team GBP at the

motivation behind the event was that there had

including, for instance, the work we had done

2012 London Paralympics told her story, which

been a number of organisational level changes

to help coordinate the policing of the London

reduced everyone to tears. Bob Geldof spoke

in the business under the leadership of Simon

Olympics. There was also a reflection on our

with his typical passion about how you can

Collins, and the event was an opportunity

history, including the role KPMG had played in

achieve great things if you really work together,

12

INTERVIEW Lenny Henry

and we had a link to F. W. de Klerk, who moved everyone with his story of the South African elections and the role that KPMG played. It makes you think, ‘Actually, we don’t just do auditing, we are not just consultants. We get involved in truly momentous things.’

“Celebrating the talent that we’ve got within the organisation is a great thing to do.

You know what it’s like - you work hard five days a week, you go home and rest, and you come back in and do it again. And you don’t necessarily stop and think about the successes that you’ve achieved.”

“We do all this work, but fundamentally we’ve

outward-looking approach, as David explains:

Rush, Managing Director of KPMG Enterprise

got values and ethics that are truly important

“The Chairman’s focus is to create an

in the South East, “was that there weren’t that

in everything we do.” We had a great day, but a

organisation that is relevant to our clients and

many KPMG speakers. Simon Collins did five

lot of people were really humbled by it, which is

the wider society in which we operate, and in

minutes, and that was probably about it. It was

really good.”

this respect he has stuck to his convictions in

“The key thing about the event,” adds Tim

compered by Lenny Henry, and the theme was, The current Chairman, Simon Collins, has introduced a new style and approach to the

The event was just one element of a new accounting?’

“If you’re alongside them and you provide

terms of pushing through changes.” launch in Brighton, (just one of the accelerators that are being backed by Natwest

market, but the changes sweeping through

all of the relevant services to help them

with the support of KPMG), it was interesting

KPMG run far deeper, proving that a global

grow, then you’ll actually stay alongside them

watching the likes of Sir Howard Davies, Ross

giant need not be cumbersome and resistant

throughout their whole life cycle. Part of it

McEwan (Chief Executive, RBS) and Simon

to change. And this means a very big company

is about backing winners, but you have to be

Collins (Chairman, KPMG) and then seeing

now deliberately thinking small, or more

in the game to find the winners. Now we’re

the five start-up entrepreneurs who pitched.

accurately, thinking about small companies.

working the ‘S’ part of SME, because you need

They were fantastic - and all of a sudden I was

to be there.”

thinking, ‘If all of our team had the ability to articulate themselves and pitch with the skill

David Bywater (DB): “Historically, we

and the enthusiasm that those five people

have dealt with global businesses and the ‘M’ (medium) of SMEs. As one of the Big Four firms, we are very strong in the M part of SME. But there has been a realisation over the last few years that the pace of change is actually now such that you’ve got organisations that start from an idea or a concept and grow into a Fortune 500 within the space of a few years.

You look at the tech revolution, how quickly things develop – 20, 30 years ago, it wasn’t like that. Businesses had a much longer life cycle.

“For KPMG it is vital that we all act with integrity in everything we do, and furthermore that we are seen to be acting with integrity”

have just done, then we’d be absolute worldbeaters.’

“It was interesting just being there for the day and getting a sense of the buzz around the place. Part of the value for us comes from the fact that we’ve got 35-40 people who signed up to be mentors there, which is a very healthy proportion of our Gatwick office. If just a little bit of the entrepreneurial spirit rubs off on people, it’s just brilliant. It also teaches our people to actually communicate with

“We realised that what we need to do is actually provide the services which

organisations as well, which is key to working

businesses need right from day one. Not all

in this market place.

“For us, it could be described as enlightened

of them will succeed, but some of them will, very quickly, and there are things we can do;

Tim Rush (TR): “It’s about keeping up with

self-interest; we’d be liars if we said it wasn’t,

there’s value we can add all the way along

trends. We’ve invested a lot of money on

but it is also good to help start-up companies.

their rapid life cycle. What we as a firm don’t

developing a digital solution to management

We have a Manager, Gemma Pascal, who’s the

have these days is the luxury of coming along

accounts because that’s how a lot of people

hub coordinator, and she’s absolutely loving

after three years to say to an organisation:

want to work – real time information with

it. For me, it wasn’t about skills; it’s who’s got

‘Right, you’re big enough for us now.’ If I was

minimal effort for the owners. Each Company

the right attitude to go down and do it, and she

that business I would, quite legitimately

has an account manager where more difficult

has just gone for it, hell for leather.”

ask, ‘Well, where were you on day one when

questions can be fielded.

I needed your help with small business

“If you take the Entrepreneurial Spark

DB: “As a business our involvement with the ESpark programme nationally, including

13

INTERVIEW

www.kpmg.com • Tel: 01293 652000 locally in Brighton, is just one part of making KPMG relevant to the start-up and fast growth businesses. This is not just paying lip service to the smaller business community, this programme goes

Is it correct that your recruitment policy has an increased emphasis on school leavers, and not just graduates.

TR: “Yes, that’s correct. We chose to invest in school leaver

alongside the other investments we have as a firm made, ranging from

programmes. We started four years ago and the initial intake are just

the development of services aimed solely at this market to the direct

completing their degrees as well as becoming qualified Chartered

recruitment of partners focused in the SME space.”

Accountants. Trying to get the right quality of people in the professional

In a similar vein, you have an alliance with Metro Bank with small business administration.

TR: The alliance with Metro bank is an extension to our SBA offering.

The digitalisation of the management’s accounts process under SBA out-sources many aspects which are time consuming and distracting for entrepreneurs, by taking this burden away people can concentrate on growing their business, making business decisions based on real-time information. You can out-source your management accounts to anyone, but it can take three weeks to get it back using traditional methods. It seemed natural for us to partner with someone as well. Metro Bank are pushing hard setting up in the UK and we’re early in the game looking to make banking easy for entrepreneurs. They are following the same ethos as KPMG by trying to minimise disruption for the business owners so it’s a natural fit. They have been easy to work with and they act quickly.”

DB: “All entrepreneurs want to do is focus on their business, so anything that can be done to lessen the burden of the bureaucracy and the admin that goes with that is welcome. We’re alongside them,

services if you’re outside of London is difficult, especially for business located so close to London.

“For the young people it works brilliantly, because they get a degree without the financial burden as the tuition fees are paid for by KPMG. For us, we have people who are very enthused and dedicated to work in the local market.

“We need to think about how to get the really bright, relevant and motivated people. It’s not about intellectual brightness, because half of it is attitude, it really is. When I interview people, I don’t want to hear about their education. I want to listen to their views and opinions because if they’ve got the right attitude they’ll do really well.

So we’re not just saying, ‘You’ve got to go to university to get a place here.’ “

We have heard all the stories about Volkswagen, and going back further, Enron, Olympus and BP. How do you stand with your clients on corporate governance?

DB: “There are two parts to that. One is corporate governance in

helping them with their books and real-time information. It’s about

terms of the rules and regulations which you need to live by. The other

bringing a broader suite of value to those organisations.“

part of that is a much softer side, which is about what kind of integrity a business has. Volkswagen is just the latest in a series of corporate

Tim Rush

scandals involving a business failing to act with the integrity that wider society expects.

“For KPMG it is vital that we all act with integrity in everything we do, and furthermore that we are seen to be acting with integrity – we need to lead by example. As an organisation we never want there to be any question about our integrity; it is about doing the right thing all of the time, even when the lights are turned off and no-one is looking. And if that’s the way you actually live as an organisation, then you won’t ever have this type of Volkswagen problem. Furthermore, in our relationships with our clients we need to be honest enough to encourage them to act in the right way, where, for instance, we detect that they might be veering of course; it’s like being a critical friend to an organisation”.

TR: “What we’re also seeing is that non-executive directors are taking their roles a lot more seriously than they probably did five, even three, years ago. I think the type of people being non-executive directors is also changing as well. They are asking the right questions: ‘Is our internal audit function up-to-date? What is best practice on this?’ and in their relationship with the auditor they are helping to create an environment that delivers a better quality audit.”

How fine a line is there between tax avoidance and evasion?

DB: “On one level tax planning and tax avoidance falls within the letter of the law, but in our view businesses should also operate within the spirit of the law. As an organisation we’ve been at the forefront of the very public debate on tax avoidance, pushing for the tax regimes around the globe to fit better with the modern business world and also pushing for businesses to take a very responsible approach to the management of their tax affairs.

14

INTERVIEW

David Bywater months ago, I would say the consensus was very much to stay in Europe. Whether the anti-EU campaigns are now starting to become more vocal, or attitudes are changing, I have detected a shift in what I am hearing, with the prospect of leaving the EU becoming a little more acceptable.”

TR: “If you take employment law, there are so many things where people point to the EU as being the problematic issue. Would it change at all if we were outside the EU? In a lot of cases the answer would be no and I think that’s the really interesting part which has not been considered, especially for firms who are employ under 50 people. On the other hand, if we did leave the EU, business would have to find a competitive way to continue to trade with Europe.”

What do the next 5 to 10 years hold for KPMG? TR: “There will be a lot more delivery, digitally. If any firm isn’t looking at how it’s going to change, they’re going to be left behind.

Business owners want to have one person to talk to, especially at the SME level with that person being able to bring the right solution for the individual issue. We will continue to refine the deliverables to clients focusing on value adding, for example using two page red flag reports and spending time with the business owners rather than churning out reports by “volume”. He/she is never going to read a big report, they don’t need a big report. What they want to know is, what are the risks?

What are the opportunities and should I do the deal?”

DB: “We have to continue to be relevant to our clients, and it will be a case of broadening and adapting the services we can deliver to meet their needs and the issues they face. In this respect, we, along with the “As an example, we effectively have a tax ethics committee who act

other Big Four firms, are building our consulting businesses, whilst at

to ensure, on a consistent basis, that any tax planning upon which we

the same time retaining and growing a strong audit businesses, because

advise clients falls on the right side of the line.”

the audit business does underpin the brand.”

TR: “With the change in the corporation tax rate, a lot of people within companies will actually say, ‘We’re paying a fair amount of tax now’, and that is a mind-set change. When they think what they’re paying is fair, then you get fewer people thinking about ways to beat the system. So it’s actually self-fulfilling. And that has certainly happened over the last three or four years.”

Europe. What’s the KPMG view – in or out?

DB: “The corporate view is that business doesn’t like uncertainty,

Finally, as a Big Four company, presumably Corporate Social Responsibility is a high priority?

DB: “Our CSR policy has shifted to being much more targeted on the things that make most difference. Historically, as an organisation we’ve chosen a partner charity to be alongside for two years, and then engaged in a series of events and activities to raise funds for the charity.

“Our attention is now focussed on two areas on promoting literacy;

especially around significant issues such as the UK’s relationship

and on homelessness. Tackling these two problems will have the

with Europe. In fact, any whiff of uncertainty causes nervousness for

biggest benefit on society. Anything that we can do to contribute to

businesses when it comes to making decisions based on long-term

alleviating the homelessness problem, such as our work with Shelter,

investment plans.”

helps to break that vicious circle where people have no home, and

“We saw earlier this year, with the general election, that corporate

therefore can’t get a job. Helping with literacy has two benefits. On

activity eased off a little and people were perhaps delaying investment

a macro level it can help to close the skills gap and reduce reliance

decisions, whether it was property or corporate investment. And you’ve

on the welfare state. On an individual level, helping an individual to

got exactly the same with the EU. Being part of a single “free trade”

develop the skills to secure a job has a huge impact upon their feeling

market is undoubtedly a positive thing for businesses who sell into

of self-worth.”

overseas markets. As an example, a strong factor in Nissan building

TR: “I think we now realise our strength is actually using our skill

its plant in the North East would have been that this created a strong

sets to support organisations like Action for Literacy and Shelter. A lot

entry point into the wider European market. Would they pull out if we left

of blue chip companies, including us historically, have gone out, tidied

Europe? Probably not given the investment already made. Would Nissan

up somewhere, painted something, done some DIY, which has its own

have commited such an investment into the UK if we had not been part of

merits, but we’ve got skills which can really help these organisations in

the European market? Possibly not.

their aims. Spending time delivering these skills, whether it’s financial

“I have also noticed a change in tone of the Brexit debate. Twelve

advice or business plans, adds far more value for the individuals.”

15

CRM

CRM -

An essential element of a business strategy

Sam Tilley, MD of Agovo Limited, explains why CRM is so much more than a customer database.

Tel 0845 5212 199 www.agovo.co.uk

C

RM is often misunderstood as just a fancy database software that a business keeps customer information in. The CRM software - the bit you’ve probably heard of - is in fact a powerful tool which helps

goals and governs how your company manages customer experience, interactions and their buying journey. From even the smallest companies, all organisations need to have effective customer-facing processes in

businesses to implement a strategy that encompasses much more than

order to build customer loyalty, encourage retention and ultimately be

just the storage of customer information.

successful.

Technology research firm, Gartner defines a CRM strategy as “a business strategy in which the outcomes optimise profitability, revenue and customer satisfaction by organising around customer segments,

Mapping Every Touch Point The central point of any CRM strategy is to analyse data in order to

fostering customer satisfying behaviour and implementing customer-

understand the behaviour of target customer, how that customer interacts

centred processes.�

with your company and how your business can better support leads and

It is a companywide approach that aligns with your core business

16

existing clients in order to transform them into loyal advocates.

CRM

“A CRM strategy is a dynamic process.

Customers constantly communicate on new channels, expect new experiences, and as you build your customer base, you will gain deeper insights into the customer journey.” matter how or when they interact with your organisation.

Analyse, Act, Repeat The current gaps and weaknesses should be identified once the current situation has been fully analysed in order to set goals for the future. By setting clear KPIs the progress of the implementation can be tracked and the impact of the strategy measured. Whilst there will be This process involves an exercise called

that often the customer experience is disjointed

customer journey mapping, which takes into

because of differences in departmental

account every interaction with your company

perspectives and procedures.

through call centres, the web, mobile or self

Individual departments typically have their

specific metrics for specific departments it’s crucial to also measure the success of the CRM strategy as a whole and in the context of the overall company vision.

A CRM strategy is a dynamic process.

service outlets. If possible it should also assess

own ideas and values as to what a “good”

missing touch points that are serviced by other

Customers constantly communicate on new

customer relationship is and have different

industries or competitors such as a particular

channels, expect new experiences and as you

ways of managing those relationships. It is easy

build your customer base you will gain deeper

to forget that a customer doesn’t distinguish

insights into the customer journey. This makes

between “sales”, “marketing” & “customer

it vital not to complete the exercise once and

service”, they are simply aware of the overall

hope for the best.

social media site, articles on a certain topic or a specific Google search.

What’s more, it’s important to gather additional first hand experiences from existing customers. By doing this, many businesses discover touch points that are vital to a customer but that they had considered unimportant and vice versa.

No doubt you will uncover a number of different paths taken to become a customer, but when creating a CRM strategy, it is important to

message they have gleaned from their

It’s here where software, such as

interactions with any representatives from the

bpm’online, supports the CRM strategy by

company.

helping a business to more rapidly and

This makes a CRM strategy vital in breaking

accurately gather and track data; automate and

down departmental walls in order to ensure

easily refine these new processes and deliver

that all employees are providing the customer

resources at the appropriate time in the buying

with a single, consistent experience, no

cycle.

focus primarily on your ideal customers rather than every customer you ever had as this may skew your perspective. By building a deeper understanding of the different touch points and routes taken you will learn more about how to predict customer behaviour, how to better support clients and leads and key interaction channels that you may have otherwise disregarded.

Connecting Internal and External The customer journey map is then compared with your current offering and processes in order to identify gaps in the customer experience and future development opportunities.

A key issue that many of our customers discovered from undertaking this exercise is

17

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CRISIS? WHAT CRISIS? ...so a famous politician once commented.

solicitors would be most appropriate?

But what DO you do if you are suddenly faced

It is sensible to ensure all company

with a crisis which can impact on the future

spokespeople are media trained, that full Q&A

reputation of your company? How you respond

scenarios are developed and rehearsed, that all

once a crisis begins can lay the groundstone for

the lines of communication (phone numbers,

your company’s future.

mobiles, emails and so on) are gathered in

Crises can arise in many forms – they might

and directly address any concerns raised. Try

not to appear selfish in your response. Be open and accessible (within reason).

Don’t panic. Think clearly. Gather in the facts and respond with honesty and integrity.

One thing I can tell you for sure is that the

one single place for easy access. A crisis

call that shakes up your business is guaranteed

be natural, technological or personal, product

management manual should be put together,

recalls, factory shut downs, or employee

and it should contain all of the above and copies

to happen when you least expect it – or worse,

misconduct. But they all have one thing in

logged with key personnel.

common: you will need to react in the best

Once a crisis breaks, make sure you gather in

possible way in the shortest of timescales.

all the facts from as many sources as possible.

The first rule is, don’t panic.

Review. Discuss with your team. What are the

Even the best-managed companies can run

implications? Is anyone in danger? This is most

into a crisis of some sort, so it is important to

certainly your immediate priority, above all else.

have a crisis PR plan in place so that you are

When you know what it is you want to say,

prepared for that unexpected emergency.

The key to crisis planning is preparation, and

then be clear and be honest. Do not offer information that has not been requested, but

we would advise all businesses to conduct some

tell the truth. If you do not know the answer to

form of PR risk management investigation. The

a question, say you will find out and get back to

audit will highlight vulnerabilities within your

them. Tell them by when you will get back to

organisation and help you identify areas where

them.

you are door-stepped by a reporter quizzing you about a problem of which you were not even aware.

Instead of running away or shielding yourself from the camera, say you are happy to talk on camera - but in a professional and scheduled environment.

Don’t get angry. Assume everything is being filmed and will repeat. You will talk on camera, but only in the proper format and environment.

Have a legitimate excuse that prevents you engaging right here right now.

A reputation takes years to build and a

If you are asked about stuff which is already

moment to be lost. Yet you can have influence

in the public domain, then react with the truth.

over the way your story is presented and alter

who does what, should a crisis erupt. Who

Do not get caught out in a lie. Because you will

the outcome of that story.

will your spokespeople be? From where will

get caught.

a crisis might occur in the future.

A crisis plan should then be drafted to identify

the crisis PR team operate? Who will approve your company’s media response? Which firm of

Look at the bigger picture. There may well be others affected by the situation. Show empathy

Crisis planning starts now. Fail to plan and you plan to fail!

And if you get stuck…call me!

19

NEWS

NATIONAL NEWS

Compiled by Hannah Monkcom

OFF WITH THEIR HEADS Toshiba’s boss Hisao Tanaka was forced to resign from the Japanese conglomerate in July over a 152bn yen (£780m) accounting scandal that the government said threatened to undermine investors’ confidence in the country. In their report into the scandal, investigators said: “Within Toshiba, there was a corporate culture in which one could not go against the wishes of superiors.”

The losses are Toshiba’s first for six years and compare with a 137.8bn yen profit in the same period last year.

The scandal has forced Toshiba, which employs more than 200,000 people worldwide, to embark on a round of restructuring that includes selling its shares in affiliates. The firm has said it will sell its image sensor business to Sony and is expected to announce an overhaul of its home appliance, TV and computer units later this month. Toshiba shares have been down by as much as 5.9%, their lowest level in almost a year. In one of the most damaging corporate scandals in Japan in recent years, regulators said managers had started setting unrealistic performance targets for the firm’s new businesses, such as smart meters and electronic tollbooths, after the global financial crisis seven years ago. The accounting irregularities continued after the March 2011 Fukushima disaster, amid concerns Toshiba would sustain losses in its nuclear division.

POUND SLIDES

VW PAYS BACK

Volkswagen could have to pay back billions of pounds to European governments in tax credits after admitting it had found “irregularities” in the levels of carbon dioxide emitted by 800,000 of its cars.

Shares in the embattled carmaker fell by as much as 10% in Frankfurt as investors responded to the latest admission from the company, which is already reeling from revelations that it rigged nitrogen oxide emissions tests. VW estimated the “economic risks” of the latest discovery at €2bn (£1.4bn). This works out at €2,500 per car, far more than the €609 per car put aside for the cost of the 11 million cars involved in the diesel emissions scandal, which was €6.7bn in total.

The Bank of England has signalled that interest rates will stay on hold for a while longer, leaving them unmoved for at least seven years in total, and perhaps even eight.

A more uncertain global outlook has prompted the central bank to reconsider where interest rates should be in the months to come.

Policymakers kept interest rates at a record low this month, as they voted 8-1 in favour of maintaining the Bank Rate at 0.5%, with Ian McCafferty, an external policymaker, the only dissenter.

In a balanced assessment of the economy, policymakers noted that domestic momentum in the economy remained “resilient” and confidence high.

Low inflation meant real income growth this year was likely to be the “strongest since the crisis”, they said, noting that investment intentions remained “robust”.

“I know a man who gave up smoking, drinking, sex, and rich food.

He was healthy right up to the day he killed himself.”

20

NEWS

“How many people on their deathbed wish they’d spent more time at the office?”

BRITAIN NAMED 6TH BEST COUNTRY FOR DOING BUSINESS The government’s drive to cut red tape and corporate tax has seen the UK move up the international league table for doing business in a year that has seen both rich and poor countries strive to ease regulations on setting up and running companies, the World Bank said.

Britain rose from eighth to sixth place in the Washington-based organisation’s rankings and was the highest placed of the G7 group of leading industrial nations.

The bank said developing countries had quickened the pace of reforms but the highest positions in the list of 189 countries in its annual 2016 Doing Business report were again taken by high-income states.

Singapore headed the top 10, followed by New Zealand, Denmark, South Korea, Hong Kong, Britain, the US, Sweden, Norway and Finland. Sajid Javid, Britain’s business secretary, said: “The UK has once again climbed up the rankings and is one of the top places in the world to do business, getting closer to the government’s target of reaching the top five. This is international recognition of the UK’s strong and stable business environment, competitiveness and entrepreneurial spirit.”

CHILD INVENTOR

RED CARPET OUT FOR CHINA In October we saw China’s president Xi Jinping stay four nights in Buckingham Palace.

What we might not know is that he addressed both houses of parliament and even escorted our Prime Minister David Cameron to Manchester. The visit was designed to unlock trade and investment deals worth £30bn, including money for the Hinkley Point nuclear power station, to be built in conjunction with the Chinese and France’s EDF. China is to cover around a third of the cost, likely to be in the region of £5bn-£8bn.

That would mark the largest inward investment in the UK on record. So alongside this and the article last month on the Chinese banks opening in the UK, the government is also advertising high-speed rail contracts to China. The differences in the two states’

A child only 10 years of age has invented an app to help disabled people. One of the youngest entrepreneurs known to date, Alex Knoll attended an

political systems, international political alliances and attitudes to human rights mean that future ruptures are almost assured? Maarten has a thing or two to say about this subject in this issues Anger Management column.

entrepreneurs event recently with his idea of ‘The Ability App’ which he came up with after seeing a disabled man in a wheelchair unable to open a door.

Alex says the concept is “similar to Yelp but it’s for disabled people and it helps them find disability features, services and employment,” and later added “A lot of people believe kids have a lot more imagination (than adults). Sometimes kids can come up with better ideas.” We are seeing more and more children attend inventor and entrepreneur summits with ideas as good as edible plastic bottles and a device aiming to save water coming out of your taps.

Perhaps we should be turning to our own children when we’re stuck for ideas in our businesses!

21

NEWS

NATIONAL NEWS MANUFACTURING STATS

Compiled by Hannah Monkcom

AMERICAN TRADITION NO MORE

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) charted

Supermarket Asda says it will

a 0.8% month-on-month

not take part in the shopping

increase in output for

discount day known as Black

the manufacturing

Friday, which it helped to bring to

sector, which endured

the UK just two years ago. So big

a tough summer as

was its effect last year, the event

production slowed to

completely distorted Christmas

reflect an easing in

spending, pulling forward sales,

orders.

right at the most crucial time of the year when retailers should be selling their

While the performance was better than expected, the ONS said it would have a negligible effect on overall GDP in the third quarter.

goods at full price. The event marks the beginning of the Christmas shopping season in the US and many of us in the UK didn't like the tradition with many retailers refusing to take part in Walmart Asda's event.

Its initial estimate of 0.5% GDP growth for the period represented a slowdown on the previous three months, with the dominant service sector responsible for propping-up output.

Wider production numbers released by the ONS on Friday showed a 0.2% dip during September - largely blamed on a 24% fall in iron and steel output. Steel producers - alongside other

Last year, police were called in to supermarkets as scuffles broke out among shoppers vying to get the best deal.

"The decision to step away from Black Friday is not about the event itself," said Asda's chief executive Andy Clarke.

manufacturers - have been feeling the effects of a series of

"Over the last two years we've developed an organised, well-executed plan,

barriers to growth including the strong pound, which makes UK

but this year customers have told us loud and clear that they don't want to be

exports more expensive.

held hostage to a day or two of sales."

Key markets such as China and the UK’s biggest trading partner, the eurozone, are still suffering lulls in activity despite central

It says that instead of investing in one-off sales, it will invest £26m in savings

bank action.

across the seasonal shopping period. Much more British, thank you Asda.

BP SUFFERS SIGNIFICANT DROP Oil major BP attempted to reassure investors that it would be able to maintain its dividend, as it unveiled a 40% drop in underlying profits over the last quarter. In the three months to the end of September, BP’s profit fell to £1.2bn, significantly lower than the £2bn reported in the same period last year. The results are a direct impact of collapsing oil prices. Brent Crude has fallen from £60 a barrel a year ago to roughly £30 today.

BP’s Chief Executive Bob Dudley said that the company can maintain the dividend if prices recover to £45 a barrel by 2017. Even if they remain lower, the firm could weather the storm by cutting costs further, he claimed. BP has already made £2bn in cost savings this year including laying off staff and headcount is expected to have fallen by 4,000 by the end of this year.

“The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.”

22

BUSINESS SCENE

DIAMOND DANCE T

he 2015 Gatwick Diamond Business Charity Dinner Dance at the Hilton Hotel London Gatwick in November raised nearly £2,000 for the member Charities.

With thanks to the sponsors, Gatwick Airport, Emirates & the Hilton, all the attendees had a great evening.

Entertainment was provided by TV Comedienne Sara Pascoe while the band Strobe kept everyone on the Dance Floor.

The eight prizes in the Charity Raffle included return tickets to Dubai with Emirates and return tickets to a European destination with Norwegian. Other prizes were kindly donated by the Hilton, Pelham House, Gatwick Fire & Rescue and Campden BRI. Coupled with the Go-Kart Challenge, #gdb12hDuMans, Gatwick Diamond Business members have raised over £8,300 for charity this year.

Lee-Ann Connor, Sara Pascoe and Jeremy Taylor

For more, please visit www.gatwickdiamondbusiness.com

Laurie Berryman with Sara Pascoe

The Ascot Suite, Hilton Hotel London Gatwick

Sara Pascoe with Hannah Staunton

Basepoint enjoy the menu

Guests at the Drinks Reception

Jeremy Taylor entertains Central Sussex College

23

THE BIG STORY

SIMON COWELL THE MARMITE MAN

by Maarten Hoffmann

S

imon Cowell is one of those people who divide opinion. Some dislike him and some intensely dislike him, but is this due to the smug countenance, his dominance of his sector or his addiction to having

his mug on the television as often as humanly possible?

Whatever the reason, there can be no denying Cowell’s talent for getting

noticed and for building a hugely successful and influential company that will mark the musical childhood of almost all of today’s global youth.

Simon Cowell founded his company, Syco Entertainment, in 2002, a joint venture between Cowell and Sony Music, and it is one of the world’s leading music, film and television production companies, responsible for some of the world’s most successful TV and music franchises. In 2014 one division, Syco Music, was named the UK’s number-one label by Music Week, and to date has sold more than 200 million records and secured more than 200 worldwide number-one albums with artists such as One Direction, Susan Boyle, Little Mix and Il Divo. As part of the deal, retail magnate Sir Philip Green was also brought in as a shareholder and adviser to the venture, perhaps to provide the ‘steady hand’ to Cowell’s creative flair.

Syco Films produces concert movies with Sony Pictures and have teamed up with the makers of Happy Feet to produce live action-hybrid animated films. New projects include a new music show, ‘Ultimate DJ,’ in association with T Mobile and La Banda, a new show to find the latest Latino boyband, with Ricky Martin as a judge.

If you hate pop music and talent shows, by now you are

24

THE BIG STORY holding your head in despair, but behold the

present himself, Rosencrantz suggested he just

His mother was a major influence in his life;

man and not the product, as whatever you think

be himself and let rip if the mood took him. The

he rarely did anything that his mum would not

of him and his manufactured genre, there can

mood took him and the public fawned over this

think proper and this seems to be the abiding

be no denying the man’s ability and sheer force

man who, unlike so many people on television,

light of his career. Unfortunately, his mother

of will to get things done.

actually said what he thought, and it was a

Julie, 89, who lived in Brighton, died in July of

happy coincidence that it was what the public

this year, which knocked him for six, and for a

Lambeth, to a mother who was a ballet dancer

thought too. Not being slow on the uptake, both

long time he refused to speak about it.

and socialite and a father who was an estate

Rosencrantz and Cowell realised that they had

agent and music industry executive with EMI.

hit on a sweet spot and he never changed his

Huffington Post, saying: “She’d been ill for a

After attending Radlett Prep School and then

presenting stance from that point on.

very long time. It really happened last year and

Cowell was born in October of 1959 in

Eventually, he gave an interview to the

Dover College, he left with GCEs in English

it was a tough, tough period. But I didn’t want

Literature and Language and then attended

to burden anyone else with my problem. That’s

Windsor Technical College, where he gained

why I never talked about it.”

another GCE in Sociology.

After a few menial jobs, from which he was fired for not getting along with his colleagues, his father gave him a job in the mail room of EMI. This was his first sniff of the music business and the sycophancy and towering egos that are involved, but this was perfect for him. As in all creative media industries, raging egos are tolerated as long as they are accompanied by a million dollar idea and the ability to bring it to market.

That world is populated by a wide variety of

“But his biggest strength is also his biggest weakness.

He manages to convince everyone he’s right, whether or not he is”

experienced it with my dad and the only thing I can say is that I have incredible memories.”

In the wake of her death, Simon cancelled two days of X Factor auditions to grieve, but later threw himself back into work in tribute to Julie, who counted X Factor as her favourite show that her son worked on. “It sounds corny, but it’s exactly what she would have wanted me to do as she loved what I did,” he said. “When it came to work, she would say, ‘Get back and do what you enjoy’.

characters – some harmless like Cowell and

“Whenever it was going to happen it was

some not so harmless, such as his early-days

going to be difficult because I’m always

coach and convicted sex offender, Max Clifford.

Here is another man who was tolerated

“In a way, that was the hardest part because it was always on your mind. But look, I

“Every reality show needs to pre-assign its

working.”

because he got things done, but the harm done

characters, and Pete Waterman was on the list

along the way is palpable.

to be Mr Nasty. Because I’d worked with Pete

support from the public on Twitter helped him

for years and he was a dick in real life, I thought

during one of the darkest periods of his life.

Apart from having a good dose of chutzpah

He believes the ‘incredible’ outpouring of

with the spotting of early-days talent, Cowell’s

he’d be a dick on television. But he turned into a

break came when ITV Controller Claudia

complete softie during the auditions, crying all

Rosencrantz offered him the job of judge on the

the time, and I’m sitting there thinking, ‘These

first series of Pop Idol in 2002, the franchise

acts are horrible.’ I thought it was funnier

who was treated like a valued member of the

owned and created by his arch-nemesis, Simon

than anything else – I was amused. It was just

crew during her regular visits to the X Factor

Fuller. As Cowell did not really know how to

something that happened.”

set. Simon wiped away tears and said: “She

He said: “That kind of got me through it, if I’m being honest.”

His TV colleagues had all got to know Julie,

25

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THE BIG STORY was. Everybody who met her, they just loved her.”

He has also started to look at life differently, explaining: “I do believe in destiny. I really do. Not all of your life is under your control.

No matter how well your career is going and you’re happy and you think you’ve got your life under control, things happen out of the blue.

Some good. Some bad.”

Last year, Cowell became a father for the first time to son Eric, who’s mother is Lauren Silverman. He has never taken the easy route, be it business or his personal life. Lauren was the wife of a friend of Cowell’s, Andrew Silverman, who, once the affair was revealed, sued for divorce, citing her adultery with Cowell. But life cannot be easy for her as she has to deal with the fact that the majority of Cowell’s female friends are ex-lovers, such as singer Sinitta, actress Terry Seymour and Aussie actress Dannii Minogue, who regularly accompany him on vacations, en-masse. Giving birth to his son surely secured Lauren’s place in his life, although he is still resistant to marriage.

But one-year-old Eric has been the ultimate distraction from his mother’s death. Once considered an unlikely father, it’s clear Simon is adjusting to the role. He said: “He doesn’t sit still. He doesn’t stop trying to talk. But he’s getting to that age now where you understand him and he understands you. He’s a little joy.

You know, life is interesting. If we’d been sitting here two years ago this would not have been on the ‘this is going to happen’ list. But whatever the circumstances, it happens, you deal with it and, of course, they bring something extraspecial into your life.”

His businesses have certainly brought

rejected them, recruited Cowell as a judge on

for which he received a rumoured advance of

his television show Pop Idol, which catapulted

£1.3m.

something special into his life. The Got

the master of withering put-downs into the

Talent and X Factor shows have propelled

public eye and onto the road to riches. When

famously announced that he paid a UK tax bill

his earnings through the sound barrier over

Cowell devised X Factor in 2004, Fuller sued

in 2006 of £21.7m. But he also supports several

the last few years. According to the Sunday

him because of the similarity in format, a tussle

charities, particularly those involving animals

Times Rich List, he is now worth a cool £325m,

that allegedly cost Cowell millions of pounds to

and children. In early 2010 he spearheaded

making him the 398th richest person in Britain.

settle out of court.

the production of a celebrity charity song to

No wonder his grin appears as permanently

The media mogul is unashamedly motivated

fixed as his year-round tan.

And his wealth has grown substantially since then. It was revealed in October that he had signed a £100m deal to keep The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent on ITV for another three years. The money will be split between Syco and co-producers Talkback Thames.

Cowell is now the second-highestpaid name in the US entertainment industry, behind Oprah Winfrey, according to Forbes magazine.

In 2001, Simon Fuller, Cowell’s fierce industry rival, who snapped up the Spice Girls after Syco

by cash and has said in the past: “I’m interested only in making money, for myself and the people I work for.”

Apart from his music business dealings, he also makes money from his 2004 autobiography I Don’t Mean To Be Rude, But...,

He doesn’t keep all the lucre himself. Cowell

support the victims of the Haiti earthquake.

But he also enjoys investing and spending on himself. Among his property investments are a luxury £34m Beverly Hills mansion with tanning salon and private cinema, at least one more Hollywood property, a £10.5m house in Holland Park, West London and holiday homes

“According to the Sunday Times Rich List he is now worth a cool £325m making him the 398th richest person in Britain”

in Malaga and Barbados and an investment property in Dubai. He also has an expensive taste in cars, having recently bought a £750,000 Bugatti Veyron, a £400,000 Rolls Royce, a Bentley convertible and a Ferrari, to name but a few.

And the king of television

27

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THE BIG STORY entertainment further spoiled himself - and scores of media and music friends - by lavishing £1m on a party to celebrate his 50th birthday. He is apparently generous to a fault and tends to pick up the bill when out, even with equally wealthy celebrity friends. He also splashed out about £250,000 on his mother’s 80th birthday party at the Savoy in 2005, and as for those trademark teeth (a crucial investment for a career on American television) it is estimated that his set of dazzling veneers set him back at least £10,000.

Cowell’s blend of arrested development and obsessive compulsion might have taken him nowhere, and it very nearly did. Sweet Revenge, Tom Bower’s insightful biography, narrates his string of failures in the business before the evolution of Pop Idol. He lacked the cool of other A&R (artists and repertoire) executives, and was best known in his thirties for oddities such as a musical spin-off from the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers series.

By the time Pop Idol was launched he had achieved greater success, initially by persuading two actors, Robson Green and Jerome Flynn, to record a song from a television series. “The rest of the industry was obsessed with radio being the route to hits, but all Simon talked about was television,” says Sonny Takhar, who now runs Cowell’s music label. Even after signing the highly successful boy band Westlife in 1998, he struggled for respect.

“Who designs their office, housing hundreds of staff, with a huge and dominating image of themselves?

A narcissist is the obvious answer” “I was perceived as the lowest of the low,” he recalls, “There was one meeting with my boss and the rest of the A&R team, and she’d forecast a very bad quarter. I presented two of my ideas, which I thought were pretty good. She was at a flip chart and she said, ‘Right, this is the figure I’m putting for those,’ and wrote a gigantic zero in front of everyone. It was probably the worst I have ever felt.”

That moment required a compendium of skills, and Cowell, with his middle-of-the-road taste and love of visual display, possessed them all. He didn’t need to dumb down or learn how to understand the ordinary people who would now become stars. He had waited a long time for precisely this world, in which he could become the A&R man, pop producer, television personality, television producer and band manager in one. He could control everything.

“I’ve got a really, really good attention to detail,” Cowell replies, when asked to judge his own talent. “Even when I’m on a show, I know what’s going on, and if it’s going wrong, what we have to do to try to fix it. I’m minutely involved in every part, literally down to the colour of the floor. I can spot a lightbulb out at 100 metres. I don’t mean to sound arrogant, it’s just that I’m always aware of my surroundings. I like it to look a certain way, to sound a certain way.”

“My phone rings at 2am and a voice says: ‘How are you?’” says Sir Philip Green, the retail tycoon who helps Cowell to run his business. “I am not joking, 2am is early. He will go at it all night, he is such a perfectionist.

He tortures himself, watching the show, then rewatching it, reworking, reworking. He calls to get a sense of what I think. That’s the part nobody sees – how hard and intense he is about the detail. He wants it to be right. He wants it to be great.”

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29

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THE BIG STORY wheel, bigger than this area where we’re sitting, and someone was going to make a £1m bet, red or black. I thought: ‘I love this, this is absolutely great.’ When we started to make it, we realised it was boring up to that point.

By the time you reached the end, you were exhausted. We didn’t think it through.”

The executives around him insist that Syco has an open culture in which any employee can suggest an idea or challenge those of the boss.

Even Cowell accepts the latter is a stretch.

“There are times when I say something and they probably nod to my face and five minutes later are saying, ‘He’s lost the plot’, but I think Conservative peer (and television sidekick of Alan Sugar on the BBC series The Apprentice),

neither will the competition.”

“What’s so hard about it?” Cowell was

we have a healthy system where everyone has a voice. I always say to my staff, when we

whom Green brought to Syco as a non-

asked by John Gapper of FT Magazine. “Surely,

executive director and adviser, says, “He finds

sit in creative meetings, beating ourselves up,

someone just has to think of the basic concept

the talent, he crafts it, he picks the songs, he

‘One good idea a year can pay for the next 10.’

– a music contest or a variety show?”

I was at the Rose Bowl, looking down at the

handles the image. If you look at the revenues

80,000-strong crowd watching my group, One

and number-one hits that Syco has created, Simon should be considered the biggest music act in the world.”

On the wall in the Syco London office is a huge portrait of Cowell, depicting his grinning face in coloured paper dots. “I didn’t realise it was going to be so big, but I bought it off the artist. It took her ages to do it,” he says. “I thought, ‘Well, nobody else is going to buy it, so I will.’”

Direction. I felt like I’d really used my brain,

“I felt like I’d really used my brain, rather than being a dickhead on an American TV show.”

And there’s the rub: who designs their office, housing hundreds of staff, with a huge, dominating image of themselves? A narcissist, is the obvious answer. Four assistants sit in a row outside his office, next to posters of his shows and a cardboard figure of Cowell on The Simpsons cartoon show on Fox. His image is all-pervading, but is this true narcissism or a well-honed marketing tool?

Two chief executives have come and gone at Syco, perhaps finding it difficult to cope with Cowell’s dominant presence. But his stalwarts, including Sonny Takhar, head of Syco Records,

rather than being a dickhead on an American TV show.”

“Simon is hugely talented and I’ve never met anyone who believes in himself more than he does,” says one executive at a rival music company. “But his biggest strength is also his biggest weakness. He manages to convince everyone he’s right, whether or not he is. He’s never found a right-hand guy at Sony who he’ll

“Beginning, middle and end,” he says crisply.

“I like to be able to walk through every five

listen to and who can execute his best ideas.”

It is a nice idea, that the impresario of reality

or ten minutes of the hour, so I know exactly

TV and modern pop music has come so far and

what’s going to happen. The arc of X Factor

achieved such fame that management means

looks simple on paper, but there’s quite a

more to him than image. Those close to Cowell

structure over the 16 weeks, going from the

take it with a pinch of salt. “He lives it, he

smaller rooms to the arenas, to the boot camp,

breathes it, he’s in it, he’s on it. The business is

to home visits, to live shows. That’s a lot of

a passion for him, it is genuine fun,” says Hall.

content.”

“Although he does have a little saying. ‘When

He cites Syco’s 2014 ITV show, Red or Black.

“I thought it was fantastic. A gigantic roulette

you’re editing [shots of Cowell on X Factor], remember two words: happy and handsome.’”

Nigel Hall, who runs the television operations, and Sorraya Sequeira, his finance and operations director, have worked with him for a long time and talk about him with affection tinged with humour. “Simon knows what a family in Manchester who are sitting down to watch telly on Saturday night at the end of a hard week will feel when they watch the show,” says Hall. “I’ve often wondered how he does it. Simon’s lived a very privileged life. You look at photos of him as a child and he wasn’t on a donkey at Clacton, he was skiing in Gstaad.”

“I’m interested only in making money, for myself and the people I work for.”

“Luckily, it’s hard,” he says. “If it was easy, everybody would do it. When you’re asking a network to make a commitment of $70m or $80m on a show, it’s got to be a really good idea. We won’t have them every month and

31

INTERVIEW

THE ART OF INVESTING

Skerritts Wealth Management has grown dramatically from a oneman-band to an influential regional company, managing investments in excess of £670million. Ian Trevett spoke to MD, Richard Skerritt, about what makes the company tick

I

t’s all about the investment. Not just the investment in the markets, but crucially, in the company and its people. Skerritts have placed great emphasis on becoming Chartered, gaining accreditation to perform discretionary management and earning the right to say they are Investors in People. It is this ethos which has helped the win the industry recognised New Model Adviser award for five years on the row. But what exactly is a New Model Adviser?

“It’s an award that reflects success in the modern investment industry, so it looks at people doing things in the right way now rather than the methods our industry had in the past.

“They are judged by Citywire, a financial publishing/reporting company who are completely independent and they’re seen, certainly in our eyes, as the most prestigious financial publishing arm. That’s why we think that’s the award to win and that’s the one we

32

always want to win.

“It’s a reflection of our performance, our approach to clients, our professionalism, all those things, which ties in with us being Chartered as well because, again, the most wealth management firms or FA firms aren’t Chartered. I believe something like less than 5% are. There are lots of hurdles to get Chartered status but most people would want to see a Chartered Accountant or a Chartered Surveyor – it’s the highest level of recognition of qualifications and experience.

We just want people to know that if they come to us they are getting the very highest level of professionalism.

“With our wealth management side we predominantly specialise in discretionary management. Most companies can only offer advisory management, which means if they want to change funds they have to speak to the

client and get their permission to change, which means they can’t act quickly. So for example if we wanted to change asset allocation, or change a fund, or de-risk the portfolios, we can just do it. We can do it in a timely way. If you have to ask the client, by the time the client’s signed the paper, the moment has gone. You cannot manage efficiently on an advisory basis.

So discretionary just means we can do our job properly.

“There’s a massive requirement for us in terms of liquidity, which basically means we have to hold a lot of money back for client protection and it’s a much more highly regulated. We need to have a lot more committees and everything in place. So it is very onerous but it’s very worthwhile.

“As a company we hold Investors in People as we’re always very keen for our staff to develop within the company; there’s no glass

INTERVIEW

“A lot of people will pay high-end management fees but they’re not getting anything outside of what a tracker fund will do” ceiling. We want people to work their way up.

And people can go as far as they want to go and we’ll encourage them all the way. So we’ll always pay for training and we’ll always pay for the exams. And we’ve been speaking to Brighton University about interns and about graduates coming on board. On our doorstep we’ve got a wealth of highly qualified people and I think that’s definitely something we’ll look to explore more.”

How does the investment committee work?

“It’s a formal investment committee.

All of our investment decisions are run by committees, which is how we need to be with discretionary management, so it’s a good discipline to have. We meet every week though there’s obviously lots of communication during the week. It’s a good process in that no one person is all powerful in terms of what we’re going to do.”

Do they get quite heated?

“In a good way, yes. There is some good, healthy discussion that goes on; it’s great because sometimes people will play devil’s advocate. We don’t follow the crowd like everyone else does and that’s reflected in our performance. We do competitive performance analysis and we come out incredibly well but that’s only because we are active on the investment management. A lot of people will pay high-end management fees but they’re not getting anything outside of what a tracker fund will do. We’re always looking for that outperformance which makes it worthwhile paying for.”

How do you research this?

“We do a lot of in-house research, but we also buy in a lot of research. It wouldn’t make sense for us to employ a team of 20 analysts and researchers or whatever. So what we do is, we spend an absolute fortune buying in research.

“They spend tens of millions of pounds doing the research analysis and we basically buy their results. So we outsource that - we couldn’t do as well as they do. No-one tells us the asset allocation, we do that in-house, but we back that up with a lot of information we buy in.

There are reports for all the regions such as Europe, North America and Japan, and from these we need to decide what type of asset we’re going into, whether it be equities or bonds, and then look at specific sectors such as biotech. It’s a constant, evolving thing.”

Are there any particular instances where you actually went out on a limb against the consensus and it really paid dividends?

“You tend to find benchmark portfolios stay within a certain asset allocation. With our tactical funds, we can go ‘overweight’ or ‘underweight’ in sectors. For example, over the last couple of years we’ve been overweight in biotech and pharmaceuticals and that’s an area we strongly believe in. It’s had its ups and downs but over that period of time that’s been one of our biggest contributors to outperformance. We’ll never go stupidly aggressive because that’s not what our clients want.

“At the moment, we are very overweight in cash because the markets are volatile, so what we’re looking to do is be defensive, but also that gives us a war chest where we can be active when opportunities arise.

“Our investment managers are working incredibly hard because it’s not just looking for growth, it’s looking to preserve capital because markets are up and down. We think it’s going to be a very testing 12 months – not to say that there isn’t growth to be made but you have to be very active in those particular areas to get that growth.”

I know that you personally believe in an exit from Europe.

“Absolutely, yes.”

Is that a view shared by the committee?

“No, we’ve all got different views and I think it’s good that we do have different views. I personally think if we leave the European Union, the impact won’t be anywhere near as big as people think. I think there’s a lot of scaremongering out there that people say, “If we leave that we’re leaving our trading partners” and whatever. The last time I looked we were importing more from Europe than

exporting. So at the end of the day would Europe really say “We’re not going to deal with you anymore?”

“I just think it’s very expensive for us and it’s just the fact that we have a lack of control. They’re trying to impose a financial transactions tax but London is by far the biggest financial centre within Europe. It basically is a tax on London.

“Either way, when we’re managing money we’re always looking at ‘What if’ scenarios and we look at every possibility that we think can happen. Occasionally you get something like Lehman Brothers going under, but even then, Andy Merricks, our Head of Investments, had written a great article 18 months before it happened about how the American lending problem that was coming in was going to have an impact. So we could see it coming and we built this in.

“It’s always trying to predict what’s going to happen and the impact on that because a lot of the market changes are now down to sentiment rather than the fundamentals. If you look at some of the companies that lose 50% of the value, the fundamentals aren’t 50% different, it’s just the sentiment. If you go back two generations people would buy 10 or a dozen blue chip companies and hold them - and they did them well. It’s so different now. It’s almost impossible now for an individual to manage their own portfolio effectively and without the risks of being too much in one particular stock or one particular sector.”

Does it still excite you, trying to work out the market movements?

“Absolutely, I still really enjoy it. I think my wife, Heidi, would kill me if I was at home all day. I do get a buzz from it. It’s great to see the business grow here. We’ve had colossal growth, we’ve got a really good team and we’re establishing ourselves more and more as the place to go to for wealth management in the area.”

Skerritts.co.uk

33

CASE STUDY

VISIBLE GROWTH

SiteVisibility works with some of the world’s finest brands on their digital marketing and is also the company behind the influential bi-annual BrightonSEO events. Managing Director Jason Woodford spoke to Ian Trevett about the help they have received along the way from leading South East law firm, DMH Stallard

B

Goodwood Estate, to grow their business and

says, ‘What’s your USP?,’ because I think

revenue online using a number of different

it is really difficult to actually have a USP.

techniques,” explains CEO Jason Woodford.

We’re very famous for our Internet marketing

Laine coffee shop. The original one-man-bands

“For the most part, our work centres around

podcast, which is the number-one marketing

have matured into serious companies gaining

digital marketing strategy, delivering search

podcast on iTunes in the English-speaking

global recognition. One such super-growth

engine optimisation (SEO), pay-per-click and

world; it’s been downloaded over 2 million

story can be found at SiteVisibility.

social media to drive traffic, conversions and

times, and 40,000 - 50,000 subscribers every

revenues.

week listen to our podcast. The idea behind

righton’s digital hub is no longer a collection of micro-businesses and web designers beavering away in a North

“SiteVisibility helps really ambitious brands, such as Fat Face, House of Fraser and the

34

“It’s always really difficult when someone

that is that a marketeer who needs to keep up-

CASE STUDY

to-date with digital marketing can listen to the

large amount of money every month on direct

podcast on their way to work once a week and

mail; we really should have been using Internet

get a little bit more informed.

marketing techniques to promote our service.

“The second thing we’re really famous for

“I bought it from the liquidator and we

is BrightonSEO, which is Europe’s largest

in becoming a founder member of Wired

developed an Internet marketing consultancy

SEO conference, where 2,000 people come to

Sussex, with the idea of privatising it and taking

business and an eLearning business. At the

Brighton twice a year to learn about SEO. It’s

it away from Sussex Enterprise, setting it up

start it was just myself and my brother, who

the biggest congregation of SEOs in the UK at

as a membership organisation to drive the

was just leaving Exeter University. I knew

any one time and it trends on Twitter for two

digital community in Sussex and Brighton. As a

he wanted to get into marketing, I needed

days. It’s grown really quickly over the last

small business we couldn’t afford to deal with

a marketing consultant, and so we started

five years and next year we’re moving into the

structural issues, macro issues like property or

together and we worked with some ex-

Brighton Centre.

employability or policy. So, Wired Sussex does

employees and a large team of experts, who

all of that for us. I’m very proud to be a Director

supported us through those early days. We had

moving very, very rapidly and it’s very difficult

of Wired Sussex and to help push the industry,

to win business and deliver business and we’re

to keep track on what’s going on. And one of

as well as the company, forward.

very lucky as we won some major contracts in

“In internet marketing, the industry is

the key drivers for our customers is that they

“Brighton is an absolute magnet for talent,

the first couple of months, including Fish4Jobs,

need to learn and become more knowledgeable

eBookers, the Department of Health, M & M

so they can make better decisions about the

Sports and the Institute of Direct Marketing.

digital marketing, and this is where our USP is as we’re uniquely able to deliver that, along with the results and service which everyone expects.”

Are you often perceived as being an SEO company rather than the wider aspects of what you do?

“Our heritage and our reputation have been founded on SEO since 2001. I’m very proud of that. SEO evolves every year, every week, every

“With DMH Stallard there’s a nice synergy there because they also have a similar ambition to work with ambitious brands.”

so they come back to learn more, and when they’ve had enough of learning more, the desire is to get on with the work themselves.

“The company grew very rapidly for about eight or nine years and was in The Deloitte Technology Fast 50 for three years in a row. We

SiteVisibility and developed the business to

because SEO is only part of the activity that you

where we are today, employing 20 people and

need to apply in order to generate sales.”

and what’s changed over the last few years

Being accredited as an Investor in People,

is that Brighton as a centre for business in

your staff are obviously very important to

digital has absolutely matured. We’ve got

you?

companies here like Brandwatch, which has just secured £33 million worth of Venture

business relies on the quality of our people and

Capital for investment funding, global leaders

their knowledge. It is very, very important for us

in e-learning like Kineo, Brightwave and LEO,

to continue to train and develop our consultants

games development like Relentless, marketing

so we stay on top of the rapidly changing digital

agencies like iCrossing and American Express

landscape; to ensure both our strategies are

base their 450 strong technology team here in

effective and to satisfy our team’s appetite for

the City”

talent is intense and never-ending.”

customers and sharing knowledge with them

with another company, branded ourselves as

offer all the other digital marketing solutions

learning. This is critical where the battle for

marketing, keeping close to our prospects and

got some angel investment on board, merged

day. That’s what we’re known for, but we also

“Staff are critically important to us as our

“What’s underpinned the whole business all the time has been really strong CRM, email

How did it all begin?

“We started back in 2001, when the company

I guess Brighton is a good place to be, in that

that I was working for went bust. I was

case, because it attracts IT talent?

made redundant and I could see that there

working with many freelancers and experts.

You work closely with DMH Stallard LLP. How has this relationship helped SiteVisibility?

“We have worked with DMH Stallard since the very outset, initially on an informal and ad hoc basis, where they provided a variety of intellectual property and employment law expertise.

“There was a trade mark issue relating to our previous brand name which was contested by an international media group. DMH Stallard partner Tim Ashdown fought it and won the case, which was amazing. So it all started then.”

“I also knew of DMH Stallard and some of

were some ways to make this business very

the partners, so I felt that that was something

competitors in Brighton and Sussex for

profitable. It was called Academy Internet

I was very comfortable with. We looked at our

customers, but we do compete with them for

and was one of the main Internet marketing

legal outgoings on our budget, and they were

staff and for talent. Around 2008, we invested

training businesses in the UK, but we spent a

fluctuating up and down and very difficult to

“We very rarely compete against our

35

CASE STUDY predict. DMH Stallard came to us and said

very pragmatic.

that they were offering a new service, which

“One of the benefits of

was the fixed-cost retainer based service. The

the retainer is it means

service is completely bespoke and is ideal for

that my risk is being

businesses that want direct access to legal

managed better from

advice when they need it, with the benefit

a legal perspective, so

of knowing that legal costs are fixed which

my risk is not as big a

guarantees budget certainty. We were the very

concern as it could be,

first customer to take that on. We helped them

which allows me to be

pilot it and it‘s worked out really well for us. We

bolder in my business

get direct access to partners at DMH Stallard

decision-making. I’m

to deal with issues for us, and if it needs to be

not suggesting I take

immediate, it’s immediate.

more risks because I

With DMH Stallard there’s a nice synergy

know the lawyers will

there because they also have a similar track

sort it out, but I know

record with and interest in ambitious brands.

I’m very clear about my

“They’re going places as a business. From

legal framework, and it

a service perspective I definitely get what I

allows me to be more

need, when I need it, and the key is specialist

certain about aspects

expertise. But one of the things I like about that

of business, which is

relationship is that it’s more than just that they

really helpful.”

are lawyers. We actually help them in terms of search engine optimisation and we’re helping them with their website.

How do you keep upto-date with so much change? It must be like running against the tide.

“If you wanted to keep yourself personally

“DMH Stallard are definitely going places. From a service perspective I definitely get what I need, when I need it, and the key is specialist expertise.”

Tim Ashdown, Partner at DMH Stallard, helped secure the brand name for SiteVisibility, in a case that was contested in the High Court.

updated with everything, you’d stress yourself out and you’d never do it. I do read a lot of blog sites and newsletters and listen to our podcasts of course, but I recognise that I have to keep myself up-to-date through my team, so

and measure the success of it. This isn’t a political interview, but the government policies are definitely driving and solving problems and creating opportunities around innovation.

It’s absolutely clear that the government understands that innovation is going to drive future growth, future prosperity and tax revenue.”

we hire people who love learning, and have lots

If you are a company that is serious about

of different skill sets. You very rarely get me

growing, can you do it without getting your

talking about some technical detail of digital

message out there digitally?

marketing; I’d much rather have one of my

“I think you can, because anything is

team come up and talk about it.”

possible. But you’ve got to have a plan. I

Is Silicon Valley still the centre of innovation?

think it’s very rare that massive success just

“A disproportionate amount of innovation is happening in the UK, a lot of it in Silicon Roundabout up in London, and in Brighton

happens. It does happen occasionally, but you can’t rely on being one of those occasionals.

So you have to have a plan and a fundamental

there’s an enormous amount of innovation.

part of a business plan is your marketing

they go out to promote themselves they’re

Look at what Brandwatch has done; that

plan, and these days a fundamental part of

actually getting found by their target audience,

was technology designed and built here in

your marketing plan is: What are you doing in

and we’re helping them from a marketing

Brighton, which is selling to the USA. “There

terms of your website, your online promotion?

perspective. Of course, there’s the commercial

are a number of technology businesses that

If more people are finding stuff through their

trading relationship between both parties, but

are based in Brighton and eLearning industries

phones and learning about stuff through their

it goes beyond that in terms of the partners at

around video production, around analytics

phones than they are by watching television or

DMH Stallard actually helping us to generate

and measurement-type technologies, around

watching billboards, if you want to reach that

more business. We speak at their events

gaming, where the innovation is happening

audience when they’re looking, you have to be

to their customers about what we do. That

right here in Brighton, let alone in the UK.

online.

We give them feedback so that when

generates business for us, and DMH Stallard

“The fact is that a lot more of businesses get

“If you don’t consider at least what the

come and talk to us and our customers about

more funding when they go to Silicon Valley,

opportunity is to make yourself visible to

what they do.

which is a shame. However, Britain is definitely

people who are looking for you online, you’re

one of the global leaders in terms of crowd

missing a massive opportunity. But, amazingly,

worked with many law firms; there are lots of

funding and innovative financial resources, and

there are still loads of companies that don’t do

good law firms out there, like there are lots

that can only help. The government’s R&D tax

that properly.”

of digital marketing agencies. But I think they

credits programme is unbelievable in terms

understand the business aspects, the business

of how much that incentivises you to actually

drivers behind the legal issues, and they are

push for an innovation and track the innovation

www.sitevisibility.co.uk www.brightonseo.com www.dmhstallard.com

“I’m a real advocate of what they do. I’ve

BUSINESS SURVEY

GATWICK DIAMOND BUSINESSES BACK EUROPE

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mid the complex national debates and delicate negotiations in Brussels, Gatwick Diamond businesses have spoken with a clear, united voice: they want to stay in the EU, albeit a simplified EU. Home to 45,000 businesses and 500 international businesses, the Gatwick Diamond is the sixth-largest economy in the world and one of the easiest places to set up and run a business in Europe, according to the World Bank. Local businesses have access to excellent market opportunities, world-class skills and a highly supportive, open business environment.

With London Gatwick Airport at its heart, it is simple for Gatwick Diamond businesses to connect with markets in mainland Europe – indeed, the rest of the world.

The Conservatives’ election manifesto promise to hold a referendum on whether the UK should stay in or leave the EU is therefore of particular importance to the Gatwick Diamond. In a recent survey of the area’s business owners by the Gatwick Diamond Initiative, more than half said they would vote to maintain Britain’s membership of the EU. Rosemary French, Executive Director of the Gatwick Diamond Initiative explains: “The Gatwick Diamond Initiative is a business-led partnership which champions the growth and success of the Gatwick Diamond economy. Our quarterly Business Barometer survey provides direct feedback from our business community to help us address the needs of the area and to ensure it continues to be a world-class place to live, work and do business.

“The EU referendum is highly significant to businesses in the Gatwick Diamond, which are outward-looking, many of them operating on an international or global stage. Even the smallest companies can be part of a much bigger international supply chain.”

It is not surprising to find that over 70 per cent of Gatwick Diamond business owners responding to the survey say that the UK’s membership of the EU has a positive impact on their business. Close to 50 per cent say that a full withdrawal from the EU – a so-called ‘Brexit’ - would have a negative impact on their business. The survey also found that over half of Gatwick Diamond businesses sell to customers in the EU and believe that the UK’s membership of the EU has helped to open up markets for their businesses. For this reason, they are not keen to shut the UK out of its most important market and other markets around the world that have trade agreements with the EU. EU suppliers and EU labour are also vitally important to the success of Gatwick Diamond businesses. Half of all the businesses surveyed rely on EU suppliers and 44 per cent employ staff directly from the EU. Ms French adds: “It’s not a totally rosy picture. We cannot ignore the negative impact of EU legislation on sections of the business community. Our survey found that 60 per cent of Gatwick Diamond businesses identify the burden of employment regulation as the biggest priority for the UK government to tackle.” Improving regulation around skilled migration (that is, opening up pools of skilled workers at a time when competition for talent is high) is also of key importance. Reducing red tape on environmental legislation and financial reporting requirements were also flagged as priorities.

The survey has identified a need for greater clarity and more information to help businesses understand the complexities and potential impact of each scenario in the run-up to the referendum. Ms French explains: “A clear message coming through from businesses locally is that uncertainty

Rosemary French OBE

poses a huge problem for business confidence.

For many small businesses, the debate is conceptual at the moment, but as we get closer to a referendum, businesses will need clarity and factual information about the realities of what ‘in’ or ‘out’ might mean to them. Only then can there be a sensible debate about the issues.”

The Business Barometer research study is commissioned by The Gatwick Diamond Initiative to help monitor local economic conditions on a regular basis.

Conducted by Prowse & Company Ltd, this online survey is designed to source primary data from local businesses to measure how the Gatwick Diamond is performing as a location for business.

The survey provides quantitative and qualitative evidence of business trends to aid the Gatwick Diamond Task Groups in their activities. Importantly, the survey offers a snapshot of business confidence in the Gatwick Diamond area.

For more information on the Gatwick Diamond Initiative, visit www.gatwickdiamond.co.uk

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BUSINESS AWARDS

LAST CALL FOR ENTRIES TO THE GATWICK DIAMOND BUSINESS AWARDS 2016

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he Gatwick Diamond Business Awards celebrate people and businesses who have shown innovation and inspiration

in their work and have demonstrated a

The Sponsor is the judge in each category and will provide feedback for each Entrant.

premier business occasions - celebrating

We check for impartiality between judges and

the best of the best across the Gatwick

entrants, so if there is any conflict of interest, a

real commitment to the sub-region.

Any business that is located in or trades in the Gatwick Diamond can enter (apart from

The awards have become one of the regions

neutral third party will oversee the judging.

Judging will take place through January

Diamond.

This will be the eighth year for the Awards and the whole event is gaining ever-increasing attention in the region. In fact, you could

sponsors, judges & suppliers). You do not need

2016, then the three Finalists in each category

say this is our Centenary Year as we will be

to be a member of any particular business

are announced in February and the Awards are

awarding our 100th Award during the course of

organisation to enter.

presented on the 17th March, 2016.

the evening … but who will it go to?

Gatwick Airport NatWest Bank Nestlé Vines BMW & Mini

Headline Sponsors

Pre-Dinner Reception sponsored by Thomas Eggar LLP With over a third of the tickets already sold for the Awards Ceremony on the 17th March, 2016, early booking is advised. The Effingham Park Hotel is the home of the Gatwick Diamond Business Awards.

Awards Business of the Year, sponsored by NatWest Bank Business Person of the Year, sponsored by KPMG New Business of the Year, sponsored by the FSB Green Business of the Year, sponsored by Crawley Borough Council Award for Developing People for Business Success, sponsored by Central Sussex College Responsible Business of the Year, sponsored by Lloyds Bank Award for Customer Delight, sponsored by Storm Creative Partnership

International Business of the Year, sponsored by the Gatwick Diamond Initiative Employer of the Year, sponsored by Search Consultancy Award for Supply Chain Excellence, sponsored by Hays UK Award for Innovation and Technology in Business, sponsored by Rawlison Butler LLP Digital Marketing Business of the Year, sponsored by Optima Systems Ltd Professional Services Firm of the Year, sponsored by Preview Visual Communications Group Award for Place to Meet, sponsored by B&CE The Peoples Pension

For more, visit www.gatwickdiamondbusinessawards.com www.twitter.com/gdbizawards www.facebook.com/gdbizawards or call us on 01293 813888 38

BUSINESS AWARDS B&CE - 2015 Business of the Year

THE PEOPLE’S CHOICE B&CE (The People’s Pension) is the 2015 Gatwick Diamond Business of the Year. Zoe Wright, Director of People & Premises, tells Ian Trevett why this is such an important accolade for the company

I

n 1942, unions and employer federations created the Building & Civil Engineering Holiday Scheme Management Limited (B&CE)

“We have won many awards within the pensions industry, but the Gatwick Diamond Awards were important to us as we have

volunteering to help create the People’s Park in Manor Royal.

“We are very proud of the award and we

because construction workers – who tended

been in Manor Royal since the 1950s. Also, we

have had so many suppliers and customers

to move jobs frequently – needed a way to

believe they are very well run, in particular,

congratulate us on our award, and it makes a

build up holiday pay. They launched a simple

the way the judges come out to the businesses

big impact. It has also helped with recruitment

scheme whereby every week a construction

and find out about companies for themselves,

as people see us as a good place to work. This

worker would buy a stamp to stick on a card.

rather than just look at entry forms.

has been very useful as the number of people

Then they’d cash in the card to give themselves money to live on when they took a holiday.

Holiday stamps have long since gone, but

“When we didn’t succeed in 2014, it would have been easy to be down-hearted, but the feedback from the judges was very

working in the company has doubled in the last couple of years.

“The award has raised our profile in the

B&CE is going from strength to strength as a

constructive and useful, and we decided to act

region and we decided to become a sponsor

not-for-profit financial services company, best

on their recommendations.

this year. Being a judge is an interesting

known for its hugely popular People’s Pension,

“This time, rather than prepare a formal

experience and it allows us to learn from

which is open to all employers and employees

presentation for the judges, we decided to take

the companies we judge and apply their best

from any profession.

them on a tour of the company, invite them to

practices in our own company.”

“It is very unusual for a financial services company to operate on a not-for-profit basis,” says Zoe Wright, “but it is what makes us

listen to our staff making calls and also to chat to our team.

“On the night, we were shortlisted for

unique. Any profits go straight back to our

Business of the Year and the Customer Delight

policy-holders. Our aim is for our members to

award. We didn’t get the Customer Delight

get the best possible pension. We want to pay

award, and the Business of the Year award was

out as much as we can to our members.”

the last to be awarded, so we weren’t overly

This commitment to the members is typical

optimistic, and it was a huge surprise and thrill

of the company’s approach, and the strong

when we found out we had won. Jeremy Taylor

adherence to ethical values was a major

had given us no indication at all that we might

factor for the judges when selecting the 2015

have been successful.

Business of the Year. For B&CE the success was

“I believe we won because the judges

even sweeter as they had failed to make any

recognised how important the company’s

of the shortlists in the three categories they

values are to us all, and we are very active in

entered in 2014.

the local community, with many of our team

The People’s Pension is a multiemployer scheme with independent trustees and is operated on a not-forprofit basis. It’s a hassle-free, flexible and portable workplace pension designed for people, not profit. And it’s suitable for any organisation, large or small, in any sector.

It’s the largest private sector pension scheme in the UK, with over 1.6 million people auto-enrolled and now provides pensions to people from all walks of life. www.bandce.co.uk

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BUSINESS AWARDS

WOMEN IN BUSINESS The Winners

by Faiza Shafeek

T

he 2015 Sussex Women in Business Awards was a tremendous

success with over 270 attending the magnificent gala finals at the Cavendish Hotel, Eastbourne - a truly

glittering red carpet event which was filled with glamour, super food, wonderful

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entertainment, amazing networking, much elation and huge accolades and standing ovations for the winners.

The Overall Business or Business Woman of the Year Award was won by the wonderful Agora Fertility Clinic, Brighton and the Lifetime Achievement Award went to the amazing Ann Sandeman.

The Sussex Women in Business Awards celebrate the success of today’s very best females at work. Whether we like it or not, many companies today still remain maledominated despite the obvious progress that has been made over the years to change that.

As we looked through the hundreds of nominations it made us realise the talent, success and sheer determination of so many women across Sussex. We only have to look at our eight local East Sussex MPs five of whom are female. Look at our police and crime commissioner Katy Bourne. And there are so many more examples we could name across the county of Sussex.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank Sarah Hopwood the guest speaker, Lynsey Bartlett from Heart FM who was a super host, the Cavendish Hotel for an excellent evening, Accord AV for your superb set-up, Paperlane for the amazing decor on the night, Andy Rose and Zach Le Cheminant of Mad Fish Vintage Wave, The Vox Beatles Tribute Band, Progress for the video shoot and the Identity Group for the banners, signs and event programmes.

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BUSINESS AWARDS

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New Business/Start-up of the Year Winner - StephieAnn Designs Small Business of the Year Winner - Grafters Recruitment Consultants, Sian Maher Woman in Arts/Music/Dance or Media - The first joint Winner was Chloella Gunn of Dyamond Dance, Woman in Education Award - Winner was Jill Wittaker of HIT Training Medium Business of the Year Award - The first joint Winner, The Charlvington Group, Claire Baker Medium Business of the Year Award - The second joint Winner, Duvacourt Construction, Irene Souliotis Large Business of the Year - Winner was Cash Bases - Received by Judit Ruckes Marketing Manager and colleague Business Woman of the Year - The Winner was Mandy Brook of Recruitment South East Business Woman of the Year - Special Recognition Award Sue Mulvey of the BMI The Esperance Hospital The Innovation Award - Winner was The Agora Clinic (Gynaecology & Fertility Centre) New Business/Start-up of the Year Presented by Ali Thompson Mentor of the Year - Winner was Mumpreneurs Networking Club - Received by Nicky Chisholm and Sara Guiel The Woman of Courage Award - Winner was Ann Sandeman Woman in Education Award - Winner was Jill Wittaker of HIT Training Woman in Uniform Award - The first joint Winner was Dr Aniko Lazar of First Choice Dental Clinic Woman in Arts/Music/Dance or Media - The first joint Winner was Chloella Gunn of Dyamond Dance, Woman in Arts/Music/Dance or Media - The second joint Winner was Jade Powers of The Sussex Dance Studios.

Contribution to the Community - Presented by Sarah Greenley our Head of Customer Services and colleague Contribution to the Community - Winner was Hannah Staunton of Gatwick Airport, Overall Business or Business Women of the Year Winner was The Agora Clinic (Gynaecology & Fertility Centre) Rising Star of the Year - The Winner was StephieAnn Designs The Innovation Award - Presented by Nick Collinson Mentor of the Year Presented by Ian Trevett - The Winner was Mumpreneurs Networking Club - Received by Nicky Chisholm and Sara Guiel The Woman in Uniform Award - Presented by Johanne Hardwick, Sales & Marketing Manager and the Chief Constable of Sussex - The second joint Winner was Police Constable Bernadette Lawrie,

41

INVESTMENTS

BRING THE WASHING IN OR GET THE SANDBAGS OUT?

By Andy Merricks Head of Investments of Skerritts Wealth Management www.skerritts.co.uk

T

here is an air of pessimism around at the moment which is proving hard to shift. It mostly centres around the mind-numbingly repetitive question of when the Fed (the US version of the Bank of England) is going to raise interest rates. A bit like the worst version of Bridezilla, if we keep on and on talking about it, when it actually happens it is likely to be a massive anti-climax the day after the event. What next? It will start all over again when the next time beckons for a serial divorcee Bridezilla. In our case, we know a rate rise is coming, but what will the effects be?

Or do we know a rate rise is coming at all?

Janet Yellen (the Fed Chair) may yet be left at the altar for a number of reasons. And, like an ill-suited couple, should the rate rise occur

42

when the economy is wrongly positioned, the combination won’t last long before a split inevitably happens. We all know the rain is coming, but do we just need to take the washing in or lay out the sandbags in defence of something more meaningful?

Why Would You Raise Rates?

So what are the reasons for raising rates?

There are no obvious ones. If the only reason is so that there is something to cut if you need to, then we should probably be worried about the state of the global economy. If it is perceived that things are due to get worse, so much worse that an interest rate cut is the only solution, then we think it’s the sandbags that need readying.

It may be a fit of pique that the markets

appear to be in control rather than the central bank policymakers. If this is the case, we should be prepared for the markets to be demanding new central bank policymakers before too long.

It certainly cannot be to slow an overheating economy. Every forward indicator is flashing amber, at least, as the economy is doing a damned good job at slowing itself down, thank you very much. How many companies are shouting about taking on large numbers of new staff? None that we can think of.

Another key reason for raising rates is to keep a lid on inflation. We’re living in inflationary times. You’re kidding, right? After seven years of constant and extraordinary monetary easing pretty well across the

INVESTMENTS main determinants of inflation – this is clear to see – and we expect the former to remain low and possibly go lower while we can’t see the latter putting upward pressure on the rate of inflation any time soon, especially against the backdrop of a slowing economy.

So any rate rise that does occur will, in our opinion, become viewed fairly quickly as a policy error, and so we hope that it does not happen. Add to this the almost inevitable effect of a consequential stronger Dollar (particularly if, as expected, the ECB and Bank of Japan – and probably the Bank of China too – trigger a further bout of QE themselves), which “will shave 45-90 basis points from annualised growth over the next two years” [BCA Research] and it is difficult to see any advantage to be gained by tightening. Remember, too, that a stronger Dollar will almost certainly mean more pain for the Emerging Markets, so we are avoiding any temptation to chase or anticipate a sustainable bounce in these for the foreseeable future.

Markets Want To Believe In Central Banks

globe, there has been absolutely no effect on inflationary expectations. In fact, it is quite the opposite. When QE first began, there was many an economic sage who predicted that printing money was going to lead us all into a re-run of life under the Weimar Republic or Mugabe’s Zimbabwe. To be fair, that was what the rule books told us would happen. We forget that most economists, and the theories that they espouse, exist to justify what has happened rather than to predict with any pinpoint accuracy what will happen. When events fail to pan out as expected, a fair bit of head scratching ensues.

“People React To What They See, Not To What They Are Told” Ben Bernanke said this at the BCA Conference in New York in September, and it is very true.

So we can be told as many times as we like that central banks can control inflation, but in reality the evidence is completely the contrary.

Why else would Japan still be striving for a 2% inflation target after years of pouring trillions of Yen into the system, and why did the Governor of the Bank Of England spend more time writing to the Chancellor about why he’d missed the inflation target than my late Dad spent writing to Points of View? The oil price and wages are the

In the absence of anything else, it is fair to say that markets (and individuals) want to believe that the central banks have some control over proceedings. It’s a bit like when, as a child, you wanted your parents to know everything and protect you from the Bogeyman.

There is a profound disappointment if it comes to light that this is not so. As with treating kids, rare and meaningful rewards are received with more enthusiasm and are a better behavioural tool than constant provision of nice things that turn your wide-eyed and wondrous offspring into spoiled brats. So it is with QE. After the first few times, the excitement starts to wane and the question of what else you can give us gets harder to answer. This is the state we seem to be approaching now.

The short-term hit has worn off. In Daniel Kahnemann’s book Thinking, Fast and Slow he identifies that the human brain has developed two separate and independent decision-making faculties: a fast, rapid-response, associative way of thinking and a slow, measured, analytical way of thinking. Markets have been displaying these tendencies, which goes some way to explaining the similarity in movement over the Summers of 2014 and 2015. The short-term response to QE, or the excitement of seeing rates kept on hold after it was expected that they would rise, was followed by a more studious analysis that identified that the only reason QE was launched or rates could not rise was because the economy was, in fact, in a worse place than was originally thought. Having then taken a few months

of steady realignment back to virtually the level that markets had risen from initially, the policymakers see cause to give us all a fillip in the form of further easing or lack of rate movement. This can only be repeated so many times before the markets become wary, distrustful and plain bored. The next fix is demanded. The trouble is, at the moment, no obvious fix exists.

But are things that bad? Not really. We’ve

“The Governor of the Bank Of England spends more time writing to the Chancellor about why he’d missed the inflation target than my late Dad spent writing to Points of View.”

been in worse places and economies have been in worse shape. It seems to us that we will continue to drift… if markets go up, they become too expensive for what they reflect, but having fallen because they’re too expensive, they then reach a level, particularly against the backdrop of sustainably low interest rates for cash, whereby they offer good value to investors and thus rise once more – until they get too expensive.

The main problem with this is that it cannot last for ever. At some point, markets will break out. We don’t know at this stage whether they will break out on the upside (let’s hope) or on the downside (let’s hope not). When they break out will depend upon a catalyst occurring, either negative or positive. At this moment it’s not clear what is the more likely. As a glasshalf-full type, let’s have faith in our central bankers to do the right thing for all of us. So, please don’t raise rates, Ms Yellen.

These are our views and are for professional use only

Skerritt Consultants, 8 Laurence Pountney Hill, London EC4R 0BE Tel: 020 3206 1066 Skerritt Consultants, Skerritt House, 23 Coleridge Street, Hove, BN3 5AB. Tel: 01273 204 999.

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Our Philosophy At Skerritts we realise that everyone faces risks in the future and that our client’s long-term financial security is very important.

In particular we recognise that an individual will, in almost all circumstances, want to make provision to protect their family from financial liabilities in the unfortunate event of their death. Furthermore we believe that it is important to consider the long-term financial implications in the event that an individual suffers from a serious illness in the future.

At Skerritts we have extensive experience of reviewing and establishing protection arrangements. Our advisers, researchers and administrators regularly review and implement the following types of protection arrangements on a regular basis for individuals: Due to the fact that Skerritt Consultants Ltd are Independent Financial Advisers, we are able to review protection products across the whole of the market place.

We are therefore able to provide an impartial service which is tailored towards our clients specific requirements and circumstances.

Call us to see if we can start something together.

FRAUD PREVENTION

FRAUD PREVENTION

Ian Patterson Area Director, South East, SME Banking E: ian.patterson2@lloydsbanking.com

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ith fraud being such a dominant subject within the business community, Lloyds Bank recently held a Fraud Awareness seminar at the Effingham Park Hotel in Crawley to offer corporate clients some first hand advice on how to protect the company from fraud and advice to the employees on what to look out for. It was incredibly useful and quite sobering.

Ian Patterson, Area Director of SME banking with Lloyds, opened the event with some alarming statistics and the re-enacted actual phone conversation of a company being defrauded with alarming ease. These fraudsters are becoming ever more professional and convincing and many such phishing fraudsters have been recruited from the call centre industry and often know exactly which buttons to press.

Some highlights that should be considered immediately within your company: • Limit access to on-line banking to the smallest team possible and change passwords regularly.

• Establish a double sign off process for all payments over a certain amount as a problem shared is a problem halved.

• Establish with staff that only attachments from trusted sources should be opened.

Further, access such attachments on a screen not attached to the mainframe

therefore restricting possible infection.

• Always insist on calling the bank on your regular number, and from a separate line, to verify any suspected phishing calls.

• No bank will ever send an email, text or a website link asking you to enter your Internet banking or card details.

• Don’t use a link in an unexpected or suspicious email to access any webpage. Type the website address into the browser’s search bar. Banks will never link from an email directly through to your Internet Banking log on page.

• Phishing emails are often sent as spam mailings pretending to come from your bank, tax authority, eBay, PayPal or webmail accounts.

The alarming phishing call replayed, detailed an employee being panicked by a

caller purporting to be a bank official stating that there had been suspicious payments made from the company account and if they were quick, they could stop the money leaving the account. Did the caller know the MD was on vacation from his Facebook page, as suggested? With that in mind, she panicked and passed over the information requested to the frighteningly plausible chap, for the good of the company. The account was cleaned out and on the basis that she gave the information willingly, banks are not obliged to refund the money. In this instance, Lloyds went to great trouble to track down the money and managed to recoup most of it. Nevertheless, it caused the company to lose two weeks of trading and the employee in question, one of the worst weeks of her life.

Lloyds bank statement: Lloyds guarantee to refund your money in the unlikely event you experience fraud with our Internet Banking service - as long as you’ve been careful, for example, by taking reasonable steps to keep your security information safe. We protect you with safeguards that meet Industry Standards.

• Keep your password secure and do not let anyone else make use of your security details,even if they share a joint account with you.

• Do not let anyone watch you enter your security details and log off after each Online Banking session.

• Carry out regular virus checks on your devices and have the latest operating system and web browser installed.

45

BUSINESS FORECASTING

THE TECTONIC PLATES OF BUSINESS ARE SHIFTING

Clive Stevens, Executive Chairman at Kreston Reeves, looks at how the future will create both threats and opportunities for business in the South East. www.krestonreeves.com 0330 124 1399

A

s the UK economy emerges from recession we have been involved in advising and helping local businesses

with their strategic plans for the next few

business journalist Trevor Sturgess. Richard

business plan you develop. Recent work has

and Trevor spoke about the future challenges

seen us consider the impact of globalisation,

they see facing UK business.

digitalisation and social trends for our clients.

Our strategic planning processes include

Globalisation

years. As part of these exercises, we encourage

working with our clients to consider the

business leaders to plan for the inevitable

upcoming political, economic, social,

economic and societal changes we see around

technological, legal and environmental

Kreston International, we are seeing a dramatic

the corner.

(PESTLE) changes. The scale of predicted

increase in the globalisation of businesses of

change means it is increasingly important to

all sizes. Clients ask us to source overseas

series of “Tomorrow’s Business” forums

undertake a PESTLE analysis for your business

advice on a continuing basis and help with

throughout London and the South East,

to really understand the potential threats and

foreign direct investment into the UK.

featuring Professor Richard Scase, one of

opportunities you may face over the next few

the UK’s leading business forecasters, and

years: it provides the basis for any strategic

Part of our work has included hosting a

46

Through our extensive overseas network,

It is clear that, although globalisation is opening up business opportunities, it has a

BUSINESS FORECASTING

“The Chinese no longer have surplus rural labour to fill the factories in coastal cities. UK manufacturers are therefore reassessing the benefits of overseas sub-contractor production.”

The global service hub

human cost and makes the UK vulnerable to

increasing wealth divide between the many

future economic and social trends. Speaking at

and the few. Social security, pension and

“Tomorrow’s Business”, Professor Scase said

tax policies will inevitably be used to limit

East is perfectly placed to offer specialist

that “while the manufacturing shift to China

increasing wealth differentials. Businesses will

services such as finance, insurance, education,

reduced the cost of manufactured goods in the

bear increased pension costs for their workers

media, digital services and high-value

shops, we have paid a huge price in other ways.

as the government seeks to limit its exposure

manufacturing internationally. These services

Allowing China and the Far East to capture so

to a spiralling pension bill. We are already

are in demand across Europe, the USA and the

much manufacturing has badly damaged the

seeing these changes emerge with both auto-

developing economies of China, India, Africa

sector in the UK and the US, causing human

enrolment for businesses and limits on pension

and Asia. We are seeing our clients reaching

and economic cost to communities as factories

tax relief for high earners.

out to markets in these areas - and winning

closed and workers lost their jobs”.

Professor Scase gave a word of caution on the UK’s focus on the knowledge economy – for example, media and the creative industries – at the expense of manufacturing. This contrasts with the choices made elsewhere, particularly in Germany and Scandinavia, where there has been greater investment in high-technology manufacturing.

That said, understanding the opportunity and threat of globalisation will be key for all businesses in the South East. Even small businesses are venturing into overseas markets, so they are also now part of global supply chains affected by world markets.

We are also seeing a revival of high-tech manufacturing throughout the South East based on entrepreneurial inventiveness and investment in technological knowhow.

Social trends As wages have increased in China and its one-child family planning policy creates an ageing population – although this policy is changing – the Chinese no longer have surplus rural labour to fill the factories in coastal cities.

UK manufacturers are therefore reassessing the benefits of overseas sub-contractor production.

However, while we have seen some manufacturing return to our shores, the overall effect has been to widen the UK North-South

Next year businesses will also face the

orders.

National Living Wage increases. This will hit

There are now more opportunities for South

some organisations hard with higher labour

Eastern manufacturers than 10 years ago: the

costs and - we believe - drive a demand for

cost differential is reducing.

greater automation and efficiency.

A new world disorder

The global/digital combination has broken down divisions between home and work. We now have a proliferation of self-employed, subcontractors and full-time employees working from home and dealing with clients across the world.

Many mid-cap businesses will be operating in this ‘new world’. This is to say nothing of the changing work attitudes of the ‘millennials’,

Professor Scase summed up our ”Tomorrow’s Business” forums by pointing to a ‘new world disorder’ triggered by the China downturn, digital ‘democracy’, global political uncertainty, changes in energy and commodity prices and population migrations.

As with all trends, events and crises, these will inevitably create opportunities for enterprises and entrepreneurs who

young people with new work aspirations and

stay ahead of the game. A world of greater

expectations.

risk and uncertainty reinforces the need for

Digitalisation

brainstorming and strategic planning.

Digitalisation is becoming a key driver

Our strategic planning and profit

in economic efficiency for business.

improvement processes can help boards steer

Professor Richard Scase stressed the

their businesses through the uncertainties

impact of destructive technologies and how in the future these will destroy knowledgebased professional businesses and the pharmaceutical industries will be transformed as a result of DNA - driven medical treatments.

Whether it is increasing computing power, mobile communications and telephony, 3D printing or robotics - our world is changing fast.

The combination of globalisation,

divide. London now accounts for a third of

digitalisation and changing employee

national GDP and has become a global service

demographics is totally transforming the

hub. This has made the UK more vulnerable

business landscape. Large and small firms now

to competition because human capital is more

cooperate and compete on a more level playing

mobile and can more easily be displaced by

field. Digital businesses need hardly any capital

talent elsewhere.

for start-up, creating greater opportunities for

There is huge media concern about the

With the benefits of our time zone the South

of today’s world. We are excited by the opportunities offered by these future trends and would be delighted to engage with you in your planning for this new world disorder.

Clive Stevens, Executive Chairman at Kreston Reeves, welcomes comments about any issues raised by this article. Kreston Reeves is a member of Kreston International, a worldwide network of independent accounting firms.

entrepreneurs.

47

PLATINUM STYLE

style PLATINUM

DRESSING FOR THE OCCASION….

It’s undoubtedly the most social time of the year. Sparkling occasions abound - Christmas drinks, office parties, New Year’s Eve - it’s enough to make anyone have a wardrobe crisis! Whether Samantha Wilding Tel: 07833 084864 Email: Samantha@styleandgrace.eu Website: www.styleandgrace.eu Twitter: @alwayschicUK

planning a special date, heading out for

Gentlemen – even if it’s a casual occasion, you still want to look like you made an effort, don’t you? A pair of dark wash jeans and a simple shirt worn with a v-neck jumper is a good starting point. Add some ‘oomph’ by topping it off with a black leather jacket or

cocktails or hosting a soiree at home,

contrasting blazer (in wool or tweed). For

everyone wants to make an impression.

evening, keep the colour palette neutral – think

Dressing up is becoming increasingly

black, grey and navy – it will be more than

rare in our casual 21st century world,

48

Look like you made an effort

appropriate and inject a bit of elegance.

For a more formal do, wear a suit, but don’t

but nothing beats it for injecting some

make it look like one. What do I mean by that?

glamour into a gathering. Read on to find

Well, lose the tie, for starters, and unbutton

out how….

your top button. You will still look sharp

PLATINUM STYLE Where to find it: www.austinreed.co.uk www.jigsaw-online.com www.reiss.co.uk www.johnlewis.com www.mrporter.com https://www.jcrew.com/uk/index.jsp www.marksandspencer.com www.wolford.com www.spacenk.co.uk www.maccosmetics.com

and plain trousers. If you’re going to buy a full

new and vintage will create a look that is

dinner suit, look to Austin Reed, Reiss and of

uniquely yours. Seek out smaller boutiques for

course, Moss Bros. For velvet jackets, take a

a more individual look (see box)

look at John Lewis.

Achieve effortless elegance Ladies, there are so many interesting textures to add a touch of the extraordinary

Think beyond black: navy, for example, is chic and looks less harsh. Claret and teal are also beautiful tones that suit most skin tones …And beyond the dress: jumpsuits are, quite

to your outfit - sequins, faux fur, lace and of

literally, a ‘one piece wonder’, creating a long

course, leather. A sequinned skirt or leather

fluid silhouette. Reiss have some very elegant

trousers worn with a cashmere jumper is a funky alternative for dinner or drinks. Leopard print and faux fur are also abundant this

jumpsuits in a variety of styles Think about the finishing touches to add polish. Get your makeup applied professionally

(assuming your shirt and suit fit well) but less

year, but keep these limited to one element to

like you’re heading to the office. A suit with

avoid any Bet Lynch connotations. If you’re

some pattern or texture (grey check or tweed,

heading out straight from the office, a simple

experiment with a brand new look, however –

for example) will also be more interesting,

black dress with worn with boots for day are

you may not like it, and you want to look like

especially if you add a pocket square.

transformed by adding heels, jewellery and a

you!

Stepping up the formality a bit, a dark grey or navy suit will take you almost anywhere, particularly when worn with a classic French cuff shirt fastened with cufflinks (every man

sleek clutch.

Here are my top tips for achieving effortless elegance this festive season: The basics matter: Well-fitting and

should have at least one in their repertoire).

supportive underwear are the foundation

Oh, and worn with a tie, of course. For sharp

of your look – get this right and the rest

tailoring options on the high street, try Jigsaw

will follow. If your outfit calls for tights or

Menswear, Reiss, J Crew or even M&S. Or seek

stockings, seek out Wolford. Their colours,

inspiration from men’s clothing and lifestyle

patterns and quality are unrivalled

website Mr Porter.

For black tie events, choose a dinner suit in

Be prepared: Nothing is more panic-inducing than discovering your dress has a broken

black or midnight blue (the Duke of Windsor’s

zipper or you don’t have the right shoes. Try

favourite) in wool. A velvet jacket in navy or

everything on at least a week in advance, giving

bottle green is also very contemporary, and

you time to get any last minute dry cleaning

can be worn with (or without) a richly coloured

done or to fill any gaps

patterned tie (not a bowtie), pocket square

Mix it up: Mixing high street and designer,

at Space NK or Mac. This is not the time to

Remember, if you are unsure of the dress code for a particular event, check with your host. It is so much better to ask than to risk embarrassment. Whatever you choose to wear, do so with confidence and a smile– nothing says elegance quite like it.

Sussex boutiques (womenswear): Doodie Stark, Lindfield Lounge, Lewes Nola, Brighton Sirene, Brighton Sloanes, Petworth Tribeca, Brighton Walk in Wardrobe, Hove

49

BUSINESS SCENE

BRITAIN AT ITS BEST A local children’s charity benefitted from a sporting lunch held at the Hilton London Gatwick Airport hotel in November.

T

he Gatwick ‘Best of British’ charity sporting lunch welcomed over 240 guests from businesses across Sussex, digging deep to raise over £12,000 for the charity Rockinghorse, who aim to make life better for sick babies and children in Sussex.

Guests were in good company with special guest speaker, former England rugby international, Gareth Chilcott, who entertained the room with stories from his career as part of a Rugby World Cup 2015 special. The event raised £12,020 for Rockinghorse through a series of fundraising initiatives held throughout the day, including an auction with exclusive sporting memorabilia and a raffle.

Rockinghorse is the official fundraising arm of the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital (the Alex) and a vital support of the Trevor Mann Baby Unit (TMBU) in Brighton and its sister site, the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) in Haywards Heath. The charity raises money for lifesaving and cutting-edge medical equipment, whilst ensuring that children are treated in an environment better suited for their needs.

All funds raised from last week’s Gatwick ‘Best of British’ event will be donated to SCBU, which is based within the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath. The money will be used to purchase a cardiac monitor for highly dependent babies and those in need of emergency care.

Ryan Heal, CEO of Rockinghorse, says: “As our supporters prove year after year, their contribution makes a direct, life-changing impact on the sick children of Sussex, and for that we are incredibly grateful. Thank you to all our guests who gave so generously, enabling us to purchase this vital piece of equipment.”

The next Brighton ‘Best of British’ charity sporting lunch will take place at The Grand hotel in Brighton on Friday 3 June, 2016 and will welcome 1966 World Cup winning goalkeeper, Gordon Banks OBE.

50

The Rockinghorse team

Sponsors Mayo Wynne Baxter

Gareth Chilcott and the Hilton London Gatwick Airport hotel table

BUSINESS SCENE

Gareth Chilcott, Ryan Heal and Aaron James

Gareth Chilcott with Maarten Homann & Ian Trevett from Platinum - Rockinghorse Media Sponsors.

Signed Rubgy Union shirt

Gareth Chilcott signs his canvas for Grant Ashley

Signed SCCC cricket bat

England football shirt auction lot

Gatwick Best of British

Best of British volunteers from Lloyds Banking Group

Tim Cobb, Gareth Chilcott and James Dempster

Neil Laughton and Ryan Heal

Gareth Chilcott and Grant Ashley

51

TRAVEL

GLOBAL TRAVEL MANAGEMENT

B

ack in the day, companies wanting to send their management team on a sales or team building trip, would ask

the company PA to plan the trip. Having little

skills and knowledge to ensure that all such trips go seamlessly, and at the best price available.

Voted by airlines and related travel industry

bespoke service and pioneering initiatives.

With its head office in Woking, Surrey, and a further office in South Africa, it has steadily grown its broad range of loyal clients, that vary

practical experience, this led to many a famous

companies as Advantage Corporate Member

from large international FTSE-100s to small

cock up with the sales team sitting in Timbuktu

of the Year 2015, Global Travel Management

businesses and start-ups.

airport when they should have been in Chicago.

is the leading company in their field and was

That was long ago before specialist

In the last 18 months it has continued to

founded in 1997 by Scott and Natalie Pawley. It

build its portfolio with the acquisition of a North

companies arrived that would take all that head

has become a standard bearer within the travel

West London travel management company

ache away and utilise their highly specialist

industry, keeping ahead of the curve through its

(TMC), Stanmore Business Travel, and NK Jets,

52

TRAVEL of their clients shy away from

a private charter aircraft service, now relaunched under the brand Global Travel Jets.

The acquisitions clearly indicate that the company is on target to meet growth plans set out by MD Scott Pawley, highlighted when GTM was

making credit card payments and

“The reason so many clients choose us over bigger companies is because GTM specialises in bespoke personal service.”

ensuing cash flow problems may result in the closure of many old school TMCs. Companies such as GTM prefer clients to use credit cards

chosen as a finalist in the 2015 Toast

but it still has the challenge of

of Surrey Business Awards.

Fully licensed by ABTA, ATOL, IATA, and an accredited Investors in People enterprise, it stands out as an industry and

despite the fall in oil prices, are still expected to reflect hikes in fares and hotel costs.

Scott says: “We believe that the biggest

persuading all its clients to do so and to shed the misconception that payment by credit card would be a burden should anything go wrong.

business leader. Even through the recession it

hit on prices is likely to be in the Asia-Pacific

more than doubled its turnover from £10.3m in

area where more and more businesses are

2007 to £23m in 2014, achieving a substantial

continuing to invest a considerable amount of

bigger companies is because GTM specialises

profit increase for the same period.

time and money. So business travellers are

in bespoke personal service.”

In his role as Chairman of the Focus Partnership Tech Panel, Scott continues

likely to see that reflected in their travel costs.”

The reason so many clients choose us over

GTM has built a solid reputation for reliability,

However, the challenge that he feels will

efficiency and a service that is second to

to reinvent his sector with a number of

have the biggest impact on UK TMCs is the decision by airlines to change payment

none and that is why their 350 corporate

technology-based initiatives that he has shared with his peers. Focus, as a group, has become

regulations. Agents will be required to make

a forward thinking network of 69 TMCs with a

their payments to airlines twice instead of

combined turnover of over half a billion pounds.

once a month. “This is the industry’s biggest

The GTM App was one of the industry-leading

challenge to date, possibly leading to the

clients rely on them for every element of their travel needs, be it airlines, rail, conference reservations, hotels, visa requirements, ground transportation and much more. This will be why

products GTM piloted for Focus providing a

closure of a number of the smaller companies,”

they have won a host of prestigious awards and

bespoke client app that supports the work of

says Scott.

more and more companies are turning to GTM

the company’s team of specialists.

Global Travel Management also works

The credit card shake up is expected to hit the smaller companies the hardest as many

for their one stop shop approach to business travel.

with clients to maximise their travel strategy, which includes the option to develop and provide bespoke corporate travel websites with management reports, that offer an online suite of reports analysing company travel expenditure as well as an option to upload and maintain personal travel profiles and analyse the impact of travel on the environment.

“Year on year GTM has surpassed its annual targets, achieving a steady growth over the last 18 years. The developments over the last year have been particularly exciting for us,” says Scott.

“I attribute such success to our high quality customer service with clients and suppliers alike based on our in-depth knowledge of the industry. Our human-to-human approach is what they value most – it’s also the way we work and value each other as a team.”

This said, the Business Travel Management industry as a whole is taking a cautious approach to the year ahead despite an easing of global economic tensions. Corporates are looking to TMCs to achieve savings in travel in the face of rising business travel costs that,

Global Travel Management Kingsway House, 123-125 Goldsworth Road, Woking, Surrey, GU21 6LR T: 01483 747321 • W: www.g-t-m.co.uk • M: reservations@g-t-m.co.uk 53

LEGAL ADVICE

D.I.V.O.R.C.E.: Nothing to declare?

disclosure, the Court has the power at a later

by Wendy Ryle Burt Brill & Cardens W: www.bbc-law.co.uk T: 01273 604123

date, to set aside an Order or Agreement based on the fraud or lack of the material information.

So what is the problem?

When a couple are heading for divorce or separation, this can bring out the worst in some people. Emotions are running high and both spouses are facing the uncertainty

T

of a complete change in their personal

his month I am dealing with the issue of financial disclosure when a couple divorce or separate. This has been in

the news recently with the Supreme Court’s rulings in two cases which were heralded as a victory for wives over husbands who attempt to conceal the truth relating to their finances.

The basics It is a fundamental requirement when a couple deal with the finances on divorce or separation that both owe a duty of “full and frank disclosure” to their spouse and the Court.

This means that they must be entirely open about all aspects of their finances: namely, income, property, other capital assets, pensions and any changes which are reasonably

circumstances. This can result in either or both partners feeling defensive and wanting to protect their assets or income. This is

“Mr Sharland’s valuer said they were worth between £6.7 million and £8.08 million.

The wife’s valuer assessed the value at between £22.24 million and £31.9 million.”

especially the case if they feel aggrieved at the prospect of their “other half” recovering or sharing in “their” income or assets. This could relate to an inheritance or gift from a family member, a business which one of the spouses has built up or the prospect of an improvement in their finances in the future which they do not wish to share.

The law states that a fair outcome is to be reached when dealing with finances and so it must be a case of “cards up on the table” for fairness to be achieved.

The question of the concealment of assets

foreseeable. Judges are keen to stress the

or income or misrepresentation of assets

importance of this duty. It is established law

or income arises frequently in my work.

that where there is fraud or material non-

The Supreme Court rulings are welcome for

54

LEGAL ADVICE

“It is a fundamental requirement when a couple deal with the finances on divorce or separation that both owe a duty of “full and frank disclosure” reinforcing the need for complete honesty.

Mr Sharland’s valuer said they were worth

had been agreed and approved by the Court

However, to refer a case back to the Court after

between £6.7 million and £8.08 million. The

after financial proceedings had been heard.

it has been disposed of, one must establish that

wife’s valuer assessed the value at between

The wife had concerns about the husband’s

there has been dishonesty or fraud or that this

£22.24 million and £31.9 million. There was

disclosure at that time. She required a note to

is highly likely. This can be very difficult.

also an issue as to when the shares might

be included in the Order that she considered

be realised. Mr Sharland said that this was

that her husband had not provided full and

set aside an Order has often been produced by

unlikely for 3, 5 or 7 years from the time of the

frank disclosure of his financial circumstances

the ‘innocent’ party being able to rely on “self-

hearing. At one stage he said, “There is nothing

and she was compromising her claims to

help” – finding documents or other records, e.g.

on the cards today”.

achieve finality. In 2007, Mrs Gohil applied to

In the past, the evidence for an application to

on a computer, to prove that their spouse has

the Court for the Order to be set aside. Those

not provided a full picture of their finances or

proceedings progressed slowly because in

been dishonest in some other way.

2008, Mr Gohil was prosecuted for offences

By a Court of Appeal decision in 2010, in a case when the wife’s brother had downloaded the husband’s financial records from a shared computer network, the Court ruled that this was a breach of the husband’s right to confidentiality. Therefore, the information obtained was inadmissible evidence. This decision has been unhelpful to clients who

“When a couple are heading for divorce or separation, this can bring out the worst in some people.”

of money-laundering to a value of about £25 million. The criminal proceedings were eventually dealt with and in 2011 Mr Gohil was sentenced to prison for a total of ten years.

The Judge in the ongoing family proceedings required the Crown Prosecution Service to provide evidence from the money-laundering proceedings. It was the contention of the CPS

have suspicions about the financial information

that Mr Gohil had realisable assets of £35

given (or not given) by their spouse. The Court

million. By reason of this and other evidence,

of Appeal said that where appropriate, freezing or search orders could be obtained but this can be problematic without compelling evidence of dishonesty and is a costly process. The Court also said that it is usually able to identify dishonest disclosure. However, this then requires a case to be brought which may be fraught with uncertainty and be expensive and stressful.

It is therefore much better to know that a case is being dealt with by reference to all the relevant financial information and that there is no risk of non-disclosure. I fear we will never reach this ideal but the recent Supreme Court decisions make it clear that dishonesty and non- disclosure will not be tolerated by the Courts.

So what did the Supreme Court say in the recent cases?

The Supreme Court dealt with the cases of Mrs Sharland and Mrs Gohill.

Mrs Sharland was the ex-wife of Charles

including testament by Mr Gohil’s father Prior to the Judge making a decision, an

against his son, the Court said Mr Gohil had

agreement was reached on the basis that Mrs

been dishonest in his financial disclosure in

Sharland would receive 30% of the net proceeds

2004 and set aside that order. Again, the case

of sale from the shares and certain other

was sent back to the High Court for rehearing.

assets. Before the agreement could be formally approved by the Court, reports appeared in the press that AppSense was being actively prepared for public flotation. On the predicted sale price, the husband’s shares were estimated to be worth ten times as much as his valuer had calculated. Mrs Sharland therefore asked the Court not to seal the proposed Order. The Court decided to do so because it felt the agreement should be upheld and there was still uncertainty as to when the flotation would take place. The Court of Appeal upheld this decision. It was ultimately the Supreme Court who found that Mr Sharland’s misrepresentation and nondisclosure as to the plans for the company were highly material. They said that they had coloured both valuers’ approach to the valuation of the shares and the wife’s approach to the terms

Sharland, an IT “whizz” and co-founder of

on which she would settle the case. The Order

AppSense. During the first part of the contested

recording the agreed terms was therefore set

financial hearing, there was a considerable

aside and the matter has been sent back to the

difference in the evidence provided by the

High Court for a rehearing.

experts instructed by each party as to the value of Mr Sharland’s shares in AppSense.

So what can we learn about financial disclosure in divorce and separation cases?

The recent decisions in the Sharland and Gohil cases have made it absolutely clear that the Courts will not tolerate dishonesty. Spouses who do not provide full and frank financial information are at risk of having orders and agreements re-opened and set aside at a later date. The moral is clear: “liar beware”……and it is right that I add that all that I have stated about dishonesty and non-disclosure applies equally to wives as to husbands!

If you or someone you know is facing a divorce or separation or dealing with other family law issues, please contact Wendy at wryle@bbclaw.co.uk or on 01273 604123, mentioning the Platinum Club Magazine, and she will be able to provide free initial advice.

In Mrs Gohil’s case, the financial proceedings had been concluded in 2004 on terms which

55

CASE STUDY

LITTLE DONKEY CharityLine specialises in helping charities maximise their income so they can concentrate making a difference to the good causes they are passionate about. With the season of nativity plays almost upon us, it is the ideal time to focus on a Haywards Heath based charity that rescues donkeys in the Holy Land. It is a charity that touches a nerve for all animal-lovers. Ian Trevett talks to Wendy Ahl, Sarah Webster and Melanie Thorpe from the charity and CharityLine’s Stuart Sutherland.

I

f there’s ever a charity that follows the Ronseal marketing philosophy, it is this one. Safe Haven for Donkeys in the Holy Land... It does what it says on the tin!

It was born out of a typical British love of animals and shock at their

mistreatment. It was founded in 2000 by a volunteer at an animal shelter in Jerusalem who became aware of the many hundreds of sick, unwanted and abused donkeys in the region.

Wendy Ahl, the current chief executive explains, “We’re the only charity helping donkeys in Israel and Palestine and we help working and abandoned donkeys. By helping donkeys we’re also helping the people who rely on them because otherwise the people just couldn’t manage without them.”

The scale of the problem is quite horrific, as Sarah Webster explains, “When houses are built in Israel and Palestine they are up on the hills and the working donkeys are used to transport all the sand and materials. They literally just walk up and down constantly all day, carrying up these great big sacks of sand. The average working donkey only lives until they’re 10 because of the extent of their work and the labour they have to do. Normally a donkey might live up to 40. You can see the dip in their backs where the weights push down. So it’s very, very sad, especially as their owners often forget to give them water and food to keep them going.

“When their donkeys aren’t useful for them any longer, they just leave them, abandoned at the side of the road. You find them in some pretty poor conditions - one had actually been set on fire.

“Some boys poured some petrol on the back of his back and then set light to him. He has to have a big thick layer of Sudocrem over his back every day, but he is so friendly, that he’s now the meet and greet donkey for the sanctuary, which has almost 250 donkeys. Each time a donkey comes to us in a distressed state, Burnie comforts them and makes them feel comfortable.

“We all love and dote on our pets so much here and as a nation we’re very much animal people. It’s difficult to get your head round the fact that people just abuse and abandon them and don’t care.”

56

CASE STUDY “When the donkeys give birth it stops the mothers from working,” adds Melanie Thorpe, “so they just tie the young donkeys by the side of the road and leave them to die.”

As if their job wasn’t hard enough, there is the small matter of Middle East politics. The charity runs a 4-acre donkey sanctuary near the Israeli town of Netanya and a clinic in the Palestinian town of Qalqilya. It doesn’t take an avid expert in diplomacy to realise that this has its own difficulties. But the poor treatment of donkeys transgresses the divide between the two communities - the neglect on both sides is often shameful. Ultimately, it all comes down to education in the rural areas.

“We have schools coming to our sanctuary as you need to break the cycle,” says Sarah.

an A4 donation form. Along with legacies and

“If a child sees their dad not looking after

nothing you can do. You could possibly go to the

direct debits/standing orders it is one of main

the donkeys then it continues. If you train a

bank and ask for a trace to be put on it. But I

revenue sources.”

don’t know what they’d charge to trace that or

10-year-old to look after the donkey, to feed

Another initiative instigated by CharityLine

whether they’d even be willing or able to.

it, to brush it, to make sure the basic care is

was to update payment methods. “A key move

covered, then it just makes life much easier. So

was introducing direct debit,” says Stuart. “We

we have schools come in and we show them

payment methods because that just prompts

were trialling it and we sat down with Wendy

how to look after the donkeys.”

them to make a buying decision of, “Do I want to

and she was really receptive to helping us roll

carry on supporting the charity?” So generally

it out.

we say if they’re there, leave them alone. But if

The work of the charity is admirable, but the costs of running the sanctuary and the daunting veterinary bills are always a challenge. Which is where CharityLine come in.

“At first we got involved to help with mailing and data cleaning,” says Stuart Sutherland, “but before long we were helping with the design and print of marketing materials, and then we started to print the newsletter.”

“We always had a newsletter,” recalls Melanie, “but it changed so much when CharityLine took over. We used to have a little

“Having a well-designed, professional newsletter was a fantastic investment. ” “I think we were a bit surprised when we

A5 leaflet, which looked old-fashioned.”

saw the previous data and realised that some

Having a well-designed, professional

were anonymous donations. Money turned up

newsletter was a fantastic investment. Wendy

every month, we didn’t know where it came

agrees: “I’d say we’ve probably raised £100,000

from, which meant you had no contact to even

a year from our newsletters, so it’s huge.

say thank you.

Each letter has a donation slip; it’s normally

“With standing orders there’s literally

“We don’t tend to encourage people to move

a donor phones up and says, “I want to increase my payment,” then you can suggest they go on direct debit. Once it’s set up as a direct debit, the person can phone up and say: “Can you suspend it this month or can you increase it or reduce it,” and you’ve got the power to log in and do so.

“Often with a standing order there is an expiry date and then it runs out. With debit cards, they tend to expire after about four or five years, which means that at some point over the next four years every single one of those payments is going to expire.

“With direct debit it’s in your control. For instance, the adoption packs are a one-off lump sum of £24 but if it was a direct debit of perhaps £5 a month, suddenly you’ve doubled the donation.”

Introducing direct debits has undoubtedly helped with fundraising, but Wendy is looking for more revenue sources: “We desperately need to businesses to choose us as their charity for the year and then for them to run events with us – which is something Safe Haven hasn’t done to date.

We can support them as much as they need. If they can start running events for the charity, that would be amazing. If you are reading this, please get in touch as your help would be really appreciated.”

http://www.safehaven4donkeys.org/ fundraising/make-a-donation/ Tel: 01444 831177 www.charityline.org.uk

57

ANGER MANAGEMENT

ANGER MANAGEMENT Utterly failed by Maarten Hoffmann

THE CHINESE TAKEAWAY I

that we do not fully understand and that rarely

the mantle to the Chinese who are producing

integrate, partake of habits that we might find

said steel by building coal fired power stations

appalling, a religion we find confusing and a

faster than we can blow them up. China is

migrant crisis where only now are the leaders

global outlook that we think we understand but

building a new coal fired power station at the

of the EU waking up to and trying to deal with

nothing could be further from the truth.

rate of one per week! And globally, China plan

believe that the UK, and the rest of Europe, is walking into a future drama that has yet to be fully recognised. One might compare it to the

it. To little too late and we should expect more from our ‘leaders’.

China is buying up the world and putting

Yet, we are prepared to sell them the family jewels at a rate of knots that is terrifying.

Due to the green lobby that, to be frank, have

to build a further 1,000 coal-fired plants in the next 5 years by entering into deals with third world countries and offering them cheaper power - for now.

themselves into such a dominant position in

absolutely no bloody idea what they are talking

every area, that we should wake up and smell

about most of the time, we are blowing up coal

the roses.

fired power stations right left and centre but

Zimbabwe’s butcher Robert Mugabe, so it is

cannot afford to replace them. The answer: roll

good to see the Chinese government took all

in many ways, like us. We share common goals,

out the carpet for the Chinese government and

the West’s documentation about his human

share common worries and fears and, in the

have them come and build them for us. Our

rights record to heart. On the very day that

main, get along. Russia is having a fit of muscle

nuclear industry is now owned by the Chinese

President Xi shared a pint with David Cameron

flexing but essentially we understand Russians.

who will be producing electricity at a price that

in some Buckinghamshire hostelry last month,

India is waking up and starting to roar, but we

no one will be able to afford. Meanwhile, we

China awarded Mugabe their equivalent of

have much in common with the Indians and

destroy our steel industry by forcing them to

there is great empathy between our people.

pay huge green taxes, also meant to discourage

But China is a race apart. They are a people

the use of wicked coal, and therefore pass

The vast majority of races on the planet are,

I think we all share the same abhorrence of

the Nobel Peace Prize, the Confucius Peace Prize, for his ‘quest for global harmony and the decent and democratic treatment of his people’. Yup, that’s got the bloke down to a tee - astonishing that nobody has picked up on his success before now. But then they have history here as the last recipient was Fidel Castro for his success in human rights. But then, compared to China, they are indeed beacons of fair play.

Zimbabwe have considerable mineral deposits and China want them, so to hell with human rights. They have also identified Africa as a prime target and have been buying up vast tracts of land across the continent and raping it for all they are worth. Having just returned from Kenya and had this very conversation with many Kenyans, they despise them for their shocking treatment of the locals, their

58

ANGER MANAGEMENT

abject failure to even attempt to integrate and

shareholders, China’s state-owned enterprises

recently showing China’s foreign exchange

the environmental horror they leave behind

(SOE) enjoy massive state support, which

reserves jumped by a record $199bn in the

them when the raping is complete. The only

fosters growth and insulates them from

final three months of 2010 to an all-time

thing the Kenyans are grateful for is that they

competition. “What would the chairman of

high of $2.85 trillion, these global shopping

have cleared the streets of stray dogs, by

China’s largest bank do if the chairman of

excursions are set to become bigger and more

eating them all. They have made huge but quiet

PetroChina asked for a loan?” wrote Carl

frequent. They already own 21% of all US

Walter and Fraser Howie in their history of

treasury bonds and could bring the country

China’s markets, Red Capitalism. “He would

down if they sold in one hit. It also currently

say, ‘Thank you very much, how much, and for

owns substantial sovereign debt bonds in

how long?’” He’d probably do so from one of

Greece, Spain and Portugal.

investments across 34 African countries with $21bn in Nigeria, $15bn in Algeria and $10bn in Angola and they have set aside over $400bn for energy raping over the next 12 months.

They also own large chunks of Rio Tinto, Glencore, Standard Bank, BP, Morgan Stanley, IBM, Total, Munich Re, Peugeot, Volvo, Diageo, Ford, Barclays, Conoco Phillips, Thames Water

the extravagantly designed SOE headquarters,

There is nothing new in China buying the

many with foreign architects, that line two

assets and debts of countries and companies

major thoroughfares in Beijing. With data

around the world with the huge foreign

and GM. China is cash rich and for the past few decades the world has been sending virtually all manufacturing to their shores. Then they wait for the green lobby to shut down half to the developed worlds factories and then ‘rescue’ them will piles of cash, gaining large chucks of voting shares in the meantime. Much of their investment has gone into energy or mineral producing companies. Unlike the rest of us, the Chinese government ensure that the top 500 Chinese companies are all government owned, therefore controlled 100% by the state. Just imagine the lack of competition and creative freedom this creates compared to how the West runs their economies.

With the government as their largest

59

ANGER MANAGEMENT

currency reserves it accumulates by producing cheap goods that the rest of the world wants to buy.

But the speed with which these reserves have grown, as China’s economic juggernaut consistently outpaces every other economy, is enabling it to exert an ever tighter grip on global business, finance and, in turn, politics.

Gerard Lyons, chief economist and group head of global research at Standard Chartered, said: “The last decade could be characterised by the three words ‘made in China’. In this next decade, it will be ‘owned by China’.”

“In the last 18 months China has moved into a new phase whereby it has started getting quite vocal about the global economy and is really staking a claim to being a superpower,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at online foreign exchange trading company Forex.com. She dates China’s change in attitude to the moment when its foreign currency reserves breached the $2tn mark in July 2009.

David Cameron is happy to ingratiate himself with China. In November, he led the largest ever UK trade delegation to Beijing during which he set a goal for the country to nearly double its annual trade in goods and services with China from $52bn in 2009 to $100bn in 2015. Britain struck £2.6bn of deals with China this month, including a move to increase sales of Jaguar Land Rover vehicles to China; an announcement

by BP and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation on deepwater exploration in the South China Sea and a so-called framework deal between PetroChina and Britain’s Ineos to form refining joint ventures.

This all sounds splendid and flushes cash into UK reserves but l urge you to consider what some might say is a doomsday scenario.

We do not understand the Chinese mentality.

A recent combative streak amongst army Generals speaks to a profound shift in Chinese

60

politics and foreign policy that transcend the heat of the moment. The more provocative of these officers call for “short, sharp wars” to assert China’s sovereignty. Others urge Beijing to “strike first”, “prepare for conflict” or “kill a chicken to scare the monkeys”.

I repeat: we do not understand the Chinese mentality, thought process, long-term goals or their view of the world.

What if they decided to re-kindle their Empire, as the Russians have done in Ukraine, Crimea and Syria. There is little doubt they know the power they have. They could, within 48 hours, cripple the words economy, cause black-outs across half the globe, cut all digital transmission and grind the banking industry to a halt. If any country dare challenge them, with what l don’t know as without digital transmission 90% of the worlds armies would still be in barracks, they have 4.3 million

“kill a chicken to scare the monkeys” soldiers ready to go at any one time and 20 million a year coming of age. They have more tanks, ships, aircraft and land based nuclear assets than any other country and spend $145 billion a year on maintaining it. When they recently claimed the Diaoyu Islands from Japan, not a peep out of any Western country because we cannot afford to upset them. So China will take the islands, as Russian took Crimea, and we cannot afford to protest.

And that is the point. The West is bought and paid for. We will never ever stand up to China as there is too much to lose, ergo, they can, and most likely will, do anything they damn well please around the globe. This includes

decimating the Elephant, Tiger and Rhino populations; eating every Whale and Dolphin that still exists; burning more fossil fuel each year than the West consumes in a decade; abuse and imprison any protester; storm Tibet and slaughter any monk that dare resist; support despots such as Mugabe, Kim Jong-un, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Bashar al-Assad and Fidel Castro.

“There’s virtually no accountability for torturers in China,” Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch, tells this magazine. Human Rights Watch issued its own report on the topic in May. In Amnesty’s report, Hunan lawyer Cai Ying detailed being held for 87 days in 2012, allegedly for suing a member of the country’s judicial system. He told Amnesty that he was questioned for at least 12 hours a day in a hanging chair.

Beijing-based human rights lawyer Yu Wensheng told Amnesty he was detained for 99 days after he supported pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong in 2014. “My hands were swollen and I felt so much pain that I didn’t want to live,” he said. “I know from personal experience how widespread torture is in China’s current law-enforcement environment.”

But earlier this year, when the UN’s antitorture committee confronted China with Wensheng’s story within a broader list of issues, China denied that the lawyer had been “maltreated.” In the same response, government officials described the country’s detention practices as “a management approach”—rather than a violation of international law.

Human beings need a ‘management approach’? I don’t know if we should be terrified of China. Do you?

Direct Debit Processing Donor Development Campaign Planning Marketing Resources

www.charityline.org.uk

Call us on: 0800 368 9701 or email: info@charityline.org.uk

MAKING THE CASE FOR PR

By Joanne Rogers, Managing Director, Prowse & Co. www.prowse.co.uk

A

well thought-out and focused PR campaign offers many benefits.

However, like any form of sales

and marketing activity, PR needs planning.

Whilst some quick wins will be achieved, PR is best considered a medium-to-long term commitment.

Should your company invest in PR, and if so, what is the best approach to deliver a campaign? It is a myth that PR is only effective for big organisations with large budgets. The options may seem overwhelming and most companies certainly don’t have the resources to try every technique – but even the smallest

But, overall, you want people to remember your name when they are in need of your products or services and PR is an excellent way Customers will choose to buy your products and services based on your reputation.

The same applies to partners who may be associated with your firm. Public relations will help to build the reputation you want and to differentiate it from others to give your organisation a competitive edge.

With this in mind, the argument for doing more rather than less PR appears to be a ‘nobrainer’. When things become tight, people

targeted PR campaign. Moreover, it can be used

become far more selective about where they

at all stages of the business lifecycle.

choose to spend their money. In the battle

PR might be your primary marketing activity, or it may be one element of an integrated

for market share, you are going to have to communicate more, not less.

Money spent on PR is money well spent

marketing campaign which includes

when the message is focused, consistent and

advertising, direct mail and sponsorships.

measured.

Prowse & Co. combines strategic counsel with practical support to help you effectively communicate with your target audiences. If you would like to find out more about how PR might benefit your organisation, just give me a call on 01372 363386 or visit www.prowse.co.uk.

62

www.prowse.co.uk

in which to build your brand.

of firms can benefit from a focused and

Depending upon your specific circumstances,

Public Relations Marketing Events Research Economic Development

Why is PR important?

• It helps to further the strategic objectives of your organisation by ensuring the vision and values of the Board are communicated effectively to stakeholders.

• It is designed to influence behaviour and create a positive sales environment.

• It fosters relationships with key audiences including customers, prospects and partners.

• It minimises threats by spotting problems, or potential conflicts, early.

• It helps to build and safeguard a strong reputation, particularly important in markets where ethical trading is an issue.

• It helps to retain and attract talent to your team.

MOTORING

NEW METAL 1. FERRARI F12tdf With 770bhp and £400,000 - too late, they are all gone. Recession, what recession?

2. EVOQUE CONVERTIBLE Cute as a button for £47,000 but drop the roof off the RR Sport and then we have something.

3. MERCEDES AMG C63 COUPE A stonking soundtrack from the V8 turbo and only £61,000. Coming soon.

4. LAMBORGHINI HURACAN Back to rear wheel drive and away from quattro for plenty of tail sliding. 602bhp 5.2 litre V10.

5. PORSCHE TURBO New Carrera and Carrera S coming shortly at £86,000. The perennial 911 that refuses to die.

6. MERCEDES GLS A handsome facelift, go anywhere for £63,000 and a huge challenger to the Audi Q7.

7. AUDI Q7 e-tron 166mpg hybrid, silence is golden at £65,000, but still a humungous car.

8. HERITAGE DEFENDER The end of history but only 400 built so be fast with any price you can get it for.

9. LOTUS ELISE SPORT The sport moniker has not been used since the Esprit. £30,000

10. BMW 330e A hybrid 3 Series with remarkable stats and coming soon.

63

MOTORING

JAGUAR F TYPE AWD J

aguar have been breaking the mould fairly consistently over the past few years and roaring back to life. From their grand and powerful days, Jaguar slipped into the doldrums until the Indians came to the rescue, in the form of Tata Industries. They now present a range of extremely good cars, full of character, style and speed.

If you read this column on a regular basis, you will know that l have rekindled my love affair with Jags. They might not be in quite the same league of build quality as the Germans but they do have that elusive ingredient character. I have reviewed all the versions of the beautiful F-Type, from the drop top V6, the Coupe V8 and the drop top V8 and l have never come away disappointed, Exhilarated, excited and with soiled underpants on occasion but never disappointed.

The only issue ever encountered is on a wet day in a rear wheel drive, front engined V8 monster,

64

with a little too must pressure on the go pedal, you see the rear beside you and realise you are definitely not going to make the corner.

That’s the ‘soiled’ time as l realised that the rear wheels have broken free and l am about to demolish £100,000 worth of Crewe’s finest.

“....a lot less frightening on a wet night on the Pease Pottage roundabout.”

Jaguar have answered that little problem with the first ever all-wheel drive Jaguar in the history of the marque. Now l have four wheel drive AND a 5.0 litre V8 behemoth and there will be no stopping me. Who needs a driving licence anyway?

Motoring Editor: Maarten Hoffmann

They have had to make a few modifications to make this work such as a bonnet re-profile to accommodate a 10mm engine lift required to fit the AWD bits and an inch or two off the left-side footwell to slide in the electronically controlled clutch, and apart from the rear AWD badge, there is little exterior difference.

This clever little bugger only drives the rear wheels under normal driving conditions but when called for, the AWD system kicks in and takes control of all four wheels.The electronic clutch control unit knows what throttle and steering inputs you’ve asked for, and monitors traction underfoot too, so it only sends power forward when it thinks it’s genuinely necessary.

Sticking that badge on it just makes me want to challenge it therefore l tried to get the back to break away with a half turn whilst burying the throttle into the carpet in the rain but after a split second of the computer working out what l was up to, it settled into a well controlled and easily managed fourwheel drift. Less dramatic, admittedly, but also a lot less

MOTORING

TECHNICAL STUFF Model Tested: F-Type R Convertible AWD Engine: 5.0 litre V8 Supercharged Power: 550bhp Performance: 0-62 3.9 seconds Top Speed: 186mph Economy: 25mpg combined Price from: £97,145.00 As tested: £103,715.00

frightening on a wet night on the Pease Pottage roundabout.

From the Audi R8 and Lambo Huracan to the Porsche 911 and Nissan GT-R, AWD is taking over and, following Audi’s lead, is appearing in more and more cars. But then, some might feel it takes the fun (read danger) out of it and

Lambo now produce the Huracan in 2-wheel drive. I, along with many others, have also been bitching about all fast motors now coming with an auto box with paddle shift for those that want to pretend they are driving a manual.

They are not. So Jaguar are now producing the F-Type with a proper manual gearbox. Do you

remember that stick to your left hand side praise be it’s back and thank the heavens for that.

Thank you Jaguar for producing a blisteringly fast and beautiful car that, in anger, can actually be kept on the road.

65

MOTORING

MERCEDES-BENZ

E-CLASS ESTATE I

owned an E-Class estate a few years back and really liked it. Yes it’s huge and wafts around like a stately home but then that’s

detached house bolted to the rear and drove

you were born to it. And, as l have mentioned

like a - well, a semi-detached house. Today,

before with the new premium Mercs, it is lovely

most manufacturers have estates and they

to see a real and beautifully crafted clock in the

why you buy it. My kids loved it as the rear two

really can be good looking cars but the test is

centre of the dash.

seats that made this a 7-seater, pulled up from

if they drive as if it were a saloon. This is the

the floor and faced backwards and they thought

real test.

that was hysterical. It might not of been terribly

Mercedes estates have long had a reputation for spaciousness and dependability – and with

To sit in this luxurious cabin, you are sitting

leather-lined interiors and high-tech equipment

safe in a rear shunt mind you but hysterical

in a typical beautiful, bullet proof saloon. Well

as standard, the latest E-class doesn’t sacrifice

never the less.

laid out, superbly finished and everything

luxury in the pursuit of those two traits. What’s

So it was with some anticipation that the

ergonomically designed to be at your finger

more, with a range of fuel-sipping engines

latest model pulled onto my drive and without

tips. Most of the functions are controlled by

and the option of seven seats, the E-Class

even getting inside it, l can tell you that it is a

scrolling thorough menus on a colour dash

estate has all the makings of a truly desirable

very handsome motor. Do you recall the days

mounted screen and although it takes a bit of

package.

when as estate was a saloon with a semi-

time to get used to, after a few hours it is as if

66

The SE models come with a very soft

MOTORING

TECHNICAL STUFF

Motoring Editor: Maarten Hoffmann

Tested: E350 BlueTEC AMG Night Edition Engine: 2,987 cc, 258 bhp Performance: 0-62 6.6 seconds Top Speed: 155mph Economy: 51.4mpg combined Price: £41,210.00

suspension that’s brilliant at soaking up the bumps and if that is not enough, there is the optional air suspension that lets you switch between Comfort and Sport and gives you the best of both worlds. Crucially, driving it does not remind you of the gargantuan space you are pulling around.

The suspension holds so well on corners that there is no suggestion that the tail is going to hang out. The absolute test here is load capacity and what that does to the drive. So, we attended the Lets Do Business Exhibition in Hastings and l decided we would take all the boxes of magazines with us rather than having the van deliver them. We loaded 22 very heavy boxes, pull up banners, magazine racks and much more and l pulled away with trepidation. No need. It pulls superbly and you only really know the load is there when you forget - and take that corner with a tad too much gusto. This is one of the finest load luggers on the market and best of all, it is done in fine style. 1,950 litres of load space leaves the BMW 5-Series touring the Audi A6 avant wanting by over 300 litres.

The power plant offering is good but l cannot help suggesting you stay away from the 220 diesel as it really does not have the grunt you need when loaded but from the 250 up, you are good to go. For the ultimate effortless acceleration, plump for the E350 and you will want for nothing.

That’s for you. For me, l would order the full fat E63, with a 5.5 litre petrol engine, offering 557bhp that can terrify and delight in equal measure. But back to reality, the very best economy comes from the E300 Bluetec hybrid model, which combines a 2.1 litre diesel engine with an electric motor.

No other large, prestige estate can match its fuel economy.

The E-Class estate is a seriously good looking car with stylish rakish lines, roof rails and tinted back windows and go for the twin glass sunroofs and the interior is lit up like Harrods.

There are some great estates on the market and this is one of the best.

Sandown Group Mercedes-Benz www.sandown-group.co.uk

Mercedes-Benz of Poole

Mercedes-Benz of Guildford

Mercedes-Benz of Salisbury

Mercedes-Benz of Hindhead

Mercedes-Benz of Basingstoke

Mercedes-Benz of Dorchester

67

MOTORING

FLEET MANAGEMENT

T

standards of safety based on European New

Fleet considerations:

Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP)

• The company’s corporation tax potion

ratings and minimum safety equipment,

• The company’s VAT situation

changing tax position, the cost and the time

maximum emission levels to meet CSR targets

• The company’s cash position

consuming efforts required to keep them on the

and roadside assistance cover.

• The rate of return on capital employed

here has been much confusion over the years about companies operating fleet vehicles, not least of which is the ever

road and full serviceable.

For organisations, there are three main

Many companies feel that it is safer to

reasons why the company car is the way

make staff use their own vehicles for work-

forward: health and safety, cost reduction

related duties but this carries some risk. If the employees own insurance is for pleasure purposes only then there can be an issue should they have an accident whilst on company business. Likewise, there could be ramifications for the company as the employer still has a duty of care to ensure these cars are fit for purpose, are safe, are properly insured and are driven by only by those that are licensed to do so. The fact is that this ‘grey

and the environment. A well organised feel also mean that your company is fully covered

• The level of internal fleet expertise • The culture of the business and it’s attitude to financial risk and outsourcing All these points should be considered when

against any negligence or legal claim in the

implementing your fleet policy and funding

event of an accident and gives you total control

method but this can be a time consuming

over the vehicles.

process. At Sandown Mercedes-Benz, we spend

Companies planning their vehicle fleet should concentrate on value rather than price when it comes to vehicle procurement.

Price is often the first point in procurement

fleet’ makes a fleet managers life far more

conversations but it should really be the last.

difficult in meeting his or her organisations

There are seven factors that fleet managers

basic duty of care responsibilities.

should take into account when considering

With company cars, fleet managers have

• The corporate balance sheet implications

funding and procurement but l emphasis that

our working lives calculating the best deals available against a vast range of business scenarios and we do the work so that you don’t have to. If you need a leaky pipe fixed, call a plumber and the same rules apply to fleet purchases - call in the expert.

At Sandown Mercedes-Benz, we have an entire team dedicated to ensuring that our customers achieve the very best deal on the

the peace of mind that they are properly

one size does not fit all as different solutions

very best range of cars. Based on the logic that

maintained, safe and roadworthy and are ‘fit

will apply depending on the individual situation

’you are only as good as your last deal’, we

for purpose’ when used at work. Additionally,

of the business, and possibly a combination of

strive to ensure that the fleet option chosen is

company car policies can require minimum

solutions could be the best approach.

the best you will find and that is why we have

68

MOTORING

“Companies planning their vehicle fleet should concentrate on value rather than price when it comes to vehicle procurement. ”

The stunning all-new C-Class coupe - available now.

so many repeat customers.

And it’s not only the financial deal on paper that should be considered but the type of vehicle chosen plays a major part in a successful transaction.

The residual value of the vehicle will affect the financial aspect of the deal but never overlook the quality of the car in question as the standard of the vehicle driven by your staff says a lot about your company, it’s success and it’s recognition of quality.

There are many good quality cars on the market but we rightfully feel that Mercedes-Benz is one of the very best. We have been building high quality motor vehicles since 1926, following the merger of Daimler and Benz in 1925 that spawned one of the most famous and most trusted marques in the world - Mercedes-Benz.

Stuart Head, Group Head of Fleet Sales, Sandown Group Mercedes-Benz Tel: 01483 654541 Mail: stuart.head@sandown-mercedes.co.uk • www.sandown-group.co.uk

Mercedes-Benz of Poole

Mercedes-Benz of Guildford

Mercedes-Benz of Salisbury

Mercedes-Benz of Hindhead

Mercedes-Benz of Basingstoke

Mercedes-Benz of Dorchester

69

CRANLEIGH

C

ranleigh Chamber of Commerce hosted its final breakfast networking meeting of the year in November.

The event took place at Cranleigh Golf & Country

Club, where local Chamber members were treated to a continental breakfast from the award-winning head chef Didier Villneuve, before hearing from Peter Timberlake, head of communications at the Financial Reporting Council.

Peter delivered a talk to a packed room of Cranleigh Chamber of Commerce members on the reasons for building a successful media profile and shared some examples of how this works in practice. He spoke based on his experience as a communications specialist for over 30 years, working in the financial services and regulatory sectors.

There was also plenty of time for members to network and get to know their respective businesses better.

CHAMBER NEWS

This was the final breakfast meeting of 2015, a year in

70

Innovation & Growth (BIG) Awards evening on Monday 11th January 2016 at the Cranleigh Arts Centre. Another date for your diary is the

which Cranleigh Chamber of Commerce have experienced rapid

first breakfast networking meeting of the New Year which will take

membership growth and a series of well attended networking events.

place at One Forty CafĂŠ on 9th February 2016.

The next scheduled event is the Cranleigh & District Business,

cranleighbiz.co.uk

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YOUNG START-UP TALENT

YEAR TWO IN CROYDON Y E R SUR

T

he 5th of November marked the launch of Young Start-up Talent’s (YST) second year in Croydon, working with sponsors, partners and young entrepreneurs from the local community. With the initiative’s first year being a great success and seeing an influx of innovative business ideas from the youth of the district, Croydon and YST are keen to collaborate once again.

The launch was kicked off by a new sponsor, Sussex Innovation’s Saffron Saunders, followed by a warm welcome from co-founders Matthew Turner and Lorraine Nugent, where the duo reflected on the success of the initiatives first year venture into Croydon.

Long-time sponsors NatWest saw Croydon judge Mark Burgess speak at the event, insisting that “If we invest a lot of time on young people, our support can really see them grow and develop.” Burgess’ thoughts were echoed

by Annabelle Fogden of Croydon Chamber of Commerce, who said, “We want to play our part in helping young entrepreneurs and be part of their journey.”

Simon Maddox of Owadally and King was a speaker at the event, telling fellow sponsors, “This is so enjoyable and different. I want to show people that it is worthwhile investing in our local community and the future.” He went on to say, “Age isn’t a barrier, we have seen so many great entrepreneurs walk through the door, and being involved in YST has been an incredibly rewarding experience.”

As an example of this, Croydon’s previous YST winner, Stephanie Kane of Studio 14 was at the event and gave an inspirational insight into her first months of business since obtaining the prize fund worth £50k of business products

is an opportunity here to give back, and the rewards are there when you see the results,” while newest sponsors, Minute Man Press, reflected on the day saying “Today’s event has been very inspiring and we are really looking forward to seeing what happens this year.” and services. Stephanie said, “I’ve had so much support and mentoring it’s been incredible.”

She went on to describe the fantastic networking opportunities she has been involved in since winning and shed light on of her most recent achievements, including Stephanie being invited by Tate Britain with her art collective PUSHCRAYONS to create live digital works and exhibit works created specifically for their monthly evening event ’Late at Tate’.

Martin Briggs from Hand on IT said, “There

Anthony Ethridge from Structured Communications reiterated the significance of the project, saying “This is important. It gets young people involved in the world of business, which they won’t necessarily learn from school.”

Loyal sponsors are eager to see the talent that will follow this year’s launch. To apply with an idea or learn more about the initiative for 16-25 -year-olds, please visit www. youngstartuptalent.co.uk

Sponsors: NatWest, Platinum Business Magazine, Amicus Horizon, Owadally and King, Fairfield Halls, Gatwick Airport, Media Word Waves, Avensys Hire & Events, Croydon Advertiser, Croydon Chamber of Commerce, Creative Pod, FASTSIGNS, Young Enterprise, 3D Change, Coast to Capital, Matthews Yard, Hands On IT Services, Jurys Inn Croydon, Frost Group, Social Marley, Structured Communications, Whiston Solutions, Sussex Innovation Centre - Croydon, Minute Man Press and Beta Futures

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CHAMBER EVENTS

DATES FOR THE DIARY For further information go to www.surrey-chambers.co.uk Thursday 3rd December Surrey Technology Forum Intellectual Property: Generating Value At Home and Overseas Whether you are creating your own IP or have bought IP rights are you making the most of your intangible assets and how safe are they? This event brings together a panel of experts who will share their own intellectual property knowledge and insights as well as giving you the chance to pick their brains in the interactive question and answer session.

Venue: Surrey Business School, University of Surrey Member: £15 Non Member: £25

Friday 4th December Christmas Lunch at Reigate Manor Venue: Reigate Manor Hotel Member: £25 Non Member: £25

Thursday 10th December Chamber Connections Reigate & Banstead Venue: Reigate Manor Hotel Member: £12 Non Member: £20

Tuesday 8th December Open 18 Hole Golf Competition Venue: Woking Golf Club Member: £85 Non Member: £120

Thursday 10th December Business Advice Start Up Clinic (Surrey Heath) Venue: Camberley Member: Free Non Member: Free

Friday 4th December Winter Pimms....in the Forest It’s the most wonderful time, of the year…..... yes it’s Christmas but before that it’s the fifth annual “Winter Pimms ...... in the Forest”! Come and join us for a fantastic Business Networking opportunity that is made just for Christmas! Last year over 100 business representative attended!

Venue: Barossa Common Member: £35.00 Non Member : £35.00

Tuesday 8th December Business Advice Clinic (Surrey Heath) Venue: Camberley Member: £25 Non Member: £75

Tuesday 8th December Chamber Connections Elmbridge Venue: Burhill Golf Club, Walton Member: £12 Non Member: £20

Wednesday 9th December Discrimination: a view from practice Delivered by Charles Russell Speechlys LLP Venue: One London Square, Guildford Member: Free Non Member: Free

Friday 11th December Chamber Connections Woking Venue: Doubletree by Hilton (Formerly The Holiday Inn) Member: £12 Non Member: £20 Tuesday 15th December Chamber Connections Surrey Heath Venue: Camberely Theatre Member: £12 Non Member: £20 Wednesday 16th December Surrey Chambers Christmas Lunch Guest speaker: James Cannon, BBC Surrey Radio Presenter Venue: Radisson Blu Edwardian Guildford Hotel Member: £45 Non Member: £60

Golf in Surrey - North Downs Golf club “North Downs, Woldingham’s historic golf club and only 10 minutes from the M25. Great venue for corporate golf days, client meetings or entertaining, and off-site seminars.

Flexible corporate and personal memberships available. Check out the website www.northdownsgolfclub.co.uk or call 01883 652057 for more details.

Quote ‘Platinum’ for the best terms available.

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CROYDON

EXPAND YOUR CONNECTIONS

I

If you would like to learn more about how we can help your business, please do get in touch with us.

Annabel Fogden, General Manager, Croydon Chamber of Commerce & Industry T: +44 (0)20 7556 2390 E: info@croydonchamber.org.uk W: croydonchamber.org.uk

CHAMBER NEWS

f you are seeking to develop your business and expand your network in Croydon, Croydon Chamber of Commerce can most certainly help you; the Chamber has been supporting the local business community for over 100 years.

Widely recognised as a key local business support organisation, Croydon Chamber of Commerce plays an active role within the business community. Our members represent a dynamic mix of small and large businesses from a wide range of industry sectors, as well as academic institutions and local government.

We represent the interests of our members through developing local connections and engaging with key influencers. Over the last 12 months the Leader of Croydon Council, the Development Director of Westfield Europe, the Deputy Chief Executive of Croydon College, and the Chief Executive of The Whitgift Foundation have all addressed our members at our Executive Club lunches.

Croydon Chamber of Commerce focuses on delivering business opportunities for its members, and we achieve this in several ways: We offer our members a range of networking opportunities through an annual events programme. The Grapevine Network, in particular, regularly attracts 80 companies and is acknowledged as the best-attended monthly networking event in Croydon. Hosted by member venues, it enables our

members to make themselves known and meet each other in an informal environment on a regular basis. We also organise the more formal Executive Club lunches, business briefings, as well as our more informal social events: who says you can’t mix business with pleasure?

We support our members with free business advice on key business issues. This includes our free legal advice helpline and the London Chamber of Commerce Online Business Advice Surgery that provides up-to-date, tailored advice from industry professionals.

We facilitate member-to-member marketing through our quarterly newsletter ‘eNewslink’, our online Members’ Offers service, our social media, as well as offering sponsorship opportunities at key events.

Membership brings you a diverse schedule of networking events, membership services and value-added business tools to boost your business. Furthermore, as a local branch of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), our members have instant access to a network of thousands of companies across London.

75

SURREY CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE www.surrey-chambers.co.uk As we celebrate Export Week we have only one thing in mind: helping Surrey companies to do more business around the world. Across the Surrey Chambers Network, I see companies of all sizes selling their goods and services into the most unlikely of places. I am constantly encouraged by what these companies have achieved, often beating competition from other countries, or succeeding where others before them have failed. Where companies are exporting they are doing well. Chambers themselves, of course, were set up centuries ago to promote trade, so it’s not surprising that we count amongst our ranks Britain’s most prolific global traders. After all, it’s in our DNA. To rise to the challenge of increasing our exports, we at Surrey Chambers of Commerce are working differently – based on our determination to build a sustainable, business-to-business support network to help companies achieve their trading aspirations around the world.

Our determination to make a difference is so great that we have spent the past two years radically changing the way we work, hence our hugely successful project Export Surrey, which provides or procures high quality export and trade related services based on the business export journey. Export Surrey has already connected and promoted business exporting opportunities to over 8000 businesses this year.

SURREY CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE TEAMS UP WITH TOP FIRM Surrey Chambers of Commerce is delighted to welcome top 20 accountancy firm, Wilkins Kennedy LLP, as their new patron for the finance sector.

CHAMBER NEWS

A

76

s a fast-growing firm with a strong local presence, Wilkins Kennedy offers the businesses and residents of Surrey a service which is second to none.

Surrey Chambers of Commerce recognised that by welcoming Wilkins Kennedy on board, they are able to offer the benefits of experts based in their offices not only in Guildford and Egham, but also across the wider firm.

Surrey Chambers of Commerce and Wilkins Kennedy are now able to work together to provide more opportunities for local businesses, in the form of events, financial updates, information and direct access to their dedicated specialists and expertly trained professionals.

Partner at Wilkins Kennedy’s Egham-based office, Matthew Hall, said: “Working more closely with the Chambers will give us further insight into the issues faced by local businesses and, as patrons, we plan to support the Chambers to deliver their objective of helping businesses to grow.”

Bob Southey, Partner at WK’s Guildford office, said “Wilkins Kennedy pride ourselves on our reputation for assessing

individual and business needs in a changing marketplace and delivering intelligent, practical financial solutions, so we are pleased to be patrons of the Chambers.”

Louise Punter, CEO of Surrey Chambers of Commerce, said: “This is a great new partnership and we are already planning our activities for next year. Wilkins Kennedy

has always been active locally, and by working together we could really make a difference to local businesses.”

Wilkins Kennedy Surrey Chambers – Matthew Hall, Wilkins Kennedy, Bob Southey, Wilkins Kennedy, Louise Punter CEO Surrey Chambers

SURREY CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE www.surrey-chambers.co.uk STATE-OF-THE-ART FACILITY FUNDED BY ENTERPRISE M3 LOCAL ENTERPRISE PARTNERSHIP A state-of-the-art facility which will enable scientific researchers and businesses to work together has been funded by the Enterprise M3 Local Enterprise Partnership (the LEP).

The LEP, which works to secure economic growth in the area, has awarded £1.2million funding to The Pirbright Institute and the University of Surrey.

This funding will be used for two projects which will create new jobs, foster collaboration with businesses and help establish the area as internationallyrecognised for animal health - capitalising on an already well-established base in the Surrey area.

The project will fund a unique partnership combining animal health, digital innovation and business collaboration, and will initially comprise two elements. The first is a new centre at The Pirbright Institute which will provide a facility enabling researchers, visiting scientists, academics and commercial partners to work together to develop projects and secure collaborations, support and funding.

The second element will be a Digital Innovation Centre for Animal Health, which will be hosted by the University of Surrey’s School of Veterinary Medicine. The centre will collaborate with the university’s 5G Innovation Centre and the Surrey Centre for the Digital Economy (CoDE) at the Surrey Business School to promote new approaches to collection and use of data and will facilitate access to data generated by research for commercial organisations, partners and researchers.

The projects are expected to generate significant inward investment from national and international companies and create new jobs. Further jobs will be generated through future commercial partnerships.

This investment is a significant step towards an internationally-recognised cluster of excellence in animal health in Surrey.

The Enterprise M3 area is already a focal point in the UK for world-class animal health research excellence. These newly-funded projects will enhance the UK’s position as a leader in animal health and put Britain on the

map as the place to invest in animal health, drug discovery and innovation in this field.

It is envisaged that the funding will enable local growth through new interactions between partners, industry leaders and small- and medium-sized enterprises.

By linking small enterprises with large companies, economy-of-scale benefits could enable new ideas getting to market and getting there more quickly.

Geoff French, chair of the Enterprise M3 Local Enterprise Board, said: “This is an exciting, collaborative project which will help researchers to work more effectively with businesses.

“The projects will help secure funding from the public and private sector – as well as creating jobs, encouraging innovation in the animal health field and driving economic growth in the area.

“We have fantastic research taking place and these projects we’ve funded will help establish the area as an internationallyrecognised leader in this field.”

REIGATE MANOR

Giles Thomas General Manager & Team

of the hotel for their donations. In particular, Reigate Rotary Club, who meet at the hotel on a regular basis, for their kind contribution of £415. Giles said, “We shall certainly be joining in this event next year and will be supporting St. Catherine’s Hospice in other ways in the meantime.”

CHAMBER NEWS

T

he staff of Reigate Manor Hotel joined in the fun at Tilgate Park, Crawley by competing in the 40ft Chinese Dragon Boat race across the lake to raise £1069.57 for St. Catherine’s Hospice.

Giles Thomas, general manager at Reigate Hotel, said, “On any one day we can welcome 200 visitors to our hotel, so, as you can imagine, there’s not much opportunity for those who work at the hotel to chat and relax in each other’s company.

We all certainly had a lot of fun preparing for and competing in this exhilarating event, and to be able to raise so much money was magnificent.”

The Dragon Boat Festival is a major fund raising event for St. Catherine’s Hospice. Laura Kelly, corporate new business fundraiser for the charity said, “We set ourselves a big target to raise £50,000, which will provide two community nurses’ salaries for a whole year or allow us to run our In-Patient Unit services for a whole week. We are truly grateful for the support of Reigate Manor Hotel.”

A special thanks goes to all the guests, suppliers and staff

77

BUSINESS AWARDS

KINGSTON THE WINNERS n impressive hat-trick of category awards secured the prestigious Business of the Year title for a

A

this is a stepping stone. We are an ambitious

technology company at the gala dinner of

the way we want to treat people, the way we

the Kingston Business Excellence Awards, in

want to treat our customers.”

association with NatWest.

Genuine Solutions’ delighted and over-

“We feel like we are still in start-up mode, so company. We want to use this as a blueprint for

The Gala Dinner is the culmination of a long campaign in which finalists were shortlisted

whelmed staff collected Best Business for

and interviewed by judges to determine the

Commitment to the Community, then Customer

eventual winners.

Service as well as Best Business for Training,

Headline sponsor was NatWest and Andy

Development and Apprenticeships before the

Carpenter, Business Banking Director at

thrilling Best of the Best presentation was

NatWest Kingston, said on the night: “Small

made.

businesses are the engine room of the UK

The glittering ceremony, hosted by

economy and it’s essential we do everything

broadcaster and columnist Julia Hartley-

to support you. All the businesses here work

Brewer, took place on October 15 at the

tirelessly to provide value and support to their

Holiday Inn Kingston South. It blended black-tie

community.

formality with on-stage comedy and political

Commercial, Direct Colour Ltd, New Devi Tandoori, John Lewis, Kingston University, Kingston College, Premier Cars, TaxAssist, Time & Leisure, TWM Solicitors and Veolia Environmental Services.

The awards are spearheaded by Kingston Chamber of Commerce, Kingstonfirst and the Royal Borough of Kingston.

At the gala dinner, Councillor Kevin Davis, leader of Kingston Council, hailed the recent

“At NatWest we realise how hard it is to run

reform that would allow councils, rather than

satire, and crowned winners across 14

a business; you are the managing director, the

Government, to spend proceeds from local

categories.

finance director, the first aider, the tea-boy,

business rates.

Paul Crossman, Managing Director

the tea-girl. It’s a lot on your plate and we

He added: “The relationships between the

of Genuine Solutions, which distributes

understand that. I and my team would like to

council and businesses are really important

mobile phone accessories to 800 customers

support you and become your number-one

but not as good as between the council and the

worldwide, said: “This is absolutely massive.

choice in the borough for all the fine work that

people who live in this borough. We want to

We have worked so hard for this. We believe in

you do.”

change that. We want you knocking down our

what we do. It’s like we are a family.

Further sponsors included Cattaneo

door, asking what we can do for you.”

Kingston Business Excellence Awards winners, commendations and finalists BEST SME BUSINESS (sponsored by Cattaneo Commercial) Winner: GSUK BEST START-UP BUSINESS (sponsored by TWM Solicitors) Winner: The Wych Elm Kingston Ltd COMMITMENT TO THE COMMUNITY (sponsored by Veolia) Winner: Genuine Solutions BEST BUSINESS FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE (sponsored by John Lewis) Winner: Genuine Solutions

BEST YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR (sponsored by New Devi Tandoori Restaurant) Winner: Giampiero Leonardi (Your Art 2 Canvas) BEST BUSINESS FOR LEISURE AND ENTERTAINMENT Winner: Glenmore House BEST TECHNOLOGY COMPANY Winner: IQ in IT BEST CHARITY AND SOCIAL ENTERPRISE Winner: Balance

BEST BUSINESS FOR FOOD & HOSPITALITY (sponsored by Direct Colour Ltd) Winner: Comptoir Libanais

BEST BUSINESS FOR TRAINING, DEVELOPMENT AND APPRENTICESHIPS (sponsored by Kingston College) Winner: Genuine Solutions

INDEPENDENT RETAILER OF THE YEAR (sponsored by Kingstonfirst) Winner: Banquet Records

BEST CREATIVE AND MEDIA SECTOR BUSINESS (sponsored by Kingston University London) Winner: Figment Agency

BEST BUSINESS FOR MARKETING & SOCIAL MEDIA Winner: Rose Theatre Kingston

BUSINESS OF THE YEAR (sponsored by NatWest) Winner: Genuine Solutions

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BUSINESS AWARDS

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

PHOTO CAPTIONS

10

11

12

13

14

15

1. BEST SME BUSINESS (sponsored by Cattaneo Commercial) - GSUK 2. COMMITMENT TO THE COMMUNITY (sponsored

by Veolia) – Genuine Solutions 3. BEST BUSINESS FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE (sponsored by John Lewis) - Genuine Solutions 4. BEST START-UP BUSINESS (sponsored by TWM Solicitors) - The Wych Elm Kingston Ltd 5. INDEPENDENT RETAILER OF THE YEAR (sponsored by Kingstonfirst) - Banquet Records 6. BEST BUSINESS FOR MARKETING & SOCIAL MEDIA - Rose Theatre Kingston 7. BEST YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR (sponsored by New Devi Tandoori Restaurant) Giampiero Leonardi (Your Art 2 Canvas) 8. BEST BUSINESS FOR LEISURE AND ENTERTAINMENT - Glenmore House 9. BEST TECHNOLOGY COMPANY - IQ in IT 10. BEST CHARITY AND SOCIAL ENTERPRISE Balance 11. BEST BUSINESS FOR TRAINING, DEVELOPMENT AND APPRENTICESHIPS - Genuine Solutions 12. BEST CREATIVE AND MEDIA SECTOR BUSINESS (sponsored by Kingston University London) – Figment Agency 13. BUSINESS OF THE YEAR (sponsored by NatWest) – Genuine Solutions 14. Staff from Genuine Solutions celebrating winning Business of the Year 15. Our host, Julia Hartley-Brewer

79

SECRET SURREY

WINTER WONDERLAND Hannah Monkcom speaks to the owners of an award winning Christmas tree plantation, providing for the likes of our very own PM!

E

ver wondered who makes Downing Street ‘Christmassy’ during the festive season?

I imagine scenes from ‘Love Actually’ and

this”. I think she’s right, as a consumer I buy

from Denmark. After some years Hans made

from places that put in that special bit of effort,

the decision to become self-employed and his

or that show that personal family touch in their

business very quickly developed. After several

Hugh Grant prancing around to ‘Jump’ by the

business. Their success is evident as even the

years of growing fine quality trees for other

Pointer Sisters.

Prime Minister wants to have one of their trees

growers in 1996 Hans decided to plant trees

plus a wreath in his dwelling this year, for the

for himself and indeed planted his first 12,000

second time!

Nordman Fir. In 2005 Hans and Julie bought

H A Trim and Santa Fir is a business in Surrey owned by Julie and Hans Alexandersen.

They specialise in Christmas cheer for

Hans came to England from Denmark in

Santa Fir Christmas Tree Farm in Surrey. H

everyone, including the Prime Minister! H A

1987 to study Marketing and Business at

A TRIM now has in excess of 750,000 trees

Trim is the wholesale operation of the business

Harper Adams Agricultural College. Having

planted across 7 sites, which are located in the

while Santa Fir is a family fun retail site. The

already started to become interested in

South East of England. The majority of the trees

business is very much a family concern with

Christmas trees, he decided to write his

are Nordman Fir, other varieties grown include

most of their staff either family members or

final dissertation on the subject. In 1990 he

Norway Spruce, and Douglas Fir.

very close friends, which gives their business

contacted a Christmas Tree Estate in England

that personal touch that we, as consumers,

who offered him a placement within the

country-wide. They are ethically minded and

all look for. Julie says, “We are very privileged

company. Hans spent the next 2 years learning

environmentally conscious so they are mostly

to be surrounded by such loyal and dedicated

the trade. His primary role at that time was

interested in building a large customer base

staff and feel our success largely hinges on

to source trees from overseas, predominantly

in the South East to ensure that the carbon

Hans and Julie distribute their trees

footprint of their trees remains at its best.

The largest Site is at Willinghurst Estate near Guildford and there they occupy 220 acres which accommodates their main production. Annually, from this site they retail in excess of 6000 trees and wholesale in the region of 75,000. The majority of their trees are wholesaled on to other distributors and are taken from their own plantations, with the exception of the pot grown trees which they source from elsewhere. It is from Willinghurst Estate that all their harvested trees are palletised and distributed; which is where their main office is situated. Four of their other sites are located within 3 miles of this farm, keeping their family run business close to home.

80

SECRET SURREY “.....we have developed a very special place for families to visit in the run up to Christmas.”

On the wholesale side of their operation they

7 resident reindeer, a Santa Grotto, a barrel

have only 4 full time members of staff but they

train ride, a heavy horse and carriage ride,

have a bank of part time employees who assist

a small local artisans fair, 2 decoration and

them throughout the year, obviously utilising

gift shops, refreshments and a paint your

their part time help when it is most needed in

own pottery studio amongst other things and

the months leading up to Christmas. Julie says

they are rapidly becoming the place to visit at

“We have the most loyal hardworking team

Christmas! It sounds like Surrey’s very own

and over the years they have gathered great

Lapland!

expertise.” As they staff their retail with mostly

Further details and directions to the farm can be found at www.santafir.com.

There’s no doubt that their credibility is

family and close friends they are rarely let

high, in 2013 Hans and Julie had the privilege

down and business thrives.

of providing Number 10 Downing Street with

“We are extremely proud of the retail

In fact, over the years they have won many awards. Their most recent success is being awarded Runner up Best Other Fir, Runner Up Champion Grower, Best decorated Wreath, Best Undecorated Wreath and finally Champion Festive Wreath at the recent annual British Christmas Tree Growers Association competition. This year they again have the honour of providing the Prime Minister at Downing Street with an indoor tree for the Pillared Room and a wreath for the door of Number 10! As this is the second time their Christmas trees have held a presence in the PM’s dwelling, it seems their reputation is exceeding them. They will be going up to London to present this years fir and wreath to Number 10 in December.

Hans and Julia are currently preparing for the coming season and look forward to welcoming their customers to Santa Fir. They open their retail on 23rd November and will be open daily 9am to 6pm closing 24th December.

one of their indoor Christmas trees. They are

operation that we have established here

also members of The British Christmas Tree

since 2005. Not only do we sell locally grown

Growers Association of which Hans won an

trees to the public, but we have developed a

award for Outstanding Contribution to the

very special place for families to visit in the

British Christmas Tree Industry in 2011. “It

run up to Christmas.” Julie adds. They have

made me very proud” commented Hans.

Santa Fir Christmas Tree Farm Guildford Road, Shamley Green, Guildford, Surrey GU5 0SQ Tel: 01483 271770 • Email: julie@hatrim.co.uk 81

INSTITUTE OF DIRECTORS

EXPORTING FOR SUCCESS DAVID SEALL (Hons) CEng FRAeS MiMMM MIoD David is the Regional Chairman of IoD South. He is a former Chair of IoD Surrey and is an experienced Non-Executive Director. He is retained by DMH Stallard LLP as their Strategic Adviser Manufacturing www.davidseall.co.uk ∕ www.dmhstallard.com

N

ovember sees us celebrating UK Trade and Investment’s “Export week”, celebrating all that’s best about UK businesses and reminding us of how successful we have become as an exporting nation but also of how much more we still need to do.

Several years ago, IoD Surrey ran a very well-attended event in conjunction with UKTI at the G Live in Guildford focusing on how service sector businesses could export successfully.

We heard very interesting presentations from businesses successfully exporting to Southern Europe, the Middle East and the USA. This event was arranged after a challenge from a member stating that export support was focused on “widget makers” rather than service businesses. Of course, this isn’t the case, but sometimes we focus on the exporting of manufactured goods rather than services and judge manufacturers in particular on how successful they are at exporting.

Some while ago I co-authored a “thought leadership” report supported by UKTI into how manufacturers went about the exporting process and, particularly, how they took their first steps. It focused predominantly on SME companies and included businesses such as Brompton Bicycles, now a household name.

The report “Venturing Abroad, Practical Advice On Getting Into New Markets Overseas” can be found here: http://www.dmhstallard.com/

82

site/publications/pressreleases/exporting_ international_markets_business_growth.html Since then UKTI has increasingly focused on larger businesses in an attempt to pull some bigger “levers” and improve our trade deficit.

Alarmingly, there are nearly 9000 companies of around £100m turnover who currently don’t export. This may, of course, include companies that play some part in other companies’ supply chains, leading to eventual export, but this is nonetheless a large number. To investigate this I conducted some further research and co-authored a follow-up report, “Export Strategies- How Manufacturers Establish Successful International Markets.”

It was interesting, but perhaps not surprising, to see a very different approach taken by larger companies to those of SMEs. What was key was the highly strategic approach they had, always with the end goal in mind. This strategy was always developed after conducting considerable research, including using UKTI’s “OMIS” (Overseas Market Introduction Service). Larger companies also wished to control relationships with their overseas customers and were thus reluctant to leave this to distributors or agents. Moreover, they were very keen to make extraordinary efforts to understand local communities and cultures with the aim of eventually becoming fully integrated within them. Another reason for

this was, of course, that they were better able to adhere to a compliance agenda, lessening the likelihood of being exposed to potential risks, such as bribery and corruption. For readers wishing to explore further, the report can be found here: http://www.dmhstallard. com/site/publications/pressreleases/ A clear message from both reports was that UKTI can add value in various ways to companies of all sizes. Let’s hope that they are funded to continue this good work.

On the topic of local IoD news, some members may have noticed that the popular, last-Friday-of-the-month “8.59” breakfast meetings held at Guildford Cathedral are now being joined by some new quarterly breakfast meetings being run nearby. There is now a “Petersfield” breakfast (actually run at Liphook!) and an additional breakfast being held in Basingstoke. These events are not for Hampshire business leaders only; we’d like to see Surrey members going along too.

Additionally, December 1st brings another Bank of England Inflation Briefing to the Farnham Maltings for a look ahead to see what developments in the economy and trading conditions are forthcoming (this event, kindly sponsored by KMG, is free of charge to members and non-members). Bookings for all of these events can be made at http://www. iod.com/Connecting/Events.

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Mercedes-Benz of Hindhead Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz of Poole of Dorchester Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz of Salisburyof Salisbury

0330 159 2090 0843 9026522

† Businessusers Usersonly. only.Contract Contract hireagreement. agreement.

Advance payment applies.

All payments subject at Finance 20%: Finance on a Contract Hire agreement, *Business Hire Advance payment applies.

All †payments subject to VATtoatVAT 20%. based based on a Contract Hire agreement, 10,000 miles per annum. Vehicle condition, excess other charges may apply.

Road Fund Licence for the contract duration.duration.

Guarantees and indemnities may be required.

10,000 miles per mileage annum. and Excess mileage charges may Rental apply. includes Rental includes Road Fund Licence for the contract Guarantees and indemnities may be Orders/credit approvals on selected GLA and GLCapprovals models between 1 October and 31 December by 31 March 2016, Mercedes-AMG 45 4MATIC,offers AMG cannot GLE 63 be and AMG GLC models. required.

Orders/credit on selected models between 1 April 2015, and 30registered June 2015, registered by 30excluding September 2015. SubjectGLA to availability, Subject to availability,with offers be used in conjunction withofany other offer. Some combinations of features/options not betoavailable. provided subject to status and by used in conjunction anycannot other offer.

Some combinations features/options may not be available.

Credit providedmay subject status byCredit Mercedes-Benz Financial Mercedes-Benz Financial Services UK Limited, MK15 8BA.of going to press 4/15.

Services UK Limited, MK15 8BA. Prices correct at time ^Available only on a Mercedes-Benz Service Care Contract. Free servicing based on 3 services over 36 months on selected GLA models, Retails sales sold and registered between 1 October and 31 December 2015. Terms and conditions apply. Offer is subject to availability from participating Retailers. Prices correct at time of going to press 11/15.

Official Premium Parking.

So close you can almost take off.

Book your Premium Parking direct. www.gatwickparking.com Terms and conditions apply.

See www.gatwickparking.com/terms-and-conditions for further details.