Platinum Business Magazine - Issue 76

THE LARGEST CIRCULATION REGIONAL BUSINESS PUBLICATION IN THE UK

ISSUE 76 AUGUST 2020

EXTECH The lies we are told TRAVEL BASKING IN THE BAHAMAS

COAST TO CAPITAL The New Chair MOTORING Ford Puma

XI JINPING

THE NEW SUPERPOWER

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WEALTH MANAGEMENT EXECUTED BEAUTIFULLY 2

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www.pmw.co.uk

We pride ourselves on our ability to provide independent, sophisticated and bespoke financial advice.

Aissela, 46 High Street, Esher, Surrey, KT10 9QY 01372 471550

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To feed the most vulnerable we needed great service from our bank Joshua Owens-Baigler Director, Angelina Restaurant

At NatWest, we approved a Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan for Angelina Restaurant in Dalston. This not only enabled them to keep their staff on, but to provide around 500 meals a day to local vulnerable people.

Search NatWest Business

Here to support you Security may be required. Over 18s only. Subject to status. Business use only. Any property or asset used as a security may be repossessed or forfeited if you do not keep up repayments on any debt secured on it.

Contents 30

12 20 23 24 25 26 29

INTERNATIONAL TRADE A POST COVID PERSPECTIVE

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NATWEST SOUTH EAST PMI

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NATWEST ACCELERATOR

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NEW APPOINTMENT AT HURST COLLEGE

BIG STORY XI JINPING

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CLEANKILL FLIES DAMN FLIES

REVOLUTIONISING HOME FURNISHING

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DMH STALLARD GLOBAL SOFTWARE SALE

COAST TO CAPITAL APPOINTS A NEW CHAIR

40 42 40

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KEY LEARNINGS DURING LOCKDOWN SUSSEX INNOVATION WELCOMES NEW CATALYST TEAM EXTECH SCAREMONGERING

MOTORING FORD PUMA

MID SUSSEX BUSINESS EXPO RUN TOGETHER APART FOR CHILDREN’S HOSPICE A Q&A WITH HYBRED CONSULTANCY BRIGHTON BASE CAMP BANANAS

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TRAVEL BASKING IN THE BAHAMAS

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 owned and published by The Platinum Publishing Group.

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Join our ‘Looking ahead’ webinar series Many businesses are focusing on their immediate issues, on doing what they can to survive this unprecedented period of mass uncertainty. However, it’s still important to remember to pause, breathe and look up from the current circumstances at the bigger picture. Where some see challenges, others see opportunity, adaptability and innovation.

The aim of our ‘Looking ahead’ series is to help your business achieve a brighter future with practical guidance and tips. Details of the webinars from this series are below: Looking ahead... for the rest of this year

Looking ahead... to the future with purpose

24 June 2020 | 10:00am - 11:00am

23 September 2020 | 9:00am - 10:00am

• Sourcing funding • Cashflow management • Employee welfare/resilience

• The importance of ‘purpose’ and reviewing your business’ purpose • Sustainability • Corporate Social Responsibility

Looking ahead... to 2021

22 July 2020 | 11:00am - 12:00pm

• Finding your entrepreneurial spirit and opportunities and innovation in chaos/crisis • Exploring routes to market Looking ahead... to the next 3-5 years

Looking ahead... retaining agility - rain or shine 28 October 2020 | 10:00am - 11:00am

• Funding reserves, resilience and contingency planning, crisis planning/management • Importance of looking for opportunities in crisis

26 August 2020 | 12:00pm - 13:00pm

• Focusing on rebuilding, reviving and stabilising your finances • Funding • Corporate finance • Trading internationally

For more information on our Looking ahead webinar series and to register to join: Visit: www.krestonreeves.com/webinars Email: events@krestonreeves.com

Welcome The sun is shining, the worst of the pandemic is hopefully behind us and we slowly creep back to the office. What a ride. The economic pain this has caused cannot be underestimated and we have a long haul to get back to some semblance of normality but if any region can do it, it’s the South East. Maybe even stronger and more robust than ever.

Platinum has supported you throughout and we will continue to support every business in the region, wherever and whenever we can. Welcome to issue 76 packed, as always, with the news, views and information across our region.

Not long now and we will be back to meeting in person and it is vitally important that we do, after all - how can you see eye to eye if you can’t meet face to face?

The Platinum Team

AND WHILE YOU’RE HERE...

Platinum Publishing enjoys the largest circulation of any business magazines in the UK, reaching over 720,000 readers across the South East and this includes 468,000 online readers. If you can’t wait for the next issue then jump onto our social media platforms and join the conversation.

@platbusmag Platinum Publishing Group www.platinumpublishing.co.uk

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national

news DEBT DEBT DEBT

Taxpayers face a day of reckoning when the government’s massive coronavirus support measures have to be paid off, experts warn.

The Institute of Fiscal Studies think tank says the economy will remain in a “support and recovery” phase for some time, but higher taxes are inevitable.

The Chancellor recently unveiled another £30bn of support, bringing the total cost to £190bn. But it was revealed the UK’s tax authority queried its value for money.

The most senior civil servant at HMRC wrote to the Chancellor about the value of two measures in his summer statement – the Job Retention Bonus and the eating out support. Our children will inherit this debt and possibly their children too.

❛❛ Our entire much-praised technological progress,

and civilisation generally, could be compared to an axe in the hand of a pathological criminal ❜❜ Albert Einstein 1917

THE CHANGING HIGH STREET Halfords has confirmed plans to close up to 60 stores and garages by April, as it accelerates its plans to withdraw from one in 10 of its sites. The cycle and car parts retailer said it hoped to move staff to other branches, but the closures could lead to hundreds of job losses. “Covid-19 has materially changed the retail outlook for the coming months and has overshadowed Brexit as the emerging risk,” the company said in a statement. The closures are the latest blow to UK high streets and retail parks after a range of firms revealed plans in the last two weeks to close stores. Boots, John Lewis, furniture chain Harveys and shirtmaker TM Lewin are among those to have announced closures in recent weeks. The company has a total of 843 sites, 472 of which are stores while the rest are garages. It employs about 10,000 people.

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VIRGIN CASH Virgin Atlantic has announced a rescue deal.

According to Sky News, as part of the refinancing of the British-based carrier, Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group will inject £200 million in cash, while Davidson Kempner, a hedge fund, will lend the company £170 million.

The package would remove the chance of the airline plunging into administration as a result of the coronavirus crisis.

HEATHROW SHRINKS After decades of insisting it needs three runways, Heathrow airport will make do with just one – with closure of the southern runway either partially or fully until October. A “Notice to Airmen” (Notam) has been issued to pilots and airlines warning that the runway, known as 09R/27L, will close at one minute to midnight on Sunday July 12th until the same time on September 30th.

The reason given is “WIP” (work in progress).

The airport is taking advantage of the lull in air traffic to conduct repairs on the southern runway.

John Stewart, chair of Hacan, the group opposed to expansion at Heathrow, said: “Runways always need repairing from time to time but this is going to be tough on people living under the northern flight path.

BOOHOO CROCODILE TEARS

MOST VALUABLE CARMAKER Tesla has become the world’s most valuable carmaker, overtaking Japan’s Toyota, after its stock hit a record high.

Shares in the electric carmaker touched $1,134 on Wednesday morning before falling back, leaving it with a market value of $209.47bn (£165bn). That is roughly $4bn more than Toyota’s current stock market value.

However, Toyota sold around 30 times more cars last year and its revenues were more than 10 times higher. Shares in Tesla have surged since the start of 2020 as investors have begun to feel more confident about the future of electric vehicles. In a reflection of that, the firm is also now worth around three times the combined value of US rivals General Motors and Ford.

Once a rising star making its owners millions in the process, clothing brand Boohoo is up against the wall for allowing their clothes to be made by virtually slave labour in the UK. As usual, they scream in horror that this has been going on but it is obvious that they knew and if they didn’t, then they are guilty of seriously bad management. One of their largest shareholders is dumping stock in the fashion firm after it said the company had failed to address concerns about working conditions at a supplier in Leicester.

Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA) criticised Boohoo’s response to exploitation claims as “inadequate in scope, timeliness and gravity”.

The fast fashion retailer’s share price fell 2% to 279.7p each. Next, Asos and Zalando all announced on Tuesday that they had stopped selling Boohoo clothes on their websites.

❛❛ My mind is like a web browser.

19 tabs are open, 3 are frozen and l have no idea where the music is coming from ❜❜ Anon

TRILLIONS HIDDEN Multinational firms shift $1.3 trillion (£1 trilllion) a year into tax havens to avoid paying their fair share, analysis of groundbreaking new data has found. The UK is a key part of an “axis of tax avoidance“, along with the Netherlands, Switzerland and Luxembourg, that facilitates 72% of corporate tax dodging, according to the Tax Justice Network, which conducted the research.

The vast scale of profit shifting by multinationals costs governments $330bn in lost revenues, deepens inequality and benefits a minority of wealthy individuals and large corporations at the expense of ordinary people and public services. Tackling tax avoidance has shot up the political agenda as governments contemplate the vast scale of loans, grants and bailouts that has been given to companies and their employees to prevent economies collapsing due to the pandemic.

ZOMBIES COVID bailout loans that have kept businesses alive during the crisis could later turn into a burden that prevents growth, economists warned today.

Figures today show the UK economy grew by just 1.8% in May, far below City forecasts of 5.5%, suggesting talk of a “V-shaped” recovery is optimistic.

Another fear is that well-meaning government bailouts could later act as a drag on any bounce back, as businesses are left fighting to service loans rather than expand. After the financial crash,

ultra-low interest rates led to thousands of so-called “zombie” firms, that just about survived but could do little but service debt. Economists fear a new generation of “Covid Zombies” could now be emerging.

Richard Hughes, head of the Office for Budget Responsibility, thinks that loan repayments should be earnings contingent, so that firms aren’t having to pay back amounts that are excessive relative to their turnover.

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national

news PIER TO PIER Clacton Pier in Essex has been crowned 2020 Pier of the Year, beating Brighton Pier into 3rd place. Clacton Pier, owned by Billy and Elliot Ball, was built in 1871 and was lengthened to 360m in 1893 with the addition of a theatre and pavilion.

❛❛ There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen ❜❜

Anon

HITTING THE BUFFERS FirstGroup, the UK’s largest bus and train operator may not be able to continue trading due to the impact of the virus. The company report losses of £300 million for the year to the end of March but as the virus only hit in March of this year, might this be a company failure blamed on the virus?

The company’s share price has fallen more than two thirds since February. The company retains £850 million cash buffer, including a £300 million loan from the Bank of England corporate financing facility. Much of the loss has come from its failing U.S. Greyhound operation.

CEO STEPS DOWN Antonio Horta-Osorio, the Chief Executive of Lloyds Bank, won praise from shareholders and public officials after he announced plans to step down next summer. The bank will also change its Chairman as part of a shake-up of its senior leadership, with the veteran banker Robin Budenberg taking over from Lord Blackwell early next year. Mr Horta-Osorio’s legacy includes returning Lloyds to private ownership by selling the governments 43% stake for a £900m profit and removing £200 billion of toxic assets from the banks balance sheet.

❛❛ Happiness is having a large,

loving, caring, close-knit family in another city ❜❜

George Burns

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ROCK DUST Spreading rock dust on farmland could suck billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide from the air every year, according to the first detailed global report on the technique. The chemical reactions that degrade the rock particles lock the greenhouse gas into carbonate within months and some scientists say this approach may be the best near-term way to remove CO2 from the atmosphere.

The analysis, published in the journal Nature, estimates that treating about half of farmland could capture 2bn tonnes of CO2 each year, equivalent to the combined emissions of Germany and Japan.

A BILLION AND MORE The rapid shift to online shopping has pushed Ocado’s half-year sales above £1 billion for the first time. It reported a £40.6 million loss for the same period as a result of the development of a robotic warehouse for its supermarket clients. It delivered an average of 318,000 orders a week over the past 6 months and is now worth £15.02 billion more than M&S, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s combined.

DORSET POWER Tesla has agreed to supply batteries and software to a new energy storage plant in Dorset as the US carmaker starts to build a British energy business.Six of Tesla’s lithium-ion batteries will be installed at a better energy storage plant in Poole that

is being developed by Harmony Energy, a British company. The site is designed to store energy from renewable sources and afford peak-time flexibility to the National grid as part of Britain’s continuing shift away from fossil fuels.

❛❛ Dancing is a perpendicular expression of a horizontal desire ❜❜ George Bernard Shaw

SUBSCRIPTION CARS BMW is to build cars on a subscription model, fitted with a host of optional extras that customers can pay to have activated.

Special features such as heated seats and air con are usually fitted at the factory to order but henceforth, all extras will be fitted to all cars. Therefore, if you decide you suddenly want AC, you pay a

subscription and they turn it on. Great for buyers who change their minds and once the car is sold, the new owners can respec the car at a dealership where they will hold the special activation key. Give it a month, and the hackers will have that key and there will likely be a black market for turning on your heated seats.

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BIG STORY

XI JINPING SHOULD WE BE SCARED, FRIGHTENED OR JUST PLAIN TERRIFIED?

By Maarten Hoffmann

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BIG STORY There does not seem to be many other options as China starts to flex its muscles on the world stage, and there’s no going back. It helps them enormously that there is a cretin in the White House – a cretin who thinks he is a worldclass thinker and strategist but actually, is a three-year old in long trousers. China will outthink him before breakfast and no wonder China is keen for him to remain in office. It could be compared to Bobby Fisher playing chess with a monkey.

China has always been an enigma and we have little chance to understand what makes them tick, what the ‘new China’ culture is based on and what they actually want, and their leader epitomises the dilemma.

This kindly grandfather figure who looks as if butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth is, in fact, a ruthless leader who stamps out decent within, is launching harsh intrusions into other countries, is changing the face of the South China Sea and does not give a damn what we think.

Xi Jinping became president of China in 2012, ushering in an era of increased assertiveness and authoritarianism. He has been front and centre of China’s push to cement its position as a superpower, while also launching crackdowns on corruption and dissent.

A consummate political chess player who has cultivated an

Trump dealing with China

❛❛ The “Xi Jinping Thought” means that any challenge to the president will now be seen as a threat to Communist Party rule ❜❜ enigmatic strongman image, the leader of the ruling Chinese Communist Party has rapidly consolidated power, having his ideas mentioned by name in the constitution – an honour that had been reserved only to Mao Zedong until now.

and the Communist Party has now confirmed that aim, with a proposal to remove a clause in the constitution that limits the presidency to two terms. Xi will now be President for life.

The “Xi Jinping Thought” means that any challenge to the president will now be seen as a threat to Communist Party rule. A seven-man leadership committee unveiled in October 2017, included no obvious heir

Born in Beijing in 1953, Xi Jinping is the son of revolutionary veteran Xi Zhongxun, one of the Communist Party’s founding fathers and a vice-premier. Because of his illustrious roots, Mr Xi is seen as a “princeling” – a child of elite senior

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan

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PRINCELING TO PRESIDENT

officials who has risen up the ranks. But his family’s fortunes took a drastic turn when his father was purged in 1962 prior to the Cultural Revolution, and imprisoned.

At the age of 15, the younger Xi was sent to the countryside for “re-education” and hard labour in the remote and poor village of Liangjiahe for seven years – an experience that would later figure largely in his official story.

Far from turning against the Communist Party, Mr Xi embraced it. He tried to join it several times, but was rebuffed because of who his father was. Once he was finally accepted in 1974, he worked hard to rise to the top – first as a local party secretary in Hebei province, before moving on to more senior roles in other places including party chief of Shanghai, China’s second city and financial hub.

His increasing profile in the party propelled him to its top decision making body, the Politburo Standing Committee, and in 2012 he was picked as president. The Tsinghua University chemical engineering graduate is married

to the glamorous singer Peng Liyuan, and the two have been heavily featured in state media as China’s First Couple. It’s a contrast from previous presidential couples, where the first lady has traditionally kept a lower profile.

They have one daughter, Xi Mingze, but not much is known about her apart from the fact that she studied at Harvard University.

Other family members and their overseas business dealings has been a subject of scrutiny in the international press.

CHINA DREAM

Mr Xi has vigorously pursued what he has called a “great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation” with his China Dream vision.

Under him, China has enacted economic reform to combat slowing growth, such as cutting down bloated state-owned industries and reducing pollution, as well as its One Belt One Road trade project.

The country has become more assertive on the global stage, from its continued dominance in the South China Sea despite

international protestations, to its exercise of soft power by pumping billions of dollars into Asian and African investments.

This has been accompanied by a resurgence in patriotic nationalism whipped up by state media, with a particular focus on Mr Xi as China’s strongman leader, leading some to accuse him of developing a personality cult like that of former leader Mao Zedong. At home, Mr Xi has waged a ruthless war on corruption which has punished more than a million “tigers and flies” – a reference to both high and low-ranking party officials.

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Some observers believe that the campaign is aimed at rooting out opponents, and is part of a series of political manoeuvres by Mr Xi aimed at consolidating his power.

Meanwhile China has seen increasing clampdowns on freedoms, from rising online censorship to arrests of dissidents and human rights lawyers, leading some to describe Mr Xi as “the most authoritarian leader since Chairman Mao”.

Despite this, Mr Xi is still thought to enjoy reasonably widespread support among ordinary Chinese citizens – and is expected to keep shaping the country for many years to come.

Chinese leaders have traditionally hinted at one or more possible heirs to the leadership body, the Standing Committee, at the beginning of their final term. But in October 2017, Mr Xi did not do so. The leaders unveiled were all in their 60’s and likely to retire at the end of this term. And in a clear sign

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of his influence, the Communist Party voted, in 2017, to write his philosophy, called “Xi Jinping Thoughts on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for the New Era”, in its constitution. Only founder Mao and Deng Xiaoping, who introduced economic reforms in the 1980s, have made it into the all-important fundamental law of the land.

In 2015 George Osborne, the then Chancellor, promised a ‘golden decade’ for Chinese-British relations as he drummed up support for new trade opportunities and inward investment.

Oh how they must have laughed.

That has all changed now after China imposed draconian new security laws on Hong Kong and the UK government having

backtracked on an agreement to use Chinese firm Huawei in its 5G infrastructure. Oddly, they have given them until 2027 to remove their equipment therefore they have six years to do what ever they want.

This new page in relations is going to be difficult for the UK. Last month, Beijing’s ambassador to London, Liu Xiaoming ominously warned: ‘China wants to be the UK’s friend and partner. But if you treat China as a hostile country, you will have to bear the consequences.’ This comes as pressure mounts on China internationally to be open about the origins of the coronavirus, first seen in Wuhan at the end of last year, and increasing outrage at the treatment of Uighur Muslims.

❛❛ This is the great geopolitical issue that the European chancelleries will be facing for the next thirty years ❜❜

BIG STORY everything from wireless networks to artificial intelligence.

Then there were skirmishes on the border with India, resulting in the deaths of many Indian soldiers, Tibet is all but lost to China, Taiwan is shown on every Chinese map as being a part of China and there is little doubt that they intend to have it back, and then the outrageous violation of every international law with the building of huge manmade islands in the South China Sea, intended to totally dominate the area hence the building of huge naval bases there and the permanent deployment of two Chinese aircraft carriers and missile batteries.

and therefore they tend to have a pretty short term view on things.

The Chinese think in hundreds of years and are the masters of the long game. They have also been quietly listening and learning from the West for decades and now feel ready to act.

For example, Beijing is accelerating its bid for global leadership in key technologies, planning to pump more than a trillion dollars into the economy through the rollout of

In the masterplan, backed by President Jinping himself, China will invest an estimated $1.4 trillion over six years to 2025, calling on urban governments and private tech giants like Huawei Technologies Co. to lay fifth generation wireless networks, install cameras and sensors, and develop AI software that will underpin autonomous driving to automated factories and mass surveillance – all at the expense of US companies. Such initiatives have already drawn fierce criticism from the Trump administration, resulting in moves to block the rise of Chinese tech companies such as Huawei. Recently, Trump ordered the Chinese Consulate in Houston closed with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stating the decision was taken because China was “stealing” intellectual property.

“Nothing like this has happened before, this is China’s gambit to win the global tech race,” said Digital China Holdings Chief Operating Officer, Maria Kwok as she sat in a Hong Kong office surrounded by facial recognition cameras and sensors. “Starting this year, we are really beginning to see the money flow through.”

Jinping is now flexing his muscles over Taiwan in the heartfelt belief

All of this breaks international law and just shows that Jinping does not care a hoot about such ‘law’, and is aware that there is nothing anyone can do about it due to their overwhelming military power and financial might, and seems fully intent on rewriting international law and, in time, dominating the entire region.

The west are pretty terrified about this as we just do not understand the Chinese, what they think, how they think and why they do what they do. Perhaps this is due to the fact that Western politicians hold office for four years or so

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BIG STORY that it is part of China. He has said it would impose sanctions on Lockheed Martin Corp. in response to US approval of a possible deal for Taiwan to buy parts to refurbish defensive missiles built by the company.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian made the announcement at a briefing in Beijing last month, adding that the US should cut military ties with Taiwan “so that it doesn’t do further harm to bilateral relations and damage peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.”

“China firmly opposes US arms sales to Taiwan,” Zhao said, adding: “China decides to take measures to protect national interests. We will impose sanctions on the main contractor of this arms sale, Lockheed Martin.”

The US State Department recently approved a $620 million foreign military deal for the island to buy parts to refurbish previously sold Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missiles so that they can last 30 years.

China’s move comes as tensions grow with the US on a number

of fronts, from the trade war and territorial claims in the South China Sea to the new security law Beijing recently imposed on Hong Kong. The Trump administration has also gone after Huawei Technologies Co., seeking to have the Chinese telecom giant barred from advanced 5G wireless trials in countries from the U.K. to India.

China has previously threatened to sanction US companies, including

❛❛ Encouraged by Westerners, China

has dramatically imitated their models of industry and innovation.

Can we morally blame the student for wanting to go beyond his masters? ❜❜

General Dynamics Corp. and Honeywell International Inc., on numerous occasions over arms sales to Taiwan. It has also longthreatened to release a broader “unreliable entities” list in response to various actions by the Trump administration over the past year.

The next part of Jinping’s plan seems to be the targeting of Chinese nationals living in the US. FBI Director, Christopher Wray has urged people born in China and living in the United States to contact the FBI if Beijing officials tried to force them to return to the country, under a programme of coercion that he said is led by the Chinese President. Wray issued the unusual appeal in an address to the Hudson Institute think-tank in which he reiterated US charges that China is using espionage, cyber theft, blackmail and all other means as part of a strategy to replace the US as the world’s dominant superpower.

Wray said that almost half of nearly 5,000 active FBI counterintelligence cases now underway are related to China.

“We’ve now reached a point where the FBI is opening a new Chinarelated counterintelligence case about every 10 hours,” Wray said.

The FBI director said Jinping has “spearheaded” a programme called Fox Hunt aimed at strongarming people born in China

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living outside of the country who are regarded as threats, to return home in order to silence criticism of Beijing’s political and human rights policies. The families of those who refuse to return are threatened and some have been arrested in China “for leverage”, Wray said.

China will be the next world superpower and no one can stop them. So do we engage with them or do we fight them?

Engaging is full of risk as we have absolutely no understanding of what they have planned and they are always thinking ten steps ahead. Fighting will lead to a new world war and anyone who wishes to take on China will, inevitably, lose. This is made worse by the fact that Trump looks likely to win another four years, much to the horror of 99% of the world’s population and, and as the US is the only country with a vague chance of stopping them, here we are back at the ‘monkey playing chess’ scenario.

But there has always been one superpower in the world, from the Romans and British to the Mongols and Soviets but there was a Western thought process behind most of them. The Chinese are very different and they scare the bejesus out of most Western politicians as they have no idea what their true intentions are, what they think or what they will actually do once they reach the top spot.

This is the great geopolitical issue that the European chancelleries will be facing for the next thirty years.

In 2049, the Chinese will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party’s takeover. Its leader, who is also the country’s president for life, said that by that time China would become the world’s leading power.

Once it had got rid of the obstacles to its development constructed by foreign interference and then by collectivist ideology, the Chinese population, so numerous and so industrious, was almost certain

❛❛ China wants to be the UK’s friend and partner. But if you treat China as a hostile country, you will have to bear the consequences ❜❜ to go all the way to the top of the world. The question now is to know what the Chinese will do with their power.

to Australia, encourages the emergence of an Indo-Pacific coalition of democracies against China.

Xi Jinping wants to make the 21st century the rebirth of Chinese naval power. It is building a considerable military fleet, with the aim of eventually matching America’s, at least in Asia. A cautious man, he does not plan, for the moment, to take military possession of the island of Formosa, whose population, supported by the United States, is determined to fight if it is attacked.

In terms of business strategy, Xi Jinping launched his Pharaonic Silk Road Project, also known as the BRI (Belt and Road Initiative). It involves developing and securing the land and sea routes for exporting Chinese manufactured goods to Europe and importing raw materials from Africa and the Middle East.

But it has already won a strategic victory in the South China Sea, by seizing islands so far uninhabited, the Paracells and Spartleys.

Contrary to the promises he made publicly during his trip to the United States in September 2015, he militarised these reefs, installing missiles and building airfields for strategic bombers.

This grabbing of a large maritime area the size of the Mediterranean makes the other Asian naval powers very uneasy.

France, which sold fighterbombers to India and submarines

Encouraged by Westerners, China has dramatically imitated their models of industry and innovation.

Can we morally blame the student for wanting to go beyond his masters? No. But we will have the China we deserve. The stronger the balance of power we have with her, the better our relationship.

It is not China we must fear, but our own weaknesses, be that political (disintegration of the EU), social (lowering the level of education) or strategic (deindustrialization).

The new Chinese Superpower is coming and there is not a thing we can do about it.

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XXXXXXXXXX

Tobias Oliver Interiors

Revolutionising Home furnishing Growing a business out of lockdown, how we shop for furniture is about to change with ufurnish.com A new business growing out of lock-down is seeking to help people with their home furniture purchasing journey.

Founded by Irish/Australian couple Deirdre McGettrick and Ray Wright, ufurnish.com is an innovative, market leading furniture search engine, reinventing the way furniture and furnishings are searched, discovered, compared and shopped online.

Bringing together hundreds of thousands of products from 100+ of Britain’s best furniture retailers, ufurnish. com is connecting consumers to large

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and small furniture retailers, all on one website. This means consumers can easily search and shop known and unknown retailers within the furniture market, eliminating the fear of missing out on undiscovered items.

Deirdre recalls, “We found the experience of furnishing our home very frustrating and disconnected. Working long hours, the last thing we wanted to do in the evenings was trawl websites to find the right chaise sofa bed or nest of tables, especially as we kept having to repeatedly input the same search criteria on every furniture website we found.�

In addition to helping consumers have a simpler discovery experience when shopping for furniture, the company is also helping retailers to bring their brand and products to the masses.

Research discovered 93% of consumers browsed multiple retailers before making a purchase. The platform eliminates the need to individually search retailer after retailer by bringing search onto one website.

The site currently works with a large variety of trusted retailers including; John Lewis, Dunelm, The French Bedroom Company, My Furniture,

BUSINESS FOCUS Furniture Village, Habitat, Maisons Du Monde and Made.com, and are looking to continually expand their furniture retail partnerships as part of their longterm strategy.

“The way people shop for furniture has been relatively unchanged despite technological advances in other sectors”, says Deidre.

Spotting the opportunity in the market, and encouraged with the movement of purchases transitioning from in store to online, the founders both quit their corporate jobs in London to develop the business.

Having experienced the cumbersome search process first hand, they both came to the conclusion that there had to be a better way to save and compare furniture, which is where the idea for ufurnish.com was born.

Ray and Deirdre found it hard to keep track of products they liked across multiple websites and they found themselves stuck in a rut of lists, URL links, spreadsheets, and screenshots.

“We used Rightmove to find our home online and it was simple. Why didn’t

❛❛ We used Rightmove to find our home

online and it was simple. Why didn’t a similar solution exist for finding the furniture that would go into our home? ❜❜ a similar solution exist for finding the furniture that would go into our home?”

Deirdre asked herself.

The goal of ufurnish.com is to build a community of shoppers who use the website as their first port-of-call for home furniture search, connecting them with retailers and their vast selection of products.

Ray explains: “It’s all about providing people with maximum choice and the ability to find the right product with ease and enjoyment.”

Powered by its sophisticated, easy to use search engine, products on ufurnish.com are presented by furniture type, enabling consumers to receive bespoke results as they apply filters based on their style and budget specifications.

Through its enhanced website feaures shoppers are able to favourite products and receive value added notifications like sales alerts and retailer promotions.

In addition, the site provides home interior inspiration and practical furnishing advice with top tips, style guides and design inspiration. Once consumers are ready to purchase, one click takes them directly to their desired product on the retailers website.

It has taken over a year of working with consumers and furniture retailers, both large and small, to create ufurnish.com.

Ray explains that “In order to deliver an innovative and market leading product, we had to truly understand the challenges and limitations that both consumers and retailers have.

We didn’t want to launch without a substantial range of products covering all aspects of the home and we had to be sure we could deliver that in the simplest way possible.” ufurnish.com launched with 100+ retail partners and the website will hit the market with just over 500,000 products to bring the most comprehensive level of choice to people in the easiest way possible.

www.ufurnish.com

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BUSINESS NEWS

COAST TO CAPITAL APPOINTS NEW CHAIR Coast to Capital is delighted to announce that Julie Kapsalis has been appointed as its new Chair. Julie has held the position of Vice Chair for the past year and has been on the Coast to Capital Board for over six years during which time she served as the Chair of the Investment Committee and Diversity Champion.

As the economic climate changes in response to COVID-19, the Coast to Capital area is facing new and different challenges. Against the backdrop of the Strategic Economic Plan, Gatwick 360, the Board recognise that the role of its Chair is one that inspires confidence in the voice of business, government, local authorities and combined authorities.

Julie’s experience and her strengths as an ambassador ensures continued strong and strategic leadership for the region.

Julie is Managing Director of Chichester College Group with responsibility for a portfolio of commercial businesses including a chain of childcare nurseries, examination board and international education. She is a board member of the Institute of Economic Development, Gatwick Diamond Business and is the immediate past Chair of Chichester Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

She is passionate about supporting

business growth with a particular interest in skills, enterprise and social mobility.

Julie is committed to broadening Coast to Capital’s approach to equality and diversity including her work on the Rose Review into female entrepreneurship and the LEP Expert in Residence programme.

Jonathan Sharrock, Chief Executive at Coast to Capital: “Julie has a clear passion and commitment to the objectives of Coast to Capital and has a strong vision for its future. This is an uncertain time for the Coast to Capital economy and this is an excellent appointment at a critical time.

I would like to thank our previous Chair, Tim Wates for his strategic leadership and support over the past nine years.

Tim has led the Board from strength to strength and has brought leaders from business, academia and local government together to succeed. ” Tim Wates, previous Coast to Capital Chair: “I am proud to have served on the Board since its formation in 2011, initially as Vice Chair and then for six years as Chair. It has been a fascinating

and thoroughly fulfilling experience to play a part in driving the economy of our wonderful and diverse region and representing it to successive Governments. I am delighted with this appointment and am confident Julie will do a great job as Chair, bringing excellent energy and skill to the role.”

Julie Kapsalis, Coast to Capital Chair: “I am delighted to have been appointed as Chair of Coast to Capital. I am passionate about our region and the LEP’s work to support sustainable economic growth particularly through our business support and grants programmes. I have greatly valued my last six years on the Board and I look forward to working even more closely with our partners and leading the Board as we move forwards with the development of our Local Industrial Strategy and COVID-19 recovery plan.

www.coast2capital.org.uk www.coast2capital.org.uk/strategy www.coast2capital.org.uk/ economy-watch-blog

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EXHIBITIONS

MID SUSSEX BUSINESS EXPO On September 3rd, the Mid Sussex Business Expo was set to roll into Ardingly for its third expo of the year, but due to issues beyond our control with the Covid situation, Network Xpress has decided to go online and virtual events for the remainder of 2020 creating new hybrid events for online and offline coverage, and to make these radical changes to better serve our clients locally

We looked at several different platforms including Zoom, and found that many of them just didn’t offer a tradeshow experience required to run an event interactively and to budget which was a key.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

The virtual platform we went with is Hopin. It’s a venue with multiple interactive areas that is optimised for connecting and engaging. Attendees can move in and out of rooms just like an in-person event and enjoy the content and connections at a full tradeshow or conference with ease.

Now we could host the keynote speakers conference, have an actual tradeshow with interactive Booths, headline our premier sponsors and deliver the best customer experience virtually with this innovative platform and a new way to enjoy a B2B event whilst online in the office, or at home.

Matt Hunt, The Great British Porridge Co

Maarten Hoffmann, Platinum Group

WE HEAR YOU – HOW CAN A VIRTUAL TRADESHOW BE ANY GOOD?

tradeshows offer a virtual component like streaming presentations online, but in today’s climate, we must think outside the box. Virtual shows offer a cost-effective alternative and potential to reach people that cannot for whatever reason attend a traditional tradeshow, be it distance geographically, the weather or office meetings preventing entire days off etc.

Keynote Speakers for the day include Matt Hunt, The Great British Porridge Co, and Maarten Hoffmann, CEO of the Platinum Group. Along with the keynote talks, we also have breakout sessions which cover a whole array of virtual talks on business, marketing, HR and legal, occupational health, wellbeing and wealth management.

There are multiple benefits to hosting online: n Anyone with an Internet connection can participate in a virtual tradeshow.

No travel required. n The virtual platform lends itself to a broad range of applications beyond tradeshows such as workshops and training sessions. n A major benefit of virtual tradeshows is cost. There is no travel, hotel and meal expenses are eliminated.

Suddenly the pieces came together and in under a week we had an actionable plan to execute a cutting-edge tradeshow and conference virtually.

Our conclusion is that as technology advances, virtual tradeshows may be able to provide the same “experience” as traditional shows. Some traditional

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We’re now virtually networking on the internet 24/7, so why should tradeshows be any different?

Sonny Cutting Events Director, Net XP www.netxp.co.uk

CHARITY JACOB’S STORY

RUN TOGETHER APART

for local children’s hospice care Are you looking for a team bonding opportunity with a little bit of friendly competition? Well, the Chestnut Tree House Littlehampton 10k is back on Sunday September 6th, with an exciting twist!

The Littlehampton 10k: Virtual Edition is a virtual run with a difference, with a live warm-up, real-time count down, special playlist, energising commentary, unique medal and much more! Chestnut Tree House will bring all the excitement, camaraderie, and competition of the big day right to you, wherever you are.

Bring your office Together Apart and compete for the best running time.

You will each start and run the 10k at 9:30am on Sunday September 6th from your own front door or location of your choice. If you do not want to take part with your colleagues, you can take part alone, with a running friend, or in a small socially distanced group.

will be bringing everyone together on the day – virtually – as you run Together Apart and make a difference to children with life-shortening conditions, like Jacob, and their families.

To support families like Jacob’s and find out more about the Littlehampton 10k: Virtual Edition, visit www.chestnut-tree-house.org.uk/ littlehampton-10k, email events@chestnut-tree-house. org.uk or call 01903 706355.

Registered charity no 256789

Just like many eight-year-old boys, Jacob is a film fanatic, loves spending time outdoors and splashing around in the swimming pool. “Jacob is a sociable little boy. Everyone knows him in our local community, he loves it when people come up to us and have a chat” says Mum, Elaine. “He is an absolute joy, has a wicked sense of humour and does great big belly laughs!”

Jacob has Global Develop-ment Delay, meaning that he is significantly delayed in his cognitive and physical development. Jacob also has the highest grade of cerebral palsy, severe breathing issues, and uncontrollable seizures. “He has no independent movement so he can’t do anything himself.”

When Jacob was two years old, the family were told about their local children’s hospice, Chestnut Tree House, by a member of the hospital outreach team. The family then soon booked their first overnight stay at the hospice building near Arundel. “I don’t know what I was expecting, but the moment we walked through the doors we were amazed. We could not believe how much care and love was there. It was fantastic. It was a huge eye-opener, we could see all the opportunities there for Jacob. And for us, it was the first time we could sit down and relax for a very long time.”

As well as short breaks at the hospice, the family has Ruth, a Chestnut Tree House Nurse who visits them at home every month, allowing Jacob to get out and about to explore his local community, whilst giving Mum and Dad have a welldeserved break. “I don’t know what life would be like with Chestnut. It would be awful. It would feel like something had been cut out of us. In many ways, they are our lifeline. It would unbelievably sad for Jacob, he would miss out onto much. He is really happy when he comes back from his visits. He loves it.”

Whilst participants will be physically running apart, Chestnut Tree House

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BUSINESS NEWS

A Q&A WITH HYBRED CONSULTANCY Becky Stevens is a Director at Hybred Events

Becky Stevens is a Director at Hybred Events, a company severely impacted by the coronavirus crisis. But rather than simply accepting the situation, Becky decided to combine her extensive health and safety experience with the skill sets of other business contacts and create a completely new company. Hybred Consultancy helps businesses of all sizes to become Covid-19 Secure, through health and safety, HR and creative support. Amy Lishman from Brighton Chamber has been speaking to Becky about her decision to pivot her business and the first two months of the venture.

Q1: You started Hybred Consultancy in May this year. Can you tell us a bit about how it all began?

Like so many people in events, the day after the lockdown my company, Hybred Events, lost 95% of our clients.

As specialists in event safety and operational planning, all our work was drying up — with festival cancellations and little certainty about the future for the industry.

Speaking regularly with colleagues and close contacts, we quickly realised we had extensive, specialist skill sets that were likely to be much needed over the months to come. Which led us to the launch of Hybred Consultancy, a company which is all about helping businesses to reopen safely, efficiently

26

and with confidence — a truly daunting task for many right now.

We’ve taken a leap of faith, rapidly investing in training, a new website, system setups, marketing and business development. We’ve trained the team in Covid-19 safety and started carrying out risk assessments for businesses across a variety of sectors.

We’re seeing the results already — I’m so pleased to have found an outlet for all my health and safety experience in these challenging times and to be able to see companies re-opening their doors that I — and the wider Hybred team — have worked with.

Q2: Nearly two months in, how is the business evolving?

The evolution is constant! As you can probably guess from the volume of government updates and legislation the team is having to be extremely reactive, constantly assessing what businesses need to do in order to be Covid-19 Secure.

Also, we recently expanded our team to include Jo Prior, an HR and employment law specialist. So now Hybred Consultancy can offer key advice for companies deciding how and whether to bring back furloughed staff.

Another major evolution is in the types of businesses we can support. We focused initially on the health and wellbeing sector, but soon realised that other sectors were opening much sooner. We’re now in a position to help any operation become Covid-19 Secure — from national tours, to major offices, to tiny independent stores.

Q3: What has been the biggest challenge? How have you overcome it?

Keeping up with the ever-changing guidance. There is still so much about Covid-19 that isn’t known that we have to ensure we are checking all the guidance and scientific reports daily.

We know that businesses want to focus on what they do best, and that

❛❛ Have faith in your team. When you launch a new business so quickly and are working remotely, you can’t do everything yourself ❜❜

XXXXXXXXXX

the volume of information can seem confusing. So we focus on giving clear recommendations, providing our clients with the best possible information about how to reopen and stay open.

who can help companies get their message out quickly and effectively.

Q4: What is your focus for the next few months?

With the continuing relaxation of social distancing and people desperate to do things, we’re getting lots of enquiries.

From one-off events, to corporate conferencing, to nationwide tours, we can support ventures with everything from detailed risk assessments to bolton services such as the supply of event management, onsite Covid-19 Secure safety managers, staff training and advising on PPE requirements.

Have faith in your team. When you launch a new business so quickly and are working remotely, you can’t do everything yourself — you have to trust your team to deliver. We’ve worked hard to ensure we are clear on the objectives of the first quarter and ‘buy in’ to the new business and I think that’s really important when you’re changing your business model.

We’ve also introduced a complementary creative service to help new ventures looking to launch — we have specialists in web design, marketing, PR, social media and film

Q5: What advice would you give to anyone looking to make a significant change to their business model?

Q6: Can you tell us a bit more about your predictions for the events industry for the rest of 2020, and what is the plan for Hybred Events in this new world?

It’s not all doom and gloom! Though event organisers will need to rethink

how they deliver a great customer experience whilst maintaining safety, we’ve already been working with clients from across the industry to allow them to do just that. By getting the planning done during lockdown, we’re enabling exhibition and conference owners, as well as outdoor event organisers, to get back to delivering engaging experiences, even if that looks quite different to how it would have at the beginning of 2020.

Hybred Consultancy have launched a series of free health, safety and HR webinars, to inform and educate businesses who want to be COVID-19 Secure. You can sign up for free right here http://hybredconsultancy.com, or give them a call on 01273 053533.

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EXHIBITIONS

THE CREATORS OF BRIGHTON SUMMIT BRING YOU

BRIGHTON BASE CAMP G

UM S IN R A

IN

E M C AT D A I T F PL E A CL F UN R N O CO S5 CA IS D £T5HEFDRIEN

US

BA N A N AS O DE

The Brighton Chamber team had already spent hours preparing for the 2020 Brighton Summit, a highlight of the Brighton business calendar each October. But then someone threw in a Covid-19-shaped banana skin and everything skidded to a halt.

For mountaineers, there are often mishaps on the way to the summit.

Bad weather, equipment failure, global pandemics…

And, this being Brighton, and it being Brighton Chamber, there is – of course!

Just like those intrepid climbers, they realised that they’d need to be innovative.

To cast away convention, think on their feet and be bold.

The result is Brighton Base Camp: Bananas. Taking place on Friday October 16th 2020, it’s the younger sibling of the Brighton Summit.

The team found themselves stuck in Base Camp, casting longing eyes up at the peak and wondering if there was another way to get there.

Base Camp is a virtual event with inspiring speakers, great networking and workshops that will change the way you think. Although you’ll be joining remotely, you’ll be part of something

So, grab those crampons, stock up on the Kendal Mint Cake and book your ticket to join the adventure!

Branding by Visual Function and Sandra Staufer.

Copy by The Sentence Works.

Book your place here https://brighton-base-camp-bananas. eventbrite.co.uk/?aff=Platinum Platinum readers can claim a £5 off using the discount code Friends5

Thanks to our sponsors; Cardens Accountants and Shoreham Port Media Partner: Platinum Business Magazine

that’s exciting, intriguing, welcoming.

The event will help you take stock of this crazy year and help us all breathe new life into our businesses.

It’ll be a fruitful day that will help you make something out of the bananas situation that we’ve all found ourselves in.

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WORK

INTERNATIONAL TRADE A POST-COVID PERSPECTIVE Andrew Wallis, Corporate and International Tax Partner, Kreston Reeves At the end of 2019, Kreston Reeves surveyed 1,109 business leaders of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across the UK to explore the views of businesses towards international trade as the country looked to exit the EU. The research was to be published in March this year just before the UK and the rest of the world went into lockdown following the outbreak of COVID-19.

In late May 2020, we conducted a follow-up survey of 514 UK business leaders to explore how COVID-19 might change their plans for international trade.

The views of business have never been more important as we begin to emerge from what has been the biggest shock to the global economy and as we approach December’s deadline to secure a trade deal with the EU. Understanding the drivers and barriers to international trade can help businesses plan and take the advice they need to successfully grow overseas.

Our research told us that 71% of UK businesses had some degree of international trade prior to the outbreak of COVID-19 and that 55% of those businesses have, unsurprisingly, seen that trade fall away.

It is, however, encouraging that over half (51%) of the business leaders surveyed say their view on the importance of

30

exporting has increased in a post COVID-19 world. 45% also expect international trade to return within the next 12 months, suggesting they are expecting a V-shaped economic recovery. Equally encouraging is that of the 29% of businesses with no international trade before the outbreak of COVID-19, 34% of them now say they are likely to look to overseas markets to aid their recovery.

Both our December 2019 and May 2020 surveys suggest UK businesses are outward looking and have a strong international focus. But international trade is, at the best of times, not without its challenges.

Our original survey in 2019 asked business leaders to tell us what they consider to be the biggest barriers to international trade.

As the chart in this article shows, businesses trading overseas face many challenges, each equally challenging and taking time to address. Yet there are some challenges that stand out over others for their complexity and the management time business leaders need to give.

The biggest single concern is tax, VAT and duties (23%), followed by currency fluctuations (20%), and tariffs and trade barriers (19%). Red tape (18%), the cost of international trade (18%), logistics

What do you consider the biggest challenge(s) to trading internationally?

13%

Language/culture Distance

12%

Tariffs/trade barriers

19%

Currency fluctuations Carbon footprint

20% 10%

Red tape/regulations Lack of demand

18% 9%

Cost Data or IP theft Inexperience/unaware Inability to resource Access to funding

18% 10% 10% 8% 10%

Credit/getting paid

14%

Logistics/freight/transport

17%

Employing/moving staff

13%

Knowledge of jurisdiction

13%

Tax/VAT/duties Other No challenges 0%

23% 2% 4% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%

(17%), and getting paid (14%) are all very real barriers to international growth.

These challenges cannot be addressed in one simple measure. Business leaders told us that a mix of measures are needed to make international trade easier.

Top of that list is, for 32% of business leaders, a free trade deal with our European partners. Yet at the time of writing that is looking ever less likely.

Business owners will not be surprised to see VAT and duties topping this list.

Both are already complex and time consuming and are only likely to become more so in coming years.

Knowledgeable advisers with an international network, such as Kreston Reeves, are essential in guiding businesses through this financial maze. Not all measures are financial and that is where businesses can turn to their professional bodies, chambers

of commerce, the Department for International Trade (DIT) for guidance and support. The levels of satisfaction in the advice and support business receive is high, with on average 80% of business leaders telling us the advice they received was useful.

As the UK looks to reposition itself on the global stage, Kreston Reeves asked business leaders where their focus is likely to be over the next five years? And it will be of no surprise that European markets will dominate – 58% of businesses told us that is where they see international growth, compared to just 36% for North America.

The need for a comprehensive trade deal with the EU is paramount, as will be separate trade deals around the world.

There has to be a concern as to whether these deals can be delivered in the now very tight timeframe remaining as governments around the world manage the aftermath of COVID-19.

A full copy of the Kreston Reeves research published in a report “Trading internationally 2020 A post COVID-19 perspective�, can be found at www.krestonreeves.com/ publications We will also be publishing a series of articles that looks in more detail at the challenges facing businesses.

For more information, please contact Andrew Wallis, Corporate and International Tax Partner at Kreston Reeves.

E: andrew.wallis@krestonreeves.com T: +44 (0)330 124 1399

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KEY FINDINGS n Business Activity Index rises 16.5 points to signal only a slight decline n Softest reduction in new orders since March n Output expectations climb to four-month high

NATWEST SOUTH EAST ® PMI

Private sector output approaches stabilisation in June

The headline NatWest South East Business Activity Index – a seasonally adjusted index that measures the month-on-month change in the combined output of the region’s manufacturing and service sectors – climbed a survey-record 16.5 points from May to 49.3 in June, signalling a significantly softer reduction in private sector activity.

The seasonally adjusted New Business Index remained below the 50.0 neutral mark for a fourth successive

32

month during June, to signal a further reduction in order book volumes in the South East. Panellists linked the fall to weak demand conditions. That said, the index rose 15.8 points from May to indicate a substantially softer rate of decline, with some firms reporting that looser restrictions had allowed companies to restart operations.

Incoming new business also fell at the UK level during June, with the rate of contraction slightly outpacing that seen in the South East.

Private sector firms in the South East remained confident with regards to activity over the coming 12-months in May. In fact, sentiment improved further and reached a four-month high. Anecdotal evidence linked optimism to looser lockdown restrictions and hopes of an economic recovery once the pandemic is under control.

Moreover, the level of positive sentiment in the South East exceeded that recorded at the UK level in June.

BUSINESS the East Midlands recorded a softer reduction in staff numbers than the South East.

Private sector firms in the South East recorded another reduction in the level of outstanding business during May, extending the current sequence of decline to 21 months.

Panellists reported that lower activity requirements had allowed them to direct resources to clearing backlogs.

The rate of depletion was sharp, albeit the softest for four months.

At the sector level, manufacturers drove the overall decline in June, recording a further substantial reduction in backlogs and outpacing the fall seen at services firms.

Private sector firms in the South East recorded an increase in input prices for the first time in three months during June. Anecdotal evidence linked the rise to greater staff costs, as well as costs for personal protective equipment (PPE). The rate of inflation was marginal overall.

Workforce numbers in the South East’s private sector declined again in June, as has been the case in all but one of the past 11 months. Companies frequently mentioned redundancies and lay-offs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The rate of job shedding softened slightly from May but remained marked overall.

That said, across the 12 monitored UK regions, only the North West and

At the sector level, manufacturers drove the overall rise, recording a moderate uptick in cost burden. Meanwhile, input prices at services firms fell again.

The seasonally adjusted Prices Charged Index posted only just below the 50.0 nochange mark in June, to signal broadly stable selling prices at the South East’s private sector firms following three months of successive declines.

By comparison, average selling prices fell at the UK level in June, although the decline eased since May.

South East Business Activity Index sa, >50=growth since previous month

COMMENT Stuart Johnstone,

Managing Director, London & South East, Corporate & Commercial Banking “The South East’s private sector moved closer to stabilisation in June, with the Business Activity Index recovering a survey-record 16.5 points and signalling only a slight overall reduction in output.

The decline in new business also eased, with the latest drop the softest in the current four-month sequence and only marginal.

“At the same time, the 12-month outlook for activity improved again, with sentiment climbing to the highest since February amid hopes of an economic recovery and improved demand conditions once the pandemic is under control.

“Despite some positive signs, the South East’s private sector remains, for now, mired in a downturn. Ongoing COVID-19 disruptions and stifled demand conditions continued to weigh on the sectors performance, although it is clear that the worst is now behind us.”

70 60 50 40 30 20 10 2001

2003

2005

2007

2009

2011

2013

2015

2017

2019

Source: NatWest, IHS Markit

33

NATWEST ACCELERATOR

ENTREPRENEUR OF THE MONTH August 2020 Founder Sophie Bresnahan tells her about her new ethical business One of the highlights about starting a creative ethical business is simply the fact that I have been able to create the business in the first place. I’ve always been told there was no money in art, so to have people purchase little pieces of art from me, is just amazing. Another highlight is that I had my largest order mid-COVID for over 5,000 cards to be sent from a CEO all over the globe.

I’ve always worked in sales and events and for anyone who’s ever met me, I don’t come across as your typical sales woman. I eventually left and went travelling for a year and a half and painted along the way. I came across this idea of plantable paper whilst on a tree planting job in Australia. However, it was only after I spent some time in Portugal volunteering at organic farms, I discovered all I wanted to do was create things, in an ethical way. When I came back to the UK I worked out how to create greetings cards with this plantable paper and the business was born.

Loop Loop is an ethical company which uses recycled materials. I have over 60 greetings cards designs, all made from recycled materials and embedded with flower seeds, so they can be planted to grow flowers. Some have a wildflower mix and I have just introduced two new seed mixes as well. I sell the cards at over 70 retail shops, as well as direct to consumer through my website. My vision is to branch into other ethical products, and have just started selling recycled art prints as well.

34

The biggest challenge I have faced is production. I used to do all the printing myself, but then couldn’t handle the capacity, but have since outsourced this and I have had real issues with the printers. Due to the nature of the product being handmade paper, it creates a lot of wastage, and printers shy away from working with it, or have increased their prices. I’ve definitely been demotivated because of that and it takes effort and energy to pick myself back up and start finding new printing partners.

I listen to a lot of podcasts, which are an incredible source of information and means I can listen while I go running. I love Creative Rebels, Happy Place and How to Fail with Elizabeth Day. I like reading before I go to sleep and like to balance business books,

with fiction as well. Business for Bohemians, by Tom Hodgkinson and Start with Why, by Simon Sinek have both been very useful.

My tips would be, start running if you don’t already. I literally can’t think straight unless I run at least 3 times a week, so if you feel stuck, then getting out and doing a run is a great way to help your mind clear. Solutions to problems often present themselves mid run. This also helps me to keep a positive mindset, which doesn’t come naturally to me, and is 100% essential when starting up.

Sophie Bresnahan Founder hello@looploop.co.uk www.looploop.co.uk @think_looploop

Each month the leadership team at Brighton’s NatWest Entrepreneur Accelerator select a founder of the month to recognise the individuals that have demonstrated a growth mindset and entrepreneurial spirit to overcome challenges and accelerate the growth of their business in a short space of time.

To find out more about the Accelerator hub, email BrightonAccelerator@natwest.com

EDUCATION

NEW DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION APPOINTMENT

at Hurst College

In recent months we have seen change of all types, firstly in the fight against a global pandemic, and secondly with the Black Lives Matter movement which has brought to the forefront issues surrounding inequality around the world.

Naturally, we have all been challenged to take a deeper look into how we live our own lives, perform our jobs and analyse our subconscious thoughts and feelings. Hurst College, as a school of excellence, is not exempt from this challenge and has therefore decided to tackle this head on to create the new role of Director of Diversity and Inclusion.

Housemistress Jami Edwards-Clarke (above) will expand her existing role to take on the new position.

“My hope is to work closely with a team of well-informed staff members, along with passionate students, to bring about positive changes so that we think more critically about diversity at Hurst. Working together with both the pupil and staff platform, I hope

to create opportunities for change within our academic and co-curricular programmes, ensuring that when our pupils leave Hurst they have a thorough awareness of issues surrounding race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, disability, class and religion and therefore head out into the world with everything necessary to find their way,” said Jami.

During the second half of the Summer term, the college started its journey of positive change through the creation of diversity platforms and held an INSET outlining the goals for moving forward. In both cases, the support from members of staff and pupils was overwhelming which will help drive this movement forward with assurance and gravitas.

“I feel incredibly excited and optimistic that Hurst can and will make huge strides towards a more diverse and inclusive environment for all members of its community,” said the new Director of Diversity and Inclusion.

www.hppc.co.uk

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PEST CONTROL

FLIES DAMN FLIES… JACOB’S “If youSTORY followed

a fly for a day

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In late summer ifJacob staff inalso top-flhas oor offi theces highest grade of is a specific species of While there are complainingcerebral about flpalsy, ies –severe or your breathing issues, Common cluster fly, there are other loft space is overrun with insects seizures.

– it’s species and uncontrollable “He has no of swarming flies which probably cluster independent flies. movement so overwinter. he can’t do anything himself.”

Cluster flies such When as Common cluster Jacob was two years old, the of the cluster fly is very much The life cycle fly Pollenia rudisfamily are ‘fiwere eld’ fltold ies –about they their lay local children’son the prevailing weather dependent eggs in the soil and the larvae burrowTree into House, hospice, Chestnut by aand, in this country, two conditions earthworms where they of pupate.

As the outreach member the hospital team.a year are usual but, in hot generations weather becomes Thecooler, familythey thenseek soonout booked their first summers, up to four generations per year shelter in nooks overnight and crannies stayin atbuildings the hospice are building near possible. to hibernate inArundel. large numbers.

“I don’t Their know what I was favourite places expecting, are roof spaces andmoment lofts Curiously, but the we walked a single house or one building and people livingthrough in houses the country theindoors we were in amazed. a rowWe of similar buildings is often are often plagued withnot swarms cluster could believeofhow much care andyear love after year for this clustering chosen flies in their lofts.was there. It was fantastic. Itphenomenon. was a huge eye-opener, we could see all the Normally, several thousandthere fliesforwill opportunities Jacob. And for us, cluster together – hence the we name it was the first time could sit down and cluster flies. They will infest the relax forusually a very long time.” highest warm pointAsavailable – and this at the hospice, well as short breaks is often the topthe floor of offi cesRuth, or loft family has a Chestnut Tree spaces in people’s homes.

House Nurse who visits them at home every month, allowing Jacob to get out Cleankill Pest Control’s Managing Director and about to explore his local community, Paul Bates explains: “As cluster flies don’t breed indoors, controlling them outside is impractical. It’s often impossible to keep flies from entering premises, no matter how well sealed or modern the property is.

The flies enter through air vents, breathing points in mortar, roof tiles and even through gaps in modern double glazing.”

With office across the South East in Kent, Sussex, Surrey and in Bristol and Buckinghamshire, Cleankill Pest Control is an award-winning pest control company and was last year named Company of the Year in the British Pest Management Awards. Cleankill is the only pest control company in England to hold the Investors in People Gold accreditation.

To book a free survey or a no obligation appointment to compare Cleankill’s costs with your current provider go to www.cleankill.co.uk or call 0800 056 5477.

DMH Stallard acts on the sale of Brighton based company to global tax software provider Completing any M&A deal requires a great team (of advisors and clients), but achieving it in lock down, doubly so, explains Jonathan Grant The current M&A deals we are running demonstrate the value of trusted trading relationships between buyers and sellers. An existing relationship builds trust and confidence, and may lead to an offer being made if integration supports the long term strategic growth plans of the buyer. Buyers with established finance is also critical as it avoids the need to put in place new acquisition finance, which can be a cause of delay.

Accordance are a Brighton business, started by Bart O’Toole in 2006, to provide quality VAT managed services to European companies. Accordance are part of the new wave of fast growing, highly skilled professional and technical businesses established in Brighton.

Staff are drawn by the City as a place

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to live, proximity to London, and the lifestyle on offer.

The buyer of Accordance was Sovos, Compliance LLC, a global private equity backed software supplier to Accordance, so the businesses know each other well. The deal was completed with no reduction in the headline price, some 8 weeks after the heads of terms were signed. Like most deals which complete quickly and with no reduction in price, preparation was the key, in this case over several years.

Since the Company’s foundation, Bart, with his business partners Nick Hallam and David Stokes has built a quality team of professionals, operating from offices near the Station in Brighton.

DMH Stallard have worked with the Accordance team for some years, working alongside RSM Corporate Finance and tax teams over the last five years to prepare the business for sale.

In that time various approaches were considered and rejected, including trade buyers and private equity investors. At a key stage along this path, Bart, Nick and David recognised that they could take the business through it’s next stage of growth, increasing the value of the business as they did so. New offices, investment in a management team and quality people, and a generous Share Option plan for senior staff, saw the business grow fast ahead of the sale.

Critically, trading held up during lock down.

Accordance has been a Sovos partner since 2018 and has implemented Sovos VAT Reporting software to provide technology-enabled compliance services to its clients. The acquisition comes at a critical moment for VAT countries, where businesses face a range of new regulatory mandates, from changes in periodic reporting to

LEGAL

continuous transaction controls (CTCs) and allows Sovos to build it’s business in Europe. All of these factors came together to create a business case for the deal.

In terms of the ability of a deal team to deliver a deal efficiently during lock down, settled relationships and experience built over years was key; legal, financial, tax and strategy teams all knew each other well. Regular reviews had taken place in the years before sale, to update documents and systems.

Potential risk areas, which might have impacted value for the Sellers, could be recognised early and dealt with ahead of an offer being received.

Robust on line data rooms facilitate remote transaction processes; in this case DMH Stallard and RSM were ready to move as soon as deal terms were confirmed. If selection of the professional advisory team had commenced when an offer was received, the deal would have more than doubled in terms of timetable.

In any deal, judgement calls and risk

assessment is required; trust established over time between corporate finance advisors, lawyers and clients makes this process much more efficient. In this case those relationships had been built over years; deals had been considered and rejected, valuations considered and reflected upon, and investment in quality people made. Without all these factors coming together a deal would have been much harder to achieve.

On closing the deal Andy Hovanick, CEO of Sovos said “Accordance adds a leading service provider with a robust customer base and unique VAT expertise to our growing European organization, strengthening the foundation for future global expansion. With this acquisition, Sovos substantially increases our operations in Europe, where we already enjoy significant scale with more than 2,000 customers being served in the region.”

The sale does not mark an end to the Accordance story in Brighton, rather the commencement of a new stage in the growth of a successful Brighton business, marking a transition from entrepreneurial business to corporate ownership. The continuation of the existing management team should ensure a smooth transition and an exciting future.

Jonathan Grant who led the transaction for DMH Stallard said “ This is a quality deal for a fast growing Brighton business, completed in the middle of lockdown. DMH Stallard have worked with Accordance since it was founded; this deal shows the value of a strong advisory team, and an investment by owners in building a strong culture and quality management team”.

Sovos is owned by Hg, the Londonbased specialist private equity investor focused on software and service businesses.

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KEY LEARNINGS DURING LOCKDOWN Daniel Morgan, Managing Partner Haines Watts Esher Lockdown in the UK meant that businesses had to overhaul their working practices with very little planning time. Without a doubt technology has been the biggest help with sustaining our business and keeping our people connected. Thankfully, we already had remote desktop capability and were therefore able to switch to full time home working with relative ease.

We had begun to implement new technologies such as Zoom and Teams pre-lockdown but with no-one able to meet in person we’ve found that our teams and particularly our clients embraced this new way of working much more quickly. These technologies have really helped to keep ‘face to face’ interactions with both our people and our clients.

Video calling has also been vital when talking with new and potential clients.

I believe that people buy from people and so being able to emulate that in person interaction has allowed for new conversations to take place. Although, technology has been a huge help in the interim, I don’t believe that it will ever replace that face to face interaction completely. Referrals from existing clients is how we win most of our

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new work and so being able to build relationships with people will always be a huge part of our business.

We’ve had to think on our feet for matters involved in our work which usually requires a physical presence.

Meeting our clients’ deadlines is always at the forefront of our minds and so our working practices have been adapted to ensure this work can continue. For example, clients have been required to send through information needed electronically which has for the most part worked well.

We’ve been pleasantly surprised with how successful home working has been and this has certainly had an impact on our future planning. With remote working now a viable possibility for many of our people this will no doubt have an impact on office space as we

grow our teams. The talent pool has also opened up allowing for opportunities to recruit people from further afield for remote working. This is a hugely exciting prospect as often a limiting factor for our business is finding the right talent to add to our growing team.

❛❛ We’ve been pleasantly surprised with

how successful home working has been and this has certainly had an impact on our future planning ❜❜

FINANCE

While our office is slowly beginning to reopen following government guidelines, we are largely still working from home.

We’ve found we need to be flexible with our team, particularly those with children, who may not feel ready to be back in the office or have logistical issues with their return. Regular communications with our people along with staff surveys have allowed us to ensure that we continue to meet their needs. The safety of our team is paramount and while I expect the numbers in our offices to increase over the coming weeks we are making sure we take the time to fully understand the government guidelines and implement measures accordingly.

The biggest challenge I have faced has been keeping the team feeling like a team and not being isolated from colleagues whilst remote working.

Some people have also struggled with their homeworking set-ups with flatmates, distractions or a lack of desk space proving challenging. Although technology has allowed for it, we’ve found that homeworking won’t work for everyone in the long-term.

This is all feeding into our future flexible working practices as the learning here has been that a different approach is needed for each member of the team and we need our working practices to

reflect that. My approach is to empower my team to work in a way that suits them best while still delivering results for our clients.

For more information: www.hwca.com/accountants-esher T: 020 8549 5137 E: esher@hwca.com

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SUSSEX INNOVATION WELCOMES ITS NEW CATALYST TEAM FOR 2020-21

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By Simon Chuter, Student Enterprise Manager at Sussex Innovation

As we bid farewell to this team and send them off to the next stage of their careers, I want to share our gratitude to them for going above and beyond to support their clients during this time.

Over the past four months, the Catalyst team has been a microcosm of everything that’s been going on at Sussex Innovation. We’ve had to be extremely flexible and responsive as a team, developing new ways to help businesses survive and thrive in the face of the global pandemic, the lockdown, and everything else that 2020 has thrown at us.

This summer, our seventh intake of placement students and recent graduates from the University of Sussex will be joining the Catalyst Team as Business Support Executives. They’ll spend a year working alongside myself and my colleagues in the consultancy team, delivering targeted research, practical support and one-off projects for the growing SMEs in our community and beyond.

INNOVATION HELPING BUSINESSES DURING LOCKDOWN

We’ve helped a huge number of local businesses respond to the unique challenges of lockdown, particularly those from the retail and hospitality sectors who have seen their traditional revenue streams cut off, and needed to rapidly pivot to a direct to consumer model.

Following the closure of pubs, bars and restaurants, Hepworth Breweries – previously a B2B business – needed to start reaching their customers directly through an online shop. With a list of over 50 products ready to go, Arthur created a Shopify site to help them pivot to online sales. They are now having fantastic success through being able to reach their customers directly... Arthur even got a free crate of beer at the end!

Eleanor has also been assisting a client whose business was severely affected by the lockdown to identify potential opportunities for a pivot. “My research projects have been really rewarding, helping people to identify trends and generate insights,” she says. “In lockdown, I’ve helped people turn a disaster into an opportunity to re-invent their businesses. They’re not only

“Brighton Chamber has used the Catalyst team in lots of ways.

The team are part of the Brighton Summit conferences and stage-manage the rooms throughout the day. They have carried out a successful research project for the Brighton & Hove Living Wage campaign for the last three years with great results.

One of the team has stepped in when we have had a gap in staffing and they have helped on several data entry projects when accuracy has been essential. Need I say more, they are a valuable resource.”

Sarah Springford, Chief Executive Officer - Brighton Chamber

helping their own business to survive, but they’re choosing to stand up for entire industries and communities which previously went unnoticed and unheard.”

WHAT IS THE CATALYST TEAM?

The Catalyst Team was launched in 2014 with the aim of bridging the gap between young people looking for meaningful, full time work and business owners looking for practical support without the expensive recruitment and training costs. The team works with hundreds of businesses each year – sometimes in a continuous part-time role, sometimes for just a few hours to deliver a one-off project. This flexibility is a big selling point for the SMEs we support.

Through our link with the University of Sussex, we’re able to access a talented pool of willing young people, who often struggle to find the kind of work opportunities that can accelerate their careers. At the same time, we know that early-stage companies often need assistance but don’t have the time to find and train employees, or commit to employing someone full time.

By taking that burden of training and support off their hands and bringing it into our own team, we ensure that every Catalyst project has a real strategic purpose to the business, and a tangible outcome. The team member gets a real experience of working with a range of different, innovative and exciting young businesses.

The incoming Team 7 are among our most exciting and diverse bunch yet. This year’s team includes placement students and graduates with backgrounds in Computing for Business and Management, English and Theatre Studies, Marketing Management and Psychology, Intellectual History, Sociology and more.

If you’d like a Catalyst Business Executive to help your company get projects delivered, or a part-time team member to free up your time, get in touch and tell us what you need.

www.catalyst.sinc.co.uk

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WHY YOUR IT FIRM MAY BE SCARING YOU ABOUT THE CLOUD… AND WHY IT’S NOT TRUE Many IT firms are scaring their customers about the problems of moving all their IT operations into the public cloud (such as Microsoft Azure). Andrew Hookway, Managing Director of Burgess Hill based Extech Cloud believes that many Sussex businesses are being scared in to making decisions that force them to be “locked in” to their IT supplier and data centres.

When businesses scare their customers and force them down a particular path, you often wonder if they have a hidden agenda, whilst trying to appear helpful. We hear many stories where local IT firms are offering poor or inaccurate advice when it comes to the public cloud.

But why the scare tactics? Often, it is because they don’t understand it or they fear they will lose revenue usually made on purchasing and installing servers onsite, or through locking them into a private data centre (aka private cloud).

❛❛ Security risks are another scare tactic we see time and time again ❜❜ 44

One scare tactic focuses on the cost of Microsoft Azure, suggesting that businesses pay for cloud capacity that they aren’t using, making it hard to budget, and it is expensive.

This simply is not true. After the initial cloud migration, known as digital transformation, businesses then just pay monthly depending on what’s used and the number of users. So, if the workforce reduces, so do the IT costs.

Microsoft Azure gives the freedom to manage and deploy applications on a secure global cloud network and has flexible pay-for-what-you-use pricing options. Budgeting is therefore really easy and accurate according to the business size and needs. And of course, there are never any capital

TECHNOLOGY

costs for on-premise servers or all the hidden costs and locked-in licences.

Security risks are another scare tactic we see time and time again. The public cloud offers better cybersecurity than an on-prem server would, particularly for regulated businesses that require standards for data compliance and information security. In fact, in the cloud businesses can say goodbye to constant server management and security patches and can just get on with their business.

Control is another focal point for businesses trying to discredit the cloud.

They say that the company hands over control to a third party. The reality is that in the public cloud, businesses are free

to move to different IT providers as the data is actually hosted with Microsoft.

It is for exactly this reason and the freedom it provides, that IT firms don’t want businesses to move away from their “locked-in” Data Centres.

Finally, there is the issue of old legacy software. Previously it was true that some legacy software could not be transferred to the cloud, but that is no longer the case. Extech Cloud has the experience to put almost any application or software into a cloud environment thanks to our pioneering use of Microsoft WVD. This is cuttingedge digital transformation meaning there are now no compelling reasons why companies need to have onpremise servers.

For more information, call a friendly member of the Extech Cloud team to get the facts about the cloud on +44 (0) 1444 443200, email info@extech.co.uk or visit www.extechcloud.com

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BASKING IN THE

BAHAMAS Continuing on with my tour of the world’s best dive sites, and my homes, we now land in the Bahamas, where l lived and worked for two years before being ‘blown’ off the island.

By Maarten Hoffmann

After completing my Master Scuba Instructor training in Miami, the Bahamas was my first port of call. The plan was to dive the world before starting a diving resort development business, and Harbour Island in the Bahamas seemed like an excellent place to start.

Known officially as the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, it is a country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies. Columbus was the first European to land there in 1492, followed by the Spanish who enslaved the population and then the Brits arrived from Bermuda in 1648. It became a British Crown Colony and gained independence in 1973.

The Bahamas comprises 700 islands and over 2000 rocks and cays sprinkled over 100,000 square miles

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of ocean. They rightly boast the clearest water on the planet which is a prize for divers. The Bahamians are amongst the friendliest people l have met on my travels and the islands are sublime ‘Robinson Crusoe’ desert islands and the water is clear and warm – a divers paradise.

I made my home on Harbour Island, part of the Eleuthera chain, in the northeast corner. With an elevation of barley a metre, it comprises pink sand beaches, secluded coves and, inland, endless pineapple fields. The architecture is very European as this was the first island the Brits landed on when they arrived making these islands the birthplace of the entire country.

Here are just a few of the hundreds of great dive sites:

TRAVEL

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CURRENT CUT, ELEUTHERA

The diving ranges from easy, novice dives to some barnstorming expert dives that will leave you breathless. One of the best is right here on Eleuthera, called Current Cut. One of the fastest drift dives l have ever experienced as, jump on the incoming tide, and the water rips through the cut between the two islands. We would drop the divers in at one end, move the boat to the end of the cut and wait. It is in effect the easiest dive as you exert zero energy as you rip along at 15 knots but you do need to know what you are doing. Things come at you fast, and as it is also the nursery ground for the Black Tip Shark, care needs to be taken not to surprise the hell out of them as you barrel through. Baby sharks shooting everywhere, amazing coral and fish life. You just get into position and enjoy the ride. A great dive not to be missed.

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TIGER BEACH, GRAND BAHAMA

Move north to Grand Bahama and you find Tiger Beach, specifically West End. Add a 27-mile boat journey to the north of that, and you’ll be at an underwater haven known as Tiger Beach. This area, found on the western edge of the Little Bahamas Bank, has become famous around the world for its healthy population of Tiger sharks, and it’s been rated as one of the best 30-foot (9 m) dives in the world.

In an area that supports a variety of shark species, the majestic tiger shark is the undisputed star here, with a backdrop of blue water and a white, sandy bottom. This dive site is not only perfect for avid photographers and videographers, but also for divers who want to add another level of shark experience to their logbook.

TRAVEL

The famous swimming pigs

Tiger Sharks

❛❛ In an area that supports a variety of shark species, the majestic tiger shark is the undisputed star here ❜❜

A pair of Angel Fish

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TRAVEL

A squadron of Southern Rays

THE CRATER, ANDROS

The largest island in the Bahamas is Andros, just to the north of Eleuthera, and it belongs on every diver’s bucket list due to the abundance of ocean and inland blue holes that can be found here. Some are dived regularly; many others remain unexplored. One of the best is the Crater, an oceanic blue hole off Small Hope Bay. Divers of any level can explore its outer rim and further down into the canyon-like environment until reaching the outer walls of the blue hole and its dark edges, where only those with appropriate certification levels should venture. The Crater is unique even among blue holes because it was once the ocean floor, falling into itself when the ground gave way to erosion, opening up the cave system below. Lots of marine life calls this area home; large turtles sleep on the bottom, and eels and rays swim in and among the coral-covered walls. For more experienced divers, the edges of the wall open up to the dark cave system below.

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THE WASHING MACHINE, EXUMAS

Moving from the Bahamas’ largest island to one of the nation’s most beautiful island groups, the Exumas. Made up of 350 cays and ringed by stunning beaches, waterways and reefs, the Exumas are home to the Bahamas National Trust’s Land and Sea Park. Outside the park, in the northern section of the Exuma Cays and just south of Highbourne Cay, is a site known as the Washing Machine. This fun drift dive begins in only about 15 feet (4.5 m) of water, where divers drop down to an insistent current, which picks them up and propels them, head-overheels, through a narrow cut in the reef — hence the name ‘Washing Machine’. By the time the current releases you, you’re at around 50 feet (15 m), cruising over a beautiful and colourful reef, although a tad dizzy.

COLUMBUS POINT, CAT ISLAND

On the very southeastern tip of Cat Island is Columbus Point, a remote spot that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean. Because of this exposed position, the diving here tends to be more suited to advanced divers, who are comfortable in deeper waters.

Underwater pinnacles come up from the ocean floor all around the point, attracting large grouper and big sharks. Currents can be strong, but when the weather cooperates, the beauty of this underwater world is breathtaking. A large population of Oceanic Whitetips are seasonal residents, and diving with them is another experience for the bucket list. As these sharks are pelagic, dive operators must take their guests out into the open ocean to see them. Here the only things interrupting the deep blue are the occasional large game fish swimming by, along with the oceanics and silky sharks. Columbus Point can be

a challenging dive, but when the timing is right, it’s well worth it.

JAMES BOND WRECKS, NASSAU

As the James Bond film, “Spectre,” was shot here, it’s easy to look back on the Bond history in Nassau. Known as the ‘Underwater Hollywood,’ Nassau has played a big part as the backdrop for several Bond films. Diving off the southwestern end of New Providence, divers can experience their own bit of cinematic history by exploring the Vulcan Bomber from the 1965 film Thunderball, and the Tears of Allah shipwreck from the 1983 Bond film Never Say Never Again. Both flicks starred Sean Connery as the suave British agent. Apart from their starring role on the silver screen, these dive sites offer much more to all levels of divers. Found in 40 feet (12 m) of water, the coral growth creates a fantastic opportunity for photographers and videographers. The surrounding

A Hammerhead ready for lunch

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TRAVEL reef also supports an abundance of marine life.

THEO’S WRECK

This 80m-long freighter was purposely sunk in 1982, and now rests at 30m on the edge of the oceanic shelf. The vessel is covered in yellow and orange cup corals, large gorgonians and red sponges and over the past three decades a vast array of marine life has moved in: schools of jacks, snappers and grunts are as common as colourful parrotfish and butterflyfish. Divers can enter the engine rooms and cargo holds through various entry points – look out for the resident green moray that inhabits the wreck. Sea turtles, reef sharks and spotted dolphins are known to pay the wreck regular visits.

OVER THE WALL

Over-the-wall is a great day dive but you would not want to miss this dive at night.

The dive takes you over the ledge of the Bahamas’ greatest wall plummeting to 1,820m into the Tongue of the Ocean.

On your descent, all divers switch off their torches. Once your eyes have adjusted to the darkness you will see bioluminescent dinoflagellates light up everywhere. The high concentration of these marine plankton particles produces a special light show that divers will enjoy during their ascent.

At 20m the torches are being switched back on and divers have time to explore the wall on their way to the surface.

❛❛ A large population of Oceanic Whitetips are seasonal residents, and diving with them is another experience for the bucket list ❜❜

This WW2 plane will likely never fly again

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The residents await the divers

HAMMERHEAD SHARK FEED

Between January and April, Great Hammerheads aggregate off the shore of Bimini. Close encounters with this usually shy species are almost guaranteed during this time and is one of the best Great Hammerhead dives in the northern hemisphere. The elusive sharks have become accustomed to the regular feeding ritual and once they arrive, they tend to stick around for a few hours, expectantly circling the clear waters of the unnamed dive site. A group of no more than 10 divers is taken on a five-minute boat ride to the shallow dive site to get close and cosy with the 6m long sharks. Although other shark species tend to avoid great hammerheads, bull sharks are occasionally seen during the feed.

The dive is specifically designed for underwater photographers and allows for some amazing close-up shots.

If diving is not for you (are you nuts!) then this is a paradise of beautiful beaches, waving palm trees and great cocktails. The top islands for me are Eleuthera; the Abacos, where you will see swimming wild pigs; Cat Island, which is one of the least visited and remote; Andros, known as the Bonefishing Capital of the World; Long Island, a mecca for fishing, sailing and incredible coral reefs; Harbour Island, known for its pink sand beaches, pastel coloured houses and its romantic vibe; Crooked Island, remote and unspoilt and home to the largest Turtle nesting spot and awesome limestone caves. And there is another 793 to go – you will never get bored and never run out of islands to explore.

If you want mass tourism, waterparks, endless cruise ships and bland American hotels, then Nassau is for you but certainly not for me.

BLOWN AWAY

My life on Harbour Island came to a shattering finale in October 1992, when Hurricane Andrew hit the islands and totally decimated everything, including my dive resort, all boats and my home. Once we got all the tourists off, we were the only eight people left on the entire island and we took refuge in the only concrete home on the assumption we would be safe.

We were not.

During the first half of the storm, the north side of the house collapsed and we took shelter in the south end. Then once the calm eye had passed, it reversed and blew in from the south side and the entire house came down, with us trapped in a sunken bathroom in the centre.

Once hell had subsided, it took four hours to dig out of the house and apart from cuts and

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TRAVEL bruises, we were all alive but what met us once we climbed out just took my breath away.

Total devastation and a clear view across the island that had never been seen before as all the palm trees had gone and there was absolutely nothing left. We then spent six days drinking water from cisterns and free diving for lobster, waiting for rescue that eventually came in the shape of a British naval frigate that sent a helicopter in to collect us and drop us in Miami. Sadly, this was the first of six hurricanes l have been through but by far the worst, with wind gusts of 201mph. The Bahamas took another massive hit with Hurricane Dorian in 2019 that, again, decimated the islands.

The Abaco Islands alone used 200 body bags.

What was left of my house

But severe weather is the flip side of the sublime tropics and you just have to learn to live with the tradeoff. Rebuild and start again is the mantra - not unlike the world today after the pandemic!

In conclusion, the Bahamas are beautiful islands with friendly, happy people, great diving, great food, great beaches and a rich history.

Once bitten by the Bahamas bug, you will never shake it.

My boat will never sail again

The mass tourist island that is Nassau

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PLATINUM

FORD PUMA

By Maarten Hoffmann, Senior Motoring Editor

This is Ford’s new attempt at a crossover and l was a little nervous, as their last attempt with the Ecosport was not, how shall l put it, a resounding success. They have history here of course with the Kuga, that l rated a decent car and the Edge, also rated good but you just don’t see any on the road and therefore, not a stellar seller l would presume. You have to wonder if the Ecosport was launched just to make the Puma look fab?

The new Puma is based on the Fiesta but longer and taller and that’s no bad thing as the Fiesta is a best-seller and the benchmark for all supermini’s since its launch in 2009.

The Puma is a hybrid using a 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol turbo engine giving 123bhp, aligned to a 48V 15bhp electric

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motor that boosts overall efficiency and performance. It cleverly shuts the engine down when coasting or deactivates a cylinder when not required. It offers 60mph in around 10 seconds, but the kicker is the torque it finds in the midrange acceleration. From 30mph to 70mph it has a really good pull and feels quick and agile – far more than you might expect from the stats. On the motorway, it works very well and pulling away and overtaking are a breeze, and it will sit happily at 70mph all day long.

Design wise, l was on the fence until l showed it to a few friends who all said ‘Wow, love the styling’ so what the hell do l know?

The trim lineup is quite simple: Titanium spec is the entry level, followed by the

ST-Line and the ST-Line X with a diesel model and a sporty ST version on the way.

The interior is not quite as adventurous as the exterior and Ford have played it safe, which is a shame. I think they should have gone the full hog and jazzed it up as it’s a tad dull. That aside, it is very functional with lots of adjustability in the seat and steering column. The dash is all well laid out, everything is at hand and the SatNav on the 8.0 inch Sync3 infotainment screen is one of the easiest to use for many a year, and it offers a wi-fi hotspot for up to ten devices.

The entry-level Titanium Puma has autonomous emergency braking, conventional cruise control and lane-

MOTORING

TECH STUFF MODEL TESTED: Puma Titanium MHEV Ecoboost ENGINE: 1.0-litre turbocharged POWER: 125bhp SPEED: 0-60mph 9.8 seconds TOP: 119mph ECONOMY: 43.5mpg combined PRICE: £21,640 AS TESTED: £23,740

keeping assist. An optional £900 Driver Assistance pack offers blindspot warning, cross-traffic alert and traffic jam assist systems, among others, and adds ‘intelligent’ distance-keeping functionality to the cruise control. The systems are generally tuned so as to be quite discreet but can, in most cases, be adjusted for sensitivity and, in some cases, deactivated completely. Even in its most sensitive setting, the lane-keeping aid keeps

the driver engaged. I do get mightily bored with cars that constantly scream at me that l am about to crash when l get within half a mile of the car in front!

of the range slips under the 99g/km CO2 threshold ought to make the Puma an attractive option for company car users.

To have the 12.3in digital instrument display, you’ll need the ST-Line trim.

Forecasts also predict that the Ford will have more robust residual values than even strong rivals such as the Renault Captur and Volkswagen T-Cross, and the fact that such a large proportion

As for fuel economy – the perennial battleground in the crossover class – the Puma does well. My 123bhp hybrid returned 50mpg on the motorway and near enough 40mpg with a mix of driving for a typical driving range of 360 miles. Big-mileage owners may benefit further from the diesel Puma, which is likely to notch up nearer 60mpg on longer routes when it arrives.

❛❛ Design wise, l was on the fence until l showed it to a few friends who all said ‘Wow, love the styling’ so what the hell do l know? ❜❜

A sound car, with, allegedly, good looks, surprising torque and enough space to please most. This is a very good car and will put the cat amongst the pigeons in its class.

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r charges may be payable. 2. Payable if you exercise the option to purchase the car. 3. Includes optional urchase payment, purchase activation fee and retailer deposit contribution (where applicable). *Orders/ redit approvals on selected E-Class Saloon models between 1 July and 30 September 2019, registered by 1 December excluding Mercedes-AMG models. Guarantees may be required. Offer cannot be used in onjunction with any other offer. Some combinations of features/options may not be available. Subject to vailability. Over 18s only. Finance is subject to status and provided by Mercedes-Benz Finance, MK15 BA. Sandown Group is a credit broker and not a lender. Sandown Group is authorised and regulated by he Financial Conduct Authority in respect of regulated consumer credit activity. All New and Approved Used cars sold by any Sandown Mercedes-Benz Retailer is subject to a purchase fee of £129 inc VAT. Prices orrect at time of going to press 07/19. Images for illustrative purposes.ww

The Sandown Group Here at Sandown, our customers are our main priority. We have over 35 years experience in the Mercedes-Benz brand, so we’re proud to call ourselves experts in the field.

Our dedicated team are here to assist with your every need. Whether you’re looking for your next new model, or need a little help maintaining your current pride and joy, we are committed to providing you with the best service possible. We are just as passionate about your vehicle as you are, so when you choose to visit a Sandown retailer, you can rest assured that your experience will be nothing short of first-class.

We have seven retailers throughout Surrey, Hampshire, Dorset and Wiltshire located in Basingstoke, Dorchester, Farnborough, Guildford, Hindhead, Salisbury and Poole, each equipped with a friendly and knowledgeable team. So if you’re in need of a service, are searching for your latest vehicle upgrade, or are on the hunt for a fleet of business cars, we’re the people to visit.

We look forward to welcoming you with a smile at your local Sandown Mercedes-Benz retailer soon!

0330 1780038 Mercedes-Benz of Basingstoke Mercedes-Benz of Dorchester Mercedes-Benz of Farnborough Mercedes-Benz of Guildford

www.sandown-group.co.uk Mercedes-Benz of Hindhead Mercedes-Benz of Poole Mercedes-Benz of Salisbury