PLATINUM BUSINESS MAGAZINE - ISSUE 29 - SURREY

The widest-read business publication in the South East

PLATINUM

PLATINUM THE BIG STORY The most dangerous man in the world

SURREY EDITION . ISSUE 29. 2016

MOTORING Audi RS7 Performance How to be a

LINKEDIN ROCKSTAR KINGSTON BUSINESS AWARDS The results

BUSINESS TRAVEL Barcelona

PLATINUM EXPANSION New Surrey Chambers title

READ ALL PAST ISSUES AT WWW.PLATINUMBUSINESSMAGAZINE.COM

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HURSTPIERPOINT COLLEGE

Welcome

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Big News from Platinum

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Local News

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Surrey Chambers of Commerce

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NatWest

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Woking Chamber of Commerce

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Croydon Business Awards

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Cranleigh Chamber of Commerce

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National News

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DMH Stallard

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Vladimir Putin

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EMC

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Carpenter Box

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Kreston Reeves

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Gatwick Diamond Business Awards

BUSINESS IN BARCELONA

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Business Travel

Where new ideas flow freely

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Uniglobe

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Travel - Barcelona

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Coast to Capital

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Rawlison Butler

HOW TO BE A LINKEDIN ROCKSTAR

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Identity - Digital Marketing

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IT News

How to maximise your impact

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Whitney Associates

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Anger Management

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Motoring

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Motoring - Mercedes-Benz

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Kingston Business Awards

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Institute of Directors

THE BIG STORY VLADIMIR PUTIN The most dangerous man in the World

16 & 72

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At a Glance

AND THE WINNER IS...

Big awards night in Croydon and Kingston

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A SAD DAY FOR MANKIND

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MEET THE TEAM

The US Election is a depressing spectacle

At Mercedes-Benz of Guildford

All rights reserved. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher. The publisher cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions relating to advertising or editorial. The publisher reserves the right to change or amend any competitions or prizes offered.

No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior written consent from the publisher. No responsibility is taken for unsolicited materials or the return of these materials whilst in transit. Platinum Business Magazine is published and owned by Platinum Business Publications Limited.

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Issue 29 - 2016

A word from the Editors Following on from last month’s announcement about our expansion, we have been inundated with congratulations, and submissions, for one of the four brand new official Chamber titles: Surrey Chambers Business, Brighton & Hove Business, ACES and Worthing Chamber Connect. Many thanks to all those who took the time to write and we are now hard at work in our new offices (see image below, left) and filling the floor space in Platinum Towers with new employees faster that we can shake a stick at it.

In this issue, we profile the most dangerous, and probably richest, man on the planet, Vladimir Putin and in writing it, we are filled with horror at what might be about to transpire. Whilst the eyes of the world are on the madness of the US election, Putin has been arming in a terrifying fashion and is now, most likely, unstoppable. His statement that if Trump wins the elections all with be well, but if Clinton wins there will be war, is deeply chilling.

But assuming that we have not all been blown to smithereens by the time this edition hits the street, we bring you news from DMH Stallard and the Chief Economist from HSBC and his comments about the post-Brexit earthquake, Kreston Reeves tells us how to get a tax holiday and Coast to Capital discuss the education of the next generation.

Rose was swanning around Barcelona to bring you all the news about business travel to that beautiful City and Ian popped over to the sensational Mannings Heath Golf Club to chat with them about their new vineyard. Maarten was off in yet another mouthwatering selection of cars and then got hot and bothered about the US elections in Anger Management.

Yet another packed issue that we sincerely hope you enjoy and as if this is not enough, next month you will have two Platinum publications to read and then three and then four and then…… you get the point.

Maarten & Ian Platinum Business Magazine November 2016

The Team

Maarten Hoffmann – Director maarten@platinumbusinessmagazine.com

07966 244046

Ian Trevett – Director ian@platinumbusinessmagazine.com

07989 970804

Lesley Alcock Business Development Director lesley@platinumbusinessmagazine.com 07767 613707

Amanda Menahem

Kate Morton

Food & Drink Editor

Copy Editor

Rose Dykins

Julia Trevett

Lauren Psyk

Amanda Spicer

Travel Editor

Accounts Manager

Event Photographer

Head of Design

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Platinum News

AN EXCITING PLATINUM EXPANSION OMMERCE C F O S ER B AM H C EY R R SU

merce AMagazineZ cial Surrey Cha The OffiM A mbers ofGCom

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THEO PAPHITIS

Exclusive profile of the Weybridge Entrepreneur

LOUISE PUNTER

on Business in Surrey

UNIVERSITY OF SURREY

Business working with Education

FOXHILLS

Reviewed

WILKINS KENNEDY

Focus on Corporate Finance

PLATINUM PUBLICATIONS

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Platinum News

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latinum Business Publications is delighted to announce the launch of the all-new official magazine for the Surrey Chambers of Commerce.

Surrey Chambers Business will launch in January 2017 and will be packed with news, views, profiles and interviews with Surrey based companies with regular features on Finance, Banking, Travel, Motoring, Networking, Recruitment, Investments, Education and much more.

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We are excited about our new Partnership with Platinum and look forward to bringing a great magazine to Surrey businesses covering all sectors and types of companies. Members will be featured as before with the added bonus of an increased circulation.

It will be all you need to read if doing business in Surrey.

Louise Punter, CEO, Surrey Chambers of Commerce

We will also bring you all the latest Chamber news with event listings, new members and news on how the Chamber is working for the benefit of the members.

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A copy will be direct mailed to every single Chamber member with a further 4,000 copies being in general circulation around the county, in retail and commercial outlets, all major supermarkets and a vast array of locations ensuring that we have blanket coverage of the region. An on-line version will also be available with 123,000 current subscribers across the South East To get involved and reach this valuable demographic, please contact info@platinumbusinessmagazine.com or call 07966 244046

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There is not another publication like this with such a wide circulation and we are absolutely delighted to be fully sponsoring the Business Travel section of the Surrey Chambers magazine.

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John Burroughes, Managing Director, Uniglobe Preferred Travel

It is refreshing to have a publisher so clearly listening to their market Nik Askaroff, CEO, EMC Corporate Finance

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Surrey Chamber Business will always our first port of call to get news out to the region.

Gatwick Airport

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Surrey Chambers magazine will be really quite exceptional and outstanding as a regional business publication. They will have something for every serious business reader.

After reading it, it is a must to leave it out on every business reception and coffee table in the region as the presentation and content is so professional.

Chris Lowsley, China Business Advisor, UK Trade and Investment, South East

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Surrey News

LOCAL NEWS ACCOLADE FOR DIRTY COWS Dirty Cows, a professional ‘boutique’ cleaning company, has been shortlisted as one of 10 finalists for the Lloyds National Business Awards for Employer of the Year, with the awards night taking place on 15th November. Dirty Cows, which is based in Chessington is the first cleaning company to be selected as a finalist.

Explaining why her company was shortlisted, Sophie Evans said, “We are the first professional domestic cleaning company to provide our employees, both full and part-time, with private health care for themselves and their dependent children. We offer a pension, professional training and opportunities for promotion. We also offer the same workplace discounts and privileges as large corporate organisations.

“We pride ourselves on being a modern, forward thinking, progressive employer who spends a great deal of time looking for exceptional and talented people to join our company. We are extremely proficient at identifying what motivates each individual employee and we provide flexible working routines so that our staff can achieve a better work life balance and this particularly appeals to working parents of primary school age children from all academic and professional backgrounds. Our employer practices have earned us national recognition.

“Dirty Cows is not an agency which finds self-employed cleaners work and we do not franchise out our cleaning services. For us these are very important distinctions to make when considering the right cleaning service for your home. We know there is nothing more important to a successful business than the quality and integrity of its service and the calibre of its employees.” www.dirtycows.uk.com www.nationalbusinessawards.co.uk

SOLICITOR IS A RISING STAR For the second year in succession, Gareth Walliss, a solicitor at Charles Russell Speechlys in Guildford, has been selected by eprivateclient as one of the UK’s Top 35 private client advisors under the age of 35.

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Of course l believe in free will.

I have no choice.

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The list is highly acclaimed annual initiative which identifies rising stars amongst the private client professions across the UK. The list includes lawyers, accountants, trustees and other professional intermediaries. Gareth, a Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, joined the rapidly growing firm five years ago.

Duncan Elson, Partner and Head of Charles Russell Speechlys in Guildford said, “We are thrilled that Gareth has been recognised for his clear talent and success to date. He is an asset to the firm and has a bright future ahead.”

Gareth added, “It is great to be recognised among the calibre of all those named in the Top 35 this year. The accolade is also a strong reflection of the quality of service and advice that Charles Russell Speechlys’ Private Client team in Guildford offers to clients.” www.charlesrussellspeechlys.com

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Surrey News

PATENTLY OBVIOUS? SMEs are wasting money but not claiming tax relief that is due to them.

MIXING AT MERCEDES

“Only 4.6% of all relief was claimed by SMEs according to HMRC’s most recent statistics on the Patent Box,” said Claire Perrett, business tax partner at Smith & Williamson in Guildford, the accountancy, investment management and tax group.

“There were only 700 claims made in 2013-14 [the first year that statistics are available] and, when you compare it to the 10,000+ claims made for research and development tax relief in the same period, there does appear to be a number of businesses which are missing out.”

“Many, particularly growth businesses, don’t realise the full potential of the Patent Box. The patented item need only be a small part of the larger product but claims can still be made against the total amount of the larger product’s profits. For example, a company that has a UK patent for the use of a mechanism in a car door can claim on the profits of the entire car sold worldwide.”

The patent box was introduced to increase the development, and level of patenting, of IP in the UK. It allows companies to claim full value of their patented inventions.

Companies are able to pay a rate of corporation tax on their patent box profits earned after 1 April 2013 that is lower than the current 20% main rate. This benefit increases incrementally until 2017-18 when companies will be able to fully benefit from the patent box regime tax rate of 10%. Claims can be made annually while the patent is still in use.

“Smaller businesses are often put off claiming tax relief available to them, particularly the Patent Box, due to the complexities of making the first claim and fears of getting it wrong.

However, it should be emphasised that, despite recent negative press, the Patent Box is a government backed scheme designed to benefit those businesses within Britain who are making the effort to innovate products within the UK.” www.smith.williamson.co.uk/guildford

CONNECTSURREY is hosting an evening of networking at the Mercedes-Benz showrooms in Moorfield Road, Guildford. The event takes place on December 7th from 6.30pm and Sandown Mercedes-Benz will be providing a delicious Biriani served up by Surrey Spice and there’ll be wines, beer and soft drinks kindly sponsored by SI Capital. Numbers are limited. For details go to connectsurrey.uk

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Few great men would have got past personnel.

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SURREY SCIENTISTS WIN - IN SUSSEX Surrey NanoSystems began as a start-up in late 2006, staffed by scientists from the University of Surrey’s Advanced Technology Institute and CEVP - a leader in plasma thin film deposition tool manufacture. Their initial goal was the development of commercial systems for producing nanomaterials at low temperatures.

After contacting Locate East Sussex, Surrey Nanosystems decided to relocate to Newhaven for the work-life balance and cost effective facilities. Now they have been crowned the Innovation Award Winners at the Best4Biz Awards in East Sussex.

With 14 people from seven different nationalities, the team has invented Vantablack®, the darkest substance known to man and in great demand globally. This technology entered popular fiction in the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy but Surrey NanoSystems are the only company in the world to create it in real life.

Vantablack® is used in many different sectors including aerospace, optical engineering, nanotechnology, defence, art and culture and the company now exports all over the world. As a result their turnover has increased by 50% during the last two financial years and they expect to double in size over the next 18 months.

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SURREY CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE

ALL CHANGE

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utumn is officially upon us and it’s not only the weather that is changing, the British Chambers of Commerce have appointed Adam Marshall as its new Director General with immediate effect. Francis Martin, President of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said: “Adam is the outstanding choice to lead the BCC, at a time when the views of business have never been more important. Adam has a detailed knowledge of the Chamber Network and a strong understanding of the opportunities and challenges facing Chamber members across the country.”

From all at Surrey Chambers, we wish Adam the best of luck and look forward to working with him in his new position.

Louise Punter Surrey Chambers of Commerce can be reached on 01483 735540, info@surrey-chambers.co.uk, @surreychambers

Louise Punter

IS YOUR CHARITY CAUGHT IN A TRAP?

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CHAMBER NEWS

ilkins Kennedy acts for a large number of charities, particularly here in our Heathrow and Guildford offices, where there are a significant number of charitable organisations in the surrounding area. Driven by feedback from them, and our wider charities contact base, the firm started up a number of advice-led events. These were designed to bring charity-heads together to share experiences with others and presented us with an opportunity to tackle a few of the need-to-knows that were affecting some of the charities in the area.

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The latest charities seminar was held at the Talbot Hotel in Ripley near Woking. One topic covered Gift Aid and how income is defined following changes to the dividend tax allowance, which came in to effect in April this year. The changes mean that the “notional” tax credit of 10% has been abolished but there is a new exemption from tax on the first £5,000 of dividends received by each taxpayer in each tax year There are two traps that tax payers could fall into. For low earners, perhaps pensioners who receive up to £11,000 in income

which is free of tax and dividend income of £5,000, they will have no taxable income. If they make any Gift Aid payments then HM Revenue & Customs may ask them to pay the tax that the charity reclaims. Very wealthy taxpayers earning all their income from dividends and making very large Gift Aid payments may be in for a shock because their tax bill will increase if the tax they pay on their dividends is not sufficient to cover the notional tax on the Gift Aid payments..

The second topic focused on employment taxes, particularly on claiming tax free travel expenses, and the use of pool vehicles. There was a warning about the attention the Revenue were placing on people who are claiming to be self-employed consultants where, if they were in fact employees, the Revenue are able to recover employers national insurance and tax from the charity.

The final topic addressed the importance of having the correct insurance cover and why charities shouldn’t be tempted to underinsure. What was most prominent here was a recent change to the Insurance Act, which sees the responsibility for disclosures relating to insurance lying firmly at the doors of the employers – and with around 8 in 10 organisations being incorrectly insured, it is certainly something to think about!

If you are interested in joining Wilkins Kennedy for the next charities seminar in January 2017, keep an eye out for more information coming soon to our events page on our website www.wilkinskennedy. com/wk-events.

EXPORTING FROM SURREY

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ecent results on the balance of trade means we need to continue our campaign to encourage our local businesses to export. The UK’s deficit on trade in goods and services was estimated to have been £4.7 billion in August 2016, a widening of £2.5 billion from July 2016. Exports increased by £0.1 billion and imports increased by £2.6 billion. The post-referendum fall in sterling has been widely reported as a boon to exporters, but

this has also increased the cost of imported goods and materials, and Britain’s export sector is heavily integrated with global supply chains. The Chancellor’s Autumn Statement needs to include measures that support businesses looking to access new export markets, including expanding support for trade fairs and missions, to at least match that provided by our competitors.

SURREY CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE

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SURREY CHAMBE RS OF COMMERCE

SURREY CHAMBERS BUSINESS MAGAZINE

The Official Surrey Cham

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THEO PAPHITIS Exclusive profile of the Weybridge Entrepreneur

LOUISE PUNTER on Business in Surre

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e are excited about our new Partnership with Platinum and look forward to bringing a great magazine to Surrey businesses covering all sectors and types of businesses. Members will be featured as before with the added bonus of an increased circulation. Look out for Ian and Maarten as they will be making themselves known at Surrey Chambers events across the county. They are always looking for interesting stories so do make sure you tell them your special news.

Surrey Chambers of Commerce can be reached on 01483 735540, info@surrey-chambers.co.uk, @surreychambers

UNIVERSITY OF SURREY Business working with Education

FOXHILLS Reviewed

WILKINS KENNEDY

PLATINUM

Focus on Corporate Finance

PUBLICATIONS

SPELTHORNE INVESTS IN FUTURE

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eating national and international competition, Spelthorne Borough Council has purchased the BP campus in Sunbury-onThames.

The funding given to Spelthorne Borough Council by central Government will be withdrawn completely in 2017-18, a situation which is forcing Spelthorne to find innovative ways to fund services and create new revenue streams, whilst continuing to keep a tight control on costs.

To fund the project, Spelthorne Borough Council has borrowed money at a very competitive rate of interest from the Public Works Loans Board (PWLB).

Under the terms of the agreement, BP will remain as tenants at the Sunbury site, leasing back the offices from Spelthorne Borough Council for a minimum period of 20 years. The arrangement will generate a significant income for the Council year on year.

Cllr Ian Harvey, Leader of Spelthorne Borough Council, said: “Securing the Council’s financial stability is our highest priority and after exploring several options and taking advice from a number of independent experts, we are confident that this forward-thinking agreement represents a very sound investment for Spelthorne. It will be key in helping us to close the budget gap and protect the vital services which our residents and businesses need and deserve. We have had an excellent relationship with BP for many years and we are very pleased to be working with them on this exciting initiative.”

Peter Mather, Head of Country UK, BP, said: “For almost 100 years BP has had a significant presence at Sunbury-on-Thames. Here we have conducted research, developed leading technologies, and run our global businesses. We are pleased to commit to at least a further 20 years at the site through this new and exciting long-term relationship with Spelthorne Borough Council.”

The purchase was recently approved by Spelthorne Borough Council and BP and encompasses the entire campus, excluding the South West corner. The acquisition forms a key part of the Council’s strategy to develop new ways of generating long

WWW.SURREY-CHAMBERS.CO.UK

CHAMBER NEWS

The BP campus is the largest privately owned office park in the UK and is currently home to approximately 3,000 employees. The site comprises 11 office buildings which provide 620,000 sq ft of accommodation, with surrounding land and car parks.

term income streams to protect its services.

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Entrepreneurial Spark

READY TO HATCH The first batch of ‘Chiclets’ from NatWest’s Entrepreneurial Spark venture in the South East are seeking investment as they grow their innovative companies.

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ntrepreneurial Spark is the world’s largest free business accelerator offering support, coaching and mentoring to those companies that want to grow and scale. There are now 12 accelerators across the UK, including the South East base in Brighton For the ‘Chiclets’ (as the entrepreneurs are known), it is an intensive

process with weekly enablement sessions, workshops and mentoring.

The Brighton hatchery opened in August 2015, and now some of the fledgling companies are seeking investment to really grow and scale their business to the next level.

On these pages, they explain why investors should take notice

OMGTea Founder Katherine Swift 1. Please describe your business In 2010 my mother was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. Watching her fight the disease made me realise that the most important thing in life is family, friends and health. I decided that I wanted to do something positive and became involved in supporting the ground breaking research of one of the world’s leading genetic and cell biologists, whose research was highlighting the benefits of antioxidants in our diets.

Green tea is renowned for its healing properties due to an abundance of antioxidants and I wanted mum to drink a quality green tea with the highest level of antioxidants. With its amazing health and healing properties and an astonishing level of these antioxidants, I created OMGTea - Organic Matcha Green Tea, with a percentage of OMGTea’s profits pledged to The Healthy Life Foundation, a charity I founded that funds research into age related diseases.

2. Are you looking for funding or investment and if so, how much?

Yes, £100,000

3. What would the money be used for?

To develop a Ready to Drink (RTD) product to add to the OMGTea range

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Why should an investor invest in your company?

After centuries of relative obscurity, matcha is now exploding onto the global beverage market in a way that was truly incomprehensible a few years ago. Matcha market value was $2.5 billion in 2013, retail sales surged 55% in 2014, RTD’s increased by 253% and the annual growth is forecast to be 25% until 2019.

The proposed OMGTea RTD product will be combined with alkaline water (first to market) making it a genuinely healthy drink. OMGTea is doing what it can to validate the health claims of green tea and particularly matcha, and has commissioned its own research with two exciting papers due to be published in January 2017.

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Entrepreneurial Spark

JOOSR 1. Please describe your business Joosr is a new way to learn. We produce 20 minute summaries giving the key insights from the world’s best performance-boosting books. With a carefully curated library spanning leadership, entrepreneurship, health, parenting and much more, Joosr summaries bring out the most actionable aspects of books by the world’s leading thinkers.

2. Are you looking for funding or investment and if so, how much?

Joosr is seeking funding to support our international growth plans and platform expansion.

We are offering £500k of equity investment opportunity during the next two months. We’re also continuously looking to support our research and development through grant funding support.

3. What would the money be used for?

As a new offering within the ebook summaries space, we’re focused on raising awareness and driving traffic to our products. We’re growing our brand in the UK and internationally which requires significant investment into marketing. A key focus area is also accelerating the expansion of our platform and library of content for our users. Much of our operating costs go into hiring great people.

4. Why should an investor invest in your company?

The global e-learning market is worth $255bn per annum globally, and with 516 million ebook readers globally by 2020, Joosr aims to be at the forefront of the bitesize mobile learning market, providing learning and self-development for the millennial generation. With over 30,000 Joosr ebooks sold in over 75 countries and 2,000 app users to date, there’s a strong appetite for Joosr’s bitesize, mobile content.

Joosr is the only UK-based company in this growing market and has the purpose to help people learn who can afford it, and to help those who cannot. 1% of our annual subscription revenue is pledged to the World Literacy Foundation, keeping young people out of crime and boosting local economies.

PictureMyDay Graham Bromelow, Company Director 1. Please describe your business PictureMyDay is a start-up interactive design website which enables users to virtually design their wedding reception rooms and explore them in 3D. The design functionality is easy to use, simply choose an item from the wedding themed library and drag and drop it into an authentic venue, which has been remodelled to scale. At any point during the design process you can change from 2D mode to 3D mode and walk through your design as if you were there in person. PictureMyDay allows wedding venues, wedding suppliers and couples to collaborate in an interactive real time way to effortlessly design beautiful room layouts and styles.

2. Are you looking for funding or investment and if so, how much?

We are looking for £150,000 investment. PictureMyDay Ltd is already SEIS approved as of May 2016.

3. What would the money be used for?

The majority of the investment will be used to hire a world class software company to develop version two of the design tool. They will upgrade the functionality; implement new features and craft an amazing user experience. We will also use the money for a marketing budget, which will fund advertising, SEO and operational costs.

4. Why should an investor invest in your company?

PictureMyDay is bang on trend with the emerging overlap between the wedding industry and the tech industry. Visualisation tools are more accessible and enhanced than ever before and are already used as a sales tool in other industries. PictureMyDay is also scalable into different markets – corporate events, trade shows and exhibitions would all benefit from an interactive design tool. Potentially the most exciting prospect for PictureMyDay would be delving into the virtual and augmented reality markets to enhance visualisation and wedding planning even further.

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Branding News

THE BANK OF BRANDS RBS has launched a new campaign for its NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland customer facing brands

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he last few years has seen RBS make progress in its strategy to build financial strength, simplify the bank, and focus on its customers in its core home markets of the UK and Ireland. This progress gives the bank the platform to invest in its customer facing brands, NatWest in England and Wales and the Royal Bank in Scotland.

NatWest’s new brand positioning will be: ‘We Are What We Do’ – articulating the pride it places in serving customers well. This new positioning shows the importance the bank places on accountability, and for turning good thoughts into effective actions. NatWest will commit to teach 1 million young people about money by 2018 through its MoneySense programme. MoneySense is one of the longest running financial education programmes in the country.

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NatWest will commit to teach one million young people about money by 2018 through its MoneySense programme.

MoneySense is one of the longest running financial education programmes in the country.

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Royal Bank of Scotland will emphasise its commitment to the people of Scotland with the campaign the Royal Bank for Scotland. This will articulate how the bank serves Scottish communities, focusing on what matters for customers and its determination to do the right thing. Royal Bank of Scotland is tied to the history and people of Scotland. ‘Royal Bank for Scotland’ signifies the value in that relationship.

David Wheldon, Chief Marketing Officer at NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland, said: “Our strategy in recent years has been to build a bank that reflects

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what our customers want and need. We are no longer a global bank with global aspirations, our home is here and we have great brands in NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland that connect with our customers.

“By investing in these brands we can help rebuild pride and trust in the service we provide. I want the bank to be held to account for our actions and behaviours with “We Are What We Do” and “The Royal Bank for Scotland” speaking to that ambition.”

NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland’s focus on customer service has seen it take a bold pricing promise on teaser rates; remove bonuses and incentives for frontline staff; introduce community protection advisors to protect customers from fraud; support more UK businesses than any other bank; and launch one of the first financial education programmes in the UK through its MoneySense programme. Its commitment to improving customer service will continue with a new customer feedback system being rolled out across the country; and a company-wide leadership training programme being embedded across the bank.

Business Expos

WOKING MEANS BUSINESS the Survey Paul Webster, the organiser of Woking Means Business for Woking Chamber of Commerce for 14 years, is brave and open enough to reveal the post-show survey findings…

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Woking’s Annual xhibition surveys are always fascinating. When you read Welcome through them,to you Business Exhibition could end up thinking people were commenting on two totally different Wednesday 5th October 2016 shows. Here is a small selection from amongst just sixty exhibitors, allConference less H.G. Wells & Events Centre, Woking FEATURING than 30 metres apart in the same exhibition hall.

70 exhibition stands

We asked the simple question, ‘Were you happy with the exhibition?’

Pre-Show Breakfast Forum with Woking Here are just a few of the answers we received.

• Exhibitor A: No • Exhibitor B: I can’t think of anything we were unhappy • Exhibitor C: Overall I was not happy with the show.

Borough Council A series of Workshops for Start-Ups Lunchtime reception on Woking Works stand Afternoon drinks reception sponsored by Barnbrook Sinclair with.

Superb seminar programme

with Penny Power OBE, local entrepreneur Doug New, public speaking guru Ges Ray and Richard Woods from BBC TV’s The Apprentice

• Exhibitor D: Very happy. Good set up, good organisation, good flow of people (but not overwhelming) • Exhibitor E: In general I was happy with the show, although not as busy as last year.

Register to attend free or book your stand online at: • Exhibitor F: In general it seemed good for us.

www.wokingmeansbusiness.com

• Exhibitor G: Yes. Some good contacts made – they’re spending already.

A potential exhibitor visiting the show for the first time: Its really good. We’ll take a stand next year.

And what about the visitors? Here’s what a few of them had to say: • Visitor 1. Very happy. It was the best WMB I have attended.

• Visitor 2. Yes. The talks were excellent and I made some useful contacts.

• Visitor 3. It was well organised and there was a good selection of different businesses.

• Visitor 4. Exhibitors were good and varied.

I have to admit that the show was a little smaller and there was a little less footfall than usual. However the number of attendees compared favourably and was very much in proportion to the number of exhibitors, and there was, certainly for the first few hours, quite a buzz in the room.’

So what conclusion can we come to from these comments? Was the exhibition a success or not? We know it was not quite as busy as usual but that wasn’t a concern for most of the exhibitors so what other factors might be influencing opinion? We also know from experience that some shows work for some exhibitors and not for others, but why? Could it be the service they offer is not so instantly appealing, are their displays up to scratch and delivering a strong message, do they have attractions on the stand that stop people in their tracks and most importantly are the people manning the stands smiling, engaging, and happy to get involved regardless of who stops by to talk to them?’

I shall be taking all the comments on board – there were many more – and quite a few of them were really thoughtful and helpful.

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Business Awards

HIGH POINT FOR HEWITTS A company which has been a pivotal part of the Croydon community for 150 years has been crowned Croydon Business of the Year

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ewitts of Croydon crowned a year of celebration by collecting the top awards at the black-tie Croydon Business Excellence Awards, in association with Gatwick Airport, which took place at Grand Sapphire in October.

The company has remained in the same family since Charles George Hewitt first opened the doors of their outfitters and tailors in the 1860s and since then generations of Croydon families have been touched by a company renowned for supplying school and scout uniforms as well as high-quality sportswear.

Managing director Martin Hewitt said: “What a year it’s been. Earlier this year we celebrated over 150 years of trading. Hewitts of Croydon was started by my great great grandfather and has been trading in Croydon for all of this time.”

Mr Hewitt thanked his 91-year-old mother Betty, who still plays an active role in the business, and added: “One of the reasons why Hewitts are still here, a family run business and the oldest family run retailer in Croydon, is that we have had very good management and very loyal staff and it is really down to them that we have won the Croydon Business of the Year award.”

Alison Addy, head of community engagement at Gatwick Airport, said: “Despite some other outstanding entries we believe there is no other business more synonymous with Croydon than the one we selected.

Hewitts of Croydon has been around probably longer than any other business here tonight but remains as relevant today as it has ever done.”

The evening was hosted by broadcaster and journalist Julia Hartley-Brewer, while Crystal Palace legend John Salako hosted a charity auction which raised thousands of pounds for the Mayor’s chosen charities: Croydon Commitment, Stanley People’s Initiative and the British Home & Hospital.

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Business Awards

The Winners BEST CREATIVE & MEDIA BUSINESS HAWK WAR-GAMES (Designs and develops genre defining miniatures and innovative wargames).

INDEPENDENT RETAILER OF THE YEAR JAM HAIR SANDERSTEAD (An award-winning hair salon which has been at the heart of the community since 2007).

BEST CHARITY OR SOCIAL ENTERPRISE (sponsored by the Croydon Partnership): NIGHTWATCH (A charity that provides practical support to homeless and vulnerable people in Croydon).

BEST GREEN BUSINESS CLEANKILL ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES (A company providing eradication and preventative services for all public health pests in an environmentally responsible way).

BEST SME BUSINESS (sponsored by the London Borough of Croydon) MARTEK (A joinery manufacturing and interior fit-out contractor based in New Addington).

COMMITMENT TO THE COMMUNITY (sponsored by Alianz Global Assistance) CARIDON PROPERTY SERVICES (A Croydon-based group specialising in lettings, management and property development).

BEST NEW BUSINESS (sponsored by StartUp Croydon) THE CROYDON CREATIVE (A pop-up and meanwhile use events company which hosted the Lost Format Open Air Cinema on the rooftop of Croydon car parks).

TECH INNOVATION OF THE YEAR (sponsored by Sussex Innovation Croydon) UNIQODO (A platform allowing digital marketing teams to run more effective, fully controlled and measurable campaigns).

APPRENTICESHIP EMPLOYER OF THE YEAR (sponsored by Keltbray) CHEQUERS CONTRACT SERVICES (A family-run company delivering service excellence in all areas of cleaning and support services).

BEST BUSINESS FOR FOOD AND HOSPITALITY (sponsored by Wing Yip) BRASSERIE VACHERIN (A neighbourhood restaurant serving quality, well-sourced food at reasonable prices).

BEST BUSINESS FOR MARKETING & SOCIAL MEDIA FENNIES DAY NURSERIES LTD (A fast-growing nursery group with more than 20 years’ experience of providing high quality children’s day nurseries).

BEST BUSINESS FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE SKIPTON BUILDING SOCIETY (A traditional building society which has been going for 163 years).

BEST BUSINESS FOR STAFF TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT CLEANKILL ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES (See above) ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR JAKE WRIGHT (CLICK ENTERTAINMENT LTD) (A leading worldwide distributor of video games, consoles and accessories).

PHOTOS: 1. Hewitts, 2. Hawk War-Games, 3. Nightwatch, 4. Martek, 5. Caridon Property Services 6. The Croydon Creative, 7. Uniqodo, 8. Chequers Contract Services, 9. Jam Hair Sanderstead, 10. Cleankill Environmental Services, 11. Brasserie Vacherin, 12. Fennies Day Nurseries Ltd., 13. Skipton Building Society, 14. Cleankill Environmental Services, 15. Jake Wright (Click Entertainment Ltd)

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CRANLEIGH CHAMBER

BIG BUSINESS ENTRIES OPEN FOR CRANLEIGH BIG AWARDS 2017

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ocal businesses have been given the opportunity to win one of two £2,000 cash prizes, as entries open for the Cranleigh & District Business, Innovation & Growth (BIG) Awards 2017. Inviting entries to the second annual awards, organisers Cranleigh Chamber of Commerce announced details of the new prize structure, an illustrious judging panel and sponsors.

CHAMBER NEWS

This year the judges will be reviewing two categories of business; businesses with one to five employees and businesses with six or more employees. All applicants will complete the same entry form but the judges will now be able to compare small businesses in one category and larger businesses in the other. The winner in each category will receive a £2,000 cash prize.

In addition, the winner of the smaller business category will receive a Social Media Consultancy and makeover session from Philip Calvert, Social Media Strategist, a prize worth an additional £2,000. A spokesperson for Cranleigh Chamber of Commerce, said: “After receiving so many entries for the inaugural BIG Awards last year, we have some exciting plans for the awards in 2017”.

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The judging panel for the Cranleigh BIG Awards 2017 is made up of HM Lord-Lieutenant Michael More-Molyneux, Tim Wates of Wates Construction, Alan Young of Surrey County Council, Bob Wild, the incoming chairman of Cranleigh Arts Centre, Mark Miseldine of the Surrey Advertiser, Rosemary French OBE, Andrea Bamford of Informed Choice, and Richard Graham of One Forty.

The BIG Awards 2017 are sponsored by Cranleigh Chamber of Commerce, Surrey County Council, Dunsfold Park, Cranleigh Arts Centre, One Forty, Informed Choice and Taurus Wines.

The awards are free to enter and application forms are available from the Cranleigh Chamber of Commerce website at www.cranleighbiz.co.uk and entries are open until midnight on November 18th. Members and nonmembers are eligible to enter, with entries welcome from businesses with their principle location in Cranleigh or the surrounding villages.

Photos by Martin Bamford

National News

NATIONAL NEWS

Compiled by Maarten Hoffmann

THE CHANGE IS WELCOME

$14 BILLION AND COUNTING

The collapse in the value of the pound was labelled a “welcome change” by former Bank of England governor, Mervyn King recently.

Deutsche Bank failed to reach a deal with US authorities over a multi-billion dollar fine imposed in October, leading its shares to fall more than 3% on the news before a slight recovery. The lender has been under intense pressure after being ordered to pay a $14 billion settlement deal following a US Department of Justice probe into misselling of billions of dollars of mortgage-backed securities.

King, who headed up the Bank during the turbulent days of the financial crisis, before handing over to Mark Carney, broke away from the consensus view of economists that the collapsing pound is bad for the UK. Many have pointed to this as the currency market’s way of saying that the UK’s economic prospects are bleaker outside the European Union. Lack of access to the single market of 500 million people as well as curbs on migration are likely to drag the country’s economic growth, experts have said.

STILL FLYING

But King voiced a more optimistic view on Monday. “The whole thing has generated reactions which are over the top,” he said of the pound’s collapse.

King added: “During the referendum campaign, someone said the real danger of Brexit is you’ll end up with higher interest rates, lower house prices and a lower exchange rate, and I thought: dream on.”

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Statistics are like a bikini. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital.

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Monarch Airlines has been granted an eleventh-hour reprieve after a £165m investment from its majority shareholder secured its future.The company had a deadline of midnight on October 12th to prove to the UK airline industry regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), that it had sufficient funds to stay afloat.

Without the cash injection from Greybull Capital, Monarch would have lost its Air Travel Organiser’s Licence (Atol), which allows it to fly package holidaymakers. Andrew Swaffield, Chief Executive, said: “It is testament to the extensive effort by all parties, over the past weeks and months, that we are able to announce the largest investment in our 48-year history, as well as the renewal of our Atol licences.

Stage two will be to increase profits to ensure that this situation does not occur again in 12 months time. That might be a tougher mission.

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National News

NATIONAL NEWS £250,000 PRIZE

MADNESS

Lord Wolfson, the chief executive of Next, is offering a £250,000 prize for the best suggestion on how to solve the problem of the UK’s overcrowded roads.

Despite a report stating that Scotland’s economy is on a par with basket-case Greece, a consultation gets under way next week on plans for a second Scottish independence referendum, the SNP’s Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed.

The competition is expected to attract entries from policymakers, businesses and universities around the world.

He is looking for new ideas to bring more investment and a better deal for road users.

The competition asks: “How can we pay for better, safer and more reliable roads?”

Lord Wolfson says that road users pay more than £30bn to use the road network, yet only around £9bn is put back.

She told the party’s Glasgow conference that an Independence Referendum Bill would be published next week. It marks the first step to holding a second vote. Ms Sturgeon said Scotland had the right to choose a different path if it was not allowed to protect its interests “within the UK”. The first Scottish independence referendum, which took place on September 18th, 2014, resulted in 55% of voters saying “no”. Perhaps this is the EU model where you keep going until you get the response you want?

“The new prize is an opportunity for fresh thinking about how to tackle congestion and secure investment in a modern road network,” he said.

“If we can learn from the rest of the world, or pioneer new thinking in Britain, then we can do something about delays.”

This is the third time the prize has been run.

It is free to enter, with the deadline for submissions on March 2nd, 2017.

The judges will consist of a panel of experts, including former chancellor, Alistair Darling.

CHAMBER BOSS The British Chambers of Commerce has picked an insider to replace its director general John Longworth, who quit in March in a row about his support for Brexit.

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The factory of the future will have only two employees: a man and a dog. The man will be there to feed the dog. The dog will be there to keep the man from touching the equipment.

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Adam Marshall, an American who has worked as a policy expert at the chambers since 2009, will take charge with immediate effect “following a robust recruitment process”.

Dr Marshall has been acting director general since Mr Longworth’s resignation earlier this year. The BCC consulted with its 52 regional chambers before assessing a list of internal candidates for the job.“Adam has a detailed knowledge of the Chamber Network and a strong understanding of the opportunities and challenges facing Chamber members across the country,” said president Francis Marshall.

“At a time of great political and economic uncertainty, I am confident that Adam has the ability and passion to enable the BCC to thrive under his leadership.”

National News

ILLITERATE AND INNUMERATE Lord Heseltine says the UK’s skills shortage is a serious problem - and if it was up to him he would start industrial strategy in primary schools.

He told MPs the UK would never be a world-beating economy unless young people were better educated. And he called for “much bigger devolution to the people who know where the failing schools are”.

On improving literacy and numeracy, he added: “We need it across the country and we need it yesterday.” The Conservative grandee, who was deputy prime minister in the 1990s and subsequently advised David Cameron on regional strategy, made the comments as he gave evidence to the Commons Business Innovation and Skills Committee alongside former chancellor George Osborne.

Claiming that the UK is “29th as a country in the world league of education” - it was 23rd in reading in 2015, according to the OECD’s Pisa rankings and 26th in maths - he stressed: “If we accept that - we’ll never be a world beating economy in the future because it’s all about people - it’s about education and then about skills. And if you want to have skilled people, you’d better educate them properly before you start making them skilled.”

HS CHOO CHOO

REMOANER British businesses should stop hiding and instead travel the world promoting “Brand Britain” as “cheerleaders of open markets”, according to former Sainsbury’s boss Justin King.

Theresa May’s Government is “not backing away” from building the High Speed 2 rail link between London and the North, the Transport Secretary will insist.

Chris Grayling will say Britain needs the link now more than ever as the country’s Victorian rail network struggles to cope with population growth.

The self-confessed “remoaner” - a nickname reflecting his vote to remain in the EU and his subsequent grumbling - said the economy was performing well, but that should not be taken for granted. In the financial crisis, he found that consumers continued spending enthusiastically until early 2010, indicating sentiment can change “almost overnight. He was joined by Sir Michael Rake, the chairman of BT and Worldpay, who said that the global reaction to the Brexit vote is one of shock, and so British firms should take the lead in restoring the country’s image. The City leaders said that companies should play a bigger role telling the world about Britain’s strength, restoring the country’s brand. Mr King, who is now vice chairman at private equity group Terra Firma, said he is “a proud Brit” who wants others like him “to fight the fight to tell the story of the brand that was Britain four years ago, that for me is the real Great Britain.”

“We will need to be braver… self-help has to be the order of the day. If our politicians are going to damage our relationships with our trading partners, we as businesses have to strengthen those relationships, to make sure they are stronger than they ever have been across borders,” he said, speaking at the Lloyds Bank Sterling Conference.

He will tell a HS2 conference: “We’re not backing away from HS2.

The case is as strong as ever. “We need this railway. And if we’re going to build it, let’s make it state-of-the-art, fit for the decades of growth ahead so that in 2033, we no longer have a rail network with a Victorian heart but a network with an Elizabethan heart, able to deliver everything we expect of a 21st century transport system.”

MPs on the Public Accounts Committee said they were not convinced the target for completing the first phase between London and the West Midlands by the end of 2026 will be met. They also raised concerns that estimates of the costs for phase two - which extends from Birmingham to Manchester and Leeds - are still volatile and exceed available funding by £7 billion.

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Leaders’ Forum

EARTHQUAKE AVERTED? Jonathan Grant, Partner at DMH Stallard, explains how the health of the corporate transaction market post-Brexit offers much to be happy about.

Here are our top tips to make sure your company is in the best shape possible to make the most of the unexpected positive market conditions.

Top tips for raising finance to expand • Have a clear business plan recognising risks in the economy; • If your business is safe from Brexit risks explain that; • Ensure your business plan includes contingencies for different levels and speed of growth; • Understand the finance alternatives. Private equity, business angel/ crowd funding, debt/bank facilities are all different in their impact and effect.

Top tips for selling your business (or extracting value) • Can you find a buyer from your own contacts or do you need help?

I

f you read all the newspapers and watched the round-the-clock TV coverage following the Brexit vote, you’d be forgiven for feeling pretty terrified about the days of darkness that were predicted to soon envelop us.

To put it mildly, Brexit generated a number of worries - and it would be foolish to suggest they have all gone away - but to date, in the corporate transaction market, concerns have largely proven unfounded.

M&A activity tends to reflect the national economy; confidence in growth leading to an increase in deals. After a short-term negative economic reaction to the Brexit decision on 23rd June, the economy rebounded strongly supported by the Bank of England and a quick change of government.

DMH Stallard has seen continued high levels of activity through the summer and into Q4. The capital markets remain active, although we have seen more deals using cash shells on AIM to fund acquisitions.

Project finance continues apace, with infrastructure related deals remaining buoyant; typically these provide long-term investment yields.

Our mid-market M & A volume remains strong with plenty of pipeline deals. This suggests companies with money and private equity investors are keen to acquire for growth; sellers are no longer willing to sit on their hands. With business leverage relatively low, the fundamentals appear to be good. For most sectors growth is difficult to generate organically. The banks continue to lend and to support MBOs and competition for new business is increasing.

We suspect that confidence will be knocked at different stages over the next couple of years, as seen by the recent drop in currency values, but provided a stable platform is maintained and confidence built, positive M&A volumes will continue unaffected. As always robust businesses in good sectors with professional management teams will remain those best able to command top prices.

• Take advice early as good preparation increases value; • Understand buyer concerns - exchange rates may make an overseas buyer an option, but you may need help identifying them; • Buyers risk profile is heightened; you can deal with that, but drifting into a negotiation without preparation is a big risk.

For more information or to discuss options please contact:

Jonathan Grant, Head of Corporate, 01293 605011 jonathan.grant@dmhstallard.com

Abigail Owen, Corporate Partner, 01293 605022 abigail.owen@dmhstallard.com.

DMH Stallard is an award winning law firm providing strategic and operational legal advice to clients, enabling them to protect and grow their businesses. For more information on their services, please go to www.dmhstallard.com.

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The Big Story

VLADIMIR PUTIN The World’s most Dangerous Man

By Maarten Hoffmann

V

ladimir Vladimirovich Putin is a strange old cove. Part saviour of the Russian Empire, part bare-chested butch gay icon, and part the most frightening man on the planet. It is also estimated that he is the wealthiest person on the planet. But what are his global intentions?

Vladimir Putin was born on October 7th, 1952 in Saint Petersburg. His mother was a factory worker and his father an officer in the Russian navy, serving in the submarine fleet, and later, at the outbreak of WW2, went on to serve in the Destruction Battalion of the NKVD. He retired in 1942 after being severely wounded. Putin had two brothers, Viktor and Albert. Albert died in infancy and Viktor died of diphtheria during the Siege of Leningrad.

Putin studied law at the Saint Petersburg State University in 1970 and graduated in 1975. His thesis was on ‘The Most Favoured Nation Trading Principle in International Law’. While there, Putin was required to join the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and remained a member until December 1991. Putin met Anatoly Sobchak, an Assistant Professor who taught

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business law and was highly influential in Putin’s career.

On his childhood, he says: “I come from an ordinary family, and this is how I lived for a long time, nearly my whole life. I lived as an average, normal person and I have always maintained that connection. We lived

simply - cabbage soup, cutlets, pancakes, but on Sundays and holidays my Mother would bake very delicious stuffed buns (pirozhki) with cabbage, meat and rice, and curd tarts (vatrushki)” Mr Putin says.

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This is a situation as dangerous as any we have seen in human history.

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“My father was born in St Petersburg in 1911. When World War I began, life in St Petersburg became hard, people were starving, so the entire family moved to Pominovo, a village in the Tver region my grandmother came from. Incidentally, my relatives still vacation in the house where my grandparents lived. It was in Pominovo that my father met my mother, and they got married at the age of 17.”

After graduating from Leningrad State University, Putin was

The Big Story assigned to work in the state security agencies.

“My perception of the KGB was based on the idealistic stories I heard about intelligence.” His interest was quickly taken by the intelligence services and he longed to be a spy. In 1975, he joined the KGB, and trained at the 401st KGB school in Okhta, Saint Petersburg. After training, he worked in the Second Chief Directorate (counter-intelligence), before he was transferred to the First Chief Directorate, where he monitored foreigners and consular officials in Saint Petersburg.

From 1985 to 1990, Putin served in Dresden, East Germany, using a cover identity as a translator which was a perfect cover as his innate talent for languages meant that his German and English are fluent although, to this day, he refuses to negotiate with world leaders in anything other than Russian.

According to Putin’s official biography, during the fall of the Berlin Wall that began on November 9th, 1989, he burned KGB files to prevent demonstrators from obtaining them.

After the collapse of the Communist East German government, Putin returned to Saint Petersburg, where in June 1991 he worked with the International Affairs section of Saint Petersburg State University. There, Putin looked for new KGB recruits, watched the student body, and renewed his friendship with his former professor, Anatoly Sobchak, the Mayor of Saint Petersburg. Putin resigned with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in August 1991, just before the 1991 Soviet coup d’état attempt against Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. Putin said: “As soon as the coup began, I immediately decided which side I was on.” In 1999, he described Communism as “a blind alley, far away from the mainstream of civilisation.”

In 1996, Putin was called to Moscow, and in June of that year became a Deputy Chief of the Presidential Property Management

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These men, and many more besides, owed their vast fortunes to Putin’s patronage toed the line out of fear of his terrible retribution.

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Department, a position he occupied until March 1997. During his tenure Putin was responsible for the foreign property of the state and organised transfer of the former assets of the Soviet Union and Communist Party to the Russian Federation. This is really where his power started to grow. He had control of the state assets, fully understood that true power took a lot of cash and said that cash was the only way of controlling one’s enemies.

On 26 March, 1997, President Boris Yeltsin appointed Putin Deputy Chief of Presidential Staff, a post in which he remained until May 1998, and Chief of the Main Control Directorate of the Presidential Property

Management Department. His predecessor in this position was Alexei Kudrin, and the successor was Nikolai Patrushev, both future prominent politicians and important future associates.

Yeltsin was a weak man and a prolific drunk who was easily manipulated, and Putin was there to take full advantage of the power vacuum. This is where his power base really took root and his eyes turned to the top spot in the Federation. The route to such power was to guarantee that Yeltsin could not be pursued through the courts for the countless laws that he broke on his own path to the top. Putin recognised that not only would this ensure Yeltsin’s full support but would also give him a bargaining chip should it ever be required.

On December 31st, 1999, Yeltsin unexpectedly resigned and, in accordance with the Constitution of Russia, Putin became Acting President of the Russian Federation. On assuming this role, Putin went on a previously scheduled visit to Russian troops in Chechnya.

The first Presidential Decree that Putin signed was titled “On guarantees for former President of the Russian Federation and members of his family.” This ensured that “corruption charges against the outgoing President and his relatives” would not be pursued. This was most notably targeted at the Mabetex bribery case in which Yeltsin’s family members were involved. On August 30th, 2000 a criminal investigation was dropped in which Putin himself was one of suspects as a member of the Saint Petersburg city government.

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Call Worthing: 01903 234094 Call Gatwick: 01293 227670 Email: info@carpenterbox.com

XERO AWARD WINNER 2016

The Big Story On December 30th yet another case against the Prosecutor General was dropped “for lack of evidence,” in spite of thousands of documents passed by the Swiss prosecution. Later, Putin signed a similar federal law which replaced the decree of 1999. The case of Putin’s alleged corruption in metal exports from 1992 was brought back by Marina Salye, but she was silenced and forced to leave St Petersburg.

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Don’t destroy your enemies. Manipulate them and use them for your own goals”.

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While his opponents had been preparing for an election in June 2000, Yeltsin’s resignation resulted in the Presidential elections being held within three months. Putin won in the first round with 53% of the vote.

The inauguration of President Vladimir Putin occurred on May 7th, 2000. Putin appointed the Minister of Finance, Mikhail Kasyanov, as the Prime Minister.

The first major challenge to Putin’s popularity came in August 2000, when he was criticised for the alleged mishandling of the Kursk submarine disaster. That criticism was largely because it was several days before Putin returned from vacation, and several more before he visited the scene.

Between 2000 and 2004, Putin set about reconstruction of the impoverished condition of the country, apparently winning a power struggle with the Russian oligarchs, reaching a ‘grand bargain’ with them. This bargain allowed the oligarchs to maintain most of their powers in exchange for their explicit support for, and alignment with, Putin’s government. A new group of business magnates emerged, including Gennady Timchenko, Vladimir Yakunin, Yury Kovalchuk, Sergey Chemezov and Chelsea Football Club owner, Roman Abramovich, and all had close personal ties to Putin. These men, and many more besides, owed their vast fortunes to Putin’s patronage and toed the line out of fear of his terrible retribution.

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Yeltsin was a weak man and a prolific drunk who was easily manipulated, and Putin was there to take full advantage of the power vacuum.

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Putin had now secured his power base and his coterie of billionaires, who had pledged undying support. This was not necessarily due to their political allegiance to Putin but rather out of self-preservation.

Crossing Vladimir Putin normally resulted in a one-way visit to a Siberian gulag or a radioactive cup of tea.

Putin now had control of the largest country on earth, trillions of dollars and of one of the largest standing armies in the world, with the second-largest nuclear arsenal.

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The Big Story behaviour” towards Moscow could have “nuclear” implications. Dmitry Kiselyov, who was appointed by Putin to head the country’s government-owned news agency, made the warning on a recent edition of his flagship current affairs programme Vesti Nedeli (News of the Week).Relations between the two countries hit a new low on Friday after Washington accused Moscow of war crimes following a sustained bombardment of the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo, where at least 250,000 people are still living in the rebelheld east of the city.

Mr Kiselyov said there had been a “radical change” in the relationship between Russia and the US in recent weeks, the BBC reports.

“The loud talk in Washington of a ‘Plan B’ for Syria. Everyone understands what this means: direct military force in Syria,” he said.

During Monday’s programme a Russian Defence Ministry spokesman also warned US

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Administration staff, politicians and public sector workers have been ordered to take their children out of foreign schools immediately and return home to the Motherland.

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And now we arrive at the political structure of the world in 2016 and one can only admire, through gritted teeth, Putin’s remarkable progress in transforming a country that was on its knees into the belligerent superpower we see before us. And this is where the real terror begins, as Putin sees himself as the saviour of the Russian Federation, and this moral justification is all he needs to assume the mantle of the worlds policeman.

Having an opponent in the White House with absolutely no appetite for aggression and who set uncrossable red lines within the Syrian nightmare just served as an invitation to Putin to cross every one of them. When there were no repercussions from the US, he was emboldened and swept into the country as its ‘saviour.’ This also afforded Russia a base of operations in the Mediterranean - one that the West will surely live to regret. He then invaded Ukraine and took Crimea and the West blustered and made grand statements, but did absolutely nothing about it. Now Putin had a

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Baltic sea base. Again, Putin was emboldened, and his intention to reunite the old Soviet Union took a giant leap forward. But who is there to stop him? The US, at present, will not and the European Union couldn’t run a whelk stall, so he is free to do whatever he wishes.

This is a situation as dangerous as any we have seen in human history.

Russia have total control of the air space above Syria and, in response to the US bluster of closing Syrian airspace, they have placed S-300 anti-aircraft missiles in the area and vowed to shoot down any US jets. Three war ships are currently sitting in the Mediterranean armed to the teeth with Malachite cruise missiles along with the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier. They have just moved Iskander-M missiles, capable of carrying nuclear warheads, into Kalingrad on the Polish border.

A Russian news presenter, dubbed the “Kremlin’s chief propagandist”, has warned the United States that any “impudent

bombers not to target the Syrian army. “We’ll shoot them down,” commented Mr Kiselyov.

In the past he has boasted that Russia was the only single country “genuinely capable of turning the USA into radioactive ash” and claimed last year: “In Syria, America stands on the side of the terrorist caliphate.”The German Foreign Minister claimed that mounting tensions between the US and Russia have led to a global political situation which is “more dangerous” than the Cold War. As if all this were not bad enough, Putin has ramped up the rhetoric and the possibility that he is ready to go to war. Putin has issued an emergency decree that all officials urgently repatriate any family members living abroad amid fears the world is about to be plunged into a new global conflict.

According to reports, the Russian leader has told diplomats of all ranks to “bring relatives home to the Motherland”. Administration staff, politicians and public sector workers

The Big Story have been ordered to take their children out of foreign schools immediately. Russian political analyst Stanislav Belkovsky told the Daily Star: “This is all part of the package of measures to prepare elites for some ‘big war’.”

The worrying development, which follows Putin’s suddenly cancelled visit to France, applies to all state employees. Workers were reportedly told to pull their children out of school immediately, even if it was in the middle of term.

Anyone who fails to act will put their chances of promotion at risk, local media reported. Putin’s cancellation is the latest deterioration in ties between Moscow and the West.

Earlier, the Russian strongman said the United States would have to compromise in the war in Syria, saying: “There is a need to behave like partners and take each other’s interests into account. We are ready for that.”

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Americans voting for a President must realise that they are voting for peace on Planet Earth if they vote for Trump. But if they vote for Hillary it’s war.

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He also launched a stinging attack on France, accusing President Francois Hollande of deliberately luring Moscow into vetoing a United Nations resolution on Syria and questioned whether Paris was doing the bidding of the US. His next move in this political game of chess was to get involved in the US Presidential elections, openly stating that Americans should vote for Donald Trump as President or risk being dragged into a nuclear war, according to a Russian ultra-nationalist ally of President Vladimir Putin who likes to compare himself to the U.S. Republican candidate.

Vladimir Zhirinovsky, a flamboyant veteran lawmaker known for his fiery rhetoric, told Reuters in an interview that Trump was the only person able to de-escalate dangerous tensions between Moscow and Washington.

By contrast, Trump’s Democratic rival Hillary Clinton could spark World War Three, said Zhirinovsky, who received a top state award

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The Big Story from Putin after his pro-Kremlin Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) came third in Russia’s parliamentary election last month.

“Relations between Russia and the United States can’t get any worse.

The only way they can get worse is if a war starts,” said Zhirinovsky, speaking in his huge office on the 10th floor of Russia’s State Duma, or lower house of parliament. “Americans voting for a President must realise that they are voting for peace on Planet Earth if they vote for Trump.

But if they vote for Hillary it’s war. It will be a short movie. There will be Hiroshimas and Nagasakis everywhere.” Zhirinovsky’s comments coincide with deep disagreements between Washington and Moscow over Syria and Ukraine and after the White House last week accused Russia of a campaign of cyber attacks against Democratic Party organisations.

Even as WikiLeaks released another trove of internal documents from Clinton’s campaign on Wednesday, Putin insisted his country was not involved in an effort to influence the U.S. presidential election.

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Victory for Trump would be a gift to humanity.

But if Hillary Clinton wins it will be the last U.S. president ever.”

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Zhirinovsky once proposed blocking off mostly Muslim southern Russia with a barbed wire fence, echoing Trump’s call for a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico.

Zhirinovsky, who said he met Trump in New York in 2002, revels in his similarities with the American businessman — they are the same age, favour coarse, sometimes misogynistic language and boast about putting their own country first. Zhirinovsky has even said he wants a DNA test to see if he is related to Trump.

But unlike Trump, a billionaire real-estate developer who casts himself as the anti-establishment candidate in the U.S. presidential race with no past political experience, Zhirinovsky is a consummate political insider who has sat in the Duma for more than two decades.”Trump will have a brilliant chance to make relations more peaceful ... He’s the only one who can do this,” he said, adding that Trump could even win a Nobel peace prize.Though Putin and Trump have never met, Zhirinovsky said he believed they could establish a close working relationship, adding: “Victory for Trump would be a gift to humanity. But if Hillary Clinton wins it will be the last U.S. president ever.”

Speculation over the size of Putin’s personal fortune has gone on for almost a decade, following reports in 2007 that he was worth at least £40 billion, based on leaks from inside his own presidential administration. In 2010, US diplomatic cables suggested Putin held his wealth via proxies.

The President formally owned nothing, they added, but was able to draw on the wealth of his friends, who now control practically all of Russia’s oil and gas production and industrial resources. Putin’s actual wealth is, of course, unknown, but estimates of in excess of $100 billion would not be far off the mark. This makes him the richest person on planet earth.

So money is certainly not the driving force behind his actions and, worryingly, that only leaves his desire to see Russia as the world’s greatest superpower, regaining the lost Soviet empire and, the most dangerous emotion of them all, ego.

Here’s a man who likes to parade himself shooting bears and riding horses bare-chested. A judo black belt who greatly enjoys denigrating

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The Big Story women, as was witnessed at a meeting with Angela Merkel during which, knowing her fear of dogs, he called in his own dog to prowl around Merkel’s chair whilst he chuckled and she shook with fear.

While Putin has been mocked for some of his pretensions, not least his penchant for being photographed in the midst of “manly” pursuits, that is seriously to underestimate his nous. This is particularly true when he is speaking to his constituency, an alliance of nationalists, conservatives and a vast, sprawling middle ground. According to Clifford Gaddy, a fellow at the Brookings Institution, Putin interposed himself as a key political fixer under the patronage of Yeltsin-era figure Anatoly Chubais in the mid-1990s. Putin, he says, “understood the principles of the British intelligence chief John Masterman’s double-cross system: don’t destroy your enemies. Manipulate them and use them for your own goals.”

Putin did, and continues to do, precisely that. He has targeted the oligarchs, whose secrets he captured in his rise to power, first as the Prime Minister, under whose auspices the brutal second Chechen war was prosecuted. He has broken those who have stepped out of line.

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He has boasted that Russia was the only single country “genuinely capable of turning the USA into radioactive ash”

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In the meantime, the horror of the war in Syria will drag on and on. On the question of red lines, Obama’s has been crossed to no effect, while Putin’s red line on western intervention has been defended at the cost of yet more Syrian lives on both sides of the war and with no real prospect of a negotiated peace.

Somewhere, a black dog is smiling a wolfish grin and the world as we know it is more dangerous than at any time in human history.

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Mergers & Acquisitions

AN ACTIVE MARKET EMC Corporate Finance Chief Executive Nik Askaroff, South East Dealmaker of the Year for the last two years, looks at the state of the M&A market in the South East

EMC recently brokered a deal between two of its long-standing, Brighton-based clients that saw a team of digital professionals and a group of clients move to Cobb Digital (pictured) from Leapfrogg. The deal sees Cobb Digital nearly double in size and the Cobb Group take another step towards becoming the number one full-service media group in the South East. Meanwhile Leapfrogg continues to provide top-end strategic advice to the retail sector.

I

f you’re anything like me, the date of 23rd June 2016 is already ingrained in your memory. Whether you recall it with joy or despair will, I suppose, depend on how you voted in the referendum.

Only time will tell what effect the decision to leave the EU will have on the economy in general and our businesses in particular. For the time being, most of us who run small and medium sized enterprises are simply happy that the initial prognosis of fiscal calamity has proved largely false.

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Lots of smaller business owners are coming to the conclusion that now might be a good time to capitalise on the years of hard work they have put into building their companies

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Here at EMC, in fact, things could hardly be better. By a strange quirk of fortune’s erratic wheel, we are enjoying one of our busiest spells for a long time in mergers and acquisitions activity.

As I write, in the 14 weeks since the June referendum we have completed four significant deals and have three more just about to come to the boil. Our pipeline is also as full as it has been for a considerable period, so we’re certainly not bleating about Brexit… not yet, anyway!

Mergers & Acquisitions M&A activity normally reacts badly to political and economic uncertainty – and we’ve certainly been going through that!

But as Experian MarketIQ’s half-yearly report shows, the deal market nationally has proved pleasingly robust.

This is what Experian’s Research Manager, Jane Turner, had to say: “While we have undoubtedly seen a more cautious stance take hold among the UK’s larger corporates, privately held businesses have been looking to grow by acquisition in increasing numbers in the first half of 2016, with several sectors actually returning substantial spikes in activity.

“With so much uncertainty surrounding the ramifications of the UK’s decision to leave the EU, it is difficult to predict to any great degree how M&A activity will be affected in the second half of the year, although it does seem probable that there will be some reduction in the deal flow in the short term as companies take stock.

“However, the imperatives for UK businesses to make deals are still in place and the new economic reality will likely create its own opportunities for canny investors. With that in mind, dealmakers on both the buy and sell side will feel that it is more important than ever to carry out rigorous research before putting their best foot forward in the pursuit of strategic acquisitions.”

Sure enough, each of the three full months since the referendum have seen a fall-off in deal volumes. But that was to be expected.

However, the appetite for a deal in the right circumstances is still there.

In particular, many larger companies holding sizeable cash reserves – and there are plenty of them – are busily scouting around for potential acquisition targets as a way of growing by investment. Well, they’d be silly not to given that the banks are almost actively discouraging them from holding onto their cash.

At the same time, lots of smaller business owners are coming to the conclusion that now might be a good time to capitalise on the years of hard work they have put into building their companies and get out while the going is still relatively good.

ABOVE: EMC’s Kevin Wheelhouse (left), with Genie Care’s Mike Wilkinson and Alison Wilkinson following the signing of the deal with the Frontier Medical Group took a hefty tumble from £60.4bn to £19.6bn.

Most of that was attributable to there not being a deal anything like the size of the £47bn acquisition of BG Group that took place in the first half of last year.

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M&A activity normally reacts badly to political and economic uncertainty, but… the deal market nationally has proved pleasingly robust.

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In the short term, I see no reason why the M&A market in our corner of the South East – we operate primarily in Sussex, Surrey and Kent – should not continue to be encouragingly active, particularly at the smaller end. While values aren’t achieving the multiples they once did, good, well-run businesses will still be much sought after and attract a decent premium.

We work mainly with small and midmarket businesses. In the small market sector (under £10m) in the South East, deal volumes increased by 29.3% in the first half of this year compared to 2015. Values also rose by 37%.

We’ve had a couple recently that proved the point. Pasante Healthcare in Lancing was started by entrepreneurs Lawrence, Dominic and Paul Boon in 2000 and grew to become the largest independent condom company in the UK and a global brand exporting to over 60 countries around the world.

That was a rather rosier picture than in the whole of the South East M&A market where, although the number of completed deals in the first half was up 10.5% on 2015, values

We worked with the company for several years and, just a few weeks ago, it was snapped up by Malaysian company Karex Bhd in a £6m deal. Karex, the world’s

fastest-expanding condom and sexual health manufacturer, plans to use Pasante to spearhead its expansion into Europe.

Similarly, Ford-based Genie Care, the company behind a unique device that helps clinicians and carers with the regular turning of bed-bound patients to prevent ulcers, was bought by the Frontier Medical Group for an undisclosed sum to complement its Repose range of pressure area care products and further cement its commanding position in the sector.

In both these cases the owners were well prepared for an exit. But that isn’t always the case. We’ve seen it time and again when an initial approach by a prospective purchaser has taken the owners completely by surprise.

In an ideal world, you will control the timetable for your business exit. That would allow you a year or two – with, perhaps, a little help from firms like mine – to get everything in the best shape possible before testing the market. But it doesn’t always work like that.

The call can come at any time so you need to be prepared.

Whatever you do, don’t bite straight away. Although you may be flattered by the attentions of a potential suitor, take time and, more importantly, take advice from those who have been there, seen it and proudly wear the T-shirt. You won’t regret it.

Nik Askaroff is CEO of EMC Corporate Finance.

Tel: 01273 945984.

Email: nik.askaroff@emcltd.co.uk.

Web: www.emcltd.co.uk

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Business Survey

A MANUFACTURING SURVEY with added BITE Chris Coopey, Partner at Carpenter Box, reviews the findings of an in-depth manufacturing survey and announces the return of BITE 2017 (Business Innovation Technology Efficiency), the flagship event hosted by the firm aimed at helping any and every business.

Cautiously Optimistic South East manufacturers and engineers are optimistic of their future growth prospects, but are cautious of the impact leaving the European Union could have on their plans, according to a new survey from MHA and Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking.

T

he fifth annual survey from the Manufacturing Group at MHA, the UKwide group of accountancy and business advisory firms which I lead, was sponsored

by Lloyds Bank’s manufacturing team for the second year. It asked over 550 small to medium sized manufacturing and engineering businesses from across the UK for their views on the challenges and opportunities facing the sector.

Barriers to growth Over two thirds (70%) of businesses in the South East questioned are optimistic about their growth prospects in the coming 12 months. However, a note of realism was struck in relation to concerns over the way negotiations over the country’s exit from the EU will go, with 32% of businesses perceiving this uncertainty to be a barrier to growth.

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Another cause for concern was the skills gap. Whilst more than half of firms (55%) will be looking to recruit over the next 12 months, 40% of the businesses expect to struggle to find skilled machinists.

97% of companies believe that their production costs will rise in 2016/17 due to the increasing cost of raw materials together with higher wages. As a result, productivity

gains are being seen as important in bringing down costs, as almost two thirds (63%) won’t consider passing the additional costs onto their customers.

New opportunities Securing opportunities to trade globally remains a priority for South East manufacturers, with 70% of businesses exporting. The Eurozone remains the most popular trading partner for firms, followed by North America and Asia.

The MHA Manufacturing Survey also finds around eight in every 10 companies committing to R&D investment this year, although surprisingly 10% remain unaware of the benefits associated with R&D Tax Credits.

Our latest survey demonstrates that the manufacturing and engineering sector remains innovative and resilient despite the uncertainty

Business Survey

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Our latest survey demonstrates that the manufacturing and engineering sector remains innovative and resilient despite the uncertainty around the upcoming European Union exit negotiations.

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around the upcoming European Union exit negotiations. It also shows that much can still be done to help UK industry increase its global market share and offset the trade deficit.

Urgently needed is a well thought through skills strategy to produce a pipeline of educated and motivated candidates into the apprenticeship and further and higher education systems to meet the growing demand. Whilst businesses can and should be more proactive in helping themselves, a coherent industrial strategy with cabinet support is a must if the sector is to reach its full potential.

Jez Hockley, Area Director for Manufacturing at Lloyds Bank Commercial

Banking in the South East, said: “While the result of the EU Referendum has left manufacturers with some questions over how they will fulfil their future plans, many in the South East are actively identifying new opportunities with global trade partners to help deliver sustainable growth.

“Manufacturing has never been more important to the success and growth of the British economy, and closing the skills gap remains crucial to sustain the long-term success of the industry. We are continuing to work closely with firms through this evolving economic landscape to help ensure they maintain their competitive position in domestic and global marketplaces.”

The report’s findings will be presented

by Philippa Oldham, Head of Transport and Manufacturing at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers at the next METALL (Manufacturing, Engineering and Technology Alliance) meeting on November 15th.

For more information and to sign up visit www.metall.org.uk

BITE is back T

he BITE event is full of ideas to help businesses run smoother and leaner using innovative technology combined with good commercial sense. It follows on from the very successful BITE pilot event in 2015, which saw over 300 people converge on the Amex stadium in Brighton to hear about everything from cloud accounting, to getting truly motivated around sales and marketing. Feedback from the first event was phenomenal and we’re determined to make BITE17 even better!

As far as testimonials go, this one from an attendee just about sums up the buzz that was BITE 2015: “We wanted to congratulate you all on the success of BITE15! We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and met some fascinating people and businesses that we would definitely like to keep in touch with. All of the sessions were educational, interesting and well delivered.”

BITE 2017 is scheduled for Thursday 27th April 2017 and aims to deliver the same inspirational format helping businesses to keep ahead of the curve. Delegates will again have the opportunity to meet with some of the best business software vendors, as well as other great companies across the breadth of the service sector including bankers, alternative finance providers, lawyers and other business advisers.

As before, BITE will be held at the Amex Stadium in Falmer. With its free parking and great facilities this modern and already iconic venue

provides the ideal backdrop to the event.

The format for the day will revolve around a number of key note sessions, opportunities to visit the BITE exhibitors and various break-out meetings with experts focusing on a range of business opportunities and techniques for dealing with today’s business challenges.

Although the agenda is yet to be finalised BITE attendees will have the opportunity to hear a whole lot more about alternative business funding. We will have a panel based Q&A featuring experts talking about many of the available options, including the traditional banking offer.

Although alternative funding accounts for a very small percentage of the funding market, it does have particular value at certain points of the business cycle. Commentators believe that the sector will continue to grow to the point where rather than being alternative, it becomes part of the mainstream although we may still be many years away from that Rubicon being crossed.

The effect of ‘The Cloud’ will also feature high on the agenda. In the year since BITE 2015 the cloudscape has moved even further with opportunities covering almost everything imaginable from single solution software to add-ons to cloud accounting systems optimised for the retail, property and manufacturing sectors to name but a very few.

If you want to pre-register for BITE, you can sign up at http://www.carpenterbox.com/bite2017/ You can also see a video covering the BITE 2015 event on the sign up page.

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Property Investments

A TAX HOLIDAY?

Are furnished holiday lets the path to follow for investment property? asks Jo White, Tax Consultant at Kreston Reeves

A

fter many years of a comparatively benign marketplace for buy-tolet investors, George Osborne’s introduction of an increasingly hostile tax regime for investors, not least because of the extra 3% stamp duty land tax introduced for property purchases, has meant landlords are now having to review their circumstances From next April, there will be restrictions on the level of mortgage costs that can be set against rental income for tax purposes. In addition, buy-to-letters will no longer be able to claim a 10 per cent allowance for ‘wear and tear’ - only what they actually spend on

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maintenance, replacement items and repairs.

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The most significant benefit available with a furnished holiday let is the potential to claim for capital allowances.

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With these recent reductions on the tax relief for buy-to-let properties, recent press coverage has focused on the returns available from reverting to furnished holiday lets as the best way to make the most of an investment.

So what is the reality?

What defines a property as a ‘furnished holiday let’?

There are special rules in order for a property to qualify as a furnished holiday let (FHL). These include:

Property Investments

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Holders of more than one FHL property are able to take an average of all the let days to be able to meet the criteria for all their properties.

example, if losses are made on properties held in the EEA they cannot be offset against profits made from properties held in the UK.

• The property is in the UK or one of the remaining 27 countries in the European Economic Area (EEA). It is not yet clear if these rules will change in the coming years following the Brexit vote.

• The property must be furnished sufficiently for normal occupation and guests must be entitled to use the furniture.

• The property must be commercially let i.e. you must intend to make a profit.

• The property must be available to let for at least 210 days each year and the property must be let for at least 105 days each year.

❞ they are exempt from the changes announced in the Summer Budget which are set to affect buy-to-let landlords.

These rules will clearly affect investors’ choice of property purchase when investing in holiday lets. Foremost, investors will need to ensure that the property is in a desirable location to maximise the opportunity of it being let on a short-term basis.

5. Capital allowances can be claimed on FHLs for the purchase of a range of assets, such as furniture and white goods, as well as for certain works completed on the property, such as electrics and heating.

Tax advantages of a furnished holiday let versus a conventional buy-to-let

The most significant benefit available is the potential to claim for capital allowances. This is because allowance can be obtained as soon as you purchase the property - but only if the assets have not previously been claimed for.

Although additional information gathering is required for this (potentially by way of a Surveyor’s Report) up to £200,000 per annum (current rate) of qualifying costs can be claimed against any FHL income so the benefit of claiming is likely to significantly outweigh the cost. Buy-to-let properties can only obtain tax relief where furniture is renewed, no claim can generally be made for lighting or heating costs unless they are being repaired. Both of these differences significantly lower the items that qualify and the tax relief given.

There are commercial decisions that need to be assessed before making the decision to purchase a furnished holiday let however, there are four potential benefits which may outweigh purchasing a conventional buy-to-let property.

1.

Business Property Relief (BPR) could have the effect of exempting all or part of the value of the FHL from inheritance tax, because a FHL is seen as a business.

The amount of relief is dependent on whether or not the property is owned wholly or shared. Generally buy-to-let properties do not attract Inheritance Tax Relief, even if you generate all of your income running a property ‘business.’ To date, however, there has not yet been a successful case for a furnished holiday let claiming BPR.

Despite these specific criteria, if the reason you fail to meet these rules due to the property not being let for a minimum of 105 days in any one year (but this has been met in previous consecutive year(s)), or if you intended to let the property for the minimum period but you were unable to, the property would still meet the requirements under a ‘period of grace’ arrangement.

2. Entrepreneurs’ Relief can potentially be claimed. This could thereby reduce Capital Gains Tax from 18% or 28% to 10%.

Holders of more than one FHL property are able to take an average of all the let days to be able to meet the criteria for all their properties.

3. Where you sell a FHL it may be possible to rollover any gain, deferring the tax liability due, where you reinvest in another qualifying business asset.

It is worth noting at this point that properties held in the UK are considered separately to properties held in the EEA. For

4. 100% of your mortgage interest (and other qualifying finance costs) is a deductible expense for an FHL because

If you are in the process of buying a buy-to-let property or a furnished holiday let - or currently own one and would like to discuss the best ways to get the most out of your investment, please contact me or one of our specialist Kreston Reeves’ advisers. jo.white@krestonreeves.com 01403 250926

This material is for general information only and does not constitute investment, tax, legal or other form of advice. You should not rely on this information to make (or refrain from making) any decisions. Always obtain independent, professional advice for your own particular situation.

Kreston Reeves LLP (Registered number in OC328775, registered office: 37 St Margaret's Street, Canterbury CT1 2TU) is registered to carry on audit work and is regulated for a range of investment business activities by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. A list of members’ names is available at our registered office and details of the licensing bodies for our insolvency practitioners can be found at our website. Kreston Reeves Financial Planning Limited (Registered number 3852054, registered office: 37 St Margaret's Street, Canterbury CT1 2TU) are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. All of the above addresses are registered in England.

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SHINE BRIGHT LIKE A DIAMOND As we celebrate the best of business 2017

ENTER T HE GA T W I C K DI AM O ND BUSINESS A W ARD S Now in the ninth year, we have brought together a fantastic group of sponsors and judges to help us find and celebrate the very best businesses across the Gatwick Diamond.

Any business in the Gatwick Diamond can enter and, with 14 categories, there will be at least one Award (if not more) that are relevant to you and your business.

Entry period runs from 6th October to 18th November and judging visits will take place across December and January.

The Awards will culminate in the spectacular Awards Ceremony on 16th March 2017 at the Effingham Park Hotel. Be sure to put the date in your diary for the business networking event of the year!

For more information and to download an entry form, visit:

WWW.GATWICKDIAMONDBUSINESSAWARDS.COM

Business Scene

GATWICK DIAMOND BUSINESS AWARDS RETURN

J

eremy Taylor, Chief Executive of Gatwick Diamond Business, hosted the launch of the 2017 awards. The breakfast event at the Copthorne Hotel was attended by sponsors, judges and the 2016 winners. Jeremy announced that the compere is to be the actor and comedian Stephen Mangan, and officially declared the awards open for entries.

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Lee Harding (Irwin Mitchell) with Monique Limerick and Darren Flood (Vines of Gatwick) Tim Rush (KPMG) John Redfern (NatWest) and Ann Swain (FSB) Lisa Downs (Rawlison Butler) and Russell Fernandes (NatWest) Ben Harvey (Storm Creative) and Paula Aldridge (Gatwick Airport) Jeremy Taylor and Shelby Beeden (Gatwick Diamond Business) Ian Woodland (Assurity Consulting), Alan Trace (Extech) and Dan Sibley (NatWest) Lorraine Axten (Emirates), Andrew Hookway (Extech) and Debra Vice-Holt (University of Brighton) Diane Belford (Rawlison Butler), Stuart Furneaux and Claire Bartlett (Search Consultancy) Stuart Crane and David Bywater (KPMG) and Neil Gardner (ASB Law) Markus Wood and Sharma Hadrill (Avensys Live) with Paul McConalogue (NatWest) Jeremy Taylor

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Business Awards

OPEN FOR ENTRIES The closing date for entries for the 2017 Gatwick Diamond Business Awards is the 18th November.

Enter your company now.

We are delighted to be announcing the 9th Gatwick Diamond Business Awards Once again we have brought together a fantastic group of sponsors and judges to help us find and celebrate the very best businesses across the Gatwick Diamond.

The Gatwick Diamond Business Awards give any business the opportunity to shine as brightly as they can … like a Diamond.

Jeremy Taylor, Chief Executive, Gatwick Diamond Business.

Headline Sponsors to date: Gatwick Airport, NatWest, Nestle, Emirates Airline Pre-Dinner Reception: Irwin Mitchell Compere: Stephen Mangan

Award Categories & Sponsors Business Person of the Year - KPMG

International Business of the Year - Gatwick Diamond Initiative

New Business of the Year - the FSB

Employer of the Year - Search

Green Business of the Year - Crawley Borough Council

The Award for Supply Chain Excellence - University of Brighton

Business of the Year - NatWest

The Award for Developing People for Business Success - Central Sussex College Responsible Business of the Year – University of Sussex, School of Business, Management & Economics Manufacturing Business of the Year– asb law

The Award for Innovation and Technology in Business - Rawlison Butler LLP Professional Services Firm of the Year - tbc The Award for the Place to Meet - Vines BMW & Mini

The Award for Customer Delight - Extech

Award Categories & Sponsors

Key dates for your diary:

Design Partner: Storm Creative Partnership 18th November 2016 Closing date for entries Venue Partner: Millennium & Copthorne Hotels Event Partner: Avensys Live

Dec 2016 - Jan 2017 Judging Period 9th February 2017 Finalist announcement at the Sponsors and Media Breakfast

Media Partner: Platinum Business Magazine 16th March 2017 The Gatwick Diamond Business Awards 2017 Staging Design & Event Partner: Avensys Live

13th April 2017 Sponsors and 2017 Winners Celebration Breakfast

To find out more about the Awards and to be involved, visit www.GatwickDiamondBusinessAwards.com or follow the Awards on Twitter @gdbizawards

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Business Awards - Interview

RED LETTER DAY Co-founder of Red River, Simon Pringle, won Business Person of the Year at the Gatwick Diamond Business Awards 2016.

Here he explains what the award has meant to him and the company.

Can you describe Red River to someone who may not be familiar with the company?

Red River is a software development company that works with high growth businesses, start-ups, investors and generally with organisations undergoing rapid change. We develop systems and products that run businesses or deliver our customer’s services. We are a unique blend of technical excellence, business acumen and creativity, that helps us thrive in this high speed environment.

Why did you decide to enter the GDB awards?

We founded Red River nine years ago and have grown to be an influence in the region. The area has an identity and culture that is different to London and Brighton; both of which are recognised digital hubs. I realised that businesses in the Gatwick Diamond, especially

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It has been evident that the award has helped in meetings we have had and the business we have won.

❞ those who have experienced recruitment issues and a skills shortage, are part of an interdependent community that we all need to nurture and promote. I have worked hard in the last few years to do my bit to grow the economy, help business initiatives and work with schools, colleges and universities to ultimately to keep people in this region and within

the business community. A large part of the work we do is for overseas customers and we feel this has helped with inward investment into the region too.

Entering the awards was just a continuation of this.

I felt I had a story to tell and experiences to share.

What do you think made your entry stand out to the judges?

Growing your own business is normal and not headline news. We have done that year on year, especially in the last 24 months, but I believe that there were a number of things that made a difference. We changed the structure of the company to create a more democratic approach that would stimulate growth and facilitate autonomy and learning, this has worked really well. The engagement with the universities and colleges to help generate a local talent pool and the work I do with educational and youth organisations such as Maggie Philbin’s TeenTech.

I have loved working with investors and start-ups over the last few years and helped to create a number of innovative companies. I have enjoyed talking at events across the region and have been an advisor on many business and educational initiatives. I believe my business partner Kieren and I have created a unique and incredibly supportive environment that has developed leaders and innovators and has attracted customers, business partners and staff.

What impact has winning the Businessperson of the Year award had on the company?

Personally it has been just a great boost and for the business it has bought a mass of publicity and interest. It was great to receive the affirmations from partners and customers on the night and the weeks following. It has been evident that the award has helped in meetings we have had and the business we have won.

What does the future hold for Red River?

We have plans for the next three years for growth, expansion and expansion of our services. The last six months have presented a number of partnership opportunities that we are in the process of embarking on. Personally, I would like to continue help grow the region’s economy, promoting the Gatwick Diamond outside of the area and also to help generate the next wave of software professionals.

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DELIVER BALANCED GROWTH FOR BRITAIN A second runway at Gatwick will give airports across the UK greater opportunity to grow, which means more competition and balanced growth for the whole country. Let’s make it happen so all of Britain can get the benefits.

gatwickobviously.com @LGWobviously

TRAVEL SUPPLEMENT

PLATINUM

Barcelona has gained a reputation for being chic and cool, and, as Rose found out, it is fully justified. She had a good old root around and located the best event and meetings spaces, cool restaurants in which to hang out and a very funky hotel. The architecture of the Catalan capital could be regarded as totally bonkers or incredibly creative but whatever your take, it is stunning and highly memorable.

Maarten had a charming stay at the Charm and John has gone all hitech on us and thinks robots are taking over the world of airlines - with his knowledge, l wouldn’t bet against him.

THIS MONTH:

PLATINUM

BARCELONA

Travel

ROBOT WARS Lost in Dubai should be a thing of the past

by John Burroughes Managing Director, Uniglobe Preferred Travel

W

e all know the proverbial saying about buses coming along at once, and so it was last week that prolific forces managed to converged numerous important travel related events in the same week, in different parts of the world. The net result of this was that I found myself talking to a lost business traveller (Brian) in Dubai airport while my son Andrew, found himself at the Amadeus Innovation Centre in Nice talking to a robot.

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Let me explain. I was in Dubai to meet with owners of travel businesses from many different countries to discuss the future of travel distribution, which is a particularly hot topic in our industry at present, especially with the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Virtual Personal Assistant (VPA).

Now we are all used to Apple’s Siri and Amazon Echo, we in the travel industry are preparing to welcome Amadeus’s Pepper and even Hitachi’s EMIEW3 robot, (note the

French give a fluffy name, the Japanese a serial number). It wasn’t that long ago that we were explaining to business travellers what this newfangled item called an e-ticket was!

So first to Japan where at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, Hitachi are trialling a project with their EMIEW3 robot, which is performing a range of functions such as giving directions, answering travel related questions and actually taking travellers to the locations they are seeking within the airport. Robots are also

Travel

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It wasn’t that long ago that we were explaining to business travellers what this new-fangled item called an e-ticket was

❞ being trialled in Japanese hotels.

Here I would like you to picture the massive queues one used to have to join at an airport to check-in, nowadays you can go to a terminal, tap your details in and move swiftly on. Instead of waiting behind the people that are trying to check-in on the wrong day, or arguing about an upgrade, how about a robot to assist you at check-in or at checkout? Whilst on the subject of upgrades, with a robot, surely all we would need is an upgrade code, as opposed to being eyed up and down by the hotel clerk to see if we appeared worthy of one.

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The AI revolution is not just around the corner, it’s already looking and learning from us

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In addition to the airport, a hotel is trialling a robot that stores and retrieves your luggage, and robots that deliver your suitcases to your room - no more embarrassing moments where the bellhop hovers in the doorway whilst you fumble for some token of your gratitude.

Pepper on the other hand is being groomed (well, programmed) to work by rechargeable battery and as a human, a.k.a. a travel consultant. The idea is you visit a travel agency, you see that the travel consultants are busy and all of a sudden you hear a ‘friendly voice from a cute little robot’ (Amadeus’s words not mine). It greets you saying: “hello, let me show you some pictures,” if you see a picture you like just smile, you join in and away you go your profile is already being built from a series

of pictures and questions. Integrated within the software is complexed artificial intelligent algorithms that are trawling through billions of news articles embedded within the robot, sorry Pepper.

Pepper is simultaneously linking your profile which it created through your dialogue with external destination profiles. After displaying a shortlist of suggested destinations, Pepper transfers all of this information to the travel consultant’s desktop, (travel consultant is a human, at the moment) where they refine your destination choice and aim to add value to make your trip truly unique.

Before you think that all of this is a bit far-fetched, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Amadeus, Samsung and Apple all have major AI test projects currently running and the global stakes have never been higher, as we have just seen with the withdrawal of Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7, which is expected to cost the company £4.4bn this year alone.

So back to Brian, the lost business traveller I encountered in Dubai. Brian is a marine engineer and travels to all parts of the globe at very short notice to fix ships and machines.

His skill set is much sought after and doesn’t come cheap, yet the reason he was wandering around Dubai airport was the travel company he was using had not informed him which hotel they had booked him into, they hadn’t even sent him an email itinerary, yet alone one that he could access online. Now dear Brian being a considerate soul, was waiting for a suitable time difference between him and the UK before waking up said agent.

If ever there was a cost to a company or person where even a sliver of the above technology could have added to a better personal experience, here is an example.

If you’d like to know more, please contact me on John@Uniglobepreferred.co.uk

Someone who is particularly interesting is a man called Dag Kittlaus. He was behind the development of Apple’s Siri, the digital assistant bought by Apple in 2010. He left Apple in 2012 and began working on a new more advanced AI project called Viv, which was in turn purchased by Samsung last week.

The stated aim of Viv is to “breathe life into inanimate objects.”

The fine line between technical genius and falling off the wafer thin electronic tightrope, has never been more publicly displayed as in the last few weeks with the above loss for Samsung. Set this against the launch of Apple’s iPhone 7, which contains something they are calling ‘image signal processor’ (ISP) which is capable of performing as many as 100 billion operations in just 25 milliseconds, the AI revolution is not just around the corner, it’s already looking and learning from us!

45

Travel - Barcelona

Shake hands in...

BARCELONA Ideas flow freely in the Catalan capital, thanks to its legacy of great thinkers and a ‘fail faster’ state-of-mind, reports Rose Dykins.

B

arcelona’s architecture oozes with individuality. The stately buildings running alongside its wide, grid-like streets and avenues of dappled plane trees are punctuated with fantastical neo-gothic structures, each one with a legion of hooknosed gargoyles peering down at me.

Rambling through Parc de la Ciutadella, I

46

spy chartreuse canaries flitting between the Mediterranean flora, their colour popping against an uncharacteristically pale sky (everyone I meet jokes that I’ve brought the British weather with me). The waterfall monument, crowned with a golden statue of Aurora in a horse-drawn chariot, and flowing with vivid blue water, holds my attention for

some time. This is easily trumped, however, by the eye-popping Sagrada Familia, designed

by Catalan Modernist architect Antoni Gaudi.

It’s still surrounded by cranes, despite its construction beginning in 1882. By the time the surreal, swirling Catholic church is finally completed in 2026 – the centenary of Gaudi’s death – it will have taken longer to build than

Travel - Barcelona The Gothic Quarter

the Great Pyramid of Giza, but I’m definitely witnessing another Wonder of the World in the making.

I head back towards the Old Town to meet with Belgian entrepreneur Mark Mekki, founder of travel experience curation and technology company, Ode to Joy (library. odetojoy.life). He shows me the sweeping views from the terrace of his rooftop office.

Putting my awe to one side for the moment, I ask him about Barcelona’s business climate.

“We moved here for the lifestyle,” he says.

“What I found was an enormous ecosystem of entrepreneurship. It’s becoming one of the start-up hubs of Europe – of the world, even. It’s a very friendly city to come into as an entrepreneur, very low-risk, with a lot of potential for funding and making contacts.

There’s still a perception about Spain and Catalonia that red tape will be an issue, but actually it’s fairly simple now.”

Sagrada Familia

What else makes Barcelona so conducive to starting up a new business? “There are a lot of incubators, and there’s a lot of free or cheap office space – the amount of co-working space in Barcelona is only second to Berlin and San Francisco, I believe,” Mekki reveals.

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For meetings and conferences, Barcelona’s innovative streak makes it an obvious choice for holding international tech and digital events.

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“However, it’s more about the mentality than the infrastructure, which is grounded in the fact that Spain, and Catalonia in particular, was hit hardest by the recession, so people had to go out and try different things. This

mentality crept in - you have nothing to lose, so try something crazy and see if it sticks.

People are coming up with these ideas, and venture capitalists are saying: ‘that could work worldwide, let’s give you a million euros and just roll with it.’”

For meetings and conferences, Barcelona’s innovative streak makes it an obvious choice for holding international tech and digital events. For example, the city is the annual host of the Mobile World Congress – the world’s largest gathering for the mobile industry– and will stage the Smart City Expo World Congress this month. Last year, the Catalan capital was named the second-most popular city for meetings in the world, having hosted 182 meetings in 2014, with 127,469 participants – it was pipped to the post only by Paris.

And, there is no shortage of interesting, creative company incentives to reward employees with. For example, local experience provider, CoCoA (cocoa.network) runs an Inspirational Hubs programme. It allows corporate groups to visit Barcelona’s surrounding farms and vineyards to partake in agricultural activities, meeting with locals and taking in an authentic aspect of Catalan life. It’s also possible to treat football fans with a VIP tour of Camp Nou stadium, the home ground of Barcelona FC – Ode to Joy can even arrange a private dinner on the actual pitch.

For me, the best way to experience Barcelona is on foot, with my neck permanently craned upwards, whether I’m winding my way through the narrow alleyways of its Old Town, or stumbling upon yet another architectural remnant from the brilliant creatives that have made this city what it is today.

Parc de la Ciutadella

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Travel - Barcelona

MADE IN BARCELONA Five ingenious innovations from Barcelona-based start-ups Wallapop – A secondhand marketplace app that allows users to buy and sell items by connecting with people in their neighbourhood. It has attracted €150 million of investment and has been downloaded around 25 million times.

Kantox – A foreign exchange platform, Kantox enables peer-to-peer trading, and alerts users of the best trading times. It has handled more than a million transactions since it was founded five years ago.

Smadex – Creates and distributes mobile advertising for companies. Last year, its monthly revenue rose to €300,000.

Kompyte – An intelligence platform that gives marketing teams real-time information about competitors’ latest moves.

Trip4Real – Recently purchased by Airbnb, Trip4real is a Barcelona-based booking company that connects travellers with local activities and experiences in more than 70 European cities.

Can Cisa/Bar Brutal – Tucked away on a quiet street in the Old Town, this popular wine bar serves delectable tapas amid a cool, buzzy atmosphere. cancisa.cat

Hisop – Head here for beautifully presented modern Catalan cuisine crafted from seasonal ingredients. hisop.com Bacoa Burger – Lowhanging exposed lightbulbs and metal stools adorn in this trendy burger bar, where you grab a pencil, put a cross next the fillings you’d like – all of them locally sourced – and wait for your order to be served to your table. bacoa.es

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Eat Here

Travel - Barcelona

TOP FOUR EVENT SPACES CCIB Covering 100,000 sqm, with the capacity to welcome 15,000 delegates, the clean lines of this convention centre cut a sharp silhouette on the seafront district of Diagonal Mar.

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CATALAN HISTORY MUSEUM The museum’s rooftop terrace overlooks boats bobbing in Barcelona’s old port from one side and staggering city views from the other. It has space for 600 guests.

➠ FUNDACIO JOAN MIRO Set on Montjuic hill, the galleries of this contemporary art institute pop with bold colours and thought-provoking sculptures. These can be hired for events; other spaces include an 180-capacity auditorium and a cypress garden.

➠ CASA BATLLO A dream-like Gaudi building in the middle of the city, this unique building’s roof looks like it’s crafted from a dragon’s skin, while its balconies resemble sharks’ jaws. For a banquet to remember, hire the magical Noble Floor.

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Travel - Barcelona

HOTEL BRAND ON THE RADAR Room Mate Hotels

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ith four properties in Barcelona, this international boutique hotel brand targets those seeking ‘affordable luxury’. Each one has an individual visual theme that reflects its locale as well as its ‘character’ - the idea being that visiting the hotel is like staying with a friend (hence why each hotel is given a person’s name).

When I checked in to the 81-room Room Mate Anna, I was greeted by staff sporting orange heart-shaped badges with a word on them relating to one of their hobbies or interests (just in case you’d like a conversation prompt).

Room Mate Anna Room Mate Carla Executive room with terrace

Aside from the striking scarlet design of my Deluxe room in Room Mate Anna – located a minute’s walk from Passsig de Gracia metro station – the highlight of my stay was the WeMate wifi hub. When you leave the hotel for the day, you’re handed a palm-sized wifi-emitting device that connects to up to ten smartphones. It feels liberating to use Google Maps without worrying if, like me, your data roaming is permanently turned off abroad to prevent gut-wrenching phone bills.

I also appreciated the unusual wasabiflavour toiletries and that breakfast was served right up until midday – a brand standard across all hotels, along with the WeMate hub.

Room Mate Carla – situated opposite the famous neo-gothic Casa Thomas – has a sleek blue design, 81 bright white rooms with bold motifs, and two meeting rooms, one of which has views out on to the hotel’s peaceful ground floor terrace, which is often used for meetings in the sunshine.

Room Mate Anna and Room Mate Carla opened up in Barcelona this summer.

Visit room-matehotels.com

GETTING THERE - Norwegian flies to Barcelona from Gatwick, Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh.

Fares start from £29.90 one way at norwegian.com/uk.

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www.uniglobepreferred.co.uk

0845 180 7817

sales@uniglobepreferred.co.uk

For All Your Business Travel Needs UNIGLOBE Preferred Travel is part of the largest single brand Travel Management affiliation in the world.

Our unique structure allows for entrepreneurial leadership in each of our locations, ensuring a committed local ownership at the point of sale.

We are where you are

6103

Coast to Capital

ENTERPRISING ROLES Educating the Next Generation

by Georgina Angele Enterprise Coordinator

working with clusters of schools and colleges, recruiting Enterprise

The Foxhound patrol vehicle

Advisers to match with Headteachers and their senior leadership teams, in order to build strategies that will increase the number of encounters that students have with employers, businesses and further and higher education institutions. By the end of this academic year, the EAN will consist of 100 schools and colleges and more than 100 senior level business volunteers as Enterprise Advisers.

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By the end of this academic year, the EAN will consist of 100 schools and colleges and more than 100 senior level business volunteers as Enterprise Advisers

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Why is this needed and what is the impact of the Enterprise Adviser

I

n the last two editions of the magazine, I have introduced the Careers & Enterprise Company, The Enterprise Adviser Network (EAN) and the work being undertaken in the Coast to Capital LEP area in connecting

the work of businesses with our local schools and colleges. It has been an exciting 12 months and with the support of volunteer Enterprise Advisers from local organisations, a network of leaders from business and education has been created. This network is collaborating to create careers and enterprise strategies that provide the structure for employers and schools to connect and deliver meaningful interactions and activities in our schools and colleges, providing young people with a better understanding of the skills and qualifications they need to gain employment on leaving education.

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Marie Harding is Head of Careers at The Regis School and says: “Linking with the EAN has had a massive impact on the way that Careers Information Advice & Guidance (CIAG) is delivered within the school. Students benefit in a number of ways both directly and indirectly from the contact we now have with the local business community. The EAN has given me the support I need to be able to offer students many more opportunities for contact with employers than I would ever be able to achieve if I were working alone. I know that if I have an event to run or need a speaker for an assembly, our Enterprise Adviser Kevin usually knows someone from the network. With Kevin’s support we have managed to secure a large number of businesses and volunteers to come in and provide interactive experiences for

Linking with the EAN has had a massive impact on the way that CIAG is delivered within the school.

our students. These real world experiences will have a far greater impact on the students than learning in the classroom alone, and will help

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As a result of funding from the Careers & Enterprise Company, the recruitment of four new Enterprise Coordinators is underway. Once appointed and in their roles, the Enterprise Coordinators will each be

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Network so far in our region?

them to develop essential employability skills for entering the world of work.”

To find out how you and your business can join the Enterprise Adviser Network and inspire the workforce of the future, contact Georgina Angele, Senior Enterprise Coordinator on 07879 980444 or georgina.angele@ coast2capital.org.uk.

Coast to Capital

URT GROUP LTD

Employing apprentices as the next generation of engineers

URT

Group is a leading Composites Manufacturing and Engineering solutions provider in Bognor Regis, West Sussex. They design, machine and manufacture a wide range of composite components, large and small, for clients in a variety of industries from defence, motorsports, automotive, marine, aerospace and lifestyle products. URT manufacture composite components to satisfy the most secretive clients and withstand the most demanding environments, from Formula 1 race tracks to theatres of war, and such diverse products as vehicles trying to break 1000 mph on land, to satellites travelling 1000s mph in the harsh environment of space.

“Apprenticeships for URT are an asset to our organisation and bring significant benefits to

the business and our existing workforce,” says Kevin Emmett, Director. “Apprenticeships are a unique way to grow your own. They combine on-the-job training in your organisation with off-the-job learning, and are an effective way of growing the skill base. Not only has our apprenticeship programme helped us to ensure essential knowledge and skills are passed on to our next generation of staff, it has also allowed colleagues to improve their own management and mentoring, by them teaching our apprentices vital skills they’ll be able to use for the rest of their careers”.

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apprentice taken on. Since then 22 apprentices have joined URT and all have been given full time roles within the company.

With the support and strong working relationship with local education providers Chichester University and Technical College, URT’s apprentices develop and flourish into valued members of the team through its engineering courses, backed up with their inhouse training and development programmes.

This effective training strategy is one that supports not only the business aims but also meets the individual development needs of their employees.

“Apprenticeships are a unique way to grow your own”

Such has been the success of the scheme, that URT has decided to take on apprentices for the foreseeable future to continue this growth and to develop their skill set further.

Kevin Emmett, Director

“The momentum we have created by building the apprenticeship brand has brought about exceptional success for the apprenticeship programme, with exapprentices now holding senior roles such as technical project managers and supervisory roles within the company, bearing in mind these guys are still in their early twenties, but have the abilities and qualities to do the job,” says Kevin.

❞ Spreading the word URT’s apprenticeship scheme was first launched 11 years ago with a focus on school and college leavers, and which saw their first

Another bonus from the apprenticeship scheme is that URT has also won several industry awards for the training and development of their staff, which has also lead to more business development and an increase in output and turnover.

EA Kevin Emmett with three former pupils from The Regis School now employed as Apprentice Engineers at URT Group Ltd Rory Driscoll, Ben Tew and Jake Foote

Kevin added: “I wanted to pass my engineering knowledge on to young people who are interested in what we do, so becoming an Enterprise Advisor and joining the EA network has helped URT as an employer tap into the talent pool of school leavers locally to us. I’ve teamed up with The Regis School in Bognor Regis and already it’s proving be an overriding success with three apprentices joining URT from the school over the last two years. I work with Marie Harding (Head of Careers) at the school and we have already participated in various careers and STEM events within the school, taking alumni students back into the school for talks on apprenticeships and their career path.”

53

VAT Fraud

BEING TAKEN FOR A RIDE? Clive Lee

S

Michael Axe

Clive Lee, Commercial Disputes Partner, and Michael Axe, Senior Associate, at Rawlison Butler on the dangers of ‘VAT Carousel’ missing trader fraud

o called “VAT carousel” frauds can cost HMRC millions, and at the same time, a surprisingly large number of innocent companies find themselves inadvertently caught up in the chains of related transactions. Michael Axe looks at how HMRC has the power to pursue those innocent companies for the VAT “stolen” by the fraudsters, as well as the steps that innocent companies can take to protect themselves from being held liable for HMRC’s losses.

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“VAT carousel” fraud – now also commonly known as “missing trader intra-community” fraud (or “MTIC” fraud for short) – has been around for many years. In fact, it has been around ever since fraudsters first started exploiting the VAT rules which state that cross-border transactions between EU Member States are zero-rated for VAT purposes.

However, many UK companies do not appreciate how innocent parties caught up in the fraudsters’ “carousel” can be left bearing significant tax liabilities to HMRC after the fraudsters have disappeared.

What is MTIC fraud?

In its simplest form, although in practice there are many variants, MTIC fraud involves a company that is registered for VAT in one EU Member State (“the Overseas Seller”) selling goods to another company (“the Importer”) that is registered for VAT in a different EU Member State (the UK, in this example). The Overseas Seller then claims VAT refunds in its own Member State for any VAT which it paid when buying the goods for export. The Importer, meanwhile, does not have to pay

VAT Fraud

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To show that a company “should have known” about a VAT fraud, HMRC will need to show that “the only reasonable explanation for the transaction … was that it was connected with fraud”.

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any VAT on goods imported from another EU Member State, but it will charge VAT when it resells the goods to a VAT registered company in the same Member State (“the Buffer”).

The Buffer is usually the innocent party in the chain of transactions, and is usually not one of the fraudsters. A fourth VAT registered company (“the Broker”), which may be one of the fraudsters or could be another innocent party, will then buy the goods from the Buffer, with the Buffer charging VAT as normal on that sale, and accounting to HMRC for both the VAT it paid to the Importer, and the VAT it charged to the Broker. The Broker, having paid VAT to the Buffer, will then be able to reclaim the VAT it paid back from HMRC (either as an actual refund or as a reduction in its own VAT liability). The Importer then

goes missing (becoming the “missing trader”) without paying any VAT to HMRC. The Broker will then re-export the goods out of its Member State (in this case, the UK), without having to charge VAT on goods exported to another EU Member State. Finally, the original Overseas Seller will reacquire the goods and start the “carousel” all over again.

The end result, as summarised in the diagram below, is that both the Overseas Seller and the Broker are able to obtain full VAT refunds in their respective Member States, while the “missing trader” Importer absconds with the VAT paid to it by the innocent Buffer, which should have been paid to HMRC The goods used in MTIC frauds are usually high value, easily transportable goods, so

that the VAT paid by the innocent Buffer (and stolen by the “missing trader”) can be maximised. Early MTIC frauds involved goods such as computer chips (CPUs), mobile phones, iPods and similar electronic devices, but fraudsters are becoming more creative, and recent cases have involved items such as razor blades, white goods, and even EU Emission Allowances. Given the high value of such goods, HMRC can be defrauded out of significant sums of VAT on a single “VAT carousel” transaction.

How does this affect innocent parties?

In the above simple example, the Overseas Seller, the Importer, and the Broker are in on the fraud, but the Buffer (the party which

55

VAT Fraud actually pays the VAT that is stolen by the “missing trader” Importer) is the innocent party. In more complex MTIC frauds, there will often be a long chain of resales to multiple Buffers, and sometimes there can even be several different chains of sales and resales (some not even involving the “dirty” goods at all, so-called “contra-chains”) taking place in a single “carousel” fraud, all involving several different innocent Buffers and an innocent Broker. Some complex “carousel” chains have been known to involve up to 600 different companies – so the risk of an innocent company becoming unwittingly involved in an MTIC fraud cannot be underestimated.

the Buffer (or Broker) “knew or should have known” that the “missing trader” Importer would not pay the VAT due to HMRC. As there will often be warning signs (such as those discussed in the section below) in MTIC fraud “carousels”, there can be grounds for HMRC to argue that an innocent Buffer or Broker should nevertheless have suspected that the “missing trader” Importer was involved in a VAT fraud.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, by the time an MTIC fraud is uncovered by HMRC, it is not unusual for all of the fraudsters to have disappeared and/or for them to have left their VAT registered companies as empty shells (with their officers difficult to trace or identify).

Quite often, therefore, the innocent Buffer(s) (and Broker) are the only companies left in the “carousel” chain (a) which HMRC can trace and (b) which have any assets for HMRC to pursue.

The purpose of these rules is to transfer the risk in the fraudulent transactions from HMRC to the other traders in the chain, by making them more responsible and accountable for the VAT arising from the chain of transactions of which they were a party, and with the

HMRC’s additional powers In an effort to combat the rise in MTIC fraud, various pieces of legislation have been introduced in the UK over the years. However, this has often proved somewhat ineffective as the legislation has focused on amending the VAT rules for specific types of goods (such as mobile phones, CPUs, telecoms, games consoles and even on supplies of gas and electricity) so that the VAT burden is reversed, meaning that the customer (i.e. the Buffer) has to account to HMRC for the VAT, rather than the supplier (i.e. the “missing trader” Importer). However, when these reverse VAT charges are brought in for specific types of goods, the fraudsters will usually simply move on to using different types of goods in their frauds.

Therefore, in the fight against MTIC fraud, arguably the most effective piece of legislation is that which enables HMRC (in certain circumstances) to pursue the innocent companies who purchased the goods directly or from other Buffer companies which originate from the “missing trader” Importers.

In such cases, although the “innocent” companies were not actually in on the fraud itself, HMRC can still pursue them for the VAT defrauded by the “missing trader” Importer if

The effect of these rules is that, if HMRC can objectively show that the innocent company knew or should have known that the transaction was fraudulent, then HMRC can recover the defrauded VAT by denying that company the right to deduct input tax.

incentive of encouraging the trader to more carefully question the legitimacy of those transactions.

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A surprisingly large number of innocent companies find themselves caught up in MTIC frauds.

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How can innocent companies protect themselves?

First and foremost, companies should be wary of transactions that sound too good to be true, or which are outside of the way in which they normally carry out their business.

For example, in some MTIC frauds a Buffer or Broker company will be approached by one company offering to sell them goods at a discounted price, and then almost immediately, they will be approached by another company offering to buy the same type of goods. In fact, it is quite common for the transactions in an MTIC fraud to all happen on the same day, so the Buffer/

Broker doesn’t actually have the goods for any length of time at all (and in some cases, the whole transaction occurs on paper, and the Buffer/Broker never even takes delivery of the goods!).

This is (arguably) a fairly obvious example of a suspicious transaction, but often innocent companies can become “distracted” by how good a deal sounds, and overlook such concerns. In some more incriminatory cases, companies may even willingly turn a “blind eye” and deliberately “ask no questions” about goods they are offered at discounted prices.

Ultimately, the test to be applied is whether or not the Buffer company “knew or should have known that, by his purchase, he was taking part in a transaction connected to a fraudulent evasion of VAT”. If it can be shown that the Buffer company did know (or should have known), then it will be considered an accomplice to the fraud.

This test is, of course, very fact specific, and there are many cases that have dealt with the circumstances in which an “innocent” company can be said to have known (or should have known) about a VAT fraud. There is, however, some comfort for such companies, as the burden of proof is on HMRC, and the bar to be reached is a high one. To show that a company “should have known” about a VAT fraud, HMRC will need to show that “the only reasonable explanation for the transaction … was that it was connected with fraud”.

How can RB help?

A surprisingly large number of innocent companies find themselves caught up in MTIC frauds. If you are unfortunate enough to find yourself in such a position, swift action can make all the difference. At RB, our specialist Tax Disputes Team works closely with specialist tax accountants and leading tax counsel, to ensure that the necessary technical expertise is at hand when you need it. Not only can we can assist at an early stage as soon as you suspect you may have been inadvertently caught up in an MTIC fraud carousel, but we can also provide the necessary expertise in dealing with any investigation or proceedings commenced by HMRC.

For more information on this or any other issue relating to tax disputes, please contact Clive Lee or Michael Axe on +44 (0)1293 527744

This document is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Professional legal advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this document.

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Direct Debit Processing Donor Development Campaign Planning Marketing Resources

www.charityline.org.uk

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

Digital Marketing

HOW TO BE A LINKEDIN ROCKSTAR

by Shea Bennett, Head of Digital Marketing at Identity

L

inkedIn has 450 million users worldwide, with 20 million people actively using the platform in the United Kingdom.

LinkedIn is the business social network, and has established itself as a powerful tool for networking, recruitment and sales.

The most important part of LinkedIn is your profile. This is essentially your online résumé, and is very important for professional branding. Google loves a good LinkedIn profile, and it is typically the most effective way to find your details when searching for your name online, almost always outranking the other social channels. Moreover, your LinkedIn profile is often the first place people will look you up when you meet them in any kind of business capacity face-to-face, so it absolutely pays to make sure it is first class.

In this article I will outline tips and best practices on how to build a first class profile on LinkedIn.

Your LinkedIn profile strength rating is important because it is part of what determines how highly you rank on the platform. This is particularly true in search results, and if your LinkedIn profile strength is anything below All-Star you will not rank well. Thankfully, reaching All-Star status is not that difficult, and with a little work you can comfortably reach this status by ensuring the following is in place:

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Most people won’t take you seriously if you have less than 500 connections within your LinkedIn network

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LinkedIn Profile Strength

• You have a profile photo

There are five levels of LinkedIn profile strength, and your level is only visible to you when you visit your LinkedIn profile page. The levels range from Beginner, which is assigned to every new LinkedIn profile, through to Intermediate, Advanced, Expert and All-Star.

• Your profile lists 2 or more job positions that you’ve held • You have 5 or more skills on your profile • You have written a summary about yourself • You have filled out your industry and included a postal code

• You have listed where you went to school • You have 50 or more connections • You regularly update and keep working on your LinkedIn profile At first this may read like quite a list but it’s something that typically happens organically unless you are very inactive on the platform.

But absolutely make the effort and you can reach LinkedIn’s official All-Star status very quickly.

The LinkedIn 500 Club Once you’ve acquired All-Star status on LinkedIn it’s essential that you keep growing your network on the platform. There’s a difference between LinkedIn rating you as an All-Star and actually having an exceptional profile. For starters, the harsh reality is that unless you are very well known within your industry most people won’t take you seriously if you have less than 500 connections within your LinkedIn network. Indeed, that number is utilised by LinkedIn as a kind of badge of honour, as once anyone exceeds that total it will always be displayed as “500+” and never anything higher. You could have 501 connections or 50,100, but any visitor to your profile will only see 500+. This is important social proof and does carry a lot of weight with people looking you up on LinkedIn at networking events and trade shows. While it’s important that you are connected to relevant people on LinkedIn, make the effort to get your connections above 500 as quickly as you can.

How To Build a Great LinkedIn Profile Like all of social media you will only get back from LinkedIn what you are prepared to put in. In order to rank highly on searches within the platform and generate leads and business opportunities it’s essential that you regularly active on the platform and doing whatever you can to build a great profile.

Keep The Basics Updated Make sure that the basic but important

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Digital Marketing

parts of your LinkedIn profile, such as your current employer, current position, dates and your professional headline – the part that details what you do at the very top of your profile – are always accurate and up-to-date.

Use a Professional Photograph As much as we like to think that they don’t, people will always judge books by their covers, and on LinkedIn your “cover” is your profile photograph. This is something that must look professional and all-business, and is absolutely worth considering paying for a professional photograph. This photo should be recent and it should only be of you – not a picture with colleagues, loved ones or pets. Most importantly it must look like you look now, so if you have a big change in appearance be sure to update your LinkedIn photo.

Write a Great Summary The summary at the top of your LinkedIn profile is a really great opportunity to sell yourself. Many visitors to your profile won’t get past your photo, professional headline and summary, so it’s essential that you keep it updated and write it in a style that is easy to read and showcases the best of your abilities and experience.

to check all spelling and grammar, and avoid typos at all costs.

Keywords = Discoverability The use of keywords in your profile plays a big part in how people find you on LinkedIn, both within the platform and through a search on Google. So take some time to think about what it is that you want to be found for and then make sure that relevant keywords have then been inserted into your profile. Don’t go overboard – you don’t want to give the appearance of trying to spam or game the system – but good keywords can often be the difference between being visible and invisible on LinkedIn.

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Seek out influencers and thought leaders in your sector and invite them to your LinkedIn network – you’ll be amazed how many people will be more than happy to connect

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Triple Check Spelling and Grammar

Network, Network, Network

This is another one of those things that is easy to dismiss but can fundamentally impact how people feel about you online. Be sure

I touched on this above but the entire point of LinkedIn is to network with people, and this includes new people. While you should

absolutely connect with colleagues and clients, aspirational networking on LinkedIn – connecting with people you want to know more about and potentially do business with – is not only a powerful way to grow your network, it’s essential to getting the most out of the platform. Seek out influencers and thought leaders in your sector and invite them to your LinkedIn network – you’ll be amazed how many people will be more than happy to connect.

Personalise The Invitation To Connect When you connect with someone on LinkedIn you get a very generic “I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn” message as the default. This is obviously quite boring and generic, and for best results it’s important that you tailor and personalise your invitation message with each new connection.

Think about how you met that person, or why you want to connect. Avoid sales pitches, but do try and sell yourself.

One final tip: did you know that you can download a spreadsheet of all of your LinkedIn contacts? Simply click on My Network > Connections and then the Settings (gear) icon, and under Advanced Settings, click on “Export LinkedIn Connections”. This downloads a CSV file of everyone in your LinkedIn network, including their name, email, company, position and more. What an incredible tool for sales prospecting!

Biography: Shéa has managed the digital campaigns and marketing solutions for both B2B and B2C brands across a variety of industries, including retail, finance, education, healthcare, charity, sports and events. A recognised authority within the digital space, he has published two books and written thousands of articles about social media, and his work has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post and the BBC. Identity specialises in the manufacture and implementation of corporate branding, with over 30 years’ experience in the industry. A major supplier of digital marketing, events management and commercial signage across the UK and Europe, Identity is a multi-award-winning company with a very experienced team of industry-respected individuals.

Email: sb@identitygroup.co.uk, Web: www.identitygroup.co.uk

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Technology News

CLOUD TALK NEW GOOGLE LONDON DATA CENTRE Google has announced that it will open a London region of the Google Cloud Platform service in 2017. The London location will be one of eight to come online next year as part of investment by Google to keep pace with demand as the firm reaches one billion cloud customers. Another advantage of a London data centre for UK customers is that their information remains in the UK for data protection requirements, especially given the uncertainty around this topic following the Brexit vote that will take the UK out of the European Union.

MOD DRONE COMPETITION Defence boffins are running a competition to see who can develop a drone platform capable of running up to 20 UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles).

The competition, titled “Many drones make light work”, is to demonstrate how UK industry working in partnership with the MOD could rapidly deliver new military capability by exploiting emerging and innovative technologies. Examples of uses for this military robot swarm include tracking individuals / vehicles, area mapping / surveillance and communications relay tasks. If interested check out this UK Government link https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cde-themed-competition-many-drones-make-light-work/competition-document-many-dronesmake-light-work

CLOUD HOSTING SURVEY

MICROSOFT OUTLOOK UPDATES

Nearly 95% of small to medium businesses say they either already use a cloud hosting service or plan to transition to it according to study from B2B research firm Clutch.co

Microsoft have announced new features coming to Outlook.com, plus one for Outlook on the Web, part of Office 365. Key among them is support for Google Drive and Facebook photos.

The survey of 300 SMBs (defined as having between two and 1000 employees) found a trend towards cloud hosting. Almost three quarters (72%) of SMBs have changed web hosting providers over the past five years, while a worrying 86% said they had experienced issues in the last year alone. Most businesses change providers because they can find better value elsewhere.

• Google Drive support for Outlook.com. Outlook.com users will be able to access their Google Drive based files directly from the web UI (User Interface) when sending attachments. This feature was already available in Outlook for Android and iOS

In terms of specific issues with hosting providers, the biggest bugbear was downtime, cited by 35% of respondents, although poor performance (33%), increased costs (32%), poor customer support (27%), and server limits (26%) were also noted.

• Edit Google Doc, Slide and Sheet documents. Also new to Outlook.com and tied to the previous feature is the ability to open and edit if you have permission, Google Doc, Slide and Sheet documents from within Outlook.com • Facebook photos support for Outlook.com. You can now connect your Facebook account to Outlook.com allowing you to share photos from Facebook via email • Easier attachments in Outlook on the Web. Outlook on the Web places a single attachment icon at the top of long email threads so you can find all of the attachments from that single location

The Cloud Consultancy Europe are authorised Office 365 resellers

If you would like help and advice with your IT infrastructure call me. t: 00 (44) 1342 716873 e: jamie.shaw@thecloudconsultancy.eu w: www.thecloudconsultancy.eu

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uk.linkedin.com/in/shawjamie

Business Consultancy

THE SECRET TO YOUR SUCCESS

By Janette Whitney ACIB MCMI, of award-winning Business Consultants Janette Whitney & Associates

M

any people will have heard the terms Business Consultant or Management Consultant, but few fully understand what they are, much less what they can potentially do for a small or growing business.

It is assumed by many small business owners that business consultants are the thing of big businesses or major corporations, but recruiting the right Business Consultant can help a small business gain experience, knowledge, contacts and ideas as well as constructive criticism, all of which cannot fail to be of value to a company regardless of its size. So what are the benefits?

Been there, done it!

An experienced Business Consultant can fill the gap in a small business owner’s experience or can add industry knowledge of a specific sector the business is targeting. A good Business Consultant will be an experienced business person with a respected background who has probably helped a number of businesses find their feet, grow or survive tough times.

Think outside the box A Business Consultant does not work with a business full-time and won’t be concerned with day to day issues, but will instead look at the bigger picture. What is the direction of the business? Are targets being met? What environmental changes might affect the business? Which competitors to watch out for and what are the plans to keep ahead?

Impartiality A Business Consultant does not engage in office politics and retains their independence.

In addition, the consultant will have witnessed changes sweep over the business sector in the past, which means that they are able to advise with confidence and recommend unbiased decisions in the interests of the business.

Connections A successful business is a connected one, usually through networking. However for a small business it can be time consuming and can often prove difficult to build a trusted network of contacts. A Business Consultant can usually offer an address book of relevant contacts to go along with their own experience. This could be a supplier, distributor or potential customer to help boost business, or a potential partner to add a new dimension to your business.

The benefits of working with an experienced Business Consultant are: • Provides business expertise that can far outweigh the costs • Adds credibility and strengthens the management team (especially helpful to gain funding) • Will be a sounding board for the MD or CEO • Assists with growth and raising the company profile • Brings years of experience to bear when looking at proposed business plans • Can provide crucial guidance at critical stages of a business • Fills particular skills gaps which the owners of a young company may have

ABOUT JANETTE Janette Whitney ACIB MCMI is a multi award-winning Business Consultant and business growth specialist, providing practical strategic advice to businesses from start-ups to £10m turnover companies.

Professionally qualified with over 35 years business experience and a proven track record of satisfied clients, she helps businesses to grow profitably and achieve their goals. Janette is also an award winning business author and media columnist.

If you would like assistance to achieve your growth ambitions, please call Janette on 01403 733671 for your free 15 minute telephone consultation Email jw@whitneyassocs.co.uk or visit www.whitneyassocs.co.uk

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Anger Management

ANGER MANAGEMENT

A SAD DAY FOR MANKIND

by Maarten Hoffmann

T

here are 7.1 billion people on this planet.

There are 528 million people in the United States of America.

The US is still regarded as the leading superpower, the leading economic nation (China notwithstanding), the great Defender of the Faith and the icon of democracy.

They have produced more millionaires and billionaires over the century than any other nation. We listen to their music, watch their movies and, it would appear, lap up their reality stars. Third-world nations pine for their lifestyle and wealth and it is the dream of many to become a US citizen.

Is it just me who fails to comprehend how, with all this, they cannot produce two acceptable presidential candidates to run for the top spot and ‘Leader of the Free World’?

Here we have the unedifying spectacle of a first-rate huckster with all the principles of a mutilated corpse versus, allegedly, a boughtand-paid-for evader of the truth, married to a former president, whose private life puts the hucksters to shame.

As if that were not quite enough, they then put them on prime-time television across the world, going at each other like a pair of very unpleasant playground bullies with the moral compass of Genghis Khan. The world

❝

Is it beyond the wit of man to locate two stable, untarnished, principled men or women of character to run?

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is watching and the world is amazed at how far so-called ‘democracy’ and ‘freedom of speech’ have declined. Politics have become reality television – even down to having one candidate from an actual reality show.

Is it beyond the wit of man to locate two stable, untarnished, principled men or women of character to run? Are there so few of them left or are the terrible and shocking consequences of such a role too horrifying for most to contemplate? The press have such a field day, mightily sponsored and encouraged by the other party, digging into every last vestige of one’s life, that there can be few amongst us who would bear such scrutiny – or accept it.

Are the standards to which we hold our politicians too high for a mere mortal to aspire to? If so, this is indeed a sad day for mankind, as what is left is surely just a dictatorship.

Take Putin or Xi Jinping of China. Both head up totalitarian regimes where the state holds ultimate power. Dissent is crushed, the people are provided for, more or less, and there is relative calm. Okay, in the 21st Century they are both creatively stunted, produce little of aesthetic value and often engage in bloodthirsty, demonic power grabs with little regard for life. That obviously is not the way to go, but what else is there?

Removing government entirely would never work as there would be bedlam.

I am loathe to say it, but the problem is the freedom of the press. Not necessarily the facts that are uncovered, but the inevitable, and always unpleasant, spin that is always attached by one side or another. We cannot under any circumstances do away with free speech, but how about muzzling it from time to time.

I would suggest appointing a panel of the country’s most respected citizens modelled on the jury trial system that has served democracy well since time immemorial. This panel would fully investigate the candidates, with no holds

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Anger Management

barred, and forensically interrogate them, and their lives, in private and under the full authority of the Official Secrets Act. Nothing leaves the room. The panel then approve a candidate for each party, and the press, from that day forth, is legally barred from reporting on the background of any candidate. Should the panel have missed something in their forensic review, then it is the panel that are responsible and answerable to a court of law.

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We need the brightest and the best to run this world, and we will never find them as long as we demand they be saints

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This would leave the road clear for each party to elect three candidates to put before the panel, with the candidates secure in the knowledge that if they had an affair 20 years earlier, smoked a joint in college or admitted they listened to Michael Buble, this would not be made public and would not hold them back. Anything not germane to running for office would not be held against them and

would not be revealed to the press.

We need the brightest and the best to run this world, and we will never find them as long as we demand they be saints. US political science Professors Jennifer Lawless and Richard Fox asked more than 4,000 high school and college students if they would be interested in running for political office in America someday: 89% of them said “no.”

That finding is the crux of a new book based on their original research, Running From Office. In it, the authors argue that the dysfunction of Washington has turned the next generation off politics in historic fashion. Unless behaviours change, Lawless says, the country’s brightest stars are going to pursue just about anything but one of the 500,000 elected offices America needs filled each year. “We’re not necessarily blaming young people. It’s that they live in an environment where they’re not particularly interested in politics, because they find it argumentative and dysfunctional. And their parents agree. And their teachers agree. And the news media agree. So they get these constant reinforcing messages that this is not something that is fun or interesting or important or noble

… The other set of players are the politicians themselves. They behave increasingly in unappealing ways and in ways that suggest that they’re not effective at their jobs.”

If the best don’t rise to the top, we will have people running our public offices who are not there to bring about a better society but to shape it in their own image.

God help us the day that this happens. Alas, that day is around the corner.

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Motoring

JAGUAR XJ

By Motoring Editor, Maarten Hoffmann

I

have fond memories of the old XJ12. That great lumbering beast that drove like a poor man’s Rolls Royce. It might have been one of the last great British built, and owned, cars complete with gorgeous leather, walnut dash and two chrome filling caps on either side of the rear panels due to the copious amount of fuel it consumed. But then who gave a hoot when petrol was 38p a gallon.

Since those heady days, the Indians have got their hands on Jaguar, retained the XJ moniker and produced another. Brave souls them Indians.

So as it wafts onto my driveway, l see absolutely nothing of the old model bar the

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...it does everything it is supposed to do and you can sync your phone to it to remote start, check fuel levels and programme the Satnav. I don’t know why you might want to do that but you can if that sort of thing takes your fancy.

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badge. Oh dear, this could all go horribly wrong.

The XJ is aimed at the BMW 7-Series and Merc S-Class, both range topping models and both very tough acts to follow. At first glance, the Jaguar is a good looking beast with quite a sexy roofline and that now familiar Jaguar grill. It easily looks as good as its two rivals so l delve inside.

The seats are comfy and with 14-way electrically operated adjustment, there is no concern about finding your ideal driving position. The steering wheel adjusts in the same fashion for rake and reach. You have parking sensors everywhere which is just

Motoring

as well as rear vision is not great and, as avid readers will know, l like touch screen infotainment systems. But, here l have to say l am not a great fan. It seems to be too fiddly, icons too small to hit on the move and it can be quite slow to respond and therefore your eyes are off the road far too often. That said, it does everything it is supposed to do and you can sync your phone to it to remote start, check fuel levels and programme the Satnav.

I don’t know why you might want to do that but you can if that sort of thing takes your fancy.

There are three engines to choose from – the supercharged V8 available in the XJR, a petrol V6 and a 3.0-litre V6 diesel that l am sitting in. There is quite enough power to get

you down the road and the ride is pretty good but as this will, on many occasions, be chauffeur driven, l would suggest that you feel too much of the road surface to be ideal. The rear passengers get control of the heating and AC and there is plenty of leg room to doze off whilst Parker whisks you home but for the permanently chauffeur driven, then l would suggest plumping for the long-wheel base version. Cruise up the extras list and you can have twin 10.2 inch screens in the back along with massage seats, folding laptop tables and reclining seats.

It is remarkably nimble for such a large car and very agile in the bends with little body roll unless you really chuck it around and then all hell breaks loose but this is not what the car is designed to do. It is designed for wafting just like the original.

The XJ is slightly cheaper than the 7-Series and around the same price as the Audi A8. The Merc S-Class is considerably more expensive but then the residuals are much better and, to

be frank, it’s a better car.

The upshot is that the XJ is not at all a disappointment but when compared with its rivals, it begins to flag a tad. The difference is the price and if you are a CEO with a chauffeur, price should not be your overarching concern. The XJ is good but the BMW and Merc are better.

TECHNICAL STUFF Model Tested: XJ 3.0 V6 Td Engine: 3.0-litre Power: 296 bhp Performance: 0-62 mph 5.9 seconds Top Speed: 155 mph Economy: 49.6 combined Price: £61,690.00

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Motoring

MOTORING NEWS THE HARRODS CATERHAM British car manufacturer Caterham has launched its first personalisation programme – Caterham Signature – with a special edition Seven designed by world-famous department store, Harrods.

The Harrods special edition car is now on sale exclusively in store and includes a host of special features which demonstrate the breadth of options new Caterham buyers can add to their vehicles.

These include paint colours and designs, dashboard and interior styling, embroidery and even the colour of the chassis.

The £59,999 Harrods special edition is on display in the famous London store throughout October for Harrods Man month, starting from Friday October 7. The special edition Harrods Seven – a 420S under the skin – is painted in Harrods green, with a custom white stripe and gold pinstripe while, beneath the bodywork, the chassis has been powder-coated in gold.

GT-R NISMO

EMPIRE The ultra-desirable flagship of the Nissan GT-R range – the exhilarating GT-R NISMO – will go on sale from November 1st, with prices now confirmed for the first time.

The GT-R NISMO is the pinnacle of the GT-R range, a highperformance race car for the road which takes the very best of the super-coupe’s legendary Japanese heritage, then enhances the iconic design and state-of-the-art technology even further.

The Lamborghini of the leisure vehicle world will be unveiled to the UK public at the Motorhome & Caravan Show 2016 next week; the Morelo Empire Liner.

The new show-stopping super-liner from German motorhome manufacturer Morelo is equipped with premium fittings expected of a home, including under-floor heating, rain shower and even a garage, perfect for storing a car.

Over 1 million leisure vehicles are in use in the UK and the leisure vehicle industry contributes in excess of £6 billion to the UK economy through the value of holidays, vehicle sales and associated supplies and services, supporting over 130,000 jobs.The Morelo Empire Liner includes a huge panoramic roof that provides views from the spacious double bed. It’s the luxurious interior features like these that has attracted A-list owners and has made it particularly popular with customers from Formula One.

Power comes from a twin-turbocharged 3.8-litre V6 delivering 600PS – 30PS more than any other car in the range. The engine features a pair of high-flow, large diameter turbochargers used in GT3 competition, and power is sent to all four wheels via a six-speed dual-clutch paddleshift gearbox.

The GT-R NISMO costs €184,950 in Germany and France, and £149,995 in the UK – the model’s three key markets in Europe.

Prices in other countries may vary slightly.

TOP SELLER Sales of the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV have topped the 25,000 mark in the UK, accounting for approximately half of the total number of plug-in hybrids registered in the UK since the very first of such vehicles were registered in 2010.

By the time the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV was launched in May 2014, a total of just 2,770 plug-in hybrids had been registered for use on UK roads but by the end of 2014 that total had risen to just over 10,000 vehicles, with the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV accounting for 5,354 of those vehicles.

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BMW Business Partnership

THE NEW BMW 7 SERIES.

The new BMW 7 Series ushers in an entirely new level of technology and exquisite engineering, that truly asserts it as the most innovative luxury car in its class.

A Carbon Core ensures optimal performance, economy and vehicle agility. With CO2 emissions on the BMW 730d model from just 124g/km and fuel economy of up to 60.1mpg (combined), this model offers attainable luxury for your fleet.

• Larger Head-up display

• BMW Laserlights

• Rear-seat Entertainment Experience with BMW Touch Command

• Bower & Wilkins Diamond surround sound system

• Gesture Control

• BMW Display Key

• Driving Assistant For more information please visit www.vinesofgatwickbmw.co.uk/business, email marketing@vinesgroup.net or call Dean Eaton on 0800 915 4700.

Official fuel economy figures for the new BMW 7 Series range: Urban 29.1–51.4mpg (9.7–5.5l/100km).

Extra Urban 51.4–67.3mpg (5.5–4.2l/100km). Combined 40.4–60.1mpg (7.0–4.7l/100km). CO2 emissions 164–124g/km.

Figures may vary depending on driving style and conditions.

Motoring

AUDI RS7 Performance

By Motoring Editor, Maarten Hoffmann

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ou know those days when oneupmanship raises its ugly head? You turn up at a party with the latest gadget and some bugger is there with an even later gadget. Or you throw your kids a birthday party in a zoo and then an invitation comes through for a friend’s party at a game reserve in Kenya. You get the idea – there’s always someone trying to top you.

So, imagine the scene. You have just driven out of the Audi showroom in your gleaming new RS7 and then some oik pulls alongside in the RS7 Performance. Gutted.

The RS7 Performance is an extra £6,575 on top of the already rather steep £85,000 for

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It’s a great bit of engineering of that there is no doubt.

The drive is super smooth and with AWD, it handles beautifully and affords you supreme confidence whatever you throw it into.

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the base model that is already quite hardcore but what do you get for your money? Well, there’s a fancy finish on the wing mirrors, window trim and grill and larger 21-inch alloy wheels. On the inside, you get privacy glass and carbon fibre inlays and that’s about it.

But of course, knowing Audi the prize will be found under the bonnet and low and behold, there it is. The standard 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 has been fiddled with to offer 597bhp over the standard 552bhp while a new sports exhaust offers a butcher note out of the tail pipes. And what do you get for this?

Well, it shaves two-tenths of a second off the 0-62mph sprint time, doing it in 3.7 seconds!

Motoring

If you want to go faster still, you can pay an extra £1,450 and raise the top speed from 155 to 174mph or for an extra £10,725 for the Dynamic Plus package, you can get it to 189mph.

Is this not all getting a bit silly now? I love Audis and you will be hard pushed to find a bad one and l don’t mind when they convince me to get my wallet out and pay crazy money but l do draw the line at them actually stealing my wallet and helping themselves. The RS7 is a cracking car so what plonker is going to fork out an extra £17,000 to get fancy wing mirrors and a top speed that can only be achieved on an autobahn?

It’s a great bit of engineering of that there is no doubt. The drive is super smooth and with AWD, it handles beautifully and affords you supreme confidence whatever you throw

it into. But then so does the standard car. It is built superbly and is so comfortable that you could quite easily nod off. Is it an M5 or an AMG Merc? No, but it is a brilliant piece of German engineering – but then so is the standard car.

It will worry almost anything else on the road and as with all Audis you can drive it like Sterling Moss or dial everything down and take the vicar for tea. It’s a great all-rounder with a ruthlessly efficient chassis, dynamic cornering abilities and a beautiful interior – but then so does the standard car.

And the biggest problem? Well, that’s called the RS6 – my Car of the Year 2015.

That barnstorming estate can carry the entire contents of your house in the back and still rip your eyeballs out of their sockets if you hit the go pedal with too much gusto. The RS6 has a very clearly defined purpose but the RS7 Performance, well, l am not really sure who or what it is for. It’s a coupe, so there is limited headroom in the back and limited vision. It’s quite good looking but not a stunner and if you spend £85,000 on it only to be usurped by the Performance, l would be hacked off.

In effect, if you are in your lovely new RS7 and a Performance model comes alongside, look at him with pity and sympathy as he has

the identical car to you but paid an extra six and a half grand to get there two- tenths of a second faster than you. Who’s the idiot?

My advice? If you like the look of the RS7, buy the RS7. If you are not sure, do what any sane, right minded person from planet earth would do and buy the RS6 Avant – one of the finest all-round cars in the world.

TECHNICAL STUFF Model Tested: RS7 Sportback 4.0 TFSI Quattro Performance Engine: 4.0-litre twin-turbo Power: 597 bhp Performance: 0-62mph 3.7 seconds Top Speed: 155 mph Economy: 24.8 mpg combined Price: £92,060.00

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Motoring MOTORING

MEET THE FLEET TEAM

Meet the Sandown Fleet Team A group of passionate and knowledgeable Mercedes-Benz experts who specialise in advising companies operating business vehicles - their underlying ethos is clear - each customer, no matter how large or small, is equally important. Driven by customer care, Sandown provide a dedicated Fleet specialist to every customer, a direct point of contact for the duration of the consultation and ordering process.

Platinum Business Magazine met with the friendly team of Fleet Managers at Sandown to find out what really keeps their engines revving…

1. Where did you begin your career? I began my career at Motorcycle City.

2. How long have you worked with Mercedes-Benz? I have worked for Sandown since January 2016.

3. Why did you choose Mercedes-Benz? Fantastic brand, fantastic product, proud to be part of the company.

Mike Williams

Fleet Sales Executive

4. Tell us an interesting fact about you? I got engaged this summer.

5. What is your favourite model and why? Difficult to pick a favourite with all AMGs capable of making your spine tingle, but I’d probably say the S-Coupé.

1. Where did you begin your career? BMW. 2. How long have you worked with Mercedes-Benz? Nearly 3 years.

3. Why did you choose Mercedes-Benz? Great company with lots of exciting opportunities.

4. Tell us an interesting fact about you? I’m qualified to teach Pilates.

5. What is your favourite model and why? C-Class Cabriolet – new model and it looks great!.

1. Where did you begin your career? Barclays Bank.

2. How long have you worked with Mercedes-Benz? Since September 2016.

3. Why did you choose Mercedes-Benz? “The best or nothing”.

4. Tell us an interesting fact about you? I am about to become a Dad David Kemshall

Business Development Manager

for the first time.

5. What is your favourite model and why? CLA45 because it is fast and looks beautiful.

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1

Jade Talbot

Fleet Administrator

Motoring MOTORING

Dedicated Fleet Specialists Their fast-expanding team hosts a wealth of experience and specialist expertise in the fleet market, each of them focused on helping business customers find a leasing arrangement that’s convenient, economical and bespoke. With Sandown Fleet, customers benefit from a full range of servicing options, parts and accident repair services.

One distinguishing benefit available from Sandown is the access to 48 hour test drives on selected vehicles - a real advantage when considering individual driver needs (subject to availability, terms and conditions apply).

1. Where did you begin your career?

Alphabet GB in 2000.

2. How long have you worked with

Stuart Head

Head of Fleet Sales

Mercedes-Benz?

Diego Villalba

Fleet Sales Executive

Callie Annells

Fleet Co-ordinator

3 years.

3. Why did you choose Mercedes-Benz?

Premium brand which oozes style and quality.

4. Tell us an interesting fact about you?

I have a metal plate in my leg, but that doesn’t stop me running 30 miles a week!.

5. What is your favourite model and why?

GLE AMG Line 350d. Stylish and practical.

1. Where did you begin your career?

I started in the Motor Industry back in 1999 selling new and used Nissans.

2. How long have you worked with Mercedes-Benz?

I’ve worked for MB retailers since June 2014 and joined Sandown in 2016.

3. Why did you choose Mercedes-Benz?

I wanted career progression and have always admired Mercedes-Benz as a real prestige brand.

4. Tell us an interesting fact about you?

I got married in beautiful Slovakia and had to use a translator for the whole ceremony!

For all your business motoring needs, contact the Sandown Fleet Team: Stuart Head, Group Head of Fleet Sales Telephone: 01483 654541

1. Where did you begin your career?

HSBC Bank.

2. How long have you worked with Mercedes-Benz?

2 ½ years.

3. Why did you choose Mercedes-Benz?

I came on a temp contract, really enjoyed it, so never left.

4. Tell us an interesting fact about you?

I worked back to back ski seasons for 4 ½ years before starting at Sandown Mercedes.

5. What is your favourite model and why?

GLE, because it’s a really nice drive.

5. What is your favourite model and why?

Has to be the S-Class! I absolutely love the cabin space, luxury and presence on the road!

Email to: stuart.head@sandown-mercedes.co.uk

Mercedes-Benz of Basingstoke Mercedes-Benz of Dorchester 0330 0197893

Mercedes-Benz of Guildford Mercedes-Benz of Hindhead

Mercedes-Benz of Poole Mercedes-Benz of Salisbury

www.sandown-group.co.uk

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Business Awards

MEETINGPOINT CROWNED KINGSTON’S BEST BUSINESS

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elemarketing company MeetingPoint has triumphed at the 2016 Kingston Business Excellence Awards, in association with NatWest, scooping three awards including the title of business of the year.

The firm, based in Clarence Street, won the overall prize along with the awards for best staff training and development while company founder Ian Brigden won the title of entrepreneur of the year at a glittery black tie gala dinner and awards ceremony.

Stephen Burton, MeetingPoint’s head of sales and training, said: “We’re absolutely loving it. I used to play basketball with Ian at school. We won stuff back then, and we’re winning now.”

Other winners included Food For Thought, for Best Independent Retailer, children’s cancer charity Momentum and Holiday Inn Kingston South - which once again hosted the ceremony.

The evening opened with the awards host, comedian and TV presenter Kevin Day, describing the event as “a fitting celebration of why Kingston is a great place to do business.”

Kingston’s deputy mayor, councillor Rowena Bass, said: “This glitzy and prestigious event gets better every year, bringing together and championing the very best of Kingston’s businesses.”

Mark Hodgkinson, business relationship manager of awards sponsor Natwest, said: “All businesses need quality help and support from their banks, and Natwest is proud to be the headline sponsor of these awards once again.

“We’re committed to supporting businesses in and around the borough of Kingston.”

Kingston Council leader Kevin Davis thanked the borough’s business for their work, adding: “You are the most important part of what makes Kingston great.

“We all need to support each other and one of the things that makes this a brilliant place is that we do things together.”

Kingstonfirst chairman Andy Collins said: “In a time of economic uncertainty, it’s really great we’ve got such a vibrant business community here in the borough.”

CATEGORY WINNERS Best start-up: Community Motors Customer service: Holiday Inn Best SME: GSUK Food and Hospitality: Boater’s Inn Marketing and social media: Figment Agency Entrepreneur: Ian Brigden, MeetingPoint Independent retailer: Food for Thought Staff Training and Development: MeetingPoint Charity social enterprise: Momentum Commitment to the community: Kingston Grapevine and Growbaby Apprentice Employer: Holland, Hahn & Wills Tech Innovation: Pangea

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Business Awards

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Institute of Directors

A CHANGE IS GOING TO COME DAVID SEALL CEng FRAeS MiMMM MIoD David is the Regional Chairman of IoD South. He is a former Chair of IoD Surrey and is an experienced Non-Executive Director. He is retained by DMH Stallard LLP as their Strategic Adviser Manufacturing www.davidseall.co.uk ∕ www.dmhstallard.com

T

his year’s IoD convention at the Royal Albert Hall was, as usual, an interesting, thought provoking and informative day.

Themed ‘Thriving in a changing world,’ the event followed a familiar pattern of a morning with a political beginning, followed by experts tackling tough issues. Then entrepreneurial insights in the afternoon and some gold plated leadership tips to finish off the day.

Summarising some of the highlights, an interesting one for me was the new BEIS Secretary Greg Clark MP speaking about a major policy initiative to construct a ‘bottom up’ industrial strategy, constructed by speaking to local IoD branches all over the country, so look out Surrey for when he visits!

Of course, the inevitable Brexit discussion was held, considerably spiced up by Yanis Varoufakis the former Greek Finance Minister and Lord Lamont of ERM fame. The quote of the day must have gone to Mr Varoufakis who said: “Brexit and the EU is like the Eagles song ‘Hotel California’ essentially ‘you can check out but you can never leave’”. His prediction that

the UK will be more embroiled in EU turmoil for at least the next ten years, than if we had voted to stay, was depressing enough.

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Brexit and the EU is like the Eagles song ‘Hotel California’, essentially ‘you can check out but you can never leave’

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Tackling problems such as cyber and energy security are always those necessary things that all companies should have at least covered in their risk management processes and hopefully have as a key part of their strategy moving forward. It was interesting to note the differing opinions on the proportion

of our non-nuclear energy generation that would come from renewables. The majority of delegates when asked thought that well over 50% of our energy would still come from fossil fuels in 2040. Personally I think that may have some validity if we think of it with existing technologies, as some of the key issues now concern cost effectiveness and the capacity to store energy when it’s produced and used when it’s needed. However, if you had told any of us 25 years ago we would all be carrying around a hand sized computer with computing power that no desktop could have dreamed about in 1991, we would have not been able to comprehend it. So I’m confident that the tech will overcome as without energy that’s both environmentally and politically secure, we won’t be able to continue on our ever growing curve of increasing our tech capabilities.

Talking of such, the IoD never ceases to impress in its engagement with the new companies driving our economy. Senior figures from Facebook, Airbnb and Alibaba talked about how their companies had grown and continue to evolve. They continue to overtake and disrupt markets where the incumbents find it difficult to react and take back the lead. I guess agility is key and these companies certainly have innovative ways of working and can attract the best talent. They certainly embrace disruption, even to their own original business models. The fact that Airbnb has a market value greater than Marriott, making it effectively the largest hotel chain in the world is an example of this, and all in only eight years.

The IoD convention is a great opportunity to discover what’s behind the current business news; what are the big challenges that we all need to strive to solve and how the market leaders out there are growing and developing, as well as getting some guidance on how to become a better business leader. I guess that’s what the IoD is all about.

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