Platinum Business Magazine issue 43

ISSUE 43. 2018

The Largest Circulation Regional Business Publication in the UK.

PLATINUM

REMAINING DEFIANT

Exclusive interview with

Sir Vince Cable

HOW SECURE IS YOUR IT?

Luke Mead on COVERbusiness continuity

PLATINUM TUSCANY

La Dolce Vita

BENTLEY FLYING SPUR V8S

BRIGHTON IN BUSINESS

University of Brighton’s new Business School gets the go ahead

SUSSEX BUSINESS AWARDS

The Winners

NEW WEBSITE: WWW.PLATINUMPUBLISHING.CO.UK

THE

GROUP

PLATINUM The Platinum Group is expanding...

THE PLATINUM PUBLISHING GROUP PLATINUM EVENT MANAGEMENT THE PLATINUM CLUB

www.platinumpublishing.co.uk

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info@platinumpublishing.co.uk

NEW IN 2018 Celebrating the 30th year, the Sussex Business Awards are the pre-eminent business awards for the region and a true mark of success for those companies fortunate enough to win one of the coveted trophies. 2018 will see a new and exciting look to the awards, setting the scene for the next 30 years.

SURREY

The Surrey Business Awards have been missing from the county scene for a few years but we are delighted to announce that they are back, bigger and better in 2018. The awards will recognise the wealth of world-class businesses in the county and will celebrate all that is special about Surrey. Produced in Surrey for the businesses of Surrey.

Now in the 13th year, the Brighton & Hove Business Awards are the only awards in the City that recognise the diverse range of businesses that comprise this eclectic region. A true mark of merit for any company fortunate enough to win one of the coveted trophies.

The Platinum Publishing Group is also a proud sponsor of the Gatwick Diamond Business Awards 2018

To find out more about our portfolio of magazines, awards and The Platinum Club, take a look at our new website

www.platinumpublishing.co.uk

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Welcome

THE BIG STORY SIR VINCE CABLE Vince Cable is the flag-bearer for the Remainers, desperately hoping to find a way of staying in the EU. Is an Exit from Brexit an option?

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SUSSEX BUSINESS AWARDS The awards ceremony was held at the Grand Hotel in Brighton, and we have all the winners and riders.

IS YOUR IT SECURE Ian Trevett talks to Luke Mead, MD of LMS Group about how to keep you IT systems safe and secure.

DIRECT MARKETING AND GDPR Mailing Expert MD, David Vaughan, talks to Ian Trevett about the impact of GDPR.

BARRACKS BOOST Debra Humphris, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Brighton talks to Maarten Hoffmann about the exciting new plans at Preston Barracks.

PADDLE ROUND.... A PACIFIC ISLAND Adventurer and Business Coach, Neil Laughton, tells of his latest charity adventures.

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Local and National News

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NatWest – Unemployment hits record low

28 30

LMS Group – Don’t wait for a Crisis

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MHA Carpenter Box – Future Proof

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Manor Royal – Bid Renewal Begins

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Chestnut Tree House’s SnowBall

79 72 74 76 81 84

Table Talk – A Month in Food

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Institute of Directors

The Sussex Business Awards 2017 – The Winners

The Big Story – Vince Cable DMH Stallard – Merger ‘Beyond Expectations’

Kreston Reeves – Spotlight on the Autumn Budget

CEO Fight Club Direct Marketing and GDPR Smart Monkey May the Force be with You

Posturite – Are you Sitting Comfortably?

Plumpton College – Apprentice Leaders Interview – Debra Humphris, Vice Chancellor of the University of Brighton

Travel – Shake hands in Tuscany Motoring – The Bentley Boy Motoring – Sharan not Sharon Paddle round... a Pacific Island Better Business Show 2018 The Business Women Excellence Awards Highlights from the 2017 Sussex Economic Forum

Table Talk Review – The Lickfold Inn Table Talk – Wine Chamber Pages How to be an Effective Networker Anger Management – Voyage of Discovery

Brexit negotiations are going really well!

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

PLATINUM PUBLISHING

GROUP

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At a Glance

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2018 2018 1 0 TH A N N I V E R S A R Y

1 0 TH A N N I V E R S A R Y

DISTINCTIVE CREDIBLE PRESTIGIOUS Join us on 15th March 2018 to celebrate the 10th Annual Gatwick Diamond Business Awards in the Millennium Suite of the Copthorne Hotel Effingham Gatwick.

Our presenter for the evening will be Comedy Legend

6.30pm

Evening starts with Pre-Dinner Reception

& Star of Strictly, Brian Conley, before he embarks on

7.15pm

Take your seats for Dinner

9.30pm

Brian Conley

his UK Tour.

This Strictly Black Tie event starts with a Pre-Dinner Reception followed by a sumptuous three course dinner

10.00pm Presentation of the Gatwick Diamond Business Awards

with wine, and will see the very best of the Gatwick

11.00pm After-Show Party

Diamond Business community come together in

01.00am Carriages

celebration of the World-Class businesses operating in this World-Class destination.

For more information and to book your table, please call 01293 440088 or visit:

WWW.GATWICKDIAMONDBUSINESSAWARDS.COM

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@gdbizawards

Issue 43 - 2017

A word from the Editors Here we are in another year and l hope you are as excited as we are. With our purchase of a portfolio of business awards, we are set to be very busy this year with numerous exciting projects.

In this issue we bring you an exclusive interview with the arch remainer Sir Vince Cable, an introduction to cutting edge IT firm LMS courtesy of an interview with their MD, and Maarten has been let loose with the new Bentley Flying Spur.

We also bring you all the runners and riders from the Sussex Business Awards 2017 and the Women in Business Excellence Awards.

We are proud to be the media sponsor for both. And whilst on the subject of awards, we are all looking forward to the Gatwick Diamond Business Awards in March. DMH Strallard explain why their recent merger was ‘beyond expectations’ and in CEO Fight Club, Si explains the one single (boring) secret to success.

We also chat with Posturite CEO, Ian Fletcher-Price about his route to fame and fortune and talk to the University of Brighton vicechancellor, Debra Humhpris about the very exciting new plans for the Brighton campus.

Welcome to 2018. We have made a corporate decision to be positive about the year ahead. A nation can succeed or fail, often based on the level of confidence and belief. We can triumph and we should stop being such bloody doom-mongers. Think positive, ignore the Guardian and realise that we are a great nation and can survive, as we have done since time began, standing alone and proud.

Upwards and onwards.

Maarten & Ian Platinum Business Magazine January 2018

The Team

Maarten Hoffmann – Director maarten@platinumbusinessmagazine.com

07966 244046

Ian Trevett – Director ian@platinumbusinessmagazine.com

07989 970804

Lesley Alcock

Fiona Graves

Amanda Menahem

Kate Morton

Business Development Director

Events Director

Food & Drink Editor

Copy Editor

Rose Dykins

Beth Nash

Travel Editor

Digital Manager

Sarah Walker-Bennett Amanda Harrington Event Photographer

Head of Design

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News

LOCAL NEWS ALL CHANGE AT MIDNIGHT Midnight Communications MD, Caraline Brown MSc FCIPR, has announced that she has sold both sides of her business.

The PR company has been sold to two members of the current Midnight management team, whilst the events side has been acquired by Platinum Event Management.

Caraline founded Midnight Communications in 1995 with nothing but a £2K overdraft and a strong belief that the internet would grow and flourish. It was the very first PR company in the UK to focus on internet businesses and startups. Caraline went on to lead Midnight to win around 60 peer-judged awards, including PR Week’s national PR Company of the Year, a number of ‘Best in the South East’ awards and two lifetime achievement awards – as well as being named one of the most influential people in PR by PR Week on a number of occasions.

The company doubled turnover year on year in its first five years – a feat rarely matched since – and was sold in 2001 to the AIM-listed BV Group, which Caraline went on to lead as CEO, before buying the company back in 2003.

Along the way Midnight has trained some of the PR luminaries of today with at least five ex-staff now in top jobs in leading named PR agencies.

Over the last 13 years a member of the Midnight team has been a finalist or winner of the coveted title of Chartered Institute of Public Relations Young Professional of the Year.

NEW OWNERS The new owners of Midnight, Alex Hankinson and Flo Powell, have been with Midnight seven years and four years respectively.

Commenting on the acquisition they said: “We feel deeply honoured to be taking Caraline’s fantastic 23year legacy forward.

Fiona Graves

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“When we first joined Midnight we were both struck by how Caraline had successfully created a boutique service-focused business with the standards and professionalism you’d only usually get from a large London network agency. We have a really special culture here and it’s one we are keen to preserve and nurture.

Alex Hankinson Caraline Brown and Flo Powell “This is an exciting new chapter in Midnight’s story and we’re proud to see in the New Year with a fantastic roster of clients and an amazing team by our side.

“We wish Caraline all the very best with her new adventures. She will always be part of the Midnight family.”

PLATINUM EVENT MANAGEMENT The events side of Midnight, which handles the Sussex Business Awards and the Brighton and Hove Business Awards, has been acquired

by Platinum Event Management. Fiona Graves, who has been with Midnight working on its events portfolio since 2006, joins the new company to head up the growing awards division which will also stage the Surrey Business Awards.

Maarten Hoffmann and Ian Trevett, directors of Platinum Event Management said, “The Platinum Group is delighted to have acquired these award schemes. Midnight has worked tirelessly for over a decade to build them into the most prestigious in the region and Platinum is determined to uphold that reputation.

“As Platinum currently publishes the four largest circulation business magazines in the South East with a massive readership, it was an obvious fit that, in addition to being the media partner, we should become the organisers of these events.

“Platinum looks forward to taking the awards to the next level and continuing the great work carried out by Midnight.”

Caraline reflected: “I have spent the best years of my life at Midnight.

As they say, it’s been a journey. But I hope the best is in front of both me and it.

“Let no one use the ‘R’ word. I am still available for parties and bar mitzvahs and look forward to embracing some new challenges.”

News

KRESTON REEVES SHOWS STRONG GROWTH Kreston Reeves has reported significant growth across the firm and announced a programme of investment for future growth.

The accounts for the year ending May 31st 2017, the first full financial year following Kreston Reeves’ merger with Sussex accountants Spofforths, reports a 47% increase in turnover and a 20% increase in profits.

Revenue for the financial year was £33.78m, up from £22.9m in 2016, with profits at £8.7m, up from £7.1m. Kreston Reeves now has 52 partners and over 550 staff across its 10 offices in London, Kent and Sussex.

Nigel Fright

Nigel Fright, Managing Partner at Kreston Reeves said: “In merging with Spofforths in Sussex in 2016 we have added greater geographical reach and more importantly, new areas of expertise.

We have continued to invest further following our merger with Munslows in London in June this year, building strong foundations for our future. We are greatly encouraged by the growth in revenues, particularly from international businesses seeking to invest and do business in the UK.” In September, the firm hired 32 students and trainees across its offices. This record-breaking student intake follows the firm achieving apprenticeship ‘Employee Training Provider’ status for its graduate and non-graduate training programme. Kreston Reeves remains just one of three UK accountancy firms and the only mid-sized firm to hold this coveted status, making it an attractive organisation for aspiring accountants and financial advisers wishing to begin their careers.

FAREWELL TO WORTHING EYESORE Teville Gate’s decrepit multi-storey car park has finally been closed as Worthing Borough Council prepares to demolish it.

Developers Mosaique held two public consultation events to present their vision for ‘Station Square’. Initial plans include up to 375 apartments, 1,400 square metres of restaurant and cafés, supermarket and gym. If planning permission is granted once formal plans have been submitted early in the new year, the owners said construction could begin in 2019.

Mosaique said, “We have chosen to invest in Worthing, and in this site in particular, because we can see the town’s potential as a rising star on the South Coast. Since Mosaique Global Investments Ltd purchased the site in 2015, we have focused solidly and consistently on creating a vision which will work for the site and for the town.

We are determined that our vision is one which can be built – unlike some previous attempts to put a scheme in place that had no basis in reality.”

www.OurStationSquare.com

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Money is not the most important thing in the world. Love is.

Fortunately, I love money

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NORWEGIAN BACKS GATWICK Norwegian has acquired an additional 28 weekly slots at London Gatwick Airport from summer 2018. The take-off and landing slots, purchased from Small Planet Airlines, will allow Norwegian to plan for continued growth at Gatwick as the airline heads into its busiest ever year in the UK in 2018.

London Gatwick is at the heart of Norwegian’s fast-growing UK operation, where the airline already flies more than 4.6 million passengers each year to over 30 global destinations. Norwegian’s route network at Gatwick includes affordable long-haul flights to nine US cities and Singapore, with further long-haul routes to Argentina, Chicago and Austin launching early next year.

Norwegian Chief Commercial Officer Thomas Ramdahl said: “London Gatwick is at the heart of our global growth ambitions so securing these crucial new slots will allow us to offer our passengers even more new routes, additional flights and affordable fares. Together with the launch of new routes to Argentina, Chicago and Austin in 2018, gaining extra capacity at London Gatwick is another huge boost as we get ready for our biggest ever year in the UK.”

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News

LOCAL NEWS LAST CALL FOR SPEAKERS CONFERENCE This is your last chance to buy tickets for a great learning event taking place on 11th January 2018 at South Lodge.

The gdb Speakers Conference will help you Challenge your Business Practices as well as understand the issues of Discrimination, Negotiation and Motivation Tickets are priced from £95 plus vat and include breakfast, four Speakers and the Networking Lunch

The Speakers Luise Usiskin – As an Equality & Diversity Client Manager, Luise Tori James has worked with over 50 organisations including universities, police services, private companies, third sector and public-sector institutions. Luise will guide us through the ways in which we can work to counter bias and discrimination in any context James Bellini – Dr Bellini is a leading futurologist and author with a considerable reputation as a thought-provoking speaker and moderator at top-level management conferences and business schools around the world. He will lead us through the possible key changes and influences we will all face across the next two decades Tori James - As the youngest Welsh Woman to climb Everest, Tori has some great life lessons for facing adversity and motivating anyone or any team to achieve what some would see as unsurmountable problems Richard Mullender – Richard’s career culminated in being Lead Trainer at the National Hostage and Crisis Unit at Scotland Yard. As such Richard is very well placed to help us understand how to listen and how to negotiate to get mutually beneficial results.

BIG JOB LOSSES IN HOVE Major UK wholesaler Palmer and Harvey went into administration in November, with 2,500 jobs lost nationally. These included 350 employees at Palmer & Harvey’s headquarters in Hove.

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Money is like a sixth sense – and you can’t make use of the other five without it

P&H, which is the UK’s largest tobacco supplier, had been struggling with debts and owed substantial sums to key suppliers.

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It is the UK’s fifth biggest privately-owned firm, and delivers more than 12,000 products, including food and alcohol. It supplies about 90,000 outlets around the UK including major chains, convenience stores, corner shops and petrol station forecourts.

PwC said the group had been “hit by challenging trading conditions in recent months and efforts to restructure the business have been unsuccessful.

“This has resulted in cash flow pressures and it has not been possible to secure additional funding to support the business.”

M

eanwhile another jobs are at risk after Hove-based Legal & General announced it has agreed to sell its mature savings business to pensions firm Swiss Re Ltd for £650m. The company, which is one of the biggest employers in Brighton and Hove, said 510 of its 1,500 staff at its City Park base worked in the mature savings department.

A Legal & General spokesman, said: “Following the announcement, it is important to stress that it will be business as usual in our mature savings business for 18 months – until the summer of 2019 – which gives us time to hold discussions with staff about other opportunities, including at Legal & General’s offices in Hove.” The company said there may be a chance for at-risk staff to move into other parts of the business in Hove, or relocate to Hitchin, where Swiss Re has a base.

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News

PARKER IS A MASTER MERCHANT Leading Sussex builders merchant Parker Building Supplies has won the first ever Builders Merchant Award in the Master Builder Awards 2017, which is sponsored by the Federation of Master Builders.

The judges were impressed by PBS’ culture, both as a place to work and a company to do business with and noted that the company constantly reinvests back into the business and implements fresh ideas to enhance customer service.

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An economist is someone who didn’t have enough personality to become an accountant (allegedly)

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The firm’s Financial and Commercial Director, Stewart Pierce, said: “It’s a huge award and a great achievement for us. We have always seen ourselves as much more than a builders’ merchant and actively promote our capabilities as a solutions provider and problem solver.”

The company employs more than 280 members of staff at 25 locations throughout the south east region. The head office relocated to larger premises in Polegate at the start of the year.

Some of the Parker Building Supplies team celebrating

BRAND TAKEOVER SALES and letting agent Brand Vaughan has purchased Tanat-Jones & Company, one of Brighton’s oldest independent agencies.

The deal marks Brand Vaughan’s first purchase since joining the Lomond Capital group earlier this year and brings its total number of properties under management to 1,500.

Tanat-Jones & Company, which was established in 1989, will operate under the Brand Vaughan name from early next year.

Brand Vaughan chief executive Tom Ghibaldan said: “The ethos of TanatJones & Company perfectly complements that of Brand Vaughan, from our shared values to our shared vision.

“We recognise a huge opportunity in the Brighton and Hove area and with our expertise in both residential sales and leasing we look forward to investing in new and exciting products and services for our growing client base.”

Brand Vaughan joined property group Lomond Capital in March 2017 as it announced a new move into the South Coast property market.

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News

NATIONAL NEWS GET READY TO RE-FUEL Saudi Arabia plans to raise the price of domestic petrol and jet fuel this month, part of a programme to gradually eliminate energy subsidies, according to reports.

Petrol prices are set to increase by about 80% while the price of jet fuel will be raised to international levels in one go.

Excluding jet fuel, prices won’t reach international levels until 2023 at the earliest, and potentially by 2025. Electricity tariffs won’t be increased directly, but will rise gradually with other energy prices, the reports said.

The new plan represents a slower timeline for the removal of subsidies as the government tries to offset the impact of the measures on a struggling economy. Saudi Arabia first reduced subsidies in December 2015 after years of debate as oil prices plummeted.

Officials later said they would eliminate them entirely by 2020, part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 plan for the post-oil era.

GOING, GOING, GONE The Co-op will start selling food past its “best before” date for just 10p as it looks to tackle the issue of food waste.

Shoppers at 125 Co-op stores in East Anglia are now able to purchase “perfectly edible” items as part of a campaign to reduce the chain’s impact on the environment. Items such as tinned goods and dried food which have a “best before” date, rather than “use by” dates, will be available for the reduced price as part of the scheme.The “best before” date is about quality, not safety, so the food is fine to eat beyond even though it has gone beyond its optimum.

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I will tell you how to become rich. Close the doors. Be fearful when others are greedy.

Be greedy when others are fearful

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Roger Grosvenor, joint chief executive of East of England Co-op, told The Grocer magazine customers appreciated the opportunity to save money, with many of the 10p items flying off the shelves within an hour of them being reduced during the scheme’s trial period.

He added: “This is not a money-making exercise, but a sensible move to reduce food waste and keep edible food in the food chain.

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News

TOYS R BUST? Toys R Us has put forward plans to close at least a third of its stores in the UK, putting up to 800 jobs at risk. The retailer said it is working on a company voluntary agreement (CVA), which would allow it to jettison 26 loss-making stores.

The firm said the transformation plan is needed to “meet the evolving needs of customers in today’s UK retail market”.

It is understood that 500 to 800 jobs could be lost as part of the CVA process, as the company expects that it will be required to make redundancies.

Steve Knights, managing director of Toys R Us UK, said the warehouse-style stores opened by the retailer in the 1980s and 1990s have proven “too big and expensive to run”, adding that “newer, smaller, more interactive stores in the right shopping locations” were trading well.

He also pointed to a “significant growth” in online sales and its click-and-collect offering.

“Like many UK retailers in today’s market environment, we need to transform our business so that we have a platform that can better meet customers’ evolving needs.”

WHAM, BAM, SHAZAM Apple has confirmed that it is to buy the popular music recognition app Shazam.

It is thought that Apple has paid around $400 million (£298m) for Shazam. “Since the launch of the App Store, Shazam has consistently ranked as one of the most popular apps for iOS,” the company said.

“Today, it’s used by hundreds of millions of people around the world, across multiple platforms.

Apple Music and Shazam are a natural fit, sharing a passion for music discovery and delivering great music experiences to our users.”

Apple added: “We have exciting plans in store, and we look forward to combining with Shazam upon approval of today’s agreement.”

The service was launched back in 1999 and was first operated via text message. It allowed users to identify songs by listening to a short audio clip, before revealing the artist and song title. Now, the app is also capable of identifying TV shows, movies and advertisements – before linking users to their preferred streaming service. Shazam already integrates with Apple’s Siri and Apple Music, as well as Spotify and Shapchat.

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How many millionaires do you know who have become wealthy by investing in savings accounts? I rest my case

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Passionate about your business

Our services include...

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Contact us: Gatwick: 01293 227670 Worthing: 01903 234094 info@carpenterbox.com

www.carpenterbox.com

News

NATIONAL NEWS IT’S ALL WHITE FOR AMAZON A lucrative Whitehall contract to build an Amazon-style marketplace for government departments and local councils to procure goods and services could be awarded to Amazon.

The internet giant is among the contenders to build the Crown marketplace, an online portal, which the government claims will “transform public sector purchasing in the 21st century”.

Amazon attended a supplier day held by the Crown

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I remember when safe sex was a padded headboard

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Commercial Service (CCS) — an executive agency of the Cabinet Office — last summer, according to a list of delegates seen by The Sunday Times. Apple, Microsoft, eBay and Salesforce were among others present at the event — an introduction for potential commercial partners to the marketplace. An announcement on the contract is expected early this year.

JET BOOST A £6bn deal to sell Eurofighter Typhoons to Qatar will help safeguard thousands of UK jobs.

BAE Systems employs about 5,000 people in the UK to build the fighter jets, mainly at Warton in Lancashire.

Qatar’s purchase of 24 jets includes a support and training package from BAE, with deliveries due to start in 2022.

The deal was announced in Doha by Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson and his Qatari counterpart, Khalid bin Mohammed al Attiyah.

Mr Williamson said it was a “massive vote of confidence, supporting thousands of British jobs and injecting billions into our economy”.

BAE chief executive Charles Woodburn said the contract, worth £5bn to the company, was the start of a long-term relationship with Qatar and its armed forces.

“This agreement is a strong endorsement of Typhoon’s leading capabilities and underlines BAE Systems’ long track record of working in successful partnership with our customers,” he said.

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Business Awards

THE SUSSEX BUSINESS AWARDS 2017

The Winners

O

ver four hundred of the county’s leading business people, including the Lord Lieutenant of East Sussex, Mayor of Brighton & Hove and Kemptown MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle, gathered to celebrate business excellence across the region, with 17 awards presented by comedian, Ian Moore.

The winners were drawn from 40 finalists representing 17 Sussex towns – from Albourne to Uckfield and Worthing.

The Awards were presented at The Grand Brighton on Thursday November 30th.

The big winner on the night was Bluebird Tea Co. which took home awards for Best Employer and Customer Service. The husband and wife team behind the enterprise, Mike Turner & Krisi Smith, were named Sussex Businesspeople of the Year.

Frontier Pitts, a finalist in last year’s International Business was this year named the outright winner.

The ultimate accolade of Sussex Company of the Year (sponsored by Mazars) was awarded to Rinkit Ltd, finalists for International Business

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and Entrepreneur of the Year awards which was won by its commercial director Richard Goss. Rinkit Ltd is an online retailer selling home and garden products across the UK and Europe.

Mike Herd, Executive Director of the Sussex Innovation Centre and chairman of the judges commented: “This year was a record year! With the amount of entries received, the judging process proved a difficult task. The exceptional quality of the entries really shined through, and many worthy winners were chosen.

“Congratulations to all the winners!”

This year’s sponsors include Checkatrade.com, Coffin Mew, Gemini Print, HARE.Digital, HSBC, Legal & General, Mazars, Midnight Communications, Sussex Chamber of Commerce, Sussex Innovation Centre, The Goodall Foundation, University of Sussex, Vantage Professional Risks, Platinum Business Magazine, The Argus, Title Sussex and Heart FM. In 2018, Platinum Event Management will take over the Sussex Business Awards. Contact maarten@platinumbusinessmagazine.com for details.

Business Awards

2017 WINNERS

THE AWARD FOR INNOVATION IN BUSINESS

THE RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS AWARD

Sponsored by Sussex Innovation Centre

Sponsored by The Goodhall Foundation

WINNER: QED (Sustainable Urban Developments)

WINNER: SJM Electrical Services

THE AWARD FOR HEALTHIEST WORKPLACE

THE BEST PLACE TO ENTERTAIN AWARD

Sponsored by Legal & General

Sponsored by Title Sussex

WINNER: Haybury

WINNER: Hotel Du Vin Brighton

THE AWARD FOR BEST EMPLOYER

THE AWARD FOR THE MOST PROMISING NEW BUSINESS

Sponsored by Midnight Communications

Sponsored by Coffin Mew

WINNER: Bluebird Tea Co.

WINNER: ViiSana Ltd

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Business Awards

THE SUSSEX GRADUATE OF THE YEAR

THE AWARD FOR THE BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE

Sponsored by University of Sussex

Sponsored by Checkatrade.com

WINNER: Ella Grant, Advice Cloud

WINNER: Bluebird Tea Co.

THE AWARD FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

THE AWARD FOR THE MOST SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS

Sponsored by Vantage Professional Risks

Sponsored by Gemini Print

WINNER: Juno Wealth Management

WINNER: The Big Lemon CIC

THE AWARD FOR LEISURE & TOURISM

THE ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR

Sponsored by Heart FM

Sponsored by Platinum Business Magazine

WINNER: Bluebell Railway plc

WINNER: Richard Goss, Rinkit Ltd

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Business Awards

THE INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR

THE SMALL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR

Sponsored by HSBC

Sponsored by Sussex Chamber of Commerce

WINNER: Frontier Pitts Ltd

WINNER: Magenta Associates

THE SUSSEX BUSINESSPERSON OF THE YEAR

THE GREATEST CONTRIBUTION TO SUSSEX CHARITY

Sponsored by HARE.digital

Sponsored by The Argus

WINNER: Mike Turner & Krisi Smith, Bluebird Tea Co.

WINNER: Starr Trust

THE SUSSEX COMPANY OF THE YEAR

THE ORGANISERS OF THE SUSSEX BUSINESS AWARDS 2017

Sponsored by Mazars WINNER: Rinkit Ltd

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Employment

SOUTH EAST’S UNEMPLOYMENT HITS RECORD LOW

By Sebastian Burnside, Senior Economist for NatWest

T

he New Year is here, so now’s the time to kick back, shake off the hangover and take stock of what’s happened over the past year. After all, for the South East’s economy it’s a record-breaking one. The region’s unemployment rate is down to an all time low of just 3%.

The last time it got close to this level was the turn of the millennium. Back then the dot.com boom was in full swing, the FTSE was threatening the 7,000 mark for the first time and internet companies such as Freeserve swept into the top 100 UK companies within months of being founded. The disruption promised by the dot.com entrepreneurs has strong parallels with today’s excitement over artificial intelligence and robotics.

It’s often said that technology changes at an ever faster rate and businesses are going to have to think and change faster if they want to keep up. The South East’s firms haven’t taken fright at this pace of change, instead they’ve embraced it and generated over half a million jobs since lastminute.com floated in 2000. What’s staggering is that 100,000 of those jobs have been created in just the last 12 months.

But the shape of those jobs is changing. In the last 10 years, self employment has accounted for half of increase in the South East’s employment. The debate on whether the rise of the gig economy is a good thing rages on. What’s clear is that it isn’t going away. But there’s also still a big role being played by entrepreneurs. 56,000 new businesses were formed in the last year in the region, more than anywhere other than London. The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well.

So if your 2018 reading list stretches into the realms of how technology will replace great swathes of jobs that people do today; console yourself with this. With unemployment at a record low at least we’re starting from the best possible point. Cheers!

FACING UP TO SECURITY NatWest customers can now use facial recognition technology on iPhone X to log into their mobile banking app.

Using Apple’s Face ID functionality, NatWest customers with an iPhone X can now securely log-in by having the phone recognise their face.

The NatWest app will still retain the option for customers to access their accounts using a passcode. NatWest customers are increasingly using digital technology to access their banking with 1.1 billion mobile and online transactions carried out in first half of 2017, an increase of 41% since 2014. Mobile transactions have increased by 73% since 2014 and there were 3,531 log-ins per minute to our apps in Q3 2017.

To use Face ID within the mobile banking app, customers should first ensure the functionality is enabled on their device.

Customers can then turn on Face ID within the app by visiting the settings menu or during the registration journey. At this point they will be prompted to provide either their passcode or password to confirm their decision. Face ID will also be available Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster Bank customers.

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Technology

PERFECT YOUR BUSINESS PITCH NatWest has launched NatWest Pitch, a free video app designed to help budding businesses create the perfect pitch.

The NatWest Pitch app allows you to record different parts of your pitch separately and then put them together to create the perfect business pitch. The ready-made structure is set out to make sure entrepreneurs include all the important pieces of information to keep their audience interested and then allows the user to share their pitch with others to help raise their business’ profile. You can use your phone to record, edit and upload your own pitch and share it to get feedback or send to potential investors.

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itching is a vital skill for getting the right business opportunities and NatWest knows from supporting thousands of entrepreneurs everyday that perfecting the right pitch can be a challenge. This is why NatWest developed the NatWest Pitch app to help entrepreneurs build confidence in, and fine tune, their business pitch.

Six steps to a successful pitch 1. Hook - The first step is to have a good hook – grab the attention of your audience with a hard-hitting fact or figure.

2. Problem - Talk about the problem you are trying to solve. People buy solutions to problems so define the problem and be clear as to who it impacts.

3. Solution - Clearly move on to your proposed solution. Explain your idea and how it solves the problem by discussing the benefits you create for others and what differentiates you from the competition.

5. Traction - Once you have convinced the audience that there is a market for your idea, investors in particular will want to know how your idea will make money or drive improvements. Explain your business model and be very clear.

Don’t overestimate your forecasts but be confident in your expected returns. If your business has made any traction already, be sure to mention that. Don’t forget to talk about your team. It’s promising if a team is working together on your idea and there’s a range of skills and experiences involved.

6. Always end your pitch with the big ask. Give your audience a call to action – how can they help you? It might be a specific amount of money, a key contact they can put you in touch with or just sharing your idea.

Gordon Merrylees, Head of Entrepreneurship at NatWest said: “The launch of NatWest Pitch is an exciting step for our bank. It’s important that people can deliver a clear, concise and memorable pitch that describes themselves and what their business does. We continue to be inspired daily by the entrepreneurs we support and this demonstrates how we have been truly innovative ourselves by building this app. I look forward to seeing the many examples of how the App is utilised to create pitches which assist entrepreneurs in achieving their ambitions and help them start, scale and succeed.”

You can download the app now by searching for ‘NatWest Pitch’ on the Apple App Store and pitches can be shared with us on our NatWest Business Pitch App Facebook Page. The app is in the early stages of development and will progress over time as the community of entrepreneurs grows.

4. Market - Talk about your target market and explain how many people experience this problem, the size of the market you are targeting and who your key competitors are in this space

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The Big Interview

Remaining DEFIANT During the referendum, it appeared that most of the polictical classes were firmly in the Remain camp. Where did they all go?

Some accepted the vote and moved on, others moved away from politics totally, and many (especially in the Labour Party) just decided to keep a low profile.

A tiny minority decided to keep the fight going, campaigning for an ‘Exit for Brexit’. Of the established English political parties, only the Liberal Democrats under Sir Vince Cable, have maintained their outright oppostion to Brexit. Can a Brexit Exit really happen?

Ian Trevett met with Sir Vince Cable to ask this and other questions when Sir Vince Cable headlined the Sussex Economic Forum in November.

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ince the referendum a lot of people who were very vocal against Brexit have gone quite quiet. So you’ve almost become the standard bearer for the remain campaign. Is that a position you’re comfortable with?

It is a big swathe of public opinion. I was looking at the surveys yesterday [16th November] and there are about 45% who are completely committed to following through on the Brexit vote, whatever the outcome. There are about 30%, who are in the position I am, who believe that Brexit was a bad mistake.

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They accept the referendum result but believe the public should be given a choice at the end of the negotiations to decide whether they want to press on or choose the so-called ‘Exit from Brexit’.

There is a lot of demand in the country that we should take stock once we get to the end of the negotiating process. And then there is another group who are somewhere between the two - just waiting to see how it all turns out, whether we have the soft or hard approach. Although I would claim to be speaking for about 30% of the population this

might well go up to 50%, depending on what happens in the next year or so.

Up to now, the ‘divorce bill’ has dominated the agenda, but I don’t remember it ever being mentioned at all in the lead-up to the referendum.

That’s why a lot of the argument for Brexit was so disingenuous such as the belief that, somehow, if we leave we get oodles of money to spend on the health service. There was that infamous promise which even Nigel Farage had to distance himself from.

The Big Interview Divorce, whether it’s between two individuals or countries, is inevitably a messy and expensive process. The fact is there are outstanding obligations and the British government said that it will honour them.

How much it finishes up paying is obviously a matter for the negotiations but there are large numbers of projects, for example, that have started with British approval and support. They have to be financed, we have a share of that. There are the salaries and pensions of people who come from the UK to work officially or politically, and those have to be honoured. There is enormous scope for arguing about how much or how little but there clearly are financial obligations.

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During the referendum, many from the leave camp insisted that we would pay nothing to the EU if we were to leave. Is that a possibility?

How likely is an ‘Exit from Brexit?

Boris Johnson, I think, said we’re not going to pay anything. Well, actually we are. To be frank, where I’m coming from I wouldn’t be paying, either, because I don’t think we should be leaving. But that’s a rather different kind of argument. But if we are leaving in an orderly way with the agreement of the European

I worry that the economic impacts start coming down the track in a few years’ time and then it’s too late.

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Union countries and wish to press on with a new kind of trade relationship, then the financial obligations have to be settled and they’re going to be fairly substantial.

I wouldn’t say that’s the most likely outcome but it’s still possible. It is quite possible, I think, that Brexit could never happen. It could happen in that way because the whole process just becomes so complicated, so difficult, so messy that eventually as we get closer to the end point, large numbers of people might say: “Oh my God, is this really what we want?” and then there may be a growing call for a fresh vote on the issue.

There hasn’t been, so far, a groundswell of opposition to Brexit. What factors might create such a movement?

You are right, there hasn’t been a groundswell of opposition and I suspect that’s because the impacts haven’t been felt. They won’t be felt for some time. At the moment people are beginning to feel a squeeze on their incomes because of higher food and energy prices because of the devaluation following the vote. We’re beginning to see an exodus of Eastern Europeans which is undoubtedly affecting the quality of services and business but it’s not hitting people in the face.

There is a slowdown in investment and this is what’s slowing down the economy and so the government is getting less revenue, so there’s a squeeze on public spending. But this is all happening in slow motion and it’s not dramatic and it will be some time before the public actually feel the pinch. I worry that we do get into Brexit irrevocably and then the economic impacts start coming down the track big time in a few years’ time and then it’s too late.

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The Big Interview What of the argument that by removing the shackles of the EU there will be huge benefits in terms of international trade?

I think that’s complete nonsense. And actually, to be fair to some of the Brexiters, they don’t argue that, either. The more rational ones will argue that we are going to take an economic hit but it’s justified to have control over our frontiers and to be able to manage immigration. Or they’ll say – and I think this is not a completely stupid argument – that certainly for 10 years Britain is going to be poorer but it may be that eventually things turn round and in the next generation things could be better. I don’t believe that, but that seemed to me a reasonable way of putting the Brexit argument.

Like other vocal Remainers, you come in for a lot of criticism from the newspapers and other commentators, as you are refuse to accept the will of the people.

How do you handle that?

I do accept the will of the people. We have had the referendum and the government is getting on trying to do something about it. It’s because I believe in the will of the people that I think we should consult them again when we know what the facts are. I’m not debating from that elitist point at all. As for this phrase, ‘the will of the people’, I do think we need to

see a certain irony in it. It now appears that at least part of the people consists of Mr Putin and the Russians tweeting from factories in St. Petersburg. I think we need to be a little bit careful about our democracy.

Do you think the Russians have had a big influence, as has been alleged in the American Presidential election?

They certainly had an influence. We now know that. A whole variety of newspapers – The Times, The Guardian, The Mail on Sunday – have all produced pretty hard evidence that the Russians were hard at it trying to persuade people to vote Brexit because they thought this was a very good way of breaking up European unity, which of course they see as a threat to themselves. So they had an influence.

Whether it was decisive I don’t know.

During the vote, there were political alliances which crossed traditional party lines, but party divides have returned with the Labour Party reinventing itself as a left wing party. Is there a likelihood of a resurgent centrist party to fill the gap that has been created?

It hasn’t happened so far but I’m optimistic that what I call the common sense middle will assert itself. In terms of the Liberal Democrats,

our position hasn’t directly changed from what it’s been over the last four or five years, which is just under 10% of public opinion. This is not satisfactory from my point of view. We need to get well up into the teens. But I think this will happen once the facts start to settle around Brexit.

At the moment quite a lot of remain Conservatives and moderate Labour people are keeping their heads down. They don’t know quite what’s going to happen. I think the cracks might first appear in the Labour Party because there are some very good, sensible Labour people who are now threatened with being deselected by the extremists within their own party. Just look along the coast to Peter Kyle in Hove, that’s a place quite near home where this might happen. And these people will then be faced with a choice. Do you just quietly accept being assassinated or do you do something about it and work with people in other parties?

So I think within a couple of years, maybe even sooner, we may see a significant shift and what you rightly describe as the currently silent centre emerges.

Did you really want to be leader of the Liberal Democrats? It seemed that you were the only person willing to step forwards.

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I grew up with stable employment, career progression, a final salary pension scheme and we all had that. The younger generation don’t and we really have got to redress the balance.

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Ian Trevett and Sir Vince Cable Photo by Sarah Walker-Bennett

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The Big Interview There were candidates initially, but then they decided for a variety of reasons, family reasons and otherwise, they didn’t want to do it. But nonetheless I think I’ve got at least the potential to turn things round and make a really big difference. So I’m not intimidated by it.

It’s got its challenges but I think it’s also a very important position. I take it as an honour and I’m working very hard on it.

Of course, you’ve been in government before in the coalition.

Yes, I had a major job in the coalition government. I think at the end of it I did a lot of good things. I launched an apprenticeship revolution, a lot of work around innovation and science, set up the British Business Bank which has done a lot to help small business, the Green Bank, which unfortunately this government have privatised. We did a lot of good things around the industrial strategy and I hope the long-term legacy will be a positive one.

fundamental. The younger generations are simply unable to get secure employment and their living standard has gone down substantially in the last 10 years.

I bought a house for £13,000 in the mid-70s, it’s now probably worth getting on for £1 million. And I haven’t done anything to deserve that, I’m just sitting in it. That’s a phenomenon across the country. I grew up with stable employment, career progression, a final salary pension scheme and we all had that. The younger generation don’t and we really have got to redress the balance.

Are still waiting for the call from Strictly Come Dancing?

I was on the Christmas show in 2010 and I got a 10 from Len Goodman, which was the highlight of my CV. I tried to keep it going in the two years when I was out of parliament. I did some quite serious competitions in Blackpool. I now struggle to get my weekly class in but I’m determined to keep going.

Although the coalition had its critics,there was a period where people were working together. That seems to be a complete absence in politics now.

Yes, and it’s very sad, actually. I was never very comfortable with the Conservatives. I see them as political opponents but the fact that we were able to sit down and work with them and do useful things, make decisions and provide good government was quite a grown-up way of doing politics. And as you rightly say, all of that is now gone.

We’ve gone back to the most primitive form of tribal politics. Working together is something that parties simply won’t do anymore. It’s very sad, actually, Anyway, I have faith that a more grown-up approach in these things will eventually prevail.

Is it right that you predicted the 2008 crash?

I didn’t predict it in all its gory detail and I don’t think any of us quite understood the extent to which the banks had become totally enmeshed in these very complicated financial products which unravelled. But I certainly did predict that the boom in house prices and consumer credit during the Gordon Brown period was all going to come to a very sticky end. I believed that the banks were behaving very irresponsibly and would eventually pay the price for it.

Some of us did see that coming, and I’m afraid that some of those elements are now coming back again because we’ve got some quite irresponsible lending behaviour taking place now. House prices are way overvalued. You can see the ingredients of not necessarily a repeat of the financial crash but something quite messy.

What are the most pressing issues aside from Brexit?

I’m very concerned at the lack of attention to the underlying longterm weaknesses of the British economy - the poor productivity and the lack of attention to training and skills. All that is being pushed into the background and it’s probably now going backwards. We really need to build up our sciences, our creative industries. You need to take a very long-term view about that, which is why we had the industrial strategy when I was in the government.

The housing crisis is just so serious. It is not just bricks and mortar and wanting a few more houses built, that’s not the issue. It’s the way that it’s affected fairness between generations, where younger people simply can’t even begin to contemplate buying their own home until they’re well in their 40s, and they are growing up in an environment of insecurity. Getting a better balance in the housing market is absolutely

Vince on Strictly

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Legal

MERGER ‘BEYOND EXPECTATIONS’ resources make us the stand-out law firm in the south east.

“Rawlison Butler’s office in Horsham, which specialises in private client work, will continue under the DMH Stallard flag to provide the same high-quality service to our Horsham clients that they are used to receiving through the same team, but which is being strengthened by the addition of some new personnel coming across from the merged firm.

“Rawlison Butler’s commercial teams in Gatwick/Crawley will be combining together with DMH Stallard’s teams in both Griffin House and Gainsborough House to form fully integrated and stronger offerings in the local Sussex market.

❝ Richard Pollins

what we wanted to achieve together.

“While maximising financial resilience was a key part of our business modelling, enhancing our reach into new sectors, refining the way we engage with the market and adding value to our relationships with clients, were equally important to us.

“The year-end results being forecast now, the feedback from clients and the growth of new business show that the investment in our strategic planning is paying off and realising firm-wide returns that are significantly beyond our initial expectations.”

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aving completed the integration of both firms, the recent merger of DMH Stallard and Rawlison Butler is being hailed a great success by the senior management team.

DMH Stallard merged with Rawlison Butler in September reinforcing the leading regional presence of the law firm; the move brought the overall team strength to 350, including over 70 partners, and increased the number of offices in Sussex, Surrey and London to six.

Richard Pollins, Managing Partner at DMH Stallard, said: “We set a very high bar when we started our merger discussions with Clive Lee and his senior colleagues at Rawlison Butler.

“Both sides were extremely ambitious in

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In addition to the exceptionally strong balance sheet, DMH Stallard has recently received top honours in the UK’s two most prestigious legal guides.

Chambers and Partners and The Legal 500 have recognised DMH Stallard as one of the leading mid-market legal firms in the UK, with numerous partners and practice areas receiving notable accreditations.

Clive Lee is part of the DMH Stallard senior management team and was Managing Partner at Rawlison Butler when the merger was first considered and led on the negotiations with Richard Pollins.

Clive said: “The last few months have been terrific and clearly shown that our combined

In addition to the exceptionally strong balance sheet, DMH Stallard has recently received top honours in the UK’s two most prestigious legal guides.

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“When two large businesses join together you expect a few initial challenges, but these have been minimal, reflecting the very deep sense of shared purpose across the organisation.

“The opportunities that lay ahead mean we head into 2018 with great excitement and anticipation.”

Richard added: “2017 has been a historic year for DMH Stallard. We celebrated a major expansion in Brighton this time last year that has proved to be one of the best business decisions we’ve ever taken. Our team in the city is flying with month-on-month growth in terms of new business and new high calibre personnel being recruited.

“The merger with Rawlison Butler has added even more strength in depth to an already formidable legal offering, a position that bodes very well for next year, and the years to come.”

Legal

PRESTIGIOUS AWARD FOR PARTNER AT DMH STALLARD Stuart Evans

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Stuart received the award to recognise the European region and his efforts as president of the European Chapter of the INBLF.

Stuart Evans is the first lawyer based outside of America to receive the Edward R. Gallion Memorial Award, which was presented at the INBLF’s annual black tie weekend in San Francisco.

He said: “I am delighted to have won this award. Edward was a fine lawyer and a great character, and he is much missed from the INBLF. It is a great honour not only to receive an award bearing his name, but also to follow in the footsteps of a number of

partner from law firm DMH Stallard has scooped a prestigious award in recognition of his achievements for the International Network of Boutique and Independent Law Firms (INBLF).

highly accomplished attorneys. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time as president of the European Chapter and am very honoured to see the European region recognised in this way.”

Stuart is a dispute resolution partner based in DMH’s Gatwick office and acts for multinationals, PLCs, SMEs and high net worth individuals.

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Stuart Evans is the first lawyer based outside of America to receive the Edward R. Gallion Memorial Award

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Edward Gallion was a distinguished New York attorney who was a founder of the INBLF. The Memorial Award is presented to the chapter or international region that has best demonstrated the participation, spirit and advancement that Edward fostered and cherished.

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Interview

IT SECURITY: HAVE YOU GOT IT RIGHT? Effective and robust IT systems are essential for all businesses, but most companies only think about their IT when things go wrong. Luke Mead, MD of LMS Group is used to being called in when a disaster strikes, but he is happy to do so as this is usually the time he develops a lasting relationship with a business, helping companies make the most of the technology available to them. Interview by Ian Trevett.

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here is an old adage that if something isn’t broke then don’t fix it. But this approach can be damaging to the prospects of a company, as it means that the business fails to embrace the huge power and potential of technology. Maybe the motto should be don’t wait until it breaks before you fix your failing IT! Luke Mead knows that this is rarely the case: “A lot of businesses choose to work with us because they have lost faith in their IT company, something’s failed, there’s been an infection or breach in security or they know they can smell a rat.”

There’s no reason to wait until a crisis looms. “Businesses should already have existing security measures in place,” says Luke. “So many companies that we see are hugely vulnerable. We offer a Free Security Assessment which finds and exposes network and security vulnerabilities that exist within their IT infrastructure. From an IT point of view we can tell you what needs to be improved and we formulate a strategy to get the IT Security up to a level whereby it’s compliant and protected.

It’s always a big eye opener because a lot of people get complacent.

“Disaster recovery is crucially important.

When we ask a business, ‘What’s your cost of downtime?’ they often haven’t got a clue.

It’s not until they run it through a calculation taking into account staff wages and overhead, lost income and everything else, that they realise its importance. Even a day’s downtime costs a significant amount.”

Whether called in to help with a panic or not, the penny quickly drops that using IT experts is of value even when things appear to be running smoothly.

“What I really love is meeting a business that is in trouble with their IT and doesn’t trust or believe in their IT company, says Luke. “They

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Interview straight distinctions, partly as I did all the case studies around my clients. The college then allowed me to study from home, and I was soon turning over more that the VAT threshold. I was invited along to a business networking group and met someone who is still a very good and close associate of mine and he sat me down and told me: ‘This isn’t a hobby, this is a business’.

hate IT, so they inevitably hate me from day one. But a year later we will have a fantastic relationship because we’ve turned around their IT, which has allowed them to take their business to the next level. I love that client journey and knowing that we do a good job and do it well.

be forgotten, people can say ‘Wipe all the information you hold on me’. If a business is using an antiquated backup solution such as offsite tapes or rotating hard drives, it’s very hard to do that.”

“We work with companies of all sizes; the fundamentals are the same.,” says Luke. “IT doesn’t have to cost the earth, you just have to get it right and I think that’s where a lot of IT companies go wrong. The other thing is, we don’t position ourselves as an IT company but as a Managed Service Provider (or MSP) and that’s quite key.

27, is running a successful company, employing ten staff. His age belies his experience - he has been running his company for 12 years, as he explains: “Unofficially I started the business when I was 15 because I got fed up with washing pots and pans. I put a few posters up around Arundel, on lampposts, in the fish and chip shop and also the local newsagent, along the lines of ‘I’ll fix your computer for a few quid’ – and people phoned up. I’d get home off the school bus and my parents would say, ‘Someone woman called. Apparently you’re seeing her at 4 o’clock tonight. What’s all that about?’

“It’s not just about IT, it’s about everything that works with an IP address. That covers everything from IT support, IT systems, your telephony, your connectivity, your business backup and continuity, your security, your cloud services, your Office 365, your email encryption, the whole lot.”

As much as Luke loves “meeting a business that is in trouble with their IT”, he is pleased that more and more companies are taking security more seriously, an approach that has become more prevalent with the impending GDPR deadline.

“Security is now a boardroom decision rather than something that’s handled by the office manager, especially with the increase in threats from ransomware and malware. With the world of IT you never know what’s around the corner.

“There’s a lot of hype around GDPR and a lot of misinformation. From an IT point of view, it’s about reinforcing your security measures. There’s a checklist on our website that says what you need to do and what you need to have in place.

“There are various elements, but effectively it’s implementing appropriate measures to ensure a level of security appropriate to the risk. For instance, under the right to

Antiquated is a term that certainly cannot be used to describe Luke, who at the age of

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They hate IT, so they inevitably hate me from day one.

But a year later we will have a fantastic relationship

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“I registered as self-employed when I was 16 as at that point I was doing more and more work with local businesses, fixing all their networks and IT systems, and I soon realised that I didn’t want to go on and follow a normal education path. I thought I still ought to take a bit of education just in case it doesn’t go well. So I went to Chichester College and studied for a BTEC National Diploma for IT Practitioners, which is great because it was only three days a week, which meant for two days I could run the company, but every day I was at college I was losing money.

“At age 18 I had to go VAT registered. I still remember the date - on January 14th 2010 I formed a Limited Company, went VAT registered and initially ran the company out of my parents’ front room. I got stupidly busy and took on a lease for an office in Arundel, employed staff, and very quickly outgrew that office. We are now in a barn conversion in Barnham and we’ve got some really big (in some cases national) clients. We’re a Microsoft Gold Partner and that puts us in the top 5% of all IT companies globally.”

Totally unfazed about employing people older than himself, he is proud of the staff retention, and the way that the team has grown and developed with the business and are part of the journey.

“I very quickly transitioned from fixing computers to working for businesses,” recalls Luke. “I was running their IT and their networks, but my knowledge is nothing compared to the guys back at the office.

They’re the brains, I’m just the front man.

They know that, I tell them that every day.”

So what of the future - and Luke certainly has time on his side. Luke responds: “I think the trick to it is growing in a managed way because there are a lot of companies that grow too quickly, and in IT especially it’s all about service. It’s about doing a good job for our clients. We’re up over 55% this year on last year and that’s not because of flashy marketing, but from providing a good service to our clients.”

And what advice would he offer to a similarly entrepreneurially-minded 15-year-old?

“Just go and do it without even thinking about it. I remember I took out a £7,500 loan to start the business and had to fake my income and say it was for a car because the bank wouldn’t lend to me if I said it was for a business. I believed in myself and that I could do it. If you believe you can do it, you’ll find a way.”

www.lms.group

“At the end of the first year I had achieved

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Finance

SPOTLIGHT ON THE AUTUMN BUDGET

By Laurence Parry, Tax Partner at Kreston Reeves

The benefit of now having the Budget moved to the autumn means we can all plan for the big changes that are on the horizon. Given the Parliamentary cycle, some of the changes were actually announced back in 2016. So what are the big changes coming through, including those that might have escaped the headlines?

How will these changes affect your business, or you and your family into 2018 and beyond?

The key changes are: Stamp Duty Land Tax The big news was of course in respect of housing, with the Stamp Duty Land Tax exemption of £300,000 for first time buyers being the headline announcement. However, whilst 300,000 more houses per annum is what experts believe we need, what actual impact will the new SDLT relief have? There has been much analysis that suggests that all that happens is the price for properties in this band increases because of the SDLT saving.

real guidance on how this rule affects this sector.

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National minimum wage

The Chancellor made a big play on supporting the knowledge based and tech business sector.

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Help for SME builders

Supporting the knowledge based and tech business sector

We need to see the finer detail of how the proposed help for SME builders will work.

One of the biggest issues builders often have is difficulty in obtaining finance. The change to tax on liquidations in 2015 hit this sector hard, as it created uncertainty as to the tax treatment on exit for investors. One of the biggest helps here would be for HMRC to give

The Chancellor made a big play on supporting the knowledge based and tech business sector. The speech itself gave little detail as to how this would filter down – there was much talk of plans and consultations, and public-private partnerships, but little concrete detail. The increase in Enterprise Investment Scheme (‘EIS’ ) investment to £2m per person

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may be helpful, albeit only at the top end of investors.

Businesses will have already planned for the increase in national minimum wage this spring, and this has been confirmed.

Change to the calculation of business rate increases The welcome change to the calculation of business rate increases (to the lower Consumer Price Index rather than Retail Price Index) is good news. However, the increase in business rates will now happen every three years, rather than five.

Increase in Enterprise Investment Scheme limits for tech companies The increase in EIS limits for tech companies is welcome; but there are restrictions on EIS where they are lower risk. The definition of risk is to be what is considered ‘reasonable’.

This can only add to complexity.

Finance Real risk Venture capital trusts, enterprise investment schemes and seed enterprise investment schemes will be required to focus more on companies where there is a real investment risk. The maximum an individual may invest under the EIS in a tax year will double to £2 million, where an amount of over £1 million is invested in one or more knowledge-intensive companies.

The annual investment limit for knowledgeintensive companies receiving investments under the EIS and from VCTs will double to £10m, but the lifetime limit will remain at £20m. Knowledge intensive companies will be allowed to use the date when their annual turnover first exceeds £200,000 of the date of first commercial sale. The changes will have an effect from April 2018, subject to state aid rules.

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Pensions The pension lifetime allowance will be increased from £1m to £1.03m from April 2018, with no change to the annual allowance.

Online marketplaces Online marketplaces will become jointly and severally liable for any unpaid VAT from UK as well as overseas traders.

Trusts

Whilst there weren’t many headline measures compared to previous years, it’s always interesting to look at the bigger numbers in the Treasury’s Red Book.

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How to deal with off-payroll working Further down the line, there will be a consultation on how to deal with ‘off-payroll working’ and how this will be extended to the private sector. This has been a big issue for the public sector, who are already dealing with these changes.

Taxation of employee business expenses There will be several changes to the taxation of employee expenses. The government will consult on extending the scope of tax relief currently available to employees and the selfemployed for work-related training costs. From April 2019, employers will not have to check receipts when reimbursing employees for subsistence using scale rates. HMRC will also improve the guidance on employee expenses, particularly on travel and subsistence and the process for claiming tax relief on nonreimbursed employment expenses.

A consultation document will be published this year on how to make the taxation of trusts simpler, fairer and more transparent.

Research and Development The rate of the tax credit for R & D expenditure rose from 11% to 12% from 1st January 2018. This is the large company scheme, not the more beneficial SME scheme which gives a greater relief.

Partnership Tax Legislation effective from 2018/19 will ensure that partners are taxed in proportion to their accounting profit shares. It will also reform the partnership tax code, to reduce the scope for non-compliant taxpayers to avoid or delay paying tax.

Disincorporation relief The disincorporation relief introduced in 2013 for five years will not be extended beyond the 31st March 2018 expiry date. This has been hardly used, and will not be missed.

Disguised remuneration Disguised remuneration avoidance schemes will be countered by the introduction of the close companies’ gateway from April 2017.

All employees and self-employed individuals who have received a disguised remuneration loan will be required to provide information to HMRC by 1st October 2019.

UK property will be chargeable to corporation tax rather than income tax from 6th April 2020. From the same date, gains that arise to non-resident companies on the disposal of UK property will be charged to corporation tax rather than Capital Gains Tax.

‘Big numbers’ Whilst there weren’t many headline measures compared to previous years, it’s always interesting to look at the bigger numbers in the Treasury’s Red Book. Here we see how the Budget will actually impact into 2018 and beyond.

The abolition of indexation allowance (an allowance for inflation on cost for companies when they sell an asset) will save over £0.5bn pa.

The SDLT relief for first time buyers will cost a similar amount. If we say that the average SDLT for a first-time buyer would be say £5,000, this implies over 330,000 first time buyers each year. However, the Red Book thought that the relief would only encourage 3,500 new buyers to enter the market.

The question is therefore whether it is cost effective.

The change for business rates increase to CPI from RPI will save businesses £0.5bn pa.

The really interesting one will be the National Productivity Investment Fund which will cost £7bn but only in 2022/23. If it’s that important, perhaps we should have it earlier…

You can contact Laurence Parry at laurence.parry@krestonreeves.com www.krestonreeves.com T: 0330 124 1399.

Taxation of non-resident companies’ UK property income and gains Non-UK resident companies’ income from

business. tax. wealth.

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Finance

FUTURE PROOF This month MHA Carpenter Box Partner and Head of the Tax Services Group, Stuart Noakes, takes a look at Inheritance Tax (IHT) and the measures that individuals can take to reduce their liability to this tax upon death.

Death and Taxes: Planning for the future Benjamin Franklin coined the phrase ‘in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes’, so it’s no surprise that Inheritance Tax (IHT) has become a growing concern for many people, particularly those edging towards retirement. The good news is that unlike many other taxes, there are plenty of things you can do now that will help you pass on more of your wealth to family and friends, rather than the taxman, once that final chapter is closed.

Inheritance Tax is the tax payable on the value of property passing on a person’s death.

It may also be payable on certain lifetime gifts, subject to exemptions and reliefs. Upon death, Inheritance Tax is calculated based on the value of the estate over and above what is called the nil-rate band. That currently stands at £325,000 per individual. Spouses leaving assets to each other in their wills will pay tax only on the second death when the value of the joint estate is over £650,000.

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Benjamin Franklin coined the phrase ‘in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes’.

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From 6th April 2017, there is an additional residence nil-rate band which is available where the main home is left to direct descendants. This band is £100,000 for 2017/18, £125,000 for 2018/19, £150,000 for 2019/20 rising to £175,000 for 2020/21. It will be possible therefore for a joint estate for married partners to have up to £1,000,000 tax free estate on the second death.

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Any IHT due will be paid out of your estate and will obviously reduce the assets available to your beneficiaries. Inheritance Tax is calculated at 40% on anything above the £325,000 Inheritance Tax threshold (or possibly 36% if you leave at least 10% to a charity).

Lifetime gifts By making gifts during your lifetime to loved ones, you may be able to reduce your estate for Inheritance Tax purposes. A number of these options are explained below.

Spouses Transfers of value between spouses (or partners in a civil partnership) are exempt. If a couple separate, the exemption applies until the divorce becomes final (decree absolute received).

Annual exemption For each tax year an individual is entitled to an exemption of £3,000. Amazingly, this amount has remained unchanged since 1981.

The exemption can be used to exempt part of a larger gift. If the transferor makes more than

one transfer in the tax year, the exemption is set against earlier transfers in priority to later transfers.

Normal Expenditure out of Income In order to qualify for this exemption the transfer of value must: • Be made as part of the normal expenditure of the transferor (i.e. it is part of a pattern of such giving); and • Taking one year with another, be made out of the income of the transferor; and • Leave the transferor with sufficient income to maintain his usual standard of living without, for example, having to use capital to make up for his reduced income.

Potentially Exempt Transfers (PETs) In addition to the gifts listed above, you can consider making gifts during your lifetime for much larger amounts. These gifts are “potentially exempt” depending on the number of years survived beyond the date of the gift. If the person making the gift lives for seven years from the date the gift is made then the transfer of assets will become fully

Finance

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A measure that is proving increasingly popular to those with grandchildren in private education is to contribute towards their school fees.

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exempt – in other words it falls out of the reckoning. If the person making the gift dies within the seven years, a discounted rate of IHT applies where the death occurred between three and seven years after the gift is made.

Help with fees A measure that is proving increasingly popular to those with grandchildren in private education is to contribute towards their school fees. This works well on various levels; grandparents obtain the benefit of some IHT planning by reducing the value of their estate and parents have more disposable income as a result of needing to pay less in school fees.

One way of making the gift could be to utilise the £3,000 annual exemption mentioned above. Gifts up to this value may be made every year – by each grandparent – completely free of IHT. This would amount to a fairly substantial sum over the course of a child’s education.

are difficulties between a child’s parents. Up to £650,000 may be gifted as a couple with no immediate charge to IHT and, provided that the settlors are still alive seven years after making the gift into trust, the transferred assets will not be included in their estate.

contribute more than or in addition to the annual exemption, regular school fee payments may be made from their income.

Such gifts will be exempt for IHT purposes provided that they come from surplus income and do not negatively impact on their normal standard of living.

Those grandparents who are able to make a contribution towards their grandchildren’s school fees could reduce the proportion of their estates that may be subject to IHT at 40%. With private school fees likely to rise, it’s well worth thinking about such a contribution, benefitting from some simple IHT planning and leaving a legacy that could benefit your grandchildren for life.

Where insufficient income is available to make regular contributions, school fee payments could be made from capital. Such gifts would be considered to be PETs (see above).

The small print: Each individual’s circumstances are different, so a personal review should always be undertaken to ensure that the most suitable strategy is followed.

For those grandparents who wish to

A final possibility to consider where grandparents are able to offer a lump sum gift would be to set up a trust for the purposes of paying school fees or other educational costs.

If you are interested in our help with IHT, or further planning advice, our tax advisory service can help you think through your options. Please call Stuart Noakes on 01903 234094 or visit www.carpenterbox.com.

Your personal invitation to our Investment & Tax Seminar Chartered Tax Advisers from the Tax Services Group at MHA Carpenter Box, together with pensions and investment experts from Carpenter Box Wealth Management, will be holding a seminar in the morning of 8th February at South Lodge Hotel (near Horsham). The seminar is aimed at helping individuals to navigate their way through the myriad of opportunities and confusion around pensions and investments, whilst giving tips to help make sure that any investments made are as tax efficient as possible.

You can sign up for the event by visiting www.carpenterbox.com/investment-taxseminar.

Depending upon the type of trust chosen it is possible to gift assets but still retain an element of control, which is often desirable where younger children are concerned or where there

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CEO Fight Club

CEO

THE SINGLE (BORING) SECRET OF SUCCESS

By Si Conroy, owner of Scarlet Monday

“Done is better than perfect” – Facebook company motto (Zuckerberg 2012 IPO letter)

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n 2016, it was estimated in a global study that 67% of well-formulated strategies failed due to poor execution (R.Carucci, Harvard Business Review.org 13/11/17).

Does your business spend a lot of time in meetings talking about new initiatives? Does the answer to a problem always seem to be the need to buy something or someone (the easy action)? Do new targets get rolled out and then start to fail to be achieved within months?

As we have evolved, my theory is that we have become increasingly confused into believing in the supremacy of thought over hard work and action. Thinking about success; imagining how amazing it will be to have achieved our goals and targets has its place, don’t get me wrong. But it’s a small place. The overall bias of media and business books to focus on phenomenal business successes hooks us onto the drug of the outcome, rather than the phenomenally hard work required to get there. Action is the secret to success.

Why do we allow this addiction to take

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hold? To fantasise about when we’re X big, or sold for X amount? Because it’s easy. The thinking that most of us do is also easy; we’re not pushing new theoretical boundaries or honing our skills of critical thinking. We’re wallowing in a mental comfort zone. We’re being lazy rather than engaging in the far harder act of working towards that changed future we dream about.

The irony is that humans are hard-wired

for action. That’s why we so often spend our time ‘in the existing business’ rather than ‘on the future business’. What we often fail to recognise though is when we’re doing the overall corporate equivalent of reacting to emails and the actions of others, rather than directing the organisation to act to change itself.

So, what is the power of carefully focused future-related action? I’d argue that one of its

CEO Fight Club

primary benefits is to reveal the messiness of reality. Thinking, theorising and planning feels great because we contain the parameters of reality. But it’s not real. Only by acting, do we reveal reality.

You need to develop a bias for action; to start to revel in doing rather than thinking: 1. Force a ‘Deep End’: Attach an immediate (usually uncomfortable) action to any plan, or element of a plan, you create.

Working on a new product idea? Mock up an A4 sales PDF and book a meeting to pitch to some friendly prospects. Writing a presentation to launch a new team initiative? Select a handful of your team and pitch your first draft. The key is to get it out of your head and in front of others.

2. Start at the end: This is a trick I learnt from management consulting at PwC. Whatever you’re looking to do, imagine the final presentation, paper, product home page or service collateral. Don’t over-think it, just the headlines. Now use these headlines as steps to act on now. You’ll immediately find you have to engage with others because you’ve accelerated past planning to outcomes.

3. Be an action addicted business.

Become an organisation where talk is dirty and only delivery is rewarded. All agreed ideas have to have ‘Deep End’ actions attached and owners and tight deadlines monitored. Words without committed action? Yawn and leave the meeting.

4. The momentum of external movement. Stuck in planning? Don’t worry about it, just physically do something which involves others from outside your organisation. Send an email.

Book a meeting. Pick up the phone.

When you do, the vital things will start to become very clear, but they don’t if you just sit there in plans.

5. Develop a ‘Deep End’ habit: When you become physically aware of how you feel when you delay, self-doubt or selfdelude (“I’ll just pay for a little bit more meaningless market research to make myself feel better”), start searching for a ‘Deep End’ action. Recognise the feeling and get addicted to doing.

6. Poke the plans: In the Harvard study mentioned earlier, an amazing 60% of companies that fail to execute strategy,

have no connection between their budgets and their strategies. They’re essentially committing to do things without committing to the resources to do them. Sound like any big corporate you (used to) work in? Don’t allow a line to go into a budget which is a year on year change without asking to see the action plan (owned by someone inc. deadlines).

7. Focus, focus, focus: By contrast, in companies that successfully execute strategy, 76% limit the number of strategic initiatives they focus on and 64% actually build their budgets around their strategy (R.Carucci, Harvard Business Review.org 13/11/17).

So, don’t spend so long in your head and on paper/screen, modelling scenarios, that real life becomes oppressive. Ask yourself what’s the worst that could happen, jump into the deep end and act.

‘Whatever you think you can do or believe you can do, begin it. Action has magic, grace and power in it’ – (attributed to) Goethe

Si Conroy specialises in helping business owners remove their blockers to profitable business growth; be they strategy, marketing and sales, people, finance or systems/process. Trained at PwC and owner of www.ScarletMonday.com and www.ConstantMentor.com, Si practices what he preaches across a number of businesses in which he has invested. si@scarletmonday.com @siconroy

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Interview

DIRECT MARKETING & GDPR As a direct marketing company, Mailing Expert has to deal with data from a variety of sources. It’s no wonder that the mailing house has taken proactive steps to comply with this year’s GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) deadline. Ian Trevett asked David Vaughan about the impact of GDPR What steps has your company taken to ensure compliance?

We are very proactive. Every member of staff has taken the IDM (Industry of Direct & Digital Marketing) Award in GDPR, which is equivalent to a Level 4 professional qualification. I am taking the IDM Professional Certificate in GDPR and ePrivacy, which is a year-long course. And, we are members of the DMA (Direct Marketing Association).

We are seeing companies really start to wake up recently, and we are getting lots of enquires asking about what it will mean for their company, so we have to be knowledgeable on the subject.

People think that the law changes in May but it has actually been in force for 18 months already. May just represents the cut-off period where everyone should be compliant.

What is the most important element of GDPR for marketing?

The main idea is ensuring you have consent, though you don’t necessarily have to have consent to send someone a letter or leaflet.

It’s all about ‘legitimate interest’. You need to go through an in-depth questionnaire of around 20 questions, to ascertain if the person receiving the mailer could be viewed as being likely to have an interest in the material. It is stricter with email and digital marketing.

Which types of company do you think the government are looking to catch?

I don’t think ICO (Information Commissions Office) are ‘after’ anyone in particular.

That is a pessimistic view. They just want to ensure there are guidelines in place when people communicate with each other. A lot of it is about the information a company or organisation might hold about an individual. If

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Interview

you start collecting loads of information about a person for no justifiable reason, then you are breaking the law. You need to think about what data I actually require about a person and is it actually relevant - and then do I have the person’s content to have this. You should ask - do I really need to know gender, date of birth, address or email or medical history?

The ICO has made some public examples.

Honda were slapped severely over the knuckles

by ICO as they emailed everyone on their list including people who said they didn’t want to hear from them. Honda were asking people if their information they hold was correct, which is fine as this is an exercise in tidying up their lists. But where they went wrong was the subject line said something along the lines of ‘Do you want to hear from Honda’ which was interpreted by the ICO as a marketing message rather than a tidying up process. This broke the law.

A charity accidentally sent out an email that included the whole email list in the cc box. It was a medical charity, so the email addresses were strictly confidential. ICO could have severely punished the charity, possible with a fine that would close the charity down. ICO

gave them a small fine and a warning not to do it again.

When is it okay to gather personal information?

IS GDPR a good or bad thing?

It is fine if it is relevant and necessary. We work with a nightclub in London and about four-six weeks before someone’s birthday they will send free tickets out for their birthday celebrations. The club see this as a good way to get people in et cetera and the clubbers have a great night. So this is an example where they require a date of birth - or at least the date of the birthday. But when people sign up for the list they will know this. So we will need to know birthdays to ensure we mail at the right time. But on the other hand, we don’t need the phone numbers; it’s all relevant and in most cases it is just common sense.

GDPR (or Data Protection 2018) is a positive and sensible thing in my opinion. Just see it as an opportunity to clean your database.

It is okay to have a customer list and list of potential leads, but make sure you know where all the lists are, who is on the lists and what information you have. Don’t leave flash disks laying around. Most data breaches come from leaving a memory stick on a bus or train or throwing out paperwork (shred it!).

With targeted marketing you need to become more intelligent and you need more information on the potential consumer. For instance, a buying history is important for clothing company. But if the clothing company then send me the data for the mailing, there is absolutely no reason why I need anything other than the names and addresses; I just have enough information to ensure the catalogue goes to the right person.

www.mailingexpert.co.uk

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GUILDFORD

BRIGHTON

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Digital Marketing

MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU Beth Nash, from digital marketing agency Smart Monkey, on SEO / PPC Wars

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EO (search engine optimisation) and PPC (Pay Per Click) should be comrades intent on winning the same battle, but why is it that in some organisations, SEO and PPC teams seem to be at war? It seems that, especially in larger teams or cross-agency, that SEO and PPC are seen as competing forces, with each feeling like they are turning to the dark side if they collaborate.

But the opposite is true – by combining forces, SEO and PPC have many areas of overlap. SEO and PPC teams that work together for the common goal can see extraordinary results that leave their competitors in the dark.

There are endless reasons why SEO and PPC should work together, however, here are my top five reasons why running complimentary campaigns can add significant value:

Leveraging PPC keyword data for organic SEO Organic search consultants use various tools to help form a site’s optimisation strategy such as Google Analytics, Google Search Console and various other paid-for SEO platforms.

However, Google AdWords provides a host of tangible data including which keywords bring traffic to the site, and more importantly, which keywords actually convert. This valuable information can be used by SEO teams to inform organic search campaigns to ensure the hard-work spent optimising a landing page for a specific keyword is going to drive revenue.

Juggling PPC and SEO activity to get results SEO and PPC teams should work collaboratively to roll out the campaigns that will get the best results for the client. PPC can be used to target keywords that aren’t ranking naturally, it can gather data, inform the organic strategy and as the site moves up

the natural rankings, PPC can be filtered across to another keyword, and the same process can start again.

Concentrate on expensive keywords with SEO In some industries, it is uneconomical to build PPC campaigns around the holy grail keywords because they are just too expensive.

According to Search Engine Watch*, gambling dominates the most expensive keywords with ‘play live blackjack’ being the most expensive keyword term costing £148.51 per click. Other industries that need deep pockets if targeting top-level keywords include technology, finance and legal. In these cases, using PPC for longertail keywords and focusing time and effort on generating top natural rankings can pay dividends.

On-site SEO updates benefit PPC quality scores and reduce cost per click A key action for SEO is to optimise landing pages for natural search, however, working closely with PPC, we can optimise for Ad quality as well, which drives up your PPC quality score. A good quality score will help to gain higher PPC ranking positions and reduce the cost per click, leaving additional budget to reallocate.

PPC remarketing brings visitors back Organic SEO can bring new visitors to your website but in a lot of cases, the web visitor won’t make a decision there and then. Our natural instinct to shop around means that your site is often one of many visited before the user makes contact. PPC remarketing enables you to increase your conversion rate by bringing the hard-earned traffic back to your site.

www.smartmonkey.co.uk beth@smartmonkey.co.uk @Bethanie_Nash * https://searchenginewatch.com/2016/04/14/thetop-100-most-expensive-keywords-in-the-uk/

BIO: Beth is a Chartered Marketer and ‘Head Honcho & Chief of Client Happiness’ at digital marketing agency, Smart Monkey. Since 2006, Smart Monkey has been helping small and medium sized businesses in Sussex, Surrey and Kent generate revenue through effective and measurable digital marketing campaigns.

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Business Improvement District

BID RENEWAL BEGINS Manor Royal Business Improvement District (BID) Seeks New 5-Year Term

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he Manor Royal BID, located in Crawley and adjacent to Gatwick Airport, has published an ambitious Business Plan for a new five-year term that businesses will be asked to vote on next month. The Business Plan sets out the achievements of the BID over its first term as well as bold new plans for the next five years.

The vision is for Manor Royal to be widely regarded as a place where companies and people choose to be for the strength of its business community and the quality of its environment.

“Today the Manor Royal Business District is a very different place to the one we were all working and trading in a few years ago”, says Trevor Williams, Industrial Director of Thales, which employs more than 2,100 people on Manor Royal.

“There are more businesses, fewer vacant buildings and developments underway. We have gone from a place criticised for being out of date where only 13% of businesses said they were satisfied, to one that wins awards and where satisfaction levels regularly register 80% and higher.”

Run by Businesses - For Business Benefit Trevor believes that the Manor Royal BID, of which he is Chairman, has been the driving force of these changes, bringing together a collective business voice with public sector partners.

“It is the only organisation whose sole interest is the success of Manor Royal” he says. “Most importantly, the BID is run by and for Manor Royal companies. This has enabled investment to improve Manor Royal’s broadband infrastructure, roads and security, as well as the delivery of subsidised transport and training initiatives for employees.”

The BID team and its partners have also worked hard to create a greater sense of place and community for those working on Manor Royal. This has included the creation of local business development and networking opportunities as well as the delivery of an effective marketing and communications programme to keep everyone informed about what’s going on in the area.

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Trevor’s concern is that all these improvements and services will be lost if the BID is not renewed.

If the majority of businesses vote ‘yes’, the Manor Royal BID will continue until 2023 and be able to deliver its ambitious plans. However, if the majority of businesses vote ‘no’, the BID will stop, as will the additional services it provides such as the Manor Royal Rangers and Maintenance Teams and Winter Gritting Services. Other improvements it has made, for which it is responsible, will be restored to their previous state including the signs, parks, and entranceways.

Jack Bedell-Pearce, Managing Director of 4D Data Centres Ltd, which established a new base on Manor Royal in 2017, believes that the Manor Royal BID brings a degree of cohesiveness and common cause for those located there. He says: “Just being able to talk to other local businesses about issues that are affecting them would be reason enough to renew Manor Royal BID but the infrastructure projects (from the signage to improved broadband) make it even more invaluable. I’ll certainly be voting ‘yes’ to renew the BID for another term.”

Stephanie George, Centre Manager at the popular Basepoint Centre on Manor Royal agrees. “I’m voting ‘yes’ for the renewal of the BID because we can now positively influence changes in our local area. Improvements to the roads, lighting on the cycle paths and new signage have made it easier for our team and our tenants to access our business centre safely

and comfortably.

“Being able to give our tenants access to discounted training courses, networking events and other avenues of business support is exceptionally valuable and would be sorely missed if they were no longer available.

Manor Royal has improved greatly since the introduction of the BID,” she added.

The new BID Business Plan has been developed after extensive research and consultation, and the BID team has been working hard to ensure all those eligible to vote have registered their details with the local authority and are aware of the renewal process.

The levy rate - the contribution businesses would be expected to make annually for five years – will remain at 1% of the rateable value of the property occupied for those properties with a rateable value of £12,000 or more, but capped so that no single property would be liable for more than £3,500 per annum.

If businesses vote to renew the BID, this will generate a fund of circa £2.6m over a five-year period to be reinvested across the business district, along with any additional funds the BID team secures from other parties.

The Manor Royal BID adheres to the principle of “additionality” which means that what it delivers is in addition to what Crawley Borough Council or West Sussex County Council currently deliver.

“This is a crucial time for the Manor Royal BID,” concludes Keith Pordum, Managing

Business Improvement District

Director of Bon Appetit and Vice-Chair of the BID. “Such a lot has been achieved over the first term that would not have happened without the BID. The plans for the next five years are even more exciting, so I would urge all those eligible to vote in favour of a new BID term.”

For more information, please visit www.manorroyal.org

BID BUSINESS PLAN The new Business Plan sets out a clear vision supported by four strategic objectives:

Objective 1: Promote and Influence Promote Manor Royal Business District to secure investment and retain businesses, promote local companies and represent the interests of the business district at a strategic level with private and public-sector partners.

Objective 2: Trade and Save Provide opportunities for companies to trade with each other and benefit from subsidised or free services.

Objective 3: Infrastructure and Facilities Ensure the infrastructure and facilities on offer meet expectations associated with a premier business destination so that businesses can function, staff are satisfied, and visitors are impressed.

Objective 4: Manage and Maintain Deliver enhanced levels of maintenance, public realm and security throughout the business district.

Details of the projects associated with each objective are set out in the relevant section of the Business Plan along with details of how the Manor Royal BID will be managed and run.

MANOR ROYAL: POWERHOUSE OF THE GATWICK DIAMOND Ciaran Gunne-Jones of Lichfields UK, a leading UK planning and development consultancy, has undertaken a new Economic Impact Study for Manor Royal Business District which has concluded that Manor Royal is the “powerhouse of the Gatwick Diamond”. His research has shown that floorspace on Manor Royal has grown by 18% since 2010, and the number of companies located there has also grown by more than 5%.

WHAT IS A BID? A Business Improvement District (BID) is a precisely defined geographical area where the businesses vote to invest collectively in local improvements to enhance their trading environment. The businesses decide what they want the BID to do, they vote to create it and they run it by the rules they agree.

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Interview

ARE YOU SITTING COMFORTABLY? Posturite is a genuine Sussex business success story. Posturite is not just the largest independent ergonomics company in the UK, it is the largest independent supplier of all office seating in the UK, working with 75% of FTSE 100 firms. The company creates and supplies clever ergonomic office equipment designed to reduce aches, pains and musculoskeletal injuries, improving the health of businesses by protecting the safety and wellbeing of the people who work for them. Each month they help over 1,000 people back to work and have been awarded ‘Gold Investors in People’ status.

Over the coming issues of Platinum Business Magazine we will reveal the Posturite story in a series of interviews with Ian Fletcher-Price (Fletch) recounting the journey from Fletch tinkering in his mum’s garden shed through the tricky growth phase and the resulting success in both domestic and international markets. Interview by Ian Trevett.

Part One - How it all Started Posturite is the nation’s leading ergonomic furniture brand, but it only came into existence after Ian Fletcher-Price, known by friends and associates as Fletch, decided that the City of London wasn’t for him “I had a nine year career in the reinsurance market at Lloyds of London, starting straight from school,” says Fletch. “I had been expelled from Eastbourne College – nothing too heinous, drinking and women, nothing I’m not proud of! So I was shoved up to London by my father and I worked for three big companies.

I managed to get sacked a couple of times for being creative with new products - to this day I think I was right and correct but that wasn’t how the directors saw it.

“There was a degree of sulking and anger and a desire to be in control of my own destiny, so at 26 I moved back down to Sussex

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Ian Fletcher-Price (Fletch)

and back in with mum. It was a bit of a shock to everybody, as I had been earning quite well, had a company car and the grand title of Assistant Director. I started from scratch as a cabinet maker. I thought that was something I could control, and woodwork was my skill from school. It was really stripping it back to basics. This was back in 1990.

I got a break early on when an old school friend, Simon Petrides, who by now was an osteopath, heard what I was up to and said to me: “I’ll give you your first commission.

Make me a sloping writing board that I can sell to my patients to make them sit them up straight to read and write at work.” So I did just that in my mum’s garden shed and made what became the Posturite writing board. We showed it at a conference he was hosting in December, 1990 and we shook hands after the conference agreeing to set Posturite up

together. I have to say we didn’t really have any strategic vision as to where we were going.”

Despite almost a decade in the heart of the UK’s financial capital, Fletch is the first to admit that he lacked the knowledge of how to create a company: “I was a complete business virgin,” concedes Fletch. “I can’t tell you how useless the nine years in the Lloyds market were. They taught me how to lunch well, I knew my way round the wine list and an expensive London menu but in terms of the real world I was very naïve. Even just registering the name of the company, that was all completely alien.

“Even our name wasn’t right. We were called ‘Postuwrite’ and our lawyer asked, ‘How on earth do you pronounce that word?’ We took the w out at the very last minute and that’s how the brand Posturite was formed. I

Interview a relatively young man, I was only just in my 30s. It was so consuming, it was a 24/7 job. I was making the products at the weekend and selling them in the week.”

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We turned over £30,000 in 1991 as a single-product company, but lost £35,000.

I thought we’d done quite well…

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It took a while, but eventually the basis of a real business began to develop:

was so naïve I didn’t understand the difference between a logo and a company registration name. So I said to him “What if I put a spine in on the p, that could look quite cool.” And he said ‘That’s called a logo, old boy’.

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I knew my way round the wine list and an expensive London menu but in terms of the real world I was very naïve

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“I was learning every step of the way from day one. We turned over £30,000 in 1991 as a single-product company, but lost £35,000.

I thought we’d done quite well to make £30,000 worth of sales with the Posturite board, but hadn’t realised how the costs had mounted up. I had no idea what a balance sheet was, but Simon put the money in for the first couple of years. We turned over £90,000 in the second year, and lost another £8,000, so by the end of the second year we were down by £43,000 but I had blind faith. I felt we were going in the right direction, as daft as that seemed.”

we bought into a vision. Even then I had no idea it would ever be my career destiny and that would be it. Then it was raw survival and actually doing something to stick two fingers up the city who were constantly badgering me “Come on, swallow your pride, come back to the Lloyds market, we’ll give you a job…”

“In those days it was very much the old boy network in those sorts of markets. Your mates would rally round and just drag you into another job but I wasn’t interested.

“The first small turning point was when we turned over £150,000 in the third year and actually made a small profit. I think we made something like £5,000 profit so that grandly reduced the balance sheet deficit to under £40,000. But that still seemed like progress, it still felt like we were going the right way.

“I refer to the first eight years as the first quarter of the history of the business. We had built a portfolio and a range. We had a chair, a desk, a footrest, a document holder, a keyboard, a mouse and a sloping board.

By now there were four of us working in the business. I had got my mother to help out by answering the phones but she soon became an integral part of the business. She had retired but was working flat out. Carol was the first employee, and Norman who took over making the products. And after about eight years the four of us had built the turnover up to £1 million.”

Next Issue: Fletch on growing from a small business to becoming the market leader. www.posturite.co.uk

“After about six or seven years I began to think for the first time: ‘Actually, maybe this is what I’ll do for the rest of my life’. I was still

Looking back it is hard to see how the company survived. It did so out of sheer determination and faith.

Fletch recalls: “The only reason the company survived was that I had no commitments at the time. I had nothing else going on in my life and was living with mum. We weren’t paying ourselves and were pretty much flat broke but

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ACHIEVE YOUR DREAMS THIS NEW YEAR APPRENTICESHIPS STARTING JANUARY 2018 INTERMEDIATE & ADVANCED AGRICULTURE APPRENTICESHIPS INTERMEDIATE & ADVANCED ANIMAL CARE APPRENTICESHIPS LEVEL 2 BUTCHERY STANDARD APPRENTICESHIP LEVEL 3 BUTCHERY STANDARD APPRENTICESHIP ADVANCED & HIGHER LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT APPRENTICESHIPS APPRENTICESHIP IN LIGHT VEHICLE MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR INTERMEDIATE & ADVANCED HORTICULTURE APPRENTICESHIPS INTERMEDIATE & ADVANCED LAND-BASED SERVICE ENGINEERING APPRENTICESHIPS ADVANCED VETERINARY NURSING APPRENTICESHIP

Join us at our information event Saturday 13th January 2018 9am - 12pm to find out more. facebook.com/PlumptonCollege

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twitter.com/plumptoncollege

www.plumpton.ac.uk

Apprenticeships

APPRENTICE LEADERS Plumpton College has teamed up with the Institute of Leadership and Management to offer a new range of apprenticeships

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he key to retaining staff, succession planning, business growth, financial security and an improved market position can lie with a creative, innovative, efficient and resilient management team.

These core skills are crucial to business success within any fast-paced and challenging economic climate. Leadership & Management apprenticeships offer the opportunity to nurture both new and existing employees, empowering staff with technical knowledge and transferable skills - a vital way of increasing the value of your business.

Plumpton College are delighted to be working in partnership with the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) to offer an exciting new suite of apprenticeships and bespoke course provision, enabling businesses to train new talent while ensuring company knowledge is retained in-house, as well as giving candidates the opportunity to earn while they learn and build a portfolio of work. ILM’s market-leading apprenticeship offer supports the core principles of business management and Plumpton College are working with businesses across the region to develop occupationally relevant management provision to support the needs of our business community.

A skills gap Businesses often promote their best technical experts into management positions to ensure the quality of their products

and services, however these management teams may not have received any formal management learning prior to or as part of their appointment. It is this skills gap that Leadership & Management apprenticeships aim to address. The additional management skills required within the roles are vital to efficient and successful management teams and their wider businesses.

Intermediate and Advanced Apprenticeships Leadership & Management apprenticeships will see apprentices learning and demonstrating seven core management aspects: Personal Development, Leading and Managing People, Communication, Decision Making, Operational Management, Project Management and Finance at a level suitable to the role of the employee. Advanced Apprentices will be ‘first line’ managers with operational/project responsibilities or requirement for managing a team to deliver a clearly defined outcome. They will provide direction, instructions and guidance to ensure the achievement of set targets.

Higher Apprentices will be operations/ departmental managers managing teams and/or projects, and achieving operational or departmental targets and objectives, as part of the delivery of the organisations strategy, and are accountable to a more senior manager or business owner. Creating and delivering operational plans, managing projects, leading

and managing teams, managing change, financial and resource management, talent management and coaching & mentoring will be key parts of the Higher Apprentices role.

Getting it right for your business It is an exciting and innovative period of time for Leadership and Management, and the opportunity to grow our ‘accidental’ managers to become efficient and focused professional business management teams.

We appreciate that a full apprenticeship may not always be the best solution for our employers and are excited to be offering a solution based delivery programme of management training designed in conjunction with employers workforce development needs.

These ‘short course’ and ‘bespoke’ programs will embrace the ILM ethos, providing employers with the business management solutions they require.

For further information to discuss your needs or to arrange a non-obligatory visit from our specialist Account Managers please call 01273 892035 or email BusinessDevelopment@plumpton. ac.uk our aim is to devise and develop of your workforce needs.

Twitter: @PlumptonCollege Facebook: PlumptonCollege

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Interview

BARRACKS BOOST FOR BRIGHTON AND BEYOND An exclusive interview with Professor Debra Humphris, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Brighton. Interview by Maarten Hoffmann

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here are some locations in Brighton that have so much promise but never actually see anything delivered. Proposed developments at Black Rock, close to Brighton Marina, have been talked about for decades but nothing has happened. Preston Barracks, off the Lewes Road, has been another site of frustrated plans – but no longer. In September, planning permission was finally granted for the development of the site to include a major redevelopment of the University of Brighton’s Moulsecoomb campus.

The University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Debra Humphris, is understandably delighted about the news.

“It has taken nine long years of team work to get to this point. I sat through all six hours of the planning committee meeting as the council members, quite rightly, went through the details and listened to all views. We went to great lengths with our partners to ensure that our submission took account of concerns from local residents and stakeholders.

“Everybody has been of the view for the last 20-30 years that something needed to happen on this site. Now is the time. It is great to see something this ambitious happening in the city. I was delighted when the planning committee gave their unanimous support to what is probably the largest single development the city has seen for decades.

“As well as creating a whole new neighbourhood, with new housing, retail and public spaces the development will also provide much-needed student accommodation in new halls of residence. Very few universities are building their own student accommodation these days, so this represents a huge strategic investment in the future of our University.

“A new academic building will provide a state-of-the-art home for our Business School.

But the first step will be to construct a new multi-storey car park so that the existing spaces can be freed up for building work. The whole campus development will be landscaped and we will be planting over 300 trees and growing foraging plants to provide a pleasant

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© Hassell Architects social environment and improve air quality.”

Now the development has received the green light, there is also the small matter of ensuring that the Business School lives up to its impressive new surroundings.

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The planning committee gave their unanimous support to what is probably the largest single development the city has seen for decades.

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“We have launched the search for a new Head of Brighton Business School,” says Debra. “We have put together a focus group of businesspeople and academics who are working with us on the appointment. We want to find someone who has a clear sense of purpose and a mission to give the city the most amazing business school.”

“We want to build global connections as well, building on the fact that we attract students from all over the world. In fact we currently have students from around 97 countries. Recently, with the City, we hosted a delegation from Zhejiang Technology University in China.”

“I have also recently been to meet with the President of a university in Wenzhou, just south of Shanghai, which is a scienceoriented university specialising in medicine,

Interview

THE PRESTON BARRACKS REGENERATION SCHEME Redevelopment of Preston Barracks and University of Brighton Moulsecoomb campus: This £300 million scheme on the Lewes Road is part of a wider regeneration project involving neighbouring University land, which aims to transform this part of Brighton.

The current plans for the redevelopment of the Preston Barracks site started in July 2014. At that time, the council exchanged contracts with the University of Brighton and developers U+I Plc (formerly Cathedral Group (Holdings) Ltd & Development Securities PLC).

The partners then developed detailed plans in a process that included a number of public consultation events. The regeneration scheme took a huge step forward in September 2017 when planning consent was granted.

pharmacy and life sciences. Again, they are looking to build a collaborative connection with us. I would like to see us develop a few key strategic relationships like this rather than pursuing multiple smaller connections.”

Brexit & Student Fees Although the key focus of our discussion was to hear the latest about the University’s new development Debra was, as always, happy to touch on wider issues affecting higher education. Two issues in particular – student fees and Brexit – continue to loom large.

at other ways to raise the funding. But at the same time we want and need to see social mobility and to encourage wider participation.

So any funding and payback mechanisms mustn’t disadvantage those from poorer households.

“I also feel that we need to look more widely and address the extraordinary underinvestment in Further Education which acts as a key bridge for many from school to work and from school to university. My colleagues in Further Education have had to deal with huge challenges.

“The Higher Education sector generates an extraordinary level of income and prestige for the UK, both through students who come and study here and through research, knowledge and expertise being exported abroad. Our Higher Education sector is genuinely worldleading and other countries want to benefit from our research, teaching and creativity.

“When it comes to Brexit, my absolute key concern is for my staff. We are fortunate to have fabulous colleagues at the University from all over Europe who are very happy here but nervous about the future. I don’t want to lose them and I want to continue to be able to attract the best talent from wherever they happen to be. To be prevented from doing so would be barking!

“A key question is how we as a country want to continue to invest in Higher Education and how we see its place in a knowledge-driven economy. We need a more knowledgeable workforce because we continue to move away from primary manufacturing. But how are we going to fund that? If government is reluctant to raise direct taxation then we have to look

“UK universities are key players in EU research programmes and benefit hugely from the associated funding and collaborations.

There are already indications that if we participate in research bids for projects that end after Brexit that there is no guarantee that they will be funded. European partners are beginning to have second thoughts about

The comprehensive redevelopment will deliver new employment space in the form of the ‘Central Research Laboratory’, a commercial building for start-ups and SME’s in the high-tech manufacturing sector; 369 quality new homes; new university academic space; student accommodation with 1,338 bedrooms; and associated ancillary development including a modest amount of retail space.

The proposals cover the former Preston Barracks site and the University of Brighton's Mithras and Watts car park sites on the Moulsecoomb campus; a total area of some 4 hectares.

Subject to completion of legal agreements, the first phase of construction is due to start in the spring of 2018.

The Preston Barracks site, owned by the council, is on the main Lewes Road, an 'urban gateway' to the city from the 'Academic Corridor' (Brighton and Sussex Universities).

Since 2009, the council had been working in partnership with the University of Brighton to explore wider development opportunities that included the former barracks site alongside adjacent university land. This effectively doubled the area of developable land, offering the prospect of a more integrated and comprehensive development.

This is an edited summary of scheme adapted from the Brighton & Hove City Council Website

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Interview having a UK university involved.

“I am also concerned about the Erasmus programme and student exchanges which give our students a better-informed and more global view of the world. There is also the issue of whether EU students will still be able to draw on student loans. So there are a number of factors in play all adding to the complexity of our relationships as Europeans.”

Vice-chancellor Salaries Debra is also happy to share her views on another contentious issue, that of vicechancellors’ salaries.

“There is a clear code within which Remuneration Committees and Boards of Governors have to operate. All of my pay package has been completely public from the day I started in post, the details are published on the University’s website. I don’t take any pension contributions or personal car allowance or any accommodation provision.

“I also forego the performance bonus I am awarded and instead direct it to benefit students and colleagues across the University. I have just completed a report on how I invested the £20,000 I was awarded last year in various projects. I also personally fund one of our Breakthrough Awards every year.

© Hassell Architects “I am responsible for running a £200 million pound organisation with 21,000 students and 2,500 staff. My salary is well below the sector average. But I fully understand the reaction to some of the revelations about VC salaries elsewhere.

“It is a great privilege to be a vice chancellor.

I have to lead and manage a large and complex organisation through a lot of tricky

© Hassell Architects

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and challenging things, but I also get to experience some fantastic moments. For instance, we recently landed a major RCUK research project on translating research into meaningful public engagement.

“But most importantly I get to see our hugely talented students going off to do great things and to make a real difference in the world.

For pleasure For business For fun

ONE APP DOES IT ALL

01273 55 55 55 www.citycarsbrighton.co.uk

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Charity News

LET IT SNOW

The 10th Snowman Spectacular Fundraising Ball raised over £566,000 for Chestnut Tree House.

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hestnut Tree House’s 10th Snowman Spectacular Fundraising Ball took place last month and raised a staggering £566,025, more than ever before.

The Ball marked a decade of collaboration between the charity and The Snowman™ - the iconic character created by Chestnut Tree House Patron, Raymond Briggs CBE almost 40 years ago.

The 564 guests enjoyed a threecourse meal, an exclusive winter wonderland setting, an evening packed with entertainment and a host of fundraising activities.

The highlight of the evening was undoubtedly the heartfelt speech by 18 year-old Rebecca Torricelli, who spoke about what Chestnut Tree House means to her and her family.

Rebecca has been using the services of Chestnut Tree House since she was five, and talked about how her life has changed in that time, and how the hospice has been a lifeline to the whole family over the years.

Linda Perry, Director of Children’s Services at Chestnut Tree House said: “We are so incredibly grateful to everyone who attended our tenth Snowman Spectacular Fundraising Ball for their overwhelming support and generosity. We simply couldn’t continue to provide all our specialist care services to local children and families without it. £566,025 is an amazing amount of money and in total will pay for nearly 12 weeks of care provided by Chestnut Tree House both at the hospice and out in the community in families’ own homes.

“To put this fundraising effort into perspective, the amount raised in this one incredible evening is more than twice as much as our annual grant from central government, so it really will make a difference to the local life-limited children and families who need our help.”

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Electric Trio on stage

Björn Again Photo credits: Graham Franks Photography

Charity News

Julie Graham, Lenny Royal & Linda Perry

Ambrose Harcourt & The Snowman™

Rebecca Torricelli & family

Gift Grotto volunteers

Willmott Dixon cheque presentation

Danny Pike

Juice 107.2

Darran Redman and Tessa Roth

Debi & Robbie Raggio

Rebecca Torricelli on stage

Gary Condon & friends

Julie Graham

Chestnut Tree House Trustees

Chestnut Tree House Volunteers

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Travel - Tuscany

Shake hands in...

TUSCANY Florence, capital of the Tuscany region

Rose Dykins finds out how this beautiful part of the world retains its authentic flair, while innovating its offering for corporate travellers.

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t’s autumn in Tuscany. The sun casts a brilliant copper glow over lush meandering hills, and makes orange foliage crackle, as if each leaf is made from light. Pillars of evergreen cypress trees punctuate the plowed fields, and shroud sprawling estates with grand stone buildings from peeking eyes.

Drinking in this scenery – along with an earthy double espresso – it’s difficult to see what has changed here over the past several centuries.

Tuscany’s authenticity is a key part of its appeal as a meetings and events destination.

Timeless, beautiful and culture-rich, it epitomises the Italian dolce vita that the rest of the world covets.

Smoky, cherry-like Chianti in abundance, indulgent, meaty pasta dishes and fragrant truffles to be unearthed from the ground like treasure, it has the components for hosting VIPs (or making employees feel like them).

Too often, travellers to Italy focus only on its

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Tuscany’s attraction as a corporate travel destination may be enduring, but as a whole, Italy is not relying on its incredibly legacy to keep winning new business.

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cities, joining the queue to see Michelangelo’s David, or pretending to prop up the Leaning Tower of Pisa. And of course, an afternoon in one of Tuscany’s major cities – Florence, Siena and Pisa – would be a wonderful addition to a corporate itinerary, to combine a walking tour with a team-building activity, or having a meeting overlooking Florence’s swoonworthy cityscape. But factoring in some time

to experience rural Tuscany is frankly essential, when there are so many memorable, one-off experiences to enjoy.

The region is peppered with repurposed medieval buildings – many of them “borgos”, formerly entire villages – and the quality of the five-star resorts that now occupy many of them is incredibly high. One of these is Toscana Resort Castelfalfi, which underwent a significant renovation last year. Already home to a four-star boutique hotel housed in a former tobacco drying factory, with gorgeous terracotta ceilings and restored beams a five-star hotel was added last year. Offering 120 rooms, II Castelfalfi, a TUI Blue Selection hotel also has a fine-dining restaurant with a panoramic terrace facing dreamy rolling hills. There’s a 1000 sqm subterranean spa, two inside and outdoor heated pools, and a contemporary meeting space for up to 180 delegates.

Travel - Tuscany Rural Tuscany

“Thanks to the unique offering of the resort, we’ve had the pleasure of hosting business trips with meetings and team-building activities, incentives, product lunches for different kinds of companies – especially car brands such as Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Peugeot,” says Isidoro Di Franco, general manager of Toscana Resort Castelfalfi. “For instance, thanks to our special partnership with Mercedes-Benz, in 2017, we hosted the final tournament of the Mercedes Trophy 2017, one of the most important amateur golf circuits in the world, which brought to Castelfalfi numerous top-luxury guests and VIPs from all over Italy and Europe.”

In 2016, Castelfalfi was the host of the Peugeot Drone Film Festival. Effectively the equivalent of the drone Olympics, eight finalists from across the world (narrowed down from 400) were invited to Castelfalfi to take part in a four-day programme of drone workshops with tech company DJI, culminating in an award ceremony to announce the winner. It’s interesting to imagine eight drones buzzing and leviating over the sun-drenched stone walls of Castelfalfi’s village, but it’s a great example of the region’s ability to pair its historic charm with fresh, innovative attitude to staging events and conferences.

Tuscany’s attraction as a corporate travel destination may be enduring, but as a whole, Italy is not relying on its incredibly legacy to keep winning new business. It is continuing to move with the times and experiment with new strategic ways to work with corporate visitors to benefit local communities (see below) who cannot thrive off historical riches alone. All in all, Tuscany marries outstanding heritage with a forward-thinking approach to welcoming groups from across the world, and the global brands will keep on coming as long as this continues.

Tuscany at night

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For all your business, tax and wealth needs.

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Travel - Tuscany

GIVING SOMETHING BACK In the Tuscan town of Limestre (a one-hour drive from Florence) lies a very special place for children in need of some serious fun. Russ Watts, facilitator at Dynamo Academy explains how corporate travel groups can help them continue their good work.

“Dynamo Camp originates from the Paul Newman set of camps, now called the Serious Fun camps (seriousfunnetwork.org). It was created to serve kids with grave illnesses – some terminal, some chronic – and to provide these kids from seven to seventeen years old and the families surrounding them, with the chance to be kids, based on the principal of recreational therapy. No child or parent pays for anything ever at the camp.

“Dynamo Academy [our corporate offering] organically came about when our CEO and founder of Dynamo Camp said, ‘We’ve heard so many business owners say that what we do would be amazing for their organisation and that they want to use our location.’ And so, about five years ago, they began to provide the services we offer for corporate groups.

“We provide the location, tools, games, sometimes facilitation, sometimes consulting, depending on what the client needs. It’s almost always customised, as all clients are different. We can do anything from a four-person event to a 500-person event, and we even have an event planned for 800 people this coming year.

“We can either take our Dynamo staff off-campus and come to your location, or, for the eight or so months of the year where Dynamo Camp is not being used by the children, we can host groups there – we’ve had thousands of people there for events, though 150 people is probably the maximum if you’re planning on using it as an intense work or team-building space. We’ve got surrounding hotels, a theatre and a deluxe cafeteria dining facility as well as our outdoor areas, so we have space to host discussions or breakout sessions.

“We give delegates a break from the office – a chance to enjoy Tuscany and to enhance relationships with colleagues in a different time and space, with both fun and strategic elements of dynamic communication based on the activities that we provide, or, based on the more business facilitation and corporate consulting that we bring to those events.

“All of Dynamo Academy’s earnings – aside from the expenses it take for Dynamo Academy to survive – support Dynamo Camp, so we can continue to offer a better place for the children to be hosted.

“A big reason why corporate entities come to us, is because it feels good. It’s not like they’re lining the pockets of a corporation that is simply providing a service in a beautiful location – instead, they’re enabling the future joy of families and kids dealing with severe disabilities and illnesses. It benefits the society around our organisation, the recipients, and the corporate, so it’s a triple win. It’s an infectious time in Italy right now for Dynamo Academy – we’re experiencing incredible positive growth, and I hope that continues.” dynamoacademy.org

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More destinations than any other UK airport

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Source: OAG schedules 2016

Travel - Tuscany

TOP PLACES FOR A MEETING/EVENT TOSCANA RESORT CASTELFALFI

Set amid 1,000 hectares of woodlands, olive groves and vineyards, this five-star resort comprises a renovated medieval village, a castle, three restaurants, a 27-hole golf course and two separate hotels. As well as extensive meetings facilities, delegates can take part in group activities such wine tasting and cooking classes, or explore the extremely good-looking estate on foot or by bike. castelfalfi.com

BORGO SAN LUIGI

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Wandering around the five separate blocks of this repurposed 17th-century borgo, it’s hard to believe the original buildings of this former village now houses 73 elegant rooms and suites with free wifi and air-conditioning. The resort’s large outdoor pool and terrace is a standout feature, and for groups, it’s possible to arrange a medieval banquet, with lively entertainment and a spread of delicious Tuscan classics. borgosanluigi.it

CASTEL MONASTERO

A member of Leading Hotels of the World, this spectacular restored monastery perched atop a hill transports you to a calm headspace as soon as you arrive. The menus of the resort’s two restaurants were created by Gordon Ramsay – with seven Michelin stars between them – and the sleek contemporary spa is housed in two former farmhouses. Ferrari 458s can be rented for the day to explore the region’s stunning scenery, and truffle hunting expeditions can be arranged, where adorable, enthusiastic dogs lead you to the precious funghi. castelmonastero.com

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Motoring

THE BENTLEY BOY

by Motoring Editor, Maarten Hoffmann

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he Bentley Boys were a group of wealthy playboys who drove Bentley cars to victory in the1920’s and pushed the brand into folklore as exclusive, fast and stylish. In 1925, when the marque was floundering, Bentley Boy Woolf Barnato purchased the company leading to the creation of the famous supercharged Bentley Blower.

Unfortunately, the Great Depression arrived and destroyed the market for luxury brands and the company was eventually sold to Rolls-Royce in 1931. In 1998 the company was again sold to its current owners, Volkswagen.

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The early Flying Spur was a stretched version of the famous Continental but this new model sits in a class of its own. When it first arrived on my drive, l was unsure. I was expecting some theatre as with the Rolls, but you don’t get that. I was expecting a wafting great barge but you don’t get that either. For the first two days l was really unsure that this car really lives up to the famous Bentley marque, until day three when l fell in love. There is something very special about this car but it is quite tough to define what that is. There is not the theatre of the Rolls but then you don’t feel like you are flaunting your wealth and being stared at every five minutes by commoners who think you are a

Motoring

flash knob. This is more subtle - you know you are driving a Bentley and you don’t really give a damn if any one else knows it. I like that.

The party trick here is that you don’t really know you are driving a 2.5-tonne car. This new Audi derived V8 engine is as smooth as silk and pop it into sport mod, and it really does fly. With the standard 4-wheel drive, it allows you to properly attack corners and accelerate away from just about anything whilst sitting in a luxurious formal dining room. Switch out of sport and it wafts around with grace and style leaving you as fresh as a daisy after 1000 miles and ready for the next 1000.

As the majority of the, mainly Chinese, owners will sit in the back, there is little expense spared there with 10-inch screens, on-board 4G enabled WiFi and your own controller. This operates just about everything from the TV, heated/cooling massage seats, fold-down picnic tables and a fridge in the armrest that will chill the obligatory bottle of Champagne. You can even stream the dash to the rear screen to see if Parker is doing the correct speed. With double glazing, the 1,100w sound system is crystal clear and you will be sitting in the finest handstitched quilted leather seats that money can buy. In short, you will not want to get out.

For the lucky driver, the seating position is fully adjustable although the indicator stalk is far too close to the paddle shift and turning left often pops you into manual which is a tad disconcerting. There is no doubt that this car is designed for both the passenger and the driver. The 8-speed ZF transmission is absolutely seamless and as l had the S version, it was giving me 521bhp and 60mph was reached in 4.6 seconds, and will storm on to 190mph. This is a quick car by any standards. The air suspension deals with just about every surface in

a calm and undisturbed manner and it corners almost flat - to corner totally flat in this size and weight car would be beyond magic.

There are two models available, the W12 6.0-litre and the 4.0-litre V8 and this is the one to buy if you like actually diving past petrol stations.

My V8S will deliver 25.9mpg combined but the urban figure of 17.8 would be more realistic but then very few owners of this car will give a flying hoot about that. This car is not about saving money or skimping on the extras list. Rather it is a wonderful hark back to the old days when quality and refinement were the only things that mattered. The extras list is not so much of optional as mandatory. Jewel encrusted fuel cap anyone?

The exterior might be called a tad bland but to me it is that wonderful heady combination of refinement and style that is not rammed down everyones throat. Understated style and panache is the order of the day and although you can buy a Mercedes S-Class or a BMW 7-series with most of the kit at half the price, why would you. This is a Bentley And what would the original Bentley Boys make of this car? I have a feeling they would prowl around it with appreciative, knowing glances then get inside and rip it at high speed to Monaco - and back again just for a laugh whilst slugging the finest Champagne.

They would love it as do l.

TECH STUFF Model tested: Flying Spur V8S Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbo Power: 521bhp Performance: 0-60mph 4.6 seconds Top: 190mph Economy: 25.9mpg combined Price from: £142,800 As tested: £183,795

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Motoring

SHARAN NOT SHARON

By Motoring Editor, Maarten Hoffmann

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funny thing happened recently when l looked in my diary to see Sharon at 5pm. I duly turned up at my dear friend Sharon’s house to be greeted with a look of surprise as she was not expecting me.

At that exact moment, my phone rang and it was the delivery driver from VW delivering my Sharan test car to the office. We laughed a lot and l have since learnt the correct spelling and pronunciation of the cars name.

The VW Sharan does what David Blane, Paul Daniels and Sigfried and Roy spent years learning - how to trick the brain. This is a full size MPV but sitting inside you just do not feel it at all. It tells you it is a nippy standard SUV whereby it is really a full size, well equipped people carrier that will move not just your kids but the entire school, half the contents of your house and the odd planet, if you are so inclined.

The Sharan comes with a choice of four engines – one petrol and two diesel. The sellers will be the diesels l guess, although one

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wonders how long that will last – 2.0-litre units with a choice of 148bhp and 181bhp outputs.

Although the 181bhp unit is quicker, it’s less refined around town, with marginally more noise and vibration being evident from the driver’s seat. It also offers the temptation to be driven in a less economical fashion. Both, however, are impressively refined on the motorway.

The only available petrol engine is the 148bhp 1.4 TSI which, like the diesels, is now familiar across the Volkswagen Group’s ranges. It is extremely smooth and refined, although lacks torque lower down the rev range; it can feel underpowered with a full load of passengers on board and requires frequent gear changing to keep the revs above 4000rpm when you want to make progress or overtake.

DCC adaptive chassis control is available as an option and l would heartily recommend it. It individually adjusts the dampers at each wheel to give better body control yet improves

ride comfort. The system works well and also offers drivers the option to override the Normal setting with a Sport or Comfort mode.

There’s plenty of room for seven adults inside, with access to the rear seats provided by optional electric sliding doors and this is another optional l would certainly take - if for no other reason that they endlessly amuse the kids. Boot space isn’t brilliant in seven-seat mode, but then no car in this class can carry seven passengers and all of their luggage. In five-seat configuration the boot space rises to 711 litres, and then to a serious 2297 litres if you fold both rear rows of seats and load to the roof. Still not enough? Then the back of the front passenger seat can be folded flat, allowing nearly three metres of load length.

All rear seats leave a flat load floor when folded and the rear row can be folded and repositioned with one hand.

Being a VW, the interior is quality and you might recognise the layout and, although there are several variants, the entry level

Motoring S offers you plenty of kit such as electric windows, automatic wipers, ti-zone climate, Bluetooth, USB and a 6.5 inch screen and it is all easy to use and close at hand.

On the road it has impeccable manners, plenty of poke if you are not fully loaded, it is pretty roar free on the motorway and it is incredibly easy to drive. The steering is light but sensitive, the clutch is a breeze and the brakes progressive so really, anyone could drive this car.

As to its looks, there is not much to say but then in this sector, that is pretty universal. It is not ugly at all but it plays to its strengths and its sector demands and in that regard, it is pretty much up there amongst the best in class. It does have a problem with the Seat Alhambra which does everything well too and is cheaper but having tested both, l would plump for the VW as it feels more solid, more planted.

And it’s a Volkswagen.

TECH STUFF Model Tested: 1.4-litre TSI Engine: 1,395 cc turbocharged Power: 150bhp Performance: 0-60mph 9.9 seconds Top: 124mph Economy: 56.5 combined Price: ÂŁ27,355

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Fundraising

PADDLE ROUND… A PACIFIC ISLAND Every summer, the sea off Brighton beach is packed with enthusiastic hordes paddling round the pier for charity. Adventurer and business coach, Neil Laughton, always like to go that bit further….

I

was sitting in a popular Brighton seaside wine bar with some business friends. It was a dark mid winter’s night in 2016 and out of nowhere someone said “Let’s do a sea challenge for charity!” I did a quick online search… “Remotest islands in the world”.

Easter Island, Rapa Nui or Isla de Pascua in the South Pacific Ocean stood out as officially the remotest inhabited island in the world, some 3,500 km from the coast of Chile.

It has an interesting history – with ancient Polynesian clans from AD 400 whose tradition of carving, transporting and erecting circa 1,000 Moai stone statues around the island were legendary. The invasion of western people including slave traders together with disease and the introduction of vermin

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decimated the population in the late 19th century to a few hundred people.

Easter Island is 117 sq km with a ragged 60km coastline of volcanic rock, precipitous cliffs and it is continuously smashed by South Pacific waves and the odd Tsunami.

“Why don’t we paddle-board around Easter Island?!” The challenge was set in stone, well in Chardonnay, actually. Time to start planning and preparing. The paddling team became Mark Newman, Meriel Davis and me with Rob Pelling our “safety man” and photographer.

November 2018 was the chosen month as historically it is the least windiest of the year and flights booked - 20 hours of jet flight to get there.

I approached the Red Paddle Company who seemed to like our intrepid plan and four large boxes arrived at my house. Time to learn to paddle-board in rolling seas off Brighton beach! Our main training exercise before departure for the South Pacific would be an attempt to circumnavigate the Isle of Wight. We set off from Hythe Harbour at 0530 hrs one September morning and headed for The Needles. After 12 hours on the water we paddled around the famous red and white lighthouse at 9.30pm under a near full moon.

It was glorious.

The team successfully paddled 100 km around the Isle of Wight in 21 hours over three days and we felt as ready as we could be for Easter Island. Final packing of essential kit

Fundraising and equipment for the expedition included off-grid power units from Tex Energy, hand-held Sealblades to be used in an emergency and an array of communications devices. Red Paddle had generously exchanged our 12ft Explorer boards with the latest edition 13ft Voyager boards and our bodies had been toned in the Spa at The Grand.

On arrival at Easter Island, we rented a car in order to make a detailed reconnaissance of the coast. Oh dear! Three meter crashing waves onto 75% of the coastline, large twenty foot rolling swells coming in a SW direction and only two potential safe entry / exit points on the entire island! We talked to a local Chilean Navy detachment and Dive Company.

Both recommended a fishing boat as a safety backup. With a deteriorating weather window we decided to set off the following morning at 0700 hrs.

With Rob in the safety boat we started paddling North from Roe Bay near Hanga Roa approximately 400m offshore to avoid the noisy breaking waves over jagged volcanic rocks. It was tiring work paddling hour after hour into a steady headwind and if you fell off, it took three minutes of furious paddling to catch up the others.100% focus was required to stay upright and the slightest deviation off the horizon ensured an undignified stagger into the shark-infested waters. Thankfully, I didn’t see any fins lurking on the surface.

Rob helpfully provided water and snacks at hourly intervals. After nine hours of paddling, we had covered approximately 45% of the 60km journey and finally reached the safe harbour of Anakena Beach situated on the North coastline. This was a haven of beauty – a curved white sandy beach fringed with palm trees and featuring an impressive line of Moai statues with “top not” hats. Exhausted, we struggled up the hillside with our camping equipment and after some tea and pot noodles, crashed out.

Shortly after sunrise on Thursday 9th November we set off again on what we hoped would be our final day’s paddling around the island as strong winds were forecast for the rest of the week. The next section was one of the most daunting, having to circle the vertical cliffs of the eastern Poike Peninsula with its enormous volcanic crater called Maunga Pua Katiki. This imposing headland would be the crux of the mission with its swirling tides, crashing waves and fickle wind changes. We battled on becoming weary as the day progressed. Turning the corner, we passed the magnificent line of fifteen proud Moai statues at Ahu Tongariki in Hotuiti Bay. We turned onto the long south coast leg with the white oil drums serving the airport becoming our new landmark waypoint some 25km away.

We had maybe four hours of daylight left to complete the last 15km section including rounding the SW headland and the incredible Rano Kau crater. It has a lake one km across with several peat bogs floating on the surface. A legendary race was held here with the island’s young men representing their clans shinning down the near vertical cliff-face, diving into the sea and swimming to Moto Nui Island some 2km offshore, grabbing a few migratory terns eggs and the first back received special powers, status and privileges for one year.

As the sun began its descent below the limitless horizon, we passed the point where we had started our mission some 36 hours earlier and headed back into Hanga Roa Harbour. We were a little pooped to say the least. As I sat on the plane home reflecting on our experiences, it suddenly dawned on me that three middle-aged business executives with no previous experience of paddle-boarding had just completed an improbable circumnavigation of the remotest island in the world and raised a few thousand pounds for the Rockinghorse charity. As I like to say, “Its better to go paddle-boarding and think of God than go to Church and think of paddle-boarding!”

Footnote: To make a donation to Rockinghorse please visit www.justgiving.com/EasterIslandPaddleboardExpedition

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THE BUSINESS EVENT FOR 2018 Worthing Assembly Hall 1st February • 10am to 4pm What can you look forward to at the show?

FREE ENTRY

meet, network and introduce your business

from local larger companies and Adur & Worthing Council

on Finance, Legal issues, Marketing, PR and Branding

Keynote Speakers ...network and mingle

Adam Stafford from Fresh Egg talks about lessons learnt and what he’d tell his younger self

Matt Hunt from The Protein Ball Co relives and how they come to be rolling over a million balls

Penina Shepherd & Ben Rose from Acumen Law – GDPR Don’t Believe the Hype!

#betterbiz2018

Don’t miss out – register now! www.worthingandadurchamber.co.uk SUPPORTED BY

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MAIN SPONSOR

design: yoohoocreative.com

including Navigator Growth Hub

Business Expo

BUSINESS SHOW: AN EVENT NOT TO BE MISSED

1st February 10am–4pm - Assembly Hall, Worthing

T

he Better Business Show will take place on Thursday 1st February at Worthing Assembly Hall. The event is collaboratively delivered by Worthing and Adur Chamber and Adur & Worthing Business Partnership. With a strong focus on ‘Local Success’, this event is free to attend and a ‘must’ in the 2018 business calendar for ALL businesses in Worthing & Adur, both large and small. Why not come along and join us for the pre-show networking breakfast in the Town Hall with Guild Care and prepare for the day ahead?

What can you look forward to as a delegate?

• Inspire - Keynote speakers will share their journeys to success.

Adam Stafford from digital marketing agency Fresh Egg will talk about lessons learnt and what he’d tell his younger self.

• Google Digital Garage - Who better to teach you than a Google digital expert. Find out what is needed to gain a competitive advantage in the ever changing digital landscape. Come prepared to learn.

• B2B Exhibition with over 90 stands - meet, network and introduce your business.

• Support - Free business support for start-up and growing businesses including information about grants and finance.

And come along and meet the Business Navigator team.

• Growth - Local Procurement Teams will be on hand to discuss opportunities including Adur & Worthing Council. There will also be the opportunity to meet procurement teams from other local businesses.

• Advise - The Expert Zone will offer advice on finance, marketing, PR, branding and legal.

• Network - Meet and mingle with other businesses over lunch at the Sussex Food Court.

Matt Hunt from Protein Ball Company will talk about the company’s journey from making family snacks at home to rolling over a million little protein balls.

Penina Shepherd and Ben Rose from Acumen Business Law will help guide you down the GDPR road – Don’t believe the Hype!

For more information, to book a stand or to attend the show and keep up-to-date with the developing programme, visit: www.worthingandadurchamber.co.uk

SUPPORTED BY

MAIN SPONSOR

• Promote - Network and share experiences at the B2B Exhibition with both new and established businesses.

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Women in Business

THE BUSINESS WOMEN EXCELLENCE AWARDS

T

WINNERS ANNOUNCED!

he gala final of the 2017 Business Women Excellence Awards – Sussex Edition took place on the 24th November at the Hilton Brighton Metropole Hotel.

Organised by Carrot Events and hosted by Heart FM’s Lynsey Bartlett, guests enjoyed a drink on arrival sponsored by Ridgeview Wine Estate followed by a three-course dinner alongside live entertainment courtesy of the Brighton Academy of Performing Arts.

Over 410 entries and third party nominations were received last year and it was a huge job for the judges, Bruce Hayter of Rix & Kay Solicitors LLP, Alison Jones of Kreston Reeves and Amanda Menahem of Platinum Business Magazine and Pascere restaurant to select the 2017 finalists.

The awards evening saw many jubilant winners, some of whom included Rosemary French OBE, Executive Director of the Gatwick Diamond Initiative and winner of the Business Women of the Year Category; and Christina Ewbank, Chief Executive of Eastbourne Unltd Chamber of Commerce and winner of the Longstanding Contribution to Business Award.

The 2017 Judges’ Special Recognition Award went to the Martlets and the wonderful Snowdogs campaign.

Congratulations to all of the winners and finalists.

MEDIUM BUSINESS OF THE YEAR AWARD Sponsored by Consortium Business Solutions Presented by: Lara Squires Joint Winner – Bolney Wine Estate Joint Winner – Green Mop Ltd

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OVERALL BUSINESS/BUSINESS WOMAN OF THE YEAR Sponsored by Acumen Business Law presented by Penina Shepherd Winner: Imelda Glackin, The Martlets

BUSINESS/START-UP OF THE YEAR AWARD Sponsored by Best of Brighton & Hove Presented by Gerry Hussein Winner – The Incredible Cake Company

LARGE BUSINESS OF THE YEAR AWARD Sponsored by Martin Riley Presented by Martin Riley Winner- Gemini Print

SMALL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR AWARD Sponsored by Let’s Do Business Group Presented by Ian Smallwood Winner – The Mumpreneurs Networking Club

THE BUSINESS INNOVATION AWARD Sponsored by Platinum Business Magazine. Presented by Lesley Alcock Winner- Mooncup Ltd

Women in Business

BUSINESS WOMAN OF THE YEAR Sponsored by Kreston Reeves presented by Dan Daly Winner – Rosemary French OBE

DIGITAL WOMAN OF THE YEAR Sponsored by Identity Integrated Events Partner Presented by: Shea Bennett Winner – Mina O’Brien, Ditzy Media

ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR Sponsored by Martin Riley Presented by Martin Riley Winner – Pam Loch, Loch Associates Group

WOMAN IN EDUCATION Sponsored by Anascom Presented by Claire Burroughs Winner – Rebecca Whippy, Embrace East Sussex

WOMAN IN UNIFORM Sponsored by Mobile App Solutions Presented by: JJ Baiden-Amissah Winner – Chief Inspector Emma Brice

WOMAN IN ARTS/MUSIC/DANCE/DESIGN/ MEDIA Sponsored by Propellernet Presented by Jessica Leader Joint Winner – Kate Alexander Joint Winner – Emma Green

EMPLOYER OF THE YEAR AWARD Sponsored by Pier Recruitment Presented by Ian Trevett Winner: Haybury

EMPLOYEE/S OF THE YEAR Sponsored by Hilton Brighton Metropole Presented by: Agata Balazinska Winner: Guardian Angel Carers Ltd

CONTRIBUTION TO THE COMMUNITY Sponsored by The Argus Presented by David Plummer Winner – Eastbourne Volunteers

MENTOR OF THE YEAR Sponsored by Online Ticket Seller Presented by Christos Stylianou Winner – Anna Pak Poy, Haybury

WOMAN OF COURAGE Sponsored by ACES presented by Stephen Holt Joint Winner – Lori Pinkerton-Rolet Joint Winner – Free the Nipple Brighton (not in the photo)

LONGSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO BUSINESS Sponsored by Neva Consultants Presented by Bruce Hayter Winner – Christina Ewbank

2017 JUDGES SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARD Sponsored by The Creative Group Presented by: Matt Turner and Bruce Hayter Joint Winner – Snowdogs, The Martlets Joint Winner – Caroline Lucas MP (not in the photo)

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Sussex Economic Forum

WHAT A DEBATE Highlights from the 2017 Sussex Economic Forum

T

he Sussex Economic Forum debuted its first conference at the Brighton Hilton Metropole Hotel in November 2017.

With Sussex’s economic growth and development as the main core of the topics discussed, the event was attended by many high-profile politicians, universities, councils and top businesses.

Proceedings began with a sumptuous gala dinner on the evening of Thursday 16th November, with keynote speakers Richard Cripps, Managing Director of Rix and Kay Solicitors, and Charles Horton, Chief Executive of Govia Thameslink Railway Limited.

The conference saw four major debates taking place, the first of which on Digital Infrastructure, followed by a presentation by Sir Vince Cable, leader of the Liberal Democrats, who was the conference keynote speaker on the effect of Brexit for the county and country. Views on an early general election and local community issues were among the many highlights of Mr Cable’s speech.

Other panels throughout the day included Road, Rail, Air and Sea Infrastructure; Sussex Economic Growth and the Effect of Brexit; and Employment and Education within the county and surrounding areas. Each saw participation from fantastic speakers who offered their key insights into all the topics.

The 2017 speakers included: • MP for Bexhill and Battle Huw Merman • South East Organiser for RMT Union, Paul Cox • Councillor David Tutt, the leader of Eastbourne Borough Council • MP for Hove and Portslade Peter Kyle • Investigator Scientist and Cognitive Expert, Dr. Sam Wass • David Smith, political editor of The Sunday Times • Shea Bennett of Identity • Christina Ewbank, Chief Executive Officer of ACES • Rosemary French OBE, Executive Director of Gatwick Diamond Initiative • Professor Adam Tickell, Vice-Chancellor of University of Sussex • Mike Herd, Executive Director of Sussex Innovation Centre • Lucy Paine, Catalyst Programme Manager at the Sussex Innovation Centre • David Sheppard, Chairman of the Sussex Chamber of Commerce • Dr Steven Goss-Tuner, Chair of the Eastbourne Education Business Partnership • John Gill, Director of Business Development, Network Rail • Tim Norwood, Director of Corporate Affairs, Planning and Sustainability at Gatwick Airport • Stephen Lloyd MP for Eastbourne • Professor Jim Rollo, Deputy Director of the UK Trade Policy Observatory • Andrew Griggs, Senior Partner at Kreston Reeves LLP • Caroline Ansell, Conservative Party politician and educationalist.

• Paul Cox of RMT Union

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Sussex Economic Forum

The 2017 Sussex Economic Forum was a fantastic success and the organisers, Carrot Events, are very much looking forward to the launch of next year’s Southern Economic Forum 2018 Conference. Watch this space for news updates.

 To see the conference video and photographs from the event, please visit: www.sussexeconomicforum. com/index.

Organised by

For more information on the 2018 conference and for sponsorship opportunities please contact Faiza Shafeek at FS@carrotevents.co.uk or call 01323 723325.

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Table Talk

A Month in Food

by Amanda Menahem

Bistrotech

S

o I found myself organising a lavish food and booze-fuelled couple of days in London. This was for a man. A surprise birthday celebration for the man that I’m dating in fact. It’s been ages since I made such a gesture, and I rather enjoyed it. So it started with champagne in proper flutes (of course) on the train up. Then lunch at The Ember Yard in Soho (him being a fan of tapas). Fantastic Cava, excellent, interesting and perfectly executed small plates. Highlights were chargrilled prawns, shaved lardo, pan con tomate (toasted bread with garlic and tomato) with chilli, lemon and parsley (£9.50), and grilled delica pumpkin with buffalo ricotta, charred sourdough, salsa verde and toasted seeds (£8). The only slight disappointment was the cheesecake but then I’m very specific about what a cheesecake should be (baked, vanilla, biscuit base, New York style). With great service and location too, I heartily recommend this place.

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❝

washed down with a crisp Chablis, a great accompaniment and a fitting birthday tipple.

Bistrotech is so hip it wouldn’t be out of place in the meat-packing district in New York.

❞

I then endured a matinee performance of Glen Garry Glen Ross (I could at least ogle Christian Slater) so that the man could enjoy some ‘theatre’ before we hit the bars and worked our way back to Soho. Dinner was at a proper Chinese place on Romilly Street, Bar Shu, specialising in Szechuan cuisine. I cannot recall everything I ate, but I do recall hot fried green beans with crumbs of pork, ginger, garlic and, of course, chillies; some amazingly fresh spring rolls without a hint of greasiness (as is so often the case) and a stir fried pork mince in lettuce, fresh, hot, sour. This was all

The following morning after brekkie at Dean Street Townhouse (always great, comfy chairs in period London elegance, albeit with slightly patchy service), we meandered around London and slowly made our way to what is perhaps one of the best places for a hangover lunch – the famous Duck and Waffle at the top of the Heron Tower. We decided to walk to its City location via Covent Garden and the Embankment, a glorious walk bathed in winter sun (why do people insist on getting tubes?

They miss so much), and once we’d located the correct tower, we embarked on our ascent, gliding up in the purpose-built glass lift (not unlike the i360 actually!), to reach a fabulous bar with breathtaking views. There we enjoyed the famous huge ox cheek doughnut (£12) with our cocktails. This is one of the ‘filthiest’ most wonderful things I’ve eaten in a long time.

Table Talk Then at our fabulous corner table with almost 360 views over London, we ordered the foie gras crème brulee with marmalade brioche to start (£13). Totally sublime. Then followed a roast chicken to share, with wild mushrooms, ratte potatoes and truffle (£35). Pretty much most of my favourite things in one dish. We argued over whether a Cabernet Franc or a Morgon Beaujolais would go better (the latter, I won). We took our time and dined on this dish all afternoon. And having vowed not to drink that much on account of my hangover, three hours later, a bottle of wine and two cocktails down, I was feeling gloriously out of it.

❝

Breakfast at LOST

There we enjoyed the famous huge ox cheek doughnut with our cocktails.

This is one of the ‘filthiest’ most wonderful things I’ve eaten in a long time.

❞

Desserts just had to be ordered and so it was to be the chocolate fondant with peanut butter ganache, vanilla ice cream and praline crunch (£10) and the white chocolate and chestnut mousse, vanilla shortbread and clementine sorbet (£9). Just writing all this down makes me want it all again, it was such a perfect meal. We watched the sun set over the city as we finished our drinks. All we needed now was a teleport, how bloody inconvenient that it hasn’t yet been invented. So, reluctantly, off we went to London Bridge in search of a train home.

The following weekend I was in London again with my girlfriends and discovered the most fantastic brunch place; Bistrotech, in the achingly cool Hackney, where my achingly cool girlfriend lives. Bistrotech is so hip it wouldn’t be out of place in the meat-packing district in New York. A huge industrial warehouse made glam with a swanky bar, live pianist and a huge floral arrangement. The menu was pretty special – one of those brunches where you are meant to have three courses, with interesting seasonal dishes as well as the more obvious brunch options. Coffee was excellent as was the quality of the food. I was a little jealous not to have this place round the corner from me. The only downside is that we had a 90 minute slot and we weren’t quite ready to leave. Shame. It’s a 15 minute walk from Columbia Road flower market – so this would make a lovely Sunday excursion.

Foie gras creme brulée at Duck and Waffle

View from our table at Duck and Waffle

Pumpkin at the Ember Yard

White chocolate and chestnut mousse

And what of places closer to home? Well, my new favourite place is LOST in the Lanes café in Brighton. The best breakfast I’ve had in Brighton in a long time, daily changing interesting salads, sandwiches and hot meals. The cake counter has tripped me up on more than one occasion and the chai latte is fabulous.

The other foodie highlight and discovery was the Lickfold Inn near Petworth. Read my review on page72.

And as you read this I will have just returned from a hiking trip in Mallorca, making room for a whole new year of culinary adventure.

Prawns at the Ember Yard

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Table Talk

Review

The Lickfold Inn

by Amanda Menahem

I

was once told about the Lickfold Inn by a date. A man I met through one of these posh agencies (what a bloody waste of money that was).

He was a CEO coach and a regular pundit on BBC World News. I had been fairly impressed, which turned out to be totally misguided. The only genuine thing about him was his recommendation of the Lickfold Inn. Even as a Londoner he went there most weekends. I never did get around to going until now.

And wow, what have I been missing!

❝

The Lickfold Inn is its jewel in the crown. It’s one of those pubs that you wish you lived around the corner from (well I do anyway).

❞

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Lickfold village itself, just outside Petworth, is the sort of picture perfect remote village that immediately gives me ‘living in the country’ fantasies. It feels unspoilt too. Unlike nearby Petworth, which, while lovely, is a little bit ‘Waitrose’ and ‘The White Company’ if you know what I mean. Lickfold, however, is all lush countryside and unspoilt charm. And the Lickfold Inn is its jewel in the crown. It’s one of those pubs that you wish you lived around the corner from (well I do anyway).

Open fires, low ceilings, old wooden beams, old country pub charm, with just enough ‘hip’. There’s a swanky kitchen with a glass panel allowing you to see through into it from the bar area and they even have their own meat curing cupboard!

The kitchen has impressive credentials. Executive chef is Tom Sellers, the infamous and renowned chef behind Michelin starred Restaurant Story in London. Graham Spire is head chef, who was in the kitchen on the day of my visit. Lucky me. We were shown upstairs to the comfortable restaurant - downstairs they do only bar snacks. But these are no ordinary bar snacks. We are talking game and foie gras terrine, tempura cauliflower and salted lemon, and a cheese and onion beignet with hay mayo. There’s also some comfort food; fish finger sandwich,

Table Talk

Artichoke Starter

Game Terrine Starter

Halibut Main

Scotch egg and Welsh rarebit amongst them. The upstairs is slightly more refined than the pub downstairs but in no way stuffy. There’s no mistaking this is a proper pub.

clearly a chef who knows what people want to eat. The artichoke dish was sublime – a mélange of different textures of artichoke and smothered in grated truffle.

The front of house team were able to talk me though each dish in detail with ease. Helpfully they were also happy to make recommendations based upon my preferences and hunger levels (high as usual). I went for the game terrine with prune, earl grey and homemade brioche (£10). But because I LOVE Jerusalem artichoke, I also had to order the Jerusalem artichoke with root vegetables, chestnut and winter truffle (£9). So yes, we ordered three starters between two.

Up next, halibut, yeast, cauliflower and pickled sloe (£29). Perfectly cooked halibut with a crisped skin came perched on a charred and roasted cauliflower steak, with a rich puree and jus. This was simple, rich and delicious. My companion chose the pheasant with wild honey, sprout tops and garlic (£26). A roasted breast came with a ‘pasty’ made of braised leg. The homemade crisp pastry encasing melting pheasant leg being the highlight. Portions were generous and we were both stuffed, but of course couldn’t resist dessert.

❝

It was a hard choice between chestnut parfait with coffee ice cream (£8) or the bitter chocolate pine cone with wild bilberry (£8). The latter is one of the signature desserts and, well it’s chocolate, so we both chose it. What a delight! A mound of rich chocolate mousse studded with bitter chocolate pieces making it resemble a pine cone. The bilberry, which I’d been skeptical about (I just don’t get the fruit with chocolate thing), did actually work very well. A hit of intense puree in the centre, bringing out the chocolateyness of the chocolate. The real surprise was the accompanying pine ice cream, which had real wow factor. A beautifully creamy ice cream with intense pine nut flavour. It worked surprisingly well.

But because I LOVE Jerusalem artichoke, I also had to order the Jerusalem artichoke with root vegetables, chestnut and winter truffle. So yes, we ordered three starters between two.

❞

An amuse-bouche quickly arrived. These were choux buns filled with truffle cream and shaved truffle. Delicious. Then followed good homemade bread and butter and then onto our starters. The terrine was chunky and generous. I am often disappointed by terrines. They can be bland and often fridge-cold with barely discernible flavours all melding into one. This on the other hand contained generous chunks of game and silky foie gras. This terrine was full of flavour and meatyness.

The accompanying hunk of brioche was perfectly toasted and buttery, and the earl grey and prune chutney, a perfect partner to the game adding a Christmassy richness. I was already in food heaven. This is

Pheasant with a pasty on the side

Petit fours were also handmade; one a chocolate encasing a fresh raspberry mousse, the other a dark chocolate biscuity cake thing.

I was driving so I enjoyed only a single glass of Ridgeview Rose De Noir, one of my favourite bubbles and rare to find by the glass (the Gingerman in Brighton being the only other place I know of). Service was warm and knowledgeable throughout (with the exception of one slightly ‘stiff’ waiter). By the end of this perfectly timed meal, I was replete. The only thing that would have made this lunch more perfect would have been a walk in the countryside after lunch and a bottle of wine by the fire. Not necessarily in that order.

Bitter chocolate pine cone with pine ice cream

Petit Fours

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Table Talk

Abstinence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

By Gerry Higgins at The VineKing

F

or the past few years on the 1st of February at about 5pm, I could be found gleefully pouring myself a very large glass of wine. I’d be celebrating the end of my month of no alcohol and hell do I need a glass of wine. Usually due to my weakened alcohol tolerance, by 8pm I am feeling pretty tipsy. I have visions of Britain full of people clutching wine bottles to their chest shouting ‘I told you I could do it!’

This year I have decided to give this madness a miss. I do like feeling smug when everyone thinks I won’t manage it and I also appreciate having a ready reply to my occasional over indulgence, ’Look, I stopped drinking for the whole of January now pass the port’. January is a miserable month at the best of times so I’m not sure I want to give up one of my favourite things. In fact, I am sure that I don’t.

That said, I do think cutting back after the excess of the festive season is a good idea. Many espouse the virtues of three dry days a week. But for me the plan is to drink no more than one glass of wine a day (no, not one of those glasses that holds a full bottle!). There is a constant flurry of articles on the various risks of alcohol but amongst them also some proported benefits (lowers risk of heart disease, lowers risk of stroke, and most importantly stops me being miserable) but of course drinking two bottles of wine over lunch does not in any way double the benefit. Who knew!

So, my plan for January is to get hold of a BIB or also called a bag in box. The quality of BIBs has improved massively, especially from France.

The wine can easily last for the full month of January. The French drink

driving laws are pretty strict, tougher than they are in the UK in fact. In response, many wine producers in France have started to put some of their better wines in boxes.

The other benefits of BIBs are less wastage, recycling and fuel miles. So, this January I will be saving the planet, my brain, my heart and myself from an awful hangover on the 2nd of February.

Here’s my pick of the best (all 2.25 litres and available at Waitrose).

• Les Dauphins, Côtes du Rhône, Villages NV £20.99 Villages is a step in quality from basic Cote du Rhone and so it’s great to find this quality in BIB. Juicy plum, red and black fruit, plenty of spice and hints of cream and chocolate.

• The Beefsteak Club, Malbec, Mendoza 2016 £20.99 Oaky, sweet plum, baked fruits, cherry and black pepper.

• Ca’Mutti Garganega Pinot Grigio, Venezie £15.99 For a reliable white I’d go for this Pinot Grigio/Gargenega blend.

Gargenega is the grape used in Soave and the blend of the two grapes produces a clean easy drinking style. Green apple, pear and white flowers.

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WARMING WINTER CANDLE MASSAGE

For just

£50 per person

40 minute treatment

As the winter nights draw in, escape to our spa for a personalised warming winter candle massage.

This truly wonderful treatment uses the heady scent of Natural Spa Factory warming massage candles, where the candles are lit and the warming and nourishing oil is used within the treatment soothing tired muscles.

This experience is pure heaven and not to be missed.

Available from 1st November to 31st January 2018 TO BOOK OR FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL 01273 224322

The Grand Brighton, 97-99 King’s Road, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 2FW

www.grandbrighton.co.uk

@GBSpaBrighton

thegrandbrightonspa

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TheGrandHotelBrighton

BRIGHTON & HOVE

BRIGHTON CHAMBER: A YEAR IN PHOTOS

CHAMBER NEWS

2017 was a great year with well over 100 networking and learning events to choose from at Brighton Chamber.

Here are a few of our favourites and we’re already looking forward to the new year ahead.

Taking a gamble – a poker social

Embracing the unknown at the Brighton Summit

Behind-the-Scenes tour at Sea Life Brighton

Brighton Fringe Pop-up Breakfast – waiting for the acrobats…

The Harveys Brewery tour

Ride the Wave 2017 – a brilliant series of practical and affordable business support

Our Brighton Digital Festival event – new technologies

Ruby Ruth Dolls at Creative Hub

Brighton & Hove Living Wage campaign signs up over 350 employers!

To join Brighton Chamber give us a call on 01273 719097 or see www.businessinbrighton.org.uk Photos thank to Vervate, Simon Callaghan and Light Trick Photography.

Our favourite monthly breakfast at Carluccios

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A high-rise debate on high growth event at the i360

CHICHESTER

RULES OF ENGAGEMENT

By Dianne Lambdin, Director of Chichester Chamber of Commerce & Industry and The Sussex HR Hub.

F

rustrated with not being able to recruit a new engineer, a friend recently asked me if it really was all about fresh fruit, bean bags and pool tables, or the fact that he didn’t have them! He’s in ‘tech’ so my immediate thought was why did a computer nerd think he would be any good at recruiting anyway? But putting stereotypes to one side (because he’s actually quite good at it really) we had a discussion about what he could do differently to encourage new talent to his business. Inevitably, this led us to ‘employee engagement’ and what it really means.

Many devotees describe ‘engaged employees’ as those who are enthusiastic about their work, have a positive attitude towards the business and its values; and are pro-active in promoting its reputation and interests. There are countless people who suggest they can help you achieve this through a single initiative although, in my view, such activities rarely bring about sustainable positive change. There is a danger too that employee engagement has become an end goal in itself rather than a means to an end. It should be an enabler not an outcome.

I’m often asked to explain how to do employee engagement and I have to say it can’t be done – it’s not something that you ‘do’. It is something you achieve through hard work, good leadership, staff involvement etc (and much more). By itself it’s nothing unless it enables companies to achieve their objectives.

So back to the pool table! In the dark ages it was far simpler when employers could expect to get a fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay.

Now we could be forgiven for believing that it’s all about quirky and generous reward packages, with many employers trying to keep ahead of the competition. I think we know this isn’t true engagement. It may

AND INDUSTRY FROM JUST

£99

My advice is to recruit engaging people as they’re far more likely to understand and sign up to the company’s rules of engagement (even if you do have to entice them with a goody bag).

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY 10th January 2018

- The Chichester Business Breakfast in

conjunction with Chichester College

Membership benefits include:

15th January 2018 - Networking Chamber Monthly Meeting

• Events and networking

25th January 2018 - General Data Protection Regulation

• Policy and public affairs

(GDPR) workshop

12th February 2018 - Networking Chamber Monthly

• Workshops and training

Meeting

• Business advice and services

Tuesday 13th February / Thursday 15th February 2018 - Workshop 2: General Data Protection

• New business opportunities

Regulation (GDPR)

Join us now at www.chichestercci.org.uk/join

Wednesday 14th February - The Chichester Business Breakfast in conjunction with Chichester College

For more details visit www.chichestercci.org.uk

CHAMBER NEWS

JOIN CHICHESTER CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

be bribery or extortion – depending on which side of the interview room you sit – it may attract candidates but it’s unlikely to keep them engaged.

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ACES

THE ACES NETWORK The Platinum Publishing group are very proud to produce the ACES Magazine, bi-monthly, for the ACES Network. ACES is THE East Sussex business network including all the Chambers of Commerce and the FSB in East Sussex, representing over 4,000 local businesses with over 15,000 members of staff. Here is a rundown of the ACES Membership.

Battle Chamber of Commerce

Crowborough & District Chamber of Commerce

Wednesday and Sunday to promote retailing in the town and the Christmas Market on the iconic Bandstand. ​

Tel: 01323 641144

Federation of Small Businesses Battle and District Chamber of Commerce’s objectives are to promote and protect the trade, commerce, manufacturing, professional and general interests of the town. We have over 70 business and personal members, and meet on the third Monday of every month.

Email: secretary@battlechamber.org

Commerce promotes business, trade and services in Crowborough and the surrounding area. We offer a forum for local business issues such as:

www.battlechamber.org.uk

• Voicing concerns for the business community

Bexhill Chamber of Commerce

• Maintaining and rejuvenating local businesses

Bexhill Chamber of Commerce & Tourism is run by its members for its members.

Our current strategic focus is: • Improving business and tourism in Bexhill • Regeneration • Skills Building with Schools & Colleges

CHAMBER NEWS

Crowborough & District Chamber of

We welcome the membership of Bexhill businesses or businesses based elsewhere but who want to do business in Bexhill.

We hold regular networking breakfasts, evening events and are constantly in touch via email with our members with up-to-date information about business or about Bexhill.

We also have an email service where we send out members offers and promotions to fellow members. We have no political affiliation and are totally independent. We work with other organisations locally, county wide and nationally and are delighted to be associated with ACES.

Tel: 01424 842892

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• Networking with other local businesses Chamber membership offers the chance to become involved in a friendly and effective organisation that can help you improve your own businesses as well as representing your interests to key decision makers.

Email: secretary@crowboroughchamber. co.uk

Eastbourne UnLtd Chamber of Commerce Eastbourne UnLtd is the largest town-based Chamber of Commerce in the South East and is a founder member of ACES. We are described as UnLtd because we are always looking for new ways to help our members grow their businesses. Our activity is unlimited and includes: • Networking, morning, noon and night • Joint events with other ACES Chambers • Golf days, quiz nights, export seminars, training, coaching and mentoring • Free services including HR advice, business clinics, start-up workshops and business one-to-ones We run the Eastbourne Borough Market every

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) is the largest independent business organisation in the UK with some 200,000 members. Businesses with up to 250 employees can join and in East Sussex we have 4,400 members. The FSB is a pressure group for small business interests and we lobby government at every level including MEPs, MPs and Local Councillors.

The FSB also provides benefits to help startups and growing businesses alike.

Our benefits package, including 24/7 legal advice and free business banking, aims to keep costs down, to protect your business and enable sales. We run a busy programme of local networking events including breakfasts, curry nights, ladies business lunches and ‘share the knowledge’ evening seminars to improve your ‘know-how’ on key business topics.

www.fsb.org.uk/eastsussex Tel: 01424 754686 Tel: 01323 482018

Hastings Chamber of Commerce

Hastings Area Chamber of Commerce is the voice of business for Hastings, St Leonards and the surrounding area, representing its members to all levels of government and to community leaders across the statutory, community, voluntary and charitable sectors.

Our overriding aim is to make the voice of business even stronger. Through our provision

ACES of breakfast and networking events, newsletters and lobbying, we give members the opportunity to influence, inform, debate, network and profile.

business breakfasts and Wealden Expo – Heathfield’s own business exhibition. We are responsible for the Christmas lampstand lights around the high street.

We work on behalf of our members, to grow the economy of the town and the wider region in order to create a more supportive environment for businesses to operate in – irrespective of their size, sector or age.

www.hastingschamber.co.uk

The Chamber has developed links and works with other local groups including Heathfield and Waldron Parish Council and the Heathfield Partnership, as well as other local chambers including Crowborough and Uckfield.

Tel: 01424 205500

Tel: 01435 865858

@HACC1066

Lewes Chamber of Commerce

Hailsham Chamber of Commerce Hailsham & District Chamber of Commerce was formed in 1984 and exists to support and encourage growth and prosperity within the business community of Hailsham and its environs.

Membership of the Chamber gives you opportunities to network with local organisations and other Chamber members.

Out of this networking grows contacts and friendships, from which we can all draw benefit. The Chamber also organises networking evenings and ‘Share the Knowledge’ events to benefit their members.

Tel: 01323 310531

Heathfield Chamber of Commerce The Heathfield Chamber is a thriving membership group which covers Heathfield and the surrounding rural economy and provides a forum for local business people to meet, network and develop their businesses.

We support local businesses in Heathfield and the surrounding villages.

The Chamber runs a programme of regular networking opportunities including regular

Newhaven Chamber of Commerce Newhaven Chamber of Commerce has over 70 members.

We are dedicated to supporting businesses both small and large in the Newhaven area, by organising various events throughout the year including the Seahaven Business Awards, presentations, evening events with guest speakers, social functions such as an annual Karting Challenge between Newhaven, Peacehaven and Seaford Chambers, a Day at the Races, BBQs and trips to the Houses of Parliament and Buckingham Palace. In addition we have a vibrant Business Breakfast Club that meets every Wednesday.

We negotiate discounted advertising rates for our members in the local media. We also run the twice weekly Newhaven Street Market and the once monthly car boot sale in Newhaven town centre.

Tel: 0800 107 0709 Tel: 01273 517544

Peacehaven & District Chamber of Commerce is a thriving modern membership organisation and is the responsible voice of business in the local area. A dynamic member-led organisation, we work to support the local business community and specifically our network of member businesses. Our job is to strengthen the position of our members and ensure that the interests of local businesses are heard. We support any size company at any stage of development to grow and prosper within Peacehaven, Telscombe Cliffs and East Saltdean area.

Tel: 01273 586222

Seaford Chamber of Commerce Seaford Chamber welcomes all types and sizes of trades and businesses, from start-ups to established companies, from any sector or from other business organisations.

The Chamber regularly holds networking events where members can meet other likeminded businesses. Its Breakfast Meetings take place on the first Thursday of the month at Seaford Golf Club.

We put forward members views on key strategic points affecting the local business community - we are involved in meetings covering local business issues, traffic, parking, etc. within the Seaford area.

Tel: 0800 881 5331

Uckfield Chamber of Commerce Uckfield Chamber of Commerce is a successful networking organisation which also offers advice to businesses and industries of Uckfield and district. It encourages and supports measures to improve the social and economic conditions of the community, and liaises with representatives of outside bodies about business interests affecting the town and district. Uckfield Chamber is a founder member of ACES and is pleased to support and attend all ACES meetings and events with our sister Chambers across East Sussex.

Tel: 01825 722607

CHAMBER NEWS

Through our regular monthly networking meetings we are able to discuss key issues and concerns which members may have and decide on supportive action. We have guest speakers in attendance once a month and also maintain strong links with both Wealden District Council and Hailsham Town Council through key groups such as Hailsham Forward.

Established in 1935, Lewes Chamber of Commerce represents the voice of the business community in this thriving county town. From accountants and solicitors to shops, hotels and restaurants, the Chamber unites businesses, comments and advises on behalf of the business community and stimulates debate across a variety of local issues. Thanks to our range of members we also have direct access into the local authority, particularly the Town Council level, meaning we can represent Lewes business issues raised at relevant meetings.

Peacehaven Chamber of Commerce

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SUSSEX CHAMBER

THE PLANNING SYSTEM MUST WORK BETTER FOR BUSINESS

by Ana Christie Chief Executive, Sussex Chamber of Commerce

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he planning system in England is more complex, costly and difficult for business than it was five years ago, according to a major report published by the British Chambers of Commerce.

The report says that five years after the introduction of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which was designed to make the system less complex and more accessible, businesses are experiencing too many delays and barriers to investment.

• Where there is high demand for new housing and jobs, there should be intelligent use of the green belt to ensure local communities benefit from the delivery of new homes and infrastructure.

The report finds that the government’s focus on new homes is leading to increased pressure on the availability of employment land and premises. A survey by the British Chamber of Commerce of over

Jane Gratton, Head of Business Environment at the British Chambers of Commerce, said: “Access to affordable employment land and premises is essential for business innovation, expansion, and long-term competitiveness. Too many firms are now unable to find

900 businesses across the country revealed that one in five firms are struggling to find the land and premises they need.

the land and premises they need. We risk creating big problems for the future if we don’t get the right balance of jobs and homes.

The report says the government’s pre-occupation with housing at the expense of other land uses is also leading to localised tensions.

New homes are being built adjacent to long-established businesses in towns and cities and causing serious problems, both for new residents and businesses.

“Firms still face too many barriers, costs and delays as they negotiate the planning system. We need to find a way to make it work better, to provide the strategic certainty for businesses to make their own investment decisions and the freedom and flexibility they need to innovate, grow and compete globally.

The report urges the government to review the NPPF to ensure that the needs of business are on an equal footing with other stakeholders.

“Planning for jobs and homes, together with up-front government investment in modern infrastructure, will give people better access to employment opportunities. It will help businesses access a skilled

Key recommendations include: • Employment land and uses should be given equal priority to housing, so that people can access jobs and businesses have the space they need to grow and compete.

• Where shops and offices have been converted to homes, councils

CHAMBER NEWS

should ensure there is an alternative supply of quality commercial office space available elsewhere.

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workforce and provide the platform to compete globally. The planning system must be looked into as part of plans to make the UK Brexit-ready.”

A full copy of the Planning for Business report can be found on the Sussex Chamber of Commerce website: www.sussexchamberofcommerce.co.uk

Networking

The Business Network

HOW TO BE AN EFFECTIVE NETWORKER

By Emma Pearce Marketing Consultant – marketing planning, outsourced marketing and social media training www.pearcemarketing.co.uk Emma Pearce interviews Will Kintish and shares his top tips on ‘How to be an Effective Networker” in 2018.

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recently sat next to Will Kintish at a networking lunch. He was presenting a seminar on how to become a more confident and effective networker at The Business Network. Will’s company, Kintish Networking Skills, provides training and he is a speaker in the UK and overseas; helping individuals and teams for 17 years. He’s been particularly popular in the academic, technical, professional and financial sectors who have not been your ‘typical networking types’.

likeability, common ground and trust.”

What are the best techniques for starting to talk to people at networking events?

People worry about getting stuck with someone. How do you recommend dealing with that?

“Start by looking for other individuals who would be delighted to have someone to talk to, or ‘open groups’ where there is space to join.

When you approach, make sure you smile and make eye contact and say: ‘Please may I join you?’. Shake hands if possible and say: ‘Hello, I’m Will’ - don’t say what you do at this point. Really listen to what the other person’s name is. Then try to focus on asking a question and using their name - people love that.”

Will advises to try and find out what the other person does first.

“When they ask you, try to answer saying: ‘what you do’ not ‘what you are’. For example, say: ‘I help companies with xxx to help them gain more xxx/avoid xxxx/save xxx’. Go on to ask business questions such as ‘How was 2017 for you?’ or ‘How many people do you work with?’ or ‘How did you get started?’”

“You don’t have to dump someone by saying: ‘I must go and get a drink’. You can suggest that you both go and mingle and meet some more people. When you join a new group that person will be likely to engage with someone else. If that group is not of interest to you, simply say: ‘Do excuse me’ and move on.”

What are the right questions to ask first?

When is the right moment to hand over your business card?

“Use ice breakers such as ‘What made you decide to come along to the launch of this group?’, ‘Have you been to this venue before?’ or ‘How do you know our hosts today?’. Never start selling your business.

At this point you are selling yourself. You need to be a likeable human being. You can try asking non-work questions such as ‘Do you have any plans this weekend?’. It all helps to develop relationships through

exchanging cards. This is the moment to then say: ‘How do you feel about me giving you a call?’ or even ‘Shall we set a date to meet?’ The aim is to have one or two quality conversations and follow them up.”

“Talk first. If you find a positive link during your conversation, suggest

What follow-up techniques do you recommend?

“A phone call is ideal. You may dread the thought, but just remember you got on well, they said yes to you calling and the worst they can do is say they don’t want to meet up. They are not rejecting you personally, just the offer of help.”

Do you have any tips on doing a one minute pitch?

Ideally you want to include who you help, give some free advice and say a little bit about you.

And finally, how would you describe a worldclass networker?

“Someone who has self-belief, is proud of their work and always polite and reliable. It’s also important to be generous with sharing helpful information and be patient. You also need to plan and listen carefully too.”

Will Kintish

www.kintish.co.uk

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WORTHING & ADUR

THE ROAD TO NOWHERE (OR PERHAPS NOT)….

by Chamber President, Chris Coopey

T CHAMBER NEWS

he issue of the A27 has dominated the first few months of my Presidency and I suspect it will continue to dominate to the time I reach the end of my three-year term. I make no apology for writing about it again. Locally, it’s the most important issue on the agenda.

For a change though, it’s great to report something positive and that is that the Secretary of State for transport, The Right Honourable Christopher Grayling, has written to Peter Bottomley and Tim Loughton to say that he has now asked Highways England to provide him with further information on the viable alternative options that were mooted in the feasibility study of 2014. These included the option of full dualling, although of course the budget put to the proposed scheme was not even sufficient to pay for any element of grade separation (bridging or tunnelling to allow traffic to cross the A27 without the need for a roundabout or junction).

You may remember that the Chamber responded, on behalf of the business community, to the Highways England consultation saying that in our view, the proposal being made was unacceptable so we are pleased that he has promised to reconsider. Of course, what the Secretary of State hasn’t said is that any more money will be committed, so this is where we need to make sure that our pressure on the government is unremitting to stump us the cash we deserve.

In terms of money, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the improvements that are required for the A27 are an investment in the economic well-being of the area. Not only will they improve the daily lives of thousands of motorists, they will unlock various developments that will give the area the ability to attract

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investments and protect jobs.

A case in point is that the major concern around the investment being proposed for New Monks Farm is not about the houses, community infrastructure and commercial development of an IKEA that’s being proposed, it’s about the effect that the extra traffic getting on and off the site on a daily basis will have on an already difficult stretch of road. Investing in the A27 isn’t an option, it’s essential. We all know the arguments.

We need to escape the gridlock and all the attendant ills that failure to deal with the A27 brings. I’m convinced that the money spent to do the scheme properly would be well spent and would be recouped in a variety of ways both economic and environmental. Over to you Mr Grayling…

EVENTS DIARY 12th January – Chamber Hub Free Networking

17th January – Chamber Quiz Night – Get your teams ready!

26th January – Networking Breakfast – Meet the panel 1st February – Better Business Show 10am–4pm, Assembly Hall, Worthing

Please find more information at www.worthingandadurchamber.co.uk

EASTBOURNE

HAPPINESS IS A PIECE OF CAKE!

Their aim is to make fabulous cakes for every occasion and every dietary requirement. They specialise in gluten, wheat and dairy-free cakes and biscuits - as well as ‘normal’ versions - that have all the taste without compromising on quality. The days of being excluded from having a show-stopping celebration cake because of wheat intolerance are long gone.

All their products are hand-made to order using the highest quality and, where possible, locally sourced ingredients, they pride themselves on not using preservatives.

Karen said: “Because we’re small and flexible, we can create and deliver celebration cakes to order, no order is too small or large. We’re bubbling over with creative ideas for handmade personalised cakes and decorated edible logo cupcakes or biscuits. Have a look at our Facebook page or website to see some of our recent bespoke cakes, such as an Aston Martin car for a true petrol head or a Charmander for a five-year-old passionate Pokeman fan - just tell us what you have

in mind and we’ll do the rest”.

Karen continued: “We believe in supporting our local area and were busy most weekends last summer setting up our stall at markets and fairs all over Sussex. For example, at the Rye & District Country Show in August all the proceeds from the sale of our cupcakes were donated to St Michael’s Hospice”.

“We recently benefitted from some social media training for our business, this was provided by Edeal and funded by Wealden District Council. It’s so important to have a social media presence and it has certainly helped us with sales and bookings.”

Karen concluded: “Since we began baking a year ago we have been building relationships with Sussex businesses to supply their cafes with our delicious products and we’re now looking to expand further. We’re very happy to visit with samples so please get in touch via email info@glitterbugbakery.co.uk or call us on 01825 873333 to arrange an appointment to discuss your requirements”.

For more information visit www.glitterbugbakery. co.uk

CHAMBER NEWS

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litterbug Bakery is a small artisan bakery started in 2016 by Karen Brown and Stephanie Palmer, two cake-loving bakers who believe that happiness is a piece of cake!

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Anger Management

ANGER MANAGEMENT

VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY

by Maarten Hoffmann

T

he UK, post Brexit, needs new ideas and a new direction. We were once a proud nation of forward thinkers, inventors, supreme traders and, not to put too fine a point on it, one of the most powerful Empires the world had ever seen. We need to go on a voyage of rediscovery.

Perhaps it will come from the youngsters but there is no one showing any talent at this point so perhaps we should look to the past? Look to the old-timers who have been there, done it and got the T shirt. Take the Conservative

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Grandee, successful businessman and elder statesman, Michael Heseltine. He recently suggested that Britain should establish a sovereign wealth fund (SWF) as a fundamental reappraisal of the country’s industrial strategy.

He said: “a state-owned investment fund could provide ‘patient capital’ to back industry and long-term infrastructure projects. A fund could be financed through taxes before gradually becoming self-sustaining as investments paid dividends and made a return. A similar fund in Germany makes €2 billion a year” he added.

He presented this in a 75-page response to the

governments Industrial Strategy green paper last month.

There is a good element of sense here as a SWF, run well, can create long-term stable wealth and ‘patient capital’ - capital that will remain with business long-term without then forcing them to sell. Our present system relies on support from City institutions whose agenda it is to make a quicker return or to float businesses on the stock exchange.

Norway built a SWF to invest in its North Sea oil bounty. Heseltine admits that he wished

Anger Management

What we’ve got

What we need he had put this forward in the 1980’s when we had the huge resources of North Sea oil (and he had the power to do so). The US Social Security Trust Fund has $2.8 trillion of assets and Japan’s Post Bank has 200 trillion Yen of holdings.

Lets face it, we need some dosh to fix this country. Roads, public transport, air capacity, our schools, our hospitals, house building and the list goes on. Hammond will not loosen the purse strings and we cannot afford to borrow any more as we already have an overdraft of £1,773 billion or 88% of our GDP, and it’s rising by £45,000 per second.

❝

Britain should establish a sovereign wealth fund as a fundamental reappraisal of the country’s industrial strategy

cars! And you would be right - as the humble employee/servant of the German companies that own our entire industry - along with the Chinese and Indians. We have sold the family silver and now have to rent it back to keep the workforce going and let the neighbours think we are still doing OK. We need a radical, total and very fast rethink of what we do and the way we do it.

Not tinkering but the fundamentals. Alas, we have so few young-guns coming through in politics and those there are, are being drafted into Corbynism by Momentum, and, business and industrially speaking, Labour would be a total disaster for every single soul in this land.

The Right is coming up with nothing but old men with, what seem to be, some sound ideas but history aptly demonstrates time and time again that old ideas are constantly overthrown by the new generation of spunky, go-getting

youngsters who see the world differently, have no fear, boundless energy and have little sense of failure. Where are they?

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We already have an overdraft of £1,773 billion or 88% of our GDP, and it’s rising by £45,000 per second.

❞

Politics is stuffed with grey hair, wrinkles, cynicism and a sense of self-preservation at all costs. Look at the front bench of both sides it’s like Statler and Waldorf in the theatre box of the Muppets. And if you are too young to know what that means, for pity’s sake get into politics and find a new way - fast. Please.

❞

So we need to think outside of the box. We need to cut trade deals with bold precision and laser focus, we need to review the country’s tax laws, revisit corporation tax and build cash reserves to re-invest. A sovereign fund might be the only way to do it.

The caveat here is that all such funds have to be run by central government or the central bank, and this is where a certain cynicism creeps in. Since WW2, this country has not exactly covered itself in glory when it comes to state-run anything.

The government and the unions destroyed our proud heritage of car manufacture, our industrial base has been squandered, shipbuilding, aircraft manufacture - the list goes on. You might say we still manufacture

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Institute of Directors

SIMPLY PRIVILEGED

By Dean Orgill, Chair of Sussex IoD and Chairman of Mayo Wynne Baxter www.mayowynnebaxter.co.uk • www.iod.com

I

recently came across some thoughts expressed on LinkedIn that chimed in with some of my own thoughts, though as often with the best expression of ideas, I had not realised I had similar thoughts until I saw someone else express them. Here, I confess, that whilst I remembered the relevant quote (“what oft was thought but ne’er so well express’d”) about the definition of wit, I had to google the author, Alexander Pope; so another “could do better” from my English Literature teacher.

The article made the point that whilst it’s not necessarily good for the economy, many of us are happy with a lot of the items that we own and are unlikely to be upgrading any time soon. Ultimately now many of us have very good smartphones, good and reliable cars and so on. We may have spent more initially to buy good quality items and those will last a reasonable time. What is more, perhaps we are also now taking into account that we are more concerned with experiences rather than goods or gadgets.

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Of course many of us would not want to be thought of as owning pre-historic items, or of not owning items with the “basic” functionality, but perhaps we are questioning what the last couple of versions of an item really add or even thinking that the “progress” that designers are adding is not necessarily an improvement for the user.

We perhaps also want to keep things simpler in our lives, and do not see the benefit of adding more functions or Apps or stuff that we have to keep up with. I do not think that I am the only one (or am I?) who would actually quite like to see some “functionality” removed from certain items or software in favour of increased robustness and reliability of the basic functions. [However, I do happily accept that some progress is indeed that, and I am happy to take on additional functionality that does allow me to do things that I want to but could not do before.]

Two follow-on musings then percolated through my brain. Firstly, in reality will the providers of these goods allow us to stay

frozen in 2018 with our gadgets? Ultimately no, it seems to me that anything requiring software is going to be designed into obsolescence in the near to mid-term future as versions are taken out of support. This may be what ultimately “saves” the risk to the economy of people not upgrading.

The other thought was whether this was a view of a particular generation, and not reflective of the generations who were born into the era of, and have grown up with, perpetual change. Theirs might be a different philosophical view, regular – if not constant – change may be second nature to some of us.

Also, do you need to have reached a particular level of financial security to be thinking of simplifying your life in this way?

JUST A THOUGHT Which of your belongings is perfect as it is?

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usual driving conditions.

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