CONNECT

Issue 2 2017

Farewell Mr Chamber Peter Bennett steps down as President

The big dates for 2017

BETTER BUSINESS SHOW The photos and highlights

HONG KONG Business in the City of Life

PLATINUM PUBLISHING

GROUP

ADUR & WORTHING BUSINESS AWARDS

Join us for the tech & business event of the year Thursday 27 April 2017 9AM - 5PM • AMEX STADIUM • BRIGHTON

BITE 2017 is a one-day free event designed for entrepreneurs and businesses interested in growing their bottom line.

Register at www.bite2017.com With keynote speakers, an alternative funding panel and a wide range of interactive breakouts scheduled throughout the day, BITE gives you the chance to learn from seasoned entrepreneurs and network with a wide range of businesses. You will leave with an arsenal of useful tips, from new technologies to innovative routes to funding, all designed to help you develop and grow your business.

Keynote Speaker Marnus Broodryk Marnus Broodryk is a charismatic South African entrepreneur best known as one of the "Sharks" on the Dragon’s Den style reality show Shark Tank South Africa. This selfmade millionaire joins BITE 2017 to give you an insight into "The Mind of the Successful Entrepreneur".

Alternative Funding panel with Q&A session BITE 2017 offers an impressive panel of alternative funding and industry experts, including former Financial Times journalist Andy Davis, to provide an insider's guide to innovative routes to funding. You will gain insight into how the panel sees the future of funding innovations, the impact of interest rates and other current issues surrounding alternative sources of finance.

Presented by

Welcome

WELCOME FROM THE CHAMBER PRESIDENT

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AT A GLANCE

This issue we have a guest foreword from our outgoing President, Peter Bennett.

Dear readers, I hope you enjoy this second issue of our Connect magazine. Getting Connect off the ground was one of the highlights of my last year as President and I sincerely hope the magazine goes from strength to strength, becoming a mustread item for our local business community.

I have always been extremely proud of my home town and it’s people. After 14 years as President of Worthing and Adur Chamber it was the right time for me to step down. The future is definitely bright for our area, there are lots of exciting things happening and I for one will be watching and reading with interest.

Peter Bennett, President of Worthing & Adur Chamber of Commerce You can read more about Peter in our article on page 4.

PUBLISHERS Maarten Hoffmann maarten@platinumbusinessmagazine.com Ian Trevett ian@platinumbusinessmagazine.com THE PLATINUM PUBLISHING GROUP Number 3, 30 Bedford Square, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 2PL Tel: 07966 244046 Tel: 07989 970804 Mail: info@platinumbusinessmagazine.com Web: www.platinumbusinessmagazine.com ADVERTISING and SPONSORSHIP Lesley Alcock Business Development Director Tel: 07767 613707 Mail: lesley@platinumbusinessmagazine.com

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4 6 8 10 11 12 14 15 17 18 22 26 30 32 34 36 39 40 41 42 43 44 46

Farewell Mr President Adur & Worthing Business Awards News from the councils Patron’s column BITE conference Legal - Bennett Griffin Worthing & Adur Fund Did you know?

E-Commerce Better Business show Apprentice Awards Business Travel - Hong Kong Business Travel - Uniglobe Brighton & Hove Motor Show Motoring - Golf GTi Chamber Training Meet the Buyers CSR Business Navigator Member Focus Join the Chamber Diary of Events Spotlight on - Ricardo

Head Designer: Amanda Spicer Travel Editor: Rose Dykins Sub Editor: Kate Morton Food Editor: Amanda Menahem Chamber Editorial Team: Tracie Davey, Kelly O’Haire, Clive Spring, Peter Noone, Tina Tilley contact: info@worthingandadurchamber.co.uk Photography: www.bloomfieldigital.co.uk 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. Worthing and Adur CONNECT magazine is published and owned G R O U

by The Platinum Publishing Group.

PLATINUM PUBLISHING P

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Chamber President

Farewell Mr Chamber Peter Bennett steps down as Chamber President

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f you’re in business in the Worthing and Adur area, you’ll know Peter Bennett. Over the years Peter has given his time freely to make a difference to local business and enterprise. And he’s certainly made a difference. If the title of Mr Worthing was up for grabs, Peter would surely be favourite.

Many of you will know Peter as the senior partner (now retired) at the well-respected Worthing solicitors, Bennett Griffin. During his time at Bennett Griffin, Peter’s business achievements won him the Worthing Lifetime Achievement in Business Award. A year later, in 2011, Peter was recognised even more widely when he won a further Lifetime Achievement in Business Award at the Southern Business Awards.

Away from Bennett Griffin, Peter used his business acumen to great effect. He was a Worthing Borough councillor for 24 years and Worthing’s mayor in

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Chamber President

1993/94. He has been President of the Worthing Law Society, Chair of the Connaught Theatre Trust, and a trustee of Worthing High School. Currently, Peter is a director of both Worthing Town Centre Initiative and Adur and Worthing Business Partnership.

Of course, Peter has also led Worthing and Adur Chamber of Commerce as its President for the last fourteen years. In that time the Chamber has evolved beyond recognition. Peter became President in 2003 and one of the first things he did was lead the Chamber into the digital age. In 2003 only around one-in-two people in the UK had access to the Internet but growth was accelerating – only six years earlier Internet access was only 4%. Starting in 2003 the Chamber began to replace printed newsletters with emails. A new website followed and by 2008 the Chamber had become 100% digital.

Around this time it became clear that local

businesses and economies do not observe council boundaries. Worthing Chamber of Commerce (as it was then) needed to change to widen its appeal and Peter drove the expansion into the Adur region, changing its name to Worthing and Adur Chamber of Commerce.

Peter has also reinvented the Chamber as a business development hub. During Peter’s tenure the Chamber has added training, networking, peer-topeer mentoring, the remarkably successful Better Business Show, and other developmental initiatives to its offering.

Sadly, Peter has decided it’s time for him to step down as President. We wish Peter well and we thank him wholeheartedly for his leadership and the huge difference he has made. Without Peter Bennett we would not have the Chamber we have today.

Thank you Peter.

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Business Awards

Adur & Worthing Business Awards 2017 ‘The awards organised by businesses for businesses’ Ricardo Winners of Manufacturing and Construction, Innovation and Overall Business of the Year awards

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he new organising committee of the Adur & Worthing Business Awards are delighted to confirm that the awards will now be independently run and organised under the umbrella of the Adur & Worthing Business Partnership (AWBP) as a ‘Not-for-Profit’ business model.

The AWBP plays a pivotal role as an independent partnership working on behalf of the Adur and Worthing business community and Adur and Worthing Councils. The AWBP is seen as the ideal vehicle to take the Adur & Worthing Business Awards forward, securing the longevity and the future success of the event.

The awards continue to grow and establish a solid reputation within the local business community and serve to showcase and celebrate the excellent business people and organisations we have here in the Adur & Worthing district.

Businesses can enter the awards under eighteen categories, designed

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Business Awards PEP the Printers, Winners of Training and Development award

to recognise successes and achievements across industries. The judging panel will be led by local business figures, representatives from Worthing & Adur Chamber of Commerce, and Adur & Worthing Council.

Find out more about how you can get involved in one of the biggest business events in the area by joining us for drinks, light bites and networking at the Worthing and Adur Chamber of Commerce Chamber Chat event from 5.30pm on Wednesday 7th June at Worthing Pier, Southern Pavilion. You will hear about new sponsors, award categories, our chosen charity for this year and how to enter. Sponsors and previous winners will also be on hand to tell you about how

getting involved benefits both your business and your team. There will be lots of networking opportunities too.

You can find details of the categories and how to enter the awards on the new Adur & Worthing Business Awards website www.awbawards.com.

The winners will be announced at a black-tie awards ceremony at The Pavilion, Worthing on Friday 10th November 2017. Please keep visiting the website for information and regular updates. You can follow the awards on twitter, facebook and Instagram.

For all enquiries about this event please email enquires@awbawards.com.

VJG Jewellery, Winners of Retailer award

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Adur & Worthing Councils

Growth Partnership New partnership deal to deliver growth in Adur and Worthing

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joint council commitment has been made to support the delivery of thousands of new jobs and homes in Adur and Worthing.

Adur & Worthing Councils and West Sussex County Council have made a joint pledge to work in partnership on a number of key projects during the next five years.

The Adur and Worthing Growth Deal is the third growth deal in the county which focuses on local priorities and sets out an agreement to align resources to deliver sustainable growth.

The Councils have agreed to work together to deliver a set of growth priorities for the area. These include: • Worthing Town Centre: a regeneration programme with scope to secure new homes, new commercial, leisure and retail floorspace including Teville Gate House and Union Place • Decoy Farm Site on the Dominion Way Business Park: to attract investment from the private sector to support the regeneration of both Worthing Town Centre and Shoreham Harbour • Development at new Monks Farm and Shoreham Airport: the delivery of new homes, new commercial floorspace and improvements to the road network • Shoreham Harbour: new homes and new modern employment floorspace on Western Harbour Arm • West Sussex One Public Estate Partnership: to drive delivery of the identified sites at Pond Road, Shoreham and Centenary House, Durrington • Gigabit Fibre Broadband across West Sussex: ambitious connectivity plans with Adur and Worthing being key locations Neil Parkin, Leader of Adur District Council, said: “This is another step forward as we continue our ambitious plans to create high-quality places for people to live, work and visit in Adur.”

“This five year deal with West Sussex shows

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Left to right: Neil Parkin, Leader of Adur District Council, Louise Goldsmith, Leader of West Sussex County Council, Daniel Humphreys, Leader of Worthing Borough Council our commitment to working with others to create hundreds of new homes and new jobs across the district while providing great value for money for local taxpayers.”

“It means we can bring forward new developments, such as the proposal for New Monks Farm, as well as bringing redundant sites, such as the former Burrscrofte care home in Pond Road, back into use.”

Daniel Humphreys, Leader of Worthing Borough Council, said: “As Council budgets continue to be reduced to pay down the national deficit, it is vital that different parts of the public sector work together to get the best possible result for our local communities.”

“The Adur and Worthing Growth Deal will use money from existing budgets, as well as new revenue generated through business rates, to bring forward major projects such as regenerating Worthing Town Centre and installing Gigabit Fibre Broadband in our area.”

“In forming ever closer ties with West Sussex County Council and by adopting a more business-like approach, we will generate investment in Worthing to benefit the whole of our community.”

Business Support

Businesses take the LEAP The first grants to small businesses and apprenticeships have been awarded in a West Sussex-wide scheme. It’s not too late to apply for grants of up to £2.5K.

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West Sussex scheme, known as the Local Enterprise and Apprenticeship Platform (LEAP), has made approximately £71,000 available for businesses located in Adur and a similar amount for businesses based in Worthing.

The scheme recognises the vital role that small businesses play in the local economy and the particular difficulties that micro businesses (those with up to 10 employees) can face in accessing funds to help them grow and take on staff. Small businesses (up to 50 employees) can face similar difficulties when looking to take on an apprentice or provide apprenticeship opportunities for existing staff, and these are the type of businesses this scheme is designed to help.

The first panel to consider grant applications has now been held and 10 small business grants and 2 apprenticeship grants awarded. A steady stream of applications is being received, so businesses should act now to avoid disappointment.

The scheme is being delivered by the Adur & Worthing Business Partnership, and businesses are on the Awards Panel, helping to decide which applications are successful.

Partnership has the opportunity to work with the Councils on this scheme and that a number of our members are involved in the Grant Panel.”

Cllr Bryan Turner, Worthing Borough Council’s Executive Member for Regeneration, commented: “The Councils recognise that smaller sized businesses make a huge impact to Worthing and Adur, and have become the backbone of our local economy.

It’s important that by working closely with partner organisations, like the Adur & Worthing Business Partnership, we’re able to design a scheme that can utilise available funding and contribute to businesses that will highly benefit from the grant.”

The ideas align with the Councils’ recently adopted strategy, Platforms for our Places. One of the core values is supporting the financial economy. By offering this funding, the scheme will help foster business growth and increase apprenticeship provision.

Full details, including application forms and guidance notes can be found at: https://www.adur-worthing.gov.uk/businesses/ support-and-funding/grants-and-funding/#smallbusiness-grant-funding

Eligible businesses can apply online or submit a hard copy of the application form.

Andrew Swayne, Chairman of the Adur & Worthing Business Partnership, said: “The Adur & Worthing Business Partnership brings together businesses in Adur & Worthing and works with partner agencies to support and grow the local economy.

Our priorities include supporting small businesses and increasing the number of local apprenticeship and development opportunities, so I am delighted that the

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Patron’s Column

Stop Talking, Start Reading Shaa Wasmund’s talk was one of the highlights at the Better Business Show.

Chamber patron, Gillian Fielding, profiles the prolific entrepreneur

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hey say the most important book in your life is the one you write yourself.

Shaa Wasmund MBE

Writing a book is one of the most powerful ways to up your game as an entrepreneur. All the smart entrepreneurs I see, put writing book a book at the heart of their strategy. There’s no better way to raise your profile, establish yourself as an expert and charge a premium for your services. I can’t think of a better example of this than my good friend Shaa Wasmund MBE. Shaa has written three #1 bestsellers, sold over 100,000 books, and last month achieved Sunday Times Bestseller status with her most recent release.

Her first book ‘Stop Talking, Start Doing’ knocked Sir Richard Branson off top spot and stayed there for a record fourteen consecutive months in WH Smiths.

Her follow up ‘Do Less, Get More’, opened up so many doors for Shaa. Not only has she launched three

Gillian Fielding

successful businesses in the last two years, and built a seriously impressive personal brand, she’s been awarded an MBE for services to entrepreneurship.

Shaa was also named one of the top 20 most influential entrepreneurs by The Sunday Times.

Shaa speaks on the biggest stages in the world. She is friends with the likes of Gary Vaynerchuk and Seth Godin; is a regular on Sky News, and has appeared on This Morning. Shaa has also been featured in The Guardian, The Telegraph, and has her own column in Psychologies magazine.

None of this was an accident.

Shaa didn’t just set out to write a book; she deliberately plotted a #1 bestseller. She invested heavily in herself to learn from the likes of Tim Ferriss – author of global bestseller, ‘The 4-Hour Work Week’.

She studied how and why people buy books, figured out how the top publishers promote a book, and worked out what else she needed to do to guarantee her book was a bestseller.

Shaa smashed it.

She understood from the start how a book could build her powerful connections, raise her profile, put her on stages with the world’s top public speakers and charge a premium for what she does.

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Conference

BITE Back Alternative Funding: on the up at BITE 2017

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lternative funding options have proliferated in recent years, and will be a major theme at BITE 2017 (Business, Innovation, Technology and Efficiency) hosted by MHA Carpenter Box at the Amex Stadium, Brighton on Thursday 27 April.

Andy Davis, former editor of FT Weekend and author of the ‘Beyond the Banks’ report on alternative finance, will be one of the industry experts forming an Alternative Funding panel at the free one-day conference, and he’s looking forward to sharing his expertise with local business leaders including members of Worthing and Adur Chamber.

“The alternative funding market is still small when compared to traditional banks, but it can provide a faster and more flexible option for businesses. For example, it’s a route increasingly used for unsecured loans of £50k - £70k,” explained Andy.

One major provider of alternative finance – Funding Circle – is a peer-to-peer lending marketplace that allows investors to lend money directly to small and medium-sized businesses. It currently has a total loan book of £1.2 billion, £820 million of which was lent during 2016 alone.

Small and medium sized businesses are accessing peer-to-peer finance in increasing numbers to help them deliver their strategies for growth.

a growing marketplace that offers a wide range of opportunities.”

Another theme of the free one-day conference is entrepreneurship. The morning keynote session will see South Africa’s best known entrepreneur offering advice and top tips to the audience. Marnus Broodryk is a Shark in Shark Tank – the South African equivalent of Dragon’s Den – and will talk about ‘The Mind of a Successful Entrepreneur’ at BITE 2017.

In addition to the keynotes, there will be six breakout sessions covering key business themes, as well as a business exhibition with companies offering services and advice to help businesses to become more productive and stand out from the crowd.

To register for your free place, please visit www.bite2017.eventbrite.com.

“The BITE event will help businesses to develop an understanding of a funding market which offers more options than ever for raising finance, but which can also be complex. With the support of experts in this field, local businesses will gain expert insight into

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Legal

Divorce and the Business Owner Resolution accredited lawyers Bennett Griffin on what you need to know if you are facing a separation or divorce, to make it as pain-free as possible.

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he breakdown of a relationship can be devastating emotionally but, when you’ve a business that you’ve spent years building and perhaps the livelihoods of employees to consider, then you need to keep a clear head. It’s in these upsetting early stages, when life is changing rapidly, that you should bring a legal expert on board to give you the clarity that will allow you to protect your assets and your business.

Whilst your business won’t necessarily be treated the same way as your other assets, it can be

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considered to be a resource that you have the benefit of; which is why it is deemed to be relevant to your financial settlement.

Karen Fleming from the Bennett Griffin Family Team said, “Any assets that might be thought of as matrimonial property whether that’s property, pensions, lump sums or even old inheritances that you or your spouse have already spent are considered within the final settlement of a divorce.

“As a business owner you may want to show that

Legal

your company’s assets are separate to avoid these being classified as matrimonial property. Certainly if the business provides the income for the future maintenance of your spouse and children then, with the right legal advice, it’s less likely to be liquidated since it would cut off your income.

“It is a complex area, especially if your spouse works in the business, has shares or maybe owns the business premises. However, we’d strongly advise against disposing of business assets or selling shares in an attempt to reduce your net worth; since the Courts frown upon such efforts to deprive the other spouse of assets.

“We’d strongly advise against disposing of business assets or selling shares in an attempt to reduce your net worth” “We offer a comprehensive service and, as well as working with tried and trusted experts such as commercial surveyors and company valuers; we’ve a Mediator and a Collaborative Lawyer on our team.

“Mediation can help at any stage of the separation or divorce to help a couple to explore the options that are available to them. It improves communication between both parties, which is especially important where children are involved, and allows options to be considered in a more relaxed way.”

Bennett Griffin’s Collaborative Lawyer, Jackie Mensah explained further, “Collaborative Law is a fairly new way of managing the divorce process.

Each person appoints their own lawyer but, instead of negotiations being conducted between solicitors by letter or telephone, everyone gets around the table to discuss matters in a calm, logical way to work things out face to face.

“We encourage our Clients to set out their financial settlement in a Consent Order, which is then approved by the Judge. It’s as enforceable as an Order achieved through Court proceedings but we find it’s more likely to work in the long term since both parties have had their full input in the process.

“Mediation improves communication between both parties, which is especially important where children are involved” “For business owners, who are often familiar with arbitration, this alternative dispute process really suits them. It can help to iron problems out more quickly and allows a practical discussion of all issues to move things forward in an efficient and costeffective way with far less paperwork.

“Regardless of the approach that’s chosen, I would say that effective communication is the key to making divorce or separation as straightforward as possible; especially when both parties may be involved in the business.

“It’s an area that we specialise in since we have years of experience in providing expert advice and support to high net worth business owners.

“We understand that going through the breakdown of a marriage is one of the toughest times in your life, but we’ll do our best to make things bearable. Talk to us and we’ll be there with you and your business every step of the way.”

Karen Fleming: kf@bennett-griffin.co.uk Jackie Mensah: jnm@bennett-griffin.co.uk www.bennettgriffin.co.uk 01903 229999

“It allows you and your spouse to take control of the situation and to determine which issues are priorities for you as a separating or divorcing couple.

It’s a private and respectful forum in which we all sign a Participation Agreement which states that, apart from the divorce, we will not be taking the matter to Court.

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Charities

Don’t Miss Out Worthing and Adur Fund is open for applications apply by Friday 5th May 2017

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he Worthing and Adur Fund gives £500 grants to small charities and community groups working in Worthing and Adur. The next deadline for applications is Friday 5th May 2017.

Club Chairman, Richard Willis. “The grant from the Worthing and Adur Fund has given us the opportunity to provide additional equipment for this group, enabling all of them to play football, and develop their skills with our Club.”

Established in 2010, the Fund was set up in partnership with the Worthing and Adur Chamber of Commerce, under the umbrella of Sussex Community Foundation. A number of local Worthing people and businesses were founder donors and these donations established a core endowment fund. The income has since grown and enabled the Fund to make 29 grants worth £16,422 to 23 charities and community groups from Worthing and Adur.

Other grants given in the last year have included:

Recent groups supported by the Worthing and Adur fund include: • Worthing Town FC benefited from a grant and has recently introduced a development team training opportunity for local under-5s keen to learn football. The Club used their £500 grant to buy four Junior goals, 20 Junior Lite balls and two packs of training bibs.

“Sourcing equipment comes at a cost and is never-ending as the membership grows,” says

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• Worthing Speakabout, an advocacy group run for and by people with learning difficulties. Grant went towards running costs, office rent, mini bus and hire of meeting room at Buddy’s Cafe.

• Worthing Gymnastics grant helped to fit out their new venue with essential apparatus.

• Sussex Martlets Trampolining Club (pictured) used their grant to help buy additional floor safety matting and other safety equipment.

• Storm Ministries serves the local community through various activities, clubs and events. Their funding provided disabled access via a ramp with hand rails.

For more information and to make an application to the Worthing & Adur Fund, visit www.sussexgiving.org.uk/worthingadur

Did you Know?

Did you Know?

Granted!

Did you know that Adur and Worthing Council have funding to award not one but two different types of business grants at the moment? The awards are being done in three separate tranches up until September so there’s plenty of time.

You can apply for money for business equipment or you can apply for grants to help pay the wages of an apprentice.

Read the full story and find out the ins and outs of how to get hold of some of this money on page 9.

For Sale Have you got a spare £2 Million hiding down the back of your sofa? If so, can we recommend this lovely spot close to near the sea in Goring? Yes, it’s Courtlands, currently home to Bond International and now on the market with Michael Jones Commercial.

The Grade II listed building comes with some amazing features and substantial grounds. It would make fantastic serviced offices for a large business or other things like lots of smaller businesses or chambers of commerce offices … anyone? Pretty please?

Caption This Each month the Chamber photographer, Martin Bloomfield, is going to send us one of his slightly more ‘out there’ pictures from all the events that he attends for us. This one features Tina and Chris from the Bank of England … just what are they thinking?

Email your caption to tracie@worthingandadurchamber.co.uk and get your next breakfast networking place on us!

The winner is chosen by the Chamber office team and all winning captions must be printable!

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E-Commerce

It’s time to get over the white cliffs of Dover Exporting (as it is usually known) is the best way to find more customers

by Chris Painter, Managing Director of Pixel by Pixel

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ou should be selling your stuff to foreigners. Why? Because there are lots of them and you’ll sell more. That means you can buy a Maserati and retire early to eat chipwiches in front of daytime TV. You see, cross-border e-commerce is set to boom. A new DHL report predicts that retail volumes will increase at an annual average rate of 25% until 2020. That’s faster than a dog licking a dish.

‘The 21st Century Spice Trade: A Guide to the Cross-Border E-Commerce Opportunity’ tells us that cross-border e-commerce offers aggregate growth rates not available in most other retail markets. In fact, twice as fast as domestic e-commerce growth. That’s cheetah-quick.

“Businesses with a faster shipping option grew 1.6 times faster on average than other companies. Here at PBP, we’ve analysed this and decided it’s because people want stuff to arrive quickly.”

Online retailers can skyrocket sales by 10-15% by selling cross-border. That’ll be because there are a lot of people to sell to across the sea.

You can also boost sales with a premium service offering: businesses with a faster shipping option grew 1.6 times faster on average than other companies. Here at PBP, we’ve analysed this and decided it’s because people want stuff to arrive quickly.

Growth is also occurring outside the three biggest spice-route supply markets – the United States, United Kingdom, and China. Key areas include Asia

(Singapore, Hong Kong and India) and Europe (Italy, Spain, France, Germany). Growth rates are up to three times higher than the global average.

“Shipping cross-border is much, much easier than many retailers believe, and we see every day the positive impact that selling to international markets can have on our customers’ business growth,” said Ken Allen, CEO, DHL Express.

“We also see that virtually every product category has the potential to upgrade to premium, both by developing higher-quality luxury editions and by offering superior levels of service quality to meet the demands of less price-sensitive customers. The opportunity to ‘go global’ and ‘go premium’ is there for many retailers in all markets.”

Pixel by Pixel has helped hundreds of companies to expand internationally, as well as companies expanding into the UK from abroad, so far this year we’ve worked with companies from China, America, Canada, Mexico, Singapore, Australia and not forgetting Luxembourg! The world is getting smaller, with European and worldwide fulfilment rates dropping significantly, conquer the continent, before your competitors do.

Tel: 01903 244274 pixelbypixel.co.uk

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Business Expo

Better Business Show 2017 What a day! - the lowdown

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hank you to all those exhibitors and visitors that came to the Better Business show on the 2nd February, and what a great day it was!

Delivered collaboratively by Worthing and Adur Chamber and Adur & Worthing Business Partnership the success of this show is also down to the proactive business community in Worthing and Adur. We had over 90 exhibitors and over 600 people at the show.

Thanks again to the main sponsor - Chandlers BMW, keynote speakers, experts and volunteers for giving up their time.

Chamber chief executive Tina Tilley said, “The show went extremely well. It went better than last year which was beyond our dreams. We had a constant

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buzz throughout the day. There was an amazing array of stands with representation from micro businesses to multi-national companies. The continuity of the day was supported by workshops, speakers and expert sessions all of which were well supported.”

Chamber Operations Manager Tracie Davey commented, “We have had some amazing feedback from the exhibitors with some great stories about new business relationships made and old ones revisited. Several exhibitors already want to book for next year!”

Over the following pages, read some of the feedback comments the show received and see who you can spot in our selfie frames.

Business Expo

“We thought it would be hard to top the success of last year, but once again, the Chamber pulled it out of the bag and delivered an excellent day. The organisation was great, the speakers were engaging and relevant and the room itself was buzzing. We made loads of great new contacts and will definitely be back next year for Better Business 2018.”

Kelly O Haire, Ask for the Moon

“Hopefully you can put your feet up over the weekend after a very successful event. We talked to lots of people. Well done.”

Peter Davies, Shoreham Port

“Last year’s show was really good but this year’s was really really great, an event to be really proud of.

Well done to all of you for the great organisation and hard work it took to make it such a success.”

Clive Spring, Yoohoo Creative

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Business Expo

“I just wanted to drop you a quick line to let you know how much we enjoyed exhibiting at the Better Business Show.

We thought the show was extremely well organised and we really appreciate all the hard work and effort put into making the event such a success. Looking forward to 2018!”

Nicky Dumbleton, Electronic Temperature Instruments Ltd

“I just wanted to say a big thank you to Tracie and Tina for a fantastic day yesterday. Such a buzz, such a warm and friendly atmosphere. Better Business was brilliant!

I make some great contacts too.

It must have been a lot of work to put on such a great event with such fabulous speakers and workshops.”

Tamsen Harward

“The show was very lively and busy.

Lots of different businesses attended and you didn’t know who you would be speaking to next, which made the day very interesting. We met start-ups and established businesses, everyone seemed to be at a different stage in their journey and the seminars certainly attracted a lot of people.

Exceptionally well organised - well done all!”

Julia Johnson, Fine Marketing

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Business Expo

“This year’s Better Business Show was probably the best yet. The speakers were fantastic and the quality of exhibitors and number of people who attended the show throughout the day just goes to show what a thriving business community Worthing and Adur has. We can’t wait to be involved again next year!”

Amy Kenward, Bennett Griffin LLP

“As a small business the show was fantastic very worthwhile, on many fronts.

Not only potential new clients, but potential associates I can work with, it helped me reinforce my brand to old clients and business people I meet from time to time.

It was so well advertised too, radio, newspapers, banners and emails. So much hard work paid off in my mind!”

Martin Bloomfield, Bloomfield Digital

“The Better Business Show was a total success for us, we got to engage with so many businesses and have picked up some new clients which is just fantastic!

I’m guessing we will have to book our place for next year pretty early for 2018 judging by the reaction from other businesses that didn’t exhibit this year!

Well done to all involved, it was a huge success!”

Paul, Empire Print

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Apprenticeships

The Apprentice Awards Northbrook Metropolitan College celebrated the success of apprentices and the businesses supporting apprenticeships at a special awards ceremony.

Connect spoke to the winners…

2017 Apprentice of the year

we’re going to write about.

Sophie Williams from Avantguard Security

In-house learning. All of my training is in the workplace, five days a week. My assessor comes in once a month and we go through my folder. I’ve picked particular modules that best suit the work that I do. She comes in and we plan what we’re going to do.

Qualities. I’m quite organised and I like working hard.

I get quite bored, so I like to have a lot of things on.

Once Tony or Kate say “Can you do this?”, I say, “Yes, sure.” I really enjoy it, more than I’ve ever enjoyed any job I’ve done before. There are only five of us, and we all just work really well together. It’s just an honest company.

2017 Highly Commended Apprentice Max Simmons from Wiston House Background. I was working at a pub but I didn’t really feel I was being supported. I found out about a place at Wiston House in Wilton Park, so I went for an Finding a Direction. I went straight to college from school in 2011, but I felt kind of rushed deciding what to do and flunked my A Levels. I left college and got a standard job, but I wanted to do more, so a few years ago I went back to college and did my A Levels in one year. However, after the exams I still didn’t really know what I wanted to do, so I started to look for an apprenticeship. I looked at Northbrook’s website and saw Avantguard and I just seemed to be drawn to it.

Growing into Digital. I’m doing a business administration placement, so I do a lot of admin, but we’re also in the middle of launching into the digital side, including a blog. Blogging is my hobby so I’ve got a lot of experience doing that. We’re just in the planning stage of how it’s going to look and what

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Apprenticeships interview. The venue does a lot of conferences and weddings – it has a nice mixture of everything.

I work here four days a week and have one day at the college, studying professional cookery Level 3. My ambition is to be a chef.

Working Day. A typical day at Wiston House depends on which shift you’re on. It could be the breakfast shift – we start at 7am and do breakfast and then prep for the rest of the day. Or if you’re on a lunch shift you come in at 8:30am, do the buffet lunch and then prep the lunch for the next day. I get involved in food preparation and cooking.

Signature Dish. I did bring one into Wiston, a crab fritter. It’s like a choux pastry that you make a fritter out of and mix in mustard, crab and then pop it in the deep fat fryer – it comes out a lovely golden rich colour. Very nice!

Future plans. With food, you’re always learning. That is one thing I like about it most: You can never know everything. There’s always something new coming up and always another way of doing something. So it’s really good at keeping you busy. I want to get Level 3 qualified and then see what my next step is.

Qualities. I try and work my hardest every day, to try and do my outstanding best. I get along with everyone as well. It’s a case of getting your head down and doing what you need to do.

2017 Apprenticeship delivery partner of the year Reflections Nursery Martin Pace - Director

Overview. Reflections is a single-day nursery in two large buildings. We employ about 72 people. We look after 150 children on any one day. Apprentices are really important to us, principally because we have a particularly different way of working with children.

And it’s quite hard for us to recruit anybody who would be au fait or ready with our approach. So it’s about growing and developing our own people within the context of our approach Inspiration. The nursery draws inspiration from Reggio Emilia, a city in Northern Italy which is world famous for early years work. We listen to children’s ideas, we work with children on a project basis, we take children into the forest, we take them to the beach and we have a very different environment – very few toys, very few plastic pieces of equipment.

And we also publish books about our own work, we present to other educators from all over the world – last year we had 300 visitors from Iceland alone – and then we run two professional development days for visiting educators every year. So it’s more than just a nursery!

Quality. I like to think that quality runs through everything that we do. That’s what I liked about Northbrook as a potential partner when we were talking about it because I genuinely think that they have the same sense of quality.

Sarah Wood - Deputy Manager, Trainer & Assessor Connection. We always had strong links with Northbrook’s business enterprise side and we’d done short courses through them. We were just having a casual chat one day about how difficult we found finding a training provider that understood us and would accept the way we work and the college genuinely listened. We currently have nine apprentices registered with Northbrook.

Partnership. We work together on the delivery and curriculum of the course. I’m a qualified trainerassessor. Northbrook College have provided a tutor to actually teach the taught elements of the framework, which I will support and co-deliver when required. I will assess in-house when the apprentices are working. They work a 32-hour week with us and have 8 hours a week study time in a designated study room with me on tap to help.

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Apprenticeships It has been a great success and we have already had three applications for the next intake at the beginning of next year.

2017 Employer of the year in recognition of supporting apprentices Sussex Partnership NHS Trust Nominated by Louise Patmore

department, Claire had about two or three as well.

And we’ve seen that throughout.

Welcome. People make the time for the apprentices and actually they are able to move on and get jobs.

We work at taking away that stigma sometimes attached to people coming in and learning in the workplace because actually it’s just as valuable, if not even more. We really aspire ourselves to become an employer where apprentices will come in, learn a lot from us and actually stay with us. We want them to stay and work with us, and to be the employer of choice for people.

Claire Marr, Head of Operations The right people. Each year we take on about 200 apprentices in the Trust, and we’re looking at how we’re developing the pathways to take on the new phase of apprentices coming into the organisation.

I was offered the apprenticeship and I had really good support around learning on the job and Claire has given me a lot of support interaction. She is always calm and level-headed. she would never say, “I’m busy, go away.” We work in a very busy environment with a lot of challenging times and I know Claire is particularly busy. But she always has time for people, so that’s why I nominated the Trust.

Sue Esser, Director of Human Resouces Mutual learning. Louise is very much part of our Trust. She’s not just seen as an apprentice; she plays a very big role. She has really supported the Trust throughout this. What we have seen is a lot of people coming as apprentices who teach us a lot because we learn a lot from them as well. They then move on to more senior, better jobs. I had three in my

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The winners

Andrew Swayne - Head of the Adur and Worthing Business Partnership: “It’s always good to celebrate success and hear about the development of the college and the apprenticeship programme. It’s nice to see some of the awards being structured whereby apprentices recommend their companies. I think it’s great to reward success - it’s very empowering.”

Photo Credits : Bloomfield Digital Photography

Time for people. I was working in partnership with Northbrook College on a project to produce Returning to Learning courses for people with mental health challenges. I’ve been working with Sue Esser and Claire Marr at the Sussex Partnership for four years and I’ve had a lot of support from them from the start with the job that I’m doing.

Being a mental health trust, we have to make sure that we’re getting the right people into delivering services and to support the delivery of the services.

We have to provide the whole support network so we can provide the services that people need us for.

It’s a very diverse workforce.

What can nova offer you?

Vision

Trusted partner of valued clients creating exceptional solutions

Customer Focus We differentiate through our tailored skills and depth of customer Excellence Trust

understanding

We strive for excellence, recognising this is defined by you

We build relationships with our clients, colleagues and business partners

Teamwork

We work together as a team for the company and you

Responsibility

We take responsibility for security, performance and safety

Direct Mail, Digital Print/Personalisation

Database Profiling & Cleansing

E-commerce & Pick & Pack Fulfilment Smellymail & Augmented Reality

Marketing & Design

Postal Discounts

Accreditations

Travel - Hong Kong

Shake hands in...

HONG KONG

Rose Dykins heads to the City of Life to discover its incredible past, its present challenges and its future business prospects.

J

ust downhill from Hong Kong’s achingly cool PoHo district in Sheung Wan – away from the craft beer bars, pop-up fashion stores, and a (rather intimidating) glass-walled yoga studio – an unassuming square, Pak Tsz Lane Park, marks one of the most important places in modern China’s history.

It is the original site of the Furen Literary Society – who spread ideas of revolution against the Qing dynasty and established a republic in China.

Hemmed in by alleyways caked in graffiti and grimy high-rise buildings, with a discreet brown monument at its centre, its surrounds are surprisingly gritty.

However, my guide Danny Fung, points out they were chosen for a reason: “If the revolutionaries needed to evacuate the area at short notice, they could

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disappear down one of these alleyways.”

Danny takes me on a fascinating and well-curated three-hour walking tour of the Hong Kong Intrepid’s Urban Adventures series (urbanadventures.com) – ideal for time-pressed business travellers who only have a spare afternoon to get to know a city once their meetings are finished. We’re led from leafy Possession Street, where the British claimed Hong Kong as a colony in 1841, all the way to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, where Hong Kong was officially handed back to China in 1997, and the red starry flag was raised in ceremony. The transition from the incense-filled Taoist temples and Chinese medicine shops of Sheung Wan, to the glinting gargantuan buildings lining Victoria

Travel - Hong Kong

Duddell Street Steps

Harbour is extremely striking, and it’s amazing what a difference 114 years makes.

In July, Hong Kong will celebrate 20 years of independence from British rule. The Hongkongers I spoke to were unsure how the occasion will be marked, although some mentioned that the government was allocating bigger budgets for annual cultural festivals. (For example, the budget for the internationally acclaimed Hong Kong Arts Festival has been boosted by 9% this year.)

“Part of Hong Kong’s appeal for the international business community has always been that it offers the best of both worlds”

Part of Hong Kong’s appeal for the international business community has always been that it offers the best of both worlds. Having semi-autonomy from the red tape and legal system of Communist-run mainland China, while also being a gateway to its booming economy, has made it a solid investment prospect for some time. Its stability has also been a key confidence booster for entrepreneurs. It will be interesting to see how the current political tensions play out, particularly if separatist sentiment gains momentum, as it did here in the UK. Major plans are underway for a super high-speed rail service that will connect Hong Kong with mainland China. Costing $11 billion, the project involves building a train station on Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour, with 26 km of track connecting it to Shenzhen, and is due for completion in late 2018. While the development won’t sit well with Hongkongers that reject further integration with China, it’s likely to be welcomed by business travellers.

Man Mo Temple Sheung Wan

During my visit in November, a different kind of independence was on some citizens’ minds. Beijing’s increasing influence over Hong Kong has been a bone of contention ever since President Xi and the Communist Party of China came to power in 2012.

However, while I was in the city, the news broke that Beijing had banned two legally elected proindependence Hong Kong lawmakers from entering office, for insulting China during their oaths they took while being sworn in.

Feelings of frustration and contempt for mainland China were strong – 40,000 protestors took to the streets demanding independence for Hong Kong.

(Some people also expressed anger towards the two lawmakers, believing they threw away a chance to secure Hong Kong’s future for the sake of making a statement.) What’s more, the Chinese government is also launching legal challenges against even more pro-independence politicians, adding fuel to the fire.

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Travel - Hong Kong Tai Ping Shan Street

financial software, cybersecurity, foreign exchange and anti-fraud services – which is unsurprising given Hong Kong’s roots as a banking powerhouse.

A final attraction of Hong Kong – just in case

“The transition from the incense-filled Taoist temples and Chinese medicine shops of Sheung Wan, to the glinting gargantuan buildings lining Victoria Harbour is extremely striking” On a more local level for Connect readers, Cathay Pacific recently re-introduced its direct flights from Gatwick to Hong Kong for the first time in 23 years.

It’s the first route that the airline has operated with its new A350-900 aircraft, which is designed to offer a wider, quieter cabin with a new in-flight entertainment system.

“We are delighted to return to Gatwick Airport with a non-stop service between Gatwick and Hong Kong,” says Paul Cruttenden, marketing and digital sales manager for Cathay Pacific.

“The route will offer more choice, convenience and connectivity to both business and leisure travellers when travelling to North and Southeast Asia, China and the South West Pacific.

“The new Gatwick route complements our existing five-times-daily service from Heathrow, bringing six daily flights to the London and the Southeast. Those living in the area will benefit from the popular time slots at Gatwick, and this will mean they can still easily connect to other destinations on the network.”

In terms of investment activity, Hong Kong has been ranked as the world’s freest economy for 21 consecutive years by the Heritage Foundation, and placed second globally (after mainland China) for inflow of foreign direct investment in 2014, which totalled US$ 103 billion. Its taxation is low and simple, its infrastructure is world-leading, and its workforce is skilled and English literate, with a strong international outlook. A slew of companies that have recently set up headquarters in Hong Kong include travel tech company Kayak, travel app Trip Guru and German music tech company Soundbrenner.

This year, it was reported that internationally, 1,926 start-ups are operating in the city, a large number of which were engaged in the Fintech sector – including

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you’re tempted – is its enviable lifestyle. It offers the cosmopolitanism, culinary diversity and colourful heritage of London, while its chaos is far more organised, its metro system much more modern, and its days are sunnier, with plenty of attractive public spaces to enjoy them. At the weekends, residents take ferries to the Outlying Islands to enjoy hiking, beaches and festivals, or kick back with a Beaujolais Nouveau in one of the city’s hidden hipster enclaves.

There’s always something new to see, do and taste in the aptly nicknamed “City of Life”.

CREATIVE QUARTER: PMQ Housed in a converted former Police Married Quarters in PoHo (hence the name PMQ), this regeneration project really captured my imagination. Home to more than 100 entrepreneurs and designers, PMQ is a hub for creativity; a non-profit organisation that aims to nurture Hong Kong’s young talent. It has welcomed more than three million visitors since it opened in 2014, who are free to browse the open studios and boutiques of the entrepreneurs, making purchases and interacting with the people behind the products.

The potential for collaboration and business partnerships with visitors is huge. I visited in the evening and perused the long corridors of the fivefloor building. I found avant-guard jewellery, groundbreaking gadgets, artisan crafts and tantalising food concepts. PMQ also stages regular events, workshops and exhibitions, and was the host venue for the inaugural Hong Kong Fintech week last November. pmq.org.hk

Travel - Hong Kong

TOP FOUR EVENT SPACES HONG KONG CONVENTION AND EXHIBITION CENTRE

➠

Protruding out to sea in the Central Business District, this cuttingedge 91,500 sqm venue hosts hundreds of conferences and events each year. hkcec.com

HULLETT HOUSE Set on the edge of Kowloon in a landmark colonial building, this special hotel has individually designed suites, and offers a ‘heritage meeting experience’ with themed coffee breaks. hulletthouse.com

➠

UPPER HOUSE HOTEL With just 17 rooms, this original luxury property – with design inspired by nature – has a secluded open air terrace in the heart of the Central district, which has space for 100 guests.

➠

upperhouse.com

JUNK EXPERIENCE Set sail on the South China Sea on board a beautiful teak ship for the best way to experience Victoria Harbour. A range of catering options and extra activities are available. new.hongkongjunks.com.hk

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GETTING THERE Cathay Pacific now offers a choice of three routes between the UK to Hong Kong, and onwards to over 190 destinations globally. These include five flights daily from London Heathrow, and four flights per week from both Manchester Airport and Gatwick Airport.

The new Gatwick route exclusively features the new A350.

For further information, visit www.cathaypacific.co.uk or call 0208 834 8888.

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Travel

The Economics of BUSINESS Travel It’s all in the eye of the business, says John Burroughes Managing Director,Uniglobe Preferred Travel

S

ince 9/11 there has been a huge amount of global research carried out on the impact of this event on every aspect of personal and business life, there have been far too many potential conclusions to include in this column, but I hope the enclosed words of wisdom (if you care to read them) will add a little something to your companies bottomline results this year.

One statistic that shone out like a beacon brighter than any other from the 9/11 that we should all take notice of was the undeniable statistics that those enlightened companies that did not do what comes naturally after 9/11 (cut sales and marketing budgets and anything else we can think of) but maintained their sales and marketing budgets and in some cases,

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increased, outperformed all of their competitors over the next 3 to 5 years.

Given the recent global events (the vote to leave Europe and the election of President-elect Trump) together with the various Parliamentary and presidential votes across Europe in the coming year, I thought it was time to try to eradicate emotion, cut out personal views, and take a hard look at, what the enlightened ones within our business community society look to at, solid data from trusted sources and may be a look back in history for inspiration from which we could learn.

Paul Samuelson, 1970 Nobel Prize winner for economics said “When events change, I change my mind, what do you do�

Travel So focusing on business travel, my question to you would be how many of you actually measure the return on investment (ROI) on your business travel budgets?

It is very common, as a travel management company, to come across financial and procurement executives that have received instructions to cut travel and entertainment (T&E) budgets. Let’s face it, it’s is an easy budget to cut, during such times people in the sales and marketing arena have but one thought, the song from the original Italian job “The Self Preservation Society”

“You may be thinking, what a load of tosh and boring old data, but I would challenge you by asking, how many international orders have you had without meeting with your clients face-to-face?”

As a prominent international business travel management company, Uniglobe Preferred Travel are members of the Guild of Travel Management Companies (GTMC), as such our membership represents 84% of managed business travel in the UK, (The Voice of Business Travel) we, as you would expect deal in hard facts and data verified by credible and trusted third parties.

In 2016, the GTMC commissioned Oxford Economics to look into hard facts behind all the data of business travel, in order to cut through all the waffle and give us some hard facts that would help us interpret what’s going on globally so we may guide our Businesses Clients accordingly.

So let me enlighten you on their findings: • Business Travel Boosts Trade: A 1% increase in Air Business Travel will boost all UK trade by £400 Million.

• Business Travel Drives Exports: A 1% increase in Air Business Travel increases exports by £160 million and imports by £125 million.

• Greater Air Connectivity Leads to Greater Trade: A 1% increase in air connectivity will result in an increased trade for the UK of around £600 million.

• Increase Your Business Travel: In 2010 an upward trend (post-financial crisis) started, and as the detailed report by Oxford Economics shows, if volumes were to return to the pre-financial crisis levels the next five years, this can add as much as £6.5 billion to the value of UK trade.

I am sure by now many of you are starting to glaze over but lets face it, this is something we all do in our business life when bombarded with facts and figures.

We tend to hold onto what we know (or believe in) as fact, and that tends to become our historical experience..

But l would like to jolt you out of your seats as you might be thinking, what a load of old tosh and boring data but l would challenge you by asking “how many international orders have you ever won without meeting your clients face-to-face’?

I am here as the Managing Director of Uniglobe Preferred Travel to offer my assistance in ascertaining your company ROI on business travel and if you don’t know, you should!

So I will leave you with a final thought or two: My name is John Burroughes MD of Uniglobe Preferred Travel, John@uniglobepreferred.co.uk If you want to increase your international business and get closer to your potential new clients, answer me one question.

If you don’t ever meet face-to-face, how can you ever see eye to eye.

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Sat 10th June 2017, 10am - 5pm Sun 11th June 2017, 11am - 4pm AMERICAN EXPRESS COMMUNITY STADIUM BRIGHTON, BN1 9BL For FREE entry, register at

www.brightonandhovemotorshow.com

THE TOP GEAR EXPERIENCE Using original BBC footage and presented in full HD you feel the full force of acceleration in this exciting simulator, with slick gear changes and phenomenal breaking on the Top Gear track. This season the Top Gear Experience offers a brand new feature - the Ariel Atom - one of the fastest accelerating cars in the world, capable of reaching 100mph in 6 seconds back to 0 in 4 seconds. We then move on to a favourite with the drift community - the 197bhp Toyota GT86.

THE F1 EXPERIENCE This simulator experience is new for 2017 and offers members of the public the opportunity to take part in a fantastic, immersive experience. Featuring three time Formula 1 World Champion driver Lewis Hamilton and utilising real telemetry and footage from our Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 testing sessions at the world famous Silverstone circuit. We use the latest in motion simulation technology to offer a unique and exciting experience to thrill any age group.

Tickets are free but you must pre-register here: www.brightonandhovemotorshow.com

PORSCHE

COMPETITION THE BRIGHTON & HOVE MOTORSHOW is back and returns to the Amex Stadium on June 10th & 11th 2017. We have so much taking place over the weekend and here is the launch of an exciting competition, courtesy of Porsche Mid-Sussex, to spend a day at the home of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone driving an exhilarating model from this iconic manufacturer.

HOW TO WIN? That’s simple. Pick up the event programme on the day, all of which will be numbered, and if your number is selected, you win this incredible experience. Simple.

THE PRIZE THE PORSCHE EXPERIENCE enables visitors to be instructed through a variety of different situations in wet and dry conditions, as well as simulating ice and snow driving with the use of specially constructed surfaces.

The Driving Experiences are designed to focus on a particular type of driving, model of Porsche or driving environment. Whether you are looking to attain new skills, polish up some old ones or just have a great time driving they can help find the right course for you. The Driving Experiences are all undertaken in one of our Porsche vehicles prepared to the highest standards.

The aim of the Driving Experience is to improve your driving skills on an ongoing basis, enabling you to drive more safely and deal more effectively with hazards on the road. Some of our courses are more focused on motorsport, from the basic fundamentals to professional driving skills. The courses are clearly structured and build on knowledge from the previous level – each level must be completed in turn before graduating to the next.

The Porsche experience entitles the winner to a choice of Driving Experiences, driving either the Boxster, Cayman, 911, Panamera, Cayenne or Macan on the Porsche Tracks and includes breakfast and lunch. The winner must hold a valid, full driving licence and must be between 18 and 80 years of age. If the winner has any convictions on their licence, this must be revealed before the selected day as restrictions may apply.

Motoring

GOLF GTi

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By Motoring Editor, Maarten Hoffmann

ho hasn’t had a GTi? Well, those of you with your hands down have missed a lark. It was the first affordable hot hatch we could get hands on that did 0-60mph in 9 seconds. There was also an excellent wheeze whereby it was cheaper to buy it from Germany in RHD, go collect it and get a tour of the factory for less than you could buy it in the UK. We did it in our thousands before they slammed that loophole shut.

lights like a startled greyhound and will last a lifetime - or more likely see you out if you look after it.

The GTi was groundbreaking in many respects and therefore it was with great trepidation that l took delivery of the first one l have driven for over 20 years.

As standard, the GTi gets a strong turbocharged 2.0 litre petrol engine but you can add VW’s performance pack which boosts power and adds performance-orientated features such as a front differential. It’s an expensive option though, so l might just stick with the standard car given it’s so capable. A twin-clutch automatic is also available but again, unless you’re dead determined, l’d go for the six-speed manual.

This Mk 7 version is punchy and powerful with a chassis that’s smooth in everyday mode and grips like a leech in the corners. And it’s German, so that bullet proof quality leeks through every pore. It hasn’t changed, in the main, since launch in 1974. It rides flat and smooth, departs the

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It ain’t cheap but then quality never is. Its competition would be the Megane Sport, Astra VXR, Ford Focus ST and BMW135i and you would need to be certified if you went for the Renault or Vauxhall. The BMW is a different type of car and the Ford, although very good, doesn’t quite carry the badge cache so, in short, it’s in a class of its own. The Focus RS would give it a run for its money.

Motoring

One thing that annoys me of modern mid-range fast cars is that first gear is a waste of space. You need it but the legs are so short that you are grabbing second in a jiffy, and, with front wheel drive, suffering detestable tyre scrabble. Not so the GTi. It has great first gear stretch and feels smooth through the power band all the way to 153 mph. It is firm and that has been a characteristic of the GTi since time began but the trade off is the great handling, secure in any hands, and great rate of acceleration.

Inside, l chuckle to see the Jacara check cloth interior.

I hate non-leather interiors but here, it would of been a travesty to change it. Everything in here is as it should be (they’re Germans), the layout is superb (they’re Germans) and the quality is top notch (they’re …oh, you get the idea!)

The other novelty back in 1974, was the hatch concept

“The GTi was groundbreaking in many respects and therefore it was with great trepidation that l took delivery of the first one l have driven for over 20 years.” that didn’t make the profile of the car look like a Zephyr estate yet provided this yawning chasm at the back. This one will take a huge load and with a 40/60 rear seats split and a low loading lip, it fits the bill.

Being a very immature speed freak, l would plump for the R variant and with 296bhp and four-wheel drive - it’s a barnstormer. For you mere mortals, the GTi is every thing you will need to be stylish, fast, safe and cool, in whatever order you so desire, all in one automobile.

A place in my fantasy 7-car garage? Probably.

TECHNICAL STUFF Model tested: 2.0-litre TSI 220PS Engine: 2.0-litre Power: 220 PS Performance: 0-62mph 6.5 seconds Top Speed: 152 mph Economy: 47.10 mpg Price from: £25,845.00

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Chamber Training

Gear Up - and Wise Up Make the most of the chamber’s workshops and training events

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hat’s the one factor that the majority of businesses, and employees, have in common? We’d hazard a guess that it’s the desire for more time to achieve their goals.

trainers who are experts in their field and, because the groups are limited to 8 delegates, it guarantees a personalised and interactive session.

And that’s just one of the ways that your membership of the Chamber proves its worth. We believe there is a plethora of benefits offered by your Chamber that can help you be more efficient with your time and, consequently, more productive.

Because the workshops are focused, it allows delegates to learn a great deal in a relatively short amount of time. You get to spend a valuable 2 or 3 hours learning from an expert and getting the opportunity to ask the questions that are important to you.

For example, take our Gear Up for Success workshop, which is free to all members and takes place several times year. As a business owner, manager or decision-maker, it’s critical that you focus solely on matters that will advance your business and its goals. The Gear Up for Success workshop will enable you to not only identify those goals but, most importantly, achieve them. The three hour workshop:

We’ve just launched our new programme for 2017 which covers topics as diverse as business law for SMEs, avoid being a twit on Twitter, avoiding HR disasters, developing long-term loyalty in your customers or clients and creating attention-seeking PR. We’d encourage you - or members of your team - to try out a workshop or two; we’re confident you’ll think it time well spent.

• Takes you through a step-by-step process to identify and set meaningful goals.

Look out for our emails with all the WiseUp details coming soon

• Provides a personalised plan of action to implement in your organisation or role.

• Prepares you to make a real and measurable difference to your business or life.

Both we, and many of our current members, believe that the value gained from attending this one workshop more than repays the time spent out of your workplace.

Take a look at the event page on the website for more details including some great testimonials.

Or how about our series of WiseUp2 training sessions?

These are bite-sized workshops which last 2-3 hours and focus on a specific subject.

They are led by professional

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Directory

COMPANY DIRECTORY

I

n the next edition the Company Directory will be launched in Chamber Connect. This will be a full listing of all the Worthing and Adur Chamber members including Company Name, Contact Name

and telephone number. There will also be the opportunity to have an enhanced listing for just £30 per issue. Below is an example of the layout with the basic and enhanced listing

ACCOUNTANTS

GRAPHIC DESIGNERS

PHOTOGRAPHIC

SCHOOLS & COLLEGES

Carpenter Box, Chris Coopey, 01903 234094

Yoohoo Creative, Cllive Spring, 01273 917071

Bloomfield Digital, Martin Bloomfield. 07771 666648 (see advert)

Northbrook Metropolitan College, Anne Feldbert, 01903 606264

COMPUTER SERVICES

MARKETING

SOLICITORS

Active IT, Chris Sewell, 01903 257070

Ask for the Moon, Kelly O’Haire, 01903 686858

Bennett Griffin LLP, Stephen Hollamby. 01903229907

COPYWRITING

MEDIA

The Worthing Copywriter, Peter Noone, 07821 877868

Platinum Business Magazine, Ian Trevett,.

COUNCIL SERVICES Adur & Worthing Council, 01903 239999

Bloomfield Digital Bloomfield Digital can create a premium quality, 360° virtual tour of your business powered by the Google Street View Technology

WEB DESIGN Pixel by Pixel, Chris Painter, 01903 244274

www.bloomfieldigital.co.uk 07771 666648

Award-winning pest control services

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Business Event

Meet the Buyers Save the Date - 18th October 2017

T

he Gatwick Diamond Meet the Buyers event brings together Buyers and Suppliers to help each other grow their businesses.

One of the most difficult aspects for any business is getting in front of the decision maker. It is a battle to find out who you need to talk to, and once you do, you have to navigate around the dogged gatekeepers.

This is an event that brings the right people together and makes the process straightforward and easy.

For Buyers, you will have the opportunity to meet new Suppliers of the products and services you need as well as explore ways to solve your procurement issues.

For Suppliers, you will be able to access the kind of businesses you simply cannot reach elsewhere,

with face to face meetings with their procurement professionals.

From June 2017, there will be a programme of free Seminars to help you understand how to engage with Public Sector and large businesses that are seeking new suppliers as well as improve your general sales processes.

On the day you will be able to spend time with the types of businesses you just don’t see out and about.

Date: 18th October 2017 Venue: the Arora Hotel, Crawley For more, please call 01293 440088 or email sally@gatwickdiamondmeetthebuyers.com

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CSR

Forward Steps towards CSR

C

SR can be a scary acronym, especially when you’re a small to medium business.

Corporate Social Responsibility is the sort of thing that only large companies have to deal with right?

Even for these firms, it can be difficult to deliver and find out what actually needs to be done.

At Worthing and Adur Chamber we realised that many of you (our members) were too small to meet the criteria to be part of Business In the Community (www.bitc.org. uk/) which is a charity set up by the Prince of Wales to get large companies more involved in their local communities.

At the same time however, we knew that many of you wanted to be involved in the local community but had no idea where to start. This got us thinking, what if there was a portal that could match company offers and resources with community organisation needs?

We put the idea to Business in the Community, Business Connector programme and got some funding from UK Power Networks to start a facilitation website that can present both sides of the coin and then match them too. Forward Steps was born.

There are many benefits to having an active CSR policy that works for you, for your staff and for the local community, including: • Increased awareness – customers prefer to deal with companies who are active in the local community. Commercial sense can be applied through finding an activity related to your product or your own local area.

• Motivated staff – engaging the staff in community projects and getting them involved can significantly improve job satisfaction and staff retention

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• Boost recruitment – Being known as a responsible employer in the local community will help when it comes to growth The new Forward Steps website keeps enables businesses to post their offer (staff time, meeting rooms, training sessions, free equipment etc) and then the community groups post their needs and search for a match. Each business is kept anonymous until a community group asks for an introduction.

Only once a business accepts do both parties become known to each other.

“We think Forward Steps has enormous potential,” says Tina Tilley. “We have some brilliant community projects in our local area and business that want to help, what better way than to be able to match them online using our simple website?”

“We will be holding a launch event to get businesses to sign up to being part of the project first. Once we have enough businesses signed up we will then launch it to the community through our friends at Voluntary Action Worthing who are heavily involved with many other groups and can disseminate the information to all the right parties.”

If you’d like to get involved please email Tracie@worthingandadurchamber.co.uk

Business Help

Navigating Business Support

C

oast to Capital’s Business Navigator Growth Hub is a free and impartial service that offers all businesses from pre-starts to large businesses, information, advice and guidance, necessary to help grow your business.

Your local Business Navigators are, Amanda Geel and Ryan Davies, who cover the Worthing, Coastal and Rural West Sussex areas.

Recently Amanda introduced two innovative businesses, who are now working together in collaboration. Both business owners shared their stories at the recent Access to Finance event, hosted

by Worthing & Adur Chamber of Commerce.

Bola Lafeset up Opus Innovations to manufacture and distribute innovative products in the healthcare and childcare sectors. Bola came across a unique ecofriendly sanitiser in Japan that kills 99.9% of bacteria, and is safe as water!

Aquaint sells in 18 countries. In the UK Aquaint is now sold through major retailers such as Boots & Ocado and has won multiple awards. Opus was also the Gatwick Diamond ‘2014 New Business of the Year’ winner, sponsored by Coast to Capital.

Bola said,“The Business Navigator has been of tremendous support to Opus. Amanda’s proactive advice and introductions, has meant my company was able to participate in the Arab Health exhibition in Dubai, receiving a £2,000 grant from the Department of International Trade”.

“In addition to some valuable social networking coaching, Amanda also directed me to the Small Business Grant, which has awarded me with £2,000.

But Amanda’s greatest contribution was introducing me to another of her clients, Bola Lafe of Opus Innovations. This was indeed inspired as Bola and I make a great team”.

The Small Business Grant is available to local micro businesses of up to 10 employees. Adur & Worthing Councils are offering matched funded grants of up to £2,500.

For more information about the Small Business Grant go to: www.adur-worthing.gov.uk/businesses/supportand-funding/grants-and-funding/#small-businessgrant-funding To speak to Amanda or Ryan at the Business Navigator, call now: 0800 977 4146 E: info@c2cbusiness.org.uk, or visit: www.c2cbusiness.org.uk www.aquaint-uk.com

Bola was introduced to funding organisations such as Finance South East and Allied Irish Bank, and Peter Bailey of TickleTec Ltd, a medical products, innovation and manufacturing business.

TickleTec entered the 2016 Design Council Spark competition and went through to the finals, awarded £40k and a 20 week mentoring programme.

Peter said, “Serendipity struck, as a chance mention by one of my co-finalists drew me towards Coast to Capital and the indomitable Amanda Geel.

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Member Focus

Member Focus Sussex Performance Centre Each issue we’ll be focusing on a Chamber member in a different stage of its life, starting this issue with Sussex Performance Centre who are in their first year of trading. We spoke to Tom Austin who co-founded the business with Nathan Da Costa.

Business name: Sussex Performance Centre Location: Worthing College, Sanditon Way Number of employees: 5

When and why did you start the business?

We started the business in August 2016. Nathan and I were colleagues at a health club and we decided we wanted to offer clients a broader range of services including training, coaching and nutrition. We were also aware that there was nothing of this type on offer locally. We also liked the idea that being our own bosses.

How have you grown your business or your client base?

We use social media quite heavily as well as our website, which is currently being refreshed; it will be re-launched shortly. Nathan is very well-connected in the local area which has been a great help, plus we’ve done really well from word-of-mouth and referrals.

What challenges have you faced in the past year?

Although we were prepared for our first year, we’ve been bowled over by how quickly we’ve grown.

The main challenge has been making sure we’ve got the resources in place to keep up with demand.

The building itself has had lots of developments including a new outside area which will be ready for the summer. We feel we’ve reached a happy medium although we will continue to make improvements.

Where have you found support or help for your business?

We’ve been lucky to have a small network of local tradespeople who have been a massive support to us.

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Worthing College has also been excellen. In general, the local community has been hugely supportive.

What are your plans for the year ahead?

We’ve got a new website due to launch soon which is exciting, as well as an outdoor area. This ability to get outside means we can offer different training programmes throughout the year in line with daylight hours and weather. Related to this, group training is a big emphasis and we have new programmes starting in April and June.

What is your ultimate goal for the business?

To keep growing and, in the process, make as many people in the local area aware of our services. We’d also like to open another facility. Our main aim is to provide our clients with the physical training they want; we believe in physical training in general rather than tying ourselves to one specific approach and it is definitely proving popular. www.sussexperformancecentre.co.uk

Chamber Membership

Why Join? …

Why Wouldn’t you?

Asks Tina Tilley, Chief Executive of Worthing & Adur Chamber of Commerce and Adur and further afield representing the interests of local business on many committees, councils and business working groups.

Be Connected - Networking events are very well attended and regularly attract both new and established businesses, with a choice of events to suit all schedules. These include free, open networking sessions, to more formal breakfast and lunch. For all the current events visit www.worthingandadurchamber.co.uk Be Developed - Peer to Peer Mentoring with like-minded business people all keen to share expertise, willing to learn from and support each other. Facilitated by the Chambers’ experienced team and run over 12 months, the results are extremely worthwhile.

Be Trained - Wise Up2 training opens the doors for members and non-members alike to ‘bitesize training’ across a whole plethora of subjects.

These short courses are limited in size to ensure all delegates take away as much knowledge as possible.

T

he Worthing and Adur Chamber of Commerce is a vibrant and friendly organisation attracting both large and small businesses to network and share best practice.

Be Supported - Membership is diverse, ranging from sole traders through to medium and large organisations allowing members to benefit from sharing information, knowledge and business opportunities.

Be Represented - A well-established organisation welcoming involvement from its members. The Chamber represents a strong voice within Worthing

Be Promoted – There are many options to raise your profile including through sponsorship, working groups, member to member offers and specialist workshops.

The Chamber also leads the latest Coast to Capital Business Navigator project which signposts businesses to the best grants and funding options available.

Tina Tilley says “life at the Chamber is never dull, and our wide and varied membership ensures that we continually strive to be the best we can be, and to provide the very best for our members”.

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Events

Chamber Diary Networking is a large part of the Chamber, and we are very proud to offer a varied programme of events throughout the year for our Members and guests alike.

T

here’s never a dull moment when we’re planning the diary, and our events span from pure networking with our free Chamber Hubs, to formal breakfasts and lunches, workshop and training events to social gatherings at the theatre, race days, local business tours and wine tasting!

REGULAR EVENTS Networking Breakfasts & Lunches Held on the third Friday of every month either as a Breakfast or Lunch. This is our most formal event with a keynote speaker such as local MP’s, council leaders and officers, county councillors, local business leaders.

Chamber Hub A completely informal event totally dedicated to networking. Held in Shoreham this is an opportunity to meet members and non members in a relaxed and welcoming environment. If you are new to networking this is a great place to start!

Free monthly networking

Chamber Chat Held on the first Wednesday of the month and is in the evening. Includes inspirational visits, a free mini workshop on a variety of topics such as social media, PR, sales and marketing, followed by networking. Free to members

Meet the Chamber Event - Getting to Know You Once a quarter we run a ‘Meet the Chamber’ event. Come along and find out how you can make the most of your membership and find out the work we do in the background to support local business and enterprise.

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So, whether you are looking to make new connections, reinforce a budding business relationship, mix business with pleasure at a social evening or just fancy getting away from the office, we hope to offer something for everyone.

As always, different events suit different people.

Some of us like the structured approach, where formality is key and conversations are struck over a good breakfast or lunch. Others prefer just to network their lunch away with a handful of business cards and a room full of fresh faces. Some like a little of both! There’s plenty of events to choose from:

DIARY DATES 21st April 2017 and 26th May 2017 Chamber Hub Free, fast paced and lively, our informal networking event is widely popular with around 30 businesses joining us each time. Book now and meet other local businesses and hear two spotlight presentations along with all the Chamber gossip! Free parking on site.

Below: Networking breakfast

Events 28th April 2017 Networking Breakfast A more formal event to be held locally with a key speaker. Topics include planning, grants and funding, tourism and leisure and local issues affecting SME business owners. Each event is hosted by the Chamber team with plenty of opportunity for networking and making key contacts.

3rd May 2017 Dining Out Club at Tosca’s A completely new event for us this year. To be held bi-monthly at local restaurants our Dining Club will play host to a small group of businesses, offering the opportunity of fine food and easy socialising.

Numbers will be limited so be quick to book!

7th June 2017 Adur & Worthing Business Awards Launch to be held at the Southern Pavilion See page 6 for details

5th July 2017 Summer Social Another flagship and well attended event. This year we have booked the sunshine and are looking forward to an evening of fun. A social event, this one is relaxed and friendly and always enjoyable.

2nd August 2017 Speed Networking with the neighbours!

10th May 2017 Annual General Meeting To be held at the Dome on Worthing seafront this special event attracts over 100 businesses. The formal proceedings are relatively swift, followed by a topical talk by our Patron Gillian Fielding, and networking after. Not to be missed!

19th May 2017 Networking Breakfast with an optional tour of Shoreham Airport

Another fast paced event, with the opportunity to meet over 60 businesses in a speed networking format. It’s one of our favourites and this year we join forces with Bognor Regis Chamber, Brighton Chamber, Chichester Chamber and Sussex Chamber offering you the chance to meet completely new businesses.

So, whichever you prefer, head over to the website www.worthingandadurchamber.co.uk and book in for some of events today; you won’t be disappointed. We look forward to seeing you there.

Non-Members This networking breakfast will be an update from Shoreham Airport looking at their future. There is also the option of a tour of the Airport. Come along and meet other local business owners, and establish your connections.

If you have never been a member of the Chamber you are welcome to book and join us as a guest at three of our events. After this, you will need join the Chamber to enjoy the benefits of membership. To join the Chamber, visit www.worthingandadurchamber.co.uk

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Spotlight

SPOTLIGHT ON…

Mark Scott, Procurement Manager in Shoreham for Ricardo UK Technical Consulting. achievement so far?

Tell us about your role I am responsible for all procurement in my division for indirect spend and project spend.

When necessary I also work with other divisions in the business to implement global or national deals with suppliers.

What’s it like working at Ricardo?

It’s challenging, exciting, and every day is different. Every project is unique and demands something slightly different to the last. There is a feeling of being part of a big team.

What’s the best bit about your job?

I enjoy building the relationships with suppliers that help to grow our business and theirs. Relationship building is fundamental to successful procurement.

What’s your biggest

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The sad events of the Shoreham Air Show gave me the biggest challenge of my professional career. I had to keep the supply chain going for four weeks while the A27 access to the Airport was closed. With a lot of hard work by all involved we kept the business going. I must particularly mention our friends at Sussex Transport who took us in to their facility to operate an off-site delivery hub, they were extremely helpful to us and a true spirit of the business community.

What does Ricardo do for the local business community?

We try to support local business wherever possible – in 2016 we spent £2.7m in the BN postcode area. Although Ricardo is a multinational company there are times when a local solution works better for us than a national one.

How does your role impact on the local community?

For our 100th Birthday in 2015 we built our new Centenary Innovation Centre. This fantastic facility is now frequently used by local groups to meet up and discuss local.

We also continue to support the Chamber. In 2016 we changed how we support the Better Business Show by placing procurement on our stand to enable local businesses to come and see us.

On a personal level I am a keen advocate of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and I support the Thomas A Becket Junior School Formula Goblin initiative, helping them to improve their Goblin race car. Go Team TABinator!

With you‌ and your business

01903 229999

I

www.bennettgriffin.co.uk

Worthing office: 1 Liverpool Gardens, Worthing, West Sussex, BN11 1TF Ferring office: 11 Sea Lane, Ferring, West Sussex, BN12 5DR

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