www.bq-magazine.co.uk
ISSUE THREE: WINTER 2010
VIRTUAL REALITY The Yorkshire entrepreneur managing reputations online WEST LIFE Leeds’ battle for an arena big enough for the top boy bands SMALL BEER Knee-deep in Saltaire’s yeast and hops YORK’S GRAND Bestowing five stars on a city’s historic heart
FAMILY MAN
John Tordoff: Following his enterpreneurial father’s footsteps ISSUE THREE: WINTER 2010: YORKSHIRE EDITION
BUSINESS NEWS: COMMERCE: FASHION: INTERVIEWS: MOTORS: EVENTS
YORKSHIRE EDITION
Business Quarter Magazine
£2.95
Our clients state our case: “I’ve come to expect a high
quality of service from Gordons. They work hard to meet my needs and exceed my expectations. “s” Terry Bramall, Entrepreneur.
To find out more call 0845 273 3080 www.gordonsllp.com
WElCOmE
BUSINESS QUARTER: WINTER 10: ISSUE THREE We’re full of inspiration this month – from those who have already achieved much in their lives and are wondering what to do next, to those who have followed in others’ footsteps and wonder how they can ever live up to expectations. Let’s deal with the more experienced folk first. Tony Gartland (the Bradford Tony Gartland, not the Halifax one) has already served a considerable spell as head of legal at what was National & Provincial and then built up a successful property business, some of which he sold off. In this issue, he tells us why in his late 40s he felt it was time to go back to university, learn a new craft – in this case, brewing – and join the increasing throng of people who have found delight in setting up their own microbrewery. He does make it sound very enticing – if you choose to overlook the comments about standing up to your knees in cold water for hours on end. Steve Wainwright, meanwhile, made a name for himself as the chief executive of ICM Computers – even if his management team eventually lost its battle against takeover by their largest competitor. In this issue, he tells us why, after taking suitable time off to recharge the batteries (including, it seems, spending a fair amount of time in bed) he is now back up and raring to go with a new internet venture. Our younger interviewees, meanwhile, may have had a harder time. It seems to me that any son or daughter wanting to follow in the footsteps of their parents and join the company where they work is usually on a losing wicket, whichever way you look. You really are damned if you don’t succeed (“Oh, well, he just couldn’t cut the mustard,” they will say) and damned if you do (“He’s only got those lucky breaks because of who his father is,” they will jeer). But Nick Heaton and John Tordoff seem to have made a success of following on from their fathers. John is of course the younger son of Jack
Tordoff, Yorkshire’s legendary car dealer, but has taken the JCT600 business on to new things since his dad retired. Nick joined Envirovent where his father was already working in sales, but has since gone on to become chief executive – even more bizarrely, with his father still working in the sales department. He says his father is an inspiration and the Harrogate company has been one of Yorkshire’s fastest growing enterprises in recent years. Andrew Stoddart, meanwhile, didn’t have anyone to follow, but did have to start again in a new town when he set up the Above & Beyond architecture practice. He tells us how it has ridden the ravages of the recession. Next year, the Cedar Court Hotel in Wakefield, the first in what has now become a fourstrong group of four-star Yorkshire hotels, celebrates its 25th birthday. We find out why the company has chosen this moment to go up a rung and open a five-star hotel in York; a first for the city. We also look at how well the turnaround business in Yorkshire is turning over in the recession, particularly its star performer Endless. Has there been much work to be done in putting Yorkshire and other businesses to rights? And is there more to come? And finally, now that the Government has approved extra funding for the Leeds Arena project, we look to see whether this means the city will now finally get the venue so many Leodiensians really believe it needs.
CONTACTS ROOM501 LTD Christopher March Managing Director e: chris@room501.co.uk George Cheung Director e: george@room501.co.uk Euan Underwood Director e: euan@room501.co.uk Bryan Hoare Director e: bryan@room501.co.uk EDITORIAL Peter Baber Editor e: peterb@room501.co.uk Jane Pikett Sub-editor e: jane@thecreationgroup.co.uk DESIGN & PRODUCTION Euan Underwood, Kevin Waddell e: studio@room501.co.uk PHOTOGRAPHY Paul Crowther e: paul@revolverphoto.com ADVERTISING For advertising call Mark Anderson 0191 419 3221
room501 Contract Publishing Ltd, 10 Baird Close, Stephenson Ind Est, Washington, Tyne & Wear NE37 3HL www.room501.co.uk room501 was formed from a partnership of directors who, combined, have many years of experience in contract publishing, print, marketing, sales and advertising and distribution. We are a passionate, dedicated company that strives to help you to meet your overall business needs and requirements. All contents copyright © 2010 room501 Ltd. All rights reserved. While every effort is made to ensure accuracy, no responsibility can be accepted for inaccuracies, howsoever caused. No liability can be accepted for illustrations, photographs, artwork or advertising materials while in transmission or with the publisher or their agents. All information is correct at time of going to print, January 2010.
THE LIFE AND SOUL OF BUSINESS YORKSHIRE EDITION
03
BQ Magazine is published quarterly by room501 Ltd.
BUSINESS QUARTER |WINTER 10
CONTE BUSINESS QUARTER: WINTER 10 YORK’S GRAND
Features 16 FAMILY MAN John Tordoff on life with Bentley, Maserati, Porsche - and his dad
32 CLEAN AIR CAMPAIGNER Envirovent’s Nick Heaton’s mission to clean up all our acts
38 TURNING AROUND TURNOVER How turnaround experts make their own mark on industry in recession
BUSINESS QUARTER | WINTER 10
66 YORK’S GRAND Cedar Court Hotels’ plan to bring five-star luxury to York’s historic heart
70 SMALL BEER Life among the yeast and hops with entrepreneur microbrewer Tony Gartland
66 SMALL BEER
74 THE ARENA DEBATE The long search for a solution to the hotly contested issue of Leeds Arena
78 AN ARCHITECT OF CHANGE Andrew Stoddart on a new method of urban architecture
04
70
TENTS YORKSHIRE EDITION
30 AS I SEE IT
BUSINESS LUNCH
Fran Marwood on new bribery laws
42 BUSINESS LUNCH Steve Wainwright on his new online reputation management network
Regulars
48 WINE Richard Fox tests two best bottles
50 FASHION Barbour’s ever-popular country chic
6
ON THE RECORD Who’s making the news now
8
NEWS Who’s doing what, when, where and why, right here in Yorkshire
22 COMMERCIAL PROPERTY The landmark developments building the region’s industrial landscape
56 KIT Luggage for the stylish traveller
42 COUNTRY CHIC
63 MOTORS Malmaison’s Grant McKenzie’s 24 hours with BMW’s 530d Gran Turismo SE
81 FRANK TOCK Gripping gossip from our backroom boy
92 EVENTS The best events this coming quarter
05
50 BUSINESS QUARTER | WINTER 10
ON THE RECORD
WINTER 10
The last quarter has been busy, with moves at the top of retail and the public sector, a rise in the average sale price at housebuilder Persimmon, merger plans for the Yorkshire Building Society, and more ... >> Public sector chiefs to step down Two key individuals in the region’s public sector have announced they plan to step down in 2010. Terry Hodgkinson has announced that he will be leaving the chair of Yorkshire Forward after six years at the head of the regional development agency, and Paul Rogerson, chief executive of Leeds City Council, has announced that he too will be stepping down over the course of 2010. The search for both men’s successors is likely to take several months. Hodgkinson’s successor will face the possibility of having to represent the RDA to a new Conservative government that may have plans to scale down its operation, if not to abolish it. Before joining Yorkshire Forward, Hodgkinson was co-founder and managing director of property and construction companies Magna Holdings and Lemmeleg. Rogerson joined Leeds City Council in 1989 as assistant director of its legal services division. He was appointed to the council’s corporate management team in 1995 and became chief executive in 1999. With more than 30,000 staff and a budget of £2bn, the council is one of the largest in Britain and one of Yorkshire’s largest employers. Coun Andrew Carter, joint leader of Leeds City Council and one of five council leaders Rogerson has worked with, said: “I cannot overstate how much he has contributed to the progress that we have made as a local authority over these years, particularly during his role as a chief executive.”
>> Chamber seeks creditors deal The Mid Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce is trying to seek an
BUSINESS QUARTER | WINTER 10
>> Bolland steps down at Morrisons Supermarket giant Morrisons has been ruffled by the shock departure of its chief executive, Marc Bolland, just over three years after he joined the group. Bolland is leaving to become chief executive of Marks and Spencer. When he made his decision public in mid-November Bolland agreed with the Morrisons board that he would remain in place until the end of January. But by early December the board had already asked him to relinquish his management duties. Sir Ian Gibson, the company’s nonexecutive chairman, has now taken over the role of chair of its executive board until a new chief executive is appointed. Gibson said: “Morrisons has a strong and capable senior management team which will continue to operate the business. We are well placed for a successful Christmas period and a
strong end to our current financial year.” Bolland had been widely seen as the man to steer the company forward into its new life without Sir Ken Morrison at the helm – and many feel he had succeeded in doing so. Although Gibson thanked Bolland for his contribution, there were widespread reports that investors were disappointed at the news, which initially saw Morrison’s share price to fall by 5 per cent. Bolland’s appointment to the top job at Marks & Spencer was seen as a surprise move too. He came to Morrisons from Heineken, and has little experience in clothes retailing – something that remains central to Marks & Spencer. Morrisons has also appointed Penny Hughes, former head of Coca-Cola in the UK, to be a non-executive director. Coca-Cola is Wakefield’s largest employer.
agreement with its creditors after running into serious financial difficulties. The chamber said it had been advised to seek a company voluntary agreement by Tenon Recovery and its solicitors, Chadwick Lawrence. The chamber represents businesses in Wakefield, Kirklees and Calderdale, where it moved into new premises at the Elsie Whiteley Innovation Centre in Halifax as recently as November last year. All 50 staff are having to re-apply for their jobs, and some posts will be lost.
price. In an interim management statement covering the four and half months to midNovember 2009, the York-based company said the encouraging rate of sales it had achieved over the summer months had continued into the autumn. The company sold all its stock in 2009 and has already generated £500m in sales for 2010 – 50 per cent ahead of the equivalent figure last year. The average selling price of houses reserved in the period compared with the same time the previous year, also rose by 6 per cent to £173,000. While the company says a good part of this was down to changes in the sales mix, it says it has also noticed “modest price growth” in regional markets. The company is even making some “selective” land purchases again. However, it says there is still a worrying constraint on the availability of mortgages, particularly higher loan-to-value mortgages
>>Persimmon looks up again Persimmon, the nationwide housebuilder which was forced to cut more than 1,000 jobs last summer as the housing downturn took hold, says its sales are looking up again and it has even seen a rise in its average sale
06
WINTER 10
that are designed for first-time buyers. It has seen particularly strong uptake on properties it has offered through the Government’s HomeBuy Direct shared equity scheme. More than 1,000 of its homes have been reserved in this way since the scheme was introduced in March.
ON THE RECORD
to halve its pre-tax losses from £7.1m to £3.6m. But it says it is not out of the woods yet, and was hit this year by higher than expected distribution costs.
>> Instore to delist Instore, the owner of the Poundstretcher chain of bargain shops, is to delist from the London stock exchange in a bid to give its largest shareholder more effective control of the company. The Huddersfield-based company says Crown Crest, a company also run by chief executive Aziz Tayub, is already giving it financial support and also assisting it in joint buying operations. This is likely to continue even when the economic situation improves. The company was the scene of a bitter boardroom dispute in 2007 when Aziz Tayub sought to take more of a controlling interest in the group. Several board members, including its then chief executive, resigned. In the first half of its financial year to the end of August the company managed
>> Easyjet flies into Robin Hood The battle of the low-cost airlines in Yorkshire has notched up another gear with Easyjet launching new services from Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield. Following hot on the heels of Ryanair’s substantial increase in flights from Leeds Bradford, and Jet2 launching new routes from East Midlands, Easyjet will be launching its services from South Yorkshire’s new airport from April 2010. These will include a daily flight to Amsterdam, flights to Barcelona and Faro four times a week, and thrice weekly flights to Palma de Mallorca and Prague. Mark Whitworth, chief executive of Robin
Hood’s owner Peel Airports, said the announcement meant the airport would see double digit growth in passenger numbers in 2010. “This is magnificent news for the region and a further milestone in this airport’s short history,” he said. “EasyJet’s commitment is a real sign of its confidence in this airport and our region going forward.” Paul Simmons, UK regional general manager, for EasyJet, said: “By operating services from Doncaster Sheffield Airport, we can now tap in to the attractive Yorkshire catchment area. With over 40 flights in/out per week, our destinations are expected to attract both business and leisure travellers. In addition, we are looking to develop the inbound market, highlighting Yorkshire as a destination to Europeans, helping to bring even greater investment to the local economy.” Leeds Bradford, meanwhile, is asking the Leeds business community to back its Project America campaign to have a US airline offering a regular service to New York from the airport within five years. The airport’s commercial director Tony Hallwood told an invited audience in December that there are currently 750 American companies based in Yorkshire, so having such a service would boost inward investment. A daily service to New York, he added, would allow onward connections in North America. Jet2 has in the past run Christmas shopping flights to New York.
>> Yorkshire and Chelsea to merge Yorkshire Building Society is planning to merge with its southern counterpart the Chelsea Building Society, creating what would be a serious rival to the country’s current largest mutual, Nationwide. The merger, which still has to be ratified by members at a special general meeting in January, would see the enlarged organisation trade as the Yorkshire Building Society. Chelsea Building Society would be operated as a separate and distinct brand within the organisation. The enlarged organisation would have assets of £35bn, 178 branches and 2.7 million members. Yorkshire Building Society chief executive Iain Cornish said: “This merger
creates a second major force in the building society sector. Joining with Chelsea offers a great opportunity to build on the strengths of both societies and form a strong, independent mutual organisation.” The deal has been seen as something of a rescue for the Chelsea Building Society, which
07
lost a significant amount of assets with the collapse of the Icelandic banks. Both societies were also downgraded by ratings agency Moody’s earlier this year. At the time, the agency claimed Yorkshire’s merger with the Barnsley Building Society, completed earlier this year, left it more open to risk. However, Cornish said: “The enlarged Society will continue to have one of the strongest capital positions of any major UK bank or building society and a secure funding base. As far as Yorkshire is concerned, we are seeing more positive signs and this merger will ensure that we are extremely well placed to prosper as markets recover.”
BUSINESS QUARTER |WINTER 10
NEWS
WINTER 10
The World Cup’s coming, we have news of contract wins, investments and acquisitions, but hard the times are still biting. It’s all in the news this quarter… >> Optare cuts jobs Bus and coach maker Optare says it has halved its workforce at its Leeds and Lancashire factories due to weak demand which it sees as continuing throughout 2010. Although it says its final quarter showed an improvement on the third quarter, with its order book increasing from £8.8m to £11.7m, it says it has still had to cut the workforce from 913 full-time equivalents to 474, to reduce its break even point. It has also negotiated successfully with unions to reduce working hours for remaining staff. Total restructuring costs at the company, which was formed in 2008, when Blackburn-based Darwen Group mounted a reverse takeover of Leeds-based Optare, have amounted to £1.5m.
>> Cities win through on World Cup bid Leeds and Sheffield have both won the right to stage World Cup football matches if England wins the bid to host the tournament in 2018. Leeds United’s Elland Road was included in the final 15 stadia chosen by the Football Association. Sheffield Wednesday’s Hillsborough Stadium was selected instead of Sheffield United’s Bramall Lane. But Hull’s KC City Stadium failed to make the final 15. The decision on who is to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups will be made by FIFA in December 2010.
>> Yorkshire Bank up for sale The owner of the Yorkshire and Clydesdale Bank has revealed that it has been approached by a number of UK banks about acquiring the two operations. In a statement to National Australia Bank’s AGM, group chief executive Cameron Clyne
BUSINESS QUARTER | WINTER 10
>> Home gets a bit of Chilli
Left to right: Dave Whittle (Chilli UK), Dave Sewards (Home), Rich Marson (Home) and Andy Heap (Chilli UK) Home Marketing Group has acquired brand design consultancy Chilli UK, bringing the number of employees to 70 and taking the collective turnover to over £9m. Home has bought a majority share in Chilli UK as part of a wider strategy to provide clients with a more complete marketing services offering. Chilli UK will join other specialist agencies across its portfolio including online search and social media agency Homejames, web development and build agency Homepage, point of sale display specialists The Solution House and the main advertising agency. Chilli UK’s clients include McVities, Butterkist, Denby, Lakeland and Skinny Cow. Home’s clients include Jet2.com, Russell Hobbs, Belling, Party Poker, COI and Holland’s Pies Home chief executive Dave Sewards said: “Chilli is a supremely talented and respected brand design consultancy and this move completes the agency’s full complement of specialist services. We knew of them by reputation but on meeting the team we were blown away by the quality of their work and attitude.” Chilli will continue to operate under the same brand name and Andy Heap and David Whittle will continue in their roles as joint managing directors. They will be joined on the Board by Dave Sewards and Rich Marson, one of the other Home founding partners. The Chilli UK team, currently 15 strong, will remain for the moment in their existing offices but will join the Home group in Roundhay next year. Legal completion was handled by Irwin Mitchell.
referred to the consolidation that was going on in the UK banking sector, and said they had been approached “by a number of players to see how we could work with them in that consolidation”. He said Clydesdale Bank, which includes Yorkshire Bank, was one of the few UK banks to remain profitable, and said the approaches
08
showed that “we have a high quality asset that is an attractive platform for participation in UK market developments”. Yorkshire Bank recently stepped out to fund private equity house LDC’s investment in Quantum Specials, one of the most significant deals in a quieter year for Y orkshire dealmaking.
WINTER 10
>> Chadwick Lawrence becomes hub
Jeremy Garside and Sarah Haller
Chadwick Lawrence has been selected as the West Yorkshire regional hub for the highly successful Connect2Law network. The scheme, started by Manchester law firm Pannone LLP, is a free, mutually beneficial referrals and support network for law firms across the UK. Smaller firms are encouraged to introduce work which is outside of their specialist areas to a larger firm, known as a hub, in return for a host of benefits including a fee share and a written non-poaching agreement. Member firms also have access to a bulk purchasing group known as CostController which can reduce core overheads by around 20 per cent. Pannone claims to have almost 700 member firms in the scheme. Chadwick Lawrence will
NEWS
act as the hub for most of West Yorkshire and parts of North Yorkshire. The Connect2Law team at Chadwick Lawrence consists of Jeremy Garside, Sarah Haller and Janet Thewlis. The team will co-ordinate all enquiries and hand them over to the relevant expert.
>> Straight wins new contracts Straight has won four contracts with local authorities worth a combined ÂŁ1.3m. The contracts will see Leeds-based recycling bin supplier provide kitchen caddy food waste containers to Gloucester, Tewkesbury and Newcastle-under-Lyme. The group is also supplying 120,000 seven litre caddies with ventilated lids and 18 million compostable liners to Stockport council.
Practical Personal Professional Durham’s approach to management development
Durham Professional Development Programme Aimed at fast-track and first-line managers, this part-time programme focuses on you as an individual and looks at your development as a professional manager. The programme develops knowledge, skills and behaviour that will underpin your career development in any area of management. This is a practical programme that offers mentor support and enables you to learn alongside participants from a range of organisations. It leads to a professional qualification in Management & Leadership. The next programme starts in February 2010. For further information please email: management.development@durham.ac.uk or visit www.durham.ac.uk/dbs/mdc or call 0191 334 5308.
09
BUSINESS QUARTER |WINTER 10
NEWS
WINTER 10
>> Jobs with the laundry
Left to right: Paul Dickinson, managing director,TAB MD, with Ed Reid The Alternative Board (TAB), the Harrogate-based peer support and business coaching organisation, has established two new operations in the key centres of Leeds and York. TAB Leeds will be run by operations and recruitment specialist Kenton Robbins, while Ed Reid will run TAB York. Robbins, who is a co-owner of the Penman Partnership, started his own consultancy business in 2007 after a career in the FMCG food industry, working for such giants as Uniq Prepared Foods and Dairy Crest. Reid originally worked for British Steel before entering the food industry, where he was employed in a national account and field sales roles, first for Guinness/ Diageo and then Nestle in York. After completing his executive MBA, he moved to printed point-of-sale specialist Simpson Group as marketing and sales director. Paul Dickinson, managing director of TAB UK, said: “SME owners in the Leeds and York areas now have access to a major new resource to help them through the current downturn. Through TAB, they can improve their decision-making and strategic planning by accessing valuable board level advice at an affordable price.” TAB members all belong to local peer advisory boards which meet monthly; they are all carefully vetted and selected from non-competing similar-size companies, each with his or her own different skill sets.
BUSINESS QUARTER | WINTER 10
>> Carclo in share placing Plastics and lighting group Carclo has successfully completed a £3.67m share placing to raise funds to accelerate projects in its technology division, Conductive Inkjet Technology (CIT). Earlier this month the Ossett-based company signed a deal with US-based Atmel Corporation to develop jointly a new touchscreen product based on CIT’s photolithographic metallic film. The company has placed 2.85m new shares of 5p each in the company, representing just under 5 per cent of the company’s stock.
>> Flexibility helps Drax Drax says its power plant’s flexibility and reliability has helped it improve profitability in a difficult market to such an extent that the company now believes its full-year results will be ahead of market expectations. The company says the plant’s flexibility has helped it participate more effectively in the real-time energy market operated by National Grid, and to buy back power to meet forward contracts when prices fall below its marginal cost of production. Following a feasibility study, the company has also started to sell power directly to large industrial and commercial businesses, through its retails subsidiary Haven Power.
>> Spice in £31.5m loss Outsourcing company Spice has recorded a pre-tax loss of £31.5m for the six months to the end of October thanks to a £42.9m writedown on its underperforming gas social housing business. That compares with a pre-tax profit of £9.4m the same time last year. The company says the gas social housing division has been loss making for the entire period thanks to increased competition in the social housing sector. Despite management restructuring the business is to downsize, improvements have been slower to materialise than had been anticipated. In contrast, it says its commercial and industrial
10
gas operations have continued to grow over the period, and new blue chip clients have been won. While revenue has remained broadly unchanged at £193.4m, the company’s supply division and utilities-facing distribution business has seen a 25 per cent increase in earnings before tax to £21.8m, which the company says demonstrates a strong market position. Chief executive Simon Rigby said: “The supply division and utilities-facing distribution business have both performed strongly, and are well placed to capitalise on their strong market positions as illustrated by contract wins with Scottish Power and being selected as preferred bidder by United Utilities. This is likely to give rise to start up costs in the second half of the year. But market conditions have been, and are likely to remain, challenging for the group’s gas social housing business.”
>> Premier Farnell stems slide Leeds-based international electronics distributor Premier Farnell says it has managed to slow its rate of decline in overall sales and taken market share in Europe as it completes restructuring in its North American divisions. Total revenue for the third quarter to the end of October was down 11 per cent to £199.8m. In contrast, total revenue for the whole nine months to the end of October was down 14 per cent to £587.8m. Underlying pre-tax profit in the third quarter was also down 21 per cent to £13.9m, whereas the same figure for the whole nine months was down 33 per cent to £37.6m. Sales via the company’s e-commerce channels now account for 57.1 per cent of all sales in Europe. Web sales in America grew by 20.1 per cent across the quarter, and now account for 25.4 per cent of all North American sales. The company’s element14 iPhone application has now been approved by Apple and is available on iTunes.
WINTER 10
NEWS
>> Brilliant appointment for Epiphany Epiphany Solutions, which claims to be the UK’s fastest growing search marketing agency, has appointed a new director to further support its rapid growth. Louise McKee joins as business development director to bolster the company, which has just won a number of new accounts including the CBI and Ventura. She has experience spanning nearly 15 years in the media industry, most recently as head of business development at Leeds-based Brilliant Media. Rob Shaw, Epiphany’s managing director, said: “Louise’s appointment comes at a pivotal time for us as a company. We are seeing traditional search heavyweights diluting their offering as they bid to become full service digital agencies. We have experienced rapid growth over the past 12 months during an unparalleled recession and we are now ideally placed to capitalise on our strengthened position as one of the few true search specialists left in the sector.
>> Cedar Court Hotels and Harrogate Spa in deal The company behind Harrogate Spa Water has signed a £300,000 deal with Yorkshire’s own Cedar Court Hotels to supply around 80,000 bottles of the water a year to the group’s five hotels in Wakefield, Bradford, Huddersfield, Harrogate, and, from Spring 2010, York. Cedar Court chose Harrogate Spa Water, produced by Waterbrands, for its quality, versatility and regional roots. John Horvath, group general manager of Cedar Court Hotels, said: “We’ve worked out that our customers drink enough water every year to fill Harrogate International Centre – so we had to think very hard about which product to choose! “But in the end Waterbrands made the decision easy for us: it’s a local company, so this deal enables us to meet our internal brief to source locally whenever possible, and Harrogate Spa Water’s slightly sweet flavour
>> HIC gets into networking
Left to right: Neil Robertson from Waterbrands and John Horvath and Simon Cotton from Cedar Court makes it a very versatile drink – a crucial consideration given the range of situations in which we will serve it.” Paul Martin, Managing Director of Waterbrands, said: “We’re looking forward to supplying Cedar Court Hotels as the company has a lot in common with Waterbrands – they’re independent Yorkshire companies offering premium brands.”
>> Finns take over Underfloor heating business Velta UK has been acquired by Finnish-owned Uponor in a deal advised by DLA Piper’s Sheffield office. Uponor has been Velta UK’s main supplier of underfloor heating technology to Velta UK for many years. Rob McKie, associate at DLA Piper, who advised on the deal, said it was a relief to be working on a conventional deal. “We are so used to the deals market at the moment being driven by the need to restructure a business or protect threatened jobs; it is reassuring to see a deal such as this coming through,” he said. “While there is no doubt that the market is still far from ideal, and one swallow does not a summer make, the more transactions we see like this one coming through the region, the better the signs for recovery.”
11
Harrogate International Centre (HIC) held its inaugural business networking event last week attended by nearly 200 local companies and stakeholders. HIC’s expansion plans, and in particular the opportunities that the two new exhibition halls will bring to the town, was the main theme of the evening. HIC deputy director Simon Kent said, “We are thrilled with the amount of support we received.” There were many requests from businesses for more regular updates and HIC intends to send out regular business newsletters, with the next networking event to be announced early next year. Any business that would like to receive the newsletter can contact HIC at hicmarketing@harrogate.gov.uk
>> New accreditation for JCT600 Northern car retailer JCT600 has received accreditation from the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) in recognition of the company’s commitment to improving the quality of information provided to customers on motor finance. All 44 of the group’s dealerships throughout Yorkshire and the North East have become SAF (Specialist Automotive Finance) Approved, which has led to the FLA awarding the status to the entire group consisting of 255 sales staff. >>
BUSINESS QUARTER |WINTER 10
NEWS
WINTER 10
SAF was launched by the FLA to raise standards and improve knowledge in showrooms and to increase customer confidence in motor finance. SAF Approved was introduced in August 2009 to reward companies who have voluntarily improved their staff’s financial know-how. To qualify, all of a dealership’s staff who discuss finance with customers must have passed the online test and the dealer principal must sign a compliance statement stating the company will treat finance customers fairly and responsibly. Simon Barrass, group finance & insurance director of JCT600, said: “This is an important initiative by the FLA and will give car buyers added confidence and peace of mind when visiting a JCT600 dealership, knowing they will be dealing with a well-informed professional who can give impartial advice on which finance product is right for them.”
>> Investment helps Leeds firm win biggest deal A Leeds-based manufacturer of process control systems has landed its largest single order from the water industry for this type of equipment. Software designers and engineers at Saftronics are currently working to fulfil the £4.5m order from Severn Trent Water for its Minworth waste water treatment plant near Sutton Coldfield. The bumper order crowns an eventful year for the £11m turnover company and it is now gearing up for further growth. A recent £75,000 investment in the current production space at the company’s Pearson Street factory in Hunslet, where it employs a 130-strong workforce, has already yielded significant efficiency improvements. The expansion has been funded from entirely within the business, which remains debt-free and continues to invest in its software development team. The company, formed in 1979, has also invested heavily in a comprehensive re-branding and marketing exercise, following in-depth research and mapping of existing and potential customer bases.
BUSINESS QUARTER | WINTER 10
>>New head for UK’s oldest media forum
John Ainley, business director for CBS Outdoor in Leeds, has been named as the new chairman of The Yorkshire Publicity Association (YPA), the region’s biggest media networking forum, as the association looks to expand its membership and activities during 2010. Founded in 1923, the YPA is the oldest publicity association in the UK and aims to improve the presence of Yorkshire’s media companies and professionals across the region, nationally and internationally. Ainley assumes the role from incumbent chairwoman, Leigh Bulmer, who has guided the organisation through the first phase of its expansion. He said: “I am thrilled to be taking on the chairmanship of the YPA at such a pivotal time in its history. As part of our strategic drive to expand and develop the association, we are enhancing the YPA committee, aiming to double our membership and undertake a complete overhaul of our website and e-communications to significantly increase our web traffic over the coming year.” Adrian Johnson, director of PR agency Umpf, will replace Chris MacKenzie as vice chairman.
>> Sport job for Hatch Sports travel provider Thomas Cook Sport has appointed Leeds-based Hatch Communications to carry out a specific sports PR and sponsorship maximisation campaign to raise the profile and develop awareness of the Thomas Cook Sport brand, including its 2010 World Cup travel packages. Thomas Cook Sport launched five years ago and is the official travel partner of Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, Everton and Tottenham Hotspur, as well as Celtic and Rangers in Scotland, and offers holiday clubs to over 60 football clubs across the country. In addition to football, the company has official partnerships and offers packages across a number of sports, including rugby union, golf, cricket and the International Grand Prix series.
12
Thomas Cook Sport managing director Danny Talbot said: “We were extremely impressed with Hatch Communications’ knowledge of the marketplace.”
>> Romec showcases products and services Facilities management company Romec has opened an innovation centre that brings its complete range of products and services under one roof for the first time. Eighteen months of planning, and an investment of £250,000, has now come to fruition with the development of the centre, near Elland Road in Leeds. The centre takes visitors on a journey and shows how innovative Romec is while also
WINTER 10
letting potential customers get a flavour for what it is like to have the company as a partner. Mike Sparrow, Romec’s managing director, said: “The innovation centre provides a dynamic environment to demonstrate our products and services and show what sets us apart from the competition.
>> Clearwater baths keeps buoyant in recession Freestanding bath manufacturer Clearwater has added 10 new designs to its range as a response to an increase in demand over the past few months. Clearwater, based in Bowling Back Lane, Bradford, expects to have sold approximately 20,000 units by the end of this year; only a slight drop compared to the days before the credit crunch.
Darren Allison, Clearwater’s managing director, says he used the credit crunch and the subsequent recession to refocus the business which is now beginning to pay dividends. He said: “The severe effects of the credit crunch took everyone by surprise, but it allowed us to look at the business and our product range to see what was working and what wasn’t. “Out of that came the setting up of a nationwide distribution and dealership network, a more effective marketing campaign and 10 new product lines. “We are confident that 2010 will see our sales exceed 30,000 units because we have witnessed that people are starting to spend again. While property sales are starting to creep back up, we also have found that many homeowners are opting to stay put and are carrying out improvements on the homes; which generally means a new bathroom and/or kitchen.”
NEWS
>> Tracsis expands with acquisition Tracsis, the AIM-listed provider of operational planning software and consultancy for the transport industry, has acquired management reporting software provider Safety Information Systems for just over £500,000. SIS already operates in the rail sector, providing performance related event data software. Leeds-based Tracsis believes there are strong synergies between the two companies which will help the merged group grow. Tracsis is initially paying £465,000, of which £50,000 will be in cash, although depending on certain performance criteria being met >>
Big decisions follow you around.
At Grant Thornton, we understand that the big decisions you have to make are sometimes difficult, often finely balanced, always with you. To explore this and other big decisions, visit our website.
For more information contact: Jonathan Riley Office Managing Partner T 0113 200 1542 E jonathan.c.riley@gtuk.com
www.grant-thornton.co.uk © 2009 Grant Thornton UK LLP. All rights reserved. ‘Grant Thornton’ means Grant Thornton UK LLP, a limited liability partnership. Grant Thornton UK LLP is a member firm within Grant Thornton International Ltd (‘Grant Thornton International’). Grant Thornton International and the member firms are not a worldwide partnership. Services are delivered by the member firms independently.
13
BUSINESS QUARTER |WINTER 10
NEWS
WINTER 10
a deferred consideration of £50,000 in cash and shares will also be paid. Tracsis’s chief executive John McArthur said: “The acquisition is the third transaction we have made in the past 15 months and has all the positive attributes we look for in a company – a profitable business model, good quality recurring revenue, a great product with high barriers to entry, supportive customers and solid management.”
>> £3.1m funding for Morley wire company KTS Wire has secured funding for the next phase of its growth after acquiring John Pring & Son from its administrators. The deal was funded by specialist Leeds-based turnaround and private equity house, Frontline Investment Opportunities. In addition, the Leeds office of asset-based lender Davenham provided working capital funding via invoice discounting and asset-finance. Steve Longbottom, managing director of KTS, said: “KTS is a wire business which supplies very demanding and specialist type markets. The business has an immense amount of skill and expertise, built over a number of years. With the addition of the Pring business this adds further exciting opportunities for the joint business which we are expecting to develop.” Melanie Hird, a founding partner of Frontline, said: “As specialists in providing funding and expertise to companies in distress and special situations, we recognised that KTS was a solid business with a sound management team. With the acquisition of Pring, together with additional funding for the KTS business, we are delighted to be working with management to assist them in delivering an exciting business plan over the coming years.” Nick Smith, Davenham Trade Finance’s business development manager in Leeds, said: “KTS has developed its skills and expertise over more than 50 years to become a leading manufacturer of wires, which are exported to over 30 countries. We were very pleased to be able to help secure the future of such a well-respected company with a worldwide reputation for supplying quality products.” HLW acted for Frontline and Gordons acted for KTS Wire.
BUSINESS QUARTER | WINTER 10
>>Paraytec aims high with more funding Paraytec, a scientific instrument company based in York, is the latest company to have secured funding following its involvement in a regional investment readiness programme. A graduate of the Yorkshire Forward Access to Finance for Healthcare Technologies programme, Paraytec has attracted investment worth over £150,000 Left to right: Investor David in its latest round of funding. Thornton and Mark Vaux New and existing investors from the Viking Club, Yorkshire Association of Business Angels and Yorkshire Fund Managers have collaborated on the investment. Part of the funding was in the form of a loan from the Viking Loan Fund. Formed as a spin-out from the Chemistry department of the University of York in 2005, Paraytec designs, develops and manufactures innovative instruments for use in drug development. Chief executive officer Mark Vaux got involved in the Access to Finance programme in its early stages, beginning with a strategic review of his business, followed by a four day workshop and mentoring session. The workshop series helped him hone his presentation to the investor panel. The process also allowed Mark to critique the business four years in, recognise where its core strengths lay and understand how this translates into a return on investment for potential backers. Vaux said: “We are aiming to sign our first major OEM contract with one of the leading companies in the scientific instrumentation field. The route to market for our equipment is to partner with one or more of the big multinationals to take our business on to the next stage.” The investment also safeguarded eight jobs at the company, based on Tadcaster Road. Andrew Burton, chairman of the Yorkshire Association of Business Angels, said: “A lot of time and development had gone into the investment proposition and we were impressed by the mix of academic and commercial people involved. Existing investors backing the company demonstrates to new investors a confidence in both the team and the proposition to the market place.” In addition to the investment, the Grant Thornton team which manages the Access to Finance programme, gave advice on applying for an R&D tax credit which led to Paraytec making a claim of £38,000. The Access to Finance programme forms part of Yorkshire Forward’s ongoing strategy to support the development of the healthcare technologies industry in Yorkshire and Humber.
>>Former legionnaire joins STG
14
Strategic Team Group has strengthened its management team with the appointment of John Stuart as bid co-ordinator. A former soldier with the Airborne Infantry and the French Foreign Legion and a former college lecturer, John will be working with the business development team at the Castleford-based company to improve the bidding process from collation to bid strategy. Previously, John worked as a technical journalist for Shepherd Construction and as a lecturer in English and communication key skills at Dearne Valley College, Rotherham, and Askham Bryan College, York.
WINTER 10
COmPANy PROFIlE
Henderson, one of the UK’s leading commercial insurance brokers forge ahead with the acquisition of market leading credit insurance specialist
INSURING YOUR BUSINESS AGAINST NON-PAYMENT OF DEBT IS ESSENTIAL IN ANY ECONOMIC CLIMATE
If you sell credit terms to your customers, whatever trade sector you are in, Credit Insurance can protect your business from the potentially disastrous effects of one or more of your customers becoming insolvent or being unable to pay after a protracted period of time. This valuable protection is backed with real time financial information, often obtained on a confidential basis by underwriters, enabling your business to develop a strong and profitable client base, whilst reducing wasted management time chasing bad business and bad payers. As the name suggests, UK Credit Insurance Specialists Ltd (UK Credit) are a market-leading specialist in the field. Our aim is clear, that is to negotiate the most appropriate, cost effective balance of cover, credit limits and to continue to support our clients with an on-going pro-active service that is head and shoulders above our competitors. Due to our strengths, UK Credit have a proven track record of winning a significant amount of business, whether new to credit insurance or currently insured. This success is due to the exceptional levels of support we provide and to our aggressive service proposition. Both of these traits, we believe, are hallmarks of all Henderson Group companies. There are various options available and UK Credit has access to all underwriters offering this type of cover that ensures a full market review is truly that. • Whole Turnover Policies for Domestic Risks, Export Risks, or both combined • Excess of Loss / Catastrophe • Key Accounts • Specific Account
UK Credit offer: • A dedicated Account Director and Broker for your account • A dedicated team that handles all credit limit issues • A dedicated team that handles all your claims • Bespoke internal IT systems in support of all policy areas • A unique, bespoke web based sales ledger management tool enabling 100% policy compliance • Extremely strong relationships with all underwriters • Close working relationships and understandings with Factoring, Invoice Discounting and Trade Finance Companies UK Credit are ideally placed to ensure that your Credit Insurance arrangements are the most appropriate and competitive available; that you then continue to receive a market leading level of support for the duration of your policy.
The UK Credit Insurance Team
Whether you are new to Credit Insurance, have looked at it in the past or, perhaps more importantly, you currently have a policy in place that you would like us to review, please call us on 01628-482400 ask for Dudley Howland, Caroline Davies, Phillip Bradbury or Nick Flux
15
Henderson Insurance Brokers Limited (Henderson) provides bespoke solutions for all commercial insurance requirements Since Henderson was founded in 1986, we have enjoyed continuous nationwide growth and expansion. However, our primary concern is to remain a leading independent regional brokerage with local representation ensuring the highest level of client service. In April 2008 Henderson was announced as one of the fastest growing insurance brokers according to the Sunday Times PriceWaterhouseCoopers Profit Track 100 league table. Henderson is united by a genuine interest to provide the best possible service for the company's broad range of clients. This reveals the ethics of loyalty and commitment that run deep through the roots of the company. • Retail •Healthcare •Haulage •Construction •Risk Management •Surety Services • Real Estate Henderson have offices across the UK, including the key business centres of Leeds and London, this helps to maintain its strong presence on a national basis. Leeds, Hull, Kirmington, Peterborough, Stockton, Newcastle, Manchester, London, Ipswich Head office: Trueman House, Capitol Park, Leeds, LS27 0TS www.hibl.co.uk Authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority
BUSINESS QUARTER |WINTER 10
ENTREPRENEUR
WINTER 10
in association with
KEEP IT IN THE FAMILY John Tordoff - head of Yorkshire’s biggest car dealership - has ideas of his own to take the company forward, while recent experience has taught him the full value of being part of a real family business. Peter Baber reports
Let’s face it, last year was a difficult one. Difficult for all businesses in general. Difficult for retailers in particular, and most particularly difficult for big ticket retailers like car dealerships selling Bentleys and Maseratis in amongst the Peugeots and Vauxhalls. Difficult, in other words, for JCT600. As its chief executive recounts: “In the darkest days of last year, we were having to write down our used car stock by £1m a month. It was outside forces that were making us have to do that, and if you didn’t do that you weren’t in the market. Being out of control was the biggest fear.” Fortunately, this particular chief executive is called John Tordoff. He happens to be son of Jack Tordoff, the man who, over a stretch of 44 years ending in 2002, built up what had been his father’s company to become, according to Motor Trader, the 12th biggest car dealership in the country and certainly the
BUSINESS QUARTER | WINTER 10
largest one that is still privately owned. Jack it was who gave the company its name – JCT600 was his personalised Mercedes Benz number plate – and it was he who really lifted the company into the public imagination by winning the International Circuit of Ireland in 1973. What he doesn’t know about cars probably isn’t worth knowing. So while Jack, now aged 74, has now taken on the role of chairman, his son John admits he was a useful presence to have around during the last year or so. “It was nice having a wise old head around the place who had been there before,” he says. “If my father is around, he comes in every day. He arrives mid-morning, and is gone by lunchtime. He reads the paper, has a chat to a few people. If you want his advice he will give you it.” Tordoff junior – if you can call a man aged 46 “junior” - is keen to make clear that there was
16
never any danger last year that the company itself was going to go under. “But being a family business, you pride yourself on the amount of control you have in the business,” he says, “and there was a fear developing at the end of last year that there were a lot of outside influences that were taking the control away.” So with John very much at the helm, with Jack providing advice from the back, they set about reorganising the group to cut costs. “We made around 50 people redundant,” says John. “We initiated a huge cost-saving culture across the business, getting outside companies involved in helping us do that. Every month during 2009, our cost base went down by more than £400,000.” As a result, he says, 2009 was brisk and the company steamed ahead, even managing to pull together an acquisition of two Audi dealerships in York and Hull in August, >>
WINTER 10
17
ENTREPRENEUR
BUSINESS QUARTER |WINTER 10
ENTREPRENEUR
WINTER 10
Top marques: JCT600’s luxury marques include Aston Martin (above) and Porsche adding another brand to JCT600’s portfolio. “We had absolutely no worries that we wouldn’t survive the recession,” says John. “We are an incredibly well-funded company.” And 2010 isn’t looking too bad, either. Even the end of the lower VAT rate doesn’t particularly bother him. “If you put 2.5 per cent on the cost of car,” he says, “that 2.5 per cent will be made up somewhere else. Lowering the VAT rate didn’t create a huge impetus in people spending more money. If you want something, you’ll find the money.” It is of course, wonderful to have father and son agreeing on the course the company should take so readily. But John Tordoff is frank in saying that, “the problem comes when he gives you his advice and you haven’t asked for it”. History is littered with examples of children who have taken over businesses their parents have built up, and then run them down after spectacularly falling out. Clogs to clogs in three generations, the old adage goes. But this clearly hasn’t happened with JCT600, which is all the more surprising because John Tordoff insists that, unlike his father, he has no interest in cars. Despite having a mobile phone ringtone which is the sound of Formula One cars racing, he says he is no petrol head. But we are sitting among desirable models in the company’s Porsche dealership in Leeds. And he does drive a Porsche Cayenne as a family car. So what does he think when the latest model rolls in? “I look at it and think, ‘that’s fantastic’,” he says. “Would I drive it? Yes. Do I feel the urge to fill my garage at home with
BUSINESS QUARTER | WINTER 10
five of them? No. I’m not one of these people who go around a motor show for hours on end drooling over cars. Cars are commodities.” In fact, he says, when he was growing up he had “no interest” in the garage business, and certainly never helped out on weekends. He did have an interest in business per se, however. That was what tempted him to go into accountancy. When the call came for him in the late 1980s to join the family business, it seemed “the right thing to do”, but only because the company was then preparing for a flotation that in the end never came about, and newly appointed finance director Brian Crowther (who left the business last year) needed some help. “We were a big dealership even then,” he says, “but it had become apparent pretty quickly that we didn’t have the infrastructure in place to be a big PLC. So Brian was recruited to create management accounts that meant something rather than having them on the back of a fag packet. Like of lot of businesses in those days, you ran your business based on how large your bank overdraft was.
So Brian and I created the infrastructure.” In the end the flotation idea was scrapped. “Everybody woke up and thought: ‘Why are we doing this anyway?’” says John. He decided to stay on, however – not a surprising decision, you might think. But he was well aware that if he was going to make anything of the company, he would have to earn his stripes. Not least because he was not the only younger Tordoff waiting in the wings. His older brother Ian also works for the company, as director of its trade operations. “I did have to prove myself,” he says. “I earned the respect of everybody. I didn’t assume they would respect me because of what my surname was. I worked at gaining people’s respect by proving to people that I could do the job. I worked in the business as an accountant for a few years. I like to think I did that well. Then we had a bit of a management shuffle, and I got my first general manager’s job.” In 2001, with Jack now past conventional retirement age, the business, says John, had reached a bit of a crossroads. “There were a few question marks about where we were going, and I was asked if I wanted to move to head office,” he says. “I said I would do so, on condition that I could get on with running the business on my own.” On his own, yes, but with some characteristics of the old management style brought forward. “The values of the business have remained the same,” he says. Apparently, these are “wanting to do the right things, rather than just doing things right”. “It’s the way you treat people – staff, customers, relationships with manufacturers,” he says. “We are a people business, and people make it either a fantastic success or a huge failure.” Nevertheless, there must be certain new >>
I did have to prove myself. I earned the respect of everybody. I didn’t assume they would respect me because of what my surname was. I worked at it
18
WINTER 10
19
ENTREPRENEUR
BUSINESS QUARTER |WINTER 10
ENTREPRENEUR ideas he has brought to the business as it moves forward? “I have brought more of a strategy to the group,” he says. “We know where we are going and what we have to do to get there, whereas in the past we just ambled along – successfully, but we ambled.” One part of that strategy was the acquisition of the Audi dealerships this year. Audi is a marque Tordoff has had his eye on for some time. “In recent years, Audi has done a good job to have the brand catch people’s imagination,” he says, “Historically, it has not been an aspirational car, but with models like the TT, the A3 and the A4, it’s now a car that a lot of people, particularly young people, would aspire to drive.” However, JCT600 wasn’t just going to go for any dealership: whichever one they eventually took over would have to fit within the company’s policy of above all remaining a north of England dealership. “Even now, we are very regionally based,” says Tordoff. “Our northernmost dealership is in Newcastle, and our southernmost is in Chesterfield. We are predominantly in West Yorkshire, and we didn’t want to move beyond that boundary. It gives us good control of the business. All our dealerships are within two hours of head office. I would rather be a good, wellrespected regional company than an average, poor national company.” Another change in strategy might include JCT600’s decision to be the main sponsor for two Leeds-based professionals – Alex Macdonald and Luke Grose – in their attempt to beat the world record for rowing across the Atlantic. JCT600 has in the past sponsored Bradford’s football and rugby clubs – sometimes simultaneously. Tordoff believes it is important for a successful company to give something back to the community. But this was a new departure. “Alex and Luke approached us in the darkest days of the recession, when the thought of sponsoring anything was a bit foolish,” he says. “We get hundreds of requests like that, and most go straight in the bin. But there was something strangely captivating about this. What impressed me most was the fact that they said they were not just doing it to cross the Atlantic, but to break the world record. They were our kind of people.”
BUSINESS QUARTER | WINTER 10
WINTER 10
I only got to my position by proving I can do the job, and the same goes for the next generation
The crossing the two are doing - which may be completed by the time you read this - is the same one completed by James Cracknell and Ben Fogle for their TV series and is actually part of a race. (It is perhaps a sign of our celebrity culture that you might have thought Cracknell and Fogle were on their own, but they weren’t. In fact, they didn’t even win their race). The two Leeds boys were originally looking for standard sponsorship, but Tordoff decided to offer them more, gave them a PR budget to work with Harrogate-based Appeal PR, and out of that was born Team JCT600. Tordoff says it has been worth it. “It has been worth ten times the amount of money we have invested in this,” he says, “just in terms of what it has done internally with our rowing challenges. More than 250 members of staff have got involved with rowing machines and staff events. Between them, they have raised over £10,000 for Macmillan. It has generated a really good camaraderie among the staff. You can’t put a price on that these days.”
20
And what about camaraderie among the family? He may have taken over successfully from his father Jack, but what ambitions does John have for his children? How is he going to avoid this idea of ‘clogs to clogs’? Tordoff is very clear on that. “We are defying clogs to clogs because there is no pressure to join the business,” he says. “I only got to my position by proving I can do the job, and the same will go for the next generation. I would hate my children or Ian’s children to think that they have to do it, because that’s when you make a mess of things.” There may just be a succession in waiting, however. “One of Ian’s three children has already joined the business,” he says. “My eldest son is studying mechanical engineering, but the one thing that has taught him is that he doesn’t want to be a mechanical engineer. He is thinking of going into accountancy, and doing his studying while he works for us. We are trying to launch a graduate programme, and he might end up being the guinea pig for that.” The attractions of perhaps one day running Yorkshire’s biggest car dealership are clearly hard to beat. ■
Lee & Priestley’s specialist Entrepreneur Team works with clients as a strategic partner, offering a unique blend of legal, business and entrepreneurial expertise. Lee & Priestley acts for businesses across a broad range of industries and has a particular reputation for entrepreneurial expertise in the new media, media, internet, technology, creative, leisure, entertainment and healthcare sectors.
Jonathan Oxley, Senior Partner, Lee & Priestley LLP Tel: 0845 129 2300 10-12 East Parade, Leeds, LS1 2AJ www.leepriestley.com
Marketing / Advertising / PR / Design / Web / Social Media / Events / Print “In choosing Fantastic Media we’ve formed a partnership with people we can trust.” Richard Hayes, Card Factory
“As a result of Fantastic’s marketing campaign, online traffic increased by 41%.”
what does your marketing agency deliver?
Donald Angus, Bonmarché
“Fantastic increased our marketing activity, yet still cut our marketing spend by a quarter giving us real value.” Jeremy Garside, Chadwick Lawrence
08450 176 090 www.fantasticmedia.co.uk
COmmERCIAl PROPERTy
WINTER 10
Despite the talk of gloom, there is still activity in Yorkshire, such as a planned new station entrance for Leeds station. Not all cities are looking at declining rents either >>£4m for Scarborough Spa
>> Bid to give station new entrance
A bid for £13.7m to provide rail passengers with access to Leeds station from the south side has been submitted by Metro to the Department for Transport. Providing passengers with access to the current western footbridge within the station from ground level either side of the River Aire, the proposed new entrance incorporates lifts, escalators and stairs. The bid is being put forward under the Major Scheme Business Case system. If its approved, the new £15.2m entrance could be open in 2012. “Together with proposed new stations at Kirkstall Forge, Apperley Bridge and Low Moor, for which we submitted a funding bid last month, this is a significant investment in local rail travel and the local economy by Metro and Network Rail,” said Metro chairman Councillor Ryk Downes. Planning approval from Leeds City Council was sought in October, and a decision is expected early in 2010. The scheme also has the support of Network Rail, which owns the station, and major local train operator, Northern, which manages the station on Network Rail’s behalf. Richard Lungmuss, route director for Network Rail, said: “More than 100,000 people come through Leeds station on a normal weekday and the number of passengers is steadily increasing. This new entrance will not only improve access for those coming into the station from the south but will also help us to manage future demand. It is expected that 20 per cent of the 100,000 passengers using the station every day would use the new entrance, cutting journey times for passengers south of the River Aire and relieving pressure on the existing northern entrance.
BUSINESS QUARTER | WINTER 10
22
Yorkshire Forward’s Board has committed £4m to funding the redevelopment of Scarborough Spa, as part of its ongoing Renaissance Programme. But a further £10m project to restore the building and its environment is still £4m short of its target after the Commission for the Built Environment rejected the council’s application to fund the project out of its Sea Change scheme, which seeks to rejuvenate seaside resorts. The remaining £2m is meant to be coming from the council itself. Jan Anderson, director of environment at Yorkshire Forward, said: “Following the disappointment of the Sea Change bid, Yorkshire Forward was determined to continue its support for Scarborough’s economic renaissance and can confirm that £4m has been approved by the Yorkshire Forward Board.” The funding aims to help redevelop areas of the Spa that will bring the most immediate economic benefits to Scarborough. The refurbishments will focus on the lobby, bar area, and upgrades to the back of house including the Aquarium Top car park and the Spa Approach Road. This investment is designed to create a high quality venue which will enable the Spa to combine its existing market with a new entertainment and quality business conference offering. Anderson added: “Since 2002 Yorkshire Forward has invested in Scarborough’s economic development through the flagship Renaissance Programme which has achieved very significant improvement in the physical infrastructure of the town. This includes the creative and digital business centre Woodend, the Rotunda Museum and marina developments. Scarborough has seen a dramatic change in business and community confidence as a result.” The bid follows in the wake of the completed refurbishment of Bridlington Spa.
WINTER 10
commercial pRoperty
>> Charity moves in at Killingbeck Court The Stroke Association has taken up space in Killingbeck Court, Leeds, in a deal negotiated by DTZ. The development, owned by the Gregory Group, comprises seven self contained, two storey office buildings. In addition to the letting to The Stroke Association, one unit has been let to housing regeneration agency Renew and three units have been sold to private investors. Eamon Fox, office agency associate director at DTZ said: “The Stroke Association chose Killingbeck Court for its new office location due to its proximity to Seacroft Hospital and easy access to Leeds city centre which is only three miles away.” The Gregory Group was able to provide flexibility within the lease, which was a pre-requisite for The Stroke Association. Lyn Dunkley, head
>> More for West One Two new deals have added to the tenant mix at Bruntwood’s West One development in Wellington Street in Leeds. Swedish bank Handelsbanken has agreed a 10 year lease on a ninth-floor suite in the building comprising 3,011sq ft. Meanwhile Fresh Water Coolers, a supplier of plumbed in water coolers, has taken a first floor suite of 1,100sq ft on a six year lease. West One was bought from BT in 2004. It underwent a comprehensive refurbishment by Bruntwood and was 100 per cent let within 12 months of completion. The building caters for a one person office up to corporate occupiers accommodating 150 staff. Due to the amount of suites in the building and the flexible nature of the leases there has always been some churn. Eamon Fox, associate director at DTZ comments: “This duo of deals shows confidence in the building, the location and the landlord Bruntwood, and means the 100,000 sq ft building is now fully let. Bruntwood is bucking the trend.” Craig Burrow, head of sales and development at Bruntwood, said: “As trading conditions have tightened, we have continued to see demand for well priced and flexible product hold, resulting in these two very good lettings. We are keen to understand occupiers’ requirements and tailor responses to their needs, and with over 275,000sq ft of office accommodation, over four buildings within the city, we can cater for most needs.” DTZ acted jointly with BNP Paribas Real Estate.
of facilities at The Stroke Association. said: “We found through the acquisition process that Killingbeck Court offers the highest quality in office design, at effective rental levels, with a high level of car parking facilities for employees, allowing us to progress our work in the region, in a building we are very proud to call our own.”
This duo of deals shows confidence in the building, the location and the landlord. Bruntwood is bucking the trend
>> Former Wetherby Health Centre sold A former health centre in Wetherby has been sold to a property developer who plans to turn the site into a care home. Acting on behalf of NHS Leeds, DTZ has recently completed the sale of the former health centre after new, improved health centre on Hallfield Lane was opened in June 2008. Purchaser Hadrian Healthcare Group, a North East-based healthcare provider, plans to redevelop the site to provide a modern purpose-built, luxurious care home facility for the elderly in the centre of Wetherby. Phillip Dawson, associate director at DTZ, said: “The sale of this site has attracted a great deal of interest given the wide range of potential uses the site has. Given the current economic climate, it is reassuring to see strong demand for development land. It goes to show that even in recessionary times, a good site with excellent development opportunities will always prove popular.” Jas Gill, commercial director of Hadrian Healthcare, said: “With the site being located in the centre of Wetherby, surrounded by all local amenities, it is perfect for development within the group’s branded portfolio Manor House Living. Properties in this portfolio cater for the most discerning of elderly clients and are typically located in high value locations. They also provide clients with superior standard accommodation including larger private suites and communal areas which include a cafe, bar and shop.”
23
BUSINESS QUARTER |WINTER 10
commercial pRoperty >> Waterfront centre unveiled Training and assessment company ESTL has unveiled a brand-new conference centre in Huddersfield. ESTL celebrated its move to the Grade II listed Folly Hall Mills on the banks of the River Colne by inviting businesses from Kirklees, Calderdale and Leeds to visit its flagship Waterfront Conference Centre. The conference centre, which contains seven individual suites, was officially opened by Craig Dickinson of global bank HSBC, who announced that the bank had already booked a training day at the centre. The mill has only recently been refurbished. Dickinson said: “This is such an impressive building, with amazing facilities and a tremendous history. It is totally unique and I am delighted to open a centre which is sure to become an important feature of the Kirklees business and social community in the months and years to come.” Leading West Yorkshire businesses and organisations, such as Kirklees Council, Business Link, West Yorkshire Police and the NHS have already used the Waterfront Conference. Janet Washington, business development manager of ESTL, said: “The Waterfront Conference Centre, with its amazing blend of the historic and the modern, certainly has the wow factor. There’s nothing like it in the centre of Huddersfield and we are very pleased with the calibre of clients from both the private and the public sector that we have already attracted. We are especially pleased with the repeat business we are getting”. The conference centre offers a wide range of facilities including audio visual equipment, breakout room, on-site catering and two fully-equipped IT Suites. A range of business services, such as photocopying and printing, are also available. All the suites, which can cater for up to 100 people, can be used during the evenings and at weekends.
>> CTP St James in awards hat-trick Developers CTP St James is celebrating a hat-trick of awards for two of its Yorkshire developments. The new Charles Street Car Park, an integral part of the flagship Heart of the City project in
BUSINESS QUARTER | WINTER 10
WINTER 10
>> New HQ for landscape practice
Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH) has completed the letting of a 2,986sq ft office building at Aviator Court Business Park in York to leading landscape consultancy, The Landscape Agency. Acting on behalf of the landlord, London & Oriental, joint agents LSH and Peter Lund & Partners successfully negotiated the five-year lease which sees the practice relocate from its existing office at Clifton Moor. Founded in 1998 and with other offices in Warwick and London, The Landscape Agency specialises in landscape design, planning and management with a focus on historic landscapes and contemporary design. The practice will join other prestigious organisations already on site, including Yorkshire Bank, the Secretary of State and Pivotal Labs. Hannah Cummings, operations manager at The Landscape Agency, said: “With its excellent location close to York city centre, as well as having easy access to the regions major arterial roads, Aviator Court proved the ideal solution to our Head Office requirements. “Our new premises are far better suited to meet the future needs of our business and, following a tough few months, we are now actively recruiting.” Located on the South Western edge of Clifton Moor, Aviator Court is a development of six high-quality offices, ranging in size from 1,500 to 5,000sq ft. Adam Varley, head of office agency at LSH’s Leeds office, said: “The units at Aviator Court can suit a range of requirements in terms of size and lease flexibility. Coupled with schemes extremely competitive quoting rent, it is easy to see why the scheme is still proving attractive to occupiers. With only 3,000sq ft remaining, we are confident of reaching 100% occupancy very soon.”
Sheffield, has won two Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) awards, while the Navigation Warehouse, the centrepiece of Wakefield Waterfront development, has been honoured nationally by the Georgian Group. Charles Street Car Park, designed by architects at Allies and Morrison, won a bronze medal in the RIBA White Rose Awards for Architecture 2009 and a RIBA Yorkshire award.
24
David Topham, director of CTP St James, commented: “We are delighted that Charles Street Car Park has won not one, but two, RIBA awards. It is certainly an iconic building and it helps to give the successful Heart of the City development in Sheffield its very distinctive character”. Emma England, Regional Director of RIBA Yorkshire said: “It’s really exciting to see how
WINTER 10
commercial pRoperty
>> Highcross wins green award Leeds city centre office scheme, Toronto Square, has won a national ‘green’ award for its developer, Highcross. The building was named ‘Office Development of the Year’ in the Estates Gazette Green Awards, beating off strong competition from short-listed developments in London and Manchester. Commercial development director Chris Mills said: “Highcross is delighted by this national recognition of the building’s sustainability and environmental performance. It was a considerable challenge for a refurbished building to achieve the high standards required to win this award and we are very grateful to all those who showed their support for our scheme by voting in the final stages of the competition.” The Toronto Square scheme was completed in August following a £10m redevelopment and extension programme, which created 90,000sq ft of Grade A office space in the heart of the city’s legal and financial district.
the different Yorkshire towns and cities are developing, with clients investing in good quality architecture. Overall, the winners this year led the way in a region which, more than ever, has demonstrated its commitment to investment in sustainable public buildings.” The Navigation Warehouse, overlooking the River Calder in Wakefield, is a conversion of the Grade II listed Calder & Hebble Navigation Warehouse for office and leisure use. The building was refurbished by WM Anelay Limited of York and the restoration and adaptive use was designed by Building Design Partnership from Manchester. It won the Re-Use of a Georgian Building award from the Georgian Group, a national heritage organisation.
The project included the addition of three new glazed floors and a full height extension to the rear of the original building. The scheme was the first extensive redevelopment/refurbishment project in the city centre to achieve an ‘excellent’ BREEAM rating and is the only building to achieve this standard in Leeds’ traditional office and financial core. It incorporates a range of environmental initiatives, including air source heat pumps for heating and cooling, areas of green roofs, a green recycling hub, initiatives to save waste water and a landscaping scheme which enhances site ecology. The building’s excellent environmental performance, coupled with its high quality specification and central location, enabled Highcross to secure its first letting - to Zolfo Cooper – just after completion, at a new benchmark rent for Leeds.
We are delighted that Charles Street Car Park has won not one, but two, RIBA awards. It is certainly an iconic building
>> Sterling effort helps playground Leeds-based developer Sterling Capitol and national hotel group Village Hotels have donated £50,000 to transform the Hesketh Lane playground in Morley into a safe and modern facility for the local community. The money has enabled the run-down playground, which is situated in Hesketh Lane, Dewsbury Road, Tingley, to be completely redeveloped. The playground itself is now located to a more central part of the recreational ground, which has reduced the impact on those living close by and improved access. Sterling Capitol chief executive Martin >>
>> Farm conversion sold Yorkshire based Ronan Development has successfully sold the last of its properties at its Upper Bagden Farm development at Claytong West near Huddersfield. development. The site, previously derelict farm buildings and redundant machinery, has been turned into seven luxury family properties. The conversion of the Grade ll listed property has already won some attention, winning the best conservation award in the West Yorkshire Local Authority Building Control (LABC) Building Excellence Awards. Founder and managing director Mark Ronan said: “The whole team works to produce the best quality finished product that we possibly can and the sale of all seven units at a time when the residential property market is severely depressed assures us that this is the right approach.”
25
BUSINESS QUARTER |WINTER 10
commercial pRoperty Croxen said: “As the developers of Capitol Park in Morley, we are always looking at ways in which we can support the local community. We have already provided new changing rooms and sports facilities at Glen Road and we are very happy to have helped the playground in Hesketh Lane. “We are delighted that the Village Hotel South Leeds, based at Capitol Park, have supported us in this very worthwhile project. We are both proud to be in Morley and are committed to providing first-class recreational facilities where we can,” he added. “This was an ideal opportunity to create a positive focal point for young people. “Sterling Capitol is extremely proud of what has been achieved at Capitol Park,” he added. “Job creation is at the heart of our plans at Capitol Park and there are already more than 1,300 people employed on site at companies as diverse as Carcraft, PetCare, dePuy, Real Radio, Costain, the NHS and the Henderson Insurance Group.”
Job creation is at the heart of our plans at Capitol Park and there are already more than 1,300 people employed on site at companies as diverse as Carcraft, PetCare, dePuy, Real Radio, Costain, the NHS and the Henderson Insurance Group BUSINESS QUARTER | WINTER 10
WINTER 10
>> Council loans enable Bradford development to be completed
A crucial £6m loan from Bradford Council to developers McAleer & Rushe has enabled the flagship mixed-use Southgate development in Bradford city centre to be completed. Construction has already started on the 1.2 acre Southgate site on the corner of Thornton Road and Godwin Street after Irish developers McAleer & Rushe secured two major pre-lets. But there was a £6m shortfall in funds and the £4m development, which should create 1,000 jobs, looked in jeopardy until the council stepped in. Loan provider Provident Financial, whose headquarters have been in Bradford for the past 130 years, have taken a pre-let on 130,000sq ft office building, while Jury’s Inn have agreed to run a 200-bedroom hotel in Southgate. Bradford Council’s assistant director for asset management, Mike Bell, said: “Bradford Council and Yorkshire Forward have agreed a commercial loan of just over £6m with McAleer and Rushe. “We made this decision because of the advanced stage of construction and the agreed pre-lets to major companies. The secured loan will be repaid with interest over the next 11 months. The loan will allow them to continue the good progress they have made on site and complete a scheme that will provide a major boost to the city and district with offices that will become the new home of Provident Financial and a 200-bed Jurys Inn hotel.” Alex Munro, of property consultants Knight Frank in Leeds, advisers to McAleer and Rushe, said: “This is a great example of the private and public sectors working together. This is a crucial development for Bradford, which will create hundreds of jobs for the city, and comes at a time when good news in the property market is pretty scarce. Everyone concerned has worked very hard to achieve this result.” Peter Crook, chief executive of Provident Financial, said: “I am delighted that the developer, McAleer and Rushe, now has the final part of its funding in place. McAleer and Rushe can now get on and build us a great new head office in a top city centre location to our detailed specification.” Provident Financial hopes to move into its brand-new offices before the end of 2010. The 230,000sq ft brownfield site was formerly occupied by a Co-op supermarket and a car park. Provident Financial is moving from its current headquarters at Sunbridge Road.
26
Exceptional offices available now within a landmark building in the city 1,456 Sq Ft - 82,649 Sq Ft over six floors BREEAM Excellent rating | Seventh floor let to Zolfo Cooper
GREEN AWARDS 2009 WINNER
Another development by:
www.torontosquareleeds.co.uk
commercial pRoperty
WINTER 10
>> Findel goes in at Burnley Bridge
Findel, the home shopping, education and healthcare specialist, is to occupy a major new distribution centre at the new Burnley Bridge Business Park by Junction 9 of the M65. Work on the 213,000sq ft warehouse is scheduled to begin later this year and it should be ready for occupation in autumn 2010. More than 120 new and temporary jobs will be created by this project. Overall it is estimated that the new business park will lead to 1,600 new jobs. The 70-acre Burnley Bridge Business Park, which is being developed by Leeds-based property company Eshton Group, is located on the former Hepworth’s site at Pollard Moor on the outskirts of Hapton and Padiham. Planning permission has been granted by Burnley Borough Council. James Chapman, the managing director of Eshton, said: “Findel’s
>> Downturn ‘splits Yorkshire market’ Yorkshire’s two main commercial property markets, Leeds and Sheffield, have responded very differently to the changing
BUSINESS QUARTER | WINTER 10
commitment to Burnley Bridge is tremendous news. It is a significant vote of confidence in this pioneering development, which is now open for business. The £48m flagship business park comprises 680,000sq ft of mixed-use employment space, including large industrial units of up to 400,000sq ft. It is primarily seeking to attract light industrial and distribution-based occupiers. There will also be offices, a retail store, crèche and hotel. Dave Sanderson, operations director of Findel said: “The location is perfect to feed our major sites in Accrington and Chadderton. The creation of a large custom-built warehouse will not only bring greater efficiency but will assist the continued expansion of the group”. The agents for the development are Dove, Haigh Phillips of Leeds and Trevor Dawson of Blackburn and Burnley.
economic conditions, but both are well poised to emerge stronger than before, a panel of experts has predicted. At a seminar in November organised by PKF, in conjunction with Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH), Yorkshire Bank and Irwin Mitchell,
28
experts in the field of development and regeneration, demonstrated how the region can learn from its past experiences to strengthen its position for the upturn. Guy Gilfillan, Head of LSH Yorkshire, said: “There is little doubt that Yorkshire has been
WINTER 10
hit by the global recession. Occupier demand has fallen by more than 30 per cent in Leeds in the last year alone and rental levels have slowed by almost 4 per cent. “But experience from previous recessions and the periods of recovery that follows shows the economy is more stable today than it has been, demonstrating that Leeds is now a mature centre. This inevitably means that when there is an upturn, the city will benefit from very high growth rates in line with other established centres.” In contrast, he said, occupier demand in Sheffield has increased by 30 percent in the last year and rental levels have remained static. “Sheffield is now in the enviable position that Leeds was following its development boom in the mid to late-1980s,” he said. “It has enormous scope to capitalise on the region’s increasingly diverse economy, particularly in the digital and media sector.” He warned delegates not to lose faith in the ailing financial services sector. “Understandably, Leeds’ predominance in the financial and professional services sector has left it somewhat exposed to the downturn and demand has been subdued as a consequence. But the sector will bounce back. It is a huge employer in the region and some pensions and insurance firms are already beginning to report positive growth.” Phil Crabtree, chief planning officer at Leeds City Council, continued the discussion by reporting on what good progress had been made in developing the Leeds City Region as a political construct.
commercial pRoperty
But experience from previous recessions and the periods of recovery that follows shows the economy is more stable today than it has been, demonstrating that Leeds is now a mature centre
“Schemes such as the Arena will only serve to act as a catalyst for further regeneration,” he said. But he stressed that continued funding from Yorkshire Forward and a collaborative approach between the public and private sectors will be crucial to the future attractiveness and competitiveness of the city. Echoing his view on partnership working, Deborah Doyle of property developer GMI said: “The recession is leading to a challenging, but necessary shake-up within the industry. The lack of bank finance has placed an onus on the public sector to engage with private sector developers and work in partnership to deliver economically viable and sustainable schemes. “There is no quick and easy win, but what is clear is that it is no longer feasible for the two sectors to work in isolation of one another if we are to maintain the momentum we have successfully established in recent years,” she added.
>> DTZ lands another new occupier in Sherburn in Elmet DTZ has re-let one of the six terraced industrial units it originally successfully let at Cosmic Park in Sherburn-in-Elmet. Acting on behalf of one of the original purchasers, M&S Tyres, the agency has agreed a three-year lease on the 6,329sq ft unit with Technical Stage Services. The new tenants have relocated from Sutton on Forest to the east of York.
>> Gordons offers new service for landlords Landlords faced with the prospect of losing money on their investments due to problem tenants can now benefit from a fixed fee residential possession service launched by Yorkshire law firm Gordons. Aimed at both individual landlords and investment companies, the service aims to provide a fast, effective way to ensure that tenants are evicted according to the requirements of the law. Fixed fee service was the idea of Graeme Davy, a solicitor in Gordons’ commercial litigation department who is an expert in commercial dispute resolution with a particular emphasis on property issues. He said: “Due to the recession, the number of tenants defaulting on payment has increased significantly leaving many landlords losing
significant sums of money each month. Most law firms that offer to assist with residential repossession do so charging by the hour which creates a great degree of uncertainty around the cost for the landlord. We manage that risk by providing fixed fees for the three stages of repossession that we have identified.” This process includes reviewing the existing tenancy agreement and arranging for a notice to be served; preparing papers to make a claim to the court for repossession if the tenant takes no action. If hearings are necessary, Gordons will attend as many as are required for a fixed cost on each occasion. Stage three occurs if the tenant has still not vacated the premises and then the firm will instruct the court bailiff to evict the landlord’s tenant on their behalf.
29
BUSINESS QUARTER |WINTER 10
AS I SEE IT
WINTER 10
THE ENFORCERS ARE COMING The planned new anti-bribery laws are something businesses in Yorkshire should be sitting up and taking notice of, says Fran Marwood of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
BUSINESS QUARTER | WINTER 10
30
At the start of December last year the UK’s Serious Fraud Office launched its first ever prosecution of a British businessman for allegedly taking part in corruption overseas. What readers may find surprising is that the business in question is a Yorkshire-based company. This case highlights the fact that the UK authorities are now clamping down hard on allegations of bribery and corruption and that local businesses need to be vigilant. This increase in enforcement activity coincides with the inclusion of the Bribery Bill in the
WINTER 10
Even if businesses already have antibribery measures in place, it also makes good sense to revisit these regularly and undertake a health check
recent Queen’s speech and Justice Minister Jack Straw has said that he wants to see the Bill enacted before the next election. Under the new proposals, firms with UK operations will become criminally liable for corruption in their business, supply chain or sales channels, as will management who consent or connive with the offence. So company directors who fail to act now risk severely damaging the reputation of their businesses – and possible prison sentences. Other penalties under the new act are likely to include unlimited fines, disqualification of directors, and disbarment from tendering for foreign government contracts. Yet many companies and business leaders appear to be generally unaware of the new responsibilities and potential penalties that could be heading their way. The new law will see a strict regime introduced that in some instances goes further than the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Existing UK laws have been criticised for many years, based as they are on a patchwork of 19th and early 20th Century rules, unsuited to the realities of doing business in today’s global markets. The Bill also introduces an offence relating specifically to bribery of foreign public officials. And steps have to be taken to avoid any bribery by third parties working on a company’s behalf. Facilitation payments (for example, paying for goods to be processed by customs more quickly) will remain illegal but are subject to prosecution discretion. Another key change to the legislation is a new corporate offence of failure to prevent bribery. To avoid this liability, companies will have to provide evidence that their anti-bribery
procedures are working in practice, not just established in theory. The changes really are far reaching and will, for the first time for many UK businesses, require detailed evidence of operational anti-bribery procedures to be retained. Yet figures PricewaterhouseCoopers recently gathered indicate that the level of preparedness and awareness is far from high. Only one in 10 businesses appear to have discussed the implications of the UK Bribery Bill at board or audit committee level. And half of the 40 non-executive directors and senior managers polled were unaware of any preparations that might have been made within their organisation at all. UK businesses should be doing more to address the risks. The limited action thus far may well stem from a belief that the business environment in the UK is relatively free of bribery. Figures from our fifth Global Economic Crime Survey (GECS) launched in November, shed some light on this issue. Only 9 per cent of respondents to the survey from the UK reported cases of bribery, compared with 27 per cent of respondents overseas. But at the same time two thirds of those respondents were operating overseas in other words, in the same markets as the overseas respondents. One explanation for this anomaly is that UK companies are not paying bribes to the extent of overseas competitiors. But another may be that they are not looking hard enough at the bribery issue. In my work I have advised companies extensively on bribery matters, including the US FCPA. Local companies with US connections, where the anti bribery regulations have been in place for years, are more likely to have considered the risks.
31
AS I SEE IT
But these represent only a small fraction of local businesses. Most will be starting from scratch when the new UK rules come into force. This is relevant, as implementing a robust internal system takes time and often requires considerable behavioural change, which isn’t something which can be achieved in a few weeks. Effective safeguards will take time and resource to design, implement and operate, so businesses, particularly those operating in riskier parts of the world, should start now to identify any risks of bribery within their organisation and put measures in place to address these risks. As part of this approach, businesses should have clear principles regarding anti-bribery that are communicated throughout the organisation as part of the “tone from the top”. The choice of anti-bribery procedures available to businesses is widespread and includes measures such as staff training, having and communicating appropriate policies, whistleblowing channels and helpdesks, and monitoring risky transactions, for example gifts and hospitality. Even if businesses already have anti-bribery measures in place, it also makes good sense to revisit these regularly and undertake a “health check” to ensure measures are working in practice. The Serious Fraud Office has also published guidance for firms that wish to self-report instances of bribery and corruption within their business. This represents a move towards the US system of self-reporting and plea bargaining. While businesses face significant pressure to control costs in the current recession, not addressing this issue effectively could prove a false economy and could make all the difference between survival and failure over the longer term. Doing the bare minimum is not an option. Once the new law is in effect it will not be enough just to have an anti-bribery policy in place, however well crafted, without proof of other measures to ensure the policy is properly applied. n Fran Marwood is a director and head of forensic services at the Leeds office of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
BUSINESS QUARTER |WINTER 10
ENTREPRENEUR
WINTER 10
CLEARING THE AIR Nick Heaton may have joined Harrogate-based Envirovent without knowing what exactly he was getting into, but he soon discovered how to make it a roaring success. Michael Clarke reports
“It was a leap of faith” says Envirovent managing director, Nick Heaton, remembering how he joined the business in 2004. “The founder, Frank Farmer, who was then managing director, invited me to join,” says Nick, who was then sales manager for Fans Direct, near Cardiff, a subsidiary of a competitor, the Nuaire Group. Nick’s father, Peter, was already working for Envirovent, and still looks after the North West. “He’s always been very inspirational and supportive and also turns in very good sales figures,” says Nick, who insists that wasn’t how he first came to the attention of Frank Farmer. As it happens, Farmer was already familiar with Nuaire, having worked for the company some years before. “And I knew Frank because we had met at exhibitions,” he says. “I was doing well at Fans Direct, earning good money and making a name for myself in sales and was not ready to leave it behind. “I told him so and he said: ‘This is bigger than a sales job’. Frank said he was looking for a sales director. He thought I was maybe the one and asked if we could have a chat.
“I came over to Harrogate and met with him and finance director, Ron Russell-Hobbs, who is still part of the management team, and Frank said he had a new product that he believed could really grow Envirovent - the only problem being that, as I worked for a competitor, he could not tell me what it was. “He made me an offer and I had to decide whether or not to take it on the basis that the product - which I had not been told about was good enough. It was a leap of faith but Frank’s enthusiasm made me accept.” Nick, who lived with his wife Donna and four children near Preston, started at Envirovent as sales director, making the 130-mile daily return commute to Harrogate to work with a sales team which included his father, Peter. The product, it turned out, was the Envirovent filterless extractor fan. So was that leap of faith, with all its upheaval, worthwhile? “When I first saw the fan, I thought Frank’s enthusiasm might be misplaced,” he says. “However, when we started to investigate the potential and develop a proper sales strategy, we found that he was right. There was quite a big opportunity ahead of us. >>
He made me an offer and I had to decide whether or not to take it on the basis that the product - which I had not been told about - was good enough
BUSINESS QUARTER | WINTER 10
32
WINTER 10
33
ENTREPRENEUR
BUSINESS QUARTER |WINTER 10
ENTREPRENEUR “To be fair to Frank, because he was the person who made all this happen, I do not think that initial sales strategy was what he really intended. He knew there was an opportunity but may not have appreciated the scale of the potential. At that time, Envirovent was only a small specialist condensation and mould control company and I came in from a large manufacturing background and had a broader perspective.” Like earlier Envirovent products, the filterless extractor fan, specially designed to combat condensation and mould, was innovative and still is. By using a technique called cyclone separation, the fans do not need filters or maintenance. They are made from recycled plastic and built to last the life of a property so they do not end up in landfill sites. The chosen strategy was to market the fans to local authorities and housing associations, stressing the environmental, low-maintenance and low-cost benefits in an effort to get them specified in all `decent’ homes and housing refurbishment schemes. The success has been stratospheric. When Nick Heaton joined, Envirovent had 30 staff, including seven installation engineers, a £2m turnover and “virtually no growth”. Nick set about developing sales and contacts. “We sold 20,000 units in year one, and should sell five times that in 2009, and we don’t get any back,” says Nick. Today Envirovent has a turnover fast approaching £12million, 150 staff, including 32 installation engineers, and has just received a Queens Award for Innovation for the filterless extractor fan. Nick, who insists despite everything that he is not driven by money or personal ambition, says he first approached Farmer with a buy out plan in 2007. “There was a lot of venture capital money flooding into the industry at that time,” he says. “I was convinced that market leaders were on the acquisition trail and was worried that if Frank got an offer he could not refuse, all that was special about Envirovent would be swallowed up by a bigger organisation. I just wanted to preserve and grow what we had, so I reminded him that I had made a huge personal commitment in travelling and then relocating my family from Preston. He eventually agreed and was able to
BUSINESS QUARTER | WINTER 10
WINTER 10
retire with a few quid in his pocket, though we are still in touch.” Not long afterwards, however, Nick opted to be taken over by a larger corporation after all, although he says he only went with Soler and Palau because he believed it would allow Envirovent enough freedom to carry on operating as it had been doing. “They are a family-owned business and among the three top fan manufacturers in the world,” he says. “I compared doing a deal with them and taking a smaller share, coupled with long-term support with using venture capital. “It seemed more attractive than raising cash
34
through a finance house and then having to do the same again a few years later when they decided to get out.” However, initially there was a challenge in selling the filterless extractor fans. “They cost twice as much as traditional fans so you have to persuade people to buy into the long-term value and environmental benefits rather than the cheap fix,” he says. Before working for Envirovent, Nick’s parents Peter and Audrey had moved to South Africa where Peter worked as an electrician. Both Nick and his elder brother Stuart were born in Johannesburg. The family later lived in
WINTER 10
Capetown and returned to Lancashire when Nick was two years old. Seven years later they moved to Perth, Australia, where his younger brother Jason was born, but they returned after a year when Nick’s mother became homesick. Nick finished his education at Penwortham Priory High School, near Preston. “I didn’t have a huge interest in lessons,” he says. “Living abroad seemed to open my horizons and I was busting to enter the outside world. I was good at most sports though. I’m fairly competitive and I like winning.” He left at 16 and became an apprentice electrician with Manchester-based Norweb and completed eight years, including two as an underground cable jointer, restoring live cables. “Whenever there was a fault, I had to dig down and repair it without cutting off the supply. It was quite dangerous work and I often blew myself out of the hole,” he says. “I could see guys in their 50s doing the same, mundane job all their lives and decided I needed to get into sales to really progress. I was ambitious, and still am.” Eighteen months followed as a sales representative for an electrical wholesaler in Preston before moving to large European fan manufacturer, Vortice, as a North West sales representative. After four years he was national sales manager and on his way to Fans Direct. Envirovent – initially Farmer Controls – was founded by Frank Farmer in Knaresborough, Harrogate, in 1987 with a simple, intuitive recognition which has been at the heart of the business ever since: the more we insulate our homes for energy efficiency, the more we trap stagnant, `bad air’ into properties which traditional fans are unable to shift. This harms our health. Frank Farmer’s first product – and one for which sales are now gathering pace on the back of huge interest in the filterless extractor fan - was the positive ventilation system which operates constantly and silently in household loft space, providing a continuous supply of fresh, filtered air and combating mould and condensation which are nurtured by excessive insulation. Nick says: “Whereas most fan manufacturers simply threw two fans into a property and >>
ENTREPRENEUR
I could see guys in their 50s doing the same, mundane job all their lives and I decided I really needed to get into sales to progress. I was ambitious, and still am
35
BUSINESS QUARTER |WINTER 10
ENTREPRENEUR believed that does the job, Envirovent recognised a real health problem. Just think about reports of `sick building syndrome’ years ago. We were selling a total service and solution.” The average person, he says, produces four pints of moisture a day - a family of four creates 16 pints, or 112 pints a week. This combines with indoor volatile organic compounds such as sprays, aerosols, formaldehydes, dust mites, mould spores and possibly radon gas. “When you see tiny specs in a ray of sunlight inside your home, 80 per cent of that is human skin,” says Nick. “A government report has said that 50 per cent of the world’s illnesses are caused by poor indoor air. Most are caused by the air we breathe in our own properties. By sealing our properties up and failing to address the ventilation, the indoor air in our homes is now up to 70 per cent more polluted than the air outside. “We’re growing Envirovent by addressing these very real problems, as well as creating low-maintenance products made from recycled plastics; whereas our competitors have just been selling products.” After becoming managing director, Nick’s initial work involved developing a nationwide network of about 50 installers and sales managers around the UK. In 2005, he took the business into France, which has now generated 2,000 sales. The Republic of Ireland followed soon after as well as Australia and New Zealand. “Sales are going to go very well in New Zealand,” he says. “They have a very similar climate to us and we have a very good, focused distributor.” Since he joined in 2004, Envirovent has enjoyed 30 per cent year-on-year growth, though he concedes that 2009 – the bleakest year for the economy for half a century - has been tougher. “I am expecting this year’s growth to work out at about 21 per cent” he says. “But this is during a period when sales in the industry as a whole have fallen by between 15 and 20 per cent, so we are still moving forward. “ The success of the Yorkshire business during the last five years is leading some of its competitors to emulate its approach. “We are coming across competitors’ marketing material
BUSINESS QUARTER | WINTER 10
WINTER 10
50 per cent of the world’s illneses are caused by poor indoor air ... The air in our homes is now up to 70 per cent more polluted than the air outside
36
which looks like it has been copied straight out of our own brochure,” he says. “We are cautious about this. Some of these copyists could get our products a bad name by adopting the approach of shifting units quickly, rather than offering a quality service. We are monitoring it carefully.” So what, after such success, does he expect for Envirovent as the economy starts the long haul back to sustained growth? “Getting the Queens Award for Innovation this year has given a huge credibility boost to the filterless fan,” he says. “It also justifies the decision of those who stuck their necks out when we were unproven.” As well as gaining a Yorkshire Post Business in Excellence award in 2008 for companies under £10m, Envirovent has gained a UKTI best new exporter award and Nick Heaton has received a personal accolade from the Institute of Directors for the company’s positive impact on the environment. “This year, we have invested £500,000 in research and development, which has resulted in several new products and marketing strategies which will be unveiled in 2010,” says Nick. “On top of this, we have split the business in two so, instead of being focused just on indoor air quality in social housing, we are targeting enhancing air quality for new-build properties to enable developers to meet the strict requirements set out by the Code for Sustainable Homes.” But what about ambitious Nick Heaton? With all this success at only 37, will he be tempted away from Harrogate towards a job with a global enterprise? He says: “When I took over as managing director, I agreed with all the staff that there is one single big objective to focus upon, and that is to become market leader in indoor air quality systems in the UK. Every day when we come to work, that’s what we’re all thinking about “I don’t believe we’re that far away from that objective now and, by the end of 2012, I want a £20m turnover. We set out this aim in 2007 and, since then, we have doubled the size of the business. “I do believe that, in time, Envirovent will be a truly global company and I have every intention of being here when that happens. n
INTERVIEW
WINTER 10
TURNAROUND & TURNOVER People usually expect turnaround professionals to be extra busy in a recession. Peter Baber finds out just how active one specialist in the field really has been In previous recessions, while most professionals were bemoaning the lack of activity, there was always one adviser who would secretly be rubbing his or her hands with glee. No matter how concerned they might be about companies getting into difficulties, the turnaround partners in any large organisation would know that a downturn meant an upturn for them. Except, that is, in this recession. For anyone will tell you that one characteristic of the last few months has been the relative lack of people getting into trouble. There have been notable collapses, but nothing like the carnage that has characterised earlier downturns. What’s the reason for this? One seasoned industry observer, John Swarbrick, head of private equity house LDC in Leeds, believes it may be the unusual circumstances of this recession; in particular the historically low interest rates. Companies may be in trouble, but the amount of money they have to pay in servicing those problems is relatively small, so they can probably struggle on through. Other demands on their capital may also be diminished. Andrew Foster, area director for business support at the Lloyds Banking Group, says HMRC’s Time to Pay initiative may considerably have helped small businesses who otherwise might be facing extinction. This service, launched last year, gives them extra time to pay the tax they owe. By February this year, 60,000 businesses had made agreements with HMRC that amounted to £1bn in
BUSINESS QUARTER | WINTER 10
deferred tax. “You also have to remember that businesses tend to throw off cash as they go down, rather than take it on,” says Foster. “And bank facilities may not be as constrained as they were at the start of the credit crunch.” Many advisers also comment that banks are now more willing to hold on to companies which in previous hard times they might have let go to the wall, or at the very least palmed off on a specialist fund which would pick over the remains. Foster points to an increasing tendency for banks to go for debt for equity swaps – which effectively means the bank taking a significant if not controlling stake in the business. In the past few months, Yorkshire has seen this with Heywood Williams and White Young Green. Certainly, you would think a downturn would be good news for the one organisation in Leeds that in the past decade has really made a name for itself in turnaround – Endless, the turnaround fund currently celebrating its fourth birthday. In that short time the fund has scored some big successes, their biggest so far including turning around the logistics company Peter Black and the engineering firm Davy Markham. The latter, “went through 27 years of consecutive losses and is now making a profit”, says co-founder Darren Forshaw. Retail businesses have also proved a strong focus, such as The Works discount book store, which Endless acquired in May 2008, five months after it had gone into administration. “It had just lost more than £6m the year before,” he says. “But in its first year it made £3m EBITDA under our ownership, and this year it is making £9m.” In the early years, many of these deals were property plays. Although Davy Markham was successfully turned around on its own, the business has been consolidated onto a >>
The Works had just lost more than £6m the year before, but in its first year it made £3m EBITDA under our ownership, and this year it is making £9m
38
WINTER 10
INTERVIEW
Where next for M&A?
39
It’s not just turnaround or even just private equity that has had a quiet year, says Deloitte’s Martin Jenkins; all M&A activity is down. “There has been a catastrophic drop in M&A activity this year,” he says. “Transactions are down by 60 to 70 per cent. The tight credit market has been easing, but is still challenging.” Tight credit means multiples on deals are also down. “Multiples will only be two to three times EBITDA at the moment,” says Jonathan Jones. “Before 2007 you could have been looking at five to seven times EBITDA, possibly even more.” That, says LDC’S John Swarbrick, has made vendors understandably more reluctant to sell. “If you have a low valuation, why wouldn’t you wait a couple of years if you don’t have to sell?” Jenkins says this is true when vendors see how the stock market has rallied. “You do begin to wonder how sustainable the rally is,” he says, “as it has been largely driven by cash having nowhere else to go.” Excessive debt is one reason to sell, and Endless’s Darren Forshaw believes the Vasanta deal demonstrates what might become more common in the new year, even with low interest rates. “The business was having to service £300m of debt,” he says. “This is going to be a common story within bank workout and private equity portfolio management teams; having to deal with the consequences of paying at the top of the market.” Another is the tax situation. Wise vendors are looking at the UK’s fiscal situation, and thinking that tax on capital gains is only likely to stay the same or get worse. The days of taper relief are long gone. “People are now realising that they need to be aware of the possible worsening tax situation when they are preparing sales,” says Jones, which is why most advisers are cautiously optimistic.
Above: Endless co-founder Darren Forshaw, left, with managing director Chris Clegg
BUSINESS QUARTER |WINTER 10
INTERVIEW
WINTER 10
much smaller site than when Endless took over. The freed-up land has been turned into a business park by property developer David Newitt - one of Endless’s earliest investors. Yet Forshaw says property now features in only half the deals the fund does, and had no part to play in the biggest deal it has ever done; the acquisition in 2009 of stationery products supplier Vasanta. Endless prides itself on its speed in turning around deals, and the fortnight it took to do this one was no exception.
“It was a buyout that had gone wrong many years ago,” says Forshaw. “Two businesses had been acquired and put together led by a private equity house with a lot of bank debt. At the turn of the year, the credit insurers took a very dim view of the sector and withdrew cover.” The deal, which was backed by a syndicate of seven banks, certainly helped to raise Endless’s profile, particularly in the south. But it was more or less the only deal Endless has done in the past year. The fund is still
40
Above: Lucia Villamor, right, and her Endless colleague, Indra Valeinis
BUSINESS QUARTER | WINTER 10
managing its existing portfolio. “In our last report to our investors we reported an increased valuation of 70 per cent,” says Forshaw, “in a market where people are reporting reduced values.” They have been approached about possible sales too, and Forshaw says they might make one or two exits in the next 18 months. But other investment opportunities have not materialised. Forshaw says it is, “clearly much easier to fix a business in a more benign economy than in a downturn”. But he agrees with the others that there has also been fundamental change of approach from the banks. “The banks have been internalising their issues,” he says. “They are having to deal with the first few phases.” This might be an odd scenario for anyone who witnessed the phenomenon of cash-strapped banks at the start of the credit crunch, but Endless managing director Chris Clegg says things have moved on since then. “For the first six months after the Lehman Brothers collapse, the banks were underresourced and were incapable of doing anything,” he says. “But we are in the second phase now. The rise in the banks’ internal bad debt book seems about five-fold.” Which makes you wonder whether there isn’t some political pressure here, particularly on the banks who had to go to the Government to get support. Is it saying to them that, as they have been bailed out, they should go easy on other struggling companies? “Whether it is politically motivated I couldn’t say,” says Jonathan Jones, Leeds office managing partner at Hammonds solicitors. “But as HMRC is being generous too, you do have to wonder.” The big question exercising everybody’s minds at the turn of the year, then, is how much longer this state of affairs can continue. Forshaw thinks such internalised businesses will go through several stages of funding and refunding first, before the banks decide enough is enough. “There won’t be a fire sale,” he says, “but businesses will lead out over a period.” Martin Jenkins, corporate finance partner at Deloitte, agrees, saying the crunch will come when the banks or funders realise that whatever restructuring they have done hasn’t
WINTER 10
Not just grey suits
Right: Andy Foster of Lloyds Banking Group
worked. “You have to ask yourself whether the restructuring has delivered what it was supposed to,” he says. There is also the question of whether banks like being long-term owners of businesses in this way. Forshaw and Jenkins both say they don’t. “The banks just aren’t set up to manage businesses that are underperforming,” says Forshaw. “We have 20 people at Endless who are here to do that day in, day out. We can afford to put people into business full time. The banks aren’t set up to do that.” However John Swarbrick at LDC in Leeds is less sure. Banks may have been unwilling owners in the past, he says, but they are getting around to it now. “Running a business requires a different mindset,” he says, “but it is one the banks are determined to show they can adopt.” One factor that could have a big influence is the result of the 2010 general election. After all, that £1bn in potential tax payments the HMRC has set aside amounts to £1bn lost to the exchequer. An incoming government, of whatever colour, might choose to show it is serious about reducing public debt by reverting to the normal tough line on tax, and that might send more businesses into the arms of turnaround people. “I would say it would be good if some businesses were allowed to fail,” says Jones. “That would allow new opportunities to set in.” New opportunities for new funds, too. For while in recent years Endless has had the turnaround market in the north pretty much to itself, two new funds – Eternitas and NorthEdge capital – have now sprung up offering something similar. The latter is run by, among others, two former LDC directors. Battle lines look set to be drawn next year.
INTERVIEW
For the first six months after the Lehman Brothers collapse, the banks were under-resourced and incapable of doing anything
Below: Martin Jenkins, corporate finance partner at Deloitte
41
Endless may be losing its uniqueness as a turnaround fund as the idea catches on, but in one respect it certainly stands out from the usually grey-suited world of private equity: a third of its 22-strong team are women. Among them are investment executive Lucia Villamor, who joined a year ago after qualifying at Deloitte, and Indra Valeinis, who joined three years ago after a stint in industry. “I think we are the only females in private equity, at least in the regions,” says Villamor. She thinks part of the reason for the relatively high proportion of women is Endless’s youth. Older, more conventional private equity organisations, she says, do not tend to recruit at graduate level, wanting more senior people, who tend to be men – although that is changing. Both say that a female perspective lends a more balanced approach to a deal. Villamor worked on the Vasanta deal, while Valeinis was project manager for the last fundraising. “We have soft skills that not all men have,” says Villamor. “We approach conflict in a different way. “You have to establish a reputation or a presence, whether you’re male or female,” says Valeinis. “When your clients get over that initial surprise, as long as you engender respect, that’s the battle won. You can’t overcompensate. You don’t have to be anything you’re not. “People would be able to tell if you were, in our environment,” Villamor adds. They both think working for a relatively small organisation like Endless gives them more all-round opportunities than they would have in a large accountancy firm or in industry. Opportunities include marketing a new brand, for example, or relaunching the Endless website. “I’m as hands-on here as I would be when I was in industry,” says Valeinis. “What I do is not on the remit of any chartered accountant.”
BUSINESS QUARTER |WINTER 10
BUSINESS LUNCH
WINTER 10
in association with
VIRTUAL REALITY OF REPUTATION The stress of losing a hostile takeover battle hasn’t dented Steve Wainwright’s enthusiasm for doing business one bit, he tells Peter Baber. It’s online reputations he’s fostering on now I have to admit I am a complete fan of the likes of Twitter, Facebook and all the other social media websites that are now so ubiquitous that you wonder how we ever managed without them. But then I’m a hack, and such devotion is probably expected. According to a new piece of market research, those at the top of businesses right across the UK have a different take on the matter, which could be bad news for those betting on social media becoming the telephone wire of tomorrow. “We surveyed some important people,” the man behind the survey is telling me. “We found that if any of these sites had anything to do with networking they wouldn’t go near it with a bargepole, predominantly because they didn’t have time to follow all those “meet my friend” requests. You do need to justify to yourself why you would give away your network of contacts you have built up over the last 20 years by joining somebody you met yesterday to that network.” This is not some Luddite talking. This is Steve Wainwright, former chief executive of Batley-based ICM Computers and so a Yorkshireman with stronger techy credentials than most. He says he is yet to see the business benefit behind the likes of Twitter. “It is a ‘nice to have’ at the moment, rather than a ‘must have’,” he says.
BUSINESS QUARTER | WINTER 10
42
The reason he is telling me about the survey, however, is because of what he is devoting his time to now. Profiled.com, something he describes as “social networking without the social”. And he has chosen to tell me about it in one of my best-loved haunts in West Yorkshire: the Three Acres restaurant and pub in Shelley, just outside Huddersfield. Since he stepped down from ICM two years ago – after he and his management were on the losing side of a rare hostile takeover bid Wainwright has been working largely from an office at the bottom of the garden at his home, which he points out to me. It is just two hills away from the hill the pub is situated on. So it’s not hard to see why he should want to return. You might have to park your car in a blustery car park in the shadow of Emley Moor mast, but step inside and you find yourself in the cosiest of atmospheres. With most of the tables tucked away in the many nooks and crannies, you might think you were at your friendly neighbourhood local, with all the usual snug accoutrements you might expect; warm lighting, inviting sofas and vintage-style carver chairs. Any thoughts of the conventional would, however, be blown away as soon as you sample the menu. Put it this way: the last time they had a change of head chef at this >>
WINTER 10
BUSINESS LUNCH
You do need to justify to yourself why you would give away your network of contacts built up over 20 years to someone you met yesterday
43
BUSINESS QUARTER |WINTER 10
BUSINESS LUNCH
establishment it was very nearly national news, and was certainly the talk of the region, so high was the restaurant’s reputation. Not long ago, before the credit crunch set in, if you wanted to come here for dinner on a Saturday night there was a six-week waiting list, so we feel lucky to be here today. Wainwright goes for a traditional but definitely moreish fish pie, while I decide to try a venison pasty accompanied by a heavenly plum and chilli jam and a side dish of the most succulent creamed cabbage and and celeriac mash. The Three Acres celebrates its 40th anniversary under the same management next year, which is quite an achievement for any restaurant. But when you sample the food it’s not difficult to see why. Looking back over the times I have been here, I realise with a jolt that the table we are sitting
BUSINESS QUARTER | WINTER 10
WINTER 10
If you’re going to a meeting with someone you don’t know, I have always looked them up on Google... but it’s hit and miss
44
at is the very one that my best man and I sat at the night before my wedding. Then too, I remember, we had a glorious dinner after an exhausting trip up from London on what was one of my first visits to Yorkshire. But I am shocked to realise this was 13 years ago. I tell Wainwright this and we laugh at how time has passed. But dwelling on the past is not what we are here for, as he has much to tell me about the present with Profiled.com. Yes, he thinks Twitter and Facebook still have something to prove, but he is in no doubt that the internet is having an impact on the way we do business today. “If you are going to a meeting with someone you don’t know I have in the past always looked them up on Google,” he says. “But what you get is hit and miss. If you put in my name, for example, I am apparently an astronomer.”
WINTER 10
I know the feeling. There is a Peter Baber who happens to be a former sheep dairy farmer of the year, and I once had a considerable correspondence with a woman on Facebook who thought I was him. Wainwright says internet searches just don’t give people a picture of your true self – and that can often be the clincher in making new business. That’s where Profiled.com comes in. Anyone who signs up for it can put together a little potted biography of themselves where they can include exactly what they want to. “We have had professionals sign up,” he says, “but we have started to get academics too, because they often don’t get the chance to present themselves as they would want.” Very true, if you have ever seen a university website. “You often don’t get the more rounded picture,” he continues. “One that says, for example, I came from Nabarro law firm in London, I am now working in Yorkshire, and my interests are this and this.” Each person is given their own personal web page, which you can, for example, include on a business card, so new people you can meet can be directed to what you want them to find out about you. But it doesn’t stop there. Because Profiled.com is, in Wainwright’s words, a “reputation management business”, it also includes what he terms a “clever” search facility which goes away and finds out what anyone is writing about you on the web. And this really does mean anyone: it doesn’t just search websites, it searches blogs and, yes, Twitter too.
BUSINESS LUNCH
I want mass adoptions rather than massive profits. I have real global ambitions for this brand because there is nothing else like it “This sits in the background and watches for anything new,” he says. “It can then pop up in the morning and tell you, ‘I found these articles’.” For the moment, these search results are available only to you. But in January the company will be working on setting up a system where you can ask for some of them to go up on your profile page, keeping it up to date. Signing up for the site is free. There is a charge for signing up for the alert system, although Wainwright says this is, “washers” - £3 or £4. “We have one advert on site,” he says, “but that is all we are having, because this is primarily a business tool.” All well and good, but how to make money off the web is something that is taxing a great many business minds at the moment, and Wainwright admits that he wouldn’t be able to call which way the debate about charging for content, particularly for newspapers, is going to go. So how does he plan for Profiled.com to make money? “The revenue is purely in the numbers,” he says. “I want mass adoption rather than massive profits. I have real global
45
ambitions for this brand because there really is nothing else like it.” To try and instigate this, Profiled.com will be doing more promotions and advertising in the new year. He has appointed Leeds marketing agency Propaganda to market the site. The new year will also see the roll out of a new version of Profiled.com for companies, and for this there will be a charge. Wainwright believes this will be an eagerly anticipated alternative to a traditional clippings service. “Clippings agencies can be hit and miss and slow,” he says. “Even a fantastic service is already 24 or 48 hours out of date, and in today’s business world you need to know what is happening like that.” To emphasise the last point, he loudly clicks his fingers, which up until then had been clutching his glass of lime and soda. I wonder if this isn’t a reaction to what happened with ICM. Wainwright says not, however. “It was a stressful period,” he says, “but it certainly didn’t do any harm to my reputation.” But it certainly must have kept him and his management team on their toes. In early 2007 they had been planning a management buyout for the floated company, which by that time was specialising mainly in business recovery, as a preliminary to launching a new expansion plan. They had felt safe that their largest competitor, Phoenix IT, would be unlikely to step into the fray because it had just been through another acquisition which had not yet bedded down. But Phoenix did come in. “Their initial bid was £2.30 a share,” he says, “which was massively under value. So we then traded blows with them for the next couple of months.” And how. Scarcely a week went past before some new announcement came out from either side. “Our final bid was £4.90 a >>
BUSINESS QUARTER |WINTER 10
BUSINESS LUNCH share,” he says. “Theirs was £5.05.” To beat that he knew his team would have to make a bid of at least £5.15, and finally that was something he was not prepared to do. “It would have become a lot more difficult to service the debt,” he says, “and remember this was before the credit crunch. Their final bid I remember came in on a Friday afternoon in May, and that weekend I spent a lot of time walking on the moors. In the end I had to contact the team and say: ‘We are just going to work ourselves to the bone if we go higher. To be perfectly honest, there are more profitable things we can do’. It was the hardest decision I had to make.” For Wainwright himself, after a brief handover period, there followed an extensive period of gardening leave. He did go on holiday – to Baja California on his own and to Barbados with the family – but the first thing he chose to do was the last thing he was expecting. “A good friend of mine who had been through something similar said: ‘You will sleep for two months’,” he says. “I said: ‘Yeah, yeah yeah’, but I did. I literally slept for at least 10 to 12 hours a day. I was shattered. Looking back, I realised we had been working 14 to 16 hours a day during the buyout period, and before that we had had a year’s reorganisation with presentations to the city. So it is not surprising. But equally, at the end of those two months I was completely ready to switch the light back on and say: ‘Right, I am here’.” And here he certainly is, fully refreshed and now at the age of 46 doing something he has always wanted to do: start a company from
WINTER 10
The Three Acres Inn & Restaurant, Shelley, near Huddersfield The bar at the Three Acres serves hand-pulled beers by Tetley’s, Black Sheep and Timothy Taylor’s, while the innovative and extensive restaurant menu features such classics as potted shrimps, Loch Fyne Queenies, roast rib of beef, Whitby haddock in beer batter, and Sunday lunches. Private dining is available, and the Three Acres caters also for weddings and functions. See www.3acres.co.uk for further info
scratch and see it through. Wainwright had been a career accountant before joining ICM in 1991 as finance director, but by that time it was already five years old. “I wasn’t there at the start,” he says. Thanks in part to being flush with cash – he
I literally slept for 10 to 12 hours a day. I was shattered. Looking back, I realised we had been working 14 to 16 hours a day during the buyout period ... But at the end of those two months I was ready to switch the light back on
BUSINESS QUARTER | WINTER 10
46
made nearly £1m in just a couple of weeks by selling shares in ICM as the deal went through – he has now been able to do that with Profiled.com which now has a team of just six. But there are other interests. He works for an investment fund, and has been helping “a quoted software house in the North West” build up a new division. “I have grown that too,” he says, “which is good because I wanted to make sure ICM was not a flash in the pan.” Even if his only experience had been ICM, however, that in itself would have been extraordinary. After all, Phoenix would have been most unlikely to risk a hostile takeover bid - with all the contingency fees that implies - if it did not think ICM was a prize worth having. Under Wainwright’s stewardship, first as finance director and then as chief executive, the company went from having a turnover of £5m to having one of £80m. In 1992 it acquired the disaster recovery company that eventually provided it with its bread and butter business, and in 1996 it floated. It also successfully launched and then sold on a subsidiary in Holland. It is a track record to be proud of, and a sure sign that Wainwright’s current venture really will have a profile – in more than just its name. n
Over the past five years, Watson Burton’s Leeds office has developed a strong reputation for being professional and pragmatic whilst remaining approachable and always delivering value. It achieves this by offering experts who work in partnership with clients to provide high quality legal advice at competitive rates.
Find out how Watson Burton could help your company by contacting David Bowden. Tel: 0113 235 5701 or email david.bowden@watsonburton.com
The
tenners
Play lunch or dinner your way. One note, two notes or three notes.
£10
Two courses for one person
£20
Two courses for two people
£30
Two courses for two people with wine
See website for full terms and conditions.
To book call in or call
0113 398 1000
LEEDS
or email: leeds@malmaison.com 1 Swinegate, Leeds, LS1 4AG
For the best rates GUARANTEED visit malmaison.com
Hotel | Bar | Brasserie
FOX ON WINE
WINTER 10
HAPPY TRAVELS
Richard Fox, managing director, RJF Consultancy, says cheers to two wines that bring back memories of foreign lands
BUSINESS QUARTER | WINTER 10
48
WINTER 10
“Fantastic!” I thought, at being asked (‘commissioned’ I would have preferred, but there we are...) to taste some wine and then perhaps write a brief note or two. But I discovered the easy part was in the sampling and the distinctly more challenging element was in articulating my thoughts without using descriptions like ‘forest floor’ and ‘cigar box finish’ - phrases which have little to do with wine and conjure up images of muddy fields and my grandfather’s cigar box (kindly left to me, containing cigar clipper and a four-leaf clover, but that’s by the by...). I was taught in France that the first thing to understand and appreciate about wine is that there is no right or wrong answer, therefore exemplifying my ramblings on both accounts! And now to the wine … a French vin de table located a sniffing distance from Chateauneuf-du-Pape (CNDP) and a Marlborough Pinto Gris. Having been lucky enough to visit both places under the excuse of travelling this fair planet for cultural and educational purposes, by incredible fluke and a stroke of luck we found vineyards ... lots of them, not only in France, but in Spain, Italy, New Zealand and Australia; a stroke of genius, I think! So, it was a delight to cast my mind back to driving into the hallowed and sacred village of CNDP, wondering if we should be entering by horse and cart rather than shatter the tranquillity of a small, historic wine region with a large, snarly engine provided by Messers BMW, courtesy of my wife. We need not have worried, as we entered the blessed village only to find a large contingent of locals cooling themselves off by splashing noisily in the town fountain. Chaussynette Mas de Boislauzon Vin De Table 2008 £7.65: If you enjoy a drop of CNDP, you’re in for a treat with this rather sumptuous bottle. The Chaussy family produce outstanding CNDP and their Cotes Du Rhone Villages is, quite frankly, better than most commercial Chateauneufs. However, their 'Chaussynette' wine
is used for the family’s ‘declassified blends’ which belies its true status. Located just over the CNDP boundary, this wine is made from mostly declassified CNDP grapes, using a blend of 70% Grenache and 30% Syrah (wines from this region can have up to 13 grape varieties, but are predominantly Grenache-based). The Chaussy family vineyards used for their Chaussynette wines were originally a forest when the appellation was delineated. As a result, the CNDP boundary went around this forest and this small area was not included within the ‘sacred’ region. However, do not be put off or deceived by the wines title as a vin de table, as this beauty is located less than a mile or so from the famous Chateau de Beaucastel, one of the largest and finest estates in the CNDP region. From the 2008 harvest, this is quite a young wine, so I let it breathe for an hour or so before tasting. The wine itself has a very ripe rich nose, showing sweet fruit, dark cherry, and a wonderful rose petal finish. Not as big as I would have imagined, but a nicely balanced wine, none the less. I understand the Chaussy family are dedicated to producing good quality French wines, their CNDP scoring 90 points in the Robert Parker Guide and I have to say this superb wine, offering sensational value at less than £8 a bottle, definitely gets my vote. Opawa Marlborough Pinot Gris 2008, £8.20: Reluctantly, I tore myself away from French reminiscences and moved on to pastures new and distinctly more distant to tackle the New Zealand offering. It is encouraging to try a white wine from the Marlborough region that is not a Sauvignon Blanc. The Pinot Gris is in fact the same grape as its profligate Italian cousin Pinot Grigio (the self same character
49
FOX ON WINE that frequents many a pizza and pasta house, and tends to be looked on as a ‘neutral easy drinking wine’). However, do not be fooled into thinking this tipple will be in the same vein. Having spent a few weeks peddling around this area tasting vast quantities of excellent sauvignon blanc, it really was a pleasant surprise to be sampling some rather superb wines that we do not necessarily associate with this region, and that are perhaps out of our comfort zone. They say pinot gris matches well with spiced Asian-influenced cuisine, so you can imagine my delight that my wife had decided I should cook a Thai style fish curry to warm us up on this snowy Thursday night. Given the potential taste-numbing qualities of birds eye chillies, I was excited to discover that this dry white wine, pale straw in colour and quite aromatic on the nose, with the rich fresh acidity of fruit flavours of peach, pear and melon cut through nicely. These flavours developed as the wine reached a slightly warmer temperature (I am guilty of serving most NZ white wine chilled enough to form ice crystals!). The wine also demonstrated touches of the lovely ‘oilyness’ that is often abundant within wines from Alsace, which certainly helps this particular wine lose the tag of a neutral wine. My sampling sadly complete, I can safely say that this wine is a good all rounder. I can happily imagine lazy summer days in the garden quaffing a chilled glass or two, but this is a wine that you can also enjoy with food, particularly Thai, and it would also work well with fish and chicken dishes. n Richard Fox’s wines were kindly supplied by Harrogate based PM Wine Services. They are an independent wine merchant offering carefully selected wines from all over the world. Find out more by calling 01423 509282 or visiting www.pmwineservices.co.uk Thanks to Hotel du Vin, Harrogate.
BUSINESS QUARTER |WINTER 10
FASHION
WINTER 10
country casual Barbour’s famed jackets are as beloved of the fashionista as the country squire these days, and the North East-based company continues to change with the times while retaining its heritage, as Chris Porter reports There are few brands that can claim ownership of a genre: Hoover, Coca Cola, Microsoft ... they are a small and exclusive club. The fashion world is smaller still, but mention Barbour and you immediately conjure images of the definitive waxed jacket, well-heeled country folk, spaniels and black Labradors in picturesque English countryside. Despite the company finding its origins in the decidedly catwalk-averse South Shields, with a history in making outerwear for trawling and farming, it remains associated with the well-to-do thanks to the smart ad campaigns of the 1980s. Crisp and un-dirtied, the Barbour jacket is the Range Rover of utilitarian clothing, the functionality with which it was designed not always put to the test, but no less appealing for that. “That strong 80s image had both its benefits and its difficulties,” concedes Claire Saunders, Barbour’s head of marketing. “It gave people the perception of Barbour being part of a posher view of country life.
BUSINESS QUARTER | WINTER 10
50
WINTER 10
51
FASHION
“It’s an association I think we’ve shaken off now, but Barbour is one of those brands that periodically gets discovered by the kind of people you’d least expect to wear it and that gives its personality a new aspect it didn’t have before.” Barbour may have benefitted from a re-appreciation of country matters that has spun off growing environmental awareness, interest in food sources and the undoubted attractions of a slower pace of life. Its gentle revival may also have been assisted in part by the refreshed appreciation for authenticity and heritage that has come with the recession, with long-established brands and makers of classic or long-lasting products - which is to say, those offering better value for money - especially winning new interest. But it is no less surprising to find that its best-known jackets - the Beaufort and the Bedale; classics, even if they are not that old - are hot property among edgier, metropolitan 20-somethings, who team them with plaid shirts and skinny jeans. That, as Saunders notes, is a long way from the fuddy-duddy image the brand still had just a few years ago, even if it is still also a long way from making it, “the kind of product that looks best after it’s literally been dragged through the mud,” she adds. Country life was, however, the intention for Barbour’s jackets. The Bedale, launched in 1980, was short in length, lightweight and thorn-proof and designed for equestrian wear. It also had many of the marks that have since become brand signatures – the big bellows pockets, the corduroy collar and the brass ring-pull, two-way zip fastening. The Beaufort, meanwhile, was developed two years later as a shooting jacket which considered the practical needs of the sport rather than its sartorial codes. Yet many Barbour fans are still far from the Horse & Hound set and while adoption by fashion’s leading edge is typically bestowed rather than won through effort, the company - whose turnover in 2007 (the latest published accounts) was £63m, with a healthy profit on that of £12m - has also been busy widening its appeal, and in June 2009 it won the prestigious Best Brand award at the Profit Track 100 Awards. >>
BUSINESS QUARTER |WINTER 10
FASHION
WINTER 10
Barbour is one of those brands that is periodically re-discovered by people you’d least expect to wear it, and that gives it a new aspect
It has seen its important country sports connections strengthened by the adoption of crack shot Lord James Percy as an ambassador and co-designer of an award-winning range, but it has also launched more contemporary, slimmed-down versions of its classics, and created a more urban spin-off collection in collaboration with Japanese designer Tokihito Yoshida. In September 2009 it also opened its first store - just off London’s Carnaby Street - which consciously targeted the fashion consumer; the type of consumer, in fact, who until recently might not have considered a brand that has historically been down and dirty. After all, Barbour made some of the first motorcycle clothing in 1911, and most notably the International jacket launched in 1936. And it created the Ursula foul-weather suit for World War Two submariners (it was named after the U-class sub of the same name) and made a name for its Cowan Commando style during the Falklands conflict of 1984. The trick, says Saunders - one which many British heritage brands are still missing - has been in giving the products wider appeal without losing the regional identity. It is, in >>
BUSINESS QUARTER | WINTER 10
52
WINTER 10
53
FASHION
BUSINESS QUARTER |WINTER 10
FASHION
WINTER 10
a nutshell, about making Barbour more of a lifestyle brand without putting off those lucky people whose lifestyle also happens to include mucking out. “All design, technology, buying and sourcing is still done in South Shields and the area is very much part of what the brand is,” she says. “The company grew out of supporting the growing sea trade out of South Shields and the South Shields beacon is still on our labelling. “Being apart from London as the fashion hub has allowed it to develop in an idiosyncratic way also, and meant it has always had to be especially entrepreneurial.” But the original wax jackets weren’t for everyone, she says, adding that they were heavy, they smelt and they were cut for function rather than form ... things that appealed to some men, but certainly not to many women. “They needed to be moved on without losing the personality of the brand,” she says. “You can’t chase fashion. But even functional products need to be good looking.” Over the last five years, the product range has included more womenswear and a growing business in shirts and knitwear - though, as Saunders stresses, Barbour is still fundamentally a jacket company. “We can’t depart too far from what we know,” she says. It also remains a family business, allowing it to evolve at its own pace and without shareholder pressure. Dame Margaret Barbour herself designed the Bedale and drove the Sloane Ranger image overhaul that first saw Barbour on the backs of aspirational city folk three decades ago, some no doubt impressed by its royal patronage (the Queen gave her Royal Warrant in 1982, the Prince of Wales gave his in 1987). And it was Dame Margaret, the company’s chair, who collected the aforementioned Profit Track Award. “I think we’d have to admit that there was a time when some people thought of Barbour as being a bit naff,” says Saunders. “There’s good and bad in any long heritage a company may have, but now we think in terms of Barbour having wit, grit and glamour. Other companies may have one or two of those elements. But they rarely have all three.” n
BUSINESS QUARTER | WINTER 10
Being apart from London as the fashion hub has allowed it to develop in an idiosyncratic way and meant it has always had to be entrepreneurial
54
WINTER 10
55
FASHION
BUSINESS QUARTER |WINTER 10
EQUIPMENT
WINTER 10
Our travel needs are so many and varied these days that we need a full complement of luggage types simply to ensure that every eventuality is fulfilled in terms of form and function. Fortunately, our favourite design houses have the answers, as Chris Porter discovers
Travel is not what it used to be. If boarding an airliner used to be a glamorous experience, these days it’s all hassle followed by hustle for a seat. Back in air travel’s golden age of the 1950s and 60s, which was admittedly before its democratisation, nothing symbolised one’s high-flying status more ably than the trunks and valises with which starlets would be seen dis-embarking from their Stratoliner or, come the jet age, Comet. It is an image that has resonance today, as witnessed by paparazzi shots of the celebrity set travelling with what appears to be their entire wardrobe. No wonder luggage is big business, and not just for the budget airlines, some of which have introduced a premium for checking bags in. Indeed, between 2001 and 2006, the UK retail market for luggage grew by 36%, according to Mintel, making for a market worth £368m. In part, this is because we travel more frequently - with the traditional two-week annual holiday losing out to multiple short breaks of two to five days throughout the year, according to research by STA - with business travel also on the up (until, at least, the recession took hold). It is also because the changing nature of travel has meant changing needs for the luggage we use: a sizeable but portable holdall for the long weekend, through to the sturdier, practical mid-size case that is big enough to warrant pull-handle and wheels, but small enough to count as carry-on luggage, a crucial consideration for travellers seeking to save time and money. >>
SOMETHING FOR THE WEEKEND BUSINESS QUARTER | WINTER 10
56
WINTER 10
EQUIPMENT
We travel more frequently ... and the changing nature of travel has meant changing needs for the luggage we use
57
left: Louis Vuitton black embossed monogram holdall ÂŁ2,340
BUSINESS QUARTER |WINTER 10
EQUIPMENT
above: Tumi Montague duffle in black £700, top right: Tumi York briefcase in covert cloth with leather trim £790, bottom right: Bric’s olive Gladstone bag with tan leather trim £250
BUSINESS QUARTER | WINTER 10
WINTER 10
This compact style has, along with laptop cases, been the best-seller over recent years. Meanwhile, models that are eminently practical but are, for business meetings at least, unsuitable in style terms, such as the rucksack, have fallen from favour. What has become central to the new luggage market has been a meeting of style and function. Premium fashion brands used to corner the market for the former with logo-heavy collections that lured a certain customer but were often ill-considered for anyone without a butler. Meanwhile, functional products from specialists like Antler and Tumi considered key features like durability, multiple compartments, security and mobility, but neglected to make them sassy. Recent years have, however, seen the two
58
worlds blur, with functionality a given and fashionability distinguishing launches from fashion brands like Mulberry, Burberry and the luggage specialists. For the likes of Louis Vuitton, this is something of a return to form. In the late 1800s, the label anticipated a new era in travel and designed accordingly with - contrary to tradition flat-topped trunks that could be easily stowed, made of poplar for rigidity and lightness. Zinc trunks followed for tropical climates, plus models that turned into beds for tired explorers and others designed specifically for cars and planes. In the 1890s, Vuitton patented an impregnable five-tumbler lock, and a number for each rigid case is registered with Louis Vuitton even today. Similarly, Dunhill, the British men’s luxury goods brand which also has a heritage in travel, has launched lines like the Connaught; light and durable in black tumbled leather with ruby red linings, it aims to target both the business and leisure markets. The demand for good-looking, functional lines has even fuelled a revival in names like Globetrotter, the British company that built its reputation on cases made from ‘Vulcan fibre’; multiple layers of glued card which - as its famed logo demonstrated - were able to withstand the weight of an elephant. Now with its first dedicated store in London’s Burlington Arcade, Globetrotter has introduced new styles; unchanged in principle, but now in a variety of sizes and limited-edition colours. Following well-known customers such as Winston Churchill, the Queen, who used them on her honeymoon, and Edmund Hilary, who used them to transport kit to Everest base camp, Globetrotter has won a new generation of fans drawn to its retro appeal. Picture an old case smothered in destination tags and stickers and it is almost certainly a Globetrotter. Their only real competitor in the style stakes - Zero Halliburton’s classic aluminium travel case, originally designed by
WINTER 10
EQUIPMENT
aircraft engineers in 1938 - has also won a new following. Indeed, luggage’s two worlds of flash and form are increasingly working in collaboration. Samsonite, for example, has won a reputation for its use of advanced materials, with this season’s new collection featuring scratch and UV-resistant mirrored surfaces, their structures made from moulded EVA panelling and armoured nylon; ideal for facing up to the roughest of luggage handlers. It has also re-launched heritage designs and co-designed a luggage line with the French designer Philippe Starck and another with fashion designer Alexander McQueen. Now the company, which is celebrating its centenary, has created what it calls its Happy Travel suitcase line, with Dutch fashion design duo Viktor and Rolf. With padded compartments for your laptop and other gadgetry, the appeal of travel’s old-world glamour has not been lost on the Dutch design duo. The Hero case, for example, has a vintage aeroplane print, while Viktor and Rolf have declared that their aim is, ‘to celebrate the world as the world of your dreams’. Clearly, they have not been through >>
Demand for good-looking, functional lines has fuelled a revival in Globetrotter ... the British company which built its reputation on cases made from ‘Vulcan fibre’
59
BUSINESS QUARTER |WINTER 10
EQUIPMENT
WINTER 10
The Porsche Travel System has the same engineering qualities as the car marque, with models made from anodised aluminium
top: Tumi Esmond travel satchel in flax £660, bottom: Bric’s dark brown holdall with leather trim £235 Terminal 5 lately ..! And such is the demand for good-looking, utilitarian luggage, there are new players with the additional appeal of prestige names. Victorinox, maker of the Swiss Army knife and lately re-launched as a lifestyle brand, has turned its skills for multi-use pocket tools to its Swisswerks luggage line, complete with a nano-tech coating that repels water and dirt and in a material that makes its among the lightest cases available. Meanwhile, the Porsche Travel System, the new luggage line from Porsche Design, has the same engineering qualities as the car marque, with models made from anodised aluminium, with detachable lid, removable partition and automatically retractable towing belt. Some styles have wheels also, though they may not promise the same acceleration through customs as the famous name might suggest. Small wonder that luggage is regaining its cachet as a status item, as prized for its combination of style and content as, for example, a premium mechanical watch or a hand-made fountain pen. Perhaps the clearest indication of this is BagChipElite, a company that launched last year to design special RFID (radio frequency identification) tags co-ordinated to your
BUSINESS QUARTER | WINTER 10
Stockist enquiries: Tumi, 170 Piccadilly, W1, tel 0207 493 4138 Bric’s, www.uk.forzieri.com Selfridge’s tel 0800 123 400, Collections, Metrocentre, tel 0191 460 1851
60
luggage and offering the ultimate in 21st Century protection for your stuff while you’re travelling. The tags, which the company is still in negotiation with airlines to roll out, allow your luggage to be easily tracked down and identified should it be - quel horreur! - lost in transit or end up on the wrong continent. And with luggage like this, losing it could be more painful than the simple realisation that you’ll have to wear the same underwear for a week. n
3403
“A very well-run, professional firm with a good commercial reality about its advice and services” LEGAL 500 2009
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: JONATHAN JONES T: +44 (0)113 284 7072 E: jonathan.jones@hammonds.com
3403 - Business Quarter Ad.indd 1
04/12/2009 11:25
MOTORING
BUSINESS QUARTER | WINTER 10
WINTER 10
62
WINTER 10
MOTORING
24-HOUR LOVE AFFAIR >>
Malmaison Leeds’ GM Grant McKenzie spends an all-too brief 24 hours savouring the pleasures of BMW’s 530d Gran Turismo SE
63
BUSINESS QUARTER |WINTER 10
MOTORING
WINTER 10
To be honest, I wasn’t best pleased with the lads at BQ magazine. Fair enough, I truly appreciated the offer to test drive one of the finest cars on the market, but come on, only for one day! That’s like saying, “Grant, we want you to live the life of a millionaire for one day on us and write about it, but you can’t spend any money; just let us know what it feels like!”
BUSINESS QUARTER | WINTER 10
I had to make time in our busy season to make the most of this, so I made myself comfortable (which didn’t take very long), retracted back the panoramic sunroof, figured out where not to put the key, and set off. Everything in this car is automatic – lights, wipers, transmission, seat adjustment, handbrake, even the steering wheel moves up when you turn the ignition off to let you out. One could say that this car is
64
not to drive, but to be driven in. For me, this car has it all; everything that a 7 series has, and costs considerably less. This muscle GT has even more space inside than it looks from the outside, which is surprising for a saloon. Plus, you can fold the rear seat fully forward to reveal the space of an estate, though it is slightly hindered by the sloping roof. The GT is comfortable and easy to drive, you
WINTER 10
There’s space for the shopping and golf clubs, but unfortunately I didn’t have it long enough to put the suitcases in the back and go home to the Highlands
65
MOTORING
can’t feel a bump or hear a sound, and it handles extremely well with the three different suspension settings to suit the driving conditions. It is surprisingly quick for such a big, heavy car, with seamless transmission. The on-board computer has a usefully large screen for the radio/CD, and the SatNav and phone are quick and easy to use with all the controls on the comfortable centre console. What really makes the GT comfortable is not the automatic gadgets and gizmos, but the roof height and internal space. The rear seat is more like a king-size leather bed. With the driver’s seat fully back, there is still considerably more room in the back than any other car I’ve been in. The deceivingly large boot gives more than ample space for the weekly shopping and a full set of golf clubs, though unfortunately I didn’t possess the GT long enough to even think about trying to fit in my suitcases to travel back home to the Scottish Highlands. That night, I took the GT home to show my wife Amy and get her views and, I hoped, some assistance with writing this article, as she has a degree in English literature, but she only likes red cars. In summary, would I trade in my Range Rover sport for the BMW 5 series GT? I actually think I would if it weren’t for the fact that I have to fit in two dogs and wee McKenzie junior on the way! n Grant McKenzie test drove the BMW 530d Gran Turismo SE, from £40,810 on the road, supplied by Scotthall Leeds, tel 0113 262 0641, www.scotthall.co.uk
BUSINESS QUARTER |WINTER 10
INTERVIEW
WINTER 10
PUTTING THE GRAND INTO YORK
Undeterred by other people’s recent failures, Yorkshire-based Cedar Court Hotels aims to mark 2010 by giving York its first-ever five-star hotel. Peter Baber discovers a very grand plan To anyone outside Yorkshire, the name Cedar Court may well conjure up images of a wealthy stockbroker’s pad most likely to be found in Surrey - all gravelled driveway, Bentley cars, majestic iron gates, red brick walls, and fine views of the Epsom Downs.
BUSINESS QUARTER | WINTER 10
Those of us who are lucky enough to live in God’s own county, of course, know different. Here, Cedar Court is known for hotels which, mainly owing to the fact that all bar one of them is close to the M1 or M62, are very much geared up for business conferences and
66
travelling sales executives. Geared up in a nice way – all of these hotels are four star, so we should perhaps make that senior sales executives – but geared up for that market nonetheless. Not for nothing is the group’s Wakefield hotel – its first, which opened >>
WINTER 10
Passion: Hotel general manager, Andrew Coney
67
INTERVIEW
BUSINESS QUARTER |WINTER 10
INTERVIEW
WINTER 10
25 years ago – located next to a business park which Acropolis Hotels, Cedar Court’s parent company, also owns. All this could be about to change, however, and the name Cedar Court could become one that oozes luxury and class, and in so doing entice more people – perhaps including our Surrey stockbroker, who of course would demand such style as a minimum – to come and visit the fair city of York. For March 2010 sees the opening of the Cedar Court Grand; the company’s first hotel venture in York, and both it and the city’s first-ever five-star hotel. In a nutshell, it will feature 107 bedrooms, restaurant, spa with swimming pool, and meeting rooms capable of holding anything between 20 and 120 guests. More unusually, it will also include a decking area capable of holding a large marquee for that extra special wedding. All of this will be just a short walk from York railway station on a site that overlooks the city walls. This isn’t a new build-hotel. Rather, the company has chosen to refurbish the old railway company headquarters on Station Rise, which were vacated when GNER moved out two years ago. It’s an ambitious project, not least because the building was originally opened in 1906 as what was then the London North Eastern Railway Company’s headquarters. It is a vast, seven-storey, Grade II listed building that harks back to an age we wouldn’t recognise today. Individual offices that are bigger than most modern living rooms are connected by barrel-vaulted corridors. Cornicing and carvings are everywhere. And because this office operated in a time when management was management, shop stewards were shop stewards, and that was that, there is an oak-panelled boardroom for the managers, an only slightly less sumptuous one for the unions in which to hold their meetings, and even a cubbyhole for the chairman of the board to have little confabulations on his own. These are all being turned into meeting rooms. In total, Cedar Court has spent upwards of £20m on the project. Just as an example of the work that this has involved, the hotel’s spa
BUSINESS QUARTER | WINTER 10
will be located in the building’s basement, where the company used to have its vaults. You can still make out the large steel doors. And because even back then company largesse did not stretch to having a company swimming pool, Cedar Court has had to carve one out of the floor. John Horvath, Cedar Court’s group manager, says the opening of the hotel is a natural progression for the group. “The corporate conference market has always been part of our strategy,” he says. “But the leisure market in the local region is the second part. We already own a hotel in the centre of Harrogate.” Cedar Court was founded by George Demetriou, who came to the UK from his native Greece in the 1950s and first opened the café business which went on to make his name in Halifax. His first hotel may have been in Wakefield, but Horvath says Demetriou has had a relationship with York going back 40 years, having operated coffee shops, banqueting houses and restaurants in the city during that time. “He has had a passion to have a quality hotel in the city,” says Horvath, “and has been looking for a site in York for quite a few years. When the building became available it was the obvious choice.” But this is, it has to be said, a high-risk time to be opening a glitzy hotel, particularly in Yorkshire. Other luxury hotel groups in the region – think for, example, of the Tomahawk Group, which in the past five years has opened or converted hotels in Leeds, Bradford and Sheffield – have spent the past year making sure of what they have. In fact, on a wider scale you could question whether the effort of opening such a large hotel and making sure it is five star is really worth it. In the past few years it has been boutique hotels that have done much of the running in the industry. There are plenty of those in York – you could even include among them Hotel du Vin, which only opened in 2008. Many of them don’t bother with going through the star grading process, safe in the knowledge that their customers know they can rely on them for the quality they require.
68
Then the grading system itself, which in the end is down to the whims of a group of AA judges, can be fickle. Oulton Hall, which used to be Yorkshire’s only five-star hotel, was downgraded last year. Most of all, the most immediate experience of someone opening a luxury hotel in Yorkshire has been nothing short of disastrous. In 2008 another experienced hotelier, David Pantin, came to Leeds with grand plans to open two top quality hotels and a bar in the city, making it the base for what he hoped would soon become a hotel empire. He even wheeled in Albert Roux to support him. But the first hotel, the Ellington, lasted just a few months, as did the bar, Floridita. The second hotel never got off the ground, and Pantin has since retired back to a manor house in Gloucestershire to become a hotel consultant. You could sense the tension surrounding the Cedar Court project in the middle of last year when Demetriou made a rare public foray to attack the city council for its plans to expand the particularly hideous civic offices next door to the hotel to create a new council headquarters. At the time he claimed the office expansion could undermine the hotel project entirely, as it would obstruct its views. That may, however, have been bluster: even though the council’s plans are still very much on track, renovation at the hotel is now well underway with everything on course for a March opening. Horvath says he is not at all worried about comparisons with Pantin’s experience, mainly because he says comparing Leeds to York is like “comparing Debenhams with Harvey Nichols”. Certainly, Andrew Coney, the man Cedar Court appointed in September to be general manager of the hotel, says he would not have been interested in the job if the hotel had been in Leeds. “A lot of people – including me – are surprised that York doesn’t already have a five-star hotel,” he says. “Leeds is over-supplied with hotel bedrooms and has different market conditions,” says Horvath. “If Pantin had done what he did to the Queen’s Hotel, say, instead of to a site down a side street, it might have worked. Location is what matters.”
WINTER 10
Doing things with a little bit of extravagance and theatre is aspirational. To come to a hotel and ring home and say, ‘we have a butler’, brings glamour back to the arena
Both men stress the importance of the new hotel to the York economy. This is not just because of the number of people it will employ (yet to be decided, as they were just recruiting an HR manager as BQ went to press), but also because of York’s position as the third most visited city in the UK after London and Edinburgh. “Look at how York has evolved in recent years,” says Coney. “Look at the shops, the cultural side, the strength of Visit York. There is a lot behind us to make this work. I do see Americans coming. We are part of a route to Scotland, and there are a lot of operators out of the States and the Far East that see that the UK isn’t just London any more. When anyone is talking about coming to Yorkshire York is a must do, so to not have a hotel in the top tier means we are missing some opportunities.” Originally from Kent, Coney has considerable experience in the hotel industry, having been manager of both the Waldorf in London and Slaley Hall in Northumberland. In fact, some ten years ago or so, Caterer & Hotelkeeper picked him as one of their “Acorns” – people in the industry under the age of 30 who the magazine reckoned were bound to make their mark in the future. Other past Acorns have included Gordon Ramsay. This is the first complete renovation of a hotel Coney has managed. “I did reopen the Cavendish in London,” he says, “although it had already existed. It had been acquired by a new owner, and had gone through a complete rebranding. It’s when you can have your own impact in a significant way, rather than just putting in a new menu here and new standards there, that it is more rewarding.”
Although he had heard of Cedar Court before, he wasn’t totally familiar with the brand. “But when someone tells you there is a five-star hotel opening in the UK, that is quite a novelty.” He is firmly committed to the star rating, and is working with the AA to make sure the hotel gets its five stars. “There are two strands to this,” he says. “One is ticking boxes on equipment and fittings. So, for example, does the chair of the desk have arms? To be five star it needs to. There are also aspects of quality, and that is something they come and mystery shop for. What is critical for us is that you have things you won’t see in many other hotels, such as a doorman all the time, and bags taken as soon as you arrive.” Other five-star features include a butler with his own mini-kitchen on every floor – so your breakfast in bed really will be freshly made, not hauled up the lifts. And those lucky enough to afford the penthouse suite when they go for a shopping trip in York can ring ahead to order a bath from the bath menu. This will be waiting for them to sink into as soon as they arrive back. Coney is not troubled by the rise of the boutique hotels either. The Grand, he says, is serving a different market. “Just look at the name of the hotel,” he says. “The Grand. You are harking back to a time - probably when the building was first put up – when first class rail travel was something you aspired to do. Boutique is one side, but doing things with a little bit of extravagance and theatre is quite aspirational. To come to a hotel and ring home and say, ‘we have a butler’ brings glamour back into the arena.”
69
INTERVIEW
The same applies, he says, to the hotel restaurant, which he wants very much to be a destination, even if you aren’t staying at the hotel. “I would like people to start saying: ‘We tried to get into Sunday lunch at the Grand but it was full’,” he says. Which makes it all the more remarkable that, although Coney has firm ideas on what kind of food the restaurant will be serving – locally sourced, obviously – Cedar Court has not yet got round to appointing a head chef. Horvath says this is not unusual, because of the time of year. “Head chefs are quite a loyal lot and they like to get through Christmas first, before thinking of a new job,” he says. “And we do have a group executive chef operating behind the scenes.” The group is just getting around to putting an advert together now – along with one for the HR manager and a head of sales. “We are looking for a minimum of two rosettes,” says Horvath. Whoever is appointed, he or she will be part of a team that will deliver York an experience that, good or bad, is sure to be talked about for years to come. But don’t just take my word for it. What does someone who used to work in the building think of the transformation? Shaun Mills was finance director of GNER in its final days. Mills, who has now moved on to be chief executive of a German transport firm, says that it was certainly the grandest office he ever worked in – but it was also a very inefficient one. “It was like a greenhouse in summer, because there was no air conditioning, and freezing in winter when the windows rattled,” he says. “My secretary was in an office across the corridor from me, too.” Mills never used the boardrooms – by the time he worked there the building was being shared with Network Rail and it had the privilege of doing so – public sector getting the best deal again, you might say. But he does remember being grouped around the elegant staircase for management photocalls. “The building was steeped in railway history,” he says. “In fact, I think it will be much better off as a hotel and even though I have a place in York of my own I might now be tempted to stay there.” n
BUSINESS QUARTER |WINTER 10
ENTREPRENEUR
WINTER 10
Small beer really is beautiful Micro-brewing is the ideal occupation for business people who want a change of scene, Tony Gartland tells Peter Baber County Works off Dockfield Road in Saltaire in Bradford may be a Victorian industrial building being put to a new use, but it’s nothing that would set your pulse racing – certainly nothing to contend with Salts Mill just half a mile down the road, which still pulls in the visitors every weekend. Most of them probably wouldn’t even notice this building, tucked away as it is behind a canal swing bridge and an electricity substation. It was, in fact, originally set up as a power station for the trams that used to carry Bradford workers out to the many dormitory towns along the Aire Valley. It is only when you get up really close to the buiding, past the Portakabins and lorries, that you begin to suspect what its new use might be. Your nose is twitching, you can smell something sweet and musty, could it be – yes it is! The building is now being used as a brewery. Since 2005 the building has been home to the Saltaire Brewery run by Tony Gartland. He thinks it is a perfect occupation for a business professional who fancies a change of occupation. Before we go any further, we ought to correct two misconceptions you might already have made. When we say brewing, it is not a mega-gallon multinational brewer Gartland is
BUSINESS QUARTER | WINTER 10
70
part of. Such organisations are relentlessly consolidating at the moment, and often losing their British identity, so probably would not be a good destination for mid-career professionals with eyes on a big prize. Saltaire Brewery is part of a rapidly growing trend of microbreweries. It produces 300 nine-gallon casks a week, or 16,000 litres. A CAMRA spokesman told BQ this puts it at the larger end of the microbrewery community. Secondly, this Tony Gartland is not the Tony Gartland of industrial investment group GWB fame, although he is based only a few miles away in Halifax. This Tony Gartland says being mistaken for someone who regularly makes it into the Sunday Times Rich List does have its advantages – although there can be problems too. “My son looked me up on Google and came and asked me what had happened to my £75m,” he says wistfully. But this Tony Gartland still does have an impressive career track record. He says he “grew up in the Leeds legal fraternity”, becoming a partner at Ison Harrison in his 30s. He then moved to be head of legal for the National & Provincial Building Society until it merged with Abbey National, and he decided he didn’t want to work for the bigger organisation and move to London which such a job would certainly have entailed. So he moved back to private practice law, becoming a partner at Eversheds with a responsibility for building up its financial service team. On reaching his early 50s, however, he decided it was time for a change. “I really felt I wanted to make something,” he says. “I wanted to create a product, bring it to market, and see how it went. I thought of a restaurant, and a vineyard, but that was too complicated.” So he came to brewing. He did the Brewlab course at the University of Sunderland – a microbiology course specially tailored to meet the needs of the brewing industry – and followed that up with 12 months work placements among smaller brewers in the North East. “The microbrewery business is very collaborative,” he explains. But why brewing, and why micro-brewing in particular? One reason, says Gartland, is location. “West Yorkshire is a hot spot for local brewers,” he says. CAMRA would back him up. In a survey it carried out in September
WINTER 10
ENTREPRENEUR
Brewing business: Tony Gartland enjoys the sweet smell of his successful micro-brewery
Twenty years ago, people were only drinking Mateus Rose and Mosel ... Now look at the wine industry. The same will happen to beer last year the county came top of the nationwide brewery league table, with 34 in operation, including four that have just started up this year. North Yorkshire was third. “There are a lot of good independent pubs,” he says, “and a good real ale tradition with lively CAMRA branches. People like to buy local.”
But why then is the news often so full of stories of pubs closing down, the victims either of rapacious pricing by supermarkets or in many cases the smoking ban? Gartland says it’s the big chains of tenanted pubs which are suffering. The smaller specialist pubs which Saltaire targets directly for 30 per
71
cent of its business are thriving, and see real ale as a growth area. “Wetherspoons and the like see coffee and real ale as being the two expanding sides of their business,” he says. Could that be a reason why one of the specialist beers Saltaire produces is a porter (a cross between a dark ale and a stout) that includes hazelnuts and coffee? Last year it won a gold medal from the Society of Independent Brewers (North). “Beer is really the new wine,” says Gartland. “Twenty years ago, people were only drinking Mateus Rose and Mosel, and using the bottles afterwards for lampshades. Now look at the wine industry. The same will happen to beer.” Again, industry statistics prove him right. That same CAMRA survey suggested that, while it may be all doom and gloom for chain pubs, for independent brewers in the UK it is a different story. There are now 711 of them – more than at any time since the Second World War. Some 71 have opened across the country this year alone. That could, of course, be people finding some use for their redundancy package, but Gartland says there is plenty of room for more. “Two surveyors just opened up in Ilkley with a smaller plant than this,” he says. “You will certainly see more people coming to the market.” But many business advisers would warn you against turning what may be a hobby (such as home brewing) into a business, because while you might think there is nothing better to do than the thing you enjoy spending your spare time doing, doing it all the time might just prove too stressful. Gartland is perfectly aware of such dangers. “But I can sometimes leave it to someone else,” he says. “I deliberately didn’t set up on my own.” He employed Paul Simpson, whose career in brewing included working for Whitbread and Holsten, as a managing director. “A lot of people who set up small businesses forget how running a business is often all about doing necessary administration,” he says. And he also brought in Derek Todd to the business – a man who was previously head of quality at Glaxo SmithKline. “So we can certainly punch above our weight,” he says. As part of their research before starting the business, the trio went on an extended tour >>
BUSINESS QUARTER |WINTER 10
ENTREPRENEUR of the west coast of the USA, to see all the microbreweries there. Simpson now lists it as his favourite holiday ever. (For Gartland himself that accolade would go, with apologies to his family, to his visit to the Munich Oktoberfest in 2004. Again, essential research). The brewery has built a reputation for producing speciality beers. These include fruit beers – strawberry, raspberry, and blackcurrant – and more exotic blends such as coriander and orange, and of course the hazelnut coffee porter. Aside from the 30 per cent of product that is sold to independent pubs, a further 30 per cent goes to chain pubs, usually as a guest beer on rotation, while another 30 per cent goes to wholesalers. The rest is bottled and retailed – Saltaire Brewery is currently stocked in Booths, Waitrose, Tesco and Asda, among others. But Gartland is not particularly keen to expand this part of the business. “For the bottled market you really need economies of scale,” he says. But if this is sounding just too idyllic, before anyone goes rushing off to look for a hops merchant, it might be worth pointing out something else all wannabe microbrewers need: capital, and lots of it. “The problem with brewing really is that there is so much capital involved up front,” he says. “You can go to investors but most of them are only interested in brewers when there is property attached. It’s really a property play.” Gartland admits that he is lucky in this respect because he did have capital. Some years after leaving the building society industry to go to Eversheds he was approached by Peter Birch, then chief executive of Abbey National, who wanted to discuss the possibility of Gartland managing the society’s property portfolio. One not widely reported result of the property price crash in the 1980s was that building societies were left with a heap of repossessed properties to deal with. A common trend among them then was to divide the properties into groups and include them in new business enterprise schemes being launched by the Government at the time. To get private investors interested in these, however, the building societies had to guarantee a rate of return, so they initially had to carry on owning the properties.
BUSINESS QUARTER | WINTER 10
WINTER 10
“But I think Peter could see that Abbey’s property portfolio could be managed more effectively on an outsourced basis,” says Gartland, and together with Lynne Charlesworth, now a non-executive director at the Yorkshire Building Society, he set up a company, Oriel, to manage what became a portfolio of 5,000 properties. “Eversheds had been a good challenge,” he said, “but when the property opportunity came along I could see the play in that.” Eventually, they struck a deal to buy chunks of
Capital really is the main barrier to entry, but if you can get past that you have a business with no partners and no banks, and that’s the way I like it the portfolio from Abbey National, getting a discount because they were buying them in bulk. Many were sold on in the early part of this decade, when the property market was considerably more benign. What remained of the management business was sold off, too, to Allsop. Gartland claims it is now the largest residential management business in the UK, and it was part of the proceeds from this that helped him set up Saltaire Brewery. “I put more than £500,000 into this at the start,” he says. “Capital really is the main barrier to entry. But if you can get past that, as I did, you have a business with no partners, and no banks, and that’s the way I like it. It means that as an entrepreneur you can, for
72
example, slow down a little bit for Christmas. You don’t have to justify that to anyone else.” He admits he might not always want to remain in the brewery. He hasn’t as yet got any succession sorted. “It would be lovely for this to continue,” he says, “providing for six or seven families and helping the local community. But it is hard work. Opening a brewery was preferable to opening a restaurant because it is only a nine-to-five operation, although it is seven days a week because the beer doesn’t know it’s a weekend. “The time will come when I will get sick and tired of being wet, cold and lonely, up to my knees in cold water, but for the time being I am very satisfied. Every time you walk into a pub and see the Saltaire logo, you feel a sense of pride. My wife thinks we could have had a ski lodge in the Alps. But I like doing things, I like a challenge and I like to create some value. My son thinks I should wear a suit and dress respectably, and he wishes he could be collected at school by someone who isn’t covered in yeast. He’ll get over it, though.” In the meantime too, he has ambitions to stay small. He says he could take the brewery, which currently turns over around £750,000, up to £1m, but wouldn’t want to go further. There is little to be gained by consolidation in this industry,” he says. “We have our own recipes, and if you aren’t successful you just fail.” The virtues of being small, he says, are also evident now in what has happened to the building society industry to which he once belonged. “A lot of National & Provincial’s peer group were too small to survive independently,” he says. “They floated and thought they would have a marvellous future, but the truth of that was they didn’t have the capital to weather the storms. N&P wisely took the decision to go with Abbey National because they were a bigger organisation. “But at the other end of the mutual scale, you still have mutual societies just involved in mortgages and saving. They didn’t get involved in wholesale bonding or capital raising. There will always be a requirement for local players. Staying small gives you a lot more flexibility.” n
WINTER 10
COMPANY PROFILE
Five years ago Watson Burton LLP’s Leeds office opened at 1 City Square, right in the centre of the city. It was an ambitious, bold move into a highly competitive Leeds legal market
HIGH FIVE FOR WATSON BURTON AT LEEDS
S
INCE then it has attracted a dynamic team of lawyers, excellent clients and a strong reputation as a genuine alternative to the long-established Leeds law firms. Property partner David Bowden leads the commercial property department, together with newly promoted partner Matthew Dalzell, and also heads up the Leeds office. They have built an enviable UK-wide client list, and the team has completed a series of demanding deals with national reach. Clients include Austin Reed, Mansion Properties PLC, Niche Homes and Grainger Games. The corporate finance’s young, resourceful team offers high quality expertise and a personal approach to each client. Their combination of commitment and experience at a competitive regional rate has attracted well-known clients ranging from listed plcs and large private companies to SMEs. They have built an impressive track record for successfully completing major transactions. James Nightingale has recently been instructed on two important new matters for Minorplanet. Partner Gearalt Fahy heads the employment law team, which is growing strongly. Watson Burton has firmly established its presence in Yorkshire, offering effective employment advice to private and public sector organisations. The Leeds and Newcastle offices of Watson Burton work together on employment cases to bring strength and depth to more complex work. Tristan Meears-White heads a thriving regulatory team which is now seen as one of the North of England’s leading competition law advisors. Tristan recently represented 14 construction companies involved in the Office of Fair Trading’s investigation into tender contracts and steered each firm through an extremely intricate, lengthy process.
David Bowden, Property Partner and Head of Leeds David Bowden explains: “During our first five years we have moved on from simply gathering lawyers by external recruitment to building or adding to strong teams through organic growth. This means we now have a wealth of experience and knowledge and can deliver services in a fresher, more innovative and cost effective way than our competitors. “In recognition of this, we promoted two of our talented young Leeds-based lawyers to partners, Gearalt Fahy and Matt Dalzell, underlining the commitment to rewarding energy and expertise
OUR GENUINELY WELCOMING APPROACH AND RANGE OF SPECIALIST KNOWLEDGE NOT ONLY BENEFITS EXISTING CLIENTS BUT IS ALSO ATTRACTING NEW ONES
73
that hallmarks our practice. “Our genuinely welcoming approach and range of specialist knowledge not only benefits existing clients but is also attracting new ones,” he added. Watson Burton’s offices in Newcastle, Leeds and London provide an interlinking network of capabilities and facilities of direct benefit to Yorkshire clients. Companies with head offices in London, or which have the need to liaise with contacts in the City can make use of the Watson Burton office at the Gherkin alongside regular meetings with their contact partner at the Leeds office. “The three offices work extremely well together, bringing the experience and niche knowledge of well over 200 highly trained lawyers to the requirements of Leeds clients,” said David Bowden. “At a time of slow, cautious economic recovery, the assurance of a law firm which delivers best possible results and is committed to close, effective relationships with clients is a valuable asset for many local businesses. Watson Burton provides the talented people and the practical, professional, welcoming approach which can make a huge difference to your future results.”
Find out how Watson Burton could help your company by contacting David Bowden. Tel: 0113 235 5701 or email david.bowden@watsonburton.com.
BUSINESS QUARTER |WINTER 10
INSIGHT
WINTER 10
The great arena debate
The proposed Leeds Arena has been a long time coming, says Peter Baber, and even now people are arguing over its funding, its location, and even what it should actually be ... so is there an answer?
Next May, Westlife, one of the most successful boy bands ever, will be touring the UK, playing to their adoring fans in Nottingham, Liverpool, Sheffield, London, Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow, Manchester and Newcastle. Shortly before their tour, Ronan Keating (I nearly described him as Westlife’s erstwhile lead singer, but of course, he was Boyzone they sound so alike) will also be touring. He’s going to Glasgow, Sheffield, Aberdeen,
BUSINESS QUARTER | WINTER 10
Liverpool, Bristol, Birmingham, Brighton, Cardiff, London, Manchester, Oxford, Nottingham, Bournemouth and Blackpool. There is one rather important city missing from these lists. Both these major acts are going to far-flung corners of Britain, but they are not coming to Leeds. And why not? Most likely because there is no venue big enough to take them. Even with the welcome addition of the Carling Academy
74
onto the Leeds music scene, there is simply nowhere big enough in the city to host an act likely to draw thousands of people. “Everyone in the music industry tells me they believe Leeds is the missing piece in the picture,” says Coun Andrew Carter, currently joint leader of Leeds City Council. And it’s not just the music industry that is regretting lost opportunities. Big events like pop concerts do wonders for the local
WINTER 10
night-time economy, as anyone who has tried to get a table at a restaurant in Manchester’s northern quarter when there is a show on at the MEN Arena can attest. The fact that some pop megastar chooses to turn up on stage and say, “Good evening, Manchester” or “Good evening, Birmingham”, can do wonders for your city’s profile, too. That’s why those with an interest in attracting younger people to the city – the universities and the professions, for example – feel Leeds is missing out. Even if they wouldn’t dream of listening to a Westlife song, the thinking goes, young people will be less inclined to come here if they think Leeds is so off the map that even these blue-eyed Irish chart-toppers don’t come here. Put together a group of the city’s business and political leaders to discuss what’s wrong with the city, and sure enough, the absence of a large venue will be top of the list. So the announcement that the building of a 12,500-seater arena in the city can go ahead should be welcome news, particularly as the £80m arena will secure more than 500 jobs directly and the Government has allowed Yorkshire Forward to spend an extra £4.88m on the project on top of the £5m that had already been committed. But oh, if only such a story of happy consensus were true. For the history of the Leeds Arena is littered with false dawns, political bickering and abandoned plans. It may be drawing to a close now, but after well over a decade of discussion on the issue, there will be many who are thinking, “and about time, too”. For one thing, there is that little matter of the Government having to give its approval for the fund. Carter says such intervention was not necessary, particularly when you consider that the Leeds Arena will be 59 per cent privately funded. The Liverpool Arena, by contrast, was 100 per cent public sector funded. “I think it’s a very poor show,” he says. “The Government set up these regional development agencies and gave them delegated powers to decide on projects that require public funding on a relatively small scale like this. We had agreed the package with Yorkshire Forward for this four years ago, and it was only last-minute pressure at the eleventh hour from a group of Sheffield MPs
INSIGHT
I don’t think it is right that a publicly funded body ... should be funding a business that will have a devastating effect on an existing one
that made the Government call it in.” Those MPs were protesting about the likely impact the new arena might have on the existing Sheffield Arena. And in one important respect, they succeeded. Yorkshire Forward and Leeds City Council were originally looking for a total £18m in permitted public funding, so the £9.88m being offered now does seem watered down. Carter, who claims the project would have gone ahead anyway, with or without the extra Yorkshire Forward money, says this shortfall will now have to be made up by the proposed payback period for the arena being extended by two to three years. But the success of the Sheffield MPs clearly irks him. “Sheffield already gets double the money Leeds gets from Yorkshire Forward,” he says. “If they are worried about the Sheffield Arena so much, why didn’t Sheffield prioritise it more when they were discussing their allocation of funding with Yorkshire Forward? The truth is, they chose to spend it on other things.”
75
Clive Betts, one of the MPs concerned, is certainly unrepentant. Even the relatively smaller amount the Leeds project has got should not have been granted, he says. Leeds can have any arena it wants, he says – but not with Yorkshire Forward money. “I don’t think it is right that a publicly funded body that is supposed to represent the whole of Yorkshire should be funding a new business that will have such a devastating impact on an existing one,” he says. Yorkshire Forward chief executive Tom Riordan says he understands the MPs’ concerns. “But we have to make our investment decisions based on the potential benefits for the region as a whole,” he says. “We cannot ignore the opportunity for doubling visitor numbers to Yorkshire and Humber.” Betts claims such talk is exactly the problem with the way the whole project has been looked at. There has, he claims, been far too much focus on the positive impacts, and, except in a report Sheffield City Council >>
BUSINESS QUARTER |WINTER 10
INSIGHT
WINTER 10
commissioned, little attention given to the negative. “That Sheffield report showed that a quarter of Sheffield Arena’s potential revenue would be taken away by this,” he says. Certainly Steve Brailey, chief executive of Sheffield International Ventures, which runs the Arena and other venues in Sheffield, is livid. “It is an absolute outrage that the Government is providing this funding to a scheme that will undermine jobs in Sheffield,” he says. He says SIV is now “considering our next steps” as some in the city claim that at the moment the Arena is only just breaking even. Whatever the truth of that may be, there are plenty who would argue there is no reason why two arenas cannot exist relatively close by. “Manchester has four big venues, and they don’t complain about each other,” says Dirk Mischendahl, managing director of Leedsbased events company Logistik, and a board member of both Marketing Leeds and Welcome to Yorkshire. Carter claims that Manchester has been 100 per cent supportive of Leeds’ plans. You might have thought a Labour council (perhaps like the Sheffield MPs) would want to see the Tory leader of Leeds City Council’s pet project fail, but apparently not. And the new Leeds Arena is also going to be run by the
BUSINESS QUARTER | WINTER 10
same company that runs the MEN Arena. Mike Firth, organiser of the Yorkshire International Business Convention (YIBC), also denies claims about Sheffield suffering. “You could say there shouldn’t be arenas in Manchester or Birmingham, either,” he says. “Why should Leeds lose out just because it happens to fall under the same RDA?” But he is not totally happy with the new proposal. And there are plenty of others even within Leeds itself who may be feeling hard done by. The Council’s chosen site for the arena – an area of land by Claypit Lane in the north of the city that was going to be developed by Castlemore until it pulled out - was a relative latecomer among suggested sites. The Council bought the land for £6m in November 2008, but before then had openly invited suggestions from other parties as to where it should be sited. One of these had
come from Jan Fletcher, one of Yorkshire’s most respected property developers, who felt a site in Sweet Street in Holbeck would be suitable. Then another consortium wanted to develop land near Leeds Utd’s Elland Road stadium. A year or so prior to that yet another scheme was being heavily promoted, this time to build an arena at Clarence Dock. This last bid would have been entirely private sector funded – or so it was claimed. Carter says that when you got down to the nitty gritty, all three of these proposals would actually have involved far more public sector money than their backers had initially alleged. Jan Fletcher may disagree. She had been planning to take the Council to court over its decision not to back her bid. She would not comment on this action for this article. But all three of these other sites would have been to the south of the city, close to either the railway station or the M621 motorway. By contrast, the Claypit Lane site is a good quarter of an hour walk from the station, and not really near any long-distance motorway. Firth says it is a bad choice. “There is virtually no car parking at the site,” he says. “People say you can use public transport, but they aren’t really thinking of the customer when they say that.” Carter says that, on the contrary, making people walk through the city centre to get to the arena will do wonders for the city’s night-time economy. But the other bone of contention is developments taking place in other Yorkshire towns, in particular Harrogate. The Harrogate International Centre is about to start on a £13m upgrade, with funding coming in equal measure again from the local council and Yorkshire Forward. This upgrade will see the building of two new event halls totaling 3,400sq m, which will also be 6 metres high. The centre says such dimensions are necessary
You could say there shouldn’t be arenas in Manchester or Birmingham, either. Why should Leeds lose out just because it happens to fall under the same RDA?
76
WINTER 10
to attract the kind of events it is looking to entice away from, among others, the likes of Manchester Central and the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre in Glasgow. The extension will also enable it to run two events simultaneously. And yet, when plans for the new venue in Leeds were first mooted, they included some kind of conference venue as well. They are nowhere to be seen in the new plan. Has there been some kind of deal behind the scenes to avoid any conflict here? Carter insists not. “Harrogate has been very supportive of us, and we of them,” he says. “They have experience of conferences. We need diversity.” Comments by Wallace Sampson, chief executive of Harrogate Borough Council, might suggest otherwise. He recently said he was pleased to see that, as a result of
discussions between the two councils, “Leeds has moved its ideas from being a conference venue to being an events venue”. Such split decisions do not please Firth, who says they are symptomatic of current thinking among the powers that be in Yorkshire. He currently runs the YIBC at the Yorkshire Event Centre in Harrogate – a completely separate entity to the HIC – and says he would never dream of holding it at the HIC because of traffic issues. “If we want to compete with Manchester and Birmingham, we really do need not just an arena, but conference and exhibition facilities, and the place for those is Leeds,” he says. “Harrogate is too clogged-up. But we never have big city thinking in Yorkshire. That’s why we are always playing catch-up.” Mischendahl too, is not convinced of the merits of Harrogate as a conference venue
INSIGHT
because of its poor transport links. He is currently researching the possibility of setting up another conference centre in Leeds with other business partners. But Carter and others will be pleased to know that he does not consider those plans any reason why the Leeds Arena itself should not go ahead. The man who was responsible for bringing the Love Parade to Leeds – sparking similar events which have now culminated in the Leeds Festival – has in the past claimed such a large venue would be a white elephant. But not any more. There is a £1bn business tourism industry out there, he says, and there is plenty for everyone. “We have now been through the consultation,” he says, “and it would be a great mistake to turn back now. We would lose all credibility as the great city we are if we did that.” n
Where can I find advice on business planning?
Whatever’s on your mind we have hundreds of workshops, online resources and advisers ready to help.
77
BUSINESS QUARTER |WINTER 10
INTERVIEW
WINTER 10
ARCHITECT OF CHANGE In an industry notorious for loud and often clashing personalities, architect Andrew Stoddart makes for a refreshing change, discovers Peter Baber It is a truth, although perhaps not one that is universally acknowledged, that the one thing many a successful architect likes building up, apart from skyscrapers, is their own profile. This has been the case since at least Renaissance Florence. After all, even today they still talk about Brunelleschi’s dome. But egomania seems to have come particularly into play since the dawn of the 20th Century, with household names like Frank Lloyd Wright and Charles Edouard-Jeanneret Gris, aka Le Corbusier. At the start of this century, we even had the spectacle of much being written about one Zaha Hadid and how monstrous it was that her design for the new Cardiff Opera House had been rejected. Yet at the time nothing Ms Hadid had designed had actually ever been built. Verbal fireworks erupted again in summer 2009, when the Qatari royal family, who had employed Lord Rogers - renowned for his Pompidou Centre and Lloyds Building - to design a new housing development on the site of the former Chelsea Barracks, told him at the eleventh hour that they would not be using his ideas after all. It turned out that Prince Charles, that well-known airer of architectural opinion who branded plans for London’s National Gallery extension in the 80s a “monstrous carbuncle” (after which the design was scrapped), had intervened personally by contacting the Qataris to make his objections known.
BUSINESS QUARTER | WINTER 10
Rogers was furious, and called for a public inquiry into what he saw as Prince Charles’s undemocratic influence on the democratic planning process (although some local residents claimed that, as they had hardly been consulted at all, ‘democratic’ was one thing this process was not). Other commentators were quick to point out how dictatorial Rogers had been over the years. The columnist A N Wilson called for a public inquiry into how modernist architects like Rogers had been allowed to “destroy” the London skyline. Others made reference to alleged attempts by Rogers in the past to block designs by the more traditionalist Quinlan Terry. But then – oh dear – it turned out that it was Terry himself whom the Prince of Wales had commissioned to come up with
78
alternative designs for the Chelsea site. Terry is his favourite architect. Perhaps in a fit of pique, not long after the Chelsea debacle the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) awarded Rogers The Stirling Prize, the most coveted prize in UK architecture, for the second time. And so it goes – in fashionable Chelsea. But not perhaps in less fashionable Huddersfield. For there is one architect in that still noble town who believes that such grandstanding gets so much in the way that some architects forget what their central purpose is: to see the wishes of their clients brought out into reality. Andrew Stoddart, managing director of Above & Beyond Architecture, says he has absolutely no interest in trying to create a “house style” in his practice – one which would enable him to look back in the years to come and quickly identify which part of the skyline was down to his firm. “I am not really interested in creating that as a legacy,” he says. “We want to be known for achieving our clients’ aspirations and requirements.” You can see what he means when you consider the fate of one building that has jazzed up the London skyline in recent years and given its designer great kudos. As a business journalist, I was more interested to discover from a tenant that, two years after it opened, the building was still 40 per cent unlet. Though he originally hails from Reading, Stoddart is not a refugee from the south. He honed his architectural skills at a leading practice in Leeds after studying architecture at the University of Huddersfield. “It was a great experience,” he says. “I was made an associate after three and a half years, and I was working on great projects with a career path laid out for me.”But it got to the point where, he says, “the way the organisation worked didn’t fit with me”. “We were doing a lot of work that enhanced our portfolio,” he says, “and sometimes that worked very well, but other times it did not.” He fully understands why the practice might have chosen to adopt this approach. There was intense rivalry between practices at the time, as Leeds came out of the early 1990s property recession and speculative property development was rife. Each practice wanted to make sure it was seen as the leader.
WINTER 10
“But I felt I could create a business that could deliver the same result,” he says, “focused on delivering the requirements our clients required.” Hence the name of the practice he set up - Above & Beyond. Stoddart said he did not want to run a “surname-oriented practice”, and not just because he didn’t want the practice to be exclusively focused around himself. “Our name was a statement of intent about what our business was going to do,” he says. “I wanted to distinguish myself from tradition, and what was expected.” Even today, he says, an Above & Beyond project will be approached in a subtly different way to the norm. “We tend to spend a lot more time with the client than other practices,” he says. “We have some set processes in terms of our investigative work and the questions we ask. We might do two or three meetings before we start anything. We then define and play back what the idea is, and establish key performance indicators. We go back and retest those. We then take that forward and will do feasibility work.” This does take time. On one major project the new headquarters for the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE) - the company had been working with the client’s management board for six months before they even started on the design phase. Back in 1999, there were also new ideas the practice introduced that have since become commonplace, but were not so then. One was the use of 3D, introduced as a matter of course from the start. The other was talking about interiors too. Above & Beyond was set up as an architecture and interior design practice from the beginning, partly because Stoddart says he had come across too many architects who believed – wrongly – that interiors would automatically follow. “We have the ability to offer an integrated approach,” he says. “So we would get people into the team, and offer interiors as both a stand-alone and a joined-up solution. That also helps us cross sell.” Nevertheless, opening a new architectural practice on your own is always a risky option, and a particularly unusual thing to do at the age of 33. Most people choosing to start >>
INTERVIEW
Our name was a statement of intent about what our business was going to do. I wanted to distinguish myself from tradition
79
BUSINESS QUARTER |WINTER 10
INTERVIEW
WINTER 10
up a new business choose to do so either in their early 20s after a couple of years in the real world, or in their early 40s. Not when they have a wife, young kids and a mortgage, as Stoddart did then, and still does (though the kids are somewhat older). He says it’s different for architects because of the seven years of training they go through. “You don’t really enter the world of business until you’re 25,” he says. “So you get to your early 30s or wait another ten years before you set up in business.” He says he was lucky to have a wife who had a secure job, and a business model which he could see would work. “It took three months to get our first clients coming back through the door,” he says. There is also the issue common to all businesses of having to find new contacts. For Stoddart, this would have been a particular problem because he deliberately chose to set up in Huddersfield. It was a town he remembered from college days, but also a town that was relatively removed from the established – some would say domineering - network of architectural practices in Leeds. “I wanted to make a clean break,” he says. “I had become networked into that Leeds scene, and the fresh start as an individual was all about getting out and leaving that behind – taking the fantastic experience, but to a new environment back in Huddersfield, where I had studied.” The move meant looking for less obvious, possibly more architecturally mundane sectors in which to work. But for Above & Beyond, that has proved something of a blessing, as
the practice has carved out a particular niche in transport architecture. At the moment it is busy with projects at Huddersfield and Dewsbury railway stations and, aside from the SYPTE headquarters, it also developed the Arundel Gate interchange in Sheffield. The firm first started such work in 2001, when a former client notified Stoddart that the contract to tender for the SYPTE work was coming out. “We went through the process, and got on the panel,” says Stoddart. “It was a five-year framework that we won again in 2006. Off the back of that, we got the confidence to bid for First Group, and we came under their framework in 2004 and again in 2006. It was a snowball effect, because we are now working with Northern Rail, Mersey Rail, and First Group at a group-wide level.” The company has also been notified that it is very likely to win significant work with a new client who is an operator well outside the Yorkshire region. Another sector in which the practice is working is care homes. It is currently working with Yorkshire-based Roche Healthcare, and doing a feasibility study with Manchesterbased Meridian Healthcare. It is a good time to be in the care homes sector, because for the past few years it has had trouble acquiring suitable land in the face of competition from far better resourced housebuilders. Now, the tables have turned. “Land values in this area are typically based at £10,000 to £12,000 per bed created,” says Stoddart. “So you get a 60-bed care home on
I had become networked into that Leeds scene and the fresh start as an individual was all about getting out and leaving it behind - taking the fantastic experience, but to a new environment back in Huddersfield, where I had studied
BUSINESS QUARTER | WINTER 10
80
an acre of land, which equates to around £720,000 an acre. “If you spoke to a housing developer there is no way they would be able to pay that, even if historically they might have been looking at £1m an acre.” Nevertheless, the sector has given Above & Beyond a new way of working. Since Chris West, a man with much experience of Leeds property, joined the firm as business development director last year, Stoddart says they have been acting as go-betweens between land owners and potential developers. “Chris has been very proactive,” he says, “being able to generate work by working with agents and landowners, and knowing who to put different types of sites to. We are generating a lot of work in that sector.” That, of course, means that you are not competing against other practices for work. Which is just as well, because the current recession has really made the practice focus on its core areas. “Right now, we are beginning to see an upturn in orders coming through and opportunities for 2010,” he says. “That started a couple of months ago. But before that it was a very challenging year.” Turnover this year, he reckons, will probably fall to £800,000, although thanks to the work West has brought in he thinks next year is already looking as if turnover will be £1.2m or above. Naturally, this has led to some shedding of staff. They used to have a full-time marketing manager, but such activity has now been outsourced to Huddersfield-based Fantastic Media. “It has turned out to be less investment for a fuller service,” says Stoddart, “which we manage and oversee.” As a result, the practice sailed past its tenth anniversary last September, and looks to have a secure future. But does Stoddart really not want to put his mark anywhere on the Yorkshire skyline? How does he attract new young guns, for example, if they are not being encouraged to think of their own ambitions first? Stoddart laughs and says recruiting has never been a problem. “The architecture world is full of egos,” he says, “and I have no particular gripe with that. Some clients will want that, but they are not necessarily the clients we want.” n
WINTER 10
>> We’re better, no we are
with Frank Tock >> Things ain’t what they used to be We were surprised to read some press reports last month suggesting that Sir Ken Morrison was none too pleased about the departure after just over three years of chief executive Marc Bolland. Sir Ken was quoted as saying something along the lines of how he expected his chief executives to be there for the duration, and not just flitter away when the first good job comes along. We can’t believe these stories are true, because if they are they suggest the legendary supermarket man still hasn’t got used to life as it is lived when you are a major FTSE company. Why, when the average lifespan of a chief executive of such an organisation these days is 18 months, three years seems like a lifetime. Sir Ken should be grateful.
>> Doing it for us over there Marc Bolland is, of course, a Dutchman, part of a breed of foreign chief executives who, we are told, are rapidly taking on all the top jobs in British business. Indeed, Bolland isn’t even the first Dutchman in this crowd: we have already had Ben Verwaayen running BT. So it seems a refreshing change to be able to report on someone doing it the other way around. Shaun Mills, formerly finance director at GNER, is now chief executive of transport company Abellio, and spends all his week days away from his home in York in sunny Germany. As he says, “there are 1,200 Germans and me”. He had better prepare for being lonely this summer, then.
For a region that, so we are constantly being told is, one of the most readily identifiable in the English psyche, it seems odd how willing Yorkshire cities are to bicker among themselves about what should go where. We had it first with the airports. Leeds Bradford was said to be in the wrong place, on a hill and fog-bound. Everyone would fly instead to and from the new airport in Sheffield. Except, no they won’t, because it now turns out that this airport is actually nearer Doncaster, and who would want to be seen flying from there? Now it’s the same with Leeds’ proposed arena. Quite why people should get so hot under the collar about what are freezing cavernous halls is beyond me. But some would have us believe that if Sheffield has one, then Leeds can’t. Similarly, if Leeds has something else, then Harrogate can’t. Can’t they learn to share? After all, there has to be some reason for going to Hull.
>> Not here, we’re too posh Good to hear that Leeds has made it to be one of the cities where the World Cup could be played if England wins the bid in 2018. But look here: those naughty people at Regeneration & Renewal magazine have rerun the competition to see who would be in the final 12 if local deprivation were the only considered factor. And guess what? Leeds is nowhere to be seen. (Sheffield and Hull would both have made it, however). Apparently, the residents of Beeston are just too posh and well contented to deserve a World Cup match being played there. Well, I never.
>> Access at last Good to see they are finally setting the wheels in motion to provide a southern entrance at Leeds City station. When it opens this should provide a welcome boost to all the businesses that currently inhabit Granary Wharf. For too long this decade, that so-called shopping centre has resembled a ghost town, unhelpfully reminding you too easily that it was also the site where, during the 1970s, two
81
BIT OF A CHAT bent coppers did away with a troublesome informant by throwing him in the icy River Aire. Of course, the last time Leeds City Station was redeveloped, way back at the start of this decade, there was a proposal for a small staircase - nothing like the bulbous creation they have in mind now - to take you down to the south side. But this strangely disappeared as the plans were finalised. This won’t happen now, oh no.
Caggage: B Hotel GM Andrew Coney
>> More bags than Rod Stewart’s missus Three cheers to Andrew Coney for admitting that he once went on a press trip with supermodel Rachel Hunter – Rod Stewart’s ex-wife – and arrived at the airport with more bags than she had. The trip to see a gorilla orphanage in Cameroon was organised by Born Free, a charity which Andrew’s then hotel was supporting, and it had invited Hunter along as a token celebrity along with a group of hacks. Seeing the gorillas, Coney says, was awe-inspiring, although you had to endure hotels infested with mice and certain other creatures to get there. In fact, on the way back the whole team had to spend the afternoon shut up in the hotel lobby surrounded by heavily armed guards as the presidential motorcade went by. So did he feel tempted ever to set up shop in Cameroon? “I would say a polite no because my French is very poor and it is a French speaking nation,” he says. “Any country like that that has a great relationship with its environment is something I would love to do, but it would be a very testing experience for a family.” Very diplomatically put.
BUSINESS QUARTER |WINTER 10
EVENTS
WINTER 10
BQ’s business events diary gives you lots of time to forward plan. If you wish to add your event to the list send it to: editor@bq-magazine.co.uk
JANUARY 7 JANUARY Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce networking breakfast. 7.30am-9.00am, Leeds United Football Ground, Leeds. For more details visit www.yourchamber.org.uk 7 JANUARY The Met Club – Yorkshire’s own networking club. 5.30pm7.30pm, Hotel du Vin, Harrogate. For details ring 01423 525622 8 JANUARY Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce business lunch. 12.00-2.00pm, Maxi’s Restaurant, York. For more details visit www.yourchamber.org.uk 12 JANUARY Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce business forum. 4.00pm-6.00pm, City Inn, Leeds. For more details visit www.yourchamber.org.uk 19 JANUARY Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce networking evening. 5.00pm-7.00pm, The Living Room, York. For more details visit www.yourchamber.org.uk 20 JANUARY The Met Club – Yorkshire’s own networking club. 5.30pm7.30pm, Yo Yo Restaurant, Bradford. For details ring 01423 525622 21 JANUARY Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce special event: Google - using the power of online. Representatives from Google will run two masterclasses on making the most of your web presence. 10.30am-3.45pm, Queen’s Hotel, Leeds. For more details visit www.yourchamber.org.uk 26 JANUARY The Met Club Harrogate One Day Masterclass. 9.00am5.30pm. For details ring 01423 525622 28 JANUARY Leeds Architecture Awards. Find out what buildings the panel of experts have chosen to represent the best from 2009. 6.00pm onwards, 22-26 The Headrow, Leeds. For more details visit www.yourchamber.org.uk 29 JANUARY Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce annual dinner. Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg is the guest speaker. 6.45pm onwards, Queen’s Hotel, Leeds. For more details visit www.yourchamber.org.uk
FEBRUARY 3 FEBRUARY Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce networking breakfast. 7.30am-9.00am, King’s Manor, York. For more details visit www.yourchamber.org.uk 9 FEBRUARY The Met Club – Yorkshire’s own networking club. 5.30pm7.30pm, Restaurant Bar & Grill, Leeds. For details ring 01423 525622 10 FEBRUARY Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce business lunch. 12.00-2.00pm, York Racecourse. For more details visit www.yourchamber.org.uk 11 FEBRUARY Ladies business lunch. 12.00 onwards, Cedar Court Hotel, Bradford. For more details visit www.bradfordchamber.co.uk 16 FEBRUARY Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce networking evening. 4.00pm-6.00pm, Golf Café Bar, Leeds. For more details visit www.yourchamber.org.uk 17 FEBRUARY Bradford Chamber new members lunch. 12.00 onwards, Devere House, Bradford. For more details visit www.bradfordchamber.co.uk 17 FEBRUARY The Met Club – Yorkshire’s own networking club. 5.30pm7.30pm, Hotel du Vin, York. For details ring 01423 525622
BUSINESS QUARTER | WINTER 10
18 FEBRUARY Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce ladies networking lunch. 12.00-2.00pm, Weetwood Hall, Leeds. For more details visit www.yourchamber.org.uk 23 FEBRUARY York construction lunch. 12.00-2.00pm, Sandburn Hall, York. For more details visit www.yourchamber.org.uk 25 FEBRUARY Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce business lunch. 12.00-2.00pm, White Hart Hotel, Harrogate. For more details visit www.yourchamber.org.uk
MARCH 3 MARCH Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce business lunch. 12.00-2.00pm, Pavilion Hotel, York. For more details visit www.yourchamber.org.uk 4 MARCH Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce networking breakfast. 7.30am-9.00am, Leeds United Football Ground, Leeds. For more details visit www.yourchamber.org.uk 4 MARCH The Met Club – Yorkshire’s own networking club. 5.30pm7.30pm, Hotel du Vin, Harrogate. For details ring 01423 525622 9 MARCH Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce networking breakfast. 7.30am-9.00am, Lady Anne Middleton’s Hotel, York. For more details visit www.yourchamber.org.uk 10 MARCH The Met Club – Yorkshire’s own networking club. 5.30pm7.30pm, Restaurant Bar & Grill, Leeds. For details ring 01423 525622 11 MARCH Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce property forum. 4.30pm-7.00pm, The Mansion, Roundhay Park, Leeds. For more details visit www.yourchamber.org.uk 17 MARCH Going Global - Meet the Buyer. Yorkshire Forward claims this will be the largest such event ever held in the UK. Over 900 delegates are expected to attend the event at the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate. International buyers already signed up include companies from the USA, Canada, Brazil, China, India, Germany and France. The event is designed to give regional businesses the opportunity to either sign up to meet potential buyers, or just network in the Global Village, learn new skills in the master classes and meet international trade experts from both regional and international support organisations. For more details ring 0113 394 9711/12 18 MARCH Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce annual dinner. 7.00pm onwards, National Railway Museum, York. For more details visit www.yourchamber.org.uk 24 MARCH Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce business lunch. 12.00-2.00pm, Crown Spa Hotel, Scarborough. For more details visit www.yourchamber.org.uk 25 MARCH Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce business lunch. 12.00-2.00pm, Village Hotel Leeds North, Headingley, Leeds. For more details visit www.yourchamber.org.uk Please check with the contacts beforehand that arrangements have not changed. Events organisers are also asked to notify us at the above email address of any changes or cancellations as soon as they know of them.
82
ESTATE OF THE ART VOLVO V70 UP TO 900 MILES ON ONE TANK OF FUEL
More to Life Vehicle shown for illustration purposes only.
THE VOLVO V70 1.6D DRIVe DRIVE MEANS MAKING A CHANGE FOR THE BETTER WITHOUT COMPROMISE. THE EXTERIOR STYLING IS UNMISTAKABLY VOLVO, WITH STRONG CURVES AND SLEEK LINES – YET DRIVE ENHANCEMENTS LIKE THE LOWERED CHASSIS AND CREON ALLOY WHEELS ADD DISTINCTIVE FINISHING TOUCHES. AND THESE CHANGES AREN’T JUST FOR SHOW – THEY CONTRIBUTE TO CO2 EMISSIONS OF JUST 129 G/KM AND FUEL ECONOMY OF UP TO 57.6 MPG. ARRANGE AN V70 DRIVE TEST DRIVE AT MILL GARAGES.
VOLVO V70 1.6 DRIVE SE CONTRACT HIRE OFFER
ADVANCED RENTAL
35 MONTHLY RENTALS OF
£837.00
Mill Hexham Bridge End, Hexham NE46 4JH. Tel: 01434 605 303
£279.00
Mill Sunderland Wessington Way, Sunderland SR5 3HR Tel: 0191 516 8778
Mill Newcastle Scotswood Road, Newcastle NE15 6BZ. Tel: 0191 274 8200
MILEAGE PER ANNUM
EXCESS MILEAGE CHARGE
10,000
8.50 pence per mile
Mill Stockton Preston Farm Business Park, Stockton TS18 3SG. Tel: 01642 673 251
Mill Harrogate Grimbald Crag Road, St James Retail Park HG5 8PY. Tel: 01423 798 600
*FUEL CONSUMPTION FOR THE VOLVO S40 1.6 D DRIVe IN MPG (L/100KM): URBAN 47.9 EXTRA URBAN 65.7 COMBINED 57.7 129GM/KM OF CO2 EMISSIONS Available to Business Users only. Rentals shown are exclusive of VAT. Finance subject to status. Guarantees may be required. The Volvo Business Contract Hire example shown is based on a non-maintained agreement with a mileage of 10,000 miles per annum with free metallic paint. Rental is subject to the terms and conditions of the Volvo Business Partner Business Contract Hire agreement. Vehicles must be contracted between 1st October and 31st December 2009, or while stocks last. Volvo Business Partner Contract Hire is provided by Lex Vehicle Leasing trading as Volvo Business Partner, Heathside Park, Heathside Park Road, Stockport, SK3 0RB. Subject to availability at participating dealers only. Details correct at time of going to print. Certain categories of Business User may be excluded.
www.millvolvo.co.uk www.driveavolvocompanycar.com
103561_BQ_DEC_V70
A 14% Benefit-in-Kind rAting. So low you cAn tAKe the tAxmAn for A ride. the new full hybrid rx 450h delivers a breakthrough 299 din horsepower, with 148g/km co2 emissions thanks to the advanced full hybrid system which switches seamlessly between electric and petrol power. the electric motors work in tandem with the 3.5 litre V6 engine to deliver maximum efficiency and performance. together with a luxurious interior with sophisticated remote touch technology, this makes the new rx 450h a car to be desired by everyone, even the taxman.
For more information or to arrange a test drive call Lexus Bradford on 0844 856 41 79. Station Road, Off Canal Road, Bradford BD1 4SF www.lexus.co.uk/bradford
299 din hp
148g/km co2
44.8 mpg
WELCOME TO FORWARD LIVING
the new full hyBrid rx 450h rx 450h prices start from £43,165 otr. model shown is rx 450h Se-l Premier priced at £58,175 including optional metallic paint at £595. Prices correct at time of going to print and include VAt, delivery, number plates, full tank of fuel, one year’s road fund license and £55 first registration fee. certain components within the hybrid drive system have a five-year or 60,000 mile warranty, whichever comes first.
rx 450h fuel consumption figures: urban 42.8 mpg (6.6 l/100km), extra-urban 47.1 mpg (6.0 l/100km), combined 44.8 mpg (6.3 l/100km). co2 emissions combined 148g/km. 001843_240x180_14BIK_RX450_Bradford.indd 1
17/12/2009 14:52