Sunderland Making Connections

SPECIAL REPORT: SUNDERLAND: MAKING CONNECTIONS

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banking on a bright future

progress report

bridging the gap

game changers

For Handelsbanken’s Paul Sinclair Sunderland is a city on the rise

A year after its launch is the economic masterplan taking shape?

The story behind the region’s new symbol of enterprise and prosperity

How two tech projects on Wearside have caused a global stir

“ We bring onshore synergy to offshore energy ”

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CONTENTS

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05 NEWS Could the Green Investment Bank create a fertile ground for new jobs?

12 overview Why Sunderland is a city in transition which can look forward with optimism

SPECIAL REPORT:

SUNDERLAND: MAKING connections

WELCOME Last year we profiled Sunderland in the light of its recently unveiled economic master plan.

In this edition, we take another look at the city’s economy, one year on from the plan’s introduction.

The intervening 12 months have not been easy for much of the world’s economy and yet, as we report in these pages, Sunderland has had more than its share of good news.

The Vaux Brewery site is in City Council ownership and getting ready for development.

Lear Corporation has announced the creation of 300 jobs at a new manufacturing facility and groundbreaking agreements have been reached with ICT giants BT and IBM to give the city a digital infrastructure that will be unsurpassed in the UK. To crown these achievements, towards the end of the year, the government announced its backing for the long awaited New Wear Crossing. Sunderland is building bridges and making connections in every sense.

So, while much still remains to be done to meet the aims of the master plan, there is, as these pages amply demonstrate, already much to celebrate.

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CONTACTS

18 putting the plan into action Taking stock of the economic masterplan a year on from its launch

24 changing tides Bank manager Paul Sinclair on the industrial transformation of Sunderland

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 Jackson e: p.jackson77@btinternet.com Design & production room501 e: studio@room501.co.uk Photography

30 going global Dominic Edmunds reveals the secrets of SafeCycle’s international success

36 creating an icon Brian Nicholls on the significance of the region’s newest bridge

42 cloudy skies

Chris Auld e: chris@chrisauldphotography.com Kevin Gibson e: info@kgphotography.co.uk advertising If you wish to advertise with us please contact our sales team on 0191 537 5720, or email sales@room501.co.uk

The technology revolution in Sunderland has captured the world’s attention

46 tale of twin cities Catherine Auld on Sunderland’s growing links to the rest of the world

CLOUD COVER

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Chocolate is a sweet sector, Chinese links are cemented, sports training is enjoying a boom, opportunities are maximised, a design company scores and the green bank is supported by all colours >> Green grow the jobs, oh

Left to right: Louise Briggs, David Howell and Paul Briggs

>> Twocan play at that – beautiful – game A North East business is enjoying an annual boost after completing design projects for eight major football clubs.

Twocan Design, based at the North East Business & Innovation Centre (BIC) in Sunderland, has designed and produced Christmas annuals for eight Premier League and Championship clubs, including North East teams Sunderland and Middlesbrough.

The family firm, made up of husband and wife Paul and Sheena Briggs, along with daughter Louise, has a growing football portfolio. Twocan Design recently designed and produced former Wearside legend Gary Bennett’s autobiography and there are more projects in the pipeline for 2012.

Paul Briggs, managing director of Twocan Design, said: “Being a lifelong Sunderland fan, working with the football clubs has been really exciting for us.

“We’ve built upon our football client base year-on-year, having started with SAFC back in 1995, and it is something we very much enjoy. It is an area of the business we hope to continue building on in the future.”

The business, which was set up in 1994, works with clients across a range of sectors, offering design, photography, illustration, publishing and new media support to companies in the North East and across the UK from its base at the BIC. David Howell, director of operations at the BIC, said: “Twocan is a fantastic business that is growing its client base at pace.

“There are some great businesses based at the BIC, and Twocan is just one example of a North East company that is making an impact at a local and national level and putting Sunderland and the region on the map.”

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The bidding process to host the new Green Investment Bank has been reinvigorated with the announcement that Sunderland City Council will be entering the race.

Sunderland City Council has begun the self-assessment process in response to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills call for cities to host a new bank that will see an initial £3bn invested in renewable energy and other sustainable industries across the UK. Sunderland’s submission will include its ambition to make the Green Investment Bank the primary driver for UK green jobs.

Launching the bid, City Council leader Councillor Paul Watson said: “We are the low-risk, low-carbon, high-impact bid. We have the leading manufacturer of electric vehicles in Nissan, the best broadband in the UK, which will maximise the potential for international investment communications, and our port which is developing expertise in sub-sea engineering – vital for the future of the off-shore wind industry. There are major employment opportunities in green industries, both in the North East and across the UK. It is clear that you cannot have a bidding process without Sunderland being central to it.”

Leader of the Conservative Group, Councillor Robert Oliver, said: “The Sunderland bid to host the Green Investment Bank has cross-party support. We have the ideal conditions to make most efficient use of public monies and to provide stability for businesses and individuals to invest in and reside in the city. Sunderland is fast becoming a low-carbon hub and is the ideal location for the bank.”

Chief executive Dave Smith added: “We have followed the development of the Green Investment Bank with great interest, given our growing profile in sustainability across the city. It is clear that in addition to driving local carbon industry through the Enterprise Zone, we can meet, and in fact go well beyond, the criteria set out by Government. We have a vision of >>

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thousands of new green jobs being created by the bank and our own sustainable investment plans.”

Sunderland’s bid to host the Green Investment Bank comes at the start of a year that will see the launch of its new inward investment campaign, which will further increase the city’s appeal to international markets.

>> Beat the rogues A consumer watchdog business has plans to keep the North East safe from rogue traders, after launching in the region.

Checked and Vetted, a trade referral business set up by Millicent Warham and Christine York, enables members of the public free access to feedback and reviews about vetted, local tradesmen with good track records, protecting them from rogue workmen who may be operating in the area.

The business, which is based at the North East Business & Innovation Centre (BIC), employs seven members of staff and has signed up more than 50 traders.

Warham said: “The North East is something of a hotspot for rogue traders, with some of the highest rates in the UK. While we will never be able to eliminate this problem, we hope that by setting up a service like this, we can protect consumers in the region, particularly individuals who are most vulnerable such as the elderly, from dishonest and second-rate traders.”

The service works by inviting reputable tradesmen to sign up as Checked and Vetted members. They are then vetted and interviewed in person by the company before their membership is activated.

The company was helped during start up by business mentor Louise Hardy at the North East BIC. She said: “Millie and Christine are both extremely dedicated and determined people, and are genuinely passionate about protecting consumers from untrustworthy traders. I wish them every success with their business.”

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First row, left to right: Zhi Dayong, director of Harbin Industry and Information Commission and Cao Ru, deputy director of Harbin Foreign Affairs Office. Second row: Tom Hurst, chief investment officer, Sunderland City Council, and Bernie Callaghan, chief executive, Sunderland Software City, with the Chinese delegation from Harbin and (back row) Catherine Auld, Sunderland City Council international manager.

>> Chinese business leaders travel to Sunderland to meet software sector East came West recently when four presidents of software companies, senior government officials and head teachers arrived in Sunderland as part of a high level delegation from Harbin in China.

The visit was organised by Sunderland City Council to bring together business leaders, particularly in the thriving software technology sector within the city, and strengthen school partnerships.

The 12-strong delegation was led by Mr Cao Ru, deputy director of Harbin Foreign Affairs Office and Mr Zhi Dayong, director of Harbin Industry and Information Commission. The group met some of the city’s leading software companies and visited the University of Sunderland to share experience on cloud

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computing and green technology during their three days in Sunderland.

They also toured the city, including a guided visit to Sunderland Football Club, and spent time in some of the city’s schools.

Councillor Paul Watson, leader of Sunderland City Council said: “China is a huge market and the Chinese businesspeople on this mission have travelled thousands of miles to explore business opportunities in Sunderland and link up with our thriving software sector.

“We are as enthusiastic as our guests about the potential for trading between our cities, and will do all we can to nurture commercial and educational links between our cities. The quality of our software sector means that many Sunderland-based companies are already trading globally with great success.”

The Chinese delegation met representatives from Sunderland Software City and the City Council at the Evolve centre on Tuesday November 22 to discuss future trade opportunities. There are plans for a trade mission from Sunderland to Harbin for the city’s software sector in 2012.

Mr Cao Ru, said: “It is good news for both cities that we are co-operating so well and productively together. We have forged strong links between Sunderland and Harbin in our business and education communities. This will be a valuable and positive visit to our partner city.”

In 2009, Sunderland City Council signed a Friendship Agreement with Harbin to promote business, educational and cultural links between the two cities. Harbin is the 10th largest city in China with a population of 10 million people. It is a recognised centre for power generation, chemicals, aircraft, automotives and heavy machinery with developing industries in food processing, electronics, ICT, pharmaceuticals and environment.

Nine schools in Sunderland have been working with schools in Harbin as part of the friendship agreement since 2009 and another has joined this visit. Next year, seven Sunderland schools will send pupils and teachers to Harbin to experience Chinese education at first hand.

Three Harbin headteachers are part of this current visit to Sunderland.

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>> Spirit of enterprise alive in Sunderland

Left to right: Chris Donabie of DTZ with David Kay of Sun Spirit and Tim Witty of UK Land Estates Tom Hurst, chief investment officer, Janet Snaith, head of business investment and Councillor Bryan Charlton, portfolio holder for Prosperous City at Sunderland City Council

>> Delivering on the promise

UK Land Estates is celebrating a third occupier in six months at West Quay Court in Sunderland, with Sun Spirit joining Lynch Healthcare and Brewlab on the scheme.

Sunspirit have signed a five year lease on 3,300sq ft of space in the “hybrid” scheme which offers new accommodation split 50/50 with workshop on the ground floor and office space above.

This is designed for a wide range of occupiers and in the current mix, Lynch Healthcare is a healthcare company specialising in the manufacture, supply and installation and maintenance of disability equipment; Brewlab is a provider of training and analysis services for the international brewing industry; and Sunspirit is a specialist designer and installer of Solar PV systems.

Sunspirit managing director Saul Joicey said: “This was the high quality and affordable accommodation we were looking for in Sunderland. We were assisted greatly by UK Land Estates who facilitated a quick move at a time of significant expansion for our business.”

Tim Witty of UK Land Estates said: “There are only four remaining units available with excellent lease terms on offer and options to purchase also considered. Occupiers may also benefit from grant assistance from Sunderland City Council, which often tips the scale for an occupier when considering whether to stay put, or to move and grow into new premises.”

Chris Donabie, senior surveyor at DTZ added: “This recent letting and two previous lettings are all to progressive Sunderland-based companies, which is testimony to the quality of space on offer in a central and easily-accessible location within Sunderland.”

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Sunderland City Council reports it has helped to create more than 2,600 jobs and secured over £505m of capital expenditure during 2011.

It achieved this through driving new business investment to the city and helping smaller local companies expand and start up.

Successes include Regional Growth Fund companies such as Nissan, which won funding for projects that have the combined potential to create up to 1,000 UK jobs.

The City Council’s Business Investment team helped a range of Sunderland companies to successfully apply for Regional Growth Fund money. Other Regional Growth Fund winners include the new test track and low emission vehicle development centre next to Nissan, the Turbine Business Park in Washington, and leading companies Unipres, Calsonic Kansei and Vantec.

US-based Lear Corporation is developing a new factory at Rainton Bridge Industrial Estate to produce foam for vehicle seats after 18 months of negotiation with the City Council.

The move will create 300 new jobs, with recruitment for the first phase of 150 already under way.

Council leader Councillor Paul Watson said the move was a major statement of confidence in Sunderland. He said: “We promised that we would leave no stone unturned, we would scour the world for jobs for Sunderland, and this is an example of how we have done that.”

Gideon Jewel, president of seating operations, Europe and Africa, at Lear >>

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Corporation said: “We’re impressed with the superb support we’ve had from Sunderland City Council’s business investment team, who have worked tirelessly to help bring about the major new investment and new jobs to the city.”

Local firms have worked with the City Council to create new jobs, grow their businesses and help to win major new projects. These include Haskel Europe which celebrated winning a £20m contract to make equipment that will test parts for the F-35, the world’s most advanced fighter jet.

Stephen Learney, Haskel Europe’s managing director, said: “Sunderland City Council’s support and investment has been invaluable in giving us the resources to compete on an international contract and win it. The decisiveness and quick responses from Tom Hurst, the chief investment officer at the City Council, was just what we needed.”

During 2011 the City Council helped to create 340 jobs at 75 smaller home-grown companies. Local businesses which have created new jobs or expanded into new premises this year include Tiger Filtration, Salecycle, Cylinder Service Centre, Lynch Healthcare, Datawright, Digital Spark, Fencehouses Truss Company and Bioinnovel.

Successful start ups in 2011 which have been helped by the City Council include Glass Frog e-consultancy, Beehive Bakery and Arc Associates design and engineering consultancy.

Tiger Filtration, which has grown on average 50% year-on-year and was awarded the Queen’s Award for International Trade in 2011 is looking forward to a busy 2012.

Tiger’s managing director Bob Thompson said: “We’ve stayed at Sunderland despite overtures from other councils because of the fantastic care we continue to get from the city council.

The continuing support we’ve received from the council’s business investment team translates into real added value for our business.”

Councillor Paul Watson, Leader of Sunderland City Council, said: “It’s been a difficult year throughout the country, but it’s the best possible news to know we’ve helped to bring thousands of new job opportunities and millions of pounds of new investment to our city. We’ve worked hard.”

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Left to right: ChocCards directors Gaye Shakeshaft and Laura Kemp

>> Order book choc-a-bloc Directors of an award-winning North East firm have revealed how they have spent £50,000 prize money on the ingredients they hope will create the perfect business recipe in 2012.

After being named as regional winner of Barclays One Small Step competition in 2011, Sunderland-based ChocCards has invested almost the full amount back into the business, including the development of a website which allows customers to design and brand their own fine Belgian chocolate for any occasion.

The family business, run by mother and daughter Gaye Shakeshaft and Laura Kemp, has also signed major contracts with a number of local suppliers, in order to build on the framework they have created since starting the business in 2008.

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Laura Kemp, managing director at ChocCards, said: “Whilst building the business over the last few years, we have used chocolate made in Scotland bought via a distributor in the Midlands, as this was initially more costeffective for us. However, it was always our goal to source a local supplier who could meet our needs, offering more flexibility and a better end product for our clients.

“We have recently contracted Choc-affair, a fantastic artisan chocolate maker with green ideals, based in North Yorkshire. They will now supply all our Fair Trade chocolate made to fine Belgian recipes.

“This is part of a company-wide investment plan to drive the business forward by creating a network of like-minded suppliers, which was assisted a great deal by us winning the One Small Step competition.”

ChocCards, which supplies goods to the corporate market as well as for weddings and general celebrations, was announced as winner of the Barclays One Small Step national competition in August 2011, beating off stiff competition from other SMEs across the North East. The duo set the wheels in motion for a full web redevelopment soon afterwards.

Kemp added: “User experience sits at the heart of our business; our clients must feel that they have created something unique and highly personal. We knew that an online system where customers could create their product before having it delivered to them would work for us, but we also knew that to develop this to the standard we required would be expensive. The competition prize gave us the funds to make the investment necessary, which was a dream come true.”

ChocCards has worked alongside Newcastlebased media agency Union Room to create a site where users can design and order ChocCards products. Again, it was important to the directors that a local firm was brought on board to do the job.

Kemp said: “We know what it’s like to be an SME in the North East, so when we became winners and had the prize money to spend, supporting other local businesses whilst developing our own was very important.

It’s fantastic to work alongside other firms, operating on similar scales to our own, in order to drive ChocCards forward.”

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>> Pilot scheme ready to fly

Maxim Brewery managing director Mark Anderson, left, with councillor Henry Trueman, deputy leader, Sunderland City Council

>> Maximising the opportunities – over a pint Maxim Brewery in Sunderland is tasting national success following its first order from one of the UK’s leading restaurant and pub companies, Mitchell and Butler, to supply its pubs across the country.

The order means that cask-conditioned Double Maxim – first brewed in 1901 – will be available in pubs outside the North of England for the first time.

It is the latest success for the brewery, which set up at Rainton Bridge four years ago with help from Sunderland City Council, to carry on the legacy of brewing in Sunderland.

Maxim Brewery managing director Mark Anderson, former financial director of Vaux Brewery, has led the company’s steady expansion to be one of the largest independent brewers in the North East.

Following the closure of Vaux and Wards breweries in 1999, the company purchased the Double Maxim, Samson, Lambtons and Wards beer brands and recipes and with the flexible brewing facilities has built a reputation for creating new and special brews which have been snapped up by companies such as JD Wetherspoon.

Mark Anderson believes that Maxim Brewery owes a great deal to the active, commercially astute assistance of Sunderland City Council’s business investment team.

He said: “We looked far and wide for buildings which could take the complex requirements of a brewery.

“The City Council not only found us a

SUNDERLAND: MAKING CONNECTIONS

perfect building, but gave us great advice, and took the time to understand exactly what we needed.

“The Council’s business investment team has kept up its relationship with us as we’ve grown, and they are always supportive.

“We’re delighted that, with their practical help, we’ve been able to bring back some of the North East’s best known beers at our Sunderland brewery.

“We’re a thriving small business and we feel very much part of the city, which is important to us.”

Maxim Brewery is now supplying supermarkets as well as pubs and restaurants with its popular range of beers which include new labels Swedish Blonde and Maximus.

It is currently selling 400,000 bottles of beer a year and its aim is to double that amount over the next couple of years.

Maxim’s cask ale sales are also increasing which is giving the company the chance to introduce new brands to real ale pubs.

It is the only small UK brewery to send canned beer – Double Maxim – to China.

Because Maxim can produce small introductory orders quickly and flexibly it is able to enter markets which are more difficult for larger breweries to incorporate.

It also means that celebration brews such as its Stiff Tackle for the Rugby World Cup can be produced quickly and enjoyed at leisure by fans of participating rugby clubs and local cask ale pubs.

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Free, practical help and strategic support for smaller shop owners in Sunderland is being offered by the City Council working with retail specialists BSupplied.

The Business Support for Sunderland Shops scheme aims to boost business competitiveness, footfall and sales for the city’s independent shops.

Business Support for Sunderland Shops offers across the board business support to promote the long term success of a retail enterprise in Sunderland city centre.

Independent retailers with fewer than 10 employees in the city centre can improve their businesses through mentoring from retail experts, business planning advice, product development and diversification assistance, financial analysis, marketing strategy support, networking and Christmas planning support.

Councillor Paul Watson, leader of Sunderland City Council said: “A wide range of busy shops is the lifeblood of a dynamic city centre.

Smaller shops across the UK have suffered during the recession, and we have invested in our independent retailers to ensure they have the business skills, strategies and practical help they need to help them thrive in the future.”

Sunderland City Council’s business investment team brought in Sunderland-based BSupplied to deliver the work. Business Support for Sunderland Shops is already making a difference, according to Sunderland retailers who have taken part in the pilot scheme.

Angela Green, owner of Canny Cakes, said: “Without the support of the Business Support for Sunderland Shops scheme I would no longer be trading.”

Canny Cakes is a cake-making and cakedecorating shop which was recovering from the effects of a flood that had destroyed stock and interrupted business. Through the Business Support for Sunderland Shops pilot scheme it profited from a full assessment of the business.

The support package included business mentoring and personal development for Angela that led to business growth. Stock levels were reviewed and a new merchandising plan was implemented.

Angela said: “Before the programme I was an expert cake maker and today I am not only >>

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a specialist in my sector but manage the shop based on operating a successful retail business.

The support came at the right time for my personal and business development.”

The Uniform Shop, a well-established, profitable local retailer that supplies school and work wear, needed more space to continue its growth. The owner Margaret Metcalfe has owned shops in the city centre for more than 40 years.

As a result of taking part in the Business Support for Sunderland Shops pilot scheme Margaret was helped through the entire relocation process to new premises identified by the retail programme. Once a property had been selected, terms were negotiated and a time plan agreed for relocation.

Dave Crompton, from Bsupplied, said: “Relocating to new premises can be very disruptive for businesses taking into account the additional workload while continuing to operate the shop on a day-to-day basis.”

Margaret Metcalfe welcomed the support.

She said: “Because of the extra workload it was good to have someone with experience of both business development and properties to advise and support me during the project.”

The shop successfully relocated and is now trading from new premises in Derwent Street.

Steve Gibson, the owner of Sunderland Scuba Centre, received help through the pilot scheme to develop new sales channels, including linking up with the University of Sunderland to offer diving courses to students.

He said: “It was interesting to listen to someone not involved with the business make their own informed suggestions on how to improve profitability and customer service.”

To be eligible, a retailer must operate within Sunderland city centre, have fewer than 10 employees, not be part of a national chain, operate within the day-time economy, and have traditional retail premises which it either owns or leases.

Angela Green, owner of Canny Cakes, Sunderland, with councillor Paul Watson, leader of Sunderland City Council

>> Off and running on a bespoke fitness programme Sports training is enjoying a boom despite the economic hard times at the North East Business & Innovation Centre (BIC).

“Whilst the tough economic conditions continue to burden businesses of all shapes and sizes, there are certainly indications that pockets of growth exist in areas that I don’t think anyone would have predicted prior to the recession,” says Chris Craig, business adviser at the North East BIC. “For example, at the BIC we have seen something of a boom in the amount of sports coaching businesses we have assisted in 2011.”

One of the sport-related businesses which the BIC has helped to get up and running is Sport TrainER, which provides bespoke programmes for individuals who participate in sport and exercise and also experienced athletes.

After a successful sports career spanning over 20 years, director Ivor Harkin focuses on evolving concepts of traditional training methods and providing services based around individualised, achievable goals, encompassing nutrition, stretching and evaluation of fitness.

He says: “When I originally began competing in athletics as a middle distance runner, I

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constantly queried the prescribed coaching schedule and the lack of individuality in the sessions – consequently I spent a considerable amount of my time either injured or having

Left to right: BIC business adviser Chris Craig with Ivor Harkin, who has started Sport TrainER upper respiratory tract infections. I am now aware that I spent my career as a college athlete both over-reaching and over-training.

As a result, I try to ensure that all the clients and athletes under my care build solid foundations to improve performance consistently over time.”

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Having previously worked with the Lawn Tennis Associations academy players to introduce them to the concepts of sports-specific training, and the need to integrate sports sciences including biomechanics, sports psychology, physiological evaluation and strength and conditioning, Harkin currently works as a sports scientist at University of Sunderland, which he will continue to do alongside growing his business.

“I am already working with a range of clients, from competitive triathletes, to fun-runners with eyes on the Great North Run, and individuals recovering from surgery to people who just wish to tone up a little,” he says.

Chris Craig has worked with several other health and fitness-related businesses over the past months, including Armageddon Fitness.

He draws a direct correlation between the recession and a shift towards customer interest in traditional one-to-one sports coaching, which until recently had become marginalised by corporate gyms and large-scale providers.

“I think what we are seeing here is a return to more traditional and affordable access to leisure and competitive activities,” he says.

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OVERVIEW

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new living room

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OVERVIEW

Sunderland can look backwards with satisfaction to the year that has gone and forward with optimism to that which has begun with key building blocks in place, says Peter Jackson

Sunderland began life as a port and, as such, it has always lived, and for a long time prospered, through its connections to the wider world.

It is then unsurprising that it is through making connections, on a number of levels, that it is laying the foundations of its new economy.

There could hardly be a greater physical embodiment of that than the announcement towards the end of last year by the Department for Transport that it would be backing Sunderland City Council’s £85.2m bid for a new bridge over the Wear. This will link the Wessington Way, A1231 at Castletown on the north bank of the river with the European Way, B1405, at Pallion on the south bank.

This will be an iconic landmark for the city as well as opening up key sites on the south bank for regeneration and will provide a vital link in the Sunderland Strategic Transport Corridor.

But the year also saw another significant development with the announcement that Sunderland will be building a virtual bridge to the cyber world. It has reached an agreement with partner BT that superfast broadband will be rolled out to almost the entirety of the city by the close of this summer, bringing speeds which will attract businesses, students and new residents.

In addition to this, the city has continued to develop its personal links with the wider world, particularly building on its relationships with Harbin in North East China and >>

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Nanjing, near Shanghai. It is also renewing its friendship agreement with Washington DC. This is in addition to building on its long standing relationships with Saint-Nazaire in France and Essen in Germany. The benefits of superconnectivity and overseas links will not be as obvious, in a physical sense, as the new bridge, and physical construction is key to Sunderland’s success.

Only about 16% of Sunderland’s employed work in the city centre, which is less than half of the proportion of Newcastle, a city with an international reputation for its vibrancy. The regeneration of the 26-acre former Vaux Brewery site and the neighbouring Farringdon

Row could, however, create, over 15 years, something like 6,000 jobs in the centre, which would bring the proportion employed there up to around 20% and this would be approaching the concentration of Leeds.

Clearly these developments will depend heavily on the health of the commercial property and financial markets but, when they do recover, the ground work has been done.

Cllr Paul Watson says: “We cannot swim against the tide. There was a time when there was lots of money about and you could almost make something happen by getting gap funding from the RDA but that money’s just not there any more. I think things, by and

We have to make sure that with the physical investments in the city centre that we have more people working, living and spending long-term there.

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large, have now got to ‘wash their own face’ before they are going to get kicked off, but we are talking to people all the time and there are promising people inquiring about what could be done here.’’

City Council deputy chief executive Janet Johnson adds: “Despite the economic climate, I’m quite pleased by the number of people who are having a look at Sunderland from an overall investment point of view. We are doing all that we can – politicians and officers working together – to bring these investments forwards.’’

It is not, however, simply a question of creating employment in the city centre, but also of having a distinct vision of what kind of city Sunderland is to be. Here the economic masterplan is clear, it envisages “a new kind of university city”, which is open, inclusive, lively and attractive.

Johnson says: “That creates the right environment for investment and this is a key priority. An emphasis on reinvesting in and revitalising the city centre, and a lot of the work that we have done over the course of >>

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OVERVIEW

There was a time when there was lots of money around and you could almost make something happen by getting gap funding from the RDA

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the last year has both encouraged and helped the ongoing activity around the festivals and events associated with bringing people in the city centre. At the same time we have to make sure that with the physical investments in the city centre that we have more people working, living and spending long-term there.’’

Watson echoes her view: “Looking at the economic master plan and looking at the ambition to make Sunderland a city where people want to live, then the whole package has to be there. We are, for example, very proud of the green open spaces and, over the past few years, multi-millions of pounds have been spent on Mowbray Park and Barnes Park and other parks to keep this a light open area and a healthy green city.

“To pull these people in and to make this a liveable city, we have to make sure the whole of the infrastructure is there. For the better value-added jobs we are trying to pull into the city with bigger disposable incomes we need to get the better housing offer. Also, the people who have got these jobs want the housing, want the restaurants in the city centre, want the theatre and want to live a life commensurate with their status and income.’’

So the economic master plan seeks to concentrate on the city’s strengths and on the sectors where the greatest opportunities for growth lie in order to create those higher value jobs. For example, it identifies electronic vehicle production and the low-carbon economy, given a further fillip last year by the announcement of the new low-carbon Enterprise Zones.

It also aims to build up the city’s already formidable software sector, again boosted during the course of the year by the super connectivity deal with BT and by the creation of the city cloud in partnership with IBM. Other areas identified in the plan are healthcare and cultural and creative, including the contemporary music scene.

A regenerated university city will encourage the creation and relocation of jobs, so well-paid jobs will drive the further development of a modern vibrant city.

Councillor Watson points out: “The underpinning principle of the economic master plan is that this can’t happen unless it’s a

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prosperous city.

“People can’t go to the theatre if they haven’t got the cash to go. So we are absolutely pushing ahead with the big stuff – Nissan, the A19 corridor, the enterprise zone, the Port of Sunderland. These, for me, are absolutely the crown jewels and family silver of the public infrastructure to make the city tick and make it work.

“As an authority we should be providing these things, which then create an atmosphere for private business to come in and thrive and be successful. They will if they have the right kind of roadways, if they have the right kind of infrastructure and office space and supply chain. So, it’s our job to be the oil that lubricates the engine that allows the private sector to function.

In getting the green light for the new bridge,

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the City Council has not only secured an essential piece of the infrastructure to help create this virtuous circle of regenerated city and thriving business, it has secured a banner which will give physical form to Sunderland’s confident grasping of its own future by building those vital connections.

As Councillor Watson says: “Yes we have the National Glass Centre, we have Penshaw Monument, we have other bits and pieces but this is contemporary, it brings us to the present day, it shows the city and the wider region that we are an integral part and have a role to play. It embraces the city and pulls it into this regional offer, it’s something unique and something that people will adopt and have pride in. It brings a sense of place for ourselves and enhances the pride that we have always had.’’ n

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one-city approach

It’s a very good example of the council identifying a need for ourselves then also creating an environment where businesses can thrive

Sunderland’s economic masterplan has been in place for a year now.

Peter Jackson talks to the City Council and reports on progress

It has not been a good year for the global economy but Sunderland’s economic masterplan was drawn up in the full knowledge that money would be tight and business challenging.

However, the period began and ended with good news. By the end of 2010 it was known that the long-running battle over the Vaux site had been resolved with Tesco agreeing to sell it to One North East.

Then, as 2011 drew to a close, the Department for Transport announced that it would back the City Council’s £85.2m bid for the new bridge over the Wear.

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It’s hard to exaggerate the importance of these breakthroughs.

Cllr Paul Watson says: “The economic masterplan was based on the determinants of prosperity and economic success. It gave us a road map and with that we could start moving on and acquiring the areas we needed and getting the Vaux site was a great start.’’

And, talking about the bridge, deputy chief executive Janet Johnson says: “The bridge isn’t just an important piece of transport infrastructure, it’s actually as much about regeneration and the opening up of sites >>

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along the southern bank of the river. That’s where the next phase of the development will need to be.’’

Regeneration of Sunderland city centre is a central plank of the masterplan. Jobs created in new industries, though obviously welcome, have tended to be concentrated away from the city’s core.

This has resulted in only about 16% of the city’s total employment being located in the centre, compared to about 25% for Leeds or even 33% for Newcastle. It has been estimated that developing the Vaux and Farringdon Row sites would create up to 6,000 city centre jobs, simultaneously drawing in high quality professional and retail businesses.

Sunderland arc laid the groundwork in acquiring strategic sites and the Vaux site acquisition and green light for the bridge represent the final pieces in the jigsaw.

Regeneration of the city centre will meet a central aim of the masterplan – the creation of higher quality jobs in a greater range of industries. In the wake of Nissan’s decision to make Sunderland the first European plant to manufacture the LEAF electric car and to invest £200m in building an electric car battery plant in Washington, then the government’s decision that the UK’s Low Carbon Economic Area for ultra-low carbon vehicles would be centred on Sunderland and finally the announcement of a low-carbon Enterprise Zone to take in part of the city, the economic opportunities for Sunderland are plain.

As part of this low-carbon agenda the plan also envisages the Port of Sunderland becoming a centre for servicing a burgeoning offshore wind industry in predevelopment survey work, the establishment of supply chain, in manufacture and assembly, and then in installation and ongoing maintenance.

Also building on established strengths, the city seeks to attract and encourage the growth of software businesses through Software City and the University of Sunderland.

Healthcare and the creative and cultural sectors are also identified in the masterplan.

The contemporary music scene is growing in the city and will reinforce the aim for Sunderland to become a university city.

Happily for the success of the masterplan, the Vaux site acquisition and the bridge

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go-ahead have not been the only pieces of good news this year.

US Lear Corporation chose Sunderland as the location for a multi-million pound investment programme in its first UK manufacturing facility for vehicle seating, leading to the creation of 300 skilled jobs. Initially the company will supply seating foam for Nissan’s Sunderland plant in Washington.

We must provide reasons for people from a wider area to come here.

Being a city is not so much about having a charter or a cathedral, it’s more about what you do than what you have

The City Council is also driving forward the encouragement of software businesses.

Janet says: “We have made a number of investments such as the incubator for software businesses which is based in the city centre. It’s one of a number of incubators for software businesses we have, one of the others being Evolve at Rainton Bridge which is very successful. This will see space for more than 60 companies in the centre of Sunderland, growing and moving on in software business.’’

But even more significant for the nurturing of the digital economy have been a commitment, with BT, to super-connect Sunderland with high speed broadband, bringing a superfast broadband service to 90% of homes and businesses in the city by the summer of 2012.

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Also, with IBM, the City Council has agreed to build the city’s own computing cloud facility, one of the first of its kind in Europe. It will allow residents to access services and information more quickly. Businesses will also benefit through the ability to increase capacity without investing in new infrastructure, training personnel or licensing new software.

“The BT arrangement will make sure that Sunderland as a city is the first super connected city in the whole of the UK,’’ says Janet. “That clearly means a lot to the council, but also opens up all sorts of opportunities for Sunderland residents, businesses looking to invest in Sunderland, and students looking at which university to come and study at. The speeds of broadband connectivity will be extremely impressive with download speeds of up to 40MB per second and upload speeds of up to 15MB per second.

“We have also signed this deal with IBM which will see a city cloud built for Sunderland that will house all of the City Council’s computing needs and also means that we have an offer for other businesses as well as voluntary and community sector organisations, to have a very low cost entry which would see their requirements fulfilled by the cloud.

“It’s a really vital piece of infrastructure for us but it’s a very good example of the council identifying a need for ourselves but then also creating an environment in which business can thrive.

“We needed to invest in a new network for ourselves and we also needed to invest in a new corporate computing model. By using our small investments to encourage some of the bigger players and leading edge technology companies in this business to come and invest in Sunderland we think we have got far more for Sunderland than just the amount of our spend.’’

The City Council plans to build on these successes over the coming months and years.

It is performing remedial work on the Vaux site, which will then be tidied up and, as a temporary cosmetic measure, will be grassed over with some footpaths covering it and with car and coach parking at the western end.

“It will provide a more pleasing aspect into the city centre and people will also be able to

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INTERVIEW

The economic masterplan was based on the determinants of prosperity and economic success.

It gave us a road map and with that we could start moving on

enjoy it as a space, but it will be very much a temporary arrangement while we take the site out to market,’’ says Johnson.

“We are also planning the first phase of servicing for the site which includes an increased electricity supply and road realignment and so on. Clearly we need to get these developments done before we can bring it forward for development.’’

There are plans for improved retail, restaurant, leisure and cultural facilities around the Minster quarter and a report on the Holmeside Triangle has confirmed that it should be a mixed use development for a variety of city centre users, including retail, leisure and learning opportunities and the City Council is in discussion with the Homes and

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Communities Agency which is the main property owner on the site.

The 12-acre clifftop Farringdon Row site, which HM Courts Service owns, is believed to be waiting for the necessary funding to go ahead with its planned £80m courts complex.

“It’s still one of their priorities and we are in constant dialogue with them,’’ says Johnson.

“Over the course of this last year we have approved a regeneration masterplan for the Seaburn area that will see us release a very major investment opportunity for housing, leisure and family resort-type investment in the area south of Morrisons down to the Marriot hotel.’’

But regeneration is about more than bricks and mortar and infrastructure.

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Councillor Watson explains how the City Council hopes to create a university city.

“We want to connect the campuses of the university with the city centre to pull more of the students into the city and that will give the city a younger, more vibrant, more 21st century feel.

“We also want it to be family friendly with a public square-type of atmosphere where people can celebrate occasions.

“We must provide reasons for people from the wider area to come here, for example by putting up giant TV screens for the Olympics and Paralympics allowing people to express themselves in the city.

“Being a city is not so much about having a charter or a cathedral, it’s more about what you do than what you have.’’ n

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aim for the sky Sunderland’s economic masterplan has partnership at its heart, as Vince Taylor explains to Peter Jackson

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Vigorous business lobbying helped secure government backing for Sunderland’s new bridge. But this did not just reflect local patriotism on the part of the city’s businesses, it also represented something of a triumph for Sunderland’s Economic Leadership Board, according to Vince Taylor, head of strategy and performance at the City Council.

The creation of this board was central to the economic masterplan and to Aim 5 of the plan – “a one city approach to economic leadership”.

And the board is made up of the most senior and influential of the citys’ leaders including the City Council leader Paul Wilson who chairs it, supported by the chief executive and deputy chief executive; the university vice chancellor; the chief executive of the City Hospitals Trust and Gentoo’s chief executive. From the private sector come Trevor Mann, the senior vice-president of Nissan Europe; the finance director of Arriva; Paul Callaghan from the Leighton Group; Kevin Gatens from EDF Energy; Gerald Jennings from Land Securities, which own the Bridges shopping centre; Gary Hutchinson from Sunderland AFC, who is also Sunderland chairman for the North East Chamber of Commerce; the director of care services for Sunderland Home Care; and David Laws, chief executive of Newcastle International Airport.

“We said we would find a way of working together with the key institutions as well as

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businesses within the city to make sure that this economic vision in the master plan is at the heart of policy making in the city,’’ explains Taylor.

“It’s also a form of shared leadership, so instead of the council trying to control everything, it’s about different organisations taking leadership roles in key aspects.’’

Different members of the board lead on different aims of the masterplan, with, for example, University of Sunderland leading on Aim 1 – “a new kind of university city”, and Gentoo leading on Aim 4: – “an inclusive city economy for all ages”.

The board is also examining ways in which it could influence government policy on city development.

boards, he wanted it to be made up of the influential businesses and institutions in the city, the ones who could deliver change.’’

He believes it to be different from other such boards throughout the UK because of the strength of private sector representation.

Also the seniority of the people involved – with Trevor Mann heading not just a UK but European operation – makes a huge difference, not only in the quality of experience and expertise but also in that the representatives can speak for and commit their organisations.

The board, which meets every two months, reviews in depth a project update on a particular aim of the economic master plan at each meeting and takes up other issues as

Councillor Paul Watson, Leader of Sunderland City Council, with members of the city’s Economic Leadership Board Taylor says: “An early decision was taken that it should have on it the key institutions and significant businesses that could make a real difference to the city. Instead of setting it up as a representative board it was about identifying those businesses that were making and would make a difference to the city.

“It’s a different way of working from what we have been used to and the leader was very clear from the start that that’s what he wanted to achieve; he didn’t want it to be like other

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they arise. It will then make recommendations for the lead group and project managers.

For example, in trying to meet the challenge of graduate unemployment, the university has set up an internship scheme and, having introduced that at one meeting, other members have offered internships.

The Business Group, a group independent of the Economic Leadership Board, and which is chaired by Gary Hutchinson, is examining the possibilities of a Business Improvement District

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INTERVIEW

in Sunderland, which has been enthusiastically supported by the board.

Gentoo leads the group charged with Aim 4 – “an inclusive city economy for all ages” for which issues are likely to involve more than one agency. For instance, considering debt levels across the city and the activities of loan sharks would require a number of agencies to work together, but they would be led by Gentoo.

“These convening groups, which the Aim groups are, is about saying how can we work together to make sure we are lining up what we are doing and we are tackling some of the critical problems as they come to light,’’ says Taylor.

He also cites the example of the concerts held at the Stadium of Light.

“Gary Hutchinson (board member and SAFC commercial director) came to the board and said we have landed these big concerts – how can we get the best benefit for the city out of them? He didn’t have to do that.’’

Apart from working to make the masterplan reality and reacting to specific issues such as the bridge or the concerts, the board also has a role in strategic thinking for the city.

In March it will hold its first overall review meeting, having covered all the separate plan aims during the year.

“We started off with the university leading on Aim 1 and the Council leading on Aims 2, 3 and 4 and we are now changing that to bring in another partner,” says Taylor. “The board has developed a clearer mandate for the aim groups so they are clearer about what they need to do, so there have been some tweaks.’’

But he is convinced the board has satisfied the expectations created when it was set up and that both the public and private sector bodies have learnt valuable lessons from serving on it.

He says: “It’s challenging. You can’t get away with anything and if the board members think that something’s not quite right, then we stay there until we get it right. People are willing and able to challenge and we have difficult discussions and that level of challenge is very welcome because it produces results and that’s a learning exercise for all of us. When we put our minds to one city leadership, we can do it and it works.’’ n

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all ship shape Paul Sinclair has seen great changes in Sunderland, and the manager of the city’s Handelsbanken branch looks forward to greater things to come >>

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Paul Sinclair is Sunderland born and bred and is aware that his office in the Quay West Business Park is on the site of the old Austin and Pickersgill shipyard.

He says: “I remember standing on this site and waving a flag at the Queen’s Silver Jubilee in 1977 because I had relatives who worked there and my grandfather was a shipbuilder on the other side of the river at Doxfords, so my family is steeped in Sunderland history.’’

That family history and background makes him acutely conscious of the radical changes that have occurred in the city in the 35 years since those Jubilee celebrations, including the demise of those very shipyards in which his relatives worked.

“There have been massive changes in the city and the fundamental change was the disappearance of our old traditional industries which were predominantly shipbuilding and coal mining and now just don’t exist at all,’’ he says.

“When we got the call to open the Sunderland office, I stood on top of the National Glass Centre and it struck me that there was just nothing on the river compared to when I was growing up as a lad.’’

This, of course, was more than a matter of industrial archaeology, for every lost shipyard and colliery also meant the loss of thousands of associated jobs. Sinclair, however, pays tribute to Sunderland City Council for having reacted swiftly and decisively to try to cushion the blow.

“When those industries disappeared within a very short space of time, the council brought Nissan into Sunderland. The building of Doxford International as a job replacement exercise was very effective. I believe that what was done in that short space of time, with some government support, was very good.’’

What was done resulted in Sunderland becoming home to new industries and new skills.

Sinclair says: “The change in industry and industrial profile has been significant. We have gone from coal mining and shipbuilding to high technology industries and I class Nissan in that category.

“We have many jobs created in the call centre industry, primarily at Doxford International, although they are relatively

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There have been massive changes in the city and the fundamental change was the disappearance of our traditional industries, predominantly shipbuilding and coal mining

low-paid jobs compared to the old manufacturing industries.’’

But the end of the old industries also meant that the city centre had been drained of much of its vitality.

“The major change we have subsequently seen and which is still ongoing is the

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disappearance of business from the city centre and I think that is a huge challenge facing Sunderland as a city at the moment,” says Sinclair. “We have a number of brownfield sites in the city and that is something that concerns me not only as someone with a business in Sunderland but also as someone who lives here.’’

“We had a Sunderland professional services district which still exists to some degree around Foyle Street and Frederick Street and that has been eroded in the recent past. The big law firms and accountancy firms have grown in Newcastle but the professional community in Sunderland has suffered. As a banker, I would encourage Sunderland businesses to use Sunderland professionals because we need that sector to be vibrant within the city.’’

He believes the regeneration of the city centre is the greatest challenge facing the City Council, but, for example, the new software centre in Tavistock Place shows what can be achieved in bringing jobs back into the city centre. Now he looks for similar regeneration in Sunniside, Vaux, Farringdon Row, the Port and the Holmeside Triangle.

“Holmeside was one of the foremost retail areas in the city and I remember going down there as a lad to buy my trendy outfits to go out at the weekend, but it seems to have lost any kind of focus in that respect,’’ he says.

“So there remain a number of sites around the town that need inward investment.’’

It is therefore great news for Sunderland’s regeneration that the Department for Transport announced in December that it would be backing the City Council’s £85.2m bid for the new Wear Crossing. It is confidently hoped that the new bridge will open up regeneration sites along the south bank of the Wear and bring forward fresh investment in Sunderland.

“I’m really pleased that the new bridge is going to happen,” says Sinclair. “It will undoubtedly bring inward investment into the city and I think that it’s something that in time will become iconic and associated with Sunderland like the Angel of the North at Gateshead.

“A big positive for Sunderland is that we have a loyal population and Sunderland people >>

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want to do their business in Sunderland. We have a big population in the borough and if local people invest in the city, the city will prosper. We have some very successful local companies and there is opportunity to look at some of the sites in the city centre and offer them relocation allowing them to invest and maybe build headquarters.’’

The city’s local patriotism and determination to help itself is, he believes, one of its greatest strengths and this is illustrated by the Sunderland Business Group, of which he is a member. Similar to a group set up in Manchester, the SBG meets monthly and engages with the City Council and University of Sunderland.

“The group was set up at the initiative of Sunderland AFC, which is one of our city’s great strengths and a top business driver.

The football club brings a substantial number of visitors to the city on a regular basis and, having established the Stadium of Light as a summer concert venue, is a major contributor to the city economy all year round. They wanted to set up a group that was very much in the private sector which could think more creatively unhindered by red tape.”

The group, set up about 12 months ago, has considered a number of initiatives and identified two projects that it plans to put into operation in the near future. It seeks to copy the Newcastle and Manchester models of Business Improvement Districts (BIDs). Funded by contributions from businesses, this would aim at improvements such as signposting in the city and the “greeter” service to encourage use of the city centre.

It is also planning a Growth Hub to provide business support and advice and will apply to the European Regional Development Fund for funding.

“It will be a hub to promote growth across all businesses in Sunderland,” says Sinclair.

“At one level we would work with business start-ups and also engage with the likes of Gentoo and Arriva to look at their staffing needs and what types of employees they want. The council is very much on board with what we are doing and has offered its support.

We are trying to put the rubber on the road now and we are looking to move that forward within the next few months.’’

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A big positive is Sunderland people want to do their business in Sunderland.

We have a big population in the borough and if local people invest in the city, the city will prosper Paul Sinclair also singles out the university for praise.

“They are an award-winning university and their pharmacy course in particular is one of the top in the country and they are moving up the university rankings on a year-to-year basis. They are very active in the city and are involved in the business groups and have become another very important part of our local economy.’’

He also points out the obvious importance of Nissan to the city economy and this can only be enhanced by the decision to centre production of the LEAF electric car in Washington and the creation of the low-carbon Enterprise Zone.

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All these strengths he argues will succeed in overcoming Sunderland’s great problem – its image.

“The historical view of Sunderland is that we are a hard working, working-class community and one of the key challenges for the city is to shake off that perception. Sunderland has a lot to commend it and we have a lot of good things going on and we have to throw off that historical view. The world has changed and Sunderland has changed along with it.’’ n All the opinions in this article are the subjective views of the interviewee and have not been independently verified or corroborated; they are not necessarily shared by the author’s employer, Svenska Handelsbanken AB (publ)

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The average abandonment rate is 60%, so for the average online retailer, every £1 they make, £1.50 walks away, so we have a huge amount to run at. That’s what really drives our business

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proceed to checkout SaleCycle is a Sunderland company which has seen extraordinary growth and is going global, as Peter Jackson discovers talking to managing director Dominic Edmunds As Dominic Edmunds says, the beauty of the idea behind SaleCycle is its simplicity.

“I’m not surprised that it has been such a success because it’s the kind of business idea – and there are only very few of them – that you can actually explain to your mother-in-law, your wife or brother and they get it.’’

SaleCycle has developed an online tool to recover sales from online shopping carts – internet site purchases which are placed in carts but never make it to the checkout. As much as 60% of would-be online purchases are left in carts and do not become sales.

Typically this could be because the shopper is deterred by shipping costs which are only revealed towards the end of the purchase process or it can even be a distraction such as the doorbell or telephone ringing.

The company monitors the abandoned carts and creates personalised emails of the potential purchase to remind the buyer of their choice.

This has proved enormously effective. In the 22 months since it was founded SaleCycle has recovered more than 150,000 sales, generating upwards of £15m of revenue

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for its clients. The results of its interventions can increase turnover of individual customers by up to 7.5% a year.

“The average abandonment rate is 60%, so for the average online retailer every £1 they make, £1.50 walks away, so we have a huge amount to run at,’’ says Edmunds. “That’s what really drives our business because if we increase online sales by 4.5%, that’s a relatively small percentage, but it’s a relatively small percentage of a very big number.’’

This has appealed to retailers and has supported impressive growth for the Rainton Bridge based company, part of the Leighton group of companies. It is the fastest growing part of the Leighton Group, which includes the Communicator Corporation and the Workcast Corporation.

SaleCycle has grown from four to 24 staff and seen revenue exceed expectation by more than 200% in its first 22 months and now has an annual turnover of £1.5m. It has expanded >>

Strong in software Leader of Sunderland City Council, Councillor Paul Watson, said: “SaleCycle is an innovative, sustainable business with a confident future.

It is fantastic news that Sunderland nurtures market-leading global companies such as this, and that the city provides the support, talented people and premises to help them succeed. SaleCycle’s soaring success shows why Sunderland is such as strong choice as a location for start-up businesses and for the software sector.”

Gerard Callaghan, SaleCycle director, says: “Sunderland is a great location for us. Most of our staff come from all corners of the region and this city is a pretty central destination.

“The City Council has genuinely been very supportive and has helped us from day one, both here and in the US.”

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into a second floor of offices at Rainton Bridge and it aims to recruit a further 15 employees in 2012. It has about 150 retail clients, including Malmaison, Hotel du Vin, All Saints, Laura Ashley, Goldsmiths, JJB Sports, Monsoon and Comet and it operates across more than 60 countries Apart from Sunderland, SaleCycle has offices in London and Washington DC and will be opening a Singapore office in March this year.

Next year it plans to take on an additional 37 staff and is forecasting that turnover will increase from £1.5m to £15m.

Edmunds is evangelical about SaleCycle’s service.

“We are not selling software or services, we are selling revenue,” he says. “The economy is tough and people will give their right arm for another 4.5%. We only charge for each recovered sale, there’s no separate fee or set-up fee, so if it doesn’t work, the client will pay nothing.’’

He explains how the follow-up emails work.

“What we identify with the various clients is a sweet spot and that sweet spot will vary not only by sector but also by client and vary over time so one of our clients may say buy now to take advantage of an offer. We email people 20 minutes after the abandonment because that is the most effective time, but in six months it may be 28 minutes. We are collecting a goldmine of data which allows us to shape campaigns.’’

The company does not recommend incentives to customers as independent studies show that this will drive up abandonment. It works on a quick, dedicated monitoring, tracking and recovery programme and a personalised approach to prompt purchasers to buy.

Edmunds says: “We don’t recommend sending an email to a shopper 20 minutes after abandonment saying come back and we’ll give you 5% off – that is not the way to make money. Offering incentives can be very dangerous, it increases the cost of recovering sales and it incentivises abandonment.’’

SaleCycle has also created a Live Campaign Dashboard so that each client can log in around the clock to receive detailed, immediate evaluation of the performance, results and revenue generated for that client

by SaleCycle.

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Being first to market is the most important thing. If someone else was to jump in we are already 22 months ahead and where are we going to be in another 22 months?

The concept behind SaleCycle is simple but Edmunds is not afraid of competition.

“Being first to market is the most important thing,” he says. “If someone else was to jump in, we are already 22 months ahead of them and where are we going to be in another 22 months’ time? Also, there’s a difference between a simple idea and an easy idea. It’s a simple idea but the execution is complex and we have complex technology that allows us to do what we do. We have a highly skilled team to run that technology and to run the sales

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and client service functions, there’s a lot goes on behind the scenes to deliver the service.’’

Sunderland City Council’s Business Investment team has worked with the company from the outset, finding suitable offices and working with the company to help it expand.

Edmunds says: “It has been very beneficial for us to have the support of the City Council.

Without it things would have been significantly more difficult and it would have restricted our growth considerably on an international scale.’’ n

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HANDELSBANKEN SUNDERLAND

Tailor made solutions

Our success is based on offering a high quality service to both corporate and individual customers, coupled with a flexible and innovative approach. We start from a blank canvas and build a bespoke solution, with all key decisions made locally by the branch.

Contact Sunderland branch to find out more.

Paul Sinclair

Branch Manager

Tel: 01915 480266

Andrew Scott

Corporate Banking Manager

Tel: 01915 480280

Susan Hewison

Individual Banking Manager

Tel: 01915 480404

www.handelsbanken.co.uk/sunderland

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Handelsbanken is the trading name of Svenska Handelsbanken AB (publ). Registered in England & Wales No. BR000589. Incorporated in Sweden with limited liability. Registered in Sweden No, 502 007 7862 Head office in Stockholm. Authorised by the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority (Finansinspektionen) and authorised and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Services Authority. Details about the extent of our authorisation and regulation by the Financial Services Authority are available from us on request.

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filling a vacuum in the global market

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Tiger economics: Managing director Bob Thompson and sales director Gary Ashton have taken Tiger Filtration by the tail

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One Sunderland company in traditional manufacturing is booming and selling its products around the world Sunderland-based Tiger Filtration is planning to expand and take on new skilled employees in the first quarter of 2012 as it continues to defy the recession.

The company which was set up only eight years ago and has grown on average 50% year-on-year, exports about 65% of its £1.25m annual turnover and was awarded the Queen’s Award for International Trade last year.

Tiger Filtration has 13 employees and is based in the Rivergreen Industrial Centre, Pallion.

Managing director Bob Thompson says: “In about four years we would like to have grown from where we are now to having a turnover of about £3m to £3.5m.’’

It designs and manufactures products for the compressed air and vacuum filtration markets and its alternative filter elements for in-line filtration, vacuum pumps and compressors are sold to customers in the US, Far East, Middle East and across Europe. It supplies sectors from pharmaceutical, medical, and offshore gas to general engineering.

Sales director Gary Ashton says: “We’ve launched three new products in the last month and our strategy is to continue entering new markets and creating products which spark a strong market response. Although we are a comparatively young company our senior team has more than 70 years of experience in our sector and we are using our market knowledge to grow in the future.”

Ashton is planning a visit to the Far Eastern and Australasian markets in March to continue to exploit growth opportunities.

The company is owned and run by three co-directors who each have extensive experience in the compressed air and vacuum filtration market.

Managing director Bob Thompson was operations manager for Walker Filtration and

by January 2004 had identified a niche in the market. Customers were demanding a next day delivery commitment across the full product range and were complaining that the established larger companies were failing in that.

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Hence Tiger Filtration was born, initially with Thompson at the helm and just two employees.

In 2004 he teamed up with current sales director Ashton who had worked for Gateshead-based filtration company Domnick Hunter and later Walker Filtration. He had spent many years developing overseas markets, specialising in the Far East.

It was during an exploratory trip to the Far East by Thompson that the inspiration came for the company’s name.

Thompson explains: “My first contacts in October 2003, before the company was officially formed were mainly in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. I met up with several prospective customers at a time when I didn’t even have a name for the company.

“People asked for the company name and as we were in what is known as the Tiger economy, I came up with the provisional name of Tiger Filtration. Later, when I picked four or five names for the new company and canvassed them among the customers, they nearly all said they preferred Tiger Filtration.‘’ In 2008, technical director Matthew Rowe joined the company to strengthen not only the technical capabilities of the company but also to introduce the certification and new software systems for accounts and design which were needed to support what was rapidly becoming a medium-sized enterprise.

Thompson says: “The first six months were the hardest, when I sometimes worked up to 90 hours a week, but I quickly realised that the global potential of the company had to be pursued straight away. Once Gary and Matthew came on board we entered new overseas markets and brought in new staff.

“Fulfilling special, one-off, bespoke requirements is a particular strength of ours.

We can offer a compressed air solution for just about anything a client wants and so we are not restricted to off the shelf solutions like many of our competitors. In fact there is nobody to touch us in terms of technical response and product delivery times.”

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Rowe adds: “It is certainly a compliment when one of your Chinese customers tells you that your speed of service and delivery outshines their local manufacturer. Couple this with a competitive price and a UK-manufactured product and everyone wins.”

Sunderland City Council helped Tiger Filtration from the outset, locating the company’s first plant at Stanfield Business Centre, and providing financial and practical assistance with start up and marketing costs.

Tiger Filtration moved into its current location at Rivergreen Industry Centre, Pallion, four years ago and took over an adjacent unit last year as the company continued to expand, doubling its floor space to more than 7,000sq ft.

Thompson believes that gradual expansion is stronger than sudden growth.

He says: “In seven years we have achieved a fantastic staff retention rate, only losing one employee in all that time. We’re proud of our first-class people, and they’re as motivated as I am about the company and its future plans.”

Leader of Sunderland City Council, councillor Paul Watson says: “Tiger Filtration is a great example of how businesses can set up and grow if they have the support they need when they need it. Tiger has a winning combination of skilled staff and superb products that makes it attractive to customers worldwide.

“It was fantastic news that the company won the Queen’s Award last year and it is great that it continues to build strongly, now announcing plans to expand in the New Year. In a competitive market Tiger Filtration has carved a strong niche.”

Thompson says: “We’ve stayed at Sunderland despite overtures from other councils because of the fantastic care we continue to get from the city council. The majority of our staff are Sunderland born and bred and we were delighted when the council helped us move into our premises. The continuing support we’ve received from the council’s business investment team translates into real added value for our business.” n

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Let this be the Sunderland Enterprise Bridge

Having had a few of the final words helping Sunderland to get its new iconic bridge across the Wear, BQ Magazine would also like now to suggest a name for it, writes Brian Nicholls What are we to call it then, this new icon of the North East? We can’t go on calling it the new Wear Crossing, surely? That sounds too much of a working title.

A name more auspicious seems called for, especially now that its reality nears. It follows on, after all, from Middlesbrough’s Temenos, Gateshead’s Angel of the North and Tyneside’s Millennium Bridge – the region’s growing array of iconic modern sculpture, architecture and engineering.

Bridges often send out messages, as with the magnificent Oresund Bridge (Europe’s longest for cars and trains) which represents also Sweden’s and Denmark’s friendship. As BQ got a few last words in to convince the Government it should back Wearside’s >>

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bridge to a sum of £82.6m, we’d now like to see it called the Sunderland Enterprise Bridge for five good reasons: • Sunderland heads the regional league for business start-ups • Over a decade it has attracted more inwardly invested jobs than elsewhere in the region • Two-thirds of these jobs brought with inward investment are in manufacturing, the Government’s “banker” bet to restore Britain’s economic equilibrium

• The bridge will stand near the existing Enterprise Park, a big contributor to the city’s post-shipbuilding renaissance • And it may also now mark a new era of engineering enterprise in the North East, just when the region’s fine tradition in that activity seemed to be sinking.

In the 1930s Depression the North East’s case for national recognition of its plight was implicit in the Jarrow March. Only images of that remain, though a major outcome was a development of the prosperous (to this day)

The icon that’s won hearts The new Forth bridge may pip the new North East bridge to a British record, but in acceptance there is no doubt which comes off best.

Whereas the Scots project has met some strong public opposition on grounds of cost, the Wear bridge appears to have wholehearted public backing. Indeed, Wearside folk who took part in a consultation rejected the proposal for a cheaper, basic design beam bridge suggested as part of Sunderland’s revival by regeneration agent Sunderland arc. They wanted it cable-stayed, iconically designed and hang the extra expense. Vox pop interviews affirm this.

More than a score of major firms and organisations also agree Sunderland needs something practical to identify with. They include: Nissan, Arriva, Newcastle Airport, Barclays, the North Eastern Local Enterprise Partnership, Tyne and Wear Integrated Transport Authority, the Sunderland Partnership, Sunderland University and the Business Innovation Centre.

Sunderland’s bridge will have a 336m span. The Forth bridge will stretch for 2,200m. It may also take a tramway if the Scots can build one more efficiently than they have done in Edinburgh!

Best news of all perhaps is that there will be no charges to users of the new Sunderland bridge.

An analysis in 2005 concluded tolls were not a viable option.

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Team Valley Estate at Gateshead. Given the region’s present need of construction work and jobs generally, the bridge could signal an enterprising presence, kick-starting a new era in Sunderland and the North East after the damage inflicted by global banking.

The bridge’s value to the region is stressed by the North East Local Enterprise Partnership.

Chairman Paul Woolston says it will also contribute to developing the low-carbon economic industry that Enterprise Zone status is bringing to Tyne and Wear area.

This spirit of regional enterprise is personified by the architect whose concept won the design competition that Sunderland City Council held. Stephen Spence, designer also of the Infinity Bridge over the Tees at Stockton, actually grew up at Simonside, South Shields, and attended schools at Hebburn and Tyne Dock. But his father once worked at Doxford shipyard, which would have been overlooked by the bridge had the yard survived.

Spence says: “It has always been an ambition of mine to put something positive back into the area where I grew up.”

Designed in association with structural engineers Techniker in 2005, the plans largely remained secret because of funding uncertainties until the Department for Transport, DfT, initially approved funding. Then local people got to consider it. That was in 2008, and in 2010 the City Council approved the planning application. Alas, the nation’s spending cuts intervened.

The final hurdle was cleared last December in a basement meeting room in SW1 at Westminster Hall, the oldest building on the estate we loosely call Parliament. For more than 900 years this hall has been significant in British history as major institutions of state have grown up in and around it.

And it’s here Sharon Hodgson, MP for Washington and Sunderland West, and a one-time clerk with Northern Rock, hosted a meeting circumspectly entitled Transport and Growth – How Landmark Schemes Can Lead Sustainable Economic Recovery. It was actually the final push for DfT backing for the bridge, and taking place just as the neighbouring Commons was hearing how little investment existed in the chancellor’s autumn statement for the North East.

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The persuaders: Members of the delegation that successfully pressed at Westminster Hall for state funds to secure Sunderland’s new bridge.

Undeterred, some two dozen invitees squeezed into room W1, whose discussion table couldn’t accommodate them all, but already it was clear Sunderland City Council was united in determination. Not only the Labour leader and deputy leader – councillors Paul Watson and Henry Trueman – argued the case but so, too, did the Conservative opposition leader and deputy leader Councillers Robert Oliver and Peter Wood.

And also round the table, displaying a four-foot Perspex model of the bridge, sat a phalanx of well-informed council officials led by chief executive Dave Smith, able in a trice to support the proposition with facts and figures. Present too, and raising issues as the city felt its way to final DfT acceptance, were representatives of bodies such as the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce and the Local Government Association. Oh no, you don’t just go ahead and build a bridge!

The transport secretary had said a year earlier

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The transport secretary had said that economic growth and jobs were vital factors, and that every pound invested can bring up to £4 in return that economic growth and jobs were vital factors, and it seems generally accepted what Sir Rod Eddington’s Keynes-inclined report to government five years ago had suggested – that every pound invested in infrastructure can bring up to £4 in return.

Minute by minute for an hour-and-a-half the case for the bridge strengthened, only occasionally punctuated by observations of caution or doubt. Could Sunderland deliver?

Its penchant for innovation is already recognised – the first city partner of BT in introducing next-generation wall to wall

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broadband, and the first British city getting a working partnership with IBM, for example.

It would be cost-controlled and delivered within the current spending review – three years. It met the Government’s priority for the UK of greater transport connectivity.

Compulsory purchase orders on land were currently going through. A contractor could be appointed within six months and only two months more would be needed to review and finalise details with the ministry.

Sunderland’s existing city centre bridges, the Wearmouth and the Alexandra, are often >>

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overstretched. This bridge, with dual carriageway and passage for pedestrians and cyclists, would bring Sunderland’s north and south banks closer, better integrating the city centre.

Seven or eight major sites below, derelict since shipbuilding ended, could be transformed for new businesses, and in the city’s aim for 1,000 new homes, up to 650 might go up soon instead of 400. Hotel development could be encouraged in the city, boosting visitor revenue.

The already reviving port would be advantaged to secure work resulting from the “new energy” industries by the faster approach to

the key A19 route, since the bridge forms part of the A1231 Wessington Way at Castletown on the north bank, and joins the B1405 European Way at Pallion on the south side.

Suburban road journeys will speed up. One delegate, a Washington resident, told how he can drive into Newcastle in 10 minutes, whereas getting into Sunderland city centre can take up to 45 minutes. Washington shoppers might thus boost Sunderland’s retail instead of Newcastle’s and Durham’s when they ventured further afield.

BQ, an official invitee to the meeting, felt two points needed further stressing – the rescue of civil engineering and construction in the

Bring on the local labour force Up to 6,000 jobs, permanent and temporary, will result during and after the construction at Sunderland, the city council believes.

North East companies used to be near-automatic choices in such construction work, like Dorman Long of Middlesbrough on Tyneside and Teesside’s Tyne and Newport Bridges in 1928 and 1934, or like Cleveland Bridge of Darlington on the King Edward VII and Transporter Bridges for Tyneside and Teesside in 1906 and 1911 (and indeed the earlier Forth Road Bridge in consortium in 1964).

But construction circles doubt any North East firm will put up this bridge single-handed. A joint venture is faintly possible. Opportunities in sub-contracting, however, are certain, and here at least Wearside surely must try to ensure a maximum North East involvement. Civil engineering work in the North East diminished by 28% – more than double the fall anywhere else in the country – between 2008 and 2010.

The region’s workforce, rich in expertise, had fallen by more than 20% in consequence. It might, without hope of something from the Sunderland announcement (and a simultaneously successful go-ahead for a northern bypass at Morpeth), have plunged even more, since a further 10% fall in work available in the North East was expected over the next two years.

Now at least Douglas Kell, director of the Civil Engineering Contractors’ Association (North East) can say: “The Sunderland start date of next October brightens the picture.”

The Forth’s contemporaneous bridge, cable-stayed like Sunderland’s and going up just west of the existing road bridge, is being assembled by a consortium of Dragados, Hochtief, American Bridge International and Morrison Construction (Spain, Germany, US, Scotland).

So there’s some indigenous involvement prominent there. That consortium also undertook to reserve jobs (among 1,200 likely) for vocational training, for professionals already trained and for long-term unemployed.

That 252 companies have already benefited from £20m engaged so far on the Scottish bridge indicates how a supply chain can benefit. Here in the North East already, the Surrey builder Willmott Dixon, in winning £61.5m of building work recently in Newcastle and Redcar (from the Northumbrian Police Authority and Redcar and Cleveland Council), has guaranteed half its labour force at least will be local.

The Scape Formula under which this applies stipulates also that at least half of a project’s value in these circumstances must remain local, spent within a 40-mile radius of the work and 75% within a 60-mile radius.

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North East, and the importance of this bridge if fullest advantage was to be gained for a new business district proposed on “the old Vaux site” nearby. Fewer than 17% of Sunderland jobs are in the city centre, compared with 33% in nearby Newcastle – unhelpful in attracting retail.

As BQ’s editor, I was able to disclose figures, only just compiled by the Civil Engineering Contractors Association in the North East, showing how desperately innovation like the bridge was needed to bolster the entire region’s infrastructure post-recession. The North East’s “civils” industry had warned of a potential “catastrophic collapse” unless job-creating projects like the £117.6m bridge materialised.

Retail and other businesses would also be more readily attracted to a redeveloped Vaux area, he added, if local travel was improved, and an iconic bridge existed to attract visitors.

The meeting closed, justifiably confident as it turned out, that these final deliberations would help win the Government’s approval.

Sunderland until now, oddly, has lacked a landmark to make it instantly recognisable even by people who have never been there.

The National Glass Centre, Ryhope Pumping Station, even St Peter’s Church at Wearmouth, 7th Century publishing house for the Venerable Bede, fail on this count.

There had been ambition to make the Sunderland bridge the world’s tallest. But as £16m-plus was hacked off the original estimate to win acceptance at Westminster it was shortened.

The current design is 187m and 137m for the towers, the city council having entered heights of no more than 190m and 140m in finalising a proposal that was felt to be acceptable.

So the French will continue to claim their Millau motorway viaduct at 343m as the tallest deck structure of all.

And, once dimensions were accepted for Scotland’s new Forth Road Bridge, Sunderland’s could not be called Britain’s tallest either.

However, its two independently curving steel towers, representing ship’s masts and the Wear’s nautical heritage, will make it the tallest of its kind in England – taller even than the Humber Bridge at 162m. n

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cloud cover For its digital future, Sunderland not only talks the talk, but with two significant developments, is also walking the walk – and hopes to be strides ahead, as Peter Jackson reports Sunderland has been at the forefront of ICT for years – with more technology start-ups than anywhere outside London – but, in recent months, has secured two developments of global significance.

In November it announced that it was to be the UK’s first city to offer wall-to-wall super-fast broadband coverage.

Thanks to `a significant commercial investment’ by BT a super-fast broadband will be brought to 90% of homes and businesses in the city by this summer and, when combined with the work of other providers and further planned development, this is confidently expected to reach 100%.

Within days of this announcement, the City Council also revealed that, in partnership with technology giant IBM, it will be providing a city-wide cloud computing platform to meet not only its own needs but also those of businesses and organisations in the city.

Chairman of the North Eastern LEP Paul Woolston said: “Sunderland is very much at the forefront of developing and growing the software industry in the North East and this is the latest example of partnership working which will create building blocks for economic growth. It raises our game to an international level and will assist the whole of the North East to attract investment and create opportunities for business across all sectors.’’

The City Council has worked closely

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with BT for a number of years and made the city a natural choice for a large scale broadband investment.

Super-fast broadband will be rolled out across the city using fibre to the cabinet (FTTC) and fibre to the premises (FTTP) technology. FTTC will provide speeds of up to 80MB per second and upload speeds of up to 30MB per second and FTTP will bring download speeds of up to 300MB per second.

“Super-fast broadband is almost perceived now to be the fourth utility service; it’s absolutely essential to business and not just technology businesses but to any businesses that are exchanging data or accessing services from the internet and that is becoming more and more the norm,’’ says Tom Baker, head of ICT for Sunderland City Council.

“It’s also vitally important to the Sunderland

story, to attracting university students to the city for whom it is a big draw, in the same way it is a big draw for people thinking about whether they should be buying a house in Sunderland or whether they should be buying one down the road.’’

Typically areas of super fast broadband enjoy a significantly higher rate of small business start up.

Baker cites the example of a games developer on the outskirts of Sunderland which does a lot of work with companies in the US that require the regular transfer of large amounts of information.

“They have grown quickly from four to 12 individuals and have some pretty startling growth plans, but their internet connection is a mere 4MB at the moment and they have lost out on work as a result of not having that >>

Super-fast broadband is almost perceived now to be the fourth utility service; it’s absolutely essential and not just to technology businesses

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high band width capability so we are working with them to get them into one of our incubator centres with high speed broadband connectivity. We have also had interesting inquiries from a number of other organisations asking when it’s going to be online.

“If you combine what we have from super-fast broadband with what we are doing around Sunderland Software City and what we are doing with the cloud infrastructure, then it’s becoming quite a compelling package.’’

That cloud infrastructure also came about through a partnership with a major ICT player – in this case IBM – and through the City Council examining its own IT needs and reviewing its own corporate computing requirements.

The City Council is well served for a local authority, with a large enterprise class data centre that was built some years ago at Doxford International. IT hardware and servers running constantly use large amounts of electricity and the centre has standby diesel generators with a 1.6MW capacity. The equipment also generates considerable heat and demands a carefully managed environment with air conditioning and fire suppression technology, along with flood detection. The City Council has allowed other organisations to rent space in the centre and customers include private businesses from around the UK. Says Baker: “That’s the first thing we have done, looking to maximise the asset we have here for the stakeholders in Sunderland and we see council infrastructure sat alongside infrastructure from four or five different IT companies, alongside infrastructure from a housing association, utility providers and other councils, including Newcastle City Council. It helps reduce their costs and gives them access to enterprise class hosting facilities.

“The City Council has also worked with IBM to consolidate our IT footprint from a vast number of physical servers onto a smaller number of servers which are capable of running a lot of applications. We are working with IBM to turn this into a Cloud based infrastructure.’’

This will allow a wide range of corporate technology to be available to subscribers over the internet.

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“One way to think about cloud-based technology is that previously each company had to buy a bus, which might have been half-full, and every company had to employ a driver and a conductor and so on,’’ explains Baker. “Cloud computing allows you just to buy a ticket on the bus and only to pay for what you actually physically need.’’

The creation of the cloud will save the City Council an estimated £1.4m a year on servers, other hardware and power and is costing about £7m – money which Baker says it would have had to spend anyway to upgrade its IT. He adds: “The whole thing is rooted in saving money for the local authority. That’s great news for us and it means there’s more space freed up in the data centre for other people to buy. But also, by using the latest IBM technology we could open up that infrastructure to other stakeholders.

“So we are working with IBM to put in the necessary access and identity controls to effectively turn that infrastructure into what they call a private cloud, a cloud that’s only open to the council and selected partners.

“There’s an aspiration to support people who want to run their own business, people within the council who potentially want to pick up council services and turn those into cooperative or mutual organisations or even private organisations yet, at the same time, maintain a level of oversight over what they are doing, especially in relation to running public services for which the council will still be ultimately responsible.’’

The City Council hopes to take the cloud even further and, in partnership with IBM, to provide shared services ranging from buying space on a server or web servers and

potentially to run services such as HR or finance.

Users could have access to software from Microsoft Office to customer relationship management packages. They would benefit from the governmental standards which the City Council has to operate to, potentially valuable to organisations seeking access to public sector markets.

There is already interest from organisations within Sunderland Software City to use the infrastructure and software companies which want to provide their services on the cloud, creating a software marketplace. It is also seeing interest from the co-operative and mutual sector and charities.

“It’s really exciting stuff and it’s something that IBM are right behind, they are looking to really push this initiative here in Sunderland globally, as an exemplar of what they can do,’’ says Baker.

It is planned that a portal giving access to the Cloud will be up and running by the summer of this year.

IBM’s industry executive for local public services Lynn Ferguson says: “As well as providing an infrastructure for the provision of services to the council, the Sunderland City Cloud deployment is designed as a platform with flexibility to meet the needs of many other city constituents.

“For example, it will be used to deliver cost effective services to enable the growth of small and medium-sized businesses hence to help facilitate economic growth in the city.

“The creative thinking behind the use of this technology demonstrates Sunderland City Council’s vision and determination to drive innovation across the city.’’ n

It’s really exciting stuff and it’s something IBM are right behind, they are looking to really push this initiative here in Sunderland globally, as an exemplar

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INTERVIEW

Cloud former: Tom Baker, head of ICT at Sunderland City Council is delighted with the city’s vision to drive innovation

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twinning the game Sunderland has a long established policy of building bridges to the rest of the world, as international manager Catherine Auld explains to Peter Jackson Catherine Auld’s office is crammed with carrier bags full of presents.

This is not because we meet shortly before Christmas, but because she is temporary guardian of the gifts presented to various members of a trade delegation from Sunderland by their Chinese hosts.

This is a reflection of the gift-giving Chinese culture and of the importance that Sunderland places on its links with China.

It signed an agreement with the city of Harbin in North East China in 2009. A city of 10 million people, it is the provincial capital of Heilong Jiang and in the 1950s was a major centre for heavy industry and is now

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diversifying and modernising its economy.

“They approached us and we first met with them in 2006, so we had about three years of conversations, getting to know them before we formally signed the agreement,’’ says Auld.

“The reasons for choosing Harbin were the similarities we had and that Harbin is described as being in the second wave of development, so it’s not the extremely well developed centres such as Beijing or Shanghai. We wanted to be well connected with Harbin as they start to accelerate and reach a position where they are looking at the UK.’’ The agreement is focused on economic and educational areas. At the time of the signing of the agreement in 2009, the city took a trade mission of Sunderland and regional companies to Harbin and received support from the British Council to take nine head teachers.

“Since then the focus has mostly – though not exclusively – been on software and software companies that went to Harbin in August 2010. >>

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“In September 2011 we went out more with a view to try to encourage Harbin companies to consider looking at Sunderland as a location within the UK and Europe.’’

And the first Chinese company, Qiansoft, has now registered an office in the software incubator centre at Rainton Business Park. It is a company with strong connections with Harbin University and it has had talks with University of Sunderland.

Now the city is exploring with Harbin the possibilities of companies from both cities developing software together.

Both cities have also put great effort into building educational ties, reflecting a desire to build long-term links.

“For our young people, who will be the future business people of the city, to be exposed to Chinese language and Chinese culture and China as a place long term is extremely useful and we have been really lucky in terms of support through the British Council to get funding for various things that have happened,’’ says Auld.

In May 2009 a party of head teachers went to Harbin to develop sustainable school partnerships leading to a return visit to Sunderland in November 2010. Then, in April of 2011, a party of Sunderland primary school children visited Harbin for a week.

University of Sunderland has formalised a partnership with Harbin University and they are developing dual degree programmes, particularly in software and engineering with recruitment starting in 2012.

Sunderland has also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Nanjing Ministry of Science and Technology. Nanjing, close to Shanghai, is a well developed city with a strong interest in software and automotive industries.

“We signed our memorandum of understanding with Nanjing around economic development with those two sectors as key overlap sectors but, in a sense, our long term game is with Harbin,’’ says Auld.

The Chinese connection is only part of Sunderland’s wider overseas strategy which it began to develop in 2006 as a partnership with organisations such as the university, college, football club and businesses. This built upon long-standing relationships with two

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As we were developing the international strategy the key push was economic development. The other key driver is education. A lot of what we have done is around exchange of experience European twin towns – Essen in Germany, which dates back to 1949 and Saint-Nazaire in France, from 1953.

“We have modernised those relationships and they are still relevant and making a contribution,’’ says Auld.

For example, for a number of years, masters level engineering students have come to the city from Saint-Nazaire for threemonth summer placements with automotive companies.

The city has some 68 foreign-owned businesses from 15 different countries employing some 20,000 people. The greatest number is employed in Japanese-owned companies, followed by US, German and French.

“Japan is obviously important to us in terms of Nissan and our chief executive was in Japan when the discussions were taking place around the LEAF and where that was going to be produced,’’ says Auld.

“As a city council we have taken an extremely proactive approach to inward investment for the past 15 to 20 years. Once coal mining and ship-building collapsed, we didn’t want to be in that position again, so our business team has done a lot of work with America and other parts of the world.’’

There is significant US investment in the city, accounting for about 7,000 jobs. This is something Sunderland has been keen to build on and the major plank in the work done with the US is the relationship with Washington DC. Apart from the existing economic links, Washington Old Hall is the ancestral home of George Washington, so there was a fair wind for the signing of a friendship agreement between Sunderland and Washington DC in 2006.

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“This was the first of a new phase of relationships, it was done as a five year friendship agreement that could be renewed and with a clear focus as to what it was about.’’

“As we were developing the international strategy the focus was economic development and that was reflected in the agreement we developed with DC. The other key driver that comes through is education.

“A lot of what we have done is around exchange of experience. We have our software incubators such as Evolve and the new software centre that is being built. We have a lot of experience of doing incubators and we have shared that with Washington over a number of years, in terms of what our approach has been, how we have worked with the private sector and the infrastructure that is there to support people. That has been valuable from Washington’s perspective.’’

Strong partnerships have been forged between University of Sunderland and two of Washington’s universities – University of District of Columbia, UDC, and George Washington University.

Three scholarship students have come from Washington to study in Sunderland and two Sunderland students have just gone to UDC for a semester.

There have also been serious exchanges on the cultural front. Sunderland creative businesses have twice visited Washington not-for-profit organisation Artomatic which stages artist-led selling exhibitions.

The 2008 event was Glass 3, a selling exhibition for glass makers at which nine Sunderland makers sold 14 pieces worth US$12,000. In May 2009, there followed a bigger event, attracting 70,000 visitors >>

SUNDERLAND: MAKING CONNECTIONS

WINTER 12

INTERVIEW

A Sunderland software company which is successfully breaking into overseas markets is 4Projects, which has opened offices in the US and Middle East and is now looking further afield.

The company, which was founded in 2000 provides project delivery software that is a web based platform allowing users to share documents and view and approve changes from anywhere in the world, even when operating with different IT systems.

The software is delivered as a service basis, which means all of the data is in the Cloud and the computing is done over the internet.

It has been used in such high profile projects as the Olympic and Paralympic Stadium, Arsenal FC’s Emirates Stadium and South Tyneside and Gateshead council’s Building Schools for the Future programme. Apart from construction it is now also being used in sectors such as natural resources, oil and gas, wind energy and retail.

“Funnily enough the process of building a T-shirt is not that dissimilar to building an office,’’ says non-executive director Steve Nelson. “You still have different people in different parts of the world involved in different processes, some in design, some in manufacture and some in sourcing materials.’’

The company, based at Doxford International, currently has an annual turnover of around £5.5m and about 60 staff worldwide.

4Projects first started looking at international markets about three years ago.

“We were looking to expand internationally, we had done our own market research on which areas we wanted to move into,’’ says Nelson. “We were attracted to the North American market for three reasons, two of which are common ones: language and size.

But the main reason we were attracted to it is that there isn’t a solution like 4Projects in North America.’’

But the company was not sure where in the US it should locate, apart from the East Coast.

“Other than that, we didn’t really know where to go and that’s where Sunderland City Council helped,’’ says Nelson.

“The business had always had a strong relationship with the City Council, we have always been in Sunderland and we have a really good relationship with the economic development people.’’

The company was aware of the cultural and economic links the City Council have with Washington DC and was able to use its extensive network of contacts to meet a Washington business man called John Kenny, who was recruited as a non-executive director.

“He became our man on the ground and he was invaluable, he helped us through lots of logistics such as office space, banking and recruitment. He is a really well connected guy in DC and he really smoothed things for us. You can do all the research you want on the internet but to have somebody with a network is invaluable.’’

One of 4Projects own directors relocated to Virginia with his family, to work in the Washington office, which serves clients throughout the US and Canada. Nelson says the company’s next step would possibly be to open a California office.

At around the same time as the Washington venture 4Projects also opened offices in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates working largely on oil and gas projects.

It is now turning its attention to other markets.

Nelson says: “We are trying to address smaller markets by partnering with smaller organisations. We have signed partnership agreements with other territories, such as Poland, South Africa, Netherlands and Hong Kong. We are also in discussions in Australia.

“Further expansion will be by partnership agreements where we find established businesses that do similar things to us, but not the same so we can provide another string to their bow.’’

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INTERVIEW

WINTER 12

over five weeks, in which Sunderland artists sold £19,000 worth of work. As a result of this exhibition, four Sunderland glass makers got exhibition opportunities elsewhere in the US. “We have two of their glass makers who are going to be coming to University of Sunderland as part of a Fulbright Scholarship scheme in March,” says Auld. “For two or three weeks they will exhibit with our glass makers at Affordable Art in London, which is fantastic in terms of profile.’’

Exchange of ideas and information on software led to useful introductions and contacts.

For example, Sunderland company 4Projects, then part of the Leighton Group, which developed online project management software, set up a US subsidiary in February 2009. SaleCycle, also part of the Leighton Group, went on a trade mission to Washington DC in February 2011 and, as a result set up an office in the Washington DC area which is expected to generate US$4m of turnover in its first year of operation.

Washington plainly values the link with Sunderland and has opted to renew the agreement for another five years and it will be signed on February 22, George Washington’s birthday.

Sunderland looks forward to another fruitful five years of collaboration with Washington and with all its other growing overseas contacts, recognising that these do not, in themselves, bring results, but call for serious effort on the city’s part.

As Auld says: “We do work extremely hard to make things happen.’’ n

As a city council we have taken an extremely proactive approach to inward investment

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Things happen: Catherine Auld is overseeing the contribution Sunderland is making globally

SPECIAL REPORT | WINTER 12

SUNDERLAND: MAKING CONNECTIONS

Sunderland

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In this changing economic landscape, Sunderland City Council’s Business Investment Team is maintaining its support packages for local businesses working to create new jobs.

Available support includes specialist advice, grants and practical help with issues such as identifying premises. Our team is staffed with experienced people who can help to secure the best possible package of support for your business.

Contact the Business Investment Team for up-to-date information on how we can help on 0191 561 1210 or email business.investment@sunderland.gov.uk

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