Business Brief Spring 2012

Business Brief Spring 2012_Layout 1 10/02/2012 13:28 Page 1

Tamworth & Lichfield

13th Quarterly Issue

Business Brief Find us on ThinkLocal4Business

Pop-Up or just Pop In to No-Frills Business Show With austerity measures starting to bite and the economy still showing little growth here at the Business Brief we are not content to sit back and wait in the hope that the business climate will get better.

There is a thriving business community in Tamworth and Lichfield and to promote local businesses the Business Brief is putting on a no-frills exhibition at Drayton Manor on 17th April 2012.

The idea was put forward by a Tamworth business and we urge every local business to get involved as an exhibitor or visitor. Costing just £75 plus VAT for space for a single pop-up banner stand simply bring your business cards and marketing literature. We’re aiming for an event that all businesses can attend and it will be a simple, honest opportunity for local businesses to network and trade with one-another.

This low cost event will be open from 10am to 4pm and is for all local businesses. Whether you’re in the business to business or business to consumer sector you need to be there. With just 40 exhibitor spaces and all exhibitors featured in a two page special in the next issue of the Business Brief, we’re expecting demand to be high. But, if you’re not exhibiting we still need you, your employees and business contacts to pop-in for a few minutes or a couple of hours to network and do business with other local businesses. To come along as a visitor is completely free.

To book your stand space contact Matt Fletcher at Tamworth Borough Council on 01827 709 382 or email matthew-fletcher@tamworth.gov.uk

Welcome This is the 13th quarterly edition of the Business Brief since its inception in January 2008. It has grown over the years from 4 to 8 pages and has without doubt become a successful publication aimed at business for business in Tamworth and Lichfield.

Unfortunately, success is not the only ingredient for longevity and with times of austerity the funding of the Business Brief newsletter has been revisited. This has resulted in the BEP Interim Board looking at different ways of continuing with the hard copy for the rest of 2012. At this moment in time no firm conclusion has been reached as to what the future holds, although an electronic version has been discussed as a possibility.

My personal opinion is that the loss of the hard copy version would be detrimental to the business community. I welcome your thoughts about this so please email me at pb.farmer@virgin.net and let me know your views and opinions about the Business Brief.

The Interim BEP Board has now completed the exercise in agreeing the formation of the new Board members for 2012 and this will be confirmed at the next Board meeting.

Communication of this will be in the next edition of the Business Brief.

Let us hope that it isn’t the last.

Peter Farmer (Chair of the Business and Economic Partnership)

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Business news in brief

Left to Right: Lee Trubshaw Bradin Trubshaw Kirwan Solicitors, Val Culley - Culley Lifford Hall Accountants, Dave Benford – Trustee Cystinosis Foundation UK, Mark Reynolds - IFA Positive Solutions.

Professionals support rare disease charity Professional Services Group based at Cathedral House, Lichfield has presented a cheque to the Cystinosis Foundation UK. David Benford, Trustee and whose young daughter is a sufferer explained “Cystinosis prevents body cells from functioning correctly leading initially to kidney problems and progressing to the thyroid gland, eyes and liver. Impaired growth is another symptom and in the past it was rare for Cystinotics to survive into adulthood.

I would like to thank the Professional Services Group. Your donation will assist in funding research into improving treatment for sufferers and to ultimately try and discover a cure.”

Val Culley, one of the founder members of Professional Services Group was surprised to learn there are just 150 sufferers in the UK and all research is dependent on funds raised by families and friends of patients. Professional Services Group runs an open networking group meeting at 7.15am on the second Tuesday of each month at Darnford Moors Golf Club. To book call Sharon on 01543 421 840.

Welcome reception for industry professionals Over 150 construction professionals gathered in the region recently for the industry’s annual Autumn Reception event, hosted by Tamworth based Quantum Construction Limited.

Clients and professionals including architects, surveyors, builders, M&E consultants and property agents from around the UK travelled to the event.

Director of Quantum Construction Limited, Damian Gallagher says: “This annual event gives guests the opportunity to meet in an informal setting and exchange views over the state of the economy and prospects for growth in the industry. It’s also a great opportunity for strengthening existing relationships, as well as fostering new.”

This is the eighth year that the Autumn Reception has been hosted

by Quantum, and this annual event is now an established tradition in the construction industry calendar. www.quantumconstruction.co.uk

Bar designers appoint PR professional Two Staffordshire companies involved in international design and fit out for the leisure industry have appointed Lichfield based Ian Strachan Communications Ltd to handle their press relations. Rugeley based GMP Design and Kribensis Leisure Contracts have brought Ian Strachan Communications on board to raise their profile and help promote forthcoming product launches and contract wins. Both companies, based on the Towers Business Park, were established by Neil Morten.

He set up GMP Design 20 years ago and it has become one of the leading bar, restaurant and club interior design companies, with major contracts throughout the UK and Europe. Kribensis was set up 10 years ago to carry out interior fit out work in the leisure market. Morten said, “Although we have had some tremendous successes, designing and fitting out high profile venues all over the world, we haven’t blown our own trumpets. However, we believe that people should know about the exciting work we do from our offices in Rugeley, and there are few PR agencies in Staffordshire to rival Ian Strachan Communications in terms of raising awareness.” www.ianstrachancommunications.co.uk Ian Strachan, Ian Strachan Communications Ltd

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Business news in brief Awards night raises £500 for local charity Local networking group, Business First, held its first ever awards reception at Swinfen Hall Hotel in January. Over 75 people, including members, business owners and guests attended the black tie event in the oak-panelled Edwardian ballroom of the restored Georgian mansion. A raffle raised £430 for the ‘We Love Lichfield’ fund and Business First contributed an additional £70, providing the charity with a £500 donation to help it keep up the good work in giving grants to the Community of Lichfield. (See page 6). Tracy Pound, current Chair of Business First says, Business First Award Winners “The success of Business First and its inaugural awards ceremony is due to its forward thinking business members who understand the benefits of working closely with other local companies for mutual benefit. Although congratulations go to the winners, everyone involved should be applauded for playing their part in creating a positive and vibrant Lichfield business community, which is much needed in the current climate.” The Business First Awards follows another successful year for the networking group, which has passed over £419,000 of business in the last 10 months between its members. www.business-1st.org

Quiss achieves specialist training certification Tamworth-based IT outsourcer Quiss Technology has achieved Microsoft Office Specialist certification. The business is now an official testing centre, offering courses and exams in Microsoft Office 2007 and 2010.

James Smith, Training Manager at Quiss Technology explains the importance of this certification: "Certification verifies an individual's proficiency with the world's most popular commercial office suite of inter-related desktop applications, whilst reducing the need for support from helpdesks." He continued “It’s tempting to cut training budgets, but research shows those businesses which don’t train their workforce are almost three times more likely to fail than businesses that do.” www.quiss.co.uk

James Smith, Quiss Technology

Sponsored feature

brokenStones and Lichfield Diocese – Making IT Work! brokenStones are very pleased to announce a new partnership with the Diocese of Lichfield, one of the largest dioceses in the United Kingdom. Representing a substantial investment by both companies the new partnership sees brokenStones responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of all Diocese IT systems, supporting a team of more than 100 users spread across the midlands.

been able to fix lots of small issues that had been causing them some pain for some time, this has won us fantastic praise and thanks, and has been a real morale boost to our staff. We look forward to a long and successful partnership.” www.brokenstones.co.uk, 01543 222 444, contact@brokenstones.net, Bridge House, Station Road, Lichfield, WS13 6HX

Julie Jones, CEO of the Lichfield Diocese Board of Finance said: "We have been absolutely delighted with the resources brokenStones have provided in both assisting us with moving from our existing service provider and supporting our users as we move forward. Their robust project-management and customer service has already proven very popular with our users.” Chris Blunt, Managing Director of brokenStones commented: “In the short space of time we have been working with the Diocese we have Chris Blunt, Managing Director, brokenStones

Julie Jones,CEO of the Lichfield Diocese Board of Finance

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Business news in brief BAKK looks to the future With its kitchen, bathroom, bedroom and tile showroom in Fazeley, BAKK recorded record sales in January, despite the economic downturn. Enthusiastic owner Lloyd Taylor, said “We’ve been extremely fortunate to be one of the few companies experiencing growth in these difficult times.” He attributes the success to a number of factors, “It is extremely important, now more than ever, to allow the positive aspects of a smaller business to shine through, that of the personal touch, and of caring for your customer.”

Taylor was also very upbeat about the year ahead for the economy as a whole, saying “We’ve noticed a marked increase in the number of enquiries since the arrival of 2012.” www.bakk.co.uk

Shhhh Quiet Deliveries Ahead The environmental, economic and road safety benefits of delivering goods out-of-hours have been demonstrated by the results of the Quiet Delivery Demonstration Scheme (QDDS) trials, managed by Lichfield based consultants

The New SINICA Visitor & Staff Management System

Solicitor sets up Twitter helpline Adam Penn of Cannock and Lichfield law firm Ansons Solicitors has launched a free personal injury helpline via the social networking website Twitter. “The aim of @LegalTweetLine is to provide a place on the internet where people, who may have a personal injury claim, can not only obtain free initial advice but also ask questions safe in the knowledge that the advice they receive is from a qualified and experienced personal injury solicitor,” said Adam. www.ansonsllp.com

Transport and Travel Research Ltd for a consortium comprising the Department for Transport, Noise Abatement Society and Freight Transport Association.

Trials were run at retail outlets across England to demonstrate that best practice in quiet deliveries could lead to clear operational, retail and environmental benefits, while minimising the impact on local residents. www.ttr-ltd.com

Sponsored feature

The Innovative Software and Web Development Team of Tamworth based, MT Services Computer Systems, are the creative genius behind the new SINICA Visitor & Staff Management System. Sinica offers a modern, professional visitor and employee attendance management solution, which provides a feature-rich visual focal point for your reception. The creative intelligent design can be personalised with your logo on the home screen and badges. Instead of the inaccurate, unprofessional and impersonal paper visitors book, let your visitors enjoy a pleasurable, simple sign-in and out experience on the Intuitive Touchscreen Interface. Sinica then remembers your visitor information, including an image capture, for the next visit.

If you could enhance your Safeguarding & Health and Safety Policies and provide necessary Working Time Directive Information, why wouldn’t you invest in the Sinica System?

For further information or a free demonstration, do not hesitate to contact the Sinica Sales Team on 01827 62155 or visit www.sinica.co.uk

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Ask the experts – about workplace pension changes and employers responsibilities.

Sponsored by: Four Oaks Financial Services We asked Martin Ward, an Independent Financial Adviser Partner at Four Oaks Financial Services for some advice for businesses as changes to workplace pensions come into effect.

Q

As an employer, what are my duties and when do they start?

Q

As an employer, what contributions do I need to make or can I avoid them?

A

All employers with at least one worker must register with the pension regulator to show that they have a qualifying scheme in place within four months of the required start date.

The start date will be sent to you by the HMRC. You then have to re-register every three years. The date is based on the number of employees in the PAYE scheme. Broadly speaking you will need to inform those workers affected of your duties in writing by post or e-mail. As an employer you will need to automatically enrol and pay minimum contributions for any worker aged between 22 and state pension age who earns more than £7,475 per annum or between 16 and 75 who earns more than £5,035 per annum if they ask you to enrol them. All records must be kept for at least six years.

A

In 2012 the minimum contribution will start at 2% of a worker’s qualifying earnings. Of this, the employer will need to pay at least 1%. The minimum contribution level will rise gradually over time to 8%. Of this the employer will need to pay 3% at least. Workers who have been automatically enrolled into a pension scheme have the right to opt out and get a refund in the first month. After the one month opt out period is over members can still opt out but will not receive a refund. If they do this, any contributions already paid, including the employers will stay in the scheme. There are safeguards in place to prevent employers from encouraging opt out amongst their workers. There are also substantial fines for not meeting employer responsibilities.

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We Love Lichfield

Tamworth Forever

The We Love Lichfield Fund is a fund for the Lichfield district that was started a little over 12 months ago. It pools donations from businesses and individuals who care about the district, to create a permanent fund that will benefit voluntary organisations in Lichfield. Many organisations and businesses are already signed up to support it, helping to meet their corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies. In addition, Lichfield District Council has reinvigorated over £20,000 of dormant charity funds by passing them to the We Love Lichfield Fund. It has gone so well that grants have been given out from it already. In December, 12 organisations, from playgroups to luncheon clubs to health support groups benefitted from an early Christmas present when it made its first awards.

Tamworth is to get its own community fund, set up by people in Tamworth for people in Tamworth. Businesses and individuals across the borough are being asked to contribute to create a fund that will exist forever, and that will award grants to many of the borough’s community and voluntary groups. Despite not being officially launched yet, the ‘Tamworth Forever’ fund has already received donations running into thousands of pounds.

What’s more, many organisations can use the fund to help meet their CSR requirements in a far more cost effective way than has been available previously – not to mention the fantastic publicity opportunities that are available for anyone who donates. This new fund, Tamworth Forever, is the perfect way to show commitment to Tamworth - forever.

For more information on how you can get involved in your local fund please call Steve Adams at the Staffordshire Community Foundation on 01782 683000

NHS Lifecheck does not replace the need to consult your GP or Health Professional Some useful phone numbers

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Smoking Cessation clinic

0345 245 0759

ADSIS (Alcohol) Services

0844 561 7079

CSMT Drugs

01827 310040

Burton Addiction Centre

01283 537280

NHS Lifestyle Services

01827 306190

Tamworth Borough Council Community Leisure Activities

01827 709 316

Heat (Home Energy Advice Tamworth)

0800 0432815

Housing Advice team

01827 709459

Sir Robert Peel Hospital Minor Injuries Unit (24hrs advice and treatment)

01827 263806

NHS Direct (24hrs health advice and information)

0845 4647

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Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP reaches out to Southern Staffordshire businesses Over 100 businesses attended a business engagement event held by the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) on January 6th at Drayton Manor Park in Tamworth. Members of the LEP Board, including its high profile Chair Andy Street, Managing Director of John Lewis Partnership, were on hand to explain the role of the LEP and the progress made since its formation in September 2011.

and place, were also explained. Attendees then had the opportunity to provide their views about the priorities within each of the 3 components of the strategy.

Feedback from the event from businesses was very positive, with the emerging priorities of the LEP being supported. The views expressed will also be fed into the further development of the LEP's strategy and it is hoped to hold similar events in the future.

For further information about the LEP, please contact James Roberts, james-roberts@tamworth.gov.uk

LEPs have been established in local areas since the Coalition Government abolished the former regional development agencies. They are a partnership between local businesses and local authorities formed across 'natural economic areas'. They provide the vision for the local economy and drive the knowledge and resources required to achieve sustainable private sector job growth in their areas. Greater Birmingham and Solihull is one of 38 LEPs across the country.

Attendees were informed about the aims of the LEP to increase economic output by £8bn and generate over 100,000 new jobs by 2020. The three components of the LEP's strategy to achieve these aims, business, people

No 2012 Armageddon in Business Support!

If you just read the headlines about the demise of Business Link, then you could be excused for thinking that the world of business support had come to an end. However, 2012 has not seen any sort of Armageddon as yet and there is still quite an array of initiatives designed to support business, albeit in a much more fragmented form. Here, we provide a quick guide to some of the main elements of business support that you can still access: • Business Link National Web Portal and Helpline: The content of 175 government websites has been consolidated into the Business Link site at www.businesslink.gov.uk. This is backed up with a national helpline available on 0845 600 9 006.

• Solutions for Business: This is the government’s streamlined portfolio of business support

products accessible via Business Link. Detailing a range of publicly funded products and services to help businesses identify and overcome key challenges as they grow. Go to the Department for Business' website at www.bis.gov.uk.

• Mentoring Support: A new web portal has been set up to help people starting and growing a business, or thinking about doing so, by enabling them to access the mentoring help they need. This is available at www.mentorsme.co.uk.

• Coaching for Growth: A national programme to assist businesses with the potential to achieve high growth in turnover, profit or employment.

The government has just awarded the contract to run this programme to a consortium of providers.

• Local Enterprise Partnerships: Greater Birmingham and Solihull

and Stoke & Staffordshire LEPs are working to develop more local programmes of support. Examples include European funding for a business development programme for existing businesses looking to grow and an Enterprise programme for start up support for local individuals.

• Localised organisations and initiatives: Tamworth Strategic Partnership (TSP) is currently procuring a service from a local provider to give information, advice and guidance to local businesses on sources of business support, which will be managed by your Business and Economic Partnership. Think Local 4 Business (www.thinklocal4business.co.uk) is another source of valuable information and provides an opportunity for local businesses to network online.

This is just a snapshot of some of the main initiatives still out there to support local businesses. If you need any further information then please contact Matt Fletcher, matthew-fletcher@tamworth.gov.uk.

(Disclaimer: The Business and Economic Partnership has taken all reasonable precautions to ensure that information contained in this document is accurate but stresses that the content is not intended to be legally comprehensive. It is recommended that no action be taken on matters covered in this document without taking full advice.) If you do not wish to receive the Business Brief please contact Matt Fletcher on 01827 709 382 or email matthew-fletcher@tamworth.gov.uk

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Business news in brief Stratford score at Manchester City

The main Max Attack stand at Manchester City Football Club, built into the underfloor raking of the stadium

Lichfield based Stratford Marketing, signage and brochure specialists, has just completed two Match Attax stands for Topps Publishing at Manchester City Football Club.

Match Attax is the football card trading game popular with youngsters and adults alike.

Stratford Marketing has been providing all types of stands like the one shown as well as all types of marketing material to private firms, local authorities and the building sector for over twenty years. www.stratfordmarketing.co.uk

eby design has Zeal appeal!

A Tamworth design agency has been working on a prestigious project for manufacturers of stylish kitchenware, Zeal who make bright, durable cookware for the modern kitchen. eby design ltd, based in Amington, secured the contract last summer after impressing Zeal’s management team. “Zeal liked our pitch and asked us to take it forward,” said eby director Gavin Young.

“The work included repackaging existing products, developing eye-catching new packaging for scores of new ones, and creating a 130-page catalogue, including photography.” Young said eby’s secret in winning the work was to understand Zeal’s strong existing identity. “We take pride not only on getting to the heart of our clients’ brands, but in enhancing them,” he said. “A good design agency can unearth selling points you hadn’t necessarily thought of, then use great design and communication to make them obvious and attractive to customers.”

Local firm trains European Central Banks In the middle of the Euro crisis, Mind the Gap was asked to deliver training and coaching support for European Central Bank managers through their three-year contract with the ECB’s Leadership and Management Development Programme.

After ten highly successful courses in 2010-11, in conflict management and managing change, Mind the Gap was asked to support all European National Central Banks (NCBs) in project management and communications and has now worked with 10 NCBs.

Tamworth marketing consultancy, Roar Marketing Limited works in partnership with the Business and Economic Partnership to produce the Tamworth and Lichfield Business Brief. To advertise or insert leaflets and save on postage costs contact Karen Nicholls at Roar Marketing, karen@roarmarketing.co.uk.

Matt Fletcher’s department is the central link between the public sector and local businesses, so if you have any queries about any of the articles in this issue or just don't know who to speak to on business issues please contact Matt on 01827 709 382 or email matthew-fletcher@tamworth.gov.uk Please send your news stories for the Business Brief (with picture or logo) to Matt Fletcher at Tamworth Borough Council.

The Business Brief is collated, written and designed in Tamworth and Lichfield and is printed by Restart Print, Tamworth Tel: 01827 302 554 Matt Fletcher, Senior Economic Development Officer, Shared Service Tamworth Borough Council and Lichfield District Council

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