Business & Innovation Magazine - Issue 15 September 2019

INSIDE:

MANUFACTURING

ENGINEERING &

INTERVIEWS:

CRAIG MARSHALL: ORGANOX

HEAD TO HEAD: MIKE & GUY WARNER

THE M5 MOTORWAY GROWTH ZONE

BUSINESS RISK

COMMERCIAL PROPERTY Regional NEWS

Editor-in-Chief

Nicky Godding Tel: 07966 510401

nicky.godding@nkmedia.co.uk

Commercial Director

Kirsty Muir Tel: 07971 912020

kirsty.muir@nkmedia.co.uk

Chairman, NK Media Ltd

James Palmer

Regional Account Manager

Rosemary Henderson

Tel: 07889 227432

rosemary.henderson@nkmedia.co.uk

Operations and Events Manager

Lizi Clapham

Tel: 07955 855817 lizi.clapham@nkmedia.co.uk

Customer Services enquiries@nkmedia.co.uk

Accounts accounts@nkmedia.co.uk

Magazine Design - Louise White Brace Creative Agency www.brace.co.uk

Magazine Printers

The Manson Group www.mansongroup.co.uk

Chief Photographer

Rob Lacey www.roblaceyphotographer.co.uk

Contributing Editor

Anita Syvret www.syvretmedia.co.uk

Contributing Columnist

Ian Mean

Contributing Reporter

Ruby Edwards

Sub Editor

Joyce Matthews

The editor’s view

Nicky Godding Editor-in-Chief

07966 510401

Prime Minister Boris Johnson chose Culham Science Centre in Oxfordshire to make his first major science policy announcement. His visit marked a government announcement that it will develop a new fast-track visa route for scientists to continue to move to the UK after our departure from the EU.

Across this region thousands of scientists and engineers are engaged in ground-breaking work to build a sustainable future for the next generation, economically and for the climate. They know they can’t do that alone – global scientific and manufacturing collaboration is essential. So let’s hope the government gets on with its visa plans pronto.

With all the Westminster and Brussels argy-bargy and the trade deal tango between the USA and China, which is affecting many UK companies, it’s easy to become disillusioned.

But read through our magazine and you’ll discover dozens of companies which refuse to be beaten down by politics, and continue to press on, developing ground-breaking ideas, and not just in science and technology.

From food and drink to retail, fashion, infratructure development and the services sector, companies are going about their daily work, refusing to take their eyes off growth and ambition.

Entrepreneurs don’t see problems, they see opportunities. And while you can’t ignore business risks (see our feature in this issue), there is much to be cheerful about.

This issue is celebrating the UK’s manufacturing sector. Don’t believe the gloom-mongers – the UK is still the ninth largest manufacturing nation in the world.

This country has got broad shoulders. Believe it, because we’ll need them. Be inspired by the companies featured in our magazine. And with regard to our politicians, don’t let the buggers get you down.

Business & Innovation Magazine is a bi-monthly magazine published by NK Media Ltd. Our readers are business owners, senior executives, key influencers, entrepreneurs, innovators and those working in further and higher education, and government departments. Any opinions expressed by those quoted in this magazine are their own and do not necessarily represent or reflect those of Business & Innovation Magazine, or of NK Media Ltd. No part of this publication may be reproduced or used in any form of advertising or promotion without the written permission of the Editor-in-Chief or Commercial Director.

ISSN 2514 - 7609

Member of the Professional Publishers Association

IN THE HEADLINES P6

P85

SPOTLIGHT ON LEADERS

BUSINESS BOSSES SOLVE PRODUCTIVITY PUZZLES

FEATURE: WORKING IS A RISKY BUSINESS

P73

P113

FEATURE: M5 motorway drives regional investment

TOWN SHOWCASE

ABINGDON, A MOVING STORY OF BUNS

MALVERN, THE JEWEL UNDER THE HILLS

STRATFORD, IT’S NOT ALL SHAKESPEARE

Mike and Guy Warner go head to head

FRONT COVER FEATURE: MANUFACTURING P93

P122 COMMERCIAL PROPERTY NEWS

P26

MAKING EVERY ORGAN COUNT ORGANOX:

Front cover photograph: Safran Landing Systems UK, Gloucester manufacturing site

STRONG SHOWING FOR REGION’S SME S IN LATEST 1,000 COMPANIES TO INSPIRE BRITAIN

The London Stock Exchange has published its sixth annual edition of “1,000 Companies to Inspire Britain”

Around 100 companies from across the region have been included in this year’s “1,000 Companies to Inspire Britain”, published by The London Stock Exchange.

Reaction Engines, based at Culham Science Centre near Abingdon, is one of just three manufacturing companies nationally marked out as an industry leader.

The report identifies the UK’s most dynamic and fastest growing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This year’s report features companies from many sectors, reflecting the

entrepreneurial drive across the country. The majority of the companies listed appear for the first time.

Aerospace manufacturer Reaction Engines was founded in 1989 to develop a revolutionary air-breathing rocket engine – SABRE™ (Synergetic AirBreathing Rocket Engine).

The company employs more than 200 staff predominantly in the UK, with an office and test facility in the US.

“We aim to be twice as fast as the fastest jet engine and more efficient than the most efficient rocket engines,” explained Mark Thomas, Chief Executive of Reaction Engines.

“The rocket will allow the development of truly reusable space launch vehicles,

along with hypersonic aircraft, and represents a defining moment in powered flight.”

Other companies in the report include Warwickshire-based Find Me a Gift, Wantage-based energy management company Ignite Energy.

Kidderminster-based vehicle body shop Gemini Repairs Ltd, Horizon International Cargo in Slough and Gloucester-based Newland Homes are also listed.

The top five industries represented are engineering and construction, retail, manufacturing, information technology and healthcare.

The 1,000 companies in this year’s report together created 95,827 jobs over the past two-year period, a 39 per cent increase compared to last year’s report.

The annual report also examines the opportunities and challenges facing SMEs and the sectors and trends that will shape the British and European economies.

“The report indentifies the UK’s most dynamic and fastest growing small and medium-sized enterprises”

Prime Minister’s appliance of science at Culham to attract international talent

Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) at Culham Science Centre to make his first major science policy announcement since taking office.

The visit marked a government announcement on plans to develop a new fast-track visa route for the brightest and best scientists to continue to move to the UK after EU exit.

The Prime Minister was shown the Authority’s work harnessing the huge potential of nuclear fusion as a low-carbon energy source.

He said: “The UK is leading the world in nuclear fusion thanks in significant part to the work of the UK Atomic Energy Authority.”

Plastic’s off the menu at Tugo

An award-winning business to business foodservice company based at Adderbury in Oxfordshire is introducing totally plastic-free pots for its 4ork range.

Tugo produces food concepts for the catering and hospitality industry, helping them compete with high street brands. The company’s 4ork range, inspired by street food dishes from around the world, is cooked from scratch using locally-sourced ingredients without any genetically modified or artificial additives.

The company said: “As we move towards a future without waste, we want to do everything we can to limit our use of plastic and non-recyclable packaging. That’s why we’ve created these new pots, made using 100 per cent sustainable resources.”

The pots are also Forest Stewardship Council certified, fully biodegradable and compostable.

The company has already significantly reduced packaging overall and increased the amount of recycled material used in its packaging to 85 per cent.

Vivienne reads the future right for book shop

In the headlines

The new sole owner of the West Midlands’ biggest second-hand book store has exciting plans for its future after buying out her long-term business partner.

Vivienne Mills has spent two decades converting the run down Soar End Farmhouse on the Arbury Estate in Warwickshire into the Astley Book Farm, and has now taken over as its sole owner after buying out co-owner Sarah Exley.

Vivienne is now planning to improve the store’s on-site facilities, boost the shop’s café and add to her existing stockpile of more than 100,000 books.

And to do that she has brought in the help of accountancy firm Burgis & Bullock to help with the other side of book-keeping.

She said: “I am really proud to be able to continue the amazing job Sarah and I started. It has been a great partnership and I am delighted to push the business forward.”

Books on offer at Astley Book Farm cost from 50p to £9,000, and in recent years Vivenne and Sarah invested in its garden and café areas to cater for the growing need for rural businesses to diversify and a rising demand for improved customer experience.

Sean Farnell, a partner at Burgis & Bullock, said: “Astley Book Farm is a one-off and Sarah and Vivienne have built a super business which attracts people from far and wide.

“She is clearly a literary expert – she keeps the books and we do the book keeping.”

Sean Farnell and Vivienne Mills at the Astley Book Farm

The only way is ethics, says Weird Fish

Leading casual clothing brand Weird Fish has revamped its ethical policy.

The Cheltenham-based company’s “The Only Way is Ethics,” campaign is showcasing its clothing made from sustainable fabrics, including bamboo, Tencel and linen.

Tencel is a biodegradable fabric made up of wood pulp from fast-growing trees. It’s cool and comfortable to wear, and won a European Award for the Environment. Bamboo is a fast-growing replenishable grass that is cut rather than uprooted and can be spun and woven into a soft fabric.

It has properties which offer UV protection, moisture management and thermal control. Linen has antimicrobial properties and is made from the versatile flax plant, meaning that nothing goes to waste.

Plastic bags have also been almost completely phased out in Weird Fish stores by switching to paper alternatives.

John Stockton, Managing Director, said: “We don’t claim to be a completely sustainable brand from top to tail yet – but we do believe there’s a better way of doing things. There’s a long way to go but we are making little steps on the way to improvement and hope to do more in the future.”

WORCESTERSHIRE FIRM CROWNED FAMILY BUSINESS OF THE YEAR

A thriving family-owned business from Worcestershire has lifted one of the county’s top business awards.

The appropriatelynamed AA Salt, which helps hundreds of local businesses keep their premises safe by gritting and snow ploughing their car parks in the winter, won the Family Business of the Year category at the 2019 Herefordshire & Worcestershire Chamber Business Awards.

“We have amazing staff who continue to help us to grow our customer base. Equally our customers are superb, and some of them have been with us from day one”

Nikki, who is Managing Director of the winter maintenance company said: “Everyone knows that running your own business takes over your life and needs every ounce of effort to make it a success. We are no different and to win such an award makes all the hard work and commitment worth it.

“We have amazing staff who continue to help us grow our customer base. Equally our customers are superb, and some of them have been with us from day one.”

Formed in 2002, the firm is run from its Himbleton-headquarters by Nikki Rogers, husband Mark, and son Ben Tanner. They employ 27 full-time and seasonal workers and have around 400 customers.

AA Salt was widely praised in 2018 for how it kept businesses running after heavy snow hit Worcestershire, disrupting the county for almost a month. Working up to 24 hours every day, the team spread nearly 1,000 tonnes of salt on,to car parks and roads to help keep the county moving.

Mark and Nikki Rogers

LEARNING FROM THE FATHER DRIVES SON TO GREATER HEIGHTS

By Ian Mean

Mike Warner is not only good at making money, he puts back into the community and is a board member of Gloucestershire’s Local Enterprise Partnership, GFirstLEP.

Now 71, Mike has helped his son Guy, 45, make a big impact in local food retailing through their Warner’s Budgens supermarket chain throughout Gloucestershire.

You might fairly call their latest enterprise a mini “Waitrose-type” operation, with real roots in the communities and local management.

How did you start?

Mike: “I joined an established family business which covered coach, travel and fuel distribution. The family also had a petrol station and a garage in Tewkesbury.

“I did an HND in engineering in London then I took over the petrol station and workshop.

“Over a decade, we acquired three others — in Bristol, Tewkesbury and Wotton-under-Edge. All had car sales as well.

“When I was about 30, my father Norman, and his brother Charles suggested I would be better having the business on my own, so we did a deal whereby my father was able to retire.

“I took a load of assets and debt, but the assets equalled the debt, and I was able to decide the future of the business.”

What was the biggest early lesson you learned?

Mike: “Taking over was a huge gamble, and learning the art of lean management was a big lesson.”

“Years later, when Guy came back from university, he didn’t know what to do.”

Guy: “When I arrived home I think the conversation was: You are welcome, but you are not going to do nothing.

“I ended up in the petrol station at

Keeping it in the family is something the Warners have been doing for more than 100 years, in a business dynasty that has taken in travel, petrol stations, car dealerships and food retailing

Quedgeley wondering what I had done wrong in life. I’d studied theology in Canada and had jobs in retail which I had no aspirations to be in.

“All my friends had gone off to London to do ‘proper jobs’ such as lawyers and bankers. I was pretty adamant that I didn’t want to be in the family business.

“It was never a negative but I just thought I should go and do something that was for me.”

So why didn’t you?

Guy: “After a few years I started to realise there was an industry there – I had fallen down about every hole you could fall into and just maybe there

was a light here. It was interesting to hear what dad was telling me about his dad.”

Meanwhile Mike continued to plough the course of petrol stations and motor dealerships. Around 20 years ago he got the chance to take over the Mercedes Benz area franchise. “It was a huge investment – I looked at the business plan and it didn’t really stack up.”

Guy takes up the story. “One day dad said he thought we should put the Quedgeley forecourt into a separate business.

“Without actually verbalising it, he was really saying that he didn’t want me to have succession management issues, because families can be funny things.

“What his dad did for him, and what dad did for me is what a lot of families don’t do. That is to realise that you must let someone paddle their own ship.”

Guy now had a forecourt in Quedgeley, a bank account and an overdraft facility. “I had no money, but I had an opportunity – which is what dad had. Now I am grateful for that because you have to grapple and graft when you have no money.

“We bought another forecourt and then in 2005, we stumbled across an old site in Broadway – the former workshop of the renowned English furniture designer Gordon Russell, whose father had owned the Lygon Arms. It became the first Warner’s Budgens supermarket.

What was the first big lesson you learned in business from your dad?

Guy: “Money doesn’t grow on trees. In any small or medium-sized business, it’s easy to underestimate how hard it is to make a pound and how easy it is to spend a pound.

“He also taught me that property-based businesses survive longer. Without that wisdom, we certainly wouldn’t have built the business we have now.

“Dad was a shareholder in the new company, but he let me learn. In that formative decade, I was allowed to make mistakes.

“Money doesn’t grow on trees. In any small or medium-sized business, it’s easy to underestimate how hard it is to make a pound and how easy it is to spend a pound”

Mike and Guy Warner

“There were times when the hand of dad came over and pulled us back from the cliff. That’s the benefit of being in a family business. You have that safety net.”

Mike: “The first year you clocked up a six-figure loss at the petrol station in Quedgeley. I said what are you going to do about that?”

Guy found a solution and next year the business made a profit. “It was a big lesson to go from loss to profit,” he said.

Have you always been conscious about not interfering in Guy’s business?

Mike: “Yes, pretty well. When I was in the same family position, I didn’t like too much interference. Nobody will learn if they have permanent interference.”

Guy: “I ask him more now than I have ever asked him. We bounce ideas off each other because in a family business you are there for each other.

“We are now quite collaborative. In the early days, I was probably a classic knowit-all which is difficult to parent.”

Mike: “When Guy came back from Canada, I recognised he was a good communicator and had the same Warner nous and common sense I had inherited. That is a family gene.”

What is your dad good at?

Guy: “Dad has vision. I have limited foresight, but dad can see far beyond that, though he is not as good at detail as he used to be.”

Mike: “I’m getting old. Guy is far better at detail.”

An important part of the Warner’s vision was growing their Budgens supermarkets, and their early decision to support local producers. The business now stocks more than 700 locally-produced items.

Guy: “We made local food our own and it has given us a huge unique selling point. We offer something you just can’t get in the national supermarkets.

“Warner’s Budgens has come to stand for local and, hopefully, excellence and a certain type of food offer.”

The company has just bought another site in Upton-upon-Severn.

Mike supports many local organisations as a non-executive director. He spent five years as a director of the Everyman Theatre and seven as a director of Gloucester Rugby. He was chairman of the Three Counties Agricultural Society for 12 years and chaired its Malvern Spring Garden Show for 20 years.

Guy: “What he brings in bucketloads is a seeing eye in those areas without having a commercial interest in them.

“The next five years is about organically growing our sites, but my fear of failure has changed. At the beginning I had a huge overdraft and debt coming out of my ears. I often felt as though I was in a tunnel where I couldn’t see light one way or the other, but could hear a train behind me. If I stopped on the tracks, the train would run me over.”

What about business succession?

Guy: “Dad never pushed or forced us into the family business. With my own kids (his four children range from six to 18), I don’t want them to feel pressure either.”

Mike has a lot of pride in his son. “Guy’s success in a relatively short period of time has very much eclipsed what I have achieved in my business career.

“As long as you have wisdom, ideas and are prepared to drive change I think there is a place at the table for you. You will know when you haven’t got that.”

How? I ask.

“Someone will tell me,” says Mike.

About the interviewer

Ian Mean is currently the Gloucestershire Director of Business West. He was editor of The Gloucester Citizen for 10 years, Editor-in-Chief of Gloucestershire Media and editor of the Western Daily Press.

“As long as you have wisdom, ideas and are prepared to drive change I think there is a place at the table for you. You will know when you haven’t got that”

At the heart of the Gloucestershire business community, Cheltenham based First Solution gears up for growth with a move to their new headquarters in Eagle Tower and two senior new hires.

Providing best in class IT support, Cyber Security and Cloud services, First Solution is an IT managed services organisation that helps businesses use technology to achieve their desired business outcomes

After recently being recognised for their work, being named Continuum Strategic Partner of the Year’ and ranked one of ‘Britain’s 50 Best Managed IT Companies’, the organisation feels that it is in prime position to achieve significant growth.

Managing Director, Nigel Church, comments ‘We achieved 50% organic growth last year by demonstrating to our customers the value our managed services and consultancy can bring to their business. We feel there is potential in the market for much more. For business, trends such as Digital Transformation and Cyber Security present both huge risks and rewards. They need a technology partner that can help them find solutions to those challenges, and we have a strong track record of doing just that.’

In anticipation of their growth aspirations the team at First Solution have tripled their floorspace in a move to new offices at Eagle Tower. ‘We need the room to grow, but fundamentally we are a Gloucestershire business, and love being a part of its business community. Eagle Tower allows us to do both’ says Nigel.

The team has recently been further strengthened with the appointments of two senior new hires, Paul Hillis as Sales Director and Tom Henson as Head of Service Delivery.

Paul brings a wealth of experience the technology sector. He was involved in the one of the UK’s first Cloud companies in 2008, and recently was co-owner of a successful IT managed services business that was acquired.

Gloucestershire’s premier IT solutions company, First Solution Technologies launches expansion plans

Paul ‘I’ve known of First Solution for quite some time, and their reputation in the industry for their operational excellence, so I am delighted to be on board. With the cutting edge, innovative services we have to offer I am really excited about the strong capabilities we have to bring to market’

“As technology is such a fast paced sector we have to be open to new ways of going about things. We realise that unless we are innovating we are standing still”

Paul Hillis, Sales Director First Solution Technologies

Tom has worked in technology for 20 years and brings with him a strong, customer focused background. As Head of Service Delivery, Tom’s role is ensuring that customers receive excellent experiences.

Tom says ‘First take a different approach to most technology companies I’ve been involved in. They really take the time to understand the what their customers business drivers are, and apply technology to that, rather than in most cases, it’s the other way round, technology for technologies sake. I’m really looking forward to sitting down with our customers and exploring how we can help them unlock the value of tech’.

Nigel says ‘I’m really pleased to have these guys on board. They both bring a huge amount of experience to the table which is quite hard to find. We are lucky to have them.’

We want to arm our customers with the technology that gives them a competitive advantage…

First Solution now want to spread the message that every company, weather they like it or not, is a technology company.

‘Technology is changing the global economy like nothing we have ever seen before, it is unprecedented. Take for example the Taxi industry. Around for decades and then changed forever in a few short years by Uber. Companies nowadays both rise and fall in the blink of an eye, and it’s usually technology that is driving that disruption. We want our customers to be the winners, not the losers of this technological revolution that is taking place.’

If you are an organisation that has an IT challenge and are interested in how technology could potentially solve it, then the team at First Solution are the people to talk to. Contact Paul Hillis on 01242 335 549.

Tom Henson, Chris Kopeck, Paul Hillis, and Nigel Church

MAJOR LISTING FOR STROUD-BASED FOOD PRODUCER

Wolfys Porridge, owned by Stroud-based Kitchen Garden Foods, has secured a national listing with the Co-op.

Commercial Director and joint owner of Kitchen Garden Foods, James Horwood, said: “When we launched Wolfys, we didn’t know how successful it would be. There were already lots of porridge pots on the market but none with a little pot of jam or marmalade under the lid – that’s where Wolfys stands out from the rest.

“The Co-op’s listing is a really big deal for us and we’re so pleased. With four lines, including two from the vegan

range, Wolfys has been listed in more than 200 stores.”

Kitchen Garden Foods, which manufacturers the instant porridge pots in Stroud, was founded in 1989 and has seen fantastic growth in its Wolfys brand since launching in 2013.

It employs around 24 staff and has won more than 100 awards for its products.

Gloucestershire’s Growth Hubs sprouting up all over the county

As Cirencester Growth Hub celebrates its first birthday, Gloucestershire’s Local Enterprise Partnership, GFirst, has announced that Stroud is also getting its own growth hub, which will be opening at SGS Stroud College Campus.

Using funding from the £101.7 million allocated from Government in the Gloucestershire Growth Deal, GFirst LEP’s Growth Hubs make free business support accessible for county businesses.

Sara-Jane Watkins, Stroud College Principal, said: “The college already has extremely strong links with local employers and working with the wider business community has always been a strategic priority of ours. This new Growth Hub will enhance support for businesses in the Stroud Valleys, from large enterprises to new start-ups.”

More awards success for Adey

Water treatment manufacturer and magnetic filtration pioneer, Adey, has collected another industry award, this time at the Commissioning Specialists Association (CSA) Awards.

Cheltenham-based Adey’s water testing services instrument took home Product Innovation of the Year for its MALDI-ToF.

MALDI-ToF (it stands for “Matrix Assisted Laser Disorption and Ionization by Time of Flight”, which doesn’t trip off the tongue quite so well), is an instant confirmation technique for microbiological testing. Cultures from water samples can be tested and an instant identification of genus and species provided where contaminants such as Legionella and Pseudomonas are found.

Nick Barsby, Adey’s Commercial Water Testing Manager, said the innovation represents a significant company investment. “Commercial water testing forms part of a range of products and services that help our customers achieve the best in safety, efficiency and lifespan of a water system,” he said.

James Moinet and James Horwood

Cirencester Growth Hub

“The Co-op’s listing is a really big deal for us and we’re so pleased. With four lines, including two from the vegan range, Wolfys has been listed in more than 200 stores”

© PICTURE COURTESY OF STAND OUT STUDIOS

Aviation training companies launch joint venture ground school

Regional round-up

Fast-growing commercial aviation training companies, Gloucesterbased Cat3C and Coventry-based Aeros Group, have established a joint venture to provide specialist ATPL theory (“ground school”) training.

Cat3C was founded by Tony Pike and former British Airways Captain Bill Chivers. The company has recently appointed Executive Director Nigel Orme to lead the expansion. Cat3C will continue to be based at Gloucester.

The Aeros Group has provided the airline industry with pilots for more than 30 years and has academies in Coventry, Gloucester, Cardiff, Nottingham and Doncaster. Aeros has a training alliance with Tayside Aviation, based in Dundee and Fife.

Nigel Orme said: “Cat3C’s joint venture with Aeros Group represents a significant partnership in providing industry-leading pilot training.”

Tony Pike, founder of Cat3C added: “Along with Bill Chivers, myself and the rest of our professional instructor team I am very pleased to join Aeros Group in our continued elevation of theoretical training to lead the high standards required of our future airline pilots.”

EG CARTER ARE DIAMOND GEEZERS SAY FIRE-HIT MANUFACTURERS

Gloucester-based construction company EG Carter & Co has completed a major factory restoration following a devastating fire last year.

In 2018, fire hit part of Tewkesbury Diamond Chrome Plating’s factory. EG Carter was called in to provide disaster recovery expertise in restoring the facility while enabling the factory to continue trading. After seven months, with the building now back in working order, both companies celebrated with an official opening ceremony.

execution of the works to keep the factory trading and permit safe was probably one of the most challenging we have ever done, with chemicals, asbestos and other issues to contend with.

“After a difficult time, we are back up and running. This is in part due to EG Carter’s project management of the rebuild. They were on target and stuck to their schedule”

“We also had to set realistic goals to provide the client with assurances that we could keep the factory operational while the repair works were carried out.”

George Todd, Director at Tewkesbury Diamond Chrome

Chris Nicks, Associate Director at EG Carter, said “The planning and

Platings said: “After a difficult time, we are back up and running. This is in part due to EG Carter’s project management of the rebuild. They were on target and stuck to their schedule.”

Cheltenham candle manufacturer builds on stateside success

Cheltenham-fragrance and candlemaker Marmalade of London, has opened a new distribution centre in New Jersey, USA and taken on more than 70 sales people there.

The business expanded into the United States last year after a Department for International Trade grant helped it attend the NY Now trade show, where it secured more than one million dollars’ worth of contracts with distributors. These contracts doubled the firm’s annual

turnover and it had to hire 10 more staff in the UK to keep up with demand.

Marmalade of London’s new US distribution centre will drive further growth in the region.

Piers Flook, Marmalade’s founder and CEO, said: “To become a successful exporting business, it has been important to respond to the nuances of local markets. US customers tend to look for assurances that a potential supplier is committed to the region.”

EG Carter and Tewkesbury Diamond Chrome Plating celebrate the factory reopening

Left to right seated - Nigel Orme, Tom Dunn and Bill Chivers

A TASTY EXPANSION FOR CHELTENHAM-BORN SRI LANKAN RESTAURANT

One of the UK’s leading Sri Lankan restaurant chains, The Coconut Tree, has just opened its fifth restaurant within three years, thanks to the help of Gloucester-based Target Catering Equipment.

Since opening its first bar and kitchen in Cheltenham in 2016, the award-winning company has expanded to Oxford, Bristol and now a new venue in Cardiff, all of which have a state-of-the-art kitchen designed by Target.

The Coconut Tree belongs to five friends who first met at school just outside Colombo, Sri Lanka when they were 11.

When they moved to the UK to study, some ended up in Cheltenham. The others followed later.

The menu offers Sri Lankan street food and it can be difficult to get a table at

Tasty expansion for truffle business thanks to bank investment

A Gloucestershire truffle business has secured a six-figure finance package from HSBC UK to help meet growing international demand.

TruffleHunter, which is based at South Cerney near Cirencester, sells fresh truffles and truffle-based products to wholesalers and consumers online. It will use the cash injection from HSBC UK to broaden its global presence and supply products to major US retailers for the first time.

The funding has supported the installation of an automated truffle oil filing line and jar filing machines, as well as a new packaging storage unit to meet demand.

Nigel Whitehouse, the company’s Chief Executive, said: “The truffle market is experiencing an exciting phase of growth that we want to be part of.”

TruffleHunter was founded in 2007 by Nigel and his wife Omi Pears. Truffle fungi are difficult to cultivate, their tendrils extend under the ground and harvesting them requires trained dogs. Pigs were traditionally used but they kept eating the truffles.

peak times.

Food critic Jay Rayner said in a review earlier this year: “The Coconut Tree manages that rare trick of being totally laid-back and completely on point at the same time. It also tells a terrific story about Sri Lanka; one that comes with a small bill to finish. That’s a perfect happy ending.”

Gloucestershire hotel unveils £1m plans for luxury spa

An historic Gloucestershire hotel is to build a luxury spa as part of a £1million investment plan.

The owners of the 17th century Stratton House Hotel in Cirencester have unveiled their plans after permission was approved for the new facility which will feature five treatment rooms, beauty suites, a steam room, sauna, juice bar and an outdoor jacuzzi.

Planned to open in early 2020, the spa will also provide ten new jobs. The 325 sq metre spa will be built in the north east corner of the hotel, overlooking its listed walled garden.

TruffleHunters oils

“The Coconut Tree manages that rare trick of being totally laid-back and completely on point at the same time”

The Coconut Tree, Cheltenham

Lea Williams is the Sales and Service specialist covering recruitment for GB Solutions in Gloucestershire

Lea Williams –Senior Consultant

Many recognise her from her days at the Chelsea Building Society but Lea’s experience in recruitment started shortly afterwards and she has honed her skills from being a resourcer to becoming a Senior Consultant.

Lea works a 360 degree recruitment service, handling the entire recruitment process from start to finish, forging lasting relationships with clients, building expert market knowledge and many of Lea’s candidates have gone on to become clients.

Offering both temporary and permanent staff for a broad range of clients, from manufacturing businesses hoping to grow their business development teams to field sales staff with national coverage working remotely against demanding targets. Strong sales teams have people who can read situations easily and assess other people’s unspoken reactions. They are quick to anticipate what objections may arise and present a way of thinking through them without ending up in a confrontational situation.

“Understanding the company and the product is key to delivering the result my clients want. I enjoy getting to grips with product and visiting the individual businesses’.

Fit is essential for Sales and Customer Service – and as our candidates increasingly have to present themselves via Skype or digitally, they have to be sure of hitting the spot from the outset!”

But people skills aren’t enough – sales has become a lot more professional and Account Handlers in particular need to be able to prove specialist product knowledge. In certain circumstances Product Development staff have become sales staff as they truly understand the benefits of the product. It goes without saying that the most successful sales people are great with people but also have great number skills as clients are looking to negotiate on the spot and preserving the margin is key.

To support Sales Teams there are also Customer Service teams who work across

diverse sectors Manufacturing, Travel, IT & Telecoms, Construction or Consumer Goods. These roles vary enormously from simple order processing to cross selling, referring on to specialists and at the hub of the business calling out to technical support. As the all-important first port of call, these team members develop contacts across the industry and help grow the business through referrals and recommendations.

Lea enjoys researching the specialist skillset required for each role and recruits the right blend of experience, including good business sense, technical competency and a flair for communication and negotiation.

If you would like to discuss how we can support your recruitment Lea would be pleased to hear from you.

and along the M4 and M5 corridors.

As one of the cornerstones of the business Lea is the go-to person for both candidates and clients who are looking to develop their businesses in Gloucester and the surrounding counties.

TRELLEBORG SEALS GUINNESS WORLD RECORD

Tewkesbury-based Trelleborg Sealing Solutions has set a Guinness World Record title for the largest O-Ring fluid power seal which it manufactured at its Tewkesbury facility using its FlexiMold™ process.

The successful record was all part of a project with Tewkesbury School and the 364-metre elastomer O-Ring was laid around the medieval Tewkesbury Abbey.

The Mayor of Tewkesbury, an adjudicator from the Guinness Book of World Records, Trelleborg employees, pupils, their teachers and parents, and

others from the local community joined the ceremony.

For the project to set a world record for the largest O-Ring ever produced, Trelleborg Sealing Solutions teamed up with 20 GCSE engineering pupils from the school.

The students were coached in manufacturing disciplines and were involved in the design, costing and production planning of the O-Ring.

Card company expands into stationery

Gloucester-based Great British Card Company has expanded into stationery. The range, called The Joy of Journaling, has been designed by the company’s inhouse artist Miki Rose.

One of the largest independent card companies in the UK, the Great British Card Company designs and makes its own cards and distributes for other companies. It started life as Paper House in 1980 in a Cheltenham garage, and then in a warehouse in Northleach before moving to its current facility at Waterwells.

Through a series of acquisitions, including Medici Cards in 2008 followed by The Almanac Gallery in 2013, the company has grown and this year diversified into gifts production to differentiate itself in an increasingly competitive greetings card environment.

Earlier this year the company recruited Katy Golden from WH Smith, making her Head

Legacy aerospace parts manufacturer snapped up by private equity

Cheltenham-based Ontic, a leading provider of original equipment manufacturer (OEM) licensed parts for legacy aerospace platforms is to be sold by its parent company BBA Aviation plc.

of Gifts. Katy has worked in various buying and new product development roles within WH Smith for more than 14 years, the last seven as category manager for stationery and gifts for the company’s website.

The Great British Card Company currently licenses out to personalised online greetings specialist Moonpig, and also to Design Design, a card publisher in the United States.

The buyer, subject to shareholder approval and regulatory consents, is private equity company CVC Capital Partner’s CVC Fund Vll.

Ontic was acquired by BBA in February 2006 and has grown through the acquisition of licences, organic growth and investment. It now supports more than 39,000 legacy aircraft, through a portfolio of more than 165 licences for around 7,000 parts and 1,200 customers worldwide.

James Mahoney, Senior Managing Director, CVC Capital Partners, said: “Ontic is a growing, highly resilient business and a leading player in what we believe to be a very attractive market. We see multiple opportunities to develop the business further and look forward to working closely with Ontic’s excellent management.”

Ontic has manufacturing bases in Cheltenham, the USA and Singapore.

The Trelleborg Guinness world record

at our Annual Review event on Thursday 19th September.

The emerging strategy revolves around rich intelligence on our economic strengths and the local capabilities of Gloucestershire’s employers, and highlights the parts of our economy that stand to make the greatest contribution to productivity as we reach 2030.

Our emerging Local Industrial Strategy draws on significant stakeholder engagement and input as well as guidance from government and learning from other LEPs. Our ‘call for evidence’ delivered nearly 300 responses from public, private and third sector partners detailing adopted and emerging strategies and responses to the questions we posed around ways to deliver greater productivity in the county.

We have also carried out extensive face-to-face engagement with councils, regional and sub-regional partners, businesses and our youth population. Engagement with over 5,000 young

people (aged 14 – 25) has helped to set the ambition to be a ‘Magnet County’, concentrating on the physical and economic parts of Gloucestershire that matter most to future generations.

But that is not the end of the process. We are seeking your views once again to ensure that we have captured the essence of this place, its businesses, residents and workforce – all of whom will be central to its success. We must continue to remove the barriers to generating greater productivity and convene the necessary conversations between stakeholders to drive action. These stakeholders include our anchor institutions such as local government and the wider public and third sector, academia, research facilities, businesses and the community. Our strategy will also drive a dialogue with government to support investment in Gloucestershire and ensure that local organisations are empowered to drive the

change that is needed to respond to the economic challenges and opportunities facing the area.

GFirst LEP is seeking views on this document to ensure the future direction of its business population, residents and communities is one that delivers inclusive growth and prosperity. If you would like to respond to this consultation, please submit your comments to LIS@gfirstlep.com

Our Annual Review event is on:

Thursday 19th September - 2.30pm to 4.30pm

The School of Business & Technology Oxstalls Campus, Gloucester GL2 9HW.

GFirst LEP is Gloucestershire’s Local Enterprise Partnership whose mission it is to drive sustainable economic growth throughout the county.

Creating jobs and business opportunities for thousands of people, GFirst LEP has been tasked by Government to produce a Local Industrial Strategy for the county. We will be launching our draft Local Industrial Strategy

Dr Diane Savory OBE - Chair

MEET THE GFIRST TEAM

Dr Diane Savory OBE Chair

Diane is the Chair of GFirst LEP and represents Gloucestershire as part of the Future High Streets Forum. Diane was awarded an OBE in recognition of her work with GFirst LEP and her contribution to business in 2013.

With a passion for fashion, Diane rapidly progressed through the Superdry ranks to become its Chief Operating Officer, transforming the company from a small, local enterprise to the now-distinctive global fashion retailer that is Superdry.

David Owen Chief Executive

David is Chief Executive of GFirst LEP, one of the most successful Local Enterprise Partnerships in the country. He is also a Trustee of The Summerfield Charitable Trust, on the Investment Panel for the digital services company JISC and a NonExec Director of the training and business development company, Gloucestershire Enterprise Ltd. GFirst LEP was established in 2011 to develop and support the economic well-being of Gloucestershire. David has been Chief Executive since its inception and continues to be a driving force in the economic development of an overall strategy plan for Gloucestershire.

Rob Jenkins

Head of Education and Skills

Elizabeth looks after our business groups, which represent over 120 companies and thousands of employees in Gloucestershire, ensuring that the business community is always heard, striving forward and delivering for the county with one voice.

Elizabeth.weaver@gfirstlep.com

Rob is leading the Education and Skills Team in engaging and connecting schools and colleges with business and industry across Gloucestershire. The Education and Skills Team are seeking out new opportunities and funding streams to meet future skills needs for the county and ensuring that the business voice is heard clearly in the education and employment sectors.

Rob.jenkins@gfirstlep.com

Katie Jenkins

Director of Local Industrial Strategy

Katie is leading the development of the Local Industrial Strategy for Gloucestershire; the paper will become a blue print for the county when the next phase of Government funding is announced.

Katie.jenkins@gfirstlep.com

Chris Lau Head of Inward Investment

Chris heads up the newly formed Inward Investment team for the county. The role of the Inward Investment team is to support both existing and new, foreign direct investment into the county by promoting the offer of Gloucestershire as a great place to set up an international business.

Chris.lau@gfirstlep.com

Dev Chakraborty

Deputy Chief Executive

Dev manages a number of the teams within GFirst LEP – Business Groups, Marketing, Infrastructure Projects and the Local Industrial Strategy. So an average day can involve; chairing the LEP’s Cyber Business Group, drafting a press release, representing the LEP at strategic meetings with local authority partners or deputising for David.

Dev.chakraborty@gfirstlep.com

Sarah Danson

Director of Strategic Growth

Sarah is working to build the capacity and capability of our Gloucestershire Growth Hub Network and business support activity within the county; she is also responsible for the newly created GFirst LEP Mentoring Services Programme and the Inward Investment Team.

Sarah.danson@gfirstlep.com

Jessica Gray

Marketing Manager

Jessica looks after all online and offline marketing activity for GFirst LEP, she is the custodian of the brand. The LEP website, social media, press releases and events all fall under Jess’s responsibility.

Jessica.gray@gfirstlep.com

Elizabeth Weaver

Business Group Manager

Wynne-Jones IP celebrates new headquarters

Leading IP law firm, Wynne-Jones IP, moved to its new headquarters at Gloucester business park and celebrated with an office launch party. The move from Cheltenham to Valiant Court at Gloucester Business Park has more than doubled the size of operational space and directors were excited to welcome guests and show off their innovative 6,000sq feet new workspace.

PHOTOGRAPHY: ROB LACEY

Would you like to feature your business event, launch or party in our business events section?

Wynne-Jones Directors, Jayne Nation, Victor Caddy, Fiona Watkins and Ian Lambert

David Handley from Mosaique and Deej Johnson from Word Whizz

Wynne-Jones office wall art

John Bailey from NatWest with Jim Robertson from Wynne-Jones

Babs Meijer from AIPEX with Spencer McPherson from Still Moving Media and Janneke Grooten from AIPEX

Rachel Townley, Arzu Lomlu, Patricia Rutten, Babs Meijer and Janneke Grooten from AIPEX

James Geary from Randall & Payne with Phil Arch from Business Solutions (Midlands)

Laura Gelder-Robertson from Innovation Beehive with Rachel von Hossle from Wynne-Jones and Joe Nagle from Innovation Beehive

Harpist entertaining guests

Paul Gordon from Willans with Gwyneth Milner from Kingscott Dix and Nick Southwell from Willans

Jonny Lerwill from Airbus with Darren Glover of Business Solutions (Midlands) and Martin Hyden from Wynne-Jones

THE MEAN VIEW

Keep your promises, Boris. Brexit or not, business needs help

By Ian Mean

As I write this, I am more than ever convinced that business needs to ready itself for a general election.

Barnstorming Boris Johnson talks a good talk but does anyone actually believe his no-deal threat?

Business finds itself facing down the same dark alley that it has done for the last three years with our politicians giving us little or no clarity for future decision making.

As a result, business investment has virtually ground to a halt which, in turn, is resulting in lower productivity.

Why the UK’s productivity is so low is a real puzzle, but I think we can safely say that technical investment, and especially investment in training and leadership, is one of the keys to unlocking that puzzle.

However, there are going to be few companies facing up to investing in more training for their people or capital investment in technology and plant until Brexit is sorted out one way or the other.

So the idea of government developing any immediate, clear business and industrial strategy seems to be for the birds.

I think we should, therefore, give our ministers a bit of a nudge about some of the issues we do need to sort — Brexit or not.

They also need to be reminded of their promises in this period of so many promises having been made to business.

The promise by Boris to revolutionise Broadband provision must not be forgotten.

In many parts of our region, it is lamentable to say the least.

I would point him to the Forest of Dean where the Forest Economic Partnership is just completing a special Broadband survey: How good, how fast?

A good idea for the rest of the country?

And what about the promise made during the prime ministerial race by Michael Gove to scrap business rates?

It is an iniquitous tax which gives little help to the firms that pay them.

And then there is the promise by Boris to create more apprenticeships.

That will not happen unless the apprenticeship levy is overhauled and our further education colleges receive a big boost in their funding.

SMEs, the very firms that wish to expand which will create more productivity and more taxes for the Chancellor, are increasingly being denied opportunities to take on apprentices.

Why? They are often finding that the apprenticeship pot for small companies has run dry.

is one of the keys to unlocking

Young apprentices are our future so we must ensure that the feet of ministers are held to the fire if we see them backtracking on their promises.

We have become used to some of our politicians being less than honest.

But when they make promises to business as they have done in the run-up to the Prime Minister’s election, they must keep them.

Ian Mean is Gloucestershire Director of Business West, and a former regional newspaper editor.

He is an honorary vice-president of Gloucestershire College and has an honorary doctorate of philosophy from the University of Gloucestershire for supporting business in the county.

Ian is also chairman of the Gloucestershire Hospitals Trust Organ Donation Committee and a board member of Gloucestershire’s Local Enterprise Partnership, championing small and medium-sized businesses.

Ian Mean

“Productivity is a real puzzle, but I think we can safely say that technical investment, and especially investment in training and leadership,

that puzzle”

MAKING EVERY ORGAN COUNT

Technology from Oxford spin-out OrganOx is saving lives by making every organ count

By Nicky Godding

Liver disease kills around 11,000 people a year in England, a rise of around 40 per cent over the last decade and this upward trajectory shows no sign of stopping.

Some patients, though not all, could recover if they received a liver transplant, but tragically there are not enough healthy donated livers to meet demand.

There were around 1,000 successful liver transplants in the UK last year, but approximately 1,500 donations.

That means 500 were rejected by surgeons as not being suitable for transplant.

Since the first successful liver transplant was done in 1967, experienced surgeons have had to decide whether to use a donated liver largely by visual and physical assessment alone. In the heat of the moment, with the patient often in the operating theatre, there’s no time for detailed analysis before transplantation, and the surgeon will always err on the side of caution. If they think a donated liver is marginal, it will be rejected.

Those livers they do deem suitable are taken from the deceased donor, put in an icebox and bluelighted to hospital. It is truly a life and death situation. Once a liver has been transplanted there’s no going back for the patient, no dialysis as with kidneys.

If it doesn’t work the patient might or might not get the chance of another transplant. And all that has to happen within 12 hours.

Now a company based at the Oxford Science Park has developed the technology to support a liver at body temperature for up to 24 hours.

Craig Marshall, CEO, OrganOx

OrganOx’s metra® device gives surgeons more time, and the means they haven’t had before, to assess the quality of the liver before transplantation takes place and allows a liver to be transplanted at body temperature (transplanting a liver that has been on ice for hours increases patient trauma).

Put simply, the device mimics the human body’s impact on the liver and works by keeping the organ at a steady 37C while supplying the liver with oxygenated blood, anti-clotting drugs and nutrients to keep it healthy.

OrganOx’s metra® is now approved for clinical use in the UK and Europe and is undergoing a clinical trial in the United

“OrganOx’s metra® device gives surgeons more time, and the means they haven’t had before, to assess the quality of the liver before transplantation.”

States, where it expects to achieve Federal Drug Agency approval within the next year.

And it is the US market which offers major opportunities for the company.

American surgeons are judged on the one-year performance of the patients they have transplanted. They are not judged on the waiting list mortality statistics and are particularly cautious about the transplants they carry out.

OrganOx’s metra® is now being used by six out of seven of the UK’s transplant centres. Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge reports the number of liver transplants it has carried out has risen by 25 per cent over the last 12 months.

To date, more than 500 transplants have happened in 10 countries across the world using OrganOx technologies.

OrganOx shortlisted for UK’s top engineering prize

OrganOx’s metra® was selected as a finalist for the 2019 MacRobert Award, the most prestigious prize for UK engineering innovation.

Celebrating its 50th anniversary, the MacRobert Award is run by the Royal Academy of Engineering and recognises engineering teams that demonstrate outstanding innovation, tangible societal benefit and proven commercial success within the UK engineering sector

MacRobert Award judge, Professor David Delpy CBE, said: “This is a very impressive piece of complete systems engineering. It involves almost all engineering disciplines, clinical research and the development of new regulatory approvals for what is possibly the most complex bioengineering system on the market. Apart from the obvious and immediate benefit for all transplant patients, the long-lasting benefit of this development will be a total change in the way we manage transplant surgery and treat, regenerate and recreate organs that are supported outside the body.”

A collaboration which is saving lives

OrganOx was spun out of Oxford University in December 2008. Most university spin-outs have one academic founder, but this has two.

The company was established by Professor Peter Friend, Professor of Transplantation at the University of Oxford and Director of the Oxford Transplant Centre, where he is responsible for the kidney, small bowel and pancreatic transplant programmes.

His co-founder is Professor Constantin Coussios. Peter was Constantin’s supervisor on an engineering project while they were both at Cambridge. The idea for the metra® device was born out of a 10-

year collaboration between this clinician and engineer. The team moved to Oxford in the late 1990s and established OrganOx 10 years later.

Its current CEO is Craig Marshall, who joined in 2016 from his previous role as Managing Director of Siemens Magnet Technology, based at Eynsham, Oxford.

Craig has the task of propelling OrganOx from successful trials into a commercially successful business.

Before Siemens Magnet Technology (created out of a joint venture between Oxford Instruments and Siemens), where he spent two years as Director of Engineering before becoming Managing Director, Craig was Head of Imaging Operations at GE Healthcare. Moving to OrganOx in December was something of a culture shock, albeit a welcome one.

OrganOx

“At Siemens I was responsible for 450 people, had a big corner office, electric desk, a PA and support team around me. When I moved to OrganOx, there were 12 employees and I did have an office, but quickly gave it up because we needed it more for meeting space.”

Employee numbers have now more than doubled to 25 (including the much-needed PA), with two working in the USA, one in France and another in Germany.

Moving from a big business to an ambitious spin-out might be short on home comforts, but Craig has a new energy, which makes up for the fact that he’s working a lot harder.

“What’s different here is the direct engagement I have with our investors. I’ve also applied my big-company experience in preparing OrganOx for the growth we are predicting. There are now job titles, structures, values and key performance indicators.

“Surgeons in the UK alone need to be able to carry out around 2,000 transplants a year and it is a crying shame that some organs are being discarded when, thanks to technology such as ours, they could be transplanted. We want every organ to count.”

The company’s founding investors include the University of Oxford and Longwall Ventures. Other investors include high net worth individuals, but no one investor holds more than 20 per cent of the business.

“It makes for a healthy spread of knowledge and experience around the boardroom table,” said Craig.

OrganOx is now trading and in Craig’s first year reported around £1 million turnover. Last year turnover was more than £1.7 million, and the company is forecasting £3.3 million this year.

“We aim to come into profit in 2021 when we have secured approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration agency,” said Craig.

“This is platform technology,” he added. “We have the first product for liver. We have a second product in development for the kidney and others are in the pipeline.”

An out-of-body experience

The technical challenge of maintaining a liver’s health outside the human body is immense.

The resistance that must be overcome to push blood through any human organ varies hugely. For instance, the amount of blood flowing through the liver can triple after eating a meal and the pressure in the hepatic artery (the blood vessel that supplies oxygenated blood to the liver) has to be maintained within a relatively narrow physiological range.

The OrganOx metra® system understands and responds to the vascular resistance of the organ in the same way as the body does. The founders have created a “brain” which monitors all critical levels flowing in and out of the liver. “There are well over 100,000 lines of code on our device, with a

computer controlling pump speed, pressure into the hepatic artery and everything else,” explained Craig.

“We are doubling the time available to organise and carry out a successful liver transplant from 12 to 24 hours, and putting a donated liver on our machine helps the transplant team assess how well it’s working.”

It also means that liver transplants can be done during the day, rather than in the middle of the night, which is when donor livers often come in at short notice, for example after a fatal road traffic accident.

Those undergoing organ transplants at night are statistically more likely to have poor outcomes. And surgeons will often have to work the following day.

It also boosts the attraction of a career in transplant surgery among young surgeons, where long hours and responsibilities were considered part of the job. The next generation may not have to sacrifice so much by having to work through the night.

The technology can also be used on a liver which has been transported in an icebox. By transferring it to an OrganOx metra, the liver can be brought back to body temperature and monitored before transplant.

Using OrganOx’s metra® device, the Newcastle and The Royal Free in London transplant centres have significantly reduced their number of night time liver transplants.

Some patients awaiting a transplant have had to resort to living in caravans near the hospital to be close enough when an organ came in.

In rural counties, patients can easily be three hours away from a hospital, and the further away, the less likely they are to be offered the most marginal organ. But living in a caravan isn’t conducive to good health. Sick people need to be at home, or in hospital. Now, patients on the list have eight hours to get to a hospital which has invested in OrganOx’s technology.

OrganOx

“Our metra® device gives a transplant team 24 hours rather than 12. This means the surgery can be carried out in daytime hours”

Distance no longer a concern for rural patients

What does IP strategy mean?

Intellectual property (IP) is a business asset that can have substantial value and can be used to give you a competitive advantage, build brand recognition and a reputation for innovation, generate income or secure investment and… basically…grow. Is your IP strategy looking its best?

An experienced patent attorney can usually help with at least some of these questions, and that is a good place to start. However, the simple fact is that your IP strategy may need to be considered from several different angles, using the right network of advisers. Mathys & Squire is able to provide a comprehensive and strategic IP management service through its sister company, Coller IP, whose experienced IP management specialists help organisations of all types to realise meaningful value from their intangible assets.

We are lucky to have one of those specialists, Alex Tame, based here in our Oxford office. Alex and the rest of the team at Coller IP have many years’ experience of delivering strategic IP projects, ranging from IP audits, training, licensing, trade secret audits, valuation, cost management and strategy positioning to customers ranging from micro-enterprises to large multinational and investors across Europe and South East Asia. Their specialisms include IP valuation for investment purposes, assisting businesses in the UK,

ASK YOURSELF THESE QUESTIONS:

 Do you know what IP your business has (or could have)?

It can’t add value to, or help to grow, your business if you don’t know it’s there.

 Are you aware of all the unregistered IP rights that already exist within your business?

It is rare for a business to have no IP at all.

 Do you know when to keep your ideas confidential, and when and how it is safe to share them?

Whether it’s a trade secret or a patentable invention, confidentiality can be a crucial part of your IP strategy.

 Do you have registered IP for the key USPs of your business?

Strategic use of registered IP, such

Europe, USA, Asia and UAE with the maximisation of value from their IP assets, and successfully connecting funds and investors with innovation driven business opportunities.

If you are looking to secure your innovation, determine the intangible value of your business or open up new revenue streams to grow your business, get in touch with us:

as patents, designs and trademarks, can protect your USPs to give you the competitive advantage to grow your business or attract investment.

 Are you aware of the tax relief (named Patent Box) available against profits from sales of a patented product?

This applies to even a small part of the product and has the potential to offset, and even by far outweigh, the cost of obtaining a patent.

 Do you know how your IP strategy can help to secure funding?

Whether you need to borrow against the value of your IP, secure grant funding or attract investment, the right IP strategy can help, whereas a weak or non-existent IP strategy can be detrimental.

Vicki Strachan Patent Attorney

& head of Mathys & Squire’s Oxford office vjstrachan@mathys-squire.com www.mathys-squire.com

Alex Tame Director of

IP – Coller IP alex.tame@collerip.com collerip.com

…and why do you need to have one that is tailored to your business and commercial aspirations?

It’s not all uphill for escalator cleaning manufacturer

NATURE-INSPIRED JEWELLER WINS BLENHEIM’S STARTUP BUSINESS AWARD

A jeweller whose work is inspired by the natural world has won this year’s FAB Startup Business Award, the final of which was held at Blenheim Palace.

FAB, the brainchild of Fabulous Bakin’ Boys’ founder Gary Frank, was Oxford’s first accelerator programme for entrepreneurs and startups.

Shipston-on-Stour-based Wild & Fine was among eight shortlisted businesses which pitched their businesses to Blenheim’s senior management and the FAB Accelerator team.

Winner Jessica Hickman-Woolcott, silversmith, jeweller and owner of Wild & Fine, was awarded a contract to supply her work to the Oxfordshire Estate’s retail outlets.

Jessica Hickman-Woolcott and colleague Hannah Rogan will also receive help and advice from the Blenheim management team.

Jessica said: “We are so grateful for the opportunity to work with Blenheim and are especially excited about the prospect of developing bespoke designs inspired by the Palace and grounds.”

Working in partnership with the FAB Accelerator team, the Oxfordshire estate’s programme supports locally-based firms and is now in its second year.

The awards are open to any business which is less than two years old, has fewer than five employees, is based within 20 miles of Blenheim, and can provide something which can be stocked in their shops.

Roger File, Property Director and Chief Operating Officer at Blenheim, said: “Our decision to select Wild & Fine was based not only on their range of delicate jewellery, but also on their passion and values, as well as the development potential of their collection to reflect the Palace’s beautiful gardens and parkland.”

The other seven finalists were BREATHE360, A Blackbird Sang, Lou Lou Creates, Rootyfruit, Hazell & Gray, The Conscious Company and Miana Ltd.

A Wallingford-based business which designs and manufactures deep cleaning machines for escalators and travellators has launched its latest product.

Rosemor’s Rotomatic ET15B deep cleans the vertical and horizontal part of an escalator step. The new model has 15 rotating brushes, an illuminated panel and a battery built in, alongside mains usage.

The company’s flagship product has been designed and manufactured by aircraft engineers using aircraft materials. Rosemor’s machines are used in locations such as airports, railway stations and shopping centres.

The company, formed in 1985, invests significantly in research and development. Managing Director Efraim Rosen, said: “Our escalator cleaning machines are being used in 59 countries across the world.”

The escalator cleaning market is set to soar, according to market research and with escalators in the majority of public buildings, it’s not hard to see why.

There are 426 escalators on the London Underground alone. The longest at Angel tube station is 60 metres long.

The FAB start-up business finalists

“We are so grateful for the opportunity to work with Blenheim and are especially excited about the prospect of developing bespoke designs inspired by the Palace and grounds”

Winner Jessica in her workshop

Rosemor’s latest Rotomatic

Builders beware: new rules on the way for VAT in the construction sector

Don’t be caught out, warns leading accountancy practice

Whitley Stimpson…

This October there’s set to be a major shift in VAT legislation within the construction sector, and with time running out, Whitley Stimpson has concerns that many firms are still unaware that the new rules are coming into force.

The VAT reverse charge for construction services removes the need for the supplier to charge VAT on an invoice between contractors. Instead, the contractor becomes responsible for the charge themselves. The aim is to avoid what has been called ‘missing trader fraud’, where a sub-contractor will charge and be paid VAT but then disappear before it is declared to HMRC. As the contractor is now responsible for accounting for VAT, this practice can no longer happen. The new legislation comes into force on October 1st 2019.

Whitley Stimpson one of the largest independent accountancy practices in the area, is currently advising clients who are going to be affected by these changes across the sector. This includes all VAT registered contractors and sub-contractors who are registered with the Construction Industry Scheme.

“We are informing our affected clients and guiding them through how to comply. However, there seems to be little discussion about this across the wider construction industry, which is rather concerning.”

A survey of the Federation of Master Builders’ (FMB) 8,000 small and medium-sized construction firm members

found that over two-thirds (69%) had not even heard of reverse charge VAT, and out of those that had, more than two-thirds (67%) have not prepared for the changes.

“This new legislation represents a major shift in how VAT is managed and collected, and construction firms need to be aware of how it will have an impact on their business.”

Luke Wiseman, Manager Whitley Stimpson

The FMB has called on the government for a delay of at least six months to the changes to avoid what the association calls a “Negative economic impact” on its members, and the industry as a whole.

The lack of plain English guidance around the changes was also flagged, labelling the advice ‘unclear’ and ‘contradictory’ in places, and the builders’ body also criticised HMRC for not doing enough to prepare the industry for the changes.

Companies that are unaware will incur penalties from the revenue. Taking action now will prevent a serious impact on cash flow; the new rules will add a significant administrative burden onto construction companies, fundamentally changing the way they invoice their clients and pay their taxes to HMRC. Whitley Stimpson can help to review the situation and make sure these companies have the software in place to deal with the changes that come into play in October.

Luke continues: “Smaller firms may suffer financially in that they lose the initial VAT income and it is important that every business considers the implications for themselves. Anyone with any queries should not hesitate to contact us and we will advise them of the best action to take for their particular circumstances.”

Luke Wiseman, Manager, Whitley Stimpson

DIGITAL AGENCY GIVES ITSELF UP TO EMPLOYEES

Torchbox, a digital agency with 65 employees and offices in Charlbury and Bristol, has become the first digital agency in the UK to transfer its entire business to its employees.

The company offers digital product development and marketing to clients across the non-profit, healthcare and higher education sectors. It created Wagtail, a popular open source content management system now used by the NHS, NASA and Google.

profits and will continue to help run the business via the Trust, in a model similar to that of the John Lewis Partnership.

Internet company storms awards for seventh time

Storm Internet has bagged a seventh win at the 2019 UK Internet Industry Awards, the ISPAs, this year taking home Best Hosted Service.

Storm was shortlisted in three categories for Best Cyber Security, Best Customer Solution and Best Hosted Service. The judges were particularly impressed by the company’s identification of technical risks to customers and targeting investment internally to address this.

Salim Benadel, Storm Internet’s founder, said: “To take a win in this category is a real honour and testament to the hard work of our team.”

“When we were considering the future of Torchbox, we thought about the importance of retaining our independent spirit, continuing our fast growth and empowering our brilliant team”

Torchbox’s employees, who will receive a taxfree bonus of up to £3,600 every year as part of the deal, have elected a Trust of Directors from the existing workforce. The Trust will work alongside Torchbox’s directors to develop the business.

Torchbox founders Olly Willans and Tom Dyson will be part of the Trust for five years, until the business has repaid their majority stakes. Staff will eventually be able to decide how to direct agency

“When we were considering the future of Torchbox, we thought about the importance of retaining our independent spirit, continuing our fast growth and empowering our brilliant team,” explained Tom. “By far the best people to own Torchbox are those who have made it a success. We wanted to commit to it entirely without maintaining any kind of minority shareholding.”

Alex Bridge, senior developer, has been made a trustee director.

He said: “Being able to help create the future of the company you work for is a brilliant opportunity. The trustee directors are going to make sure that Torchbox is well set up for growth and success – it’s a big responsibility, but an exciting one.”

Plant and tool hire business grows

A local plant and tool hire business has opened a new depot at Banbury.

Greenplant is an independently owned plant, tool and event hire business which also has a depot in Oxford.

Andy Camden, General Manager, said: “Opening a new depot was a milestone for us and we are seeing fair progress six months down the line.”

The opening was attended by Managing Director Chris White of White Commercial Chartered Surveyors of Banbury and Senior Economic Growth Officer of Cherwell District Council Steve Newman.

Olly Willans and Tom Dyson

UKSPA Conference

The United Kingdom Science Park Association (UKSPA) represents and supports Science Parks, Incubators, Innovation Centres and other areas of innovation in the UK and beyond.

The UKSPA Conference taking place on 7-8 November at Culham Science Centre will have leading experts discussing the latest trends in the science & innovation sector from a regional and national perspective.

The Conference will include looking at drivers for Oxford’s knowledge economy, sessions on innovation and business support for SME’s, bio-incubation good practice, supporting life science SME’s as well as a packed programme of keynote and discussion sessions from renowned speakers and much more.

For further conference details and registration go to www.ukspa.org.uk/culham

To discuss exhibiting and sponsorship oppurtunities: info@ukspa.org.uk

Follow us: @UKSPA

A MUST ATTEND FOR THOSE WITH AN INTEREST IN THE GROWTH OF THE UK INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY SECTORS

A better way to engage with your customers and contacts

Robin Road is a new platform that enables SMEs to have their own, native mobile app in a way that is affordable.

An app is all about convenience.

In today’s uber-information age, where you can Google anything and learn nothing, people expect to take out their phone and tap a few buttons to instantly get the information they want.

Whenever and wherever they may need it. Larger businesses and organisations are setting the bar very high when it comes to using apps to improve the customer experience; and apps are becoming more prominent across many business and community sectors.

The need for contemporary customer engagement is the same for SMEs as

for the bigger names but the high cost and complexity of bespoke app development is prohibitive.

Robin Road was created very much with small business and organisations in mind; our pricing is only £75 – £150 per month. Our technical infrastructure has been designed to present a considerable amount of information. With simple, sensible and flexible presentation, lightning fast navigation and push notifications for proactive communications.

For product and service information; rules, regulations, policies and procedures; technical specifications; member profiles and contact information; key dates and events; newsletters, blogs, case studies, articles and minutes; comprehensive trade directories, etc.

All together in one place. Quickly and easily available. Anytime and anywhere.

Culham Science Centre, D5 Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 3DB

Venue

CIRCUS CELEBRATION IS JUST THE

TICKET FOR GRUNDON

REGIONAL ROUND-UP OXFORDSHIRE

Waste Management company Grundon, which has its headquarters in Oxfordshire, celebrated its 90th anniversary by teaming up with the wonderfully unique Gloucestershire-based Giffords Circus for a fun-filled weekend of performances under the Big Top in Windsor.

Neil Grundon, now deputy chairman of the Grundon family business, has been friends with Nell Gifford, founder of Giffords Circus, for more than 30 years. He said the opportunity to take over the circus for the weekend was just too good to miss.

More than 2,000 people attended six performances over the weekend.

Twin Town challenge 2020 heads for the £1 million finishing line

Preparations are revving up for the final Twin Town Challenge next May. The event will see 100 teams each driving £500 cars to Witney’s twin town of Le Touquet in France for a weekend of fun and team challenges in a bid to raise more than £1 million for charity.

The bi-annual event raises money for Charlbury-based charity SpecialEffect.

The event will finish back at Blenheim Palace four days later.

The Twin Town Challenge is organised by Brendon Cross, MD of Witney based STL Communications and Hexagon Business Centres and a SpecialEffect Vice-President.

Brendon said: “The Twin Town Challenge is an amazing sight with 100 cars, 400 people in fancy dress and more than 50 volunteers. All the costs of the event are covered by sponsorship and all entry fees and team fundraising goes straight to the charity.”

www.twintown.org.uk

Stepnell completes new hotel for Feldon Valley golf club

A new four-star hotel near Banbury is giving guests the chance to stay a chip-shot away from one of the region’s best golf courses.

The 13-bedroom hotel at Feldon Valley golf club was built by family business Stepnell, which also oversaw the building of four woodland lodges, as well as the extension and remodelling of the existing clubhouse.

The £6.75 million project now provides accommodation for up to 50 guests.

Rob Speirs, regional director at Rugby-based Stepnell, said: “One of the key parts of our brief was to deliver something that enhances the club and surrounding area for non-members.”

He added: “The work at Feldon Valley was essentially three projects in one: an extensive refurbishment job on the clubhouse, building a two-storey hotel and four high-quality woodland lodges, all completed while the club stayed open for business.”

Giffords Circus helps Grundon celebrate 90 years in business

The new Feldon Valley hotel

2018 Twin Town Challenge

ABINGDON:

A TOWN THAT MOVES WITH THE TIMES

In 1974 Abingdon (which some claim is the oldest in the country) “moved” from Berkshire to Oxfordshire, where it is now part of the Vale of White Horse District Council.

Then in 2011 this contrary town decided that just being called Abingdon wasn’t enough and the following year it became double barrelled, renaming itself Abingdon-on-Thames.

A savvy move to celebrate its location on the River Thames, but there’s another reason why visitors might drop into Abingdon. Perhaps they come to enjoy the town’s ancient tradition of bun throwing.

Apparently, this wonderfully mad event is a cross between a ceremony and a bun-fight, but bun throwings only take place when the town council votes to hold one. The last occasion was November 10, 2018 to mark 100 years since the end of the First World War.

Located between the larger tech and science clusters of Harwell, Culham and Milton Park, Abingdon has a lot in its favour. There’s space for start-up businesses in an historic town with plenty to enjoy.

It’s not often that a town gets itchy feet, but after 1,000 or so years of residing contentedly in Berkshire, the ancient town of Abingdon decided it was time for a move

Abbey Gateway, Abingdon

Abingdon’s proud motoring history makes way for science and tech

From 1929 to 1980 Abingdon was best known industrially as home to the MG car factory. All that now remains is the MG car club headquarters based on the former 50-acre factory site which is now Abingdon Business Park. It sits alongside other occupiers including upmarket domestic appliance manufacturer Smeg, internet service provider Gigaclear, tech company Oxford Nanosystems and Cellmark Forensics.

Abingdon’s Science Park, on the other side of town, which offers around 75,000 sq ft of office and laboratory accommodation, is home to companies such as cloud service and cyber security company Sophos, communications company Fishawack, data science company Tessella and leading cancer gene therapy PsiOxus.

Abingdon is UK’s third largest area for scale-up tech investment

The latest report from TechNation, published in May, revealed that Abingdon was the third largest town for tech investment in the UK between 2015-2018, coming immediately behind London and Cambridge.

The Tech Nation Report has been the UK’s “State-of-the -Nation” report on technology since 2015. Each year it monitors the growth of the sector and provides information on opportunities and challenges.

Oxford Nanosystems, which specialises in developing heat transfer coatings for the industrial, transport and electronic sectors, has had a busy year.

Last November it expanded from Harwell Campus to Abingdon Business Park. CEO Dr Alexander Reip, said: “As we begin our first major steps to commercialisation we are delighted to move into a purpose-fitted out facility which has room for future expansion and great road connections.”

Dr Reip has also been in the news himself. In June he was admitted as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and the previous month he won the Rising Star in Industry Award from the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Oxford NanoSystems has developed nanoFLUX®, a coating technology that reduces the temperature a heating element needs to reach before the surrounding liquid boils. This reduction allows systems to be more efficient and reduces overall energy consumption.

Expanding Oxford Nanosystems is hot on the trail of success

River Thames at Abingdon

“Located between the larger tech and science clusters of Harwell, Culham and Milton Park, Abingdon has a lot in its favour”

GIGACLEAR IS TRANSFORMING RURAL COMMUNITIES

Successful rural broadband provider Gigaclear, which has its headquarters at Abingdon, is helping transform rural communities into the best digitally connected places in the country.

It is currently building a network across 22 counties from central England down to Devon. Gigaclear plans, designs and builds the infrastructure to deliver full fibre broadband and operate an ISP.

Backed by principal shareholder Infracapital, the company is working towards its goal of 500,000 connected properties by 2025, building with commercial investment in some areas, and with subsidy under the government’s Building Digital UK (BDUK) programme.

Gigaclear employs more than 300 people and has regional offices in Taunton, Essex and Gloucestershire. The business plans to increase the employee numbers in design, planning and delivery.

Livestock Technology Centre will boost agritech skills

Abingdon & Witney College has opened its new Livestock Technology Centre. The £1.9 million facility at Common Leys Farm, officially opened by Witney MP Robert Courts, will provide technology skills for young people keen to establish a career in the agriculture industry.

Nigel Tipple, Chief Executive of the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “Such a significant project will have a positive impact on the agri-tech sector, as well as supporting young people and their skills development.

“It also provides a real opportunity for Oxfordshire to continue to drive dynamic economic growth through this sector, locally and nationally.

“We are delighted to have secured such a significant Local Growth Fund allocation for this project and we are sure it can be real asset to Abingdon & Witney College’s future growth plans.”

Spirits of precision: gin distillery opens in Abingdon

Abingdon has its first gin distillery. Launched in the summer by partners, Ben Blackledge and Janice Hewitt, their first offering is a London Dry and the production process uses inventive techniques to extract the most flavour from the botanicals.

The couple decided to launch their business after Ben, who was based in Hong Kong and working as an airline pilot at the time, began to enjoy experimenting with botanicals brought back from around the world, using a tiny copper still.

Moving back to Abingdon, they found a busy town neglected by craft distilleries and took on the challenge themselves.

Abingdon Gin’s tagline, “Spirits of Precision”, refers to its precise approach to distillation and the logo plays on the chemical symbol for ethanol, a nod to Abingdon’s relationship with science and research.

Ben said: “Our distillery is the product of years dabbling in distilling with some tasty gins, and a few awful ones, along

the way. Our aim is to put Abingdon on the gin map with the highest quality gin hand-crafted in small batches.”

Abingdon and Witney College’s new Livestock Technology Centre

Gigaclear’s headquarters in Abingdon

Abingdon uncovered

FABRICATION COMPANY DEPLOYS INNOVATION TO REDUCE COSTS

Abingdon-based LTi Metaltech, an award-winning designer and manufacturer of complex components, has won praise from a Bristol-based business after achieving significant cost savings for them.

LTi Metaltech, which employs around 100 people, achieved significant economies in the production of a specialist pressure vessel for vacuum experts West Technology, which is capable of withstanding intense workloads for use in electrical testing systems.

To meet West Tech’s challenging requirements for improved manufacturability at reduced cost, LTi reviewed the vessel’s design using 3D modelling and computer aided design. The result was radical cost-saving changes thanks to removing large numbers of assembled parts.

The manufacturer also added a counter-weight using material which would have otherwise been wasted in the vessel’s manufacture, making it more secure and stable.

LTi Technical Director Edgar Rayner, said: “The project with West Technology, with which we’ve long had a successful working relationship, proves what is possible through innovative design processes.

“Producing vessels at the highest quality for the lowest overall costs is a challenging balance to get right, which is why it was important that we worked closely with West Tech through the all-important redesign process.”

With an annual turnover of circa £23 million, LTi Metaltech is one of the largest group of coded welders in the south of England.

GKN to drive new era of electric powertrain development

An ambitious project to position the UK as a global leader in electric powertrain research and development is taking place at the GKN Automotive Innovation Centre in Abingdon.

The project, ACeDrive (Advanced Cooling and Control of High Speed e-Drive) is backed by match-funding from the Advanced Propulsion Centre at Warwick.

ACeDrive is aiming to be the world’s lightest and most efficient electric vehicle powertrain suitable for the volume market.

It aims to achieve the level of technology and performance outlined in a roadmap for 2040, published by the industry-run Automotive Council, and be ready for production by 2023.

Consortium partners include Drive System Design in Leamington Spa.

Gordon Day, General Manager at GKN Automotive Innovation Centre, said: “Our ambition is to help the UK take the lead in electric powertrain design and manufacturing capability.”

Domestic appliance manufacturer for the aspirational, SMEG, whch is still run by the founding Bertazzoni family, has its UK base in Abingdon. This smart Italian brand launched in the 1950s and really ramped up its creative credentials in the 1970s, when it began a series of partnerships with internationally known architects.

The brand first arrived in the UK in 1989, and now supplies more than 750 products across the country.

The fast-growing ATOM Abingdon Science Festival is an annual celebration of scientific companies and organisations in the surrounding area. The 2020 Festival is scheduled for March 14-22 next year.

This year’s festival hosted a range of events for professionals, families and young people considering science as a career choice.

Abingdon uncovered

“The project with West Technology proves what is possible through innovative design processes”

Bessemer Society Oxford annual Rhodes House dinner

The theme for this year’s annual Bessemer Society grand dinner was “Manufacturing Ambition in the Life Sciences Industrial Strategy”. Attended by some of the best brains from across the Life Sciences and technology sector, The Bessemer Society brings together a range of leading figures around a topic enabling networking at a senior level. Guests heard from two of the most exciting companies in the UK Life Sciences Sector, keynote speakers, Nick Page, Head of Manufacturing at Oxford Biomedica plc, and Dr Gordon Sanghera, CEO and Founder of Oxford Nanopore Ltd along with Dr Andy Jones, Director of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund Medicines Manufacturing Challenge at Innovate UK, followed by fascinating forum and discussion.

PHOTOGRAPHY: ROB LACEY

Keynote Speaker, Dr Andy Jones, Director of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund Medicines Manufacturing Challenge at Innovate UK

Nick Page, Head of Manufacturing at Oxford Biomedica plc, Dr Andy Jones, Director of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund Medicines Manufacturing Challenge at Innovate UK, Dr Gordon Sanghera, CEO and Founder of Oxford Nanopore Ltd with Alex Stewart, Leader of The Bessemer Society.

Alex Lewis from Oxford BioMedica with Katherine Reid from Grant Thornton

Gordon Duncan from Harwell with David Williams from Bidwells

Amanda Simons from J A Kemp with Dan Meadon-Bower from Royds Withy King

Jarl Severn from Owen Mumford with Nicky Godding from Business & Innovation Magazine

Paul Edwards MBE from Horton International with Dr Philip Agg from Accentus Medical

Prof. Stephen Bennington from Q5D Technology with Grant Dench from WHP Engineering

Kirsty Muir from Business & Innovation Magazine with Dr Barbara Ghinelli from The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) at Harwell

Keith Errey from Isansys Lifecare Ltd with David Newble from TTP Labtech and Sameer Kothari from Zilico Ltd

Prof. Peter Dobson from Oxford University with Libby Rohovit from Visual Meaning and Dr Daniel Kaute from MedX Health Corp

Guest Speaker, Nick Page, Head of Manufacturing at Oxford Biomedica plc

Guest Speaker, Dr Gordon Sanghera, CEO and Founder of Oxford Nanopore Ltd

Birgit Hartnell from The Vaccines Manufacturing and Innovation Centre with Andrew Brosnan from Grant Thornton

Nick Page from Oxford Biomedica with Peter Nolan from OcQuila Therapeutics

Sameer Kothari from Zilico Ltd with Janet Donovan from M-Solv Ltd

Dr Per Lundin from Evox Therapeutics with Dr Caroline Godfrey from PepGen Ltd

Dr Antonin de Fougerolles from Evox Therapeutics and Dr Andy Jones from Innovate UK Iain Butler from Royds Withy King with Adam Stoten from Oxford University Innovation

PIONEER WINS ROYAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING AWARD

Culham to host UKSPA conference this November

The United Kingdom Science Park Association (UKSPA), the national body which advises on the planning, development and creation of science parks and other locations to support high growth, knowledge-based organisations, is hosting a major conference at Culham Science Centre near Abingdon on November 7-8.

As well as looking at the drivers for Oxford’s knowledge economy, the conference will consider national trends for the science and innovation sector. The programme will include sessions on innovation and business support for SMEs, bio-incubation good practice, and supporting life science SMEs as well as keynote and discussion sessions.

To book: www.ukspa.org.uk/culham

A pioneering engineer who has produced an outstanding and commercially successful innovation has been recognised with a Royal Academy of Engineering award.

Professor Paul Newman received a silver medal in recognition of his innovations in navigation and autonomous vehicles.

Since 1999 Professor Newman has worked on the ideas that underpin autonomous vehicles worldwide. His work enabled the operation of the autonomous sub-sea vehicles that dealt with the Deepwater Horizon oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.

The professor also developed the Robotcar, which became the first autonomous vehicle on UK roads in 2013. His technical work underpins the government’s strategy on driverless cars and he currently serves on the Department for Transport’s Science Advisory Council.

He co-founded Oxbotica, which is now working with Addison Lee to bring autonomous taxis to London. Its technology enables robots to navigate without relying on GPS or any other external infrastructure.

Oxbotica’s Universal Autonomy software has already been used commercially in many environments, from autonomous cars on public roads to mines, warehouses, forests, airports and ports, in any weather, at any time.

Professor Newman said: “This award means a great deal to me. It is the result of a fantastic journey with amazing people from around the world from Sydney, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Oxford and of course Oxbotica.

Professor Phil Blythe, Chief Scientific Adviser, Office for Science, Department for Transport, said: “I cannot think of an engineer who is also a world-leading academic, more deserving of this award. Paul has put UK academia at the forefront of the robotics and automation sector and has successfully translated this to industry.”

The Oxbotica Car

“This award means a great deal to me. It is a result of a fantastic journey with amazing people from around the world — Sydney, MIT, Oxford and of course Oxbotica. Without all of them none of this would be possible.”

Companies secure funding from £26 million carbon capture funding pot

Two companies from the region are celebrating winning part of a £26 million pot of government funding for projects to remove 40,000 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere each year.

Nine companies in total have secured the multi-million pound funding, in addition to industry backing, to advance the rollout of carbon capture use and storage.

Origen Power, based in Oxford, has developed technology with the potential to reverse climate change. The company has been awarded £249,000 towards a £356,000 Oxy-Fuelled Flash Calciner Project.

Stonehouse-based Progressive Energy is an independent clean energy company which has secured £494,626 towards a £765,500 project in partnership with HyNet Industrial CCS, part of Cadent Gas.

Progressive was formed in 1998 to commercialise energy conversion technologies including coal gasification (alongside carbon capture and storage), novel waste to energy and biomass conversion. Much of its work is now focused on the deployment of new energy storage technologies.

RACE wins £3 million funding for robotics research facility

The UK Atomic Energy Authority will continue to be at the forefront of UK robotics after the Government announced funding for a £3 million extension to its Remote Applications in Challenging Environments (RACE) research facility at Culham Science Centre near Oxford.

Since opening in 2016, the RACE facility has led research and development into the use of robotics in extreme industrial environments where it is difficult for people to work. It also supports companies developing their own autonomous systems. RACE is a key centre for implementing the government’s Robotics and Autonomous Systems strategy, which aims to equip the UK to compete in this emerging global industry.

The building extension, funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, will allow RACE to increase its workforce by more than 50 per cent to 250, and increase collaboration with both academic and industry partners on the latest robotics equipment and testing facilities.

Existing partnerships have already seen RACE work with companies testing solutions for the international fusion energy project ITER, decommissioning technology for the nuclear industry, driverless cars and ground robots.

Connected and autonomous vehicles centre out of the pit lane

Culham Science Centre has completed a new £5.8 million facility to support the development of connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs), a sector which is estimated to be worth £907 billion by 2035.

The CAV facility named ‘Pit Lane’ due to its resemblance to a Formula One garage, has been developed by RACE, supported by OxLEP and the Local Growth Fund in addition to the government’s Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles.

Oxbotica’s co founder Professsor Paul Newman

Artist’s impresson of the new facility at Culham

Pulse Power and Measurement expands

BGF INVESTS £6.25M IN WATCHMAKER CHRISTOPHER WARD

The Business Growth Fund, (BGF) has invested £6.25 million in Christopher Ward, the Maidenhead-based premium British watch brand.

Founded in 2005 by Mike France, Chris Ward and Peter Ellis, the company has grown to become the UK’s leading direct-to-consumer watch brand, with customers in more than 100 countries.

Christopher Ward timepieces combine British style with Swiss watchmaking skills. The brand specialises in mechanical and quartz watches, designed in the UK and manufactured in Biel, Switzerland. This year marks the fifth anniversary of the brand’s own Swiss-made movement, Calibre SH21.

Christopher Ward’s current watch collection includes dress, dive, aviation and motorsport watches, as well as a collaborative collection with the Worcestershire-based British car maker Morgan.

With a head office in Maidenhead and a workshop in Biel, the business now employs 45 people, processing 22,000 orders per year and generating sales of £10.5 million.

The £6.25 million investment from BGF will support Christopher Ward’s long-term growth strategy, providing the capital and resources to expand the watchmaker’s market presence and product lines.

Mike France, CEO and cofounder of Christopher Ward, said: “We’ve made great progress in 14 years. We are delighted to have BGF as our partner for the next phase.”

James Austin, an investor at BGF who will join the board of the company, said: “Christopher Ward is a fantastic example of great British entrepreneurialism, becoming a truly credible player in the luxury watch market over the last decade.”

QA Training invests in San Francisco business

Slough-based QA, a leading UK B2B skills and training provider, has acquired San Francisco-based Cloud Academy, a leading technology training platform.

QA says the union will create the largest

collection of blended learning resources in the world covering Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, Cyber Security, Project Management, and Big Data.

Pulse Power and Measurement (PPM), based on Shrivenham Hundred Business Park near Swindon, is expanding on the park following rapid growth.

Martin Ryan, PPM’s Managing Director, said: “We needed more space to house additional people and operations. We were happy to be able to co-locate our new facility on the same business park as our existing offices and manufacturing units.”

Bradley Forbes of Chartered Surveyors, Loveday said: “We are delighted to have sourced a tenant for our client and wish PPM well with their expansion.”

Landmark buys property information business

Reading-based Landmark Information Group, which provides information to the property market, has bought the conveyancing panel management business of Aventria.

Landmark, which is part of Daily Mail and General Trust plc (DMGT), will rename the business, which serves mortgage brokers and other introducers across the UK, as Optimus.

Alan Young, the current chief commercial officer at Aventria, will become Managing Director of the Bristol-based Optimus team.

The acquisition does not include Aventria’s asset management business.

Besides Landmark, DMGT also owns Trepp and BuildFax and, until last year, was the largest shareholder in ZPG plc, the owner of Zoopla which was sold in a £2.2 billion transaction to US-based technology business Silver Lake.

“Christopher Ward is a fantastic example of great British entrepreneurialism, becoming a truly credible player in the luxury watch market over the last decade”

Christopher Ward founders Chris Ward, Mike France and Peter Ellis

OGL Computer renews business relationship in Birmingham

EVENTS COMPANY COLLABORATES WITH PRINCES TRUST TO BOOST CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

The Prince’s Trust, founded in1976 by The Prince of Wales to help young people get into jobs, education and training, is partnering with Solihull corporate event crewing company Crewsaders and creative communications group DRPG.

The aim is to help young people gain experience in the events industry.

The programme helps young people explore career options in the events and stage crew sector, alongside acquiring experience within a very competitive industry.

“Get into Events with Crewsaders” is a four-day programme which kicked off in August.

It included team-building, handson experience at DRPG’s global

headquarters at Hartlebury and interview experience with The Prince’s Trust in Birmingham.

Jez Light, DRPG’s Head of Learning and Development said: “This is a great opportunity to support our local community, something that we do with pride. We are excited to be hosting the practical skills day and meeting some potential future industry stars.”

Tom Barlow, Crewsaders Partnerships Co-ordinator added: “We are proud to be launching the first events partnership with The Prince’s Trust and DRPG.

company goes for management buyout

Evesham forensic science equipment supplier, Foster+Freeman, has undergone a management buy-out, supported by UK private equity company Primary Capital Partners, with the balance of funding coming from debt facilities provided by HSBC.

Foster+Freeman, founded in 1978, is now a major global forensic science

“We champion our people above all, so investing in learning and development, and mentoring talent through such initiatives is an exciting opportunity for everyone involved.” equipment supplier, exporting market-leading products from the UK to more than 160 countries worldwide.

The business R&D team recently won an award for its Recover product, a unique technology capable of revealing “impossible” fingerprints.

OGL Computer, one of the largest employers in Wyre Forest, has been commissioned as the IT partner for Brandauer, a family-run, Birmingham-based presswork and stampings engineering company.

Brandauer recently made its firstacquisition and is now targeting a £10 million turnover by 2021.

This is the second time Brandauer has worked with OGL Computer.

The IT company reviewed Brandauer’s systems and recommended technology products and services to resolve potential problems, ensure the engineering company had better control of its data and could avoid downtime.

OGL Computer was also recently nominated as a Responsible Business Champion by Mark Garnier, MP for Wyre Forest.

It was shortlisted alongside some big names including Budweiser, Manchester Airport, SABIC UK Petrochemicals and Standard Life Aberdeen.

Catering group sprints into industry power players list

Sprint Group, the Pershore-based commercial catering firm, has been named as a top four power player by Catering Insight Magazine, a leading catering equipment industry publication. Run by brothers Ross and Luke Ryan, Sprint works nationally with companies such as Brasserie Blanc and The Ivy Collection.

Forensics

“This is a great opportunity for us to support our local community, something that we do with pride”

DRPG and Crewsaders helping young people into the industry

FOOD AND BEVERAGE EQUIPMENT SUPPLIER UNVEILS NEW HQ

Benniman’s third year of carbon footprint reporting with The Planet Mark saw the Bromsgrove-based construction company achieve more than eight per cent carbon reduction emissions per employee. This year’s footprint includes emissions related to energy, waste disposal, water usage, fleet travel and paper usage in the office as well as on its remote sites.

Payara CEO shortlisted at Tech Leaders Awards

Malvern-based Payara, an IT open-source application server, has announced that its Chief Executive, Steve Millidge, has been nominated for the Business Leader of the Year and Open Source Leader of the Year at the Tech Leaders Awards 2019.

The Tech Leaders Awards, which will take place this month, is a flagship awards programme for the UK’s thriving IT industry.

A leading global manufacturer and supplier of food and beverage equipment has established its UK headquarters in Worcester as it expands its operations.

Marmon Food & Beverage Equipment has taken a 28,500 sq ft unit at Worcester Six Business Park, bringing new jobs to the area.

manufacturing and distribution which will enable Marmon to expand its food and beverage operations in the UK.

“Marmon Food & Beverage Equipment has taken a 28,500 sq ft unit at Worcester Six Business Park, bringing new jobs to the area”

The facility comprises offices, research and development,

Marmon Food & Beverage Equipment is a group of businesses that produces food preparation and holding equipment for restaurants and other commercial environments, plus beverage dispensing and cooling equipment for brand owners and foodservice retailers worldwide.

£500K investment will increase capacity for precision metal business

Samuel Taylor, the Redditch-based metal contacts and precision metal pressings specialist, has announced investments totalling more than £500,000 in new machinery and factory space.

The investments have been made to increase capacity and efficiency.

They include the purchase and commissioning of a forming machine, an 80-ton press and an

image dimension measuring system. The company has also taken on additional factory space.

Sales Manager, Carl Siviter, said: “The business has a track record of making investments to ensure that we remain competitive. We operate in a global marketplace with a diverse customer base and this investment will provide extra manufacturing capacity and flexibility, as some new projects move forward into mass production.”

Martin Head, A&H Construction; Councillor Richard Morris, Worcestershire County Council; Jane Harrison, Liberty Property Trust; Simon Felton, Cornelius Beverage Technologies; Stephen Butterworth, Worcestershire County Council; Gerard Ludlow, Stoford Developments; Gary Woodman, Worcestershire LEP

Benniman Construction Group celebrates drop in carbon emissions

Accountants wave goodbye to single-use plastics

Accountants Bishop Fleming, which have offices in Worcester, Bath and Bristol, have removed single use and avoidable plastics across the business.

The firm has been accredited as a Plastic Free Champion by conservation charity, Surfers Against Sewage.

More than eight million pieces of plastic pollution find their way into the ocean every day, with the UK using a staggering 38.5 million single-use plastics every day. Less than 60 of that is recycled.

The firm has packed in carrier bags, bubble wrap, single use coffee cups, plastic straws, plates and cutlery.

Andrew Sandiford, Managing Partner at Bishop Fleming said; “In our centenary year, we are focused on building a sustainable long-term business. Sustainability for us is a critical part of our DNA and this includes reducing our impact on the environment.”

Surfers Against Sewage, a marine conservation charity, paid tribute to the company. It said: “Bishop Fleming are a Plastic Free Champion. They’re doing some fantastic work to remove and reduce the amount of single-use plastics being used.”

Hundreds crowd in to hear rugby coach legend Sir Clive Woodward

More than 350 guests listened to Sir Clive Woodward, the Rugby World Cup-winning coach, speak at a new county business event.

The first Big Lunch was organised by Amros Events and Promotions in partnership with Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce and Worcestershire Ambassadors.

Nearly £30,000 was raised at the event for two charities – Wooden Spoon Worcestershire and the RFU Injured Players Foundation.

Sir Clive Woodward was joined by Worcester Warriors legend Chris Pennell who is celebrating his testimonial year for the Aviva Premiership side.

Worcestershire based accountancy firm, Hayward Wright Group, were the principal sponsors of the afternoon.

Oakland launches distribution division

Oakland International, the multi temperature supply chain operator and Redditch-based family business, has launched a new division, Oakland Distribution.

With a fleet ranging from 44 tonne articulated vehicles and 26 tonne rigid vans, all with multi-temperature capability, Oakland now has complete supply chain control on a number of its delivery destinations.

Oakland International Distribution Manager, Luke Attwell, said: “With the opening of Oakland Distribution we have the ability to offer greater destination reach and improved availability for our customers.”

Oakland Distribution Director, Sammy Turone, added: “New jobs have been created with the launch of Oakland Distribution with still more jobs planned.”

“Bishop Fleming are a Plastic Free Champion. They’re doing some fantastic work to remove and reduce the amount of single-use plastics being used”

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With a robust Quality Management System and a team of over 240 staff supported by six dedicated Area Managers, Goldcrest delivers a high-quality service at a time and specification suited to the needs of their commercial clients.

Every contract has a dedicated IOSH (Institution of Occupational Safety and Health) certified Local Area Manager, who visits and audits their client’s sites at least once a month to check quality standards, safety and administration are being adhered to and maintained as well as to spend time with the cleaning teams. We believe this visit is crucial to the success of our business. Often cleaners work outside of regular business hours so these visits are vital for ongoing motivation and successful communication, as well as their training and development.

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“Our commitment to quality has helped us to build very strong and close working relationships with our many clients amongst which is Compton Verney Art Gallery & Park, where we have worked alongside the facilities team for a number of years to help deliver a wonderful experience for the thousands of people and students that visit the house and grounds each year.”

For an immediate response phone: 01926 497 010 or email us on: marketing@goldcrestcleaning.com

“We have a terrific working relationship with Goldcrest who have always worked to the very highest of standards, with no request being too large or small for them to deal with. We moved our cleaning of the site from evenings to mornings and while others were sceptical, Goldcrest have worked with us to ensure that this has been a success. We are also very proud that Goldcrest are our corporate partners.”

Leamington Spa, Warwick, Coventry, Rugby, Southam, Banbury, Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire, Birmingham and the West Midlands Follow

Porfiris Kefalas, Facilities Manager, Compton Verney Art Gallery & Park

Alan Jones, Managing Director, Goldcrest Cleaning Limited

Established in 1993 Goldcrest Cleaning is a family-owned commercial cleaning business operating in The West Midlands with clients across all sectors including some of the region’s most popular leisure venues and attractions such as Warwick Castle and Knights Village in the heart of Warwick.

Dave Wilson, Head of Mobile Teams, Goldcrest Cleaning at Compton Verney Art Gallery & Park

MALVERN: A JEWEL HIDDEN UNDER THE HILLS

Beneath the glorious hills it’s named after, Malvern also overlooks the busy Three Counties showground, which brings thousands to the town every year.

This beautiful town has inspired some of Britain’s most well-known musicians. Home for some years to the incomparable violinist Nigel Kennedy, and most English of composers,

Malvern Hills Science Park Expands

Malvern Hills Science Park is home to around 400 people, many working for science, technology and cyber businesses, including the National Cyber Skills Centre.

Companies include international businesses such as UTC Aerospace, which occupies around 30,000 sq ft of space, and smaller companies such as D-Risq and Borwell.

Worcestershire’s Local Enterprise Partnership, the county’s tech accelerator, Betaden and Worcestershire’s 5G Testbed are also based at the park.

Development of Phase Five of the science park was completed in April, and the first tenant, Textlocal, has moved in. The 17,500 sq ft building houses six units of grow-on space for small companies seeking to expand.

Sir Edward Elgar, this summer its celebrated Malvern Theatres were awarded £1 million to undergo their first major redevelopment in more than two decades.

Writers have also been drawn here. CS Lewis lived in the town, attending the still-thriving independent school of Malvern College.

But perhaps the most intriguing part of Malvern’s history is the role it played in the Second World War.

The government chose to locate its Telecommunications and Radar Establishment (TRE) in Malvern as being sufficiently remote that German bombers wouldn’t think to look that far.

Two thousand scientists and their families had to be accommodated in the town virtually overnight.

According to Malvern’s Museum of local history, most of the TRE scientists were fit, young, clever men and women. None wore uniform or seemed to want to join up or help the war effort at all.

Not surprisingly, they weren’t immediately welcomed by the locals, most of whom had family fighting overseas or were engaged in other war work.

As the scientists’ work was top secret, they had to remain silent about their critical role in the war effort.

But after the war, many had come to love the area so much, despite their tepid welcome, they didn’t want to leave.

As a result, over the decades the town became home to one of the most concentrated cyber clusters in the UK.

A major employer is QinetiQ, formed when the Ministry of Defence split its Defence Evaluation and Research Agency.

The smaller portion was rebranded Dstl (Defence Science & Technology Laboratory). The larger part, including most of the non-nuclear testing and evaluation establishments, was renamed QinetiQ.

In 2003, QinetiQ signed a 25-year long term partnering agreement to provide UK MOD with test and evaluation of military and civil platforms, systems, weapons and components on land, at sea and in the air. Three years later, QinetiQ successfully floated on the London Stock Exchange.

Visiting the spa town of Malvern can feel like stepping back 100 years, but behind the Victorian facades, there’s a lot going on

“The spa town of Malvern sits snugly on the Worcestershire side of the Malvern Hills in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty”

Great Malvern Priory and Malvern Theatres overlooking Priory Park

MORGAN MOTOR COMPANY UNDER NEW OWNERSHIP AFTER CELEBRATING 100 YEARS IN BUSINESS

Malvern Festival of Innovation set for another bumper year

The Malvern Festival of Innovation, which takes place from October 7-12, has a major new event sponsor. London and Singapore-based Business Mix, a collaboration network and consultancy, is bringing its international network of clients, partners and associates to the festival to share ideas on innovation and sustainability.

Business Mix also works with partners and clients in Israel, India and Cameroon. Founder, David Page, said: “The Malvern Festival of Innovation shares the same ethos around innovation and collaboration that our company stands for. Thanks to our network of talented individuals and companies, we’re able to bring a flavour of what’s going on globally in innovation, sustainability and the cyber world for this week-long event.”

Festival founder and organiser, Dr Adrian Burden, added: “Business Mix will bring a wealth of expertise to this year’s festival.”

Earlier this year one of Britain’s most iconic sports car brands came under new ownership. Investindustrial, which also has a stake in Aston Martin in Warwickshire, acquired a majority stake in the iconic, 110-year old British sports cars manufacturer.

The Morgan family retains a minority shareholding. Meanwhile, for the first time in its history, the management team and all employees will have a share of the business.

Founded in 1909, Morgan hand-builds premium sports cars with a classic design in its historic Malvern factory, which is visited by more than 30,000 enthusiasts each year. With revenues of £33.8 million and net profit of £3.2 million in 2018, the company sells around 700 cars per year including a portfolio of iconic car designs and a unique three-wheeler manufactured using three core elements: ash, aluminium and leather.

Investindustrial says it wants to accelerate new product development at Morgan, increase global distribution and broaden customers’ experience with unique events.

The new Morgan Plus Six, a new era of performance for Morgan

And if you can’t afford the real thing…

How about a unique bronze sculpture of another iconic sports car? These beautiful pieces are designed and cast in foundry bronze by Malvern-based Chris Davis.

It can take from three months to a year to design and produce one of his sculptures.

A beautiful co-working space and business incubator for individuals, start-ups and scale-ups which opened last September has created a strong business community, and this is just the beginning, according to founder Jack Wratten.

Based at The Grange, on Grange Road in Malvern, a unique benefit of BLOOM.SPACE is its sister co-working space on Gower Street in London, which members can also use.

Jack said: “The BLOOM.SPACE community in Malvern comprises several components, much as in our London office. We have consultants running their own small businesses and people working with larger organisations (like the BBC and Xerox) who could work from home but want to be in a co-working space with other people.

We also have non-profits, and growing start-ups which are creating new businesses and new jobs in Malvern.

“Our business incubator services, like mentoring and support to get investment-ready with introductions to investors, are really driving the growth of our start-ups.”

Coworking space is blooming after first year success College opens Cyber and Digital Centre at Malvern Hills Science Park

Malvern Hills Science Park will soon be a hub of IT training when Warwickshire College Group opens its Malvern Hills Centre for Digital and Cyber Technologies.

Starting with full-time courses for school-leavers this month, the centre aims to develop more full and parttime courses for young people and adults, working with employers in the Science Park to deliver the technical skills training needed to support these expanding businesses.

“Founded in 1909, Morgan continues to hand-build premium sports cars with a classic design in its historic factory in Malvern, which is visited by more than 30,000 enthusiasts each year”

The Morgan Three Wheeler, described as a rebellion against sanitised, modern motoring

Bloom.Space

GLOBAL MEMBRANE MANUFACTURER CELEBRATES 25 YEARS WITH EXPANSION

A high-tech company selling its products globally has been hailed as a shining example of how regional support can help a business of any size to achieve its ambitions.

Southam-based Silson, which makes ultra-thin membranes for use in science, has celebrated its 25th anniversary by unveiling the latest phase of its development.

The company was set up by Peter Anastasi in 1994 as a virtual business before moving into its own premises three years later.

Silson moved to Insight Park in Southam. Warwickshire in 2015. It was supported

at the time by Warwickshire County Council and then engaged with the University of Warwick and WMG (Warwick Manufacturing Group).

It was then introduced to the business support team at the University of Warwick Science Park by Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Growth Hub.

Funding for this project came from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development under the CWLEP Business Development priority.

The company now exports its products to more than 700 institutions in 45 countries.

Sodick Europe opens headquarters in Warwick

Sodick Europe, which manufactures electrical discharge machines, has opened a purpose-built facility in Warwick.

As the operational centre for sales service and market support, there are already 50 staff employed on site, with plans to double that number within the next few years.

The 4,200 sq metre structure on a site of just over a hectare has additional space for future growth.

The new building also showcases the company’s new plastic injection moulding machines and milling machine, each of which have specialist additional staff assigned to them.

REGIONAL ROUND-UP COVENTRY & WARWICKSHIRE

HSBC UK crosses the Rubicon with acquisition of Park Sheet Metal

Coventry-based Park Sheet Metal (PSM) has been acquired by private equity group Rubicon, with an eightfigure term loan and revolving credit facility from HSBC UK.

Rubicon Partners, which specialises in industrial businesses, has bought the business from Owner and Managing Director Stephen Payne.

PSM manufactures complex sheet metal components for the niche automotive sector, with customers including Aston Martin, Bentley, Jaguar Land Rover and McLaren.

Rubicon Partners and HSBC UK have already signed off additional investment and facilities to support further growth.

Following the acquisition, PSM has appointed Mark Barge as Chief Executive.

Mark, who was previously Managing Director of the Performance Products Division of Ricardo, is a qualified engineer and has considerable experience and knowledge of the UK low-volume performance automotive sector.

“Southam-based Silson, which makes ultra-thin membranes for use in science, has celebrated its 25th anniversary with the unveiling of the latest phase of its development”

Craig Humphrey, CWLep Growth Hub, Peter Butlin (Warwickshire County Council) Jeremy Wright MP, Peter Anastasi, Bob Gregson (Rural Payments Agency), Dirk Schafer, Warwick Science Park Dr Paul Milne (WMG)

Park Sheet Metal, Coventry

IT’S BOLLARDS TO SYDNEY FROM COVENTRY MANUFACTURER

A leading manufacturer of anti-terrorism measures, based in Coventry, has helped to secure one of the busiest railway stations in Sydney from potential vehicle attacks.

Safetyflex Barriers has installed a security shield of bollards outside Redfern Station, a major inner-city transport hub with more than 70,000 journeys a day. The bollards can stop attacks from vehicles travelling up to 80mph.

It is the latest project to have been completed with Australian distributors EZI Security Systems as part of an export drive by Safetyflex Barriers, which has

“This is the first time that our bollards have been given a makeover but the resulting design makes a fantastic statement reflecting the culture of the local community and the new look of the station entrance”

seen the company strike deals across Northern Europe, USA and Australia.

Marcus Gerrard, Director at Safetyflex Barriers, said: “This was a particularly enjoyable project as it formed part of major improvement works to a high-profile station in Sydney and

Midlands Engine Investment Fund reaches £50 million milestone

A total of £50 million has been injected into the region’s firms with the support of the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF).

This latest milestone is the result of making more than 150 investments in firms across the Midlands and includes just over £19 million of private sector leverage.

A year since its full launch, the £250 million fund, operated by the government’s British Business Bank, has provided finance to a wide range of firms. The most active sector to receive investment has been manufacturing. Other key areas include agri-tech, life sciences and transport technologies.

Patrick Magee at the British Business Bank, said: “The Midlands Engine Investment Fund addresses a market gap in finance available to SMEs across the region. Investment can often be crucial in allowing firms to explore emerging opportunities and expand. Without it, their growth could stall.”

involved local Aboriginal artists transforming our bollards.

“This is the first time that our bollards have been given a makeover but the resulting design makes a fantastic statement reflecting the culture of the local community and the new look of the station entrance.”

Cybersecurity firm opens Midlands office after £1m investment

A cybersecurity company whose platform could help safeguard critical infrastructure and smart transport systems from attack is to open a base in the Midlands after completing a £1 million funding round.

CyberOwl has secured investment from Warwickshirebased Mercia and the MEIF Proof of Concept & Early Stage Fund, managed by Mercia and part of the Midlands Engine Investment Fund.

It has also received funding from 24 Haymarket. The funding will allow it to open an office in Birmingham.

CyberOwl was founded in 2016 as a Coventry University spin-out. It launched Medulla last year to provide early warning of potential cybersecurity breaches in connected industrial systems and is working with some leading defence, utilities and maritime organisations.

David Baker of Mercia, with Daniel Ng

The Safetyflex Barriers bollards at Redfern Station, Sydney

QRTC is the only privately owned and independent rail testing and trialling site in the UK

The site has a pedigree that goes back to the dark days of WW2 post Dunkirk when Winston Churchill, determined to prepare for the reinvasion of Europe ordered the construction of a number of key Depots, amongst which was the Royal Engineers Central Depot Long Marston. We are very proud of the fact that that much of the beachhead and mobility equipment vital to the success of D-Day started its journey from here.

The business is very much a family affair, Ruth Flack is CEO, her brother Steve the Managing Director and husband Colin looks after Business Development. In a previous life Ruth was the head of the MOD Demilitarisation facility for QinetiQ at Shoeburyness, Steve is a fully qualified Automotive Engineer and Colin is a former Army Colonel.

The business at QRTC of www.qrtc.co.uk is the result of a long-standing partnership between St Modwen the landowners and ourselves. From a virtually derelict site just 10 years ago we have grown the business to such an extent that today we are recognised as one of just 4 Testing Centres of Excellence (the others are owned by Network Rail and Transport for London), we are the largest specialist off lease rolling stock storage site in the country, we host Europe’s largest outdoor railway show, Rail Live annually on behalf of Bauer Media (Rail Magazine) www.raillive.org.uk, we have over 200 people working on site and have become a location that is renowned for supporting innovative and specialist business. In addition to our heavy rail test track we also have the UK’s first Light Rail test track, developed in partnership with UK Tram www.uktram.com and Innovate UK (BEIS) www.innovateuk.org

Amongst our key partners on site are Porterbrook Leasing Company

www.porterbrook.co.uk, who in partnership with the University of Birmingham have developed the world’s first fully hydrogen powered train… Similarly innovative in their approach to the sector are Vivarail who are in the process of remanufacturing former Underground trains into almost new hybrid diesel/battery units. In both cases they are flourishing due to the facilities that QRTC have developed to help them grow.

Amongst our international customers are Cisco from the USA who have been partners here with us for a number of years and we have developed with them a digital test bed that has enabled them to build a number of global products and services, including some “world firsts” in terms of trackside to train data transfer.

We provide training facilities on a regular basis to the blue light services, with a particular emphasis on counter-terrorism and firearms training. Our home team have a background in this world and thus are able to help create realistic scenarios.

Rail Alliance www.railalliance.co.uk,

QRTC is nestled into the Warwickshire countryside, just 6 miles south of Stratford upon Avon.

PHOTOGRAPHY: © ELI REES-KING

the UK’s foremost B2B organisation in the sector started its life here over 10 years ago and is truly international. It is now in partnership with the Birmingham Centre for Rail Research and Education (BCRRE) and has over 500 members in the UK alone.

We are very proud of the fact that our work over the years to develop the testing and trials facilities has led to some ground-breaking products being developed particularly by SMEs that otherwise would not have seen the light of day. We hosted the industry’s Testing Voucher Scheme, which was developed by us in partnership with Rail Alliance and the Department for Transport through RSSB www.rssb.co.uk This has been universally recognised as the

most successful scheme that has been run in the sector over the past 10 years. We have achieved all of this without any 3rd party support or grants, just our own confidence in ourselves and a willingness to continually reinvest any profits back into the business.

We are very conscious of our duty to the environment and again proud to say that over the last 10 years we have seen the population of Water Voles increase and sustain itself. We work in partnership with organisations like the Vale Wildlife Hospital www.valewildlife.org.uk to provide a safe area to release animals back to an appropriate habitat. Particularly pleasing has been the return to the site of Skylarks and the growth in the population of both Tawny and Barn Owls.

Quinton Rail Technology Centre

Station Road, Long Marston

Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire CV37 8PL

T: (01789) 721995 | E: colin.flack@qrtc.co.uk

“We provide training facilities on a regular basis to the blue light services, with a particular emphasis on counter-terrorism and firearms training. Our home team have a background in this world and thus are able to help create realistic scenarios.“

Going forward we are working ever closer with the University of Birmingham and with theirs’s and other key partners support we are looking to emulate what our friends across at Horiba-Mira are doing for the Automotive sector with their MIRA Technology Park www.miratechnologypark.com. We feel that by continuing to work collaboratively as we do, we can truly create a world class cluster of businesses based around our technology and enterprise zone.

Our motto is “to wonder is to begin to understand” so if you have an interest in testing, trialling or product development why not contact us to see how we can help?

PHOTOGRAPHY: © ELI REES-KING

Stratford-upon-Avon a great place to do business

Millions of tourists flock to the town every year, keen to walk in the footsteps of the great bard and experience a slice of picture-perfect Britain. However, businesses are also recognising the appeal the town offers and are taking advantage of its great location, perfect transport links and active business community.

Shakespeare Martineau has long been flying the flag for Stratford and the team are all passionate about helping businesses in the local and surrounding areas to be as successful as possible. From agriculture to ambitious start-ups, the region has lots to offer and Shakespeare Martineau has all the right experts, in the right places.

SME hotspot

Tourism aside, Stratford-upon-Avon’s local economy has weathered particularly well in recent times, managing to avoid the downturn which has affected other parts of the country. Close links to the research and development powerhouses of Warwick and Coventry has boosted the area’s appeal and greater numbers of innovative businesses than ever before have started to call Stratford home.

Don’t forget, its small town status doesn’t mean that Stratford is lacking in the commercial clout of its bigger urban neighbours. The town has a well-established network of professional advisers, all with their finger on the pulse of the local market.

A gateway to the Cotswolds and beyond

Drive five minutes in any direction from Stratford town centre and you’ll find

yourself in some of the country’s most beautiful countryside. Agriculture and farming communities have long been integral to this part of the country and they are still as important as they’ve ever been.

Farmers, just like any other business owner, have challenges to overcome. From putting succession plans in place, evaluating and restructuring partnership agreements and planning future diversification; to preparing for a land sale, farmers and their families often have to tackle varied and complex matters. Luckily, farming runs in Stratford’s veins and Shakespeare Martineau has agricultural specialists on hand to help with any issue which may crop up.

Stratford’s building

From new houses to commercial developments, there is a lot of building work ongoing in the town. People are recognising that Stratford and the surrounding area is a great place to both live and do business. Convenient transport links to London in the south, and Birmingham and the wider Midlands in the north, mean that for even for larger commercial enterprises, the town has strong appeal.

The real estate team in the Stratford office of Shakespeare Martineau covers the full spectrum of commercial and residential

property matters. For private landlords, property investors, developers and more, those looking to tap into the Stratford property market have all the advice they need right on their doorstep.

So, what’s stopping you from doing business in Stratford?

Every member of Shakespeare Martineau’s Stratford office is passionate about the local area, as well as the businesses and individuals who live and work in the town and surrounding areas. It is the perfect place to do business, with expert advisers available to support you at each and every stage of your business journey.

The town isn’t just about Shakespeare and swans, it’s got a thriving business community too, making it a jewel in the Midlands’ crown.

Andrew Smith, partner and head of the Stratford-uponAvon office of law firm, Shakespeare Martineau.

STRATFORD BUSINESSES TAKE CENTRE STAGE

Shakespeare. There. We’ve got him out of the way.

Not surprisingly, tourism is one of the most important drivers of Stratford’s prosperity. Figures from the town council reveal that tourism generates around £631 million annually for local businesses, and supports more than 11,000 jobs.

Shakespeare’s England is the destination management organisation responsible for driving tourism through to 2025.

Helen Peters, its Chief Executive, said: “Stratford has an unending popularity as the birthplace of William

Shakespeare and gives us a global platform to publicise our other attractions which range from cars to castles, butterflies to boating.

“Stratford-uponAvon continues to be an international draw for visitors to the UK, meaning that a wide range of businesses flock here to meet the demand, especially hotels and attractions which can support the annual tourist influx.

“Tourism continues to be a significant contributor to the economy in Stratford both through these international and domestic tourist visits.”

UK’s largest rail test site to host decarbonisation event

Technologies designed to help decarbonise the railway will be on show later this month at Quinton Rail Technology Centre (QRTC) at Long Marston, near Stratford-upon-Avon.

The event, being held by Rail Alliance and The Birmingham Centre for Rail Research and Education (BCRRE), will take place on September 17, bringing together companies and experts to discuss the reduction of carbon emissions.

Quinton is the only privately owned and independent rail testing and trialling site in the UK.

Used extensively for reliability and mileage accumulation testing, its operational staff have extensive experience in rail and other sectors including defence, automotive and manufacturing. It is also home to the UK’s only specifically built light rail test facility and is partner to UK Tram/Innovate UK.

Another business located at Quinton is Vivarail, with its battery train and fast charge system as well as the HydroFLEX project (a collaboration between Porterbrook and BCRRE), to develop the first hydrogenpowered train in the UK.

Quinton is establishing itself as a hub for green and clean air technologies.

The great bard is, of course, synonymous with Stratford-upon-Avon but there is more to this town than the world’s greatest playwright

“Tourism continues to be a significant contributor to the economy in Stratford both through these international and domestic tourist visits”

The Royal Shakespeare Theatre at Stratford

STRATFORD WASTE-TO-ENERGY INVENTION

COULD HELP FUEL DOMESTIC HOMES AND BUSINESSES

A new invention could revolutionise how people fuel their homes and businesses by converting waste into energy.

Entrepreneur Nik Spencer, CEO of Mission Heru, based in Stratford-uponAvon, has invented and commercialised sustainable waste management processes for nearly three decades. Now he has invented a technology which converts disposable items into energy.

The technology, which generates two and a half times the energy required to operate it, will allow people to turn their waste into energy to power their homes or businesses, rather than it ending up in landfill sites.

The average home throws away 4.5 kilos of material a day. Put the waste into a HERU (Home Energy Resources Unit), and it will heat around 45 per

“The HERU (Home Energy Resources Unit) is the world’s first hybrid boiler — capable of running on oil or gas so that when there is nothing in the home to process, it reverts back to conventional fuel sources”

Nik says the HERU is resources from the council’s cafe are being used to heat water. A HERU has also been installed at Hillers Farm Shop, Alcester as part of continuing technical trials.

From next year the HERU will be manufactured in Worcester by James Clark Technologies.

The company’s first target sector will be care homes, restaurants and hotels, which will be offered a 240-litre capacity machine, rather than the 19-litre capacity domestic version.

The HERU drum with domestic

St. Modwen signs up major logistics firms in Stratford

St. Modwen has submitted planning proposals on a further 5.5 acres of land at Meon Vale Business Park in Stratford-upon-Avon as demand continues for high-quality logistics space.

Unipart Logistics is set to occupy 75,000 sq ft of the business park on a three-year deal, while an existing global logistics firm is taking on a further 183,000 sq ft in addition to the 90,000 sq ft it already occupies.

“To continue to build on current successes, St Modwen has appointed Darby Keye as agents for the site to work alongside the developer’s longstanding retained agent, Bromwich Hardy”

These lettings follow the recent arrival of leading online retailer, Desire Tech, which took 36,603 sq ft of space at the park on a five-year lease earlier this year. Since then, the park has been bolstered further by the addition of storage and distribution company, Berkeley International Services, which has signed a fiveyear deal for 25,000 sq ft of space.

The site currently comprises more than 800,000 sq ft of industrial and logistics space. The park has access to the Midlands motorway network via Junction 15 of the M40, and is equidistant between Stratford-upon-Avon and Chipping Campden in Gloucestershire.

St. Modwen has appointed Darby Keye as agents for the site to work alongside the developer’s longstanding retained agent, Bromwich Hardy.

The business park forms part of a larger 478-acre site and existing occupiers include Ford Retail and Premier Component. A 43,000 sq ft industrial warehouse unit remains immediately available for let on the site, offering three-phase electricity and sodium lighting, along with ample external parking.

Pragnell unveils expanded 16th century showroom

The sixth-generation jewellery business, Pragnell, has expanded and refurbished its Stratford-upon-Avon showroom, marking a new chapter in the building’s 425-year history.

The jeweller, which moved to number 5 Wood Street in 1954 and expanded to number 6 in 1993, has now incorporated number 7 Wood Street into its flagship store, becoming one of the largest fine jewellery and watch showrooms in the UK.

Number 7 Wood Street was built following the town’s great fire in 1594. It was designed and financed by architect Abraham Sturley, a close friend and drinking partner of the then 30-year-old William Shakespeare.

Pragnell worked alongside conservation experts to preserve and restore the 16th century, Grade II-listed building’s original features, including its timber beams and Tudor walkway.

The expansion increases the size of the showroom by more than 50 per cent and provides extra office space for Pragnell’s growing team.

The refurbishment includes a new private room and kitchen, so the jeweller can host private dinners for clients and VIPs in the showroom.

The expansion of the Stratford-upon-Avon showroom comes 18 months after Pragnell opened its first central London boutique on Mount Street, Mayfair.

“The expansion of our Stratford-upon-Avon showroom is a hugely exciting step in the history of Pragnell,” said Charlie Pragnell. “The enlarged space allows our expert team to better showcase the exceptional quality and diversity of our collections and improve the experience for our customers.”

Stratford uncovered

Pragnell unveils expanded 16th century showroom

Businesses raise £1,000 during charity football tournament

A six-a-side charity football tournament in Solihull, organised by Thursfields Solicitors, has raised £1,000 for the Get A-Head Charitable Trust.

Twelve local businesses battled for the trophy finally lifted by Kate & Co Intelligent Recruitment, which beat Jerroms Accountants in the final.

Teams from Prime Accountants, BRI Wealth Management, UHY Birmingham, Jelf Insurers, Solihull Combat Centre, UKF Group, Get A-Head and Thursfields also took part in the event.

Construction employees pedal 300 miles in one day for charity

Nine cyclists from Gloucester-based construction company EG Carter cycled from Gretna Green through the night into Wales and on to Berkeley in Gloucestershire in 24 hours to raise money for Children with Cancer and The James Hopkins Trust.

Storm partners with Oxfordshire Mind

Cassington-based Storm Internet has entered into a two-year partnership with mental health charity Oxfordshire Mind to promote awareness of the charity’s mental health support services. Storm Internet aims to raise £10,000 on behalf of the charity over the course of this partnership.

INSPIRATIONAL PATIENT TAKES ON MIGHTY FUND-RAISING WALK

Martyn Wells, who was diagnosed with malignant melanoma in March 2017, has been raising funds to support Macmillan nurses over the last 18 months.

He’s currently taking on the tough 245 mile Cape Wrath Trail in Scotland.

Martyn, employed as an IT Director by law firm Wright Hassall, walked the 211-mile Severn Way trail last September, raising £46,000 in the process.

His preparations for this year’s challenge were hit hard when immunotherapy treatment led to him contracting double pneumonia and sepsis.

After spending 15 days on a life support machine, Martyn had to learn how to walk again.

He said: “This year’s challenge is a huge step up from last year in terms of difficulty and as with last time around, I have been hit with a major setback. However with the tremendous support I’ve received from Wright Hassall, my colleagues and my friends, I am already back in training.

“We are heading out far from society so there is much more to focus on than just fitness.”

Alex Robinson, Partner at Wright Hassall, said: “Martyn’s dedication to tackling such a huge challenge is inspiring and we are proud to be backing his efforts through our charitable trust.

Wright Hassall senior partner Paul Rice, IT director Martyn Wells and firm partner Alex Robinson

“Martyn’s dedication to tackling such a huge challenge is inspiring and we are proud to be backing his efforts through our charitable trust”

BPE lawyer follows in the footsteps of Hannibal

The Senior Partner at Cheltenham law firm BPE Solicitors has completed an epic charity cycling challenge that took him across the French Alps like Hannibal more than 2,000 years ago (although Hannibal preferred elephants as his mode of transport, rather than a bicycle).

Over five days BPE’s John Workman, who will be 60 this year, along with cycling buddy and former colleague Tim Williams, 40, took on five Tour de France climbs. They included the iconic Mont Ventoux and the Alpe de‘Huez – topping out at 9,000 feet.

The adventurers covered 392 miles (the distance from London to Edinburgh) and climbed 8,848 meters (two and half times the height of Everest).

The pair raised more than £4,250 for the Footprints Foundation, founded and led by the former Chairman of Mears Group, Bob Holt OBE.

The Footprints Foundation supports the Khaya Centre and its orphanages near Johannesburg, providing shelter, education, clothing, food and medical help to children from townships and squatter camps.

John said: “I was not the oldest person doing these climbs, but I was the slowest. It wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t smooth and it was not without stopping, but I cycled every single centimetre of it. And I was humbled and flattered by the mix of astonishment, respect, compassion and encouragement I received from the (largely) Scandinavian and Dutch cyclists around us.

“A massive thanks to those who donated and to my fellow owners at BPE who have supported the adventure financially, and with their goodwill and blessing.”

Managing partner rides for flights

Rebecca Widdowson, Managing Partner, of Hallmark Hulme solicitors of Worcester, cycled from London to Paris raising more than £1,250 for The Midlands Air Ambulance Charity.

The charity receives no public funding and relies on donations. Each flight costs around £2,500.

Gardner Leader goes the extra mile

From climbing Kilimanjaro to holding a Beard-athon, the team at Newbury law firm Gardner Leader have raised £7,166 for Berkshire charity, Swings & Smiles.

The charity provides support, friendship and a place to play for children with special needs and their families.

Funeral directors donate CCTV to burgled rugby club

After reading about a break-in at Upton Rugby Club near Worcester, local funeral directors Jackson’s donated an eight-unit CCTV system to prevent it happening again. Work tools were stolen and extensive damage created inside the Upton-onSevern club which saw the bar flooded with beer.

Rebecca Widdowson with the Midlands Air Ambulance

CAREER AHEAD

NEW HEAD OF BUSINESS AT GENER8 FINANCE

Gener8 Finance, the Oxfordshire-based independent invoice finance provider, has promoted Tansy Cunningham to Head of Business. Tansy will be responsible for leading the Gener8 business, supporting the sales and operations teams.

HELIPEBS HAS FRESH FACE AT THE HELM

04 02

Gloucester-based Helipebs Controls Ltd has appointed Joanne Collinson as Managing Director. The manufacturer is a market leader in applying hydraulic and pneumatic cylinder technology to technically demanding industries in the UK and around the world.

JULIE DRILLS DOWN FOR INDUSTRY SUCCESS

The Managing Director of Coventrybased D-Drill, a diamond drilling and concrete sawing company, has been elected as Chair of the Drilling & Sawing Association. Julie White has been running D-Drill since she completed a management buy-out in 2008.

GFIRST LOCAL ENTERPRISE PARTNERSHIP EXPANDS BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Gloucestershire’s Local Enterprise Partnership, has appointed Lorrin White and Ruth Dooley to the Board of Directors. Lorrin White is Managing Director of Bamboo Technology Group, Ruth Dooley is a partner at accountants Hazlewoods LLP.

CROWE’S HEAD OF MANUFACTURING APPOINTED IN KEY NATIONAL POST

03 05 06

Johnathan Dudley, Midlands and South West Managing Partner and Head of Manufacturing at national audit, tax, advisory and risk firm, Crowe, has been appointed Chair of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Manufacturing Community.

HEAD OF DIGITAL

SUPPLY CHAIN SOLUTIONS FOR INVENIO

Reading-based Invenio Business Solutions has appointed Robert McManus to head its Digital Supply Chain Solutions unit. Robert previously undertook operational and direct sales roles with global brands including Texas Instruments, Wipro Technologies and most recently, SAP.

FORMER PRUDENTIAL DIRECTOR MOVES TO WEALTH WIZARDS

Peter Coleman, former CEO of Positive Solutions and Financial Planning and Strategy Director for Prudential’s advice division, has joined Leamington Spa-based Wealth Wizards, the digital financial advice scale-up, as Chief Commercial Officer.

FORMER COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR OF DAIRY CREST JOINS HAPPERLEY

Peter Andrew has joined food provenance business Happerley as Provenance Relationships Manager. He is a former Commercial Director at Dairy Crest and a founder of the Liquid Milk traceability programme for Waitrose and Marks & Spencer.

SPAL AUTOMOTIVE UK APPOINTS BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

SPAL Automotive UK has appointed James Coughlan as new Business Development Manager. The Worcesterbased company designs and manufactures axial fans and blowers. James will be responsible for managing existing accounts and securing new contracts.

BARRISTER RETURNS TO LAW FIRM AS HEAD OF FAMILY 08 12

09 11 10

REGIONAL HOUSE BUILDER HAS AMBITIOUS GROWTH PLANS

CALA Homes has appointed James Lidgate as Regional Chairman. He will be responsible for four of the homebuilder’s businesses including its Chiltern, Oxfordshire region. CALA is aiming to increase its presence in the area.

DF Legal LLP has welcomed back barrister Jack Henry. Jack has returned to practice his expertise in family law and litigation full-time, after a brief hiatus when he worked as a barrister at Unity Street Chambers in Bristol.

THURSFIELDS EXPANDS WORCESTER PROPERTY TEAM

Thursfields Solicitors has appointed a new solicitor for its residential property team in Worcester. Andrew Piggin (centre) was welcomed by residential property director Richard Watkins and senior associate Alison Wacey.

NEW HEAD FOR UK’S FIRST VACCINES CENTRE AT HARWELL CAMPUS

The UK’s first dedicated Vaccines Manufacturing Innovation Centre has appointed Dr Matthew Duchars as Chief Executive. Dr Duchars has worked in the biotechnology business for more than 30 years.

OLIVER RISES FROM PROJECT DESIGNER TO ASSOCIATE

16

GARDNER LEADER SUPPORTS PARENTS BACK TO WORK

Berkshire-based Gardner Leader has hired working parents Hannah Davies, a corporate and commercial solicitor, and Clare King (pictured), solicitor in the commercial property team. Last year Gardner Leader launched “Back to Law”, a programme helping lawyers back into private practice after a career break.

15 17

DEELEY GROUP EXPANDS ITS BOARD

Midlands construction and development company, the Deeley Group, has appointed Steve Turner and Steve Jones as main Board directors. Pictured are Deeley Group board directors Martin Gallagher, Peter Deeley, Steve Jones, Steve Turner, Peter Hartill and Andrew Cann.

FOUR PROMOTIONS AT GLANVILLE

Glanville has promoted four people to senior positions. At the Didcot office, Ruth Eve has been promoted to Acting Director (Structural Engineering) and Mike Ford to Associate Director (Transport and Highways). Also promoted to Associate Director (Structural Engineering) are Kevin Payne and Junaid Farooq who are both

18

TWO KEY APPOINTMENTS STRENGTHEN FIRST SOLUTION

Tom Henson (above left) and Paul Hillis have joined Cheltenham-based First Solution Technologies. Tom joins from GBE Converge as Head Of Service Delivery and Paul joins as Sales Director from a leading Thames Valley IT firm.

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WAR VETERAN WILL DRIVE TOURISM IN SOUTH WARWICKSHIRE

A war veteran who served more than three decades in the military, has taken on a new role to continue boosting tourism in South Warwickshire. Major Richard Carney MBE, Director of Operations at Dallas Burston Polo Club, has become the new chairman of Shakespeare’s England.

based at Hemel Hempstead.

RRA Architects has promoted Oliver Smith to Associate. Formerly a senior project designer, Oliver works from the Gloucester and Hereford offices and heads up a team of assistants, while also mentoring trainees. Oliver (right) is pictured with RRA Managing Director, Mark Powles.

WORKING IS A

RISKY BUSINESS

Successful business people tend to talk a lot about the importance of taking risks. And indeed, they may have risked much to achieve their fortune (although they might not have considered them risks at the time, rather their only way out of a tricky situation).

For most businesses, taking avoidable risks is irresponsible, and many risks can be mitigated if they are planned for.

So what are the biggest risks a business can face? With cyber attacks on the rise, IT problems should always be anticipated.

Health and safety is a substantial one for many businesses, as is protecting and supporting employees properly.

Losing valued and experienced staff to a competitor is another headache which many companies have to deal with. Then there’s operational risk, where

companies can inadvertently fall short of their legal responsibilities through slack administration or management.

Financial risks include non-paying customers, a rapid rise in interest rates, fluctuating international exchange rates, unforeseen but essential capital investments or commercial risks, such as the failure of key customers or suppliers.

And then there are the risks or uncertainties that we don’t know about. The USA’s Secretary of Defence, Donald Rumsfeld’s infamous comments in 2002 about the known knowns, and the unknown unknowns can be applied to many business situations.

While he was talking about the lack of evidence linking the Iraq government with

the supposed supply of weapons of mass destruction to terrorists, pretty much every business owner can relate his comments to a situation they’ve faced and it’s bang on the money.

He said: “There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns—the ones we don’t know we don’t know. And if one looks throughout the history of our country and other free countries, it is the latter category that tend to be the difficult ones.”

If you think about the risks too much, it’s going to keep you awake at night. So planning for them and calling in the experts is the sensible thing to do.

“If you think about the risks too much, it’s going to keep you awake at night. So planning for them and calling in the experts is the sensible thing to do”

“The biggest risk is not taking any risk” said Mark Zuckerberg. The founder of Facebook also said: “In a world that is changing really quickly, the only strategy guaranteed to fail is not taking risks”

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY: TODAY’S RISK FRONTIER FOR BUSINESS

In April last year, the TSB Bank began a long-planned transfer of customer data from its former IT platform, which sat with its former owner Lloyds, to a new one designed by the Spanish bank Sabadell, which bought the TSB in 2013.

The bank warned customers that some services might be temporarily unavailable, but what transpired was an information technology fiasco.

Some customers couldn’t log into their accounts or worse — could see the bank accounts of others. Other accounts were showing incorrect balances.

Such a monumental failure in technology cost the bank its reputation and led to the unceremonious dumping of its Chief Executive. The bank haemorrhaged customers and, according to reports, cost TSB and Sabadell around £200 million.

Could such a crisis have been anticipated or mitigated? It should certainly have

been anticipated but could only have been mitigated with proper planning, according to Simon Hearne, Cyber and Systems Engineer at TechOp, a Cheltenham-based IT managed services provider.

He said: “It is unwise to assume that things won’t go wrong in migrations of this magnitude. Taking into consideration all possible outcomes by undertaking what we call pre-mortem exercises would have enabled detailed planning and anticipation of off-plan scenarios. By doing this you can ensure there is a clear technical and communication plan for all outcomes.”

While it is complex to estimate or measure the impact of operational failure or reputation damage, he added, it is best to accept it as a possibility and have all relevant parties at the ready to handle it.

“With all aspects of operational resilience project management, you should anticipate, prepare for, respond and then adapt. Business often applies this methodology to reactive scenarios when in fact often it is proactive projects that need more of this attention.”

As with all operational changes you should plan carefully, avoiding unrealistic timescales, cutting corners and ignoring lessons previously learned.

A clearly defined project plan that identifies all the risks ensures there are clear guidelines and responsibilities to mitigate them. A useful exercise is to have pilot migrations to hone the operations needed to ensure a smooth transition.

“There is no substitute for testing before deployment, and no substitute for detailed planning,” added Simon.

“With all aspects of operational management, you should anticipate, prepare for, respond and then adapt”

Cyber attacks are on the rise

Around a third of businesses and two in10 charities reported having cyber security breaches or attacks in the last 12 months, according to the government’s cyber security breaches survey in July. As in previous years, this is much higher among medium and large businesses, and higher-income charities.

The most common are phishing attacks, others impersonating an organisation in emails or online, viruses, spyware or malware, including ransomware attacks.

But perhaps businesses are finally recognising that they need to be more cyber secure. According to the same survey, the number of businesses and charities identifying breaches or attacks is down from the previous year.

The government says that one plausible explanation is businesses are more cyber aware. The survey shows that businesses have increased their planning and defences against cyber-attacks.

Another possibility is a change in attacker behaviour, with more attacks being focused on a narrower (though still numerous) range of businesses.

Alternatively, says the report, the trend may in part be explained following the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in May last year. GDPR might have changed what businesses consider to be a breach, or led to some businesses becoming less willing to admit to having cyber security breaches.

Don’t confuse risk and uncertainty

There can be a dangerous confusion between risk and uncertainty, according to Rafael Ramirez, Director of the Oxford Scenarios Programme and Professor of Practice at the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School.

Risk, like car insurance, is based on probability, ie what’s gone before — based on yesterday’s data.

Uncertainly is different. It’s something that could happen but for which there is no database to compare it with, such as the effect of Brexit on the UK. There is no pattern of data.

Professor Ramirez and co-author of the research, Jerome Ravetz, have identified three futures: Tame future is for things that can be managed. Wild future, where they place Brexit, is where we have no idea what the outcome will be because it’s never happened before, and then there’s Feral Future.

Feral futures are expectations that things might be made worse by risk-based actions. They cite the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island in the United States 40 years ago, where operatives assumed that what was unfolding was described in their manual. They discovered too late that responses based on that assumption were making the situation worse.

A business needs to understand whether a problem is risk or uncertainty. For risk you can take insurance out. But uncertainty can’t be predicted.

To tackle uncertainty, different points of view are needed, says Professor Ramirez. “You need to convene conversations with people who disagree with each other and hold the disagreements to be constructive.

“Listen carefully to opposing views. Then you can make a plan, you make assumptions about the context in which that plan is going to live, and then you ask yourself, what if that doesn’t come to pass and then develop another context and another plan.”

There is no robust database of what percentage of companies are scenario planning, but a company undertaking such planning will have an advantage over its competition, he added.

Reputation. Hard to win and very, very easy to lose

A CASE OF MISTAKEN IDENTITY

A good reputation takes years to establish and minutes to destroy if a company manages a situation badly.

A mortuary in Birmingham made that expensive discovery a few years ago.

More people die over the Christmas break than at any other time of the year. Hospital mortuaries fill up quickly and management will make use of external services.

In 2015 two men passed away in Birmingham hospital. One was a Member of the European Parliament, the other wasn’t.

With similar names, the almost inevitable happened. The independent mortuary muddled them up and left the MEP’s body behind, instead taking the other body to the crematorium.

The MEP’s funeral service was attended by senior party members and the body was cremated.

It was only later that the mortuary’s error was discovered. Local and national media were all over the story. But when journalists started asking questions, the mortuary owners refused to talk.

Although independent from the mortuary, the funeral directors contacted James Ashe of Worcester and Cheltenham-based communications company Mighty to undertake crisis management.

James immediately formed a task force between the mortuary, the hospital communications team and his clients, the funeral directors. Mighty responded on everyone’s behalf, controlling the situation for all three organisations, even though James was only working for the funeral directors.

“Our 24/7 media doesn’t like a vacuum, they have a lot of airtime to fill. We issued regular updates so that they knew what was happening,” he said.

An enquiry into the incident six months later renewed media interest.

Again the mortuary owners wouldn’t talk, and with no official word from them, the media began to fill airtime with assumptions, in some cases interviewing people who had an opinion but didn’t know the facts.

James said: “Media interest focused on the mortuary because their unwillingness to communicate with

A company’s reputation makes up around 40 per cent of its value, according to the latest Reputation Dividend Report.

This annual report, produced by London-based brand research consultancy Reputation Dividend, says that profitable revenue generation, effective operation and strong governance creates the possibility of earnings momentum, but it is the thoughts, feelings and impressions in the minds of company watchers that underpin investor confidence.

journalists looked like they had something to hide. Our client wasn’t mentioned in the later news reports.”

Mighty has also been working with the company that bought the business which manufactured the defective doors at Grenfell Tower.

“The best time to prepare for a crisis is when you don’t have one,” said James.

“We are also doing a lot of work around the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).

“Many people think that crisis management is about making the crisis go away. But it’s about telling the truth and being transparent.

“If a company tries to hide or adapt the truth, their sins will find them out. We encourage them to tell the truth in a managed way. In a crisis you can either hide or front it up. And show you have remorse.”

“Our 24/7 media doesn’t like a vacuum, they have a lot of airtime to fill. We put out regular updates so that they knew what was happening”

MORE LONE WORKERS NEED GREATER PERSONAL PROTECTION AT WORK

Technology is enabling more companies to achieve greater productivity using fewer people. That sounds great, but it also masks the fact that more of us than ever are working alone. And that can be a major problem for employers

Many will remember the estate agent Suzy Lamplugh who disappeared when she was supposed to be showing a client around a house in Fulham, London.

Suzy disappeared in 1986 and has never been found.

With the advent of smart phones, it’s easy to think that everyone can always be found, but phones can be stolen, lost or go out of signal. And with last year’s General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), companies have to be wary about whether they are legally allowed to track employees using their personal mobile phones, even though it could keep those employees safer.

One answer could be Alertcom, a device which offers lone workers round-theclock monitoring, 365 days a year. The device can summon urgent assistance from incident managers at the press of a button. The managers have direct access

to police control rooms and the emergency services. It even has a ‘man down’ functionality. If a lone worker carrying an Alertcom falls over, the incident managers will know about and deal with the situation immediately.

This new product is now being marketed and sold by Cheltenham-based technology company Bamboo. According to some reports, there are more than six million lone workers in the

UK, that’s around 20 per cent of the country’s workforce. The NHS employs up to 100,000 healthcare professionals who work on their own every day, but lone workers are evident in practically every industry sector, from council workers to plumbers and electricians, parcel couriers to taxi drivers and IT workers.

Let’s not scaremonger too much, often it is safe to work alone, but the law requires employers to consider any health and

“The duty of care sits firmly with the employer and as employers we have an obligation to all our workers, including remote workers who can easily be overlooked”

safety risks before employees are allowed to do so, including having systems in place to keep in touch with them. Alertcom is a lightweight personal safety device that can be worn discreetly on a lanyard or attached to a belt.

Using a combination of GPS (Global Positioning System) and Global Navigation Satellite Systems receivers, the company says that its device has much greater location accuracy and stability.

Chief Executive at Bamboo, Lorrin White, has added the product to her company’s product inventory. She says that a company which doesn’t look after its lone workers properly could, if something happens, not only face a hefty fine which could be up to £20 million, but also lose its reputation.

The mystery of what happened to Suzy Lamplugh

On the last Monday of July 1986, in broad daylight and in the middle of a working day, estate agent Suzy Lamplugh, 25, disappeared while showing a client round a house in Fulham.

Suzy’s company car was discovered by the police about a mile from her office just after 10pm. There were no signs of a struggle – no fingerprints unaccounted for. The driver’s door was unlocked, the handbrake off and her purse was in the glove compartment. But her keys were missing.

Suzy’s body has never been found. She was finally presumed murdered and was legally declared dead in 1993.

In July investigators searched land around Pershore after a tip-off, but no evidence was found.

Her parents, Diana and Paul Lamplugh founded the Suzy Lamplugh Trust in 1986. The trust supports workplaces to help their lone and frontline workers be safer and feel safer. It also runs the National Stalking Helpline, offering advice and support to anyone concerned about stalking, as well as campaigning for victims of stalking.

www.suzylamplugh.org

“We have been trialling it with our engineers at customer sites and I’m really impressed with how it can boost the safety of our workers.

“According to the Sentencing Council, fines for large organisations sentenced for health and safety offences, where the issue of lone workers sits, have increased following the introduction of new sentencing guidelines, and these are

no longer targeted just at the biggest organisations. There has been an increase in fines for smaller organisations and individuals sentenced for health and safety offences.

“The technology is great, and we can make it better by connecting it with other products and solutions. I am convinced that an employer’s duty of care will become more important as technology develops. The number of lone workers in the UK is undoubtedly set to increase as people work further from their company’s sites.

“The duty of care sits firmly with the employer and as employers we have an obligation to all our workers, including remote workers who can easily be overlooked.”

Bamboo’s new lone worker device, Alertcom

DON’T RISK A TALENT EXODUS

Talent management is critical for all businesses. Every company needs to attract and retain skilled people. Losing them will mean losing intellectual capital, a lack of future leaders to drive the business, a loss of competitive advantage and lower productivity.

But with unemployment at record low levels, it’s a candidate’s market out there. What can businesses do to attract and retain talent?

If you’re the world-famous engineering company Dyson, which has a major base at Malmesbury, it’s not difficult to inspire your target workforce.

“Pioneers wanted” says the headline on the careers page of its website, which shows the company’s beautiful campus, and some of the people working for Dyson, and carries stories from empowered employees.

“Dyson is different,” says another headline “Our culture is unique. It’s not for everyone, but if you thrive on challenge and are excited by change then it could be for you.”

Who doesn’t want a challenge, or to be one of the chosen few?

According to LinkedIn, the industries with the highest turnover rates are

technology (software), retail and consumer products, media and entertainment, and professional services.

With technology talent in high demand, employers in the sector are offering more competitive salaries and benefits.

But how can smaller companies compete to attract and retain talent against globally successful businesses and their multimillion-pound budgets?

Cirencester-based mobile games developer Neonplay knows it’s fighting against larger competitors in bigger towns, so founder Oli Christie decided early on to offer a unique range of benefits to incoming employees.

Headline-grabbing perks include giving new employees £100 to spend on something for the office. It can be anything, from a Lego set to Playdoh, which helps employees feel at home quicker. Posh loo rolls and two free driving lessons are also offered, along with the company standing drinks for staff on a Friday. It’s all good public relations.

Neonplay staff also benefit from the company now being part of publishing company Hachette UK. The point is that every company must operate within their means and job perks are an increasingly important factor in people’s career choices.

What drives employee satisfaction in the UK

 The culture and values of an organisation (22 per cent)

 The quality of senior leadership (21 per cent)

 Access to career opportunities within the organisation (18 per cent)

 A business’s outlook (14 per cent)

 Compensation and benefits (13 per cent)

 Work-life balance (13 per cent)

Source: Glassdoor Economic Research

James Dyson talking directly with employees at The Dyson Campus at Hullavington

“Technology talent is in highdemand and there is rising compensation within the industry as employers and offers get more competitive”

Cyber security – how to mitigate the risks

Last year’s GDPR changes and the more recent data beaches of Facebook and British Airways (BA) mean that data security is at the forefront of everyone’s mind; with business and customers alike being far more attuned to how data is used, transferred and ultimately protected online; making data protection and considerations ever more prominent.

As a digital agency, data security and protection is always a key part of our development process; with the initial discovery stage of any project dedicated to the evaluation of existing processes such as data collection, storage and circulation to identify any data or security risks which may exist. Key examples of this are the use of unprotected spreadsheets, the storage of data on an individual’s machine and/or the transfer of data over email which, whilst they may seem fine for internal processes, open data up to immense risk.

Once the risks have been identified, a number of mitigation measures can be applied – these tend to vary on a per project basis, however typical solutions

would be to move all contacts on to a dedicated, online CRM (where data is both encrypted and access password protected), putting systems and databases in place, providing secure transfer through portals, and providing appropriate access to specific data fields based on the requirements of the user at the time (a customer service representative doesn’t need to see the same information as a marketing director).

In addition to the above, website security is of equal importance. Recent cyberattacks to Marriott and Airbnb showcase how easy it is for external sources to obtain access to not only a site, but also the data behind it. With the evolution of online payments and transactions, security measures such as the use of an SSL Certificate (especially if taking payments), database servers not having direct access to the web and in the instance of account log-ins, two-factor authentication should always be offered as standard.

The ever-changing laws and protocol surrounding data protection mean

internal processes need to continually be addressed and evaluated – as the BA and Facebook examples prove, data security should never be an afterthought.

With a diverse range of clients and brands throughout the UK and worldwide, 16i are committed to delivering the very best digital products and services. Ultimately helping companies to determine the most appropriate digital approach, we love learning about your challenges and working with you to develop solutions from scratch based on your business sector and needs. Our ethos is to help companies fully explore digital and security options…and well just make things that bit less complicated.

Concerned about the security of your data or would simply like to hear more?

The 16i team would be happy to help.

16i, a digital design and development agency, discuss the importance of data protection online….

“ADAM, IT’S TIME FOR YOUR MEDICATION”

Adam Starkey is the founder and Executive Chair of Green Gourmet, a Gloucestershire food company that holds a Queen’s Award for Innovation. He is Vice-Chair of the Gloucestershire Local Enterprise Partnership and is forging a new career as a futurist. We asked him what could threaten the way we are doing business.

Will the pace of technical change bring new risks to your business, or is that still years away?

Amazon’s Jeff Bezos was quoted as saying “Your margin is our opportunity” and most high street retailers now understand what he meant as they gradually go out of business. But which other industries should be seeing tech companies like Amazon as a threat to be reckoned with?

One of the many at risk might be the health industry after Amazon’s intentions were made clear by its purchase of online pharmacy PillPack.

If you join this up with the, as yet unused, patent for Alexa to hear you coughing and therefore discern that you are unwell, it begins to look, well, joined up.

Maybe Alexa books an online GP appointment with the rumoured Amazon Prime Health.

Next comes automated issuing of a prescription via PillPack and if you are close to a distribution centre, then just a 30-minute wait for a delivery by drone.

Would that beat trying to get an appointment at the GPs and waiting in line at the chemist?

Disruptive technologies changing our lives

Brainomix helping to save lives

Spun out of the University of Oxford in 2010, Brainomix has developed award-winning stroke imaging software, helping physicians make better lifesaving decisions. The company’s artificial intelligence (AI) and ‘deep learning’ technology has the potential to improve the consistency of physician’s interpretation of images.

As we all live longer and take more medication, PillPack can sort them all for you and then send packets with all the pills you need at 8am on Thursday. No more tricky pill bottles to deal with, or tiny writing to read. And Alexa can remind you whether you are at home or on the go: “Adam, it’s time for your medication.”

Whatever your company does, spend a few minutes considering how technology might threaten you, or even your whole industry. These disruptive innovators often don’t do everything that we do, but they might do 20 per cent of what we do for half the cost. Would that be a big risk to you?

All this blockchain, artificial intelligence and self-driving stuff might be years away and we will all have retired before it reaches Coventry, Gloucester, Oxford or Worcester, but what if it comes quicker?

To appreciate the potential risk to your business you should suspend disbelief for a while and ask yourself the question: “what would it mean if....?”

Dr George Harston, Brainomix Chief Medical and Innovation Officer & Consultant Stroke Physician, Oxford University Hospital said: “Brainomix has shown once again the value of AI to augment human performance.”

Drive like a machine or a human?

The future is autonomous vehicles. So are you confident enough to travel in one?

Researchers at the University of Warwick took volunteers into a warehouse laid out to resemble a town centre pedestrianised area. Half were given journeys around the route in an autonomous vehicle using all its capabilities.

The others did the same journeys in autonomous vehicles programmed to emulate average human driving patterns.

The result was the efficient machine method was slightly favoured, but the gap narrowed over the four runs.

Adam Starkey

BOSSES SOLVING THE

PRODUCTIVITY PUZZLE ONE STEP AT A TIME

In a people business where we deal in time, working smart is key.

We are streamlining key processes and using technology more efficiently, without taking our eyes off client delivery and client needs.

Our initiatives include integrating systems and giving better visibility of key data. These make our people more efficient and as this is driven centrally, it helps those working from home or out of the office.

It isn’t about working harder, but more efficiently to help achieve the work-life balance many of our staff are trying to maintain.

Artificial intelligence (AI) will help in areas such as due diligence exercises where large quantities of documents need to be scanned. We are already using one such product for assistance but are not relying on it to do the work for us. However, over time this technology will become more sophisticated and reliable and as such our insurers will want, or even insist on us using it.

We will also need skilled technicians to deploy the software properly. Our lawyers will have to develop complementary analysis skills, so they know what they are asking the software to do, and how to

interpret the results. It is no surprise that the lady leading our use of this technology was a software developer before becoming a lawyer. We may need to offer our lawyers relevant technology training.

However, I am constantly amazed at the thorny and difficult issues that come up time and time again on transactional matters. These need patience, skill and experience to navigate and we are some way off having a robot being able to do that.

That said, there is greater capacity for automation in different sectors. Elements of conveyancing; basic will-writing and employment contracts. But the minute you do something out of the ordinary, which is where most of our work at BPE sits, a robot probably won’t cut it.

And if AI takes over the basic work, how will trainee and newly qualified lawyers learn about documentation constructs and all the basics if they don’t go through due diligence/marking up documents?

Training through case study scenarios will have to play a greater part at the front

end, and the skills of a trainee or newly qualified lawyer will need to change. We may need fewer and it may become more competitive to become a lawyer through the traditional route.

Firms already suffer huge attrition among trainees who move shortly after qualification. Perhaps opening up the law profession, where more people come through apprenticeship or paralegal routes, learning on the job by doing the most basic things, means that the profile of our trainees may change over time.

When these employees get to the equivalent of trainee they will have more experience, often more than some graduates coming through the conventional route – quite an interesting role reversal.

Traditionally, clients buy our time. Increasingly that is counterintuitive to their actual needs. BPE is working towards pricing needs and away from traditional legal pricing models. However, this comes with a potential productivity headache.

The scope of a transaction could change, and some of those costly issues in terms of time cannot be anticipated at the outset. Part of our productivity drive is designed to address this and ensure that we are not fundamentally disadvantaged by trying to offer more flexible and attractive proposals to our clients.

“It isn’t about working harder, but more efficiently, to help achieve the worklife balance many of our staff are trying to maintain.”

Artificial intelligence isn’t the only answer to boosting a law firm’s productivity

Antonia Shield, Managing Partner, Cheltenham-based BPE Solicitors

Fast growth demands high productivity through skills as well as processes and automation

Sanderson, Head of Operations, Prima Dental

Our productivity challenge at the moment is keeping up with growth. A nice problem to haven of course. As we add more machinery, keeping the process stable and flowing while recruiting and training the right people keeps us busy.

We have invested in a new training facility for recruits away from the busy factory floor. This ensures that our training is robust and gives new team members a professional introduction to our company.

From a process perspective we have invested in our planning and scheduling systems to ensure that as volumes grow we have the tools, as well as the skills, to reduce bottlenecks, maintain process stability and increase output.

The supply chain function is often underestimated with regard to its importance for productivity. At Prima Dental we are investing heavily in this area.

We are also investing in asset management, including some process automation. Introducing preventative maintenance improved availability by 60 per cent against last year. While spending on technology (£6 million on new equipment last year) we are also developing improvement projects to increase machine productivity and reliability.

The most cost-effective opportunity for productivity growth is in our teams. When team members are trained in continuous improvement techniques and are part

Returning power to the people

Victoria Petkovic-Short, Account Director, Apt Marketing & PR

of a team within an autonomous cell that is constantly striving for improvements, the impact on productivity can be significant.

The big miss in manufacturing is jumping into automation without investing in employee training to get the best out of the equipment, such as autonomous maintenance.

Automation is right for a point in time of the operations evolution, but not the beginning. We have four core work streams: culture development, global supply chain, customer satisfaction and operational excellence.

The link between people and productivity is obvious. As a fastgrowing company, our challenge is to maintain our valued small company culture and high level of customer satisfaction while introducing ways of working necessary for increasing scale.

Our ventures in China, Brazil and India were established in the last five years, and the development of an integrated, agile, global supply chain is key to our future productivity.

Deployed correctly, productivity through aligned strategies and investment in people will increase employee engagement by empowering them to drive improvements.

In other words, changing the way the business and its leaders work is the way to drive productivity.

In the world of marketing and PR, our deadlines can be agile and our responsibilities last minute, so we are adept at juggling multiple tasks.

It is exciting, fast-paced and addictive and our team loves what they do. But working in this environment, there are some productivity challenges.

For us, it came from an invisible ‘split’ between the Senior Management Team (SMT) and our executives.

We have a flat organisational structure and encourage initiative, hunger and drive. However, the big game changer for us, identified through coaching on the QuoLux LEAD course, was realising that our short-term deadlines had created a certain “hero” leadership (not a term I like or have coined).

Hero leadership occurs where, in a bid to ensure we always deliver for a client, the SMT stepped in and “rescued” situations and workloads. It meant much of our training and development in these scenarios was redundant; our team was learning by being told and not by doing in order to meet short deadlines. Secondary to this, the situation enabled instances of ‘no consequence’: if your line manager redoes the work in the event of poor quality or non-delivery, what incentive is there for you to do it right?

We are a good employer and invest in our team, but in trying to be supportive, we had also created a sometimes non-productive environment. Rework was high, though in theory it needn’t be, and our team’s creativity was somewhat on a leash.

Martin

Martin Sanderson, Head of Operations, Prima Dental

All it took was a few small changes to make a significant and lasting difference. By recognising (through LEAD) the changes we needed to make, the team are now working autonomously. We have created space for them to rework it themselves in instances where they are off-brief, and all of this has been done without compromising quality and delivery. Overall, we have reduced rework by around 60 per cent — that’s almost two hours per person per day. It is amazing how much more productive, happy and engaged we are as a team, even though we seemed to be in the first place.

One challenge was the friction always caused when you change something after a long time. It is hard going from doing something one way to doing it another, and I am sure the team felt the effects of having work returned to them when previously it would have been done. It only took a couple of weeks though.

The best thing about improving our productivity has been watching the younger team flourish.

It is important for all businesses to understand that they can make small improvements. Every business, large or small, whether they are winning “best employer” awards or not, has the capacity to do everything a little bit better. It is this constant reflection, evolution and commitment to innovation that truly makes a business thrive and there are always things we can improve, no matter how good we were when we started.

Why the UK falls behind other developed economies – the productivity gap – is still somewhat of a mystery.

It’s easy to blame the country’s economy, but businesses can, and need to, address productivity at a company level. Evidence indicates the value of good leadership and structured management practices in helping to raise productivity.

Interestingly, the productivity of an engaged workforce compared to a disengaged workforce is 18 per cent higher. But with the same research stating that 79 per cent of workers, a whopping 20 million people, are disengaged, a cultural revolution is needed. Perhaps this provides a second pointer to leaders to create conditions in the workplace to engage staff more.

By supporting leaders and managers to develop the skills they need to enhance employee engagement, businesses can make significant improvements in productivity. We’ve seen this first-hand – delegates demonstrate a 42 per cent increase in productivity after completing our LEAD programme. It is possible to close the gap.

The UK falls 35 per cent behind Germany in terms of productivity. Benchmarking sales per employee throws up some interesting statistics. In the UK, average output per person is £147,000. How does that compare against your company’s performance? In Germany, the output per person soars to £335,000.

Measuring against similar companies in Germany provides an insight into how many millions of pounds of profit can be generated by small and medium-sized enterprises without recruiting more people. A 10-person service firm can increase sales by almost £3 million and profits by £2 million. A 25-person firm can increase sales by almost £5 million without employing anyone else. Corporation tax generated from more productive SMEs could raise £75 billion per annum, enough to pay for almost three quarters of the annual NHS budget.

Business can be a force for good, making a difference to society by becoming more productive. So, what will you do differently to help solve the productivity puzzle?

The puzzle that is productivity

Stewart Barnes, Managing Director, QuoLux

“In the world of marketing and PR, our deadlines can be agile and our responsibilities last minute, so we are adept at juggling multiple tasks”

Victoria Petkovic-Short Account Director, Apt Marketing & PR

Stewart Barnes, Managing Director, QuoLux

EVERY GENERAL NEEDS A BATTLE PLAN…

development

Patent analytics can assist the acquisition of this information by combining the use of big patent data, available from a number of international patent databases, plus an array of specialist software tools to identify trends and patterns that can guide budget spend and commercial decision making in a very efficient and cost-effective way.

Patent data was first digitised in the 1980s and there have also been commensurate improvements in the quality of analysis software in the years since then, leading to the increasingly sophisticated interpretation of big patent data, at reduced cost, for commercial use. Thus patent analytics is big business and growing; research carried out on the commercial effects clearly showed that that companies that use patent analytics outperform their competitors because they achieve higher profitability and obtain higher financial and strategic benefit from their patents. Furthermore, with

the development of new patent analytical techniques based on artificial intelligence (AI) it is highly likely that significant advances will be made in the accessibility, quality and accuracy of analytical insights.

Patent search specialist Matthew Veale, team leader of Wynne-Jones IP’s Patent Analytics Service believes patent analytics can be useful to a company in a variety of ways.

“Companies of all sizes can avoid the pitfall of investing in technology that is already patented by other companies”

Matthew adds “whilst this is important for all companies it is of particular relevance to small companies/start-ups because they typically tend to have smaller budgets for intellectual property investment so every pound must be even more carefully spent. Companies can also use patent analytics to identify gaps in patent protection in a

profitable technical field; this can guide their R&D strategy, resulting in inventions that can be focussed towards filling these gaps without infringement on another company’s patent(s). Many companies use patent analytics to get a reassuring check before a product or service launch that the technology is novel and inventive, reducing the risk of costly infringement action from other companies. “

There are also many other uses of patent analytical data. For example, it can be used to inform merger and acquisition activity and licensing deals. It can identify trends in technology development and lead to stronger patent portfolios. WynneJones IP’s clients use the data generated by the Patent Analytics Service in several different ways.

Matthew comments, “One of our clients in the life sciences sector used landscape mapping to establish the state of a

All companies developing innovative products, technologies and services need an in-depth picture of their market, competitors, opportunities and risks in order to be successful.

Innovative companies of all sizes are utilising big patent data to drive the

of new innovations

technology area before beginning research and development. It helped them identify potential solutions to a given technical problem as well as identifying later patents that adopted a concept already patented by the client – all priceless intelligence. Another client, a small start-up, uses patent searching as a way to identify whether there will be freedom to develop a technology area before committing time and money developing something.”

PATENT ANALYTICS

There are many specialist patent analytics firms in existence, often employing large numbers of PhD qualified employees to perform the services. Often this can seem the most attractive and effective way for companies to obtain services but there are pitfalls. The insights generated by patent analytics companies can be acquired with scant knowledge of the client’s general business goals, trading

environment and regulatory constraints of the sectors in which they are operating. “We are increasingly receiving feedback from companies that specialist patent analytics companies routinely lack the understanding of the client’s general business strategy and the environment in which the company is trading,”

This can lead to insights and recommendations that either make little sense or need considerable work-up before they can be utilised in a business management context. This is very frustrating for clients; they have already committed significant expense to having the analysis carried out only to find that it is not as meaningful as it could be. When we set up our patent analytics service in 2018 we were clear that we wanted it to be staffed by a dedicated team of IP attorneys and IP paralegals with specialist search skills. These are personnel who work with the clients every day and know

them, who collectively have an in depth understanding of the client’s business plans and technology enabling them to provide tailored advice, contextualised for the client’s business environment.

Patent analytics is suitable for all inventing companies of any size and it may be money well spent to avoid costly investment mistakes later. Patent analytics may give you invaluable information about your competitors and the technology trends in your industry that would be more difficult to obtain via other methods.

If you want to chat to a patent attorney search specialist about using patent analytics to benefit your business, please contact Matt Veale on matthew.veale@wynne-jones.com

“We are increasingly receiving feedback from companies that specialist patent analytics companies routinely lack the understanding of the client’s general business strategy and the environment in which the company is trading.“

Matt Veale

Over 30 years’ experience in debt recovery

Controlaccount Plc provides a fast, proactive, commercial debt collection service on a no-collect, no-fee basis.

As a long-established business, our collection methods are fair, transparent and ethical taking into account your need to collect debts and improve cash flow while preserving valuable customer relationships.

Where applicable, we can apply the latest legislation for commercial debt recovery, using the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 (LPA) which helps to redress the balance with regard to the cost of chasing overdue commercial debts.

Controlaccount will help you meet some or all of the cost of collection from the late payment charge and interest; this means that you could receive 100 per cent of your debt, not a proportion as you may do currently.

And our in-house legal department provides legal debt recovery services and can undertake actions in all jurisdictions.

We can integrate our service with your existing credit control functions and

offer solutions for a whole range of debt problems. These include current ledger balances, written-off debt, post judgement, low value or absconded debt, all on a no-collect, no-fee basis, so there will be no cost to you should we be unable to collect.

Controlaccount really is a debt collection agency which has full confidence in its ability to collect debts with its own money. Controlaccount clients receive a no cost debt collection service from beginning to end.

CHELTENHAM’S LOUISE OLIVER WINS FINANCIAL ADVISER OF THE YEAR

The director of Cheltenham based financial planning company Piercefield Oliver, Louise Oliver, who is also UK President of the British Association of Women Entrepreneurs, has won Financial Adviser of the Year South West, at the 2019 Women in Financial Advice Awards.

These awards celebrate the achievements of women working within the financial advice community as well as the broader financial services sector.

Louise said: “There are not enough women in financial services and I work extremely hard to encourage and inspire not only females, but teenagers and Brunsdon Financial, the Gloucester-based financial services group, has bought the employee benefits division of investment management company Brooks Macdonald, which has offices across the UK.

Fast-growing companies generate thousands of jobs

The top 50 fastest growing companies in Birmingham and Solihull created more than 2,600 jobs last year, generating an extra £950 million of combined turnover, according to a new report.

The annual Birmingham and Solihull Growth Report, published by accountancy and business advisory firm BDO, saw Sutton Coldfield-based Dignity Funerals top a table of business growth over a three-year period.

Purplebricks and Gymshark also made it into the top 10, alongside pub company Hawthorn Leisure and more. graduates to learn about and consider career paths in this sector.

“We have a great team at Piercefield Oliver and it is with their support that I have been able to achieve this accolade.”

Louise recently spoke to more than 170 students at Cheltenham College on how to manage their money.

Assistant head of the Upper College at Cheltenham College, Claire Rowland said: “Louise is truly inspirational to our students, not only teaching and guiding them about a career in finance but providing encouragement and motivation especially to our female students. She is a great role model.”

Brunsdon Financial expands services and offices

its presence in Leeds, Bristol and Wales. This acquisition signals a major expansion in Brunsdon’s operations.

Swindon legal company opens Witney office

Swindon-based Francis George Solicitor-Advocate has opened a new office in Witney.

The Witney office will help meet the demand for the firm’s services in nearby Oxford and the surrounding Cotswolds.

Managing Director, Francis George, said: “I’m delighted to announce the opening of our new office in Witney. I believe the expansion will help to better serve the needs of existing and new clients in and around the Oxford area.”

Brunsdon Financial has also opened a Central London office and is developing

Operations Director Sebastian Merritt said: “This acquisition will add numerous corporate clients to our already substantial client base.”

“We have a great team at Piercefield Oliver and it is with their support that I have been able to achieve this accolade”

Louise Oliver

Councillor Duncan Enright, Mayor of Witney with Francis George, Solicitor-Advocate team

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS FOR UK MANUFACTURERS ADOPTING TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION

A report published in May by the global accountancy software company Sage revealed a sector taking charge of its own destiny despite growing change and uncertainty.

“Contrary to prevailing sentiments about the decline of manufacturing in the UK, our research reveals attitudes are anything but downbeat,” said Sabby Gill, Sage’s UK and Ireland Managing Director.

“With the Fourth Industrial Revolution gathering pace, we see an industry taking the initiative to equip itself with the technologies and skills it needs to succeed.

“Half of UK manufacturers, for example, say uncertainty around Brexit is making them more likely to invest in technology as they prepare for possible changes.

“In an increasingly digitised world, and with political and economic uncertainty,

manufacturers that prioritise digital transformation have the best chance of maintaining growth and riding the wave to success,” he added.

Driven by uncertainties around importing and exporting, 54 per cent of UK manufacturers see greater opportunities in providing locally sourced goods regardless of price, rather than cheaper items irrespective of origin, the report says.

This trend towards onshoring is driven by the value customers place in “Brand Britain”, and ties in with concerns around risk and the importance manufacturers place on the traceability of raw materials.

After the artificial boost resulting from Brexit-related stockpiling in the first quarter of the year, which saw quarterly growth of more than two per cent, manufacturing started to contract again said MakeUK, the national organisation championing UK manufacturing.

But the UK is not the only country in Europe which is facing challenging conditions in its manufacturing sector.

The Eurozone purchasing manager’s index continues to be in negative territory, and Germany and Italy have been struggling for months. Political uncertainty, trade wars and industryspecific difficulties in key sectors such as automotive, are deeply affecting manufacturing performance.

MakeUK says that looking at the next few months, the weak intermediate goods market in Europe and the UK are a hint that future output is not expected to improve soon.

“Contrary to prevailing sentiments about the decline of manufacturing in the UK, our research reveals attitudes are anything but downbeat”

For years a big criticism of UK manufacturing has been that it won’t embrace the fundamental technological change needed to compete globally. But that may be changing

UK manufacturing is battling a tough future, but we’re not alone

Safran Landing Systems UK, Gloucester manufacturing site

UNIVERSITY OF GLOUCESTERSHIRE INVESTS MILLIONS IN ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY DEGREE COURSES

In a move welcomed by manufacturing companies across the region struggling to find skilled and qualified employees, the University of Gloucestershire has significantly boosted its study opportunities for those wanting a career in engineering technology.

It has launched degree programmes in a range of engineering specialisms, which kick off this month. Earlier this year the university, along with Swindon College and New College Swindon, also announced a new collaboration to establish a £21 million Institute of Technology in Swindon.

The first Head of Engineering Technologies at the University of Gloucestershire is Dr Salah Al-Majeed, whose engineering expertise has been gained across the world.

Dr Salah said:

“Engineering isn’t just about practical skills. It’s about creative thinking and flexibility alongside developing the fundamental engineering knowledge and skills.

specialisation on top of that, because engineering these days isn’t just mechanical or electrical. Other skills are needed, such as coding and design.”

“Engineering isn’t just about practical skills. It’s about creative thinking and flexibility alongside developing the fundamental engineering knowledge and skills”

“I am often asked what sort of engineer I am. I say I’m a human engineer. I take the raw material that is the student and pass them through three years of building skills and knowledge.

“We want our engineering graduates to have a solid knowledge of engineering but think with flexibility and perspective to solve problems. And to have a

Engineering graduates must think about tomorrow’s problems rather than just present issues, he said.

“We have to look years ahead. Think about electric cars, about how they are being designed and built compared to those using the internal combustion engine, Electric cars have sensors which must talk to each other to control the car. Our students need programme skills.

“Engineering in the future will be very different than today.”

Following his Masters degree in mobile and satellite communications at the University of Westminster, Dr Salah completed a PhD in Electronic Systems Engineering at the University of Essex, specialising in Broadcast and Broadband Multimedia over mobile wireless networks.

He worked in Kazakhstan, at the JSC Nazarbayev University, helping develop its research base and the student’s leadership skills. While there he also worked as a consultant with Shell and the North Caspian Operating Company.

He helped the company maintain and assess a difficult-to-reach oil field where the temperature drops to minus 40 degrees in the winter.

“In an environment too cold for humans, we worked on delivering data wirelessly from a robot that had more than 11 high definition cameras and 50 different type of sensors to assess the state of the equipment,

Engineering students at the University of Gloucestershire

Dr Salah Al-Majeed

His interests then took him into the area of telemedicine with UNICEF, where he worked on a home care monitoring project.

“I’m passing these research skills to my students. We don’t necessarily need to reinvent the wheel, but we do need to think differently.”

From Kazakhstan he moved to Oman, spending four years as Head of System Engineering at an Omani college. He developed the courses from scratch and had them accredited by the UK Engineering Council.

Gloucestershire is a very different environment to either Kazakhstan or Oman. So why come here? It turns out his family has always been UK-based, so this commute is a great deal shorter.

Dr Salah’s global perspective of engineering problems and solutions will certainly benefit the university’s students, and he also believes in closer collaboration with other educational organisations (such as Gloucestershire Engineering and Training and Warwickshire College), as well as the manufacturers themselves.

“We need to work with each other, not compete. It’s about communication and exchanging knowledge.”

For more information on the University of Gloucestershire’s engineering and technology courses: www.glos.ac.uk/engineering

Manufacturing boss encourages innovation

Manufacturing

David Hunt is Head of Manufacturing Operations and Engineering at Worcester Bosch which employs around 1,850 associates at two UK manufacturing sites, Worcester and Clay Cross, Derbyshire.

In 2018 Worcester Bosch generated revenues of more than £500 million and is now focusing on its manufacturing innovation.

Earlier this year Worcester Bosch became the first factory in Britain to have 5G wireless access. The test is using the improved network technology of 5G to run sensors in its factory, in a trial being led by the Worcestershire 5G Consortium.

David believes that 5G can increase flexibility. The technology provides his team with live data so they can plan interactions to help prevent machine failures.

David started at Worcester Bosch in 2009 as a production engineer. He is now responsible for the site’s manufacturing output, ensuring the right products are made at the right time to the best quality.

Setting the long-term manufacturing strategy is complex, he explained, due to the speed of technological developments, customer requirements and the current political landscape, also considering the complexities of existing within a larger organisation.

“As a team, we strive for continuous improvement. Supporting my team in roles I was once in, while giving them the autonomy to improve systems and driving innovation is my challenge.”

David Hunt, Head, of Manufacturing Operations and Engineering at Worcester Bosch

PACKAGING FACTORY BOXES VERY CLEVER IN LEAMINGTON SPA

The UK packaging manufacturing industry has annual sales of £11 billion and employs some 85,000 people, representing three per cent of the UK’s manufacturing workforce. Its productivity is more than double that of all industries’ average performance and it is a world leader in product innovation and manufacturing technology.

The Box Factory, based in Leamington Spa, is one of the region’s major corrugated packaging design and manufacturers. In the last few years the company has invested around £5.5 million

in manufacturing and materials handling equipment, according to Managing Director Neil Price.

What’s also a pleasure to learn is that The Box Factory isn’t working towards 100 per cent recycled materials, it’s already there, and the ink it uses is water-based too.

Neil said: “Our main manufacturing site is one of the most sophisticated

ARRK invests in new Midlands-based facility

Engineering, prototyping, tooling and low volume product development company ARRK Europe has opened a 40,000 sq ft injection moulding facility at Kings Norton, South Birmingham.

ARRK, which has its European prototyping headquarters in Gloucester, also has a strategic alliance with its Kings Norton neighbour Paintbox, which is a fully robotic paint plant. ARRK’s new site has created around 45 new jobs with more opportunities on the horizon.

ARRK European Managing Director, Tony Lowe, said: “With this geographical advantage close to the heart of the UK automotive industry, ARRK is well placed to support customers. Our alliance with Paintbox offers a one-stop shop, with moulding, fully-automated robotic painting, assembly, electronic data interchange (EDI) and logistics.”

and automated in the UK. What used to take six or seven people to achieve now takes just two, but because we’ve grown as we’ve automated, we’ve increased our employee headcount, alongside the robots which now pick and place our goods ready for dispatch.”

The Box Factory produces approximately three million boxes every month for a varied range of customers.

The Box Factory’s Jamie Wicks with Neil Price, Cassie Johnson and Katy Boyle

Manufacturing

The Box Factory’s light-hearted approach to product marketing

“WE MUST MAKE MORE OF OUR INVENTIONS”

The UK must make more of its inventions was the call from manufacturers attending the annual Bessemer Society Oxford dinner, held in the city.

This year’s topic at the annual Bessemer Society Oxford dinner was Life Science Manufacturing Ambition with speakers drawn from the life sciences manufacturing sector.

Nick Page is Head of Manufacturing at Oxford BioMedica which manufactures life-changing gene therapies. The company has grown significantly over the last five years and Nick discussed his experiences of setting up manufacturing facilities in China and India.

“In China, there are thousands of graduates who want to work for Western companies in their country. If the government wants you, they will make things easy. The political climate is very different from here, but the salaries of top managers are much the same as in Western countries.”

India’s workers have more employment rights, and its graduates are well-educated and loyal, he said.

Oxford BioMedica is building an 84,000 sq ft facility in the city. Called Oxbox, (it was formerly occupied by Royal Mail), it will provide new clean rooms, offices, warehousing and laboratories at Oxford Business Park, Cowley.

The expansion will enable the Group to more than double its bioprocessing capacity, and Oxford BioMedica plans to boost its workforce from 500 to 600 this year.

Also speaking at the Bessemer Society dinner was Dr Gordon Sanghera, Chief Executive of Oxford Nanopore.

One of the UK’s few billion dollar-

valued businesses, known as unicorns, Oxford Nanopore has been valued at one and a half billion dollars.

This country is is punching well above its weight in turning out innovations, he said. His concern is that the UK lags behind in the development of industrial processes to get these to the next level. “Industrial innovation does not yet have a voice at government level. We need to work together to make that happen and the Bessemer Society is a great platform to make the case,” he said.

“As a collective we need to think big. To move forward together.”

Oxford Nanopore is building a multimillion-pound manufacturing facility at

“As a nation, we are brilliant at invention. We are not so good with industrial methods and processes”

Dr Andy Jones, Director of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund Medicines Manufacturing Challenge

Dr Gordon Sanghera, Chief Executive of Oxford Nanopore

Nick Page, Head of Manufacturing at Oxford BioMedica

Harwell in Oxfordshire. The facility will have one of the largest clean room areas in the UK.

Oxford Nanopore’s technology will give everyone access to DNA sequencing, allowing us to diagnose ourselves without recourse to a doctor.

Gordon predicts that within five years, the company’s pocket-sized portable device for biological analysis, called a MinION, will be as ubiquitous as the mobile phone.

“We have built a new factory in the UK partly because we want to protect our intellectual property, but more importantly we have a manufacturing heritage born in the Victorian era that no-one else has in the world. We are about to enter the genomic DNA information age.

“We all need to be bold, to be ambitious. We must create new companies from

Oxford Nanopore boosts manufacturing capability at Harwell

Oxford Nanopore has started hightech, automated manufacturing processes at its new factory at Harwell Campus near Oxford.

The MinION building has been designed to look like Oxford Nanopore’s portable real-time device for DNA and RNA sequencing.

our ideas, but they will fail without manufacturing expertise.”

Keynote speaker for the evening was Dr Andy Jones, Director of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund Medicines Manufacturing Challenge. He said: “Manufacturing is at the forefront of the UK’s industrial strategy.

“One of the government’s ambitions is for the UK to be the best place in the world to make medicines, because medicine manufacturing is the most productive part of the most productive sector of our economy.”

A lot of manufacturing has gone overseas and quality has often suffered as a result, he said. But manufacturing is critical in the future development of medicines and better manufacturing technology brings improved quality control, he added.

“As a nation, we are brilliant at invention. We are not so good with industrial methods and processes.”

The new manufacturing facility brings highly automated production processes to the manufacturing of consumable flow cells for Oxford Nanopore’s novel, real-time DNA/ RNA sequencing devices.

Full production will be phased in over the coming months. The factory will significantly increase production capability.

Intellectual snobbery is holding the UK back, alongside out-dated ideas of what manufacturing is among the uninformed majority, and a lack of grand ambition, he added.

“Our innovation in medicines manufacturing has given us a unique capability to support the development of ideas.

“No other country has the infrastructure to de-risk new technologies that we have through our High Value Catapults, manufacturing innovation centres and other support structures,” he said.

“But until the public appreciates the benefits of manufacturing, the politicians won’t either, and won’t see the essential need to invest the sums needed.”

“Medicine manufacturing is the most productive part of the most productive sector of our economy”

Oxford Nanopore‘s new manufacturing facility at Harwell, designed like the company’s MinION DNA testing device

WHY I BUILT A CAREER

IN MANUFACTURING

Gillian Wilson Operations Engineering Manager, Spirax Sarco UK Supply

Gillian is responsible for ensuring parts are manufactured in the most cost-effective way, and has overall responsibility for more than 70 staff covering process engineering, maintenance, capital projects and inspection teams for machining and assembly processes within its UK supply.

She said: “I began as an engineering apprentice just over 35 years ago. Some would say that was an odd choice for a female at the time, but I did my school work experience in a bank. After a week, I knew I needed something more

Andy Edwards Group Manufacturing Director, Corin UK

“I have been in manufacturing for more than 20 years. I started at Johnson and Johnson in a regulatory role following the completion of my Physics PhD.

“I took this job because it allowed me to use the technical knowledge I had acquired during my studies in a business environment, having decided that the academic environment was not for me.

“After two years I became Quality Manager, allowing me to continue to apply my technical knowledge, now in a medical environment but more directly involved in manufacturing.

“I managed two teams, giving me my first exposure to managing and developing

stimulating, and I was right. What a journey I have had to date.

“Manufacturing is the life blood of our country. There is nothing more satisfying than to be part of a team delivering products from concept to market.

“A career in manufacturing has given me scope to develop many skills, from project management and commercial awareness to managing and motivating a team. For

me there is nothing more satisfying than to see an individual grow, to empower them and watch their confidence develop when they achieve something that they thought wasn’t possible.

“I’m relatively new to Spirax Sarco – I only joined late last year, but I was drawn by a truly professional company with a solid product portfolio. I have not been disappointed and am enjoying the challenges of realising a comprehensive capital programme along with working with such a knowledgable and dedicated team.”

teams, something that has given me enormous pleasure over the last two decades. My responsibilities expanded to incorporate planning, procurement, health and safety and then, in 2006, I took on the role of Manufacturing Director.

“Since then I have overseen the growth of the department from about 60 people to now more than 180, helped design the facility we are in today while successfully integrating manufacturing from France and Ireland on to this site.

“I feel privileged to be in this role where no two days are the same, the growth and investment is incredible and the team I work with is driven to continue building a successful manufacturing facility in the UK.

“I have also been involved in the development of apprentices to line management as we continue to deal with one of the biggest challenges in

manufacturing in the UK: the engineering skills gap, and we have some amazing success stories.

“In this current climate, where else can you be given such an opportunity, hence the reason I am still here after 21 years and why I enjoy it so much.”

“Manufacturing is the life blood of our country. There is nothing more satisfying than to be a part of a team delivering products from concept to market”

Andy Edwards, Group Manufacturing Director, Corin UK

We’ve a head for boxes

Leamington Spa based corrugated packaging manufacturer, The Box Factory, continue to go from strength to strength, now offering FSC certified product to all customers.

The Box Factory, established in 1992, designs and manufactures corrugated packaging, in high volumes, for all industry sectors. They offer a unique stock holding facility that differentiates the company from many other major suppliers in the industry.

Currently employing 85 people, 2019 sees the next stage in a 5 year investment programme which has included major developments throughout the business. This all started with the acquisition of a new 40,000 square foot manufacturing facility to house 3 ‘mainline’, industry leading machines with fully automated palletising and material handling equipment. This was in addition to the existing 70,000 square foot facilities already in use. Having achieved an “AA” rating for the BRC Global Food packaging accreditation as part of the plan, the new manufacturing facility represented a ‘super-efficient’ manufacturing environment to ensure service, price and quality are at the perfect levels for our customers. Recent FSC certification adds to the offering by guaranteeing that our customers receive packaging that originates from a sustainably managed or recycled source.

An additional 10,000 square foot warehouse was also added at the end of last year to further support the ‘Next Day Stock and Serve’ service which increased storage capacity to 5,500 pallets of finished goods. The systems in place to manage stocks allow customers to save considerable warehouse space whilst feeling confident that stock levels are constantly monitored and managed. Extreme fluctuations in box usage and emergency requirements are all catered for.

Ongoing developments in relation to software systems are a core part of the process and all of the key functions of the business are integrated to ensure a smooth flow of information. A “paperless” factory environment with Shop Floor Data screens allows live access to production information, ensuring that process waste, downtime and maintenance requirements are constantly monitored.

The recognition of a demand for multipoint glued boxes led to the acquisition of a speciality gluer to offer ‘self-erect’ box styles, which has helped many customers to save time (and money) in their processes. This is all supported by 4 full time designers, offering bespoke designs and prototyping on a New DYSS X5 CAD Table from AG/CAD. A new purpose built design centre is currently under construction, which is due for completion in September this year. This will undoubtably provide a creative and professional environment for designers and customers alike.

“We recognise that every area of the business must continually develop and evolve as part of our drive to offer the absolute best service to our customers. We are all incredibly proud of our achievements to date and are constantly looking forward to continuing the development of our team, our manufacturing capabilities and overall business infrastructure”

Neil Price, Managing Director The Box Factory

When print requirements are a particular consideration, a Rexson ink kitchen mixes any colour, specific to the material substrate, on demand. A Spectrophotometer then allows the checking of colours to ensure the required Delta E score is achieved, something many large brands and retailers now expect.

GRAPHENE, THE WONDER MATERIAL, WHICH COULD CHANGE THE WORLD

Graphene is a one atom thick layer of carbon atoms. It’s almost unbelievable that something so miniscule is about 200 times stronger than steel. It’s also an excellent conductor of heat and electricity and scientists think it could change the world.

This wonder material has been incorporated into skeleton sleds used by British Winter Olympic Champions, where the grapheneenhanced composite strengthened the structural properties. It has even been tested in kit worn by professional cycling teams.

Graphene can be applied in pretty much any industrial sector, from transport and medicine to electronics, energy and defence, even desalination.

This material first came to wider public attention in 2010 when scientists based at Manchester University, Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, won the Nobel Prize for Physics for isolating graphene –first done in 2004.

The business world immediately saw opportunities for commercialising this wonder material and in 2010, one company set up in Cheltenham to do that.

Versarien, led by CEO Neill Ricketts, is now listed on the London Stock Exchange and revenues are ticking up over £9 million.

This year Versarien has announced 13 new graphene application collaborations.

It has also bought Spanish company Gnanomat which is developing energy storage technology, and launched a new graphene-enhanced polymer to improve thermal and electricity conductivity.

Neill Ricketts said: “The year to the end of March, has been one of great progress for Versarien, particularly in our emerging technologies businesses.

Versarien is now seeking expansion into China.

The company is currently in discussions with the BIGT (Beijing Institute of Graphene Technology) to manufacture and sell graphene in China using Versarien’s patented technology.

A wholly owned subsidiary, the Beijing Versarien Technology Company, has been incorporated. This will enable Versarien to progress funding discussions with BIGT.

“Opportunities in South Korea, Japan and India are emerging as a result of the support given to us by the UK government-seconded staff and we have also established operations in North America,” added Neill.

New graphene production equipment has been installed in Versarien’s Cheltenham facility. Testing is under way which, if successful, will expand its production capacity to up to 30 tonnes per annum.

Neill said: “Our mature businesses have focused on efficiency gains and overall have returned acceptable results while also looking at opportunities for inclusion of graphene in future products. This includes using graphene in headphones through to producing Hexotene-enhanced ceramics for use in satellite engines.”

The power of graphene

The possiblility of fully charging a smartphone in seconds, or an electric car in minutes.

Clean drinking water for millions in developing countries. The development of graphene-based membranes at The University of Manchester brings that possibility closer.

Source: The University of Manchester

Graphene, a one atom thick layer of carbon atoms

Graphene has been tested in the kit of professional cyclists

FLEXIBILITY AND SPEED OF

WILL BE KEY TO MANAGING LIFE POST-BREXIT

By Chris Mould, Audit

While the majority of people may have well and truly tired of the word Brexit, for those in manufacturing it has been a timely reminder of the need to look ahead.

When you are involved in the detail of dayto-day delivery for your customers, it is often hard to remember to take a step back and consider the direction in which your market sector is heading.

It has never been more important for the manufacturing sector to think about the strategy of the business and what the market will look like in the next 18 months to two years and beyond.

Brexit is not the only concern, especially for those in automotive who are having to plan for a future that is electric rather than petrol or diesel driven.

History suggests that we may be overdue a recession, or a market correction as some refer to it.

Recent comments at the Manufacturing Live event, supported by Crowe, suggested that, although manufacturing companies in Gloucestershire and the South West are functioning adequately at present, they are starting to see signs of a slide or a slowdown.

Many investment decisions have been shelved in the last 12 months due to concerns over Brexit, and the results of this may well have a part to play in the next 12 months.

Some businesses stockpiled before the original Brexit deadline of March 29 and may not have cycled through this stock as yet. Whereas others are considering increasing stock prior to the next October 31 deadline. The impact of both these issues can have considerable cashflow implications.

The next 18 months is going to see strong pressure brought to bear on supply chains, so is this the time to be looking at your supply chain and asking whether you can short circuit the process?

If you source from abroad, is it time to think about reshoring? Or are there suppliers closer to home that are now far bettered geared up to deliver on time and at a cost, than when you originally started ordering from eastern Europe or China?

In recent months, Crowe has helped one major Midlands manufacturer reshore one of its key components, working with the company to identify key financial and time limiting factors. Technical assistance was provided by The Manufacturing Technology Centre in Coventry who remapped the shop floor looking at

product flow optimisation and advised investment in CNC machinery.

The result was a successful £500,000 project that has seen investment in revitalised property, plant and production methods.

Another project has seen Crowe working alongside the UK’s longest-established cycle manufacturer who were guided into tapping into the “Catapult” programme to access the resources available through the Warwick Manufacturing Group. A series of consultations helped to significantly de-risk and shorten the development process.

These two examples provide very brief overviews of the kind of help that is available to UK manufacturers. At Crowe, we work closely with our clients, providing specialist advice and guidance to help achieve success both now and in the future.

Whatever the next 18 months throws at us, flexibility and speed of response will be the key to survival and prospering in the new post-Brexit era; but the thinking and planning needs to be done now.

For further information on assistance such as Catapult and organisations such as The Manufacturing Technology Centre and Warwick Manufacturing Group, and to discuss how Crowe can help your business seek competitive advantage, contact Chris Mould on 01242 234421 www.crowe.co.uk

and Advisory Partner in Crowe’s South West office in Cheltenham.

Chris Mould, Audit and Advisory Partner in Crowe’s South West office in Cheltenham.

“The result was a successful £500,000 project that has seen investment in revitalised property, plant and production methods”

RESPONSE

UK MANUFACTURING SHAPING UP SURPRISINGLY WELL AGAINST GERMANY

UK companies, particularly those in the automotive sector, are on average selling into more national export markets than German firms.

That was one of the more surprising facts revealed at Business & Innovation Magazine’s third Manufacturing Live event, held at Corin Group in Cirencester, sponsored by national accountants and advisers, Crowe.

The information was revealed during a keynote speech by Dr Mark Swift, Chief Technical Officer at the High Value Manufacturing Catapult and Head of SME Programmes at Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG).

Corin, a global orthopaedic company which designs and manufactures hip, knee and ankle replacements, welcomed more than 50 delegates from the region’s engineering and manufacturing community to hear from the company’s Chief Operating Officer Jonathan Lettin alongside Dr Mark Swift.

Drawing on a recent report published by The Enterprise Research Centre, a leading UK research organisation into the innovation and productivity of small and

Dr Swift highlighted the surprising fact that UK firms planned further ahead than some other European companies for capital items such as production equipment, computer hardware and software.

However German automotive firms have the edge on similar UK businesses in their engagement with customers. The report noted that German firms were much more

“To successfully compete, companies must collaborate, find complementary partners to help them move up the food chain, protect existing business and open up new opportunities”

likely to hold regular review meetings with customers (85 per cent) compared to UK firms (48 per cent).

Dr Swift said: “To successfully compete, companies must collaborate, find complementary partners to help them move up the food chain, protect existing business and open up new opportunities.”

Jonathan Lettin introduced Corin Group. Founded in Cirencester in 1985, Corin now employs more than 350 people at its headquarters and manufacturing facility in the town, and approaching 800 people worldwide.

Last year the company doubled the size of its headquarters and manufacturing facility following five years of growth.

In the last two years, Corin has expanded through acquisition as well as organically. In 2014, the company bought Australian company Optimized Ortho which uses advanced computational modelling to simulate how a patient’s hip joint moves through a range of daily activities.

Earlier this year, Corin acquired US-based OMNI Orthopaedics, a pioneer in robotic-assisted total knee replacement which has ambitious growth plans.

Corin is making increased headway in the USA, has gained significant market share in Australia and considers Japan a particularly promising market. France, Germany and the UK are long-standing European markets.

Corin’s manufacturing facility is a tour de force

Corin Group commits substantial sums to research and development and has invested heavily in new machinery and robotics, significantly improving productivity.

This investment seems to have inspired the workforce. Many of Corin’s staff have worked for the company for many years and were happy to discuss their job roles and expertise at length with delegates during the tour.

Delegates were impressed at the attention to quality detail which ran throughout the facility. The clean room and testing facilities were particularly inspiring.

Corin Group represents manufacturing in the 21st century, a world away from old perceptions, and its ambition to grow is tangible.

Jonathan Lettin added: “We have the technology, we have a really, really good implant range and we are in all the important geographies. We have doubled the business every two to three years over the last six and we manufacture all our products in the UK.”

Business & Innovation Magazine organises regular Manufacturing Live events, bringing production engineers and heads of manufacturing from companies of all sizes across the region together at a host manufacturing business. This encourages collaboration between businesses geographically close but which may not have met before, to support wider innovation.

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Business & Innovation Magazine hosts Manufacturing Live at Corin Group Plc

Guests joined Business & Innovation for our third Manufacturing Live event, this time held at Corin Medical Group’s headquarters in Cirencester. Sponsored by Crowe UK, guests heard from Jonathan Lettin, Chief Operating Officer at Corin Group, Chris Mould, Manufacturing Partner at Crowe UK and Dr Mark Swift, Chief Technology Officer from WMG, the High Value Manufacturing Catapult Centre at Warwick University, before taking a tour of Corin’s impressive manufacturing facilities.

PHOTOGRAPHY: ROB LACEY

Guests on group tour of Corin’s manufacturing facilities

Keynote Speaker, Dr Mark Swift, Chief Technology Officer at WMG High Value Manufacturing Catapult Centre and Head of WMG SME Group

Host Speaker, Jonathan Lettin, Chief Operating Officer, Corin Group

Sponsor, Chris Mould, Partner, Crowe UK

Jonathan Lettin from Corin Group with Nicky Godding from Business & Innovation Magazine

Geoff Davies from Helipebs and Helen Harrison from Star Hydraulics

Richard Mayall from Ultra Electronics and Kevin Young from Corin Group

Vivienne Empson and Jon Curtis from TBS Engineering

Stefano Alfonsi and Brett Sansom from Corin Group

Chris Mould from Crowe with Dr Salah Al-Majeed from University of Gloucestershire’s Engineering & Technologies department and James Cooke from Poeton Industries

Stefano Alfonsi from Corin Group with Carl Arntzen from Bosch Thermo Technology and Jonathan Lettin from Corin Group

Pete Hutchinson from AGD Systems and John Pattison from MecWash Systems

Dr Mark Swift from WMG with Jonathan Dudley from Crowe

Gemma Brindley with Colin Price from Renishaw and Simon Rogers from TTL

Stuart Anthony from Corin Group and Darren Burge from Poeton Industries

Dave Marfell from QEP and David Merchant from Batten & Allen

Guests on group tour of Corin’s manufacturing facilities

Guests on group tour of Corin’s manufacturing facilities

Steve Chittock from Oxford Instruments and Victoria Silvester from Corin Group

Guests on group tour of Corin’s manufacturing facilities

Warren Thomas and Lindsey Temple from GET (Gloucestershire Engineering Training)

Guests on group tour of Corin’s manufacturing facilities

Guests on group tour of Corin’s manufacturing facilities

Guests on group tour of Corin’s manufacturing facilities

Dr Mark Swift from WMG with Andy Edwards from Corin Group and Andrew Edwards from Batten & Allen

John Zbihlyj from T2 Alloys and Martin Sanderson from Prima Dental

Steven Munnoch from Avon Metals and Stuart Anthony from Corin Group

Dan Town from Crowe and Tony Kent from Boiswood LLP

Ian Hind from ADG Systems with Dr Salah Al-Majeed from University of Gloucestershire and Jonathan Lettin from Corin Group

M5: THE DRIVING FORCE FOR GLOUCESTERSHIRE’S

AND WORCESTERSHIRE’S ECONOMIES

From Avonmouth at Bristol to Worcester and beyond, the M5 motorway packs a major economic punch for the region, and its importance is growing.

It’s also unique, being the only single digit motorway from 1-6 not to radiate from London. Opened in 1962 to carry holiday traffic from the Midlands down to Devon and Cornwall, fast forward 50 years and while the route still carries millions of tourists to and from their annual seaside holidays, there are millions of hectares of prime real estate alongside being snapped up by commercial developers.

“From Junction 18 at Avonmouth to Junction 5 at Droitwich, the route is primed for growth with substantial amounts of land available for industrial and commercial development”

“From Junction 18 at Avonmouth to Junction 5 at Droitwich, the route is primed for growth with substantial amounts of land available for industrial and commercial development.”

Both Gloucestershire and Worcestershire LEPs are planning considerable investment opportunities in improving the road and commercial infrastructure close to the M5, according to Dorian Wragg, Commercial Partner at national property consultancy Bruton Knowles.

With the government’s communications headquarters, GCHQ, located just off Junction 11, hundreds of cyber companies have been attracted to this area which is at the centre of one of the UK’s major data hubs – creating thousands of

well-paid jobs in this sector alone. As a result, the housing supply is also growing, boosting career opportunities for skilled people to relocate to an area often more affordable than the major urban hubs of London, Bristol and Birmingham.

Gloucester City, Cheltenham and Tewkesbury Borough Councils have now adopted a Joint Core Strategy, a collaborative cross-boundary development agreement achieved after years of debate which stunted growth, and are now working together to deliver land for development.

Gloucestershire and Worcestershire’s main transport artery, the M5 motorway, is a major focus for the region’s Local Enterprise Partnerships as they recognise its huge economic opportunities

Commercial property advice, you can place trust in

WORCESTER

TEWKESBURY

“The M5 from Avonmouth to Worcester and beyond runs through some substantial industrial locations where the infractructure is already good and will get better.”

Dorian Wragg, Head of Commercial at Bruton Knowles said: “The M5 from Avonmouth to Worcester and beyond runs through some substantial industrial locations, where the infrastructure is already good and will get better.

The cancelling of tolls over the Severn Bridges will inevitably encourage more people and businesses to relocate. This part of the M5 is equidistant between Bristol and Birmingham and is clearly one of the reasons that Amazon is building a major distribution centre at Gateway 12 at Gloucester.”

Worcester Six Business Park, near Junction 6 of the M5, is one of four key investment sites across Worcestershire being developed to create a high number of jobs.

Gary Woodman, Chief Executive of Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “Worcester Six is a perfect example of how large employment sites are able to attract high-profile brands by offering enviable transport connectivity.

“We have already welcomed Kohler Mira, Siemens, Spire Healthcare and Kimal to Worcester Six, and we are confident that we’ll be welcoming more larger businesses to the site in the future.”

knowledge of local and national property markets throughout the UK

Dorian Wragg Bruton Knowles

M5 Development opportunities

Bristol City Council and South Gloucestershire Council are investing in the economic potential of the Avonmouth Severnside Enterprise Area, the largest brownfield site in Western Europe. The site is expected to attract new economic activity and employment in sectors including energy generation, waste management, manufacturing, warehousing and distribution. Currently a new junction on the M49 at Avonmouth is being built. Costing around £49 million, the project is scheduled for completion in December. The councils say the project will also reduce the numbers of HGVs and other vehicles on the local road network.

St Modwen Park Access 18

Avonmouth is a prime development site, with direct access to the M5/M49 at junction 18. More than 950,000 sq ft of new accommodation has already been delivered and across the 212-acre site, a total of more than two million sq ft will be developed.

As one of the largest speculative buildings in the region (150,000 sq ft), unit 15 was completed earlier in 2019 and is under offer to a national occupier. Units 17 and 18 (25,123 sq ft and 44,656 sq ft) were also speculatively developed and are now available for occupation.

Smaller units are also available for immediate occupation from 5,000 sq ft and upwards. Additional build to suit opportunities up to approximately 400,000 sq ft are also available, with a further 1.2m sq ft in the pipeline.

Occupiers which have relocated to the site include Hermes Parcelnet, Nisbets, Movianto, City Electrical Factors, GB Liners and Kent Foods.

Construction work is under way at Portside Park, a new development in Avonmouth which will bring more than 150,000 sq ft of industrial space to the area.

Trebor Developments and Barwood Capital are speculatively developing the scheme in a single phase due to strong demand for high quality accommodation in the area.

Located on Kings Weston Lane, Avonmouth, Portside Park is easily reached from Junction 18 of the M5 and will also be accessible from Junction 1 of the M49 on its completion at the end of the year.

It is also in a prime position for occupiers operating through or looking to locate close to businesses within the Port of Bristol.

Dawsongroup has bought the first plot of just over six acres at Delta Properties’ extension of Central Park, Bristol, off the Severn Road, Avonmouth.

The land is part of a 50 acre development owned by Delta Properties. The company said there was a particularly strong market for smaller plots from owner-occupiers.

Forest Green Rovers has resubmitted plans for a 5,000seat wooden football stadium off junction 13. The original plans submitted by football club owners, Ecotricity, included a green technology park. While this isn’t in the current planning application, such a park would have the support of Gloucestershire Local Enterprise Partnership, GFirst.

Sharpness Docks handles ships up to 6,000 tonnes. It is accessible from junctions 13 and 14 giving access to the West Midlands, South Wales and the M4 corridor.

The facility is owned by The Victoria Group and with the threat of a no-deal Brexit, the port could suddenly become more important to the UK’s economy. Last year the idea of a third Severn Bridge was put forward by the Gloucestershire 2050 organisation as one of ‘six big ideas’ to help drive the county’s economy

Junction 18 — AVONMOUTH

Junction 13 — STROUD

“Forest Green Rovers has resubmitted plans for a 5,000-seat wooden stadium just off junction 13 of the M5”

Junction 12 — GLOUCESTER

Junction 12 is home to a new Energy from Waste facility at Javelin Park. Built by Urbaser Balfour Beatty, the facility is due to become operational soon.

for the next 30 years. A third crossing would connect Sharpness to Lydney in the Forest of Dean on the western side of the river.

Junction 11A — GLOUCESTER

Gloucester Business Park offers a prime position between Gloucester and Cheltenham. More than 2.75 million sq ft has been developed, from small industrial units to large distribution units.

Recent transactions include Dowty Propellers, G-TEM, TBS Engineering and 60,000 sq ft of offices for Ecclesiastical Insurance which is relocating from the City centre. Bruton Knowles advised on the acquisition which is due for completion mid 2020. Land remains available for design and build with the largest plot being 6.85 acres.

Bruton Knowles is retained by developer Graftongate promoting a development opportunity known as Gloucester 12. Given the lack of industrial stock at present, the developer is keen to push forward with a speculative scheme. A range of units are proposed from 17,000 sqft upwards. The site has further potential for up to 125,000 sqft.

St Modwen Park Gloucester is a 58-acre site with outline planning consent for nearly one million sq ft of industrial and logistics space. An initial three units totalling 173,000 sq ft in size (44,860 sq ft, 55,583 sq ft and 72,723 sq ft) are currently being speculatively developed at the site. They are expected to be ready for occupation in December.

St Modwen Park Gloucester follows its 16-acre Gateway 12 Business Park, also in Gloucester. The scheme is now fully developed with a single unit comprising 67,138 sq ft of space, the final remaining unit.

Gateway 12 occupiers include WMB Logistics, ProCook, Samworth Brothers and Roechling Materials.

www.brutonknowles.co.uk

Junction 11 — CHELTENHAM

Kingsditch Trade Park, just off Junction 11 at Cheltenham, was acquired by Legal & General IPIF Fund for £20.5 million last year.

Legal & General already owned the adjoining trade units to the park and is now rethinking the whole estate, with a view to adding more mixed use opportunities which currently don’t exist. Such redevelopment could open up major commercial opportunities across the north and west of Cheltenham

Legal & General has retained Bruton Knowles to advise on realising this development’s significant potential.

The 7.9 acre estate comprises 28 light industrial units and totals 137,942 sq ft. The property is currently let to 24 tenants from diverse industry sectors.

Helping you realise the potential value of your commercial property assets

CHELTENHAM’S CYBER AMBITIONS

GCHQ is Cheltenham’s biggest employer (around 6,000 people work in the “doughnut” at Benhall). The UK government’s communications headquarters moved into the town 67 years ago. Now the regency town of Cheltenham is determined to capitalise on its famous neighbour by revealing an ambition to become a global cyber centre which could bring hundreds of millions of pounds to the region’s economy.

Late last month Cheltenham Borough Council revealed that it had paid £37.5 million for 45 hectares of prime development land to the west of Cheltenham, on previously green belt space between Junctions 10 and 11 of the M5, to develop what it’s dubbed “Cyber Central”.

Developed in partnership with Tewkesbury Borough Council, the County Council, Gloucestershire’s Local Enterprise Partnership with the support of Cheltenham’s MP Alex Chalk, Cyber Central will include Cheltenham’s Cyber Innovation Centre which was announced in the Government’s 2015 Spending Review.

The scheme is a critical part of a larger 107-hectare plan for the west of Cheltenham which will also include a new garden village community, providing new homes for an anticipated growth in the local work force.

Global companies share Cheltenham’s cyber ambitions, and a significant number of global tech and cyber

companies have already established themselves close to GCHQ, including Raytheon and Northrop Grummen, alongside other major software companies and many smaller ones, all feeding the region’s cyber eco-system.

In fact, since 2015, local cyber security start-ups have generated an estimated £75 million for the town and this autumn a new 7,000 sq ft cyber coworking space, Hub8, will also open in the town centre’s Brewery Quarter.

The town’s ambitions are to develop much more than just a cyber business park and residential estates to feed it. Cheltenham Borough Council is seeking inspiration from successful science and tech projects around the country before beginning to build its own vision for a pioneering new cyber community.

Infrastructure improvements are also needed to cope with an influx of

companies and people. Major road investment is needed especially around at Arle Court, just off junction 11 of the M5, to cope with increased traffic.

In February 2017, Cheltenham won a bid for £22 million of government infrastructure funding to accelerate the release of employment land. This significant pot of money will pay for improvements to the transport infrastructure along the A40 corridor in West Cheltenham to reduce congestion along the A40.

Junction 10 also needs to become a four-way junction, and Gloucestershire County Council, supported by Cheltenham and Tewkesbury borough councils, are currently leading a multimillion-pound bid to secure the infrastructure funding needed for this to happen. The bid decision will be made this autumn.

Cheltenham is seizing a unique opportunity to create a town for the 21st century. Currently known best for its literature and music festivals, and as the home of national jump racing, the successful realisation of its cyber ambitions could change for ever the way the UK, and the world, sees this spa town.

Helping businesses maximise the value of a portfolio or property

“In 2014 I set out a vision for Cheltenham as the UK’s leading cyber hub, building on GCHQ’s expertise and resource. We have made huge progress.” Alex Chalk MP for Cheltenham

Architect’s impression of Hub 8, Cheltenham

Experts in your Built Environment…

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Working as strategic partners with clients’ is central to the Vitruvius principles. Vitruvius are experts in creating and delivering the right ‘Built Environment’ to achieve business growth, not just for the short term, but into the future.

Vitruvius is a construction management consultancy that was established in 2008 by Mark Price who has over 30 years’ experience in the construction sector. As Managing Director, Mark leads the team delivering a wide variety of projects in the health, transport, commercial, educational, retail, leisure, industrial and residential sectors both locally and nationally.

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Vitruvius lead project delivery from the front and are adept at seeing the overall picture and realising outcomes required to achieve their clients’ business goals and visions through their Built Environment requirements.

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Experts in Your Built Environment / Managing the Risk

As a niche business, Vitruvius build a team around the project bringing together a skill range to achieve the clients aims, finding solutions to often restricted budgets, managing risks and offering clients ‘best value’.

They work in collaboration with clients to build effective delivery teams around specific project requirements to ensure that every process meets their clients’ objectives. As a building consultancy, their services are all encompassing, delivering a highly efficient and flexible end-to-end management process. Vitruvius orchestrate the entire construction process to ensure a smooth, pain free delivery of the project on time and to budget.

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The Vitruvius principles still resonate in the modern world...

Venustatis (Beauty)

Enrich the people and communities that surround it.

Utilitas (Utility)

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JUNCTION 9 — TEWKESBURY

Tewkesbury secured garden town status earlier this year, and will receive around £750,000 government funding to help the council deliver up to 10,195 houses at Ashchurch up to 2041.

With Tewkesbury’s industrial estates at full capacity, more industrial land is needed. The town is aiming for an additional 46 hectares of employment land at Ashchurch and when the Ministry of Defence releases land, expected after 2025, it will open more opportunities for residential and employment development.

Outline planning permission was granted in 2016 for an 180,000 sq ft designer outlet and garden centre of 81,000 sq ft with parking for 2,100 cars at Ashchurch. Now developer Robert Hitchins has submitted an initial reserved matters application to Tewkesbury Borough Council for the 23-hectare site. The developer plans to start on site in 2020, with 2022 opening planned.

Early discussions are underway for a new bypass at Ashchurch to provide a high-quality dual carriageway standard between the M5 and M40. This could open up significant land development opportunities between Cheltenham and Ashchurch.

JUNCTION 6 — WORCESTER SIX

Worcester Six Business Park is current being developed by Stowford Developments. It benefits from direct access to the motorway network at Junction 6. It is also close to the Warndon Business District with occupiers including Bosch, Yamazaki Mazak, Southco Fasteners and RWE Npower’s regional office. Worcester Rugby Football Club, the home of the Worcester Warriors, is also located at Junction 6.

Worcester Six has outline planning consent for up to 1.5 million sq metres of industrial development and new tenants include Spire Healthcare, Kimal, Materials Solutions Ltd and Marmon Food & Beverage Equipment. Kohler Mira, the parent company of Mira Showers, is currently building a major new factory unit there.

JUNCTION 7 — WORCESTER

Worcestershire County Council is working to turn the A4440 Worcester Southern Link Road from the M5 to the Powick roundabout into a dual carriageway. An essential part of Worcestershire’s strategic road network, it links the M5, South and West Worcester, Great Malvern, the wider Malvern Hills district, Ledbury, Upton and Herefordshire.

The final phase of three industrial/ distribution units totalling 94,545 sq ft at Nunnery Park, Worcester are under construction, ready for

“Worcestershire county council is working to turn the A4440 Worcester Southern Link Road from the M5 to the Powick roundabout into a dual carriageway”

completion next March.The proximity of Nunnery Park to junctions 6 and 7 of the M5 is its main selling point – the site is within 1.5 miles of the junctions, approximately 28 miles south of Birmingham and 62 miles north of Bristol.

The 20-acre mixed-use development is already home to a number of businesses and on-site amenities including a restaurant, pub, petrol station and convenience store.

Three new industrial and warehouse units are available ahead of March 2020.

regions trusted commercial property consultants

FISHER GERMAN MERGES WITH VINE PROPERTY AND PUSHES TURNOVER TO £41M

Former Reading data centre gets £11 million upgrade

A former office and data centre at Thames Valley Park, Reading is to undergo a £11 million upgrade to provide a modern campus-style development for its tenants. Once completed, TVP1 and TVP2 will be renamed Earley East and Earley West. Having established a successful property portfolio across the United States and Canada as well completing projects within Ireland, this will be Spear Street Capital’s first project within the UK.

Earley East, on the River Thames inin East Reading on the River Thames, is equidistant between Junctions 10 and 11 of the M4.

The work is being carried out by Paragon Building Consultancy, Pinnacle ESP (M&E Services Consultants) branding company Mammal and fit out specialist Area to deliver the 85,000 sq ft project.

Two major independent property firms are merging to form a £41 million turnover multi-discipline group with offices throughout the UK.

Fisher German, which has an office in Worcester, is joining forces with Vine Property Management which manages 51 million sq ft of retail, industrial and office property.

The new group will trade under the Fisher German banner from 2020.

Fisher German, which specialises in commercial, rural and residential property as well as development, utilities and sustainable energy, has increased its turnover from £19 million to £35 million in six years.

It has merged with nine property consultancies since 2000 and now employs around 500 staff.

Vine Property Management, formed 25 years ago, manages assets of £2.7 billion. As part of the deal, Vine co-founder James Rigby will join Fisher German as a partner.

“The merger will mean we can offer a whole new range of services to clients of both companies, and also attract fresh clients with an expanded expertise in new areas”

All additional 10 offices and 100 staff will be retained.

Andrew Bridge, Managing Partner of Fisher German, said: “Vine Property Management will not only bring a proven track record and new disciplines to expand our current commercial offering but will also take us into wider geographical areas allowing for further growth.”

Vine’s management portfolio extends to more than 7,000 individual units with an annual rent roll of more than £220 million and in excess of 500 service charge schemes.

James Rigby said: “The merger will mean we can offer a whole new range of services to clients of both companies, and also attract fresh clients with an expanded expertise in new areas.”

Steve Twomlow, Andrew Smith, Caroline Jones, James Rigby of Vine Management, with Andrew Bridge, Adrian Jones, Duncan Bedhall, George Simpson of Fisher German

COMMERCIAL PROPERTY IN THE HEADLINES

The Science Park’s Plot 16 could be a catalyst for new railway station

The Oxford Science Park, located just off the A34 south of Oxford, is seeking planning permission for a major new development phase on its Plot 16.

The site will provide 165,000 sq ft of workspace for offices and labs across two buildings.

“The site will provide 165,000 sq ft of workspace for offices and labs across two buildings”

Construction is planned to begin in 2020 and is believed to represent the largest speculative commercial workspace commitment Oxford has seen in a generation. The buildings should reach practical completion by the end of 2021.

A central raised plaza has been designed to give access to the planned railway station which should materialise with the

re-opening of the Cowley branch line in 2022. Plot 16 is part of the Oxford Science Park’s plans for further expansion, attracting more science and technology occupiers to the site four miles east of the city centre, while providing grow-on space for those already on site.

Piers Scrimshaw-Wright, CEO of the Oxford Science Park, said: “By applying

for planning permission, we are putting in place a major step in the evolution of the Park. Our plans are a catalyst for the re-opening of the Cowley branch line, which is an important infrastructure initiative that key Oxford City stakeholders will want to see delivered.”

The Oxford Science Park is owned and managed by Magdalen College, Oxford. It consists of 750,000 sq ft of workspace and is home to more than 130 businesses and 2,700 staff.

IM Group moves into new landmark offices close to M42 — complete with putting green

Property, car and finance business IM Group has moved into new £30 million headquarters at Fore Business Park, Solihull, close to Junction 4 of the M42.

The 60,000 sq ft campus uses new technology and design to help futureproof the business and it has become a landmark on the M42.

Called The Gate, it takes its name from the distinctive Core-Ten steel arch which is a key feature.

The company’s previous HQ at Coleshill Manor was compulsorily purchased by HS2.

The Gate includes electrical carcharging points, collaborative working zones, breakout areas, quiet booths, Wi-Fi enabled terraces and outdoor seating areas, a gym, even a three-hole putting green and an area alongside the restaurant to play pool and table football.

Designed and built by IM Properties on behalf of the IM Group, the campus is home to IMP and International Motors and will sit alongside a new headquarters for Christian Vision, a charity founded by IM Group’s owner, Lord Edmiston.

Andrew Edmiston, Managing Director of IM Group, said: “We’ve invested significantly in the new campus to make it work hard for its money in terms of sustainability and efficiency, and give

us a working environment which will help attract and retain talent.”

The new HQ was delivered by BAM Construct UK, working alongside architects Webb Gray & Partners, RLB, Square Dot Interiors, BEA Landscapes and Couch Perry Wilkes.

Architect’s impression of the Plot 16 development

Andrew Edmiston, MD of the IM Group outside the new HQ

WIGLEY GROUP SNAPS UP WAREHOUSE

BETWEEN M40 JUNCTIONS 11 AND 12

The Wigley Group has agreed a deal to acquire a prime 40,000 sq ft warehouse in Southam, Warwickshire.

The modern high-bay building in Northfield Road, complete with offices, is now available for lease from regionallysized logistics and distribution operators.

The property boasts a 2,000 sq ft mezzanine, two self-contained internal office blocks, goods yard and on-site parking with 46 spaces.

James Davies, Managing Director of The Wigley Group, said: “There is a

recognised high demand with low supply of available buildings of this type and we are anticipating considerable interest.”

The leasehold is being jointly marketed by Bromwich Hardy and Wareing & Company.

Tom Bromwich, partner at Bromwich Hardy, said: “The Wigley Group has made an astute acquisition off market, capitalising on the lack of empty commercial stock.”

Fortis moves to Worcester and puts former Malvern headquarters up for sale

Housing association Fortis Living is selling its former site in Malvern following a move to new headquarters in Worcester city centre.

Property consultancy Harris Lamb, which oversaw the planning and build processes for the new offices in Midland Road, is the sole agent for Festival House, a 21,200 sq ft self-contained office purpose-built for the housing association in 1999.

Director Neil Harris said:

“Opportunities of this calibre are rare. Not only is it the only building of its size available in the county, but it’s also a modern, well-appointed

freehold building with expansion potential, excellent facilities, extensive parking and convenient access to the motorway via junction 7 of the M5.”

Fortis Living merged with Waterloo Housing Group in October 2018 to form the Platform Housing Group.

Neil added: “With freehold purchase opportunities being so scarce, and with Festival House having such a great specification and position, this is a superb opportunity for businesses looking for swift occupation of a prominent, modern property in a prime UK location.”

Westcott announces plans for new Innovation Centre

A new Innovation Centre is to be built at Westcott Venture Park, a 650acre business park between Bicester and Aylesbury.

The Westcott Innovation Centre will be located at the heart of the park’s newly-formed Space Cluster and will complement the park’s business incubation centre, which is managed by the Satellite Applications Catapult.

These centres provide business space and support for companies working in 5G, rocket propulsion and autonomous vehicles. The Westcott Innovation Centre is being funded by the Satellite Applications Catapult and the Buckinghamshire Local Enterprise Partnership.

The Satellite Applications Catapult has signed an agreement to lease with owners PATRIZIA Hanover Property Unit Trust, subject to planning permission. If planning consent is granted a 12,000 sq ft office and engineering training facility will be developed and let to The Satellite Applications Catapult on a 15-year lease.

Westcott Venture Park is recognised globally as an integral part of the UK Space sector growth strategy with a nucleus of well established companies supporting rocket and satellite enabled research and development projects.

CGI of proposed Innovation Centre at Westcott Venture Park

Fortis Living’s old home, Festival House is for sale

The Oxford-Cambridge Arc stretches from Oxfordshire to Cambridgeshire, home to 3.7 million people and over two million jobs.

Centres of innovation

The Arc is already home to some of the UK’s most innovative and productive cities. Oxford, Cambridge and Milton Keynes have consistently been ranked among the fastest growing economies in the country in recent years.

However, the Arc’s economy is constrained by poor east-west transport connectivity. At present, this prevents it from functioning as a single economic region.

The knowledge economy

The National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) has identified the future success of the Arc as a national priority. It argues that a joined-up plan is needed for new jobs, homes and infrastructure.

This would help the region to exploit the economic benefits of its world-renowned education and research facilities. The region boasts two of the top-ranked universities globally in Oxford and Cambridge, as well as internationally recognised research centres such as Harwell and Culham in the ‘Science Vale’ of South Oxfordshire.

The focus on knowledge-based sectors is reflected in industry clusters across the region. These include technology and biosciences in Cambridge; high performance technology and financial services in Milton Keynes; motorsport and high performance engineering in Northamptonshire; and high-tech engineering and biosciences in Oxford and the Science Vale.

New homes, new workplaces

The NIC suggests that up to one million new homes will be needed across the Arc by 2050. This ambition will require significant investment in new infrastructure, as well as commercial property development to support new jobs.

Cambridge Econometrics has modelled a scenario in which close to 950,000 new jobs could be created in the Arc by 2050. To support this level of jobs growth, the

Ambition for the Oxford-Cambridge Arc…

amount of commercial floor space across the region would need to increase by more than 50%. The Arc’s largest cities would each require millions of square feet of new office space.

Unlocking growth

The new east-west road and rail links will to help drive economic growth, as well as unlocking new locations for residential and commercial property development. Thousands of workers will be put within easier reach of high quality jobs such as those found on the region’s science parks.

Locations that are currently poorly connected will become commutable, increasing their viability for new development. New or upgraded train stations and key road junctions will act as beacons for developers.

Future hotspots

Oxford and Cambridge themselves may be among the least viable locations for new large-scale development, due to high land prices, limited land availability and the presence of green belt around both cities.

In contrast, Milton Keynes will be highly receptive to new development, benefiting from a central location within the Arc, a greater supply of affordable, developable land and a local council that already has substantial expansion plans. The NIC

suggests that Milton Keynes has the potential to double in size to become a city of over 500,000 people.

Milton Keynes is also expected to be the biggest single focus for employment growth and commercial property development. Under Cambridge Econometrics’ transformational growth scenario, 136,000 new jobs would be created in Milton Keynes by 2050, more than in any other local authority in the Arc. This level of employment growth would require the volume of office and industrial floor space to increase by well over 60%.

Arc of vision

Much of the initial focus of plans for the Arc has been on the need for new housing, but the commercial property sector will have an important role to play in driving economic growth. High quality workplaces will be needed to support the knowledge based industries that are the region’s key economic assets.

Phoenix centre full thanks to Doodlebone and Riteweld

The newly-developed Phoenix Centre in Banbury, close to Junction 11 of the M40, which comprises nearly 50,000 sq ft of modern warehousing and industrial accommodation in three units, is now fully occupied.

Doodlebone and Riteweld join existing tenant Kannegiesser in the development close to junction 11 of the M40.

Doodlebone, which provides “groovy” dog apparel, has seen growth in its business since 2011 and was keen to expand to a larger unit.

Riteweld Engineering, established in 1983, is a supplier of structural and architectural fabrication within the steel, engineering and design industry. Its business includes designs of bridges, staircases, balconies and custom architecture.

Kannegiesser, founded in 1948, provides industrial washing technology internationally and is a world market leader in industrial laundry technology.

Harvey White, Commercial Property Negotiator at White Commercial Surveyors, said: “The three occupiers have all expanded from smaller units within Banbury and are all undergoing significant and substantial expansion.”

Construction is set to begin on a new distribution and manufacturing park in Bicester following approval by Cherwell District Council of Albion Land’s detailed planning application.

Axis J9 will be a major employment park totalling 500,000 sq ft of new commercial buildings.

They will be built in three phases and comprise five mid-sized units and eight smaller units ranging in size between 3,400 and 64,000 sq ft.

The site lies three miles from Junction 9 of the M40 and close to more than 10,000 planned new homes.

Construction, along with infrastructure work to provide the new Middleton

Stoney Road access, will start this month with completion due in mid-2020.

Located west of Howes Lane and north of Middleton Stoney Road, the area was identified for employment development space by Cherwell District Council as part of its Local Plan.

Outline planning permission was granted in December 2017.

Simon Parsons, director for Albion Land, said: “For Cherwell District Council to recognise the significance of Axis J9 to the local area means that we can speculatively start to develop phases 1 and 2.”

White Commercial, Colliers International and VSL are the commercial letting agents.

Space: The final frontier at Harwell Campus

The Harwell Space Cluster has added 14 new companies to its impressive roster, now comprised of 92 organisations.

Collectively employing more than 1,040 people, Harwell says it is now Europe’s most concentrated space cluster, uniting commercial, public and academic organisations focused on delivering on the UK’s vision to achieve 10 per cent of the global market share by 2030.

One of the start-ups on campus is Archangel Imaging (AI), which builds distributed intelligence systems and advanced unmanned camera systems that help with

operations that are “off the grid”, or away from bandwidth.

Jonathan Mist, CEO and founder of Archangel Imaging (AI), believes many of mankind’s biggest challenges such as protecting our oceans or dealing with disasters, require operations without high bandwidth or reliable communications.

He said: “By using robotics, drone and space technology, we plan to provide workable solutions to these urgent issues.”

The opportunity for all companies to collaborate with teams and businesses across the space, healthtec and energytec Clusters, all co-located on site, has already resulted in new projects.

“The three occupiers have all expanded from smaller units within Banbury and are all undergoing significant and substantial expansion”

ALL SYSTEMS GO FOR AXIS J9 ON M40 AFTER COUNCIL SAYS “YES” TO ALBION LAND

Retail and commercial office fit-outs help boost Barnwood’s

turnover

Gloucester-based construction and specialist interior fit-out firm

Barnwood Group has achieved a turnover of £104 million – up from £84.6 million

Now employing nearly 250 staff, the company is increasingly known for its fit-out and interiors work as well as construction of some of the county’s biggest, high profile building projects. Retail is an increasingly tough market but through a combination of excellent working relationships with long-standing clients such as Nationwide Building Society and H&M as well as an increased amount of fit-out projects, Barnwood continued to grow.

Simon Carey, Group Managing Director of Barnwood, said: “You can attribute the rise in turnover to organic growth and the timing of a number of major projects that fell in the financial year ending December 2018.”

“These projects included the Schrödinger Building at Oxford Science Park,

Honeybourne Place, Cheltenham, the new Gloucestershire College Campus in the Forest of Dean and Bakers Quay in Gloucester Docks, however a 30 per cent increase in retail and commercial interiors projects also played a major part.”

Its office fit-out success is built in no small part on the expertise within the company. It has highly-skilled designers and delivers work on time to some very challenging timescales for a variety of customer contracts, said Mr Carey.

Starbucks, Fat Face and JD Sports. The Barnwood team have the necessary security clearance and expertise required by the airport authorities.

Barnwood’s work with Jigsaw to fit out its Grade II Listed Carriage Hall in Covent Garden helped win the Drapers Award for the luxury women’s brand. It has also worked with customers as diverse as Cotswold FTSE-firm St James’s Place and Peppa Pig World at Paultons Park.

Locally Barnwood have made an impression on Cheltenham’s retail scene with the recent fitting out of Anthropologie on The Promenade and for Cotswold café and bakery chain Huffkins, which now has a place in John Lewis on the High Street.

Airport fit-outs (Heathrow and Gatwick) have also become something of a speciality with clients such as WH Smith,

Barnwood has also been involved in several of the country’s most successful companies including G-TECH, whose Worcester offices were refurbished. Retail and office fit-out is continuing to help drive the business forward, now accounting for an estimated third of its income. Training continues to be at the heart of the business, with the firm continuing its annual intake of apprentices and trainee professional staff.

For information call: 01452 614124 enquiries@barnwood.co.uk

www.barnwood.co.uk

“The success is down to 57 years of experience, not least in the in-house joinery works which produces a lot of high end joinery for our projects.”

Simon Carey, Managing Director, Barnwood Group

COMMERCIAL PROPERTY

LEASING DEALS

Namco Tooling takes lease on modern premises at Victoria Works

A specialist engineering firm which supplies companies around the world, is set for fresh growth after leasing a new base in Studley, Warwickshire.

Namco Tooling has been making specialist threading equipment for three decades and needed to move from ageing premises at Marlborough Works in Studley.

Director Graham Cooke said: “We needed somewhere more suitable as we invest in more computerised manufacturing and tooling equipment.

“John Truslove did an excellent job finding us new premises. They are smaller but much more suitable to our needs.”

The company and its 20-strong team have moved into an 11,749 sq ft unit at Victoria Works on the Birmingham Road.

Graham Cooke said: “We export around 60 to 70 per cent of everything we make, including to engineering firms in America and Turkey. We do well when engineering is doing well, and things are pretty busy at the moment.”

Ben Truslove, Joint Managing Director of John Truslove, helped secure a five-year lease on the Victoria Works unit for Namco Tooling and also sold Namco’s previous Marlborough Works site to Frontier Estates, which has since secured planning permission to redevelop the site into a care home.

BROMWICH HARDY HELPS

“There is a real shortage of suitable units coming on to the market and when they do they are snapped up quickly”

AERISTECH SECURE NEW HOME CLOSE TO M40

Commercial property specialist Bromwich Hardy has helped a high-tech automotive company find a new base.

Kenilworth-based advanced technology developer Aeristech has moved into a refurbished unit at Hermes Close in Tachbrook Park, Warwick, within easy access to Junction 14 of the M40

The company, which specialises in electric air compressors for the international automotive industry, has signed a lease on an 11,000 sq ft, two-storey production unit at Hermes Court.

Cosnett, who was acting for Birmingham property company Mercia Real Estate, said the deal was evidence of the region’s importance to the automotive industry.

“The area around Warwick and Leamington Spa is proving particularly attractive to this industry.

“There is a real shortage of suitable units coming on to the market and when they do they are snapped up quickly.”

The 132-acre mixed-use Tachbrook Park is two miles south of Leamington Spa town centre.

Bromwich Hardy marketed the unit with joint agents Wareing and Company.

Power Integrations takes up office space near Maidenhead

Sorbon Estates has secured a letting for office premises at its Grove Park site at Beechwood, White Waltham, Maidenhead to Power Integrations.

Sorbon, the commercial arm of Buckinghamshire-based Shanly Group, has agreed a five-year lease with the US- based electronics company on the 3,307 sq ft office suite.

Power Integrations is an innovator in the clean-power sector, developing semiconductor technologies for high-voltage power conservation.

With headquarters in California, the business is a successful technology company with offices around the world.

The Maidenhead site, close to the M4 and M40, will be the firm’s second UK office –the other is in Cambridge.

Alessandro Squeri, Power Integrations Director of Sales Europe, India and South East Asia, said: “To support our expansion we need excellent teams in the right locations. The Grove Park offices in Maidenhead are well-suited, thanks to their close proximity to the transport network and high quality space.”

Bromwich Hardy partner Andrew

Graham Cooke, Namco Tooling with Ben Truslove of property agents John Truslove

COMPANIES WIN PLACES ON UNIVERSITY’S PARTNER FRAMEWORK

Morgan Sindall Construction is one of seven companies to have won a place on the University of Oxford’s Capital Projects Partner Framework.

Morgan Sindall has been selected for all three of the framework’s lots, through which the university expects to route £150 million of construction work annually over the next decade.

They are Lot 1 (up to £5 million), Lot 2 (£5-£20 million) and Lot 3 (more than £20 million).

The university’s estates strategy aims to build on the institution’s physical heritage while providing world-leading sustainable environments for teaching and research across its seven million sq ft estate.

The other construction companies are EW Beard, Wates, Kingerlee, Willmott Dixon, Midas and BAM. Projects will include a mix of new developments and refurbishment of some of its existing 237 buildings. A quarter of these are listed assets, with 37 per cent built before 1840.

The university also boasts a significant portfolio of state-of-the-art research buildings developed over the past decade.

James York, area director for Morgan Sindall Construction, said: “The University of Oxford has an ambitious estates plan, and have made a bold move to change how they operate to get the best from the market.”

Costa Coffee proposals get go-ahead in Stonehouse

Planning permission has been granted for a new coffee shop and more car parking for a major employer at Stonehouse Park near Stroud.

The mixed-use scheme will transform a vacant, triangular plot at the entrance to the business park into a new driv-thru Costa Coffee with 32 customer car spaces, and a separate 42-space car park for neighbouring engineering company Sartorius Stedim.

The planning application was originally turned down by Stroud District Council in August 2018. An appeal to the Secretary of State was granted in July.

Robert Hitchins has developed a range of office and manufacturing facilities at Stonehouse Park for companies including National Nuclear Laboratory, Schenck Process UK, Club Communications Ltd, Green Gourmet and Sartorius Stedim Lab. This is the last phase of the development.

We’re on our way to Brockworth, says Ecclesiastical Insurance

Ecclesiastical Insurance is looking forward to moving into its new HQ after a ground-breaking ceremony at Gloucester Business Park in Brockworth.

The insurer announced plans to relocate from Brunswick Road, Gloucester in October 2018.

Planning permission for the new office was granted in February.

Site owner Arlington has been preparing the site for construction and appointed Kier Construction as main contractor.

Building work is expected to complete in June next year when Arlington will hand over the building to Ecclesiastical for fit-out.

Group CEO Mark Hews joined Group HR Director Caroline Taplin and Ecclesiastical employees to perform the official groundbreaking.

Mark said: “The new site will provide spacious accommodation for our colleagues. This is an exciting moment for us in the delivery of our long-term ambitions.”

CEO Mark Hews with his team at the new Ecclesiastical site in Brockworth