Business 21 May 2014

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Businesswww.bristolpost.co.uk

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2 We d n e s d a y, May 21, 2014 3We d n e s d a y, May 21, 2014 w w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/businessw w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/business

� Paul Grantham of NatWest, centre, with Michael Dilloway, left, and butcher Mark Batterham, right, of The PottingShed

Ret a i l

Ret a i l

Locally produced food guaranteedas farm shop and cafe opens up

EVER since a farm shop heused to work in closed, Mich-ael Dilloway has been tryingto find the right site to rep-licate it.

Now he and his wife Lucy haveopened their own farm shop and caféwith help from NatWest.

Michael, whose family runs apoultry wholesale business, used towork in Oakham farm shop. When itclosed he knew there was a good loyalcustomer base that was being leftwith little choice but to shop at thesupermarket or travel further afieldfor a traditional butcher’s shop.

He searched for the right site for aventure to bridge the gap, and ap-proached Golden Acres Garden Nurs-ery in Tickenham about thepossibility of opening a farm shopthere. Now he and Lucy have alsotaken on the site’s café, The PottingShed.

“I have always wanted to open acafé using produce from the farms h o p, ” said Michael, 31. “Now we areable to do that. About 18 months agothey redeveloped the café at GoldenAcres which left the old kitchen spaceredundant, so we have turned thatinto the farm shop.

“We have family friends who arebreeding lambs for us and we havepoultry coming from the farms thatsupply our family business.

“We are also working with the localabattoir in Nailsea and we are buyingproduce from their family farms aswell as other trusted farms withinBristol and Somerset.

“Everything is local and we aremaking sausages, faggots and bur-gers on site as well as other producein the cafe including pies, jams andch u t n e y s. ”

Michael and Lucy, 27, who have twochildren, retained four staff from thecafé. They have also created five newjobs, including taking on butcherMark Batterham who worked withMichael at Oakham as the headbu t ch e r.

M i ch a e l ’s sisters Jade and Char-lotte are also working there and hisbrother, George, will be lending ahand during his holidays from uni-versity. Now the couple are also on thehunt for an apprentice to work in thefarm shop.

Michael and Lucy borrowed fromNatWest to fit out the farm shop and

buy equipment such as fridges as wellas initial stock.

They worked with NatWest rela-tionship manager Paul Grantham tosecure the funding.

Michael said: “I spoke to Paul aboutsix weeks before we decided to openand he moved very quickly.

“He gave us a lot of help. He wentthrough the different options such asa loan or hire purchase and found theoption that suited us best. He hasbeen on the phone to see how thingsare going – he has kept in touch, heh a s n’t forgotten about us.”

Paul said: “I am delighted to havebeen able to help Michael and Lucywith the funds to start their business.Michael came to me with a strongbusiness idea and great knowledgeabout the industry.

“Mark has a great reputation as abutcher in this area and he, Mark andLucy make a good team.

“Michael and Lucy have reallymade the most of this building andthe space that was available to add afarm shop to the existing café. Wewish them every success with theirnew venture.”

M oto rs

Garage aims to go the extra mile on service

University opens upnew office in China� ONE of the city’s universities hasopened a new office in Guangzhou,the city in Southern China in whichBristol is trying to build trade ties.

UWE Bristol will initially have tworepresentatives based at the newoffice, promoting the university tostudents and businesses.

David Caine, director of UWE’sinternational office said, “China is abig market for us both in terms ofstudent recruitment andpartnerships. The main function ofthe office will be to support theseactivities in south China.”

He said the China-based staff willpromote the institution at educationfairs, interview potential studentsand liaise with partner organisations.

The university has been pushingstrongly to build links with industryand business in the UK and abroad.

It already has an office inShenyang which provides similarsupport for northern China.

David said: “Guangzhou ispartnered with Bristol and there arealready lots of activities between thetwo cities. It is a booming city and isa significant education hub.”

The announcement is the result ofa delegation visiting China lastmonth. It included DianneFrancombe, chief executive of theBristol China Partnership (BCP) andWest of England China Bureau(WECB), who said: “This is amomentous occasion and willcement the strong relationshipbetween Bristol and Guangzhou.Having a permanent presence inGuangzhou will raise the profile ofthe innovative and creative city ofBristol as well as UWE.”

The delegation was welcomed byvice mayor Lim long, members ofthe Guangzhou University TownBoard, and of the GuangzhouInternational InnovationDevelopment and ConstructionHeadquarters.

Uni teams up withtelemarketing firm� THE University of the West ofEngland has launched a newresearch-focused social enterprisepartnership with Bristol-basedtelemarketing company IntegrityBusiness Connections.

UWE-Integrity Research is a newsocial venture with a mission toprovide talented masters studentswith an opportunity to work oncommercial real world researchprojects and increase theiremployment prospects, whileproviding organisations with asource of high quality, academicallyrigorous, bespoke professionalre s e a rc h .

The initiative is being overseen byProfessor Tim Hughes and Dr EdLittle, associate head ofdepartment, postgraduatemarketing programmes, with allstudents being supervised by seniormembers of academic staff from theApplied Marketing Group.

Professor Tim Hughes said: “Theemployability of our students is oneof our key priorities and we arealways looking for opportunities toprovide our students withexperiences that will equip themwith the skills that are valued byemployers.

The partnership intends to engagelocal businesses and institutionsacross the West of England andbeyond and hopes to securesufficient interest to provide talentedgraduates with invaluable ongoingindustry experiences.

Higher education

Higher education

Pa n d a - m o n i u mFirm hopes bambooT-shirts are a hit

GARAGES might not be thought of asthe most family friendly places - filledwith dirt, grease and machinery. Buta new business in Wes-ton-super-Mare is hoping to changet h at .

Autoserv Car & Bike opened onT hursday with the goal of offering abit more then just an MOT.

Managing director Paul Rogerssaid: “Our aim is to offer highlevels of customer service that otheroutlets in the industry don’t oftenp rov i d e.

“We ’re very family-friendly andhave worked hard to create an at-mosphere and facilities that will ap-peal to everyone.

“We have magazines and free wi-fi

in our waiting area, and baby chan-ging facilities in our toilets that bothmums and dads can use. ”

The business has taken on sixfull-time members of staff.

“We ’re very much a local business,employing people from Wes-ton-super-Mare and the surroundingarea as well as serving the com-m u n i t y, ” said Paul.

The company, in Pottery Close,Weston, specialises in tyres, ex-hausts, batteries, MOTs, fixed priceservicing and vehicle repair work.

Paul added: “We will also be able tooffer a ‘turn-up and test’ MOT ser-vice, which means people no longerneed to book they can just turn upand get their vehicle tested.”

Assistant Editor (Business)Gavin Thompson

Call 0117 934 3336Email gavin.thompson

@b-nm.co.ukTwitter @gavin_thompson1

Get in touch

AdvertisingRobert RodgersonCall 07828 941469

Emailro b e r t . ro d g e r s o n

@b-nm.co.uk

Advertising JaneChapmanCall 01179 343025Emailjane.chapman@b-nm. co.uk

Gavin ThompsonAssistant Editor (Business)[email protected]

Tracey Bentham

“Family businesses arethe backbone of thenation’s economy – theyare our unsung heroes –and they make amassive contribution toour GDP

� From left,Steve Whiteand PaulRogers,who arebothmanagingdirectors atAutoservCar & Bikein Weston

AN entrepreneur is building a retailbusiness using a substance betterknown as the dinner of choice forgiant pandas. Ed Cheney runs Mab-boo, a Southville-based business

that imports and sells T-shirts made fromb a m b o o.

Bamboo is seen as a green material be-cause it doesn’t need irrigation and fer-tilisers to grow, and is sustainable because itspreads and grows quickly.

But the 30-year-old is trying to raisemoney to invest in an even greener process,called bamboo lyocell in which 99 per cent ofthe chemicals used in the process can bere cycl e d .

Ed spent three years in China teachingafter graduating from Nottingham Uni-versity. It was there he decided bamboo wasthe future.

“I came across the fact that bamboo wasstarting to be used to create clothes and Ithought that was a bit different,” he said.“So I came up with the brand idea andthought it had potential.”

He wanted to start the business on hisreturn to the UK.

“I toyed with running it from China butit’s hard enough learning how to start abusiness, let alone do it in a foreign lan-gua g e,” he said.

“Bristol was a natural place with its greencredentials. I love this city and thought it

was a good place to locate.”Ed and his team of five design the T-shirts

and have them manufactured in China, thenshipped to the UK on the “slow boat”.

“It takes 30-45 days to get an order madethen another 35 to get it shipped here,” saidEd. “It means you have to be pretty goodwith your business planning!”

Mabboo – an anagram of bamboo – star tedon market stalls and Ed had some successwith a spot at the Christmas market. Sincethen he has had five pop-up shops, includinghis current outlet in the Galleries shoppingcentre in Broadmead.

Ed said: “The pop-up shops are greatbecause they give us the opportunity to trythings out and see what works, withouthaving to commit long term.”

They also work for the landlord as theyprovide business rate relief on the otherwiseempty premises.

Ed’s Kickstarter campaign needs to raise£20,000 by June 6. If successful, he believesthe bamboo lyocell T-shirts will be popularbecause of added green selling point.

But he has grand ambitions beyond that.“I have started with T-shirts but bamboo

can be used to make so many things so we’relooking at iPhone cases, watches and more.Any product I can think of, you can makefrom bamboo.

“I would like to supply a big retailer, thatwould help us take off. But in the long termI would love to build a recognised brandaround Mabboo with a flagship store inBristol and selling as a real omni-channelre t a i l e r. ”

Like the bamboo, Ed will be hoping hisbusiness grows fast and stays strong.

� Ed Cheney of Mabboo, a business based in Southville, Bristol, selling clothes madefrom bamboo; above right, models wearing the T-shirts

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� Paul Grantham of NatWest, centre, with Michael Dilloway, left, and butcher Mark Batterham, right, of The PottingShed

Ret a i l

Ret a i l

Locally produced food guaranteedas farm shop and cafe opens up

EVER since a farm shop heused to work in closed, Mich-ael Dilloway has been tryingto find the right site to rep-licate it.

Now he and his wife Lucy haveopened their own farm shop and caféwith help from NatWest.

Michael, whose family runs apoultry wholesale business, used towork in Oakham farm shop. When itclosed he knew there was a good loyalcustomer base that was being leftwith little choice but to shop at thesupermarket or travel further afieldfor a traditional butcher’s shop.

He searched for the right site for aventure to bridge the gap, and ap-proached Golden Acres Garden Nurs-ery in Tickenham about thepossibility of opening a farm shopthere. Now he and Lucy have alsotaken on the site’s café, The PottingShed.

“I have always wanted to open acafé using produce from the farms h o p, ” said Michael, 31. “Now we areable to do that. About 18 months agothey redeveloped the café at GoldenAcres which left the old kitchen spaceredundant, so we have turned thatinto the farm shop.

“We have family friends who arebreeding lambs for us and we havepoultry coming from the farms thatsupply our family business.

“We are also working with the localabattoir in Nailsea and we are buyingproduce from their family farms aswell as other trusted farms withinBristol and Somerset.

“Everything is local and we aremaking sausages, faggots and bur-gers on site as well as other producein the cafe including pies, jams andch u t n e y s. ”

Michael and Lucy, 27, who have twochildren, retained four staff from thecafé. They have also created five newjobs, including taking on butcherMark Batterham who worked withMichael at Oakham as the headbu t ch e r.

M i ch a e l ’s sisters Jade and Char-lotte are also working there and hisbrother, George, will be lending ahand during his holidays from uni-versity. Now the couple are also on thehunt for an apprentice to work in thefarm shop.

Michael and Lucy borrowed fromNatWest to fit out the farm shop and

buy equipment such as fridges as wellas initial stock.

They worked with NatWest rela-tionship manager Paul Grantham tosecure the funding.

Michael said: “I spoke to Paul aboutsix weeks before we decided to openand he moved very quickly.

“He gave us a lot of help. He wentthrough the different options such asa loan or hire purchase and found theoption that suited us best. He hasbeen on the phone to see how thingsare going – he has kept in touch, heh a s n’t forgotten about us.”

Paul said: “I am delighted to havebeen able to help Michael and Lucywith the funds to start their business.Michael came to me with a strongbusiness idea and great knowledgeabout the industry.

“Mark has a great reputation as abutcher in this area and he, Mark andLucy make a good team.

“Michael and Lucy have reallymade the most of this building andthe space that was available to add afarm shop to the existing café. Wewish them every success with theirnew venture.”

M oto rs

Garage aims to go the extra mile on service

University opens upnew office in China� ONE of the city’s universities hasopened a new office in Guangzhou,the city in Southern China in whichBristol is trying to build trade ties.

UWE Bristol will initially have tworepresentatives based at the newoffice, promoting the university tostudents and businesses.

David Caine, director of UWE’sinternational office said, “China is abig market for us both in terms ofstudent recruitment andpartnerships. The main function ofthe office will be to support theseactivities in south China.”

He said the China-based staff willpromote the institution at educationfairs, interview potential studentsand liaise with partner organisations.

The university has been pushingstrongly to build links with industryand business in the UK and abroad.

It already has an office inShenyang which provides similarsupport for northern China.

David said: “Guangzhou ispartnered with Bristol and there arealready lots of activities between thetwo cities. It is a booming city and isa significant education hub.”

The announcement is the result ofa delegation visiting China lastmonth. It included DianneFrancombe, chief executive of theBristol China Partnership (BCP) andWest of England China Bureau(WECB), who said: “This is amomentous occasion and willcement the strong relationshipbetween Bristol and Guangzhou.Having a permanent presence inGuangzhou will raise the profile ofthe innovative and creative city ofBristol as well as UWE.”

The delegation was welcomed byvice mayor Lim long, members ofthe Guangzhou University TownBoard, and of the GuangzhouInternational InnovationDevelopment and ConstructionHeadquarters.

Uni teams up withtelemarketing firm� THE University of the West ofEngland has launched a newresearch-focused social enterprisepartnership with Bristol-basedtelemarketing company IntegrityBusiness Connections.

UWE-Integrity Research is a newsocial venture with a mission toprovide talented masters studentswith an opportunity to work oncommercial real world researchprojects and increase theiremployment prospects, whileproviding organisations with asource of high quality, academicallyrigorous, bespoke professionalre s e a rc h .

The initiative is being overseen byProfessor Tim Hughes and Dr EdLittle, associate head ofdepartment, postgraduatemarketing programmes, with allstudents being supervised by seniormembers of academic staff from theApplied Marketing Group.

Professor Tim Hughes said: “Theemployability of our students is oneof our key priorities and we arealways looking for opportunities toprovide our students withexperiences that will equip themwith the skills that are valued byemployers.

The partnership intends to engagelocal businesses and institutionsacross the West of England andbeyond and hopes to securesufficient interest to provide talentedgraduates with invaluable ongoingindustry experiences.

Higher education

Higher education

Pa n d a - m o n i u mFirm hopes bambooT-shirts are a hit

GARAGES might not be thought of asthe most family friendly places - filledwith dirt, grease and machinery. Buta new business in Wes-ton-super-Mare is hoping to changet h at .

Autoserv Car & Bike opened onT hursday with the goal of offering abit more then just an MOT.

Managing director Paul Rogerssaid: “Our aim is to offer highlevels of customer service that otheroutlets in the industry don’t oftenp rov i d e.

“We ’re very family-friendly andhave worked hard to create an at-mosphere and facilities that will ap-peal to everyone.

“We have magazines and free wi-fi

in our waiting area, and baby chan-ging facilities in our toilets that bothmums and dads can use. ”

The business has taken on sixfull-time members of staff.

“We ’re very much a local business,employing people from Wes-ton-super-Mare and the surroundingarea as well as serving the com-m u n i t y, ” said Paul.

The company, in Pottery Close,Weston, specialises in tyres, ex-hausts, batteries, MOTs, fixed priceservicing and vehicle repair work.

Paul added: “We will also be able tooffer a ‘turn-up and test’ MOT ser-vice, which means people no longerneed to book they can just turn upand get their vehicle tested.”

Assistant Editor (Business)Gavin Thompson

Call 0117 934 3336Email gavin.thompson

@b-nm.co.ukTwitter @gavin_thompson1

Get in touch

AdvertisingRobert RodgersonCall 07828 941469

Emailro b e r t . ro d g e r s o n

@b-nm.co.uk

Advertising JaneChapmanCall 01179 343025Emailjane.chapman@b-nm. co.uk


Tracey Bentham

“Family businesses arethe backbone of thenation’s economy – theyare our unsung heroes –and they make amassive contribution toour GDP

� From left,Steve Whiteand PaulRogers,who arebothmanagingdirectors atAutoservCar & Bikein Weston

AN entrepreneur is building a retailbusiness using a substance betterknown as the dinner of choice forgiant pandas. Ed Cheney runs Mab-boo, a Southville-based business

that imports and sells T-shirts made fromb a m b o o.

Bamboo is seen as a green material be-cause it doesn’t need irrigation and fer-tilisers to grow, and is sustainable because itspreads and grows quickly.

But the 30-year-old is trying to raisemoney to invest in an even greener process,called bamboo lyocell in which 99 per cent ofthe chemicals used in the process can bere cycl e d .

Ed spent three years in China teachingafter graduating from Nottingham Uni-versity. It was there he decided bamboo wasthe future.

“I came across the fact that bamboo wasstarting to be used to create clothes and Ithought that was a bit different,” he said.“So I came up with the brand idea andthought it had potential.”

He wanted to start the business on hisreturn to the UK.

“I toyed with running it from China butit’s hard enough learning how to start abusiness, let alone do it in a foreign lan-gua g e,” he said.

“Bristol was a natural place with its greencredentials. I love this city and thought it

was a good place to locate.”Ed and his team of five design the T-shirts

and have them manufactured in China, thenshipped to the UK on the “slow boat”.

“It takes 30-45 days to get an order madethen another 35 to get it shipped here,” saidEd. “It means you have to be pretty goodwith your business planning!”

Mabboo – an anagram of bamboo – star tedon market stalls and Ed had some successwith a spot at the Christmas market. Sincethen he has had five pop-up shops, includinghis current outlet in the Galleries shoppingcentre in Broadmead.

Ed said: “The pop-up shops are greatbecause they give us the opportunity to trythings out and see what works, withouthaving to commit long term.”

They also work for the landlord as theyprovide business rate relief on the otherwiseempty premises.

Ed’s Kickstarter campaign needs to raise£20,000 by June 6. If successful, he believesthe bamboo lyocell T-shirts will be popularbecause of added green selling point.

But he has grand ambitions beyond that.“I have started with T-shirts but bamboo

can be used to make so many things so we’relooking at iPhone cases, watches and more.Any product I can think of, you can makefrom bamboo.

“I would like to supply a big retailer, thatwould help us take off. But in the long termI would love to build a recognised brandaround Mabboo with a flagship store inBristol and selling as a real omni-channelre t a i l e r. ”

Like the bamboo, Ed will be hoping hisbusiness grows fast and stays strong.

� Ed Cheney of Mabboo, a business based in Southville, Bristol, selling clothes madefrom bamboo; above right, models wearing the T-shirts

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Bristol Post Business Awards 2014

Taste for success Now star chefhopes to bag another award...

� Chef Josh Eggleton, of the Michelin starred Pony & Trap in Chew Magna

Adventure start-up

Going the distance E n d u ra n ceevents challenge body and mind

A FORMER student and anundergraduate from BristolUniversity have teamed up tolaunch a strategic enduranceevent business.

Will Bayley, 34, and Alex Dotsch, 21,have set up HQrecon, which alreadyemploys four permanent staff and isrecruiting 100 event staff for threeraces in September and October.

Will is a qualified bodyguard and aprofessional teacher of self-defence toboth civilians and military person-nel.

Alex is studying mechanical en-gineering and has been interestedin business since the age of nine,setting up first profitable websiteaged 16.

He is chairman of the university’sEnterprise Society and recentlylaunched Develop My Startup, a so-cial networking site for young stu-dent entrepreneurs to meet eachother and find new business part-n e r s.

HQrecon is a strategic endurancerace with an emphasis on thoughtrather than sheer running speed.

Based on special forces reconnais-sance exercises, the races requiretheir participants to race between aseries of zones, gathering codes frome a ch .

Every zone is patrolled by a pro-

fessional security team and if par-ticipants are caught, they face take atime penalty and some tough exer-c i s e.

Will said: “The thinking behindHQrecon is all about personal chal-lenge. The adventure race market israpidly expanding, proving a publicneed for arenas for personal discov-ery. It’s a market dominated cur-rently by obstacle racing, raceswhere participants take on militarystyle assault courses and muddytrails, but HQrecon attempts to add

TWO telecoms companies have joinedforces to form a business which ex-pects to turn over more than £2 mil-lion per year.

Business telecoms network special-ist Solution IP has completed theacquisition of the client portfolio andinfrastructure of Versacom.

Based in Westbury Hill in West-bury-on-Trym, the newly-mergedSolution IP is expecting significantgrowth and is forecasting turnover of£2 million by the end of the financialyear, which ends in January.

The acquisition is a result of along-standing relationship betweenSolution IP founder Patrick Lincolnand Versacom managing directorRyan Jones, who takes over as salesand operations director at the firm.

Solution IP was founded in Cliftonin 2007, providing fixed line servicesfor phone lines and broadband.

In 2011 it merged with ConvergedVoice Solutions, whose founder Dar-ren Ross remains with Solution IP astechnical director, providing expert-ise on the design and implementationof systems and solutions.

With offices in Bristol and Reading,the company now serves around 500customers in the South West, the M4corridor, Europe and across the At-lantic in the US and South America.

Clients range from smaller busi-nesses with 20 to 50 users, up to largecompanies with 500 users who re-quire telecoms infrastructure net-works designed and implementedacross their business.

Patrick, 30, said: “I have knownRyan since I started this businessseven years ago and we have fre-quently worked closely with Versa-com.

“This acquisition is really about

offering the best service to our cus-tomers, bringing all the available ex-pertise under one roof, giving us thechance to grow and enabling our cus-tomers to benefit from the combinedresources and contacts.

“Solution IP now offers the com-plete range of unified telecoms net-work services and we are able toprovide a truly bespoke solution forcompanies looking to maximise theeffectiveness of their voice and datas y s t e m s. ”

Ryan, who is 42 and founded Ver-sacom in 2010 after a 15-year careerwith major telecoms providers, said:“Over the years, Versacom grew froma zero start point to become an es-tablished provider of services tolocal, national and multi-site busi-nesses, providing data and telephonenetworks, systems and hardware.

“We recognised that to continue

Te l e co m s

Merger aims to spark growth surge

� Ryan Jones, left, and Patrick Lincoln of Solution IP

� Will Bayley, left, and Alex Dotsch of HQrecon

Firms secure£90m worthof contracts� A HOUSING association isinvesting in the regional economythrough the re-tendering of some ofits maintenance contracts.

The contracts cover everythingfrom planned maintenance,including kitchen and windowrenewals, to responsive repairs,empty homes and gas servicing, aswell as an expansion ofKnightstone’s own in-housemaintenance team.

They are worth more than £90million over the next 10 years, amajor commitment to selectedcontractors and residents.

Contractors had to prove theircommitment to local communities,promoting apprenticeshipprogrammes and deliver socialvalue to meet the Weston-super-Mare association’s standards.

Mark Beard, director of customerand community operations atKnightstone, said: “Maintaining ourhomes and ensuring they’re safe aresome of the most importantservices we provide to ourresidents, whether it’s responding toemergency repairs, planningupgrades to kitchens andbathrooms or servicing equipment.

“These are five-year contracts,with an opportunity to extend up toten years, meaning our contractorscan really invest in their servicesand provide consistency toresidents in the long term. We’reexcited to be investing in our ownin-house maintenance team at thesame time as signing thesecontracts. We’re doubling its size,employing more people andexpanding its operating area. Thisshows our commitment to Somersetand the West of England.”

The chosen contractors were putthrough a selection programme,which included interviews and sitevisits. They will also sign up to acommon doorstep standard, toensure that all of Knightstone’scustomers receive the same service.

The selected contractors are:Anglian Building Products, the largeprojects division of AnglianWindows, Gregor Heating, Electricaland Renewable Energy, John WestContractors Ltd, MD BuildingServices Ltd, Mi-space (UK) Ltd,NKS Contracts Ltd and SpectrumProperty Care Ltd.

Housing

another dimension, a thinking di-mension, a race where you have touse your mind as well as your body,strategy as well as speed ands t re n g t h .

“The idea for HQrecon came to meafter completing my 18-day instruct-or certification. Seeking further chal-lenge, I wanted an event that wouldtest me mentally and physically, butthe market only offered races thatchallenged fitness and speed.

“Originally, HQrecon was createdand run for a small group of

NOWin their 10th year, theBristol Post BusinessAwards showcase some ofthe best local examples ofentrepreneurialism, innov-

ation, good management and stra-tegic thinking. Smith & Williamson,the accountancy and investmentmanagement group, is very pleased tobe involved with these awards for thesixth consecutive year, this time assponsors of the Large Business cat-e gory.

Recently voted the Sunday Times’Best Place to Live in Britain, Bristolis a dynamic and exciting city. Smith& Williamson (formerly SolomonHare) is proud of its Bristol heritage

which can be traced back to 1869 andthe relationship it has with busi-nesses and individuals locally.

The firm has grown steadily overthe years to become one of the UK’sleading, independently-owned ac-countancy, investment managementand financial advisory groups, with alarge office in Portwall Place, Bristol,with 180 people.

We work closely with businesses,often as an extension of their ownteam, as well as with private indi-viduals, building long-lasting rela-tionships, helping them to get themost out of their assets and invest-ments. Our commitment is reflectedin our entrepreneurial spirit, com-

mercial acumen and integrity, un-derpinned by an accessible,pragmatic and joined-up approach tofinancial services.

When it comes to business support,we offer a range of tax, corporate

Sponsor profile

Proud to support bestof local businesses

� Mike Lea,ManagingPartner, Smith& Williamson

finance, audit, assurance and recov-ery services which you would expectfrom a ‘Top 10’ accountancy firm .

Our business clients include am-bitious, growing companies, well-es-tablished, family-owned SMEs and

large, multi-national or internationalbusinesses with a South West base.

We have locally-based specialists tosupport businesses in the sectorswhich contribute most to the SouthWest economy including food anddrink, farming, aerospace and de-fence, manufacturing, media andtechnology and professional prac-t i c e s.

We also advise entrepreneurs, busi-ness owners, families and individualson how to manage and grow theirpersonal wealth, offering specialistfinancial services and advice.

The Bristol team draws on know-ledge, skills and research from acrossSmith & Williamson which has 1,500people based in 11 principal officesand is a member of Nexia Interna-tional, one of the world’s top 10 net-works of independent auditors,advisers and consultants.

We would like to take this oppor-tunity to wish those taking part in theBristol Post Awards every success,both on the night and in their busi-ness ventures.


Rupert [email protected]

S p o n so rs

like-minded people, but the positiveresponse was such that I took thedecision to bring it to market andrelease the idea to the public.”

The company is now gearing up forits first events this autumn, with thefirst taking place at Charlton Park inWiltshire on the weekend of Septem-ber 5 to 7.

Future plans of HQrecon includeexpansion to many more areas of theUK in 2015, along with internationalexpansion, with primary target mar-kets being the USA and Europe.

Will Bayley

“The adventure racemarket is rapidlyexpanding, proving apublic need for areas ofself-discovery. HQreconattempts to add athinking dimension to it

Awa rdc a te g o r i es

RISING star chef JoshEggleton is hoping to top agreat 2014 so far by winningat the Bristol Post BusinessAwards next month.

Josh is the creative force behind theMichelin star-rated Pony & Trap inChew Magna. He is one of the young-est chefs to hold that accolade.

So far this year Josh has starred inBBC2’s Great British Menu, repres-enting the South West and just miss-ing out on the overall title.

Josh has taken a regular slot doingfood demonstrations at Harrods inLondon.

He was on the steering group forthe recent 10-day Bristol ConnectionsFood Festival.

And he is a director on ChewMa gna’s Community Farm and theSeven Project, a community schemeusing urban farm sites to grow or-ganic veg for the local food trade.

But it’s his business achievementsthat will be of more interest to thejudges in the Young Entrepreneurcate gory.

The 30-year-old started his career ata Bristol chip shop 15 years ago beforebecoming an apprentice with City ofBristol College.

He triumphed in the Gordon Ram-say College Scholar competition andwent on to develop his craft in Bristolbefore embarking on his travels.

He experienced working with somebest chefs in the world at restaurantsincluding Sicily’s il Mulinazzo, theNew York institution, Chanterelleand the three Michelin starredFrench Laundry in California.

Upon his return to England, Joshsoon became one of the youngest puband restaurant proprietors in thecountry by taking over the Pony &

Trap at just 22, along with his sisterH o l l i e.

Now the restaurant employs 17people turns over £1 million a year,having increased profits by 12 percent last year.

This will be reinvested in the busi-ness with a £300,000 refurbishmentincluding an induction kitchen thatwill be more energy efficient and

our success we needed to expand ourresources. We have known SolutionIP for several years, sharing a similarethos and quality of service provi-sion, so it made perfect sense to bringthe two businesses together.

“Solution IP is looking forward toworking with forward thinking busi-nesses which recognise the value inhaving a technology partner who canhelp them achieve their business ob-j e c t ive s. ”

� Business of the YearBristol, sponsored by UWEBristol� Young Entrepreneur of theYe a r� Lifetime AchievementAward, sponsored byPunter Southall� Retailer of the Year,sponsored by B ro a d m e a dBristol BID� Customer Service Award,sponsored by B ro a d m e a dBristol BID� Family Business of theYear, sponsored by BOMG ro u p� Innovator of the Year� Export Award, sponsoredby Lloyds Banking Group� Marketing Campaign ofthe Year� Large Business of theYear, sponsored by Smith &Williamson� BestC re a t i v e / Te c h n o l o g i c a lAward, sponsored byAshfords Solicitors� Leisure & TourismBusiness of the Year,sponsored by QBE� Small Business of theYear, sponsored by FirstGreat Western� Start-Up Business of theYear, sponsored by J o rd a n s� Environmental BusinessAw a rd� Contribution to theCommunity Award,sponsored by Renishaw

refurbishing the dining room.Josh was also a driving force be-

hind Eat Drink Bristol Fashion, thepop-up restaurant and food festivalthat takes place in Queen Square.

Now in its third year, the eventattracts 25,000 visitors annually.

Josh told the Bristol Post he waskeen to champion and promote thec i t y.

“Bristol should be proud of its po-sition as one of the UK’s leading foodcapitals and as I was born and bredhere, I am a big advocate for the city,he said.”

“It’s a great place to own a businesswith its proximity to a countrysideand to collaborate with the othersuppliers and restaurants on EatDrink Bristol Fashion.”

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Bristol Post Business Awards 2014

Taste for success Now star chefhopes to bag another award...

� Chef Josh Eggleton, of the Michelin starred Pony & Trap in Chew Magna

Adventure start-up

Going the distance E n d u ra n ceevents challenge body and mind

A FORMER student and anundergraduate from BristolUniversity have teamed up tolaunch a strategic enduranceevent business.

Will Bayley, 34, and Alex Dotsch, 21,have set up HQrecon, which alreadyemploys four permanent staff and isrecruiting 100 event staff for threeraces in September and October.

Will is a qualified bodyguard and aprofessional teacher of self-defence toboth civilians and military person-nel.

Alex is studying mechanical en-gineering and has been interestedin business since the age of nine,setting up first profitable websiteaged 16.

He is chairman of the university’sEnterprise Society and recentlylaunched Develop My Startup, a so-cial networking site for young stu-dent entrepreneurs to meet eachother and find new business part-n e r s.

HQrecon is a strategic endurancerace with an emphasis on thoughtrather than sheer running speed.

Based on special forces reconnais-sance exercises, the races requiretheir participants to race between aseries of zones, gathering codes frome a ch .

Every zone is patrolled by a pro-

fessional security team and if par-ticipants are caught, they face take atime penalty and some tough exer-c i s e.

Will said: “The thinking behindHQrecon is all about personal chal-lenge. The adventure race market israpidly expanding, proving a publicneed for arenas for personal discov-ery. It’s a market dominated cur-rently by obstacle racing, raceswhere participants take on militarystyle assault courses and muddytrails, but HQrecon attempts to add

TWO telecoms companies have joinedforces to form a business which ex-pects to turn over more than £2 mil-lion per year.

Business telecoms network special-ist Solution IP has completed theacquisition of the client portfolio andinfrastructure of Versacom.

Based in Westbury Hill in West-bury-on-Trym, the newly-mergedSolution IP is expecting significantgrowth and is forecasting turnover of£2 million by the end of the financialyear, which ends in January.

The acquisition is a result of along-standing relationship betweenSolution IP founder Patrick Lincolnand Versacom managing directorRyan Jones, who takes over as salesand operations director at the firm.

Solution IP was founded in Cliftonin 2007, providing fixed line servicesfor phone lines and broadband.

In 2011 it merged with ConvergedVoice Solutions, whose founder Dar-ren Ross remains with Solution IP astechnical director, providing expert-ise on the design and implementationof systems and solutions.

With offices in Bristol and Reading,the company now serves around 500customers in the South West, the M4corridor, Europe and across the At-lantic in the US and South America.

Clients range from smaller busi-nesses with 20 to 50 users, up to largecompanies with 500 users who re-quire telecoms infrastructure net-works designed and implementedacross their business.

Patrick, 30, said: “I have knownRyan since I started this businessseven years ago and we have fre-quently worked closely with Versa-com.

“This acquisition is really about

offering the best service to our cus-tomers, bringing all the available ex-pertise under one roof, giving us thechance to grow and enabling our cus-tomers to benefit from the combinedresources and contacts.

“Solution IP now offers the com-plete range of unified telecoms net-work services and we are able toprovide a truly bespoke solution forcompanies looking to maximise theeffectiveness of their voice and datas y s t e m s. ”

Ryan, who is 42 and founded Ver-sacom in 2010 after a 15-year careerwith major telecoms providers, said:“Over the years, Versacom grew froma zero start point to become an es-tablished provider of services tolocal, national and multi-site busi-nesses, providing data and telephonenetworks, systems and hardware.

“We recognised that to continue

Te l e co m s

Merger aims to spark growth surge

� Ryan Jones, left, and Patrick Lincoln of Solution IP

� Will Bayley, left, and Alex Dotsch of HQrecon

Firms secure£90m worthof contracts� A HOUSING association isinvesting in the regional economythrough the re-tendering of some ofits maintenance contracts.

The contracts cover everythingfrom planned maintenance,including kitchen and windowrenewals, to responsive repairs,empty homes and gas servicing, aswell as an expansion ofKnightstone’s own in-housemaintenance team.

They are worth more than £90million over the next 10 years, amajor commitment to selectedcontractors and residents.

Contractors had to prove theircommitment to local communities,promoting apprenticeshipprogrammes and deliver socialvalue to meet the Weston-super-Mare association’s standards.

Mark Beard, director of customerand community operations atKnightstone, said: “Maintaining ourhomes and ensuring they’re safe aresome of the most importantservices we provide to ourresidents, whether it’s responding toemergency repairs, planningupgrades to kitchens andbathrooms or servicing equipment.

“These are five-year contracts,with an opportunity to extend up toten years, meaning our contractorscan really invest in their servicesand provide consistency toresidents in the long term. We’reexcited to be investing in our ownin-house maintenance team at thesame time as signing thesecontracts. We’re doubling its size,employing more people andexpanding its operating area. Thisshows our commitment to Somersetand the West of England.”

The chosen contractors were putthrough a selection programme,which included interviews and sitevisits. They will also sign up to acommon doorstep standard, toensure that all of Knightstone’scustomers receive the same service.

The selected contractors are:Anglian Building Products, the largeprojects division of AnglianWindows, Gregor Heating, Electricaland Renewable Energy, John WestContractors Ltd, MD BuildingServices Ltd, Mi-space (UK) Ltd,NKS Contracts Ltd and SpectrumProperty Care Ltd.

Housing

another dimension, a thinking di-mension, a race where you have touse your mind as well as your body,strategy as well as speed ands t re n g t h .

“The idea for HQrecon came to meafter completing my 18-day instruct-or certification. Seeking further chal-lenge, I wanted an event that wouldtest me mentally and physically, butthe market only offered races thatchallenged fitness and speed.

“Originally, HQrecon was createdand run for a small group of

NOWin their 10th year, theBristol Post BusinessAwards showcase some ofthe best local examples ofentrepreneurialism, innov-

ation, good management and stra-tegic thinking. Smith & Williamson,the accountancy and investmentmanagement group, is very pleased tobe involved with these awards for thesixth consecutive year, this time assponsors of the Large Business cat-e gory.

Recently voted the Sunday Times’Best Place to Live in Britain, Bristolis a dynamic and exciting city. Smith& Williamson (formerly SolomonHare) is proud of its Bristol heritage

which can be traced back to 1869 andthe relationship it has with busi-nesses and individuals locally.

The firm has grown steadily overthe years to become one of the UK’sleading, independently-owned ac-countancy, investment managementand financial advisory groups, with alarge office in Portwall Place, Bristol,with 180 people.

We work closely with businesses,often as an extension of their ownteam, as well as with private indi-viduals, building long-lasting rela-tionships, helping them to get themost out of their assets and invest-ments. Our commitment is reflectedin our entrepreneurial spirit, com-

mercial acumen and integrity, un-derpinned by an accessible,pragmatic and joined-up approach tofinancial services.

When it comes to business support,we offer a range of tax, corporate

Sponsor profile

Proud to support bestof local businesses

� Mike Lea,ManagingPartner, Smith& Williamson

finance, audit, assurance and recov-ery services which you would expectfrom a ‘Top 10’ accountancy firm .

Our business clients include am-bitious, growing companies, well-es-tablished, family-owned SMEs and

large, multi-national or internationalbusinesses with a South West base.

We have locally-based specialists tosupport businesses in the sectorswhich contribute most to the SouthWest economy including food anddrink, farming, aerospace and de-fence, manufacturing, media andtechnology and professional prac-t i c e s.

We also advise entrepreneurs, busi-ness owners, families and individualson how to manage and grow theirpersonal wealth, offering specialistfinancial services and advice.

The Bristol team draws on know-ledge, skills and research from acrossSmith & Williamson which has 1,500people based in 11 principal officesand is a member of Nexia Interna-tional, one of the world’s top 10 net-works of independent auditors,advisers and consultants.

We would like to take this oppor-tunity to wish those taking part in theBristol Post Awards every success,both on the night and in their busi-ness ventures.


Rupert [email protected]

S p o n so rs

like-minded people, but the positiveresponse was such that I took thedecision to bring it to market andrelease the idea to the public.”

The company is now gearing up forits first events this autumn, with thefirst taking place at Charlton Park inWiltshire on the weekend of Septem-ber 5 to 7.

Future plans of HQrecon includeexpansion to many more areas of theUK in 2015, along with internationalexpansion, with primary target mar-kets being the USA and Europe.

Will Bayley

“The adventure racemarket is rapidlyexpanding, proving apublic need for areas ofself-discovery. HQreconattempts to add athinking dimension to it

Awa rdc a te g o r i es

RISING star chef JoshEggleton is hoping to top agreat 2014 so far by winningat the Bristol Post BusinessAwards next month.

Josh is the creative force behind theMichelin star-rated Pony & Trap inChew Magna. He is one of the young-est chefs to hold that accolade.

So far this year Josh has starred inBBC2’s Great British Menu, repres-enting the South West and just miss-ing out on the overall title.

Josh has taken a regular slot doingfood demonstrations at Harrods inLondon.

He was on the steering group forthe recent 10-day Bristol ConnectionsFood Festival.

And he is a director on ChewMa gna’s Community Farm and theSeven Project, a community schemeusing urban farm sites to grow or-ganic veg for the local food trade.

But it’s his business achievementsthat will be of more interest to thejudges in the Young Entrepreneurcate gory.

The 30-year-old started his career ata Bristol chip shop 15 years ago beforebecoming an apprentice with City ofBristol College.

He triumphed in the Gordon Ram-say College Scholar competition andwent on to develop his craft in Bristolbefore embarking on his travels.

He experienced working with somebest chefs in the world at restaurantsincluding Sicily’s il Mulinazzo, theNew York institution, Chanterelleand the three Michelin starredFrench Laundry in California.

Upon his return to England, Joshsoon became one of the youngest puband restaurant proprietors in thecountry by taking over the Pony &

Trap at just 22, along with his sisterH o l l i e.

Now the restaurant employs 17people turns over £1 million a year,having increased profits by 12 percent last year.

This will be reinvested in the busi-ness with a £300,000 refurbishmentincluding an induction kitchen thatwill be more energy efficient and

our success we needed to expand ourresources. We have known SolutionIP for several years, sharing a similarethos and quality of service provi-sion, so it made perfect sense to bringthe two businesses together.

“Solution IP is looking forward toworking with forward thinking busi-nesses which recognise the value inhaving a technology partner who canhelp them achieve their business ob-j e c t ive s. ”

� Business of the YearBristol, sponsored by UWEBristol� Young Entrepreneur of theYe a r� Lifetime AchievementAward, sponsored byPunter Southall� Retailer of the Year,sponsored by B ro a d m e a dBristol BID� Customer Service Award,sponsored by B ro a d m e a dBristol BID� Family Business of theYear, sponsored by BOMG ro u p� Innovator of the Year� Export Award, sponsoredby Lloyds Banking Group� Marketing Campaign ofthe Year� Large Business of theYear, sponsored by Smith &Williamson� BestC re a t i v e / Te c h n o l o g i c a lAward, sponsored byAshfords Solicitors� Leisure & TourismBusiness of the Year,sponsored by QBE� Small Business of theYear, sponsored by FirstGreat Western� Start-Up Business of theYear, sponsored by J o rd a n s� Environmental BusinessAw a rd� Contribution to theCommunity Award,sponsored by Renishaw

refurbishing the dining room.Josh was also a driving force be-

hind Eat Drink Bristol Fashion, thepop-up restaurant and food festivalthat takes place in Queen Square.

Now in its third year, the eventattracts 25,000 visitors annually.

Josh told the Bristol Post he waskeen to champion and promote thec i t y.

“Bristol should be proud of its po-sition as one of the UK’s leading foodcapitals and as I was born and bredhere, I am a big advocate for the city,he said.”

“It’s a great place to own a businesswith its proximity to a countrysideand to collaborate with the othersuppliers and restaurants on EatDrink Bristol Fashion.”

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IT has been a positive month forBristol’s reputation as a creativeand digital powerhouse. Lastweek global mobile solutionscompany Somo announced it is

moving here to create an innovationcentre. And just a few weeks agoSecondSync, which measures the im-pact of televisions shows on socialmedia, was snapped up by Twitter.

But beneath those stories is a big-ger picture. Bristol is far from beingjust a couple of high-profile suc-cesses. The city has developed a cre-ative eco-system, without which,companies such as Somo would notbe coming here, nor might the likes ofSecondSync have succeeded.

Jon Gill, a partner at Bristol-based

law firm TLT specialising in the tech-nology sector, believes the levels ofsupport locally are vital to those suc-cess stories.

“There is a growing eco-system ofsupport in the region,” he said. “Fo rexample at TLT we sponsor the SouthWest Founders, a monthly network-ing event for technology start-ups,and there is the Engine Shed whereyou have Webstart Bristol and Set-Squared. We have these clusters ofearly stage companies. Some of themwo n’t achieve the levels of successthey want to but many of themwill.”

Secondsync, whom TLT advised ontheir deal with Twitter, is a goodexample of how success grows fromthat support. It started in the Set-Squared incubator, now based at theEngine Shed, before moving to Aard-m a n’s office.

Paul Appleby, chairman of BristolMedia and creative sector for the

West of England Local EnterprisePartnership, is a strong believer thatecology is the key to sustained suc-cess in the sector.

“We have something special here,”he said. “We have big organisationssuch as the BBC and Aardman, as wellas medium-sized firms with maybe 50employees and lots of smaller agen-cies too.

“We have the digital companies,technology and creative all here,nowhere else has that.”

He admits recruitment is becominga challenge with a shortage of peoplewith the right skills, although saysthat eco-system means Bristol is bet-ter placed than most.

“We have got the universities inBristol and Bath which have a strongcreative focus bringing thousands ofyoung people into the area each year,”said Paul.

Teaching coding to schoolchildrenwill help too, but, he says it will take“five to 10 years to get a return on thati nve s t m e n t ”.

Paul hopes to see the developmentof more apprenticeships in the sectorbut concedes it is “very hard” fo rsmaller firms to invest the time intraining.

However Bristol Media, which has500 members in the city, and the Westof England LEP are working to makeit easier by acting as brokers.

“If firms come to us we will havethose conversations with the uni-versities on their behalf,” he said.

Debbie Staveley, managing directorof Portishead-based bClear Commu-nications, has found recruitment achallenge, particularly as a firmbased outside the city.

But she says having come throughthe recession, now is a great oppor-tunity for growth in the sector.

“The creative industries are at thefront end of helping other business tog row,” she said. “If people want togrow their business, one of the firstthings they look at is marketing andPR for their business so that peopleknow about it.

“Businesses tend to be sales-led oraccountant-led. If they are sales-led,then in a recession they say let’sspend on marketing and PR becauseit’s a great opportunity to grow ourmarket share. If they are account-ant-led, they tend to cut back on areasthey see as discretionary. But onceconfidence starts to return even thosebusinesses are going to start spend-ing.”

And that spending is drivinggrowth, which Bristol’s creativefirms are enjoying. The recent BristolMedia survey found resurgent con-fidence levels in the sector.

As those businesses grow they willneed to find new markets. With com-

Focus on start-ups | Sponsored by THEME SPONSOR’S NAME HERE.

Bristol is often hailed as acreative and digital hub.Gavin Thompson reports onhow well placed the sectoris to deliver jobs andprosperity for the city.

Digital agency helps firms set out net strategyCase study

Three marketeers in running for national awardCase study

� Three Bristol authors are in the running for a business book award, from left, Sharon Tanton, Bryony Thomasand Sonja Jefferson Pic: Amanda Thomas

Creative and digital focus

THERE are many trends in theTMT sector creating signific-ant opportunities right nowfor entrepreneurs. From therise of “big data”, the increas-

ing consumption of content on mobiledevices and the use of the cloud todeliver software, it is clear there is asubstantial tech boom under way.

So what does this mean for SouthWest TMT businesses and how canthey take advantage? Confidence at amacro level is resulting in a realincrease in mergers and acquisitionsactivity. Those who have built busi-nesses that attract the attention ofwell-capitalised buyers will have theopportunity to cash in on the value ofwhat they have created.

Equally, for those not thinkingabout an exit but looking to grow theirbusiness, the wider optimism in theeconomy is increasingthe range andamount of financeavailable. TLThas seen thisfirst-hand, ad-vising on vari-ous South Westdeals includingthe recent sale ofBristol-based Second-Sync to Twitter. TLT’s “top tips” fo rsuccess in maximising the value ofTMT businesses are:� Ensure your intellectual property isboth owned and protected – this isparticularly so with software codewhich may be written by third partydevelopers. This needs to be properlyassigned to the company to defin-itively show ownership.� Lock-in your key people – Enter-prise Management Incentive optionsand the new employee shareholderscheme present tax-efficient ways toincentivise key staff. Employmentcontracts should also be clear on IPownership, confidentiality, noticeperiods and restrictive covenants toprotect the business.� Shore up key commercial relation-ships – businesses with long-termcontracted revenues, particularlythrough a software-as-a -servicemodel, can be very attractive to buy-ers due to the security of the customerb a s e.� Begin with the end in mind – bu i l d -ing a business that raises third partyfinance, or is successfully acquired,needs to invest in the right people,structure, systems and advisers thatmore lifestyle businesses might beprepared to live without. Entrepren-eurs need to make sure that theirbusiness stands up to scrutiny anddelivers a confidence-building mes-sage to potential investors or buyers.Jon Gill specialises in M&A, privateequity and venture capital transac-tions in the TMT sector. For moreinformation contact Mr Gill on 0117917 7774/Jon.Gill@TLTsolicitors. com.Visit www.TLTsolicitors.com

Jon Gillcorporate partner

at TLT

Top tips to maximisevalue of your firm

Expert eye

REGION’S CREATIVE INDUSTRIES RIDE A WAVE OF SUCCESS

petition increasing at home, morefirms are looking overseas for op-por tunities.

Mike Rundle, international tradeadviser with UK Trade and Industry,said: “The market in the UK is sat-urated, there is a lot of digital andcreative companies here so it’s nat-ural to take these skills and developan overseas market profile.”

He believes even a small agency cansucceed in international markets,perhaps using technology theyalready sell to a big UK client that canalso work for businesses abroad.

“Bristol has got a fantastic globalreputation for the creative industriesand firms don’t need to go to Lon-don,” he said. “There are opportun-ities for young companies to establishthemselves and remain in Bristolrather than being sucked into Lon-don. To the overseas market, itd o e s n’t matter.”

Mike admits exporting isn’tstraightforward but says firms canstart to see a return on their in-vestment within 12-18 months, andcan get grants through UKTI – wh i chis delivered in Bristol through Busi-ness West – to help them get over thath u rd l e.

Bristol is riding a wave of growth inthe creative sector, but it is clear thatif the industry wants to sustain thatsuccess it needs to invest in its futureby focusing on exports and trainingwhile the going is good. To use arather low-tech phrase, make haywhile the sun shines.

� WHEN the internet was justbecoming the next big thing,everyone wanted a website,although many didn’t really knoww h y.

Things have changed. Nowbeing online is a given but moreand more people and businessesare asking, what can the internetdo for me? What problems can itsolve?

Growing digital agency e3’sstory parallels - or perhaps leads- that trend. Founded in 1997 byMike Bennett (who went on tofound the See No Evil street artfestival) and Stuart Avery, itbegan life as a web designbusiness.

Now, as managing director NeilCollard, right, explains, buildingwebsites is still part of thebusiness, but not the purpose.“Now we are strategic,” he said.“We don’t build websites asmuch, we help clients work outhow digital could be used to helptheir business.” He says the riseof both social media and mobiledevices has transformed howpeople use the internet.

He said: “Every organisationcan benefit from digital, our job isto help clients unlock thatpotential - provide creativesolutions to real worldp ro b l e m s . ”

One example is theNational Trust.Paintworks-basede3 has helped thefirm look at theproblem ofchildren sitting attheir computers allday and not gettingout into the greatoutdoors.

They launched the 50Things To Do Before You’re 113/4 campaign, using the internetand social media to encouragechildren to become more active.Other customers include Orange(an early client, having it on thebooks helped build the firm’sreputation), Unicef, Bristol Airportand Clark’s Shoes. “Pretty muchall our clients are household

names,” said Neil.The business has been

growing at 20 per cent a year,with a turnover around £4.2million, and the aim is to continuethat, with aspirations to expand

across the UK and eventuallyoverseas.

One of the thingsthat Neil thinks give

e3 the edge is itssize. Employing60 people andgrowing, it ismuch bigger thanmost agencies inBristol and

beyond.“Bristol has a lot of

agencies that justbuild websites,” said Neil.

“That is relativelystraightforward. There are fewerwhich lead thinking the way wedo and you need scale to dothat, to attract the right brainsinto the organisation and to betaken seriously by the client. Ifyou want them to invest £1million, they’ve got to be sureyou can deliver.”

� Neil Collard, front centre, with e3 staff Picture: Jon Kent BRJK20140515B-016

� There are 15,900 jobs in thecreative industries across theBristol and Bath region,generating £660 million for theeconomy each year.

Bristol and Bath creativesare 50 per cent moreproductive than the UK as awhole.

Since 1999, there has been a106 per cent growth inproductivity in creativeindustries across the Bristoland Bath area.

The area is one of three keycentres for creative industriesin the UK. The others areManchester and London.

As a major centre for film, TVand animation, the area haswon 14 Baftas and fourOscars.

More than 500 million usersevery month view digitalcontent produced in Bristoland Bath.

Creative industries

Paul Appleby

“We have somethingspecial here. We havebig organisations suchas the BBC as well asmedium-sized firms andlots of smaller agenciestoo.

� THREE Bristol marketeers areshowing the way in the sector withshortlisted entries in a nationalbook awards.

Bryony Thomas decided to go italone after years of runningaccounts for the likes of IBM, Delland HP.

She led a pitch team thatsecured a multi-million poundMicrosoft account.

Then working freelance forclients including Lloyds TSB, whilstsecuring an MBA with distinction,Bryony undertook anaward-winning strategic customermanagement project for databasespecialists ClarityBlue, where shesubsequently became director ofmarketing.

She played a role in raising theprofile of the 200-employeebusiness as part of a strategy thatsaw the company sell to Experianfor £85 million in 2006.

At 28, Bryony secured theposition of divisional director of

marketing for the FTSE 100company, reporting directly to theb o a rd .

She now helps businesses bigand small to understand and makethe most of their marketing activityto help them grow in a sustainableway through her WatertightMarketing Accredited ConsultantNetwork.

Her book, Watertight Marketing,is in the running for the SmallBusiness Book Awards 2014, andwill compete in a public vote forthe community award category.

Bryony said: “Bristol has somephenomenal marketing talent, andI’m thrilled that the world hasstarted to notice.

“It really is a shame we can’tboth win! I hope the city getsbehind us by voting for both, oreither of our books.”

The opposition includes fellowBristolians Sonja Jefferson andSharon Tanton, whose co-wroteValuable Content Marketing.

Sonja said: “It’s no coincidencethat two books for smallbusinesses have come out of thisfantastic city.

“Bristol has become a thrivingcentre for entrepreneurialbusinesses in recent years. We aredelighted to help put our city andthe small business community onthe international map.”

Valuable Content is a contentmarketing consultancy and trainingbusiness based at Spike Island,using Sonja’s sales and marketingexpertise and Sharon’s creativecopy writing skills.

All three authors attended theUniversity of Bristol, and live andwork in the city.

They are also regularprofessional collaborators, workingon common clients and sharing theconference stage as speakers.

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IT has been a positive month forBristol’s reputation as a creativeand digital powerhouse. Lastweek global mobile solutionscompany Somo announced it is

moving here to create an innovationcentre. And just a few weeks agoSecondSync, which measures the im-pact of televisions shows on socialmedia, was snapped up by Twitter.

But beneath those stories is a big-ger picture. Bristol is far from beingjust a couple of high-profile suc-cesses. The city has developed a cre-ative eco-system, without which,companies such as Somo would notbe coming here, nor might the likes ofSecondSync have succeeded.

Jon Gill, a partner at Bristol-based

law firm TLT specialising in the tech-nology sector, believes the levels ofsupport locally are vital to those suc-cess stories.

“There is a growing eco-system ofsupport in the region,” he said. “Fo rexample at TLT we sponsor the SouthWest Founders, a monthly network-ing event for technology start-ups,and there is the Engine Shed whereyou have Webstart Bristol and Set-Squared. We have these clusters ofearly stage companies. Some of themwo n’t achieve the levels of successthey want to but many of themwill.”

Secondsync, whom TLT advised ontheir deal with Twitter, is a goodexample of how success grows fromthat support. It started in the Set-Squared incubator, now based at theEngine Shed, before moving to Aard-m a n’s office.

Paul Appleby, chairman of BristolMedia and creative sector for the

West of England Local EnterprisePartnership, is a strong believer thatecology is the key to sustained suc-cess in the sector.

“We have something special here,”he said. “We have big organisationssuch as the BBC and Aardman, as wellas medium-sized firms with maybe 50employees and lots of smaller agen-cies too.

“We have the digital companies,technology and creative all here,nowhere else has that.”

He admits recruitment is becominga challenge with a shortage of peoplewith the right skills, although saysthat eco-system means Bristol is bet-ter placed than most.

“We have got the universities inBristol and Bath which have a strongcreative focus bringing thousands ofyoung people into the area each year,”said Paul.

Teaching coding to schoolchildrenwill help too, but, he says it will take“five to 10 years to get a return on thati nve s t m e n t ”.

Paul hopes to see the developmentof more apprenticeships in the sectorbut concedes it is “very hard” fo rsmaller firms to invest the time intraining.

However Bristol Media, which has500 members in the city, and the Westof England LEP are working to makeit easier by acting as brokers.

“If firms come to us we will havethose conversations with the uni-versities on their behalf,” he said.

Debbie Staveley, managing directorof Portishead-based bClear Commu-nications, has found recruitment achallenge, particularly as a firmbased outside the city.

But she says having come throughthe recession, now is a great oppor-tunity for growth in the sector.

“The creative industries are at thefront end of helping other business tog row,” she said. “If people want togrow their business, one of the firstthings they look at is marketing andPR for their business so that peopleknow about it.

“Businesses tend to be sales-led oraccountant-led. If they are sales-led,then in a recession they say let’sspend on marketing and PR becauseit’s a great opportunity to grow ourmarket share. If they are account-ant-led, they tend to cut back on areasthey see as discretionary. But onceconfidence starts to return even thosebusinesses are going to start spend-ing.”

And that spending is drivinggrowth, which Bristol’s creativefirms are enjoying. The recent BristolMedia survey found resurgent con-fidence levels in the sector.

As those businesses grow they willneed to find new markets. With com-

Focus on start-ups | Sponsored by THEME SPONSOR’S NAME HERE.

Bristol is often hailed as acreative and digital hub.Gavin Thompson reports onhow well placed the sectoris to deliver jobs andprosperity for the city.

Digital agency helps firms set out net strategyCase study

Three marketeers in running for national awardCase study

� Three Bristol authors are in the running for a business book award, from left, Sharon Tanton, Bryony Thomasand Sonja Jefferson Pic: Amanda Thomas

Creative and digital focus

THERE are many trends in theTMT sector creating signific-ant opportunities right nowfor entrepreneurs. From therise of “big data”, the increas-

ing consumption of content on mobiledevices and the use of the cloud todeliver software, it is clear there is asubstantial tech boom under way.

So what does this mean for SouthWest TMT businesses and how canthey take advantage? Confidence at amacro level is resulting in a realincrease in mergers and acquisitionsactivity. Those who have built busi-nesses that attract the attention ofwell-capitalised buyers will have theopportunity to cash in on the value ofwhat they have created.

Equally, for those not thinkingabout an exit but looking to grow theirbusiness, the wider optimism in theeconomy is increasingthe range andamount of financeavailable. TLThas seen thisfirst-hand, ad-vising on vari-ous South Westdeals includingthe recent sale ofBristol-based Second-Sync to Twitter. TLT’s “top tips” fo rsuccess in maximising the value ofTMT businesses are:� Ensure your intellectual property isboth owned and protected – this isparticularly so with software codewhich may be written by third partydevelopers. This needs to be properlyassigned to the company to defin-itively show ownership.� Lock-in your key people – Enter-prise Management Incentive optionsand the new employee shareholderscheme present tax-efficient ways toincentivise key staff. Employmentcontracts should also be clear on IPownership, confidentiality, noticeperiods and restrictive covenants toprotect the business.� Shore up key commercial relation-ships – businesses with long-termcontracted revenues, particularlythrough a software-as-a -servicemodel, can be very attractive to buy-ers due to the security of the customerb a s e.� Begin with the end in mind – bu i l d -ing a business that raises third partyfinance, or is successfully acquired,needs to invest in the right people,structure, systems and advisers thatmore lifestyle businesses might beprepared to live without. Entrepren-eurs need to make sure that theirbusiness stands up to scrutiny anddelivers a confidence-building mes-sage to potential investors or buyers.Jon Gill specialises in M&A, privateequity and venture capital transac-tions in the TMT sector. For moreinformation contact Mr Gill on 0117917 7774/Jon.Gill@TLTsolicitors. com.Visit www.TLTsolicitors.com

Jon Gillcorporate partner

at TLT

Top tips to maximisevalue of your firm

Expert eye

REGION’S CREATIVE INDUSTRIES RIDE A WAVE OF SUCCESS

petition increasing at home, morefirms are looking overseas for op-por tunities.

Mike Rundle, international tradeadviser with UK Trade and Industry,said: “The market in the UK is sat-urated, there is a lot of digital andcreative companies here so it’s nat-ural to take these skills and developan overseas market profile.”

He believes even a small agency cansucceed in international markets,perhaps using technology theyalready sell to a big UK client that canalso work for businesses abroad.

“Bristol has got a fantastic globalreputation for the creative industriesand firms don’t need to go to Lon-don,” he said. “There are opportun-ities for young companies to establishthemselves and remain in Bristolrather than being sucked into Lon-don. To the overseas market, itd o e s n’t matter.”

Mike admits exporting isn’tstraightforward but says firms canstart to see a return on their in-vestment within 12-18 months, andcan get grants through UKTI – wh i chis delivered in Bristol through Busi-ness West – to help them get over thath u rd l e.

Bristol is riding a wave of growth inthe creative sector, but it is clear thatif the industry wants to sustain thatsuccess it needs to invest in its futureby focusing on exports and trainingwhile the going is good. To use arather low-tech phrase, make haywhile the sun shines.

� WHEN the internet was justbecoming the next big thing,everyone wanted a website,although many didn’t really knoww h y.

Things have changed. Nowbeing online is a given but moreand more people and businessesare asking, what can the internetdo for me? What problems can itsolve?

Growing digital agency e3’sstory parallels - or perhaps leads- that trend. Founded in 1997 byMike Bennett (who went on tofound the See No Evil street artfestival) and Stuart Avery, itbegan life as a web designbusiness.

Now, as managing director NeilCollard, right, explains, buildingwebsites is still part of thebusiness, but not the purpose.“Now we are strategic,” he said.“We don’t build websites asmuch, we help clients work outhow digital could be used to helptheir business.” He says the riseof both social media and mobiledevices has transformed howpeople use the internet.

He said: “Every organisationcan benefit from digital, our job isto help clients unlock thatpotential - provide creativesolutions to real worldp ro b l e m s . ”

One example is theNational Trust.Paintworks-basede3 has helped thefirm look at theproblem ofchildren sitting attheir computers allday and not gettingout into the greatoutdoors.

They launched the 50Things To Do Before You’re 113/4 campaign, using the internetand social media to encouragechildren to become more active.Other customers include Orange(an early client, having it on thebooks helped build the firm’sreputation), Unicef, Bristol Airportand Clark’s Shoes. “Pretty muchall our clients are household

names,” said Neil.The business has been

growing at 20 per cent a year,with a turnover around £4.2million, and the aim is to continuethat, with aspirations to expand

across the UK and eventuallyoverseas.

One of the thingsthat Neil thinks give

e3 the edge is itssize. Employing60 people andgrowing, it ismuch bigger thanmost agencies inBristol and

beyond.“Bristol has a lot of

agencies that justbuild websites,” said Neil.

“That is relativelystraightforward. There are fewerwhich lead thinking the way wedo and you need scale to dothat, to attract the right brainsinto the organisation and to betaken seriously by the client. Ifyou want them to invest £1million, they’ve got to be sureyou can deliver.”

� Neil Collard, front centre, with e3 staff Picture: Jon Kent BRJK20140515B-016

� There are 15,900 jobs in thecreative industries across theBristol and Bath region,generating £660 million for theeconomy each year.

Bristol and Bath creativesare 50 per cent moreproductive than the UK as awhole.

Since 1999, there has been a106 per cent growth inproductivity in creativeindustries across the Bristoland Bath area.

The area is one of three keycentres for creative industriesin the UK. The others areManchester and London.

As a major centre for film, TVand animation, the area haswon 14 Baftas and fourOscars.

More than 500 million usersevery month view digitalcontent produced in Bristoland Bath.

Creative industries

Paul Appleby

“We have somethingspecial here. We havebig organisations suchas the BBC as well asmedium-sized firms andlots of smaller agenciestoo.

� THREE Bristol marketeers areshowing the way in the sector withshortlisted entries in a nationalbook awards.

Bryony Thomas decided to go italone after years of runningaccounts for the likes of IBM, Delland HP.

She led a pitch team thatsecured a multi-million poundMicrosoft account.

Then working freelance forclients including Lloyds TSB, whilstsecuring an MBA with distinction,Bryony undertook anaward-winning strategic customermanagement project for databasespecialists ClarityBlue, where shesubsequently became director ofmarketing.

She played a role in raising theprofile of the 200-employeebusiness as part of a strategy thatsaw the company sell to Experianfor £85 million in 2006.

At 28, Bryony secured theposition of divisional director of

marketing for the FTSE 100company, reporting directly to theb o a rd .

She now helps businesses bigand small to understand and makethe most of their marketing activityto help them grow in a sustainableway through her WatertightMarketing Accredited ConsultantNetwork.

Her book, Watertight Marketing,is in the running for the SmallBusiness Book Awards 2014, andwill compete in a public vote forthe community award category.

Bryony said: “Bristol has somephenomenal marketing talent, andI’m thrilled that the world hasstarted to notice.

“It really is a shame we can’tboth win! I hope the city getsbehind us by voting for both, oreither of our books.”

The opposition includes fellowBristolians Sonja Jefferson andSharon Tanton, whose co-wroteValuable Content Marketing.

Sonja said: “It’s no coincidencethat two books for smallbusinesses have come out of thisfantastic city.

“Bristol has become a thrivingcentre for entrepreneurialbusinesses in recent years. We aredelighted to help put our city andthe small business community onthe international map.”

Valuable Content is a contentmarketing consultancy and trainingbusiness based at Spike Island,using Sonja’s sales and marketingexpertise and Sharon’s creativecopy writing skills.

All three authors attended theUniversity of Bristol, and live andwork in the city.

They are also regularprofessional collaborators, workingon common clients and sharing theconference stage as speakers.

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The Big Interview

DAVE Evans doesn’t lookquite the typical tech com-pany poster child. He’s notin his mid 20s. His appear-ance maybe casual but not

wannabe cool. He’s 50. There’s a bit ofgrey showing.

He describes his background asbeing “fairly traditional blue chip”rather than starting an empire in hisgarage a la Jeff Bezos of Amazon.

He came to the start-up game whenhe already had a successful careerbehind him. His CV includes a stintas a vice president at O2.

His job, he says, is to “look afteranything with a plug on it”. But that’sunderstating things somewhat.

As chief technology officer atSomo, he is what those trendy, hungryweb start-up guys want to be.

He’s one of the key players at atech-based business that’s growingrapidly – “about 100 per cent a year”in its first five years, says Dave – andat the sharp end of the mobile re-vo l u t i o n .

As mobile internet becomes fasterand more commonplace – through 4Gand whatever follows – bu s i n e s s e saround the world and in every sectorare looking at how they can make themost of it to sell their goods, engagetheir customers and so on.

T hat’s where Somo comesin. It provides “mobilesolutions” and is, itseems, very good at it.

Founded at the timewhen the iPhone andAndroid phones werelaunched, its goal wasto help big brands makethe most of mobile.

Customers includeAudi, De Beers, BP, The NewYork Times, AirAsia Expedia andmany other significant globalb r a n d s.

It developed the iPad app for Dom-ino’s making it easier to order pizzaonline, a cross-platform campaign foronline department store Very, organ-ised a campaign to increase down-loads of Air Asia’s app. And so on.

It achieves that because of itspeople. And that’s why it is coming toBristol.

Dave, who lives up the M5 inStroud, said: “Our growth has meantthat we are always on the lookout fornew talent and new skill sets.”

He points to the trends towardsmore web-connected devices inpeople’s homes, from TVs to fridges,heating controls to alarm systems.

“We are seeing a new wave of con-nected devices,” he said. “And wewant to continue to be the leader. Thatmeans we need really high qualitystaff. As a business we are differ-entiated by the quality of our staff.

“In London I have a team of 70-80engineers. We are finding it is be-coming a very competitive market inwhich to find experienced staff so wetook the decision to start lookinge l s ewh e re.

“We felt we wanted to stay in the UKbecause we feel there is a lot of talenthere and we want to keep a level ofintimacy with our customers so wewanted staff to be accessible.

“We looked at a number of cities,Bristol was far and away the best.

“It is well known as a digitalcentre and has a strong her-

itage around design andbroadcast television.

Secondly it is locatedclose to London – it’sstraight forward to getpeople between the two.

“There is a real clusterof well respected uni-

versities, with Bristol,Bath and UWE as well as

Cardiff and Exeter and we arelooking at a long term investment

h e re.“Today we’re recruiting experi-

enced guys from the talent pool inthis area but want to build on that toget a conveyor belt of good qualityhigh tech staff coming through.”

Somo encourages its staff to bec re at ive.

“As a business we take one day outevery six weeks where we stop work-ing on customers’ work and have ahack day, bring them all together andtalk about a particular subject suchas Google Glass.” said Dave.

“Creativity of the team comes out ifyou let them experiment. That driveshuge ambition and innovation.”

He said the market is looking forcompanies that can innovate.

IN AN UPWARDLY MOBILE WORLDOut & about: B r i sto l ’s business community

IMPROVING social mobility is vital forbusinesses, the new President of theBristol Junior Chamber told his mem-bers at their annual spring drinks. KarlBrown, who recently took on the duties,

was addressing the organisation which rep-resents the young business community, said:“The issue of social mobility is not just ofmoral importance but is an imperative forBristol’s future economic success.”

Members have to be under 40 – and at 38Karl still just qualifies.

The chamber chose the Royal West of Eng-land Academy on Clifton Triangle for thedrinks party, allowing members a lookaround the latest exhibition as well as achance to bask in sunshine on the terrace.

The chamber was formed in 1948 and hasplayed its part in shaping trade, commerceand industry in the city. It was a key player inthe creation of the Bristol Balloon Fiesta in1978, now a major event on the calendar.

Members attend regular functions and getthe chance to hear from leading voices in thebusiness community. They also get involvedin the community through mentoring andmock interviews for talented young-sters from challenged backgrounds.

Karl, p i c t u re d , said: “The BJCSpring Drinks was a fantastic suc-cess with in excess of 130 peopleattending. As well being an excel-lent social event for the Bristol cal-endar it also helped raise the profileof the fantastic work being carried outby the junior chamber through its vari-ous education initiatives and projects.”

Bristol Junior Chamber Annual Spring Drinks at the RWA

� From left, Steve Grey, Rachel White, Stephanie Bishop and Lizzie Smith at the Bristol Junior Chamber annualspring drinks at the RWA Pictures: Dan Regan BRDR20140515C-003

� DavidTingay andFelicityFlanagan atthe BristolJuniorChamberannual springdrinks at theR WABRDR20140515C-002

� Gareth Mason and Amanda Kerin BRDR20140515C-00

Just days after mobile solu-tions firm Somo announcedit was opening in the cityGavin Thompson talks toco-founder chief technologyofficer Dave Evans aboutwhy the business chose Bris-tol and what it has in store

Dave Evans

“ We looked at anumber of cities, Bristol

was far and away thebest. It is well known asa digital centre and has

a strong heritagearound design and

broadcast television.

That might be retailers who haveproducts that recognise where cus-tomers are within a shopping malland tell them about relevant offers.Or a utility company that wants touse intelligent devices in the home tomanage energy consumption and

make decisions about energy useageso people can think about more im-portant things.

“We are excited to be in this space,”said Dave.

In Bristol Somo is creating an en-gineering centre specialising in de-

veloping licensed products forconnected devices in the home.

Licensed products, says Dave “t a kethe risk out” for the customer.

Initially the firm plans to hire 20engineers building towards 60 overtime. They will have a temporaryhome in the Engine Shed, above left,business centre in Temple Meads be-fore finding somewhere permanentn e a r by.

While it was looking at moving toBristol, the company brought a lot ofhigh tech kit for Bristol’s tech com-munity to play with, such as GoogleGlass and drone technology.

“There was a huge appetite for it,”said Dave. The success of the dayhelped cement the decision to move.Dave and the team were clearly im-pressed with the Engine Shed.

He said: “We are looking for a cent-ral location for a permanent home,close to the Engine Shed – t h at ’s thedigital hub. The catchment area forstaff includes Bath and Cardiff sotrain access is very important.”

So... close to Temple Meads and theEngine Shed. The recent West of Eng-land Local Enterprise Partnership’sstrategic economic plan included theidea of an Engine Shed 2.

It could be just the solution for thismobile firm.

� ATTRACTING new businessesto the city doesn’t just happen byaccident.

Invest Bristol & Bath, theinward promotion agency basedin the Engine Shed, played a rolein wooing Somo to chooseBristol.

It took just six weeks for theorganisation to secure thecompany in the region afterreceiving the initial inquiry.

Invest Bristol & Bath helpedSomo host a series of innovationshowcases at the Engine Shed,pictured left, to increaseawareness of its activity in thearea and boost recruitment.

Professor Joe McGeehan,

chair of Invest Bristol & Bath anddirector of Toshiba’sTelecommunications ResearchLaboratory, said: “Bristol’s highquality of life is becomingincreasingly well known, withhigh profile accolades such aslast month’s nomination from TheSunday Times of Bristol beingthe best city to live in Britain.

“T h e re ’s a growing opportunityfor the regions to capitalise onthe growing appetite amongcompanies to set up in locationsoutside London where they canavoid the high costs of thecapital but still attract and retainthe right staff, and Bristol offersall this and more.”

Invest Bristol & Bath wooed Somo

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The Big Interview

DAVE Evans doesn’t lookquite the typical tech com-pany poster child. He’s notin his mid 20s. His appear-ance maybe casual but not

wannabe cool. He’s 50. There’s a bit ofgrey showing.

He describes his background asbeing “fairly traditional blue chip”rather than starting an empire in hisgarage a la Jeff Bezos of Amazon.

He came to the start-up game whenhe already had a successful careerbehind him. His CV includes a stintas a vice president at O2.

His job, he says, is to “look afteranything with a plug on it”. But that’sunderstating things somewhat.

As chief technology officer atSomo, he is what those trendy, hungryweb start-up guys want to be.

He’s one of the key players at atech-based business that’s growingrapidly – “about 100 per cent a year”in its first five years, says Dave – andat the sharp end of the mobile re-vo l u t i o n .

As mobile internet becomes fasterand more commonplace – through 4Gand whatever follows – bu s i n e s s e saround the world and in every sectorare looking at how they can make themost of it to sell their goods, engagetheir customers and so on.

T hat’s where Somo comesin. It provides “mobilesolutions” and is, itseems, very good at it.

Founded at the timewhen the iPhone andAndroid phones werelaunched, its goal wasto help big brands makethe most of mobile.

Customers includeAudi, De Beers, BP, The NewYork Times, AirAsia Expedia andmany other significant globalb r a n d s.

It developed the iPad app for Dom-ino’s making it easier to order pizzaonline, a cross-platform campaign foronline department store Very, organ-ised a campaign to increase down-loads of Air Asia’s app. And so on.

It achieves that because of itspeople. And that’s why it is coming toBristol.

Dave, who lives up the M5 inStroud, said: “Our growth has meantthat we are always on the lookout fornew talent and new skill sets.”

He points to the trends towardsmore web-connected devices inpeople’s homes, from TVs to fridges,heating controls to alarm systems.

“We are seeing a new wave of con-nected devices,” he said. “And wewant to continue to be the leader. Thatmeans we need really high qualitystaff. As a business we are differ-entiated by the quality of our staff.

“In London I have a team of 70-80engineers. We are finding it is be-coming a very competitive market inwhich to find experienced staff so wetook the decision to start lookinge l s ewh e re.

“We felt we wanted to stay in the UKbecause we feel there is a lot of talenthere and we want to keep a level ofintimacy with our customers so wewanted staff to be accessible.

“We looked at a number of cities,Bristol was far and away the best.

“It is well known as a digitalcentre and has a strong her-

itage around design andbroadcast television.

Secondly it is locatedclose to London – it’sstraight forward to getpeople between the two.

“There is a real clusterof well respected uni-

versities, with Bristol,Bath and UWE as well as

Cardiff and Exeter and we arelooking at a long term investment

h e re.“Today we’re recruiting experi-

enced guys from the talent pool inthis area but want to build on that toget a conveyor belt of good qualityhigh tech staff coming through.”

Somo encourages its staff to bec re at ive.

“As a business we take one day outevery six weeks where we stop work-ing on customers’ work and have ahack day, bring them all together andtalk about a particular subject suchas Google Glass.” said Dave.

“Creativity of the team comes out ifyou let them experiment. That driveshuge ambition and innovation.”

He said the market is looking forcompanies that can innovate.

IN AN UPWARDLY MOBILE WORLDOut & about: B r i sto l ’s business community

IMPROVING social mobility is vital forbusinesses, the new President of theBristol Junior Chamber told his mem-bers at their annual spring drinks. KarlBrown, who recently took on the duties,

was addressing the organisation which rep-resents the young business community, said:“The issue of social mobility is not just ofmoral importance but is an imperative forBristol’s future economic success.”

Members have to be under 40 – and at 38Karl still just qualifies.

The chamber chose the Royal West of Eng-land Academy on Clifton Triangle for thedrinks party, allowing members a lookaround the latest exhibition as well as achance to bask in sunshine on the terrace.

The chamber was formed in 1948 and hasplayed its part in shaping trade, commerceand industry in the city. It was a key player inthe creation of the Bristol Balloon Fiesta in1978, now a major event on the calendar.

Members attend regular functions and getthe chance to hear from leading voices in thebusiness community. They also get involvedin the community through mentoring andmock interviews for talented young-sters from challenged backgrounds.

Karl, p i c t u re d , said: “The BJCSpring Drinks was a fantastic suc-cess with in excess of 130 peopleattending. As well being an excel-lent social event for the Bristol cal-endar it also helped raise the profileof the fantastic work being carried outby the junior chamber through its vari-ous education initiatives and projects.”

Bristol Junior Chamber Annual Spring Drinks at the RWA

� From left, Steve Grey, Rachel White, Stephanie Bishop and Lizzie Smith at the Bristol Junior Chamber annualspring drinks at the RWA Pictures: Dan Regan BRDR20140515C-003

� DavidTingay andFelicityFlanagan atthe BristolJuniorChamberannual springdrinks at theR WABRDR20140515C-002

� Gareth Mason and Amanda Kerin BRDR20140515C-00

Just days after mobile solu-tions firm Somo announcedit was opening in the cityGavin Thompson talks toco-founder chief technologyofficer Dave Evans aboutwhy the business chose Bris-tol and what it has in store

Dave Evans

“ We looked at anumber of cities, Bristol

was far and away thebest. It is well known asa digital centre and has

a strong heritagearound design and

broadcast television.

That might be retailers who haveproducts that recognise where cus-tomers are within a shopping malland tell them about relevant offers.Or a utility company that wants touse intelligent devices in the home tomanage energy consumption and

make decisions about energy useageso people can think about more im-portant things.

“We are excited to be in this space,”said Dave.

In Bristol Somo is creating an en-gineering centre specialising in de-

veloping licensed products forconnected devices in the home.

Licensed products, says Dave “t a kethe risk out” for the customer.

Initially the firm plans to hire 20engineers building towards 60 overtime. They will have a temporaryhome in the Engine Shed, above left,business centre in Temple Meads be-fore finding somewhere permanentn e a r by.

While it was looking at moving toBristol, the company brought a lot ofhigh tech kit for Bristol’s tech com-munity to play with, such as GoogleGlass and drone technology.

“There was a huge appetite for it,”said Dave. The success of the dayhelped cement the decision to move.Dave and the team were clearly im-pressed with the Engine Shed.

He said: “We are looking for a cent-ral location for a permanent home,close to the Engine Shed – t h at ’s thedigital hub. The catchment area forstaff includes Bath and Cardiff sotrain access is very important.”

So... close to Temple Meads and theEngine Shed. The recent West of Eng-land Local Enterprise Partnership’sstrategic economic plan included theidea of an Engine Shed 2.

It could be just the solution for thismobile firm.

� ATTRACTING new businessesto the city doesn’t just happen byaccident.

Invest Bristol & Bath, theinward promotion agency basedin the Engine Shed, played a rolein wooing Somo to chooseBristol.

It took just six weeks for theorganisation to secure thecompany in the region afterreceiving the initial inquiry.

Invest Bristol & Bath helpedSomo host a series of innovationshowcases at the Engine Shed,pictured left, to increaseawareness of its activity in thearea and boost recruitment.

Professor Joe McGeehan,

chair of Invest Bristol & Bath anddirector of Toshiba’sTelecommunications ResearchLaboratory, said: “Bristol’s highquality of life is becomingincreasingly well known, withhigh profile accolades such aslast month’s nomination from TheSunday Times of Bristol beingthe best city to live in Britain.

“T h e re ’s a growing opportunityfor the regions to capitalise onthe growing appetite amongcompanies to set up in locationsoutside London where they canavoid the high costs of thecapital but still attract and retainthe right staff, and Bristol offersall this and more.”

Invest Bristol & Bath wooed Somo

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ICAEW South West Dinner at the City Centre Marriott

RICS South West Awards at Grand Thistle Hotel, Bristol

Business diary

Email your business events [email protected] are sometimescancelled without us beingnotified so please check withorganisers before travelling.

Excalibur Tech Roadshow:Communications firm Excaliburmarks its arrival in Bristol with amorning of activities at the EngineShed today (May 21) including apresentation from CEO JamesPhipps and representatives fromNokia and Vodafone before givingpeople the chance to try its latestkit in the tech roadshow.

IoD Bristol and Bath YoungBusiness Forum dinner:Thursday, May 22, 6-8.30pm atWaterhouse, Bath, and speaker,award winning LindsayHaselhurst, head of businessdevelopment at Wincanton. Call07771 772223 or emailr o g e r. p l a h a y @ s a n d l e r. c o m tobook.

Cocktails and canapes: Joincommunications firm Excalibur atthe Milk Thistle in Colston Avenuefor cocktails and canapes from6pm, on Thursday, May 22, plusthe chance to check out the latestsmartphones and tablets on themarket. Places are limited soregister at [email protected].

Broadband vouchersinformation: Businesses in Bristolare invited to apply for grants ofup to £3,000 to connect to fastbroadband through a governmentscheme. An information eventtakes place at the Engine Shed onTuesday May 27 at 6pm. Find outmore atw w w. c o n n e c t i o n v o u c h e r s . c o m .

FSB South Gloucestershireseminar: Wednesday, May 28,6.45pm-9.45pm, Aztec WestHotel, Almondsbury, BS32 4TS.Register at w w w. f s b . o r g . u k .

Institute of Directors Bristolbranch Wednesday @ 6: Informalnetworking from 6-8pm atRadisson Blu Hotel, Wednesday,May 28. Free and open to nonmembers but please register bycalling 0117 370 7785.

Bristol Connected –Auto-enrolment: Are YouReady? The next Bristol Postbusiness networking event willfeature expert speakers onworkplace pensionsauto-enrolement, a looming issuefor small and medium sizedbusinesses. Clifton Pavilion,Bristol Zoo, 5.30 for 6.15pm starton Wednesday, June 4. Places arelimited. Register via Eventbrite.

Is Your Business Committed toa Sustainable Future? Executiveseminar on the future of the lowcarbon sector takes place atClarke Willmott’s Bristol office onWednesday, June 4, from 4.30pm.Hosted by Clarke Willmott, LowCarbon South West and MoonConsulting. To register, contactGemma Webber [email protected].

Ready for business workshop:Introductory workshops foranyone who is exploring theconcept of self-employment orstarting a business at Leigh Court,Abbots Leigh, BS8 3RA,10am-4pm, Tuesday, June 10.Contact r [email protected].

THE incoming president of thebody that represents account-ants told the business com-munity that more needs to bedone to support SMEs.

Arthur Bailey, president-elect ofthe Institute of Chartered Account-ants in England & Wales (ICAEW),announced to business leaders at itsSouth West Annual Dinner, spons-ored by Thrings and Lloyds Bank,that the organisation was stepping upits support of the SME sector.

He said: “Recent media reports stillshow that too many SMEs are indistress, a particular concern in theSouth West, which has a heavy re-liance on the sector to drive its eco-nomic growth.

“We ’re lobbying the Government tohelp SMEs prosper. We want Gov-ernment to underwrite loans forSMEs that have been operatingbetween two and five years.

“These businesses are at what we

call the critical growth stage but typ-ically find it harder to raise fundsthan start-ups or more establishedbu s i n e s s e s.

“We think that this interventionwould help foster the next stage intheir development, allow them to in-vest in new products and services andperhaps even hire some new employ-e e s.

“We ’re also suggesting too that thegovernment should help SMEs ex-port more, through offering betterexport finance.”

The dinner at the city centre Mar-riott was addressed by explorer, fund-raiser and author Sir RanulphF i e n n e s.

The ICAEW is a professional mem-bership organisation that promotes,develops and supports nearly 13,000chartered accountants working at theheart of South West business in theprofessional services, manufacturingand industry.

TWENTY-NINE of the SouthWe s t ’s most impressive prop-erty schemes battled it out atThe Grand Thistle Bristol fortop honours at the RICS

South West Awards 2014.The annual contest celebrates in-

spirational initiatives in the land,property and construction sectors. Itwas hosted by BBC Points Westpresenter Alex Lovell, with an audi-ence of more than 150 property pro-f e s s i o n a l s.

The winners of the eight individualcategories were:

� Building Conservation – Por thme-or Artists’ Studios and Fisherman’sCellars, Cornwall� Commercial – Royal William Yard� Design through Innovation – Bris-tol Zoo Gardens’ New Gorilla House,Bristol� Community Benefit – South BristolCommunity Hospital, Bristol� Infrastructure – New Land BasedHRAS Training Facility, Cornwall� Regeneration – Dunster Estate,Somerset� Residential – Officers Field, Dor-set

ADVENTURER and TV per-sonality Monty Halls took abreak from a jungle exped-ition in Guyana to give aseminar on leadership and

team building to business leaders inBristol.

In an event sponsored by local ex-ecutive recruiters Moon Consulting,50 of the region’s most prominentdirectors gathered at the prestigiousMansion House to learn about the‘Alchemy of the Team’.

Monty related his extensive adven-turing experience to the challenges ofrunning a business. This includedhow to plan your projects like anexpedition, choosing your attitudebefore a challenge and overcomingyour fear response, whether facingdown a great white shark or a man-agement buy out.

In an “eng aging” and “va l u abl e ”

GALLERIESGALORE

FOR MORE PICTURESCheck out our

website at

bristolpost.co.uk/business

� Sam Chapman, Jo Bailey, Suze Scott, Gemma Webber, Monty Halls, Vanessa Moon, Samantha Bunn and Jamie Breese

seminar, Monty also spoke aboutidentifying the personality typeswithin a team, the impact of gender,democratic leadership approachesand combating “morale vacuums”that could disrupt progress.

Vanessa Moon, director at MoonConsulting, said: “It was a pleasure towelcome Monty to Bristol and to sucha prestigious venue. He is one of theforemost experts on leadership and itis great that board directors are ableto take home these techniques andapply them to their businesses.”

� Above, Rory MccGwire, Claire Ladkin, Vanessa Moon;right, Caroline Duckworth, Sonya Chowdhury, Louise Masonand Andrea Cartwright

Monty Halls talk to business leaders, Merchants’ Hall

� Tourism & Leisure – F reshwaterBeach Holiday Park, Dorset� Porthmeor Artists’ Studios andFisher man’s Cellars, Cornwall wasnamed Project of the Year.

For the first time, the awards alsoincluded a student category recog-nising the best overall student fromthose studying on RICS accreditedcourses at 20 partner universities.

Jennifer Lemen-Hogarth from theUniversity of the West of Englandwhere she studies Property Manage-ment and Investment was among thew i n n e r s.

� BBCPoints West

p re s e n t e rAlex Lovell,

left, withLaura

Chaddertonand MaryPeake of

RICS, whoo rg a n i s e d

the awards

� With their Design Through Innovation award for Bristol Zoo Gardens’ New Gorilla House are Timothy Wilson, of thezoo, and architects Robert Battersby and George Tasker – presented by Claire McKenna of Forbo Flooring Systems

� Receiving the Community Benefit award for South Bristol CommunityHospital is David Perkin, left, of AWW architects, from Matt Howell RICS UKmanaging director

� Student Winners Deborah Bryant-Pearson and Jennifer Lemen-Hogarth, of UWE, right

� Right, thejudges Tim

Griffin, SallyAnne-Carr

(Brunel ProjectManagement),

R i c h a rdBasnett(Basnett

Associates),Jan Molyneux(Jan MolyneuxPlanning) andDavid Marsh

� Sir Ranulph Fiennes addresses the event; below, guests

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ICAEW South West Dinner at the City Centre Marriott

RICS South West Awards at Grand Thistle Hotel, Bristol

Business diary

Email your business events [email protected] are sometimescancelled without us beingnotified so please check withorganisers before travelling.

Excalibur Tech Roadshow:Communications firm Excaliburmarks its arrival in Bristol with amorning of activities at the EngineShed today (May 21) including apresentation from CEO JamesPhipps and representatives fromNokia and Vodafone before givingpeople the chance to try its latestkit in the tech roadshow.

IoD Bristol and Bath YoungBusiness Forum dinner:Thursday, May 22, 6-8.30pm atWaterhouse, Bath, and speaker,award winning LindsayHaselhurst, head of businessdevelopment at Wincanton. Call07771 772223 or emailr o g e r. p l a h a y @ s a n d l e r. c o m tobook.

Cocktails and canapes: Joincommunications firm Excalibur atthe Milk Thistle in Colston Avenuefor cocktails and canapes from6pm, on Thursday, May 22, plusthe chance to check out the latestsmartphones and tablets on themarket. Places are limited soregister at [email protected].

Broadband vouchersinformation: Businesses in Bristolare invited to apply for grants ofup to £3,000 to connect to fastbroadband through a governmentscheme. An information eventtakes place at the Engine Shed onTuesday May 27 at 6pm. Find outmore atw w w. c o n n e c t i o n v o u c h e r s . c o m .

FSB South Gloucestershireseminar: Wednesday, May 28,6.45pm-9.45pm, Aztec WestHotel, Almondsbury, BS32 4TS.Register at w w w. f s b . o r g . u k .

Institute of Directors Bristolbranch Wednesday @ 6: Informalnetworking from 6-8pm atRadisson Blu Hotel, Wednesday,May 28. Free and open to nonmembers but please register bycalling 0117 370 7785.

Bristol Connected –Auto-enrolment: Are YouReady? The next Bristol Postbusiness networking event willfeature expert speakers onworkplace pensionsauto-enrolement, a looming issuefor small and medium sizedbusinesses. Clifton Pavilion,Bristol Zoo, 5.30 for 6.15pm starton Wednesday, June 4. Places arelimited. Register via Eventbrite.

Is Your Business Committed toa Sustainable Future? Executiveseminar on the future of the lowcarbon sector takes place atClarke Willmott’s Bristol office onWednesday, June 4, from 4.30pm.Hosted by Clarke Willmott, LowCarbon South West and MoonConsulting. To register, contactGemma Webber [email protected].

Ready for business workshop:Introductory workshops foranyone who is exploring theconcept of self-employment orstarting a business at Leigh Court,Abbots Leigh, BS8 3RA,10am-4pm, Tuesday, June 10.Contact r [email protected].

THE incoming president of thebody that represents account-ants told the business com-munity that more needs to bedone to support SMEs.

Arthur Bailey, president-elect ofthe Institute of Chartered Account-ants in England & Wales (ICAEW),announced to business leaders at itsSouth West Annual Dinner, spons-ored by Thrings and Lloyds Bank,that the organisation was stepping upits support of the SME sector.

He said: “Recent media reports stillshow that too many SMEs are indistress, a particular concern in theSouth West, which has a heavy re-liance on the sector to drive its eco-nomic growth.

“We ’re lobbying the Government tohelp SMEs prosper. We want Gov-ernment to underwrite loans forSMEs that have been operatingbetween two and five years.

“These businesses are at what we

call the critical growth stage but typ-ically find it harder to raise fundsthan start-ups or more establishedbu s i n e s s e s.

“We think that this interventionwould help foster the next stage intheir development, allow them to in-vest in new products and services andperhaps even hire some new employ-e e s.

“We ’re also suggesting too that thegovernment should help SMEs ex-port more, through offering betterexport finance.”

The dinner at the city centre Mar-riott was addressed by explorer, fund-raiser and author Sir RanulphF i e n n e s.

The ICAEW is a professional mem-bership organisation that promotes,develops and supports nearly 13,000chartered accountants working at theheart of South West business in theprofessional services, manufacturingand industry.

TWENTY-NINE of the SouthWe s t ’s most impressive prop-erty schemes battled it out atThe Grand Thistle Bristol fortop honours at the RICS

South West Awards 2014.The annual contest celebrates in-

spirational initiatives in the land,property and construction sectors. Itwas hosted by BBC Points Westpresenter Alex Lovell, with an audi-ence of more than 150 property pro-f e s s i o n a l s.

The winners of the eight individualcategories were:

� Building Conservation – Por thme-or Artists’ Studios and Fisherman’sCellars, Cornwall� Commercial – Royal William Yard� Design through Innovation – Bris-tol Zoo Gardens’ New Gorilla House,Bristol� Community Benefit – South BristolCommunity Hospital, Bristol� Infrastructure – New Land BasedHRAS Training Facility, Cornwall� Regeneration – Dunster Estate,Somerset� Residential – Officers Field, Dor-set

ADVENTURER and TV per-sonality Monty Halls took abreak from a jungle exped-ition in Guyana to give aseminar on leadership and

team building to business leaders inBristol.

In an event sponsored by local ex-ecutive recruiters Moon Consulting,50 of the region’s most prominentdirectors gathered at the prestigiousMansion House to learn about the‘Alchemy of the Team’.

Monty related his extensive adven-turing experience to the challenges ofrunning a business. This includedhow to plan your projects like anexpedition, choosing your attitudebefore a challenge and overcomingyour fear response, whether facingdown a great white shark or a man-agement buy out.

In an “eng aging” and “va l u abl e ”

GALLERIESGALORE

FOR MORE PICTURESCheck out our

website at

bristolpost.co.uk/business

� Sam Chapman, Jo Bailey, Suze Scott, Gemma Webber, Monty Halls, Vanessa Moon, Samantha Bunn and Jamie Breese

seminar, Monty also spoke aboutidentifying the personality typeswithin a team, the impact of gender,democratic leadership approachesand combating “morale vacuums”that could disrupt progress.

Vanessa Moon, director at MoonConsulting, said: “It was a pleasure towelcome Monty to Bristol and to sucha prestigious venue. He is one of theforemost experts on leadership and itis great that board directors are ableto take home these techniques andapply them to their businesses.”

� Above, Rory MccGwire, Claire Ladkin, Vanessa Moon;right, Caroline Duckworth, Sonya Chowdhury, Louise Masonand Andrea Cartwright

Monty Halls talk to business leaders, Merchants’ Hall

� Tourism & Leisure – F reshwaterBeach Holiday Park, Dorset� Porthmeor Artists’ Studios andFisher man’s Cellars, Cornwall wasnamed Project of the Year.

For the first time, the awards alsoincluded a student category recog-nising the best overall student fromthose studying on RICS accreditedcourses at 20 partner universities.

Jennifer Lemen-Hogarth from theUniversity of the West of Englandwhere she studies Property Manage-ment and Investment was among thew i n n e r s.

� BBCPoints West

p re s e n t e rAlex Lovell,

left, withLaura

Chaddertonand MaryPeake of

RICS, whoo rg a n i s e d

the awards

� With their Design Through Innovation award for Bristol Zoo Gardens’ New Gorilla House are Timothy Wilson, of thezoo, and architects Robert Battersby and George Tasker – presented by Claire McKenna of Forbo Flooring Systems

� Receiving the Community Benefit award for South Bristol CommunityHospital is David Perkin, left, of AWW architects, from Matt Howell RICS UKmanaging director

� Student Winners Deborah Bryant-Pearson and Jennifer Lemen-Hogarth, of UWE, right

� Right, thejudges Tim

Griffin, SallyAnne-Carr

(Brunel ProjectManagement),

R i c h a rdBasnett(Basnett

Associates),Jan Molyneux(Jan MolyneuxPlanning) andDavid Marsh

� Sir Ranulph Fiennes addresses the event; below, guests

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12 We d n e s d a y, May 21, 2014w w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/business

The back page� A BUSINESS that makes trafficcontrol systems enjoyed a visit fromthe Duke of Kent.

Simulation Systems Ltd showedoff its CCTV equipment which isused by the Highways Agency tomanage motorways such as thebusy M4/M5 junction near Bristol.

A spokesman from theYatton-based firm said: “The visitwent extremely well. The Dukeenjoyed meeting the workforce andlooking at the leading edgehighways technologydemonstrations.

“He was particularly engaged bythe demonstration of the precisionlong-range CCTV camera whichcould be zoomed into far distantlandmarks, he stated that thecamera was amazingly good.”

It’s not the first royal recognitionfor the firm as it won the Queen’sAward for Enterprise and Innovationlast year.

� Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH)has announced two seniorpromotions in its Bristol office.

Darren Sheward, head of office atthe commercial property firm inBristol, said: “It has been a landmarkyear for LSH, and we are excitedabout the future as we continue toinnovate and invest. LSH is set forgrowth and is investing in its staff.”

Simon Redgers and Hollie Ruddlehave been promoted to associatedirector in building consultancy andcapital markets, respectively.

� Meanwhile another commercialproperty agent – ColliersInternational – is challengingBristol’s business community to takepart in its annual TRYathlon.

The Broad Quay-based agencywill hold its second BristolProfessionals TRYathlon onThursday, July 10, offering a chanceto test yourself against colleaguesfrom other firms, network with fellowcity professionals and raise moneyfor a good cause.

Despite being held on what turnedout to be the hottest day of the year,last summer’s inaugural event was agreat success attracting more than150 competitors from across theBristol business scene includingeventual winner Steven McGuiganfrom Veale Wasbrough Vizards.

Head of the office Tim Davies –who completed last year’s challenge– said: “The emphasis is very muchon fun but that didn’t mean to say

competitors aren’t going all out towin.”

The event will be held atTockington Manor School from10am-3pm. Contact Sue Francombon 0117 917 2041 or [email protected] to get involved.

� Law firm Ashfords LLP has hiredStewart James as a partner in thecompany commercial team inBristol.

Stewart was previously a partnerat DLA Piper before working as aconsultant to the Ministry of Justiceand specialises in advising publicsector bodies on regulatedprocurement, outsourcing and ICT.

Stewart said: “Better use oftechnology is allowing the old orderdominated by large firms to bereplaced by more flexible,client-focused law firms likeAshfords that concentrate ondelivering innovative solutions withinconstrained budgets.”

D ea l s� The idea of harnessing the power

It’s time to step back, stop and really listen

I SAW a message recently whereit was posted that the words‘l i s t e n’ and ‘silent’ have exactlythe same letters. This had neveroccurred to me but it’s an in-

teresting observation and one thathas some implications within a busi-ness world.

We are reliant on generating in-formation. Think of all the ways inwhich you communicate with othersand the things you have to say; yourteam, colleagues, clients, associates,the shop staff at lunchtime, the barstaff in the pub after work...

Communication is essential. We’reconstantly at it. It’s success and pro-gress, the essence of the workplace.But technology makes it all quicker

and more efficient; emails, smartphones, GPS, datasets, web traffic,TV, video...the list goes on. We areimmersed in it 24-7, trapped in theever-increasing drive towards pack-ing more in during the short 24 hourswe have in each day. All we do is readshort texts, 140 characters, quickemails, sudden pop-ups. There’s noroom for listening carefully at lengthor quietly absorbing anything.T here’s never more than a couple ofminutes before the next task has to be

� The Duke of Kent with Simulation Systems managing director LouisThompson Picture: Michael Lloyd BRML20140515C-004

The op-ed column

attended to. However, I ask you this.When you get rid of the smart phone,the email and the reactionary read-ing and find yourself in a good oldfashioned conversation situationface to face while networking (nogetting away from it – it’s an essentialbusiness tool), how do you approachthe listening element? Who are theones you meet whom you rememberand seem most interesting to be with?Those people droning on at you whileyou sip your wine in sheer boredom,looking round the room for an escaperoute or those who are listening(carefully) to what you’re saying?

These people aren’t talking whilethey listen to you – they are silent.Whether or not they are thinking of

something completely different is an-other matter but at least they aregiving you the space and respect youdeserve. I’m thus going to make aplea. Stop a minute. Step back. Re-member that you have two ears andone mouth for a reason. Ask a ques-tion, start the conversation and thenlisten. Be quiet. Gather the facts.Gain the advantage. Droning on forthe sake of it? Giving the back story toeverything despite a straight query?Surely we’ve not got time...

Silent and listen: it really is thesame thing.� Got an opinion on a businesstopic? Contact us [email protected] if you want towrite for this column

Rebecca TregarthenChair manBristol Institute of Directors

of the Severn Estuary has been onand off the agenda for decades butnow progress is being made withhelp from Bristol-based law firm TLT.

The firm has advised Tidal LagoonPower on the grant of a PowerPurchase option to clean energysupplier, Good Energy.

Tidal Lagoon Power is behind theworld’s largest tidal energy projectof any kind, which is being plannedfor Swansea Bay.

It intends to start generatingelectricity in 2018.

Good Energy has taken an optionof over 10 per cent of the plannedelectricity output and has made anassociated subscription for 500,000of new shares as part of the projectfunding.

T LT ’s Robin Staunton said: “Thisarea of the UK has one of thehighest tidal ranges in the world andthe potential for generatinglow-carbon electricity from thislow-impact natural element isenormous.”

Patrick Carter, director at TidalLagoon Power said: “Thisinvestment is significant on two

levels: as a contribution to ourongoing development fundraisingand as a powerful endorsement ofour project from a growing UKrenewable electricity supplier.”

� SCISYS – a supplier of bespokesoftware systems and supportservices to the media, space anddefence sectors – has signed a £1.2million deal with the EuropeanSpace Agency.

The firm, based in Brislington, willdeliver a project testing autonomoussystems, essential for future spacemissions involving planetary roversand robots, called the HarwellRobotics and Autonomy Facility inO x f o rd .

Planetary rovers are critical toenable future planetary explorationscience missions.

Testing them needs specialistfacilities including mock planetarysurfaces, simulated softwareenvironments and field trials.

CEO Klaus Heidrich said: “Thearea of autonomous systems androbotics is currently receiving a lotof investment and with HRAF we aredelighted to be at the forefront ofthis area.

“In addition to our core spacebusiness it also has the potential tocreate exciting opportunities innon-space domains.”

Awa rd s� Wessex Water’s operations teamhas picked up two prestigiousawards for keeping its workforcesafe and healthy.

The firm received an InternationalHealth and Safety Award withdistinction from the British SafetyCouncil, along with a new sectora w a rd .

Of the 521 organisations that wereawarded an International SafetyAward, 33 were shortlisted asdeserving candidates for the newsector awards with Wessex Waterreceiving the energy generation,distribution and utilities sectora w a rd .

Charles Keyte, one of the firm’shealth and safety advisers, said:“This achievement shows ourcommitment to maintaining thehealth, safety and well-being of ouremployees through good health andsafety management.”

The awards were presented at theInternational Safety Awards GalaDinner which took place at theGrosvenor House in London, lastmonth.

Pe o p l e

Your digest of the week in business

In numbers

Business currentaccounts

Petrol prices

1.01%£10,000 deposit

0.25%£1 deposit

State Bankof India

Corporation tax

21 %20 %Main rate

Small profitsrate – below

£300,000

130 .0 1 pUnleaded

136 .1 5 pDiesel

138 . 47 pSuperunleaded

70 . 59 pLPG

Source: PetrolPrices.com

Business savingsaccounts

1.36%£1,000 deposit

1.85%£1,000 deposit

NationalCounties BS

Inflation (CPI)

1.8 %

Weekly earnings

1.6 %Base interest rate

0.5 %Ave mortgage rate

3.99 %

S o u rc e :

Secure TrustBank

Inflation (RPI)

2.5 %

Documents

Business 21 May 2014