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16-page business news supplement from the Liverpool Daily Post
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www.ldpbusiness.co.uk
LDPIn association with
www.investecwin.co.uk
RETAIL chain TJ Hughes plans toopen more shops – with enough stor-age capacity at its London Roadheadquarters to double its currentsix-strong portfolio.
And new owner Anil Juneja toldLDP Business that TJs’ online oper-ation will be significantly increased toreach the geographical areas no longer
covered by the closure of 51 storesafter the collapse of the former group.
Mr Juneja revealed that expansionis very much part of his strategy torestore the discount store chain to itsformer glory, after buying the sixshops and the TJs brand from admin-istrators last month.
The new-look chain will be officiallylaunched this Saturday and willundergo a revamp of sales lines, aswell as the physical refurbishment ofits sites in Liverpool, Newcastle, Shef-
field, Glasgow, Eastbourne andWidnes.
But the group’s five-year plan seesthe business adding to its currentestate, possibly through the acquisi-tion of some former TJs stores.
Mr Juneja, 32, said: “There is a lot ofpossibilities with stores that haveclosed, but we have a big job on here toget these six stores right and get thebusiness operating as we want it.
“But once we get settled, we willdefinitely look to develop more stores.”
He said even before the former TJscollapsed with £433.5m of debt, itsonline operation was growing by 30%,and in April even beat Speke-basedonline retailer Littlewoods on a par-ticular sales line.
A call centre, initially 10-strong, isalso being set up in London Road tosupport a 20-page monthly mail-outbrochure: “Our customers are veryloyal so we should see some growth.”
TJsownerseesgrowthasnextstepinrevivalA LATE rally saw Lon-
don’s leading sharesindex close nearly 2%higher yesterday, astraders shrugged off adowngrade of Italy’scredit rating and agloomy forecast fromthe InternationalMonetary Fund.
The FTSE 100 Indexclosed up as tradersawaited the outcomeof a key US FederalReserve meeting,which could see theannouncement ofmore stimulus meas-ures.
MARKET REPORT:PAGE 15
FTSE-1005363.7
104.2▲
Studio for saleafter five-yearturnaroundLIVERPOOL’S famousParr Street recordingstudio and hotel com-plex is being soldwith a price tag ofjust under £3m.
PAGE 2
Time for teaLANCASHIRE TEAmoves to Speke togive it room to grow.
PAGE 12
Festive funCHRISTMAS party ven-ues – special advert-ising feature.
PAGES 4-5
inside VenmoreopensbiddingLIVERPOOL estateagent Venmore is stag-ing a mini-auction attomorrow’s MerseysideLandlord Expo, in theCrowne Plaza Hotel.
Venmore, which isalso the event’s head-line sponsor, will offerseveral city properties.
Business develop-ment director MariaBarrigan explained:“The mini-auction willallow investors andpotential buyers theopportunity to see whatthey can expect at ourother auctions, withthe help of our auction-eer Adam Partridge.”
This third Expo hasattracted more than 40exhibitors.
BUSINESS EDITOR:BILL GLEESON0151 472 2319
DEPUTY BUSINESS EDITOR:TONY McDONOUGH0151 330 4918
BUSINESS REPORTER:PETER ELSON0151 472 2502
BUSINESS REPORTER:ALISTAIR HOUGHTON0151 472 2449
BUSINESS REPORTER:NEIL HODGSON0151 472 2451
Venmore auctioneer AdamPartridge, with gavel poised
■ NEW era at TJs: Pages 8-9
The Mal is back on Princes Dock.Buy two cocktails and get a third free.To book call 0151 229 5000 | www.malmaison.com
Quote LDPB21
Terms and conditions apply.
2 Wednesday, September 21, 2011
www.ldpcreative.co.uk
The latest fromthe creative anddigital industries
LDP CREATIVE LATEST NEWS
blogs.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/ businessbeat/
TONY McDONOUGH’S BUSINESS BEAT
‘There is little that theGovernment can do to savethe traditional high street’
Log on to www.ldpbusiness.co.uk
1 LFC link sparks trade mission2 Easyjet boosts capacity at JLA3 Airbus secures key orders4 Google’s Liverpool launch5 Santander saves 300 city jobsldpbusiness.co.uk
Updatesthroughoutthe day
City’sParrStreetStudiosputonmarketfor£2.95m
Park setto buildon cardsuccessBIRKENHEAD-BASEDPark Group is buildingon the success of itspre-paid card, flexe-cash, chairman PeterJohnson told share-holders in yesterday’sannual meeting atTranmere Rovers FC.
He said the Christ-mas hamper-to-finan-cial services businesshad managed to sustainthe “significant pro-gress” achieved lastyear.
The flexecash cardwas launched in June,2010, and Park has nowissued 320,000 cardswith a total value of£22m.
It has sold the card tomore than 430 corpor-ate customers.
Orders for the cardamong the group’straditional Christmassavings customers arealso 120% ahead of thesame period last year.
New flexecash ser-vices have been added,including an employee-based Christmas sav-ings scheme, flexesaver,and flexebens, aimed atthe flexible benefitsmarket.
Christmas hamperorders are 5% betterthan a year ago, andthe group’s entranceinto the Irish markethas seen it match trad-ing expectations, with24 retailers acceptingits Love2shop eurovoucher.
This is now targetingthe corporate market inIreland.
newsLDPbusiness .co.uk
LIVERPOOL’S famous Parr Streetrecording studio and hotel complex isbeing sold with a price tag of justunder £3m.
Acts including Coldplay, the SpiceGirls, Echo & the Bunnymen and evenBarry Manilow have all used the citycentre facility down the years.
It was saved from closure in 2006 bya trio of businessmen – city councillorGary Millar, Steve Macfarlane andThomas Lang.
Cllr Millar became business assist-ant to council leader Joe Andersonafter defecting from the Lib-Dems toLabour in April this year.
They bought the studio in 2006 froma company called Hit and Run, whichwas part-owned by former Genesislead singer Phil Collins.
The deal, believed to have beenworth around £1.6m, was struck after acampaign against a plan by Hit andRun to close the studio and convert thebuilding to luxury apartments.
Since purchasing the building, thetrio have developed the business,which now houses two recording stu-dios, two bars – 3345 and STUDIO2 – 11offices, a 12-bedroom hotel and arecently launched hotel concept calledPodZzz, which comprises six mini-bed-rooms.
It was always the consortium’s planto exit the business after five years andthey have instructed Liverpool prop-erty agents Mason Owen to find abuyer.
Mr Macfarlane said: “It was part ofour ambitious five-year plan and exitstrategy to save and successfully turnaround the business.
“We are so proud of what we havedone, but recognise it’s now time forsomeone else to take Parr Street to thenext level.”
Agents are inviting offers in theregion of £2.95m for the freehold of thebuilding.
Andrew Owen, head of businessspace at Mason Owen, told LDP Busi-ness: “With an exceptional pedigree,this iconic recording studio hasbecome one of Liverpool’s most
well-loved creative buildings. This is aunique offering as the freehold, ParrStreet Studio’s immense goodwill, itscar park, tenancies and growing busi-ness in the heart of the city are allincluded in the sale.”
The building dates back to the 1930sand it became home to the recording
studio in 1991 after the then AmazonStudios relocated from Kirkby.
Mr Owen added: “The purchaser hasan outstanding opportunity to expandParr Street Studio’s hotel, hospitalityand office business – or simply to walkstraight into a ready-mademulti-faceted business.”
TOP FIVE
Atomic Kitten rehearsing at Parr Street Studios, prior to a concert in the city in 2008 Picture: HOWARD DAVIES
byTonyMcDonoughLDPDEPUTYBUSINESSEDITORtony.mcdonough@liverpool.com
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3Wednesday, September 21, 2011
housing strategy expertise. We’vedeveloped enduring relationships,and won lots of work through repeatbusiness.
“People want people who are flex-ible, who are realistic, who under-stand the drama that comes withdoing their work and who under-stand what the regulator wants.”
Even that service, however, couldnot protect Pennington from thecredit crunch and the recession.
“When the credit crunch first hit,”said Seaborn, “we had a terrible sixmonths. Our clients just stoppeddoing anything.
“My view of the world is that thesethings are as much about psychologyas about actual cuts.
“If you go back to the creditcrunch, nothing had changed in thepublic sector. Nobody changed theirbudgets, but they stopped doing any-thing for six months.”
“Housing associations – very littlehas changed in their world. Butthere’s less development activitygoing on.”
Psychological or not, those effect-ive spending cuts meant turnover inPennington’s core business “shrunkconsiderably”. And with the coalit-ion Government’s very real spendingcuts now kicking in, there is no signof immediate improvement.
“The market has changed,” said
about doing it. Should I give up aperfectly well-paid job?
“But it was never about being aone-man band. It was about growinga decent-sized business.”
Seaborn shied away from namingthe company after himself.
“I didn’t like the ‘Mark SeabornAssociates’ thing that other peoplewho open consultancy businessesdo,” he said. “I don’t have that muchof an ego. And I didn’t have enoughimagination to come up withsomething abstract.
“Pennington is the area of Leigh,in Lancashire, where I used to live. Ineeded a name, and it was as good asanything.”
Pennington soon won work withpublic sector bodies and housingassociations across the UK.
Seaborn said: “Lots of the earlywork we did was management con-sultancy in the housing sector –investment appraisals, surveyreviews, project management.
“We did very well out of theLabour government in the early2000s. There were a lot of things com-ing out of government, promotinghousing strategies.
“The key to our early doors suc-cess was that we were quite canny interms of reading the market andwatching what our clients wanted.”
Pennington adapted accordingly,once the era of blue-sky thinkingcame to an end.
Seaborn said: “Over our life, wehave become more technical, mostlyas a reflection of our clients’ needs,following the Labour government.
“In the early days, it was aboutnew initiatives. In the latter period oftheir reign, it became about delivery.
“Our teams of building surveyorsor gas engineers have become moresignificant because they’re deliver-ing services and frontline tenant-oriented work. Our blue-sky strategywork has become less significant.”
Many of Pennington’s staff haveworked for the kind of housing assoc-iations and public bodies that theynow serve.
Seaborn said: “Look at what youraverage social landlord does – devel-oping, financing, maintaining andmanaging property. That’s a fairlybroad range of skill-sets.
“So we have most professional dis-ciplines represented here – financepeople, surveyors, energy advisers,
profile
Solarpanelsgivefirmthepowertoadapttoaneweraofcuts
WHEN the public sector gold rushdried up, Mark Seaborn saw the lightby pushing his company towardssolar power.
Essex boy turned “adopted North-erner” Seaborn set up PenningtonChoices in 2000 as a “multidisciplin-ary housing consultancy” workingfor housing associations and localauthorities.
As the Labour government boostedpublic spending, so Pennington grew,helping organisations across the UKmaintain and transform their hous-ing stock.
But the credit crunch and therecession hit Pennington hard as cli-ents cut spending even before thepublic sector cuts started in earnest.
Seaborn and the Pennington teamcould have retreated into their shellsand hoped the storm would soonpass.
But, instead, Pennington bought acompany in Kent to help it grow inthe South-East. And now Seabornhas launched a division that installsphotovoltaic (PV) solar panels – anew way to make money from skillsPennington’s staff already have.
“Life has changed,” said Seaborn.“There’s no point whingeing about itsaying ‘if we sit here for two yearsit’ll come back’. That’s not reality.
“We looked at how we could useour skills for everybody’s benefit.
“In Solar PV, we’ve gone out to getthe appropriate accreditation andskilled ourselves up.
“We’ve got all the skill-sets. We’regood at managing projects and con-struction. We’re good at workingwith the occupiers of properties, andwe do electrical inspections andaccreditation.
“We needed to bolt on some addit-ional skills, but we were 80% there.
“So we are using our housing andsurveying skills in other marketswhere we thought we could make areal difference.”
The solar panels business isfocused on Merseyside and Cheshire,but Seaborn wants to expand itacross the North West.
“We want to jog a little bit beforewe canter into a sprint,” he smiled.
Seaborn was born in Essex butgrew up in Lincolnshire. After study-ing at Leeds Polytechnic, he becamean environmental health officer inPortsmouth and Gosport, on theSouth Coast.
That work saw him inspect manyhomes in the private rented sector –his first foray into the housing world.
Next, he worked as a housing con-sultant in Birmingham before, in1997, he moved to Liverpool to joinRiverside Housing as regional dir-ector for Wirral.
“It was a great opportunity, and Ilearned an enormous amount fromthem,” he said. “And I met my wifethere – she was a peer at Riverside.The rest is history.”
In 2000, Seaborn decided the timewas right to set up his own business.
“When we started, it was just me,”he said. “I started the business in myback bedroom.
“Like a lot of people, I’d thought
AlistairHoughtonmeetsMARKSEABORN,MDofPenningtonChoices, inRuncorn
LDPbusiness .co.uk
Mark Seaborn –foundedPenningtonChoices in hisback bedroom
Age: 42Highest Educational Qualification:Postgraduate diploma in businessadministration, from LJMUProudest achievement: Havingestablished Pennington and grown it.The people here are some of thebrightest I’ve ever worked withStill to achieve: I’d like to think at42 that there’s lots of adventures atwork and outside work to be had. Thekey is to rise to those challenges.Best advice: You know you’re doingwell if you can count your close per-sonal friends on the fingers of morethan one hand
q&a
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Seaborn. “It’s about how we dealwith the change. Trying to pretend ithasn’t changed is not tenable.”
The company had to make someredundancies as the downturn hit,but has since been able to recruitagain. Today, Pennington employsaround 40 people and can call on apool of consultants around the UK.
Last year, Pennington boughtInvicta Analytical Services, an asbes-tos surveyor in Bromley, Kent.
“It’s difficult to do business in Lon-don without being London-based,”said Seaborn. “We’ve bought Invictabecause we want to build on it andsell our core services down there.”
Seaborn, meanwhile, is looking togrow the range of services his com-pany offers.
In its solar PV business, Penning-ton will install panels not just for itsexisting clients, but for “Mr and MrsJones in the high street”.
Pennington is also looking atlaunching an HR consultancy ser-vice, and will offer a maintenancemanagement programme for schools.
Seaborn said: “We do work inschools – in our asbestos arm, forexample – and believe they need helpwith compliance activities to do withmaintaining buildings.
“Most headteachers, unsurpris-ingly, don’t have the time or skills todo so. We can do it.”
Pennington’s MD is proud of theway his company is adapting tochanging times.
“We’ve always been quite good atreading the market tea leaves,” hesaid. “We haven’t got a crystal ball,but we’re reasonably thoughtful.
“In the core business, we will con-tinue to be an active player in themarket. We want to be strong andride out the storm.
“I’m sure there will be some com-panies that drop by the wayside. Wewon’t be one of them.”
Times may be tough, but Seabornhas no regrets about setting up hisown firm.
“I didn’t set Pennington up tomake oodles of cash,” he said.
“It provides me with a good living.But we set it up because we enjoy thework and we get oodles of satisfac-tion. We are helping make a differ-ence to our tenants’ lives.”
Seaborn, who has two children andlives near Warrington, is a keenfundraiser for charity Parkinson’sUK, which supports people with Par-kinson’s disease and funds researchinto the condition.
Seaborn did the Great North Swimthis year, and has previously run theGreat North Run.
“A friend who’s a little bit olderthan me has Parkinson’s,” he said.“That’s an important cause for me.”
4 Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Dreaming of a Blu ChristmasIF IT’S a glass of what youfancy or an excuse to dressto impress, allow the pro-fessional and experiencedteam at Radisson Blu HotelLiverpool to take the stressaway.
They do all the planningin order to give you aChristmas to remember.
You can choose to haveyour own private party ormix with other revellers atone of its “join a party”nights in the Kings Suite.
A Christmas-themedlunch or dinner is also
served in its Filini restaur-ant throughout the festiveseason, including a choicefrom its chef ’s weekly spec-ials menu with a contem-porary Italian twist. Withan award-winning design,Filini is ideal for col-leagues, families or couples.
Private dining is alsoavailable for Christmaslunches at the hotel in avariety of unique locations.
Christmas Day lunchsees Radisson Blu’s chef puttogether a full traditionalChristmas lunch with all
the trimmings in warm andcontemporary surround-ings. Cocktails and canapésin its stylish Grade II-listed“cottage” are a great way tostart the evening and cel-ebrate Christmas.
And, if all this isn’tenough, stay at the hotelafter your party night andlet Radisson Blu Liverpoolcontinue your festivities.
Book by calling theevents team on 0151 966 1500and pressing 2, or [email protected]
Party the night away in styleJOIN in the fun at GoodisonPark and celebrate Christmaswith your workmates andfriends in style. There’s a delic-ious three-course menu andspecial discounted bar offers.
Events include:■ Live Party Showcase, £34.95per person
December 3 and 16 – Thefantastic RFB band, withsounds of the decades of musichits from the 60s, 70s and 80s.Finish the night off with aparty disco!
December 9 and 10 – Make it
a night to remember with thesensational party band FreakOut Disco and enjoy thesounds of the disco 70s.
December 17 – Elvis is in theBuilding! The amazing DeanCraig with his showstoppingElvis performance. Get yourblue suede shoes on and dancethe night away. Then finish thenight off with a party disco!■ Disco Party Night, £29.95per person
December 3, 9, 10, 16 and 17 –Enjoy fun entertainment withexcellent party tunes from the
DJ who will keep you movingall night long!■ Private Party Nights, from£19.95 per person
Goodison Park has enter-tainment and party packagesto suit all budgets. With fant-astic all-inclusive drinks pack-ages, you can budget for yourevent in the knowledge there’snothing else to pay.
Email [email protected] call 0151 530 5251 or 0151 5305250. Quote CM1 for a 10% dis-count off your booking forparties of 10 or more.
Festive meal with Italian twistRENAMED Franco’s, what wasformerly known as Bar Italia is agem of a place, perfect for mem-orable Christmas parties basedaround the finest Italian cuisine.
Enjoy the Christmas festivitieswith proprietor Franco Colangeliand his team, whether it be for athree-course Christmas fayreluncheon at £19.95 per person, ordinner at just £22.95.
Franco is from Rome, thoughhe has been living in Liverpoolfor more than 48 years. Passion-ate about everything Italian, he isparticularly enthusiastic abouthis home country’s renownedfood and wine.
Conveniently situated right inthe heart of Liverpool, at 48A,Castle Street, Franco’s has beenrunning successfully for over 12years – yet Franco has in excessof 50 years’ experience in the res-taurant business. And you knowwhat they say: “The proof of thepudding is in the eating!”
His recipe for success lies inthe fact that all dishes are pre-pared using local, fresh ingred-ients and produce. His huge selec-tion of Italian fine wines isdesigned to complement mouth-watering Yuletide dishes such asroast turkey, salmon sambuca,entrecote steak chasseur, or
myriad pasta dishes. Francopromises an attentive service, abeautiful setting, and a glowingatmosphere for parties of up to 80people.
So, if you are looking for anauthentic Italian experience thisChristmas, or a venue for a spec-ial birthday party celebration orbusiness lunch, reserve yourtable on 0151 236 3375 to avoiddisappointment.
Franco’s is open Monday toThursday, from 11.30am until3pm, and from Tuesday to Sat-urday from 5.30pm until 11pm,plus is open all day Friday. Log onto www.francosliverpool.com Franco Colangeli is ready to welcome you
Allow theprofessionalandexperiencedteam at theRadissonBlu HotelLiverpool totake thestress away
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Christmas CelebrationsChristmas CelebrationsAdvertising Feature
5Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Plenty of choice to suit all tastesSUITES Hotel has a raft ofChristmas celebrations to getyou in the mood for the festiveseason.
Firstly, there’s ChristmasParty Nights, with a four-course dinner, live entertain-ment and disco until 1am.Prices start from £20 perperson.
Then there’s Tribute Nights.These are very popular, andcomprise an Elvis tribute nighton Thursday, December 15 andAbba on Thursday, December22 at £27 per person, or £105
per couple including dinnerdance and overnight stay.
For the children, SundayLunch with Santa on Decem-ber 18 features a visit fromFather Christmas, a children’sentertainer and a gift for allthe children for £16 per adult,£10 per child and under-twoseat free.
Plus, back by populardemand is the Suites HotelPanto, Jack and the Beanstalk,on Tuesday, December 27; £16per adult, £10 per child andunder-twos eat free. If you
fancy a meal out on ChristmasDay, then why not visit SuitesHotel?
Lunch in the Courtney Suitewith children’s entertainer andFather Christmas is £45 peradult and £25 per child.
Or, for your New Year’s Evecelebrations, join in SuitesHotel’s Cabaret night in theCourtney Suite; £65 per personor £240 per couple to includedinner dance and overnightstay.
If you can’t get a babysitterfor New Year’s Eve, then Suites
Hotel is doing a Warm Upnight on Friday, December 30and New Year’s Eve Take 2 onJanuary 1, 2012, with the samemenu and same entertainmentfor only £30 per person, £110per couple to include dinnerdance and overnight stay –book early, as this event hasfilled early in past years.
For more information, callthe events office on 0151 5492222 or go on the website anddownload its Christmasbrochure – log on to www.suiteshotelgroup.com
Fantastic meals down by the riversideENJOY the festive season withLiverpool Marina Bar & Grill.
Located just off the banks ofthe River Mersey in the heart ofthe city centre, Liverpool MarinaBar & Grill is completely unique.The tranquil surroundings, left,are something very rarely foundin the normal hustle and bustleof a major city centre.
The stylish and comfortablesetting with the surroundingsights, buildings and soundsprovide an intoxicating maritimebackdrop to the elegant andstriking clubhouse.
So why not make your Christ-mas special, with a visit to theLiverpool Marina Bar & Grill?
The Christmas menuwill leave you spoilt forchoice, with mouthwa-tering starters such asduck paté, homemadesoup or king prawn andavocado salad. Mains,too, will tantalise thosetastebuds – roast tur-key, loin of pork or top-side of beef, to name just a few;and when it comes to dessertsyou will be well and truly sat-
isfied. The Christmas menu isjust £13.95 per person for the day-time menu and £19.95 per person
for the evening menu,including a three-course meal and a glassof wine.
New Year is cateredfor, too. For just £40 perperson, you can enjoyChampagne on arrival,a selection of deliciousstarters, such as honey
glazed duck salad or smoke sal-mon and crab parcels, and formains why not try an 8oz fillet
steak or Welsh lamb rump?Desserts include banoffee mousseand winter berry and Cham-pagne terrine.
The Bar & Grill is situatedwithin the marina complex andis open to the public seven days aweek, serving meals from 10amto 9pm, Monday to Saturday. Plus,its famous carvery is servedSunday, noon to 6pm.
Book your Yuletide meal nowto avoid disappointment. For fur-ther information, visit www.liverpoolmarina.com or tele-phone 0151 707 6888.
A warm welcome awaits youSTEP into the Crowne Plaza Liv-erpool – John Lennon Airporthotel this Christmas or New Yearand experience the atmosphereand excitement of one of its spec-ially designed festive events.
Indulge in a dazzling variety ofirresistible food, made with care-fully selected ingredients andusing the finest seasonal flav-ours, all delivered with thewarm, friendly and attentive ser-vice that has become synonym-ous with Crowne Plaza hotels.
Allow the team to spoil youthis festive season with their
range of Christmas celebrations,which include Boogie Nightsfrom £29.95, Disco Party Nightsfrom £19.95, All Inclusive Nightsat £34.95 and Private Party pack-age for 80 people for £999 – allinclude a sumptuous three-course meal.
Also, why not come along andtreat the family to Santa’sSunday Lunch at £18.95 per adultand £8.95 per child, ChristmasDay Lunch from £44.95 per adultand £19.95 per child, Boxing DayCarvery at £19.95 per adult and£9.95 per child and New Year’s
Eve from £39.95 per adult and£19.95 per child. Under-fours eatfree!
Plus, why not take advantageof the hotel’s discounted accom-modation rates when attendingone of its Christmas partynights? Standard rooms are fromonly £30 per person bed andbreakfast, based on double occup-ancy, plus complimentary use ofDavid Lloyd Leisure Centre.
For more information, call thesales office on 0151 494 5000 orvisit www.crowne-plaza-liverpool.co.uk
Enjoy a hilarious night outLAUGHTERHOUSE Comedy hasfirmly established itself as theregion’s most successful pro-vider of live comedy, consist-ently booking the crème de lacrème of comedians from theinternational comedy circuit.
And all this in venues thathave been described as thefinest comedy rooms in the UK,The Slaughterhouse and TheSlug and Lettuce.
Laughterhouse is one of themost reliable comedy exper-iences, with audience membersreturning time after time for a
hilarious quality night out.Every month, Laughterhousehosts on average 20 comedynights at their two establishedvenues, and that is set to inc-rease as Christmas approaches.
Audiences come also to watchthe brilliant LaughterhouseMCs, Ste Porter, Chris Cairnsand Neil Fitzmaurice, hold thenights together with theirunique style, as they introduce awhole host of top comedianswho in the past have includedtop TV names such as ReginaldD Hunter, Jason Manford, John
Bishop, Stewart Lee, Sarah Mil-lican and Dara O’Briain.
TV shows such as Britain’sGot Talent has catapulted vari-ety shows into the public arena,creating a demand for mixed billevents. Laughterhouse Comedyhas stepped in to fill that voidwith brand new nights of Cab-aret & Comedy, at Zeligs, Liv-erpool One (opposite the HiltonHotel).
Each eclectic show includessingers, comedians, magiciansand much more.
Keeping the after-hours buzz
will be a DJ, with music to getyour legs moving as much asyour laughter muscles!
Many extra nights have beenbooked in for both the comedyand cabaret nights in thelead-up to Christmas, to copewith the high demand of officeparties and group bookings.Packages start from £29.95(including food).
For further information, callthe venue on 0151 227 5946 orvisit the website www.laughter-housecomedy.com – don’t missout.
Join in thefestivecelebrationsat CrownePlazaLiverpool –JohnLennonAirporthotel
Christmas CelebrationsChristmas CelebrationsAdvertising Feature
6 Wednesday, September 21, 2011
newsLDPbusiness .co.uk
newsLDPbusiness .co.uk
Shortlistrevealedforentrepreneurawards
RBSdealfundsAbbeygrowth
Constructionindustry’s£78mfundsimplified
Mike Clarke, managing director of Bootle-based finalist, Eco Environments
BOOTLE-BASED Abbey Logistics has securedalmost £1m in additional asset finance facilitiesfrom the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) to fund theacquisition of a Cheshire haulier.
Abbey specialises in the environmentallyfriendly transportation of bulk food ingredientsthroughout Europe and operates more than 180trucks and 230 tanks and trailers across nine UKbases.
The £884,000 of asset finance will fund thetakeover of Macclesfield-based RH Stevens, a long-established haulier of bulk powder, including thepurchase of 15 used tractor and trailer units, aswell as 30 tankers.
Abbey managing director Steve Granite said:“The team at RBS excelled in providing a flexiblefunding package which will enable us to achieveour growth plans. The recent acquisitions haveincreased our market presence even further.”
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THE shortlist for this year’s Morgan Found-ation Entrepreneur Awards has been revealed,with a strong Merseyside presence across theseven different categories.
Cash prizes worth a total of £115,000 areavailable to the winners and runners-up, whowill be revealed at a gala dinner on November10, at the Carden Park Hotel, near Chester.
Successful entrants will also receive a pack-age of professional services.
The awards, sponsored by Ewloe-basedhousebuilder Redrow, founded by Liverpoolentrepreneur Steve Morgan, attracted a recordnumber of entries from charities, social enter-prises, businesses and entrepreneurs in Mer-seyside, Cheshire, North Wales and the Mid-lands.
Finalists will now undergo interviews by apanel of experts, including Mr Morgan andsenior representatives from Barclays and fin-ancial services group Deloitte.
Mr Morgan said: “The first round judgeshave a difficult task, the final panel an eventougher one.
“The standard is extremely high, so thejudges need to really understand the busi-nesses and the entrepreneurs behind them,before we can decide who will lift the prizes.”
The finalists in each category include EcoEnvironments, from Bootle, and St Helenscompany Labelline UK, in the Best New Busi-ness sector.
Eco Environments is also a finalist in theBest Business Providing an Economic orSocial Contribution to the Region category,along with Comtek Network Systems UK, fromDeeside.
The Best Entrepreneurial Charity or SocialEnterprise includes The Brink, from Liver-pool, and Belle Vale-based Little LeagueSports.
Best Entrepreneurial Charity or SocialEnterprise in Liverpool, sponsored by regen-eration agency Liverpool Vision, will bebetween The Brink, Merseyside Domestic Viol-ence Services, Little League Sports, andSquash Nutrition.
Best Young Entrepreneur features MarkGleave, of Healthbox CIC, in Chester, and twoLiverpool contenders in Simon Roberts, fromRoberts Recycling, andEva Zych, of FlavoryNature.
Best New Business Idea by a Young Entre-preneur includes Liverpool entrants KelseyDonlevy, from Just Dance, Toni Marie Hynes,of UK Visits, and Creative Craft Jewellery’sTina Lee.
And, finally, the Against All Odds categoryincludes Liverpool interest from Jane Davisand Niall Gibney, of The Reader Organisation,and Jean Taylor, from Families Fighting forJustice.
A GRANTS schemeworth £78m to the con-struction industry hasbeen simplified.
CITB-Construction-Skills’ 2011/2012 grantsscheme includes aneasier application pro-cess and offers greaterflexibility.
Developed in con-sultation with the con-struction industry, thescheme offers firmsregistered with, andin-scope to CITB-Con-structionSkills, accessto grants to supporttheir training in returnfor their annual levy.
Steve Housden, sec-tor strategy managerfor CITB-Construction-Skills in the NorthWest, said: “We’velistened to employers’views in the region, anda popular feeling wasthat grants were not aseasy to claim as theycould be, so we havebeen working on waysto improve and simplifythe scheme as part ofour commitment todelivering skills needs,both locally and nation-ally.”
Changes includeallowing employers to
claim for e-learning ona training and develop-ment plan, and intro-ducing a claimingmechanism for modular“bite-sized” training.
The number of daysfirms can claim on atraining and develop-ment plan for eachPAYE employee hasbeen increased fromthree to five.
And the deadlinewhich employers haveto submit their trainingand development planinitial and final claimhas been increasedfrom 30 to 60 days.
Advertising FeatureThe Commercial District
Becominga worldclass city
BACK in 1886,London Illus-trated Newsreported Liver-pool to be a“world city”, thefirst time thatthe term wasused to describeany city as acommercialcentre of globalimportance.
Fast forward125 years and, as a consequence of significantphysical, environmental and social develop-ment, we are once again well-placed to regainthat prestigious mantle.
A key facet of any “world city” is its level ofconnectivity: the ability of its residents, busi-nesses and visitors to move smoothly andwithout hindrance between separate areas, giv-ing them the belief that no area is beyond theirreach.
Over the past year, the Castle Street area ofthe Commercial District has been the focus of a£3m series of improvements aimed at deliv-ering an enhanced public realm and bridgingthe gap between the city’s commercial andretail districts.
It was vitally important that the flow oftraffic was improved, that the pavements werewidened and that the street was made to lookmore attractive, to encourage more people tobreak away from the shopping area and ven-ture into the Commercial District.
To celebrate the completion of these worksand to highlight Castle Street’s unique locat-ion, the Commercial District is staging a LatinAmerican festival on Castle Street on Saturday,September 24.
Fiesta Latina will see Cuban and Andeanbands, flamenco and salsa dancers andcapoeira demonstrations performed in thestreet for the one-day festival, which will alsofeature stalls selling authentic food and merch-andise.
The importance of a city’s connectivityshouldn’t be underestimated. The easier aplace is to access and navigate, the more itencourages people to come to the city andexplore. We have already seen the success ofthe Liverpool One development in connectingthe Albert Dock to the rest of the city.
But, as well as connectivity, a good “worldcity” also prospers on robust networks betweenorganisations and people. Liverpool has a lot tobe proud of, and it’s important that we workcollaboratively to promote the city.
On the same weekend that Fiesta Latinatakes place in the Commercial District, theannual Bold Street Festival is also being heldwithin the City Central BID area. We are act-ively working together to promote both eventsto make sure that visitors and tourists have thechance to experience the best that Liverpoolhas to offer.
Liverpool will prosper if it continues todance to the same beat – I just hope my Cubanheels are up to the test for the big weekend!
Paul Rice discusseshow the best citiesgrow strong on theirconnections
Paul Rice
7Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Brian Barwick
Kickingoffaseasonoflectures
Beware ‘phishing’ emails
Takingamoresportingapproachtothebusinessofnetworking
newsLDPbusiness .co.uk
newsLDPbusiness .co.uk
NETWORKING can be the businessequivalent of rooting around a hay-stack. You have more chance of find-
ing a proverbial needle than findingsomeone you can do business with.
That’s why very quickly conver-sations will turn to the more familiarground of the fortunes of Liverpooland Everton.
However diverting that can be,there’s always that nagging anxietyit is all a bit of a waste of time, thatcanapés and red wine are not anadequate substitute for going home.
It’s the pressure of the event – it’salmost designed to create failure.
We thought it was time to reversethe proposition, which led to the cre-
ation of the Ambitious Minds Sport-ing Club, a very social, all-afternoonlunch held every couple of months atthe Fly in the Loaf.
It avoids the great mass of webdesigners, life coaches and usualfaces who threaten to overwhelmsome of the other networking eventsin the city, or the card-happy net-workers who do passable imperson-ations of a croupier.
Put sport first, and the conversat-ion will, at its own unforced pace,tend to move on to business. Weknow from experience that it works –
it’s how we first met our landlord.Last week’s event brought togetherbusiness owners and managers froma range of sectors, and a good sprink-ling of people involved in sport.
They included Julie Gaskell, thechief executive of Widnes Vikings,who spoke about what lies behindthe new narrative the club is writingfor itself ahead of its return to rugbyleague’s elite next season.
They have a great story to tell,about what they have achieved andtheir big, but achievable, ambitions.
For the rest of us, sport was over-
lapping with business for the after-noon.
For the Vikings, they are constantcompanions.
Sport is a great metaphor for busi-ness, although keeping score is trick-ier in the commercial world.
At the end of the afternoon, it wasPotential Customers 3 Potential Sup-pliers 1 – a resounding win for thesporting approach to networking.
byAlistairHoughtonLDPBUSINESSSTAFFalistair.houghton@liverpool.com
■ ALEX TURNER is the general man-ager of financial training firmAmbitious Minds
INASSOCIATION
WITH
LIVERPOOL’SINVESTMENTSPECIALISTS
AlexTurner
THE former chief executive of theFootball Association will nextweek kick off a series of lecturesat the University of Liverpool.
Croxteth-born Professor BrianBarwick, a lifelong Liverpool FCfan, is the first speaker in theuniversity’s Burning Issuesseason of lectures on the future ofbusiness.
Other speakers in the seasonwill include Brendan Barber, gen-eral secretary of the TUC, LordBirt, former director-general ofthe BBC, and John Cridland, dir-ector general of the CBI.
Prof Barwick, visiting pro-fessor at the University of Liv-erpool’s Management School, willbe speaking next Thursday on“The power of leadership”.
He grew up in Childwall andattended Quarry Bank HighSchool before studying for adegree in economics at the Uni-versity of Liverpool.
After a stint at the North WestEvening Mail, in Barrow-in-Fur-ness, he joined the BBC's sportsdepartment in 1980.
He worked his way up to editorof Match of the Day and even-tually became head of televisionsport. In 1998, he moved to ITV tobecome controller of sport –responsible for coverage of eventssuch as the 1998 and 2002 WorldCups.
Prof Barwick became chiefexecutive of the FA in 2005.
During his four-year term, heoversaw the opening of the newWembley Stadium and agreedseveral broadcast and commer-cial deals. He was involved in theearly stages of England’s 2018World Cup bid and with theappointment of Fabio Capello asEngland manager.■ PROF BARWICK’S lecturestarts at 5.30pm on Thursday,September 29.
Tickets are free but should bebooked in advance via www.liv.ac.uk/events/burning-issues/■ PROF BARWICK’S bookAnfield Days and Wembley Waysis available from www.mersey-shop.com
OFFICIALS at HMRevenue and Cus-toms (HMRC) saythere has been a300% increase inphishing attacksover the past year.
They warn any-one receiving an
email claiming tobe from HMRCreferring to arepayment not tofollow instructionsvia a “click- through”link. Victims risknot only havingtheir bank accounts
emptied but alsotheir personal de-tails being sold onto other organisedcriminal gangs.
Instead, forwardemails to [email protected] deleting.
ADVERTORIAL
OLYMPIC GAMES BUSINESSOPPORTUNITY EXTENDS BEYONDLONDON AND 2012 SAYS LLOYDS TSB
Giftware design company Touch of Ginger is an example of a firm that haswon a London 2012 contract with the support of Lloyds TSB Commercial.
With just over a year to gountil the first event, companiescould be forgiven for think-ing that the chance to securebusiness relating to the London2012 Olympic and ParalympicGames had passed.
While many large, directcontracts have already beenawarded, the official tender-ing website CompeteFor– www.competefor.com – stillhas details and contacts tohelp SME businesses tap intoa wider pool of contractsfurther down the supplychain.
Being based in the NorthWest doesn’t mean you can’tget involved. Latest figuresshow that there are manycontracts still to be awarded.
if you look at the OlympicDelivery Authority’s (ODA)own map of suppliers at thewww.london2012.com siteyou will see other business-es in the region are alreadyinvolved.
hopefully many of theserelationships will endureway beyond 2012 and formpart of a business legacycreated by the Games.
At a time when securingnew business is a priority forso many SMEs, registeringis a simple step in a strat-egy towards widening yournetwork and getting yourname and offering in front ofa far larger audience.
One in three companieswhich has secured a contractis a customer of LloydsBanking Group and we havetapped into this fantasticpool of experience to helpyou craft your own bids withthe guidance of someonewho has been successful.
As an official partner ofthe London 2012 Games, andwith our nationwide networkof business relationshipmanagers, Lloyds tSBCommercial can offer ourcustomers support and
guidance in competing forLondon 2012 contracts, andLloyds Banking Group hasmade £1 billion available tofirms for this purpose.
For instance, you mayneed finance such as a loanto invest in your business orhelp to buy additional rawmaterial to increase yourproduct output in advance ofa London 2012 related surgein demand.
Whatever guidance youneed, Lloyds tSB Commer-cial has a range of solutions,from overdrafts to invoice
finance, to help you win acontract in advance of 2012.
to find out more visitwww.lloydstsb.com/business
Lloyds TSB Commercial is atrading name of Lloyds TSB Bankplc and Lloyds TSB Scotland plcand serves customers with anannual turnover of up to £15M.
Authorised and regulated bythe Financial Services Authority.All lending is subject to asatisfactory credit assessment.
Factoring, Invoice Discounting,Hire Purchase and Leasingfacilities are provided by LloydsTSB Commercial Finance Limited.
When using these products andservices your agreement is with aLloyds Banking Group companywhose terms and conditionswill apply.
Lloyds TSB CommercialFinance Ltd. Registered office: No.1, Brookhill Way, Banbury, OX163EL, Registered in England andWales no. 733011.
The Lloyds Banking Groupincludes Lloyds TSB Bank plc anda number of other companiesusing brands including LloydsTSB, Halifax and Bank of Scotland,and their associated companies.
BY LEIGH TAYLORArea Director for Lloyds TSBCommercial in the North West
8 Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Inspiringtalesofinnovatorsdefyingthedownturn
TJs is back and set for grAnew-lookTJHugheswillemergefromadministrationthisweek.NeilHodgson reports
Anil Juneja, at the TJHughes store and headoffice, in London Road
Picture: COLIN LANE/tmcl160911tjhughes-6
LDPbusiness .co.ukLDPbusiness .co.uk
A NEW era beckons for iconic Liverpoolstores group TJ Hughes as it rises,phoenix-like, from the ashes of admin-istration this week.
The London Road flagship store willofficially open on Saturday under theownership of Anil Juneja, who rescuedthe shop, and three other stores, fromadministration seven weeks ago.
Since then, two more have been added,saving a total of more than 700 jobs, indeals with administrator Ernst & Young,which took control of the 57-strong dis-count chain which was one year fromcelebrating its centenary and lookeddoomed to disappear under £433.5m ofdebts.
Ernst & Young has now pulled out ofLondon Road, leaving the head office siteand five sister stores in Glasgow, New-castle, Sheffield, Widnes and Eastbourneready to embark on a new chapter – withsignificant plans for growth already onthe drawing board.
Liverpool-born Mr Juneja, 32, hasalready invested in expanding TJs’ onlinecapabilities, and once the existing storeshave been relaunched and refurbished, heintends to add more shops as he bids torestore the chain to its former glory.
Mr Juneja allowed LDP Businessexclusive access behind the scenes as heprepared for Saturday’s relaunch.
On a tour of the first-floor offices, hisbackroom team were feverishly buildingthe new website which should go live bythe end of the month.
He revealed that the previous ownershad, at the behest of their bankers, des-perately tried to beef up the online pres-ence but had run out of time as tradinglosses continued to mount.
Mr Juneja said: “The previous man-agement invested a lot of money in Jan-uary because that’s where they saw thegrowth for the business.
“That’s where they saw the future fromtheir point of view and that’s where thebanks wanted to see the investment.”
The previous website offered the top1,000 selling lines from the stores and wasachieving growth of 30%.
It had been based in the group’s EdgeLane distribution centre but was re-located by the last owner, Leeds-basedEndless, to London Road in March.
He said in April they actually beat fel-low Liverpool online retailerLittlewoods on pillow sales, hit-ting 35 orders a minute.
“It was a very successful web-site,” he added.
But he said the new site willhave a bigger role to play.
“Geographically, we don’thave stores across the countrynow, but our customers are veryloyal, so we should see somegrowth,” said Mr Juneja
London Road will also host a callcentre of about 10 staff, initially, dealingwith orders from a monthly 12-pagemail-out which will be boosted to 20 pagesas the new owner strives to maximiseevery commercial opportunity.
“We want to make the most of that andwe will market it in the areas where wehad stores but no longer have stores.”
But the public face of TJs remains itsshops which, will be supported by the
London Road site where it has enoughstorage capacity to serve 12 sites.
Beyond that, Mr Juneja said hisSpeke-based parent company, Benross,has sufficient warehousing capacity “ifnecessary”.
He has relocated to London Road fromBenross, which was bought out of receiv-
ership by his father, Paul, in1995 and now supplies and dis-tributes a range of homeware,gardenware, electrical itemsand toys to retailers throughoutthe UK, sourced by its offices inHong Kong and Ningbo, inChina.
His father is now managingBenross and Mr Juneja and hisyounger brother, Amit, are mas-terminding the revival of TJs.
He said: “Now I am here, it is morethan a full-time job. Me and Amit havetaken on more responsibility. My brotherhas a great opportunity to step up to hisnew role.”
Mr Juneja admitted the change isintense: “Retail is a much faster pacethan distribution. You have to deal withvarious issues, from customers, to buy-ing, to operational, to financial, and theyall come at you at once.
“But at the same time it is exciting. Iam enjoying it.”
As we walk through the store, heexplains slight changes to the layout, andalso to the TJs offer: “We hope the cus-tomers will see something different.
“There will be a change of the mix inlines. There will be more new lines likenew technology which will be a big areafor us. Newness is needed in retail andthere will be new ideas.
“One is we want to create a designerboutique area with some excellent brandsin there. Brands that TJs customers havenot seen in our stores, like D&G, etc.”
The revived TJs will be relaunchedwith the strapline “Making FamousBrands Affordable”, but Mr Juneja saidsome old favourites still had their place,such as Padders slippers, which were oneof the chain’s best sellers: “The ladies lovethem because they are so comfortable.”
Other big sellers include Samsung TVs,Elizabeth Arden perfume, Rael Brookshirts and Wrangler jeans, at £24.99.
But he said there was no single productthat epitomised TJs:
“Every department has a winner,” headded. He has also negotiated a deal tostock leisurewear brand Nike’s hoodies,which could be extended to Nike foot-
THE season is changing,the skies are greying,and the cloud of econ-omic gloom is still hov-ering over our heads.
Yesterday saw theInternational MonetaryFund slash its growthforecasts for the UK andwarn that the global eco-nomy is in a “dangerousnew phase”.
It’s not so much a caseof “the glass is half-empty” as “the glass islying smashed on thefloor”. What with thatand the ongoing eurozonedebt crisis, it’s temptingto go and hide under aduvet and wait for thingsto get better.
But that, say manybusiness leaders, isexactly what we shouldnot be doing.
One of the best thingsabout my job is hearinginspiring stories frombusiness leaders. Andone recurring theme oflate has been that firmshave to keep innovatingdespite the downturn.
When I interviewedMark Seaborn (Page 3) hetold me that when therecession hit he carriedout a review of his busi-ness, Pennington Choices,to see how it shouldadapt. All options wereon the table – including,he said, “whether weshould pack up and gohome”. But, instead, thecompany decided to usethe skills it already hadto win new business.
So its electricians areproject managers whoare now installing solarpanels across the region.
Several business lead-ers I’ve profiled recentlyare trying new things.
At Coulton’s Bread, inAintree, for example,boss Howard Hunter hasoverseen the launch ofthe Bakestone brand tohelp his firm protect itsmargins.
At Greenall’s, in War-rington, chief executiveChristian Rose is promot-ing new gin brandsBloom and BerkeleySquare, in a bid to winmore market share.
And, at Southportinsurer Paymentshield,chief executive Tim John-son has opened a callcentre dedicated to win-ning back lost customers:
“We could have justhibernated and waiteduntil the market pickedup again,” he told me.
“But you can also say‘how can we grow out ofit and think of things dif-ferently?’ We chose to dothat.”
SO WHAT else can busi-nesses do? Well, theycould start expandingtheir online offering.
That’s one thing AnilJuneja is hoping to do atTJ Hughes, while mostlarge firms worth theirsalt are setting ambitiousonline sales targets.
Many SMEs, however,are not yet online at all.And they’re missing out.
Some firms mayprotest that they offerproducts or services thataren’t easily sold online.That may be true, but inmy view every companyshould have an informat-ive online presence.
Every day, I have tolook through companywebsites for information.
Sometimes I’m lookingfor a company’s history,sometimes for a simpleexplanation of what itdoes, and sometimes forthe simplest thing of all –a phone number. And it’ssurprising how manyfirms don’t have thosedetails on their sites.
For me, it’s a mildinconvenience – I canalways find the informat-ion elsewhere.
But a potential cus-tomer might not be pre-pared to jump throughthose hoops. And if acompetitor is more forth-coming than you, thenthey could win deals thatshould have been yours.
Web giant Google hassome statistics to backthat up. Its UK boss, MattBrittin, told an audiencein Liverpool last weekthat businesses that areonline are growing fourtimes faster than thosewho stay offline.
Google is holding threemonths of workshops inLiverpool to help firmsget online. Let’s hope that,in years to come, some ofthose firms will be feat-ured in these pagestelling their inspiringstories of how they grewdespite the downturn.
‘NowIamhere, it ismorethanafull-timejob’
AlistairHoughton
9Wednesday, September 21, 2011
TJs is back and set for growth
How stores group escapedthreat of certain collapse
Benross, headed by managing director Anil Juneja, bought TJHughes from administrators Ernst & Young last month
the big feature
wear. And Mr Juneja revealed that mostsuppliers had chosen to support thenew-look business, despite the trauma ofadministration and the inevitable lossesthat they can incur from the death throesof a business.
He said: “We have built back relation-ships with suppliers who were burned bythe administration. About 99%of suppliers are supporting us.”
He added: “They know usfrom the trade because we havebeen suppliers for 25 years inthe industry, and all are friendsand were competitors.
“We have a good relationshipwith suppliers, which helpsresurrect this relationship.”
And he said Benross can sup-ply up to 15% of TJs’ lines, par-ticularly toys, in the run-up to theall-important Christmas trading period.
“Our plan is for Benross to increasethat percentage. It is a win-win for bothbusinesses, but it has got to be commer-cial for both companies at the sametime.”
Improvements to the stores are alsohigh on the agenda, Mr Juneja revealed.
He said: “I was in Newcastle, whichwas one of the flagship stores, because a
previous managing director, GeorgeFoster, was from Newcastle.
“Over the years, they spent a lot ofmoney on that store because he wantedhis home town store looking the best, soLiverpool has some catching up to do andhopefully we can put that right over thenext couple of years.”
He believes stores are stillviable in today’s changing retaillandscape.
“I believe the high street hasa future. People still like to goout and shop,” he said.
“The web is a growing areabut we do have a mix of cus-tomers, and customers thatcome to us are the ones thatlike to go out for the day andhave a coffee, and that’s what
we want to provide.”And he said expansion, possibly
through the acquisition of some moreformer TJs sites, is planned.
“There is a lot of possibilities withstores that have closed, but we have a bigjob on here to get these six stores rightand get the business operating as wewant it. But once we get settled, we willdefinitely look to develop more stores.”
TJ HUGHES was founded in 1912when former draper Thomas JHughes opened his store, agedjust 24.
In 1925, large departmentstore group Owen Owenannounced plans to move outof its Audbrey House site, inLondon Road, and into ClaytonSquare.
The building was put up,unsuccessfully, for sale and thethen-chairman of Owen Owen,Duncan Norman, visited the TJHughes shop.
He was so impressed heagreed to let TJ Hughes run andexpand his operation in Aud-brey House for part-ownershipof the business.
TJ Hughes was expanded byOwen Owen until being sold inthe 1980s.
It had three stores by 1990,which increased to 16 by thetime it floated on the StockExchange in 1992.
It had grown to 36 stores bythe time Wigan entrepreneurDave Whelan bought it for£42m in 2000.
He sold it in a £56m buy-outbacked by PPM Capital in 2003.
PPM, later known as Silver-
fleet, expanded to 57 storeswhich were acquired by turn-around specialist Endless thisMarch.
However, continued tradinglosses resulted in the businessbeing placed into administ-ration by the board of directorson June 30.
Accountants Ernst & Youngtried to sell the business as agoing concern, but despite 156expressions of interest, theywere unable to keep the chainintact.
As stocks were depleted,stores all over the UK wereclosed.
But Speke-based wholesalerand retailer Benross, headed bymanaging director Anil Juneja,revealed on August 1 that hehad bought four stores, includ-ing the flagship London Roadsite, and the TJs brand fromadministrators and planned towrite a new chapter in the his-tory of the 99-year group.
Less than a fortnight later, headded two more TJs stores, inNewcastle and Widnes, to thenew-look brand, in a dealworth a total of £1.94m for allsix shops.
‘Wehaveabig jobontogetthesesixstoresright’
privatebusiness
LUBRICANT and fuelmanufacturer RockChemicals saw profitsdouble after it enjoyeda record year.
The Warringtongroup, which trades asRock Oil, reportedsales of £17.2m for theyear ended March 31 –up from £12.5m theprevious year.
Accounts recentlyfiled at CompaniesHouse show Rock pos-ted a pre-tax profit of£572,000 – up from£257,000 in 2010.
Rock has been man-ufacturing for morethan 80 years. It is bestknown for supplyinglubricants to themotorsports world, butsells lubricants, fuelsand grease to other sec-tors from agricultureto manufacturing.
In her report to dir-ectors, company secret-ary Barbara Hewittsaid: “The directors arepleased to be reportingan all-time record year.
“Strong managementhas effected stronggrowth and high profitretention under themost severe conditions.
“Raw materials con-tinued to be a majorbusiness issue. Costshave increased on amonthly basis andthere have been manycases of restricted sup-ply, both factors caus-ing margin and logisticchallenges.
“We are more thansatisfied in the mannerthat Rock managedthese situations.”
Mrs Hewitt said saleswere already “growingrapidly” in the currentfinancial year.
She added:“Obviously, spectaculargrowth has an appetitefor cash and to that endI am delighted toreport the appointmentof Barclays Bank asour new bankers. Theyshare our massiveenthusiasm for thebusiness and are par-ticularly supportive ofour expansion plans.
“Those plansrecently received ahuge boost by the sign-ing of a very large sup-ply agreement contractwith a multi-nationalcustomer, ensuring acornerstone for thebusiness’s turnover inthe years to come.”
ALISTAIR HOUGHTON
Oil firmmakesa Rockrecord
INASSOCIATION
WITH
LIVERPOOL’SINVESTMENTSPECIALISTS
■ ALISTAIR HOUGHTON: Page 8
10 Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Debenhamsset to deliverhigher profitsDEPARTMENT storechain Debenhamsis forecasting higher-than-expected profitsafter a summer ofdiscounts andpromotions helped toboost its marketshare.
The group, whichhas 169 stores in theUK, Ireland and Den-mark, reportedtop-line growth of0.4% on a like-for-likebasis in the nineweeks to August 27,compared with a fallof 0.4% over the pre-vious 43 weeks
Bagpuss set tochange handsCOOLABI, which ownsthe rights to Bagpuss,The Clangers andPurple Ronnie cards,has agreed to a poten-tial £4.3m takeover.
It has reached anunderstanding in prin-ciple with privateequity firm North Pro-motions.
briefing RealGoodFoodComakingprogress
Real Good Food Company chairman Pieter Totté – envisages further progressPicture: JASON ROBERTS
newsLDPbusiness .co.uk
newsLDPbusiness .co.uk
INASSOCIATION
WITH
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BAKERY ingredients firm,The Real Good Food Company,has reported a rise in salesand profits for the six monthsto June 30.
The Toxteth-based groupsaid all four divisions made“substantial progress” asturnover grew from £90.7m to£109.8m, while pre-tax profitsof £1.15m compared with aloss of £1.11m last time.
Real Good Food comprisesNapier Brown, the largestindependent non-refining dis-tributor of sugar in Europe,
dairy ingredients supplierGarrett, bakery ingredientsarm Renshaw and sweetbakery products manufac-turer Haydens.
Chairman Pieter Totté said:“I am very pleased by the pro-gress we have made duringthe first half, particularly aswe have had to contend withincreased commodity costsand challenges in the sourcingof sugar supplies.
“Despite this, we haveachieved growth in all ourbusinesses.”
He added: “Looking for-ward, we are expecting netdebt to reduce by the end ofthe year as we generate cash
in our key trading period.After a three-year period inwhich our trading perform-ance has been over-shadowedby the impact of EU sugarreforms, we are now more incontrol of our destiny.”
He said the challenges ofsugar supply, together withcommodity price increases,meant the group had to secureextra stocks for Renshaw andNapier Brown, which led to an
increase in working capitalfrom £32.7m to £39.7m.
However, he said the groupexpects an easing in the sit-uation in the fourth quarter,and reassured shareholdersthat the business remainedwell within its banking terms.
Renshaw has seen anincrease in business due tothe popularity of home bak-ing, as the cup cake craze con-tinues.
It has introduced a range ofbranded products and is nowplanning international expan-sion with the appointment of anew head of internationalbusiness development, SimonMortimer, to develop andimplement a strategy to buildon its recent success.
Mr Totté said: “We have thepeople and the products tomake considerable furtherprogress.”
Advertising Feature Independent financial advice
Life, death – and taxesRECALLING that RonaldReagan was quoted as say-ing: “Inflation is as viol-ent as a mugger, as fright-ening as an armed robberand as deadly as a hitman,” the view of PaulBrokenshar, of InvestecWealth & Investments, isthat the same could besaid about inheritancetax.
He reckons thatalthough it accounts for arelatively small amount ofthe total UK tax receipt, ithas still grown signific-antly over the last 10years, with £2.72bn beingcollected for the 2010/2011tax year.
He explained: “Inherit-ance tax is a tax oneverything you own in theevent of your death. It ischarged at 40% on assetsexceeding the ‘nil rateband’ of £325,000 (2011/2012). In the case of mar-ried couples where onespouse has already died,the surviving spouse caninherit any unused pro-portion of the nil rateband of the first spouse,which could have theeffect of doubling thisallowance, although hav-ing said that, a lot ofpeople will still becaught.”
Paul says that, while itis undoubtedly a punitivetax, he would alsodescribe it as a “volun-tary” tax, because it canbe avoided through judic-ious financial planning.
So what can you do?Paul says one option is
to give away assets suchas investments, forexample. But subject tocertain exemptions.
One must survive forseven years from the datethe investments are givenaway in order for thoseinvestments to becomeexempt from inheritancetax. The person makingthe gift must also considerwhether they can afford tolose control and access tothose investments, as theywould not be able toretain the right to benefitfrom them in the future.
He describes placinginvestments in trust asbeing a popular way ofmitigating inheritance taxas they allow one to startthe “seven-year clock” tick-ing while also allowingone to keep an element ofcontrol over the capital.Nevertheless, most typesof trusts do not allow youto derive any ongoingbenefits, which again canbe an issue if one is rel-
iant on the income fromthose investments.
He said: “There are,however, a number ofHMRC-approved trustschemes which allow oneto circumvent this prob-lem to some degree.”
Paul says these types oftrusts are effective as thefull value of the trustfunds will avoid a chargeto inheritance tax afterseven years. Furthermore,they also allow the personsetting up the trust to takea regular income streamand ad-hoc withdrawals ofcapital (subject to certainlimits), should the needarise.
He adds that there arealso numerous other waysof mitigating inheritancetax, and recommends con-sulting a suitably qual-ified financial planner todiscuss your options.■ PAUL BROKENSHARis a Chartered FinancialPlanner with InvestecWealth & Investment. Heprovides independent fin-ancial advice and isauthorised and regulatedby the Financial ServicesAuthority. He can be con-tacted on 0151 227 2030.■ RENSBURG Sheppardsis authorised by the Fin-ancial Services Authority.
Paul Brokenshar – judicious financial planning canhelp avoid inheritance tax
IndependentFinancial Advisersin your area
Anglesey
Security Financial ServicesTy Llwyd, Llanfaelog,Ty Croes, Anglesey LL63 5TY
Contact: Richard JonesEmail [email protected]
Phone: 01407 811268Mobile: 07710 468970
Denbighshire
Vale Financial [email protected]
Studio One,Town Hall, Crown Lane, Denbigh LL16 3TBTel: 01745 814962 Fax: 01745 814446
Contact: Glyn B. [email protected]
Liverpool
Investec Wealth& Investment
The Plaza, 100 Old Hall Street, Liverpool L3 9AB.Tel: 0151 227 2030. Fax: 0151 227 2444Email: [email protected]
Website: www.investecwin.co.ukContact: Paul Brokenshar
Why choose an independent financial adviserBecause it pays to take an unbiased view
Those listed above are either an appointed representative of a networkor national which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services
Authority or are directly authorised and regulated
11Wednesday, September 21, 2011
IMFslashesUKgrowthforecastsascrisisgrips
UK Chancellor George Osborne –unlikely to be deflected from hispolicy of spending cuts and tax reform
Picture: DAN KITWOOD
LDPbusiness .co.ukLDPbusiness .co.ukIN
ASSOCIATIONWITH
LIVERPOOL’SINVESTMENTSPECIALISTS
THE International MonetaryFund (IMF) slashed its growthforecasts for the UK as itwarned that the global eco-nomy is in a “dangerous newphase”.
The UK will see grossdomestic product (GDP) grow1.1% in 2011, compared withthe IMF’s last World EconomicOutlook report in April of1.7%, and by 1.6% in 2012,compared with 2.3%.
The forecasts for the UK in2011 fall behind projections forGermany, France, the US andCanada.
The IMF, now led by formerFrench finance ministerChristine Lagarde, warnedthat the forecasts weredependent on the eurozonedebt crisis being containedand US policymakers balan-cing support for the economywith fiscal tightening.
The downgrade is the latest
blow to the UK’s recovery pros-pects after the influential think-tank, OECD, cut its estimatefor growth amid a raft of dis-appointing economic data.
However, the gloomy out-look is unlikely to deter Chan-cellor George Osborne fromhis tough programme ofspending cuts and tax reform,as the IMF has previouslygiven full backing to his aus-terity measures.
Ms Lagarde earlier thismonth said the UK’s stanceremained “appropriate”, but“the heightened risk” meant aneed for a “heightened read-iness to respond”.
The Chancellor’s deficitreduction plans have beenchallenged by business lead-ers, economists and oppositionpoliticians in recent monthsas the economic outlook forthe UK deteriorates.
But Mr Osborne is determ-ined to continue with the aus-terity measures laid out lastOctober in his ComprehensiveSpending Review, which he
has labelled “the rock of stab-ility” on which the economy isbuilt.
Elsewhere, the IMF said theoutlook for advanced econom-ies, including the UK, is for a“weak and bumpy” expansion.
Germany is forecast to grow2.7% in 2011 while France isexpected to show 1.7% growth,the US should advance 1.5%and Canada 2.1%. However,UK growth in 2012 should sur-pass both Germany andFrance.
The organisation saidpolicymakers should pay par-ticular attention to the euro-zone crisis and weak activityin the US, which both threatenglobal growth.
The European Central Bank(ECB) must continue to inter-vene strongly to avoid prob-lems in sovereign debt mar-kets, the report said.
The eurozone debt crisis isshowing no signs of abating asGreece hurtles towardsdefaulting on its debts.■ MARKET comment: P15
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Business for Sale
ESTABLISHED BREAD/PIE/CAKERETAIL OUTLET – WIRRAL
PRICE - £BEST OFFER (Received by 30th Sept 2011)Double unit lock-up shop in prominent position withinBirkenhead Market. The business has been established
for over 20 years and has a very loyal customer base andan enviable reputation. The shop has recently undergonecomplete refurbishment and benefits from modern ovenand a range of high quality display cabinets and ancillary
equipment, including bread slicer.Long established supplier connections ensure high qualityand extremely profitable product lines. Excellent turnoverand excellent profit margins. No catering or bakery skillsrequired. Ideal family business. No evenings/Sundays.
Reluctant sale due to family repatriation.Turnkey solution to a very profitable business.
For further details or to arrange a viewingcontact Paul on 07770 656246
FRAMELINECOMPOSITE DOORSTRADE, UPVC WINDOWS
DOORS, CONSERVATORIES.
5 Day Turnaround
Tel: 0151 546 5577Fax: 0151 546 5588Accredited with BS7412 & BS7950
Building Trade This spacecould beworking for you.For details telephone
0151 227 2000
DAILY POST
BUSINESS to BUSINESS
This space could beworking for you.For details telephone 0151 227 2000
L I V E R P O O L
DAILY POST
12 Wednesday, September 21, 2011
by James Lowman, CEO of theAssociation of Convenience Stores
LDPbusiness .co.uklocation
viewpoint
INASSOCIATION
WITH
LIVERPOOL’SINVESTMENTSPECIALISTS
Planningpolicy iskeytorevivalofUKhighstreetFall in heritage staff
Teamaker’srelocationrefreshesex-drugssite
The former Glaxo SmithKline pharmaceutical plant, in Speke, is now home to Lancashire Tea
CBREcompletes35,000sqftofHaydocklettings
THIS has been a very worryingsummer for the high street andneighbourhood retailing sector,with a wave of closures at high-profile names like HMV andThornton’s helping to swell thenumber of stores closing each dayto 20.
This has left almost 15% of highstreet premises empty.
That’s why Mary Portas’sappointment to conduct a reviewof UK high streets has been socrucial.
As part of her review,she will have to balancethe impacts of poorretailing performanceand outdated manage-ment, the rise of inter-net retailing, the pre-vailing squeeze onhousehold incomes andthe crucial loss of con-sumer confidence.
Couple this with other con-sumer concerns surroundingissues like parking, and it’s clearthat this is no easy task.
Despite all of these variables,
however, there is one overridingproblem that must not be ignored.
This is the dramatic increase inretail investment located out oftown.
Despite the fact thatcurrent planning policyrequires councils toexplicitly favour “towncentre first” development,more than 80% of the 40msq ft of new retail floorspace in the pipeline willbe located out of town.
Out-of-town develop-ment draws trade out of
town centres, so traditional highstreets suffer at the expense of thebig sheds, and over time thesesmaller retailers become unviable.
Almost one in six shops on thehigh street are now closing their
‘Almostone insixshops isclosingitsdoors’
doors, while supermarkets con-tinue in their goal to offereverything under one roof, com-peting viciously with each otheras everyone else suffers.
The move out of town also killsthe diversity and uniqueness ofour high streets.
Our own research this yearshowed that only 15% of the publicfeel a sense of identity with theirlocal high street.
That’s a sad indictment of ourcommunities and it needs tochange.
Mary Portas’s report will be amajor opportunity to promote theimportance of the high street, butit’s the less sexy, less media-friendly planning policy and thedecisions made by councils thatwill deliver healthy high streets.
ACTING on behalf of Aber-deen Asset Management,the North West Industrialteam at CB Richard Ellis(CBRE) has completed fivelettings totalling 35,000 sqft so far this year at Hay-
dock Industrial Estate.New tenants include Lift-erz, Nestco, Pubstuff,Kapak Foods andInterserve IndustrialServices.
Existing occupier Film
and Foil has acquired anextra 3,600 sq ft of spacewithin the estate to satisfysurplus storage require-ments.
Companies alreadybased in Haydock include,
Costco, Sainsbury’s,Palmer & Harvey andBooker.
Darren Hill, senior sur-veyor at CBRE North West,said: “Haydock has alwaysbeen a popular location for
industrial occupiers due toits strategic location atJunction 23 of the M6 andits intersection with theA580. This has ensuredthat demand for the unitshas remained high.”
LANCASHIRE TEA has tripledthe size of its manufacturing oper-ation by moving into a formerSpeke pharmaceutical plant.
The tea maker has moved fromits former 4,500 sq ft Newton-le-Willows site to a 14,500 sq ft areawithin the old Glaxo SmithKlinefactory, on Speke Boulevard,which was shut in 2004 with theloss of 600 jobs.
Lancashire Tea has created fourjobs as a result of its relocation,and said it hopes to add more asthe brand becomes more success-ful.
The company said it decided tomove to the former drugs firmplant to cope with planned expan-sion, but also because its specific-ation and building fabric wasmuch higher than conventionalproperties, which made it ideal fora food and drink sector business.
An added bonus was its prox-imity to Liverpool city centre andthe motorway network.
Liverpool used to form part ofthe traditional county of Lan-cashire, so the company said itfeels at home in its new location.
The firm is preparing forgrowth, boosted by supply dealswith a familiar sight on the Brit-ish high street.
Company spokesman PaulNeedham said: “Pound shops havebeen an engine of growth for us.“Pound shop customers and their
loyalty to Lancashire Tea havecontributed enormously towardsus moving our factory to a sitethree times bigger than our pre-vious premises.
“But, equally, in times of reces-sion, we’re very proud to be ableto offer the British public a greatcup of tea at a very good price.”
Pound shops currently stocking
Lancashire Tea include 99p Storesand Poundland. Other well-knownnationwide stockists includeHome Bargains, B&M Bargains,Heron Foods and Cool Trader.
A DRAMATIC cutin local conservat-ion specialistscould significantlydelay planningapplications,warns a reportfrom the Instituteof Historic Build-ing Conservation
(IHBC), EnglishHeritage and theAssociation ofLocal GovernmentOfficers.
The report showsa sharp fall in con-servation and his-toric environmentexperts.
Commercial Property
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Rheolir y gwerthiant gan:
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YSGOL YR HENDRE, CAERNARFONGWYNEDD, LL55 2LY
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13Wednesday, September 21, 2011
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01564 74 10 10www.leargroup.co.uk
CHURCHILLINDUSTRIAL ESTATE
SEEDS LANEFAZAKERLEY
RENTSFROM
£100PERWEEK
14 Wednesday, September 21, 2011
LondonStockMarketatClose
Last night, the pound was worth: $1.5716 (up 0.0044)....... 1.1475 euros (down 0.0016) .......114.18 yen (down 0.67) ....... Its trade weighted index was 79.10 (unchanged)Metals in $ per troy ounce: Gold 1799 (up 5)..........................Silver 39.18 (down 1.28).......................... Platinum 1774 (down 24).......................... UK base lending rate 0.5%
Keep track of all the major share moves of the day with our live FTSE ticker at www.ldpbusiness.co.ukLDPbusiness .co.ukLDPbusiness .co.uk
96 6312 Adv Medical 8518 -18 +418
17 214 AEA Technology 234 +14
28712 241 Albany Inv Tst 241 -12 -112
1251 834 AMEC 909 -1 +11
92 2614 Anglesey Mining 4734 +134 +12
35714 22858 Balfour Beatty 25334 +318 +2214
39 2812 Beale 2812 -12 -312
612 51112 Compass Gp 560 +7 +19
1265 99712 Dee Valley 1245 +5
479 301 easyJet 31714 -178 +6
1030 75312 JD Sports Fashion 84012 -19 -1412
11712 1112 JJB Sports 1838 -38 -58
36 2014 Johnson Serv 31 +38
579 410 Nichols 526 +412
14912 10212 NWF 11712 xd -12 -12
50 28 Park Gp 4512 xd +2 +214
1257 828 Rathbone 1068 xd +15 +4
139 9838 Redrow 10738 +78 -234
14312 10778 RSA Insurance 11312 xd +1 +5
34 2214 Speedy Hire 2412 -12
4634 3412 Sportech 4278 +118 +2
4634 2714 Telme Gp 4214 +34
5514 3234 UK Coal 3834 -14 -112
2 1 Ultima 118
2081 1777 Unilever 1989 +41 +67
63112 54312 Utd Utils 610 +9 +26
UNIT TRUSTS
DAILY POST REGIONAL INDEX 1148.36 up 7.62 ▲ 0.67%
In order to give a greater range of Unit Trustinformation, covering a larger number of trusts, thelist of funds changes each day as follows:UNIT TRUST MANAGERS DAYS PUBLISHEDA to Com ................................................... TuesdayF to Inv....................................................WednesdayJP to Pru...................................................ThursdayRoy to T.........................................................Friday
FUNDS
Consols
£88532 £761132 Cons 4%.................£7734
£62516 £50 Cons 212% ............ £62532
Conversions
£7912 £69 Cnv 312%.................£7212
Treasury
£6514 £50916 Tr 212%....................£5912
£1141316£1062132 Tr 9% 12.............. £107332
£106516 £102116 Tr 5% 12.............. £102116
£12034 £11478 Tr 8% 13................£11478 -132
£114132 £109532 Tr 5% 14............. £1121532 -132
£109532 £105732 Tr 734% 12-15........£10614
£3402932 £310532 Tr 212% IL 16 ....... £340732 -532
£142116 £1322132 Tr 834% 17.............£14058 -18
£1511732£1332732 Tr 8% 21................£15118 -132
War
£89 £6712 War Ln 312%.............. £86 -3
High Low Price Var 5Day High Low Price Var 5Day High Low Price Var 5Day Country Currency Tourist Buy Sell
FTSE 100 INDEX
SPOTLIGHT
KEYs............ dealing suspendedxd.............price ex-dividendxs........ price ex-scrip issuexr ........ price ex-rights issuexc ..... ex-capital distributionxa................................ ex-all£......price value in £ sterling
Those securities which haveincreased in value since the previ-ous close are shown in bold type.
To assist in the analysis of themarket two figures are given foreach sector. Firstly an index (setat 100 on January 1 1992) togive a comparison in the perfor-mance of various market sectors.Secondly an indication of the per-centage change in the price of allthe securities within a sector sincethe previous close.
Mar 20, 2011 Sep 20, 2011
DEBENHAMS Share price (pence)
45
55
65
75
85
FTSE-Rebased
£ ABROAD
Australia dollars 1.45 1.525 1.530
Canada dollars 1.48 1.558 1.560
Denmark krone 8.15 8.541 8.551
European Union euro 1.10 1.147 1.148
Japan yen 114.18 120.160 120.260
New Zealand dollars 1.78 1.901 1.906
Norway krone 8.54 8.889 8.890
Poland zlotys 4.41 5.011 5.019
Sweden krona 10.04 10.417 10.427
Switzerland francs 1.32 1.395 1.396
Turkey new lira 2.66 2.807 2.817
United States dollars 1.50 1.571 1.572
Cancel Bid Offer Yield
Fund Terms Price Price Gross
FIDELITY INVESTMENT SERVS
Amer Spec Sits - 564.70 -
American - 1679.00 0.32
Income Plus - 193.10 4.51
Japan - 218.40 0.53
Jpan Spec Sits - 135.10 0.10
Spec Sits - 1674.00 0.01
Sth East Asia - 642.90 0.01
GARTMORE FUND MANAGERS
Euro Sel Opps - 739.78 1.29
Pratical Inv -148.89 159.53 4.64
GUARDIAN
Index-Linked Acc -540.26 568.70 -
International Acc -896.66 943.85 -
Pacific Acc -240.52 253.18 -
Property Bonds -2023.81 2108.13 -
HSBC INVESTMENT FUNDS (UK)
Balanced - 95.43 1.24
British -237.60 237.60 2.90
Gilt & FI - 67.96 3.00
Gilt & Fixed -240.00 240.00 5.92
Monthly Inc - 122.10 4.49
HENDERSON HORIZON FUND
European Smllr Cos A - 818.80 0.14
Sterling Bd Unit Tst - 53.58 55.98 4.46
UK Equity Inc A - 395.80 3.26
HILL SAMUEL UNIT TST MGRS
Capital -272.50 283.40 1.20
European - 653.10 0.70
Far East - 532.10 1.80
Inc & Gwth - 176.60 3.40
International - 374.20 0.40
North Amer Acc - 447.60 0.10
INVESCO FUND MANAGERS
Sing ASEAN - 187.48 0.73
High Low Funds Price Var
Closing Indices
FT-SE 100 INDEX 5363.71up 104.15 ▲ 1.98%
20 DAY MOVINGAVERAGE 5248.19up 11.71 ▲ 0.22%
FT ALL-SHARE 2777.05up 48.90 ▲ 1.79%
Aerospace & Defence
Index 3088.65 ▲ 58.94
324 14212 Avon Rbbr 299 -6
36978 24818 BAE Systems 28634 +634
73612 485 Chemring 54412 +5
24558 17338 Cobham 184 +438
39758 29312 Meggitt 331 xd -12
665 55712 Rolls-Royce 621 +1312
19058 127 Senior 145
Automobiles & Parts
Index 4470.38 ▲ 44.42
245 163 GKN 19114xd +178
Banks
Index 3451.87 ▲ 63.09
33312 14158 Barclays 15414 +112
859 45312 Bco Santander 51534 +1034
73078 49212 HSBC 52078xd +934
5914 638 Ireland 614 -18
7658 2712 Lloyds Banking3414 +78
4912 1958 Ryl Scotland 2318 +14
1959 1295 Stan Chart 136512xd+2812
Beverages
Index 9625.61 ▲ 221.00
1395 1031 Barr (AG) 1150 -9
50312 28978 Britvic 30438 +3
1307 1092 Diageo 1247xd +39
2340 1979 SABMiller 2221 +31
Chemicals
Index 6495.67 ▲ 132.10
2081 1367 Croda 1813xd +24
18738 97 Elementis 13878xd +114
2119 1534 Johnsn Mat 1673 +51
Construction & Materials
Index 3198.99 ▲ 45.48
35714 22858 Balfour Beatty 25334 +318
265 188 Costain 22234 +234
148078919 CRH 102134xd+27
1418 1097 Kier Group 1258 +27
7634 36 Low Bonar 6112xd -114
12412 96 Marshalls 9914 -314
Electricity
Index 8333.93 ▲ 214.64
53612 35358 Drax Gp 51912 +1
44858 27938 Intl Power 336 +234
1423 1108 Scot&Sthrn 1326xd +39
Electronic & Electrical
Index 2595.12 ▼ 21.36
705 46458 Domino Ptg 46458 -514
207 12778 Laird 14518 +58
35718 20514 Morgn Cru 24838 -258
1010 461 Oxford Inst 81812 -1112
377 241 Volex 269 +514
Equity Inv Instruments
Index 5511.40 ▲ 36.89
39234 325 Alliance 34138xd +378
14012 113 Br Assets 11538xd -18
777 485 Candover Inv 51712 +18
228 19734 DunedinIncGth 20718 +334
15734 12034 Dunedin Sml 127 +12
49214 41478 Edin Invst 45014 +1018
66034 546 Edin US TrkTst 610 xd +10
32778 26858 Forgn & C 28734 +414
32334 252 Hend Sml Cos 26134xd +6
385 30934 Law Debnture 33234 -34
252 21212 Scot Am 22112xd +58
533 42634 Witan 439 xd +78
Fixed Line Telecoms
Index 2100.07 ▲ 38.82
20418 13878 BT Gp 17518 +414
6034 3114 Cble&W Com 40 -18
7678 3078 Cble&W Wwd 3312 +38
84 4712 KCOM 72 +12
Food & Drug Retailers
Index 4351.81 ▲ 30.93
30814 26234 Morrison W 29514 +238
395 27558 Sainsbury 281 +38
44058 360 Tesco 37118 +338
112 46 Thorntons 4714 -12
Food Producers
Index 5257.39 ▲ 105.40
1182 940 AB Foods 1122 +23
875 60212 Carrs Mill 770 xd +10
896 606 Cranswick 615 -312
42478 325 Dairy Crest 34118 +418
3518 1138 Premier Foods 1214 -18
656 46158 Tate Lyle 61712 +14
2081 1777 Unilever 1989 +41
Forestry & Paper
Index 5719.59
664 46834 Mondi 531
General Financial
Index 5119.98 ▲ 55.08
340 18838 3i 19838 +18
88812 65612 Close Bros 686 -412
57012 39114 ICAP 472 +812
1076 675 London Stk Ex 862 +1712
1124 72812 Provident 1053 -5
1257 828 Rathbone 1068xd +15
1922 1288 Schroders 1316xd +28
General Industrials
Index 2603.77 ▲ 28.17
72412 42118 Cooksn Gp 44438xd +538
6 218 Cosalt 212
400 30112 Rexam 32718xd +412
26614 14578 Smith DS 19478 -58
1429 90712 Smiths Gp 967 +14
General Retailers
Index 1596.84 ▲ 26.17
2514 16 Ashley L 2112 +38
31114 23214 Brown (N) Gp 291 +634
7738 5114 Debenhams 5812 -34
2812 1058 Dixons Retail 1114 -18
45934 26912 Halfords 30218 +514
235 10518 Home Retail 11614 +118
42538 26934 Inchcape 31018 +534
1030 75312 JD Sports 84012 -19
28718 217 Kingfisher 25912 +678
42712 30134 M & S 33558 +678
62712 33612 Mothercare 33812 +2
2649 1868 Next 2649 +32
2986 1885 Signet Jwlrs 2370 +66
523 43334 WH Smith 511 +412
Health Care Equip & Serv
Index 3380.29 ▲ 11.22
742 521 Smith Nph 594 +2
Household Goods
Index 6358.47 ▲ 112.93
138 74 Aga Rngmstr 9012 +158
119 6712 Barratt Dev 8214 +412
75312 511 Bellway 606 +312
19178 11712 McBride 119
3648 3015 Reckitt Benck 3323xd +53
139 9838 Redrow 10738 +78
4314 2214 Taylor Wimpey 3312 +38
Industrial Engineering
Index 6603.97 ▲ 112.37
39734 24778 Bodycote 268 -2
876 53812 Charter 876 +11
42212 231 Fenner 35034 +514
1119 738 IMI 799 xd +2512
116 46 Molins 92 xd +2
31212 12112 MS Intl 24212
45 2512 Renold 3238 +18
2063 1649 Spirax Srco 1824 +16
2218 1371 Weir Gp 1815 +33
Industrial Transportation
Index 2169.61 ▲ 17.26
24034 156 BBA Aviation 17178xd +314
Life Insurance
Index 3626.09 ▲ 57.27
47778 28914 Aviva 30734 +514
12334 9078 Lgl & Gen 98 xd +1
777 56412 Prudential 600 xd +1312
31618 21114 Resolution 24512xd -12
24434 172 Standard Life 19678xd +438
Media
Index 3776.60 ▲ 69.51
850 61812 BSkyB 689 +10
59412 360 D Mail Tst 36714 -1034
9312 5158 ITV 5914 +258
1207 926 Pearson 1164xd +28
59012 46114 Reed Elsevier 502 +1212
168 8934 STV Group 10912 -12
12114 3712 Trinity Mirror 42 +1
725 416 Utd Business 46134xd +634
151 101 UTV 12612xd +134
84612 57812 WPP 622 +6
Mining
Index 21123.88 ▲ 275.76
3437 2234 Anglo Amer 2455 +48
1634 1136 Antofagasta 1197xd +3
2631121846 BHP Billiton 1965xd +30
2150 1217 Fresnillo 1943 +76
53118 348 Glencore Intl 45112xd+1412
1671 918 Kazakhmys 992 xd +15
1983 1103 Lonmin 1186 +20
7215 4425 Randgold Res 7215 +150
4712 338712Rio Tinto 353712 +3212
5514 3234 UK Coal 3834 -14
Mobile Telecoms
Index 3751.31 ▲ 84.54
71912 38934 Inmarsat 50312 +2
18234 155 Vodafone Gp 165 +334
Nonlife Insurance
Index 1384.94 ▲ 8.48
1754 1270 Admiral Grp 1288 +12
200612149334Marsh McL 181334 +2038
14312 10778 RSA Insurance 11312xd +1
Oil & Gas Producers
Index 7825.14 ▲ 157.78
156412111612BG 127612 +1812
509 36314 BP 41412xd +718
46934 28138 Cairn Energy 29612 +1038
535 310 Premier Oil 343 +758
2336 1831 Ryl D Shell B 2137xd+5512
1493 94512 Tullow Oil 1367 +3
Oil Equipment & Services
Index 21740.80 ▲ 308.53
1251 834 AMEC 909 -1
Personal Goods
Index 23733.77 ▲ 667.85
1600 94512 Burberry Gp 1500 +50
409 32012 PZ Cussons 33434xd -178
Pharma & Biotechnology
Index 9301.90 ▲ 193.61
3359 254312AstraZeneca 2856 +5812
1385 112712GlaxoSmthKln 133312xd+2812
50 3112 Vernalis 3312 -1
Real Estate
Index 1958.11
35314 23414 Big Yellow Gp 25638 +238
62912 464 Brit Land 515 +1412
2954 2282 Daejan Hldgs 2408 -47
445 329 Gt Portland 37878 +534
885 625 Land Secs 67612xd +17
33114 22934 SEGRO 23858 +878
Software & Comp Servs
Index 717.83 ▲ 7.24
2531 1271 Autonomy 2531
6312 4014 Emblaze 5438 +58
36414 22134 Invensys 23938 +6
108 83 Kewill 8712 +1
14714 8014 Logica 8158xd -134
302 23134 Sage 26334 +612
Support Services
Index 4045.06 ▲ 56.95
17 214 AEA Tech 234
2034 1389 Aggreko 1787 +4
20778 9938 Ashtead Gp 136 +214
568 39114 Berendsen 455 xd -258
81212 67612 Bunzl 79612 +15
79412 63512 Capita 732 xd +7
85312 54912 De La Rue 789 +1012
29478 190 Electrocmps 20034 +112
83312 665 Experian 714 +19
291 23734 G4S 26434xd +718
452 305 Hyder Cons 326
34114 18312 Interserve 30814 -78
550 425 Menzies J 497
34634 202 Northgate 26638 -18
30834 15178 Prem Farnell 16134 +234
10478 7278 Rentokil 7778 -34
12012 79 Smiths News 8414 +34
34 2214 Speedy Hire 2412 -12
1127 722 Travis & P 77512 +2512
2261 1404 Wolseley 1520 +13
Tech Hardware & Equip
Index 757.35 ▲ 21.65
651 33878 ARM Hldgs 619 xd +2212
2712 1812 BATM 19 +12
10234 5112 Psion 55 xd +14
16014 116 Spirent Coms 126 +1
Tobacco
Index 32117.27 ▲ 879.35
2871 228212Br Am Tob 284212xd+79
2231 1784 Imperial Tob 2093 +55
Travel & Leisure
Index 4149.73 ▲ 66.59
3153 1742 Carnival 2145xd +132
612 51112 Compass Gp 560 +7
479 301 easyJet 31714 -178
12234 3212 Enterprise Inns 4034 +1
41258 31114 FirstGroup 33714 -118
1598 1085 Go-Ahead Gp 1443 +1
518 410 Greene King 46134 +458
431 240 Holidaybreak 431 +12
1435 955 Intercontl Htls 1092xd +30
285 14612 Intl Cons Airlns 15014 -4
15514 120 Ladbrokes 12812xd +12
11718 87 Marston’s 9678 +34
361 21638 Mitchells&Btlrs 259 +334
9038 918 Punch Taverns 12 -14
15334 10912 Rank Gp 135 -58
335 25478 Restaurant Gp 27618xd +7
26812 18038 Stagecoach 24314xd
20434 3334 Thomas Cook 4138xd +78
27178 13714 TUI Travel 15358xd +312
1887 1409 Whitbread 1661 +52
Utilities
Index 4724.19 ▲ 87.12
34534 28614 Centrica 30014 +718
1265 99712 Dee Valley 1245
63812 530 National Grid 63812 +1212
73712 57912 Pennon Gp 688 xd +6
1517 1306 Severn 1509 +34
63112 54312 Utd Utils 610 +9
AIM
Index 760.67 ▼ 0.45
4958 15 API Gp 45
1034 178 Armour Gp 218
158 1 Crimson Tide 138
214 112 Dawson Intl 134
838 514 Eckoh 758
11712 1112 JJB Sports 1838 -38
36 2014 Johnson Serv 31
86 3034 Man Brnze 36 -12
12 638 Metalrax 812
550 385 Portmeirion P 45212xd
17312 55 Redhall Gp 67 -12
6214 2212 Scapa Gp 4412 +34
142 99 Swallowfield 116
96 67 Uniq 9458 -14
712 530 Young A 655 +212
Aug 29 - Sep 2 Sep 5 - Sep 9 Sep 12 - Sep 16 M T W T F5000
5125
5250
5375
5500FTSE-100
20-Day Moving Average
15Wednesday, September 21, 2011
businessdiary
LDPbusiness .co.ukmarket comment
LDPbusiness .co.uk
For all the latest local and national business news online, log on to www.ldpbusiness.co.uk
INASSOCIATION
WITH
LIVERPOOL’SINVESTMENTSPECIALISTS
Thursday, September 22Hanover Street Socialbar & brasserie is host-ing its launch event inthe guise of businessbreakfast networking.
The event will runfrom 7.30am to 9.30amand is guest list only.
Enquiries to [email protected]
Friday, September 23The Civil EngineeringContractors Associat-ion is holding its LiveDebate and annual din-ner in Liverpool, withfour guest speakers.
The venue is theCrowne Plaza Hotel.
The debate startsfrom 12 noon and is
free. The dinner startsfrom 6.30pm and tick-ets cost £65. To book,contact Ian Robinsonon 01768 352872 or 07703585027, or via [email protected],or www.ceca.co.uk
Tuesday, September 27Ubiquity PR's Fish! net-working is beingsponsored this monthby Liverpool FootballClub at Reds Gallery.
It takes place at
Bluecoat Chambersfrom 5.30pm-8pm and isguest list only.
Enquiries to [email protected]
Thursday, September 29Accountancy and fin-ancial managementfirm McEwan Wallaceis holding a free sem-inar for small firms onmaking the most of taxplanning, includingpresentations by threetax and finance
experts, followed by aQ&A session and lightbuffet.
The venue isThornton Hall Hotel,Wirral, from 4.45pm.
Call Rebekka Cairnson 0151-647 6681 tobook, or email [email protected]
Thursday, September 29St Helens RLFC isinviting businesses to aforum explaining howthey can get involved
with the club, ahead ofthe move to its new18,000-capacity towncentre stadium and itsbusiness-friendly facil-ities.
The Newz Bar, inWater Street, is thevenue, between 5pm to7pm.
For further details,contact John McDon-agh at Saints on 07825169 223.
Thursday, October 6
The follow-up eventafter the launch of Liv-erpool Vision’s “It’sLiverpool in China Net-work” welcomes allorganisations doingbusiness in China, orwith an interest inexploring opportunit-ies there.
It is at the BT Con-vention Centre, from5pm.
Phone 0151-293 0505to reserve a place.
EndgamemaybeclosetoremedyeurozonefiscalwoesALTHOUGH volatility has continuedto make the journey uncomfortable,since the lurch downwards in stockmarkets at the beginning of August, inthe wake of the Standard & Poor’sdecision to downgrade America’scredit rating, market index levels arelittle changed.
This partly reflects the fact that,while there has clearly been some realworld economic impact from the polit-ical dithering in both America andEurope at the end of July, so far it isnot threatening to become self-reinfor-cing. Consumer and business sent-iment have been damaged and employ-ment growth has stalled, buteven though stock and bondmarkets are united in fearful-ness, there is little evidencethat multinational corpor-ations are clambering backinto the defensive bunker.
This is a hopeful sign thatan optimistic assessment ofthe resilience to the currentbusiness cycle is justified –supported as it is by solidglobal demand patterns, highcorporate profit margins,strong private sector balancesheets, low financing costsand a better capitalised, moretransparent banking system.
It suggests, most importantly, that aperiod of calm without adverse polit-ical developments could quickly see areturn of the animal spirits thatappeared to be taking the lead early in2011. This was before those spiritswere dampened by the triple-whammyof an oil price spike driven by MiddleEastern turmoil, the Japanese
tsunami’s negative impact on globaldemand and supply chains and Amer-ica’s breathtakingly self-immolataryCongressional financial brinkmanship.
Aside from the euro-zone situation,all of these roadblocks appearto be behind us. Unfortun-ately, this is the biggest road-block of them all and themeasures recently put inplace to secure liquidity to thebanking system, if not accom-panied by a long-term solut-ion, merely put off the inev-itable judgment day.
As we look at the euro-zonesituation today, with Italy nowat the core of the current mar-ket unease, we appear to havereached the nub of the prob-lem. Italian bond markets’misbehaviour is of far greaterimport than previous exper-
iences in Greece, Portugal, Ireland andSpain. Germany must decide whetherit has the stomach to underwriteItaly’s commitment to fiscal prudenceand specifically southern Europe’slargest debtor nations’ commitment tocollecting taxes. This would be sig-nalled by empowering the EuropeanFinancial Stability Facility – or theEuropean Central Bank (ECB) – to buy
unlimited amounts of their debt, and itis the minimum price of sustaining theeuro in its current form. To be doublysure, in spite of the objections fromEuropean Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet, a recapitalisation of euro-zone banks should also be put in place.
We continue to expect Europe willfind a solution, but it is clear the polit-ical challenge in doing so is great –
hence, the sense of crisis necessary toprecipitate a consensus. Judging bythe open warfare in the press, bothwithin Europe and between the ECBand the American treasury, a catharticmoment may soon be upon us.
John Haynes,Head of Research,
Investec
The Japanese earthquake and tsunami, in March – part of atriple-whammy that destabilised any hopes of recovery
Picture: HIROTO NOMOTO
LondonmarketA LATE rally saw Lon-don’s leading sharesindex close nearly 2%higher yesterday, astraders shrugged off adowngrade of Italy’scredit rating and agloomy forecast from theInternational MonetaryFund.
The FTSE 100 Indexclosed 104.2 points ahead,at 5363.7, as traders awaitthe outcome of a key USFederal Reserve meeting,which could see theannouncement of morestimulus measures, andas optimism over a res-olution to the Greek debtcrisis snowballed.
The FTSE 100 Indexwas initially lower afterStandard & Poor’s cutItaly’s debt rating by onenotch and placed thecountry’s outlook at neg-ative.
The Dax in Germanyand the CAC 40 in Francewere up 3% and 1%respectively.
London’s leading shareindex slumped by morethan 2% on Monday amidfears of a Greek default.But there was renewedoptimism the beleagueredcountry will meet therequirements to get itshands on its next trancheof bail-out money andavoid a default.
The pound was still upagainst the weakenedeuro at 1.14, following theItalian debt downgrade.Sterling was also upagainst the US dollar at1.57. Banking stocksbenefited from the optim-ism surrounding theeconomy.
The biggest Footsierisers were HargreavesLansdown, up 37.6p at480.2p, Carnival, ahead132p at 2145p, Ashmore,up 21.5p at 410p and ITV,ahead 2.7p, at 59.3p.
The biggest Footsiefallers were Internat-ional Airlines Group,down 4p at 150.2p, Ved-anta Resources, off 23pat 1305p, Investec, down1.6p at 397.5p and Resol-ution, off 0.5p, at 245.5p.
Whatdoyouthink?Email us withyour views [email protected],or write to usPO Box 48, OldHall Street,LiverpoolL69 3EB
■ ALISTAIR HOUGHTON: Page 8
16 Wednesday, September 21, 2011
‘Todo’ listsessentialtojugglesomanyprojects
Communication is really important to our team – Brabners Stuart partner Jon Else, left, with corporatefinance colleague, Paula McGrath
■ RENOWNED DaleStreet watering hole
Thomas Rigby’s is oftenhost to sports fans ofvarious favours, but agroup of reds of a differ-ent hue held sway lastThursday when Lan-cashire fans witnessed,and celebrated, thecounty’s first title win –played mostly at Liver-pool’s Aigburth groundfor most of the season –in 77 years.
Licensee Fiona Watkin,below, as ever the perfecthostess, took time outfrom pulling pints to nipout and buy bunches ofred roses to confer on thejubilant Red Rose countyrevellers for their button-holes as a memento of aonce-in-a-lifetimemoment.
Clearly touched by thegesture, everyone lookedsuitably dapper, even thesix foot “honey monster”
who chose to wear his,elegantly, behind his ear.
■ WEB giant Googlelaunched its three-
month stint in Liverpoollast week with a lavishBaltic Triangle event.
Delegates were enter-tained by acrobats per-forming on coloured rib-bons suspended from aniron beam. They also gotLiverpool Vision chiefexecutive Max Steinberg,who sat alone in dark-ness on the main stage asthe acrobats whirled andLady Gaga’s Born ThisWay blared out.
And later on, our hostsoffered Google cocktails –including the tequila-based “Places”, namedafter Google’s mappingsystem. We wonder howmany delegates got loston their way home?
■ SHORE Capital bossHoward Shore was
in cautious form as hespoke to LDP Businessthis week, but one thingcheered him up.
As the phone call drewto en end, Shore said: “Doyou support Liverpool orEverton?
“Everton,” replied ourTrading Gossip spy.
“Well, we did you a bigfavour winning four-nought,” he said, refer-ring to Liverpool’sembarrassing defeat toSpurs. His smile was vis-ible from London.
LDPbusiness .co.ukthe back page
tradinggossip
workingday
5.30am: Not a time of day I used toknow at all, but one that I have nowbeen introduced to by our new arrival.
6am: After feeding Dexter, back to bedfor an hour before the week begins inearnest.
7am: Get up and check emails on myphone. I have an interesting emailfrom a former client who has heardthat a competitor is up for sale. Thiscompetitor is owned by a privateequity house, so will have to do somedigging on his behalf.
Make a smoothie and a quick coffeebefore I leave the house.
7.30am: The daily drive to Liverpool –XFM on the radio to wake me up andthen Radio 4 for a news summary. Ipark in The Capital and walk to theBrabners Stuart offices in HortonHouse, Exchange Flags.
8.30am: Communication is reallyimportant to the Brabners Stuartteam, and we start every week with ateam meeting to update everyone onwork in progress, new leads andlonger term goals.
Today, I am reporting back on lastweek’s meeting with the funders of abusiness that we are looking to buy forthe management team. We also discussfollow-on funding for a business webought out of administration earlierthis year.
I have arranged to see the Mersey-side Special Investment Fund (MSIF)later today, and the news that theyhave a small pot of money available forthe Halton area may help here.
10am: Head off to a meeting with HillDickinson to discuss a mutual clientwho is looking to sell. They are a nichemanufacturing business, which wethink may be of interest to a number ofoverseas trade players.
11.30am: Back to the office to send anemail requesting an informationmemorandum on a £10m turnoverpackaging company that a client isinterested in purchasing.
11.45am: Another important email
has to be sent to a local firm ofaccountants to finalise some numbersfor a share valuation report we arepreparing for a client of BrabnersChaffe Street’s private client team.
12 noon: The Brabners Stuart teamhave an internal meeting with our col-leagues in the corporate team at Brab-ners Chaffe Street to discuss how wework together to generate more trans-actions in Liverpool – for the benefit ofall of the professional communityhere.
As the corporate finance arm ofBrabners Chaffe Street, we also dis-cuss how to integrate Brabners Stuartinto the existing Brabners ChaffeStreet website.
1.30pm: Pop out to Philpot’s for lunch.I think I have now tried every com-bination of sandwich and Tyrrells intheir £3.50 deal – think it’s time to trysomewhere else.
2pm: Coffee with MSIF to discuss thepotential funding for a £3m MBO and acouple of fundraising projects that wethink are suitable for mezzanine fin-ance. MSIF is still a very good sourceof finance in the region.
4pm: Last meeting of the day, so backto Horton House. I am seeing a NorthWest-based telecoms client who is look-ing to raise significant developmentcapital.
We have been working with themsince spring, when we refinanced theirworking capital requirements with aninvoice discounting line.
They now need £2m to fund theongoing growth of the business. Thiscould well be something for the newNorth West Fund, so I will need toarrange a meeting with YFM.
6pm: Check emails before leaving theoffice for the day and make a “to do”list for the morning – something I find
really useful when you are managingso many different projects at once.
7pm: Arrive home and take over Dex-ter duties – bath, bottle and bed.
8pm: Drag myself out for a five-milerun in the rain, as am training for ahalf-marathon. I don’t feel like it, butkeep telling myself it’s good for me.Turn the music up and go.
9pm: Quick shower, then sit down fordinner with Alex.
9.30pm: I must be getting old, as bed-time is a lot earlier than it used to be –but I still find time to catch up withsome TV.
Tonight is Dragon’s Den – it’s amaz-ing how many people appear on theshow who have no idea about thingslike turnover or profit.
I find myself shouting at the telly atleast once a week.
JonElse ispartneratLiverpoolcorporatefinanceadvisoryoutfitBrabnersStuart.He livesinAltrinchamwithhiswife,Alex,andsix-month-oldson,Dexter.This ishisworkingday . . .
INASSOCIATION
WITH
LIVERPOOL’SINVESTMENTSPECIALISTS
