LDP Business Magazine December 2010

48

THURSDAY 7th

L IVERPOOLDAY

FRIDAY 8th

LADIES DAY

SATURDAY 9thAPRIL 2011GRANDNATIONALDAY

Book now and win an iPad!Make a hospitality booking before Friday17th Decemberand not only beat theVAT rise but be automatically enteredinto our free prize draw to win an iPad!

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Dont miss the ultimate sportingand social event of the yearWith packages from 155 per person,make sure youcelebrate the 2011 John Smiths Grand National in stylein one of our restaurants or private boxes.

1

M O N T H L Y R E G I O N A L B U S I N E S S M A G A Z I N E

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Decentbet:SportechhasTote insights Big footsteps:Shoefirmcrosses theAtlantic Ontrack:Highhopes forelectrification

Keeping it inthe family

Fatherandsonensuringasparkling future forBoodles

Keeping it inthe family

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LDPBUSINESSLDPBUSINESS

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47

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46

CAROLYNHUGHES

SOCIALDIARYTHENETWORKER

Models welcome Boodles guests to the 2010 Christmas party, on the platform at LimeStreet Station, Liverpool Tom Ledson, Adam Tilston, Ben Spencer and marketing agent DavidBeattie at DaDaFest 2010, in the Bluecoat

Boodles managing director, Nicholas Wainwright,with Kathryn Hodson at the party

Michelle and Gary Dean enjoying the fun atBoodles 2010 Christmas party

Melinda Tatler at the Boodles party, with actor HughBonneville, who has appeared in Downton Abbeyand Notting Hill

Kristina Maguire, Rebecca Fisher and Sharon Simons,from the Malmaison, at the Closet event

Leah Hackett, from The Closet, with model OliviaJohnson-Aley & Becci Francis, from The Closet,at the Malmaison event

The chief executive of DaDaFest 2010, RuthGould, with the 2010 DaDaFest competitionwinner, Christie Peto, at the Bluecoat festival

STYLISH jewellersBoodles hosted their 2010Christmas Party in thedecadent surroundings ofthe Orient ExpressNorthern Belle last week.A Champagne recep-

tion on the platform atLime Street station, com-plete with band, was fol-lowed by a sumptuousthree-course dinner andfine wines onboard theopulent historic train. Theevent also showcasedsome of Boodles mostglamorous and dazzlingcollections. THE Closet, thecelebrity dress hireoperation owned byHollyoaks actressesJennifer Metcalfe, Claire

Cooper and LeahHackett, hosted anevening of indulgence atMalmaison to celebratethe exciting newpartnerships withArtDeco cosmetics andNook & Willow luxuryleather accessories. THE Bluecoat was thevenue last week for Eur-opes biggest deaf anddisability arts festival,DaDaFest 2010. Over 200people turned out to markthe festivals 10th anniver-sary, welcoming artistsand performers fromaround the world, celebrat-ing the festivals achieve-ments to date and mark-ing the opening of thelatest three-week event.

SPONSORED BYMATCHDAYHOSPITALITY ATEVERTON0151 530 5300

3

ITS been a bad few weeks forIreland.After two decades of relentless

economic growth, the EmeraldIsle has come back down to earthwith a bump.Irelands growth rates

throughout the nineties and muchof the noughties was so strongthat it overtook the UKseconomic output per capita. Itwasnt a long way from catchingup with the US when the creditcrunch struck.This era of growth transformed

a country that, in the 1970s and1980s was, arguably, not a properlydeveloped first world economy.Despite the fast pace of growth

since then, Ireland suffered amuch worse recession than

Britain and ours was badenough.These swings in Irelands

fortunes are not without theirimpact locally. As David Cameronrightly pointed out when agreeingto a direct aid package for thecountry, Britain does more thantwice the trade with Ireland thatwe do with China. A lot of thattrade passes through Liverpool.While things look dreadfully

bad at the moment, Im convinced

Ireland will be back on the frontfoot again shortly. While bankingmadness and ill-judged propertyinvestment lie behind the currenttroubles, there are plenty of otherfundamental factors that stokedIrelands rise that will remain inplace in the future. Irelandhas an enterprisingculture and a highly-educated, English-speaking population,and it is part of thebiggest free trade area inthe world.It may well be that

membership of theeurozoneexacerbatedIrelandsproblems. The

eurozones low interest rates mayhave over-stimulated thecommercial and residentialproperty market in Dublin andelsewhere. Certainly one of thecountrys principal banks, AngloIrish Bank, was lending todevelopers like there was notomorrow.

One question is: Will thecontagion spread? And willthe more than 100bn euroslent to Greece and tens ofbillions more to Ireland meanEurope wont have enoughreserves left to bail out any

more strugglingcountries?

PortuguesePrime MinisterJose Socrates

says his country needs nobail-out, and hopes thatemergency funding for Irelandwill end uncertainty andcontagion in financial markets.But merely making the assertionwill make the markets anxious.Judging by reactions, the

markets are split between thosewho think the deal reduces therisks and those who think the factthat Ireland followed Greece inrequesting a bail-out in relativelyshort succession is a bad sign.One thing is for sure: Ireland,

Greece, Portugal, Britain andmany others have rediscoveredtheir faith in fiscal prudence.

4NEWSCentres trio of lettings

9BIG FEATUREFuture of the budget airlines

18COMMERCIAL PROPERTYNew start for the Albany

19BIG INTERVIEWNicholas and Jody Wainwright

24PROFESSIONAL SECTORSFirms miss out on public work

27ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTFocus on Knowsley

32SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGYBoost for stem cell firm

34INTERNATIONAL TRADEHotter Shoes goes Stateside

36HOW GREEN IS YOURBUSINESS?Big savings for Liverpool Direct

38TRANSPORTA tale of two cities

40EDUCATIONValue of the sporting economy

42BUSINESS LUNCHHickorys Smokehouse, in Chester

43THE LIST44THE NETWORKERAlistair Houghton picks up a gong

46SOCIAL DIARYCarolyn Hughes out on the town

EDITORSLETTER

BILL GLEESON

INSIDE9 19

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LDPBUSINESS

EDITORBill Gleeson0151 472 [email protected]

DEPUTY BUSINESSEDITORTony McDonough0151 330 [email protected]

BUSINESS WRITERSAlistair [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

HEAD OF IMAGESBarrie Mills

MARKETINGEXECUTIVECath Reeves0151 285 8428

ADVERTISEMENTDIRECTORDebbie McGraw

ADVERTISEMENTMANAGERJackie McMahon0151 330 5077

ADVERTISEMENTSALESJulie Cowley0151 472 2311Neil Johnson0151 472 2705

PHOTOGRAPHYTrinity Mirror

PUBLISHED BYTrinity Mirror NW2,PO Box 48,Old Hall Street,Liverpool,L69 3EB.

TELEPHONE0151 227 2000

FAX0151 330 4942

COPYRIGHTLDP Business is printedmonthly and distributed withthe Liverpool Daily Post. Nopart of this publication may bereproduced without permissionof the publisher.

4NEWS

Charles Dunstone speaking in Liverpool

Wayfarers Shopping Arcade manager, Yvonne Burns

Kerrin McPhie with Sharon Vanloo, of NCRI,and Joan Elam, from Sunflowers

Wayfarers bucks thetrend with trio of letsSOUTHPORTS WayfarersShopping Arcade claims to bebucking the depressed retailtrend after securing deals forthree tenants to move tolarger units.Vintage Home, Sweet Memories and

Rohan are all expanding at the centreafter seeing an increase in sales.Wayfarers, famed for its Victorian

architecture, first opened its doors inLord Street in 1898.It comprises 35 units, 31 of which are

occupied.Of the four unoccupied, one is the

subject of negotiations and two arebeing used by charities in the run-upto Christmas.In August, Wayfarers signed up

beauty salon De Lovely.Centre manager Yvonne Burns said:

Wayfarers has an ongoing appeal toshoppers because of our wide varietyof outlets, and it is clear that qualityretail locations are still sought after inthis economic climate.It is great news for Southport that

the arcade is bucking the nationaltrend.Despite the tough economic climate,

the centre has maintained consistentlyhigh occupancy levels over the pasttwo years, and 10 of its retailers havebeen established in the arcade for 10 ormore years.Martin Connolly, partner at

commercial property specialists theAntony Hill Partnership, which acts asagents for the property, praised theperformance of the arcade during therecession.He said: Its not all doom and gloom

up North, so lets not talk ourselvesback into a recession.Its tough out there, but I feel that

the success we have had with theWayfarers Shopping Arcade shows thatthere is light at the end of the tunnel.

Trust crucial forbusiness startsCARPHONEWarehouse managingdirector CharlesDunstone has laudedthe success of thePrinces Trustsbusiness start-upschemes and stressedits importance in theyears ahead.Speaking at a

meeting of the NorthWest LeadershipGroup in Liverpool, MrDunstone said: ThePrinces Trust has ahigher businesssuccess rate afterthree years than thebanks and the Trustonly gives grants topeople who have beenturned down by thebanks.The Princes Trust

is about fundingpeople who havenever been given abreak and giving thema chance to showwhat they can do.The figures about

youth unemploymentare terrifying. We haveto find a way to

harness the talent thatexists within thosepeople.Mr Dunstone set up

Carphone Warehousein 1989, aged 24, afterworking as acomputer salesmanbefore he moved intomobile phones.His career began

while on a gap yearbefore starting abusiness degree atthe University ofLiverpool, but henever started hisstudies.The North West

Leadership Groupbrings togethersuccessful businesspeople from theregion to providesupport to anddevelop opportunitiesfor disadvantagedyoung people.Martin Ainscough,

chairman ofAinscough Group, hasjust begun histwo-year stint as theleadership groupschairman.

Conference puts Sunflowers in the spotlightTHE BT ConventionCentre has launched aninitiative that enablescharities to partner withconference organiserscoming to the city.Aigburth-based

cancer charitySunflowers wasinvolved in the firstpartnership when theNational CancerResearch Institutesannual conferencecame to Liverpoolearlier this month.Kerrin MacPhie, head

of sales at the BTConvention Centre,said: We have beenworking towardscreating this

partnership approachwith our eventorganisers and our localcommunity for sometime, and we arecommitted to ensuringthat our communitybenefits further.We are keen to work

towards a network ofcontacts across thethird sector to matchthe needs of ourconference clients andensure we continue togive something back toour local communities.Sunflowers

showcased its FeelGood Factor scheme tocancer specialists fromacross the UK.

45

The festive season gives youthe chance to take a breakfrom the day-to-day and letyour hair down with peoplewho have contributed to yourbusiness over the last year.This could involve thankingclients and suppliers orrewarding colleagues andstaff. And this year, there is nobetter place to do it than atGoodison Park on a matchday.

The 1878 Suite and Blues100 Suite are available on amatch-by-match basis andoffer a choice of hospitalitypackages to suite mostneeds and budgets. Bothoffer fantastic hospitality inthe heart of the Main Stand

at Goodison Park, luxuryDirectors Box stadium seatsand a visit from the Man ofthe Match at the end of thegame. The Blues 100 providesthe flexibility of a cash-barwith prices starting fromjust 175+VAT per person.The 1878 Suite includescomplimentary drinks withwaitress service and starts at225+VAT per person.

And while the pre-matchhospitality can rival anythingoffered in the city, it is thechance to take in a PremierLeague match in the uniqueatmosphere that makesentertaining at Goodison Parkso special.

FestiveentertainmentMatchdays at Goodison Park are the place to be this Christmas

Festive Season Fixtures:Wigan athletic Saturday 11 December 3pmBirmingham City Sunday 26 December 3pmtottenham HotspurWednesday 5 January 8pm

For details of the packages available in the Blues 100, 1878 Suite or any of the other superbExecutive Lounges at Everton, please call a member of the Corporate Sales team on0151 530 5300 or visit evertonfc.com/hospitality

For more information call 0151 530 5300 or email [email protected]

44

ALISTAIRHOUGHTONTHENETWORKER

. . . . inwhichweminglewith chieftains,ministers andmultinational teddiesoverBrie and strawberry sarnies

FINNISH may be oneof the mostcomplicatedlanguages on earth,but even throughlayers of cases andconjugations thesound of networkingis all too familiar.Not long after my Brussels trip,

that I described last month, I had thechance to explore more Europeannetworking on a visit to Finland.I joined Steve Smith, of Liverpool

Vision, on his trip to Helsinki to findtwo Finnish companies to speak athi-tech pitching battle LiverpoolSoftware City.My base for the day was the

headquarters of Finnvera, theFinnish state venture capitalcompany. It was, as youd expect froma Scandinavian finance house, adiscreetly elegant building in a primelocation, near Helsinkis picturesqueharbour and two cathedrals.Though quite why a limousine

with Gentlemans Club InternationalShow should have parked outside, Idont know. It was there all day andwas still there when I left that night.Perhaps its dancers were waiting forinvestment to fall into their laps.Meanwhile, Helsinkis two

cathedrals are almost a visual rival toLiverpools celebrated pair.Where Liverpool boasts the severe

Gotham Gothic of the Anglicancathedral and the angular modernityof Gibberds Metropolitan Cathedral,Helsinki boasts the severe gleamingwhite Lutheran Tuomiokirkko andthe spiky brick turrets of its RussianOrthodox counterpart.But, on my visit, Helsinki boasted

another phenomenon familiar toLiverpudlians colourful paintedcritters. Where Liverpool has hadSuperlambananas and Go Penguins,Helsinki had the Buddy Bears.In the Senate Square, beneath the

towering steps leading to theTuomiokirkko, stood painted modelsof bears representing every countryon Earth.Each bear had its hands in the air,

with the bears seeming from adistance to be forming an ursinechain around the square.Some of the bears were abstract

works of art, while others were moreobvious. The US bear was dressed asthe Statue of Liberty, while the Irishbear a red-headed Leprechaunadorned with four-leaf clovers was amere Riverdance away fromimploding under the weight of clich(which, I suspect, was the idea).But there was even some virtual

teddy bear peacemaking. The bears ofNorth and South Korea stood next toeach other, holding hands.Perhaps its too much to hope that

colourful bear statues could

symbolise an end to one of thebitterest political divides on earth.But heres hoping.Anyway, I couldnt wander

Helsinki for long. Back to theFinnvera cellars I went to meet Stevebefore the start of the days mainevent the pitching session.I watched with interest as the

audience shuffled in. As youd expectat any hi-tech event anywhere in theworld, there was a mix of smart suitsand jean-and-T-shirt combos.And, of course, there was the

ubiquitous Apple logo.The presentations all in English

featured a mix of enthusiastic andinspirational Finns sharing thesecrets of their success.Two companies were chosen to

come to Liverpool music softwarespecialist Steam Republic andgaming firm Tribe Studios.Both companies had, shall we say,

quirky approaches to job titles.Steam Republic is led by a cabinet

its trade minister Paavo Bckmanspoke in Helsinki while Tribe is,perhaps unsurprisingly, led bychieftain Elina Arponen.Could this spread to Merseyside?

Perhaps Big Chief Jack Stopforthcould host Chamber pow-wows andmaybe Tony Caldeira could make hisCushion King nickname official.As I mused, delegates shuffled

outside for more chat over glasses ofwine and nibbles.I love the sound of networking,

observed a happy Steve Smith and Iagreed as I dived for the Brie andstrawberry sandwiches

THE delight in the faces ofthe Helsinki winners wasanother reminder thatawards seem likemeaningless baubles untilyou win one.I was reminded myself at this

months North West Media Awards,at which I won the BusinessJournalist of the Year title (whythank you why, yes, of course youcan buy me a drink).The Palm House, in Sefton Park,

was, as youd expect, awash withbooze and bonhomie as print, weband broadcast journalists mingled tocelebrate their successes or lamenttheir losses.Other notable winners, as we

call them, included our sister paperthe Liverpool Echo.Tis, of course, the season to be

jolly with a fiesta of black tiedinners and awards dos in therun-up to Christmas.So, if youre up for the Sexiest

Mungo and Shoddy Merchant of theYear title, or excitedly awaiting theresults of the Most Honest Lawyerawards, we at LDP Business wishyou all the best.Sometimes, Clive took his Big Chief title a little bit too far


5

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6NEWS

Tote is next in sights of expandingpools and gaming group SportechAdditionof bettingbusiness wouldmakesense, saysMerseycompanys chief executiveWALTON football pools andgaming group Sportech is keen toadd the Governments Totebetting business to its expandingempire.The Wigan-based Tote

organisation boasts 517 bettingshops, more than 3,500 staff and amajor presence on all of the 60racecourses in Britain, as well asinternet and telephone bettingfacilities.After previous attempts to find

a buyer for the venture which wasvalued at 400m three years ago,the new coalition Government isdetermined to conclude theprocess after setting a December

10 deadline for initial bids frominterested parties.Sportech, and Warrington-

based bookmaker Betfred, areunderstood to be early leaders inthe auction.Ian Penrose, Sportech chief

executive, said: We will take alook at it.Conceptually, it would make a

lot of sense for us, as we are one ofthe largest Tote operators andsystem providers in the world.The group revealed steady

trading and further expansion inits latest update to the StockExchange on November 18.In the periof from July 1, the

group said it was on track and theintegration of its 51.4m USacquisition, SGR (ScientificGames Racing), was going to plan.SGR has now been renamed

Sportech Racing and, as part of itsintegration, Sportech has openedtwo new off-track betting sites inConnecticut, USA, taking its totalof outlets to 14, with four morelicense permits available.The group has also signed a

deal in Chile for betting systemscovering racetracks, phonebetting and 201 off-track bettinglocations.Its football pools business,

which is played by more than

500,000 people each week, hasbeen extended to Ladbrokes.com,the online platform of theworldwide betting group.A deal has also been secured to

offer the football pools game inthe Caribbean and South Americafrom the second quarter of 2011.Sportech has renamed the game

it acquired from the Liverpool-based Littlewoods group nowtrading as Shop Direct the NewFootball Pools.But it has reached agreement

with Shop Direct to extend the useof the Littlewoods brand foranother five years on its onlinegaming products.

The update revealed that thegroups SportsHero.com jointventure in India is makingprogress, with more than 100,000customers registered over the pastsix months.Mr Penrose said: Sportech has

made significant progress in thisperiod.We have continued to extend

the distribution of our coreproducts and the completion ofour acquisition of SGR, followingan extensive regulatory process,gives the group the platform forfurther developing our potentialin the emerging global regulatedmarkets.

Sportech chiefexecutive, Ian Penrose consideringa bid forThe Tote

43

THENETWORKER

THEBUSINESSLISTFriday, November 26THE monthly DaresburyBusiness Breakfast bringstogether around 100 peopleworking for hi-tech companies.The breakfast is at DaresburyInnovation Centre, starting from8am. For more details, seewww.daresburysic.co.uk/events

Friday, November 26Jon Archer, from The LittleYellow Training Company, will bediscussing his Seven Steps ToSuccess in the latest of LiverpoolChamber of Commerces 60Really Useful Minutes seminars.Jon, whose background is in

business consulting andcompetitive athletics, will speakabout the critical factors in bothbusiness and personal success.It is free for Liverpool Chamber

members and 5 for non-members, and is on from9am-10am. Book online atliverpoolchamber.org.uk

Friday, November 26An online marketing masterclassis being held as part of theevents happening under theumbrella of the Liverpool DesignFestival.Bryan Adams, of Ph.Creative,

will be looking at online market-ing techniques and conversionfor business how to turn thosevisitors into customers.It is from 3pm-5.30pm. To

reserve a place, contact SinPeak at Ph.Creative on 0151 7082280 or email [email protected]

Tuesday, November 30My Networking PAs monthlyevent, Teppanyaki Tuesday, is atSakura, Exchange Flags. Adrinks reception plus twocourses is 15 and it is from6pm-9pm. To book, contactGemma Rossiter on 0151 7032774 or email [email protected]

Thursday, December 2Open Coffee, an informalnetworking event, is being held

at Bean, in Brunswick BusinessPark. The free event is aimed atsmall business owners keen todevelop contacts. It is from

10am-12pm. Call DebbieElliott-Brown on 07776 188279for more details.

Thursday, December 2Liverpool Curry Club is at MayurRestaurant, Duke Street, from12pm-2pm. Organised byNetworking in the City, it bringstogether people in theconstruction, finance andproperty sectors. It costs 17.50.Call Steve Kettle on 07884347548 to book.

Thursday, December 2St Helens business people arebeing invited to St HelensTown Hall to meet the Mayorand Mayoress of St Helens. It

will include a guided tour of the

Town Hall by the MayorsAttendant and is on from7pm-8.30pm. To book the event,which costs 11.75, visitsthelenschamber.com/events

Thursday, December 9Liverpool Chamber ofCommerces platform lunch willsee six-minute presentationsfrom three businesses. It is atLiverpool Marina & HarboursideClub, from 12.15pm-2.30pm andcosts 25 for members and 30for non-members. To book, call0151 224 1860.

Friday, December 10A Christmas networking lunchwith added spice is being held atThe Bollywood Lounge, GrangeRoad West, Birkenhead. WirralChamber of Commerce isorganising the lunch, whichcosts 12.50 and is from12pm-3.30pm. Book online atwww.wirralchamber.org.uk

OUTGOING LiverpoolFC chairman MartinBroughton and Torygrandee Lord Heseltinewill speak at the Liver-pool Chamber of Com-merces annual dinner.The event is at the

Arena and ConventionCentre, and has the

theme of enduringtradition, embracinggrowth.Brought in to over-

see the sale of Liver-pool FC, Mr Broughtonwas thrust into thespotlight when the saleprocess turned hostile.It was territory he was

already used to, havingbeen the non-smokingchief executive andchairman of BritishAmerican Tobacco,then chairman ofBritish Airways in 2004.He also served as

CBI president for twoyears from 2007.

Lord Heseltine has ahuge past associationwith Merseyside.He arrived in the city

in the wake the 1981Toxteth Riots, and wasinstrumental in thecreation of theInternational GardenFestival and the

regeneration of AlbertDock.He was recently put

in charge of thecoalition Governmentsplanned 1bn regionalgrowth fund for Eng-lands regions,including the NorthWest.

Outgoing Liverpool FC chairman Martin Broughton guest speaker at the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce dinner

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2LIVERPOOLCHAMBER OFCOMMERCE ANNUAL DINNER

Sakura, in Exchange Flags

Bryan Adams, ofPh.Creative


42

Hickorys Smokehouse,The Groves,ChesterCH1 1SDTel: 01244 404000www.hickorys.co.uk

THENETWORKER

BUSINESSLUNCH

DETAILS

Rita Waters

The Yankee barbecuesits at the heart of theopen kitchen inHickorys Smokehouse,Chester

Alistair HoughtonmeetsChesterRenaissancechief executiveRitaWaters inHickorysSmokehouse

LATER, therecame anall-Americanfeast in theheart of a citythat couldhardly be moreEnglish.But first camethe appetiser a whistlestop tourof Chester with Rita Waters, thewoman charged with driving thecitys regeneration.Chester is such a historic gem

and tourist hotspot that the idea itneeds any kind of renaissanceseems at first a little odd.But Rita, chief executive at

Chester Renaissance, says the cityneeds to be much more than amuseum piece if it is to thrive.Thats why she was so keen to

drive me around the city to showoff her organisations work and toshow her passion for Chester.That included a visit to

Hickorys Smokehouse, a formerriverbank pub converted withthe help of Renaissance into anAmerican bar and eatery.With its sports bar and

barbecues, it feels a world awayfrom Chesters historic heartwhile being just yards away.But before we sat down to a

tasty feast of epic proportions, itwas time for a tour of the city thatRita says has got under her skin.Its not the first time the

talkative Rita has done this inrecent weeks. The city recentlyplayed host to a team ofconsultants from the Urban LandInstitute (ULI), an Americanthink-tank which delivered aschool report on Chester.The ULI making its first visit

to a UK city agreed Chester hadgreat potential but criticised itsfragmented leadership andhistory of uncompletedregeneration plans. Rita is nowdetermined Renaissance will getthings done for Chester.She said: ULI said we should

get on with it. If this piece has aheadline, I want it to be ChesterRenaissance is getting on with it.Our tour included a visit to

Brook Street, in Newtown, a localshopping street between thestation and the cathedral thatRenaissance has helped tospruce up.Renaissance is clearly

making an impact driving pasta refurbished Indian restaurant,Rita spotted to herembarrassment that her picturewas prominently displayed in thewindow.We also drove along City

Road, the main road betweenChester station and the citycentre. Rita believes theroad can become abeautiful boulevard-style entrance to the

city. Next, Rita drove throughHoole, to the back of Chesterstation. Renaissance is drivingplans for a new commercialbusiness district on the site, withup to 500,000s qft ofgrade A officespace.For me, this area will provide

the next generations employmentopportunities, said Rita.We have students at the

university, and we need to beproviding employmentopportunities for them to stay inthe city. So we need to bring innew and vibrant businesses.We did that with Chester

Business Park and we need to doit again.Rita and I also visited the

streets around the Cathedral,whose tower will soon be openedup to visitors, and St MartinsPark, behind the bus station,where Renaissance istransforming a derelict space ofland into a new park.Renaissance is even set to have

its own thanksgiving service. Theorganisation project managedrepair work on the historicchurch of St John the Baptist, andthe Rev David Chesters is sopleased with the work that heintends to hold a service to givethanks. Finally, we looked atChesters amphitheatre, whichwas recently restored in a projectled by Renaissance.By the time we finished our

tour, I was in need of a good feast.And thats certainly whatHickorys Smokehouse delivered.It sits by the River Dee in an

area of the city that Rita feels isunderused by visitors andresidents. Thats why herorganisation supported thetransformation of Hickorys byrestaurateur Neil McDonnell.As we tucked into a bowl of

salted popcorn left on the table byone of the restaurants friendlywaiters, we discussed the creationof Renaissance two years ago.It was formed alongside the

local government restructure thatsaw the creation of Cheshire West

and Chester Council.Rita said: Theyneeded aseparate bodythat could sitaround thetable withorganisationsthat wouldntpreviously

have satwiththe

public sector. We aim to addmomentum and to driveregeneration initiatives that havestruggled previously.We want to deliver a city that

is a destination of choice forbusinesses, residents, visitors andstudents.Renaissance does not work on

its own, but instead teams up withother public and private sectorgroups in the city.Its board includes

representatives from CheshireWest and Chester Council, Bankof America and Grosvenor, whileRita is proud her team works withother organisations includingChester Zoo.Other projects it is involved

with include the ChristmasVillage, a Victorian market nextto Chester Castle including a bigwheel, and the Rhino Maniaproject earlier this year whichsaw rhino sculptures appearthroughout Chester.But our conversation was

brought to a halt by the arrival ofour huge Smokehouse Platter,with two hunks of ribs, two pansof meat, a bowl of chips and abowl of coleslaw.I worried about the mess the

ribs would make, but our waiterspotted my look of terror andswiftly carved the ribs for us.As we ate, we discussed the

challenges the city faces,including transportation and therecession.Rita is upbeat about Chesters

prospects its shops, for example,are seeing visitor numbers risedespite the recession.But Renaissance has its own

challenges.It has funding guaranteed from

CWAC and the NorthwestDevelopment Agency (NWDA)until December, 2011, when Ritascontract ends.But the end of the NWDA

means much of that funding willnot be renewed. Renaissance andCWAC are now in talks to see ifthe agencys funding can bereplaced to ensure Renaissanceswork continues.We dont want to lose

momentum, said Rita. Thats onething Cestrians have seen happenbefore over the years now theywant to see things delivered.Rita, who trained as an

accountant, was chief executive ofWeston Spirit Trading thecommercial arm of Falklandsveteran Simon Westons WestonSpirit charity from 2003 to 2006.Next she became chief

executive of Liverpools citycentre Business ImprovementDistrict, successfully expanding itto cover Bold Street and winningapproval from traders for thescheme to continue for anotherfive years.In December, 2008, she became

Renaissances first chiefexecutive.Rita is a keen scuba diver and

athlete she plans to do fourtriathlons next year. And, shejoked, she needed to exercise aftertackling our delicious but huge

lunch platter. The Memphis ribsmay have been dry-rubbed butbeneath the surface the meat wasstill juicy and tender, the meatsliding off the bone.The equally tasty Kansas

City-style spare ribs came glazedin a sweet and sticky sauce, whilethe slices of tender slow smokedbeef brisket came in a tangy andspicy BBQ sauce.But Rita and I agreed that the

highlight of the meal was the BBQpulled pork. The sweet and juicyshredded meat was mixed in withbarbecue beans for a smoky tasteexplosion.Perhaps we had chosen a meal

that was simply too big for alunchtime. But in the evening,perhaps accompanied by some ofthe delicious Brooklyn Lager alsoserved at Hickorys, the platterwould be a real treat for a pair ofhungry carnivores.As we left, Rita said she was

addicted to her job and, even onholiday, cannot stop thinkingabout ways in which Chestercould be improved.I went to Dubrovnik recently,

she said. I came back with lots ofpictures of bins.


7

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41

in world sporting economyresearchandexpertise as the sectors valuecontinues to expand, reportsNeil Hodgson

the world, bigger than theSuperbowl if you includegambling. It is a huge industry.And it is easy to forget the

reach of sport, particularly withits overlap to the university.Cricket now has a camera in

the stump, all being developed bymicro technology. Goal linetechnology in football will comethrough research from auniversity. It could even be aspin-out company from auniversity.He said both universities have

the capacity to develop to exploitthe sporting economy: Betweenus, were ahead of the game of anyuniversity in the country.Liverpool JMUs expertise lies

in sports science and how toimprove the performance and thegeneral health of both athletesand the general public.The Research Institute for

Sports and Exercise Sciences(Rises) includes world-leadingresearch groups, facilities andprojects to improve the health andwellbeing of the local population.

JMUs expertise dates back to1976 when, as a polytechnic, itembarked on specialising in thescience of sports.Gareth Stratton, Professor of

Paediatric Exercise Science, said:We have got a wide range ofsupport-related degreeprogrammes. We are the top-ratedphysical education teachertraining institute, and thetop-rated research institute in theUK, and have fantastic teachingquality scores.JMU has forged a long-standing

relationship with Everton FCacross a wide spectrum, fromrunning a range of tests on thethen Goodison Parkwunderkind Wayne Rooney topromoting health issuesthroughout the community viathe Everton Foundation.Further, its Football Exchange

BSc was the first in the worldwhen it launched a decade ago,and many of its graduates nowwork in Premier League clubs andEuropean football.The universitys studies of

childrens physical activity alsoled to a re-design of schoolplaygrounds across the city topromote increased exercise levels,which has been adopted as atemplate internationally,including schools in France andAmerica.A recent project, Smokefree

Sports, will use junior sports anddance clubs to promote smokingprevention, while a 1997 initiativeis still promoting health andfitness regimes amongschoolchildren.Sportslinx aimed at

Liverpools next generation hasgathered lifestyle and fitnessinformation on almost 60,0009-12-year-old children in the fightagainst obesity.Prof Stratton explained: We

measure their fitness, fatness, life-style, etc, and also identifysporting talent and feed them intoelite clubs around the city.Liverpool does have a big

problem with overweight kids, butwe apply scientific work tounderstand the benefits of health.

Caryl Beynon, JMUs researchand analysis manager, North WestPublic Health Observatory, Centrefor Public Health, added: Workconducted at the Centre for PublicHealth shows that low physicalactivity levels are associated withobesity; obesity increases thelikelihood of illness and earlydeath and places a considerableburden on the healthcare services.Encouraging people to

maintain a healthy weight shouldbe a priority for the region.The programme is unique in

the UK and has attracted interestfrom abroad, but is in jeopardydue to recent government fundingcutbacks which have forcedadministrators to seek Europeanfunding to ensure its continuedsurvival, said Prof Stratton.Another JMU initiative, Afresh

Activity and Food for RegionalEconomies Supporting Health has also benefited from Europeanfinancial support to develophealthy eating and physicalactivity throughout Liverpool andthe continent.

Prof Stratton said: We aregoing through a lean period due togovernment cuts, but hope tobring in more funding fromBrussels in the future.JMUs experts have also worked

on the Liverpool Active Cityprogramme for the past five years,and will deliver science and casestudies as part of the strategy, upto 2015.Prof Stratton said that not only

does the scheme aim to improvepeoples health, but it can alsobenefit the regional economy:Our age and mortality rate isthree years less than the SouthEast, but by being active you livelonger and you spend less time offwork and have fewer healthproblems.At the end of the day, its about

a functioning population and acompetitive population.But he believes it is almost

impossible to quantify thebenefits of the unit, saying:Theres economic capital andsocial capital, and that is notmeasured in pounds sterling.

Aintrees Grand National the biggest one-daysporting event in the world

New recruits come in at the top and are looking for levels of professionalism Prof TomCannon, of the University of Liverpool School of Management

EDUCATION

40

EDUCATION

Academia supports growthLiverpools twomain universities arebuildingon theirworldwide reputation for sport-related

THE sporting economy isestimated to be worth1bn to Merseyside, andour two mainuniversities arecapitalising on that with world-leading positions in the industry.Liverpool John Moores

University is renowned for itsexpertise in sports sciences, whilethe University of Liverpool hasforged an international standingwith its Football MBA, which it isseeking to extend to other areas.Both institutions provide

valuable services and research forthe private and public sectors,and, with sport surpassing theleisure industry in terms ofrevenues, they are keen to developtheir respective unique sellingpoints even further.Prof Tom Cannon, from the

University of Liverpool School ofManagement, says Merseysidesheritage as an area of globalsporting excellence is a keyreason for its powerful economicperformance.The sporting industry is as big

for the city as the Capital ofCulture each year.But it is not just about our two

big football clubs.We have the biggest horse race

in the world with the GrandNational.When Tiger Woods won the

Open at Hoylake, it got moreglobal coverage than any Open inthe past 20 years. There is also aresurgence of tennis, then thereare our Olympians comingthrough it is a major economy.Sport is the fastest-growing

industry in the world and sport ispart of this citys culture. Butwhereas our cultural icons, likeThe Beatles, leave the city,Everton, Liverpool, the GrandNational, Hoylake or HaydockPark, wont.The universitys Football MBA,

pioneered by management schoolsenior lecturer Rogan Taylor,attracts graduates from all overthe world on the back of theregions sporting prowess. ProfCannon said: Recent research inIndia shows that the main reasonstudents from there come to theUniversity of Liverpool isLiverpool FC.The annual intake of about 40

students, who must have a degreeand three years work experience,is made up roughly of about 20%from Europe, 15% from LatinAmerica, 5% from India, one ortwo from the USA, and the restfrom China and Asia.Prof Cannon said: The

traditional subjects of an MBA areincluded, but it is all aboutfootball.I lecture on finance and we

cover human resources.Former EnglishFA chief

executive Brian Barwick is alsopart of the programme, and isbuilding links with the footballindustry both nationally andinternationally.Prof Cannon said: It is part of

the incredible move towardsexecutisation in football. In the

old days, people who ran clubswere company secretaries. Now,the people coming in have MBAs.Evertons chief executive,

Robert Elstone, studied economicsat the University of Hull, whileLiverpools former managingdirector, Christian Purslow, is aHarvard graduate. This is thekind of person you are talkingabout. They come in at the topand theyre looking for levels ofprofessionalism, said ProfCannon.We have seen professionalism

concerning team matters usingpsychologists, and that is alsohappening on the executive side.And thats all building the link

with universities to create avirtuous circle to produce betterand capable young people whowork in our sports companies,which brings about a constantimprovement.He said most big clubs have an

alumnus from the universitysMBA: We have people at UEFAand FIFA and quite a lot innational associations.

Former Football MBA graduatePhilip Wilson has been appointedto run a football university beingdeveloped by Championship sideBurnley FC.The university is also exploring

links with Spanish football giantReal Madrid which runs its ownAlfredo di Stefano MBA, inhonour of one of its formerplaying greats.It is building the global

network which fits in very wellwith our strategy in thatdirection.Rogan has established a

unique position, certainly inEurope, probably worldwide.The universitys prowess in this

field continues to generate newlinks, including an approach fromthe English FA to tender for astudy into the gamesadministrative structure.Tender rivals include the

University of Warwick, but ProfCannon said, hopefully,Liverpools standing will win theday: As Rogan pointed out inearly negotiations with the FA,

who has played for Warwick? Hesaid the university was keen toemulate its footballing excellencein other areas: We could widen itto other sports, like golf andtennis. Our Vice-Chancellor, SirHoward Newby, is very committedto developing not just the footballside, but the whole range of sportsactivities in the university.One such area could be the

horse racing and horse craftsector.A Deloitte study estimates the

British horse racing industry tobe worth 3.7bn, while aGambling Commission reportclaims the betting industryaccounts for a total of 9bn.Prof Cannon said: The

strongest area of our veterinaryschool is equine studies.Obviously, horse racing is part

of that, but the equine industry ishuge and because were strong inequine studies in the university,that whole area becomes anavenue for development.There are 5m people who

participate in horse riding in the

UK. Thats as many as playfootball.The university was also

involved in preparing studies onthe economic impact of yachtingsprestigious Americas Cup.Spains north-eastern port of

Valencia was transformed afterhosting the competition twice,boosting the citys economy by anestimated 5bn, according to areport prepared by the universityon behalf of German financialgroup Allianz.Following on from that, the

university has been asked toprepare similar studies for the UScities of San Diego, San Franciscoand Newport, in Rhode Island, US,who are considering bidding tohost the race.Prof Cannon said: People

undervalue sport as an economyand they dont appreciate theknock-on value of the sportseconomy.Look at Aintree and how it is

developing.The Grand National is the

biggest one-day sporting event in

9

BYBILLGLEESON

On an even keel: Ryanair planes on the tarmac at Liverpool John Lennon Airport

Is it time to call a halt to the frantic growthofno-frills airlines?Easyjet founderSir Stelios

Haji-Ioannoucertainly thinks shareholder interestsshouldnowcomebefore ever larger fleets.

Ease off the throttleTHEBIGFEATURE

10

Ryanairs deputy chief executive, Michael Cawley, makes his point

THEno-frills segmentoftheEuropeanaviationmarkethas enjoyedmorethanadecadeof rapidandseeminglyboundlessgrowth.Not even the recent credit

crunch and associated recessionstopped some of the major playersin the market from continuing togrow their routes and top-lineturnover.Recently, however, the words or

actions of some of the biggestpersonalities in the UK no-frillsindustry suggest that this era ofrelentless growth could be comingto an end.Easyjet founder Sir Stelios

Haji-Ioannou recently madepublic a view that he has beenairing behind the scenes atEasyjet for the best part of a year.He believes that the airline shouldease off the throttle when it comesto expansion, includinginvestment in about 100 newplanes.Sir Stelios told LDP Business:

I am guessing they have morethan 70 aircraft on the ground thiswinter doing nothing. Why buymore planes if you have 70 of themthat you cant use profitably at allhalf the year. A third of the fleet isgrounded each winter.The implication is that the

number of planes groundedduring winter would rise to 170 ifEasyjet were to add to its fleet.Indeed, he is so determined to

have his say that in May hestepped down from the airlinesboard to break ranks andcampaign for changes to companystrategy.He remains the publicly-quoted

companys largest shareholder.In an act of assertive

shareholder activism, Sir Stelioselaborates at some length on thewebsite of Easygroup, hispersonal investment vehicle. Hewrites: For some time, I havefirmly believed that the Easyjetmanagement was pursuing thewrong strategy for the expansionof the business. A mere look at theshare price graph over the last 10years, practically a flatline, andzero dividends, are proof of that.How can you buy 200 aircraft withshareholders money and createno wealth for shareholders?The management has been

determined to continue to buynew aircraft from Airbus despitethe fact that this hugeexpenditure is demonstrablyfailing to produce higher profitsand therefore has created zerovalue for shareholders.I have been arguing for some

time that a much higher priorityshould be given to restoring profitmargins from the current 1-3% tothe more than 10% level of 10years ago and delivering value toall shareholders. But the boardhas refused to take into accountmy recommendations, using thepretext that the rest of theshareholders want somethingdifferent, and instead remainsresolved to go on squanderingshareholders funds on moreexpensive aircraft that willprobably destroy shareholdervalue.Easyjet currently has a fleet of

about 189 aircraft, withoutstanding orders for another 59aircraft, which, at their openmarket value, will cost at leastanother $2bn. These new aircraftare the expensive legacy of anorder signed by outgoing CEO

Andy Harrison and Airbus, inNovember, 2006, when entirelydifferent economic circumstancesprevailed.At the time of the 2006 order

with Airbus, Easyjets housebroker, ABN Amro (now part ofRBS), was forecasting a profit for2009 of 284m, with profit growthexpected to continue into 2010.Even the oil price back then wasabout half the recent levels. Thereality is that Easyjets profits forthe year ended September 30, 2009,the same year as the ABN AMROforecast, were just 42.7m. In myvocabulary, Andy missed hisprofit targets by 80% since hebought those aircraft from Airbusin 2006! This year, profits after taxare expected by some analysts tobe as low as 100m depending ondisruption to travel from theIcelandic volcano. That is wellbelow the profits in 2006 when theorder was placed, despite the fleethaving grown by 80% in the sameperiod. Normally, 80% more assetsshould lead to at least 80% moreprofits, not the other way round!Furthermore, I believe that the

board is failing to assess thepurchase of these new aircraftproperly. The management shouldmeasure the actual capital cost ofeach additional new aircraft (anumber kept as a secret fromshareholders, under the terms ofthe deal with Airbus) against theprofitability of the next new routethat the company will startoperating on, as a result of havingone more aircraft. I believe thatthis analysis, had it been properlylooked at by the board, wouldhave quickly revealed that eachadditional aircraft progressivelydilutes margins and destroyswealth.The inescapable fact is that

this airline used to make a biggerabsolute profit using far feweraircraft. The low-cost airlinemodel is maturing, andmanagement needs to now adoptdifferent priorities to take thebusiness forward. To date, Easyjetmanagement, supported bycertain other board members,have refused to do this.Having been a member of the

board and an insider, I wasconstantly out-voted for the lasttwo years on this importantdecision on the Airbus contractby the rest of the board and thetypical gagging order was placedon me as an insider.Since the last so-called

compromise at the annual boardstrategy meeting, in June, 2009,the oil price which forms one-third of the cost base of an airline has doubled, and the new risk ofvolcanic disruption hasmaterially impacted our projectedprofits again. The June, 2009,compromise plan, which in anyevent was based on growth innumbers of seats flows ie, thewrong KPI, rather than number ofaircraft is already too optimistic,especially with an incumbentCEO on a golden parachute andinsulated from the outcome of the2010 profits of the company.Over the coming weeks, I will

be considering if and when torequisition a general meeting, atwhich I shall ask shareholders toreject the managements strategyof relentless growth in aircraftnumbers and focus on profitmargin increase.In a possible shareholder vote,

I may also ask shareholders tojoin with me in demanding thatthe Board seek to renegotiate thecontract with Airbus to minimise

the number of aircraft which needto be acquired over the next fewyears, and use whatever othermeans possible, such as sellingexisting aircraft in the openmarket, in order to keep thenumber of aircraft in the fleet atabout the current levels of about190 aircraft for the next 3-4 years.I am convinced this strategy willproduce higher profits in absoluteterms, rather than keep increas-ing the fleet size for the sake of it.Furthermore, the board has

failed to create a contestablesupply arrangement in theprocurement of aircraft byentering into monopolyarrangements with Airbus. Theshareholder vote should direct theBoard to open these procurementarrangements to open andtransparent competition.His view that the low-cost

market has gone beyond the pointwhere airline operators can makean optimum profit appears to haveheld some sway at Easyjets Lutonheadquarters.At the time of its interim

results last month, Easyjets

current chief executive, CarolynMcCall, revealed that she hadcarried out a review of theairlines strategy. This newstrategy appears to be soft-pedalling on the original growthplan. As well as committing nowto fewer planes, the revisedstrategy foresees paying adividend from 2012.Commenting on the changes,

Sir Stelios now says: The newmanagement team has made somepositive moves towards creatingsome real shareholder value. Thedecision to pay a dividend, inparticular, represents a welcomechange from the old regime whichseemed to place the interests ofsuppliers above those ofshareholders.This is a good first step, but I

would like to see the dividendpayout ratio increased overtime to50% of earnings per share.Given that this company now

employs approximately 4bn ofcapital in a fleet of 200 aircraft, Iapplaud the shift in focus onmaximising the return on allcapital employed rather than just

on equity. When one adjusts thebalance sheet to take into accountthe off balance sheet aircraftleases, and noting the target setby the board of 12% ROCE, itimplies a profit of 480m or aboutthree times the current level.Lets hope the improved

execution of the business modelwill produce such profit levels inthe next 2-3 years.The management of easyJet

also needs to carefully assess thefinancial viability of any fleetexpansion. If the profit target peraircraft is roughly 2m, then thecompany should only buy moreaircraft (over and above the 200) ifit has identified specific newroutes for these new aircraft thatproduce that amount of profit peraircraft. New route data should beshared with all shareholders fortransparency.I remain very concerned with

the strategy of the previousmanagement which expanded thefleet to develop summer holidayroutes, leaving it withapproximately 40 aircraft parkedover the winter. Parked aircraft

THEBIGFEATURE....AIRLINES

A Ryanair jet comes in to land at Liverpool John Lennon Airport

Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou at the launch of theEasyjet service from Liverpool to Luton, in 1999

CONTINUED FROMPAGE 9

39

LEISURE ECONOMYRingo house not importantFarmore to Liverpool city region than just TheBeatles, says inward investment leaderTHE planned destruction of Ringo Starrsbirthplace is not the 21st-centuryequivalent of demolishing the Cavern Club,claims Liverpools tourism chief RodHolmes.Knocking down The Beatles most

famous performance venue still haunts thecitys tourism chiefs as the ultimatecatastrophic misjudgment of its key visitorassets.This latest assault on Beatle

iconography means the Madryn Streetformer home of The Beatles most famousdrummer, Ringo Starr, will be flattened inthe Pathfinder urban clearance renewalprogramme of the Welsh Streets Victorianterrace housing.Mr Holmes, The Merseyside Partnership

(TMP) chairman, said, even without theRingo Starr house, enough originalBeatle-related sites remained not todamage the citys crucial global tourismbased on the super-group.Were hardly ignoring the value of

Beatles tourism, said Mr Holmes.Weve unveiled a sculpture dedicated to

John Lennon in Liverpool One, at aceremony attended by Cynthia and JulianLennon.While Liverpools tourism blueprint,

launched last summer, was widely ignoredby the media, news of the impendingdemolition of Starrs birthplace madeworldwide news in a matter of hours.Yet Mr Holmes said: We still do not

have enough punters coming.Lots of people are visiting, but we could

have many more compare that (number)with London. Everyone is looking forsomewhere to go.The Daily Post Get On Board campaign

to allow cruises to start and finish fromLiverpool Cruise Terminal was veryimportant, he said.Currently cruises cannot turn around at

the terminal due to its 15m EU buildinggrant which limits use to liner visits only.This matter should be sorted out as it is

essential to have this facility, he said.There are more people living along the

M62 corridor from Liverpool toHumberside than in the Netherlands, whoshould be cruising from here instead offighting their way to Southampton.Its a very difficult situation with the

EU grant restrictions, but its up to thevisitor economy team leaders to decidewhat to do. Turnaround cruises cangenerate a lot of money for Liverpool, andit would be very good for our profile.The citys hotel occupancy was higher in

summer, 2010, than in 2008, he said.There are a lot more beds than before,

but we are sustaining occupancy levelsthrough the year and getting the yield.Now the effects of the Capital of Culture

year have faded, we must look to otherevents and individuals can play their part.The Pageant of Power with racing cars

on The Strand early last summer was dueto one man, Guy Butler, of Grosvenor,getting things off the ground.Weve all got to get together and get

organised and make a noise about what wecan offer, every little helps.TMP gave 2,500 to help Sefton Park

Food Festival, which was a huge success,likewise with the Hope Street Feast.

The Liverpool Boat Show was firstsuggested by the Albert Dock developerArrowsmith, who made a nuisance of itselfuntil it was set to happen.We should be thinking as if year in year

out is Capital of Culture.The KLM Royal Dutch Airlines shuttle

from Liverpool John Lennon Airport toAmsterdam is hugely important.That gives an international touch to the

airport, as it opens up the world throughconnections.The airport is revamping the passenger

experience and weve got to keep raisingthe bar because were competinginternationally.Former city council leader Mike Storeys

very clear focus on getting the city centreto work again was far more successfulthan anyone could have dreamt, said MrHolmes, ex-head of Grosvenors LiverpoolOne shopping centre project.

If the heart of the city is moribund,then you dont have a cat in hells chance ofdeveloping that economy and it willshrink, he said.Tourism is just one of the citys

saviours, as were not just a theme park.Were synonymous with The Beatles

around the world, but we want to besynonymous with life sciences, nutritionalscience, advanced manufacturing,pharmaceuticals, nuclear physics,automotive industries and maritimeprofessions.Despite our economic performance,

weve just about kept in line with nationalgrowth, but had not caught up with othercities in the UK.We started at such a low base, so we

must move forward at a faster growth rate.This is possible as weve all stopped

talking about Merseyside and startedtalking about the Liverpool city region.

A debate has raged over the future of Ringo Starrs childhood home in Liverpools Dingle area

Rod Holmes difficult situation

38

TRANSPORT

Less than electrifying start as doubtscast cloud over NW rail improvementContinuinguncertaintyover200mprogrammetoupgradeLiverpool -Manchester trunk route

Trains between Lime Streetstation and ManchesterVictoria would be muchquicker with electrification

Louise Ellman has long championed better transport links for Liverpool

A STATEMENT on the 200melectrification of the Liverpool &Manchester railway is expectedimminently from the Government.Survey work has already started on the

scheme, on what is the worlds oldestintercity railway.But Liverpool Riverside MP Louise

Ellman said she worries the statement,due several weeks ago, will be only one ofgeneral support.While that would mean agreeing it

would be a good thing, the reality would beanother delay, said Ms Ellman, who ischair of the Parliamentary SelectCommittee on Transport.Until we get the detail, we dont know if

it is going to happen. If it is left as anopen-ended statement, I shall be veryconcerned.The last government did not have it in

its plans. It issued a White Paper, butLiverpool and Manchester electrificationwas not included.I think there has been a change of

heart now, as Lord Adonis, the formerLabour government transport secretary, isvery keen on trains.The 530m Northern Hub project to

remove bottlenecks around Merseysideand Manchester is also under threat.There is also an issue over rolling stock,

with another counter-proposal for furtherdiesel traction, rather than electric.When the Great Western mainline from

London Paddington to Swansea iselectrified, it is planned to cascade thosediesel trains to Thameslink services inLondon, said Ms Ellman,Then Thameslinks displaced diesel

trains will be brought up to the NorthWest for use here.However, unless the nationwide 1bn

scheme to electrify more trunk routes isimplemented, this will not happen either.I believe it is essential Liverpool Lime

Street - Manchester Victoria electrificationgoes ahead, said Ms Ellman.

This would include the connectinglines to Preston and Blackpool.It would pay for itself in three years,

cut journey times, raise capacity and isenvironmentally better.The idea is to boost train numbers by

40%, and the scheme would also provideLiverpool with its first direct link with

Bradford and Halifax. The switch fromdiesel to electric traction, on the 32-mileline from Liverpool to ManchesterVictoria, would be combined with othertrack and signalling improvements to cutminimum journey times from 44 to 30minutes.Longer journeys to Sheffield, Leeds and

Newcastle would be reduced by about 40minutes.Liverpool and Manchester intercity

lines were electrified via Weaver Junctionand Crewe to London in the 1964 WestCoast mainline modernisation programme.But cash shortages meant the original

Liverpool - Manchester trunk route wasnever included in this scheme, and stillawaits its turn 46 years later.Under the scheme unveiled last

December by Labour, three North Westroutes would be fitted with the UKstandard catenary system of 25kV AC.But, over the last 11 months, the new

coalition Government has vacillated overthis 1bn plans for electrification of theUKs railway system, promoted by LordAdonis.Earl Attlee, speaking for government

ministers, told the House of Lords lastJune, there were "problems" with spendingmoney on electrifying lines, given the stateof the public finances.We are committed to High Speed 2 (the

new London - northern rail route), but youwill understand the problems aboutexpenditure on electrification in thecurrent economic climate.Lord Attlee said the Government was

seeking to implement transport savings of682m in 2010/11.

11

lose money. For this reason, Iwelcome the renewed focus on thebusiness traveller which shouldgenerate more consistentrevenues.Last but not least, I continue

to believe that it will be in thebest interests of the company tore-engage with Boeing in order tomarket test the price beforeplacing any more orders fromAirbus. Only by negotiating withat least two suppliers do youensure you receive the bestpossible price.While they struggle to say so in

as many words, it seems that SirStelioss outlook is shared bymanagement at Easyjets biggestrival, Ryanair. The Irish airlinesdeputy chief executive, MichaelCawley, certainly concedes thatfuture growth wont be as strongas in the past.He said: I think in percentage

terms it wont.Both ourselves and Easyjet

have become much, much larger.The percentage growth next yearwill decline. Its still 6%, whereaspreviously it was 10-20% per year.

Britain and Ireland are muchmore mature low-cost markets,because they got started earlier.But he doesnt think growth is

constrained purely by naturalmarket maturity.Mr Cawley explains: In

Britain, its much slower nowbecause of air passenger duty andconditions generally.The market will return.British people want to travel,

and theres an underlying demandto come to Britain London, inparticular, but also places likeEdinburgh, Liverpool andelsewhere. But the problem inBritain is raised taxation, anddemand reduces if there is anincrease in costs.But the problem in Britain is

that raised taxation increasescost, and that reduces demand.Demand is price elastic.Thats probably a temporary

problem, though. Thats becausethese things move in waves. Asthe economy grows, theGovernment may relax thesetaxes on travel because they arenot so desperate.


Without the effects of highertaxation, Mr Cawley believes thatdemand would be stronger.The scope for growth in

passenger traffic is related topopulation. There has beenstagnation for the past three tofour years. There has beenincreased traffic in and aroundLondon Heathrow, but it has beenstatic at Stansted and Luton.There is pent-up demand there.That will be satisfied over aperiod of time.He believes the same is true at

other UK regional airports.Earlier this year, Ryanair

announced it was not going toplace a fresh order for moreBoeing aircraft, blaming theplanemakers refusal to budge onprice, though the airline has yet toreceive some planes ordered inthe past.We are still buying aircraft

45 more to come by 2013.Thereafter, though, we have noorders yet, but there may yet be. Itdepends on price. Boeing say theyhave lots of orders for that period,but we dont think so.

The airlines business modelrequires it to buy planes ascheaply as possible.The less it pays for the planes,

the less it needs to charge fortickets to make a worthwhilereturn on its capital investment.The ideal time to place an order iswhen Boeings factories havespare capacity.We like to be counter-cyclical,

explains Mr Cawley.The airline has recently paid its

first-ever dividend toshareholders.If we dont place another order,

we would pay another dividend.Thats very likely to happen, butnot certain.If there are to be no more

planes, then future growth wouldhave to come from squeezingmore profit out of the existingfleet.We would have to move from

less profitable airports to moreprofitable airports, and thatmeans airports that are lessexpensive.Liverpool is burdened by air

passenger duty which adds 14-15

euros per passenger. You have tosee that cost in the context of anaverage airfare of 45 euros. Its abig burden. We dont have suchcosts in Spain and some othercountries. They dont see airportsas a burden to the environment,but that is a problem thatLiverpool has.Taxation aside, Mr Cawley says

Liverpool competes well forbusiness.They are very attuned to our

business model. They turn roundour planes very quickly. They arevery efficient in that regard, hesaid.As for Sir Stelioss assertion

that Easyjets board should beginto soft-pedal on growth, MrCawley said: His analysis is afunction of Easyjets businessmodel. They operate at relativelyexpensive airports and their faresare therefore higher than ours.Consequently, they are moresubdued in terms of growthpotential. They cant operate atplaces like Limoges andCarcassonne because the fares totheir airports are much lower andtheir costs base much higher. Hehas shown on a number ofoccasions in the past not to have agood understanding of ourbusiness model.His views appear to have,

eventually, held some sway atEasyjet. Last month, Easyjetannounced it will follow Ryanairsexample by paying its first-everdividend. It was also talking witha bit more circumspection aboutfleet expansion.There will be some new planes,

but nothing like the 100-plusfeared by Sir Stelios.Patrick Folley, technical

director of aviation economics atconsultancy firm MottMacDonald, agrees with SirStelioss views. He said: The UKlow-cost carrier market is mature.Theres no doubt about that.Mr Folley pointed to a shift in

the routes being offered byairlines. A few years ago, theno-frills airlines offered a lot ofservices to the eastern Europeanor North African VFR (visitingfriends and relatives) market.When the economy was strong,

there were a lot of migrantworkers flying to and from placeslike Poland to see relatives.Now Easyjet has started

serving more leisure destinations,suggesting that they are movingaway from the traditional low-costmarket into the charter market.It means their opportunities in

their traditional markets aredrying up, and they have to moveelsewhere.But APD is going to have an

impact on the low-cost market. Itis going to be a disincentive toleisure travellers. We have allbeen on cheap weekend breaks toEurope, but, with the recessionand APD, more of us are nowconcentrating on a single mainholiday in the year and cuttingback on discretionary travel, MrFolley said.Referring to Easyjets decision

to cut its Frankfurt fleet, MrFolley said: Its going to make itreally quite tricky to take up allthe spare capacity that creates.For years and years, they were

able to grow their market share,but now they might need tochange their business model.As we come out of recession,

we may see some initial growth asthings come back in the airlinemarket, but then we will seemature market patterns afterthat.

Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou at the launch of theEasyjet service from Liverpool to Luton, in 1999

12

What does it allCanLiverpool JLAcopewith any slowdown in growthLIVERPOOL John LennonAirport was one of the fastest-growing regional airports inBritain and Europe during theprevious decade.Since Peel Holdings acquired it

from Merseysides localauthorities in 1997, it has seenpassenger traffic increase tenfold,surpassing Peels own originalestimates.The growth was fuelled by the

equally rapid rise of the low-costairline sector. As Easyjet andRyanair flew more people to moredestinations, so JLAs departurelounge and immigration hallfilled up with travellers.What, though, does the future

hold now the two airlines, JLAschief customers, seem to be soft-pedalling on future growth?If the next ten years dont bring

continuing growth in the low-costmarket, how will the citys airportearn its revenues in the futureand will the so far unprofitablefacility be able to make a surplus?There is also a risk that the

airports new owner, VancouverAirport Services, has got itstiming wrong with its first forayinto the UK airports market. VASbought Liverpool JLA, togetherwith Robin Hood DoncasterSheffield, from Peel Holdings inthe summer.Craig Richmond has worked for

VAS or its parent, VancouverAirport, for the past 15 years. Hemoved to Britain in June to takeon the job of chief executive ofPeel Airports.He agrees the market is

maturing but explains that, farfrom being a problem, could be ablessing in disguise.VAS owns 19 airports outside

the UK, in North America, theCaribbean and Cyprus. Betweenthem, they handle about 25mpassengers a year, though thisfigure does not include VancouverAirport itself.Nor does VAS have any

previous experience of the low-cost market.Certainly not the ultra low-

cost market, he said.By ultra low cost, he is

referring to the very low faresseen in Europe compared to thoseon offer in the US. I have seenfares for 10 here. You dont getthat in North America. If you geta fare for Can$200 you thinkyouve done well. Thats becauseof the distances between airports.You just cant make those sort offares pay there.VASs website makes the claim

that the company invests in itsfacilities.Mr Richmond justifies this

claim by referring to theinvestment VAS raised for NassauAirport, in the Bahamas, while hewas chief executive there.In Nassau, we managed to get

finance in place that did not comefrom the Government.We got them Can$400m of

investment from a consortium ofbanks.What attracted us to Peel

Airport was the way we could buy

into 15m of investment intoimproved retail and securityareas. That brings retail atLiverpool up to world-classstandards. Its some of the bestspace I have seen.While there will be some

additional investment in thefuture, for example refurbishingtoilet areas, the next big injectionof money will only come once themarket starts to pick up againafter the recession.We have spare capacity at the

moment, he said.If we get enough new

passengers and need more apronspace or buildings, then we canfind that money, but right nowthats not a problem.Mr Richmond insists the move

into the low-cost market shouldnot prove a problem for VAS.It is our first foray into the

ultra low-cost market.But we came into it with our

eyes wide open.We are working very closely

with the low-cost carriers, and thelegacy carriers like VLM.We are in talks weekly, if not

daily, with them.As for the future, Mr Richmond

says a more mature market is not

necessarily a bad thing. Theremay be some upsides to it.If the market is mature, it

means yields should rise.Nothing stays the same in

business. No market can haveexplosive growth rates forever.The fact Easyjet is going after

the business market is a sign thatthe market is maturing.That should bring in people

who will spend more in theairport. Im less concerned aboutraw passenger numbers and moreconcerned about maximisingvoluntary spend.We would like to be able to

offer lots of different destinations,but only if they are going to beviable.With medium-haul flights,

people may spend in the shops onduty-free or sun glasses. Withshorter routes, they may not doso. Its very much a science.He said the aim was to make as

much money for the airportsretail operations as possible byidentifying those routes that weremost likely to attract the biggestspenders at the airport.Some people have criticised

airports for becoming shoppingmalls, but thats better than


VANCOUVERAIRPORTSERVICESHOWTHE GROUPWENT GLOBAL

VANCOUVER AirportServices (VAS) wasestablished in 1994 tomarket the management andoperating techniquesdeveloped by VancouverInternational Airport.It owns or manages 19

airports around the world,varying from small regionalairports such as Cranbrook,BC, to large internationalairports such as Larnaca,Cyprus.VASs areas of expertise

include marketing,operations and capitalproject management.In 2009, its network of

airports reported revenues ofmore than CDN$530m andcombined passenger traffictotalling more than 28.5m.Since its creation, VAS has

been involved in CDN$1.4bnof capital improvements andhas arranged CDN$4bn ofinternational capitalfinancing. Improvementsinclude building orexpanding 12 terminalbuildings and managing 19airport transitions frompublic to private ownership.VAS is owned by

Vancouver Airport Authorityand Citi InfrastructureInvestors.

HERE is a timeline of VASshistory: 1994VAS wins its first contract

to manage BermudasInternational Airport (nowcalled LF Wade InternationalAirport). 1996VAS signs a 40-year lease

with the City of Hamilton(Ontario, Canada) to develop,manage and operate John CMunro HamiltonInternational Airport. 1997VAS is awarded contracts

to manage four moreairports in Canada.

1998VAS and its partners win

concession to build, operateand transfer Chiles largestairport, Arturo MerinoBenitez International Airport. 1999VAS finalises a deal to

provide management andoperations services toProvidenciales InternationalAirport in Providenciales, inthe Turks & Caicos islands. 2000VAS takes over the

management and operationof four airports in theDominican Republic. 2003VAS and its local partner

clinches a contract tomanage, operate anddevelop SangsterInternational Airport inMontego Bay, Jamaica. 2006The Bahamian Prime

Minister signs a 10-yearcontract with VAS todevelop, operate andmanage Lynden PindlingInternational Airport, inNassau, The Bahamas.VAS and its local partner

assume responsibility foroperations of Larnaca andPaphos Internationalairports, in Cyprus. 2008VAS forms a joint venture

partnership with CitiInfrastructure Investors. 2009VAS opens new terminal at

Larnaca InternationalAirport, Cyprus.A US$120m airport

expansion programme iscompleted at SangsterInternational Airport, inJamaica. 2010VAS breaks into the UK

market with the acquisitionof a 65% stake in PeelAirports, which ownsLiverpool John LennonAirport.

Global view: Vancouver from the air

37

HOWGREEN ISYOURBUSINESS?INASSOCIATIONWITH

DELIVERY firm TNTsLiverpool base has beenawarded the Carbon TrustStandard for its efforts inreducing its carbonemissions.The firm, based in Speke,

launched its Planet Meprogramme in 2007, whichencouraged employees andsuppliers to reduce theirenergy usage, both in the

working environment and athome.TNT has made carbon

reduction an intrinsic partof its business strategy,with a focus on efficiencyimprovements andinnovation projectstargeting its aircraft, fleet ofvehicles and buildings.The Carbon Trust

Standard is awarded to

organisations who makethe extra effort in trying tocut their carbon footprint.Harry Morrison, general

manager of the CarbonTrust Standard Company,said: We congratulateTNT Liverpool on itsachievement. Being agood carbon citizen isntjust about looking goodon paper.

HarryMorrison,generalmanager ofthe CarbonTrust, left,and NeilGriffiths, ofTNT

Tapping into a global marketBootle businessmanonamission to savewater, reportsMartinWilliamsA MERSEYSIDE businessman isattracting worldwide interest inhis quest to save the planetsliquid gold.Eddie Witkowski will guarantee

his company, Riva Global, canreduce water wastage by at least25% but often ends up savingwell over 50% and more forclients.With most of us using at least

three times the water we actuallyneed every day, Mr Witkowski ison a mission to save water andmoney.Mr Witkowski has been busy in

the last few weeks exploringpotentially lucrative contracts.And customers around the

world, from Europe and as farafield as Australia, are seekingconsultancy advice from Riva,based at Hawthorne Road, Bootle,which distributes equipment tohelp customers reduce waterconsumption.Mr Witkowski says the

company carries out full wateraudits for both public and privatesector organisations.The audit includes shower

rooms, washbasins, commercialkitchens, bars, swimming poolfiltration, drinking fountains,urinal systems, toilets.He added: We have a guarantee

that we can reduce water wastagein any environment by at least25% often it is well over 50%.Most water functions in this

country use three times morewater than necessary in order tocarry out the function perfectlysuccessfully.We have partnered with a

design company and aremarketing two new valves thatwill be launched early 2011.One prevents cooled water in

the hot tap supply line going downthe drain while we wait for thewater to reach operatingtemperature.This can save between 40,000

and 90,000 litres a year in a typicalhome, much more in largerestablishments.The other valve sits under the

sink and attaches to the cold tapsupply line. This provides almostinstantaneous chilled water fromthe tap so we do not need to runthe tap until it is cold enough todrink.We are getting enormous

interest worldwide regardingthese valves.

Australia is very interested intaking on the valves, as well asIreland, Brazil and many UKorganisations, both public andprivate.Mr Witkowski is hoping to

interest local authorities whoneed to save water and energycosts in their swimming pools,leisure centres and schools.My background is in capital

equipment and project design, hesaid. I got into this quite bychance. I was working for aLiverpool company which dealt inplastic consumables, but I felt wewere missing out on a market forwater conservation.That company did not share

my vision so I decided to set uptwo separate companies,Plumbdrain, which was designedto bring in an income, alongsidemy baby which was Riva Global,which, without soundingpompous, was designed to try andeducate people about waterwastage.But the interest in Riva grew

enormously, much faster than weanticipated.In his presentations to potential

clients, Mr Witkowski says: Only1% of fresh water is usable, andmore than 1bn people lack accessto reliable, safe drinking water.Some experts predict that by 2015two-thirds of the worlds people

will live in water-stressedcountries.UK water bills could soar by

27% above inflation over the nextfew years according to SevernTrent, one of the countrys biggestwater suppliers.In England, some 25m people

live in areas where there is lesswater available per person thanSpain or Morocco.The average person in

England and Wales uses 148 litresof water every day.Although climate change is

expected to lead to more heavydownpours, resulting in increasedflooding, overall it could actuallyreduce the amount of water

available by 10-15% by 2050.Helping him navigate the trickywaters of international legalcontracts is Gareth Kelly, apartner with the Wrexham andShotton law firm, Cyril Jones andCo.Mr Kelly said: Eddie came to

me because he wanted advice onvarious business matters, notleast because of all theinternational interest.Eddie is an entrepreneur and I

will be getting busier the more hisbusiness ideas gain momentum.He is in negotiations with a

number of major concerns, and Iwill be helping and liaising withcontracts.

Gareth Kelly, left, of Cyril Jones and Co, with Eddie Witkowski and an item of new water-efficient equipment

TNT praised for delivering emissions cuts

36

HOWGREEN ISYOURBUSINESS? INASSOCIATIONWITH

Construction firm recycles its obsolete hard hatsWASTE being sent tolandfill is set to be reducedby construction companyMorgan Sindall, by turningdisused plastic hard hatsinto site hoardings.The company, which has

its Merseyside base atEnterprise Way, Liverpool,has sent more than 4,000 oldhats to a manufacturer to bemoulded into theenvironmentally-friendlyboards which will be used as

site hoardings. MorganSindalls decision to re-usethe old hats comes after thebusiness re-branded earlierthis year, following a mergerof its sister design andinfrastructure businesses.The formation of the new

business meant that the oldbranded hard hats with theformer company logos onneeded to be replaced.Rather than disposing withthe old hats, the company

joined forces withinnovative plastic recycler2K Manufacturing to turnthe hats into EcoSheetboards.Brian Handcock, Morgan

Sindalls head ofsustainability andenvironment, said: In thepast, it has been standardpractice in the constructionindustry to send hard hatsto landfill when they need tobe replaced.

As a company, we makeevery effort to limit theamount of waste we send tolandfill, and try to reusematerials and old equipmentwherever possible, so whenour old branded hard hatshad to be removed fromservice, we wanted to find away of using them again.Morgan Sindall has

collected hard hats fromoffices and constructionsites across the UK.

A more Direct way to save energyOutsourcing firmsaves keycustomer 18,000amonth in electricity costsOUTSOURCING firm LiverpoolDirect has installed new softwarewhich it claims will save itsprimary customer LiverpoolCity Council an estimated18,000 a month.The firm has started using a

power-reducing softwareprogram, NightWatchman.The desktop power

management system has beeninstalled by Liverpool Direct in abid to drive down energy costsand carbon emissions whileensuring that user productivityremains unaffected.It has been rolled out across the

corporate network without theneed to physically visit PCsindividually.From a central point, PCs are

scheduled each night to securelyshut down, saving around 12hours of unnecessary powerconsumption unit.During the weekends, even more

power is saved. In terms of carbonemissions, the reduction of almost1m kg of CO equates to takingaround 200 cars off the road.Paul Brant, deputy leader of

Liverpool City Council, said:This is a great initiative which isnot only saving the council money

but is also better for theenvironment.This will help reduce our

carbon footprint and our spendingand is a win-win for everyone.Mark Orford, Liverpool Directs

head of ICT design service, said:The introduction ofNightWatchman has enabledLiverpool Direct to offer itscustomers huge cost and energysavings.In line with our ISO 14001

environmental standard, we arecommitted to looking at new waysand means of minimising ourimpact on the environment, and

this initiative falls into the part ofour innovative technologystrategy which has been de-veloped to improve performanceand reduce our carbon footprint,cost and power consumption. A TRAINING centre forrenewable energy technologieshas opened in Wirral.The Green Energy Training

Centre, in Bromborough, wasunveiled by Scientiam managingdirector Mandi OShea and StiebelEltron UK managing directorMark McManus.They were joined by Stiebel

Eltron owner Dr Ulrich Stiebel

and chief executive RudolfSonnemann from the businesssheadquarters in Germany, as wellas dignitaries including WirralSouth MP Alison McGovern andthe Mayor of Wirral, AlanJennings.The 280,000 centre is a

partnership between Wirral-basedrenewable energy productsmanufacturer Stiebel Eltron,North West training providerScientiam, and the Skills FundingAgency. It will offer training onkey microgeneration technologiessuch as heat pumps and SolarPhotovoltaic (PV).

Morgan Sindalls Brian Handcock, left, and 2KManufacturings head of sales, Peter Ball

The LiverpoolDirect callcentre, inLiverpool citycentre

13

staring at blank wall. If you havea good retail offer, its adistraction for people who arefrankly trapped in the departurelounge after passing throughsecurity, said Mr Richmond.The strategy is already

beginning to pay off. Liverpool iscontinuing to attract big nameretailers. Recent signings includeBoots and WHSmith.We are signing contracts with

world-class brands that are payinghigher rents because they see thevalue of being here.He says fears that low-cost

passengers are not big enoughspenders at the airports shopsand catering outlets dont bearscrutiny.Theres been really good

progress for Frankie & Bennys.They are doing really well.Foreign exchange bureauTravelex is another recent arrival.We are getting some verycompetitive bids from these sortsof companies. They see the valuein Liverpool, said Mr Richmond.Referring to KLMs four flights

a day to Amsterdam, MrRichmond says there is evidencethat passengers prefer that citysSchipol airport to London

Craig Richmond, chief executive of Peel Airports Liverpool is a very convenient airport


mean for Liverpool JLA?among its big no-frills airline customers?

Heathrow: I am going toVancouver in December, and Imgoing to fly via Amsterdam. I getfive to six hours back, comparedto using Heathrow. Its like gettingback a day of your life. People arevoting with their feet. There areother possibilities, like Frankfurtand Paris. We are actively in talkswith other airlines to fly to otherhubs.Mr Richmond acknowledges

that Easyjets decision to build itsoperations at Manchesteramounts to a competitive threat toJLA. Manchester, after all, is bangin the middle of Liverpoolsgeographic marketplace. He saysthe only way the airport canrespond to this development is bymaking itself more competitive.We want to make ourselves as

attractive as possible. We aremeeting with Easyjet this week todiscuss what we can do to makeourselves more attractive and getmore flights for Liverpool. We arein competition with Manchesterfor Easyjet business. Theres a lotof airports in the UK, and so thereare no monopolies at the regionallevel.Liverpool is a very convenient

airport. Its easier to park here

and get through check-in security.Thats why people prefer flyingout of Liverpool. Manchester hasa lot of charter traffic. We havethe ultra low-cost airlines.One consequence of slower

growth will be that airli

Documents

LDP Business Magazine December 2010