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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

BUSINESSLDPLDPBUSINESS

Liverpool FCmanagingdirectorsetsouthis vision for theclub

●Selling thecity:A tourismmasterplan●Small isbeautiful:Halton’sbigplans●Quality space:Birchwood raises thebar

A return towinning waysA return towinning ways

w w w . l d p b u s i n e s s . c o . u kJ u l y 2 0 1 1

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ON A visit to Edinburgh last year,I was struck by the hordes offoreign tourists in the city, eventhough it wasn’t peak season.

As a result of the huge visitornumbers, large parts of theScottish capital are a classictourist trap, with wine bars,souvenir, gift and woollen shopsand restaurants offering to partvisitors from their dosh.

It’s the same elsewhere.You can’t get into the Royal

Shakespeare Theatre, atStratford-upon-Avon, unless youbook well in advance. Oxford’sancient colleges are besieged byJapanese and Americans, as is theTower of London andBuckingham Palace. TheHighlands and Islands and Great

Glen also feature highly onvisitors’ itineraries.

Here in Liverpool, we definitelyget some overseas visitors,notably on the cruise ships thatcall in during the summer monthsand during the Mathew Streetfestival, in summer. But, outsideof a handful of major events suchas the Grand National, you canhardly use the word “hordes” todescribe the scale of overseastourism here.

While the city is not a toptourist destination, itnevertheless does have somethingattractive to offer over and abovesimilar regional British cities.There is more to induce thecultural tourist tocome to Liverpoolfor the day thanthere is inManchester, Leedsor Birmingham.While they all ofhave goodmunicipal galleries,like the Walker, noneof them havecan competewith TateLiverpool’ssummer

exhibitions, such as the Magritteexhibition that has just opened.

Liverpool also scores highlywhen it comes to sports tourism.As Liverpool Football Clubmanaging director Ian Ayrediscloses in an online video thataccompanies our Big Feature, inthis edition of LDP Business, 2,500tickets to watch games at Anfieldare sold to overseas fans.

That strikes me as a bigproportion of the overall gate.Not many other places have that

sort of pull.We can’t, however,

make that sort ofclaim when itcomes toconferencevisitors. Other

cities also have something to sell.Manchester and Birminghamhave some great facilities, too. YetLiverpool’s Arena and ConventionCentre has produced a gamechange in the number of visitorscoming to the city.

Liverpool can therefore pitchitself at some mid-point in thetourist market. It’s also a sectorthat could grow in the future andcontinue to add to job creation inthe city.

We need more tourism, and weneed to follow Edinburgh’s leadand find more ways of getting thetourists that do visit the city tospend more, once here.

4NEWSBank backing bus firm

6INTERNATIONAL TRADETech firm heads for Florida

9BIG FEATUREThe visitor economy

14PROFESSIONAL SECTORSWhat’s the value of a brand?

16BIG INTERVIEWIan Ayre, chief managing directorof Liverpool Football Club

25ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTFocus on Halton

28LDP REGIONAL BUSINESSAWARDSPicture special from the big night

30COMMERCIAL PROPERTYMEPC Birchwood Park

32KNOWLEDGE ECONOMYThe i-pass opens doors

34HOW GREEN IS YOURBUSINESS?Cities ‘need more green space’

36THE LISTAll the key events

38BUSINESS LUNCHFilini, in Liverpool

40THE NETWORKERAlistair Houghton on the joy ofbusiness meetings

42SOCIAL DIARYCarolyn Hughes out on the town

EDITOR’SLETTER

BILL GLEESON

INSIDE

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LDPBUSINESS

EDITORBill Gleeson0151 472 2319bill.gleeson@liverpool.com

DEPUTY BUSINESSEDITORTony McDonough0151 330 4918tony.mcdonough@liverpool.com

BUSINESS WRITERSAlistair Houghtonalistair.houghton@liverpool.comPeter Elsonpeter.elson@liverpool.comNeil Hodgsonneil.hodgson@liverpool.comAlex Turneralex.turner@liverpool.com

HEAD OF IMAGESBarrie Millsbarrie.mills@liverpool.com

MARKETINGEXECUTIVECath Reeves0151 285 8428

ADVERTISEMENTDIRECTORDebbie McGraw

ADVERTISMENTMANAGERJackie McMahon0151 330 5077

ADVERTISMENTSALESNeil Johnson0151 472 2705Trudie Arlett0151 472 2476

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.

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NEWS

Grow How’s reception, in Ince, Cheshire

John Yates, left, and Paul Yates, who run Huyton Travel

Fiona Green and Liz Barclay, of the salon

Bank backs purchaseof green bus fleetA

MERSEYSIDE bus andcoach operator has wonthe backing of itsbankers to spend£800,000 on fuel-

efficient vehicles.Huyton Travel has invested the

cash to buy the vehicles aftersecuring funding from NatWestand its asset finance armLombard.

The new Optare Solo buses arereplacements for older vehicles inthe company’s fleet, and arecapable of achieving significantlymore miles per gallon.

The family-owned business,which was established in 1985 byJohn Yates, is today owned andrun by his sons Paul and JohnYates, Jr.

Huyton Travel operates a fleet of80 vehicles and providescommercial and tendered busservices on behalf of Merseytravelin Liverpool, Knowsley and Sefton.

Huyton Travel also providesdisabled and school transportservices for several localauthorities, including Halton,Knowsley and Sefton.

The business employs 140 staffand has an annual turnover ofmore than £4m.

Julie Thistlewaite, fromNatWest commercial bank, andAndrew Thrower, from Lombard,in St Helens, provided the funding.

Ms Thistlewaite, a seniorrelationship manager at NatWest,said: “Huyton Travel’s forward-looking approach is one of thereasons why they have beensuccessful for over 25 years.

“The directors are committed toimproving the services they offerand we are pleased to be able tohelp them upgrade their fleet.”

Aztec completesa fast fit-outLIVERPOOLcommercial fit-outcontractor, AZTEC,has completed a16-week industrialrefurbishment onbehalf of GrowHowUK, working inpartnership with BNPParibas’s Manchesterteam.

GrowHow, a marketleader in fertiliser andnutrient management,instructed AZTEC torefurbish the groundand part first flooroffice areas of itschemical processingfactory in Ince, nearChester.

The full fit-outinvolved a widevariety of productsand materials.

Rob Maxwell,AZTEC managingdirector, said: “Weunderstood the briefand set to workutilising the fullcapacity of the spaceavailable.

“Working with BNPParibas and the

client’s own in-housemarketing team, weset out to reflect afresh and modernimage.

“GrowHow’s valuesrun hand-in-hand withour own in relation toenvironmental issuesand maximising thebuilding’s efficiency.

“We installed anenergy-saving lightingsystem to decreaseCO² emissions,specified 94%recycled furniture, andall materials werecarefully selected tobe environmentallyfocused.”

Bill Hulley, ofGrowHow, added:“Aztec and BNPworked with us to turnaround arefurbishment projectthat had stalled due toproblems with thepreviousrefurbishmentcompany.

“Aztec delivered theproject within a tighttimescale.”

Chester nail and beauty salon wins top awardCHESTER Nail Salonowner Fiona Green hasachieved the NailSystems International(NSI) Gold Award forexcellence in running asuccessful nail spa.

This award recog-nises all the systemsneeded to run a nail andbeauty business,including hygiene healthand safety employmentlaw and day-to-daymanagement.

Ms Green wasawarded her certificateby NSI managingdirector Jason Shawand his co-director,Marie Littlewood.

The award system

was created anddevised by AchievedTraining, for NSI, to helpstandardise the nail andbeauty business.

“This has beentremendous,” said MrShaw, who has been inthe nail and beautybusiness for 25 years.“The nail business hasnever had the standardsand had to go throughthe scrutiny that thehairdressing industrydoes when setting up asalon.”

NSI is the third-largest distributor ofnail products in the UK,and also distributesthroughout the US.

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INTERNATIONAL TRADE

Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant for Cheshire, David Briggs, centre, presentsthe Queen’s Award to EA Technology’s Neil Davies, left, and Robert Davis

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CREATIVE

Powering into US marketAcquisitionof Florida firm laysplatform for EATechnology“WE UNDERSTAND thatthe future for our com-pany is in internationalgrowth,” says Neil Davies,corporate developmentdirector of EATechnology.

“Forty per cent of ourbusiness is nowinternational, and in thelast five years ourturnover has doubledfrom £9m to £18m.”

The Chester-basedpower engineering firmdecided to adopt astrategy of expandingabroad in 2007 and set upan international team.

That has led to itopening offices in Aust-ralia, Abu Dhabi, Shang-hai and, most recently,Florida. It also workswith nearly 40 distrib-utors to supply its rangeof instrumental and analyt-ical products to customersaround the world.

Mr Davies added:“There is enormous pot-ential for our business inthe US, due to the sheersize of the market, andour technology and meth-odologies are increasinglyrelevant there.”

It formally moved intothe American market lastyear when it acquired oneof its distributors, No-Outage Electrical Testing.

The deal was completedin December withassistance from UK Tradeand Investment (UKTI)and the company is nowexpanding to offerconsultancy andanalytical services. EATechnology has five staffin Florida and has openeda satellite office on the

west coast, in Oregon. Ithas plans to expand itspresence throughout thecountry and open furthersatellite offices inCalifornia, Texas, theNorth East and Midwestin the years ahead, withthe long-term ambitionbeing for its USoperations to rival thesize of its UK business.

Mr Davies added: “It’searly days, but we arealready seeing growth inthe US and will most

likely exceed our originaltargets. We are already ayear ahead of the goals weset several years ago.”

EA Technology’s innov-ation has been acknow-ledged with the companyawarded the Queen’sAward for Enterprise.

Group chief executiveRobert Davis said: “It isvery gratifying to receivethis honour, whichrecognises the absoluteimportance of innovationin industry.”

BUSINESSMATTERS

With Jonathan Main,senior partner atPwC in Liverpool

Avoid growing pains

IT HAS been a testing timefor businesses in our region,but the most resilientorganisations have adaptedtheir operating models totake account of tough tradingconditions.

Companies are nowseeking to raise new finance,consider M&A deals, andimprove the efficiency of thefunding on their balancesheets as the economycontinues its recovery.

Steps towards growthHaving survived the recent

downturn, growth is now thenumber one strategicobjective for business,followed by cash and workingcapitalmanagement.

The focus ongrowth andreadiness toinvest is goodnews for theUK economyand alignedwith theGovernment’sown growthagenda.

However, theeconomicrecovery overthe next fewyears isexpected to be modest. Thisis largely due to the knock-oneffect of public spending cutsto private sector suppliers,and their suppliers in turn.

Organisations are taking astrategic view to ensure thatthey are best placed to takeopportunities to benefit fromimproving marketconditions, however modestthey may be.

Realising the cash in yourbusiness will help youpursue investmentopportunities that arise.

Focus on cashEntrepreneurial

businesses are renowned forbeing both dynamic andresponsive to changes inmarket and economicconditions. However,increased activity levels,even for highly profitableorders, can adversely impactcash flow because of therequirement to fundincreasing working capitalrequirements.

For businesses that havealready weathered agruelling recession, financialreserves to fund the upturnin business levels can be alimiting factor. It is thereforevital that the cash impact ofany significant increase inorders is carefullyconsidered in advance.

It is also important to keepbanks and other lendingpartners fully apprised ofprogress, particularly asincreased business activitycould place a short-termstrain on funds.

Businesses shoulddemonstrate that cashmanagement considerationsare being prioritised.

For companies focused ongrowth, access to additional

funds is aprerequisite todoing business.

By putting theright systems androbust proceduresin place tomonitor workingcapital now, theycan significantlyimprove theirchances ofsecuring anyadditional financethat may beneeded when thetime comes.

Manybusinesses have alreadyundergone a cost reductionexercise; however, a lot morecould still be done to free upcash by improving theirworking capitalmanagement.

This can include reviewingpayment terms that havebeen agreed with customersand suppliers, as it may bepossible to renegotiate termsto relieve pressure on thecash position of the business.

It is also important toconsider more innovativesolutions, such as partneringor risk-sharing opportunitieson large orders or contracts.

Businesses should notoverlook the importance ofmanaging the cashimplications of the economicrecovery. It is vital to plancarefully for the cash impactof increasing activity levels,to achieve sustainablegrowth in the years to come.

■ VISIT www.pwc.co.uk/north – tel: 0151 227 4242

‘Growth isnow thenumber onestrategicbusinessobjective’

TOO BUSY MANAGINGYOUR CASHFLOW TOMANAGE YOUR BUSINESS?Running a business is no mean feat, let alone the relentless pressures of

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For help with managing your cashflow visitwww.experian.co.uk/small-business

TO MAKE YOUR BUSINESS A SUCCESS... JUST ADD EXPERIAN

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ADVERTORIAL

International trade asa gateway to growth

Manufacturing in the North West was worthan estimated £20 billion and employed 400,000people in 2010, which makes our region thebiggest contributor to this sector in the UK.For many manufacturers in our region,exporting may provide excellent expansionopportunities with an estimated 70 per centof the world’s growth in the next few yearsexpected to come from emerging markets.

The North West Lloyds TSB Commercialteam understands that with so many demandson your time as a business owner, investigatingopportunities for exporting growth can often beeasier said than done.

Our relationship management team in theNorth West can help you navigate internationalpayments, from processing foreign currencytransactions to more sophisticated paymentmechanisms such as letters of credit or bondsand guarantees. They can also introduce you tolocally-based international business managers,who specialise in exporting and can take youthrough international trading challenges.

Having various finance options availableis particularly important when you need tomanage your cashflow and bridge gaps betweenissuing invoices and receiving payment. Weoffer a range of invoice financing facilities,overdrafts and term loans to help you makethe most of exporting opportunities.

We worked with our Morecambe-basedcustomer Printed Space, for example, whichis now achieving great success overseas witha new flooring product after securing anEnterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) loan(see case study).

Whether you’re a first time or establishedexporter, we can help ease the transition intointernational markets.

To find out how the North West commer-cial team can help your business expandabroad, please contact me on 07860 309026or Malcolm Woodall, international businessmanager on 07739 817 822. Further detailscan be found on www.lloydstsb.com/business

Any property given as security, whichmay include your home, may be repossessedif you do not keep up repayments on yourmortgage or other debts secured on it. Alllending is subject to a satisfactorycredit assessment.

Factoring, Invoice Discounting, Hire Purchase andLeasing facilities are provided by Lloyds TSB CommercialFinance Limited. When using these products and servicesyour agreement is with a Lloyds Banking Group companywhose terms and conditions will apply.

Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance Ltd. Registered office:No. 1, Brookhill Way, Banbury, OX16 3EL, Registered inEngland and Wales no. 733011.

Lloyds TSB Commercial is a trading name of LloydsTSB Bank plc and Lloyds TSB Scotland plc and servescustomers with an annual turnover of up to £15m.

Authorised and regulated by the FinancialServices Authority.

By Leigh TaylorAREA DIRECTOR FOR LLOYDS TSB COMMERCIALIN THE NORTH WEST

Left to right: Ian Hughes (Lloyds TSB Commercial Relationship Manager) with Michelle and Kristian Holt of Printed Space

Helping international expansionPrinted Space specialises in printingdigital images onto canvasses, blinds andwall coverings and works with private andcommercial clients. Owners Kristian andMichelle Holt started their business fromtheir dining room in 2004, and having movedinto new business premises in 2009 are nowexpanding through international trade.

In January it introduced a new innovativeproduct, Floorink, a printable vinyl cushionfloor covering developed with flooringmanufacturer Forbo.

Kristian Holt said: “To help withthe development and launch costs, weapproached Lloyds TSB Commercial andthey provided a £50,000 Enterprise FinanceGuarantee (EFG) loan.

“This funding helped us first with thedevelopment and then with the promotionof the product internationally and we havesince sold Floorink to Universal Studios inSingapore. We are also currently workingwith resellers in Thailand, New Zealand andSouth Africa.

“As a result of the international interestin the product, we are now looking to doubleour current workforce of 12 and more thandouble our turnover this year.

“With our distribution partner Forbo welook forward to turning Floorink into aninternational brand.We have been LloydsTSB Commercial customers since we enteredthe industry and their support since day one,in particular for the new product launch, hasproved invaluable in helping us achieve ourambitions.”

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▲THE BIG FEATURE

▲

Liverpool’s city skyline has been transformed over the years – and so has the city’s appeal to tourists, who now flock here in ever-increasing numbersPicture: GAVIN TRAFFORD

Upholding the lure

Few cities in the world can boast Liverpool'stourist offering – it has some of the best amenitiesand attractions for culture vultures and business

travellersalike.BenRoothdiscoversmore

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THE BIG FEATURE

The largest newly-built national museum in Britain for over a century – the new £72m Museum of Liverpool, which is due to open

WHEN it comes todescribing theimportance oftourism inLiverpool, one

simple fact speaks volumes.Last year, visitors to this city

pumped in excess of £2.8bn intoour economy.

This amount is around half thevalue of the total exports sentfrom the whole of the north westto the USA in 2010.

But there are other figureswhich also highlight theimportance of Liverpool CityRegion's "visitor economy".

As the tourists flock toLiverpool – by road, rail or air –throughout the year, the sectorsupports approximately 41,000jobs.

This figure is expected toincrease to 43,000 by the end of2012 and 55,000 by 2020.

In short, tourism is bigbusiness and it plays a vital partin driving both Liverpool'seconomic wellbeing and that ofthe north west.

National tourism agencyVisitBritain discovered that morethan 2.1m overseas visitors wereattracted to the North west lastyear mainly by our potent mix of"sociability, soccer and seasideentertainment".

Of those surveyed, 61% saidthey spent time while in the area"socialising with the locals" –which was the highest figure forany area of England.

Significantly, 19% of visitorssaid they had come for a“miscellaneous” purpose, andwhen researchers looked moreclosely it emerged 61% of thesewatched a football match.

Indeed, VisitBritain hasdiscovered that Liverpool is fifthin the top 10 UK "holiday"destinations – leading the way notonly in the North west but also inthe English regions.

We are placed behind London,Edinburgh, Glasgow andInverness.

The experts agree that thereasons for Liverpool's successare diverse.

For some, it's our maritimehistory, world-beating musicalheritage, two Premiership footballteams and two majesticallydifferent cathedrals whichprovide the initial draw.

Others find the attraction ofour superb restaurants and hotels– which cater for every budget –or the £1bn Liverpool Oneshopping centre the mainincentive for a visit.

And then there are the world-class museums, galleries andtheatres, as well as stunningarchitecture and the spectacularUnesco World Heritagewaterfront.

And, from later this month,there will be another majoraddition to the city's culturaloffering when the £72m Museumof Liverpool opens.

Not only will this be the largestnewly-built national museum inBritain for over a century, but itwill also be the world's firstnational museum devoted to thehistory of a regional city.

Lorraine Rogers, chiefexecutive of Merseyside'seconomic development agencyand official tourist board, TheMersey Partnership, said: "I'msure that the new museum will bea huge attraction and Liverpool

thoroughly deserves a venue likethis to chart its own history.

"And I think that it is afantastic achievement to havebrought this new £72m facility tofruition in the tough economicconditions of the past few years.

"It will also add to the breadthof the overall tourist offeringhere, which is proving to be ahuge success in economic terms.

"I think that tourism is nowperceived to be a serious businesssector which brings seriousamounts of money to the economy– and this is fully recognised bythe Government."

And then there's Liverpool's"business tourism" sector.

This has burgeoned over thepast decade – particularly withthe opening of Liverpool'smulti-award winning Arena andConvention Centre (ACC).

And it now looks certain tocontinue growing apace, followingthe announcement of the openingof the new 8,100sq metre £40mexhibition and events complex inSeptember, 2014.

This will be adjacent to theACC – which consists of the EchoArena and the BT ConventionCentre – and will be sub-dividableinto three interlinked exhibitionhalls, each 2,700m² in size.

The extension will also see thedevelopment of an on-site200-bedroom hotel which will beconnected to the ACC with a skybridge – making it the onlyinterconnected arena, conventioncentre and exhibition facility inEurope.

Carol O'Reilly, of LiverpoolConvention Bureau – whichchampions this city as a venue forconferences – said: "Our

versatility has always been ourgreatest selling point.

"We have such a diverse rangeof venues and hotels, all withineasy access, and a compact citythat enables delegates to getaround just as easily on foot.

"We have also recently launcheda Delegate Welcome Schemewhich is our commitment that thecity will provide a memorablewelcome that delegates willexperience before the event,during their journey to the cityand throughout their stay.

"It also builds on the warmthand friendliness of the people ofLiverpool, which the destinationis so well known for."

Over the past 10 years, £5bn ofinvestment has transformed thecity region for both leisuretourists and business visitors.

Yet the common consensus is

that it firmly retains thecharacter and charm for which itis internationally famous.

Nick Brooks-Sykes, director oftourism at the NorthwestRegional Development Agency(NWDA) – which will bedisbanded next year – said thathis organisation's investment hadplayed an important part inimproving Merseyside's visitoreconomy.

He said: "I suppose that, as theNWDA reaches its conclusion, myend-of-term report aboutLiverpool's visitor economy wouldbe that it is in a very good state –but it has everything to keepfighting for.

"I think that people would behard-pressed to stand anywhereelse in Britain and witness onsuch a startling scale the positivetransformation which Liverpool

‘Business tourism’ boomsassoaringnumber of visitors pumps£2.8bn

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

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THE BIG FEATURE

later this month, bringing a new dimension to the city’s tourist appealPicture: JAMES MALONEY

has undergone – particularly overthe past decade.

"I think that the investmentthat has flowed into the city'svisitor economy has boostedconfidence, and this has resultedin the success story that Liverpoolhas now become.

"I think that the NWDA hasfacilitated much of thepartnership working which hastaken place here, and this is abaton for other organisations tonow take up.

"Tourism is an immenselycompetitive sector and – to anextent – a destination is as good assome of the last big events ithosted.

"There's a constant need to keepinvesting to ensure that youroffering remains among the bestand, for this reason, theannouncement about the new

Airport a gatewayfor jet-set touristsJLAhandled5m-pluspassengers last yearLIVERPOOL John LennonAirport (JLA) is one of theBritain's longest-establishedoperational airports and wasofficially opened on July 1,1933.

Today, it is firmlyestablished as the UK's tenthbusiest airport – and last yearit handled over 5mpassengers – an increase ofaround 3% on the previousyear.

Passenger numbers haveincreased ten-fold since 1995.

In recent years, Liverpoolhas also been one of Britain'sfastest-growing regionalairports with flights to over70 destinations.

Air routes into Liverpoolwere expanded in March,2009, with a direct link toKLM's main internationalhub in Schiphol, Amsterdam,making it easier than everbefore to travel to LiverpoolCity Region.

In May, 2010, daily flightsbetween Liverpool JohnLennon Airport and SchipholAirport were increased tofour flights.

The service connectsLiverpool to more than 100destinations on KLM's ownintercontinental network andover 650 worldwidedestinations across KLM'sSkyteam partner networks.

This service has beeninstrumental in opening theLiverpool City Region up to awhole new audience of globaltravellers.

And the airport is equallywell served when it comes todomestic travellers.

UK regional airline,Eastern Airways, introducedits first scheduled flightsfrom Liverpool John Lennon

Airport to Aberdeen andSouthampton, in July, 2009.The independent carrieroperates three flights eachweekday, making travelling toLiverpool City Region fromboth ends of the country easyand convenient for bothbusiness and leisuretravellers.

Ryanair, Easyjet andWizzAir also operate intoLiverpool JLA.

In February this year,easyJet began offering flightsto Brussels – recognised asthe administrative centre formany internationalassociations.

JLA is owned byVancouver Airport Services,which acquired a 65%majority share in PeelAirports from The PeelGroup including JLA, inJune, 2010.

Ongoing investment infacilities has helped to firmlyestablish JLA not only as agateway to the North Westbut also as one of the primaryairports in the UK.

In addition to thesignificant tourism benefits itbrings to the Liverpool CityRegion, the airport is nowone of Merseyside's majoremployers.

Flight paths – crowds of passengers make their waythrough the terminal at JLA . . . now the UK’stenth-busiest airport Picture: MARTIN BIRCHALL

exhibition and events complex isgreat for Liverpool."

Peter Stoney, senior fellow ineconomics at LiverpoolUniversity's Management School,expressed his belief thatincreasing the number of cruiseships docking in the port couldbring enhanced benefits toLiverpool's visitor economy.

Mr Stoney said: "Liverpool isnow tapping into a new revenuestream from cruise liners.

"There is the potential forthousands of tourists to suddenlyconverge on the city centre,bringing with them immensebenefits for all the restaurants,shops and museums located here.

"But this observation doesn'tdetract from the very real successthat the city has achieved –particularly over the past decade."

The £19m City of Liverpool

Cruise Terminal began operatingin 2007, and is capable of handlingthe world's largest liners.

It has since handled over 68,000passengers and almost 30,000 crew– generating £5,676,000 for thelocal economy.

In 2011, a total of 15 vessels willvisit the city. Cunard's newestliner, the Queen Elizabeth, willmake its maiden call to the city onSeptember 8, where the shippingline was first established 170years ago.

This will be followed a weeklater by Cunard's flagship linerthe Queen Mary 2, whichattracted thousands of spectatorswhen it visited in 2010.

Professor Stoney describes thetransformation of the city centre'sinfrastructure as "remarkable".

He adds: "For a start, there hasbeen a massive increase in the

into city economyandconfidencecontinues togrow in the Liverpool success storynumber of hotels serving the citycentre – and this obviously is adirect way of catering for tourists.

"In my opinion, the inwardinvestment which has flowedinto the city over the past dec-ade has been brought about byentrepreneurs realising thattheir efforts would be welcomed.

"This situation hassubsequently developed its ownmomentum and the new hotels,conference venues and otherfacilities have made Liverpoolan attractive destination forlarge financial services com-panies to establish a presence.

"Obviously, we are nowgoing through some troubledeconomic times and while Ithink that growth in allsectors is likely to slow, I dothink that there will continueto be growth."

Peter Stoney – city tappinginto new revenue stream

12

THE BIG FEATURE

Centre poisedmore to ACC

A computer-generated image of how the proposed Exhibition Centre will look alongside the Liverpool Echo Arena and BT Convention Centre, at Kings Dock

Football fans flock to stadium toursFOOTBALL fans fromacross the worldregularly converge onLiverpool to follow thefortunes of one of thecity's two premiershipteams.

But quite apart fromthe match day influxes- and the benefits thatthese bring to thevisitor economy - bothLiverpool FC andEverton FC havestrived to providetourists with otheropportunities todiscover more aboutthem.

Last month,Liverpool FC lifted the"large visitor attractionof the year" prize atThe MerseyPartnership's AnnualTourism Awards.

It was in recognitionof the success of theclub's stadium tour.

This allows visitorsto enjoy an "interactiveexperience" in theAnfield Press Room,follow in the footstepsof some of the club'slegends and even sit inthe same dressingroom as the modern

day players. TomCassidy, commercialtourism manager atLiverpool FC said atthe time: "We've takena very differentapproach to thefootball club as avisitor attraction.

"We've done a lot ofhard work and this isonly the start.”

There's a lot morewe can do and you cannever take things forgranted.”

Everton's stadiumtour has proved equallypopular with tourists.

Aintree a tourism front-runnerAINTREE Racecourse'sGrand National 2011romped home to winthe title of TourismEvent of the Year at theMersey Partnership'sAnnual TourismAwards last month.

This year's racemeeting attracted arecord-breaking153,000 visitors overthree days and a TVaudience of over 600million worldwide.

This year's winner

was Ballabriggs, train-ed by Donald McCain,son of Red Rum's leg-endary trainer, Ginger.

The event brought anestimated £10m boomto the Merseysideeconomy – up from£8.5m in 2010.

Speaking to the LDPat the time of theevent, David Andrews,director of visitoreconomy for tourismbody The MerseyPartnership, said that

the event is always ex-cellent for the city reg-ion's visitor economy.

He said: "With 2011'scapacity crowds,record numbers ofvisitors and superbweather to showcasethe Aintree festival andLiverpool to the world,it's clearly been abumper weekend.

"The benefits arespread across thehotels, restaurants,bars and shops.”

LIVERPOOL Arena and ConventionCentre have generated more than £400mfor the city region's economy since itopened in January, 2008.

The presence of the £164m ACC, on thecity's World Heritage waterfront, is amajor reason why Liverpool City Regionis also fast becoming known as the"capital of conferencing'".

Over the past 3½ years, it has welcomedover 1.9m visitors to 415 events and almost230,000 delegates to different conferences.

ACC Liverpool's chief executive BobPrattey said that the venue's success hadtaken even its senior management bysurprise.

He said: "Despite the fact that weopened at the start of one of the worstrecessions, we were profitable by the endof year two. I think it's fair to say thatLiverpool has never had a facility like thisbefore and it has proved very effective instimulating regeneration and economicgrowth.”

Mr Prattey adds that the ACC currentlygenerates £120m worth of economic ben-efits for Liverpool City Region each year.

He believes that this will grow to £160mper annum when the new exhibition andevents complex opens in September 2014.

The new venue is set to be built by apartnership of Liverpool City Council andACC Liverpool, home to BT ConventionCentre and Echo Arena.

In its first year of operation, it isexpected to host about 50 events andattract some 250,000 visitors.

Plans include a sky bridge to connect itto the existing facility, making ACCLiverpool the only purpose builtinterconnected arena, convention centreand exhibition facility in the UK.

Funding for the development is set to beraised through borrowing, supporteddirectly from the revenue generated by thecentre, so that the development will be atzero cost to tax-payers.

A 200-bed four or five-star hotel is includ-ed in the development plans but will befunded separately through the privatesector. The 8,100m2 exhibition centre willbe wholly owned by Liverpool City Coun-cil but will be managed by the existingACC Liverpool management team.

It will be used to stage both trade andconsumer exhibitions, as well as largescale national and internationalconferences with attached exhibitions,large-scale banquets and concerts for upto 10,000 people standing.

13

THE BIG FEATURE

to addoffer

City’s museum offering about to get even betterLIVERPOOL has moremuseums and galleriesthan any other UK cityRegion outside of London –and this offering is about toget even better.

National MuseumsLiverpool (NML) alreadyoperates six venues acrossthe City Region – WorldMuseum Liverpool, WalkerArt Gallery, InternationalSlavery Museum,Merseyside MaritimeMuseum, Lady Lever ArtGallery and Sudley House.

These free venues attractover 2.5m visitors a yearand on July 19 – 100 yearsto the day since theneighbouring Royal LiverBuilding opened its doors –NML will open its seventhvenue, the £72m Museumof Liverpool.

It is already anticipatedthat the new venue willattract more than 750,000visitors per year.

Situated on Liverpool'swaterfront, which is part ofthe UNESCO World Herit-

age Site, it will become thelargest newly-built nationalmuseum in Britain for overa century.

It will also become andthe world's first nationalmuseum devoted to thehistory of a regional city.

Professor Phil Redmond,chairman of NationalMuseums Liverpool, said:"Liverpool's waterfront isknown the world over, andwe are pleased that we willsoon be welcoming visitorsto what is undoubtedly a

stunning addition to thatWorld Heritage Site."

The museum will focuson four main themes ofport, creative and sportinghistory, people and globalsignificance with galleriescalled The Great Port,Wondrous Place, People'sRepublic and Global City.

David Fleming, directorof National MuseumsLiverpool said: "TheMuseum of Liverpool is allabout telling the stories ofthe city and its people. “

Wide appeal of city region’s attractionsTHE visitor economyacross the Liverpool CityRegion – which includesthe districts of Southport,Wirral, St Helens. Knowsleyand Halton – has enjoyedmassive growth over thepast decade.

For example, the SeasideTourist Industry reportshows that tourism inSouthport is now worth£94m a year and isresponsible for 5,300 jobs.

The town is the eighthhighest in the UK for jobs

directly sustained bytourism.

Southport's re-birth asEngland's "Classic Resort"– following more than£200m investment in recentyears – has helped thetown buck the trend duringthe recession.

Steve Christian, SeftonCouncil's tourismmarketing manager, said:"The drift towards‘staycations’ is set tocontinue this year, as morepeople look to holiday at

home. Southport hasmoved with the times andis now recognised asEngland's Classic Resort,thanks to the investment innew facilities combinedwith our traditional seasideattractions.”

Future improvementsinclude the £12m redevel-opment of Southport ArtsCentre and Atkinson ArtGallery into a state-of-the-art cultural centre.

Southport, with its sixchampionship courses,

also stakes a claim to bethe "capital" of England's"golf coast" – and theregion is home to 19challenging andpicturesque courses.

And those tourists whowish to venture slightlyfarther afield often opt todiscover the Roman wallsand amphitheatre inChester or the coastline ofNorth Wales - both ofwhich are within an hour'sdrive of Liverpool JohnLennon Airport.

Tills keep on ringing as Liverpool One lures millionsTHERE have been morethan 70m visitors to the£1bn Liverpool Onedevelopment since itopened in May, 2008, and itis widely perceived to haveplayed an instrumental rolein boosting this city'svisitor economy.

Indeed, more than 10.5mhave visited the retail andleisure complex so far thisyear.

It is officially recognisedto be Europe's largesturban regeneration project

and has come to epitomisethe rebirth of Liverpool'sincreasingly vibrant citycentre.

To date, Liverpool Onehas scooped 60 awardsand in May it beat offcompetition from retail andleisure destinations fromaround the world to win theInternational Council ofShopping Centre (ICSC)'s"Best-of-the-Best" awardat the ICSC VIVA (Vision,Innovation, Value andAchievement) Awards in

Las Vegas. The award hon-oured the most outstandingexamples of retail designand development,sustainability, marketingand community service.

Spanning 42 acres, itfeatures over 160 shops,cafés, restaurants andbars, two hotels andserviced apartments Hilton,Novotel and BridgeStreetApartments, 600 residentialapartments at One ParkWest, 14-screen OdeonCinema and new car parks.

Liverpool One alsofeatures the five-acreChavasse Park which hasre-established the linkbetween the new citycentre and the Albert Dock.

Chavasse Park is nowalso home to the JohnLennon Peace andHarmony Monument.

Chris Bliss, estatedirector at Liverpool One,said: "Liverpool One ismore than a shoppingdestination, it is a uniquelifestyle experience.”

No shortage of hotel rooms as visitor surge continuesTHERE are now 5,716 hotelrooms in Liverpool – andthis figure will increase to5,966 by the end of this year.

This rapid growth isfurther placed in contextwhen it is considered thatin April 2009, there were4,474 rooms.

Today, the city boastsestablishments which suitall tastes and budgets.

These range from guesthouses and big-namebrands to stylish boutiquehotels and stunning

country houses. In this lastcategory is Knowsley Hall,which is situated within a2,500-acre estate and isBritain's only 5-star Goldrated stately home whichalso hosts large-scaleconferences.

Among key internationalbrands now present inLiverpool are: Hilton,Malmaison, Radisson Blu,Novotel, Crowne Plaza,Marriott, Hampton byHilton, Jurys Inn andRamada Plaza. In 2010,

choice was increasedfurther with independenthotels Heywood House andbase2stay, and this yearthey have been joined byDays Inn Hotel, whichopened in April.

Earlier this month, the£15m boutique Hotel IndigoLiverpool opened with arestaurant by renownedchef Marco Pierre White.

Robert Nadler, chiefexecutive of base2stay inSeel Street, said: "It's greatthat this city has a lot of

hotel rooms because it hasan excellent product to sell.

"This was the secondhotel we opened after theone in London.

"I think that the openingof the new museum andthe new exhibition centre in2014 will also be good forhoteliers.

"Many hotels in this cityfind themselves busy atweekends but have somevacancies on weekdaysand these two new venuescould help with this."

Bob Prattey – facility has provedvery effective

14

PROFESSIONAL SECTORS

THE zebra on the 13th floor ofLiverpool’s Plaza office block is asign that things are changing atone of Liverpool’s oldestcompanies.

The zebra, called Henry, hasmade its home in the offices ofInvestec Wealth & Investment –the wealth managementcompany formerly known asRensburg Sheppards.

Rensburg Sheppards has aproud history in Liverpoolstretching back to 1873, when itwas able to trace its roots back tothe Liverpool Stock Exchange.

The historic Rensburg namemay be on the way out, but it’svery much business as usual forthe busy team at Investec’sLiverpool office.

The wealth managementsector is a key part of Liverpool’seconomy. It boasts somelong-established companies, butit is a sector that is used to

change and rebranding. In 2006,Liverpool group Tilney wasbought by Deutsche Bank.

Today, its Liverpool office, inthe iconic Royal Liver Building,operates under the DeutscheBank brand.

In May, Cheviot AssetManagement announcedLiverpool would be the site of itsfirst office outside London.

Its wealth management team isbased in St Paul’s Square, astone’s throw from Investec.

Meanwhile, veteran Liverpoolwealth management groupRathbone Brothers – which datesits history back to 1742 and itselftried to take over Rensburg in2005 – is still going strong.

Liverpool is, according toresearch carried out earlier thisyear for Professional Liverpool,the biggest UK centre outsideLondon for the wealthmanagement sector.

The report by ComPeershowed Liverpool had £11.6bn ofassets under management, aheadof Manchester at £10.7bn, and isthe driving force behind theNorth west’s wealth managementsector.

In 2005, Rensburg boughtLeeds-based Carr SheppardsCrosthwaite from Investec,having decided to turn down anapproach by Rathbones.

In return, Investec took a47.7% stake in the newly-formedRensburg Sheppards, beforecompleting a takeover last yearin a deal worth £412m.

Jonathan Wragg, UK chiefexecutive of the rebrandedInvestec Wealth & Investmentsaid: “The name Investec will besynonymous with the enduringvalues and modern methods thathave allowed our business tothrive over many years.

“In addition, the change of

RensburgSheppards rebrandsas Investec in the

Wealth manager

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

THE SHARPERINVESTOR

Nigel Hibbert,Partner at CheviotAsset Management,Liverpool

This year has already beenmarked out as one of globalvolatility. Nigel Hibbertassesses the impact oninvestment portfolios

POLITICAL upheavals andmilitary flashpoints havedominated the internationalagenda this year, arriving onthe back of a credit crisisthat few would disputechanged the world order.

The implications forinvestors of the events in theMiddle East and elsewhereare naturally of profoundrelevance to investmentmanagers – and the peoplewhose wealth we safeguard.

One perspective is thatturbulence has both shortand long-term consequences.The 9/11 attacks, forexample, had a seismicimpact on geopolitics and leftan indelible mark on history.Yet Stock Markets overcamethe turmoil within a merefour weeks.

The fall of theBerlin Wall alsocomes to mind.It proved to be aboon tocapitalism,contributing toa decade-longsurge in stocks,yet thoseconsequenceswere notassured whenradicalism firstswept across theEastern Bloc in1989.

Economicdevelopments do take time toplay out, and markets oftenremain volatile in theimmediate wake of a worldcrisis. That’s certainly thepattern we see now.

An investment managercan excel when markets arein a tailspin. The key is to beprepared to act decisivelyand reduce exposures ifnecessary but, equally, tomaintain a level head. That’sabout quickly assessingwhether the situation athand has changed theoutlook at all and/or whetherthe market lurch is anover-reaction.

It is also important toconsider whether it isappropriate to be “brave” bytaking a contrarian stance,because the best investmentopportunities are so oftenborne out of moments ofmarket distress.

When news of a naturaldisaster somewhere in theworld is breaking and equitymarkets react nervously byfalling, it does notnecessarily mean that thetrading picture has changedfor Tesco in any way, and sothe share price weakness isanomalous.

Given this reality, clientsappreciate hearing about the“science” of our portfoliomanagement (even if they donot profess or wish to fullyunderstand it) and how weestablish the balance ofwhere to protect and whereto target higher returns.

At the heart of our processis always the management ofrisk. What’s the backbone ofthe portfolio? Is there enoughdiversity to cushion volatilityand are our assetssufficiently uncorrelated tohelp generate the consistentreturns we are seeking?

While we want to bepursuing growth oppor-

tunities to the fullextent of a client’sindividual riskprofile, we willalso always bescrutinisingwhere the risksare placed.

A portfolio’sFixed Interestcontent, forexample, shouldbe respected asthe portfolio’slower riskelement, and afund managercareful about

chasing too much return via,perhaps, low-qualitycorporate bonds – they arehigh yield for a reason.

Outside of the currenttrouble spots, the “BRIC”economies of Brazil, Russia,India and China arerelatively free from debt,growing and becoming moreadvanced. The next tier ofnations includes the likes ofMexico, South Korea, SouthAfrica, Indonesia andTaiwan. Each has its ownopportunities and risk, andthis should be assessed in thecontext of each individualclient’s risk tolerance.

Understanding thesepatterns and the stresses andopportunities they maycreate is an integral functionof wealth management.

The events of the last fewmonths have given us allmuch to reappraise.

‘Investmentmanagerscan excelwhenmarkets arevolatile’

15

From left, Carl Cross, Henrythe zebra and Jon Seal relaxwith the Daily Post

PROFESSIONAL SECTORS

gets its stripesbrand also presents us with newopportunities to grow, as part ofan FTSE 100 group that iscommitted to developing ourbusiness.

“After working in associationwith Investec for several years,we are proud to be adopting theirname.”

Jon Seal, director in charge ofthe Liverpool office, said:“Offering clients a service that isout of the ordinary lies at theheart of the Investec brand, andthat is fundamentally whatRensburg Sheppards has alwaysbeen about.

“We’ve been a constantpresence in the city of Liverpoolsince 1873, making us one of thecity’s longest established andlargest investment managers,and our rebrand to InvestecWealth & Investment marks anew and very exciting chapter inour story.”

Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management, formerly knownas Tilney, is based in the Royal Liver Building

latest change inMerseyside’s financial sector

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

LEGALLYSPEAKING

With Bill Chandler,legal director at lawfirm Hill Dickinson

QTHE lease of one of

my businesspremises contains abreak clauseallowing me to

terminate the lease in a fewmonths’ time. Getting out ofthis lease would save me asignificant amount of moneyover the coming years, butare there any traps I need toavoid when exercising thebreak clause?

AEXERCISING a

break clause toterminate a leasesoundsstraightforward

enough, but there arepotentially serious and costlyperils and pitfalls for atenant.

The battle of the breakclause is a perfectillustration of the pressureson landlords and tenantsresulting from the changedeconomic landscape. Astenants attempt to exercisebreak clauses toescape ongoingliabilities onpropertieswhich are noweitherover-rented orsurplus torequirements,landlords arefearful ofanother emptyproperty andare fighting tokeep tenants onthe hook.

The lastcouple of yearshave witnessed a flood ofcourt cases concerning breakclauses, which can bedistilled into the followinglessons on how to correctlyexercise a break clause:

1. When must the noticebe served?

Most break clauses imposea strict timetable; andremember to allow sufficienttime for the notice to actuallybe served on the landlordbefore the deadline. Lateservice may render thenotice invalid, a most costlymistake.

2. Who is the tenant?The notice must be served

by or on behalf of the currenttenant. Sounds obvious, butrecent cases have concerned

problems with notices servedby the wrong group company,where changes of companyname have been involved andby naming only one of twoco-tenants.

3. Who is the landlord?Similarly, ensure that the

notice is addressed to andserved on the correct andcurrent landlord. In one case,the original landlord hadsubsequently created anintermediate lease, whichinterposed a third partybetween the original landlordand tenant.

4. How must the noticebe served?

We have all becomeaccustomed to sending andreceiving correspondenceand documents electronically,but most leases still requirethe physical delivery of ahard copy notice. And, in onecase, the break notice wasinvalid, despite being

correctly servedon the landlordbecause anotherclause in the leaserequired allnotices to becopied to a thirdparty fundmanager.

5. Are thereany conditions?

Any pre-conditionsspecified in thelease must bestrictly compliedwith. Rent

penalties are usually easy tocalculate, but it can bevirtually impossible to becertain that a pre-conditionrequiring compliance withthe tenant’s repairingobligations has beensatisfied.

The potential cost to atenant of getting it wrongincludes not only paying fullrent for the remainder of theterm, but also insurance rent,service charges, businessrates and other outgoings.

Given the risks involved,tenants may conclude thatinstructing their solicitor tocheck the title and serve thenotice is a small price to payfor peace of mind.

■ EMAIL: bill.chandler@hilldickinson.com

‘There arepotentialperils andpitfalls toa breakclause’

16

THE BIG INTERVIEW

BY ALEX TURNER

▲ ▲

A change in the AyreLiverpool FC’s managing director, IanAyre, is planning the next phase of the

club’s commercial development

Liverpool FC’s managing director, IanAyre, is planning the next phase of the

club’s commercial development

17

HE HAS described it asone of the hardestdecisions in football –selling the star strikerfor a record fee

mid-season to league rivals.“It was a necessity for lots of

reasons,” said Ian Ayre – althoughnot about the £50m sale ofFernando Torres, but aboutMarcus Stewart, the goalscoringcentre-forward who moved fromHuddersfield Town to Ipswich for£2.75m during the 1999-2000season.

It was at the Yorkshire club thatAyre got involved on the inside offootball, after he was brought inas part of a takeover by hisformer boss and satelliteentrepreneur Barry Rubery.

His three years at the McAlpineStadium impressed on him theimportance of the relationshipbetween the owner and managerof the football club.

Current Sunderland AFCmanager Steve Bruce was incharge of Huddersfield whenStewart was sold – to the chagrinof the fans, but with themanager’s understanding.

He said: “At that level, there’s areal need for the owner –whoever’s money it is – the ownerand the manager to be joined atthe hip, it is more fundamentalthan anywhere.

“Their relationship is mostimportant. I can’t say enoughprofessionally about Steve Brucein that respect. He took the timeto understand what our objectiveswere as a business, not just as afootball club.

“You have got to join thebusiness and the team together.And I really mean that, fuse ittogether. It can be sustainable, butonly if those two people are on thesame level.”

From when he arrived atAnfield, in August, 2007, theKirkdale-born Liverpool fan wasthere to see some of the problemsthat can arise when the teammanager and club managementare at odds.

It goes unsaid that this hasbeen the case in the recent past atAnfield, with former managerRafael Benitez at times publicly atodds with the then-owners TomHicks and George Gillett, andtheir chief executives Rick Parryand Christian Purslow.

One of the consequences of thatinternecine warfare was theindiscriminate use of money, withcostly signings being seen as away to placate fans and themanager, without it appearingthat there was a sustainablelong-term plan.

That can be seen in the waywages began to swallow anincreasingly large chunk of theclub’s income. In the threefinancial years from 2007-09,although wages increased by£23m to £100m, they remainedbetween 56% and 58% of turnover.Then, in 2009-10, as the

Americans’ popularity was infreefall, it spiralled up to 66%,after an extra £21m was added tothe wage bill in just one year.

“It can get out of kilter by badspending and poor management,but I don’t see any of thathappening now,” said Ayre.

On several occasions, Ayredescribed these figures, from therecently-published 2010 accounts,as old or out of date and in onerespect they are, as they pre-datethe takeover by New EnglandSports Ventures (NESV).

But they also detail the last fullfinancial year as Liverpool’s 2011accounting year only ends on July31, while it will be about another10 months before the figures aremade public.

He believes the wages-to-

turnover ratio will be lower thisyear – although it is safe toassume with the ever-risingwages of Premier Leaguefootballers that will be a result ofrising turnover, not reducedspending – and he is notconcerned that the level is out ofcontrol.

“It’s something we aremanaging and we expect toimprove on them and havealready,” said Ayre.

“You want to keep it sensible.It’s round about our competitors:Manchester United, Arsenal.Obviously Manchester City andChelsea are beyond thosenumbers.

“One of the key drivers is themedia deals done. You want to bebenchmarking yourself against

your true competitors. We knowwhat the right level is.”

Ayre is not shy when it comesto benchmarking Liverpool in thevery top bracket of the sportingelite despite, say, the lack ofChampions League football whichwill extend to at least 2½ years bythe time Liverpool could next playin the competition at the start ofthe 2012-13 season.

Or the lack of a domestic title,which was last captured 21 yearsago.

Talking in terms of the club asa business and, specifically whathe describes as the “category ofopportunity”, he puts Liverpool inthe top group.

He said: “Anyone who reallyknows the business of football –Liverpool, Manchester United,

Barcelona and Real Madrid fitinto a different category ofopportunity than Arsenal,Chelsea, Inter Milan.

“For lots of reasons, Liverpoolis a bigger global brand. You don’tdo that by winning the leagueonce or signing a player.

“How do we keep the others atbay? We don’t, we are notcompeting with ManchesterUnited or Barcelona. We knowwhat good is.”

This idea of non-competition isbased on the notion that thebusiness development of footballclubs, especially overseas, isintrinsically different to otherindustries.

“It’s not about market share,

IAN AYRE ON: LIVERPOOL’S RIVALS

‘We are not like ManchesterUnited, we don’t want tohave the same culture asthem. I would liken us toBarcelona’

IAN AYRE ON: THE NEW OWNERS

‘They really understand how youown, operate and run a sportsbusiness. They are very honestabout their objectives, they listen– that’s quite fundamental’

Ian Ayre, left, withJamie Carragher,at Liverpool FC’sMelwood trainingcomplex

CONTINUED ON PAGE 18

18

it’s not like selling widgets. Themarket is so big. We don’t need tohave more fans than ManchesterUnited, we just need to be betterat servicing them,” said Ayre,whose business career has seenhim work across Asia for manyyears.

“It doesn’t matter who is first,just how you go about yourstrategy. I am sure ManchesterUnited are doing some great workin China, but it’s a big place.

“It’s not about what they do. It’sabout what we do and doing itright and proper. We have seendramatic growth in what we do.”

The overseas growth has beengiven a huge lift by thesponsorship deal with StandardChartered, which has justcompleted its first year and isworth up to £81m over four years.

Standard Chartered isheadquartered in Singapore andLondon, and generates about 90%of its revenues from Asia, Africaand the Middle East.

The bank has said thepartnership “builds global brandawareness, provides compellingpromotional opportunities to helpbuild our business, and createscommercial opportunities forLiverpool FC”.

Ayre said: “It was the biggest infootball at the time. People asked‘How can that be when youhaven’t won anything sincewhenever’. It’s because they areinvesting in Liverpool FootballClub overall, not just what theywon today.”

For Ayre, the deal wasimportant not just because of thegreatly-increased value generatedby the club’s most valuablecommercial deal – the 17-yearagreement with Carlsberg wasworth just £7.2m a year at the end– but also because of what itsymbolised.

“For me, it was a stake in theground for what’s possible forLiverpool. It made a few people situp and think that we were, if notback, then we were on our wayback,” he said. “That was reallyimportant to me. That peopledon’t underestimate where we cango to.”

Things have come a long waysince he first took a phone callfrom a headhunter representingthen-owners Tom Hicks andGeorge Gillett more than fouryears ago.

Ayre had recently left sportsmarketing group Total SportsAsia.

After almost five years, he hadbegun talking to private equityfunders about an idea he had for amedia business. At that stage, hehad no plans to return to paidemployment.

“I wasn’t interested in the jobinitially because I didn’t seemyself as a commercial director,”

he said. “It didn’t feel like a bigenough challenge, but I started torealise that I kinda knew the sizeof the opportunity that Liverpoolhad, and I remember both Tomand George saying theopportunity was to grow thewhole business.

“They said ‘We want you to goand fix this business – not thefootball, but everything else’.”

After two months ofconversations and meetings onboth sides of the Atlantic, Ayrewas appointed as commercialdirector of his boyhood club.

“It was my football club and itfelt like the right time. There wasa lot to do and a lot of opportunityto rebuild the business of thefootball club so I accepted,” hesaid. “I was, and still am, veryexcited by it.”

That is despite the turmoil that

has been an almost ever-presentfeature of life at Liverpool FCsince he arrived.

Although ongoing legalproceedings prevented Ayre fromdiscussing the events and issuesrelating to the acrimoniouschange of ownership from theTexan duo Mr Hicks and MrGillett to the Boston group NESV,he did offer his verdict on wherethe former owners went wrong.

He said: “There were a lot ofthings they were right about.They were right, this is a fantasticfootball club, and they were rightthere was a great opportunity tomaximise the value of this club,they were right it needed a newstadium and new people.

“What they got wrongfundamentally was usingleveraged finance to run thebusiness and try and develop the

business. It was a) a mistake, andb) because of the timing with theeconomic climate.

“What we have now is peoplewho really understand how youown, operate and run a sportsbusiness.

“They are very honest abouttheir objectives, they listen –that’s quite fundamental. One ofmy management styles is not totry and do everybody’s job.

“You should set out a plan, avision, and then empower peopleto deliver their part of it.”

NESV, now called FenwaySports Group, has its vision andthat has seen a new managementteam appointed to implement it.

Kenny Dalglish returned to themanagerial hot-seat after a20-year gap in January, and hissuccess as caretaker managerresulted in him being awarded a

three-year contract in May.Damien Comolli has beenrecruited as director of football.

The triumvirate was completedwith the promotion of Ayre fromcommercial director to managingdirector in March.

Getting the top job will enablehim to continue his work ingrowing the club’s commercialrevenues, a process that began in2007 with the sinking feeling of“where do I start?”.

Ayre said: “The first thing Iwould say is that what existed andwhat I expected was verydifferent.

“The business had been almostentirely out-sourced. All of theassets that you make money within a football club were being runby other people who weren’tLiverpool Football Club. It didn’tallow Liverpool to operate as a

IAN AYRE ON: TOM HICKS AND GEORGE GILLETT

‘There were a lot of things they were right about.They were right this is a fantastic football club andthey were right there was a great opportunity tomaximise the value of this club, they were right itneeded a new stadium and new people’

Kenny Dalglish, centre, speaking tothe press in the trophy room atAnfield with Damien Comolli, left,and Ian Ayre, right

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 16CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17

19

Career in media and sportbrought boyhood fan to Anfield

Ian Ayre launching Liverpool FC’s four-year sponsorshipdeal with Standard Chartered Bank Picture: VINCENT YUcollective. When you make a

proposition to a fan or a sponsoror anyone else, you need to be ableto offer them what they want.

“At the heart is we want to giveLiverpool fans what they want –whether it’s tickets, merchandise,media content – you should feelthat if you go to that place youshould be able to get what youwant. When other people aredelivering that, it’s much harderto bring it together.

“Because everything wasout-sourced, there was very littlein terms of management expertiseand support.

“Things like customerdatabases, they weren’t up to date,they weren’t joined up. It was amess.

“As a fan, I had experienced allof the anecdotal things you hearabout, you go online and

everything was always out ofstock, hanging on the line whenyou’re trying to book tickets.

“At the end of the first week, Iwent home and thought ‘Where doI start?’.”

He started by bringing inpeople to fill an eight-strong layerof middle management he felt wasmissing, including a head ofpartnerships to manage therelationship with sponsors, ahead of customer service to haveresponsibility for the club’scustomers, and a head ofcustomer relationshipmanagement to manage thecustomer data effectively.

At the same time, the clubbought Granada out of the jointventure LFC TV, while cateringand merchandise was also

IAN AYRE ON: STEVE BRUCE

‘I can’t say enough professionallyabout Steve Bruce . . . he took the

time to understand what ourobjectives were as a business,not just as a football club’

IAN AYRE ON: THE NAVY

‘Some people in Liverpoolonly face inwards, the Navygave me an opportunity to faceoutwards. It taught me that theworld is a big place’

CONTINUED ON PAGE 20

THE arrival of Ian Ayreushered in a new era forLiverpool, in more ways thanone.

He was born in Kirkdale, inApril, 1963, and the followingseason saw Liverpool wintheir first league title for 17years – the first major trophyunder Bill Shankly, whichkick-started a generation ofsuccess.

He left Litherland High inthe summer of 1979, in theaftermath of the winter ofdiscontent and the electionof Margaret Thatcher – “Ididn’t think Liverpool the cityhad much to offer me,” hesaid, “I suppose I had myown summer of discontent”.

Drawn away from hishome city, he joined theNavy, which took him allover the world, and which hecredits with teaching himmanagement and peopleskills.

As a communicationsofficer, he worked with theemerging satellitetechnology which was ofimmediate use on leavingthe Navy, as he joinedset-top box manufacturerPace Micro Technology. Heworked his way through thecompany over eight years,ending up as chief executiveof the Asian business.

After leaving Pace, hejoined up with its co-founder,Barry Rubery, who waslooking to buy a footballclub, which resulted in Ayrerunning Huddersfield Town.

“Having come from amedia technologybackground, the three thingsI had learnt about pay-TVwas football, movies andporn were driving thebusiness,” said Ayre.

“I didn’t fancy getting intothe porn business and I amnot a movie star, so it wasfootball.”

While at Huddersfield, abusiness idea wasdeveloped around thecollective bargaining ofdigital rights, which were notbeing exploited by FootballLeague clubs.

The clubs agreed to cedetheir new media rights, NTLagreed to invest £250m, andAyre left to become chiefexecutive of that company,

Premium TV. At its height,the company had about 86of the professional teams inthe English and Scottishleagues, with the websitesrecognisable by the suffix,world.

However, NTL’s parentcompany went into Chapter11 in the US – the Americanversion of administration –which resulted in a scalingback of its operations.

Ayre left and was soonheading back to Asia, to joinstart-up sports marketingagency, Total Sports Asia.The company ran liveevents, activatedsponsorships and soldmedia rights for a range ofsports from football to

badminton to WWEwrestling. Strong growthresulted in six offices beingopened in five years, but theagency’s owners decided toconsolidate rather than seekinvestment to fundsignificant growth.

“I left and genuinely didn’tknow what I was going todo,” said Ayre, who began todevelop his own idea for abusiness.

Then he got a phone callon behalf of then-LiverpoolFC owners Tom Hicks andGeorge Gillett and he soonfound himself at Anfield,about a mile away fromwhere he was born, with theaim of ushering in a new,commercial era at the club.

20

brought in-house: “We started tochange the proposition and the‘that’s the way we have alwaysdone it’ culture,” he said.

“They were some of the hardestdays commercially.”

Ayre feels that the club, fromthe owners down, is now in theright state to begin the secondphase of its commercialdevelopment.

He said: “We are just finishingwhat we have been calling phaseone – improving all of our systemsand processes, which havegenerated that growth in revenue.But really we have only beendoing that domestically.

“The next goal for us is todeliver that to fans all around theworld.“

One key difficulty in operatingoverseas, without putting it toocrudely, is finding an efficientway of getting money from fans,of overcoming the issue of theeconomically-inactive fan.

He said: “In Asia, there are a lotof hardcore Liverpool fans thatare just as engaged andpassionate but when we add themall up they don’t make a bigproportion of the population ofAsia.

“A big number of fans – and Idon’t mean it disrespectfully –probably feel they are a Liverpoolfan three hours a week whenLiverpool are on television. That’swhen they are most engaged asfans.

“That doesn’t necessarilytranslate today into revenue orcreate any transactional revenuetoday.

“Our challenge is to understandthose people.

“With sponsors, our own staffand other initiatives, we need tounderstand who those people are.

“We need to find out who theyare and how we get in touch withthem.

“And find out what else theylike, other than Liverpool. Sowhat we offer them is acombination of products that areLiverpool and lifestyle-related.

“If we engage them, we thinkwe can understand them more,and there are hundreds ofmillions of them.

“It’s infinite almost in terms ofthe size of the opportunity. Theyare not currently a paying fan butthat’s OK, we have to startsomewhere and startcommunicating with them.”

He explains the challenge theclub faces by reference to theclub’s retail operations. Itcurrently has five outlets – inLiverpool, at Liverpool One,Williamson Square and Anfield,as well as Chester and Belfast –while negotiations are takingplace about a store in Southportand Dublin is being activelyscouted for a suitable site.

But trading farther afieldpresents a different set ofproblems.

He said: “One of the things thata lot of people don’t understandabout football retailing is inLiverpool two out of every threepeople who walk past our store inLiverpool One are probablyLiverpool fans to differingdegrees.

“There are millions of fans inAsia. But if you put a store inShanghai, are there enough fansin Shanghai and are they engagedenough? Is there enough appetitefor it?

“Other clubs have tried it, and Iam not convinced from what Ihave heard.

“It may be that the online storeshould be more locally focused ormaybe we will get a concession ina major retailer.”

Building a global business isdifficult but, it seems, not asdifficult as building a stadium.

One of the big failings of MessrsHicks and Gillett was theirstatement that “the spade needs tobe in the ground within 60 days”from when they took over.

They raised expectations, butultimately couldn’t raise thefinance to make it happen.

“When you look at what wehave done in growing thebusiness, if we had startedbuilding that stadium in 2007 wewould have been in it now,” saidAyre. “It could have beenbrilliant, but we have probably setourselves back several years.

“Without the significantincrease in revenues, God knowshow much of a mess we wouldhave been in.”

Ayre believes the way thestadium issue has been handledhighlights the key differencebetween the former and currentowners.

He added: “Nobody is going toforce ourselves or the owners to

make a decision until we knowwhat’s right for the club, becausethat was partly what went wrongbefore.

“It’s a really good example ofthe way we made decisions in thepast and the way we make themnow. Sometimes people won’t likethat it takes a long time. That’sunfortunate but it’s the way thatwe do it.

“Once a week, someone will askme what’s happening with thestadium and the answer is ‘Wedon’t know’.

“The reason we don’t know isthat there are still the twosolutions. They are a new stadiumin Stanley Park or a refurbishedAnfield – that obviously comeswith all sorts of issues – and thereare a million questions to answer.

“The new stadium in the park,it all comes down to theeconomics, how do we pay itback? It needs a big namingpartner.

“Until you get the answer tothose questions, it would bewrong and unprofessional for usto make a statement about whatwe are doing.”

But if fans’ demands andexpectations for the stadium arehigh, they are nothing comparedto those for the team. Ayre saysthat nobody, inside the club atleast, is getting carried away.

He said: “Fan expectation isalways there. We all want to winall the time. That’s obviouslyright. I am a fan as well.

“There’s nobody getting carriedaway about what can be achievedin what timescale. The best wecan ask for is the right level ofeffort.

“The owners have said theywant to win. That means a lot ofthings.

“What does winning mean inyear one? And in year two? Wedon’t want to win once, we wantto build consistency.”

IAN AYRE ON: HIS PLAN FOR LIVERPOOL FC

‘We are just finishing what we have been calling Phase One –improving all of our systems and processes, which havegenerated that growth in revenue. But really we have only beendoing that domestically. The next goal for us is to deliver that tofans all around the world’

Fans in Bangkok watch Liverpool take on Thailand, in 2009. The Asian market is increasingly important to Premier League clubs

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 18CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19

21

The future isblack and white

ADVERTISING FEATURE▲▲

Last month, one of Liverpool’s longest standingfinancial institutions announced a change ofname. Investment managers RensburgSheppards, a constant presence in the city since1873, became Investec Wealth & Investment.

Investment director Carl Cross, left, and director in charge Jonathan Seal, with Henry the Zebra, at the Investec offices, in The Plaza Building

22

ADVERTISING FEATURE

WHILE RensburgSheppards’sidentity haschanged, its corephilosophy and

approach – to offer clients abespoke personal service of thehighest quality – remains firmlyat the heart of the business.

The rebrand comes afterInvestec, the Anglo-SouthAfrican FTSE 100 company, tookfull ownership of RensburgSheppards in June last year,increasing its shareholding from47 to 100%.

Jonathan Seal, director incharge of Investec Wealth &Investment’s Liverpool office,explained how the relationshipwith Investec had developed,saying: “We’ve had a relationshipwith Investec since they soldCarr Sheppards Crosthwaite toRensburg in 2005.

“Since then, Investec has beena substantial shareholder, beforeacquiring us fully in 2010. Theformer chief executive ofRensburg Sheppards, SteveElliott, also joined us fromInvestec, and that allowed us tobuild a very close workingdynamic between the twobusinesses.

“While our name changes, ourcommitment, focus and teamremain exactly the same. Forclients, being part of Investecbrings additional security andthe peace of mind that theirassets are managed by acompany capitalised at over£2bn.”

A firm footingInvestec was founded in South

Africa in 1974, and has sinceexpanded through a combinationof substantial organic growthand a series of strategicacquisitions in South Africa, theUnited Kingdom and othercountries.

The FTSE 100 company nowhas £12.7bn funds undermanagement (as at March 31,2011) and a breadth ofcapabilities across six corebusiness divisions – assetmanagement, property, privatebanking, investment banking,capital markets and wealth andinvestment.

In Liverpool, the near200-strong former RensburgSheppards team remains at itsOld Hall Street offices andcontinues to work with many ofthe region’s high net worthindividuals, providing advice onhow to meet financial objectivesand preserve and enhancewealth.

Investec is the only FTSE100company that’s still run by two ofits founding partners. The valuesof Steven Koseff and BernardKantor remain integral to itsdaily operations today.

The company’s strapline, “outof the ordinary”, sums this upand is captured in its distinctivebrand icon – a zebra.

According to Jon, this “standout from the crowd” mentality isparticularly evident in InvestecWealth & Investment’s approachto client care.

He said: “The biggest criticismlevied at bank-owned investmentmanagers tends to be in relationto its product portfolio, with

own-brand products pushed ontoclients and familiar systems andprocedures completelyoverhauled.

“This just isn’t the case withInvestec Wealth & Investment.Our situation is quite unique.The client remains firmly at theheart of our business, and thatmeans providing the rightproducts and services to meettheir interests and needs.

“We continue to offer a widerange of services, not justInvestec’s.”

The UK business is rooted inthe philosophy that the bestinvestment advice comes fromthe strength and capability of itspeople and the quality of itsresearch.

This, together with very highlevels of personal service, hasunderpinned strong, long-termgrowth in Investec Wealth &

Investment’s assets undermanagement.

Being wholly owned byInvestec, clients benefit fromgreater financial stability,broader expertise across thegroup, access to comprehensiveresearch into new and differentasset classes and better deals,thanks to greater buying power.

A changing industryJon has worked in the private

client sector since 1988 and haswitnessed some of the sector’sbiggest changes during that time.

He said: “In the last 25 years,there’s been an explosion in theopportunities available forinvestors, whatever their riskappetite.

“Commodity funds, Real EstateInvestment Trusts (REITS),hedge funds, derivativeinvestments (such as options and

futures) and infrastructure fundshave all come to the fore.”

With this growth came anexpanded role for the investmentmanager, highlighting theimportance of professionalstandards and consistent, qualityadvice.

He added: “You should be ableto walk into an office in Glasgow,one in London and here inLiverpool and broadly get thesame financial advice based onyour specific circumstances.

“ To do that, there needs to besome commonality in the way weunderstand clients’ needs andestablish their risk profiles.

“We were the first investmentmanager in the country toformalise this, usingFinaMetrica, an Australiansystem, which puts customers ona bell curve and identifies howrisk averse they are.

“This isn’t about pigeon-holingclients into certain types ofinvestments, rather giving us astarting point for discussionabout what’s needed to achievetheir end financial goals.”

The suitability of a client’sinvestments, ensuring theyunderstand what they’re buyingand whether it’s appropriate fortheir needs, is part of the FSA’sRetail Distribution Review (RDR)and the subject of a consultationpaper earlier this year.

Jon said: “The RDR‘s newframework will provide a realstep change in the way the retailinvestment market organisesitself and manages clients.

“The changes are far reachingand will see an even greaterfocus on professional standards,transparency and the customerexperience, something we’vealways put the utmost focus on.”

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21

The Investec Wealth & Investment team, formerly Rensburg Sheppards, get friendly with Investec’s iconic zebra. Pictured, left to right: Carl Cross, Paul Hill, Chris Clay

23

ADVERTISING FEATURE

Looking to the future, Jonholds the next decade as one ofreal opportunity, not just forInvestec Wealth & Investment butfor client investors, too.

He added: “While the lastcentury was certainly all aboutAmerica, China and India willassume their position as theworld’s super economies in thenext century, bringing with thema plethora of new, interestinginvestment opportunities.

“As Investec, we are committedto offering clients a service thatreally is out of the ordinary, and,with the support of our team andour clients, I’m confident the newbrand will command a strongpresence in Merseyside andbeyond.”

■ The value of investments and theincome from them can rise and fall invalue. You may not get back the fullamount you invested.

The RensburgSheppards’ legacy

IN LIVERPOOL, the Rens-burg Sheppards name hasalways evoked real history.

Henry Rensburg startedhis stockbroking firm whenLiverpool was still amerchant port, after beingelected a member of theLiverpool Stock Exchange in1873.

The Liverpool office hasremained a constant playerin the city’s businesscommunity ever since.

Jon Seal said: “Any senseof disappointment that theRensburg name is changingis overtaken with optimismand excitement about thefuture.

“The business we havetoday is the result of severalmergers and acquisitionsand, as such, our rebrand toInvestec Wealth &Investment is anotherchapter in our story.

“Henry Rensburg’s legacyis much more than hisname; his work laid the

foundations for Liverpool tobecome the biggest UKcentre outside London forthe private wealthmanagement sector,employing hundreds ofpeople and managingbillions of pounds. That’s atrue legacy.”

As well as hiscontribution to the privateclient sector in Liverpool,the Rensburg name will alsolive on through a “HenryRensburg” series of specialperformances at theLiverpool Philharmoniclater this year.

Rensburg Sheppards’srelationship with Liverpoolinstitution, The RoyalLiverpool Philharmonic,spans more than a century,and was renewed in 2010when Rensburg Sheppardsassumed the role of singleprincipal sponsor. Thesponsorship has beenextended until 2015.

Jon added: “Aside from

the arts, the business hasalways worked hard toensure a broadercontribution to the city’sfortunes, supporting thework of smaller localcharities and communitygroups too.

“During 2010, RensburgSheppards and our staffprovided financial and timesupport to a wide range oforganisations, including theAlder Hey Imagine Appeal,the St Francis Xavier juniorfootball team and theLiverpool Welsh Choral.

“We’ve also created aCharitable EndowmentFund, via the MerseysideCommunity Foundation,with profits and revenuesfrom the fund distributed tolocal charities on an annualbasis.

“As Investec Wealth &Investment, we’ll be lookingto continue and build on ourcharitable works across theregion.”

Carl Cross, Paul Hill, Chris Clay, John Sawbridge and Marion Mulcahy

Rensburg Sheppards’s relationship with Liverpool institution The Royal LiverpoolPhilharmonic spans more than a century, and will live on through a series of specialperformances at the Liverpool Philharmonic later this year Picture: JAMES MALONEY

Jonathan Seal, director incharge of Investec in Liverpool

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

Familiar faces at InvestecWhile thenamehaschanged, the Liverpool teamhasstayed the same.Herewemeet someof the team thatmakesup InvestecWealth& Investment’s Liverpool officeCarl Cross

Investment directorCarl, 39, has been withthe business for 16years, and is one of theLiverpool office’s best-known faces.

Carl works on thediscretionary fundsmanagement desk.

He said: “The biggestbenefits of the Investecrebrand are theopportunities thisaffords at every level –from the breadth ofexpertise available toour clients, to thecareer progression andtraining available toour team.

“We’re part of awell-respected globalbrand and the focus ison continuing thepersonal services forwhich RensburgSheppards wasrenowned, as well asadding the strength andresources of aworldwide investment company to ouroffering.”

Along with working as a fundmanager, responsible for private clients,charity and SIPP portfolios, Carl is alsothe Merseyside area chairman for the

Conservative Party, a trustee of theLiverpool Bluecoat Foundation, and agovernor at Liverpool Bluecoat School.

During his time with the firm, Carl hasalso worked as an equity analyst andassociate director of fund management.■ Carl.cross@investecwin.co.uk

Marion Mulcahy

Marion is one of InvestecWealth & Investment’s risingstars.

Promoted to associateinvestment director in 2010,Marion is currently buildingher own client portfolio andhas also earned herself theenviable reputation as one ofInvestec’s best networkers.

Marion, 32, joined the formerRensburg Sheppards businessin 2006, having previouslyworked for Numis Securities,as well as WH Ireland andBlankston Sington.

She was the president of TheChartered Institute forSecurities and Investment(CISI) from 2008 to 2010, and ispassionate about supportingstudents across the region.

Marion set up the CISI’sfive-a-side football team toprovide networking for investmenttrainees and manages Investec’s “StudentWeek” programme.

A committee member at MerseysideYoung Professionals, Marion has alsoestablished Investec’s first LiverpoolLadies’ networking group. Marion said:“We had our first event in March andwere delighted with the turn-out – morethan 50 women from across a wide rangeof professional services came together forcocktail mixology lessons, pampering

and canapés. It was a great success andwe’ll be holding our second event in theautumn.”

Marion’s particular area of interest isin supporting women with their financialendeavours. She added: “The world ofinvestment used to be dominated by menmanaging the money of men, but that’sshifted dramatically in recent years. I’mparticularly interested in helpingaspiring and already successful womengrow their financial portfolios.”■ Marion.mulcahy@investecwin.co.uk

Chris Aitken

Chris, 48, is the newlyappointed head offinancial planningacross all 11 of InvestecWealth & Investment’sUK operations.

Financial planning isa growth area for thebusiness, and the27-strong team has aparticular focus onutilising its specialistknowledge of the “atretirement” market – acritical and growingdemographic.

Chris said: “Wealthcreators are a relativelysmall part of thepopulation, so themajority of people’swealth comes whentheir children leavehome, via inheritanceor by unlockingpension funds.

“Establishing how wecan best support thefinancial needs of thisgroup is particularlyimportant to protectingindividuals’ futures andpreserving the nation’s wealth.”

Based in the Liverpool office, Chrisworks with his team to help set-out,manage and achieve a client’s individual

financial expectations. Chris joinedRensburg Sheppards in 2001, and wasformerly a senior financial planningdirector.■ Chris.aitken@investecwin.co.uk

Angela Cruise

Angela, 44, is InvestecWealth & Investment’sbusiness developmentdirector, responsible forexpanding links withintermediary businessintroducers such assolicitors, accountants andindependent financialadvisors (IFAs).

She said: “The FSAguidance consultation andRetail Distribution Review(RDR) mean IFAs will facemajor changes in the waythey provide an investmentsolution for their clients,and, thus, are increasinglyworking with discretionaryinvestment managers, suchas Investec Wealth &Investment, who willprovide an active, whole-of-market approach.

“Investing in theserelationships by buildingstrategic alliances willhelp to prepare both IFAsand ourselves for thechanges. There’s a hugeopportunity for allinvolved.”

Angela holds quarterlyIFA lunch briefings as partof her commitment tobuilding quality relationships with

advisers across the city.■ Angela.cruise@investecwin.co.uk

25

ECONOMICDEVELOPMENT

It’s been a real ad-VentureWidnes leisure scheme is the latest in a series of regenerationprojects,writesAlex Turner

HALTON may be thesmallest of theLiverpool city regionauthorities, but it ishome to some of the

most ambitious plans.After years of planning, the

Mersey Gateway is now on theroad to being built, which willalleviate congestion on theexisting Runcorn Bridge and, it isforecast, bring long-termeconomic benefits to the wholeregion.

Three major employment sites– Daresbury Science andInnovation Campus, The HeathBusiness and Technical Park andthe Mersey Multimodal Gateway(3MG) – all have plans to expand

which could bring thousands ofjobs to those sites, as well asboosting the respective supplychains and communities.

A range of partners have beeninvolved in regenerating WidnesWaterfront, which will soon seeleisure developments added to thecommercial and industrialschemes that are already inexistence.

The opening of an ice rink inthe town will add something new,while the revival of Widnes’srugby league club, which willreturn to Super League next yearafter being awarded a three-yearlicence, will raise the profile ofthe town.

Widnes Vikings is symptomatic

of much of the resurgence inHalton. It might have a moderntwist – the American-stylemoniker, the cheerleaders and theall-seater stadium were allunheard of a generation ago – butit essentially is the return ofsomething that has always been atthe heart of the town.

Take logistics, for example.It is argued by some that the

birthplace of Widnes was SpikeIsland, which was where the StHelens and Runcorn Gap Railwayhad its southern terminus.

That was built in 1833, the sameyear that the Sankey Canal wasextended to Spike Island, creatinga nineteenth-century multimodalscheme – Widnes Dock was the

first rail-to-ship facility in theworld.

Now a twenty-first-centurymultimodal scheme isestablishing the borough as a keylogistics hub for the North West.

3MG’s location on the banks ofthe River Mersey, alongside theWest Coast Main Line and near tothe M6, M62 and M56 motorwaysmaximises the efficiency of itsdistribution network.

That was a key attraction forTesco, and the retailer opened a528,000 sq ft chilled distributionfacility in May, 2010.

Steve O’Connor, chief executiveof Stobart Ports, said: “We see theopportunity of all the modes oftravel being connected, so there’s

a cohesive plan, which gives acompetitive edge particularlywhen we are trying to attractretailers.

“Tesco have been there justover a year now, that’s about 1,200jobs.

“The retailers tend to clusterand when one retailer comes in –when they see the whole supplychain is robust and sustainable –they look to see how robust thedistribution links are.”

The next phase of developmentcan now begin after the 3MGpartners – Stobart Group, Prologisand Halton Borough Council –were awarded £9m from the

CONTINUED ON PAGE 26

Work is well under way on theVenture Fields complex atWidnes Waterfront, above; withan artist’s impression of thecompleted development, below

26

Regional Growth Fund in April.The funds will be used ondeveloping rail infrastructure andland remediation to bringbrownfield land back into use.Eventually expansion could resultin another 5,000 jobs at the site.

Daresbury Science andInnovation Campus is also thesubject of ambitious growth plans,with its 20-year private-publicventure estimated to bring 6,000knowledge-based jobs to Cheshire.

The joint venture betweenLangtree, the Government’sScience and Technology FacilitiesCouncil (STFC), Halton BoroughCouncil and the NorthwestDevelopment Agency, has plans toadd 1m sq ft of laboratory andcommercial space.

That will add to analready-impressive array ofknowledge assets at the site,including The Cockroft Institute,which is a national centre ofaccelerator science, and theVirtual Engineering Centre.

But not all of Halton’sdevelopment is in the future.Widnes Waterfront’s £10m leisurescheme, Venture Fields, is on siteand on schedule to welcome itsfirst visitors before the end of theyear.

It is the latest development byWidnes Regeneration – a jointventure between developers StModwen and Halton BoroughCouncil – which has seen thetown centre evolve over morethan a decade.

“Nothing does happenovernight,” said Michelle Taylor,St Modwen’s northern regionaldirector.“It started to deliver bitby bit. Widnes Regeneration wasalways intended to be a 10-yearplan. We started in 1999 – it hasworked, it's got a dynamismgoing.”

It began by bringing Asda tothe town in a major developmentfor the southern end of the towncentre, and has moved on tocreate business parks and theleisure scheme.

The work done by WidnesRegeneration has also attractedother developers to the town,including Stadium Developments,which opened Widnes ShoppingPark last year, and TurnstoneBusiness Park developer PrioritySites.

Major retailers B&Q and Tescohave also chosen to relocate intolarger stores at the edge of thetown centre.

Ms Taylor said: “That was theplan. From a regeneration

perspective, it means that Widneshas a momentum. The fact that ithas the momentum will help see itforward.”

Momentum has been key tomaking Venture Fields happen, asthe credit crunch causeddevelopments around the countryto stay forever as architects’drawings and CGIs. But thesuccess of Widnes Regeneration’sprevious schemes and thecommitment of the partnersmeans that the scheme has beenseen through.

Ms Taylor puts its success downto “a long-term view, a flexibleapproach and a bloomin’ goodpartnership”, although admitswith a smile that “it is impossibleto describe how hard it was tomake it work”.

She said: “This scheme came

about when our foundingchairman came here, shortly afterWidnes Regeneration was formed.He was very keen on leisure.

“At that time, we could not findenough occupiers to make it work.It was always an aspiration butwe had other things to be doing,so we got on with the jobs wecould do.

“But we were always consciousthat Widnes didn’t have a properleisure offer.

“2005 was probably the nextincarnation – we designed asmaller scheme, focused aroundthe cinema, restaurant and otheruses. The first driver was thecinema.

“Around 2005-06, we started onwhat we would recognise asVenture Fields today.

“Then the credit crunch hit and

it ground to a halt. That's wherethe partnership with HaltonBorough Council has workedreally well. We bring thecommercial nous, the councilbrings the community reasons.

“Because of the effort of HaltonBorough Council, this is where wegot today.

“The cinema is the same as theone we had five years ago, thebowling operator changed, the icerink stuck with us, Frankie &Benny’s have been with us forseveral years.

“It was the funding and theability to attract Whitbread thatmade it work.”

Whitbread is behind the60-bedroom Premier Inn hotel andthe Brewers Fayre restaurant,which provided the critical massto make the site work.

Along with the ice rink, thehotel will pull people in fromoutside Halton, althoughproviding leisure facilities for thelocal population has been the keypurpose of the development forthe joint venture partners.

From a temporary office on theVenture Fields site, Ms Taylor canlook at the ongoing constructionwork with a sense of pride aboutwhat has been achieved throughpatience and determination.

“For 6-7 years, we were the onlydeveloper in the town, now thereare several. More things arehappening,” she said.

“St Modwen as a principle justtake the view that we should haveschemes where we can make astart.

“In this climate, it's the onlyway forward at the moment.”

Michelle Taylor, St Modwen’snorthern regional director

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT . . . HALTON

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 25

Bridging the gap . . . the newWidnes-Runcorn crossing, theMersey Gateway, is now well onthe way to being built, to easecongestion on the existing bridge

Picture: RICHARD WILLIAMS

27

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT . . . HALTON

£15m retail schememoving forwardVector development aims for straight line growthPLANS have this month beensubmitted to Halton BoroughCouncil for a £15m retail park inWidnes.

Developer Vector Investmentsproposes to transform an 8.2 acrebrownfield site on the edge of thetown centre – opposite Morrisonssupermarket and close toVenture Fields.

The Tanhouse Yarddevelopment aims to bring 12new stores to the area, 10 ofwhich would be large retailwarehouses, ranging in size from13,000-35,000 sq ft.

Vector said the new shopswould be non-food stores such asclothing, electrical and furnitureoutlets and could create in theregion of 220 jobs, adding thatmajor retailers have alreadyexpressed a firm interest in thescheme.

Andy Frost, director atproperty consultants JonesLangLaSalle, believes there is“healthy demand” for retailers tocome to Widnes.

He said: “Our proposals seekto capture this retail demand in away which benefits local peopleand the local economy ingeneral.

“Importantly, it will help todraw shoppers back to Widneswho currently travel to otherretail parks in places such asSpeke and Warrington.

“In so doing, it will alsoencourage more shoppers to visitand spend in Widnes towncentre.

“We have worked closely withthe council and local people tomake sure we get the proposalsright and the reaction to themhas so far has been generallyvery positive.”

Graham Corser, director ofVector’s parent company

Istithmar P&O Estates, added:“Our aim is to bring newretailers into Widnes town centrethat will complement the town’sexisting retail offer.

“By delivering a high-qualityshopping environment, we aim toencourage shoppers to spendtheir money more locally,boosting the local economy.”

After a period of public

consultation, Vector submittedan outline planning application,with a decision expected byAugust.

The site was vacated bylogistics firm Wincanton in Aprillast year, and currently hosts amixture of warehouse buildings,associated transport facilitiesand open yard areas being usedby two remaining tenants.

Tanhouse Yard could become a home to major retailers

CENTRALVIEW

With Ged Gibbons,chief executive ofCity Central BID

FOR those not escaping theBritish weather this summer,console yourself with thelucky fact that you live in acity with so much to offer.

Museums, galleries, parksand festivals galore awaityou. And fabulous shopping!

And our street life is set toexplode with a riot of colour.We at City Central BID arehosting Brazilica, Brouhahaand City Wave – surfingwithout the sea! – to namejust three events this July.

But despite theseactivities, quality is notguaranteed on our streets.

If you’ve watched TheShawshank Redemption,then you’ll recall AndyDufresne bringing the prisonto a standstill when he lockedhimself in the warden’s roomand played apiece of operaon the PAsystem.

Thiswonderfullyevocative sceneof escapismsprang to mymind the otherday whenwalking downBold Street andwas stopped inmy tracks bythe voice of alady busker.

Mesmerised,like the inmates atShawshank, she transportedme to another world.

Lifted by this encounter, Iwalked on with a spring inmy step. Then I reachedWilliamson Square to beassaulted by the noise of aman on a squeezebox!

Talk about from thesublime to the ridiculous. Ofcourse, music is subjective –in the ear of the beholder, soto speak.

But for shoppers, touristsand businesses, the quality ofstreet entertainment canmake a huge difference totheir experience. Andcritically, where they decideto shop/visit next time.

After all, who wants tohear Don’t Look Back inAnger for the 50th time? Andwhich parent appreciates ahuman statue giving yourchild a lollipop inexpectation of somethingin return?

Over the last few summers,we at City Central BID havenoticed a sharp rise incomplaints about buskersand it’s clear Liverpool hasbecome a victim of the“welcome all” laissez-fairepolicy it had for EuropeanCapital of Culture.

Now, this is not aboutdemonising buskers. Theybring vitality to a city centre.But a balance needs to bestruck. And quality, unlikethe weather, can beaddressed.

Colleagues at the citycouncil are currently lookingat a code of practice which iswelcome – but whatever isproduced needs to beworkable and enforceable.

This issue has manysimilarities to street charity

collectors – or“chuggers”, asthey’re called.

For what seemslike timeimmemorial,“chuggers” haveoperated sevendays a week inthe city centreacross three sites,a situation whichmeans people canbe stopped almostevery twominutes bystrangers askingfor their direct

debit details.Again, this practice is a

nuisance to shoppers andvisitors, and has reachedsuch a point that we havenow intervened to curtailthis situation.

Again, Liverpool has beena victim, this time for ourreputation for generositytowards charities.

But, after negotiationswith the Public FundingRegulatory Association(PFRA), we have now agreeda three-day, two-site system.

This makes sense ascharities will not beoperating in a saturated city,where people will not betired of seeing collectors.Ergo, a better chance ofraising money.

Logically, this strategycould also apply to ourbuskers.

And don’t we all want tolive in a city whereeveryone’s a winner?

‘Our streetlife is set toexplodewith a riot ofcolour thissummer’

28

REGIONAL BUSINESS AWARDS

COMMERCIALDISTRICT

With Paul Rice,chief executive of theCommercial District

UPDATE

PAUL RICE is in celebratorymood as he looks forwardwith optimism at a newdawn for Liverpool’sCommercial District

FIRSTLY, I’d like to offer anenormous “thank you” to allof those ratepayers whosupported us in oursuccessful application forBusiness ImprovementDistrict status.

It was heartening todiscover that so manybusinesses share ourambitions for the area, andwe plan to waste little timerepaying their faith bydelivering real change whereit matters most.

One of our firstadministrativetasks will be tomerge theCommercialDistrictPartnershipinto anautonomoussubsidiary ofthe LiverpoolBID Company,which will sitalongside theCity CentralBID.

We aim tohit the groundrunning bycompleting projects alreadyinstigated by thepartnership.

These include a review ofthe area’s movement strategy,in conjunction with 20/20Liverpool, and the potentialfor a new environmental"hit" team to support oursuccessful street conciergeservice.

The clear difference hereis that BID status provides uswith the financial muscle todeliver such projects on amuch larger scale than everbefore.

The new organisation willbe managed by anindependent operating board,made up of representativesfrom within the businesscommunity.

This board will decide thepriorities for activity and

monitor the performance ofthe BID.

A fundamental ethos of theBID business plan is thebelief that the levy payersshould have a say in wherethe extra monies should bespent, so we also hope that allbusinesses in the commercialdistrict will use BID status toits full potential by giving ustheir input.

A principal benefit of BIDstatus is that the localbusiness community can nowhave a direct say over whichprojects should be funded.

We will make this processas straightforward aspossible by making ourselvesaccessible and holdingregular consultations with

levy payers toensure theirwishes arereflected in ouractions.

We are alsocommitted toexpanding thereach of ourmember benefitsscheme, and weintend to spendthe next fewmonths liaisingwith businessesacross the districtto illustrate theadvantages of

engaging with theprogramme and makingexclusive offers available tobusinesses in theCommercial District.

This enhanced roll-out islikely to be supported withinvestment in a number oftechnological aids, againassisted by our new elevatedresources, and we hope tomake a furtherannouncement in that regardin the near future.

We want to deliver astep-change in thecommercial district, and it’sa very exciting time to liveand work here.

We will use every availableoutlet to keep levy payersinformed about our activity,although we hope ourachievements will speak forthemselves.

‘So manybusinessesshare ourambitionsfor thearea’

REGIONALBUSINESSAWARDS

THE leaders of the NorthWest’s business communitywere out in force at thisyear’s Liverpool Daily PostRegional Business Awards.

The event, whichattracted more than 400people to Liverpool’sAnglican Cathedral, sawRedrow founder SteveMorgan named DLA PiperBusiness Person of theYear.

The black-tie event alsosaw the KPMG Business ofthe Year award presentedto Warrington-basedhaulage and distributionfirm, Stobart Group.

The Liverpool Daily PostSmall Business of the Yearaward went to Wavertree-based security technologygroup Human RecognitionSystems.

Other winners includedpharmaceutical researchfirm RedX Pharma, whichwon the Liverpool JohnMoores UniversityKnowledge Business of theYear award.

The United Utilities Greenaward was won by Bootle-based reusable packagingcompany Weir &Carmichael, while theLiverpool Chamber ofCommerce Export Businessof the Year award went toLiverpool-based foodsupplier, the Real GoodFood Company.

The Jaguar Land RoverCorporate SocialResponsibility award waspresented to EstuaryCommerce Park-basedhousing associationRiverside.

Darlingtons Group won the O2 Judges’Choice Award. Martin McNicholas, left,and Mandy McNicholas, of Darlingtons,are pictured with Ian Hayhoe, of O2

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) won theInvestment of the Year Award. From left,Richard Else, of JLR; union convenorKen Smith; and Max Steinberg, of awardsponsor Liverpool Vision

Steve Morgan, right, in conversation

From left, Steve O’Connor, Dale Foster and BenWhawell, of Stobart Group, with KPMG’s Ian Goalen

From left, guest speaker John Timpson, DailyPost editor Mark Thomas, and awards host andformer Daily Post journalist John Sergeant

Liverpool jeweller Boodles won theMedium Business of the Year award.From left, Jody Wainwright, AlexWainwright, Nicholas Wainwright andTrinity Mirror NW MD Warren Butcher

Derek Lindsay, left, and Neil Lindsay, of RedXPharma, celebrate winning the Liverpool JohnMoores University-sponsored KnowledgeBusiness of the Year Award

29

CORPORATE ENTERTAINMENT

Dreaming of a winning streak?IN THESE frugal times, most corporatetypes are tightening their belt and doingless entertainment.

The relative dearth of invites to be winedand dined at art previews, football, countycricket, tennis and golf has not goneunremarked upon.

So it was very nice to receive aninvitation from Patrick Tooher, head ofpublic relations at Cooperative FinancialServices, to attend Ladies Day at Chesterraces.

Chester races has become an establishedpart of the social scene locally, andthousands of glamorous racegoers flockedto watch some excellent racing, includingtwo Epsom Derby trials and the ChesterVase. This race was famously once won byShergar, who then went on to win theDerby. It also featured the catchily namedInvestec Structured Products HandicapStakes. It was a good opportunity for thestockbroking firm to underline the namechange of its regional arm from RensburgSheppards to Investec.

Each day is attended by tens ofthousands of racegoers, giving a bustlingatmosphere, but also meaning you do haveto allow a lot of time to get there, as thetraffic congestion around Chester is bad atthe best of times, never mind on race days.

The Co-operative had taken a table inone of the marquees that formed part of atented village. Their marquee filled withother corporates types and generalracegoers out to enjoy themselves for theday. One nearby table was full of, to judgeby their accents, Dubliners whose wit and

horseracing wisdom was audible foreverybody to hear.

Being Ladies Day, all the women werelooking splendidly summery, even thoughthe weather was proving a littlechangeable.

Patrick’s table included several otherjournalists and members of his press officeteam. As well as the racing, we talkedabout mutuality, the good old days on FleetStreet, and much else besides.

Watching the horses thunder by, itstruck me how exhilarating it must be tobe a jockey galloping along at full speed,pitting your racing wits against yourrivals.

As for the betting, I think on balance thevast majority on the Co-op’s table came outroughly evens. There were no high rollerson our table: we generally staked £2.50/ £5here or there. I got off to a great start,winning about £20 on the first race, but Ifinished the day just about 10p up as all ofthe rest of the nags I put my faith in let medown. Next time, I shall bet only onfavourites, instead of being tempted by thelonger odds. That way, I reckon I’m morelikely to be quids in.

It is easy to sit at your table all day andnever see a horse. That’s because thebookies offer a table service. They come toyou to take your bets and pay yourwinnings. It’s definitely worth the effort ofgetting trackside to sample the race-dayatmosphere.

I do admit to knowing nothing abouthorseracing whatsoever. Nevertheless, Ienjoyed the day at Chester.

Fred Willetts, ridden by Matthew Cosham, crosses the line in the RaymondCorbett Memorial Handicap Class 2 race, on Chester Racecourse’s Ladies Day

Adayat the races is agoodway tomeet contacts, reportsBill Gleeson

chester racecourse 01244 304 606hospitality.chester-races.com

racedayhospitalitybook your placeFORTHEULTIMATE

in comfort& LUXURY

30

COMMERCIAL PROPERTY

Smaller lettings keep up theQuality gapwith rival parks set to growwider, saysMD, asWarrington’s ‘commercial hub’

WARRINGTON’S MEPCBirchwood Park is one of thebiggest business parks in theNorth West.

Managing director JonathanWalsh believes it is also one of thebest and adds that, in the years tocome, the quality gap between itand many of its competitors willgrow even wider.

In recent years, it has becomesynonymous with lettings toblue-chip firms such as AMEC,Atkins, Electricity North West,Rolls-Royce and Serco.

And, in recent months, it has alsodemonstrated its strength with araft of lettings to smaller firms.

In the first five months of thisyear, Birchwood Park has securedlettings totalling 24,000 sq ft – allof them smaller suites.

A total of 24,104 sq ft was let

over 19 deals, including 7,925 sq ftto new park occupants from arange of industries, includingstationery distribution (AntallisPrintall), recruitment andfinancial consultancy (FSRGroup) and insurance services(Nationwide Claims Solutions).

All 10 new tenants took units of2,000 sq ft or less.

Trade-ups by four existingtenants are included in the deals.

Optimise Internet expandedfrom 184 to 495 sq ft in ThomsonHouse, while NuclearTechnologies increased itspresence at Chadwick House, andHydrosave UK and SkillrayTransport Services UK alsotraded-up.

The average deal size across theperiod, of 1,269 sq ft, reflects thetrend highlighted in the latest

Warrington Annual PropertyReview, which pointed to apreponderance of small deals inthe town’s 2010 office market.

Mr Walsh said: “Other businessparks will switch to offeringsmaller suites out of necessity butwe have been geared up to do thisfor many years.

“Last year was a quiet yearacross the board. When a big firmmoves, there is a much longerlead-in time.

“But small firms will makedecisions on space much quicker– they are often run byentrepreneurs who just want toget on and do it.”

Birchwood Park is home to 150companies who between thememploy more than 4,200 people.

Covering 123 acres, the park isacknowledged as being

Warrington’s commercial hub.The origins of the Park go back toWorld War II. Prior to the war, thearea was mostly agricultural.

In 1939, much of the farmlandwas acquired by the Governmentby compulsory purchase for theconstruction of Risley RoyalOrdnance Factory.

Within 18 months, a hugecomplex covering 927 acres ofprime agricultural land was built,including 1,800 small buildingsand a network of roads andrailway links.

An average of 22,000 workerswere needed to keep the factory inproduction. Most of these werewomen, many of whom came overfrom Ireland and the North-East.

Over one million mines and500,000 bombs were assembledhere. After the war, the site was

used for military storage until the1950s when it became a key centrefor the UK’s nuclear engineeringprogramme and by the early 1970saround 4,500 people wereemployed there.

This declined when the civilnuclear programme ended in the1990s, but in 1998 MEPC acquiredthe park, then known asBirchwood Technology Park.

The following year, the companyunveiled its future vision for “thebest mixed-use business park inthe north of England”.

And so began a period of newdevelopment, creating the modernbuildings that are key to thepark’s success today.

Chadwick House wasrefurbished and work began onindustrial units at CavendishPlace.

MEPC Birchwood Park’s flagship development, Bridgewater Place

31

COMMERCIAL PROPERTY

momentum at Birchwoodreportsmore than24,000sq ft of lettings in theopening fivemonthsof 2011

By 2000, Birchwood Park wasattracting blue-chip companiessuch as Vodafone and AlfredMcAlpine Homes to its DaltonAvenue scheme.

Vodafone commissionedpurpose-built offices in a movethat would create more than 400jobs.

In 2002, long-term occupierNNC announced its expansionwith the development of a 25,900sq ft office building at thesouthern entrance to the park.

In the same year, Sony Ericsson,United Utilities, Core UtilitySolutions and A-Plant joined thegrowing list of occupants.

In 2003, design work began onthe £30m Bridgewater Place officescheme.

The first phase of BridgewaterPlace was completed in 2005 and

the Department of Work &Pensions took one entire 40,000 sqft building – the largest officeletting in Warrington that year.

In the same year, the park’sconference facilities wererefurbished.

In 2009, the 103-bedroomRamada Encore hotel, situated atthe southern entrance toBirchwood Park, opened its doors.

The largest letting that yearwas to nuclear technologyservices provider, NationalNuclear Laboratory (NNL), whichtook 17,000 sq ft in ChadwickHouse.

Mr Walsh says there will bemore development in the futureand promises ongoingimprovements to the existingstock. And he claims this setsBirchwood apart from many other

parks in the North West. He said:“Every year for the last few years– at least up until 2008 – therehave been shiny new schemesacross the North West.

“That has not been the case forthe last couple of years.

“Occupiers are generally verybad at looking after the buildingsthey rent, and after a while thoseglitzy new buildings start to looktired and run-down.

“There is not going to be muchnew development over the nextfive years and a lot of out-of-townparks are going to end up lookinglike that.

“In contrast, at BirchwoodPark, we have improved the wholeenvironment of the Park year-in,year-out.

“I believe many business Parkswill go backwards, but Birchwood

and maybe a few others will getbetter and better and so the gap isjust going to get bigger.”

For more than a decadeBirchwood Park has also put greatemphasis on its environmentalresponsibilities.

A decade ago it launched itsGreen Travel initiative whichincludes free buses and a carsharing scheme and last year itopened its £60,000 Cycle Centre.

The number of cycle com-muters at the park is risingyear-on-year and there is a bikeuser group with more than 300members. The Cycle Centreextends its existing cyclingfacilities to include 120 additionallockers, cycle parking,refurbished showers, a dryingroom, dedicated cycle hire shelterand a cycle repair area.

Bike maintenance classes andsurgeries are undertakenregularly by experts from localspecialist cycle shop, Cyclehouse.

The Cycle Centre was createdin response to feedback fromBirchwood Park’s regularoccupier travel surveys.

The park already offers acomprehensive network of cyclingroutes and bike hire facility, andrecently undertook a cyclingproject dedicated to help reducecarbon emissions generated bythe park.

At the time of the launch, MrWalsh said: “MEPC BirchwoodPark is dedicated to promotingand facilitating environmentallysustainable travel, and our travelmanagement plan is an area ofongoing investment andcompetitive advantage.”

Jonathan Walsh, managing director of MEPC Birchwood Park, in Warrington

32

KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY

New ‘i-pass’ opens accessNeil Hodgson reports onan initiative involving three specialist centres across the regionLIVERPOOL Science Park iscollaborating with two of theregion’s top universities toencourage the growth ofknowledge-based and scientificventures and buddingentrepreneurs.

The Mount Pleasant-based parkhas launched the “Graduatei-pass” with ManchesterMetropolitan University’sbusiness incubator Innospace andthe University of Chester’sRiverside Innovation Centre.

Graduate i-pass will allowgraduate and start-up tenants toaccess facilities across the threesites.

A reciprocal agreement hasbeen drawn up between the threeorganisations setting out theoffering, which includes guest daypasses, free wireless connection,

use of communal facilities and theoption to book meeting rooms.

Liverpool Science Park chiefexecutive Chris Musson said: “Weare delighted to unveil theGraduate i-pass.

“Each of our organisationsshares a deep-rooted commitmentto supporting the brightest andbest talent starting out inbusiness, and this scheme is aboutgiving a helping hand to thoseambitious young firms workinghard to establish a presenceacross the North West.

“Not only does this initiativeprovide professional bases acrossmultiple premises, but opens upaccess to our vibrantcommunities of like-mindedknowledge-based companies.”

Last September, LiverpoolScience Park opened a Graduate

Enterprise Centre (GEC)exclusively for new and recentgraduates starting out in thescience and knowledge- basedsectors.

The 24-hour facility providestenants with all the necessaryingredients they need to build abusiness, including low-cost,short-term lease options.

Mr Musson added: “This is apermanent long-term initiative,primarily aimed at companiesbased within our GraduateEnterprise Centre and starterpods, with the idea being thescheme will grow as moregraduates move in.”

There are 10 graduates in theGEC and this number is expectedto grow after the graduationperiod.

Mr Musson said: “The Graduate

i-pass has been met with greatenthusiasm by the existingtenants and has proved quite adraw to companies soon to moveinto the science park, with thepasses now starting to be issued.

“We hope in time to expand thescheme to include other like-minded facilities across the NorthWest.”

Manchester MetropolitanUniversity’s director ofenterprise, Ian Jamieson, said:“We’re very pleased to be workingwith our partners across theregion to offer an enhancedservice for graduates.

“In the current economicclimate, it is vitally importantthat we stimulate new enterpriseand support start-up businesses –this initiative will do both.”

And Charlie Woodcock, The

University of Chester’s executivedirector of innovation anddevelopment, including RiversideInnovation Centre, added:“Graduate i-pass is a great schemeto help support enterprisinggraduates across the North Westand is a good example ofinnovative support facilitiesworking together.

“With access to three prime citylocations, young businesses canbenefit from professionalpremises and the opportunity tonetwork with like-mindedentrepreneurs across the region.”

All three locations offerexemplary credentials in thedevelopment and encouragementof fledgling knowledge-basedventures.

Liverpool Science Park waslaunched in 2006 and is currently

Liverpool Science Park, situated adjacent to Liverpool’sMetropolitan Cathedral – collaborating with top regionaluniversities to help graduates

33

KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY

to hi-tech incubator projectdedicated to nurturinggraduates’ promising scienceandknowledge-basedenterprisesthe second fastest growing sciencepark in the UK, behind CambridgeScience Park.

It was created to develop andsupport Liverpool’s commercialknowledge economy and hasproved a huge success to date,providing a range of services tonurture embryonic ventures andhelp them flourish.

Its offer includes flexible,bespoke fit-for-purposeaccommodation; versatile leasingarrangements; specialist businesssupport; life science laboratorycompatible accommodation; linksto the region’s specialist experts;and access to the academicresearch base.

Located in the heart of theKnowledge Quarter, at the foot ofthe steps of the MetropolitanCathedral, Liverpool Science Park

currently comprises twobuildings, Innovation Centre 1(ic1) and Innovation Centre 2 (ic2).

Occupants span a wide range ofknowledge-based sectors,including the creative industries,pharmaceuticals, life sciences,ICT, software development andgenetics – all at the cutting edge ofnew technology.

And not only does the facilityretain home-grown talent, but it isincreasingly attracting companiesfrom outside the region andabroad, from as far afield asFinland and Canada.

The park has twice collected the“Best Science-Based Incubator”award at the International AnnualIncubator Conference & Awards,and it is estimated that, with thedevelopment of further phases,the Park could support as many as

7,000 local jobs within the next 10years.

Liverpool Science Park is a jointventure between Liverpool CityCouncil, Liverpool John MooresUniversity and the University ofLiverpool and is part financed bythe European Union underMerseyside’s Objective OneEuropean Regional DevelopmentFund programme, and theNorthwest Development Agency.

Innospace is ManchesterMetropolitan University’sbusiness incubator for start-upsand new enterprises.

It comprises a community ofmore than 120 start-up businesseswith access to a professionaloffice team and a range of back-upfacilities.

Situated in the heart of centralManchester, the incubator facility

says it is specifically geared up tohelp support people with greatbusiness ideas and thecommitment to turn them intoreality.

It also helps early stagebusinesses that have been tradingfor up to 36 months.

In addition, it is fast becominga hub for social enterprises, withspecialist support services andnetworking available.

It says its Unique Selling Point(USP) is its special emphasis onsupporting cutting-edge digital,creative and technologybusinesses and says it isattracting increasing numbers ofoverseas entrepreneurs.

Chester’s Riverside InnovationCentre is set to officially open thissummer and the university plansto develop it into its own

innovation-focused businessstart-up facility. Based in part ofthe former County Hall, next tothe River Dee, it will offer “avibrant environment, specialistsupport services, access to expertsand networking opportunities.”

The university said it willprovide a perfect base forentrepreneurs, including recentgraduates, to develop theirbusiness ideas.■ FOR more information aboutthe Graduate i-pass, contact ChloeYoung, at Liverpool Science Park,on 0151-705 3400 or email: Chloe.Young@liverpoolsciencepark.co.uk; or Lynn Dwyer, at theRiverside Innovation Centre, on01244 511227 (l.dwyer@chester.ac.uk); or Richard Deighton atInnospace on 0161-247 3954(R.Deighton@mmu.ac.uk)

Chris Musson, chief executive of Liverpool Science Park – committed to nurturing new talent

34

HOW GREEN IS YOUR BUSINESS?IN ASSOCIATION WITH

Train operator installs meters in bid to slash energy billA TRAIN companyoperating services betweenLiverpool and Birminghamis the first in the country toinstall energy meters intoits fleet.

London Midland officialsestimate that the move willsave up to 20% of its annual£15m electricity bill andreduce its annual total ofcarbon emissions from

98,000 tons to 78,000 tons.Traditionally, train operatorsbuy electricity fromNetwork Rail using a billingsystem that estimates theamount of electricity usedto power trains and thenredistributes any differenceback to the company.

The new system meansthat London Midland willnow pay only for the

electricity that it uses andalso have the information tobe able to reduce energyconsumption.

At the same time, thecompany is looking to workwith its train drivers andother staff to make themost of the electricity thatthey use, in the same waythat car drivers canmaximise the way they use

a tank of petrol. Mike Haigh,programme director forLondon Midland, said: “Ifwe know how muchelectricity we are using, wecan start to manage thatusage.

“Everyone in the railindustry is aware of theneed to make savings andthis is an example of anearly start.”

Cities ‘need more green’RICScalls onNorthWest developers to help lower temperaturesTHE Royal Institution ofChartered Surveyors (RICS) in theNorth West is urging developersto consider putting more greenspace into their schemes.

And Liverpool’s St Paul’sSquare development is being heldup as a “shining example”.

According to an RICS study –Green Infrastructure in UrbanAreas – temperatures in theregion’s urban areas are currentlyup to 6°c higher than in ruralareas.

It claims this increases thechance of floods, noise and thequality of our air.

The report adds that increasingthe amount of green space in theregion will help alleviate thisproblem, as this can lower urbantemperatures.

RICS North West spokesmanDavid Inman, a charteredenvironmental surveyor atenvironmental consultancy firmDIEM, said: “Green space intowns and cities across the NorthWest is being eroded, as playingfields, gardens and general spaceincreasingly make way for roadsand new developments.

“Removing just 10% of thegreen space from a built-up areain the region could see maximumtemperatures increase by as muchas 7°C.

“The Government, localauthorities; land owners anddevelopers need to create andsafeguard existing green spaces inthe region, and pay greaterattention to the growing problemof urban climate change.

“In order to allow for this, theadoption of green infrastructurestrategies, that have long-termenvironmental and economicbenefits, should be factored intodevelopment plans.”

The latest phase of St Paul’sSquare, just off Old Hall Street, inLiverpool city centre, includes agrass roof.

The roof helps to keep thebuilding insulated as well ascarbon aware, while alsoabsorbing rainwater and creatinga wildlife habitat for localanimals.

It recently won the Commercialcategory at this year’s RICS NorthWest Awards

RICS judges were impressedwith the development’s greencredentials, as well as its qualityof finishes and building designs. Lawn arranger . . . the grass planted on the roof of St Paul's Square, in Liverpool

Meters move: a London Midland train

35

HOW GREEN IS YOUR BUSINESS? IN ASSOCIATION WITH

SOLAR energy specialistBSOLAR is enjoying“phenomenal” growth, thanks tothe introduction of theGovernment’s feed-in tariffsscheme.

The Halsall-based firm waslaunched in April, 2010, and froma standing start has now reacheda turnover in excess of £750,000.

And founder and director PeterBladen says it is on course tobreak through the £2m barrier bythe end of next year.

BSOLAR installs solar energysystems in both homes and

businesses across the North West.Feed-in tariffs mean that peoplewho install solar panels can selltheir excess electricity back to thepower companies.

This guaranteed income hasmade the installations attractivenot just to people looking to cuttheir carbon emissions and powerbills, but also to serious investors.

Mr Bladen said: “Solar panelsare now one of the most populargreen technologies out there.

“Through the Government’sClean Energy Cash Back scheme,they make one of the best green

investments you can make. Itguarantees you 43.3p per KWh ofrenewable energy generated fromthe panels, meaning that they giveyou a healthy annual income andfree electricity.”

“Growth has been incredible.Last year we started the businesswith just me and my partner.

“Now, 12 months on, we haveeight staff, three companyvehicles and a turnover close to£1m.”

The average solar panel systemcosts about £10,000 and, under thegovernment scheme, you will

receive an annual income ofaround £1,000 for the electricityyou generate.

This income is guaranteed for25 years.

“Solar panels will pay forthemselves in 10 years, then youhave another 15 years ofguaranteed income, which willbasically be profit.

“Added to that, you are paid forthe electricity you generateirrespective of whether it’s used,which means when the panels aregenerating during the day youhave free electricity which can be

used in the home.” In the last fewweeks, BSOLAR has appointedMike Shwenn as its newwarehouse and logistics managerafter seeing the number of solarpanel installations grow.

Mr Bladen said: “Around 90% ofour installations at the momentare domestic. Getting companiesto decide to install solar panels isa longer process.

“Banks are definitely open tolending for this kind ofinvestment, and over the nextyear we are looking to double thebusiness.”

BSOLARaims todouble in size over next year as tariffs schemestimulates installations

BSOLAR director and founder Peter Bladen – says the Government’s feed-in tariffs scheme has made solar panels a sound investment

A GOVERNMENT ministerhas pledged to take up acampaign being led by aMerseyside renewableenergy company.

Greg Barker, theMinister of State forEnergy and ClimateChange, has vowed todiscuss the growingchaos surrounding theinstallation of solarpanels with theDepartment for

Communities and LocalGovernment.

Mr Barker’sintervention followslobbying by EcoEnvironments’ directorDavid Hunt, supported byShadow Energy MinistersHuw Irranca-Davies andLuciana Berger.

The campaign wastriggered after a numberof local councils,including West

Lancashire Council, toldhomeowners they neededpermission before havingsolar panels installed.

This is despiteGovernment guidancethat planning permissionis not required unlesssomeone lives in a listedbuilding or conservationarea, and BuildingRegulations are notneeded as long as thehomeowner uses a

contractor under theGovernment’s CompetentPerson Scheme.

Mr Hunt said: “We aredelighted that both aGovernment minister andtwo shadow ministershave taken up ourcampaign, which seeks tobring an end to attemptsto make life difficult forhomeowners trying toembrace renewableenergy solutions.”

Government to listen to Eco renewables campaign

David Hunt, of Eco Environments

Future looking sunny for solar firm

36

THE NETWORKER

THE BUSINESS LISTSPONSORED BY MATCHDAY HOSPITALITY AT EVERTON0151 530 5300

Tuesday, July 5The next 1stuesday breakfastevent is at 8am at The HeathRestaurant, The Heath Businessand Technical Park. NeilLancaster, of SOG, will talkabout effective marketing. It is£6.50+VAT for Halton Chambermembers. To book, contactNicola Holland on 01928 516142or emailnicolah@haltonchamber.com.

Tuesday, July 5The DSG Business Owners Clubwill be focusing on social mediaat its quarterly meeting. Guestspeaker Tim Roberts, managingdirector of I-COM onlinemarketing agency, will addressbusiness owners and managersat the free event, giving them anoutline of the dos and don’ts ofsocial media for their business.

It is at Goodison Park from7.45am. To book, contact SueGallagher on 0151 243 1200 oremail spg@dsg.uk.com

Wednesday, July 6The Windmills interactivebreakfast session onimplementing organisationalchange will take place from8am-11.30am at FACT, WoodStreet. The seminar will be led byDr Peter Hawkins and HelenWakefield.

The event will give attendeesan insight into some newcreative and effectiveapproaches to changemanagement. To book for thefree event, emaillynne@windmillsonline.co.uk orcall 0844 249 1990.

Wednesday, July 6Knowsley Chamber ofCommerce’s After Hoursnetworking event is being hostedby O’Connell & Squelch, StanleyGrange, L34 4AR.

Networking will take placeover canapés, cocktails anddrinks. It costs £15+VAT formembers and £20+VAT fornon-members.

For more details, seewww.knowsleychamber.org.uk/events.aspx

Wednesday, July 13Phil Blything, from Glow NewMedia, will be outlining a range

of methods that can be used toincrease traffic to websites,including how to raise a site’ssearch ranking and how to usesocial media, as well as adviceabout the content of websites.

The Knowsley Chamber eventis being held at The Village Hotel,Whiston. It costs £12+VAT formembers and £18+VAT fornon-members.

To book, visit www.knowsleychamber.org.uk/events.aspx

Friday, July 15The monthly Daresbury Scienceand Innovation Campusbusiness breakfast networkevent brings together around100 people working for hi-techcompanies, entrepreneurs, ,universities and support

organisations.The breakfast is at Daresbury

Innovation Centre, starting from8am. For more details, seewww.daresbury sic.co.uk/events

Friday, July 15A one-hour seminar onimproving email managementtechniques is part of LiverpoolChamber of Commerce’s latest60 really useful minutes series.

The session will go through aseries of simple hints and tips onhow best to manage email.

It begins at 9am and is free forLiverpool Chamber membersand £5 for non-members. Tobook, visit www.liverpoolchamber.org.uk/events.html

Wednesday, July 20The next Fish! networking eventis being held from 5.30-8pm. Formore details, contact Joel Jelenat Ubiquity PR atjoel@ubiquitypr.co.uk

JELLYLIVERPOOL isfor people to gettogether to work in adifferent environmentfrom their usual one,whether it be free-lancers, homeworkersor just people whowant a change ofscenery.

Jelly, a monthlyevent, is marking itsfirst anniversary with aday punctuated bycelebrations andprizes.

The free event isbeing held upstairs inLeaf Tea Shop, on BoldStreet.

It aims to bringtogether like-mindedcreative people andadd in threeingredients – free wifi,free deskspace andfree coffee.

Previous events havebeen attended bydevelopers and

internet types,alongsideentrepreneurs,freelancers, writers,artists and designers.

Organisers say thatall is required is to“bring your own laptopand a friendlydisposition”.

It is from 9am-5pm,with people welcometo spend all day atJellyLiverpool or justdrop in throughout theday.■ FOR more details, seeopenlabs.org.uk/jelly/or call Allison Cordneron 0151 231 4777.

Stanley Grange, Knowsley

Phil Blything

Leaf, on Bold Street – hosting JellyLiverpool’s first anniversary event Picture: COLIN LANE

THURSDAY, JULY 7 /JELLYLIVERPOOL

37

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38

FiliniRadisson Blu Hotel,107, Old Hall Street,Liverpool L3 9BDTel: 0151 966 1500www.radissonblu.co.uk/hotel-liverpool

THE NETWORKER

BUSINESS LUNCH

DETAILS

Maresa Molloy

Filini, which is located in LIverpool’s Radisson Hotel, in Old Hall Street

SPONSORED BY MATCHDAY HOSPITALITY AT EVERTON0151 530 5300

TonyMcDonoughsamples theLightning Lunchat Filini, withMaresaMolloy, fromLiverpoolChamber

AT WHATpoint did thepre-2008boom reachits zenith? Iwouldsuggest itwas one coldwinter’s

night, early in 2004, when thenewly-completed Radisson SASHotel, in Old Hall Street, held itsofficial launch party.

I was there and so was thismonth’s Business Lunch guest,Maresa Molloy, the head of policyat Liverpool Chamber ofCommerce.

We both turned up that nightexpecting the usual canapés and acouple of free drinks.

What we were confronted withwas a sight so lavish it would haveput the last days of the RomanEmpire to shame.

Hundreds laid siege to the freebar like wildebeest at thewatering hole, and in each ofseveral rooms in and around thereception area there was asumptuous feast laid on.

There was Chinese food in oneroom, Indian in another and in athird an eye and mouth-wateringdisplay of seafood.

People gorged themselves tosuch an extent that by 10.30pm thebar had started to run dry.

Fast forward to June, 2011, andwe find ourselves in the midst of aperiod of strict austerity andwhen Maresa and I walked intothe Radisson’s restaurant, Filini,for lunch we found ourselveswondering: did that night reallyhappen?

On the few occasions I’ve beento Filini, I’ve generally been quiteimpressed with both the food andthe service.

And so it has always been apuzzle why, at least when I’ve beenthere, it attracts so few lunchtimediners.

On this occasion, when wearrived at 12.30pm, there wereliterally no other customers there,and by the time we left only twoor three other tables wereoccupied.

Maybe being located at the farend of Old Hall Street peopleconsider it too much out of theway? Anyway, in the spirit of theage of austerity, this month’sBusiness Lunch was a modestaffair.

Filini has launched what itcalls its Lightning Lunch.For just £6.95 a head,diners can choose froma small selection oflight meals with a softdrink or tea/coffee

included. And, if the food hasn’tarrived at your table within 15minutes of your order beingtaken, the whole meal is free.

Maresa has worked at LiverpoolChamber for several years and iswell connected within the citycentre business community.

Having a policy unit is aprerequisite of being anaccredited Chamber of Commerce,and Maresa’s role within theorganisation is quite a pivotalone.

“We are the representative andlobbying wing of the chamber,”she said.

“A big part of our job is to listento businesses – our members –and find out the issues that theyare facing.

“We have a structure ofcommittees looking at differentsubject areas. For example, bothtransport and the environmentare big issues for businesses.

“There is also a lot ofGovernment regulation that needsto be looked at to assess what itsimpact on business is.”

In common with other policyunits at chambers across the UK,Maresa and her team producequarterly economic surveyswhich provide a snapshot of thestate of UK businesses –particularly in the small firmssector.

She added: “That data goesdirectly to the Bank of England,which then quotes it in its ownsurvey so that data is absolutelyvital.

“We also do quite a bit ofhosting – people like Governmentministers.

“We give our members theopportunity to speak directly tokey decision makers.”

Maresa also does quite a bit oftravelling across the UK, meetingother chambers, and last week she

headed a delegation to London fora high-level discussion onproposals for a high-speed railline running from London to theMidlands and the North.

Business and civic leaders inthe North West are heavily infavour as the potential economicbenefits are huge.

However, many people living inrural or semi-rural areas on theproposed route are against it.

Maresa said: “There is agovernment consultation going onHigh Speed 2, and we aregenerating a response to that.

“There is a lot of potentialbenefit to the Liverpool cityregion. Yes, the West Coast MainLine has had a lot ofimprovements, but that will befull to capacity again within five

years.“About 40 people were on

the delegation to London and theyincluded business leaders andMPs and we will meet atLiverpool’s London embassy.”

For her Lightning Lunch,Maresa opted for the cajun andlime chicken salad with a lightolive and herb dressing.

I chose the pork sausages insweet onion gravy with creamedpotatoes.

The meals did, indeed, arrivevery quickly – in eight minutes –although that wasn’t such asurprise when you consider thereweren’t many other diners in thatday.

We were both initiallyconcerned that the offeringslooked a little small, but I have tosay I found my sausage and mashvery filling indeed.

Everything was cooked toperfection and the gravy wasindeed beautifully sweet.

Maresa also enjoyed her salad,but added that it maybe could

have done with a little more of a“kick”.

I can’t help feeling that, if Filiniwas located somewhere a littlemore central – like Castle Street –it would be full of business peoplemost lunchtimes.

The Lightning Lunch seems tobe a good idea in terms of gettingmore people through the door.

Many people in the businesscommunity now find they havefar less time for lunch than theymight have had in the past.

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40

ALISTAIRHOUGHTON

THE NETWORKER SPONSORED BY MATCHDAY HOSPITALITY AT EVERTON0151 530 5300

VIDEO:Alistair ridesthe pedalo

. . . in which we board a swan pedaloto escape the infinite meetings vortex

AS WE pedalled the6ft-high plasticswan aroundDuke’s Dock, mymind drifted tothe immortalwords of thatlegendarymanagement

consultant, Captain Kirk.“A meeting,” he once opined, “is an

event where minutes are taken andhours wasted”.

But the team behind Liverpool’s ownswan pedalo could be about to changethat forever. Because, they believe, thischeerful vessel could be the meetingvenue of the future.

Arts group Re-Dock has bought thepedalo so it can be used by the people ofLiverpool for whatever they see fit.

Some of their ideas so far are quitesensible. Using it as a wedding venue,for example, or pedalling it across theEnglish Channel – the busiest shippinglane in the world.

But perhaps their most outlandishsuggestion -– at least to the middlemanagement world – is the idea that itcould be used for meetings.

You can imagine the gasps of horrorfrom managers, sighing and clutchingtheir hankies to their fevered brows.

“How”, they will cry, in the mannerof a despairing heroine in a mediocrebodice-ripper, “can you meet inanything other than a beige cupboard?

“And where,” they will howl, bosomsor more likely beer-bellies heaving,“can I possibly show off my 187 slideson PowerPoint?”

There’s nothing wrong with meetingon water, of course. RensburgSheppards is renowned for its annualriver cruise, where staff and clientsboard a Mersey Ferry for the night for

furious “networking” that just happensto involve a riverfull of booze.

Pedalling furiously around a dockwould be another thing altogether. Andyet, it’s a curiously appealing idea, inpart because it’s a creative challenge tothe corporate meeting culture.

ASHORT and productive

meeting is a thing of beauty.It leaves you motivated,focused, and looking aheadwith optimism.

But, as any honest Mersey businesstype will tell you after a swill of Pinoton the HMS Rensburg, that meeting is arare beast. There are overlongmeetings. There are irrelevantmeetings. There are indecisivemeetings. We, brave workers, have seenthem all.

And then there’s the self-feedingmeeting cycle, the infinite meetingsvortex, a thing of horror.

Every meeting recounts the previousmeeting – debates about how manyangels can fit on the end of a pin and all– so agendas endlessly shuffle forwardincomplete, decisions go unmade, andhours slide by across weeks, in avicious circle of sleepy heads andbruised egos in beige rooms.

If the sign of creative logjam in pop ismusicians writing songs about being ina band then, surely, the best sign ofatrophy in any organisation is holdingmeetings about meetings.

THE meeting problem hasexercised generations ofmanagement thinkers.Patrick Lencioni has evengone as far as writing a book

called Death By Meeting. In it, he says:“Bad meetings exact a toll on thehuman beings who must endure them,

and this goes far beyond meremomentary dissatisfaction. Badmeetings, and what they indicate andprovoke in an organisation, generatereal human suffering in the form ofanger, lethargy, and cynicism.”

Business writer Seth Godinsuggested this year that makingmeetings more expensive would makethem cost less. If a business employed a“meeting faerie”, he said, thenmeetings would only go ahead if theirpurpose was clearly defined, guestswere furnished with biographies ofother guests, and the flow ofinformation from agendas toPowerPoints was carefully managed.Meanwhile, the meeting would befollowed up with careful memos listingeverything that was decided and everyaction point.

All that might make meetings costmore to run. But you’d need fewermeetings.

IF YOU can’t find that meetingfaerie, however, then Liverpool’sswan pedalo could be an idealsolution.The “stand-up meeting”, where

participants aren’t allowed to sit down,is often suggested as a solution to theproblem of overlong meetings. But a“swan pedalo meeting”, held at theboat’s summer home in Duke’s Dock,next to the Albert Dock, blows thatsolution out of the water.

Here’s how I see it. The swan canonly take five people – so there’s noworry there’ll be too many speakers.

Anybody who wants to speak has toclimb into the front and pedal. Thatway, they just won’t be able to go on fortoo long. And if they fall in on the wayto the front, then what they saidprobably wouldn’t have been worthhearing anyway.

If it’s cold or wet, or too hot andsunny, you won’t want to stay out toolong. Brevity guaranteed.

There’ll be no flipcharts. NoPowerPoints. And you can’t carryreams of paper in case they blow away,so agendas have to be short andcommitted to memory. And at the top ofevery agenda – “don’t crash into thedock”.

We can’t avoid the pain of meetingsaltogether. After all, you have to talkwith your colleagues sometime.

So it’s time to turn again to anotherexpert, this time eminent economist JKGalbraith. He once said: “Meetings areindispensable when you don’t want todo anything.”

And, if you’re going to do nothing,there are many worse places thanDuke’s Dock. So -– who’s going to be thefirst to have a swan pedalo meeting?■ FOR more information, visitwww.swanpedalo.org

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s a fully-functioning meetings venue www.bit.ly/swanpedalo

41

42

CAROLYNHUGHES

SOCIAL DIARY THE NETWORKER

Phil Clemo, Sara Cawley, Huw Roberts, and Michael Barrow, at the Restaurant 1539 party, at Chester Racecourse

Heads of Chambers Wyn Lloyd-Jones and AnthonyO'Toole at the Chester Racecourse party

Louise Echlin, Kate Meredith Jones, Jane Woosey,Simon Mills and Gavin Reeves, at the ChesterRacecourse party

Victoria Brown, High Performance Consultancy;Vicky Jaycock, ACC Arena and ConventionCentre; and Lucy Brady, High PerformanceConsultancy, at the Downtown in Business dinner

Lisa Bradshaw, Liverpool Biennial; Helen Wilson,Call Print; and Roy Groves, Entwistle Group; at theChamber networking event

Jackie Lang, Search Consultancy; Jo Mills,Liverpool Chamber; and Katie Welsh, SearchConsultancy, at the Liverpool Chamber Meet andEat networking event, in the Malmaison hotel

SPONSORED BY MATCHDAY HOSPITALITY AT EVERTON0151 530 5300

TWO of The Northwest'smost well-establishedBarristers Chambershave joined forces tobecome LinenhallChambers, based in theheart of Chester.

They celebrated with afun party held atRestaurant 1539, ChesterRacecourse, last week,where fellow barristers,Silks, admin staff andSolicitors from Chesterand throughout theNorthwest and NorthWales attended. The newset of over 70practitioners includes anumber of silks, whobetween them provide thehighest quality serviceacross a broad spectrumof specialist disciplines.■ DOWNTOWN inBusiness hosted a dinner

at Alma de Cuba,Liverpool, last week,among some of the city’smost successful businessleaders andentrepreneurs.

The dinner was tolaunch DQ30; an initiativethat will form animpressive professionalnetwork across the NorthWest region.■ LIVERPOOL Chamberheld its monthly Meet andEat networking event inthe of the MalmaisonHotel.

Guests networked inthe sumptuoussurroundings of the PlumBar, before moving in tothe restaurant to enjoyfood prepared by one ofthe city's top chefs,followed by furthernetworking.

Andrew Booth, Coutts; Stuart Ross, Alma de Cuba;and Michelle Helsby, Horizon, at the Downtown inBusiness dinner

43

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44

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From our headquarters at No.1 St. Paul’s Square,Liverpool, we work in partnership with clients across anumber of business areas; from health, insurance andthe public sector, through to corporate, banking andfinance, property, employment, transport, marine andretail; delivering a full complement of award-winninglegal services, to first class standards.

Contacts:Peter JacksonManaging Partnerpeter.jackson@hilldickinson.com

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