Post Business - 4th July 2013

postbusiness

Global marketPost campaign aims to get more firms exporting

P18&19

Creative10

thisweek

InnovationrewardedatBigChip

ChangeintheboardroomWomeninBusiness15

Coffeeshopexpansion

SmallBusiness9

OverseeingJLR’ssuccessBigInterview12-13

JLAmustdomore,saysRyanairmanNews3

EXPORTChallenge1000

2 Thursday, July 4, 2013post business news

Sovex expands into the FarEast with new investment

Michele Dematteis of Sovex

Nepal sealsAirbus orderNEPAL’S national flagcarrier, Nepal AirlinesCorporation (NAC) hassigned a firm order fortwo Airbus A320 aircraft.

Madan Kharel, NACmanaging director, said:“Nepal is a landlockednation, and aviation isour window to the world.

“It welcome explorers,trekkers and pleasureseekers, cultural and eco-logical visitors and itsimportance cannot beover stated for our coun-try.”

He added: “Our newA320s will help us toincrease capacity andcapitalise on the growthin tourism.”

Airbus employs morethan 6,000 staff at its wingmaking plant situated atBroughton, near Chester.

RSS completes ‘robust’ year of tradingCHESTER-based con-tractor RSS Construc-tion Projects has repor-ted a ‘robust year oftrading’ after it under-took 32 contracts acrossthe North West.

Headed by managing

director GrantRoxburgh, the firm spe-cialises in the repairand rehabilitation of alltypes of built assets.

He said the com-pany’s work is beingdriven primarily by

tender wins and fromrepeat business fromexisting clients.

Mr Roxburgh said: “Ithas been a strong yearof trading and we areseeing steady businessfrom core sectors,

including local authorit-ies in the North Westand North Wales, thepetrochemical andengineering sectors, aswell as schools,museums and commer-cial offices.”

Fashion weekTHE fifth Lambrini Liverpool Fash-ion Week has been confirmed forOctober 14-19.

Lambrini, the brand belonging toHuyton drinks firm Halewood Inter-national, is backed by LiverpoolCouncil, which sees the event as agreat showcase for local talent.

Downloadour newe-editiontodayOUR new, five-days-a-week business publica-tion is available now toread on your tablet orsmartphone.

The Liverpool PostBusiness Daily ispacked with businessstories, data analysis,leads, intelligence andexpert advice.

If you want to knowwho is on the move, seethe latest executive jobvacancies or spot thenewest tender oppor-tunities, it is all therein our compact 30-pagedaily business briefing.

We have advice fromleading businessexperts on issues suchas marketing, IT,investments andenergy.

There is news fromthe commercial prop-erty scene, updates onbusiness insolvencies,planning applications,and, of course, all thekey business gossip.

And there is dataanalysis of key issuesaffecting our region.

Jenny Stewart, of theLiverpool Chamber ofCommerce, said: “It’s aconvenient way ofaccessing news for busypeople who are on thego and who have to relyon their tablets.

“It is essential read-ing already for myselfand many colleagues.”

For a free four-weektrial, you can downloadthe app at www.liver-pooldailypost.co.uk/businessdaily● For details of greatsubscription deals foryour business, call sub-scriptions managerChris Carden on 0151330 4915.

Why not make ityour business, daily?

All Saints students get to the heart of a successful businessELEVEN budding entre-preneurs from All SaintsCatholic Centre for Learn-ing in Kirkby won two ofthe four prizes on offerwhen they represented Mer-seyside at the Young Enter-prise North West final atManchester Airport – withthe implicit support of HRHthe Prince of Wales.

The team called them-selves “Royal Heart Design”after Prince Charlesinspired the studentsthrough his support of theschool on a visit to JaguarLand Rover, which AllSaints has a partnershipwith.

The year nine studentsfrom All Saints are alreadythe most successful teamfrom Knowsley to enter thecontest in the past 50 yearsand are also the youngestgroup in the Young Enter-prise finals.

Last Monday they wereawarded “Best TradeStand” as well as “Best Cus-tomer Service” at the com-petition; the only schoolfrom Merseyside to everwin two accolades.

Students entering thecompetition are tasked withsetting up and running areal firm for a year.

Royal Heart Design spe-cialised in high quality per-sonalised printing for gifts,events and corporate pro-motions and suppliedproducts such as mugs,bags, key rings and hoodies.

The successful All Saints Catholic Centre for Learning team which excelled in the regional finals

WIRRAL manufacturer Sovex isexpanding after securing an invest-ment totalling £750,000 from Mersey-side Special Investment Fund (MSIF).

The company which designs, man-ufactures and installs vehicle loadingand parcel handling systems to clientssuch as DHL, DPD, Hermes, UK Mailand Yodel, has undergone “phenom-enal” growth in recent the last twoyears.

Sovex, which is run by directorsMichele Dematteis, David Lindfieldand Malcolm Dooley has seen itsturnover increase from £8m in 2011 to£13m in 2012. Turnover this year isexpected to hit £17m.

Malcolm Jones from MSIF led theinvestment with support from Mark

Borzomato. The funding has been usedto set up a manufacturing facility inMalaysia.

Mr Dematteis said: “The parcelhandling industry has undergone hugegrowth in the last couple of yearslargely down to the increase in onlineshopping which has significantly boos-ted our business.

“We also recently set up a salesoffice in Holland which has enabled usto tap into European markets includ-ing a contract with Deutsche Post andthis has also contributed to our recentgrowth.

“This latest round of funding fromMSIF is being used to set up our ownmanufacturing facility in Malaysia.

“We currently use a sub-contractorout there but they can’t cope with thedemand so we need a facility whichcan provide increased outputs. It willalso be better for us as a business tomanage our own supply chain.

“Having a base in Malaysia will alsohelp us to tap into the Asia Pacificmarket and we are already speaking tosome organisations in that part of theworld.

“Malcolm Jones who oversaw thetransaction at MSIF provided invalu-able advice and support.”

Mr Jones added: “Sovex is a fant-astic example of a business usinginvestment for growth.

“The directors have not been afraidto take on continued investment toensure that the business can deliver asits client base and outputs grow.

“We have made several investmentsinto the business already and are verypleased that we will remain involvedwith Sovex and its team and also to besupporting the manufacturing sector.”

In the last two years Sovex hasdoubled its UK-based workforce andnow employs 105 people at its basein Prenton.

[email protected]

3Thursday, July 4, 2013

Liverpool’sairport ‘needsto marketitself more’THE chief operating officer of Ryanairhas spoken of the need for LiverpoolJohn Lennon Airport (JLA) to raise itsprofile in order to compete withManchester Airport.

Michael Cawley, who is also deputychief executive at the budget airline,told Post Business he “hoped” Ryanairwould introduce new routes and moreplanes from Liverpool in the future.

He said: “I think the airport needs tobe consciously putting itself forwardin people’s minds for when they’rebooking a holiday.

“They did well with the rebrandingof it as John Lennon Airport butthere’s been something of a lull sincethen.

“They need to regeneratethat and really get it going.

“We do marketing but it’svery important they do ittoo. It’s not something theyshould be shy about.”

Mr Cawley, who spoke toPost Business following hisvisit to Liverpool to speakat the Accelerate businessfestival held in the city lastweek, said he believes “thisregion can certainly support two largeairports”.

He said: “It’s a very competitive areawith Manchester and to a lesser extentBirmingham and Leeds.

“By definition, Liverpool is in com-petition with other airports and theyneed to keep increasing their servicesand publicity.”

He added: “It’s a very user friendlyairport, it’s very good from an oper-ational point of view.”

In response to Mr Cawley’s com-ments, a spokesman for LiverpoolJohn Lennon Airport said:

“ We have worked hard in recentyears to improve the passenger exper-ience here at the airport and havemade some great progress.

“For example, over 89% of ourflights departed on time last year com-pared to an average of 80% at other UKairports.

“The average time taken to passthough the security screening areafrom entry to exit is now just nineminutes and we are achieving 96% pos-itive feedback for overall customer sat-isfaction in our passenger surveys.”

He added: “Having said this weagree with Michael Cawley and ourfocus now is to shout louder about thegreat benefits of flying from here. Weare working with Ryanair and locallywith Liverpool Vision, on developing acampaign, to shout about the airport,raise brand awareness and make surethat Liverpool people choose to flyfrom Liverpool’s airport.”

Matthew Thomas took over fromformer chief executive Craig Rich-

mond in March as chiefexecutive of LJLA, step-ping up from his role ascommercial director forJLA parent group Van-couver Airport Services.

Mr Cawley said he feltMr Thomas would do “verywell” in the role and helptake the airport forward.

He added he felt therewas a need for airports in

the UK to market themselves as placesfor people to fly to and not just to flyfrom.

Earlier this month, Ryanair placedan order for 175 new aircraft with Boe-ing at the Paris Air Show.

Asked by Post Business if any ofthese would be based at Liverpool, MrCawley said he “hoped so”.

He added: “I hope there will be newroutes to Liverpool but not right now.

“We hope to be giving Liverpool air-port more business in the future.

“The problem is over the next yearwe don’t have any more aircraft com-ing but after that we have.”

Of the 175 new planes, 14 are due tobe delivered in the latter half of 2014,50 over the following two years and theremainder by 2018.

Ryanair’s Michael Cawley addressingthe Accelerate event im LiverpoolPicture: ANDREW TEEBAY

Managersnot takingholidaysONLY one in two man-agers has booked asummer holiday andmany will not take abreak in the comingmonths because of pres-sure of work, accordingto a study.

A survey of morethan 800 managers inprivate firms and thepublic and voluntarysectors found that mostof those who will getaway planned to dosome work while theywere on holiday.

The Chartered Man-agement Institute saidits survey found thatworkload was the mainreason many managerswould forego a holiday.

One in eight admittedthey would checkemails every day.

post businessnews

Ryanair’s passenger milestone at JLA

“That will provide us the opportun-ity to grow here,” said Mr Cawley.

Speaking about how he saw thefuture of Ryanair, he said they had“only begun to scratch the surface” interms of where the company wasgoing.

He said: “I think the future ofRyanair is marvellous.

“Creating new routes is a key part ofour future.”

The deputy chief executive, who hasbeen with Ryanair since 1997, also

spoke to Post Business about the dam-age he felt Air Passenger Duty (APD)was doing to Britain’s airline industry.

He said: “APD is a major problem inthis country.

“When you’re in France or Italy youdon’t pay these taxes. Our average fareis 40 euros so it’s like charging VAT at50%, it’s crazy.

“Every other country which intro-duced it has reversed it becausethey’ve seen tourism and passengernumbers decline.”

‘It is notsomethingtheyshould beshy about’

[email protected]

Kerry Katona helps Ryanair celebrate

For News,Sport andBusinesson yourphoneText LDPto 67800‘I found thechildren’ssoftfurnishingson themarket quiteboring andstereotypical- all pink andblue – so Istartedmakingthings thatwere a littlebit different’

STEPINTOMY

OFFICE

Full videointerview,at www.

ldpbusiness.co.uk

DianaHeredia,

from Leon+ Coco

LIVERPOOL John Len-non Airport (JLA) hascelebrated Ryanair’slatest passengermilestone.

While in Mersey-side for his speech atthe Accelerate busi-ness festival, MichaelCawley, Ryanair’sdeputy chief execut-ive and chief operat-ing officer, paid a

visit to the airport(to mark the airlinecarrying 300m pas-sengers to and fromthe UK since it star-ted in 1985.

In the 25 yearslow- cost Irish airlineRyanair has been fly-ing from JLA, it hascarried 20m passen-gers on services fromand to Liverpool.

The number ofpassengers carriedby Ryanair to andfrom Liverpool hasrisen from around20,000 a year 25years ago to almost1.8m last year.

Matthew Thomas,chief executive atJLA, said: “We’re nat-urally delighted thislatest Ryanair mile-

stone has been celeb-rated here at Liver-pool, having workedclosely with themover the past 25years and havingbeen a part of theiramazing growth andsuccess story.”

The ceremony alsofeatured formerAtomic Kitten star,Kerry Katona.

4 Thursday, July 4, 2013

GleesonBill

JLR has come along way in theyears under TataREPORTS last weekendthat a stake in the com-pany that owns JaguarLand Rover could be soldfor almost £800m shouldcause some pause forreflection.

You have to rememberthat when Tata Groupacquired JLR from Fordit paid just over £1bn forthe whole company.

Now it is suggestedthat a 5.6% stake could besold for a sum of moneythat isn’t all that farremoved from the fullpurchase price. If the salegoes ahead, it wouldmean someone, some-where appreciates howfar JLR has come underTata.

The stake is currentlyheld by another TataGroup company, TataSteel, which is said towant to realise the valueof its shareholding inorder to pay down debton its balance sheet.

While the stake is inTata Motors, and not JLRdirectly, JLR is by far thebiggest part of the carcompany, particularlywhen it comes to profit-ability. Furthermore, theHalewood made Evoquethat makes the biggestcontribution to profit.

The acquisition of JLRwas a risk for both thebrands and Tata Group.Car owners need bigresources to fundresearch and develop-ment to bring in the nextgeneration of models.

The lack of suchresources lay behind theproblems that ultimatelybrought down the ownersof MG Rover. The story ofTata’s acquisition hasbeen a far happier one.

FORMER Tesco chairmanLord MacLaurin lastweek openly criticisedthe legacy left by SirTerry Leahy after he leftTesco.

He was critical of thewrite-offs incurred by thesupermarket group’s exitfrom loss making ven-tures in places like theUnited States. The sug-gestion was that SirTerry, one of the mostsuccessful business lead-ers to come out of thiscity, overstretched thecompany as it tried toturn itself into an everbigger and more profit-able business.

It amounts to a radicalrevision of Sir Terry’syears as chief executiveof Tesco. During thoseyears, he was acknow-ledged by the likes of For-bes and others as one of

the most influential andadmirable business lead-ers in Europe.

The fact is, however,that after many years ofgrowth, including thecreation of a dominantposition in the UK super-market sector, there weresome write offs in the lat-ter stages of his tenure.Some of the sheen hascontinued to come off theTesco gloss.

Nevertheless, it seemsodd that Lord MacLaurinshould be all that critical.After all, was he not atthe helm of the boardthat provided oversight ofSir Terry’s leadership?

His lordship is repor-ted to have said that thecurrent chief executivePhilip Clarke, also a sonof Liverpool, neededthree years to revive thefortunes of the group.

But don’t all new man-agement put through thebig write offs in theirearly years and thenclaim the credit when theprofits pick up?

After a decade and ahalf in charge, it’s a bitlate to begin rewritingwhat is an importantslice of modern day eco-nomic history.

THERE are growing signsthat the Government issummoning up theresolve to tackle thethorny problem of inter-national firms such asGoogle and Amazon pay-ing very little corpora-tion tax from trade con-ducted in the UK.

Both have group struc-tures that see much ofthe profit from UK saleschannelled to lower taxregimes like Luxembourgand Ireland.

In a recent House ofCommons debate, therewas something approach-ing unanimity across thebenches about the need todo something.

Yet it is not always theeasiest thing to writelegislation that catchesall eventualities. The factis cross border trade isdifficult to tax fairly.

There are also interna-tional tax treaties thatcan’t be overlookedeither. Any renegotiationof cross border taxarrangements are notgoing to be concludedquickly.

Pressure, however, ismounting as charitiesconcerned about theeffects of austerity onpoverty at home andabroad take a lead incampaigning for a changeto the rules.

THE University of Liverpool isto receive a share of £1.8m offunding to develop the nextgeneration of renewablechemicals from biomass.

These biomass-derived chemicals couldfind varied uses in the manufacture ofmaterials, plastics, solvents and pharma-ceuticals.

This goal is to be achieved through thedevelopment of chemicals from the sug-ars, fats, oils and carbohydrates producedby treating biomass.

The project is being conducted withother academic institutions and industry,including AB Foods and Unilever.

This investment marks a move towardsthe increasing use of renewable sourcesof raw materials, something that willincreasingly become imperative intoday’s world of decreasing fossil fuelsupply, increasing oil prices, and mount-ing environmental concerns.

The project is to be headed by Dr JoseLopez-Sanchez, a lecturer in SustainableChemistry and Catalysis at the Uni-versity's Stephenson Institute for Renew-able Energy.

Dr Lopez-Sanchez said: “The use of bio-mass-derived chemicals and products inmanufacturing is a priority as the needfor industry to reduce its reliance onfossil fuels increases.

“The use of renewables in the produc-tion of bio-energy and chemicals also rep-resents one of the necessary stepsrequired to reduce carbon dioxide emis-sions in the near future and thereforereduce the detrimental impact of humanactivity in our environment.

“The combined expertise of the Uni-versity of Liverpool in the discovery anddevelopment of new advanced materialsfor catalytic transformations of biomasswith expertise from the University ofYork in biomass transformations will beparamount to the success and applicab-ility of this project.”

The project will also delve intobio-refinery processes in an attempt tostreamline them and make the overallprocess more efficient, along with mak-ing its cost more feasible for users.

The project's funding is being providedby a number of partners including Uni-lever and Croda International, a chem-icals company. It is also receiving supportfrom the Engineering and Physical Sci-ences Research Council.

Both fossil fuels and biomass releasecarbon upon combustion, thereby form-ing heat energy as they are burnt. This iswhat makes them both fuels.The carbon used to create thebiomass is absorbed from theatmosphere by plant life in theform of carbon dioxide. This isanother added benefit of biofuel.

Carbon neutrality can beachieved through its use. Thecarbon dioxide formed by thefuel when it is burnt can then betaken up again by the new plantmaterial used to take its place,more biomass is created and a cycle ofuse and renewal is formed. This is thevery reason it is considered a renewablesource of energy. The biomass materialsare easily replaced.

Plant material can be renewed end-lessly. In this way carbon dioxide emis-sions may be curbed as we plant morebiomass material able to use the gas.

On the other hand, fossil fuels are notrenewable. They were formed from the

remains of living organisms over hun-dreds of millions of years. The supply ofthese fossil fuels is being used up andthey cannot be replaced. This meansthere is an increasing fossil fuel deficitwhich must be taken on before all of oursupply is depleted. This is what drives theprice of oil and petrol up.

Seeking to benefit from bio-mass is the logistics group, Sto-bart. The company is currentlyin the process of planning andbuilding a biomass power plantin Widnes' 3MG park, bringingto the town over 100 jobs with it,including construction andengineering positions alongwith 20 permanent operationalroles.

The new facility is said to beable to burn 147,000 tons of wood a year,enough to generate at least 20 megawattsof energy. Twenty megawatts would beable to provide power for 20,000 homes fora year. This is already being consideredfor local homes, with Halton HousingTrust holding discussions with Stobarton the matter.

However, local concerns have beenraised over the possible smell caused bythe prospective biomass plant and the

potential increase in industry it maycause to an already heavily industrialisedarea.

The project has been given the goahead by council chiefs as a result of areport shown to them, assuring them thatthe planned scheme is an “environment-ally friendly way to create energy with nooverall greenhouse gas emissions”.

The report concluded that: "Utilisingwood in this way provides a carbon neut-ral substitute for fossil fuels while recov-ering energy from wood, which wouldotherwise be landfilled, and avoids meth-ane emissions that would be generatedfrom its decay in landfill and, therefore,results in significant savings in green-house gas emissions in line with nationaland local policy.”

Other examples of biomass powerplants in the area include one at the Portof Liverpool and another at a paper millin Shotton. Peel Ports is also expected tocreate a biomass handling facility at thePort of Liverpool which will be able tokeep the wood for fuel dry.

The Mersey Forest, which both plantsand tends trees across six Merseysidelocal authorities, runs a biomass advis-ory service.

Mersey Forest has stated on its web-

Mark Keaneyexamines industry’sgrowing use ofbiomass as a renewableraw material

A step toreducecarbondioxideemissions

Can biomasspost business big feature


site, that the use of waste wood as bio-mass has “opened up a whole new marketfor this material and stimulated a lot ofemployment as well”.

It added: “As well as providing a placefor wildlife and recreation, woods canprovide tangible and renewable products.These in turn can generate employmentand help the local economy. Weare exploring ways to make themost from our wooden forestresource, whether it be a pieceof fine furniture or a fuel.

“Wood as a fuel is seeing arenaissance with increasingfossil fuel prices.”

Another big user of biomass isFiddlers Ferry power station.owned by Scottish and SouthernEnergy, which has been co-firedfor many years now.

Local small business is also joining theemerging biomass driven market, withboiler firms such Fletchrose of Aintree,proposing a move towards renewable bio-mass boilers for industry in an effort tocapitalise on the emerging market ofgreen energy.

The coalition government's UKBio-energy Strategy has set a clear dir-ection for the reduction of greenhouse

gas emissions, specifically carbon diox-ide. To achieve lower levels of carbondioxide emissions by 2050, the govern-ment has decided to subsidise industrialbiomass plants in an attempt to stimulatebusiness to take interest in renewableenergy.

However, not everybody is convinced.Environmental campaign

group Greenpeace, in associ-ation with the RSPB andFriends of the Earth havereleased a report criticisingaspects of the Government’sbiomass strategy.

Although the reduction ofcoal use has been a long-stand-ing objective of many environ-mentalists, the report said bio-mass, under current conditions,

may prove more environmentally dam-aging than coal. Reasons include the factthat biomass materials require moretransport relative to coal because coal ismore energy-dense so less is needed rel-ative to biomass. The idea that plantingnew trees offsets the carbon formed byburning the wood is also confronted, asmultiple studies have illustrated that itcan take decades for a tree to repay the“carbon debt” of biomass.

Billington invests £1m in buying and sellingbiomass but the firm has yet to make a profit

LIVERPOOL-based agriculturalcommodities firm Edward Bil-lington & Son has investedover £1m in a biomass oper-ation.

The firm sources the fuel tosell on to end users such asschools and hospitals thathave installed biomass heatingand hot water boilers toreplace the traditional oilburning systems.

Company director EdwardBillington said: "The vastmajority of biomass is cur-rently used to generate elec-tricity, but another part of theequation is burning timber forheating and hot water. That'sthe bit we are interested in.

"We buy pelletised timberfrom within the UK. We havetwo storage depots and weare aiming at customers likeschools or hospitals or com-mercial buildings or domesticproperty."

It is a market with hugepotential. About 50% of UKenergy consumption is used toheat buildings and water. Vir-tually all of that 50% usesfossil fuels.

Mr Billington believes part

of the reason for the low takeup of sustainable forms ofheating energy is down to theshortcomings of a governmentscheme that was originallyintended to stimulate demand.

He said: "There is the renew-able heat incentive (RHI)scheme to replace fossil fuelsystems with things likeground heat pumps and bio-mass. Most of the uptake hasbeen biomass."

Over the past 18 months,the incentive scheme has con-vinced just 1,500 sites toswitch.

Mr Billington added: "Thereis a real problem at themoment. Ourselves and adozen other companies havedeveloped the logistics andresources to support this area,but the uptake is down onwhat we were expecting andas a result there is not a singlebusiness that is profitable.

"Government policy hasbeen very poorly led. Theyhave tinkered and changed therules on many occasions andmade it very complex andmany customers don't trustthe government to stick to the

plans they outlined."It's frustrating."Under the RHI, a hospital or

school that has converted tobiomass boilers gets a rebatebased on heat output. Therebate goes a long waytowards paying for the run-ning costs of heating theirbuildings. However, the gov-ernment doesn't commit topaying the rebate until thenew boiler is installed. soend-users have to have a leapof faith that governmentdoesn't change the rulesagain.

The suspicion is the cost ofthe rebate to the Treasury willbe high in a time of austerity.

Mr Billington said: "They areso scared of it getting out ofcontrol that they are preparedto let the scheme fail ratherthan letting the costs get outof control, but it makes it dif-ficult to operate a business.

"We are growing relativelywell. I have piggy-backed ourbiomass business on the factwe are an animal feed distrib-utor with transport and stor-age facilities, but we are stillto make a profit.”

Dr Jose Lopez-Sanchez and hisresearch team at the Universityof Liverpool’s SustainableChemistry department

A two ton biomass boiler being installed in a Cheshire school

It can takeyears toreplacecarbondebt

be fuel of the future?post businessbig feature


notes

byAnjaliRobertsLIVERPOOLOFFICEOFCHARLESSTANLEY

marketanalysis

IN ASSOCIATIONWITH

■ CREDIT cardcustomers are

being given a helpinghand to balance theirbudgets and pick thebest deal for theirneeds with the launchof a new website bythe industry.

The UK Cards Asso-ciation said that thesite allows consumersto calculate, forexample, how muchthey can save ininterest and chargesby increasing theirregular repayments.

The CardCosts web-site can also helpthem to work out howlong it would take forthem to pay off theircard if they carried onas normal and howmuch they would needto pay regularly ifthey wanted to cleartheir balance in ayear.

The launch of thewebsite followsresearch from the Uni-versity of Bristol.

The study suggestedthat many consumersstruggle to under-stand how the APR(annual percentagerate), as the tradi-tional measure ofworking out howexpensive it is to bor-row, related to theirown financial circum-stances.The websitecan be found at card-costs.org.uk.

■ NEARLY 78,000more home own-

ers have become“property million-aires” over the lastyear, according to ahouse price rich list.

An estimated323,684 homes acrossBritain are now worthmore than £1m, mark-ing an increase of onethird or 77,894 moreproperties comparedwith 12 months ago,according toZoopla.co.uk.

Zoopla also namedKensington PalaceGardens in London asthe country’s mostexpensive street.

The road has previ-ously been nicknamedthe “boulevard of bil-lionaires”.

Winding down of Fed’s QEspooks the global markets

THERE has been a perceptible changein the mood of global equity marketssince the first three months of 2013.

Some of this change in mood can beput down to the US Federal Reserve’spublic discussions of the pros and consof tapering quantitative easing (QE).

Fed chairman Ben Bernanke con-firmed at the June Open Markets Com-mittee meeting that the $85bn-per-month bond purchases would be scaledback at some point in the comingmonths.

In order to start this process the Fedmust believe that the US economy spe-cifically, and the Western developedeconomy more generally, is enteringan unequivocal upturn.

Financial markets had been expect-ing tapering of the QE programme tostart in the US in September or Decem-ber, but the confirmation still came asa shock.

The World Bank has cut its globalgrowth forecast for this year from 2.4%to 2.2%.

Prior to the economic downswing of2008-09 an annual rate of increase ofglobal gross domestic product (GDP) of3% used to be regarded as weak, whilst4% was assumed to be the norm.

In recent years the World Bank hasdeclared that 2.2% growth in GDP rep-resents the new norm.

As a result, investors are fearful thatif the Fed starts slowing its asset pur-chases too quickly this will have a neg-ative effect on financial markets.

However, while Fed officials haveindicated that they may start to taperbond purchases, they have left the dooropen to re-accelerate the pace of pur-chases again if the real economy gainsno traction.

In addition, critics of QE say thatthe Fed’s asset-buying programme hashad negative consequences for emer-ging markets.

These markets have been experien-cing high inflows of funds as investorshave been directing their cash awayfrom the US capital markets whichhave been artificially depressed by theQE programme.

If the Fed ends QE too abruptly, thiscapital could leave these markets asquickly as it arrived.

To some, the current situation isreminiscent of that which preceded theAsian financial crisis of 1998.

Since then the countries that wereaffected have built up their defences,mainly foreign exchange reserves, toprotect against a repetition of thecrisis.

However, a significant outflow ofcash would still be disruptive – theknock-on effects of currency weaknessin emerging market currencies couldprompt their central banks to tightentheir monetary policies which couldweigh on global growth.

The Fed will have to take any poten-tial repercussions into account,although it will base its decisions firstand foremost on the strength of thedomestic US economy.

Supporters of equities continue toargue that valuations are far fromstretched in a historical context.

Attention will now focus moreclosely on any macroeconomic datareleases over the coming months.

Depending on how positive or neg-ative the data is, this could give anindication as to when the Fed mightstart to taper its asset purchases.

In recent times good data is fine, butbad data is better as that means defer-ring the start of the tapering process.

At the time of writing, financialmarkets have stabilised following asharp sell-off.

However, investor sentimentremains nervous and the removal ofthe liquidity cushion that has beensupporting financial assets is a bigevent, the significance of which shouldnot be underestimated.Anjali Roberts The US Federal Reserve is winding down its QE programme

Watchdog launches payday lender probe Private rents on the riseRENTS in London have increasedat double the pace of those in theNorth East, the North West andthe East Midlands in recent years,an official report has shown.

Private rents have risen by 11%since 2005 in the capital, with theEast of England seeing the secondbiggest jump at 8.3%, the Officefor National Statistics (ONS) said.

The North East has seen theslowest pace of rent increases inEngland, with a 5.2% upturn overthe last eight years, followed bythe East Midlands, which recorded

a 5.3% rise and the North Westwith a 5.5% increase.

The index is the first of its kindto be produced by the ONS, toshed more light on how theprivate rental market is evolvingacross Britain.

The report has been compiled asa “test”, with a view to producingrental market studies on a moreregular basis, initially four timesa year.

It found that over the year toMay 2013 the cost of rentingincreased by 1.3% in England.

PAYDAY lenders have been referredfor a full-blown investigation by theCompetition Commission after thetrading watchdog uncovered“deep-rooted” problems with theindustry.

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT)said it decided to make the referralbecause it continues to suspect thatfeatures of the market “prevent,restrict or distort competition”.

The “fundamental” problems ithas found, such as loans becomingfar more expensive than expected,cannot be tackled by existing lawsand guidance, it said.

The OFT decision is the culmin-ation of a large-scale investigationinto the £2bn payday sector, includ-ing spot checks on household namessuch as Wonga.

The OFT said it is concerned thatlenders are mainly competing on theavailability and speed of loanapproval, rather than how much itwill cost the borrower.

It said: “The competitive pressureto approve loans quickly may givefirms an incentive to skimp on theaffordability assessment which isdesigned to prevent irresponsiblelending and protect consumers.

“The OFT is also concerned aboutbusiness models that appear predic-ated on making loans which areunaffordable, leading to borrowerspaying far more than expectedthrough rollovers, additionalinterest and other charges.”

Clive Maxwell, OFT chief execut-ive, said: “Competition appears notto be working properly in the paydaylending market, allowing firms toprofit from making loans that can-not be paid back on time.

“We have seen evidence of finan-cial loss and personal distress tomany people.”

post business wealth management


Trust celebrates helping set up29 fledgling entrepreneurs

Catherine Cook was helped in setting up her venture by South Sefton Development Trust

BA business class customers toget a taste of Mammy Jamia’s

Banks areordered tobacktrackon CPAsCONSUMERS whosebanks and buildingsocieties fobbed themoff when they tried tocancel recurring pay-ments are in line forcompensation payouts.

The Financial Con-duct Authority (FCA)has reached an agree-ment with major highstreet banks and mutu-als that they musttrawl through theirrecords going back to2009 to look again atcomplaints they havehad after a customerasked for a payment tobe cancelled, only tofind this did not hap-pen.

The agreementrelates to a type of pay-ment called a continu-ous payment authority(CPA), which are oftenused when people signup to use the services ofgyms, payday lenders,insurance companiesand internet firms.

More than£7.5bn-worth of pay-ments are madethrough CPAs eachyear.

They are automaticpayments which workin a similar way to adirect debit, with con-sumers giving a sup-plier or retailer per-mission to take pay-ments on their card.

The FCA has movedto act following con-cerns that, particularlyin relation to paydayloans, some banks andmutuals were not can-celling CPAs whenasked to do so by theircustomers.

Several charitieshave highlighted prob-lems with payday loanfirms using CPAs.

UK house pricesare on the riseHOUSE prices increased across almost onethird of the country last month in thebiggest uplift seen in almost six years.

Prices grew in 31% of postcodes in Eng-land and Wales, marking the highest pro-portion recorded since September 2007 asimproved market activity spread beyondLondon, property analysts at Hometrackfound.

House prices increased by 0.4% in June,matching the growth seen in May, whichwas the highest increase seen in a singlemonth since June 2007.

Just 3.1% of postcodes saw house pricesfall, representing the smallest share seenfor three years.

Hometrack expects the upswing in pricesto continue in the coming months,although the rate of increase is likely toslow as demand drifts off over the summerholiday period.

London recorded the strongest growth inJune, with prices rising by 0.9%. Priceswere unchanged in the North East, NorthWest, and Yorkshire and Humberside.

post businessnews

A BOOTLE-based business supportorganisation has helped almost 30 newcompanies set up in the past sixmonths.

South Sefton Development Trust hashelped 29 entrepreneurs and says thisreflects the fact that more people areconsidering self-employment in thecurrent uncertain jobs market.

The Trust’s service provides train-ing and one-to-one business support,as well as a £250 revenue grant.

The new crop of fledgling businessesinclude a cake designer, a trainingfirm, several fashion designers, abespoke handbag designer, an actingworkshop and educational and careersservice providers.

Other new businesses include a jew-elry designer, a picture framing busi-ness, a social enterprise providing sup-port to disadvantaged young people, adog groomer and a fitness and dietconsultant.

A particular highlight has been thecreation of a new social enterpriseoffering a range of sewing-related ser-vices by 10 local residents who suc-cessfully completed the Trust’s SewGood training course.

Other new entrepreneurs includefashion designer Emma Moogan, whohas set up her own stylish eveningwear business, Nova Vestium.

She graduated from ManchesterUniversity with first class honours inclothing design and technology andwent on to work as an intern withdesigner Anna Sui in New York.

Now she is promoting Nova Vestiumas her own high-end label offeringbespoke dresses and a ready-to-wearrange.

Her work has already receivednational recognition after she createda one-off dress for Emmerdale starSamantha Giles which the actresswore at the recent British SoapAwards in London.

Over the past six months the Trusthas also helped Catherine Cook to turnher passion for baking into a success-

ful new business, Patti Cakes Studio.Ms Cook has won many plaudits for

her cupcakes and larger celebrationcakes for all occasions.

Now she is opening her own studioas a showcase for her products and avenue for baking-related activity birth-

day parties for children and team-building workshops for adults.

Trust senior business adviser EveMone said: “It’s been a real pleasure tohelp talented people like Emma andCatherine, and I’m sure they will makegreat successes of their new ventures.

“Overall, it’s been a busy six monthsfor us, but in an uncertain jobs marketit’s been very rewarding to be able tosupport so many new entrepreneurswho are determined to turn theirskills and passions into self-employ-ment.”

A MERSEYSIDE familyfirm behind a premiumrange of fruit preserves isto supply its products toBritish Airways BusinessClass customers.

Mammy Jamia’s waslaunched by East-ham-based husband andwife Andrew and SajmiraCairns in 2011 and theysupply Tesco, Waitroseand Ocado.

Now, Mammy Jamia’sPear Preserve has beenadded to the in-flightmenu as a side to thecheeseboard.

Mr Cairns said: “Theairline catering companysupplying British Air-ways with our Pear Pre-serve did a product trialof jams and preserves cur-rently on the market.

“They were looking fora unique, luxurious andtasty alternative to whatthey have usually sup-plied and our jam came

out top,” he added.“The company is trying

other flavours in ourrange and, as they supplyairlines such as Emiratesand China Airways, theopportunities in this mar-ket are very exciting.”

There are currentlyeight jams in the range –fig, pear, rhubarb, apple,plum, greengage, gingerand quince.

All of the jams arebased on an originalrecipe passed downthrough Sajmira’s family,hence the name MammyJamia.

The jams are manufac-tured and distributed byKent-based Opies, one ofthe UK’s oldest privatefamily-owned food com-panies.

Andrew and Sajmira

[email protected]

DIAMOND HOLIDAYS

www.liv.diamondhols.co.uk0844 544 6423

CodeLV

Brought to you by Trinity Mirror North West& North Wales in conjunction with:Diamond Holidays ABTA W0552

Classic Scottish SteamDeparts 20 July 2013Enjoy the magnificent scenery of Scotland withthis classic combination of steam locomotion.Price includes• Private coach travel from your local area• Four nights’ stay with three course eveningmeal & cooked breakfast

• Single journey on the SS Sir Walter Scotton Loch Katrine

• Single journey on the Jacobite Steam Traintravelling from Fort William to Mallaig

• Cruise aboard the ps Waverley• Visit to Callander

5 days from

£369.00

readertravelholidays.com


Bakery firm reports strongprofits despite tough times

Executive chairman Pieter Totteand, inset, the firm picks up aLiverpool Post export award

Bibby says decrease in profits is prelude to stronger future

CROWN Street based Real Good FoodCompany reported a strong rise inprofits and earnings per share on theback of cost cutting and the imple-mentation of a new management struc-ture.

Reporting its full year results lastweek, RGFC remained optimisticabout its longterm future as it man-aged to cut back on its debt levels.

The company also undertaken areviews of its brands, saying itbelieves it can better exploit some ofits more established products.

The group’s consolidated statementof comprehensive income for the yearending March 2013 showed turnover at£265m compared to the £305m recordedfor the 15 months to March 2012.

Gross profit came in at £37.2m,slightly down on the £39.6m for theprevious 15-month period. Once distri-bution costs of £11.6m and adminis-trative expenses of £17.8m are takeninto account, the company reportedoperating profit of £7.7m, higher thanthe £6m seen in 2012. Finance costs of£1.5m resulted in a profit before tax£6.2m, higher than the £4.3m in 2012.

The statement shows anincome tax charge of £1.3mversus £746,000 in 2012.

RGFC’s balance sheet showsgoodwill of £75.7m, unchanged onlast year. Property, plant andequipment was booked at £17.6m,up slightly on the £17m shown atMarch 2012.

Cash at bank was £7.1m, a sig-nificant improvement on £2.5min 2012. Short-term borrowingswere £23m versus £24.3m, whilelong-term borrowings were £9m,higher than the £6.7m the yearbefore.

The group owns a range of foodbrands including Napier Brown,Europe’s biggest non-refiningsugar distributor, and marzipanmaker Renshaw. Other brands inthe group include R&W Scott,ingredients supplier Garretts andHayden’s bakery, which makespatisserie and desserts.

In its preliminary statement,the company said it had seen fur-ther improvement on last year’s strongperformance, which it put down tooperational improvements at Haydensand R&W Scott.

EBITDA was up 24% to £10.5mversus £8.5m in the 12 months toMarch 2012. All trading divisions nowhave positive EBITDA. There was alsoa significant improvement in earningsper share to 7.2p, up 50% on 4.9p forthe 12 months to March 2012.

The EBITDA improvement also

means there was a significantimprovement in “debt serviceability”with the net debt to EBITDA ratiodown from 3.3 to 2.4.

Net borrowings were £25m at theyear end, down £3.7m from £28.7m.

Pieter Totte, executive chairman,said: “I am delighted to report a yearof steady progress when we achieved asignificant increase in earnings des-pite recording only a modest increasein overall revenue.

“We continued to invest in the devel-opment of our five businesses, but wewere still able to reduce total borrow-ings and secure new financing facil-ities for future expansion.

“While the outlook for the economyand consumers’ disposable income islikely only to improve gradually, I amconfident we have a strong platformfor long-term sustainable growthbased on sound plans.

“We have fully implemented our

management structure which we havebeen working towards and which nowreflects our targeted business model.

“We have managing directors andfull management teams in all five busi-nesses, which enables each one tooperate as a standalone unit.

“We have undertaken strategicreviews across each of the divisionsand agreed three-year business plans.We have re-oriented each business tobecome commercially led and marketdriven, which is a significant changefrom three years ago.

“We have invested in marketingresources across the group and alsoretail category management functionswhere we had historically little or noexpertise.

“We are fortunate to operate mainlyin growth markets, while in some busi-nesses, Renshaw in particular, exportrepresents a significant opportunity.”

The firm says it is seeing returnsfrom investment in marketing itsestablished brands like Renshaw.

INVESTMENT in long-term growthand difficult trading conditions werebehind a fall in operating profits atLiverpool-based Bibby Line Groupwhen it published its results earlierthis week.

Annual revenues for 2012 increasedby 8.7% to £1.4bn, but operating profitsslid from £63.8m in 2011 to £46.4m atthe family owned group.

However, managing director SirMichael Bibby said he expects to see

an improved performance in the cur-rent year.

Bibby comprises shipping, marineservices, retail, logistics and financialservices interests.

Its North Sea diving support vesselsdivision Bibby Offshore reportedturnover growth of 39% to £210m andpre-tax profits more than tripled to£17.3m.

Bibby Distribution grew its sales by3% to £255m having renewed nine key

contracts and recording a major newdeal with a supermarket chain in thefinal quarter.

Retail, which includes the Costcut-ter chain of 1,700 convenience storesand off licences, saw sales grow by 3%to £674m. It added 45 Rhythm & Boozeoff-licences and recruited 233 morefranchisee-operated stores.

And Bibby Financial Services,which provides debt factoring to smallfirms around the world, increased rev-

enues by 5% to £169m, financing debtsand transactions to a total value of£7.89bn.

Having invested more than £100m inits assets and businesses, Sir MichaelBibby said 2012 was “a stepping stoneto greater things”.

He said: “Although 2012 was a dif-ficult year with reduced profitability,in part due to market conditions andour investment in long term value, thehard work is already bearing fruit.”

notes■ EUROPE’S

biggest tour oper-ator TUI Travel hailedthe “continued strongsupport” of its banksthis week after sign-ing a new £300mcredit facility.

The group, whichowns brands includ-ing Thomson, FirstChoice and GulliverTravel, said thethree-year deal willimprove its flexibilityand strength.

Royal Bank of Scot-land co-ordinated thedebt deal, whichinvolved a syndicateof the company’sbanks.

TUI’s chief finan-cial officer Will Wag-gott said: “This newcredit facility willimprove the flexibilityand strength withinour capital structureand demonstrates thecontinued strong sup-port for the groupfrom our banks.”

■ ONLINE per-sonal asset

lender borro hasreached a milestone of£50m in funded loansto individuals andsmall businesses.

Launched in the UKin 2008 and in the USin 2012, borro offersloans of up to £1msecured against highend personal assetsincluding fine art,antiques and jew-ellery

■ AVIVA Investorshas acquired a

portfolio of residentialsolar panel systemsbuilt on 4,000 housesfrom EcovisionRenewable Energy.

The move byAviva’s REaLM Infra-structure Fund shouldresult in predictable,index-linked returnsas each system is eli-gible for OFGEM-reg-ulated Feed-in Tariffsfor every unit of elec-tricity generated for25 years.

■ TOOL and equip-ment supplier

Hire Services Grouphas acquired poweredaccess specialist UKPlatforms, whoseproducts, include scis-sor lifts, boom liftsand telehandlers.

The deal withHaulotte Group willmake HSS thesecond-largest pro-vider in the poweredaccess market in theUK and Ireland.

■ HOUSEBUILDERCALA, which

was recently sold toinsurer Legal & Gen-eral and privateequity firm Patron for£210m, said it expectsto announce recordfull-year profits inSeptember, driven byan improved house-building margin ofaround 19%.

[email protected]

post business the bottom line


smallbusiness

weekofthe

Elephant Coffee brandproving unforgettable

APROPERTY deal causedpartners Adam andEmma Mitchell to wakeup and smell the coffeeand take their business in

a whole new direction.The Parkgate couple had set up

Adem Developments in 2004 and spe-cialised in buying, renovating andselling properties.

Ms Mitchell explained: “I did adegree in international business andSpanish, and Adam did a degree inbuilding services engineering. I leftuniversity and fell into property,renovating our own place.”

But she said they stumbled on aproperty in Neston’s High Streetwhich they recognised as ideal for anindependent coffee shop.

They acquired the site and last JuneElephant Coffee opened its doors, cre-ating 15 new jobs and setting a newstandard for high street coffee shops.

Ms Mitchell said: “We are independ-ent and like to think we are offeringsomething a bit more special than thehigh street chains, which we call the‘McDonalds of coffee shops’.

“Something a bit more unique, witha higher level of customer service andthe standard of coffee.”

That includes cakes, pastries andbreads that are all freshly baked andprepared on site every morning from5.30am.

“Our paninis, home-made soups andhand-made cupcakes have becomerenowned.”

The business and customer offer hasalready achieved a major impactwithin the sector in the shape of aprestigious Gold Award for Best Inde-pendent Cafe/Coffee Bar at The CafeSociety Awards 2013 in London’s Kens-ington last month.

Ms Mitchell said: “Our business hastaken a different tangent and the cof-fee shop has taken over our lives andis my main business now.”

They have clearly been seduced bythe experience: “We love the ‘theatre’involved in making espresso-baseddrinks: the sounds of a traditionalespresso machine, the aroma of thecoffee, the hustle and bustle of themorning rush and the sweet smell offreshly-baked pastries.”

And the couple have big plans todevelop the Elephant Coffee brand.

Last Friday they completed a dealfor a property in The Parade, Park-gate, and they have identified a poten-tial site in Oxton that could take thenumber of outlets to three by nextyear.

Mr Mitchell revealed: “Parkgate willbe very similar to Neston, but becauseof the location we are planning onopening later hours and becoming abit of a wine bar in the evening.”

The site is three times the size ofNeston, so will become the ElephantCoffee HQ. About 20 jobs will be cre-ated with the Parkgate opening.

She added: “We own a building inOxton Village which has been let forseveral years that is ideal as a thirdlocation for us. We will more thanlikely to do something next year.”

Their financial projections makeimpressive reading.

Neston turned over £156,000 in theirfirst financial year, ending February28: “We did well in our first year andexceeded expectations.”

The predicted turnover for the cur-rent financial year, to next February, is£234,000. But this is, again, just forNeston, as the Parkgate facility is not

due to open until March 1, 2014.Projected revenues for the year to

2015, for Neston and Parkgate, are£624,000, and, on the assumption thatthe Oxton Village outlet opens byMarch 1, 2015, turnover for the yearended February 2016, is in the regionof £780,000.

Ms Mitchell said they chose Ele-phant as a brand as it lent itself per-fectly as a logo, with the intention ofcreating an independent chain.

“The name Elephant was all aboutcreating something memorable – aname people would not easily forget.”

Judging by the success of the Nestonshop they are well on their way toachieving that: “Although we startedwith high hopes and dreams for Ele-phant Coffee, we had not anticipatedthe level of demand.”

Elephant Coffee founders Emma and Adam Mitchell pictured outside their Neston outlet

notes

■ A CUT in VAT to5% on energy effi-

ciency improvementwork would help morehouseholds than GreenDeal finance can, saidthe Federation of MasterBuilders (FMB) inresponse to the lateststatistics from theDepartment of Energyand Climate Change.

So far, 38,259 GreenDeal assessments havebeen carried out, butonly four Green Dealplans have been signed.

Research by the FMBshows that cutting VATto 5% on energy-efficientglazing and boilerreplacements could res-ult in an additional57,668 households withboth measures installedby 2020.

FMB chief executiveBrian Berry said: “Theselatest Green Deal statist-ics show the scheme isattracting some interest.However, there are dis-appointingly few house-holds actually usingGreen Deal finance topay for the work.

“Government is doingits best to portray theGreen Deal as a success,but it’s now time forhonest debate on how toinspire greater uptake ofenergy-efficiencyimprovement work tocut carbon emissionsand protect householdsagainst rising energyprices.

“We need to see arange of fiscal incentivesto stimulate a long-termincrease in demand forthis type of work, includ-ing a targeted VAT cutand a reduction inStamp Duty Land Taxfor the most energy-effi-cient properties.”

■ The UK economy isshowing some signs

of life, with recent eco-nomic data surprising tothe upside, said a reportby bank group Coutts,which has a Liverpooloffice on Princes Dock.

It said among the reas-ons to believe in brightertimes ahead for the UKeconomy are signs ofimprovement in the UKhousing market, fallingborrowing costs forsmall businesses and adeclining trend in job-less claims.

With central banksacross the developedworld committed to sup-porting growth, thiscombination bodes wellfor equities in particular.

Key opportunities andrisks are identified as:Equities still supportedby central banks’ com-mitment to globalgrowth; Improvement inhousing, small-busi-nesses lending and jobmarket signal growth –though indebted house-holds and Governmentausterity will limit thepace; UK corporatebonds supported byrobust finances and gov-ernance; Sterling to driftlower against a broadlyrising dollar.Some of the Elephant team that helped win the recent Gold Award

post businesssmall business

[email protected]


HattonBen

IN ASSOCIATIONWITH

■ INTERNET entrepren-eur Ben Hatton isfounder and managingdirector of digital agencyRippleffect. FollowRippleffect on Twitter@rippleffected

‘Brilliant results’seal award win

Big Chips and microchips fuelsuccess of the Postcard PlayerDESIGN agency Uniform says thepioneering musical postcard techno-logy that won it a Big Chip Award iswinning interest from potential busi-ness users.

Uniform won the Big Chip Imagin-ation Award and the Anthony WilsonOriginal Modern award for its work onthe Postcard Player device.

The Postcard Player plays musicwhich has been “printed” onto cardsusing ink that conducts electricity.

Uniform has been pioneering theuse of such “printed electronics”, andits player was honoured for the way itcould “enable people to experience andinteract with digital music in a moreengaging way”.

Pete Thomas, Uniform’s futures dir-ector and leader of the Postcard Playerproject, said: “I’m delighted with theaward. And to be honest, it was a bitunexpected.

“It’s not an award we’ve enteredbefore. It’s an area we’ve only starteddeveloping our skills and expertise in,and it’s really exciting.”

The Big Chip judges praised thePostcard Player for still being a “workin progress”, with Uniform unafraid toshowcase the technology even while itis still in development.

The player was exhibited at Lon-don’s Design Museum this year as partof its Designs of the Year show.

Mr Thomas said: “The importantthing for us is experimentation. It’sabout asking questions and givinganswers.

“It’s quite different from what Uni-form did previously, which was aboutbeing a very polished agency. This isabout putting stuff out there thatmight get a reaction from people.

“The Postcard Player is never goingto be a commercial project in its ownright. But people really like it. Chil-dren, in particular, go mad over it –they’re so excited by it.

“There are commercial projects, thatwe cannot talk about yet, coming offthe back of it which use similar tech-nology.

“But we don’t just want to be thepeople that make ‘paper things.’ We’reworking on projects for the studio withreally fascinating ways of making dataphysical. They use a screen, but not anormal screen.”

Liverpool, is the home of severalpioneers in the “internet of things” –finding ways to link the web to every-day objects.

Mr Thomas and Martin Skelly, Uni-form’s creative technologist, say theyhope their work will help develop newways of using data and informationfrom the web.

Mr Thomas said: “The critical learn-ing is not about whether the postcardswill play music. It’s the sense thatpeople want more from data andinformation.

“Even though people all have touch-screens, they’re still fascinated by dif-ferent interactions and tangibleactions.

“We’ve reached a tipping pointwhere we’re going to see digital anddata leap off the screen. That creates areal platform for non-digital designers– such as product designers andgraphic designers – to create exper-iences that go beyond the screen.”

Michael Nutley, former editor-in-chief of New Media Age and chairmanof the Big Chip judging committee,chose the Postcard Player as winner ofthe Original Modern title. The awardis named after Manchester broadcasterand music guru Wilson.

Mr Nutley said: “The entry I’vechosen to win this award taps into a

growing conversation about the rela-tionship between the physical and thedigital.

“It asks important questions aboutwhat we might have lost in the trans-ition from physical artefacts to intan-gible data, about how we might inter-act with data beyond the keyboard ortouchscreen, and about the importanceof metadata – such as lyric sheets,cover artwork and lists of musicians –to how we appreciate music.

“I love the winner’s simplicity andelegance. As a long-time print journ-alist and a vinyl junkie I love the phys-icality of the thing itself.

“But what I like most of all is thatit’s a work-in-progress and that whatit’s really about, is the continuing dis-cussion of the interaction of humansand machines.”

The Post is a partner of the Big ChipAwards, which celebrate digital innov-ation across the North of England inareas including web and app develop-ment, video gaming, design and socialmedia.

Video sitespreparingfor battleSOCIAL MEDIA is afickle thing. No soonerhad video sharing plat-form Vine announced adoubling of the numberof tweets referencing itup to June, than Ins-tagram took the crown bylaunching its own videosharing service.

Vine video links felldramatically the dayafter Instagram addedthe video recording fea-ture to its popular app.According to analyticstool Topsy, Vine sharesfell to 1.5m from 2.5m –almost 40% – in just oneday.

This drop in links hascontinued to just over935,000 – a fall of almost70% from the 3m Vinelinks shared in mid-June.

Historically, there isvery little room for com-petition in social mediaplatforms – it is almost a“one in, one out” affair.

Instagram’s initial suc-cess as a photo-sharingapp was down to its filterallowing its users to cre-ate pictures with a styl-ish and retro feel to them.The video recording ser-vice seemed like a nat-ural step.

These platforms havetransformed social videosharing, of which con-sumption tripled in thepast year.

This has not escapedthe attention of brands,and video sharing is nowthe fastest growingadvertising format in theworld. It allows brands toincrease their socialmedia presence with dir-ect, engaging contactwith target markets.

Since its video launch,twice as many topbrands, including Ford,MTV, Nike and Star-bucks, have posted videoson Instagram accordingto news website Mash-able.

Vine may win backshares yet. The Twit-ter-owned video appannounced “exciting newparts of Vine” comingsoon. Whether they areable to keep up users toproduce this remains tobe seen.

Uniform staffwith their BigChip Awards

CHESTER banking giant MBNAwas also honoured at the BigChip Awards, winning the BestDigital Marketing Campaigntitle for its system that deliversaccount updates straight to cus-tomers’ inboxes.

Chairman of judges MichaelNutley said: “This entry stoodout in the category simply bydelivering brilliant results.”

Michael Donald, businessdevelopment and marketingexecutive for MBNA, said:“We’ve spent a huge amount oftime lookingthrough theeyes of ourcustomers,and that hasresulted in arange ofimprove-ments to theway we deliver services.”

Warrington’s Space 48 wonthe Best E-business Project titlefor its development of a websitefor bathroom products supplierTaps.

Mr Nutley said: “The judgesthought this was an excellentwebsite, well designed, easy tonavigate, and most importantly,easy to buy from. And clearlythe customers agreed – theredevelopment saw page views,dwell time, average order valueand revenue all increase dra-matically year-on-year.”

byAlistairHoughtonPOSTBUSINESSSTAFFalistair.houghton@liverpool.com

post business creative & digital

Uniform’s Postcard Player


www.ldpcreative.co.uk

Production company hails medical contracts

RGF cashwelcomedby agencySUPPORT agency Creat-ive England has wel-comed last week’s Treas-ury announcement that itwill pump another £600minto the Regional GrowthFund (RGF) in Englandfrom 2015.

Last year, CreativeEngland won £5m fromthe RGF to support smalldigital and creativefirms. In January it split£1m in funding between13 “Digital Champions”,including Liverpool videogame developer Atomi-com.

This year, CreativeEngland launched a£250,000 RGF-backed fundto help digital developersto create healthcare apps.

Caroline Norbury, Cre-ative England’s chiefexecutive, said:”Creativebusinesses bring energy,enterprise and innova-tion to cities and regionsacross England.

“Creative England hashelped over 70 SMEsfrom Newcastle toNewquay through theRGF, directly supportingthe Government’s aim torebalance the economy.

“The UK must con-tinue to support busi-nesses outside of Londonwhose creativity andingenuity help to driveeconomic growth and cre-ate sustainable employ-ment.”

Course gets students set forcareers behind the curtain

A student lighting designer and programmer during a technical rehearsal in LIPA’s Paul McCartney Auditorium

A LIVERPOOL course that preparesstudents for work behind the scenes inBritain’s theatres has won nationalaccreditation.

The Liverpool Institute for the Per-forming Arts (LIPA) says that whileonstage roles attract more attention,there are still many jobs available intechnical roles in the theatre, despitethe tough economic climate.

Now its BA (Hons) in Theatre andPerformance Technology has beencommended by industry training bodyDrama UK for the way it prepares stu-dents for life in the industry aftergraduation.

Joe Stathers-Tracey, head of the pro-gramme at LIPA, said: “It’s a greatbenchmark that takes into account notonly the quality of our training and

facilities, but also the fact that ourgraduates are proving very employ-able.

“We had to meet a lot of criteria andthe people putting us under the spot-light know this industry inside out.I’m proud of the programme and, espe-cially, the students, some of whomwere interviewed by the panel as partof the accreditation process.”

Technical theatre students focus onsubjects including live sound, lighting,technical drawing, stage management,pyrotechnics and production manage-ment.

Mr Stathers-Tracey said they work“in a collaborative environment whichmirrors that of the world of work”.And he said there was strong demandin theatre for stage managers and tech-nology-savvy staff.

He added: “Technical theatre cer-tainly seems healthy in terms of jobopportunities, and you can build a

solid and sustained career in the area.“There are many actors and dancers

out there to supply that side of theindustry. There are, however, notenough people to meet the staffingdemands of the production side, des-pite the tough economic times we’rein.”

Drama UK, formed from the mergerof the National Council for DramaTraining and the Conference of DramaSchools (CDS), has 21 member schoolsincluding LIPA.

Its team spent two days at LIPA inMay examining the technical theatreprogramme.

LIPA, located in Sir Paul McCart-ney’s old school, was founded by SirPaul and Mark Featherstone-Witty andwas opened in 1995. It is best-knownfor its work with performers, but alsoaims to help grow Merseyside’s cre-ative sector by teaching “those whomake performance possible”.


post businesscreative & digital

CREATIVE productionhouse Mills Media haswon three contracts inthe medical sector.

The Wirral companydirected and producedfilms for the Merseysideand Cheshire Cancer Net-work and for DNA testingcompany, AlphaBiolabs.

Its film for the CancerNetwork aimed to educatepatients on what to expectwhen being admitted tohospital for chemother-apy and radiotherapy

treatment. The film willbe distributed by Macmil-lan Cancer Support.

Barrie Farrell, head ofBusiness TV at MillsMedia, said: “By creatingreal-life situations infilm, patients can identifywith scenarios more eas-ily and will rememberimportant information asthey move forward withtheir treatment.”

Warrington-basedAlpha works for courts,lawyers, councils and

members of the public –and even works with theJeremy Kyle Show.

Mills Media created afilm, including interviewswith Alpha staff toexplain the DNA testingprocess.

Mills Media’s confer-ence team also worked onthe Patient and FamilyCare Conference, held bythe Liverpool Heart andChest Hospital in partner-ship with the Institute forPatient and Family

Centred Care.Mr Farrell said:

“Organisations in themedical sector areincreasingly recognisingthe importance of promot-ing the services they offer,to help patients and theirfamilies develop a betterunderstanding of the pro-cesses they will gothrough.

“This improves thepatients’ overall experi-ence and results in a bet-ter level of care.”

A free 2-day workshop designed to help you prepare forsuccess when developing business ideas and starting a new

enterprise.When:Tue 16th&Wed 17th JuneWhere:FACT, 88 Wood Street, Liverpool, L1 4DQ

Facilitators:Jerry Goldman (Ex-CEO of Beatles Story) & Lynne Harrison (LIPA)Guest speaker:Nickie Smith (Dream High)

Main themes include:! How to sell yourself! How to sell your ideas! Ideas for successful partnerships! Cashflow - the essence of business success! Finding financial advice and moral support.

This event is fully catered.

July

• resident in greater Merseyside

• student/graduate of Higher Education

• nationality of a country within the EU (or with visa permissions to set up in businessin the UK)

• Interested in setting up a business in greater Merseyside…which isn’t already trading.Register:To register for your place at this event or for a more detailed agenda just email [email protected] can also contact us this way with queries regarding the event, your eligibility, or withspecial requirements.

This activity is part of the NW HE Enterprise Champions ERDF projectTo attend this event you must meet all of the following criteria:


q&a

Two years on andHalewood’s Evoqueis still driving JLR

SITTING in traffic inLiverpool’s Hall Lane wecouldn’t figure out justwho the cyclist waswaving at so frantically.

Myself and the press officer fromJaguar Land Rover’s (JLR) Halewoodplant, kindly driving me back to thecity in a company Evoque, were bothperplexed, until it dawned on us thatthe cyclist, by now offering vigorousthumbs up signs, was gesticulating atus.

But that is the effect the RangeRover Evoque still has, even twoyears to the day that the first pro-duction model rolled off Halewood’sproduction line.

Since then, the top-selling four-by-four has helped transform the Know-sley plant into a 24-hour productionunit, and the company into one of theUK’s biggest export successes ofrecent years.

Halewood operations directorRichard Else openly admits: “Evenlooking back two years I didn’t feel itwas going to be as successful as itwas.

“But we realised that the volumeswe were making failed to meet cus-tomer demand and it has reallyexceeded all expectations.

“The bit we feel proud of is theway the Halewood team has respon-ded to the customer demand andbeen able to meet that customerdemand.”

Evoque’s success has benefitedboth the plant and local firms in theautomotive supply chain.

As part of the Evoque programme,parent company Tata has invested£230m in Halewood’s infrastructureand a staggering £2bn in the UK sup-ply chain, which rose to £3bn lastyear when the site started the first24-hour shifts in its 50 year history.

The shift to 24-hour working washelped by a Halewood employee with41 years’ service who came up withhis “kipper” design to store enough“under body” sections for the car tomaintain production line supplies.

An outside agency said 500 was themost the under bodies the plantcould store, but the staffer foundroom for 300 more by stacking themvertically instead of horizontally

“We now store them upright sothey look like kippers in a kipperrack,” said Mr Else.

Staffing at Halewood has soared inrelation to the success of the Evoqueand the plant’s other model, the LandRover Freelander 2.

From a headcount of around 1,500when Mr Else joined the plant inFebruary 2011, Halewood nowemploys 4,500, with another 1,500agency workers also on site.

He said: “For every job we createhere, we create four or five jobs inthe supply chain.

“IAC, on the supply park next door,have five times their workforce fromtwo years ago.

“They are mirroring our shift pat-terns and working three shifts a day.”

The Evoque has been universallyacclaimed in domestic and overseasmarkets, and Else said: “I believe theEvoque has gone into a new spacethat didn’t exist within the automot-ive industry.

“I think it is the first time any carcompany has made a production carthat is identical to the concept car.

“The concept car will show wherewe think we are going and new fea-tures and designs, but sometimessome features aren’t legal for crashregulations.

“But with this we made theconcept car and said ‘we have to turn

this into reality’ after getting such areaction.”

Liverpool JLR dealership Hatfieldsinvested £4m in a dedicated Evoqueshowroom which opened last yearand Else said: “I went to the openingand they said 80% of customers theysold to they had never met before.

“They were coming from Audi and

BMW, so it was growth for them aswell as JLR.”

With an eight-to-10 year life cyclethe Evoque still has plenty of poten-tial, but the car maker is constantlylooking to update and improve themodel.

Customers can specify colourschemes or any of a vast range of

different trims or designs.Mr Else said there are 380,000 dif-

ferent configurations for the Evoqueand he added that no car going downthe production line – one every 82seconds – is exactly the same.

One of the first limited editions,designed with “Posh Spice” VictoriaBeckham, was a huge seller in theimportant Chinese market, and oneof the latest models next year will bethe first in the world to feature anine-speed gear box.

Else said: “Hopefully it will getmore people into the product.”

He added: “People are buying thecar first on a heart decision to gointo the showroom, but you have tomake a rational decision to buy thecar, and we have to make sure thosetwo things go in harmony with oneanother.”

Even with 24-hour production Else

said the plant is still “maxed out”, so,with no physical room to expand fur-ther, JLR signed a £1bn joint venturedeal to build a plant near Shanghaiwith Chinese car manufacturerChery, which should be up and run-ning by 2015.

He said: “JLR needs to have astronger presence in that market. Itis a growth opportunity for us and itis what our competitors are doing.”

And although JLR has notannounced what models it will buildin China, he said the new plant willnot affect Halewood: “Some Chinesecars will still be made in the UK.”

In August the first 50 staff hiredfor the Chinese plant will arrive atHalewood on a three month pro-gramme.

They will learn the site’s world-renowned methods that make it theenvy of competitors.

Neil Hodgsonmeets RICHARDELSE, operationsdirector Jaguar LandRover Halewood

Richard Else, left, and TV presenter George Lamb pictured at the launch of the new Range Rover Evoque two years ago today

Age: 45Highest educational qualifica-tion: Masters in Business Manage-mentBiggest achievement in busi-ness: Growing the Halewood base

and trebling the workforce, and24-hour workingBiggest regret: I don’t haveregretsBest advice received: Never sayno to an opportunity

post business big feature


TurnerAlex

■ Alex Turner is the generalmanager of financial trainingfirm Ambitious Minds

Else said: “This is an exciting timefor us. This is going to be a greatstory for Liverpool and for Hale-wood.”

Originally from Derbyshire,Else joined the company asa graduate trainee in 1989

and has worked at all its facilities:“Halewood was the only onemissing from that accolade.”

He admitted: “I am a bit of a pet-rolhead, so the motor industry wasalways going to be first choice.

“I couldn’t get excited about build-ing washing machines.”

He has held positions in produc-tion operations, manufacturingengineering, launch and quality, andprior to joining Halewood was oper-ations director at the JLR CastleBromwich plant in the West Mid-lands.

It was there where he oversaw thesuccessful launches of the XK, XFand XJ Jaguar models.

He said: “I have done most things,but this is still the best job I haveever had.

“It’s great to feel you can make adifference every day you come towork, not just for our customers butthe people of Merseyside as well.

“I’m very proud we have been ableto bring people into this industry andto make a difference to peoples’lives.”

He added: “I remember just as Iarrived here we took on 120 peopleunder the Future Jobs Fund scheme,who had been out of work for morethan 12 months.

“Our only commitment was to givethem an interview after six months –and we took on 102 as agency work-ers. They had been given an oppor-

tunity and were grabbing it withboth hands.

“Many had left school with limitedqualifications, but with the right sup-port they can do it.

“And it will hold them in goodstead for their career.”

And despite fears of increasingcompetition from low-cost economiesthroughout Asia and EasternEurope, he sees plenty of opportun-ities for the UK automotive industry:“Our future is very bright.

“We have a huge amount of pos-itive history, certainly in the past 15years in the way the UK car industryhas turned around.

“We have Honda, Toyota and Nis-san deciding to put their big carplants in the UK.

“Car production in the UK is prob-ably at its highest in 20 years.”

And he attributes that to the skills

of the British automotive industryworkforce which he views as invalu-able. We made some difficultdecisions five years ago during thedownturn.

“We had 1,200 people we had to exitfrom our plants, but we made thedecision that we had to protect thoseskills and keep them in the businessand we found savings elsewhere.

“Sitting here now that was abso-lutely the right thing to do. That wasanother 1,200 people we would havehad to have found and trained.

“The skills of the UK workforce, atwhite collar and blue collar level, isthe best in the world.

“Our innovation and creativityand building skills are some of thebest in the world. Manufacturing hasgot a very positive future in the UK,and automotive manufacturing in theUK has a very positive future.”

Victoria Beckham helpeddesign a limited editionRange Rover Evoque

Being readyto respondto changeIT WAS described, in one of themore polite editorials in Britishnewspapers, as the “first whollysatisfactory act of nationhood”.

President Kennedy’s visit tohis ancestral Ireland home 50years ago this week has beenovershadowed in the historybooks by the speech he made inBerlin before he flew on toDublin.

The Kennedy familial journey,from leaving Ireland bound forBoston in 1848 to the return ofthe great-grandson as Presidentof the United States little morethan a century later, has beensaid to embody the history of thecountry.

But it is worth reflecting onthe pace of change of the worldpost-Kennedy, how a Presidentwho was the first of themodern-day era (after all, he wasborn six years after Reagan)seems to now belong to adifferent world.

The reunification of Berlin isalready a generation old while

Ireland is nolonger a youngcountry, noteven by Europe’sglacial rate ofchanging states.

It acts as areminder thatchange isinevitable(although, as

Max McKeown added, “progressis not”) although its nature anddirection will always remainvolatile and unpredictable.

Responding to changedemands flexibility and alsolevel-headedness.

It does not mean that weshould all be drafting jobadvertisements which start “Doyou like to innovate?”, as one Iread last week from aFTSE-listed company did.

Innovation should be afunction of lots of job roles andnot the responsibility of just one.Couched in such terms, it alsosuggests that the act ofinnovation is more importantthan the outcome – the wackierthe better.

Change is much harder tosustain and it is of courseprecisely because it is difficult tocontrol and cajole that makes itso precious.

That requires the culture in anorganisation to be able torespond to change and ride itswave.

President Kennedy, in thatfamous Berlin speech, said:“Democracy is not perfect, butwe have never had to put up awall to keep our people in.”

But companies build walls,usually with the aim ofpreventing mistakes, and insteadthey succeed only in preventinginnovation, stifling change thatcould otherwise drive progress.

‘Change isdifficulttocontrolandcajole’

post businessbig feature


Legal firm asks: when is itright to sue healthcare staff?

A LEGAL firm based in Southport isplanning to recruit five new solicitorsto deal with a huge rise in the numberof medical negligence cases.

Ed Fletcher, chief executive of ser-ious injury specialists Fletchers Soli-citors, said his company had dealtwith 15% more legal claims againstmedical professionals and healthcarebodies so far in 2013 than last year.

He blamed the rise on a deterior-ating quality of service in the NHS,caused by a “lack of funding and afocus on targets and box-ticking at theexpense of compassion for thepatient”.

In an interview with Post Business,Mr Fletcher told how he was left para-lysed after a motorcycle accident in1999. He said his own subsequent med-ical treatment had been “excellent”

and “showed how good the NHS can bewhen it’s firing on all cylinders”.

However, he said there had been arecent slide in standards: “The vastmajority of the NHS provides good ser-vice, but there’s a section of it that,unfortunately, is dysfunctional andpeople can end up beingvery seriously injured oreven killed as a result ofnegligent treatment.”

Mr Fletcher cited theStafford Hospital scandaland the alleged cover-up atthe Care Quality Commis-sion following a spate ofbaby deaths as examples ofhow aspects of the NHShave gone wrong.

He said: “You can’talways rely on doctors to hold theirhands up when things go wrong,Stafford Hospital has shown us youcan’t always trust the hospital trusts,and there have even been stories thatshow we might not be able to trust theGovernment-appointed regulator.

“Lawyers really are the independentregulators now. We are the only onesthe public can trust to hold negligentdoctors to account for their blunders.”

Mr Fletcher, however, also offeredsome criticism of his own industry,describing some solicitors – particu-

larly those operating in theroad traffic collision com-pensation sector – as“ambulance chasers”. Buthe insisted that, whilespurious compensationclaims are sometimesmade based on little evid-ence, there remained aneed to be able to sue theNHS and other healthcareproviders to secure com-pensation for victims and

ensure mistakes are not repeated.As part of the growing national

debate about standards in healthcare,Fletchers Solicitors has launched asocial media campaign in an attemptto gauge public opinion on the matter.

It has so far elicited more than 7,000

votes in an online poll, plus another750 comments from members of thepublic. Mr Fletcher said: “We are col-lating this data and will use it to bettertailor our services to the needs ofthose people who have been injured asa result of negligence at the hands ofhealthcare professionals.

“Doctors and nurses themselveshave been contributing to our debateonline. Some have told us they havebeen working with the NHS system for30 or 40 years, but it has now becomeso impaired they cannot service theneeds of patients.

“The NHS has seen a reduction infunding that has impacted on thefront-line. There’s also been a shift infocus so patients are no longer at theheart of everything the NHS does. Thefocus has, instead, been on form-fillingand box-ticking.

“Since the turn of the year we haveseen a 15% increase in the number ofmedical negligence claims. I am nowactively recruiting clinical negligencesolicitors. We looking for around five.”

Ed Fletcher, chief executive ofFletchers Solicitors

Documents warning

www.ldplegal.co.uk

Guardianship proposal welcomedPROPOSALS to create a newpower of guardianship for rel-atives of missing people havebeen welcomed by a Mersey-side solicitor.

Claire Currie from Kirwanssaid that the plans, which willallow families to make altern-ative arrangements for thelegal and financial affairs ofthe missing person, would be

of huge assistance to thosealready going through “hell”.

The new legislation wouldmean that families of the250,000 people who go missingeach year would be given thepower to suspend direct debitsfor services they are notusing.

Mrs Currie said: “Whensomeone disappears, it can

send their family and closefriends into turmoil.

“And as the weeks go on,their nightmare only getsworse as they realise that theyhave no power to stop, forexample, mobile phone andutility providers from takingtheir regular payments.”

Liverpoolsolicitoradds toskill setFAMILY law expertCarole Brennan admitsshe may need largerbusiness cards afterbeing appointed to herfourth professionalrole.

Ms Brennan, a part-ner at Morecrofts Soli-citors in Liverpool,recently qualified as afamily arbitrator, a pos-ition which involves asimilar decision-mak-ing process to a judgewhen dealing with fin-ancial matters in fam-ily law disputes.

Her entry into theInstitute of Arbitratorsadds to existing rolesboth as a mediator andcollaborative lawyer,two specialist forms of

dispute resolution, aswell as a solicitor withthe firm, which hasoffices across Mersey-side.

Arbitration is anincreasingly popularform of resolution infamily law matters,especially among morewealthy parties, as ittypically allows peopleto settle their financialaffairs with greaterspeed and privacy thanthrough the traditionalcourt route.

Ms Brennanexplained: “Althoughdemand for arbitrationservices remains in itsinfancy in comparisonto other forms of dis-pute resolution, weexpect to see it follow asimilar tangent tomediation, which waslittle-known a decadeago but has nowbecome a central fea-ture of family law res-olution.”

RECENT reforms highlightthe need for businesses tore-evaluate their documentretention policies, says GlynLancefield, litigation soli-citor at Brabners.

The disclosure of docu-ments is often the mostcostly stage in commerciallitigation.

Even low-value claims can

involve a large volume of rel-evant documents, in variousforms and going back a num-ber of years. A case canoften turn on the content ofa single document.

Mr Lancefield said: “It istherefore important for busi-nesses to implement suitabledocument management pro-cesses.”

post business legal

‘Doctorswill notalwayshold theirhands up’

[email protected]

Claire Currie of Kirwans

Carole Brennan


City region’s businesswomenseek shift in cultural attitudes

Judith Greensmith, chairof the Royal Liverpooland BroadgreenUniversity Hospitals NHSTrust, left, and CathDaley, a businesscoach/consultant

Women‘in thedark’ onmaternityAS MANY as 40% ofworking women in theNorth West are uneasyabout their employer’sreaction when they tellthem they are pregnant,according to a surveyby OnePoll commis-sioned by QualitySoli-citors.

Even more women inthe region are unclearabout their maternityrights, with 78% notasking about their com-pany’s maternity policyhaving accepted a job.

The results also showthat concerns aroundbroaching the subject ofmotherhood in theworkplace mean thatonly half of women inthe North West askabout their maternityrights within their firstyear of employment.

This suggests, saysQualitySolicitors, thatthere is a need for com-panies to make theirmaternity and patern-ity policies more openlyavailable to employees.

In response to thefindings from thisresearch, QualitySoli-citors employment law-yers have writtenguides to maternity andpaternity rights foremployers as well asemployees.

The guides will con-tain current and relev-ant information regard-ing rights and respons-ibilities in the work-place, helping bothemployers and employ-ees alike to “see clearly,by cutting through anylegal jargon”.

Craig Holt, founder ofQualitySolicitors, said:“We are delighted to beoffering both localpeople and local busi-nesses, who might beunclear about wherethey stand regardingmaternity and patern-ity leave, with our guid-ance on this issue.

“Despite strong legalregulation to assist theemployer and employee,a culture of ‘don’t ask,don’t tell’ has beenallowed to develop.Women are not askingabout their rights.”

post businesswomen in business

MORE needs to be done in schools toshow females they can be successful inbusiness.

That was the view from women whogathered last week for a debate titled“How do we get more women in theboardroom?”.

The discussion, which featured apanel of top career women from theregion, was held as a fringe event tothe Accelerate 2013 business festivalwhich tool place last Thursday.

Liverpool business coach CathDaley, who hosted the debate, openedby saying: “The blunt truth is thatmen still run the world.

“Only seven per cent ofexecutive directorships areheld by women.”

The panel discussed reas-ons why efforts to increasethe number of women inthe top tier of businessseems to be floundering, fol-lowing a report whichfound there are just threefemale chief executives ofFTSE 100 companies – downfrom five two years ago.

Maggie O'Carroll, CEO of Liver-pool-based The Women's Organisation,said: “The stall is simply because wehaven’t tackled the problem.

“I don’t think that’s women’s fault.“Women aren’t the problem they arethe solution and I think we need toturn the argument around slightly.”

The women agreed there needed tobe a shift in cultural attitude to thetasks outside work men and womenare expected to complete.

Maggie Mullan, a partner at Liver-pool architectural practice Aus-tin-Smith:Lord said: “There’s anexpectation in our profession that you

will be available at 8am for a site visitand forget the school run and thatyou’ll be around out of hours for din-ners.”

Lesley Dixon, chief executive ofsocial enterprise PSS, said: “I thinkone of the things holding women backis having all the extra responsibility interms of home life.

“Until it’s the cultural expectationthat things are genuinely shared itwill continue to be an issue.”

Pamela Ball, chief executive ofKnowsley CVS, an organisation whichworks to support voluntary and com-munity groups, said she felt it is menwho need to change.

She said: “We need to have the rightconversations.

“It’s not about us changing who weare going into the boardroom.

“Do you have to work 50hours a week in case allthe guys think you’re notworking hard enough?

“Men should be goinghome early to pick theirchildren up from schooland should take paternityleave.

“We’re taking aboutwomen adapting to the sys-tem but things aren’t going

to change unless we change it so every-one works the same.

“I think part of the reason womendon’t reach the top is because alongthe way they burn out.”

Ms O’Carroll urged the audience,made up of more than 20 women froma range of professions, to worktogether to speak to male colleagues inthe Liverpool city region about genderbalance.

Ms Mullan said she felt a lack of rolemodels was partly to blame for womennot getting to the top.

“I worked part time until I wasmade partner which shows these

things are achievable,” she said.“I think it’s someone saying it isn’t

going to be easy but it is do-able.”Carol Atkinson, a lawyer from

Weightmans, agreed.She said: “It’s all about where girls

are coming from a very early age.“I agree girls shouldn’t be told that

it’s easy to have it all but I think weneed better roles than the ones we seein magazines. A lot of girls don’t thinkthey can become great scientists.

“Marie Curie was held up as a greatscientist but who have we really hadsince then?”

Prior to the start of the debate, anetworking event was held, when LisaGreenhalgh, chief operating officer ofMerseyside Special Investment Fund(MSIF), told Post Business she feltmore needed to be done in schools toencourage girls to aim for the top inbusiness.

She said: “I don’t know how weengage girls, I think we need to startwhen they’re young to encourage themto want to do things.

“Maybe we need to start at school

age and show women can achieve.”Working to inspire girls to aim high

in business is the concept behind anew business being set up byStephanie Wright, who was in theaudience at the debate.

She told Post Business: “In Septem-ber I’m going into schools working anddelivering classes aimed at alertingthem to the possibility of self employ-ment and running their own business.

“Schools aren’t getting young girlsthinking about high profile careers.”

Ms Wright’s business will also buildin education about domestic violenceand aims to establish a network ofwomen in business to support thosewho do become self-employed.

She is currently looking into fund-ing options for the courses but toldPost Business: “I would love to getsome businesses in the city to sponsorthe courses and they could send a rep-resentative to deliver a talk in schoolsas part of the programme.”

If your business can help Ms Wrightwith her new venture [email protected]

[email protected]

‘Womenare thesolutionnot theproblem’ Lisa Greenhalgh of MSIF

FRAMELINECOMPOSITE DOORSTRADE, UPVC WINDOWS

DOORS, CONSERVATORIES.

5 Day Turnaround

Tel: 0151 546 5577Fax: 0151 546 5588Accredited with BS7412 & BS7950

BUSINESSto BUSINESSBUILDING TRADE


by Tom Cullen, director of retailagency, Colliers International

viewpoint

Urgent action is needed to breathe life back into our local high streets

THE ongoing woes of Britain’s retail-ers prove the need for the Govern-ment to reverse its inexplicabledecision to postpone a revaluationof business rates from 2015 to 2017.

Our latest definitive research – the

Midsummer Retail Report (MSRR) –published this week highlights thedisastrous effects of the postpone-ment as retailers and other busi-nesses continue to pay rates based onpre-recession property values.

The decision to delay imposed amassive burden on high streetswhere decline has been the greatest –those mid-sized, regional centresthat we describe as “terminal towns”– and we call on the Government tointroduce a revaluation now.

We’re in a position where centralLondon shops are effectively beingsubsidised by those in parts of Eng-land and Wales. Albeit not amongour terminal towns, the MSRR iden-

tified the need for action from Gov-ernment to address decline in towncentres such as Southport, Bootleand Birkenhead, which allsuffered significant falls inretail rents over the pastfew years.

Although Liverpool Onecontinues to performstrongly, Liverpool as awhole saw a 17%-plusdecline in rents since theonset of the financial crisisin 2008.

As an advisor to the towncentre property taskforce created aspart of the Government response tothe Mary Portas review of UK high

streets, Colliers International hasanalysed and identified the prop-erty-related barriers to vibrant retail

centres.The key reasons for fail-

ing retail centres are thereluctance of consumers toloosen their belts becauseof reduced householdincome in the economicdownturn, excessive com-petition and retailover-development.

The Government hasfailed to control retail

development and provide flexible“change of use” legislation and localgovernment should reduce car park-

ing charges in failing centres, bemore flexible in the change of use ofshops and bring retail stakeholderstogether.

In the MSRR, we propose a ratingrevaluation, rates relief in centreswhere the shop vacancy rate is abovethe average of 12%, reduced parkingcharges, town centre managers, afive-year business plan, compulsorypurchase powers for the demolitionof shops and the acquisition of retailunits to let on flexible terms andrecreating retail centres as “destin-ations” with crowd-pulling events.

While there’s still life in highstreets, many are fatally woundedand in need of intensive care.

£3m enterprise village for college

Hugh Baird Principal Yana Williamsoutside Balliol Building

Londonsecondfor costsHONG KONG has mostexpensive office spacein the world, accordingto a survey by CBRE.

Overall occupancycosts in theChinese-owned territ-ory total £154 per sq ftper year. London’s WestEnd is second in thetable with annual occu-pancy costs of £145.London City is ninth.

Globally, occupancycosts rose by a “scant”1.4% on a year-over-year basis as modestgrowth in the Americasand Asia Pacific waspartly offset by a slightdecrease in recession-ary Europe.

However, the modestglobal average risemasked significantincreases in marketslike Jakarta, Indonesiaand suburban Houston,Texas, which postedincreases of 38.9% and21.2%, respectively.

‘Liverpoolas a wholesaw a 17%declinein rents’

post business location

[email protected]

SOUTH Sefton further educationcollege, Hugh Baird, is to investmore than £3m in an enterprisecentre on its campus.

The Bootle-based college willtransform its Balliol Centreground floor into a “bustlingmini-high street”.

It will see private businessesincluding a florist, hair salon,barbers, nail salon, cafes and gymopening on site.

Principal Yana Williams saidthe college is investing the moneyto create a “vibrant and energeticbusiness-focused entrance hall”.

The layout will be designedaround a series of “enterpriseunits” providing a hot houseenvironment to train students andapprentices alongside communitybusinesses.

It will also see a complete cent-ralisation of student support sothat all student needs from fin-ance to the chaplaincy can beprovided in one place.

The development is expected toforge partnerships with localsmall firms with the creation ofaround 20 apprenticeship roles inits first two years.

“This multi-million poundtransformation will breathe fresh

life into the campus,” said Ms Wil-liams. “We are aiming to create abusiness buzz throughout the col-lege.

“The layout is built around aseries of enterprise units bringingenergy and vitality to the site.

“We want the new entrance hallto set an aspirational tone.

“We also want it to project thecore values of Hugh Baird College,which are focused on passion andenthusiasm for learning.

“Hugh Baird is one of the lead-ing colleges in the Merseysideregion with a strong track recordof converting student leavers intoemployment.

“The enterprise village helps toemphasise our mission to provideeach and every student with thebest possible opportunity of secur-ing work on leaving college.”

Ms Williams said most enter-prise units will follow a similarmodel which will see local busi-nesses invited to adopt a “rent achair” policy.

In return businesses will sup-port work experience students andapprentices.

Further space is being ear-marked for a commercial gymfacility for wider community use.

Staff and students are expectedto receive discounted rates.

Plans are also in place to launcha social enterprise café entirelyrun and managed by students.

BUSINESS to BUSINESS

COMMERCIAL PREMISES

FOR SALE / MAY LETFreestandingChester City CentreOffice Building

14,000 sq ft with car parkingPotential for Re-Development

Further information please contact Neil Dryburgh or Euan Ross at

For Sale

INDUSTRIAL PREMISES

11,754 Sq Ft (1,092 Sq M)UNIT 11A, WILSON ROAD

HUYTON BUSINESS PARKLIVERPOOL, L36 6AN

For further information contact Robert Deacon

0161 831 3300

COMMERCIAL PROPERTY

T J THOMAS0151 708 6544

ERSKINE ST close to City centreBusiness units 850sqft

£550pcmKNOWSLEY IND.PARK

Business units 575sqft £100pwwww.tjthomas.co.uk

INDUSTRIAL UNITS To Let.South L’pool 500 to 4000 sqft,monthly tenancy, competitiverents. From £50pw Tel: 0151427 5051


Sweet retailer goes Ape for itsnew Liverpool city centre site

SPECIALIST sweets and drinks retailer Amer-ican Ape has opened a new outlet at the QueenInsurance Buildings in Liverpool city centre.

The business, which has an existing outletin Manchester, is owned by Damien Green-wood and Rachel Heraghty.

They launched American Ape more thantwo years ago after seeing the popularity oftheir original business, Chocolate Ape, flour-ish.

They have now struck a deal with propertyfirm, Bruntwood, to take a retail unit at theDale Street site.

The business specialises in classic confec-tionery from the US.

Ms Heraghty said: “When we were lookingat expanding the American Ape business, weknew the importance of selecting the rightlocation and property but similarly under-stood the risks that come with moving into anew city.

“We have worked closely with the Brunt-wood team in the last few years and know theyhave vast amounts of experience working withnew start-ups and independent businessesacross four regional cities.

“They provided us with the knowledge, flex-ibility and high levels of customer service thatgave us the confidence to build the on therelationship.”

Bruntwood’s Toby Sproll added: “AmericanApe is a fantastic success story .”

Quarterday putsretailers atrisk – R3RETAIL jobs are at riskbecause of the rules onthe payment of rent inadministrations,according to the insolv-ency trade body R3.

The organisation iscalling for a change inthe law to give hard-pressed retailers a bet-ter chance of survival.

Fashion chains Inter-nacionale and Ark, andtoy retailer ModelZone,are amongst the latestretail failures.

All three haveannounced their inten-tion to appoint admin-istrators followingMonday’s rent quarterday, when the nextthree months’ rent felldue.

Jeremy Oddie, who isNorth West chair of R3and also head of recov-eries at accountantsMitchell Charlesworth,said the current ruleswere a bad deal forboth retailers and land-lords.

“Retail administra-tions spike after everyrent quarter day, whichis hardly surprisinggiven the current law.”

post businesslocation

American Ape specialises in selling classic confectionery from the US

[email protected]

COACH HOLIDAYS

www.newmarket.travel/lpe 0151 559 1590 Code

LPE Organised & operated by Newmarket Promotions Ltd. ABTA V787X. Subject to availability.Single supplements apply. Calls cost 4p per minute.

Fantastic Value HolidaysLOCAL PICK-UP POINTS l There’s sure to be one near you!

3 days from

£149.00

2 days from

£119.00

3 days from

£135.00

5 days from

£269.00

Bath and Coloursof the CotswoldsA feast of Autumn colour!Departs 11 October 2013Visit the wonderful city of Bath and exploreThe National Arboretum at Westonbirt, recentlyvoted one of the thirty most unmissable sightsin the world and at its best when ablaze withglorious Autumn colour. Plus enjoy a tour of therolling hills and honey coloured stone villagesof the Cotswolds.

Price includesl Two nights’ dinner, bed and English breakfast

accommodation in a good hotel inthe Swindon area

l Visits to Bath and Lacockl Entrance and guided walk at Westonbirtl A tour of the Cotswoldsl Coach travel throughoutl The services of a Tour Manager

Coronation Festival atBuckingham PalaceCelebrating 60th Anniversaryof The Queen’s CoronationDeparts 12 July 2013The Gardens at Buckingham Palace will be thevenue for a one-off event over just four daysin July 2013 for holders of Royal Warrants tocelebrate the 60th anniversary of The Queen’sCoronation. Don’t miss this once in a lifetimeopportunity to be at the Coronation Festival atBuckingham Palace. Book now as places arelimited!

Price includesl Coach travel throughoutl One night’s bed and continental breakfast in a

comfortable hotel in the Greater London areal Admission to the Coronation Exhibition at

Buckingham Palacel The services of a Tour Manager

Paris Bank HolidaySpectacularAn exceptional value Bank Holiday breakDeparts 24 August 2013All the wonderful sights of the Eiffel Tower,the Arc de Triomphe and a host of others,together with the incomparable atmosphere ofthe world’s favourite city will make this a BankHoliday weekend to remember.

Price includesl Return coach travell Return Channel crossings by ferry/Eurotunnell Two nights’ bed and continental breakfast

accommodation in a three-star hotel in theGreater Paris area

l A visit to Montmartrel Central Paris coach transfers on two daysl The services of a Tour Manager

Summertimein LondonDeparts 5 August 2013Don’t miss this fabulous Summertime breakto the Capital! Avoiding the weekend crowds,there’ll be plenty of time to visit must-seeattractions and landmarks, and explore someof the best that London has to offer. Includinga panoramic sightseeing tour, visit to the RoyalBorough of Greenwich and great value optionalexcursions, there’s so much to see and do!

Price includesl Return coach travell Four nights’ bed and continental breakfast

accommodation in a four-star hotel in Londonl A panoramic sightseeing tour of Londonl A visit to the Royal Borough of Greenwichl Time to explore London at leisurel The services of a Tour Manager

readertravelholidays.com


‘Take on the world’ NW

BUSINESSES across theregion are this weekbeing challenged to goglobal and increase howmuch they export.

Post Business has this weeklaunched a special campaign to get1,000 firms sending their goods andservices overseas over the next year.

The Export Challenge has beenkicked-off in partnership with UKTrade & Investment, the bodycharged with boosting trade in andout of the country.

In conjunction with our sistertitle, Greater Manchester BusinessWeek, we want to help as many com-panies as possible start sellingabroad for the first time.

Over the next 12 months we willcarry a series of features, case stud-ies and advice articles to give you thehelp you need to start targeting over-seas markets.

From Ireland to Indonesia andDenmark to Dubai, there are hugeopportunities for businesses of allsizes and operating across a host ofsectors to grow their sales interna-tionally.

And with domestic tradingremaining tough for many, theimportance of trading overseas hasarguably never been greater.

At the end of our campaign we willselect a handful of companies thathave begun their export journey dur-ing the year for special recognition.

Further details of this will emergein the coming months.

Clive Drinkwater, UKTI’s NorthWest regional director, explainedwhy the Export Challenge campaignis so vital.

He said: “Why does exporting mat-ter so much?

“Classically, economies only havefour drivers of growth – Governmentspending, consumer spending, trade(or exporting) and investment.

“With both Government and con-sumer spending not about to rise, theimportance of getting more firms toexport and to invest in their tech-nologies, their plant and equipmentor general assets is the only way theUK can pursue the growth that itneeds for the coming years.

“Research has been carried outinto the benefits brought to busi-nesses that engage in internationaltrade.

“The most striking statistic is thatbusinesses starting their exportingjourney achieve, on average, a 34%boost to their productivity in thefirst year.

“They also are 12% more likely tosurvive through difficult economictimes, while exporting firmsincrease their levels of innovation.

“That is because when you exportto a range of countries, you need tobe aware of the different needs,tastes, fashions, cultures and foiblesof each market and you learn fromthe process, putting those lessonsinto practice by adapting and innov-ating your products or services.

“And almost every firm that startsto export also sees an increase intheir domestic sales as a result of thelearning process they are forced to

go through as a result of beingexposed to international competi-tion.”

As part of our challenge, we willprovide monthly updates on thenumber of firms exporting for thefirst time since the campaignkicked-off.

During the course of the cam-paign, we will also profile the keymarkets your businesscould tap into.

That will range fromEurope and America – typ-ically the parts of theworld that buy the mostNorth West goods and ser-vices – to emerging eco-nomies. Mr Drinkwateradded: “The UK currentlyexports 50% of its goodsand services to the other27 countries of the European Union.

“That’s great but, looked at moreclosely, I think it’s a matter of con-cern that this 50% of our exports goto a group of nations that togetherrepresent only 7% of world popula-tion and around 18% of world GDP.

“It is not that I want us to reduceour exports to the EU. Far from it.

Given tariff and quota free accesswith reduced levels of bureaucracy itwould be mad not to look to the EUfirst, especially if you’re a newexporter.

“However, if we are to maintainour position as a major tradingnation we have to have strategiesthat look to take advantage of wheregrowth is going to come from.”

In terms of emergingmarkets North Westfirms could look to tar-get, Mr Drinkwater said:“Everybody has heardthe acronym BRIC –Brazil, Russia, India andChina. These are allpowerful economies intheir own right andgrowing at some consid-erable speed, and then

there are countries like Mexico,Indonesia, South Korea and Turkey,which you could call the MISTnations.

“If you put the BRIC countries andthe MIST countries together, theyrepresent an astonishing 50% ofworld population and 33% of worldGDP and they are all seeing high

levels of growth. For the UK though,we only export 17% of our goods andservices to these countries.

“So 17% to 33% of GDP comparedto 50% to 18% of GDP.”

Liverpool Post editor MarkThomas said: “We are delighted to beteaming-up with UKTI for thisimportant campaign.

“There is no denying the import-ance of getting as many businessesas possible to start exporting theirgoods and services.

“We have every confidence we willbe able to achieve our goal of getting1,000 businesses exporting for thefirst time. There are already so manygreat examples of companies produ-cing things here in the North West,then enjoying success by sellingthem overseas.

“We hope their successes willinspire others to start trading abroadand it is our aim that this campaignwill provide valuable advice andinformation for those looking beyondour shores for the first time.”

As well as the advice that will besupplied on these pages during thecampaign, you can also do your bit tohelp the Export Challenge.

Mr Drinkwater said: “One of thebest ways of spreading this messageis through word of mouth.

“So if every one of you that readsthis looks at a company next door ordown the road that isn’t exportingand encourages them to take a lookat the opportunities they can go forin export markets, you will be doingthem a favour by setting them on theroad to increased profits but alsohelping increase the wealth andprosperity of us all in the UK.

“There is plenty of help, fromUKTI of course, but each businesshas a bank, an accountant and a law-yer. Many businesses are members ofTrade Associations, Chambers ofCommerce, and business supportorganisations such as the IOD, CBI,FSB and many more.

“All of these organisations havepledged to help members with sup-port to get started in exporting. It’s achallenge we all need to step up to.”■ To find out how you can startexporting, calling UKTI’s NorthWest International Trade Team on0845 603 7053 or [email protected] andquote reference UKTI201301

UKTI’s Clive Drinkwater says the EU is a key market but adds firms need to look further afield as well

‘We haveto havestrategiesthat lookat growth’

post business economic development

EXPORTChallenge1000


diaryentrepreneur

ofanfirms are told

North West exports to the Netherlands rose more than 10% to £1.3bn in 2012

The region also saw a surge in sales to China in 2012, up 9% to £1.6bn

EU exports down but emerging markets are positiveIN 2012, £64.2bn-worthof goods were exportedout of the North West.

That was down slightlyfrom 2011, when the fig-ure stood at £66.4bn.

Overall sales to the EUfell by £1bn to £12.7bn,and exports to the USA,although still theregion’s biggest market,also fell by 9% to £4.2bn.

Interestingly, though,the biggest success storyfor the region was theNetherlands, which sawexports rise more than10% to £1.3bn, despitewider eurozone gloom.

Exports to thehigh-growth markets ofChina, India, Brazil, theMiddle East and NorthAfrica all rose.

Sales to China rock-eted by 9% to £1.6bn,making it the NorthWest's biggest marketbehind the EU and US.

When taking intoaccount exports toGreater China – whichincludes Taiwan andHong Kong – the figurerose to more than £2bnfor the first time.

In terms of commod-ities, pharmaceuticals ledthe way, with £5.2bn ofsuch products exportedduring 2012.

That was followed byorganic chemicals, at£2.6bn, inorganic chemic-als, at £2.1bn and roadvehicles, at £1.8bn,underlining the region’straditional strengths.

MY CAREER path has taken medown many different roads, but Ihave learned something newevery step of the way.

After leaving school at 16 withfew qualifications, I joined aplumber’s merchants, learningvarious jobs and about business ingeneral.

I went to college and gained adiploma in Business Studies – thishelped to give me a solid ground-ing of what it takes to run a busi-ness, which fired my desire to oneday be my own boss.

After a good few years workingfor different companies, Ideveloped an interest in buyingand renovating property.

Starting as a hobby to supple-ment my income, I realised it wasa good way to make money.

I married my wife Marion at theage of 23, we had three childrenand life was going well until theproperty recession hit in the 1990s.

Despite our best efforts, mybusiness became unsustainabledue to market conditions, and Itook the decision to go back work-ing for a company.

I viewed this as a learningcurve and was determined to comeback stronger.

After seven years of employ-ment, I was made redundant at theage of 47 and at the same time lostmy dad, my best friend – thiswould become the real turningpoint in my professional life and atime to make some seriousdecisions.

In 2009 I launched HeightsafeSystems, starting out in a smalltwo-man office and progressing tobuy a freehold commercial mod-ern office/warehouse facility atthe Wirral International BusinessPark.

Buying our own businesspremises was a vision that I had,and achieving that goal was amassive step forward for Height-safe.

We are growing to become oneof the UK’s industry leaders in the

supply and installation of work atheight safety systems, as well asancillary services. Our projectsare nationwide, from installationof Guardrail and fall protectionsystems to annual compliance test-ing and training.

In June Heightsafe, was chosenfor the award as Judges’ Choicewinner at the Liverpool PostRegional Business Awards.

Winning this award was anincredibly proud moment for meand the team, after all the toughtimes.

It was great to be honoured by aprestigious local newspaper beingborn in Liverpool and a proud Liv-erpudlian.

The city is full of people whohave overcome adversity, no moreso than the Hillsborough justicecampaigners who were, andremain to be a real inspiration tome.

The award was also recognitionof every single member of staff atHeightsafe.

A business is only as good as itsemployees and I have a great teambehind me.

My two sons have been instru-mental in my success, with Craigthe first to join me, followed byCarl and Mark Weaver – who nowruns the operations side of thebusiness – and they are here onmerit alone.

We have steadily built up anenviable portfolio of clients acrossthe public and private sectors.

We are looking to expand theteam to 16 over the next sixmonths with the latest investmentbeing a talented and experiencedIT director, who will help to driveour e-commerce, software systemsand client support processes.

We are designing and develop-ing our own products for the workat height and transport safetymarkets and have a patent pendingfor a revolutionary product forHGVs and commercial vehicles.

Ken Diable, managing dir-ector, Heightsafe Systems

post businesseconomic development

Ken Diable, right, receives his award from Bill Gleeson


Hobs opens ‘digital mailroom’to target professional sectors

Ben Blackwood, managing director of Hobs Exchange, at the company’s new base in Brunswick Business Park Picture: COLIN LANE

onthemove■ ACCOUNTANCY

firm Deloitte hasappointed a new partnerand six new directorswho will operate acrossthe North West.

Aziz Ul-Haq, whoworks in the firm’s cor-porate finance advisorysection, has been pro-moted to partner.

Meanwhile, DanWright (transaction ser-vices), Tim Grogan andGiles Murphy (bothaudit), Callum Robertson

(Deloitte real estate) andKelly Sutton and Ed Gib-son (both corporate tax)have become directors.

■ LIVERPOOL wealthmanagement firm

Investec has promotedtwo investment directors.

Carl Cross and SimonFontes will becomesenior investment direct-ors, specialising in port-folio management forprivate clients, pensions,charities and trusts.

Invested has also madeRichard France, AngelaTaylor and Aled Jonesinvestment directors,while Greg Sinnott hasbeen named as an asso-ciated investment dir-ector.

■ LAW firm GregoryAbrams Davidson

has appointed a newpractice director inTracey Parry.

She will be based at thefirm’s Mathew Street

head office in Liverpoolcity centre.

The practice says MsParry brings a wealth ofexperience in law firmmanagement, having pre-viously worked at nicheemployment law firmMackintosh Solicitorsand more recently at Hat-tons Solicitors in StHelens.

Among her duties MsParry will have respons-ibility for risk manage-ment and compliance.

Aziz Ul-Haq – Deloittenew partner

Carl Cross – seniorinvestment director

Tracey Parry – GAD’spractice director

DOCUMENT management and scan-ning company Hobs Exchange is hop-ing for more growth after launching a“digital mailroom” service focused onthe legal and professional services sec-tors.

Hobs Exchange was launched in2010 as an archive scanning bureau,scanning in confidential paper recordsso they can be stored and searcheddigitally. Its clients include HM Rev-enue and Customs and the NHS.

The company started with just fivestaff but today employs more than 40.This year it moved from theRopewalks into a 8,500 sq ft productionspace and offices at Brunswick Busi-ness Park, Liverpool.

Now Ben Blackwood, managing dir-ector at Hobs Exchange, says the firmis targeting the professional sector

with its new services. Its digital mail-room service has already won oneunnamed large legal client, which washandling thousands of emails a day.

By becoming that company’s virtualpostroom, scanning in the mail ratherthan forwarding it unopened to staff,Hobs says it has helped thecompany save £100,000 inmailroom costs.

Mr Blackwood said the“quite sizeable” firm hadbeen able to refit the formermailroom as office space for16 staff.

He said: “We receive theirin-coming mail, open it, sep-arate cheques, scan it andprovide them with a full delivery ser-vice.

“Rather than having a mail teamdelivering to fee-earners, thefee-earners get a message on screentelling them their mail has come in.They can access their documents fromtheir desk.”

Mr Blackwood said the companyhad looked to diversify after complet-ing some key NHS contracts that hadkept staff busy for many months.

He said: “We took a step back tohave a look at the direction in whichthe business was travelling.

“We want to build oursales and profitability, andalso get more jobs in thebusiness.

“Now we’re dipping ourtoe into the legal market,talking to these customerswho have 4,000 or 5,000 itemsof post landing every morn-ing and offering a full digitalsolution.

“It’s just adding some strings to ourbow.”

Hobs Exchange, part of the widerHobs Reprographics group founded byKieran O’Brien in 1969, is benefitingfrom the general drive towards paper-less offices.

Mr Blackwood said: “We outsource

business processes. We provide adigital capture service for businessesto give them the ability go paper-lightor paperless.

“It’s a big drive for a lot of organ-isations now. It’s more about bums onseats rather than having filing cab-inets taking up space in offices.

“It’s about driving efficiency, ratherthan having people spend a day run-ning through filing cabinets to findinformation.

“It’s about having that informationat the touch of a button.”

At the peak of its NHS work, HobsExchange had some 70 people workingfor it. The number has since fallen, butMr Blackwood says he hopes the com-pany’s workforce will grow again asits digital mailroom service wins moreclients across the North West.

The company also plans to createapprenticeships in its telesales arm.

He added: “We have appointed a newbusiness manager. We have increasedour sales function by three people.”

Valuationfirm looksto expandits reachCHESTER specialistvaluation firm BridgeHoughton has reachedits first anniversaryand announced expan-sion plans for the next12 months.

The practice providescorporate valuationservices to account-ancy, legal and privateequity firms as well asfamily businesses andlarge FTSE 250 com-panies.

Founder DavidHoughton – previouslyhead of corporate fin-ance at law firm Brab-ners – launched thefirm a year ago along-side former AllianceFund Managers chiefexecutive Mark Fuller.

Mr Houghton said:“Over the last 12months we have beenappointed to advise onsome major cases bysome of the UK’s lead-ing professional firms.

“We are working onan increasing numberof complex commerciallitigation cases andcontentious share-holder valuation dis-putes. Our ability toprovide independentspecialist valuationsthat are based on thetrusted in-depth expert-ise of a highly respec-ted team means we cancomplement, ratherthan compete with,existing advisoryfirms.”

Over the next 18months BridgeHoughton intends totake on more staff andopen new offices.

post business professional

David Houghton

‘It’s aboutbums onseats ratherthan filingcabinets’



A lot of business is still done over a round of gold, claims American Golf’s Daniel Gathercole

Golf: is the game’s influencewaning or as strong as ever?

THE notion of groups ofbusinessmen enjoying around of golf beforeretiring to the clubhouseto discuss contracts, terms

and conditions is well cemented inour collective consciousness.

But how accurate is this stereotypeor is it nothing more than a widelyheld misconception?

According to a 2010 study, more thanhalf (54%) of professionals see golf asthe sport of business – six times morethan voted for motor sport. The samestudy found 48% of company execut-ives believe the golf course is the“ideal business environment”, nearly athird say playing the sport is vital forcareer enhancement and a fifth of allFTSE 100 chairmen reportedly belongto the same golf club.

However, in today’s climate of cor-porate cutbacks, does the golf coursestill hold the same sway over business?

“Yes, a lot of business is still doneon the golf course,” said Daniel Gath-ercole, head of marketing at Warring-ton-based American Golf. “People stillsay to each other ‘let’s go and have agame of golf to discuss a contract’.

“People feel more relaxed in thatenvironment. You can be more openthere than you can in a meeting room.

“If there are lots of people involved,it’s easy to have a private word about acontract or terms.

“Although it’s bigger in the summer,golf can be played all year round sothere are plenty of opportunities to getout for a game.”

But did golf become an unaffordableluxury rather than a commercial

necessity once the recession took hold?“Holding golf days has become more

expensive and fewer companies aredoing that,” Mr Gathercole said. “ButI’m very much of the view that peopleare still getting out there and doingbusiness on the course.

“It’s just the actual golf dayinvolving 100 or 150 people that’sreduced in number, which is a sign ofthe times and the economic climate.

“However, there is a good fitbetween people in business in golf, so Iexpect it to pick up again eventually.

“A lot of people like golf and it’s oneof the most popular sports to play.Even those who don’t play particularlywell can come and enjoy a game.”

Time will tell whether golf ’s influ-ence on business is waning, but thesigns are it still has a very strong grip.

JOSHUA TAYLORspeaks to AmericanGolf about thesport’s hold on theworld of business

pastbusiness–nostalgia

Liverpool’s own House of Windsor gets set for Buckingham Palace tripSWEET-TOOTHED firm Renshawwill be heading to BuckinghamPalace this month – and a Post sup-plement from 33 years ago revealsthat the Liverpool firm has alwaysbeen a house of Windsor.

Renshaw is one of more than 200firm attending the Coronation fest-ival, an event to mark the successes ofthe UK’s Royal Warrant Holders.

Its Liverpool site, still one of theworld’s leading producers of icing andbaking ingredients, traces its historyback to 1885, when John Allmey andPreston Layfield joined forces to forma “provision dealers”.

Allmey & Layfield grew into a lead-ing supplier of confectionery and nutsand its base in Holden Street, behindwhat’s now Liverpool Women’s hos-pital, grew with it.

By the 1970s the firm decided itneeded more space. And, on July 31,1980, the Post produced a souvenirsupplement to mark the opening ofAllmey and Layfield’s new ware-house.

Both the front and back pages wereemblazoned with adverts for the com-pany’s biggest brand: “Windsor– the

local name you can trust”.Windsor’s range included mar-

zipan, macaroon paste, hazelnuts,almonds and cashews, as well aswhite fondant and icing sugar.

Inside the supplement, chairmanand managing director, Robert All-mey, struck an optimistic note amidthe economic gloom.

The Post noted: “No matter whatthe economic climate, people have gotto eat. While other less fortunate busi-nesses are having to contract, or atleast stand still, his is thinking aboutexpansion.”

Mr Allmey said there was “consid-erable room for growth” in the exporttrade. He has since been proved right– the plant is now a major supplier ofbrightly-coloured icing to the US mar-ket.

The business would indeed con-tinue to grow at home and abroad, butunder a different name. It was takenover by Renshaw just three monthsafter the Post supplement came out –and its new owners soon broughtmore staff and jobs to their Liverpoolsite.

ALISTAIR HOUGHTON

Sales upafter win

■ WARRINGTON-basedAmerican Golf,

Europe’s largest retailer ofgolfing equipment andaccessories, has seen itssales surge on the back ofJustin Rose’s dramatic vic-tory in the US Open.In the week followingthe US Open, AmericanGolf recorded a 16.4%increase in total salesacross its store network,compared to the week afterthe 2012 tournament.

Traffic to the firm’swebsite has also flour-ished, up 57% compared tothe same period last year.

American Golf said thelandmark victory, Rose’sfirst major title and thefirst by any Englishman inthe US Open for more than40 years, had sparked aflurry of interest fromamateur golfers across thecountry.

Kevin Styles, AmericanGolf ’s chief executiveOfficer, said; “Justin’s tri-umph in the US Open isgood for golf and good forbusiness. It was a perfectlytimed victory, coming atthe start of the peak golfseason and will help togenerate interest in thegame.

“It’s not only existinggolfers that have beensnapping up equipment.We have had a lot ofenquiries from peoplekeen to take up the gamefor the first time. We prideourselves on helpinggolfers improve their game– whether it’s a beginnerwho receives advice fromone of our in store PGAProfessionals or moreexperienced players whobenefit from custom clubfitting and video swinganalysis. Our aim is tosave them shots when theyare out on the course.”

Baker Ruth Bessell cooks macaroons at Allmey and LayfieldDavid Bedford, essence supervisorat Allmey and Layfield in 1980

post businessstyle

22 Thursday, July 4, 2013post business end piece

tradinggossip

mydayoff

Old school is a strongtie for company boss

John Taylor isdirector of NationalTyres and Autocareand his spare timehe helps out hisformer school

John Taylor, right, with Andrew Byers at St Mary’s College

The Dragons may not be very useful after all

AS A former pupil of StMary’s College in CrosbyI still have a strongpassion for the school andits activities within the

community.But as a director of National Tyres

and Autocare it can sometimes be hardto find the time to indulge in hobbiesor activities outside of work.

I still live in Crosby with my wifeJulie and three daughters, and havealways been keen to give somethingback to the school that taught me somuch.

My eldest daughter, who is now 19and studying at Durham University,attended St Mary’s, and I still have twodaughters aged 12 and 17 who go to theschool.

St Mary’s has an extremely strongacademic background, but the teach-ers also place great emphasis onextra-curricular activities for pupils –particularly in the field of music.

For a number of years, St Mary’swould end the academic year with itsown Last Night of the Proms concertheld in the school hall.

However, every concert would sellout leaving hundreds of promenaderswithout a ticket. It was for this reasonthat the school’s director of music,Andrew Byers, came up with the ideaof a classical music extravaganza withthe vision of Proms in the Park and afirework display to end the concert.

This was back in 2010 and after a lotof hard work, Mr Byers’ vision wasrealised in 2011 with the first event.

During this time a small but ded-icated committee of school staff andlocal business people, led by Andrew,wanted to develop the festival and wehad a fantastic response from the com-munity and businesses in the area.

It was at this time that I was askedto sponsor the event through National

Tyres and Autocare. I was delighted tosupport the Proms in the Park and theconcert has gone from strength tostrength.

We are now in our third year, withthe next Proms in the Park FireworkConcert taking place this Saturday,July 6.

Following on from last year’s suc-cess, we will again be incorporating anamazing fireworks display to accom-pany the music.

The concert marks the end of the StMary’s academic year andwill be held at the school’sBlundell Park games fieldon Little Crosby Road.

More than 250 talentedyoung musicians from thecollege and its preparatoryschool The Mount willentertain the crowd with adiverse and inspiring pro-gramme. They will bejoined on stage by GreatCrosby Primary School .

Last year we had more than 1,500people attend, and this year is going tobe even bigger and better.

Proms in the Park will feature tra-ditional favourites such as Elgar’sPomp and Circumstance March, No 1(Land of Hope and Glory), the Fantasiaon British Sea Songs written by Promsfounder Henry Wood, Handel’s Musicfor the Royal Fireworks and, to finishthe concert, Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Over-ture, which will be crowned with aspectacular firework display.

Last year we were blessed withbalmy summer weather and we are

hoping for the same again. As everguests will be treated to first-class foodoutlets and a champagne bar for thosewho want to indulge a little.

This is a real highlight of the schoolcalendar and holding the event out-doors makes it that little bit more spe-cial – we’ve even pushed the boat outto hoist large projection screens nextto the stage this year.

My children have gained so muchfrom all the experiences they havebeen given.

All my daughters haveperformed in at least one ofthe many ensembles at StMary’s.

Learning to play musicis about concentration, dis-cipline an,d more than any-thing, hard work – howeveryou can see the joy youngpeople get from playingmusic and a real sense ofpride.

This is a great event with so manytalented young musicians, who alsoperform in venues such as the Liv-erpool Philharmonic Hall.

They also undertake foreign toursevery year; in recent years the seniorensembles have toured Australia andHong Kong, Canada, Italy and Austria.

Proms in the Park is not just forparents or people connected to theschool – it is a family event for thewhole community and I would encour-age anyone with a love of music to goalong to enjoy both the fantastic musicand the vibrant atmosphere on thenight.

‘Last yearwe hadmore than1,500 atthe event’

■ TRADING GOSSIPhas long been scep-

tical about the concept ofthe “business guru” andnew research shows ourinstincts might be right.

A study by pensionled-funding.com claims almost

two thirds of firms thatappeared on BBC’sDragons’ Den failed to getfunding.

It reveals 94% of thefirms say taking part inthe show raised their pro-file, most said it did nothelp them source furtherfunding.

Little more than a TVgame show then.

At least those going onthe programme will get alesson in pompousself-importance.

LIVERPOOL POSTBUSINESS LUNCH

DIRECTORY

To promote your locationplease email :

[email protected]

Extra Extra! Find out what Sundays arereally about with the delicious 4 courseSunday Brunch menu at Malmaison.Including our renowned hors d’oeuvrebuffet, eggs and pancake station, theincredible Mal Roast and a deliciousselection of desserts from £19.95 or

£7.95 for children under 12.

William Jessop WayPrinces Dock, Liverpool, L3 0BG

Call the brasserie0151 299 5000

to book and quote‘The Daily Post’.

The award-winning Viva Brazil restaurantis situated in the heart of the businessdistrict in Liverpool’s Castle Street. Itis a firm favourite for business lunchesproviding fast and efficient service. Witha menu to suit all tastes, including morethan 15 cuts of meat and 20 salads, you

are guaranteed not to go hungry.

Liverpool Restaurant: 36 Castle Street,Liverpool. L2 0NR Tel: 0151 236 8080

www.vivabrazilrestaurants.com

£10 full rodizio lunchbetween 12 noon and 4pm,Monday to Friday. Termsand Conditions apply.

Radisson Blu Hotel Liverpool launchesbrand new Lightning

Lunch menu. Indulge in a main courseand a drink for just £6.95.

Best of all is the guarantee: if the mealhas not been served within

15 minutes, it is completely free!

Radisson Blu Hotel LiverpoolTel, 0151 966 1500

Email: [email protected] Old Hall Street, Liverpool, L3 9BD

Lightning Lunch Offer£6.95 per person

CROWN PLAZA BRASSERIEOur Chef and his team have a passion

for food and offer a wide varietyof dishes that draw on modern

international flavours and ingredients.The Hotel Restaurant is very stylishand recently refurbished. Bar Loungeserving a mouth-watering range offood, speciality coffees and teas anda huge variety of cocktails, wines andbeers, the lounge provides a stylish,

comfortable environment in which to dobusiness or simply to relax

CROWNE PLAZAPrinces DockPier Head

T: +44 (0) 151 243 [email protected]

Thistle Liverpool City CentreThe Vista Bar & Restaurant is the ideal

location for any gathering.Displaying spectacular views over theRiver Mersey and Liver Building,

the restaurant offers a widechoice of dishes to suit all palates.Your experience here will be an

unforgettable one

Enquiries/Reservations,please call:

0871 376 9025

Marco in Minutes - Express Lunch MenuTime may be of the essence butthat shouldn’t mean you have to

compromise on quality. With the newExpress Lunch Menu, you can feast onthe finest cuisine using the freshest ofingredients, and still have time to meetall those deadlines! With two coursesfor £10 or a main meal and a drink for£10 It’s a menu with little fuss - just

good, honest, simple food for those whohave very little time to stop.

Hotel Indigo

Radisson Blu

Viva Brasil

please callTel: 0151 559 0111

Malmaison

The award-winning Viva Brazil restaurantis situated in the heart of the businessdistrict in Liverpool’s Castle Street. Itis a firm favourite for business lunchesproviding fast and efficient service. Witha menu to suit all tastes, including morethan 15 cuts of meat and 20 salads, you

are guaranteed not to go hungry.

Liverpool Restaurant: 36 Castle Street,Liverpool. L2 0NR Tel: 0151 236 8080www.vivabrazilrestaurants.com

Viva Brazil

£10 full rodizio lunchbetween 12 noon and 4pm,Monday to Friday. Termsand Conditions apply.

Blakes RestaurantBlakes Restaurant is open to residentsand non-residents alike and creates

the perfect setting for a romantic dinnerfor 2 or parties of up to 22 guests right

in the centre of Liverpool.Following our entry into the Good Food

Guide 2010 as Liverpool’s top City Centrerestaurant, advance reservations are advisableto avoid disappointment and can be made [email protected]

Hotel IndigoMarco in Minutes - Express Lunch Menu

Time may be of the essence butthat shouldn’t mean you have to

compromise on quality. With the newExpress Lunch Menu, you can feast onthe finest cuisine using the freshest ofingredients, and still have time to meetall those deadlines! With two coursesfor £10 or a main meal and a drink for£10 It’s a menu with little fuss - just

good, honest, simple food for those whohave very little time to stop.

marco pierre whitesteakhouse call

Tel: 0151 559 0111

Calling+44 (0) 151 243 2121.


businessdiaryTUESDAY, JULY 9ONE of the country’s fore-

most experts on child wel-fare is to speak at the nextCity Leaders’ BreakfastEvent in Liverpool. Mat-thew Reed, chief executiveof The Children’s Society,will speak at the Athen-aeum during the event,from 7.30am to 9am, on'Suffer the Little Chil-dren?' - The Scandal ofChild Poverty.’ The CityLeaders Breakfast is hos-ted by River in the City, inassociation with the Dio-cese of Liverpool, Liver-pool MetropolitanCathedral, LiverpoolAnglican Cathedral and

Liverpool Parish Church –Our Lady and St Nicholas.Rev Keith Hitchman fromRiver in the City said: “In2012 the Campaign to EndChild Poverty (CECP) citedLiverpool as having onethe highest incidences ofchild poverty in the UK,with an estimated 34% ofyoungsters in families sur-viving on less than 60% ofmedian householdincome. This event is anopportunity for city lead-ers to come together toconsider what this meansfor our region and whatcan be done in response.”Tickets are priced at £17.You can book your place

via eventbrite at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/event/6155913503?ref=ebtnebtckt# or visit www.liverpool.anglican.org –bookings close on July 5.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 10PEEL Ports is hosting a

morning event for Invest-Sefton aimed at tenantsbased in the port oper-ator’s dock estate. Themeeting is free and willtake place in Peel’sSeaforth Maritime Centreheadquarters. The eventwill hear an update fromPeel Ports and informationon next year’s Interna-tional Festival for Business.InvestSefton will alsoexplain how it can supportbusinesses with functions

such as tendering, HR andrecruitment support andbusiness rates relief, andthere will be guidance onhow to access grants andfinance, including theRegional Growth Fund,and more.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 10BRAND Ubiquity is staging its

latest networking event atBlankstone Opticians, inDerby Square, from 5.30pmto 7.30pm featuring styleguru and Liverpool Postcolumnist Joanne Watkin-son, and Lee Hagan,founder and global fashionadvisor of The Collective.

MONDAY, JULY 15AS part of Liverpool Business

Week Everton FC chief

executive Robert Elstoneand his Liverpool counter-part Ian Ayre join Down-town Liverpool in Businesshead Frank McKenna todiscuss the new seasonahead and the impact thatthe beautiful game has onthe economy of the city.The venue is Novotel Liv-erpool, 8.30am-10.30am.To book call 0151-227 1633or email [email protected]

THURSDAY, JULY 18LIVERPOOL Professionals

Dinner Club is hosting oneof its informal and profes-sional networking socialoccasions at the Pier Head’sMatou Pan Asian Restaur-ant, from 6pm, with dinnerserved at 7pm. Tickets are

priced at £38+VAT. Theevents are billed as “nocatch, no boring speeches,just great food, greatpeople and great venuesand a bit of fund with afree prize draw. This clubprovides a social platformto build, create and main-tain professional businessrelationships in premier loc-ations in the city of Liver-pool”. To book, please visit:http://www.documentdirect.co.uk/about-us/liverpool-professionals-dinner-club/

MONDAY, JULY 22THE Employability and Skills

Group (ESG) of companiesis holding a series of opendays at its Liverpool oper-ation in Bold Street. It

invites schools and pupils,parents, teachers, heads ofdepartments and careersadvisors, training pro-viders, job centres, com-munity agencies, andemployers to its informalevents, from 10am to4pm, on the second floorof Link 19 in Bold Street’sCentral Village. Refresh-ments are included. It saysthe open days provide achance to find out howESG staff can help indi-viduals to obtain full timejobs via the apprenticeshipprogramme. For furtherdetails Contact Jules West-brook or Pauline O’Brienon 0151-702 6111.

■ Send your diaryevents to [email protected]

Book lovers gatherTHE House Beauty Spahosted its latest BookClub event, this time atthe Holdi LiverpoolIndian restaurant inWoolton Village.

The event featured

author Ivor Peters andhis latest book, TheUrban Rajah's CurryMemoirs.

Pictured, left, is IvorPeters with Rukon fromthe restaurant.

Argos superheroesARGOS staff will transforminto superheroes to raisecash for a charity which isvery close to one of their col-league’s hearts.

Customer advisor NeilWilson nursed his elderlymum Betty after she fell vic-

tim to Alzheimer’s.He and colleagues will use

the launch of the new Argoscatalogue on July 27 at TheGrange and Pyramids Shop-ping Centre in Birkenheadto raise money for theAlzheimer’s Society.

Hotel unites nationsLIVERPOOL’S new Signa-ture Hotel was the venue forthe latest Internations net-working event.

Internations is a globalbody that organises eventsfor people who are living and

working outside of theirhome countries.

Pictured at the event at thehotel in Stanley Street areorganisers Ciiku Sonder-gaard, left, and MichelaInsenga

Jaf Saddiqi, owner of CityWines in Old Hall StreetQ What is your favourite

lunch venue?A I have a few different favour-

ites for different purposes,but high up there is Elif inChildwall Fiveways. It’s aTurkish Barbecue restaurantso suits me down to theground as I’m a big meateater.

Q Why is this your favouritevenue?

A The service is always speedyand personal with a smile (Idon’t actually have to orderanymore), and the food isconsistently great andauthentic. I always choose arestaurant due to the foodand service, never the aes-thetics.

Q What is your favouritedish and why?

A I always have the karisik,which is a Turkish mixed grill.It’s a huge dish full of meat,with rice, salads and a specialhot chilli and tomato sauce togo on the side. The meats aremarinated, cooked perfectlyover charcoal and are full offlavour.

Q What is the best bit ofbusiness you have doneover lunch?

A I once secured a £500,000investment over a four-hourcoffee in Costa – which I wasquite chuffed with.

Q Who would you most liketo have lunch with?

A Difficult question. I think itwould have to be RichardBranson as he’s a hugelyinfluential and inspirationalbusiness figure, of whom I ama great fan.

Q Where else do you like togo for lunch?

A I usually skip lunch, butwhenever I go over to meetmy accountant in Grappen-hall, we usually do so over aChinese banquet.

my favourite lunch

networking

end piece post business

Jaf Saddiqi

Elif in Childwall Fiveways, Liverpool

From left, Amy Hart, Helen Cardinal,Rebecca Harrison and Natalie Thistlewaite

Neil Wilson, centre,with Mark Edge andSophie Houghton


n Corporate Benefits Solutions

n Pensions

n Group Risk Solutions

n Healthcare

n Flexible Benefits

n Executive Planning

n Personal Financial Planning

n Wealth Management

OuR SERviCESMADE FOR YOu

Please remember the value ofinvestments may fall as well as riseand your capital is not guaranteed.

Please contact Paul McGuckin onthe details below.

0151 255 263120 Chapel Street, Liverpool L3 9AG

www.csfs.co.uk

Charles Stanley Financial Solutions Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Charles Stanley Group PLC and is registered in England - No. 2131269. Registered Office: 25 Luke Street, London EC2A 4AR.Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

n LiverpooL n Birmingham n London n pLymouth n Southampton n Watford