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34

CAROLYNHUGHES

SOCIAL DIARY THE NETWORKER

ALL Woman Hair &Beauty, in South Road,Waterloo, held their fund-raising charity week in aidof Breast Cancer Care.

They launched thefundraiser by kicking offwith a Fashion andBeauty event inconjunction with TopShopPersonal ShoppingService.

All Woman Hair &Beauty brought togetherwhat every girl wants –fashion and beauty withmodels showcasing threesignature Topshop styleswhile the All Woman team

ensured the models weretreated to fabulous hairand make-up.! OLIVE Restaurant, inCastle Street, joinedforces with the RoyCastle Lung Foundationrecently to create aspecial “Castle Cocktail”in support of Lung Can-cer Awareness Month.

Olive will be donating50p from every“Dedicated” cocktailduring November.

Guests also enjoyed acocktail masterclass withOlive’s award-winningmixologist Kevin Dunlop.

Topshop personal shoppers Charlotte Harper andUrsula Carey-Jenkins at the All Woman fundraiserevent

Rebecca and Leesa Robinson, of All Woman Hair &Beauty, at the fundraising launch event

Rebecca, Leesa and Veronica Robinson, of AllWoman Hair & Beauty, at the fundraising event

Amy Russell and Gemma Garrit at the All Womanfundraising launch event

Paula Chadwick, with Grace Boyd, of the OliveRestaurant, and Liz Legge and Lia Kennedy, atthe Roy Castle Foundation’s Castle Cocktaillaunch event

Marketing directors at Princes, Karen Stewartand Amberley Rainey, enjoy their Castle Cocktails

Award-winning Olive mixologist Kevin Dunlopwith Amberley Rainey, at the Castle Cocktailslaunch event

Roy Castle Foundation director of fundraising Laura Irving, withcorporate fundraising manager Liz Legge and chief executive PaulaChadwick, at the Olive Restaurant cocktails event

Charlotte Harper, of Topshop; Leesa Robinson, from All Woman; Rebecca Robinson;and Ursula Carey-Jenkins, of Topshop, with Diane Morgan and Bobby Purchase, at theFashion and Beauty event

3

WELCOME to the last edition ofPost Business of 2012.

Despite the fact there is still awhole month of the year ahead ofus, it is still reasonable to reflecton how things have turned out inthe past year, if only because thismonth’s Big Interview with SirMichael Bibby offers an overviewof global trading conditions.

Given Bibby Line Group’ssectorial and internationallydiverse range of businessactivities, Sir Michael is very wellplaced to offer an up-to-the-minutereading of the state of the world’seconomy and to say somethingabout prospects for recovery fouryears after recession first set in.

You only have to look at theeconomic data for the UK for the

past year to see that our positionis, as Sir Michael says, stable.Indeed, since the start of 2010, theBritish economy has experiencedonly marginal movements in GDP.Shallow growth has been followedby shallow decline before, morerecently, returning to shallowgrowth.

As such, Britain’s performancehas been relatively resilientcompared to southern Europeannations. We have been sustained

in part by surprisingly robustlabour market conditions. Newprivate sector jobs have offset joblosses in the austerity struckpublic sector. Whether thatsituation will last is anothermatter.

The problems of southernEurope could yet provecontagious and spread tonorthern Europe, but it issurely more likely thatGermany, France and theBenelux nations willreturn to growth soonerrather than later and it isthese northern Europeannations that are ourbiggest tradingpartners, not thetroubled South.

As for the looming US fiscalcliff, which Democrat orRepublican politician is going torisk being blamed for causing theUS economy to return torecession? They will resolve theproblem of the US national debtbefore the New Year deadline.

China’s newly installedleadership will want to keep

the people happy and willtherefore, very autocrat-ically, engineer aresumption of stronggrowth. Brazil can alsoassist with a big

contribution thesedays.

So what’sthere toworry about?

Well, of course, any of thesefactors mentioned above could yetgo wrong, but the biggest fear hasto be the Middle East and thepotential for a recession inducingdisruption of global oil supplies.

While Hamas and Israel are ateach other’s throats and Syria isin a state of civil war, the Straitsof Hormuz remain open. Whilethat is the case, the worldeconomy will have a better 2013than 2012.

One dark cloud on the horizonis inflation. Once the recoverycranks into gear, commodityprices will rise sharply, pushingup the cost of living for everybody.

4NEWSLJMU joins forces with industrygiants on pipe project

7BIG FEATUREHow are Liverpool’s theatrescoping in the recession?

10INTERNATIONAL TRADEHaydock firm is named as a NorthWest Export Champion

12PROFESSIONAL SECTORSMerseyside Special InvestmentFund celebrates 18 years

15BIG INTERVIEWSir Michael Bibby on how he isreshaping an iconic city business

19ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTBaltic Triangle creative quarterestablishes a thriving business hub

24HOW GREEN IS YOURBUSINESS?Students help Wirral company withits recycling efforts

27COMMERCIAL PROPERTYHow Warrington is bucking thetrend for commercial lettings

28KNOWLEDGE ECONOMYBusiness leaders debate the futureof a key Merseyside sector

31BUSINESS LUNCH

32THE LISTKey events for your diary

33THE NETWORKERAlistair Houghton says “take me toyour leaders”

34SOCIAL DIARYCarolyn Hughes out on the town

BILLGLEESON

BILL GLEESON

INSIDE

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POSTBUSINESS

LIVERPOOL POSTEDITORMark Thomas0151 227 2000mark.thomas@liverpool.com

BUSINESS WRITERSBill Gleeson0151 472 2319bill.gleeson@liverpool.comTony McDonough0151 330 4918tony.mcdonough@liverpool.comAlistair Houghton0151 472 2449alistair.houghton@liverpool.comNeil Hodgson0151 472 2451neil.hodgson@liverpool.com

HEAD OF IMAGESBarrie Millsbarrie.mills@liverpool.com

MARKETINGEXECUTIVERachel Street0151 227 2000rachel.street@trinitymirror.com

ADVERTISEMENTDIRECTORDebbie McGraw

ADVERTISEMENTSALESNeil Johnson0151 472 2705neil.johnson@trinitymirror.com

Diana Griffithsdiana.griffiths@trinitymirror.com0151 472 2311

PHOTOGRAPHYTrinity Mirror

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

TELEPHONE0151 227 2000

FAX0151 330 4942

COPYRIGHTPost Business is printedmonthly and distributed withthe Liverpool Post. No part ofthis publication may bereproduced without permissionof the publisher.

4

NEWS

A Balfour Beatty networkintelligence operative looks forsigns of leaks or blockages usingvisual and acoustic sensors

From left, Steve Bamforth, of Griffiths &Armour, with Stephen Yip and Les Dennis

LJMU bids to perfectkeyhole pipe repairs

Insurance broker backing Christmas appealLIVERPOOL insurancebroker, Griffiths &Armour, has donated£1,000 to help kick offthe KIND ChristmasHamper Appeal.

KIND is a localchildren’s charity thataims to deliver 1,000Christmas Hampers todisadvantaged familiesin the Merseyside areaevery year.

Griffiths & Armourchief executive, SteveBamforth, presented themoney to KIND founder,Stephen Yip, at thefirm’s Water Streetoffice.

At the same time, MrYip also received a

£5,000 donation fromcomedian Les Dennis,who won the cash afterappearing on the ITVshow, Mr & Mrs.

Mr Bamforth said:“We are delighted tohost and help launchKIND’s ChristmasHamper Appeal.

“We chose KIND asour charity of the yearfor 2012/2013 and hopeto highlight the greatwork they carry out andaim to help the charityraise their profile withinthe local businesscommunity.”

Mr Yip added: “We areoverjoyed at this sup-port for the appeal.”

ACONSORTIUM of

Liverpool John MooresUniversity (LJMU),Balfour Beatty UtilitySolutions, United

Utilities and Derby-based pipelineassessment specialist JD7 has beenawarded almost £200,000 to developa new way to assess water pipes.

The research award by theTechnology Strategy Board is partof more than £2.5m of funding forseveral projects and studies aimedat addressing water security chal-lenges in the UK and overseas.

The consortium is seeking todevelop a “Subaqua AssessmentVehicle for Water Infrastructure”(Save Water) which can be put into

water pipes to deliver optical andacoustic inspections and carry outa structural assessment of pipesand any linings.

Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions’innovation strategy manager, gasand water, Mike Brockhurst, said:“What is so exciting about this newproject is that it will give us a com-plete assessment capability in asingle unit, allowing us to fullymap the condition of a pipe withoutever having to switch the mains off.

“This is obviously good forcustomers and road users as itminimises the impact of work ontheir lives.”

He added: “At present, we stillregularly dig up roads and conduct

‘open heart surgery’ on ournetworks.

“Our ultimate aim is to move to‘keyhole’ operations, in whicheverything is done remotelythrough a hydrant or valve; frominspection and assessment rightthrough to repair.”

Prof Ahmed Al-Shamma’a, ofLJMU, said: “We are delighted to bepart of this world-class industrialconsortium.

“This project will provide avehicle for the academics at LJMUto demonstrate the impact of theirniche and unique sensor system inorder to provide the water industrywith a step change in real-timemonitoring.”

QUALITYLEGAL

Michael Sandys,Partner atJackson & CanterQualitySolicitors

In Business for your Business

Small claims in thePatents County Court

AS FROM October 1, 2012, anew procedure for dealingwith small claims has beenadopted by the PatentsCounty Court allowing it todeal with small claimsregarding certain aspects ofIntellectual Property.

The new regime allows forclaims for injunctions anddamages up to a £5,000 cap.Importantly, this is combinedwith there being limited riskof adverse costs for theClaimant in bringing such anaction, thus providing a cost-effective remedy forinfringement of certainIntellectual Property Rightsfor SMEs.

The cost ofenforcingIntellectualProperty Rightsin England andWales hastraditionallybeen veryexpensive andthe new systemprovides a cost-effective remedyfor small tomedium-sizedbusinesses whowish to enforcetheir Intellectual PropertyRights, without the risk ofsuffering huge adverse costs,should they be unsuccessful.

This could be in relation tobrand protection orprotection of designs andcopyright material.

The new regime, however,does not deal with Patentdisputes and any issuesregarding patents will needto be dealt with by theexisting regime in thePatents County Court, whichincludes a £50,000 per sidecost cap.

The new Small Claimsregime does cover claimsregarding Design Right,Trade Marks and Copyright.

Any substantive hearing todetermine issues shall be nolonger than two days andcosts are on a fixed scale.

Total recoverable costs arelimited to a small amountplus issue fee and witnessexpenses.

The new system initiallyallows for monetary damageslimited to £5,000, but this issoon to be increased to£15,000. Significantly,

injunctions and orders fordelivery of infringing articlesare also available to theClaimant.

In order to use the newsystem, a Pre-Action Letterof Claim still needs to beprovided to the other side. Ifsettlement cannot be achiev-ed through early correspond-ence, then the claim can beissued in London at thePatents County Court andthere will be an initial fee ofbetween £35 to £120 to issuethe claim. The claim needs tobe accompanied by aStatement of Facts.

The Court will havediscretion to reallocate theclaim to another track if theSmall Claims Track is seen

as inap-propriate.

Final Hear-ings will be con-ducted by aDistrict Judgeor DeputyDistrict Judgeand there is awide scope forthe Court toadopt a flexibleprocedureregarding theway in which itwishes to dealwith evidence.

Disputes may also beresolved on paper, thereforewithout the need for aHearing with Parties present.

This new regime willprovide a very cost-effectiveand flexible system to allowowners of Copyright; TradeMarks and Design Rights toenforce their rights in arelatively simple mannerwithout the need to getembroiled in expensivelitigation which usuallycarries the risk of significantadverse costs. There is stillthe need for a Solicitor andBarrister to assist with suchcases and legal advice shouldalways be sought beforelaunching any claim.

! IF YOU require any fur-ther advice on the new re-gime, then please contactMichael Sandys at Quality-Solicitors Jackson & Canteron 0151 702 8747 or email:michaelsandys@qualitysolicitors.com

! IN ASSOCIATION withQualitySolicitors Jacksonand Canter

‘The newsystem helpsbusinesseswho wish toenforce theirIP Rights’

33

ALISTAIRHOUGHTON

THE NETWORKER

. . . in which the region’s leaders proveyou can do steak and chips as a canapé

IF AN alien had landed inLiverpool last week and said“Take me to your leaders”,there’d only have been oneplace to take them – theMuseum of Liverpool.

Yes, the museum looks likea spacecraft that’smaterialised on the Pier

Head on the way to Alpha Centauri.But, more pertinently, last week itssoaring spiral atrium played host tothe Post’s first annual Leaders Awards.

The event aimed to honour theleaders in the private, public and thirdsectors who are really making adifference to the lives of Merseysiders.

Last month, the Post published a listof the region’s Top 250 leaders in asupplement that, we hope, has becomerequired reading in boardrooms – or atleast executive toilets – across theNorth west. And then a panel of judges,including Peter Sissons and SirJeremy Isaacs, narrowed that list downto 48 nominees across 12 categories.

I had two jobs for the night. My firstwas to liveblog the event on the Post’swebsite. And the second, terrifyinglyfor me, was to get on stage to presentthe award to the region’s Creative andDigital Leader of the Year.

But first, networking and grazing.As I circled the room, I snook canapéafter canapé. I was even, in a first forme, offered steak and chips as a pre-dinner nibble.

The servers held wooden platters,piled high with fries and pieces oftender steak, which we could stab atwith our cocktail sticks. I tried my bestto get a full steak dinner from theplatters circling the room – as, itseems, did every other guilty-facedcarnivorous guest.

Vegetarians had to make do withrichly tasty, deep-fried goats cheeseballs – if they could find them before Iate them, that is. Well, networking ishungry work.

As I wandered, I bumped into acouple of nominees. The ever-enthusiastic Francis Irving, of hi-techLiverpool data specialist Scraperwiki,talked passionately about Liverpool’sdigital scene.

And I chatted to Dr Neil Murray, ofrapidly-growing biotech firm Redx,about his Scottish heritage and hislove for Dundee United.

SOON, dramatic musicheralded the start of theawards themselves.

So I headed to the back ofthe room, and began firing off

a stream of tweets about the event andthe winners.

First came a speech by Posteditor Mark Thomas, who explainedhow we at the Post had come up with alist of leaders, ranked alphabetically bysector. “I shudder to think”, he added,“how long it would have taken us torank them in order of importance”.

I shuddered in sympathy – havingtaken part in many, many judges’meetings, I can confirm that gettingthat list down to 250 withoutjournalistic fistfights and flouncingwas hard enough.

Next came Prof Murray Dalziel, ofthe University of Liverpool’s Manage-ment School, to tell us about the powerof leadership. And, he told us, the onlybigger category of books on Amazonthan leadership is sex. Cue giggles.

Finally, TV newsman and KryptonFactor icon Gordon Burns took to thestage to host the awards.

From the back of the room, I couldwatch the winners being shepherdedin front of a Post billboard for acelebratory photo.

And it was pleasingly clear theywere all, whether smiling broadly orsimply radiating pride, thrilled withtheir honours.

Their plus ones were also prettypleased. When fashion designer KirstyDoyle won the Lifestyle category, hermother whooped and cheered beforetelling people proudly “That’s mydaughter!”

WHEN my time came, Imanaged not to trip overonstage or fluff my linesbefore presenting theCreative and Digital

award to TV guru Phil Redmond.Now, Redmond must have been to

dozens of awards dos. But even so, heseemed genuinely pleased to have won,smiling broadly as he leaped on stage,and posing comically with his award.

The final award was for overallleader of the year. As Burns read thecitation, and it became clear who hadwon, I could see Bishop James Jones atthe back of the room drying his eyesand composing himself.

And, after heading to the stage towarm applause, he spoke quietly,eloquently and movingly about hiswork leading the Hillsborough panel.

He paid tribute to the strength of thefamilies who lost their loved ones onthat fateful day, and said he was proudto have played his part in telling theworld the truth about what happened.And, he said, “truth must now lead tojustice” for the 96 who lost their lives.

Leadership isn’t always aboutshouting loudest. Sometimes, quietstrength gains the best results.

ONCE the awards were over,out came the “bowl food” –including a tasty scallopand black pudding combo.And, pleasingly, most guests

chose to stay on and chat over beersand wines, rather than rushing away.

So I spoke to Jonathan Holmes, ofdesign agency Milky Tea, about hisexciting plans for his company’s newvideo games arm. And I chatted to theexcited Cathy Elliot, who had won theYoung Leader of the Year title and toldme how her Community Foundationfor Merseyside planned to encourageeven more corporate philanthropy.

Francis Irving, meanwhile, may nothave won, but he did his job promotingScraperwiki. By the end of the night,several leading media figures weresporting yellow stickers starringScraperwiki’s yellow digger logo.

So, if that alien had been to visit, Ilike to think they’d have left feelingpretty darned positive about ourregion’s leaders and the differencethey’re making. And, I reckon, they’llhave taken one great tip back to theirown extra-terrestrial leaders –you can, in fact, serve steakand chips as a canapé.

Our networker, left, with Phil Redmond, centre, posing, and GordonBurns at the Post’s Leaders Awards, at the Museum of Liverpool

32

THE NETWORKER

THE BUSINESS LISTTHURSDAY, JANUARY 10/ SUPPORTING WOMEN IN BUSINESS DAY

BBC TV’s The Apprentice star, Claire Young, inset, right, isamong the keynote speakers at the Liverpool Hilton Hotel event

Friday, November 23CAMIAD, the Campaign forAwareness of Mental IllnessAmong Debtors, is holding a one-day workshop at the Cheshireand Wirral Partnership NHSFoundation Trust offices in Syc-amore House, Ellesmere Port,aimed at helping to reduce therising tide of debt-relatedsuicides.

Campaign founder, insolvencypractitioner Ian Williamson,pictured, who has offices inNorthwich, said the workshopsare designed for any profes-sional, such as accountants,solicitors, social and charityworkers, and insolvency prac-titioners, who have face-to-facecontact with individuals whocould be mentally disturbed, orsuicidal, due to overwhelmingdebt.

He said: “It provides them withthe skills to recognise if a clienthas a real mental health problembecause of their debt, and howto signpost them on forprofessional medical help.

“Over time, we are confidentthis will reduce the debt-relatedsuicide rate.”

Places are limited. To bookcontact Andy Haywood at theTrust on 01244 397391 orandy.hayward@ cwp.nhs.uk

Monday, November 26THE latest in a series of monthlyopen days by the Employmentand Skills Group takes place atits Liverpool office, in Bold Street.

This is the last prior to Christ-mas before three more next year.

They are aimed at schools,pupils, careers advisors, parents,training providers JobCentres,community agencies andemployers and outlineapprenticeship-basedemployment opportunities.

Phone Jules Westbrook on0151-702 6111 for details.

Tuesday, November 27LIVERPOOL Chamber of Com-merce is holding a free CustomsMasterclass on VAT and tradingwith other countries, delivered bySue Harper and Jo Toal, fromHM

Revenue & Customs. Regist-ration is 9.30am and the eventconcludes at 12 noon.! For more information,

visit www.liverpoolchamber.org.uk/events.html?eventID=2994

Tuesday, November 27MEET and Eat, sponsored byThe Comedy Trust, is organisedby Liverpool Chamber ofCommerce and the latest eventtakes place at Liverpool FC.

The event starts at 12.15pmuntil 2.15pm and offers plenty ofnetworking opportunities.Tickets cost £15 +VAT.

For more information, visitwww.liverpoolchamber.org.uk/events.html?eventID=3096

Friday, December 7WIDNES chartered

accountants Holland & Co is

hosting a free networking eventat its Widnes Road offices from5pm. Free cocktails will beserved during the evening whichis aimed at generating new

business and contacts forattendees. For further details,please contact 0151-420 6666.

Tuesday, December 11ST HELENS Chamber ofCommerce is hosting a freeexport seminar at its SalisburyStreet offices, starting at 9.30amand running until 4.45pm.

It will provide an introductionto the world of exportprocedures and the paperworkinvolved and is designed forthose in organisations who dealwith exporting and those insupporting roles such asadministration, sales, despatch,logistics, purchasing, financeand managers of companiesexporting for the first time.Contact 01744 742000.

SUPPORTING Womenin Business Day 2013 isaimed at small firmsand start-ups, with afocus on femaleentrepreneurship.

The day-long eventat Liverpool’s HiltonHotel includes net-

working workshops, arange of inspirationalspeakers, includingBBC TV The Apprenticefinalist Claire Young,motivational speakerMarie-Claire Carlyle,and “paté queen” andbusinesswoman

Margaret Carter. Sales,marketing, legal, HRand accountancy work-shops are also scheduled.

The event has beenorganised by business-woman Shirley-AnnO’Neill who has att-racted the support of

regeneration groupLiverpool Vision, theChartered Institute ofMarketing, LiverpoolJohn Moores Univer-sity’s Centre for Entre-preneurship, andLiverpool’s The Wom-en’s Organisation.

She said: “Our primeobjective is to create anevent to support Liver-pool Women in Business.”! For further informat-ion, contact sao@shirley-ann.com 07947434688, or visit www.thisladyloves.com

Insolvency practitionerIan Williamson

Anfield hosts Meet and Eat

5

NEWS

Ferries contract will signalthe return of Cammell LairdYard chief hopes ship building in its own right will herald historic new dawn for company

Cammell Laird chief executive, John Syvret, at theBirkenhead yard; and, inset, one of the existingWestern Ferries vessels

Main picture: GAVIN TRAFFORD

BUILDING two complete newferries will promote the CammellLaird brand across Europe,Cammell Laird boss John Syvrettold Post Business.

“I am delighted to have won theWestern Ferries contract – it’sfantastic news,” said Mr Syvret,Laird’s chief executive.

“We tendered against our toprivals throughout Europe andWestern Ferries put its trust in usfor building these very importantassets. I’m very proud of ourmanagement team and workforcewith their flexibility to deliver afirst-class job for constructing theships and building our brandprofile.”

Building has begun on the fer-ries – Sound of Seil and Sound ofSoay – with delivery due nextsummer for the River Clyde ser-

vice. They will be improvedversions of the existing Sound ofShuna.

These are the first completeships built at the Birkenheadshipyard since the sub HMSUnicorn was finished in 1993.

“I look forward to the WesternFerries contract as a platform forfuture business and a big step upfor us,” said Mr Syvret.

“It will obviously mean morepotential customers becomingaware of what we do. Announcingwe’re back building completeships is really very important. It’svery easy just to focus on deliver-ing a project, but you also need tomarket what you do.”

That is why the £44m contractto build parts of the Royal Navy’snew aircraft carrier QueenElizabeth is also a great shop

window for the company. The twoWestern Ferries vessels are beingbuilt in Laird’s construction hall,but, said Mr Syvret, they won’thave a conventional slipwaylaunch. Instead, they will have a“controlled” entry into the water.

“We’re an engineering servicesprovider and build on ourmaritime heritage, which is verymuch the foundation of ourbusiness,” he said.

“This is a company whichtouches all the community. Every-one knows someone who hasworked in the yard, and that’swhy the success of the business isreally, really important.”

While very proud of Laird’shistory, Mr Syvret is keen to makefuture history with a brand andskills which he very muchbelieves are transferable.

“These skills can be deployedinto other engineering opportun-ities, such as renewable energy,offshore oil and gas, and civilnuclear sectors,” he said.

“It’s a difficult market out thereand that’s why we can’t keep ourheads down. We’ve got to fish inas many pools as possible if weare to continue employing ourworkforce. That means expandingexisting markets and finding newmarkets.

“Back-to-back projects are notgood enough, we need over-lapping projects to keep thebusiness running. It’s importantwe have jobs for young peoplecoming out of schools and giveopportunities for skills develop-ment. That’s why investing inthese skills will be self-regener-ating.”

Gordon Ross, Western Ferriesmanaging director, said: “I’m veryimpressed with not only CammellLaird’s tender, but also its person-nel at the yard itself and theoverall package.

“I’m delighted we’re buildingour new vessels in the UK. It’sgreat news for Western Ferriesand its customers and also a goodnews story for the Merseysidecommunity.

“The economy is always peaksand troughs and things will getbetter. We’re a small company andthis is an important multi-millionpound contract for us.”

Mr Syvret added: “We’re onlythe current custodians (ofCammell Laird) and must makesure it’s in a better place duringour time here. I’m very proud ofwhat we’ve achieved to date.”

6 31

Gourmet CoffeeWalker House,Exchange Flags,Liverpool L2 3YLTel: 0151 236 5266

THE NETWORKER

BUSINESS LUNCH

DETAILS

Des Veney

Gourmet Coffee has recently introduced a deli-bar to offer customers more choice

Tony McDonough meets DesVeney, of accountants HainesWatts, at Gourmet Coffee

AFEW years

ago, HMRevenue &Customscame upwith aslogan topersuadepeople to get

their self-assessment tax forms inon time – “tax doesn’t have to betaxing”, it said.

Well, not only does it continueto be taxing for businesses andindividuals alike, but the wholeissue now seems to have become amoral dilemma, too.

The tax affairs of corporategiants like Starbucks andAmazon, as well as comedianJimmy Carr, have all come underthe spotlight in recent times.

Interesting for all of us, butparticularly fascinating if youhappen to be an accountant, asDes Veney can testify.

Des is a partner at Liverpoolaccountancy firm Haines Watts,and he has seen the issue fromboth sides, having worked forHMRC before joining a privateaccountancy firm.

“It is always important to makea distinction between tax evasionand tax avoidance and it has beeninteresting to see how in the pastfew weeks this has become muchmore of a moral issue,” he said.

“Tax evasion is clearly wrongbut as a profession we account-ants are quite clear – we have aduty to minimise our clients’ taxliabilities.”

Given the subject under dis-cussion, it is perhaps fitting thatthis month’s lunch venue isGourmet Coffee, located inExchange Flags, behind LiverpoolTown Hall.

It is an independent coffeeshop, a sector that has feltaggrieved in recent weeks overthe alleged avoidance of tax byglobal coffee giant, Starbucks, inits UK operations.

The coffee shop was estab-lished by entrepreneurs, DeanBee and Andy Fernandez,originally as a Coffee Republicfranchise, before theyconverted it into their ownbrand.

The outlet already enjoys aloyal following among the localbusiness community and Deanand Andy aren’t averse to abit of mischief when itcomes to drum-ming up newbusiness.

When anearbyStarbucksoutlet

closed for good a few weeks ago,they cheekily painted whitefootsteps on the pavement leadingfrom its door to their door –offering people a free muffin atthe end of the trail.

For his light-bite lunch, Desordered a chicken salad for whichhe was rewarded with a generous,well-presented helping of freshingredients, which he said hefound “delicious”.

He was also offered a small freesample cup containing the soup ofthe day – pea and mint and said:“That was so nice that I wish I’dordered it, too.”

I kept it simple with a tastychicken and bacon toastie, and itcame to the table garnished witha good helping of salad – a niceextra touch.

A big issue that Haines Watts isdealing with at the moment is aninvestigation launched by HMRCinto bank accounts held in Jerseyby UK taxpayers.

A list, containing the names,addresses and account balances of4,388 UK residents with offshoreaccounts with HSBC, was given toHMRC by a secret source.

Collectively, they have £699m incurrent accounts at the bank.

Des Veney said his team hadalready been contacted byindividuals and companies thatsuspect they are on the list.

He said: “This investigation isgoing to have an impact on a lot ofpeople and some of those will bebased in the North West.

“Since the news broke, I havebeen contacted by a handful ofindividuals who suspect they areon the list and who are unsure ofwhat they should do next.

“Those HSBC account holderswho have not complied with theirUK tax obligations need to act

quickly and get theprofessional help

that they need.“If they do

so, theycould avoida heavypenalty inthe form ofa fine.”

Theleaked list of

HSBC clients is reported toinclude names from the oil andmining industries, as well asdoctors and some celebrities – allgroups that typically have sig-nificant overseas earnings.

Des added: “If you have anoffshore bank account whether inJersey or elsewhere and yoususpect there may be a problem,my advice would be to be pro-active and take the relevant stepsto make a disclosure before youare approached by HMRC.”

Des said the taxman had be-come cleverer in recent times byputting more of the disclosureburden onto taxpayers and theiraccountants.

“When HMRC tries to catchpeople through investigation, thatcan be expensive and time-consuming,” he said.

“But when they offer amnestiesand invite people to come clean,then the burden is on the taxpayerand their advisors to do all the

work working out what is owed.”Haines Watts deals with the smallbusiness sector and says, in termsof the recession, there are somefirms faring better than others.

He explained: “Those firms thatare doing well, are doing reallywell – there are definite extremes.

“For example, we are seeingengineering firms with goodorder books that are performingstrongly. On the other hand, bus-inesses that are reliant onconsumer spending are strugglinga lot more.”

He adds that some of the polic-ies of HMRC don’t always makelife easier for the small businesssector.

He cites one imminent initiat-ive coming into force next year –Real Time Information (RTI).

This will mean, rather thanfirms reporting their PAYE andNational Insurance informationat the end of the year, they willinstead have to do it each timethey do a payroll – typically oncea month for many firms.

HMRC says this will simplifythe process and ensure the rightamount of tax is paid.

But Des said: “This does putanother burden on small firmswho will have to update theirsystems.

“This is all about HMRC mak-ing sure it gets its money before acompany goes bust.

“It used to be the case thatwhen a company went under, thetaxman would be a preferentialcreditor, but that isn’t the caseany more. It means that HMRC isnow keen to make sure it getsmoney owed quickly when a firmis struggling, rather than waitinguntil the end of the year.”

30

GIVE THE GIFT OF ENTERTAINMENT!GIVE THE GIFT OF ENTERTAINMENT!GIVE THE GIFT OF ENTERTAINMENT!GIVE THE GIFT OF ENTERTAINMENT!GIVE THE GIFT OF ENTERTAINMENT!

Radio City Live

6 December

Peter Andre

8December

Florence + theMachine10 December

Mrs Brown Rides Again11 - 15 December

One Direction17& 31March 2013

HarlemGlobetrotters

28March 2013

20th Anniversary Concert

27 April 2013

Girls Aloud20March 2013

JLS9 December 2013

Arenacross10 February 2013

Madness7 December

14 December - 6 January 2013

2May 2013

Eddie Izzard

5May 2013

Leona Lewis15May 2013

Mark Knopfler and Band19May 2013

WalkingWith DinosaursThe Arena Spectacular22 - 26May 2013

Micky Flanagan

12November 2013

Example13 February 2013

Justin Bieber24 February 2013

TheNational GayWedding Show3March 2013

BT CONVENTION CENTRE

Jessie J5March 2013

McCoy’sPremier League Darts2May 2013

Il Divo & Katherine Jenkins10 April 2013

The Script9March 2013

Classical Spectacular ®16March 2013

OllyMurs13& 27March 2013

29 - 30 January

Ronan Keating

1 February 2013

Donny&Marie Live2 February 2013

2 -3 February 2013

BT CONVENTION CENTRE

Little Mix3 February 2013

The AustralianPink Floyd Show8 February 2013

Michael McIntyre22 - 24November

JeffWayne’sMusical Version OfTheWarOf TheWorlds

1 December

Vampires Rock Christmas21 December

The X Factor Live Tour6 February 2013

GIVE THE GIFT OF ENTERTAINMENT!GIVE THE GIFT OF ENTERTAINMENT!GIVE THE GIFT OF ENTERTAINMENT!

Justin & Friends4April 2013

OTHER

OTHER

Elbow

29November

AlanisMorissette

30November

26 February - 3March 2013

7

!

BY TONY MCDONOUGH

THE BIG FEATURE!

A critical stage

Liverpool’s theatres offer a diverse rangeof entertainment – but, in an age of

austerity and public sector cutbacks, arethey facing an uncertain future?

8

THE BIG FEATURE

“We take a risk every time weput on a show and it is very hardwork, and I think producingtheatres like ours could do withmore support.

“A theatre without an audienceis just a building, and we dodeliver an audience, but I thinkLiverpool does need an overallstrategy for its theatres.

“We have a £2m turnover hereand employ 30 people full-timeand around 60 part-time. We arean important part of Liverpool’snight-time economy.”

Just around the corner fromthe Royal Court is the LiverpoolEmpire, which is actually part ofbigger group called AmbassadorsTheatre Group – the largest in thecountry.

Its portfolio also includesSouthport Theatre.

The Empire is what is called areceiving house, which means itbooks in existing touring shows –big productions which may orig-inate in the West End of London.

It has just staged a productionof Legally Blonde and is nowworking on bringing 9 to 5 nextyear, along with otherproductions, including 42nd Streetand Cinderella.

It employs around 60 peoplefull-time, plus others on a casualbasis, according to the size of theproduction.

The Empire’s head of sales andmarketing, Mike James, said the

theatre has had to become“cannier” on its pricing policy tokeep people coming through thedoors in what has become a muchtougher economic climate.

“Pricing for each show is nowmore flexible. For example, wehave introduced a £10 pricepromise – an idea that has comefrom our customers.

“They have said they lovecoming here but do not have asmuch money as they used to, tocome as often as they would like.

“So we offer a certain numberof tickets at a £10 starting priceand the take-up from that hasbeen massive.

“Our strategy is about respond-ing to what people tell us andadapting to the climate that weare in.”

Mr James added that being partof a larger group helped witheconomies of scale.

“Despite the climate, someshows are phenomenallysuccessful and help us buck theeconomic trend – we are holdingour own,” he said.

“It really helps having thesupport of Ambassadors andhaving access to centralresources.”

While the Royal Court andEmpire have to consider bums onseats as top priority when lookingat a production, the Everyman/Playhouse has public subsidy,which allows it much more

artistic freedom, and helpssupport its extensive work out inthe community.

It is two theatres in oneorganisation, although theEveryman, in Hope Street, iscurrently being rebuilt so onlyThe Playhouse, in WilliamsonSquare, is currently open forbusiness.

Executive director DeborahAydon said in a typical year, withboth theatres open, ticket saleswould account for 35-40% of over-all revenues.

At present, the organisationreceives £2.4m in subsidy eachyear, with the bulk coming fromthe Arts Council and a contrib-ution from Liverpool CityCouncil.

It also receives a small amountfrom Knowsley Council.

The Arts Council funding isguaranteed until 2015, but MsAydon acknowledges that, in theage of austerity, there is a concernabout securing the same level ofsupport in the future.

The Everyman/Playhouse wasone of many theatres around thecountry that backed DannyBoyle’s message to theGovernment.

She said: “There is a concern.The Arts Council is seeing cuts toits core revenue funding andLiverpool City Council also hassome difficult decisions to make.

“Once the new Everyman is

open, there is a the potential togenerate extra revenue, not justthrough the productions, but alsofrom corporate sponsorship, thebistro and bar and through thehiring out of meeting rooms.”

Ms Aydon says that not only dothe two theatres contributearound £12m to the local economyeach year, but also provide widersocial benefits that in many casesare beyond measure.

“It is the iceberg under thewater,” she added. “The economic,social and cultural benefits ofwhat we do are immense.

“If you look at the work we doin the community – with primarycare trusts, the youth service,social landlords – it is huge.

“And they have their own fund-ing pressures, so it means fundingfor projects can be very short-term.

“We have opened up the studiotheatre, which has just 60-70 seats.It is not going to make money, butwhat it does is offer a vitalresource to new writers.”

In terms of actual productions,Ms Aydon says it is about puttingon the best and appealing to asmany people as possible.

Keeping prices down is also anessential part of the mix.

She explained: “Ticket pricesare always very accessible. Weoffer standby tickets to youthprogramme and that has nowbeen extended to those who are

‘T HEATRE sustainslocal communitiesand does very, verypositive things forlocal economies.”

So says Danny Boyle, creativedirector of the Olympics openingceremony, who last week joinedartistic directors from acrossEngland to lobby the Governmentfor more investment in the arts.

“The return that you get fromit is incalculable,” he added.

It’s a point of view that willcertainly find favour here inMerseyside, which is home to adiverse range of theatres.

Arts and culture have alwaysbeen an essential part of the mixof the Liverpool city region’svisitor economy. And this sectorhas been in sharper focus since2008 when Liverpool wasEuropean Capital of Culture.

However, just as in other areasof the economy, theatres arehaving to work hard and thinksmart to keep people comingthrough the doors.

In the city centre, we have theEveryman/Playhouse and theUnity, which rely heavily onpublic funding.

The Epstein (formerly theNeptune) receives some short-term support from the citycouncil in terms of rent.

The Empire and Royal Courttheatres receive no publicsubsidy for day-to-day running.

However, the Royal Court hasthis year embarked on the firstphase of a £10.6m redevelopmentplan and has benefited from an£867,000 Heritage Lottery Fundgrant to help fund the work.

The entire auditorium wasrepainted in classic black andgold and new lighting installed,including LED lights around theproscenium arch and along thegold moulded details on theceiling.

The largest expenditure was onthe seating for the 1,150-capacity,three-tier theatre. The stalls werecompletely remodelled and newseats installed in both the circleand the balcony.

It re-opened in June with a newmusical comedy by local writerDave Kirby called Reds And Blues– The Musical.

It is this kind of show andothers like the smash hit, BrickUp the Mersey Tunnels, whichthe Royal Court has used to att-ract a more solid working classaudience which is not tradition-ally associated with theatre-going.

Chief executive Kevin Fearon,who took over the venue in 2005,is proud of the fact that the offernow appeals to a broader demo-graphic, but admits the theatre’sbusiness plan is “precarious”.

“What we have done here interms of audience development isincredible,” he said.

“We are attracting people fromthe north end of Liverpool to ourshows – that is somethingtheatres in other cities aren’tdoing.

“I think the fact that we areeven here is amazing – basicallyall of our income comes from boxoffice and bar sales.

“We have applied for fundingfrom the Arts Council but theyturned us down because they saidwe are not financially stable.

“Other theatres that havesubsidy can take more risks andthose like the Empire can bringin shows from producers whohave a track record.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7

29

KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY

An artist’s impression of the planned Liverpool Biocampus

for Economic Affairs at LJMU,asked about whether Liverpool’sgovernance structure worked aseffectively as Manchester’s.

Dr Attridge said there was stillroom for improvement, as she hadnot been sure which agency totalk to when she first arrived inthe city.

“It’s getting better,” she said.“We all have a part to play. But Idon’t think we’re there yet.

“Too often, Liverpool opens aconversation by apologising for itspast rather than talking about itsfuture.”

Dr Murray agreed the city hadsome way to go, though he praisedLiverpool Vision for helping him“navigate through the maze” oflocal decision-making.

But he added: “We get a lot ofoffers from people in inwardinvestment in other areas andother countries, not just the UK.

“It’s not perfect (in Liverpool).

But it’s probably a lot better thanother areas we’ve spoken to.”

Joe Anderson said he was de-termined to continue attractinginvestment to Liverpool despitebudget cuts. That, he said, neededa “kick ass approach”.

He added: “That’s my ambition– not just to be as good asManchester but to make sure thatwe outperform and outstrip the‘dark side’.”

Dr Murray responded: “For us,Manchester is not the com-petition. We’re competing withcities globally, not just with one afew miles away.”

In response to a question fromPeter Williams, medical directorat the Royal Liverpool Hospital,the panel said biotech companieswould need to work closely withlocal health bodies to be success-ful. Dr Murray, who said Redx hadbeen able to make use of NHSresources, added: “The NHS and

the public sector need to helpprivate bodies find what thoseresources are.”

Earlier in the debate, Mr White,of River Motion, said the digitaland creative sectors should beseen as key components orLiverpool’s knowledge offer.

He said: “Creative and digital isoften seen as the poor relation ofthe knowledge economy becauseit’s slightly different to sectorssuch as bioscience or life sciences.

“But I believe the digital sectorhas a lot to offer, both in terms ofinnovation and developing newproducts with global applications,but also in telling the story ofwhat Liverpool is good at.”

Mr White also called for a localbuying policy to encourage bigbusinesses in this region to uselocal suppliers. He said: “It’sunfortunate that many of theexisting large businesses inLiverpool don’t use local.”

the city region’s economyleaders debated the future of sectors including life sciences, manufacturing and digital

Mayor Joe Anderson,right, with MayoralKnowledge Summitpanellists, from left,Geoff White, Dr NeilMurray, Paul Vernonand Dr Penny Attridge

Picture:GAVIN TRAFFORD

28

KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY

Business Secretary Dr Vince Cable, left, with Redx Pharma chief executive Dr Neil Murray, in LiverpoolPicture: GAVIN TRAFFORD

LIVERPOOL will one day rivalBoston and Singapore as a centrefor life sciences and theknowledge economy – that wasthe upbeat message from MayorJoe Anderson at his first MayoralKnowledge Summit.

The Mayor sees the knowledgeeconomy, including science,technology and digital, as key tothe region’s future.

And so, for a packed event inthe University of Liverpool’sForesight Centre, the Mayorgathered a panel of key players inthe sector to share their thoughtson how knowledge could help thecity to grow.

Mr Anderson said the plannedBiocampus, which will sit next tothe £451m new Royal LiverpoolHospital, will be vital to thegrowth of Liverpool’s knowledgeeconomy.

He said: “The Biocampus is ourinvestment in our ambition – 2msq ft, encompassing one ofEurope’s biggest cluster of bio-businesses, research facilities anda state-of-the-art new teachinghospital.

“Both the new hospital and theBioCampus on their ownrepresent a development twice thesize of Liverpool One, creating upto 5,000 high-value jobs.

“This is a development that isas vital to Liverpool’s knowledgeeconomy as Media City is toManchester’s. In national andglobal terms, it is undoubtedlymore important, with the poten-tial to establish Liverpool as amajor international centre for lifescience that can, in time, rivalBoston and Singapore.”

The Mayor welcomed RedxPharma’s latest successful bid forRegional Growth Fund (RGF)cash. The company plans to useits £4.7m to launch a new divisionand create 119 jobs.

He said: “The innovationeconomy is about the future – andthe vital ingredient for our futureas a thriving international city – asmart city that’s connected,vibrant and dynamic.”

Mr Anderson said Liverpoolcould not stand still when it cameto the knowledge economy.

He said: “I am not alone in rec-ognising that Liverpool has theexpertise and capacity to do more– and I am determined that wewill continue to grow as aninternational city of science andinnovation.

“I want to assure you that Iregard the knowledge economy asa key priority of mine in realisingour ambition for Liverpool – agolden thread that links so manyof our key sectors.”

And he added: “During my ten-ure as Mayor, I will work with youto make sure that Liverpool is aswell known for science,engineering, advancedmanufacturing, bioscience andcreative and digital as ourcompetitors are.”

Dr Neil Murray, chief executiveof growing pharmaceutical firmRedx Pharma, said the key issueswere “people, facilitation andfunding”.

He said: “When I think of the

knowledge economy in Liverpool,I keep coming back to the reasonwhy Redx is in Liverpool.

“When its predecessor businesswas being set up, (chairman)Peter Jackson came and sat roundwith people from agencies in thecity who said ‘how can we help?’And he was a one-man band.That’s why he moved it fromManchester.”

He added: “We have to have thefacilities and funding to bringpeople to Liverpool.”

Paul Vernon, of the Science andTechnology Facilities Council(STFC), said he felt like a “kid ina candy shop” when he firstmoved to STFC’s Daresburycampus and learned of the toolsthat were available to him, fromsynchrotrons to lasers, accom-panied with knowledge fromscientists who had worked onprojects including CERN.

He said: “But what we’re really

looking for are entrepreneurs thatcan take these products and tech-nologies and run with them.”

Knowledge economy companiesin the region are being supportedby the North WestFund through the£25m North WestFund for Biomedical,managed by SparkImpact.

Dr Penny Attridge,senior investmentdirector at SparkImpact, said herorganisation’smission was to “growmore companies likeRedx”.

She said the key forthe biotech sector was to ensurethat funding was in place to helpcompanies to survive in theperiod when they need to spendmoney developing products thatwill eventually generate revenues.

Professor Nigel Weatherill,vice-chancellor of Liverpool JohnMoores University, asked thepanellists what they thought wasthe one “essential characteristic”

Liverpool needed topromote itself as a“science city” distinctfrom its rivals inBritain and Europe.

Dr Murray said thecity needed to betterpromote its know-ledge offering.

“That’s one of mybig bugbears aboutthe Knowledge Quar-ter,” he said. “It’svery difficult to knowthat you’re in the

Knowledge Quarter in Liverpool.We need to shout about the factthat it is a Knowledge Quarter.”

Dr Attridge said: “It’s reallyimportant that everybody speaksas one. Keep dirty laundry behind

closed doors and then come outwith a single message.”

She added: “When companiescome to visit, they then say ‘Ididn’t realise it was like this inLiverpool’. There’s a verynegative impression outside thelocality. We have to promote thestrengths of the city more broadlythan just to each other.”

Geoff White, managing directorof Liverpool creative agency RiverMotion Group, agreed, saying:“We need to make sure we’reworking together to tell the story.”

Mr Vernon said “open inno-vation” was key to success on thescience world. He said thatcompanies at Daresbury whoencountered problems in theirwork were often able to solvethem by speaking to othercompanies onsite.

World-leading regenerationexpert Prof Michael Parkinson,director of the European Institute

How knowledge will powerAlistair Houghton reports on a summit organised by Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson where

A smartcity that’sconnected,vibrant anddynamic

9

THE BIG FEATURE

And theshow goeson . . . therecentproduction,above, ofReds andBlues – TheMusical, atthe RoyalCourtTheatre;inset, left,above,KevinFearon, ofthe RoyalCourt; and,inset, right,DavePichilingi,of theEpsteinTheatre

Main picture:DAVE EVANS

not earning. We offer tickets forschools and we do not chargebooking fees.

“If you look, for example, at oneof our very successful productions– The Ladykillers – what was be-ing charged in London would havebeen five to 10 times what wecharged here.

“It is a constant balancing actbetween the need to generateincome and the need to be asaccessible as we can.”

The 380-seat Epstein Theatre, inHanover Street, doesn’t receivemoney from the Arts Council orother sources but Dave Pichilingi,of owner Liverpool Sound City,says subsidy may well be nec-essary to secure a longer-termfuture for the venue.

“I think we are doing a a greatjob here and we have a lean andmean team but I’m not sure it canbe sustained without extrafunding,” he said.

“We are in a Grade II-listedbuilding and that can bring itsown problems. We have developeda business plan and running rightthrough the heart of it is a plan tobring in public subsidy.”

As well as plays – it is currentlyshowing a production based onthe life of Beatles’ manager BrianEpstein – the Epstein also offersexhibitions, music and dance.

Like the Everyman/Playhouse,it has to strike a balance betweencommercial viability, artistic

integrity and the needs of thecommunity it serves.

“We cannot afford to ignore thecommercial side,” added MrPichilingi.

“But there is a communityperspective to what we do as well.There are things that we have saidno to that we could have mademoney from.

“As well as the theatre, we doget income from the bar here –Brian’s Bar – and hiring out spacefor corporate events.”

Liverpool’s smallest theatre, TheUnity, in Hope Place, offers a mainspace with capacity for 150 peopleand a smaller one for 88 people.

It is a much-loved venue whichstages between 90 and 100 shows ayear covering drama, stand-upcomedy, dance and family showsand receives both Arts Counciland city council support.

It employs 12 people full-time.Artistic director Graeme Phil-

lips says being a subsidised venueallows the Unity to be more“adventurous” in its choice ofshows.

“Because we have that subsidy,it gives us the cushion of beingable to choose what we want todo,” said Mr Phillips.

“However, box office income isstill vitally important to us. Wetry to achieve some form ofbalance. We will put on showsthat try to appeal to a range ofaudiences.”

Top, Gemma Bodinetz, left, artistic director of the Everyman/Playhouse, withexecutive director, Deborah Aydon, on the site of the new Everyman Theatre; and,above, the Empire Theatre, in Lime Street

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10

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

Clive Drinkwater, front left, congratulatesmanaging director of ATG Access, GlennCooper, and staff on becoming one of theregion's first Export Champions

Bollard firm shows there’sno barriers to exportingHaydock-based ATG Access flies the flag as a North West champion of overseas tradeA MERSEYSIDE company whichdesigns and manufacturessecurity bollards is being hailedas one of the North West’s leadingExport Champions by UK Trade &Investment (UKTI).

ATG Access, based in Haydock,manufactures everything fromresidential bollards to hi-techanti-terrorist systems and iscurrently exporting to 42countries, with exportsaccounting for 40% of turnoverfor this current year, havinggrown from less than £100,000 in2002.

Most recently the company hassecured a £4m contract to supplythe security throughout the newInternational Airport in Doha,Qatar. ATG’s contract with DohaAirport will be delivered over fouryears and is the company’sbiggest project to date.

The firm will also attend aUKTI Market Visit to Brazil thismonth, where it is hoping tosecure contracts for the 2013Confederation Cup, 2014 WorldCup and 2016 Olympics in Rio DeJaneiro, having successfullyprovided the security bollards forLondon 2012 this summer, and

several stadia, most recentlyWembley National Stadium.

UKTI’s regional director, CliveDrinkwater, visited ATG Accesslast week during Export Week,part of a campaign led by Trade &Investment Minister Lord Greento increase the number of Britishexporters by a quarter, adding apotential £36bn to the UKeconomy.

In the North West, a keyinitiative is the “ExportChampions” programme, inwhich successful exporters arerecruited to help and advise newcompanies on their exportjourney, offering advice andsupport, in addition to the widerange of individually-tailoredprofessional services availablefrom the UKTI North West team.

Mr Drinkwater said: “A yearago I challenged the North Westbusiness community to work withus to find 1,000 new exporters thisyear and we are well on our way.However, we are keen to harnessthe expertise and enthusiasm ofthe region’s many companies whoare already successful exporters,and so I am delighted to be able toannounce that ATG Access will be

one of our new ‘ExportChampions’ who will become abeacon to inspire non-exporters toget started and to encourage newexporters to do more.

“Our inaugural ExportChampions are all businesses whowill inspire and motivate thosenew to international trade, bothby promoting the benefits ofexport via their own successesand by sharing knowledge andexperience for the benefit of otherfirms in the North west.”

ATG Access is a leader in itsfield, supplying all major UKcities and a range of clients fromArsenal FC to the Houses ofParliament.

From its strong UK market thecompany began its path to exportseven years ago, working withUKTI to develop its overseaspotential.

Initially it joined the Passportto Export programme to developan export plan, and then attendedtrade shows and market visits andcommissioned an OverseasMarket Introduction Servicereports to research opportunitiesin different markets.

Working with international

trade adviser Charles Jacobson,the firm has rapidly expanded itsoverseas reach, with majorprojects including AdelaideAirport, the Dubai FinanceCentre, the Malaysian PrimeMinister’s office, the BritishEmbassy buildings in the Hagueand Athens, the W Hotel in Qatarand the King’s Palace in AbuDhabi.

In 2008, when many companieswere struggling, it built a newfactory unit in Haydock to copewith expanding overseas demandand now employs 72 staff globally,with 65 based on Merseyside site.

In the same year it set up ATGAccess Inc, in North Carolina,USA, and in 2009 it acquired adivision of the CanadianCorporation Allen Vanguard.

Future plans include furtherexpansion into Qatar, Brazil andIndonesia, complementingmanufacturing capability in USA,the Gulf and Singapore.

Managing director GlennCooper said: “The importance ofexporting to the business cannotbe overestimated.

“Sixty per cent of our turnovercurrently comes from overseas

trade, with the expectation thatthis will grow even more in thefuture, as 75% of our orderpipeline is export-based.

“Recently, we hosted our annualinternational conference at ourheadquarters where distributorsand agents from all over Europe,the Gulf region, Asia, USA,Australia, and Africa met up andreceived full training in our newproducts.

“In 2007, we took on three newapprentices. Since then, all haveprogressed to full roles within ourbusiness, and each of them havetravelled to export markets inHolland, the UAE and Turkey insupport of their roles – evidenceof our commitment to have thewhole team focused on globaltrade.”

He added: “We have completedmany very high-profile projectsboth in the UK and worldwide,and intend to keep expanding.

“ATG has worked closely withUKTI for many years. We aredelighted to be chosen as ExportChampions and to be able toencourage other North West firmsto export and grow the region’strade.”

27

COMMERCIAL PROPERTY

Warrington bucking the UKtrend for commercial letsBusiness park delight as 2012 take-up looks set to at least match figure achieved last yearWARRINGTON is on target tomatch or even exceed last year’stake-up figures, despite the harsheconomic climate.

The town and its businessparks saw 278,000 sq ft of commer-cial space let in 2011. In the firstthree quarters of 2012, the figurehas already hit 209,793.

In September, a report by GVAstated that parks in Warringtonwere enjoying strong demand, inparticular Birchwood Park andLingley Mere.

The latter is a joint venturebetween Muse Developments andUnited Utilities.

Muse senior development sur-veyor, Wes Erlam, said: “We’reextremely pleased that Warring-ton’s take-up figures have re-mained robust, despite the on-going economic challenges.

“Warrington has a successfultrack record of retaining andattracting occupiers and we lookforward to contributing to thesuccess of the town at LingleyMere and Bridge Street.

“The market has remained chal-lenging over the past year, butWarrington continues to buck thistrend. The town has attractedsignificant interest and invest-

ment in the last 18 months, withexciting projects that have addedsignificant scope to the region.

“As 2012 comes to an end, andwe move into the New Year, weexpect the market to remainresilient and hope to see animproving picture in 2013.”

The recent commercial prop-erty success in the town is incontrast to the health of themarket in the UK overall.

Recent statistics indicate thatcommercial development activityhas contracted at the fastest ratefor 32 months.

Chris Cheap, a director at GVA

– joint agents at Lingley MereBusiness Park with Edwards & Co– added: “Warrington remains theNorth West’s number one decent-ralised office location, due to itsstrategic geographical locationand access to a wide and diverselabour pool.

“With continued high levels ofexisting stock absorption, weexpect to see more design andbuild activity in 2013, as savvyoccupiers with larger require-ments realise that there isinsufficient existing, qualityoffice product in the market place.

“Deliverability will be one of

the key drivers for such require-ments, which places Lingley Mereat the front of the queue due to itsestablished infrastructure andplanning consents.

“The market is clearly tellingus that even if a business’s leaseexpiry, or planned move, is stillsome time away, it is importantfor them to think about theirrelocation now and engage with adeveloper who can deliver theright space, on the right terms.

“This will prevent them beingforced into property decisionsthat do not perfectly reflect theirbusiness plan.”

On target . . . Lingley Mere Business Park; and, inset, below, left, Wes Erlam

26

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12

PROFESSIONAL SECTORS IN ASSOCIATION WITH

MSIF marks itsBusiness support organisation Merseyside Special

SUPPORT organisation Mersey-side Special Investment Fund(MSIF) is celebrating its 18thanniversary.

The funding organisation forfledgling ventures deemed toorisky by most of the high streetbanks was incorporated in 1994.

It was one of the first of its kindand its model has since beenreplicated all over the UK andEurope.

MSIF was originally estab-lished with funds from the Euro-pean Regional DevelopmentFund’s (ERDF) 1994-1999 Objective1 Programme.

Merseyside had one of thelowest business densities perhead of population in the UK, andthe lowest Gross Domestic Pro-duct (GDP) per head in the UKcompared with the EU GDP perhead average.

The Fund was designed toprovide innovative access tofunding for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) onMerseyside that had the abilityand desire to grow, creating andsaving jobs and contributingadditional GDP to the area.

Lisa Greenhalgh, MSIF’s chiefoperating officer, explained:“Merseyside was not the place itis today.

“There were no alternativesources of finance and there was areal lack of infrastructure tosupport businesses.

“Objective 1 funding wasprovided to MSIF, which thenraised matched investment fromthe private sector.”

She added: “MSIF had to finelybalance social and commercialobjectives.

“Socially, we needed to ensurethat finance was accessible to awide range of businesses andindividuals, including those withno business track record whichwould be considered as high riskby other investors.

“Commercially, we needed totry and ensure that we wereinvesting in viable businesseswith a decent chance of successwhich would, therefore, create along-term impact on the localeconomy.

“It was difficult, but we did itby working with businesses pre-and post-investment to educatethem and put the right peoplearound them.”

Ms Greenhalgh admitted: “Yes,of course some failed, but a lotsucceeded and enabled us to reachour ultimate objective of not onlyhaving a positive effect on theeconomy, but also generatingenough returns on investment tolaunch a successor fund.”

She said: “We’ve helped somegreat businesses over the years,which have gone on to be hugelysuccessful.”

These include cushions manu-facturer Caldeira, skin carespecialist Crystal Clear Inter-national, tourism industry

Lisa Greenhalgh, front,with her team of MSIFfund managers, from left,Mark Borzomato, ChrisWalters, Malcolm Jonesand Paul Humphray

website designer New Mind, con-veyor systems manufacturerSovex, Counterline, which makesworktops and equipment for thefood industry, and frozen foodchain Cooltrader.

“Probably our most successfulinvestment to date was innutritional products companyVitaflo, which is a classic exampleof why MSIF was set up – a small,early-stage business, with an in-novative product that needed toexpand, but which could not getfunding elsewhere.

“We saw the potential in thebusiness and stayed invested fornearly 12 years – much longerthan the three to five years that isusual for an equity investment.”

Mr Greenhalgh said that judg-ment had paid off: “Vitaflo was

sold to Nestlé in 2010, ensuringthe company’s future as a globalindustry player, and providingMSIF with its largest return todate.

“The decision to stay investedmay not have been possible if weweren’t independent.”

Compared with Britain’s mainbanks who mostly refer backinvestment applications to theirheadquarters, all investmentdecisions by MSIF are made herein Liverpool by its investmentdirectors and their investmentpanel.

“The investment team are alllocal and have extensive expertiseworking with SMEs from thisregion.

“I think this is so important.Lots of businesses are saying that

LEGALLYSPEAKING

With Michelle Morgan,commercial specialistat Hill Dickinson

ARE domain namesquatters a threatto my business?

DISPUTES overinternet domainnames hit a recordhigh between July,2011, and July, 2012.

During that period, the WorldIntellectual Property Office(WIPO) (which runs adispute resolution service fordomain name disputes)adjudicated on 2,944 domainname dispute cases, whichwas a 6% increase from theprevious year.

The growing trend in suchdisputes appears, at least insome part, to be attributableto the rise in Chinese domainregistrations since 2010 andthe growth in online retailbusiness throughout theworld in the same period,which has lead to increasedcompetition fordomain names.

What isdomain namesquatting?A domainname is awebsite address(hilldickinson.com, forexample). Thefirst part of adomain namecan be made upof any combin-ation of lettersand numbers, but mostorganisations try to choose aname which relates to them.

Domain name disputesoccur when an organisationdiscovers that a third party(a domain name squatter) isusing a domain name whichcontains, or is similar to,their trade name or trade-mark. The purpose of domainname squatting is often tosteal online traffic andcustomers, to abuse orcriticise an organisationand/or to force an organis-ation to buy a websiteaddress.

Domain name squattingcan result in loss of business,bad publicity, loss ofmanagement time and costs.

If a third party suc-cessfully challenges yourdomain name registration,you may incur considerablecosts related to re-brandingyour business.

What can you do tominimise the risk of

domain name squattersand related disputes?Choose a domain name thatincludes your company nameor trading name and/or yourtrademark. Also, make sureyour trademark is registeredin the relevant country(ies).

At the time of registration,consider registering differentspellings or common mis-spellings of the domainname; registering it withdifferent endings (forexample, “.co.uk”, “.com”);and registering domainnames for each of your majorbrands (or brands which youplan to develop in the future).

Avoid registering adomain name that uses acompetitor’s trading name ortrademark, which couldresult in a dispute.

You will only be able toregister a domain name if ithas not already been regist-ered by someone else. If you

think that youhave a betterclaim to adomain namethat has alreadybeen registered,you may be ableto buy thedomain namefrom the regis-trant, use theWIPO disputeresolutionprocedure orcourt action tohave the domainname transferred

to you.It is essential that you

renew within the specifiedperiod to maintain yourregistration, or the domainname will be released forregistration on a first-come,first-served basis. This hashappened to well-knownnames such as Microsoft(who forgot to renew itshotmail.co.uk domain name).

Where your domain namecontains your registeredtrademark, it will generallymean that you will havestronger rights in the name,but that is not alwaysnecessarily the case.

Where a third party setsup a website as a forum forcriticism of your business,you may be able to bring anaction against the third partyfor defamation.

! EMAIL: michelle.morgan@hilldickinson.com

" IN ASSOCIATION withHill Dickinson

‘Domainnamesquatting isoften used tosteal onlinetraffic’

QA

25

HOW GREEN IS YOUR BUSINESS?

Offshore wind has taken a bit ofa battering in recent weeks, saysMaf Smith, Inset, below

Turbines that candrive UK recoveryMAF SMITH, deputy chief executive of RenewableUK,makes the case for the onshore wind sector

THERE has been a great deal saidin the past few weeks on theeconomic case for onshore wind.

In this vein, it is important tonote what has actually happened inonshore wind this year.

This year has been a good yearfor onshore wind, with a recordlevel of capacity created.

That capacity is making a differ-ence – twice in the last week, we’veseen more than 4,000MW of poweron the grid from wind, or theequivalent of about four largepower stations.

In 2012, wind was worth £548m tothe UK economy in 2011, and isresponsible for 8,600 jobs.

So, why is it that in the middle oftough economic times, wind poweris one of the few industries that isactually growing?

The benefits of onshore wind areoften not understood by those wholike to claim that turbines are allbuilt overseas.

Wind farms actually createlong-term employment that laststhrough the four basic stages of awind farm: development, con-struction, operations and decom-missioning.

From start to finish, a wind farmwill provide employment for 25years.

Onshore wind opens up goodopportunities for UK industry withalmost half of onshore constructionexpenditure occurring within theUK.

As our offshore industry grows,so will the potential for growth.

The supply chain is bringing alot of value for British companieslike Hutchinson Engineering, inWidnes, which benefits from theinvestment in onshore wind.

British companies have been ableto employ people and stay inbusiness by being part of theonshore wind supply chain.

These are exactly the type ofsuccess stories we need to grow oureconomy and deliver the Govern-ment’s desire for a march of themakers.

Onshore wind also helps cutBritain’s carbon emissions andmake us less dependant onimported fossil fuels, which havebeen the main cause of bill rises inrecent years.

There are also broader benefits,too, to the economy including

community benefits. Communitybenefit funds bring positiveeconomic impacts to areas as theyoften create jobs in the building ofcommunity projects and administ-ration of funds, as well as moredirect impacts such as improvingeducational facilities andinfrastructure.

These funds are decided andmanaged in the community andhelp to ensure that hostcommunities share in the positiveeconomic impacts that onshorewind provides to the country ingeneral.

All this points to the fact that theeconomic case for onshore wind isnot an abstract theory or futurepossibility – it is the reality on theground, it is what we seehappening before our eyes.

This means that onshore wind isand must remain a crucial part ofBritain’s economic and energyfuture.

It is my hope, and the hope of agreat many people, that theGovernment are mindful as weseek to grow an industry whichdelivers for the UK economy andour environment.

ENERGYMATTERS

David Hunt,director ofEco Environments

THIS week, the BritishChambers of Commerce re-ported from their member-ship that 40% of companiesattributed poor growth torising energy costs, and theirimpact on the bottom line.

How can you invest ingrowth when margins areconsistently being eatenaway by inflation-bustingenergy price increases?

In the same report, theseriousness of the situationis reflected by the fact that75% of businesses state theyhave a plan or strategy tomanage their energy costs.

Another recent survey, thistime by Deloitte, claimed that90% of large companies hadnow put in place an energyreduction strategy in anattempt to combat spirallingenergy costs.

I think anybusiness thatdoesn’t have aplan can’t con-sider themselvesto be a “sustain-able” business.

I don’t meansustainable in anyworthy way,rather I meansustainable in theliteral sense.

Can anybusiness expect toexist in five to tenyears’ time if theydon’t address their energyconsumption and costs?These reports and othersfrom the CBI suggest not.

In the case of the manufac-turing sector, Deloitte said:“Energy cost inflation is nota cyclical trend requiring atemporary response.

“For some time now, manu-facturers have been exper-iencing inflated energy costs,and higher prices are here tostay.

“Structural reform is nec-essary, involving a step-change in thinking, processand actions with regard toenergy usage.”

Among the key issues, theaccountancy giant saidorganisations needed to lookat were financial discipline,energy management,sustainability and workforceengagement.

So where do you go whenyour energy costs arespiralling, but you don’t havethe capex to invest in energyefficiency? The good news isthat there are two clear waysto fund or benefit from

energy efficiency invest-ments, aside from creating amore sustainable business.

Firstly, funding isavailable.

We are able to offer ourcustomers uncapped, andunsecured, funding throughthe Carbon Trust/SiemensFinance Energy EfficientFinance (EEF) scheme.Depending on the technologyor solution you chose,funding can be taken over upto 14 years.

However, especially withenergy-efficient lighting, theprojects usually pay forthemselves in 1.5 to 3.5 years,and the savings usuallyexceed the finance costs,making your business cashpositive from the day ofinstallation.

The other benefit ofenergy-efficientlightingschemes is thatthey are eligiblefor EnhancedCapital Allow-ances (ECA),which means100% of theproject cost iswritten offagainst thecurrent taxyear’s Corpor-ation Taxliability.

There arebenefits even if you don’tturn a profit currently. Forfull advice, speak to your acc-ountants. In Liverpool, bothDSG and Grant Thorntonhave departments that cangive precise advice on ECAsand other tax benefits.

The first port of call, Iwould suggest, is to explorewhich energy efficiencymeasures would have thequickest and best impact onyour business. That is wherewe can help; we have a rangeof solutions that can beselected according to yourspecific site and businessneeds, and local case studiesto show how they havebenefited other businesses.

In these tough economictimes, the kind of savingswhich are possible can helpto make the bottom line looka lot brighter, while at thesame time enabling you andyour workforce to contributeto a more sustainableenvironment.

! IN ASSOCIATION withEco Environments

‘How canyou survivehugeenergypriceincreases?’

24

HOW GREEN IS YOUR BUSINESS?

From left, standing, Stephen Hankinson, chief executive of Hankinson; Pete Saunders and Amy Rosser, also from Hankinson;student Aaron Laidig, and Ivor Thomas, from Hankinson. From left, sitting, Tom Atherton, Maria Razquin, and Francis Good

Students help tocut back wasteWirral firm Hankinson utilises teenagers’ ideasA GROUP of international stud-ents, taking part in a researchproject to tackle the issue of wasteat Hankinson Painting Group, areto see their ideas adopted by theWirral firm.

The group of four are MariaRazquin, 17, from Spain, AaronLaidig, 18, from Germany andFrancis Good and Tom Atherton,both 16, from Birkenhead School.

They spent two weeks as part oftheir economic syllabus re-searching, discussing anddeveloping innovative ways toreduce waste at Hankinson’s headoffice in Birkenhead

The issue of waste is animportant one for Hankinson,which estimates some 8,000 litresof waste paint and 15,000 con-tainers need to be disposed ofannually.

The company has implementeda group-wide Environmental

Management System (EMS),highlighting its commitment tocontinual improvement andpollution prevention, and arekeen to develop this with newideas and innovations to combatthese issues further.

Under this latest environmentalinitiative, the students workedclosely with several of Hank-inson’s team as well as partnersand suppliers, including paintmaker, Dulux, which shared itswider concerns with the groupconcerning product waste on aninternational scale.

Tom Atherton said: “This hasbeen a brilliant project to beinvolved in.

“We have worked closely withHankinson, and many of theirpartners, who have helped usbuild a clear picture of the scaleand size of the issues surroundingwaste.

“From this, we have had to tryto build relationships with majorbusinesses and develop realisticsolutions that would make adifference.”

Their findings, presented toHankinson chief executive,Stephen Hankinson, include thesole use of metal containersrather than plastic, partneringwith specialist cleaning firms thatare able to clean the containers,and other ideas focusing onstorage and recycling.

Mr Hankinson said: “The fourstudents have been a fantasticgroup to work with and theirfindings have certainly encour-aged us to re-look at how wemanage our waste.

“We try to recycle and re-usewherever possible and are alwayskeen to consider and explore newoptions – we’ll definitely betrialling their recommendations.” The students with some of the waste the firm generates

13

PROFESSIONAL SECTORSIN ASSOCIATION WITH

18th milestoneInvestment Fund celebrates a significant anniversary

they have been refused fundingbecause they don’t fit the nationalpolicy set by the lender.”

Since its inception, MSIF hasinvested £139m into 1,450businesses, creating andpreserving 13,700 jobs andbringing more than £251m ofprivate sector investment to theregion.

Returns on investment haveenabled MSIF to launch a £25msuccessor fund without anyexternal investment.

Ms Greenhalgh said: “Thelegacy fund is a fantasticachievement.

“We are back in a situationwhere businesses are finding itvery hard to get funding fromtraditional sources, with recentreports suggesting bank lending

will be down for the fourthconsecutive year.

“MSIF is, therefore, as import-ant today as when it started, andwith 18 years of knowledge andexperience under our belt, I thinkour value is even greater.”

And she said the new MSIFstructure can offer even moreassistance to firms and entre-preneurs struggling to achievelift-off in an economy stillemerging from a double-diprecession.

“We also manage a separatefund as Merseyside’s onlyCommunity Development FinanceInstitution (CDFI) and, therefore,we can offer a very broad range offunding – anything from £3,000 toaround £2m.”

She said finance can be used to

support start-ups, expansions,management buyouts (MBOs) ormanagement buyins (MBIs),mergers and acquisitions.

“Our vision for the future is tokeep helping local businesses andto continue the cycle of returns oninvestment to provide follow onfunds for the future.

“We will also look at opportun-ities to use our knowledge andexperience to manage otherfunds.”

The MSIF investment teamcomprise Chris Walters, whodeals with small loans, PaulHumphray, a specialist in loansand mezzanine funding, MalcolmJones, a mezzanine specialist,Mark Borzomato, who works inthe field of equity funding, alongwith Marion Savill.

ASK THEEXPERT

With Peter Mooney,head of employmentlaw at ELAS

WE OPERATE afamily-runmanufacturingfirm and we arelooking at thepossibility of

expanding. Until now, wehave always relied on aclose-knit workforce, butwith expansion we arelooking at recruitingmanagement from outside ofthe family for the first time.

One of our key concerns isthe supervision of health andsafety on our sites. While wetrust each other, we feel thereis a certain amount of dangerinvolved in bringing some-one new into the business.What can we do to ensurethat whoever we bring intothe company will be up to thejob?

THIS is a validconcern, as whilethe number ofaccidents withinmanufacturingjobs has reduced

over the past decade, theinjury and fatality rates arestill disproportionately high.

In 2010/11,manufacturingjobs accountedfor about 10% ofthe Britishworkforce, butfor 21% offatalities and15% of reportedinjuries toemployees.

Education isthe key to pre-venting thesestatistics fromgetting worse,and that appliesto the entire workforce, notjust your managers.

Safety training helps bothmanagement and employeesknow how to better preventan accident in the workplace,as well as how to respondquickly if presented with adangerous situation.

This is true regardless ofyour new manager’s age orexperience, especially in anindustry where there may beregular changes in legis-lation or technology.

Make sure you havesufficient and suitable safesystems of work in placewhen it comes to operatingand maintaining machinery;this means ensuring that

employees are provided withstep-by-step procedures forthe safe use and maintenanceof machinery and equipment.

You should also ensure youhave sufficient risk assess-ments and the necessarytraining and personalprotective equipment. Thesame can be said for makingsure machinery or equip-ment is maintained orreplaced, and having thecorrect guarding necessaryto protect those operating it.

This issue has becomeespecially importantfollowing a recent develop-ment in the Health andSafety Executive’s (HSE) FeeFor Intervention scheme,which now means that finesfor health and safetybreaches could reachthousands of pounds per dayfor your company.

The HSE’s scheme isdesigned to recoverinspection costs fromemployers guilty of materialbreaches of health and safetylaw, and charges businesses arate of £124 per hour for eachinspecting officer; equating

to almost £1,000per day.

However, theHSE has nowacknowledgedthat, should theinspectionrequire morethan one officeror expert toprovidespecialistadvice, the feewill increaseaccordingly,meaningbusinesses

could be hit with costs ofover £3,000 per day for casesthat involve severalinspectors.

The best way to avoid thisis by demonstrating aproactive approach tomanaging risks in theworkplace. This meanshaving the appropriatedocumentation in place andgetting properly trainedpeople to use risk assessmenttechniques to inform yourcorporate safety plan.! FOR further information oradvice, call the ELAS AdviceTeam on 08450 50 40 60.

" IN ASSOCIATION withELAS

‘Havesufficient,suitable andsafe systemsof workin place’

Q

A

14 23

22

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BALTIC TRIANGLE

remembered Mr Rhodes, “withcost being the number one factor.

“It’s such a beautiful space thatpeople find fascinating – thefurnace, and these inside/outsidestructures,” he said, pointing atthe former office buildings on thewalls of the main hall.

The bar acts as the “honeypot”,and a social hub for the district,leading into that main hall andalso to another larger warehousespace that can be used for events.

Down a corridor from the lobbysits the Blade Factory, which canbe used as an exhibition space byday or a 300-capacity club at night.

“That’s one of the things we’llbe expanding in our proposition,”said Mr Rhodes. “We’ll have moreclub nights there for smallernumbers.”

There were also plans to installcaravans in the space to create aunique hotel. But Mr Rhodes said:“That’s coming on slowly becauseof the demands of the other bus-inesses. It might be somethingwe’ll look at later next year.”

The business is now attractingvisitors to the Baltic Trianglefrom Liverpool and beyond.

“It’s been received very well,”said Mr Rhodes. “We’ve had lotsof international press.

“Because this place is so un-usual, with its scale and the mixof things we have, our profile ispretty high.

“People are talking about it as amust-do destination in Liverpool –if you’re coming to Liverpool, it’sthe one place you have to go.

“It’s helping to change people’sperceptions of Liverpool. A lot ofpeople have even said ‘Londonneeds something like this’.”

PR firm Agent Marketing is oneof Baltic Creative’s biggesttenants, occupying a custom-designed space at the back of thecampus. Managing director PaulCorcoran said he chose theTriangle office because it gave thecompany “a blank canvas in anew part of the city”.

He added: “It’s got that ‘wow’factor. People don’t expect it.

“It is, in essence, quite an ugly-looking tin shed from the outside.But, when you come in, you cansee it’s got such a different vibe.

“It’s exciting for the city thatwe have an area dedicated to thecreative industries. It’s an excit-ing sector.

“Now, everyone knows wherethe Baltic Triangle is.”

The Triangle’s collaborativeattitude means, says Mr Corcoran,that his firm has been able towork with companies it wouldotherwise never have met.

“Graphic design firm Gocre8 isdown the road,” he said. “Wewouldn’t have known who theywere if we hadn’t moved in. So far,we’ve worked with them two orthree times.

“When we go into Camp &Furnace, we’ll bump into peopleall the time. You don’t get thatanywhere else.”

SOFTWARE firm CitrusSuite moved fromSeymour Street to atemporary base inJamaica Street in May,

and last month moved in to itsnew shopfront home in BalticCreative.

The company has createdsmash hit apps including “WreckThis App”, based on Keri Smith’sbook “Wreck This Journal”,which it created for publisherPenguin in the US.

“What we thought we’d gain

most of all from being here,” saidMr Morland, “was that sense ofcommunity, that sense of being ina large pool of talent.

“Me and the two other directorsprobably looked at 10 other places,and there were some gorgeouslooking offices, but there wasnowhere else where all thedirectors said ‘this has got a goodvibe’. It was a building site, but ithad potential.

“We could establish our ownidentity here. Where in the pastwe’ve been happy sitting wherenobody could see us, now we’rereally talking about what we’re upto as we’ve got this window to theworld.”

The Baltic Triangle may be onthe up, but there is still work to bedone.

For Mr Lawler, the area needsbetter signage and better publictransport links, potentiallyincluding the reopening of the

former St James Station nearby.He added: “More front-facingshops in this area would be well-received as well.”

The Baltic Manifesto says: “Thestrategy is simple: fill the areawith people and the rest willfollow – fill the area with creative,industrious and pioneering peopleand the rest will follow sooner.”

Mr Rhodes said: “We definitelyneed more independent retail.This should be Liverpool’s homeof independent retail. Nowhereelse can really lay claim to that.

“We want to see more bus-inesses moving here.

“It’s certainly the best locationfor creative and digitalbusinesses, by a long way. But weneed more retail.

“We’re pleased to sit alongsideall the industry that lives here –the welders, the garages.

“That paints a picture we wantto add to – that we don’t want this

to be a business district or a Rope-walks.”

And Mr Rhodes also wants thedistrict to become a new home forfestivals. Individual venues hosttheir own events – such as theLiverpool International Festivalof Psychedelia at Camp & Fur-nace, which will return next yearas a two-day event. But the area is,Mr Rhodes says, ideal for largerevents across several venuesindoors and outdoors.

He said: “We’ll be looking tohave a festival over the BankHoliday called Summer Camp.We’re hoping to bring that to thestreets both inside and outside. Itwill be much more of a family dayout than something like theMathew Street Festival.

“Road closures are easier herethan in the rest of town. Thestreets are really wide. And youhave venues like the Picket, Camp& Furnace and Elevator.”

And Dave Brown, from BalticCreative-based app agencyApposing, added: “It’s a coolup-and-coming area that’s be-coming a really popular place forcreative and digital companies.But it lacks a few things, liketransport links to the city and acash machine.

“There’s been a lot of invest-ment down here. We can’t let itstop there.

“We still need to move forwardand do more. It’s a success story,but it could be an even biggersuccess story. We need to keep aneye on what’s going on.

“There’s a lot of space roundhere which could be used. We justneed to keep shouting about it.

“People know about it. I’vespoken to a few people who arethinking about coming down herefrom the city centre. Word isgetting around. We just need tokeep pushing.”

SHARED SHED AN IDEAL SOLUTION FOR COLLABORATIVE FRIENDS WITH FLEDGLING FIRMSJAMES MILLARD andTim Waring learnedtogether at CaldayGrange, in Wirral – nowthey’re working to-gether in a shed inLiverpool.

Childhood friendsJames, who runs EcoStreet Adverts, andTim, who runs webagency Mullen, share ashed inside the BalticCreative campus.

And they say thecollaborative space issuiting their businessesdown to the ground.

Mr Waring said: “Thefirst day we came in,everybody’s doors wereopen.

“There are produc-tion companies here weare already chatting to.

“Lots of cupcakes flyaround on Fridays.

“It’s quite clear thatthere are going to be alot of collaborationsthrough the wholebuilding.”

Eco Street Advertscreates “clean adverts”– also known as “re-verse graffiti” – byputting a stencil over apavement and thenblasting the pavementwith water, leavingwords visible. It alsouses biodegradablechalk to paint on pave-ments and roads.

Mr Millard, wholaunched the businessin May, said: “I cameback from working in aboat on the Med aboutthis time last year.

“This idea for reversegraffiti has been aboutfor a few years in Eur-ope, particularlyHolland. I looked at thestart-up costs andfound there wasnobody else reallydoing it around here.

“So I thought I’d startit in the North west andsee where it went.Pretty soon I gotinquiries from Londonand Birmingham, and ittook off well.”

Mr Waring and threefriends launched full-service digital agencyMullen last month.

He had spent theprevious two yearsfreelancing but, hesaid: “I’ve beenworking with some bigclients and the feed-back was that workingfrom a back bedroomat home was notenough. Then thisopportunity came up.“We came down hereand we were reallyimpressed.

“I’d been looking toset up a real company,a properly-run webdesign agency where I

could do everything Iwanted to do. Wewanted to do morethan just ‘web design’ –we’ll be offering digitalmarketing, socialmedia services, etc.”

Now happily settledinto their shared shed,the two entrepreneursare planning to worktogether as well as withother Baltic firms.

Mr Waring said: “Ourcompanies are comp-lementary. If we sellcampaigns, we canoffer more traditionalforms of advertisingthrough John. We try todo bits and bobstogether.”

James Millard, left,and Tim Waring, intheir BalticCreative shed

15

THE BIG INTERVIEW

BY BILL GLEESON

! !

Weathering the storm

With global interests ranging fromshipping to retail to financial services, SirMichael Bibby’s diversified family firm is

well-placed to survive the downturn

With global interests ranging fromshipping to retail to financial services, SirMichael Bibby’s diversified family firm is

well-placed to survive the downturn

16

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15

IT’S no accident thatBibby Line Group en-joyed a record yearduring what was formost other firms anextremely challengingtime.

When it reported itsfull-year results for 2011,

the shipping to conveniencestores group reported pre-taxprofits up by more than 50% to£63.8m, on sales of almost £1.3bn,up 12.1% on the previous year.

The fact that a shipping linebusiness has such a robustperformance at a time wheninternational trade is stuck in thedoldrums has a lot to do withlessons learned from bitter ex-perience in the mid-1980s when asevere downturn in internationaltrade nearly put Bibby out ofbusiness.

Back then, it became clear thatthe company needed a strategydesigned to cope with the cyc-licality of shipping. It was decidedthat Bibby needed to invest indiverse and counter-cyclicalactivities.

This plan was assisted by apartial exit from the shippingtrade in 2007, just before thecredit crunch and recessions ofrecent years struck.

By selling a number of vessels,Bibby realised £60m, which wasimmediately re-invested into thepurchase of the Costcutter chainof convenience stores.

“It’s the first time in a hundredyears we got our timing right,”quips group chief executive SirMichael Bibby.

He believes his business is wellpositioned to understand what isgoing on in the global economy,including seeing the early signs ofgrowth or decline. Its shippingservices carry raw materialsbetween Australia’s miningregions and China’s manufac-turing plants. They also carryfinished goods between China andEurope, and in Britain the firmoperates a distribution business,so it has its finger on the nationaleconomic pulse too. On top of allthat, Bibby’s invoice factoringbusiness, Bibby FinancialServices, is a barometer of thelevel of transactions in 20countries.

“So we are seeing every step ofthe way,” Sir Michael said.

Much of what he sees hap-pening in the world economy atthe moment worries him.

“Most global trade growth hasbeen built on Chinese demand,which has been 11% to 12%, butthat’s now slipping back to 7%, sowe are worried.”

China, he says, is importingless coal and iron ore, creatingless demand for shipping betweenChina and the countries wherethe commodities are mined.

They had a lot of ships thattransported the coal to China, butthose ships are coming onto themarket now.

Sir Michael said: “Power usagein China is lower. Steel output islow. Manufacturing is slippingand coal stocks are high.

“Power consumption has beenfalling for several months, whichcould mean that growth is fallingmore than we thought.

“We thought of investing in newships, but put that on hold be-cause we think the recovery couldtake longer than expected.

“We need better clarity aboutChina. Demand is not as strong aswe had expected. We have to see

what happens when the newleadership makes changesbecause China has massivereserves it can spend if it wantsto.

“At the same time, you have theUS fiscal cliff. The US is still thebiggest economy in the world. Itwill have a big influence.

“The European containerroutes from China have dropped20% and the turnover of ourfinancial services clients is alsodown in parts of Europe this yearby 20%.

“That’s pretty dramatic andexactly matches the decline incontainer trade.

“So we think there is a bigproblem in Europe, too.

“You look to America as theonly other economy big enough tomake a difference and you see thefiscal cliff coming up there.

“So where is demand stimulusgoing to come from?

“I can’t see India growingquickly enough, given all theiradministrative issues.

“For me, it comes back to a

Chinese and Asian-led recovery.We need to see how the newadministration in China leads theway forward.

“That has an effect on us interms of timing and when weshould go back into shipping andorder more ships.”

Getting the timing right aboutwhen to return to shippinginvolves a lot of guesswork.

It takes three years to buildnew ships, so if Bibby is going toorder more vessels it needsforesight about the best moment

to make a move: “At present, thecharter income wouldn’t pay forport fees and fuel, let alone coverthe cost of the crew,” Sir Michaelsaid.

He added: “It’s a typical hogcycle.

“It takes you two years to growa pig. It takes you two to threeyears to build a ship.

“When the market booms,everyone thinks it’s going to boomforever, so they order ships, buttwo to three years later, it’sdropped off.

THE BIG INTERVIEW . . . SIR MICHAEL BIBBY

21

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BALTIC TRIANGLE

that have opened up the street.One problem here is that peoplesay the Baltic Triangle is ‘too faraway from town’.

“The more infill we get betweenhere and Liverpool One, the closereverything feels. That perceptionis being broken down.

“It’s only nine minutes’ walkfrom Liverpool One.

“Then there’s the great newsthat the CUC has been taken on byNorth Liverpool Academy. Thatwill transform the area again,with 1,200 students and theirsupport mechanisms. In anotheryear, the area will feel as though ithas moved on considerably.”

MR RHODES has hisfinger in severalBaltic Triangle pies.

He, along with agroup of other

Triangle residents, including theSpeed brothers, Chris Lee offashion firm Microbrands One,and architect Miles Falkingham,pulled together the “manifesto”for the area.

The manifesto says it wants theTriangle to be “a bonfire of old-school regeneration mantras; acelebration of everythingmarginal, curious and inspired; aprivate sector-led, bottom-up,

grassroots networking, match-making and freewheelin’revolutionary manifesto forchange – with a creative,industrious, pioneering agendaand a Bohemian, alternative,radical leaning.”

Mr Rhodes said: “We hadworked with Liverpool Vision todeliver the Baltic Triangle web-site. We realised there was a lot ofscope and that it was a genuinelyexciting prospect.”

The manifesto paints a pictureof an area alive with “ingenuityand frugality”.

The manifesto also painted apicture of an area with a “pop up,fold down, drive thru approach”.That is now reflected in BalticCreative, with the sheds giving itan “outside inside feel”.

People who move to the Tri-angle, says Mr Rhodes, swiftly fallfor it.

“There’s a real sense of camar-aderie,” he said. “People whomove to the Baltic are reallyproud to be here.

“The Twitter hashtag#teambaltic pops up everywhere.”

That virtual camaraderiecomes into the real world atanother of Rhodes’s ventures –Camp & Furnace.

The manifesto team agreed that

the area lacked a central hub –and when arts venue the AFoundation closed its doors,several team members decided tojoin forces to turn the formerwarehouse space into a Balticanchor complete with bar/restaurant, events spaces and aphotography studio.

The venue held its first “popup” events last year, including theLiverpool Food and Drink FestivalAwards, and opened officially inMay.

“It feels more established thanit is,” smiled Mr Rhodes.

“But that’s down to the propos-ition. We’ve really got the brandtogether, especially visually.

“We spent a lot of time gettingthat right and making sure it’scompletely different to anywhereelse.”

The partners are Mr Rhodes,architect Mr Falkingham, Timand Paul Speed of Elevator, andchef/caterer Steven Burgess.

Mr Falkingham’s architecturepractice, FVMA, and Mr Rhodes’sSmiling Wolf, worked on theconversion.

“It was a matter of using thisbuilding without intervening toomuch in the structure of it,”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 22

ENTERPRISINGTHOUGHT

With Fiona Castela,project manager atEnterprise EuropeNetwork North West

I OWN a virtual imagingcompany that producesbespoke 3-D packages for theengineering andmanufacturing industry, andI am looking to expand mybusiness overseas. Do I need totrademark my company nameand logo?

TRADEMARKS are animportant asset for yourbusiness, to protect not onlyyour brand, products andservices, but also yourinvestment in innovation andnew thinking.

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Liverpool’sKnowledgeEconomy isworth morethan £1bn ayear, with thecity centrealone accounting for morethan half of Liverpool’seconomic output and justunder half of its jobs.

For businesses working inthe life sciences, creative ordigital industries, a trade-mark can be more valuablethan the business itself. Thisis because customers orclients do not only buy aproduct, they buy into abrand – a “promise of anexperience” they can expectfrom you. The only thing thatprotects this brand is atrademark.

A trademark is a clear signthat distinguishes your goodsor services from competitors,and they form a large part ofwhat people may refer to asyour brand.

As one of the most impor-tant intellectual propertyassets, small business ownersmistakenly believe that theycan only be acquired with thehelp of expensive consultantsor lawyers. In fact, the pro-cess is far more straight-forward.

We always advise individ-uals to purchase theirtrademark sooner ratherthan later, preferably whensetting up the business.

Your first steps should beto search for used trade-marks on the IntellectualProperty Office (IPO) UKwebsite, and read therestrictions around what canand cannot be registered.

Once you have decided ona trademark and chosen yourbusiness category, you canregister it on the IPO UKwebsite, which means nopaperwork to fill in.

The fees for registering atrademark arelow comparedto other formsof intellectualproperty suchas patents andcopyright.

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The easiest and least ex-pensive route to registerinternational trademarks isvia the IPO UK office, using afast-track service for Euro-pean countries orapplications via the WorldIntellectual Property Office(WIPO) for countries outsideof Europe.

To find out more aboutpurchasing a trademarkoverseas, or for generaladvice about trading inEurope, visit www.eenw.orgor call 0844 259 8571 to speakwith an adviser.

! FIONA Castela is projectmanager at EnterpriseEurope Network North West(EENW), an organisationfunded by the EuropeanCommission to provide freeand impartial business adviceto SMEs in the region.

! IN ASSOCIATION withEENW

‘Trademarksare animportantasset foryourbusiness’

APP FIRM GETS ITS OWN WINDOW TO THE WORLDSOFTWARE firmApposing’s move tothe Baltic Trianglehas coincided withthe most successfulperiod in its history.

The company, ledby the ambitiousDave Brown, has justlaunched theChristmas app forrestaurant chainNando’s, on whichplayers can competefor prizes by “pullingcrackers”.

“It’s a crackergame with knobs on,”smiled Brown.“Hopefully, it shouldbe the biggest appwe’ve done.”

Apposing recentlymoved back to theBaltic Triangle, takinga shopfront-style unitin Jamaica Street,after spending a yearin FACT.

“We used to be inElevator and weloved it round here,”said Mr Brown. “Itwas a cool, creativeplace.

“When we got theopportunity to go toFACT, we did that.But there was a lot ofinvestment here wewanted to be part ofand a lot of thingshappening we want-ed to be part of.”

Brown is alsoinvolved in widerTriangle initiatives,including workingwith the incomingStudio School. He willhost students onwork experience, aswell as speaking tostudents about appsand software design.

“These could bethe future appdevelopers forApposing.”

The firm today

employs 12 peopleworking on a range ofprojects.

It recentlycompleted work on anew version of theBill Angel app itdesigned forCarphone Ware-house, which allowscustomers to monitortheir mobile phoneusage.

Its “augmentedreality” app forfurniture retailer CSL,which allows peopleto see what a sofawould look like intheir house, has wonindustry plaudits.

Mr Brown said:“We’re now looking

to work with otherfurniture retailersaround the world.We’ve had retailers inthe US, India, NewZealand, Australiaand more from theUK asking if they canwork with us. It’sgone crazy.”

The shopfront unithas had unexpectedbenefits for Mr Brownand his staff.

“We’ve had peopleknocking at the doorand asking what wedo,” he said.

“It was never partof the reason why wetook a glass-frontedspace, but it’sworking.”

Dave Brown,of Apposing,in his BalticCreative office

20

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BALTIC TRIANGLE

during work. Camp & Furnace fitsthat collaborative atmosphere.

“Elevator is still strong and hassome great companies in it. Andnow Baltic Creative is finallythere.

“Its launch event last monthwas even more than we everhoped it would be when westarted the journey six or sevenyears ago. The campus and thecafé bar are real assets. Andthey’ve got some really greattenants, from The Picket andLiverpool Biennial to Apposingand Sound City.

“It’s an area where people wantto be. People are seeking to movethere now. There’s a real buzzwhen you go down there.

“It stands comparison with anysimilar area. The Sharp Factory,in Manchester, is one of the biggerones, and everyone talks aboutShoreditch.

“This is a very Liverpool place,but it’s got lots of great companiesand a bit of edginess. There’s lotsof sharing, but also lots of healthycompetitiveness.

“There’s still work to be done.But in terms of my work sellingLiverpool to potential inwardinvestors, the whole Baltic areagives the city another reallyattractive offer.”

THE first pilot phase ofBaltic Creative, includ-ing homes for companiessuch as Liverpool SoundCity, opened in October

last year.A year later, at a party attended

by people from most Trianglecompanies, as well as the city’sgreat and good, the latest campusand catalyst phase was opened.

Baltic Creative has 45 spacesspread across 18 warehouse units.

It now has 34 tenants, meaningthat 80% of its total floor space islet, and Mr Lawler expects morelettings in the New Year.

Half of those businesses areestablished firms looking for aslice of the Baltic Triangle, whilehalf are start-ups or “home office”businesses moving to their firstformal premises.

Today, the space hosts tenantsin areas from web design toceramics and photography tomusic.

Mark Lawler, centre managerfor the Baltic CreativeCommunity Interest Company,says he and his board wanted tocreate “a collaborative, creativeand industrious space”.

He said: “The ethos was to pro-vide a space for start-upbusinesses and home officebusinesses to make their firststeps into the sector, but also toprovide an opportunity for thosebusinesses to access the skills ofmore established businesses.

“So,” he added, looking back tothe row of garden sheds, “wecreated this garden corridor – it’sa collaborative environment.

“The barn doors on the shedsaren’t there by accident. If you’rein a shed, you can open the tophalf of your door and speak toyour neighbours.

“There are garden areas alloc-ated in front of the sheds for thetenants, so they can bring a chairoutside and meet theirneighbours.

“The concrete planters in thecorridor are cycle bays. And thekitchens, toilets and showerfacilities are shared. If you wantto make a cup of coffee, you don’tdo it in your own shed.”

There is also a shared meeting

room at the front of the building –it’s officially the Baltic CreativeSpace, though some tenants call itthe Chapel. The coffee shop at thefront of the building, meanwhile,is open to all.

Mr Lawler said the work ofBaltic Creative had been boostedby the opening of Elevator andCamp & Furnace, as well as by theopening of the £5.6m Women’sInternational Centre for Econ-omic Development nearby.

“The reason for people beinginterested in us is not just ourspace,” he added, “it’s about thearea as well, with its growingappeal as a place for digital andcreative businesses.”

And Mr Lawler is particularlyexcited about North LiverpoolAcademy’s plans to transform theCUC into two specialist schools.

The Victorian warehouse, inGreenland Street behind Elevator,was converted into a massive artscentre by charity Novas, but shutlast year as its owner battledfunding cuts.

From September, it will houseboth The Studio – a schooldedicated to digital and gamingtechnology – and the Life SciencesUniversity Technical College,which aims to train youngpeople to work in Liverpool’s

growing bioscience sector: “Theclosing of the CUC could havebeen very negative,” said MrLawler. “But now North LiverpoolAcademy has taken the space andwill be moving in next year. It’sreinvigorated a lot of businesseswho might be doing business withthe Academy. It’s become anopportunity.”

The schools will bring peopleinto the area. And that will helpto solve one of the main problemsthe Baltic Triangle has faced – theperception that it is quiet anddistant from the city centre.

The area is just a few minuteswalk from Liverpool One, but itslight industrial nature meantmany people felt it wasn’t worthwalking to. Now there are morebusinesses, and eateries such asCamp & Furnace and Elevator’scafe-bar, it is much more welcom-ing. And the new Baltic Creativeshopfront premises in JamaicaStreet are bringing new life to astreet formerly known forfeatureless sheds.

A line of units now housestenants, including softwarespecialist Apposing and ceramicsdesigner Alison Appleton, whosebusinesses look out to the street.They are not shops, but do pro-vide shop windows for firms.

They face the main entrance tothe Baltic Creative campus,creating a buzzing area of lightand activity in Jamaica Street.

Mr Lawler said: “Part of ourbrief here was to raise the profileof the whole area, and also toraise the profile of our tenants.

“Our shopfront units providedigital and creative businesseswith the opportunity to showcasewhat they do and their talents.

“The entrance to our creativecampus now opens up the whole

campus to Jamaica Street andhelps people put a face to thoseindustrious, creative industries.”

Simon Rhodes, who leadsElevator-based design agencySmiling Wolf, agrees the shop-fronts have brought new life to thequarter. The Triangle has, hesays, changed “massively” sincehe moved in two years ago.

He said: “One of the bigchanges, apart from herebecoming a destination, is BalticCreative, in particular the units

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19 Ceramics designer Alison Appletonin her Baltic Creative studio, offJamaica Street, Liverpool

Camp & Furnace, a key Baltic Triangle social hub

17

“So you go from too muchdemand and too little supply totoo much supply and too littledemand.

“The last boom was so long be-cause of Chinese growth, therewas so much demand, it has takeneven longer to get out of it.

“With the Suez crisis, it took 15years to catch up again.

“Nowadays, nobody is orderingnew ships and all the smallernon-state owned shipyards aregoing bust in China.

“Everybody thinks prices will

still fall in shipping. We sold all ofour gas and chemical carriers andjack up platforms (accommodat-ion platforms) in 2007.

“We were lucky. We only boughtone vessel, The Shropshire, forwhich we’ve managed to secure along-term charter.

“We have bought The Cheshire.There is work for it but theincome is appalling.

“We’ve also got five smalltankers.

“They have done OK because ofthe closure of nuclear power

stations in Japan. They areimporting fuel out of China intoJapan. We couldn’t have predictedthat at the time of purchasing theships.

“We took £60m out of shippingand we put it into Costcutter andoffshore boats and the refurb ofThe Renaissance, a Coastel vesselworking in Australia.

“The shipping values droppedby 60% while values have in-creased where we have re-invested, and that’s the role of thegroup.

“It’s up to head office to re-allocate equity, but it is the firstcycle we got right for a hundredyears.”

Commenting on last year’sstrong financial performance, SirMichael said: “Last year was anexceptional year.

“We would do well to hit thatthis year, though next year we areexpecting another step forward.

“Because it’s such a mix ofbusiness, you can’t judge theoverall result.

“It depends on the shift in the

mix of the business. Distributionand Costcutter have very highturnover but very low margins.

“Shipping has low turnover butpotentially a very high margin orvery large losses, so it has thepotential to distort in terms ofoverall percentages.

“We are looking for long-terminvestment return, not short-termprofit.”

Bibby Line Group is one of Brit-ain’s largest privately-ownedbusinesses.

The Bibby family own 88% ofthe shares, with the remaining12% owned by managers andex-managers and more distantrelations. Its last share issue wasin 1899.

As well as an international per-spective, Bibby’s UK activitiesgive it a good overview of the stateof the domestic economy.

Sir Michael said: “In terms ofhow that feeds back into the UK,most businesses are now adjustedto a new reality, which is that wehave been in recession for fouryears and we are seeing, in someways, remarkable stability.

“People haven’t been over-ex-posing themselves with newinvestment. Businesses have beenhoarding cash.

“But the pessimism is a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you don’tinvest, you don’t get growth, butpeople aren’t prepared to take therisk. Banks have the money, butmost businesses don’t want themoney.

“If you look at our financialservices clients in the UK, theyhave been remarkably stable.Everybody is living within theirmeans, so there is a low level ofdefaults.

“Historically, our SME custom-ers grew organically at 5% perannum, so we knew we wouldgrow at a similar rate. But theyare not doing so now.

“2010 fell a bit, but since then ithas been flat.

“In the UK, we have a stablebusiness environment and thatdoesn’t seem to be changing.

“But to create more jobs and getmoving again, people need to takerisks again. That’s what theGovernment has got to crack andI have no tips for them about howto do that.”

Sir Michael sits on Mayor JoeAnderson’s Mayoral DevelopmentAdvisory Committee. He believesthe work of the local authorityand other economic developmentagencies should come into its ownwhen the rest of the economy issluggish.

He said: “If you are not going toget growth driven internationally,you need to get things goinglocally with optimism and startbuilding it from there.”

One new area of business is thegroup’s Coastels. These arefloating buildings that have beenused as prisons, billets for sold-iers, accommodation for asylumseekers and offshore workers.

Sir Michael said: “They offerup to three or four star hotelstandard.

“They operate in remote areasfor projects where they will betied up for months at a time.”

The group’s Coastel vesselshave served as prisons in NewYork, troop accommodation in theFalkland Islands, and for off-shoregas and oil work in Nigeria andAustralia.

“That was the north west shelfof Australia. There is nothingthere, but there are a lot of

THE BIG INTERVIEW . . . SIR MICHAEL BIBBY

We are looking for long-term investmentreturn, not short-term profit – SirMichael Bibby in the boardroom atBibby Line Group’s head office, onDuke Street, Liverpool

Picture: ANDREW TEEBAY

CONTINUED ON PAGE 18

18

THE BIG INTERVIEW . . . SIR MICHAEL BIBBY

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17

Sir Michael Bibby delivering a speech at Bibby Line Group’shead office promoting Bibby Financial Services

Picture: ANDREW TEEBAY

environmental regulations thatwe can meet that other forms ofaccommodation can’t,” he said.

Another new line of business iswoodland burials.

“That’s all about people’schanging social requirementsabout how they get buried.

“It’s about how they see the roleof the environment in their lives.

“We have just got planning per-mission to open a site on the Lord

“It will be carbon positive. Anytrees taken out are reprocessed forenergy.

“If you are in greenbelt, yougenerally can’t use a woodland atall for building. That means theyare not managed because it gener-ates no income.

“With a woodland burial site,we can manage it and open up thecanopy.

“That means the flora andfauna at the base comes back andthat means more wildlife. We canalso open it up for public access.

“The coffins will have no leador other metals in them, so theywill decompose.

“Burying is more environ-mentally friendly than cremation,which needs a lot of power.

“It’s real circle of life stuff. Ifyou are buried and decomposeunder an old tree, you will go backinto that tree.”

From 1890 to 1960, the companyhad two trades. One was ashipping route from the UK toBurma and Ceylon (as Sri Lankawas then known) and the otherwas troop ships for the BritishArmy.

In 1960, both those tradesdisappeared.

Burma and Ceylon becameindependent and troops went byplane.

“So we diversified into ships,”said Sir Michael.

The company built up its fleetof ships on the back of generoustax incentives.

Sir Michael said: “We had a 1mtonnes dead weight of ships. Itwas a no-brainer. There were taxwrite-downs of 100% whencorporation tax was 50% andinflation was 20%. So we couldn’tlose.

“Then Mrs Thatcher came topower and she stopped inflation.There was a recession and theprice of ships collapsed. We order-ed too many ships and over-traded.

“That taught us we need todiversify outside shipping, so wecould withstand the cycles.

“The other thing it did wasshape our values.

“One of our values is ‘restlessmomentum’ which is alwaysasking what can you do next?

“Another is ‘positivelychallenging’ – how can you dowhat you do today better?

“We want to be as close to ourcustomers as we can. How can wesatisfy customer demand bettergoing forward?

“If we don’t do that, we will beout of business, and we verynearly were in the 1960s and 1980s.And that’s why we try to under-stand the markets we are in andhow we can diversify.”

Sir Michael said that the com-pany’s values will determine whothey do business with.

He said: “Do we share the samevalues and can we use thosevalues to deliver a great businessand can we get a good manage-ment team to run it?

“We are, at the end of the day,powered by our people.

“There are four behaviours wewant each person in our businessto show.

“Acting with integrity – it’s myname on the company door andmy reputation that’s at stake. Iwant to ensure that is respectedand built on.

“We also have long-term re-lationships – we are not just hereto report quarterly.

“If you have people acting inthat way and give them the righttools and motivation to do it, wewill deliver excellent customerservice.

“We feel we are delivering onthose values internally, and thirdparty evidence shows that we arenot misleading ourselves as towhat is working. We are a Finan-cial Times Top 100 Employer andthere have been other awards.”

The company is proud of itscharity work, donating £5m to 900charities since 2006.

“We have matched whatever ouremployees want to raise moneyfor. We have given a lot to Fair-bridge’s programme and I ampersonally involved at local levelwith the Prince’s Trust,” said SirMichael.

“At the moment, there arepeople in Vietnam cycling forcharity and others have just comeback from Brazil where theyhelped build a school. It helpspeople feel there is more tocoming to work than sitting at adesk all day filling in forms.”

The group’s subsidiaries arerun autonomously.

“From a cultural point of view,we don't try to promote BibbyLine Group, but we do promotesubsidiaries.

“That’s because we feel we are asupporting role and the real workis done by the subsidiaries and its

those people we want to see takeownership of their business.

“They all have their own boardsand chief executives. They are allresponsible for their own finan-cing and there are no crossguarantees.

“They are responsible for theirown balance sheets, profit andloss and cash flow.”

The areas of the business thatare doing well are the super-market chain and its offshoreengineering operations for the oiland gas industry.

Sir Michael said: “The groceryconvenience stores have proved tobe the least cyclical business youcan get. It’s grown 4% consistentlysince 2007.”

Bibby’s Osiris subsidiary inBromborough offers hydrographicsurvey and geophysical engineer-ing. It surveys the sea-bed to see ifit is suitable for windfarms orwhether there could be anobstruction.

“With all the windfarms goingup around the North Sea, that's aboom market,” said Sir Michael.

He added: “It’s hard to general-ise, but overall we don't seesignificant growth in volumes inmost sectors that is going to leadto large numbers of new jobsbeing created, unless there is amajor new stimulus or unexpec-ted events in a major market.”

One exception to the jobsmarket gloom is the market foroffshore engineering projectmanagers.

By opening an office inLiverpool, Bibby has been able topersuade some to stop the weeklycommute to Aberdeen.

“We also convert engineers inother fields to offshore and wehave recruited more graduates tobe offshore project managers.”

THE SHARPERINVESTOR

Nigel Hibbert,Partner at CheviotAsset Management,Liverpool

Following the US election,Nigel Hibbert looks over thefiscal cliff and at the prospectsfor US and European growth

THE harsh economic real-ities of a second term ofoffice put a brutal and swiftend to the Democrateuphoria which greeted theUS election victory.

Within 24 hours of the pollresults, the words “fiscal”and “cliff ” were tripping offthe tongue of your averageLiverpool taxi driver andtrending on Twitter.

The expression “fiscalcliff ” is shorthand for thepotential impact of a majordouble whammy facing theUS in January – the end ofhistorically low taxescombined with theintroduction of swingeingspending cuts.

The bipartisan andadversarial nature of USpolitics means there is nocertainty of a resolution, sothere remains areal danger thatprevarication ordeadlock will leadto negative marketreaction.

Nervous invest-ors started to sellstocksimmediately afterthe election as aresult of thisuncertainty, andit’s entirely poss-ible that the threatof further marketfalls will be thefactor which brings therequired compromise.

Given this uncertain out-look, companies seemunwilling to invest some ofthe $1.7 trillion (FederalReserve, September 12)currently sat on corporatebalance sheets in newprojects, acquisitions andhires – the kind of activitywhich drives growth.

If allowed to run theirnatural course, the combinedmeasures of the tax increasesand spending cuts couldhamper GDP growth andpotentially push the US backinto recession.

We are working on theassumption, however, thatthe White House and Con-gress will find a solution –

even if only a temporary one(what’s known in the Statesas “kicking the can down theroad”).

Many commentatorsexpect the tax cuts to beextended for two years, witha plan to rethink after the2014 Senate and Houseelections. A problem parkedrather than solved, butparked nevertheless.

It is notable, moreover, thatFederal Reserve ChairmanBen Bernanke has made itclear that he will target un-employment over inflationso, even if no measures aretaken to address the “fiscalcliff ”, we would expect to seestrong central bank interven-tion and a correspondingboost in corporate activity.

With President Obama inthe White House, it is alsolikely that we will seeBernanke’s “rates lower forlonger” environment persist.

That, combined with anyfiscal cliff resolution, means

we should seethe UScontinue togrow at a fasterrate thanwestern peersover the nextfew years (Q32012 annualisedGDP of 2% vs.1% in the UK).Anotherpositive factorconcerning theeconomicrecovery in theUS is the access

to lower energy pricesthrough the extraction ofmassive shale gas reserveswhich could provide a boostto manufacturing throughlower production costs.

Cheviot, therefore, iscontinuing to run withmeaningful exposure to theUS through direct investmentin US funds or UK-listedcompanies that haveearnings exposure to the US.

The US has serious chal-lenges ahead, but we remainconfident that its prospectsfor growth remain betterthan here in the UK, and thatthe eurozone’s challenges areprobably greater.

! IN ASSOCIATION withCheviot Asset Management

‘Spendingcuts and taxrises couldpush the USback intorecession’

19

ECONOMICDEVELOPMENT

More sides to the TriangleAlistairHoughton reportsonhowwoodenshedsarehelping transform thecity’s creativehub

WHEN so many re-generation schemesare based on steeland glass “icons”or chequerboard-

clad apartment towers, it’s a reliefto see that Liverpool’s new creat-ive quarter is basing its rebirthon the humble garden shed.

The Baltic Triangle area ofLiverpool has long been ear-marked as a creative quarter forthe city.

And, quietly, a cluster of digitaland creative entrepreneurs hasbeen making that happen.

In recent years, many firms inthe sector have made the Triangletheir home and have teamed up ina “stakeholders’ group” to helpimprove the area.

Many of them are based inElevator Studios, the Victorian

warehouse complex converted byTim and Paul Speed into a warrenof offices and rehearsal spaces.

And all of them socialise inCamp & Furnace, the eatery-cum-events venue that has become thesocial hub of the quarter in themonths since it opened.

Their efforts have been sup-ported by the public sector in theform of Baltic Creative, thecompany backed by the EuropeanRegional Development Fund andLiverpool Vision that has beentransforming an unspectaculargroup of “tin sheds” into analready thriving creative campus.

Where once a blank tin wallfaced Jamaica Street, the area’smain drag, there now sits a hugeglass window inviting passers-byto peer into the coffee shop andcreative goodness inside.

And if you go inside and peerthrough the garden fence into thebody of the building, you’ll see notjust simple offices, but a row ofjumbo wooden sheds arrangedalong a garden path.

It’s a different way of organis-ing what is at heart an officecomplex – but Baltic Triangleresidents like to do thingsdifferently.

They want the area to becomeLiverpool’s own version ofLondon’s trendy Shoreditch – ahaven of independent retailers,digital pioneers and creativetalent.

In fact, the area’s ownmanifesto proudly proclaims thearea is all about “a bonfire of old-school regeneration mantras”.

For the moment, there aren’tany apartment block towers in the

ubiquitous chequerboard glass orplastic cladding. Perhaps that willcome. But for now, despite theinflux of digital leaders, the BalticTriangle still has the air of a low-key semi-industrial area withsome intriguing secrets.

Those secrets have, perhaps,been a little too well hidden.That’s why the latest phase ofBaltic Creative opens out to thestreet, with several tenantsopposite the campus in JamaicaStreet having their own shopfront-style windows to the street.

All agree that the area stillneeds better transport links andmore retailers and eateries tobring life to its streets.

And all agree that the area willreceive another huge boost nextyear when the former Contem-porary Urban Centre, a huge but

previously underused convertedVictorian warehouse complex,reopens as a cutting-edge school.

But, with its mix of creativityand light industry, the Triangleremains unlike anywhere else inLiverpool.

And that’s just the wayresidents like it.

Kevin McManus, director ofLiverpool Vision’s creative sectorsupport agency ACME, hasworked on the Baltic Creativeproject for years and is thrilledwith the way the area has devel-oped in recent years.

“The whole area has moved onso much,” he mused.

“Camp & Furnace is a big asset.It seems to be a place wherepeople hang out after work and

CONTINUED ON PAGE 20

The sheds inside Jamaica Street’s ‘creative campus’, the latest phase of Baltic Creative; inset, centre manager Mark Lawler Pictures: GARETH JONES

18

THE BIG INTERVIEW . . . SIR MICHAEL BIBBY

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17

Sir Michael Bibby delivering a speech at Bibby Line Group’shead office promoting Bibby Financial Services

Picture: ANDREW TEEBAY

environmental regulations thatwe can meet that other forms ofaccommodation can’t,” he said.

Another new line of business iswoodland burials.

“That’s all about people’schanging social requirementsabout how they get buried.

“It’s about how they see the roleof the environment in their lives.

“We have just got planning per-mission to open a site on the Lord

“It will be carbon positive. Anytrees taken out are reprocessed forenergy.

“If you are in greenbelt, yougenerally can’t use a woodland atall for building. That means theyare not managed because it gener-ates no income.

“With a woodland burial site,we can manage it and open up thecanopy.

“That means the flora andfauna at the base comes back andthat means more wildlife. We canalso open it up for public access.

“The coffins will have no leador other metals in them, so theywill decompose.

“Burying is more environ-mentally friendly than cremation,which needs a lot of power.

“It’s real circle of life stuff. Ifyou are buried and decomposeunder an old tree, you will go backinto that tree.”

From 1890 to 1960, the companyhad two trades. One was ashipping route from the UK toBurma and Ceylon (as Sri Lankawas then known) and the otherwas troop ships for the BritishArmy.

In 1960, both those tradesdisappeared.

Burma and Ceylon becameindependent and troops went byplane.

“So we diversified into ships,”said Sir Michael.

The company built up its fleetof ships on the back of generoustax incentives.

Sir Michael said: “We had a 1mtonnes dead weight of ships. Itwas a no-brainer. There were taxwrite-downs of 100% whencorporation tax was 50% andinflation was 20%. So we couldn’tlose.

“Then Mrs Thatcher came topower and she stopped inflation.There was a recession and theprice of ships collapsed. We order-ed too many ships and over-traded.

“That taught us we need todiversify outside shipping, so wecould withstand the cycles.

“The other thing it did wasshape our values.

“One of our values is ‘restlessmomentum’ which is alwaysasking what can you do next?

“Another is ‘positivelychallenging’ – how can you dowhat you do today better?

“We want to be as close to ourcustomers as we can. How can wesatisfy customer demand bettergoing forward?

“If we don’t do that, we will beout of business, and we verynearly were in the 1960s and 1980s.And that’s why we try to under-stand the markets we are in andhow we can diversify.”

Sir Michael said that the com-pany’s values will determine whothey do business with.

He said: “Do we share the samevalues and can we use thosevalues to deliver a great businessand can we get a good manage-ment team to run it?

“We are, at the end of the day,powered by our people.

“There are four behaviours wewant each person in our businessto show.

“Acting with integrity – it’s myname on the company door andmy reputation that’s at stake. Iwant to ensure that is respectedand built on.

“We also have long-term re-lationships – we are not just hereto report quarterly.

“If you have people acting inthat way and give them the righttools and motivation to do it, wewill deliver excellent customerservice.

“We feel we are delivering onthose values internally, and thirdparty evidence shows that we arenot misleading ourselves as towhat is working. We are a Finan-cial Times Top 100 Employer andthere have been other awards.”

The company is proud of itscharity work, donating £5m to 900charities since 2006.

“We have matched whatever ouremployees want to raise moneyfor. We have given a lot to Fair-bridge’s programme and I ampersonally involved at local levelwith the Prince’s Trust,” said SirMichael.

“At the moment, there arepeople in Vietnam cycling forcharity and others have just comeback from Brazil where theyhelped build a school. It helpspeople feel there is more tocoming to work than sitting at adesk all day filling in forms.”

The group’s subsidiaries arerun autonomously.

“From a cultural point of view,we don't try to promote BibbyLine Group, but we do promotesubsidiaries.

“That’s because we feel we are asupporting role and the real workis done by the subsidiaries and its

those people we want to see takeownership of their business.

“They all have their own boardsand chief executives. They are allresponsible for their own finan-cing and there are no crossguarantees.

“They are responsible for theirown balance sheets, profit andloss and cash flow.”

The areas of the business thatare doing well are the super-market chain and its offshoreengineering operations for the oiland gas industry.

Sir Michael said: “The groceryconvenience stores have proved tobe the least cyclical business youcan get. It’s grown 4% consistentlysince 2007.”

Bibby’s Osiris subsidiary inBromborough offers hydrographicsurvey and geophysical engineer-ing. It surveys the sea-bed to see ifit is suitable for windfarms orwhether there could be anobstruction.

“With all the windfarms goingup around the North Sea, that's aboom market,” said Sir Michael.

He added: “It’s hard to general-ise, but overall we don't seesignificant growth in volumes inmost sectors that is going to leadto large numbers of new jobsbeing created, unless there is amajor new stimulus or unexpec-ted events in a major market.”

One exception to the jobsmarket gloom is the market foroffshore engineering projectmanagers.

By opening an office inLiverpool, Bibby has been able topersuade some to stop the weeklycommute to Aberdeen.

“We also convert engineers inother fields to offshore and wehave recruited more graduates tobe offshore project managers.”

THE SHARPERINVESTOR

Nigel Hibbert,Partner at CheviotAsset Management,Liverpool

Following the US election,Nigel Hibbert looks over thefiscal cliff and at the prospectsfor US and European growth

THE harsh economic real-ities of a second term ofoffice put a brutal and swiftend to the Democrateuphoria which greeted theUS election victory.

Within 24 hours of the pollresults, the words “fiscal”and “cliff ” were tripping offthe tongue of your averageLiverpool taxi driver andtrending on Twitter.

The expression “fiscalcliff ” is shorthand for thepotential impact of a majordouble whammy facing theUS in January – the end ofhistorically low taxescombined with theintroduction of swingeingspending cuts.

The bipartisan andadversarial nature of USpolitics means there is nocertainty of a resolution, sothere remains areal danger thatprevarication ordeadlock will leadto negative marketreaction.

Nervous invest-ors started to sellstocksimmediately afterthe election as aresult of thisuncertainty, andit’s entirely poss-ible that the threatof further marketfalls will be thefactor which brings therequired compromise.

Given this uncertain out-look, companies seemunwilling to invest some ofthe $1.7 trillion (FederalReserve, September 12)currently sat on corporatebalance sheets in newprojects, acquisitions andhires – the kind of activitywhich drives growth.

If allowed to run theirnatural course, the combinedmeasures of the tax increasesand spending cuts couldhamper GDP growth andpotentially push the US backinto recession.

We are working on theassumption, however, thatthe White House and Con-gress will find a solution –

even if only a temporary one(what’s known in the Statesas “kicking the can down theroad”).

Many commentatorsexpect the tax cuts to beextended for two years, witha plan to rethink after the2014 Senate and Houseelections. A problem parkedrather than solved, butparked nevertheless.

It is notable, moreover, thatFederal Reserve ChairmanBen Bernanke has made itclear that he will target un-employment over inflationso, even if no measures aretaken to address the “fiscalcliff ”, we would expect to seestrong central bank interven-tion and a correspondingboost in corporate activity.

With President Obama inthe White House, it is alsolikely that we will seeBernanke’s “rates lower forlonger” environment persist.

That, combined with anyfiscal cliff resolution, means

we should seethe UScontinue togrow at a fasterrate thanwestern peersover the nextfew years (Q32012 annualisedGDP of 2% vs.1% in the UK).Anotherpositive factorconcerning theeconomicrecovery in theUS is the access

to lower energy pricesthrough the extraction ofmassive shale gas reserveswhich could provide a boostto manufacturing throughlower production costs.

Cheviot, therefore, iscontinuing to run withmeaningful exposure to theUS through direct investmentin US funds or UK-listedcompanies that haveearnings exposure to the US.

The US has serious chal-lenges ahead, but we remainconfident that its prospectsfor growth remain betterthan here in the UK, and thatthe eurozone’s challenges areprobably greater.

! IN ASSOCIATION withCheviot Asset Management

‘Spendingcuts and taxrises couldpush the USback intorecession’

19

ECONOMICDEVELOPMENT

More sides to the TriangleAlistairHoughton reportsonhowwoodenshedsarehelping transform thecity’s creativehub

WHEN so many re-generation schemesare based on steeland glass “icons”or chequerboard-

clad apartment towers, it’s a reliefto see that Liverpool’s new creat-ive quarter is basing its rebirthon the humble garden shed.

The Baltic Triangle area ofLiverpool has long been ear-marked as a creative quarter forthe city.

And, quietly, a cluster of digitaland creative entrepreneurs hasbeen making that happen.

In recent years, many firms inthe sector have made the Triangletheir home and have teamed up ina “stakeholders’ group” to helpimprove the area.

Many of them are based inElevator Studios, the Victorian

warehouse complex converted byTim and Paul Speed into a warrenof offices and rehearsal spaces.

And all of them socialise inCamp & Furnace, the eatery-cum-events venue that has become thesocial hub of the quarter in themonths since it opened.

Their efforts have been sup-ported by the public sector in theform of Baltic Creative, thecompany backed by the EuropeanRegional Development Fund andLiverpool Vision that has beentransforming an unspectaculargroup of “tin sheds” into analready thriving creative campus.

Where once a blank tin wallfaced Jamaica Street, the area’smain drag, there now sits a hugeglass window inviting passers-byto peer into the coffee shop andcreative goodness inside.

And if you go inside and peerthrough the garden fence into thebody of the building, you’ll see notjust simple offices, but a row ofjumbo wooden sheds arrangedalong a garden path.

It’s a different way of organis-ing what is at heart an officecomplex – but Baltic Triangleresidents like to do thingsdifferently.

They want the area to becomeLiverpool’s own version ofLondon’s trendy Shoreditch – ahaven of independent retailers,digital pioneers and creativetalent.

In fact, the area’s ownmanifesto proudly proclaims thearea is all about “a bonfire of old-school regeneration mantras”.

For the moment, there aren’tany apartment block towers in the

ubiquitous chequerboard glass orplastic cladding. Perhaps that willcome. But for now, despite theinflux of digital leaders, the BalticTriangle still has the air of a low-key semi-industrial area withsome intriguing secrets.

Those secrets have, perhaps,been a little too well hidden.That’s why the latest phase ofBaltic Creative opens out to thestreet, with several tenantsopposite the campus in JamaicaStreet having their own shopfront-style windows to the street.

All agree that the area stillneeds better transport links andmore retailers and eateries tobring life to its streets.

And all agree that the area willreceive another huge boost nextyear when the former Contem-porary Urban Centre, a huge but

previously underused convertedVictorian warehouse complex,reopens as a cutting-edge school.

But, with its mix of creativityand light industry, the Triangleremains unlike anywhere else inLiverpool.

And that’s just the wayresidents like it.

Kevin McManus, director ofLiverpool Vision’s creative sectorsupport agency ACME, hasworked on the Baltic Creativeproject for years and is thrilledwith the way the area has devel-oped in recent years.

“The whole area has moved onso much,” he mused.

“Camp & Furnace is a big asset.It seems to be a place wherepeople hang out after work and

CONTINUED ON PAGE 20

The sheds inside Jamaica Street’s ‘creative campus’, the latest phase of Baltic Creative; inset, centre manager Mark Lawler Pictures: GARETH JONES

20

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BALTIC TRIANGLE

during work. Camp & Furnace fitsthat collaborative atmosphere.

“Elevator is still strong and hassome great companies in it. Andnow Baltic Creative is finallythere.

“Its launch event last monthwas even more than we everhoped it would be when westarted the journey six or sevenyears ago. The campus and thecafé bar are real assets. Andthey’ve got some really greattenants, from The Picket andLiverpool Biennial to Apposingand Sound City.

“It’s an area where people wantto be. People are seeking to movethere now. There’s a real buzzwhen you go down there.

“It stands comparison with anysimilar area. The Sharp Factory,in Manchester, is one of the biggerones, and everyone talks aboutShoreditch.

“This is a very Liverpool place,but it’s got lots of great companiesand a bit of edginess. There’s lotsof sharing, but also lots of healthycompetitiveness.

“There’s still work to be done.But in terms of my work sellingLiverpool to potential inwardinvestors, the whole Baltic areagives the city another reallyattractive offer.”

THE first pilot phase ofBaltic Creative, includ-ing homes for companiessuch as Liverpool SoundCity, opened in October

last year.A year later, at a party attended

by people from most Trianglecompanies, as well as the city’sgreat and good, the latest campusand catalyst phase was opened.

Baltic Creative has 45 spacesspread across 18 warehouse units.

It now has 34 tenants, meaningthat 80% of its total floor space islet, and Mr Lawler expects morelettings in the New Year.

Half of those businesses areestablished firms looking for aslice of the Baltic Triangle, whilehalf are start-ups or “home office”businesses moving to their firstformal premises.

Today, the space hosts tenantsin areas from web design toceramics and photography tomusic.

Mark Lawler, centre managerfor the Baltic CreativeCommunity Interest Company,says he and his board wanted tocreate “a collaborative, creativeand industrious space”.

He said: “The ethos was to pro-vide a space for start-upbusinesses and home officebusinesses to make their firststeps into the sector, but also toprovide an opportunity for thosebusinesses to access the skills ofmore established businesses.

“So,” he added, looking back tothe row of garden sheds, “wecreated this garden corridor – it’sa collaborative environment.

“The barn doors on the shedsaren’t there by accident. If you’rein a shed, you can open the tophalf of your door and speak toyour neighbours.

“There are garden areas alloc-ated in front of the sheds for thetenants, so they can bring a chairoutside and meet theirneighbours.

“The concrete planters in thecorridor are cycle bays. And thekitchens, toilets and showerfacilities are shared. If you wantto make a cup of coffee, you don’tdo it in your own shed.”

There is also a shared meeting

room at the front of the building –it’s officially the Baltic CreativeSpace, though some tenants call itthe Chapel. The coffee shop at thefront of the building, meanwhile,is open to all.

Mr Lawler said the work ofBaltic Creative had been boostedby the opening of Elevator andCamp & Furnace, as well as by theopening of the £5.6m Women’sInternational Centre for Econ-omic Development nearby.

“The reason for people beinginterested in us is not just ourspace,” he added, “it’s about thearea as well, with its growingappeal as a place for digital andcreative businesses.”

And Mr Lawler is particularlyexcited about North LiverpoolAcademy’s plans to transform theCUC into two specialist schools.

The Victorian warehouse, inGreenland Street behind Elevator,was converted into a massive artscentre by charity Novas, but shutlast year as its owner battledfunding cuts.

From September, it will houseboth The Studio – a schooldedicated to digital and gamingtechnology – and the Life SciencesUniversity Technical College,which aims to train youngpeople to work in Liverpool’s

growing bioscience sector: “Theclosing of the CUC could havebeen very negative,” said MrLawler. “But now North LiverpoolAcademy has taken the space andwill be moving in next year. It’sreinvigorated a lot of businesseswho might be doing business withthe Academy. It’s become anopportunity.”

The schools will bring peopleinto the area. And that will helpto solve one of the main problemsthe Baltic Triangle has faced – theperception that it is quiet anddistant from the city centre.

The area is just a few minuteswalk from Liverpool One, but itslight industrial nature meantmany people felt it wasn’t worthwalking to. Now there are morebusinesses, and eateries such asCamp & Furnace and Elevator’scafe-bar, it is much more welcom-ing. And the new Baltic Creativeshopfront premises in JamaicaStreet are bringing new life to astreet formerly known forfeatureless sheds.

A line of units now housestenants, including softwarespecialist Apposing and ceramicsdesigner Alison Appleton, whosebusinesses look out to the street.They are not shops, but do pro-vide shop windows for firms.

They face the main entrance tothe Baltic Creative campus,creating a buzzing area of lightand activity in Jamaica Street.

Mr Lawler said: “Part of ourbrief here was to raise the profileof the whole area, and also toraise the profile of our tenants.

“Our shopfront units providedigital and creative businesseswith the opportunity to showcasewhat they do and their talents.

“The entrance to our creativecampus now opens up the whole

campus to Jamaica Street andhelps people put a face to thoseindustrious, creative industries.”

Simon Rhodes, who leadsElevator-based design agencySmiling Wolf, agrees the shop-fronts have brought new life to thequarter. The Triangle has, hesays, changed “massively” sincehe moved in two years ago.

He said: “One of the bigchanges, apart from herebecoming a destination, is BalticCreative, in particular the units

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19 Ceramics designer Alison Appletonin her Baltic Creative studio, offJamaica Street, Liverpool

Camp & Furnace, a key Baltic Triangle social hub

17

“So you go from too muchdemand and too little supply totoo much supply and too littledemand.

“The last boom was so long be-cause of Chinese growth, therewas so much demand, it has takeneven longer to get out of it.

“With the Suez crisis, it took 15years to catch up again.

“Nowadays, nobody is orderingnew ships and all the smallernon-state owned shipyards aregoing bust in China.

“Everybody thinks prices will

still fall in shipping. We sold all ofour gas and chemical carriers andjack up platforms (accommodat-ion platforms) in 2007.

“We were lucky. We only boughtone vessel, The Shropshire, forwhich we’ve managed to secure along-term charter.

“We have bought The Cheshire.There is work for it but theincome is appalling.

“We’ve also got five smalltankers.

“They have done OK because ofthe closure of nuclear power

stations in Japan. They areimporting fuel out of China intoJapan. We couldn’t have predictedthat at the time of purchasing theships.

“We took £60m out of shippingand we put it into Costcutter andoffshore boats and the refurb ofThe Renaissance, a Coastel vesselworking in Australia.

“The shipping values droppedby 60% while values have in-creased where we have re-invested, and that’s the role of thegroup.

“It’s up to head office to re-allocate equity, but it is the firstcycle we got right for a hundredyears.”

Commenting on last year’sstrong financial performance, SirMichael said: “Last year was anexceptional year.

“We would do well to hit thatthis year, though next year we areexpecting another step forward.

“Because it’s such a mix ofbusiness, you can’t judge theoverall result.

“It depends on the shift in the

mix of the business. Distributionand Costcutter have very highturnover but very low margins.

“Shipping has low turnover butpotentially a very high margin orvery large losses, so it has thepotential to distort in terms ofoverall percentages.

“We are looking for long-terminvestment return, not short-termprofit.”

Bibby Line Group is one of Brit-ain’s largest privately-ownedbusinesses.

The Bibby family own 88% ofthe shares, with the remaining12% owned by managers andex-managers and more distantrelations. Its last share issue wasin 1899.

As well as an international per-spective, Bibby’s UK activitiesgive it a good overview of the stateof the domestic economy.

Sir Michael said: “In terms ofhow that feeds back into the UK,most businesses are now adjustedto a new reality, which is that wehave been in recession for fouryears and we are seeing, in someways, remarkable stability.

“People haven’t been over-ex-posing themselves with newinvestment. Businesses have beenhoarding cash.

“But the pessimism is a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you don’tinvest, you don’t get growth, butpeople aren’t prepared to take therisk. Banks have the money, butmost businesses don’t want themoney.

“If you look at our financialservices clients in the UK, theyhave been remarkably stable.Everybody is living within theirmeans, so there is a low level ofdefaults.

“Historically, our SME custom-ers grew organically at 5% perannum, so we knew we wouldgrow at a similar rate. But theyare not doing so now.

“2010 fell a bit, but since then ithas been flat.

“In the UK, we have a stablebusiness environment and thatdoesn’t seem to be changing.

“But to create more jobs and getmoving again, people need to takerisks again. That’s what theGovernment has got to crack andI have no tips for them about howto do that.”

Sir Michael sits on Mayor JoeAnderson’s Mayoral DevelopmentAdvisory Committee. He believesthe work of the local authorityand other economic developmentagencies should come into its ownwhen the rest of the economy issluggish.

He said: “If you are not going toget growth driven internationally,you need to get things goinglocally with optimism and startbuilding it from there.”

One new area of business is thegroup’s Coastels. These arefloating buildings that have beenused as prisons, billets for sold-iers, accommodation for asylumseekers and offshore workers.

Sir Michael said: “They offerup to three or four star hotelstandard.

“They operate in remote areasfor projects where they will betied up for months at a time.”

The group’s Coastel vesselshave served as prisons in NewYork, troop accommodation in theFalkland Islands, and for off-shoregas and oil work in Nigeria andAustralia.

“That was the north west shelfof Australia. There is nothingthere, but there are a lot of

THE BIG INTERVIEW . . . SIR MICHAEL BIBBY

We are looking for long-term investmentreturn, not short-term profit – SirMichael Bibby in the boardroom atBibby Line Group’s head office, onDuke Street, Liverpool

Picture: ANDREW TEEBAY

CONTINUED ON PAGE 18

16

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15

IT’S no accident thatBibby Line Group en-joyed a record yearduring what was formost other firms anextremely challengingtime.

When it reported itsfull-year results for 2011,

the shipping to conveniencestores group reported pre-taxprofits up by more than 50% to£63.8m, on sales of almost £1.3bn,up 12.1% on the previous year.

The fact that a shipping linebusiness has such a robustperformance at a time wheninternational trade is stuck in thedoldrums has a lot to do withlessons learned from bitter ex-perience in the mid-1980s when asevere downturn in internationaltrade nearly put Bibby out ofbusiness.

Back then, it became clear thatthe company needed a strategydesigned to cope with the cyc-licality of shipping. It was decidedthat Bibby needed to invest indiverse and counter-cyclicalactivities.

This plan was assisted by apartial exit from the shippingtrade in 2007, just before thecredit crunch and recessions ofrecent years struck.

By selling a number of vessels,Bibby realised £60m, which wasimmediately re-invested into thepurchase of the Costcutter chainof convenience stores.

“It’s the first time in a hundredyears we got our timing right,”quips group chief executive SirMichael Bibby.

He believes his business is wellpositioned to understand what isgoing on in the global economy,including seeing the early signs ofgrowth or decline. Its shippingservices carry raw materialsbetween Australia’s miningregions and China’s manufac-turing plants. They also carryfinished goods between China andEurope, and in Britain the firmoperates a distribution business,so it has its finger on the nationaleconomic pulse too. On top of allthat, Bibby’s invoice factoringbusiness, Bibby FinancialServices, is a barometer of thelevel of transactions in 20countries.

“So we are seeing every step ofthe way,” Sir Michael said.

Much of what he sees hap-pening in the world economy atthe moment worries him.

“Most global trade growth hasbeen built on Chinese demand,which has been 11% to 12%, butthat’s now slipping back to 7%, sowe are worried.”

China, he says, is importingless coal and iron ore, creatingless demand for shipping betweenChina and the countries wherethe commodities are mined.

They had a lot of ships thattransported the coal to China, butthose ships are coming onto themarket now.

Sir Michael said: “Power usagein China is lower. Steel output islow. Manufacturing is slippingand coal stocks are high.

“Power consumption has beenfalling for several months, whichcould mean that growth is fallingmore than we thought.

“We thought of investing in newships, but put that on hold be-cause we think the recovery couldtake longer than expected.

“We need better clarity aboutChina. Demand is not as strong aswe had expected. We have to see

what happens when the newleadership makes changesbecause China has massivereserves it can spend if it wantsto.

“At the same time, you have theUS fiscal cliff. The US is still thebiggest economy in the world. Itwill have a big influence.

“The European containerroutes from China have dropped20% and the turnover of ourfinancial services clients is alsodown in parts of Europe this yearby 20%.

“That’s pretty dramatic andexactly matches the decline incontainer trade.

“So we think there is a bigproblem in Europe, too.

“You look to America as theonly other economy big enough tomake a difference and you see thefiscal cliff coming up there.

“So where is demand stimulusgoing to come from?

“I can’t see India growingquickly enough, given all theiradministrative issues.

“For me, it comes back to a

Chinese and Asian-led recovery.We need to see how the newadministration in China leads theway forward.

“That has an effect on us interms of timing and when weshould go back into shipping andorder more ships.”

Getting the timing right aboutwhen to return to shippinginvolves a lot of guesswork.

It takes three years to buildnew ships, so if Bibby is going toorder more vessels it needsforesight about the best moment

to make a move: “At present, thecharter income wouldn’t pay forport fees and fuel, let alone coverthe cost of the crew,” Sir Michaelsaid.

He added: “It’s a typical hogcycle.

“It takes you two years to growa pig. It takes you two to threeyears to build a ship.

“When the market booms,everyone thinks it’s going to boomforever, so they order ships, buttwo to three years later, it’sdropped off.

THE BIG INTERVIEW . . . SIR MICHAEL BIBBY

21

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BALTIC TRIANGLE

that have opened up the street.One problem here is that peoplesay the Baltic Triangle is ‘too faraway from town’.

“The more infill we get betweenhere and Liverpool One, the closereverything feels. That perceptionis being broken down.

“It’s only nine minutes’ walkfrom Liverpool One.

“Then there’s the great newsthat the CUC has been taken on byNorth Liverpool Academy. Thatwill transform the area again,with 1,200 students and theirsupport mechanisms. In anotheryear, the area will feel as though ithas moved on considerably.”

MR RHODES has hisfinger in severalBaltic Triangle pies.

He, along with agroup of other

Triangle residents, including theSpeed brothers, Chris Lee offashion firm Microbrands One,and architect Miles Falkingham,pulled together the “manifesto”for the area.

The manifesto says it wants theTriangle to be “a bonfire of old-school regeneration mantras; acelebration of everythingmarginal, curious and inspired; aprivate sector-led, bottom-up,

grassroots networking, match-making and freewheelin’revolutionary manifesto forchange – with a creative,industrious, pioneering agendaand a Bohemian, alternative,radical leaning.”

Mr Rhodes said: “We hadworked with Liverpool Vision todeliver the Baltic Triangle web-site. We realised there was a lot ofscope and that it was a genuinelyexciting prospect.”

The manifesto paints a pictureof an area alive with “ingenuityand frugality”.

The manifesto also painted apicture of an area with a “pop up,fold down, drive thru approach”.That is now reflected in BalticCreative, with the sheds giving itan “outside inside feel”.

People who move to the Tri-angle, says Mr Rhodes, swiftly fallfor it.

“There’s a real sense of camar-aderie,” he said. “People whomove to the Baltic are reallyproud to be here.

“The Twitter hashtag#teambaltic pops up everywhere.”

That virtual camaraderiecomes into the real world atanother of Rhodes’s ventures –Camp & Furnace.

The manifesto team agreed that

the area lacked a central hub –and when arts venue the AFoundation closed its doors,several team members decided tojoin forces to turn the formerwarehouse space into a Balticanchor complete with bar/restaurant, events spaces and aphotography studio.

The venue held its first “popup” events last year, including theLiverpool Food and Drink FestivalAwards, and opened officially inMay.

“It feels more established thanit is,” smiled Mr Rhodes.

“But that’s down to the propos-ition. We’ve really got the brandtogether, especially visually.

“We spent a lot of time gettingthat right and making sure it’scompletely different to anywhereelse.”

The partners are Mr Rhodes,architect Mr Falkingham, Timand Paul Speed of Elevator, andchef/caterer Steven Burgess.

Mr Falkingham’s architecturepractice, FVMA, and Mr Rhodes’sSmiling Wolf, worked on theconversion.

“It was a matter of using thisbuilding without intervening toomuch in the structure of it,”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 22

ENTERPRISINGTHOUGHT

With Fiona Castela,project manager atEnterprise EuropeNetwork North West

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Ever since the astronomer,Jeremiah Horrocks, looked tothe skies ofToxteth 300years ago,Liverpool hasbeen a pioneerfor the UK’s lifesciences, andcreative anddigitalindustries.

Liverpool’sKnowledgeEconomy isworth morethan £1bn ayear, with thecity centrealone accounting for morethan half of Liverpool’seconomic output and justunder half of its jobs.

For businesses working inthe life sciences, creative ordigital industries, a trade-mark can be more valuablethan the business itself. Thisis because customers orclients do not only buy aproduct, they buy into abrand – a “promise of anexperience” they can expectfrom you. The only thing thatprotects this brand is atrademark.

A trademark is a clear signthat distinguishes your goodsor services from competitors,and they form a large part ofwhat people may refer to asyour brand.

As one of the most impor-tant intellectual propertyassets, small business ownersmistakenly believe that theycan only be acquired with thehelp of expensive consultantsor lawyers. In fact, the pro-cess is far more straight-forward.

We always advise individ-uals to purchase theirtrademark sooner ratherthan later, preferably whensetting up the business.

Your first steps should beto search for used trade-marks on the IntellectualProperty Office (IPO) UKwebsite, and read therestrictions around what canand cannot be registered.

Once you have decided ona trademark and chosen yourbusiness category, you canregister it on the IPO UKwebsite, which means nopaperwork to fill in.

The fees for registering atrademark arelow comparedto other formsof intellectualproperty suchas patents andcopyright.

Ideally, bus-inesses shouldpurchase theirtrademark inevery countrythey export to,as it could beexploited bynefarious salesagents or

distributors, or evencompetitors, ultimatelydamaging your brand.

The easiest and least ex-pensive route to registerinternational trademarks isvia the IPO UK office, using afast-track service for Euro-pean countries orapplications via the WorldIntellectual Property Office(WIPO) for countries outsideof Europe.

To find out more aboutpurchasing a trademarkoverseas, or for generaladvice about trading inEurope, visit www.eenw.orgor call 0844 259 8571 to speakwith an adviser.

! FIONA Castela is projectmanager at EnterpriseEurope Network North West(EENW), an organisationfunded by the EuropeanCommission to provide freeand impartial business adviceto SMEs in the region.

! IN ASSOCIATION withEENW

‘Trademarksare animportantasset foryourbusiness’

APP FIRM GETS ITS OWN WINDOW TO THE WORLDSOFTWARE firmApposing’s move tothe Baltic Trianglehas coincided withthe most successfulperiod in its history.

The company, ledby the ambitiousDave Brown, has justlaunched theChristmas app forrestaurant chainNando’s, on whichplayers can competefor prizes by “pullingcrackers”.

“It’s a crackergame with knobs on,”smiled Brown.“Hopefully, it shouldbe the biggest appwe’ve done.”

Apposing recentlymoved back to theBaltic Triangle, takinga shopfront-style unitin Jamaica Street,after spending a yearin FACT.

“We used to be inElevator and weloved it round here,”said Mr Brown. “Itwas a cool, creativeplace.

“When we got theopportunity to go toFACT, we did that.But there was a lot ofinvestment here wewanted to be part ofand a lot of thingshappening we want-ed to be part of.”

Brown is alsoinvolved in widerTriangle initiatives,including workingwith the incomingStudio School. He willhost students onwork experience, aswell as speaking tostudents about appsand software design.

“These could bethe future appdevelopers forApposing.”

The firm today

employs 12 peopleworking on a range ofprojects.

It recentlycompleted work on anew version of theBill Angel app itdesigned forCarphone Ware-house, which allowscustomers to monitortheir mobile phoneusage.

Its “augmentedreality” app forfurniture retailer CSL,which allows peopleto see what a sofawould look like intheir house, has wonindustry plaudits.

Mr Brown said:“We’re now looking

to work with otherfurniture retailersaround the world.We’ve had retailers inthe US, India, NewZealand, Australiaand more from theUK asking if they canwork with us. It’sgone crazy.”

The shopfront unithas had unexpectedbenefits for Mr Brownand his staff.

“We’ve had peopleknocking at the doorand asking what wedo,” he said.

“It was never partof the reason why wetook a glass-frontedspace, but it’sworking.”

Dave Brown,of Apposing,in his BalticCreative office

22

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BALTIC TRIANGLE

remembered Mr Rhodes, “withcost being the number one factor.

“It’s such a beautiful space thatpeople find fascinating – thefurnace, and these inside/outsidestructures,” he said, pointing atthe former office buildings on thewalls of the main hall.

The bar acts as the “honeypot”,and a social hub for the district,leading into that main hall andalso to another larger warehousespace that can be used for events.

Down a corridor from the lobbysits the Blade Factory, which canbe used as an exhibition space byday or a 300-capacity club at night.

“That’s one of the things we’llbe expanding in our proposition,”said Mr Rhodes. “We’ll have moreclub nights there for smallernumbers.”

There were also plans to installcaravans in the space to create aunique hotel. But Mr Rhodes said:“That’s coming on slowly becauseof the demands of the other bus-inesses. It might be somethingwe’ll look at later next year.”

The business is now attractingvisitors to the Baltic Trianglefrom Liverpool and beyond.

“It’s been received very well,”said Mr Rhodes. “We’ve had lotsof international press.

“Because this place is so un-usual, with its scale and the mixof things we have, our profile ispretty high.

“People are talking about it as amust-do destination in Liverpool –if you’re coming to Liverpool, it’sthe one place you have to go.

“It’s helping to change people’sperceptions of Liverpool. A lot ofpeople have even said ‘Londonneeds something like this’.”

PR firm Agent Marketing is oneof Baltic Creative’s biggesttenants, occupying a custom-designed space at the back of thecampus. Managing director PaulCorcoran said he chose theTriangle office because it gave thecompany “a blank canvas in anew part of the city”.

He added: “It’s got that ‘wow’factor. People don’t expect it.

“It is, in essence, quite an ugly-looking tin shed from the outside.But, when you come in, you cansee it’s got such a different vibe.

“It’s exciting for the city thatwe have an area dedicated to thecreative industries. It’s an excit-ing sector.

“Now, everyone knows wherethe Baltic Triangle is.”

The Triangle’s collaborativeattitude means, says Mr Corcoran,that his firm has been able towork with companies it wouldotherwise never have met.

“Graphic design firm Gocre8 isdown the road,” he said. “Wewouldn’t have known who theywere if we hadn’t moved in. So far,we’ve worked with them two orthree times.

“When we go into Camp &Furnace, we’ll bump into peopleall the time. You don’t get thatanywhere else.”

SOFTWARE firm CitrusSuite moved fromSeymour Street to atemporary base inJamaica Street in May,

and last month moved in to itsnew shopfront home in BalticCreative.

The company has createdsmash hit apps including “WreckThis App”, based on Keri Smith’sbook “Wreck This Journal”,which it created for publisherPenguin in the US.

“What we thought we’d gain

most of all from being here,” saidMr Morland, “was that sense ofcommunity, that sense of being ina large pool of talent.

“Me and the two other directorsprobably looked at 10 other places,and there were some gorgeouslooking offices, but there wasnowhere else where all thedirectors said ‘this has got a goodvibe’. It was a building site, but ithad potential.

“We could establish our ownidentity here. Where in the pastwe’ve been happy sitting wherenobody could see us, now we’rereally talking about what we’re upto as we’ve got this window to theworld.”

The Baltic Triangle may be onthe up, but there is still work to bedone.

For Mr Lawler, the area needsbetter signage and better publictransport links, potentiallyincluding the reopening of the

former St James Station nearby.He added: “More front-facingshops in this area would be well-received as well.”

The Baltic Manifesto says: “Thestrategy is simple: fill the areawith people and the rest willfollow – fill the area with creative,industrious and pioneering peopleand the rest will follow sooner.”

Mr Rhodes said: “We definitelyneed more independent retail.This should be Liverpool’s homeof independent retail. Nowhereelse can really lay claim to that.

“We want to see more bus-inesses moving here.

“It’s certainly the best locationfor creative and digitalbusinesses, by a long way. But weneed more retail.

“We’re pleased to sit alongsideall the industry that lives here –the welders, the garages.

“That paints a picture we wantto add to – that we don’t want this

to be a business district or a Rope-walks.”

And Mr Rhodes also wants thedistrict to become a new home forfestivals. Individual venues hosttheir own events – such as theLiverpool International Festivalof Psychedelia at Camp & Fur-nace, which will return next yearas a two-day event. But the area is,Mr Rhodes says, ideal for largerevents across several venuesindoors and outdoors.

He said: “We’ll be looking tohave a festival over the BankHoliday called Summer Camp.We’re hoping to bring that to thestreets both inside and outside. Itwill be much more of a family dayout than something like theMathew Street Festival.

“Road closures are easier herethan in the rest of town. Thestreets are really wide. And youhave venues like the Picket, Camp& Furnace and Elevator.”

And Dave Brown, from BalticCreative-based app agencyApposing, added: “It’s a coolup-and-coming area that’s be-coming a really popular place forcreative and digital companies.But it lacks a few things, liketransport links to the city and acash machine.

“There’s been a lot of invest-ment down here. We can’t let itstop there.

“We still need to move forwardand do more. It’s a success story,but it could be an even biggersuccess story. We need to keep aneye on what’s going on.

“There’s a lot of space roundhere which could be used. We justneed to keep shouting about it.

“People know about it. I’vespoken to a few people who arethinking about coming down herefrom the city centre. Word isgetting around. We just need tokeep pushing.”

SHARED SHED AN IDEAL SOLUTION FOR COLLABORATIVE FRIENDS WITH FLEDGLING FIRMSJAMES MILLARD andTim Waring learnedtogether at CaldayGrange, in Wirral – nowthey’re working to-gether in a shed inLiverpool.

Childhood friendsJames, who runs EcoStreet Adverts, andTim, who runs webagency Mullen, share ashed inside the BalticCreative campus.

And they say thecollaborative space issuiting their businessesdown to the ground.

Mr Waring said: “Thefirst day we came in,everybody’s doors wereopen.

“There are produc-tion companies here weare already chatting to.

“Lots of cupcakes flyaround on Fridays.

“It’s quite clear thatthere are going to be alot of collaborationsthrough the wholebuilding.”

Eco Street Advertscreates “clean adverts”– also known as “re-verse graffiti” – byputting a stencil over apavement and thenblasting the pavementwith water, leavingwords visible. It alsouses biodegradablechalk to paint on pave-ments and roads.

Mr Millard, wholaunched the businessin May, said: “I cameback from working in aboat on the Med aboutthis time last year.

“This idea for reversegraffiti has been aboutfor a few years in Eur-ope, particularlyHolland. I looked at thestart-up costs andfound there wasnobody else reallydoing it around here.

“So I thought I’d startit in the North west andsee where it went.Pretty soon I gotinquiries from Londonand Birmingham, and ittook off well.”

Mr Waring and threefriends launched full-service digital agencyMullen last month.

He had spent theprevious two yearsfreelancing but, hesaid: “I’ve beenworking with some bigclients and the feed-back was that workingfrom a back bedroomat home was notenough. Then thisopportunity came up.“We came down hereand we were reallyimpressed.

“I’d been looking toset up a real company,a properly-run webdesign agency where I

could do everything Iwanted to do. Wewanted to do morethan just ‘web design’ –we’ll be offering digitalmarketing, socialmedia services, etc.”

Now happily settledinto their shared shed,the two entrepreneursare planning to worktogether as well as withother Baltic firms.

Mr Waring said: “Ourcompanies are comp-lementary. If we sellcampaigns, we canoffer more traditionalforms of advertisingthrough John. We try todo bits and bobstogether.”

James Millard, left,and Tim Waring, intheir BalticCreative shed

15

THE BIG INTERVIEW

BY BILL GLEESON

! !

Weathering the storm

With global interests ranging fromshipping to retail to financial services, SirMichael Bibby’s diversified family firm is

well-placed to survive the downturn

With global interests ranging fromshipping to retail to financial services, SirMichael Bibby’s diversified family firm is

well-placed to survive the downturn

14 23

24

HOW GREEN IS YOUR BUSINESS?

From left, standing, Stephen Hankinson, chief executive of Hankinson; Pete Saunders and Amy Rosser, also from Hankinson;student Aaron Laidig, and Ivor Thomas, from Hankinson. From left, sitting, Tom Atherton, Maria Razquin, and Francis Good

Students help tocut back wasteWirral firm Hankinson utilises teenagers’ ideasA GROUP of international stud-ents, taking part in a researchproject to tackle the issue of wasteat Hankinson Painting Group, areto see their ideas adopted by theWirral firm.

The group of four are MariaRazquin, 17, from Spain, AaronLaidig, 18, from Germany andFrancis Good and Tom Atherton,both 16, from Birkenhead School.

They spent two weeks as part oftheir economic syllabus re-searching, discussing anddeveloping innovative ways toreduce waste at Hankinson’s headoffice in Birkenhead

The issue of waste is animportant one for Hankinson,which estimates some 8,000 litresof waste paint and 15,000 con-tainers need to be disposed ofannually.

The company has implementeda group-wide Environmental

Management System (EMS),highlighting its commitment tocontinual improvement andpollution prevention, and arekeen to develop this with newideas and innovations to combatthese issues further.

Under this latest environmentalinitiative, the students workedclosely with several of Hank-inson’s team as well as partnersand suppliers, including paintmaker, Dulux, which shared itswider concerns with the groupconcerning product waste on aninternational scale.

Tom Atherton said: “This hasbeen a brilliant project to beinvolved in.

“We have worked closely withHankinson, and many of theirpartners, who have helped usbuild a clear picture of the scaleand size of the issues surroundingwaste.

“From this, we have had to tryto build relationships with majorbusinesses and develop realisticsolutions that would make adifference.”

Their findings, presented toHankinson chief executive,Stephen Hankinson, include thesole use of metal containersrather than plastic, partneringwith specialist cleaning firms thatare able to clean the containers,and other ideas focusing onstorage and recycling.

Mr Hankinson said: “The fourstudents have been a fantasticgroup to work with and theirfindings have certainly encour-aged us to re-look at how wemanage our waste.

“We try to recycle and re-usewherever possible and are alwayskeen to consider and explore newoptions – we’ll definitely betrialling their recommendations.” The students with some of the waste the firm generates

13

PROFESSIONAL SECTORSIN ASSOCIATION WITH

18th milestoneInvestment Fund celebrates a significant anniversary

they have been refused fundingbecause they don’t fit the nationalpolicy set by the lender.”

Since its inception, MSIF hasinvested £139m into 1,450businesses, creating andpreserving 13,700 jobs andbringing more than £251m ofprivate sector investment to theregion.

Returns on investment haveenabled MSIF to launch a £25msuccessor fund without anyexternal investment.

Ms Greenhalgh said: “Thelegacy fund is a fantasticachievement.

“We are back in a situationwhere businesses are finding itvery hard to get funding fromtraditional sources, with recentreports suggesting bank lending

will be down for the fourthconsecutive year.

“MSIF is, therefore, as import-ant today as when it started, andwith 18 years of knowledge andexperience under our belt, I thinkour value is even greater.”

And she said the new MSIFstructure can offer even moreassistance to firms and entre-preneurs struggling to achievelift-off in an economy stillemerging from a double-diprecession.

“We also manage a separatefund as Merseyside’s onlyCommunity Development FinanceInstitution (CDFI) and, therefore,we can offer a very broad range offunding – anything from £3,000 toaround £2m.”

She said finance can be used to

support start-ups, expansions,management buyouts (MBOs) ormanagement buyins (MBIs),mergers and acquisitions.

“Our vision for the future is tokeep helping local businesses andto continue the cycle of returns oninvestment to provide follow onfunds for the future.

“We will also look at opportun-ities to use our knowledge andexperience to manage otherfunds.”

The MSIF investment teamcomprise Chris Walters, whodeals with small loans, PaulHumphray, a specialist in loansand mezzanine funding, MalcolmJones, a mezzanine specialist,Mark Borzomato, who works inthe field of equity funding, alongwith Marion Savill.

ASK THEEXPERT

With Peter Mooney,head of employmentlaw at ELAS

WE OPERATE afamily-runmanufacturingfirm and we arelooking at thepossibility of

expanding. Until now, wehave always relied on aclose-knit workforce, butwith expansion we arelooking at recruitingmanagement from outside ofthe family for the first time.

One of our key concerns isthe supervision of health andsafety on our sites. While wetrust each other, we feel thereis a certain amount of dangerinvolved in bringing some-one new into the business.What can we do to ensurethat whoever we bring intothe company will be up to thejob?

THIS is a validconcern, as whilethe number ofaccidents withinmanufacturingjobs has reduced

over the past decade, theinjury and fatality rates arestill disproportionately high.

In 2010/11,manufacturingjobs accountedfor about 10% ofthe Britishworkforce, butfor 21% offatalities and15% of reportedinjuries toemployees.

Education isthe key to pre-venting thesestatistics fromgetting worse,and that appliesto the entire workforce, notjust your managers.

Safety training helps bothmanagement and employeesknow how to better preventan accident in the workplace,as well as how to respondquickly if presented with adangerous situation.

This is true regardless ofyour new manager’s age orexperience, especially in anindustry where there may beregular changes in legis-lation or technology.

Make sure you havesufficient and suitable safesystems of work in placewhen it comes to operatingand maintaining machinery;this means ensuring that

employees are provided withstep-by-step procedures forthe safe use and maintenanceof machinery and equipment.

You should also ensure youhave sufficient risk assess-ments and the necessarytraining and personalprotective equipment. Thesame can be said for makingsure machinery or equip-ment is maintained orreplaced, and having thecorrect guarding necessaryto protect those operating it.

This issue has becomeespecially importantfollowing a recent develop-ment in the Health andSafety Executive’s (HSE) FeeFor Intervention scheme,which now means that finesfor health and safetybreaches could reachthousands of pounds per dayfor your company.

The HSE’s scheme isdesigned to recoverinspection costs fromemployers guilty of materialbreaches of health and safetylaw, and charges businesses arate of £124 per hour for eachinspecting officer; equating

to almost £1,000per day.

However, theHSE has nowacknowledgedthat, should theinspectionrequire morethan one officeror expert toprovidespecialistadvice, the feewill increaseaccordingly,meaningbusinesses

could be hit with costs ofover £3,000 per day for casesthat involve severalinspectors.

The best way to avoid thisis by demonstrating aproactive approach tomanaging risks in theworkplace. This meanshaving the appropriatedocumentation in place andgetting properly trainedpeople to use risk assessmenttechniques to inform yourcorporate safety plan.! FOR further information oradvice, call the ELAS AdviceTeam on 08450 50 40 60.

" IN ASSOCIATION withELAS

‘Havesufficient,suitable andsafe systemsof workin place’

Q

A

12

PROFESSIONAL SECTORS IN ASSOCIATION WITH

MSIF marks itsBusiness support organisation Merseyside Special

SUPPORT organisation Mersey-side Special Investment Fund(MSIF) is celebrating its 18thanniversary.

The funding organisation forfledgling ventures deemed toorisky by most of the high streetbanks was incorporated in 1994.

It was one of the first of its kindand its model has since beenreplicated all over the UK andEurope.

MSIF was originally estab-lished with funds from the Euro-pean Regional DevelopmentFund’s (ERDF) 1994-1999 Objective1 Programme.

Merseyside had one of thelowest business densities perhead of population in the UK, andthe lowest Gross Domestic Pro-duct (GDP) per head in the UKcompared with the EU GDP perhead average.

The Fund was designed toprovide innovative access tofunding for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) onMerseyside that had the abilityand desire to grow, creating andsaving jobs and contributingadditional GDP to the area.

Lisa Greenhalgh, MSIF’s chiefoperating officer, explained:“Merseyside was not the place itis today.

“There were no alternativesources of finance and there was areal lack of infrastructure tosupport businesses.

“Objective 1 funding wasprovided to MSIF, which thenraised matched investment fromthe private sector.”

She added: “MSIF had to finelybalance social and commercialobjectives.

“Socially, we needed to ensurethat finance was accessible to awide range of businesses andindividuals, including those withno business track record whichwould be considered as high riskby other investors.

“Commercially, we needed totry and ensure that we wereinvesting in viable businesseswith a decent chance of successwhich would, therefore, create along-term impact on the localeconomy.

“It was difficult, but we did itby working with businesses pre-and post-investment to educatethem and put the right peoplearound them.”

Ms Greenhalgh admitted: “Yes,of course some failed, but a lotsucceeded and enabled us to reachour ultimate objective of not onlyhaving a positive effect on theeconomy, but also generatingenough returns on investment tolaunch a successor fund.”

She said: “We’ve helped somegreat businesses over the years,which have gone on to be hugelysuccessful.”

These include cushions manu-facturer Caldeira, skin carespecialist Crystal Clear Inter-national, tourism industry

Lisa Greenhalgh, front,with her team of MSIFfund managers, from left,Mark Borzomato, ChrisWalters, Malcolm Jonesand Paul Humphray

website designer New Mind, con-veyor systems manufacturerSovex, Counterline, which makesworktops and equipment for thefood industry, and frozen foodchain Cooltrader.

“Probably our most successfulinvestment to date was innutritional products companyVitaflo, which is a classic exampleof why MSIF was set up – a small,early-stage business, with an in-novative product that needed toexpand, but which could not getfunding elsewhere.

“We saw the potential in thebusiness and stayed invested fornearly 12 years – much longerthan the three to five years that isusual for an equity investment.”

Mr Greenhalgh said that judg-ment had paid off: “Vitaflo was

sold to Nestlé in 2010, ensuringthe company’s future as a globalindustry player, and providingMSIF with its largest return todate.

“The decision to stay investedmay not have been possible if weweren’t independent.”

Compared with Britain’s mainbanks who mostly refer backinvestment applications to theirheadquarters, all investmentdecisions by MSIF are made herein Liverpool by its investmentdirectors and their investmentpanel.

“The investment team are alllocal and have extensive expertiseworking with SMEs from thisregion.

“I think this is so important.Lots of businesses are saying that

LEGALLYSPEAKING

With Michelle Morgan,commercial specialistat Hill Dickinson

ARE domain namesquatters a threatto my business?

DISPUTES overinternet domainnames hit a recordhigh between July,2011, and July, 2012.

During that period, the WorldIntellectual Property Office(WIPO) (which runs adispute resolution service fordomain name disputes)adjudicated on 2,944 domainname dispute cases, whichwas a 6% increase from theprevious year.

The growing trend in suchdisputes appears, at least insome part, to be attributableto the rise in Chinese domainregistrations since 2010 andthe growth in online retailbusiness throughout theworld in the same period,which has lead to increasedcompetition fordomain names.

What isdomain namesquatting?A domainname is awebsite address(hilldickinson.com, forexample). Thefirst part of adomain namecan be made upof any combin-ation of lettersand numbers, but mostorganisations try to choose aname which relates to them.

Domain name disputesoccur when an organisationdiscovers that a third party(a domain name squatter) isusing a domain name whichcontains, or is similar to,their trade name or trade-mark. The purpose of domainname squatting is often tosteal online traffic andcustomers, to abuse orcriticise an organisationand/or to force an organis-ation to buy a websiteaddress.

Domain name squattingcan result in loss of business,bad publicity, loss ofmanagement time and costs.

If a third party suc-cessfully challenges yourdomain name registration,you may incur considerablecosts related to re-brandingyour business.

What can you do tominimise the risk of

domain name squattersand related disputes?Choose a domain name thatincludes your company nameor trading name and/or yourtrademark. Also, make sureyour trademark is registeredin the relevant country(ies).

At the time of registration,consider registering differentspellings or common mis-spellings of the domainname; registering it withdifferent endings (forexample, “.co.uk”, “.com”);and registering domainnames for each of your majorbrands (or brands which youplan to develop in the future).

Avoid registering adomain name that uses acompetitor’s trading name ortrademark, which couldresult in a dispute.

You will only be able toregister a domain name if ithas not already been regist-ered by someone else. If you

think that youhave a betterclaim to adomain namethat has alreadybeen registered,you may be ableto buy thedomain namefrom the regis-trant, use theWIPO disputeresolutionprocedure orcourt action tohave the domainname transferred

to you.It is essential that you

renew within the specifiedperiod to maintain yourregistration, or the domainname will be released forregistration on a first-come,first-served basis. This hashappened to well-knownnames such as Microsoft(who forgot to renew itshotmail.co.uk domain name).

Where your domain namecontains your registeredtrademark, it will generallymean that you will havestronger rights in the name,but that is not alwaysnecessarily the case.

Where a third party setsup a website as a forum forcriticism of your business,you may be able to bring anaction against the third partyfor defamation.

! EMAIL: michelle.morgan@hilldickinson.com

" IN ASSOCIATION withHill Dickinson

‘Domainnamesquatting isoften used tosteal onlinetraffic’

QA

25

HOW GREEN IS YOUR BUSINESS?

Offshore wind has taken a bit ofa battering in recent weeks, saysMaf Smith, Inset, below

Turbines that candrive UK recoveryMAF SMITH, deputy chief executive of RenewableUK,makes the case for the onshore wind sector

THERE has been a great deal saidin the past few weeks on theeconomic case for onshore wind.

In this vein, it is important tonote what has actually happened inonshore wind this year.

This year has been a good yearfor onshore wind, with a recordlevel of capacity created.

That capacity is making a differ-ence – twice in the last week, we’veseen more than 4,000MW of poweron the grid from wind, or theequivalent of about four largepower stations.

In 2012, wind was worth £548m tothe UK economy in 2011, and isresponsible for 8,600 jobs.

So, why is it that in the middle oftough economic times, wind poweris one of the few industries that isactually growing?

The benefits of onshore wind areoften not understood by those wholike to claim that turbines are allbuilt overseas.

Wind farms actually createlong-term employment that laststhrough the four basic stages of awind farm: development, con-struction, operations and decom-missioning.

From start to finish, a wind farmwill provide employment for 25years.

Onshore wind opens up goodopportunities for UK industry withalmost half of onshore constructionexpenditure occurring within theUK.

As our offshore industry grows,so will the potential for growth.

The supply chain is bringing alot of value for British companieslike Hutchinson Engineering, inWidnes, which benefits from theinvestment in onshore wind.

British companies have been ableto employ people and stay inbusiness by being part of theonshore wind supply chain.

These are exactly the type ofsuccess stories we need to grow oureconomy and deliver the Govern-ment’s desire for a march of themakers.

Onshore wind also helps cutBritain’s carbon emissions andmake us less dependant onimported fossil fuels, which havebeen the main cause of bill rises inrecent years.

There are also broader benefits,too, to the economy including

community benefits. Communitybenefit funds bring positiveeconomic impacts to areas as theyoften create jobs in the building ofcommunity projects and administ-ration of funds, as well as moredirect impacts such as improvingeducational facilities andinfrastructure.

These funds are decided andmanaged in the community andhelp to ensure that hostcommunities share in the positiveeconomic impacts that onshorewind provides to the country ingeneral.

All this points to the fact that theeconomic case for onshore wind isnot an abstract theory or futurepossibility – it is the reality on theground, it is what we seehappening before our eyes.

This means that onshore wind isand must remain a crucial part ofBritain’s economic and energyfuture.

It is my hope, and the hope of agreat many people, that theGovernment are mindful as weseek to grow an industry whichdelivers for the UK economy andour environment.

ENERGYMATTERS

David Hunt,director ofEco Environments

THIS week, the BritishChambers of Commerce re-ported from their member-ship that 40% of companiesattributed poor growth torising energy costs, and theirimpact on the bottom line.

How can you invest ingrowth when margins areconsistently being eatenaway by inflation-bustingenergy price increases?

In the same report, theseriousness of the situationis reflected by the fact that75% of businesses state theyhave a plan or strategy tomanage their energy costs.

Another recent survey, thistime by Deloitte, claimed that90% of large companies hadnow put in place an energyreduction strategy in anattempt to combat spirallingenergy costs.

I think anybusiness thatdoesn’t have aplan can’t con-sider themselvesto be a “sustain-able” business.

I don’t meansustainable in anyworthy way,rather I meansustainable in theliteral sense.

Can anybusiness expect toexist in five to tenyears’ time if theydon’t address their energyconsumption and costs?These reports and othersfrom the CBI suggest not.

In the case of the manufac-turing sector, Deloitte said:“Energy cost inflation is nota cyclical trend requiring atemporary response.

“For some time now, manu-facturers have been exper-iencing inflated energy costs,and higher prices are here tostay.

“Structural reform is nec-essary, involving a step-change in thinking, processand actions with regard toenergy usage.”

Among the key issues, theaccountancy giant saidorganisations needed to lookat were financial discipline,energy management,sustainability and workforceengagement.

So where do you go whenyour energy costs arespiralling, but you don’t havethe capex to invest in energyefficiency? The good news isthat there are two clear waysto fund or benefit from

energy efficiency invest-ments, aside from creating amore sustainable business.

Firstly, funding isavailable.

We are able to offer ourcustomers uncapped, andunsecured, funding throughthe Carbon Trust/SiemensFinance Energy EfficientFinance (EEF) scheme.Depending on the technologyor solution you chose,funding can be taken over upto 14 years.

However, especially withenergy-efficient lighting, theprojects usually pay forthemselves in 1.5 to 3.5 years,and the savings usuallyexceed the finance costs,making your business cashpositive from the day ofinstallation.

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INTERNATIONAL TRADE

Clive Drinkwater, front left, congratulatesmanaging director of ATG Access, GlennCooper, and staff on becoming one of theregion's first Export Champions

Bollard firm shows there’sno barriers to exportingHaydock-based ATG Access flies the flag as a North West champion of overseas tradeA MERSEYSIDE company whichdesigns and manufacturessecurity bollards is being hailedas one of the North West’s leadingExport Champions by UK Trade &Investment (UKTI).

ATG Access, based in Haydock,manufactures everything fromresidential bollards to hi-techanti-terrorist systems and iscurrently exporting to 42countries, with exportsaccounting for 40% of turnoverfor this current year, havinggrown from less than £100,000 in2002.

Most recently the company hassecured a £4m contract to supplythe security throughout the newInternational Airport in Doha,Qatar. ATG’s contract with DohaAirport will be delivered over fouryears and is the company’sbiggest project to date.

The firm will also attend aUKTI Market Visit to Brazil thismonth, where it is hoping tosecure contracts for the 2013Confederation Cup, 2014 WorldCup and 2016 Olympics in Rio DeJaneiro, having successfullyprovided the security bollards forLondon 2012 this summer, and

several stadia, most recentlyWembley National Stadium.

UKTI’s regional director, CliveDrinkwater, visited ATG Accesslast week during Export Week,part of a campaign led by Trade &Investment Minister Lord Greento increase the number of Britishexporters by a quarter, adding apotential £36bn to the UKeconomy.

In the North West, a keyinitiative is the “ExportChampions” programme, inwhich successful exporters arerecruited to help and advise newcompanies on their exportjourney, offering advice andsupport, in addition to the widerange of individually-tailoredprofessional services availablefrom the UKTI North West team.

Mr Drinkwater said: “A yearago I challenged the North Westbusiness community to work withus to find 1,000 new exporters thisyear and we are well on our way.However, we are keen to harnessthe expertise and enthusiasm ofthe region’s many companies whoare already successful exporters,and so I am delighted to be able toannounce that ATG Access will be

one of our new ‘ExportChampions’ who will become abeacon to inspire non-exporters toget started and to encourage newexporters to do more.

“Our inaugural ExportChampions are all businesses whowill inspire and motivate thosenew to international trade, bothby promoting the benefits ofexport via their own successesand by sharing knowledge andexperience for the benefit of otherfirms in the North west.”

ATG Access is a leader in itsfield, supplying all major UKcities and a range of clients fromArsenal FC to the Houses ofParliament.

From its strong UK market thecompany began its path to exportseven years ago, working withUKTI to develop its overseaspotential.

Initially it joined the Passportto Export programme to developan export plan, and then attendedtrade shows and market visits andcommissioned an OverseasMarket Introduction Servicereports to research opportunitiesin different markets.

Working with international

trade adviser Charles Jacobson,the firm has rapidly expanded itsoverseas reach, with majorprojects including AdelaideAirport, the Dubai FinanceCentre, the Malaysian PrimeMinister’s office, the BritishEmbassy buildings in the Hagueand Athens, the W Hotel in Qatarand the King’s Palace in AbuDhabi.

In 2008, when many companieswere struggling, it built a newfactory unit in Haydock to copewith expanding overseas demandand now employs 72 staff globally,with 65 based on Merseyside site.

In the same year it set up ATGAccess Inc, in North Carolina,USA, and in 2009 it acquired adivision of the CanadianCorporation Allen Vanguard.

Future plans include furtherexpansion into Qatar, Brazil andIndonesia, complementingmanufacturing capability in USA,the Gulf and Singapore.

Managing director GlennCooper said: “The importance ofexporting to the business cannotbe overestimated.

“Sixty per cent of our turnovercurrently comes from overseas

trade, with the expectation thatthis will grow even more in thefuture, as 75% of our orderpipeline is export-based.

“Recently, we hosted our annualinternational conference at ourheadquarters where distributorsand agents from all over Europe,the Gulf region, Asia, USA,Australia, and Africa met up andreceived full training in our newproducts.

“In 2007, we took on three newapprentices. Since then, all haveprogressed to full roles within ourbusiness, and each of them havetravelled to export markets inHolland, the UAE and Turkey insupport of their roles – evidenceof our commitment to have thewhole team focused on globaltrade.”

He added: “We have completedmany very high-profile projectsboth in the UK and worldwide,and intend to keep expanding.

“ATG has worked closely withUKTI for many years. We aredelighted to be chosen as ExportChampions and to be able toencourage other North West firmsto export and grow the region’strade.”

27

COMMERCIAL PROPERTY

Warrington bucking the UKtrend for commercial letsBusiness park delight as 2012 take-up looks set to at least match figure achieved last yearWARRINGTON is on target tomatch or even exceed last year’stake-up figures, despite the harsheconomic climate.

The town and its businessparks saw 278,000 sq ft of commer-cial space let in 2011. In the firstthree quarters of 2012, the figurehas already hit 209,793.

In September, a report by GVAstated that parks in Warringtonwere enjoying strong demand, inparticular Birchwood Park andLingley Mere.

The latter is a joint venturebetween Muse Developments andUnited Utilities.

Muse senior development sur-veyor, Wes Erlam, said: “We’reextremely pleased that Warring-ton’s take-up figures have re-mained robust, despite the on-going economic challenges.

“Warrington has a successfultrack record of retaining andattracting occupiers and we lookforward to contributing to thesuccess of the town at LingleyMere and Bridge Street.

“The market has remained chal-lenging over the past year, butWarrington continues to buck thistrend. The town has attractedsignificant interest and invest-

ment in the last 18 months, withexciting projects that have addedsignificant scope to the region.

“As 2012 comes to an end, andwe move into the New Year, weexpect the market to remainresilient and hope to see animproving picture in 2013.”

The recent commercial prop-erty success in the town is incontrast to the health of themarket in the UK overall.

Recent statistics indicate thatcommercial development activityhas contracted at the fastest ratefor 32 months.

Chris Cheap, a director at GVA

– joint agents at Lingley MereBusiness Park with Edwards & Co– added: “Warrington remains theNorth West’s number one decent-ralised office location, due to itsstrategic geographical locationand access to a wide and diverselabour pool.

“With continued high levels ofexisting stock absorption, weexpect to see more design andbuild activity in 2013, as savvyoccupiers with larger require-ments realise that there isinsufficient existing, qualityoffice product in the market place.

“Deliverability will be one of

the key drivers for such require-ments, which places Lingley Mereat the front of the queue due to itsestablished infrastructure andplanning consents.

“The market is clearly tellingus that even if a business’s leaseexpiry, or planned move, is stillsome time away, it is importantfor them to think about theirrelocation now and engage with adeveloper who can deliver theright space, on the right terms.

“This will prevent them beingforced into property decisionsthat do not perfectly reflect theirbusiness plan.”

On target . . . Lingley Mere Business Park; and, inset, below, left, Wes Erlam

28

KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY

Business Secretary Dr Vince Cable, left, with Redx Pharma chief executive Dr Neil Murray, in LiverpoolPicture: GAVIN TRAFFORD

LIVERPOOL will one day rivalBoston and Singapore as a centrefor life sciences and theknowledge economy – that wasthe upbeat message from MayorJoe Anderson at his first MayoralKnowledge Summit.

The Mayor sees the knowledgeeconomy, including science,technology and digital, as key tothe region’s future.

And so, for a packed event inthe University of Liverpool’sForesight Centre, the Mayorgathered a panel of key players inthe sector to share their thoughtson how knowledge could help thecity to grow.

Mr Anderson said the plannedBiocampus, which will sit next tothe £451m new Royal LiverpoolHospital, will be vital to thegrowth of Liverpool’s knowledgeeconomy.

He said: “The Biocampus is ourinvestment in our ambition – 2msq ft, encompassing one ofEurope’s biggest cluster of bio-businesses, research facilities anda state-of-the-art new teachinghospital.

“Both the new hospital and theBioCampus on their ownrepresent a development twice thesize of Liverpool One, creating upto 5,000 high-value jobs.

“This is a development that isas vital to Liverpool’s knowledgeeconomy as Media City is toManchester’s. In national andglobal terms, it is undoubtedlymore important, with the poten-tial to establish Liverpool as amajor international centre for lifescience that can, in time, rivalBoston and Singapore.”

The Mayor welcomed RedxPharma’s latest successful bid forRegional Growth Fund (RGF)cash. The company plans to useits £4.7m to launch a new divisionand create 119 jobs.

He said: “The innovationeconomy is about the future – andthe vital ingredient for our futureas a thriving international city – asmart city that’s connected,vibrant and dynamic.”

Mr Anderson said Liverpoolcould not stand still when it cameto the knowledge economy.

He said: “I am not alone in rec-ognising that Liverpool has theexpertise and capacity to do more– and I am determined that wewill continue to grow as aninternational city of science andinnovation.

“I want to assure you that Iregard the knowledge economy asa key priority of mine in realisingour ambition for Liverpool – agolden thread that links so manyof our key sectors.”

And he added: “During my ten-ure as Mayor, I will work with youto make sure that Liverpool is aswell known for science,engineering, advancedmanufacturing, bioscience andcreative and digital as ourcompetitors are.”

Dr Neil Murray, chief executiveof growing pharmaceutical firmRedx Pharma, said the key issueswere “people, facilitation andfunding”.

He said: “When I think of the

knowledge economy in Liverpool,I keep coming back to the reasonwhy Redx is in Liverpool.

“When its predecessor businesswas being set up, (chairman)Peter Jackson came and sat roundwith people from agencies in thecity who said ‘how can we help?’And he was a one-man band.That’s why he moved it fromManchester.”

He added: “We have to have thefacilities and funding to bringpeople to Liverpool.”

Paul Vernon, of the Science andTechnology Facilities Council(STFC), said he felt like a “kid ina candy shop” when he firstmoved to STFC’s Daresburycampus and learned of the toolsthat were available to him, fromsynchrotrons to lasers, accom-panied with knowledge fromscientists who had worked onprojects including CERN.

He said: “But what we’re really

looking for are entrepreneurs thatcan take these products and tech-nologies and run with them.”

Knowledge economy companiesin the region are being supportedby the North WestFund through the£25m North WestFund for Biomedical,managed by SparkImpact.

Dr Penny Attridge,senior investmentdirector at SparkImpact, said herorganisation’smission was to “growmore companies likeRedx”.

She said the key forthe biotech sector was to ensurethat funding was in place to helpcompanies to survive in theperiod when they need to spendmoney developing products thatwill eventually generate revenues.

Professor Nigel Weatherill,vice-chancellor of Liverpool JohnMoores University, asked thepanellists what they thought wasthe one “essential characteristic”

Liverpool needed topromote itself as a“science city” distinctfrom its rivals inBritain and Europe.

Dr Murray said thecity needed to betterpromote its know-ledge offering.

“That’s one of mybig bugbears aboutthe Knowledge Quar-ter,” he said. “It’svery difficult to knowthat you’re in the

Knowledge Quarter in Liverpool.We need to shout about the factthat it is a Knowledge Quarter.”

Dr Attridge said: “It’s reallyimportant that everybody speaksas one. Keep dirty laundry behind

closed doors and then come outwith a single message.”

She added: “When companiescome to visit, they then say ‘Ididn’t realise it was like this inLiverpool’. There’s a verynegative impression outside thelocality. We have to promote thestrengths of the city more broadlythan just to each other.”

Geoff White, managing directorof Liverpool creative agency RiverMotion Group, agreed, saying:“We need to make sure we’reworking together to tell the story.”

Mr Vernon said “open inno-vation” was key to success on thescience world. He said thatcompanies at Daresbury whoencountered problems in theirwork were often able to solvethem by speaking to othercompanies onsite.

World-leading regenerationexpert Prof Michael Parkinson,director of the European Institute

How knowledge will powerAlistair Houghton reports on a summit organised by Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson where

A smartcity that’sconnected,vibrant anddynamic

9

THE BIG FEATURE

And theshow goeson . . . therecentproduction,above, ofReds andBlues – TheMusical, atthe RoyalCourtTheatre;inset, left,above,KevinFearon, ofthe RoyalCourt; and,inset, right,DavePichilingi,of theEpsteinTheatre

Main picture:DAVE EVANS

not earning. We offer tickets forschools and we do not chargebooking fees.

“If you look, for example, at oneof our very successful productions– The Ladykillers – what was be-ing charged in London would havebeen five to 10 times what wecharged here.

“It is a constant balancing actbetween the need to generateincome and the need to be asaccessible as we can.”

The 380-seat Epstein Theatre, inHanover Street, doesn’t receivemoney from the Arts Council orother sources but Dave Pichilingi,of owner Liverpool Sound City,says subsidy may well be nec-essary to secure a longer-termfuture for the venue.

“I think we are doing a a greatjob here and we have a lean andmean team but I’m not sure it canbe sustained without extrafunding,” he said.

“We are in a Grade II-listedbuilding and that can bring itsown problems. We have developeda business plan and running rightthrough the heart of it is a plan tobring in public subsidy.”

As well as plays – it is currentlyshowing a production based onthe life of Beatles’ manager BrianEpstein – the Epstein also offersexhibitions, music and dance.

Like the Everyman/Playhouse,it has to strike a balance betweencommercial viability, artistic

integrity and the needs of thecommunity it serves.

“We cannot afford to ignore thecommercial side,” added MrPichilingi.

“But there is a communityperspective to what we do as well.There are things that we have saidno to that we could have mademoney from.

“As well as the theatre, we doget income from the bar here –Brian’s Bar – and hiring out spacefor corporate events.”

Liverpool’s smallest theatre, TheUnity, in Hope Place, offers a mainspace with capacity for 150 peopleand a smaller one for 88 people.

It is a much-loved venue whichstages between 90 and 100 shows ayear covering drama, stand-upcomedy, dance and family showsand receives both Arts Counciland city council support.

It employs 12 people full-time.Artistic director Graeme Phil-

lips says being a subsidised venueallows the Unity to be more“adventurous” in its choice ofshows.

“Because we have that subsidy,it gives us the cushion of beingable to choose what we want todo,” said Mr Phillips.

“However, box office income isstill vitally important to us. Wetry to achieve some form ofbalance. We will put on showsthat try to appeal to a range ofaudiences.”

Top, Gemma Bodinetz, left, artistic director of the Everyman/Playhouse, withexecutive director, Deborah Aydon, on the site of the new Everyman Theatre; and,above, the Empire Theatre, in Lime Street

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“We take a risk every time weput on a show and it is very hardwork, and I think producingtheatres like ours could do withmore support.

“A theatre without an audienceis just a building, and we dodeliver an audience, but I thinkLiverpool does need an overallstrategy for its theatres.

“We have a £2m turnover hereand employ 30 people full-timeand around 60 part-time. We arean important part of Liverpool’snight-time economy.”

Just around the corner fromthe Royal Court is the LiverpoolEmpire, which is actually part ofbigger group called AmbassadorsTheatre Group – the largest in thecountry.

Its portfolio also includesSouthport Theatre.

The Empire is what is called areceiving house, which means itbooks in existing touring shows –big productions which may orig-inate in the West End of London.

It has just staged a productionof Legally Blonde and is nowworking on bringing 9 to 5 nextyear, along with otherproductions, including 42nd Streetand Cinderella.

It employs around 60 peoplefull-time, plus others on a casualbasis, according to the size of theproduction.

The Empire’s head of sales andmarketing, Mike James, said the

theatre has had to become“cannier” on its pricing policy tokeep people coming through thedoors in what has become a muchtougher economic climate.

“Pricing for each show is nowmore flexible. For example, wehave introduced a £10 pricepromise – an idea that has comefrom our customers.

“They have said they lovecoming here but do not have asmuch money as they used to, tocome as often as they would like.

“So we offer a certain numberof tickets at a £10 starting priceand the take-up from that hasbeen massive.

“Our strategy is about respond-ing to what people tell us andadapting to the climate that weare in.”

Mr James added that being partof a larger group helped witheconomies of scale.

“Despite the climate, someshows are phenomenallysuccessful and help us buck theeconomic trend – we are holdingour own,” he said.

“It really helps having thesupport of Ambassadors andhaving access to centralresources.”

While the Royal Court andEmpire have to consider bums onseats as top priority when lookingat a production, the Everyman/Playhouse has public subsidy,which allows it much more

artistic freedom, and helpssupport its extensive work out inthe community.

It is two theatres in oneorganisation, although theEveryman, in Hope Street, iscurrently being rebuilt so onlyThe Playhouse, in WilliamsonSquare, is currently open forbusiness.

Executive director DeborahAydon said in a typical year, withboth theatres open, ticket saleswould account for 35-40% of over-all revenues.

At present, the organisationreceives £2.4m in subsidy eachyear, with the bulk coming fromthe Arts Council and a contrib-ution from Liverpool CityCouncil.

It also receives a small amountfrom Knowsley Council.

The Arts Council funding isguaranteed until 2015, but MsAydon acknowledges that, in theage of austerity, there is a concernabout securing the same level ofsupport in the future.

The Everyman/Playhouse wasone of many theatres around thecountry that backed DannyBoyle’s message to theGovernment.

She said: “There is a concern.The Arts Council is seeing cuts toits core revenue funding andLiverpool City Council also hassome difficult decisions to make.

“Once the new Everyman is

open, there is a the potential togenerate extra revenue, not justthrough the productions, but alsofrom corporate sponsorship, thebistro and bar and through thehiring out of meeting rooms.”

Ms Aydon says that not only dothe two theatres contributearound £12m to the local economyeach year, but also provide widersocial benefits that in many casesare beyond measure.

“It is the iceberg under thewater,” she added. “The economic,social and cultural benefits ofwhat we do are immense.

“If you look at the work we doin the community – with primarycare trusts, the youth service,social landlords – it is huge.

“And they have their own fund-ing pressures, so it means fundingfor projects can be very short-term.

“We have opened up the studiotheatre, which has just 60-70 seats.It is not going to make money, butwhat it does is offer a vitalresource to new writers.”

In terms of actual productions,Ms Aydon says it is about puttingon the best and appealing to asmany people as possible.

Keeping prices down is also anessential part of the mix.

She explained: “Ticket pricesare always very accessible. Weoffer standby tickets to youthprogramme and that has nowbeen extended to those who are

‘T HEATRE sustainslocal communitiesand does very, verypositive things forlocal economies.”

So says Danny Boyle, creativedirector of the Olympics openingceremony, who last week joinedartistic directors from acrossEngland to lobby the Governmentfor more investment in the arts.

“The return that you get fromit is incalculable,” he added.

It’s a point of view that willcertainly find favour here inMerseyside, which is home to adiverse range of theatres.

Arts and culture have alwaysbeen an essential part of the mixof the Liverpool city region’svisitor economy. And this sectorhas been in sharper focus since2008 when Liverpool wasEuropean Capital of Culture.

However, just as in other areasof the economy, theatres arehaving to work hard and thinksmart to keep people comingthrough the doors.

In the city centre, we have theEveryman/Playhouse and theUnity, which rely heavily onpublic funding.

The Epstein (formerly theNeptune) receives some short-term support from the citycouncil in terms of rent.

The Empire and Royal Courttheatres receive no publicsubsidy for day-to-day running.

However, the Royal Court hasthis year embarked on the firstphase of a £10.6m redevelopmentplan and has benefited from an£867,000 Heritage Lottery Fundgrant to help fund the work.

The entire auditorium wasrepainted in classic black andgold and new lighting installed,including LED lights around theproscenium arch and along thegold moulded details on theceiling.

The largest expenditure was onthe seating for the 1,150-capacity,three-tier theatre. The stalls werecompletely remodelled and newseats installed in both the circleand the balcony.

It re-opened in June with a newmusical comedy by local writerDave Kirby called Reds And Blues– The Musical.

It is this kind of show andothers like the smash hit, BrickUp the Mersey Tunnels, whichthe Royal Court has used to att-ract a more solid working classaudience which is not tradition-ally associated with theatre-going.

Chief executive Kevin Fearon,who took over the venue in 2005,is proud of the fact that the offernow appeals to a broader demo-graphic, but admits the theatre’sbusiness plan is “precarious”.

“What we have done here interms of audience development isincredible,” he said.

“We are attracting people fromthe north end of Liverpool to ourshows – that is somethingtheatres in other cities aren’tdoing.

“I think the fact that we areeven here is amazing – basicallyall of our income comes from boxoffice and bar sales.

“We have applied for fundingfrom the Arts Council but theyturned us down because they saidwe are not financially stable.

“Other theatres that havesubsidy can take more risks andthose like the Empire can bringin shows from producers whohave a track record.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7

29

KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY

An artist’s impression of the planned Liverpool Biocampus

for Economic Affairs at LJMU,asked about whether Liverpool’sgovernance structure worked aseffectively as Manchester’s.

Dr Attridge said there was stillroom for improvement, as she hadnot been sure which agency totalk to when she first arrived inthe city.

“It’s getting better,” she said.“We all have a part to play. But Idon’t think we’re there yet.

“Too often, Liverpool opens aconversation by apologising for itspast rather than talking about itsfuture.”

Dr Murray agreed the city hadsome way to go, though he praisedLiverpool Vision for helping him“navigate through the maze” oflocal decision-making.

But he added: “We get a lot ofoffers from people in inwardinvestment in other areas andother countries, not just the UK.

“It’s not perfect (in Liverpool).

But it’s probably a lot better thanother areas we’ve spoken to.”

Joe Anderson said he was de-termined to continue attractinginvestment to Liverpool despitebudget cuts. That, he said, neededa “kick ass approach”.

He added: “That’s my ambition– not just to be as good asManchester but to make sure thatwe outperform and outstrip the‘dark side’.”

Dr Murray responded: “For us,Manchester is not the com-petition. We’re competing withcities globally, not just with one afew miles away.”

In response to a question fromPeter Williams, medical directorat the Royal Liverpool Hospital,the panel said biotech companieswould need to work closely withlocal health bodies to be success-ful. Dr Murray, who said Redx hadbeen able to make use of NHSresources, added: “The NHS and

the public sector need to helpprivate bodies find what thoseresources are.”

Earlier in the debate, Mr White,of River Motion, said the digitaland creative sectors should beseen as key components orLiverpool’s knowledge offer.

He said: “Creative and digital isoften seen as the poor relation ofthe knowledge economy becauseit’s slightly different to sectorssuch as bioscience or life sciences.

“But I believe the digital sectorhas a lot to offer, both in terms ofinnovation and developing newproducts with global applications,but also in telling the story ofwhat Liverpool is good at.”

Mr White also called for a localbuying policy to encourage bigbusinesses in this region to uselocal suppliers. He said: “It’sunfortunate that many of theexisting large businesses inLiverpool don’t use local.”

the city region’s economyleaders debated the future of sectors including life sciences, manufacturing and digital

Mayor Joe Anderson,right, with MayoralKnowledge Summitpanellists, from left,Geoff White, Dr NeilMurray, Paul Vernonand Dr Penny Attridge

Picture:GAVIN TRAFFORD

30

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6 December

Peter Andre

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Florence + theMachine10 December

Mrs Brown Rides Again11 - 15 December

One Direction17& 31March 2013

HarlemGlobetrotters

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20th Anniversary Concert

27 April 2013

Girls Aloud20March 2013

JLS9 December 2013

Arenacross10 February 2013

Madness7 December

14 December - 6 January 2013

2May 2013

Eddie Izzard

5May 2013

Leona Lewis15May 2013

Mark Knopfler and Band19May 2013

WalkingWith DinosaursThe Arena Spectacular22 - 26May 2013

Micky Flanagan

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Example13 February 2013

Justin Bieber24 February 2013

TheNational GayWedding Show3March 2013

BT CONVENTION CENTRE

Jessie J5March 2013

McCoy’sPremier League Darts2May 2013

Il Divo & Katherine Jenkins10 April 2013

The Script9March 2013

Classical Spectacular ®16March 2013

OllyMurs13& 27March 2013

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Ronan Keating

1 February 2013

Donny&Marie Live2 February 2013

2 -3 February 2013

BT CONVENTION CENTRE

Little Mix3 February 2013

The AustralianPink Floyd Show8 February 2013

Michael McIntyre22 - 24November

JeffWayne’sMusical Version OfTheWarOf TheWorlds

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Vampires Rock Christmas21 December

The X Factor Live Tour6 February 2013

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Justin & Friends4April 2013

OTHER

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Elbow

29November

AlanisMorissette

30November

26 February - 3March 2013

7

!

BY TONY MCDONOUGH

THE BIG FEATURE

!

A critical stage

Liverpool’s theatres offer a diverse rangeof entertainment – but, in an age of

austerity and public sector cutbacks, arethey facing an uncertain future?

6 31

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ago, HMRevenue &Customscame upwith aslogan topersuadepeople to get

their self-assessment tax forms inon time – “tax doesn’t have to betaxing”, it said.

Well, not only does it continueto be taxing for businesses andindividuals alike, but the wholeissue now seems to have become amoral dilemma, too.

The tax affairs of corporategiants like Starbucks andAmazon, as well as comedianJimmy Carr, have all come underthe spotlight in recent times.

Interesting for all of us, butparticularly fascinating if youhappen to be an accountant, asDes Veney can testify.

Des is a partner at Liverpoolaccountancy firm Haines Watts,and he has seen the issue fromboth sides, having worked forHMRC before joining a privateaccountancy firm.

“It is always important to makea distinction between tax evasionand tax avoidance and it has beeninteresting to see how in the pastfew weeks this has become muchmore of a moral issue,” he said.

“Tax evasion is clearly wrongbut as a profession we account-ants are quite clear – we have aduty to minimise our clients’ taxliabilities.”

Given the subject under dis-cussion, it is perhaps fitting thatthis month’s lunch venue isGourmet Coffee, located inExchange Flags, behind LiverpoolTown Hall.

It is an independent coffeeshop, a sector that has feltaggrieved in recent weeks overthe alleged avoidance of tax byglobal coffee giant, Starbucks, inits UK operations.

The coffee shop was estab-lished by entrepreneurs, DeanBee and Andy Fernandez,originally as a Coffee Republicfranchise, before theyconverted it into their ownbrand.

The outlet already enjoys aloyal following among the localbusiness community and Deanand Andy aren’t averse to abit of mischief when itcomes to drum-ming up newbusiness.

When anearbyStarbucksoutlet

closed for good a few weeks ago,they cheekily painted whitefootsteps on the pavement leadingfrom its door to their door –offering people a free muffin atthe end of the trail.

For his light-bite lunch, Desordered a chicken salad for whichhe was rewarded with a generous,well-presented helping of freshingredients, which he said hefound “delicious”.

He was also offered a small freesample cup containing the soup ofthe day – pea and mint and said:“That was so nice that I wish I’dordered it, too.”

I kept it simple with a tastychicken and bacon toastie, and itcame to the table garnished witha good helping of salad – a niceextra touch.

A big issue that Haines Watts isdealing with at the moment is aninvestigation launched by HMRCinto bank accounts held in Jerseyby UK taxpayers.

A list, containing the names,addresses and account balances of4,388 UK residents with offshoreaccounts with HSBC, was given toHMRC by a secret source.

Collectively, they have £699m incurrent accounts at the bank.

Des Veney said his team hadalready been contacted byindividuals and companies thatsuspect they are on the list.

He said: “This investigation isgoing to have an impact on a lot ofpeople and some of those will bebased in the North West.

“Since the news broke, I havebeen contacted by a handful ofindividuals who suspect they areon the list and who are unsure ofwhat they should do next.

“Those HSBC account holderswho have not complied with theirUK tax obligations need to act

quickly and get theprofessional help

that they need.“If they do

so, theycould avoida heavypenalty inthe form ofa fine.”

Theleaked list of

HSBC clients is reported toinclude names from the oil andmining industries, as well asdoctors and some celebrities – allgroups that typically have sig-nificant overseas earnings.

Des added: “If you have anoffshore bank account whether inJersey or elsewhere and yoususpect there may be a problem,my advice would be to be pro-active and take the relevant stepsto make a disclosure before youare approached by HMRC.”

Des said the taxman had be-come cleverer in recent times byputting more of the disclosureburden onto taxpayers and theiraccountants.

“When HMRC tries to catchpeople through investigation, thatcan be expensive and time-consuming,” he said.

“But when they offer amnestiesand invite people to come clean,then the burden is on the taxpayerand their advisors to do all the

work working out what is owed.”Haines Watts deals with the smallbusiness sector and says, in termsof the recession, there are somefirms faring better than others.

He explained: “Those firms thatare doing well, are doing reallywell – there are definite extremes.

“For example, we are seeingengineering firms with goodorder books that are performingstrongly. On the other hand, bus-inesses that are reliant onconsumer spending are strugglinga lot more.”

He adds that some of the polic-ies of HMRC don’t always makelife easier for the small businesssector.

He cites one imminent initiat-ive coming into force next year –Real Time Information (RTI).

This will mean, rather thanfirms reporting their PAYE andNational Insurance informationat the end of the year, they willinstead have to do it each timethey do a payroll – typically oncea month for many firms.

HMRC says this will simplifythe process and ensure the rightamount of tax is paid.

But Des said: “This does putanother burden on small firmswho will have to update theirsystems.

“This is all about HMRC mak-ing sure it gets its money before acompany goes bust.

“It used to be the case thatwhen a company went under, thetaxman would be a preferentialcreditor, but that isn’t the caseany more. It means that HMRC isnow keen to make sure it getsmoney owed quickly when a firmis struggling, rather than waitinguntil the end of the year.”

32

THE NETWORKER

THE BUSINESS LISTTHURSDAY, JANUARY 10/ SUPPORTING WOMEN IN BUSINESS DAY

BBC TV’s The Apprentice star, Claire Young, inset, right, isamong the keynote speakers at the Liverpool Hilton Hotel event

Friday, November 23CAMIAD, the Campaign forAwareness of Mental IllnessAmong Debtors, is holding a one-day workshop at the Cheshireand Wirral Partnership NHSFoundation Trust offices in Syc-amore House, Ellesmere Port,aimed at helping to reduce therising tide of debt-relatedsuicides.

Campaign founder, insolvencypractitioner Ian Williamson,pictured, who has offices inNorthwich, said the workshopsare designed for any profes-sional, such as accountants,solicitors, social and charityworkers, and insolvency prac-titioners, who have face-to-facecontact with individuals whocould be mentally disturbed, orsuicidal, due to overwhelmingdebt.

He said: “It provides them withthe skills to recognise if a clienthas a real mental health problembecause of their debt, and howto signpost them on forprofessional medical help.

“Over time, we are confidentthis will reduce the debt-relatedsuicide rate.”

Places are limited. To bookcontact Andy Haywood at theTrust on 01244 397391 orandy.hayward@ cwp.nhs.uk

Monday, November 26THE latest in a series of monthlyopen days by the Employmentand Skills Group takes place atits Liverpool office, in Bold Street.

This is the last prior to Christ-mas before three more next year.

They are aimed at schools,pupils, careers advisors, parents,training providers JobCentres,community agencies andemployers and outlineapprenticeship-basedemployment opportunities.

Phone Jules Westbrook on0151-702 6111 for details.

Tuesday, November 27LIVERPOOL Chamber of Com-merce is holding a free CustomsMasterclass on VAT and tradingwith other countries, delivered bySue Harper and Jo Toal, fromHM

Revenue & Customs. Regist-ration is 9.30am and the eventconcludes at 12 noon.! For more information,

visit www.liverpoolchamber.org.uk/events.html?eventID=2994

Tuesday, November 27MEET and Eat, sponsored byThe Comedy Trust, is organisedby Liverpool Chamber ofCommerce and the latest eventtakes place at Liverpool FC.

The event starts at 12.15pmuntil 2.15pm and offers plenty ofnetworking opportunities.Tickets cost £15 +VAT.

For more information, visitwww.liverpoolchamber.org.uk/events.html?eventID=3096

Friday, December 7WIDNES chartered

accountants Holland & Co is

hosting a free networking eventat its Widnes Road offices from5pm. Free cocktails will beserved during the evening whichis aimed at generating new

business and contacts forattendees. For further details,please contact 0151-420 6666.

Tuesday, December 11ST HELENS Chamber ofCommerce is hosting a freeexport seminar at its SalisburyStreet offices, starting at 9.30amand running until 4.45pm.

It will provide an introductionto the world of exportprocedures and the paperworkinvolved and is designed forthose in organisations who dealwith exporting and those insupporting roles such asadministration, sales, despatch,logistics, purchasing, financeand managers of companiesexporting for the first time.Contact 01744 742000.

SUPPORTING Womenin Business Day 2013 isaimed at small firmsand start-ups, with afocus on femaleentrepreneurship.

The day-long eventat Liverpool’s HiltonHotel includes net-

working workshops, arange of inspirationalspeakers, includingBBC TV The Apprenticefinalist Claire Young,motivational speakerMarie-Claire Carlyle,and “paté queen” andbusinesswoman

Margaret Carter. Sales,marketing, legal, HRand accountancy work-shops are also scheduled.

The event has beenorganised by business-woman Shirley-AnnO’Neill who has att-racted the support of

regeneration groupLiverpool Vision, theChartered Institute ofMarketing, LiverpoolJohn Moores Univer-sity’s Centre for Entre-preneurship, andLiverpool’s The Wom-en’s Organisation.

She said: “Our primeobjective is to create anevent to support Liver-pool Women in Business.”! For further informat-ion, contact sao@shirley-ann.com 07947434688, or visit www.thisladyloves.com

Insolvency practitionerIan Williamson

Anfield hosts Meet and Eat

5

NEWS

Ferries contract will signalthe return of Cammell LairdYard chief hopes ship building in its own right will herald historic new dawn for company

Cammell Laird chief executive, John Syvret, at theBirkenhead yard; and, inset, one of the existingWestern Ferries vessels

Main picture: GAVIN TRAFFORD

BUILDING two complete newferries will promote the CammellLaird brand across Europe,Cammell Laird boss John Syvrettold Post Business.

“I am delighted to have won theWestern Ferries contract – it’sfantastic news,” said Mr Syvret,Laird’s chief executive.

“We tendered against our toprivals throughout Europe andWestern Ferries put its trust in usfor building these very importantassets. I’m very proud of ourmanagement team and workforcewith their flexibility to deliver afirst-class job for constructing theships and building our brandprofile.”

Building has begun on the fer-ries – Sound of Seil and Sound ofSoay – with delivery due nextsummer for the River Clyde ser-

vice. They will be improvedversions of the existing Sound ofShuna.

These are the first completeships built at the Birkenheadshipyard since the sub HMSUnicorn was finished in 1993.

“I look forward to the WesternFerries contract as a platform forfuture business and a big step upfor us,” said Mr Syvret.

“It will obviously mean morepotential customers becomingaware of what we do. Announcingwe’re back building completeships is really very important. It’svery easy just to focus on deliver-ing a project, but you also need tomarket what you do.”

That is why the £44m contractto build parts of the Royal Navy’snew aircraft carrier QueenElizabeth is also a great shop

window for the company. The twoWestern Ferries vessels are beingbuilt in Laird’s construction hall,but, said Mr Syvret, they won’thave a conventional slipwaylaunch. Instead, they will have a“controlled” entry into the water.

“We’re an engineering servicesprovider and build on ourmaritime heritage, which is verymuch the foundation of ourbusiness,” he said.

“This is a company whichtouches all the community. Every-one knows someone who hasworked in the yard, and that’swhy the success of the business isreally, really important.”

While very proud of Laird’shistory, Mr Syvret is keen to makefuture history with a brand andskills which he very muchbelieves are transferable.

“These skills can be deployedinto other engineering opportun-ities, such as renewable energy,offshore oil and gas, and civilnuclear sectors,” he said.

“It’s a difficult market out thereand that’s why we can’t keep ourheads down. We’ve got to fish inas many pools as possible if weare to continue employing ourworkforce. That means expandingexisting markets and finding newmarkets.

“Back-to-back projects are notgood enough, we need over-lapping projects to keep thebusiness running. It’s importantwe have jobs for young peoplecoming out of schools and giveopportunities for skills develop-ment. That’s why investing inthese skills will be self-regener-ating.”

Gordon Ross, Western Ferriesmanaging director, said: “I’m veryimpressed with not only CammellLaird’s tender, but also its person-nel at the yard itself and theoverall package.

“I’m delighted we’re buildingour new vessels in the UK. It’sgreat news for Western Ferriesand its customers and also a goodnews story for the Merseysidecommunity.

“The economy is always peaksand troughs and things will getbetter. We’re a small company andthis is an important multi-millionpound contract for us.”

Mr Syvret added: “We’re onlythe current custodians (ofCammell Laird) and must makesure it’s in a better place duringour time here. I’m very proud ofwhat we’ve achieved to date.”

4

NEWS

A Balfour Beatty networkintelligence operative looks forsigns of leaks or blockages usingvisual and acoustic sensors

From left, Steve Bamforth, of Griffiths &Armour, with Stephen Yip and Les Dennis

LJMU bids to perfectkeyhole pipe repairs

Insurance broker backing Christmas appealLIVERPOOL insurancebroker, Griffiths &Armour, has donated£1,000 to help kick offthe KIND ChristmasHamper Appeal.

KIND is a localchildren’s charity thataims to deliver 1,000Christmas Hampers todisadvantaged familiesin the Merseyside areaevery year.

Griffiths & Armourchief executive, SteveBamforth, presented themoney to KIND founder,Stephen Yip, at thefirm’s Water Streetoffice.

At the same time, MrYip also received a

£5,000 donation fromcomedian Les Dennis,who won the cash afterappearing on the ITVshow, Mr & Mrs.

Mr Bamforth said:“We are delighted tohost and help launchKIND’s ChristmasHamper Appeal.

“We chose KIND asour charity of the yearfor 2012/2013 and hopeto highlight the greatwork they carry out andaim to help the charityraise their profile withinthe local businesscommunity.”

Mr Yip added: “We areoverjoyed at this sup-port for the appeal.”

ACONSORTIUM of

Liverpool John MooresUniversity (LJMU),Balfour Beatty UtilitySolutions, United

Utilities and Derby-based pipelineassessment specialist JD7 has beenawarded almost £200,000 to developa new way to assess water pipes.

The research award by theTechnology Strategy Board is partof more than £2.5m of funding forseveral projects and studies aimedat addressing water security chal-lenges in the UK and overseas.

The consortium is seeking todevelop a “Subaqua AssessmentVehicle for Water Infrastructure”(Save Water) which can be put into

water pipes to deliver optical andacoustic inspections and carry outa structural assessment of pipesand any linings.

Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions’innovation strategy manager, gasand water, Mike Brockhurst, said:“What is so exciting about this newproject is that it will give us a com-plete assessment capability in asingle unit, allowing us to fullymap the condition of a pipe withoutever having to switch the mains off.

“This is obviously good forcustomers and road users as itminimises the impact of work ontheir lives.”

He added: “At present, we stillregularly dig up roads and conduct

‘open heart surgery’ on ournetworks.

“Our ultimate aim is to move to‘keyhole’ operations, in whicheverything is done remotelythrough a hydrant or valve; frominspection and assessment rightthrough to repair.”

Prof Ahmed Al-Shamma’a, ofLJMU, said: “We are delighted to bepart of this world-class industrialconsortium.

“This project will provide avehicle for the academics at LJMUto demonstrate the impact of theirniche and unique sensor system inorder to provide the water industrywith a step change in real-timemonitoring.”

QUALITYLEGAL

Michael Sandys,Partner atJackson & CanterQualitySolicitors

In Business for your Business

Small claims in thePatents County Court

AS FROM October 1, 2012, anew procedure for dealingwith small claims has beenadopted by the PatentsCounty Court allowing it todeal with small claimsregarding certain aspects ofIntellectual Property.

The new regime allows forclaims for injunctions anddamages up to a £5,000 cap.Importantly, this is combinedwith there being limited riskof adverse costs for theClaimant in bringing such anaction, thus providing a cost-effective remedy forinfringement of certainIntellectual Property Rightsfor SMEs.

The cost ofenforcingIntellectualProperty Rightsin England andWales hastraditionallybeen veryexpensive andthe new systemprovides a cost-effective remedyfor small tomedium-sizedbusinesses whowish to enforcetheir Intellectual PropertyRights, without the risk ofsuffering huge adverse costs,should they be unsuccessful.

This could be in relation tobrand protection orprotection of designs andcopyright material.

The new regime, however,does not deal with Patentdisputes and any issuesregarding patents will needto be dealt with by theexisting regime in thePatents County Court, whichincludes a £50,000 per sidecost cap.

The new Small Claimsregime does cover claimsregarding Design Right,Trade Marks and Copyright.

Any substantive hearing todetermine issues shall be nolonger than two days andcosts are on a fixed scale.

Total recoverable costs arelimited to a small amountplus issue fee and witnessexpenses.

The new system initiallyallows for monetary damageslimited to £5,000, but this issoon to be increased to£15,000. Significantly,

injunctions and orders fordelivery of infringing articlesare also available to theClaimant.

In order to use the newsystem, a Pre-Action Letterof Claim still needs to beprovided to the other side. Ifsettlement cannot be achiev-ed through early correspond-ence, then the claim can beissued in London at thePatents County Court andthere will be an initial fee ofbetween £35 to £120 to issuethe claim. The claim needs tobe accompanied by aStatement of Facts.

The Court will havediscretion to reallocate theclaim to another track if theSmall Claims Track is seen

as inap-propriate.

Final Hear-ings will be con-ducted by aDistrict Judgeor DeputyDistrict Judgeand there is awide scope forthe Court toadopt a flexibleprocedureregarding theway in which itwishes to dealwith evidence.

Disputes may also beresolved on paper, thereforewithout the need for aHearing with Parties present.

This new regime willprovide a very cost-effectiveand flexible system to allowowners of Copyright; TradeMarks and Design Rights toenforce their rights in arelatively simple mannerwithout the need to getembroiled in expensivelitigation which usuallycarries the risk of significantadverse costs. There is stillthe need for a Solicitor andBarrister to assist with suchcases and legal advice shouldalways be sought beforelaunching any claim.

! IF YOU require any fur-ther advice on the new re-gime, then please contactMichael Sandys at Quality-Solicitors Jackson & Canteron 0151 702 8747 or email:michaelsandys@qualitysolicitors.com

! IN ASSOCIATION withQualitySolicitors Jacksonand Canter

‘The newsystem helpsbusinesseswho wish toenforce theirIP Rights’

33

ALISTAIRHOUGHTON

THE NETWORKER

. . . in which the region’s leaders proveyou can do steak and chips as a canapé

IF AN alien had landed inLiverpool last week and said“Take me to your leaders”,there’d only have been oneplace to take them – theMuseum of Liverpool.

Yes, the museum looks likea spacecraft that’smaterialised on the Pier

Head on the way to Alpha Centauri.But, more pertinently, last week itssoaring spiral atrium played host tothe Post’s first annual Leaders Awards.

The event aimed to honour theleaders in the private, public and thirdsectors who are really making adifference to the lives of Merseysiders.

Last month, the Post published a listof the region’s Top 250 leaders in asupplement that, we hope, has becomerequired reading in boardrooms – or atleast executive toilets – across theNorth west. And then a panel of judges,including Peter Sissons and SirJeremy Isaacs, narrowed that list downto 48 nominees across 12 categories.

I had two jobs for the night. My firstwas to liveblog the event on the Post’swebsite. And the second, terrifyinglyfor me, was to get on stage to presentthe award to the region’s Creative andDigital Leader of the Year.

But first, networking and grazing.As I circled the room, I snook canapéafter canapé. I was even, in a first forme, offered steak and chips as a pre-dinner nibble.

The servers held wooden platters,piled high with fries and pieces oftender steak, which we could stab atwith our cocktail sticks. I tried my bestto get a full steak dinner from theplatters circling the room – as, itseems, did every other guilty-facedcarnivorous guest.

Vegetarians had to make do withrichly tasty, deep-fried goats cheeseballs – if they could find them before Iate them, that is. Well, networking ishungry work.

As I wandered, I bumped into acouple of nominees. The ever-enthusiastic Francis Irving, of hi-techLiverpool data specialist Scraperwiki,talked passionately about Liverpool’sdigital scene.

And I chatted to Dr Neil Murray, ofrapidly-growing biotech firm Redx,about his Scottish heritage and hislove for Dundee United.

SOON, dramatic musicheralded the start of theawards themselves.

So I headed to the back ofthe room, and began firing off

a stream of tweets about the event andthe winners.

First came a speech by Posteditor Mark Thomas, who explainedhow we at the Post had come up with alist of leaders, ranked alphabetically bysector. “I shudder to think”, he added,“how long it would have taken us torank them in order of importance”.

I shuddered in sympathy – havingtaken part in many, many judges’meetings, I can confirm that gettingthat list down to 250 withoutjournalistic fistfights and flouncingwas hard enough.

Next came Prof Murray Dalziel, ofthe University of Liverpool’s Manage-ment School, to tell us about the powerof leadership. And, he told us, the onlybigger category of books on Amazonthan leadership is sex. Cue giggles.

Finally, TV newsman and KryptonFactor icon Gordon Burns took to thestage to host the awards.

From the back of the room, I couldwatch the winners being shepherdedin front of a Post billboard for acelebratory photo.

And it was pleasingly clear theywere all, whether smiling broadly orsimply radiating pride, thrilled withtheir honours.

Their plus ones were also prettypleased. When fashion designer KirstyDoyle won the Lifestyle category, hermother whooped and cheered beforetelling people proudly “That’s mydaughter!”

WHEN my time came, Imanaged not to trip overonstage or fluff my linesbefore presenting theCreative and Digital

award to TV guru Phil Redmond.Now, Redmond must have been to

dozens of awards dos. But even so, heseemed genuinely pleased to have won,smiling broadly as he leaped on stage,and posing comically with his award.

The final award was for overallleader of the year. As Burns read thecitation, and it became clear who hadwon, I could see Bishop James Jones atthe back of the room drying his eyesand composing himself.

And, after heading to the stage towarm applause, he spoke quietly,eloquently and movingly about hiswork leading the Hillsborough panel.

He paid tribute to the strength of thefamilies who lost their loved ones onthat fateful day, and said he was proudto have played his part in telling theworld the truth about what happened.And, he said, “truth must now lead tojustice” for the 96 who lost their lives.

Leadership isn’t always aboutshouting loudest. Sometimes, quietstrength gains the best results.

ONCE the awards were over,out came the “bowl food” –including a tasty scallopand black pudding combo.And, pleasingly, most guests

chose to stay on and chat over beersand wines, rather than rushing away.

So I spoke to Jonathan Holmes, ofdesign agency Milky Tea, about hisexciting plans for his company’s newvideo games arm. And I chatted to theexcited Cathy Elliot, who had won theYoung Leader of the Year title and toldme how her Community Foundationfor Merseyside planned to encourageeven more corporate philanthropy.

Francis Irving, meanwhile, may nothave won, but he did his job promotingScraperwiki. By the end of the night,several leading media figures weresporting yellow stickers starringScraperwiki’s yellow digger logo.

So, if that alien had been to visit, Ilike to think they’d have left feelingpretty darned positive about ourregion’s leaders and the differencethey’re making. And, I reckon, they’llhave taken one great tip back to theirown extra-terrestrial leaders –you can, in fact, serve steakand chips as a canapé.

Our networker, left, with Phil Redmond, centre, posing, and GordonBurns at the Post’s Leaders Awards, at the Museum of Liverpool

34

CAROLYNHUGHES

SOCIAL DIARY THE NETWORKER

ALL Woman Hair &Beauty, in South Road,Waterloo, held their fund-raising charity week in aidof Breast Cancer Care.

They launched thefundraiser by kicking offwith a Fashion andBeauty event inconjunction with TopShopPersonal ShoppingService.

All Woman Hair &Beauty brought togetherwhat every girl wants –fashion and beauty withmodels showcasing threesignature Topshop styleswhile the All Woman team

ensured the models weretreated to fabulous hairand make-up.! OLIVE Restaurant, inCastle Street, joinedforces with the RoyCastle Lung Foundationrecently to create aspecial “Castle Cocktail”in support of Lung Can-cer Awareness Month.

Olive will be donating50p from every“Dedicated” cocktailduring November.

Guests also enjoyed acocktail masterclass withOlive’s award-winningmixologist Kevin Dunlop.

Topshop personal shoppers Charlotte Harper andUrsula Carey-Jenkins at the All Woman fundraiserevent

Rebecca and Leesa Robinson, of All Woman Hair &Beauty, at the fundraising launch event

Rebecca, Leesa and Veronica Robinson, of AllWoman Hair & Beauty, at the fundraising event

Amy Russell and Gemma Garrit at the All Womanfundraising launch event

Paula Chadwick, with Grace Boyd, of the OliveRestaurant, and Liz Legge and Lia Kennedy, atthe Roy Castle Foundation’s Castle Cocktaillaunch event

Marketing directors at Princes, Karen Stewartand Amberley Rainey, enjoy their Castle Cocktails

Award-winning Olive mixologist Kevin Dunlopwith Amberley Rainey, at the Castle Cocktailslaunch event

Roy Castle Foundation director of fundraising Laura Irving, withcorporate fundraising manager Liz Legge and chief executive PaulaChadwick, at the Olive Restaurant cocktails event

Charlotte Harper, of Topshop; Leesa Robinson, from All Woman; Rebecca Robinson;and Ursula Carey-Jenkins, of Topshop, with Diane Morgan and Bobby Purchase, at theFashion and Beauty event

3

WELCOME to the last edition ofPost Business of 2012.

Despite the fact there is still awhole month of the year ahead ofus, it is still reasonable to reflecton how things have turned out inthe past year, if only because thismonth’s Big Interview with SirMichael Bibby offers an overviewof global trading conditions.

Given Bibby Line Group’ssectorial and internationallydiverse range of businessactivities, Sir Michael is very wellplaced to offer an up-to-the-minutereading of the state of the world’seconomy and to say somethingabout prospects for recovery fouryears after recession first set in.

You only have to look at theeconomic data for the UK for the

past year to see that our positionis, as Sir Michael says, stable.Indeed, since the start of 2010, theBritish economy has experiencedonly marginal movements in GDP.Shallow growth has been followedby shallow decline before, morerecently, returning to shallowgrowth.

As such, Britain’s performancehas been relatively resilientcompared to southern Europeannations. We have been sustained

in part by surprisingly robustlabour market conditions. Newprivate sector jobs have offset joblosses in the austerity struckpublic sector. Whether thatsituation will last is anothermatter.

The problems of southernEurope could yet provecontagious and spread tonorthern Europe, but it issurely more likely thatGermany, France and theBenelux nations willreturn to growth soonerrather than later and it isthese northern Europeannations that are ourbiggest tradingpartners, not thetroubled South.

As for the looming US fiscalcliff, which Democrat orRepublican politician is going torisk being blamed for causing theUS economy to return torecession? They will resolve theproblem of the US national debtbefore the New Year deadline.

China’s newly installedleadership will want to keep

the people happy and willtherefore, very autocrat-ically, engineer aresumption of stronggrowth. Brazil can alsoassist with a big

contribution thesedays.

So what’sthere toworry about?

Well, of course, any of thesefactors mentioned above could yetgo wrong, but the biggest fear hasto be the Middle East and thepotential for a recession inducingdisruption of global oil supplies.

While Hamas and Israel are ateach other’s throats and Syria isin a state of civil war, the Straitsof Hormuz remain open. Whilethat is the case, the worldeconomy will have a better 2013than 2012.

One dark cloud on the horizonis inflation. Once the recoverycranks into gear, commodityprices will rise sharply, pushingup the cost of living for everybody.

4NEWSLJMU joins forces with industrygiants on pipe project

7BIG FEATUREHow are Liverpool’s theatrescoping in the recession?

10INTERNATIONAL TRADEHaydock firm is named as a NorthWest Export Champion

12PROFESSIONAL SECTORSMerseyside Special InvestmentFund celebrates 18 years

15BIG INTERVIEWSir Michael Bibby on how he isreshaping an iconic city business

19ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTBaltic Triangle creative quarterestablishes a thriving business hub

24HOW GREEN IS YOURBUSINESS?Students help Wirral company withits recycling efforts

27COMMERCIAL PROPERTYHow Warrington is bucking thetrend for commercial lettings

28KNOWLEDGE ECONOMYBusiness leaders debate the futureof a key Merseyside sector

31BUSINESS LUNCH

32THE LISTKey events for your diary

33THE NETWORKERAlistair Houghton says “take me toyour leaders”

34SOCIAL DIARYCarolyn Hughes out on the town

BILLGLEESON

BILL GLEESON

INSIDE

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POSTBUSINESS

LIVERPOOL POSTEDITORMark Thomas0151 227 2000mark.thomas@liverpool.com

BUSINESS WRITERSBill Gleeson0151 472 2319bill.gleeson@liverpool.comTony McDonough0151 330 4918tony.mcdonough@liverpool.comAlistair Houghton0151 472 2449alistair.houghton@liverpool.comNeil Hodgson0151 472 2451neil.hodgson@liverpool.com

HEAD OF IMAGESBarrie Millsbarrie.mills@liverpool.com

MARKETINGEXECUTIVERachel Street0151 227 2000rachel.street@trinitymirror.com

ADVERTISEMENTDIRECTORDebbie McGraw

ADVERTISEMENTSALESNeil Johnson0151 472 2705neil.johnson@trinitymirror.com

Diana Griffithsdiana.griffiths@trinitymirror.com0151 472 2311

PHOTOGRAPHYTrinity Mirror

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

TELEPHONE0151 227 2000

FAX0151 330 4942

COPYRIGHTPost Business is printedmonthly and distributed withthe Liverpool Post. No part ofthis publication may bereproduced without permissionof the publisher.

2

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Grow, develop and protect your organisation withtailored legal advice from Hill Dickinson.

Contact Bill Doherty via email:bill.doherty@hilldickinson.com

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35

36 1

‘Bonfireof themantras’ isboostingBaltic regeneration

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