The Bottom Line

THE BOTTOM LINEMay/June 2012

Business Newspaper of the Rear!

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Queen’s

Award

travels

to AltonThe sun is shining on Alton-based Powertraveller, the manufacturer of portable power and solar char-gers. The company – which featured in The Bottom Line last Septem-ber (right) – has been granted the Queen’s Award for Enterprise for the second time in three years.

The Award for International Trade is presented to companies that have shown outstanding achievement in international trade, achieving substan-tial growth in overseas earnings and commercial success, sustained over

Award-winning culinary columnist Carol shows you her trout pout

the most important thing in business

£7 billion lost in wasted tax

Page 3

Entrepreneur of 2012 shares business secrets

Centre Pages

Strictly Dancing’s Ola Jordan helped raise over £20,000 for the Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice at the Lakeside Country Club, Frimley Green. See Page 5 for more on how local businesses are supporting the charity.

STRESS-BUSTING RECIPE : PAGES 16 & 17

BY WILLIAM RAY

Haime on the range

Turn to Page 7

Page 2 The Bottom Line May/June 2012

Pay specialists predict rise on cards for most employeesBUSINESS FORECASTS

Bosses say

pay rises

will not go

above 2%

until 2013

The figure from the pay forecast survey is lower than the current median pay award of 2.6% for the three months to 29 February 2012, but organisations may be wary of committing to higher pay rises and some feel burdened by pension changes. Additionally,

the not-for-profit sector, which tends to take its lead from the public sector in terms of pay awards, accounts for more than one-fifth of respondents to this survey.

Sheila Attwood from Xper-tHR Pay and Benefits said: “Although we might expect employees to be tiring of low pay rises or pay freezes, our survey respondents indicate that to date they have under-stood the economic challenges that organisations face. How-ever, a median 2% increase during 2012 will result in another of year of below-infla-tion pay rises.”

XpertHR has also published research regarding personal relationships at work and the rifts they can create in the

workplace as policies don’t ex-ist to deal with them.

More than 40% of employers surveyed experienced at least one issue as a result of a close personal relationship between employees in the workplace, yet only 24% had a written policy on the subject.

Complaints about favouritism were the biggest cause of dis-ruption, affecting 37% of the 200 organisations studied over the past five years. Three in ten witnessed decreased morale, 27% had to deal with bully-ing after a break-up and more than 10% encountered sexual harassment claims as a result of affairs at work.

Where action was taken,

it usually involved a formal reprimand, a transfer to another part of the organisation to en-sure the couple did not work closely together, or in some cases it led to dismissal.

XpertHR Editor Charlotte Wolff said: “Although prob-lems relating to workplace re-lationships are not an everyday occurrence, they can happen - most commonly having a negative impact on the work-ing environment, efficient team working and employee perfor-mance. A large number of HR professionals responding to our survey told us they would like to see a clearer, more open ap-proach to workplace relation-ships,” she said.

Private sector employers are predicting pay awards of just 2% in the year to 28 February 2013, according to data from pay specialists XpertHR.

The slow economic recovery is continuing to influence organi-sations, with pay freezes and redundancies forecast by some, but a pay rise is on the cards for most employees.

The survey found:•More than three-quarters of

respondents (76.1%) say they are planning to award a pay rise on the normal review date. Around a tenth of organisa-tions are forecasting a pay freeze.

•The median pay rise forecast for the private sector overall is 2% - but this rises to 2.5% when not-for-profit organisations are excluded.

•Half of all organisations surveyed expect to award rises worth between 2% and 3%.

•Employers in the manufactur-ing and production sector are forecasting a median 2.5% pay rise over the next year, compared with a 2% forecast by private sector services firms.

•Only 9.9% of organisations expect to award more than 2012’s RPI forecast of 3.2%.

•Approximately half (48.3%) of the organisations surveyed expect some change to other employee terms and conditions. Of those giving details, 34.4% expect to make at least some redundancies and a quarter will review their benefits.

•Almost one-quarter (23.2%) of respondents say pension costs generally will be a downward influence on pay awards and 17.5% say pension costs due to the introduction of auto-enrolment are likely to restrain pay.

•Employers do not feel under pressure to compensate for sev-eral years of low/zero pay rises - only 16.6% of organisations think the 2012 pay deal needs to makes up for previous low awards. Additionally, more than three-quarters (76.4%) of or-ganisations feel that employees accept the need for pay restraint - this may be because organi-sations have ‘stuck together’, keeping in-line with competitors in terms of rates of pay.

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Surrey Heath Borough Council has become the first council in Surrey to receive the Shaw Trust Plus Acces-sibility award for its website. Shaw Trust is a national charity supporting disabled and disadvan-taged people in their bid to live more independently. Following a rigourous assessment process it awarded its highest available award to www.surreyheath.gov.uk for being

easy to use and accessible to people with disabilities.The Trust’s web accessibility service is a social enterprise that employs disabled people to test websites and ensure people with a range of condi-tions and impairments are able to access information and contact their council online.A Trust spokesman said: “Shaw Trust’s accreditation process makes

sure websites are accessible for users who have different needs in accessing, navigating or reading information online. “Disabled people won’t return to a website that they can’t access, meaning that, through no fault of their own, they could be missing out on vital information about services,” he said.

SURREY HEATH WEBSITE SCOOPS AWARD

Charlotte Wolff

Morale

The Bottom Line May/June 2012 Page 3

As the prospect of a double dip recession becomes a reality, UK small and medium enterprises are preparing to endure increasingly tough trading conditions.

Despite this, new research from unbiased.co.uk’s Small Business Tax Action Report reveals that SMEs are set to waste a massive £7.15 billion in un-necessary payments to the taxman this year.

This equates to an average of just over £1,500 for each of the 4.5 million such businesses in the UK.

Unbiased.co.uk’s report looks at the average amount of tax we waste as a nation. This year’s edi-tion includes a specific section looking at key areas of tax wastage amongst SMEs. It examines the savings SMEs could make by making better use of the array of allowances, tax credits and tax efficient business support schemes that are at their disposal.

The report reveals that the number one area of tax wastage for SMEs is incorporation, which stands at more than £4.22 billion alone, followed by failure to make use of self-employed contractors (£2.05 billion) and research and development relief (£373 million).

The most significant tax wastage for SMEs is be-ing accumulated by sole traders and partnerships through not incorporating their business – i.e. not turning it into a limited company or limited liability partnership.

There are currently around 1.3 million businesses in the UK that could benefit from different income tax breaks and savings on national insurance contri-butions if they changed their legal status.

The second highest area of tax wastage could be addressed by companies making more use of self-employed contractors within the legal guidelines. While there is some evidence of so- called ‘dis-guised employees’ (individuals leaving a company to become self-employed but continuing to work in more or less full time employment for the compa-ny), it is important to point out that this practice is considered illegal.

However, there is an existing and legal tax ad-vantage for both the employee and the employer to make more use of self-employed workers and this could potentially save businesses as much as £2 bil-lion in tax this year.

A potential move of existing employees into self-employment is most likely to be suitable for higher income earners who can afford the transition and have the professional experience to offer their ser-vices as a sole trader – not only to their previous employer but also to other companies.

Businesses should take care to consult with a pro-fessional adviser to ensure they are aware of the latest rules and regulations around the most tax ef-ficient use of employees and the overall advantages of contracting out.

Research and development relief (R&D relief) is another area of tax relief under-utilised by SMEs in Britain. In the current tax year, research and de-velopment expenditure carries a 200% deduction against profits (essentially halving a business’s taxable income) and this is set to rise to 225% in the 2012/13 tax year. Only 12% of eligible businesses make use of R&D relief, and if that pro-portion was to double, businesses would save £373 million in wasted taxes this year alone.

Karen Barrett, Chief Executive of unbi-ased.co.uk said the majority of this waste is down to businesses failing to understand what George Osborne calls the ‘spaghetti bowl’ of the UK tax relief system.

“Tax is a vast and complex subject and business owners often simply do not have the time to manage their tax affairs or understand the allowances available to them whilst also running their business day to day,” she said.

Currently over three in five small busi-ness owners say they use a professional adviser, such as an accountant or independent finan-cial adviser (IFA)

To find an accountant or IFA for you or your

business, go to www.unbiased.co.uk.

ACCOUNTANCY Small Business Tax Action Report shows how companies can save

Benefit

£7billiontax-ic waste!

Karen Barrett, Chief Executive of unbiased.co.uk said the majority of waste is down to businesses fail-ing to understand what Chancellor George Osborne calls the ‘spaghetti bowl’ of the UK tax relief system

Suitable


The editor of this mighty organ has yet to be called before the Leveson Inquiry which means he remains free to dedi-

cate all his time to The Bottom Line’s heady mix of news and features - all obtained by completely legal means! We’re out to hack away all the doom and gloom about double dip recessions and are instead raring to ramp up businesses all over south west Sur-rey and north Hampshire.

Our potent blend of stories about busi-nessmen and women and what they are up to has proved a winner with the thou-

sands of companies who receive our paper by post. Our aim is to get business people throughout our area communicating with

each other and networking to produce in-novation, investment and economic growth. Who could ask for anything more?

With this in mind, we want you to use The Bottom Line as the brightest and

most direct platform of delivery for your own particular business.Send us your press releases. Send us your pictures. Send us your message - and we will spread that message far and wide. Whether you are a one man band, a local start-up or a multinational business, you want to be in the pink and in The Bottom Line. The most important thing in business.Email for a mediapack today:[email protected]

THE BOTTOM LINE IS PUBLISHED BY THE BOTTOM LINE NEWS GROUP

Grab your Bottom or someone else will...

BUSINESS BOOMING Surrey and Hampshire businesses line up to give us a pat on the bottom line...

THE BOTTOM LINESeptember 2011

EXECUTIVE MOTORS It’s Bigger, with More room inside and takes Weight off your mindWe enjoy a royal blunch*

at Start pop-up restaurant

Business Newspaper of the Rear!

Business services

Finance

FMHR & recruitment

Legal & accounting

Marketing & PR

Skills & training

Technology

Hardware & software

Innovation

IT support

Telecoms

Motoring and executive travel

Fleet management

New cars

UK destinationsveller

Business Life

Accommodation

Conferences & exhibitions

Dining & entertainment

Sport & leisure

Property

Industrial & warehousing

Executive homes

Offices

Retail & leisure

Local newsAldershot

Alton

Camberley & Frimley

Farnborough

FarnhamFleet

Hook & Odiham


Surrey’s

housing

is worth

£132bn

BusinessMan’sWheels

An international property advisor

estimates the value of the entire hous-

ing stock in Surrey at an astonishing

£132billion. This gives the county the highest housing

value total excluding the capital.

The Prime Regional Residential Markets sum-

mer 2011 report also highlights links between the

housing market and the City.

Savills’ Charity Holden, pictured right, said:

“The county’s proximity to London is clearly an

important factor here. Research reveals that 57%

of all the purchasers of Surrey properties exceed-

ing the £1million mark work in the

financial sector,”said Ms Holden.

Full story: Page 10

The new 1 Series: Pages 16 & 17


*Business Lunch: Pages 2 & 3

Fancy a trip to Museo Ferrari?

Centre pages

I love Wight

Pages 14 & 15

Important

The Bottom Line is estab-lishing itself quite nicely as we look forward to a vibrant, pulsating summer of lovin’ business.We believe in the businesses we serve and believe that they believe in us. That’s a lot of belief! Our aim is to

promote and defend them. We would like to share with you some of the comments we have received so far. The Bottom Line is a great and much needed local business title. Its informa-tive and readable style

appeals to a wide audi-ence and offers the chance for local businesses to promote their offering ef-fectively, in a professional newspaper-style publica-tion. These benefits, com-bined with the web pres-ence really do offer SME’s

in the local area the chance to improve their own bot-tom line.

Jeff Toms, Marketing & Client Services Director, Farnham Castle.

The coverage looks great!

Thanks on behalf of every-one at Coppafeel!Laura Gallagher [[email protected]]

Please keep your wonder-ful comments and sugges-tions coming.

Summer lovin’ TBL

THE BOTTOM LINEOctober 2011

EXECUTIVE MOTORS More confident, sculpted, dynamic and potent than ever before

Businessman set to blast into space with BransonBusiness Newspaper of the Rear!

Business servicesFinanceFMHR & recruitmentLegal & accountingMarketing & PRSkills & training

TechnologyHardware & softwareInnovationIT supportTelecoms

Motoring and executive travelFleet managementNew carsUK destinations

Business LifeAccommodation

Conferences & exhibitionsDining & entertainment

Sport & leisure

PropertyIndustrial & warehousing

Executive homesOffices

Local newsAldershot

AltonCamberley & Frimley

FarnboroughFarnham

FleetHook & Odiham


Novartis M3 deal revives offices market

Bentleyshowsmuscle

Blackwater Valley’s commer-cial property market has beengiven a shot in the arm with news that Novartis, the inter-national healthcare solutions business, has agreed to take 64,000 sq ft of offices at Watch-moor Park in Camberley.The deal is believed to be the largest letting of its kind in the M3 corridor for three years.Demand for offices has been subdued in the area and the de-

velopment of new properties has been minimal.Robert Thain of Vantage Asset Management said: “This transac-tion is good news for Watchmoor Park, good news for Camberley and good news for Blackwater Valley.”

New Bentley Continental GTC: Pages 16 & 17


Pages 2, 3 & 4

Blunch* with George Michael*Business lunch: Page 20

A pair of sweeties

BCSC Special Report: Pages 14 & 15Full story: Page 4

BY RICK DUNMORE


CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY Partnering can increase your competitive edge

Corporate Social Responsibility, or CSR as it has become widely known as, is a concept that has been receiving a lot of attention in recent years as busi-nesses struggle to maintain competitive edge in an increasingly difficult trad-ing environment.

For some, it spells unnecessary cost, avoidable expense and a distraction from the focus of any business: to make profit. But for others CSR is recognised as an essential component to their business strategy, which can have a positive impact on staff, customers, suppliers, sharehold-ers – indeed every single stakeholder of an organisation.

CSR is so much more than the effect a company has on its local environment. Legislation now dictates particular stan-dards with regards to pollution reduction, re-cycling, waste control and efficient use of resources. A good CSR policy goes much further than highlighting how ‘green’ a company is.

One of the key components of an ef-fective CSR programme is to foster and strengthen links with the local community. This is particularly important to busi-nesses for which local customers are an important source of sales. However even if your business exports 100% of its goods and services, it is still highly relevant, as staff are likely to be recruited from the locality, you are likely to use local suppli-ers, and local authorities can make life a lot easier for businesses with a record of positive community involvement.

One of the most popular ways that a busi-ness can get involved in the local commu-nity is to align itself with an established, well known and relevant charity. This is what Farnham based design and marketing agency Valiant decided to do when it launched its Direct Action Appeal last year.

“Valiant wanted to give something back to our local community at a time when we knew many businesses were cutting back due to the economic climate,” said Valiant’s owner Tina Keeble.

“Rather than just make a dona-tion we wanted to offer our business expertise to help provide a long term sustainable approach to raising aware-ness and donations for the future.

“Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice has a constant uphill task to raise the funds they require to maintain their services. And so many of us know family or friends who have hugely benefited from the care the hospice has provided.

“We all want to ensure it remains there in case we need it too. From a marketing perspective we actively encourage our clients to get involved with their local charity as it brings benefits to both,” said Tina.

“Over the past year we have been working closely with the dedicated team at Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice to help engage and encourage local people to support its work. There is a perception that the hospice is only for old people when in fact the hospice provides care to terminally ill adults of any age from all over the Blackwa-ter Valley and beyond.

“Some people also believe that the hospice must be a sad and desperate place, where you go to die. It’s not. It brings peace, sanctuary and relief to people. In fact Valiant has created a large dove board in the shape of the hospice’s dove logo, to take to events and have in the hospice so that people can write on it a single word

that communicates what the Hospice means to them.

“Words such as exhilarating, proud, com-mitment, kindness, dedication are all there. We want to continue helping local people and businesses realise how beneficial it is to support the hospice – it has certainly won us positive attention from our customers, the press and other businesses,” she said.

Andrew Cox, Corporate and Major

Partnerships Manager for Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice, is a passionate advocate of the benefits of a business having strong links with a local charity:

“To me it is a no-brainer. As a charity that has been helping families in the lo-cal community for over 30 years, Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice is known by literally thousands of people. “To most, we represent qualities like

‘care’ ‘respect’ and ‘support’. When a company decides to partner with us, through staff fundraising, event spon-sorship or company donations, they are effectively aligning themselves to these qualities and saying to their customers, suppliers and employees: ‘You like the hospice, we like the hospice, therefore you are likely to like us’.

“In an increasingly competitive en-vironment, anything which can make a business stand out from its competi-tors and encourage customers to take a closer look has got to be advanta-geous,” he said.

One such business is local tele-coms company CallMaster Mobile. Director Dan Freeman is clear that by choosing to support local chari-ties like Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice, he is not only providing much needed financial support for an organisa-tion that he supports, but also that it makes good business sense.

“Our customers love the fact that by choosing us as a supplier of their mo-bile communication needs, they are also helping the hospice. Our recent innovation - making a £40 payment for every new 24-month Vodafone contract we sign under this scheme - is a simple win:win in which every-one benefits,” he said.

Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice provides specialist palliative care to patients and their families throughout west Surrey and north-east Hampshire. Anyone wishing to discuss how their business might benefit from strengthening their local CSR cre-dentials through a partnership with Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice can contact:

[email protected].

Charity

begins...

at work

of course

From left: Andrew Cox, Corporate and Major Partnerships Manager, Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice; Nick Hills; and Dan Freeman, CallMaster Mobile Directors


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BUSINESS REGULATION Minister praises ‘best tool we have’ for de-regulation

Mel McCrum of Wheelers LLP

Solicitors looks at the implications

of the Supreme Court Rules on

justification of enforced retirement

On 25th April, the Supreme Court handed down its judgement in the case of Seldon v Clarkson Wright and Jakes – the long running case over whether the compulsory retirement of a partner in a firm of solicitors at 65 was justified under the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006. The case acquired huge significance following the aboli-tion last year of the default retirement age which had allowed employers to

compulsorily retire employees if aged 65 or over. As a result any attempt by employers to force employees to retire at whatever retirement age had been designated by the employer would now amount to direct age discrimination.

The law does, however, allow em-ployers to discriminate whether direct-ly or indirectly on grounds of age pro-viding that the discriminatory act e.g. the imposition of a fixed retirement age can be justified on objective grounds. In this case the business argued that the need for a compulsory retirement age

was justified to create opportunities for career progression for more junior staff. They also argued that it was required to allow them to move on partners (or senior staff) with some dignity rather than having to resort to performance manage them out of the business using disciplinary procedures.

The Supreme Court ruled that where an employer’s decision to introduce a fixed retirement age was to achieve social objectives such as inter-genera-tional fairness or dignity then it might be justified. Employers, however, should exercise caution given that it will still be necessary for each individ-

ual employer (or partnership) to show that whatever age they proposed was one which was reasonable or propor-tionate having regard to the objectives on which the retirement age was based. As one of the judges succinctly put it, “There is a difference between justify-ing a retirement age and justifying this [organisation’s] retirement age”.

If employers are considering rein-troducing a fixed retirement age they ought to be clear about their reasons for doing so and whether the age pro-posed is one which will withstand any scrutiny by a Tribunal in the event that an employee were to challenge it as

amounting to age discrimination. Giv-en that there is no cap on the level of compensation which can be awarded in a successful discrimination claim and that age discrimination claims account-ed for the fasted growing category of discrimination claims in 2010/11, it would be fool hardy for any organisa-tion simply to pitch a retirement age so as to correspond with state pension age for instance.

Mel McCrum is a partner and head of the Employment Department at

Wheelers LLP Solicitors www.wheelerslaw.co.uk

SUPREME COURT RULES ON ENFORCED RETIREMENTBY MEL McCRUM

A new report published by the Govern-ment shows that around £4 million of regulatory burdens will be cut from Brit-ish businesses by the end of June 2012.

The Third Statement of New Regulation, which measures the success of the ‘one-in, one-out’ rule, shows that there is a cu-mulative net reduction of regulation since January 2011. It also shows that regula-tions which reduce a cost on business con-tinue to outweigh those which put a new cost on business.

Business and Enterprise Minister Mark Prisk said: “The one-in, one-out process is one of the best tools we have to cut the costs and burden of regulation on our businesses.

“The system is starting to deliver results, capping the costs to business and then driv-ing them down. But we know that changing the culture of regulation in Whitehall is a long-term job, and all of us in Government have to, and will, continue to root out any red tape which poses more of a hindrance than a help to UK businesses,” he said.

The new statement also shows that depart-ments have started to remove legislation as a result of the Red Tape Challenge and de-regulatory measures designed to reduce the burden on business are in the pipeline for later this year.

Lord Curry, Non Executive Chair of the Better Regulation Executive, said: “Eco-

nomic growth is crucial and all Depart-ments should be aware that everything they do impacts on the growth agenda. The business community is looking for evi-dence and departments need to recognise that any regulation they introduce will af-fect business in some way.

“In the Better Regulation Executive we are really pleased to see that culture change across Whitehall is beginning to bite. It’s more evidence that the ‘one in, one out’ rule really works. We need to continue to see more of the same,” he said.

The latest statement of new regulation was published four weeks ahead of the April Common Commencement Date to

give businesses more certainty about regu-lations coming in on that date.

The Fourth Statement is planned to be published up to eight weeks ahead of the October Common Commencement Date and the Fifth Statement up to 12 weeks ahead, to provide clarity for businesses and help them plan for the future.

SMEs must broaden

their horizons: Page 12

BY WILLIAM RAY

One in, one out shakes it all about

QUEEN’S AWARD FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADEContinued from Page 1



Certainty

Burden

Legal disclaimer: Advice is given as general guidance and changes in law may occur. It is recommended that you should seek independent, professional advice from a legal adviser.

not less than three years.“We are thrilled to have won a

second Queen’s Award,” said CEO Jerry Ranger. “By identi-fying a real requirement in the outdoor & adventure market and using feedback from our

customers, we have developed innovative, performance-rich chargers that have made por-table power a category in its own right within this market sector.

“Over the last three years, we have used our knowledge and expertise to grow our distribution

network and our products are now available in over 35 countries.”

When it was first established Powertraveller aimed to produce portable power products for those electronic devices relied upon by business and leisure travellers the world over and

the business’s trading strategy was to align itself very much to retailers and organisations servicing this demographic.

In late 2008 the firm attended Europe’s biggest summer trade buying show for the outdoor sec-tor. Within a month of return-

ing from the show, distribution agreements had been signed with distributors in the key ter-ritories, plus a number of other smaller countries.

Since 2009, Powertraveller’s overseas trading has grown by 100%, resulting in the 2012

Business and Enterprise Minister Mark Prisk


BUSINESS PROPERTY

In the current property mar-ket, where values are being squeezed, the quality of any development project is becom-ing increasingly significant not just for the tenant or developer but for the banks and real estate finance providers too.

Historically funders have perhaps been more interested in the com-mercial risk and the costing than the quality of the product, but in the current climate all too often prob-lems can arise, leaving the funder sitting on a development.

With poor quality assets being harder to shift, a lack of attention to quality is potentially short sighted.

Paul Spaven, partner of Tuffin Ferraby Taylor (TFT) and special-ist in project monitoring, gives his view on the importance of the project monitoring surveyor’s role in property development in the cur-rent market.

“The turbulent market conditions are changing the lender/borrower relationship and monitoring sur-veyors must think how best to fit in with this.

“This uncertainty and caution in the current property market is highlighting the need for the role

of project monitoring surveyors to evolve, focusing more on facilitat-ing the development of commercial property and keeping a check on standards and budgets to create value for all parties involved.

“Whilst monitoring surveyors have a duty to protect the interests of their client, whether it is the funder, investor, or tenant, they also must have the ability to see the bigger picture.

“This is best achieved by under-standing the commercial position of both the client and the developer. To do this, monitoring surveyors must be given the opportunity to review any development or facility agreements, ideally from as early a stage as possible in the develop-ment, so that they can understand the project set up and identify potential risks.

“This enables the monitoring sur-veyor to sift through the facts and pick out pertinent points without getting sidetracked by pedantic de-tails and box-ticking, allowing them to improve investment certainty by

quantifying and evaluating the risks to the project, without obstructing the progress of the development. Effective due diligence will give assurance that the investment has been examined holistically and that the monitoring surveyor is aware of the inherent risks,” he said.

“Monitoring surveyors need to be able to build a good working rela-tionship with the developer so that if and when problems occur there is a means to overcome them.

“The failure to resolve problems or conflicting objectives is no use to any of the stakeholders of a development. It is in the interest of both the funder and the developer to have a successful outcome at the earliest stage. A project that is successful for the developer will also generally be successful for a funder or investor.

“At TFT we strongly believe that both a qualitative and a cost-driven approach are needed to satisfy both the lenders and the developers and to meet the challenges of the cur-rent real estate market,” he said.

The importance of

project management



Opportunity

If the latest survey from the Federation of Small Businesses is anything to go by, it’s still a tough climate for start-ups in the UK. Publishing a 50% failure rate during the first year, and 95% by year five, businesses need a lifeline in order to stay afloat. According to Daryl Woodhouse, of Advan-tage Business Partnerships, the reasons for failure are nothing new. “There are a myriad of factors keeping the failure statistics so high, from poor business planning and poor marketing right through

to a lack of finance and failure to em-brace new technology - the causes haven’t changed and the threat of failure remains unreasonably high,” he said.“Business owners may have lost the passion they had when they originally started the company due to being consumed by busi-ness. Being a business owner can also be a lonely experience.”To avoid becoming a statistic, some busi-nesses may require a helping hand. Advantage Business Partnerships offer

many services to keep businesses open, profitable and growing.The company’s key goal is to lower the chances of a business failing, achieved by identifying current risks and turning them around. By helping people become a leader for their business, rather than being led, they report excellent results with their clients in London and the Home Counties.The firm’s programmes include their partnership network, master classes and specialist events, geared towards helping

business leaders grow their prospects, while maintaining a sensible work/life balance. Working closely with a panel of experts who are highly regarded in their own fields of expertise, Advantage Business Partnerships use them for assistance in finance, legal, human resources and specialised industry expertise.Clients can take advantage of a tailor-made package, as well as monthly master classes - each coming with an Advantage Partner.

SMEs need a lifeline to stay afloat

Money problems ‘can often leave funders sitting on a development’

A recent report by Forrester Research suggests that a billion people around the world will have the ability to access the web via smartphones, tablet comput-ers and other connected mobile devices by 2016.This growth in mobile technology represents a major shift in the way in which businesses will engage with not only their customers but also with their staff and partners. The research also highlights the need for organisations to respond to these changes and put internal structures in place to manage the changes and

adapt working practices.The report says these structural changes to businesses are essen-tial as the convenience of mobile applications and proliferation of devices will see a further shift of power away from organisations and towards the individual.The report, Mobile is the New Face of Engagement, highlights the growth projections of mobile devices and investment, predicting:1. One billion consumers will have smartphones by 2016. US consum-ers alone will own 257 million smartphones and 126 million tablets.

2. In 2016, 350 million employees will use smartphones and 200 mil-lion will “bring their own” devices.3. Today, employees pay for over half of the devices and data plans used for work across every region.4. Employees pay for 70% of the tablets used for work.·5. Mobile spend will reach $1.3 trillion as the mobile apps market reaches $55 billion in 2016.6. Spending on tablet and smart-phone apps will grow explosively to $56billion in 2015.7. The spend on mobile will reach $1.3 trillion globally by 2015 —

35% of the technology economy.8. Business spending on mobile projects will grow 100% by 2015.9. More than half of business decision-makers will increase their mobile apps budget in 2012 as they look for better ways to en-gage with customers and partners.

With these figures in mind, the report suggests that companies should establish a post of Chief Mobility Officer to enable an enterprise-wide mobile strategy. It also points out that this strategy should be more than just providing

a website that has been optimised for small screens but should put “thinking mobile” at the heart of the business. Or as the report puts it: “Just as the PC necessitated an organisa-tional shift from data processing to IT, mobile apps front-ending systems of engagement will act as a catalyst for the reinvention of IT as business technology.”

The “Mobile Is The New Face Of

Engagement” report is available

from www.forrester.com.

Mobile ‘new face of engagement’

SUCCESSFUL OUTCOMES: Paul Spaven of TFT

BY KATE FOX


Talent spotting

brings success

Farnham Open for Business A great place to work, live and play

www.GU9.biz

Recruiters can improve the speed and efficiency of their graduate selection process and save money by rethinking the way they sift and select candidates, according to Talent Q, the talent as-sessment specialist.The company is calling for organisations

to ‘front-load’ their hiring process with job-relevant assessments, in order to put a higher proportion of appropriate candi-dates through to an assessment centre and avoid the costly mistake of short-listing the wrong people.“Large companies need to find suitable

candidates from tens of thousands of applicants,” said Steve O’Dell, CEO of Talent Q UK. “Those that aren’t making

use of the combination of technology and assessment need to rethink their selection process now. “The old assumptions that assessments

are expensive and difficult to implement don’t hold true anymore. Assessments offer an objective and valid way to screen out unsuitable applicants, allowing only those who closely match the specific com-petencies of the role to proceed,” he said.According to Talent Q, some gradu-

ate assessment centres have a 6:1 ratio, which means that for every six people being assessed, one gets recruited. Other centres operate with a more cost effective

ratio of 2:1. “Robust assessment will re-veal the best candidates, enabling you to run more productive assessment centres,” said Mr O’Dell. “Best practice is to be clear about the requirements of the role at the outset and to deploy the right mix of assessments. At Talent Q, we’re seeing a rise in the number of organisations using our adaptive ability tests to screen their graduate candidates.

“These adapt in complexity according to the ability of candidates as they progress through the assessment and produce quicker and more accurate results. “Personality questionnaires should also

be deployed because aspects of personal-ity can have a considerable bearing on whether or not an individual will be suc-cessful at work.” Talent Q stresses that psychometric assessments must be linked to the right technology if organisations are to effectively process the thousands of graduate applications they receive.“Smart recruitment functionality can

streamline the hiring process,” said Mr O’Dell. “By using the right technology in combination with cutting-edge as-sessments, organisations not only make their graduate recruitment process better, faster and cheaper, they can also enhance the candidate experience and the em-ployer brand.”

Personality

RECRUITMENT ‘Smart recruitment functionality can streamline the hiring process’

BY KATE FOX

Q-ING UP FOR JOBS: students like these from the University for the Creative Arts in Farnham, Surrey on a visit to Westmin-ster will soon be in the jobs market


ENTREPRENEURIAL PROFILE Richard Salvage tells Sophie Williamson-Stothert about cars, engineering, recycling and a business life in the fast lane

to set-up Shield Medicare,” said Richard. “I moved back down south and Shield started in my third bedroom in my house. Seventeen years later it was European market leader.”

In 2006, Richard sold Shield Medicare to Ecolab and set-up Medsa Group. Medsa not deals in much more than healthcare - Richard also strives to support businesses in the automotive and recycling markets.

“There are a range of companies includ-ing DTL Medical; we design, manufacture and supply single use surgical instru-ments,” he said.

Richard’s desire to have a positive effect on people’s lives and the environment is reflected in his businesses.

“It all started when I was manufactur-ing my own medical devices, and to do that, you need to operate and run a clean room,” said Richard. “Clean rooms have got a fascinating history. They came about because of John F Kennedy.He famously said ‘I want a man on the moon and safely returned by the end of the decade’ and it was quite a statement. The Americans didn’t have the technology to do it when

he said that and he quickly realised that if they’re going to build a rocket of any quality to take human beings to the moon and back, they would have to do it in a controlled environment, so they set-up the first clean rooms.”

Technology continues to grow and improve over time and Richard explained how clean rooms are used for manu-facturing electronic parts which protect products, to labs which protect humans from the products. “Some clean rooms and microbiology labs are to protect the human from the product,” said Richard. “As they were developing and starting to be used in the pharmaceutical industry, the disposable equipment wasn’t there to keep them clean and sterile. I quickly realised that because I couldn’t get the bits that I wanted and I thought ‘if I can’t, no one else can’ so I started to design a whole range of products for inside the hospitals as well as in the industry.”

Richard runs two automotive compa-nies; Shield Automotive and Greased

Lightning. Products supplied by Shield Automotive considerably reduce CO² emissions, whilst Greased Lightning car cleaner prevents you from wasting water. “Greased Lightning is just fantastic - it’s growing so fast and it’s featured on Ideal Work on television,” said Richard. “Our hero product is ‘Showroom Shine’. It’s a car care product for cleaning cars without using water.” Such products are perfect for helping small firms, where car clean-ing prove to be time consuming. “It’s ideal for taxis and wedding cars because they can clean the cars whilst waiting for customers. We’ve sold 1.8million litres of Showroom Shine,” he said.

“I work with quite a few businesses and I lecture at Cranfield University on business growth,” said Richard. “I meet hundreds of businesses every year and some of them ask me to work with them, and I do.” The mention of Richard’s name in a new com-pany gains instant recognition, ultimately helping them to grow.

“It’s not just helpful for them, but it’s also really helpful for me, because I get something out of each company I’m

involved with. It keeps me on my toes and keeps me thinking.”

“Expanding from medical to automo-tive and recycling companies was more opportunistic than anything. I look for organisations that I think I can make a big impact on, especially from a sales market-ing point of view,” said Richard. “Because I don’t think British companies, generally, are very good at selling. I think it was Napoleon who famously said that we are a nation of shopkeepers. Now we need to embrace the growth and push on.”

Richard’s next step is aimed purely at recycling. He is determined to do his part in making a difference to make sure we have an economically-friendly future and a better way of life. “We’ve got a system our service offers in helping companies achieve zero land fill,” said Richard. “I don’t see it so much as recycling but I see it as a marketing opportunity for these organisations, so that we can equip them to say ‘our impact on the environment is reduced so much now that we don’t throw anything away. We will do this by teach-ing them how to segregate the different

recycle extremes; paper, plastic and cardboard, and what is left we will turn into a fuel to generate electricity. step, and the interest is fantastic.”

Richard’s success has brought him a collection of high octane cars - a flash Aston Martin DB9, a seductive Jaguar XKR and a rare Jaguar XKR100; one of the first and most prestigious cars in Richard’s collection and the first from the local Jaguar retailer in Farnham. “Shield was doing well and the new XK had just come out which I thought was a stunning looking car.”

Inevitably, Richard took the car for the weekend and never gave the keys back. He still has his treasured possession tucked away in his garage. Just one of 500 XKR100s ever made. “Jaguar XKs since then and the XKR100,” said Richard.

Richard drives hundreds of miles on business every year. “be driven.”

“Enzo Ferrari once said: ‘The E-Type Jaguar is the most beautiful car ever seen’. I agree with that,” said Richard. “I definitely want to have one and

Protect

Salvage engineer

on road to success

Cranfield University School of Manage-ment’s Entrepreneur of the Year 2012, businessman and lecturer Richard Sal-vage, has been described as one of the most inspirational and accomplished but least celebrated business leaders in the UK today.

Mechanical engineers are rarely viewed as successful entrepreneur material in this country. Yet engineering is just as important to our society as science, forever developing technology and testing new innovations.

“In this country, engineers aren’t as highly thought of as they are in mainland Europe,” said Richard.

Perhaps that was illustrated by what Ap-prentice supremo Lord Alan Sugar said on TV last year – ‘I’ve never met an engineer who’s an entrepreneur, you’re fired!’

“It reinforces the thinking that the status of an engineer is not as high in this coun-try as it is somewhere else.

“It takes seven years to become an aero-nautical engineer – the same time it takes to become a doctor. There are good entre-preneurs around who have an engineering background. I believe it is great training for business because we’re taught how to solve problems, how to process and how to put the systems together,” he said.

Growing organisations can be a lonely business, and if you’re not careful, it can become a 24 hour job. Richard says his award was truly unexpected. “It was a genuine surprise and deeply flatter-ing,” said Richard. “To have somebody pat you on the back is fantastic. A lot of employees don’t realise what motivates people, and the best thing you can do is to motivate and value someone, which you don’t often get when you’re heading the organisation.”

Richard received his award at the Royal Institution of Great Britain in London. “It was an inspirational place for me because I grew up watching the Christmas science lectures, and to actually give an address from the same place as the world’s most famous scientists, was quite a boost.”

Richard is president of the Aldershot and Farnham Hockey Club. “The other thing I promised myself when I became moderately successful is that I would satisfy my desire to watch Wales play rugby, and I now get tickets to every home game,” said Richard.

Richard founded Shield Medicare in 1989, one of the world’s most successful contamination control companies, which enable hospitals and pharmaceutical companies around the world to control and combat potential harmful bacteria, im-prove customer service and quality of life.

“I moved up to Scotland for a couple of years with work, and I left that company

Inspirational

SUCCESS: Entrepreneur Richard Salvage with his Aston Martin and ( rightgiving a lecture


about cars, engineering, recycling and a business life in the fast lane

recycle extremes; paper, plastic and card-board, and what is left we will turn into a fuel to generate electricity. It is a huge step, and the interest is fantastic.”

Richard’s success has brought him a col-lection of high octane cars - a flash Aston

artin DB9, a seductive Jaguar XKR and a rare Jaguar XKR100; one of the first and most prestigious cars in Richard’s collec-tion and the first from the local Jaguar re-tailer in Farnham. “Shield was doing well and the new XK had just come out which thought was a stunning looking car.”

nevitably, Richard took the car for the weekend and never gave the keys back. He still has his treasured possession tucked away in his garage. Just one of 500 XKR100s ever made. “I’ve had six Jaguar XKs since then and I’ve still got the XKR100,” said Richard.

Richard drives hundreds of miles on business every year. “My cars are there to

“Enzo Ferrari once said: ‘The E-Type Jaguar is the most beautiful car I have

agree with that,” said Rich-ard. “I definitely want to have one and

I promised myself I would get one this year.” Richard’s ultimate classic car is a member of the Jaguar family and shares many similarities with the E-Type. The feminine curve of the C-Type is enough to grab anybody’s attention but Richard is attracted by one part in particular.

“It’s mad but what really grabs my at-tention is the petrol cap,” said Richard. “The man who designed the C-Type was actually an aeronautical engineer. The large petrol cap is made of stainless steel and it looks like it has come straight off an aircraft.” Aeronautical engineer Malcolm Sayer played a significant role in the development of the early Jaguar models. Sayer worked with the Bristol Aeroplane Company during the Second World War, and his talent is reflected in the C and D-Types efficient aerodynamics.

“The two most beautiful cars I have ever seen are the E-Type and the DB9, and the XKR and DB9 were designed by the same person. People ask me what’s the difference between the XKR and the

Aston. When I’m driving the XKR, people stop and look. When I’m driving the DB9 people stop, look and point. That’s the dif-ference,” he said.

“I went to watch Le Mans eight years in a row. I started going out there in the 80s and I absolutely loved it,” said Richard. “This was before all the changes were made and I can still remember Johnny Dumfries breaking records at 2am in the morning in a Sauber Mercedes.”

“If you look at Formula One and the aerodynamics involved, the cars almost look like they have an inverted plane wing,” said Richard.

“They’ve changed the rules again this year, but in some respects they have to because the engineers are so clever, they are always pushing boundaries and it cre-ates some of the everyday kit you see in an ordinary family car today.

“Motor manufacturing in the UK in many respects is as strong as it has ever been because we’re at the forefront of technology and engineering and the vast majority of Formula One teams are based in the UK.”

Beamers shine at classicThe Mille Miglia 2012 classic car rally through the mountains of Italy will this year see twelve classic BMW 328s at the start line of the 1,000 kilometre trip from Brescia to Rome.The dozen classics from Bavaria will be led by the BMW 328 Touring Coupé, the same car that won the event over 70 years ago.Ian Robertson, a member of BMW’s management board said: “A track record of numerous racing victories made the BMW 328 one of the most successful sports cars of its time and today, this car still epitomises the char-acter of the BMW brand.” Two years ago the BMW 328 Kamm Coupé celebrated its comeback to the modern Mille Miglia and is once taking part in this year’s event.The Bottom Line will be reporting from this year’s Mille Miglia in our next edition. A group of motoring journal-ism students from the University for the Creative Arts in Farnham will be watching the race as well as interview-ing business people involved with all aspects of the event and the commer-cial opportunities it presents to those taking part and those spectating.

VALID UNTIL 30 June 2012Mention The Bottom Line at time of booking to receive discount

Salvage engineer

on road to success

Significant

SUCCESS: Entrepreneur Richard Salvage with his

right )

Small and Medium Sized En-terprises (SMEs) are being urged to take advantage of the oppor-tunities available to them to get trading and look at potential new markets abroad.

Speaking to business leaders at the Going Global: Helping small businesses trade abroad confer-

ence – Business and Enterprise Minister Mark Prisk encouraged entrepreneurs to get trading and help boost the UK economy.

The Minister said: “Giving businesses the confidence to trade abroad is vital to help boost growth in the economy. UK Export Finance is supporting SMEs by

introducing a range of financial support for businesses that want to export but can’t obtain the finance they need through the normal commercial routes.

“We are also helping businesses to protect their intellectual prop-erty abroad by introducing an online register of advisers as well

as placing our first international attaché in China to help UK busi-nesses with enforcement issues. With support from UKTI we will give entrepreneurs the confidence to explore new markets and grow their business,” said Mr Prisk.

Minister urges SMEs to broaden horizons


HOUSING MARKET Townends Estate Agents see improvement in market

The first quarter of 2012 has seen demand in the residential sales market pick up signifi-cantly with Townends estate agents reporting a 27% increase in sales versus the same period last year.Townends is part of the Badger Holdings group

of property specialists, with offices throughout London, Surrey and Hampshire.Despite this improved sentiment, Townends con-

tends that the dream of home-ownership remains a challenge for many and with the ratio of home-ownership to renters continuing to diminish, de-mand in the lettings arena also remains strong.The current residential sales market is particu-

larly buoyant for sellers as applicant registration levels have risen by nearly 40% over the first quarter of the year.

The number of viewings carried out are also reported to be up 28%, with a 27% increase in sales.“Stock levels have remained static and this rela-

tive lack of suitable stock is encouraging buyers to make quicker decisions and offer higher fig-ures in order to avoid losing out on their chosen property, subsequently enabling many vendors to achieve their asking price,” said Douglas Sleaper, Group Sales Director for Townends.Caroline Kavanagh, Managing Director of Let-

tings and Management, said: “In some cases, landlord sentiment remains that prices should be going up, however this is proving to be an educa-tional process, because prices simply can’t go up any further and certainly not at the same pace we saw last year.

“A greater number have done their research and are not necessarily grabbing the first property they see, even though stock is limited. “This is ultimately down to the need for them to

feel they are getting a decent property at a good price and so are more prepared to wait to get val-ue for money. “Prices have and in some cases still need to find a

new level although many landlords have accepted this and take a more flexible approach to their in-vestment, purely by understanding that rents do fluctuate. “Compromise is becoming less favourable for

tenants and this is where landlords need to bridge the gap at times,” she said.

Residential

sales rise 27%

‘LET’S MAN UP AND GET ON WITH IT’ SAYS OWNER

Letter to the EditorI read with interest

your article “half SMEs might quit”. As the owner and operator of a Surrey based transport company and consider-ing I work within one of the most heavily legis-lated industry sectors, coupled with the bur-geoning cost of diesel, I more than most have sat ‘head in hands’ on many occasions happy to give the company away let alone sell it! It does however raise the question as to what one would do. Having been self-employed for almost all of my work-ing life I wonder now if I could ever take instruc-tion from anyone else. So instead of wallowing in self pity about issues we have no control over I think it is up to the small business owners and entrepreneurs to dig deep, remember what’s good about be-ing your own boss and running a company and go to the market with in-novative ideas to drive your business forward. Road haulage may not be the most glamor-ous of businesses it is however vital to both in-dustry and commerce. We all need to remind ourselves and more im-portantly our customers of that fact and ensure that we continue to sell a quality service and not a price.At CSL Transport we

have had to invest heavily in order to meet the London LEZ requirements for operating within the M25, we have also developed and invested in new ‘Safety Trail-ers’ to comply with the rigorous HSE working at height legislation, the trailers will be used for deployment of crowd control barriers for the forth coming Olympics. These and other USP’s are what is helping to keep ourbusiness at the

forefront of our market.Remember the three essential requirements for any business owner, persistence, fortitude and optimism have never been called upon quite as much as they are now. However we also should remember that nobody forces us to run our own business so let’s all just ‘Man up’ a bit and get on with it.

Regards

James CookeCSL Transport

Camberley

PRICES CAN-NOT GO UP ANY MORE:Caroline Kavanagh, Managing Director of Lettings and Management

Increase

Value


Women

striding

into the

board

rooms

at last

Lord Davies of Abersoch has published the first annual progress report on his ground-breaking review of Women on Boards.

One year on, Lord Davies and his review panel reported a growing recognition of the benefits gained by business, the economy and society by appointing more women to decision-making roles.

This understanding is reflected in the unprecedented pace of change seen in the make-up of UK boardrooms.

“I believe that we are finally seeing a culture change taking place right at the very heart of British business in relation to how women are seen within the work-force,” said Lord Davies.

“Some excellent work has taken place and I want to take this opportunity to thank the many chairmen, chief executive officers, business organisations, train-ing providers, networks, journalists and individual businessmen and women whose commitment to this issue remains unstinting. However, I must also emphasise that efforts need to be ramped up and the speed of change accelerated if we’re to avoid Govern-ment interference,” he said.

Secretary of State for Business, Vince Cable said: “Increasing female board representation is a win-win proposition for business. Well-balanced boards with broader experience introduce fresh perspectives and new ideas, which help improve performance and boost productivity.

“This report provides real evidence that business

is taking the issue of board diversity seriously and is working to bring about the necessary changes. It demonstrates why we don’t think quotas are neces-sary at the moment as the UK is making the voluntary approach work.”

Between 2008 and 2010, the number of women di-rectors had effectively plateaued, stalling at less than a single percentage point rise year-on-year. However, in the 12 months since Lord Davies’s report was pub-lished, the largest-ever annual increase in the percent-age of women on boards has been recorded.

Within the current FTSE 100:•Women now account for 15.6% of all direc-

torships, up from 12.5%

•47 female appointments have been made

since publication of the Women on Boards

report last February

•27% of all board appointments have been

taken up by women, up from 13%

•11 all-male boards remain, down from 21

Within the FTSE 250:

•Women account for 9.6% of all director-

ships, up from 7.8%

•26% of all board appointments have been

taken by women

•For the first time ever all-male boards are in

the minority, 112 companies, or 44.8%, down

from 52.4%

•53 female appointments have been made

since publication of the Women on Boards

report last February.

This progress is particularly encouraging consider-ing the long lead times involved between a board position opening up and a new appointment being confirmed.

Cranfield School of Management’s Female FTSE report, also published today, notes that should current momentum be maintained, a record 26.7% female board representation in FTSE 100 companies would be achieved by 2015.

Amanda Mackenzie, Chief Marketing and Com-munications Officer at Aviva and a member of Lord Davies’s review panel, said:

“What has been achieved in year one is hugely encouraging, particularly for a generation of talented women who will form part of the diverse and better boards of the future.

“Year Two is about focusing on developing that pipe-line of female executive talent, tackling all male boards and growing the momentum of change,” she said.

Women not reaching top of work tree: Next page!

Female workers now account for 15.6% of all directorshipsBUSINESS CHANGE

BY KATE FOX


BUSINESS SURVEY Old prejudices still bar the

Picture

BY ANDREW BARBER

Wisdom is in the eyes and ears of the people around you, so to make the right impact with your insights, you need to be able to gen-erate the gravitas that tells people your insights are worth noting. Here are ten ways to do that.

1. SPACEThe aura of gravitas will generate a space around you. You can do a lot to cre-ate that. When you are with people, imagine your bubble of personal space expand-ing to twice, three times, ten times the volume of your nor-mal space. As you visualise this it will start to change the subtle cues of your body language and people will respect a greater distance.

2. SLOWGravitas means not rush-ing, whether it is in your movement or your speech. A steady, deliberate pace conveys total confidence and, when speaking, increases your control of your speech and the relaxation of your vocal chords, allowing your voice to stay at the bottom end of its register. Deeper tones convey authority. Keep the volume down too, to make people strain to catch your important ideas and to avoid over-stretching your voice.

3. SMALL Big movements convey charisma, big words convey intellect, big speeches con-vey status. Small movements convey economy, small words convey understanding, small speeches convey deep insight. Wise people do and say little, but what they do and what they say conveys much.

4. STILLStillness is a special quality in our frenetic world. Culti-vate the ability to be still to make a real contrast with the busy-busy background, and create a powerful impres-sion of weight (the Latin word gravitas means just that).

5. SUMMARISESmart people dive in with their ideas to ensure that they are heard. Wiser souls wait, observe, then assess and summarise what they have heard, adding their evaluation and insight.

6. SILENCEThe ultimate in slowing your speech, the linguistic equiva-lent of still, silence is some-thing few can master. Used at the right time, it can be a dev-astating contribution to your argument. How much smaller can your contribution be?

7. TIMINGSelect the timing of your contribution with care. Don’t rush, jump in, or cut someone off. Instead, wait for silence before you speak, so there is only one thing for your audience to listen to.

8. ATTENTIONWhen you speak to most people you quickly become aware that they have other things on their mind. With some people though, you feel as if there is nothing else in the world for them but you. These people have both cha-risma and gravitas. Practise paying 100% attention to the person who is speaking.

9. PROCESSYou won’t always know the answers or have the insight to transform a situation. But what you can always do is put forward a clear process that will help to gather facts, clarify is-sues, move to a decision. Wisdom is knowing when you don’t know enough and having a way to move onward regardless.

10. TONEWho sets the tone? Whose demeanour matters? If it’s you, then you really do have gravitas.

How to createimpact

BY MIKE CLAYTON

Fiona Dent, Director of Executive Education at Ashridge Business School

Women ‘not reaching

the top of work tree’


Women are forming a higher per-centage of the worldwide work-force, yet the number reaching the top is still very small – sig-nificantly less than 20% reach board positions globally, accord-ing to new research by Ashridge Business School.

The research into women in busi-ness reveals what may be blocking their path to the top and shows that, despite policies and practices in place to support women, organisa-tional attitudes can hamper career progress.

Based on a survey of over 1,400 female senior managers and direc-tors, the research shows that 48% of those surveyed believe it is hard-er for a woman to succeed in an organisation compared with male colleagues. Forty-nine per cent think men and women are treated differently in terms of leadership and behaviour.

The research shows organisational attitudes towards women frequently impede career advancement.

“A major finding about the busi-ness landscape for women is that not much has changed over the past 30 years,” said the report’s co-author Fiona Dent, Director of

Executive Education at Ashridge Business School.

“Although women make up half the world’s population, there re-mains a scarcity of women in se-nior jobs. It’s clearly not equal at the top, and there is a real need to level the playing field,” she said.

“Getting this right is not just about careers for women; it’s es-sential for the economy. Businesses with women at senior management level typically have more balanced decision making, and ensuring that all your people are at the top of their game contributes to a higher performing organisation,” she said.

Company culture and stereotyping remain issues. Women are typically perceived as more accommodating and relationship-focused than men, who tend to be viewed as tougher and more output-focused. At the same time, negative perceptions of assertive women abound. Women with drive and ambition are often regarded, by both men and women, as aggressive and dominating.

Having children remains one of the biggest hurdles to career de-velopment. A culture of long hours and extensive international travel can affect a woman’s ability to fill

certain roles.In the study, more than 80% of

women agree that having a good work-life balance is important, al-though only half of those polled say they are actually achieving that balance.

Other issues for executive women include being perceived as being “soft and fluffy” by colleagues and struggling to earn the same level of respect as a male leader.

“Evidence suggests that women have to work harder to get respect. But women shouldn’t become like men. They must maintain their own authenticity and approach to doing business.

“There are things you can do such as putting yourself forward and tak-ing on tough, challenging projects. The same with pay – a man will ask for more, but women often end up earning less because they don’t ask for that pay rise,” said Fiona.

The factors identified as helping women break through the glass ceiling include determination, self-confidence, self-belief, resilience and having a clear career plan. A working environment that suits ca-reer ambitions and support factors such as their boss, colleagues, fam-

ily and friends are important.The study also offers advice to

employers about how to create a more diverse organisation, so that women get their rightful seat at the top table.

The report gives the following ad-vice to women in business:

Be explicit

Identify your career goals, ambi-tions and aspirations. Remember, you can adapt, develop and change these over time.

Find a good boss

Recognise the important role your boss can play in your career suc-cess. Finding a good one is invalu-able for developmental purposes.

Identify who can help

Coaches, mentors and sponsors. Take every developmental oppor-tunity offered to you and offer to develop others

Be aware

Relationships and networks are important. Make your networks work for you by being actively in-volved in both internal and external groups.

Develop self-awareness

Identify your major strengths, style, interests, values, beliefs and any areas you need to develop. Be open-minded to and welcome feed-back from others to help you raise

your self-awareness, confidence and self-belief.

Be open-minded

Welcome opportunities when they arise and ensure you put your-self forward for key projects and assignments.

Develop a plan

Create your personal brand and a personal pitch to share with others when appropriate.

Juggling the work-life balance

This is tough and needs careful planning. Recognise that there will be times when it feels imbalanced and others when you feel more in control. Find the strategies that work for you.

Remember You can have it all – just not all

the time.

Old prejudices still bar the

Landscape

way for many women in the business sector says survey of over 1,400 senior females

Two of the founding partners of a firm of Surrey/Hampshire borders solicitors are celebrating 30 years of serving the local community.

Eila Rochfort and Stephen Gallagher of Neale Turk Rochfort, with offices in Farnborough and Camberley, have seen many changes over the years and with more to come, offer their thoughts on the future of legal services.

Neale Turk Rochfort was founded in 1988 following a reorganisation of other firms, as a result of which Eila and Ste-phen, who were already working togeth-er, became founding partners.

They have more than 77 years of quali-fied legal experience. Eila heads up the Camberley office and is well-known for services for elderly people including wills, trusts and probate. Stephen is based at

the Farnborough office and specialises in family law. There are now four partners in the practice. Keren Morgan joined seven years ago and specialises in prop-erty and employment law, while David Reynolds, who joined five years ago, specialises in commercial property law.

“Looking back over the years it has been a pleasure to help thousands of families and businesses through times of change,” said Eila Rochfort.

“Everyone needs legal services at some time or other. Helping and guiding them through both joy and difficulties is why I love this profession and consider it a privilege to work in this community.

“We’ve seen many changes in both towns as well as changes in the way people want to access legal services. Our common philosophy though doesn’t change – that of using our experience to de-mystify the law so that people can make informed decisions.”

“The way in which legal services are being delivered continues to change, with profit driven major brands buying solici-tors’ practices,” said Stephen Gallagher.

“This corporatisation of legal services can so easily lead to a less personal ser-vice. When people are facing major deci-sions in their lives - from moving house to making a will and family matters - it is our experience that it is the personal service that we provide that they need and value highly,” he said.

Solicitors celebrating 30 years of personal service

Eila Rochfort of Neale Turk Rochfort

BY KATE FOX

Women ‘not reaching

the top of work tree’

Change

BY KATE FOX

Challenging


EATING OUT This month we cast our columnist Carol Haime into the kitchen and try

CAROL HAIME: Don’t let the office drive you trout of your mind...

Local Rainbow Trout and

Thai Spice Fishcakes, with

Chinese cabbage and brown

beech mushroom stir fry.

Preparation time 30 mins,Cooking time 15 mins.

Ingredients:700g boneless and skinless rainbow

trout fillets, sustainable and high in pro-tein and omega 3, vitamin A & D and selenium,

but lower in calories than other oily fish, including salmon, and cheaper too!300g brown beech mushrooms, also known as bhu-na shimeji, highly nutritious mushrooms now readily available in the supermarket, they contain significant amounts of potassium, protein, iron, thiamine, ribo-flavin, niacin, magnesium and vitamin D2. Research shows they may help with lowering cholesterol and

prevent arteriosclerosis around the heart.1 whole Chinese cabbage, high in folate and antioxi-dants, vitamin C & A and anti-inflammatory anthocy-anins. One of the best cabbage varieties for choles-terol lowering, especially when stir fried quickly with a little liquid.2 stems pak choi, similar benefits to Chinese cabbage.1 bunch spring onions, packed with flavonoids, vitamin C and chromium, a trace mineral that helps cells respond to insulin.Juice and zest of 2 limes, antioxidant and antibacte-rial properties.1 egg, another high quality protein and good source of choline important for brain health.100ml sweet chilli sauce.5cm piece of fresh ginger root, peeled and finely chopped, 25g bunch of fresh coriander, 1 clove of garlic, 1 tbsp Soya sauce (we used reduced salt soya sauce), 1 tsp sesame seeds, 1 tsp black onion (nige-

Time to get

unstressed!During periods of fear or stress your body makes cor-tisol, a hormone made in the adrenal glands. When you wake up in the morning your cortisol level will be at a high level which will diminish during the day unless you become stressed and elevate the level by producing more cortisol.Cortisol is an important factor in the body’s “fight or flight” stress response, enabling quick bursts of energy, a temporary increase in your pain threshold and a heightening of your memory and immune system. BUT, it is important that the body’s relaxation response is activated af-terwards so it can return to normal following a stressful event. A constantly stressed state can create inflammation of the adrenal system and can eventually cause premature ageing and early death. Cortisol suppresses DHEA, the “Youth Hormone”. It causes blood sugar to elevate and leads to an acidic blood condition which can contribute to the onset of diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Other effects of high cortisol lev-els include lowered immune re-sponse, poor short term memory, constipation, weight gain, loss of muscle tone, reduced testos-terone and oestrogen levels and osteoporosis. It also leads to a craving for sweet foods which, if consumed, only make the mat-ter worse. If cortisol levels remain high at the end of the day then getting to sleep may be difficult. The good news is that there are lots of ways to lower your cortisol level, al-leviating stress, protecting your long term health and getting better sleep. Exercise helps by lowering cortisol and producing counter-acting hormones, serotonin and dopamine, giving you a feeling of well-being.This is not always practical while in an office situation but resist the temp-tation to head for the coffee machine as caffeine stimulates cortisol produc-

tion. You can also help yourself by watching what you eat, which brings me on to this month’s recipe.You should avoid refined and processed foods. Among foods that have been scientifically proven to help are high quality proteins and foods rich in omega 3 so for this stress busting recipe I have chosen some lovely fresh rainbow trout. Our trout were caught at Meon Springs, near Petersfield, in a chalk stream-fed lake by one of our good friends from the pub. Activi-ties like fishing are also great for relaxation so if you fancy a go then check out

Meon Springs at

www.meonsprings.com/fly-fishing.

To feature your restaurant in The Bottom Line Blunch Spread contact: [email protected]. 01252 709 803

OVER THE RAINBOW: Be tempted and tickled by trout to get your stress levels down


a Michelin-starred celebrity eatery for a birthday blunch..well, kind of business lunch!We love our food here at The Bottom Line, especially as we head toward summer lunchtimes in pub gardens and on restau-rant patios topping up our very English tans. So when it comes to where to go for blunch - business lunch - we like to get trout and about.This month we go fishing at The Sandrock pub where the food is anything but fishy (sorry), and party on with a celebrity-in-spired blunch/brunch at a trendy diner in the City of London. If you cannot get out, we’ve even supplied a recipe to get your business brain de-stressed courtesy of award-winning pub chef Carol Haime (pictured left). Many deals are done over blunch so if you think your place is worth a visit and you would like to feature on The Bottom Line’s hungry pages, drop an email to [email protected] and we’ll be straight round!

Le Gavroche, 43 Upper Brook Street, London W1K 7QR

Not a blunch - in fact a birthday treat from my other half- imagine my surprise and delight as our taxi pulls up on Upper Brook Street in London’s Mayfair and we walk up the steps of an unassuming resi-dential-looking property to see the entrance of Le Gavroche. I am so excited. After years of not letting anyone say a word while watching Masterchef, I am beside myself with anticipation at the prospect of eating at one of London’s best restaurants with no less than two Michelin stars, with the prospect of seeing Michel Roux Junior!Our coats are

taken at the entrance and we make our way downstairs to the dining room. We are the first to arrive – an early sitting secured rel-atively last-minute I believe – and the waiting staff are on hand to meet our every need.We are handed the menu and pre-

sented with an amuse bouche. The menu and the taster are exquisite. I have been given a menu with no prices on - very traditional and I’m not complaining. I choose the lobster salad for my starter followed by the ‘roast saddle of rabbit with crispy potatoes and parmesan. My partner opts for the tres rich, tres French ravioli in a creamy sauce followed by a ‘roast rib of French veal, creamed morel mushroom sauce and mashed potatoes’.While waiting for our starters to ar-

rive, we are presented with another taster – an exquisite, melt in the mouth bite – another taster of the

deliciousness to come. I look around the restaurant which has filled up quite considerably with a mixture of couples and small groups including what seems to be a few business din-ers. At that point, out pops the lovely Michel Roux Jr. “Look”, I nudge my other half. “How exciting!” I know I shouldn’t, but I send a quick text under the table to my mum. She loves Michel Roux Jr. Our starters go down a treat,

followed by our faultless mains, I am getting a little full now. At this point, Michel is walking the room checking if the guests are enjoying their meals. He comes over to our table and we ask if we are lucky to have him at the restaurant tonight

– due to his TV commitments. He explains that actually he is here most nights. We still think we are lucky to see him.The dessert menu

is presented. Even though I am pret-ty stuffed, I can’t

resist the appeal of the cheese board – the most magnificent I have ever seen. My partner chooses a sorbet and as we tuck in we are presented with yet more food! A sample of the house sweets. The cheque is brought over very

discreetly and my other half takes care of it. I have no idea how much it costs but I do know that this place is a fantastic treat for pleasure or business. I can’t wait to find a good excuse to come back soon.

Food: 5Ambience: 5Efficiency: 5Business appeal: 5

William Ray

Le Gavroche’s

Michel stars

in blunch bash

CHEESEY DOES IT: spoilt for choice with Le Gavroche cheese board

5

lla) seeds, 1/4 tsp chilli powder, Extra sweet chilli sauce to serve (optional).Oil for cooking, quality unrefined fats like seed and nut or fish oils are the best for cortisol control, try sesame oil, peanut or walnut oil.

Cooking Method:

Place the trout fillets in a food processor and add the egg, sweet chilli sauce, half the coriander, the green part of the spring onions, chopped, 1/2 tbsp soya sauce, 1/2 the fresh ginger, peeled and chopped and the zest and juice of one of the limes. Blitz until a smooth paste is achieved. The mixture mustn’t be too wet but will firm up with further processing.Shred the cabbage and pak choi and remove the mushrooms from the large stem. Combine them in a large bowl with the garlic, chopped, the zest and juice of the second lime, the other half of the ginger and the white of the spring onion chopped.

Heat a little oil in a wok and in a non-stick frying pan separately. Spoon some of the fish paste into the non-stick pan, using a metal ring for guidance if necessary. The mixture is sufficient for four large fishcakes or eight small ones. Fry on a gentle heat for around five minutes until golden brown and then turn over with a palette knife and cook for a further five minutes or until the texture is firm and springy. Put aside to rest in a warm place. Meanwhile, once the oil in the wok starts to smoke slightly, add the cabbage mixture and stir fry for 1 minute. Add the sesame and nigella seeds, corian-der, chilli powder (optional) and soya sauce. Stir fry for a further minute, taking care not to overcook the cabbage which should still have a good crunch. Pile the cabbage stir fry into a serving bowl and top with a fish cake and some sweet chilli sauce to serve and feel the stress melt away!

Local companies are being urged to show that ‘Business is Good for Britain’.

The British Chambers of Com-merce is inviting businesses to showcase their talents and achieve-ments in the Chamber Awards 2012 with the chance of winning a £25,000 cash prize.

Open to all businesses, the com-petition is designed to recognise and promote the best businesses in Britain through a series of regional heats followed by the National Fi-nal, which will be held in London on November 29th.

There are nine categories to choose from, covering international busi-ness, people development, excel-lence in innovation, marketing, new

business, customer service, sustain-ability, entrepreneur of the year and business of the year.

The Awards are now in their ninth year, and the evening is one of the showcase events for the BCC’s ‘Business is Good for Britain’ cam-paign highlighting the role of busi-ness as a positive force for the UK recovery and the success of local communities and individuals.

Louise Punter CEO of Surrey Chambers of Commerce said: “This year we want everyone to under-stand the contribution business makes to the economy, and to soci-ety as a whole. Businesses will be at the forefront of the recovery, pro-

viding jobs, and creating wealth.“Every day we hear amazing sto-

ries from businesses that are innova-tive, successful in international mar-kets, and innovative in creating new products. It is stories like these that we are looking to find and recognise through the Chamber Awards.

“Last year, over 600 firms took part and 2012 promises to be even bigger as we look to demonstrate that ‘Business is Good for Britain’” she said.

Businesses can enter the following categories this year:

Achievement in International

Business

Award for Commitment to People

Development

Award for Excellence

in Innovation

Award for Excellence

in Customer Service

Business of the Year Award

Entrepreneur of the Year Award

Marketing Campaign of the Year

Most Promising New Business

Award

The Sustainability Award

Closing date for entries is June 29, with companies assessed at a regional level first. Winners go through to compete in the National Final in November.

At this stage, a high-profile judg-ing panel of business leaders and entrepreneurs assesses contenders, before the overall winners are an-

nounced in each category with one company winning the £25,000 cash prize and the Outstanding Business Achievement title.

The Chamber Awards 2012 is sup-ported by BT Business, Westfield Health, Qdos Consulting and Com-posite Legal Expenses.

To enter online go to

www.chamberawards.co.uk or

for further information you can

contact the Chamber Awards Team

on 02476 472593, email

[email protected]

or follow @chamberawards


BRITISH CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE Chance to showcase talents and achievements

Strong growth for invoice finance

Win £25,000 at

Chamber Awards

Understand

Larger firms turn to invoice finance as both turnover and funding growth continue

New figures released by the Asset Based Fi-nance Association show that firms which use invoice finance are enjoying continued strong growth in their sales, up 13% to year end 2011.

Total client turnover in 2011 for companies us-ing invoice finance has reached £238 billion with total sales from this quarter alone now standing at £62bn. This continues the year long trend of firms which use invoice finance seeing an ex-panding sales base and trading successfully.

Total funding from members to UK and Irish companies has also grown significantly in the past year, with total advances up 7% year on

year. The new figures are in stark contrast to wider net lending which has actually contracted by 3.7% in the same period and shows that Brit-ish and Irish firms are increasingly turning to invoice finance to fund growth.

Larger companies are increasingly choosing to use invoice finance too. The number of mem-bers’ clients with turnover above £10 million in the past year has risen from 3,126 in 2010 to 3,535 in 2011, a growth of 13%.

Kate Sharp, chief executive of the Asset Based Finance Association, said: “Invoice finance is absolutely vital to the strength of the UK econo-my, as it is one of the few types of finance actu-ally growing and available to firms, particularly

when compared to overall net lending which has contracted by 3.7%.

“Sectors such as manufacturing, distribution, construction and recruitment depend on this type of finance, to help fund both ongoing trad-ing and to finance corporate growth.

“The new figures show that increasingly larger firms are choosing invoice finance because of both its inherent strengths and its availability.

“The overall figures are a strong endorsement of invoice finance and show that it continues to grow in popularity, not the least because firms which use it are able to grow and increase their turnover,” she said.

High-profile

Advertise your products or services here.

Or here. [email protected]


Aldershot Guide Price £270,000 FreeholdThree bedroom detached property occupying a corner plot on the pop-ular Chestnut Grove development. Three bedrooms, with en-suite to master bedroom, lounge, kitchen/breakfast room, conservatory, down-stairs shower room. Gas central heating and double glazed windows.Contact Townsends on 01252 332284 or [email protected]

PROPERTY Executive homes

Figures that show the full ex-tent of outstanding consumer debt passed to Debt Collection Agencies (DCAs) or sold to Debt Buyers has been published for the first time by The Credit Services Association (CSA), the National Association for the UK debt collection industry, which represents 90% of the debt col-lection industry and all of the major players.

At the end of 2011, the total val-ue of unpaid consumer debt held by CSA members for collection stood at £58 billion, comprising £31 billion placed by creditors with DCAs to collect, and a fur-ther £27 billion of purchased debt

owned by Debt Buyers.The total volume of consumer

debts awaiting collection by CSA members now stands at a stag-gering 32 million as at the end of December 2011 - the equivalent of at least one significant debt for every UK household or £1,000 of uncollected debt owed by ev-ery man, woman and child in the country and the volume and the value of debts are rising, a fact that the CSA President Sara de Tute attributes to a range of dif-ferent factors.

“The economic environment has undoubtedly become more

difficult and so it is no surprise that debts are rising.

“But there are also other rea-sons, including ‘new’ creditors within the private sector and parts of national government who no longer see an issue with outsourcing debt for collection to professional and highly regulated agencies capable of recovering monies vital to the public purse,” she said, adding that this is a sig-nificant sum to feed back into the UK economy.

“This has a direct impact both on the amount of future credit available and the interest rates that we all have to pay,” she said.

BY WILLIAM RAY

New industry

figures show

unpaid debt

Holt Pound Guide Price £1,100,000A 19th century cottage. Five bedrooms, family bathroom, drawing room, dining room, around 1.3 acres of garden and paddock, heated swimming pool and detached garage.Contact Grant Walters on 01252 717705 or [email protected]

Ash Price £500,000 FreeholdClose to Ash and Ash Green villages, with a short drive to Guildford and Farnham, this modern, detached house has five bedrooms, family bathroom, study, dining room, utility, downstairs cloakroom, gas heat-ing and double glazing.Contact Townsends on 01252 332284 or [email protected]

Bat & Ball Lane, Farnham Guide Price £550,000Mid 1920’s semi-detached cottage requires some modernisation and improvement. Well planned accommodation arranged over two floors. Three bedrooms, sitting room, separate family room, study/potential bedroom 4 and kitchen/breakfast room.Contact Grant Walters on 01252 717705 or [email protected]

Chance to showcase talents and achievements

Food and non-alcoholic drink exports rose to over £12 billion (£12,152.4m) in 2011, exceed-ing expectations and confirming significant potential for overseas growth over the next decade, according to the UK Food and Drink Federation.

The previous year’s results (2010) proved a landmark for the industry when figures broke through the £10 billion barrier, but the 2011 re-sults show performance is up by 11.4% on 2010. The £12 billion figure is good news for the food and drink manufacturing industry which has set itself the ambition to grow 20% by 2020.

Export growth has been fuelled by strong perfor-mance in new and emerging markets including Eastern Europe and the Far East. China entered the top 20 export destinations for the first time with a 55% increase on 2010, partly due to chang-ing tastes and an increasingly westernised diet. The non EU share of the £12 billion total was 23% compared to 77% for the EU.

Exports are of key importance in the food and drink manufacturing industry’s drive for growth. The sector has proved resilient during the reces-sion, bucking the general downward trend in manufacturing industries. An exports action plan was recently launched, a joint initiative between

industry and Government to work together to increase export potential and remove barriers.

FDF Director General Melanie Leech said: “Whilst the domestic market is growing at a steady rate, we are seeing very strong perfor-mance from food and drink exports. There remains considerable interest in British heritage brands and around our health and wellbeing inno-vation. Companies understand the importance of developing new markets, competing successfully in many cases against other experienced exporters in France, Germany and Spain.

“We were delighted to work with Government on the export action plan launched earlier this year, which should be of benefit in particular to SMEs which are by far the biggest sector of our industry and have the potential to grow in existing and emerging markets.”

Food and Farming Minister Jim Paice said: “Our food industry should be congratulated for its continued success. It’s a vital part of the Brit-ish economy and can play a key part in the UK’s economic recovery.

“I want to make sure food businesses get the right support to exploit the potential for export led growth, which I believe can be achieved through the Government’s export action plan.”

Resilient

Benefit

Exports break the

£12billion barrier

Or here.

Farnham Guide Price £550,000A mid 1920’s semi-detached cottage in a semi-rural location. Three bedrooms, sitting room, separate family room opening onto sun terrace, south easterly aspect, study/potential bedroom 4 and kitchen/breakfast room.

Holt Pound Guide Price £1,100,000Forest Cottage is on the Hampshire/Surrey border close to Alice Holt Forest. A detached character cottage dating from the mid-19th century. Five bedrooms, family bathroom, drawing room, dining room, around 1.3 acres of garden and paddock, heated swimming pool and detached garage.

Lower Bourne Price Guide £795,000Four bedrooms, 2 en-suite shower/wet rooms, family bathroom, sitting room, open plan dining area, fitted kitchen/breakfast room, study and utility area.

Lower Bourne Price Guide £799,950Extending to 3,000 sq ft close to the heart of Lower Bourne. Hall, cloakroom, sitting room, dining room, family room, study, kitchen, breakfast room, 5/6 bedrooms, 4 bath/shower rooms, attractive landscaped garden.

Farnham Price Guide £780,000A stunning modern family home in a much sought after area of south Farnham. Reception hall, sitting room, family room, study, kitchen/breakfast room, conservatory, 5 bedrooms, 4 bath/shower rooms, double garage.

Dockenfield, Surrey Price Guide £765,000Four bedrooms, en-suite bath/shower room, family bathroom, vaulted sitting room, dining room, study/fam-ily room, fitted kitchen/breakfast room, utility room, garage and studio, south facing gardens, large drive, gas central heating.

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